Attack of the Killer Frogs

Well, not so killer, unless you count my ego. I’m stitching away today on something I’ve been working at in a very piecemeal fashion and I get halfway around and realize that something is off. There are four sets of stitched hearts, with colors building on each other in a gradient. I look at it carefully and come to the ugly conclusion that I’ve built up the motif I’m about to work on one thread off from where it should be. Which brings the inevitable question of how the heck did I manage to do that? I mean seriously how? This is a small piece, folks. A Just Nan WhimZi that is 2 inches square. How do you screw that up? But somehow I managed to do it. So, I rip it out (fortunately, there were only two colors laid down so far), all the while berating myself in my head. I restitch it and get it back to where it was and lay the color that I had been working with when all of this started in its place below the others. I get to the fourth side of the square, only to find another problem. Oh come on! Seriously? What is my problem? This is not a complex design I’m working with. Sheesh! The best I can figure is that when I was counting out to the middle to do this new mistake I’ve found, I must have started the count from the side that was off. I hope.

My biggest concern now is not just what other stupid mistakes I will find as I continue, but what did I do wrong today that I’ll find the next time I sit down to put the finishing touches on this piece?

I mean, really, it’s a 2 inch square of stitching. Two. Inch. Square. What the heck?

Posted in Stitching | 4 Comments

Blog Upgrade Imminent

Yes, folks, I am on a very old version of WordPress. Haven’t updated in who knows how long. Mostly because I didn’t want to lose my theme, which is inevitable because the authoress has dropped off the face of the earth. Such a shame because she was awesome at elegant, free WordPress themes. I think I’m ready to bite the bullet, though. I have a backup copy of my blog to fool around with, a handful of new themes to try and the latest version of the code ready to install.

Wish me luck! You’ll know if I’m successful if the blog look suddenly changes radically. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Posted in Life in General | 3 Comments

2009 Stitching Finishes

Here they are, all of my stitching finishes for 2009. Some of them were even finish-finished! Those are the four Princess Alphabet pieces, all of which I framed, the two Summer Biscornus by The Victoria Sampler, Happy Heart by Shepherd’s Bush, Celtic Jewel Keychain by Textile Heritage, Lody Steward’s Pagoda Pincushion, Fall Biscornu by The Victoria Sampler, Mauve Heart Sampler from a Mill Hill kit, the two Just Nan Whimzi designs, and the last 5 finishes, one of which was framed, one finished into a bellpull and the remaining three were finished into ornaments. That’s 22 finishes out of 39 items stitched this past year. Not too shabby!

I’m not going to bother linking to the pictures. If you want to see them, you can look at my 2009 Finishes album in my photo gallery.

