Weekly update May 22nd, 2022

Hi Everyone,

I forgot to mention last time that when our computer died, I got sidetracked doing a bit of spring cleaning in our basement since we were getting a new computer and printer. Figured might as well start out with everything neat and filed away properly. Still have to file away some threads and charts that are in our basement - stored on our spare table. 

I'm still learning some program changes.. newer paint program - and it loads my pictures from my camera differently than before. 

Stitching:

Since we had no power, and my stitching corner was too dark to do anything, I dug out a beading pattern that I had started late last year (It got put away)..and worked on it at our kitchen table that had morning light & bright reflections from the snow.

Azar Bead Patterns (Etsy)
Fox Peyote bracelet pattern Winter
Grey Silamide
Delica Beads (15 colors)
42 columns, 100 rows (4200 beads!)

 

Just have to dip in it acrylic wax to make it a beautiful bookmark.

 

 

 

 

 

I also read a lot (with the help of a flashlight). 

Waiting to share to full and finished exchange: When our power returned I was able to complete my stitching on my May exchange.. now I need to to FFO it. I have until the end of the month - but my partner won't be sending me hers until the end of June. She had a car accident in early May.

info: 

May Exchange from the Facebook Group: International Cross Stitch Pen Pals
Theme:Favorite cartoon character or flowers
Challenge: Backstitching

My partner's favorite flower is daisies. 

I love the looney tunes characters.. so when I spotted this design in my book, it was decided... why not both themes. 

Looney Tunes WB The Big Book of Cross Stitch © 1998 Leisure Arts, Inc.
Sweet Memories Album (Pepe le Peu)
Fabric: 28ct white evenweave
Threads: DMC ** changed the called for green and yellow to match my finishing.
Stitch Count: 39 x 51, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch, Backstitch.. 

Lots of fractional stitches
 

Instead of Mounting this on a photo album, I'm planning to cover a composition book. I found some pretty daisy trim and some green gingham fabric. 

 

 

info: 

June Exchange from the Facebook Group: International Cross Stitch Pen Pals
Theme:Regional Flag or BBQ
Challenge: add a charm

Still deciding my next exchange project.. I have so many flag projects to FFO, I might just choose one to send to my partner... we'll see.

Earlier this week, DH had a dental appointment & then I was planning to pick up some groceries after. It was a dreary rainy day.. so I needed something simple. I realized last time that I didn't have any more small stitches in my purse, so I quickly grabbed this on the way out the door. Luckily I had a pair of scissors in my purse as I also forgot to grab those. I guess I'll need to make a couple more project bags and kit up a few things for the fall when it's cooler and we combine appointments and travel again. Finished it up later this past week

Freebie... Cross Stitching For Fun Designs Facebook Page (under files).
Sunflower Easter Egg2 © Maryna Riznychenko
Fabric: 14ct white aida
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count: 29 x 41, 2 over 1
Cross Stitch, Back Stitch

 

 

 

Then yesterday, I picked up this kit to work on....

Fall Posey © 2019 Jeanette Douglas Designs
Fabric: 40ct flax
Threads: Gloriana Tudor Silk
Stitch Count: 56 x 61, 1 over 2
Cross Stitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress so far...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stash:

Colour and Cotton May fabric: Sweet tea  and threads: Seaweed, Mahogany, Patina, Bombay, and Marigold

 

 

 

 

 

My November Order from Just Stitching Inc arrived: Winter Berries, Life is Better Woof

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Whimseys, Spring's Messenger Pinkeep, and new CC colors sea oats, Tahiti orange, and tropical paradise..

 

 

 

 

 

The next installment of my Crazy Annie's exclusive 12 days of Christmas Stocking club by Annie Beez Folk Art arrived

Etsy- hummingbird beads for a future project. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acorns and threads: November order arrived: Chubby bird kit ( and here are the acorn pins mentioned in last post)

 

 

 

 

 

My brother is on vacation from his nursing assignment - he's been visiting some national parks and sent me this Posy Collection kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our hummingbirds have returned...

That's about it for now.. threadgeeks is retiring some Victoria Frances charts tomorrow and I've been eying a few things at Etsy...stay tuned for my next update.

 

Until my next update,
Have a wonderful week!
Lisa M.

Weekly update September 27th 2020

Hi everyone,

Time for my weekly update.

Another month is drawing to a close and fall is in the air. 

