Afford Your Passions

Tulips

2012-02-12T13:15:00.001-06:00

I woke up yesterday morning to discover two vases full of flowers from my wonderful husband

One was a vase of yellow roses; the other was a vase of tulips. I immediately took the tulips out of the glass vase, and put them in the white pitcher I had bought on Friday night.

It was a totally unexpected surprise.

I love tulips

Today, I'm linking to Seasonal Sundays

Stitching Party #2

2012-02-10T00:01:00.011-06:00

Last week, I introduced the "Stitching Party" (visit last week's party here!) - I was happy that some of my readers joined in - I had 11 submissions, which I thought wasn't bad for a first go. Here are some of the bloggers who joined my party last week:

Heather showed us this really cute little baby jacket - does it make you wish you had a baby? Every time I see baby clothes, I want to hold a little one in my arms. I guess I'm going to have to wait until I become a grandma :)

Laura finished a lovely Blackbird designs stocking - it's calling my name. I was lucky enough to take a class with Alma and Barb of Blackbird designs a number of years back at the Shepherd's Bush retreat - they were a fun pair.

Fiona had a lovely cushion finish. The blog world is such a small world - Fiona lives on the southern coast of New South Wales in Australia - I went to high school in Canberra, Australia, and spent many a weekend on the southern NSW coast, close to where Fiona lives.

If you would like to join the party, here's the deal:

I will hold a stitching party each Friday. Submissions open at 12:01am (central time), and close at midnight (central time) the following Monday.

You are invited to add a link and image from your blog, of any kind of crafting (stitching or not, finished or not). Please add the URL of your post (also known as the permalink).

Once you have joined the party, please include either a link to my blog, or grab my button (code included over in my sidebar) in your blog post, so that your blog readers will know that you've joined my party.

Please be a nice party-goer, and visit some of the other blogs who have joined the party, and leave them a comment.

I will feature some of the entries in my party post next week, and may include the image you featured in your party link (if you prefer that I don't include your image in a blog posting, please let me know!)

Please leave me a comment, or send me an e-mail if you have any questions!

Party on!

Home of a Needleworker - Little House Needleworks

2012-02-09T00:01:00.010-06:00

This was stitched in 2007, but I've only recently gotten it framed.

In 2007, I was renting a small, one bedroom apartment in a high rise condo building in Chicago. Owning a home again was only a dream at that point, but I knew it would come true one day, so I stitched a lot of pieces that were going to go on the walls in that new house, whenever I bought it...

I stitched a lot of designs with houses in those days - perhaps it was my sub-conscious, yearning for the day when I would once again own my own home.

Home of a Needleworker © Little House Needleworks

I love the burled wood of the frame!

Don't forget to join me tomorrow for this week's "Stitching Party".

I'm sharing this post at:

Feathered Nest Friday

The Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home

Show & Tell Friday

Stitching Chair Necessaire - Hillside Samplings

2012-02-05T00:01:00.003-06:00

Stitching Chair Necessaire © Hillside Samplings

I don't know that I ever shared pictures of this on my blog - I think this was stitched before I ever started blogging. I use it every time I stitch; it might be the most practical thing I've ever stitched...

Reminder - there's still time to join this week's "Stitching Party"

I'm linking this post over at The 36th Avenue!

Stitching Party #1

2012-02-03T20:54:00.005-06:00

Have you heard of a link party? I hadn't heard of a link party until I started to read home decorating blogs in the past few months. I didn't participate in any link parties until last week, but now I'm hooked, and I thought it would be fun to offer my own link party!!

I'm always looking for inspirational finishes, whether that be in cross stitch, quilting, scrapbooking, or any other craft. Please share with me what you've been working on. Everyone is welcome to join the party.

If you are not sure what's involved, click the link at the bottom of this post that says "you are next". That will bring you to the place where you will enter the permalink of the post (which is not the URL of your blog, but the URL of the individual blog post) you want to feature. Type in a description (or your name), and then you will be asked which image from your blog post (if you have multiple images) you would like to have included with your submission.

Please leave a link back to this post in your own post. (Or grab my button below, and add it to your site):

This is an opportunity for me and my readers to discover new blogs. I plan to offer this feature each week. Submissions will remain open for 3 days, and next week, I will feature some of the blogs who joined the party.

If you aren't already a follower of my blog, please consider becoming one - there's a button in my sidebar to click to join my blog.

I love receiving comments, and I try to respond to them as time allows!

This link party stuff is all new to me, so if you have any questions, please let me know!!!

I'm going to go ahead and get the party going with a link to an old post of mine, so you will see what it will look like when you add your own link!

Opinions please – “Read More” or “scroll through a post”

2012-02-01T14:20:00.002-06:00

When I revamped my blog over the Christmas break, I add a “jump” feature to my blog. What this means is that you have to click the “read more” link to read the full blog post.

I did it for a number of reasons, but mostly because my blog is a mix of topics – it started out as a cross-stitching blog, but as I continue doing the home ownership journey, I’m getting more into blogging about my house, decorating my house, life in Texas. Plus, I’m also thinking about working more on featuring some of my favorite things to cook, and some DIY projects that I have lined up.

Because I know that not everyone is interested in all topics, I didn’t want a reader to have to scroll through a bunch of pictures or posts to get to a topic that was more interesting to them.

But, now I’m second guessing myself – I’ve read on some blogs that people don’t like being forced to click on a link to read a whole post, so I’d love your thoughts on whether you like to read an entire post when you open up my blog, or if you don’t mind the “read more” feature. So, I’ve gone ahead and created a poll – it’s over there in my sidebar…

ABC - Drawn Thread

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

An oldie - stitched in 1999...

embellished with a cute purple button...

Foyer decorating - Before and After

2012-01-28T15:56:00.010-06:00

This poster was so bright and cheery that I had to have it somewhere in my house. I purchased the poster and frame separately at Hobby Lobby

I bought this chair at a garage sale last year. I finally got the chance to strip it down, paint it white, and re-cover the seat. The paint job is awful, but not bad for a first attempt, and since the foyer is generally dark anyway, I doubt many people are going to be looking for imperfections in the paintwork.

The "foyer". It's a small dark space, and very difficult to decorate - I think the floor space is less than 8' x 8', and there are openings on all four sides - the front door, the hallway into the living room, another hall alcove to the two smaller bedrooms, and bathroom, and a staircase leading to the home theater and Mr R's office.

The door at the center of this picture is the front door; the door to the right of the image is to the front bedroom (which is now my "stitching room")

Finally! A place to put shoes, which invariably ended up all over the floor down here. I would like to get some wicker baskets to go into the alcoves here. I like the top row of shelving - they are the perfect size for storing ballet flats :)

Looking down into the foyer from the stairway leading to the home theater, and Mr R's office.

Front door to the left; living room down the hall to the right; two bedrooms and bathroom directly ahead.
Do you think the floor needs a rug? Maybe a round one?

A Stitch in Pine by Hillside Samplings. Although I love this piece, it doesn't really fit into the foyer's blue color scheme. I just need to figure out where I am going to put it.

One of the trees on this piece is a little ceramic button. Isn't it cute?

My first cross-stitch finish; a wedding sampler stitched the year I was married.

A chalk drawing of Elise done by my mother-in-law.
Christmas gift to Mr. R and I the year Elise died.

Foyer "before" - just a boring dark space.

The foyer was a dumping ground for shoes and unwanted furniture.

The gate is a "baby gate" which we purchased when we got Indy (the german shepherd). By mounting the gate across the wide hallway, rather than at a door, we cut Indy off from exploring the upstairs part of the house, as well as the two bedrooms in the front of the house. It also stops Indy from charging at the front door when someone rings the doorbell.

Looking into the foyer from the living room

This picture on the wall was too small for the space; this was replaced by the Cape Cod poster.

Today, I'm linked at:
Saturday Show Off @ The Rose Garden in Malevik
Addicts Link Party @ Addicted2Decorating
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

This is my first time joining a link party!!!

Singing The Blues - Little House Needleworks

2012-01-27T14:32:00.000-06:00

Let's all sing like the birdies sing...

"Singing The Blues"
designed by Little House Needleworks

Happy Birthday, Mum and Dad!

2012-01-24T03:00:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, my father celebrates his 75th birthday, and on Friday, my mother will be celebrating her 70th birthday. Although they are many, many miles from me (they live in Australia), I will be thinking of them with much love on these significant anniversaries!

I love you both very much!

Thrifting Sunday

2012-01-22T18:10:00.000-06:00

I'm drawn to the French inspired, "shabby chic" items - I'm not really sure why, since I don't really have any of it in my home.

Strawberry Fields Stitching Purse - Hillside Samplings

2012-01-21T00:01:00.001-06:00

As I was looking through my blog recently, I couldn't find pictures of this old finish, so I thought I would share. This is Hillside Samplings' Strawberry Fields Purse.

Needlecase and fob

back of the scissors fob and needlecase

the bag is fully lined in the same linen

love this little strawberry!

Scissor Fob

inside the needlecase

Sharing this post over at 36th Avenue!

