Trying To Be OK

Hello Friends, and Happy June to all of you! I'm afraid I'm still having some troubles getting back into the swing of things. Besides having to say goodbye to Angus, there's been some not so great health news in my own family that is also causing me to not feel much better about things. But I really am trying to be OK, I absolutely promise you. And I know I'll be OK, it's just a never-ending pile up of stuff at the moment.

Which is also why I haven't responded much to all of you who have been kind enough to leave comments on previous posts. Even doing that is more than I can handle some days. So I'm not blowing you off, I just don't currently have bandwidth. I'm hoping that any comments I get on this post will be ones I can get the wherewithal to repond to, since "talking" to all of you is such a happy thing for me.

I'm still behind on other things too, though I am doing the things that absolutely are necessary to do, so I'm not a complete zombie. Which is good, because distractions (even cleaning things up, UGH!) are a good thing at the moment.

Other that that, I picked up a stitching project I started last summer, and did only a small amount on, and I did manage to finish a section (did I already show this to you? I can't remember):

I'm happy with how it is turning out. Hopefully I can finish it this summer. 

I also finally get started on a knitting project that I've meant to do for over a year - even had the yarn ready!  This is the start of the Skyline Tee, by Tori Yu. This is the first time I've knit one of her patterns, and it's so well written and clear. I was a bit hesitant because there were some things I've never tried before, but her instructions made things incredibly understandable. 

Like the stitching project, hopefully this will be finished this summer as well. 😜

After Alfie and I cleaned up the garden a few weeks ago, we have been able to enjoy sitting out there together first thing in the morning. He enjoys watching the birds and squirrels, and just hanging out. We usually go out for about an hour or an hour and a half, and it's nice because it's usually so quiet. I generally read and enjoy my cup of tea, and on very rare occasions a squirrel will not realize he is there and he'll go to chase it, but fortunately, the squirrels are MUCH faster than he is! It's become a pleasant ritual, and other than rainy days, we do it for sure. I don't know if we'll continue once the extreme heat and/or humidity arrive, but it's nice for now.

So that's the news from me. I hope all of you are well, and trust me, I've been reading all of your blogs even if I don't comment that much at the present. Thanks for hanging in, it's nice to have comments to read, even if currently I'm quiet at the other end of things. 

What, Pray Tell, Have I Been Doing?

Hello all, and I hope where you are is as sunny as it is today in Philadelphia! I have already been out for my walk, and hope to get out again at some point for some more enjoyment of a sunny and cool day.

I thought I'd catch you up on things I've been doing, crafts-wise. It's been a while since I had much to say about my knitting, and even longer since I've done any stitching, so here you go.

A couple of years ago now, I finished stitching this little Rudolph counted cross-stitch ornament. Then I set it aside, and last year when I went to finish it so I could hang it on the tree, I couldn't find it. I found it when we were putting things away, and left it out so that I could have it *completely* ready for next year.

It was seriously a matter of putting the fabric around a little core that came in the kit with it, and then gluing it into this little pie tin and putting a ribbon through the top for hanging. So this December, it will be ready to be included on the tree! (After I put it away safely, I looked at this picture, and realized there was a loose thread hanging out of it. 🙄 Rest assured I'll take care of that when I pull it out with the other decorations.)

These next two things are knitting projects I've been working on. Just below is the start of my Artus shawl.

I'd hoped to start this last fall, but didn't. And trust me, there's a lot of it left to knit - some parts with charts, which means it will take me even longer. But so far, I'm enjoying the knit, and I love this waffle texture that you start knitting. I have no deadline for this - I'm hoping to have it for next fall, but as long as I can use it next fall or winter, I'll be happy.

My sweater is really getting closer to being completed. Right now, I'm working on the sleeves, and am very close to finishing the first one. Then I'll do the second and then finish the body. I am finally trying the method of getting a bit of the body done, and then doing the sleeves before finishing that. It means you have a lot less fabric flopping around when you are doing the sleeves. And it also means that when the body is finally finished, the sweater is finished!

I'm not saying much more about this now, because I don't want to jinx myself. But I am thrilled with how it looks!

I've also been working on a pair of socks, but haven't taken any photos of them yet. (I had to save something for next time, right??)

So I have been busy with some things, and the good news is that I am happy with all of them. 

*****

Other than that, I'm glad all of you took my last post about names in the spirit it was intended, and got a laugh or two out of it. Of course, once I finished the post, I thought of at least ten more names that have amused me, but I'm sure we all have some. I was just worried once I posted it that people would think I was making fun of people. And I guess in some ways I was, but I promise I wasn't intending it to sound callous or vicious. I have no room to talk, having spent my life with people either mangling my name, or calling me something else altogether! 

Tomorrow is the first day of March, and I'm happy about that. March is one of my most fave months. Usually February and I get along just fine, but since the month started in the worst way possible, it was hard to go along as usual. I'm hoping March proves to be as pleasing at it usually does. 

