Periwinkle Ink

Senior and Junior...

This morning, as I was pulling into the parking lot to drop off Autumn at Camp BowWow (her doggy day care each day), I saw this sight and it just tickled my funny bone soooo much, and I wanted to share....

~~Thankful for the little things in life that can really make me giggle!~~

This and that....

Today's weather is absolutely beautiful! Had to run an errand at lunch, and didn't need my coat, nor did I want to come back in! The car thermometer said 54*, but it felt even warmer! The only bummer is that this warm weather is melting the newly fallen snow at the ski areas. Sad!

As like another post I wrote, there's no "theme" to this, but just some thoughts:

• Spent 4 days down in Ocean City (OC), MD with a group of about 80 other stitchers 2 weekends ago (over MLK holiday). It's my 3rd year attending Camp WannaStitch and loved every minute of it! I read about it 3 years ago in an email I received, and no one I knew was interested so I went by myself. Best decision EVER! Within a few minutes of my arrival, met a group of gals from Harrisburg, PA on the elevator, going down to the large ballroom, called our "Stitching Room," and have remained friends with them every since. (it's easy to identify other stitchers because our tote bags are all overflowing with charts, linens, frames, etc.) Each year, more and more gals from their H'burg contingency join us in OC, so this past year there were 12 of us planned, but 2 had to back out at the last minute due to illnesses among the kids. They were missed! At Camp WannaStitch (CWS), there are no classes, no formal agenda (thankfully!) and the only requirement is to have fun and get some stitching done! Everyone brings food (mostly goodies, sweets, and all the WRONG kind of food ha,ha!), and lunch both days is supplied by the wonderful moderator, Julie, so we don't have to waste our time stitching looking for food. Dinner out each night is also fun. And last but not least, the BEST part of the weekend is shopping in the most wonderful stitching shop I've ever visited: Salty Yarns. It's run by Sally and Sarah (mother/daughter team) and they make Salty Yarns the most fun and warm and welcoming stitching shop EVER! Our hotel is located up near 100th Street and the beach, and their shop is at 8th Street and the beach, so it definitely means a car ride, especially with the cold January wind whipping off the ocean, but once inside, it's warm, and overflowing with all things "stitchy." Soooo much fun! And of course, now I have to wait another year before CWS rolls around again, but already counting the days! For me, the drive is about 245 miles, but women come from all over the country to attend. Here's a photo of some of us sitting outside the shop, with the beach out in front of us, as you can see reflected in the windows: (I'm on the left)
  
  
  View of the beach from balcony:
  
  
  
  

• Had about 8" of snowfall this past Saturday morning when I got up, and more fell throughout the morning, so it was a very lazy day and weekend. Just snuggled into the couch, watched some TV, did a lot of stitching, and only ventured outside when Autumn needed a potty break. She's really good in the snow, and thinks it's funny to stick her nose in the snow and then leap up and try to run (she's always on a leash), so I'm always prepared for her "snow" antics and we make the best of the winter wonderland. (no photos; you all know what snow looks like, right?) But as mentioned in my previous post, I did finally finish my 2nd mermaid. However, now I'm feeling a little lost....I worked on her for 361 days (not EVERY day), and now it's an unusual feeling to not have her there waiting for me. Need to get another large project going...
  
  
• This past weekend, because of the lousy weather, I had to cancel a get-together planned at my place with two of my bestest NJ friends, Joan and Maria. We all worked together throughout the 80s and have remained friends ever since, and I was to have a lazy-day get-together on Saturday with drinks, food, and jigsaw puzzles --- the dress code was fleecies and slippers. Was so sad we had to cancel but it would've too dangerous for either of them to drive. We've re-scheduled for later in February. If I remember, I'll post photos. Keeping fingers crossed the weather cooperates this time.
  
