Monday, August 31, 2009

Oct 31 – Halloween ornament

Hi! What a busy weekend! I hardly had time to stitch with everything going on, but I managed to finish the Oct 31 design by Glory Bee yesterday. I saw the pattern in the newest issue of JCS when I was at the bookstore on Saturday and I knew I had to stitch it :) With a frantic run to my LNS, I bought the required Gentle Art Sampler threads that I could find and substituted DMC for the others.


Design: Oct 31 by Glory Bee in JCS Sept 2009 issue
Threads: Crescent Colors and DMC 937 and 3820
Fabric: 32ct lambswool linen Wichelt
Start/Finished: 8/30-31/2009



Backing fabric of the pillow-ornament.

What do you think? No, unfortunately, I didn’t stitch the pillow together. I still need some practice with the sewing machine before I can feel confident enough to attempt sewing on one of my cross stitch patterns!! O_o”

One of my aunts stitched up this pillow on my grandmother’s old Montgomery Ward sewing machine. She also blind stitched the opening after I had filled it with some stuffing. At least now I know how to thread a needle on the sewing machine and do a blind stitch. I think I’ll take some fabric scraps and practice sewing this weekend.

The last time I sewed was in home economics in 7th grade……in a galaxy far, far away! We were suppose to make ‘name’ pillows, but we only had enough sewing machines and time to stitch up one pillow. I think I have my ‘R’ initial pillow somewhere….I wouldn’t doubt it if I had stuffed it away in the attic as a horrible attempt to sew. I was always afraid I was going to sew over my fingers or something during that home economics class!!!

Maybe now that I’m older, I won’t dread the sewing machine anymore. I just have to remember to be patient with my sewing >___<

I’m off to start another Halloween design for my SAL. I think I’ll make the next design into a pinkeep.

Until next time!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Halloween ornament

Hi, everyone! I've finished a Halloween ornament from JCS Halloween issue! I'll have pics tomorrow!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I've been cleaning, stitching, and running errands this weekend ^__^

Until next time!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Who can spot the missing bit?

LOL So would you call this sampler finished? Can you spot the missing bit? I can!


Design: Morning Berries by Little House Needleworks
Threads: Crescent Colors and DMC 5200
Fabric: 28ct cream-colored Zweigart
Start/Finished: 8/23-8/28/2009


Sadly, I didn't get my threads in from DSL yet :( So I can't finish the flower pot in the middle of the sampler!! Well, at least I might have it finished by tomorrow night if I get my threads in the mail :)

Until next time!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Morning Berries

Hi, everyone! I’ve been stitching on a design by LHN called Morning Berries. On Saturday, I had bought some 28 ct. cream-colored Zweigart linen from All Strung Out that I thought would do well with the design since they didn’t have what I was looking for, mocha cashel.

I bought the pattern a while ago from Down Sunshine Lane when I was looking for some cute garden designs; it didn’t help that the pattern had three adorable bunnies in it!! You know I couldn’t resist buying it at that point :)

I love the colors used in the design by Crescent Colors. My favorites are Blue Moon and oddly enough, Bunny Honey, which is used to stitch the bunnies!

I hope to have this design stitched up by Friday. I have a few other patterns from LHN that I would love to start, but I’ve got a million other things I want to stitch on first and much to my dismay, Christmas is around the corner. (Never thought I’d say that! What happened to the Fall?!)

In other news, I purchased a new camera since I destroyed the other one on accident. (It has gone to the camera gods!) The new one is a Pentax Optio M40, which is a newer version of the last one. I’ll have to get use to it because it doesn’t require AA batteries since it comes with a lithium-ion battery that you have charge up!







Until next time! I hope you enjoyed the photos! A cute bunny abounds ^___^

A must-read for 2010!

How many of you have read Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian? I picked up the book while I was in England and needed something to read other than my coursework on the train back and forth to London. I remember that I bought it in one of the thrift stores in Egham for 25p (50 cents). It was by far the best 25p I’ve ever spent! If you haven’t read The Historian, shame on you, especially if you like vampire, history, or thrillers.

