To The Top

I make you look at my stitching before letting you see who won the giveaway...

I made it to the top of Peacock Cypher! Once I am finished with this line of over-one lettering, I will need to check for dropped stitches. Then the beading. Lots of pretty beads! It will be such a fine feeling to move this WIP to the finished pile.

It took much longer than expected to tally the giveaway entries. Holy crows, I should know better to add so many variables into the draw. Anyway, I finally finished this morning and the winner is Virpi from Crossed Stitches by Virpi. Congratulations, Virpi! I will email you to get your address today.

Thank you all so much for entering my giveaway and for posting links far and wide. I'm now well over the 800 dreamed-for followers. Wow ~ thanks!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

From the WIP Bin

After finishing the stitching on a couple of small projects last week, I couldn't decide what to do next. There wasn't anything seriously calling to me so I dug around in the WIP bin and came up with Peacock Cypher. This one keeps getting shunted aside even though it is fantastically fun to stitch and this (.) close to completion.

I was having such a great time with it! After work on Monday, I was really excited to get home so I could stitch. Life called. The kids (Jessie and her BF Matt) needed a ride home from the auto repair shop and ended up staying for dinner. Cooking, cleaning up, laundry started and I finally sit down to stitch when I hear a bit of a ruckus outside. Oh my, a thunderstorm and a doozy of one, at that! A few minutes later the electricity goes off. So much for stitching! Stillwater (and other places) had quite a bit of damage. The power was still off the next morning and I showered for work by flashlight! Have you ever tried to neatly arrange wet hair in a very dark room? Well, at least I was clean!

Crooked. Wrinkly. You will forgive me. You know the very second I finish posting here I'm going to be stitching, don't you? No, don't you ask me what the verse says! You must figure it out by yourself!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Progress

Isn't it about time I showed you some stitching? Earlier this month I finished the bottom row on Peacock Cypher. This is such an easy stitch...except for the fact that I'm stitching it in DMC instead of the called-for silks. There are a few different silks, all the same two colors, with different symbols for each in the pattern. When you stitch this with DMC it is just two colors but you have to remember that "these three symbols are all the same color" and then, we throw in some other stitch types, Smyrna & Mosaic ~ with different symbols yet. It takes some studying!

Some of you will be pleased to know I have been working on Snapper Year! I'm at least to the half-way point with the June block. Maybe I can catch up and have the months aligned? It was very relaxing to take a break from this for a few weeks. Now, I feel I have some enthusiasm for it again.

My mom is finally home from the hospital and doing well. I hear she feels better than she has in months and that is good news. Sheba had a visit to the veterinarian to look at her paw. The vet shaved the fur off so we could see the skin and it was healing. Sheba got an ointment called Lick~Guard that I put on her foot to help keep her from sucking it raw. (It kinda smells like dill pickles, except more stinky.) She has settled down now and save for rather scabby, bare toes she is fine!

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Short but heartfelt today. Rick & I are off to Tulsa for a romantic weekend. And I get to stash!

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

UFO to WIP

Being eager to stitch something other than Snapper Year led me to pull out an old WIP (work in progress.) Peacock Cypher was my choice. I last worked on this in March of 2009! That was when I got all caught up in Crabby All Year and Peacock Cypher was relegated to a UFO (unfinished object.) This is a Just Nan design and is charted in silks but I'm using the DMC version since silk gives me an itchy rash. In fact, it was stitching this ~in silk~ that clued me in to being allergic to silk. I ended up having to frog the silk, wash the fabric and restart in DMC. This is the section I am currently working on...the very bottom row.

Then there are three rows left to do at the top. Isn't it pretty so far? I can't wait to do the beading! My favorite part about this design is the over-one letters ~ just so much fun to stitch!

After several concerned emails, it occurs to me I never posted results about the kid and the kitten. The ten days passed on the 18th and the kitten does not have rabies! Woo! Jessie was overjoyed to know she would not need injections. I was not too very worried as I knew rabies was unlikely. Rick, well he was simply glad his girls did not insist on keeping said kitten. He tolerates Taco but dogs are his joy.

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Don't forget...there is still time to enter my Bad Hair Day giveaway! See Monday's post to enter! Many thanks to everyone entered so far. Mary now has over twice the followers she had on her old blog and I'm sure that is a bit of comfort after the horror she endured! You guys are great!

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Birthday Mail

There was mail in my box today. Birthday mail! First up here is a birthday card & package from my dear friend, Joan, in London. Joan and I are long-time snail mail pen pals. Every year she sends me something from Red Nose Day. It usually shows up around my birthday. This year it is a pin badge and a charm. The charm will probably end up on my cell phone! Cute, cute, cute! Thank you, Joan!

Next I opened this lovely Post Box Floss Tag from Rachael, along with birthday greetings and some ribbon and Kreinik braid. I adore the post box...Rachael knows how much I love all things British. Thank you, Rachael, for thinking of me!

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Finally, some WIP pictures. While waiting for March to arrive, I stitched a teeny bit on Peacock Cypher. There isn't a great deal of progress (not a lot of stitching time) but I was able to stitch the two butterflies and row of over-one lettering at the very bottom.

Then on Sunday, I was finally able to get out Crabby All Year and begin Wind for the month of March. Again, not a lot completed but it is a start.