  1. Dimensions – Princess Alphabet (E) — Finished March 2009
  2. Dimensions – Princess Alphabet (M) — Finished March 2009
  3. Dimensions – Princess Alphabet (G) — Finished March 2009
  4. Dimensions – Princess Alphabet (R) — Finished March 2009
  5. Ink Circles – Celtic Ice — Finished April 2009
  6. JBW Designs – I Love to Shop at the Silver Needle — Finished April 2009
  7. JBW Designs – A Very Merry Summer — Finished April 2009
  8. Just Nan – Jingle! Biscornu — Finished April or May 2009
  9. Just Nan – Jingle! Tin Topper — Finished April or May 2009
  10. Just Nan – Crystal Heart — Finished April or May 2009
  11. Lizzie*Kate – Woof Blocks Flip-It — Finished April or May 2009
  12. Just Nan – Flower Girls — Finished May 2009
  13. Lorri Birmingham – Irish Needle Roll — Finished May 2009
  14. Lorri Birmingham – Crystal Pink Pincushion — Finished May 23, 2009
  15. The Victoria Sampler – October Birthday Needleroll — Finished May 24, 2009
  16. The Victoria Sampler – Summer Biscornu (Purple) — Finished June 26, 2009
  17. The Victoria Sampler – Summer Biscornu (Pink) — Finished June 26, 2009
  18. Just Nan – Ornamental Treasures III – Rosebuds
  19. Sue Hillis – Wine a Bit
  20. Shepherd’s Bush – Happy Heart
  21. The Victoria Sampler – Summer Biscornu (Purple #2)
  22. The Victoria Sampler – Summer Biscornu (Red)
  23. The Sweetheart Tree – Halloween Fob (Front)
  24. The Sweetheart Tree – Halloween Fob (Back)
  25. Textile Heritage – Celtic Jewel Keychain
  26. Lody Steward – Pagoda Pincushion (Top)
  27. Lody Steward – Pagoda Pincushion (Bottom)
  28. Lorri Birmingham – Sarah Belle Scissor Case
  29. Just Nan – Frost on the Pumpkin (Whimzi)
  30. The Victoria Sampler – Fall Biscornu (Pumpkins)
  31. The Victoria Sampler – Fall Biscornu (Leaves)
  32. Mill Hill – Scissor Pocket Treasured Stitching Band Kit – Mauve Heart Sampler
  33. The Sweetheart Tree – Hearts & Flowers
  34. Just Nan – Winter Violets (Limited Edition Whimzi)
  35. Dimensions – Gold Nuggets – Pansies on Toile
  36. The Victoria Sampler – Forever and For Always
  37. My Big Toe Designs – Cross of Christmas (Blue)
  38. Ladybug Lane Designs – Plaid Greetings
  39. My Big Toe Designs – Cross of Christmas (Pink)
Posted in Stitching | 6 Comments

2009 Stitching Clean-Up

It may seem like I’ve spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself since Phoebe’s death, but honestly, I have not allowed the grass to grow beneath my feet. Since I’ve been so remiss in keeping this blog updated, I have a lot of finishes to post to round out 2009. The 2010 finish will get posted later.

Without further adieu, let’s show some photos, shall we?

First up are my two entries into Anna’s stitching challenge, which ended in mid-September. The design is Bent Creek’s Swirlygig. I made two attempts – the first was a lovely pastel overdyed silk (I think it’s a Caron Waterlilies silk; I bought a big, unmarked lot on eBay several years ago) which didn’t show up nearly as nicely against the black fabric as I had hoped it would. If you look very carefully, you might actually see a little bit of the colors in the border. Bummer.

The second attempt went a little better and featured two Dinky Dyes’ silks:

After that, we have Hearts & Flowers by The Sweetheart Tree. This was stitched from a kit that I think I bought when I was model stitching for Sandie. I completed it on the drive back from Disney in late September. I think my original intention was to finish it into a biscornu, so I’ll see how much of the design I can and/or care to duplicate onto a piece for the bottom, provided I have a cut of matching count linen.

I then finished a previously stitched piece into its accompanying Whimzi frame. This is Just Nan’s Frost on the Pumpkin, which was first released as a limited edition Whimzi design. The version that she just released this past year is a little bit different and will also fit in a Whimzi frame, though she designed it for one of her fancier frames.

Next I stitched up Just Nan’s Winter Violets (a special for one of the TNNA shows in 2009, I think) and finished it into its coordinating Whimzi frame, as well. Clever me cut off the Whimzi embellishment when I cropped the photo…

After that, it was the mad rush to stitch up and finish a couple of Christmas presents. The first was a Dimensions Gold Nuggets kit that I bought and started years ago for my mother. It’s named Pansies on Toile and I actually managed to finish the stitching before we went to Florida at the beginning of December.

I finished it as directed and framed it a couple of days before Christmas. I do so love this frame!

The next Christmas gift was one that I had to stitch and finish before we left for Florida. Of course, I didn’t decide to stitch it until two to three weeks ahead of time. This was a limited edition kit from The Victoria Sampler called Forever and For Always. Thea has now released it as a chart. I stitched it for Terry’s dad and his (relatively) new wife as a momento of their wedding in 2007. So timely. ๐Ÿ˜‰

I finished it as a bellpull, with wooden hardware that I stained myself days before we left, hoping it would cure in time. A lot of the stitching is done in cream against white fabric, so you can’t really see the details, but the effect was quite lovely, if I don’t say so myself.

