Year of WIPs??

Well so far, 2012 seems to be the year of the WIP or UFO.  And They Sinned was a WIP and still is.

I'm happy to say I got the tree out of the way.  Now I just have to fill in the leaves and apples, etc.  Ugh.  Why do I like A&Es when I hate stitching trees?  lol!

So far, the tree looks very appropriate for the time of year, yes?  :D

And They Sinned is going slowly.  I seem to have committed to many things this year, so I haven't been able to concentrate on just one project.  I think it's playing with my mind.  

Loraine and I have decided to do an SAL on the Betsy Morgan Toy Chest Etui, another of my WIP/UFOs.  Do you remember that project???   You have to go back all the way to June 2010 to find when I took the class.  That's a long time ago!  Loraine took the class more recently, so hopefully she remembers things better than I do.  I'll be counting on that, Loraine!  

Anyway, we decided to stitch a page a week.  Here is this week's SAL, the needlebook.

Isn't it pretty?  I love the colors!  Betsy says to use just one thread even on the satin stitch.  Makes for a rather sparse look, but Loraine said Betsy likes it that way -- makes it look old and well loved.

Our SAL might be a bit hap hazard for a while since I have to do some model stitching again.  I hope I manage to keep this SAL going!  I'd really love to finish this project!

The boy child had another audition this past weekend.  This time it was for what is probably his first choice in colleges, up in Boston.  Here is a view from the hotel.

Pretty cool, huh?  

The boy child thought he did pretty well at the audition.  Fingers crossed he gets in!

With the chilly weather, Mia has been doing her best to burrow into the warmest places she can find.  She loves piles of the boy child's laundry.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  It always amazes me how many blogging friends I have and how much of a pleasure it is to talk with you all and to meet new blogging friends as well.  I hope everyone has a great week!  If you're in a cold area of the world, follow Mia's lead and stay warm!

PS: Did anyone watch the Australian Open final??  WOW!

First finish, first TUSAL of 2012 -- plus prizes too

Ok, first the first 2012 finish.  Yay!

Sarah Elizabeth Brooke

by The Scarlett House

40ct Homespun (?) linen

Belle Soie as called for

Isn't she gorgeous?

I'm in love with her.  And all the over one words went really quickly for a change!

I also worked on And They Sinned again on Sunday.  Here's where I am now.

Michelle advised me to just work from left to right, top to bottom on those crazy motifs above the tree -- all of which I was dreading stitching.  So armed with that advice, I started.  And it's really helped!  Still a bit more of those motifs in the sky to do.  But then I get to work on A&E and the angel and that tree!

And the craziness in the sky is actually quite pretty.  :D

I'm also posting my first TUSAL of 2012.  Here's where you can sign up if you're interested.  It's fun, and no pressure at all.

My ORTs might look a little funny.  That's because my sweet boy child had a moment of nostalgia and decided to cut all my ORTs into tiny pieces  with my stitching scissors -- just like he  used to when he was younger.  I added a few more ORTs after his snipping session though.  lol!

Oh, and I took the picture of my ORT jar with my new acquisition for the pin cushion collection from Christmas.  Isn't it marvelous?  It's a reproduction of a sewing caddy from a talented artisan named Richard Hyers.  Here is a link to his website.   Oh, and thank you to Dawn for posting about his work so I could discover it!  Dawn's blog is always full of eye candy.

I have received some lovely prizes in the mail recently as well.  First, I won a lovely giveaway from Nicola at Stitching by a Cornish Sea.  By the way, her blog is so worth a visit.  She lives in the most beautiful area and does a lot of gorgeous stitching!  Her ATS is what inspired me to get back to mine.

Anyway, here is the package I got.

And here is the prize in all its glory!

(Sorry for the darkness at the top.)  I got a Love kit from the Historical Sampler Company, Plus a whole lot of goodies to go with it!  Fabric, lace, trims, beads, a pretty note pad -- and I'm very excited about the purse frame that I can make into a purse.  Thank you so much, Nicola!  I love my prize, and I so enjoy reading your blog!

I also got a prize from Lizzie of A House in the Country.

It's a beautiful iPhone case for my iPhone!  Her talented youngest daughter is an artist, and she designed the art on the case.  Isn't it lovely?  Thank you so much, Lizzie!  Now all I have to do is figure out how to take my other case off my iPhone so I can put this one on.  lol!

While I was taking pictures this morning for this post, Mia was watching over the proceedings from above.

She did get distracted though.

Always interesting things out the window.  lol!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I always enjoy our visits.  I hope everyone has a great week!

The fun part

I got over the tedious brickwork on Sarah Elizabeth Brooke.  I'm in the midst of the fun part now.  Yay!

I just love all the motifs on the sides of the house.

I'm still working on the ones on the right side of the house.  Then comes the other stuff -- like the over one words.  Ugh.

I also managed to work a bit on And They Sinned on Sunday.  I'm hoping to manage Sundays on ATS, but I won't show a pic till it's worthwhile.

The drain work is mostly done.  The jack hammering part was just on one day, thankfully.  And they were done with the inside work by the end of the second day.  They are coming back to do the outside piping on an unspecified day, plus they have to install backup batteries for the system.  The electrician is coming tomorrow.  The workers also managed to damage a pipe -- luckily the drain company will pay for the work to fix it.

