Thursday, April 29, 2010

I Did it!!

I AM A GRAND MASTER OF PEGGLE!

I have been playing this stupid game for months and today I finally reached Grand Master. But then it tells me there is another level...Extreme Grand Master. And so it begins --- my new quest!

Getting ready for the weekend!

I am so excited! I am attending my first ever stitching retreat. Well, not a retreat - just a day - okay, 6 hours! But, you have to start somewhere!

I have packed 3 projects to take, a finished framed item, my stitching album, and all necessary do dads. I wish I had a small travel light to go, but that is down the road. I think that is everything.

Not sure all of all the activities they have planned. I know they are providing lunch. And there will be door prizes. Maybe, crossing my fingers here, there will be discounted shopping sprees too. That would make my day!

What am I planning to get? Well, I have joined Amy at Countedblessingproject.blogspot.com and I need to get my fabric. I want 5 silver heart charms for it. Maybe stretcher bars too. If I can't get everything at Blueberry then I will go to Crafty Ewe in Broadview Hts. Yippee! A reason to do more shopping.

Check out Amy's blog or for that matter, my other blog to see our progress. My dedicated blog for that project is - denises100blessings.blogspot.com.

So, I am off to play with my stash!

Winks and Smiles - Denise

Sunday, April 25, 2010

On with the pictures...

Okay, I promised that I would post pictures of my WIP's. While tearing apart my stitching room for them I discovered that I really have very few UFO's!!! Maybe 5 total! And those should be tossed into the "dead bin." I would say trash, but I would rather hold onto them forever than toss 'em.

Colorful Sky II - Mystic Stitch.
It will be 25" x 16.5" when complete. I was rotating it with Birch Forest until I discovered Grace. So, as soon as Grace is done - back to the yummy colors!



Another Mystic Stitch - Birch Forest-French Alps
When complete it will be ---- get ready --- 45"x 14.25" Yeah, I am certifiably insane.



This is Fractal 38 - Cross Stitch Collectibles
Finished it will be 25" x 22" There's a goof in it somewhere. I am off by 1 measly little stitch and I have not found it yet. So, until I do -- it sits!



Now for the GRAND DADDY of them all. A picture of the Portland, Me Headlight Lighthouse. I had it digitized in 2000 by Calico Stitchery (in Canada). As far as I know they are no longer in business. If they are - sorry haven't been able to find you on the 'net. Finished size 32" x 32". I have been having problems working on it. It is --- wait for it --- too big! I love it and want it finished, but...



I do have smaller projects and I will rotate them in from time to time. But for now, I'm doing the big guys. Opps! that sounded wrong.

On another note, no news is good news - right? I knew it. My daughter called today to say she was in a fender bender last night. She and the others are fine, but the car needs work. She is 19 and life is all a lesson. I pray nightly that she is well. It is hard to have a baby gone and on her own.

Until later - winks and smiles to all.

The Weekend so far...

No stitching yet. That hopefully will be rectified today. But, I have been busy. I went to the quilt show on Friday. It was a benefit for our little library. There were at least 200 quilts hanging and probably 50 for the bed turning. Also 2 quilt shops were represented. The Lutheran Church was kind enough to allow them to use their building. Belinda, a friend in charge, told me that it was a success! I went back down yesterday to help her with the dismantling of the show. It took about an hour and there were many others helping. How does that saying go - Many hands make short work something something.

And then last night I went to see the high school production of "Grease." The director has been asked constantly to do this show, but she felt the way it had been written that many would find it offensive. Finally, someone re-wrote it for high schoolers. My son was the sound chief. Insert proud mamma moment here. I clapped, laughed, and even had a few tears. Was it John Travolta and Oliva Newton John? No. Was it a great way to spend a Saturday night? Yes!! A resounding YES!

I am thinking I should possibly put up another slide show of some of my other stitchy completions. Because those 3 lonely little things I have done this year just are pathetic! I also think I might do some photos of some of my other WIP's. That will at least keep this blog with a stitchy theme.

Oh, I have to give some big shout outs here!!! I have 2 people following this blog. Parsley is following me here and Corinna is reading this on Google reader!! Can you see me waving at you??? Hi!!

Parsley, I will be emailing you for your address so I can send you a post card. Please don't send me to spam. (smile)

Anyway, I think it is time for breakfast and well, I am hungry. Have a wonderful day out there in bloggerville.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Nope, just didn't happen

So much for that stupid list. Housework, who was I kidding. Okay, today the laundry is getting done, but when DH is down to his last pair of clean jeans - you just gotta do what you gotta do. I wonder though could I hire someone to do the housework...

Oh the list, sorry fantizing about a cleaning lady or the cute pool boys that do housework. Shoot, no pool. Anyway, dinner - why do I EVEN try to make homemade biscuits. These things are sad little hockey pucks that are DRY! Not even 1/4 cup of butter softens them up. And the taste - blah! The chicken wasn't bad but the colonel just does it way better.

And well, the nap never happened, I am procrastinating about the quilt show and know it just isn't going to happen. I would have to go pull the quilts out of the trunk, freshen them, take pictures, sign cards, and you know what? I will just go to the damn quilt show and pay my $5 and call it good. Lazy! And add more lazy to that...I haven't even given thought to what to take next Saturday.

I didn't stitch yesterday AT ALL! Instead I read and LMAO at Spinster Stitcher. I found her blog and she inpsired me to try this. So, like the near stalker that I can be - I am going back to her early blog posts and am reading.

That's it for now. I am making head way on Grace - I finshed page 6 today and page 7 should move right along.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Peace...

