jan 4 ~ the best laid plans ~

Last year I planned to stitch only from my stash. It worked pretty well until about September when I started buying stuff again.
So this year I planned to stitch only from my stash. Then we got snowed in around here and Acorns & Threads (my LNS) decided to have a sale.And I still had my discount coupon from the fall open house. So I stopped by on the way home the other day and promptly fell off the wagon! I did try to buy only things I was almost certain I would get stitched this year though (well...with the exception of the initial "L" piece...I don't think I'll be able to finish that one). Here are some pictures of what I bought. I also got some needles, a few pieces of fabric and lots of floss to go with these and some other things I needed floss for.
So from now on I plan to only stitch from my stash.......

jan 3 ~ rotation ~

I've decided to try doing a rotation this year with my stitching. I've never really done this before so I'm not sure if it will work out or not but we'll give it a go anyway!
This is the plan:
Sunday: BAP
Monday: Blocks & Ornies
Tuesdays: SAL & WIP/UFO
Wednesdays: WIP/UFO
Thursdays: Ornies
Fridays: Let's Stitch SAT (pick a project)
Saturdays: Exchanges & Round Robins
I'm thinking if I finish all my commitments for the month (like have all the ornies done early) then I can start something new. It sort of sounds like a plan to me....

Last night I worked some more on "Three Things". This will be my Friday project until it is finished. The photo shows my progress so far.

jan. 2 ~ happy new year! ~

I can hardly believe it's a new year! Where did the last one go??
I want to update my photo album with pictures of all my finishes for 2008 but probably won't get to it until later this week. I was surprised to see that I had 53 finishes...many were small pieces, but that's a lot for me nonetheless.
I started the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler last night and nearly finished one motif. My DH got me a floor stand for Christmas, which was a wonderful surprise, but it took me a little while to get used to using it. And we had to move the recliner back downstairs and my stitching chair upstairs...so it didn't leave much time to stitch. I'm planning on working on it some more on Sunday so I will post a picture then.
Here is a photo of my last stitch of 2008..."Penguins First Christmas" by Brooke Nolan. I was looking through some stash on Christmas Eve and came across this pattern and thought it would be so cute for Asher. I knew I wouldn't see him until late on Christmas night so I stitched like a crazy woman and put the finishing touches on literally minutes before they walked through the door. I know he doesn't even know what an ornament is yet...he's only 5 months old!...but maybe someday he'll think it's kind of cute!
Here's the ornie and a picture of Asher with his Pappi and one of him with his Auntie Sara.

december 24

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers! I am always finding inspiration from other's blogs and it means so much to me to read everyone's comments here. Please continue to visit! I hope you will all have a very happy holiday season, and that the new year will bring you peace, good health and much happiness.

hugs and happy stitching....lynda

the card in the photo was handmade by Donna, a stitching friend. She always makes wonderful cards each year. Thanks Donna!

december 21

We have been in the deep freeze around here since last Sunday and I am really done in by it all! Coming from upstate New York, I should be used to this...but we haven't seen snow like this in Portland in years and I just don't like it! I can't drive in it so I've been back to commuting on bus and train...which is fine...except that I have to be up at 3 am to make the train and by the time I get home at 5 or so I am truly tired! I haven't even had any energy to stitch all week. My daughter is supposed to be flying in from Boston on Christmas night and I just hope it clears enough by then so that she can get in safely.
So enough whining! I did finally manage to stitch up my second ornament for Vonna's seasonal challenge last night. Here are the two ornies I stitched for the challenge. The little reindeer is a freebie from Sharon at Daffycat Designs. And the other is a design from Stacy Nash Primitives..."Silent Holy Night".
I also pulled out "Three Things" this afternoon and am going to see how much I can get done on this one before the end of the year.
The other photo is a picture of the little gifts I opened this week from the CCS group Advent exchange.
Hope everyone is staying warm!

december 16

Since it snowed all day on Sunday we stayed inside and decorated the tree. I stayed in my pj's all day...can't even remember the last time I did that! Here are a few pictures. I collect Santas as you can see...last year someone told me they looked scary, but I like them all together like that anyway. There are a few cube-its included that I made also.
The second picture is our tree. We decided several years ago to go with an artifical tree after years and years of having real ones. It took a long time but we finally found one we liked and haven't been sorry. It has lights already strung and always looks nice. Plus my hubby doesn't have to vacuum up needles for the next six months! Our ornies are pretty eclectic. Some are from when the children were little, some from places we've visited, some are gifts. The star on the top is probably at least 40 years old. Hubby's dad brought it home and it has graced the family tree ever since. It just wouldn't be the same without that star.
The last photo is my little ornie tree with all the stitched ornies...some have been from exchanges and some are ones I have stitched myself. It's hard to see all of them but they are all very special to me.

