Can you tell me where my package is please?

are you on vacation and that’s why my packaged hasn’t been delivered?

no tracking information updated for 2 days now?

tell me how a package can be delivered from California to Boston in 2 days… but Cailfornia to Oregon? it is now 5 days and counting? Last time I had a problem like this you sent my package to Hawaii!

you are messing with my deadlines and there are let me count them 1, 2, 3, 4, stitched pieces in that box waiting to be delivered to The Studios of Needlepoint Now.

I don’t want anymore sleepless nights… please deliver as you promise.

Yes exactly where did the last 31 days of my life go to?

I really do keep very busy, working pretty much ever day lately and sometimes starting as early as 6am. yes I am an early riser, which makes the cats very happy!

I am pleased to say that the deadline of the last 4 canvases to be seen and sticth guided in Needlepoint Now were completed ahead of schedule. They are winging their way to the magazine Studios as we speak!

The last finishing touch that I added to this grouping was an all day afair. I Googled the look that I was trying to achieve and tried that way first… well that didn’t work. Then I tried about 6 more variations of beads, crystals, bugles and more and none were working. I was getting very, very frustrated. I just went back to the basics and that was it!

That was last Saturday and haven’t done too much stitching since… but I plan on making up for that over this weekend. Tomorrow I head out to points north to spend a day with Brenda Hart and my stitching buddies at A Stitch in Time. Then I plan on stitching the weekend away as I have 5 more canvases with deadlines that are looming!

So the blog will still be hit and miss for a few more weeks I’m sorry to say..

AlleyCat was thinking… do I want to get in this bag?

but Sylvester didn’t need to think about it!

Well I better run as Sylvester is MEOWING at me… as if he’s saying “well what are you waiting for?” as he likes the water turned on in the tub for his morning drink.

and until next time… keep on stitching

According to the urban dictionary, Cowboy Up means…when things are getting tough you have to get back up, dust yourself off and keep on trying! I remember that Cowboy Up was the Boston Red Sox’s mantra that year that they made the improbable comeback against the Yankees to win the World Series that year…when was it? 2004?

Sometimes that is so appropriate in our stitching. When the stitching gets tough, we try and try again, it is necessary to get back up and keep trying till you get it just right.

This is a canvas by What’s the Point? and makes into these darling little bags for the holidays or anytime for that matter. I have made several of these with a few more to work on one of these days.

So you are thinking…and yes I can hear you. You are saying to yourself, what has she lost her mind or what? What’s the deal about Cowboy Up and cowboy boots? Yes she has really gone off the deep end now.

Well don’t you know? today is National Day of the Cowboy! A way to preserve the rich heritage and culture of the American cowboy. So of course I think about cowboy boots, John Wayne, cowboy coffee and all things cowboy.

A Linda Carter Holman for Melissa Shirley and speaking of Cowboy Coffee, this is called Chuck Wagon Coffee.

A cowboy boot stocking by Boots Bailey. I know someone who is working on this canvas! God rest your soul Boots, you were taken from us all too soon and you are missed.

or a cowboy boot by Kelly Clark!

So join in the spirit of the National Day of the American Cowboy…

Or if your like me, you just Cowboy Up! So that’s me these days as I stitch away and I am almost there and I can taste it. I will admit that I am a little burnt out on stitching… but nothing that breakfast at The Cottage and a little retail therapy won’t cure!

and so if you don’y hear from me daily, you know that I am buried in threads and stitching.

Sylvester is not a cowboy, but he is looking pretty cute as he is doing what cats do. Hanging out in the box as he waits for me to take his picture!

and until next time…keep on stitching

“Picture this: it’s mid-July, the sun shines and you rest on a hammock, completely relaxed. This is the essence of Hammock Day.

Today’s reason to celebrate reminds us to slow down, breathe easy and enjoy these beautiful summer months. Though its exact origins are unknown, it is said that hammocks originated hundreds of years ago in South America. Allegedly, the journals of Christopher Columbus provide the first documentation of the hammock. However, some sources attribute this invention to the Ancient Greeks. One thing is for sure—hammocks have always been symbols of leisure.

Today, take a few minutes to sit back and unwind on a hammock. Don’t have one? No problem! Just grab some sturdy fabric and rope—you can make yourself one in no time. Happy Hammock Day!”

This wonderful canvas is a Sandra Gilmore canvas and it is really a picture of leisure!

I knew if I looked enough in my Mutts collection… I would find Mooch in a hammock!

But for me there is not much relaxing… I have one little canvas of my set left to stitch for the magazine deadline. Today is a busy day so no stitching for me till Wednesday when I will make a date with the stitchy chair and a baseball game or 2.

and until next time…keep on stitching

For Ice Cream! Even AlleyCat screams for ice cream…and yes she sure does. She can be asleep for hours, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her furever or heard the pitter patter of her little paws…but just let me set an ice cream container on the counter, she is right there to lick the bowl, lick the spoon, well you get the idea. She meows loudly until she gets a taste too!

So why all the deal about ice cream? Well its hot these days and there’s nothing better than cooling off by diving into a dish or cone of wonderful, flavorful ice cream. Plus It’s national ice cream month! Today is the actual National Ice Cream Day, but why just today? Ice cream is great any time…

or you could stitch some ice cream treats. How about this canvas by Pepita?

or create this amazing treat that I found on Martha Stewart’s page? I love ice cream and I love watermelon, so what could be better than this?

well maybe Tiramisu Ice Cream Cake? did I say ice cream and chocolate?

