An Update!

I cannot believe I've been gone for over a month! How did that happen?! I swear I laid down for a nap one day and just woke up this afternoon :)

I have been struggling with "pregnancy fatigue" for weeks and weeks. I feel like I'm dragging through each and every day. I'm mostly just taking lots of naps and vegetating. I wish I could say I had lots of stitching to show for myself, but the truth is I don't. I've been completely unproductive in every way - including hobbies. But I am the queen of the afternoon snooze and that has to count for something! And the good news is we have a beautiful little apple seed to show for it! This is our first peak at Cuddle Bug's new sibling - whom we lovingly refer to as "baby." We got it on June 30th at our first prenatal appointment. We confirmed the gestational age (9 weeks gestation in the ultrasound) and we are definitely due on February 2nd - my (and my sister's) 26th birthday!


In stitching news, about a month ago I got a wonderful gift from the sweet, sweet BeckySC - the gorgeous Joyful Summer chart from Country Cottage Needleworks! This will be my next big project and I'm thinking it will be a perfect gift for my sister, if she wants it of course, for her new apartment. Thank you times a million to Becky for such a lovely chart - you are so generous!


And finally - look what I got from Sally! She has awarded me the Brilliante Weblog Award! Thank you so much Sally! I'm so flattered!! And now I have to choose 7 other blogs I would like to give the award to - yikes! I will make that a top priority!!

I also want to say thank you to everyone who commented on my blog and who emailed to check in on me. Who would have ever guessed I would have actually been missed?! You are all so sweet and wonderful! You made me feel so special :)

Goodies!

Thank you so much to all of you for your happy wishes on my pregnancy! You are all so sweet! We are very excited :) Dawn asked how far along I am. Based on the first day of my last monthly period I am 7 weeks along and due on Feb 2nd - which is actually my birthday! We will have our first visit with the OB on the 30th of June.

Here is a picture of Cuddle Bug the other night reading to his new baby doll (his practice baby brother/sister) whom he named "Baby Billy." He's so cute!


I got some wonderful goodies in the mail the other day! I got this incredible collection of charts (and 2 kits) from Jacque over at "My Needle's Delight!" Thank you Jacque! You are so kind!! I love each and every design! Some of these charts are designs/designers that I haven't heard of before which is really exciting for me as a beginner :) I don't deserve such a wonderful gift but I will treasure it and will enjoy every stitch I make on these designs - they are from such a lovely blogger!


I also got an order from Handcrafts Online. I ordered some linen, a finishing kit for LHN's "Peace" thread pack and some CC threads I needed.


I really need to get to some serious stitching now with all the fun new goodies I have!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and productive week! I am hoping my next post will show some kind of stitching progress!! I need to get my tin done for the Monthly Finishing Challenge. I haven't even started that.

Thanks for reading and for all your kind comments and well wishes!

I was RAK'ed!!

Thank you all for your kind comments wishing me well! I have determined the cause of my exhaustion and nausea, but more on that later.

The most exciting thing happened to me on Friday! I would have posted sooner but with Father's Day weekend we just didn't have any time to slow down and blog in a way that would do justice to the incredible joy and excitement this particular happening brought me! The mail-woman brought me a package! Don't you just love mail that doesn't have "account number" in the upper right corner and a return envelope so we can mail the sender our hard-earned money - I know I do! This particular package had "My Mark" as the return address which really got my mind going because I didn't remember ordering anything! I tore into it immediately and found this gorgeous thread holder inside and a letter from Monique explaining that this beautiful gift was from sweet, wonderful Michele of Just Another Stitching Blog... !! Oh Michele, I don't know what would prompt you to do something so undeserved, but I treasure it more than I can tell you! You have made me feel so special!! You are so thoughtful and generous and I am moved by such a beautiful gesture! Hugs to you!


Isn't it beautiful?! DH was thoroughly impressed when I showed it to him :)

And while we're on the topic of happy, wonderful, very exciting things like my new thread holder...

