Around Barb's Bend

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it's already February. I wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day. Hope you get lots of chocolates, flowers, and love. I've got lots to share with ya'll. I'll begin with my stitching news. Have received some wonderful RAKs.

I don't know who sent me this wonderful fabric, silk threads & needles. They came from 123 Stitch, but there was no name of who sent them. Whoever you are, thank you so very much. It truly brightened my day.

Wendy from SanMan Originals sent me this generous package of fabric, threads, charms, 4 small & 1 large kit. She felt that the small kits would be good for me to work on while receiving my chemo, which I agree. Thank you so much Wendy. I love everything.

I received these charts from Lisa and am really looking forward to stitching these up.

Georgena sent me these for our freebie chart exchange in the CSE group. She said she had already chosen the heart maze chart and then found out I like cats, so added the additional cat chart. Thank you so much Georgena for a wonderful exchange.

I sent this to my wonderful friend, Glenda. It was a late birthday gift and I didn't do the finishing, so she could decide how she wanted it finished.

Here's my progress on some of my WIPocalypse 2012 projects.

Here's my Jimmie Johnson wall. I was thrilled when I received the mounted memories plaque that I won from Lowe's Racing on Twitter. How awesome to have an original autographed photo of Jimmie and an actual piece of race-used tire. I never imagined such a wonderful plaque and am over the moon about it. Note the heart shaped light glare in the 1st photo. lol I had to save this photo with the heart to show my love for JJ & Nascar. hehe

Finally, an update on my health. I began this new chemo treatment on January 2nd. The side effects are sensitivity to cold and extreme fatigue. I feel wiped out all the time. As soon as I get the chemo, I feel pins & needles in my hands & feet and wow, does that hurt. Last treatment, my hands hurt so bad that I couldn't take off my clothes & had to sleep in them the 1st night. I'm now taking Lyrica for that and it does seem to be working. I have to wear gloves whenever I touch anything in the frig or freezer.

Seems like chemo has affected my nerves more than anything else. The hands & feet syndrome (neuropathy) are the main problem, but I also have difficulty with my balance at times so have to be careful I don't fall down. I may have to start using my cane (that I got after my surgery) again. My thinking is also affected by the chemo. It's referred to as chemo-brain. I forget a lot and am at a loss for words when having a conversation with someone. It's so annoying to not be able to think of the word I want to say or even forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence.

I'm just hoping the chemo is doing it's job. The lymph node in my neck is smaller, which is a good sign. I just take it one day at a time and leave everything in God's Hands.

Thanks for visiting. I love to read your comments even if I'm not good at responding to them. Thank you for all your kind words, support & encouragement. It gives me strength to continue.

Much love & hugs to ya'll,

Barb

Happy 2012

2012-01-16T15:26:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everyone.

I've finally gotten around to posting. I've begun my new chemo infusion treatments and they are sure wearing me out. I have very little energy and tend to do lots of sleeping. Hoping my body gets used to these treatments soon and I gain some energy back again. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my 2nd treatment so far this year.

2012 WIPocalypse Update
I haven't done too much stitching so far this year, but here's pics of my progress on my WIPocalypse projects.

Tassled Santa Ornament Flip Flops

Crescent Moon Santa Ornament Jacob's Ladder Quilt Blocks

Castle's in the Air

Other Happenings in my Life

I won 2 more Hob Nobbs from Ebay, however I'm not as happy with these. They are only charts and have no buttons in them, which I didn't realize when I bid on them. Oh well, live and learn! The designs are Miniature Ornaments and Little Quilt Patch. I'll have to look for appropriate buttons to use for these.

I received my Twitter win from Lowe's Racing of a Mounted Memories autographed photo of Jimmie Johnson with a piece of race-used tire. I haven't taken a photo of it yet, but will get that done this week, so I can post it here. It is an awesome collectible!!!

Thanks for stopping by and please come back. I love to read feedback, so feel free to leave a comment for me.

Many Hugs,

Barb

2012 WIPocalypse

2012-01-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

2012 WIPocalypse

Here's the updated list of my projects. My previous list was somewhat misleading about what were actual WIPs and UFOs. I've also designated the projects I have kitted up but not actually begun stitching.

WIPs:

1. Castles in The Air - Papillon Creations

2. Hip To Be Square - San Man Originals

3. Tassled Santa Ornament - For the Love of Cross Stitch mag.

4. Flip Flops - Bucilla

5. Tooth Fairy - Waxing Moon

6. Evil Queen Charity Square

7. Bird Charity Square

8. Heart Charity Square

9. Cowboy Cats - Dimensions

10. Happy Home Ingredients - Dimensions

11. Celtic Knot - Ink Circles

12. Birthday Cards for group birthday clubs

UFOs:

1. Glad Gladiola - Rosewood Manor

2. Duck - Suzy's Zoo

3. Santa Moon Ornament - Library Book

4. Merry Christmas - Point de Croix

5. Quilt Block Ornament - Pine Glen Designs

6. 4 Pantry Charts - Brookes' Books

7. Peace Tree Ornament - M Designs

Ready To Begin:

1. The Branch - Bent Creek

2. The Purr-fect Bookmark - Dinky Dyes

3. Stitch Every Day - My Mark

4. Tree of Stitches - Abi Gurden

5. The Big Zipper - Bent Creek

6. Floral Mandala - Tam's Creations

7. How Does Your Garden Grow - Papillon Creations

8. 2008 Valentine Mystery SAL - Pamela Kellogg

9. The Red Thread - Bent Creek

10. Velveteen Rabbit - Lynne Nicoletti

11. Life's Mottos - My Mark

12. The Tree of Me - Bent Creek

13. Crabby All Year - Raise The Roof

14. Beloved Cat - Janlynn

15. Cat Tales - Just My Imagination

16. Cabin in the Woods - Bent Creek

17. Rainbow Bridge - Sue Hillis Designs

18. Candy is Dandy - Val's Stuff

19. Tatty Teddy - Anchor

20. Life's Mottos - My Mark

21. No Frogging Allowed - Stitchy Kitty

22. 2012 SAL - Oak Haven Designs

23. Green Flips - Lizzie Kate

Farewell to 2011

2011-12-30T21:49:00.000-08:00

Here's my final post for 2011. I wanted to post pics of my final Advent Exchange gifts.

Day 22 brought this neat lip balm (how cool is that). And on day 23, I got a package of some great stickers to use in my cardmaking (love them).

Day 24 was a current issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine (one of the great ones from the UK). I love all their magazines.

Day 25 brought an end to the Advent Exchange with a wonderful and generous gift from Glenda. She sent me all the charts for Bent Creek "The Branch" along with 3 pieces of Aida (in beautiful colors) and 3 pkgs of Bohn needles (my favorite).

Thank you so very very much, Glenda!!! You gave me a month of wonderful gifts. I love everything!!!

Here's 2 kits I recently won on ebay (I Love Christmas and I Love Stitching). Since Hob-Nobb has gone out of business, I'm grabbing up any I can find. In fact, I just won 2 more on ebay today - Little Quilt Patch and Miniature Christmas Ornaments & Wreath.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I joined WIPocalypse at Measi's Musings so I can make some progress on my many UFOs & WIPs during 2012. My list so far is:

1. Castles in the Air - Papillon Creations
2. Hip To Be Square - San Man Originals
3. Tree of Stitches - Abi Gurden
4. Evil Queen charity square project
5. Bird charity square project
6. Heart charity square project
7. The Big Zipper - Bent Creek
8. Floral Mandala - Tam's Creations
9. How Does Your Garden Grow - Papillon Creations
10. Cowboy Cats - Dimensions
11. Happy Home Ingredients - Dimensions
12. Celtic Knot - Ink Circles
13. Tooth Fairy - Waxing Moon
14. Peace Tree Ornament - M Designs
15. Flip Flops - Bucilla
16. The Branch - Bent Creek
17. The Purr-fect Bookmark - Dinky Dyes
18. Quilt Block - Pine Glen Designs
19. Merry Christmas - Point de Croix
20. Santa Moon Ornament - Library Book
21. Duck - Suzy's Zoo
22. Green Flips - Lizzie Kate
23. Stitch Every Day - My Mark
24. Life's Mottos - My Mark
25. No Frogging Allowed - Stitchy Kitty
26. 18 Birthday Cards for group birthday clubs
27. Tassled Santa Ornament - For the Love of Cross Stitch magazine
28. Glad Gladiola - Rosewood Manor
29. 4 Pantry Charts - Brooke's Books
30. 2008 Valentine Mystery SAL - Pamela Kellogg
31. Tatty Teddy - Anchor
32. Crabby All Year - Raise The Roof
33. The Tree of Me - Bent Creek
34. Velveteen Rabbit - Lynne Nicoletti
35. Cabin in the Woods - Bent Creek
36. The Red Thread - Bent Creek
37. Candy is Dandy - Val's Stuff
38. Cat Tales - Just My Imagination
39. Purr-fect Life - Dimensions
40. Beloved Cat - Janlynn
41. Rainbow Bridge - Sue Hillis Designs

Wow, this really is a lot to tackle, but one at a time will get them done. I'll do the best I can to finish as many as I can. Wish me luck! lol

Thanks for visiting and please come back. Have a happy and SAFE New Year!

Many Hugs,
Barb

More presents opened

2011-12-23T00:53:00.000-08:00

Here's more pics of the Advent Exchange gifts from Glenda. Only have 2 days left of packages to open. Gotta admit I will miss opening a present every day. I think this exchange really spoiled me. LOL

On day 13, I opened a marker to use on my fabric to help count. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

Day 14 was some really cute kitty buttons. Love both these gifts.

Day 15 brought some really neat socks. Will be wearing these real soon since the weather has turned cold here. It's only 49 degrees right now & for us Texans, that is downright frigid.

