La Belle et la Bête (and a prize)

(more about this needle book at the end of the post)


or, as we say in English....

The Beauty...



(Take one lovely design from the wonderful Blackbird Designs Joyeux Noel book)...



(add some delicious Belle Soie silk threads, and some hand dyed fabric, and you have a beauty of a sampler :-)




and The Beast...



(Where we've taken one hot water pipe leaking under the foundation and added one "highly recommended but turns out to be maybe fairly incompetent plumber" who thought it was alright to pile mud three feet high in our laundry room entry way without the benefit of LARGE plastic drop cloths, and not forgetting of course, the inches of concrete dust over every inch of the house, and you've got one big P.I.T.A)

So anyway, the pipe is fixed, the dirt is all back in the hole now, after sitting out for four days, now we're waiting on it to settle a little before he pours in the concrete and re-tiles the floor. All along with promises that he's going to make it all look "Brand New". And if you think I believe that one, well, I gotta bridge I want to sell ya ;-)

But, really? It's all OK. Because even with such a mess, I'm very aware of my blessings and have refused to get all flustered over the situation when there's such hurt and devastation in other parts of the world, and by that, I mean Haiti. I came across this blog last week, hearing that they were seeking donations of the crafty kind for these women in Haiti. HELLO?! Threads? Oh, you bet, got that! Here's the thing...you can clean out your stash, the items don't have to be brand new :-) They need lots of different things, not just thread, check out the list to see! The address you mail to is posted at the bottom of the list.

Please check out the links I've posted above and see if your heart is not touched by these beautiful women. And then please post about this on your blog too and help get the word out, let's show some stitchy love to Haiti, whatdayathink?

If you do help spread the word, via your blog, facebook or twitter, please post the link (to the post you made) here in the comments on this post and I will enter your name in a drawing for this little lovely:



A brand new needle book from The French General! You may have seen a little bit of mine in this post. It was a gift from a dear stitcher buddy. I liked it so much, I wanted to share one like it with one of you. But the catch is, you have to post about the Haiti by Hand blog somewhere to be entered to win!

Thanks so much :-) You have ONE WEEK to get it done and let me know about it, I'll draw a name on Wednesday, Feb. 10

PS. Um, you don't have to post about this to comment here, I really love hearing from you, even if you don't want to enter for the drawing :-)

dusty tuesday

Broken hot water pipe under house + twelve inches of foundation to jackhammer through + TONS of concrete dust over every available surface in house = ONE BIG HEADACHE! Oy.
I'd just done a major cleaning after putting away Christmas stuff. And that my friends, just proves my theory that housework is a complete waste of time!

Remember, too much housework, when done correctly, can KILL YOU.

Make it your motto!

Oh well! With not much else to do, I am camping out with the Pugs in the bedroom, as the workers jackhammer away across the house, in the laundry room. The noise is only mildly ear piercing from here. I am keeping the doggies calm by using Cesar's advise of being the strong and confident pack leader, but all this licking they are doing is almost driving me insane!! What is it with Pugs and licking, anyway?! Dang it!

No stitchy news this week, since with all that cleaning, and subsequent shower of concrete dust,the conditions are not that conducive. I was working on the big beautiful red cardinal from the BBD Joyeux Noel book (what's he called?) but put it away so all the lovely silks wouldn't get covered in dust. Meanwhile, here's something I got back from Deb back in December I think.

It's an old Ewe & Eye & Friends design, and if I recall correctly, from an old JCS magazine, but it's been so long, I can't say with certainty.



It had been sent to someone for "finishing" several years ago, but I was never really happy with it, it just had several, um, problems, too many to list.



so, off to Deb it went, to be fixed. (She's "fixed" lots of stuff for me, I just say "fix it somehow" and leave it up to her what to do with it and she's never let me down!)
It's weighted now, maybe with the crushed walnut shells, not sure what she used, but it's a nice sized pincushion of sorts now, and I love it!



So the lessons today are these. The housework thing...remember, it kills. And Pugs lick a lot, even when they're remaining calm. And be careful who does your finishing for you the FIRST time, or else you end up paying twice for it, like me. And that's just silly!

stitching too!