I have an explanation for my constant drowsiness and the nausea that's been plaguing me on and off just about every day for the past few weeks. I'm pregnant! How crazy is that?!

Thank you again for all my kind visitors and for all your sweet well wishes. And thank you again, Michele for your incredible Random Act of Kindness that still has me walking on air :)

Peach Tree Cottage

I would love to say that I've been stitching non-stop on LHN's Peach Tree Cottage since Saturday. But that just isn't the case. Instead, I've been yearning to crawl into Peach Tree Cottage and rest my eyes. I imagine it's decorated shabby-chic inside, with country touches in every corner and perfectly worn furniture that has a story to tell. I would tuck myself under a heavy quilt in one of the upstairs bedrooms and take a nice, long nap. That's how I've been feeling lately - like I want to shut out the world and sleep. Exhaustion is really no fun, and tackling it when you are the sole care-giver of a two year old until 5:30 every evening is especially no fun. I really need to shake this!


This is all the progress that I've made on Peach Tree Cottage since I started it (barely) Saturday night. Most of this was actually stitched yesterday when I was feeling a little less tired and a little more productive. I am loving this piece. The colors are fantastic and I really love the design. I wish I could force myself to spend more time on it. Maybe I'll get over this lethargy and really get busy with this project! Here's hoping!

You are all making such amazing progress with your projects! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my amateur stitching blog and post comments and suggestions. I appreciate it more than I can say. You all inspire me so much!

Focus, Kim, Focus!

The month of May has not been a great stitching month for me. Every day I get further and further away from completing my May goals. I gave up stitching time on a few nights to edit term papers for my sister. Then my sister came into town for a week and kept me fairly distracted. And then when stitching time presented itself I just couldn't stay focused for long. Oh well.

Thank you all for your kind words on my LHN start 1/1. It's moving along. It's got little errors and parts that aren't quite square enough for my taste, but the imperfections are growing on me as it evolves - giving it a real old fashioned home-made feel. Perhaps that's just how I'm choosing to look at it. I frogged the third heart. I just couldn't look at it anymore. It had to go. It hasn't been replaced as of yet. This project is not moving along as fast as it should. It is a victim of my inability to focus. But if I can get the motivation to finish this today, I may be able to get all of May goals met just in time! Maybe...



Our holiday weekend was nice. It rained all weekend and spoiled plans. But Saturday morning I woke up and had the whole house to myself. DH took Cuddle Bug on a day trip with family. I took a bath, read my book, got in tiny amounts of stitching, went to breakfast and the craft store with my sister, and just enjoyed a leisurely day. Sunday was supposed to be a trip to the zoo with CB, but that was rained out. And yesterday was supposed to be a trip to DH's grandfather's farm with DH's extended family. But that got rained out too. It was a nice relaxing weekend though. I have no complaints other than that I didn't make enough time to stitch.

We did splurge on a new game for our Nintendo Wii - Wii Fit. It's great fun! My abs hurt today :)

Thanks for reading and for all your support! I love the stitching community! You are some of the sweetest people I "know!"

Biscornu in Progress

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my Mother's Day post. I should have put a picture of the fun flowers DH presented me with on Mother's Day but I didn't. So here they are:

They are especially great because DH was so creative and crafty! He seriously isn't a crafty guy so it floored me that he came up with and executed it all on his own!

In stitching news, I finished the stitched part of my biscornu last night. It's so cute and all your sweet comments about the adorable froggies were appreciated in my last entry :)

Froggie Biscornu by Casey Buonaugurio
Freebie chart found here.
Fabric: 25 count Cream Lugana
Thread: Recommended DMC
Stitched 5/7/08 - 5/14/08

I actually got it constructed today except for the buttons. I need to make a run to the store to find appropriate buttons. Maybe I will get that done tonight. It is so cute put together! I can't wait to post pictures as soon as it's completed!