  
• Spent the first weekend of January up in the Finger Lakes area, skiing with my roommate from college, Bonnie. (She lives in that area) It was extremely warm, so the snow was really heavy, making the skiing sluggish and tiring, so instead of skiing both days, we enjoyed the sun and warmth on the slopes on Saturday, but called it an early day and then went shopping! Her passion is quilting so we visited her favorite quilting store and saw some of the most gorgeous quilts hanging on display. I also got some small remnants of fabrics for backing ornaments I stitch. Then next door, there was a cross-stitch shop, but by the time we left the quilt store, they cross-stitch shop had closed. (That was ok...spent too much money in the quilt store!). And then, down a couple more stores there was a beautiful bead shop. They didn't carry some of the more exquisite beads that I like, such as lampwork beads, but still had some beautiful designs on display. That little plaza could be sooo dangerous to anyone's budget with all those stores in a row. It was sooo good to see her, her husband, and her 2 sons (still home for college winter break). Wish we lived closer, but we already have plans for another ski weekend in February. Let's just hope there's some snow on the slopes! (forgot to take photos! DUH!!!)
  
  
• My parents, who have been in FLA since Nov 1st, called over the weekend with some good news: They finally have a qualified, pre-approved buyer for their house up in the Buffalo/Rochester area! They (we) have lived in the same huge 3-story house since 1971, and about 2 years ago, they started looking in earnest for a smaller, 1-story home. They found one, bought it, moved, and have been living there ever since (May thru Nov). The larger house has remained on the market all that time. There were a couple of interested buyers, but neither were approved for a mortgage. So this is really, REALLY good news. The inspection passed with flying colors, and only a small fix-up was required, it's already been taken care of, and now we wait for closing in March. It'll be sad to say good-bye to the house I lived in since I was a Freshman in HS and all the memories in that house, but I'm so happy for my parents and their new-found gem in their newer home, and to see how happy they are there.
  
  

OK...I think that's all for now. If I think of anything else, I can always add to the bullet list.

~~Thankful for the beautiful weather today,
for all my friends from different areas of my life,
for my amazing parents (married 58 years!),
and for my health and well-being~~

Bluebeard's Princess is finished!!!

Doin' my Happy Dance! Doin' my Happy Dance!!!

I've finally finished my 2nd mermaid by Mirabilia! YAY! (All design info at bottom...)

A close-up of all the seed beads and crystal bicones on her skirt...

...and I LOVE all the colors (periwinkle!) in her hair.

 

Started: 26 Jan 2011
Finished: 22 Jan 2012
TOTAL stitching time: 134 hrs 22 minutes

DESIGNER: Mirabilia
CHART: Bluebeard's Princess
FABRIC: 28 ct Cashel by Picture This Plus
FABRIC COLOR: "DaVinci"
FLOSSES: per chart, except for outer border
BEADS: per chart
STITCH COUNT: 2 over 2 - 160w x 228h

..and now the decision of what to start next?!?!?!

~~Thankful the mermaids are done,                                                                       
          and will be beautiful pieces of art for my walls soon~~

Almost done...

...and with a few more stitchy evenings, my 2^nd mermaid should be complete. Here’s a look at the cute seahorses that decorate the bottom two corners of the chart. They are just soooo cute, and stitched up rather quickly! And once I added the beads, they just came to life.

I still need to finish another layer of the bottom border between them, and then start applying the beads to the entire chart. But for me, the beading goes quickly and hoping to have this finished soon… keep your fingers crossed.

  

 

(current overall stitching time: 118 hrs)

DESIGNER: Mirabilia
CHART: Bluebeard's Princes
FABRIC: 28 ct Cashel Picture This Plus "DaVinci"
FLOSSES: per the chart, except for outer border
BEADS: per the chart
STITCH COUNT: 2 over 2 - 160w x 228h

~~Thankful I'm reaching the finish line on the mermaids;
what's next??~~

 

My Stitchy Group's Holiday Gathering...

Every month, my stitchy group gathers at an all-purpose room we rent for the day, and we stitch and gab and snack on goodies brought in by everyone. But for our Christmas gathering, it’s an all-out food blitz! One of the gals, who collects our dues, orders a huge sub sandwich for the group, but all the other “fixin’s” are whatever you feel like bringing. No one really organizes it or sets up a menu of what we need to bring, and so far we’ve been lucky with very few duplicate dishes. Usually we’re inundated with all the sweets and treats indicative of the holiday. However, this year, strictly by coincidence, there were 5 (yes, FIVE!) different versions of cole slaw! Next year, me thinks we might want to do some planning in advance?!?!

