Books

Beginning of the Season

December 8, 2009 by Michelle 21 Comments

I guess it’s that time of year when my blogging becomes a little sparse – too much to do at home, school and work, and not nearly enough time to do it in. But, I have lots to share! Last week, goodness was it only last week?, I attended my first Christmas party of the season. My guild held its annual holiday party, and it was my second year to attend. Of course the home it was held in is magnificent. We had a good turnout, even with bad weather. Everyone brought food to share, and we had a veritable feast. I may still be recovering from the chocolate Amaretto cake. It is always so fun to visit with fellow stitchers, particularly those you don’t get to visit with at the guild meetings. Last year I remember having so much fun and getting to know a few sweet people that I now call my friends. I brought a super yummy spinach and artichoke dip, that had a little kick to it and was oh-so-good.

After all the eating, we settled in to do the ornament exchange. Everyone who brought a stitched ornament drew numbers, and then each person got to select an ornament to open or one to steal. It was great fun, and you can see below all the amazing ornaments that made an appearance this year. If you look closely, you can see the little ornament underneath the framed one, the one that says “Merry Christmas”. One of my fellow stitchers (whose work I am always enamored with) stitched this one, on 50 count. Yes, you read that right. And she added the sweetest little beaded edging around the ornament. If it hadn’t already been stolen too many times before I got my chance, that baby would have been coming home with me!!

As it was, I was very happy with the ornament I did go home with. I loved that this had our guild’s name abbreviated on it. And the bargello was just too pretty to resist.

You may remember last year, the pretty ornament I received? I can’t wait to get it out for my tree this year. I’d love to have a little sampler tree full of ornaments. Oh and let me tell you, I am still kicking myself for not having my camera with me at last year’s party. What a duh moment that was.

And look at this pretty one…I think this is from that new BBD book. Now, I have to have that book!!

And here’s what I stitched for the exchange. This was my very first time finishing an ornament with board and cording and everything. I have Jane Timmers to thank for that – her workshop was completely instrumental in the skills needed to do this finishing myself. I also learned how to make cording that same weekend from Laurie (she of the 50-count fame). So, thanks to Jane, Laurie and Eric (who held the other end of my cord), this ornament turned out pretty darn good for a first attempt. You may remember I stitched this one a little while back, it’s Angel of Tulips by Goode Huswife. I stitched two – one for me and one for the exchange. Mine isn’t finished yet though.

So, it was a wonderful evening and I had so much fun. I wish there had been more time to visit with everyone, but there is always next year’s party!

And, really quick, I wanted to update you on my reading escapades. I finished another Black Dagger Brotherhood book – I think it may have taken me all of a week. I’ve had to ground myself from reading anymore of these until I get caught back up at school. How sad is that? True though.

So, after finishing this, I picked up Drums of Autumn again, as you can see. I only lack about 200 pages to finish it. So, after a long hiatus (well, a couple of months anyway), I think I’ll finish it.

I have more to show you, but it will probably have to wait for another day – hopefully not too long though!

I am grateful for good friends.

In Thankfulness of Heart

November 30, 2009 by Michelle 17 Comments

At Plimoth
The Sampler Girl
Gentle Arts Simply Wool threads on 28ct Silkweaver FOTM Exclusive
Stitched November 26 and 27, 2009

Hello, my lovelies! I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday if you are here in the states. I was lucky enough to take all of last week off from work, so my vacation started with a bang by going to see New Moon. Loved it. Want to see it again. And it worked out so perfectly, I think the stars must have been aligned. We got tickets on Thursday for the Friday 8:15pm showing, I met Sherri after work and we went to dinner (mmmm…margaritas) and then went over to stand in line at the theatre. We actually were pretty close to the front of the line for seating, and when the doors opened, we got the best seats in the whole theatre – the middle middle, just where I like to be. And the screaming was really at a minimum, so it was a perfect night! So fun to get to see it on opening night too.

