BW's Stitches and Things

More Issues

2009-04-11T13:19:00.002-05:00

Well, they aren't computer issues this time. I swear, it never rains but it pours.

Thursday I had to have my grandmother transported to the hospital. She seemed to be having problems breathing and she wasn't coherent. When we got to the hospital, we found she was covered head to toe in a very itchy rash.

She is doing better. Apparently, the mental confusion was most likely attributed to a low sodium count. We still do not know what caused the rash. She has no memory of the past few days, but she is able to carry on a conversation now. They have her on a sodium drip and a potassium drip. Her sodium levels are coming back up. I'm hopeful that things are going to go back to normal.

She is 80, but is usually sharp as a tack. Her sister has come up from Texas to help care for her. I'm not sure when she is going to get out of the hospital. The rash is still there, but at least now, she is not is such discomfort that she moans whenever she breathes. She says she was never in pain though. When I saw her today, she said she never realized that she was moaning with each breath.

It has been hard to see her like this. This woman raised me for most of my childhood and I can only remember her being sick two times. Once was when she had shingles, and the other I'm not sure what. But I remember her laying on the couch with the lights out and a trash can by her head.

The hardest part of this was when she was still confused. She knew who I was and her son Kevan. But she didn't know that her husband had passed on 1 1/2 years ago. She didn't know the year, but she knew what hospital she was in. She couldn't remember that I called an ambulance for her. She had no memory of driving herself to urgent care that morning. Seeing her like that was hard on me and I'm really glad that part is mostly over. I can handle the slips in memory that she is having now.

She was our babysitter for Alex on the weekends when both Steve and I worked. Right now, I'm not sure what is going to happen there. :( We'll make do best we can, I guess. You gotta do whatcha gotta do I guess.

Back

2009-04-07T16:51:00.002-05:00

I'm back....Computer is still downloading 5000+ emails and I'm off to work.

I hope to have a chance tonight to catch up on emails and to post a longer update. :)

Hope everyone is doing well and nothing too bad has happened this past month.

Absence

2009-03-10T16:38:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that I will not be online very much for the near future. My computer died and I have to wait to get it fixed. I don't even know what is wrong with it yet. I'm hoping that it is something simple.

My access to my email is limited, so do not worry if I don't respond to emails...I probably missed it in the unsorted mess that is my online mailbox, or I just haven't gotten online.

I am not going to try and keep up with my Yahoo groups while my puter is down. I would appreciate it if anyone who is in my groups reads this, if the would pass along the information for me.

In other news, I had a good birthday yesterday. We went and saw Watchmen. It was about a B for me. Maybe a B-. On Sunday, Steve took me out for dinner. I hadn't had much sleep and almost fell asleep in the restaurant after I ate. LOL

Hope all is well with all of you!

RR Send Off

2009-03-02T09:31:00.002-06:00

I sent my RR out on Friday. This is what it looked like.

When it comes back to me, it will be almost done. It is kind of sad parting with it. But I can't wait to see all the others that I will be working on. If I remember correctly, there are eighteen of us ladies working this one. Mailing twice a month means that we should be done around the end of the year. Perfect timing, I think. :)

Help Me Grow My Dragons!

2009-02-16T16:48:00.003-06:00

I have several dragon eggs that need hatching and they need your help! Please click on each one to help it hatch and grow!

Thank you so much!

RR Progress

2009-02-16T01:26:00.003-06:00

This is a very quick post to show the progress on my CHS Friendship Sampler RR. I've gotten the center heart (where the picture shows a lock of hair) and part of the heart above it done.

The floss is showing up a bit brighter than it really is. I think it is the light from the scanner. I think I am going to get as many un-named hearts done as I can before I have to send mine on.

Let me know what you think of the colors in the purple heart.

Friendship RR

2009-02-12T14:51:00.004-06:00

I recently joined a Round Robin. We are doing Carriage House Samplings Friendship Sampler.

The model is done on 40 ct. I dyed my own 28 ct. I (as well as others in the RR) have decided to use my own colors. I am using Vikki Clayton HDF silk that I will send along with my fabric. I've done a floss toss to see how things look. Please be honest with me and let me know what you think about the color combinations.

Obviously, I've gone with blues, purples, and greens. I love that combination of colors. :) I have a few alternate colors that could be used instead of those.

I really like the one in the center, Blackberry. But its variegation has a lot of pink in it, I wasn't sure how that would work. The Earth Dragon has a lot of yellow, so the same applies. But I think Acts of Violets could work in there somewhere if something else didn't work well.

I had been planning on using regular old DMC threads, but something wonderful happened! I won a $20 gift card to HDF through my stitchingbloggers yahoo group. They usually have a contest every month or so. The one from January was a monochromatic design, and my fob that I sent to Monique won! YAY!!! So then I could get my HDF!!!

I got all the above plus I picked up a detritus bag. Look what I got for $8!

Vikki describes the detritus bag as "25 skeins floss, reg/premium mix "junk", mislabel, misdyes, unmatchable, my choice of colors". I took a quick look through mine and mine is all regular, but the colors are amazing! Who cares if they are the cast offs? They will be great in all the smalls I am planning on doing. :)

Once again, PLEASE let me know what you think of the floss toss. I plan on starting mine next Friday and I'd like to have all the colors ready to go.

Stitchy Update

2009-02-06T22:52:00.002-06:00

I have two finishes. Both are from the Oak Haven January SAL. I finished February and March.

Oak Haven January SAL
February
DMC

I changed the color layout just a bit. Just moved a couple around is all. I made one of the small hearts in Mill Hill beads and I satin stitched the inside of the middle heart.

Oak Haven January SAL
March
DMC

This one I pretty much left the same. The only thing I did with this one was I did the face, hands, and feet over 1.

I've got a quick WIP going, but I can't show it. It is a gift for someone who reads my blog. :D I really hope they like it.

Tonight I did a bit of fabric dyeing. I got three pieces done. One is for a RR I am in and the others were for fun.

This is the one for my Round Robin. It is a two tone piece. The bottom is a light gray and the top layer is a blue-gray.

This was one I did for fun. It is another two-tone piece. The bottom one is light blue and the top tone is red. The blue doesn't show up too well on the scan though. :(

This was another fun piece. Single tone, just double dyed. I dyed it in gray and then re-wadded it and dyed it again.

A Long Update with a LOT of Ice

2009-02-06T20:06:00.002-06:00

Things went a little haywire for me starting on Monday Jan 26.

That night we had the beginnings of one of the worst winter storms to hit my part of Missouri in years. The freezing rain and ice continued on into Tuesday and Tuesday night. I lost power at my house Tuesday afternoon about 3:00. Just an idea how badly the area got hit...I didn't get power back at my house until Monday February 2. 6 Days! I have pictures of some of the ice but I can't access them right now. Later I will update this post with pictures.

The ice was up to 4 inches thick on the power lines. Those came down pretty easily. And so did the poles. :( So did the trees. I remember sitting in my dark house with umpteen candles lit listening to the trees break all over the neighborhood. By the time Steve got home, I was real good at guessing which house just lost another part of their tree.

I was lucky in the candle department. This summer I was at a going out of business auction. I ended up buying over 200 taper candles for $7. I had about a dozen tapers going just in the living room alone. I easily had enough light to read by and even stitch by.

That night we stayed in our house even though the house was down to about 55 degrees. The next night and through Sunday night, we spent at my grandmother's house where Alex is staying. She has a gas heater in the family room that we turned up. After closing off unnecessary rooms, we were able to keep the house at about 70. Much better! Especially since our house was down to a balmy 42. It was cold enough we kept the groceries outside so they would last longer.

Steve and I finally were able to track down a small one burner Coleman stove and propane for it so Gwen (grandmother) could cook up hot food for Alex. There were several restaurants open in town after a day or so. Steve and I were able to grab something to eat. The town was under (and may still be) a curfew. It started at 10pm and ended at 6 am. It was a way to help curb crime and to keep people off the roads so the workmen could work without having to worry about the cars.

We had linemen from all over the country here to help out. (If any of you know a lineman, give him a big hug and kiss for me. Even if he didn't come here, he has probably gone somewhere similar to help out. He deserves a lot.)

Arkansas and Kentucky made more news than Missouri did. They had more areas get hit hard. But the bootheel of Missouri got hit hard, too. There are areas farther south from me who still do not have power and are not likely to for some weeks.

I was told by a lineman working in the Parma area that the electric company had 156 poles there. Only 5 of those poles were left standing after the storm. I think they are talking the end of February for all those folks to have power back.

