2007 Finishes

How silly of me! I listed my finishes but not pictures of them. I forgot to take pictures of the ornaments I made, though. I realized it after I'd wrapped them all and just didn't want to do that all over again. Yeah, I'm lazy. They are basically the same as I usually do -- my own little specialty stitch ornaments in flat tuck ornaments.

So, here are the rest:

1. Halloween Fairy (Mirabilia). Finally finished it a few days ago, on Moonglow from Picture This Plus (PTP). Kinda bummed because the Dandelion Stem I bought to finish the wing didn't quite match the rest of the wing.




2. 2001 Mirabilia Cherub. Stitched for coworker who had her baby this weekend. (Or should have. I haven't heard anything, so may need to check my work email.)




3. Why Hoard Gold? (Dragon Dreams)




4. My freestyle embroidery experiment




5. Mermaid of the Pearls (Mirabilia) on Jubilation from Silkweaver




6. Christmas Elf Fairy (Mirabilia) on Cherub from PTP




7. Easter Fairy (Mirabilia) on Willow from PTP




8. Liberty Sampler (Hester's Needle). Hmmm, didn't get another picture of it after I stitched in a few stitches a fellow stitcher noticed I missed.




9. I Shall Wear Purple




10. 2006 Mirabilia Christmas Tree

Finally submitted to the Silkweaver Showcase

Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I had a picture but wanted to get as close to the actual color as I could. I still don't think I got the exact color of the fabric across, but it's better. I just uploaded a larger version of this image:



Looking at it again, I can see the little shadow at the bottom from where the couch cushion ends. I probably should have cropped that out, but oh well.

I think I have a chance at maybe winning a prize, but so do most of the other submissions, lol. We'll see what happens. This is the first time I've submitted anything to Silkweaver. It would be so cool to win some of that fabric. It's a tough competition, though.

New Year's Eve memories

Over at the 123 board we were talking about who is and isn't going out for New Year's Eve. When I was younger I used to go out, but these days I stay home and take advantage of the stitching time. I don't like big crowds so I don't do the Penns Landing thing, although sometimes friends of ours have a party.

After thinking about it, though, I only really remember going out on New Year's twice. I often had people over to our place when I was younger, though. One time I went out was when I was home during winter break my freshman year of college, so I was 18. A bunch of us got together and went to Church Street Station in Orlando to see the orange drop (yes yes, laugh laugh). We had designated drivers, and I was the oldest one there, although we were all about 17-18. We went to Rosy O'Grady's and were debating if we should ask for drinks, figuring we'd get ID'd, when the bartender asked us what we wanted. ??? So, we asked him what he recommended, and he made us all Flaming Hurricanes. Whoa! That was one awesome drink! I think that's the only drink I had all night because I didn't want to push my luck, but I'm amazed that they served us like that. He never actually asked us our age, so we went with it.

The other time I remember, and was actually a lot of fun although it will probably sound very geeky and boring, was getting together at a friend's house. He was actually an ex-boyfriend from earlier in my life and, after hating each other for a while, we became good friends. It was my senior year of college and I was once again home for Christmas. He and I went over to a mutual friend's house and a bunch of us (pretty much me and a bunch of guys, lol) played card games and drank Rumplemintz all night. I really had a good time just hanging out and listening to music. I've come to the realization that I usually have more fun doing something like that than going out to huge parties that make me feel claustrophobic.

So, that's my New Year's ramble.

Yeesh! I can't hold my booze anymore

In college (early 90s), I could drink shots of Bacardi 151 and not even feel it in the morning. Now, when I go out once in a while for happy hour I get three beers tops and eat while I'm drinking (and drink water) and can get pretty happy. Of course, I plan ahead of time and don't even drive to the train station those mornings, I take the trolley so I don't have to step foot in a car on the way home.

I just sat down with a nice glass of some Riesling I picked up in NY over Christmas. I have had not even half a glass and I wouldn't drive down the block, lol. I probably should eat something, as I haven't eaten since about 2PM and it's 7:30, but still...

