Goodness, is it September already? Wow. I could swear it was just February. Why does time go so long when you're a kid, and all you have to do is homework and play, but so fast when you're an adult and you have a hundred things to do?
Anyway. Before I get to my goals, here's my progress on the house. I'm going to finish the Black Crow and Banker's Grey today. If possible, I'd like to finish the last window, but I don't think it'll happen today. After the window, it's just filling in orange and attaching the buttons. I'll probably take it in Monday.
Here's this week's SBQ, too. How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share? I guess it depends on what you mean by share. When I finish stitching a piece, I usually frame it, and most of my framed pieces are hanging in the shop. I only have two hanging in my house. While I'm stitching and before I take it in for framing, I put pictures up here, and in my Yahoo photos, and usually on the message boards. One day, I'll go through and take pictures of what I already have stitched around the house. I usually go down with my mom to the shop every once in awhile and point out which ones are mine. When my uncles visit, she takes them down and points out my models. Whenever I finish stitching anything (paid projects, shop models, and my own stuff; I can't take designer models of course, but that's different) I take it to my mom's and show her and my grandmother and anyone else who's there, like my uncles, my stepdad, my sister, the dog, ect.
Tobi's eye is looking better. It's still a nasty shade of grey-green in a few spots (think DMC 524). Jymi did play his game last night, but it wasn't as funny as before. More money problems, which cannot be solved by watching Jymi die. I did fix one major money issue. Just two more to go, both of which are bigger and more complicated.
Now for my goals. My goals for August were to finish the two paid projects I had started, start Persain Iris Garden, and just stick to my rotation. I did finish both the paid projects, The Lord's Prayer and Winter 9 Patch. I've done all the stitching on part one of the mandala. I stuck to my rotation for all of a week, maybe two. Then I got the we-need-it-now models, and the rest of the month has been spent on those.
My goals for September are: finish the house, start and finish Gill's Puzzle Cow, start and finish Greta the Witch and Vince VamPyre and take the whole thing in to be framed, sew together the rest of my Christmyth ornaments, start and finish any models I get, and work on Tobi's Garfield with any extra time. I also want to work on the Cars quilts for the boys if I want to have them done by Christmas.
This was going to be a short post. Oh well. Have a nice weekend!

Here's my progress on my house. It's not much, but I should be done by Friday or Saturday. Usually, when I stitch with overdyes, I go vertically some places and horizontally in others. It makes it look more interesting. For this one though, it's just been easiest to go horizontally most places. I've done the shutters vertically, and I think I'll do the door that way, but that's it. It looks a little boring.
I usually stitch to relax. It's my stress relief. Jymi plays violent video games. I could never understand how playing games that makes him so mad can be a stress reliever. Last night, though, while I watched him play, it was so funny. It's not the kind of stuff that usually makes me laugh, but I guess I've had so much stress lately that it made me feel better. So I laughed while Jymi stole bulldozers and big rigs and ran over other cars, drove into the water, and made the cars explode. He kept yelling at me that it wasn't funny (he was usually in the car when it exploded), but I laughed like I haven't in a long time. I just spend so much time worring about money and tring to figured out how to manipulate it to last until next Thursday. The problem is, it usually doesn't. I hope he plays again tonight. I just balanced the checkbook, and it's one of those you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying kind of things.
Gill has requested her online friends to stitch and send in freebie cows for a quilt of them. I volunteered to do Puzzle, which is on the first page. I love these cows! I may do a quilt too, but I've got too many projects started to start another one right this minute. Of course there's also the newest Chatelaine mandala. I didn't like it at first, but the final picture is gorgeous! At first, in my head, I pictured it with more bright firey reds and oranges, but now that I've gotten used to what it is, I want it! Why is everything I want always so expensive? I'm going to have to see if they won't pay me cash for this model; it's the only way we'll make it through the week. Deep breath. It's all good.