On day 16, I opened a package of some recipe cards, a kitty magnet and two pkgs of scrapbook paper (great in my card making). More goodies that I love.

Day 17 was a package of super sticky post-it notes (haven't tried these super sticky ones yet, so look forward to using them).

Day 18 was a bottle of Montana Wild Huckleberry lotion. Smells good and how cool to have a little bit of Montana from Glenda. ;-)

Day 19 was a package of stickers for card making (love them).

On Day 20, Glenda gave me another chocolate fix with raspberry chocolate hot cocoa mix and some Mrs. Field's cookie dough delights. Oh, yum!!! One can NEVER have too much chocolate. ;-)

Day 21 was some black DMC memory thread. Love this! It's great for cross stitching projects to add some 3D to them and also for a wide variety of craft making.

My next post will show the rest of the days (22-25). Again, thank you so much Glenda. You have really given me so many great presents and I love each one of them.

Now, for a health update. Sorry to say that my remission has ended. I had an idea this was coming because the lymph node in my neck has swollen again. This was the one that was previously malignant. My pet scan showed some of my lymph nodes were malignant, but thank heaven that none of my organs showed any malignancy. Treatment has changed again from pills back to bi-weekly infusions and wearing a pump for 2 days after the infusion.

My new treatment will begin on January 2nd (one day prior to the 1 year anniversary of my first chemo treatment). I'm thinking positive and hoping for the best. My oncologist told me my outlook was very uplifting and he gave me a Christmas hug. Actually, I got lots of hugs today from all the staff at MD Anderson. They've really become almost like family to me.

Don't want to end on a down note, so I'll post a couple jokes for you. Hope you enjoy them.

Thanks for visiting me and please come back.

Many Hugs,
Barb

Having fun opening pressies

2011-12-21T03:51:00.000-08:00

This post is picture heavy. Now that you've been forewarned, here are pics of the Advent Exchange gifts from Glenda that I've opened so far.

Day 1 was some yummy french vanilla hot chocolate mix and Mrs. Fields peppermint chocolate candies. Chocolate is a perfect way to begin the holiday season.

Day 2 was Splendor silk floss in green. I really love this floss.

On day 3, I opened some really cute reindeer buttons. And on day 4, I opened more cute buttons.

Day 5 was a package of alphabet stickers. They will come in handy in my cardmaking and stitch scrapbook. On day 6, I received a lovely candle in peanutty chocolate scent. It smells good enough to eat. lol

Day 7 was a package of gorgeous craft fabric and day 8 brought more yummy chocolate (peppermint hot chocolate & Mrs. Field's raspberry chocolate cookies). Glenda knows how much I love chocolate. YUM!

Day 9 was a small national parks of North America 2012 calendar (glorious photos) and a wonderful photo memo box (love this). On day 10, I opened a 2012 cat naps calendar with adorable pics of sleepy kitties.

Day 11 was Splendor silk floss in red. Now I've got Christmas colors to stitch something holidayish. On day 12, I opened a package of the most gorgeous pressed petals real flower stickers. I'm really going to love using these in making cards.

Well, I'm not going to press my luck with any more photos in this post, so I'll have to do another post with days 13 - 21.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, GLENDA!!! I'm thoroughly loving all these gifts you have chosen for me and having lots of fun opening something every day.

Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoyed seeing all the great pressies I've opened so far.

Many Hugs,
Barb

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

I seem to have gotten lazy about doing posts on my blog. I think that has lots to do with the fact that I haven't done too much stitching. I always posted more when I had pics to share of my stitching projects. But I do have lots of pics to post now with the holiday exchanges I've been in at the Chatty Stitching Exchangers (CSE) yahoo group.

The first pic is of all the birthday goodies I received from members of the CSE birthday floss club (my birthday was in Sept). I just love all the floss.

The second pic is the wonderful package I received from Pirjo for my birthday, prize for winning a name that word game, and for a fall exchange. She is such a sweetheart for sending me such a wonderful package of fantastic items. I love them all!!!

The third pic is of an ornament stitched for me by Glenda for a stitched Christmas ornament exchange. She knows how much I love Margaret Sherry designs, so this was the purr-fect ornament for me.

The fourth pic is of a Hob Nobb kit I just won on Ebay.

These pics are of items I sent to others.

This first one is the Halloween package of goodies I sent to my grandgirl.

The 2nd one is a pic of all the items I sent to Shelley for the fall exchange.

These are pics of the ornament I stitched for Elizabeth for the Christmas stitched ornament exchange. As you can see, I completely ruined the heart shaped ornament while trying to do the finishing, so had to make her a new one (snowman). I made sure to do a simple finishing on it so I wouldn't mess up again.

I'm now opening gifts every day for the CSE Advent Exchange. Glenda had my name and she is sending me loads of wonderful gifts. Here's pics of all the wrapped pressies prior to opening any of them.

This post is pretty photo heavy so I'll do a new post with pics of what I've opened in the Advent Exchange. I just love this exchange that the CSE group does every year.

I have so many UFOs & WIPs, that I decided to make 2012 a year of trying to finish up as many of these as possible. I've joined WIPocalypse. If you're interested in joining, just click on the link and go to the site. All the instructions are there.

I've found myself totally addicted to a new site - Pinterest. There are so many beautiful pictures there, loads of links to craft projects, recipes, handy tips, and so much more. Check it out! In my attempt to spend less time on facebook, Pinterest has helped me accomplish that goal. However, now I spend WAY TOO MUCH time on Pinterest. LOL

As for my health, I just had a pet scan last week and will find out the results from my oncologist this coming Thursday. I'm thinking positive and hoping for good news.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks so much for visiting and feel free to leave me comments. I really do enjoy reading them and apologize to anyone I haven't sent personal replies to.

Many Hugs,

Barb

Finally - a new post after 5 months

2011-10-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been 5 months since I've posted here. I think I've avoided my blog because I didn't really have any stitching pictures to share. I've done some stitching, but not much. Instead, I've become addicted to the Gardens of Time game on facebook and the playdom game site. I'm trying to spend less time on the games and get back to some stitching again.

And, of course, I'm still cheering for Jimmie Johnson in Nascar. I so want to see him win his 6th consecutive championship this year. He's already in the history books for his 5 wins and getting #6 would make him a true Nascar Legend (right up there in the company of the greats before him).

As you can see, I've got hair again. ;-) So no more bandannas! It's so soft right now - feels just like baby hair. The down side to the hair growing back is that I now have to shave my underarms and legs again. That hair could have stayed away forever! LOL

As for my health, I'm still in remission and now on a chemo pill treatment. Saw my oncologist on Monday and he's ordered another pet scan asap. I was due to begin my chemo pills Monday for a 2 week run, but the doctor has me waiting for a week before I start. This is due to my hands and feet still giving me problems (red, swelling, peeling & painful). If I have no pain in them this week, then I start the pills next Monday and take for just one week (instead of two) and then off them for the next week. Hopefully, this treatment will work well for me.

The doctor told me today that remission for me means a "temporary" situation and that at some point, the pet scans will show the disease growing back again and then we'll have to discuss what to do next. He said that patients with stage 4 colon cancer rarely even have a remission, so I am one of the lucky ones in that sense. He said that he didn't want to be mean, but wanted me to know all the statistics and to prepare me for what may come so it won't be a great shock for me. I really do appreciate his honesty with me, even if I don't always like what the message conveys. ;-(

Another health update is that my thyroid meds don't seem to be working and my regular doctor has increased my dosage. Hopefully, it's not the chemo that's affecting it. If it's not one thing, it's another. Go figure! lol

I've gotten brave and joined the Stitch Specialists yahoo group so I can stitch the Tree of Stitches by Abi Gurden. I saw this design on a number of blogs & it really just called out to me. lol Of course, because of all the specialty stitches, it requires my stitching on evenweave or linen - no aida. Abi gives wonderful & thorough directions for how to stitch over 2 threads and also how to do each specialty stitch. So I got this pretty piece of Picture This Plus 28ct Cashel DaVinci from 123 Stitch. Now I just have to choose my thread colors.

Well, that's all for now. I am hoping to get some stitching done as soon as the swelling in my hands goes down. This is so annoying to deal with. Oh, such is life. LOL

Thanks for visiting and reading. Please leave comments as I really enjoy reading what ya'll have to say.

Many Hugs,
Barb

Stitching and Health Update

2011-05-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

I finished Joyful Summer and am quite pleased with how it turned out. The fabric is Picture Plus and I used the Crescent Colors & DMC threads called for (with a few color changes).

I've been working on my Papillon Creations Castles in the Air SAL and have finally gotten up to part 12. I love how this design is coming along and the photo doesn't do justice to it at all.

Now for my great news. My recent pet scan showed I have no signs of malignancy and the doctor said I'm in remission. Never expected to hear such good news so soon. The chemo is doing its job and I so very grateful. Of course, I'll have to continue receiving chemo to prevent the cancer cells from returning. I want to thank everyone for your prayers and support. Bless every one of you!

Many Hugs,
Barb

Happy March!

2011-03-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a couple months since I posted here. But I have been doing quite a bit of stitching during this time. Without further ado, here's some of my recent finishes. This first one is a Funk & Weber design I stitched on 16 ct Sterling aida from Picture This Plus.

This piece is a Dimensions Kit. I laid the stitched piece on the finishing fabric so you can see how it will look (somewhat) when made into a small ornament.

This last one is Lizzie Kate's Cat Lessons For People stitched with on Sapphire Stitching 18 ct 60's Flashback fabric with DMC threads. I plan to frame it.

I still have a couple other finishes to post, but I need to sew on the buttons first. Have lots of stitching time during my 4-5 hour chemo treatments and then I also stitch a lot afterward. I'm tired much of the time, but still manage to stitch.

