Great Giveaway - Brandon's Homecoming Celebration!

Check out this great giveaway!  Enter thru April 5th. 

Happy Stitching!

Vicki in CO

The Week in Review

SPRING IN COLORADO

View of our back yard on Tuesday evening about 9 pm:

Before 5 pm on Tuesday, there was not a speck of snow in our yard.  This storm dumped at least 7" in a few hours.  Another winter storm predicted for tomorrow night and into Saturday.  We are now at a snow total of 61.4" so far this year.  An 'average' snow total for winter for our area is 32.6".  We have defiinitely had a banner year for snow this year.  Oh joy. 

Our house is supposed to be re-shingled on Saturday morning.  Maybe next week sometime?  It's supposed to be close to the 70's then.

VISIT WITH OUR SON

We had a very nice visit with our son--we left home last Thursday about noon and returned home on Monday about noon.  We forgot this past weekend was March Madness, which meant DH and DS spent a good deal of the time we were at his house doing some serious male bonding watching basketball and hockey on TV. 

That wasn't ALL bad though, it gave me plenty of stitching time.  I listened to the first in the 'Outlander' series on my IPOD and was a happy camper overall.  Of course, the visit meant I made a big batch of chocolate chip cookies for DS (his very favorite). 

LOTS OF STITCHING UPDATES

Bride's Tree SAL - March Finish!

First up is my completed March ornament for the Bride's Tree SAL. I stitched this design on the way to DS's and did the finishing today after work. The background in the photo is the fabric I used on the back of the ornment.

14 ct white AIDA

DMC Floss

Design from free booklet

with Cross Stitch Crazy magazine 

LHN Ornament SAL

I am STILL trying to finish Fa-La-La, the first in this new LHN series.  I tried to work on it at DS's but found myself frogging more than I was stitching, so finally gave up on it for the moment!  That 30 ct linen and I do NOT seem to get along!

Bouquet for Cheryl SAL

This is the project I stitched on the majority of the time we were at our DS's.  I am very close to being half finished now--woo hoo!   

 

Everyone Needs Their Own Space

This one is still my current obsession, but I did NOT take it to DS's, so I haven't stitched on it a great deal this past week.  But, some progress to show from my previous post about it.  I just adore this one!!

HAED Dragon Luck SK SAL

After struggling with doing this one 2 over 1, I finally gave up and frogged the entire thing.  I've started over doing 1 over 1 and it is going SO much better!  This time I started in the center of the design, rather than the top left corner.  Not a tremendous amount of progress to show as of yet, but it's a new start. 

BLOG AWARDS

I received a blog award from Evalina and also from Mare, but will wait to post about that next time.  Thank you both so much for thinking of me!!

GIVEAWAY WIN!

I was the lucky winner of a giveaway that Evalina had on her blog to celebrate her 20th anniversary of living in North America.  The prize was a $20 gift certificate from your favorite ONS; of course I chose 123 Stitch.  I've not decided yet how to spend it; I want the purchase to be something I REALLY want!  Thanks SO much Evalina!!

That's it for this time. 

Happy Stitching!

Vicki in CO

Lots of Stitching

In looking back at my recent blog entries, I see I've actually accomplished a bit of stitching I haven't posted.  No new finishes, but some progress.  :) 

KUSTOM KRAFTS - EVERYONE NEEDS THEIR OWN SPACE

This one is my current obsession!  I can't wait to get home from work every day to stitch on this!  The new Needlework System 4 floor stand is definitely helping me with the progress.  Here's how it looks as of last night:

I can just see the beginning of the basket handle; can't WAIT till I get to the kitty at the bottom of the design!  What a fun stitch this is!!

KUSTOM KRAFTS SAL - NAPTIME DRAGON

I fear, stitching on the project above has made me seriously neglect this one, altho I do have a tiny bit of progress to show:

Here's what this one will look like when it's finished:

I've just barely made a start on the top left flower.  I love the bright colors in this design.