It's been said that a dry fall leads to spectacular colors in the fall foliage. 

We have been very dry this year and the colors are popping beautifully. 

I'm hoping they stay for a while longer.. but we have showers in the forecast and that usually brings down a lot of leaves. Our burning bushes have been turning bright red; the walnuts have been dropping on the ground and the leaves on the black walnut are turning yellow

 

 

 

Stitching:

Just a few more stitches added to this one...

jiffy 16650 Bridge in Autumn © 1996 Dimensions, Inc

Designed by Karen Marie Zabroski

Fabric: 16ct dove grey Aida

Threads: included in kit, 2 over 1

Stitch Count: 110 x 78

Cross Stitch, half cross, back stitch, french knots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beading

Finished!

Golden retriever Bracelet ©  Vitalija Velyviene

from Etsy shop  here

Natural Silamide

Miyuki Delica Beads (14 colors), 3838 beads

Peyote Stitch, 202 rows 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stash:

Nothing this week

Reading:

Started  David Rosenfelt Who Let the Dog Out?

Other:

Monday was Wellness Dr. visit for Mom - she has to have a test end of next month to check her kidneys.. but other than that.. all is good.

Wednesday was DH Dr. visit ...some meds are changing and he has a re-test in three weeks since he only has one kidney & last test showed high protein levels. More blood work and another test on Friday am showed DH has an infection.. so they called in antibiotic late Fri eve after pharmacy closed.. so plans changed as early Saturday we had to pick it up.

I spent a small amount of time sewing up my final peek a boo pouches for the October & November birthday club ladies.

MOUSE...Macey was acting strangely the other night when we came in from our walk. We have an enclosed porch. It's nice for deliveries and wintertime as we can keep most of the snow out of our ground floor.. When I took her out again at 5 am the next morning, I looked around.. and we had a furry 4 legged visitor.. A field mouse...He must have come in when the door was open for one of her walks or with a package delivery... anyhow...the mouse no longer lives on our porch.

Plans:

I signed up for the #Witchy Stitchy 2020 challenge at Embroidery.com  again this year. Before and after photos. Required stitching 30 minutes a day and some weekly tricks along the way. A few allowed pass days, and a mandatory day of stitching on Halloween. Sounds like so much fun. I'm not sure what I'll work on as before I signed up I was thinking about Mondays in October being new starts... or maybe all month long? Just fall patterns? I should do at least one Halloween pattern - right? 

Maybe I should start this one (Charting Creations Snippet Uninvited guest) and work on it all month long?

At least I have a few more days to plan.  (Just as a side note.. every time I plan ahead for something like this... I get derailed - I grab a pattern that wasn't kitted up... I can't find a thread... or I know I have "that pattern" somewhere... and can't find it - and that's the only one I really want to work on.) Should be an interesting adventure going through my stash... Right now I'm thinking about 1 new project each week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More visitors...

Until next time,

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

Weekly update September 20th 2020

Hi everyone,

Time for my weekly update..It was a busy week.. not a lot to share.. but a little stitching is still a good thing.

 

Stitching:

I brought this Tuesday for Dad's appointment as I was not permitted in the building for his cardiology appointment.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my progress...

Middle Bookmark from etsy store Stitchesloversshop

Fabric: 14ct white Aida

Threads: DMC

Stitch Count: 36 x 99, 2 over 1

Cross Stitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beading

I finished the first page of the pattern. Now at 87 rows completed.

Golden retriever Bracelet ©  Vitalija Velyviene

from Etsy shop  here

Natural Silamide

Miyuki Delica Beads (14 colors), 3838 beads

Peyote Stitch, 202 rows 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stash:

My threads of the month from Colour & Cotton arrived on Monday. Gunmetal, Oregano, Silver Lining, Black Walnut, and Harvest Wheat (forgot to take a picture).

 

Reading:

Finished reading David Rosenfelt Hounded.

Other:

Monday was Dr. for Dad - his foot has healed up nicely.

 

Tuesday was Dad's visit to the cardiologist - they kept him for about 1.5hr to help him reduce the costs of his medicine.

 

Wednesday was DH's car inspection.

 

Thursday Macey saw her friends at the vets office and she got her Lyme booster shot. She's lost 5.5# (now she's 101#) since her teeth cleaning last month. Vet was very pleased. We mentioned that she's been chewing hew feet- not sure it it's her winter coat or how dry everything has been this summer - vet said she might have seasonal allergies.. so we are trying her on a specific allergy pill (apoquel) to see if it helps. So far so good.

