Happy New Year's Eve

2004 has flown by. Due to Hurricane Ivan I've lost a month somewhere, it really should be about Thanksgiving time not the beginning of 2005.

How will 2005 start for me? Hmmm, how about ovenless! Got up yesterday morning to bake the kids a nutritious breakfast, Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, and the oven would never get hot. It's a gas stove so the burners work just fine, the clock on the stove works and the oven light works. I'm hoping that maybe just the pilot went out but then the top of the stove wouldn't work would it? What a mess. I'm taking my turkey to work with me and throwing it on the BBQ pit. Hopefully it will completely cook while I'm there. Since my next non-holiday day off is Wednesday there's no hope of this problem being resolved before then.

Other than that no plans for the weekend, it's the first of the month so not a lot of extra money to play around with this weekend. Yesterday at the video store I picked up used DVDs of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Big Bounce.

Music

I was so excited to discover that Motley Crue is going back on tour! I *heart* Nikki Sixx. I love that man, have since I was about 15. If their tour brings them anywhere near Florida I am there! The last time I saw them was about 10 or 12 years ago at the Midsouth Colliesium in Memphis. I know, GROW UP! But hey I'm a child of the 80s. I can't help myself. Speaking of the 80s. One of the kids I work with was talking about the 1980s like they were the 1950s or something. Then it dawned on me, when I was her age Happy Days was a hit show. I am so old!

I do miss the 80s. We had the best music. No Parking on the Dance Floor, You Dropped the Bomb on Me. Mine and DH's first date was to go see Purple Rain and then about the 5th date or so we went to see Prince at the Midsouth Collisieum. Second row seats! Ahhh, those were the days.

Sometimes I get so homesick. I would never want to move back to Memphis but I do miss my grandmother and my best friend and Exlines Pizza. I miss walking around the Peabody Hotel, seeing the sunset over the river, going to a concert at the amphitheater on Mud Island(saw Jackson Browne there over 10 yrs ago). Sometimes it would be nice to be with people that know your history. Know where you came from and what helped you become the person that you are today.

New Year's Goals

My only goal for the new year is to be a better person and a better friend. I have dreams and things I would like to accomplish but I've learned that setting those goals just doesn't work for me. Those kind of goals usually just leave me feeling like a major loser when the end of the year rolls around and I got absolutely nothing on my list finished. Of course in the coming days and weeks I'll have lists and lists of projects that I want to work on and hopefully finish but I'm not going to pressure myself. My crochet, cross stitching, knitting, quilting and scrapbooking are all for me and my enjoyment. If others are the beneficiaries of those finishes, that's great, but for me it's about the process. In the last couple of days I've been working on a long overdue RR and I realized how much I've missed cross stitching. It's always been my first love but I've gotten so bogged down in meeting goals and trying to finish a few important to me things that are gifts for people I dearly love that I began to resent the projects. It's been good to step back and realize that the earth would not swallow me up if these things weren't finished. Now I think I can pick up these projects with the right mindset and it's ok to work hard to get them finished but I can't let myself get so obsessed over them.

If you can please donate here: American Red Cross - Preparing Communities for Emergencies and Keeping People

Happy New Year! May Peace, Love and Joy Be With You All in 2005!

Words

For most of my life I've known the power of words, how poetry, stories, song lyrics, manage to reach out and touch places deep inside me. Today the first paragraph of PioneerWoman completely expressed how I feel about the holidays. I cried when I read those words because it's comforting to know that others struggle like you do during certain times of the year. Especially times that are supposed to be the "happiest" times of the year.

Off the Needles

My Black Sheep Bags-Booga Bag is finished and felted! Pics hopefully tomorrow. I don't think I felted it correctly. It probably could have run through another cycle or two of the hot water, until I get by the LYS to check out one of their felted items I won't be sure, but either way I love it. I was afraid of it shrinking a lot more than I wanted so I only let it agitate about 35 mins.

I'm getting ready to unravel my Sophie Bag. I'd like a larger bag so I think I'm going to restart it using two strands of the Cascade 220, and size 11, 29 inch circulars. It also helps that some of my stitches came off the needle and unraveled and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Guess I'll be more careful next time.

New Stash Cabinet

Why is organizing so hard? I have this great new stash cabinet and I can't come up with a way to organize my stuff in it. So far I have the yarn for an in progress afghan and two scarves stored in the closet side of it along with a couple of plastic shoe boxes filled with knitting accessories and beading supplies, other than that I am clueless. I do know the large bottom drawer will hold my linen for cross stitch and I may put crochet thread in another drawer along with my steel crochet hooks, hmmm, that sounds like that start of a plan of some kind. I may put small kits and ornaments that I kit up throughout the year in another drawer. That still leaves me with 4 drawers to fill. Don't get me wrong I can do that, pretty darn easily, it's just I want to keep this organized, to actually know where things are. Trust me, before long I'll just be dumping the contents of this bucket and that box into drawers and be right back where I started, not knowing where anything is.

On the 11th Day of Christmas(ok I'm a little late)

I finished these Christmas gifts:



On the 12th Day of Christmas:

A very good friend sent me this:



Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas or a great weekend.

Here are a couple of pics of my new stash cabinet. It wasn't a Christmas present but might as well have been. It was free, can't beat that.





I'm overwhelmed and can't even begin to figure out what I want to store where. All I know it's going to be great to empty a few Rubbermaid buckets and get them out of the living room. Does this mean I'm on my way to some type of organization? Will actually be able to find things when I need them? Will I manage to get to my living room decluttered? 2005 could be a whole new beginning for me and my stash.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas



As you can see I'm crocheting this using a Q hook and three strands of yarn, Red Heart's Gemstone and I'm using two strands of RH Black. Why has this been set aside to gather dust? I initially chained way too many at the start of this 'ghan. It's honkin' huge! To make it balance out I'll need at least four more skeins of black. It will be pretty when finished but right now it's just a bit overwhelming. When it gets a little bit colder I hope be motivated to get it finished. Especially since it works up fast.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas



What do I discover in the old started projects bucket but four Halloween designs all started but no where near completion. From left to right, Birds of a Feather's Remember Me on Halloween(this will get finished in 2005), L*K's Betty Broomstick and her squeeze Vinny Von Fang and Mosey 'N Me's Wendell the Warlock. As you can see I didn't bother pulling any of them out of their respective plastic baggies because for the most part they each only have the center stitches started. A few more on Betty and Wendell but not enough to be interesting.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

Finally something positive! A finished pink scarf for a coworker for Christmas!



It's a little wider than I wanted because I used smaller needles and cast on 20 stitches. If I had only cast on 15 it might have been just a tad longer. It wraps around my neck but not as much length as I would have liked, it does fall a tad below my boob area, so I think it's ok. Not too bad for a very first knitted scarf. Lessons learned, make sure to remember to leave enough yarn at the end to bind off correctly. GRRRRR. The scarf was knitted using 2 strands of Red Heart's Foxy in Cherries on size 13 needles. I've already started my second scarf and hope to have it finished today. I'm using size 15 needles and cast on 15 stitches and I already like it better. It's being knitted using RH's Aquarium. The pink scarf is so soft!

In the Workbasket

As mentioned before I'm hoping to finish up this second scarf today after that I'm not sure what I'll work on. I have a BC Zippers Snowglobe pulled out to stitch on but I really need to focus on Fairy Grandmother. I haven't cross stitched in what seems like ages. Fairy Grandmother has got to be a priority at least enough of one that I devote a bit of stitching time to it everyday.

On the knitting front I'm working on a Sophie Bag and it's working up much smaller than I thought it would. I am completely clueless where knitting is concerned, part of the problem of teaching yourself, so a friend told me she was using two strands of wool and size 11 circulars at 19 inches. There's no such thing as 19 inch circulars and because I don't want to be a pain, I'm assuming she meant she was using 29 inch circulars and two strands. I stopped by the LYS on Wednesday to ask them if they thought that was what my friend meant and they copped an attitude with me. I'm very very courteous about the LYS and asking questions. I would never go in and ask a question about anything if I hadn't purchased the needles and the yarn there, never. (I mention this because a lady came in with a big old skein of Red Heart yarn asking for help one day while I was there). I stopped by one day to ask if I was doing my I-cord correctly, they informed me that for $30 they offer a "help" hour on Tuesday nights and Thursday afternoons. There was no other customer in the store, I was prepared to buy more yarn and it took them all of 2 minutes to tell me that my Icord looked fine. I bought one skein of wool because they did help me, I had planned to buy more but it hurt my feelings. Is this normal for LYS? Whenever I have gone in to ask a question I have been the only person in the shop when I arrived and they never spent more than a few minutes showing me what I was doing wrong or showing me the correct way to do a stitch and the day I stopped in to ask about making the Sophie Bag larger I was prepared to buy more needles and wool for another bag. I didn't because of the saleslady's attitude(really pushing the "help" class). The help class isn't an option for me. I can barely see to drive after dark unless it's close, this LYS is 20 miles away. The Thursday class isn't an option either because of my job. Should I offer them $6 every time I go in to ask a question? None of my friends knit so if I have a question the LYS is about my only option. I want to support them but I'm seriously thinking about just ordering my supplies from Patternworks and figuring it out on my own. Do they not have a clue how much money I'll eventually spend there? I honestly never meant to abuse the privledge of asking them a question and tried hard to go early on Wednesday my day off when they had no customers and be quick and always, always buy something. Have I committed some major faux pas? Am I over sensitive?