Thrifting Sunday

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

I love this French inspired bedroom vignette

I really want this piece from an old hotel, but it's priced way out of my price range.

In other news! The winner of the Tilda book is DENISE! Denise - please let me know your mailing address, so I can send you the book!

Afford Your Passions - a passion for stitching

2012-01-16T12:16:00.002-06:00

Believe it or not, I've been blogging since 2004 (July, 2004, according to Blogger). But, I've been stitching since 1989, so I've done a lot of stitching that hasn't made it to my blog. I hope you don't mind, but I thought that in the coming weeks, I might show you some older pieces that have not made an appearance here on my blog.

Also, if you're a new reader, welcome! To make it easier for new readers to navigate, I have added "buttons" down my side bar, which will direct you to different types of posts. This blog was originally a stitching blog, so a lot of my posts in the early days were entirely about cross stitch. I have a button that you can select that will bring up all posts that are cross-stitch related, so feel free to browse some of my older finishes.

For those readers who have found there way over here because I've lately become interested in learning about more DIY projects, or home decorating, I will be adding some more posts with pictures of each room in my home, and another category for DIY projects.

Thanks for visiting - I love comments, and now that Blogger has the new interactive comment feature, I will try to respond to your comments.

Beach Cottage - Country Cottage Needleworks

2012-01-16T05:56:00.005-06:00

It's been so long since I actually picked up a needle to stitch; I was beginning to wonder whether I could even remember how to do it!

"Beach Cottage" © Country Cottage Needleworks

I don't know why I put this piece down - I just love the colors in it, and of course, the coastal theme. I'm so close to being finished, that if I can get a couple of night's stitching in this week, I might actually get it finished!

Here's what the finished piece will look like (image courtesy of Country Cottage Needleworks' site):

On another note - I'm thrilled to discover that Blogger now allows "threaded" comments; I love it when I get a response from a blog owner to a comment that I leave on her blog, so I'm looking forward to interacting with my readers in this new-to-me way!

Living Room Floors...

2012-01-15T08:33:00.005-06:00

image from Pergo's website

We knew almost as soon as we moved into our house in 2009 that our carpet would need to be replaced sooner rather than later - it's a cheap, builder-grade carpet, and it hasn't worn well. It didn't help that we brought an eight week old german shepherd puppy into the house shortly after we bought it.

We decided that we would wait until Indy was older, and had gotten passed the "messy puppy" stage, and then we would replace the carpet.

image from Pergo's website

I'm not sure that I want to replace the carpet with more carpet. I'm not necessarily in love with hardwood floors (we had them in the formal areas in our old house in Indiana), but I love the idea of having floors that might be easier to clean than carpets, especially with two dogs in the house (which reminds me, I still haven't told you about our second dog!). Hardwood floors with a german shepherd isn't really practical, though. So, then I started to think about laminate flooring - I've seen some really good looking laminate flooring, so when I was in Home Depot last week, I just happened to stop at the laminate flooring section, and picked up a "swatch" of this gorgeous laminate called "cross sawn chestnut". What attracted me to it was the gorgeous color, and then the "natural" imperfections in the grain; I thought this would be the perfect answer to having dogs in the house - if they did scratch the laminate (even though I was told that dogs can't scratch it), it wouldn't be that big of a deal, because the flooring is designed to look a little more worn.

What do you think? How do you think it will look in my living room? And, more importantly, does anyone have any experience with a large dog and laminate flooring?

Master Bedroom - "Before"

2012-01-14T18:56:00.002-06:00

There's nothing inherently "wrong" with the bedroom - it just needs something. I can't quite put my finger on what it needs - probably some curtains, and more pictures, or at least *something* on the wall. Doing something to this room isn't my highest priority, but I wanted to add these pictures here, so I could have a record of my "before"...

Indy, my photography assistant, wanted in on the action...

We've had the bedroom set for about 18 years now. I've always liked it, but am beginning to feel it's too "matchy-matchy"

Judy Severson embossed paper quilt prints - they were originally posters, but I cut them down, and had them framed all the same size.

Double doors lead to the bathroom; door on the left leads into the living room

don't you just love the huge TV? I would like to get rid of it, but it works perfectly well, and it seems really wasteful to get rid of a TV that is fully funcitioning, even if it is ugly!

My photographer's assistant decided she wanted to relax

A Mon Ami Pierre

2012-01-13T16:33:00.001-06:00

This is "Angel Quaker", designed by A Mon Ami Pierre. I stitched it in pink DMC.

I finished it in 2009, but only got it framed this week.

close up, showing some of the moulding detail

Pretty cherubs...

Embroidering Nun

2012-01-11T06:13:00.000-06:00

As soon as I saw this beautiful Lladro piece a few years back, I knew I had to bring her home.

Can you guess why?

I believe there are three of the nuns in the series, but this is the only one I own.

Thrifting Sunday

2012-01-09T11:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I spent a nice couple of hours wandering around the local "antique mall"; I don't know if most of the stuff in there qualifies as "antiques", but a lot of it appeals to me, so I don't care what they call it :)

I like the French inspired pillows in the old crib; not so sure about the modern shopping cart, though...

more French inspired flea market finds

shabby desk with homage to the American South - a cotton plant in a crock

shabby chic meets industrial chic...

Tilda's Winter Ideas... and a giveaway...

2012-01-07T18:37:00.002-06:00

This latest addition to the Tilda line of books was just published this week, and I received my copy in the mail yesterday (love the Amazon giftcard I received for Christmas!). I'm just sad that it wasn't published before Christmas - there are some neat Christmas decorating ideas inside.

I like it so much that I bought another one to give away to a reader. If you're interested in being included in the drawing, please leave me a comment on this post only. I would love it if you were to "follow" me, but it's not a requirement :) That's it. Nice and straightforward, right?

I will draw a winner at the end of the week, and announce it next Monday, January 16

Ladybugs and Bumblebees - Country Cottage Needleworks

2012-01-06T17:57:00.002-06:00

My New Year's resolution was to work on improving my blog, by practicing my photography. I have no new stitching to show, but I still have a closet full of finished pieces, so I thought I'd start there.

Love the pinks in this piece!

Pavlova

2012-01-03T22:05:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty proud of myself... This is my first ever attempt at making a pavlova...

Mr R. gave me a KitchenAid mixer as a belated Christmas presents, so I whipped this up tonight. I'll be back with more pictures, and the recipe.

My first rescue...

2012-01-02T20:04:00.003-06:00

Well, technically it's my second (I will tell you about my first when I have a chance to take some pictures)...

But, this is my first road-side rescue. This morning, I went outside to put the trash out. The first Monday of the month is "big trash" day, which means that everyone can put out their old furniture, boxes etc. I was looking over at the neighbor's trash (a Christmas tree, some dead plants, and an old vacuum cleaner), wondering where all the good trash is that all my fellow bloggers seem to find, when I happened to look up, and see that the neighbor across the street had put out an old bedhead and footboard...

Inspiration struck! I rushed back in the house to put on my shoes, and went back across the street, and brought home the bedhead (I didn't want the footboard). I then went and got out my tape measure to make sure that it was at least a full-size bed (double for my non-American readers). It was! Yay me!

The next thing I did was to go and tell Mr R. about my rescue. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: I rescued something!
Mr R: what?
Me: A bedhead from across the street!
Mr R: why?
Me: Because I want to replace E.'s bunk bed with a full size bed (he knew this)
Mr R: did anybody see you?
Me: laughing at this point (trying to imagine if my fellow bloggers care if their neighbors see them retrieving furniture by the curb...)
Mr R: Pardon me if I don't share your enthusiasm...
Me: I have to grab my camera to take pictures!
Mr R is speechless by this point...

I'm trying to decide if I will sand it down and paint it black, or a deep blue... I'm going back to work tomorrow, so doubt I will have any time to paint until next weekend, so you'll have to wait to see what I do with it...

Happy New Year - 2012

2012-01-01T11:05:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, and welcome back to my blog...

As you can see, I've made a number of changes to the blog, including first and foremost - the URL of my blog. It's now "Living by the Shore". I know - cheating a little, right, since I don't live anywhere near the shore. But, you know me, I love coastal decorating, and until I moved to Texas in 2009, I did live near the shore (the shores of Lake Michigan, that is!).

I changed the template a little too, and added some new images to my header.

You may notice that a lot of my posts are missing. They haven't disappeared - they are just not published at the moment. I've spent much of the past couple of weeks working on resizing some of the images. I also imported over my old wordpress blog, but lost a lot of the images in the move, so I'm still working on trying to retrieve old images.

I've added some new pages, and have updated the content on the pages, so please feel free to visit those pages to learn a little more about me. I will be updating the pages in the coming weeks, too.

Thanks for visiting, and as always, I love reading your comments!

Sweet Little Birds

2011-12-29T15:40:00.007-06:00

My only post-Christmas sale purchase were these adorable ornaments:

by Smith and Hawken at Target - a set of three birdhouses, and a set of three birds.

I think they're adorable enough to have on display year round.

What do you think?

My Christmas table...

2011-12-26T11:00:00.006-06:00

Am I a little weird?

I set the table for four, even though there were only three of us at dinner...