I'm still stitching away on the haunted house. I hope to finish it this week. I'm still waiting for the buttons to come in.
Thursday, as soon as I got up from the computer after my last entry, Jymi called me from work. He told his work partner that I had gone to the fabric store, and she asked if I would make her a quilt. I don't mind, but I don't think she realizes how much it would cost. Even if I just charged her materials, it would be over a hundred dollars for the size she wants! Nevertheless, I spent half my stitching time this weekend sketching on quilt patterns, different sizes, and figuring up how much each one would cost. She was supposed to call with more details of what she wanted Saturday, but I never heard anything. Knowing she makes about the same as Jymi, I don't think she'll still want one when she finds out how much it would cost. I was very excited at first, but the longer I think about it, more I realize it won't really happen.
At least in talking to my sister about it, she told me a magazine a month or two back had a quilt pattern using the Cars fabric. She said it was very simple (a big plus for me), and that may have been part of why everyone was asking for it. She told me not to cut it yet; she'd give me the magazine next time she saw me.
It was another movie marathon weekend here, but this time Jymi and I watched different movies. He spent the weekend watching violent spy/martial arts movies in the bedroom, and I watched goofy comedies in the living room. The only one we watched together was The Pacifier.
This is my fat cat, Tinkerbell. She was being cute, so I had to take a picture. It doesn't happen often. My children are killing each other. Darin's usually the one with cuts and bruises, but yesterday he got Tobi. Tobi's got a huge bruise on the side of his face, along with two small cuts right by his eye.
I also wanted to mention that I've listed some of my charts for sale on the Needle and Thread. It's not much (thanks to my pack rat tendencies), but we need the extra money right now. So anything I could bear to part with, that I've either already stitched, or I know I never will is listed. I need to go through my kits and add all that aida to the list, but my kits are the only thing that I don't really have organized. They're just scattered abound.
Lastly I want to answer the last two weeks' SBQs before this week's comes out. First, do you have an organizational system for your fabric? If so, what is it? If not, what do you store your fabric in? How do people store their fabric, especially those small but potentially usable pieces? Do they sort by count? How do they label it or otherwise know what each piece is? I kinda sorta have my fabric organized. I have a drawer in my big cart full of fabric. In the bottom, I have special cuts, in bags labeled with what they're for. On top of that, I have four stacks of fabrics: 1/16 yd., 1/8 yd., 1/4 yd., and 1/2 yd. pieces. They are labeled either with what they came with of masking tape with the maker, color, and count. I keep the stacks in alphabetical order by maker, then color, then count. The small, leftover, soon-to-be-ornament pieces all just get thrown into a bag in a drawer, together, no rhyme or reason. I pull out one when I need it, but since I'm so picky about fabrics, I don't use them very often. Some I have plans for, and just haven't gotten around to it.
Next! What do you keep your WIPs and other stitching supplies in when traveling? Okay, y'all are going to cringe. I keep my stitching in gallon size ziplock bags when I travel. I put my scissors, ort ball, and any other small supplies I need (threader, Thread Heaven, ect.) is a sandwich bag. I always travel with a back pack, and I stick both bags and my Q-Snaps in there. I don't travel very often though, so it doesn't come up much. Of course I always travel with at least two back up projects, in case I finish something (insert sarcastic laugh here). On the cruise, in January, I took what I was working on, my next start, and what I wanted to do after that. Bear in mind this was a cross stitch cruise, and we also got a kit the first night, and then another one that was our class project. I did finish the one I had started, and almost finished the sceond one. I probably would've, but I was missing two colors. Wow. More long stories. Time for some lunch, and then some stitching. I'm going to finish the orange today.

They're handicapped. They only have one X chromosome. I keep hearing stories lately about men being jerks. My stepdad had a hissy fit the other day because my mom didn't have her cell phone with her. She was gone for an hour (when she picked me and the boys up the other day), and he couldn't get in touch with her about something urgent. What was so urgent? He wanted her to have lunch with him. Then he came home and blew up at her in front of Grandma, Uncle Elza, Darin, and me (Tobi was in another room).
Yesterday, Jymi stayed home from work because he hadn't slept the night before. I felt bad, and tried to be extra nice. I went out with my mom (I'll get to that in a minute), and was gone for most of the day. When I came home, Jymi was testy, and walked away every time I tried to talk to him. After the boys had dinner and went to bed, Jymi ordered pizza for me and him. When I asked what he was getting, he had a temper tantrum and yelled at me about being nosy. Then I lost it, too. The clean version is that I tore into him for yelling at me and the boys when we had been nothing but nice to him all day. I told him I was sorry he hadn't slept well, but it wasn't my fault; I spent half the night falling out of bed because I didn't want to risk waking him to push him back over to his side. I had spent half my day trying to make him feel better, and all he had in return for me was meanness, and it was not appreciated. I walked away then, and Jymi went back into the bedroom to watch a movie. I went a little later to tell him the pizza was here. I also told him I was sleeping in the living room, because I didn't want to be in the same room with him in such a horrible mood. He ate in the kitchen, and I ate in the living room, but he was subdued. He gave me the last piece of pizza, even though he wanted it, and then he asked me to come outside with him while he smoked. I did and he gave me a hug and told me he was sorry for the way he acted. He said I was right; the boys and I didn't deserve to be treated that way. He was much nicer to me the rest of the evening, and I did sleep in the bed.
Anyway. On to stitching stuff. I'm almost finished with the roof. I had to go by the shop and pick up some more Maple Syrup. The pattern in the roof drove me crazy. The first length of Banker's Grey I pulled out was all grey. So when I needed a second length, I picked out another that was all grey, so it would match. Then I needed two strands of one more length of thread, and there were no more all grey lengths. So the bottom of the roof had some brown in it.

