My Folly is Over...

Mr. W.  will be rolling in sometime tomorrow afternoon following eight weeks on the road......

So let's have a catch up on what I have been up to!   My daughter gave me this adorable squirrel sweater.   My family has this crazy obsession with squirrels.  It is what all the best dressed teddy bears will be wearing this season!

 I took a vacation day Friday and my sister and I went "junking".    It is always fun for sisters to get together and share and laugh.    I found this adorable miniature dress form.   I have no idea what I will do with it but it was one of those things that I knew if I didn't buy it, I would regret it.

 OMG!  Got this Christmas table runner for $4!!!   This is how it was folded on the table in the consignment store.   Being a stitcher, I knew without peaking what the other side would look like.

 Not only that, I am a sucker for needlework I find in consignment stores.....I know how much time and effort I put into my pieces so I know someone did the same here.

Overall it is 48 inches long.

Another $4 find!  This is about 11 x 18.    Couldn't find this when I was looking.   Back then, all I saw were tons of January and no July (birth month)

And a $1 find.   This chicken wire shoe.   The bow and flowers will come out and I am not sure what I am going to do with it but it was another too good of a bargain to pass up.

Today I managed to make my monthly guild meeting.....I have missed the last three months and even though it was just  stitch in it was so good to go and see everyone.   I've been doing a lot with my non-profit board so little stitching has been going on.  It's minimal but here's my progress on my class piece.

I am going to have to frog a teeny tiny bit.   I put in two too many stitches in the center of the heart below the flag.   Not a terrible amount of frogging.  I think I will survive.

After my guild meeting I picked up my BFF and we went to a local guild's quilting show.   Of course, I needed nothing but got this R-W-B fabric for a table runner pattern my sister gave me.  The show was not as nice as the bigger shows but I think it is important to support the local guilds.  Beside some of the bigger national shows can be overwhelming.

 I got this fabric last weekend in Lancaster PA with my daughter.    I am so drawn to 1930's retro fabrics.    I think I finally have more than enough to complete the string quilt I started.

I ended my jammed packed day with the afternoon and evening at the Havre de Grace Seafood Festival.   Yummo!  Seafood sampler platter, corn on the cob, crabs, cold beer, live bands, craft vendors.....it was a fun afternoon and evening for Deb and I.

I got some great shots of the lighthouse, the park and the water on my phone.

We strolled the promenade along the river.   I love exploring new towns and cities and finding their hidden gems.  Things the locals probably take for granted.

Check this out.   I bought this fab messenger bag.

 Close up of the button decoration.

Look when you flip up the front flap!!  Double wow.    It is made from real jeans.   The pockets will hold my favorite pen and cell phone and my keys are on the belt loop.   Inside it is super roomy.   There is room for my pocketbook, my lunch and a place for files but it will house a zipper mesh bag with a stitching project for me.  Perfect for work.

I am off to rearrange everything from my old tote bag to my new messenger bag.

Wow - What a week!

Working backwards from yesterday..... I had a bus trip and I was so excited to go, I kept waking up all night for fear I''d oversleep and miss the bus.  Yeah, sounds like I have no life.....oh contraire'.   Anyway, I took bus trip to Woodlawn.   This was my first trip to Woodlawn and what a wonderful day.   So much thanks to Pam Silverman of the Creative Needlework Guild in NJ.   Check out the slideshow of the Woodlawn display.   It was a great day; meet some new friends, became better friends with some acquaintances and just thoroughly enjoyed the day.   My husband teased me that I would be wasting the wonderful springtime weather they were predicting on a bus trip.   Oh, he just doesn't get it.  

So after our lunch at Woodlawn, which was very  very good,  and a couple of walks through the mansion we went by bus to In Stitches needlework shop.   Oh I want to move to Alexandria VA so they can become my LNS!!!!  The ladies had lite refreshments set up for our little bus group in their classroom and we made it worth their efforts as we all left with purchases in hand.     Yes, there were some things that I just HAD to get to add to my STABLE Stash.  And I got smart, I did the whole soup to nuts and got floss and fabric too.  

The staff of In Stitches provided goodie bags which were handed out on the way home.   I snagged a Just Nan!    It is "Pansies Please".

I haven't made the pledge not to buy more but I am making the pledge to NOT START anything new until something is finished.   Must be why I have dedicated my time to the Nan Tyson Euler class project.  My stitching progress has been slow.   I am working on the strap work of the Between the Sheets sampler.   And because I don't follow instructions too well, I did stitch in the gold and did not wait to do it last.   I mean, c'mom.......a girl's got to see what it is going to look like.

