Hermitting Weekend...

Hi there!!  I seem to be continually running late.  Will I ever catch up??

I have a few pictures to post, two from Hermitting weekend which was last weekend.  I stitched on One Nation and finally finished the star field.  I've only been working on this piece for two years...do you think I'll ever finish?  

Now that the star field is done, I'm hoping the rest will roll along, but I'm afraid I'm suffering from but first disease.  I will work on One Nation...but first...

I signed up to participate in an exchange.  I'm not showing any pictures as it is a surprise.  I started working on it on Monday night, got to the halfway point on Tuesday, then TRIED to work on it today .... but first...

I had to have a stitch date with Astrid.  Thanks again for the gab fest, for lunch, and for trying to watch an episode of Downton Abbey.  Let's try again soon!!  As always it was a blast and long overdue.  I hope NEVER to go away that long again, and if I do I'm taking you with me!  LOL

Mouse's RR arrived this week too.  I am going to get stitching on that SOON...but first...I need to finish the stitching on the exchange piece.

Speaking of Mouse, I got a wonderful surprise in the mail when I got home from New York.  She mentioned she was going to mail something to me the day I was making arrangements to leave for New York and I wasn't sure how long I was going to be away so asked her to hold on to it until I knew more about where I would be and when.  When she heard I was on my way home she mailed it out and it was waiting for me.  What a lovely surprise!!  She made two more pieces to go with a bag she had made for me last year, a bag with a cross stitched piece attached that said Friendship, a lovely feather pen from the Tower of London, a neat postcard from London, and a magnet needle minder!  I love the buttons she used on the pillow and the little bag.  Thank you, Mouse!  I love all of it!!  You are so creative!!

I had another surprise in the mail today.  My cousin, Judy, sent me a little pink bunny peep.  She has a purple one, along with my other cousin, M.  They like to photo bomb using their purple bunny peeps and post the pictures on facebook of places they've been.  My cousin, D, thinks the rest of us are silly and has been seen strangling one of the purple peeps.  Judy has so kindly decided to let me join in the fun...so you'll be seeing posts on facebook of my pink bunny peep (who still doesn't have a name....if you would like to help me think of a name, I will post it here when I've found the perfect one, and I may have a little surprise for you if you have the winning name!)  Apparently my son has the same feeling about our little peeps as cousin D...I will have to keep her in a safe place away from strangling hands!!

I thought I had left the snow behind me in New York, but I've learned the snow fairies have followed me back to Maryland.  It looks lovely reposing on the branches of trees...it's not so much fun to brush off cars, drive in, or shovel.  I hear there is more on the way...*sigh*.

And that is all I have to say on that subject...or any subject for that matter tonight.  I hope wherever you are, you are warm, safe, and happily stitching!  I leave you with a picture of the true master of our house.  He reminds me of the Dos Equis man...I'm trying to think of a funny caption and then I will post it on facebook....any ideas?

There's No Place Like Home!

I've heard from a few people wondering where I was.  Thank you so much for thinking of me!!  My husband and I always joke about New Year's Resolutions.  He never makes them because he always breaks them...I was so good up until the 3rd of January, then everything got thrown out the window with a single phone call.

My Mom is 76 years old.  She has had some health issues, but recently she had a back x-ray and they discovered an aneurysm.  It was too small to operate, or so they said, so they said they would watch and see.  Less than a month later, it ruptured.  Normally she would not have survived.  Rarely do you see someone recover from a ruptured aneurysm, and I had a cousin who died within moments from one.  I have always been afraid of them, and learned through this experience that they tend to be genetic within the female line.  She just happens to live within sight of the volunteer rescue squad headquarters, 2 miles from the nearest hospital where she was a nurse for 25 years and is still friends with a lot of folks who work there, and 3 miles from a helipad.  She made it to the hospital in a matter of minutes and within a short period of time, flown to a renown hospital in Burlington, Vermont.  She just happened to fall into the hands of their best vascular surgeon who had to do some creative thinking and surgery, and saved her life.  I am so very thankful.  Here she is with me a couple of years ago.

When I heard the news, my immediate thought was to get to Burlington as quickly as possible.  BUT...there was an ice storm happening there at the same time.  So I took Amtrak...it was a 12 1/2 hour ride.  And I stayed in a hotel near the hospital for a week while I waited for them to discharge her.  It was a very long week!!  Then I traveled back to norther New York with her and stayed for a month until I felt she was ready to stay by  herself.  It was good to spend time with her, but my oh my it was demanding physically and emotionally.  It was a very long month!!  I came home yesterday, on the train...another 12 1/2 hour journey.  I am so very tired at this moment.

I really liked the hotel that I stayed in...but I could see this sign from my hotel room window...I couldn't help noticing the irony....Warning, no life guard on duty...swim at your own risk.  LOL!!