My weekend plans include a trip to a Joann Fabrics near here, to see if anything I usually like to find there is left at all, since they are going out of business. I have to say that the news is discouraging to me. Not that I spent all of my spare time there, but there are certain things I could always count on finding there at a decent price. And I did enjoy looking for fabric there - nowadays, there are so few places that sell fabric that you can see in person. And then if there are, a lot to of times, you can't afford the stuff! A new place opened here in Philadelphia, and it's lovely. But it's extremely high end, and not being an expert at sewing, I won't be spending any money on fabric there! 

Other than that, probably just the usual weekend activities (or lack thereof). I would like to get some projects around the house closer to being finished, but I'm not gonna beat myself up if I don't get to them. 

I hope you have a good weekend, and a good start to the month of March. Take care, and I'll check in again next week.

P.S. Apologies if you have commented recently, and didn't get a response from me if I have your e-mail address. I'm getting those weird error messages in my e-mail, and it seems that the only solution in the past has been to let it resolve itself. So I promise I'm not ignoring you altogether. 😊

Enough Light!

Last week, I started working on this stitching project:

And I have to tell you, doing the black thread on the black background was to say the least, a challenge! But I really want to make this project, and this is about the third of the black-on-black part of it, so I'm hoping to get another good chunk done today, because guess what? It's sunny and bright here, so I'll actually have enough light to see what the heck I'm doing - hooray! It's a Halloween ornament, so I would really like to get it done for the holiday this year. Fingers crossed.

How are things where you are? Today like I said is bright and sunny, and so pleasant and cool - just the way I like it to be, especially after last week was so hot and humid. Maybe fall is really thinking about showing up. I mean, next week *is* the last week of summer, so I'm more than ready. I've even been thinking of putting together some kind of soup for dinner. I love improvising with what we have, and I can walk to the market around the corner and get some nice crusty bread to have with it.

Since I worked for someone yesterday, they are taking my shift on Sunday, which means I have the entire weekend off. With no specific plans, except for Sunday morning when The Tim said that we should go out for brunch - you don't have to twist my arm, I love to go to brunch. I have things I'm hoping to do, but nothing absolutely necessary, and nothing time-sensitive, so I'm just going to see what I feel like each day and go from there. Such a luxury!

Today is laundry, and I'm currently waiting for the workers to come and put the final seal on our repaired chimney. I got my hair cut earlier, so once the chimney work is complete, I think I'll take a walk in the nice weather. It's so nice to have the windows open and not feel sweaty.

I'm glad you enjoyed the photo of Alfie and Esme that I posted. They truly seem to have a special bond, and it's fun to see them together. Alfie is such a goofy weirdo, and Esme is definitely the boss in that relationship. Which is extra funny not just because she is still timid around us, but also Alfie is easily twice her size. 😊

What are your weekend plans? I hope you are having good weather wherever you happen to be, but if not, I hope you can avoid anything too awful. Whatever you do, I hope you have time to just relax and enjoy things. I'll see you again next week.

Random Things That Are Pleasing Me

Hello!  If you know me at all, you are not surprised that I'm starting with this reminder from Chemistry Cat:

I have an alarm set on my phone for 2:22 p.m., so I can text The Tim to wish him happy 2:22 on 2-2-22.  Which will amuse him, but also further convince him that I am a weirdo. Ask me if I care. 😉

BUT - the numbers fun doesn't end there - for the rest of February, all of the dates are palindromes!  (Yesterday was too, but I got distracted and forgot to post.)  As Kermit would say:

Being that today happens to also be Tiny Needle Tuesday, I wanted to show you the result of my Stitchy Saturday work:

There are two mistakes, regarding spacing but I am choosing to ignore them.  I managed to finish the "Winter" on Saturday, and though it took me longer than it should have, I am happy with how it's going.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a dr appt and walking home, I took this photo from the Walnut Street bridge:

It was such a clear day, and the water on the Schuylkill River looked like glass.  It's not a glamorous view, but it pleases me because I can identify nearly everything in it.  

Then there are these two:

They are having a hard time, because they miss their Hamlet (as do we all, but you can't explain what happened to them).  They have been spending much more time than usual curled up together on his bed.  We love them so much!  And lest you see this photo and think they are a couple of angels, please know that at some point during every sweet scene like this, one of them wakes up and randomly bops the other one, leading to a hiss fight.

I took this picture of Pip on his birthday, which is Valentine's Day.  We postponed our Valentine's celebration until this past weekend because we had picked up Hamlet's ashes on February 14, but no way were we going to skip Pip's birthday, that wouldn't be fair.  He is such a sweetie, and really enjoyed his treats and the toy he got as a present.  Of course, Milo the Koodle has enjoyed it as well ... because nothing in our house belongs to anyone on their own!