Luckily, we haven't had any real bad damage from the storm. Some of the fence is down, but the roof is fine we think. The cleanup is going to be the real pisser.

In other news, I had my eye surgery on Tuesday. That is the weirdest thing. I laid there with my eye held open and never moved my head even though it wasn't held down. I have bruises on the backs of my hands where I had them clasped together so hard, though. Like I told the nurse right before we began. I am fine psychologically, but emotionally I keep doing the willies. Just having someone mess with my eye while I am awake and watching. It still gives me the willies. LOL

I have a soft contact lens covering the location he scraped. I'll go back in on Monday and have that removed and an exam to make sure everything is going as it should. I've got all sorts of eye drops I have to use. An anti-biotic, a steroid, and saline drops. I've gotten a headache several times right above my right eye that I think is from my eye doing funny things.

I am a little worried about the smoke at the boat tonight. It is my first night back to work and I don't know how my eye will react. Guess we will just have to wait and see.

Going Under the Knife

2009-01-26T21:45:00.003-06:00

I went to the eye doctor today. Things ended up a little differently than I thought they would. Let's go back to the beginning.

I went to my regular eye doctor for my yearly exam. He saw something, but wasn't sure what it was. He thought it might be an infection, so I used ointment in my eye for a week and then went back. (Eye ointment is very messy. I ended up with what felt like an oil slick all down the right side of my face from it. Nasty! Yuck!) Nothing had changed. :( So he referred me to a specialist in a nearby town. That appointment was today and confirmed what my regular doctor thought.

I have an Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy, otherwise known as a map dot fingerprint dystrophy, in my right eye. It's placement is almost right over my pupil. I will have surgery on Tuesday Feb 3 to have it removed. It is a simple in room surgery. Just some numbing drops in my eye and then the scraping. I don't think it will take 15 minutes once he walks in the room. LOL

Steve got his work schedule changed so he can stay home with me that day. I'm glad, because I really don't think I am going to feel like doing anything. Lucky for me, I had already taken that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off (with pay) for a little mini vacation.

Any thoughts and well wishes would be greatly appreciated and welcomed.

If you want to know more about map dot fingerprint dystrophy, you can find some here.

Scissor Fob for Monique

2009-01-20T15:15:00.004-06:00

Monique received her scissor fob today that I stitched for her for the Tiny Treasures exchange, so now I can post a picture of it.

September 2007 Freebie
Ink Circles
Stitched over 1 on 32 ct
using GAST Midnight

I'm rather proud of this one. I thought about keeping it for myself and stitching another one I liked it so much. LOL

Another Finish and Other Stuff

2009-01-20T14:41:00.004-06:00

Sunday I finished Glitter Gulch's A House Without Books. I really enjoyed this stitch. Mainly because I totally agree with the sentiment behind it. :)

A House Without Books
Glitter Gulch
Stitched on 28ct Antique White
using recommended DMC threads

I'm not sure how I am going to finish this piece yet. The pattern included three large buttons to use in the finishing. They recommended finishing it as a bell pull. For now, it is going in my finishes pile until I decide what to do with it.

I picked up the latest copy of Just Cross Stitch and found a band sampler I actually like. I was hoping to show you a picture of it, but JCS doesn't have their newest issue online yet. It is the one on the cover. I've never been one for band samplers, but for some reason this one just spoke out to me. Of course I'm probably going to play with the colors a little bit. LOL Right now, the colors are just a bit too "candy" for me. I'm thinking of using blues, greens, and purples in it. Love that combination! I'll probably do it on one of the pieces I've already got dyed. I'm thinking of doing it on one of the dark purple pieces.

Oak Haven Designs SAL

2009-01-17T23:40:00.003-06:00

I joined Oak Haven Designs newest SAL a few months ago. Tonia sent out the first part of it and I finished it tonight.

This stitched up really quickly for me. I am looking forward to the rest of the SAL. If I remember correctly, we will get the newest piece after we post or email Tonia a picture of each months finish.

I am stitching this with the recommended DMC on a piece of the fabric I dyed when I was in Georgia visiting my mom.

Use One Word Only!

2009-01-11T13:19:00.001-06:00

Subject: USING ONLY ONE WORD

Not as easy as you might think. Now copy or forward, change the answers to

suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Be

sure to send back to the person you received it from!

1. Where is your cell phone? Bra

2.Your significant other? Steve

3.Your hair? Auburn

4. Your mother? Debra

5.Your father? Allan

6.Your favorite thing? Reading

7. Your dream last night? None

8. Your favorite drink? Pepsi

9. Your dream/goal? SAHM

10. What Room you are in? Library

11. Your fear? Ridicule

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home

13. Where were you last night? Work

14.Something that you aren't? Organized

15. Muffins? Blueberry

16. Wish list item? Money

17. Where you grew up? Matthews

8. Last thing you did? Sleep

19. What are you wearing? PJs

20. Your TV on? No

21. Your pets? Crazy

22. Friends? Few

23. Your life? working

24. Your mood? Resigned

25. Missing someone? Yes

26. Your car? Civic

27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes

28. Your favorite store? Book

29. Your favorite color? Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? Morning

34. Last time you cried? fortnight

35. Who will resend this? unknown

A) Four places that I go to over and over: work, home, Matthews, restaurant

B)Biggest complaint? weight

C) My favorite place to eat: Anywhere

D Four places you'd rather be? Atlanta, Minnesota, Chattanooga, Anywhere

E) Four people I think will respond? Unknown

F) Four TV shows I watch all the time? NCIS, CSI, CSI: NY, GoodEats

A House Without Books

2009-01-06T10:41:00.004-06:00

Hello. My name is BW and I'm a serial starter.

LOL

Yes, I started a new pattern. It is one my mother and I picked up when I was in Georgia.

Glitter Gulch Needleworks
A House Without Books

I would be a lot farther than I am now if the dreaded frog hadn't come visiting. I really don't remember inviting him, but he sure showed up.

I ended up frogging all the blue on the right hand side because I skipped a row in the top panel. I didn't notice it until I finished the blue on the right and then started on the left. Hello froggie! That put me a few hours behind. Not sure when I will get it finished. I am hoping to be able to work on it on Thursday.

I took Thursday off from work this week. Ended up calling in Saturday night, too. I think between the holidays and the funky schedule I just really needed a break. Wish I could take nice month long vacation, but that isn't going to happen any time soon! LOL

Fabric Dyeing

2009-01-05T05:24:00.001-06:00

When I was in Georgia visiting my mom she taught me how to dye fabric. I posted my results on here and several of you wanted the directions for it. Here are the directions my mom sent me.

Hand Dying Fabric

1. Cut fabric to desired size and zigzag the edges (you don’t have to, but you’ll have lots of “strings” if you don’t)
2. Put a large pot of water on the stove to heat to not quite boiling (Make sure this is an old pot that you aren’t going to use for cooking anymore and that it is deep enough your fabric will be submerged)
3. Wash your fabric to remove the sizing (sizing will prevent the fabric from absorbing the dye good)
4. Once the water is hot, add dye. (I use Liquid Rit Dye and add only a little bit at a time until I get the shade I want.)
5. With the fabric wet, wad it into a ball and drop into dye (having it wadded up is what gives it that marbled look)
6. How long you leave it in the dye mixture depends on how dark you want your finished piece. I leave mine 3 minutes at first.
7. Remove the fabric from the dye and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear.
8. If it looks like what you want, go to your ironing board and iron your piece completely dry (ironing is what sets the dye into the fabric permanently)
9. If you’ve got too many light and dark spots or it isn’t as dark as you want, wad it back up into a ball and drop it into the dye for another minute or three
10. Keep doing the dye and rinse until you have what you want.

I have never had any problem with the fabric dye job fading when I’ve washed a completed piece, but admit I’ve been extremely cautious and always, always used cold water to wash dyed pieces.

It isn’t hard to dye your fabric, but it can be time consuming so make sure you have plenty of free time to work on this especially the first few times you do it until you get a routine down. This was a learning experience for me and the first 2 pieces I did came out almost a solid color but I didn’t give up and finally got the result I was looking for. If you live close to a fabric store that sells evenweave or aida by the yard then this can save you quite a bit of money when you want that extra special look hand dyed fabric gives a piece. You’d be surprised how many projects you can get from 1 yard of fabric.

January '09 Goals

2009-01-01T14:38:00.002-06:00

Many are posting goals for the new year. I don't think I can do that. I think I would drive myself nuts with it and feeling bad if I didn't make my goals. That said, I think I am going to try and do monthly goals.

