WIP Wednesday: Meet Sadie

Let me introduce you to Sadie. My productivity slowed a bit because I have had lots to do the past week--including the Library's chili cook off, cooking for and attending Cook Book Club (the best book club in the world!) and of course my stamping day! Work is also ratcheting up--working on three sets of reports at once, fun!--so I'm a little less inclined to stitch when I get home. Still, this is coming along.

I also received a call from my LNS and the threads I ordered to finish Charland's stocking came in. I'll see if I can sneak in a trip to pick them up--it's the Friends of the Library booksale this week. (Of course!)

WIP: More Stockings

I had been in a MWF blogging groove and somehow I've fallen down. I am looking at my calendar but I don't see anything that is obviously eating up my time... I have been stitching, however. And enjoying it--thinking about the girls and the Chrsitmasses they will have with these stockings.

They are walking as a matter of course now. And eating food the rest of us are eating. And they love being read to; you could read to them for hours. They're getting more exciting, almost like real people. {wink}

I have finished all of Charland's Stocking that I can without the artichoke thread I am awaiting.

So I picked up Sadie's Stocking. And then took a really crappy photo!

Oh, and I decided Special K is getting Charland's Stocking. She didn't have any hair when she was born and that angel looks bald. And we all remember that Sugar Rea had tons of dark brown hair, just like Sadie's angel. (If you don't remember, click on the "babies" label.) So that all worked itself out as I knew it would.

Thanks for stopping by!

WIT: Work in Progress Thursday

On Tuesday, I saw Maggie. She is as hilarious as ever. At 93, she is fairly blind, and so now when you visit, she says, "It was nice to feel you." (As opposed to "nice to see you.") She can only get a general sense of people, so she thought the dude seemed really tall. The day after our visit she asked my aunt if the dude was taller than my cousin's husband. The dude is six feet, but my cousin's husband is 6' 8". Since the last time she really saw the dude, he was well into his forties, I can guarantee he hasn't suddenly shot up!

Yesterday, I saw my father's mother. She spent most of the visit complaining to my father about the "three bitches"  (her daughters) who put her in the home. She can't walk, and she has a problem using her hands now caused by carpal tunnel, so she is absolutely where she needs to be. At 94, she is still pretty sharp (her memory has those blank spots and stubborn revisions). These two fiesty old broads are demonstrating that old age isn't for sissies!

In the afternoon, I helped my mother watch the twins so my sister could take a nap. You know she needed that! So there wasn't enough time to show you what I've been up to.

I've been working on Bent Creek's Lighthouse (1998). I still love it!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday...Soldiering On

So much for finishing before the next Wednesday rolled around {cue sad trombone}. Not only did I not finish, I didn't even get to the part I was teasing you with. Instead of stitching, I:

• celebrated my anniversary with dinner at a restaurant who's motto was "Love is...getting fat together. So eat more!" (We did not know this when we planned to eat there.) 
• taking my second oldest niece to a minor league ball game in Delaware that went on f.o.r.e.v.e.r.
• making potato salad and watermelon feta salad (really, try it!) for Sunday dinner
• having my hair done 

Can that be it? Because I feel like I was run off my feet between last Wednesday and this! I'm sure there were lots of little things to do that didn't even make it to the calendar. 

Today, I continued work on Shining Star while I was getting a pedicure. The manicurist, who did not speak English as a first language, asked me about my stitching.

Mani: You like sewing?

Me: Yes.

Mani: You must have so much patience.

(I've talked about this before here.)

Mani: How long have you been working on this?

Me: This piece, or cross stitch generally?

Mani: Generally.

Me: 25 years.

Mani: You could be a teacher. Teach kids. You don't see that many people doing this now. Mostly old ladies, retired ladies.

Wow--two of my pet peeve stereotypes in one short conversation! 

Work in Progress Wednesday

Over the Thanksgiving break, I picked up Shepherd's Bush Green Snowman. I felt like stitching something a little seasonal while we watched Worricker.

Worricker is a series of three television films written and directed by David Hare with an amazing cast including Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Helena Bonham Carter, and Winona Rider. (Taken a little while to come across the pond.) The first film, Page Eight, we took out of the library but the other two were streaming on PBS. It was very compelling as you can imagine from a cast like that (although why did all the women have that Snow White look about them?) But I digress, I got a fair amount done. I think I stitch more when I watch tv, but we only watch a couple of hours or so a week. Cuts down on the stitching!

