Oops

Alright, this is a bit embarrassing.... a couple of weeks ago ( yes, you read correctly - A COUPLE) Margaret sent me this wonderful award.

I was totally thrilled to get it - my first award -  Thank you Margaret!!  So, if I was so thrilled, what happened ??  Read my fingers.... PROCRASTINATION  & those 10 blasted things we are supposed to list that not many people know...

I think by now most everyone knows the rules - past award into your blog, thank the person ( with link included ) who bestowed the honor on you, list those 10 things, and pass it on.  Now this award has made the rounds, so first off I am going to break the rules.  This goes to all of you who blog so faithfully and keep me entertained and motivated - Thank you.  Also, a big hearty thank you to those who stop by and read my infrequent posts & and even more so to those that comment.  I really appreciate the comments.

Now to those 10 things:

1) I was born & raised in Germany and moved to the States when I was 16 - to El Paso, TX no less... what a culture shock.

2)  I speak 2 languages fluently German & English.  I have studied French, Russian, Spanish & Japanese.  My favorite language was Russian, my least favorite was Japanese.

3)  I home schooled my 4 children for a decade, then burned out and now everyone is doing well in public school.

4)  Here are some of the jobs I have had ( mostly while in college): dishwasher, fry cook,  library aid, housekeeper, front desk clerk, airline food preparer/packer, breakfast cook @ Embassy Suites,  cafeteria manager, consultant for the leisure industry, administrative assistant to a designer of girl fashions,  new products and quality control  manager in manufacturing (fiber optics).

5)  I seem to be the Typhoid Mary of the business world, since every enterprise that I have worked for since graduating from college, with the exception of one, is no longer in business.

6)  During a class trip to Berlin ( while Germany was still divided), some random dude smacked my behind & I proceeded to beat him with my purse.... it was a scene.

7)  I don't like chocolate, especially things like brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, Oreos and, gasp, chocolate chip cookies.

8)  I hang my laundry out to dry, and have done so whenever I have had a place to string a laundry line.  I love to hang it out, but I hate to take it down....

9)  I have had to kill a tiny mouse after it got stuck on one of those glue board ( a most inhumane way to get rid of mice) and was screaming... I could not get it off the board without killing it, so I ended up dropping a brick on it while crying hysterically.

10)  I can't drive a car over here since I have been too lazy to get my international drivers license and I am really intimidated about driving here.  I have got to bite the bullet sometime though...

Until next time.

A Stitchy Birthday

This past Saturday our little stitching group of 6 got together to celebrate Renate's birthday.    We had brunch with yummy breads, and later on we had fabulous cake.

I got up early to make Renate a little pincushion owl and gave her a Orchid as well.

But that wasn't the main gift.  Margit had stitched the Bent Creek Snappers Monthly Series on one piece of fabric, and Renate admired it so, so she decided to give it to her for her birthday.  The other girls will pitch in for the materials.  Here you see Renate holding the masterpiece....

Seaking of masterpieces, note the two tapestries that Renate stitched in the back ground and the one below, which is hung behind the dining room table.  I am totally in love with this piece, and I really, really want to stitch it on 40 ct. silk gauze.... whaaaat??? What's so funny????

You can get an idea of its size on this picture below.  

Just so you know who I keep talking about - staring on the right is Margit, then Ilse, Ulrike, Edith and Renate has her back to the camera.

On on of the walls of the living/dining room I found Europe's answer to And They Sinned.  I put Margit next to it so you could get an idea of its size.  Its a Haandarbejdets Fremme kit that runs right around 200 Euros.... in another lifetime perhaps.  It really is stunning though.  Now if I could just find only the pattern...

Next to that drool inducing  piece was another one.... Dutch Beauty, as she lives & breaths!!

Well folks, not be outdone I decided to swallow all my pride and show my WIP of ATS.  Miss Cozyegg & I are doing a very loose SAL - working on it mostly on Sundays.  I call it the ATSSS - And They Sinned Sunday SAL.  I had started this eons ago - as with all my other big ( and small) WIPs I peetered out pretty quickly - I did my partially own conversion to HDF and am stitching it on 40ct. R& R Liberty Gathering Grey.  My partner and I have had a rough start of it with lots of frogging.... this is where I stopped last Sunday, and during the week I ripped out the left cherub ( not in the right place), and the wings of the angel ( I think that might be a sin), because it was the incorrect color... sigh.  I did work on it this Sunday, but have not taken a picture.  That will be for another post.

I do have some small finishes to show, but posting them with Renate's fabulous stitching... naaah, they will just elicit pity and sympathy.  Until next time.

Strawberries

Despite the fact that Spring is no where in sight - we have snow on the ground and more coming, I went on a strawberry hunt yesterday.  I was told that wild wood strawberries grow in abundance in the courtyard of the insane asylum.  Even though the place totally creeps me out, I put on my snow boot,  whistled for my faithful & fearless doggies and set off.  Yes indeedo, under a blanket of snow there be tiny little strawberry plants.

Believe you me, when summer rolls around, I will be up there crawling around up there in search of these tiny delicacies.  

Speaking of delicious, here is what I got from my secret stitcher.

The colors are a bit washed out on the photo, but I love my Blackbird Design Strawberry.  This will tide me over until I can get the real thing.

Walking

We  had some nice weather last week- cold, but sunny.  Now we have snow again, but last week it was so nice to go out into the woods and walk with the dogs.  We live on a hillside, and if I go up my street I can take this little path with stairs that bring me right to the edge of the woods.  So, off we go!

Right beyond view the path splits into three different directions.... which way to go?

This way?   This little path leads across a small bridge over the little mountain stream that flows towards our house.  This path eventually ends up right by the insane asylum...  What about this way?

This one leads up the side of the hill, towards a logging road which leads to..... well, I don't know.  How about the last path - I haven't been up this one.

Looks a bit unused, but the doggies & I are game... its a beautiful day after all.  Up, up we go...

Dang, this is steep, really steep, don't let the picture and the sniffing dogs fool you.  See that suff in the middle of the path... its a partially frozen rivulet... eeeewwww, did I just step into a mud puddle??  Ok, did I just step into another one??!??  Well, the doggies have informed me that cold, wet, muddy feet are no reason to abandon this - as they put it- fantastic walk.   Onward & upward then...

Hmm, getting a bit tired and thirsty....again, I know it doesn't look it, but this trail just keeps going up...

Oh, thank goodness a place to rest.

How nice to the Germans to put benches here and there....now if they would just provide some water.   Next time I am bringing a water bottle!  Off we go again - the path is now much more level.  Wait, what do I spy through the trees???  I am saved!!

See that little "fireplace" looking thing that the dogs are all interested in .... its WATER.  I didn't give it another thought but had a few sips.  Aahhh, that is so much better.  Now on the walk.  

What is this??

Those are the diggings of a wild boar - yikes, I saw lots of these on my walk.... Now, I REALLY don't want to encounter any during my walks, 'cause except for my doggies I have not seen a soul when I am out there.  Do any of you think these guys are going to be any help if we encounter these ferocious creatures?

Nah, I don't think so.  I think they will run so fast, they will just be streaks.  They will just let me fend for myself.  I might invest in a walking stick with a really long sharp point....

My neighbor says that his little daughter just encountered two of the beasts while she was sledding down the hill by the insane asylum, and it scared her.  Whaaaaat??? That is just a stones throw away...  That is entirely too much wilderness for me!!  

Back to my walk.  After all that muddy uphilling this was my reward.

Time for the long walk down. Thanks for coming along.

Revived

Howdy Folks,

No, my plane did not go down over the icy Atlantic Ocean.... it has just been several weeks of chaos, hard work, and terrible jet lag.

So, I arrived in Texas to a beautiful sunny sky and was just thrilled since we have had exactly one day of sun here since our arrival.  The next day I woke up to this....

REALLY????  After two solid months of snow I get this in Texas.  One of my girlfriends called me and her opening line to me was: " I bet you are hating this...."  Did she just laugh as she said this???  Well, it really did not matter, I was quite busy helping my friend Gloria from Milady's Needle get ready for Market, plus I had to stitch this before we left for Nashville.

You can see Michelle's at Cozy Egg - she stitched the red one.  These are the new Jewelry Pendants from Milady's Needle.  Yes, they are stitched over one on 36 count, and since there isn't very much it is very doable.  I just love them.  Here are pictures of all the new things she released.  We were quite busy at Market and the pendants sold like hot cakes.

I know this was shown a couple of times already, but it is so impressive I thought I would do it again.

This was stitched by Gigi, who lives in Belgium, on one gigantic sheet of linen.   So, not only has she stitched all kinds of Quakers on this, but she filled in the spaces between  the individual samplers as well and put a border around the whole entire thing!  Wow, them are some smokin' needles.  

Market was lots of hard work, but it was so fun to see shop owners and designers.  Seeing all the new stuff first had was so great but hard on the wallet.   It was Michelle's first time there, and it was so nice to have such fun company.  That girl has a wicked sense of humor.  

I finally got home a week ago, only to walk into a huge mess at home.  I was unable to sleep on the plane and was wiped out when I walked through the door.  Seeing the chaos of boxes from our household goods having been delivered during my absence and general mess was just overwhelming, so I went to bed, slept for about 5 hours then got up and got to work unpacking boxes.  I have been unpacking and cleaning for an entire week, but am seeing the end of the tunnel.  My jet lag was pretty severe for several days, but now I am back in the swing of things.   I finally have some time & energy  to stitch and knit again , so without further ado here is what I have been working on. 

That Baktus Scarf was finally finished right before I left for Germany & Mia graciously modeled it.

My sweet friend Kim gave me some beautiful yarn which I also quickly knit into a long skinny scarf.  

Kim knows me so well and therefore is familiar with my passion for pink.  Speaking of pink, as I was unpacking my stash I found this:

This is Love Song by Fouroaks stitched on 40 ct R&R Iced Cappuccino with Silk n' Color Cranberry Swirl.  Here is a close up.

I started this when the pattern first came out - obviously I petered out pretty quick, but I will stitch on it some for a while.  The good news is that I still love the color combo.  

Now, poor Jenny Bean has crossed the ocean 3 times with me now and although she has logged many miles, she has not seen too much stitching time but I am making progress.

Until next time.  

Bye-bye Birdie

Here are a few pics of my progress - the Baktus scarf, which seems like it is taking me FOREVER to knit.  But I am  almost there.

I started a new little sampler - Ewe & Eye & Friends  A Small Sampler - Third in a Series.  It is done on a piece of 40 ct. R&R.  I just needed something little that I think I can get done in less than a year.  I must say that the light green was driving me crazy because I could hardly see it.  Most of my stitching has to be done during the day since I am lacking a good stitching light at the moment.  

The alphabet is done over one - and surprisingly it is not giving me any troubles.  I have large picture window in the living room that I sit by to stitch, and the daylight serves me well.  I can now see why these sharp eyed little girls of days gone by were able to stitch those masterpieces without any daylight lamps.

I am leaving tomorrow to return to the States for 2 weeks to help a friend.  Here are the owl pincushions that I made for my stitching friends.  They are a little weebly-wobbly, but it is a gift from the heart.  I hope to have time to update from there.  I checked the weather and it is only a smidge better than here.  

Oh dear, my husband just called to tell me our household goods have arrived - *&#@!!!  That is really bad timing, or really good timing depending on how you look at it... I guess I'll miss that part of our move.  The control freak in me really frets about my husband being in charge of the unpacking - not to mention him discovering the extent of my stash...  Oooh Lucy, you gots some exlaining to do....

Where is the Milk?

Good Morning!

I sit here on a cold and snowy morning with a cup of tea contemplating what to wrrite about in this latest blog entry.  Although I usually drink coffee in the morning ( we have this nifty coffee press/thermos thingy we bought at Ikea here), someone used most of the milk this morning for their cereal without considering that I might want more that 3 drops of milk in my coffee!  I could bundle up in the 15 layers in requires me to keep my thin Texas blood from freezing while I slip & slide down the hill to the Toker ( a produce store) and pick up some milk, but the view has convinced me that tea will be a fine substitute!

On a side note:  you can barely see that empty insane asylum ( as I like to think of it) toward the upper left  - even creepier now as it blends in with all the white....  There is plenty more snow in the forecast ... about 14 inches over the next 2 days - good sledding fun for the kiddos.

Back to milk.  We have found a farmer that sells his milk to the public.  You bring your spill proof containers ( ask me sometime about spilling 5 gallons of raw milk in my van....), drive up to the farm, and go into this little building where a large silver milk tank sits.  It is hooked up to a little dispensing machine.  You put the little fill-up hose into your container, take your 60 Euro Cent & throw it into the the machine and voila, it pumps out 1 liter of fresh milk from that morning.  At 7 p.m. the milk truck picks up the remaining milk, so you always get fresh milk.  It is a win/win for all - the farmer gets about double the money for his milk from his customers than what he gets from the milk cooperative, and we get fresh, raw milk for 2/3 of the price we pay at the store.  I know that some a creeped out by raw milk, but we have been drinking it for years and love it.

So, what have I been doing creatively?  Well, I am taking some sewing classes at the army base - they have an outstanding fabric/craft store there.  The first thing we made was a pillowcase - tadaaaa

Ok, the seam is actutally not crooked in the second picture - it must have just been the way I took the photo.  I still need to wash it before I use it.  These were super simple to make, and all the seams are hidden.  Of course I want to make one now for everybody I know....

My socks are done, but are in the laundry & I am too lazy to climb down two stories to retrieve them out of the cellar. They will have to wait for another post.  I also finished up the little baby gift - here it is in all its glory.

The reason it looks a bit bumpy in the photo ( it always amazes me how every flaw is picked up by the camera..)  is that I filled it with French Lavender.  Instead of the planned ribbon I used beads for the hanger & the bottom fringe.  Little Grace made her appearance last week a bit early, so my gift will be a tad late.

I also started stitching on my secret stitcher project  - sorry for the slight blur.  It is time to consult the instruction manual for better close-up photos.

I was making good progress, but managed to miscount and had to frog two days worth of stitching - which is what you get when you are watching one of the best series ever made:  Firefly!  I usually end this particular enjoyment with the movie Serenity and then go into deep mourning that there aren't and won't be anymore.  I do this once a year, and enjoy it thoroughly!  I have also watched some good movies such as the HBO version of Elizabeth the First with Helen Mirrin, Jeremy Irons & tasty Hugh Dancy.  Speaking of that particular eye candy I watched him in Daniel Deronda - also very enjoyable and his character was much more to my liking.  My DH are now watching Coldnitz which is an excellent WWII movie.  We have watched Part 1 and are trying to find some time for Part 2.

I started two new projects:

It is that Baktus scarf everybody is knitting.  Those round little balls are called Mozart Kugeln and are a delightful concoction of Marzipan, Pistachio Creme and Nougat surrounded by a delicate layer of dark chocolate.  Yumm.

I also started a pair of socks for my younger DS.  I decided I would try the toe up method, and although the start was a bit of a pain I persevered and got it going.  Lets see how the heel will work on this one.

That wraps it up for today - I am definitely staying in, although tomorrow or Saturday I will have gather up my layers and venture to the store.  I wonder if the dogs will insist on their walk today....