(I thought a table set for four looked more symmetrical)

I didn't have fresh flowers for my centerpiece, so I just added some of my favorite Waterford Wedgwood ornaments to a cake stand

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T07:53:00.000-06:00

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village where He worked in a carpenter’s shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He traveled and preached. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He did not go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born.

He did none of the things man usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a stake between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had on earth.

When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone and today He remains the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that ever marched, all the fleets that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of men on this planet so much as that One Solitary Life.

—Dr. James Allen Francis, originally published 1928

Loving the Bokeh

2011-12-23T19:05:00.002-06:00

After seeing some lovely Christmas Bokeh images, I've become hooked on Bokeh!

This little doll was a birthday gift a couple of years ago. She's less than 2" tall. The bokeh are the lights from my Christmas tree.

Strawberry

2011-12-22T11:30:00.003-06:00

This strawberry looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? I received this in an exchange a number of years back. I'm sorry I can't recall who sent it to me, nor do I remember who the designer is.

I thought the colors were appropriate for this time of year - the red and green reminds me of Christmas (even though I don't traditionally decorate with those colors!)

A rustic Christmas

2011-12-21T16:10:00.003-06:00

isn't this the cutest?

This metal birdhouse and watering can are adorable Smith & Hawken Christmas ornaments from Target. I couldn't resist adding them to my cart, even though they don't "go" with anything else on my tree this year...

I'll be looking for a place to display these year round.

The Starfish Thrower

2011-12-20T18:30:00.001-06:00

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. there were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, "It makes a difference for this one." I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.”

― Loren Eiseley

Stitching Room revisited

2011-12-19T07:39:00.002-06:00

(as always, each image is "clickable")

The chair is IKEA's "Ektorp" in "Byvik Multicolor"

I moved things around in the stitching room a little. I like the u-shape arrangement of furniture - it makes it a little easier to move between work stations.

I need to put these pictures up on the wall - it's my intention to have one wall as a "sampler wall"

Welcome to our Christmas home...

2011-12-18T08:41:00.002-06:00

For the first time ever, I purchased a fresh wreath for the front door. E.'s Boy Scout troop was selling Christmas wreaths and small living trees as fund-raising items. I bought this wreath and a diminutive tree. Both the wreath and tree smell wonderful.

2011-12-06T08:57:00.001-06:00

Hi, everyone! Everything's good here. I've just become so inspired by all the wonderful blogs that I've been reading lately that I've decided to step back and spend some time revamping and refocusing here on my own blog, so I will be back on January 1 (if not sooner!)

Thanks for your notes!

Living Room - December 2011

2011-12-01T08:00:00.004-06:00

It's still a work in progress...

We got new slipcovers for the sofa, after Indy destroyed the last set in what I assume was a fit of boredom...

The rug is too small for the space, but it breaks up the huge expanse of beige builder-grade carpet. Replacing the carpet is still on our list of things "to do", but we weren't in any rush while Indy was still a puppy. I briefly toyed with the idea of replacing the carpet with hardwood floors, but Mr R. correctly pointed out that hardware floors probably wouldn't look nice for very long with a german shepherd in the house.

(I know I shouldn't have used a flash, but I was too impatient to wait for decent lighting!)

The image below is "clickable" if you want a larger view of the room.

A Tender Heart - The Heart's Content

2011-10-20T10:41:00.013-05:00

As you can see by the date on this piece (1999), I stitched this one a long time ago, but I only picked it up from the framers this week.

This is "Tender Heart" by Maureen Appleton of "The Heart's Content". Maureen is one of my favorite designers, and I've been fortunate to take several classes with her - she is such a sweet lady!

I have a lot of her charts in my stash, but as I feel my eyes getting older, it's becoming more difficult to stitch "over one", and all her charts are designed to be stitched "over one".

Drawn Thread - Real Roses - Framed!

2011-09-20T00:01:00.033-05:00

"Real Roses" designed by Drawn Thread

In the years from 2003 - 2009, we were living in rental apartments, and had no room on the walls for more pictures, so anything that was stitched in that time went into the "to be framed" box. I'm not kidding you when I tell you that I have over fifty pieces finished but not framed. Obviously, taking them to be framed all at once is not feasible on the budget, so I haven't really given it much thought until recently, but now it seems like such a shame to have these pieces just hanging in my stitching room closet (I moved them from the box to a closet when we bought this house).

It's really hard to decide what to get framed as the highest priority, but one day, I would like a "sampler wall", so I thought I would start with some of my samplers. This is Drawn Thread's "Real Roses". As you can see by the date at the bottom, that I finished this one in 2004. The initials on the bottom belong to my daughter, myself, and my son.

Thanks for visiting!

A walk through my neighborhood

2011-09-18T08:00:00.032-05:00

I love where I live; I really do. The community I live in has a real "cottage" feel, even though the homes are not generally "cottage sized" (they range in size from 1,400 sf through to 2,700sf - when I think of "cottage", I think of a home of under 1,000 sf.) The house I live in is just under 2,400sf, and although it has plenty of room, it's not overwhelming, so I think it retains some of the cottage charm.

Here are some pictures I took in my neighborhood this week. We're under drought conditions here in north Texas, so the grass and landscapings aren't as lush as they may normally be...

The location of the house is ideal in terms of being close to work, school and recreation. In fact, Mr R. and I work at opposite ends of the same street; I work less than 2 miles from home, and Mr. R. works less than 3 miles from home. E. goes to school in a different neighborhood, but it is less than 2 miles from home. We are close to shopping and restaurants. In an ideal world, I think there are only two things I would change about the house - I'd love to live in a coastal community (obviously not possible considering my job is in north Texas), and I would love to live in a community where there are no garages facing the street, so that the focus isn't on cars, but on people. Since I couldn't find a community like that so close to where I work, I'm happy with what I have, but it's still my dream to live in a place with both of those features.

Until that time, I will just have to imagine that I'm "Living by the Shore".

Thanks for visiting!

Ten Years later...

2011-09-11T00:01:00.027-05:00

Brooklyn, November 1987

On this, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I am sure the media and blogosphere will be filled with news stories about that horrific day, and how our world has changed in the ten years since then. I don't have much more to add to that that has already been said, so I will just pay my respects to those who lost their lives on that terrible morning, and to the military and others that have given their lives in the years since then, by sharing some images. We will never forget.

Observation Deck - WTC - November, 1987

Major Happy Dance: Roses - Finished!!!

2011-09-06T18:53:00.009-05:00

After having misplaced my stitching mojo for what seems like an eternity, I finally got the urge to stitch about a couple of weeks ago, and finally finished "Roses".

"Roses" designed by Marjolein Bastin
stitched on 27 ct. "Linda" evenweave, using DMC floss

This piece has been in my WIPs pile for at least five years. I'm not positive I've got all the backstitching done, but I'm going to put this aside for the moment, and take another look at it with fresh eyes in a couple of weeks, before taking this in to be framed.

The chart is "Roses", published for Lanarte by Leisure Arts, chart #3279.

It's stitched on 27 ct. white "Linda" evenweave, using the recommended DMC threads.

Thanks for visiting!

Holiday weekend

2011-09-02T10:49:00.014-05:00

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

(image courtesy of the hotel's website)

This Monday we celebrate Labor Day here in the US, and it’s traditionally considered the end of summer (Memorial Day weekend generally signals the beginning of summer). Fall doesn’t “officially” start here until September 23, but judging by the hot summer we’ve had here in Texas, it will be a while until the weather cools down enough to be considered fall. (We are having one of the hottest summers on record – today marks the 67th day this summer with temperatures of over 100 degrees (that’s 38 degrees celcius for my metric friends). The record is 69 days of over 100 degrees, so we may surpass that this year!

We don’t have plans for the holiday weekend – I’ve actually been off work sick most of this week, so I’m looking forward to just relaxing and resting up at home.

When we lived in Indiana, one of my favorite places to visit for a holiday weekend was Mackinac Island in Michigan. It was a 4-5 hour drive from home, but was definitely worth the trip. The island is famous for a number of reasons, including the fact that no cars are allowed, and for the Grand Hotel, which apparently has the longest porch in the world (at 660 feet). Although I’ve stayed on the island a number of times, and have visited the Grand Hotel, I’ve never actually stayed at the hotel. It’s definitely worth a visit if you are planning a trip to Michigan.

What about you? What plans do you have for this weekend? Whatever you have planned, I hope you have an enjoyable weekend!

Weekend at a Texas ranch...

2011-08-18T00:01:00.010-05:00

E. and I spent last weekend at a friend's ranch. Sadly, Mr R. had to work, so he could not join us.

This was my second trip to the ranch (and E.'s 3rd visit). I was surprised when I first visited the ranch, because it was nothing like I was expecting (okay - I was expecting a ranch like "Southfork" from the television show "Dallas") - this ranch was much more beautiful than that, because it was so rugged.

The ranch has over 1,000 acres, and much of the land is scrub, filled with cactus and all manner of wildlife. The backdrop to the ranch is a range of hills (part of the "hill country" of central Texas).

