Quick Stop at alternate LNS

I had to bring some stuff down to college son. Warm clothes? the stuff we forgot in the back of the car the last time we saw each other?

One the way back I detoured to In Stitches in Alexandria. I knew they had Soie d'alger. And I realized that I needed more of the darker green for my Agnes Scott sampler. Just in case I also bought more of the lighter green and both of the reds.

I spent some time moseying around, poking in corners and perusing the new racks and the sale bins. Didn't find anything that seemed to be a necessity till I turned around and saw - wait I can't tell you what I saw. It seems that someone reads my blog and that would spoil the surprise. Bummer, eh?

Good thing I can share with some friends tomorrow in real life.

Okay I Admit I Need More Sleep

I got in exactly 12 stitches on my Agnes Scott sampler. But the good news is that I have finally picked her up again. I truly need to get the stitching finished on this by early January for framing in time for the Woodlawn Needlework competition. I see that I need some more green silk. Wondering why multiple skeins needed wasn't noted on the pattern.

Today is the start of perfecting my drywall techniques. First coat is on. Tomorrow will be initial sanding and second coat. But I've got to fit in a trip to DS's college as I have things he needs. Like more warm clothes maybe?

The other crisis is DD's laptop died. Well, it didn't so much die as refuse to accept a charge. We're shipping her a new one.

And I am serious about this year's NaNoWriMo. That's National Novel Writing Month for the undereducated. I've been reading Les Edgerton's book, Hooked. I've got two days to finalize my plot. Time is running out. This man has a past. Apparently providing him with lots of writing materials. How many middle-aged familymen have served time and been a hairdresser?

How Does it Feel?

to win the World Series twice in the same decade? Pretty darn good, I'd say. I'm speechless.

*clapping* for everyone that is getting their furniture free from Jordans! Think they'll do this promotion again next year?

And that was some football game, too. As for the whiny Redskins complaining that the Pats were just running up the score - this is PROFESSIONAL football! If you don't want that to happen, you have an entire game to prevent it. What were the Pats supposed to do? stop playing?

October 28th

Is this the day? One more win...

I confess that DH and turned off the TV with the score at 6-5 last night. Woke up this morning and loved the results.

I am amazed that we may win a World Series on the backs of 2 rookies, at our house known as Sparky (Dustin Pedroia) and after that steal the other night, Tacoby (Jacoby Ellsbury.)

I will get in some stitching time this afternoon as the Patriots welcome the Redskins to the Razor.

Bracelet close up

 

I'm ready, Mr. DeMille...

Square Stitch Bracelet

 

This is an EGA petit project. We did the class in September. Our teacher made us the buttons for the closure out of Fimo. I kind of fudged the other end to suit me.

Tall Turkey Finish

 

Only took a week to do this little one. It's by Cecelia Turner of Heart in Hand. Fabric is Tobacco Belfast, threads are GAST.

DH Stayed Up with Me

Kind of tough to go to bed when the score is 2-1.

What amazed me was to wake up this morning and find that BC had pulled out a win of Virginia Tech. Madness, I tell you. Madness.

Of course all week here in the papers and on the local news it's all been about the Patriots vs. Redskins. I wore my Pats sweatshirt yesterday while out and about on errands. People were much nicer to me than I expected. If it's cool enough, I'll wear it again on Monday. LOL

I got two finishes to post - where's the camera? Lack of sleep...is hurting my performance. I'll get to it soon.

And I started my ornament for my LNS's Christmas tree that gets donated to charity. We're stitching Blue Ribbon Designs "Red Letter Ornaments." I've got the rocking horse.

stitching bloggers question

I still see these occasionally and answer accordingly. But I'm not into doing things on a regular basis apparently.

What proportion of your stitching is for your own personal use versus gifts?

For many years I stitched almost entirely for gifts. Then I got to this one piece (for my MIL whom I love) that sucked all the joy out of stitching for me. It affected me so much that I didn't really stitch for 2 years. Two years! As I slowly came back around to stitching I realized that I was through with stitching for others and that I was only going to stitch for myself. That was 10 years ago. Now I stitch what I love. What calls to me. WHATEVER I WANT.

I still throw in the occasional gift piece. But only if I truly want to do it.

But the question didn't ask about other stitching not for oneself. I've done model pieces for my LNS this year. And am about to stitch some ornaments that go on a Christmas tree to raise money for charity.

And though I am amazed at the stitching some of you do for each other in various exchanges and RRs, I have declined to participate because I like how things are working for me now.

