a late, not so short post.. i'm still here!

hi everyone, just felt the need to post and have my presence noted. hello from this rainy patch of earth in asia!  it's raining even as i write.

it's not been a super stitchy month for me but i've managed to finish stitching a square meant to go in a quilt, for a cancer patient (whew what a long description, there must be a way to say this in a more mellifluous way!).  it's a Madame La Fee floral heart, a freebie actually.  i'm not able to post pictures, which i've been wanting to do, because my camera seems to have given up on me.  it is able to record in video mode, can show my previous photos, but in camera mode, it shows a black screen.  i googled my problem and it seems that maybe my camera's pixels have shorted, blacked out, or just in general given up the ghost.. lol   well, i turned it off then and haven't fiddled with it since, and now i am re charging the batteries, hoping the happening was a fluke.  we'll see, when the battery's been charged and loaded into the camera again. keep your fingers crossed for me, please!

in other news, my lovely stitching friend sent me the out of print and hard to find, BBD Loose Feathers No. 31 "Blessings and Kind Wishes". wasn't that sweet, and super generous of her? i was hunting all over for it to complete the Blackbird Designs Mystery Sampler, and she found it, and gifted me with it.. and it arrived last Thursday!!!  Showing her the BBD Mystery Sampler also made her want her own set, :-)   i must say, i quite enjoy being able to share stitchy news with her.  okay, that's another photo owing...

in a fit of madness, i bought a Bleu de Chine chart "Violets" and got into a whole lot of trouble over paying via PayPal.  don't ask!  although i'll write about it in my next post.  again my friend helped me out with that.  lol   if you ever get the chance, look up the The French Needle website.  if you're tired of the usual designs and charts, mosey along there and you'll be dazzled with what you find.

another extremely kind stitcher helped me with eBay-- purchasing a "Burda International" magazine. i have the magazine (bought all the way back in 1993) , but lost the charts, as the charts were all on 2 pages stapled in the middle of the magazine!  not one of the smartest things in formatting, i have to say.  

i'm thinking that at this point, i really should catalog all my purchases. i hasten to add that most of my purchases have been from fellow stitchers, hence most of these have been at least half price.  i'm excited at the thought of stitching the charts and looking at the fabrics i bought.. some linens at 32, 26 and 40ct, some aida.. they aren't here yet, but if i'm lucky they'll be here by Christmas.  how's that for something to look forward to?

August has, in the past 5 years, not been a good month..here's hoping we get through it unscathed..

anyway, wherever you are.. i hope the month of August is being kind to you!  Blessings and Kind Wishes to you! :-)

Heart

I've been stitching up a heart from Madame la Fee (it's a freebie, quick go to her site and look!), for a kind stitcher to incorporate into a quilt for a cancer survivor, who is also a stitcher. "C" -- Been there, don't want to do that again!  but of course very willing to bring joy to a fellow stitcher.

This is how it looked the other day:

This is how it looks now (so sorry, it's a very overcast Saturday.. but you might be able to see the flower top left that makes up the outline for the left side of the heart). I hope to finish the left side this weekend; it's all solid stitching:

I must say, I think this is the fastest I've stitched out of panic, because I have to mail this off before the end of July.. the bumble bees remind me of my younger brother, his birthday is end of July, but he's gone.. suddenly, unexpectedly, 5 years this August.  He used "bumble bee" as a term of endearment for his son,  my nephew.  He and I used to fight a lot as kids but I like to think we were getting a little closer as adults, at least I was hoping to be as we grew older  :(

Brother, I hope you know that you were/are loved .

11 questions.. down to 10 =)

I was tagged by Ms.Linda Lee of CrossN My Stitches, whose blog I am a follower of... a game of 11 questions for stitcher-bloggers, and a way to get to know them better.  I will answer the ones she sent me, then I get to come up with 11 of my own, to send to another 11 bloggers (yikes, I'm sure I don't know that many !)

1. How many years have you been stitching? Counting sporadic stitching episodes from grade school, it would be 25!

2. Name one piece on your wish list. Um.. right now it would be Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers No. 31, Blessings and Kind Wishes. Pretty! And hard to find.

3. Would you rather receive floss or fabric as a gift? Floss, but only if it's fancy.. I'd love to try HDF and WDW! If not, I'd rather have fabric. There's not much here but Aida.

4. Do you have a LNS within a 50 mile radius from your home? Yes, but nothing fancy.. it's now called a Yarn Shop! it's more a hobbyist's store than a LNS.

5. How many pieces have you got going right now? Five! one a work in very slow progress by Whimsey and Wit, my Peaches chart (a companion to a Plums chart I completed years ago), a small kit from Dimensions, a little herb kit from Cross My Heart.

6. Why do you enjoy cross stitching? The way you can make a pretty picture by your stitching.. and the pride you feel when you can say “I did that!”