So, what have I been doing for the past nine days? Well, Eric and I did some stuff around the house – cataloging records (yes, actual records, not CDs), etc. I had some super secret stitching I was doing for my guild’s ornament exchange that will take place tomorrow night at our annual holiday party.

And, you can see at the top of this post what else I’ve been stitching (well, what I can show you). Last year before Thanksgiving, The Sampler Girl offered this At Plimoth freebie. I was dying to stitch it for Thanksgiving last year, but for whatever reason my LNS could not get in the Simply Wool threads I needed to stitch it. After waiting three or four months for the threads, another stitcher took pity on me and sent me three of the four (I was able to get one of them) as a wonderful act of kindness. So, as the holiday approached this year, I came across the threads and the freebie in my stash and decided to stitch it up. My only dilemma was what fabric to stitch it on. I really wanted to try to use something I already had on hand. Well, in my digging, I found that I still had some of my favorite piece of fabric. This fabric was a Silkweaver FOTM Exclusive. No name, can’t get any more. Sigh. And I love this fabric. I first used it to stitch my ornament for the guild exchange last year. Then, I used it to stitch Petites Lettres Rouges. And so, when I came across it and did a floss toss, I knew I had to use it for this. All the stars aligned. I started this on Thanksgiving Day during the Macy’s parade, and finished it up on Friday. It was a fun little stitch, and oh how I love the Simply Wool threads. I will definitely be using them again!!! Oh, and those little wool acorns were made by a fellow guild member last year. I think I need some more of them.

I also did some reading…

So, since I promised to give you reviews of my books for my end of year book challenge, here goes. The Leopard was chosen for my most recent Artful Readings book club. I tried. I really did. Just when you thought it was going to get interesting and do something, it failed miserably. This book was published in 1968, I believe, and has to do with Italian politics around the time of the unification of Italy. At least, that’s what I think it’s about. I really gave this a gung-ho effort, but when my bookmark accidentally fell out of the book I took it as a sign that life is too short for bad books. So, I set this one aside unfinished. And that kind of irks me, but not enough to try to finish it.

As a reward for bad taste The Leopard left in my mouth, I rewarded myself with a little vampire reading. These books are a series called the Black Dagger Brotherhood. As one of my friends says, they are like eating kettlecorn – guilty pleasure and you just can’t stop, once you take the first bite. This is the third book in the series, and I like each one better and better. In fact, I was so face first in this book that Eric had to take it away from me so that I could get some stuff done. I did finally get it back, and finished it quickly. As you can see on my sidebar, I’ve now picked up the next book in the series and am quickly moving through it as well.

So, that’s what I’ve been reading. I also picked Jenny Bean back up after finishing my little Plimoth piece. I had hoped to have her done already, but she had to be set aside while some other pressing things got attention. But, she’s back and I am almost done with the right hand border, which leaves just the bottom border to go. Not long now before she is finished. Rather than take a progress pic of her, I thought I’d just surprise you when she’s finished. Soon!!!

And, I did want to take a moment and mention that giving thanks is an important thing to do any time of year. For those that have been with me since I started this blog, you know that at the end of each post I mention something I’m grateful for. Sometimes it’s something small, or funny. Sometimes, it’s something really big and important. But, I try to always do it, as a little way of sending my gratitude out into the universe. So, especially at this time of year, take a moment to appreciate all the blessings in your life. You’d be amazed how those blessings seem to multiply when you start acknowledging them. Thanks to all of you who stop in to visit me and leave your sweet comments. I appreciate each and every one of you. This blog has truly been a gift and has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people. Thank you!

I am grateful for some much-needed time at home with my husband and the cats. I couldn’t ask for more.

My Halloween & Jenny Bean

November 9, 2009 by Michelle 27 Comments

Well, it’s taken me a little bit of time, life is crazy right now, to finally get around to talking about Halloween. I just love Halloween, it’s always a fun time of year for me. So, on the night of Halloween, I put on my costume.

And of course, there were socks to go with it…

My fashion sense was soaring! j/k But seriously, I was dressed perfectly for curling up on the couch with pizza and a glass of wine. Oh, plus there was Dracula and Jenny Bean, of course.

And I promised that I would show an updated photo of my latest Jenny Bean progress…

By the time I went to bed last night, I’d finished that left hand border minus half of the corner pumpkin. I still have some little bits here and there to add into the border, but the Nightmare (black) is basically all done on two sides. It’s moving along, which is a good thing. I have some other stitching that is going to be requiring attention very very soon.

I’ve also finished another book for my Book Challenge.

I’ve had this book for a long while, and just finally got around to it. It was so good. Very different from the Twilight books, of course, but that same Meyer writing that just sucks you in. I really had a hard time putting this book down. In fact, I chose to read rather than stitch a few times. It was that good. This is definitely another one for the Library. I highly recommend it. And, now I’ve got a week to read my book for my next book club, The Leopard. Not really looking forward to it. But, I’m hoping it will be a pleasant surprise.

I am grateful for two clean closets.

A Cemetery, Bones & Raising the Dead

October 17, 2009 by Michelle 20 Comments

I’ve managed to get a good amount done on Jenny Bean in the past few days. Of course, you can see the house is finished, as is the cemetery and I’ve moved onto the tree. The tree is finished minus its leaves. And the colors for this sampler, especially since mine were a guess, are kinda crazy – at least with respect to the tree. I think it will be kind of fun though to eventually see a bunch of these finished, because they will all probably look totally different. But, I’m going with it. Who knows what this week will bring with regard to stitching time, but last week was kind of a fluke. But, all in all, this sampler is so much fun to stitch and it seems to be moving along pretty quickly for me. I have a feeling that border may be a different story though.

I’ve also finished another book from my book challenge. That makes two out of twelve done.

The Lovely Bones was a gift from my friend, Sherri. This was definitely a book I would have never chosen for myself, but it was sooooo good. I could not put this book down. And I definitely feel like this is a story that will stay with me. One of the things I’ve been thinking about too is the amount of books I have in my possession. I’d really like to whittle that down, and one of the things I’ve thought about is that I’d like to have a personal library of sorts that contains books that I love, books that touched me, books that stayed with me, books that I would read again over and over. So, I’ve gone through my books and starting weeding through the books that should stay and the books that can go. This book is definitely one for my library.

And because this book was so good, I’ve had a problem starting a new book. I’ve been carrying a new book around with me for a week almost now, and haven’t cracked it open. Sometimes, when I read a book that is so good, I have a hard time coming back out of that story, or that world. And until I can kind of let it go, starting a new book is almost impossible. I wish all books were like that. Anyway, my next choice, also off my challenge list, is The Host. If I can ever start it, I think it will be good.

And over the weekend, I spent some quality time with the pile of stuff that was slowly overtaking my desk. I found a pattern that I had pulled out with the thought of starting it soon, and also found my notes on threads and fabric I had wanted to use for it, based on this gorgeous piece. I’d left this on my desk because I needed fabric and threads. But, when I picked up the note and saw the fabric I’d wanted to use was Vintage Meadow Rue…the lightbulb went off and I realized I had some Meadow Rue in my possession. In fact, I have a stitcher’s half of it, that was for my first Neighborhood RR. And after all the heartache with this piece, it’s just been shoved in the back of my closet still in the FedEx package, because I didn’t know what to do with it.

Well, now I know. I’m going to rip out the stitching that was done and re-use this piece for Where My Heart Blooms. I think it’s an excellent way of making lemonade out of lemons. And I am sure that the rest of the fabric that I end up with as leftover will be put to good use too. But, first for the ripping out. I think it will be good for me…a way to let go of it.

Hope this week brings lots of stitching and some good news.

I am grateful for Eric – always, every day.

Less Talkie, More Stitchie

October 8, 2009 by Michelle 23 Comments

Tuesday night was guild night, and as is always the case I do way more talking than I do stitching. And we had a fabulous presentation on Tennessee Samplers. So, not a lot of progress on my new start. But, you can see above the gorgeousness of the threads and fabric that arrived at my doorstep shortly after Market. How could I possibly resist the lure of a new start…a Halloween start.