Thank you all for the wonderful happy birthday wishes on my last post, and the emails too. You are such dear friends and I cherish you.

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Peacock Cypher Update

A few minutes ago I finished my row on Peacock Cypher. It's the bottom row of large flower shapes. This is such a nice stitch, with no frogs and pretty patterns. It makes for an easy-to-follow design. Heather, (regarding your comment on my last post) I'm actually really wishing I had started at the top! I'm really kind of dreading finishing these bottom rows and going up from the middle. Yuck! I hate going up. Why do I always (almost) start in the middle? Perhaps it will be as easy as it has been so far going down...

I've had nice company stitching this band on the sampler. David Francey. I've bought some of his albums on iTunes this week and have been enjoying his music a lot. If you aren't familiar click the link, go to "albums" and listen to some of his songs. David has a gorgeous Scottish accent (yummy!) and sings really down-to-earth songs. Very much worth a listen.

It was surely planned that I'd finish this row just in time for February and the next block on Crabby! I could have stitched a lot more but I live in Oklahoma known for it's changeable weather. Early last week we had an ice storm come through. Three days of worrying about driving to work, worrying about driving home and getting up early so I could defrost the truck and driving 25 to 30 mph to get anywhere. I don't stitch much when I'm stressed out! Today, it was 70 degrees and, although it was very windy, we took a motorcycle drive this afternoon. How can you have ice storms on Monday and bike weather on Saturday? Crazy.

There will probably be an update on Crabby very soon as I'm excited to start the next block Love Stinks.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

I'm Obsessive and I Know It

I've finished the header on Crabby All Year. Now, it has to be put away until February. (I really just want to keep going!) I am really pleased with this project so far.

Since we still have another few days left of January (until I can begin the Love Stinks block) I took out my WIP box and pulled Peacock Cypher. See this post to see where I left off last. I did two lines of mosaic stitches and started the flowers on the next row. Whoops! I reversed the colors on the rows of mosaics! I dinna care, lassies, I'm leavin' it be! This is the only band sampler I've ever worked on and find it is very enjoyable. I've also worked very little in monochromatic stitching but I do like the effect.

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This picture is proof of how obsessive I can be. Excuse the wrinkles. When I buy fabric especially for a project I can get a little freaked out about the margins. Did I add correctly? Is there enough fabric? What if I don't center it right? Better add another inch or two, just in case. Good Lord. There is SIX INCHES of extra fabric on each side of Peacock Cypher. ROFLOL. Somehow, I don't tend to do this if I already have fabric on hand and pull from stash.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A partial row

It has been a while since I've worked on the peacocks. Isn't that sad? I've been stitching for exchanges and freebie models...but in between I have done a little bit on Peacock Cypher. The glass peacock bead goes where the blank spot is in the middle near the bottom row.

I love the over one stitches on this design...it's the lettering...plus I love how all the letters are a different font; Just Nan is so clever! I'm not sure what kind of fabric this is but there are things I like and dislike about it. I like that it holds the over one stitches well; threads slip under very little. I don't like it's slightly stretchy feel. I also find the needle splits the fabric very easily so I'm often having to back out and restitch. However, it is a pretty fabric and the color is much nicer in real life.

***This post imported from my other blog***

A New Start?

Yesterday was another Talons home game. Since Rick was off playing on his motorcycle with friends I took advantage of being husband-less and went stash shopping at The Silver Needle before the game! I had to spend the gift certificate Jessie bought me for Mother's Day, right?

I had a blast without someone waiting for me to finish...one always feels rushed; do you? I took my time and searched out a few things I just had to have. The first thing that really caught my eye was this Sisters and Best Friends chart Summer Joy. Love the colors and the bumblebees! I've always admired those S&BF designs I've seen others working on but I have never stitched one. This chart was so enticing I actually bought fabric and the Gentle Arts threads needed! The fabric I chose is a 28 count Jobelan called African Daisy...just yummy. I've been looking for another (yes, another, omg) WIP; have I found it?

I did have a couple of other charts picked out but those went back on the shelf when I found When Barnabee Met Bella by Just Nan. It is super hard to resist Just Nan designs. I love biscornus and this one is really detailed; not sure when I'll start it.
When I was finished with my stash shopping I made a trip to Barnes and Noble to see if they had any good magazines...they had good ones but they were all ones I already had...I ended up buying The Norton Trilogy by Peter Gethers. These are the bestselling The Cat Who... books -three in one Volume. I'm looking forward to reading it. Rick met me at the game and we had a good time. The Talons won...we did lose a game last weekend; I almost cried! But it looks like the team has pulled it together again.
A picture to prove I actually stitch; not just buy stash! I've done a bit of work on Peacock Cypher. You can read more about this on the Peacock SAL blog; after I finish this post...

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A big thanks to everyone leaving comments; you really brighten my days!

Peacock Cypher

Here is my progress on Peacock Cypher. I've been working on Cypher this week and now that I've finished this panel it is back to Tapestry, for a while. Cypher is a lot of fun to stitch and the specialty stitches keep it interesting. Wouldn't you know, I can do those stitches...no problem; but I'll bet I frogged parts of the over-one stitches three times?! No beads yet and the beads are gorgeous too. I especially enjoy beading so I'll treat myself with them at the end.

And hey, no figuring out the cipher and telling. Against the rules. There is a curse, you know...

***This post imported from my other blog***