7. Do you have a special chair that you use for stitching? No, but I wish I did! It would be something you could sink in, but have steady arms for balancing the stitching if needed!

8. Have you ever taught anyone to stitch? Yes, 2 of my nieces. One tried it and likes it but she hasn't got the concept of stitching completely in her mind , and the other one likes it – I'll be sending her a kit to sew!

9. Do you knot your threads on the back of your stitching? No, they go under.

10. When you plan a trip, do you look up needle shops on the routes before you leave? There's not a lot of LNSs.. but when I am in a mall I always check to see if there might be one!

11. How often do you take your needlework with you? 90% of the time, I bring it along. It's always nice to get a few stitches in and know that I'm progressing with my stitching,

Okay... I am tapping Joyce of Random Ramblings and Cindy of After the Storm.. and trimming the questions to 10!  

1. What was your first stitched piece?
2. Who (or what) first got you started on stitching?
3. Where do you usually buy your stash?
4. Who are your top 3 favorite designers?
5. What are the top 3 items on your wishlist?
6. How long do you stitch?
7. What are you working on right now?
8. How old is your oldest WIP?
9. Do you use any special tool in your stitching? If so, what is it?
10. Please share any special lesson you've learned from stitching (or stitchers)?  

Have a great day, y'all!

Milly's Giveaway

Hi all!  Please head on over to Milly's and take a look at all the stitching and crafting goodness she has going on..with furbabies, too!  The link to her is on the left (thought I'd revive the Giveaway Goings on heading!)

Happy Saturday!

What I've been up to

What I've been busy with..

the little dears - nephew and niece; my brother's children who I love to bits.

this arrived in the post - stitchy goodness from Cecilia's - Blackbird Designs' Loose Feathers No. 30 and 32; Rites of Spring and Beyond My Heart.  Made it safely here from 8,000plus miles away with $3.45 postage.  First time I've tried ordering and having it mailed direct. It took 2.5 weeks with a few days at the post office where they made a notice to me to pick it up.  Not bad!  Now I know it's a mix of frugality and lack of funds that's keeping me from ordering more.  :)

I just paid $7 in gcs to a lady on the 123 message board for 2 more BBDs that make up the Mystery Sampler.  I hope she checks her mail - she never replied to my last question 5 days ago about the Peacock Pinkeep!

Herb kit from Cross My Heart which my niece and I started stitching while she was here.. she forgot to pack it with her and only remembered at the airport. She wants to use it as a cellphone pouch.  It even has beads!  The other needle has gone missing, it's the one for sewing with the blunt end. Uh oh. Must ask her if she remembers where she put it!

Nope, I have no pic to post from the Advent Alphabet.. it's gone missing; I'm sure it will turn up again soon.  Too bad, as I'd put in more stitches!  No work being done either on the Peaches WIP.

Have a lovely week, all!

Sharing a blogworld giveaway from Crossn My Stitches

Ms. Linda-Lee of Crossn My Stitches has a giveaway going on on her blog.. lovely floss and some charts... check it out, and while you're at it enjoy her beautiful finishes!

http://lindalees-crossnmystitches.blogspot.com/

Have a lovely day!

Pluses and minuses

Heigh ho, another Monday.. I've heard that statistics say Monday is the most common day for heart attacks as well as the most favored day for self-destruction.  What is it about Mondays?  People say "Monday morning blues"... Why aren't Mondays viewed as the start of a beautiful week instead?

Okay okay okay... enough of that claptrap!  It's the start of another work week and that's why people hate Mondays.  I can totally relate, today.. I make an effort to go to work despite this cold I have (I'm on medication already) but it is a different type of cold in that it's mostly cough.  It sounds much worse than it is -- I'm not coughing as hard or as often (mouth covered with a hanky or tissue of course) -- as I was last Friday.  But lo and behold, here are all these people -- well, 3 actually -- afraid I'll spread the germs... I feel like a  walking germ  :(  Well if I'm still infectious then why the heck does Medical give the all-clear and let me report for work??   Sorry for that but I'm seriously annoyed.

On the plus side.. I've managed to start a new square in the Advent Alphabet - F, for fireplace!  What an achievement as I didn't even know when I would be touching that piece again!  But that Prairie Schooler angel ornament did the trick and I am quite back into the groove. I did the angel's hands and mouth so now she looks more like the Just Cross Stitch ornament 2011 pic.   I'd even be happily absent a day just so I could do more stitching, except I have an errand to do for my mom tomorrow.. so I'm off to work again later (oh my gosh is it really Later already????)

Another plus is my nephew and niece are here - that is, I think they arrived today.  They're staying with their maternal relatives for half their vacation and the other half with us - only it's not our turn yet.  No message yet from either of them, or from my SIL to my mom.  Hopefully they're here and safe.

I sound cranky -- I am! I don't like Mondays.  Picture update to come later this morning of the PLUS side to the Monday (Whoa.. I even sound cranky about something positive!)  LOL