Ohio Is My Dwelling Place

BESTIES!

2012-01-27T19:56:00.001-05:00

From Team photo night at the gym. L to R Alisha, Kaysa, David, Me, Becca, Brenda, Jill and Karena.

Cross-Stitch Lives!

2012-01-26T12:16:00.001-05:00

...and apparently, so do I! I know some of you must have been wondering what corner of the planet I had fallen off. Over a month since my last post, bless me Father for I have..............ok, I'm getting off topic. The topic being my latest (and ONLY) cross-stitch finish in ages. Gymnast Ksenia Seymonova of Russia. I must admit it was the colors of the leotard that drew me to stitch this design, another one of my self-made charts.

Quite a bit of "live" gymnastics going on too. Little Level 4 Alayna is part of the much larger group that I coach now. Tonight is Picture Night for the Team so I should be posting a few more of my lovely ladies very soon.

Back on the crafting front, I created this card for my mother's 77th Birthday that was on January 17th. She also got this home-made pot holder. Since she struggles with Parkinson's Disease I chose this design of pot holder to prevent spills and burns from lifting large pans or cookie sheets. As things go I think my dad will get more use of it then my mom. He seems to have taken over 90% of the household tasks. My mother thinks this is only fair since she did 90% of the household task for the first 90% of their marriage!

It seems that I have tempted the Fates long enough and the computer is acting strange (yet again). The layout of this post looks just fine right now. Wait till I press the "post" button; it's always a surprise what shows up.

Terra Nova

2011-12-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

A new crafting obsession, terrarium-making. Thanks to the inspiration of this new library book "Terrarium Craft". I've always loved 'miniature worlds' and gardening. This new craft adventure combines my love of dollhouses with my passion for working in the dirt. The one pictured above has a Zen/Oriental theme and is for my friend Sharee's birthday on the 30th.

This one is for my Baptist mother-in-law, so it has a decided more "neutral" feel to it. The birdbath is a little glass candle holder from Wal Mart!

Another Christmas craft, knitting, went in the way of cowl-making over the past few months. I made several for my mother to give to her friends as her own knitting skills have been hampered by Parkinson's Disease. My mom used to churn out complex cabled sweaters in less then a week. She still knits, though it be very slowly, as therapy for her hands. I was glad to help her out and prove that all those hours spent teaching me to knit were not in vain. This cowl is for my sister-in-law. A bit of "bling" in silver and gold are added to the chunky black yarn.

A wonderful Amazon gift card arrived in this box from my brother and his family. I just love Amazon and this gift is greatly appreciated by everyone at my house, especially Coal.

I didn't set up the big tree this year. I added a few more owls to the little tree on the TV and I may bring down my silver chicken wire creation to put on top of the sewing machine table. I'm finishing up a few last-minute alterations for some friends and then the lid will close on the sewing table so the tree can stand there.

If my computer allows I will post again soon. If I don't get back on-line before the 25th, I wish a Very Merry Christmas to all!

Bloggedy, Blog, Blog, Blog.....................

2011-12-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

Gymnastics coaching, gift making, Christmas card sending, cooking baking, cowl knitting, ornament stitching, house decorating...basically anything that doesn't involve this sorry excuse for a computer. Today's record was 31 tries to get it to start up. Blue screens, black screens, even some cool mosiac patterns. But here I am, finally able to post. So of course my photo editing software won't open! I did find this photo from a few weeks ago. Two lovely new friends from a local farm. Gizmo is the big gray guy and his little calico buddy is one of the family of barn cats....two other siblings and the mom and dad cat. All live peacefully together.

So that's me, putting myself out there "on-line". Hopefully I can post some photos next time, but one never knows when that "next time" will be.

Wanting/Having

2011-11-20T14:20:00.000-05:00

Wanting so much to blog in the last month or so, but my computer has been so uncooperative. Wanting to share what I see outside and craft inside.

Wanting to reconnect with old firends and discover new ones. Wanting to view all your blogs and make some comments. Wanting to open myself up to the world of the productive again. Wanting to coach and thrive in my secret little gymnastics world.

Having the time, energy and creativity restored to me to make a few little things.

Having people appreciate them and even buy them from my Etsy shop.

Having so many dear, sweet, loyal and patient friends and FINALLY being able to see them again!

Having a moment to stand on the Balance Beam and look out across my special world of gymnastics.

Blurry..trembling with excitement!

Free To Be The Real Me

2011-10-15T16:28:00.000-04:00

Gearing Up

2011-10-07T20:23:00.000-04:00

Sounds harmless enough. "Gearing up"sounds so productive, almost cheerful. But not in my case. It's the process I go through in order to travel (once again) for gymnastics. As if Indianapolis two weeks ago wasn't bad enough, I am off tomorrow to Kent State University for Judge's Cup competition. Why is it that something I am so passionate about can cause me such anxiety? Who knows........ For nearly two years it's been nothing but worry and anxiety. Everything becomes an effort, an event, a monumental task that I must pull myself through in order to move forward. Judging, as opposed to coaching, offers better hourly wage and much more prestige and respect, but I have noticed that the friendships and fun of coaching are just not there for me. Infact I refer to it as the "Mean Girls Club". They are quite a clique-y little bunch. Maybe it's the required bland uniform. Much like the old Catholic school uniforms I remember. There were always that certain bunch of girls who made up for the drudgery of matching plaid by exercising the, shall we say, bolder aspects of their personalities. This clique atmosphere combined with my long-time fear of traveling makes for an extended Gearing Up session.

My way of gearing up is to gear-down. Back-to-basics. I walk every morning in the fields with the cats. This is as much to "train" them to go into the safe large back area of the property as it is to relieve my own stress. Communing with Nature (aren't I just full of cliches this evening).

I also bake and cook a lot, satisfying my need to make sure no one starves to death for the 28 hours that I will be gone from home.

Yellow squash, Vidalia onion and Swiss cheese quiche

I did manage to get 5 pretty good judging assignments for this season. Of course this will have little effect on the debt that has been accumulating over the past two years. I look out at my patio and want to see pumpkins, gourds, mums, corn stalks, but there's none of it. Nor will there be any of it in the foreseeable future. You've heard of Charlie Brown Christmas, well I'm having a Charlie Brown Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. In the midst of my moaning and bitterness yesterday I got a sudden burst of creativity courtesy of Mother Nature. I managed to create these three Autumn decorations out of things from my yard. Grapevine, bittersweet and various dried weeds. The brown wreath on my kitchen door I've entitled Yard Crap. Since it has a title that involves both Nature and a mild profanity this qualifies it as ART!

The cross-stitch starts from the previous post have become finishes.

The dolls also benefited from my "neurotic nesting". A Christmas gown...........

and a prairie dress (complete with contrasting bloomers and bonnet). Both for 18" dolls.

There is a substantial pile of cut-out items waiting to be sewn.

I finished the day with a nice bike ride. Since Bud is getting too old to walk long distances with me anymore, my bike has become my new companion. Not as much of a conversationalist as Bud, but it will do. These early Autumn days are such a mix of cool mornings and warm days that the cricket population has exploded. This one perches harmlessly on the porch doorway. While riding my bicycle I need some sort of safety goggles to make it through the onslaught of flying crickets.

I have heard that crickets are a symbol of good luck, so maybe this little guy is trying to tell me something.

Ornamentations

2011-09-22T10:08:00.000-04:00

Like many of you, my annual Christmas Ornament Issue from Just Cross-Stitch magazine has arrived. I am interested to read all of your critiques and recommendations. I admire those who are able to give a critique of a particular chart, pattern or magazine. I am one of those over-emotional, highly sensitive people that does not take criticism well. Therefore, I do not hand it out much toward others. To me, everything is lovely in it's own way, although I have picked a few favorites. Many an "x"has been made in the past few days, but there are a few other interests that have come along as well.

Color of any sort has always fascinated me. Natural dying has become a "fad" lately. How our great-grandmother's would laugh over this. It is a marvel to me how so many things done of necessity have now become "hobbies" to present day crafters. Ah, I even hesitate to use the word "craft" as there seems to be an ongoing battle of Art v. Craft. I personally see no difference between the two. Though many will disagree with this assessment, again it refers back to my fear of insulting anyone or hurting any one's feelings. Much as the oil painter considers himself an artist, I am sure the person who makes toilet paper cozies out of plastic canvas considers them art as well. So be it.

Off the soap-box and on to the dying. Here is my attempt at a "recipe from a wonderful book new to our local library: Harvesting Color. This is a batch of tickseed from the field behind my house. I dyed a scrap piece of 28ct linen. I didn't get a very intense orange, but I didn't use a mordant agent. I'm still perfecting my techniques and terminology. I've seen alum mordant in little bottle on Etsy, so I may try that next time.

Two other new books from the local library. Not much success with either of these new ventures. I do so want to make my own cheese. The consumption of cheese in this household is astronomical, so it can only be of benefit to make my own. Again a lack of skill, terminology and supplies held me back.

On to the ornaments! I do lean toward certain designs/designers in my selections for cross-stitch. I'm a huge Prairie Schooler fan, but this year's ornament did nothing for me. I tend to go on the visual impression first and then when I look up the chart I am surprised to find the name of the designer is one I usually pick anyway!

Jolly by Miss Crescent's Crown was the first one done. The colors immediately caught my eye as something that would be perfect for my 13 year old niece. I also have an ample supply of lime green fuzzy yarn to use as trim.

Next up was Tanya's (The Sampler Girl) lovely design Good Tidings To You. I know Christmas ornaments are all about Santa's and snowmen, which I do like, but I just love animals in Christmas designs. Now one would expect a deer or some forest birds, but this rabbit is just so cute and a bit unexpected

Here is a lovely Christmas fox (again a break from snowmen and Santa Clauses). He is from a very old Cross-Stitch and Country Crafts magazine. I made him as a frame piece for my mothers years ago. She tore him out of the frame over my August visit and requested him as an ornament instead. She said he just doesn't get enough exposure sitting in that frame.

I added a little sterling silver pine cone charm on one of the pine branches.

Next ornament is Fresh Fallen Snow by Little House Needleworks. It has seen been fully stitched. All the ornament finishes now sit around waiting to be stitched to their backings and properly completed.

It's so nice to have a little needle in my hand again. The socks have been set aside for a bit, although not to far out of reach. They will be my travelling companions today as I set off for Indianapolis for the Region 5 Gymnastics Congress. A geek-fest extraordinaire of all things gymnastics. But mostly an anxiety-fest for me as I have to leave my pets behind again. Joe will care for them of course, but the worry never ceases for me when I travel. Well, I must 'see and be seen' in order to get good judging assignments this competitive season. Time to be a big girl for a few days.

Heading Toward Autumn-Looking Back at Summer

2011-09-14T21:01:00.000-04:00

A look back at my trip to New Jersey.

As usual, my anxiety and panic built up in the days before I left. A delay of 4 hours at the Dayton Airport didn't help matters at all. Arriving in Newark, I always marvel at the beautiful colors and designs on the planes at the International Terminal. Deep inside I have this yearning to travel the World. If I can ever overcome my crippling fear of leaving my animals behind someday I may be on one of these planes.

I made it to my parent's house during the "big build-up" to Hurricane Irene. My father has total command of the TV ( some things never change) and between the Yankees and Mets we were tuned into Fox News or The Weather Channel and it was all about Irene. I know hurricanes are a serious matter but really! The over-kill coverage was nauseating.

Sunny Friday..no sign of Irene. My dad and I headed for our usual Summertime haunt....the Community Pool. My family has had a membership to the local pool club since 1965.

And here is King Neptune himself, my dad. At 80 years old he still swims laps nearly everyday, all Summer long. Not sure if it's purely for the exercise or the fact that he absolutely must get his monies-worth out of any investment.

As Saturday night approached, so did Irene. The TV coverage intensified and we spent our final hours supplementing the apocalyptic food supply at my parent's house. As long as the hand-crank can opener worked we were in no danger of starving to death. My brother and his family came over for dinner. Here my brother Jeff and Dylan build a house-of-cards.

My mother focuses on the Fox News coverage..............

My niece Julia makes some all-important phone calls.....

The dogs, sensing impending doom, gather around my dad for comfort.

The first big gust of wind rattled the house and shook this plate of brownies that had been set to cool in top of the washing machine.

Nigh time hurricanes are always a scary thing. Luckily, we were not hit as hard as predicted. So many in Northern New Jersey had power outages and flooding. We just lost a few large limbs off the giant Oak trees in the back yard.

The day after the storm the winds were worse then ever. By mid afternoon on Sunday this big chunk of Maple tree fell across the wires right across the street from our house. Still, the power stayed on.

I had heard the incredible screeching sound and the cracking of the limb. Oddly enough I thought it had fallen on the roof of our house....I mean my house because I had mistaken the metal sound for the sound of my own metal roof. Actually it was the sound of this pipe that encases the wires ripping from the side of my parent's house. It usually stands upright behind the gutter. The limb falling on the wire had pulled everything along it's path, including the pole on the corner which tilted at a dangerous angle.

But we came through it all unharmed and the next night was spent at my brother's house for the annual "Taco Night" This is always followed by a puzzle or board game. This year it was a game that's new to me, but now one of my favorites: "Apples To Apples". My mother even joined in and I haven;t heard her laugh so much in years.

Sibling rivals!

A descriptive card for each of us.

My brother's Mel had to check out my cat-smelling purse.

A slaughtered peanut butter pie

Thanks for a great time! I miss you Mommy and Daddy. See you at Christmas

Labor Of The Day

2011-09-05T15:41:00.000-04:00

For some reason in the past few years Labor Day has become one of my favorite holidays. Not so much in the past. Do you know I still wake up occassionally at this time of year with nightmares of going back to school? My school days were not that incredibly terrible or anything too dramatic, but it seemed that every year around Labor Day I would begin to organize myself for the upcoming school year. New notebooks, pencils, pens etc. Everything quite compulsively put in it's proper place. Somewhere around mid-October it would all fall apart and I would be desperately disorganized and confused. This combined with the usual "mean girls" treatment at school haunts me to this day. After all these years (decades!) the dreams are quite vivid: the missing homework assignment, the outfit that just wasn't the height of style for that year, the "bad hair" day, the non-existent boyfriend..............

All that side, the daytime hours of this time of year are quite pleasant. I seem to be getting a lot accomplished in the way of stitching and crafting. I've been able to tune-out the outside world for a bit and comfort myself with familiar handicrafts. Knitting socks is still tops on my list of relaxing pastimes. While visiting my parents last week I discovered a lovely new yarn and some new colors of an old favorite. This new start is Kroy Sock Ragg Shades "Grey Brown Marl". Not a name I would have picked for it. I would call it "Sock Monkey Blend".

Laboring on Banana-Walnut-Chocolate Chip brownies.

Laboring at laundry.

Past labor. Last weeks finish. Kroy Sock "Clover Colors"

Another labor from my week at Mom and Dad's. New Red Heart Yarn Stardust in purple. This line of yarn has metallic thread in it, but is amazingly soft and easy to work with.

Today it's overcast and rather cool. 58 degrees F with a pretty good breeze going. Hence the laundry trying inside. Last week the clothes dried in about a minute on the line.