January '09
1) Tiny Treasures Scissor Fob (already done)
2) Finish Bushel and a Peck
3) Work on BRD's A Little Quakeresque

I know that there aren't a lot of goals there. But, I really only get to stitch on the weekends. Bushel had a take a short break from for the Tiny Treasures fob. Since that is done, I will be able to devote my time to Bushel again. I really don't have much left on it. I'm not sure if I'm going to do the border or not. I'm saving it for last, so I'll be able to see what it looks like without it. I really think I'll be able to get it done in a couple of weekends.

ALQ has been waiting and waiting for me. If I am able to finish Bushel, I am going to go back to ALQ. I've been working on it since July and I would really like to finish it. For a while I just seemed to lose interest in it. But since it is almost half finished, I really need to finish it.

She's Up and Going!

2008-12-31T04:09:00.002-06:00

YAY!!

My mom finally has her blog up and running. She only has the first post up...and no pictures :((, but I am sure those will come in time. Please check her out! When she does get the pictures up, you'll see just what beautiful work she does. She does have a couple of links on the side that will take you to recent finishes. You'll find her at A Cross Stitch Nut

Two Weeks!?!

2008-12-29T09:31:00.003-06:00

It's been over two weeks since my last post. Where has the time gone? I haven't done much stitching, and what I have done is for the Tiny Treasures exchange. So, it looks like I can' t post that one right now.

The holiday went really well. Except for the part where we had to have it at Granny's...but that is a whole 'nother story. Alex got LOTS of stuff. I don't have the pictures yet, but when I do, I'll post them.

Steve got me an electric kettle, Bye Bye Birdie on DVD, and a subscription to The Gift of Stitching online magazine. I'm really looking forward to getting my first issue.

I posted photos of my fabric dyeing experiment earlier. Now, you can see a few skeins of the thread I have done. These were done, just playing around.

Right now, I'm not sure what I am going to do with these. I am thinking about using them as give-aways, but I don't know if anyone is interested in them or not. I have a few others, but I haven't scanned them yet. If I find that people want them, I'll scan the other skeins I did so folks will have a choice.

Bushel Update

2008-12-13T09:40:00.004-06:00

While I didn't get to stitch for six hours like I'd planned, I did get in quite a few before I just got too tired to stitch. I probably got somewhere between three and four hours. I was able to get in a couple more flowers and couple of curly-cues. I did end up frogging a little, too. I had to frog some of the main stem. I'd missed a little jog in the pattern and it put me off about eight stitches or so. :( It wasn't a lot of frogging, but that is what I ended my night on.

I'm hoping that two or three more weekends stitching will have it done. It moves along rather quickly.

After I finish this, I get to start a BAP. I haven't decided exactly which one. It will either be:

Passione Ricamo

My Lady of the Snow

My Big Toe Designs

1 Corinthians

I really like both pieces. Some of the ILCS members are going to be doing a Ricamo SAL and I'd like to join that. I would also like to have the MBT done before my next wedding anniversary. Although to be perfectly honest, even if I started today I doubt that would happen. LOL

I have an idea for the fabric for each of them, but I'll have to see how it pans out before I say anything.

Car Wreck

2008-12-12T16:03:00.003-06:00

Well, I'd been having fun in Atlanta. Now things have gotten interesting.

I was visiting my mom at her job close to downtown Atlanta today. For some reason she wanted to show me off. LOL I wanted to see where she worked. I left there just after 230. I ran down, grabbed 75S to 20W and was heading back to the house.

I was in the next to last left lane. The cars in the far left lane began to slow down quick. Traffic was there, but it wasn't horrible yet. Everyone was moving at a steady clip, so I knew something was up. The third car had to slam on their brakes to stop. I could see the smoke coming out from the car it was stopping so hard. (A lot of this happens so fast I'm amazed I can break it back down.) I could see they were having a hard time controlling the car. I looked back to see if I could move over to the right. There was a break and I started to change lanes. About that time the other car hit me.

Luckily, traffic wasn't too bad. The wreck ended up being just us two cars. It could have been a LOT worse. We were lucky. Neither of us were hurt. The damage to the car isn't too bad. It is still drivable. Thankfully! Especially since I am supposed to head back to Missouri tomorrow. My hubcap got ripped off. You can still see part of it hanging on to the tire.

Dyed Fabby

2008-12-12T08:30:00.004-06:00

Just an FYI. This entry will be a little picture heavy and word light. :D

This is a close up of one of my purple pieces.

One of the purple pieces

Another purple

Another purple LOL

This is probably my favorite piece. It is a dark dark purple. The striping in it reminds me of a tree trunk. It makes me think of a forest.

Dark Purple

This is the first piece I did and it is blue. Well, Mom did most of it to show me how to do the rest. The shadow that you see is Mom's cat Domino. He wanted to share my sunlight. Actually he got on to me for "taking" HIS sunlight. :D

That's about it. I just wanted y'all to see the pretties that I made. And that I think I am WAY too proud of.

Having a Great Time

2008-12-11T20:44:00.004-06:00

Today was spent at a not quite local LNS. My mom and I took a road trip about 2 1/2 hours away to The Dogwood Patch in Hiawassee, GA. They had a little stitch in there and we met a great bunch of ladies. I was able to get a little bit of work done on Bushel. I'm almost all done with the green. The longest part will be the border. I'm hoping to get all of it but that done while I'm down here. Every Friday my mom takes part in a stitch-a-long from 6 pm to midnight. And I'm going to join her tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers that I get as much done as I want to.

I also promised that I would post photos of my dye job yesterday. I've only got one piece scanned. The other are really too big for the scanner. The lighting has been horrible, so I haven't borrowed Mom's camera to take a picture. Maybe I'll get photos of the other pieces before I leave.

This is the piece that started out blue and I then put purple over it. The purple really isn't as strong as the scanner is showing it. I already have plans for this piece. It is on the smaller side and I think I am going to send this one out to someone who did me a good turn. All I have to do know is get their snail addy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

OOOH! Pretty!

2008-12-10T15:54:00.002-06:00

I don't have any pictures yet, but I hope to soon.

I've spent today dyeing my first fabric. :) And to be honest, I am probably way more proud of the pieces than they deserve. LOL

My mom taught me how to do it and I have ended up with a total of six pieces. One of them I REALLY like.

We started out with blue for two pieces, then I added purple to it and dyed two more. I also used that color over the top of one of the blue pieces. I didn't leave it in the dye very long, so there is only a hint of purple it. For the last two pieces I added black to the purple. Those two are my favorites.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures either tomorrow or Friday.

I also tried dyeing a couple of skeins of floss. They aren't dry yet, so I am not sure how they are going to look. They are both light in color. I should have left them in the dye for a longer period of time. :( We'll see. :D

Everything else on the vacation front is good except for the weather. Things here are warm, but overcast and rainy. Even had some tornado watches today. And tomorrow is a wind advisory...my favorite. :( Thankfully Mom is going to drive on our road trip. I can't stand driving in the wind. Anything!!! but that.

Bushel Update

2008-12-08T08:16:00.002-06:00

I thought I would post a quick update on Bushel before I left to visit my mom. I'm hoping to hit the road in about 3 hours. I've got an appointment before I leave town, so that may slow me up a little. :(

I have a small error in counting in the long stem on the left. It's only off one, but it messed up the flower petal. So, I think my first order of business when I get to Atlanta will be to frog the little bit of flower you see on the left hand side.

The stitching is still moving along at a decent rate. I'm not a fast stitcher by any stretch of the imagination. And when you combine that with watching a movie...I think I move quite slow.

The thumb isn't 100% yet, but I'd give it about 90%. I seem to be doing fine holding my qsnaps. No pain and it is getting better, so I must not be hurting it. I know that I will benefit from not working the next 9 days. Vacations are a wonderfully mentally relaxing time...if I get to do it my way. ;)

Tiny Treasures

2008-12-08T07:11:00.004-06:00

I don't know why I haven't mentioned it yet, but I have joined Tiny Treasures Exchange Blog. I've never been a member of an exchange blog before and I am really looking forward to this one. :) This exchange blog focuses on finishing smalls like fobs, biscornus, and pinkeeps. I think that this will be perfect for me. It will give me the boost from finishing that I love, plus I get to stitch for someone else on a deadline. That way I will actually finish what I start. (I have a confession to make. I'm a serial starter. Shhh! Don't tell anyone! LOL )

I got a neat little package from Down Sunshine Lane that I think I'll be able to use for some of the exchanges. It was a package of 10 small cuts of fabby for $10. They are all about 5x5. You get your choice of aida or linen. I really like using DSL for my needs. The customer service there is excellent. Any email I've sent them has been answered in less than 24 hours, usually much sooner! They will also help you kit up any pattern they have available. A great service for me since I don't have a LNS. Okay, I'll stop my commercial now. :D

Bushel and a Peck - La D Da

2008-12-05T16:47:00.003-06:00

I didn't think I was going to be able to start on Bushel until I got to Atlanta for my vacation. However, I finished Alex's ornament and just couldn't wait to pick it up. I was able to get some done before my thumb just gave out on me. :(

I had to stitch Alex's ornament in hand, and my thumb is killing me from the way I was holding the plastic canvas. Guess I was doing something wrong there. The thumb is still bothering me and I haven't been able to pick up any stitching since. I'm hoping to try today, but I'll be honest. I'm not very hopeful.