Hey, what a game last night!

So what if I went to bed at 12:30 a.m. and will likely do the same again tonight. Totally worth the lack of sleep. I hope teachers all over Red Sox Nation are being nice to the grumpy sleepless children this morning.

New Skill

Here's something I've never done before and now I have. Insulated a wall.

We had these two holes in our office wall from late last winter where the pipe to outside faucet froze. Now we have one big hole. But the drywall is cut, thanks to DH. And on Monday I caulked the cracks, insulated the pipe, and put insulation in the wall. This would have easier without the pipe and electrical outlet, but I managed. Yesterday I moved out the bookcases and CD cases and all their contents. We need to put up the drywall, prime it, and then I can move on to painting the room.

When handling insulation, especially if you are cutting it to fit, do as they recommend. Wear long sleeves, gloves, face mask, and protective eye wear.

World Series, Baby

Ah. The joy of knowing the season isn't over yet.

About that Free Furniture...

From the WBZTV website by reporter Peg Rusconi:

Along with bragging rights, some Red Sox fans have a lot riding on a possible World Series win for the team.

What might have seemed like a long shot back in April could turn out to be a monster deal for some of the Fenway faithful after a Jordan's Furniture promotion promised free furniture to customers back in April.

The promotion, pitched by Jordan's Eliot Tatelman, said anyone who bought sofas, dining room tables, sectionals, beds and mattresses during a week in April, will get the furniture for free should the Red Sox win this year's World Series. Tatelman now calls it the most fun promotion he's ever done.

"It's reached the point that wherever I go, whether it's a restaurant, or I'm stopped in the street, it's, 'I bought a mattress from you or a sofa from you and with the Red Sox, I'm gonna have this free,'" Tatelman said.

According to Jordan's current advertisement, more than 30,000 people may get a reimbursed for their furniture purchases if the Red Sox win the World Series.

WooHoo

We're going to the World
Series.

But I think Coco hurt himself catching that last ball.

Go Red Sox! Bring it on, Rockies.

And on Saturday

Today was about being an EGA evangelical. We had a table set up in one of the local libraries and 4 of us at a time, sat there and stitched and answered questions. We all brought a project or two for showing off and distributed our literature.

My Tall Turkey project is a kit by Heart in Hand, Celia Turner, from 1998. It came with the fabric and button and I had all the GAST in my stash. I've got the head stitched and 3 feathers. Love the colors. That's what drew me to this piece to begin with.

Today was also about demolition. DH removed drywall in the office. And we went to Home Depot and bought some insulation and dry wall. Need to patch our big hole before I can paint. I started removing things from the room. But there's so much stuff. Oy.

Where we Stayed

Got a deal at the Woods Resort in Hedgesville, WV. Sat on our balcony and watched the ducks in the pond. Drank some wine. Had a lovely dinner. Had a whirpool tub big enough for two...

Then watched the Red Sox win game 5 behind the pitching of Josh "You Da Man" Beckett.

Where we Went Next

In the morning after a superb breakfast (I think my sausage was made right down the road - it was incredible), we headed off to Cumberland, MD. Destination: the Western Maryland Railroad.




This is the engine, Mountain Thunder, a steam locomotive built in the early 1900's. It's a scenic tour through the mountains to Frostburg. I even got a few stitches in on my Tall Turkey while waiting for the train to leave.

What we Saw

Dad, this cows for you. LOL

It might be a National Park, but there are cows and cornfields just like in 1862.

Clara Barton, Red Cross founder, made her first battlefield appearance here at Antietam. On the CD there's a harrowing story of her holding up the head of a wounded soldier to give him a drink when she feels a tug on her sleeve. A bullet passed between her arm and body and killed the soldier she was ministering to.

What we Did

We left home on Thursday morning and headed off to the Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD. I chose the back way through northern VA and WV rather than taking the Interstate. Love those twisting and winding and hilly roads. Feels like I'm home in NH. I had visited Antietam 2 years ago with my son, but DH had not been there. We had the History Channel's autotour on CD. In one day at Antietam, over 22,000 Americans died. One day. For comparison, there are just over 55,000 names on the Vietnam War Memorial. This is a photo of the Sunken Lane where over 5,000 soldiers died in the afternoon.



This is Burnsides Bridge. Kind of an ironic name. He could have pushed on and totally decimated the Confederate troops here, but he didn't. This was September of 1862. Things might even have ended here.

