Long Time, No Post

It's been a while since I last posted.  I have been struggling with Sinusitis.  I have been totally miserable.  It seems that the colder it gets, the worse I feel.  I hope this clears up when I drive to Florida on Friday to go on my cruise.  I'd hate to feel sick and miserable on the cruise.

The weekend was made even worse because of the chemo on Friday.  I don't think I did anything all day Saturday.  I know Mike must get tired of me whining about feeling miserable.  But I am feeling a bit better today. The nausea has gone away and I am just dealing with the Sinusitis now.

Here is the stitching I have accomplished since my last post - not much considering the amount of time that has passed.

Circe the Sorceress:

Edwardian Garden Party

The Nativity

Slow Weekend

With the rain and the cold, I didn't really accomplish much this weekend.  I work up Friday morning with nausea, making for a rotten day.  Saturday consisted of heavy rain, so I didn't go out.  Today, I was just feeling blah, so I just stayed in and stitched.

I did start some planning for a vacation to the number 1 item on my bucket list - Australia and New Zealand.  I have picked out a cruise that will make multiple stops in New Zealand, followed by several stops in Australia.  This will be a 16 day cruise in November.  Since I don't know whether I will feel like traveling in the future, I decided to tackle number 1 this year.

I did get some stitching done over the weekend.  Here are my progress pictures.

The Nativity by Glendon Place:

Edwardian Garden Party SAL:

Circe, the Sorceress from Passione Ricamo"

 

Summer Planning

The Needle Arts Mystery Retreat will be held in Phoenix, AZ this year.  Mike and I are thinking about driving out there, seeing a few sites, and attending the retreat.  I have gone to two previous ones in Nashville, TN and Columbus, OH.  We really enjoyed those two retreats, so I think we may go this year.

Since we will be driving out to Arizona, I think we will spend some time at the Grand Canyon.  I'm not sure what other sites we will see.  I plan to stop at Silver Needle in Tulsa, OK on the way out.  Mike may want to stop at a few bicycle shops along the way.

On The Nativity, I stitched the bottom of the angel's gown and started on the bush behind Mary.  Here is my new progress picture:

I can no longer get all my stitching on the scanner bed.  I will soon have to move the fabric in my frame so I can stitch on other parts of the fabric.  To give you an idea of size, my completed stitching is currently 13 inches wide and 6 inches high.

Slow day

Today was not as bad as they were predicting.  The freezing rains were light.  The roads weren't icy in our area and Mike was able to get out to the post office for me.  However, I decided to stay in all day.

Shadow spent a lot of time at the front door, watching for the UPS man.  I tried to explain to her that he wasn't coming, but she didn't listen. She got so used to him coming by before Christmas that she expects him to say hello to her every day...

I did some stitching on the cow in The Nativity.  Here is my latest progress picture:

Brrrrr!

It was COLD today.  When I woke up, it was only 13 degrees.  I don't think it got above 25 all day.  I have never liked cold, but since getting cancer, I am more sensitive to it than ever.

I did go out in the cold with a friend to do some clothes shopping.  I picked up some pants that fit (size Medium vs XL or 1X) and found a couple of outfits for my February cruise.  Tonight, I went over to Michaels for a  jewelry making class, but the instructor never showed.  :(  This class was on wire-wrapped jewelry, a technique I haven't tried.  Oh well.  Maybe another day.

I also got a little stitching on The Nativity completed today,  Here's the picture:

I filled in some of the palm tree trunk and started on the cow.  I'm making slow but steady progress.

Rainy Sunday

It was warm today, but it was rainy.  I stayed inside most of the day listening to TV and stitching.  Today, I decided to work on The Nativity.  I stitched some on Joseph's robe and staff and then stitched a little of the palm tree trunk.  Here is my progress to date.

Tomorrow will be drier, but I think it will start getting colder.  if cold weather sets in, I'll probably spend a lot of time stitching.  I'm not too fond of being cold.  :)

Happy New Year

Today is the start of the Cross Stitch Collection SAL.  I am stitching the Edwardian Garden Party as my project.  I found the magazine, made a copy of the chart so I can mark off progress, and then got the fabric mounted in a frame.  I then did some stitching and here is my progress.