Do to the somewhat cloudy skies, Coal and Carmella need a bit of relaxation. Seems to me they needed relaxation from the heat too. Cats will be cats!

A new labor...American Girl cheerleader outfits. Not my favorite thing to make. I think that reverts back to that whole "means girls" thing from my school days. This is my version of the local school district, Little Miami. This is a special order fro my friend Samantha. She used to coach gymnastics with me. Now the traitor coaches a cheer squad. OK, a bit harsh. It's her daughter's cheer squad and there's the potential of at least 20 orders coming from this prototype, so I really shouldn't be trashing the cheer thing.

At Christmas it was the blizzard and this visit to my hometown was Hurricane Irene. We all held up pretty well and I was glad I could be there to help my parents with the clean up. Some very large oak limbs came down, but overall we fared a lot better then most in Northern New Jersey. The town of Paterson was especially hard-hit. This is the city where my Irish great-grandparents settled when they first came to this country in the 1890s. My grandfather used to take us to see the Great Falls on the Passaic River. Last week on CNN they looked more like Niagara Falls! My heart goes out to all the people on the east coast who lost property and priceless family mementos to the hurricane.

Passion For Fashion

2011-08-23T13:34:00.000-04:00

Now I'm no style icon myself but a girl can dream, can't she? Rather then invest in the many yards of fabric necessary to cover myself, I buy little pieces of wonderful fabrics for my dolls. I've discovered some beautiful "tumblrs" dedicated to historical fashion. What is a tumblr you may ask? Well, I have no idea. It seems to be a variation of a blog, mostly loaded with amazing photos. Two of my favorites are Old Rags and Fripperies and Fobs One of my greatest inspirations in dressing the dolls in Period costumes is a true style icon, Queen Alexandra. Since I am off to my mom and dad's on Thursday, I'll limit my chatter and photos and post some new stuff over the weekend. For today I'll share a few photos of the lovely Alexandra.

1874. One of a large series of photos taken with her sister, Dagmar in matching dresses.

A painting from 1894

With her niece Charlotte of Prussia

With her youngest brother, Waldemar 1867

1884 in a gorgeous yachting costume

Princess of Denmark 1863

1892

1877 with her sister-in-law Queen Olga of Greece

If I Speak My Head Will Break

2011-08-08T17:39:00.000-04:00

Coal can't wait for the catnp to be planted

Carmella tries to beat the heat wave

Blacky is getting bigger and bolder

Twinsy spends 90% of his time at our house

Roy catching a breeze

A new arrival in our yard, mystery white cat

Met a new friend, Gizmo

Gizmo's neighbors, a family of barn cats. Mom is black and white, dad orange and the three babies an interesting mix of both.

New gymnast cross-stitch, Alicia Sacramone (USA)

Felt "lemon cake" for my friend Jill's brithday

Men's socks. Fiber Optic Yarn "Eclipse"

Another gift for Jill. Mary Maxim Gemstones "Garnet"

Tag, You're It!

2011-07-04T19:21:00.002-04:00

Well, actually I'm It! This post had a decidedly crafty theme to it at first, but I've been "tagged" by so many mosquitoes in the past few days I just couldn't pass on the ironic title. I have been crafting away though and this is the result. Some tags. I am always inspired by the beautiful scrapbook/card making skills of my dear friend Larisa in Russia. She works on a limited budget with limited supplies but still turns out such artful work. So I tried my hand at these little guys.

I think George Washington on his glittery white horse is my favorite.

I cut out the tag shapes myself, as the images were a bit too large for standard tags. Then I embellished them with glitter, sequins and trims. They were supposed to go on loves of blueberry bread I had planned to make for the neighborhood 4th of July Party. This party took place yesterday and the menu was so massive there was no need to do additional baking. Roy and Sharee throw a gigantic Halloween Party (Sharee is known as the Queen of Halloween around here), but apparently no holiday or theme is beyond her magic touch. The seafood bake was beyond compare.

It got a bit messy, so Roy cleaned up in the fountain before diving into dessert.

Peanut butter Pie

The Fourth itself started out a bit rainy but has really brightened up. A lazy day with a bit of gardening and a lot less eating then yesterday. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Hats Off (Hats On!)

2011-06-29T17:22:00.001-04:00

After much waffling, moaning, fiddling and fumbling, I've finally completed the 1883 hat for Tess. It is loosely based on this vintage hat (also 1883).

Seems that I picked one of the most difficult shapes of hats to start with. I agonzied over buying some 3/16" millinery straw to make this hat. There was enough out there on the Web to choose from, just not enough cash to make it happen. I was also worried about making a complete mess out of expensive straw. Intead I found this 3/16" middy braid (cotton/poly blend) in my sewing machine stash draw. Who would have thought I'd have a full package of red right there waiting for me. It took two attempts to get started, but once I got going it was rather smooth sailing. The use of a hat block is essential. Fortunately I had fashioned a bonnet out of stiff "straw-looking" scrapbook paper a few days ago.
Intially this was to be the finished bonnet whichI was going to decorate. Turns out it made the perfect hat block as I was able to pin down the braid trim directly to the stiff paper.
The brim was a bit of a challenge. It was to be a 90% angle to the main crown of the bonnet and also have a pointed peak in the center.

The braid was quite pliable and very forgiving and has maintained the shape I had finger-pressed it into. I think I may add a bit of fabric stiffner just for stability. I am very pleased with the results, even though the stitching is a bit large (and anxious- looking).

Perhaps the bright red was not the most authentic Period choice, but it does match her bright outfit. Now I have a full package of white braid calling my name. I wonder what time period is next. I feel a bit like Dr. Who!

Talking Around the Pictures

2011-06-26T21:09:00.001-04:00

My computer has been such a total @#$%& lately that I'll just chat away and hope the photos upload while I'm writing. It's hard to believe I am nearly at 200 posts. I'll have to do some sort of prize/give-a-way for that post. That's if I survive THIS ONE! I would love to blog everyday. If not update my own blog, then leisurely browse through all my favorites and make meaningful comments on each one. It's just so frustrating that such an enjoyable task would take me several hours to complete. Trudging through the error messages, blank screens, random disconnections and programs that simply do not work at all. For the last month I have limited myself to checking my Etsy "activity status", Facebook, my e-mail and my blog. Rarely do I write or share photos anywhere. What was once such a joy has become a tiresome burden. I really miss my chats, comments and conversations with my friends far and wide. I literally feel "disconnected"!
So as I plod away at my keyboard, waiting the endless amount of time it takes for my photos to upload (if they actually will) I will tell you about my other pursuits. I've been knitting socks of course. They are my little stress-reducing tool. Round and round I go on the double-points. The repetitive movement combined with the nice little math issues involved make this a very relaxing and productive activity.

Only one left!

Coal and Roy

Carmella

I went to the Warren County Arts Festival yesterday, much against my own vow to boycott due to the fact that the committee rejected my work as not being "artsy" enough to suit them. I actually went at the very last moment to help my friend disassemble her booth. There were some beautiful items there, but it seemed like the same old stuff...tons jewelry, photography and quite a few booth just advertising various art or ballet schools. Not to be vain, but I think my items would have been a unique addition to the usual fare.
I can feel my self slipping into my "bitch and moan" habit, so I'll change the subject.

A few new garden ornaments.

Tonight is a beautiful Summer night, even if the temperature does not quite scream out "Summer". I like the moderate temperature though. Nice to sit outside without dripping with sweat. We had a long period this morning of continuous gentle rain, which my garden appreciates. A question for my fellow gardens.........What's up with the lettuce topiary?
This is just run-of-the-mill red lettuce purchased in a plastic tray of four plants from the local Wal Mart. I don't understand why they ended up like trees! They are also rather bitter tasting too....more like arugula then regular lettuce. You can see in the background that the cabbage is quite normal. It was so wet in the early Spring that I opted for these planters in order to get the plants growing as soon as possible. Maybe that's the reason for the Giant Redwood-like lettuce.
Oh look, there are all my photos. Rather disorganized, but at least I managed to put together a post. Maybe by mid-week I can come up with something a little more cohesive and interesting.

How To Make Use Of A Yard Of Fabric Part II

2011-06-17T16:01:00.001-04:00

A lovely piece of floral print cotton from my stash has been amusing me this past week. With limited Internet access and having to download a completely new (and rather annoying) photo resizing program, I wonder if I will be able to show you my results. The little sun hat is finished, but the doll dress still needs some work.

Draping things, even the lightest of satin, is a bit of a task on a 16" doll. Getting it to lay just right has been my goal for the past 2 days....hence the numerous pins in the photos. A least all those tiny little buttons (beads) are on and I do love the color combination. I wasn't too thrilled with it at first. I thought it was a bit too bright for the time period. I've spent a little time browsing around an amazing vintage fashion website, DefunctFashion, and I see my color choices really aren't that outrageous. I need to add some pleated red trim to the bottom of the skirt and fashion a bustle of the yellow satin for the back. Then I will name it Summer in the South of France 1883.

Ok, the server just "rejected" one of my photos. Time to get away from this machine before I smash it to bits!

Starting From Square One

2011-06-14T11:48:00.000-04:00

My computer has had a complete and total breakdown. Once again my husband has brought in a mysterious "friend-of-a-friend" to repair it. After three days of tearing the computer apart, trips to Best Buy taking several hours each time, and many "pieces that just wouldn't fit back in", I have a somewhat shaky and sporadic connection the Internet. It takes three or four tries just to get the thing to start up, the mouse frequently gets stuck and Facebook totally refuses to acknowledged that fact that I have Windows XP, so no Chat. As for photo uploads, well there are no photos left in my computer to upload. EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, is gone. Photos, e-mail address, passwords, favorite websites. I'm beginning to think this computer guy is related to the friend-of-a-friend who worked on our plumbing. We now have a garden house that only expells hot water.
So in a way this is a totally useless post. More of a test or an experiment rather then anything of real substance. Time to press the "publish" button and see what, if anything, will happen............................

What to do.............

2011-05-19T21:12:00.002-04:00

.............on ANOTHER cloudy day!?

A. Bake bread

B. Sew doll clothes

OR............

C. Take a nap

Maybe This One Should Have A Title!

2011-05-16T15:39:00.000-04:00

In my enthusiasm to embrace the 21st Century and try out a pre-scheduled blogpost, I totally neglected to give my last post a title! So much for progress........

In regards to other progress, the bottle wall emerged from it's wooden frame intact! Not so for my friend Cindy's creation, which cracked right in half. The remaining two bottle walls did survive along with mine. It was starting to get dark when we got the call to come see the "unveiling" so the photos are not so great. Of course it is RAINING again today, but I hope to get some more colorful and bright shots later in the week.

Mine on the far right. Should be standing with bottles pointing downward.

Top view

Kind of hard to see the bottle showing on both sides of the concrete. In the bucket below are "sea turtles" swimming. I made them from the leftover scraps of concrete mix and pressed some marbles and beads into them for detail. They need to "cure" in the water bath for a while.

Spent several hours ( thanks to my slow dial-up Internet connection) "de-stashing" on Etsy. The financial situation has become pretty bleak around here, so I listed a few crafty items for sale. Wouldn't you know it, the one I least wanted to sell sold within an hour. So sad to see these kitties go, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Steinlen Cats
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Collection

It's turning into a real "poor pitiful me" kinda day. Have those every once in a while. Never in a million years did I think I would be so unemployable. Things (meaning bills) are starting to pile up and this feeds my stress and anxiety issues. Not that any part of me needs feeding at all! Can't even muster the motivation to exercise, which just makes me more anxious and depressed. Ah, the wheel goes round and round...............

2011-05-15T16:03:00.001-04:00

A cross-stitch finish! Yeah!!! Here's the latest addition to my little Etsy gymnastics family. Lauren Mitchell of Australia, 2011 World Champion on Floor Exercise. Now if I could just sell one of these darn things!

Lauren Mitchell (Australia)

Some torturous beading and metallic thread work was involved, but I like the results.

close-up of beadwork

Last Friday(6th) was Bottle Wall Day at my neighbor Sharee's house. She taught a group of 4 friends how to make bottle walls, a new craft for me. 3-4 inches of sand was pressed into wooden frames. Then we selected some colorful empty wine bottles and pressed then about 1/2 into the sand. A layer of specially mixed concrete (that's what Sharee is doing in the photo below) is plopped in about 2 inches thick and spread around the bottles. We next put in little pieces of chicken wire to stabalize the whole thing. Thi was topped with another inch of the concrete mix. At this stage we added some surface decorations, like engraved lettering, beads, stones and other textural objects. The unveling should be some time before the end of this weekend.

Holly, Sharee(side view), Me

This little pair of socks was finished last week too. Just haven't had a chance to take a new photo yet. The pari on the needles now is Red Heart Heart & Sole "Green Envy". I've made a pair of this color before, but they were snapped up before I even had a chance to try them on.

Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn "Citrine"

As I experiment a bit with Blogger, I am trying this as a "scheduled post". It feels a bit odd to be writing in the future! I wonder if it's raining again, if my garden has actually gotten plowed up, if any progress has been made on the doll dresses? Only time will tell......................

Inspiration = Action(?)

2011-05-14T13:02:00.000-04:00

Not necessarily! Digging through fabrics and endlessly browsing the Internet for photos and this is what I came up with. Wow, the old sepia-tone photos just don't do these fashions justice. Look at the amazing color of this 1860's dress!

1869 Madame Vignon gown

The mix of color and texture on this dress is so interesting. Check out that seemingly random pink bow....but it works!

1895 Day Dress

Again, a mix of fabrics that works well. So soft and graceful.

1905 Pink Crepe Gown

This one will most likely be the first I attempt. I have quite a few 1895 patterns draw up already. A few alterations to the sleeve and collar and I might be able to capture the essence of this beauty.

1895 Worth Day Dress

Another rainy day after a few pretty nice days previously. Tuesday thru Friday it was up into the 80sF with bright sun. Now it's back to the "usual". I can't even get out to rototill the garden plot. Just when I thought it would dry out a bit from last week's downpours, here it comes again. At least all the grass got cut last night, finally! So it's on to "indoor pursuits". 1pm and still I am typing and browsing and not much is actually getting done....................................

WIP-D-Doo

2011-04-27T09:30:00.001-04:00

For someone who claims to not be doing too much stitching, I certainly do have a rather large pile of WIPs floating around here. In the world of gymnastics, the European Championships ended a few weeks ago and the World Championships are long since over. My gymnastics WIP is World Champion on Floor Exercise, Lauren Mitchell of Australia.

From the more recent European Championships I have selected a few more colorful and interesting leotards that are inspiring me to draw up some new designs.

On the non-gymnastics front there is "Summer Jubilee" by Blackbird Designs
and a lovely (if a bit complex) seahorse from the August 2007 issue of Just Cross-Stitch magazine.
Socky finishes included "Sweet Stripes" by Patons Kroy Socks. Patons Kroy always seems to knit-up a bit larger then intended. I also continue to find new colors at my local Hobby Lobby that I haven't seen on-line or in catalogs.

The other pair of socks is Lion Brand Sock-Ease "Lemon Drop".