I need to make a start on PS 12 Days of Christmas blocks for this month. Hopefully I can get them all stitched lightning fast so I can meet all my goals.

And a Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you mommies out there had a super Mother's Day!

Mother's Day went by way too fast around here! Sunday morning I woke up to coffee in bed with some fun foam flowers DH had made with pictures of Cuddle Bug in the middle - especially sweet since DH is not known for his craftiness! CB came trampling into the room with a Mother's Day balloon. He was yelling "Happy Mommy Day!" It was precious. One of my favorite things was that CB had let it slip to me that there was a "balloon hiding" on Saturday afternoon when Daddy wasn't around to make sure CB was keeping secrets :) I called my sister to tell her the little guy was dropping details about Mother's Day surprises!

Anyway, DH presented me with a beautifully wrapped gift - charts from my wish-list! Then we headed off to a super fancy brunch downtown. I ate more than I wish to admit to - the desert buffet was sprawling! When I got home there were more presents! CB gave me his gift - a purse I had my eye on over at artsy-crafty babe's etsy shop. It's darling and perfect for summer! DH gave me another chart, this time a thread pack from LHN. It was all just too much :)



We went to the craft store, went to the family rosary, and then ran over to visit with DH's mom. It was a really great day!

I'd like to say that I finished my biscornu for the Monthly Finishing Challenge but the truth is I haven't been stitching too much the past few days. I got the top finished up today so that's something!


I had hoped to have the whole thing put together by yesterday. I got a big distracted with finishing a book and feeling a bit down Friday and Saturday. But I think that's all behind me and I'm hoping to get this one finished up in the next few days. I'm not so sure all my goals will get finished for May though, it being the 13th already. But that's life :)

2nd Birthday and Stitching Bits

Cuddle Bug's birthday was wonderful. We had a rib cook-off and birthday cake. DH competed against his Uncle Bill and his cousin Matt (Uncle Bill's oldest son). They all had their own Weber grill, their own secret recipe, and their own racks of ribs. It was a lot of fun - and delicious! DH won although it was really close!

Cuddle Bug got a little ATV from my mom and my sister. He loved it! He rode it all over the backyard and down by the playground. Eventually it had to be put away for nap time and then it started to rain so he didn't get to ride it again on his birthday but there was lots for him to day anyway.


During CB's nap I got the chance to put "Have Faith" in a frame I picked up at Target Friday night. I laced it on myself and got it mostly centered. I'm very satisfied with how it turned out.


I didn't get much stitching done with the birthday boy demanding so much attention and praise, but I did get a little more of CCN's "A Place We Call Home" done.


In other news, Terry sent me the most wonderful email and offered to send me a chart off my wish-list - LHN's Night & Day! I was on cloud 9 with all the nice things she said about my little stitching projects and then to offer such a sweet gesture! Thank you so much Terry!

And thank you all for your kind comments and for the wonderful birthday wishes for my little birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Cuddle Bug!

Cuddle Bug playing at his Great-Grandpa's farm last weekend

Today you are 2 years old! I don't know where the time went, but everyone warned Mommy "they grow up so fast." They were right. I blinked and here we are - your 2nd birthday! You are such a big boy. You say "I do it myself!" and you are always eager to give new tasks a try. You love coffee in the morning (just a splash in your milk and always decaf!) and you say "perpendicular" to Uncle Dave - you're so sophisticated! I can hardly believe you're the same little man I used to nurse and who used to spit up all over Daddy's good work clothes - "don't touch him until you change your clothes!" Mommy used to tell Daddy when he got home. Where did the last 2 years go? I find myself in disbelief that it's already been 2 years and feeling like you've been in my life forever all at the same time.

Big hugs to you Cuddle Bug! Happy Birthday!!

