Serenity Update.......and some silk

Well, here we are Thursday and all I've been working on when I stitch at all is "Serenity." I am really feeling it for the finish now!!! You know how you get when you've worked on something for a few months and the light at the end of the tunnel is a winkin' and a blinkin'....just a few more stitches...in, out, in, out...almost there.
Now with a little dramatic lighting and a maniacal laugh, I could be Vincent Price, bwahahahaha......... :)

Here is a snap of the work as it stood last night.


I am sorry about how dark it turned out. I'll try and get a better snap in the full light of day.

I also got another installment of silk from Needlecraft in Baltimore. Isn't Drema just the greatest!!! I took a snap of the skeins on the actual linen that Village of HRH will be stitched on. I have laundered the linen and gotten quite a bit of the starch out so it is quite a bit softer and will feel much nicer when I start on the first.



It is really amazing how the picture makes the linen seem almost dark grey...it is really not THAT grey or dark, oh well what can one do.

I have also come to the conclusion that a daily stitch rotation is what I need. I have seen so many stitchers out there using them when they stitch and those stitchers all seem so organized!!! I sit down and go "Oh look 'Serenity' is on top and NEEDS my attention" and so other things just fall to the bottom. On September 1st I will figure out my rotation and on Tuesday I will drop a sidebar with the list. This will solve all my organizational problems!! :) Also I will have no excuse...or I should say I will have fewer excuses not to work a little on everything each week.
My goal for VoHRH is to do one square a month and then next September 1st 2008,
I will be able to start HoHRH.

I can't believe I just wrote September 2008 and set a goal for that far distant date....but if it is writing then I will have to stick to it!!!!! or maybe not. :) We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Take care,
edgar

More Serenity stitching and some kitting up

Over the weekend I finished up the leaves on Serenity, woohoo!!! Here is a picture of the progress.


If you have been following my on going blathering in this blog :) you know I got "Forgiveness" the newest release from Exemplar Dames. It is in the same style and scale as "Serenity" if not just a tad bigger. I want to do them as a pair and had thought of regraphting the
colours to be more in line with "Serenity."
If you remember "Forgiveness" has an overall beige orange/yellow colouring.

This weekend I visited my LNS and was there a good 3-4 hours choosing linens and kitting out projects for the fall. But, for "Forgiveness" I pulled the DMC and NPI conversion just to see what the colours would be. The model was stitched in HDF from Vicki Clayton. Although the model is lovely I knew I did not want to work this project in silk and my LNS does not carry HDF, so to see what the colours would sort of be like I needed to see the DMC and NPI colour conversions. I know that sounds crazy but that's how in my feeble mind works and I needed to see it before I committed to the colours.

The way I chose the colours was to take individual skeins of floss and check against the overdyed floss to see what would be closest to the colour, and there are alot of those to go through. I think I have converted this to overdyed pretty well and that the colours are still in the family tones that the model was stitched but in overdyed floss'. I also found a perfect match to the fabric, it is to be stitched on 28ct Country French Cappuccino, from Weichelt.

Here is a picture of the acquired linen and floss' I have gotten for upcoming projects.



What you are looking at is 5 different projects to be worked up. From left to right is:

"Emblem of Love" - to be stitched on Birds of a Feather 28ct Sandpiper in Glorianna silk "Seaweed." If you cast back your memory I had already chosen "Seaweed" and a linen to do EOL on, but after I started I did not like the combination. The silk was to blue/green and the linen was turning to red/pink. So I pulled that out and was waiting to get back to the store to get a new piece of linen. I still wanted to work this in the Glorianna Silk as they are sooooo nice to work with and I really liked the colour.

The next piece of linen is for Blackbird Designs "Autumn Silhouette." To be stitched on Weeks Dye Works 30ct Tin Roof using Weeks Dye Works floss called Confederate Gray.

The third piece of linen is for Blackbird Designs "Garland Fair." using Weeks Dye Works 30 ct Cappuccino using TGA Sampler Threads Cinnamon.

The fourth piece is for "Forgiveness" 28ct Country French Cappuccino by Weilchelt.

