IHSW Report

Well how was everyone's weekend? Mine was spent baking bread that didn't rise, then burned.  Creating lessons for this week's evaluations, cross stitching, watching the Good Wife and reading The Garden of Eden by Hemingway.  Fairly productive but now I have butterflies in my stomach.  I know everyone says I will do fine with my evaluation however, one can't help but feel nervous.  I will look at it as a positive and a way to improve my teaching practices regardless of the knots in my stomach!!!

Before I showcase my weekend's stitching, a big thank you to all who have commented and sent good thoughts/prayers for my husband.  We go for the results today since they weren't ready for us last Monday.  Big colossal waste of time last Monday! I will update this post once we return...hopefully with okay results.  Most likely, the doctors still won't know what to do other than recommend surgery, one path that is becoming inevitable.  

Stitching....I had my first finish this year! CC's Love Birds! It was such a fun stitch and I so enjoyed stitching with Belle Soie silks! Thank you again dear Nia!!

Wee bit of progress on JCS...got the peacock's legs in!

Stitched Magic Garden on Friday night.  Maggee will be joining me in stitching this design!! Pardon the wrinkles!

Now for Knotgarden.  I stitched the most on this last night and decided to trail off from the knots and get the outer frame started.  I had a horrible accident with Knotgarden.  While I'm stitching, I cross out the stitches with a blue felt marker.  Well, as I was putting the lid back on, I swiped the marker onto the fabric! How did I do this? I'm stitching with a lap scroll holder thingy and it is very close to my stomach so I'm all squished in on the couch.  The marker leaked onto the front part of the linen.  I went into freak out mode and pulled up how to get out ink from linen.  Hairspray.  But of course I don't have any...I only use mousse with my hair.  So I used some Tide stain remover, mousse and Z-out and scrubbed that blasted stain out, along with multiple rinses in cold, cold water.  Thankfully, while my heart rate got back to normal, the stain lifted and out it came!! PHEW!! Never will I cross out my stitches again NEAR the linen!!

Before I head off to the doctors, here's a sweet photo of Titus trying to help me prep...well he wasn't that helpful.  In fact, I had to pull out bits of paper from his mouth! He really likes to flop onto my work!

Cheerio for now! 

Hugs

Anne

May IHSW

Thank you all for entering my giveaway.  I will be adding a few little extras for the winner.  For those who haven't entered yet, you can click on the link on the right sidebar which will take you to the post.  Good luck to all!!

Okay, now onto the stress.  I had quite the bad Friday, hoping that I would get a call back for my position but that didn't happen.  I will be waiting with bated breath this week to see what happens.  I truly hope I get to keep this position as I have grown rather fond of the children and want to be there for them next year.  I know if I don't keep this position, I have other options and will fit in wherever I go.  It's just hard to think of leaving a position I finally got the hang of and have grown to love.  Keep sending those positive thoughts and prayers my way. Thank you to all of you who have supported me through this trying time.

That done, I will show you the progress I made for this hermitty weekend.  I focused solely on filling in Hannah's leopard and now my neck, butt and shoulders are sore!! I got caught up on a few shows: Mad Men, The Borgias and the Game of Thrones.  Nothing like a stitch and watch marathon to forget your worries!!

Before:

After:

I love how the leopard is snapping at that little hummingbird!  Only half way done on Hannah and I'm already thinking about starting the JCS 1707 sampler.  I actually ordered a lighter fabric that I think will highlight the delicate stitching and will use the other fabric in the kit for something else.  Along with that order, I couldn't resist buying myself a pair of Bohn scissors.  The scissors I have are nice but I wanted some really sharp ones.  I am loving how the Bohn's snip the threads!

I also put together an old finish but forgot to take a photo, so next post I'll show it.  I still have to put together my Spring finishes, even though Spring is nearly over!!

Note about blog readers  

I tried out Bloglovin' and am not really lovin' it.  I find I have to click on each individual post and mark read, which was time consuming, plus the template is a bit awkward and not to my liking.  So, I gave Feedly a try.  LOVE IT!! Feedly is just like Google Reader but not so laggy or problematic.  It transported all my file folders and the left side bar looks just like google reader except I can personalize it to a deep purple.  I love the look of Feedly and find it very easy to use and more efficient.  So Feedly it is and from now on that is what I'll be using!

Hugs to all!!

Anne

First ISHW of the Year and A Hot Dwarf

Hello everyone!

I think I forgot to thank all of you for your birthday wishes....so THANK YOU!! I've been trying to get into the groove again with blogging, commenting, etc and I've made some progress this weekend in that department! Also I would like to welcome my new followers! 

The first hermitting weekend was sort of successful for me.  I finished stitching two Rak designs and found the fabric to match, just need to pull out the sewing machine and finish them up! I also spent a good portion of Friday night frogging Hannah's first bloom I stitched.  I should know that when working with 40 count, 1 thread is more than enough coverage! I did start the pattern with 2 threads of silk but found it to be rough going so I frogged the flower, salvaged most of the silk (YAY!) and made some progress on Hannah.  Here's the first 2 over 2 bloom that I frogged.