*****

I wanted to say thank you for all the comments you left on my post from last week.  I got a bit carried away cleaning out my e-mail inbox, and accidentally deleted them before replying.  Then I tried to respond on Blogger, but those responses disappeared into the ether, so who knows what is going on there?  Whereas for a while, I wasn't getting any notifications of comments, now I get multiple notifications for each comment - so I guess it's feast or famine as far as that's concerned.  

That's it for now.  I hope you have some random things that are pleasing to you as well.  Take care.

Tiny Needle Tuesday - It's Been a Long Time!

I had so many plans for counted cross-stitch in 2021 - and that's what happened, they stayed as plans.  

You may remember that I showed you this start on a project not too far into the year:

(This is what the finished project will be.)

The snowflakes across the top (which are hard to see, I know) nearly did me in, since white floss on a light background is torture for me.  But I got them done, and then a bit more.  Then I put the whole thing down.

Suddenly, it was getting close to the fall holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and so I put this project away because I was gonna work on something else, more in tune to the time of year.

When nothing happened with those plans, I thought for sure I'd do something for Christmas.

Nope.

So on Saturday (the return of Stitchy Saturday), I pulled out the single project I had going, got everything organized again, put it into the hoop, and got to work.  By the end of the day, I'd made some good progress:

It took longer than I expected it to, due to the fact that I'm pretty sure I need a new prescription for my eyeglasses, but I'm happy with what I did manage to do.  And after letting it sit for nearly a year, it's not like I'm on a deadline with it.

It felt good to get back to stitching.  And fortunately, I had marked where I left off, so I just needed to sit down and get going on it.  I'm currently betwixt and between knitting projects, so at the moment, it's this or my mitered square blanket, and I just wasn't in the mood for that on Saturday.  

Who knows, it may even be finished this year!

Small Progress with a Tiny Needle

Because it is Tiny Needle Tuesday, I thought I would show you my small amount of progress on my current counted cross stitch project:

OK, you can't see the white snowflakes that were already completed above the word "Warm," but in any case I managed to get that word completed, as well as the start of part of the border around it.  Not a vast amount, but as it is using a high count Aida cloth (well, for me at least), it's a LOT.  I am enjoying this project, but it will be a slow one because my poor eyes can only work on it for so long.  Plus, the lighting has to be good, and with the gloomy days we've been having, that's been an issue.

But I don't have a deadline for this - I'm making it for myself - so I can take as long as I need to and I want to enjoy working on it rather than feel like it's some kind of assignment.  So I cannot even estimate when you may see the whole thing completed.

Which of course does not mean that I have not seen approximately 45 other projects I would dearly love to start ... 😉

Hello March!

 

Hello March!  As always. I'm glad to see you, and look forward to seeing daffodils pop up and look happy, hopefully by the end of the month.

This past weekend - bringing an end to February - was actually a good one, especially yesterday.  That makes me happy because the month started out pretty shakily for me, and I kept wondering what was happening.  But the fog lifted and the rest of the month was just fine.  We had a rainy weekend here in Philadelphia, but it might be just what my psyche needed.  On Saturday, my big adventure was to head over to Loop, which is open, but with limited occupancy.  The only other time I ventured over there, there was already a long line to go in, and I figured I'd try again another time.  So a Saturday morning when it was raining seemed to work out well.  

Since they were having a sale, I didn't want to take a lot of time to look around, in case others wanted to come in, so I got the double pointed needles I wanted to get, as well as these two kits:

I have a friend who has made a few of these, and they are SO adorable!  I expect they will be fiddly, but I'm game to try.

Yesterday was an even rainier day, and frankly, it was wonderful.  Other than brief forays outside with Hamlet so he could attend to his business, I spent the bulk of the day stitching and knitting.  I worked a bit more of my counted cross-stitch project, and then in the afternoon sat down with my blanket o'squares to work on a few.  It felt good, since it's been a while since I spent much time on it.  But working on that and watching a few podcasts to keep me company along with a cup or two of tea, made it a cozy, happy day.

And now, March 1 has arrived.  The month of Milo the Koodle's birthday, my birthday, St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's Day (zeppoles!!), and the first day of Spring, just to name a few things.  I am hoping that the ick at the beginning of February will be it for a while, and that March can be better all the way around, because if your birthday month can't treat you well, what is the point, you know??

I hope that the first week of March will be kind to all of us, and that even if it's not your birthday month, it will be a good one for you.  

Back to a Tiny Needle for Tiny Needle Tuesday

Last week, I decided I was ready to start my next counted cross-stitch project.  I had already gathered everything together an put it in one place, so that when I felt ready, I could just get going.

So last Monday, I sat down and got started.  And then started again.  And then another time.  And then I put it away, deciding that I would see how I felt about it on Stitchy Saturday (my own name for Saturdays if I work on any needlework).

I was in the mood on Saturday, and keeping in mind what I had done on Monday, I forged ahead.  The project I'm making should eventually look like this (or at least close to it):

Last year, I happened upon Floss Toss, a video podcast with Rachel from Treehouse Knits, and Sue from Legacy Fiber Artz.  They started a Flosstube (which is apparently what cross-stitch podcasts are called), and one of them - I forget which one - had made this, and I just loved it.  So I looked it up and purchased the pattern, fabric, and floss after checking I didn't already have any of the colors.  I've had it for a little while, but was finally ready to start stitching!

