Progress on "Gathering Honey" WIP

Here's the progress, as of yesterday, on my "Gathering Honey" WIP. I have stitched more since this photo, but not enough for another update just yet. I'll post another update when I get further along. For reference, here's the model photo.

Recycle & ReUse!

When we were at the City Cafe in Holly Springs, MS, I saw several things that caught my eye. I love things that are made from recycled items. For instance, I like tables that are made from old doors. I like the look of an old window becoming a photo frame and old doors turned into tables.
This is the vanity in the women's restroom...

It's a antique sewing machine base, a scrap piece of marble, and a bowl for the sink! The drawers from the old sewing machine are even used as storage! How cool!! I love this idea. There was also a great vintage screen door hanging on the one of the walls as art, but I didn't get a pic of it.

(This is the same cafe where my son cracked the safe and got his prized buttons.)

The 8 Month Search Has Ended

Drum Roll, please.....We have a new pastor for our church!
He is Dr. Steve Gaines from Gardendale, AL.
You can read more about him here.



Our family is looking forward to having Dr. Gaines as our pastor. At the same time, we are praying for our former pastor, Dr. Rogers, who retired recently and has since started chemo treatments for cancer.

Cracking Safe in City Cafe

Last night, DH, DS/8 and I drove to Holly Springs, MS, for a gig at the City Cafe. We had a great time! Family and friends came to hear the music and eat some yummy catfish! DS/8 spied a safe the was as tall as he was. The owner told him to try to crack the combination. He could keep whatever was in it if he could open it. With his ear planted on the door of the safe, he carefully listened to hear the "clicks" as he turned the knob left and right. After many tries, he whispered in my ear, "I cracked the safe and I got the treasure!" When I turned around to see what the "treasure" was, I saw a small jar of buttons! The funny thing is, most children would be disappointed, but he was excited. He has #1: a mom who sews and (quoting him) #2: he has "ideas flying out of his head" all the time about projects we can make. The buttons will find a home in a pillow or something that will remind him of this adventure for years to come. (I think I'll sew the buttons in a fish design on a pillow, if I can talk him into it).

Sad Day in London, Sad Day for All Who Value Life

"I never knew grief felt so much like fear."

Quote from: A Grief Observed - C. S. Lewis

When I saw on t.v. the bombings in London by terrorists, I began to grieve. What goes so wrong in a person's life that makes them hate so strong? It's just horrible. This is the messed up world my children have to grow up in. My heart and prayers go to the families who lost loved ones & suffered injuries.

"Gathering Honey" Stitching Stones

I'm chugging along on the stone path in the "Gathering Honey" project. Hopefully I won't see any more "frogs". As I've said before, I haven't done any of the backstitching yet. You can see what this design looks like when finished...here.

Fireworks and Announcement of New Pastor

On Sunday evening, my DH, DD/23 & DS/8 went to our July 4th Celebration at our church, Bellevue Bapt. The fireworks were awesome! Sunday morning, the announcement was made that a new pastor for our church has been selected. We don't know who it is yet, but he'll be preaching next Sunday. Our Pastor Emeritus, Dr. Adrian Rogers, has started receiving chemo treatments for colon cancer. God bless him and his family.

I have stitched and I have frogged out the beginning of the pathway on Gathering Honey. Now that I'm back on track with the stone path, I'll post a progress pic soon. It has been a fun project so far. The frogging out slowed me down, but the path is stitching up nicely.

My DS/8 saw the Stoney Creek design, Noah's Sub, and asked if he could stitch it. This is coming from a child that already has 3 works in progress (WIPs)! Of course, I said, "Not just yet". What, on earth, have I started?

Shame On Me

I propped up my "Gathering Honey" project against a lamp on a table (that is in front of a window). On that same table was a green highlighter that I use to mark my chart as I stitch. My peekapoo jumped on the table to bark at something outside, and down came everything off the table, except the lamp. When I found my fabric (still in the Q-snaps), it now has a green spot on the bottom the size of a half dollar! The top had come off the green highlighter when it fell to the floor. I knew better than to leave my stitching there. I knew I was flirting with disaster. Shame on me! That darn dog! He's over 12 years old, so it doesn't do much good to scold him. I couldn't be mad at him, because the blame is really on me.

I immediately tried to get the spot out. It had already dried, but I got most of it out. Now, all that's left is a bright lime spot about the size of a nickel. I just hope it is far enough down that it will be under the matting once it's framed.

