Happy New Year...I have a good feeling about 2014

First, let me share my last finish of 2014.  In my line of work, the holidays are just wonderful.  Classes end well before the Christmas holiday and don't begin until later in January.  That gives me a lot of time to focus on my stitching.  Don't get me wrong, I still work during the holidays, writing and revising the textbooks, but I have a lot  more freedom to work on my on schedule and enjoy the down time.  This holiday I have been stitching and watching one of my all time favorite TV shows Homicide Life of the Street.  I have Seasons 1 - 5 and 7 on DVD, so I stitch and listen to the television.

And, this is my first finish of 2014, Country Cottage Needleworks Poinsettia House in the Santa's Village series.  I just love this series.  When it first was released, I knew I wanted to stitch it but it wasn't one of those that I just had to do immediately.  I love the Country Cottage Needleworks style, so I usually get her designs.  But, I have to admit that this is just a fun one to stitch.  It may be that I am using colors that I haven't stitched with in a while, but the designs are just too cute.  The fabric is 36 ct. Solo from Silkweaver.  I love the variation in blues with just a small touch of purple.  Really makes the piece look wintery.  I think I will finish this as the center of a small quilt to hang during the holidays.  

So, as many of you know, we moved into our new house this year.  The official move-in was back in October.  We are still rearranging and unpacking.   It has been a lot of fun, going through all of our 'things' and thinking about them.

This beautiful piece is my great-grandmother's biscuit bowl.  It is a large, shallow wooden bowl that she used to make biscuits every day.  The story of how I came to possess it is somewhat interesting.  My great-grandparents were extremely caring individuals.  They had three children, but opened their homes to many others that needed love and support.  They were very poor, but felt it was their mission in life to help the less fortunate.  So, their home was full all the time.  My great-grandmother, Clarcia (pronounced Clair-Cee by her family), was a great cook.  A man in the neighborhood carved this bowl for her.  After my great-grandparents passed away, different people kind of ransacked their home and threw things out into the yard.  I'm not sure how much later, but time had passed and my parents were walking around looking over the old home.  My dad found this bowl almost completely buried in the yard.  He dug it up and took it home.  You can see the termites had worked on it some.  He cleaned it up and varnished it.  I remember this bowl in my home, always full of mail and other paperwork.  I would clean it out and fill it with fruit or some other decoration.  My mother gave it to me several years ago.  It is one of my absolute favorite heirlooms.  I know the history and it connects me to a lady that though I never met her, I love her.  My mother and her sisters and cousins talk about her so fondly.  It is obvious she was a wonderful person.  She has left a legacy and this bowl, to me, is a symbol of that.

Out with the old, in with the hoard ...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Our family certainly did.  The whole family was able to spend Christmas day together eating wonderful food and opening all of the sweet presents.  The kids really had a great time.  I personally received a Lalaloopsy (Goldie Luxe) and a new Crock-Pot, plus some wonderful cookbooks that were on my wish list.  On the stitching front, I have been working on a few holiday themed pieced to keep me in the spirit.  I finished Lizzie Kate Joy to the World this week.  Isn't it just lovely?  The colors are so perfect.  I also stitched the bonus pin keep box piece last night while hanging out with my friends, celebrating my little sister's birthday.

We had a great time.  Lisha is a wonderful hostess!  

The other project I have been working on is the Country Cottage Needelworks Santa's Village series.  As you can see, the first one is complete.  I love the colors on the blustery blue fabric I selected.  This one is going to be so cute.  I only have the first four patterns, but I will get the rest eventually.

So, this year I had hoped to stitch a whole bunch of pieces that I have kitted.  Last year, on the 26th, I made a list of all the patterns that I had everything needed to stitch.  That list included 70 pieces (I know, my hoard is too large).  Well, I stitched about 28 of them, including this Lizzie Kate Autumn Alphabet that I am currently working on.  I was not as productive this year, with the move and building the house and all.  But, that's OK.  This just means that the 2014 list is ready and waiting.  While organizing my new craft room I did something that now that I think about it was a bad idea.  I made a list of all of my stitching patterns.  I organized all of my linens by stitch count.  I combined my and my mother's DMC collection in a wonderful drawer system that Theresa gave me.  It looked so nice.  But it also made me realize I may have a problem.  I am truly a cross stitch hoarder.  I have over 200 patterns just waiting for me to stitch.  I have plenty of fabric and thread to work on these.  So, as part of my "Counting my Blessings" new year, I have decided to not purchase any new cross stitch supplies for the next year.  There is one caveat though, my resolution is suspended with a cost limit when I go to the Silver Needle retreat this summer.

