Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

God bless you,

Cari

I'm Free!

(no, not from jail!) No more work or homework! I am on vacation for 10 whole days AND I completed my 5^th and final class of the semester yesterday, hooray!

My last assignment was a 5,000 word paper, due at midnight on Friday (I turned it in at 11:23 p.m.). So I sat at in front of my computer all Thursday evening and all yesterday, except for a quick break to meet friends for lunch. Around 4:30 I looked up from my computer screen to see the sky and the ground awash in white – what a beautiful sight it was. This morning this is what my neighborhood looks like…

It is a rare thing for us to get this much snow in Virginia and even rarer that it sticks for any length of time. It’s perfect for sledding and we have some awesome hills nearby. I got so excited at the thought that I called a friend and tried to make a sledding date until she quickly reminded me that – DUH, I have a fractured knee – in my frenzy over all the snow, I completely forgot (it’s ok, you can laugh at me – she did).

Here is my progress on my current A&E

Be Ye To Others

Hillside Samplings

40ct Norden Cream

Mixture of DMC & Silks

Awhile ago, someone had asked me to share some more photos of my old house. My living room ‘looked’ so clean this morning that I thought I would snap a few pics.

The two dog pictures are actually paint-by-number that my mother painted as a child. And the little arm peaking up from behind the couch is my stitching lamp.

I can't thank each of you enough for all the wonderful well wishes ~ only 4 more weeks in this brace but, it affords me lots of stitching time.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cari

Good News: I didn't break anything

Bad News: I fractured my knee cap

Good News: It is my left leg, so I can still drive

Bad News: I have to wear this blasted contraption for FIVE WEEKS

It was a rainy Saturday and I had a full day of fun events. I came home from the cookie exchange at church rushed in the house to change and head back out to a luncheon. So, all dressed up in my heels and sparkly Christmas sweater I headed into the garage - failing to see the nice rain puddle that had slid off my car on to the tile floor - lost my footing and came down on my left knee. Below is the scene of the crime. Half the garage is for my car the other half is a workspace. The wrapped post? Funny you should ask - I took a foam egg crate and wrapped it around the beam and then covered it in plastic so that "WHEN" I hit the post it would keep the car safe. For the record, it has been 10 yrs and I have not hit the post!

While my injury has put a crimp in my Christmas spirit, my stitching is coming right along. The first 2 days I hurt to bad to even stitch - ever felt that way? Below is my progress on on "Be Ye To Others" See the lovely, very time consuming over one lettering - I'm off a whole square and have to finish ripping it out - boohiss! Ripping it out is even more time consuming than stitching it! The empty space under the border is for 5 sets of initials. I thought about this for awhile and decided to use the initials of my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great, and great x3. I called my aunt and she pulled out the genealogy she is working on and read thru names for me. I learned a couple of things about my ancestors a.) they were not creative and/or b.) they were patriotic - here are some of my relatives names - Christopher Columbus Johnson, Daniel Boone Johnson, George Washington White, America Johnson, Atlanta Georgia Johnson. I can just imagine the teasing these poor people received when they were kids.

Be Ye To Others
Hillside Samplings
40 ct Norden Cream
Mix of DMC & Silk

Every morning Smokie keeps me company as I curl my hair and put on my makeup but as soon as she hears the pop and hiss of the radiator, she races down the stairs and this is where I find her as I am leaving each morning.

She was not to happy to be disturbed from her morning nap

.My house was built in 1895 hence the radiators. They get so hot that you can't touch them and I was concerned that her laying on them might harm her. So on my next visit to our vet, I asked him just that - oddly he had a coughing fit (I swear it sounded like laughter) before answering "No, the radiator will not cook your cat"

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by, I really enjoy hearing from each of you!

Cari

Only 14 days 'til Christmas...

Giving Thanks

for a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family. My nieces ~ Abby & Ana

 

As I type this, I have been asking myself why I have no pictures of my very handsome nephew or of my brother - but they were there as well. We ate lots of good food and played lots of games - Sequence, Canasta, and I leaned how to play Nertz, which is a great game!
Below is my progress on "Be Ye To Others". Ignore the strings to the side. When I work with a pattern that is done in pages, I tend to finish a page before moving to the next and instead of ending the thread, I just pull it to the side - what do you guys do?