You may have already guessed that Jenny Bean’s Halloween Sampler was my pick for an October project. The fabric and limited edition thread pack arrived with the pattern and I was all set to pick this up and start on Sunday, right after my Angel of Tulips finish on Saturday night. I’m stitching this on the recommended 40ct Vintage Pearled Barley. I love love love Lakeside linen and this color is no exception. The threads look beautiful on it. And of course, I love the thread names too: Nightmare, Zombie Flesh, Sarcophagus, Coffin Lid, Parched Bones, Witch’s Wart, Dried Blood and so on. The threads are GAST, by the way. Stitching with one strand, even though the coverage of the Nightmare (black) is killing me. I’m trying to love it. But I do love this design, so I am very happy with my choice of starting something new.

And speaking of something new, I’ve started a new book. But first, many of you asked me to review my “book challenge” books that I’d listed here. I mentioned that I was currently reading this…

As you can see, this edition is actually the first two books in the series. I’d already finished The Awakening and was about halfway through book two, The Struggle. I finished that up Tuesday night, so I thought I’d better let you all know what I thought.

As you probably already know, these books have been made into a series that premiered a couple of weeks ago on the CW. I’ve been watching the series while also reading the first two books. Love the series. As for the books, I had a hard time at first getting into the first book. But, then I fell into it and book one ends with a bit of a cliffhanger ending, so I breezed right on into book 2. The more I read, the more I enjoyed them. The only problem I had with the books is that because I was reading at the same time as watching the show, and because the show does differ from the books, I did start to get a bit confused with whether something happened in the book or not. But, aside from my own ability to be easily confunded, the first two books in the series are well-worth the read, if you like this genre. And although book 2 also ended on rather a cliffhanger, I did resist starting book 3. I picked up The Lovely Bones last night, because I’d promised myself that would be the next book I read. And so far, I cannot put it down. So I will probably have a review of that one fairly soon.

That’s it for me today, it’s raining here but not as cool as it had been the past few days. I’m hoping to have some curled up on the couch stitching time this weekend.

If you’d like to take a look at the last of my Miami photos, you can see them here.

I am grateful for my friends.

My Own Book Challenge

September 23, 2009 by Michelle 19 Comments

I saw over on Deb’s blog that she was participating in Vickie’s 10 Book Reading Challenge. Of course, me being me, I missed the sign up deadline. But, I thought I’d pull together my own little list, since October is closing in on us and my thoughts have started to turn to the end of the year. As you can see in my sidebar, I’ve now read 13 books for the year. I’d really like to hit 25 for the year, so I’m in need of 12 more. But, what to read for my 12?

Well, first and foremost, I need to finish what I’m currently reading. So…

1. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
2. Vampire Diaries: The Struggle by L.J. Smith

And of course, I’ve got another book club coming up in November. For that meeting, we’ll be discussing The Leopard. So…

3. The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

But, what else?

My friend, Sherri, gifted me with a book for my birthday.

4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

And Missy has been feeding my new addiction to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, so I’ll have to throw at least a couple of those in there…

5. Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward
6. Lover Revealed by J. R. Ward
7. Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward

What else? Oh, the book I bought for Eric just arrived last night…

8. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

And I believe I have a couple of new purchases sitting on my shelves as well.

9. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
10. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

And with the new movie coming out later this year, I’d really like to finish reading…

11. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

And for my last pick, I thought I’d choose something I don’t currently have on my shelves, but really want to read…

12. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

Of course, my list is subject to change at any time based on my whims, but for now, I like the sound of that. And there is nothing better than a good book in the fall and winter months. Something wonderful to curl up with…

Note: the photos here are from an art & antiques show that I was invited to several months ago at someone’s home. Don’t you love that fireplace?

I am grateful for some cooler fall-like weather.

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