Jackie's Stitches

A Visit With an Old Friend

2010-01-04T19:13:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, I visited my friend Julie who I met in 1978 in Mr. Vance's Civics class. We hit it off immediately and have been friends ever since. Even though she lives within 2 hours of where I live, it had been 3 or 4 years since we've seen each other. We went to a yarn shop, a quilt shop, a stitching shop and out to lunch and gabbed every second. Such fun!

The restaurant where we ate is in the same building as the quilt shop. It's an old Coca-Cola building that was built in 1925. The brick walls had quilts on them. The ceiling was wood and was gorgeous. Even a less than friendly waitress did not spoil lunch!

Here's a peek into the part of the building that had the fabric. Loads of fabric!

We also visited an antique store that was nearby that had some gorgeous vintage restored sewing machines but I neglected to get a picture of them. I only got once picture of Julie and it's blurry so I'm not going to post it. She still looks the same and still has her thoughtful but spunky personality. It was fun to spend the day with a good friend, one who understands my hobbies.

One who understands the need to purchase fabric that you don't have a specific purpose for!

Thank you Julie for a fantastic day!

Thank you and 2010

2010-01-02T10:28:00.003-05:00

I'd like to thank everyone for their help with changing my blog to a three column format. I read through each and every tutorial and the comments on every tutorial. I find that the comments offer a lot of insight. The code was just a little bit different in my blog. Eventually one of your links lead me to find this link which did the trick! Evidently my blog template is called Denim. Who knew? Thank you all for sending the things that you did. I learned a lot!

I decided to not set goals for 2010. I have so many deadlines with work and I do "this" for fun. Even though it's a whole year, saying I want to get something done by 2010 IS a deadline. I did want, however, to put something on my blog so that I am conscious about what I have going on. So I've added a list of WIPs. If I find that it's not helping me be in a positive frame of mind, I'll simply delete it. For me, the fun part is the actual process of doing. While I enjoy the finished product, it's the part between the beginning and the end that brings me so much enjoyment. I have to say though that I enjoy following other people meeting their goals!

Yesterday, I got a chance to work on this one block. I still need to improve in the area of points. My 1/4" seam was better but not accurate...the block is still a bit too small.

While I was piddling away in my sewing room, Greg was at the Gator Bowl. There were over 87,000 people there to bid farewell to Bobby Bowden. That's more people attending than were at the Super Bowl. In Florida, college football is king! I glad he got the opportunity to go!
Today is a day of knitting and stitching. I hope you have a day full of stitches too!

Still Cleaning! UGH!

2009-12-30T21:31:00.007-05:00

Greg and I are still cleaning like maniacs - closets, drawers, under the sink, etc. There have been countless trips to Goodwill and countless bags of things thrown away. You know what happens when you clean out closets, drawers, and other places? It seems like the rest of your house gets messy. There is the odd thing here and there that needs to be dealt with. Even Jacob has gotten in the mood and is ~~digging out~~ cleaning his room! THAT is cause for celebration people!

So I still have not been doing any sewing or stitching and very little knitting. I did get this in the last couple of weeks though to help with my 1/4" seams (the ones that are 1/4"+). It's a Bernina #57 foot with the guide. I hope this helps as I've heard good things about it . I hope to get to try it out on Friday or Saturday.
I also had a chance earlier this month to work on my free motion quilting. This is a shell like pattern. It's doesn't look so bad in a thread that blends.

It's not so pretty in a contrasting color.

Here's another attempt in doing the swirls. A very small improvement.

When I tried the swirls before, I didn't post the contrasting tread photo. Here is the most recent one. I have such difficulty in getting the rounded shapes round. More practice needed!

Lesson Learned: Sometimes it's good to try and blend in!

Some progress on my plain vanilla sock. This is the only crafty thing I've been working on and not much of that has been going on. I do like the stitch definition this yarn has and I'm glad I elected to go with a plain sock.
I did get a chance today to start organizing my sewing room. I asked Greg to hold off on hanging shelves and putting together the 2 wall cabinets until I get a chance to work in the room and make sure the layout works. I think it's going to be fine but I want to be sure. In order to do that though, I have to get everything put away. I spent several hours doing that today and hope to make some more progress tomorrow and Friday. I've been looking for a stitching and knitting chair but so far have not found anything that really works.