I'm still shifting around some doll dress ideas in my head with the assistance of these:

My dog-walking job is always a WIP, but a fun one with surprises from the giant beasts everyday. Luckily the "surprises" haven't been of that variety lately........only good stuff. Though they are someone else's pets, they seem awfully attached to me. They are big and clumsy, but are very friendly and obedient.

The big day is fast approaching. I can hardly wait to set that alarm for 5am so I can watch the BBC coverage of the Royal Wedding from beginning to end! Finished up my Royal Wedding Sampler this morning. Not quite what I thought it would be. But since my only other ventures into cross-stitch design have been gymnasts, I think it came out OK.

Good Luck and Best Wishes to William and Kate!!

Technical Genius or How to Make Use of a Yard of Fabric

2011-04-25T17:37:00.000-04:00

How to fix a computer:

Step One: Curse at the screen while numerous pop-ups , ads and spyware assualt you from every direction.

Step Two: Yank the phone extension cord from the back of the computer to end Internet attack immediately.

Step Three: Totally unplug the computer and hook up the old Window 98 dinosaur from the attic.

Step Four: Repeat Step one, only this time curse at the fact that no webpage created after 2000 will work with this system. No Facebook Chat, no Etsy shop, no uploading of photos...........

Step Five: Exile virus-ridden computer to under the desk.

Step Six: Further exile virus-ridden computer to the trunk of the car. Then drive it around for two weeks while deciding whether to pay the over-priced computer store to fix it or simply find a nearby river, lake or ravine to throw it in.

Step Seven: Total despiration sets in. While in near-darkness remove the dinosaur and re-attach the original computer. Turn it on and.....................

Step Eight: IT WORKS! WTF!!!

Now on to more pleasant things. No more holding my breath while down-loading photos from my camera to the memory stick, then hauling them down the street to the neighbor's house and putting them up on my blog and Facebook. No more driving 15 miles to the nearest public library to use a hi-speed connection to check my e-mail and Etsy shop. My sister-in-law just goes crazy if I "drop off the face of the Earth"(meaing if she doesn't see me on Facebook everyday). Somehow I found a way to live without FB, but my blog? That's a different story. This is the "kinder/gentler" me..........if there is such a thing. I find FB a little, well it may sound a bit harsh, but I find it a bit shallow. I've found a lot of friends there, old and new, but some of the stuff is just plain self-serving trash.

So, how do I make use of a yard of fabric? You saw half of the results last time. The circa 1860 gown for 16" Tess

The rest of the fabric was used for this circa 1857 dress for Amy (11.5" tall). I've had this doll since 1977. I think she was designed to be some sort of gymnast or aerobics instructor. She came originally dressed in a hideous 70's floral polyester jumpsuit. I liked her simple because she was so poseable. She is a Dollikin brand doll and apparently they are quite the collectors item (according to eBay). Then there is the circa 1911 gown that's been hanging out on the sewing machine for a while. Here 16" Tonner Sydney named Louisa.

I'm not completely pleased with how it turned out. The sleeves are too long and straight and the overskirt really doesn't drape as well as my photo inspiration. I also think I need to re-work the belt to be a bit wider.

The weather changes from bright sun to high wind and heavy thunderstorms. There are about 5 or 6 rounds of this everyday! No chance to get out and work in the garden (aka The Swamp),

so the veggies hang out on the porch.

Striped Roma tomatoes

Chinese Cabbage, Red Lettuce and Red Cabbage

There are a few of you out there who will be quite proud of my next accomplishment. Yeast is now my friend! From Food Network Magazine, the Macaroni Grill herb bread.

I've made several varieties (the original recipe is for Rosemary Bread). This batch is garlic.

One the stitching front, I've been working on my own design with themes found at this website. Scroll down a bit from the most recent post to find a great selection of crowns.

In case you can't guess, it's a Royal Wedding sampler. I've gotten a bt further on it, but haven't taken a new photo yet. It should be done tonight.

Ok, I'm hating the new format for uploading pictures on Blogger. I have to sit and wait while they all upload and can't go back to typing until it's done. I'm also having a terrible time trying to align them correctly (notice how some are centered and others are just flying around the page) and inserting them into the typed area. Oh well, at least I can actually get pictures on here. Be grateful for the little things.................

Picture This.......

2011-04-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

Picture a kind neighbor who has allowed me to use her hi-speed Internet connection. Picture a sunny day...what would you do if you were a happy little kitty like Blacky. Attack the cat-nip turtle of course. Yes, TURTLE. I found that a bit odd too, but she loves this toy.

Picture my own Roy enjoying a little "hunting excursion" in the old green shed.

Picture lovely Mocha, outside of the barn for a rare moment. I can hardly believe this sweet cat has been with us nearly 8 years. My goal is to get her to be a house-pet, like the others. But she's so shy. I'm still the only one who can pet her.

Picture Coal, helping me set up the seed-starting area on the porch. Gone are the huge stacks of firewood, replaced by this lovely metal baker's rack bought at a yard sale for $1. I really don't think Coal is actually helping though. More likely he is waiting for me to put the cat-nip starts close enough for him to knock them all over and eat them.

Picture Carmella napping on the swing. It was a bit breezy, so she decided to go under the canvas cover for added warmth.

Picture the approaching storm. One can picture this about every 3 to 4 hours these days. The yard is a swamp. I even made the mistake of putting some flower seeds directly out into the plant beds. I am sure they are all washed to one corner by now.

So what to do when it rains? Lounge on the porch of course (Carmella).

Or check out the rain, hoping it will stop soon(Roy). Maybe just hang out in the barn annoying Mocha. Here Roy and Carmella listen to Mocha up above them in the loft.

Picture the Spring of 1861. I've been watching the PBS series "The Civil War". I've seen it several times before, but I never lose interest in it. To honor the anniversary of that awful war the divided this country, dolly Tess had a new calico dress made in the c. 1861 fashion.

Picture some stitching getting done. I've been working on some little Springtime freebies. This one is a Primitive Betty creation.

Picture a computer that works.......well, a friend's computer. I can hardly believe a photo-filled update completed in less then ten minutes! Happy Spring !!

Not Again!

2011-04-10T14:12:00.002-04:00

My computer has died again! Flashing screens, constant pop-ups warning of impending doom if I don't download this or that spam virus protection program ASAP. I've taken the liberty of pre-deleting all the foul language I intended to write here. Suffice it to say that I can't upload a single photo or even stay on the Internet for more then a few minutes at a time. So if you comments, e-mails and Facebook posts go unanswered, please don't think I'm just laying around eating bons-bons and ignoring you. Now the bon-bon thing sounds pretty good right now, but a least the weather is nice and I can revert back to my 19th Century pursuits of stitching and gardening. Ah, the cyberworld moves to fast for me anyway................

Dare I?

2011-04-05T16:32:00.004-04:00

With the computer acting strangely again, I wonder if it's safe to post? All sorts of weird viruses again. "It", whatever "it" may be this time, even stole all my Microsoft programs and left the computer "empty". Somehow all my files were hidden from me and I had to restore everything. Since I am far from the computer professional I am sure I have now exposed myself to even deadly viruses by opening up and "releasing" all my files. At least I was able to put all my precious photos and videos on to CD and everything seems to be working fine...........for now. I haven't even dared to upload the photos that are languishing on the memory card of my camera. Let's see what I can come up with from the archives:

It is a well-known fact that I am a collector of fabrics, threads and yarn, but Joe is a collector of these lovelies. He actually FINDS these arrowheads in the fields surrounding our property. Now I couldn't tell one rock from another in an endless expanse of dirt, but he just has an eye for it.

The kitties are doing well. Gray and white guy still won't come any closer to me, but I see him more often in the yard. This photo was taken at quite a distance...hence the zoom-in blurriness. Mel has her favorite new spot, a barley pillow I brought home from my parent's house to help my sore neck. I never use it though. Just can't stand the crunchy sound it makes. Roy's new spot is a down pillow up on a the dresser in the hallway. The sun hits it just right at mid morning.

Here's a book from my local libraryKind of a wonky photo though. Some great sewing and crafting ideas in here. Like these really neat colored-pencil holder!

Tons of dolly dress ideas running around in my head, but no needle put to fabric lately. Too much time spent cleaning up this old computer............

Stats

2011-03-17T13:03:00.009-04:00

In my usual way of being at least a decade behind the times with technology, I have discovered the "Stats" feature on Blogger. I check it several times a day now, fascinated by being able to "see" who is viewing my blog, how they found it, and what they find most interesting. I have noticed a regular reader from Iran...........how cool is that! I wonder what this person stitches, do they have cats, a garden, perhaps a doll house. Viewing these stats has opened up a whole new world for me. Although the majority of the viewers remain anonymous, it is still nice to know there is someone out there actually reading all of this.

Continuing with the theme of "stats", I have noticed that the yellow socks I am working on will be pair #35! Another good stat is the fact that I have now sold 4 items from my Etsy shop. Any other Etsy shop owners out there? How do you do it? I know my items are designed for a very focused and limited audience, but I would really love to give sales a jump-start. Maybe my things are just too "modern" for the average Etsy shopper.

Again sticking with the "stats" theme, we have increased the cat population by one. This is not official yet because this guy doesn't have a real name, I haven't petted him and he won't even come up to me yet. This is actually the closest I have seen him so far. Right outside the kitchen door on the patio, just lounging there, quite relaxed. Of course I am taking the photo through the window of the kitchen door. If you look carefully you can actually see little Roy sitting rather close by under the red wagon. I spotted Grey Guy in his usual hang-out yesterday, the old office chair in the shed but, to my surprise, there was Coal sitting right next to him. No time to run back to the house and grab the camera to capture that moment. I am pretty sure they weren't fighting since the "Bud Alarm" wasn't sounding. Bud goes absolutely nuts when he hears the cats make that high-pitched howling (speaking in tongues) that they do when they challenge each other. Tails were twitching though, but this may be the first step to accepting a new friend into the group. Since Sammy has passed away I notice the others stay a bit closer to me, even when we are outside. Especially Roy, my shy boy. And here's an odd twist, Coal and Carmella rolling around together. They have always gotten along, but Coal has shown a marked preference for Roy (and his best friend Sammy) and Carmella has been a bit of a loner.

On the stitching front, not many stats to report there. At a stand-still on the 1911 gown. I changed the idea a bit when I found this fashion plate drawing. I have altered a store-bought doll pattern of a modern gown with similar cut and style. I've cut it out and have all the pieces marked for stitching, but I'm a bit afraid of making a total mess of such nice fabric. I finished knitting this cowl (sp?). My mother has been after me to try this freebie pattern from Lion Yarn. She even picked up the recommended Lion Brand "Amazing" yarn on sale. Her hands don't move as quickly with the needles anymore, so she wanted me to give it a try. Circulars are not my strong point, but here's the results. An easy cast-on 80 stitches. 1 1/2 inches of ribbing (K2,P2) on either end of a 9" knitted tube. This uses two balls of Amazing knit with two strands held together ( also a first for me).

Looks like it will be more of an outside day anyway. Already 56 degrees F and sunny. Before I head out I want to say "HELLO" to my reader in Iran. Thank you for visiting and brightening my day!

Sunshine On My Needles

2011-03-10T18:52:00.004-05:00

There certainly is no sunshine outside lately. For nearly a week it has done nothing but rain. The Little Miami River near our house is about to hit flood stage, as are the Great Miami and Ohio Rivers. Then, just for a change of pace, it decided to snow like a blizzard this afternoon.

Being trapped inside has made me restless and creative. Not a good mix. Lots of ideas, but very little work actually getting done. I started this pair of sunny socks, Lion Brand Sock-Ease "Lemon Drop". I dug up some fabrics for a bright evening gown circa 1911 for one of the 16" dolls. Here's the inspiration dress. Although the line of these Edwardian dresses look quite simplistic getting those skirts to drape properly in dolly size certainly is not an easy task. Luckily the border-printed fabric will do most of the styling work for me. The underdress is going to be made of pale gold satin.

The pets enjoyed a few moments outside on Tuesday, the only partly-sunny day this week. Poor Bud is getting pretty old. His face is nearly all gray. But he still loves to go for long walks, although his pace is much slower these days. Roy and Carmella were scheduled for their annual Vet check-up today. Only Roy made it there though. Once he let out those incredible howls as I loaded him into the pet carrier, Carmella headed for the hills...in this case the farthest reaches under the bed. She is rescheduled for next week.

As the wind and snow blow outside, I look forward to Springtime and Easter............

Those Of Us Left Behind

2011-03-04T17:26:00.006-05:00

It's been a hard two weeks since Sammy died. He was with us nearly 12 years and suffered from FIV/Feline Leukemia. He had rough times with the upper respiratory disease and spent days at a time with his head down, nose to the floor looking as if Death was ready to claim him. On three occasions he even vanished totally....the longest stretch being for 17 days. But he always came back to us. On that fateful Thursday he had gone out to enjoy the first warm day of the year after spending most of the Winter inside. He was always an adventurous cat, but as he got older he spent more and more time inside where it was warm and dry. He was brutally struck down by a speeding car within 30 minutes of going outside. That is what made it all the more sad. The fact that he had survived FIV to be taken from us in such a cruel way. We all miss him terribly, but I think it was the hardest on his closest friend, Coal. There is a new friend who has come around lately. Actually there are three: a black cat who I had mistaken for Coal until he took of running at high speed when I approached him; a small and extremely shy brown tiger striped cat; and this guy. Mr. Gray and White has been around for about a month now. He sleeps on this discarded office chair in our old green shed. He also has become good friends with Mocha. He still runs when I get too close, but he's been letting me get closer and closer these days. He and Coal don't quite hit it off. They do that odd little dance of side glances, posturing and speaking in tongues. Hopefully all will settle down and I will find a suitable name for Gray and White.

On the sewing/crafting front I've made quite a bit of progress on many different projects. It all came to a screeching halt on Wednesday when I was informed I had been REJECTED for the Warren County Arts Fair. My booth-partner was accepted, but not me. Some how coming from an organization with the words "Warren County" on the front of it I really don't find this rejection too surprising. So now I have a kick-ass supply of really nice Birthday and Christmas gifts. Things were put sharply back in persepective when I read of the tragic death of The Primitive Needle designer Lisa Roswell. Although I did not know her personally, she is a fellow Ohioan and I feel such sorrow for her family. I am participating in a SAL organized on Facebook to honor her. I've started stitching "Hornbook Angel".

Some socks have been finished. Mary Maxim brand Gemstones in "Peridot" and a collection of tiny little socks made up of my left-overs. They fit my American Girl dolls perfectly, but they have another purpose.................

The 18" dollies also got two new Spring gowns. I love these organza's from JoAnne Fabrics, but I could never afford enough to make myself a garment. I did dig up 3 yards of this lovely Oriental cat print that I had stashed away for several years. I am plotting to make this Simplicity jacket with it. Maybe a nice red satin for the belt? I need to buy some lining though before I get to cutting. It will certainly be an indoor style jacket, paired with a black skirt and maybe some red heels. Such ambitious plans!

Than you so much for all the kind and heart-felt comments about Sammy. I appreciate each and every one.

