More Shots of Older Stitching

Here are a couple of shots of my older framed stitching and arrangements. One is in the breakfast nook; the other is of some classic samplers with a couple of very small bellpulls on either side in the dining room, all over a hardrock maple antique hutch---refinished by me and had been in the family for years and neglected in storage. I really should get a full pic of it.

More Bits of Stash

This was also from my broken leg days. It would be embarrassing to post it all at one time, so I've held back some. All was 25% off except for the Waterlillies, which was 40% off. Starting at upper left is a needle organizer, a Waxing Moon "Slice of Summer" kit, with contents laid out below the chart, then back up on upper right is The Sweetheart Tree's "Catnip Kitty Fob." Lower left, two Waterlillies, pack of Piecemakers needles, contents of WM kit, and Heart in Hand's "Snow."

Just Been Swamped...

with my brother coming here from Richmond, VA yesterday, and now my granddaughter is staying with us for a "cooling off" period. She and her daddy got into a screaming match, and my daughter asked if she could come stay with us awhile. She keeps me hopping with all her ballgames, but she's sheer joy to have around. She's really a good child when she's away from home. She's a chip off the old block (her mother during the teen years), and I can remember thinking however much I loved her mother, that was how much I disliked her too. She knew just which buttons to push, and our granddaughter, Moriah, is just like her.

She just played a game in which they totally wiped out the other team. It was 28-0. They finally called the game after five innings. We got home, and off she went on our golf cart to bring our best friends' granddaughter over here. From the sound of things upstairs, they're really having fun. I'm watching the time though, as tomorrow is a school day. Ooops, they just asked if they could go back to our friends' house. I called her grandma and said they were on the way, and if they didn't show up in a few minutes to call me. They live in the same neighborhood.

I've thought of a fun thing to do with the days I missed blogging. I'm going to take a few pix of old things I've done, and one has my initials and the date hidden and incorporated into the design. So stay tuned.

OK, I give the girls credit. They made to their destination just fine and didn't pull any funny business.

Cedar Hill Country Garden

These pix were both taken in the master bath. The grouping is above the jet tub. The one by itself above a towel bar is Cedar Hill's "Country Garden," in which I incorporated my initials (NBJ) and the year (2002), but I really don't think you can see it without having the picture in front of you.

What Kind of Soul Are You?

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this worldSo much so that you tend to live in your head most of the timeYou have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all...But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you.Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses.Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others.Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

And to this, I answer: Yes, I do tend to live in my head most of the time, and I talk to the voices too. I don't care who hears me either!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Meari just did the Lizzie Kate freebie that I finished into a pillow, which in the pic, is in a rather peculiar position so you can see it. The framed one hangs above the antique youth chair of my Grandma's. I think it was a Lizzie Kate too, but not a freebie. Anyway, I really liked the loud fabric with the colorful veggies on it, so I used a very wide ruffle. Meari was wanting ideas of what to do with this particular design.

My Little Prize Purchase Yesterday

This has been a very busy weekend which, to my disgust, has kept me from getting in much stitching, but I wouldn't have missed any of the other activities either, so there ya go.... what is one supposed to do?

Besides a a couple other little things I purchased at my LNS yesterday for other projects, this little jewel was what I went after. I fell in love with Becky's "Spring Friends" by Brittercup, and I found on their site that it was an exclusive and could only be purchased through an LNS. I called mine and had it ordered. It came in just a few days and was only $3.75, and I hate to be so cynical (yet it doesn't stop me), but I probably even got gypped at that little price, because these girls here in town have a captive audience and take advantage of it. I shouldn't even have said that though, because even if it had been $10, I would have bought it. It almost appears to be a freebie for special customers, which, for obvious reasons, would not be me, lol!