On the Seventh Day of Christmas



My family presented me with a completely decorated Christmas tree. My tree never looks this full. The trick? Buy a tree two feet shorter than usual. Then once lights are added, then ornaments, it appears to be overflowing with Christmas goodness.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas



A partially finished Lady of the Flag by Mirabilia is stomping her feet because she has no head or no middle for that matter. I've been informed she'd like a head sometime before next summer and would love to be holding her flag to wave at July 4th parades.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

What appears before my wondering eyes? A plastic baggie filled with floss and a cross stitch chart that has been marked up with various shades of highlighters. What is missing from this picture? The mermaid herself! There is a mermaid on the run somewhere along the Redneck Riviera. Here's hoping she shows up soon.



On the Sixth Day of Christmas

What do I find but Designworks' Cowboy Boots ready to have a needle walk right over them.



These have been tucked away in a plastic bucket for so long that I had forgotten how much I love this design and the colors in the piece.

Today's Plan

To finish knitting a scarf for a coworker while watching the first 7 episodes of Farscape on DVD. I picked this up at Best Buy yesterday while Christmas shopping. 7 Episodes for the bargain basement price of $12.99. Then again I might just borrow DS#1's Reno 911 first season DVD set, that should be for knitting.

On the Third Day of Christmas.....



What did I find? But a "so close to finished" Dragon Isle that it hurts to look at it. I started this piece, oh back in 1997, stitched all this in a month maybe two at the most, stalled at the fractional stitches in the castle because I am stitching this on 14ct black aida. Fractionals are a nightmare on aida! So it lanquishes on the scroll bars, taunting DS#2, this will be his when it's finished, making him come to me and ask on occaision, "Mom, when are you going to finish my dragon?" I respond with "Soon, real soon." This is a game we've been playing for years and for probably more years to come. Maybe it will be finished sometime in 2005 or 2006, 2007?

On the Second Day of Christmas My True Love Sent to Me:



A shamefully neglected Ode to Yarngirl afghan. What is represented in the picture are two skeins of Red Heart's Ranch Red and about half a skein of Red Heart Gold single crocheted, and then on top of the afghan are the Red Heart Med. Thyme and Red Heart Farmland that I plan to incorporate into this afghan. The Farmland will be used as the edging on the afghan to pull together the Ranch Red, the Gold and Med. Thyme. Why is this afghan titled Ode to Yarngirl?
Because Julie was the inspiration. She used the Ranch Red and Farmland in a shawl and the colors were fabulous together. I always find inspiration in Julie's color choices and wish I had her confidence when selecting colors for projects. Checking out her blog, Yarngirl, always makes me want to pick up the hook and start working on a project. Thanks Julie for being a constant inspiration! Did I over use the word "inspiration" in this paragraph? Sorry but it's just the way I feel when reading Julie's blog, INSPIRED!

Thanks!

To Andrea for the url for the Cuisineart parts! Never dawned on me to see if I could replace the missing beater.

Question Du Jour

How many batches of cookies and cakes will this $8 mixer make before I must make a midnight run to the store who shall not be named to buy an industrial strength mixer to finish up my Christmas baking?



My hopes are high that this little mixer is up to the job, because I really, really, REALLY, can't spare whatever amount of dollars a better built mixer will set me back. The sad part, I have a pretty nice Cuisinart mixer, but it has lost one of it's beaters. That makes any kind of mixing a real contact sport. What makes mixing batter a contact sport you might ask? I tried using the whisk attachment along with the other beater, I ended up covered in flour, sugar, chocolate, of course this is my normal state when baking as I'm a power baker and no baking task is successful until there is as much flour and sugar on the floor and counter top as in the cake or cookies I'm attempting to mix.

May the Goddess of Baked Goods smile kindly on my home the next few days.

One the First Day of Christmas My True Love Sent to Me:



A barely started "And They Sinned" from the Examplar Dames. This piece was started sometime back in the spring and has been neglected for the rest of the year. Here's a toast to the biggest assed cross stitch piece of all time and hoping that I make some real progress on it in 2005.

I'd also like to give a shout out to my friend Siobhan for finishing this piece and getting it framed in a timely manner. I can only dream to kick this sampler's butt as beautifully as she did.

Obsession

Every year about this time I go through the whole, "I'm such a loser because I can't meet deadlines for gifts" whine. Why do I do this? Why do I have to only give gifts at Christmas? Why do I insist on making things when the recipient would be just as happy if not happier with a gift certificate to Bath and BodyWorks? I do this every damn year. EVERY DAMN YEAR! I start the year with the Tasha Tudor frame of mind that I will work all year creating gifts for the people that matter in my life. That goes pretty well until March, then I hit a snag(this year it was starting a parttime job) and come Thanksgiving weekend I'm in panic mode. I don't wait until the first of December to panic or the week before Christmas to panic, I begin my stress induced panic attack about two days before Thanksgiving when I realize it's flippin' Thanksgiving and I haven't even bought the turkey much less thawed it out and so it all begins. the joyous holiday season. ARRRGGGHHHH! To add insult to injury, between DS#2's birthday and DS#1 Christmas list I spent about $500 over the weekend and it all managed to fit very comfortably into two shopping bags. OUCH! That really hurt.

While going through some stuff under the pretense of "organizing" I ran across my The Scarlet Letter - Samplers, Needlework, Reproduction Samplers, Historic Sam wish list from early this year. After browsing the site I'm still in love with all the items on the list and as soon as the Christmas shopping is complete I plan to treat myself to one item on the list every week until I have everything on it. First on the list and more for emotional reasons, my maiden name is Gibson, I have to have the Margaret Gibson 1839 Reproduction Sampler and the second item on the list because I love mermaids and anything related to the sea, Reproduction Sampler Coraggio this sampler is on my list. Other can't live without items, Books recommended for charts of antique needlework - Page 3, the top two titles on this page, Animals Embroideries and Patterns and Embroideries and Patterns of 19th Century Vienna both by Raffaella Serena. Then on Page 5 and my #1 choice, it's the 5th title down on page 5 is the book Here Be Wyverns by Nancy Spies. The second book from the top, Old Italian Patterns for Linen Embrodiery looks interesting too. The last book on the list and I can't remember what page it's on, is Patterns: Embrodiery of the Early16th Century by Claude Nourry.

Believe it or not I work really hard at trying not to be so materialistic, but from the looks of the above list and all my dreams of owning my own LYS size stash of Koigu and Kureyon, not to mention the list of things I want from Nordic Needle, The Stitchery catalog, Patternworks, etc., I reckon I'm not doing very well in my goal of not acquiring so much stuff and for it not to mean so much to me. The facts are when Hurricane Ivan hit my area a few months ago other than family pictures I was pretty much at peace if we had lost everything we owned it was just "stuff" but on the bathroom counter along with the family pictures I also stored several rubbermaid buckets of stash. That's pretty wrong to associate the value of my stash with the value of my family pictures. Hmmmm really need to rethink those priorities and my value system.

Sunday Check In

Not too much to report from the Redneck Riviera this weekend. I am so full of delusions that I honestly believe in the few hours that I have to stitch or knit I can accomplish so much and it's all just a dream. Yesterday the DH and I woke up at 4 am and finally decided at 4:30am that Waffle House was calling so we headed over there, ate breakfast and tried to work out a game plan for the boys Christmas lists. It doesn't help that DS#2 has a December birthday. He always gets cheated around his birthday because it's 11 days before Christmas and this year we decided he'd get a big gift for his birthday and then for Christmas he can get all kinds of games and accessories to go with it or some clothes he's been wanting. We gave him a Game Cube, the starting price was $99. After a second game pad, a memory card, an extra game, and 1 yr service warranty it ended up costing $200. Oh well. We earn money, we spend money, we don't save money. It's the circle of our life.

Today DS#2 has a friend coming over to spend the afternoon and watch the WWE Armageddon Wrestling PPV tonight. We'll order pizza and I plan to hide in the bedroom and work on my Sophie Bag or the I-Cord for the Black Sheep Bags-Booga Bag I'm right at three feet so I might just be able to get it finished this weekend. If I can get it finished I'll felt it when I run my load of jeans waiting to be washed. Of course as I mentioned DS has a friend coming over and my kitchen is a disaster. Seriously. I ought to be cleaning and mopping the kitchen, removing the clothes from the dining room table, and vacuuming the living room, but I don't want to. I have other plans. It's times like these when I realize I how truly selfish I am. It's my kid's birthday and I'm whining about other things, technically it's not his birthday until tomorrow but that's not the point. I am selfish. Especially since I started working. My free time is so limited, I hate sacrificing one moment of it to anything other than what I want to do. I want to sit in my messy house and knit, crochet and cross stitch and watch the Ben Franklin story I taped off of the History Channel last night and I don't want a little stranger wandering around my house making me feel uncomfortable in my own home. So I know, this makes me selfish. It's one day out of my life, a big day for my DS, and it's all about me. Isn't the purchase of a $200 birthday present enough? Can't the $35 PPV event be enough? I hate this side of my personality. Kids should come first but since going back to work, I miss my quiet time, my me time. I can't believe I took those years for granted. I know, enough already with the whining.

Speaking of Christmas

All my plans are on the backburner. I was going to make a few people Boogabags and Sophie Bags. I obviously thought I could actually knit these quickly. What a joke. I do this crap every year. I get all inspired just before Thanksgiving, then I get overwhelmed right about now, then I shove everything in Rubbermaid buckets, ziplock baggies and feel like a horrible person because I couldn't meet these absolutely unreachable goals I set for myself.

