So...........

here I sit, looking through the window. It's getting very dark outside and we're under tornado watch until 10PM. The mayor sent city employees home at 2:30 PM so we can all watch the storm coming. It's 80 degrees outside but is supposed to be a little cooler tomorrow. Michael came by to pick up the football tickets for this Saturday's game:  Alabama (yea) vs. Tennessee. He'll be leaving tomorrow after work for the trip to Tuscaloosa.

Since there's not a lot to do right now-I avoid housework-and I'm taking a bread from stitching, here's a look at the last few day's activities.

This is a piece that I did years ago-the 80's, I think-and I decided to frame it for the kitchen. Amazing how one's taste changes over the years.....

Now for a look at some progress. Houmas House is moving along. It's an easy stitch (not a short one!) and is really nice. The shading is so subtle. And really looks like the house itself. I'm using the threads called for: DMC and Weeks overdyes.

A Summer Ball is lookin' good. I am changing some of the dress colors and am planning to watch P&P later to see what other colors men wore for dress suits back in those days. The pattern calls for black and white but that's BORING!!! We'll see.

And here's a belated birthday present I've given myself. Diane at my LNS gives a 25% discount during a birthday month. I've really been wanting to do this for a long time: it's the mate to the Quaker Christmas  that's already finished and hanging. I did it in shades of green with touches of red and gold. This one will be in shades of blue with a mahogany brown for the lettering. It's kitted up but I have no idea when I'll start it.

And last but not least: here's the answer to the $64,000 question. The Totally Useless SAL is just what the name implies. Stitchers collect a lot of trash. Little bits and pieces of thread (called "orts"), broken needles, thread labels, etc.  Those belonging to the SAL save them in special jars, or whatever. Once a month, at the New Moon, we report our savings. This past month was a busy one for me. Sometimes I don't do a lot of stitching and there's not a lot of little treasures. Every month I move the stuff into little glass Christmas ornaments which I place in the bowl up side down. I have a very LARGE glass jar and at the end of the year I'm going to move all those little balls to the jar. The only scary thing is to see how many scraps there are. And the colors are really nice when combined all together.

OBSESSIONS!

Well, I guess my mojo is back. I'm obsessing with The Summer Ball. I've finished the two left women (except for some back stitching and filling in). It's been a long time since I've worked on aida and I had forgot how quickly it stitches. I've never had any trouble with half crosses so no problem there. I'm going to change some colors: there's even one figure that's going to have my red hair! And Chaplain's Garden is coming along, too. A lot of ords for my Totally Useless SAL this time.

Siobban is getting me started on my next obsession. She did a piece and did a feature on it on Stitch Bitch's site. I've looked it up and am going to add it to the old stash in the next few weeks. The only source I've found is Volarium. The sampler is called Le Marquoir de Justine. It's just lovely and has a great story behind the sampler.

My friend Diane Guillory at my LNS, Cross Stitch Corner, had a pacemaker installed yesterday and is doing great. Lots of kind thoughts go out to her. And to my friend Deanne Webb, who is going to begin some experimental therapy at MD Anderson beginning Tuesday. Deanne is proof-perfect that God answers prayers. She has melanoma of the liver and needed this treatment. Her insurance company was a little hesitant to cover the costs. After a lot of prayers from our church and friends, it's going to be covered. And if you all will, say a prayer or two for her-and Diane's- quick recovery.

And I'm a happy camper. Saturday, when I had my little collision, I was on the way to a lab to have some blood work done. I got the results Wednesday and it couldn't have been better. As most of you know, I have heart disease and sometimes blood chemistries aren't always great. Well, this time they were: no diabetes, no bad liver studies and great cholesterol levels. Haven't been this low in a long time. PTL.

I'm still going to take those photos and I have a great recipe to send along. But I'm going to take the afternoon and see the new Harry Potter film.

A COUPLE OF FINISHES: A NEW LOOK FOR AN OLD PIECE AND THE FIRST DAY OF HURRICANE SEASON

Hello, all, on this first day of hurricane. That's right: until the last day of November we'll all be sitting here, waiting and waiting and waiting.....

I did this piece in 1976. It's surface embroidery and I believe it was kit. Anyway, I had a very old frame that belonged to my mother. I removed the picture from it and replaced it with my embroidery. It wore thin on me, so I filed it away underneath the bed for many years. Last week I got inspired. I removed the sampler from underneath the bed, opened the frame and went to work cleaning the whole deal.

In the middle of all this, I decided the mat wasn't the right color and I could save big bucks by painting it. Actually works! Then I messed up. I decided to stencil the newly-painted mat. Dumb move. The mat began to crumble. Off I went to Hobby Lobby and had a new mat cut.

Here is the finished product. Looks pretty good. I might could have centered the piece better, but this is passable. It hangs on the wall over the tub in the master bath. I know it's a replica of an actual sampler. If anyone recalls the name, please let me know!

This one is also a new addition. It's LHN's "Home of a Needleworker". I didn't notice until I was taking the photograph that it's not quite level in the frame. Back we go. Gotta get it right.

Nothing else new on the home front. I saw my doctor today and she made a few meds changes. Finally have had to add a med for HBP. Guess I'll get over it. She said I'll have to watch it for a while- to make sure my BP doesn't go too low. I guess I have officially joined the ranks of Senior Citizens: I have high blood pressure. Whooee.

I'm going to re-do my blog in a few days. I have some great new blogs to add, so I'm going to get rid of some of the other stuff to allow room. And I'm joining the Blackbird SAL. I'm not making much progress on my BP SAL, so I'm hoping this will do better. We have our choice of the Flea Market (which I've already completed) or Autumn Bouquet, which is the one I've chosen.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day to all you ladies out there! I know it's a day early, but hopefully I will be spending tomorrow playing at church, visiting my family and generally enjoying the day. Tomorrow will be back on schedule after three Sundays away from the keyboard. I did spend most of this week playing for a revival in Sorrento, LA. I was joining friend Phillip Willis in doing the music for this wonderful little church. The members were all so gracious and the food was fantastic: crawfish etouffee, jambalaya and fried fish (not all at the same time!! On different nights). And Phillip flew out of Baton Rouge on a 6:30 AM flight, headed eventually for Vermont to bring music to churches there.

I have some new charts. I'm trying to stitch smaller things now. Things I can finish quickly and finish myself, if I can. Here's a look at some of them.

The first is a little chart from The Sampler Girl. It's eventually going to be a knob knocker for me and framed as a picture as a Christmas present (hint: my granddaughter is named Grace). Or it may be a knob knocker instead of a picture....

These three are from Little House Needleworks. The first I finished this week and is at the framers.

This is to be a companion piece to the sampler above.

I don't know where this one will go. Maybe on a bookself or the mantle in the den.

So......again I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day. May it be peaceful and s great fellowship day for your families.

A GREAT SURPRISE

I received a comment on one of my posts from a friend. It brightened my day and was
SO glad to hear from her.

Gwen moved to Baton Rouge after Katrina destroyed her home. She's a needleworker so it was natural to run into her at my LNS. I remember her telling us that her stash actually survived the hurricane because it was stored in a plastic container in an upstairs closet. And her needlework is fantastic. You can check it out on her blog.

I have some great memories of the time she spent here with us. She's a nurse so she worked at Our Lady of the Lake while she was here. One Sunday, a bunch of us went to a local tea shop. Gwen went with us. I don't know if she is aware of it or not (I guess she is now!), but we always did whatever we could to get her to speak. She has the most wonderful accent. We all just loved to hear her talk. Then again, I suppose some of us may have sounded different to her, Southern accents and all. I am so glad to be in contact with her again.

Check out her blog and a big hello to Gwen.

http://bahamian-hideaway.blogspot.com/

AT IT AGAIN!

I'm frogging again! I really messed up my Beatrix Potter sampler. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and started stitching the inside of one of the medallions sideways. I put it aside for a couple of days and am now thinking maybe I'll pick it up again.

Then there is the Friendship RR. Sara's arrived in the mail today so I started stitching the proper heart. Well, sure enough I messed up on my count. It has to be frogged over halfway up.

I'm blaming all this bad stuff on the little procedure I had done on Friday. I had a little thingy removed from a very miserable place (above my waist). This was the second go-round on it. Had it frozen off last time. This time the doctor did a little cutting. It was about the size of a quarter. She didn't do stitches, which was good. She cauterized it and it's having a time not bleeding. Everything went bad because of my........attitude?

The good news is that I've redone the Traveling Stitcher and have- YEA!- figured out the pattern for the needlebook and carrying case. I think I'l look for the fabby on Thursday. I can use the part I messed up for a little pouch for buttons, safety pins, etc.

DH sent me an email this morning. We have a chance to go to the Arizona Biltmore in July. We've been before and it's a WONDERFUL place (pictures in my Kodak gallery: password shown, other code is rolltide1969@cox.net). The only problem is July. It was hot as hades in November. I can guess what it would be like in the summer. But it's such a great place to go. Maybe we'll make it. Some great reading and stitching time.

This is going to be the first ever Easter that I've worn black! I usually go for something pale and it's the one Sunday a year I absolutely wear a hat -platform and all. Well, we're doing the second part of our Easter music on Sunday morning and the orchestra has to wear concert black. I'm going to become really creative with this one! I bought a nice, short black dress for Sunday morning and am going to wear a long, black dress on Wednesday night (the first part of the music). I'm even going to treat myself to a new pair of black shoes. I need them badly and this is a good excuse to buy them. But no 5 " stilettos. People might talk!!!

I also agreed to play for the Sunrise Service at Resthaven (Cemetery, just next door to the church). The day will start VERY early for me. I really don't mind. I can do it one day a year. There's nothing "early morning" about me.

Wish there was more to tell. It's a little boring right now. I'm going to my LNS tomorrow and maybe I can get into some trouble.......

THANK GOODNESS FOR TOMORROW! WELL, MAYBE NOT.....

This has been one of those days. Started out great. Wonderful day at Sunrise Assisted Living. Got a little work done in the house. Then I picked up my stitching.

I'm working on The Traveling Stitcher by LNS. I've finished the needlebook cover and was about half finished with the main piece. Somehow I miscalculated and didn't allow enough side space. I started it all over again on the fabric right next to the needlebook. Well, I'm not happy. I'm working it really strangely just to see if it will fit. Truth is, I'd really rather get another piece of fabric and start over-over. Just to be sure.

I did make a trip to Lifeway Books for some reading material and found a wonderful carry-all that has places for family pictures.

None the less, I'm floundered by my boo boo. That's one that shouldn't be made. And all the thread I used.......overdyes, too.

In the scheme of things, this is small. But an unnecessary mistake.

Orchestra was good tonight and tomorrow I see Dr. Dobson to get my real boo boo removed. Maybe that's what's really on my mind.

Oh, well.......