I did finish all the wallpaper on the first page, but by the time I finished, was ready to move on. So for the whole SAL, I only got in about five hundred stitches.
I'm not sure what to work on next. Starting in October, I'm going to work on Tobi's stocking exclusively, so I may go ahead and start working on it.
Believe it or not, I haven't bought anything in a week. I haven't started anything in two weeks! I must be sick or something. Of course, I'm considering another new star when I finish Tobi's stocking. Darin loves penguins, so I bought The Magic Place a while back. Since I've got a Schimmel started for Tobi, and I'll be starting one for my dad, I might as well start Darin's too. Plus I've got Merlin And Arthur started for Jymi. That way I'll have something for everyone. It won't be much longer before I never have to start another project again! of course, I will anyway, but that's beside the point.

Labels: HAED, Ruby QS, Tobi's Stocking

There's a background SAL on the HAED board, and I'll be working on Ruby. This is my progress from my last post. Not much but I have gotten a few lengths in. I'm hoping to get at least all the wallpaper on the first page done in the SAL. Jymi now has Internet in his room, and I've been spending alot of time talking to him, instead of stitching.
I am ready to start walking everywhere. Two weeks ago, my car overheated, and I got the radiator replaced. A couple days ago, it overheated again. I took it back to the shop. They told me it was fixed, and I picked it up. I went to the library and and Wendy's, and the damn thing overheated again. I'm out of money to get it fixed though. I'm tempted to use the money on a baseball bat instead, and use it to "fix" the car.
The boys are driving me nuts. Tobi has another new girlfriend, Emily. At this rate, he'll be out of girls in his class by Christmas. Darin loves talking to Jymi online. Both boys get a kick out of seeing him on the webcam, and waving back. He's trying to irritate me at the moment, though and it's working. So that's all my babbling for today. I've gotta go get Darin out of the bathroom, and yell at my husband online. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Labels: Jymi, Kids, Real Life Sucks, Ruby QS

Here's a couple old SBQs. How did you get started stitching? Was there a person that inspired you? When I was little my mom and sister used to go to the Spirit Of Cross Stitch Festival in Winston Salem. When they came back one year, I asked if they'd teach me, too. I think I was about eight or nine. So they gave me a piece of pink Aida and a purple, blue, and green variegated thread. They showed me how t make an X, told me they all had to go the same way, and told me to make my name. They sat with me and watched. A little later when I'd finished, I asked for another piece of fabric. They gave me a bag with some small scrap sized pieces and let me pick what I wanted. I picked out the purple one, and began stitching my name again. When I brought it to Kathy, she looked surprised. I'd picked a 28 ct. or 32 ct. piece and was stitching over one. I stitched my name on that, too.
I picked up several kits after that, but never finished anything. I started a nativity scene from a magazine with seven little figures. I finished those at various points in time, but I finished the entire thing while pregnant with Darin in 2003.
Would you ever stitch one of your BAPs a second time? (This does not include starting over because of mistakes, bad fabric, etc., rather stitching something from the first stitch for a second time.) I kinda did this yesterday. As a general rule, no. The exception was Earth Song. I did consider it for awhile, before deciding to stitch something else instead.
Here is another question, but this one is from The Floss Box. The Internet has made it incredibly easy to share free patterns (I am not referring to pirated stuff). Do you spend less money now on buying patterns these days because of the access to good quality free patterns than a few years ago when freebies weren’t so common? To be honest, I think the only freebies I've ever stitched are the Dragon Dreams Christmyth series. I collect alot of freebies, but because I haven't invest any money in these projects yet, they get stuck on the bottom of my to do list. I don't think it's had any impact on the charts I buy. To me, freebies are meant to be a taste of a designer's style, to see if you'd like to purchase more. Anyway, that's enough of my opinions today.