Be Ye To Others
Hillside Samplings
40ct Norden Cream
Mix of Silk & DMC

The best for last...
Melissa of Words and Blooms graciously honored me with this award ~ my very first and it couldn't have come from a more delightful lady ~ thank you Melissa!

Don't forget to check out my updated Trade Blog and Mary Kay Sale.
Happy Stitching.

Cari

Stash Reduction Sale

I have updated my Trade Blog.

I am also offering my Annual Mary Kay Inventory Reduction Sale

on my blog - this will only be up for 10 days and only while supplies last - have fun shopping!

Cari

Loss of Identity..

I've lost my wallpaper and can't figure how to get it back - the label is still in the corner "hotbiggityblock" laying claim to their design but, it's gone. I've emailed them to no avail AND I even tried to download other wallpaper from other sites all I get is this white screen. It's like being naked in front of the whole world - HELP - anybody have any suggestions? (thanks to everyone for their help - my blog is back to it's usual self ~ well, it's Christmasy-self)

Thanksgiving is in 3 days - can you believe it? Where has the time gone? I am headed to Columbia, SC to spend time with my brother and his family. I actually have four brothers - yep, FOUR! Looking back, I have no idea how my mother survived raising all of us (she stayed home while my dad worked). Me, I was the good child usually curled up in a chair somewhere with my nose in a book, but my brothers - hellions, mischievous kids always in to trouble or creating trouble. I am still hearing stories of things my brothers did that I never knew about. Jasonn was the brains of the group - always coming up with the next daredevil idea; David he was the quintessential daredevil - he'd do anything you told him to; Shawn was the actor - he was good at pretending to be the innocent or the injured party. I remember one time he really made me mad and I was yelling at him - mom came around the corner and the kid dropped to the ground and started crying and saying "why did you hit me? Oh, it hurts" - I was grounded for the weekend. Bobby was the baby and he too would do whatever he was told because he wanted to be included with the 'big boys'. Now we are all grown up, have families of our own, and live in 5 different states.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I stitched up Paulette's cute little turkey "bok bok" - though I left off the words. Isn't he just the cutest thing!

bok bok

Plum Street Sampler

misc fabric & DMC

I also stitch SB Scaredy Sheep - I stitched this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to post it - it was a fun, quick stitch.

Scaredy Sheep Kit
Shepherd's Bush

And lastly, my meager update on my current A&E. This is going to be a gorgeous sampler - the colors are just beautiful and the 40ct fabric makes a huge difference in the look. I can't wait to start stitching the house - I should have lots of time at while visiting my brother.

Be Ye To Others
Hillside Samplings
40ct Norden Cream
Mixture of silks & dmc

I am off to catch up on all my favorite blogs - I wasn't on the computer this weekend and can't wait to see what you all have been up to.
I pray that you and your family have a happy Thanksgiving.

Cari

Rain, rain...

go away and come again another day. The remnants of Ida have been lingering since Tuesday with no end in sight. My trusty umbrella has proved to be useless as the wind continues to blow it inside out - so, I arrive to work each morning looking like a drown cat.

I finished another class this week - hooray. Only 3 to go and only 5 more weeks of school. Then I plan to spend my free time stitching, stitching, stitching. I even plan to pay someone to clean my house as a reward for getting thru this semester . I have lots of new stash....

PSS In Paradise (yes, I caved - I just had to have it), SB Spooky, some new threads

Just Nan Christmas Cheer, SP Jenny Bean Ornament, Glorianna and OWS Floss, and some fabric.

I also won a couple of things from ebay - I just love Sheepish Designs!

Simple Guidance, Pear Orchard Farm, Pray For Me, My Favorite Things

And these, they are just the most hysterical pair of scissors I have ever seen and had to have them...

1978 Wonder Woman Scissors

I finished A&E - This was a fun, quick stitch. I felt a little weird cross stitching nipples on Adam, I am definitely thankful for leaves.


and started another small - can I just say (again) that I am tired of working on smalls and want to get my hands on a big ole sampler - but every time I kit something up, I find that I am missing this or that - very frustrating, but my own fault. This is an adorable little project by Paulette - she has it on her site as a complimentary pattern.

bok, bok by PSS

While taking pictures this morning, I was removing price tags and decided to give one to Smokie -she was none to pleased...

Well, I started this post 6 days ago - since then,

· the sun has come out. In fact, it was 75 Saturday and Sunday, a beautiful weekend!

