Art Friday is upon us!!!

After work yesterday I was off to the annual checkup and found out that everything was right where it should be and all the numbers lower than before so I am happy about that!!!! I certainly want to be here in 2012 and the return of Quetzalcoatl - such fun awaits us all!!!! - but all that aside - last night was spent finishing up the exchange I have been working on this past week -

The flicks last night were "Trojan Women" - 1971 starring Katherine Hepburn as Hecuba, Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache and Irene Papas as Helen. A wonderful film version of the play by Euripides and translated by Edith Hamilton - if you like destruction, death and depression then this is the movie for you - it ain't called a tragedy for nothing!!!!! This was followed up with "Titanic" - 1953 - starring Babara Stanwych and Clifton Webb and a VERY young Robert Wagner - a nice version of the sinking of this great ship.

Now let us have a quickie "Art Friday" - One of my favorite pieces of art is probably "The Wilton Diptych" - c. 1396. This beautiful small devotional piece is housed in the National Gallery in London and I have visited it every time I get to London -


This is snap of the inside panels - on the Left Panel you have Richard II being presented by three saints he venerated (l to r - St Edmund, St Edward the Confessor and St John the Baptist) to the Virgin Mary and Christ child. It is a stupendous piece of work and simply amazing that it survived through so many years in such super condition. Just think about how amazing it is for this to have survived the Protestant Reformation that swept through England under Henry VIII destroying so many Religious images and articles. It was acquired by the National Gallery in 1929

Thanks for stopping by and Have a great Weekend!!!!

Take Care -
edgar

It's Thursday.....

I wanted to thank you all for the nice comments about the Mail Art that Marie made - it really is stupendous!! Like many of you in taking your Mail Art in I was also a little uneasy about what the post office might say or do when I brought mine in to be mailed - Since mine went international I was anticipating a big old stink - like many of you had - so the day I brought mine in I also brought in another piece of Mail Art that Jill had made for me. It still retained the stamps and the cancellations to prove that "YES" these are acceptable and "YES" they will go through the system. When I got up to the window the only comment I got was "This looks really nice , is it homemade?" - I said I had made it and he processed it and just stamped and hand cancelled it before putting it into the bin. So I had prepared myself for a big problem and then got none. It is amazing how reticent some folks can be just because they have not seen something - Now mine has been in transit for 2 weeks today - and not a word about its arrival........ I'll start to worry harder next week!!

Still stitching away on an exchange - so no snaps.

The flicker last night was "Another Time, Another Place" - 1958 - starring Lana Turner and a very young Sean Connery. A very interesting film - where the supporting cast was superior to the main stars who were very wooden and quite unbelievable in their respective roles. It seems that this was trying to be some sort of tear jerker, but was just a turkey that never got in one good gobble for 90 + mins!!! The same year Lana starred in the remake of "Imitation of Life" a far superior film and worth seeing - I wouldn't waste time on ATAP as there are so many other quality Lana films to see.... "The Bad and the Beautiful", "Madame X" and "Peyton Place."

Woo Hoo - tomorrow is Friday!!!! Thanks for stopping by today!

Take care,
edgar

I am Blessed by another super Mail day!!!

My cup continues to runneth over!!!! Yesterday the Mail guy brought me a gorgeous piece of Mail Art - from the HOE Mail Art Exchange - It came from Marie W - and all I could say is just WOW!!! Here are the snaps.....

The front -


The back -

AND lifting the flap reveals -

It is just perfectly finished and stitched - Thank you so much Marie!!! I am a lucky guy to have gotten so many lovelies over the past couple of days!!!!!

Last night my stitching was all on an exchange piece so no snaps yet.

The flicker for last night was "The Hiding Place" - 1975 - a true story about two sisters in WWII occupied Holland - and how they fought against the Nazi death machine, by doing what was right not what was easy the whole movie!!! - A very powerful story and a really nice movie - it is kind of long - but really worth seeing.

There you go kiddos - Thanks for stopping by!!
It is just pouring rain hear right now and do we need every drop of it - so pour baby pour!!!!!!!

Take care,
edgar

A GRRRReat Mail day....

Yesterday brought so much that my stitchy cup runneth over!! Starting off with a super Prairie Schooler Box from Becky S. Here is a snap -


and a snap of the inside -



It is so gorgeous and I just love it!! This is for the first round of the Year Long Prairie Schooler Exchange. Thank you so much Becky!!!!