Once I finished that, I decided to go for the gusto and stitch some more last minute Christmas gifts during the Florida trip. I did two versions of Cross of Christmas by My Big Toe Designs, as published in the 2009 ornament issue from Just Cross Stitch. The first one was in blues, for my dad in Florida. Of course, I didn’t see him while we were in the state and even if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to finish it into an ornament in time, so it was mailed out 3 days before Christmas. I’m amazed that it reached him in time!

Of course, having not planned in advance, I didn’t have an appropriate color of pearl cotton to make the cording, so I had to work with what I had.

I also stitched a pink version for my friend Mary. Pink is her favorite color and she is fighting breast cancer, so I tend to do a lot of things in pink for her.

Once again, an appropriate color of pearl cotton was not to be found in my stash. This color didn’t quite work as well as the blue (nearly) did. I don’t think it looked as bad in person as it does in the scan.

And finally, one last ornament that I stitched during the trip to Florida. I did most of this in the car on the way down to Miami and I completed the stitching (except for the backstitched wording, which I didn’t realize I had missed until we got back) while staying in Miami for a couple of days. This design is called Plaid Greetings, by Ladybug Lane Designs, also from the 2009 JCS ornament issue. When I saw the little scottie dog, I just had to stitch it for my neighbor because it looks so much like her dog, Quincy. I didn’t have the recommended overdyed floss, so I tweeded two colors of DMC as an alternative. I think I also subbed both the red and green overdyeds.

It didn’t finish up perfectly, of course. I should have made the cording thicker. Oh well!

Well folks, that gets me caught up with stitching through the end of 2009. I know we’re now into the second week of 2010, but for those of you who celebrated it, I hope that you had a lovely Christmas and for those of you who don’t work off of the Chinese calendar, I hope you have a wonderful new year!

Posted in Stitching | 5 Comments

Goodbye, My Sweet Little Girl

Phoebe Leigh Magee
(July 4, 1998 – August 17, 2009)


(Photo taken by Barbara days before Phoebe died.)

I’ve been avoiding writing this post for over two and a half months. I thought that it was because I didn’t have to time to devote to it, but it turns out that it’s really because my heart still aches and the wound is still semi-fresh. It took me several days of having this post open to be able to type without crying. Even now, there are tears in my eyes.

I’m not even sure what to say. Anyone who knows me knows that Phoebe was my little baby girl. Aside from Terry, she was my best friend and the love of my life. She was a wonderful dog who was incredibly smart and well-behaved. We were truly spoiled by her and privileged to have her in our lives.

Phoebe had a heart murmur that was diagnosed when she was a couple of years old. Through the years, the murmur got worse and worse and then, in November of 2007, she had been coughing a lot and when we took her to the vet, we were told that she was in congestive heart failure. She was put on two medications, but was incredibly good about taking her pills. We would wrap them in a little bit of cheese and she would gulp them right down. As time went on, the dosage of her meds were increased in an attempt to reduce the fluid around her heart. In the end, she had lost a lot of muscle mass and, despite eating normally, she had lost weight.

We didn’t think that she was going to see her 10th birthday, much less her 11th, and yet, it still seems like she left us too soon. Pomeranians can live up to 16 years old, but we weren’t lucky enough to see Phoebe get nearly that far. I can attempt to soothe my soul by saying that we took really good care of her (which we did) and that we made a kind and loving decision for her, but it truly doesn’t make it any easier. That day, hands down, was the worst day of my life to date. One that I don’t look forward to repeating. And yet, life goes on.

Thank you to all of you who have provided your support through the tough weeks following Phoebe’s death. All I would like to do now is share some of my favorite photos of my dearest one.

Phoebe at 3-4 Months Old:




5 Months Old:


8 Months Old:




Christmas 1999:

2000:

New Year’s Eve 2002:

2003:


2004:


2005:


2006:

2007:

2008:

Rest in peace, sweet one. You will always be loved and missed terribly.