I will work from the same list as I started last year.  For the first few months I think I will just go down the list, working on the projects in sequence.  I may jump around to work on small projects when I feel overwhelmed, but for the most part I will follow the list.  First up are two beautiful pieces that I have been looking at and wanting to stitch, but made myself wait until I finished some WIPs.  Well, on January 1st I am going to start these two lovely pieces.  First is a reproduction sampler from Shakespeare's Peddler Ann Womack.  I love the samplers Theresa chooses.  She has a very creative spirit and a wonderful sense of taste.  This is one she released in 2012.  Love all the red.  The second piece is from Jeannette Douglas.  It is a small one, but I love it.  Once I finish the stitching I resolve to also complete the finishing so it will be useful and not just another piece stuffed in my chest of stitching.

Have a safe and happy New Year!  Those of you in the South, or with a Southern flair, don't forget to eat your black-eyed peas and greens on Wednesday.  (Our family also includes a carrot dish called Copper Pennies, just for added luck).

Hello...Is anyone still listening?

So, how is everyone?  It has been way too long since my last post, but I have a good excuse.  We have been extremely busy.  About this time last year, we decided to build our dream home on our family farm land.  After looking at lots of plans, I came up with just what I wanted and had a local architect draw the plans.  In March, we started.  Fortunately, we had the absolute best builder in the world working on our home.  He was so organized and selected the best teams for every step of the construction.  Our other home sold in May, so we moved in with my parents.  During this same time, my older son graduated from high school.  He is now a freshman in college and doing so well. (Proud of you, Patrick!)  My mother also had major heart surgery and was in the hospital for a full month.  Someone had to stay in the room with her at all times.  So my sisters, father, brothers, aunt, sons husband and I worked out a schedule and she was well taken care of.

This October, we moved into our dream home.  I can not express how happy I am with my new home.  It has everything I have ever wanted in a home.  My kitchen is ... well, perfect.  We had the family Thanksgiving meal here yesterday and just had a great time.  The view from every angle is amazing.  I love being on the land where I spent my childhood.

The stitching is finally getting back to normal.  I didn't cross stitch a lot over the past six months, but I did crochet.  This past September, I enter several items in our State Fair and received 8 blue ribbons and 1 red ribbon (canning).  This has gotten my stitching drive going again, so I am working on several pieces right now.  One is a gift to my friend, Theresa.  As many of you know, she closed her shop, Shakespeare's Peddler, to become the manager at our local animal shelter.  She has worked so hard over the past 6 months.  She and I spent a lot of time together over the past few years, usually meeting for lunch at least once each week.  Since May, we haven't spent much time together.  With her crazy work schedule and everything going on in my life, we just haven't had much free time.  Well, she made the hard decision to quit (I think it was the best decision).  So, now we can get back to doing our thing, and that includes a lot of stitching.  

Now that my life has settled back into a normal routine, I will be much better at posting my progress on stitching.  It is so good to be back.  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Where has the time gone...

I have been very bad at posting to this blog for far to long.  Things are a bit crazy, but in a good way.  We are building a new house.  It should be finished in 6  - 8 weeks, but we sold our old house back in May.  So, for the past 3 months, we have been living with my parents in a very small place.  On top of that, my older son graduated from high school and started college, my mother had major heart surgery, and my younger son started high school including marching in the high school band.  Believe it or not, I have made some progress on the stitching front.  I will get my self together and post some pictures soon.

So, we are in the third week of February already!  The days are flying by.  February is a busy birthday month for our family.  Two of my nephews (Tyler and Leif) turned 4 this month.  My son, Patrick, turned 18 (I am not taking that very well, by the way), and I got a year older.  So we have had birthday cake every weekend so far and will have another one this Sunday at our weekly family dinner on the farm.

I have also made some great progress in my stitching.  This weekend, I completed two of the three projects in my rotation.  First, I finished Plum Street Samplers Maxim and Zoya.  I have developed a thing for peacocks these past few years, and this pair was just too cute.  I will finish this as the top of a wooden box.  I need to pick up just the right shade of peacock blue, but can't wait to work on that one. Yesterday, I finished Chessie & Me's Scarlet's Summer House Sampler.  I absolutely loved stitching this one, even with the over-one alphabet.  It is so cute. I think I will finish this on a wooden plaque, similar to the suggestion in the pattern.

