No, Really I'm Back On Schedule!

Well, it's been well over a month since I have updated my blog.  I have no excuse I just didn't do it!  I've kind of been in a stitching funk of late and actually not in the mood to do much of anything.  So I really haven't had too much to chat about lately.  I think I have snapped out of it though and am slowly pulling myself together.  I must confess that in my non-stitching funk I have become quite addicted to my Kindle app.  I have been doing lots of reading.  Reading is a guilty pleasure I allow myself late in the afternoons with a cup of coffee or tea.  I have finally gotten over feeling guilty just sitting and reading thinking I should be up and around cleaning somewhere or something in the house -- what's up with that anyway!  You'll be glad to know I am so over that!

This weekend entailed working out in the backyard getting things ready for the colder weather.  I would much rather do yard work in this kind of weather than in the heat of summer.  I actually enjoyed being out there and getting some things done.  I was also in the baking mood and managed to bake an apple cake and some white chocolate chunk cranberry oatmeal  cookies -- hubby was pleased!

On the stitching side of things I figured out that I was using a wrong floss color in a section on a cross stitch tapestry piece I have been working on.  I kept having to pick out the stitches (at least 3 times)  because the color just didn't look right.  It finally dawned on me to double check the color of floss I have been using -- geez it took me long enough to figure that one out!

Sew Fine from ShinySun's Cross Stitching

Cross Stitch Tapestry - over half done with this now that I figured out my floss issue!

On a positive note - I got into a "finish it up mode".  Last week I did finish stitching a Halloween embroidery I have been working on.  I'm not entirely happy with the way it turned out (due my own personal stitching demons) but I will go ahead and put the finishing touches on it if only to say that I have actually finished another project!  I also finished seaming together a sweater that I knitted several years ago.  It has been blocked and waiting to be put together for quite a while.  I have also been knitting on afghan squares for the Great American Afghan.  This was a "knit-a-long" I was leading at the yarn shop I worked in.  I'm over half way done on those.

Candy Cauldron from P3 Designs

I think this is destined to be a wall hanging.

Sweater I finally finished seaming!

Not a great picture but you can get the gist of it.  Being a "vertically challenged" person I probably shouldn't try to take these kinds of pictures!

In the new project department I started knitting on a vest project I have had waiting in the wings for a while. I also strung beads for a scarf project I purchased at least ten years ago.  The scarf will hopefully knit up quickly for a holiday gift.  Maybe I'll have progress pictures on these two knew projects soon -- hey,  it could happen!

Have a good week and get some stitching time in!

Back on Schedule

I'm back from visiting family in California.  I brought one of my sisters back with me along with her "wonder dog Murphy" and then had another sister and her husband visiting.  Everyone is gone now but my house was a wreck and it's taken me a few days to get everything back in order and to get back on my schedule.  It was nice to have everyone visiting though.

While visiting my family in California I as able to attend a bridal shower for my niece.  It was nice to be able to time my visit to attend a family function.   Needless to say my sisters and I were feeling quite melancholy over our advancing ages!  I remember this niece at my own bridal shower entertaining everyone because she was so doggone cute -- that was over 20 years ago!  I also took my mom out and helped her purchase a new sewing machine.  It was interesting because the new machines are so sophisticated and can be somewhat overwhelming when you are not used to all the features they now have on them.  My mom is 80 and was not interested nor did she need all of the bells and whistles that some of the new machines come with so it was interesting to watch the sales people move from high-end very expensive machines to lower-end basic machines which they of course would not make as much commission on.  Mom wound up with a Janome machine which I think suits her just fine.

While sitting and watching the Olympics with my dad, I stitched a "patriotic" piece.  I just kind of felt like I needed to do something red white and blue. I actually brought it home and framed it -- amazing but true!  I found a frame in my stash of Goodwill finds.  Here it is...