 

 

 

 

Friday was a few errands.

 

We thought about going to the apple orchard this weekend. I called and found that they had 4 varieties ready.. macs, ginger golds - yum!, zesters -DH can't have these as they raise his blood sugars... and sweet tangos- yum! yum!  One of my favorites (honeycrisps) won't be picked for another week to 10 days.. so we'll make the trip then. Another favorite is snapdragon but we can't get that one at that orchard.. that's a different trip.. and thankfully those and the ruby frost apples are now available at our not so local grocery store.

 

 

 

 Fall is in the air... colors have just begun to turn.

 

 

We did see 2 hummingbirds this week.. but the past two nights we've had a hard frost.. no sign of them today... Time to find another feathered friend to watch.

 

 

 

 

 More change to our snowball bush... we'll have to re-shape it --  this is the bush the tree landed on last fall and this spring we were still picking up the branches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've been seeing the deer and turkeys daily. This group is part of a flock of 10.

Until next time,

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

Weekly update September 13th 2020

Hi everyone,

Time for my weekly update..I'll try to keep this short as I had a really bad sinus headache yesterday and it's still lingering today.

 

Stitching:

Just a few more stitches added to this one...

jiffy 16650 Bridge in Autumn © 1996 Dimensions, Inc

Designed by Karen Marie Zabroski

Fabric: 16ct dove grey Aida

Threads: included in kit, 2 over 1

Stitch Count: 110 x 78

Cross Stitch, half cross, back stitch, french knots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beading

now at 66 rows completed

Golden retriever Bracelet ©  Vitalija Velyviene

from Etsy shop  here

Natural Silamide

Miyuki Delica Beads (14 colors), 3838 beads

Peyote Stitch, 202 rows 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stash:

So it's been ages since I've been to a craft store.. That changed on Tuesday...Dad was running low on eye drops.. and since they opened really early in the am, I picked up his drops and then wandered through the Hobby Lobby, getting home just in time for DH to go to his Dr. appointment.

 

I found this lovely diamond painting (at 40% off) Seize the Day © Artwork by Chuck Pinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new to me fabric just to try...(40% coupon) & a floss that I needed and a couple to try out. I wanting some sparkly white (or maybe silver) for the stars in my bookmark that I started last month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some lovely needle minders for exchange gifts...only $5.99 a package..some charms & a package of buttons that will make nice needle minders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mail this week brought

 

 

 

 

the 2020 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Fabric of the month from Colour & Cotton. 40ct Linen  & 28ct Lugana

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My threads of the month from Colour & Cotton were due to arrive on Saturday.. but they didn't get on the truck North.. they were about 90 miles away at the distribution center on Thursday ....then it traveled east on Friday... back to distribution center early on Saturday... Hopefully they'll get here early next week. Last time this happened it took a detour though the state of Vermont.

Reading:

Continued with  David Rosenfelt Hounded

Other:

This was a busy week:

After the holiday on Monday...

 

Tuesday I had to pick up more eye drops for Dad as he was running low and still needs them for another 2 weeks. Also had to stop at Pharmacy for his test strips on the way North. Then DH had his Primary Dr. appointment.

 

Wednesday was primary Dr. visit for Dad. His primary Dr. is moving on to a nursing facility closer to her home at the end of this month, so it will be a new Dr. for Dad once that happens. This isn't that unusual - our health center has changed staff a lot -we've had 7 new Doctors in the past 20 years.

 

Thursday was eye Dr. Follow-up since Dad missed last week visit. His eye is healing well. Vision is improved.

 

Friday morning was an EKG for Dad at cardiologists office..he had a 10:30am appointment.. but the technician didn't arrive until after 11am.. she still had her coat on when he was called into the room for his test. Meanwhile I was waiting in the car as they don't allow anyone but the patient in the building.

Saturday was our local pharmacy for Dad & DH.

Next week will also be a very busy week.

Until next time,

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

Weekly update September 6th 2020

Hi everyone,

Time for my weekly update.. 

 

This was a off-week. 