The mails also brought some stash - and can you ever have too much stash???
Here is a snap of the haul -


The Drawn Thread charts are from a trade I am doing with Sherry and two things I have wanted to do for the longest time. The BBD charts are 4 new things they just released. The "Two Hands" chart is the last in the series from last year - I really do not care for this at all - but it does contain the last part of the Mystery Sampler - and I needed it for that! I really like the little stocking patterns and presume they will release a chart of three stockings for each month since these are January, February and March. I just love the little stocking ornament that Vonna made for me from the JCS Ornie Magazine - so wanted to get these as companion pieces.

Mailing out today - Prairie Schooler Exchange, Ornament Exchange, Wintery Give-away, and a small giftie - all should arrive in a few days.

Thank you all for stopping by, and for the super sweet comments!!!!!

Do come again!!
Take care,
edgar

WIP stitching, Exchange finishing, Cool Stuff and a Winner

The weekend stitching was focused on exchange finishing and working on a WIP - VoHRH. Of the 4 WIP's I want this done first. I know what was the hold up on this .... When I arrived at square 9 I just came to a screeching halt. This square is the one square of the 12 that I just do not care for - so I just stopped and put it down. I hauled it out last week and knew I had to get square 9 done to move on!!! So I finished up Square 9 and moved on to square 10 - a great horse barn and apple grove!! That one is just going right along - Here is a snap -

It is a pretty crappy snap but you get the idea. This should be done way sooner than way later - then it is on to Alphabet Blocks - can't wait to start that!!

We went on Saturday under rain threatening skies to the sales
and I found some stuff...


Two great frames that really call out for samplers!! A Corning roaster and a linen table cloth in perfect condition. I found the table cloth in a pile of various linens at a house sale, non of the things were priced - so I took it up to the guy there and asked what the price was - thinking it would be around $20 - $25 (and that would have been a great price) - he said $1 - I blinked and said SOLD!! I just can't believe how much really great stuff it out there for just nothing!!!

We Had the mystic, magical drawing over the weekend....

with her highness "the Peach" overlooking the proceedings.... then with paw of great delicacy...


Pete mixed the names and then drew out......


KATHY - so dear Kathy if you could send along your snail mail address I can get the floss' out to you - just send it to - edgar matt @ g mail dot com - remove the spaces. Thank you all for playing along and keep tuned in for the next drawing!!

We didn't make it to the LoH yesterday as it was pretty crappy weather all day so we stayed in. The exhibit is there until the middle of May so there is plenty of time to get there - might be next Sunday!!

Another week begins - Thanks you all for stopping by!!

Take care,
edgar

TGIF

I just felt this week needed to be over and a rest was a'coming!! Now this elusive rest my not happen as there are quite a few things we want to accomplish this weekend. As always I need "Le Sale du Garage" and "Un Junque Magnifique" to quell my shopping bug and not break the bank!!! - so Tomorrow morning it is off to rummage through others Flotsam and jetsam - who knows what lurks out there just waiting to be bought at some ridiculous low price!!!!!!! The other thing we want to accomplish is a visit to The Legion of Honor to see what looks like a super de duper exhibit - "Artistic Luxury - Faberge, Tiffany and Lalique." Fancy shiny stuff - right up my alley.

It seems that there are 7 of the Imperial Eggs - including this one The Rose Trellis Egg - 1907 - gift from Nicholas II to Alexandra - isn't it just spectacular!!!!

On the stitchy front last night - more exchange stitching/finishing- sorry about the no snaps - but we need to keep it secret until they get to their new homes.

The flickers last night were .... catching the last half of "Goodbye Mr. Chips" - 1939, starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson. This was followed by "Pygmalion" - 1938 - starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. Then TCM backed this up with the musical of the same story "My Fair Lady" - 1964 - starring Rex Harrison and Andrey Hepburn. The evening rounded out with the almost perfect musical "Singing in the Rain" - 1952 starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and the wonderful Jean Hagen. The movie evening finished off with "Born Yesterday" - 1950 Starring Judy Holliday in her Oscar wining roll as Billie Dawn. These are all wonderful flicks that I would highly recommend.

There you go - if you want to be a part of the "Wintery" give-away to go back to Tuesdays post and sign up before 2:30 PST today - I will have the chihuahuas do the picking this weekend and announce the winner on Monday!!!