Tomorrow, I'm taking a quick trip to Gainesville to see a friend from high school. Guess what her hobbies are? Yep, knitting, stitching and quilting! Years ago, out of all the places in the US our parents bought a second home within miles of each other (they don't know each other). It's been like that with us since 1978 when we met in Mr. Vance's Civics class. There have been times when we've drifted out of each other lives but we always seem to know when the other needs us and we always seem to pick up where we left off. I'm excited to spend some time with her tomorrow!

Several of you offered up help on changing my blog to a 3 column blog! Thank you! I have not had time to play with it but I will this weekend!

Happy Stitches!

Last Few Days of Vacation

2009-11-15T09:17:00.005-05:00

Where did the last couple of days of vacation go? Vacation time just seems to breeze by. It wasn't a productive few days at home but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The only thing I did remotely quilting related was to get these 2 projects ready for quilting and pull the binding fabrics. I never even pulled my machine out. It's still packed in the travel bag from my last class.

A couple of weeks ago, I attempted Swirl Quilting from Green Fairy Quilts. She made it looks so easy! I always have trouble with round shapes looking round. Loads of practice needed (and maybe a bit more breathing)! Check out her video though because it really is cute. I'm going to keep at this and hopefully improve!

Saturday was KnitWitz's 5th birthday so I spent most of the day in the shop. The day was so busy that there was literally no more room to sit and knit! It was wonderful to spend the day with knitty friends. Happy Birthday Knitwitz!

I'm making progress on my Dragon Melody Shawl (Ravelry link here)....about 180 rows to go in the bind off. Considering that the bind off is over 1100 rows, I'm close to getting done and I'm ready for it! Stitching is coming along albeit slowly. I've been in a reading mood lately so I've been doing more of that and less of other things. I'm not really giving much in the way of handmade gifts for the holiday this year so there isn't any pressure for me to finish anything. It enables me to really enjoy the process of quilting, knitting, and stitching. I love the finished products but the process itself is very satisfying to me and I'm glad I get to enjoy it without feeling the pressure to just get it done. It's a good thing too because if I was all about the finished products, I'd surely be disappointed! There isn't much getting finished these days!

Happy Stitches!

My Husband Has a Problem

2009-12-28T12:47:00.004-05:00

The past couple of days, I've been cleaning. Not just everyday cleaning but the stuff you do every now and then. First it was the garage, then it was the closet in my bathroom, then it was under the kitchen sick. I also scrubbed the grout in the bathroom with a toothbrush and SoftSoap with bleach (the grout was really buggin me) and cleaned the shower door with a razor - a razor really helps with the water spots. This morning it was the linen closet. It's not a big closet but bigger than most. I started by taking every single thing out of it. I counted 22 empty boxes in there courtesy of my husband! Telephone boxes, laptop box, a modem box, all sorts of stuff. Including the box for his shoe inserts from The Walking Company. Crazy Man! Why would we need to keep that box? There was even a sunglass box in there! I didn't take pictures because he thought I was nuts that I even counted them!

Yesterday, we celebrated Christmas with the boys as they were at their fathers for Christmas Day. We went and saw Sherlock Holmes, ate dinner out, and came back to open gifts and have dessert. It was great to spend time together just the 4 of us. Jacob's schedule is so different than everyones that it can be hard to get the 4 of us together at once.

Chris loved the big mirror we got him. It's the kind you lean against the wall.

On Christmas Day, I gave Greg the Noro Striped Scarf I made him that I have not posted about here. I think he reads my blog.

Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood (aka Brooklyn Tweed)
Ravely Link Here

Here's the 4 of us before the movies.
Can you tell Jacob just loves to get his picture taken?
The remote to the camera wasn't working so I had to set the timer and run!
Note to self: Time to head back to the gym!

Does anyone know an easy way to change my blog from 2 columns to 3? I'd like a sidebar on each side of my blog. I'd also like to be able to do it without messing up what is there already. I struggle with blog formatting. So many of the tutorials are greek to me! I've made a change or 2 already but it's been slooow going.

Do you set crafting goals each year? I've seen a lot of blogs with an ambitious lists of things they'd like to do in 2010. Does it help get things done? I'm thinking of setting some simple attainable goals for 2010 but still mulling it over. I don't like the feeling of having a deadline for something that should be fun. But then again, I do have some projects that I would like to finish and 2010 IS a whole year! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Happy Stitches!