Below, you will see the first pictures of my progress. I've actually gotten just a little bit further, but not very much. I am loving stitching with the Vikki Clayton/HDF silk. It just feels yummy! LOL The linen is also a Vikki Clayton/HDF dye piece. And everything is looking so nice together.

Progress on:
Bushel and a Peck
La D Da Designs
Converted to:
Vikki Clayton/HDF silks

Mom has asked me to help her set up a blog while I am down there. I am hoping that we will be able to do it. She does some of the most amazing stitching. I'd love for everyone to be able to see it. :D

I plan to post pictures of my progress while I'm down there. But, we all know how plans can go awry. ;)

Update

2008-11-26T15:14:00.002-06:00

I know that there hasn't been much stitching related stuff on here lately. Hopefully, I'll be able to rectify that soon. I haven't been stitch much while I wait for the fabby and floss for my memorial to my granddad to come in. It took 2 1/2 weeks for HDF (Vikki Clayton) to ship, but they were very up front about how much they had sold (oversold) during the sale. I got notice that they shipped yesterday, so now I am on pins and needles waiting for it to get here. It looks like I'll be taking it on vacation with me. His birthday would have been Monday. It was a little hard for me, but Saturday (the first anniversary of his death) will be harder still.

The only stitching things I've been working on are smalls. I've got one scissor fob I've started that had to take a backseat to an ornament. The ornament is for Alex to put on the tree and I don't know if I'm going to get it finished in time :((

I am looking forward to my vacation. I am going to visit my mom outside Atlanta and have some mother/daughter time with her. We were down there in July, but didn't get a lot of alone time together.

Bookworm Award

2008-11-26T02:54:00.005-06:00

I saw this on Lelia's blog and since she offered it to everyone, I felt I had to grab it. I mean, come on, BW stands for Book Worm! Have you seen my tattoo??

The rules for this Bookworm Award award are: Open the book closest to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, and turn to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that. And pass the award on to five blogging friends.

And so, the book closest to me at this time is Hot Blood anthology. Hubby bought it for me and I haven't picked it up to read yet.

"Had never been to Louisiana, even. Of that he was glad; the wet August heat down here was enough to roast toadfrogs. But he liked the French Quarter all right, with its racy nightclubs and strippers who watched themselves in full-length mirrors. A man could get in trouble down here, if he had the right equipment. If he had the devil-may-care attitude. If he dared."

Blog Update

2008-11-24T18:44:00.003-06:00

Well, I've updated my blog with a more seasonal appropriate theme.

I love the girl in the picture. My hair is almost that color now. :D I think that is part of what drew me to it.

I found the template at Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates, She has some amazing templates to choose from.

Let me know what you think of the updated look.

Birthday Calculator, What's in a Name?

2008-11-21T18:44:00.003-06:00

I saw that Velda had done this. I loved it and had to do it too.

Birthday Calculator

9 March 1978

Your date of conception was on or about 16 June 1977 which was a Thursday.

You were born on a Thursday
under the astrological sign Pisces.
Your Life path number is 1.

Your fortune cookie reads:
Don't ask, don't say. Everything lies in silence.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 3 & 9.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 8.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 6, 11 & 22.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2443576.5.
The golden number for 1978 is 3.
The epact number for 1978 is 21.
The year 1978 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/7/1978 and ending 1/27/1979.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Horse.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Wolf; your plant is Plantain.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Pachons, the first month of the season of Shomu (Harvest).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 1 AdarII 5738.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 2 AdarII 5738.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.4.12.12 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 4 tun 12 uinal 12 kin

The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Thursday, 29 Rabi'u'l-Avval 1398 (1398-3-29).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 26 March 1978.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 30 April 1978.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 8 February 1978.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 14 May 1978.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 21 May 1978.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Monday, 2 October 1978.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Saturday, 22 April 1978.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 7 February 1978.

As of 11/21/2008 7:40:36 PM EST
You are 30 years old.
You are 368 months old.
You are 1,602 weeks old.
You are 11,215 days old.
You are 269,179 hours old.
You are 16,150,780 minutes old.
You are 969,046,836 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:

Bow Wow (1987)	Chingy (1980)	Emmanuel Lewis (1971)
Juliette Binoche (1964)	Robin Trower (1945)	Bobby Fischer (1943)
Raul Julia (1940)	Mickey Gilley (1936)	Yuri Gagarin (1934)
Keely Smith (1932)	Irene Papas (1926)	Mickey Spillane (1918)
Samuel Barber (1910)

Top songs of 1978

Night Fever by Bee Gees	Shadow Dancing by Andy Gibb
Le Freak by Chic	Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees
Kiss You All Over by Exile	Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste of Honey
Baby Come Back by Player	MacArthur Park by Donna Summer
Thicker Than Water by Andy Gibb	Three Times a Lady by Commodores

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.3894324853229 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)

Your lucky day is Thursday.
Your lucky number is 3 & 7.
Your ruling planet(s) is Jupiter & Neptune.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Virgo.
Your opposition number(s) is 5.

Today is not one of your lucky days!

There are 108 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 31 candles.

Those 31 candles produce 31 BTUs,
or 7,812 calories of heat (that's only 7.8120 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.54 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1978 there were approximately 3.1 million births in the US.
In 1978 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1978 in the US there were approximately 2,152,662 marriages (10.1%) and 1,036,000 divorces (4.9%)
In 1978 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1978 the population of Australia was approximately 14,430,830.
In 1978 there were approximately 224,181 births in Australia.
In 1978 in Australia there were approximately 102,958 marriages and 40,608 divorces.
In 1978 in Australia there were approximately 108,425 deaths.

Your birthstone is Aquamarine

The Mystical properties of Aquamarine

Aquamarine is often used to experience love and mercy. It is said to help ease depression and grief.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Jade, Rock Crystal, Bloodstone

Your birth tree is

Weeping Willow, the Melancholy
Beautiful but full of melancholy, attractive, very empathic, loves anything beautiful and tasteful, loves to travel, dreamer, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with, demanding, good intuition, suffers in love but finds sometimes an anchoring partner.

There are 34 days till Christmas 2008!
There are 47 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was new.

Copyright © 2006 Paul R. Sadowski (http://www.paulsadowski.com)

What Your Name Means (I did this one twice. Once with my full name and once with just my first name. I think the second one is a much better fit.)

There are 14 letters in your name.
Those 14 letters total to 54
There are 4 vowels and 10 consonants in your name.

Your number is: 9

The characteristics of #9 are: Humanitarian, giving nature, selflessness, obligations, creative expression.

The expression or destiny for #9:
The expression that you exhibit is represented bythe number 9. Your talents center in humanistic interests and approaches. You like to help others as you were intended to be the 'big brother or big sister' type. You operate best when you follow your feelings and sense of compassion, and allow yourself to be sensitive to the needs of others. You work well with people, and have the potential to inspire. This suggests that you could successfully teach or counsel. Creative ability, imagination and artistic talent (often latent) of the highest order are present in this expression. It's possible that you're not using or developing all of these capabilities at this time. Some of your talents may have been used at an earlier time in your life, and some may still be latent. Be aware of your capabilities, so that you can make use of them at appropriate times.

If you are able to achieve the potential of your natural expression in this life, you are capable of much human understanding and have a lot to give to others. Your personal ambitions are likely to be maintained in a very positive perspective, never losing sight of an interest in people, and a sympathetic, tolerant, broad-minded and compassionate point of view. You are quite idealistic, and disappointed at the lack of perfection in the world. You have a strong awareness of your own feeling as well as those of others. Friendships, affection, and love are extremely important.