 

Needless to say, I didn't get much stitching done.  I took a few different projects because I was hoping to get a lot done.  I did ALMOST finish Birds of a Feather that I started the first of January, and today stitched the last few leaves of the tree.  Here it is!!  Thanks again, Alice, for the pattern, it was truly a joy to stitch!!

I was able to keep up with my goal of stitching two Christmas ornaments a month.  These are so fun to stitch, and quick too!!  Here are my two for January!

Just after my last blog post in January I finished the Positive Thinking SAL I was stitching.  Here is a picture of it.  I loved stitching this, love the saying, and hope to get it framed soon.  Wish me luck!!

 

I took some crocheting to do on the train which was easier than trying to stitch (I did try but we were swaying so much it was futile!!) and lighter to carry when heading out each day to the hospital.  I worked on a scarf and a shawl alternately, but didn't finish either of them.  Believe it or not, I was busy at the hospital (except when Mom was sleeping) as I gave her most of her care, trying to give the nurses a break.  They liked coming into Mom's room periodically to laugh and kid around with us.  I have to say we were both giddy considering that she was still with us, we were happy she had made it through!  I haven't taken pictures, but will when they are both done.

I'm sure you've had snow wherever you were during the past five weeks...but I thought I would go crazy as the snow continued to fall day after day while I was there.  Here are a few pictures taken on different days while I watched it pile up...so glad to be where you can see the ground in some places and the weather has turned warmer.  It hit -24 degrees with a wind chill of -40 one morning...brrrrr!!

 

I missed my boys so much while I was gone, but they took good care of each other.  It was a very happy reunion yesterday!!  They decorated the house with streamers and balloons throughout the main floor.  I had to laugh, as they both had to keep ducking to keep from running into the streamers.  It's nice to feel so loved and missed.

And that is that.  Hopefully I'll be back to stitching, meeting up with my friends, and working at keeping some of my goals that got thrown out the window in the first week of January.  LOL  Such is life, it's always one big adventure.  I'm learning to be flexible as I get older, but it isn't easy teaching an old dog new tricks.  Till next time...happy stitching!

Happy New Year...and January Ort Report...

Happy New Year!

My resolve is to be more disciplined this year.  That encompasses a bunch of things, which I'm not going to list...that way if I fail you'll never know!  LOL  I did make a list of things I hope to do each day and showed them to my husband.  I also hope to start a study with a friend of mine and make her my accountability partner.  This truly needs to be a year of getting my act together.  I'm hoping all the surgeries, medicines, tests, doctor visits, etc are behind me and I can make this the year of getting well and healthy!  I think I'm finally feeling more energetic after all the procedures last year, so hopefully I'm on that path!  Wish me luck!!  

I hope to get a new tab working at the top that lists my stitching goals for 2014.  I didn't do too well with my goals from last year, but this is a new year, let's see how I get along this year!

It is a tradition with me to start something new on New Year's Day.  This year I chose a Mystery Sampler from a few years ago.  I've always admired the one hanging at my LNS and a friend very kindly gave me all three parts just after my last surgery.  I gathered the Materials together and had them waiting for this morning.  I put in a few stitches, gathered a few orts, and am posting pictures now but hope to get back to stitching for a little bit more.  I am stitching this on 40 ct Meadow Rue over two threads using the recommended Weeks Dye Works thread.

Here is my progress on The Nativity I started on Christmas day.  I think my eyes will need frequent breaks from this pattern, but I am anxious to get to a part in the pattern when there is something recognizable!!  LOL
 

 I've decided to participate in the 2014 TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long) this year, keeping track of the ORTs (Old Ratty Threads) I use each month, taking a picture on the day of the new moon and posting it on my blog.  I tried to participate last year, but life kept getting in the way.  Here are the ORTs I collected last year...yes, I've done a lot of stitching!!  LOL  

I'm going to try to make a more concerted effort this year.  Here is what I've contributed so far this year.  

If you are interested in participating you can find more information and sign up here.  I hope you'll join us!  Have fun!!

And on that note, I'm off to get a wee bit more stitching in before I head off to see the Symphony of Lights.  It's the first time we've been able to see this light display that operated every year to benefit the Howard County General Hospital and is presented by Macy's.  Here is a website with some pictures if you are interested...and here is one with a wee bit more information.  I'm excited to see them!  My camera battery is low, but I hope to take a few tonight.  Hopefully next time I post you'll get to see them.

My wish for you is for a bright, prosperous, healthy New Year...blessed with lots of stitching and making of fond memories.  Happy New Year!!

Last finish of the year...

I can't believe the year is almost over.  Where did 2013 go?  It was chock full of excitement, with my son's graduation, an extended visit from my mother, and surgery for me.  Two trips for my son, his being hired permanently with the agency he interned for, my husband getting a new position at work, and a lovely vacation to New York for the two of us.  It's been a very good year for all of us.  I'm so very thankful!