But of course, what’s a holiday party without some sweets?? I brought a favorite of mine called Fruit Pizza. The crust is similar to a sweet cookie dough crust, then your favorite fruits can be arranged on top, with a thick sweet jello-like mix drizzled over everything, then cooled in the refrigerator. The most time consuming of the process is cutting up the fruit, but other than that, it’s really a quick dessert. (oh yeah…you need to allow time for the crust to bake and cool completely before adding the fruit on top; I made my crust the night before.) Then to serve, just slice with a pizza roller-slicey thingy and serve! It can be really filling, so slice thin wedges.

(Starting at the outer edge: mandarin oranges (canned), kiwi, strawberries, bananas, and blueberries)

And a few photos of the gang: (this year was one of the poorest turnouts, but you know how it is trying to fit all the festivities in around the holidays…) Enjoy!

~~Thankful for all my stitchy friends,                               
                and all their delicious holiday fixin’s!~~

FROM: Me ------- TO: Me

I realize the title of this post sounds rather narcissistic, but here’s why:  I’ve been looking for a larger George Foreman grill (at least larger than I have now which fits only one sandwich), and it HAD TO BE completely cleanable, where all the grill parts can go in the dishwasher! I’ve researched all the different brands available (Foreman pretty much has a monopoly on the market), perused photos to make sure the parts were actually “detachable,” researched prices, availability, shipping costs, and then would get exhausted and forget about it for months.

Well, before Christmas I bit the bullet and finally ordered one online (free shipping, too!) And I owe it all to a grilled cheese sandwich I made myself one day that tasted like the salmon I had grilled prior to that. YUCK! No matter how well I clean and wipe and clean some more, I can never get the grill pieces (NOT removable) completely odor-free or taste-free of the last item cooked on it. So when I bit into my grilled cheese and it tasted like salmon, I a) just about gagged, b) threw it out, and c) got online in earnest and ordered a new grill. Now I’ll use the larger one for what I’ll call “strongly odorous” food (ie, salmon, fish) and keep the smaller one just for my grilled cheese and paninis! It’ll be sooo nice to just throw the smelly grill pieces in the dishwasher (3rd photo) and know the next meal won’t be contaminated.

Oh yeah…  Merry Christmas to me!

      

And while I was taking photos of the grill, directly behind the grill, outside the window, the birds were having their holiday bathing fest! (sorry for the poor quality; I caught them at the perfect moment, but if I moved to get a better shot, they’d have flown away.)

Hope this finds you looking forward to the first non-holiday weekend in a while, and the solitude and rest it usually offers. As for me, I’ll be skiing all weekend!!! WooHoo!

~~Thankful for the skiing plans with my college roommate!~~

My uneventful New Years...

Hope changing your calendar page to 2012 was uneventful, and filled with warm wishes and cold bubbly!

Mine was about as uneventful as you can get. I’ve been sick since Boxing Day with a wicked sore throat (for the first 2 days) which always turns into a full-blown cold that’s still here. Now it’s a persistent tickle that causes fits of coughing (even tho I’ve taken cough medicine) and constant clearing of my throat which seems to make it even more raw. It’s a vicious cycle, I tell ya!

I was supposed to work at home last week, but the only thing I did was nap and lay on the couch. That was all I COULD do… so exhausted! And then to make matters worse, my poor little Autumn got sick Thursday night with a BAD case of the ‘runs’ and thankfully, she let me know in enough time that we made it outdoors… BARELY!! Well that first episode was at 1:30am, followed by others at 2:30; 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30AM, so by this time I was wide awake, made a pot of coffee, and stitched in the solitude of the morning. Throughout the day (Friday), I fed her some fresh, warm rice with all her meals, trying to bind her up a little, and by late Friday afternoon, she seemed back to normal. But alas, no……  Because I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep, I fell into bed Friday at 7:30pm and was instantly asleep until I heard her whining at the side of my bed. Thinking it must the middle of the night, the clock read only 10:30pm…UGH! Only 3 hours of sleep and we were running outside again! And so we made several more potty runs at 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, 4:30, and 5:30am. Again, on the last potty run, we came back indoors, she fell instantly asleep and I did the coffee/stitching routine again. But by this time, with very little sleep over the past 2 nights, I was really feeling punky. Tried sleeping, but the tickle in my throat seemed worse when I was reclining, so I got up and continued stitching. I tell ya --- I got more stitching finished than I ever expected. I guess that’s the bright spot in all this.