Guess I'm a cheap drunk. I do love my non-dry white wines and my Yuengling beer, though. :)

2007 almost outta here

Well, I finished Halloween Fairy two days ago. YAY! I didn't get that Dandelion Stem floss in time to finish it by the end of November for the Mirabilia contest, but at least I finished it before the end of the year. I've been working on Mirabilia's Angel of the New Dawn and she now has two wings, thank goodness! That's one thing I don't like about stitching angels -- they look sad when they only have one wing and the other wing hasn't been stitched yet. I'll get some pictures up later today or tomorrow.

I've been off since last Saturday and go back to work Wednesday, but didn't do much stitching until the last few days as I was at my parents until this past Wednesday. So, today I watched the Pirates trilogy, now that I have the third movie. Tomorrow, I think I'll watch all the Harry Potters, now that I have the fifth one. I may or may not do that -- that's a lot of Harry Potter in one day, lol. Maybe I'll start them tonight. Anyway, I think the next day (or next weekend), I'll watch the Bourne trilogy, as I also received the third Bourne movie. I've put that off because I really need to watch it, having missed it in the theater. I wonder if they're going to make another Bourne movie. From what I gather, it started out as a trilogy but I've also seen "The Bourne Legacy" and "The Bourne Betrayal" out there. I haven't read any of the books, but may at some point. I'm already extremely behind on my book list.

If I'm not back here before the first, here's hoping everyone has a SAFE and happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

2008 Goals

Here's my ongoing StRIP list. As usual, I changed some things around but I keep at it because it helps me keep some sort of control over my stitching stash, except for when I go to stitching festivals. :)

Mermaid of the Pearls (DONE) + Why Hoard Gold? (DONE) > New Year's Fairy
Angel of the New Dawn + Ouroborus > Christmas Cat
Skeleton Crew + Christmas Elf Fairy (DONE) > 2007 Mirabilia Christmas Tree
DT mini bellpull + 1998 L&L angel > Cinnamon Bear
Easter Fairy (DONE) + Alpine Garden > L&L County Fair
Autumn Angel + Oh Christmas Tree > Valentine Fairy
Garden Verses + Rose Celebration > Thanksgiving Fairy
Fairie Treasure + Angel of the Sea > Moon Fairy Spirit
Earth Dragon + TW English Garden Welcome > Titanic
Spring Queen + Sweet Dreams Santa > Blossom Harvest
Misty Morning Vineyard > Egyptian Garden


Guilt-Free January Starts
Mermaids of the Deep Blue
Tsunami Sampler (may use different colors)
The Ribbon Topiary (stitched in teal instead of pink)

2008 Finish Goals (the last three are less likely, but we'll see)
Angel of the New Dawn
Skeleton Crew
10 Ornaments
2007 Mirabilia Tree
Ouroborus
Autumn Angel
Alpine Garden
New Year's Fairy
Thanksgiving Fairy
The Ribbon Topiary (teal)
Garden Verses
Rose Celebration
Oh Christmas Tree



Other 2008 Starts
Mermaids of the Deep Blue
Tsunami Sampler
New Year's Fairy
L&L County Fairy
2007 Mirabilia Christmas Tree
Christmas Cat

Stitching Goals Round-up for 2007

Well, I didn't finish some items I'd hoped I would, but I also started and finished some other projects. I'm not the type of person who can completely stick to a stitching goals list for a year and not start or work on other items. However, I have found that at least posting my goals forces me to think about what I want to get done this year and helps me to stick to a general plan instead of being completely all over the place.

I think I have done pretty well with my Ten Project Challenge. Of course, the idea was to not start anything until all ten projects were finished. That didn't happen, but it did help me to focus on those particular projects and they are all finished except for Angel of the New Dawn. I've been focusing on her these last few weeks (although I haven't been stitching much) and, while she won't be done by 2008 she should be done by the end of spring.

Oh, and I got my Dandelion Stem floss in so I can finally finish Halloween Fairy. She'll be done before January so I put her on my list of finishes. All I have to do is fill in that wing, a little backstitching, and the beading.

