March 5, 2023

SAL Update

I worked on J’s Christmas stocking a bit this time. This is where I was last time:

And this is where I am now:

Not a lot of progress but some. If I work on it a little bit every day for the next three weeks, the stitching should be done. Then the back stitching. Keep your fingers crossed!

The other stitchers taking part in this SAL are linked below. If you have time, please stop by their blogs and see what they’ve been doing.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen,

Connie, Cindy, MaryMargaret

January 22, 2023

SAL Update

Not a lot to report this time. After the last big rain here we discovered water on the floor of our sunroom (my studio) and when we pulled some of the cabinets away from the wall, we discovered mold. UGH! I’ve been packing up my studio trying to figure out what I will need in the immediate and what I won’t. HINT: I’ve already packed away some things that I needed! It’s very slow going and always with the use of a mask.

This is where I was the last time:

And this is where I am now:

I managed to get a little more done on the bottom part of the stocking and although I took a picture of the top part, I realize that there is nothing new up there.

At first I was so bummed (I still am) but now I’m trying to look at this as an opportunity. None of the personal items are affected and for this I am truly grateful. In going through all the cabinets (yes, the whole room has to be emptied) I am taking time to organize (in boxes) and then give away things I’m not going to use. Today we have to take an entire wall of 8 foot cabinets off of the wall and move them – I’m not excited.

I know the others who take part in this SAL will lots of lovely things to look at!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen,

Connie, Cindy, MaryMargaret

January 1, 2023

Happy New Year and SAL Update

Happy New Year everyone! We have had a lovely vacation with the whole family. We left on 12/24 and stayed at a beautiful cabin in Tahoe – 10 of us for 9 days!! We head home today. There is no better way to spend the holidays than with family.

Now for the SAL update. There was quite a bit done this month. This is where I was last time:

And here is where I am now:

Santa’s face, beard, hands, cuffs and part of his jacket.

I hope your holidays were fun and relaxing! Here’s to a very stitchy New Year!

This SAL is hosted by AVIS and is not like other SALs in that we are not all stitching on the same project. Instead we work on a project of our choice and post about our progress once every three weeks. I really like this kind of SAL and am so grateful to be a part of this wonderful group of stitchers. If you get a chance, please check out their stitching.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy,

AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, MaryMargaret

December 11, 2022

December SAL Update

I am so happy to be working on this project. It seems to be coming along nicely, I guess that’s what happens when it’s worked on regularly! Here is where I was at the last update:

And this is where I am now:

Since the canvas is painted, it’s pretty hard to tell what has been done.

The entire tree has been done (sans some of the ornaments), the fireplace, parts of the stockings and some of Santa.

The cat has been started and some more has been added to the presents. I might not get as much done in the next three weeks because of the holidays and family in town, but I’m still going to try to work on it most days.

The people in this group are what make this SAL so fun. We get to choose our project and then show our progress every three weeks. It’s super fun to see what everyone has been up to. If you get a chance, take a look at the others participants:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen,

Connie, Cindy, MaryMargaret

November 20, 2022

Oct SAL Update

I’m excited about this update because I worked on the Christmas stocking!

This is where I was the last time I updated. I have worked on this for about an hour everyday for the last three weeks and this is where I am now:

The painted canvas makes it very hard to see the progress in a picture. The top portion of the stocking is done.

I think it’s a little clearer in this photo. It took me a little bit to get used to the “tent” (?) (half cross stitch). The dragging of the thread on the back to make sure everything is covered is also new to me.

Left side closeup

Right side closeup.

It’s really fun to see how much progress can be made in just three weeks. Providing I actually work on it!!

Please stop by and see what the other stitchers in this SAL are working on:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy,

AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, MaryMargaret

September 18, 2022

September SAL Update

I’m excited that I have made a decision on my next big project for the stitch-a-long! I waffled back and forth between several projects. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to start something else big or do a few small ones first. Well… I finally decided on this,

This is the kit I bought for my youngest child (now 17 years old!). It also marks the last of the stockings for my kids (I still have to do one for my husband).

This will be a change for me as this is needlepoint. I have played around with needlepoint here and there. I’ve never tackled anything this big before, but I’m actually excited to do it.

I dove right in. It appears to be going pretty quickly. This represents about an hour of work.

This SAL that I am a part of is so wonderful. The stitchers involved are so talented and supportive. We post once every three on a project of our choosing. If you have a moment, please take a look at what the rest of our group has been up to:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny,

Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, MaryMargaret

January 26, 2022

Crochet Cabled Beanie

This pattern, Braided Cable Beanie Crochet Pattern, was a super fun and would have been a quick crochet if I had read the pattern correctly and followed the video on YouTube.

The above photo is the way it SHOULD look. The first time through, I made an error on row 4 (this is a 4 row repeat) so all my cables went the same way instead of crossing over each other. I ripped down to the brim and restarted and all was well.

He picked the pattern and the yarn and is totally thrilled with it. This pattern was a little bit of a stretch for me. While I can crochet, I have never done cables in crochet (knitted cables, yes) but the pattern was well written and being able to follow along with her video was great. My son is in the process of picking another pattern – I can’t wait to see what it will be.

February 16, 2019

14 years

Our youngest recently turned 14!

How did this happen? He will be in high school next year!

Lemon cakes with lemon frosting. His favorite!

February 9, 2015

That darn rat!

My youngest son has a rat as a pet. Ratatouille is really quite a nice little pet. He enjoys riding around on my son’s shoulders and loves to eat cheese from my hand. His only drawback is that anything that comes into contact with the bars on his cage is chewed into nothingness.

The biggest of the holes.

One morning, he took off his robe and instead of putting it away, he just threw in down. Obviously, it came too close to the rat cage!

Measuring fabric.

It took me quite awhile to find fabric that would match. This fabric doesn’t match exactly, but it’s really close. Since the holes were so big and numerous, I cut a panel of fabric that would be sewn to the inside of the robe and cover all of the holes.