My Weekend!

Saturday was the local Race for the Cure that takes place every October.  Plans did not quite go as I had anticipated.  When your child starts running a fever in the night, things go from everyone getting up and around so they can drop you off at the race site to driving yourself to the site.  Lucky for me I have a husband who understands my need to participate in this walk every year (Mom lost her 15 year battle with breast cancer in 2010) and took over nursing duty for our son.

It was a wonderful event again this year with a huge crowd in attendance.  I'm always amazed at how well organized this event is and how smoothly it runs.  

 This next picture shows how far back I was for the start of the walk.  The race began promptly at 9:00 but I did not take my first steps until 9:05 due to the sheer number of people ahead of me.  You can see from the second photo how many are already down the hill and making the first turn.

This is the number on the clock when I crossed the finish line.  My actual time is 5 minutes less than this as again I did not start until 9:05 which was 5 minutes after the clock started.  I'm pleased to report I walked the 5K in 46 min. 19 sec. and this is a personal best for me.  I guess walking the incline on the treadmill at the Y is paying off.

It is still not too late to make a donation in Mom's memory.  I've included a link for those who might want to consider doing this.  http://iowa.info-komen.org/site/TR/Events?px=9649637&pg=personal&fr_id=3487&s_subsrc=bfscheduler&s_src=boundlessfundraising

Now on to a stitching related project.  I signed up to do a swap through Primitive Hare and my stitched and finished piece must be to its' recipient by Thanksgiving.  I've been working on it a bit at a time now that I've decided how I want to finish it.   

I've decided to mount it on a box and do some finishing on the inside of the box.  This is how the top looks at present.  I'm going to hit the fabric stores tomorrow to see if I can find a trim I want to put on it.  Chenille would be nice but don't think I'll find that here locally.

The inside so far has a padded section on the left where I plan on putting decorative pins.  I see a trip to the scrapbooking store tomorrow on a hunt for those.  On the right is a fabric covered magnet to hold needles.  I'm trying to decide how to finish the other 2 sections.  I think it would be nice if I could figure out a way to hold a pair of scissors in one section.  I've not had time to think about how I might accomplish this.  I think one section I will just pad and use some of my vintage buttons to "tuft" it. 

I've never done anything like this before and hope the recipient will like it.  I probably should have made a pillow which I'm good at but I just wanted to try something new.

Happiness Is.....

I was struck yesterday after having my car to the garage for service and repair with a case of small things that make me happy....

Happiness is going in for an oil change, alignment and window washer repair to leave at less than half the cost I was expecting.  No alignment needed just tire rotation (less expensive) and all things repaired and running smoothly.

Happiness is having lunch with my BFF at a favorite restaurant for some catching up and laughter.

Happiness is having the time to listen to a friend who needs to talk and offer encouragement.

Happiness is hearing from Carol (http://istitchaholic.blogspot.com) that there is no over 1 stitching on her Christmas SAL so I can use 25 count over 1.  I have my fabric and 3 thread colors picked and can't wait to start stitching.  I am so excited at the prospect of having a completed band sampler at the end of 24 days!

Happiness is grabbing a WIP ornament that you started working on when your mom was terminally ill and remembering all the wonderful conversations you had with her while stitching.

Happiness is finding time to stitch on Red Riding Hood by Primitive Hare while watching t.v. with your husband.

Happiness is listening to your son giggle as he has figured out how to take a screen photo on his ipad when the 2 buttons are too far apart to accomplish with one hand and he only has the use of one hand.

Happiness is trying a new recipe you found on Facebook and having it turn out and everyone seemed to like to it.

Happiness is ending the week with a Friday night date night with your husband.

Happiness is being able to get up tomorrow morning and walk the Race for the Cure in memory of Mom.

 

Happiness is having the love of a wonderful husband, a terrific son and my always there when you need them family.

Happiness is being thankful for all the many blessing in my life!  

More Updates!

It is amazing how many things I missed sharing over the last couple of posts.  I guess these next few posts will be a little of "done that ages ago" and a little of "in the now".  