I had decided to start with the snowflakes at the top.  Easier said than done for me, because even though the fabric was not snowy white, it was still not that much darker than the white thread.  Since I realized what had happened on Monday, when I wasn't really prepared for that, things went better on Saturday.  I got two of the snowflakes done in the morning, and three in the afternoon.  And no, they are not perfect, but they are done and they look like snowflakes to me.

You can see them here in my Instagram post.  I think I'll do OK now, at least for a while, because the white sections left will have a lot more area, and I'll wait to do them until the other parts are complete.  That's the plan, at least.

It's a large-ish project - well, larger than my most recent one anyway - so I think it will take me a while, but that's fine with me.  I kinda like knowing it will be there waiting for me when I feel like giving it some love.

I've Made My List

... though unlike Santa, I have not checked it twice.  I feel that he needs to be more comitted to his list than I do to mine.  😊 

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, as is usually the case nowadays.  I did make some progress on some projects.  I got a counted cross-stitch project underway, after a false start earlier last week.  And I got the cuff knit on the second sock of the pair I'm currently knitting.  My Advent Throw got some love as well:

Adding in the partially finished pink stripe on the top means that I am 1/3 of the way through my yarny Advent calendar, so I'm zipping right along.  This pattern (the Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart) is really great, because once you get started, it's not complicated at all, and goes along pretty quickly.  I could see making another with random scraps down the line.

I also made the list I mentioned in an earlier post, to organize thoughts I had about what I might want to make/do this year.  I thought I'd share it with all of you, both for record-keeping purposes, but also in the event that any of you need "inspiration" to make your own lists.  We can try to follow our lists together!

Now, keep in mind, I'm not saying that I can only work on this list, or even that they all have to be completed.  Rather, these are things that were rattling around in my brain, as I was thinking of what kinds of projects I might want to do this year.  So they are goals, but not requirements!

And there are ten of them, because - frankly, it just seemed like there should be ten of them.

Making Goals for 2021

1. Knit a minimum of 4 items for charity*

2. Knit a toy/stuffie

3. Knit at least one pattern from a pattern book

4. Try to learn crochet well enough to make at least 2 coasters

5. Make tops for at least 2 quilted placemats

6. Knit one sweater

7. Sew one item other than quilted placemats

8. Try one brioche knitting pattern

9. Complete at least 2 cross-stitch/needlework projects

10. Clean up knitting needles - donate duplicates or ones I don’t use

*as of 5 February, I already have a hat knit last year and will also finish my Happy Socks (1 knit so far) for charity, so I need a minimum of two more items

What about you?  Do you have any specific plans or ideas?  I'm curious to know if I'm the only person who was being driven nuts by my ideas and thoughts and had to write them down!

Tiny Needle Tuesday - Almost a Complete FO!

Hello there!  I hope your Tuesday has started out well.  Mine is OK (I'll be at work when this post goes live, I'm writing early on Tuesday), though today is a work at work day, and though no one else is around, I'd still rather be home, you know?

Anyway.

I'm excited to show you my almostcompletelyfinished counted cross-stitch project:

Isn't he cute??  I am so very pleased with how this turned out. Especially since the parts that are in the white/ecru were really difficult for me to stitch - it was really difficult to tell where the stitches had already been done!  So it's probably not perfect, but who cares?  The blue background went fairly quickly once I got past the antlers section, so I zoomed through that this weekend.  Now all that is left is to press it with an iron, and use the instructions in the kit to make it into an ornament for our December 2021 Christmas tree.

Here's a closer look - I just love his little face!

I mostly worked on this during the day on Saturdays, when it was bright enough during the daylight to be able to see what I was doing; then this past weekend, I did one side of the background on Saturday and one side on Sunday.  So the main reason it took that long to finish is because I only picked it up one day a week.

Hopefully I can *really* finish this in the coming week.  My motivation to do so will be twofold: 1) I want to put it away with the other decorations, which we will be working on this coming weekend, and 2) I have told myself I can't begin a new stitching project until this one is finished and tucked away.

And that's today's story.  Have a good one!

Perchance to Dream; and, Tiny Needle Tuesday Update

Have you been having weird dreams at times during this pandemic - at least more often than before?  Because I have, and they seem to go in spurts for whatever reason.  Most of them involve the kind of weirdness one might expect, such as animals talking to you, or realizing you are someplace without your mask (I guess that's the pandemic equivalent of realizing you are at school or work in your underwear?).  But the other night I had one that made me laugh, even when I first woke up from it.

I was seated at a long banquet table, with a bunch of other people, and they were all dressed in suits and ties, and other "serious" business apparel.  Also, we were clearly in a dr's waiting room, because other people were sitting in chairs clearly waiting to be called in to their appts.  Well, it turns out that it was a retirement party for Kym (who I happen to know is already retired, and who I have never met in person).