Have Faith Finish

Becky, you had more faith in me than I was worthy of! I didn't finish "Have Faith" yesterday like I had set out to. But I got really close and I got it finished this afternoon while Cuddle Bug has been napping. So that's another project done! I really like how this one turned out. I think I will finish it off in a little frame. The satin stitches weren't difficult at all and the rice stitches were also a breeze after I finished a few. I'm so proud of myself for expanding my stitching horizons with this piece!

Have Faith by Elizabeth's Designs
DMC thread on 32 count Natural Light linen
Stitched 4/18/08 - 4/21/08

We had a wonderful weekend. Cuddle Bug turns 2 next Sunday, so this weekend he got an early birthday present.


It is from Mommy and Daddy, and Daddy's aunt and uncle (CB's great aunt and uncle). Daddy and Uncle Bill built it in the backyard on Saturday and CB got the surprise of his life when he got up from his nap! He absolutely loves it! He has been playing in it as often as he can. Nothing quite compares to seeing your little guy beam from ear to ear!!

I'm going to be revising my April goals today. I'd like to challenge myself to get the first design from the PS 12 Days of Christmas chart finished as well. Since my final goal as it stands right now is merely to start CCN's "A Place We Call Home" I feel like I may be able to make the new goal happen. I'm hoping to get some kind of a start on that tonight. We shall see.

Thank you all for reading and for all your wonderful comments! I really do feel like I have cheerleaders out there in cyberspace!

Plate-Tectonics

Let's just set the record straight. I'm from Arizona. I lived in Arizona from the time I was only a few months old until 11 months ago. It's all I had ever really known. We have "natural disasters" in AZ, sure. But mostly just forest fires and flash flooding. So if you live around a city and you haven't built you house in a low lying area near a river bed, you're pretty much safe and sound as far as Mother Nature is concerned. Imagine my shock when DH discloses to me after we move to St. Louis that there are several fault lines around this part of the country and there are earthquakes! Tornadoes, earthquakes, floods... That is just not right!

Last night at 4:35 AM we woke up to a rumbling noise and our bed shaking - no - the whole house shaking! I was petrified! I prayed silently until it was over. DH says "I think we just had an earthquake!" Okay - not funny! Cuddle Bug woke up. We were all awake. The news chimed in with a report of a magnitude 5.6 earthquake with the epicenter about 150 miles from us. Now they're saying it was a 5.2. Either way, any movement of the ground is too much in my book! Then we felt another one this morning at about 10:15 - this time a 4.6 according to reports. I'm ready to pack up and head back to AZ where the land is dry, yes, but it doesn't move and that's good for me!

I'm hoping to get a start on a new project today. I should have pictures of that as soon as I can get the time to put needle to fabric. It's been a very busy week around here!

And thank you all for your wonderful comments on my needle roll! So many of you said things like "I knew you could do it!" and that you liked the design I put together! It made me feel so good! The tutorial was wonderful and it was much easier to do than I expected once I got started on it. You are all so kind!!

Let the Hem-Stitching Commence!

Thank you all for your comments on my last entry! Everyone felt I had acted appropriately. That is such a relief! And thank you everyone for your terrible-twos support! I'm trying to laugh about it and trying to see the world through his eyes - a little guy in a great big world whose learning that he has some control over his world. So I'm hanging in there! And there were some who reminded me that some day he will be a teenager, yikes! And one day he will be all grown up and moved away. I need to enjoy these toddler days while I still have him to crawl into my arms and say "Mommy, boo boo, kiss it." :)

In stitching news, I finished the stitching on my needle roll last night:


That was a wonderful feeling - but with it comes a great deal of anxiety. Now I have to venture into the world of hem-stitching. I'm nervous! Michele and I are in this together, though! Good luck Michele! And good luck anyone else who has any nerves about this particular finishing :) Thank you to everyone who mentioned the Focus on Finishing Needle Roll Tutorial. I am going to be following those instructions this afternoon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this turns out!

I also got the needle roll chart I won from Michelle in the mail yesterday! It is so beautiful! Thank you so much Michelle!!

