Shhh it's a secret!

I just wanted to check in and let y'all know I have been stitching but don't have any pics cause I don't want to ruin any Christmas surprises.  My birthday is in a couple days so maybe I'll get some crafty gifts to show!

In other news my ankle is still healing.  It seems to be taking forever but I guess that's normal and I've been told I'm healing really well.  I finally started physical therapy so hopefully the crutches will soon be gone!  I wonder if I can come up with a crafty use for them.

Just a quick update on Merry & Bright.  Although I'm really enjoying stitching this I've been fighting the urge to start something new.  I swear I have crafty ADD,  but I'm determined to get 'r done!

I hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Must stitch faster!!

Erynn over at Stitcheree! has posted another great freebie.  I really need to figure out how to stitch faster!  I told DH that I want an OTT light, or something like it, for Christmas.  Being able to see what I'm doing would help a lot.

Despite the bad lighting, Merry & Bright is coming along nicely.  Stitching on 32 ct linen has been a bit of a challenge and I've had to do some frogging several times (I blame the lighting!)  But I'm still enjoying it and hoping to get it done well before Christmas. 

I'm taking a short break from stitching today to catch up on some overdue penpal letters.  My mailbox has been very sad lately and you gotta send mail to get mail!

Tis the season

I haven't gotten much further on ABC Christmas.  I took a break from it to finish a UFO from over the summer than whipped out a couple small pieces which I can't show because they may end up being gifts.

 Speaking of frogs, I had to frog that bit of pink I was working on in this pic cause it was over one square too far and would have been touching the u.  I'm glad I noticed before I got too far!  I'm actually surprised with how far I've gotten on this one already.  I guess that's an advantage of having a broken ankle.

Last month I discovered Sticheree and her Merry & Bright SAL.  I wish I had the skillz for designing stuff like this.  I wanted to start it right then and there but, of course, all the fabric I had was just a little too small.  So I had to wait til I could get to the store to get some.  I wasn't able to order the threads listed like I wanted so I had to wait again til I could get the suggested DMC threads at the crafty store.  A disadvantadge to having a broken ankle!  
Anyway I finally got to get it started last night and the first thing I did was switch out the DMC aqua for some Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Tutti Frutti that I happened to already have.  And then today I changed the green to a darker green.  This pic isn't the greatest, the fabric and aqua are actually darker than they look here.  I'll try to get a better pic next time.

Ribbit

Yes there are frogs in this post but not the type that most stitchers fear.  About a year ago a friend, who we shall call Pirate Pete, asked me if I could stitch something for his wife.  He said her two favorite things were tree frogs and coca cola.  Over the summer I finally got around to drawing up a design and decided to try my hand at embroidery again.  Thankfully Pirate Pete is an extremely patient man because it took me another couple months to get around to framing it!  I enjoyed the whole process and learned a couple new skillz along the way.  I may be putting those skillz to use again soon as he has recently issued me a new challenge.

 

My favorite part

Good luck keeping those frogs away fellow stitchers!

Watch your step!

As usual plans do not always go as planned.  On Sept 18th I fell and managed to break my ankle in 3 places.  I had to have surgery the next day and am now the not so proud owner of one plate and nine screws.

  I'm not allowed to put any weight on it for at least another 4 weeks so I've had a lot of free time lately.  That means lots of Star Trek and stitching!  I'm so grateful I have this hobby otherwise I'd go totally insane with boredom!  Last year a stitching friend let me look through her huge stack of charts she no longer wanted and told me to take whatever I wanted.  I was in heaven!  Most of these charts included the fabric for them that she had bought at the same time, a couple of them even had floss.  Thanks to her I've been able to stay at least partially sane.

First I stitched Santa's Fill, a small kit from Shepherd's Bush.  It was a pretty quick stitch and came with a mat that was hand painted by Jill at Rensel Studio.  Pretty cool since I'll probably never be able to afford a custom one from her.

I am now working on ABC Christmas by Lizzy Kate.  It originally had some 40ct linen with it but I wasn't feeling up to that so switched it with some 28ct linen that I coffee dyed.  It might actually be 32ct, I don't have a ruler handy to check.  Please excuse the crappy ipod pic, I'll get a better one next time.

Happy Stitching and please watch your step!

Challenge Accepted

I told DH that I needed a new purse for fall/winter and he jokingly told me to just make one.  So with the help of this pattern I did!

I'm really happy with how it turned out although I'd like to make it again eventually with a few small changes.

I'm a mom so I'm sure this bad boy with be overflowing in no time.

Pockets are a must!

Still alive!

Yup, I'm still alive and still stitching, a little.  I can't believe it's been nearly a year!  Life really got in the way of my craftiness last year but I think (hope) it's safe to say things are back to normal.  We had to move in with the in-laws for a bit last year and after a couple months of searching we finally found the perfect house to buy.  I have a craft room!!!  No pics of that right now because it's still a huge mess but soon 2 out of 3 kids will be in school and I'll have much more time for all that. 

I shall return soon with pics and updates.  I'll try not to wait a year between updates this time.