I luv U Alex + Yoplait Whips!

Introducing ..... Alexander!
What an interesting morning ; ) Our son, Alex, is 13 years old -- enjoys Drama Club at school. This year, they are performing CATS in January. He has been learning tap dancing and other dance routines all Summer. Today, he received his make-up lesson. Sharing photographs .... he is a cutie kitty. I luv him. I told him he looked purr-fect & he rolled his eyes.

Alex has been stitching thru the Summer & has several finishes. He has three Mill Hill kits for me to finish (2-pins & 1-orn) -- the DMC mentor kit -- Plus, Have You Any Wool (Heart in Hand). He wants a grey cord DMC 413 with Mill Hill Sheep Button in one corner. Looks like I have some finishing in the future!

Snack-of-the-Week: Yoplait Whips! The lemon and lime are my favorites -- the kids like cherry. Got several on sale at the market. I still haven't approached my bathroom scale .... figure those numbers can wait another day ; )

Started reading Miss Read: Thrush Green ..... here is a quote: "Look at the day ahead and never backward" The characters are waiting for the fair to open ....

Done! Done! Done! + Nikki waits for me to leave

Happy Dancing X 3ish! Managed these finishes since Monday -- Encore Scissor Keep (gift for Grammy K. I think the Gingher scissors match the Far Horizons Caron Watercolour fiber I used.

Caron Keeper (times two). Freebie pattern on the Caron web site. The one w/dark blue cording is a gift. The other one made from left overs. Camp Quality book cover w/felt, buttons & various fibers. The spider web didn't show up well in the pic -- it is done with Kreinik glow-n-the-dark fiber. Used a lot of perle coton #8 & some purple tatting thread. The buttonhole stitch is not a good one for me! spacing gets off. Today I will get stitching on my Friendship project ....

Nikki curled up about two feet from my creative corner. He is just waiting for me to leave so he can bat the perle cotton balls all over the place. Nikki (my daughter's cat) aka "BRAT" is a constant pest into my floss and perle cotton. He sneaks into my room, grabs a skein of floss & chews it up .... or he paws at the perle coton balls and charges all over the house with them!

Dog in the background is Buddy .... Buddy was boarded at a kennel & never picked up by his owner. We took him in when he was about 2 yrs old. He sneaks on the bed after DH goes to work.

MIOM & Key Lime Almond Joy

MIOM! MIOM! Woot. Today is the day to move something from the WIP pile & get it DONE. Found some WIP candidates + must-do stitching this week.

ONE. Caron Keeper freebie chart x 2 fobs. (got carried away, stitched two of these). Making one for a girlfriend - birthday 8/10. She is a sweetheart & sent me 2 squishies in the mail over the Summer .... She gave me a skein of Waterlillies by Caron AND a Victoria Sampler heart kit. The other fob made with left overs from Drawn Thread...Forget-me-not Fob (freebie) .... EGA classes. Have them pinned & ready to launch the finishing .... (8/9 - still workin on!)

TWO. Project Encore. Just need to whip it shut using a long arm cross stitch. For Grammy K's birthday (Sept) So cool to be ahead of time on her gift. Still pondering a nice pair of scissors. (8/8 DONE)

THREE. (Woot! 8/9 DONE!!!) Camp Quality. Have the stash stuff OUT. Been thinking about the motifs I want to use (spider, web, broomstick) -- I'll draft on paper -- pin to the felt -- stitch thru the paper & felt. Buttonhole edge ..... yuk, that buttonhole isn't a friend of mine. My spacing gets off. Friday deadline. More info on annual volunteering at http://www.surfnetinc.com/NANI under outreach programs. Past projects were canvas & aida.

FOUR. Friendship Project - garden/friendship theme. No photos for obvious reasons! Should pass this along by Friday.

FIVE. Sanctuary SAL -- oh my; oh my .... such a neglected sampler. I've enjoyed this project, challenging stitches, lovely colors, interesting detail ... & am behind my group by a few months. Should snap a close up of the part I'm working on ....

Snack of the (last) Week: Peter Paul Almond Joy - bite size: White Chocolate Key Lime flavored coconut - almond candy. Bought a bag for my M-I-L & forgot to take them when we visited! Of course, nobody here likes them -- but ME! I hate my bathroom scale. (and I don't allow the word hate to be uttered in our home ever --- but, my scale and I have issues to resolve) Today, will watch what I eat .... back to salad & fish & chicken & h20 & lighter foods.

WIPs & Lake Co Fair

It is Friday .... time to recap the WIPs. First, thanks to Linda R from House of Stitches & DJ for suggestions on my rabbit/tree fob cord issue. Linda suggests making cording with the Sampler threads, using small cords on each side & making knots at the corners (little tassels sort-of). She also said there is a Week's Dye color similar to Black Crow. DJ suggests taking the sampler thread & knotting two strands together b/c when you make a cord, you twist + fold in half -- so, the knot in theory, will be at the END of the cord. Guess I'll decide after I shop .... still need to add the year and initials under the tree.
On the left .... I have two WIPs. The canvas project will be a scissor keeper. #14 canvas. Called Project Encore by Carmen Rupert (guild lesson). I made one using Watercolours - cantaloupe. The new one is stitched w/Far Horizons -- pinks & greens (gift). Delighted how the lining matched the fiber. See the small batch of stitching? It is what I accomplished during Thread Heads (4hrs) .... gathering of girlfriends. I had so much fun catching up on the needle chat and other good gab. The ccs project is the Caron Keeper from the Caron Web site. I'm going to make 2 -- one on 32ct Light Mocha (pictured) and the other will be on 36ct rue green -- using floss not silk.

