Since We Last Visited...

I know I promised to post more often, and I apologize that my posts end up being rather, um, lengthy.  I will try harder to post shorter, more frequent "articles", rather than entire "magazines"!  But, here goes...you might want to pack a lunch!

 Here is what the inside of Greg's birthday cake looked like.  Looks better than it tastes.  The recipe on the box that the pans came in turns out VERY dry, so I tried a new recipe this year, and it is no better.  I have now gone online and found a couple of "moist" checkerboard cake recipes, so more experimentation to be inflicted on family!

 And, a belated Happy Valentine's Day.  Here is what my little tree looks like, when transformed from a snowman tree into a Valentine tree.

 This is just a little vignette I enjoy doing...it's a wonderful piece of fabric printed with vintage valentine cards, and a neat book of reproduction vintage valentines.

 This is an old Shepherd's Bush door heart.

 Here is my progress on the second sock of my first pair of knitted socks. 

 Here is the first sock.  And, yes, I know, it's pretty homely.  You may ask, why did she switch to a different yarn halfway down the foot?  And, my answer is this: I ordered the striped yarn from KnitPicks several years ago, and for whatever reason, thought that one ball was enough for a pair of socks.  Probably would be for kids socks.  But, after checking the yards in the ball of yarn against the pattern, I realized it wasn't enough.  So, I called KnitPicks, and was told that this color had since been discontinued, and there was not a single ball left anywhere.  But, I REALLY wanted to try knitting a pair of socks with THIS yarn.  So, I decided to find a solid color to use for the heels and toes.  I think I got a little carried away with the toe part on this one...I was so worried that I would run out of the striped yarn for the second sock, that I extended the toe all the way up to where the sock would be covered by a shoe.  I figure, these are for me, they are a learning tool, just don't worry too much about it.

 A new book I ordered arrived last week...on the recommendation of my friend Tanya.  Can't wait to read it!

 Progress on Primitive Needle's "Cape Cod's Girls".

 Progress on Carriage House Samplings' "Elizabeth".  I really need to give this poor girl a face!

 A finish!  Carriage House Samplings' "D is for Deer".

 And, another finish, "V is for Valentine"

 Progress on Blocks 4 and 5 of Carriage House Samplings' "Village of Hawk Run Hollow".

 Progress on Prairie Schooler's 1992 Santa.

 I tried my hand at Chinese cooking last weekend, this is Kung Pao Chicken, it was really, really quite good.

 And. homemade fried rice to go with...also great!

 Lastly, a sign of hope for things to come...daffodils poking through the soil!

Spring is just around the corner!  AMEN!

All in All, a Pretty Good Week

I'm making a real effort to post at least once a week.  Just a quicky to share some highlights of my week.

 My family has a bunch of January/February birthdays...my husband's was Wednesday, February 2.  His favorite cake is yellow cake with chocolate icing.  I have a checkerboard cake pan that I usually use to make him something special.  Unfortunately, I was so busy with work, his cake was just done today, so we are still celebrating 2 days later.  This is a picture of the whole cake, we haven't cut into it yet, I'll share a picture of the inside later.  We did take him to Outback Steakhouse for dinner on his day, and it was fabulous, as always!

 Today is National Wear Red Day, to focus attention on womens' heart health.  This was the best photo I could take of myself, lol, of my arm, wearing a red Life is Good shirt...a muted red, but still red.

 And, my shoes have red yarns on them!

 I've had such an enjoyable stitching week.  This is my completed Black Bird Designs "Snow Garden".  The only thing I haven't finished is the personalization.  The main initials and date are the initials of my grandfather, Shannon French Hollingsworth. I chose to feature his as the large initials and birth year, because he was such a large part of who I am, and I spent a great deal of my life with him.  He died the day before my 18th birthday. I didn't finish the date yet, because I need to ask my mom if he was born in 1909 or 1910.  All 4 of my grandparents were born around the same time, and I get confused about the year.  Anyway, I do know that he was born on January 6, which was the day I chose to start Snow Garden.  My other grandfather, one grandmother, and my sister were also born in January, so their initials will be the smaller ones scattered throughout the design

 And, this is my big piece of Exemplar, with Snow Garden, and the start of "Valentine Rose", which I started last night, on my mom's birthday, February 3.  I will stitch her name and birth year under the house.