Last year I started out trying to make each person in my stitching loop a stitched present for their birthday. I started working in March and that was the end of that. No one knew what I was hoping to do all year, but still, my heart was in the right place but I managed to screw it up. I did get a couple of mail arts stitched for friends that thought they were cool and I may be able to squeeze one more in before the end of the year. It may even be stitched and finished in time to reach her before Christmas. There I go dreaming again. I'm planning to go through the stash today see what I can find in the way of Christmas designs or New Years designs that I might be able to stitch up and send soon. I love making the mailarts. They are so much fun to plan and stitch. I'm even more comfortable adding the lining to them now. They aren't perfect by any means, and I'm definitely not a seamstress,but these mailarts bring me a special kind of joy. Not sure why they have caught my imagination so much but I like them.

Dreaming Big....

We've been scoping out new digital cameras. I have been checking into the Fuji 7000 and the guy at Sears said they had to stop carrying it because the three people that bought them couldn't figure out how to use them. At Walmart this morning we played around with the Fuji 3 something or other and DH was impressed with it, also the Nikon Cool Pix 3200 was pretty nifty. DH liked the Fuji better. I like my HP, it's small, user friendly,but I'd like a little bit better camera to play around with. I'm also dreaming of my own laptop and another desktop computer for our bedroom.

We're roaring into the 21st century by purchasing cell phones. I know,we are like the only people on the planet that hasn'tacquired these but I finally decided it was time. We need to be able to reach the kids anytime and the same for them being able to reach either me or DH. I'm hoping to keep these numbers away from the general population because I truly believe cell phones are for emergencies not sitting around chatting with friends(DS#1 disagrees).

The Plan

In the not to distant future I'm hoping to use these:



To turn this:



Into a reasonable facsimile of this(only better):



Do I dare to dream that this will be as simple as the instructions state? Is it too much to ask for this to work on the first try? And the most important question of all, how long is it going to take me to unravel the 8oz skein of wool? I think this could take longer than anything else involved in the Koolaid dyeing process. Another pressing question, is it possible for me to unravel the skein and keep it from becoming a tangled mess?

Once this process is finished I hope to turn the wool in all it's citrusy-limeiness into a Sophie Bag
before Christmas. I do dare to dream don't I?

Binding Off

Last night after work I started binding off my Black Sheep Bags-Booga Bag. What amazed me? As soon as I started binding off the stitches, my hands knew exactly what to do. Guess I learned more during my foray into knitting when I was 8 than I thought. I have ends to weave in and I'm finding my I-cord difficult to make. I think I'm over thinking it. The first attempt was probably perfect, but I thought I could do better, big mistake. Now I have no clue what the heck I'm doing. I decided to step back, take a break, and then attempt it again either today or head over the LYS tomorrow and ask for more guidance. I just want to know that I'm doing it correctly. I can't find any good pics of I-cords before felting to see if mine looks like it should.

Started to cast on for a Red Sophie Bag but when I purchased the Cascade 220 for it, I forgot to roll it into a ball at the LYS. So it's either find the instructions for making a center pull ball from a toilet paper roll or just do it tomorrow while at the LYS.

Cross Stitch News

I've been procrastinating on some projects and decided it was all due to Carriage House Samplings Houses of Hawk Run Hollow. I'm still on House #1. I kept putting off working on other things until I finished this house and made the decision this morning to place HOHRH, the chart, the threads, all in a 2 gallon ziplock baggie and store it out of sight for a while. That will help me get a few other things out of the way and not obsess over finishing that block before I work on something else. Out of sight, out of mind. I need to get to work on Fairy Grandmother and get it finished so I can have it framed and ready to give to my grandmother the first of the year. I think this is going to be my focus for the next few weeks. I had planned to do some ornaments but it's just not going to happen this year. Fairy Grandmother is going to be my priority piece until she is finished. My grandmother had a health scare last week and I can't let this go any longer. She truly is my Fairy Grandmother and she deserves this gorgeous piece of needleart more than anyone.

Booga Bag Update

Managed to take some pics of my BoogaBag today:



Here's a pic of the bottom:



So far I've used about a skein and a half of the Kureyon. I am deeply in love with this wool.

Inspired

Blog reading has become very annoying to me. I find inspiration in all the blogs I read. Why is that annoying? Because I want to learn all these new techniques. I want to work with thread and make doilies or tablecloths, I want to crochet faster so I can make tons of scarves and shawls. The generousity of these amazing hookers, (or hmmm, hook artisans?) makes me feel so selfish. They create all these beautiful items and give them away to family members and friends. It takes me so long to finish anything that by the time it's finished I'm attached to it. I can't let it go out into the world where I don't know how it will be treated. I want to keep it all for myself to look at and fondle occaisionally. I can't stop reading the blogs because while they fill me with angst over my lack of finishing, they also inspire me to pick up the hook or needle or knitting needles and create. Since I'm more about the process than the finishing(finishing is just a really cool perk), the small aggravation I get from my lack of finishing is minor compared to all the ideas I get from fellow bloggers. What a gift the blogging world is to the solitary needleartist. Yeah, I know that's lame, but it's true. How many people live near others who share their interest in crochet, cross stitch and knitting? From my experience not too many. The blogging world has connected so many of us and created friendships all around the world. We've made friends who completely understand our wild obsession with needles and hooks of all kinds. While those near us look at us like we're these aliens from another galaxy when we go on and on about the latest Birds of a Feather fabric, the newest wool from Japan, glorious Turn of the Century crochet hooks, the blogging world has shown us that there are others out there like us, whose fingers ache to hold a hook, a hoop, needle and thread, and knitting needles whenever they have a free moment and love collecting beautiful hooks and needles and yarns and wool. We are not alone. What a great feeling!

Koolaid Dyeing

Today I think I'm going to breakdown and give Koolaid dyeing a whirl. I have to run to the grocery any way, might as well stop by the Koolaid isle and see what I can find in the way of lime colored Koolaid. DH is out of the house watching football with his friends, the kids are off in their rooms fighting doing their thing, so I might as well feel the fear and see what happens. I figure the worst case scenario is I manage to felt an entire skein of wool before I ever get to use it. I can read directions so it ought to be easy. I just need to keep the rinse water the same temperature as the dyeing water. Should be easy to do. Famous last words.

I saw that Marlo's Crochet Corner has a new Country Market Felted Bag pattern up for sale. It's a very nice bag so I'm planning to order the pattern soon. I love that style. I think felting can get addictive. I haven't felted anything yet but I sure am accumulating lots of patterns for felted bags.

Saturday

Woke up to rain this morning. Helped my neighbor who had planned to have a yard sale bring her stuff in out of the rain, only to have the sun come out an hour or so later. DH and I went out to breakfast after taking DS#1 to school today for his student goverment thing, still haven't quite figured out what he's doing but they were supposed to fill him in on all the details today. We made a grocery store run after breakfast and then I headed out to run some errands. I had two cross stitch pieces that have been sitting around here waiting on me to frame them but I like each of them so much that I thought they deserved more than a frame from Wally World. So I took them over to the LNS to be framed. The owner wasn't in and I am terrible choosing frames, and the ladies working there kept offering me up blue and red frames. I want frames that are stained to resemble wood. If I wanted a frame that was something other than wood I'd have bought cheapie frames from Wally World and painted them myself and then framed them myself. I'm sorry but when I stitch something I want the stitching to be enhanced by the framing not overwhelmed by the frame. These were both simple samplers and just needed a basic, very simple frame. I opted to leave them there at the shop so Sally could take a look at them and let me know what she thought would work best. I did find two back issues of CS&CC that I had been searching for in the garage sale bin. I think one is already in my stash but this one was only 10cents so I figured if it was a duplicate and someone along the way was looking for this issue I could pass it along. I then headed over to JoAnn's to check out their sale, didn't find anything I couldn't live without so I used my 40% off coupon on a skein of LionBrand Fisherman's Wool. I'm stocking up on this for some future Koolaid dyeing and then felting. I mean can we really have too much yarn or wool of any kind? I think not. I then stopped by the Garden of Beadin' to look for some crimps for a couple of gifts I want to make if I can find the time but they didn't have any that would work with 20 gauge wire but the lady working there told me that I could very easily do a wrap that would hold the beads on without crimps. I'm going to give it a go. I'm making this whole beading thing up as I go along. After that I ran by the LYS for info on how much wool it's going to take to make a 6 ft I cord and also to see if they had any Lime Cascade 220 in stock since I want to make the lady I work for a Sophie Bag for Christmas and she loves that bright lime. They didn't have the lime in stock so now I'm hoping that Patternworks has it in stock and I can mail an order off to them and have it back in time to start and finish a Sophie bag before Christmas. Then again I am toying with Koolaid dyeing a skein of this Lionbrand wool and using that for a Sophie bag, if it was for me I wouldn't mind doing it but I hate to waste a whole skein of wool if the dye job doesn't work. Koolaid does come in a lime green. It would definitely solve my problem for a fraction of the cost of the Cascade 220. I'm going to ponder this for a day or two and I may just jump in and give it a go. When I got home we took the boys to CiCi's for dinner and wandered around BooksAMillion for a while, then took them to the Festival of Lights. Of course this was a spontaneous decision and even though we're on the Redneck Riviera it was cold and no one had jackets or long sleeves on and I didn't have the digital camera with me. So we only stayed long enough to catch the lighting of the Christmas tree(was that good timing or what?) and for the boys to see the ice rink. The park was beautiful with snowflake lights hanging from these huge pine trees. A few boats floated by on the bay all lighted up for Christmas. I love those. DS#2 finally had all he could take of the chill so we headed home and told them to be prepared to come again next weekend, I'll have the camera with me and they are to have looks of awe and joy on their faces. Can't believe I have this stupid digital camera and then forget to carry it with me all the time.