Undeveloped or ignored, the negative side of the 9 expression can be very selfish and self-centered. If you do not actively involve yourself with work that benefits others, you may tend to express just the opposite characteristics. It is your role to be very involved with other people and their needs, but it may be difficult for you achieve this role. Aloofness, lack of involvement, and a lack of sensitivity mark the low road of this expression.

Your Soul Urge number is: 3

A Soul Urge number of 3 means:
With the Soul Urge number 3 your desire in life is personal expression, and generally enjoying life to its fullest. You want to participate in an active social life and enjoy a large circle of friends. You want to be in the limelight, expressing your artistic or intellectual talents. Word skills may be your thing; speaking, writing, acting, singing. In a positive sense, the 3 energy is friendly, outgoing and always very social.

You have a decidedly upbeat attitude that is rarely discouraged; a good mental and emotional balance.

The 3 Soul Urge gives intuitive insight, thus, very high creative and inspirational tendencies. The truly outstanding trait shown by the 3 Soul Urge is that of self-expression, regardless of the field of endeavor.

On the negative side, you may at times become too easygoing and too optimistic, tending to scatter forces and accomplish very little. Often, the excessive 3 energy produces non-stop talkers. Everyone has faults, but the 3 soul urge doesn't appreciate having these pointed out.

Your Inner Dream number is: 6

An Inner Dream number of 6 means:
You dream of guiding and fostering the perfect family in the perfect home. You crave the devotion from offspring and a loving spouse. You picture yourself in the center of a successful domestic unit.

There are 6 letters in your name.
Those 6 letters total to 22
There are 3 vowels and 3 consonants in your name.

Your number is: 22

The characteristics of #22 are: The Master Builder, large endeavors, powerful force, a leader.

The expression or destiny for #22:
Your Expression is represented by the master number, 22. The key word for the number 22 is that of master builder. This is a very hard number to fully live up to because it is capable of such great accomplishment. You no doubt will be extremely capable at whatever work you choose to do in life. You are especially equipped to handle large scale undertakings in the material world. Thus, the reference to master builder. The 22 possesses unique qualities and often very unorthodox approaches to problem solving. You are apt to be a very strong leader, and one who is not afraid to lead in new directions. Your perceptions are well beyond the norm.

When the 22 Expression operates within you in a positive vein, you are endowed with the most practical approach, but this practical or material sense is tempered with an awareness of non-material forces. You are very much the idealist, which the material skills to build and develop for the good of mankind. In a positive 22, the inner strength is clearly visible, and if developed, this strength will possess the charisma to attract a following.

If expressed in a negative manner, the 22 may accentuate unorthodox methods to the point of eccentricity. This negative expression can also be very dominating and overbearing.

Your Soul Urge number is: 7

A Soul Urge number of 7 means:
With a number 7 Soul Urge you are very fond of reading, and retreating to periods of being alone and away from the disruptions of the outer world. You like to dream and develop you idealistic understandings, to study and analyze, to gain knowledge and wisdom. You may be too laid back and withdrawn to really succeed in the business world, and you will be much more comfortable in circumstances that are tolerant of your reserve, your analytical approach, and your desire to use your mind rather than your physical being.

You are very timid around people that you don't know very well, so much so at times that casual conversation and social situations can be strained. You tend to repress your emotions to the extend that some people have a good bit of difficult understanding you. You tend to be very selective with friends and you don't easily adapt to new environments or to new people very quickly.

The negative traits of the 7 include becoming too much the introvert and isolated from others.

Your Inner Dream number is: 6

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was new.

Thursday, March 9, 1978

Moon's age (days): 0
Distance (Earth radii): 58.75
Percent Illumination 0.03%
Ecliptic latitude (degrees): 1.63
Ecliptic longitude (degrees): 353.04

Vikki Clayton

2008-11-19T15:49:00.003-06:00

I got the Vikki Clayton silks that ordered earlier in the other day. And boy am I glad I did! The colors are just beautiful and they feel so pretty! (Can things "feel pretty"? I think so. ) I bought all of the colors with the word "Dragon" in the title. (I missed one, though)

From L to R: Dragon Toes, Dragon Tongue, Dragon Breath II, Dragon Blood, Dragon Claw, Dragon Droppings, Earth Dragon, Dragon Opal (my fave), Dragon Hoard (DH's fave)

I've already started using the Dragon Opal. I'm making a scissor fob for myself. That way DH will quit laughing at me when I can't find my scissors. I try to blame the cat, but it doesn't seem to work. ;) I hated cutting the first threads off, but it is stitching up so pretty. I have the first half done. I'll probably finish it this weekend.

By using the silks on the fob, I have decided that I made the right choice in deciding to use the silks for my memorial piece for Granddad. I also bought a piece of Vikki's linen to use. I'm sure that it will be just as wonderful. I'm really looking forward to getting them. I'm only stitching on smalls right now, because I don't want to pick up a large piece until I can start on my Bushel and a Peck.

Gossamer Willowwitch

2008-11-19T15:42:00.002-06:00

Your fairy is called Gossamer Willowwitch

She is a caster of weird dreams.
She lives in spiderwebbed wonderlands and insect grottos.
She is only seen in the enchanted moment between sleep and waking.
She wears tiny black spiders on her dresses. She has delicate green coloured wings like a cicada.
Get your free fairy name here!

I happened to catch this on another blog and couldn't help trying it out. I love the name it gave me. :) The picture I used is HAED's Moon Lit Waters. (Which just happens to be in my wishlist LOL)

Tag!

2008-11-19T05:38:00.004-06:00

Well Penny tagged me. :)

The rules:
Find the 6th folder in your photos folder and then the 6th photo in it.
* Pray that you remember the details *
Post it on your blog
Tag 5 others, leave a comment to let them know they’ve been tagged.

The only problem with this...I don't have 6 folders in my pictures folder. I have my puter set up a little differently. So...I'll pull from my stitching folder. And here it is....

It is from my Wishlist folder. The design is from Dimples Designs and is called Magic of a Mother's Love.

Not sure why, but I love mushrooms, and I think this pattern is way too cute. LOL

Now for my five ~~victims~~ tagged buddies.

Sharon
Bev
Mercy
Vickie
Lelia

Losing a Loved One

2008-11-14T16:47:00.002-06:00

On Monday, we are going to have to put Angel down. She is suffering from congestive heart failure and is not responding to the medication as she should. We could tap her stomach to relieve it of fluid but that would only buy us a month or so. We have decided to spend the weekend babying her and have her euthanized on Monday.

Alex didn't get to say goodbye to Shady when we lost him, so this time we are making sure he has the option of being there and saying goodbye if he wants to.

Angel has had a good thirteen years with us and she will be greatly missed.

Life Gets in the Way

2008-11-12T15:07:00.002-06:00

It's been over a week since I've posted anything. Life has been getting in the way lately. I hate it when that happens. LOL I ended up with over 150 blog posts that needed to be read and a mountain of email in my Yahoo groups. Needless to say, they all got deleted. So....if I missed anything important you think I should know...drop me a note to let me know, K?

I have an ornament for an exchange on ILCS that will be overdue by a few days. I've let the people involved know, so that should be alright. It will only be a few days late.

I got my floss in to finish ALQ, but I think that is going to take a backseat for a little bit. I've decided to stitch a memorial to my grandfather. November 29 will mark the one year anniversary of his passing. And the closer I get to it, the harder it is for me. I'm hoping that this will help me deal with it better. I'm doing La-D-Da's Bushel and a Peck. The saying is something that my granddad used to say to me all the time. I'm going to use Vikki Clayton linen and silk to do it. I've already placed my order and now I just have to wait. I don't think that I will get it finished by the end of November, but I take vacation the second week of December. So, if it isn't finished by then, I'll finish it during vacation.

Sanity Finish

2008-11-03T03:06:00.002-06:00

I finished Sanity tonight. This was a simple design, but I think I am going to have it framed. I may even try my own hand at framing it. I've seen a few tutorials for framing that were really good and easy to understand. I've just got to find the right frame for it.

I really like how my floss color choices worked with the fabric my mom dyed.

Can You Find It For Me??

2008-11-02T02:03:00.002-06:00

I was needing a new piece to work on. I am waiting for thread for my ALQ and I didn't feel in the mood to pick up any of my other WIPs. They are all BAPs and I just wasn't in the mood to stitch on something so large. So....I looked through my stash to find a weekend piece.

I finally found what I was looking for in a back issue of The Gift of Stitching. In the October 2006 issue is a piece called Sanity?? by Jessica Willis Burr of Six Strand Sweets. I've made pretty good headway on the piece. I wish I could show you a picture of what it should look like when finished, but I was unable to find one. :(

When finished, it will read... " Excuse Me... Have you seen my Sanity?? I lost it somewhere."