Question for Glenna

Narrowing things down - do you live in the Woodbridge area? Any news on whether the Three Sisters is ever going to get to reopen somewhere?

My son is a freshman at Mary Washington and I have always liked the shop in Fredericksburg so now I have both opportunity and motive for visiting Everything Cross Stitch. She's got a lot of stuff packed in that little store. And the owner is such a sweetheart. I keep meaning to stop at the bead shop on rt 17 - I don't even know what town that is. And I hear there is a good quilt shop for me to visit also.

I Chose

Went thru the boxes of UFO's and kitted projects and picked a brand new one. It's from a couple of years ago - it's a very colorful turkey. And I'm sitting here typing while my feet are soaking so I can do a quick pedi otherwise I'd run upstairs and figure out if this was Bent Creek or Twisted Threads or whoever. It came with tobacco road linen and a big pumpkin button. I had already pulled the GAST for it. Started it last night while watching John Steward and Stephen Colbert. (A quick search of Hoffman and I didn't find the pattern. Oh well. Will post what the design is next time.)

I may be able to stitch some in the car. I never know.

Has anyone seen?

The Drawn Threads new sampler, the Riddle? I like it. But I'm on a stash diet of sorts.

Little League by Country Cottage Needleworks? We've been watching Ken Burn's Baseball dvds. I can see doing this with slight modification.

Something in Common, Winter Cardinal? This would be for my MIL. But not this year. That's for sure.

Our EGA chapter is going to go sit in the lobby of one of our local libraries on Saturday. I am supposed to bring something to be stitching on and a finished project. Because I just finished the Halloween Fairy, I can't decide what to bring. Argh. I've got what, 35 UFOs? You'd think one of them would suit me.

Will not post for a couple of days. DH and I are headed off to see battlefields and ride steam trains and have lovely dinners and maybe massages? Who knows. The possibilities are limitless.

Halloween Fairy Finish

 

Okay. Second attempt at posting my finish. I'm getting an error message on running scripts...

Finished Priscilla last evening. I am very happy with her. Did not change a single thing. Which is decidely odd for me. I did compare some other beads, but went with what was in the kit.

And a *cheer* for Jenn who finished hers last Friday!

Priscilla Progress

 

I did not get to stitch as much as I thought I would yesterday. I managed to put the beads in on the hem of her skirt and that's all.

An aside: I usually bead while sitting at the table, but want to bead sitting in my chair. I thought maybe I'd buy a lap desk. But I didn't like the ones that I found. I went into Michael's and bought a plywood board that reaches across my chair. And some of that foam stuff that they cut shapes and stuff out of. I found that I can put my vellux blanket on top of the foam and it doesn't move. I thought that maybe I might make a fabric bottom for this and fill it with foam peanuts or something. But at the moment it's working the way it is.

woohoo

Yesterday I finished all the stitching on Priscilla. Today it's on to the beads. Picture forthcoming as soon as she's finished.

This means that it's time to pick up my Agnes Scott sampler if I am to have any chance of finishing her in time to enter her in the Woodlawn show next March. The goal is to have her finished by mid-January in order to leave time for framing.

Of course at 4 o'clock this morning, after having been wakened by a nightmare (wtf was that about?), other things in my stash were calling to me. In particular, there's this piece with a unicorn... What kind of year is this? Sea gods, fairies, and now unicorns? Suddenly I feel like I'm 13 again.

Info

For Sureina who commented on my Priscilla Progress:

It's a Mirabilia kit of the Halloween Fairy. She's a limited edition. If you have trouble locating her, I can put you in touch with a place that has her for sale.

I didn't get much stitching accomplished yesterday. Put in a couple of threads on Priscilla and that was it. No beading either. My bad.

Waa

No baseball till Friday. (And very soon, none at all till spring training.) But the good news is someone said if I planned a trip to spring training, he wouldn't say no. That would be seriously awesome. Good news is my mother lives about one hour north of Fort Myer. Just need to find cheap airfare.

Red Sox versus the Indians. There is a bit of history there. Should be good. Very good. Francona even played for the Indians as did his dad.

Off to look at paint chips for our office. We're going to get new furniture here. Enlarge the desk by quite a lot so that it works for everything we want to do. And new bookcases. Courtesy of IKEA. Not going to be an easy project, but college freshman gets to come home for a bit this weekend, so we'll be using his muscle.