So now the cake is gone (anyone make it or have plans to?), I have some stitching to share....



From the Blackbird Designs Joyeux Noel book



the Joyeux Noel reproduction sampler (my first finish dated 2010!)



stitched on 30 ct. Lucky Penny linen with the called for Gentle Arts, Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colours overdyed threads. I did sub DMC for the CC Petite Maison, as the skein I had just blended right into the fabric and couldn't be seen.



What a joy this one was....well, except for that four-sided stitch, could've lived without that as it took me FORever to do! But, it's a neat look for a change and it's over and done with, so I'll quit whining about it ;-)

Oh, and I did finally finish stitching that last stocking from the BBD 'Tis Halloween book, called Enchantment...



on this one I used DMC 3371 for the CC Blackbird and DMC 3856 for the CC Copper Penny. Come to think of it, I never used Blackbird for any of the other stockings either, but the DMC instead. It made me happy to use what I had on hand :-)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope y'all have a great week!

cake!

There's a cute blog I read called Cherry Hill Cottage, have you seen it? No one can get us all in the kitchen quicker than Tina when she posts one of her recipes!
She makes her pineapple upside cake very similar to how I make mine, and since we hadn't had it in a while, and it's one of my hubby's favorites, I got busy :-)



Here's what ya need:

1 stick butter, melted
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 20 oz can pineapple slices (drained but reserve juice, see below)
1 cup pineapple juice
maraschino cherry halves (or just use the whole thing, without the stem and pit of course!

I always make mine in an iron skillet, just like Tina, but if you don't have one, you could make this in any pan that the batter would fit in, or a 9x13 inch dish.



Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Take 3 slices of the pineapple and chop up (I do this because when making the cake in my iron skillet, all of the slices will not fit, there's always three left over and I don't like to waste them. You may want to see how many slices fit in your pan first, before doing this, or leave out this step altogether if you don't want chunks in your cake)
Mix cake mix with the eggs, oil and 1 cup of the pineapple juice. Beat on med-high for 2 or 3 minutes. Fold in pineapple chunks.
Put stick of butter in skillet and place in oven until melted. Then sprinkle brown sugar over bottom of skillet, top with pineapple slices (7 is all that will fit in my pan), putting a cherry in the center of each ring. Pour cake batter over slices and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto serving plate, let cool completely.

Enjoy!

Thanks Tina, for the inspiration! I hope I've inspired my readers too :-)

thank you!

Y'all are just the best! The tombies I was looking for have been found! Thank you so much (you know who you are ;-) ) I am so thrilled and excited to get started stitching them up!

And thanks for the well wishes for Astro! I think it may be a cyst, as it seems to have gone down some, but he's got an appointment for the vet next week and we'll find out for sure then.

Again, you all are the best! Thanks again for your help and for your friendship!

and so it begins...

..2010! I just love saying it, "twenty-ten". Don't know about anyone else, but I'm so over the "two-thousand and's"! GOODBYE! And as my sometimes crass hubby says (not to me of course) "and don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya"! Sorry. He's got a million of those, trust me!

Anyway. So Happy New Year! I'm a little late posting that cause things have been pretty crazy around here. That and I'm lazy tired. Since I always end up working on holidays (including Christmas Day and New Year's Day,) along with doing everything else to get ready for said holidays, by the time others go back to work, I'm about to need a nap. A week long one. But we had a good time, everyone got what they wanted and ate like pugs pigs and now the cabinets have been cleaned of all the sweets and treats and we're going to try and eat right for a while.

these piggies Puggies just want to know where all the ham went...



I have no real plan for my stitching in TWENTY TEN (squeeee!!) except to stitch as many tombstone samplers as I can get my hands on. I finished this one in December, but didn't want to post it then as everyone was in the Christmas spirit and all...




this is Tombstone Angel by Carriage House Samplings



the design was in the October 2008 issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine. I stitched it on 36 ct. Pear from Lakeside with NPI silks, one over two. A very enjoyable stitch!