I received this lovely ornament from Ally of Friendly Stitchers fame.  Isn't it lovely?  I propped it up next to a gift Astrid had given me.  I thought the two belonged together since the wine gums came from Harrogate's sweet shop.  You ladies who have attended the needlework show in Harrogate will have to tell me if there is a sweet shop there, or if this came from a different Harrogate!  According to Astrid, this is the closest we will come to getting to the needlework show there, at least for now.   

I've done a lot of stitching as well.  I've had 13 major finishes this year, not many of them were WIPs I've had floating around here for some time.  Maybe next year?  haha

I've done  a little more on The Nativity...but only a little bit...here's my progress

My husband gave me the Forget Me Not Sampler by Brenda Gervais for Christmas.  I couldn't wait to get started, so the day after I started The Nativity, I started Forget Me Not.  Today, just four days later, I was able to finish.  I love this pattern!  I didn't use the fabric that came with the kit.  It needed to be "distressed" and I was unsure how to go about that.  So I rummaged through my fabric and found 40 ct. flax.  I guess the fabric should have been a wee bit darker, but I'm happy with the way it came out.  This is stitched over two linen threads except where the pattern indicates that it should be stitched over one.

With this finish, that made 13 for the year, not counting any ornaments I stitched for folks for Christmas.  Here are the others.

Hope Blooms

God's Gifts Sampler

Au Point de Croix SAL

Wedding Sampler

Matter's Choice

Soie Surfine Silken Bird Spledor XXIV

Friendship Blooms

Sweet flowers

Count Your Blessings

The Three Wise Men

Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella 

 

Nearly forgot Mary's Sampler

Hopefully I will finish more WIPs from a few years ago next year...lets keep our fingers crossed!!

I hope you have a Happy and Healthy New Year, however you choose to celebrate.  We plan to go see a Christmas light display on New Year's Day, and hopefully I'll get some pictures...wish me luck!  So until then, happy stitching! 

Merry Christmas

I do wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  (Even if I am a day late!)

I stitched this pattern many years ago, but it so exemplifies my feeling about the season.  I hope my first thought at Christmas is about the One who humbled himself and came to dwell among us, offering salvation and peace on earth for those who choose to accept his amazing and gracious gift.  Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus!


It's has been crazy here at DJ's Digs.  I love this time of year, but it's exhausting!  We were quite busy with church activities and then yesterday, it was all quiet on the western front!  I love Christmas day here at our house.  Though we are up relatively early, and the most work we do all day is cooking dinner, we really enjoy each other's company.  We usually get a new game for Christmas and this year we got Mah Jongg, the card game.  Most people think it's a matching game, but in reality, Mah Jongg is a lot like Bridge, where you make certain hands before you can lay down your cards, then you steal points from other players.  It was a wonderful time to spend together, I love it that we like to play games and enjoy each others company.  I hope it is always that way!!  In the end we went to the movies to see Saving Mr. Banks, a really good heart warming story, that both my guys and I enjoyed! 

 I was fortunate this year to have received some wonderful gifts from stitchy friends.  Astrid knows me too well!!  She really spoiled me this year, so along with a few goodies she gave me a few things to enhance my nativity collection.  Thank you Astrid, they are both lovely and meaningful and they will be displayed throughout the year!

I participated in a Secret Santa exchange this year.  What fun!!  I sent two charts to my partner, and someone sent me two charts, both from the same needlework store.  Too funny!!  Stitching Bits and Bobs was wonderful in that they included a lovely note explaining the charts were from my Secret Santa, and included a few freebies along with A Red Cottage, and Simple Gifts-Courage.  My fingers are itching to get started on these!!

Now that everyone has their gifts, I can show you what I've been busy stitching!  First off is a gift to my ornament exchange partner, Ally.  I sent her two but I only have pictures of one of them.

Next are two things I stitched for Astrid.  I loved this ornament so much, I plan to stitch one for myself too!  She is also a Saints fan, so I stitched this little pin for her.

I stitched a little ornament for Gillie as well.  She stopped by just after Thanksgiving so I was able to give her her gift in person though she chose to wait for Christmas to open hers!

As far as the little stitching I've been able to fit in here and there, here is my progress onRenouveau

A scarf I learned to make watching a youtube video.  It matches my coat perfectly and my guess is (since it's so easy to make) they might make good gifts next year!   

And my start on the amazing pattern my husband gave me for Christmas.  It is a nativity design from HAED.  He hunted down all the floss and I even had a piece of fabric big enough to stitch it hanging around the house!  I've decided to stitch it on 32 count over one.  Will you visit me in the looney bin when I'm finally driven there?

I know there is probably more I should write about, but my mind is still trying to process all the events of the past couple of weeks.  You probably won't hear from me again until 2014, but I hope and pray you enjoy the holidays and time spent with people you love and care for.  For those who have lost loved ones this year, heartfelt prayers are being offered up for you.  My prayer for all of you is that you are blessed beyond measure in the coming New Year.  *Hugs*