My new rotation includes a Jeannette Douglas piece.  I love her samplers and have completed two (Pomegranate and Pears and Pineapple).  Over the past few years I have collected several more, including the thread packs.  So today I will start the Vintage Stitches sampler.  I am really excited about that one because of all the beautiful purples and greens.  In addition, I am continuing to work on the Tournicoton piece, which is more time consuming than I had expected, and With Thy Needle and Threads' March Word Play.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Jen

It's February!!

Wow!  It's already the second month of 2013.  I love February.  First, my birthday is in February.  Also, my first son was born in February.  And, because we live so close to New Orleans, we have Mardi Gras holiday in February.  Plus, who can forget Valentine's Day!  So, it is just a great month!  Well, this February 1st, I finished Stacy Nash Primitive's Christmas at Hollyberry Farms.  Isn't it beautiful!! I am so happy with this finish and can't wait to have it framed.  This was a lot of work, but oh so worth it.

 Now, I am stitching on some smaller projects.  First up is Tournicoton Allons compter violettes.  I love violets.  One of my very first memories after moving to Mississippi in 1976 was picking wild violets on the hillside behind our home with my younger brother and mother.  I am happy to say that we will be building a new home on the same property this year.  I can't wait to walk around in my back yard and pick these same flowers again with my kids, nephews and niece.   Love that family tradition.

I am also working on Chessie and Me's Scarlet's Summer Sampler.  This is so cute.  I worked on it some yesterday and really like stitching this one.

And finally, I am working on Plum Street Samplers' Maxim & Zoya.  I started this last year and got distracted with other projects.  I love the birds, so I can't wait to finish this one.

Well, thanks for stopping by.  Things are always busy around the Regan house, but February is especially crazy.  We have lots of birthdays to celebrate plus my husband just informed me today that I am going with him on a short trip to New Orleans later in the month.  That should be fun.

Stitching Update...I have been busy

So I have been pretty busy the past few days.  Just before Christmas, I made a list of all of the projects that I could easily start without purchasing new fabrics or threads.  Those are the projects I will focus on this year.  Happily, I chose a few easy ones to start with.  I finished this Lizzie Kate Spring Alphabet last week.  What a happy project!  The colors are so bright.  I really enjoyed stitching this one.  A while ago, I stitched the Winter Alphabet in this series and I have the Summer and Autumn in my list to work on this year.  

After finishing the Lizzie Kate piece, I picked up With Thy Needle and Threads February Word Play.  I love this series.  I have finished January, May, October, and November.  This year I hope to finish all the others and display them during the appropriate month.  These are really easy and fast stitches, so this one should be ready in time.  You can see that I have finished most of the words, it just the fun motifs to stitch now.

And finally, I am proud to show my progress on Stacy Nash's Christmas at Hollyberry Farm.  The house is finished, and what an accomplishment.  It is so lovely!  The left border is complete, so you can visualize the finished piece.  I need to add the little fence and a few more motifs, and of course finish the border.  But, after stitching that house, the remaining seems so easy.

Well, I am waiting for a cake to bake and then it is off to the lab today to clean fish tanks.  My older son, Patrick, has travelled to Washington, D.C., with a school group and will be attending the inauguration ceremony today.  He is having such a great time and I am so happy that he had this opportunity.  Honestly, though, I am a bit teary thinking that little guy is practically grown.  He is graduating this year, and I still see a 7-year old when I look at him.

Enjoy your week and thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Downton Abbey!!

Hobbie and the boys gave me a new TV and DVD/Blue-ray player.  That was very nice, but the best part is the player also allows me to connect with Netflix and Amazon Prime.  So, this weekend I watched Seasons 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey.  I am hooked.  I realize that the new season has started, but I don't have access to the channel.  Hopefully, the new episodes will be available through Amazon Prime soon.

So, here's my progress on the Stacy Nash Christmas at Hollyberry Farm.  Isn't is so pretty?  The border is very nice.  I am stitching this on 40ct. Light Exemplar.  I absolutely love this one.  There are 4 pages to the pattern and I have finished page 1 and almost page 2.  I just need to finish the top part of a tree on the right.  Page 3 is a challenging.  There is a huge white house on the bottom left, so that will take some time.  But, I am really enjoying this one.