My Next Neglected WIP

I'm getting a rather late start today, but I spent the better part of a morning in the beauty shop. Why do they call it a beauty shop? I never have seen anyone there I thought was beautiful---before or after. Least of all me. I sat and tried to read my book, while my hair went from shades of white, brassy blonde, and field mouse brown to Warm Brown #6. I never take my stitching with me any more because if it's hard to read with everyone bothering me, it's twice as hard to stitch. Every woman in the place comes over and asks, "What are you making?" It never fails; the next thing out of their mouths is, "I don't have the patience for that." I wanna say, "Neither do I when people keep bugging me."

Then I got a call from the LNS in town. The little design I ordered was in. This was before I decided to go on a stash diet, so I picked it up with a button for another design, 3 skeins of GAST, a card of Wisper for another design, and a piece of fabbie. Picture of that stuff tomorrow.

Sorry to get off on a tangent. I need to get my next 10 hours in on this Flip Flops design by Hinzeit. It would be nice to get it finished before my granddaughter quits wearing these things when the spring summer season is over.

A Dreaded UFO Now In Rotation

I'm very pleased with my progress this round, and next time it comes up, I'll be able to finish. I didn't get a pic of where I was before starting it, but the lettering and the sky were done. I spent a lot of precious time frogging because all the green you see under the sky is only one color green (there are several), and the symbols of two greens were nearly identical and very tiny, but I perservered and the one shade of green on the ground is finished, then I have a couple more greens, a pond, a sand trap, and the actual hole or "green," with the flag. Of course there are the charms, for which Hinzeit is well known, and this design had an antiqued tee box that really "makes" this a special gift for a golfer. The golfer is my husband, who must be very nice before I give this to him.

Taking A Good Hard Look

This was the free magazine that finally came in the mail today, formerly Stitcher's World and was rumored to be like the old BH&G Cross Stitch & Needlecrafts. It's a good thing it was free because I certainly wouldn't have paid the $5.95 cover price. There were just a few projects in it, and none I would waste my time on. I won't be subscribing. The last two issues of Just Cross Stitch have been a big disappointment too.

I think that, right now, I'm just tired of everything. My blog is a clutter of junk that needs to be weeded out and freshened up, with things switched around and made to be more reader-friendly. I'll be working on that as time allows.

I've also decided I make pitiful use of my time, for which there is no excuse, as I stay at home. I'm not happy with how little stitching I get done, and I'm getting serious and making out a structured schedule to get rid of those UFO's and WISP's. I'm tired of thinking of all the things I'd love to be stitching but feeling guilty because of all I have yet to finish. I don't want to have 100 things started and nothing to show for all that time. I'm headed there now. So I've decided to go to the original rotation plan for "no more UFO's" that I saw long ago at Shakespeare's Peddler. She has a really kewl site, and it had been a long time since I visited it. She has some really cute springy things for sale on that first page, but when you move down the page to "Articles, Archives, and More... , the 2nd list down (Learn About Stitching and Framing), see the article entitled "No More UFO's." That was my enlightenment when I first started making strides in stitching more than one project at a time when the Internet stitching world was new to me in the very late 90's. Somewhere along the line, I lost my organizational skills, and my finishes got fewer and fewer. I now have played in Excel (with DH's help) till I have perfected a spreadsheet that will help with everything I could think of to fit into a stitcher's performance record.

My stitching time the last two days was spent on a UFO, and when I get to the 10-hr. mark, I'll post progress. I wish I could finish it this round because it's really boring and takes patience getting the different greens placed right. The symbols are tiny and look alike in many places. My best friend had hers finished two years ago and is in her husband's office and framed in a special frame made just for that Hinzeit design. However, she will only stitch on aida, and her stitches are crappy---really crappy. I don't know which is worse---not getting it done or having it done and hanging on the wall looking great unless one examines it up closely. Her stitches would drive me batty. She even tells me not to look at them, lol!

Stitching Bloggers' Question of the Week

Do you do obligation or deadline-based stitching? Why or why not? Ifyou do, do you tend to get in over your head and why?

