Not Much

I was able to get a little work done on the Kitty Cat Row this morning. I need to pick up more in one of the colors so I can finish that off. Sorry no pics, but this is a nifty finishing technique that one of the Fair & Square exchangers found.

GAH!

My plan went all to heck! I didn't work on the stocking, I didn't work on the cats. Instead I started another little free kits I received while chatting on the phone with my neighbor - and offset one of the stitches by one. So away I frog :-P.

Not too much stitching will get done this weekend. My coonhound and I are heading off for a tracking workshop for a couple of days. I'm looking forward to it with a bit of trepidation. But it will be nice to get out of town if only for a short time.

I'm a bum for not updating my WIP pictures; I'm out of sorts here for the moment. I so need to get a wireless card for my laptop so I can sit it next to me while I stitch - aaah the height of geekdom :-).

The Scoop

I finished another project this morning, but I can't post it until I've gifted it. *sigh* Hopefully soon. In the meantime I'm down to just a few WIPs, although I have a ton of projects piling up that I want to work on.

I need to spend some time on the Kitty Cat Row tonight. I don't think I'll have enough of one color and if I confirm that tonight my DH can stop by the LNS to pick up some extra and drop off some finished pieces for display in the annual stitcher's showcase.

I'm hoping I can finish the Kitty project, the Santa stocking and the Letter I before the end of the month. Then I need to decide if I should pick up one of my BAPs that are on the WIP pile or start something new. I really do need to get back on the St Petersburg project that I gave up on last fall - so sad!

Yesterday one of my coworkers and I nipped out of work for a few minutes to check out a coiled basket display at one of the local art houses. It was phenomenal! I could do that - well maybe not to the degree that the artist on display does, but still! I have so much extra thread sitting around that just isn't going to be used for stitching. This would be perfect for it all. I already have just about all of the materials I would need - only the core is missing. I bet I can find something around the house though!

The Photo Finish

Ta da, here's the finish I didn't get to post earlier:

A Full Weekend

Wow - the weather was great this past weekend. Good news for getting out in the yard and on the bike; bad news for stitching. Despite the bike rides, nature walks, stick tossing and visiting with neighbors I was able to make some progress with the stitching. I'm hoping to get photos up this evening.

I made it through the "N" on Kitty Cat Row. I think I can get that one done before the end of the week.

I also finished off a little free chart I got from the retreat. It's a flower pot with hearts growing out of it.

I found another WIP that I forgot I had - the letter "I" from the large alphabet series I'm working on.

I started looking through my stash to figure out how to better organize it. Then I gave up and decided instead that I should just keep stitching because that will mean less to organize (yeah, right). I really do need to get the stuff that's littering the couch under some sort of control. I think my husband misses sitting there.

And now for a meme:
1) How do you hold your fabric? Frame - q-snaps are nifty; scroll bars work too
2) Floss licker? no
3) How do you thread your needle? make a loop and slide through the eye
4) What needle do you like best? 26
5) Are you a needle loser? no way, the animals could eat them
6) What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? Whatever's best for the project
7) Bobbins or floss bags? floss bags and piles
8) Are you a scissors collector? not so much, only have a few and that's OK
9) Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin? too busy stitching to frame
10) Are you a floss floozy? only ever so slightly, I have more of a problem with fabrics ;-)
11) Silk? I've used it. *shrug*
12) Railroader? sometimes, now that I've gotten the hang of it I find myself doing it without thinking, but only on the top stitch
13) Are you a pattern or designer snob? nope
14) Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift? depends on who it is
15) Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.? hells yeah
16) Do you wash your projects? rarely, I just don't get them dirty

More of the Dog Days

Last night I was able to finish the last couple stitches on the Australian Shepherd for the dog show. I'll have to check with Ann to see if there are others she needs done. These are a nice quick fix :-).

I also was able to finish puppy dog row last night. That keep me up until about 11:30, but I figured it wasn't going to be a big deal if I slept in a little. The dogs didn't seem to mind awfully much when I was in 'til an unholy 6:45am!

Click to see the whole piece...
And today I've started Kitty Cat Row rather than working on any of my existing projects. Yay for hobbies.

Gone to the Dogs

Last night I was thinking of working on the Puppy Dog Row project, but it was so nice outside that I ended up playing with the dogs. Instead, once it got later, I decided to work on the little projects for the dog show awards. I was able to whomp out the Irish Setter and the German Shepherd Dog. I'm about 1/2 way through the Australian Shepherd and expect to finish that without a problem tonight.

