Oh the joy of sending off another order, I love fabric dying! And thanks to everyone that's taken a look at my pretties, more thanks to those who have tried them out :)

I had a long whiny post for you about missing the Nashville market but have decided in my benevolence to spare us all. Suffice it to say, Nashville market does not go by unnoticed around here, I'm just now able to bring myself to look at all the new goodies without lamenting that I couldn't see them in person or that I didn't have any of my own new releases this year. End whine.

My stitching mojo has been found!! It only took me herniating a disc in my back and my husband getting in a car accident the same week for me to realize if I expected to survive without my head exploding in a giant ball of frazzled nerves I'd darn well better start flossing up my needle and making therapeutic x's once more. Behold, the last picture of the fruits of my labor...
I actually finished this piece on Saturday night during a Charmed marathon with my sister. She is having the need for therapeutic x's as well so I set her up with L*K's Big Girl Panties. She insists Charmed is our next big addiction for TV and stitching...we shall see. I could just as easily do Las Vegas, Corner Gas, McLeod's Daughters...I'll stop there. Anyhoo, I realized I have to finish this piece into something, and the idea was totally unappealing. And then...it hit me...what if..no, no, I can't think it...what if...I...did...NOT...finish...it...and...instead...put...it...away...for...later? A lot of you do this. Some of you have drawers, some of you have rubbermaid tubs, and the world has not ended. And so, rebel that I am, I give myself full permission to stitch anything I want without having to actually make it into something. Thank you all for liberating me!!

And now, once again, the dilemma, what to stitch next???? I have to say The Primitive Needle seems to be channeling where Birds of a Feather left off and so this and this make me want to scream, "Get into MAH (my) belly!!" which in normal speak = Please immediately fall into my lap now now now now now :) I see they also have a Yule one which might make me break my no Xmas stitching rule. I actually was designing a sampler very similar to the Hallow one but they did it way better!! Seasonally though, I should really stitch this, it's summery and has an awesome ugly bird and BOOBS on the mermaid, I totally have a thing for stitched mermaid boobs.
Ultimately, I think I will stitch this next as I already have it plus I have the ugliest fabric of mine that I am dying to use that would be perfect. But mermaid...boobs...how can I not??

We sent our oldest minion off to San Diego yesterday for the week with his school. He will have a great time, and I have a week off!!! Feeding and walking evil puppy myself and taking out trash is a small price to pay for an attitudeless, know-it-all free week I am used to him being gone on trips since he's been doing that with scouting for awhile. Speaking of evil puppy, this is a completely unedited photo of her from last night. I always thought there was something strange about her...

Labels: birds of a feather, dogs, evil puppy, fabric, finish, kids, LHN Stars and Stripes, the primitive needle, tv shows, with thy needle and thread

Signs you should have stayed in bed:

-You step out of bed and step onto a packet of ketchup, which promptly pops under your pixie-like weight (snort), and sprays your legs, the bed, the walls, the dog, and your nightshirt. You pause to wonder how that much ketchup could possibly be in a bitty little packet. You stagger gracefully into the bathroom to shower, dragging the dog along with you. You accuse said dog of dragging the packet into the bedroom to begin with. The accused simply smiles a doggy smile.

-You are ready for the day and sit on the couch--in dog vomit. You utter a few choice words, the dog smiles, and you stomp off to change.

-When complaining about the ketchup (there is nothing like a bit of squishy squishy between your toes to truly wake a person), your daughter corrects you--it was TACO sauce, Mooooooooommm. Oh...of course...that makes this normal and acceptable...silly me. Remind me to leave some taco sauce in her room tonight by her bed...the hot kind! Taco Bell 4th meal, here I come!



There's nothing worse than being sick enough to watch TV but too sick to stitch, it's quite torturous. On the bright side, it gave me plenty of thinking time for designing. I'm excited about all the new ideas I have and some new releases I finally have planned.

Above and below are my meager progress on my WIPS, the few lucid moments I had I stitched and frogged. I have to say I love silks, the stitches look so nice on the fabric! I only have one row to go on the SB Tiny Flag, so close! I am still fighting the LHN threads, they are determined to look gosh-awful no matter what methods I use. Speaking of gosh awful, I don't know why my camera won't photo needlework without being blurry, I will have to practice so that I can stop tormenting us all.



In an effort to shame myself into cleaning, here is a long awaited example of the disarray my office is in. I do keep my designer materials nice and tidy, it's just my personal stash that is out of control. Feel free to click for a close-up of chaos.



Lastly, my son graduated from the Teen Police Academy over the weekend. We have been after him about his hair for months but thought it was one of those battles not worth fighting. I did plan on having him cut it before school starts but he got it done himself.

Before photo from the skate park last month with the shaggy 70s hair:



After photo with him and an instructor at his Teen Police academy graduation (practicing his Tough Teen stare):



Totally different kid, right? No one recognizes him now, even his great grand-mother was confused.

Labels: kids, LHN Stars and Stripes, Shepherd's Bush, stash storage, Tiny Flag, WIP

That's how I'm feeling today after the weekend: falling asleep in my chair ;) A coworker has very kindly let us use his pool while he is out of town for the next month or so. Yes, we spent a good chunk of time there trying to cool off. I picked up Tuna (daughter) and her friends from camp (you can't imagine how happy she was we'd saved several days of unwashed dishes for her return). I got the stash weeded a bit and have quite a few leaflets and older Cross Stitch and Country Crafts (with those awesome stocking masterpieces) ready to list somewhere to sell. My brother flew into town for an hour to pick up his daughter as he has custody for a few months so we had a nice family breakfast.

No stitching to speak of...here is where I am stalled at (ok, I have actually done more than this but not much):


Had to share a photo of what my oldest son does when stuck at my work since I shared Chase's clubhouse under my desk:


I hope to get some stitching in today, so many projects that need starting!

I was asked what I wanted for my birthday...what I was hoping for was enough cash to get any of these:
-Bianca ginghers 4"
-SB exclusive 2008 fob
-SB Bianca ginghers engraved 4"

I'll have to work harder on my stash sale!

Speaking of scissors, I'd been asked for a photo of the SB engraved awhile back--I am still looking. I did buy a rubbermaid keeper for my scissor collection a few weeks back so now I need to round up my scissors. It looked like an impossibly large box but since most of my scissors are in the gingher cases still I wonder if it will fill up quickly. Not sure how to store my other 4" scissors that are not in cases, anyone have ideas?

Labels: kids, LHN Stars and Stripes, Shepherd's Bush, WIP, wishlist