december 15

W

Another week has gone by and we are that much closer to Christmas and I still have tons of stuff to do. And on top of everything, we are in the midst of a cold streak with snow and ice...something that is really quite rare for this area. When we want to see snow, we get in the car and drive up to Mt. Hood. This snowing in the valley stuff is just not right!
Anyway, here is a photo of my second week's little gifties from my Advent partner.
I also finished my bit for the Quaker Friendship Round Robin and sent it off today. I am excited about working on this project.

december 13

It's getting colder and very blustery. We're supposed to have snow in the valley tomorrow so I'm getting all bundled up now! Our fireplace (gas) is out and won't be fixed for another week, so there will be lots of cozy blankets and hot tea going around here!
Our tree is up and I hope to get it decorated sometime today. I finally got all my cards written and sent yesterday so that made me feel like I had accomplished something! We also did a little bit of Christmas shopping for Asher. He's really too little to understand this year, but it was fun for us anyway!
I finally got around to starting my bit for the Quaker Style Friendship Sampler RR. It has to be mailed this week so I want to have it finished before the weekend is over. I am stitching mine on a pewter jobelan with Carrie's Threads in Black Cherry. It will be fun to see the same design stitched six different ways.
I'm also working on a couple of ornies but I'll wait to show a photo until they are all finished.

exchanges

This month's STO monthly block theme was Santas and I received this adorable Santa from Petra. She even added a string of lights! I made it into a cube to add to my Santa display this year.
I also received my PS ornie exchange from Mar. This is the adorable holiday bell ornie that she stitched for me. Mar also included some wonderful goodies, including 2 of her Heartstruck designs. I have had these on my wish list for ages and I am so happy that she sent them to me.
Thanks so much Petra and Mar!
I also included a photo of the ornie that I sent to Mar.

december 10

Here is the reason I have been away from the computer all week...our grandson was staying with us while his mom was away. So all my time was spent playing with him and looking at him and marveling at what a little angel he is! Mommy came home last night and I miss him already!
I was able to finish "Quaker Christmas" before Asher arrived on Sunday which was a real treat. This photo is not very good. The lighting is awful and the fabric looks stained but hopefully I will get a better photo once it is framed! It is stitched on a beige linen using Carrie's Threads. I started stitching this with a SAL group around the first of the year and have been working on it off and on since then. Thanks to the Let's Stitch group I have really been motivated to finish it by the holidays. It is kind of large but a real pleasure to stitch for anyone who may be thinking of giving it a go!

december 7

I signed up for the Advent exchange at the CCS yahoo group this year. It is a fun exchange where each person sends 25 small gifts to their partner, one to open each day throughout Advent. These can be numbered or not. Here is a photo of the first seven of my little gifts. My partner is Liz from Gibraltar and I hope she is having as much fun with her little surprises as I am with mine!

december 2

stitching goals and an update....
November goals:
continue stitching on Quaker Christmas - DONE!
continue stitching on Three Things - no
ornie for JCS SAL - DONE!
ornie for PS exchange - DONE!
fair & square squares for Christmas round - DONE!
fair & square squares for round 10 - DONE!
monthly challenge: needlebook - DONE!

December goals:
finish Quaker Christmas
continue stitching (& hopefully finish!) Three Things
2 holiday ornies for Vonna's seasonal challenge
Quaker Friendship Round Robin - my bit on my piece

The picture shows my progress on Quaker Christmas so far.

ornie exchanges

I recently received two wonderful ornies in exchanges. The first was from an exchange on the San-Man message board. Louise stitched this adorable snowman for me. It is by Helga Mandl Designs and was featured in last month's Gift of Stitching magazine. The second ornie was for an exchange with the Stitching Buddies group. This design is from Midnight Stitching and it was an exclusive design given to participants at the Stitcher's Timeout retreat in September. I didn't have a chance to go in person (Flat Lynda went instead!) and I loved this design from the minute I saw it. I was so thrilled that Lavon chose to stitch it for me.
Both of these ornies will look great on the tree this year and for many years to come. Thanks again!

november 24

This was a very productive weekend for me, stitching-wise. I was able to stitch and finish 3 small pieces.
The first is my December ornament for the monthly JCS ornie SAL at the Stitcher's Timeout group. It is a Lizzie Kate design from the 2001 JCS ornie issue.
The second is my piece for this month's challenge at the monthly challenge blog. November's challenge was a needlebook. I used a piece of linen banding to stitch on. The design is a small peacock motif taken from the new Stacy Nash Christmas booklet, and it is stitched with Weeks "Father's Day floss.
I recently joined Vonna's Seasonal Ornament blog and the first challenge was to stitch a Thanksgiving themed ornie. I found this old Rainbow Gallery freebie designed by Eirca Michaels. It is stitched on a piece of jazlyn in an almond color. I swapped out the threads and used some GAST and Weeks for the design. I used Carrie's Threads - Harvest Moon - for the lettering. I love all the autumn shades in that floss.
It is rare for me to sit down and finish things right away, so I really do feel like I accomplished something this weekend!

