Totally Useless SAL

My camera battery died just as I was taking a photo of my little orts, so I plugged it in before leaving for work. So...a little late, but better late than never!

Thanks for visiting!

 

Stitch from Stash January Report

I am so happy that I have joined this Stitch from Stash group. I really do need this...I don't even know what all I have...and so I keep buying , not only more new stuff, but more of what I already have! So, without further ado...

In January, I spent nothing on stash! Not a penny...nada..zip...zero. I do (or did) belong to two fabric of the month clubs, but one of them has been discontinued, and I haven't received anything this month from the other...but they are exempt anyway. I am not saying that this is easy. I have seen several designs that I really really want to add to my stash...but I think I will just start a new wishlist so that I don't forget about them...maybe I can talk someone into buying me a groundhog's day gift????

I had two new starts from my stash...both small designs to be sent off for a block exchange. You can see one of them here, and this is the other, a square from Prairie Schooler's Nordic Holiday. 

And I started one new project, Shades of Autumn from Dinky Dyes:

I also finished a round robin here and stitched on two of my UFO/WIPs...Abigail Gould Sampler from The Scarlet Letter

and The Gilded Cage from Carriage House Samplings.

 

 

On to February!

I must apologize for the poor photos...no time to iron first, and I am having a really hard time figuring out how to crop my photos in Windows 8.1. Must practice on that. I am not very tech savvy!

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

 

 

 

Grow Your Blog Day 2014 !!!

Grow Your Blog Day is hosted by Vicki as a way for bloggers to get to know each other, to discover new blogs, and maybe to get some new followers for their own blogs as well. You can click on the button my sidebar to get to her blog, and to see a list of all the bloggers who will be participating today. This is my second year participating in this. Last year was so much fun...I found lots of new blogs to follow. It is just amazing how many great blogs there are out there...this year there are over 500 bloggers participating! I think it will take me quite awhile to get to visit all of them, but I sure will try!

Just a little bit about me...I am a transplanted New Yorker, living in Oregon for the past 20 years (where has the time gone?). My husband and I have two grown daughters, and one grandson, who is the light of our lives. We share our home with two dogs and two cats. I am a librarian by profession. I love to read (surprise surprise!), especially cozy mysteries and biographies; love watching sports, especially baseball; love spending time with my grandson; love exploring new places with my husband; love cuddling with our furbabies. I also seem to have a slight addiction to HGTV and the Cooking Channels!

I also love cross-stitching, and that is what my blog is mostly about. I'm a pretty slow stitcher, but I do get some things finished! This year I have joined a group that is stitching from our stash...we have a small monthly allowance to spend if we choose, but I am hoping to only use that when absolutely necessary. The reason for this is that I have so much stash already...I will never get to the bottom of it! I am also going to try and finally finish some of the pieces I have already started. I am certainly not a one at a time stitcher...it is hard for me to resist starting new things...so this should be an interesting experiment for me!

Some of the bloggers are offering little giveaways on their blogs for this event, so I will do that too. All I can say is that the giveaway prize will be cross-stitch related, but since I am still not quite sure what it will contain, it will be a surprise! I'm thinking along the lines of some patterns or other stash. We'll see! If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post telling me that you want to enter, and please include your email address so I can contact you. Since there are so many blogs participating this year, I will leave this open for four weeks and choose a winner on February 22.

I am hoping to discover lots of new blogs again through this Grow Your Blog Day, and meet lots of new friends. Thank you in advance to all of you who take the time to blog about your lives and your interests, and thank you to everyone who comes here to visit. Please leave a comment if you have time...they are always appreciated!

 

Reading Challenge 2014

I love to read...it's one of the first things I remember doing as a child. Working in a library, getting to order all kinds of wonderful materials for our patrons...it's fun, and when the new stuff comes in, it's like Christmas every day.

But usually these days when I read, I stick to my well loved cozy mysteries. The characters have become my friends and I look forward to every new adventure in their lives. This is a roundabout way of saying that I am often late to the party when it comes to reading best sellers or more popular and current titles. Maybe I'm in a bit of a rut, but it's a rut I truly love.