On the plus side (well, for her at least), people were making all kinds of nice speeches about her.  Then suddenly this event was over, and Kym came over to me and said, "Bridget, I know we have only worked together briefly [editorial note: as in NEVER at all, Kym!] but I wanted to give you a special gift from me.  And she handed me one of these:

Now.  To her credit, the card she gave to me at least had all of the buttons on it, not like this one above where some are missing.  But she only gave me one card.  Plus - and I know I'm seeming ungrateful here (because I am, for real) - but these are pretty generic buttons that I likely already have thousands of, for no good reason other than that I just have neglected to ever give them away or toss them.

Really, Kym?  This is the best you could do???

Then she said, "The reason I had the retirement party here is because I have a dr's appt in half an hour, and this way I don't have to do any extra travelling."

At which point I woke up and laughed for about 10 minutes!  

This is almost as weird as the dream I had about two weeks ago, where Hamlet told me (in a James Earl Jones-type voice) that his favorite kind of potatoes were mashed potatoes with gravy.  

I would also like to point out that I had not had any alcoholic beverages in the evenings before either dream.  Maybe I should start??

*****

In news not quite as weird, I made some good progress on my reindeer cross-stitch recently, and I am loving it more every time I get another part stitched!

Look at his little face and red nose!!  💖

This project makes me smile the whole time I'm working on it, I have to say.

OK, that's it for now.  I hope all of you have a good day, and may your dreams be ... oh at this point, I just don't know.

December! And Also, Tiny Needle Tuesday!

And just like that, December 1st rolls around!  Whether or not we are ready, it's here.  I for one am happy, since I love this time of year.  I'm not one to wish a year away, like so many people are.  I just like December.  Plus, if you recall, last year around this time soooo many people were saying, "I cannot wait for 2019 to get out of here, bring on 2020!"  Proving that you should be careful what you wish for, no?

Anyway, 24 days until Christmas Day, but it's time to enjoy Christmastime!  And for those of you who do not celebrate, I am not meaning to stuff it down your throat.  I certainly hope that you have a good month, and that if there is a winter holiday that you celebrate, you are looking forward to it as well.  But if you have read this blog for any length of time, you should also not be surprised that I love everything about the holiday season.

Yesterday, I got three of the five things I had on my list for the day accomplished, and they were the three things that to me, were the priorities, so that was a good feeling.  Especially for a Monday.  Even better, though it poured rain for 95% of the day, we managed to get in three walks with Hamlet during times it was not raining, which was beneficial for all of us.

However, what today is really about is Tiny Needle Tuesday, which I have not been able to post about for a bit, because I have been not just in-between projects, but having a hard time deciding what I was in the mood to do next.  But once I realized it was nearly December, I started to poke around, and remembered I had a credit at Stitched Modern due to a package that was damaged in shipping.  So I decided to see what was new (to me at least) there.  I found one that just really spoke to me, and with my credit, I got it for a mere $3.00!

Sunday morning, I got started and it was so much fun to do some cross-stitch again.  This is as far as I made it before stopping (and yes, that is a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer stitchery pouch, thank you for noticing):

I'm sure I could have done most or all of it on Sunday if I'd kept going, but I didn't want to finish it all at once, and just like knitting, I don't like to cross-stitch non-stop, because it makes my hands/wrists/elbows/whatever hurt, and why would I purposely do that??  I'm so happy with it so far, and even though it hasn't been that long between stitchery projects, I forgot how much fun it is to see the image start to look like something. 😊

So, onward with today, which is a day I am at work, so hopefully that will go well, and the work part of the day will pass quickly.  I hope your day turns out to be one that you enjoy.

Dusted and Done

OK, maybe not dusted because I haven't gotten that done yet, but today is the last day of November, and I managed to post every day for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), which pleases me.  I enjoy giving myself small challenges, and it makes me happy when it works, since I am the first to admit that a lot of times I lose steam on my challenges/ambitions after a week or so.

I don't know if it's because of being home most of the time, or if I was just more in the mood for it all this year, but unlike other years when I would have a hard time coming up with topics, or even forget altogether, this year it was less daunting.  I will also admit that two things helped: 1) I would try to think the day before about possible topics, and b) I realized that every day didn't need to be a long, involved post about something specific.  That helped a lot.

Of course, you were the ones stuck reading, so who knows how you must have felt about it ... 😏  In any case, thanks for showing up and even leaving comments, I had fun doing this.

Our long holiday weekend was quiet and really enjoyable.  Hamlet responded well to the medicine and the rest the vet recommended, so we're hoping he is on the road back to being his usual self.  I got my hair cut on Saturday morning, which is always a way to feel better for me.  We had a couple of Zoom get-togethers with family and had a good time laughing together.  I started a new cross-stitch project, which is a fun one and will probably go quickly (I probably could have gotten a lot more finished than I did, but put it away at one point to actually try and do something other than just stitch all day.  Plus, now I have working on it some more to enjoy).  We did a lot of just enjoying the time, and that is always my favorite way to spend any weekend.