How stitching this cute little ice cream cone from Jody?

This has been my new favorite flavor. They have started packing this flavor in a quart size now. I think that I have tried all the flavors, but I keep coming back to the Sea Salt Gelato. I think it’s AlleyCat’s favorite too!

Speaking of favorites, this is one of mine from Mutts… and actually this is framed and hangs on my wall.

Some certain someone decided that she needed to check out these threads…

and until next time…keep on stitching

well can you?

never! ever!

These are 3 books that were added to my stash over the last few weeks.

I have been so busy that I haven’t even had a chance to really look at them!

Threads, A needle necessity can be found at your LNS… local needlepoint shop.

The silk ribbon book was ordered after reading about it on Mary Corbett’s blog and the beading book that is in Japanese, is yes #1 in Japanese and #2 out of print.

This weekend I am heading up to A Stitch in Time to see my sistah in black cats… Meredith! shhhh… its her birthday weekend too! So I might not be around all weekend. And oh BTW I am narrowing in on my first deadline even though I do have a few more right behind it. But at least I won’t keep the magazine from hitting the presses!

This was me last night… and it was the not best stitching night as I didn’t have the crack of the bat to keep me company! and the cats were no where to be found either. Well today is another day.

\

AlleyCat was keeping herself warm in the sun.

and until next time… keep on stitching

To Chicago? To the American Needlepoint Guild Seminar in Chicago? well yes I am! It is the highlight of my year going to seminar. My first one was 1996 in Memphis at The Peabody Hotel with the ducks and the duckmaster… but the ducks have since been retired.

Once you attend seminar, you fall in love and it becomes a must do. I have gone to almost everyone since, except for when life events and work get in the way of it all.

So I have worked the 2 loves of my life into this trip… needlepoint and baseball!

This is my class that I will be taking, Bejewled Christmas Trees by Libby Sturdy. I have known Libby forever, but this is the first time that I have ever taken a class from her. The word is that she is a wonderful teacher so I am really looking forward to it! The best part of it all is that I am in class with Elizabeth, Joanne, Kristin and Pat…sorry Libby, but I promise to behave. Really I do!

I’m flying in on Friday before my class so that I can go to a Cubs game on Saturday with a few other baseball loving stitching friends. Doing that ’cause in case it rains and the game is put on hold or something like that, I can go on Sunday! I can do some sightseeing, visit Designers Desk and so much more! Class starts on Monday for 3 glorious days, come home and then the following week it’s off to Dallas for Destination Dallas market.

I still need to get the pictures from my phone that I took in our Japanese beading class to my laptop… but for now I am headed out for some thread shopping to finish up my Needlepoint Now stitching project. OMG 2 weeks and counting till D-day… I think I can, I think I can, I know I can!

AlleyCat has parked herself ontop of one of my Sundance bead containers. I was looking for that purr~fect color the other night…which I am happy to say that I was successful!

and until next time… keep on stitching

a day of celebrations of French culture. So much more than French wine… it is the French National Day or Le Féte Nationale. Canvas by Unique New Zealand, which is in my I’m going to stitch this someday in my lifetime pile.

So what exactly is Bastille Day? Well today is the anniversary of the storming of The Bastille and the unity of the French Nation during the French Revolution…

What could make you think about France more than Julia? Julia Child that is.

or how about an Eiffel Tower scissors by Sajou? It’s a French company that has a wonderful line of scissors, linens and so much more.

Julia loved cats! So for more than one reason, I gotta love this lady…

Even though she looks pretty cute sitting there…she is somewhere she knows shes NOT supposed to be! She was busted and as soon as I ask “and what do you think you are doing there?” she sasses me and then jumps down. What am I to do with her?

and until next time… keep on stitching

I start my weekend off teaching one of my favorite pieces that I have stitched recently… Pepperberry’s “Meet Mr. Cat.”

and then… and then…

I get to be a student! as I take my Japanese beading class with MaryAlice Sinton. It is a pilot class for the EGA Seminar class that will be in Phoenix later this year. It is a way to proof the directions and see if everyone can understand everything before the class at seminar.

All I know about Japanese beading is that you use koma, tekobari and work on fabric rather than canvas. I can’t wait!

Here MaryAlice was dying our boxes that Prince Charming will be mounted in when it is finished.

So my plan is to get lots of great pictures and hopefully I will recover by next week to tell you all about it!

AlleyCat is being a princess.

and until next time…keep on stitching

How about you? I love pieces like this… silks, laid filling stitches and all these little blocks. You don’t get tired of working on a large background or endless repeats of the same stitch. Every area is something different!

Eighty blocks of something different. Patterns, techniques and so much more!

Three different colorways to chose from!

Now if I were to stitch this, I would be selecting this latter colorway. As much as I would love to take this class, I will be in Boston that weekend teaching at Wellesley Needlepoint, eating lobster rolls and going to Fenway for the Red Sox vs the Yankees!

But sign up soon as the deadline is a month away! you don’t want to miss out!

Sylvester is keeping my spot for me in the book! I’ve taken 2 days off from stitching, so I need to get my fingers flying again.

and until next time… keep on stitching