november 23

What a great mail day! I received 2 sets of squares from the fair and square exchange.
The first set was for Round 10...these were stitched fror me by Jeanie C. from Singapore. I love this design and have been wanting to stitch it for myself since I first saw it. It is a freebie from a French blog and when I find the link I will update this post. Jeanie stitched it in a beautiful rich red color. It's gorgeous!
The second set of squares were stitched by Joan S. I have never seen this design before but I love it!It is very festive for the holidays and I am thinking of maybe making a small cube to display this year.
Both squares are really beautiful and I am enjoying them very much!

november 22

Last night was the weekly stitch-a-thon with "Let's Stitch" and I worked a bit on "Quaker Christmas" again. I didn't get to stitch as much as I thought I would...Jeff didn't have to work last night so we took a break to go out for a bite to eat. And we had the tv guy come by to check on some work that was done on Monday. We had a new satellite dish installed and the guy who came out to do it was pretty dysfunctional...he didn't even bring a ladder and had to go back and get one...duh...the thing has to go on the roof...wouldn't you need a ladder? And we have 3 floors and guess what?...he was afraid of heights! I think he's in the wrong job! Anyway, it's still not 100%...works great downstairs but not upstairs yet so that should be fixed shortly. Anyway, it took up some of my stitching time...
I've been spending the morning getting some things ready to mail so I'm off to the post office now and then hopefully home to stitch this afternoon. Looks a little bit dreary outside so it's a good day to stay indoors.
Here's a pic of my progress so far on QC. The lighting is horrible so the picture isn't great but you get the idea!

november 21

I've changed the look of my blog once again! I like the flowers at the top...at least for now!

It's starting to get colder here in the mornings especially. And very foggy. I can never seem to get warm during the day...then at night I can't be cool enough! Getting older is the pits!

I've been getting a bit of stitching done this week, but can't show pictures because the stitching is for exchanges. I've finished the ornament for the PS group exchange, as well as my fair & square squares for round 10, and another ornament for an exchnage at the San-Man board. I'm hoping to get everything in the mail this weekend.
Tonight is the weekly SAT at Let's Stitch. I'll be working on "Quaker Christmas" again. I'm determined to just keep at this until it is finished. I really want to have it to display for the holidays.

Anyway...back to work!

november goals

Somehow the first of the month came and went without me noticing! I did really well with my October goals - finished 3 ornaments and 3 monthly block exchange squares. I also finished the monthly challenge Halloween piece and continued working on my 2 biggest WIPs - "Three Things" and "Quaker Christmas". Plus I managed to stitch a couple of other small pieces and finish a UFO! For this month, I just want to continue with those 2 pieces and finish up a few outstanding exchanges, as well as the monthly challenge - a needlebook.
I've been working on my holiday squares but had to frog out a whole section that I worked on today after work because I was half a stitch off. I re-stitched the area but it kind of slowed me down.I really do not stitching on this linen!

Christmas Peace

Good Things

Stitching finishes! I actually managed to get some stitching done this weekend. I stitched my monthly ornament for the JCS ornament SAL with Stitcher's Timeout. It is the design from Heart in Hand that was in the 2002 JCS ornament issue called "Christmas Peace".
I also finished one of my UFOs..."Good Things", a design from Birds of a Feather. I was encouraged to pull this one out when Becky started "Let's Stitch" and challenged us to get out our oldest UFO to work on. Since I can't find my oldest UFO (I am organized-challenged!) I chose this piece. I can't remember when I started it but it has been a few years at least. I liked it because of the little mermaid as well as the saying..."good things come to those who wait"...that was one of my grandma's favorite sayings and it always reminds me of her. So thank you to everyone at the blog for all the encouragement to keep going with this. I am really pleased with the finish.
l

november 5, 2008

Election aftermath....I didn't realize how really stressed out I have been over this year's election...and this has been going on for several months. This Presidential election is probably the most important one I've ever voted in, and the results will color our world for a long time. In addition, the county in which I work had a measure on the ballot to form a library district in the county. Without the district, the county would begin to take away 20% of our funding each year for the next five years, leaving us with no county funding at all. Most cities (the one I work for included) would not be abe to backfill such a huge amount of money, and the end result would be that several libraries in the county would eventually have to close their doors, probably within the next 2-3 years at most.
Today I am a very happy person. The man I heard speak at a convention 4 years ago...the man who inspired me so much then and continues to inspire me...the man who I hoped then would run for President someday...did run and did win...and I am so grateful and hopeful that the next four years will bring good changes to our country.
And...our library district measure passed with a 61% majority, which means that we will not have to close our doors and in fact with the start of the next fiscal year in July we will be adding more hours and services for our patrons. And I am extremely grateful to everyone who realized the importance of libraries to our quality of life and to everyone who understands that especially in these hard economic times it is so important to have a place where we and our children can be enriched and nurtured...for free!
So even though I was exhausted all day because I stayed up so late last night, my stress level has gone way down...and tonight I will sleep soundly!