January Report and February Goals

January was a good month. I got in two finishes - almost three if you count that I couldn't finish the turtle dove because I didn't have the right thread and it cannot be found locally, so it will have to be ordered.

On the WIP front, none were finished, though I am perilously close to finishing the Lighthouses of Florida piece. All the backstitching for the L and the I is done, some of the other three letters and most of the top lettering. I can probably finish it if I wanted to, but not relishing backstitching, I'll take my time. I did not stitch on The Rose Garden, which I wanted to, but such is life.

Goals for February: (let's shoot for the moon!)

Stitch the Prairie Schooler ornament from JCS 2006
Stitch 3 French Hens from CEC
Stitch L*K February Flip It
Stitch a Valentine's Day piece
Finish the Lighthouses of Florida
Stitch some on The Rose Garden
Stitch on the Sunshine Sampler

If I stitched every night, this would be feasible, but I don't stitch every night! LOL.

Last night I made a list of all the threads I need to finish all the ornaments I want to stitch. Superbowl sales will be coming up this weekend and I want to be prepared. So far I have a very conservative list. As for patterns, I think I have only 2 or 3 I really want. I think that might go up a bit after Nashville. Have y'all seen Victoria Sampler's new "Tropical Garden"? Is it me, or what? I've ordered it at the Cupboard and I can't wait for it to get here!

Squeaking In Another Happy Dance

I managed to squeeze in another Happy Dance this month I finished last night Lizzie Kate's A Bit of January FlipIt Bit! The scarf is stitched in WDW Red Pear but the mittens in DMC (because I simply couldn't wait!)

Had a great time stitching last night at the Cupboard. Emily came by (I missed her!) and also some new stitchers. It's good to make new friends!

Going around in the blogosphere is the "6 Weird Things About Me" list. I've seen it in a lot of blogs, so I'd thought I'd jump in and see if I can stop myself at 6...

1 - I like to eat french fries with mayonnaise. To my defense, there are two other ladies (Jeanne & Diane) from my Tuesday night SAL at the cupboard who also like this. Good to know I am not alone.

2. I cannot sleep with socks. Don't know why, but that's the way it is. If I fall asleep with socks on, by the time I wake up, they are off.

3. I have an extensive pajama collection. I probably have over 30 sets of pajamas and I just bought yet another one at Old Navy this past weekend (it was valentine themed and loving hearts, I could not resist). I also have a lot of slippers.

4. I love planes and airports. Every time I drive on 595 or I-95 I am almost driven to distraction by looking at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International's runways. When I lived in Miami (before all the crazy security) I would spend afternoons hanging out at the airport watching planes come and go. When I fly, I like to have at least a 2hr layover so I can walk around the airport.

5. I do not like birds. Not canaries, parakeets, chickens, ducks, what have you. They give me the creeps. I think it has something to do with their eyes.

There you go! Emily, you are tagged! Also, if whoever is reading this hasn't answered this yet, consider yourself tag.

Pic Update

I have been really busy the past week. No time to post, no time to stitch. Merger is driving me nuts. On Sunday I realized that each year I "collect" (can't seem to know what else to call it) Lizzie Kate Monthly FlipIts but I have only stitched none from 2006, one from 2005, none from 2004 and maybe 2 from 2003. Pretty bad, huh? So, I decided this year would be different. I took January to my Sunday SAL in Hollywood and I pretty much finished most of it. The rest I did while watching The Apprentice. I would have finished it if I had had WDW Red Pear, and I didn't mind stitching the mittens with DMC, but I'm not stitching the scarf with it. So, here it is:

Also, I was not able to finish 2 Turtle Dove(s) because instead of High Luster #4 Braid, I bought High Luster Filament. Duh! This weekend, when there is a SuperBowl sale, I will pick up the braid. Might as well wait and save!

SBQ

Today's SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:
What company produces your favorite hand-dyed fabric? Are there any companies whose hand-dyed fabric you do not like? If so, why?

My favorite hand-dyed fabric comes from R&R. I just like their colors best and they have 30ct, which I like stitching on. I have purchased from Silkweavers and Sugar Maple fabrics, and I like them too a lot. I don't have one I can say I do NOT like, but I will say that I tried to buy fabric once from Heaven Lee Creations and it took so long to get to me that I cancelled the order and have never returned to their website.

Here's my update - gotta run!

Friday's Feast 127

From Friday's Feast - a meme I decided to join today...

Appetizer
Which television shows do you just refuse to miss?
The Apprentice

Soup
Who did you last speak to on the telephone?
My son Stephen

Salad
How many pillows do you keep on your bed?
Seven

Main Course
Name one addition to your computer (software, hardware, etc.) that you'd love to have.

Dessert
What is your favorite foreign food?
Today it is Cuban food.
Tomorrow it might be Chinese, or Italian, or Peruvian, or Brazilian
I live in a culturally diverse city

Update on the ornament: I've stitched quite a bit - the teal is on now, but I overslept this morning and didn't have time to take a picture. Will do so tomorrow.