Today is the first day in well, FOREVER, that I am alone in the house. DS is at school, track practice, and play practice today. He'll be lucky to be home by 9 pm tonight. I am not thrilled by the time, but the play - Grease - is this weekend. So, very soon it will be over. BUT, DH is at a safety training thingy today - tomorrow - and Friday! Yippee! He should be home around 6:30. He has some running around to do for his mother one night too. So, all of that peace and quiet. What should I do?

1) There is some housework that should be done. But, it can wait.
2) I still have to make dinner - fried chicken and homemade biscuits tonight.
3) Stitch
4) Start arranging things to take to Blueberry Hill's Stitching Saturday next week.
5) Decide if I am entering my great-grandmother's quilts in the library's quilt show this weekend. If I do -- then there are more things to do with that in mind.
6) Take a nap.

That nap thing sounds really good.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

One over One...OMG!

I now understand why people who smoke comment that "They need to go smoke." I just tried one over one on 32ct. My eyes have not uncrossed yet. I did it though. Not sure I would win any competetions. Bless all of you who have the eyesight and want to stitch on this teeny tiny eetsy bitsy fabric count. How do you do it??? I can't even see the completed stitches as such. I mean I know they are there, but are the stitches the way I want them? I just can't tell. Here's the project - Grateful Hearts by The Trilogy.

So, after 45 minutes and what amounted to maybe 150 stitches I gave up. I went back to "Grace." I stitched it for another 20 minutes and my eyes begged for a break. So, I came out of my room and decided to whine and complain here. This is Grace.

Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest. It is cloudy and cool today. The sun was shining earlier this morning but now it is hiding.

I did promise a receipe a for Italian Wedding Soup. I had to laugh a couple of days ago some Italian friends stopped by to visit. We got to talking about food and Valerie decided she wanted some of my receipes. Me, a mutt of European heritage, giving an Italian some receipes. What a joke!

Well, here it is...
Soup ingredients - 6 cups of chicken broth, 2 chicken breasts, 2 bunches of green onions chopped, 3 carrots diced, 3 stalks of celery diced, 2 cloves of garlic minced, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 TBS butter, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 pound fresh spinach finely chopped, 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped, 1/2 parmesan cheese.

Saute the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in large stock pot with the olive oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer while adding chicken breasts. Poach chicken in stock pot with veggies for 10-15 minutes. Remove and shred the chicken - then add it back to stock pot. Add spinach and parsley and simmer another 30 minutes. Add meatballs and simmer another 15-20 minutes.

Meatball ingredients - 1 pound ground pork, 1 bunch green onions diced, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped, 1/4 tsp of each salt and pepper.

In large bowl combine all ingredients together. Make meatballs about 1" diameter.

Well, my eyesight is back and its time to go stitch again. Thank goodness - didn't want the day to be wasted.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Back to Reality!

Well, vacation is over. Sigh! I like my job. It can be boring scanning packages, but it beats lifting those suckers into a package car. But, seriously, do I have to get up at 3am? Couldn't we do this at a more convenient time? You know, 8am?!?

I shouldn't complain. My husband has been laid off since October 2009. At least I have a job and insurance. With this economy ... I am blessed.

The Mary Kay party is over too. It went well and I felt truly happy having my girlfriends and family all there. Didn't do too badly on free/reduced items either. I never knew I liked makeup so much.

Stitching...not as much as I would have liked. I am working on pages 6 & 7 of Grace. Grace is a Mystic Stitch pattern I am secretly doing for my son. It is the picture of the elderly man praying with his lunch and Bible on the table.

DS saw this picture in our basement. It hung in my Grandmother's dining room for years. After she passed I got it. He liked it so much that he claimed it. I thought I would stitch it for him and have DH make a frame from my grandfather's wood.

I need to post pictures of it sometime soon. Time to go enjoy the last few hours I have before bedtime. Another big sigh. Back to Reality!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Promised pics of my stitching room

Here are the promised pictures of my stitching room.

My chair with the required Ott lamp and round table.

This is the cabinet my husband made for me out of black walnut. I inherited the wood from my grandfather. DH made this from only a picture from a magazine. He did some wonderful work I think.

And this is another piece DH made. We decided that a solid sided bookcase would be too heavy for this room. Again he made it from only a picture.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Day 1 of Vacation!

Well, decided to make Wedding Soup today. So far, it smells yummy! Of course I have only gotten the vegggies cut and ready, but I do love the smell of garlic. If it comes out as tasty as I hope - I will share the recipe. But otherwise...well so much for good thoughts.

I need to do some research about flickr. I want to add a slide show for my 2010 finishes. I'll probably have to join another web site. If someone complied all my information that is "out there" my ID would be history.

Plans for this vacation I'm having - 1) Stitch, 2) make baked rotini, wedding soup, a lentil soup, and salisbury steaks, 3)have the Mary Kay party this Saturday, 4) Run DS around for his tests at college next year, 5) print pictures from my memory card.

My sister told me a few weeks ago that I am the only person that prints pictures from their memory cards any more. Am I a dying breed that still likes photo albums?

Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Learning Curve

Well, I've decided I want to learn what blogging is all about. So, instead of reading/lurking for several months as would be my norm...I am just going to jump in with both feet and see how warm the water is.

What I will tell you is - yes, I am 41 married with a daughter, Courtney 19, and a son, Logan 16. My husband/best friend is Rob. We live in a small community of maybe 2500 on a good day. I work part-time for a shipping company in a near by town. My main passion is for counted cross stitch. I tend to lean towards landscapes and LARGE patterns. My fav designer now for the last few years has been Mystic Stitch.

As I learn what this is all about I plan to show you my stitching room, WIP's, and those UFO's that just won't finish themselves. Maybe I will share a few of my newest Italian recipes. Who knows?!