Sheepish

Ooooh, this is another one I love too much to stop stitching! I love this funky, swirly sheep. Okay, make sure I add this to the rotation next year.

August

Oops! I'm a little late. We're enjoying the beach, well, it's been overcast and rainy so we're not enjoying it at all. Time away from work, let's call it.

I was able to finish my small for the SAL, mostly stitched on the long drive up while we listened to Bill Bryson's Road to Little Dribbling.

Linking up with Heather of Stitching Lotus who hosts the Smalls SAL.

This is a Mosey n Me Freebie called Ewephoria. It doesn't come with recommended colors, so I chose WDW London Fog for the sheep, WDW Onyx for the black, WDW Meadow for the letters and an unmarked overdyed pink for the ribbons. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out although if I had had more time, I might have done French knots for the sheep's body. 

Last month, I decided to join Justine in Just One July, so I focused on Mary's Stocking for my sister. I had hoped to complete it, and if I could have kept up my momentum, I might have. (Do you know why I don't write might of? Because it is wrong. You are hearing might've. That apostrophe is replacing the "ha." But I digress...) Losing momentum on a project happens a lot when I only focus on one thing. Still I made progress. Mary's only missing her head and hands. (Despite all the murder mystery shows we have been watching, this is not a sign of homicide.)

Not sure what I am going to do about her hands and face. The pattern calls for 841 but I only have 840, which I think Christian's stocking (the other one I have to finish) calls for. I could make them the same color, or I could make fair Mary lighter but it would require a trip to the LNS, and I wouldn't be able to get to that for a while. Hmmmmm... (I do believe Faye's Christmas deadline is October.) Something to think about.

Either way, I am going back to my rotation which will allow me to keep my momentum (I hope!). This is what I call the "Molly Rotation" since Molly of Strawberry Sampler invented it. Three days on each of 10 projects over the course of the month.

1. Waldorff, Homespun Sampler
2. Mary's Stocking, SB
3. Wisteria Snowman, SB
4. Our Souls, Midsummer Night Designs
5. Greenland Santa, Mill Hill
6. Cinnamon Stars, Plum Street
7. Small #8
8. Lovebird, JABC
9. Ladybug, Ladybug, Rabbit Workes
10. Tis the Season, Blackbird

Onward!

Days 21 and 22

I'm guessing you could tell this is a Lizzie*Kate. It's a freebie called "Love Lives Here" that I actually have on paper. I checked, and it's not on the website. That's how old it is! The dude was at his always-runs-long meeting, so I turned on some mindless tv and got some serious stitching done! This is stitched in DMC on the same fabric as the Bent Creek Wedding Row. Whatever that was.

On Thursday, I was abandoned again but for less time and a better cause. (He was tutoring ESL.) Stella and I kept the couch warm, and I stitched this Amy Breucken design, Saint Nick's Noel, stitched with the called-for colors on 30 ct guacamole. (I can still not get the color of this fabric to come out!) I love all of her St. Nicks including the ones she did with her sister (Sister and Best Friends). But I once sent one out for a round robin that never returned so I've had a problem picking them up ever since. This is the beginning of a new day! (And a really cute sheep!)

Leap Day

I had hoped to make Leap Day special, maybe take myself out to a movie and gorge on popcorn and candy for lunch...because it's not a real day or anything. Unfortunately the dude was home sick yesterday, and I didn't get the normal chores done. {Sigh.} And now I have to do them in the rain. Uphill both ways boo-frickin'-hoo, right?

Goals for February:

1. Get the work website up--I was supposed to meet with my sister and one of our friends to work together on this. We've delayed ourselves by four weeks, one week at a time. I am going to have to try a new approach.
2. See a movie--saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (fun!); The Artist (good but not nearly as great as you'd hope)
3. Read two books--read Christie's ABC Murders and Tina Fey's Bossypants
4. Do those little craft room projects-- reorganized the shelving unit, decoupaged pots, made embroidery hoop wall art. (I'd still like to make a dresser scarf and a sewing machine cover.)
5. Finish the Curse of the Raven--finished!
6. Work on Snowman '10*--finished!
7. Work on Red Snowman*--finished (At right, Shepherd's Bush kit.)

