Sunday, March 08, 2009


Finishes are so close you can taste 'em!! All I have left to
do on My Needle's Work is to finish the banner at the top
and she's done. But I'm only working on this as my travel
project so she'll have to take another day or two to reach
the end. I don't mind that. I've enjoyed working on her
and I'm mostly pleased with how she's turned out.

I'll be rummaging through my stash today I think to pick
out my next travel project, to have it ready to go when
needed. I have no idea what it'll be, which is part of the
fun of stash diving and project preparing.


DH took me to Michael's last weekend and I picked up a new
tool/gadget to help me with my away from home stitching.
I've been getting use to working with this magnifier and
light combo this week, adjusting the hanging cord to get
the best placement to see through and have the light hit the
stitching project just right. It helps me quite a bit in seeing
what I'm stitching clearly. I don't have a problem with
seeing the holes in the fabric to put my needle in, but I do
have trouble seeing the crosses clearly as they are stitched.
The little light isn't as good as an Ott-Lite's of course and it's
a yellowish light, which isn't as good as the white light of an
Ott-Lite, but it'll do.

Getting this thing balanced on my chest in just the right spot
was fun. Once in awhile it would slip down and rest itself in
a most .... um .... inappropriate location giving me an even
more impressive "shelf" then I usually have. Not a good
thing, sitting at your desk at work fumbling to adjust your
chest placement!


Another home stretch project is November Window. I
added more verse and a few more tree limbs on Friday
night and this afternoon I plan on working on this some
more. This one may well be a finish by next weekend as
well. Two finishes in one week from me! Can you stand
it???

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HOOP????


We all have our favourite X-stitching tools, whether it
be favourite needles, Q-snaps, or whatever. Mine is the
item pictured above. It's a hoop with a spring loaded
inner ring that slips easily in and out of any project that
I'm stitching on. Just pinch the blue handles of the
inner ring together and it allows the inner ring to slip
into the fabric and the outer ring with ease. I love this
hoop! I bought it many years ago during my first stitching
phase and I prefer it over all other types of hoops and
frames etc. At least for the smaller projects. The inner
circle of the hoop is 7" by 7", which is perfect for stitching
LHN smaller projects, such as the Cottage Garden series,
or the scripture series.

But my faithful friend is getting old and the blue plastic
frame is chipped and starting to crack. So it'll need
replacing soon. And that's a problem because I haven't
seen it or anything like it anywhere for sale since I
started stitching again five years ago. I don't know who
made it (there's no name on it anywhere) and I don't
even remember where I bought it.

So I'm posting a picture here in hopes that someone out
there might recognize it and know where I can get another.
I guess it's a long shot but I really want to try and find
another of these hoops if I can. Thanks for your help.


Just a bit of stash enhancement this week. Specifically my
monthly Cresent Colours additions from Stitching Bits and
Bobs. Gorgeous colours, even if the photo doesn't allow
them to shine as much as they do in real life.



There's been book stashing though. My wish list on
Chapters/Indigo book site has been growing by leaps
and bounds as some favourite authors have released
new books. Plus I've added books that I've seen
reviewed and recommended on other book blogger's
sites that sounded like excellent reads.

So the books by Caro Peacock and Kate Morton are
new-to-me authors that I look forward to reading
soon. Peacock's is a murder mystery and Morton's
is a mystery story as well I suppose, both of which take
place at the end of the nineteenth or beginning of
the twentieth centuries. The other four books are by
authors that I've read before. Good thing I've made
more room in the library, eh?

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

Friday was DH's birthday. Unfortunately he had to
spend it attending the funeral of a friend who'd passed
away from Cancer. They use to be in the same youth
choir (the Chancellors) during their teens/early
twenties, and that group of young people have
remained close ever since. They are now all in their
late forties or older, with families of their own around
the same ages that their parents were when traveling
and performing in the choir in churches and town halls
all over southern Ontario. They even recorded a few
records (do you all remember records??), performed
on the stage at the O'keefe centre in Toronto, and
went on an exchange trip to Holland. From the
stories that I've heard over the years they had a
wonderful time, making music and making friend-
ships that have lasted a life time. They may not see
as much of one another now as they did in the past,
but when something like this happens they are
sure to gather, to offer support and to pay tribute
and to reminisce and grieve. That's what friends
are for.