You can see how it looked last April (and when I picked it up) here.
This post is linked to Sharon B's Work in Progress Wednesday.

Work in Progress--Anniversary Sampler

I don't think I've shown this to you even oncesince I started it back in May! (And I promised to show it in June.) How did that happen?

The quote is from Wuthering Heights. Catherine says it about Heathcliff before she marries Linton. A lot of people consider this story a romance, mostly because they've seen the movie and not read the book. But there are those who find abuse equal to love, and I don't think anything I say on a crafting blog is going to change their minds about that. Anyway, since the dude and I read the book similarly, we can appreciate the irony of the quote used here as a celebration of our own marriage, which lacks revenge and abuse and wuthering heights. The design is Our Souls by Midsummer Night Designs,

Where Is It Wednesday

This is where I am supposed to write about my work in progress progress. This is where you will see a lack of progress from Monday's report. I swear I am not going to let this slide just because I have some extra time. I know how quickly extra time just vanishes. But this has been a busy week (since last time) with weekend work, my sister's birthday, book group (both going and doing the reading), dinners with friends and prepping for this weekend's Sunday dinner. So good stuff, but busy stuff.

Today's smalls entry is also sadly lacking. I did finally start it last night (after book group) but I didn't get that far. I'm hoping to have it done before Heather closes the post. I shall!

Work in Progress

Some days are better than others, but I'm getting in a couple threads a day just not a lot more. I had big plans for stitching this weekend, but now I have to work--big event and I have to staff the green room. Sort of worked out because I had to leave work early today. The snow had piled up on Stella's daycare (think warehouse) and the fire marshal evacuated them in case of collapse! Crazy, right?! I had to get there by 3:00 pm or they'd ship her off  to a vet's office for temporary holding. (Sounds like jail!) She's safe, and they were removing the snow when I picked her up.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'll get a lot of rope done this weekend. I was hoping to have all the crosses stitched by Sunday. Fingers crossed. I'm still going to try.

This is my accounting for Sharon B's Work in Progress Wednesdays.

Work in Progress Wednesday--More Mermaid

I love that I see Sharon B's "Work in Progress Wednesday" post in the middle of Tuesday afternoon. It's nice to be reminded so early. (Or look at it another way, to have an excuse for being so late to post my Wednesday report.)

I was going great guns on Emerald Mermaid last week. It was just too cold and freezey to do much else. So the dude and I watched Elementary--one a night, we're half a season behind--while I stitched. That progress came grinding to a halt. This Sunday was our turn for Sunday dinner (briskett, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, and peanut butter cup cookies) and we had to prepare for Monday's cookbook club--"family favorite recipe." The dude made scones, and I made a potato babka; the recipe starts "grate five pounds of potatoes."*

Having recovered from my babka coma on Tuesday, I got back to the mermaid, and I even put a few stitches in her today at work-stitching.

She's getting there. After I finish her tail, I have to turn my attentions to her seaweed rope. I may have been optimistic thinking this would get done this month (when am I not?) But the good news is, I can always give it to my mother unframed. She's cool.


*It's not like sweet babka. It's also apparently very localized to Eastern Poland--and my peeps left Vilnius (now Lithuania) in the late 19th century. Funnily enough, I think the cookbook club would have been happier with a more "our family always makes this recipe we cut out of the newspaper" recipe than with this ethnic monstrosity (everyone in Havertown is Irish or Italian). But I was het up on making it because the last time I was told to make a "traditional family food" at Christmas (for the office party) I brought a cheeseball and everyone was like, "Cheese ball? Where's that from?" So I got my recipes confused. Next time!

Mermaid Update

I had today off; the power was out at work. Actually more than 500,000 homes are without power in the Philadelphia area. I'd say more about this but I am bored with winter. So over it.

Unfortunately we were not among the powerless--instead of stitching I did laundry and cleaned.

But when I do take up the needle, I've been working on the mermaid as promised. This is what she looked like the last time I had her out. Actually, you can probably just scroll down and see both at once, but for posterity I'll add the link. I've concentrated on the area that I guess would be her knees.

I'm joining in on Pintangle's Work in Progress Wednesday so that I can be held accountable.

Thanks for stopping by.