I've been working away on my Black Sheep Bags-Booga Bag and it's coming along nicely. I might just take a pic tomorrow. This Kureyon is going to be my crack. I can tell now. I want to own it all. In the LYS today they had restocked the bins, when I was in on Wednesday they only had three skeins left, and I swear seeing those full bins of glorious colorful wool I started to drool. I wanted to buy everything they had in stock. It is all so flippin' beautiful. I know one can only have so many bags in the same style, I don't know what I would do with all that Kureyon but I do know that it would all be mine and that's all that's important. Maybe some leg warmers? Some socks? I haven't finished my first knitting project yet and I'm already stashing wool and planning projects above my skill level.

Projects

Speaking of projects and hoarding stashing, it's time I sat down and starting going through the buckets and buckets of stash I have accumulated and get it organized and listed so I know what I have on hand. I have cross stitch stash, crocheting stashing, quilting stash, and now I'm accumulating knitting and beading stash. The latter two are very small and I can count on one hand everything in both of those stashes but the others, hmmmmmm, I am clueless. One thing I do know, if they gave out grades for stashing and starting projects I'd have an A+. I'd have an A in the kitting up department too. I love to kit projects. I don't know why, but I enjoying kitting the project and tucking it away for sometime in the future as much as I love starting the project. Finishing is just a fabulous perk of the whole process. I love making my lists, gathering up supplies, storing them altogether, and then putting it away for a time when I want to start something new and have absolultely no money to go buy the stuff for a new project. There waiting patiently, fully paid for, is a brand spankin' new project, fully kitted and ready to go. That is just about the most perfect moment. It's a sickness isn't it?

Grasshopper, You Have Seen the Light

This morning I had to run out to the mall and pick up DS#1 a pair of khakis for his Student Government thing. Not exactly sure why but I was told last year's khakis are up to his knees and he needed new ones by Saturday. Snagged a pair of pleated khakis at Old Navy for $15 and then headed over to the LYS for some much needed knitting guidance. The ladies there were a huge help. I found out that 1) I am knitting correctly 2) I was on the right track with that whole picking up and knitting stitches, the word "twisted" threw me but once they explained it to me I had a huge "DUH" moment. My Black Sheep Bags-Booga Bag is right on track and with any luck I may just get it finished by the weekend. I am totally digging the striping in the Noro Kureyon. It is absolutely fabulous. I am so in love with this wool. I scooped up a skein of Cascade 220 in Red for a Sophie Bag and also a skein of Brown Sheep's Nature Spun in Pepper and a skein of Lamb's Pride Worsted in Kiwi for the Alien Illusion scarf in Stitch N Bitch. The LYS didn't have the Nature Spun in the recommended Spring color so I am taking a chance on the Kiwi. It's sorta alien green. I probably should have grabbed another skein of the Kiwi because I forgot to check the yardage on the skein and I'm going to be about 50 yds short of what the pattern calls for. I'm going to give the LYS a call tomorrow and see if they'll stick a skein back for me. Just as sure as I don't I'll never find this color again. If I can scrounge up the money I may go back and get three more skeins of the Noro Kureyon. They have it in a skein of beautiful fall colors. Greens, golds, yellows & brown. I think it's the same color as the wristwarmers in Stitch N Bitch Nation. I think it'd make a pretty Boogabag for my best friend. She called me today and has found a lump in her breast near her nipple. She's prone to those fiber- something- cysts(can't for the life of me remember what the hell they are called) that a lot of women get in their breasts but she said this one felt different, but now the swelling seems to have gone down and while she still has her drs appt for this afternoon she's feeling a little better about it being more stress/caffiene related than cancer related. I'm saying prayers for her that everything is ok. Her birthday is Dec. 9th and I think I could easily finish and felt another boogabag by then. If not I can send her the one I'm working on now.

After visiting the LYS for guidance, I stopped by the LNS to pick up a skein of Pebble WDWs and the owner looked at me and asked me why I was so sad? I know that I've been down but just didn't realize how much it was showing on my face. Especially to people who don't know me that well. As I write that I realize I've been a regular at this shop for almost 8 yrs so chances are they do know me pretty well. I whined about losing my ornament fabric that I purchased just a few weeks ago and the chart for the ornaments for friends, about how late it already is, and I'll never make any kind of Christmas deadline. Sally looked at me and said, "Is anything going to change? Is all this sadness going to make a difference?" The answer, "No." Move on, be happy and start focusing on next year. She's probably right. I know she's right. She shared with me a few things she's been making, something nice for fellow stitchers, which I will relate here another time. I may make a few of these for stitching friends. They will be quick, beautiful and useful. When I left, I cried walking to my truck. Why is it that when people are so kind, their kindness makes me cry? Sally took the time to show me how she made these things, even gave me some supplies to get started on a few of my own. Just her sharing this and her generousity made me cry. Does just the smallest kindest by your fellow human being bring tears to your eyes? Do I expect so little from the people that cross my path that when someone shows just the tiniest bit of kindness that it brings me to tears? Or do I think I'm so undeserving of that kindness myself that when someone shows they care it makes me sob? Whatever the reason, I got in my truck and cried all the way home.

I know, I'm crazy. I obviously need medication. But I must say I now feel better. I know that I'm not a total failure at knitting. I have solved a small Christmas problem and have let the others go. I still have not found my ornament chart or the fabric pieces, I'm just letting it be. I'm going to consider myself ahead of the game for next year. If they turn up in the next day or so, then maybe, just maybe, I'm still in the running this year.

Should have went to the grocery today, but hey I need to pace myself. Chinese sounds good for supper anyway. Much better than anything I could come up with to cook.

Guess Who Came to Thanksgiving Dinner?

Thanksgiving came and went quietly. I baked a turkey, was bad and didn't put the turkey away as fast as possible after dinner, the cats helped themselves to turkey breast. We now just have dark meat left. My bad. I know this, but hey they have lots to be thankful for too right? It's only proper they had a bit of the bird with which to celebrate their comfy lives.

On a sad note, they broke one my Pistoulet bread plates. Also my bad. I shouldn't have left it sitting precariously on the edge of the sink. I got sidetracked, forgot to go back and put it in the dishwasher, and disaster ensued as Holly jumped up to lick the Coolwhip off the plate.

While spending some time catching up on blogs in the wee hours of the morning I slowly began to feel like such a slacker where my hobbies and creative outlets are concerned. How do these folks accomplish so much? Even when I didn't work I never managed to finish as much stuff as some of these ladies. I understand and embrace the fact that I have no focus. I bounce around aimlessly picking up project after project, putting one down and choosing another as boredom shows it's ugly face or as the spell of the new project wears off. I try so hard to finish things only to set them aside as the finish line draws near. What is up with that? Do I suffer from "fear of finishing?" Is there such an ailment? I know that these are hobbies. I don't sell anything, they are for my enjoyment and for the pleasure of those that I want to shower with my handmade gifts. The sad part is that I rarely finish anything to give as a gift. I started thinking how a friend of mine's daughters might love some funky scarves as Christmas gifts. It's almost December what am I thinking? I never manage to finish anything in a timely matter. I'm such a loser.

Maybe it's the full moon, maybe it's the cold whether showing it's face here on the Gulf Coast, I don't know but I have been overcome with a sadness. Especially when I reflect back on all the goals I set for myself this year, all the good intentions I had planned. I don't think I accomplished any of them. I did start a job. That was not in the plan. It was one of those things that just happened. It's enriched my life but also kind of taken over. The job got me out of the house and around people. That was a good thing. The hours are great, nice people to work with and a lot of the regular customers are wonderful folks. It's just gone from two days a week to four and some times five or six and seems to be the focus of my life. A job working at a BBQ pit on the side of the road has taken over my life. I miss my quiet, alone days. I have gotten to where I really dislike being around people when I'm not at work because they just get on my nerves. On my days off I find myself running here and there so that I can get back home and stay in for the next couple of days. I have to work today and I'm resenting it right now. I want to stay home with my kids. Yes, my kids that make me crazy. I want to be home with them. To talk and watch tv and just hang out. I don't want to leave them here while I go off to work.

Recently I've been struggling with being so far from family and my kids not being with their extended family over the holidays. What are they missing? Am I raising them to go out in the world with only their dad and I and their brothers as their family? Is that wrong? Honestly, there are times when I ache for family but 98% of the time even though I'm 600 miles away I'm still too close. Is this attitude hurting my kids? Will they too always be isolated from the rest of their family? Sometimes I think this is a huge mistake on my part. They need that connection, but at the same time do they need all the baggage that comes with those connections?

Can you tell I just really hate the whole holiday season? It just brings up all these issues that I need to get over. At least around our house there is no arguing about who's family gets Christmas Eve and who gets Christmas day. We're here at home both days. The kids told me last night they don't mind going to see family but they don't want to spend holidays with family and go out of town. So I guess I need to plan to go home occaisionally and get over the holiday guilt.

Plans for the Weekend

Ornaments are calling my name. I have the fabric and finally the thread for several ornaments, can't find the darn fabric though. Trust me it's in a safe place, just so safe that I have no clue what I've done with it. I need to stitch an ornament for a swap, and I want to make three stitching friends ornaments and I'd like to do an ornament for an online friend as a thank you for some clothes she sent me. They made my day and they all fit.

Knitting Progress

The BoogaBag is coming along slowly. I'm not happy with the way my stitches look so I'm going to take what I've done so far into the LYS on Saturday and let them look at it and tell me if it's looking like it should or I should just unravel and start over.