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

On Saturday we celebrated DH's birthday in a
more festive manner and tried to brighten the
mood a bit for him. I made him his favourite
meal, Shake n Bake chicken, orange rice and
green beans, while his sister made a birthday
cake. He got a few gifts, books from me, gardening
tools from his sister, and some fun cards.

And for the first time since last August my Mom
was here for a visit. She was so excited!! She
loves coming here to visit the cats, see what's
been going on around the house (check out the
library Mom!!!) look at stuff on the computer
(she loves I Can Has Cheezeburger.com) and
look through my stitching stuff. Did I mention
that she loves to see the cats???


And Rupert loves to see her. He was at the door as
she came in, and spent the rest of the visit following
her wherever she went. And when she sat down he
laid down at her feet, rested his cheek on her foot
and went to sleep. Content.

Is this the face of a happy cat???

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

Last Sunday I wasn't able to post to my blog as I normally
do because DH and I drove down to London, Ontario to
see our godson Ian perform in a play put on by his
graduation class at Fanshaw College. We'd seen him in
high school plays before that were written by the students
as well as performed by them, but this was the first time that
we'd seen him perform in a professionally written play, and
we were mezmerized.

It's so weird seeing someone you've known from babyhood
on, attended birthday parties for, made lego models with,
discussed the merits of the LOTR movies with, etc playing a
mentally unbalanced, acloholic undercover cop. And he
was so GOOD! All the kids were actually. We are so proud
of him and all the hard work he's done for the past few years
to get to this point. And he's having the time of his life,
learning and growing and getting ready to go out into the
real world and make his mark.

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

I'm planning on spending this afternoon doing laundry and
catching up on blogs and stitching. Sounds good, no??? I
owe many of you a visit and comment and hope to rectify
that soon.

We've had warmer temperatures, and lots of rain in the past
few days which we'd like to think means that Spring has
finally arrived. But the reality is that snow and cold are
still viable options weather wise until the end of April
and to get our hopes and expectations up at this point is
just going to lead to disappointment and frustration. But
we'll probably let ourselves hope and dream anyways. We
always do.

Have a great week everyone, and thanks for visiting.
Hope you get lots of time to stitch, read or enjoy all your
other favourite passtimes. Take care.

Cheers!


13 comments:

Judy S. said...

Have a fun afternoon! Love your stitching and your kitty. And that book pile is awesome. DH calls mine "the earthquake detector." Looks like you have some interesting titles there!

Kathy A. said...

Hi Judy. As always I just love your posts. Your stitcher is almost done. I love her and the red colors.
It is nice to see your mom up and around and enjoying her visit.
Did you say rain!!! Let it all happen before I get home.

staci said...

Hi Judy, I have one of those hoops that I've barely used. I would be more than happy to send it to you if you like.

Email me: kingfam1192@aol.com

Cindy F. said...

You're close to 2 beautiful finishes!! Good job friend!
I have several of those hoops and I just saw them at Hobby Lobby yesterday.
Nice to see your mom visiting:)

Beatrice said...

I love the photo of your Mom and Rupert. Such contentment on both their faces.
It's good to see your Mom doing so well!

Your stitching looks great and All of those books.. where do you find the time?

I love the spring loaded hoop. I use a small 4 inch one and it holds in my hand perfect. I love, love, love it!!!
And the magnifier is always handy I use one for my HAED.

Have fun finding the next project for traveling.
I picked up a few things at Ann's but at this time just stash. I will need to do some serious stitching before I start another big project!

Have a great week and hope to see you one day soon. Spring is in the air.
They are calling for freezing rain tonight so be careful tomorrow!

Rowyn said...

Your Mom is looking so well! I love the photo of Rupert with his head on her foot.

I can't wait to see your LHN finish, you are so close!

Sorry to hear about your DH's friend.

Thanks for your comments on my wedding. They were roses on top of my wedding cake, but made of icing. :-)

mainely stitching said...

