Thursday, January 23, 2020

Little Progress

Good morning all,

We've had a very busy week and a half getting ready for and having Grandson's birthday so very little stitching has been done. His mom built a lego table for him. He was so excited!

               

I have been able to get a little reading in the hour before bed. I checked my phone and realized I forgot to take a current picture of my Linen & Things SAL. Hopefully I will get a chance to put in some more time on my stitching and actually remember to take pictures :). I'm starting to miss it lol.

The wonderful Nancy over at  Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having an amazing giveaway for some of her thread sets. Stop on over and tell her I sent you.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Monday, January 13, 2020

Taking Care of Yourself

After all the hardships of last year my goal is to take better care of myself. This means that I need to focus on my health, both physical and mental. One of the ways I plan on doing that is taking a day at least once a month and leave the grandbaby with his aunt and spend some time out of the house doing things just for me.

This weekend was my first "Me Day" of the year.I started the day getting a mani/pedi. Afterwards, I went to my LNS where I sat and chatted with some of the local ladies who bring their current project to stitch and socialize. This was my first time participating. I was a little nervous at first because I don't always feel as if I fit in and you could tell everyone knew each other already. But they made me feel very welcome. I was there a couple of hours and put in a few stitches, met some new friends and picked up the threads and fabric to start Linen and Things 2020 SAL. I put some stitches in A Little Mystery sampler bonus chart #3. I am using the same fabric I used for the Texas Valentine and the threads called for in the chart. I really like how it is turning out.

I went back home and picked up DD2 and the grandbaby to pick out DD2's birthday gifts. She wanted clothes and a nice bookshelf. After shopping I went back out for dinner. It was great to get out and do something different.

Monday I made a start on Linen and Thread's 2020 SAL.

The next week passed pretty slow and on Thursday I stayed home from work because I wasn't feeling well. I had already started the new SAL earlier in the week so I decided when I couldn't sleep anymore that I would work on the SAL. I love the colors I am using (16 ct aida Mediterranean Sea and DMC 3799 as my main color). I was able to make some great progress but then the motif on the left wouldn't line up correctly. I pulled out the whole center and moved over to the butterfly. I put it down for the night after that.

I didn't make much progress this weekend. I found a new show on Netflix to watch (AJ and the Queen) and I couldn't help but binge watch the entire season. What a funny and heart warming show. This week I plan on finishing part one of the SAL and pick the bonus chart back up and do some more work on it. We have the grandbaby's birthday party this weekend so that will cut into my stitching time as well but hopefully I will be able to make some great progress.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Thursday, January 2, 2020

New Year - Same Old Me

I've decided that I am not going to make any resolutions this year. Each year I make new resolutions and each year I abandon them within the month. This year I am not going to put myself on that roller coaster. This year I am going to make one goal..be the best me that I can be. What this really means is that I take care of myself better. I'm not going to be around forever but I would like to be around for a while longer. I am going to eat a little less, eat healthier foods, move my body more and get myself on better financial footing. This may seem a lot, but all I have to do is take little steps and before I know it I will have reached those goals.

Since my last post we moved houses. We went from a small two bedroom apartment to a nice sized four bedroom. We each finally get our own room. For the first month, other than meals, we barely saw each other. But now that we are starting to settle in we are spending more time together. My room is large enough that I am able to fit all my craft supplies on one half and sleep on the other. After about 2 months I am mostly unpacked and settled enough that I was able to pick up my stitching again. I treated myself to a new pattern last weekend "Texas Valentine" by Redbird Designs. I wanted something small to get me back into it since it has been about four months since I wanted to stitch. 

I was able to finish the design yesterday. This was a wonderful project to get me back in the swing of things. This was stitched using 18 ct aida color Raw with the charted threads. I forgot to pick up the suggested button the day I got the chart so I hunted in my button collection and found this little cutie. I will finish this up into a little pillow once I find some fabric I like for the back. I have to unpack my fabric bin first to see what I have available. I would really like to use something I already have.






Once I finished this quick stitch I started hunting for my next one. Until yesterday, most of my craft supplies have been sitting in boxes waiting to be brought out. I figured  I might as well start unpacking and setting up my craft side while I was looking for the next project.








I still have a few bins left to unpack. My plan is to get some bookshelves that are deep enough for baskets. I will be able to put my cross stitch fabric, the quilting/finishing fabric and yarn in them and have it all easily accessible.

