Fantasia Update and Great Mail Day

It is so hard to believe that we will be saying goodbye to 2012 in less than 18 minutes.  It is has been a very hard year for me but I was able to survive it.  There were great time too!!  Mark and I visited Rome which was amazing.  I was able to finish several UFO's, attend my ILCS Stitch retreat, and make new friends along the way.  I want to thank my online friends for just being there!  I really appreciate you.

This week I focused on my Disney Fantasia piece.  I was able to finish 1 page!!!!  So happy here!!!!  Right now, I am getting ready to start my Sistine Chapel. I had to put all the extra fabric in a pillow case!!!  Too fun...now all I need to do is put the thread for the section I will be working in it's own thread box....I placed all the threads in a jammer box and I think that is just too much to handle...

Look what came in the mail today!!!!  It is my Castle Magazine and my new HAED - Last Judgement.  I did take advantage of the sale going on at DownSunshinelane!  She has in stock Mill Hill kits 35% off!!! I needed 3 more to finish out my Village series so I decided to order them on Dec. 31...I am not stash shopping next year until my retreat unless it is a magazine.  Go bye and check out her sale! It is a good one!!!  BTW....I am keeping my thirty-one party open until Friday.  I have a PDF copy of the Spring
Catalog if you would like to see it.  I need $89 more in sales before  I can earn double Hostess points...

Happy 2013 Everyone!!!!!  May your days be filled with Reading and Stitching!!!!

Fabric Advice Needed

Yesterday I posted that I was going to start a Disney table runner .  As you can see below, it is stitched on red aida.  I don't really like the red aida....check below for the picture of my dishes that I will be using

Now, here are my Disney Christmas dishes that I will be using near the table runner. 

What color do you think I should dye the white fabric????

2013 Stitching Plans

I have decided that this year  I am going to have a rotation of 13 projects at a time since it is 2013.  I have several large designs and a few small ones inserted throughout.  My goal is to stitch at least 1,000 stitches on each project before I switch.  If I am working on a small one, I may decide to finish it before I move onto the next project.  This next year I plan to stitch on:

Sistine Chapel 

Victorian Winter 

Faery Tales by HAED  - current UFO

Last Judgement -Companion Piece to Sistine Chapel

Fantasia - Working on it now...may have it finished by the 1st.

Hot Air Balloon 

Puppy Love - Art of Disney

A Wintery Heirloom - Current UFO

Augusta Hole 13 - Mystic Stitch- current UFO

Mill Hill Christmas Village - I have 15 kits but I think I am missing some

Summer Ball - Current UFO

Santa of the Forest

43 different Disney Ornaments

There is one more that I plan on starting...it is a Disney Christmas Table Runner but  I will post this one later because I am going to need some suggestions on fabric.....So this is 14 projects and one is almost finished.  Which when finished, I will not start another and just rotate the 13 I have.  

So..am I crazy or what???

Weekly Weigh in Challenge

It has been a bad week for my weigh-in...I gained a little weight but it looks like everyone else is doing great!!!

Berly has lost 7 lbs - 2.66%
Denise has lost 4 lbs - 1.62%
Lynda has lost 2.3 lbs -1.33%
Mary has lost 2.2 lbs -1.08%
Faith has lost 1.6 lbs - 0.96%
Gaynor Ann has lost 1 lb - 0.67%

Even though I am not participating..I have lost 3.4 lbs -2.40%

Keep up the good work ladies!!!!  We have two more weeks left!

Christmas Cards and Stitchy Gift Thank you!

Wow!!  This has been a crazy month!  I think that Christmas day was the first day that I have had to really sit and breathe!!!!  Between kids scurrying to to get all their missing work in so they can raise their grades...writing semester reviews, exams, hosting a ladies tea, hosting the department lunch, organizing the cookie exchange and buying gifts...and trying to tell the kids that the world was not going to end.  I am tired....I have some LONG LONG over due thank you to give!

I want to say thank you to all my friends and family for the wonderful Christmas Cards Mark and I received this year.  They were hung on my wall for everyone to see as they walked into the house.

I have to say a HUGE Thank you to Diane from my StitchnSwap2 group.  She sent me the most amazing Secret Santa package!  She sent me a wonderful Tea Towel, a small stocking full of floss and needles.  A snowman PEZ dispenser...which my niece tried to steal.  A Wonderful Christmas Ornament book titled "Fast & Festive -50 Christmas Designs"   Thank you so much Diane!!!!  I love it!

Now that Christmas is over, I can now sit, stitch and get my Sistine Chapel Design ready to start on Jan 1st!!!

Thirty-One Party

I am hosting a Thirty One Party on Saturday 29, 2012.  I LOVE their products!!!  The link is to the Fall Catalog but my party will be using the new Spring one.  I wish I had a link to that one but I it isn't out yet.

They are GREAT for stitchers!!!  I am hoping to get some new stitching bags!  Here is one of the smaller ones that I like:

This is the Organizing Tote.  It has 5 pockets on the outside and 2 mesh pockets on the side.  It is waterproof!!!  That is what I love about it!!!!!   The picture here is grey...but if you click the name link, you can see all the prints you can choose from.