Not a whole lot yet, but it's a start.  I am starting in the upper left hand corner of the piece.   The design is printed on six pages across three issues of the magazine.  I figured out that I need to stitch 1 page every 2 months or half a page a month.

The Nativity

I also did some stitching on The Nativity from Glendon Place.  The picture on the pattern doesn't look all that impressive, but I love how the colors of floss look against the dark background.

If you compare this picture to yesterday's picture, you'll see that I finished Mary's face and hands and filled in some of her gown.

I hope everyone has a happy and prosperous new year and that it is better than 2014.  This will be my first full year of retirement and I have a lot of plans.  I'll let you know more details in the days and weeks to come.

Getting ready for 2015!

I am creating a new blog for 2015.  It will be a place for me to post updates to my stitching and other aspects of my life.  I have several cross stitch pieces I want to finish this year and I would like to participate in a couple of SALs (Stitch-alongs) with other cross stitchers.  I thought I would start off the day before New Year's with a few pictures of the WIPs (works in progress) that I want to work on during 2015.  My goal is to finish at least 5 WIPs during the year and here are 10 candidates.

1.  The Nativity by Glendon Place
I started this piece just before Christmas.  I really love it and would like to stitch the two companion pieces as well.  I intend for this to be one of my 5 finishes in 2015.

2.  Lady Hera by Mirabilia
I started this piece in May, 2014 and have finished the bottom half.  I am now working on the top half.  I really love the peacock on this design.

3.  Circe the Sorceress by Passione Ricamo
I started this one some time ago and then laid it aside.  I would like to get back to it, since I am down to the bottom of the gown.  It will probably get done sometime this year.

4.  Catnap by Kustom Krafts
I started this one years ago.  It has been slow going since it is solid stitching.  However, I am making progress.  I love Siamese cats, so that's why I started this piece.  The artist, Debbie Cook, did a number of Siamese cat designs that are sold as plates on the Danbury Mint site.  I would love to find them in cross stitch...

5. Water Goddess by Joan Elliot
This was published in Cross Stitch Collection and I started it immediately.  However, work and other cross stitch designs got in my way and I haven't gotten too far.  I have the other three goddesses in the series and I would love to do all of them.  However, I don't know if I will ever get to the others...

6.  Two Little Pigs
This design was from Cross Stitch Collection Magazine.  My husband Mike asked me to stitch this one so he could give it to somebody.  He may have to wait awhile...

7.  Beech Tree Birds from Dimensions
This design is from a kit.  I liked it so much, I ended out buying two kits.  Oops.  Rather than using the plain blue fabric in the kit, I decided to stitch it on some fabric from Polstitches called Summer Breeze.  I just love hand-dyed fabrics and many of my pieces are done on them.

8.  Moonlight Laguna Mermaid by Nora Corbett
This is a design from Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine.  I am a big fan of mermaids and fairies, so I had to add this one to my collection.

9.  Band of Brothers by Kustom Krafts

This is another cat design from Dyan Allaire.  I started this one but then got bogged down in green.  I hope to go back to stitching it this year.

10.  Zinnia by Nora Corbett of Mirabilia
I have stitched some of the pixie couture collection, so now I am working on this one.  This one should get finished this year since it is nearly complete now.  I have several more pixies to stitch after this one is done.

I have several more in my stash, but these are the most likely to be worked on this next year.  As I work on another, I will post a picture.  And you never know what new design will catch my eye and end out on the stitching list.

The SAL I want to participate during the new year is the Cross Stitch Collection Stitch Along.  I will be stitching the Edwardian Garden Party design.  I saw it in the magazine some time ago and have always wanted to stitch it.  This SAL will give me the perfect excuse to start it.   Here is a picture of the finished design.  I need to get all the supplies together so I can start tomorrow...

That's all for today.  Please come back and visit my blog throughout the year to check my progress.