 This is Lizzie Kate's "Winter Fab Fob", which I finished over the weekend.  I used to buy practically every Lizzie Kate design that came out, but my tastes have changed, and I hadn't bought one for years.  This one was just so cute, with the little scissors that came with the kit, and the way it was finished in the picture.  I admit to being disappointed when the kit arrived, and all it had was the chart, fabric, scissors and beads, NO thread.  For such a tiny amount of each of the colors that was used, and the $20 cost of the kit, you would think they would have been included. Of course, I didn't have a single thread called for, so I ordered all of them, so close to another $20.  Then, I looked around for the ribbon that was used on the model and couldn't find it anywhere.  But, on the chart is the name of a lady that put together finishing kits.  I contacted her re: the kit-for $14, you get the much coveted ribbon, plus the pre-cut boards, instructions, and some other supplies like a cord to attach the scissors with.  So, what the heck, I ordered it.  I can't believe I have sunk nearly $55 into this silly scissors fob.  I will call it "Cindy's Folly".  Please don't tell my husband.

This arrived in the mail today.  I ordered it from Border's using a discount coupon, and some "Border's Bucks" I had earned through my Borders rewards card.  Can't wait to try knitting a pair of these socks!
I have also made a lot of progress on Blocks 4 and 5 of Carriage House Samplings "Village of Hawks Run Hollow", "Elizabeth", and "D is for Deer" on my alphabet sampler...in fact, I will likely finish it tonight. More pictures later!
Wow, what started out as a quick post has become pretty long-winded, lol!
And, now it is Friday evening, and my husband is treating us to Chipotle for dinner, which will be followed by birthday cake...what the hey, we only live once!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Snow-At Last!

We finally got a decent snowfall yesterday...thankfully, I was sceduled for a day off today, as was Greg, and Hunter's school was closed, so we have had a wonderful time today! We got up, shoveled the driveway, took the perfunctory pictures, and then went out for brunch at IHOP. Taking it easy this afternoon with some stitching. Just wanted to share my snow pictures...the 2 close-ups of Greg and Hunter were what I got when I asked them to pose for me!

Hope you enjoy your day as much as we've enjoyed ours!

Finishes!

I had a day off from work today, they were actually calling for snow last night...I had myself all geared up for a snow day, went to the store and got fixins for a big pot of vegetable soup AND a big pot of chili... had the day all planned, lots of warm soup, lots of stitching, some good old movies, you know. But, no snow. Not a flake. Anyway, all is not lost, I did the soup and chili, and the stitching, and the movie watching, all without snow.

I thought I would share some pictures of some winter stitching and my snowman tree.

This is a Lizzie Kate oldie. I think it's called Winter Button-Up. I stitched all 4 seasons, and hand painted one frame, left the back open. I laced and mounted each finished piece, and pop them in and out of the frame each season.

This is a very old Shepherd's Bush.

This is a Bent Creek, Swirly Snow, or something like that. The frame was handpainted by the very talented framer at my now defunct LNS. Gosh, I miss that place~ mail order is great, but there's nothing like getting to play with the merchandise!

And, this is my snowman tree. I have a small, skinny "Alpine" tree in my foyer, which stays up from early September through April. In September, I decorate it for football season, with ornaments and school colors of my alma mater, Virginia Tech. It stays that way until after the bowl game, early January, at which time it becomes my snowman tree. Then, Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, and Easter. Here are several shots of the tree:

Last, but not least, I have finished 2 projects this week, and may possibly finish a third tonight. I'm so pleased to have my stitching Mojo back! This one above is one of the Stacy Nash Country Sampler Girls' Club kits called Mitten Pinkeep.

And, this one is a free chart from Homespun Elegance called "Boo Tyme". I know these are very small projects, but instant gratification is really good medicine for a stitching slump such as I have been in.

Happy Weekend, and stay warm!

2010 Finishes

While I'm in a posting mood, I thought I may as well go ahead and share pictures of my few 2010 finishes.

These are the bottom 3 panels of With My Needle's "Maidens of the Sea".

These are 2 of the top 3 panels of Maidens. The first panel is blank. The panels fold a certain way to make a needle book. So, I'm not completely finished with this.

The 2 panels to the Maidens scissor fob.

Maidens of the Sea in one piece.

This is one of the Stacy Nash Girls Club kits, #4 from 2010, it is to be made into a pinkeep drum.

Another Stacy Nash Girls Club kit, this was #3 from 2009.

1991 Prairie Schooler Santa. This one took FOREVER! I guess all the color changes. But, it is my favorite so far, and it is GORGEOUS!

Not a productive year, but, I am out of my slump, and am very pleased with the things I did manage to finish. Oh, and I did knit one sock of the first pair I've ever knitted, sock # 2 is about halfway done. I will get a picture of the sock on here later.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of my posts!