The Day After

2009-12-26T20:37:00.005-05:00

In true Florida Christmas fashion, yesterday we had to to turn on the air conditioning. At 9:21 it was 76 degrees (I think that is 24 C) and very humid inside our house. (I need to remind Greg that the day of the week is wrong on the keypad). It seems like most years we are running the A/C at Christmas. One year, I'd love to experience a white Christmas!

I was happy to use my Christmas china. I love this stuff! It really makes the table look festive!

On today's agenda: cleaning out the garage!

It took 5 hours. Of pure misery. It took Greg longer because he made the trash run and the Goodwill run. We took EVERYTHING out of the garage and off the shelves and really edited what we put back in. We got rid of loads of stuff. Now Greg wants to clean out the attic! UGH!

I hope you had a safe and happy holiday!

Hodge Podge

2009-12-21T20:20:00.007-05:00

As you know, I'm not responsible for my online purchases. There is usually a blog that "made me do it". I've been seeing ornaments across blog land. All those pretty pictures. So I ordered the JCS Christmas editions from 2004 to 2007. I already had 2008 and 2009. They're a great value. Where else can you get so many patterns for one low price? This was a cost effective purchase!

I've been missing having a sock on the needles so I cast on for one late Saturday. Plain vanilla. Mindless. Just perfect. I love red and I love the stitch definition that this yarn gives. Right now I don't have the brain cells for anything remotely complicated.

Last year, Greg and the boys and I went to see the Luminaries. While we had a great family time, the luminaries were a huge disappointment. This year Greg and I went to St. Augustine to ride the Holly Jolly Trolley around town with some of my coworkers and their families. It's wasn't a long ride but it was fun and downtown St. Augustine was beautiful. One evening I'd love to go there and go from pub to pub listening to all the live music.

I'm in Florida so the open air trolley really was not a problem. It messes with the hair though!

This is the Basilica. I've never paid too much attention to it but at night it is amazing!

Somehow our holiday preparations are getting done. We spent hours over the weekend wrapping up gifts after finishing up our shopping. I have 2 gifts that should be delivered this week and a very large gift for Chris to wrap and then I'll be pretty much done with all that except for stocking stuffers. I have an emergency hair appointment tomorrow - it is absolutely driving me crazy. Why does short hair seem to grow so fast? Especially once it starts (coughcough) to turn gray?

As you can tell, this post is all over the place. I think that is typical for me this time of year!

I'd like to thank all of you for this year of reading my blog, commenting, and getting to know me. I never expected that a blog would bring me friendships but it has. What a nice surprise! I've also learned so much from your blogs. Thank you for sharing your tips, tricks, lessons learned and your stories. It's been a pleasure to get to know YOU in 2009! I wish each of you a safe and happy holiday and new year!
Hugs,
Jackie

A Break from the Holiday Craziness

2009-12-18T22:15:00.007-05:00

Today I took a break from work and a break from the holiday preparations. Instead, I went to my LQS and sewed. I packed enough projects to carry me through 2049. How many did I get to work on? Just one. I learned that I rot at stitching in the ditch. But that part is done. I sewed on the binding and at the very end I realized that I was sewing with too large of a seam allowance. I'll be picking that out next week. The good news is that I have a great chance of having a finished table runner for my 2010 Fall table!

I went from the quilt shop to my favorite yarn store. I had finished my Noni bag a few weeks ago and needed to sew on the strap. I did that. Then Randi discovered that I had hand sewn (with like 1,403,239 BLACK stitches) the handle to the BOTTOM of the bag. Unpicking that has been a nightmare, even with help (thanks Sharon!), and I think will take the amount of time to unpick it that took for the pyramids to be built. I am determined to get this done and the project felted by 2010.

You know, neither of those things spoiled my day! I had a great time and still feel like progress was made. What's an extra stitch or 2 in the grand scheme of things?

Stitching on Quakers and Quilts has been slow but still enjoyable. I'm thinking of starting another project soon. I'm not sure if that will be a restart to LHN Neighborhood or something completely new. The fabric won't be here for what I really wanted to start next. I know Kerrie is starting a new stitching project on Christmas Day and Melody (I think) is starting something on New Years. I had not heard of a tradition of starting a new project on a particular day each year. It's kind of interesting! I'd love to hear if you have a similar tradition!