This is the Super Organizing Tote.  I plan on getting this one for my Sistine Chapel project!  It has all the pockets like the other organizer but it is quite a bit bigger!!!  

If you find something that you just can't live without, I will gladly mail it to you!!!  

Week 2 Weight Challenge

I know you are waiting patiently on the results.  I was waiting on everyone to email me their weight but I guess they got busy...so here are this weeks results:

1.  Faith: down 2.6 lbs. for a 1.56%
2. Lynda down 2.3 lbs. for a 1.33%
3. Denise down 2.8 lbs. for a 1.13%
4. Mary down a 2.2 lbs. for a 1.08%
5. Gaynor down 1 lb. for a 0.67%
6. Berly still even

My results:  down 3.6 lbs for a 2.54% ...  Congrats everyone!!!!!!

Week 1 Weight Challenge Results

I am sorry I took so long getting this posted but life has been busy!  Looks like everyone had a great week!!!!   I hope you are remembering to try and get in 8 cups of water a day. It was very hard for me to drink that much water when I first started dieting because I was really addicted to Sweet Tea and Cokes!  Oh, I never went to school without stopping at Sonic for a Tea or Coke.  Now, I just them as a treat to myself.

So..here are the results:
Lynda  lost 2.5 lbs for a 1.45%
Mary   Lost  2.4 lbs for a 1.18%
Denise lost 2.8 lbs for 1.13%
Faith lost 1.8 lbs for a 1.08%
Gaynor lost 1 lb. for a 0.67%
Berly  stayed the same which means she didn't gain!!!!!!

I am not playing but I lost:  1.9 lbs for a 1.34%

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!!!!

Weekly Update and Skinny Jeans!

Mark decided to go play golf today (shocker) so I decided that I would stitch an ornament really quick then work on Summer Ball....really quick and easy ...right...I first started on some sparkly Jazlyn fabric. I stitched the middle snowflake and HATED it!!! So, I went and pulled this dark 32 ct. Lakeside Linen ....I hate linen but I just knew this was the perfect fabric.  I worked all day and evening....this is as far as I got.   I kept having to frog the lettering because it wasn't coming out right.  I stitched the S and T from the worked STITCHED...five times!!!!!   Now, I just have to pull a pretty blue and rose so I can stitch the border.

Summer ball if fixed!!!!!  I worked on this Friday and Saturday.  It is now fixed and I don't think that you can see that I missed an entire row and had to adjust!!!!

I just couldn't resist taking this really cute picture of Brigen napping in front of my Disney tree!  There is actually a fire going in the fireplace and he is just loving every minute of his warm, toasty nap. 

So Happy!!! I pulled out my workout shorts and then my skinny jeans that I am working to fit into again.  Last time I tried them on, I couldn't get them past my midthigh....Today,  I got them up to the middle of my backside!!!!  This is exciting progress!!!!  So far, I have lost 9.2 lbs, 3 inches off my butt, and 2 inches off my legs.  I am almost to the 10 lb. mark.  I have been trying to eat 87.7 grams of protein a day, staying under 1200 calories and working out with my wii fit.  I have try and do a 30 minute free run everyday and I am up to 60 squats a day!!!!!  So, now I need a workout for my arms.    I was very worried about posting this picture but I covered my face pretty well... I can just see this going viral as a wonderful before picture!!!!!  Next month, I hope to be able to get them over my hips!  We shall see!!!!!!

Wintery Heirloom Update and Looking for a chart

I worked on AWH this week.  I am half-way finished with this page!!!!  It is going quickly since there are no trees.  I love how all the blues are mixing together.   

This week has been CRAZY!!!  I have been breaking out in a rash and hives since last Wednesday.  I actually thought Wed. night, Mark was going to have to take me to the hospital because they were so bad.  We were out of Benedryll but luckily I found some Benedryll gel that helped with the itching.  I woke up all was well....It happened again on Thursday, and then Friday, I had to leave school to go to the Doctor.  I got a steriod shot, some itching pills and they have no idea what is gong on since I haven't changed anything.  No new foods, beauty, cleaning products, nothing!  Today, it is my hands and arms that are itching.  I think I am going to have to go back to the Doctor to see what is going on....

Looking for this chart:  It can be found in the Feb. 2004, issue 101 of Cross Stitch Collection.   Someone has a photocopy on Ebay but I don't want that.....If you have it in your stash or happen to come across it, I would love to pay you for it.

Weight Loss Challenge

It could run Dec. 2nd to Jan  4th.  I would provide GC from 123stitch to the top three...$15 for first place,  $10 second and $5 for third.   You would have to do the following:

1) email me your name and current weight to the tenths place..mine is  142.2  (I will not publish them....I promise)

2)  Each Sunday you email me your weight  and I will place it in a spreadsheet.  Must be emailed to me by 8:00 pm. CST 

3) Weight loss is calculated by percentages not pounds lost

4) You have to be HONEST!!!!!!  You can't lie...that would be cheating.- 

5) I would not join since I am running it.

