Happy Happy Joy Joy

And the gang's all here.  I finished the fifth part of the GPA sewing set on Memorial Day.  If you squint and use your imagination, you can see (clockwise from lower left) the scissors fob, the slipper top, the slipper bottom, the scissors case front and the little weird strip that goes down the center of the mini thread keeper, which fits into the slipper.

With a wave of my magic wand, said parts will become:

I would be more excited but........I started reading the finishing instructions earlier tonight.

  Ugh!

Yikes!

Ay caramba!

I'm sure (wink wink) it will be MUCH easier than it sounds.

Dios Mio!

  (Somebody remind me to double up on the therapy.)

 

A couple of you have asked about the Garage Majal.  I'm happy to report that all constuction is complete, the fridge is cold, the tv is large, machinery is up and running and hubby is a happy man. 

Pretty much exactly like I said it would look:

 

And lastly, the shower is water-tight again. :-)

Like I said, Happy Happy Joy Joy.

Life is good.

Luck O' the Irish

According to the records, I am a tad Irish, but truth be told, it's hubs and sis who could fall into a vat of manure and come out smelling like Irish Roses.  Seriously.  It can be depressing when your two best friends are the luckiest s.o.b.s in six counties and the only thing you ever win is the jury duty lottery.

Look what I came home to find the other evening:

Rainbow over the Dave Cave

Proof that hubby lives at the end of a rainbow.

Wishing you a kiss o' Irish luck this week!

Slower than molasses in January

Both my Autumn square and the man-tastic workshop are inching closer to completion:

phone picture (again), better quality later...

As you can see, the offending yellow leaf has been frogged.  But, I swan, every time I go off the reservation and attempt to modify color schemes, projects take me twice as long as they normally should, which is forever and a day at my best rate!  Why must I fritz with perfectly good patterns?  Why?  Is it just me?  Do they make pills for this? 

Minor stiff neck has put an early end to my stitching tonight.  Bummer. 

Took two tablets and hoping for the best!  :o)

Giving Thanks for Indian Summer...

Good Great weather has given us ideal building conditions this past week.  Rain coming soon, but no complaints.  We could use a little rain with some many dead leaves floating around.  As you can see, the garage concrete floor has been poured and the deck off the workshop has been built.  I took a quick spin through the Dave Cave this afternoon and was very impressed. 

I think it's going to be exactly what hubby has been wanting.

Giving Thanks for Saturdays

Tis the season to be thankful and I am sooooo thankful for the gift that was today.  Hubby and I slept in then went out for brunch, and enjoyed the warm, sunny, breezy beautiful day.  I didn't step foot inside of a grocery store or a Wal-Mart.  I actually stitched a little this afternoon while I caught up some laundry.  

See.   Progress:

As you can see, I still haven't decided what to do about the yellow leaf in the middle of it's band.  What I think I'm going to do is stitch the rest of the rows in the colours I'm sure of, then go back and fill in with whatever colours make sense.  I do love this piece and can't wait to see that big leafy/acorn blackwork section all the way finished.  After that part is done, the rest will be a cinch. 

I also recently took the time to dress up one of the threadboards I brought back from EGA National:

It was "naked" when I bought it, so I added a little felt to one end, a little tomato pin cushion to the other, button-holed a 'strap' for the pointy end of the tiniest scissors you've ever seen, and whaaaa-laaaaa!  Now we're cooking with gas.

Speaking of cooking with gas, the contractors have made excellent use of the good weather lately. 

I think they should be right on track for a Thanksgiving ribbon cutting ceremony.

Until next time, here's hoping you're having a wonderful weekend. 

Give Thanks!

Calgon? Can you hear me calling?

Sweet baby Jesus, it's been a hellacious WEEK and it's only Wednesday!  Anyone working in the public service sector knows that the first of the month, with a full moon, 50 days to Christmas, with a weak economy is the perfect recipe for NIGHT-MARE.  THEN, just to push me over the edge, the postmaster calls this morning and says "MASS LOSS".  Well folks, next time I hear those two magic words in the same sentence, I'll march straight to my desk, pull out a leave slip, put my purse on my shoulder and head to the closest happy hour I can find.   I could go on, but I will spare you.  I only go down this road because it's my excuse for not having much of a stitching update for you.

However!  I do have a little someone special back from the framer:

As soon as I laid eyes on this frame, I thought it was perfect. 

"Expensive" warned the framer. 

Naturally.   I have a knack for that.

And here she is in her new digs:

Overlook the mess - please.

I would love to tell you I've been stitching away on my Autumn blackwork square OR my Christmas slipper sewing set, but alas, not much going on in that department.  My mind has just been too chaotic with work stuff to settle down at night and focus.  Pitiful excuse, I know.

There is however a lot going on outside:

And actually, this picture is two days old.  When I can get home before nightfall (stupid time change!), I'll grab a couple of new shots for you.  Lots of progress.  I wish I could say the same thing about either of my WIPs. 
Hubby is ecstatic!  Seriously.  I can't remember seeing him this excited in a LOOOOOoooooong time.  He's given up sleep and logged more hours at Lowe's and Home Depot lately than one would think healthy.  It's ok though because in a month, he'll be as happy as a hog in slop, in his workshop, with his man friends, drinking coffee, telling lies, and probably spitting and scratching, or whatever men do when they get together in their sanctuaries.

Lastly, in case you haven't heard already, Brightneedle has retired all it's designs and they are only designing teaching pieces now.  If you have any of their designs on your wish list, you might want to go ahead and grab them up while you can still get them.

That's all the news that's fit to print today friends.  Hopefully I'll have a great big fancy stitching update for you next time.

A penny, a plaid and a play-place

Just finished this little ditty - one of my chapter's education projects.  We've been having a lot of fun with our monthly education projects this year by exploring needlework from around the world.  The penny rug program was representative of American folk art.  I'd never tried my hand at these puppies before and must admit, it was a lot of fun!  Don't look too close, but I will point out that each "pile" or penny is composed of a small grey circle atop a red, atop a black.  Isn't it neat how the thread color makes each penny look so different?  I'm thinking of putting together a little OSU themed gift basket for my BMRTSA*, who was born in Ohio and thus has the scarlet and gray gene/affliction.

And, OMG, Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia, have you all seen the new Ginghers exclusively at Jo-Ann's?  For some unknown reason, they named this design "Mia".  I've seen all the other designer Ginghers and honestly, could pass.  HOWEVER, this little plaid pair was too much for me to resist.  But you want to hear the greatest part? You can use the 50% coupon.  That's right.  AWE-SOME! 

So, that's the penny and the plaid, what about the play place, you ask?

Hubby has started construction on his place o'manly things.  More exactly, the contractor has started digging and pouring and whatever else contractors do.

I'd say round about Thanskgiving time, he'll be hosting a ribbon cutting.  Let me know if you have any man-types who'd like to come!  Progress reports to follow.

*BMRTSA= best motorcycle riding, tattoo sporting auntie