My mom, Darin, and I went to the fabric store yesterday. I needed to get away from my three children (Tobi, Darin, and Jymi). The deal was though, that I had to take one with me. I wanted to get some fabric to finish a quilt I started about two year's ago. I'll show a picture of it anothe day, because that is a long story, that starts with another quilt, and I've got enough long stories today. The fabrics on the left are for my quilt. The red is for the inner border, which will be about two inches, and the blue (dragon scales) will be the outer border, about four inches. That will make the quilt five feet square.
I got these fabrics for my Snowfight ornaments. I found the blue on the fat quarter table, and it was perfect. So I went through all the isles again until I found it in red. They also had it in green, but I resisted the urge to stash it. I don't quilt much, so there's not really any point. It's not like cross stitch fabric, where I have something in mind for it. They both have the same gold in them, but on the blue, it looks more silvery, so it will work for Snowfight: Blue.
While we were getting our fabrics cut (my quilt stuff and the red/gold swirly, and my mom got some cute cat fabric for a scrub top), down the table, they were opening up a couple bolts of Cars (Disney movie) fabric. My mom and I looked and said how much Tobi would love a Cars quilt, when the woman cutting our fabric said if we wanted we'd better get it now. People having been calling everyday asking for it, and it was going to go fast. I caved and bought three yards. I'm going to cut it in half, and make one for Tobi and one for Darin for Christmas presents. I'm going to put some racing flag fabric on the back (in flannel if I can find it), and some black binding. It's nothing challenging, but it will give me some practice at quilting. I don't really know what I'm going to do yet, but I've got to finish the house before I even really start thinking about it. I'm glad I got it though, because when we chacked out, the cashier told all the other cashiers, "We've got the Cars fabric! It's here!" If the customers don't buy it all, I think the employees might.
They also had trick-or-treat bags for fifty cents each. I got the boys each one. They glow in the dark. They were supposed to be part of a mummy costume that they had cut up so you could buy just the bags or just the costume. I'm not enough of a seamstress to actually make them costumes, but I can do bags. I asked Tobi this morning what he wanted to be for Halloween. He wants to be Tobi. He wants to be himself. I can't argue with that.
We had a blast yesterday. We had lunch at Max's, the best Mexican restraunt in the area. Acutally, it's about an hour away. It's in the same shopping center as Mary Jo's, the ultimate fabric store. Not counting the trick-or-treat bags, I bought six and a half yards of fabric and only spent thirty dollars. They have great prices and almost every fabric imaginable! After the fabric store, since Darin was good (I had a bag of M&Ms for bribery), we took him down the mall to the pet store. They had some gorgeous birds, most of which were bigger than Darin. He loved watching the bunnies drink, and the guinea pigs pop their heads out of their house. They has the cutest puppies. One loved Darin, and followed him around his cage. He loved the chihuahua puppy, and called it Roxy. They had a puppy like Roxy, but Darin didn't recognize it at a healthy weight.
That's enough long stories for today. The main point is I went shopping, and I bought more projects. That's really what I need. Have a nice weekend.

Here's Frankie Stein. I didn't get to start Greta last night. They gave me a new model when I took Pumkin Flower in. I want to have it done by the first of October, so I've still got plenty of time.
My new model is Simple Stitches Village Of The Month October Haunted House. I started it last night, and worked a couple hours on it. It's cute, but most of the symbols are very similar, making the chart harder to read. This is the same as Pumkin Flower: "We need this back as soon as possible. Like next week." This is a bigger challenge though. I'm going to have to get a hoop for it, though. The design is too big for my six inch Q-Snap, but the fabric is too small to fit well on the eight inch. This is all I will be doing today. I think once I get this one done, they're going to give me the next month's. They want a few of them done up, but they need the first one like yesterday. So rush, rush, rush. I guess the laundry will just have to wait. Darn.
The boys were wonderful at my mom's yesterday. My uncle was visiting, and he left this morning. The first thing the boys did was run to give my grandmother a hug. My sister's kids don't do that, and it makes her feel special. Of course, Grandma Faye was the first person Darin ever smiled at. That's one of her favorite memories, and she loves to tell people. So do I, actually. My grandma doesn't feel very good most of the time, and to know that my baby made her feel so wonderful makes me very proud. Tobi gave Grandma a hug and went to my uncle and said, "Who are you?" He told him, and laughed about it. It's an improvement. It wasn't that long ago he'd point to someone and say, "What is that?" The boys were both well behaved. Darin had a blast. He found the bucket where my mom puts the money she finds in the laundry. First he had to get all that paper out (what were those green papers doing in there?), then spent the afternoon, dumping the change out, handing to different people, taking it back, and putting it back in the bucket. He was happy. He also played with Roxy, my grandma's dog. Roxy doesn't like to play with balls, but she'd go get them if Darin threw them. My grandma and I took Roxy and Darin to get the mail, but it hadn't gone yet, so Darin and Roxy ran around the front yard together until it came a few minutes later. Then Darin rode back to the house on Grandma's lap, in her motorized wheelchair, which was so cool! He giggled the whole ride, and honked the horn. I couldn't beleive how good the boys were!