I changed the colors to make it my own of course. And to fit what I already had in my stash.

Excuse me is done in GAST Deep Sea. The backstitching is all done in DMC 336 and Sanity is done in DMC 52. The fabric is one that my mom dyed herself (I think). I know it was is a gift package she sent me a couple of years ago. The picture doesn't do the pretty green of it justice.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T14:09:00.002-05:00

more animals

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Halloween!

Blog Award

2008-10-30T14:15:00.003-05:00

Look what I got! :D

Terry gave this to me! She said that we didn't have to pass it on, but I think I should. I know that there are lots of blogs out there that I keep track of and love to read.

Here are the rules:

The rules for acceptance of the award are as follows:

1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on their creativity, design, interesting material and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each winner has to show the award and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

That said.....*drum roll please* .... here are the 5 blogs that I think should be checked out.

1. Carolyn
2. Juls
3. Rene la Frog
4. Gabi
5. Chiloe

That's not to say that there aren't other wonderful blogs out there. There are!! Lots and lots!! I just really enjoy the work that they do and their blogs. :)

Flat Fold

2008-10-30T02:48:00.003-05:00

I'm not quite through with this. I'm still going to put ribbon around the edges to finish my finish. :) It'll be a yellow ribbon very close in color to the yellow in the webs on the fabric. Also, please remember that this is my first flat fold. I will get better, I promise. LOL

Ignore the pins. The glue was still drying.

Side view.

Halloween fabric. I love this fabric on here.

Happy Samhain Finish

2008-10-29T15:07:00.003-05:00

Earlier this month, I was part of an exchange on ILCS. It was the kit in a container exchange. I got a cute Samhain freebie chart and everything to make it. I finished stitching it last night. The pictures really aren't that good. I wish I had a better camera (phone) to take them with. (I think that is what I will ask for for Christmas)

I did make a few changes to the piece. I stitched it with 3 ply DMC and backstitched with 2. The words and web I did in DMC Glow in the Dark thread instead of white. I also changed the lettering a little bit. I just didn't like the way the words were done. I also backstitched the letters using 3 strands instead of 2. Overall, I am happy with the way this has come out.

I am currently in the middle of finishing this piece as a flatfold. It will be my first one. We'll see how it comes out. LOL

Wonderful Gifts

2008-10-27T22:34:00.002-05:00

I got a wonderful package in the mail today from Danni, a friend on ILCS. She sent me two charts from White Willow Stitching. I had both of them on my wishlist, too. :)

I got Blessed Be and

Samhain.

I'm really looking forward to stitching both of them. The Samhain will probably wait until next year, but I'm already planning what to do with the Blessed Be. There are a couple of different fabrics that I would like to use. Here is a sampling of some of my thoughts. Of course the thread color might change depending on which fabric I go with. They are all from Picture This Plus. One thing I really like on their site is they show you how the color looks on Aida, Linen, and Lugana all side by side. I think it really helps in making a decision. It's a pretty even split between Lugana and Linen for me. Let me know which ones you like.

Shadow - Lugana

Monet - Lugana

Loch - Linen

Gothic - Linen

Baroque - Linen

Voodoo - Lugana

Tarnish - Linen

Stellar - Lugana

Brute???

2008-10-22T15:33:00.000-05:00

Ya, ya, ya...another one. Sometimes, I just can't help myself. LOL

Your result for The Personality Defect Test...

Brute

You are 14% Rational, 0% Extroverted, 71% Brutal, and 71% Arrogant.

You are the Brute! You are introverted, arrogant, brutal, and more intuitive than rational. Like a big, dumb animal, you are driven by your emotions more than your reason, and as a result of the fact that you care very little for the feelings of others, you tend to be rather selfish. You also possibly fling your own poo. Because of your selfishness, you also tend to be a bit arrogant, seeing yourself as big or strong or smart or always correct. This makes you a stubborn, irrational, emotion-driven brute. King Kong best represents the gorilla-version of your personality. Emotional, introverted (King Kong was isolated on his own island, after all), brutal, and arrogant (proud to be the largest ape on Earth!), Kong would probably get along very well with you, seeing as how you share many of the same traits. Aside from, you know, all the fur. You probably keep to yourself and take great pleasure in watching fat people fall down stairs. (But who doesn't, really?) You probably also have dreams of becoming famous or well-known, but this most likely won't happen because your introversion limits your Hollywood connections. Being introverted, ape-like, and arrogant isn't so bad, though. It beats being dead. So your personality defect is simply that you act like a large, overgrown ape that thinks highly of itself whilst brutalizing buxom blondes. Or something.

Try to stay off of buildings.

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more INTUITIVE than rational.

2. You are more INTROVERTED than extroverted.

3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle.

4. You are more ARROGANT than humble.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Hand-Raiser.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Class Clown, the Schoolyard Bully, and the Sociopath.

If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:

The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

Be sure to take my Sublime Philosophical Crap Test if you are interested in taking a slightly more intellectual test that has just as many insane ramblings as this one does!

About Saint_Gasoline

I am a self-proclaimed pseudo-intellectual who loves dashes. I enjoy science, philosophy, and fart jokes and water balloons, not necessarily in that order. I spend 95% of my time online, and the other 5% of my time in the bathroom, longing to get back on the computer. If, God forbid, you somehow find me amusing instead of crass and annoying, be sure to check out my blog and my webcomic at SaintGasoline.com.

Take The Personality Defect Test at HelloQuizzy

Conscientious, Fulfilled, and Spiritual ???

2008-10-22T15:20:00.001-05:00

Alright, I found another silly quiz. This one came from Velda's place.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Conscientious, Fulfilled, and Spiritual

20 Renaissance, 11 Islamic, 9 Ukiyo-e, -26 Cubist, -28 Abstract and 1 Impressionist!

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence affected literature, philosopy, religion, art, politics, science, and all other aspects of intellectual enquiry. Renaissance artists looked at the human aspect of life in their art. They did not reject religion but tended to look at it in it's purest form to create visions they thought depicted the ideals of religion. Painters of this time had their own style and created works based on morality, religion, and human nature. Many of the paintings depicted what they believed to be the corrupt nature of man.

People that like Renaissance paintings like things that are more challenging. They tend to have a high emotional stability. They also tend to be more concientious then average. They have a basic understanding of human nature and therefore are not easily surprised by anything that people may do. They enjoy life and enjoy living. They are very aware of their own mortality but do not dwell on the end but what they are doing in the present. They enjoy learning, but may tend to be a bit more closed minded to new ideas as they feel that the viewpoint they have has been well researched and considered. These people are more old fashioned and not quite as progressive. They enjoy the finer things in life like comfort, a good meal, and homelife. They tend to be more spiritual or religious by nature. They are open to new aesthetic experiences.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

ILCS Fall Exchange Received

2008-10-22T13:08:00.003-05:00

I got my ILCS fall exchange gift from Danni yesterday. I found it in the front door as I was leaving for work. I couldn't stand to wait to open it. So I'm driving down the interstate tearing open the envelope and pulling things out with both hands (steering wheel was being controlled by my knees). Yes, be thankful that y'all don't live anywhere near me! LOL

She sent me the cutest Samhain design from Stitch Witch Circle. I also got a wonderful dark navy Aida and all the many floss colors to stitch it up. It came in a reuable cloth trick or treat bag that is perfect for the holiday. That is DH's fat cat Cedar looking at all the goodies with me.

Here is picture of what the pattern will look like when I finish it. I was planning on concentrating on ALQ until it's done, but I may just have to take this to work and get a start on it.

Family Update

2008-10-21T07:14:00.006-05:00

Took the little man to the doctor for his yearly checkup. He turned 4 at the end of May and I hadn't gotten him in yet. I have a feeling that all those tall genes that skipped me in my family have found their way to him. He came in at 44 1/2 inches tall and 52 lbs. That's over 95% for his age on both stats. Average height is about 41 inches and weight is 37 lbs. That makes him sound fat, but he really isn't. He's got a little belly on him but it's not fat. At least it doesn't seem that way to me. More like he's just holding on to his baby fat a little longer than most.

The cats in the family are seeming to get along a little better than they were. At least Cedar is tolerating Esme better. LOL

Esme is putting on weight. She is over 2 lbs now. We figure she about 13 weeks now. I have a feeling she will never be a large cat.

For those of you who have never seen DH's fat cat let me show you. I have no idea how much this cat weighs. He is a large cat, but also overweight. He dwarfs little Esme, but she has no fear of him and continually pounces on him and play fights with him. You can see in the above picture of both of them how much larger he is.