Yet, when I saw this challenge on facebook, I thought...well, why not expand my horizons just a little bit. There is a reading challenge for each month of the year, so I am going to give it a go. We are also offering this challenge to our library patrons...they'll get a little passport book and enter to win prizes. No prizes for me...just the enjoyment of reading some books I may not have noticed before.

Anyway, the challenge for January is to read a book published the same year you were born. I grabbed two...an Agatha Christie mystery that I haven't read...A Murder is Announced, and a book by Georgette Heyer...The Grand Sophy. I've still got a week before the month is up...hope I can get to at least one of these.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, hope everyone has a great weekend planned!

some stitchy progress!

It was a pretty blustery weekend overall, and our grandson was with his dad so we didn't get to see him. So hubby and I decided to cozy up inside with a warm fire and watch lots of football...four playoff games over two days which meant some quality stitching time for me!

I decided to tackle two of my WIPs. The first is Gilded Cage from Carriage House Samplings

The second is the Abigail Gould Sampler from The Scarlet Letter.

You can see the before pictures here in my Turtle Trot post.

I am very pleased with my progress!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit today!

Round Robin Finished!

 

A few of us from the Friendly Stitchers yahoo group decided to do a round robin in 2012. I chose Yesteryear from Little House Needleworks for my design. Everyone did a fabulous job on the stitching and it came back to me early last year, I put it away, thinking I would finish it up pretty quickly, and then promptly forgot about it.

I had stitched the top border before sending it out, so I still had to do the bottom border and the "Bicycle" square. I pulled it out last week, and now it is finished! I love how it turned out.

Thanks again to Niina, Sally, Frances, Judy and Gillie for all your wonderful stitching!

And thanks to you all for taking the time to visit!

Turtle Trot 2014

 

 

 This is my first year joining in on the Turtle Trot, but since I am stitching from my stash this year, I am really hoping to get some of my WIPs completed and I thought this might be  a fun way to do this.

 

I must admit that it was hard finding only ten projects...and to be honest, there were some projects that I really wanted to add to the list, but I couldn't find them. I have so many things in different bags and boxes...talk about being unorganized! Maybe they will turn up at some point during the year, and I can add them to the list to replace the ones I finish...see...I am being very optimistic here!

 

Before I list my projects, I do have a request. One of the projects I would really like to finish is Olde Pewter Letters from primitivetbettys. I found my bag with the threads, the started project, and all the papers that came with the pattern....the one thing I am missing is the pattern itself. I can't imagine what happened to it. It should be in the bag. If anyone has this pattern and would be willing to lend it to me for a short time, I would really appreciate it. I promise to finish it up right away and return it to you.

 

Anyway, on to the projects I chose. I apologize in advance for the wrinkled and crummy photos.

I won't be stitching these in any special order.

 

The first is Gilded Cage by Carriage House Samplings.

 

 

Next is Tea with JaneAusten from The Sampler Girl.

 

 

Next is Joyful Summer from Country Cottage Needleworks.

 

 

This one is Tis Better from La-D-Da

 

 

Next is Dicken's Mittens - The Last Word from Cross Eyed Cricket.

 

 

Next is the January design from Paul Vaughn's Quilts for All Seasons.

 

 

Next is Live Laugh Love from primtivebettys.

 

 

Next is Summer Band Sampler from Little House Needleworks.

 

 

Next is Shades of Autumn from Dinky Dyes.

 

 

And last, the Abigail Gould Sampler from The Scarlet Letter.

 

 

So I have my work cut out for me! One of these is my oldest WIP, some are starts from crazy challenges from a few years go, and some are more recent starts. I know there are lots of you trying to work on your old WIPs and UFOs this year, so I hope we can all cheer each other on and get some of these finished!

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit today. Hope everyone has a great weekend planned!

over the hump day

 

 

The rains have come, but the temperatures aren't too bad. I don't miss the snow we used to live with back in New York. If I want to play in the snow, Mt. Hood is an hour away. And we don't ever have to shovel snow!

Our grandson was with us for much of the weekend, so I didn't get too much stitching done, but I did manage a little bit. We are continuing to do block exchanges in the Stitchers' Timeout yahoo group, and January's theme is snowmen. This is called Having a Merry Time and is from Val's Stuff. It is stitched on a bone colored evenweave with DMC threads. The whole time I was stitching it, I felt like I had stitched it before. It just looked so familiar, but I only bought the pattern a couple of months ago! I think he is kind of cute!