I was browsing Amazon yesterday and noticed that Mrs. Kostova has a new book coming out on January 12, 2010 called The Swan Thieves, which revolves around a psychiatrist who paints as a hobby. His life is changed after being assigned a patient (also an artist) who attacked a painting in the National Gallery of Art.



>___< I can’t wait! (Sigh) I’m convinced that I should have been a bookstore owner or something like that than maybe I could get advance copies of books to read and promote! That would be heavenly….in a book geek sort of way!

Cranford



After reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, I had purchased The Cranford Chronicles, which is a collection of Gaskell’s three novellas, Mr. Harrison’s Confession,Cranford, and My Lady Ludlow after seeing the 2007 BBC version of Cranford.

Mrs. Gaskell had written Cranford from 1851 to 1853. It was published by her friend Charles Dickens in his magazine Household Works as a serial publication. The novella details the lives of Miss Matty and Deborah Jenkyns, two spinster sisters, and the other inhabitants of the town. Each episode is told from the point of view of Mary Smith, a frequent guest of the Misses Jenkyns.

Interestingly enough, while Cranford was intended to be a fictional novella, it included Mrs. Gaskell’s true experiences in Knutsford where she had grown up during her childhood. Some of my favorite moments in the book were based on true stories of daily life in Knutsford such as:

- Mrs. Barker, a lady who once owned a millinery shop, owns a jersey-cow named Bessie who had the misfortune of falling a lime-pit. Instead of putting the animal down, Mrs. Forrester purchased a great quantity of fabric to make a garment for her cow. This episode was actually chronicled by Mrs. Gaskell in an article that she wrote to the Union Magazine in July 1849 called The Last Generation of England. In this article, she detailed how the previous generation differed from her own by 1849.
- Excerpt: “No old lady would be so oblivious of ‘Mrs. Grundy’s’ existence now as to dare to invest her favourite cow, after its unlucky fall into a lime-pit, in flannel waistcoat and drawers, in which the said cow paraded the streets of ---- to the day of its death.”

- Mrs. Barker and Miss Pole – cat episode: Mrs. Barker and Miss Pole have read about a new method of cleaning old lace. They put a piece of lace in a bowl and pour buttermilk over it to remove the stains. Mrs. Barker’s cat decides to drink the buttermilk and accidentally swallows the lace. Both ladies run to their nearest store to purchase a mixture to ‘relieve’ the cat of the lace! Yet another episode that was chronicled in Mrs. Gaskell’s article, which just goes to show that heirlooms are worth the hassle!! If your cat ever swallows lace, you must retrieve it at all cost!
- Excerpt: “One lady left her lace basted up, in some not very sour buttermilk; and unluckily the cat lapped it up, lace and all (one would have thought the lace would have chocked her, but so it was); the lace was too valuable to be lost, so a small dose of tartar emetic was administered to the poor cat; the lace returned to view was carefully darned, and decked the good lady’s best cap for many a year after; and many a time did she tell the story, gracefully bridling up in a prim sort of way, and giving a little cough, as if preliminary to a rather improper story. The first sentence of it was always, I remember, ‘I do not think you can guess where the lace on my cap has been,’ dropping her voice, ‘in pussy’s inside, my dear!’”

The BBC version of Cranford is a mix of all three of Mrs. Gaskell’s novellas in the Cranford Chronicles and the article The Last Generation of England, despite the fact that two of the novellas take place in other towns.

As an adaptation of Gaskell’s works, I loved every moment of the film. The writers did a brilliant job in staying true to the story as much as possible while adding the stories from Mr. Harrison’s Confessions and My Lady Ludlow. While I loved all the characters, my favorites were Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole, Selina Griffiths and Deborah Findlay as the Tomkinson sisters, Barbara Flynn as Mrs. Jamieson, along with the leading ladies Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins as the Jenkyns sisters.

I don’t think I’ll ever forgot Deborah’s abhorrence of ‘popular’ literature such as Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers! My favorite scenes from the novella were in the movie, the cat/lace (with a Wellington boot) and the lime-pit jersey-cow! I could quite imagine the laughter of the costume designers when they were sewing together the outfit for the cow for the filming!