· I finished another small - pics later

· AND, I went thru all my stash 'til I found one big project that I actually had all the parts
to and started it. I am so very happy to have a something substantial to work on and
even better, it is an A&E!

Be Ye To Others - Hillside Samplings #78
40 ct. Norden Cream
Mixture of Silks & DMC

Lastly, the winner of last week's contest is...Robin! Congratulations Robin!

Happy Stitching!

Cari

My Stitching Progress

It's Thursday - hooray! My friend and I decided to meet at 5:45 a.m. to go running. Well, I woke up and couldn't find the clock so I grabbed my Zune and clicked time only to discover it was 5:40 - I raced out of bed, got dressed and headed down the stairs when it hit me... I never changed the time on my Zune. I couldn't believe it was only 4:45 in the morning - needless to say, I went back to bed - fully clothed (no use getting dressed twice) and slept for another hour. It is so nice to have my exercise completed before work and watching the sunrise was beautiful.

I finished Needles & Pins this past weekend - I really like this one and plan to send it to Deb for her to make into a door hanger - it will look perfect in our guest bedroom, affectionately known as the Pink Room.

Needles & Pins (kit)

Milady's Needle

I started an A&E that I found on ebay - I decided to stitch it on 28 ct. Lambswool 1 over 1. This meant that I had to make some adjustments. The pattern calls for a chain stitch to make the apples and for the middle of the sun - I opted for Algerian stitches and love the look. I don't care for the butterfly above Eve's head and may take it out. Hopefully I will finish this one this week . As much as I love how quickly I can finish these small projects, I really, really want to get my hands on a big project. Sarah Woodham 40 ct is on backorder so I picked up Elizabeth Savilles but had to order the Olde Willow thread - I may just have to resort to picking up a WIP (poor me).

Adam & Eve
Snippets of Olde
28 ct Lambswool 1 over 1
DMC Thread

I ordered my fibers for Sarah Woodham and Joyeux Noel and a new pair of scissors - The Love Scissors by Kelmscott (thanks Jan).

Belle Soie, Crescent Colours
The Love Scissors by Kelmscott

Lastly, I completed my 50th Post and thought it was a good excuse to have a GIVEAWAY. The chart is Blessings & Kind Wishes by Blackbird Designs and it includes the suggested fabric. Just leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite fabric and fibers are. No need to post it on your blog as I would prefer the prize to go to a regular visitor.

Enjoy your day & happy stitching!

Cari

The Colors of Fall

Saturday, my husband and I took a drive on the parkway. I love to go in the Fall when the leaves are changing - the colors are always spectacular. This year we went really late but it was still beautiful. We stopped for an early dinner at Chateau Morrisette. It's a winery and they have an amazing restaurant. It's located at the top of the mountain and you can sit outside and enjoy the beautiful view while eating a spectacular meal. Sadly, it was rainy and foggy when we arrived, so we enjoyed our meal indoors.

Our view along the Blue Ridge Parkway...

Chateau Morrisette
My Husband

We arrived home too late to hand out candy, plus it was raining. So we opted to rent some movies. We just discovered these great 'red boxes' - has anyone else found these? Movies are only a dollar BUT, you have to return them the next day. We rented "The Proposal" -Sandra Bullock is just too funny. We also got "Australia" - another great movie. I got lots of stitching in both on our drive and watching movies (pics later). These boxes are a great idea - whoever invented them is a genius! It occurs to me that some of you are probably laughing at me as these boxes have probably been around for along time and just because I just found them doesn't mean they are brand new - oh well.

Catherine asked about the Chocolate-Covered Cherries pattern it was designed by Casey Buonaugurio - she has several freebies available.

Happy Stitching!

Cari

Thanks Deb,

for these beautiful finishes!

Twisted Oak Threads

(I don't recall the name

and I'm too tired to go look for it)

Lizzie Kate

Spooky Patch

Free Design

Casey Buonaugurio

Chocolate-covered Cherries

Free Design

Deb @ Artistic Needle

Monday, Monday...

Isn't that a song? I confess, I am music-illiterate - I usually have my Zune playing 24-7 but I listen to books, not music. I am currently listening to "Consent To Kill" by Vince Flynn - he is a fantastic author and one of the writers for "24".

I had such a good weekend, I'm sad that it ended so quickly. I finished A Bird In Hand - it was a quick stitch and I will package it up today and send it off to Deb for finishing. If you are interested in the chart let me know and I will be happy to pass it on.