Yes to the first part, and I do tend to get in over my head because I always think that life won't get in my way and that I can stitch faster than life gets in my way, lol. I get all stressed out, grouchy, and finally surrender, realizing it's not a matter of life or death, though you would think so if you could see me when things get ugly.

Great question, Jenna!

Still Digging Out New Stash

This was in the bottom of the bag of broken leg stash. I got a great price on a fat quarter of Lambswool Linen, and 25% off all the new GAST and WDW, plus I think there are a couple of extra WDW skeins that I just thought were pretty.

Tonight I'm working on a UFO. I'll post a progress piccie when I get somewhere with it.

Ain't She Sweet?

I just love this little spring bunny! There are bunnies for each of the four seasons, and I must do the others now, but not now. Must get onto another project, but I had promised myself to finish this one before going on to another WIP. She's just so cute, I'd like to pick her up and squish her.

Mostly Samplers

I don't know why I did so, but when you can't do anything else, and the days when you think you'll stitch up a storm cuz you can't do anything else, I decided to sign up for a couple more SALs. While getting the charts for those, I saw a few others that caught my eye. Imagine that! I still have more broken leg stash to show---mostly fabric and fibers for the samplers, but my camera's acting stupid, so I put it to bed for the night.

Not too long ago, Carol said she was going on a stash diet, and I swear, her stash started increasing tenfold. I said something about her stash diet, and she said "diet, schmiet," or something like that. Cracked me up! I'm serious though; once my last order gets here, I truly am going on a stash diet. Our income is going down a bit, and we have more bills to pay than ever because of some have-to big ticket items we weren't expecting. Besides that, who the hell is going to stitch all this crap???

We had a lovely Easter. Our grandkids (we thought) are just too old for Easter baskets, so, for the last few years, we just gave them cute cards with money so they can buy what they want. Well, our oldest was making paper eggs yesterday and sending the family out in the yard to hunt them. I talked to her dad and told him we were on our way with the cards and money, and my husband said, "Just for the hell of it, let's buy them some of those cheapie baskets already made up at Walmart---the ones with the baby toys." I started laughing, but he was serious---couldn't wait to see their faces. He also bought some of the good stuff too---Dove eggs, Snicker eggs, Cadbury, etc. He dropped more on Easter junk than I would have on stash. In fact, if it wouldn't have got me in trouble, I would have said, "There goes my stash money!" Anyway, it was worth every cent. They had a blast, and so did we! I'm so crazy about those kids. They really are fun kids, and they think we're fun too!

So Much For Backstitching Plans

I was so far behind in reading posts on my Yahoo Groups, it took me nearly all day, with a few chores mixed. in to catch up. I fully intended to sit down and do all the backstitch on my spring bunny, but as the day wore on, my throat was getting scratchy, and I was sneezing and blowing my nose. What's with getting colds when the weather is downright hot outside???

Anyway, after blowing my nose till it was sore, I lay back all the way in my recliner, and darned if my stomach didn't start gurgling. I had pulled out bunny, but it went right back in its resting place the first time I made a beeline for the bathroom. I'm ruuning at both ends (TMI?), and bunny will have to wait till tomorrow after we get back from my daughter's to give them their Easter surprises. At tke grandkids' ages now, they want the good stuff ... no more candy for them, and I used to think the baskets with candy were expensive! Well, forget that!

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend, no matter if you celebrate Easter or just being alive!

Bunny Ready For Backstitch

This is not my bunny ready for backstitch, but more stash that I wanted to get in. The lovely hardback book of flowers, the wide, bordered ribbon at the top of pic, and the 3 cards of hand-dyed floss is my last Stash of the Month from Silkweaver, which, in their big moving and changing plans, they have done away with. I'm not very happy with the changes resulting from their move and any of their options left to me (have done many of them already), so I guess I'll just drop out and try an auto shipment at an ONS. Next to the flower book is a Just Nan Whimzi Seasonals - "Snow Faces," and the last two on the right are the 1st two "Dear Diary" releases by Little House Needleworks, and I dearly love them! I have plans very soon for these and have my own ideas.