SAMMY

2011-02-17T08:59:00.001-05:00

June 1997-February 17, 2011

How I Felt

2011-01-22T17:10:00.006-05:00

Before you run, screaming from your computer screen, this is not a post about my over-sensitized emotions. It is simply about FELT, my new obsession! I've already latched on to a fabulous on-line source for wool-felt. Not 100% wool, but the much more affordable and equally lovely blended stuff. I placed an order at 10am Thursday at Woolfelt Central and it arrived in the mail TODAY!! OK, new favorite on-line shop. They sell by the rectangle (9 x 12 and 13 x 18) and the incredibly reasonable by-the-yard price of $8-$9 (depending on fiber content). You can order as little as 1/4 yard. So that is exactly what I did. From top to bottom:Tahitian Sunset, Pink Grapefruit, Buttercup, Camel, Mellow Yellow and Buttercream. I am thinking some Lemon donuts need to be made of these. Though I do have access to a pretty good selection of felt rectangles at the local craft shops, Woolfelt Central has those lovely muted tones perfect for the Prim projects I have in mind.
As for projects; here are some completed items. I seem to be on some sort of "bird kick" lately. Maybe it's due to the tons of colorful birds that visit my feeders each day. I have to refill on a daily basis to keep up with them. The felt birds are from the Need'l Love "Threads" series of craft books. I have taken the basic bird pattern (this Red-wing Blackbird) and have also designed my own version of a Blue jay, to be stitched up this week. The dove is actually made of some tea-stained velvet with felt wings. He is supposed to hold a bit of greenery or a tiny glass ornament in his beak. Both birds are mounted on little wooden candle holders. The patriotic heart is also velvet with felt lettering. The little snowmen are money/giftcard holders (front pocket) from a pattern my mother sent to me.

Now I must pet the computer and reward it for being so kind to me for an entire week. Allowing me to chat on Facebook, answer my e-mail and even update my blog (with photos!) Dear, sweet computer.................

2011-01-18T16:31:00.005-05:00

I can hardly believe it's been nearly a month since I last posted. I have been lurking around Blogland, reading and occasionally commenting. Not that my interest has gone, simply that my Internet connection and computer have both been very temperamental. All sorts of weird pop-ups, redirects, un-wanted website suggestions and switches, sudden disconnections and total blue screens! All the usual signs of an all-out spyware invasion. I think I have the problem solved, or a least brought down to a manageable level where I can get more then five minutes at a stretch on-line. The lack of Internet has been both frustrating and liberating. Since most of my readers are crafters of some sort, you know what I mean. I love my new-found blog and e-mail buddies. I love exchanging ideas and viewing photos. But suddenly hours have gone by, spent sitting in front of the computer screen. Of course a ragingly slow dial-up connection has a lot to do with this. I would love to update everyday....share photos, stories, thoughts and ideas. I have found with this "down-time" that I am actually implementing these thoughts and ideas rather then just writing about them.

My latest venture is into the world of FELT. I have always admired all the sweet little felted creatures I see on-line and in books. I haven't ventured quite that far yet. My felt world is of the more traditional variety, as in felt of the fabric kind. Again, my grand ideas of working with all those gorgeous over-dyed wool felts out there has been brought back to the more financially realistic realm of 9 x 12 squares from Hobby Lobby, Michaels and JoAnns. Not many photos yet of the new creations. Most are still in the "almost finished" stage. The donuts were an absolute first choice on my list of projects with felt.

I have finished two more pairs of socks and have nearly completed pair #32. These first two were completed during my blizzard-extended Christmas trip to my parent's home in New Jersey. The, in itself, is an interesting tale, best left for another time. Nothing too earth shattering, just my usual angst- and anxiety-ridden holiday fair. Oh but I do love Mommy and Daddy so much!! Anyway, on to the socks. First, Mary Maxim brand Soft Stripes Bamboo in "Lagoon". The second pair is knitted from the wildly expensive yarn I bought at September's Midwest Wool Festival. Fiber Optic Yarns by Kimber Baldwin Designs Footnotes "Bengal Batik". The third pair is nearly done. On-line Supersocke Holiday Color #1004. I wish they would give these colors a real name. Something this bright and wild needs a name!

On the more stitchy front. Not much cross-stitch at all, but I did manage to make one dolly a new Christmas dress, circa 1895.

It seems like it's been snowing nearly everyday! Not that I'm complaining. Now safely "removed" from the arduous drive to the new gymnastics club, I welcome any type of weather. Today is a down-right rain storm, but I see a little ! on my local weather website warning me of an approaching Winter storm. After the 29.5 inches of snow in NJ the day after Christmas, nothing surprises me. Yes, those are my rather chubby legs inside my parents garage, with the snow piled up nearly to the bottom of my coat.

Bring on the snow!

In A Minute!

2010-12-20T10:59:00.003-05:00

That's about all I get on the Internet these days. I just tried to upload a photo and it ACTUALLY WORKED!! So I will try again now with this cute photo of Blacky/Lowell. She ( not a "he" as we all had assumed) was 'fixed' last Tuesday and is recovering well. As much as I love kittens I am the first to promote the spay/neuter thing. There are so many strays running around and it's especially heart-breaking in this cold weather. So now there is another happy house pet to add to the ranks. Yes, Blacky is now allowed inside the heated garage/man-cave. I am hoping the neighbors let her in the house soon. I've hinted at how much easier that would be, rather then trudging through the snow out to the garage to feed her and feed the stove heater with wood. I think it's only a matter of time.

Ancient Times

2010-12-15T12:18:00.003-05:00

No, not another history lesson, but a reference to the computer I am stuck using. I had to haul out the old carcass with the Windows 6 version that had been exiled to the attic when we bought the spiffy new little E-Machine. That one croaked completely last week with a big, huge blue spyware screen taking over the whole mess. It wouldn't even allow me my greatest of all escapes......."system restore". Yes, for a while there I fancied myself the computer genius for being able to press the system restore button and "fix" the computer. Do you know you can't even use the Chat feature on Facebook with Windows 6. It gave me some nasty screen suggesting I update to the current century! So I wonder how picture uploads will go with this dinosaur? The words "connection timed-out" seem to be it's favorite phrase. Hey look, there it is again on the photo upload screen. Oh well, I guess I wait to use Mom and Dad's computer next week. See you then...........

A Royal Lady

2010-12-09T14:45:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while I break away from the standard fare of gymnasts, cats, cross-stitch and knitting and delve into my favorite little space of history. That of the great Royal Ladies. My all time favorite and my childhood inspiration to study this subject came from this lady, Her Royal Highness Princess Alix of Hesse, The Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. Daughter of Princess Alice of Great Britain and Grand Duke Louis of Hesse, she was born in 1872. She was the youngest surviving child and a great beauty of her time, as were her sisters Victoria, Ella and Irene. Like her elder sister Ella, Alix married into the Russian Imperial Family in 1894. She and her husband, Tsar Nicholas II were the last ruling couple of the dynasty. Unlike many royal marriages, Alix and Nicholas were very much in love. They had four daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia and a son, Alexei. Tragically Alix, her 5 children and her husband were executed during the Russian Revolution in July of 1918. Alix converted to the Russian Orthodox faith when she married and her devout beliefs sustained her until the end of her life. Her her life as a loving wife and mother and woman of God has made her an inspiration to many.

The Sweetest Gift

2010-12-06T15:34:00.004-05:00

This tasty batch arrived today from Edgar. Hmm, notice how one of the chocolate-covered cherry papers is already empty. How did that happen? Must have been that greedy postman. All so delicious and incredibly thoughtful, Edgar. Thank you so much.

Crazy snowing outside and I love it. Time to stitch, and as of Saturday a lot more time then I had anticipated. Again, the outside world has invaded what semblance of order I had made of my life, if oh-so briefly. Hats off to USAG for recognizing my 10+ years of dedicated service (not to mention outrageous yearly dues) with another slap in the face. After 34 years, it may be time to move on from gymnastics. But that decision can be left for another time. I need to pull myself together and tough it out through another "happy holiday season".

So I am doing some serious "nesting"...baking Christmas cookies, working on a quilt and finishing some more socks and ornaments. The company of my beloved animals is always a plus. No matter what happens I always have their unconditional love.

Gobble, Gobble!

2010-11-25T15:08:00.001-05:00

Too bloated to blog..............maybe tomorrow.

System Restore

2010-11-21T15:59:00.003-05:00

As much as I hate using cliche computer terms, those two simple words seem to have cured the computer...if only temporarily. I am sure the whole sorry bucket of wires and will end up in the trash very soon; at least for now it is allowing me to navigate the Internet and visit some blogs. All the nice Autumn and Winter needlework going on out there in Blogland! I am so impressed, and bit jealous. I've been whiling away the off hours mostly with socks. There are actually a few finishes to show this time.

As promised in the last post, here's a view of the finished Beth Tweddle gymnastics cross-stitch. Then there are two new pairs of socks that are destined as Christmas gifts for two sisters! I am sure they will guess who they are and the surprise will be ruined. Oh well, I owe them both big-time and these socks are just a small token of my appreciation. The first pair is Red Heart "Heart & Sole" in Spring Stripe. The other pair are knitted of Jawoll from eBay in what I will call "Countryside Competition" colors. This brings my total to 26 pairs completed in the one year since I have learned to knit socks.

Been tea-dying some linen lately and have done up a few little Prim cross-stitch items. I'll save those for next time though. Too busy enjoying the rather warm (61 F) weather today to stop and take any photos. Snow is predicted for Thanksgiving, which I am soooooo looking forward to. Made it through a week at the gym that I termed "Disaster Week" with none of the previously predicted disasters. One still looms on the horizon, but again it is an issue beyond my control. So I will bury my head in the sand a bit longer on that one and hope for the best. With great satisfaction I run that red ink line through each day on the calendar as it passes. All my life I have considered myself a doom and gloom sort of person. Always seeing the brutal reality of things; the glass as half empty. But I have recently discovered that deep down inside (under the layers of York Peppermints and cookie dough) I am really a very hopeful person. I think I'll just go with that for a little while.............................

Quick, Before It Croaks!

2010-11-07T17:21:00.005-05:00

Trying to get a post in here before this computer finally gives out it's last choking breath. It's been misbehaving for about two weeks now. Everytime I turn it on some sort of "System Defragmenter" program pops up. I know it's just spam trying to get me to buy something and steal my credit card info. Good luck with that one spammers. You'll get one hour of wild abandon in Cleveland with the credit I've got left. Anyway, along with the constant pop-ups from those jokers I get the big yellow triangle with the ! inside it telling me "hard drive missing". Well damn it, then what's this big piece of machinery sitting next to me then!?!? Then there is that sad little red heart with the X inside warning me of impending doom should I not download a virus program immediately. On top of all that it continues to eat random files, mess with my precious photos and simply refuse to operate any of the "holes" on the front of the computer i.e: memory card reader, the plug to my camera, the CD player etc.

As the planets seemed to have aligned for the last 30 minutes I am giving a valiant attempt at posting some new photos. I'll save the rambling, wordy news for another day. Who knows how much time I have to post the photos before the the whole thing crashes and burns.

So here goes:

HALLOWEEN:Carriage House Samplings tombstone set.

Joe

At the gym (I'm Raggedy Ann)
PETS SNAPS:

MelSammyCoal(and rat friend)

Mocha

Bud

Blacky, allowing himself to be petted.

I don't think Roy got into any photos this time.

NEXT TIME (if there is a next time!)

Latest pair of socks. Red Heart Heart & Sole "Spring Stripes".

Latest cross-stitch finish. Gymnast Beth Tweddle of Great Britain.

The Great Leap Forward

2010-10-15T13:11:00.007-04:00

Not a reference to the impending time change (when is that anyway?); more a reference to my first venture into the world of professional gymnastics judging. This weekend I am off to Kent Sate University to volunteer at Judge's Cup. Of course this brings me a mix of excitement and anxiety. I have what could best be described as a love/hate relationship with travel. I dream of traveling all over the world, be it for gymnastics, to return to my ancestral homelands of Ireland and Italy, or to visit my numerous pen-pals and e-pals. Then comes the overwhelming anxiety of leaving my beloved animals behind. Joe is so good at taking care of them, but those two little cats can be unpredictable. Roy and Carmella have been with us nearly two years. Both are quite independent in their own way. Roy's latest escapade is to run across the street to the big barn. He spends hours over there, so it's not like he's playing in the street. It's just that nerve wracking few seconds and the random speeding cars that freak me out. Carmella has been known to travel pretty far too. Spotted her down near the neighbor's house at 9pm on my way home from the gym last Tuesday night. This constant worry really takes all the joy out of traveling. Yes, I am a very over-protective pet owner.

Anyway, my massive baking adventure is nearly complete. Judge's Cup is a 100% volunteer-run competition so all the food is brought in by the judges. I read over the list of usual suspects....hotdog/hamburger buns, bottles of soda, granola bars, plates, napkins, etc. Then I saw it, my speciality, BAKED GOODS. I am sure they meant something picked up at the local grocery store, but instead they are getting these: 64 Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcakes. They now have orange-colored creamcheese frosting and a little candy corner atop each one. Also 5 dozen M&M cookies with the appropriate Fall colored M&Ms. It's been more and more difficult each season to find those "speciality" M&Ms. I find a lot of empty boxes on the shelves where they used to be. So in my usual style of over-compensation I bought three bags.

As if Judge's Cup isn't enough gymnastics for one weekend, October 16th also marks the start of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam Holland. I've been following the trainings on-line and have found some excellent photos here: http://couch-gymnast.blogspot.com/. Bridgid is a wonderful photographer and her sense of humor adds such a flair to an overly serious sport.

I wonder if there will be any time to work in a little knitting or cross-stitch this weekend? Probably not since I'm driving the carpool to Kent State...well, there's always next weekend.

Candy Corn Crazy!

2010-10-11T15:20:00.003-04:00

I love the look of Candy Corn. Those lovely colors, that cute triangular shape. Can't stand the taste of those little buggers though. This one I made for Coal has catnip infused with the cotton stuffing, so the taste seems to meet with his approval.

Season of Renewal

2010-10-03T15:36:00.003-04:00

Most people think of Spring as the Season of Renewal; for me it is Autumn. Not only is it my favorite time of year, this year it had brought to me some positive change. The changing of the leaves and plants, the changing of the weather and at last a change in my financial and employment situation. After an exhaustive and stressful 11 month search I have finally found a new job. I started last week at a brand-new gym Perfection Gymnastics. Though I am relieved to have this job and some sense of security, it is not the familiar "comfort zone" of the old gym. I have never been one to adjust easily to change and I am finding it very difficult to go to work each day and not see my group of good friends or the gymnasts I have worked with for years and years. I am trying to adjust and be more open to the new situation. It helps that the gymnasts and their families are very friendly. Here I am with my new friend Faith! I am settling in to my new schedule which is totally opposite to my previous one. I've had to adapt my "time management skills" a bit, but I have found time for some crafting and stitching. Here is the latest tombstone: "Carolina Handley" by Carriage House Samplings. Once again dear Joe outdid himself in the construction of the wooden tombstone. WalMart came through again with it's selection of "faux stone" spray paint and the little wooden accents are from Hobby Lobby.