I found this chart in stash of charts I had cut out from a magazine years ago.  It was simple and easy to work on and done on 14 ct. aida cloth, a nice break from 28 and 32 count linens I've been stitching on lately.

The summer is slowly winding down and I can't believe kids have started back to school already.  Fall is one my favorite times of the year so I'm actually looking forward to it and getting a break from the heat.

Well that's all for now.  Have a good week and get some stitching time in!

My Warped Corner of the World

Well, I haven't been doing much of anything in the last couple of weeks.  I have kind of been in a funk as of late and not quite sure why.  Oh well chalk it up to the "dog days of summer" I guess.

I have been mourning the loss of a favorite kitchen appliance this week.  My KitchenAid stand mixer that I paid alot of money for and it just unceremoniously died.  I can't believe it.  I'm still in denial. I took it to the certified KitchenAid repair guy in Boise and he said it would cost more to repair than to buy a new one.  I thought it just needed a new gear or something but it was the motor.  I brought it home and just set it on my kitchen counter, where it still sits, I just can't bear thought of a)having to lay out big bucks for another one and b)just throwing it away!   I really do need to pull myself together here and just get over it.  It gave me 20 years of good faithful service and some of the best chocolate chip cookies ever!!!  My husband thinks I'm losing my nut getting so emotional over a small appliance.  He hasn't figured out yet that that small appliance has kept him supplied with the home made goodies he loves to devour.  Oh, wait maybe when he figures it out he won't squawk about the cost of having to replace it -- hmm, I may be able to work this to my advantage!

I dead-headed my flowers in my container garden and we will just have to wait and see if they rebud again.  I'm still dealing with those nasty wasps under the deck.  I try to get outside and pull the never ending weeds early in the morning before they awaken and make it nearly impossible to work outside!

Next week I'm off to visit some family.  It should be a nice break.  Hopefully, I will come back inspired to get back to work on some on-going projects and seriously start looking at getting to work on holiday projects -- ugh -- did I just say that!!

Have a good week everyone and get some stitching time in!

OMG, I HATE BUGS!!!

For some reason this summer I have been dealing with bugs and more bugs!  First it was the crickets and now it is wasps!  I have also spied some ugly looking little spiders -- where there are little spiders you know there are bigger spiders some where else. I can't like any of them!  My internet solutions to the wasp problem are not working so I have been dumping wasp spray on them and their nests and trying to knock them down.  Not an easy task when the nest is located in a corner underneath the deck.  Weeds are starting to take over the section of the yard by the deck again because the wasps have been so bad I can't get out there to pull the weeds because they start swarming-- that's my excuse any way.

Here's the latest pics of my little container garden with my wildflowers.  I actually have some flowers blooming.  I have no idea what they are but they are there and pretty.

The flowers below are zinnia's that I planted in an old solar fountain that was collecting debris in the corner of the deck.  I only know what these are because I saved the seed packet -- seems like a good thing start doing when I plant things -- duh!

Not much stitching going on this week.  I had to step away from my thread tapestry because I kept getting lost and having to rip stitches out.  So I decided I need a break from that piece for a while.

Have a good rest of the week and get some stitching time in!

Yarn Everywhere!

In the last couple of weeks I have been on a "straightening out" binge.  Specifically, the room where my office is located which I also call my knitting room since that is where most of my knitting supplies are.  I have been unable to walk through this room for months without stepping over something or moving it out of my way.  The floor has been filled with tote bags, baskets, boxes and other knitting "essentials".  I decided to organize all the yarn by category, i.e., sock yarn, worsted weight, cotton, etc.  Well, this actually worked and got stuff up off of the floor.  I thought I was done and then I opened a closet in my sewing room and low and behold I found eight medium to large zippered comforter/bedspread bags (love those for storing projects!) stacked with yarn in them!  How did I forget about those?  I know I probably purchased most of that yarn with specific projects in mind but do you think I could remember what I had planned?  So that meant going through all those bags and organizing them too -- which took another three to four days.  I had yarn in the hallway and spread out on the floor in two rooms.  I wound up spending time looking through pattern books and storing the yarn with the specific pattern I wanted to use it for.  Who knows, I may change my mind by the time I get around to the project but at least now I'll know what I planned on doing with it.

