SAMMY

June 1997-February 17, 2011

How I Felt

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.................

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!

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

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

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

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.