At the ranch, they breed Corriente cattle; they also have horses, and as I said, lots of different kinds of wildlife make themselves at home on the ranch.

We stayed in a small cabin, just up the track from the main house, which is a gorgeous old farmhouse (or is that ranch-house?) style home.

The weekend didn’t go entirely as planned. My friend Angela and I were planning on going for a trail ride on some of the ranch horses. Not long after we saddled up, we were told that lunch was ready at the cabin, so we rode over there. We ate lunch on the back porch, with the horses resting by the fence.

Angela’s son (“S”) asked if he could ride “Kansas” (the horse I had been riding), and when Angela said “yes”, he did something totally unexpected – he climbed the fence, and leapt off the fence onto the back of the horse. The horse was not expecting this, so took off running, and without having hold of the reins, “S” was thrown from the horse, and landed in a cactus patch.

We ended up spending the remainder of the afternoon in the ER, with all of us helping to remove the cactus neetles with tweezers, before he had his broken arm attended to. That was a painful life lesson for sure!

My neighborhood

2011-08-17T00:01:00.010-05:00

Despite the heat, I took a walk with my camera around my neighborhood the other day...

pond at ninnie baird park in my neighborhood

ducks enjoying the pond

nutria (not to be confused with a muskrat)

look at those orange teeth!

ninnie baird park

one of the many cute homes in the neighorhood

23 years ago...

2011-08-12T00:01:00.009-05:00

My first mood board!

2011-08-10T05:40:00.011-05:00

Mood board - living room

Ever since I started reading blogs created by interior designs, I've always liked looking at the "boards" that they create to show how furniture and accessories would go together. I thought it was a cool concept, but had no idea how it was done, until yesterday, when two blogs that I read both featured OLIOBOARD in their posts.

I'm obviously not an interior designer, so my board isn't necessarily visually pleasing, but I had fun putting things together - this is the mood board that I created for my living room:

As others have mentioned, I think this has the potential to be a big time suck, but it's fun, and it's free to sign up.

House - Summer 2011

2011-08-08T05:00:00.010-05:00

I snapped these pictures over the weekend - the lawn and landscaping are looking a little the worse for wear because of the heatwave. One of the trees in the front lawn has already gone dormant.

Traveling Stitcher finished as a tote

2011-08-07T00:01:00.010-05:00

Kat stitched Little House Needlework's Traveling Stitcher. She sent it to me to finish as a tote; she was planning on giving it to her sister as a birthday gift. I hope her sister likes it.

Finished tote bag; Moda fabric; quilted cotton lining

close-up showing Kat's stitching

Thanks, Kat, for trusting me with your stitching!

Daisy Sampler - Country Cottage Needleworks - Finished as a box top

2011-06-15T18:00:00.014-05:00

This is Country Cottage Needleworks' "Daisy Sampler" finished as a box top

I love the little grapevine relief on the sides of the box.

love this paper!

I painted the box a lovely shade of green, and lined it with scrapbooking paper in a brown and cream design, which reminded me of a Quaker sampler.

I used brown braid trim to finish off the box.

Bayside Bungalows - Country Cottage Needleworks

2011-05-18T17:14:00.019-05:00

This is Country Cottage Needleworks' "Bayside Bungalows" finished as a 20" square pillow; this pillow is slightly larger than the other ones I've recently finished - I needed an oversize pillow because of the size of the stitched piece.

This pillow is bound for my living room. I've kept the pillow fabric a plain blue, because I already have pillows in two other patterns in my living room, and I thought adding a 3rd patterned fabric might have been a bit of overkill. (Each of the images is "clickable" for a better view)

I was actually inspired to finally "finish" a cross stitched pillow for my living room after reading Lesley Ann's post about her visit to Sheila's house. I *love* all of the beach cottage decorating that Sheila has incorporated into her home. Obviously, she lives closer to the coast than I do, but I think I can still add some coastal cottage flair to my blue & white home.

Yet another stitching room update...

2011-05-09T00:45:00.036-05:00

My stitching room continues to change! (link here to the previous update). Over the past few months, I've gotten more into machine sewing (I've recently started making pillows for commission and to sell on Etsy), but I was always having to re-arrange my equipment (move my computer to use the cutting board, move the cutting board to set up the serger, move the serger to use the sewing machine... you get my drift...).

I have always wanted a fancy stitching room with built in cabinetry, but as with all new home owners, it takes time to get around to doing everything, so when I see a kitchen countertop in Home Depot, I started to have visions of how it would work in my stitching room. When I talked to Mr R. about it, he came to Home Depot with me, and we bought the cabinet and the supplies to mount it. By time I came home from work that afternoon, the countertop was mounted, and my stitching room became a little more organized.

Sometimes I wonder if I've gone a little overboard, but having this set up definitely helps me; I can keep everything out all the time (I know - I should get covers for my sewing machines. Why two sewing machines you ask? One is set up for full-time user with an invisible zipper foot, and the other has a regular foot - it was quicker to do that than to keep switching feet on my machine when am making pillows.

Here's a tour of my stitching room now (each of the images is "clickable"):

Counter top with sewing machines & serger; cutting table to the right; computer desk to the left.

cutting table & armchair (door to hallway behind - I usually keep the door open...)

corner of my desk, showing my favorite little Waterford "accessories"

A vintage chair I picked up at a garage sale last week. I wasn't intending to visit the garage sale, but there was a collection of vintage chairs in the drive, so I stopped and enquired, and ended up buying this one. I'm going to repaint it (probably white)

and I will re-cover the seat - still undecided whether I will use a fabric or a piece of stitching (if I use stitching, I'm pretty sure there will be no sitting on the chair. We'll see...)

"Where Stitchers Gather" - gift from Holly

More stitching gifts/exchanges

cute little miniature doll from Patti

I love this little koala purse! I had one as a child, so when I saw this one in a souvenir shop in Melbourne, I just had to have it!

Snow White & Teddy. Teddy is my teddy bear (I'm not sure exactly when I received Teddy, but he's probably getting close to 50 years old!); Snow White was one of Elise's favorite dolls.

The Cabbage Patch baby is "Shelly", Elise's first doll. She received Shelly on her first birthday. The bear in the middle is a piggy bank, and the doll on the right is a Kate Finn doll - I gave Elise this one for her first birthday; She also had a "My First Christmas" Kate Finn doll.

Bless Our Home - Country Cottage Needleworks - Pillow finish

2011-05-06T22:30:00.015-05:00

This is County Cottage Needleworks' "Bless Our Home"

I'm on a roll! After finishing my last pillow, I had the urge to find another piece to finish. Although this piece is predominantly blue, it does have some pink in the flowers, and I wanted a piece to sit on the chair with the other pillow, so I used the same pink floral fabric.

Royal Wedding Party

2011-05-04T22:11:00.018-05:00

I mentioned in my last post about having to work on Saturday, and then come home to host a "Royal Wedding" watching party. I was scheduled to work until 5pm, giving me plenty of time (comparatively speaking) to come home and get ready for the party at 6:30.

It was a good idea in theory, but in practice, I was stuck at work until closer to 6:30. It gave me time to get a quick shower, brush my hair, and put on my "party" dress. 2 minutes later, my guests walked in. By "guests", I just mean two people - my friend Angela, and her teenage daughter.

I had bought the "wedding cake", and Angela brought along a plate filled with goodies - cream puffs, groom cakes, and chocolate/raspberry ganache cake. Sadly, I did not have time to bake scones, but we figured we had enough to eat.

Angela and Mr R. took pictures of the three of us in our "finery", but I don't have the images available - I took the food one myself with my camera. I might share those pictures later.

We all thought the wedding was wonderful, and I loved Kate's dress - as soon as I saw her get out of the car, I immediately thought of the comparison to Princess Grace's wedding dress - it will definitely not "date" the way that Diana's dress did - that's clearly a dress of the 80's! Can I also add that I would kill for a tiny waist like either Kate or her sister!

Home Sweet Home - Country Cottage Needleworks

2011-04-29T09:23:00.006-05:00

After talking last night about not having done any stitching for months, I decided that I should at least have a stitching-related post to share, so I pulled out one of my *many* stitched pieces, and decided to make it into a little pillow.

This is "Home Sweet Home" from County Cottage Needleworks cottage collection.

The pillow fits a 14" square pillow form. I'm really happy with how it turned out - I think I see more cross stitched pillows in my future...

Tote Bag for Kat

2011-03-05T16:40:00.011-06:00

I've been finishing stitched pieces for years; I've sold some of my project bags, and have made totes as gifts for friends, but this tote bag I made for Kat is the first piece I've finished for someone else, using their own stitching.

Kat stitched this Little House Needleworks piece and wanted it made into a tote bag to give to her aunt for her aunt's 60th birthday. (Each image is clickable for a larger view):

Close up of the front pocket, showing Kat's stitching

Design is Little House Needleworks' "Be True"

The inside of the front pocket is lined with both quilting fabric and a contrasting pink & white fabric. I used this same fabric to make a deep double pocket for inside the main part of the bag.

The quilted lining.

If you are interested in having me stitch a tote bag using one of your stitched pieces, please drop me a line.

Thanks for visiting!