And, I also spent one day stitching on the Lizzie Kate Spring Alphabet.  Sharon asked about the fabric. This is stitched on 32 ct. Wandering Ivy from Silkweaver.  This piece of fabric has been in my stash for some time and I wanted just the right project for it.  I think this one is perfect.  The colors are so pretty.

Well, this is the first day of the first "real" week of the new year for me.  I'm off to work later this morning to write a few letters of recommendation for graduating students and putting the final touches on the syllabi for my courses.  I think this semester will be a bit more relaxing for me.  I have 4 classes, but all revolve around anatomy and physiology, so at least there's consistency.  Plus, working on the textbook revisions will be along the same thread as well.  We don't have any major travel plans either; except for Patrick.  He is traveling with a few classmates to the Presidential Inauguration.  I am excited for all of them.  This will be a trip of a lifetime.

Have a great week and I hope you have plenty of stitching time.

Happy New Year!!

I guess this is the best time to update my blog.  Maybe this year I will keep up with my blogging.  2012 was a busy year for me, but I so enjoyed myself.  I was fortunate to share so many wonderful times with my family and friends.  Patrick, my older son, is a senior this school year, so he has been very busy, so I have been very busy as well.  

But, this is a stitching blog, so on with the stitching news:

On Christmas eve, I sat down with all of my stitching stash and made a list of the projects that at least had the fabric, and most likely the threads, to complete.  I want to focus on these types of projects this year, since I will have no excuses for working on them.  Well, I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but I have 67 of these projects.  So, no reason for whining about nothing to do this year, right?

                                    

Isn't this so incredibly beautiful.  Stacy Nash is such a creative designer, but I haven't stitch much of her  work.  Theresa challenged me to a stitch off on this one.  Now, Theresa is the fastest stitcher I know, but, she is also pretty busy this time of year, designing and all, so I feel like I might have a chance.  We'll see.  

  

 Next, up on my to do list is this lovely little alphabet from Lizzie Kate.  The weather in south Mississippi changes every few days.  It may be cold today, but it could be in the upper 70s next week, so I wanted something to lighten my mood.  Spring Alphabet was just the thing.  The colors are so sweet.

By the way, my sisters and I have made a promise to check with each other for supplies before buying any new crafting supplies.  Between the three of us and our mother we have over 5 sets of DMC, but not all are complete.  This alphabet project, of course, required one thread that I didn't have.  Luckily, I was able to pick it up at my mother's house last night, saving me a bit of change.

Finally, I have two finishes to share.  These were on the original list of 67 projects.  I finished the Lizzie Kate ABC Stitching Lesson Sampler on December 27th.  The Lizzie Kate Farm Sampler was my traveling project when my family went to Disney World last week.  I finished it Wednesday!  And isn't that little Lalaloopsy just too cute?  These have become an obsession of mine this year.  I have way more than a grown woman needs, but I do love them.

Long time, no see...

So, how's it been? Have you enjoyed the last, what, 6 months since I posted? I hope everyone had a nice end of winter, spring, and summer. It has been crazy busy here. For the past few months I have been in the middle of the revisions for our text. On top of that, I had four classes to teach in the Spring semester (over 400 students total). We also started a new research project in May and I started my own project in June. Just to make my life a little more hectic, I had to teach a summer course because we couldn't find anyone that could cover the course. Needless to say, I have been busy and not ignoring my blog intentionally (well, sort of).

As for stitching, of course I found the time. I would go crazy if I couldn't stitch. I have finished several projects, but thought it would just be easier to start with the ones I am currently working on. First up, I learned to crochet!! My mother is a wonderful crocheting woman. We all have baskets of afghans in our homes that she has crocheted for us. For some reason, I just never got it. She has tried to teach me on several occasions, but it never worked for me. Then enters Katie, my newest sister-in-law. She taught me in five minutes. I have since made a granny square pillow (huge) for our cat, Elvis. I will try to remember to add a photo next post of that. Currently, I am working on my first afghan. It is cute, don't you think?

As for cross stitching news, I am in a Halloween mood right now. The Lizzie Kate Mystery sampler is a great one to stitch. I finished the first section in like two days. The second part arrived at the shop yesterday, so I will work on it soon. If you haven't picked this one up, I highly recommend it.