What seems like ages ago (which in reality was 3 weeks ago) I went to my favorite local antique store.  I had in mind to concentrate on stitching/sewing related items as the Annual Quilt Show was going on and vendors at the antique store usually cater their displays to event in town.  I came away with 3 wooden bobbins, 2 small oil cans and a pair of vintage scissors.  The bobbins are always a find as so many were just destroyed (burned) when the mills closed.    A few years ago I found a book on the history of wooden bobbins and it has been really fun to identify what type of bobbin I have and how it was used.  I've even have 1 or 2 considered to be rare finds.  

I signed up during the summer for the swap with Primitive Hare.  Rules are that it must be stitched on linen, must be a design from her Prim Atmospheres and has to be finished in some fashion.  It is to be shipped so it arrives before Thanksgiving and posted with tracking.  I knew from the very beginning that this was the design I wanted to stitch.  I can't count the number of times I've been interrupted while counting and had to restart.  Although to be useful this needs to be made into a necklace to hang around ones neck when counting to ward off interruptions it is not my choice for finishing.  Finish to be unveiled in a future post.

I learned something while stitching this piece.  I have been stitching so much 25 count over 1 with 1 thread lately that when I started stitching this on 40 count with 1 thread over 2 I did not like the coverage.  It seemed a bit sparse to me.  Thankfully I decided within a few stitches that I was going to like it so much better with 2 threads of 2 on 40 count.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out.    

Speaking of Primitive Hare - I'm making wonderful progress on Red Riding Hood.  I can't wait to finish this one to see if the frame I want to use looks as good with the red once stitched as it did with the skein of floss in hand.  It was so nice of the framer to loan me her display moulding for a couple of days to find the perfect floss.

Received the newest edition of Just Cross Stitch in the mail a few days ago.  I have to say there are several designs in this issue I would like to stitch.  First issue in a long time that had more than a single design that appealed to me.

I also forgot to share that I've signed up for an Advent SAL with iStitch.  You can read about it here.  (http://istitchaholic.blogspot.com).  I do know it is a band sampler done in 3 colors.  We will receive a piece of the design December 1 through 24.  I can blame this on Teresa (http://atwillowtreepond.blogspot.com) as she is the one who asked if I had seen it.  I already have a pretty good idea what fabric I want to use as well as my color choices for the red, green and white.  I would love to use 25 count over 1 but the design is over 2 on 40 count with over 1 stitching in the design as well.  Kind of rules out over 1 stitching the whole project when you don't know if you will be able to alter the design for the over 1 stitching to make it work.

Today I splurged and bought the Magic Trackpad for my Mac computer.  It works more like a laptop for navigating compared to the mouse I'm used to using.  I'm not good with navigating my husband's laptop at all so there are skills to be learned.  Hopefully I will have it down really soon to make it easier for me to assist/teach my husband on using his laptop.

Lastly, 

I am 8 days away from walking the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure here locally in memory of my mom.  Last year's time was a bit slower than usual for me as was walking with my niece (and family which involved pushing a stroller) and nephew.  As no one has signed up to walk with me this year, I'll be on my own and can put the pedal to the metal.  Depending on where I start in the crowd I'm hoping for under an hour this year.

This One Is For Teresa!

I just wanted to do a quick blog post to share a couple of things that were not spotlighted on my last blog post and should have been.  I'm going to blame it on the fact that I tried to get so much in one post that a few things slipped my mind (there were others).   

Last Christmas Teresa (http://atwillowtreepond.blogspot.com) and I did an Advent Exchange for the holiday and included in my gifts from her were the ornament you see hanging on my witch's hat along with this gorgeous Fall box she made.  I love them both and have been looking forward to being able to display them in the appropriate season.  The box actually came out the end of August to display with her childhood tea set she gifted to me as I could wait no longer.  They are amazing Fall pieces and should have been given more attention last post.  Teresa, you will be happy to hear both items were ooh(ed) and aah(ed) over at book club.  In fact I thought I might have to check the hand bag of a fellow collector of tea sets before she left she was so taken with the tea set and the box.  

