Shameless Begging

I know, I know....I should be packing, not hunting around the Interwebs for more stash... But I saw this design on Melissa's blog, and I. Want. It.

It is a little pattern from a larger book published by Blackbird Designs - their "Summer Weekend" publication. I don't know the name of the pattern itself (or if it even HAS a name), but it is a small primitive border and bird with the saying "all glory comes from daring to begin." I've looked all over, and can't find the pattern book. Blackbird's website says it is out of print. No luck on eBay...there was one Amazon seller who had it listed for $80, but that is too steep for my blood! I've emailed a few quilt guilds that appear to have it in their libraries, but either the email addresses on the website bounced or I got no reply. I finally emailed the designers themselves, and was basically told "sorry." I am a Very Sad Girl!!

So, does anyone have this book, and would you be willing to lend it to me ever-so-briefly??? I'd be happy to work out a trade, if you'd rather do something like that....and I've never *ask* anyone to photocopy anything (although at this point, I don't see the horrible harm in it, honestly, since I'm not trying to avoid purchasing it, it simply isn't available!). Leave me a comment if you have any info.

Where does the time go...

So it is November. Almost MID-November, mind you, and I've been (un)surprisingly quiet over here. *sigh* The pregnancy is still going well (22 weeks this past Thursday!), we're supposed to close on our house on the 16th, and I'm still working 2 jobs. In fact, I'm at job #2 right now, manning the college library reference desk until 9 pm. Pretty low-stress, so I really shouldn't complain, should I??? But I'm tired. And my ankles are puffy. And we won't even mention how much bigger my boobs are at this point....yikes.

Stitching has been...well actually, I HAVE done a bit more than I expected. I have yet to start my little sister's wedding piece (the wedding is in January), and none of my big projects have been touched, but I did pull out the Heartstrings October Santa that I envision as our child's first Christmas ornament and work on that a little.The checkerboard yellows of the moon are a bit of a chore, but the effect when finished is going to be very cute. And if I did the math right, it *should* be the right size for one of my 4" round ornament forms....provided I can find them by the time I get to the finishing stage. LOL

Alrighty, goals.
October recap:
1) hahahaha! Yes, much hearty guffawing has been heard around here lately.
2) ornamentify the sprites. Yes.
3) stitch.....something? Yep, worked on Santa.

So all in all, a pretty good month goal-wise! But on that note, I'm not setting goals for November. If the closing goes as planned, we will be moving over the Thanksgiving weekend (thank goodness for Black Friday, and having a husband who no longer works retail!). With that in mind, I probably should concentrate on packing - and then UNpacking - before stitching. But you never know, I could still find a bit of stitching time here and there!

Boo! Halloween Exchange goodies

I know, it is scary to see a post from me, isn't it?!?!? Life continues to keep me busier than I'd like - working 2 jobs, hoping to close on a house and move by December, growing a baby (girl, it looks like!). But over the past month I *did* manage to participate in the Halloween Exchange over on the Hooked on Exchanging blog.

First what I received from Stacy:Stacy stitched up the Blackbird Designs pattern from this year's JCS Halloween issue, and finished it as a floss ring tag. Cute! And she also sent some beautiful dyed flosses, gold ribbon, and tea! Plus there were some neat little silver charms that got stuck in the bottom of the envelope and missed the picture session, but they are now safely stash in my box of buttons, beads and doo-dads. Thank you Stacy!

As for me, I sent this to Becky:This is "Hilda & Frankie" by Doop Design, finished as a tin topper. The spider web fabric is what I used to line the tin, and there is a little band to hold the scissors (Kelmscott's "Little Gems"). Because the Dinky Dyes' "Autumn Leaves" floss (pictured) wasn't as autumn-y as I was expecting, I also tossed in a skein of Vikki Clayton silk that was a little more orangey-brown. And I stopped by the Target Dollar Spot for a Halloween notepad and a pumpkin scented room diffuser! Sometimes I think I have too much fun putting together exchange goodies....

So that's all I have to show lately. I'm very tempted to sign up for the Christmas ornament exchange, but with the impending move, I'm not sure that's such a good idea.