So my dears - until next week remember - same Bat Time same Bat Channel!!! As always I do Thank you for stopping by - and spending a few moments with me!!!!

Take care,
edgar

It is almost here

...the weekend. For some reason I am REALLY feeling it - and want this week over with!! Not that it has been that hard or anything just a long and arduous week all around.

We got home form work yesterday and found a note from the building manager that our balcony will have to be cleared off so that that can rip it off and replace it with a new one. If you remember - ours is one of the few balconies that is full of plants - including two big window boxes full of geraniums and a giant Norfolk Pine tree. Rico moved everything off and into the house and out in the hall. Now let us just see how long we get to live like this since our Building manager is notorious for hiring the slowest worker types on the planet!!!! Another thing is why would you start an outside project like this when it is supposed to be a downpour over the next few days????? Can you tell I ain't so happy!!!!

Last night I worked exchange stitching. Thank you all for the input about WIP's - I did have to think about what would constitute a UFO - I would guess it would be something that goes at least a year without being touched - then it falls into the UFO category!!

The lovely Carol nominated me for the Special Friends Award and "Love" Pendant. The description for this award reads "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind of writers. When you pass this award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with".

Carol and I have become friends though our love of stitching and blogging.
Thank you so much Carol!

It is so hard to narrow down the nominations as there are many who inspire and give of themselves so selflessly - but I can only list 8 people whose blogs and stitching inspire me and have thus become friends are:

1) - Carol S - Garden of Stitches
2) - Jennifer - Ohio is My Dwelling Place
3) - Donna - Daisy Girl Stitching

4) - Valerie - Fog City Dweller
5) - Sherry - Inhale Life
6) - Anna - Stitch Bitch
7) - Margie - Three Cool Pugs and Me

Following Carol's lead I would like to renominate her for the 8th place!!!

Lat night there were a couple of flicks - starting off the evening with "Holiday Affair" - 1949 - Staring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. A Christmas movie I had never even heard of much less seen - such a wonderful flick I would highly recommend a look. Basically a love triangle, but clever and funny!!! This was followed by "It Should Happen to You" - 1954 - starring Judy Holiday, Peter Lawford and in his first big role Jack Lemon. A great film and a wonderful vehicle for Judy and her super comic talents!!!

One more day to sign up for the Give-away.... Thanks for stopping by!!!

Take care -
edgar

Thinking about WIP's

Yesterday I was here at work and of course I was obsessing about needlework!! God forbid I actually do any kind of work that might be expected of me - !!! So thinking about cross stitch and my WIP's - I wonder what is a normal number of pieces "in progress." Is there a single number or is it different for everyone? I wondered if it was just me and my unorganized life that causes the WIP's - I am thinking it is those wonderful designers out there always coming up with new and wonderful things to stitch!! So how can this be my fault!!!??? So when I got home I pulled out my WIP's. You should have seen the looks I was getting from the audience of the Hooch, the Pooch and the Peach and the Rico - not pleasant I must say!!! I define for myself a WIP as something large that is getting stitched or not stitched as the case might be. I do not count exchange pieces nor do I count any kind of gift piece as a WIP.

Here is a snap of my WIP's

These four pieces are from l to r - Village of Hawk Run Hollow, Forgiveness, ABC SAL, Beatrix Potter Companion. I made a decision that I can finish up VoHRH and then move on to one of the Quaker pieces before I start up another piece ....... and that start is a toss up between two Carriage House pieces - either Alphabet Sampler - the Whole Kit and Kaboodle or The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I am really leaning towards the Alphabet Sampler piece. I think the reasons are three fold - 1). I really love Alphabet samplers - especially this one, 2). I already have a great piece of splotchy linen for the Alphabet sampler and 3). I want to re-chart the Shores piece for over-dyed threads instead of the silk called for that I already have acquired. ( Joke is doing a HRH piece in over dyed floss' and that really appeals to me) I also think that coming off of Village I may not want to start up another piece so similar..... AND I just can't make up my mind about the linen for SoHRH as the recommended is way too yellow/gold for me. I still have quite a bit of time since I am about 3 1/2 squares from finishing VoHRH.