Lined Tote Bag with front pocket...

2011-02-21T17:20:00.010-06:00

I finished this bag up today - I had stitched the Little House Needleworks' design a long time ago; I decided it was time to actually "finish" it.

"Where There is Life" © Little House Needleworks

close up of inside of bag, showing quilted lining.

This bag is going in the mail tomorrow to one of my readers.

If you are interested in purchasing a tote bag, please e-mail me for details. I can finish a bag using one of your finishes, or can price it using one of my stitched pieces, for a ready-made gift. (Here is a link to some earlier tote bags I have made).

Nature's Beauty - Little House Needleworks

2011-02-12T07:39:00.006-06:00

It's not a finish by any means, but I didn't get anything finished this week, so I thought I'd share a picture of my latest progress on Little House Needleworks' "Nature's Beauty". This was my piece for Day 8 of the Crazy January Challenge.

Nature's Beauty © Little House Needleworks

Winter storm of 2011

2011-02-05T22:00:00.005-06:00

Winter Band Sampler © Little House Needleworks

This is Day 10's contribution to the Crazy January Challenge, and given the weather that we have had this past week, I thought it was pretty appropriate.

North Texas was hit with two snowstorms during the week. Although we didn't get as much snow as those in the north, it still wreaked avoc, because this part of the country is ill equipped to handle such conditions. The few snow plows that the city has was kept busy keeping the interstate highways clear, which means that they never made it to our part of the suburbs.

E.'s school was cancelled for four days; I worked from home for two days, but managed to make it into the office (with Mr R.'s help - he insisted on driving me in because of the treacherous road conditions) on Thursday and Friday. The electric company enforced state wide "rolling power outages", which just added to the surrealness of the whole thing. On top of that, we were faced with the prospect of frozen pipes - we know the importance of keeping every faucet dripping during the sub-freezing temperatures, but we forgot about the washing machine, and the pipes froze. We managed to unfreeze them by blasting the walls with a hair dryer, and by leaving the clothes dryer running in the enclosed room for six hours.

It's hard to believe that just last Saturday, we were enjoying the 75 degree temperature, and were sitting in the back yard in our t-shirts enjoying the sunshine. Today was the first day that we have been above the freezing point since last Monday evening. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and the snow has melted, the ice has cleared, and the roads have turned into mini rivers with all the run-off.

Tomorrow, north Texas (notice I don't say "Dallas"? The stadium is not in Dallas...) hosts the Super Bowl. I'm sure that many tourists who have come in from the northern states have been shocked at how apparently unprepared we are in this part of the country for heavy snowfalls. I hope they don't leave the city disappointed.

Two Down - 13 to go

2011-02-02T18:24:00.006-06:00

I figured I should focus on getting the smaller pieces from the Crazy January Challenge out of the way first, so for my second finish, I finished the smallest piece in the Challenge. This is "Red House in Winter", and was my Day 12 piece.

Red House in Winter © Little House Needleworks

(the basted outline is to assist when I make it into an ornament)

Thanks for visiting; I appreciate your comments. Please feel free to visit my decorating blog here

Living Room - looking for some suggestions

2011-01-29T15:14:00.011-06:00

As you can see from my previous blog posts, I'm a big fan of blue & white decorating. I know what I like when it comes to magazine pictures, but when it comes to applying it to my own home, I'm nervous. My living room (family room?) has touches of blue & white, but it feels boring and kind of blah. I'm on a really limited budget at the moment, so competely doing over the living room is out of the question. I also don't want to spend money on something I'm going to regret.

I'm wondering if curtains might be part of the solution? If so, what kind? I'm not sure that 3 sets of curtains would work on those windows - I believe they are too close together. The windows are each 34" wide; the space between each of the windows is 13.5", and at either side, it's 16.5", making the wall a little over 13 feet wide.

I love the curtains I just saw at Odi et Amo, as featured in her own family room - Calico Corner's Kalah Blue.

What about a rug? I've thought of getting a rug, but again, I'm not sure what size - do I get a 5' x 7' rug, and place it slightly under the sectional, or do I get a larger rug (say an 8' x 10' rug?) I'd love a Madeline Weinrib rug, but have the sinking feeling that her pieces are not in my budget. If I could afford one, I'd love her Olivia in Robin's Egg, or Indigo Carleen

Maybe a sisal or jute rug would work until I can afford to splurge on a fancy rug? Pottery Barn have some jute rugs that look nice:

What about pillows? Currently, I have 2 blue & white toile type fabric pillows on the sectional, and one each of the same fabric on the side chairs. I have two larger pillows in another fabric on the sectional. I thought of introducing a couple more pillows in another color, but I'm not sure what whether I should have a third pattern. I love Madeline Weintrib's Daphne Blue pillows.

Hiring an interior decorator is out of my budget, so I'd love your input!

view of living room into the kitchen.

view of living room from dining area in the kitchen (that TV stand has to go!)

(two doors to the left of the picture - one is a linen closet, the other leads to the master bedroom)

console table on angled wall between kitchen and hall

Here are my issues:

this is the only living area in the house (we deliberately purchased a house without a formal living room - we've had one before, and we never used it; instead, we opted for a home theater, which occupies almost the entire upstairs part of the house - see link to floorplan)
I share the house with my husband, ten year old son, and not quite two year old german shepherd, and they can all get pretty rambunctious.
a coffee table probably wouldn't work - the space in front of the sectional is where we stand etc. to play the Kinect, so we need floorspace for that (which is why the ottoman is off to the side).
I've been loathe to hang pictures on the wall behind the sectional, as my husband is a photographer, and he wants to hang up some of his large scale pictures. He hasn't got them mounted as yet, though.
I thought of having console tables behind the sectional (on either side), but they all seem to be too short for the length of the sectional. Aside from that, I'm also concerned with the german shepherd (who is allowed on the couch) knocking something over. The fact that we allow the dog on the coach is another reason we don't have a fancy couch...

Crazy January 2011 Challenge Recap

2011-01-17T00:08:00.004-06:00

Well, I made it through the (Susan-modified) Crazy January challenge! Here's a recap of what I did:

January 1: CCN - "She Sells Seashells (new start)
January 2: CCN - "Summer at the Shore" (existing WIP)
January 3: LHN - "Singing the Blues" (new start)
January 4: Prairie Schooler - "Weather Wise" (existing WIP)
January 5: Lizzie*Kate - "Dog Lessons for People (new start)
January 6: Prairie Schooler - "December" (existing WIP)
January 7: CCN - "Beach Cottage" (new start)
January 8: LHN - "Nature's Beauty (new start)
January 9: LHN - "Two White Houses" (new start)
January 10: LHN - "Winter Band Sampler" (new start)
January 11: CCN - "Spring Violets" (new start)
January 12: LHN - "Red House in Winter" (new start)
January 13: Blackbird Designs - "Peacock Pinkeep (new start)
January 14: LHN - "Sarah Street - Faithfulness" (new start)
January 15: Marjolein Bastin (Lanarte) - "Roses" (existing WIP)

So, I had a mix of new starts, and existing WIPs. Without setting myself firm goals, I would like to finish up one of these each month, so that by the end of the year, I will have all 15 of them complete.

I start back at school this week, and if this semester is anything like last semester, I'm not going to have a lot of stitching time. I think the secret is to be disciplined - rather than hop onto the computer first thing on Saturday and Sunday morning, I should pull out my stitching, and work on it for a few hours before anyone else wakes up. We'll see how that goes! I'm itching to finish up some of the smaller pieces, so that I will feel like I've accomplished something, and won't feel guilty about 15 WIPs sitting in a basket...

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 15

2011-01-16T14:00:00.004-06:00

Wow! I managed to make it through the first 15 days of the year having worked on a different piece each day for the Crazy January challenge.

When I started the challenge, I didn't know which projects I was going to include in the challenge, with the exception of this one. "Roses" (by Marjolein Bastin for Leisure Arts) is one of my oldest WIPs (I'm loathe to use the term UFO, because I always knew I would get back to it one day!)

I'm stitching this on 27ct. "Linda" evenweave in white.

I don't know how long I've been working on this piece, but it's been a few years. Hopefully, I will get this one finished this year. Only time will tell...

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 14

2011-01-15T19:40:00.005-06:00

Sarah Street - Faithfulness © Little House Needleworks

This is my new start on Little House Needleworks' "Sarah Street - Faithfulness". I was up until the late hours working on this, so this is one night's effort.

As soon as this chart was introduced, I fell in love with it, and immediately added it to my wish list. This is one of the charts that my mother ordered from Needle in a Haystack.I love all the pinks!

It's charted for 32 count Vintage Buttercream Linen from Lakeside Linens, with Crescent Colours, Weeks Dye Works, and GAST. I actually ordered a piece of linen to stitch this piece which is unusual for me - I usually just grab something from my stash. I'm stitching it on 28ct. Country French Cafe Mocha Linen.
The finished size will be about 8" x 9 1/4".