If you haven’t read Cranford or since the latest adaptation, please do so! In the words of Captain Brown, “I defy you not to roar!”

P.S. To all my fellow Cranford fans, there is a Christmas special that will air in 2009, which takes place after the wedding of Dr. Harrison and Sophy Hutton!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Period-drama geekiness!!



Great news, my fellow period-drama lovers! The Young Victoria has been scheduled to release in the U.S. on November 13, 2009. If you’ve kept up with my blog, you will know that I have posted before on the release of this film. I will never understand why it takes so long for the U.S. to get foreign releases unless it is a blockbuster movie.

I remember several times when I was in England and I had gone to see a movie and it hadn’t been released in the U.S. yet. I saw Ms. Potter when it came out and it didn’t hit the theaters in the U.S. until a couple of months later. Weird!!!

I hope you flock to the theaters when The Young Victoria comes out! Despite some historical inaccuracies, I think the film will be great.

Until next time!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Bunny Tree

Hi! I started a super cute Christmas design yesterday! I got to finish it up today after coming home from running some errands.


Design: 'Bunny Tree' from Stitch Ideas Vol. 7
Threads: DMC 743,801,816,and 895
Fabric: 25ct Lugana Antique White by Zweigart
Start/Finished: 8/21-22/2009


Isn't it adorable? I changed the colors from the original design. The words were originally brown like the little bunnies, but I thought it would cuter with green words along with the red hearts! I don't know the design's official name, I'm just calling it the bunny tree ;) If you don't know, Stitch Ideas is a Japanese cross-stitch and embroidery magazine! They always have the neatest designs and finishes! *drool*

In other news today, I went by All Strung Out to see their cross-stitch selection and came away with some goodies >___<



I got some 28ct cashel cream-colored fabric. I think it will be great with the Little House Needleworks design that I want to start. I think it will look better than the natural-color linen that I had gotten originally for the design.

I also picked up Mirabilia Athena, Goddess of Wisdom pattern! It's a gift for a friend. I also found an old pattern from The Cricket Collection, #73. I'll probably stitch it up eventually for a friend as a Christmas gift or a future b-day gift.

As glad as I am about having a store that offers cross stitch materials, I was a bit disappointed with the selection of patterns. There were a lot of older patterns at the store, but nothing new. I still might order my patterns online, but at least I'll have a local place to go to get my threads when I need something special. I won't complain too much, I'm sure that the store will get better with suggestions and thoughts from their customers!

Until next time!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Egads! Another one!

Hi, everyone ;) I got another Christmas ornament started and finished today. It's a cute snowman freebie from Prairie Schooler.


Design: Snowman freebie by Prairie Schooler
Threads: DMC 310, 816, 895, and 5200
Fabric: 32 ct lambswool linen by Wichelt-Permin
Start/Finished: 8/19/2009


I made a few changes in the colors of the snowman from the original design, but I like how it turned out. I haven't decided on how to finish this ornament. I might go by Hobby Lobby this weekend and get another Christmas photo-ornament and finish it in one of those or I might think of something else ;)

In other news, I was looking online at All Strung Out, a knitting/needlework shop in Mobile and they are now carrying cross stitch patterns, etc. Apparently, Ami's Needleworks in Foley has closed down and All Strung Out bought the entire inventory! I can't wait to see what they will have in stock now. I have been to the store once, but they only had needlepoint threads and yarn at the time.

Another tidbit, it seems that I have broken the other camera! Egads! It looks like I'll have to cough up the money to purchase another one O_o" It was working fine yesterday. I think when I put it in my bag this morning, I must have bumped it against a table and broke it! All it does when you press the 'on' button is whirl and the shutter opens and then randomly snaps a picture and promptly closes! (sigh) Well, this will definitely teach me to get back in the old habit of putting the camera in its case before I take it out of the house!

