Just Received "Pumpkitten"

And here it is the day before Halloween, having received it yesterday. It reminded me I had a couple of other kitty Halloween "smalls," which I dug out and got a picture of what I want to do next year. I should have pulled out my piece of Bittersweet Jobelan that Pumpkitten calls for. I couldn't believe my luck in having the fabric also.

I have tons of other Halloween charts, but "Pumpkitten" reminded me of my kitty charts, and "Pumpkitten" is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I love it!

My Babies and DD's "Mama"

My daughter, Vanessa, emailed me the picture at the bottom left today. She and I both collect cats and Longaberger baskets. She has four cats to my three, and the one on the bottom left is the Mama of my kitty, Caiti, two years old, upper right. Mama's name is actually Tigger, but she answers to Mama. See how much Caiti looks like her Mama.

Anyway, Mama decided recently that she likes the looks of Vanessa's pantry basket between the top of the cabinets and the kitchen ceiling. She's a petite springy little thing, but after her jump, she was a bit tired, so she just took her nap in the basket. They all say she's dumb, but I think she's just a bit accentric. Hey, there's nothing stupid about getting nice and toasty on a cool day up near the ceiling where it's warm and no one can bother her. Besides that, she made a lot of pretty babies and brought a lot of happiness to several homes before she was spayed.

My kitty family is as follows: My newest, whom I featured in a previous post is Amber, right, and I adopted the little doll from the Care Shelter this month. She's pretty much calling the shots with my oldest, top left, Pibbie (short for Pib---meaning Pain In the Butt), who is nine, and last, but not least, is my two-year-old Caiti (pronounced Cat-Tee). They're equally precious in their own ways and are so completely different that it's amazing they do so well together.

You Know You Have Too Much Stash When.......

you start buying little splurges like hand-painted needle and scissor magnets. The scissor magnet at top is painted with a kitty that says "Meow." I love it!

At the bottom of the same card, I just stuck my needle magnet, not hand-painted, so you could see it too (my first initial).

I'll have to gather my scissor collection I've been acquiring from eBay and use them in a later post. Little indulgences....

My Happy Stitchin'

In these, the low days of catastrophic tragedy that break our hearts and make us want to quit life as we know it, run to help our fellow Americans who are hurting in a way we can't imagine; prices at the gas pump that make us wonder if we're going to be able to leave home; and just stressful news at every turn, making us all wonder at our futures, it's nice to have some happy stitchin' like my little Bent Creek "Dance of the Bumblebee." He was a delight to stitch, and I have his mate, "Jig of the Ladybug," kitted and ready to stitch for my therapy. Bless their little hearts for gracing my life. This happy little guy's lady will be joining him soon. For now, he has a sweet, little bee fairy flitting around.

Who Says A Blog Has To Be All Business?

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

And how about a Birthdate Calculator and how the moon looked on that day; then an analysis of your name as it pertains to you personally? Awesome!

Vikki's StitchnButtons

I have acquired the above buttons made by a very talented friend, Vikki Gable, who is now selling her handmade polymer clay buttons through a favorite online LNS of mine, hers, and a lot of other people on several of my Yahoo stitching groups---Shirley's Country Cottage. She continues to dream up new designs, but with a family and full time job, she finds herself pressed for the time and energy. I would love to see her business pick up to the point where she could spend more time creatively. I adore her buttons!

I guess I should give credit to my little Boyds squirrel, Merle B. Squirrel, with the beautifully carved acorn around his neck. My house is filled with critters, both alive and of the stuffed variety. Hey, Vikki! How about an acorn button???

A Couple of Great Links

This one shows some nice finishing ideas: The VS Finishing Ideas!

This one is a fallish freebie, sent to me by Dianne Collins of PA:
Kreinik Manufacturing Co., Inc. :: Freebies :: Cross Stitch :: Halloween Cross Stitch :: Roly Poly Scarecrow

Mail Stash Day

I ordered these things from Bobbie at Stitching Bits & Bobs during her Autumn Sale, all at 25% off. From left to right, An October Box by Cherished Stitches, Bent Creek's "Let Us Be Thankful Row (sooo cute), "My Favorite Primitive Stitching Bags" by Hands To Work, and the newest surprise Mirabilia, "Garden Beauty;" at the bottom is "Shawnon's Travel Sewing Kit" by Keslyn's (really pretty). Bobbie included a skein of green Rajmahal Art Silk as a gift, which you will see on the Bent Creek leaflet. I love getting stash in the mail!

New Family Member

This is the newest addition to my kitty family, and she gives lots of kitty kisses. She has stolen our hearts and adapted to our home so quickly, I can't believe it! Now, that's not to say the other two have adapted to her. No, it's still hisses for them, but it takes the cats who've been around a while to get used to a new one. This puts my kitty family up to 3, and that's just perfect. We adopted her from the Care Shelter, so she's not a tiny kitten, but we feel really good about giving her a loving home.

Everyone, please meet Amber. Cross stitches and kitty kisses go together like needle and thread in my home.

A Dab of Christmas Stash

The 2005 Christmas ornament issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine and my monthly Stash of the Month shipment from Silkweaver. The fabric is Ivory Reflections (you see the sparkles if you click on the image), 4 spools of Kreinik Blending Filament, and assorted buttons from Just Anther Button Company.