I also need to figure out what to do with this lovely stuff that somehow found it's way home with me. 1120 yards of fingering weight yarn. Do I really need another big knitting project? Seriously?

I can already tell that my list of things I want to do during my last week of vacation is totally unrealistic.

I'm looking forward to every single minute of it!

Room Update

2009-12-15T21:44:00.005-05:00

With the holidays fast approaching, Greg has had little time to work on putting together the Ikea stuff for my sewing room. But he has had some time. I'm keeping the existing corner unit that was part of the closet organizer and we've added an Expedit bookcase with drawers and a couple of doors. This went together pretty easily and quickly.

Then we played around with room layouts. I want to have a stitching and knitting chair in the room. One day I plan to have a wall mounted TV in here and I'd like to knit or stitch and watch tv. My original plan wasn't working with the amount of counter space I wanted, so we regrouped and came up with this. The wooden table top to the left is going to be my cutting table.

This shows the corner where I hope my chair will go. The table frame represents where I'll have my ironing board when I need it. Otherwise it will be in the closet. I'm a slow sewer so it will probably be in the closet more often than not. If adding a chair doesn't work, I'll rearrange the counter space back to my original plan. Greg isn't going to put up the 2 wall cabinets and shelving until I get it all figured out which will be after I spend some time in the room.

Lots and lots and lots of assembly. Hopefully it will be done by the New Year and I'll be organized and sewing! It's a small space but I hope to use it well and get a lot of use out of it.In the meantime, it's the mad dash to the holiday finish line. Greg mailed packages yesterday and once I get an online purchase delivered (hopefully tomorrow!) we'll have more. Most of my Christmas cards have been sent. I still have loads of shopping to do for Greg , my sister and my parents. Tonight I purchased gifts for the people who work for me that are out of town. I'm going to finish wrapping them and hope to get them FedEx'd out tomorrow. I do have 3 more that are in the same location that I am to buy for but they will all be here next week. Menu planning - hasn't happened yet. And there is stuff all over the place. Whew! I'm tired already. I seem to be in this same position every year and somehow manage to get it done. Or at least I get enough of it done. I'm hoping that this year will be the same! Fingers crossed!

Wonderful Day with Friends

2009-12-13T21:31:00.005-05:00

My friend, Melody, invited me to her Rug Guild Holiday Luncheon a few weeks ago and today was the day. The luncheon was held at The Row Restaurant, which is located inside The Riverdale Inn. Is it just gorgeous?

The setting was wonderful, the food absolutely delicious but best of all the company and conversation was fantastic! Here is a peek inside the parlor. It's the only interior picture I took. Such a lovely room. I'd love to be here on a cold day with the fire going with some knitting, stitching and a good book.

After lunch, Melody invited everyone over to the historic home where she works. This picture is a bit fuzzy but the tree was lovely and look at the ceiling!

While Kris, Henri, Nancy and I knit everyone else worked on their wool rugs. This is what Jane was working on. The picture does not do it justice and it's going to look fantastic when she is done. Today I felt the pull to rug hook....must resist! At least for a while!

Melody gave Kris and I these beautiful stitch markers. Perfect for a knitter! I think I'm going to cast on for a pair of socks soon so I can use these!

Melody, thank you for such a wonderful day! Everything was just perfect and loads of fun!

Very Little Creativity....

2009-12-08T19:50:00.005-05:00

There is very little going on here with creative pursuits. I did manage to cut out and sew the first block that is posted on Ravelry's Quilters Knitting forum. So far 4 blocks have been posted. I hope the lady who is posting the picture tutorials keeps it up. I'm doing these before starting my Fat Quarter Shop BOMs to see if I can do it.

Lesson Learned: I need more precision in my 1/4" seam.

This block is smaller than it should be. My 1/4" is larger by a thread or two and that has added up. I need to spend some time practicing and I also need to measure my pieces after they're sewn together and make corrections immediately if they're needed. The good news is that I've gotten better at my seams meeting in the right place. This block is not perfect by any means, but there IS improvement! Any tips will be greatly appreciated. Those FQS blocks have way many more pieces than this block does. Any lack of precision is really going to mess them up!

Also this week, Marlene from StitchinByTheLake sent me a book she was destashing. It's a Quilt Journal. There is a place for a picture of each quilt and a spot to write comments. While I'm documenting my quilting history here, I love the idea of having it all in one place and in my own writing. Do any of you keep a journal of your quilting/stitching/knitting/whatever projects? What do you put in them? I don't have a lot of completely finished quilting projects so I should be able to document my journal pretty easily!