The last piece and most exciting is for "Village of Hawk Run Hollow". This is Weichelt's Lambswool in 32ct. I did not like the yellow cast that some of fabric's had and went with a more grey white. I also chose 32 ct over 36 or 40 because
I know my limitations and patience and those higher counts for this old blind man
I just cant do and still stay clam and have fun doing it!!!
The plan is to start this on the 1st of September and do one square a month. Or I should say sitting here in August the plan is to do one a month!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!!!!


Take care,
edgar

Working on Serenity

Last night I stitched on the leaves crawling up the side of Serenity. I think I will finish up the leaves and then go back and fill in with the Sassy Brass floss. Here are a couple of snaps.
This is an overall picture of the piece.


This is a close up of the corner potion I am working on.



I did all this stitching watching TCM and their salute to Ann Miller during the Summer under the Stars. The flick was Easter Parade, 1948, and although a breakout flick for Ann it is really a Judy Garland and Fred Astaire film.
But Ann's big number "Shaking the blues away" is worth the watching!!!

Well back to work!!!

Thanks for stopping by, love those comments!!!!!


Take care,
edgar

A Fall finish and some puppy pics

Here is a finish for the fall, Autumn Bouquet it stitched up quick and now it is finished. The only thing I am rethinking is my initials/date in the straw coloured floss of the alphabet. I really liked the dark red but jeez I don't want that to be the first thing you look at.
It is only one over one so pulling it out will be no trouble.....

Autumn Bouquet Maria Gossard - Cedar Hill
28ct Graziano Milan
Included DMC Floss


I forgot to post a picture of the roses we got for this weekend. Since we are coming back into to the fall the Leonidas coloured roses are back, they are one of my favorites.
Here is a closeup....



I got some shots of the other puppies last night so here is Mama aka Hunny and sweet Pete.



She was yawning her fool head off, although she does look like this when she sleeps,
with that silly tongue just hanging out.
But just say the word cookie


and boy does she perk right up.....

Then there is the Pete, a busy little boy that just keeps trotting around the house. Although here he is running from the paparazzi chasing him....

That's a crazy Batman angle I must say.


We had a two day heat wave where the temps climbed into the upper 70's.
I actually did not have to wear my sweatshirt in the afternoons!! :)
I think today it will be back to normal as the fog was pouring over Twin Peaks.

Here is one more of the Mama..... you know she is thinking....


"Didn't I hear there was a cookie somewhere."


I know I'm pretty silly about these little dogs!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Take care,
edgar

It was a great Party!!! and a little stitching

WARNING.....this is a very dessert picture heavy blog today.......

Saturday night was a great success!!! Rico had picked up the cake in the morning and here is a picture, as promised.....


The dinner buffet that we served was two kinds of pork loin, peppercorn and BBQ, almond/garlic haricot verts ( because when you do more than steam them a green bean needs a better name :) ) roasted little Yukon gold fingerling potato's and buttermilk biscuits. Kimmie and Kevin also brought over two wonderful pies, one cherry and one chocolate creme.






Sweet Carol and Pat brought over a gorgeous fruit tray but I didn't take a picture. :(

We all sang Happy birthday with the candles and everything......


Then we hacked into that beast and I had forgotten how nice the filling was as it is flavoured with rum.......




I did get a little stitching done last night on AB while watching "Down to Earth" 1947 with Rita Hayworth. A silly movie but worth watching just for Rita. Wasn't she just the most gorgeous thing, and what a talent!!!!

Here is a snap of AB



You can see how the alphabet colour is very subtle. Eileen brought me more #301 DMC - brown-orange so I could finish out the left side leaf. All that's left is the back stitching and the little saying at the bottom. I really like the fall colours that are used
and this stitched up so quick.

I'll leave off today with a picture of the Peach in disguise as
"Togue-Zilla" the lickiest dog on earth!!


Hunny and Pete had gone to bed already but the Peach will wait till all hours until the lights and TV are off and everyone has gone upstairs to bed before she takes off to her bed
or her pillow in the big bed.

Thanks for stopping by, hope all is well and everyone had a great weekend!!!!!