Now for my health update. I've had 5 chemo treatments so far and my last CT scans showed the malignant cells have decreased in size. The main side effects I'm having are painful swelling & peeling of my palms & bottom of my feet. In fact, my treatment the last week of February was canceled to give my hands some healing time. I have to use Bag Balm every night (wearing gloves & socks since it's so greasy) and Udderly Smooth during the daytime. So far, so good! Doctor decreased the medicine in the chemo that caused the problem and I didn't go through this from my treatment last week.

Thanks for visiting and comments you leave. I so appreciate hearing from everyone. And thanks for your continued prayers and good thoughts.

Many Hugs,

Barb in TX

Happy 2011!

2011-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2011 is starting off to be a promising year for yall. I've been doing a "little" stitching, but have nothing yet to show. I do have one picture of a charity square I stitched for Q4OC. I feel so honored to have my lilies square used for a pillow to go along with the quilt for this young lady. The quilter did a marvelous job of making the pillow.

Most of my time has been focused on my health issues. So here goes for the update. I had a pet scan, CT scans (pelvis, abdomen, chest & neck), needle biopsy on a lump in my neck at the end of December. The results showed that the cancer has spread into my lymph nodes (the lump in my neck is malignant) and my cancer is now a stage 4. Statistics say that I have 1 - 3 years, but I don't plan to give up so easily. It's in God's Hands and I plan to do my part to stay as healthy as I possibly can.

Then I had outpatient surgery the last week of December to have a port put into my chest for the chemo treatments. This is much better than having to have IVs put into my arms all the time.

My 1st chemo treatment was on Monday, January 3rd and it went very well. They gave me anti-nausea medicine before the chemo began & I also have pills that I took afterwards. I'm happy to say that I had NO nausea. However, I did have some diarrhea & used Lomotil to clear it up.

The chemo treatment lasted approximately 5 hours and then I was sent home with a pump in a fanny pack to continue my treatment for 2 more days. I will have treatments every other week for at least 6 to 8 months. I'm sure I will experience some side effects as I go along (weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of hair), but I'm concentrating on today. No sense in worrying about something that might or might not happen in the future when I can enjoy each of my todays. And for now, I'm enjoying food! ;-)

I want to thank all of you for your prayers, support and encouragement. It means so very much to me to feel such an outpouring of love from yall. I feel strength from your support and plan to stick around for as long as possible. Thank you for visiting and please come back. Bless you all!!!

Love & Hugs,
Barb

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. May you have a blessed holiday season with family & friends.

Many Hugs,
Barb

2010-12-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

It's been quite awhile since I've posted, because I've been quite sick since September. I went through a month & a half of vomiting & diarrhea nearly every day. My doctor did blood tests & took a stool sample, but could find no bacteria causing it. She gave me meds for nausea & the stomach cramps, which didn't help me. On Nov 2nd, I finally called my DS & DDIL to take me to the hospital emergency room when I could no longer even keep water down. Had a cat-scan & x-rays, which showed a blockage in my abdomen. A colonoscopy was done the next day & surgery the following day. I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. The malignant tumor went through my colon & had attached itself to my right hip. The right half of my colon & part of my intestines were removed. A great deal of tissue was also removed from my hip, but the surgeon wasn't sure all the malignancy was removed (since she couldn't remove all the tissue without damaging the blood vessels and nerves to my limbs). So I will have to have chemotherapy.

Needless to say, I have a new doctor and have written a complaint to the clinic about the previous one. Still cannot believe she allowed me to suffer for so long without putting me in the hospital. I even asked her about being hospitalized and she said she was trying to avoid that. It really irked me when she told me she could hardly stand going through a weekend of vomiting & didn't know I was managing. I certainly learned I will NEVER again allow a doctor to allow me to go through so much suffering without doing everything possible to find out the cause!!!

I was in the hospital for 2 weeks and then stayed with my DS & DDIL for the next 2 weeks. I'm back at home now & getting stronger every day. Still rely on my cane to make sure I don't lose my balance & fall since I sometimes feel a little wobbly. And I am not allowed to lift over 5 pounds yet. I can drive again - yippee. See the surgeon again in 2 weeks (probably for the last visit).

Next Monday, I see the oncologist at MD Anderson and get ready for the chemo treatments. Fortunately, this cancer research hospital is near me (Houston) and is one of the best. People come from all over the country to get treatment.

I have a positive attitude about all this and feel confident that the chemo will rid my body of any remaining malignancy. I'm already a 41 year survivor from uterine cancer & I expect to add being a colon cancer survivor to that also.

I've finally started stitching again. I'm working on "Joyful Summer" by Country Cottage Needleworks. I chose this chart because it's so cheerful with such lovely thread colors and is good for keeping my positive attitude going. I'll post a pic of my stitching when I'm further along.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate all my followers and any comments left for me. Please have a great day and hope you come back again.

Hugs,
Barb

Introducing my Stitchbook

2010-08-23T23:46:00.000-07:00

I've been busy scrapbooking on my Stitchbook and can now share the pages with you This is a 12" x 12" album I am making. Not every page is completely finished yet. I'm really excited about this project and look forward to adding more pages to my album & improving with my skills as I go. So...without further ado, let me present my Stitchbook:

Winnie The Pooh

Angel

Halloween Page

(1 OakHaven & 2 SanMan Designs)

OakHaven Designs Monthly Charts SAL - Page 1

OakHaven Designs Monthly Charts SAL - Page 2

OakHaven Designs Seasonal Birds SAL

OakHaven Designs Seasonal Houses SAL

SanMan Originals Seasons SAL

SanMan Originals Snowman (1st Page I made)

White Tiger Eyes

Thanks for visiting and looking at my Stitchbook pages.

Hugs,

Barb

Vacation, Shopping, Stitching, Grandgirl & Back Home

2010-08-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

Vacation:
It's been over a month since I posted here, so I'll try to get yall updated now. Had a great trip to Indiana and enjoyed visiting my family. Also got to spend a weekend in Michigan at my daughter's best friend's lake house. Weather was great and had lots of fun. Here's a pic of my daughter, granddaughter & myself.

Shopping:
Went to lots of yard sales & the Goodwill thrift store. Here's some pics of my wonderful finds. Got LOTS of cross stitch books, charts & kits at the Goodwill store.

Found lots of lace & ribbon at a yard sale, among much other goodies. Ended up mailing a large flat rate box to myself because my luggage would have gone over the weight limit. lol

I think we outdid ourselves for shopping. Here's some goodies I got at Target & JoAnns for cross stitch, needle punch & paper cardmaking. The long silver item is a magnetic telescoping tool to pick up fallen needles & scissors.

When visiting my sister, she gave me a huge bag from her neighbor of DMC pearl cotton, needles, scissors, needle punch tools & fabric. Also had some stamped cross stitch in it that I donated to a church rummage sale. The neighbor was going to throw it all out but my sister told her I could probably use it. Wow, I was thrilled!

Stitching:

Didn't get much stitching done except while on the airplane. I finished the 1st part of an OakHaven Designs seasonal houses SAL. I'm using DMC threads & 14ct Sapphire Stitching "Country Road" fabric.

Also did more work on a SanMan Originals SAL and started on a tooth fairy piece for my grandgirl (don't have any pics of them yet).

Grandgirl:

I am amazed at how grown up my grandgirl, Katie has become. It's been 2 years since I've seen her, so was surprised to see how much she has changed. She can phonetically sound out words to read and write, so I told her she can start writing letters to me now. Here's another pic of beautiful Katie. I know, I'm biased. ;D

Home Again:

As much as I enjoyed my trip, it's really nice to be back home again. My cat, Shadow is also very happy to be back home after his stay with my son & daughter-in-law (& their 3 dogs & 1 bird). It's much quieter here and he likes that. He also missed all my smooches and has been staying very close to me for lots of attention.

The increased dosage of my thyroid meds is beginning to have a positive change for me. I'm feeling more energetic, less tired and happier. Thank heaven!!!

When I got home from vacation, I had a tire issue with my car. While near my son's house, I thought I had a flat tire, so called DS for help. It wasn't a flat, but rather the tread was actually coming off the tire. DS & DDIL bought me 4 new tires the following day because none of mine were any good. They were all at risk of coming apart because of dry rot. Guess you could say I was pretty lucky that the problem happened where & when it did so it got taken care of right away.

I sure love my kids and feel blessed to have such caring & loving kids. They are very good to me and do so many nice things for me. I'm proud of the adults they have become. ;D

Well, that's about it for now. Hope you enjoyed reading about my latest adventure. I do so appreciate everyone visiting here and leaving comments for me. Thanks and yall come back now, ya hear!

Hugs,

Barb

Happy Independence Day!!!

2010-07-04T00:50:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!!! I enjoyed watching the Nascar race last night. With all the wrecks, it was more like watching a demolition derby race. Just glad no one was hurt (except the cars, anyway - lol).

I did finish another charity square. This one is a buildings theme for Q4OC.

My children bought me a new TV and it's fantastic. I am now the happy owner of a 32 inch flat screen Panosonic TV. Wow, it's so huge compared to my old one and I just love watching Nascar on it. I have the sweetest kids!

I'll be visiting my family in Indiana later this month. I'm sure looking forward to spending time with everyone that I haven't seen for a couple years. My grandgirl is growing up so fast & I feel like I'm missing so much of her life. ;-(

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by and I love hearing from you. As usual, I'm behind on my blog reading (have nearly 300 in my google reader at this time). Think I need to get busy reading!

Hugs,

Barb

A Free Silhouette Craft Cutter! Yes, Really! | Southern Hospitality

2010-06-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

Yep - check this one out for another fantastic chance to win this wonderful machine.

A Free Silhouette Craft Cutter! Yes, Really! | Southern Hospitality

Good luck, but I hope my luck is better. lol

Barb

Thrifty Decor Chick: Silhouette Craft Cutter Giveaway!

2010-06-25T02:58:00.000-07:00

Check out this giveaway. I know it makes my chances of winning less by posting the link here, but I'm doing it anyway. This is absolutely awesome!!!!!