Marlene, thank you so much!

I hope all of you are having a good week and are spending time doing the things that you love!

Nary a Stitch....

2009-12-06T21:20:00.004-05:00

...of any kind this weekend. Not a single one. I even missed Midnight Knit at my LYS.

Yesterday, Greg and I went to Ikea in Orlando. It's a little over 2 hours from our house. We got there at 10 and left at 4:15, stopped for dinner and got home around 8pm. In a comment on my prior post, Jean said that Ikea translated from Swedish is "takes all your money". I agree.

Exhibit A:

The van was loaded. I didn't get some shelves I need for the wall. Or a chair for my sewing table or one to sit and knit or stitch. But I did get most everything else I need from a function or storage standpoint for my sewing room. Hardly anything in terms of decorating. That will come. Let's hope all this stuff fits in my tiny room and that I like it!

I'd also like to say that my legs don't hurt after hours hiking in the mountains. Or after weight machines and the elliptical at the gym. But the day after Ikea? They HURT.

This morning I was reading a blog and saw that it was 18 days to Christmas. What? Within 15 minutes I was out the door. Target, Joanns, ToysRUs, Costco, Publix, a pedicure, cooking. We also finally got the tree up and decorated. I'm not the kind of girl that decorates her entire house including her bathroom. The tree and the fireplace is pretty much it though I do have a couple of other things here and there in the living room.

Tomorrow it's work. Maybe I can get some rest and I hope tomorrow night take a couple of stitches here and there. I need it!

As Promised!

2009-12-03T19:08:00.005-05:00

As I promised in my prior post, here are a couple of pictures of projects the Sampler Guild members are working on.

Kerrie is working on Jane Rees. It's a huge project and she has a lot of it done!

I really like this sampler. I should have asked her the dimensions of her fabric. I can't imagine working on something this large. I guess it's like any other project. You take it one stitch at a time!

Loretta just finished Peaceful Paradise by Midsummer Night Designs. Another large but gorgeous project!

This is really beautiful too. If you've seen the chart, you'll know that the photo on the chart really does not communicate just how gorgeous this is. My picture does not either. There is hours and hours put into both these samplers. Tons of fun!

Loretta and Kerrie are just 2 of the talented ladies in the Sampler Guild. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to showcase the projects of everyone. Many of them also knit or quilt or hook rugs - they're a talented bunch. As the new girl on the block, they've made me feel welcome and the conversation is easy as is the moments when it's quiet and everyone is stitching.

I've been able to get out of work by 6 this week and most of last week. It's been really nice. G and I are planning on a trip to Ikea this weekend. It's a bit over a 2 hour drive. I want to look at some things for my sewing room and we have a gift to pick up for my older son. We still don't have our tree up so we'll have to do that this weekend along with various other things that have to be done on the weekend. It's just the 3rd but it seems like the month is already flying! I'm taking a couple of Fridays off this month plus the last week of the month. I need some time with my sewing machine!

Happy Stitches!

Busy Weekend!

2009-12-01T17:52:00.004-05:00

Saturday I had my first Bernina Mastery Class. I learned a lot and did several things for the first time. One of those things is cleaning and oiling my machine. - something very important to know and I now feel confident that I can do this competently. I've also never done the satin stitch on a sewing machine. Easy! We're using the Bernina Mastery workbook and doing each exercise. It's a lot of fun and very much worth the time. I feel so much more comfortable learning something new in a classroom environment. It takes all the frustration out of it.

Sunday, I met the ladies from the Sampler Guild and I was able to complete page 1 of my Quakers and Quilts chart. I've corrected the placement of the red stitches over the number 9 since this photo was taken. I'm still enjoying every second of this sampler. I'll have more pictures later in the week of some amazing in progress projects.

I did not knit on the way to my parents house for Thanksgiving. Instead I worked on Christmas cards. I was feeling pretty good about it but now it's days later and they're only half done. I can barely get commercially made cards out in the mail and yet some of you out there make your own cards. I'm in total awe!

The holiday season is ramping up. We've started some shopping. G went out at 3:30 Black Friday to pick up some things. Isn't he a sweetie? I had to work Friday. I've also ordered a few things online. Our shopping strategy is to hit the stores very early or very late and hopefully skip the crazy large crowds. Last year that seemed to help quite a bit. Do any of you have any holiday tips? I could use all the help I can get!