Last year, I joined in with all the stitchers who were stitching Scarlet Letter designs, but I ended up losing my stitching mojo for much of the year and didn't get very far. I started the Abigail Gould Sampler January or February and this is how much I got done that first day



I've decided to stitch samplers on Sundays, so I picked this back up on Sunday night. Here is my progress so far. I have no idea what the fabric is, but  it is stitched with DMC



I'm also working on finishing up a round robin that we stitched 2012/2013 with Friendly Stitchers.
I'll post a photo of the finished piece, hopefully by the weekend.

So, until next time, I hope that everyone who is in the really cold parts of the country get some relief soon. Thanks so much for visiting!



 

first TUSALof the new year

 

I hope that everyone had a wonderful new year. Ours was very low key. Hubby had to work on new year's eve, but got home just before midnight. We don't usually make it up that long, but this year we decided to watch the ball drop in NYC...kind of disappointing because just as it started to drop they plastered this "Happy New Year" graphic across the screen which covered everything up! We had a nice dinner with my daughter and grandson yesterday, watched lots of football, relaxed...and I got to stitch...so all was well in our little corner of the world.

I finally picked up needle & thread on Tuesday night or the first time in almost a month. I had a round robin to stitch on...Frances chose this seahorse pattern (from one of the British magazines, I think) We each are stitching the same design but in a different color palette. It was a quick and easy stitch and perfect to get back into the swing of things.

Finished this up yesterday, and started a January 1st piece...Shades of Autumn from Dinky Dyes. I love anything Autumn, and have had this one for quite some time. The fabric is actually yellow, which isn't showing up at all, and the silks are gorgeous and so nice to work with. Hopefully all of the colors will show up better when it is finished and I can take a proper photo.

Finally, here is my first TUSAL of 2014...not much to show, but it is only really one day's stitching.
If anyone isn't familiar with the Totally Useless Stitch-a-long, you can read all about it at Sharon's blog...itsdaffycat.blogspot.com

Still dark out this morning, but I can see that it is another foggy morning. We have been socked in with fog nearly every morning for the past week or so. It makes for a very strange commute...like driving through a cloud! Off to work to take down our holiday decorations...we made a book tree this year at the library...I'll try to remember to take a picture to share. It was lots of fun.

Hope you all have a great day...thanks for taking the time to visit!

Happy New Year!

 

Since the first New Moon of the new year is fast upon us, I thought I had better post my last TUSAL pic from 2013 before it is too late! This past month has been a very stressful one for my family...and things are still not totally resolved....but with the new year I am determined to try at least to get things back to normal...or at least a little bit!

So this is my 2013 TUSAL...it looks like I did lots more stitching than it feels like I did! I am going to use the same container for 2014...I love the rounded shape. It will be fun to compare this to next year's.

No real stitching goals for the new year...I have joined the Stitch From Stash SAL and am going to try and not buy anything new this year. I have so much...in fact, I may be posting some (or lots) of stuff for sale sometime soon. When going through my patterns, I found so many duplicates (ugh!) as well as things I know I will just never do. Tastes change...and I am one of those people that tends to jump in and then later wonder why I ever bought that one in the first place! So, no hopping on every new bandwagon that comes along...and this year I am going to stitch for the joy and pleasure it brings me...no deadlines, no trying to keep up...just re-discovering why I love stitching so much in the first place.

My wonderful hubby gifted me with a new laptop for Christmas, so I hope to keep up with my blog on a more regular basis this year as well. This is first and foremost a stitching blog, but I'd like to maybe expand that a bit...who knows...I have lots of stuff going around in my head right now...don't want to bore anyone though!

The older I get, the more time seems to fly by, and there is so much I want to get done. Right now I am feeling very overwhelmed, but also very grateful. This past year has been one of real highs and real lows...unanticipated happenings...fun times and sad times...I know that many of you have had rough times this year as well, and I hope that 2014 brings more good than bad into everyone's lives.

Thank you to all of you that follow this blog. It means so much to me that you take the time to read and comment on what I have to share. I hope to spend more time visiting with all of you on your blogs as well, and getting to know everyone better. I wish you all a safe, healthy and happy new year.

