Life With Jules, and other stuff

First the new book! I received the latest Cross-Stitch Christmas book in the mail today!! I have only browsed through it briefly and there does not seem to be many that peeked my interest to stitch, unlike the past couple of years’ books. I thought I would share a pic of the cover with you. The design on the cover is one that I will probably stitch in the future. There are a few designs for cards that I will also stitch, quite possibly for this year since there is still plenty of time. Speaking of time, we are halfway through the Crazy Challenge that began on January 1st! I joined this endeavor as an opportunity to clear out some older kits that I had lying around collecting dust. I have made a tiny dent in them and am nearing a finish on a couple pieces. Hopefully I will be able to get more work into them during the summer. Anyway, here’s the latest progress on Week-end a Paris : I have nearly completed l’Arc de Triomphe. As you can see, there is a LOT of gold colored flos...

Over the past couple of days, I have received two packages from giveaways I won recently! I am here to share them with you now. The first is from Kathy ’s giveaway. She gave away several charts recently that were of cats and dogs (and there may have been other animals). I won one of the dog booklets. Here is a picture of it: I am planning on stitching one or two of them for my sister, but I will be changing some of the floss colors to better represent her dogs. She has 9 dogs…ALL INDOORS!!! Ugh! LOL…They are a rowdy bunch, but as sweet as can be around the little ones (sis has 2 toddler grandkids and one a little older nearby and another toddler grandkid in TN – not to mention the 2 on the way). The second is from Terri ’s giveaway. There were a bunch of stitching goodies in the package so I took a few pictures of that: Yea, that’s my Sandy sticking her nose into it like the curious kitty she is. I asked her if she knew what curiosity did to the cat?! She didn’t seem to...

I have added a couple of "Lists" gadgets to showcase the books and magazines I have purchased or subscribe to. Many of the books on my list I have purchased from www.crafterschoice.com . While they don't have many books on cross-stitching, I have found that Crafter's Choice is a great way to purchase books on just about any hobby - including cooking, sewing, paper crafts, etc. One caution on Crafter's Choice is that it is a book club, so it's easy to spend, spend, spend! Lol... Anyway, check out my new Lists!

I am finally finished with this pattern! I substituted beads for the french knots. I think this gave it a little extra something...

Well, I have been a bit silent for a few weeks now. I am working on a cross-stitch (and almost finished) put out be Dimensions under their Creative Accents group..."Frederick". Below is a clipart of the design... I love cats and it seems that most of my cross-stitching revolves around them. "Frederick" is a cute pattern of a tabby sleeping amongst the books in a bookshelf. I couldn't resist purchasing this kit and working on it. It does have some metallic floss, which I have found difficult to work with due to its inflexible nature. It also has french knots, which I loathe. In place of the knots, I have decided to use Mill Hill Seed Beads. This is working out rather well and looks particularly sharp. When I am finished, I will post a photo of the completed work. Other little projects I am working on are bookmarks for my niece for Christmas. She actually suggested that I use my down time (that is, the time until I find a job) to create things for presents. What s...