Additionally, I got an email from Rachel over at Fitness for Mommies that I won this giveaway - a tshirt! It's going to be perfect for running! DH said I need to buy a lottery ticket. I'm tickled pink because I seriously never win anything!

Thank you all for visiting and for your comments. Have a great Tuesday!

Fun in the Sun

Cuddle Bug and I had a fantastic weekend visiting my twin sister in Illinois! We went to a little carnival, decorated capes, went to a karaoke party, had chocolate fondue, and Cuddle Bug even helped make Baklava! I'm really not the type to put pictures of myself up on this blog but this is the best picture I have that doesn't have a close-up of Cuddle Bug (and I'm a nervous mom about putting close-ups of CB on a blog accessible by the general public). Please ignore my unruly hair - I'm growing it out for Locks of Love.


DH stayed home - slept in uninterrupted, went rock climbing, played roller-hockey, and watched movies with his aunt and uncle. We all had a nice weekend.

In stitching news, I finished my tin but don't have any good pictures to post. I gave it to my sister this weekend when we went out there and tried to get some good pics but they all turned out blurry. She promised to email some better pictures. It turned out great for a first time - if I do say so myself. But you'll have to wait for pictures.

I also visited a needlework shop in the tiny town we were in to visit my sister. I was a little less nervous to go in there since I won't be a regular or anything. It was super small and filled to the brim with needlework goods of all kinds! I tried looking at the linen to see what they had, but it was a bit of a disorganized mess. I did end up with a pretty little piece of WDW linen - very neutral, the color is called "linen." I was thinking it would be suitable to try a needle roll on. If I decide not to use it for that, I can always stash it away. And I picked up a Calico Crossroads design that my sister really liked - so I'm going to do that for her. DH has given me a rule that I am to have no more than 10 unfinished charts at any given time. The new chart takes me to 8, but it should be a quick stitch and I've got some linen coming from Mary Kathryn to do 3 other projects. So I'm thinking I have things under control.

Well I'm off to visit all of my blog reads I've been missing out on for the past 4 days! I have all my blogs in Google Reader and it's great! I don't have to go searching for unread posts.

Thank you all for visiting and for your wonderful comments!

Progress Report

Things have been going very smoothly with my latest project - a Little House Needleworks freebie called "Thankful." I've been stitching it over 1 on 28 count linen and it's been a very enjoyable little piece to stitch up. And I mean "little" literally!

I've finished everything except the words. The design says "Thankful for Ewe" but I haven't quite decided if I want to stitch that phrase or something else depending on what I put in the finished tin to give to my sister. Hm. I haven't decided yet on what exactly to make the tin for. I need to give that some more thought. In the meantime, here's the design stitched up without any words:



I've really enjoyed stitching this 1/1. It's been very tedious but the effect is fantastic! It's so precious. I can't wait to give my first tin finishing a try.

Lately it feels like the weekends have been busier and crazier than the weekdays! Last weekend we had a memorial for my FIL, the Easter vigil, and then Easter. This weekend we had a mass and funeral for my FIL yesterday and then DH's cousin had her first Holy Communion today. I need a weekend just to recover from my weekends! Next weekend Cuddle Bug and I are going to visit my twin sister in Illinois. It's "siblings weekend" on campus where my sister is in graduate school. DH will be sleeping in next weekend. I won't be so lucky. But he was kind enough to let me sleep in late this morning and he even made me breakfast. They don't come better than my hubby :)

New Project

Yesterday I started stitching up something new. It's another small project and (assuming nothing comes up unexpectedly) this time I plan to finish it in a timely manner - unlike the Alphabet Tree.


Sorry about the shading in the picture. I'm stitching this little guy up 1/1 and I'm loving how delicate it is turning out! I know there's relatively no hope of frogging anything done over 1, but I'm taking the risk. I want to make it into a tin to include in my "Sister Box" to, naturally, my sister. Here's hoping it turns out and my eyes can manage the strain until it's finished. This is also my first LHN project - even if it's a freebie :)

In other news, the April challenge for the Monthly Finishing Challenge has been posted. It's a needleroll. I'm nervous! Thank goodness we have a full month for this one!

