Sad news for the fans of Teresa Wentzler ...

She's going to stop her business.

I'm too lazy to link but she's at Artistic License here -> http://www.teresa-wentzler.com/



ME on the other hand, have been stitching up a storm, but have no way to take pics. I'll figure it out someday soon, just too lazy now. Busy. Busy.

Toodles ladies ~

Happy St Patty's Day!!

I got this freebie from Brooke's Books. I love her stuff, they're always so playful. :o)

This lil Lep took me about 6 hrs to make. I changed out a few things, and ya can't tell but the buckle on his hat is gold kreinik. Sparkly. :o)

I imagine it's going to be an ugly weekend for me so I wish you all a safe and happy Holiday!!

Lookit, I HAVE been stitching. :o)

Sorry it's crooked. :o) It's only 2" tall and so ... cute.

Then I started working on this one, but after I scanned it I realized that the white is off. Guess I'll hafta be froggin' some. Other than these, all I've been doing is working.

Hope everything is well in you ladies' worlds. :o)

Ok ... I'm sorry I've been "gone" but ...

Hey, I think I'm back now. I got a bit worked up (in OH so many ways :o) over the last couple of weeks with a nasty little cancer scare. Fortunately it wasn't the big C for me. I have a different issue, but at least it won't be the cause of my premature death. Unlike my job probably will. heh.

ANYway ... I'm thinking we can all look forward to a more regular blogging practice from me.

And on that note, I signed up for the St Petersburg SAL for Chatelaine. It was just too purdy. :o)

Apparently the Wish Fairy wasn't listening when I mentioned blogger's pics a few days ago. :o\ If she had been I could have shown you the pic I have of my latest Mira start. (What's one more UFO eh?!) heh I started "The Stargazer" yesterday. But I decided to put it on this cross stitch afghan throw I won on ebay awhile back. It's an 11 ct., 66" X 45" medium brown colored throw. So far I've gotten the entire upper skirt (dk brown and greens) done.

This stuff is not as fun as I thought it would be to stitch on. Even tension is the name of the game here. Dang it. Hard to stitch fast when you're concerned about the tension. :o(

Hey now: want a Qwest update? F'ers. I've called 4 X since this started, not including the first call.

"Because of the holidays ..." etc. Yup.

"Because of the snowstorm in Denver ..." etc. Yup.

"Oh, the last person didn't take good notes to let them know how to reach you. So let me get that info and you know, since New Years is coming up ... " etc. Yup.

Today: "Well, apparently they didn't get this information until just 3 days ago. ... No, I don't understand why they would run a credit check on you the night of 12/18 (the night I started all this) but if you could just call back next Monday ... . Oh, No, I'm sorry I don't think they will be able to give you the package deal you were calling about, that ended 12/31." etc. Yup.

Bastards.

Anyway ... Happy Thursday to you all!

Lotsa stash, coupla finishes

Where to begin?! :o)

Stash: Bootie Ornaments, Hanging Ornaments, Blue Violets by Heartfelt Designs, Dragon Bookmark,

Finishes: 2 ornaments. "Peaceful Retreat" and "Woodland Joy" both from Something In Common Designs and both Thanks to San for sending me the link to these freebies.

I made the Owls just because I've always thought they were adorable. They're 2 over 2 on 32 ct Rocky Mtn jobelan. It took me 8 hrs to make, s - f.

The peace ornament I made for a friend for Xmas (my very first ornament) which she loved. I changed quite a few things (reindeers ... blech!) as I was on time constraints. Same fabric - bad picture. :o\ For lack of fabric to finish I just put the same fabric sewn onto back w/my name, stuffed it and for the 'hanger' I crocheted one out of the same ivory floss that is around the orn.

And I got my JCS 2006 Ornament book in with this order as well. I signed up for the ornament SAL going on - 1 orn/month X 12 mths, last wknd of - so I figure for my 1st SAL this shouldn't be so bad.

I would have done all these pics as I was going along but blogger wasn't cooperating the last few days w/pics.

So there ya have it. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and have exciting plans for New Years.

Hunh. Lookee who's back. :o\

ME! Yup. Finally. Long story short, I *ahem* injured my left middle finger and apparently can't do much without it. Most reportedly, type. And I'm right handed. Go figure.

Anyway ... pictures!!

WQ: I've finished all the DMC and most of the Wisper. A little more of that and then off to the beading. I'm figuring that's going to take awhile. And w/this baby being so large I'm probably going to have to use 3x the beads as called for. I just rec'd my order of an extra 5 cards of Wisper. And have used most of it. :o)

And then I made this tonight. It is (obviously) a napkin holder. I just thought it was cute. Took about 5 hrs to make, plastic canvas. I kinda like the colors. It's part of a set (napkin rings, trivet, towel toppers), but I don't know whether or not I'll make the rest. I just got tired of the napkins sittin' atop the microwave. :o) 2nd pic is more true to color.

Other than that, just been working on some PIF giftees. Was working on baby hats but then got "commissioned" to do a couple of babies' baby blankets. (Doll blankets for a friends daughter) Should be fairly simple, much smaller than regular stuff. She just wants 'em for Xmas.

Just got the stats for TequilaCon in March. Seems we're running about 67% female to 33% male right now. Poor fellas.

Oh. Broke down and ordered the new JCS Ornament magazine. Just too many cute ornaments floating around the blogosphere, I gave in to the pressure. :o}

So, Happy Wednesday all!

Just a quick progress update on WQ

Here she is - almost done with what I'm going to do with her. Well, minus the beading and Wisper White threads o' course.

She's at about 23" now and I only have about 3" left at the bottom to play with. I'm trying to pick a spot that'll look decent to cut off her skirt as I don't want to add all the extra "fluff" at her backside. I'm working on the big ol' white spot on the lower left now. This is day 15 now (days since I started working on her).

Still working on my baby hats as well, up to about 30 now.

Gotta go!!

More hats and progress and some stash!

I found this lovely "tweed" yarn at JoAnn's Superstore t'other day so decided to make a few hats outta this soft stuff. Then thought they were kinda boring so I made the row w/holes in it. Then decided to make some flowers to put on them as well. I'm likin' 'em now. Although they take a little more time to make the flowers and attach, still pretty enough.


I can't find the camera so this is the progress on my WQ. This is the entire right side of her cloak and the middle is her skirt. Slow but sure. Had a not so pretty distraction the last coupla days so I've been preoccupied. :o(

Early Thanksgiving morning John (the ex) wrecked his cab due to a freak hail storm. There was about a mile square that had about 1/4" of hail, and nowhere else. It was weird. Anyway, he hit it on an offramp and lost traction, did a coupla 360's and hit the guard rail head on. He wasn't going that fast but it blew his airbags. He probably would have been fine, all things considered, except when the airbags blew the drivers' bag hit his face, which is now basically a big open wound. It's nast-eeeee. :o{ He went to the doc's yesterday for some back pain - nothing serious. And his face is healing. But it was kinda freaky at the time. I'm not w/the guy any longer, but I don't wish him ill. (Unless it's the kinda I inflict on him!)

Imagine: we're chatting on the phone, I'm downtown at the McD's drive thru and he's on his way to pick up someone. He's driving along and:

He: Oh wow! This road is ... Oh Shit! OH SHIT I'M ... " click.

I'm sitting there going ... duhhhhh. His phone won't go thru. I have the dispatcher start yelling for him on the radio and then I start freaking out on the poor guy in the truck in front of me in the drive thru. (Poor guy will probably never forget this Thanksgiving!)

It was wild. And not in a good way.

Totally forgot that I got these little lovelies in the mail a few days ago. I thought they were SO cute, and now I'm gonna hafta order the "Chickadees" as well ... they're aDORable!! (You can see them at the bottom of this pic)

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying their holiday preparations!

Winter Queen ... day 7 (I think)

It's only 2p but this is what I've done in the last 2 days. She's 17 inches tall already. I'm getting bored with the large spaces of same colors. ::sigh:: But onward I trod. The right side there is about 1" from the end of the fabric so she is just baaarely gonna fit widthwise. Lengthwise, no chance. She'll be about 3 inches too short.

I was also thinkin' about not doing the folded dress and wrap that is behind her ... behind. :o) But now that I'm looking at it, it'll look lopsided if I don't. I'll figure it out when I get there.

As always, click to enlarge. She's much prettier that way. :o)

San: Yes, I chatted w/the guys for a bit but it was a quick trip. Basically:

Me: So, how was the concert tonight fellas?

They: It was all right. We've done better.

Me: Aren't you supposed to say 'We were GREAT?!!' grin

They: Um ... we were great?

Me: Aw come on now, you can't muster any more enthusiasm than that?

They: Well, you know. It was just all right. So have you heard of us?

Me: Only because of Grey's Anatomy. As I'm sure most people have.

They: Yeah. That show definately made us more well known.

Me: Indeed. Is that the rest of the band there at the bus?

They: Yeah. Those are our 'homies'. grin Thanks!

Me: Toodles!