So, here's my progress on my various lists:

Ten Project Challenge

WIPS (when I started the challenge)
1. Lady of the Flag (finished in September06)
2. Angel of Love - L&L (finished 11/12/06)
3. Liberty Sampler - Hester's Needle (finished 7/5/07)
4. I Shall Wear Purple - Leisure Arts (finished 2/20/07)
5. Mermaid of the Pearls - Mirabilia (finished 5/16/07
6. Angel of the New Dawn - Mirabilia

New
1. Why Hoard Gold? - Dragon Dreams (finished 11/24/07)
2. Crescent Moon - Mirabilia - chart colors (finished 12/1/06)
3. 2006 Christmas Tree - Mirabilia (finished 1/8/07)
4. Easter Fairy - Mirabilia (started 1/07, finished 5/24/07)


2007 Finish Goals

At least 10 ornaments (DONE)
Liberty Sampler - Hester's Needle (DONE)
I Shall Wear Purple - Lanarte with color changes (DONE)
Mermaid of the Pearls - Mirabilia (DONE)
Why Hoard Gold? - Dragon Dreams (DONE)
Angel of the New Dawn - Mirabilia
Drawn Thread mini bellpull (This has been on my list for a few years. Will I ever start the little thing? lol)
Ouroborus - Dracolair
1998 L&L Angel
Skeleton Crew - Cross-Eyed Cricket
2006 Mirabilia Tree (DONE)


2007 Goal Starts
Started first four. I don't know why I thought I'd be able to have so many starts, but my WIPs would REALLY be out of control if I'd started these and not been able to finish what I did.

Easter Fairy - Mirabilia (DONE)
Alpine Garden - Drawn Thread
Autumn Angel - Joan Elliott
Oh Christmas Tree - L&L

Celtic Noel - L&L
mini bellpull - Drawn Thread
Cinnamon Bear - JCS Christmas Issue
Couer de Saint Valentine - don't know name of designer off-hand, French
Christmas Cat - from Holiday Cats leaflet



All Finishes for 2007
Halloween Fairy(not finished yet, but will be before 1/1)
2001 Mirabilia Cherub
Dragon Dreams Baby Samler
a freestyle embroidery I created
Mermaid of the Pearls
Christmas Elf Fairy
Easter Fairy
Liberty Sampler
I Shall Wear Purple
2006 Mirabilia Christmas Tree
ten ornaments

Hope all had a nice Christmas

I had a very nice and quiet Christmas. Tim and I drove about five hours north to visit my parents in Central NY. We went up Saturday and got back yesterday (Wednesday). Coming back we hit some lovely rain and sleet for the last 2 hours of the trip, but the rest of it was fine.

The nice thing about visiting The Parents is that they are once again living in Wine Country, very near to where we lived when I was growing up. So, Sunday and Monday we went to some local wineries that my parents wanted to visit again. Of course, I don't feel right going to a wine tasting and not buying some wine, so we came home with 8 bottles, lol. Tim only drinks red and I only drink white, so we always have to get a bottle for him and a bottle for me. That should last for a while. One thing I can't stand about PA is how difficult it is to get wine from other places. I don't drink California wine, tending to stick to local PA wineries or the NY wineries, but I prefer the NY wines and they are hard to get here. So, I usually stock up when I visit.

I'm very fortunate that my parents are the way they are. Many people, unfortunately, would have issues with their daughter living with a man of a different race. My parents don't care and really go out of their way to make him feel welcome. Of course, my mom made her normal Christmas dinner, which is full of food that Tim loves -- turkey, sweet potatoes, banana bread, broccoli with cheese, stuffing, etc. She sent us home with quite a bit of turkey, banana bread and her yummy Christmas cookies. If you really want to make some good sugar cookies, use the recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook (mine is a red and white checkered pattern). It uses less sugar and also uses honey and they taste so much better than standard sugar cookies. My mom used Splenda in them and they tasted the same as always.

So, we exchanged gifts but that didn't take long as we try not to spend too much money on them. We tend to get more for our spouses than anyone else, and we pick names out of the hat so that we don't feel we have to buy for everyone. I like it so much better that way. We were never a family to go completely nuts at Christmas, but always had some nice things under the tree.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. That month between Thanksgiving and New Year's sure can get a little crazy sometimes.