I also dug out an old pattern from my stash, Sleepy Hollow from Cross Eyed Cricket. Very fun stitch. I am about half way through the first section. The house is completed, so that is a great. Maybe, just maybe, I can finish this one before Halloween.

Theresa at Shakespeare's Peddler released a reproduction sampler in 6 parts as her freebie chart earlier this year. I actually stitched the whole thing and absolutely loved it. Now, I am itching to stitch more of her reproduction samplers. I think I will work on the Jane Pattison for a while. I promise to include photos in the next post. (And I promise that next post will not be in 6 months.)

Have a great day!

Jen

Happy February!!

Wow! Have things been busy around our place lately. This semester is already running like a speed train, with lots of projects and things to do. I haven't had as much time to stitch, but I some progress is being made. I worked on a WIP this past week, Autumn Leaves and Sunflower Seeds from Blue Ribbon Designs. This is a really cute piece worked in silks. I just don't like the 28 ct. fabric I am working on. But, luckily it is more than half done, so I will work through it.

I am also working on the CCN February Cottage. Love this. I don't think it will take much more time to have this one finished. Really cute design and I love the colors.

Finally, look at this cute little ornament that I received in the Santa Ornament exchange over at Hooked on Exchanging. Cindy from NY made this little beauty and mailed it to me earlier this month. I really love the beads and can't wait to add this to my ornament collection. Thanks, Cindy for the beautiful exchange. Plus, I absolutely love the card. Butterflies are one of my favorites.

Two finishes to share

Wow! I have really busy this past week and actually finished 3 projects. Two of them are series so I still need to work on these for a while, but the third is a true, complete finish. First, Lizzie Kate Winter Alphabet. I stitched this on a piece of 32 ct. fabric from my stash and I love the result. I can't wait to frame this one. If you haven't picked up this chart yet, it is so much fun to stitch and really works up quickly.

Next, is Elizabeth Milner from Shakespeare's Peddler. Theresa is releasing this as her free chart of the month, releasing 1/6th of the pattern for the first 6 months of 2012. Again, this is a fun stitch and is easy and fast. I am stitching it on 40 ct. Lentil using the designated silks. This is my first time to stitch one of Theresa's reproduction samplers. I am lucky enough to see the originals of these beauties in her collection and have wanted to stitch one for a while. The problem is that I was a bit intimidated by the sizes of these samplers. I know that the originals were stitched by little girls, but they didn't have research to conduct, textbooks to write, courses to teach, kids to feed, etc. I am just worried that I will start one of these and then never finish. The way that Theresa is releasing sections each month seemed like the perfect method for me. As a matter of fact, I stitched this section in just three days.

My other finish is Blackbird Designs Summer. It is the first of the 3 part 2011 series. Sorry, I didn't get a picture, but will post it later.

So far, January has been a great start to the new year. I have accomplished most of my goals and am still excited about the new year. As the semester is revving up though, I am getting quite busy, but it's all good things.

Hope everyone has a great week and thanks for stopping by.

Crafty business

So, it has been quite a busy week for me. Classes started on Tuesday. I have three large lecture courses this semester (total of 450 students) plus I am team teaching an MCAT prep course with 30 more students. Needless to say, I have met a lot of new and excited young people this past week. I am actually really excited about this semester. The students really seem motivated, which is always nice.

Now, on to more crafty things. Last weekend I decided to finish some of the JABCo pin cushions that I have been collecting the past year. I, of course, picked this up at Shakespeare's Peddler and have finished some over the past year, but the collection is quite extensive now. So, I got to work and finished 4 in two days. The cutest, by far, was the Cherry Limeade (special limited edition available at St. Charles). Sunday, I coached/coerced my sister Bridget through finishing yet another one with me. These are very, very cute and really fun to do. I still have 5 left to finish, but I will get to them eventually.

Stitching-wise, I have been making progress, but not as much as I had hoped. I stitch a bit more on BBD Summer, but then decided to work on LK Winter Alphabet. It is really cute on this green fabric. Can't wait to finish this one.

Yesterday was a fun crafty day for me. A group of friends and I signed up for Painting with a Twist, a local paint studio that offers classes for the public. This is a franchise business that has studios in lots of different cities and we are lucky enough to have one here in our little area. We met for dinner (and a lemon drop martini). Then we spent the next two hours working on this little masterpiece. I am thinking of using this frame, but Hobbie actually likes it without a frame. We had the best time. Afterwards, we all met at a local martini bar and sampled some of the yummy varieties. I loved the Bananasplitini and the Grasshopper. Needless to say, we had a great time and plan to repeat this night out soon.