My other new friend, Lowell (aka Blacky) is getting bigger and quite a bit bolder. It's very easy to pet him now. He comes running up as soon as you call him....the neighbors have changed his name to Blacky, but I still prefer Lowell.

The expression "One Day At A Time" has become my new phrase to live by. Sometimes when I look at the overall situation I get overwhelmed and a bit sad. If I take each day as it comes then I can savor the sweet time spent at home with my animals and stitching and still enjoy my work in the sport that I love.

A Wool Gathering

2010-09-18T13:41:00.004-04:00

The Midwest Wool Festival, Yellow Springs Ohio.

My stash. Two skiens of Fiber Optics "Foot Notes".

Herding ducks!

Elliot

2010-08-29T08:52:00.002-04:00

June 1998-August 28, 2010

RESPECT

2010-08-12T13:16:00.002-04:00

Hmmm.....

2010-08-09T10:26:00.007-04:00

I probably could have come up with a better title for this post, couldn't I? I've have so many ideas and themes running around in my head and it's been forever since I last posted, I just couldn't nail it down to one topic. Actually been stitching a bit. I am obsessed with vintage skeleton keys lately. Unfortunately, so seems to be the rest of the World! They are very hard to find and rather expensive when you do. I bought three from Etsy at about $3 a piece. That seemed pretty reasonable, considering I saw some there for 4 to 5 times that price! I seem to remember my grandfather having and old Savarin Coffee can filled with these things and now they are up for sale on Etsy and eBay! I went to our local (Caesar's Creek) flea market last weekend and really hit the jackpot. I have a running list of certain things I am always on the look-out to buy. 1) Ceramic frogs. Not just statues, but the seated frog with his mouth wide open to hold the dish sponge. I have quite a collection of these little fellows in all different colors. Apparently, this was a very popular ceramic mould for beginner students. 2) Vintage sewing supplies. Actually any sewing or cross-stitch supplies will do....and vintage patterns too. 3) 1/12 scale dollhouse items. And new to my list is Item #4-Vintage skeleton keys.

So here it is. JACKPOT!! A little bit of everything. The huge sewing kit was $5, all contents included.

The keys were $1 each from a huge selection ( I actually went back this weekend and got 5 more). A lovely orange frog and a little brown frog who is a bank. A rather old-looking rooster who is perfect for my dollhouse chicken coop. Here's a shot of him with the whole flock.

As for stitching.................a few little ornaments using the skeleton keys.And taaa-daaa the Susanna Goose tombstone from Carriage House Samplings, finally done up as I had envisioned it. I must give credit to Joe for finding all the wood scraps in correct sizes and thicknesses, and for cutting and assembling my dream piece. I painted it with a "spray stone" paint from Wal Mart.

A have a "knitty finish" in the form of these children's socks. On-line Superocke 100 yarn Holiday color#1002.

We ate the first watermelon from our own garden yesterday. It was a bit small but it is the first ever watermelon I have grown! The Lemon Cucumbers are producing well, but we're still waiting on the Striped Roma tomatoes.

Here's the pet snap of the day. This little guy showed up at the neighbor's house on July 19th. At first they called him Lowell, but that has since been changed to Blacky. I am guessing he is about 5 or 6 weeks old. It's hard to keep me away from him. We are trying to get him to allow us to pet him, but no luck yet. He is very friendly and verbal and will wind around my legs and come up to my hand, but that's about it so far. Of course I would love to have him at my house, but he is much safer where he is. The neighbor's are more "dog people" so I go down there every day to bond with Blacky. I know my Roy and Carmella would chase the poor little guy into the street, so he will be my "foster cat" at the neighbor's house where he is much further away from the road. Welcome, Blacky!!

Poor Old Blog......

2010-07-21T14:31:00.003-04:00

......I've really been neglecting you lately, in favor of the "sound bites" I can toss up on Facebook in just a minute or less. Not really my style, but I've been rather scattered lately. I've been told by several people that I am at some turning point in my life; that things are better then they have been in the recent past. Not that I don't appreciate their encouragement and enthusiasm, but I see everything as very much the same. Maybe I am just afraid to move forward, preferring the relative comfort of the here and now. I'm not too sure I want to see what lurks around the next corner.

So instead I retreat to familiar things. My lovely animals, making doll clothes, cross-stitching gymnasts. I'm dull as a moss-covered rock, I suppose.

As for the details: The doll clothes are for the 18" American Girl doll (although mine are Target Girl and WalMart Girl), The cats are Sammy, Carmella and Elliot and the gymnast is Beth Tweddle of Great Britain.

Just Because I Like Them

2010-06-20T13:40:00.011-04:00

A post about giraffes? Yes, just because I like them. I think it's because of their color. I love any shade of orange/rust/brown. Maybe it's their unique body shape or the lovely pattern on their spots. I recently discovered that a giraffe is not simply a giraffe. There are six rather distinct (at least to another giraffe anyway) varieties.

From top: Rothschild's, West African, Reticulated, Masai, Cape and Angolan . They vary only slightly in pattern/color but it was very interesting to learn this.

I've been making doll clothes lately too. Not that I make any money selling these, but just because I like them! A princess seamed 1893 gown. Maybe now that I've finally drafted some patterns that fit this doll, she may get a more complete wardrobe.

The weather has been brutally hot and humid this past week so I actually hid inside under the ceiling fan with a bit of...............hahhhhhhhhh, is it really true???????????

CROSS-STITCH. A little Patriotic finish from "The Sampler Girl" and a start on "Quaker Friendship Sampler" by The Goode Huswife. I'm using Threadworx "Morning Garden" on 28 count cream linen.

During my breaks from stitching and admiring giraffes I made a little blueberry cake. Much more blueberries then cake in this one! I even ventured into the mysterious world of yeast dough. Barbara, I curse in your general direction for getting me hooked on this. Now my freezer is filled with little bags of pizza dough-balls. I had much better luck with the white flour variety then with the whole wheat. Can anyone explain this to me?

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Yeah, RAIN!!

2010-06-03T12:42:00.005-04:00

I'm not usually a big fan of rain, although I do love a good rumbling thunderstorm every once in a while. It finally rained last night.

Since I got around to planting the vegetable garden last week I was dreading having to drag buckets of water out there. What about the garden hose, you say? Well, our garden hose only gives hot water. One of the (many) pitfalls of getting that "friend of a friend" to fix the plumbing last year. I've had many a nice dream about installing a huge in-ground swimming pool and then joyfully filling it from our steaming garden hose. No such luck on that one though.

My latest gardening venture has been "fairy gardens". To me they look more like dollhouse settings moved outside.....so that's exactly what I did.

A bit difficult to see the little bench and the wheelbarrow from this photo. Finished another pair of what I call "crock socks". They are soft , comfortable and cottony. This pair knitted from Premier Yarns Deborah Norville Collection Garden Yarn in "Sea". Immediately started another pair from Plymouth Happy Feet color #25You would think they could come up with a wonderful name for this amazing color combination. Something more exciting then #25.

The rainy weather brought me indoors earlier then usual and I was finally able to get over procrastinating and finish a Summer dress for my 16" doll. This one is circa 1895 of a finely striped cotton.Oddly enough there has been no cross-stitch going on. I did start another gymnast design but I haven't photographed her yet. Waiting for the inspiration (or Crafting A.D.D.) to hit me.

The pets continue to thrive although they are not too fond of this hot, humid weather. Lots of lounging and relaxing going on.

The Good, The Bad, And The Hot Pink!

2010-05-23T18:50:00.005-04:00

Finally finished the cross-stitch of gymnast Anastasia Grishina. It was a tight squeeze on fabric I cut too small. I've had a problem with that lately. Some sort of "math-block" thing. Instead of putting her in a frame, she'll become a pillow using this fabric as a border and backing.

A roller coaster ride of a week. The weather finally turned nice this weekend, but I've been such a wreck emotionally. Talked to my mother on Tuesday and after 20 minutes of discussing the weather, the garden and the malfunctioning washing machine she suddenly announces that she has just returned from a doctor visit and that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I am devastated. She, on the other hand, is quite relieved. For about five years now she has struggled to knit, to write clearly and most recently to walk at a normal pace. She said she thought she had a brain tumor! Now for my mother to say such a thing is really out there. She is the rock of the family; never an outward emotion about her. So for five years she's been suffering silently thinking she had a brain tumor. I really don't know what to make of all this. Since a few days have passed I can now see her 'happiness' in receiving this diagnosis, rather then the horrible one she expected. I spoke to her Friday, after one full day of the medication, and she said she had written a check. OK, in the ordinary scheme of things this is not a big deal. But she had been foisting off that duty to my father in order to hide the fact that she could only print her signature, and quite poorly at that. This is a woman who grew up in the Catholic school penmanship tradition of the 1930's and 40's. She was also a teacher for 20+ years. So to sign her name rather then print it was a huge turning point. I am wondering if the drug could be that effective in one day, or maybe she is just more confident now in her own abilities. Any one out there with Parkinson's or a relative with this disease feel free to fill me in.

A few pet snaps to brighten a rather rambling and awkward post.

A Leap Forward

2010-05-15T16:17:00.005-04:00

Just a quickie update on the progress of the gymnast cross-stitch, Anastasia Grishina of Russia.

Since it is National Chocolate Chip Day (according to the Food Network Site) I baked these very easy Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies. Just a store-bought banana cake mix, with two eggs and 1/2 cup of oil. Then add chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Mix thoroughly and drop tablespoon-sized blobs on a cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

My dear friend Karena stopped by today with her daughter, one of my gymnasts, Allie. They brought me this beautiful card and some lovely flowers and delicious strawberries straight from their garden. Karena has been my friend for about three years, but it feels like I have known her all my life. There is a special bond that goes beyond our passion for gymnastics. She always knows exactly the right time to call or e-mail me and has just the perfect thing to say to brighten my day. I don't know what I would have done without her love and support these past few months. Thanks Karena!

Barking Up The Wrong Tree

2010-05-14T14:28:00.006-04:00

All of my cats are pretty well-behaved, as cats go. They are "trainable". Actually they have trained me to accept whatever they do as correct behavior. They don't poo in the potted plants, they don't fight with eachother (much), they don't howl at all hours of the night (although I love the sound of their voices anytime). They pretty much stay within the boundaries of the yard and the designated areas of the back field. I've lost too many beloved cats on this street. There isn't much traffic here but the dozen or so cars that do go by each day seem to think this is a drag strip designed to test the speedometer capacity of their vehicles. Of all the cats my one and only orange kitty (first ever orange kitty too) Carmella tests the limits of the boundaries most frequently. There are times when I call and call for her; rattle the cat food tin and no response for nearly an hour. Just where is it that she's getting too? Not the barn or the shed. Not under the car or the patio chairs. Not in the field or God forbid, in the street. Here she is. This seems to be her new hang-out. The oldest, largest tree in the yard. Conveniently located next to a prime bird feeder for an excellent view of the "catch". Elliot takes a less subtle approach.

Well, I haven't been barking up the cross-stitch tree much either! Still obsessed with socks. Round and round I go and my next start will be pair #20

Two weeks ago I was glued to the computer following the Gymnastics European Championships. I was quite pleased with the results, especially of these two cute little Russians from the Junior squad. Anastasia Grishina and Viktoria Komova. I remember seeing Viktoria's mother compete back in the day..........1983 USA vs. USSR competition. Here is my near-finish of my latest gymnastics design, Grishina in a split leap during her Floor Exercise routine. She won a gold medal on this event at Europeans. Next up is British Champion Beth Tweddle.

The sun is shining and it's nearly 80 degrees F. The storms are rolling in though, so it's outside for a few more hours of stitching or knitting or just watching the cats lounge around.

Thank You Mother Nature!

2010-05-04T13:40:00.009-04:00

I've had friends tell me lately that they are feeling God moving in their lives. Some through people returning from their past, others through certain positive events in the jobs or personal lives. In my case I am seeing God's work through Nature. I have never put much value (and even moreso in the past months) in the "artificial world". You know, those things conjured up through greed and publicity and egotism. I held out hope that I would soon see an outward sign that my patience would be rewarded. And now I see it! Everywhere throughout my yard things are blooming and growing and moving forward with Life, despite the heavy burden of that artifical world. For some reason things seem greener this year; brighter, more healthy. Plants that have lay dorment for years are suddenly re-blooming without any help from me at all! There are colors of irises that I thought were long-gone. My treasured gift from my gymnasts, the azalea bush, is in rare form this Spring. The tulips put on a display that I haven't seen since they were first planted over 10 years ago.

Something is moving, awakening and it's telling me to do the same. All this time of idleness, of anger, of stress has to be left behind. What a waste it has been. There is a stack of letters that need to be answered. All the dolls could have had complete new wardrobes by now. There has been time enough to make each and every one of my friends a cross-stitch gift and a pair of socks. Time to finish painting this room, to fix the front fence, to lose some pounds and get in shape again. I've wasted it all. Did I think I was achieving some sort of "victory" by wallowing in my self-pity? Was I proving some sort of bizarre point by closing myself away? The plants and the flowers are telling me otherwise. They are telling me to get up off my roots and bloom!

Love/Hate

2010-04-14T16:23:00.005-04:00

That describes my relationship with my new found habit/obsession Facebook. My sister-in-law got me into it under the pretense of sharing family photos with those back home in New Jersey. To say the whole set-up makes me slightly uncomfortable is an understatement! Imagine if you will a dinner party where I invite all my geeky gymnastics friends, my compulsive cross-stitch friends (all a mix of Americans and Europeans), my sister-in-law, my 12 year old niece, my 80 year old aunt, long-lost high school pals, my co-workers and my boss. Is this really a group that I want all together in one place conversing about me?! Well, that's Facebook. And that search feature. How many long-forgotten (not really) names have I typed in there with trembling fingers? Half those people I didn't want to speak to way back when. Why in the world would I want to know about them now. Facebook did serve it's purpose for me this week though. I "outed" a lady who's owed me money for doll clothes to the tune of $192.00 since November. Her daughter promptly "un-friended" me but she did finally make a PayPal payment grudgingly this morning.

Under the topic of 'Problems Solved', first of course was the $192, then there was the huge Hobbs doll that went out in the mail to my mother's house to be hidden...if an 18 x 18 x 29 box is hide-able. Back to Love/Hate, mostly hate. The Post Office. Not only have their rates gone up consistently every year, now they are thinking of doing away with my favorite mail day, Saturday. Then there is the latest ploy using the ever-popular scare tactic "terrorism". It seems that now all Customs forms must be filled out on line, then printed out on the home computer and brought to the Post Office. I don't have a printer at home, so am I now excluded from mailing internationally? I was informed by the postal woman (complete with eye-rolling and exasperated sighing) that she would now have to convert my hand-written Customs form on to her computer and weigh the package and then calculate my postage. Hmm, sounds an awful lot like WORK to me. Isn't that what she's getting paid for? Preventing terrorism indeed. You would think the Post Office would like a face-to-face encounter with anyone trying to mail something dangerous or illegal. With the Internet-only method what is to prevent them from filling in 'chocolate chip cookies' on the line for package contents, when the box really contains Anthrax or a bomb? Then they simply pay for it on-line with some random credit card, dump it off at the Post Office and run like he**!