Stash Enhancement

2009-11-28T20:02:00.003-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've been doing some stash enhancement. It's been kind of impulsive really. So easy to do. One minute you're walking through the store. Two minutes later you're in your car with a bag. Let's not talk about the mailman.

Two table runner kits. The pattern is for 12 table runners. One for each month of the year. The kits are for July and November. My LQS had samples made. They were cute. It was their fault I could not resist.

One day I was reading a blog and a blogger was sharing her Jennie Bean Halloween Sampler she was working on. It was gorgeous. Two minutes later I realized I'd sent an email to Lois at Elegant Stitch asking if she had everything in stock. Of course she did. It all happened so fast that I really can't be held responsible for this purchase. Michelle's blog is dangerous!

Of course, the specialty threads came with it along with the fabric.

And the JB Pin Tuffet chart came along too. I'm not sure how that happened. It wasn't on the blog I saw. But Lois had it on her web site. That's it - it's her fault.

Of course, I needed the thread and fabric.

A few weeks ago, my knitting friend Caroline (no blog) sold me a skein of the hard to get Wollmeise. This yarn is highly coveted. German. Hand-dyed. This is my third skein. I enjoy looking at it so much that I can't find a pattern that seems to be worthy. I'll hold Caroline responsible for this purchase. She practically dangled the darn skein under my knitting needles.

Wollmeise is known for fantastic colors. This skein is blue with hints of purple. Needless to say, my photography skills are sorely lacking. It's truly a very saturated, intense & gorgeous color.

Lastly, I acquired 2 skeins of Kashmir from my LYS. 65% cashmere and 35% silk. Incredibly soft. I have no idea what I'm going to knit with this either. It was going to be gloves but gloves don't seem to be quite right. I think maybe I did this one all on my own. My memory is a little hazy though.

As you can see, I've been an equal opportunity stasher. I'm not a big fan of yarn diets, or fabric diets, or frankly any kind of diet. But I need to go on one.

Maybe Monday.

Or the Monday after that!

Off the Needles!

2009-11-25T22:25:00.006-05:00

I'm so excited!!! See my empty needles?! Tonight while knitting at my LYS, I finished binding off my Dragon Melody Shawl! I'm very happy that this is finished. It's a big project for me and I'm a slow knitter. Now....I need to figure out how to use my new blocking wires and get this baby blocked! I'm counting this as a finished project because it's off the needles.

Here is a picture of our pup Cody. He's afraid of the red light on my camera so it is rare to get a photo of him.

And I can't have a pic of Cody without one of Kenzie. She loves photos but often she photographs as a black blob due to her coloring. She needs to be brushed!

They're sweet pups (most of the time) and we adore them!

Today was a full day of work. Very busy. Here in the US it's not unusual for the day before Thanksgiving to be a partial day of work. Based on the needs of my line of business at work, we worked a full day. There was, however, a different feeling in the air and at the end of the day, everyone seemed to be pretty happy. Happy Thanksgiving!

One Choice Made - I Hope!

2009-11-23T18:33:00.005-05:00

My new sewing space - a small bedroom - has a new color. For me, it is different. The rest of my house is warm colors and this is a cool one. I don't wear pastels. Something about the color is very calming though. I hope that I don't change my mind! G would not be happy!

Here is another picture with less light.

Saturday, I was convinced I'd have the carpet torn up and laminate laid. Today I'm not so sure. The carpet in there is in good shape. It may have to be converted back to a bedroom one day. Installation is expensive ($500) and Greg really isn't that handy. We'd have to buy a saw actually. I'm still thinking about it.

Furniture color is next. I think I've decided against a Horne cabinet. I can get so much more elsewhere and I really don't need my machine inset. I do know that I want to accent the room with white, black and silver/gray. A black sewing table seems to be too dark to me. I don't think birch or cherry would look right so I'm leaning towards white though I must admit it's not my favorite. It seems to fit the paint color. What do you think? As you can tell, I truly struggle with decorating decisions!

Progress made on Quakers and Quilts. I'm not done with the first chart but will be soon. I'm still enjoying it. LHN Neighborhood is still in the closet. If you're like my friend Jeannine, there is a pecking order for projects. In the closet is not at the top of the hierarchy! Hopefully soon!