And they were singing along to Chris Cornell on the radio. Looking at that pic of the fellas the guy on the right (2nd from right in pic) looks kinda funny, but he was in my rear view the whole time and I gotta say ... bee-U-tiful eyes. Hot hot hot.

And Sharon, I don't believe I've had many (if any) problems w/my Beta since I switched. I remember having problems with others beta blogs before I switched over. Maybe that's the problem you're having as well.

Happy Day all !

Winter Queen progress

4 days. Looking at the pic, all those empty holes are where there will be beads or spec. thread. BIG holes. 8-O

I'm trying Jules! I'm'a tryin'. :o)

Just a couple of thoughts ... (rant ahead) and a progress pic.

Just because I don't HAVE children doesn't mean I don't LIKE them, I just choose not to own any.



Scenario: I live in an apt. complex that has 136 apts. We have 1 bdrm bldgs, 2 and 3 as well, but on the other side of the courtyard. I have lived in this 1 bdrm for over 5 yrs now, bottom floor, in the back. My back porch butts up to the back yards of the houses on the street behind us. I work nights. I realize that the majority of the world doesn't so I do whatever I have to to make myself comfortable to sleep during the day. (Ear plugs. Blackout shades on windows. that kind of stuff.) And I go out of my way to not make any noise during the middle of the night when I'm home and up.



I understand that people make noise. I DO. I have NEVER complained when someone is making noise, generally. I've had 8 different couples and/or singles live above me.


* There was the veeery large gentleman that was a heel walker.

* There was the young lady that wore high-heeled shoes EVERYwhere, from the moment she got out of bed, all day, all night. Even in the bathroom.

* There was the young lady that EVERY SINGLE Sunday morning would have outrageously ... acrobatic ... sex with her boyfriend and then spend the rest of the day listening to the same damn Kylie Minogue song, over and over, for hours on end ... loudly. (Still feel homicidal whenever I hear KM).

* The last couple had a 6 mth old Bull Mastiff with feet bigger than mine.


I've dealt with these wingnuts quite admirably I've felt, having never called the office on the folks upstairs, ever. ( I had a roommate once ... whenever someone made noise ... whew!) I've only called the police once and that's on the neighbor behind me, in a house, that mowed his lawn at 7a on Sunday once. (Noise ordinance: it's not illegal between 7a-10p)


The young Russian couple upstairs had the cuuuutest little girl about a year ago. I kid you not, this kid was just adorable, she almost never cried. And then she started walking. Which, in and of itself, I don't have a problem with, I can't even hear her. And hey, that's what kids do. :o) BUT, every single day I have to listen to this child pound on the pots and pans in the kitchen for an HOUR. Every single day. (I'm guessing that the mother is sleeping because when I get to the point where I pound on the ceiling, the child only gets stopped when I pound on the bedroom ceiling.)


BUT TODAY ... I couldn't get anyone to stop the child. So I called the managers. She could clearly hear the pounding over my phone. I was incredibly polite about it ...


Me: Hi, I was wondering, do we have any maintenance going on today that they would be pounding on the floors upstairs?

She: Wow. We must have, since it's so loud. Let me check ... um ... no. I'm not seeing anything.

Me: OK, I was just checking because it's really loud up there.

She: yes, I can hear it.

Me: Do you think you could talk to the neighbors up there, please?

She: Weeeeellll, honestly Michelle (I've been here longer than anyone else by more than 3 yrs so they're all pretty friendly) they don't speak English so I can't really say anything to them.

Me: Ummmm, well, do you think you could go up there and do some sign language or something? This is pretty bad.

She: I might be able to send someone in a little while. You must be sleeping, huh?

Me: Nope. Been up for a few hours. It's just really annoying.

She: Ah. Well, we can't just send someone to talk to the neighbors just because you don't like children.

Me: Excuse me? I'm complaining about the excessive pounding going on in the apt. above mine. And "... don't like children."??? Where do you get that?

She: Well, you know. You don't HAVE any. We just assumed you don't like them.

Me: So ya'll are sitting around the office talking about the fact that since I don't have children I must be a child-hating bitch eh?

She: *gasp* No, Michelle! Not at all!! Oh my God, I hope I didn't give you that impression!

Me: Well of course you did. I took it exactly as you meant it.


It didn't get any better from there. I was seriously irritated. Jeez. Close-minded sob's. Arrrgh.