Thrifty Decor Chick: Silhouette Craft Cutter Giveaway!

Happy Friday!

Barb

Fantastic Giveaway

2010-06-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

Check out this giveaway here - http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/06/its-time-huge-giveaway-worth-over-300.html

It's AWESOME & I hope to win it!!!!!

Barb

Yep, I'm finally posting!

2010-06-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since I've posted on here. I have been doing some stitching and card making, so here goes the MANY photo updates.

First, here's the 2 charity squares I finished for Q4OC. I did this potato & corn on the cob square for the Q4OC's fruit & vegetable theme. And I did the Margaret Sherry hen for a farm animal theme.

I have made some cards. I'm still learning so they aren't nearly as nice as many I've seen online. I used whatever supplies I had on hand, with most being given to me by others.

Anniversary card for my son & daughter-in-law & birthday card for DIL:

These are birthday cards I made for members of a yahoo group I'm in for the birthday floss exchange:

This is a birthday card for my daughter:

These are more birthday cards I made to have on hand:

I'll try to post more frequently. I've been trying to keep up with my blog reading (only have 195 unread posts to go through now - lol). Blogger hasn't been very cooperative lately, so wasn't able to leave any comments. UGH!!! Sometimes, this computer just gives me more aggravation than I care to deal with.

If you leave a comment for me, please be sure to include an email address for me to contact you back. I've had questions from people with no way of contacting them. Sorry to say, I can't think of what questions were asked right now, so cannot answer.

Thanks for stopping by - I so appreciate everyone visiting and comments are truly loved. Thank you all!

Barb

Couple more stitching finishes

2010-03-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Have a couple more stitching updates. Finished the spring section of the SMO Fatties SAL (members only design). Love how this is turning out so far. And now onto the summer section.

And also finished another Q4OC stitchers challenge square. This was for an oriental theme and is a Kokeshi doll chart from UK Cross Stitcher mag.

I'm enjoying watching this new season of Dancing With the Stars. Seems like reality shows have taken over completely. Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, and that's just a few of them. Whatever happened to regular TV shows? Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy some of these shows, but I really don't want to watch ONLY these type of shows on TV. Oh well, guess I don't have much choice anymore. Sigh.................. At least I've still got my weekly Nascar races. ;D

Thanks for stopping by. Have a happy stitching (or whatever it is you enjoy) day!

Barb

1st Card & blended cording

2010-03-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

I have made my first card - an Easter card for my grandgirl. Of course, I had to include some stitching on it - a cute little SanMan Original bunny from a members only 2009 calendar. I used papers that CJ sent to me, embellishments from CJ & what I had on hand. I didn't use a stamper since I purchased the Easter 3D word for this card. This was such fun and I'm looking forward to making more cards.

I finally took some stash pictures of the blended cording I purchased from http://www.cindymaedesigns.com/. The colors are wonderful and I'm looking forward to using them in some of my project finishes.

That's all for today. Time to do some stitching. Thanks for stopping by and love to hear from yall.

Barb

Wednesday Update

2010-03-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a short post, but wanted to let yall know what I've been up to. On the stitching front, I'm still working on a charity square and also a SanMan Original (members only) SAL. Have completed the border and now will begin the spring square. I've still been working on my chart organization. For those designers whom I have many charts, I'm making lists in Excel by the designer names. Once I complete this, I will make lists by categories for the rest of my charts. No picture (Meari - lol) as I don't think a pic of me typing at the computer would be very interesting. Besides, it wouldn't be easy to take a photo of myself. lol ******************************** Hope you like my stick family I put on my blog. My grandgirl calls me Gramma Texas, so that's what I used (even put myself in a cowgirl outfit). I've been puttering on my blog doing some changes. Deleted the music since I don't think everyone enjoys listening to it. Will be adding more links to various online sites in place of the blinkies I've removed. ******************************** Am loving this warmer weather and Shadow is really enjoying having an open window to sit in. He really wants to get to the birds outside, but he's stuck inside & the birds are safe. ******************************** Really, really, really enjoyed the Nascar race on Sunday. Jimmie got his 50th career win at the track he had never won at before - Bristol! WOO HOO!!! He's already won 3 of the first 5 races this year. How awesome is that!!! Go team 48 - you guys rock!!! ******************************** Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow is laundry day - ugh, ugh, ugh!!! I need some clean clothes, so don't have a choice. ******************************** Thanks for visiting and please stop by again. Love your comments and will try to respond to them more often in the future. Barb

Stitching Update

2010-03-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Here's the 3 charity squares I recently finished.

The designer of the Love Heart is Aliolka's Blog and the square is for the Q4OC heart theme. This was stitched on 14ct white aida with DMC threads.

This next square is a Howling Coyote for the Q4OC western theme. The chart is by Ulyana, was stitched on 14ct Aida with DMC threads.

This July 4th square is for the Q4OC patriotic theme. Designer is Helga Mandl, was stitched on 14ct Aida with DMC threads.

I'm stitching an oriental theme charity square and have a few more squares I've committed to stitching.

I got my fabric for stitching the Monopoly gameboard, but haven't begun stitching yet. I just love this fabric from sapphire stitching (has a 60's tiedye look to it). This picture doesn't show up the wonderful colors very well, though.

Received my Valentine ATC exchange from Crysta and I love it. Knowing how much I love cats, she chose the purr-fect design for me. ;D

I also received my blended cord order from Cindy Mae Designs. Oh, are they lovely. Still need to take a pic of them, but you can click on her link to see them.

That's all for now. Need to get to bed at a reasonable hour so I can get up early to go to the washateria. Yes, the AWFUL job of laundry has to be done since I've run out of clothes. lol

Thanks for visiting. I so appreciate yall.

Barb

2010-02-26T22:38:00.002-08:00

Kathy is having a blog giveaway to celebrate her dog, Rory's 1st birthday. Check it out if you're interested in an online LNS gift certificate. Haven't been doing much stitching lately, but have been stash organizing (a never-ending task). Seems like no matter how much I organize, I just find more ways to do it even better. sigh............... I have managed to finish another ATC for a March exchange. The pics show the front and back sides. These are fun to make and hope to do more.

Blogger isn't being very cooperative right now, so I'm gonna sign off and hope this post publishes without any errors.

Thanks for visiting and hope yall have a great weekend. I plan to spend less time on the computer and much more time stitching!!!

Happy Stitching!

Barb

PIF Winners, charity squares

2010-02-19T01:16:00.000-08:00

CONGRATS to the winners of my PIF drawing .........................

Sandy

Lisa D

Lynn

I'll be contacting the 3 of you for your mailing addresses.

On the stitching front, I've finished 2 more charity squares for Q4OC. The first is a "Squigles" fisherman from Heritage Stitchcraft.

The second is a fairy godmother that was an online freebie, but cannot remember from where. This is for an angel theme.

This is a short post since it's way too late for me to still be awake. I really need to get some sleep. Thanks for visiting and please come back.

Happy Stitching!

Barb

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T05:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! This is the first ATC (artist trading card) I made, and it's for an exchange in one of my yahoo groups. The cross stitch design is a SanMan Original (members only exclusive). I used DMC silver metallic thread for the kiss, but the picture doesn't really show the sparkle.

This past week has brought me some great mail. I received the PIF from CJ. The stitching items she sent were a blue (my fav color) tote bag, 21" x 23" piece of blue Aida, 3 metal rings, pink Mill Hill seed beads, Moon & Star Pewter Charm and a blue pair of titanium scissors. Along with the PIF, CJ also included an AWESOME RAK (random act of kindness) gift. It was a huge amount of cardmaking supplies. As you can see from the pic, there were many stamps and ink pads, 2 packages of cardstock, lots of design papers, glitter, markers, glue, circle paper punch, cardmaking magazines, brads, buttons, ribbon, tin of paper flowers, stick-on embellishments, & a package of cat greeting cards. I am so excited about my new venture into cardmaking and appreciate CJ passing on many of her extra supplies to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you CJ!!! You are an angel! I will post the PIF winners later today after the Daytona 500 Nascar race is finished. Good luck to everyone who has posted. There is still times to post if you haven't entered yet; just leave a comment on my previous post. That's all for now. It's stitching time! Have a great day and enjoy the race. Barb

PIF, Stitching & Nascar

2010-02-04T23:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, can't believe it's been so long since I've posted on here. I've got lots of catching up to do.

First, I've got a PIF (Pay it Forward) to post. Some months ago, I was one of the lucky winners of a PIF from CJ. This one is easy, since no stitching is actually involved. So this is a great one for those of you who don't have any stitching time available and/or don't care for the finishing part of stitching.

*******************************************

If you would like to receive 5 stitching items from me, please leave a comment under this message clearly indicating that you would like to be included in my PIF (pay it forward) drawing. I will announce 3 winners on Sunday, February 14th. That gives everyone well over a week to leave me a comment. Please remember to include your email address so I can send you a note if you are a winner!

Here are the rules:

Send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.
Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.
The items must be new and not used. (Send things you'd be happy to receive.)
If you win, you must be willing to post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.

The PIF is simple and very easy to do, so I hope you'll give it a try!

On the stitching front, I've finished a couple more charity squares. First, is a snowman that will be used for a raffle quilt with proceeds going to help a no-kill rescue shelter for blind cats.

Next, is a Cherished Teddie detective that will be used for a man's quilt with the theme of heroes.I'm now working on some personal stitching projects in addition to a few more charity squares. I'm beginning the Monopoly gameboard. Of course, just what I needed to do - sign up for another SAL. I really need to get my time organized so I begin to actually accomplish something in addition to the vast amount of time I spend on this computer. LOL

I know there are other pics I haven't posted yet, but I can't really think of what they are right now. Just too late and I need to get some sleep. And I have some pics on my camera that I still need to upload onto my computer.