Oh well - I can obsess on this stuff for a while!! Don't forget to throw in for the give-away - in yesterdays post!!! Am I really over thinking this -
I will tend to do that occasionally - or I should say - all the time!!!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!!
Take care,
edgar

A Wintery Floss Give-away

I have been thinking about a give-away for the longest time and wondered what I could do, make, get...and then hit on the idea of sharing my good fortune. A couple of weeks ago I lucked into a a ton of floss'. Going through the different sized cards the floss is wound on and rewinding them onto uniform smaller cards I am finding that many of the larger cards have 2 , 3 and sometime 4 skeins of floss on them. Which means that I really have double or triple the amount that I thought I did. With this in mind I know I can not use all of this bounty.... so I have gone through and pulled about 90 of the small cards that are marked "JP" or "Bates" and the color number and made up a "Floss Give-Away."

If you would like to win this giant Floss Give-Away just leave a comment ON THIS ENTRY, only - I will close the give-away on Friday afternoon around 2:30 PST and do a random drawing from those comments. I will announce the winner on Monday 2/23. Anyone can enter so don't be bashful - there are lots of spring and summer colours. Remember you can't win if you don't enter!!

Last night was spent working on an exchange. I wanted to thank you all for the kind things you had to say about my finish - I went back and found that I usually have a finish this time of year - now I Wonder why that is??

The flicker last night was "Morituri" - 1965 starring Marlon Brandon and Yul Brynner. A very interesting WWII film - probably one of Yul Brynners best performances. A little dark and slow but worth a look.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Take care,
edgar

A Finish, a Witch and creamy goodness....

Let's start off with Le Jardin and a happy dance finish......


I finished this up on Friday evening and am so happy with the way it turned out!!! Now to get it framed - or more precisely get the funions to get it framed!!! And a great big THANK YOU goes out to Julianne as it was because of her that I was able to stitch up this lovely. The pattern is from an OOP Magazine and she very generously loaned me her copy!!!!! I have said it before and will continue to say - the stitching community is so generous it blows me away sometimes!!!!!!

The second piece I finished up was on Vonna's WFS RR
- here is a snap of the piece -


I stitched up the witch at the top. I used a PS chart from the book called Harvest Time. The floss' I used were HDF silks called Kodiak Bear and Brass Tacks. I am so happy that she fit into Vonna's squares as I have wanted to stitch her up for the longest time. She fits so well onto this beautiful RR and the great shifting is coming up next week so I am on time!!

While running around on Saturday - we stopped by Krispy Kreme in So SF and picked up some creme filled doughnuts and also stopped by Arizmandi Bakery and got a piece of their famous coffee cake - and it was very good, ahhh but those creme pillows of deliciousness.......


I saw some flickers this weekend, but the only one I will mention is "633 Squadron" - 1964 - a pretty good WWII film about blowing up a secret fuel depot - but the oddest casting was George Chakiris as Norwegian - if you remember - he played Bernardo in "West Side Story."

Thanks for stopping by - I will be talking about the Give-a-way tomorrow - so stop back in!!

Take care -
edgar

An Award

I received a nice award for my blogging and it really made my day yesterday!!! The award is a"Spreaders of Love Award" and was given by YoYo. At times I think the tangents I go on are not and could not be interesting to anyone - then I'll get a nice comment about it and feel that it was worth writing about. As so many of you know I have, and always will have, poor spelling and even worse grammar sometimes - but even with that I still keep plugging away. Keeping with the theme of spreading a little love - I need to pass on the award to 3 other blogs - I often surf around and visit dozens of blogs weekly - not just on my visiting list but through other blogs - I always am admire others stitching and finishing and there are so many people with tons of talent out there. See, another tangent - let me get back on track - There are so many but I need to narrow it down to 3 - so here goes - First up I will pass it on to Donna over at DaisyGirlStitching. She is so sweet and you have to hand it to her - she not only works in a school cafeteria but also is a School band super mom!!! Next up would have to be Coni over at Spinster Stitcher - such wonderful posts - and beautiful stitching AND a super cute Stewey-licious to boot!!! And my last but certainly not least recipient would be Margaret over at - what else - "Margaret's Blog." Her stitching is impeccable and her blog a joy to read!!! There you go - do stop by these three ladies and say Hi!! Now pass the love!!!!!!!

I finished up another exchange last night - so no pics until it arrives.

