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

I finished this before camping. Not a great photo but I will have a better one once it's finished. I had planned to frame this alons with SB Live that I completed early in May but when I got my frames out this weekend I realized I either need to dig deeper for the smaller frames or finish them as smalls. I really like the idea of having these tiny things framed, so we shall see what happens!

Labels: finish, SB 2006 fob, Shepherd's Bush

It's done! Because I announced to the world my goal, I did finish it this weekend. I also did some work in the office and laundry room. I'm trying not to be depressed that you can't tell I did work, and that I don't have a clue on what to do with stuff. Little by little, I know it will get done because IT HAS TO!

So what next? I did find a UFO from Christmas, I didn't even remember working on! It's Mrs. Moriarty's Ski Hat from Moss Creek in an older JCS ornament issue. I was thinking I should work on it, most of it is backstitch, and the colors I picked are really pretty. Wish me luck!

I am working up the nerve to release a few new designs, although I may have missed my window since they are wedding/anniversary type stitches, but are pretty close to one-nighters so they would make good gifts. Hmmmmm....

On the blogging front, I've noticed Petra has closed down, and she and other stitchers on 123 MB have said that blogging takes up stitching time. I thought about this for awhile, but have decided that blogging is actually good for me. First off, it gives me motivation, whether I'm reading someone's or writing my own. And secondly, I recently went back and read some of my first posts, what a great mini-journal of my stitching and my life. I'd have no idea what projects I had completed and when without this blog. So for now, my blog is safe!

Labels: blogging, finish, Live kit, Shepherd's Bush, SNS designs

Here is my WIP of SB "Live", I got about half and hour in yesterday night at my mom's birthday party, it's close to half finished. I love the colors (SB is amazing) and it really pops on the R & R linen. The linen is so pretty I could frame it alone, and the whole piece is mottled subtly, delicious! It felt good to be stitching again. I think part of the reason I don't anymore is that I don't have anywhere comfortable to sit that has good lighting. Something to think about...

I was thinking a good motivator for getting my office clean (the room that has not had floor for 4 years now) would be to take pics and post them here. Perhaps I will be ridiculed enough about the way I treat my poor stash that I will have to change!

Labels: Live kit, Shepherd's Bush, WIP