Today it is supposed to pour rain all day long (it's already started, but fortunately Hamlet and I got our morning walk in before any drops), so I made sure to keep the things that are definitely inside activities to at least start today.  I want to pay the bills (ugh), wrap a few gifts to have them ready to mail, and clean up some small messes I've made (putting things away that I piled up on a chair, etc.).  I'm also going to pull out the Christmas cards so that I can get going on them this week.  I am determined that this year of all years, I'll send some cards.*  I think even people who may not normally care if they receive them will enjoy it this year, since at least in theory they haven't had as many chances to communicate with others as much.

I'm not sure if you'll hear from me quite as much in December, but as you know if you have read this blog for a while, it is one of my most favorite times, so there's a better than good chance I'll be here more often than not.  

I hope the last day of November is a good one for you, and that we all have something to enjoy this week, when December shows up whether we are ready or not!

*if your lifetime dream is to receive a card from me, feel free to send me your address at: thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet.  I love to send and receive cards!

A Tiny Needle Tuesday FO

I really thought that my next stitching project was all set.  I even posted something about it on Instagram, got things organized, and then just wasn't feeling it.  So it will be my next Halloween's stitching project.  No harm, no foul, right?

But today for Tiny Needle Tuesday I have an FO to show you:

Yay, it's done and I am so happy with it!  As you can see, my counting for the border was wonky, so it's not actually centered properly, but I don't care at all.  I'm just really pleased with it.  I knew from the get-go that this could happen, because I am just someone who has a tendency to get thrown off when there is a lot of blank space in a counted cross stitch pattern.  I count, recount, and then count again, and it still happens.  Like years ago when I took a bookbinding class, and the teacher was aggravated because even using a ruler, I could not get things measured perfectly.  I felt really awful about it, thinking I was some kind of freak, until a co-worker told me that he had the same issues.  He'd started out as an engineering major, but could not draw a straight line the way it was supposed to be, even with a ruler - which, needless to say, is VERY important in engineering!

Anyway, this was a kit created a couple of years ago, by june bug and darlin, and sold through the Strand Bookstore.   As far as I know, they are no longer available, so sorry if you wanted one for yourself.

My original intention was to make this for my office at work, in our new renovated space.  And that is where it will end up, but right now it pleases me to see it on the bookcase in my craft room.  So I figure it will live at home until after the holidays, when I will put it away anyway to put out our decorations.  

Now I just need to decide what I want to do next.  It will probably not surprise you to know that I have several Christmas-themed projects that I could do ... 😉

Tiny Needle, Tiny Progress

Sigh.  I have not worked on my cross-stitch for a couple of weeks.  Most of the time, I spend time with it on Saturdays.  But on Saturday two weeks ago, I didn't feel that great, and this past Saturday, I got involved in other things.  I did however, make a tiny bit of progress on it one day last week.  So here is my tiny contribution to Tiny Needle Tuesday.

As you can see in the above photo, I got the little book outlined, and the "pages" stitched, and was able to start on the border.  The border is tricky, because not only is there a lot of backstitching involved, but the color keeps changing.  So for this it will be slow and steady, but I think I'll be happy with it when it's finished.

I'd like to finish it by the end of September, because I have some Halloween-themed projects and I think it would be fun to work on one of those during October.  We'll see.  As far as cross-stitch is concerned, I'm a monogamous stitcher.  I like to concentrate on one thing, and finishing it before getting involved with another project.  

And now that September is here, it's time to start concentrating on this a bit more so that I can finish it!

*****

I have nothing interesting or exciting to report.  The weekend was fine, with pretty nice weather.  We ended up staying put because for whatever reasons, both of us had trouble sleeping on both Friday and Saturday nights, so we were kinda wiped out both days.  I did manage to take Hamlet for a longer than usual walk late Sunday morning, and we met a couple of elderly ladies sitting outside a coffee shop who made a major fuss over him, so I think he may have enjoyed that even more than a trip to the park!

Here's hoping that this week and this month will be good to all of us.

Not a Cold Shoulder But More Annoying

Hello there.  I hope your weekend was OK or at least not awful.  Ours was pretty uneventful, which as a relief after the fiasco that was last week.  Though on Saturday morning, I woke up with searing pain in my left upper arm and shoulder.  At first I thought I must have stiffened it up in some weird sleeping position, but it just didn't let up no matter what.  Grrrrr.  I kept trying to work it out, but frankly it hurt too much and at a certain point I gave up.  Sunday it was less sore, and then - seriously - all of a sudden, it hardly hurt at all and I could move it much more easily.  This morning there is a slight tinge, nothing else.  So I have no idea what that was all about, but I'm glad it seems to be clearing up, because it was annoying at best.