Time for me to let you all go for now.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela










Friday, September 27, 2019

Long Time No See

Hello All!

I didn't realize so much time has passed since I have created a post or been any where near to read or be reminded to post. So much has happened. Let's see if I can remember all that has happened since my last post.

I moved. Moved from Killeen, TX to San Antonio TX. Stayed with my brother and his girlfriend for a year. Oh My!! What a disaster. The girlfriend hated me and made living in the same house for the term of our lease very difficult. I had 1 room for all my things so crafting was very limited. Had to give up most of the zoo. Started a new job. Had some up and down moments but over all the company was pretty good. Finally moved into an apartment with just myself and my youngest daughter.


Got back in touch with my older two kids I don't remember if I ever mentioned it but I lost contact with my older two kids for a little over 10 years. Long story short: Their dad and I met and fell in love in High School. I got pregnant and we married young. We started having problems early on and were too young to know how to deal with them. We separated and I went a little crazy and hung out with the wrong people. Finally woke up and realized I was putting my babies in a bad situation and made the hard decision to let the kids live their father while I got back on my feet. Many moves and loss of phones (at that time cell phone and home phone plans were not what they are today) and lost their address and phone number. Finally found them on Facebook and contacted them and after many phone calls went to visit my older daughter in FL.

Had my older daughter and her son move in with me when things fell apart for her. I love having them with us but it has been kinda hard since the 4 of us are in a 2 bed 1 bath apartment. We stayed in the same place because I wanted the youngest to finish high school in the same school she started. I was supporting the 4 of us mostly by myself and couldn't find a place affordable in the same school zone.

My father got sick.Got a call that my father's heart was having issues. During the process of resolving that they found a mass in his lung. Can't remember the name of the type of cancer though. The heart and cancer doctors didn't want to perform the quadruple bypass or remove the mass because they were afraid the cancer would spread. So he went through radiation and chemo. Was able to go spend a week and take him to his multiple doctor visits. They thought they had everything under control but then his heart gave him more problems and they had to preform the heart surgery anyway. Another visit to Florida. This time I was afraid it would be the last. He was a tough old bird though and came through it. He retired and started the move to Texas. Not long after he started the move he started having seizures. Come to find out the cancer spread and the doctors found another mass, this time in his brain. Within 2 months of finding the mass he was gone. It's been hard but the good days are starting to overcome the bad days. 

Was laid off and was out of work for almost 3 months. Finally found a new job and am really enjoying the new position. As many of you know begin out of work for any length of time is difficult. The only slight downside is that there is not quite enough to do yet. The controller is new so she is working on increasing my workload. I am just happy to have a job that will help me support my family. Now that I am working and the youngest has graduated we are looking for a new place. Hopefully we will be moved by the middle of November. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

During all of this I have been stitching. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Still crocheting. Picked up diamond painting. I plan on becoming a more regular poster again.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG still in TX

Don't interfere in the affairs of Dragons
...for you are Crunch and taste good with ketchup

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Lots of Stitching and another giveaway

Surprise...two posts in one month (lol).

Today I have pictures and another giveaway from the wonderfully generous Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe .

Christmas in July Favorite colors give-away, enter now!

We have lots of goodies that will start going out tomorrow so be sure you have signed up for each give-away. You must post a comment on each one you want to enter.

For the last give-away....lets do your favorite colors and a surprise from me!!!!

Isn't she wonderful? I have quite a few of her threads and one of her patterns and I am loving them. Stop on over and tell her I said hi!!

Updated: Nancy is awsome, she has another one going on starting today.

1600 yards of hand dyed floss give-away! Lets do it again! Enter now!

We just had two winners of this fantastic floss collection.....lets give it away again!!!!!
Christmas in July continues with this great give-away of 1600 yards of hand dyed floss, the entire 1795 floss collection! 80 beautiful skeins, 20 yards each. My retail is $156, would be over $700 from other companies



Now onto my pictures. As mentioned in my previous post, I didn't do a whole lot of stitching for the first couple of weeks this month but I made up for it this weekend. I held my own personal hermit weekend. Baby girl spent all day out in the neighborhood with her friends and I was able to quietly sit and stitch. Heaven.