Love those comments!!!!


edgar

Stitching Bloggers Question of the Week

I have read many of these questions on lots of blogs and find the answers fascinating. Since we all Blog or are read by people interested in cross stitching learning bits about each other is wonderful and makes each of us understand just a little more about our compatriots in the cs world. I think that we all share so many things in common and yet are all different in the way we approach this hobby/craft.
To get to the Question:

How did you get started stitching? Was there a person that inspired you?

My start came while I was in college. Although my mother has been in the past an avid stitcher doing cross stitch and needlepoint
she was not the person to get me interested in cs or needlepoint.

I went to East Carolina University for my undergraduate degree, GO PIRATES!!!!!, and my first year there I rented a room from a friend of my mothers. Mrs. Pascal rented all of her upstairs bedrooms out to college students. Being a widow living alone in a really big house I think she enjoyed the noise and activity. Well, it was there that I met LouAnn. Just the sweetest girl and she was a stitching fool. Every afternoon I would get home from class and there she was working away at some project watching As the World Turns, another bad habit I picked up. :)

She eventually showed me how to cs and how different patterns could be interpreted in needlepoint as well as cs. The first needle project I did was a needlepoint pillow that was charted for cs. I had lots of fun making it and it lives at my mothers house. Every time I see I see all the problems that exist in the needlework but also after all these years I still get a rush of satisfaction about the finish. I went on to other projects always working on Aida cloth. Then for about a 10 year period I didn't touch any needle project at all. I don't know why, no inspiration, burned out who knows......

Then last year I felt the need to finish those stockings I had been working on for so long they were truly a UFO!!! That led me to looking back at the little bit of stash I had kept from before. The momentum kept building after working up a project on Aida cloth. Then I found a linen project I wanted to try. Up until that time linen intimidated me something awful. I finished that, the fruit basket with bird in my kitchen.
That all led to today where I am once again stitching almost everyday and really enjoying it!!!!

Hope that answers the mystery that is my stitching past.

Take care,
edgar

More silk for VOHRH and some stitching

I worked on Autumn Bouquet a little last night. I was paying more attention to "The Painted Veil." A movie that was even too boring for me to watch. I couldn't really get into it so I didn't even finish.

Here is the progress for AB.


If you look in the upper left you can see the start of the alphabet the surrounds the entire thing. These letters are stitching up rather light, but I guess in the end will be just fine. The piece really looks kinda funny with the floating little flower heads but it will all tie together after the backstitching is done. I didn't stitch to long last night as we are having a load of people over for a birthday jamboree on Saturday. I was really busy as I had to polish up the silver and iron out the linen napkins. I will pick up the linen tablecloth at the dry cleaners today. I just don't have the patience or stamina to iron out a giant linen tablecloth. I have tried and it just isn't worth the effort as I can never get it as crisp as the professionals do using a hand iron.

We also ordered a St Honore cake from Dianda's bakery in the Mission and will pick that up Saturday morning. If you have never had one of these wonderful things they are basically just cream filled puffs of pastry that is slathered in more cream, who could ask for anything more. Or for the official definition that I lifted : A traditional French cake named for Saint Honore the patron saint of pastry bakers. It consists of a base of pâté brisée topped with a ring of cream puffs that are dipped in a caramel coating prior to being positioned on the base. This caramel coating "glues" the puffs together. The center of the ring is then filled with Saint-Honoré cream--crème pâtissière lightened with beaten egg whites or whipped cream.
It is one of our favorite cakes!!! mm mm good :)

I also had a visit from the silk fairy. More fabu silk for the VOHRH. Boy am I itching to start this piece. Here is a snap of what Drema from Needlecarft Corner sent me.



She is so nice and the speedy delivery is a real plus!!!!! If you have noticed I am over ordering these skeins. Not only because I am a nervous sticther and really worry about running out of silk, but they are on sale and you can't beat the price. Worrying about running out of silk is just one of my many mental disorders I guess!!!! I am almost there with all the colours and only need to get the linen. The acquisition of linen is really hard as I have to feel/touch it and really look at it before I can buy it. I find it hard to buy on linen on line if I have a project in my mind and an idea as to what I want to do it on. As we all know the difference in dye lots can really be dramatic...so I will go in person to my LHN and pick it for myself. It also rationalizes the trip over..... and there may other things I have to get, you never know.