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 12

2011-01-13T15:59:00.003-06:00

"Red House in Winter" © Little House Needleworks

(image courtesy of LittleHouse Needleworks website)

This is another new start, from one of the charts that my mum bought me at Needle in a Haystack. It's "Red House in Winter" by Little House Needleworks. It's from the "Ornament of the Month" series for 2010, and it's the only one of the ornaments that I have in my stash (so far - I'd like to eventually stitch all of them)

The design is charted for 30 count Northern Cross Linen with DMC, and "Bing Cherry" from Crescent Colours. I don't have "Bing Cherry" in my stash, so I substituted "Cupid" also by Crescent Colours. I think it looks close enough to the original piece.

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 11

2011-01-12T23:59:00.005-06:00

"Spring Violets" © Country Cottage Needleworks

(image courtesy of Country Cottage Needleworks website)

This is "Spring Violets" by Country Cottage Needleworks, another chart that my mother purchased during her visit to Needle in a Haystack.

I'm stitching it on 28ct. Antique White evenweave that I purchased at Michael's; the price was right, and I'm finding it easy to work with, so it's nice to know I've got more fabric options (most of my fabric I've been using has either been from my stash, or I've ordered online). I'm using the recommended Crescent Colours, WDW and DMC.

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 10

2011-01-11T16:14:00.008-06:00

"Winter Band Sampler" © Little House Needleworks

(image courtesy of Little House Needleworks website)

When my parents left my home, they stopped in San Francisco for 4 nights before flying home to Australia. During their trip to San Francisco, they visited "Needle in a Haystack" in Alameda, and my mom hit my wish list pretty hard, and a package arrived at my place on Saturday (I was amazed at the fast mail service - California to Texas in 2 days - almost unheard of!)

Anyway, I decided that I wanted to include some of the charts my mom sent me in my challenge, so I quickly kitted up Little House Needleworks' "Winter Band Sampler", and this was last night's stitching effort (not a great deal done, however...)

This design is charted for 28 count "Clay" linen; I used a natural linen that I had in my stash. I'm using the recommended DMC threads.

The finished piece will look like this:

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 9

2011-01-10T09:13:00.007-06:00

"Two White Houses" © Little House Needleworks
(Image courtesy of Little House Needleworks site)

Another new start (rather than pulling from my existing WIPs...) - This is Little House Needleworks' "Two White Houses"

Once again, I apologize for the poor quality of the picture - it was early morning when I took the shot...

I'm stitching it on a raw linen, using the recommended DMC threads. I worked on it most of the morning yesterday, but it doesn't look like I got a great deal done!

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 8

2011-01-09T13:23:00.003-06:00

"Nature's Beauty" © Little House Needleworks
(image courtesy of Little House Needleworks website)

Yet another Little House Needlework's design. This is "Nature's Beauty". It's charted for 32ct. Flax Fields linen from R&R Reproductions. I'm stitching it on 28ct. Lambswool Jobelan with the recommended DMC threads.

A Beach Cottage - Country Cottage Needleworks

2011-01-08T16:13:00.012-06:00

"Beach Cottage" © Country Cottage Needleworks

(image courtesy of Country Cottage Needleworks website)

I see a theme! This is Country Cottage Needleworks' "Beach Cottage".

This is a night's worth of stitching - I think I made a pretty decent start on this one. I'm stitching it on a natural linen, using Crescent Colours.

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 6

2011-01-07T07:11:00.007-06:00

This is another one that I started last year, but put aside. It's Prairie Schooler's "December" - I have been collecting each of the months as they are published, but I think that I've only finished one of them so far.

I'm stitching this one on 28ct. Lambswool Jobelan, using the recommended DMC threads.

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 5

2011-01-06T19:12:00.019-06:00

(image courtesy of Lizzie Kate website)

I love seeing other people's Lizzie Kate finishes, but I haven't really been tempted to rush out and add them to my stash, until I saw this one - "Dog Lessons for People" - it reminded me of a plaque I saw in a store about a year ago - "I want to be the person my dog thinks I am".

As it was, I was very fortunate, and didn't need to buy it - Dar, a good friend in northern California (no blog) gifted it to me.

This is an evening's worth of stitching - I find that by time I get home from work, take the dog for a walk, get dinner ready and eaten and help DS with his homework, that I don't get a lot of stitching time. I think once I get some weekend stitching time available, it should probably stitch up pretty quickly.

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 4

2011-01-05T00:01:00.033-06:00

I'm enjoying thThis is another piece that I started over a year ago - Prairie Schooler's "Weather Wise" - I bought the chart as soon as it was published, and started working on it, but then got distracted with something else, and put it down.

The model on the chart is stitched on 32 count Lambswool linen. As usual, I've just grabbed another fabric from my stash (this one is an overdyed), but I'm using the recommended DMC threads.

I'm enjoying this Challenge (so far!) - it's given me an opportunity to dig up some WIPs that I haven't looked at for a long time; I really hope that I can finish all of them this year. I'm fortunate that none of the pieces that I intend to work on are particularly large (although I do have a larger piece that I want to pick up again, but I'm over 1/2 way finished with it, so maybe I'll get that one finished, too!)

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 3

2011-01-04T17:12:00.006-06:00

This is Little House Needlework's "Singing the Blues". The design is charted for 28 count Summer Khaki linen, stitched with Belle Soie silks. I'm stitching it on some unknown evenweave, using the Crescent Colours conversion - there are just 3 colors in this piece. Sadly, even though it looked pretty straightforward, I have had to frog parts of it, and I still haven't finished frogging - the "d" in "bluebird" is off by one line, which means that the remainder of the row is off, too, so I will be pulling out almost 1/2 of the top line.

I didn't actually have a lot of time to stitch yesterday, as I was busy getting my parents off to the airport (see my earlier post...)

Thanks for the memories!

2011-01-04T06:02:00.012-06:00

I've just spent the most wonderful three weeks with my parents. It had been my dream for a number of years to spend a Christmas with them - I haven't spent Christmas with my mother since before I moved to the US in 1992. I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my father in 2000 - 2002 (when he was living with us in the US). The last time I spent Christmas with both parents was 1971 - my parents got divorced the following year (they eventually re-married in 2004, and I have wanted to have a Christmas with them ever since they got re-married!)

Both my parents had visited me in the US (and as I said, my father lived with us for a few years), but this visit was their first visit to the US as a couple, and this was the first visit by either one to my new home in Texas.

We did a lot of fun things together - I made sure that I took them to the "must see" places in Fort Worth and Dallas, but we also took them on a whirlwind (48 hours!) trip to Houston, Galveston, San Antonio & Austin.

Yesterday afternoon, they flew to San Francisco, where they will spend 4 nights before heading home to Australia.

Their trip was everything I hoped it would be. I think they had a good time, too!

As much as I loved having them visit, it was so nice to sleep in my own bed again last night! The only downside to having a stitching room of my own is that in order to have it, I had to give up having a guest room, so when my parents visited (and when my in-laws visited over Thanksgiving), we gave them our bedroom, and Mr R. and I "bunked" in E.'s room, on an air mattress.

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 2

2011-01-03T00:01:00.005-06:00

(Image courtesy of Country Cottage Needleworks blog)

Day 2 brings me to another Country Cottage Needleworks design. This is "Summer at the Shore". I started stitching this one last year, but haven't touched it since last summer.

It is charted for 28 count Lambswool linen, using Crescent Colours, Gentle Arts Sampler Threads, and DMC. As usual, I have substituted fabric from my stash, so I don't know what I'm stitching it on!

Crazy January 2011 Challenge - Day 1

2011-01-02T16:33:00.010-06:00

(Image courtesy of Country Cottage Needleworks blog)

Happy New Year!

For Day 1 of the Crazy January 2001 Challenge, I chose a new project (you may recall that in my version of the challenge, I wasn't going to commit to all new projects - I was going to allow myself to pull out some WIPs that haven't been worked on for several months).

This is "She Sells Seashells" from the Country Cottage Kids line by Country Cottage Needleworks.

As you can see, I didn't get a lot done, but I've still got my parents visiting, so I don't have a lot of stitching time!

The design is charted for 28 count Lambswool Linen, using Crescent Colours & DMC. I have chosen fabric & floss from my stash. I'm using an unknown 28 count evenweave - I picked it because I thought it looked a nice "sandy" color, and would be appropriate for this piece.

It's not much of a start, but it is a start!

Call me crazy...

2010-12-31T23:51:00.002-06:00

Have you heard about the Crazy January 2011 Challenge? I've been reading about it on a number of blogs over the past couple of weeks. From what I've been reading, the "rules" are to start one new project each day for the first 15 days of the year, and then to complete those projects by the end of 2011.

For some reason, I got the urge to participate in this challenging in the waning minutes of 2010...

Crazy, right? Most definitely, especially as I haven't stitched anything for the past 4 months.

But, I figured - I don't have to start school for the spring semester until January 19, so I've got time to join the challenge, right?

If you know me, though - I can't just stick to the rules as written, so I've modified them for myself, to take a little pressure off myself (and my pocketbook). In my version of the challenge, I'm going to work on a different project for the first 15 days of the month, and still aim to finish them up in 2011, but I'm not necessarily going to start a *new* project - some of the projects may have already been started - I'd rather work on reducing my outstanding WIPs than created 15 brand new ones.