Last but definitely not least - it's time for Nascar again. The 2010 theme is DRIVE FOR FIVE!!! Yep, Jimmie's going for his 5th consecutive championship! Go Jimmie!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and please leave comments. I love hearing from you. Be sure to leave a comment on this post if you want to be included in my PIF drawing on February 14th!

Happy Stitching Day,

Barb

Happy 2010!

2009-12-31T21:50:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. My last Christmas pics are of gifts I received from my kids. My DS & DDIL gave me this wonderful Jimmie Johnson poster & Sports Illustrated issue with him on the cover. They also gave me this very pretty cross to add to my collection, cross necklace, 2010 calendar & some of my favorite candies.

My DD & grandgirl sent me these wonderful Laurel Burch socks, 2 cross stitch kits and this very pretty tree figurine.

And with money I received, I've ordered this Laurel Burch purse.

I finished stitching another charity square. This is a Kookaburra for a bird theme. Now I'm stitching a snowman charity square that is due Jan 15th.

I've decided that 2010 will be the year for me to stitch the UFOs and projects still waiting in the wings to begin. I've collected some wonderful designs to stitch and now I really need to get busy working on them. I need to make a list of them and post it here to keep me focused on my goal.

It's only 10 more minutes til the new year, so will close for now. Thank you everyone for your continued support and friendship throughout this past year. It means so very much to me to have made so many wonderful friends throughout the world thanks to the internet. Please feel free to leave comments - love hearing from you! Thank you for visiting and please come back.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Barb

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

2009-12-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

I hope yall are having a wonderful Christmas day. It's a somewhat chilly 49 degrees F here with no snow. ;-( My ham & sweet potatoes are in the oven & dinner for 2 (me & my kitty, Shadow) will be ready at 6pm. My son has to work today, so will get together with him and DIL in a few days. My DD called from Indiana. Got email messages from friends & family. It's been a wonderful day!

First, let me wish Shadow a very happy 7th birthday today. What a handsome guy he is. Think I'm biased a little? lol

The final Advent Exchange gift I opened was a package of items that I had on my wish list. A Lizzie Kate "Good Things" chart, Clover needle threader, Star De-Tailor, Kelmscott Kitty Needle Minder, and a pair of Putford Scissors. This is just FANTASTIC and sure made my Christmas Day very happy. I love you, Glenda for all the wonderful gifts you have so generously given me. This was the best Advent Exchange package I've ever had!!!!!

Oh, can't forget to show a pic of Shadow enjoying his Advent gift from Kaylee (Glenda's kitty). He's sure enjoying the catnip spray I put on it for him.

Thank you for visiting my blog and for all the comments you leave. I so enjoy blogging & all the friends I've made.

Have a Happy Stitchy Day!

Barb

Photos, photos & more photos - Merry Christmas to All!

2009-12-23T23:47:00.000-08:00

This post is photo heavy, but wanted to catch up on all my exchanges, Christmas card stitching and charity stitching. I've posted days 17 - 24 of my CSE Advent Exchange gifts from Glenda. Thank you so very much for everything you picked out for me, Glenda.

Advent Exchange Days 17 - 20

Advent Exchange Days 21 - 24

At Sapphire Stitching group, we had a Secret Santa exchange and here's a pic of all I received from Georgena. Thank you so much for everything, Georgena.

Secret Santa gift

At SanManville, we had a Yulemas Ornament Exchange and here is the ornament I received from Linda in Canada. Thank you so much, Linda. I really love the Vee & Co design you stitched for me.

Here are the 3 Christmas cards I stitched. These were fun to stitch and my 1st attempt at making any Christmas cards. I'm hoping to do more for next year.

And last, but not least, here's the tea theme charity square I finished for Q4OC that will be sent to a group who makes quilts for Seniors.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and I hope you enjoyed browsing through my pics. Please leave comments - I love them.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you have a wonderful holidays!!!

Barb

Advent Exchange & Stitching

2009-12-19T01:49:00.000-08:00

I've gotten behind on posting pics of my Advent Exchange gifts, so here goes. The 1st pic is of days 5 - 8. Day 5 was a cute Boyd's Bear Pin and day 6 was 14ct red Aida. On day 7, I received mitten ornaments filled with 2 tubes of lip moisteners and a purrfect pin (says "I love cats; it's people I can't stand"). That so fits me. LOL Day 8 was a kit of kitty ornaments to stitch (I LOVE IT). Thank you Glenda!!!

The 2nd pic is of days 9 - 12. On day 9, I got these soft and comfy pair of socks. They came at just the right time, since it's been cold here lately and they keep my feet warm & toasty. Thread Heaven was in the day 10 package (which I will definitely put to good use), day 11 was a small "Think Spring" kit with handmade button (similar to the Hobb Nobb doodles for leftovers kits & I LOVE IT). On day 12, I received a tin of 12 coasters with bizarre (but real) words on them. Cracked me up. Thanks again, Glenda.

This 3rd pic is of days 13 - 16. Day 13 was a hilarious air freshener for my car in the shape of a cat butt (just tooooooo funny). Day 14 was a small stocking filled with a herbal foot creme and pumice stone, which I'm really looking forward to using. Day 15 was craft fabric with cat faces on it (I LOVE IT) and day 16 was a package of cat themed chipboard stickers (I LOVE IT). Glenda has sure picked out the best gifts for me. I'm loving everything!!! Thank you so very much, Glenda!!!

As for my stitching, I recently finished 2 small charity squares for Q4OC. The beach theme is a design from the July 2004 Crazy For Cross Stitch magazine. The transportation design is from Issue 142 of The World of Cross Stitching magazine.

Also made these ornaments. Jingle All The Way is a Helga Mandl design & I use the reindeer fabric for the back. Itty Bitty Christmas Tree is a SanMan Original (for SanManville members only). There will be 3 others to go with this and will make into a cube. The Vinnie Reindeer is a Just Cross Stitch design & I made this for a group exchange (used light blue felt on the backside).

I'll put pics of the Christmas cards I stitched in my next post. I'm sure blogger won't cooperate to let me add more pics in this post and don't want to over-do the pictures for all of you reading this. Finally, I want to thank yall so very much for visiting my blog. I also love the comments you leave for me. So, am heading off to bed now. Bye yall!

Barb

Snow & Advent Exchange

2009-12-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't a big deal to some of you, but here in SE Texas, it's a big deal. We got a couple inches of snow today, and we rarely see the white stuff down here. I let the kid in me come out and built 2 snowmen (one in the front yard & one in the back yard). You can see in the 1st pic that it was coming down pretty hard. I know my snowmen aren't very good, but made the best with what I could find. LOL They will melt quickly anyway.

Here's pics of what I've received in my Advent Exchange from Glenda. First pic is of all the packages and second pic is what I've opened on days 1 - 4. This is such a fun exchange and it's the 3rd year I've participated in it.

On day 1, I opened the cutest LED frog keychain. It goes ribbit, ribbit when you press on the light.

Day 2 was a package of 2 sachets to stitch.

Day 3 was a lovely journal and matching photo album. I plan to use the photo album for pictures of some of my stitching projects.

Day 4 was 3 Stitch A Card Kits (2 for Christmas and 1 of a cat).

Time to get back to some stitching now while watching the final episode of Monk. Sure am going to miss that show. Thanks for visiting.

Barb

Let's Say Thanks

2009-12-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL

at www.LetsSayThanks.com

If you go to this web site, you can pick out a thank you card, Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them. This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's. Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2009-12-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

I really need to update my blog more often. While I was browsing through my pics, I noticed some pics that I never posted here. So today is your lucky day (LOL) to see them. First, this is the giveaway I won a few months ago from Chris.

This is some of the Silkweaver's fabrics I've gotten during the past couple of months and the Santa Hob Nobb kit I won off Ebay.

These pics were certainly not some of my better ones and I need to do better in the future. However, I do have one that I just love. Let me introduce you to my cat, Shadow. He was laying on the chair (under my Ott Lite) while I took some pictures of my stitching.

I've been stitching some Christmas exchange items, so cannot show them yet. Also have been stitching a few Christmas cards. Wish I could stitch faster so I could send a stitched one to everyone, but I will have to settle on sending out just a few of these. Also am trying to finish up a few charity squares. And yes, it's COLD outside. Right now it's 54 degrees F and supposed to drop down to freezing tonight or tomorrow. Looks like I'll have to wrap my outdoor plants today. I even had to turn on the heat this morning because I was freezing in here. lol

Well, better go for now and get some bills paid so I can get back to my stitching projects. I'll soon be updating with pics of my Advent gifts. Have already opened the first 3 days, so need to get the camera out and take some pics. Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoy the new holiday music I've added to my blog. Yall come back now, ya hear!

Barb

4 in a row

2009-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

WOO HOO!!!! Jimmie Johnson won his 4th consecutive Nascar championship today!!!!

And another record went down in Nascar history today. The Hendrick team got the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place championship finishes. No other team has ever done that. This post is my way of congratulating them all & thanking them for a fantastic year of race watching.

Thanks for visiting.

Barb

Unfortunately, Barbara................

2009-11-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

Yep, I'm blogging again today. Just couldn't resist giving this game a try. Hope you enjoy!

Found this game on Annie's blog, and had to give it a try. The way it works is for you to type your first name preceded by the word "unfortunately" into Google and see what you get. Here's some of what I found when I Googled Unfortunately Barbara.....

Unfortunately Barbara got sick of being typecast in horror movies.
Unfortunately Barbara didn't seem to get it.
Unfortunately Barbara was psychologically unstable, ill-bred and despite outward appearances, on opening her mouth, could be counted on to be the rudest, most foul-mouthed, classless person in a room.
Unfortunately Barbara lost her sleeping companion, Spikey, her favorite stuffed dog.
Unfortunately Barbara couldn't have been more wrong.
Unfortunately for Barbara, the marriage proved disastrous.
Unfortunately Barbara is also a talker. Nonstop.
Unfortunately Barbara had a few technical hitches.
Unfortunately Barbara is teaching and writing about Western Civ when she should be writing about politics.
Unfortunately Barbara has left the building.