First Finishes of the New Year

Isn't it lovely?! I finished Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart piece last Thursday. Friday, I went by my favorite frame shop and picked out a frame. After a bit of confusion with the framer, I was able to get the correct frame by Saturday and now it is hanging in my house. The finished piece is absolutely beautiful. My sister Sharon says that it is definitely an heirloom piece with all of the family initials and dates. My younger sister, Bridget, is putting together a photoshopped piece that highlights the initials and dates so I can attach it to the back of the piece.

Just this morning I finished the CCN January Cottage. It is stitched on 32 ct. Silkweaver Boo Belfast Linen. I used the called for threads except for one. I didn't have it in my stash, so I substituted GA LA Haze for the roof top.

I also started the 2011 BBD Loose Feathers series this morning. I am stitching this on 40ct. linen, not sure of the name of the fabric though. It will be small and I have to wear my reading glasses now to stitch on 40 ct., but it will be worth it when I am finished.

Well, today is my last free day before the new semester. Classes do not begin until next Tuesday, but I need to go into the office tomorrow and get everything organized and attend a meeting. The textbook work has also suffered a bit over the holidays, so I will focus on that the rest of the week as well. I really enjoyed the holiday this year and took advantage of all my down time, but now it's time to get to it. Looking forward to the new semester.

Have a great day!

Jen

First Road Trip of 2012

We went to New Orleans! It was a short trip, but we had such a great time. Ok, here's the back story: I got a Cool Daddy deep fryer for Christmas (I was so excited.) The first thing I made with this new kitchen gadget was a batch of beignets using the Cafe Du Monde mix available in our grocery stores in the South. The boys were impressed, but Hobbie thought they needed to experience the real thing to make a fair comparison. So, Hobbie suggested that we go to New Orleans for the day since he had Monday off from work. So, we did.

We walked around the French Quarter and had the beignets (Yummy!!!). Then we decided to walk down Royal Street on our way to the WWII museum.

I love to look at art galleries. I am semi-artistic but too impatient. I appreciate the time and effort that artists invest in their work. I was lucky enough to work at a frame shop when I was younger and framed lots of work of our local artists in Hattiesburg. It was alway so much fun to see what these people created. So, we are walking along, admiring the different artists' work, when we came upon Alex Beard's Studio. I was awestruck. I usually just look at the displayed pictures in the windows, but I had to go into this studio. I was so excited. I LOVE his work. His work features animals and since I am a biologist, I was especially drawn to his work. I mentioned to Hobbie that I really liked the work and wanted one for my birthday in February. He asked which one I liked the most and I showed him the Avery Island Egrets print. HE BOUGHT IT FOR ME!!! He said that he knew if we left the studio with the intention to come back later, I would never go back and get the piece. (I can be a bit of a tight wad). I have to wait a few weeks though because the piece will have a customized mat completed by Alex. I can not tell you how excited I am. Isn't Hobbie the best?

So we made our way to the WWII Museum. Patrick has been to the museum twice with different class trips, but he was excited that we were all going to go and thought that Nicholas would especially enjoy it. We saw the featured film Beyond All Boundaries. It was amazing and very touching. I think it was a great way to start off the year with the realization of just how much has been sacrificed so that we can just decide to run down to New Orleans for the day. I very touching and humbling experience. Nicholas was impressed and wants to go back to visit the museum again. We were not able to go through all of the exhibits.

While we were there, the boys were hungry (teenage boys, ya know). We decided to eat at the restaurant in the museum. I was reading the description to the guys when I realized that this was a John Besh restaurant. I really think I blushed when I read his name. I have a huge chef crush on John Besh. It all started when he challenged Mario Batali in Iron Chef America. Then when I really got to know him on Next Iron Chef, I was too far gone. He seems to be such a genuine individual (and it doesn't hurt that he served in the USMC, I have a thing for Marines). We had a wonderful meal to end the day.

What a great time! And, we made it home early enough that I had some stitching time before bed.

I'm back!!

I know, I know. It has been way too long since I updated my blog. Lisha, Bridget, Sharon, Theresa, I do apologize. But, I decided to end 2011 in a positive note and post something.