Quick Update

Still not much stitching going on here, but I did finish these up over the weekend....The Christmas Sprites (from an old Better Homes & Gardens publication), all ornamentified! Now I can pack up my sewing machine for a while....since we are supposed to close on the new house around the middle of November.

Goals? I laugh in the face of goals.

Suffice it to say, life is moderately insane lately. Being pregnant, working 2 jobs, hunting for/bidding on a house....sheesh. In fact, right now I'm at my second job (occasional weekend shifts at a nearby college library), waiting for a call from our realtor. Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh! All I seem to do is work, sleep, and pee a lot. But on the bright side, my blood sugars have been freakishly normal and I feel pretty good (albeit mildly stressed), so I refuse to feel guilty for my nightly after-dinner naps. hehehe

Stitching....uhh.....yeah. I did finish the photo album cover - in my previous post - and Grandma loved it. I've also finished my Halloween piece for the HOE exchange, and am just waiting for a package containing a few extra goodies to arrive so I can mail that out. Other than that....napping has been winning out over stitching. I did pull out Shepherd's Bush "Father Christmas" for a night or 2, but no really significant progress was made. Maybe I should refrain from goal-setting for a couple months??

September recap:
1) Finish the "something small" I started in August! yes, finished and gifted.
2) Work on Halloween exchange piece. yes.
3) Work on Labyrinth. no.
4) Finish ornamentifying the sprites! no. (although 3 of the four just need stuffed and whip-stitched)
5) Work on Fairy Tale Towne? Or maybe my last square on my Woodland RR piece? Hmmm. nope, none of those emerged from the workbasket. whoops.

October goals:
1) hahahaha!
2) ornamentify the sprites.
3) stitch.....something?

So there you go. Aren't you impressed with my drive and determination?!?!?!? I do have some fabric and a pattern for something that might be a cute nursery decoration....but I'm not making any promises.

Oh, and we have an ultrasound next week....18 weeks....maybe we'll know if it is a boy or girl in there..... :)

Time to come clean

So, why have I been so non-posty lately? I can finally tell you.

It involves this:And this:
Yep, you guessed it, I'm pregnant! The super-nifty (or pehaps freaky, if you aren't the gotta-know-it-all science and medicine geek that I am...) 3D ultrasound is from about 13 weeks, and I'm close to 15 weeks along now. I'm due in early March. So, given my history of miscarriages, fingers are still crossed, but things seem to be going quite well so far!!

The album was a gift for my husband's grandmother. She and his parents were the last to know...they came out from Iowa last weekend, and while we could have told them sooner over the phone, we wanted to tell them in person. Grandma loves my stitching, and she was thrilled with the album. Of course, I matted one of the ultrasound pics with my scrapbooking papers and put that on the first page. :)

In more mundane stitchy news, I'm working away on my Halloween exchange piece. Another one I can't share my progress on...I'm sorry. I'm also lusting over a couple of Silkweaver's new "limited editions" -- I absolutely ADORE "Gypsy." So pretty! I seem to have a thing for mottled brown fabrics, don't I? You'd think I'd do more primitive stuff....but no, I just love those rich colors. LOL

Surprises in store...

I wish I could tell you what I've been up to this past month, since there hasn't been a whole lot of stitching going on....but no, it will have to wait another week or 2. *grin* What I CAN tell you is that we might be buying a house, so it might be time to start packing again. Sigh.....didn't we just get unpacked?? (Well, no, not really. There is still stuff in boxes!)

Anyway, moving on-
August recap:
1) Finish a Santa. No. Didn't touch the little guys. Hmph. (Obviously there will be coal in my stocking this year.)
2) Ornamentify the Christmas sprites. Not quite. I have one completely finished, and 2 more finished except for stitching the bottom closed....the 4th is still untouched.
3) Work on "Valse de Fleurs." Yes!! And finished!
4) Start something small. Yes. I started a little piece by Heart in Hand, which I hope to show you all....next week? It is a gift, so I can't post it quite yet....

September goals:
1) Finish the "something small" I started in August!
2) Work on Halloween exchange piece.
3) Work on Labyrinth.
4) Finish ornamentifying the sprites!
5) Work on Fairy Tale Towne? Or maybe my last square on my Woodland RR piece? Hmmm.