Crochet

My Ode to Yarngirl is coming along nicely with the exception that single crochet afghans take forever! So far I've used two full skeins of Red Heart's Ranch Red and am now about halfway through a skein of Red Heart's Gold. I hope to finish off that skein this weekend, then crochet 5 SC rows of Ranch Red and then crochet a whole skein of Red Heart's Med. Thyme, after that depending on the size of the afghan I'll either crochet two or three full skeins of Ranch Red before ending the afghan with the same stripe sequence as the other end. The colors are gorgeous together and the Red Heart Farmland is going to make a beautiful SC edging for the whole afghan.

I have my Woolease afghan, the Crazy Quilt Coverlet from Simply Creative Crochet, ready to go, just can't start it until I get some other projects finished.

Computer

This weekend I hope to get some time to refresh myself on adding buttons to the blog and adding more links. I'm so stupid where this is concerned. I do it once then forget how. I need to add my 63 Squares Crochetalong button and can't for the life of me remember how to do it. I'm still participating in that CAL just never have to time to crochet the squares these days. I'm also not happy with my color choices and may scrap what I have and start over with something else.

Where is that Visually HTML book?

Now Showing



My Finished L'Ete! I picked her up from the LNS on Thursday and can't stop looking at her. She doesn't photograph well, just too hard to get the details to show in such a large piece. She was designed by Birds of a Feather and is stitched on 35ct Birds of a Feather Barnowl linen using all WDWs threads.

My Next Project

Hopefully with the aid of these:



I'll be able to make one of these Black Sheep Bags-Booga Bag using these:



I started casting on in the car and DH yelled, "Hey you can't do that! You don't know how!" Believe it or not I'm a casting on bandit. I remember being taught when I was about 8 yrs old, then a few months ago I found a link to a demo on the web showing how to cast on, knit and purl and I watched the demonstrator for a minute, picked up my knitting needle and yarn and cast on like I had been casting on my whole life using the slingshot method. Then I started knitting in the car but realized I didn't know the pattern and wasn't sure how many rows to knit and honestly I didn't think I was using the circular needles correctly. Once I got home and read the pattern I could have kept on going in the car because you don't connect up the circle until row 35. Anyway I unraveled what I had done so far and will start over tomorrow when DH goes off to watch football since I have to work tonight. I'm hoping I can figure out the whole picking up stitches and "knitting the next 16 stitches twisted"(unsure about that whole twisted thing) but if worse comes to worse I'll have an excuse to head over to LYS again on Wednesday.

The Noro Kureyon I'm using is color 74. It's beautiful. I'm already planning several other knitting projects in my head. It doesn't even matter than I don't know how to knit yet. I just plan away. How's that for being the optimist?

Just One More Row and I'll Stop....

Anyone else do this? You've been crocheting on a project, you're almost down to that last little bit of yarn from a skein and you keep thinking one more row and I'll finish out this skein, yet it's another row and another row because while you don't think it's that much yarn it's a whole lot more than you can imagine? I've been doing this for the last hour. Thinking to myself one more row of single crochet will wipe out this skein, nope, got enough for another row, then another, it only looks like a little clump of yarn there but lo and behold it goes on and on.

This morning I was able to stop by the LYS and browse and ask a gazillion dork questions about knitting needles, circular knitting needles, the bamboo/cable knitting needles, got way too excited when I discovered they now stock Noro Kureyon. I'm pretty sure I scared the lady helping me when I think I actually squealed! From across the store, ok it's not that big, I saw the green/brown/orange/yellow wool that is used for the wrist/arm warmers in Stitch 'N Bitch Nation. Since I'm not a regular customer I think I caught her offguard with my wool knowledge. Especially since I was such an idiot where needles were concerned. They were completely out of 16inch circular needles of any kind so I ended up purchasing some 10.5 Bamboo Straights to practice the pattern for Skully out of the original Stitch 'N Bitch book. They told me that their needle order should be in at any time so I'm going to check back with them on Friday and hopefully get by there and pick up the 10.5 double points and circular needles I need for a boogabag or a Sophie bag. I could have bought the double points today but all they had in stock were plastic ones and I'm such a dork I wanted mine to be bamboo. I also spent $4 on a package of white rubber or plastic stitch markers only to see them at JoAnn's for $1.79. But I do know the importance of giving the LYS as much of my business as I can.

At JoAnn's I used my 40% off coupon for a skein of LionBrand Fisherman's Wool. Gaze into your crystal ball and tell me what you see in my future? Are you seeing a crockpot? Some empty packets of ...what is that? Squint through the fog.....could it be Koolaid packets? Yes! Koolaid dyeing is definitely in my future, maybe the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Stopped by the LNS to check on my L'Ete. They were supposed to have her ready by tomorrow and I'm so proud of her and since I supplied the frame I fully expected her to be prominently displayed at the front of shop for everyone to ooooo and ahhhhhhh over. Boy was I depressed to find out that they hadn't even started the framing on her yet. It's not that I was in any kind of hurry, I'm not, I was just arrogant, and so full of pride I expected them to rush to frame her so that she could be displayed in the shop as long as possible because she is a piece of extraordinary beauty. Honestly she's very different from all the other shop models. I did order Eye of the Tiger to stitch for DS#1. Very cool piece.

Treated DS#1 to lunch at a local Country Buffett, he's been sick and I thought the vegetables would be good for him. I'm giving him through the weekend to improve and if he doesn't I guess it's off to the dr we go. I think it's just a cold but he's running just enough of a fever to feel bad and he has a sore throat from his sinus' draining but my luck it'll end up being strep throat or mono.

Great Mail Day!

Yesterday my order arrived from Lionbrand with the Woolease I ordered for the Crazy Quilt Coverlet from the Simply Creative Crochet magazine. DH has my digital camera or I would have taken a pic. The colors in the box were 7 skeins of Loden, 2 of Gold and 1 of Camel. Not sure when I'll get around to starting this as I have come to believe that I might be-gasp-a one at a time project girl. I'm on my second skein of Red Heart's Ranch Red in my Ode to Yarngirl afghan and I'm hoping to be able to add some Gold and Med Thyme stripes by the weekend. I have great hopes for this afghan. The Ranch Red alone is beautiful but I can't wait to add some more color to it. I've become obsessed with this afghan and every time I sit down on the couch to watch tv my hands grab the hook and add a few more rows to this afghan.

Right now my current projects are my Ode to Yarngirl afghan and in cross stitch Houses of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings - News. Once I finish House #1 on HOHRH I plan to set it aside for some Christmas stitching. I have several ornaments I want to stitch for friends and the ornaments I want to stitch keep changing. I hate that. I can't make up my mind. Anyway, I'd love to attempt the Christmas Wreath afghan in Vanna White's Afghans A-Z book. I've wanted to do this for years but let's face it I'll never get it finished by this Christmas and it will be relegated to the "I'm such a loser" pile along with the boys' Christmas stockings and my grandmother's Fairy Grandmother cross stitch piece and my long neglected novel. I might start kitting it up so that after the holidays when I have another 365 days to get it finished before next Christmas I may feel like giving it a try. I do have problems working on more than one crochet project at a time in that I get all my stitches confused. I've been wanting to alternate between my single crochet Ranch Red and my Girl Power Granny(I'm still working on blocks to make me one of these after giving my original one to my great niece), but I find bouncing around between different stitches confuses me and I end up having to look at the pattern and just lose track of where I am and what I'm doing. There are also tons of blocks I want to make from the book 200 Crochet Blocks. I've been toying with the idea of a Sampler afghan using different blocks from this book, then again I love some of the afghan ideas presented in the book and her color choices. I know I'm such a loser, I don't trust my color choices and prefer to use someone else's choices as a guide-the Crazy Quilt Coverlet is a perfect example. I'm sure I could have found some colors that were close locally but I opted to order the exact colors from Lionbrand. In my defense a desire to use something other than Red Heart also prompted me to order the Woolease too.

Rude Awakening!

Thanksgiving is next Thursday! What planet am I on? I thought I had two more weeks until Thanksgiving and it's next week. I haven't bought my turkey, any casserole ingredients, no flour, no sugar. Guess a major grocery shopping trip is in my future. How did this sneak up on me? To top it off, the house is still a disaster area. The more I clean, toss out junk, the bigger the piles seem to grow. What is up with that?

Stitch 'N Bitch Nation

Was in stock at the BooksAMillion yesterday so I scooped up a copy. I have decided that my first big knitting project is going to be the Jesse's Flames sweater for DS#2. It's so cool. I think once I get my knitting and purling in sync this is a very doable project and by the time I get to the sleeves I should be comfortable enough to attempt the intarsia flames. I dream big don't I? Never fear I plan to do several smaller projects, probably bags, before I ever attempt a sweater.
There are lots of nice projects in this book at least at first glance. I've read some mixed reviews of this book and at first was relieved when my BAM didn't have it in stock on Friday, but after getting a chance to flip through it in the store Saturday I thought it would be $16 well spent.

I also picked up Dan Brown's Angels and Demons(had intended to scoop up his other two paperbacks, Digital Fortress and Deception Point(think that's correct) but saw Stitch 'N Bitch Nation so decided I could pick those up another time. It was a fairly easy decision, Angels and Demons was 40% off and the other two were regular price. I also picked up John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, another 40% off purchase. I missed reading it the first time it was released and wanted to definitely read it before seeing the movie if I get around to it. Also bought the kids various magazines to keep them quiet yesterday afternoon. Worked pretty well.