OK, enough of the Hate, how about some Love. Spring is really here.

I actually tilled up the vegetable garden today and spend most days outside with the pets,either knitting socks of stitching.

(notice Elliot in the background?)

It's been mostly socks lately.

New starts: Men's socks in Lang "Color Aktion" #235 and anklets in Red Heart, Heart & Sole "Berry Bliss"

Boy's socks in hand-dyed from Etsy. Cedar Grove colors for my nephew.

Re-do of my very first pair for my mother. Sock Ease "Cotton Candy"

My head is filled with inspiration for cross-stitching, but I just can't get my hands to catch up with my brain.
The Red Bud trees are in full bloom, the Red Wing Blackbirds are back and my little vegetable seeds are sprouting.

lettuce

I am also starting some Zinnias and the ever-popular Cat Nip. My larger Cat Nip plants usually over-Winter here pretty well. They get their little green sprouts very early in the Spring, but the cats just don't give them a chance. As soon as a new leaf appears, it is promptly eaten! The zinnias will be hot pink and lime green. I still haven't bought the seeds for the Zinnias I really want, Queen Red Lime, which are both hot pink and lime green in one flower. My $80+ worth of pink daffodils turned out to be mostly yellow/orange with a few muted pinks thrown in. They are still very pretty and I was able to reclaim a long-neglected area near the shed.

Just going on and on today. I think it's because I feel so much safer here then I do on Facebook. Yes, Facebook is more modern, more hip, more now. But when have I ever been any of those things?

Looking To The Future??

2010-03-27T11:22:00.006-04:00

A few posts back I waxed poetic and gave my "profound statement" on not rushing into the future and savoring each day. Then I fiddled around with the blog layout to brighten it up a bit. I even updated the banner photo. And what does it say on this photo? June 24 2037 !!! Talk about rushing into the future. Apparently, my camera does some weird date thing when I change the batteries.

Anyway, it's still March of 2010 and I'm still very much living in the moment. I finished up a few stitched pieces that were laying around. Two boxes and a soon-to-be box. The first is what I have come to call "my Quirkers".....a Quaker that I have altered with an odd-ball thread selection. This is Workbasket Quaker Frog. I just love the look on his face. I am pretty sure I haven't posted a photo of him yet, though I am far too lazy to go back in the blog archive and actually check. So here is is, perhaps again.

Then the two completed boxes: A selection of eggs from a larger Marjolien Bastin piece and Bright Birds. I love the look of the egg box (filled with candy for my mom and dad for Easter) but the feathers make it quite a challenge to get the lid on and off of the box. The Bright Birds are much more user-friendly, being trimmed with black decorative braiding.

Still knitting away on socks. The repetitive nature of this type of knitting is very relaxing to me. I have even mastered Sock Math, the ability to take different weights of yarn and different size needles and adapt my standard pattern to them. I am currently working with some worsted weight yarns from my substantial stash and making slipper-socks. A big thank you to Staci for sharing her 40 cast-on worsted weight sock pattern. I can see a big dent being made in the yarn stash with this pattern.

I even ventured back into making some clothes for my 16" fashion dolls. I am in a 1920's mood lately and here is a prototype of a Spring outfit. The blouse needs a bit more tweaking for a better fit. Although the shapes of 1920's fashion are very basic, there is a fine line between loose-fitting and down right baggy. Once I establish a basic working pattern I can branch out into various skirt styles and even some dresses and jackets. Any other fashion doll enthusiasts out there? I'd love to share patterns and ideas.

And what day would be complete without a little chocolate. I made Mexican Hot-Chocolate Cookies from the most recent issue of Everyday Food. If you haven't browsed through this little magazine yet, usually at the grocery check-out lane (I subscribe), it is definitely worth a look. I find at least three recipes in each issue that I use over and over. These cookies are supposed to be for my dad as part of his Easter gift, but they are slowly dwindling!

Roy and Carmella went to the Vet this morning for their annual shots. What an ordeal. They hate to be put in the carrying case. I don't blame them. These are the brother and sister cats that were part of that group of three kittens I found on the roadside in October 2008. Obviously being put and a box and driven somewhere is not their favorite thing. They also spent one month at the vet in a cage trying to be adopted out. Their sister was adopted by the local dollhouse shop lady and I see photos of her pretty often. For Roy and Carmella the smell and site of the Vet's office must bring back sad and confusing memories. I love all of my cats, but these two little ones have been a special blessing to our house. They arrived towards the end of our beloved Alix's life. I worried that they would cause an uproar and upset her, but she truly enjoyed their lively ways and I think they helped her live a little longer. It is hard to believe Alix has been gone for a whole year.

The weather has turned cold again. There was even some snow early Friday morning. So it's back to the wool sweater and the penguin turtle-neck.

Rather then a pet snap toady I leave you with a photo of a massive sewing project. I am pretty sure my 10 year-old nephew does not read my blog ( not enough flashing lights or spinning gadgets to suit him) so it is safe to post this photo of his birthday gift. He is into the cartoon Calvin and Hobbs, much like my brother was. Infact, my brother gave him his first big cartoon book of them for Christmas. He has been asking over and over for a Hobbs doll. It seems the the cartoonist does not produce or license his characters as toys so I had to invent one myself. I now need to find a 50" x 25" x 20" box to mail this guy to New Jersey. I think it might be easier just to buy him a plane ticket.

Pretty Things

2010-03-23T18:31:00.006-04:00

The weather has turned from three days of constant rain to bright sun, just as this day is ending. So I took the chance to photograph a few pretty things.

Do snails lie? Apparently mine does. He is registering -10 degrees F! Poor thing. I think he is purely decorative now. The plants are coming up and I hope the nights won't be too cold for them. I even got some branches to sprout and bloom inside.

Two cross-stitch finishes: My version of Home Spun Elegance "Fresh Spring". Stitched on 28 count tan Laguna with Olde Willow Stitchery thread #056 "Tropical Storm". I need to find a few little prim charms to go on this. I tend to be a bit bold shall we say, in my interpretation of Quakers. My colors are anything but subtle! I think they might better be called Quirkers because, let's face it, they are a little weird. The rabbit motif is from Prairie Schooler #152 "April" stitched on light blue 32 count linen (thank God for my magnifying specs from Walgreens!) using the suggested DMCs. I never seem to fiddle much with the DMC suggested by Prairie Schooler. They are just so right just the way they are.

Some socks in Red Heart Yarn Heart & Sole "Green Envy". I have made 12 pair so far, sticking to my very dull, but comfortable, freebie pattern from Red Heart. I have gotten rather brave lately and varied the sizes a bit. I made a large men's pair and I'm working on a smaller sized pair for my niece. I even gone so far as to order some hand-dyed yarns from Etsy. My attempt at "Cedar Grove Socks" in the very hard to find black and bright gold of my home town. My niece is a cheerleader there and I think these socks will go over well. My next Etsy order of yarn is bright yellow-gold with some white and black bits, sort of the opposite of this.

Have to throw a few pet snaps in for good measure.

The Color Of ....Dirt.

2010-03-09T16:45:00.006-05:00

It seems Spring has sprung. Over 60 degrees F here today with bright sunshine. It really does me good to be outside more....or even inside looking at the outside. There are still a few small, sad patches of leftover snow, but the bulbs are beginning to sprout! A sure sign of good things to come. Bud shook off the cold and all the cats just begged to go outside and play (or nap) for a while.

Finally finished a cross-stitch piece. This is the Dutch gymnast Lieke Weavers. Most of my "hand-work" time is still taken up with my obsession with knitting socks.

A beautiful PIF arrived yesterday from Leena in Finland. A perfectly stitched humbug on a burgundy hand-dyed linen. Leena also included this fabulous skein of floss! I had completely forgotten about this PIF, which only made it all the more lovely a surprise. Thank you Leena. There was also a large RAK/de-stash envelope from Edgar last week. Thanks so much Edgar....."one man's clutter"....well you know the rest.

Another one of the sweet chickens got hit by a car last week. Now there are only three Guineas left. They are so friendly, which is what leads them to make the trek from their home up the street to our house everyday. They are just not swift enough crossing the road.

March is certainly'marching' forward! First week gone already. A friend asked me the other day if I just wanted to close my eyes and wake up some time in August and have all the recent stresses and problems be over-with. I thought for a moment and seriously considered answering a definite "YES". But my answer was "no". I do not want to wish my life away. There is something good in every day and I wouldn't want to miss those moments.

A Great Day For The Danes

2010-02-25T13:53:00.004-05:00

Not an Olympic reference, although I'm sure the Danish Team is doing well in the Winter Games. I refer to these two lovely ladies that I am dog-sitting. I walk them twice a day (separately of course!) This is Chloe. She's 8 years old, which, I am told, is rather old for a Great Dane. This is her young companion, Venus, who is 8 months old. Look at the size of those feet! Between dog-walking sessions I am still knitting socks (my sock yarn stash!)

and trying to get going on some Spring cross-stitch. I finally finished up on these Prairie Schooler Spring farm animals and put them on a little wreath. I am full of inspirational thoughts, but not much is actually getting done!

More snow today. I see on the TV that there will be "no significant accumulation". I think we must re-define 'significant' after last week's 10+ inches. It used to be an inch or two shut the whole area down for the day. Now we call this "not significant" or "a dusting". Everything is relative I suppose. Just like I used to think our Bud was a "big" dog.

Nothin' But Socks

2010-02-17T18:16:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's been forever since I last posted. I'm just not full of inspirational thoughts or profound words lately. I am obsessed with knitting socks though! As we are currently buried under 10+ inches of snow and more is expected this weekend, I am churning out the socks with amazing speed. Since I am not full of wordiness today I will wait for another post to describe the exact yarns used for each.

Carmella is the only cat who really enjoys all this snow. Makes for tough bird hunting when you can't see over the snow mound to the bird feeder. My feathered friends have been devouring seed and suet in record amounts these days, but I love to watch the huge variety of birds that come to the feeders.

The poor old cross-stitch pile sits there, waiting for me to get past this "sock thing" I'm going through. I have seen the newest designs from Prairie Schooler and I know they will be all the inspiration I need to pick up the single, short, blunt needle again.

Turning A Corner

2010-01-07T16:57:00.003-05:00

My life has been anything but a stable straight line lately and it seems that I have finally turned a corner. And what did I find around the bend, do you ask? Why a foot of course! The foot of a sock to be exact. I have at last taught myself how to turn the heel of a knitted sock. I have been whining and moaning over this for ages. I gently fondle all the lovely sock yarns in the needlework shops, stare at the amazing color combinations, drool over the incredible abundance that Staci produces...but no results from me. Until now! I have had this yarn forever, Lion Brand Sock-Ease in a lovely color called "Cotton Candy". Well, it was anything but "ease" for me in making this sock. Yes, it is but one sock, not even a pair. I started it on Thanksgiving so my rate of production is painfully slow. So all of you dear, sweet, generous people who were so sadly left out of my holiday gift-giving, a pair of socks may be on their way to you........some day.

Great Expectations

2009-12-30T13:55:00.003-05:00

No, not the book, but my unrealistic mental picture of what Christmas should be like. I do it every year as an adult. I remember those childhood Christmases. Though far from "perfect", they were always a day that was much anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed. I don't know what it is exactly that I am expecting out of Christmas. Something more Martha Stewart-like? Maybe Little House On The Prairie? I can't quite figure it out. This year, being what it was, I felt more disappointed in myself then ever before. The gift-giving dwindled down to 4 people out of the so many, many that deserved a gift ( if not 2 or 3!) from me.
I try to step back from it a bit, now that it has mercifully passed. I try to appreciate something in Nature everyday, be it bright sun, snow or freezing cold. I feed the birds, savor the walk to the mailbox and admire the pine trees. Maybe it shouldn't be what I expect out of Christmas, but what Christmas expects of me. An open heart, a forgiving soul, a joyous spirit. A creative mind and busy hands. Gentle words and the abitlity to express them...out loud. Thankfulness for all I have and humbleness to accept what I can not change.

Accomplishments

2009-12-24T11:45:00.004-05:00

My days are measured by what I can accomplish. It is on a more muted scale then in previous times, but I still need to move forward in some way.

Finished appliqueing the last 9 squares of a quilt and then sewed the blocks and rows together. Hopefully, the wide border will be put on soon. It will have a winding "vine" dotted with the stars and some crescent moon shapes.

Made a bird suet wreath for my mother-in -law. A very easy recipe of 1/3 cup (six envelopes) of plain gelatin powder, 1/2 cup of hot water. This is mixed on medium heat until the liquid is clear and all the gelatin is dissolved. Then add 5 cups of mixed bird seed and let it cool slightly. I pressed my mixture into a bundt pan to make a wreath, but the mixture can also be spread on to a cookie sheet and cut into shapes. Make sure to punch a hole to hang up the shapes. I strung my wreath on a wide red ribbon. After chilling in the fridge for several hours it was ready to unmold.

Nearing the end of the "Christmas Build-Up", which is my favorite time. Now on to the obligation end of the deal. It's not that I don't appreciate all the invitations, especially this year, but I feel more like staying at home in the quietness.

I must remember everyday: "It's not all about me", and just get up and go.

I have been so blessed by the kindness of friends and I want to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas.

Defining Who I Am

2009-12-12T16:59:00.007-05:00

Forces of the "outside world" have tried to re-define who I am allowed to be. I will not change and I am too big to disappear!

A Year In The Life..........

2009-11-23T11:35:00.004-05:00

.....of Roy and Carmella. Really, it's hard to believe these two wonderful little cats have been with us a whole year already!

A few stitchy finishes to share. The latest gymnast creation, Shawn Johnson at the 2008 Olympics;an adorable Barbara Ana Design I finished a while ago but just now got around to "decorating" it a bit.

I had planned a long-winded, chatty post and a few more photos but I just received some very sad news. Dear, sweet Annemarie has just announced on her blog that her father is ill with terminal cancer. Please stop by and wish her well. Her heart is breaking and I know any comments and good wishes will be welcome. I'm thinking of you, Annemarie, and praying for your family.

The Gift of Friendship

2009-11-15T19:47:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I get the most amazing gifts from friends. I am not one who is comfortable asking for gifts, but when they arrive unexpectedly....oh, what joy they bring! This gorgeous pin-keep from the artful hands of Harmien. Aren't the colors just beautiful. And to top it off there was the sweetest little card and more of the wonderful floss(Atalie "Ciuvre") in an amazing thread-keeper. Thank you so much Harmien. Then there is this friendly friend from my fabulous friend Barbara. Barbara knows how much cats mean to me and this smiling, delightful guy (or perhaps girl) arrived to me several weeks ago. I've been so caught up in my own self that I forgot to properly thank Barbara or to post a photo of my new feline friend. Thank you Barbara.

But the greatest gift of all is the friendship itself! Friends from the gym, from the pool, from my own town and the far-flung corners of the globe. Friends I have known for years, some only a few months and others that I didn't know were out there. I can not begin to mention all of your names here. I know I will forget a name or two so I won't even try. You all know who you are. Some of you read this blog; others don't know it exists. It doesn't matter really. Each and every one of you have touched my heart in a special way at a most difficult time of my life.

Thank you my friends.