I'm still working at the casino and driving much more than I wish I was. I end up putting at least 500 miles on my car each week. That's a lot of wear and tear on the car and a lot of gas. I like my job though. So that is why it would be hard to leave. The money is good too, otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford all the gas I have to use to get back and forth. I'm not against moving closer to my job, but DH just seems dead set against it. In many ways, I can't really blame him though.

Proposition A is coming up on the ballot here in Missouri this November. Right now it looks like it is going to pass and I have to admit I'm not completely sure that it should. I love the fact that it would get rid of Missouri's loss limit. (A player can only buy in for $500 every two hours.) I hate that it will limit the number of casino licenses the state can hand out. In fact, it won't allow any new casinos in Missouri at all. :( Which means that my hope of them opening one closer to me just goes out the window. It also means there will be no competition for my current casino. Competition is good for the employees. It can create better job environment and better benefits and pay. So, I'm still undecided on this issue. I will probably vote yes, though. And hope that it will help to turn my ugly red-headed stepchild of a casino into a real casino.

A Little Quakeresque Update

2008-10-20T18:57:00.004-05:00

I pulled ALQ out since I have decided to focus on that for now. I got a bit done last night and am hoping to get more done tonight. However, I am extremely tired tonight so I may just not mess with anything at all.

I used my new phone to take the picture. It has a better camera on it than the other phone, but the picture still shows up more blue than it is. The floss is really a deep green, not blue at all.

The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test

2008-10-15T12:33:00.001-05:00

Having seen this on a couple of other blogs I read, I just had to take it. :) I ended up just about where I thought I would. LOL!

Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test by donathos ...

Pure Nerd

74 % Nerd, 48% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Newest Finish

2008-10-14T04:55:00.002-05:00

My household is a two party household. DH is a Libertarian who usually votes Republican and I am a Democrat. I will be voting for Obama/Biden. DH, for McCain/Palin.

I hadn't stitched anything for DH lately and I think he was starting to feel left out. So, I pulled out a freebie I had found and stitched it up for him today for him to hang in his truck. He seems to like it.

Back

2008-10-09T06:19:00.002-05:00

Okay...after taking a bit of a hiatus, I have returned.

Life reared its very ugly head and I had to take a break from certain things. Stitching on my projects was what took the backseat.

I did get a small finish done. I worked up a quick bookmark for a friend. Of course I forgot to take a picture of it. lol Oh, well.

Any way, I am back and plan to pick up my needles again on the weekends. That is about the only time I really get to stitch. I'm not sure yet if I'm just going to stick to one project or do a rotation of my current ones. I really want to finish ALQ, but I know DH is going to hound me about Monopoly if I don't work on it, too. Guess we'll just have to see how it goes when I get there.

New Kitten

2008-09-11T16:51:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to show you my new kitty who adopted me in the parking lot of work last night. :)

Isn't she adorable????

Me, Myself, and I -- Post One Too!

2008-09-05T13:06:00.002-05:00

Since Kelly asked so nicely....;)

1. What time did you get up this morning?

12:30 pm

2. Diamonds or pearls?

Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Mamma Mia

4. What is your favourite TV show?

Good Eats

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?

Chocolate Malt Ovaltine

6. What is your middle name?

Lynn

7. What food do you dislike?

Not big on beef liver

8. What is your favourite CD at moment?

Black Rebel Motorcyle Club (BRMC) - Baby 81

9. What kind of car do you drive?

Honda Civic

10. Favourite sandwich?

Arby's Chicken Salad

11. What characteristic do you despise?

Deception

12. Favourite item of clothing?

A really good bra. :D

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

Amsterdam or Paris

14. Favourite brand of clothing?

Lane Bryant

15. Where would you retire to?

No clue

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?

None

17. Favourite sport to watch?

Football!!

18. Furtherest place you are sending this?

No clue

19. Person you expect to send it back first?

Who knows?

20. When is your birthday?

March 9

21. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Night

22. What is your shoe size?

7.5US

23. Pets?

Two dogs and one cat

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?

Nope

25. What did you want to be when you were little?

Doctor

26. How are you today?

Still sleepy

27. What is your favourite sweets?

Ice Cream (French Vanilla)

28. What is your favourite flower?

White Roses and Daffodils

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?

March 27 (DH's birthday...he hates getting older and I love rubbing it in LOL)

30. What is your full name?

Aleyna Lynn Fair

31. What are you listening to right now?

BRMC - Baby 81

32. What was the last thing you ate?

A Nature Valley Nut Bar

33. Do you wish on stars?

Sometimes

34. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?

Royal Blue

35. How is the weather right now?

I haven't looked outside yet. ;)

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?

DH

37. Favourite soft drink?

Pepsi

38. Favourite restaurant?

Melting Pot and every Brazilian steakhouse I've been to.

39. Real hair colour?

Light/medium brown

40. What was your favourite toy as a child?

My Little Ponies

41. Summer or winter?

Fall!

42. Hugs or kisses?

Hugs

43. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Vanilla

44. Coffee or tea?

Tea

45. Do you want your friends to Post you back?

Yep

46. When was the last time you cried?

Day before yesterday

47. What is under your bed?

One of my dogs

48. What did you do last night?

Worked

49. What are you afraid of ?

Loss

50. Salty or sweet?

Salty

51. How many keys on your key ring?

4

52. How many years at your current job?

Two

53. Favourite day of the week?

Monday (Only full day off from work)

54. How many towns have you lived in?

8

55. Do you make friends easily?

I don't think so

56. How many people will you send this to?

Anyone who reads my blog

57. How many will respond?

No clue

To Be or Not To Be?

2008-09-03T00:55:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or not?

70% Geek

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating

Cat's Out of the Bag

2008-09-02T15:05:00.005-05:00

Well, the cat's out of the bag re: Monopoly. I got up this morning when DH did and started stitching when he left. He wasn't supposed to come home!!! But, of course, he did. :( And saw what I was stitching. :(( He was surprised and gratified to see me stitching it. At least now I can add it into my regular rotation for stitching and don't have to try and find time to sneak on it. LOL

I worked on Blue Moon Faery some this weekend. I've gotten about 800 stitches done in it so far. Of course, the picture has turned out blue/green. LOL It is stitched on 28 ct Antique White evenweave.

I really like this one. When it is done it will look like:

Needless to say, I've got quite a bit of stitching left to do. LOL

In non stitchy news, I've been to the doctor. I gave him a list of about 20 problems I've been experiencing.

Constant Headache. I cannot remember the last time I did NOT have a headache. The strength varies, but they are always there.
Tightness/Pain in Neck, Shoulders, Back
Pain in most major joints (shoulders, elbows, knees, hips) and minor as well (fingers/toes)
Weakness in limbs. Sometimes fine and then comes on suddenly
Loss of feeling in extremities (both hands and feet)
Jaw pain from TMJ and grinding teeth
Inability to gain rest no matter how long I sleep
Dizziness
Lightheadedness
Sudden chest pains. Usually located on the left side of the chest between breast and sternum.
Stiffness (all day, but especially upon waking)
Shortness of breath/inability to catch a full breath without pain
Cold hands/feet
Sudden dull pain under rib cage on both sides
Loose stool/diarrhea after many meals. Same occasionally even if having not eaten
Depression worsening
Vacillating between no appetite and inability to get full
Hurts to blink sometimes
Occasional blurred vision
Soreness in arms

We decided to change my anti-depressant and work out from there. We switched me from Zoloft (which worked well the first time I took it) to a new one called Pristiq. He told me it was fast acting, but I didn't think he meant I would be able to tell a difference in less than 24 hours! And I have. Things are much much better right now. I am still having some of the symptons listed, but no where near as many. And for that I am very very very glad. :D

I also fell at work on Saturday night. I was walking down the stairs and missed one (I think) and fell down the last 3 or 4 steps. I didn't twist my ankles or hurt anything but my feet. It seems like I bruised my right foot and twisted my left big toe. Both are still quite sore today, but they are better.

Movie Quotes

2008-08-28T04:39:00.004-05:00

I stole this from another blog I read. :) Have fun, and good luck!!

1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.
5. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.

1. She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty.

2. There's nothing more irresistible to a man than a woman who's in love with him.

3. Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.

4. The video arcade is down the street. Here we just sell small rectangular objects. They're called books. They require a little effort on your part, and make no bee-bee-bee-bee-beeps. On your way please.

5. Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. -- Kathy in OC -- Princess Bride

6. I want you to round up every vicious criminal and gunslinger in the west. Take this down.
I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists. -- Kathy in OC -- Blazing Saddles

7. The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given unto you these fifteen...
[drops one of the tablets] Oy! Ten! Ten commandments for all to obey! -- Kathy in OC -- History of the World Part I

8. "No visible tattoos." "No revealing clothing." "We're both screwed. At least you're used to it"

9. An unhappy alternative lies before you. Your mother will never see you again if you do *not* marry Mr Collins, and *I* will never see you again if you *do*.

10. Where are you going? To him? To be a whore to a gutter rat? "I'd rather be his whore than "your wife.

11. ~~Oh, come on, ladies. God wouldn't have given you maracas if He didn't want you to shake 'em.~~ -- Lou -- Dirty Dancing

12. That's a B. It's the first letter of a seven-letter word that means your late father.

13. My sister's the actress, mother. And I'm *not* a cheap stripper. I'm the highest-paid in the business.

14. Teriffic. I'm about to get killed a million miles from nowhere with a gung-ho iguana who tells me to relax.

15. A toll is a toll, and a roll is a roll. And if we don't get no tolls, then we don't eat no rolls. I made that up.

ALQ Update

2008-08-27T10:30:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been as much progress on this one (or any of projects) as I wish there had been. I've been taking this one to work to work on. Since I only get 20 min breaks, it is a great piece to work on. I can to all the borders without a pattern because they are all the same.

I've done a little bit of work on my Blue Moon Faery, but even that isn't really enough to take a picture of. BoInk hasn't had any progress made on it, and neither has Monopoly. I think when (if) I ever finish ALQ I'll start taking Monopoly to work. Then I don't have to worry about DH finding it. LOL

Pattern Wishlist

2008-08-25T02:53:00.002-05:00

I spent a good portion of the evening tonight looking at patterns and making up a wishlist. I love do that and hate it at the same time. I already have more charts than I know I will ever stitch. In fact, I think I am going to go back through them and weed out some. I can send them off as RAKs to people on a couple of my groups. That way at least someone will hopefully get some enjoyment in them. :)

Anyway....if you want to see what kind of things made it to my wishlist you can see them here.

In other news, I was woken up this afternoon (remember I get off work at 10am on Sat and Sun) by the sound of my house falling apart. Not really!! But the thunder was so loud and cracking that I thought the ceiling had fallen in somewhere at first. I laid in bed for a minute before I realized that it was storming very very very badly. Apparently right over my house! LOL! I could hear that one of my dogs was hiding in the bathtub because she couldn't get into the bedroom and under the bed. The poor scared thing! As soon as I opened the bedroom door she scooted for the bed and hid. The other one wouldn't leave my side. Thankfully the storm ended less than an hour later.

Update

2008-08-19T08:01:00.003-05:00

Well, I've gotten all my ornament stitched. All I have left to do is make it up into an actual ornament. LOL

I also started on Monopoly. I've gotten most of the GO square done. I don't have a picture of that one. DH came home before I could get a photo of my progress done. I'd take one now, but he's asleep. And knowing my luck he'd wake up as soon as I spread it out. LOL.

I also got a little work done on BoInk and ALQ. Neither of which deserved a photo so I didn't take one. I've been taking ALQ to work to work on it there, but haven't been doing much. The reason is because I'm also taking a book. Books are my kryptonite. That's all there is to it. :(

Christmas Ornament

2008-08-12T02:08:00.004-05:00

Well, this weekend I spent all my stitching time working on my ornament for the ILCS Blind Ornament Exchange. Everyone stitches an ornament, we all send them to one of the moderators, and then she sends an ornament to everyone that sent one in. I've gotten all the stitching done except the border (still not sure if I'll do it yet) and the backstitching. The pattern was a freebie offline and didn't have the floss numbers for the backstitching, I'm going to have to make it up as I go along. :( Hopefully it will turn out alright. I am still not sure exactly how I am going to finish it either.

Still using the camera phone. Now you have your choice...green or blue. ;) lol

I haven't begun my Monopoly piece yet. As far as I know, Steve (DH) still doesn't know that I am going to be working on it. I will probably start next weekend if I get the ornament done. I figure I'll work on BoInk and BMF while he's up and then Monopoly Sunday and Monday after he goes to bed.

One More Start

2008-08-06T15:40:00.004-05:00

Well, it's not a start yet but it soon will be. I am finally going to start work on Monopoly...just like my DH has been bugging me for years to do. LOL The thing is, I'm going to try and keep it secret from him. Not sure how well that is going to go, but I've got to try. I've signed up for the Monopoly SAL on Yahoo! Groups. I'm hoping that it will motivate me to keep me going. I'm really wanting to get this done for Christmas and if not that at least for DH birthday in March.

I've also started a BAP for myself. I've started Mystic Stitch's Blue Moon Faery I'm not sure how I can NOT do this. It combines several of my favorite things into one beautiful work of art: Blues, Fairies, and Owls. Just about the only thing missing is a book. LOL I don't have any pics of this one. I just hate taking pictures with that phone camera. It makes everything look nasty. I don't have a flatbed scanner or I'd use that.

I've only gotten about 250 stitches or so done on her and all the blues would never show up without a good picture.

One door closes...another one opens. :)

2008-08-04T09:42:00.006-05:00

I have decided to give up on the Marquoir. I've tried for several days now to get back into it and I just can't do it. I think the piece is beautiful, but I don't think it is for me.

So...I decided to cut off the bit I had stitched on and immediately start work on a new piece. I've joined Ink Circles Mystery SAL, Book of Ink Circles aka BoInk. I've picked out my colors and started. Once again the picture quality is lousy. Please forgive. :)

Edited to add: The fabric is a 32ct dove grey. The DMC I think I will be using are 820, 413, 797, 550, 3818, 340, 3750, 518. I'm a little concerned about a couple of the colors, so I might still change one or two of the colors that I haven't used yet.

My progress so far (1 day)

A close up of the corner kitty

Not Much Done

2008-07-30T07:10:00.002-05:00

Very little stitching got done Monday or Tuesday. Just didn't feel like picking it up much on Monday, although I did get a little bit done on the Marquoir. Still trying to get back used to stitching over 1. It is coming back although a bit slowly.

I usually take my Quakeresque sampler with me to work to stitch on during breaks. But, I walked out of the house without it. Didn't realize it until I was 20 mins down the road. Was NOT going back for it LOL.

So, I just had to read on my breaks. Gee...tough for me. LOL I am re-reading the Kris Longknife books by Mike Shepard. I quite enjoy them.

Anne Elliot...I can live with that

2008-07-28T04:27:00.002-05:00

Take the Quiz here!

Pulling out a UFO

2008-07-28T03:36:00.006-05:00

A post I saw on ILCS the other day reminded me of a UFO I have. It took some searching online before I finally found the pattern. It was a 16 month mystery SAL. The final picture is below.

I'm stitching it 1x1 on a silvery-gray linen. It's been so long I no longer know what the fabric is...probably 32ct, but I don't know who made it. It is quite similar to this. I am using GAST in Currant and Deep Sea. My progress is very small...very very small. I had stopped before I had even finished the first section that came out. I worked on it a little tonight. This is all I have done.

I really am going to have to do something about a camera. My phone just makes everything look positively green.

Here is a close up of the work so you can get a better idea of the colors...sort of. lol

Current WIP

2008-07-26T16:12:00.001-05:00

The above picture is my current WIP. It is "A Little Quakeresque" by Blue Ribbon Designs. The fabric is no where near that green. It's not even green at all. I have to take the pictures with my cell phone, so the quality isn't very good.

That is what it is supposed to look like when I am done with it. I used a similar fabric, but a different thread. I used Weeks Dye Works Chesapeake for the floss. The floss is much more green that the picture shows. I'm going to have to order more. I got all the store had when I bought the pattern. The pattern was stitched with one thread over 2 on 40 ct. I am using 36 ct and 2 over 2. I like the richness of the color that way.

Here I go

2008-07-26T16:01:00.000-05:00

Well, everyone else is doing it, so I figured I'd jump off the cliff too. :) lol

Any pictures I take will have to be taken with my cell phone, so they won't be the best quality. Just a warning.

I figured I'd start this up after joining the yahoo group ILCS (I love cross stitch). It is a huge group with lots of posts. If you join, don't be surprised by your full inbox. :) The folks there have been very nice and welcoming so far. I hope it lasts. lol

I have a tendency to lurk, but I am trying to push past that and become a bit more involved. In the discussions...OT....sharing...and so on.