One other thing I forgot was to share Miss Peeper's after she was picked up from the framer in August.  They had just enough of this discontinued moulding to frame her and think it was the perfect choice for this piece.  I'm glad I decided to backstitch around the book pages or they would have been lost in the fabric.

Can't Seem To Get Back Into My Routine Since Vacation!

 It seems like I have been unable to get myself back into any kind of a routine with my blogging, stitching and sewing since returning from vacation.  As a result, this is going to be a big post quick post heavy on the pictures but not so wordy.  It will tell you what I have managed to accomplish since my last post.

Making progress on Red Riding Hood (Primitive Hare) and am enjoying this stitch.  I've changed one color in this piece to match a frame I loved at the frame shop.  A couple of uninterrupted hours of stitching could go a long way on this one.

Finally got around to starting my piece for the exchange through Primitive Hare using her Prim Atmospheres book of designs on Wednesday.  It has to be stitched and finished to be send to the recipient for it to arrive before Thanksgiving.  Mmmh!  Wonder if she means Thanksgiving in the U.S.  Just happened to think my friend in Canada celebrates in October.  At any rate the stitching will be done if not tonight by tomorrow night.  Just have to decide how to finish it.  Still pondering that as I don't know the person I'm sending it to so have no idea of their likes or dislikes.  Makes me wonder what the most popular finish is for a stitch gift received.

Picked up this design from the framer this week.  I am so glad I went with the dark brown frame instead of the black.  The floss is a brown black so it looks awesome!  This was a project from my WIP that I decided to finish.  

Started last week with a nice day long visit with my dear friend, Harriet before she headed off to Arizona for the winter.  It was such a wonderful visit and managed to catch up on the goings on in each other's lives, lunch at our favorite pizza place - Red Rosa.  As always, the time flew by.   She knows how few pictures I actually get of myself and she helped me with my goal for this year to be in more pictures.   Look forward to another visit when she is back at Christmas.

Tuesday was a day spent cleaning house and making my Halloween displays as I was hosting book club on Friday.  I finished the Boo tree into a pillow and it is displayed on the witch's hat.

Book club was hosted and it was a delightful morning.  We discussed Mr. Churchhill's Secretary and came to the conclusion the main character, Maggie Hope, is an adult Nancy Drew.  

After book club I zipped through clean up and off to meet friends, Belinda and Mary for a trip to the quilt shop in Creston.  You see my friend, Allison had to cancel her trip due to a job layoff.  Totally understandable and am sending prayers and good thoughts her way.  As Bill was scheduled to meet Keith's bus, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for a road trip to a quilt shop.  

I came away with a perfect fabric to finish a cross-stitch of Allison's into a pillow (this is not the stitched piece - instead a quick stitch using the floss for fabric hunting).

 Some Halloween themed fabrics - couldn't resist the expressive faces of the jack-o-lanterns on this fabric. 

Plus three just because I liked the looks of them fabrics.

Couldn't resist snapping this picture driving down the highway.  Amazing I actually got it zipping along at 65 mph.

This morning I made a quick trip (hubby had a tee time) to the Planned Parenthood Book Sale at the Fairgrounds.  It was time to check out when the piles of books in my arms was so high the top book kept falling off.  BONUS:  Today was 50% off price day so I got out of there for less than $20.

 I was quite intrigued by this book of hand stitched boxes and can't wait to try my had at a couple.

I did not find any books on my list but found a few treasures none-the-less.  I decided to reread Dan Brown's Lost Symbol after our recent visit to Washington DC.  Thought it would be more fun to read now that I've seen some of the places talked about in the book.  Also, with my love of history thought it would be fun to read the Almanac of American History.  The way it is broke down into events by date and the fact that they are only a paragraph long for the event it would be easy to incorporate some reading each day.

 Couldn't resist a few charts in the hobby section as well.  I love the Clown Alphabet.  

Currently reading next month's book club selection The Passing Bells (Phillip Rock) as well as The Race (Clive Cussler) and Isaac's Storm (Erik Larson).  I have a couple of new books on my wish list to read which are Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower and Fallen Women by Sandra Dallas.