A Bird In Hand

La D Da

Recommended Fabric & Fiber

On Saturday, my friend had a jewelry show at her house - her sister-in-law makes the most amazing jewelry. After much deliberation, I decided on this black & white necklace.

Necklace designed and created by Paige Weaver

My new project is crocheting baby afghans. I have three friends that are expecting - two are due in January and the third is due in March. Each blanket will be white and then bordered in pink or blue. I enjoy crocheting but prefer to spend my time cross stitching.

My precious little cousin turned 3 this past week ~ Happy Birthday, Sarah!

I hope you each have a wonderful week full of stitching time.

Cari

Accomplishments

1. I finished my mid-term
2. I finished my final exam (different class then above)
3. Bathrooms cleaned
4. In the Garden completed

5. Our Ladies Night Out went very well. My friend and I organize a Ladies night at church 3-4 times a year. We are blessed in that we have this lovely stone cottage on the church property. It's a very homey, comfortable place to meet. We always a fun, relaxing evening. There is no agenda - everyone brings their favorite appetizer or dessert and we just have an evening of fellowship. Somehow our topic strayed to our local 'flasher' - there have been 83 sightings in the past week - he must be a busy guy (or maybe it's that he's not busy). Who does such a thing and why??? I have never laughed so hard as we all gave our opinion and what we might do if we had the misfortune of running into him . I have to wonder why the police haven't caught him with 83 sightings!

In the Garden Kit
Milady's Needle

I am still waiting for my fabric to arrive for Sarah, so I am working on my small projects that I purchased from Market. The picture below is of the new LaDDa kit - the color is a little off, the fabric is dark but a little more on the gold side. Not sure if I like it yet, but I am going to keep going.

A Bird In Hand Kit
La D Da

Well, that's all folks - nothing new or exciting in my little corner of the world. Enjoy your week and thanks for all the wonderful comments!

Cari

Two finishes and a WIP

Monday's they always arrive entirely too quickly - especially after stitching a little too late into the evening.

I can't complain as I had a wonderful, long weekend. Thursday and Friday were Fall Break at the university so I was able to leave early both days and enjoy the beautiful weather we are having. When I left on Thursday, I was so excited as it meant I could go running - I usually get off work at 5 and have a Bible Study that starts at 5:30 - so I rushed home to enjoy some time outside. In my excitement, I was speeding along (literally) and passing all the slow people (ie. going the speed limit) and I turn on to my street which goes from two lanes to one lane and just felt the need to pass everyone before it became one lane - well, up ahead was a police officer. So, I nonchalantly slid back into the slow lane and casually passed the cop...

he pulled out behind me!

Well, I decided I was long over due for a ticket and really deserved this one, so before he could turn his sirens on I just pulled over, got out my license, and rolled down the window. He took my license and said "Do you know why I stopped you" and I replied "Yes, I was speeding" and he started talking before I finished "I stopped you because you were... speeding? he said it in a tone of bewilderment. Then he asked me how I knew he was going to pull me over as he had not turned on his lights - I said "because I was speeding, I was so excited to have a half day off, I just wanted to get home" He told me to stay in my car and started to walk away but I stopped him as he forgot to ask for my registration - he said he didn't need it as I was being honest. (So, was he just going to assume I didn't steal the car?)

The officer was gone mere seconds when he returned and handed me my license and told me he was not going to give me a ticket - my turn to be completely bewildered. He said because I was so honest he was going to let me go - can you believe that? I was so shocked and humbled because I truly deserved the ticket.

I had a wonderful "stitching" weekend! I spent time organizing my floss (it was a mess), kitting up my new projects, and then stitching!

Just out of curiosity, is there any reason not to wind my NPI on the paper bobbins/winders?

I finished the Learning Girl Sampler last week - finally, a picture - the 3rd one is the true color!

The Learning Girl Sampler

I worked on one of my new Shakespeare's Peddler kits. It would have gone a lot of faster if I had not made so many errors! Plus, some of the floss is really close in color - and why don't they label it????

Count Your Blessings
Shakespeare's Peddler
Recommended Fiber & Fabric

And lastly, I started on this sweet little A&E - It's a fun project!

In the Garden
Milady's Needle
Recommended Fabric & Thread

I don't know what I will have time for this week - tons and tons of homework! Thankfully, another weekend is just around the corner.

Cari