I started the Stitcher's Challenge piece for Q4OCA. This one is going to Love Quilts Brazil. I've had this pattern in my stash since I first started stitching many years ago. This juggling bear is from a Leisure Arts booklet called Baby's Big Top. He is stitched on a mystery piece of 28 ct white fabric. I am definitely going to use the higher counts of fabric for anything that has 1/4 or 3/4 stitches. It is so much easier than trying to force your needle through Aida.



Once I finished the bear Saturday, I needed something else to do so I started on the Anniversary Angel. Once I started on this I couldn't put it down. I love colors I picked.



I finished the angel in record time (less than a full day) so I again had a decision to make. I could continue on a WIP or start something new. I picked up the piece I work on during lunches and finished August's Cupcake. I only had a little bit to do to so I finished it up and pulled the threads for September and October. I put those back in my bag ready for Monday.



I still had time left on Sunday and I decided on the new start after all. I didn't get very far that night, but I did make a start.

The colors of Stephanie's fabric in this pic is the closest to the true colors.

Ending point on Day 2.

I was only able to put in one thread, but at least I had
needle and thread in hand yesterday. Day 3


I am stitching this on 18 ct Aida Nature's Dance by Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. I changed all the colors on this one because I didn't have any of the recommended threads and I kitted it up while I was participating in Mel's Stitch from Stash earlier this year. At first I was afraid that the colors would be too dark, but I am really loving the colors. I've been very tired this week and haven't been able to work on it much.

I've also made the decision to look for a new job. I haven't mentioned many of the problems and issues that have come up at my current place, but suffice it to say, the transition of managers coming and going has not been easy. The boss just before this newest one went to work at a company in San Antonio. As many of you know, my brother is also in San Antonio and we go to visit with him whenever we can. She contacted me a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that there might be a position opening at her company and she asked if I would be interested. Of course I said yes. This would mean I could once again live near at least some of my family and have that support system close by. All that to say...I have an in person interview with some of the members of the department this Friday. I am both nervous and excited. The phone interview I already did went very well. I really feel that this is the right decision for my family. Any and all prayers are welcome.

I've got to get back to the daily grind,

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG in TX

Friday, July 10, 2015

Another lovely Giveaway by Nancy

Look, pop on over and tell Nancy I said hi!

Another Christmas in July give-away, enter now!

Lets continue with the fun and the Christmas in July give-aways.
This is one of my favorite Christmas decorations, a cute little door/wall hanging. Jingle as Ye Enter, Jingle as Ye Go and it includes the floss and all the bells needed for this cute decoration.


This is such a cute pattern!!

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG in TX

Don't interfere in the affairs of Dragons
...for you are Crunchy and taste good with ketchup

Hello All

Just a quick little post to say that there has been almost no stitching so far this month. :(

It all started with a wonderful visit from my Dad. He drove down to spend a couple of days with me before he made is way a little farther south to stay with my brother. Of course, just a couple of days was not enough lol so I decided to work a little longer for the first three days of the week and left work early on the 2nd. Had my bags packed and with me in the car and headed straight to my brother's. It was great being able to spend more time with my Dad. You could call me a "Daddy's Girl" and I would say you are correct with a smile on my face. Dad left on Saturday and I decided to stay another day. I was able to put in a couple of stitches one morning before everyone woke up, but forgot to take a picture. On Saturday, we decided to go to the river. I really enjoyed myself and my daredevil DD also had a blast.

Here she is on top of the rock.

Off she goes. The only reason I didn't have a
heart attack was because I saw a whole group
of people do flips off of it before she got on.

We came back and I have just been trying to recover. I have noticed as I get older when my monthly cycle gets closer, my PMS symptoms have gotten worse. I can barely keep my eyes open after work and my moods shift a whole lot faster. I am so glad that DD is older now and can handle a couple of nights with her mom almost passing out as soon as dinner is made.

Hopefully, I will be able to stay awake a more this weekend and be able to thread a couple of needles. There are a couple of projects I really want to work on and maybe finish.

I do want to ask all my wonderful friends in the blog universe to say prayers for our family. There are some events that have been set in motion and the outcome would greatly benefit our family. I am not quite ready to go into detail yet, but as soon as we know I will share the good news.\

Time to get back to work so I can fund my wonderful hobby,

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG in TX

Don't interfere in the affairs of Dragons
...for you are Crunchy and taste good with ketchup

Monday, June 29, 2015

Final SFS 2015

Hello all,

Today is my last post for Stitch from Stash 2015. I participated last year and the first half of this year. I have a handle on how I spend money on stash. This last year and a half helped me to see where I was spending my money and what I can do to help offset those cost just a little and I want to thank Mel over at Epic Stitching for helping me to get a better handle on my stash finances. I still plan on following all the posts and keeping track of all the new tips and tricks to continue to safe and reduce my spending. I have noticed that keeping track of my spending in this area is also having a positive effect on my spending in other areas.