Now, you may remember, I have a slight obsession with morbid stuff. I know there are others out there that share this love of tombstone samplers. I've gotten my hands on a few of them, thanks to ebay and Kathy Barricks etsy shop, but still can't find
these four: Abigal Adams, Prudence Blackstone, Patience Ivy or Sister Spirit. I asked Kathy about them and she said they are from the Chartmakers line of designs, (a collaboration she did with Anne from The Good Huswife) which are all out of print, and those were Anne's designs, not Kathy's and they are not available for sale. Yet. Anyway, if anyone has any of these and would like to trade or sell, please let me know! I have several of the other tombie samplers I could trade for. Other stuff too. I could also beg. Oh wait, already doing that, lol!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz oh sorry, I fell asleep for a sec there..

anyhoo....that's about all the stitchy stuff I have going on right now.
Now, for something completely unrelated, check out this thing growing on Astro's face.



If you click on the pic you will see it more clearly, to the left of his eye there (and please excuse the eye booger on his lashes, I didn't see it when I zoomed in for the pic). This thing just popped up and grew that big in a matter of weeks. Obviously, he's going in to his Dr. Jan (what he calls his vet), but seriously...it's very worrisome for his mother....what do y'all think? I'll let you know what the doctor says!

Thanks for visiting and I hope y'all have a great week!

have yourself...

...a merry little Christmas!



let your heart be light....



from now on



our troubles will be out of sight....



Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on
Our troubles will be miles away



Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

Through the years
We all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star
Upon the highest bough
And have yourself
A merry little Christmas right now

love letters

This little stitch from the new Blackbird Designs Joyeux Noel book was so much fun to stitch, I did it twice :-)




Once for me, and one for a friend!
I do believe it's my favorite thing I've stitched in all of 2009!
I used the recommended threads (except for using CC Pea Pod instead of the Putty called for) on the called for fabric, which is 32 count PTP Dill. Good stuff, wonderful stitch. My plan is to have these made into the little tokens box like pictured in the book :-)

Jingle, Sparkle, Joy!

My friend Patti stitched this ornament for me last year (a freebie design from Deborah) but because we had just moved, I was too frazzled to post about it...

It came attached to a really pretty wreath, but I had to take it off to get a decent picture.
(Santa, please bring me a new camera for Christmas!)

I really love it!

Just decorating today and thought I'd share!

blessings abound

Gosh, it sure is hard to believe we're only one day away from December! This year is really flying by! I've been so bad about keeping up with this blog and am so late in posting some things. Figured that late is better than never though, so here goes!

First off, I won a blog give away! Couldn't believe it as I was just commenting on Jolene's blog and wasn't even thinking about entering my name for the prize, and then the next time I read her blog post, just happily reading along, there was my name! Look at what Jolene sent me:



and not just the beautiful chart, but all of the goodies needed to stitch it too!



I know there are lots of us that have received something wonderful from Jolene, she had so many fabulous treasures that she gave away, what fun it was! Her blog is a real blessing, not because of the prizes, but she always posts very inspiring or uplifting things, some things that really make you think or count your blessings.
Thank you so much Jolene, for being a blessing to so many! And especially to me ;-)

OK, on to these things....before it's Christmas time and these are just repulsive to look at, ha!

My stockings from the Blackbird Designs Tis Hallowe'en book, which are not yet finished into actual stockings, but I'll get it done by next fall ;-)



I've worked on these since my last blog post....



and nothing else....



they may be small (about 3 x 5 inches)....



but some of them took me a while :-)



loved each one though....



especially this one.....



but OK, here's where I lost steam people....



it's as far as I could go without tossing it to the curb in favor of another project. Sigh...oh well. Will finish before next year. There are two stockings from the book I chose not to stitch, so once this one is done, that's it!

My friend Patti helped me find a cute little metal tree to hang these from, once they are finished. It has to be spray painted black first, but it'll be really perfect! Look at Hobby Lobby on "the gold table" (that's what the employees there call it I think)....little gold metal tree, got mine half off!




So that's all I have to show for the time being.....thanks for looking even though most of you are probably focused on Christmas stuff now :-)I may not be posting for a while as we're having a crisis with my mother and I'll be going down to East Texas to help her when I can and it will all be very exhausting to say the least.
Until next time, hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Stay well and keep safe! Hugs!