Now, give it a try for yourself. I'm sure you'll find it somewhat amusing. Bye now!
Barb

Happy Friday the 13th and more!

2009-11-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's been so long since my last post here. I need to keep up more often (well, like that's gonna happen - NOT). ;-) I have been stitching a little and did finish a piece for Halloween. This is an OakHaven Design called Goodnight Halloween & I stitched it on a piece of 14 ct Sapphire Stitching's Lemon Splash Aida. Isn't he just the cutest? The poor little guy is just tuckered out from all the treating he did. LOL

Now I'm stitching exchange projects, so won't be posting anything about them until they are sent & received. And I just found the cutest 2 charts that I've added to my wish list. They are just too funny, so am going to share pics of them with yall. These charts are by Prairie Moon and are titled The Crypt Club and Merry Christmas. They sure aren't your normal type of designs, but they are just so me. Yep, I have a weird sense of humor. LOL

I had an appointment for my yearly boob smashing exam this morning, but guess I was so anxious to have it done that I went YESTERDAY! Talk about feeling dumb! But they were nice and did the test for me so I wouldn't have to return again today. I made my appointment for next year on the same day as my eye exam, so I shouldn't make this mistake again. (at least I hope not).

For all you fans of Weeks Dye Works threads, I just read that their threads are going to be colorfast. As they produce new batches of colors when they run out, the colorfast production will begin. What a neat idea, so their won't be a problem with washing projects with these overdyed threads in the future.

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting my blog. I do so appreciate everyone coming and leaving comments. I know I don't leave comments for everyone like I should be doing, but hope yall know how much I enjoy reading your blogs and viewing all the beautiful stitching. It's time for me to get stitching, so I bid yall tu-da-loo!

Barb

Final alphabet square finished

2009-10-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

I've finished the final alphabet square for Q4OC - the letter H. Now I'm working on an OakHaven Designs Goodnight Halloween piece for myself.

Scroll down to the bottom of my blog to find out what color and what flower I am. It also will link you to the sites for you to take your own quizzes and find out what color & flower you are. Hope you enjoy!

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Before I sign off, I want to leave yall with one last thought - GO JIMMIE JOHNSON!!! He's on his way to winning his 4th consecutive Nascar championship and become the 1st driver to every accomplish that. For all you non-Jimmie fans.......eat your heart out! ROFLOL Sorry, just couldn't resist. ;)

Have a nice day everyone!

Barb

Giveawy, Birthday & Stitching Updates

2009-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Warning - There are LOTS of pics in this post.

For all you Halloween lovers, here's a Halloween giveaway you'll really want to win. It's at the wonderful blog of Zinia's. She is Russian, but has a translator link on her blog, so you can translate into your language. Check it out. Hearty Craft I so want to win this stunning box she has stitched. I'm sure you'll agree how lovely it is.

I just received my birthday gift from my DD and I'm in heaven. This is a Laurel Burch Feline Family Overnighter Bag and it's HUGE. I'll be using it for my cross stitch and as an overnight bag IF I ever go anywhere overnight. lol Since it's much larger than I thought it would be my wonderful DD told me to pick out another one (purse size) for Christmas. Laurel Burch has so many wonderful cat designs to choose from. You can check them out here Colorful Critters. I think my DD is really happy to see me come up with something I want OTHER than cross stitch stash. lol I never tire of the stash, but I suppose it can get boring for those purchasing gifts for me.

I finally got my pics uploaded on my camera of my birthday (Sept 13th) floss I received from CSE members. I LOVE it all.

Got 2 more charity alphabet squares finished for Q4OC and I'm working on my final one now (letter H).

I have managed to stitch a couple of Halloween things for group exchanges. The first ornament is a SanMan Original (Pumpcats) I made for the CSE group Halloween exchange.

The next ornament I stitched was for a SanManville HalloFall Exchange. It's the San Man Original "Boo To You" and is in a SMO tuck.

Guess I'll sign off now. Thanks for visiting and thanks more for any comments you leave. I love to hear from yall.

Hugs,

Barb

More charity squares completed

2009-10-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

I finished four alphabet squares for Q4OC. These are being donated to Binkies SD.

I'm now stitching some Halloween ornaments for 2 group exchanges I'm in. Won't be able to post pics of them until after they are received by the people they are going to. Not much else to write about for now. Thanks for visiting.

Barb

Stitching finish & TV chatting

2009-09-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

I finished stitching this Vermillion Stitchery October Tabby Angel Cat for Q4OC. I'm happy with the end result, but the quarter stitches were a nightmare on the 14ct aida.

Happy Days that TV shows are airing NEW episodes again. Of course, it will probably be only for a few weeks and then the reruns will return. What ever happened to the good old days of a full season of shows and reruns were only in the summer? Now the actors get paid just as much (& even more) for doing much less work.

I'm happy that Dancing With The Stars is back again. I just love that show. Not sure who I want to win yet. Will have to see more dancing by all the stars. I was so pleasantly surprised with Kelly Osborne's dancing. I think she'll go far in the competition.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for visiting and for comments you leave. I do truly appreciate ALL your feedback.

Barb

Winner Announced

2009-09-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

I used random.org to pick a winner for my blogversary giveaway and the winner is...... ******************************************************* GoldenAngelsWorks said... Well congrats on your blogversary.Happy Early Birthday to my September birthday buddy!!!!The Santa is adorable.Congrats on winning those adorable charms.You are doing great on your stitching scrap book.Please include me in your giveaway!Thank you for this opportunity to join in on the fun. ******************************************************* CONGRATS TO YOU!!! Please send me (bjcstitching@sbcglobal.net) the email account you want me to have your gift certificate sent to. ******************************************************* It's been a busy day and I'm yawning, so gonna call it a day & go to bed. I'll post tomorrow about all the b-day goodies I received today. ******************************************************* Thank you to everyone for your interest in my blogversary giveaway. I am flattered to see so many people signed up for it. I'm only sorry that I cannot give every one of you a prize. Barb

Giveaway, another ornament, another prize & 1st stitching scrapbook page

2009-09-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting my blogversary giveaway posted here. In August, I celebrated my 4th year of having this blog. Time flies when you're chatting away. lol Anyway, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with something worthy of a giveaway. I've decided to "borrow" a giveaway idea from Barb's Stitches.

I will give a $20 gift certificate from 123 Stitch to the winner. Just post a message here on this post only to be entered into the drawing. I will choose a name from all the entries on Sept 13th (my birthday). EDIT: If you don't have a blog for me to reach you, please leave your email address so I can reach you should you win.

I completed a 4th ornament for Q4OC. This Santa is a Sam Hawkins design from his book "520 Christmas Cross-Stitch Designs."

I received a prize from Christine at SanManville of these wonderful charms.

I finally did begin the first page of my stitching scrapbook. It still needs more embellishments, but I'm happy with my start.

I scanned the pic, so it didn't show the full 12" x 12" page. Once I finish, I'll take a pic with my camera. This SanMan Original piece (a freebie for members only) was what I originally put inside a tuck, but since I goofed and cut it too small so it wouldn't slide around, I decided to use it for my 1st scrapbook page.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and good luck to everyone for the blogversary giveaway.

Barb

Stitching, Prize & More

2009-08-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

I've been doing more stitching lately because my computer has been acting up. I'm having another gig of RAM installed next week, so hopefully that will solve the problems I've been having. Anyway, here's pics of the recent stitching finishes I have. I'm doing all of these for Q4OC to be made into ornaments that will be sold at a fundraiser for a shelter for blind cats. The designs are 1-Pressies, 2-Noel and 3-Penguin Offering Gifts. I'm now stitching a Santa and will be doing 2 others after that.

I won another prize from Spooky Time Jingles. I just love this and I'm sure you'll agree with me of how adorable he is. This Uncle Sam sculpture was made by Janell Berryman at Pumpkin Seeds. Be sure to check out her wonderful art.

I saw a You Tube link on Janell's blog that I'd like to share with you. This is the most unique wedding entrance I've ever seen. You Tube Wedding Entrance Enjoy!!!

Thanks for visiting and for any comments. Have a great weekend!

Barb

Stitching & pics of primoriginals received

2009-07-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Just finished this SanMan Original. It was a free design for only those receiving their newsletter. I stitched this on a piece of aida that I received in an aida grab bag purchase from 123 Stitch. I did some DMC floss color changes so it would match up better to the colors of the tuck. The tuck was made by Elaine in the CSE yahoo group. I'm not sure if I'll leave the design in the tuck since I messed up and didn't leave a large enough border around the design to prevent it from sliding around. I may just put this design in my stitching scrapbook and stitch another piece to put in the tuck.

Now, as promised in an earlier post, here's the pics of the primoriginal gieveaway that I received. I just absolutely love, love, love them all. The earrings are called Girls with Cats & there is a princess, fairy & a normal girl. The print is called Fairies With Red Wings.

Besides the giveaways, I also ordered the 2 kitty miniature sculptures. Believe me, they are just too cute for words. The largest kitty is about the size of a quarter. My cat, Shadow loved the smell of them, so I had to quickly put them out of his reach. LOL

Did yall see the Nascar race on Sunday? Most of the race was kinda boring, but the finish was terrific. Loved seeing Jimmie Johnson race Mark Martin to the finish line & then become the first driver to win back-to-back races at Indy. Also am happy to see Jimmie's clean shaven face again. I personally think he's too good looking to hide his looks behind a beard. ;D

Well, that's all for now. Thanks to yall for visiting & reading my blog. Feel free to leave comments. I really love hearing from yall. Bye now.

