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!!!!!