IHSW Results, a Frog and a Thank you

Bonjour mes amies!!!

I woke up and what did I see? The SUN!!!!! Yes, it finally came this weekend! Although it did snow over night it is wonderful to have the sun out and melting the snow.  I just hope that it stays with us this week and give our flowers some much needed warmth. 

So my weekend was a nice hermitty weekend.  How was yours?  I managed to work on my two BAP's and do a lot of baking and cooking.  I made the most delicious Vegan Chocolate Chunk cookies! They are almost all gone! I took a recipe from the net and adjusted it slightly.  Instead of chocolate chips (which we had but the chips had milk products) I used a dark chocolate bar I had lying around and chopped it up.  Then I added some coconut bits and chopped up pecans.  Boy are the cookies good! You couldn't even tell that they didn't have dairy in them!!!

I also made two loaves of bread which I forgot to take a photo of, but trust me, the bread's tasty too!! For dinner we made a curry, which our friend says is more like a Thai curry than an Indian one, although we were going for an Indian curry.  It was also really yummy! We made papadams to go with it.  MMMM!!!!

Before I show you the IHSW stitching, I want to send out a big THANK YOU to AUTUMN!!! I recently won her dark chocolate Giveaway and received the package last week!!!! It really brightened my day and week in fact. The package included some really yummy Dove chocolates which I'm saving for after Lent and luckily, my husband isn't a big fan of dark chocolate so he's not eating them up!! HAHAHA! All the chocolate's MINE!!! The tea she sent is also really yummy and it's always nice to have more varieties at hand!! I love the little Tea book too! It has lots of great info of the origins of tea! Thanks again Autumn!!!!

I also won a cute Bumble Bee chart from Rahenna!!! I haven't received it yet, but when I do I'll show you the chart.  It's really adorable! So a big Thank you to Rahenna too for making my week!!!!! You should check out both of their blogs!!

So for awhile now, about a year, I've been hunting for a glass frog while I've been thrifting.  I've noticed on some blogs that there seems to be an abundance of them in the States, but we lack a good glass frog here, for whatever reason.  Maybe Canadians aren't picky about their flower arrangements?!?! Anywho, on Friday, I strolled up to the church where I got those cross stitch mags, hoping to score some more, when I noticed an amber glass frog for $2!! How can that be?!! I scooped it up and now I am the proud owner of my first glass frog!  I put my three sets of scissors in the frog and hope to get more scissors in the future.

I really wanted to start another little project this weekend, but cooking and baking got in the way, so instead I just stitched on Jane and TBF.  I think I did fairly well too. 

I LOVE the trees in Jane so much I wish there were more to stitch!! After I finish the middle tree, there's tons of little motifs all around the trees to stitch which I'm looking forward to! Have you seen Jane's sister's sampler? She's Sarah Philpott and I really hope that Theresa from Shakespeare's Peddler recreates Sarah's sampler soon.  Wouldn't it be great to have the two sisters hanging side by side?!

Sarah Philpott from Shakespeare's Peddler

As for TBF, you can see that I like to create outlines to work with instead of completing a page like most HAED stitchers do. I find it easier for me to follow the pattern and to fill in the blank parts.  Sort of like colouring!!!

There you go, that's my weekend full of good home makery stuff!! Titus of course came along to help on numerous occasions.  I'll leave you with a pretty photo of him and some lovely tulips I bought to brighten up our place. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's progress and will try to get to most blogs today and tomorrow!!

He loves to pose!

Hugs to all!!


Anne

Jane, a Bee and a Fairy

Hello my lovelies!!

The coffee's on and I'm sitting here with a warm blanket and looking out the window at the tree tops, which are all askew.  You guessed it! It's blustery here again! Not too chilly, just super windy! I went outside this morning to see the hubby off on his bike and nearly got blown over! March definitely has been acting like the royal lioness that she is!! I'm really hoping for some warmer weather.  It's been 6 long months of cold.  I'm done! Bring on the sun!! Although I'm sick of the cold, it's kinda nice sitting here by the heater with my blanket and cup of coffee...thinking about stitching...thinking about new charts I want yet can't have...thinking of new smalls to make...finishes to be completed.  I think I'll whip up two today!

So, I have actually finished 1 of the Rak's and I have to say, it's adorable!! Now, after I finished it, I just couldn't decide who to give it to because, well, everyone is so lovely and supportive and I want to give gifts to all!! However, I don't have 8 sets of arms--SHOCKING I KNOW!!--so, I put names into a bowl and pulled one out. That way I let chance choose. I'm keeping the rest of the names in the bowl for the future. If you haven't sent me your addy, please do!  Now all I have to do is find a small box to put it into and mail it off. The hunt is on!!

