Oct 14, 2024

Oct 14th Monday Update - Finish to Report

 Hello readers from a finally cold Indiana. We might get our first freeze this week. Cold and wonderful outside. Still need lots and lots of rain though. So let's see what I stitched last week and as the title says What I finished?!

Every day this week I got my 100 a day on Halloween Sampler by Les Petites Croix De Lucie (I have to cut and paste that every single time haha). Wednesday I snuck in 1 extra stitch but that's okay still my 100  a day. So 701 added haha.


Monday and Tuesday I worked on Owe Them All by Erica Michaels. Monday I added 313 tent stitches. Tuesday I added 305 tent stitches. That was the final stitches!!!

Finish #27 October 8th
Owe Them All
by Erica Michaels
Fabric 40ct Silk Gauze
Threads Suggested Weeks Dye Works
Started Aug 5th. Took 10 Days.
Total 3,387 Stitches.

I actually took this one to be framed at my LNS in Fort Wayne because it deserves to be displayed with the justice it deserves. The gentleman was so happy to frame it. He's never saw a silk gauze piece in person. We picked a dark blue mat and a beautiful dark red frame. Can't wait to have it back.

Wednesday I spun my Tiny Decisions app for my next acrostic letter for the month and got I from Hayride which was Irish Blessing from Herrschners I added 301 and finished the words...

Thursday's spin next up was A from Hayride and that is Autumn Line Up by The Trilogy...

Thursday I added 208 and Friday I kept it out and added 468 so 676 total...

Saturday I spun Letter H for Halloween Quaker by Primrose Cottage. I added 344 Saturday and 200 Sunday for 544 total...

So October so far I've stitched 5,639 stitches. Having a blast on my lovely projects.

Saturday I went up to my local LNS. Took Owe Them All and the Seasonal Gnomes from Soda Stitch that I finished last year to get framed. I will get the gnomes on a frame that I can just switch out the seasons into one frame. I haven't took any projects to get framed in years so it was nice to treat some special again. I also found a pattern I couldn't live without...

Halloween Chez Les Gnomes by Jardin Prive. It started with me saying to my "friends" tell me I don't need that project over there. Then my one "friend" showed me the fabric to stitch it on was in stock so I of course needed it. Then she so nicely pointed out another one on the back...

OMG too cute. When I went online to see it I noticed a few others. What a jerk my friends are haha. Just such cute patterns though!!! I've never stitched a Jardin Prive so great another rabbit hole to go down.

After the stitching time we started working on all the getting ready for winter projects. The shower house is finally done just in time for the first freeze. Sunday we got our deck all closed in for winter. I will get some pictures soon to share. We finished at dark last night and didn't get to clean up properly.

Jeremiah is off on an adventure tonight. Dad and Bev want to take him gambling again tomorrow haha. So he is going over to their house to spend the night so he be ready to leave in the morning. He is looking forward to it. I am worried about Bev. She was slurring her words a lot Saturday and very sleepy Sunday but they want to do some stuff and boy I don't blame them at all. Just definitely worried about her.

Plans. Stitch haha. Friday we leave to go up to Detroit Michigan area for my friend's wedding. I have my script wrote up and we have our outfits. I'm nervous and yet honored and honestly just want it over with haha. But at least we get a nice road trip and hotel stay for the weekend. I am going to take my daily piece and I should be able to work it in between times I need to be on hand for the event.

Have a wonderful week. Find what makes you smile. Love yourself.

Oct 7, 2024

Oct 7th Monday Update

 Welcome to October. Tuesday was the first. Let's see what I've been up to this week.

Just two projects all week. First one I've been working on Halloween Sampler by Les Petites Croix De Lucie every day for 100 stitches. I really enjoy doing a project like this. It's fun watching it grow day by day...

I'm using 40ct White Evenweave a friend gave me. I am doing 2 threads over 2 because I love the thick coverage and there are 3 different blends in this design. The H is backstitched and finished. Moved onto the A. Slowly but really fun to watch it change each day. I've hit exactly 100 each day.

Then I did a Tiny Decision Spin Tuesday and Owe Them All by Erica Michaels was picked. I worked on it for a few days then decided I wanted to finish it before putting it down. The background fill in is taking FOREVER but I just can't put it down so close...

Here it was at Day 2...

Here it goes for the week...

According to my notes I've added 2,199 stitches to this. WOW! I knew it was a lot. Plus the way the games count them it's 2 stitches for every 1 because it's tent stitching (just half the normal stitch) so it's really over 4,000!!! Just the top background and there is a small white line that goes through the border lines I haven't added. I really hope it's finished soon haha. 

We had a busy weekend. Saturday we went to Fred's Cigar bar he's a member at in a city nearby. They did a BBQ charity event last year and decided to make it a yearly event. This year it definitely grew a lot. They had 350 people come through the check in. Fred's company donated $350 so we got our tickets free. Which was very nice. They also had a lot more food this year. So we were so miserable haha. The winner of the BBQ showdown won $500 and they said without adding things up they knew they already made over $10 thousand for the charity. They do Christmas presents for families in need. The one really thing I like is they don't do any electronics but they add a game like a card or board game to encourage the family to play together. I love that idea. Last year they helped 112 families so I can't wait to hear what they did this year.

Sunday we got some winter prep done. We moved our winter shower house into position so we will have water for showers and dishes all winter.

Spike had fun swimming in the pond while it was still warm and went mouse hunting in the shower house for the one that didn't jump out when we moved it...