Try saying that five times fast! Thursday afternoon, the shop called and said they had a model that they needed as soon as possible. They had my Dragon Dreams charts I ordered, and my free chart! It's too cute! I can't wait to stitch it! They gave me Pumpkin Flower, a freebie from Full Circle Designs to stitch. It's going to be the free chart of the month, but they need time to frame it. It usually takes two weeks, for framing. So to have it framed by September first, they needed it done Friday. I picked it up Thursday. I spent all day Friday (about five hours stitching time) working on it. I also stitched eight and a half hours on it Saturday, and another four and half hours on it Sunday. Jymi and I watched movies all weekend, which is how I had so much time. We watched two and a half Lord Of The Rings movies, First Wives Club, and The Joy luck Club. I got it finished though, and I'm taking it to the shop this afternoon. My mom is taking the boys and me to lunch, and we're going to stop by the shop on the way. Here it is!

I finished the last of the eyelets on part one of Persian Iris Garden Thursday night. I would like to point out that each of the two days Jymi was home sick from work, I got the plants on one side done. When he went to work Thursday, I got two done. So I get twice as much done when he's not here! I'm going to finish my Hob Nobbs and then do part two. I'm going to do one part between finishing all the other things I have started. At least that's the plan for now.
After finishing Pumpkin Flower Sunday night, I finished Frankie Stein. I'll start Greta The Witch this evening. I'd put up a picture, but Blogger's gone funny, so I'll try again later.
Sharon asked about the stitch count on the stockings. Dragons By The Fire has a stitch count of 146 by 227, and Toys And Games Room is 135 by 206. I'm stitching both on 25 ct. Lugana.

Jymi has been driving me crazy!!!! I love him very much. With that being said, I'm so glad to get rid of him!!! He hasn't gone to work for two days. He doesn't feel well. Yet he still feels well enough to go to Blockbuster and rent video games, hog the computer at times I'm used to having it to myself, hog the TV playing his video games so that I can't watch anything, and have me "navigate" him through his games, which means looking up a walkthrough on GameFAQs, so that when I do get to use the computer, it's for him. I told him if he didn't go to work today, he would be going to the hospital; either he would have to be that sick, or I would have to kill him.
He also told me last night he wants to join the army active duty. I'm dealing with it as best I can. I posted most of my concerns on The Wagon. Other than leaving my family, and possibly moving somewhere where I don't know anyone, I'm a little excited. Unloading it all on the Wagon helped alot. We aren't telling our families until anything is certain. I am excited that we may try to have another baby. I always get baby fever around the boys' birthdays, but lately I've found myself thinking about it more and more. Discussing all this last night was the first time Jymi and I really considered it. This is the only way we will ever be able to afford it.
On to stitching stuff! Here's my progress on Dragons By The Fire from last week. I did find Darin's and my stockings. My mom stitched mine the year I was born, on aida. I did Darin's on Lugana. I started it as Tobi's, but when I looked at the two charts, I realized I had their personalities mixed up.
Here's my progress on Persian Iris Garden. It's coming along beautifully, but I'm sick of eyelets. I'm going to finish part one, and then move on to Frankie Stein and the rest of my Hob Nobbs. I'm trashing the rotation, and I'm going to work on the one I want done soonest. I haven't decided if I'm going to start Halloween Fairy by this Halloween, because I've got so many I want to get done by Christmas. I'm not going to have any of the same wips this New Year's as I did last year! So I've got to finish my stockings (hopefully by the first of December so I have enough time to finish finishing them), and Avatar.
Just in case I don't have enough stash, I'm considering adding the fabric and button packs for the Stitch Every Holiday series to my automatics from Shakespeare's Peddler. The only problem would be catching up. Maybe when money's better, I'll start. I could just start now and be a few months behind. I'll worry about that another day.
I just have to remember that everything works out for the best in the end.