Well I'm off to finish making myself presentable. We are having a memorial mass this morning for my FIL and then we are going to the cemetery to bury his ashes. Sorry to leave you all on a sad note.

Thank you for visiting and for all your lovely comments!

The year-long yearning for everything Christmas

For as long as I can remember, my mom's years have revolved around a single holiday - Christmas. The day after Christmas begins the countdown to the following Christmas and the collection of decorations and gifts starts just as immediately. She loves it. And she has passed that love of Christmas onto her children - albeit our tastes are very different.

I insist we put up our fake tree (I know, I know, but where I grew up Christmas trees dry up before you have time to pull into your driveway with the tree strapped to the top of the car) no later than the weekend before Thanksgiving. I want to know that when Santa makes his debut at the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade the Christmas season has started and I am ready to hit the ground running! DH accommodates lovingly :)

It came as no shock to DH yesterday, then, when I told him I had arranged to get a new cross-stitch pattern - and it was the 12 Days of Christmas! I emailed Mary Kathryn about the Prairie Schooler design to see if she had any more available through her shop, Handcrafts Online. Apparently the design has been retired so once they're gone they're gone. She does have a few and is setting one aside for me. Yes! I want to make each "day" into it's own ornament. My goal is to have a tree some day that is decorated all in cross-stitch ornaments. I know it seems wrong to be anticipating the arrival of a Christmas pattern when everyone is waiting not-so-patiently for spring to finally free us all from the bondage of winter weather. But it's time to start thinking of next Christmas in my world :)

And thank you all for your well wishes. I was feeling much more energized this morning. Now I'm back to dragging myself around. I wonder if this could be because I've been living on Easter candy for 3 days? Ugh. I told myself I was going to start "being good" come Monday morning. It's now Wednesday afternoon and I think I've eaten a pound of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the last 2 hours alone :/ Oh well. There's always next Monday :)

Alphabet Tree Finish

I don't know what's wrong with me. All that I'm certain of is that no matter how hard I try, my eye lids won't stay up. I'm ready for a long nap. And that's convenient because Cuddle Bug just went down for his. Today is going to be a better nap day for the little monster than yesterday - I can just feel it!

Despite my lack of energy, I did manage to take pictures today.

Here is the Alphabet Tree finished up. Now I just need to get to work on the pinkeep finishing, but that requires (another) trip to the craft store.

And finally here's a picture of the new goodies the mailman delivered yesterday. I got the "Love and Faithfulness Thread Pack" from LHN/CC and Mary Kathryn of eHandcrafts threw in a free LHN/CC chart as well. It made my day!


Today I made it out to Target. I needed a small set of plastic storage drawers to organize some little crafting supplies. I got Cuddle Bug a little pad of paper and some other small stuff. But I managed to forget the one real necessity I went there for: size 4 Pampers Cruisers. Ugh. So now I have to make another trip out sometime today. It's moments like this I wonder how I ever left DH talk me into the idea that 'sposies are so much more convenient than the cloth we were using up until a year ago. Oh well. Such is the story of motherhood I suppose.

I'm off to read everyone's blogs. I've gotten over my shyness and fear of leaving comments and now I try to comment as often as possible. I so enjoy reading all of your wonderful blogs! And thank you all for visiting mine :)

Exhausted

No pictures to post today. I have been completely unproductive all day! Now it's just too dark to get a good picture of the finished Alphabet Tree. Oh well.

I don't think I've felt this tired since Cuddle Bug was born and I was up nursing all night! I tried to nap this afternoon when he was napping, but he decided to cut nap time very very short today. Oh well. I'm feeling like I could sleep the whole rest of the day away. I sure hope I'm not getting sick.