Did I mention on Friday I purchased the 9/11 Commission Report book and also Holy Blood, Holy Grail? I've had a pretty good book buying weekend. I remember when I used add a few new books to the reading pile every week. I'd read the NY Times Book Review and just go buy as many books on the list that caught my interest, now I take my book buying in spurts. I tend to haunt the used book store but since Hurricane Ivan my favorite one has been closed. I believe it was supposed to reopen this weekend. Just didn't get a chance to pop over there. I try to keep a list of books that I want to look for in my purse so I always have it with me when I get a chance to get to the UBS. Then again I have shelves of paperbacks that I have yet to read. But I look at this the same way I look at stash enhancing, they are there for me when I finally have time to read. I'm also pretty anal about reading series books, I want to buy all the books in a series that are released before I start reading them. I'm not happy with just book #1 in a series, need two, three, etc. I've been trying to get into Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series but I keep setting it aside.

LYS Rant

In an earlier post I believe I mentioned not ever being able to get by the LYS for yarn buying or help, yesterday I discovered why it was so flipping hard, they close at 2pm on Saturday. On Saturday they close at 2pm! Isn't there something wrong with that? Am I missing something? Isn't Saturday a big shopping day for working women/men who pursue crafts of any kind? How can they justify closing at 2pm on a Saturday, especially when they are in the heart of downtown Ft Walton Beach. Doesn't make sense to me. Then again what do I know? The few times I've been in the shop the ladies have been very nice, but those hours. Can't get over that.

Sunday

Today is going to be quiet, I don't plan to leave the house. I plan to watch the Stepford Wives and cross stitch, crochet and read. I have three kids, the above statement is only a dream. Hopefully though I can get a little work in on some projects and just enjoy the day.

I probably ought to clean house a little too. ICK!

I Think I Can....

Purl!

One of the reasons I ordered the Coats Knitting Made Easy CDROM was due to my purling issues. It just felt wrong. I didn't have an experienced knitter around to ask if I was doing it correctly and can never seem to get to the LYS to ask them for their help so after reading
Hazelnut Latte and her success with the CDROM I decided it might just be worth the investment. I popped it in this morning just to see what it was like and I immediately figured out what I had been doing wrong when purling. I'm such a visual person that no matter how many books I read, how many diagrams I looked at, I just wasn't going to "get it" until I saw someone actually doing it. Now to just find the time to sit down and practice.

Nice Quiet Weekend

At least that's what I'm hoping for. I didn't really plan to leave the house but the kids want to go to CiCi's for lunch and I found a JoAnn's coupon so I may take them to lunch and stop by JoAnn's and use my 40% off coupon on a skein of Lionbrand Fisherman's Wool that I can play around with and Koolaid dye. Then maybe knit or crochet a bag to felt.

DH is gone for the weekend and I'm kind of glad. I can stay up as late as I want, cross stitch or crochet or practice knitting until all hours of the night, I don't have to share the tv and can just turn it off and listen to music if I want to, funny how such simple little things can make life so nice. Don't get me wrong, I love my DH but I just prefer to go to bed than to fight over the tv or sit there and watch him flip channels. It drives me crazy. I know that if that's our biggest problem then I should count my blessings and tv is not the most important thing in the world but now that I work too when I'm home I want to do what I want to do because my time is just as important as his and we absolutely do not agree on what to watch on tv. If I see Rudy one more time I'm going to throw up.

It's a dreary day down here but I think the sun is supposed to come out later on this afternoon.

Good Mail Day

My Coats Knitting Made Easy CDROM arrived today! Now to find the time to use it. DH is going out of town this weekend but all the kids will be here so I'm not counting on getting too much computer time over the next couple of days.

I sent the order for this CDROM in to Herrschnerr's after mailing out my Lionbrand catalog order. Usually anything from Herrschnerr's takes weeks to arrive, so I fully expected all my Woolease to arrive first. Now I'm obsessing over whether or not my order and payment ever arrived at Lionbrand. I may call and check on it.

Also bought some Lavendar Red Heart at Walmart today for a shawl and I plan to use Red Heart Monet for the fringe. I agonized over whether to go with Lavendar or Orchid and decided that the Monet looked nicer against the Lavendar, then again I also loved the softness of the Orchid against the colors in the Monet, very soft and feminine.

Treated myself to some books at BooksAMillion today. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, about an alternative story to Jesus' life based on documents they found in France, I think that's what I heard about this book, and I picked up the 9/11 Comission Report. I've heard a lot of people talk about how well it was written and that it reads like a novel. That remains to be seen but I do think it's an important part of our recent history. I looked around for Stitch N Bitch Nation as it appears to be available at Amazon but didn't see it at my BAM.

Since DH gets to get away for the weekend with the guys I think I deserved these treats. I also bought stuff to cook omlettes and hashbrowns for breakfast in the morning. Even splurged on a couple of new skillets.

Where to begin....

Today I had to work. Same old, same old. We were busy. Lots of construction going on down here in my part of the Florida Panhandle. The FEMA and A.C.E. folks tell me they fully expect to be here at least through Christmas. It's like tourist season all over again. I've really been putting the old high school Spanish to the test, it helps that my SIL is Mexican. Lots of Mexican workers are in my area and love grande puerco(not quite sure about that spelling) with frijoles and papa fritos. For those not schooled in Espanol, that's a jumbo pork sandwich with baked beans and french fries. Unfortunately I speak just enough Spanish to be dangerous. Fortunately these guys appreciate my effort.

Not only did I work today but I'm cooking dinner tonight. DH will be so surprised. It's just tacos and enchiladas but I've really been slacking off in the cooking area lately. I used to think I enjoyed cooking, what I have come to realize is that I hate it. I don't get one little bit of joy out of cooking. I put forth a good effort, I try to visualize my family being nurtured by the food I create. I try to visualize the beautiful colors nature creates in our food, please stop me. I just don't like cooking. Everyone whines, "Not that again!". Kind of hurts, when you've worked all day and are trying to do right by your family and all you get is a "Not that again!" Kind of makes you feel it's all hopeless and I should just order out for pizza. I've been thinking about going back to a more whole foods meal plan. I pulled out my Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe and plan to make a big pot of Golden Gate Minestrone this weekend and maybe even some Betty the Peacenik Gingerbread. I'm going to work hard to do more baking instead of buying snack cakes for the kids. How hard is it to mix up a batch of cookies? Sure it takes a little time but in the long run even though it's sweet homemade has got to be better than processed.

My main problem is not being organized. If I only planned better, I could whip up a batch of cookies in no time. For me it's an all day thing because first I have to find my mixer-it's only got one beater(guess I need to buy a new one huh?), then I have to gather ingredients, of course that means taking a bath. Why take a bath before baking cookies? Because I will be getting in the truck and driving to the Publix because God knows I won't have everything, might as well buy a new baking pan while I'm there, oh and does Publix sell potholders? Can't find nary a potholder in this house. I'm not sure where they go, is there such a thing as a potholder gnome? Maybe a kitchen troll that takes potholders to the land of missing socks? "Hmmm," you may be asking yourself, "if she doesn't have a potholder just how does she plan to get the pan of enchiladas out of the oven for tonight's dinner?" Well duh, I'll use a clean pair of socks right off the top of the dining room table! Doesn't every one do this when they can't find a pot holder? isn't everyone's clean laundry piled up on the dining table?

This afternoon I sat around calculating the size of fabric I need for various cross stitch projects I want to kit up to work on in 2005. My stitching to do pile is getting larger and larger, it's funny I find that comforting. I may not get around to working on anything I have kitted in the next ten years but it's there, all mine, whenever I'm finally ready to work on it. I don't think I'm materialistic in any way, but I do love my stash. I'm getting almost as obsessive about my yarn stash. I tend to only buy yarn when I have a specific project planned for the not too distant future but now a days I find I'm kitting up more and more crochet projects. I'm not sure if it's the doomsdayer in me that doesn't know what the future holds but if it's bad at least I'll be able to cross stitch and crochet because if it's a financial crisis cross stitching and crocheting become more of a luxury than they are now and they are the first things deleted off the budget. If I have things kitted then I'll always have something to do because I fear boredom. I can't imagine not having a project of some kind to work on. I don't understand how people live without a creative outlet. My mom doesn't have one. Since she's retired she's become obsessed with the news. OK I'm a news junkie, major news junkie, but at least while I'm watching the news 24 hours a day when I'm home I'm also cross stitching or crocheting. I'm not just sitting there-my eyes glazing over in front of the tv. I don't think I could sit still all day and watch the news(or that guilty pleasure-Court TV) if I didn't have something to do to at least justify sitting there watching the news all day. I'm a geek and I can't help it.

Impending Doom!

After reading Yarn Harlot it has been brought to my attention that Christmas is only 46 days away! It feels a lot better to think it's two months away, that sounds a lot longer than 46 days. I had the boys turn in their Christmas lists over the weekend. Now to go over the lists and decide what they will get and what they can use their Christmas money to buy for themselves.

46 Days! YIKES! Double YIKES!

Bad, Bad Blogger

Yes, I've been a bad blogger lately. Just too much going on and unfortunately not in the least bit interesting. I'm working way more than I ever intended when I took this job and I really miss my lazy days. Yes, they were lazy days. But working has been good for me. It's gotten me out of the house and to quote Jackson Browne "I'm alive in the world" again.

Stitching Progress

I've finished my L'Ete and will have a pic soon. I took it in for framing and the finished pic I took just isn't very good. It's so bad that every time I try to upload it to Webshots or Photobucket both sites hiccup and lose it. Every flippin' time.

I've been working pretty steadily on Carriage House Samplings - New Designs Houses of Hawk Run Hollow. I'm about halfway through House #1.