Now onto the final numbers:

Month: June

Carry Forward: $165.04 ($97.04 + $25.00 current month budget)

Spent: $ 81.33
A trip to Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann's for floss and fabric for three charity stitching projects, and an order from Stephanie's Hand Dyed Fabrics for a wonderful Quaker Hearts pattern by Aury TM Designs and the fabric to stitch them on.

Earned: $ 20.00
Monthly Cupcakes June & July ($2.00 each)
Stoney Creek Life's a Journey 2013
Stoney Creek Take Time for Yourself 2013
Stoney Creek - Halloween pt 2 2015


Final: $103.71

This month I was able to get quite a few things completed. Go Me!!

First up is a Stoney Creek pattern of the month from 2013 Life's a Journey.

Then I worked on and completed the second in the series take time for yourself. (I've been working on the third in the series, but didn't quite finish by the cut off).

Then I was able to finish both June and July's cupcake's (my work projects).



And last but not least, the new Stoney Creek's pattern of the month for June Scary Sights. The more I work with the glow in the dark thread, the better I get at it. I am going to have to add this thread to a couple of other Halloween projects. :) I will add all the buttons and beads at the end. Only two more months to complete. This is stitched on 32 ct Jobelan Calypso Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie using the recommended threads





Thursday, June 11, 2015



Just a quick little note...

Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is hosting another one of her wonderful giveaways.

This one is for some of her beautiful rick rack.



Stop on over and tell her I said hi!

Off to the orthodontist for Baby Girl.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Monday, June 8, 2015

Giveaway Winner

Hello all,

I forgot to post on Friday the winner of my giveaway. Kaisievic who wrote:

Kaisievic said...
Hi Angela, Lovely stitching - I love your new start and yes, please include me in the giveaway - #1 is the design that is calling to me. Thank you so much.
Progress as of last night


What it will look like when done.

Monday, May 25, 2015

SFS May 2015 and a Giveaway!

Hi all,

Another month has passed and it is time for another SFS 2015 update.

Month: May

Carry Forward: $122.04 ($97.04 + $25.00 current month budget)

Spent: $ 12.00
Floss: 30 skeins DMC

Earned: $ 30.00
Monthly Cupcakes March, April & May ($2.00 each)
WOCS Silhouette - Bloom
Q4OC Bloom (color)
Stoney Creek - Halloween pt 1
Lord Give Me Coffee

Carry Forward into April: $140.04

I have been going through my stash and decided to find new homes for some of the projects and patterns that I knew I was not going to do. This allowed me to pick up some more fabric for some of the projects I plan to get started soon.

Now onto some pictures. I posted some of my finishes so I won't bore you with those.

This weekend was wonderful! Stitching to my heart's content. I was able to finish the first installment of Stoney Creek's pattern of the month. This was stitched on 32 ct Jobelan Calypso Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie using the recommended threads


Lord Give me Coffee by the Stitching Bear. This was started and completed this weekend. It went a lot faster then I thought it would. This was done on 28 ct Monaco Tea using the recommended DMC.




Now onto the Giveaway part of the program. I have completed the following patterns and will not stitch them again and I would like them to go to a new home. I can only ask that when you have completed them, you pass the pattern along to the next person. Comment with which pattern(s) #1, #2, and/or #3, you would like to stitch next. If you leave a no reply comment, please make sure that you leave your email so I can contact you. I will be picking the names on June 5.


#1

#2

#3

Now onto deciding which project to work on next.

Ta Ta for Now,
Angela CG


Sunday, May 17, 2015

Mid Month Update

Hello all!!

I have a couple of finishes to share with you and an overall progress update.

I have been going through my stash looking at what I have kitted up, started or completed trying to decide if I am ever going to actually stitch these items. Those that I decided I would never do or finish I posted on a FB stash sale site to make room for new projects (or to complete the kitting up of ones that I do plan on completing). I was able to re-home quite a bit. The side benefit of this is I now have money that I can spend on new stash guilt free.