I didn't get much stitching done this weekend. I hit the ground running when I woke up Friday. I went to the post office, the bank, and then to Target to get Darin's presents. In the check out line, I ran into my sister, and we decided to go get lunch. It was just Wendy's, but it was the first time I'd had lunch with a girlfriend without kids since high school! It was so quiet and peaceful! Then I had to get going again. I went to the shop and got my Glorianas, my Halloween Fairy, and also the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue Anniversary book I'd ordered had coem in. Then I had to pick up the cake, clean, and get everything ready for the party. Despite the constant rush I was in all day, I was enjoying the day. The all of Jymi's family called to tell us none of them were coming to his party. I was so upset! His aunt was sick, and his grandmother has problems with her back and legs, and had been having a bad week. There was no reason, though, his parents couldn't have come. Darin had a great time though, and that's what's important. I've got some cute pictures, but Blogger won't let me put them up.
Saturday, Jymi's grandparents invited us over for lunch, and Jymi's parents came too. They gave Darin presents then. At least this year they remembered him. Last year they didn't even call us between the end of June and the middle of September. They only called them because they knew Jymi should be coming home soon. Jymi was at boot camp, and called me every Sunday, and wrote me at least twice a week. They got one phone call and three letters the entire five months he was gone. I try hard and bite my tounge alot so that Jymi never feels like he has to choose between me and his family, particularly his mom. It's unfair to ask Jymi choose. I'm not worried too much about it though, because she has put him in that position before, and he chose me. We've been together six years; you'd think they'd realize I'm not going anywhere.
I slept all day Sunday. I started stitching at seven at night, while Jymi and I watched V For Vendetta (I loved it, Jymi hated it; it was about an idea, and there wasn't much violence). I stitched for two hours on Persian Iris Garden, but got very little done. I kept miscounting and having to frog it all out. After we turned off the movie, I finished all the cross stitching in part one. I'm going to try to finish part one today. I also made some nice progress on Dragons By The Fire, but again, no pictures today.
Here's last week's SBQ: for those of you who use hand or over-dyed floss, how do you store it? I store it the same as the rest of my thread. I put the in snack bags, and write the manufacturer name and color name and/or number. In the case of all my Dinky Dyes, I also wirte whether they are silks or cottons. All those little bags are put in alphabetical or numerical order, and put into a gallon size freezer bag by brand.
So that's all my babbling. Hopefully, I will be able to put up pictures tomorrow.

First I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments! They are always appreciated!
Here is a picture of Tobi's Garfield. Right now it's a bright orange blob, though. On the right is Tobi's Christmas stocking. I worked on it yesterday, and finished all the cross stitching on the wallpaper. I hate stitching the wallpaper on those stockings. I was working on the top blue line while watching Footballer's Wives, and I wasn't getting much done. Now that I look at my alternate stocking top, it doesn''t have that line anyway, so I have to find Darin's and see how I did his. The problem is when I went to look for it this morning, I couldn't find any of my Christmas stitching! I'm missing Darin's and my stockings, and my nativity scene. I'll have to clean up the closet to find them, and that's not a project for first thing in the morning. That's a Saturday-when-I-can't-stand-Jymi-and-the-kids-anymore-and-I-need-a-break job.
I worked on Avatar on Tuesday. There's not much you can see when you look at the whole thing, but if you can see in the smaller picture, I stitched clouds. Never ending clouds that are the reason I put it down for so long. I finished all the half stitches and all of the whole stitches in that color on the page I was working on. One more page of B5200, then two shades of grey, and I will be done with these evil clouds.
I don't think my rotation is going to last much longer. I think at the end of this week, I'll just pick something and stick with it. I'm a little excited. Tomorrow I will have my Halloween Fairy and my Glorianas! I'll have to order more silks for my garden. Martina released a corrected part four, and it requires two more colors. At least after that, I'll only need nine more colors.
I won't get much stitching done tomorrow; I've got too many errands. I've got to go to the post office, pick up Darin's cake, go to the shop, go clean my mom's, go home, shower, give the boys baths, and then go back to my moms' for Darin's party. I'll have all day Saturday and Sunday, though, to work on Persian Iris Garden.