I'm thinking I need to go through my stitching stash/supplies and do the same thing but I just don't have the energy for that right now and that stash believe it or not is much larger than the yarn stash!

I did manage to work on some projects the last couple of weeks in between organizing the yarn.  I finished knitting a pair of socks, stitched a bit on my latest cross stitch tapestry and canvas piece and I actually put the finishing touches on an Adult Surprise Jacket I started knitting several years ago as a gift.  I actually put an edging on it and got it blocked!

Here are some pics of my foray into container gardening such as it is.  My method of growing flowers is to just toss wildflower seeds I found into a pot and see what happens  -- here's what's coming up -- a few of them have buds on them but for all I know I could be growing containers full of weeds!

Here are some progress pictures of my current stitching projects.

Cross stitch tapestry - Sew Fine

Phoenix

Have a good week everyone and get some stitching time in!

This & That

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.  The weather was kind of gloomy around here so that meant "crafty" time in the house! Unfortunately, I was suffering from toothache pain all weekend so crafty and stitching times were welcome respites from focusing on pain. I finally broke down and took some pain medication Sunday afternoon which helped me, along with my crafty puttering , to make it through to my dental appointment on Tuesday morning.  I am happy to report that the toothache is gone -- thank goodness!

Well, the cricket problem has been resolved.  Poor Jiminy Cricket.  Actually the solution I found on the internet seemed to work.  Sticky paper you can buy to catch other critters and then you put cornmeal on it and set it out where you think the annoying pest is hiding.  It took about 3 days but it worked.  Don't ask me why they like it but they do.  There was only one cricket making that major racket, hard to believe, but I am glad it is gone.

Here are some pictures of things I have been working on

This is Phoenix an old EGA project I re-discovered.  I really do enjoy working on canvas. I'm looking forward to finishing this one.

This is a cross stitch tapestry I just couldn't wait to start.  After I finished the Black Lab Pup tapestry piece I told myself, and others, I didn't think I wanted to do another one of those but here I am doing another one!  If you can't tell, it is a pile of spools of thread.  I think I am drawn to the bright colors in this one and although I had a couple of hiccups with it (I lost my place on the chart and wound up taking out lots of stitches) I am enjoying stitching it.

I just put the linen on scrolls to start "A Women of Noble Character" from My Big Toe Designs.  Ever since I saw that one finished and framed at the trunk show in my old shop, I have wanted to start it.

Well that's it for now.  Have good week and get some stitching time in!

Cricket Crazy!!!

Well, I've been remiss in posting to the blog.  I have no excuse I just didn't do it!

I am seeing some sprouting of my wild flower seeds - I'm so excited -  it doesn't take much to do that though.  I'm still working on getting all the weeds pulled.  Actually, I do have to pat myself on the back, or keep rubbing the backs of my aching legs for that, because the backyard is really looking pretty "spiffy" if I do say so myself.

However, in reference to the title of this blog post -- we have a cricket  that is making my husband and I crazy!  We have tried to find out where it is and think it is on the patio along the edge of the house.  It just started making noise on Saturday evening and it just doesn't let up.  I've been surfing the net trying to find out how to locate and get rid of them.  I got a few ideas I'm gonna try this week but geez what a racket that thing makes!  I'm thinking it must be two feet long or something. I'd much prefer it turn out to be Jiminy Cricket.  I keep waiting to see him go dancing across the patio with a top hat and carrying a cane. That kind of cricket I could live with.

I do have a stitching finish to brag about this week.  I finished the stitching on my Xmas Stocking design from Donna Kooler.  I have the perfect red fabric to finish it with (a bargain from Goodwill).  This was actually fun to stitch but it was the backstitching that was the most tedious part of the project but without it there would be no detail at all.