I broke my leg Feb. 15, and for the first two weeks, everyone was very good about helping keeping my housework up. But the burden of taking care of their own families and making sure I had meals and my mail and newspaper brought in and coffee made in the morning with my breakfast made, garbage taken out for collection, container brought back into garage, etc. got to be too much to keep up the regular housework. After my nice long 12-hour-sleep last night, I felt like doing what needed to be done most. I paced myself by doing about 15 minutes of work, then sitting down to stitch with my leg up in my recliner. At the time of my accident, I had my house decorated for winter, so I walked around my house, gathering up the winter decor and putting it in bags to have DH take it back to the basement shelves. I also got my wood floors, kitchen, and bathroom floors cleaned, and the worst of the worst, all 3 of our toilets and the shower in our bath (the other two are rarely used). These things sparkle once again, and I don't gag when the cats get their heads in the toilets, but it was all I could handle for one day. I'll finish the rest of the 3 baths tomorrow, but the big part is over. I may dust and vacuum one or two of our most-used rooms, but I'll see what tomorrow holds and how my leg is. I got by very well today, and it was gratifying to get the worst cleaning and even some stitching done, as I rested my leg. It's a wonderful feeling to get my normal life back and not be at someone else's mercy.

Daddy Gave Us a Scare

and we ended up taking him to the ER after speaking with his doctor. He was dizzy and got into his shower and fell. He's a medical miracle and has been cut on and fused together in so many places due to a near fatal disease when he was very young that he's not as bendable as most people. He was all soaped up, and my mom, who had rheumatoid arthritis, couldn't budge him. She got him rinsed off and got the next door neighbor, who, thankfully, is a very big stong man, and knew exactly how to get my dad up on his feet. He got him out and dressed and into the car, after which they came to my house. It so happened they were getting carpet laid throughout the house that day, and he had no place to lie. My sis and brother-in-law showed up at the same time my mom & dad did, and my husband and BIL got him into my house and onto the bed. After talking to his doctor, he told us to get him to the ER ASAP.

That was a horrible experience for him and us. They were very disorganized, and I didn't see a familiar face anywhere, and my sister, who used to work there said there was definitely something going on, and it wasn't good. We waited for 6 hours for them to tell us that they couldn't determine anything wrong and for him to get in touch with his doctor for a follow up. No duh! We had to get blankets to keep him warm, get him a urinal to pee, take his EKG patches off when they decided to send him home, and there was no one there who knew what they were doing. His nurse was nothing but a cutie pie with a smart mouth, and all she could talk about was getting her Master's Degree. I told her she needed to bone up on her grammar skills before even thinking of getting a Master's. My sister, who is my younger clone, couldn't keep her mouth shut either, and even my dad got pissed and started putting her in her place and letting her know how poor the care was compared to what we'd experienced in the past. He was very sore today, with bruises starting to rear their ugly heads and is still dizzy and very tired and weak. He'll be seeing his internist Monday, who will have a seething fit when he hears about the treatment in the ER.

It was a harrowing, tiring day, and I was trying so hard trying to keep up with everyone in the family keeping my dad comfortable and taking care of him cuz the ER wouldn't or couldn't, and waiting, waiting, waiting for hours. Thank goodness DH & BIL took care of feeding, getting drinks for the carpet layers from Chicago, 3 hours away, then telling them where to replace the furniture after the carpet was down. I ended up with a red, swollen lower leg and ankle that literally hung over the top of my tennis shoe on the sides toward the back, and I was in pain. I took a lukewarm shower, got ice on my leg, got it elevated, and passed out. I slept till 11:00 A.M.

I'm going to have to take things a bit slower, but the old adrenalin pumps when a loved one is in trouble, and one can do anything till the crisis is over.

No Time To Blog

except to say I am without crutches, and with exercises yet to do for strengthening, and supportive shoes to wear (the backless clogs have to sit for now), I am free. Free, free free at last!

