Mardi Gras stash

Hi! My family and I went to the Mardi Gras parade for the Mystic Stripers Society. It was quite fun and a lot more people came out than we originally thought considering the fact that it was lightly sleeting! The crowds would have been huge if there wasn't the threat of snow.



As a child, my sister and I were never allowed to go the Mardi Gras parades, more to do with safety than anything else. I didn't go to my first parade until I was in college and some of my sister's friends wanted to go. Last night's parade was my fifth visit to see one. I've always gone with my friends, it was nice to go with my family :)

We decided to go last night because my cousin has never been to Mardi Gras before. He is originally from Michigan and has just recently moved to Mobile to finish his college studies. Being from a state that doesn't celebrate Mardi Gras, he was excited to be able to go to a parade. As a 'tourist' so to speak, he actually had his camera out and was taking pictures of the different floats :P

I caught a hat-full of beads and maybe one moonpie (they are hard to catch!). LOL I stole some of my sister's moonpies to put in the photo! My sister's friend caught the MSS spear for me as we were both reaching for it and he already had one from a previous parade.

What to do with the beads? I know I want to keep one strand, which was the first one I caught last night. It is a strand of pink hearts, perfect for a Mardi Gras memento as the parade is so close to Feb. 14th. I'll have to think about what to do with the rest.

Update: It is snowing again. Apparently, I know nothing about snowy weather. It will sleet for a second, snow the next. LOL

What do I plan on doing with the day off from work? Hmm...I think I'll work on my LHN design and watch the new version of Emma by the BBC. I purchased it Tuesday when it come out ;) Geeky, I know!!!

Until next time ^___^

Snow in the South

This morning I woke up to snow around 10am! No, I usually don't sleep so late, but my family and I were up last night at a Mardi Gras parade. It was fun despite the sleet.



Our chocolate lab Sam in the snow! I took him outside to stretch and play a bit, but he just sat down beside me in the snow. LOL I don't think he cared for it that much.

Right now, the snow has stopped and it has started to sleet again. The weather forecasters say that if the temperatures drop before the next way of storms come through it might snow again!

Be safe everyone! Take your time driving if you have to go to work today!

Until next time ^___^

To Snow or Not

Last time I saw snow: Royal Holloway campus, Egham, Surrey, England, 2007

Hi! If you live on the Gulf Coast, you have heard the news that we might get snow sometime on Friday. I don't know whether to be happy about it or not. Sadly, no one in the South knows how to drive in snow unless you are a snowbird.

Well, maybe we'll get lucky and have a snow day on Friday assuming it snows :)

In other news, I've been reading mostly this week. No stitching except for what I worked on over the weekend. Hopefully, I'll get back to it soon. My family and I might be going to a Mardi Gras parade tomorrow night, but that depends on the weather!

Until next time ^___^

Absolutely charming

Hi, I just got finished watching the finale of Emma. I was under the impression last night that the finale was at 9pm like usual on PBS, but it started an hour earlier at 8pm. By the time I tuned in, Miss Austen Regrets was playing. I'm quite glad that PBS allows you to watch the previous night's episode on their website.

In my opinion, this adaptation of Emma is beautiful. I loved all the actor/actresses who played in the film. I loved the fact that they chose Christina Cole to play the role of Augusta Elton. She was perfect for the role.

Blake Ritson and Jonny Lee Miller were wonderful in yet another Jane Austen remake. I adored Mr. Miller as Edmund in the 1999 version of Mansfield Park. While, Mr. Ritson was great as the same character in the newest adaptation of the film.

The ladies of Highbury were all lovely and equally talented in their roles. Praise goes to Romola Garai as the free-spirited and irresponsible Emma.

I might just say that this adaptation rivals in my affectations with the 1996 version starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam. Though I will admit that I watch the various adaptations of Jane Austen's books without feeling guilty :)

I think that Emma will soon be released to DVD, which is wonderful as I would love to watch the film without wonky volume problems or a blurred screen!

Until next time ^___^

P.S. If you have missed any of the episodes of Emma, you can watch them until March 9th online for free!! Woohoo!

Sunday stitching

Hi, I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday ;)

Here is my progress on Home of a Needleworker.



I was planning on stopping by Hancock's Fabrics today, but they don't open until 1pm on Sundays and I really did not want to drive through traffic on a busy Sunday with the Super Bowl shoppers everywhere.

Maybe I can persuade my aunt Snowbird to go with me sometime this week after work! *hint hint* LOL

I'm going to give my eyes a bit of a rest today, at least from looking at linen. I started to read Steamed by Katie MacAlister last night. LOL It is quite an interesting book so far. I'm off to snuggle in a chair and continue on with the misadventures of Jack and Octavia in Neo-Victorian England!!

Until next time ^____^

A new start ~

Start: 2/6/2010

I decided to start Home of a Needleworker Too! by LHN. I am using the recommended Crescent Colour threads. I picked up the linen and threads while my friend and I were in Huntsville. One of the owners of Patches and Stitches helped me to pick the linen color as I didn't really care for the recommended linen color, which was too dark for my tastes despite the look of it on the chart photograph.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

Until next time ^___^

P.S. Never fear, I will start and finish the LHN Loving and Faithful design after I finish this one since I managed to pull out my stitches earlier!

Foiled again!

What's missing from this picture? A decent color of braid!! (sigh) I was hoping to finish my Amour design into a pinkeep this evening after my fabrics dried from being dampened and ironed, but no luck there! I rampaged through my stash of braid in search of some ivory or cream braid and I had maybe 7 inches of it left! I thought the burgundy-colored braid in the picture might work, but it is entirely too dark for the design and fabric I chose for the backing.

It is a dreary day outside and I don't have the energy to fight the traffic to get to my nearest craft store since everyone will be on their way to grocery stores for food for the football game this weekend. (Am I watching football this weekend? LOL No, I'm not a fan of it. The most I know about the game is that you run for your life with the ball to the opposite goal.)

Well, I'll probably go tomorrow in morning to Hancock's Fabrics to see if they have some nice braid. I'll have to bring my cross stitch design with me and see what works with it!

Until next time!

Belle Fleurs box! *Updated*

My Saturday morning finish! I decided to make my Belle Fleur design into a cover for a decorative box that I had bought at Hobby Lobby a while back when it was 50% off. I picked up the ribbon and pins from the same store ;)

What do you think? That's quite a lot of pink!

Finished:
In other news, I hope to finish reading The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes today. Hopefully, I'll have a post about my thoughts on it later this weekend.

Until next time ^____^

Hearts abound

Hi! My friend and I spent an hour or so making cell phone charms. It was fun. I'll have to keep a lookout for more designs for them!

When I got home, I was able to finish my Heart Biscornu.


Design: Heart Biscornu freebie by Lenka
Threads: DMC 3350
Fabric: 28ct antique white Zweigart
Start/Finish: 2/3/2010
'Finished': 2/4/2010

Isn't it cute? I've posted a picture of the biscornu beside a glass rooster that belongs to my mother so you see how small this little cutie is! It measures about 2 1/2" in size.



What do you think? I think it turned out well. What's next for stitching projects? Well, I plan on 'finishing' some of my other Valentine's designs this weekend.

Until next time ^____^ I hope everyone has a great Friday!

First finish of February!

Hi, everyone! Happy February! I was able to start and finish a small design today.


Design: Heart Biscornu freebie by Lenka
Threads: DMC 3350
Fabric: 28ct antique white Zweigart
Start/Finish: 2/3/2010

I just finished ironing the pieces. Tomorrow morning I will put fray-check around the edges before finishing the design as a biscornu. I love this little freebie by Lenka! Isn't it cute? I thought it was perfect for Valentine's Day!

Hopefully I'll have pictures of my finish later on tomorrow night. Tomorrow after work, I'll be teaching a friend of mine how to make beaded cell phone charms.

Until next time ^____^