There was one very exciting event today, though. The mailman came with my "Love and Faithfulness" LHN/CC threadpack! And, to top off the joy of my new acquisition, Mary Kathryn included a free LHN chart as well called "Thankful." I love love love it!

Pictures tomorrow. Tonight is for quiet. Sweet Dreams stitchers!

A Very Happy Easter

I feel like I have been doing non-stop for the past 4 days! Now at 10:30 Sunday night - I am alone for a minute and it's nice!

Yesterday afternoon we had a memorial for my FIL at my BIL's restaurant. It was very nice. There were so many people that came. He touched many lives. It being a holiday weekend and relatively short notice (only about 3 days), the turnout was really touching!

In addition to that, I had the most spectacular and meaningful Easter of my life. I was brought into the fullness of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil mass last night - received the Sacrament of Confirmation and my first Holy Communion. I started the journey into the church in September and it all lead to the Easter Vigil. What a moment! I was a little misty with the confirmation, but I have to be honest - I cried like a baby after receiving the Eurcharist. It was truly moving! What was also incredibly special was that the parish priest made intentions for my FIL during the prayers of the faithful! It was so wonderful - especially during a mass that celebrates the resurrection! And my FIL beamed ear to ear when I told him I was joining the church. So his memory being a part of the mass made it that much more special!

Afterward we went down to the rectory basement for a party thrown by the Women's Guild and I gave my sponsor (my aunt-in-law) the "Peace of God" project I had made for her as a gift. This is a picture of it from my first blog entry. I actually re-laced it onto cardboard yesterday afternoon to get it better centered than it is in this picture.



Today we had a wonderful and packed Easter. We went to mass (for the 4th wonderful day in a row), then we went to DH's aunt and uncles house and had a fantastic Easter brunch with DH's sprawling extended family. Cuddle Bug hunted for Easter eggs and came home for a nap. And guess who actually found a quiet second to finish her epic "quick stitch" the Alphabet Tree? I'm sure everyone is sick of seeing it come along so slowly! But I got the stitching done this afternoon during "The 10 Commandments." Finally! You can expect pictures tomorrow when there's good light. I'm very pleased with how it came out. This week will be finishing week. Wish me luck! It will be my first pinkeep!

Thank you all for your wonderful support and well-wishes with my stitching, my FIL's passing, and my conversion. You are all so kind! And thank you for reading!

Setting Aside the Stitching

I really love reading everyone's sweet comments. Sometimes you start a new hobby and there's a bit of an "elitist" attitude among the more experienced hobbyists. It's threatening and un-friendly. I worried that I would find that in the stitching world. Michele assured me I would not find that attitude among stitchers and she was absolutely right! You are all like my little cheering section! I really appreciate it!!

I didn't get anything more done yesterday on my pinkeep stitching. We had a busy night out (I still don't know who got voted off American Idol - will have to watch that on Tivo later) and we ended up at my BIL's house sifting through old photo albums and boxes of pictures. There will be a memorial "celebration of life" on Saturday for my FIL and we are putting together a video collage of his life to play in the background. It's my job to scan about a million pictures today.

And that means that Cuddle Bug's nap time (aka "Mommy's Stitching Time") is going to be scan time. So I don't anticipate getting the alphabet tree done this afternoon if today at all. The next few days are packed full of things to do since Easter is sneaking up on us really fast. Today I need to get get photos scanned, meet my SIL to pick up more photos before mass tonight for Holy Thursday, then back to church tomorrow for the Good Friday gathering, the memorial for my FIL and the Easter Vigil mass on Saturday, and then Easter on Sunday. Somewhere in all of that I have to get some ironing done and fit in regular tooth-brushing so DH isn't afraid to kiss me. How will I find the time for it all? There are just some days when there's no free time in sight. But I don't mind a little mayhem. I know it will all get done. And in the meantime, it's looking like that pinkeep will just have to sit on the back burner until I can sit down with it for a breather.