Monday morning I picked up Mom to take her for her blood work for her upcoming Dr. visit.  Dad was still asleep when we left. We picked up some meat from the butcher shop. Arrived home to find Dad awake but not feeling well... Heart attack with chest pains and difficulty breathing. So he went to hospital and due to new rules we spent several hours playing phone tag and trying to get answers. Visiting is limited to 4-8 pm and only 1 visitor per day. Duration of visit in the patient room. Once the visitor leaves, can not return later. They admitted Dad and scheduled him for a cardiac cath the next morning. Dad has a blockage but it is not able to be fixed due to the location. They changed some of his meds and sent him home late Wednesday afternoon... Hopefully these changes and the increased blood thinner will help him. This coming week we have more Dr. visits and tests. 

Thursday and Friday I spent at least half the day on the phone trying to get all follow up appointments re-scheduled - especially since he missed his eye surgery post-op appointment. I had to change Mom's primary appointment as there were no openings for Dad within the required time frame.. so Dad got Mom's appointment as she will go at the end of the month. Tuesday I will have more changes to make as we had made an appointment for DH to have car inspected... and Dad has 2 other appointments that now conflict with the tests.

Friday we got a call as DH's blood work showed something amiss. The health center was supposed to call back as they wanted another test done before Tuesday but Monday is a holiday... ugh... They never called back. Thankfully, he called them after 2 hours of nothing and was able to make arrangements. 

Beading

I started this bookmark on Friday while I was waiting for phone calls to come in... I could work at our table that is right near our phone. 

 

 

Golden retriever Bracelet ©  Vitalija Velyviene

from Etsy shop  here

Natural Silamide

Miyuki Delica Beads (14 colors), 3838 beads

Peyote Stitch, 202 rows 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my progress so far...32rows completed  the white starter strip is actually on the top not the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stitching:

Just a few more stitches added to this one...

jiffy 16650 Bridge in Autumn © 1996 Dimensions, Inc

Designed by Karen Marie Zabroski

Fabric: 16ct dove grey Aida

Threads: included in kit, 2 over 1

Stitch Count: 110 x 78

Cross Stitch, half cross, back stitch, french knots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stash:

None

Reading:

Continued with  David Rosenfelt Hounded

Other:

 

 

 

Turkeys were in the field..so nice to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost time to say goodbye to our beautiful hummingbirds and their antics until next May.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowball bushes are still turning pink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some maple trees have started to show color, and the tips of our burning bushes have begun to change to red.

And we had a visitor yesterday eating up the acorns.

 

Until next time,

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

Weekly update August 23rd, 2020

Hi everyone,

Time for my weekly update..

 

Stitching:

Added some stitches to this one yesterday. I love how pretty it is.

 

 

jiffy 16650 Bridge in Autumn © 1996 Dimensions, Inc

Designed by Karen Marie Zabroski

Fabric: 16ct dove grey Aida

Threads: included in kit, 2 over 1

Stitch Count: 110 x 78

Cross Stitch, half cross, back stitch, french knots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beading

I finished this seed bead bracelet cuff purchased from the ETSY shop Beadingpatterns2013 .

 

 

 

 

Dolphins Play © C.Price

Gray Silamide thread

Miyuki Delicas, 10 colors, 4200 beads

peyote stitch, 200 rows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stash: 

Purchased a few more beading patterns from Etsy. Also purchased some of the Miyuki delica beads that I need for these patterns. (Some were out of stock.. so I'll order those later.

 

 

 

A lovely set of star patterns from here

Then 5 bracelet cuff/bookmarks patterns from this seller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I joined their mailing list and got a free pattern.. (lion)

Then after my purchase, the seller sent me this pattern as a thank you

gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I visited another ETSY store and picked out these bracelet cuff/ bookmark patterns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My JCS magazine arrive.. some nice patterns in this one.. I really like the Blue Ribbon Designs ornament - perfect for autumn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading:

Finished  David Rosenfelt Unleashed 

Started David Rosenfelt Hounded

Other:

Wednesday was follow up at Dr. Office for Dad after the eye surgery -

Thursday was his Covid test at the surgery facility. (2nd surgery is next Tuesday) Then some grocery shopping on the way North.

 

 

 

 

The tent caterpillars have been bust- nests have been showing up in many of the trees.

 

 

Macey has been licking/chewing her foot - Not sure if it's due to allergies (hayfever -ragweed season) or because she stepped on a bee and got stung (not the first time). I couldn't find a stinger... she limped at first.. but seemed okay within a very short time. We'll talk to the vet next month when she goes for her annual check and lyme booster shot.

The snowball bushes are just starting to turn..see the pink?

Until next time,

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.