Jymi nearly had a panic attack while driving me to the hospital, screaming. We got there at 9:17, an "Baby Darin" was born at 9:24. I didn't get drugs. I didn't get an IV. I didn't get hooked up to a monitor. I didn't even get a hospital gown! I couldn't believe how beautiful he was. He looked so much like Tobi did, when he was born. He was bald too, and had the same dark, dark blue eyes. Now Darin's have turned brown. They told me when babies are born with such dark blue eyes they usually go brown, but Tobi's didn't.
Jymi had never seen a birth before. My mom said she'd never heard him talk so much. He spent the night in the hospital with me, but neither of us could sleep. We just looked at each other and giggled.
Now my baby is three! I can't believe it. I could swear I just had him. We learned when I went into labor that Darin was impatient and persistent. It's nice to know some things never change. Happy birthday, Darin!
Oh well. On to stitching stuff. I'll have plenty more to babble about Darin's birthday after his party, Friday. I started Frankie Stein Sunday, and made alot of progress. I think I spent about five hours stitching. The fabric is much brighter in real life. It's Midas Jazlyn from Picture This Plus. All the pictures on their website have it as a yellow, or a gold. My piece is a light, bright orange. I'll try to get a better picture next time. I love the colors. I wasn't sure they'd be okay together, and I was afraid they might be too bright. I think they look good. I'm actually love the green, and that was the one I was most unsure about. I'll finish up Frankie, and start Greta next time.
I also started Tobi's Garfield yesterday. Blogger won't let me post a picture. I got about five hours in on him, too. I'm liking it alot more than I thought I would. I generally don't like stitching cartoon characters, but Garfield's a pretty easy stitch. Tobi keeps asking if I'm done yet. Hopefully it won't take me too long. I want to have it for his birthday present. So that gives me tweleve more days to work on it before I need to take it in for framing, assuming my rotation lasts that long. I want to add Halloween Fairy and the Stitch Every Holiday series soon. I'm still waiting for the new one to come out. Shakespeare's Peddler is moving, so I probably won't get my stuff for another week or two. I also want to do Stitching The Standard (thanks to Gill, at least its a freebie) and I want to start Merlin And Aurthur soon. I guess I'm eager to go blind, with all that over one stitching. They'll both be on 28 ct, though, so hopefully it won't be as bad as Dragonwings.
No new projects until I finish something! Anything! Must resist startitis!

I got a call from the shop yesterday afternoon. The day after I pick up my other threads, my Glorianas came in. Oh well. I was going in next Friday anyway to pick up my kit. They're out of alot of the usually in stock Needlepoint Inc. silks, so they may have those in, too, by Friday. They ship fast. It's usually there about three days after they order.
I worked on Snowfight: Blue yesterday. After meaning to get it done for three months, I've started. I was doing really good untiil some neighborhood boys sat at out gate, making the dogs bark. I went ahead and fed them, all the while the boys asking how much we had paid for Aurora, and then if they could buy her from us! Of course, I told them no, and they left. As soon as I got back inside, Jymi called. He and another guy from drill had gotten a hotel room so they wouldn't have to sleep at the armory. Then we had a fight because we didn't have the money to pay for a hotel room, and I had told him that! He had to go get dinner, and I couldn't stitch while I was so mad at him! I'd make too many mistakes. I started again after he called back and apologized. It was too late to do anything about the money, but it will be the things he wants that we will go without for the next couple weeks. By the time we got off the phone, it was eleven. I stitched for another hour, then went to bed.
I can't sleep well when Jymi's gone. I guess I need someone to snore, kick me, and elbow me in the head all night long. So I couldn't get to sleep until on, and I couldn't sleep past seven. That doesn't sound so bad, but I usually sleep from midnight to nine, so that's three hours less than I'm used to. So I am not in the best mood this morning. Darin isn't either. He woke up thrwing a tantrum because he was hungry. He threw it all the way to the kitchen where he knocked over his milk. Then he had a tantrum about that. After that, he got mad at me because I told him not to put his straw in the heating/air conditioning vent. Now he's throwing himself at the door, because he's mad that I put him in time out. He doesn't seem to understand that he can come out as soon as he calms down. Tobi knows this very well, and keeps telling him, "Be quiet, Darin! Then you can play!" What Darin doesn't know is I used to throw temper-tantrums that lasted for days. I can go as long as he can. It's going to be a hell of a day, and it's only 9:15. God, please give me strength!