Barb

Monday, Monday - (just love that song)

2009-07-20T14:42:00.001-07:00

WOO HOO!!! I finally finished the OakHaven Designs SAL. ******************************************************* I am so excited about some items I received in the mail this past week. These ornaments are just the cutest and I love them. *********************************************** This first picture is Black Cat Splat ornament by:http://www.thepunchinfool.com/ This next cutie is Burglar Cat Ornament by: http://surprisedelightjoy.blogspot.com/ I received my order from Jo-Ann's Fabrics in today's mail. I got a set of 17" x 17" Q-Snaps which should make stitching on Castles in the Air a little easier for me. And I also got this terrific OttLite. I'll use my floor model light when I'm stitching in my recliner and this new folding table light will go by my computer. Sure will make stitching while I'm on yahoo messenger live chats so much easier. ********************************************* And finally, I'm able to share that I was the lucky lucky winner of the primoriginals giveaway. I am so so excited and have sent my choices to Liz and also ordered something extra from her. I just LOVE her artwork. You will have to wait until I receive them to find out what lovely items I am getting. I know that's mean, but pictures of them will be so much nicer than me telling you what I'm getting. Thank you so very much JOKE for telling about it on your blog. Sorry you didn't win though (no, not really - lol). Thanks for visiting, Barb

Friday Update

2009-07-16T21:51:00.001-07:00

Next month will be my 4th blog-versary. Wow, hard to believe I've had this blog for so long. I'm thinking about what type of giveaway I can have for all my many loyal readers. More info will come as soon as I get it all figured out. Another stitching finish is the November square from OakHaven Designs. Only 1 more square to do & I'll have this SAL finished. I'm still working on the Language of a Stitcher SAL - slow going, but I'm getting there.

I'm gradually getting my materials gathered to begin making my stitching scrapbook. I bought a 12" x 12" album, couple packs of designed paper & some stickers. This is gonna be such a fun project and I'll finally be able to enjoy the stitching projects I've had buried in drawers.

Thanks for visiting and yall come back now, ya hear.

Barb

Primoriginals Giveaway

2009-07-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

While browsing blogs today, I found a giveaway listed on Joke's Blog about a giveaway by primoriginals that I just had to share with yall. Be sure to check out her works of art. If I win, it will surely be difficult for me to choose from so many wonderful pieces. Here's a couple of pics to show you some of what I like. Actually, I like ALL of her art, but of course anything to do with cats are favorites of mine.

Did yall see that Nascar finish yesterday? All I can say is WOW!

Gotta admit that I was happy Kyle didn't win since Tony had led so many laps in that race. And Jimmie then came in 2nd (go JJ). You can read all about it at the Nascar web site.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Barb

It's Independence Day

2009-07-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the USA!!! I found this awesome slide show to celebrate our country. My Beautiful America Be sure to turn your speakers on low volume. Enjoy!!!

Now for a stitching update. I completed the August & September of the OakHaven Designs monthly SAL.

That's it for today. Hope your holiday has been a pleasant one and thanks for visiting.

Barb

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

For all those celebrating the 4th of July in the US, I hope yall will have a fun & safe holiday this weekend. I will be spending time stitching and trying to catch up on 2 SAL projects that are long overdue in finishing. Also will watch Nascar and participate in a live online group chat.
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I do have a stitching finish to show. I'm thinking of making it into a flatfold, but not quite sure yet. This is an OakHaven Design that was given ONLY to the group members who participated in the last couple weeks live online chats. Sorry to say it is NOT available.

This is gonna be a short post because I need to fix myself something to eat. Thanks for visiting and come back any time. :D

Have a great weekend,

Barb

Saturday Check-In

2009-06-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone. Hope your weekend is going well and you're doing fun things. I just found out I won a door prize from Ginny at Spooky Time Jingles. Isn't this just the cutest Christmas Kitty?

I also received the prize I won at SanManville from Twig. It's the Beaded Rose chart from Just Nan. This is such a lovely design and I plan on using some of the silk threads I have for it. It's a small enough design to practice using silks.

I've been a busy stitcher lately. Since the next part of Castles in the Air has been delayed in being ready, I've been using the time to catch up on my OakHaven Languages of a Stitcher SAL. I've finally gotten through part 8. I haven't washed & ironed it yet, so it's still rather wrinkled.

It's been hot here lately. Yesterday, it got up to 100 degrees and was miserable. I'm staying inside in the cool air conditioning unless I absolutely HAVE to go out. Good excuse to stitch, putz on the computer, nap & watch TV. I don't really need an excuse, but thought it sounded good. LOL Well, that's it for now. Thanks for visiting with me and hope you'll come again. Have a great weekend!!!

Barb

Monday Update

2009-06-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

I finished the 3rd part of Castles in the Air and am ready for the release of part 4 later this month.

Now I'm going to try to catch up on the other SALs I'm doing during this week. And I'm also doing more organizing of my charts. I got some binders and am putting charts in them according to the name of the designer (for designers that I have many charts from). This will be much easier to find charts. Well, this is going to be a short post, so I'll sign off for now. Thanks for visiting.

Barb

Good Morning - even though it's Monday

2009-06-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

I finished my SanMan Original SAL yesterday and am so thrilled with it. Now just to decide how to finish it.

I'm still working on part 3 of my Castles sampler. Am trying to get this part finished before part 4 comes out in approximately 2 weeks.

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Now, did yall see the Nascar race yesterday? WOW, what a finish. Jimmie & Tony sure made it exciting. I was jumping up & down and yelling and yessiree - my driver WON!!!! Go Jimmie!!!!

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I've gotta get my car inspected today. It was actually due in May, but I procrastinated and now I HAVE to do it or risk getting a ticket.

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I'm in the process of trying to figure out yahoo messenger. I really hate new technical things I have to learn. lol I got it downloaded and have my account all set up. Now to get connected with others, so I'll be ready for the online chat this weekend with the OakHaven group. Thank heaven there are nice ladies there willing to help out those of us who are a somewhat dense.

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Have a great week yall and thanks for visiting my blog. I truly love any & all comments you leave and I'll try to get caught up on my blog reading soon.

Barb

Happy Friday Yall

2009-05-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

I finished the 2nd part of the Papillon Creations Castles in the Air SAL and have begun stitching on the 3rd part. I'm trying to catch up before the next part is released in June.

The final part of the SanMan SAL will be released today, so will also be working on that. Then have to get back to the 2 OakHaven Designs SALs so I can finish them up. No rest for the weary. LOL

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This week has brought me some new stash. I received the final 2 charts for the Raise The Roof Crabby sampler. That's going to be so much fun to stitch. My 2 ebay purchases were a Gingher 4" featherweight thread snips and 6 pieces of 14ct aida in tropical colors (blue, green, orange, pink, yellow & lavender). The colors are so vibrant. Will have to take a pic and post it later.

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Gotta run now. Have to go to the post office, drop off my recycling items, & pick up a few groceries. Hope yall have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Barb

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. I enjoyed watching all the racing (both Nascar & the Indy 500) and stitching. Was thrilled to see Helio win at Indy, but was bummed about all the rain delays in the Nascar racing. Oh well, guess there's nothing anyone can do about changing Mother Nature. ;D I thought it was terrific how Nascar followed President Obama's suggestion to have a moment of silence at 3pm EST. During the Coca Cola 600 race on Monday, Nascar lowered the track flag to half mast, had the drivers line up on pit row, stopped the race, had all the drivers turn off their cars, asked everyone to stand and had a minute of silence. It was an awesome way to show respect for all those in the service (both past & present).

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I finished the next part of the SanMan SAL. I'm having such fun stitching this. I'm still working on my part 2 of the Papillon Castles in the Air SAL. I'll get a pic when I finish this part.

It's time to get back to my stitching now. I truly appreciate yall visiting my blog & hope yall have a great week. Signing off with many Texas sized hugs,

Barb

New Stash, prizes won & SAL update

2009-05-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

I've been really enjoying my stitching time this past week because I finally got a new lamp. Here's a pic of it - the OttLite floor lamp. I went to JoAnns last weekend and they had it on sale for 40% off, so I just couldn't pass up the deal. Thank heaven for the stimulus payment. I did my share to help the economy. Also got some other stash while I was there.

Besides this wonderful new stash, I stopped at Half Price Books and found some cross stitch books. Actually, only 5 of the books in the picture are from there. The other 2 are from the library used book store.

I won a prize from Funk & Weber at the online Needlework Show. I chose the "Anything is Possible" chart. I've also recently won a couple of prizes from SanManville. The topiary kit (won from Janet) comes packaged in a medicine bottle as a prescription for cross stitch fever. It's just so cute and what a unique packaging idea.

I've been working on the May SAL from SanManville. I've got all 3 parts finished. Now I've got to catch up on my other SALs (OakHaven monthly charts, OakHaven "Love Grows," OakHaven "Language of a Stitcher," and Papillon's Castles in the Air). I should be keeping busy and getting lots of time to enjoy using my new lamp.

Thanks for visiting my blog. In case you didn't notice the new pic in the right hand column about Operation Nice, check it out. It's pretty neat & I plan on joining in. Hope some of you will also. I wish all of you a great week!!!

Barb

99 Things

2009-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

I saw this here and thought I'd join in on the fun.
Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (accordian band as a youngster)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland (been to Disney World)

8. Climbed a mountain (wasn't very high, but I did it)

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped (never, never, never)

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train (when a youngster)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked (when a teenager)

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping (no way!!!)

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run (lucky if I could even hit the ball)

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (AWESOME!!!)

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I am satisfied with what I have now)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (have even camped out at the beach)

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted (in New Orleans)

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater (sure do miss them)

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business (sellilng handmade crafts years ago, but it failed)

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (remember when box of thin mints were only 50 cents)

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason (what a nice gesture this was)

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check :-(

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (my younger 6 siblings destroyed everything)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar (tasted very salty - yuk)

72. Pieced a quilt (only for a small quilted pillow)

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (as a youngster & adult)

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (no way, no how!!!)