If you are joining, would you like me to publish Everyone's percentages or just the top 3?  If you have a suggestion on how to keep it honest...would love that too...

So Far, I have the following people signed up:

Gaynor Ann

Faith

Denise 

Berly

IF anyone else would like to join,...email me!  I promise no weights will be published.  I will be the only one who knows your weight.  

This will keep us on the weight loss path during the holidays!!!!!   If you are on loseit...look me up!!!!!   

Thanksgiving Break, Stitching and possible challenge..

During my break I worked on A Wintery Heirloom.  I am 14.2% complete.  This page will be easy to stitch since there are NO trees!!!!  so exciting!!!!

I worked on summer ball.  I have made a HUGE mistake in it. You can see that I am having to stitch different than I usually do so I can try and fix it..

Mistake close up...see the lady with her head tilted?  I missed an entire row right about her head!!!!  And of course I thought I had counted right so I went head and stitched the lady with the pink flower and blue ribbon's faces...There were so many quarter stitches and half stitches that I did not want to frog it...so I am making it work.  I am stitching the right side and then filling in the left....

Gibbs is very excited for Christmas!!!!  He is wearing a wreath made for me by Mary from Ozark Samplers.

Here is the wreath up close!!  Isn't it pretty???  Mary stitched the ornaments and Sara finished it for her.    It turned our wonderful.

I came home from work Tuesday night and it looked like Jag was in a cat fight.  We have no idea how it happened but he is doing better now.  His eye is healing so now it just looks like he has a black eye...silly kitty

Possible Challenge if anyone is interested:

I am trying to lose weight again and doing very well.  I have lost 6.8 lbs and going strong!!!  I have started using this app and web site:  loseit  I went to it and answered the questions, height, weight,  what my ideal weight is and how many lbs I want to lose a week.   Then it does this magical calculations and tells me exactly how many calories I can eat a day.  When you have to log in those 10 hershey kisses....it makes you think...

Since it is the holiday season and I love Christmas cookies.  Would anyone be interested in a weightloss challenge for the holiday season?  It could run Dec. 2nd to Jan  4th.  I would provide GC from 123stitch to the top three...$15 for first place,  $10 second and $5 for third.   You would have to do the following:

1) email me your name and current weight to the tenths place..mine is  142.2  (I will not publish them....I promise)

2)  Each Sunday you email me your weight  and I will place it in a spreadsheet.  Must be emailed to me by 8:00 pm. CST 

3) Weight loss is calculated by percentages not pounds lost

4) You have to be HONEST!!!!!!  You can't lie...that would be cheating.- 

5) I would not join since I am running it.

If you are joining, would you like me to publish Everyone's percentages or just the top 3?  If you have a suggestion on how to keep it honest...would love that too...

This will keep us on the weight loss path during the holidays!!!!!   If you are on loseit...look me up!!!!!   

A Wintery Heirloom update and a Question

So excited!!!  I finally finished page 3 of A Wintery Heirloom.  There are only 21 pages left in this design!!!! This was a hard page simply because of the tree....the tree is nothing but confetti stitches!!

Up close of the tree:

I have a question....This is my piece I am starting in January.  I bought the black and white book which came spiral bound.  There are 348 pages in it and I need to make a working copy.   The only problem is I don't want to stand at a copier for hours making said copies....So I am thinking of taking apart my book, and then 3 whole punching it and place it in a 3 ring binder....

You know how us stitchers are about our main copies of our designs.  What do you think of my idea?  I think I just need the reassurance that it is ok to take my book apart!!!

Summer Ball page Finish and new Stash!!!

Wow!!  When my stitching Mo Jo came back, it came back with a vengeance!!!  I decided to drive up to Ceilica's Samplers in Branson to join my friends who were at the retreat.  I went into the store not intending to buy anything because I really haven't been in the mood to stitch....Wow...did things change!!!!!  My purchases are below....

When I got home I pulled out my Summer Ball and sat down to stitch!!! I was able to finish page 4 of Summer Ball!!!  It is looking great!  I pulled out the last two page and they are not as detailed as the last page.  Which makes me very happy!!!!

So I spent quite a bit of money in the store!  I bought this pattern at the retreat this summer....isn't that bear so cute!!!!  This is Lavender and Lace -Santa in the Forest.

I didn't like the fabric so I found Silkweavers Midas Tough.  I chose 32 count opalescent.  

I had to make a change thought...as you can see in the picture the staff is about the same color as the fabric.  So I am going to use Gold Mill Hill beads instead of fibers and will out line it with this Gold Rush color below...I think it will make it just pop!!!

My next Disney project is Puppy Love....this is just so cute!!!!

The kit comes with 14 count white aida but that is boring.  I wanted to something that looked like a sunset with sparkles.  I decided on Twilight from Silkweaver...it has lots of Sparkles!!!!  I think this will make the perfect background fabric.

I found this chart...and it just screamed my name!!!

This was in the half-price bin...isn't it cute????

Here is another one in the sale bin...love it too!!!!!

So....what do you think of my purchases??? Any thoughts on my fabric choices for the Santa or Disney piece???