Most of my threads finally came in! I went to the shop yesterday to take in the pillow and order the silks for part four, the Halloween Fairy, and the stuff from the Charlotte show. I asked if I had anything, and I had everything except the Glorianas. So yesterday I stitched as much as I could on Persian Iris Garden. I didn't get very far, as you can see, but I was excited about finally starting! The picture is dark blue, but the fabric is black. I got twenty dollars for the pillow, and they applied my credit towards the threads. It was actually a couple dollars over, but they just put me in the hole, and will take it out of my next model. They should have something new for me after the show. Since I worked on my garden yesterday between errands, I didn't get to In Every Nest, but I probably will next week.
I did work on Jymi's stocking after dinner Thursday. It's not much, but it's alot more than I had been doing. This one messes with my percentage calculations. I usually multiply height by width, and whenever I stitch an entire square, I add it to my total. This has so many empty squares because of the shape, that way of doing it says I'm a quarter of the way through it.
Dinner was nice Thursday. We went out to celebrate Darin's, Jymi's grandmother's, and her sister-in-law's birthdays. After dinner, they brought three small cakes, so there was enough for everyone. There were fifteen of us. They sang, too, but before they even started, Darin was trying to blow out his candle. I had to hold his head back, because he was getting so close trying, that he almost burned the tip of his nose. He was great, though.
That's everything, I think. I'm starting Snowfight: Blue today. I've got the first disk of season one of Footballer's Wives (because I need another prime time soap opera to get sucked into), plus a new Eddie Izzard special and an old one recorded. So I've got lots to watch today while I stitch. The great thing about tv on dvd is no commercials to fast forward though. Time for lunch, and then stitching. Have a nice weekend!

I finished Winter 9 Patch this morning. It would've been finished last night, but I couldn't find the charms. They sat on the edge of my table forever, and I was finally ready for them, and I couldn't find them! I tore through my cart, thinking it might have been knocked into a drawer by a big, fat cat who likes to sleep on top of it. They weren't there, and they weren't under the chair. I could not find them anywhere! I gave up, planning to look again in the morning. I went to turn the boy's TV off, and as I did, I saw the baggy they were in under Darin's bed. So this morning, the three of us picked up their room, and I did find the charms. I also found the floor! That was kind of cool, too.
Today is supposed to be Dragons By The Fire, since I don't have anymore paid pieces. It is also Jymi's grandmother's birthday, so we're all going out to dinner tonight. Jymi's going to have to jump in the shower as soon as he gets home in order to buy her a card and get to the restaurant on time. Which means, the boys and I have to be ready by five, so I have to be in the shower by four, so I have to get the boys in the tub by 2:30, at the latest. I'm afreaid if I pick up my stitching, it will all get put off, and I'll end up rushing around at the last minute. I'll stitch on it this evening, after we get back.
So I've spent the morning, after attaching the charms, straightening up my stash. I've put up all the threads I pulled for The Lord's Prayer, and my new ones. I've still got a few skeins that need to be put away , but I ran out of baggies. I also pulled some colors for my Hob Nobb Doodles. It's all nice and neat now. It'll last a whole week this time!
Sharon asked if I was going to change the fabric for my Halloween Fairy. I've considered it, but right now, it's just not in my budget, and I want to start as soon as possible. I also told Jymi how it was so expensive because it comes with everything, and I wouldn't have to buy anything else for it. I like the idea of them all being on the same color fabric, too. I'm thinking that way I can just get different mats for them, and one frame, and switch them out for the different holidays.
Here's this week's SBQ: do you have a favorite needlework tool that you like to work with? What is it and why do you like using it? I don't really have anything special. I use Q-Snaps, and I have scissors and needles. I use a needle threader with metallic threads, and if I'm stitching very long lines (like the border on Dragonwings), I use some pins to mark every twenty stitches. I use a corder to make the cording for Christmas ornaments. Nothing special.
Aurora gave us a scare last night. I went outside in the evening to feed and water them, and Aurora was laying on the ground, not moving. Jymi came out to help me. All the vets were closed, so there wasn't anything we could really do. She couldn't seem to get up. We couldn't get her to eat or drink anything. We poured some water on her to cool he off, ad Jymi poured some in her mouth. We just knew she wouldn't make it throught the night. We put her in the dog house, on all the comfy blankets, so she would be a comfortable as possible. I checked on her before I went to bed around one, and she would at least pick up her head when I talked to her. Jymi woke me this morning before he left for work (at five) to tell me she was walking around in the yard. When I got up at nine, I fed and watered them again (Lula seems to be healthier than ever). At first I worried, because I didn't see Aurora, and I was worried she had gotten out. When I poured the food in the bowl, though, she came from around the other side of the house. She didn't eat her food, but was interested in Lula's. Lula growled though. She knows she's the alpha dog, which is kind of weird to see. Our little five pound, six inch Jack Russell terrier is the boss of our twenty pound, two foot German shepard-husky mix. I went out with more water at noon, and Aurora seems to have eaten a little. I topped off their water bowls, an poured the rest on them to help keep them cool. Aurora's fine now. I guess she just got too hot yesterday, but I spent the night crying, all upset. Jymi, who is usually too busy at work to call me, has made time to call twice to make sure Aurora was okay. As crazy as the animals drive us, we really have have six kids. Everytime we get a new pet, Jymi jokes it's out daughter. I guess it's true.