I've been alternating between crocheting and cross stitching. I've been on a mad search for some Needle Necessities colors I need for a couple of Christmas ornaments and can't find them locally. Arrrgghhh. I'm hoping to place an order with Nordic Needle later this week for fabric so I may just order those colors from Nordic Needle. I guess I'm not in any hurry. As long as they are finished by Dec. 1st I think they can reach their destinations before Christmas.

I've been dreaming lately of cross stitching a WIP stitching pouch for myself or maybe a stitching accessory pouch-you know a pouch that will hold scissors, needles or maybe some pretty stitching counting pins?(saw some pretty ones in the Nordic Needle catalog). I can't decide what to stitch on it and I'm kind of making it up as I go along, at least in my dreams.

Anticipation

I'm waiting patiently for my knitting CDROM to arrive. I can't wait to learn to knit. I think I have the basics down but purling will be the death of me. I think I'm doing it right but it sure feels wrong. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the affirmation I need that I'm doing it correctly and can then invest in some cool yarn and knit something with confidence. I do have a LYS but can never seem to get over there during their hours of business.

I'm also waiting on my order from www.lionbrand.com to arrive so I can start on the blocks for the Crazy Quilt Coverlet out of the BH&G Simply Creative Crochet magazine. Hope that's the correct title, I don't have it handy at the moment.

I'm also anxious to dye some wool with Koolaid and crochet some felted bags. You can read about Koolaid dyeing here: Dyeing Yarn with Kool-Aid ®, but who has the time?

I also want to make soap. Do my dream projects ever end? I never finish anything, I have a mile long list of things I want to do, want to learn how to do and spend 99% of my time being frustrated because I can't make the time to do everything I want to do.

Long Week

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. It's been a long week. I stayed up almost 24 hours Tuesday and Wednesday awaiting the final outcome of the election.

I finished my L'Ete and will post a pic soon. The one I took today isn't that good but it'll have to do until I get her back from the framers. I couldn't wait and took her in tonight to be framed. She should be home around November 19th. I'm hoping to get the living room painted before I pick her up.

I'm hoping to have one more big cross stitch finish before the end of the year, Lady of the Flag by Mirabilia, but of course since I just said that outloud or rather typed it out, put it out there in the universe there's no way I'll ever finish her before the end of the year. I'd include a link to the piece but for some reason I can't seem to pull up the image from Mirabilia's website. If you'd like to try it yourself, the website is www.mirabilia.com click on cross stitch designs, scroll down to design #62 and it's Lady of the Flag. This has been a work in progress since January or February 2002.

Fall Has Arrived!

According to our local weather person it's going to be about 40 degrees in the morning. YIKES! None of us have long pants. I guess we'll all be wearing shorts and sweatshirts tomorrow morning. It'll warm up pretty early in the day but I guess this weekend will be spent shopping for some fall clothes. The boys have out grown last year's jeans.

Work Whine

I'm tired of working, 'nuff said........

Halloween Is Over

Now it's time to get into a Thanksgiving/Christmas frame of mind. I can't believe we're closing in on the end of the year. Where has the time gone? I know, cliche, but true.

Weekend Stitching

I worked almost none stop on L'Ete . I have all the bottom half of the chart stitched, all of the top left of the chart stitched(I may have missed a little bit in her hat but I'll go over that area as soon as the rest of the piece is finished and double check myself) and I am very close to having all the top right of the chart stitched. I have made a huge mistake in her hat and I can't find where it begins. This piece would be finished if not for the froggin'.

Didn't get any crocheting in, darn it, but my Ode to Yarngirl afghan is progressing nicely and I hope to have enough work in on it by next weekend to share a WIP pic. Right now it's just row after row of single crocheted Ranch Red, very pretty.

I placed an order with Welcome to the official Lion Brand® Yarn Knitting and Crocheting Web Site (they sent me a catalog) for some hard to find Woolease colors for an afghan out of the Simply Creative Crochet magazine put out by BH&G. I thought about adapting it to colors I can find around here or even sub a Red Heart color or two, but I really wanted to use something other than Red Heart for a change and I like the colors in this afghan. It's the Crazy Quilt Coverlet. I hope my skills are up to the challenge of this afghan. I did look around for a substitute for the Loden but nothing really worked. I decided that the money spent on shipping and handling would be less than the money I spent on gas going to Pensacola and Destin searching for yarn. This will be my winter project.

Tomorrow I'm planning to send an order to Herrschnerrs or Mary Maxim for Coats & Clark's Teach Yourself to Knit CDROM. I can't remember which catalog I saw it in but no one around here carries it so I've given up my search and just decided to order it. I will learn to knit. That's just all there is to it. Hazelnut Latte is a knitting machine after learning from this CDROM so I think it's worth the investment. Just wish I could have found it around here.

Your Assignment for Tomorrow.....

GO VOTE!!!!!!

It's Going to be a Bad Day

How do I know this? First of all I woke up to a swollen face. The whole right side of my jaw at my ear is swollen up the size of a golf ball. I know for sure it's not an abcessed tooth. I have a TMJ problem and for whatever reason I must be clenching my jaw or grinding my teeth in my sleep. I don't think I've been under any abnormal amount of stress recently but this is the second time in two weeks that I've woke up with my face swollen. Something has triggered this problem that has been dormant now for over 10 yrs.

Second problem, DS#3 took a bath this morning, his water draining from the tub caused my toilet to overflow. Fortunately all the water coming out of the toilet was clean. Who has time to call RotoRooter? Is it a septic tank problem? Everything eventually drained, so it must be a loose clog of some kind, I'm only guessing of course, but since everything eventually drains it can't be a clog in the true sense right? I've determined though that it must be something kind of serious since when the washer drains my bathtub, the kids' bathtub and toilet all get water in them. Everything drains back out eventually so what in the heck does all this mean? I guess it means I have to call a plumber. I don't have time for this right now.

Why can't just a few things be easy every once in a while? Is it a waste of time to hope that Draino will work? Can I place all my faith in Liquid Plumber or must I place my total net worth in the hands of a real plumber in the hopes that I or the kids won't eventually flood our whole house?

Happy Birthday DH!

In the midst of all this drama it is my DH's 40th birthday. He had a big birthday trip a couple of weeks ago to San Francisco to see the Raiders get massacred by the Broncos(unfortunately he's a Raider fan) so our plans are going to be small. I need to pick him up a birthday cake at Publix today but I'm not sure what to do for dinner tonight. He wouldn't tell me what he wanted so I may just treat him to Chinese food. Can't go wrong with Beef Broccoli.

Crochet Crazy

This weekend I plan to start a new afghan. I'm going to call it Ode to Yarngirl because Julie was the inspiration. A while back she posted a pic of a shawl she finished for herself. The color she used for the shawl was Red Heart's Ranch Red and the fringe was made using Red Heart's Farmland. I became obsessed with these colors because they are just glorious together. I've been trying to decide what I could make using these colors and I've finally decided I'm going to do a single crochet afghan(yes I know kind of boring, not challenging, but I think it's going to be lovely, and I really didn't want to do another ripple afghan right now). I plan to SC two full skeins of Ranch Red, then SC a full skein of Red Heart Gold, then a full skein of Red Heart Med Thyme, then I'll use three full skeins of the Ranch Red(depending on how large it is at this point I may opt for just two skeins), then finish the afghan with a band of the med thyme, then the gold, then two skeins of Ranch Red, then I plan to SC around the afghan two or three times, maybe 4 using the Red Heart Farmland. I hope it turns out as pretty as I imagine it. All of these plans are flexible depending on how big the afghan grows with each skein. I have no sense of how much of an area can be crocheted using two 8 oz skeins of Red Heart yarn. My gold and med thyme bands may be way too wide if I use a full skein so I'm just going to play it by ear.

Last night I went and purchased my dream dishes. I have been carrying one of the bowls around all day just to show people how pretty they are. I can't believe they are mine, all mine. Of course I now need to get my kitchen sparkling so it is worthy of these magnificent dishes.

Today, thanks to Annette's Acre, I went this afternoon and purchased The Cake Mix Doctor's Cookbook. Can't wait to try quite a few of the recipes. I thought it would be a good investment right here before the holidays. Are you buying that reasoning? Works for me.

What could be better a weekend filled with crochet, yummy cake and pretty plates to eat it on?

I rented Van Helsing to watch tonight and my stupid DVD player can't read the flippin' DVD. I keep getting this 13:00 code. Annoying to say the least. I know eventually my DVD player will read the DVD but I'm really tired of opening, closing and hitting play, and repeating the action. I'm to the point of trashing the DVD player altogether and buying a new one. This one is an older model Sony and it's never made it easy to watch DVDs. I also rented Lady Killers and The Magdalene Sisters. I bought the movie Dirty Pretty Things on video, it was only $5 in the used video bin. I don't know if any of these movies are worth watching but they should keep me busy while crocheting this weekend. I keep hoping I won't have to leave the house but I'm sure I will we need groceries, the kids need haircuts, no chance of getting to sit around the house for hours and hours, I plan to give it my best shot on Sunday though. I'm hoping to get everything done Saturday and early Saturday at that and then spend the rest of my time doing what I want to do. Which consists of sitting on the couch working on a project and not moving unless it's to get something to drink or pee. Sounds like Heaven to me. Do I truly see it happening?

Yesterday Was My Day Off or Was It?

Big plans for yesterday and I managed to accomplish all my goals.