Until next time!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Christmas Tree Heart ornament

Hi! Two posts in one day?!? Yes, indeed! I got a small ornament finished today! I had bought a beautiful ornament at Hobby Lobby for the purpose of stitching a tiny Christmas design to go in it ;) My photo is a bit dark on the fabric and colors, sorry!


Design: Christmas Tree Heart by Trail Creek Farm in JCS 2003 Christmas Ornament issue
Threads: My own color choices, DMC 321, 743, 801, and 895
Fabric: 28 ct antique white evenweave by M.C.G. Textiles
Finished: 8/16/2009



Isn't the ornament gorgeous?! It's perfect for the tiny tree ;)

If you have a Hobby Lobby store in your city, go and check out their Christmas photo-ornaments! I think I might buy some more for more designs!

Until next time!

A pumpkin within a pumpkin ;)

Hello!! Hope your Sunday is going well so far! I decided to frame my little Halloween pumpkin!


Cute, huh?!

I went by Joann's Fabric store this morning to see if I could find any tins or baskets to use as my finishing of the Moire design, but I didn't come across anything :*( Perhaps I need to look online and see if I can find something!

While I was at the fabric store, I bought a bunch of DMC threads for some Christmas ornaments that I've decided to stitch up. I've been looking through old issues of JCS's Christmas ornament issues for tiny designs and I found one that I will stitch up this week!

Everyone in FL, please be safe during the tropical storm in the panhandle! Until next time!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Moire finish!

Hi, everyone! I just finished up the last row of color on the Moire design ^___^


Design: Moire freebie by Pelin Tezer
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 ct antique white evenweave by M.C.G. Textiles
Finished: 8/4/2009-8/15/2009


I went by Hobby Lobby today to see about finishing ideas. Sadly, I didn't see anything that stood out in my mind for finishing. I think I might go by Joann's Fabrics tomorrow and see if they have something that will catch my eye.

Until next time!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Friday stitching!

I got some more cross-stitching done on my lunch and breaks yesterday ;) I'll be able to finish this design hopefully today. My sister and I saw Ponyo on the Cliff last night. It was a wonderful movie!







I especially love the varying colors of pinks in the Moire design! Do you like the photos? I took some yesterday before work in natural light, which is so much better than artificial for getting the thread and fabric colors just right ^___^

Well, I've got some errands to run this morning, one including a stop by Hobby Lobby to see about finishing ideas ;)

Until next time!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Shooting Star Hydrangeas!


My mother's shooting star hydrangeas in her 'English' garden, which really isn't English at all, just a hodge-podge of various flowers ^___^


Close up of shooting stars!

Have a great day!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

It's coming along

quite nicely! What do you think?



I've got two more colors to stitch on this design and I'll be ready to finish it. I still haven't decided how, but I'm thinking it would be lovely on top of a tin or any other container! I'll have to keep my eyes open when I go to Hobby Lobby this weekend for finishing ideas ^___^

In other news, my sister and I are going to see the Ponyo on the Cliff movie on Friday night! I can't wait! It's sure to be a great film!

Until next time!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Moire design progress

Hi, everyone! We've had rain on and off all day. It's nice though. We've been cleaning today as well, but I got an hour worth of stitching in just a while ago ;)


Design: Moire freebie by Pelin Tezer
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 ct antique white evenweave by M.C.G. Textiles
Started: August 4, 2009


I hope to get this design done sometime this week, though I don't know how I'm going to finish this one. I was thinking about making it into a biscornu, but that was before I realized how large 71 x 71 stitches was O_o"

Well, I'll keep thinking of ways to finish this design ;)

Have a great work week!! Until next time!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Saturday cleaning ^___^

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday! We've been cleaning today, which was fun since we had the computer speakers playing the Twilight soundtrack in the living room :)

I'll admit that I like cleaning because I love to organize things....yes, it's a sickness, I know O_o" But you gotta love housework when your humming along to your favorite songs!

Hopefully, we'll get the rest of the house clean early tomorrow so I can get some stitching done before sitting down to watch True Blood.