*Breaking News* The Bodleian Library (Oxford) will be displaying a piece of needlework completed by Jane Austen when she was 12. It will be displayed for one day only, March 1, as it is in private hands.

For March:

1. See a movie
2. Read two books
3. March is national craft month. I am going to try to complete a craft a day. Call me crazy! Some will be small, no doubt. I've started a list so that I have plenty of ideas and can make sure I have all the materials in place. There might be a giveaway or two as well. Watch this space.
4. Stitch in my free time.

Not Dead Yet

I haven't stitched in days. On Friday, I went to the library but I had to show wedding photos to one of the ladies. And then I had things to do for the Garden Tour, a library fundraiser. Just as I was leaving, my cousin called. Her babysitter cancelled and she needed me to watch the kids after all. Since she was going out with the dude and giving him a ride home, it was the least I could do. So that meant no stitch night in Chadds Ford. The dude and the rest of the family went off to see my brother-in-law in his first only boxing match. It was an amateur match, but the guy he was fighting was 35 pounds heavier. Word is my BIL was the better technical boxer but the other guy won. I'm just glad I didn't have to watch. The girls had Stella on high alert all night; she was completely wiped out on Saturday. Seriously she didn't get up until 8:45 and then she only crawled down to the couch to sleep some more. She didn't ask to go out until 1:00! That's what they call dog tired.

I didn't get to enjoy having a calm, well-behaved dog because I had to work the Garden Tour. I sat in someone's garden for two hours then worked a bit at the reception (for which I made cake balls and became popular all over town). (In the good way.)

On Sunday I tried to bring order to our garden, but I fear it is a never ending battle, and I am already too far behind to win the war. Of course, that doesn't stop me from wanting to expand my gardens. We're putting in a path to the front door from the sidewalk in the next few weeks, and I'm trying to convince the dude that we should dig up even more of the lawn for a front yard garden. Because I am completely insane.

Anyway, I saw this cute sheep today and I thought I should pop in and tell you, "not dead yet."

Cute but so faffing expensive!

Camp Report, Version 8

D.D. and I have completed our 8th Camp Session. Fun as ever! Though the older I get the less sense it makes to stay up until 2 am three nights running. I can't help it! I had to in order to work on these projects:

Chessie and Me's Ewe Under the Willow, front (l) and back (r). This pattern encouraged a bit of friendly competition in the crowd. First D.D. thought of stitching grass and putting color in her tree. (You can hardly see it, but I've got some gold French knots in the tree--I thought needed to pull some of that color in since my wool was gold.) Then I decided to use a grassy color and stitch my initials. Then someone else stitched grassy initials forwards on the front and in reverse on the back! A couple of people at our table used beads instead of French knots to bring color to the tree. Lots of creativity on this one. (We also got those clay pins stuck in the pincushion. And a miniature wooden hornbook--scroll about halfway down.)

Samsarah, Happy Fun Day. Crazy colors starting with WDW Calypso (used for the lettering). Metallics, Frosty Rays, and Fyre Werks were provided for stitchers to choose. It was a gaudy buffet of threads. I had completed the words and then on Sunday morning decided it should say Happy Birthday rather than Happy Fun Day. One woman at our table used overdyed browns to make it a chocolate cupcake. She also only stitched the heart, the star, and the swirl (ie no confetti pieces) and it came out pretty; not as garish. Lots of people stopped by to photograph it. Still, I kind of like how fully over the top this piece is (will be). Totally not my usual thing. This will be finished as a flat fold, and I have the Magic by Mona kit to go along with it. Look for the finished goods in posts to come.