I didn't have a lot of plans for things I was planning to do, but since I was for all intents and purposes (as opposed to "intensive purposes") unable to do a whole lot, I decided that meant I should just read and do crafty things.  Makes sense, right?  By the end of Saturday, I had a sock finished, and by the end of the day yesterday, I was halfway down the leg of sock #2.

 

On Saturday afternoon, I finished the wording on my cross stitch project, which pleased me.  

Now I will have the border and the outlining to do.  That will probably take a while, because it involves counting and a lot of blank space, and I'm not really good at that kind of thing.  But I'm enjoying the project, and I'm the only one who will know if/where I mess anything up, so it will be done one way or the other.  

Shortly after mentioning having started Wild Game last week, I abandoned it.  I didn't like the people, and didn't like the story, and so forget spending any more time reading it, you know?  On Friday, I started Seaview House and I have to tell you, I'm finding it highly entertaining.  It's a domestic comedy/comedy of manners and I don't know if it's really that good, or if I'm just in the mood for it.  I'm about halfway through, and purposely trying not to finish it any sooner than necessary.

A local photographer posted this photo on Facebook, showing the moment a lightning strike over the Philadelphia skyline during a crazy storm on Saturday night.

I find this breathtaking.  Fortunately other than LOTS of rain, we had no other negative effects from this storm or from the remains of Hurricane Isaias earlier in the week.  I know some friends in the 'burbs are still without power, but in the city we lucked out.  I think since most of the power lines are underground, we don't suffer outages as much as places where trees fall onto power lines, etc.

It sounds as if this week we are back to hot and humid and overall ICK.  The other day on the local news, they said that there were 3 days in July when the temperature was not 90 degrees (F) or above, and that was a record.  I am not pleased to be living in these record-breaking times, let me tell you.

Hopefully in spite of any weather issues, we'll all have a week that goes well.  Part of me thinks, "Well, it can't be much worse than last week," but of course I know only too well that it can.  So I'm just going to hope for a normal, boring week where things are fine.  If it goes better than that, it will be icing on the cake (oooh, cake!).  Take care, friends!

The Next Needle Project

Before I tell you about the project referenced in the title of this post, I have to say that I think your responses to the question of what was the worst gift you have received are some of my favorite responses ever!  I admit to laughing at your pain, but come on, those are some good stories, people.  And note to Alison - just because you live in New Zealand, it doesn't mean you cannot be part of the giveaway, I'm happy to send things wherever they need to go.  So please let me know if you would still like to be added in before the deadline this week.  I would truly love to include you on this giveaway or any future giveaways.* 😊

If you recall, last year I completed a couple of counted cross-stitch projects, and enjoyed working on them so much that I was glad I'd gotten back to it.  Then I had some knitting projects that I really wanted to do, and they started taking up all of my brain space and interest.

During the time I was working on those projects, I came across a kit that the store junebug and darlin was selling through the Strand Bookstore.

As you can imagine, this was something I felt I just MUST have!  First of all, I love books; second, I am a cataloging librarian; and third, they are renovating our space at work and I thought this would be a really nice touch in my new work area.  So I ordered a kit, and it arrived in a very timely fashion.  Since I was busy with other stuff, I put it away for another time.

I feel that the time has come, so to speak.  Yesterday I pulled it out to start looking at the pattern, the instructions, what was in the kit, etc.

And look at this - the floss is attached to a library check out card, like we all used before things became computerized!  (Some libraries still use them, but most large libraries nowadays use barcodes and scanners.)  I just love that presentation, it makes my librarian heart sing.

Since we are supposed to return to work in the next month or so (don't get me started on that topic right now), and at least in theory, the renovations will be finished (really?), I thought it was time to start this project and have it ready whenever I can finally walk in to my new office.  My only concern right now is that I am suffering big-time from heat-addled brain, so it might be better to only do a small amount of stitching on any given day.  That way if there is a brain disconnect, there won't be as much to un-stitch and start again.  I'll keep you posted.

*OMG someone in NEW ZEALAND reads my blog!!!  This makes me all kinds of happy.  One of my fave places (no I haven't been, other than in my head and in photos, news, others' stories).  I have always wanted a friend who lives there. Plus, they are having winter now.  Sigh.

Just Go Along With This for Now

This was one of those busy weekends when I actually did a lot of stuff not just for myself, but around the house, and none of it is noticeable.  You know what I mean - you put things away, or spend some time on an ongoing project, and you're happy that it was done, but no one else would ever know?  Oh well, I know and that counts!

One thing I did "accomplish" that I can share with you is a couple of photos.  On my previous laptop, I used Irfanview to edit photos, and it was fairly straightforward and we got along very well.  Turns out that Irfanview doesn't work with Chromebook (of course it doesn't why should it, right?), so I had to find something else to try.  So after a ton of trial and error, I have these two photos to share, and though they are fine, I'm not completely happy with either of them, based on how I could have done them before.  I'm sure I'm the only one it bothers, though.