Oops! Forgot about the Bloggers' Stitching Question of the Week from Carol:


For those of you that stitch while riding in the car or on the train,how do you cope with the bumps and the motion? Do you have any tipsfor others?

I just saw the answer to that problem for me today on someone's blog, and I've commented on so many blogs, I can't for the life of me give credit where credit is due. She had started stitching on perforated paper while traveling, stating that stitching on linen and evenweave was next to impossible, and it is for me also! I thought what a great idea that was for stitching up ornaments and bookmarks on perforated paper, and I really enjoy working on it for some easy stitching.

On the Eve of

hoping to lose a ball & chain in the form of a cumbersome walking cast and crutches, I ponder on just how I went wrong. My mother, the stick, who fights to keep enough weight on, told me in the beginning when I had my lime green cast with sparkles, that I would lose weight with all my problems. I avoided fruits and veggies, as I was afraid of a tendency toward diarrhea, and I would never make it to the pot on time. I just knew my metabolism was working overtime trying to mend my broken leg and heal my illnesses at the same time. My face has rounded out even more than it was, and my jeans are so tight that that when I get them buttoned, a new roll encircles my middle like a blow-up water floatie. D'ya suppose it was the McDonald's sausage biscuits and hash browns for breakfast, the whole can of Campbell's Chicken & Dumplings soup (so thick you could eat it with a fork, but use a spoon to get every drop) and pickle loaf with pepper jack cheese sandwich at lunch, and the thick crust DiGiorno pizza at dinner, topped off with half a carton of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream just before bedtime? Would that have done it?

I have no self control. I'm wanting to start the Snow Princess by Joan Elliott (love her designs) that San did, and I've already pulled the floss and have been tossing it---think I found the fabric I'll use. Trouble is, I thought of all the things I should have been stitching the last couple of days and couldn't bring myself to put it one stitch in any of 'em. I don't even wanna count how many are awaiting my needle. I'll go back to work on the spring bunny tomorrow.... I guess....sigh.....

Moriah won her game again today, and we came home, ate, and I've already had my 1/2 pint of ice cream. I'm sated, but didn't put in a stitch. Sat right down here at the computer. I missed my computer so much that it's part of the reason I'm getting little else done.

I have no idea who the woman in the mirror is. She has a bag over her head, for heaven's sake!

Morror, mirror, on the wall: why, oh why did I have to fall? I had been working out and losing weight; now a bag on my head has become my fate.

Can't Wait Till Wednesday

because I'll finally be going to the doctor, and I'm hoping I'll walk out without my crutches and be able to put my walking cast (or boot) out on the curb with a sign that says, "Free to a good home with a bad leg." As for the crutches, I nearly lost them at my granddaughter's softball game late this afternoon. While everyone was hissing and booing a bad call by the ref, I was quietly poking the end through the chain link fence and wishing I could stick it up his posterior, but like the lady I am, I pulled it back through and leaned it up against its twin, leaning on the fence. However, I was thinking that thrown correctly, they'd make great missiles. My son-in-law wasn't so quiet about his remark about where he'd like to put his work boot. My granddaughter's high school team won their game, even with ridiculous refereeing. We tried to take pix but were fighting the low sun and couldn't even see through the viewer. If we had known, we could have zoomed in on her and got a good shot. She's the good looking one in green and gold, with hair pulled up in back. She's quite gifted in softball and not only made the high school team as a freshman, but plays for an elite traveling team and has had college scouts already talking to her. We're hoping she gets a ball scholarship.