For the month of May, Stoney Creek started a new Halloween Series as their free pattern of the month. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and had to pick it up as soon as it was available. Since I had the funds available from my previous sales I went ahead and picked up the glow in the dark DMC and the one Week's Dye Works that I did not have and the button pack. Since I just finished a quick little stitch and I have everything needed to complete this, I think that I will start on this one today once I can tear myself away from the computer.

I completed two charity stitches earlier this month. They are the same pattern but using different colors. WOCS needed an urgent silhouette pattern I started a dove pattern but the pattern would have come out too large for the requested piece. I tried on a 20 ct aida 1 over 1 but I did not like how the stitches looked. I had found this online and liked the way it looked and saved it because I wanted to stitch it at some point.  I really like how this one came out.

Next up is the piece for Q4OC. The second challenge piece was to be a flower design. I knew that I enjoyed the pattern and as I was stitching the silhouette, I was imagining it in color. This is the result.
I am participating in an Ink Circles SAL on one of my Face Book groups. I started out strong but have been distracted with the charity stitching and one of my other loves...reading. This is my current progress. Not much, but any progress is good progress.



The other thing that I have been working on is these little monthly cupcakes. Aren't they just the cutest. And they stitch up so quick. I started March sometime last week and finished on Friday between my appointments. Then yesterday I was able to start and finish April's yellow cupcake and make a start on May. This morning was spent finishing up May and sorting the treads purchased to finish kitting up July to Dec's cupcakes, and two other projects.



Not very interesting today I know. I think it is time for me to let you all go. Have a great rest of your weekend.

Ta Ta for Now,
Angela CG

Don't interfere in the affairs of Dragons
...for you are Crunchy and taste good with ketchup

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

SFS 2015 & Late IHSW

Hi all!!

How is everyone doing? Let's start with the numbers...

Month: April

Carry Forward: $101.54 ($76.54 + $25.00 current month budget)

Spent: $ 16.50
Floss: 5 skeins from Mo's Sale
Pillow Tucks from FB Group
Patterns: 2 Silhouette patterns from Etsy 

Earned: $ $12.00
Monthly Cupcakes January and February ($2.00 each)
All Hallow's Eve $4.00
Valentine SAL for Q4OC $4.00

Carry Forward into April: $97.04

Looking at my numbers I am doing pretty good with keeping within budget. I like that I am finishing about the same amount that I am spending.

Now, this month I also signed up to participate in IHSW on the weekend of the 17th. I have to laugh though, because the only time I have signed up I only put in about 20 stitches on one project. There was no excuse since all house work had been completed through out the week and we had no where to go. It seems as if I lost my stitching mojo for about a week. Yikes! So what I think I will do for now on is not sign up officially but participate in my small corner of the world in spirit. lol

Now onto some pictures...

I started a FB SAL where each of us pick an Ink Circle's pattern and all start on the same day. My pick was Blue Morpho. I haven't made as much progress as I feel I could have but it is still good progress. First picture is the finished result as charted and the second is my version. I didn't like the green that makes up most of the design so I changed it to Freedom. (I am doing an all blue version)




Next up is my first finish...All Hallow's Eve by Lizzi*Kate. Stitched on a piece of 18ct Aida that I dyed myself sometime ago. Didn't like how it turned out for the original project. Kept it in case I could use it for something else.  These one color Halloween designs work perfectly on it.


I really thought I took a picture of January's design, but I can't seem to find it anywhere right now. I must have moved the picture off my phone to my computer at home. I put a quarter next to February to show how small the design is. Aren't these cute? Was able to complete Feb and start March in the same day. (This weekend I had turbo needles).



I was able to finish Q4OC Valentine SAL. I used all the same colors as Baby Girl's Heart from last month. I still don't know what the color of the blue is but don't you just love it?


Below are the beautiful floss I purchased from Mo's Sale this last week. Such pretty colors. I can't wait to use them in a project. I think I might just have to go through a couple of patterns that are waiting on floss and kit them up with more of her floss.


The two patterns I purchased (today actually) I will be using in my charity stitching will show the completed designs hopefully within the next week or two.

Sorry for the long post. Thank you for sticking with me till the end.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG in TX

Don't interfere in the affairs of Dragons
...for you are Crunchy and taste good with ketchup