Good News, Good News!!!!!!

Feels so good to finally say.... "Great News!!" Seems like there are still honest people in NYC!!! Imagine that? The mailman brought really terrific news yesterday in the shape of a wallet. Must send a huge thank you note to the person who mailed it back.

I celebrated by searching through my cross stitch fabric stash and selecting a piece for my Neighborhood RR. As unlikely as it may seem, my cross stitch fabric stash is not as abundant as my quilting fabric stash. Did I just type that?? There are only two fairly short rectangular boxes and a medium sized bag of evenweaves in all sorts of colors which never seem to be appropriate enough for the project I look foward to stitch. Thus, back to purchasing more.... but, not this time.

Many years ago, I purchased a yard of what I believe to be 28ct. Wedgwood Lugana. Like a good little stitcher, mumbling under my breath, I managed to baste the edges by hand. ( Yes, I do have a sewing machine which I have never used. Did I just own up to that?) Basting is not my favorite pastime to say the least, but I would rather that than see my fabric unravel bit by bit.

My Neighborhood RR is really exciting me. I was able to find my focal building and count out the stitches that I am going to extrapolate from it. Next, I will baste the location area on my piece and figure out if it is a good fit, if not, the frog will come and I will unbaste to rebaste. Lovely :(
So, I will definitely try to do it right the first time.

Tomorrow I will go and purchase DMC floss for the project. Although I have enough DMC stash, I want to purchase the same dye lot that way, things look even and not have a mottled aspect. I really dislike when the floss intensity does not match. I am very peculiar that way.

On the crochet front, I was able to complete my turquoise blue scarf. I call it my "Donald Duck" blue scarf. It is really pretty. People have commented positively on it and I am a happy crocheter looking for my next fix...er.... project.

Still on the hunt for a new camera. Half of me wants to purchase one right away and the other half wants to wait for Black Friday when the sales start. (For non-USA readers, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It is called Black Friday because that is the day that retailers finally show a profit and are in "the black" vs. "the red". Most of us just know that it is the day the great sales are on for electronics and maybe clothing).

My October goals are not coming along well. Although I have found the Christmas piece I want to stitch, I highly doubt I will find time to stitch it, so I will have to replace it with another.
Very little stitching on my Breast Cancer Awareness piece has been done and "The Salute" stitching this week has been non-existent. Of course I am not proud of it, so I am hoping to stitch a lot this weekend. The RR basting was a start.

That is it for now kids. Off to count those stitches.........

Peace, Love and a Cure

So far, so good. Today I have made a bit of progress on this project. Every stitch is filled with love and wonderful memories of my grandaunt who is living with breast cancer. I am working every possible moment on this piece because unfortunately, we do not know how much longer she will be with us. More unfortunate is that she lives half a world away and I am not able to see her anytime soon.

Here is a scan. I am trying to learn the program better. This was the best I could do today.

Today I was guilty of reading a few blogs. Surfing the net for new cross stitch items and reading blogs definitely cuts into my stitching time. How is it possible that there are SO many cross stitch enablers blogging? Every blog that I read adds to my project and stash wish lists.

These days I wonder if I am over-committed with stitching projects. I don't know if there are enough hours in my day to do all of the things I want to do. The 5 lifetimes of stash I own is screaming "STITCH ME!!!!!!" and let's face it girls, I would have to grow 3 extra hands just to begin preparing the fabrics alone.

Now that we are on the subject of fabric..... my favorite fabric is Jobelan. I love the drapey feel of it and the bit of sheen it has. I am stitching PEACE, LOVE and a CURE on 28 count Jobelan in Ivory. Little by little it is coming out great! For the backing of the piece I have purchased 4 different pink fabrics which I will narrow down to one for it.

The next project on my list is my second PEACE, LOVE and a CURE piece for my 2nd cousin (daughter of my grandaunt) who is also battling breast cancer. Once I finish the first piece, I will start on the second. I am considering adding beading and buttons to the pattern because I want to make each special for them.

Feels good to go forward on my stitching goals. I feel a sense of great accomplishment as I see each letter completed. My true hope is that the recipients of these pieces feel the love that went into each stitch and may it provide support in the difficult times that lie ahead.

Still stitching .......