Have a great weekend!!!!! I love those comments, THANKS!!!!


Take care,
edgar

A little Stash and a couple of movies

I had a visit form the USPS and was delivered a few eBay wins. I really like eBay as it lets you have a chance a getting those OOP charts. There are so many things that are still being done and have just gone OOP and are really hard to find. Sometimes as many of you know the bidding can get ridiculous. Yes, I have gone crazy for something that I really wanted, in fact quite psycho could aptly describe a few of the purchases I have made. These few thing happen to not fall into that category but are things I have seen off and on and have finally won.


I got the Sarah Tatum Quaker chart, Quaker Black Swan sampler from Exemplar Dames, Autumn Bouquet from Blackbird Designs and the Ann B Tarbox sampler from Hillside Samplings.

I worked on Autumn Bouquet last night and forgot to take a picture of it.

Yesterday was TCM's salute to Joan Bennett and last night they payed to really great movies. The first was "Father of the Bride" followed by "Fathers little Dividend." What wonderful movies!! Elizabeth Taylor was beautiful and top notch as was Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett. I also think that Billie Burke as the MIL was spot on!!!

It was aniher breezy foggy day followed by a foggy cold night. One of the main reasons I stay here in this crazy overpriced city is the weather!!!! As many of you know I grew up in the deep south sweltering and sweating my way through the days and relish this cool/cold weather!!!!!! BRRRRRRRRRR :)

Take care,

edgar

Stitching on Autumn wrapped in fog

I realize that most of the nation is out there sweltering in the heat. I know that my Mom in Florida can't play but 9 holes of golf as it gets way too hot way too fast no matter what early tee time she gets....and her answer to that is......
off to the club house for a tasty screwdriver and a quick dip in the pool. :)

If you notice I have a little weather thingy on this blog that shows the weather around the SF area, but you need to take that with a grain of salt. That is the temperature out at the airport which is in South San Francisco and about 20 to 30 mins outside of the city and it is never really what it might be in the city. For example the thingy may show 70 or 80 degrees but in the fog wrapped city it is probably 60 degrees or less, there can be that much difference.

Well yesterday we went to dinner at Red Lobster in South City for their Shrimp Tuesday, quite tasty. We went with Carol and Pat ( Hi Carol!!) we had a very interesting conversation covering lots of things. When we got back to the city it was freezing and banked in fog. Actually it was in the high 40' or low 50's and we had to close the house back up and flip the heat ON. Yes the heat. It got toasty very fast!!! I got into some comfy sweats and worked on Autumn Bouquet. Here is a snap......


It is really small and is coming along fast. Since this was a kit all the stuff came with it. Now my past experience with pre-kitted things is that you usually get way too much floss to complete the project. If you notice the orange leaf to the left is only half done as I have run out of that orange, which bites!! All I need is just one more strand of the stuff. I even thought it might have fallen under the chair or sofa or gotten lost in my workbasket. I have torn apart the area that I work in and I do not think it has fallen or gotten lost anywhere. I think there just wasn't enough. I have switched over and worked the red and some of the other greens and will just have to get more when I trot over to Needle in a Haystack. I think AB is working up very nice, I wonder though what to do with it when it's finished, any suggestions????

While I stitched I watched "Humoresque" which has Joan Crawford and John Garfield staring in in a slum musician and rich woman kinda thing. The movie is from 1946 and JC was in top form. It seems that this week is the week for people to sacrifice themselves on the alter of love, first there was "A Star is Born" and now "Humoresque." There were two really nice things about the movie one is the music is very good all the way through and
JC can really throw a drink at a wall!!!!


Here are a couple of snaps of the Pete and the Peach.....