It's a good thing to know I exist! This has been going around stitching blogs, so I joined in the fun!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 2 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

SBQ

Today's SBQ is:

Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

Just scroll down - it was two entries ago! The JCS ornie I am stitching with two groups. One is Stitchers Time Out, a Yahoo! group, the other is my Sunday Stitching group. We chose 6 ornaments of which we plan to stitch 4. This was the ornament my friend Tille chose.

On another note, I have finished the boring beige body of the turtledove. I didn't take a picture because I wanted to wait until some of the vibrant colors were stitched before taking another. I am going to EGA tonight and will stitch for at least an hour, so I should have SOMETHING to show tomorrow and I anticipate another Happy Dance some time this weekend.

Ornie Update

After stitching last night at my LNS's SAL, as well as very little the night before, I can now post an update of this ornie. It' coming along rather quickly and I think I will stitch stitch the main part of the body (in boring beige) before stitching the hearts. Right now it doesn't look terribly exciting, but some really vibrant colors are yet to be added which are going to make all the difference.

Right now everything appears to be on track with my yearly stitching goals, but we're only 17 days into the year.

On another note, I have a good friend who will next week move away to El Paso. I also have two other close friends who this weekend will be driving up to outside the Atlanta area to look into the possibility of moving. Pretty soon, I'm afraid, our lively group of 8 will become 3. (Two moved away after Hurricane Wilma).

First HD of 2007!

I just finished the ornie! YAY!!!

And, I started a new one: the second ornament from CEC's 12 Days of Christmas, which is over three books. This is "On the first day of Xmas". Not much, but I just started late last night.

Just Another Morning in Paradise

Not to brag or anything, but this is what I wake up to every morning. Living on the beach rocks! It's like being on vacation all the time.

Found this quiz at Whiz Gidget Wonder's website. It seemed fun, so I took it.

You are Justice

Equity, rightness, probity, executive; triumph of the observing side in law.

Justice is about cold, objective balance through reason or natural force. You can't keep smoking and drinking without consequences to your health. It is the card that advises cutting out waste and insists that you make adjustments, do whatever is necessary to bring things back into balance, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually. It is a card of balance and harmony; if there is imbalance, the correction may require recourse to the law.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

SBQ & Update

First SBQ of 2007:

Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about your dream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream… maybe you dream of designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.

No, not really. As much as I love cross stitch, the low margin of profits doesn't tempt me to open my own shop. It just seems a lot of work for the return, so I admire those who do have their own LNS/ONS, but I need a whole lot more to live on. Even my own LNS, Cross Stitch Cupboard, says that the gift part of the store is what makes the cross stitch part possible and they've been open 25 years and are they ONLY cross stitch store in Broward County, which has a population of 2 MILLION, (not counting snowbirds, illegals and visitors). The other two close by are in downtown Miami (Cross Stitch Station) and in Lake Park, FL (Always in Stitches) which is north of West Palm Beach.

The only cross stitch dream I have is to have the time to stitch all the charts I have stored and want to stitch.... but I'd have to live (and be well enough to stitch) until I was about 120 (considering I'll retire @ 65).

On another note, here is the status of the Lights of Advent ornie:

If you plan to stitch this ornie, do yourself a favor and do it on 32 or higher count. Otherwise it will come out a bit too big and you won't have great coverage. (In other words, don't use 28 like I did...)

Picture Updates

At long last, the promised update of the Florida Lighthouses! As y'all can see, it's almost finished.

I've started working on xmas ornaments. This month's selection for the Yahoo group I belong to is Erica Michael's "Lights of Advent". I've nearly finished the bulk of all four candles

Well, I hope I didn't come across as a bit harsh at last post. I do plan to continue to cross stitch regularly, and it will always be my joy. I'm just looking to doing some other things I haven't had the energy to do because of the sleep apnea.

New Year, New Goals

Stephen has run off with my camara, so I've been putting off posting to get it back and be able to show a picture of my progress on the Lighthouses of Florida piece. Just visualize all the cross stitching done and some of the backstitching - LOL.

Stitching goals for this year are as follows:

1) Keep up with the Ornament SAL with StitchersTimeOut (a yahoo group)

2) Finish The Rose Garden

3) Finish Sunshine State Sampler

4) Finish Snappers 2004

5) Finish Mystery VIII

6) Stitch one complete Twelve Days of Xmas ornament series

Considering my busy schedule, and all other things I want to do that are not cross stitch related, I think this is what I can reasonably accomplish. Also, since it looks like I already own everything I need to accomplish all the stitching I plan to do in 2007, my aim is also to severely cut down my cross stitch purchases, and also do so some serious purging. I love cross stitching, but it's not all that I am about. I want to have time to read. I want to have time to exercise. I want to have time to socialize. I want to try some beading. Learn to sew. And many other things.