88. Had chickenpox (when in 6th grade)

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous (Sean Hayes - before he was famous on TV). Worked with his mom & saw him perform in a musical.

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby (2 - son & daughter)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee (OUCH!!!)

My new BAP

2009-04-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

I've got a stitching update to post. Just finished part 1 of the Papillon Creations SAL "Castles in the Air." It's a 2 year BAP (big a** project) and I'm excited about taking part in it. I'm stitching on 14ct white aida and using the following DMC threads: 702, 703, 907, 552, 554, 893, 744, 718, 155, 603, 722, & Light Effects E130. Additionally, the design calls for DMC 807, 3765, 3766, 610, 3046, 3045, 310, 9072, & White. The white didn't show up too well on the white fabric, so I used DMC variegated 4160. You can find information about this SAL here Prior to stitching on the Castles project, I finished the June square for the OakHaven Designs SAL and now move on to the July. On the non-stitching news, I signed up for Twitter today to help CNN reach a million followers before Ashton Kurtcher does. Not sure about it, but thought I'd give it a try. You can find a link to twitter in the right hand column under my profile - if you're interested or even just curious. Edit: I really didn't care for twitter, so have removed my account there.
That's all for now. Better get some sleep before the morning sunlight comes up. LOL Thanks for visiting my blog and for your comments. I'm behind on the blog reading again, so don't think I've forgotten to check out all your blogs.
In stitches,
Barb

Finished my stitcher's challenge squares

2009-04-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

I finished stitching all 6 of my stitcher's challenge squares. I've already posted the first 3 (golfer, garden, windmill) in a previous post, so here's the last three. The first pic is for the dog theme category. It's a design from one of the UK stitching mags (don't know which one at the moment). The second pic is for the cat theme category and the design is a complimentary chart from Purrfect Spots by Nan Baker entitled Casey, Josh & Friends (I added the words to the design). And the third pic is for the Mountain category and it's a Prairie Schooler Log Cabin design.

In June, there will be 6 more categories for the stitcher's challenge. They will be due at the end of 2009. I'm looking forward to seeing what they will be.

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I've got 2 more charity squares I've signed up to stitch - both are angel cats from the 2003 Vermillion Stitchery Angel Cats & Puppies series. I'm planning to stitch the June & October designs.

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And I've signed up for a new SAL from Papillon Creations. This is a BIG project that will take 2 years to finish and is called Castles in the Air. I've got my fabric & floss ready and plan to start on it today while watching the Nascar race.

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I finally tried dying two pieces of 14 ct aida. The first is with Kool-Aide and the second is with Welch's grape juice. I bought some Rit Dye to try out some other colors.

I've been going through all my charts to de-stash and so far have a stack approximately 14 inches high. Many of these are complimentary charts I've collected over the past years which I know I'll never stitch. I plan to give most of them away at the SanManville message board during the month of September (when I'm hosting the monthly twinkle games). Some of the leaflets I will scan & post pics online to trade or PIF.

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That's all for today. Shadow is bugging me to feed him some canned cat food. You'd think the poor cat was starving. LOL He's always got dry food out, but he sure does love the canned stuff I give him every morning. Thanks for visiting and I appreciate all your comments.

Have a beautiful day,

Barb

Happy Friday the 13th!!!

2009-03-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday the 13th and I just realized it's been nearly one month since my last post. I guess it's only appropriate for me to post on this day that I consider lucky for me. I love the number 13, probably because I was born on the 13th of Sept.

In fact, I won something today - a door prize from Spooky Time Jingles. I won a Mr. Carrot ornament made by Marie Patterson. It is so cute, which I'm sure ya'll will agree.

I've also got some stitching updates to post. I finished the May square for the OakHaven Designs SAL and now move on to the June square.

And I finished 3 charity squares for the Q4OC stitcher's challenge. I will be stitching a total of 12 squares (6 the first half of the year & 6 more the second half of the year). Squares are being donated to the seniors group to use in making lap quilts. I did a windmill for the buildings category, a golfer for the sports category, and a garden scene for the gardens category.

I have 3 more squares to stitch for this first part of the challenge - categories of mountains, dog, and cat. Already have my charts chosen for them.

In addition to stitching, I've been doing some stash organizing. I bought a this 7 drawer cart for holding my stash and have it partially filled already. Also picked up another bookshelf to get more organized with my books.

Well, that's it for now. I'm so behind on my blog reading. My google reader has nearly 200 new posts for me to read, so I promise ya'll I'll be getting to ya soon. Sorry for taking so long.

Thanks for visiting my blog and know that I truly do appreciate every comment you leave for me.

Barb

Happy Friday Ya'll!

2009-02-20T21:06:00.000-08:00

I received this friends' award from Cindy and want to thank her so very much for thinking of me.

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These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon's of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with. I'm sending this award on to all of you who read my blog because I consider all of you my friends and cannot choose some over others.

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I've joined the Stitchers' Village. It's free, so you might want to check it out. Anything stitching related for free is always worth checking out. ;D

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I just finished stitching this square for a charity quilt that will be raffled to raise funds to help with medical expenses for a young lady that received a charity quilt that I had stitched a square for. This design is "Sandy" from the book "101 Bears With Personality." It's stitched on white 14 ct aida with DMC threads. I've still got 2 more that I'm stitching for this quilt.

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Thanks to everyone for visiting my blog. I've been reading everyone's blogs on my google reader, but haven't been too good at going to all the blogs & leaving comments. Just wanted to let ya'll know that I am reading your blogs and plan tol get caught up on leaving comments asap.

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Have a happy weekend.

Barb

SAL completed

2009-02-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo!!! I finished the SMO 12 Days of Christmas SAL for month 2 (members only designs). This was so much fun to stitch. Now just to decide how to finish it. Not sure if I want to frame it, make into a pillow or do something else with it. Decisions, decisions. LOL While I'm pondering on that, I can get started on the 2nd SMO Halloween SAL design & do month 1 of the Christmas SAL. I love doing these projects that stitch up quickly. Makes me feel like I really accomplished something. ;D
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Thanks for visiting and I appreciate every comment that is left for me. Ya'll come back now, ya hear. ;-)
Barb

I won!!!

2009-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

I received an email from Dani at EaglesWings to tell me I won her prize in the One World One Heart Giveaway event. Here's the 14 cross stitch charts I'll be receiving from her. What a great prize to win. I'm really excited about it.

There were over 800 bloggers involved with this event and would you believe, I actually visited every one of them. Didn't enter all the giveaways, but did manage to at least view each blog. There are so many talented people and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the large variety of arts & crafts.

Well, that's it for tonight. I've been online much too long today and didn't get any stitching done as I had planned to do. And I think I'll have a dish of my favorite ice cream - Blue Bell Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Oh yum!!!!! Happy weekend & thanks for visiting my blog.

Barb

Yet another SAL

2009-02-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

Giving in to my start-itis disease, I began yet another SAL. Just cannot stop myself from working on something new and fun. LOL Well, this one is a SanManville 12 days of Christmas SAL. Each month will be a new design, using the members-only SMO charts that were given to us this past Christmas time. I still haven't done the one for January, but am halfway finished with the February chart. This chart is another dozen of Sandy's very popular designs of a full year sampler. And yes, this is just one of the 12 designs being stitched (even though it features 12 little designs in it). I'm loving every minute of stitching on this, so having start-itis isn't always so bad. ;-) That's all for today. Gotta get back to my stitching. Thanks for visiting and have a great Friday. Barb

Monday Check-in

2009-02-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

I am honored that Meari has awarded me this special Love Blog award for my stitching lots of squares for charity quilts. I don't stitch nearly as many as I used to though.
Now, I must spread this love to 5 other bloggers. So without further ado, I choose: Mylene (Crafter in Texel) - for the beautiful stitching she creates and for sending her completed work to so many others. Beth (Crossed Purposes) - for being such an inspiration with her wonderful spirit. She has many physical challenges that she doesn't let get in her way of living life to the fullest. Glenda (Cross Stitch and Cat Hair) - for being such a good friend and my personality twin. I know I can always chat with her, because she understands where I'm coming from. Cindy (Lonestar Stitcher & Her Ramblings) - for her cheerful disposition and always taking the time to send an email to everyone posting on her blog. All my blog followers & comment writers (Too many to list each one) - for your many kind & supportive comments, making me feel so good and giving me the motivation to continue my stitching addiction. Bless you ALL!

On to my latest stitching update - here's April. For such a small piece, it seemed to take me forever. Had way too many frogs visiting. Grrrrrrr I didn't like how my original bunny & baskets looked, so changed their colors and even changed the basket shapes. I'm still not 100% happy with this one, but it's gonna have to stay. I'm not chancing anymore frog visits. Just got the May design, so I can begin that one. **********

And I really need to get busy with my 2 SanManville SALs. It's time to stitch the 2nd charts and I still haven't stitched the 1st Christmas chart (although did manage to do the 1st Halloween one). Oh so many projects and just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. LOL **********

And the mailman just came with my recent order from 123 Stitch. I got 2 SMO charts that were on sale (Plant, Grow, Bloom and Such Is Life). Also got 4 skeins of GAST for sending to 2 people in the group birthday floss club I'm in. **********

Well, folks, that's all she wrote today. Need to get to my stitching. And BTW, I am feeling so very much better now. My mood is uplifted, I'm actually getting dressed everyday (not staying in pjs), and I have a more positive outlook on my life. The sadness and gloom & doom hanging over me has left (thank the Lord) and I'm not crying all the time. Aint't drugs wonderful? LOL Well, the prescribed ones anyway. Life is good! And Nascar is starting again! Yippee!!!!! Go Jimmie!!! **********

Thanks for visiting and please come back now, ya hear!!! Barb