Speaking of Jeannine, check out this post on her blog. In our quest to be the perfect knitter, stitcher, quilter, etc we often lose the point. Her post spoke to me & I hope it does to you too!

Happy Stitches!

Choices

2009-11-20T06:58:00.005-05:00

I have hard time with color selection. Even with paint. My husband painted our bedroom 3 times. In one year. In all fairness, I told him the first time when he'd had 1/2 a wall painted that I didn't like it. He didn't believe me. Let's just say he listens now! So when I went to the store to find paint for my sewing space, it was not something I was looking forward to. I called him on the way home and told him that I'd picked out 4 samples but was already feeling like they weren't quite right. I asked him to go and pick some samples of colors he thought I might like - that maybe he could pick out something that I would love. As always, he was more than willing to help.

Here is the pile of samples. There is actually one missing. As you can tell, he wants to paint this room once and he isn't taking any chances!

Here is what the room looked like when I came home last Friday night. I wanted something different from the rest of the house. Our bedroom is a golden brown/tan color, the dining room is green, a bathroom is brown and J's room is an indigo blue. Our living room is neutral with a butterscotch accent wall in the living room. I've made a selection and a picture will be coming soon! It's a different choice and was surprisingly unexpected. G keeps asking me if I'm sure I like it.

The other side of the room. The colors aren't true but you get the idea. The room does have a very small walk in closet which will be great for storage.

The room is very small. It goes along with the rest of my house which is only 1600 square feet. C had picked out gray with one red wall when it was his bedroom. I liked it - a lot - but wanted something of my own. I'm not thrilled with the ceiling fan but I do live in Florida and ceiling fans are necessary. So it will stay. As far as flooring goes, carpet is not ideal for a sewing room. I'm battling whether or not to spend the money and get it replaced since the room is empty. It's the holidays though and it's an expensive time of year. On the other hand, if I don't do it now it will be a pain to do it later if we have to move everything. If I do it now, what do I put down? It is a bedroom and I like carpet in bedrooms. So much to think about!

There are many more decisions to be made! Hopefully they will be easier!

Squash House Mail & Quakers and Quilts Start

2009-11-17T18:08:00.003-05:00

I've started Quakers and Quilts. Progress is slow but I'm enjoying it! I'm about 1/2 way through the first page of the chart. I'm using the called for fabric and thread. Fun!

Last week, I won a contest that Candace of Squash House Quilts was having. Yesterday my package arrived. Full of goodies! Can you guess what is missing from the photo? Chocolate of course! Everyone knows that chocolate is the most necessary of all food groups, right?!

My photos are not the best so please forgive me. It gets dark too early for this blogger to take pictures after work. I didn't want to wait until the weekend to share.

Candace is so generous. She sent a jelly roll and charm pack of Rouenneries fabric. I love red and I'm going to enjoy this fabric! I'd been looking at it online.

She also sent these adorable little salt and pepper shakers! Perfect!

And a pattern for Christmas!

Candace, thank you so much for your generosity! I love it all!

It's kind of freaking me out that Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is just around the corner. I've got to get organized and get busy. Time does seem to fly and another holiday season is upon us. I'm going to try and address Christmas cards (if I can remember to pull them out) and start making lists soon. What does "soon" mean? Probably not soon enough. Does everyone else promise themselves that they'll get it together next year and when next year rolls around they're not any better off? Please tell me I'm not alone! :)

It Wasn't All Good...

2009-11-13T08:57:00.004-05:00

Vacation with my honey was great...but not everything about it was good. There was what is now being called "The Little House Neighborhood Disaster of 2009". I'll not give details - maybe later. The photo below tells it all.

I'm truly not sick about this. I have not, however, started stitching this again. I will. Probably soon. Just not right now. While I'm not sick about this, I'm also not ready to start this over again either right now. Yes, I need to start completely over.

After a couple of days I pulled out Quakers and Quilts. Looked at it. ...for a while. And then picked up the needle. No pictures as yet but hopefully soon.

Aren't these little balls of Valdani cute?

Relaxed and Refreshed!

2009-11-12T08:29:00.002-05:00

G & I got back late last night from a few days in the Smoky Mountains. We had a great time...not as much hiking as we would have liked as the weather turned rainy. This is the third November that we've taken this trip. Here's some pics of the cabin we rented:

This is the best part and the main criteria of a place we stay - a fireplace in the bedroom. I get so cold and this really helps. This year was much warmer until the last couple of days when it was raining. Those days were spent reading, knitting, stitching and just hanging out with each other. It was nice to relax and recharge.