What project to work on next -- such decisions.  Believe me I have plenty to do and plenty I want to start doing!

Have a good week and get some stitching time in!

Weed Pulling Weakling!

I've spent the last couple of days in my back yard pulling weeds -- not my idea of fun but it needs to get done.  Needless to say, the back of my legs are screaming at me to stop doing that kind of thing!  I also pulled out a couple of dead rose bushes.  Man are they mean to get out.  I look like I've been through a war but the yard is starting to look much better in the back at least.   I'm going to try and plant some flowers again this year.  A green thumb I am not.  Plants and flowers come to my house to die.  I would much rather stitch them!     Sitting on the patio reading or stitching is my reward for doing yard work but I don't think I'm supposed pull one weed and sit for an hour -- I guess that's why it takes me so long to get the yard work done!   I've actually been known to plug in my old sewing machine and sit outside and do some simple piecing for quilts.  There is just something about sitting outside in the fresh air.


Here are a couple of finishes to look at.  The first one is a wall hanging that I have had pieced and hanging on the wall in my sewing room for about 3 years.  I finally got the border on and did some simple machine quilting and decorative stitching on it.  It's hard to see in the picture but it is done at least.  This one will be hanging in my bedroom.

Here is a pillow that I stitched many, many years ago and I didn't like the finish on it -- it had some kind of tacky lace around it.  Well, I pulled it apart several years ago and it's been one of those projects where I just  kept moving it from pile to pile thinking I was going to do something "different" with the finishing on it.  Finally, last week, I just got tired of moving it around and just sewed it together and now it's done -- it works for me!  This one is also going in my bedroom.

Have a good week everyone and get some stitching time in!

Nothing new and exciting at chez Diane in the last week or so but I've been doing a lot of puttering and re-discovering things I thought were long gone.  I've been putting together quite a donation box for charity.  I have been having my share of small appliance break downs in the last couple of months and have been noticing strange noises from some of the bigger ones too.  Maybe it's because I'm home more now and when I'm by myself I like the quiet so I don't have any TV or radio going or anything.  So maybe I'm just noticing the "white noise" more than I have before.


I have been stitching a bit.  I put some stitches in my "Sew Fine" piece from Shinysun's Cross Stitch and my Christmas stocking -- not enough progress though to post new pictures.  I decided I needed to find my laying tool because I'm getting ready to start a canvass design from Laura Perrin.  In my quest to locate at least one of the several laying tools I have, I found a canvass piece that I started back in 1996 as part of a group project my EGA chapter was doing. I had half the outlining done so I decided to sit down yesterday and do the rest and started one of the small blocks.  It is a Harriet Segal piece called "Phoenix".  

Phoenix - This is what I have so far

This is what the finished piece will look like

Amazing but true I did "finish" something too!  This is a biscornu I started in November.  It is done in red metallic floss  - remind me not to work with that stuff again!  Actually, I read a tip on working with metallic floss that if you run it through a thread conditioner (I used Thread Heaven) before you start stitching with it, it will go much more smoothly.  I did that and it did work much better.    I got all the stitching done in January but I just hadn't put it together.  Here it is all stuffed and sewn up but I still haven't found the right bauble to place in the center to pull it into form. If you have any suggestions, let me know.  Ok, so it's only 99.9% done...

Side #1

Side #2

Have a good week and getting some stitching time in!

It's Looking Like Spring!

Well, today it's nice and sunny out and it's starting to look alot like Spring is actually on it's way.  Trees and plants are starting to bud.  It's nice to step out into the sunshine.