First up, do you remember the counted cross-stitch of the honeybee I finished last fall?  We got a frame for it, and nothing happened with that right away, and once the holidays arrived, forget it.  I finally got myself together enough to frame it a few weeks ago, and early last week The Tim hung it for me.

The reason this photo is at an angle, is because it is hanging above the stairwell where you go from the second floor down to the first floor, and this was as good a shot as I could get.  The closest that this comes to the actual gold shade of the frame is near the top left corner.  But I love the way it all turned out, and it makes me happy to see it whenever I'm heading downstairs.

Next up is one of the photos from Hamlet's birthday party.  One of his gifts was a new bed (the one we had belonged to Dug, and between the two dogs using it as well as the cats, a new one was in order).  As you can see, it was quite a hit.

Hamlet has even had the chance to use it once or twice since then ... actually for about the first week, he was only lucky to get next to it.  We keep telling him that he doesn't have to do the cats' bidding, that his head is bigger than both of their bodies put together, but nonetheless, here we are.

(Both of these photos took HOURS to get to look like this.  Sigh.  Good thing I have a lot of time to spend these days!)

I also spent some time starting to wash my winter sweaters to put away.  Though we have had some cool nights and early mornings, and there were a couple of days last week where the mornings in the high 30s/low 40s, I've decided that since this coming weekend is Memorial Day weekend, we're not likely to get many more - if any - of those.

This week I hope to get to work getting the garden more cleaned up.  The Tim got started with some of the big stuff, but I want to finish and we want to get some plants for there and the planters in front of our house.  That's the big thing I'd like to accomplish, but there are also a bunch of smaller things that are on my mental list as well.  Needless to say, we won't be traveling this year for Memorial Day, but I'm hoping that if we have some nice weather that we could have a little picnic in the garden if things are enough in order.

That's really about it.  My knitting projects continue, a bit slower than before since one of them in particular makes my one elbow uncomfortable, so I don't spend as much time knitting.  I'm hoping once that project is finished, the discomfort will also be gone.  I've done some reading, and am also catching up on some movies and TV shoes that we have had hanging around but never got around to watching yet.

I hope your weekend was OK, even if not exciting.  Don't forget to wash your hands, wear a mask, and stay home!

On Its Witchy Way!

Friday - YAY!!!  This week has been a looooonnngg one, topped off today with my Performance Review at work.  Even when it's all good, it's just such a tedious series of events, and it's even more frustrating when you have already been informed that there will be no raises, and not even a cost of living adjustment this year.  :-(

Ugh.

BUT - still, it's Friday and in a few hours, I can wend my way home for the weekend, which will be a long one for me since I am taking off Monday for our wedding anniversary.  Nice!

In any event, moving on.

As mentioned, I did finish the cross-stitch project I had been making for my niece Amanda, and I am beyond pleased with the result:

(unblocked)

It was so much fun to stitch, and went quickly once I actually got going on it.  I had originally been worried that I had started too late to get it to her for this Halloween, but because it was primarily words rather than a "picture" so to speak, it zipped right along!

Last week, I found what I thought and hoped would be the perfect frame for it, and at least to me, I think it looks even better than I was expecting:

(Yes, my photo is crooked.  Work with me, people!)

Seriously, though, is it not just perfect??  We saw a black frame with a white mat first, and that would have been OK, but then I saw the black matted one, and figured that would be so much better - and it is!  

And so, it is being mailed this morning and will be on winging (brooming?) its way to Baltimore by the time you read this.  I'm hoping it arrives by Tuesday at the latest, but I have no control over that part, so I'm not going to agonize.

It always makes me so happy when something I had in mind turns out the way I had pictured it.  A lot of times, the end result is close, but in this case, it all worked out EXACTLY as I had it in my brain.

Which is a nice way to end a week, and start a weekend.  Tomorrow morning is the Mutt Strut (and you can still donate if you like, here!  [I think you can still donate for up to a week after the event.]), and fortunately the start of the day is supposed to be sunny and pleasant.  I know it will be fun, and I'm sure Hamlet will make his way to everyone to be petted, since that is his M.O. 

Other than that, no big weekend plans.  Of course the usual will happen, and I'm hoping to make some progress on some of my gift knits.  I'll probably also watch the Kristy Glass "Tell Us About Your Rhinebeck Sweater" video, which always entertains (and often amazes) me.  As I said, Monday is our wedding anniversary, so we'll be discussing where to go for dinner, which could easily take the entire weekend, since a) we can never remember the places that we said, "We should try that one," and b) we tend to decide, change our minds a hundred times, and then end up where we started out.  

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and have the chance to spend at least a little bit of time doing whatever *you* would like to do.  See you next week!

******

P.S.  The other day, I got a ton of "Undeliverable" messages that were responses to comments from some of last week's posts.  So please know, I was not ignoring you, the messages just didn't go through for whatever reason.   It seems to be OK now, so fingers crossed that continues.