A Good Night

So it is not only Nats that can cause problems in baseball. It's the gnats. That was some sight at the Jake watching Joba Chamberlain et al fight off the midges. Glad that was happening in Cleveland and not Boston. And eventually the Yankees lost.

And today Manny is da man! Nice timing on his first home run at the Fens since July. But I gotta say that Jonathan Papelbon scares me. He's a bit intense. I would not want to the batter facing that stare. Then there's that crazed look in his eyes while dancing around Manny at homeplate.

I love October.

When We Lett Home

When we left home last night, the Yanks were up by 1-0. But we had tickets to see a guitarist we love, Ed Gerhard. Came home to see that A-Rod has still not delivered in the postseason and that Kenny Lofton may be 40, but he's got young arms and legs.

For Cubbies fans, what can I say? I feel your pain. I've felt your pain. If 99 is the magic number, these guys had better wake up.

And wow - the Rockies. When we were in San Diego last summer and saw 2 out of the 3 games against the Red Sox, we were sure we were seeing a preview of the World Series. Who knew the Rockies would come on so strong at the end?

Nuf baseball. Wait. I forgot to mention that on Wednesday I found the Dropkick Murphy's CD with Tessie on it at Borders. I figured that was a good omen.

Okay. On to other things. Like music. We bought Ed's new CD, Sunnyland. Haven't listened to all of it yet, but loved what we heard on the way home. This was a concert/slash Breedlove guitar clinic. The two Breedloves he's playing now sound magnificent.

And now for stitching. Or more specifically here's a short tribute to someone I'm getting to know. She's about to turn 80. Her stitching love is crewel. Even with some problems with one eye, she can see well enough to turn out beautiful work. We met because she came into the shop looking for help with her first counted cross stitch piece ever. That's right. She was learning a new stitching technique at 79. She didn't like the colors in this kit she had and the shop owner helped her pick out new ones. They included some metallics. And she turned out a lovely piece. But it wasn't easy for her and she's back to her crewel work now. Though yesterday she bought a sampler to stitch for her granddaughter. She's intent on making sure all her children and grandchildren have something that she made. She's joined our weekly Thursday morning stitching group and is a wonderful addition. She's a cancer survivor, a Navy wife, a nurse, and a great joy to be around. Happy Birthday, and here's to many more. I'm looking forward to sitting and stitching with her for a long time.

If You Dislike Baseball

You had better stop reading.

This is where I admit how my life has been overtaken by the Red Sox and this game they play with a little round sphere.

If I think about this (not bothering to look), I made one baseball post for opening day way back in April. I may have mentioned the Red Sox once or twice during the season. But I made no all baseball posts.

But it's the second season now and screw that.

Beckett - you da man! That was awesome.
Phillies fans - look out - apparently the Rockies are continuing their steamroll in the postseason.
Cubbies fans - you have only Lou Pinella to blame. What's will pulling Zambrano?

This is the second year that we purchased MLB for our viewing pleasure. Last year, it on cable, this year we've got satellite and added the sports pack so we get NESN all the time (except when the baseball nutjobs shut us out.)

This means we watch nearly every single game. That's a 162 game season. I haven't resorted to recording a game when out of the house. But I missed only a handful of games.

Yes, I live for this.

I blame my grandfather...

I'm Not Ready for Ambien

But this is the second night that I woke up 1:30 a.m. and I'm just plainly not interested in falling back asleep. How awfully annoying. Downstairs I go and turn on TV. I fall back asleep around 4:30. Which means that tonight I will most likely resort to caffeine in order to watch the Red Sox/Angels. Which will just exacerbate the problem I'm sure.

Meanwhile, I did pick up the Halloween Fairy, Priscilla, (my name for her, not designer's name) yesterday and started on the left wing. Also beaded a tiny bit before getting dinner ready.

And be jealous everyone. I bought new shoes yesterday. Good old chucks - black with cherries and daisies. I could have survived without the flowers, but I had to have the cherries.

Celestial Finish

 

I may try to get a slightly more in focus picture, but for now, here it is.

This is Keslynn's Celestial done on fabric instead of canvas and stitched with different threads.

It's About the Baseball

It's shaping up to be an interesting post season. Look out, it's Soxtober!

I'm feeling blue for those whose teams didn't make it. Mets fans? What can I say? That was the worst. Phillies fans - you all looked so freakin' happy at the end of the game yesterday. It was fun just to watch you all celebrate.

Okay, Angles of Anaheim. Bring it on.

Anyone else think a Cubbies/Red Sox World Series would be fun?