Until next time!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Happy Friday

On August 14th, Disney will release a new Hayao Miyazaki film called Ponyo on the Cliff. Last night while my family was watching So You Think You Can Dance, they had a trailer for Ponyo. My sister and I tried to explain how great Hayao Miyazaki was and that he was Japan's Walt Disney, but to our family, it's just Japanese animation :**(

I can't wait to see this film. My friends and I had gone to see Harry Potter 6 and they had a movie poster on the wall for Ponyo. Thank goodness that they will be playing it at the theatre in town! That beats a 3-hour drive to Baton Rouge to see Hayao Miyazaki's new film!

I hope everyone has a great Friday and a fun-filled weekend! Hopefully I'll have some stitching pics for you by Sunday. I'm working a freebie design by Pelin Tezer.

Until next time!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Glass Slipper


I just got finished watching the first 21 episodes of a Korean drama called Glass Slipper. And of course, I don’t have the second season to this drama so I’m going to have to buy it eventually to find out how everything plays out with the characters.

The storyline so far: The two main characters are Yun-hee and Tae-hee, two sisters who have been separated from one another for fifteen years. After their father’s death, they travel to a nearby town in order to take a train to Seoul to find their grandfather. Tae-hee loses sight of Yun-hee in a marketplace and sadly, Yun-hee is inflicted with amnesia after being hit by a truck. The owners of the truck decide to raise her as part of their family to avoid criminal charges. Yun-hee takes the name Lee Sun-woo, which she found engraved on a gold ring that was around her neck after the car accident. Meanwhile, Tae-hee is raised by her grandfather, the president of a communications company. She has been searching for any sign of Yun-hee since they were separated.

One day, one of Tae-hee’s detectives tells her that he thinks he has had a sighting of Yun-hee in a small restaurant. Tae-hee mistakes Seung-hee (Sun-woo’s abusive ‘sister’) for Yun-hee. The drama unfolds from there. Tae-hee thinks she has found her long-lost sister in Seung-hee, not realizing that Seung-hee’s entire family knows that Sun-woo is really Yun-hee.

The other part of the story involves Tae-hee’s love for Jae-hyuk, a boy she met as a child and came to depend on after her father’s death. He took her to Seoul and introduced her to her grandfather. Her grandfather is so grateful for Jae-hyuk’s help, he decides to pay for Jae-hyuk’s education by allowing him to study abroad and eventually come back to Seoul and be part of his company. No one realizes that Jae-hyuk is actually the grandson of another man who was the partner of Chairman Kim (Tae-hee’s grandfather). Jae-hyuk wants revenge for his grandfather’s death, which was caused by shock after Chairman Kim bought him out of his half of the company. In order to do this, Jae-hyuk decides to buy 8 million shares of Jaeha Communications and take over the company from Chairman Kim before revealing his true identity.

The flip side of the story is that Jae-hyuk falls in love with Sun-woo, not realizing that she is Tae-hee’s long-lost sister. Sun-woo is also courted by Chul-woong, a punk turned gangster, who isn’t as tough as he appears to be.

I haven’t gotten much further with the series. I’ll have to buy it in the future!

If you haven’t seen Glass Slipper yet and you love Asian dramas, I think you will quite enjoy this series. Full of grief, love, comedy, betrayals, and sibling rivalry!! You don’t want to miss it ;)

Until next time!

Monday, August 3, 2009

A change of seasons

A small update on my Saisons sampler. I haven't been working on it lately. I've been reading books, watching a Korean drama called Glass Slipper among other things.


Sorry about the wrinkles! O_o"

I've decided to stitch the seasons tree in the middle at the very last so I'll be going from season to season in the squares first ;) I'm almost finished with the Spring and will probably start with the Winter season underneath it.

Until next time!

A Monday surprise!


Isn't is lovely?

My aunt gave it to me this morning! Of course, I swapped it out for the agate brooch I was wearing immediately ^___^ My aunt brought it several years ago, but decided to give it to me because she doesn't wear it that often. LOL I didn't even know she owned a cameo!

This brooch has a small crasp at the back so you can wear it as a pendant as well. I must say that I love it as a brooch though!

Thanks, Aunt Snowbird!! What a great way to start a Monday!

Until next time!