I don't have any new progress pictures to post this week.  And I must confess I haven't gotten much stitching done in the last week or so.  I did however do some knitting and became very frustrated with a knitting project I was bound and determined to finish (started 3 years ago).  I got all the knitting done and when I went to put it together it wasn't going together very smoothly so I've decided I'm not going to finish it but am going to re-purpose the cotton yarn for something else.    It wasn't going to fit me anyway so I have been busy perusing my library of patterns looking for a new project for that yarn.  It actually feels kind of good to let go of a project that I wasn't that crazy about in the first place.

Have a good week everyone and get some stitching time in!

Since my last post, I have been puttering around the house digging through closets and boxes and actually getting rid of stuff!  I tossed six phone books dating back to 2007 -- why was I saving those?

St. Patrick's Day was spent with awesome friends just stitching and knitting.  Lots of snacks (can we say potato chips and dip) and chatter, good coffee and a corned beef and cabbage dinner prepared by our fabulous chef and hostess for the day - Debbie -- yum!  It was a fun day and I think we all actually got some form of stitching/knitting done.

Last week I did manage to finish knitting a pair of socks for myself and I did some stitching on my Christmas Stocking.

Socks using Regia Sock yarn -- pattern from the book Sensational Socks

Progress on my Christmas Stocking - "Crafter's Stocking" - Donna Kooler Design - Santa doesn't have his eyes yet - I decided to use beads for his eyes so I'll put them on last.

I also managed to clear enough space in my sewing room so I could actually sit down and do some sewing -I have several quilt tops that need finishing up. While I was sewing I spied a book on the floor underneath a stack of UFO's so of course I had to stop and look at it and that of course led to my looking through other books and before I knew it the afternoon was gone and I had gone through a stack of sticky notes marking projects that I just need to start.  I even started "stash shopping" for those projects.  I controlled myself though and stepped away from the books and went back to my sewing machine to at least turn it off for the day.  Geez, it wasn't even a bright and shiny object that distracted me it was a book of quilt patterns!

Until we meet again, get some stitching time in!

What I'm Working On

Well, I'm just tired of cleaning my house.  I just want to sit and stitch.

Here are some things I have been working on...

I just finished putting on the binding on this piece -- it is a "freebie" pattern I found on the internet.  I did this for my sister Sandy for Christmas.  She has quite a collection of  "I Love Lucy" memorabilia.  This was done on 14 count linen aida cloth with floss.  A very quick and easy stitch for a wall hanging.  I used up some "Lucy" fabric I had purchased several years ago for the backing and the binding.  The stitching didn't take me any time at all it was the darn "finishing" that took me forever!

I just couldn't stop myself from starting this one.  It is an Easter tabletopper from Dutch Treat Designs.  I have had this chart for a while and have decided I just had to start something for Spring.  I love these tabletoppers because they are pretty easy to stitch and go pretty fast.  This on 18 count Anne cloth with Size 5 Pearl Cotton.

Here is another one I have started.  This is called "Sew Fine" from Shinysun's Cross Stitch.  This is another cross stitch tapestry.  This is by the same gal who charted the "Black Lab Pup" I finished last fall.  It is on 18 count Ivory Aida with cotton floss. I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment wanting to do another one of these!

Here's an on-going project -- I started this last fall.  It is a Christmas Stocking design by Donna Kooler called a "Crafter's Stocking".  This one has lots and lots of back stitching on it so I'm anxious to get all the base stitches down so I can begin the back stitching.  It's about time I have my own Christmas Stocking for 2012!

My First Blog Post

Well here's my first attempt at blogging. We'll have to see how it goes.

Since I closed my shop in January, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. I do miss the shop terribly and all of my friends who stopped by regularly. Being home forces me to take a look around my house and see what I have "let go" for way too long. I am embarrassed to say I have found dust bunnies the size of small animals and I have been busy cleaning in corners, behind things and in the process I'm rearranging furniture -- much to my husband's dismay. It's interesting how we manage to leave things the way they are -- whether it's inconvenient or not because we just don't make the time to take care of them.

I will make an effort to post to the blog at least once a week and post progress pictures on projects and finishes I've done and share with you.