The films last night were - "The Guns of Navarone" - 1961 - A great film I have seen and talked about before. This was followed by "The Great Waltz" 1938 - The highly fictionalized life of Johann Strauss - I love this movie and the gorgeous music. I was really surprised to see it available on Netflix in DVD form - since I was sure it hadn't been released yet. When it arrived yesterday I found that it was a Chinese DVD - which believe me I have absolutely no problem with - I figure if the Hollywood Mega Machine will not release the films I want - I will get them elsewhere - and have done so on numerous occasions - The one that springs to mind is my first "All About Eve" DVD - I had it on a Chinese DVD years before it was released in a Region 1 Format. Now the problem I did have with the DVD of TGW was that I couldn't take of the subtitles - there was no button to push so the entire movie was badly translated in spots and sometimes funny!!

I am feeling a Give-away a-coming - so stay tuned next week
- Same Bat Time...Same Bat Channel!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Take care,
edgar

A RAK and a couple of films.

Yesterday's mail brought a wonderful RAK from Aubree.


That was so sweet of her - she included a kit to make a fob and a great chart from The Sampler Girl. Thank you so much!!!

Last night I was stitching away on another exchange piece - that I hope to get out on Tuesday. Toady I am mailing out the Mailart Exchange - I am sending it out a few days early as it has long way to go - I am concerned as I have never sent a piece without being in some sort of box or wrapped up. I am sure it will be fine and I have snaps - fingers crossed!!

Yesterday I asked about a translation for Le Jardin, Anna came up with almost exactly what I thought it was - my French is not as good as it used to be since I hardly ever use it anymore and I didn't think I had it just right - Thank you so much Anna!!!

The flickers last night were "Tunes of Glory" - 1960 a real tour de force ensemble piece headed up by Alec Guinness and John Mills. This was followed by "National Velvet" 1944 - One of the best Horsey Films out there!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!
Take care,
edgar

A mid-week posting

Not too much going on - I did want to thank everyone on the nice things you had to say about my almost finish - Le Jardin - ... .and here is a question for those with a better grasp of French than me - the line on the sampler - how would you translate that?? "Chaque arbre a sa facon d'accuellir le Printemps." I think I know but thought I should ask in case my translation is way off!!

Last night the film was "Little Lord Fauntleroy" - 1995 a TV Mini series that was pretty good. I had wanted to see this version as I have seen the 1936 version a couple of times and had enjoyed it. Both versions are total family films and even when telling the same story it is interesting to see different interpretations. Monday evening the film was "The Solid Gold Cadillac" - 1956 - very entertaining Judy Holliday film and worth seeing her in action!!

I finished up my "MailArt" exchange and it is going into the mail tomorrow - and I will be on pins and needles until it arrives!!!

There you go - short and sweet!! Thanks for stopping by!
Take care,
edgar

Some Stitching and some mail

I think this week is gonna be a non-snappy of my stitching as everything lined up is for exchanges. Last night I was working on my mail-art piece. I am really thinking this is going to come together really nice - but I have been known to be wrong before!! I adjusted a chart and changed up some of the floss' and tonight will be the real test to see if I can make the whole thing come together!! Then the next two pieces are also exchanges..... deadlines and commitments - my keys words for the week!!

I did have some super de duper mail yesterday - If you cast your memory back and to another blog - dear Vonna - stitched up a gorgeous sampler a week or so back.... "Lo, how a Rose Sampler." I was immediately drawn to this piece as it is one of my favorite Christmas carols - "Es ist ein Ros enstprungen" - It is so beautiful and such a meaningful Christmas piece. I found a copy of the book on Amazon an slappidy damn it arrived ....

That's about it for today kiddos - I really like some of the new things from Nashville Market!!!! There a quite a few pieces I will have (did I say have) to get. One piece is called "Quaker Seasons of Friendship" - that sucker is huge!!! Around 440 x 250 - and just spectacular!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Take care,
edgar

Estate Sales - Stitching and Movies

As the title says - it was a weekend of once again running around on Saturday with Dale to various Estate Sales - and you know what - I really don't think that many of those that are running them out there seem to define Estate Sale quite the same way that I do!! We ran up against many sales that were really either glorified garage sales or fancy moving sales!!
I did find a few things... one is this lovely piece -


I thought she was just lovely. Not that I am all that religious or anything - but she just seems so serene - after a few mins on the Internet I find that she was made in the mid 1950's by the Hummel company in Germany. Now, Hummels as collectibles are not my thing - but this "Holy Virgin" without halo as she is listed doesn't really say Hummel to me. She now sits with my growing collection of religious icons and statues. In another true estate sale Dale found a crafters closet that was just stuffed to the gills with knitting, tatting, crocheting AND some cross stitching stuff - the majority of things were boxes and I mean boxes of hundreds of balls of pearle cotton in every shade and hue you can imagine. I asked the woman who was running the sale about how it was being sold and she told me to just go and get together what I might want. So that's what I did - I filled up a bag of hundreds of cards of labeled DMC floss. I also grabbed the silver and gold floss. The box/bag I was putting the stuff in once I got it home actually had some old patterns in the bottom that I didn't even know where there - and here is a snap of the gigantic basket I dumped everything into -


I stitched on an exchange - that I can't show yet - I also stitched some on Le Jardin - and here is the progress on that piece -

As you can see I am coming up on the finish to this piece - only a couple of evenings left. Shay asked about the floss' I was using - This is charted for DMC Floss' - I switched it all to GAST Over Dyed - I think they are more interesting. The colours I chose were kind of close to the DMC colours - the way I did it was to lay out the DMC and then choose the GAST. So the piece sort of looks like it might if using DMC - but then again it is my spin on the charting as I am using two purples instead of one. I am also shifting some of the colours when I don't like they way something looks when I am stitching - just doing what I like!! I worked on this piece almost exclusively yesterday since the flicks were so good on TCM!! Starting off the day with "Gigi" - 1958, then "The Quiet Man" - 1952, then "Roman Holiday" - 1953, then "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - 1945 and finally wrapping up the evening with "Moonstruck" - 1987 - what a great line up of super films!!!!! I didn't sit still all day - I also vacuumed the downstairs, cleaned the kitchen and made dinner - I am pretty sedentary but I gotta move sometime!!! :)

Ruth Rachel mentioned in the comments that she had been to the small town that "Giant" was made in - how great would that be!!! I have read that the movie just took over the entire place - I am so jealous!! and Deborah mentioned "Jezebel" a Bette Davis flick from 1938 - I have seen this film many times as I am also a Bette fan!!! Bette wanted to play Scarlet in a big way but Warner brothers wouldn't let her go for the part and she wouldn't have been right for GWTW. Instead she gave this Oscar winning performance. This was as close as she got to Southern Belle until 1964 when she played in "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte." Chop...Chop!!!!


There you go - Thanks for stopping by and letting me bend your ear!!

Take care,
edgar

Stitching and the flickers

I worked mostly on the exchange. It seems to me sometimes that I will get over ambitious with what I am stitching - with this exchange I am having to shift things around and do some frogging when it does not fit just right - Oh well it is really turning out well I think!! I also worked on Le Jardin a bit - Here is another shrub and a bird....

Not very much at all but every little nit moves the piece forward!

Last night the movie was "Look Back in Anger" - 1958 starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom - What an unusual film - filled with self loathing and huge amounts of anger. Burton's character, Jimmy Porter, spews forth so much heated hate filled vitriol it is amazing that the TV didn't catch fire!! Interesting and rough movie to watch.

At work we are all old film fanatics and we where talking yesterday about "What 10 Movies" could you not live without - if you where going on a trip and could only take 10 - what would they be..... to begin with I couldn't even narrow it down to 10 - so my list is ....

Edgar's 15 Movies to watch again and again!!
In no particular order......

1. - Summertime - 1955 - It is because of this wonderful movie that the first place I went in Europe was Italy and especially Venice!!
2. - The Emperor's New Grove - 2000 - I love Disney Movies and am the first in line when a new release comes out (Pinocchio is coming out really soon!) This one has it all!!
3. Marie Antoinette - 1938 - Gorgeous if unrealistic version of the Queen's life with Norma Shearer in top form - I also love the 2006 version with Kirsten Dunst.
4. Giant - 1956 - There are so many great Elizabeth Taylor films I love but I picked this one.
5.Now Voyager - 1942 - There are lots of super Bette Davis films I really love and her career was so long - she is in top form in this one.
6.Trip to Bountiful - 1985 - A lovely small film at the end of Geraldine Page's glorious career.
7.Mildred Pierce - 1945 - There are lots of great Joan Crawford films but this sums up her great career.
8. Stalag 17 - 1953 - I love WWII films and this is both a great William Holden performance set in WWII.
9. Meet Me in St Louis - 1944 - A great nostalgia film and a super Judy performance
10. Goodbye Mr Chips - 1939 - A super movie - and I needed to include a Greer Garson title- this being her first Hollywood film and a super performance.
11. White Christmas - 1954 - One of two Christmas films I can watch over and over
12. Scrooge - 1970 - The second Christmas film I could watch over and over - Not the best interpretation of the Dickens classic, but it is a great musical.
13.Dames - 1934 - One of the many super Busby Berkley confections I love.
14.Witness for the Prosecution - 1957 - A great suspense mystery film.
15.The Women - 1939 - A stupendous ensemble film from that golden year of 1939.

There you go - my top 15 - Everyone has favorite films - what would yours be??? Think about it as it is very hard to narrow down a list!

Thanks for stopping by - It's raining as I type and is supposed to all day by dry out for the weekend!!!

Take care,
edgar

Exchange and a Swap arrive & Musical Movies

I heard from Karen that the Winter House exchange I sent has arrived - and that everything made it. Here is a snap of the package that I sent -

The Pyn Keepe I made combines two patterns - an LHN border and the center part from PS. I really liked the way it turned out and so did Karen - I was getting worried as it took this about 3 weeks to arrive - and me being such a worry wart I started to get nervous at about a week - but it got there safe and sound!! It was the last Exchange from the SBEBB and what a super place that was to make great stitchy friends and exchange some really wonderful stitched things!! Thank you again Becky!!!! Last night I worked on an exchange - stitching is done and now all I have to do is the construction of the piece and getting it out next Tuesday.

I also received and package from a swap I did on Swap Bot - called "Home Grown Swap" basically it was to send something from your home town that is made in that town. My package was some really wonderful chocolates from Joseph Schmidt made right here in SF. The package I got was from Philadelphia - and included some apple butter - (which I just adore!!!!!!) an free trade espresso bar of chocolate and some "Peanut Chews" I had never heard of.


Let me say here and now - these are the bomb!!!! If you like peanuts and chocolate and chewy - you will just love these things. My partner says that they are unknown outside of SE PA. So it would be a regional delicacy - just super good!!!!

Last night it was Bio-pic night on TCM and they showed some whoppers!! Starting off the evening with "Night and Day" - 1946 - starring Cary Grant and Alexis Smith. This is the very fictionalized story of Cole Porters life - but like with most of these bio-pic movies the are pretty far fetched stories but the music is just great!! This was followed by "Rhapsody in Blue" - 1945 starring Robert Alda, Joan Leslie and once again Alexis Smith. This flick at least had some kernels of truth but was once again a fictionalized story this time about Grorge Gershwin. The next on the bill was "Three Little Words" -1950 - starring Fred Astaire, Red Skelton, Vera Ellen and Arlene Dahl at her stunning best!!! This flick was about the songwriting partnership of Kalmar and Ruby - wonderful songs and all three pictures were fun and very watchable!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Take care,
edgar

A Quiet evening -

Rico made tostadas last night so I was free from kitchen duty!! Woo-Hoo!!! They were really very good.... but what's up with avocados costing $1.50 a piece!! I went to have my "4 hairs" cut an stopped into Safeway on the way home - to get 2 avocados and some Rosarita refried beans (the Best) and was just blown away at how much the cost had jumped in a week. Usually we go into the Mission to a Fruit and Veg stand and avocados usually run about .50 -.75 a piece- I guess it is all the overhead and elegant surroundings at Safeway that I am paying for??? :)

I only worked on an upcoming exchange - the HOE Mailart. It is coming along very quickly
- but now I need to focus and get 'er done!!

The BBP Companion - is really a nice chart and I got it around the same time I won the BP chart off of eBay. The fabric is a piece that I got from another eBay auction - all I know is that it is splotchy and 32 ct. The silk I am using is Belle Soie - Moss - and you really can't tell from my less that adequate snaps but it is a really lovely grey/green colour and a dream to work with!!

Recently I treated myself to the Alice Faye Box set II - and it arrived yesterday
- so of course I needed to watch one of the movies.