Onto Jane, the bee and the fairy.  I have been having a bit of stitching ADHD lately, not really sticking to one project.  I stitched a bit more on Jane but put her down to do some proper finishing.  I finally stitched up Shepherd's Bush's Tiny Garden "Fob".  It's a bit too big to be a fob for any of my three scissors, so I have it displayed instead.  I love the little bee pin from my hubby's grandma.  I think it's the sweetest thing!!

Since the silk ribbon is so tiny, I found that the loopy effect that I wanted didn't work as I had hoped.  Next time I get silk ribbon, I'll get the slightly larger kind.  Plus this was so fiddly and took an age to stitch around the pillow!

Here's some progress of Jane.  I finally got Adam stitched in.  He's a bit shorter than Eve! I double checked the counting and well, he is shorter than her by a few! My hubby loves the little lion under the tree.  We also had a laugh at the skin tone of A & E! It's very bright! Like they've been in the tanning bed for too long and came out looking like lobsters!!!

Hmm.  Seeing this photo makes me think I should recount again, just to be sure!! Although, that gap by Eve's calves is where the snake is going to go.  So maybe that's why Adam is short? Anyways, I will try and satin stitch the snake in after I finish the tree.  I've done satin stitching a LOOONG time ago in Grade 12 when I took a textiles course.  My mom is really proficient at satin stitching, so perhaps when she comes to visit in a couple of weeks, I'll have her around to help me out! I'm pretty excited for her to come!!! YAY FOR MOMS!!!!

The fairy.  Remember my Tea Bath Fairy?!! Well, it's been since November that I picked her up and put in a stitch! I've been feeling bad about having her stashed away in a box.  So I pulled her out two nights ago and set about filling in more teeny tiny stitches! I used a hoop since Jane is sitting in the Qsnaps...too lazy to take her out! I forgot how long it takes just to do a small area. This piece will take me awhile, that's for sure.

Oh Titus!! I had to get him off after I noticed he tried to get in the picture! He started playing with the thread that was attached to the fabric!! Luckily he was gentle and no damage was done.

Onto other news.  The strike action last week wasn't too bad.  I "demonstrated" up at a school I haven't been to before, but knew two of the teachers.  They were a lovely bunch! It was nice to see lots of people honking and showing their support.  Plus, we had the nurses union and other CUPE members join us because their contracts are up in 3 weeks and it looks like this government will mandate a "Net-Zero" for them too. 

We wanted to make our own signs but were given these ones to hold.  They were really heavy to hold when the wind started up!!!

And just for fun, here's a couple of photos of one of my favourite secret places in Gastown, Vancouver.

Titus helping me find interesting vegan recipes to make for Lent. He loves to help out!!

Okay, I need to go and start sewing and finishing some things and find that box! I will end my post here and thank you all for your support and kind words!! I have been really blown away by some of the amazing stitching going on!

I also want to send out my prayers to the people in the United States whose lives and homes have been affected by the terrible storms.

Hugs for all,

Anne

The Blustery Day and Some Stitching

Hello my dears!

It's a cold, blustery day today.  The kind of blustery day where you need to hold onto your hats and piglets!!

I think I need to grab a kite and go fly it with my friend! My hubby and I have a large selection of kites and have been flying kites for the past couple of years.  It's so much fun to fly kites!!

In terms of stitching news, I have been stitching only on Jane and not much else.  Last night I wanted to start Chatelaine's Knotgarden but realized, after counting my two pieces of "large" fabric, that I don't have fabric quite wide enough for the design. This is usually the case with me not paying attention to the ACTUAL measurements of designs and linen!!! Soooo, now I need to get new fabric! But after speaking to my hubby, since the Chatelaine is for him, he said that I already have a BAP to work on and there is no need to start another one. Well, he does have a point! We'll see how my progress goes on Jane for the next couple of months and if it's moving along quickly, I'll consider purchasing the fabric for the Chatelaine then.  Too bad.  I really wanted to start it!! For now I'll concentrate on her and my Rak's and other small projects.  Speaking of the RAK's, I just got the fabric to finish them!! I think the fabric will be perfect for each design!! I also got some backing fabric for my mom's snowman ornie!! Yay! So close to ACTUALLY finishing it!!

Here's some progress photos of Jane, snowman bling, thanks to Carolyn! And my sister's little pincushion I made for her.  She loves it!!

Stitched on 36ct linen, Dinky Dyes Silk in Rain Forest and DMC 152

Finished with a pearl, button and some old fabric my mom gave me

LOVE that flower!! And that tree took me two nights to do! Phew! Tons more motifs and stitching to do!! Wait til you see Adam and Eve.  They are a hoot! I love how Jane chose her bright pink threads for the skin tone! You'll have a good laugh!!!