So, starting tomorrow, and for the next 15 days, I'm going to work on a different project. I will take a picture of the project before I start work on it, so that you will see how much progress I've already made.

Let's see how long this lasts! LOL

In the meantime, I would like to wish my readers a very happy and productive 2011. May all your wishes come true!

Another couple of finishes

2010-12-23T08:04:00.013-06:00

When my mother arrived a couple of weeks ago, she was carrying a really cute tote bag with a cross stitch design mounted to it - I immediately wanted one, so the two of us sat down together and she showed me how to make one. I love them so much that immediately after making one for myself with her assistance, I sat down and made one as a gift for my friend Holly as a Christmas gift.

I used a couple of Little House Needlework's "Dear Diary" series:

Mine has a coastal theme, of course!

inside of my tote bag, showing the quilted lining.

Holly's favorite color is purple, but I didn't have any appropriate purple designs, so I chose this deep red color

close of of the design. I picked this one because Abilene is a town in Texas, and thought it was an appropriate reminder of Holly's short visit to me in Texas

cute as a button for the handles...

inside of Holly's tote bag.

Holly is visiting her family in southern Oklahoma for Christmas; her flight flew into DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) airport, so she spent Tuesday night at our place. We had a good time; she had "met" my mum online, so they felt like they knew each other already.

Yesterday afternoon, we all (mum, dad, DS, Holly and myself) all piled into the car, and headed up towards Oklahoma to meet with Holly's parents and to drop Holly off for the remainder of her visit.

Mum & Dad visit Texas

2010-12-18T07:31:00.007-06:00

This was taken yesterday at lunch-time; we went to Grapevine, which is a lovely town with an old-fashioned "Main Street". I should have taken more pictures - each retailer has a real Christmas tree decorated for the season outside it's door; seeing the sidewalk full of decorated trees is beautiful.

Mum & Dad arrived a week ago, and we've already done a lot of things, even though I've only had two days vacation (so far) - I took Monday off work, and started my vacation yesterday. Here's what we've done so far:

- visited the Sixth Floor museum at Dealey Plaza
- shopping at the Galleria (we skipped the iceskating in the center of the mall)
- visited the indoor sledding run at the Gaylord Texan
- ate dinner at Bone Daddy's (my mum had to pick my dad's jaw up off the floor LOL)
- took a drive into Fort Worth; visited my favorite quilting store, and had lunch at the Flying Fish.
- went Christmas shopping

We also played with our new X-Box Kinect (an early Christmas gift from my in-laws). Mum & Dad enjoyed that so much that they went out and bought their own. I suspect they will be adding an iPad to the list of shopping items, as they love ours.

So, I am officially on vacation until the beginning of the New Year. Depending on how the budget survives Christmas, I may be going to San Francisco with them on January 3 for four days, before they head home to Australia.

Coastal Living - Meg Braff Living Room

2010-12-05T15:23:00.012-06:00

This Bermuda living room is featured in this month's Coastal Living magazine.

It's got a lovely "beach cottage" vibe, without being too in your face.

Living Room by Meg Braff - image courtesy of Coastal Living magazine

Updated Stitching Room

2010-10-25T00:30:00.008-05:00

With my recent interest in machine sewing, and going back to school, I decided that I really needed more work space. I had been doing all of my sewing on my dining room table, because the desk I had in my stitching room wasn't really large enough (in hindsight, it was large enough, but I had too many collectibles on display).

I had admired some other stitching/crafting rooms that I had seen (particularly this one!), but built in cabinetry isn't in my budget, so I decided to work with what I had, and invest just a little cash in upgrading the room.

I love the desk that I had, but needed something larger (or longer), so I thought the perfect solution was to buy another desk exactly the same, and re-arrange them so that they are side by side.

By doing this, I have more room to spread out on - when I'm sewing, I use one desk for my sewing machine, and the other desk for cutting out (I have a cutting mat stored in the space between the two desks).

When I'm studying, I push the sewing machine to the back corner, and I can spread out with my laptop and my books.

Or, if I'm studying, and DS wants to study with me, he pulls up his chair, and we sit side by side and study.

For more display space, I mounted some brackets, and got some shelving from Home Depot. The advantage with having the brackets is that I can re-arrange the shelving at whim.

The armoire is still in the corner of the room, but I eventually want to more it out of the room completely. When that's done, I'd like to get some more of the Elfa drawers (like I currently have in my closet) to have more storage space, but also some more worktop space.

One day, I might be able to afford those wonderful custom made cabinets, but in the meantime, this will do; not bad for a budget.

View of room from door

close-up of stitching display

stitching chair

another view of room

If you're interested in doing something similar yourself, I got the desks at Walmart for $129 a piece (they're cheaper in the store than online); the brackets cost $20, and the 3 shelves were $25. For those who are handy, you could probably make a long working desk instead of two desks, but as I already had one desk in the room, it just made sense to buy a another one of the same.

I really like working/studying/stitching/sewing in this room - it's so much more organized than it was before. The room is pretty small (I think it's not much larger than 10' square, but it doesn't feel cluttered (well, aside from the armoire, but as I said, that will eventually be removed.)

A Walk through my neighborhood

2010-10-23T17:00:00.005-05:00

I took these pictures a couple of months back, but didn't get the chance to share them. Right now, most of the houses on our street are decorated for Halloween - I should try to get some pictures of that in the next couple of days. Before you know it, everyone will be decorating for Christmas.

One of the things that attracted me to this neighborhood is that the homes aren't brick homes, or McMansions; they feel more like family cottages, and I love that!

Gifts received

2010-10-22T18:00:00.008-05:00

I've been fortunate to receive some lovely gifts in the mail recently, and I wanted to share.

From Dar (no blog), a good friend in California, I received this cute "friends" plate, and a box of oversized matches in a cute blue & white container. Aren't they both adorable?

Separately, Dar sent me this chart through Elegant Stitch. I had admired it on someone's blog, and she gifted me with it. I hope to have it stitched before Christmas:

Last weekend, I met my friend Linda for a belated birthday lunch for her birthday. I stitched her one of my project bags in blue (her favorite color is cobalt), and I was surprised when she presented me these two Chinese inspired blue & white jars as an early birthday gift for me. In the past few months, I might have gone a little overboard with my blue & white decorating - I have discovered a source for reasonably priced blue & white ginger style jars, so my house is overflowing with them... I love these!

Summer Into Autumn - Drawn Thread

2010-10-21T18:00:00.009-05:00

Roberta let me know that she received the autumn exchange piece I sent her.

The theme of the exchange was "Autumn"; we could finish our piece any way we wanted. As I seem to be hooked on project bags, I decided to finish Roberta's piece as a project bag.

The design is Drawn Thread's "Summer into Autumn"; the fabric I used for the lined pouch isn't necessarily very autumnal, but I thought the design called for a more muted finish, so I picked an ecru floral print; the bag is lined with a complementary piece of print fabric.

Speaking of project bags - I'm still making them if anyone is interested; a couple of weeks ago, I visited my favorite quilting store, and picked up some lovely fabric to make myself a couple of project bags, and maybe some for Christmas gifts. If you're interested in ordering a project bag for yourself, please drop me a line. Thanks!

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - framed!

2010-10-20T00:01:00.015-05:00

I'm so thrilled! Look what I picked up from the framer this evening...

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - Designed by Carriage House Samplings

I love this frame - it's the same frame as I used for my Little House Neighborhood piece a couple of years back. I had it triple matted - the top mat is a dark blue suede mat; the middle one is gold, and the lowest mat is a pale blue.

Thanks for visiting!

Autumn Exchange received from Myra

2010-10-19T18:00:00.006-05:00

I received this beautiful framed piece from Myra a couple of weeks ago- I haven't had a chance to take a picture until now, so I'm a little late in sharing pictures. (My sincere apologies, Myra!)

The design is by Waxing Moon. Myra sanded, painted, and distressed the frame specifically for this design. I've proudly got it on display in my stitching room - it's really beautiful. Thanks again, Myra - you are so talented!

Love the little raffia bow!

In other news!! Remember I told you about receiving the scissor keep from Francoise, but that the original one she had sent me got lost in the mail?

Well, on the very day that I posted in my blog about it, the original one showed up at Francoise's place as being "undeliverable". It was so weird - she had the correct address, so I have no idea why it was returned to her.

I told her that she didn't need to send it to me, but she insisted, so I have two scissor keeps from her - I'm so lucky, as they are both beautiful!

I will never forget...

2010-09-11T15:17:00.008-05:00

Brooklyn, November 1987

Observation Deck - WTC - November, 1987

Scissor Keep Exchange

2010-08-30T16:01:00.010-05:00

I recently participated in a scissor keep exchange. The first scissor keep that was sent to me never made it to it’s destination so Francoise was sweet enough to stitch me another one, which I received in the mail this afternoon.

But, before I share pictures of my new piece, I wanted to share pictures of the original piece that never made it here - Francoise sent me these pictures:

Isn't it gorgeous?

I love the pictures of this piece, but I was especially thrilled when I opened the package, because this one is even more beautiful!