Thanks again for taking the time to visit.

A little late TUSAL

 

Where did this month go? Sometimes I just feel like life is passing by so fast, and other times I wish that some of the life things that are happening would just go faster and be done. It hasn't been a very happy time lately.

Anyway, here is my little collection of orts for October...just a couple of days late.

 

I feel like I have really been neglecting my blog lately and I do appreciate those of you who still take the time to visit...thanks!

Thank you! Thank you!!

I was a first time participant in Terri's Harvest Exchange this year, and this week, a wonderful package arrived in my mailbox from April.
What a super surprise! April stitched both a Pine Mountain pillow design and an adorable ornament for me. She also included some fabric, ribbon, threads, the cutest finishing fabrics for the season, and an autumn design kit from Mosey 'n Me. I can't wait to stitch this one...it is so cute!

Thanks again April for  a great exchange, and thanks to Terri for organizing all of this. It was lots of fun!

Thanks for visiting! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

a sad day

Like many of you, I just received word that Cathey has passed away.
Even thought I didn't know her personally, she touched my heart.
We have all lost a beautiful spirit today, but we can take comfort in knowing that Cathey is with the other angels and is no longer suffering.
Rest in peace, Cathey, and know that your family will always be in my prayers, and that you will always be in our hearts.

Another late TUSAL

Another very meager collection of orts for this month's TUSAL. I did finish three exchange pieces that I can't show yet. Life has been throwing lots of curveballs lately. Maybe this month will finally calm down...maybe!

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Pumpkins for Cathey

 

 Thinking of you today, Cathey!
 Happy blogoversary!

a TUSAL and a finish!

The sun is shining now, but you never would have thought so earlier this morning! We have been blessed with a beautiful summer...until this week. The skies opened up and the most torrential rains just poured down on us. I slept through a thunder and lightening storm the other night. Thunder and lightning are not all that common here. Anyway, it looks like things have cleared up...at least for the time being!

Another month has passed and that means another TUSAL post. Most (if not all) of these threads are from the finish below. My stitching time has been pretty limited these past months. Things just seem to keep happening and my mind can't seem to focus. So here is my little bowl of orts for the month:

And this is the piece I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. It is a Christening gift for my niece and her precious baby girl. The pattern is called Sweet Sweet Babe from Sam Sarah Designs. It is stitched on a French Vanilla lugana from Sassy's Fabrics, using the called for Weeks and Gentle Arts threads (except for one which I didn't have...and since I was in a rush I replaced it with something from Crescent Colours!) I hope she will like it!

We are off on vacation starting tonight. Hubby and I are going for pedicures this evening and then on Sunday we are flying to Hawaii for a week! I can't wait! There is a lot of stuff happening in our family right now, but we both need to just get away and this will be the perfect escape. I already found a stitching shop that I am hoping to get to, and I plan on bringing some stitching and reading as well. Sun, sand, warm breezes...just what the doctor ordered for this tired couple!

Thanks for visiting...I know I have been neglecting my blog lately, but hopefully things will get better soon! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Another TUSAL

Let's try this again!
My camera card does not want to play nice with my computer, so I tried to do this from my phone and ended up posting to the wrong blog.
These are my meager threads from the past month...you can see that there was not much stitching going on around here!
So let's see if I can make this work. ...
Thanks for taking the time to visit!

We have been enjoying some warmer temperatures here...not unbearably hot like in some places...and since we don't have much humidity, it's been really nice...and the evenings are wonderful. I'm so glad the weekend is upon us, so we can really relax and enjoy.

I managed to get some stitching done this week. I stitched up the last two blocks for our Stitchers' Timeout block exchange. The themes were Halloween and Snowmen, and here are scans of my efforts.
This is Scaredy Cats from Val's Stuff

  
and this is Snowmen also from Val's Stuff

There has been some family stress happening...my oldest daughter has applied for a new position and is waiting to hear about that., and my youngest has not been feeling well and is starting to imagine all sorts of things are wrong with her. She is trying to get new insurance so that she can get to a doctor and find out what is really happening. So any good thoughts or prayers you can spare would be much appreciated. I (of course) tend to worry myself sick over this kind of thing...but I guess that's just what moms do!