Looks pretty but the threads were too bulky.  So here's the second attempt. Also the colour of the fabric in the first photo is much closer to what it really looks like.

The stitching went a lot faster and I'm really enjoying working with AVAS silks.  I've worked with a number of silks before, but AVAS is by far the best! Loving this design!!

I also managed to finally fill in Tea Bath Fairy's massive kreinik block.  I worked on this for over a month in the evenings since filling in stitches is easy work.  No need to look at the pattern...just stitch away!

I liked working on TBF every so often because it's amazing to see all the shading and details those tiny little stitches make.  Quite fascinating isn't it?!

I almost forgot to take a photo of my finished Tweet!! I used an assortment of sillks and DMC's stitched on 40 ct. R & R Reproduction's Creme Brulee, the same linen Baked Goods is being stitched on.  I need to find the perfect fabric for this one.  I think I'll do a simple pillow finish because it's faster and I won't procrastinate with that kind of finish!!

Funny thing about the post system, I received many Christmas cards WAY after the fact and just received Vickie's Christmas card on Friday! It must have got lost in the US because it didn't leave the States until January 13th but she posted it almost a month before!! Well, I'm glad I got it and thanks so much Vickie for the sweet little counting pins! My first counting pins ever! They are so delightful.

Can't show you the two RAK's I finished because I want them to be a surprise! I really liked the patterns and colour schemes I chose. Being a part of the Random Act of Kindness Blog has really pushed me to stitch more smalls and finish them!

Onto hot dwarves!! Finally saw the Hobbit! Wow! It was amazing and I looove Thorin! 

Yup...sigh

 Joyce also did a post about Richard Armitage if you'd like to go pop over there and ogle him a bit!!
 I think it's his eyes right?!!



Oh, almost forgot to show you all something I put together.  My finishes of 2012!! I had a pile of others but the "mosaic" would've been too massive and there were a number of pieces I actually didn't finish completely.  I hope to get to them this year!! Putting the finishes together was neat to see how much I actually accomplished!!

Okay, that's all for now!


I hope you all had a wonderful stitchy weekend and sorry for no Titus photos today.  He needs his beauty rest for the next photo session!!


Hugs!!

*GASP* Two Finishes!! IHSW and TUSAL

What's that you hear? Yes....you heard correctly! I finally had a finishing weekend!!! Yay! The finishing drive came over me once I had a glass of sherry and put on some old school jazz. I am pretty pleased with the results and can't wait for next weekend when I will have more time for finishing!! 

Earlier that day, I took a visit to Fabricland and found some wooden and metal buttons on sale.  I grabbed a couple of packs, came home and started playing with trims.  Following some inspiration from the wonder woman finisher Faye from Carolina Stitcher and her post about layering, I decided to give layering trims a go and found a lovely combo for my 123citrouille's Noel.  

123Citrouille's Noel freebie

I love the combo of ribbon, lace, cluny lace and chenille trim with those buttons! So proud of myself!! It's nice to know that with all that practice, I am getting a wee bit better with my finishes.  Don't mean to toot my own horn, but compared to when I first started, it's an improvement to say the least.  The only thing is I don't really like the current fiberfill I have, it's sort of lumpy and difficult to work with.  Now I need to buy some really good fiberfill instead of this lumpy stuff I have and my finishes will be even better.

I also fiddled around with PS's Partridge in a Pear Tree.  I cut out a triangle and spent a good 1/2 hour looking for the green felt I thought I had lying around.  Couldn't find it so I used some red felt.  After I made the ornament, guess what I found?  Yup, the green felt!! Egads!!! Oh well! I think this one came out okay too.  Not as good as the Noel pillow, but cute I think.

Check out who's under the tree! Naughty Titus!!

Oh that cat! 

With all that finishing this weekend, I didn't spend a lot of time stitching.  I did work a wee bit more on Tweet and Tea Bath Fairy.  Here's my progress for 2012's last IHSW.

Loads of Kreinik stitching...slow going.

The little Tweet!

Looking forward to more hermitty weekends in 2013! 

The last TUSAL of the year is filled with kreinik and other bits of string as my hubby calls it.

Thank you to those who have sent me Christmas cards! I have them up and displayed and love them all!! 

On a sadder note, my heart breaks every time I think of those children and teachers who lost their lives in Connecticut.  I wept for all those little boys and girls and their families.  My heart and prayers are with the parents and the community for their loss.  

Take care everyone! I'm looking forward to spending some time visiting your blogs on the break.  

Hugs from me and Titus

Uber Late TUSAL and IHSW

Hello everyone!!

A big warm welcome to my new followers! Thank you for joining my blog!!