Labels: SBQ

Here's my weekend progress on Ruby! I got in almost eight hundred stitches! Right now, my plan is to keep working on it for the rest of the month, but I'm not great with plans.
I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but Earth Song, which I started because I thought Jymi'd like it, has now also been claimed by Tobi and my dad. My dad is a big Schimmel fan. I've been thinking about it, and I've decided to keep Earth Song here, for Tobi and Jymi. Instead, I'll stitch Only One Home for my dad instead. He loves tigers, too, so he'll still like it. Plus, it's relatively small for a HAED. He stitches a little, but he says he can't see well enough to stitch over one. I suggested Schimmel to HAED, and they sent me a copy of the email the sent to his representation. I forwarded it to my dad, and sent him a link when the charts were first put on the site. He bought Tobi some of Schimmel's children's books when we lived with him. I looked through one the other day (they'd been packed up in the box with the grown up books when we moved), and saw Earth Song! There were several others I'd love to see charted, but I can't find any of them online.
I showed my grandma one of the HAEDs I had started, and she doesn't ask about my cross stitch anymore. Now she calls it my "fancy work." She likes to see what I've done, since she can't sew anymore herself. Her arthritis is so bad, she can't even thread a needle anymore.
I got to talk to Jymi everyday this weekend! At regular times too, not at two in the morning. I sent him a box full of stuff, and when I told him what they were, I couldn't believe what excited him most. I sent him Kool Aid singles to put in his water and Rice Krispie Treats. Never mind the stuff he had told me he needed or the DVDs, he was getting Kool Aid and cookies! The DVDs, by the way, were cartoons (The Simpsons and Family Guy). I always thought my mom was kidding when she told me men never grow up.
I've found a great new way to get some good exercise. I took Darin to the park after dropping Tobi off at school. The park has a mile and a half trail. I took Darin for a walk before going to the playground. He walked for about half a mile, then his legs got tired. So for the next mile, I gave him a piggyback ride. Talk about having a monkey on your back! That was the best work out I've had in a long time! The half mile Darin walked on his own served as a nice warm up, too. After the walk, Darin payed on the playground for about an hour, while I rested. Once we got home, Darin went straight to bed for a nap until it was time to go pick up Tobi. We've done this twice now, and I'm definitely gonna make this a regular thing!

Labels: Earth Song, HAED, Jymi, Kids, Ruby QS

I've been stitching, but I've been having issues with the printer/scanner. I finally gave up on Angel Of Capricorn for the moment. The colors are pretty, but it's more confetti than I want to deal with right now.
I started Dragonfly Quick Stitch. It was another big block of black, like Earth Song, so it was nice and easy. It looks funny up close, but from a distance, you can start to see the picture.
For once I didn't start something new. I pulled out Ruby again. I've only put in two lengths of thread though, so it's not enough for a picture. Soon though. Emerald was just released, and everytime she releases the next in the series, I get the urge to stitch on Ruby again.
Life's been hectic. We're all feeling better Tobi's on his second "girlfriend" at school. Darin got better, but he's feeling worse today. He went to the doctor last week for his check up. He got three shots, and I think this is just from those. They said he was in the fiftieth percentile for height, but only the tenth for weight. They said not to worry; he's just like Jymi, tall and scrawny. After a few minutes with him, the doctor went to get his shots. She came back with an extra nurse. After that little bit of time with Darin, she knew she'd need some extra help to hold him down. They also told me his iron was low, and ordered some blood work.
The next day, I was planning to take him to the lab, but the car overheated while taking Tobi to school. So we spent the day at my mom's, waiting for them to finish. They said I needed a new radiator, and it would take, at most, three hours. That was at ten. They called me at FIVE! That was after I'd called twice to see if it was ready. I am proud of Tobi's school though. My mom took us to pick him up, and when the helpers told the teachers Tobi's ride was there, they held him back, saying, "No, that's not Tobi's car." I had to get out and show them it was Tobi's mom, even if it wasn't Tobi's car. I love his school.

Labels: Angel Of Capricorn, Dragonfly QS, HAED, New Starts, Real Life Sucks, Ruby QS

My August goals were all new starts. I wanted to start: Angel Of Capricorn, Earth Song, and Wizard Of Oz. I decided I didn't want to start Wizard of Oz right now anymore. I did get a good start on Earth Song. I am doing better with Angel Of Capricorn, but it's still slow going. It's not quite confetti, but it's not far from it.
This month, I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm thinking I'll just wing it, and stitch on whatever sounds good when I put down something else. Waiting is calling me very loudly, but I don't have fabric yet. We'll see.
I decided Oriental Courage would be my waiting-in-the-car-for-Tobi project. It's small and only has one color. Right now I'm still rereading, so I don't need it yet. Besides, right now, it's so insanely hot (the a/c in both cars are broken), that I'm not even willing to think about taking a piece of fabric have in my lap. Yesterday, I rolled up my jeans as far as I could. I've also been putting three bottles of water in the freezer at lunch, so they'll stay cool the whole time in the car.
Tobi's doing well in school. He was the Star Student one day last week. He got in trouble one day, and after a evening of no video or computer games, he was so much better behaved, that his teacher called to remark on his improvement! he's a little upset that he doesn't get to go on Monday.
Right now we're all sick, and he may not go Tuesday either, if he's not better. He seems to have it worst. At bedtime, he told me he thought he needed to go to the doctor, but they won't be open again until Tuesday. If he gets worse, I'll take him to the emergency medical center, but I really think it's just the flu, though. Darin and I are both feeling horrible, too. I had to get some groceries earlier, and I could barely lift Darin to put him in the cart. He's only thirty pounds! We're all exhausted and miserable. Which is why there's no updated picture of Angel Of Capricorn. I have made progress, I'm just wiped out to get up and scan it. I will post one when I fell better.
Jymi has arrived in Iraq. He says it's pretty quiet at the moment. Cross your fingers, and hope it stays that way.

Labels: Angel Of Capricorn, Goals, Jymi, Kids, New Starts, Real Life Sucks