Life With Jules, and other stuff

The '68 Charger takes the lead! The original picture I am so very happy to say that this piece is finally done!!! I put the final stitches in it this evening. Here are some pics: Completed product - "Auto Focus" setting "Pinhole" Setting - this is showing the colors closer to what they really are. "Pop Art"  setting - just wanted to give you a vivid look! Notice the front end of the car. I personalized the license plate with my Uncle's name. Now, it's got to be sent to my mother so she can get it framed and deliver it to her brother on time for his birthday. I really hope he likes it! Now, I think I will either work on the Christmas Design SAL a bit, or prepare the fabric and begin the Ink Circles Cirque des Carreaux . Hmmmmm.......

I was so excited to learn that I won the Gone With the Wind giveaway over at Feathers in the Nest. I received my winnings yesterday and am so looking forward to stitching the design. Here are a couple of pictures of my prize (note: the movie was already mine. I just added it to round out the picture.): I tried on the earrings and love them! They are not too heavy. The real test will come when I wear them for more than a few minutes (my ears are very sensitive, but I believe all will be fine since they are sterling silver). Here is a picture of me donning the new earrings: I also took a couple of pictures of my “Celtic” earring collection. I have a pair of shamrocks (that are a bit tarnished), a pair of gold claddagh’s that irritate my ears, and of course the lovely pair from Jennifer. Here is one of those pictures: I can’t resist sharing a picture of my Sandy “modeling” the GWTW design: ...

I haven't any pictures to share at this time. I am busily working on my PIF piece and the 4 winners' pieces, so I am unable to post pictures until those are received. I am also in the last two weeks of the semester at university, (not to mention I received my hours for next week at the flower shop and can I say "24/7" - LOL) so that doesn't leave much time for anything substantial. I will resume Charger , Christmas Design SAL, HalloSAL, and Pumpkin Conspiracy after the holiday. For now, I will leave you with a few of my favorite things: Frog glass piece with candle behind it WWII era iconic image - statue located in Sarasota, FL One of the space shuttle launches as seen from my home in Zephyrhills, FL Sandy

I sit here an type this blog entry giving you updates on some of my projects. Well, an update and a new start! Can you believe it's the end of January already? It will be St. Valentine's Day in two weeks and I haven't even begun anything for that holiday yet. I did begin stitching The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy by Vicki Hastings of the Cricket Collection. Here is a picture of what I did last night: I also did some more stitching on '68 Charger . I have all of the car stitched (with the exception of the backstitching) and some of the tree trunk. Here is a picture: Today, I am going through some of my designs to see if I have anything small and quick so that I may get my four prize winners' packages completed. No, I haven't done the drawing yet. There is still 33 hours left before the giveaway actually closes. Since I won't be drawing until Monday morning, I will let it go until 8am Monday, Feb 1st.

Well, I pulled '68 Charger back out the other night and sat for what seemed like hours counting all, yes ALL, of the stitches I had done trying to find where I went wrong. Her e is a picture of what it looked like when I last stitched on it before putting it "up on blocks": It turns out that I was just one measly little stitch off and that created havoc on the rest of the stitching I had completed. So I frogged about 3 rows and then went back to work on it. Here is where I am now: A very subtle difference, but I have the entire bottom half of the car and the ground beneath it stitched (except for the backstitches). I should be able to have this one completed, shipped, and framed in time for my Uncle's birthday in April. I'll have my mom take it to get it framed somewhere local to them so I only have to send the design. All in all, I am really happy with the way the Charger is looking and may have to stitch one for myself at a l ater date. I have also been worki...

Well, I was working on the Charger over the weekend and noticed that I am off-count somewhere. It sucks! I have recounted every stitch and have come to the conclusion that the pattern itself may be off. So, how do I fix it? Until I figure it out, the Charger is stalled at the halfway point! UGH!!! I guess I will pick up a different pattern and start something new until I have time to figure out what is going on!

I will try to keep up with my cross-stitching over the next several months, but I am now in my fourth semester of graduate school. At the moment, I am focused on my classes, but will hopefully have time in another month to at least finish the Charger. Then I will be taking a break until August. In the meantime, check out some of the links I have posted and my other posts!

I am about halfway done with the '68 Charger and I have to admit that it is coming along nicely. The only issue I am having is with the Kreinik Metallic floss. I have never really enjoyed working with metallics, but it is something I will have to deal with, I guess. Fortunately, there is not a lot of metallic floss used within the pattern. Here are a couple of pictures of what is completed so far (actually, I have a bit more done than in the pics, but these are the most recent): When all is said and done, there will be a tree shading above the car. There is also a license plate on the front of the car, so I may personalize it with my uncle's name.

Here is what I have done so far: It's on 28-ct. evenweave. I have found the larger count fabric challenging. I am used to working with up to 18-ct Aida fabrics, so this is a neat change.

Well, it has taken a few years, but I have finally finished "Nautical Sampler". Whew! There is a lot of detail in this crossstitch and the back stitching alone took about 20 hours. Here is the finished product: ****************** Now on to a new project. I am still in the mode of making gifts for Christmas this year (even if it is only March). The next one I am stitching is a '68 Charger that I am making for an uncle. I purchased the pattern from http://www.patternsonline.com/ . They have a bunch of interesting patterns to choose from. Here is a picture of the pattern: