Reading, Stitching and Zombies

There was a stitch in today at the Homestead and we were talking about books. Who among us does not love to read? Out of the 5 of us there, it turns out 1 of us does not love to read (gasp!) The other 4 of us do! (and you gentle reader? Obviously you do!)

Anyway, the 4 of us were vehemently - well okay - agreeably but loudly - discussing books and happily confusing each other by talking all at once when ONE of us thought that SOMEBODY was referring to those books called something like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Our famed and favored eldest member struck that one down with a simple "I don't like zombies" much like you or I would say "I don't like vegetables" and went hurriedly on to explain what book she was reading. My stitching neighbor and I went into paroxysms of mirth over her zombie comment and I had to ask if she like vampires to which the answer was "No I don't like any blood suckers." What? Do they really exist? Besides mosquitoes I mean.

I suspected at this point I had had FAR TOO MUCH CAFFEINE AND SUGAR but honestly, now that's it's late at night and the caffeine and sugar is gone from my system, some much more serious questions come to mind like

... do zombies stitch? And if so, at Halloween do they stitch people in various normal poses? And what about vampires? It seems to me that vampires are a vast untapped market for needlepoint customers. Does anybody out there know a vampire itchin' to be stitchin'? Don't even tease me about werewolves for pete's sake! How would they hold a needle? Honestly, I'm not THAT stupid!

So saying, I must sign off and go dream about...a normal life. :-)

Back from Vacation

Wow! I returned from my wild west vacation to find that my background was "missing" on my blog page. I don't know why since the html code was still there. Nobody said I was a programmer, I'm just a user. Uh-huh. My sister is kind enough to call me a super-user but...still...I just follow the instructions.

So I took off the old and put on the new autumnal background. I hope you like it. I changed out the window at work today too. I took down the cherries and put up the acorns and fall leaves. I took the floral and cherry canvases out of the window and put up Christmas and snow. I know. The "s" word. That was brutal. I would have put autumn and Halloween in the window but last week I put all of them way far up on the walls and I wasn't going to pull any of them down to stick them in the window. Besides, people should be stitching their Christmas already. Finishing deadlines LOOM BEFORE US!!! I'm starting to get the panicky calls from stitchers asking about the deadline. I tell them Christmas comes every year but few are amused.

I suppose you want pictures but today you're stuck with me rambling. How's this? I got some bright pink window paint and painted 200,000 Miles on the back window of my car this morning AFTER I had it washed. This is so that THE WHOLE WORLD would know that my car rolled 200,000 miles. As you must know, I'm also having a 2 day sale to commemorate this momentous event. Sometime around noon it started raining. Portions of my bright pink lettering flaked off and became one with the rising floodwaters of the parking lot. Other tiny bits of pink ran down to make my car look like it had a mild case of measles. (sigh) I drove it home sadly as no strangers honked and waved to help me celebrate my so far once-in-a-lifetime event. Then I wiped off the rest of the tiny dots as much as possible so that they wouldn't melt overnight causing my blue car to look like it had now contracted a case of oozing Barbie-itis. Yes, you get to read here ALL the excitement in the life of your local shopowner.

But seriously. Now I will park my behind in my chair and continue to work madly upon next year's Project of the Month which Shall Remain a Secret Until its Revealing. That could be some time away at this rate. I like them though. That's all I can say. Oh that and it's fun. :-)

Don't Hate Them Because They're Beautiful

Remember that commercial where the girl didn't want you to hate her? Was she beautiful? I don't know but I always thought it was funny...like anybody would say that.





But in the case of these TREES, I thought it was realistic. I got them back from the finisher on Saturday and thought I should POST them so you know I really DO stitch things. I asked her to make them 3D and standing on bead feet. She put those adorable ribbon doo-dads on the top. What do you think?


For those of you wondering what they are, they're the first four trees from this year's Tree of the Month Club. I have a couple more stitched but not sent out yet and I'm bringing two on vacation in case I have any stitching time. :-) These have actually been fun and I hope to get them all finished. I can see them all on my fireplace mantel at Christmas but you know darn well they'll be in the shop so that people can see them.

Back to cleaning! Theresa

THE ROOM...

Whoever had this Stupid Idea to clean up The Room? Was it me? Are you sure? Because I found stuff I didn't know I had. Maybe one of my friends snuck some of their stash in there. Which is entirely possible...but knowing them, not really probable. Anyway, I think I should have a HUGE stash sale.

The problem is see, I have cross stitch kits and fabrics. I have tons of fat quarters and some yards of fabrics for quilts I've never made. I have TONS of yarn for - well apparently for projects that never got started. I have BLOBS of books...I have a hard time letting books go though. Then I found this storage box with all this fake fur in it and a bunch of bear parts and patterns. I guess I was going to make my own bears! What? How long ago did that illness take over? I have like THREE different patterns in there! Which I got as far on them as the purchase. What a surprise (sarcasm).

This is NOT the first time I've purged. It may not be the last. The good news is that I don't buy like I used to. I mean fabric. Or cross stitch. Or TOO much yarn. I'm not saying boo about needlepoint. :-)

So here's my question - who wants to buy my stash?

Needle Case

What am I working on (besides the sewing room?) This is an adorable needle case from Birds of a Feather. It sat in the shop and stared at me for long enough! I have a thing for anything that reminds me of French Provence and for some reason this one did. So I grabbed it - for a shop model of course - and four colors of Vineyard silk. Of course it's all in continental so they'll be no snagging when it gets handled.

The silk feels like butter when it's stitched. The colors are bright enough that you'd never lose this in your stitching tote. The inside has four felt "pages" already sewn in for your needles. When you're finished you just stitch down the already attached cotton lining and the zipper is attached too. Yup, a pre-finished product. My favorite.

Speaking of pre-finished, I can't wait until the new leathers from Lee Needle Arts come in. It will be a while as they only had demos at Market of their new leather pillows and their newest purse. They also have an e-book cover - of course I ordered one! What's an e-book without a nice leather Lee cover? :-)

That's all for now! I just wanted to post a picture so you didn't think I was slacking!

The ROOM OF SHAME...

Dear Friends,

Yesterday and today, I've been locked inside the "sewing room". Only God knows why it's called that...I don't sew in there. Neither do I cross stitch, quilt, crochet, knit, felt, needlepoint or do anything at all related to sewing in there. Mostly I throw stuff in there on the floor. Sometimes there's room on the table where the sewing machine is and it will make it there. If there were room on the bookshelf and it were a needlework book it would make it there. But room on the bookshelf ran out eons ago. So instead there's a pile of charts and books on the floor. So that is what my post is about today. The ROOM OF SHAME...

Let me take you on a little tour of my room. When it started out it was really lovely. (I SWEAR!) My husband saw it as a wonderful place (woman cave) for me to go and - um - I don't know WHAT he was thinking. You know, men have their room with all their tools and stuff? And they build things there? (I guess that's what they do.) I think he thought I would do the same. Well that's boring. How can I talk with him if I'm up there? So I just haul out my current project and plant my behind in my chair and talk or watch t.v. with him, right?

Back to the room. It has a HUGE Sauder armoire (one of those put it together yourself things) to the right when you walk in the door. In there I put all my quilting stuff. Yes, I used to quilt. I used to collect fat quarters. I think I thought I would make something of them. My favorite thing to do was applique quilt. Big surprise there, huh? Hand stitching has always been my favorite. I loved the quilting part. If it was machine piecing, forget it. My points never matched up. Somebody once told me it all comes out in the quilting. They lied. The bad thing about the armoire is that it's kind of dark in there so I can't see the fabrics. That's just as well though. I do NOT want to know what's in there any more. But soon I'll be clearing it out. I can't stand it. I have too much fabric. I started bringing it to work a while back and giving it to people to use for ornament and stand up backings. But that didn't make much of a dent.

To the right of that is a short black 2 drawer file cabinet. Hey when they're cheap you don't worry about matchy-matchy. I got it for free so that's cheap! In there are loads of old Brighton EGA newsletters - which I should probably toss, and personal writings - which I should probably toss! But I haven't in case I ever write my memoirs. HA HA, that's a huge joke. Well it is for me.

Next in the corner is an "antique" sewing machine. I bought it at an auction. It's in a cabinet. I'm ready to sell it because my mother-in-law gave me hers which is MUCH better looking and she actually used it! Then to the left of that and underneath the window is one of those 8 foot tables. My sewing machine actually DOES sit on this and I have been known to run a few seams on it. But it's been easier to bring in downstairs to the kitchen table because that's not filled up with "crap!" The 8" foot table seems to catch everything. The unfinished projects. The things I need to do something else on. The stuff I haven't put back yet - the floss, the beads, the tool somebody borrowed, the button box, the ribbon box, the perle cotton box, the box of fun threads, the spool of thread I didn't need, the Elizabeth Bradley kit I was working on, the punchneedle piece I meant to do for my sister last year...you know the stuff I mean, right?

Then on the left wall is a tall (white) cabinet with doors (thank God) where all the inactive cross stitch projects are hiding. One year I weeded out everything except those I'm really going to do. Ha. To the left of that is the tall bookshelf which surprisingly hasn't crashed to the floor yet. To the left of that is another white (hey this side of the room is matchy-matchy) doored cabinet hiding my shameful stash of yarn!

And on the fourth wall in the far corner is a closet which I cleaned out today (after I reached it, that is). I had NO IDEA I had stashed yarn in there too. Good thing Threadbear has a yarn garage sale yearly. Phew. What was I thinking? Of course it was about 10 years ago. You know, back when I had time to knit. :-) I found some cool things too though, like my Girl Scout sash with those badges you earned for completing something. I can't remember what they were for now but it looks pretty cool! And my elementary school stuff. And my high school stuff. And my 10 year high school reunion. We never had a 20 year. Or a 30 year. I guess I'm not the only Queen of Unfinished Projects. :-) Or they're all really afraid to see what everybody looks like. :-) Oh and my wedding stuff was in there too! So it's pretty much the "historical closet.

Then continuing down the left wall, we have a tiny 2 drawer dresser that has more quilting stuff in it - square blocks that haven't been made into quilts of course!

The reason I started this whole mess is because the Homestead Needle Arts Garage Sale is coming up and I thought I was going to put in some stuff this year. Well, I still am. I just didn't realize how much stuff I have that IS NOT needlepoint. What a shame. And that is why it's a Room of Shame...let alone all those unstarted and unfinished projects!

The Story of the Little Turtle

The Story of the Little Turtle by Yours Truly...

Once upon a time, a shopowner took her dog out back of the shop to play ball. In the midst of playing said ball, the shopowner discovered a very small (1-1/2" size shell) turtle on the concrete. The little guy wasn't moving and didn't even pull his little arms and legs in when he was picked up. By the shopowner not the dog.

So the shopowner and the dog went back inside the store with the Little Turtle. The shopowner took a small pink paper plate and put 2 tablespoons or so of water on it. She placed the Little Turtle half in the water and half out. She figured he was dehydrated. The Little Turtle didn't move for ...

quite...

some...

time.

When he began to move and attempted his first escape, the shopowner scooted his Little Turtle butt back onto the plate and then got a little plastic cup and put more water on the plate as it appeared some of the water was missing. Meanwhile she waited on customers.

Later when she turned around she found that the Little Turtle had managed to crawl off the plate, shinny down the legs of the table (okay, he might have hurtled himself off the table) and the likely turtle ran over to the Mill Hill bead wall, apparently looking for a good time - possibly a tight fitting bangle bracelet for his Little Turtle arms.

The shopowner thought to herself "Well! This won't do! I can't have a Little Turtle loose in the shop where an unknowing customer foot or a big golden retriever paw would do Little Turtle in!" So she found a very much LARGER plastic bowl with TALL sides, did the water trick again and put the Little Turtle in it. It just happened to be a heartshaped clear plastic bowl usually used for candy at the shop. (Yum. Little Turtle germs.)

After the work-a-day was over the environmentally sensitive naturalist (not nudist!) shopowner took the turtle for a ride in her Pontiac for 35 miles. She would have been happy to place the Little Turtle in a pond closer to his Grand Blanc habitat but not being a Grand Blanker(?), she had no idea where the nearest pond that she could access might be. She sure knew that there were 3 large ponds and a REALLY BIG LAKE near her home.

The crazy - um - Env. Sens. Nat. shopowner (see above) took a picture of the Little Turtle so she would always remember him (no really, she wanted to identify his type later), and let him out of the bowl gently into one of the large ponds near her home. (This is not the pond by the way - background was changed to protect Little Turtle from both fans and stalkers.)

The Little Turtle looked quizzically up at the shopowner as if to say "What? You're not going to make me into a tasty Little Turtle soup?" The shopowner said "Go Little Turtle. Go eat something and keep growing. Have a good life. Maybe come visit sometime. I like to look at turtles. And if you ever meet a hare racing for a good time, just remember you always win." So the Little Turtle walked out of the bowl into the leaves and the pond that was to become his new home until he decided to move again.

The End

P.S. No turtles, golden retrievers or customers were harmed in the writing of this story.

Needlepoint Stuff

Okay, who here wants to be the one to remind me to post every week? I really need somebody to remind me. And please don't tell me to pick a day and do it that day every week because I usually don't know what day it is. Really. I mean I know when it's Tuesday because I teach that day and I go to work after the weekend but other than that I usually don't know. I didn't used to be this way but the days blend into each other when you enjoy what you do. In fact sometimes people remind me it's Saturday and I'm supposed to leave the shop at 4:00. Really.

Would you like to see some pictures? Here's a few. I finished the April tree but only started the May one two nights ago. That's bad. After all, we're already a week into May.

Next, I finished a frog frame weight. I was ready to send him (her?) to the finisher when I thought maybe I should add some ruffles or a 3D cherry to the back. In real life it looks like somebody on LSD stitched this but I wanted it to be a very HAPPY frog. After all, it has to hold my stitching.

Next, this darling came back from the finisher JUST PERFECT! It's a tree topper and in between it's a very mini pillow. How cute is this?

That's all kids. Don't forget to remind me to post next week! Theresa

What Was Between My Legs Last Night

Isn't that a great title? :-)

Okay, here's the story and this is NOT an April Fool's Day joke. Star and I were on our daily walk. This is our second daily walk in a row! Having gone QUITE FAR (at least a mile) we were both pooped which is likely a good thing considering what happened next. We were homebound, a mere 3 houses from our abode when SUDDENLY ...

Two hell-bent on running squirrels came out from the 3 story high pine trees lining the road heading
>
>
>

STRAIGHT TOWARDS US!

Star had just finished checking the latest p-mail at said neighbor's mailbox and went into full doggy "I see a squirrel" mode whereas I was stunned into a complete statue. We probably looked about the same except I have less hair and am taller. With a shorter nose.

May I say that we live in a completely squirrel-balanced neighborhood? That is to say, we have every ethnicity of squirrel in our area. We have the grey squirrel, the brown squirrel, the black squirrel and the half size but three times ferociously nasty red squirrel.

Apparently the grey squirrel heading straight down the muddy dirty road towards me had done something to really upset the black squirrel chasing him. I had NO TIME to take cover or even time to think of a command to yell at Star. I did note she was on FULL ALERT. I also had time to have a major flashback to the time I was attacked in our shed by a red squirrel ...but that's a story best told on another day.

I was SURE they would swerve but AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH, the grey one ran RIGHT BETWEEN MY LEGS brushing my left pant leg as he went, apparently having a greater fear of the black squirrel than of me or Star! The black squirrel, not to be outdone - or outraced apparently - began to swerve and then realized he was losing his prey and ran BETWEEN Star and I.

Star and I turned as one to watch them run into the woods behind us and continue their fight in some unknown (and unsuspecting) tree. "Wow" I said to Star, "that was wierd." She looked at me and I'm sure she agreed. Then I told her what a good dog she was. Heck, she could have had some nice squirrel meat in her mouth but I think something told her those two were Trouble. (Note the capital T).

So that's what was between MY legs last night. What were you thinking? :-)

Theresa

Reading

Dear Readers,

Do you have a passion for reading as well as stitching? Do you sometimes sit in your favorite comfy chair and wonder - stitch or read? Read or stitch? Do you ever base your answer on whether you want a snack or not? (Just wondering!!! Sometimes I do!)

Anyway, in my web wanderings for some book or other, I stumbled across this website and I've used it most frequently in the past month so I thought I should pass it on to you. It's called Swap Your Used Books - PaperBackSwap.com and it's all about swapping books. They DON'T have to be paperbacks. In general, they just have to have an ISBN number.

I am seriously hooked! I have TONS of books. I have more than I can probably read in a year or two but no matter. I still get more from the library, find a new series, get started on a new author and off I go again. I like to haunt used bookstores as much as needlework stores. I LOVE to buy off the bargain shelves at Border's. I will pay full price for a paperback but it KILLS me to buy a hardback at full price. I'm a one time reader so once I read it, I pass it on. I have several friends that swap with me and in fact, I used to have a "leave a book, take a book" shelving unit at the store. Lots of people didn't like my tastes (mystery, thriller) and personally I'm not into romance (ugh!) Well, unless there's some really good x-rated stuff in it. Then I'd just read those pages and skip the mush. Well honestly! Who can believe all that stuff anyway?

So! In this swapping thing, I've found a new way to recycle my books. Hey, I even shipped out Don Quixote. I think I had it from high school. Basically the whole thing is free but you pay to ship your books to somebody else and they pay to ship theirs to you. You get a "credit" for the books you send and you spend your credits on the books you want. Remember, the post office still has media mail so we're not talking a lot of money here. There's also something called Box-O-Books (these people even TALK like me) where you swap a "box" with another reader that you both agree on. To be in that "group" it's a mere $8 a year.

Oh and they also do videos, books on CD/tape, etc. I haven't looked at all that yet. I think there's still only 24 hours in a day. :-)

Halfway to Dead...

Today is my birthday and I'll let you guess how old I am. Try not to be brutal! :-) I love birthdays. Yes, I'm one of THOSE! Birthdays are a celebration of NOT BEING DEAD! Let's face it, you were hardly aware of your actual birthday so what are you really celebrating? BEING ALIVE! YAY, LET'S HEAR IT FOR BEING ALIVE!

Anyway, today, I'm halfway to dead OR I have half a life worth living left. Either way, I'm glad to be here. I sure don't FEEL old. Oh, except like the day after I do too much yard work or something. Then I think "What the heck? When did I get old?" Oh yeah, and those grey hairs. What's THAT about? I think it should all go grey or white at one time. This constant highlighting is driving me nuts, let alone costly. Don't you think you should just wake up one day and look at mirror and go "AHHHHHH!" because your hair turned overnight? That would be fun. All your friends would do a double take. Let alone your husband. Everybody would whisper behind your back "Wow! Did SHE get old or what?" Anyway, LOTS of people have picked on me this week for being old. Here's a nice shot of what halfway to dead can look like...

Thanks SO MUCH to Jennifer for taking this picture with her phone and sending it to me. Who wants to see this one on my website home page? :-)

Here's the April tree. Yes, I'm really stitching, not just ruminating on life and birthdays...

There are white Mother of Pearl stars I have to still sew on the blue area.

I'm really very thrilled that it's still March and I have the April tree stitched. Some kind soul pointed out to me that I hadn't stitched the two rows around the edges of the last 3 trees. What a drag. Who would like to do that for me? :-) I think I will take a little time out and go back to stitching on my Galaxy. A girl deserves a little stitching time on her own project, don't you think? Cheers! Theresa

I'm Back!

Hello Gentle Readers...

Who used to say that? Miss Manners? I think so.

After an extended absence, I'm back. For those of you who don't know, my dad was diagnosed in November with a variety of cancers and passed away on March 13. His funeral was held on March 18 and 19 in Alabama where he was buried near his late girlfriend. Personally I think my dad was too young to go but I had no say in the matter. Rather than send sympathies I asked people to purchase themselves flowers or a plant because my dad loved to look at flowers. So please be sure to treat yourself well. I'm pretty sure we all go 'round only once.

For some reason, I have The Spring Cleaning Fever! You might think this is because it's spring but I'm one of those people that only gets The Fall Cleaning Fever. So today, I'm rushing about the house, taking down curtains and washing them (twice because they still look dirty!), scrubbing floors, dusting things (don't you LOVE Swiffer dusters? - I absolutely HATE to dust, such a waste of time) and making a stab at all things dirty in general. I sat down here for a rest because my back is killing me after all the vacuuming.

I just finished vacuuming Star and I'm not kidding. The poor thing sees the vacuum coming out and she comes running. Since she was a puppy I taught her that the vacuum is NOT to be feared. The vacuum is our friend! Obviously, she took this lesson to heart. She likes to be vacuumed and what person hasn't thought "why not just vacuum the source of all this hair?" DON'T WORRY! I'm terribly careful about her ears, etc. I pretty much just do her back and sides and she seems to think it has something to do with grooming. If I get the vacuum out and DON'T vacuum her I get the doggy evil eye. That is NOT a pretty thing coming from a golden retriever. :-)

That's why I thought she'd be a natural for the Bissell box dog and asked my whole Homestead email list to vote for her one week. I have to tell you only 21 people voted for her and she didn't win. :-( Maybe I should have included a picture of her being vacuumed. To tell you the truth, I don't have a Bissell vacuum, but I do have a Bissell carpet cleaner. I won't use that on her though, it's hot water! :-) Anyway, maybe BISSELL SHOULD READ THIS AND SEND ME A FREE VACUUM TO TRY ON HER! What do you think about that?

I took 3 projects to stitch on in the car while I was gone. Not a lot of stitching got done, I should tell you right up front. I did stitch a little on the April tree which is a red, white and blue number. Lighting in the hotels was pretty poor and for some reason on the road I couldn't concentrate. In fact, I pretty much looked out the window. Spring has begun in parts of Kentucky with daffodils at the side of the road.

Maybe I'm in the cleaning mood because I have a semi-big-ole birthday rearing it's ugly head at me this week. In case you're wondering, I'm halfway to dead. You figure it out, I don't want to mention it. All I know is I keep realizing I haven't done a lot of what I wanted to do in life. So this August I'm going to Yellowstone. That's right! Me and my hubby. ROAD TRIP! If you're really lucky, I'll take the computer and post pictures along on the way.

Okay, that's it for now! Check back another day for more in my exciting life! Theresa

Some Stitchin'

Time for more pictures - in case you thought I was slacking!



The heart is the February Rainbow Gallery Heart and was finished a while ago but I kept forgetting to take a picture. I haven't done the REAL finishing work yet. But it's stitched and that's what counts here.

Next, my progress on Galaxy. I'm thrilled with this piece and this time, decided to work downwards instead of across. Mostly because I finally chose my silk. The one to the bottom that you can see I'm still stitching is done with Gloriana silk. It's called Rosebud and is really pale.

I think that overall my Watercolor choice is not dark enough but too bad. I like the colors in them. :-) And I REALLY like the colors I chose to go with them. So far anyway! I can't wait to put the star in that starts in the corner with the bright green! This piece is GREAT fun.

Off to stitch some more!

Now That's a Plow!

There I was grocery shopping and minding my own business while the 8" predicted fell. Apparently Meijer's has contracts with owners of John Deere products for more than just produce. This puppy cleared more than 2 lanes at once. I hope YOU don't run into this one on a county back road!

Bath Day...

Okay not me! Don't worry, I shower daily. Today was a bath for Star. I've been taking her to a groomer for over a year but today I decided to do it myself at home. The last two times I took her to her usual groomer they haven't trimmed her feet so...I bathed her myself in the downstairs shower. I suppose I should have taken a picture of her all wet for you but that would have been mean. Kind of invading her personal space don't you think? :-) Maybe next time.

She was terribly good about the whole thing. She doesn't run away from the blow dryer, in fact tries to catch the air. Don't ask me! She's done that since puppy-dom. And then she enjoyed the brushing and the trimming and all the extra attention. Oh and she looks good too. :-)

I had so much fun Saturday with the 3rd Saturday stitchers. They decided to give everybody at the table names for what they THINK they look like. You know how sometimes you meet somebody and you think "Barb! She doesn't look like a Barb to me. She looks like a BETHANY!" And then sometimes by mistake you call her Bethany? Okay, you don't know? Well we have one stitcher who keeps calling me Tricia and somebody else Gail. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE being called Tricia. I even answer to it! But it was making us all laugh so we renamed everybody. Apparently next month we're having a test on our names. Our FAKE names. Wish me luck because I didn't write them down. But I do remember one of them because I recited the Lizzy Borden poem for it. You know, Lizzy Borden took an axe... That one. Who could forget that one?

I think you had to be there. After all, you learn SO MUCH when you go stitching. :-)

Off to bed! Hopefully I can show you my progress on Galaxy tomorrow during the big snowstorm.

I Hate Vacuuming

Today is the day when I run around and do everything. I have a complaint so hold on to your hats.

I went to Meijer's to grocery shop. I was greeted with lots of drywall, big white drop cloths covering the usual stuff around (including where the grocery carts are!) and a general air of depravity. Okay not really depravity. But I'm not happy. They JUST CHANGED my Meijer's about 3 years ago. I put up with it then. But now, they're changing it AGAIN to look like the Hartland store. BAH! I don't like the looks of that store. What do I have to do, go shop at Kroger? I couldn't find stuff, they shrunk some of the aisles down to jam in the products they moved, grrrr...So now you know that I'm getting old and crabby and don't like change.

Then I went to the local bird store to buy a new water heater for the bird bath. Pretty exciting, I know. Oh my gosh (OMG?) they had like FIVE to choose from. What luck! We can't have our birds without water. Our other one bit the dust sometime during the week. No, they don't seem to bathe in the winter, just drink like little horses.

In between those trips of course, I hit the library, post office and McDonald's for an ice tea. I had to stock up for this BIG SNOWSTORM we're expecting. I can't wait to see Star playing in the snow again. It's practically mud out here right now.

Then I had to come home and unload everything. The fun times began with Star and I taking a winter walk. Brrrr! No, I'm not healthy, I'm trying to lower my cholesterol. Quit laughing. Then I decided to vacuum the 20 lbs. of dog hair out of the car. I usually do this weekly in the fair weather months but WHO wants to be outside vacuuming their car when it's 30 degrees out? So that's done. Then I had to come in and vacuum inside. The only good thing about that is Star is constantly at my heels. No kidding, this dog LIKES the vacuum cleaner. "Somebody" taught her it's a good thing. She especially likes being vacuumed. Don't you think that Eureka would like a video of my dog getting a vacuum?

Oh stitching! Yes, you'd like to read about that! My ANG chapter decided for the next 3 mos. that we would do either Galaxy or Sierra. I went with Galaxy because I love stars. (Duh.) It's kind of a quilty looking thing but you can change it to your own colors quite easily by just choosing a light and dark Watercolors and then 13 perle cottons and a couple of metallics. I'm actually doing this one for ME - in between all the shop models. I didn't get too far this weekend. Maybe I should give up vacuuming? :-)

Theresa

Thoughts on Upcoming Birthdays

So...some of my dear sisters and hubby keep hassling me to find out what I want/need for my birthday. Which is for MONTHS yet. Tonight Chris informed me that it was a MILESTONE birthday. I told her "Yes, it's a milestone, not a TOMBSTONE."

We both thought that one was good enough to share with you. :-)

Stitch on! Theresa

Hearts and Housework

So today my choices are to do housework (blech) or finishing. I'm not so great at finishing. First I did laundry, made a chicken and sausage pie for dinner (yum!) ran the dishwasher and then looked at all the housework. BOOORRRRINNNG. I'm off my schedule since I grocery shopped Saturday after work.


After doing a tiny bit of actual MENDING on some clothing, I whipped out the January 2010 FREE heart from Rainbow Gallery that Janet started for me and I finished stitching. Talk about a team effort! I'll add this chart as soon as I can. There's going to be a heart a month. Talk about fun. I love hearts.

That's Crystal Braid, Very Velvet and Neon Rays in there. Don't look too close because I saw some spots I should have added more Crystal Braid but I left it at work so I went and finished it anyway. Hey, I had the sewing machine out!

Anyway, if you've ever done finishing, you know why I usually send mine out. First, it takes too long. Secondly, mine usually comes out a little - er - misshapen. But this one isn't too bad. If you're going to do these, run to the fabric store NOW for some awesome heart fabrics. It's that time of year! I also got some lace for a song that has hearts on it. Kind of hard to see it in this picture. What a bummer, you can't even see my twisted cord hanger I made too.

So I have this nice fabric for the backing and some nice lace and I ACTUALLY REMEMBERED how to pin the lace on for it to come out the right way. The first time I ever made a quilted pillow in a class about 20 years ago, my ruffle was inside the pillow. Not good. You should have seen the look the teacher gave me. I had to go back to the shop ALL ALONE for remedial pillow sewing. How embarassing.

It gets worse. I start pinning and realize I don't have a hanger. So back upstairs through the ribbon box, but do I have the perfect burgundy ribbon? No. Do I feel like going to Joann's to buy it? No. So I search through my floss and decide 814 is the best color. There I am, attaching a doubled length to my cupboard knob and twisting away (and then it falls off and I start over) while Star looks on. She was much more interested when I was cooking of course, but you never know what might fall on the floor.

Finally, I get it twisted to my satisfaction, and tie a knot in both ends so it won't untwist. I pin THAT to the heart and sit down for some careful sewing. I remember to leave a hole to turn my heart inside out.

It's all sewn together and I'm clipping the seams when I realize that I have (most stupidly) sewn, pinned and sewn the hanger on so it will nicely hang INSIDE THE HEART with the knotted ends on the outside! (sigh) I only rip out that part of course at the inside point and turn it around and sew it in again. That along takes a good twenty minutes because of course I BACKSTITCHED IT THERE so it would be EXTRA SAFE. What an idiot. I should have cleaned the house!

NOW you know why I send out the finishing. Can't you just see getting your standups back upside down and backwards? :-)

Theresa

Happy Pills

I guess I better start blogging since I have THREE FOLLOWERS! AAAAHHHH, the pressure!

I'm working on the March Tree of the Month now, taking time in between to knit some cool fingerless mitts. You're not supposed to know that I knit too so I have to hide it at home. I tell people I'm a closet knitter. There I sit, in the closet at home, knitting so nobody knows. Don't let my dirty little secret out okay? It's just between us.

This picture is blurry. I didn't say I was GOOD at this, did I?

Oh and I'm also stitching this new piece for a beginner's class. And today I stitched on a class I took at a Market who knows how long ago. A year? It's Jeannie by Ewe and Eye. Of course Jeannie was there stitching today and knew the name of it. Can you imagine? :-)

Here's the beginner's sampler.

I must say, I'm a little freaked out because the February Trunk Show - Petei - was supposed to be in the shop for the "first two weeks in February". I guess she really meant the first two weeks and it will show up Monday when I'm not there. Of course that doesn't really give me time to inventory it all in does it? I think Tuesday will be a heck of a busy day for us.

On a happy note, have you taken time to look at your life lately? I mean, I did the other day. With all this crappy stuff going on, I realized that these are probably the best days of my life. Some day when I'm old I'll look back on these days and think, "Wow. Those were the days."

Before you think I'm getting all sappy on you, think about it. I have the best job of my life right now. I answer to me, which in itself is pretty nice. Sure the pay is - um - not commensurate with the position but - whatever. I get to take my DOG to work for pete's sake. Who gets to do that? I have a job doing what I absolutely LOVE - it's stitching related PLUS it includes the business side of stitching so my brain doesn't turn into jello. Honestly I could do without some of the accounting, but I HAVE learned stuff. A lot of stuff. Computer stuff is the first thing that comes to mind. I'm still learning it. Look at this blog! I didn't realize this part would be easier than my own website!

I drive a 12 year old car but it still runs and the seat heater works AND I don't mind if my dog scuffs up the back seat. I can wear casual clothes to work which is handy because there's a lot of crawling around on the floor to be done. My job is FULL of exercise. Really. I can't believe how much better shape I'm in than I used to be. This was a good time of life to STOP working in an office and sitting on my butt for 8 hours. I've met lots of stitchers that turned into friends that I wouldn't have known otherwise. To me, this is all great fortune that I've been in training for my entire life.

Maybe take a look at YOUR life and figure out what you like about it. Surprise yourself! Because when you start looking at the positives, the negatives can take a back seat. Don't let them drive. :-)

P.S. No, I'm not taking happy pills, I'm an eternal optimist.

P.P.S. I would have been nearly done with the March tree by now had I not used Princess Perle Petite by mistake for have the tree and had to rip it out and start with regular P.P. Grrrrr.

P.P.S.S. I looked up how to spell commensurate in the dictionary before I realized this thing has a spell check on it.

Theresa

February Finis'!

I finished the February tree in time to start the March tree! :-) The February tree was SO MUCH FUN and so many people have loved it that I put it early in the year so that you have time to finish it well before Christmas. If you're not in the Tree Club (Stitch a Forest, Plant a Tree) then you don't know what the heck I'm talking about. Anyway, here's the picture. Yes! You can join in at any time. Here's the picture. Now I have to go because I'm at the shop.

Newsletter of January 4, 2010

I thought I'd post this in case you want to read it...
Here are some fun things I have coming up in January. Be sure to read to the bottom to find out about our upcoming sale.

Upcoming classes:
Canvas Embellishment with Kathy Fenchel:Wednesday, January 20
Wednesday, February 24
Tuesdays with Theresa continues each Tuesday from 2:00 to 4:00. If you're not a "regular" and are going to drop in, please be sure to call ahead in January as I may need to cancel occasionally due to family issues.

New Websites on OUR Website
New websites for you to explore! I've added a couple more websites to our designer list - Check out the All About Stitching and Enterprises. If you haven't checked out Julia's lately, you're going to want to as they've added a lot to their website too. Remember, if I don't have it in stock, I'll order it for you and it DOES get punched on your keytag. Don't know what I'm talking about? Read about our keytag program here http://www.homesteadneedlearts.com/Results.cfm.

Plant a Forest, Stitch a TreeIf you missed signing up for the Plant a Forest, Stitch a Tree program, there's still time. There's more information here http://www.homesteadneedlearts.com/results.cfm?SubCategory=180 and I'll be tickled if you join us. I'm working on the end of the February tree now so I'm actually a month ahead! Eeek! I better get going or I'¦ll lose my edge! Just say the word and join in.

Homestead now has a Blog
By the way, I finally started a blog. I didn't want to say anything TOO early in case I can't keep up with it. If you want to see a few pictures, just visit it here at www.homesteadneedlearts.blogspot.com. I didn't say it was fancy but if you like you can become a follower and I'll try to keep you up-to-date on my personal stitching achievements AND anything interesting going on at the shop!

Electronic Needlepoint Updates:Do you have a Kindle (an electronic book?) The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen is now available for the Kindle. Imagine being able to download this book and have it with you on your lightweight portable electronic book!Next, Suzy Murphy came out with an iPhone application in mid-December for her Portable Stitches book. I believe it is $9.99 and of course you download it to your i-Phone. Now THAT'S handy.

Hours:Remember, I'm re-opening after the holidays on Tuesday, January 5, but our website is always open. ALSO, in case of inclement weather, always phone first if you're going to be driving a distance to the shop to be sure I'll be open. Don't make the trip and be disappointed!The New Year is here and I want to make room for NEW merchandise! So it's time for a BIG...

January Sale - January 5 through January 16, 2010
This applies to IN STOCK MERCHANDISE ONLY!

ALL KITS ARE ON SALE at 20% OFF - that includes the popular Stitch N Zips, Kreinik silk gauze kits, our beautiful New Zealand kits, beginner's kits and more. Great way to get something for a long car trip or get a friend started in needlepoint.

ALL TOTE BAGS ARE 20% OFF. This does not include mesh kit keepers (those without handles.) If it has a handle, it's a tote. We've got some great canvas one with an area that you can put a stitched canvas in - there's a sticky area covered with paper that I think is about 5 x 5".
ALL IN STOCK LEE LEATHER GOODS ARE 20% OFF! We have eyeglass cases, a mirror, a pink round box, an address book, a cosmetics case, a satchel and a wonderful large tote. Check our in stock canvases at the same time for these items and receive 20% off any canvas that fits your Lee item.

ALL OTHER PURSES IN STOCK ARE 20% OFF! Yes, we do have some non Lee purses. Can you believe it? We have lots of beautiful JP Needlepoint purses that can be changed into a non-purse piece and two velveteen bags with matching painted canvases. ALL BOXES ARE 20% OFF. That includes Sudberry, HP Designs and whatever else I have in stock here. This is a great time to stock up and finish your projects in a beautiful box. "Boxes" will include all Sudberry items as I have some nice pincushions and shutters you might like too. ALL DEBBEE'S DESIGNS CHARTS ARE 20% OFF. I seem to have FAR to many of these. :-)Now for the threads!

ALL APPLETON CREWEL AND TAPESTRY WEIGHT WOOL, PATERNAYAN WOOL, NEW ZEALAND STRAND WOOL AND BURMILANA IS 20% OFF. Go through your canvases and see what you need! Get it while it's on sale!

ALL 5 YARD THREADWORX FLOSS ARE NOW JUST $1.50 (they were $2.20). I'll be carrying 20 yards only in the future so I'm clearing out all 5 yard skeins. We have lots of colors so pick them up at this great price.

ALL KREINIK 1/16" RIBBON, 1/8" RIBBON, #32 BRAID are 20% off. I want to clear out the racks so come and get them!The following Rainbow Gallery threads are 20% off to make room for NEW COLORS IN JANUARY¡K.TIARA, GOLD RUSH 14, 24 KARATS, HI-LIGHTS, regular FYRE WERKS (OLD STYLE, not SOFT SHEEN), RAINBOW TWEED, RAINBOW LINEN, PEBBLY PERLE, FLAIR, BRAVO, PATINA, FROSTY RAYS INCLUDING PETITE, FLUFFY FLEECE INCLUDING PETITE, PATENT LEATHER.

ALL FLOCHE IS 20% OFF. What's floche? It's a very fine 100% cotton thread that is a size 16 perle cotton. You can strand it up or use it as is. It comes in a huge hank at $5.75.

Those visiting will find more bargains in our thread box as we have bits and pieces from various companies. PLEASE! HELP ME CLEAN UP SO WE CAN BRING IN THE NEW COLORS AND THREADS!What?

You want canvases on sale too? Okay, but only those with snow on them will be on sale. They'll be 20% off too. It doesn't matter if it's a pile of snow or one snowflake. YOU find the snow and it's on sale. Remember, keytags can not be punched on sale canvases.

Remember, THIS SALE APPLIES TO IN STOCK MERCHANDISE that's in stock as of this writing. The sale will start Tuesday, January 5 and end Saturday January 16. That means you only have TWO WEEKS to come and shop the sale. After that all the new merchandise will start streaming in the door and hopefully you'll have helped clear the way.I hope that you have a happy, healthy, prosperous 2010 and that all your stitching projects are on their way to becoming works of art! See you soon!
Theresa
Homestead Needle Arts LLC
Grand Blanc, Michigan
810-694-3040, 810-694-0370
www.homesteadneedlearts.com
email: shop@homesteadneedlearts.com
blog: homesteadneedlearts.blogspot.com