Life With Jules, and other stuff

I haven't gotten as much stitching accomplished as I had hoped to have done by now - especially with the new semester a week away. I thought I would post a pic of what I have done to this point. I actually have a little more of the purples stitched than what this picture shows as I started working on it again after taking the pic. I am not sure how much I will be able to finish within the next week as I am starting to get back into my study mode. Plus, the new fall season is underway and I tend to get sidetracked during my favorite programs (part of the reason for the title of this post). I am excited for all of the new programs on CBS: NCIS-LA, The Good Wife, Accidentally On Purpose; and all of the old faves: HIMYM, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, Ghost Whisperer, Medium (picked up from NBC), and Numb3rs. Also ABC's new programs on Wednesday night and the old faves listed in this title. I watch entirely tooooooo much of the idiot box!

Well, I decided to go through my stash today (what little there is anyway) and took some pics of my WIPs.

I received my JCS 2009 Ornaments issue today in the mail. I am really impressed with it! I have never even looked at one of these issues in the past. I was amazed not only at the quantity of patterns to stitch, but also at the abundance of recipes for Christmas. Looks like I may have to dust off my baking pans this year!!

Well, I am now focusing on the bottom portion of Astral Lions. I finished the sky this afternoon. I really am liking this one... A thought I was having while working the stars...I think they would look outstanding in metallic floss instead of the regular cotton, but I don't think I am going to change anything at this point.

Well, he has left my hands finally! I completed him around 10:30 pm last night and I am somewhat satisfied with him. I do not really care for all of the lighter colors in his hair, but I am not sure how I could even change that to my liking. At least he looks like Elvis!? Here are a few pics: I think I like the picture that is longer the best. It seems more suitable for framing or whatever. Now, I should probably turn my attention back to Astral Lions. I only have about 2 weeks left before a new semester begins and I have to focus on the books. I want to get as much done on Lions before then. I also have a couple of other small projects I plan to work on as well. Plus, HalloSAL will be starting in about 1 1/2 months (Nov 1st).

I promised an update and here it is. As you can see, I have made more progress on the sky portion of Astral Lions and have finished the large lion head. I am pleased with the progress I have made so far and happy that there have been very few "pull-outs". I have also started another small project from "The Cross Stitcher" magazine issue 205 (Christmas 2008). It's Elvis!!! Yea, I'm an Elvis fan. I get that from my mom, I think. I am also a huge fan of Lisa Marie Presley - she is an incredible singer and musician just like her father. Here is a picture of what I managed to get done last night: The chart is located on page 75 of this magazine. I am stitching it on 28ct Ivory Evenweave. I am still learning my way stitching on Evenweave - this is my 2nd or 3rd piece on this particular kind of fabric. At first I began the project on 14ct Black Aida, but decided that would be too dark and the white areas in the pattern would have to be stitched, so I switched. And

I have recently joined a stitching group called HalloSAL . I am looking forward to participating in this group over the next year. I will be posting an update on Astral Lions very soon. For now, here is a picture of my kitten, Sandy. She loves to play with the floss while I stitch. I have to keep stopping to train her not to play with it, lol. She is a joy to have around and great company! And did I mention she's a Spartan fan! GO Green! GO White!! GO MSU!!!

I finished the second blackwork piece from the recent Just Cross Stitch magazine (Sep/Oct 2009). You'll notice that I used long stitches instead of over 1 square for this one. I think I do like the way it turned out after all. And here are a couple of pictures of the two pieces side-by-side. Now, I think I will purchase a double matted frame to put them in and display them in my home.

I finished one of the Blackwork pieces this evening. It was very interesting to stitch this type of pattern. I am very pleased with the outcome.