April Quaker Square

Last night I was able to put in the last few stitches on the April Quaker Square between riding my bike and playing with the dogs. I love the way the flowers came out.

I'm having a hard time picking out the color I want to use for the May square. I suppose I have a little time to work that out. That one has butterflies.

After I wrapped that up I spent some time working on the Puppy Dog Row. I didn't get a lot done. I've very close to wrapping that one up. I'm hoping I can get through it tonight and tomorrow and maybe get the stocking finished this week. I also have to work on the three dogs for the dog club awards - but those are mighty small. Each one might take about an hour.

Spring Changeover

I haven't gotten any stitching done in days. It's been so busy! Today I've been frantically trying to get all of the winter stuff put away, all of the spring stuff out, and all of the garage sale stuff into the garage. So far so good. I have a few riders out on the road for a distance ride that I'm organizing. I think that I'm just about to a point where I have to take a break so maybe I can get a little something done. Tonight it's painting in the laundry room for a few hours. Tomorrow I'm thinking I can get some done before I head to Ithaca to talk bikes for a bit. Whew - this is going to be a busy week with DH away!

Here's the Pic

Here's the photo of my progress on the Puppy Dog Row...

Forgot My Photos

Over the weekend I ended up getting more work done than I expected. In addition to the projects I completed in the earlier post, I also started, and came close to finishing, Puppy Dog Row. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to get the photos off my camera. I also have spent a couple of hours working on the April Quaker Square this week. I'm hoping I can work on the projects a bit more tonight, but it's a beautiful day so bike riding will be first in line for my time.

Finished All Retreat Class Projects +1

I ended up taking the day off yesterday. There was a delay in the project, so I decided not to waste time. Instead I stayed home to stitch ;-). I was able to organize all of the stash I got at the retreat, clean the house up a bit (yay for mud season) and finish off this...The left side shows the front of the piece and the right shows the back. Lori of La-D-Da customized the project for our retreat. It was a fun project that showed me how much I need to take a machine sewing class. It looked a ton better after I added the cord, but I have some seriously lumpy heat ;-).

Yesterday I also started a sampler by The Sunflower Seed. It went really fast! I was able to complete it a little while ago. The piece calls for two colors, but I ran out of the Pelican Grey I used for the letters. I probably would have had enough to finish the B and J, but how could I resist doing a monogram. The border was also supposed to be in the same color as the letters, but I liked the Red Pear contrast a bit more. I ended up stitching pieces of the border in four different colors before I decided to go with the pink.

It's time to take the dogs for a walk, then onto the shower and a possible trip to the LNS for some 32 count neutral fabby for the Fair & Square Exchange and maybe some stitching with the crew that hangs out there.

Commemorative Needle Book Completed

At the retreat this past weekend we received a kit for a commemorative needle book as one of the gifts. I started working on it the morning after the class knowing that I would never get to it if I filed it in the stash.

I finished the stitching during a break at work yesterday and spent the evening assembling it. Gail did a great job designing it. Now I can transfer some of the darning needles I got in the raffle basket to it.

I started the April Quaker Square this morning. It's hyacinths which I'm stitching in a lovely purple. I hope I can get through it quickly so I can work on a few of the lovely projects I got over the weekend!

My Receiver Hath Posted

Yay, my stitching exchange partner has posted that she received the package I sent her, so I can post the pieces in my finishes log :-). It was a really fun exchange. The only rule was that the item be Spring themed. I opted to make a sachet because I've been dying to try some custom scenting.

This is the photo my partner posted to the group site. I completely forgot to snap a pic before I shipped it this time. The sachet is scented with huckleberry/hazelnut. I'm glad I made some extra of that!

I finished the March Hare while I was hanging out at Speedskating Nationals between breaks in the action. The kids were all quite curious about what the coach does when she doesn't skate ;-). One of the boys said, "Is that cross stitch, I used to do that, like when I was SEVEN". I had to laugh - he's eleven, mind you. He's a good guy. He's the one that picked out the flower for the second piece - but don't let on that you know. It might hurt his tough guy reputation.

Last night I ended up almost finishing the commemorative piece from the retreat - I'm hoping I'll get that whomped out this evening.

Stitch on!