The basement is a mess -- nothing can be moved back into place against the walls until the cement over the new drains is dry.  It's interesting trying to do the laundry with the washer and dryer in the middle of the room packed in tightly among the other furniture.  I'm hoping we can move things back soon.  I'm also hoping we can manage to do it ourselves!

The boy child had his first audition for a college music program this past weekend.  3 more to go!  Hopefully the weather will cooperate for all of them -- none are close by.  Here is a pic of the boy child warming up for his audition.  He looks so refined, doesn't he?

The boy child also had his winter concert for his non-school orchestra.  It's always so nice to hear some beautiful music from a live orchestra.  Here are a couple of pics.

He is first chair of the bass section, so you can see him on the right there.

Mia has decided it's way too cold for her taste.  When the boy child leaves his winter coat at home, she dives in.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  For those who have Martin Luther King Day off, enjoy the 3 day weekend!  Have a great week, everyone!

Please pardon the brickwork.....

There's a problem with posting every Monday.  Sometimes you end up with a boring post.  I'm afraid this is one of those times.

Yes, I'm afraid And They Sinned got put away for now -- once again I got daunted by the part I was working on and decided not to work on it.  Poor thing.  I know I will get back to it though.

So instead, I pulled out poor Sarah Elizabeth Brooke (The Scarlett House).  Finished all that darned grass.  And now I'm in the throes of lots of brickwork.  Sigh.

I need a good audiobook to keep me going.

My red floss for the bricks doesn't seem to have as much variegation as Tanya's did.  But that's ok.  Oh, and btw, if you go to that link, you will see a small correction to the chart for Sarah.

I hope Tanya doesn't mind.  I really want to show how pretty this piece is.  This is from Tanya's (The Scarlett House) blog.

I will get there someday!

Come the middle of the week, we will be cold and full of awful jackhammering noises in the house.  Yes, we are putting a French drain system in the basement.  Which means jackhammering, possible dust -- but hopefully the dust will stay down in the basement -- and cold (since we can't use the heat while the jackhammering is going on).  I'm so not looking forward to the work, or the expense.  But I am definitely looking forward to no more basement flooding.  Wish us luck!

Here is a pic of Mia.  She has definitely discovered the advantages of down coats.  :D

This time, she went for the boy child's coat.  (Kim, recognize the quilt?  Yes, it's the one I got from you!)

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi!  I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

First post of 2012

I did have one last finish in 2011.  My Quaker Stocking.

Quaker Stocking by CHS

40ct Meadow Rue

NPI fibers plus one rogue green AVAS

I'm glad to have it done.  I'm rather Quaker-ed out stitching wise.

I picked up my And They Sinned after being inspired by Nicola of Stitching by a Cornish Sea.   I was horrified to discover that I was still in the midst of that darned cloud.  lol!  But I managed to finish it, plus the motifs in the cloud as well.

I've decided though, that it's going to take a bit of effort for me to get through the next part of the piece above the tree.  Too busy for me!  lol!  My favorite parts of this piece are farther down.

Our New Years Day always means that it's time to make Chinese dumplings from scratch.  It's a New Year's tradition that goes way back to when I was a little girl.  It's a lot of work, making the skins from scratch, the meat mixture from scratch, and then sitting down to make the dumplings!  But it's also a lot of fun and a great time for the family to sit and talk while our hands are busy making something yummy for our tummies.  :D   

This is the end result.

Yum!!!

So I'm revealing a secret today.  All those pics of the boy child and Mia sleeping together you've seen over the many posts I've made have been on my bed, not his.  Want to see his bed?  You will see why I tend not to take pics of his bed.  lol!

See how well he makes up his bed?  lol!  And yes, he keeps various items on his bed too.  That thing in the foreground is a guitar/bass guitar holder, in case you're wondering.  Mia has been enjoying these lazy Christmas break days with her boy child sleeping in.  :D

I didn't take a single stitch yesterday on New Year's Day.  I hope that's not a bad sign for 2012!  I was thinking about starting a new piece for the day, especially since I plan to take part in BeckySC's 2012 BAP challenge.  But I decided I really need to at least try to finish Sarah Elizabeth Brooke before starting another BAP.  So the challenge will have to wait for now.

One final little thing.  Rose Bowl Parade not on New Year's Day??  Ugh!  And what's with this horrid opening ceremony thing, all commercial and singing and disgusting?  What happened to the plain, simple parade as it was in the old days?  Bleagh!  Ok, I'll settle for a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade with these singing, dancing type pieces.  But please don't make my Rose Bowl Parade like that!  Thank goodness they've started limiting that stuff just to the opening.  Sorry.  I've just been watching the parade since I was little and I miss how it used to be.  (And I was quite surprised to find that I had to wait till today to watch it!)  I even got to go to the parade once for real when I was in elementary school or junior high.  It was fun!  In case you're wondering, they don't do the Rose Bowl on Sundays.  Scares the horses.  :D

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  It's so wonderful to be able to chat with my blogging friends!  I will leave you with another pic of the boy child and Mia.  Mia was cuddling inside the torn bag, before I took this picture.

Have a great week!  And here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012 with lots of stitching!