HB Claire

Today is a very special day.  Our granddaughter Claire turns one year old!  Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?

What a joy this last year has been as we watched her grow and change.  I can't wait to see her in person next week.  Which reminds me that I need to start to get ready.  I have to iron clothes and kit up a couple of small projects.  This is a mini vacation for us as we will be going from cold and snow to sunny southern California.

I am on the very last piece of the December class.  I want to get back to doing berries on the Trevelyon Holly ornament so that I am ready when the passing thread comes in the mail.  I still have the whole other side to embroider as well.  I want to find all the pieces to the Painted Lady Sewing case so that when the urge strikes me I can put in nun stitches (millions of them! Nun stitches on top of nun stitches - really).

I saw Dylan yesterday and we had some personal pan pizzas.  Yum.  We had a great time playing Sorry and Zingo (sort of like Bingo).

Happy Birthday Claire!
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The New Week

My schedule gets really back to normal today.  The bathrooms are clean.  I will see Dylan today - the first time in three weeks.  Maybe I should take pizza.  I loved seeing the two hour premiere of Downton Abbey last night.  I also saw a special on the Highclere, the castle where Downton is filmed.  Very interesting.  It did make me want to find out more about Lord Canarvan (the one that died of a mosquito bite) and his wife.  The house really did host soldiers recovering during World War 1.

I've no stitching to show and no pictures to post.  I'm not waiting for anything to come in the mail.  The most exciting thing today is I am making meatballs for dinner.  I know, it's sad.  But when you consider all the awful things that others are dealing with, I am grateful for a quiet life doing what I enjoy.  What more can one ask?
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Gloriana!

I got my prize yesterday!  I am so thrilled.  I got one meter of all the Gloriana threads.  Wow.  Look how organized they are.  They are all labeled and in numerical order.  How cool is that?
DH was not impressed.  He know that I have a lot of thread.  He has seen the Big Bin of DMC that I have accumulated over the last few decades.  But he doesn't understand the difference between cotton floss and SILK floss or regular floss and overdyed floss.
I also got my Premium floss of the Month order from Hand Dyed Fibers.  I think I am a thread hoarder.
What a thread day!
I am thinking of starting the Victorian Painted Lady sewing case from Gay Ann Rogers.  I have to find all the pieces first.  I am still working on finishing the December class.  Almost done.  I saw all the things that Cathy B (With Needle and Thread) has stitched lately and am very jealous.  I have several of those charts and want to stitch them too.
Happy Stitching!
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First Saturday of the Year

Jane, I sent off the blogiversary prize to you this morning.  Enjoy!
I've been to Pilates and paid the bills so now it is time to play.

 I worked on the beads yesterday and got it together.  I like how the  bead turned out but I don't think the Jessica stitch is done correctly.

The colors aren't right - green necklace, teal bead.  I wonder if I can buy the stuff to make a necklace of a better color to go with my beads.

I don't have the hang of the headpin bending yet.  Some of the pictures of the beads seem to show just little rings sewn to the edge.  I guess I could do that.  I like how the edge turned out.

You just put a strip of heavier paper around the bead and stitch over it.  I asked about the pictured bead for this class and the designer said she would send it to me. Yeah!

Uh-oh, I'm feeling the urge to start something new.....
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And The Winner Is...

I tried using the random number generator for the first time.  Boy is it easy.  You just type in the max number and press generate.  That's easier than writing out the names and pulling a piece of paper.  The winner is Jane B!  Congratulations Jane.  Email me your snail mail and I will send the prize charts off to you.  I kind of wish I could send everyone who entered something.  I don't want anyone to lose.

I just realized that little miss Claire's birthday is sneaking up on me.  I am already too late to send her something and have it get there in time for her actual birthday.  We are going to celebrate when we get there in a couple weeks (one week and six days but who's counting). Note to self: next year send something in late December to get it there in time.

Well, I didn't make my goal for yesterday.  I wanted to complete a whole bead.  Nope, didn't happen.  I messed around trying to stitch the bead.  It turned out harder than I thought.  I did stitch the two sides.  So now I am putting beads on my bead.  Then I can lace them together and do the edge.

I went through the laundry basket of shame and found some ribbon that I had been looking for.  I guess that is some progress.

I went shopping today and was happy to see the parking lots much less busy.  I'm glad the Christmas season is over.  I went to the Post Office but the line was pretty long.  Oh well.
The sun is shining and that's a good thing.
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Prizes

Okay, so I went looking for things to give away.  I looked in the magazine holder where I put my charts when I am done with them.  I pulled out a few that I thought someone might like.  They will be the prize for the randomly selected winner who leaves a comment (on this post only!).  Last year I gave away a chart as my blogiversary prize but it was easy, I only had one person enter!  Lucky for DQ who won it.  This is the prize for this year:

These are all charts only.  No supplies.

I am very happy that I too am a winner.  On the Thistle Threads blog, Tricia has been giving away things as she cleans her office in preparation for a move.  I have entered each one hoping I would be lucky.  Today I found out that I got lucky!  I won some Gloriana Threads.  Yeah!  That is a great prize.

I am working on finishing my December class so I have no pictures.  I really wish I could show you but I promised.

We leave in exactly two weeks for LA.  Time goes so fast.  One of my goals for today is to finish one bead completely.  I have a necklace I can put it on.
It is overcast today and we are supposed to get between two and four inches of snow.  It is a day to stay cozy inside.
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Back on Track

My right sacroiliac has been bothering me since Saturday.  The chiropractor hasn't been in until today.  Now I am fixed and can quit complaining already.  It is amazing what a few whacks with a little rubber hammer can do.  I have had a lot of help from a heating pad as well.  But now I am back to normal.  I took down the Christmas tree yesterday.  It is nice to have things back to usual.  We still have some caramel corn hanging around.

I am proud of myself for working on the leaves of the Trevelyon Holly ornament until they were done.

Now I am working on the berries with the Trellis stitch.  The berries look raised and bumpy.  I'm not sure I am doing it right but it looks okay.

I've decided this is going to be the back of the ornament.  The front will be stitched much more competently I'm sure.  I don't have the gold laying thread yet so I have to quit once I get the leaves and berries done.

I stitched the ugliest bead ever yesterday.

It really is hideous.  Why those colors?  Why leave the inside shapes unstitched?  Then I got to thinking, hey, we didn't make the bead that is pictured for the class.  That's bait and switch!  I am trying to decide how best to complain, er I mean, ask about it.  Or do I just try it on my own?  It isn't that hard and I can do it.  It is just irritating that you sign up for a class based on a photo of a bead that isn't included in the class.  No fair.  I tried fixing the Jessica stitch on one of the beads and it looks much better.

I'm actually glad to have learned how to make a Jessica stitch that looks continuous.

I see lots of projects that I have abandoned last year.  I want to finish some of them up.  So I'll locate some of my UFO's and give them some attention.
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