Had a delightful time at Lake Co Fair last night. Deb L won Best-of-Best well deserved ; ) Grammy K & Sue D had loads of ribbons. WOOT! I did ok. Was beyond happy with the Acorn Sampler win. We all did the happy dance together. My Entries:

Handicrafts I / Holiday Decoration
(2nd)711. Counted Cross Stitch (CCS): Ornament - Chessie's Tree
718. Paper: Mill Hill kit - Stocking
Handicrafts II
(3rd)YARN 844. Plastic Canvas: CQ box + lid
(2nd)MISC 852. Beadword (glass): Mill Hill magnetic pin pillow
JEWELRY 857. Paper: Mill Hill Garden Bunny pin
JEWELRY 859. Bead-Glass: Amulet w/dark colors
(3rd)JEWELRY 862. Pin (lapel & brooch): Homespun Elegance - Rabbit & Bird
Needlecraft II
(1st)CCS Picture 1109. Acorn Sampler - Dawn Lewis adaptation
CCS MISC 1112. Blackwork - original stuff
(3rd)CCS Miniature Item 1114. 3 Kittens - Meg Shinell design
CCS Perforated Paper 1115. Mill Hill Bee skep
(1st)CCS Pillow 1116. Shep Bush freebie from 1990's
(1st)CCS Pulled Thread 1117. Drawn Thread freebie - heart throb fob
(1st)CCS Table cloth/runner 1118. Acorn table topper - dutch treat designs
(3rd)CCS Not Specified Above 1119. Shep Bush Folk Heart Needleroll
EMBROIDERY 1133. Asissi Heart - Victoria Sampler Kit
(3rd)NEEDLEPOINT 1148. G.Morrow First Steps - whitewash box (lid insert)

Website: http://www.lake-county-fair.com

MIOM - Monday Madness

Here is the creativity corner. My favorite place in our home. I cleaned up my stitching desk. It just had to happen. Probably will be looking for my "put away stuff" all week long! Cannot believe I can see the desk top. Usually it is quite an impressive mess. For MIOM aka Monday Madness ..... came up with these:
WIP ... Ruth Sparrow pattern - Stitched over one thread (probably 40 count) w/Onyx (week's dye works). I'm thinking of a cord only -- no tassel, as the pattern photo shows. The rabbit is cool enough. Unfortunately, I don't have enough fiber for the cord, which is why I probably tossed it aside a year ago .... hmmm... will pause until I get in another shopping spree. What should I do with the back? Leave it plain? I'm thinking to put my name or initals on the back or date Or find another motif. Not sure. Did get the 'finishing' started by back stitching the outer edges of linen front/back sides -- would like to have the fob ready for those special scissors (Dovo brand) -- Monday Madness spreading thru Friday .... Guess that is why this is still a WIP. Cannot decide what to do with the back & need more fiber. Any ideas?

P.S. (update 8/4) I found a freebie pattern called Little Tree by La-D-Da. Stitched over one with week's Pecan and GAST Black Crow. Only problem now .... cannot make cord with Gentle Arts Sampler Thread. What was I thinking? Now I remember why I stopped buying GAST and Needle Nec. Those irksome pre-cut strands. Make crappy tassles and forget cording. Need a shopping spree for more Week's Onyx. See what happens when I use up stash? Still need more stuff .....
Per request, pic of Freebie -- from www.withmyneedle.com -- by Ellen Chester. Stitched Over 1 thread. Probably 32 count sandstone linen. I had this in the Porter County Fair ; ) Back stitched the sides & used bright ribbon to close the sides -- bows in the corners. Can see another photo at www.twistedthreads.com Sorry, my pic is kinda blurry. I'm new with digital snaps. Yeah, I know, where are the pins?
This is my Happy Dance Today -- MIOM. Scissor Fob finished. Forget-Me-Not, complimentary pattern from Cynthia Zittel's site, The Drawn Thread.

GOALS for August:

MIOM -- will try to get an old WIP out & finish it. So much stashed here-n-there. Need to move it out or get it to the white elephant sale next month (EGA chapter meeting)

Friendship Sampler -- Round Robin: Have a pattern selected. My friend Bernie W. asked for garden theme. She enjoys ladybugs, flowers, strawberries. I found a pattern with a basket of strawberries, a couple rabbits & hope it fills the space nicely. Should have passed this along on 8/2. Next sampler has a theme of "games" & I'm using crossword puzzle design.

Camp Quality -- model: On 8/12 will go to Frankfort, IL - to teach children dx w/cancer how to stitch. This year the project is a journal cover made out of felt. The pieces are felt -- Halloween Theme. Buttonhole edge. The children will have lots of felt pieces to choose from & some Kreinik glow-in-the-dark threads for embellishing. Need to have a model ready before then.

The Sanctuary -- SAL: I'm so far behind the entire group. If spare time is my friend, I'll try to catch up .... pass the group .... and start Random Thoughts ; ) Lofty goals for August ....