I really loved the 1st Box set and with only seeing one of the films this will be a winner also. I started off with the oddest flick in the pack - "Four Jills in a Jeep" - 1944 - it stars Kay Francis, Martha Raye, Carol Landis and Mitzi Mayfair. Alice Faye is on screen as a guest spot for about 3 mins - go figure - they are probably milking the franchise for everything they can get - but who cares this is a charming movie and the restoration is top notch!!! It is the fictionalized story of the USO experience of the 4 stars. There are a few guest stars - including Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Jimmy Dorsey and band . The special features include some cute musical numbers that were cut from the film and some blooper moments. Absolutely worth seeing!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Take care,
edgar

Back from the beyond -

Yesterday surfing around the Blogs I once again bumped into Hazel's - Beatrix Potter SAL - I finished that piece last year and remember it as a wonderful piece to stitch. I had started the BP Companion piece a super long time ago and put it away.... and as with so many things it had gotten shuffled to the bottom of the pile as other things come and go, exchanges , new starts, new stash, you know - just stitching stuff. Well I thought why was it just sitting there!!! I should haul that sucker out and get her finished up AND framed and hung up next to BP. So out of the depths of my stitchy basket I pulled the lost orphan BPC. It was a ton of fun to work on and here is the progress as it stands -

I also worked some on an exchange but the majority of the evening was working on this piece. I would love to get this done and get Sarah Moon started. I think my stitchy sampler wall will be heavily Quaker. :) - I have so many Quaker things I want to stitch I could just stitch on them and nothing else and never run out of stuff to stitch - Have I reached SABLE in the Quaker Dept??? I think so!

I wanted to yak about some of the flickers from the past few days - "Artists and Models" - 1937 - starring Jack Benny, Ida Lupino, Gail Patrick and Judy Canova. A really fun flick and worth seeing Jack Benny in full fig - so to speak! The next would be "Take a Letter Darling" - 1942 - starring Rosalind Russell and Fred MacMurray. Rosalind plays a high power Ad executive and Fred the new secretary - very funny! Another funny film would be something I saw last night "Brewster's Millions" - 1945 - starring Dennis O'Keefe, Helen Walker and Gail Patrick - the original movie about inheritance and having to spend a million to get 7 million. Very fun movie with some great scenes! I am still plugging away at "Centennial" - 1978 - last night I got through the big cattle drive from Texas to Colorado. This is still a great piece of TV and worth seeing the 25+ hours of the settling of the west.

Thanks for stopping by!

Take care,
edgar

A fun weekend doing what I wanted to!!

And that's the truth!!!! Most weekends I have to give up and bend to others wills and wants but this weekend I did just what wanted to!!! To the irritation of some I am sure but you know what - they can just bite me!!! (my, my that was kinda harsh!!)

Saturday was a fun day of garage sale/thrift shop/ and Goodwill - carousing - we ran around to a bunch of garage sales, and even 2 Estate Sales and found absolutely nothing really worth getting - I think sometimes that garage sale-ing is very seasonal. It was at a thrift shop where I hit pay dirt - Here is a snap -

So I found some kitchen stuff. I needed a sifter as the one I had broke about 10 years ago and I never got another one. The sifter - $1.50, the strainer - $ .37, the wooden spoon - $.29 - so for a grand total of $2.16 I did pretty well - my question is...who on earth marks things 37 and 29 cents?? The majolica pitcher came from a store called Community Thrift - and was $10. I really love majolica and have a few pieces but it is usually so expensive I can't afford it. When I got to the counter with this cream pitcher - the woman there asked was it very old - I said about 120 years - I think she was stunned. This is about $40 or so off the true price so I got a deal!! It was a really fun day - even going out to lunch at "Good Frickin Chiken" in the Mission - really tasty Mediterranean Food - silly name fabulous food!!

I had a hankering for a favorite snack - so I made my version of Nuts and Bolts (chex mix) - I just love this stuff....


Every now and then I just get a craving and have to have some!!

On the stitching front - I worked some exchange pieces - so no snap. I can show a couple of other things I worked on..... Part Three of the ABC SAL posted on Friday - Here is the progress -


Part three was the GHIJ, reindeer box and the leaf band under. This is a really fun stitch and I can't wait for part 4 to post!!

I also worked on Le Jardin - and here is a progress on that piece -

This is working up really nice and I will be sad to see the end of it.

There you go - some high points from my weekend!!! We'll talk flickers tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by!!

Take care,
edgar