Gad Zonks Batman but those angles are ferocious!!!!! :)

Hope all is well in your part of the world, Thanks for stopping by!!!

edgar

Movie weekend and an Autumn start

The weekend was very low key with not too much going on. I received two movies via GreenCine.
Just an aside - It is now taking 5 to 7 days to get a movie turned around where as before it was 3 or 4 - Their new move has really messed up the delivery of movies...... oh well,
The first to arrive came on Friday was "Fast Food Nation." Now, I had heard all the hype etc... surrounding this film but found the movie very long with no point. Or the points could be, illegal aliens looking for a better life are abused and underpaid for doing dangerous work...or another point could be......working in a fast food joint bites......or another was....... the meat industry along with the fast food industry is crooked as the hind leg of a hound dog?!?!?!

Is that supposed to be news???? I think not.



The second movie came on Saturday. It was the 1954 return to the big screen of Judy Garland, "A Star is Born." This was the remake of the 1937 Janet Gaynor flick of the same name. I really enjoyed this picture and had seen it a long time ago. The copy I got was a remastered with additional footage and audio added making it closer to the original vision of the producer/director and not the studio cut up release. It was a very long movie at almost 3 hours, but definitely worth it as Judy is in top form and the vocals are great!!! If you have not seen it then give it a chance.
James Mason as Norman Maine delivers a great performance and Jack Carson in the supporting roll as Matt Libby is also wonderful.
I always like Jack Carson he always gives a very well thought out and strong performance. In today's Hollywood you would be hard pressed to find any talent that could come close to the strong performances of the Hollywood of 40 or 50 years ago. I can think of maybe a half dozen actors that might be able to but not many!!!!

Moving on to my start. I bought a small kit a few months back a felt that since fall is upon us :)
it was time to get it going......


It is called "Autumn Bouquet" and was designed by Cedar Hill out of Dayton, Ohio. I have been saving through the summer to do closer to the fall. It is stitching up really quick.

Thanks for stopping by and if you get the chance leave a comment!!!!

Take care,
edgar

Geof is a HERO!!!!!!!!!

Well, Geof got in and had the cord from his camera and it WORKS!!!!!! Nnow I have a replacement for a while until I get that card reader thing.

As I said in this mornings post I got some fabric for the stockings.
I got a deep red felt for the lining and a really lovely dark green shot silk for the back.

And here is a pic......


True Christmas colours, but a bit brighter in the pic.



I also got a new light......here tis.....


Glamorous ain't it.......


And I worked on Serenity a bit on the border.....


and here is a close up....
turning that corner.....



Hope everybody has a great weekend!!!!!! Thanks for stopping by and
keep those comments coming!!!

Take care,
edgar

Trauma Thursday spilled over into Friday

At little background and whats going on with my camera..........

I usually post and blog at work. So, that is where I kept my USB cord that connects my camera to the computer. Well yesterday I came in ready to post some pics and low and behold my cord was "missing." Now, not only was I frantic and very mad about the missing cord, but there are only 12 of us here and the cord is under my desk out of sight or so I thought.

After my interrogation and emails to everybody, I still have no cord.

Here it is Friday and I STILL have no cord. I half thought somebody was doing the Gaslight on me!!!!

I stopped by Wolf camera on my way home yesterday to see if I could replace the thing and found out it would be a 6 to 8 week order, but the sales guy suggested I get a card reader thing and not worry getting another cord. It was only $19.00, so I said sure why not, I gotta have something.
Of course they were out of them, but they would be getting some in today. Yea, sure!!! That ain't helping me now with some pictures. It really sucks!!!! Geof thinks he might have a cord that will work as he also has a Cannon Powershot and might bring it in when he comes in, so there is hope for some pictures later.

I got some fabric at Discount fabrics, thanks Kathryn, you where right they have a tons of stuff. I will try and get to Britex on Monday for the cording. I also got new light to stitch by, instead of the mind numbing, vitamin draining light I had been using. Imagine if you will the bright light used in film noir with the "good cop bad cop" scenario, and you have the light I was stitching under. The new light Rico got me has a more diffused brightness and has a built in magnifying glass. Does somebody think I'm gettin' old and blind????

I also worked some on Serenity and am creeping along the bottom border and turning the corner up the side. At some point there will be pics.

For now how about an older picture of a puppy.....