A thought: I made my cab stories blog to not allow comments any longer. I don't want to take the chance that someone might accidentally call me by name. It's a little bit of safety that makes me feel a bit better. Coincidentally, this is also why every time I comment on someone's blog it says "M" instead of Michelle. (You ladies know who I am, that's what really matters. :o)



And finally ... today's progress on Titania. She's getting too big for my scanner now. Just one more orange ribbon and a few leaves, then on to the wings! I'm looking forward to playing with those, that's why I saved them for last.

Happy Wednesday all!

Hey lookee there ...

A stitching progress post!!! Titania, as of yesterday.

I just finished the rest of the pink on her dress, and started the orange ribbon. Even though I don't like orange I figured I could force my way through it because:

a) I don't have to think about it too much and can move on to something else
b) It IS Halloween after all.


So, whatcha think of this? This is what I'm thinking will be my "business card" for my cab stories blog. While digging thru my bus. card program, thinking of changing my regular cards I found this and figured it would be perfect for my cab stories! The girl in love, the drunk guy, and me, sitting in the front, crying. :o)

There are certain people that I want to give my web address to, but it's a pain to keep writing it on the back of my reg. business cards.

Lavender Garden Finish

Well here this one is. I finished it yesterday. It's 3.5 X 3.5 on 18 ct fiddlers cloth. I changed a few things, but still the same basic.

Haven't worked on my Titania at all lately. :o(

I did start a crocheted shawl yesterday. I get ALL kindsa magazines at my place trying to get me to buy things, instead I look at the pictures and make my own version that appeals to me. :o) This is originally listed as a "Prayer Shawl". Since the only thing I pray for is usually a slow night I just decided to make a "Shawl". heh. It's about 6 feet long now. Since it's a very basic stitch that's only 50 st. wide, it's going very fast. Thin enough yarn to make it not heavy, but thick enough to be warm. My arms tend to get cold in the winter time so instead of using an entire blanket, or a jacket in the house I use these.

So is anyone watching "Uncommon Threads" on DIY? It's a great concept but is it just me or does the young lady hosting seem like she doesn't have a clue as to what she's showing?

Anyway, happy Monday all!

Well whaddaya know.

I'm able to upload a picture. :o)

Yesterday's progress on Lavender Garden.

Progress and new start

Here is yesterday's progress on Titania. I didn't have much time on her.

I forgot that this month's issue of "Gift of Stitching" came out. I decided I wanted to make this one. It's called Lavender Garden from Martina Weber. I've been watching all the 'Mysteries' and 'Gardens' progress out there, but I don't think I'm that dedicated, so this little one is perfect.

I've got about 4 hrs into it, but Blogger won't let me upload the pic, so I'll add one on later. I have the blue in the middle and the entire outside green finished. It's going pretty quick, and we all know how much I like that. :o)

Happy Weds all.

Titania progress

Day 11. I don't think I'm going to be able to do this one in 3 weeks. :o) Oh well. I'm still enjoying working on her. Been working on filling in the skirt.

I'm thinking I want to change the color of the other ribbon though. I am not an orange fan, but I can't decide what color. Green and purple being my 2 faves are already there so those are out. Only other colors that would probably work would be blue and yellow. I'm not much of a blue fan, and I don't know if it would work, but I think if I do yellow then the wings will wash out. Decisions, decisions. Any ideas?

OH, we decided to push out our Cancun vacation. Probably another 2 or 3 months. I did however, make reservations for my birthday vacation in January ... I'm going to go spend a week in Newport (on the coast here) in the middle of winter, watching the storms in front of the fire. I can't wait! J took his vacation to Cali. in June, so now it's my turn. I believe he's going to head to Reno w/his ma while I'm in Newport. We're still looking into that one. I'm not a Reno fan, and we still have a few more free vacations to use up by the end of next year ... Gawd bless timeshares. :o)

DANG!! NOT my fault. But apparently I can't make paragraphs w/the new beta. :-(

Good Gawd, ya'll gotta check this out ... Gizoogle Type in your blog address and the site will automatically translate it into ... ebonics. It's hilarious!! If you read thru your blog, even the sidebar, it's funny when you start thinking about what it really says. I got this from Jo

Happy Evening all!

Titania progress ...

Day 8. I haven't had much time to work on her, but I try to plug away at her every day.

So, has everyone switched to Beta yet? Good? Bad? Whatcha think?

Off to bed! Happy Weekend all!!

A stitching post!

I finally started Titania. This is 4 days of progress. Today being the 4th day. I like how this one is progressing ... quick. :o) I like 'em that way. Lots'a stuff to do, not enough time.

I finished the purple ribbon on the 1st day. Did the pink the 2nd. Skin on the 3rd and hair w/flowers this morning.

Now I'm off to bed.

Toodles!