This year has been very busy. I didn't reach all of my stitching goals, but one of my most important was the Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart series. I am happy to say that I have finished all of the month blocks. I still need to finish the last bonus, but it should be completed in a few days. It was a lot of fun to stitch and will be such a family heirloom. I added many of my special family members to the blocks (parents, siblings, nephews, grandparents, and our newest additions Katie and Maddi). I can't wait to finish this and frame it. I know exactly where it will hang in the living room.

Now, as for my 2012 stitching goals I would like to finish some of the WIPs from 2011:

1. Trousse A Tri Fils

2. The Primitive Needle Witches Hollow

3. Cherished Stitches A Quaker Halloween Sampler

4. Gingerbread Stitching House

5. Bent Creek Christmas Mantle

6. Leisure Arts Mistletoe Ball

7. A Quaker Christmas

8. Blue Ribbon Designs Autumn Leaves and Sunflower Seeds

9. Blue Ribbon Designs Peppermint Twist

10. Blackbird Designs Seasons series

11. Country Cottage Needleworks newest series

12. Blackbird Designs Easter Parade.

Hopefully, I will be more successful this year. But if not, it's all right!!

To close this post, I want to share some photos of our wild cats:

This is Josie. And, yes, she is just as special as she seems to think she is in this photo. She is our three year old Maine Coon. This diva has a lot of sass and even more attitude. But, we love her.

This sweet "little" girl is Elizabeth (Lizzie). She is a year old and the nicest cat. Very calm, unless Nicholas gets out the laser pointer and then the girl can move.

Finally, we have Elvis. He is our 7 month old Maine Coon. He is just full of trouble. (I found a mess on the kitchen floor this morning where he pulled something off of the counter and tried to eat it.) He is super sweet and loves, loves, loves all of us. He is going to be a big boy though.

Happy New Year!!!

Update on projects

So, I have been less productive this month than I had hoped, but I did finish two of the WIPs from my list. This week's finish was LHN Sunflower Inn. The house was a bit time consuming, but overall it was a very enjoyable stitch.

I am working on several projects that are series this year (BBD Anniversaries of the Heart, EM Sampler book, BC Christmas Mantle and Halloween Branch). These have actually made my progress seem slower than I had hoped. I listed these as single projects, when they are actually multiple projects on one piece of fabric. I think that if I can get through one (maybe the BC Christmas Mantle) I will feel like I am making progress. That's my goal this month.

Dream JOB!!!

I have had the most fun this past month helping out at Shakespeare's Peddler, Theresa Venette's needlework shop. Most of you are probably familiar with Theresa through her amazing designs (Raise the Roof and Shakespeare's Peddler). She is an amazing designer and great friend. After market, she was extremely busy, so I offered to help out. Fortunately for me, she accepted the offer.

Let me tell you, she is a busy woman. But, she is always so positive. Every time the phone rings, she answers with this happy voice, "Shakespeare's Peddler, this is Theresa!" She is so nice to her customers. She answers lots of questions about fabric choice and stitching techniques. She actually is a great role model on how to make the world a better place by just being nice to everyone. And after hanging up the phone, you will often hear her say, "I have the nicest customers!" I have to admit that she has been an inspiration to me and I have been a much more positive person because of her friendship. My younger sister, Bridget, feels the same way. Can you tell that we just love Theresa?

If you are like me, it is so much fun just to be surrounded by all of the wonderful threads and patterns and fabric. Theresa's store is jammed packed with lots of great goodies. We have packed A LOT of orders over the past few weeks and I just know those lucky customers are smiling when they receive them. Who wouldn't love a package of stitching stash!!

If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Theresa's online shop, do so. She is wonderful.

Now, I have also been stitching some at home. Unfortunately, my day job has really been crazy. I have a lot of students this semester and we are in the "crunch time" on the revision of one of the textbooks, so my stitching has not been that impressive. I did finish the Green Flip Its series from Lizzie Kate. I am going to frame this and hang it in my office. Very appropriate for a Ph.D. in biology to have hanging in the office. Also, I just finished "I Love the Birds" (a Theresa design). It is so pretty. I stitched it on 40 ct. so it is very small and delicate. Once I finish stretching it, I can order the frame and this one may also end up in my office.

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the Spring weather. We have had some very pretty days mixed with some very stormy days lately. But overall, it has been a very nice Spring. I think I will spend the rest of today visiting with family and stitching. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!