Filled With Photos

2009-11-12T13:53:00.003-05:00

The words don't come too easily to me these days, but luckily I am able to post some of photos of the most wonderful things in my life.

Yes, those are the chickens on the roof behind Carmella. How they got up there I'll never know.

Roy enjoys playing on the wood pile. Elliot prefers to bask in the sun. Coal and Sammy share a drink from the urn.

As the season changes all the garden ornaments patiently wait to be stored away for the Winter. The last of the corn waits to be harvested, and a single leaf hangs on for a little longer. That's all any of us can really do, isn't it..................

A Golden Wedding

2009-10-20T20:12:00.006-04:00

My parent's 50th Anniversary is officially 9 November, but since they were here this past weekend we had a little party for them. It was just me, Joe, Mom and Dad. I made them a cake and planted these birthday number candles on the top. Not very chic but the cake was tasty. Spice cake with pumpkin custard filling and cream cheese icing. The main meal was a pork roast roll-up with cranberry stuffing inside, some gravy and Brussels sprouts sauteed with panceta.

The weather was wonderfully Autumn-like...not too cold, but just crisp enough to start a fire in the wood-burning stove. My mother always loves the "rustic" heat from that. The pets are loving this weather and it's hard to keep track of them all in their wanderings. After last weeks scare with Roy I keep a close eye on them. Here Carmella enjoys a moment on my lap.

The Susanna Goose tombstone is nearly finished, so I'll wait to post a photo of the final product. I did finish up this little cutie over the weekend. "Be Thankful" by Barbara Ana Designs. I love it, especially the bead detail on the Indian Corn. Barbara Ana is so innovative and a master of American-themed designs and expressions. That is a true talent for someone who doesn't have English as her native language.

The German dresses seem to be rather popular. The lady and has already sold a few and ordered more from me. I still have to keep up with the doll clothes stitching for my Christmas sale the second week of December. I'm wanting to do some serious cross-stitching, but "obligation sewing" comes first. I really shouldn't call it that because I love to stitch in any form. It is also a chance for me to make a little extra money, which will of course be spent on more stitching supplies!

P.S. Regarding Melissa's comment on my last post. Of course the water is running in the background! Did you think this was Martha Stewart's house? My usually A.D.D. coming into play. 'Hey let's wash the dishes...no wait Elliot is doing something cute...let's take a picture instead.............................'

Look Who's Back!

2009-10-16T09:40:00.004-04:00

Our lovely Sammy returned this morning after being gone for over a week. I was at the gym swimming and Joe found him somewhere...............I passed by Joe on his way to work and he simply said"Remember what I told you last night?" Meaning, he said Sammy would be back today just in time for my parent's visit this weekend. There has been so much stress around here lately and my parents suddenly decided to make another visit this weekend. It is more of a "business trip" as they are giving us their old car. A gift we really need, but the timing was a bit off. Anyway, things are nearly back on track for this weekend. Had a scare with little Roy yesterday. There seemed to be some sort of "Black Hole for Black Cats" in our world the past week. Roy vanished on Wednesday and was gone for over 14 hours. When he finally came back very late Wednesday night I was overjoyed, but still so down about Sammy being gone. Then Roy went out Thursday morning and within a matter of moments I heard that dreaded 'thud' on the road. You pet owners know the noise I'm talking about; when a car speeds by and you hear that awful sound and you know what it means. I immediately ran outside calling for Roy. No sign of him in the road but I could hear him meowing frantically from the porch behind me. There he lay with his back legs in a very awkward position, panting and howling and covered with wet leaves and mud. I picked him up and brought him inside where he regained his footing (Thank God!) and now limps around a bit today. He must have bounced right off the speeding car and hurt his right back leg when he hit the ground. No blood, no wounds that I can see. He is able to go up and down the stairs, jump on to the bed and the couch and he just left me a nice healthy "gift" in the littler box! That is always a sure sign that a cat is doing better. Everybody settled down for a snack.....

Even Elliot got into the action from his usual vantage point, the kitchen counter.

I was just thinking this morning on my way home from swimming, how beautiful the Autumn leaves are and that I must really find some sort of joy in this season before it passes me by. Now I feel renewed and all other worries seem to fall properly into the correct perspective. How the things of the outside world overwhelm me and are really so meaningless compared to the things I love in my own little world.

On to some serious stitching this weekend. Maybe this tombstone will get finished.My parents like nothing better then to sit by the wood-stove; Mom and I stitching or knitting and Dad reading. The baseball National League Championships are on this weekend though so Dad might find that hard to resist.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and joyous weekend, as I plan to have!

New Computer

2009-10-12T14:16:00.004-04:00

We finally bought a new computer. It's a "bargain" from Wal-Mart; an E Machine. It's incredibly basic, but at least it's an Internet connection. I have yet to figure out where to attach my printer and scanner though.

I suppose I should be overjoyed at the fact that I am now back in touch with the cyber world, but the real world is getting me down. Our Sammy has been missing since late Wednesday(7th) night. He has gone missing before, with the longest stretch being 18 days. He has FIV, a form of Feline Leukemia. He has times when he goes into a 'shut-down mode" when he doesn't eat or move at all for several days. If this occurs in the house I can get him a medicine that relieves some of his congestion and he recovers in about three days. If he is feeling bad he usually (in that common animal way) hides out until he feels better. I know there will come a time when he will not feel any better and he simply will never return. I hope this is not that time. He is not a terribly old cat (about 13) and in all other respects he is rather healthy. We call and search for him day and night, but there is now sign of him.

The tasks of every day life do little to distract me from thinking about Sammy. Of course the other cats keep me company and I know they secretly visit Sammy wherever he is hiding, especially his #1 fan, Coal. Here they are last week sharing a patio chair in the sun. Sammy is on the left (on the bottom!). As for everyday task, most of it is sewing , especially doll clothes. I had a sale this week with the Parent League at the gym. I think I did pretty well. I'll find out my total later this week. My next big sale is at our home competition on 12 December. In the meantime I've gotten a special request for German dresses from one of the Team parents. She belongs to a German-American league and they will be having a Winter craft sale 20 November. Here is one of my better attempts:

I tried to research authentic German dresses, but the lady prefers these rather 'stylized' versions that look a bit cartoonish to me. Oh well, the customer is always right.

This new computer seems to be behaving itself. Hopefully I will be able to post a bit more often.

I Think I've Found The Trick To This.

2009-09-22T15:52:00.004-04:00

Take photos. Download photos from camera to computer. Upload photos to USB memory stick. Take stick to the hi-speed computer at work. Upload photos to blog there. Click "save as draft" button. Come home to edit the post. Write leisurely, knowing the photos are already up there!

Yeh, it doesn't take a computer genius to figure all that out. Some geniuses just work a bit slower then others, OK.

I had intended a very up-beat post full of photos but I must take a moment to send my prayers and good wishes out to Harmien. Her lovely cat Kisse died today. I was so heartbroken when I read her post.

Some bargain hunting. A new dollhouse kit that retails for $450. I got it for TWENTY BUCKS at a yard sale.A very cute sewing basket found on clearance at JoAnn Fabrics for $7. Originally $25.A not-so-much-of-a-bargain purse. My mom has the white one and I just had to have one for myself. A weeks worth of pay went to the black one for me. DS Squared by Sondra Roberts for any millionaires who are interested in this purse for themselves.
Progress on new wood flo0ring for the computer/craft room. Also new blue paint. Some stitchy updates too. Frederick and Susanna Goose Tombstone.

And a little artsy photo I will call "Homage to Edgar". No it's not the real thing, only the microwave variety......Orville Redenbacker Kettle Corn!

Oh Frederick, Dear Frederick

2009-09-17T15:40:00.003-04:00

I have looked at you on-line for months. Admired your beauty, your regal bearing, your striking colors. Then finally the chart arrived. I organized all the colors and the fabric. If possible, you were even more beautiful in person. Then away you went, into the zip-lock bag to wait your turn in the stitching rotation. Weeks passed, months passed. Finally I started to stitch you on Tuesday. Oh, my wonderful Frederick...............you take me back to a kinder, gentler, more peaceful time. You ease my unsettled mind. You are more then just a collection of x's. You have come to life.

Photo Crazy!!!

2009-09-15T15:50:00.004-04:00

I have a matter of seconds to write before I have to go into the gym and coach my junior group. This hi-speed computer at work is a dream!

Very quickly.......the tombstone update.

Five Birds a Barrick Samplers freebie

A miniature carpet for the dollhouse (with assistance from the neighbor-cat Twinsy)

Mystery plant. Does anyone know what this beauty is?

and of course Pet Snaps........

Tombstone SAL Will Be Late.

2009-09-13T10:42:00.007-04:00

With the randomness of my computer I can't even update my own SAL on time. I've actually tried this post several times and even without photos it gets "lost" somewhere in Cyberspace!

Here's the Royal Lady of the day. The computer is liking these photos and not any that I have taken. This is Queen Alexandra, nee Princess Alexandra(Alix) of Denmark.(1844-1925) Her younger sister Dagmar was Empress Marie Feodorvna of Russia. These Royal sister were very close and had many gorgeous portraits made together. They were famous for dressing alike, even as grown women. As Princess of Wales, Alexandra was quite the fashion plate, much as Diana, Princess of Wales was in her day.

Alexandra, the second child of King Christian and Queen Louise (nee Hesse-Cassel) of Denmark, was born December 1, 1844. On March 10, 1862 she married Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) son of Queen Victoria. Alexandra was a keen photographer in her own right, traveling around with her Kodak box camera capturing contemporary scenes and members of the extended Royal Family. I highly reccomend the book "Developing The Picutre, Queen Alexandra and the Art of Photography", by Frances Dimond.

Not a very stitchy post, as it was intended to be. But I have to take whatever the computer chooses to give me these days. So I better hit the 'publish' button right now before I lose it all again. Hopefully, I will have access to the computer at work and be able to post a few photos later in the week.

Brite Birds

2009-09-12T18:43:00.004-04:00

Lots of WIPs and finishes to show, but my computer only seems to like the photos of Brite Birds today. A lovely freebie from Barrick Samplers via Barbara. Thanks Barbara!

The computer gets slower and slower and gives out the familiar "connection is timed out" message, so I better post this before it disappears.

A Moment of Silence

2009-09-11T14:00:00.005-04:00

The anniversary of September 11, 2001 makes all the anger and sadness in my own life pale by comparison. So rather then fill this space today with idle chatter, ramblings or bitching of little consequence I'll share some photos instead.

Once again, the photos aren't uploading, so it will just be silence.

Blank

2009-09-04T16:05:00.005-04:00

Did you ever have an experience so bad, so angering, so humiliating that it is simply beyond words? Hence the title "Blank". A much calmer and more acceptable word then the expletives I wanted to write. It really isn't any big earth-shattering secret or scandal, just something I can't put in to proper perspective at the moment.
It is "Tombstone SAL" day so I should try to get a photo up here.......although I've had moments today where I would rather be under the tombstone then stitching on it. Fear not, those feelings have passed, as I am sure this whole situation will in good time. I just need to stay focused: cats, dog, gymnastics, stitching. Get back on an even keel and stay a steady course. Maybe I should be stitching something nautical instead!

Stitch-Along With Me!

2009-08-28T15:23:00.011-04:00

I'd like to start a stitch-along. Nothing formal, since this is the first SAL that I have started and I'm not familiar with the rules of this. It will be a Tombstone SAL. Any tombstone design of your choice, by any designer. I have started on Carriage House Samplings "Susanna Goose" and I need some motivation and companionship to help me get it finished. I will display my progress here on Fridays and hope you will do the same on your blog. Leave a comment to let me know if you are interested joining this SAL.

More photos to post, but again I don't want to "upset" the computer, so I'll wait next time.

Liberated!

2009-08-26T18:49:00.007-04:00

After some juggling of photos and files I am finally able to show a few recent snaps from my trip to New Jersey last week. Made a little tourist stop last Wednesday with my brother and his family to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I hadn't been there in over 30 years! My niece and nephew had never been there and they only live about 25 miles away from Liberty National Park. Thanks to my cousin's partner Linda who works as a Park Services Director at Ellis Island, our group was given VIP treatment. We had our own personal Park Ranger guide, Dalia, who got us to the front of every line and speeded us through the lengthy security process. The lines to get on to the ferries and then to get through security at Lady Liberty were 2+ hours for everyone else. I'd always been the one to give VIPs the dirty look and now I was one of them! We also got the 40% employee discount on all our food and souvenirs.

Worked a little on my niece's dollhouse; the one I got her last Christmas. It hadn't progressed much since then and I think I rekindled her interest in dollhouses and miniatures.
I lounged around at the community pool with my dad. I even got my "feline fix" from my brother's cat, Mel.

When I returned last Thursday there were plenty of fresh veggies waiting to be canned-up as salsa. Joe and all the animals were fine. I missed them so much while I was gone. Now I miss my parents. It's such a vicious circle. I've been running on this wheel for over twenty years and I still can't seem to resolve my guilt at being in one place and not the other. If I could just situate the big white house next to the old yellow house things would be perfect.

Lots of stitching of various types and styles going on, but pics of those will have to wait. As I work my way through the tons of photos I've been hoarding up I'll be able to post a few more each day. I don't want to awaken the "Computer Troll" that seems to allow me to make only certain moves with certain files for certain amounts of time each day. Even though I am tempted to add about 20 more photo here, I'll be conservative, lest the whole thing come crashing down.

Some Pretty Fashion Ladies

2009-08-26T15:42:00.006-04:00

Here are some lovelies that uploaded just fine. I think I've figured out the bug in this computer. It now hates my Kodak program and will not upload a single photo that has come from my camera. I will take some time (hours?days?weeks?) to convert my photos to another format and then maybe I can share a few. Until then, here are a few more fashion favoirtes.

Holy Crap!!!

2009-08-24T19:27:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the profanity folks, but what is that I see..................a ph, ph, photo!?!?!?!?!?!?! Not one of my own, of course. It's Diana Chelaru of Romania at last months European Championships. Maybe that's why the photo actually loaded. Maybe it's because I fiddled with some settings and put my own blog address into my "trusted sites" folder. Maybe the planets are aligning and the seas are parting. Who knows, but it's a PHOTO!!!!!

Let's try this with one of my own............hold your breath now..............here it goes................

No, it's still hating my photos. Or maybe I'm just allowed one per post. Let's try another. Nope, not happening. It's the "timing out" thing, just like you said Barbara. It seems to have nothing to do with the size of the photo though. I do "shrink" all of my photos to get them to load faster and not go to that awful white screen with the "sorry, you suck" message on it.

Apparently, it seems to like gymnastics photos. This is Anamaria Izurieta of Spain. I'm going to fiddle around a bit more. Maybe if I move my photos out of the Kodak folder. Maybe if Hell freezes over..........................

Surrender?

2009-08-24T09:36:00.002-04:00

I think it's time to wave the white flag on blogging. Not that I dislike it, not at all! I love it. I love to write here and to read and comment on all your blogs. I love discovering new blogs and to view all the incredible stitching, sewing, crafting, garage-saling, family and pet photos. But that's just it. My computer simply refuses to allow me to upload any photos. I did manage to get the "dwelling place" back up on to my banner using my dad's computer. I have tons of photos from my visit to Mom and Dad's to share, but it's just not happening. That takes all the fun out of blogging for me.
On a positive note, this does give me more time to read and comment on all the other blogs I like so much.