Fourth of July--Quaker Style by Aury who blogs at Acerca del Bordado, stitched in Belle Soie silks. This will be mounted on Week's Dye Works felt (I chose a dark blue houndstooth) and made into a pocket to hold the mother of pearl Kelmscott Heart Threadkeep. (But just a note: please, patriotic at every spring camp? People, I live with a Brit. He loves this country but you see how so much American flaggy business might be a bit much in our house? How about a Christmas in April piece? Please.)

I didn't get to this project at camp. I stitched this on my interminable journey home. (Left Tulsa at 2:00 pm for Houston. Left Houston at 6:50 pm, arrived Philadelphia 11:05. Collected my luggage and car and arrived home to a barking guard dog at 12:15 pm. Couldn't wait for my head to hit the Tempurpedic!) The Temple women's gymnastics team was on our very full flight home--you should be happy to have a gymnastics team on your very full flight. We had a little peanut of a girl in the middle seat. And she was sweet--took an interest in my stitching and in the needlepoint (Janlynn kit) of the woman on the aisle even though she's in college and has much more interesting things on her mind.

Lindy and Mona deserve special recognition this year. Not only were the projects adorable, every single one of them had all the materials you would need and more! Well done, ladies. For a minute, we worried. What would be the charm of our rustic camp if everything went smoothly?

Not to worry, I've come away with a serious case of stitch-ass. No joke, I feel like someone implanted a tennis ball in my left hamstring. I can't wait to go to Pilates tonight--I've been thinking about it since Saturday.

It did become clear this weekend that we may need to establish new camp rules. By now we've all internalized the basic rules: quiet in the hallways after people start going to bed, don't let your door slam, etc.

New Rule #1: BRA WEARING I know wearing a bra for 15 hours grows increasingly uncomfortable but we need to establish some kind of rule so we are not assaulted by old boobs after 11:00 pm. By all means, change into your pajamas but either keep your bra on or wear an extra layer so I don't have to see just how far gravity has taken things. A robe, perhaps? Not sure if you need it? If you can see the outline of a nipple, you need to cover up. The only person who wants to see that didn't come to camp with you.

New Rule #2: SNORING Attend a sleep clinic to establish whether you have a snoring problem. If you do, get treatment. If your next door neighbor (me) is listening to An English Lady Mass on the iPod and she can still hear you snoring (through the wall!), you've got a problem that needs medical intervention. Tomorrow, I'll be posting the packing list for future camps. On it you will find "earplugs." I am thinking, however, noise canceling headphones may be in order.

Okay, the only vegetables I ate in the last four days were deep fried pickles, I need to put some of this in me:

Finish-finished

Look at you all, congratulating me on seven years of inertia! (Actually 16, but who's counting?) I've been privately chastised for pretending not to be romantic when I have been stitching little love notes every anniversary for the past four years. Five if you count the one that got lost. It's true; we just prefer our displays of affection to be private. Last night we went to General Lafayette Inn where I had a matrimoniale, and the dude gave me a beautiful amber ring. Thanks again.

In my quest to increase the number of completed works that I finish, I put this little sheep that I stitched in January 2006 in his frame. Three down, five to go.

This is a Homespun Elegance kit, Wee Sheep stitched on the kit's linen with the called for DMC. It's finished in the brass frame that comes from the kit. I should aim for something bigger next.

Baaaaaaaaaa

On Saturday, we headed down to West Friendship. I got to hang out with best pal for a while while the dude and brave astronaut and the offspring watched sheepdogs herd. BP and I met a loyal reader who was working at a rug hooking shop. I was a little hoarse, but that was fine because BP and LR had a lot to talk about. And I do hope that the blog will have brought even more people together. I bought a few things (pictured below), including a cute bag pattern, some wool fabric, and some felting fabric. I have no idea what I am going to do with any of it. A note to designers, if you just happen to find yourself in a booth selling your goods with a bunch of women cooing over what you have made, the appropriate response is "thank you." You may wish to add a few words about how you came up with the design or a little story about which is your favorite design. Grunting is not really an option.