Gosh, Judy, all KINDS of exciting news! Congratulations on Ian's college play - that really must've been something to see. And I'm so happy that your Mom could come out for a visit. I do believe that Rupert looks like he's glimpsed Kitty Heaven there. LOL. And your stitching is GREAT! Wow, there are some finishes looming on your horizon! Good luck with that magnifier. I have thought about something like that, but I don't think I'd like something "on" me like that. I have a hard time even wearing jewelry. LOL. Take care, and enjoy a great week! Happy (belated) birthday to your DH.

Cam said...

I love your finishes - any idea what your going to do with the needleworker when she's done?

As for the hoop, I was at Michaels today (besides Chapters, it's the worst place for me! ;-) and they had about 10 of the 7" and only a few of the 5". If you can't find them near you, let me know and I can pick one up for you.

I've read the L. J. Smith book - it's good. I got into her years ago as a teenager when I read her Night World series. A co-worker previously read "the Sugar queen" and she really liked it.

Ta!
Cam

Wendy said...

Great almost finish! I have this sweet little design in my stash and seeing yours, I think it definitely deserves my attention.

Your hoop looks exactly like mine...which is my prized stitching possession. I couldn't live without it! (Although mine now has a few doggy chews on it) I got mine from the Enchanted Needle in Toronto, the owner gets them from Germany, and they are the BEST! If you do a search and get the number, you can phone and see if she has any in stock. I think I really should pick up another 1 or 5 because I don't think I could stitch/live without this awesome little hoop.

Cam said...

I’ve been feeling much better, thanks, but of course it went through work – which is where I got if from originally!

L. J. Smith’s books are what got me into vampires in the beginning – I was never a fan of Anne Rice (terrible, I know! ;-) Of course, I went out and bought the re-released copies of the Night World series – since my old copies are extremely ragged-looking; and plus I’m hoping they’ll include the last book! I refused to watch either the TV adaptions of Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” or Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series (though I must admit that “Jason” is pretty cute!) – they just ruin the books for me! The only vampire series I watched was "Forever Knight" that ran in the early 1990s. There has been talk between fans of making a series/movie out of the Sherrilyn Kenyon “Dark-Hunter” series, but I can’t image it! I’m not even too fond of the previews of the manga coming out soon – I don’t like the style of the artist (even though I will buy it… ;-)

[re: finishing and hemming] LOL! I do the same thing! I have a problem buying jeans (since I’m so short) and I refuse to hem, even when they start to fray (here come the scissors… ;-)

Not at all pathetic (about the hoop breaking) – I’m like that with books! Let me know about the hoops – it’s not like I’m very far away from you…

Ta!
Cam

Sonda said...

I received one of those hoops as a birthday gift, but unfortunately don't use it. I put it in a bin for garage sale and I will look and see if I still have it. It is yours if I find it. Your Needlework stitching looks great!!

Anonymous said...

Hello!
It is so great to see your mom so well!! Happy birthday to DH. His birthday is the same day as mine!! I was lucky to have a great day, in Paris, with friends we only see about twice a year (they live there, we in Portugal) but neither time nor distance makes our friendship less important!
Love the progress in your cross stitch works. The time to choose a new one is such fun!!
Best regards

stitcherw said...

Needle is looking wonderful, you're so close to being done, I expect to see a Happy Dance in your next post. I'll bet you had fun stash diving to pick your next project, I know I do. I can get lost for hours going stash diving, can't wait to see what you decide to start next. November Window is looking great too, and also very close to a finish. Looks like March is going to be a good month for you.

Your new light/magnifier looks like it will be quite helpful for your stitching. Sorry I can't help on the hoop. While I've seen them before, it's been a while. Hope you track down another one soon. Lovely new floss and book stashing you did, you've all kinds of goodies to keep you busy.

Happy belated birthday to your DH, so sorry that his friend passed away. It's hard to lose someone you shared so much with. Your mom looks great, I'm so glad that she's continuing to do so well and is out and about now. Looks like she's having a lovely time on her visit and getting attention from Rupert, he certainly looks comfy sleeping on her foot. Hope the yarn you found for her is working well and is easier on her hands. The Monaco I have is the inexpensive Charles Craft fabric in the tube I can pick up at JoAnne's or Michaels. Only comes in a couple shades, but the evenweave of it makes it so easy to see the holes. It is great, especially for smaller projects as it holds its shape well, and if I have to do some over one the stitches are less likely to slip under and disappear.
Sue