Look at that cute fabric I found! I bought a bunch so I can make some project bags with it.  I really want to expand my skills in sewing!!

Sweet Titus posing for me! Right now Titus is playing with one of my eye make-up brushes and tickling my toes with it!!

And last but not least, another cartoon from the thrift find magazine!!

Don't we all feel like that sometimes!!! LOL!!!

Bon soir mes amies!! I will be visiting your blogs later on this evening...I know I'm a bit behind on some blogs but isn't that always the case?!!!

PS: I am slowly switching to gmail and have added my new account to my profile.  If and when I use my gmail to respond to you, just make sure you check your junk mailbox cause you might find me in there!!

IHSW Results and TUSAL!!

Bonjourno!!

A very quick post about my somewhat hermitting weekend. I continued to stitch on Friday night, trying out my new fabulous stand!! I leaped for joy when my hubby finished putting it together!! Literally!! It helps me out so much I don't know why I hadn't thought of this last year!! On Saturday I stitched a bit in the morning then went out to see a comedy show for a friend's birthday. Click on my link Garfield and Oates if you want to watch a funny song by the two girls that headlined the show! I enjoyed them and the other comedians! So much fun to have a good laugh with your friends!!

So without further ado, here are my progress pics of Jane Philpott.

I love Jane's gigantic tree flowers!! The one on the right was a lot of fun to stitch. The flowers make me think of pre-historic Dinosaur times!! The tree flowers are larger than Adam and Eve! Hopefully I will finish the left one tonight and start on more of the trees in the middle. Blech, sorry for the grainy, dull and dark photos.  No real sunshine today so bad lighting is what I have to work with.

Other than working on Jane, I managed to finish my sister's gift.  No pictures until she receives it though. I'm in the process of planning the two RAK's and am glad I got so many of your addresses!! Thank you! You never know when I will use them...even if it's just a card of thanks! I'm really trying to get organized, can you tell?!!! That was one of my resolutions for the year.  So far I think I'm doing not too badly.  I organized my fabrics (non linen, stitchy fabrics) in a cute box that I had. Some papers, some threads and a few future small stitching projects in baggies. I'm really lacking space so I do what I can to keep things tidy.

No start on the Chatelaine yet, but I've been wanting to!! It's just Jane got a lot of fun lately and I think I'll keep on her for a bit.  I haven't visited all of your IHSW posts yet but I will get to them soon!! I think tomorrow there's a TUSAL post to do. OI! Loads of posts this month!!

Had La La Lemon tea today after I vacuumed the house...it was yummy! Titus hid for an hour under the bed then came out and gave me loads of affection.  Such a funny kitty cat!

Nataly from Nataly's Needle Creations is having a wonderful giveaway.  Pop over to her blog and check out her amazing stitching!!



Ciao bellas and happy stitching!

I'll leave you with this silly cartoon from one of those old cross stitch mags I found!

LOL!!!!!

Edited (because I'm too lazy to do another post)

Here's my pic of my TUSAL...loads more threads this month!!

Also hop on over to Autumn's blog "The Whispers of Autumn" she is having a wonderful Chocolate giveaway and wants to meet new bloggers!!

Pre ISHW Stitching and Shopping!!

Hello my lovelies!!

I am happy to announce I just purchased a floor stand from Michael's with a 50% off coupon!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!

My hubby is assembling it as I type!!!!

It's finished! Here's a quick photo.

 This will make my stitching life, back, neck, arms, shoulders a lot easier and more comfortable for me!! Not only did I get the frame but I also got a bunch of DMC threads for a new Chatelaine I will be making!! It's a Knotgarden!! Check it out!

My hubby really likes this one so I will be stitching it for him, and well for me too!! I'm in the process of figuring out what fabby to use.  I might just use some antique white linen I bought last year for this piece or some other fabric I have around. I will still have to get a couple of specialty threads but that will have to wait awhile until I have saved up some cashola after my craft stand purchase.

Remember that Tiny Rose Garden Mandala I stitched awhile ago? Well I found a frame that was 40% off and so I figured why the heck not? Here it is all framed up. I'm not too pleased with the puckering that is happening between the mat and the back, but I'm not going to be fussy.  It's framed.  I'm happy :D

Pardon the reflection!
Not only did I get the craft stand, the frame, the DMC threads, I also bought myself a pair of 7 for all mankind jeans.  They were regular 245 and I got them for 60!! Nice score hey?!! I'm on a roll today!!!

Although I have a busy Saturday planned, I did manage to get some stitching done last night and this morning.  Here are some progress pics of Jane, which I will be working on tonight, trying out the new stand, and finishing my sister's small.  I may start on the Knotgarden, but we'll see how the weekend goes.