It's just gorgeous! Francoise included a cute pair of scissors, some lovely pins, and needles. It is beautifully stitched and finished. The designer is Nataliejo; I don't know what count the linen is, but the stitches are tiny!

Thank you so much, Francoise! It was definitely worth waiting for!

Project Bags for sale...

2010-08-11T16:34:00.005-05:00

In last night's post, I have offered one of my project bags as a giveaway. If you're interested in being included in the drawing, you can leave a comment on that post, and I will include you in the drawing.

I didn't include a picture last night, as it was late, and the light wasn't great.

I went ahead and took a couple of pictures today. It was hard to figure out how to get a picture of the lining, so I turned it a little inside out.

As I indicated last night, I have lots of this yummy fabric, so I'm in the process of making some more project bags to offer for sale. I've not done a lot of selling of handcrafted items (I sold some hand made Christmas stockings last year at $25 a piece, but that's been about it), so I don't know what a fair price would be to offer these for sale, so I'm going to start selling them at $10 a piece (plus $2 shipping within the US). Feel free to let me know if you think I'm charging too much. No point making lots of project bags, if they are not going to sell, right?

The bags are 14" x 11"; they are fully lined, and finished with a zipper.

If you're interested in buying one, please send me an e-mail!

Thanks for looking!

I tried something new tonight...

2010-08-09T20:56:00.008-05:00

For a long time, I've admired the stitched project bags that I've seen on some blogs, and wanted to try my hand at that, but to be honest, I didn't have much confidence in my ability to stitch a lined bag, or to put in a zipper.

(These pictures were taken with my cell phone, so they're not the best quality...)

This afternoon, I bought myself a zipper, grabbed some fabric from my stash, and made my first zippered pouch. It's not perfect, but it's not bad for a first attempt.

In addition to lining it with a complementary fabric, I also used an iron-on interfacing to give the bag a little stiffness, so that it holds its shape a little better.

This bag measures 14" x 11" - the perfect size for a stitching project.

I'll be buying some more zippers tomorrow...

A case of startitis...

2010-08-07T22:54:00.006-05:00

As soon as I saw "Summer at the Shore" on Country Cottage Needleworks' site, I fell in love - the blues of the houses are just gorgeous, and of course, it's my favorite "coastal" theme, so I just had to have it! (This is the fourth in the "Beach" section of Nikki's site - I already have the other three in my stash, although I've only actually stitched one of them. Maybe when I finish this one, I'll start one of the others.)

Patti was sweet enough to gift me this chart, so as soon as it arrived in the mail, I kitted it up and started stitching. I've substituted some of the overdyed threads for what I have in my stash.

Here's my progress picture as of this evening:

Stitched on 28ct Platinum Cashel Linen

with DMC & Crescent Colors

I really love Vonna's personalization of her finish, but as I haven't had a summer beach vacation in a long time, I'm not sure how I'm going to personalize mine - the last time I went to the beach on vacation was in November of '08 - we vacationed in Pensacola Beach, but on my birthday during that week, we took a trip to Seaside, Florida, a place I've always wanted to visit; this chart reminds me of the homes in Seaside, and to a lesser extent, to the homes in my subdivision (although we're nowhere near the beach).

(As a note to my overseas readers, who may have never heard of Seaside - if you've seen the Jim Carrey movie "The Truman Show", you'l be familiar with Seaside - that's where that film was made).

I've promised myself that my next beach vacation will be to Vera Bradley's "Inn by the Sea" in Seaside.

A new start!

2010-08-04T00:01:00.005-05:00

I couldn't help myself! I thought after finishing Shores that I would switch to working on some smaller pieces, before I tackle another large project, but this one was calling my name.

I'm not setting myself any goals with this piece - for the remainder of the year, I also want to focus on my knitting - I'd like to have a couple of sweaters knitted before winter, so you may not see regular updates on this piece.

Once again, I'm stitching it with the DMC, rather than the silks that were called for. My budget didn't allow for the recommended linen, so I switched it out for 32ct "Lambswool" linen. Because this progress piece was done on the scanner, rather than photographed, you can't see the true color of the linen - it's not as white as it looks in the scan...

I'm making another change to the chart, too. Instead of stitching it on the vertical, as charted, I'm stitching it in 3 rows of 4 blocks, in the same manner as I stitched Shores. If I ever get around to tackling any of the other Hawk Run Hollow pieces, I plan on stitching them the same way.

State Fair - Little House Needleworks

2010-08-02T06:00:00.006-05:00

I love the Little House Needleworks girls...

and quilts

and the boys with their pumpkins

and the plump sheep

stitched with the recommended DMC threads, on unknown linen

I figured I'd try to finish up some "smaller projects" before moving onto my next big piece. Any guesses as to what big piece I'm referring?

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - finished

2010-07-27T20:45:00.011-05:00

I just put the finishing stitches in my Shores of Hawk Run Hollow!

Block 3 (pictures are clickable)

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow

Started June 10, 2008

Finished July 27, 2010

Stiched with DMC on 32ct Vintage Autumn Gold Linen by Lakeside Linens

(The color in the top picture is more true-to-life)

I started on this piece over two years ago; while it's taken me a long time to stitch the whole piece, in reviewing the progress on each block, I've been surprised at how quickly some of the blocks actually worked up. Here's my time line, together with progress pictures:

June 10, 2008 - started on my first block, which was actually Block 5 (the block that inspired me to purchase this piece.). By the end of July, I still hadn't finished this block, and put it away for the next 6+ months.
February 24, 2009 - finished block 9
March 16, 2009 - finished block 1, my 3rd block
September 12, 2009 - showed off my finish of blocks 2 and 4 (I wasn't online for a couple of months between moving from Indiana to Texas in June, so I didn't post progress pictures). After this, I put it away for four months or so...
February 17, 2010 - finished block 8, which put me at the half way point... so after taking over 18 months to stitch the first half, I finished the second half in just over 5 months.
April 22, 2010 - finished block 12
May 17, 2010 - finished block 11
May 24, 2010 - finished block 10 (I think this was my fasted finish - in about a week!)
June 30, 2010 - finished blocks 6 and 7
July 27, 2010 - finished block 3

So, what am I going to start on next? Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow is really calling my name, but I think it would be nice to work on a couple of smaller pieces before I attempt to tackle another larger piece...

Happy Birthday, Indy!

2010-07-22T14:00:00.005-05:00

I remember when my husband first brought Indy home - I thought she was an adorable puppy. As the weeks went by, she drove me to frustration with her biting, and jumping, and generally being a baby. I wondered what I had signed up for.

My how things have changed! Who knew I was such a dog person? I didn't - that's for sure!

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - July 21 Progress

2010-07-22T06:54:00.004-05:00

I'm so close I can taste it!

I just need to do the chimneys on the house, and the top corners, and then this block will be done.

Once I'm done with this block, I'll be turning my attention to the backstitching - not all blocks have back stitching, so hopefully, it won't take me too long to do. Then, I'll go through all of the blocks to make sure I didn't miss anything (like eyes, for example).

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - July 14 Progress

2010-07-15T06:35:00.005-05:00

(Click on picture to biggify)

What is it with me and not stitching the eyes before I take a picture? I think this is the third time I've shown a progress picture without the creature having any eyes. In this case, the little mermaid is blind.

I'm making fairly decent progress on this one. Let's see if I can finish this one by the end of July. I made one change her - the mermaid's body was charted for white. I decided to give her a more realistic skin tone, so she's stitched with DMC 950.

Indy in the rain

2010-07-03T07:27:00.004-05:00

Yesterday evening, Indy decided she needed to go outside to potty, so Mr R. took her out. Shortly after they got outside, the skies opened up, and they were both soaked within seconds. Mr R. thought it was the perfect opportunity to give Indy a bath, so I ran and got the doggie shampoo, and my camera. This was taken from inside the house.

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - June 30 progress

2010-07-01T07:01:00.003-05:00

(click on picture for a larger view).

Aside from the dolphin's eye, blocks 6 & 7 are complete! It didn't take me as long as I thought it would. I realized after I looked at the front of my chart pack that the compass directional points should have been stitched in something other than white, but I don't care - they don't look too bad, so I'm not going to pull them out and re-stitch them.

Onto the final block (block 3). I started this block when I was stitching across the top row, but I screw up my count in the "filigree" work on the upper left corner, and couldn't be bothered frogging, so I just skipped that block all together.

Once I'm done with the final block, I have to do all the back stitching - there's not a lot to be done, but there's at least a little backstitching in most of the blocks, and then it's off to the framer.

Watch next week (hopefully), for a progress picture.

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow - June 24 Progress

2010-06-25T00:01:00.007-05:00

Well, it’s been a month since my last update on Shores; I’ve thought of taking a picture of it before now, but every time I think about it, I convince myself that I haven’t made enough progress to justify a picture. Now, I realized that I’m thisclose to actually finishing the behometh that is the middle block, so I guess that qualifies as enough progress to share a picture…

I hope to get this block finished by the end of June, and moving onto the final block for the big push. Who knows, I might have this done by the end of July. Wish me luck!