It turned out to be a very busy day for us, with grocery shopping after realizing we were out of virtually everything we use and eat. Walmart is torn up for remodeling and adding on more space, so shopping is like a war zone without a weapon. It was also my best friend's birthday, so we went to Cracker Barrel and bought the Yankee Candle she was getting high sniffing the last time we all ate there together. I already had her card, so we went to deliver her goodies, and of course, that took longer than we had intended, especially when they started shoving cake, candy, etc. at us. When I came home, all I did was shoot a couple of pix of stash acquired while down & out and a Flip Flops design by Hinzeit for the above granddaughter, Moriah, that I recently put away for a while. Beside it is a cute Bent Creek limited edition kit I stitched up years ago and pulled it out for Easter. It's sitting in a Longaberger basket. I usually take all my pix in my sewing room, as that is where the best light is in the whole house, so I drag everything in there so you can see it, even if that isn't where it was previously.

My Eyes Are Crossed

Have you ever worked so long and hard on something, and on a deadline to boot, that you felt your eyes going blurry and crossing, and you're thinking if you don't stop, no matter what the consequences of not finishing by the deadline, you'd puke all over it? That's what I did today. Well, I didn't puke, but I had to quit before I did.

As I mentioned yesterday, this is the weekend of the 24 Hour Challenge on Becky's Friends Gather BB. I was late in getting it announced and late in getting a start. This little spring bunny is one in a series of the four seasons in bunnies, and I'm doing all of them on one piece of fabric, framed and gifted to a bunny collector friend. I spent all day, and she's only about 50% done when considering her long dress, flowers in the grass, and all the backstitching. I can't, in good conscience, work on anything else till I get this done, no matter how sick I am of it. Then, to think the whole thing is really only 1/4 done. Sigh......

Mostly Talk

I was so surprised to be a winner of a drawing at Shirley's (winners are announced toward the bottom, along with Shirley's choice of designers this month at 40% off, who sells everything at 25% off her listed prices and charges only actual postage. She knows me so well, she knew I would love this pattern, bless her heart. I always give her a plug, though she doesn't even know it. She's as sweet as they come.

I need to have my head examined, blogging as I'm doing at this hour when I'm running a 24 Hour Challenge on the Friends Gather BB the 2nd weekend of every month. It's tons of fun to see what everyone comes up with in their chosen 24 hour period of time.

Ladies, I don't know if I'm going to meet the challenge myself but I'm sure going to give it a try! I picked one that's a bit of a challenge for a quickie, and like a fool, I went along for the fun of buying our granddaughter a beautiful car. She's such a great kid, and she won't turn 16 till next January, but we found just what she wanted with low mileage and in perfect condition at a good price. She has her driver's permit, so she is driving with adults only. Her mother is going to drive it to work and back to save on gas (over her SUV) till Moriah turns 16. It's a black 2001 Grand Am with a spoiler, sun roof, nice sound system, and the works---only 30,000 miles on it---a leased car. She's as happy as a clam, just having it waiting for her. Now I'm thinking of how inept I am, waiting so long to realize (just this morning) this was the Challenge weekend and now thinking I'll be up all night trying to get mine done (didn't get the first stitch in yet), but priceless moments like that with our granddaughter are only once in a lifetime. We kept it a secret, and the moment she saw it, she squealed and laughed in delight. It was worth all our searching for the right one. We all call her the princess, and she revels in it, but she's a hard worker in school and is a gifted softball player on an elite softball team She's only a freshman, but she already has college scouts talking to her.