It's the Pete, the middle puppy of the herd.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always thanks for the feedback comments.

Have a great weekend!!!!!

edgar

VOHRH - silk aquisition & Needlepoint Stockings

Only a little stitching on Serenity border last night, I must of fallen asleep three times with needle in hand before I put it down and went to bed. Some nights it just doesn't pay to to try and sit up. I really was trying to see the TCM Jane Russell day movie feature of "Macao." A movie I really wanted to see, but alas it was not to be. Today is Dana Andrews day and one of the better 40's movies is coming on tonight "The Best Years of Our Lives." An MGM movie about returning warriors from WWII and the problems they face adjusting back into society. If you have not seen it then you should give it a chance. It did win the Best Picture of 1946, and you know that the Academy never makes a mistake with their awards?!?! :)

Back to the VOHRH, I have begun to collect the silks needed for this really BAP as to get them all at once would really dent the budget. My first installment from Drema at Needlecraft Corner ( isn't she just the bestest!!!!! really nice and the quickest service and attention!!!!!) came the other day and here is a glamorous picture of the silk skeins......


I am sending off the next order for silk in a day or so.

I do not remember if I have ever said but I also enjoy working needlepoint projects. The last things I finished were a couple of stockings for my niece and nephew. I began working on them a few years ago and they became WIP/UFO and I finally finished the needlepoint part of them a couple of months back. Well here it is August and Christmas is fast approaching and I really need to get the backing and cording so today I will make a trek to Britex downtown after work to get the needed materials. I will need to get red felt for the lining and some really nice silky brocade for the backing along with some sort of shiny christmasy cording to go around. Britex is a four story building packed with tons of fabric and accoutrement of sewing stuff. They have a web site if you are interested in seeing the stuff they carry at Britex.com. Here a a couple of snaps of the needlepoint tops....



I am thinking that I will try and match the pale blue for Katie's and the darker blue for Mathew's for the backing, but if I see something better I might go with something else.

That's it for today, thanks for stopping by and all the nice comments!!!!!! As always leave a comment if you have the time as I always like to know what you are thinking about!!!!

Take care,
edgar

It was RR stitchy weekend......

I was really working hard to meet the goals I have set for myself for my RR piece and am almost there. I will post it tomorrow Donna, and send it Priority so that you should have it by the weekend. Here are some snaps of the progress.

Here is a snap of the left side hearts with the last heart containing the start date. Also showing the lower borders stitched.

Here is a close up of the right side showing the ending date with the lower borders finished.

And here is a close up of one of the squirrels. I pulled it from Lakeside lodge, but I changed the colours a bit. The corner leaf and acorn I also pulled from LL. I did change the stitch count and shifted around a couple of stitches to better fit in the corner.

This morning I got a Bear claw instead of my usual coconut donut and it is really almond-licious!!! Just thought I'd throw that in as I sit here typing away.......

Overall it was a great weekend. We had dinner over at Carol and Pats on Saturday. She made some wonderful enchiladas!!!! We even took the hounds as they are always welcome. Her kitty Festus I think has other ideas as to who is welcome and not!!!! She was terrorized by the Peach. As you remember the ferocious Peach.....here she is.....

she was a little barkidy barking baby girl...... so, more loud than ferocious. Sweet Festus out weighs the Peach by a good 5 or more pounds....that could be actual weight or just fluffy fur. You would think the extra girth would help alleviate any trauma, but Festus was still nervous. I will try and get a snap of Festus next time we go over as he is a really lovely kitty.

Thanks for stopping by, and comments are always welcome......

Take care,

edgar

No Picture Friday

I worked on the HF RR and finished the bottom border. This included the second squirrel, which I had to flip to face the one that was I did the night before. I also finished off the last heart on the left side and filled in the dates. I will finish up as much of the border as possible this weekend and then get it in the mail on Monday to Donna. No pictures today as I forgot my camera at home.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!!!!!!


edgar

On the GreenCine front I got two movies yesterday so I will have something to watch this weekend, woo hoo!!!! A bitchy Joan Crawford flick and a British war movie form the 40's, a full report on Monday.

