may 28 - a tale of two LNS & and update

We're making a pit stop at home...Ashland was wonderful (I'll share a few pictures after the weekend) and we've come home to pick up the dogs and head off to the Coast (Manzanita) tomorrow for a couple of days. Above is a bit of a crooked shot of my progress on my "car" piece. I may actually have it finished by the end of our trip. We'll see!

I was able to stop at two LNS on our trip. On the way down we stopped in Eugene and I went to Mindy's Needlepoint Factory. This is a cute little shop that has lots of fabrics, ribbons, needlepoint canvases and lots of cross-stitch. I picked up a few patterns and would have bought more, but....the shop marks everything up! All of the patterns I looked at were marked at least $1.00 higher than other shops and the Weeks I wanted was .45 more per skein than anywhere else. I can't figure out why she does this...I'm sure the rents are high but it really put a sour taste in my mouth. On the way home we stopped at a great little shop ion Medford called Stitchin' Tyme. Her inventory is a bit smaller,but she also had lots of fabrics and threads and a good selection of patterns, as well as some kits and stitching gadgets. I managed to pick up several designs there as well. And I was able to get the Weeks color I needed for the normal price!

Must get the laundry done now so we can re-pack our bags for tomorrow!
Thanks for visiting!

may 25 - late to the party & other stuff

I've really liked this design ever since I saw it stitched by Vonna and others, but of course the pattern is hard to find. After searching all the local libraries, I finally placed an inter-library loan for the Better Homes & Gardens book and it came on Friday...all the way from New Jersey! I wanted to start right away even though I didn't have much time and here's the bit I've got done so far. The design is Bright Needle's "Lo How A Rose Sampler" and I am using the recommended Weeks threads on an antique white evenweave fabric.

We're on vacation this week and will be doing some driving around, so I thought I would take this piece as my "car" stitching. Yesterday, we drove up to Seattle for a Mariner's game (great game and they won!) and this is how far along I am on "Mildred's Sampler" by Blackbird Designs.

This is my "Alla Turca" with Part Five added (upper left corner). This is a really fun stitch and I am glad to be caught up for Part Six at the first of the month.

It's also the New Moon again, which means it's time for a Totally Useless SAL update. There are lots of different bits and pieces added this month. If you're interested in joining, there is a link in my sidebar.

And finally, these are the beautiful multi-colored roses that Jeff sent to me at work on Friday for our anniversary. We have been married 33 years...I still don't know where all the time has gone!..and these were a wonderful surprise. We were both able to leave work early that day as well and got to spend a wonderful afternoon together and had a great dinner out too.

It's all been a wonderful start to our vacation week. It's Rose Festival here in Portland, so we're going downtown to take a walk around the "Fun Center" and do some shopping. It's a beautiful sunny day.

Hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. Thanks so much for visiting and for all your wonderful comments. I really do appreciate the time you all take to comment and I'm hoping to get some time this week to answer some!

may 20 - bits & pieces

The sun is shining and it looks to be a beautiful day...we have had intermittent downpours the last couple of days, which sound like a herd of elephants galloping across the roof here at the library!
I was able to get some stitching done this weekend. No pictures to show yet because it was for an exchange. I stitched up my squares for Round 13 at Fair & Square. I had trouble deciding on a design, but once I did it was smooth sailing! I really enjoyed the stitching, so I hope my partner will like it too. I'm off to the post office in a bit to mail them off, along with some birthday flosses and a round robin.
We are on vacation next week and it can't come soon enough! Both hubby and I are just bone-tired lately and are really looking forward to a week away from work. Our anniversary is this Friday, so we are going to celebrate for a whole week!
Tomorrow are the interviews for our new library director. There are 5 candidates, and I will be meeting them as well since I will be giving them each a tour of our facility after their interview. I re-read the applications (3 of the 5 were some of my higher picks) so it will be interesting to see what they are like in real life as opposed to on paper!
One last thing...Cindy has reached 10,000 hits on her blog...amazing!...and she is having a giveaway to celebrate. Check it our here!
Thanks for visiting!

may 16 - watching paint dry and other stuff

This has been another busy week, and it looks like another busy one ahead!
Work has been crazy...we finally finished 2 weeks of interviewing for a library assistant position and have settled on 2 candidates (we have 2 openings). Then we had a safety inspection this week, so everything had to be in tip-top shape. I spent one day at home, literally watching paint dry! It was our turn to have the front door painted and since we have the two dogs and 2 cats at home I didn't just want someone to come in and take care of it. Besides I didn't mind having a day off from work! I was feeling kind of sick... a touch of food poisoning I think...anyway. The smell from the paint was awful! I had to have all the windows open for hours and it was cold! Luckily for me I had to spend lots of time in the bathroom...it was the warmest spot in the house!
Anyway, this week, my co-manager is on vacation, and the interviews for our new director are taking place. I will be giving them all individual tours of the library on Thursday. I'm anxious to see who the five final candidates are since I was in on the initial screening process. Should be an interesting day!
I did get a little bit of stitching done...finished "Peacock Heart" - the thread dye lot is a bit different, but it really isn't too visable in person. I also did my bit on a round robin last night. Our group is stitching the Quaker Friendship Sampler. This fabric ophotographs very gray, but it is really a beige color. The thread is Bing Cherry by Crescent Colours. My bit is in the upper right.
Now it's off to do some errands and then home to stitch (I hope!)
Thanks for visiting and hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. The sun is shining here so I am one happy camper!

may 12 - an answer to a question and another giveaway

I couldn't remember where I had found the peacock heart freebie in my last post...Carolyn asked about it so I did some searching. It id designed by Marie W. and you can find it here on the January 12th post.
Also, there is a giveaway going on here for a really cute pattern and fabby.
Hope you are all having a great day...thanks for visiting!

may 9 - saturday update

Beatrix Potter was sorely neglected last month. I only added one motif...the one on the upper right. Hopefully I'll get some more done this month.

Asher is here with us this weekend. I can't believe he is 9 months old already! He is crawling all over and pulling himself up on every possible surface. He hates to sit still. And he is also getting a tooth right in front. He's such a joy!

I didn't get too much stitching done this week, but I did start 2 new projects. This is "Quaker Winter Slumber" by Midnight Stitching. I'm stitching it on a white opalescent cashel using Weeks eggplant for the floss.

This second start is "Mildred's Sampler by Blackbird Designs. I had started it once before but the fabric was too small. Anyway, it is stitched on a silkweavers lugana called "frenzy" with GAST in royal purple.

This last piece is a freebie peacock heart and I don't have the designer's name handy. I started this some time ago and when I went to finish it this week I ran out of the floss I was using. I just got some in the mail yesterday - Vikki Clayton's silk in garnet -so I hope I can finish it this week sometime.

Well, someone is hungry so I have to go. Thanks for visiting!

may 8 - edgar's giveaway

Just a quick remeinder...don't forget to visit Edgar and help him celebrate his blogoversary!

And Steph is also having a wonderful giveaway at her blog. Stop by and visit her too!