I am so happy that cooler weather is finally here. Our AC has been off and the windows open. Even had to put long pants on a few times already. Finally!! Now if only we could get rain and stop this drought we're having. I forgot the last number I'm pretty sure we are like 6 or more inches down from where we should be. I know the pond is sad to see how low it's getting. 

So plans for this week. Do my 100 a day on the Halloween Sampler. Finish that Owe Them All....hopefully haha. Have a great week. Love yourself. Smile as often as possible.

Sep 30, 2024

Sept 30th Monday Update - Sept and Oct Goals

 Last week of September so wrapping up Sept challenges. Let's see what I worked on...

Monday ABCingo in Monthly Magazine Challenge FB group was still going for 3 more calls. Letter R was picked for Monday. I had just started Autumn Line Up by The Trilogy and Sunday and it was still really calling me. So I stretched the R.....I am Really Ready for Fall to be here.....works haha.

Added 405 and was really happy with my progress for the day and it could go away for a bit.

Tuesday Letter T was picked so I pulled out The Mandalorian by Forbidden Fiber Co again. Got a wonderful 689 because the letters go fast since it's just one thread color...

Wednesday the last letter called was L which worked great because the last acrostic goal I had was Luck of the Irish. So two goals one project...

My goal was 200 so after adding 203 I put it away. Just added some background for the banner this time around. There was a popup bonus for a birthday. We were supposed to talk about a favorite WIP and explain why we liked it. You got points for stitching 250 stitches on it by the deadline Friday. If she picked yours as one of the top 3 WIPs you got extra points. I was really happy to see she picked mine as one of her favorites so I got max points for my team. I'm not surprised though because I used Yggdrasil from Paine Free Crafts and she has very similar tastes to me when it comes to these types of designs.

Finally finally getting close to finished with that upper left corner block...

I added 284 this time for Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday I decided to pick up my monthly planned new start Mini Block Freedom by Hinzeit. I only had the first 3 outlines done and I had the goal of finishing before the end of the month. Last night I put the last stitches in...

I put in 421 Friday and 326 Sunday. I didn't attach the charms yet because I want to get some invisible thread for that. I attached the last ones with white and don't like the way it looks. I would love to finish these two up sometime. I'm hoping to drag my sewing machine stuff all here for a few days and finish a bunch of stuff. Maybe in November. 

I also have some haul to report. There is a FB lady who buys lots of charts from stitching stores and resells them at a discount. She has a FB group called The Vintage Stitcher Shop Destash. She also has a flosstube. Anyway she had some charts available I couldn't pass up...

3 new to me Erica Michael patriotic charts and the Bee Different I fell in love with. When I looked at it after receiving I was surprised to see it's stitched on a Fabric Flair that has the beehive design on it. So that will be fun to stitch up. I just love the Bee Different idea. We sure believe in that motto.

Saturday we had a busy day so no stitching. Visited with family here and planted a new tree in Grandpa's honor that family friends gifted us. Then we went to a larger nearby town to do some errands. First we wanted to eat out a nice meal to celebrate 1 year since turning in the keys to our old house. Crazy to think it's been a year already. We ate at Olive Garden one of mom's favorite restaurants. Then we went shopping. We are attending a fancy wedding in October....I'm actually doing the officiating. So this Walmart girl needed a nice outfit. We found Jeremiah a nice undershirt and button up shirt at Burlington. Then we ran into the mall to check out Torrid. I love Torrid always have but WOW the prices always stopped me. There was a girl working and I said Please help me. She was so sweet and had a blast picking things out for me. She even one time screamed okay I love you because I was willing to try anything to look nice. They had a spot for the boys to sit. I put an outfit on and walked out laughing. Nope. I put another outfit on and honestly felt pretty. Everyone complimented me even others shopping. I tried on some other stuff with quick nopes even tried on a dress haha. Nope! So I went back to the outfit we all like and Fred said you could just tell it made me happy. I held myself high. Then she picked out a pair of shoes with a HUGE heel. HAHA nope!! But she got a lower heal and I tried it. They made me stand tall. So I grumbled at the prices and bought the outfit. It was worth it to feel extra pretty for that day. When I done checking out I asked the lady for a hug and we both started crying. I don't do pretty and boy she knew just what to do to help me out. I would definitely shop with them again. Well when I can afford it haha.

September goals were all met...

October starts tomorrow. My favorite month. My decorations are already out I just couldn't wait any longer. Spooky shows and movies galore. I joined a million challenges again haha...


I decided to do 100 a day for a fun challenge on this one...

Halloween Sampler by Les Petites Croix De Lucie. I'm doing it on 40ct White. 1 thread over 2 I think. I'll find out tomorrow haha.

Then I have a 2nd acrostic again. This new to me group Fun with Cross Stitch has a Scattergories challenge too I'm checking out. The acrostics this year are all US Capitals looks like and they also have a Aussie Capital Cities acrostic. I didn't think I needed another one though haha. I do love the acrostic type of challenges. I've stepped away from a few though. I don't want too much. Just enough to drive me crazy is enough haha. My monthly planned start for October is another Erica Michaels...

Heart & Compass is the name of this one. I have really enjoyed getting some of these charts that have long set in my stash started and I really think I will make sure to start at least one a month next year as well. What I need.....more WIPs hahaha. 

Anyway I'm off to get stuff done. Thanks for reading my rambling.