Then, later on Saturday afternoon, I packed up the car and the dog and headed down to the G-man’s place. (the only reason I was willing to get dressed and make the trip was because he has a fenced yard for the dog, so if she needed more late-night potty runs, all I had to do was open the door!) Sweet!

To say that my New Years was a bust is an understatement. I was in bed and asleep by 9:30 that night… tried staying awake to watch the ball drop, but just couldn’t keep the peepers open any longer. And then spent all day Monday asleep, except for our New Year’s brunch (the G-man made Eggs Benedict, one of my faves!) and dinner (shrimp scampi). But I really needed the sleep and with a little help from some cough/cold medicine, I was feeling a tad bit better.

Was back at work on Monday (our corporate holiday for New Years was last Friday) and the only good thing I can say about having to face work on a Monday when I don’t feel good is there was NO TRAFFIC!!! Everyone’s holiday seemed to be yesterday, so driving to work in the early morning hours with NO TRAFFIC was really eerie! Needless to say, I made record time getting TO work and then getting home FROM work, too. So enjoyable to make the commute so quickly. But this morning was a rude reality check: 2hours and 15 minutes to get to work!!!!!!!

UMMmmmm…excuse me, people….just because we had a couple of holidays this past week, how does that account for your loss of driving skills????? A GREEN light still means GO, so get off your asses, put the pedal to the metal when the light changes, and let some of us get thru the damn light before it turns red again!!!! PLEASE!!!

OK…stepping off the soapbox now….

I did get something finished before the holidays, but never got a chance to post:
(I posted the start of the project here  )

Designer: Blackbird Designs
Booklet: A Stitcher’s Journey
Chart: “Summer Sachet” (pg 48)
Fabric: Picture This Plus 32 ct “Mocha” (overdyed)
Flosses: per the chart (Crescent Colours and Gentle Arts)
               (Cappuccino, Avocado, Heirloom Gold, Old Purple Paint, Woodrose)
Stitch Count: 48 x 33
Stitches: 2 over 1
Backing: 5" square Charm Pack "Designer Dapples" by Westminster Fibers Lifestyle Products

 

Since I’ve been sewing since high school (Thank you, Mrs. Chugg, my Home Ec teacher!), I always have scrap ribbon and sewing notions in the house, and a TON of old buttons inherited from several aunts that sewed, so the actual “finishing” of a “small” like this pin keep is always fun as I scavenge thru all my collections for something that’s just the perfect finishing touch. I skipped applying anything around the edge because it would’ve looked too busy. Thought this was just right…

Hoping no one was involved in any of the freak traffic accidents (pile ups) this morning on the interstates in NY and KY caused by sudden snow squalls. Having been raised in the Buffalo/Rochester area, I know how quickly they can sneak up on you and how absolutely terrifying it is to drive in them!

~~Hoping this finds everyone safely at home,
or someplace warm and cozy!~~

Happy New Year 2012....

 

Just wanted to pop on here to wish everyone a wonderful, peaceful, and healthy New Year. May all your dreams come true! May God grant you everything you NEED, and may you work hard to attain everything you WANT!

~~Happy 2012 to everyone!~~

Another "small" finish...

It's Sunday afternoon and a gorgeous sunny day, but cold. When I walked the dog this morning, it was 22*! Right now, it's up to a whopping 32. Brrr! Last night, after a gloriously beautiful sunset earlier, on our last walk of the evening, the moon was so full and bright it lit up the entire complex and outshown the stars. Such amazing clarity, it looked like I could almost reach out and touch it.