Changing the subject, I like to read when I'm not buying or fondling stash or stitching it. I had read about a fellow stitcher reading the Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series, and how they were so enjoyable. Anal as I am in reading series in order, I started with the first, 16 Lighthouse Road. I love stories that take place in the ocean or in scenic coastal towns, mostly because I've spent very little time, except a few vacations, near the sea. I live in the flat plains of the Midwest, USA, which is a far cry from coastal areas, although there is a certain mysterious beauty to the black, fertile soil that yields one of the world's most beautiful crops---miles, endless miles of field corn. Reading that first book, when my primary interest in books is historical fiction, mysteries, suspense/thrillers, I thought 16 Lighthouse Road was a "no brainer," just too neat & tidy to suit me, or as I call it, "milk toast," and a reading friend of mine says, "soupy." I had already bought the entire series on half.com where I get used books for a song. I picked up the 204 Rosewood Lane (Grace's address), #2 in the series, and it drew me in. Grace's husband in the first book had mysteriously disappeared after he and Grace had been together for 30 some years, and their oldest daughter had just announced that after years of trying, she was going to make them grandparents. It dawned on me that not everything was so neat & tidy. Just because Grace was making a new life for herself, there was that lingering longing to know what happened to the guy. There were other loose ends when I began thinking of them, and the prologue in the 2nd book started naming off the continuing saga of different characters I had come to know. Damn if I didn't cave and decide to read 'em all after all. I'm going to get to know the whole neighborhood, after all, and I love the names of the addresses: 311 Pelican Court, 44 Cranberry Court, 50 Harbor Point. Books emanate a feeling within the reader, and these books are now what I think of as comfort books, something new to me.

This reminds me that I have tons of sea-related cross stitch patterns, including nearly all the Mirabilia mermaids, but even more of other designers' ocean and seaside designs. Now to do them before I croak.

Oh, and one more line of discussion I wanted to bring up. I've noticed that there are many discerning stitchers who are not tempted by kits. I really, really love 'em, and I'll explain why. I feel I'm pretty discerning too, and my stash is something to behold, which I'm sure is a common denominator among stitching bloggers. Though most of my stash does not consist of kits, it has taken me time and bucks to track down the fabrics and embellishments to do many designs, so I hesitate to say how much my inventory software program tells me I have invested in expensive fibers, etc. It makes me sick to look, so I avoid doing so. Just recently, I have noticed the beauty of some kits, like the Charles Wysocki's kits of his art, which is timeless. I only buy kits I love and are cheap. Guess how long it takes me to track down what I need to do a design I'm in love with? Nada.

Now, I have to get busy, and I'm yawning. Holy cow! Maybe I should do one of those little pillow designs in the "Dear Diary" series by Little House Needleworks instead of the design I planned to do. Help!

More of the Same - So Much Fun!

At left is some progress on a dolphin family kit I'm giving to my granddaughter once finished and framed for her sea-themed bedroom.

I've promised myself "no more kits." Above are the last of my unbelievable bargain kits, one from eBay and two "hot buys" from Herrschner's. I refuse to even look at kits now. I got the 3 latest Stoney Creek mags while sick also. Not much in the first two, but the last has a good array of spring projects.

A Little Progress, A Little Stash

Progress on Country Retreat (very summery) and mostly necessity stash (mostly ;-) acquired while laid up with a broken leg and very ill at the same time. Stash heals, you know.

Stitching Bloggers' Question of the Week

Do you stitch "on the go?" (On the commute to and from work, during your lunch break, waiting for the kids, etc.) If so, do you have a specific "travel" project or do you just grab whatever you happen to be working on and take it with you?

I always take a small project with me, and it's whatever small project I happen to be working on at the time. It's difficult for me to stitch in the car, but when I go to certain doctors where I know I'll wait, I can nearly always get in a few stitches. I hate it when people come over and ask me what I'm working on, and it never fails.

I'm Back and So Glad!

I've graduated to a walking cast and go back next week for an air cast, whatever that is. My grandkids moved all my stuff back downstairs, and I now have access to my sewing room, my PC, instead of that broken down old laptop, and I can get around to take pix with my digital camera, etc. The last two itty bitty things I did I didn't get put on my blog, but I can do that now. I think I'm pretty well caught up reorganizing my stitching and getting into a routine, so I'll be blogging on a regular basis and doing what is normal for me. It has been a long row to hoe, with not just the broken leg, but two illnesses too.

In the next few days, I'll be sprucing up my blog for spring and adding pix of WIPs, etc. And holy cow, I have more stash to add. If I don't quit getting sick, my sewing room is going to be an online shop, and if it doesn't sell, I'm going broke.

Here are the last two little finishes I did for Becky's Friends Gather BB's 24 Hour Challenge: