Rainy Days and Mondays

Don't worry!  I'm not really down...but it's a Monday and I'm kinda tired of rainy days...lol.  They do make me sleepy so I don't know how much I'll accomplish today but I'm determined to get something accomplished.  

I did get caught up on the Soed Idee Quaker SAL.  I am loving this pattern.  I find the motifs to be so unique and dainty...which makes this hard to put down once I get started.  I'm stitching this on 28 count Antique Ivory over 1 with Belle Soie Cranberry silk floss.  Here is where I am after completing part 9 on Saturday.  

I'm still making progress on The Romantic Stitcher by Passione Ricamo.  I'm stitching this on 32 count Natural over two.  Only a few thousand stitches until I'm finally off this skirt and onto the more interesting part of the pattern.  Last I checked I have completed almost 70%!  

I was all set to take one of my finished projects to the framer today, when I woke up to dark skies and rainy weather.  Not to mention it's not supposed to get out of the 40's today.  Yeah....I think it will be a very nice stitching and movie watching day!  Stay tuned though...I will get there sometime this week!  

I wanted to thank those who have been praying for Little Miss Sassy Pants.  She had a miserable weekend, poor wee lass.  While the Doctors said she did well and the surgery went well, we won't know for a while if the surgery helped with her lazy eye.  She had eye pain and a sore throat all weekend.  I haven't heard yet this morning how she's doing.  Hopefully she is better this morning.  Please continue to pray that the surgery worked and she doesn't have to go through this again!  

And on that note, I'm off to see about getting some stitching done.  I hope you are having a blessed day and have a great start to your week.  Happy Stitching! 

Friday Catch-up

Good Morning!  It's finally Friday...and this crazy week is almost over.  Today my dear Little Miss Sassy Pants is having surgery on her eye.  I'm praying everything turns out ok.  Thank you for those who have been praying, I will update when I know more.  We are hoping to see the family later on today.  

I have good news to report about The Romantic Stitcher!  I have finally finished stitching the white portion of her skirt....whew!  That seemed never ending!  Now just a little more of the blue area to the left and I'll be back to some more interesting part of the pattern.  According to Pattern Keeper I am over 60% finished so we are on the downward slope now!  I can't believe I've made it this far only 1 1/2 months into the piece!  I guess I have incentive as I have other things I really want to stitch.  As I suspected, I haven't been able to keep up my 500/day average though I came close last month.  I was able to stitch on average 472/day.  I've already failed so far this month...lol.  I was only able to put in a little over 300 yesterday as I had my annual eye exam and they dilated my eyes.  The bright light of my stitching lamp bothered my eyes so I had to wait until the evening until I could see well enough to stitch again.  Good news though...my eyesight hasn't changed enough to require new glasses and I still don't need glasses to drive...not bad for a soon to be senior citizen!  (I turn 65 in October).  Here is where I am as of this morning.  

Speaking of the eye doctor...while waiting for my eyes to dilate, a young mother walked in with a 3 yr old and a 9 month old in tow.  They sat next to me and I couldn't help thinking now much like my DIL and her little ones they were.  As I made cooing sounds to the littlest one, I saw out of the corner of my eye, the 3 yr old giving me the side eye.  Haha...so much like Little Miss Sassy Pants...she finally walked over and sat by me while we discussed the strawberries on her shirt....she could name all the colors and could count all 8 of them!  She was delightful and made me miss Miss A even more (I didn't have either of the girls this week...funny how only a few days away can make me miss they so much).  It made my day to see those little ones.  

I woke up to the sound of thunder this morning...and we had storms roll through yesterday too.  I've been praying for the folks out west as they have sure had some terrible storms with some loss of life.  I have always had a fear of tornadoes...so I always keep an ear out for weather updates.  I also have friends and family living in some of those tornado prone areas.  Stay safe my friends!  

We had a blast on opening day!  My knee cooperated until almost the very end of the day.  I'm thankful!!  Miss Q was good for most of the day, even slept part of the game with noise cancelling headphones on...and Little Miss Sassy Pants cheered along with the rest of us while the O's did their best and won the game!  It's always a great feeling to leave the ballpark with a win under their belt!  

Last, I have been throwing in a few little finishes as I've been going along.  I had this little oval frame and popped Joy by Gentle Pursuit Designs from the 2024 JCS Christmas Issue into it.  I started out putting it in a round frame but it just didn't look right...so this is where it lives now.  I enjoyed stitching this one!  All those specialty stitches are fun for me to do!  

I also found this fun frame to put He Loves Us (a freebie by Teresa Kogut for Easter).  It's not exactly what I was looking for, but I'm happy with the way it looks.

I'm also starting a gift for a friend.  We have decided to do our annual "swap" of Christmas/Birthday gifts in July.  I found a pattern I think she will like ... but I won't be showing it on here until she has it in her hands.  I'm hoping I can put enough stitches in Romantic Stitcher that I can work  on this one afterward.  So much to do...so little time!  

And on that note, I'm off to get some stitching done!  I hope you all are safe from the storms, and enjoying the spring (or fall) weather, wherever you are.  Stay safe, and Happy Stitching!  

Happy Opening Day!

The guys have been talking about today for a couple of weeks now!  It's Opening Day in Baltimore for the Orioles today!  We have tickets (kind of a tradition since Ben was little) and it's always a celebratory atmosphere in Maryland (if you're on O's fan, that is).  Even little Miss Sassy Pants is excited (she loves her Birds!!).  I'm writing now, as I know later today I'll be exhausted.  The sun is shining but we are expecting storms, so there's no telling how long this day will be, and if I know my guys (and I'm pretty sure I do) they will stay until the last out is called.  I'm hoping my knee cooperates as well as the weather...so we'll see.  Here is a past picture of us on Opening Day many years ago.  

It's also the last day of the month...so I thought I would recap a little of what I've done this month in stitching.  Some days it feels as though I'm not really accomplishing much so I thought (mainly for my own encouragement) I would post before and after pictures of what I've been able to stitch this month.  First up is Romantic Stitcher.  I think by number of stitches I'm about half way through the pattern.  That's so encouraging!  Here is where I started this month...  

And here is where I finished up last night...  

I've also been working on the Soed Idee Quaker SAL.  Here is where I started on the first day... 

and here is where I finished up part 8 on Saturday.  

That is all that has been published so far.  The new parts come out on Saturday on their website.  I also threw in a little Christmas Ornament that is the April JCS Ornament challenge piece.  

Stitched on 36 count mystery fabric over two, this is Joy by Gentle Pursuit Designs from the 2024 JCS Christmas Issue.  I wasn't sure I would like it, but after it was finished I thought it turned out quite nicely!  I love all those specialty stitches!  

So I guess that's all that I have to share for now.  I hope I still have time to stitch today, I have stitched 1125 days in a row. I would hate to break my streak now!  LOL  I hope you are having a fabulous day whatever you put your hand to...and enjoy your stitching! 

Wednesday, Wednesday

Whew!  My Mom always used to say, "So goes Monday, so goes the week."  For that very reason, I try not to have anything scheduled for Monday...and try to make it as productive as I can.  Monday turned out to not be very productive at all...haha.  I did get my hair cut and got to see my friend, the hairdresser, and catch up on all the news since she left at the end of December....but that was about all I got done.  I was too tired, too sleepy, and too distracted to get anything done.  However...  Yesterday I had Miss Q here...and she had a Dr appointment so her Mom picked her up early.  She was happy most of the day...thankfully!  She loves to smile...more than her sister did at this age...and that just melts my heart!  And because her Mom picked her up early, I had a little more stitching time than most days when I have the girls...so I guess I made up a bit for Monday when I didn't get much done at all!  

I finished part 7 of the Soed Idee SAL!!  The next part comes out on Saturday.  Here is where I am now...  

Then I pulled out my poor neglected Romantic Stitcher.  I know it looks like there are a lot of holes at the bottom of her skirt...but those will eventually be filled in with beads.  I'm going to wait until the rest is finished before I add those.  Here is how she looks now... 

Hopefully I'll get some serious stitching done today and tomorrow.  This weekend (starting Friday and running through Monday) will be super busy.  Spring has sprung, and all our usual spring busyness has begun...lol.  Monday is Opening Day for the Orioles.  My knee has been having issues again, so I'm not sure if I'll be going to the game or not.  If I don't go, I'll probably stay home with Miss Q...I'll have to see how my knee feels on Monday.  In a way, I'm kind of sad...but that's life!  Opening Day is almost like a holiday here in Maryland.  The air is full of excitement and promise.  All I can say is LET'S GO O'S!!  

And on that note, I'll get off this machine and go get some stitching done.  I'm looking forward to working on my stitcher.  I hope you have a wonderful stitchy day!     

Monday, Monday...

It is a rainy day here today....and I'll be headed out soon to get my hair cut (finally!!).  It's been a while and my hair over my forehead is hanging in my eyes...and driving me crazy (not that I have that far to go!).  

The rain always makes me sleepy, but I'm also tired from the crazy day yesterday.  I love my granddaughters, but there is a reason I only have them one day a week on separate days...lol.  Our DIL's birthday was Saturday, so we agreed to watch the girls while the kids went out to a nice dinner together.  DH was in charge of Miss Sassy Pants...and I was in charge of Little Miss Q.  Let's just say, after this weekend, I KNOW I couldn't have them both here are the same time if I were alone.  LOL!!  They were only gone about 4 hours...but it was exhausting.  I love the girls, but now I know why we have them while we are young!  It brings to mind the commercial where a family drives up...the grandparents open the door, the kids dump the babies in the grandparents arms and drive away....all the while the grandparents yell..."Don't leave us with the babies!!  Don't leave us with the babies!!!"  

I said all that to say, I haven't got as much stitching done as I would have liked...however, I did stitch the first 6 parts of the Soed Idee Quaker Sampler...and started the current part 7.  

Sadly I haven't touched Romantic Stitcher all week.  Hopefully that will change once I finish part 7!  

I've already had one "dose" of Pick-me-up (otherwise known as coffee) but I think I'll need a second dose!  LOL

So that's all the news I have today.  I'm not sure what the rest of the week will hold, only that I'll have Miss Q tomorrow and Miss Sassy Pants on Friday.  Prayers appreciated, I'll need all the help I can get!  Happy Stitching!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  This has always been one of my favorite days of the year.  The wearing of the green, lucky shamrocks, shenanigans, and smiling Irish eyes!  We actually used to find 4 leaf clovers in our front yard from time to time when I was a kid...and my Dad had the brightest blue eyes along with his lovely brown hair...and loved to tell stories full of blarney.  

I was hoping to stitch a few St. Patrick's Day pieces this year, but this was the only one I managed.  This is called Pot of Gold by Shannon Christine stitched on 32 count mystery fabric (tea dyed) over two.  It was a freebie she included with a hunt for this pattern along with a hunt for discounts on her webpage.  All ready to spruce up my mantle.  It is a fun stitch!  Hopefully next year I can display a few more!  Wish me luck!  (Pun intended!)  

It was a rather subdued weekend, so I got a few stitches in and even started something new!  Here is where I left off with Romantic Stitcher...  

And then I started the new Soed Idee SAL, I'm calling it Red Quaker.  I love the motif I finished, and this alphabet is really pretty!  I'll be working on this off and on when I finish my required Romantic Stitcher stitches.  I'm stitching this on 28 count Antique Ivory over one using Cranberry Belle Soie silk floss.  I'm loving it so far!!  This is a free SAL from the Soed Idee website, they are already on part 6 which comes out on Saturdays.  I'm so far behind but hoping I catch up before the SAL is over.  Here is the webpage where the pattern can be found.  Soed Idee Red Quaker

Later Sunday night the kids came over for dinner.  They always bring so much excitement!  Mike and Miss Sassy Pants had a little Karaoke to Let it Go and You're Welcome....so cute and so funny!  Neither of them can sing too well at this point...lol...but I loved every second of it!  Poor little Miss Q wasn't having a good day...poor little mite, but hopefully she'll have a better day when I have her here tomorrow.  I love the days with the grands, though they usually wipe me out!  I can't believe she's 4 months old already!  I'll leave you with a little Irish Blessing.  I would love to chart this out one day...

I hope you all have a great day!  Happy Stitching!   

Happy Pi Day!

Hi Fellow Stitchers!  It's Pi Day!!  I know, I know, I'm such a nerd...but having a BA degree in Math makes me a nerd I guess.  LOL  I stitched this little Pi pie several years ago...and always comes out for a peek on this day...3-14...  

I also have a little celebration as I had a fun little finish last night.  I still have to fully finish it, but I'll get there.  This is He Loves Us a freebie from Teresa Kogut.  I've had it in my stash for a while but I think it's still available and here is the link...  https://teresakogut.com/freebies/cross-stitch/he-loves-us/   I stitched mine on 40 count Light Mocha over two using DMC floss, but substituted a satin floss for the lettering.  You can't see the sheen, but I love how it turned out!  

I've actually been able to keep up with my 500 stitches a day on Romantic Stitcher by Passione Ricamo.  Some days takes me longer to get the stitches in because there is a lot of confetti stitches in certain parts...but more often than not I can get them done in about 2 1/2 hours.  I know...I'm a fast stitcher!  According to the position in the chart I'm a little more than 1/4 done...according to the stitch count I'm about 40% done.  That skirt has a lot of stitches in it!!  LOL  

Anyway, enough spuddling (don't you just love that word?).  

It's time to get some stuff done around here.  Miss Q is home with her parents today so I have a free day...I have so many things I want to accomplish today...so off I go.  I hope you have a wonderful day whatever you are up to today, and have time to pursue the things that make you happy.  Happy Stitching!