Here's another finish I recently hung on my mini ornament tree:

 
    
 

Designer: Gail Bussi
Chart: “A Song of Thanks" (bottom right corner of chart)
            Cross Stitch & Needlework - November 2011 (pg 25)
Fabric: (a remnant with no info on it)
Flosses: per the chart
Stitch Count: approx 30 x 30 stitches
Stitches: 1 over 1

And with the cold weather, another of my addictions has reared its ugly face: jigsaw puzzles! I LOVE puzzles, and the more pieces the better. All of my puzzles are either 1,000 pieces or 3,000 pieces. I've finished 2 of the 1K pc puzzles in the past 2 weeks, and started another on Friday evening, called "Cozy Christmas." I should've taken photos of the ones I've finished, but I'll include my progress on the current one:

  You're looking at it upside down here, but it's on a folding-cardboard sewing platform so I can turn it whichever way I need to work on it. In this photo, it just happened to be in this direction. And here's the photo on the cover of the box:

I especially love Christmas-themed puzzles at this time of year, and this one is so bright and colorful. The only drawback is that I lose all track of time when working these, and have been getting to bed a lot later than usual. I need to set a timer so I start shutting down earlier!

On the stitching side, I've been working on my 2nd mermaid, and have gotten quite a bit done on one of the 2 seahorses that are part of the bottom border. So cute!! Let me get a bit further and I'll post some photos.

The dog is out on the patio, bundled up and wrapped up and snuggly under all her blankets, and will be out there for hours, so I'm going to use the time to get some stitching done.

Stay warm, and be good...Santa's almost here!

~~So grateful for the quiet weekend and the gorgeous weather!~~

 

Just some stuff...

Didn't have a whole "theme" to write about, but had these miscellaneous thoughts floating around in my head, so I thought, "Why not??" ...so here they are:

• Today I celebrated my 2-yr anniversary at work. There are days it feels like it should be my 10-yr anniversary, and other times it feels like yesterday.
• I'm sooo looking forward to the 4-day weekend coming up
• I'm really looking forward to the delicious leftovers coming up
  
• I'm super excited to see 2 friends on Saturday that I haven't seen in months
• I'm looking forward to tonight's finale of Dancing with the Stars...can't believe the season is over already
• Autumn and I celebrated our 3-year "Gotcha" anniversary over this past weekend....yep, it's been 3 years since she adopted me
• I can't wait for my upstairs neighbor to finish his flooring project....he's installing wood flooring HIMSELF and can only do it at night and on weekends. Unfortunately for me, those are the exact times that I'm HOME. I just keep telling myself, "This too shall pass!" PLEASE!!!
  
• My car needed some attention last week: 4 all new brakes, pads, rotors, and calipers; tires were due for rotating; oil change; fix the latch to the fuel door; and 2 new engine belts. Merry Christmas to me! UGH! (I knew the brakes were due for some serious replacing, but still never want to accept the actual expense.) Worst part: the daily rental car I got smelled like smoke, so my round trip commute that day had the windows completely down..at least it was [sort of] warm. Best part: I stopped in just to set up an appointment, and he could take me that same day! DONE!
• I sent off one of my stitching projects to a fabulous framer,Jill, at Rensel Studio and can't wait to get it back. I just mailed it out today, so there's no estimate of how long it will take yet. I'll keep you posted. If you check out her blog, scroll down and view her amazing hand-painted 'finishing touches' she adds to the mats around each project. She already has some ideas for mine, and I sent her some more ideas with the project itself, so I just know it'll be fabulous.
  
• I've done some more stitching on my 2nd mermaid...photo below shows the crown at the top all done (except for the beads)
• ...and last but not least, I want to say a HUGE Thank You to Jay, my personal computer fixer-upper. He worked miracles on my laptop and my desktop and I'm back in business as I'm typing this on my updated, upgraded laptop. WooHoo!

 

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! May everyone have good food, great friends, loved ones, and God's blessings around their table this holiday season.

 

~~So grateful for my friends, my family, and my health;           
                                      everything else is just icing on the cake~~