Posted in Going to the Dogs | 16 Comments

Great Blonde Jokes

I saw these jokes posted on a Yahoo group recently and they really made me laugh, so I thought I would share. To all of my blonde gals out there – you know I love you! ๐Ÿ˜€

Blondes Are The Best!!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A blonde and her husband are lying in bed listening to the next door neighbor’s dog.

It has been in the backyard barking for hours and hours.

The blonde jumps up out of bed and says, “I’ve had enough of this”.

She goes downstairs.

The blonde finally comes back up to bed and her husband says “The dog is still barking, what have you been doing?”

The blonde says, “I put the dog in our backyard, let’s see how THEY like it!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two Blondes With Hammers…

Lynn and Judy were doing some carpenter work on a Habitat for Humanity house.

Lynn was nailing down house siding, would reach into her nail pouch, pull out a nail and either toss it over her shoulder or nail it in.

Judy, figuring this was worth looking into, asked, ‘Why are you throwing those nails away?’

Lynn explained, ‘When I pull a nail out of my pouch, about half of them have the head on the wrong end and I throw them away.’

Judy got completely upset and yelled, ‘You moron! Those nails aren’t defective! They’re for the other side of the house!’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Did you hear about the two blondes who froze to death in a drive-in movie?

They had gone to see ‘Closed for the Winter.’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A blonde was driving home after a game and got caught in a really bad hailstorm.

Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it to a repair shop.

The shop owner saw that she was a blonde, so he decided to have some fun.

He told her to go home and blow into the tail pipe really hard, and all the dents would pop out.

So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands and knees and started blowing into her tailpipe.

Nothing happened.

So she blew a little harder, and still nothing happened.

Her blonde roommate saw her and asked, ‘What are you doing?’

The first blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the tail pipe in order to get all the dents to pop out.

The roommate rolled her eyes and said, ‘Uh, like hello!

You need to roll up the windows first.’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A blonde was shopping at Target and came across a shiny silver Thermos.

She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up and took it to the clerk to ask what it was.

The clerk said, ‘Why, that’s a thermos….. It keeps hot things hot, and cold things cold.’

‘Wow,’ said the blonde, ‘that’s amazing….I’m going to buy it!’

So she bought the thermos and took it to work the next day.

Her boss saw it on her desk. ‘What’s that,’ he asked?

‘Why, that’s a thermos….. It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold,’ she replied…

Her boss inquired, ‘What do you have in it?’

The blond replied….. …’Two popsicles and some coffee.’

+++++++++++++

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

A blonde goes into work one morning crying her eyes out.

Her boss asked sympathetically, ‘What’s the matter?’

The blonde replies, ‘Early this morning I got a phone call saying that my mother had passed away.’

The boss, feeling sorry for her, says, ‘Why don’t you go home for the day? Take the day off to relax and rest.’

‘Thanks, but I’d be better off here. I need to keep my mind off it and I have the best chance of doing that here.’

The boss agrees and allows the blonde to work as usual.

A couple of hours pass and the boss decides to check on the blonde.

He looks out from his office and sees the blonde crying hysterically.

‘What’s so bad now? Are you gonna be okay?’ he asks.

‘No!’ exclaims the blonde. ‘I just received a horrible call from my sister. Her mother died, too!รขโ‚ฌโ„ข

Posted in Life in General | 2 Comments

Google Reader Users – Am I Spammy Now?

I’ve been researching and Terry and I have been deleting things all over the place in my WordPress database, install directory and even in my Gallery directory. Hopefully, they weren’t all hacks. And hopefully my blog still works.

For those of you who detected the problem for me, can you please confirm that it’s now fixed and I haven’t screwed up anything in the process? ๐Ÿ˜€

Thanks to all of you who reported the problem! I hate spammers and hackers…

Posted in Life in General | 2 Comments

And Another Test

Still deleting potentially hacked files…

Posted in Life in General | Leave a comment

Another Test

Testing feed to Google Reader again.

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Testing Spammy Posts in Google Reader

A couple of you reported my posts looking all spammy in Google Reader, so I did some research and am trying to remove all of the possible hacks that might have happened to my blog. So, let’s see if I found everything or not…

Posted in Life in General | Leave a comment