Six and a half hours of stitching time later, I have finished The Lord's Prayer! I stayed up until one this morning working on the backstitch. I got all of it done except the brown around the branches, which I finished up this morning! I'm going to take it with me to the shop and see what they think I should charge for it. It took me just over twenty-six hours, there were lots of quarter stitches on aida, and a lots of confetti stitching, all of which add up to make the price higher.
I finished the snowflake block yesterday, before I started the backstitch. I worked on the green one this afternoon. When I get done writing this, I'm going to start the last block. I'll probably finish it tomorrow, then I'll take it back Friday.
Jymi and I talked about money yesterday. He said he wanted ten dollars a week to put toward his game, plus the monthly fee. I said that was fine, as long I also got ten dollars a week towards my stash, plus my fabric of the month. So I'm thinking with my credit and my ten from this week and the ten from next week, I can go ahead and order my Halloween Fairy this week. It'll come in next Thursday, so that would actually work out perfect. I tried to explain my urget need for the fairy kits to Jymi. That was, let's say interesting. I told him that they were limited editions, and I wanted to get the oldest one first. I also explained how I had been resisting, but the new Halloween one was just too cute, and I loved it so much, and now I had to have them all. His reply? Are you ready? He said, "Why don't you go ahead and get the Halloween one? That way, it'll be Halloween when you finish it." I couldn't believe my ears! He was giving me permission. So I'll order it this week, and pick it up next week. I think then, I'll just ask my mom to actually pay me instead of taking it off the rent when I clean. So now I'm all excited! I get new stuff, and I don't have to hide it from Jymi!
My dad came to visit today. He went to see my sister and her kids, then they all came over here, with pizza. He bought Tobi's "Wolfie" (his new favorite toy). It's a stuffed wolf, that has very quickly become a security item for Tobi. Tobi wanted to show Grandpa, but he wouldn't let him touch it. Only Alex, my niece, was allowed to hold her. I know Wolfie's a girl because some of Tobi's and Darin's other smaller stuffed dogs are her babies, and Tobi refers to her as the mommy.
My dad's not sure he's going to be able to fix our car. He's gone back to Virginia, and he's going to confer with some other mechanics. I'm not that worried about it. At this point, I've very serene about. If we can fix it, great. If not, we'll sell it to a junkyard or something. No big deal. Que sera, sera.

I've got two and one third blocks left to do on Winter 9 Patch. I will take it to the shop Friday, if I have to stay up all night Thursday. I have to go in Friday, because I have to get in my order for the Charlotte show. I want two of Dragon Dreams' new releases, Lost Dragon Sampler and Illustrative Blackwork Fantasy. These were both class pieces and they are finally going to be released. I also have to have the new free chart, Evening Dragon. Plus I have to order some more silks for Persian Iris Garden. They'll get an order in Thursday, so it will take forever to get them in. That's the way my luck works.
The very good news is that I have finished all the cross stitch on The Lord's Prayer. The backstitch will take at least a couple days, but maybe I can get it in the mail this weekend. I don't think it will be that bad. I'm going to sit down and make sure I get at least an hour in on the pillow, and then spend the rest of my time trying to finish up this. My blog looks kind of weird to me at the moment. These projects don't look like me. I primarily stick to fantasy and Halloween designs. Oh, well. These will buy me Halloween and fantasy stash.
I did talk to Jymi about everything that was bothering me. He apologized, and made a wonderful effort to show me he meant it. He offered to cook dinner if I'd wash all the dishes (we put that off for tomorrow, which is now today). He did help with the cooking, since it was getting late, and I wanted to shower before dinner. He is trying cut down, and doing a pretty good job. Where he was smoking a pack in two days, it is now taking him four!
My dad is coming down tomorrow to look at the car. He's also bringing my sister's kids their school supplies he bought them, and Darin's birthday present. He called Sunday to tell me my aunt Molly died. That was hard to take. She's not really a close relative (she's my grandfather's half brother's wife), but she was always a very sweet person. No matter what horrible thing I'd done, Aunt Molly never judged me or made me feel bad. She had heart disease and diabetes, and she had survived breast cancer. She was very sick, and had been for awhile. Every spring she made chocolates (which were the best I've ever tasted!) and sold them at local shops. She usually kept a hundred to cover the expenses (which it didn't) and gave the rest to breast cancer research. She was a wonderful, kind, sweet person, who made everyone she knew feel loved. Jymi only met her once, right after we had Tobi, even he remembers how loud they were (his family's very quiet and polite, mine's not) and how as soon as we got there Aunt Molly started cooking! I'll miss her.