A Bit Of A Soapbox Moment

2009-08-04T13:04:00.005-04:00

Raining, actually pouring, with thunder, lightening and wind. This all started about 7am and the electric promptly went off at 7:30am ( back on again by 11:15). I think our electric grid is made of popsicle sticks and twine. The slightest breeze and we go black.

Still made it to the Vet with Elliot this morning to get an update on his itchy skin. He's doing much better and stays closer to the house and actually comes inside without being carried in. He also has been kind to the screen windows and not ripped any out lately. He eats well and seeks us out for attention and petting. Before he was in some sort of self-imposed exile in the back yard.

Not much stitching at all lately. I am feeling some sort of "Seasonal ADD". Vonna has a great post about this topic on her blog. I keep cleaning, shifting and rearranging stuff, but nothing gets done. I've cut out a bunch of doll clothes, but haven't stitched any together yet. I've kitted-up three or four Prairie Schoolers to take with me to New Jersey on the 14th, but again, not a stitch taken on any other design. I wake up some mornings not knowing whether I should do Spring cleaning, dye Easter eggs, or set up the Christmas tree. These should be the joyous days of Summer. I remember August as a kid.....day after day of endless fun in the sun. Now it's just day after day of anxiety and confusion.
Speaking of confusion......still can't get a darn photo to upload here. I wanted to do another "Rain and Royalty" post and show some photos of an interesting and not-so-well-known Royal lady. I also have tons of photos of the animals and their latest antics, not to mention the new hardwood flooring we put down in the computer/craft room. Another "Freebie" like our vinyl siding. A neighbor, who has more money then sense, got tired of the color of the hardwood flooring in their house and hired Joe to tear it up and replace it with some bamboo stuff. Joe managed to save all the old ( but amazingly lovely) cherrywood and reinstalled it in our house. Our vinyl siding job of last Summer came of another neighbor's house who was tired of plain white siding. OK, maybe if I had money to throw around I'd tear up/off perfectly good household surfaces and redo them for no other reason then my own whim/boredom. And we wonder why our country is falling apart economically ( not to mention ethically!). It's just so against my grain to toss perfectly good items just to get the "new and improved" version of everything. I will use this soapbox moment to mention my annoyance with the whole conversion to HDTV thing. In the midst of the violent thunderstorm I go to check the weather radar on the little TV in the bedroom, knowing perfectly well that the satellite on the downstairs TV instantly fails as soon as a raindrop touches it. But guess what...no more upstairs TV, just the fuzzy, snowy screen because of the "big switch" to 'Bigger, Better, Clearer HDTV.' Who cares if it's clearer if I can't see a d#%* thing anyway when the satellite is out. So run out America, run, run run to buy, buy, buy a bigger and better TV or a converter box. Yes there's a recession ( and TWO wars also!!) but we need to upgrade our TVs to make the World a better place. There's something wrong here. Somewhere in Afghanistan Ben-Laden is laughing his ass off while we watch HDTV!

What To Call This?

2009-07-30T09:38:00.002-04:00

That all depends on if this works out for me. If the pictures upload and everything goes well I could call this "Yippee, A Wonderful Thursday". If not, then it will be something like "Time To Throw This !^)(&$ & ^*&=%+$@ Computer Out The Window!" Unfortunately the computer room is on the first floor, so not much destruction could be done.
So now, with out the safety of a net, I will walk the imaginary tight-rope of photo posting. Here (drum roll please) are some of the photos that match up with my last post. Oh, by the way, for those of you who hadn't noticed....the computer ate the banner photo at the top of my blog. The "dwelling place" has vanished and refuses to reload. So, what else is new!?

Nope, no photos today. Piece of **bleepin'** crap computer!

I have read all of your bogs and when I get rid of this foul mood I will post some comments. It looks like my next update with any substantial "eye candy" will be from my dad's computer in the middle of August.

Dare I??????

2009-07-20T14:06:00.005-04:00

Dare I even try to post an update? My computer is a complete mess. It simply eats files and then pukes them out in some form of gibberish. It ate my virus protection program. Says it just doesn't exist anymore, and even if it did there's not enough memory to support it. I can hardly hold on to an Internet connection, and when I'm not working on the Internet this annoying little box pops up every 10 seconds to prompt me to connect to the Internet. We manage to get one somewhat hassle-free connection per day. Yes, one. Once I log off I can't get back on-line unless I completely shut down the computer and try again.
As for me life away from the "Box from Hell"........
My birthday Saturday ( Number 45!!) was good, no....GREAT! Really. I haven't had a birthday party since I was about 12 years old. On Friday night I decided I wanted a party. We had a cook-out at 5pm with 6 of our neighbors, two of their children and a dear friend who used to rent a room from us. Quite and eclectic bunch, but fun was had by all. I got cards and gifts from everyone! I was totally shocked. Don't get me wrong, I love presents but I was taught from a very young age to never be so rude as to ask for a gift, or so vain to actually expect a gift. I got a wonderful gift card to Outback Steakhouse, some new flowers for my garden, a crisp $50 bill and a cute jacket made of canvas fabric with cats all over it.

Here's where you would be viewing photos if I thought the darn things would up-load in less the 4 hours.

Not much stitching at all this weekend. I did kit up Mirabilia's "Mediterranean Mermaid" with all her lovely threads, beads, crystals and metallics for my friend Larisa in Russia. On Sunday we went out to the local flea market to celebrate our 21st Anniversary. It was a super day because I found all the little flea market gadgets I always search for and never find. 12 pieces of doll house furniture for $10, some creepy-cute Halloween lights--2 boxes for $3, and a stash of interesting cross-stitch fabrics of varied counts and colors. They are small pieces, but I got 27 of them for $12.

Yes, here's where more photos should be.

Elliot is slowly recovering from his itchy fur issues. I actually had to give him a bath last Wednesday. So not fun. I was really concerned for his mental state. He thrashed around so much and his little heart was pounding. It took nearly 30 minutes wrapped in a towel to calm him after the bath adventure. I have to do it all again this Wednesday, but I am seriously considering skipping it. He also has antibiotic medicine and some holistic little pellets made of Calendula.

Yup, another blank space where a photo should be.

I've worked a lot on the new dollhouse over the past 3 days. This is the one Joe found at a yard sale for $25. A huge, hulking, hardwood, 3 storey, 7 room, home-made antique. Joe added 2 storey additions on either side and now it's quite the Victorian masterpiece. It's nearly completely furnished and I worked on wallpapering it with scrapbook papers. The large master bedroom needs some hardwood flooring and a good papering and then I need to construct the roofs on the additions.

Your guessed it..............photos in this space.

Hey, it's raining! Yeah. I've been hoping for rain. Can't use the garden house because the genius plumber (Joe's friend) hooked up the outside spout to the hot water valve! It's been incredibly dry lately, but luckily way below the usual temperatures for July....like 20 degrees below the normal temperatures! The dog and cats have loved it though. And so do the chickens. Yes, chickens. Apparently the neighbors have gotten 5 Guinea (sp?) birds and they seem to like my house better then their own. The cats don't even bother them a bit. Carmella gave it a shot and then quickly realized she was out numbered. They're very pretty, although a bit 'messy' if you know what I mean. Three males and 2 females.

Photo? Photo? Someday.

Hopefully by the end of this week I can do a proper update with photos and all the bells and whistles. For those of you waiting on an e-mail from me...... yes, I'm still alive, but my computer not so much.

Independence Day Good Wishes

2009-07-04T08:57:00.009-04:00

Flutter, dear flag, o'er the lands and the seas!

Fling out your stars and stripes to the breeze,

Righting the wrongs, dispelling all fear,

Guarding the land that we cherish so dear.

And the God of our Fathers, abiding with thee

Will bless you and trust you, o flag of the free!

-----Walter Taylor Field

Here Kitty Kitty

2009-07-03T21:06:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow would be 17 years that Alix was with us. I miss her a lot, but I am surrounded by my other loving feline friends. I haven't talked about them or shown any photos in a while. Elliot has been a bit under the weather. He has a skin condition that causes him to develop a rash. A quick Cortizone shot at the Vet usually clears it up in about 48 hours. Last night was the first night in over a week that he didn't spend hours howling and scratching at the windows to get back outside. It seems that laying in the cool grass eased the itching a bit. He went so far as to "remove" the window screen from the living-room window on Tuesday in order to get outside. Luckily it was during the day and we fixed it right away. Lucky also that the weather has been rather cool for July and I can close the glass windows down over the screens in the living-room at night. The itching made him so restless and frantic that he has lost weight. I feed him his usual dry cat food and also some from the cans, which he has previously refused to eat until this week. He gets his daily allowance of cheese too. He loves bits of American cheese so much that we call him "Lactose Cat".

The kittens, Roy and Carmella, are really growing into full-size cats so quickly. They are still so funny to watch as the wrestle and play all day. Carmella was a bit "above the weather" last week when it was very hot. I searched for her for quite a while before I found her napping spot.

Coal and Sammy are still the best of friends. It is hard to believe that Sammy is 13 years. He is still so playful and energetic. It saddens me to think he has FIV (Feline version of HIV) but he shows no outward signs and the Vet says he could go on to a very long and normal lifespan.

Our "barn cat" Mocha comes out at sunset every night to be with us. She is still very afraid of Coal and Elliot and is relieved when I put them in for the night at 9pm. Sammy stays outside with her most nights.

The neighbor's cat, Twinsy, spends 90% of his time at our house which is fine with me. I had a black and white cat growing up at my mom and dads. I miss my old Sybil and Twinsy is now the resident black and white cat to fill that void.

And I certainly can't forget my loyal friend and exercise companion, Bud. Here's his version of "Where's Waldo" in the poison ivy vines!

As we relax over this long weekend and enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks, remember our pet friends and the fact they they often do not enjoy the fireworks as much as we do. Please be kind and keep them indoors or far away from the noise and sparks.

Everythings' Coming Up Roses.....

2009-07-01T09:39:00.004-04:00

...and daisies

...and sedum
...and coneflower
......and even Hollyhocks!
It's a banner year for my flower beds. Just the right mix of sun, rain and moderate temperatures in the Spring has produced an abundance of flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors. I've tired for over a decade to grow Hollyhocks. The batch above I started from seed last spring and over-Wintered them with straw and what wonderful results. I want to start some black variety this year.

Lots of stitchy things to show, but more of that next time. I knew I needed to make a brief update to get back in the swing of blogging on a regular basis. Until next time I wish you "Good Cheer"!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:18:00.003-04:00

Statue of Liberty visit with Daddy and Jeff, June 1969.

To dads of all sorts (including pet-dads) Happy Father's Day!

Time Warp

2009-06-18T10:04:00.005-04:00

Made the HUGE mistake yesterday (while searching for a bit of trim cording in the attic boxes) of opening the box with my old journal books. All my "dear diaries" dating back to the late 80's. So what did I do? I sat down and started to read through them. As if LIVING through the damn stuff wasn't enough!?!? As if having a brain that often has "instant video replay" of the most awful events of my life isn't enough!?!?! There I sat, trapped in a time warp for over an hour. Then the wharping continued for the rest of the day, as I thought and re-thought each written entry, each event, each person, each place. Yes, yes there was some happy stuff in there, but it seems I never took much note of that while putting pen to paper. I am "glass-is-half-full" kinda girl and it seems the glass was filled with cobwebs and dust yesterday.

In the imortal words of the Monty Python crew......."Now for something completely different". In the lucid moments when I have been able to focus I have done quite a bit of stitching. I think I will fill up the remainder of this post with photos while the clouds clear from my brain.

Quaker style freebie from "Pieceworks" magazine website. Stitched with WDW "Bethlehem"

Barbara Ana Designs "Let It Snow" with the cording I've chosen to finish it with.

WIP "Tombstone Angel"

Freebie little bird from a French website. I finished him a while ago, but just got around to mounting him on the basket and adding trim.

Another Barbara Ana Design (I love her stuff!) nearing completion.

And for those of you who I pestered via e-mail in search of Blackbird Designs of a patriotic theme.....if I had just searched through my stash of magazines, I would have known I already had the perfect design right in front of my nose. "Summer Jubilee"/Just Cross-Stitch-August 2003.

I didn't have any of the Gentle Arts Sampler Threads called for in the chart but I found similar colors in my Valdani stash. Usually I use the DMC conversion to match up the colors, but there was no DMC conversion on this chart. So I had to go on-line and find the threads at an OLNS and print out the GAST color chart. Then the matching-up began. I've chosen a very easy-to-stitch 14 count denim Aida as the fabric. I've done quite a few little projects on linen lately and my eyeballs are spinning.

Ahh, now that feels better. An update, some photos and I feel a bit closer to the present-day me.

Gone In 60 Seconds

2009-06-09T20:08:00.004-04:00

Contrary to the title of this post...no, my car was not stolen. But my parent's visit is already over and done with. It seems that they had just gotten here and then they were gone. I work myself up into such an emotional frenzy every time they visit (or I go there) and then everything is wonderful after that first half hour and I am again "their child" for a little while. The big "mental upheaval" for me this year is the fact that my mother now uses a cane. OK, I worked in the geriatric ward of a hospital for over 6 years and maybe a million or so people in the world use a cane, but this is my mother. I don't know why I take these things so hard. She showed off the cane for about 20 minutes and then it never reappeared from the trunk of their car the rest of the weekend. She even took a lap or two around my not-too-level yard to inspect my flower beds. Then something happened that really threw me. Those of you who know my somewhat dysfunctional relationship with my family will understand this one. As we were taking a lap around the house my mother was holding my hand. Nothing earth-shattering there, you say? It didn't really hit me until later in the evening after my parents had returned to their hotel. I hadn't held my mother's hand since I was about 7 years old! Was I happy, was I sad? I am still working that one out.

My parents enjoyed their visit overall and I was very sad to see them go on Sunday evening. While I was waiting for them to arrive on Thursday afternoon I started and finished the cute little ornament "Good Cheer" by Goode Huswife. No sooner had I stitched the backing on, the little rustic cord, stuffed it and showed it to my mother did she have it in her hand and then into her purse it went. "Perfect on a gift wine bottle", she said. Gone in 60 seconds! She also pocketed two cone shaped santas stitched on plaid Aida and a little freebie Quaker heart ornament in Treadworx "Victorian Christmas" floss. I am overjoyed that she admired all my needlework. My dad on the other hand was a huge fan of my cooking. I made one of his favorites, Eggplant Parmigiana. My mother is not the cook she used to be. I think the increasing lack of mobility and the arthitis in her hands makes her opt for quick and simple meals. "We ate like kings", was his comment to me. Very rare are the compliments from my father so I treasure every one.

We spent our days stitching(me), knitting(mom) and reading(dad). When I say days I mean 7 to 8 hours per day. I got some serious cross-stitching in! Elliot became the newest favored cat.He made the rounds of everyone's lap, much like Alix used to do. Bud even stuck around for a little while to sit with my dad.

A lovely four days that went by far too quickly.