This shows why the Smoky Mountains are called the Smoky Mountains.

I just love evergreens!

This park is one of my favorite places to be!

I'm off today and tomorrow as well. C moved out while we were gone - it is time for him to have his own space. He's accomplished what he intended when he moved back 4 years ago. I'm going to use his room as a space of my own. I need to get paint picked out and the room ready for painting. Everything after that will move slowly with the holidays coming. I don't have a space plan for the room but am excited about moving out of the dining room! Ideas about space planning and organization will greatly be appreciated! In the meantime, I'm going to use the next two days to do what I call "piddle". To me that means doing a whole lot of the things I want to do sprinkled in with a little bit of what I have to do or should do. Gotta keep that relaxed and refreshed feeling as long as I can, right?!

Sometimes I Actually Finish Something!

2009-11-04T21:57:00.007-05:00

Here's my finished project from my weekend class! It's small but it's DONE! I think I'm going to use it for my double pointed knitting needles. It would also be a good makeup case, notions bag, etc. It's very versatile. Make it a bit longer and you could store a curling iron in it. I find classes very rewarding and will continue to take them.

Here is a close up of the button I sewed on in seconds with my machine.

Progress on Little House Neighborhood has been slow. I did decide to stitch the fence in the window color but I'm still figuring out a darker color for the chimney. I really didn't want to show my progress as my linen is so wrinkled. I've not stitched on a frame yet. Pictures I've seen of projects on frames always show a crisp unwrinkled linen. The wrinkles make this look messy. If you stitch, do you use a frame? Do you find them easy to use? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

G & I will be taking a few days away for ourselves. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. Work has been ramped up busy the past couple of months and we've both been busy. My knitting and stitching are ready to go as are several books (including trail books) and my hiking shoes. It's going to be a welcomed break from the hustle and bustle of our daily life! Can't wait!

A Bunch of Firsts

2009-11-03T19:53:00.003-05:00

Saturday I had a "Quick Start" class at my Bernina dealer. The class is designed to show us some of the feet that come with the Bernina and what they do. Here's the class from my viewpoint. It was a 5.5 hour class and I did a lot of things for the very first time.

I used my walking foot with the guide for the first time.

I put in a zipper for the first time that didn't look like crap. It actually works too. Bonus!!!

I used a decorative stitch on my new machine for the first time.

Top stitching! Easier than it looks!

Buttonholes! This was in practice fabric. Pretty painless and I can get the same size over and over again without stress. My machine will actually sew on buttons too! In seconds!

Ok...buttonholes aren't my favorite. But I'll do them again and I'll use the skills I learned in this class over and over again. The best part of the class is that I actually ended up with a finished project. Yes, I finished something!!! Pictures coming later in the week when I have pics!

Picking Out Stitches

2009-11-01T08:55:00.003-05:00

I unsew in quilting, tink back in knitting and now I'm picking out stitches in stitching. Why should I be surprised? :) When I stitched the fence, I realized there just was not enough contrast between the color of the house and the fence. The photo below shows the fence before I picked it out. I'm going to look for something darker or just use the whitish color that was used in windows. I'm really enjoying this project and stitch a bit every day. Like my other fiber interests, I find it very soothing - which is exactly what I need after a hectic day at work.

I saw a piece I fell in love with on a blog. Within 1 minute found an online shop that has the chart, fabric and thread pack that was dyed for the project. Email sent - took about 30 seconds. Plus a pin keep, base and the associated fabric and thread (of course). The retailer emailed me back and they have it all except the base which is on order from market. I thought "this is so easy". This is very unlike me! Someone. Stop. Me.

I need to go check my lottery tickets!

A New Neighborhood

2009-10-18T20:08:00.005-04:00

I'm anxious to start a new stitching project so I think I'll start Little House Neighborhood by LHN. I don't have all the silks yet but I'm sure I can find someplace to get started. My friend Melody hooked me up with the pattern and yesterday my friend Teresa helped me cut the fabric. Both have been tremendously inspiring, helpful and are teaching me a lot about my new addiction! I don't have enough words to thank you both!

I'm otherwise exhausted and plan an early evening! Happy Stitches!