In case you haven't heard...

CATS has been reborn as Stitching Jubilee! The only show I know of will be Oct. 2-4 at the Valley Forge Convention Center, which is either in Valley Forge or King of Prussia, depending on who you ask, lol. I think it's right on the dividing line. I will miss Hershey, but it will be nice for me personally to not have to travel as far. The website isn't up yet, but I believe it is www.stitchingjubilee.com.

Thanks Rachel for mentioning it in your blog!

Watching Dave Ramsey...

and for some reason it cracked me up big time when he used the term "hoopty" when referring to buying an old used car, which he suggests instead of car payments. (And I agree, as long as you get an old used car that's not a money pit.) It just sounds strange to me, coming out of his mouth.

He's actually in rare form tonight. I've been watching his show for the last few weeks and enjoy it. I don't agree with him about everything having to do with non-financial stuff, but his financial advice is working for me.

Met Mayor-Elect Michael Nutter today...

not that he'll remember me or know me from anyone else, lol.

I'm a member of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association, along with the rest of my department. As a member, I had the opportunity to attend a discussion with the people behind Nutter's mayoral campaign. It was very interesting, and I also like hearing him speak. He seems very comfortable around people and actually has quite a sense of humor. They were discussing how they kept to the plan on how to spend their campaign money, even though for most of the campaign for the Democratic nomination he was in 4th or 5th place. It obviously worked -- he got the Democratic nomination and then won the mayoral election.

Afterwards, he went around talking to everyone (it was a small group) and I was with my boss who introduced herself to him, as did I. Like I said, I'm sure he didn't remember me 5 minutes later -- I mean, how many people does the man meet on a daily basis? -- but it was neat to meet him. I think he's going to do good things for the city.

What movie is your Christmas most like?

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family. Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Drinking too much soda

I've decided to do something that will be a win-win situation for me no matter what I do. I've been drinking waaaaay too much soda recently and not enough water. I don't know why, but I have. So, now when I drink soda I'm going to put $1 aside in an envelope to put into my savings account. If I spend money on and drink a soda, I'll have to pay myself. If I don't, I've saved the money and calories.

I'm usually a big water drinker, but for some reason I have really slacked off in the last month or so. I used to drink 9-10 large glasses of water a day, and now I'm only drinking about 2-3. Maybe I just drink more water in warmer weather, I don't know.

So, I already had some soda for some caffeine this morning, so that's $1 in an envelope.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

For quite a while I've been seeing something about a photo hunt on Dianne's blog. I finally got curious enough to actually check it out and I'm going to take part in this scavenger hunt in 2008. The instructions are here, but basically there's a theme each week and you post on Saturday, both on your blog and the scavenger hunt blog. You use photos from your own collection, not from a web search. I think this will make me use my digital camera more, which is a good thing. I sometimes forget I have it and should use it for more than as a work back-up and pictures of stitching and Smoky.

OK, no more Old Navy for me

Granted, their clothes aren't the best quality, but they do have some cute sweaters and jeans. However, they've been irritating me for a while and after something I read today I've decided I'm not buying from them any longer.

I've been lucky that I don't have to buy clothes from them from the plus section, which is only online. Much of their larger-sized stuff in the store fits me, but I *was* going to buy a few more items online. They took their plus-sized line out of stores. I'm sure it was a business decision, but it was frustrating for many to only buy online as their sizes are very screwy and often the same item in the same size doesn't fit the same way.

What did it for me, however, was a post I saw where we were talking about a recent coupon they put out that says, "in-store only." So, anyone plus-sized can only use it in the store, where there is nothing their size? Many people said they called and were able to use it online. One person called and was told by the sales person, "If you lose some weight you could shop in store and not have to order plus size online." !!! Now, I know that's just one person and I probably shouldn't judge the entire operation on that person, but it pretty much reiterates how many of us plus-sized women feel Old Navy feels about us, anyway.

I may change my mind at some point after I calm down, but I can tell you I won't be buying anything from them for quite a while, if ever.