I have finished my first reports last week and so happy that they are done!! I may have a few little things to fix/edit tomorrow but that's it! Now it's the homestretch to the holidays!

I would like to send out big hugs and a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who commented on my completion of Jane Philpott. I truly appreciate all of your comments and still have many to reply to!! I hope to get at them today after this post.  I also want to visit blogs too but just opened up the reader and....GASP it's at 1000 + posts!! I hope to conquer some of those posts today!!

Here's my uber late TUSAL pic.

As for IHSW, well, that was report weekend, so I didn't stitch a lot.  I did promise Joyce a Chatelaine SAL and I managed to get just a few stitches in.  Very abysmal progress.  Dear Joyce stitched a whole butterfly! Way to go girlie!!

I also stitched a bit on Tea Bath Fairy. The filling in of the tea cup is taking awhile!!

This weekend, I stitched up two ornies and will be finishing them hopefully next weekend.

Noel by 123citriouille stitched with Victorian Motto's Nan's Red

Prairie Schooler's Partridge in a Pear Tree
Stitched on 28 ct lugana with DMC threads

I loved stitching both designs, especially the Partridge one.  I will try to finish it as a triangle ornament.  Hopefully that will work out.

As for Christmas cards, I have a couple of people I will be sending out cards to in the next little while.  If anyone else wants to exchange Christmas cards with me let me know! I love getting cards in the mail other than bills!!!  Just email me and send me your address!!

Also, I have some pieces of Aida that I will never use.  If anyone would like them, leave a comment saying so and I will do a mini draw and mail it out before Christmas.  I'll give it a week, or until I do my next post.  Here's the cream and red aida cloth with Titus. And no, he isn't being given away!!

Titus giving you all a fond farewell!!

Hugs to you all!!!

Anne

IHSW and Some Finishing!!

My weekend of stitching was not too shabby! Although I was busy, I did get some time at night to stitch on Jane.  I managed to finish two pieces too and prep for more finishing for next weekend!

Jane....just the snake and 1 over 1 verse to complete! I'm getting so close!

Plum Street Samplers "Coffee Bean Christmas Tree" I didn't have the rusted bells but I think these turned out nicely.  The green gingham I used for the backing.

I finally finished Le Chalet des Perelles using that perle cotton stuff and some pretty silk ribbon from Vicki Clayton.

My two Autumn pieces.

While I was working on my smalls, look what the mailman brought me!!

My first Prairie Schooler Chart!! Woohoo!! Although I'm a wee bit late getting this, it'll be great to stitch more fall designs for next year.  Now I am trying to choose some cute Christmas ornies to stitch. 

Thank you all for your suggestions on getting "gray" linen.  I'm going to try both Zweigart and WDW and see what I end up with.  If neither are gray, I may just have to do some dyeing of my own!

Hope you all had a wonderful hermitty weekend and that you enjoyed my finishes! I hope to finish some more next weekend...fingers crossed though since it's getting close to report time!

Hugs 

Anne

A Pathetic IHSW and TUSAL

That's right folks.... I had a pretty abysmal IHSW this weekend for stitching.  Thank you darling Joyce for putting it on....I plan to actually do better next time.

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That's how I feel!! I can't write for some reason...I think my mind is overheating like my computer with my massive TO DO list to do!

I can't even focus on blogging right now because I have tons of kids files to read and sort and organize.  Which is great.  Not complaining at all. I just wish there was more time to manage all that I am managing. I'm am woefully behind on emails and commenting but I am keeping up with a lot of your blogs!! Sometime soon I will get in the swing of things again and be able to stitch, blog and comment...all things I love to do.  The desire for stitching has pretty much disappeared until I get my brain sorted out.  Thank you all for joining my giveaway and hello to my new followers! Too bad you joined when I'm in a slump :( Usually I have more energy and interesting things to share with my readers.

In case you missed the link....here's my 2 Year Giveaway post.  Be sure to enter!!

Anywho.  How about some photos.

I thought of flushing my pathetic threads down the toilet...but thought better of it.

I lost so many of my threads while camping/traveling....

I really do wish I could have breakfast all day long.  Tori Amos sums up my sentiments on breakfast in the song Purple People; "Breakfast, every hour, it could save the world!"

The crow apparently thinks so too.

My Tётя Mira's Russian rooster egg. 

My Matryoshka dolls...perhaps from my Tётя Mira (Tётя=Aunt) on my desk in my classroom.

Oh and the stitching I managed to do one evening.  I worked on my lovely Jane.  I wish I could spend my days finishing her up.  Perhaps this weekend......

Before:

After:

                  Here's Titus too for those who love to see him.

Pretty boy.....pretty pretty boy.  Lol!!

Hugs to you all and know that I think of all of you and appreciate all your lovely comments and encouragement.  If only I could make another me to manage my workload!!! Crazy thought!

Anne

Edited: I left out the "e" in my own name...lol