HF RR and some bitching!!!!!!

I started working the border for the HF RR and think I am really liking the oak leaf and acorn corner motif. I also have added a squirrel. I want to get as much of this done so that I can get this in the UPS system tomorrow so that Donna can get it before the 12th.


Here is a close up of the border. This will run around the entire piece.



Now for a little complaining about movie rentals:

As many people know I am a BIG movie fan. I own 1000's of movies and watch movies all the time, usually instead of commercial TV....... and talk about movies etc..... I am also a member of GreenCine. This is a company that is based here in the Bay area or I should amend that to say they were based here in the Bay area. They have moved the movie rental processing part of the company to the Van Nuys area to "improve" the turnaround on movie rentals. For those of you who do not know where that is it is about 5 or 6 hours south of SF very close to LA and is a minimum of two days via USPS mail each way which would in the best cases be 4 days between rentals.
Over the past three weeks the usual two day turnaround of movie rentals has dropped to 6,7 or 8 days turn around. They finally sent out an email a couple of days ago to explain the changes and how things should get back to normal in a week or so. This explanation was also put on the discussion board of GC by a company person last week that this week things would improve, which they haven't. This was a bone thrown to the throngs of complaints they were getting on their web site. We shall wait and see...... I really think they have screwed up and that it will never be what it once was and people will leave and go back to NetFlix as they are a bit cheaper for the same service. The only reason I had changed was GreenCine was so efficient and was located here in the Bay area. Just my little whining for the day.

Thanks for stopping by, if you get the chance I really like to read the comments!!!!

Take care,
edgar

South Dakota pottery and some stash

I'll start off today with talking about some pottery that I had ordered when we were in SD at the end of June. In Rapid City there is a company called Sioux Pottery. They have been around since the 50's creating wonderful things out of the native red clay of the Badlands and from white clay from Kentucky. All of the things they make are made by Native Sioux artisans and are decorated in traditional motifs. They work mostly in scraffito although there are some things that are specialized with lots of under glaze painted work. In the showroom there are hundreds of things for sale. I found three covered pots and asked if there was a fourth pot that was bigger thinking these would make a great canister set. There was, so I ordered these four covered pots and had them executed in Ogalala Blue decoration ( the ones on display were in a flame red/orange that would not have worked in my kitchen) and they have arrived and are on the counter in my kitchen. Here they are:

I collect yellow ware triple blue banded mixing bowls and the dark blue on the bowls and these pots look really well together.

This past weekend Rico's Mom gave us one of her quilts. Now this is just not a regular quilt but a Sioux Star quilt from South Dakota. It is really beautiful and we were wanting one. We had looked at a few when we were there but they are VERY expensive so we passed on getting one.

I also got in the mail some charts to add to my stash...... they are some that I had won on eBay and one chart I had ordered from an OLNS. The eBay winnings are:

The one I ordered is "Forgiveness" the new chart from Exemplar Dames......I am now wondering if I should just keep it in the browns/oranges and greens that the chart calls for. The picture online made it look different from the model picture. I do know I will do it in overdyed floss like Serenity...... but the question is should just try and keep it in the colour palette that the designer envisioned???? or lean more toward the colours that Serenity is worked in.......... I wonder????

The picture is very poor, I even took it out of the plastic and still couldn't get the flash to be so hot, but you get the idea.

Here is a piece that I made last October and I don't think I ever put it on the blog... so here it is. This was done from a kit, it is a stamped on linen kit.... I used the cotton floss provided. It was the first linen thing that I attempted. Before that I had only worked on Aida cloth and was unsure of working on linen. This is framed very simply in a brown frame and is in my kitchen.

There wasn't much stitching last night. I had Serenity out and a threaded needle and stitched 5 or 6 stitches and promptly fell asleep. I woke up a couple of hours later with needle in hand and two chihuahuas on me....what a pretty picture!!! Pete was on my chest and Hunny wedged down between me and the chair with Serenity laying in my lap. I figured it was time for bed so I packed it all up and it was off for the night,

Thanks for stopping by, and leave a comment if you get the chance.

Take care,
edgar