Let's see what I couldn't bear to leave at In Stitches....Litte House Needle and Thread;

JBW - French Country Alphabet, love JBW!!!  I couldn't decide between the WDW Purple Majesty or CC Four Leaf Clover so I got both flosses.

Shephard's Bush - My Mom's Garden.  Doesn't SB put together such a nice product?  Then a little quickie from Bent Creek called Autumn.....you know if it has a squirrel, chances are I will stitch it.

Mrs. Waddlelow's Huswif --- another Ellen Chester....love it!  Last it is Pineapple Welcome from Sunflower Samplings.  I've done one of theirs before.

Since I don't do well with stitching on a bus, I k'nitted.    My skill level is not the greatest so I k'nit dishclothes.   I did manage 1 1/2 dishclothes on the way.

Working back into the week past, I'll just give the highlights.   It was so hectic I never even posted my TUSAL!  Oh no, can't even keep up with that.   lol   Monday was just a 10 hour workday and collapsed when I got home.  Tuesday I enjoyed dinner with my brother and sister - always lots of laughing.   Wedensday - I was lucky to have my Gavers for dinner.   He has been doing so well in school and cub scouts and loves to read that I let him download a book to him to read on my Kindle!   Strict strict instructions that he is not to go onto the Amazon Whipsernet for fear he would download their entire library!    Friday - I worked 13 hours!  We put the annual report for the company to bed on Friday save for the final final review by officers over the weekend.   I spoke with our publisher and got really nice kudos from them which made it all worth it!    Funny they gushed at how I went over the top but I was just doing my normal work ethic.  

Gee - left out Thursday - after a harrowing  two days of running around doing my job and the job of another who was out on both Wedsnesday and Thursday - I went to class and proceeded to fall asleep when they turned out the lights.    Not so bad, but the teacher annouced "someone fell asleep!" when the lights went on and they all chimed in about my snoring.   How embarrassing!   Oh well......guess I was relaxed and comfortable.  So suffice it to say I made no progress on My Small Changes - Working on my files.

Now to get outside and enjoy this gorgeous day.

Surf's Up

Don't even say there is nothing for kids to do these days. Need to be brief but need to get this out there as well. Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corp - a great organization that has helped thousands of young men and women over the last 15 plus years learn teamwork, experience the thrill of competition, traveled across the country, met lifelong friends......and more. More on my real feelings about Jersey Surf in a later post.....................

Oh my goodness, where does the time go?

Of course, like so many things we all do, I needed to have a Blog. I had to have a Blog. My daughter helped create it and then there is sat. I had my Blog and let it sit out in cyberspace all alone and neglected. Perhaps that is why I never had a puppy. It could be that my Blogging ties in with my stitching. I haven't put needle to fabric since Christmas. I am feeling the lack of center in my life. So instead of sitting at the computer and entertaining myself with mindless games on Pogo, I need to get my nimble little fingers in gear. Heaven knows I have quite a few started projects and twice as many more that I want to start. I made that promise all us crafters do..... I promised, on my honor, that I will not buy any more projects to add to my stash until I complete something. I further promise, on my honor, that I will not start one new project until I complete one... and let's see how far into the year I can last.
As an aside, I love Pogo! for the way it allows me to unwind. Don't seem to get much else done when I get into a Pogo frenzy. Seems odd that I would like to unwind at a computer after sitting at one all day at work. But it is a far cry from a deadline or people hovering over you. I have been doing quite well and have kept up with the badges so far for 2007. For those of you not familiar, Pogo is an online game site. You can play anything from Chess to Checkers to Blackjack or Slingo or Hearts and much more. You earn points or tokens. Each week, two or more specials will be going on. If you complete the task required for the special, you get extra points and a badge for that game. You have an album where you keep these badges. This is sad that I know that much about this! I kind of rationalize it that as I cooked, cleaned and diapered others were playing Intellivision. It is now my time to be a gaming aficionado. Now that word should impress my librarian daughter. But I digress....

So I found a funny thing out there on the net as I was looking for information on the Stitching Festival. Just put 'stitching festival' in the address bar and let the search engine do the rest. There is a hit for " Gumble - A Cross Stitch in Time". This is the recounting of a trip to a cross stitch convention by a guy trying to impress his girlfriend. Well written and quite funny. I can just see the poor bastard sitting there with the other husbands. I guess that makes up for the countless Sundays wives are abandoned for football.

We are a strange brood us creative types.

My Nuthouse

We have a thing about squirrels in my family. Here is one I stitched for my husband.