LHN - Fa-La-La (ORNAMENT SAL)

I would really like to have this one finished up by the end of the month; we'll see how it goes.  I haven't even finished the first ornament in this new series, while lots of the SAL participants have finished at least the first three.  I'm a slug!

BOUQUET FOR CHERYL SAL

I'm on vacation for the next few days (yeah!) and am thinking I may concentrate on this one.  I do have progress to show since I posted this one last though:

OAKHAVEN 2010 MONTHS SAL

I completed March a couple weeks ago but never posted it:

TUSAL AS OF MARCH 15

Last but not least, it's time once again to post progress on my TUSAL (Totally Useless SAL).  You can find the link in the sidebar for more info on this SAL. 

That's about it for now from my little spot in Colorado.  My tulips and daffodils are coming up; weather prediction is for close to 70 tomorrow!  BUT, rain/snow predicted for Thursday evening and into Friday/Saturday....that's springtime in Colorado.  Can you believe March is generally our snowiest month of the year?!  I sure hope that isn't the case for the second half of the month...we haven't had much here so far.

Happy Stitching!

Vicki in CO

Overdue Update

The Olympics had me totally engrossed...every minute I wasn't at work, I was watching the Olympics!  Boy, did that hurt when my alarm went off at 6:00 am!  I think I'm about caught up on my sleep now.  I sure did enjoy watching all of those athletes compete; regardless of the country they were representing.  Altho I admit, it was great to see the U.S. win so many medals. 

STITCHING OBSESSION

Okay, I admit, I'm already obsessed with cross stitch.  However, the past couple of weeks my stitching has taken a decidedly strange turn.  While I have several projects underway, and generally rotate between them, I've found myself completely engrossed in one particular project...a long-time UFO that I started stitching again for two reasons:

1. Tuesday UFO night on ILCS list
2. UFO stitching on Kustom Krafts list

This project just happens to be one of Dyan Allaire's designs (Kustom Krafts).  It's called "Everyone Needs Their Own Space."  Since I started stitching on it again in January of this year, I've found myself wanting to work on it instead of anything else, and that's exactly what I've done the past couple weeks.  I am astonished with the progress I've made on this in a month!

As of 3-7-10

As of 2-9-10

It may not look like a lot of progress to you, but considering my stitching time is limited to a little while in evenings after work and the time I can find on weekends, I'm really excited at the way this design is coming to life!  Not to mention, I absolutely love the ease of reading the KK chart and the beautiful colors in the design.

NEEDLEWORK SYSTEM 4

Oh yes, I know I said I'd talk about the Needlework System 4.  I AM now the proud owner of this awesome stand and couldn't be happier!  It is absolutely THE best thing invented for stitching since the needle!  It is adjustable to just the right height for my eyesight.  The KK project is on scroll rods on the stand, and with my stitching glasses, I'm a serious two-handed stitcher.  (NOTE:  I don't stitch sitting in this recliner.  I stitch sitting on the sofa next to this chair). 

I also purchased the part that will hold q-snaps, but have not tried it out yet.

I did stitch a little on LHN 'Fa-La-La' but haven't taken a photo.  I'll probably wait until I finish it up at this point.

LIFE IN GENERAL

I had a rotten cold last week (caught either from DH who had it a few days before, or from one of the staff at work). 

Today I taught a new class for our Asian Pacific students on campus---giving them the basics of health insurance, information about our health center and student insurance.  I sure do enjoy teaching, so every opportunity is always fun for me.

I started giving more thought to what I eat; back to basics--more fruits and veggies, more whole grains, less sugar and processed foods.  I'm sure my blood sugar levels will appreciate the effort, and can't hurt the way my clothes fit either.   

Spring Break is next week, so should be quiet on campus.  I have a new temp employee starting on Monday; we can use an extra set of hands for preparing mailings, purging charts, etc. I plan to utilize her during Spring Break, again during the summer, and perhaps during Christmas Break this year. 

Think that's about all of the excitement here for the moment. 

Happy Stitching!

Vicki in CO