1) Go to Needle Delights and pick up a frame I ordered back in the summer for L'Ete . I was broken hearted to see the destruction that Hurricane Ivan did to their building. They are undecided about whether to reopen or not. I also picked up TW Best of Christmas book that I had special ordered a couple of months ago. If they decide not to reopen it will be a great loss to my area's stitching community.

2) Go to post office and mail my mailart to my friend and a long overdue package of odds and ends novelty fabric to send to another friend working on I Spy quilts. I have already sent her one package of fabrics and have had this other envelope of fabric just sitting here for months so it felt good to get that out of the house and on it's merry way.

3) Go to FedEx and ship a long overdue swap package. Done. Whew! That was such a relief to get it out of the house.

4) Go to the Stitchery House and try to match threads for a Christmas ornament I want to stitch for some friends. The design calls for Needle Necessities Razzle Dazzle Red and British Green. I ended up deciding on Caron Wildflowers in Cinnabar for the red and Jade for the green. I bought two skeins of each even though I'm 100% sure that one skein would be enough for all three ornaments. I also found the other NN color I needed for this particular ornament #125. I went through that rack of thread 4 times last week and never saw this skein of thread. But yesterday there it was staring at me so I scooped it up too. So other than some infant sized black buttons and some Mill Hill agate hearts the ornaments are all kitted and ready for stitching. Now to just hope that I can get them finished in time to mail them before Christmas.

5) Go to Gus' and get a Cuban Sandwich and a Corona Salad(no beer in it that I know of) for lunch. It was too crowded and no place to park so I skipped that and opted for a Captain D's Shrimp dinner. What a let down after craving a Cuban sandwich all week.

Came home, relaxed for a little while and then the phone rang. It was work, someone was sick, could I come in? I said yes because I am planning to buy these dishes this weekend:

Pfaltzgraff: Quality Casual Dinnerware, Stainless Steel Flatware, Glassware an

I've been obsessing over these dishes for more than a year and I have finally saved up enough money to buy 8 place settings. These are the first real dishes I've bought since getting married 19 yrs ago and I think I'm long overdue for some new fancy dinnerware. I plan to buy 8 place settings and 8 bowls. I've been bouncing around between these and two other patterns as the other patterns are a little bit cheaper, and I finally decided that these are the dishes I want damn it! So I'm buying them and that's all there is to it. I want them on my table by Thanksgiving. I plan to clean my kitchen til it's sparkling between now and Saturday so that it's worthy of these beautiful dishes. My mom had a fit a few months ago when I told her I was saving money to buy these dishes and how much they were a place setting. Her response, "Walmart has beautiful dishes for $20 for a whole set why can't you be happy with those? Why do you have to go buy stuff to impress other people?" I told her since we rarely have company over for dinner and rarely sit at the dinner table for that matter, the laundry doesn't leave us much room to eat around it, I wasn't buying them to impress anyone but myself. I guess I let her words get to me and put off buying them another couple of months but I've been working so much lately I'd like to have something solid to show for it.

The "C" Word

Here it is almost the end of October and I've done no Christmas shopping for the boys yet. I have got to get started on that or I'll be running around December 24th frantically trying to find something for them. I've known all summer what I planned to buy but never got around to putting them in the layaway and now Christmas is almost here.

I have pulled out the Christmas CDs and am getting into the Christmas spirit. I have got to myself organized and start getting some shopping done. I guess after I splurge on my dishes all the money I make between now and December 24th is earmarked for Christmas shopping. DS#1 has a mile long list of DVDs and DVD sets he wants so those should be pretty easy to knock out. DS#2 hasn't asked for anything, but I think he'd be happy with some hipster clothes this year. Clothes have become very important to this 13 yr old boy. They are the most important thing in his universe at the moment. DS#3 wants a PS2. Yes we're still back in the 90s with a lame PlayStation 1. So DS#3 wants his own PS2, he can play music CDs and DVDs on it and thinks it is woth the investment. At least that's how he's sold me on the idea.

The Great Pumpkin

This weekend I plan to assemble my boys Halloween Stockings. They've been stitched for over three years, I'm scared to cut the fabric, I am not the greatest sewer(that's sew-er not sewer) in the world and if I mess up all that work I'll just stab myself in the head with a fork. But I went to JoAnn's bought some iron on interfacing to stablize the heatherfield fabric and am going to bite the bullet and attempt to turn these things into stockings. I must get them finished so the Great Pumpkin can leave them candy and a each a gift card to BooksAMillion.

I have yet to get DS#3's Halloween costume put together. He keeps changing his mind about what he wants to be. Looks like he may end up going as an 8 yr old or maybe we can get creative and say he's a 7 yr old or a 9 yr old.

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday!!!

Why am I so excited about Wednesday? It's my day off! It's the greatest day of the week. Yesterday was my birthday. I was (gulp) 41. Ouch, really hurts to type that. Not that I mind getting older(notice I said older not old) but turning 40 for me was a huge milestone. It's when baby fever hit big time. I've been bouncing around for two years over whether or not to have another baby. I miscarried a couple of years ago and that made me realize how much I wanted another baby, but let's face, I'm not a kid any more, we aren't wealthy, it's not easy for people like us to raise a child who will be college age when we are in our early 60s. Then again, I miss the whole baby thing. I miss pregnancy, I miss childbirth, I miss those quiet two am feedings when all the house is still and it's just momma and baby. DH pointed out it's not like we'll be retired at 60 anyway so what's one more baby? Only time will tell. I'm not trying but it wouldn't be the end of the world to find out I had a baby on the way.

I have a lot to do today which I hate on my day off. It's my one day to have the house to myself but I have errands to run too. I'm hoping to get things done early but I'll probably be in the car all day.

Quiet Lonely Weekend

The DH is gone this weekend. He's on his spiritual mecca to Oakland, CA to worship at the Raider Shrine. I miss him more than I thought I would. I figured with the boys here, tons of neighbor kids I wouldn't miss him too much, but I do. I guess that's a good thing after 19 yrs of marriage.

Weekend Plans

Yesterday at Walmart I bought 8 skeins of Lionbrand Homespun in the Waterfall color. I love the colors in this yarn, reminds me of Red Heart Ocean which is one of my favorite ombres. I want to make this afghan: Welcome to the official Lion Brand® Yarn Knitting and Crocheting Web Site. If the afghan pattern doesn't come up in the link, click on Crochet Patterns in the column to the left and then on the Waterfall afghan. I also have some Plantation Homespun here to make the same afghan in that color too. I had intended for it to be for my oldest son whose favorite color is green but he said it wasn't bright enough, so I'm in search of the perfect neon green yarn(other than Red Heart Kids Lime) for his afghan. He likes Red Heart's Paddy Green, I don't so I'm trying to decide if I can crochet him an afghan in a color that I dislike so much.

I also bought some Red Heart Ranch Red and Farmland after seeing yarngirl 's shawl. I loved the colors so much. I thought about using the Farmland as fringe on a Red Heart Cornmeal shawl because I fell in love with Cornmeal after seeing yarnicopia, Ro's Cornmeal shawl, but my Walmart was out of the Cornmeal, so I couldn't really see if the Farmland would work with the Cornmeal as fringe. If I have to make a trip to my other Walmart in the not too distant future(and who doesn't?) I'm hoping they'll have some Cornmeal and then I can play around with the Farmland/Cornmeal idea. Until then it doesn't hurt to have extra yarn around in pretty colors does it?

I'm still working on my mailart for my friend. I had hoped it'd be finished by this morning but it's not so that's my project for the day. Hopefully I'll finish it by this afternoon and then can sew it together tomorrow. I have a stack of movies here to watch, but I also have Katie McAlister's A Girl's Guide to Vampires here to read. I'd like to read it this weekend too. Crochet, cross stitch, books, movies, no DH, food in the house, what do I do first?

After following Hazelnut Latte's knitting progress, I think I'm going to invest in that Coats & Clark Knitting CDRom. It's obviously good, Becky is already knitting socks! Her knitting skills have progressed rapidly and I'm hoping to have to have the same luck but I just can't imagine me knitting with three needles. Heck I can't imagine me knitting with two needles. The CD Rom isn't available locally so I'm going to order it from either Mary Maxim or Herrschnerrs. I saw it in one of their catalogs.

After a discussion in my email loop over Christmas music, I've pulled out the Christmas CDs and am trying to get myself in the Christmas state of mind. I made a trip to the LNS on Wednesday and got some ornament cuts of fabric to make a few ornaments. I also picked up the WDWs I needed for BOAF's Remember Me On Halloween. I think this link takes you to the main Halloween page, it's the third design on the top row. I've had this in the stash for years and started it once on aida with DMC, ick. So I tossed that and restarted it on some 32ct willow linen and am using a mix of WDWs and GASTs. My LNS didn't have all the WDWs I needed so I subbed some of the GASTs for them. I think they'll work ok. I always cringe when I have to make a color decision, I have no sense of what matches, what works together but I went ahead and did the best I could. This is such a busy piece hopefully just about anything will work with it.

Last night while at the mall with the boys I bought two new large Yankee Candles. I bought my old faithful Home Sweet Home scent and I also bought Sunwashed Linen. Smells just like you'd imagine, laundry. I figure with 5 cats, 1 dog and three boys one's home can smell worse than clean laundry. At the very least DH will think he has clean clothes. Next trip to the mall I plan to buy one of the Midsummer's Eve candles. I love that smell. It's another old favorite. These candles are definitely worth the money, my Home Sweet Home large jar candle has lasted me at least two years. I just hate that they keep discontinuing my favorite scents. Lemonlime was a great fresh scent and I'm down to my last inch or so of candle in the jar. I'm hoping Home Sweet Home and Midsummer's Eve are in the inventory forever.