My Two Small Series

These are the two small monthly series I've continued working on sporadically, determined not to proclaim either UFO's, but instead, they remain WISP's (Works In Slow Progress). The first is Pam Kellogg's Millennium Cats series, stitched from January through August; the 2nd is Lizzie Kate's 2002 Flip-Its, stitched only through April.

My Latest Finish

The finished design at right was done in monthly installments with a Yahoo Group formed specifically for SAL's. It was fun to stitch because of all the specialty stitches. I haven't yet decided if I'll make it into a bellpull or have it framed, but it will definitely go into my Victorian guest bedroom. The colors are perfect.

This is "Cloister Garden" by The Drawn Thread.

Strawberry Field Mystery SAL by Pam Kellogg

This was done in five installments, a mystery SAL by Pamela Kellogg. Pam announced her mysteries in advance, gave us hints, gave us the list of supplies, and if we decided to subscribe, we were charged a small fee. The installment charts were sent to us via email. This made it so much fun, and we all kept in touch and discussed and showed our progress on her bulletin board.

This was intended to be a bellpull, but after all the stitching and beading, I didn't want to take the chance of the piece getting dirty, so I had it framed in a simple white frame.

This was a fun SAL

Sometimes I feel if I didn't join SAL's (Stitch-A-Longs) with Internet groups, I would get no stitching done at all. This is a SAL I did with a Yahoo Group whose name alone tells what we're about---I Wanna Stitch Along.These little snowmen were so much fun to do; love the little guys with shades! This piece is Icy Hill by Just Nan. I love her designs, and somewhere in my Halloween stuff is a another framed piece I did with the same group. As soon as I find it, I'll put it up here for you to see. It's Witch Way, also by Just Nan. It calls for those expensive silks, and I swear, I cannot tell the difference in mine and those whose were done in silks. I just can't justify the cost of silks unless it's a very special design.

Mermaids of the Deep Blue and Materials

Though not planning to start on this before getting some of my other WIP's done, I liked it so much, I gathered all the materials it calls for. I already had the Silkweaver hand-dyed fabric, Oceantide, which, sorry to say, the camera didn't really capture its beauty. I love Mirabilia's mermaids!

One of Life's Little Thrills

A couple of months ago, I received an unexpected package in the mail. I had no idea what it was or who it was from. When I opened it, to my delight, there was the book you see from my friend, Dianne Collins in PA. She had written a lovely card and stuck it in with the book, telling me that she had ordered it used from half.com and read it on my recommendation. She noted that it was signed by my favorite author, Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series. I had already preordered the newest in her Outlander series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, which I recently received. This book that "Coz Dianne" sent to me was signed by Diana Gabaldon, and for another person named Sandy, but Dianne knew it would still be special to me. It's special because it was so thoughtful of Dianne to think of me. We lovingly call each other "Coz," as we share the same maiden surname of Knowles and have so many of the same interests.

This is my third book of Outlander, and my favorite because of the thought behind the gift, and its cover is entirely different from the cover on my hardbound copy and my newer paperback copy.

I will treasure it all my remaining days. Thank you, Dianne!

My New Blog - First Post

The year of 2005 has not been a productive year for me for cross stitching, and I don't know what to blame it on except mismanagement of time. I have more time now that I'm not working, and I was more organized when I worked because I had to use my time wisely then. I used stitching as a way to unwind after work, but now, there is always tomorrow. I need to start concentrating on "no more tomorrows." Now, there are less stressors, thus stitching can wait.

Since the Internet entered my life (and became a way of life), the word stash has taken on a new meaning in my life. It has taken on the mental image of casket stuffers, stitching in heaven rather than playing the harp, or in complete contrast, living to be 400 years old to finish my stash. In years past, I have accomplished so many finishes that if I showed them all here, I'd crash Blogger; therefore, I'll start with 2005 and go from there, hoping that this blog will help in forming a well-planned and productive rotation. I'm hoping to finish this year with feeling good about my stitching accomplishments. I've become an EZ Board supporter and plan to get tips, ideas, and inspiration from the Rotation EZ Board, Mirabilia, Threads, and others I enjoy. I've known so many great ladies who have grown and been blessed in many ways by blogging, so I've started this in the hopes that I can reap the rewards of blogging to enrich my life too. Stitching is such a part of my life that I'm hoping to grow in my stitching and meet other blogging stitchers who have grown and met new stitching challenges as well. That is not to say that stitching is all I hope to benefit from this, but friendship and growth in any hobby always leads to more lasting intrinsic values that add growth to our lives. The Internet has opened up new ideas and knowledge to us all, brought us lasting friendships with people from around the world, and we've all become more learned in the ways of different cultures, religions, and races, not just by reading about them, but on a more personal level---by befriending those from whom we've learned so much.

Having said all that, I'll start my stitching show with a SAL I did with a Yahoo Group called Stitchers Losin It for stitchers who want to lose weight. It has occurred to me that many stitchers could stand to lose weight because of the sedentary nature of the hobby. This particular piece was cute, fun, and easy to do.