That yellow glow in the middle is not on the fabby, some weird light thing happening

 I don't want to show you all the smalls I stitched for my RAK's (Random acts of Kindness to my lovelies) so they are partially covered up by my new DMC's.  Also, could you all send me your snail mail addresses via my email.  I may use them in the future!

Hee hee! Just a peek!!!

Oooh, annnnddddd the other day while my hubby and I took a walk, we decided to check out a church's thrift shop and I found some old school Cross Stitch magazines for a donation! Score!!!!

Ooh, I feel a bit hyper after I drank a whole cup of Pure Chai tea from David's! YUMMM!!! Speaking of YUM, I made a most delicious soup courtesy of Joyce, Creator of ISHW and best pen pal gal! It's called Assam Laska and it's a Malaysian soup!! Oh it was good!!! Thanks honey for the soup!!!

Super spicy, and sweet at the same time! LOVE!!

Okay, happy hermitting everyone! Can't wait to see everyone's progress pics on Monday!

Hugs to all!!!

Time Flies By Too Quickly

Good day to you all!!

I'm finding that TIME is my enemy as of late.  Between working everyday, being on transit 3 hours a day, busy weekends, I have little TIME to be crafty or to sit and relax!! I noticed my last post was over a week ago! YIKES!! The blog reading/commenting has also been behind, like usual! This morning I was stalking your blogs when I noticed that over an hour has gone by and I still haven't showered or gone grocery shopping for our home.  My plans for baking/sewing/stitching have been dashed!!Then a good friend of mine called and wants to meet for coffee, so of course now that's what I gotta do!! So here's a VERY quick post (I really have more to say and will at some point soon I hope) showing you all a couple of things I did manage to get done the past 10 days.  I've been thinking of rewarding a couple of my regular readers and took an evening to take out all my stash and print off a ton of freebie designs and set to work kitting some smalls! What fun that was!! Even Titus got into it!

All my specialty threads

 If you notice in the top right hand corner, I have an old Valentine Sampler Girl freebie pattern set up to get sewn at some point.  I wanted to get this done today, but no can do.  I loved seeing all my specialty threads strewn about when I noticed I have LOADS of Pink?!?!? I'm not even a huge pink fan.  What I really need to add to my collection is more Purples and Blues and Reds and, well everything!!

Aren't I cute Mom?

Due to keeping the RAK's secret for now, I can't show any pictures of the little pieces I'm working on, nor will I give a date when I will complete them!! LOL! It will happen in my own time, when I get the time and inspiration to finish them.  I also started a cute little small for my sister.  I've been wanting to make her a little something for awhile now and am pleased with the chart and the colours I chose for the design.  I can give you a sneak peek of it, because I don't think my sister regularly reads my blog (she's a busy radio director).

Thanks to all of you for your lovely comments on the last post about my Dad's moose hat.  He was tickled that people loved it!!!
AHH, time, AHHHH....

Okay, quick....here's an update photo of Jane.  Got her name in and almost finished the lettering!!

Update on War and Peace: Read 28%!! It feels like I've read more though, seriously, I feel like I've read over a 1000 pages, which I haven't, but it soooo feels like! I have been enjoying the book so I'm okay with that!!
Ack, I really wanted this post to go smoothly, but now I'm panicking for time and my mind is going blank. So silly too because just yesterday I was so creative in creating stories with two intermediate ESL girls and was hoping to share one of the stories I created from a simple sentence!! I'll share it another time!!
Some photos of where I've been working up in the mountains.  The scenery is so breathtaking and the pictures don't do it justice at all.

Some signs of spring in my Nana's garden!! YES YES YES!!! Finally!!!!!

Okay! Last but not least, I need some beads. I would like to do a trade!! Remember my mom's snowman ornie I finished? Well, the beads the pattern calls for are Mill Hill Ice Petite Beads Size 15/0 2mm, since it is stitched 1 over 1, you need the tiny beads.  I have been searching for tiny beads here in Vancouver and bought some beads I thought could work with the ornament but they are too large.  They are Crystal Silverlined Delica Beads, 5 g, and I think 4 mm as the bead lady told me.  I put them up to the ornie and they TAKE over the design compeletly.  My question is if anyone has some of those petite beeds, they can be crystal, white, whatever, would you like to trade me?  I don't want to purchase them from 123stitch because I would need to buy other stuff too and I can't do that right now.  My beads I purchased were 4.50 :( The beads online are like a dollar.  Just let me know and I would be so grateful!!!

I hope to do a proper post soon!!

Take care and happy stitching!!


Anne

PS: I've tried editing my post quickly before I clicked post and I noticed a gazillion, grammatical mistakes!! Please excuse me if I forgot a bunch!! I really hate not letting the writing flow and focusing on sentence structure and grammar.  Sigh.