My favorite family of three had to leave for naptime, so the dude and I perused the rest of the buildings. The dude bought himself a couple of pepper plants. He really wants to grow peppers. If he pickles them, things are really going to be nuts around here.

Somehow, I managed to leave the largest sheep and wool festival without any yarn. I'm blaming the cold. Which has gotten worse and worse. Yesterday, I thought I could manage to paint the front door, but overexerted myself. It all ended when I threw up. And yet the dude complained about the job I did. I'm home from work today, and if I can manage, I've got a little video of sheep to show you.

Maryland Sheep and Wool

best pal and I are talking about meeting at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend. The thing is, it's a 2+ hour drive for me (but really, what better place to meet a friend than in West Friendship, Maryland?). So I was kind of hoping that brave astronaut was going to come, so the dude would come and I wouldn't have to spend four hours in the car by myself. So I broached the subject with the dude last night.

Me: So, next weekend, I'm thinking about going to Maryland to meet best pal at the Sheep and Wool Festival. Would you want to come?
Dude: What's there?
Me: Um, sheep...and...wool.
Dude: I don't think there's anything to interest me.
Me: [grasping at straws] And a sheepdog herding contest.
Dude: Now that I'm interested in [no hint of sarcasm].
Me: You are?
Dude: When I was a kid I used to watch this show on Saturday mornings, I think it was called "One Man and his Dog," and this guy would whistle and his dogs would round up the sheep. [Begins whistling.]
Me [thinking: Wow, you had a deprived Saturday morning]: You watched that?
Dude: Every child of my generation in Britain watched that show. I loved it.

So, brave astronaut, you in? Sheepdog herding. Now that I've studied the schedule, I see cheese. That's my final offer. Cheese.

Filling In

Pictures again! At last. I'm sorry I've been so lazy about taking photos of my progress. I'm guessing that you can tell that the one on the top/left is the Ewe and Eye and Friends sheep standing on a chair, as I've been calling it. "A Room for Ewe" is the official name. On the bottom/right is the ornament that I am stitching for my nephews from a Better Homes and Gardens Christmas book. I have three nephews and this particular design came in three colorways (one has the green and red reversed and the other is blue). Once I finish the swirls in the Santa, I should have no problems filling in his body, making both the perfect subway projects. Actually the sheep is the best because that is stitched using one strand of floss. Super easy!

Round Up/May Goals

Well last month I said that I would work on something different every day of the month, upon completion of my sister's laptop bag. Yeah, well, there was no completion of the lap top bag, though I did go great guns for a little while...up until the time I realized I had no idea how long I was supposed to make the second strap. I emailed my friend amy! and she tried to interpret the pattern as I had written it out (well, I copied the section for the straps word-for-word). She ended up buying the book, not before she marvelled at how poorly the pattern was written. So it's not just me! I now have to rip out about 100 rows of one side of the strap. Grrr. Then I just have to make the closure. Seam it. Felt. Sew in a zipper. Attach the handle. Done. I.am.so.close...

What I did work on last month instead, you know in addition to house stuff and the party, was the Ewe and Eye and Friends pattern of a sheep on a chair. I almost finished that too. I am just filling in the chair. Bo-ring. I also started a Mill Hill Santa ornament and a perforated paper ornament for my nephew. I've been alternating those projects on my commute. I pulled out the MLI Enchanted Alphabet for the trip up to NH this weekend. I've almost finished the "W" but I had to take out the "H" someone else stitched. She had either stitched a cross over three or over one thread and she screwed up that section.

May Goals
1. Take all the boxes from the craft room, put them in the basement, and vacuum so my mother in law has a place to sleep tomorrow night!
2. Finish the damn bag.
3. Ten hours on Enchanted Alphabet
4. Ten hours on Toy Gatherer
5. Complete Mill Hill Santa
6. Complete nephew's ornament
7. Start You Are My Sunshine for anniversary present.