Work moves along. We had some people in to do some  geo-testing to see what is really under all that grass behind our building and how costly it may be to dig into whatever it is. They weren't here as long as planned though, so maybe that's good news! Also, we have had a horrible odor off and on in this building for the past two and a half years. It comes and goes, but we haven't been able to figure out the cause. We have had all sorts of tests done, but no answers. This week we had another person come in and take samples and stuff. I'm calling her the "smell whisperer"...I only hope they are able to find out what it is. Our patrons come in from the fresh air outside and gasp. Everyone has heir own ideas of what it could be...you don't even want to hear the suggestions! Anyway, I hope something positive comes from all this testing.

Before I go, I wanted to share a photo of these beautiful flowers that my dear hubby sent to me at work the other day...just because he knew I have been trying to deal with a lot of stuff lately. He's a sweetie for sure!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned. I am hoping to kick back and do some stitching.
Thanks so much for taking the time to visit, and for your comments. I really do appreciate you all.

a late TUSAL and a bit of catching up...

I'm hoping that someone is still around reading this blog...I wouldn't blame anyone for deserting the ship...it seems I have been very negligent with my posting, but a few big things have passed, so hopefully I'll be more present in the future! I must warn you that there are quite a few photos (they've been sitting here since Monday, but...) this time, so I hope you'll stick with me!

First up is this month's TUSAL. I did have the photo ready on time, but no time to post.

Most of these threads are from the wedding sampler I stitched for my daughter Sara and her new husband, Kevin. She picked out the pattern last summer. When I finally got around to stitching it, I couldn't find the pattern. So I bought another copy. And then...you know what I'm about to say...yes...the original turned up...in it's "safe" spot. By then we were way to close to the wedding, and I knew I would never finish in time. So it became a late gift, but they have it now and both of them like it, so I'm a happy mom. The design is Starfish Wedding by Ursula Michaels. I thought the blue frame was a perfect fit. Sorry for the glare...this photo is not very good.

The wedding was on June 1 in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was a wonderful wedding with lots of friends and family. Sara and Kevin planned everything and it all turned out exactly as they hoped.
Here is a pic of the happy couple...I forgot to upload a photo of Sara's bouquet...it had brooches mixed in...very heavy, but beautiful. Maybe I'll add a photo later!

And this is our family...Asher did a great job walking his grandma down the aisle. He didn't want to wear a tie, but looked so cute all dressed up in his tux...just like grandpa. That's his mom, my daughter Shannon, in the purple dress. If you click on this pic you can see the bouquet a bit.

And another pic of Asher at the reception. He was like a little whirling dervish...didn't stop dancing all night...until he collapsed and fell asleep shortly before we were going home!

The other big event in June was the 100th anniversary of our library building. We had events all week, culminating in a dedication ceremony and outdoor celebration on the Saturday. Lots of activities, music, fun...and cake! This is the beautiful cake that was made for us by a local bakery and we had no idea what it would look like until it was delivered. We were all speechless. And it was as delicious as it was gorgeous!

When we were in Quincy for the wedding, we stayed on a few days to babysit our fur-grandbaby, Coda. He is the most special dog. And now he has a new little brother, who is too adorable for words!
This is Coda in front, with Clarence in the back.

And finally, this is a block I just finished for a block exchange we have at Stitchers' Timeout. The theme was fruit and I stitched this Prairie Schooler pineapple.

And if you are still with me...thank you! I fear I have rambled on a bit too long for one post, but I decided to just jump in and do it this time!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. See you next time!

last TUSAL of spring

Well, this is the last TUSAL post of the season...crazy how time is flying by! I have only just got my stitching mojo back since our return from Boston...actually I wanted to stitch so badly while there, but alas, I had nothing with me to work on!...so this little offering contains threads form the past few days. I am working on a wedding sampler for my daughter, so I must get back to that. Also stitched a small freebie and a couple of ornaments for an exchange.

So. lots of news and photos coming soon, I promise. This will be a busy couple of weeks at work, with lots going on, but I will try to get back to post again in a few days.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit...I know I haven't been a very good blogger lately! Hope you are all enjoying a sunny day!