Lesson (once again) learned the hard way!

Dr. Brain Visit

Thanks for all your thoughtful comments. You can get an update on my visit to Dr. Brain here...

Progress on Gathering Honey

Here's the first progress pic for Gathering Honey. I haven't backstitched any of it, yet. I usually do that last. It's going a little slow because I'm railroading each stitch. I am still getting used to this way of stitching. I really like how it makes the stitches flat and smooth. This has always been one of my favorite designs, so it's been enjoyable to stitch so far. This is the very first design I've ever stitched for myself since I began cross stitching over 22 years ago. None of my friends or family cross stitch (that I'm aware of), so the only way I see other projects is by cruising blogs or online galleries. It's keeping me motivated to do the one thing that relaxes me. So, thanks to all you gals who spend the time to put your work online.

New Ornament Start

I didn't have a small project to take along for soccer practice, doctor visits, etc., so I picked this one to add to my "Names of Jesus" Tree for Christmas. The design is from Cross Country Stitching Magazine Issue December, 1992.

Here's how it will look finished, but I'll be making it into an ornament instead of framing it.

Jesus - Author of Faith

Here's a freebie I found from Cross Country Stitching.

Gathering Honey Update:
I took a photo of it, but it was blurry. I'll take another one and post it soon. I really need to learn how to transfer photos from the camera to the computer myself. (My DH has been doing it for me so far.)

My Son, The self-proclaimed "King of Rock & Roll"

My DH bought DS/8 an electric guitar and amp. He is so excited. Now he just needs to learn how to play it. He said the guitar was better than cable. I wouldn't go that far, but he's loving it.


"PUT THE LIME IN THE COCONUT AND DRINK IT ALL UP"
My Dr. Brain appointment is tomorrow. It should be very interesting.

Brain Surgeon?

I have an appointment with a neuro-surgeon next Tuesday. No kidding?! He will review my CT scan and MRI scans. I don't know any details of my MRI, except that this appointment was requested as a result of this test. Hopefully, I'll know more on my brain, or lack there of, next week!

DH recorded the Beatles song, "Oh, Darling", in the studio today with Dani and her band. It will be one of the songs on the upcoming "Fried Glass Onions II" CD that is in the process of being recorded. He had a great time in the studio. Tonight, he'll be playing at Rum Boogie with Dani and her band.

In the meantime, today I got in a little stitching time on Gathering Honey. I also started on an ornament. It's a small enough project to take along while I'm watching DS/8 at soccer camp this week. It's an ornament from the magazine, Cross Country Stitching, the December 1992 issue. The ornament is "Jesus-Author of Faith". I'll have to post a pic when I get a few more stitches in.

Searching for my Brain

Last week, I had a CT scan on my head because of some neuro issues (unable to verbalize thoughts, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, etc.). Because a 7mm dense nodule was noticed, I had a MRI today. Since they had not received a copy of my actual CT scan, they couldn't compare the two. So, now I still don't know anything. Following the MRI, the tech told me they didn't see the spot, so I'll go with that, for now. Once I got home, though, I got another migraine headache. It's so frustrating!

Because of the migraines, my stitching is going kind of slow. I did manage, however, to get the bee hive stitched that is the center of the design, Gathering Honey. I love this design!! The verse on the design is one of my favorites. I'll have a progress photo in the next day or so.

Weekend WhirlwindI

DH played music at Friday night's Memphis Redbirds game. There was a large crowd, so it was a lot of fun. Saturday night, DH played music at Isaac Hayes Club again. It was a great show!

Father's Day was nice. We went out to eat and spent time with family. Later, last night, we watched the Eagles Farewell 1 Tour Live From Melbourne DVD that was one of DH's Father's Day gifts. What an awesome concert! I highly recommend it if you are an Eagle's fan.

I had to make a working copy of Gathering Honey today. (I tried earlier, but I didn't notice that while the chart appeared to be black and white, it actually had pesky red symbols and lines, also! Duh! Hopefully, I can actually get some stitching action today...finally!

Gathering Honey Floss Toss

I had never heard of a floss toss until I began reading cross stitching blogs. So this is my first one. I can see where it's crucial when trying to decide on which fabric to use for a particular design. I've never stitched on any hand-dyed fabric, and I've never ventured too far away from the "recommended fabric choice" for the designs I've stitched so far. However, hopefully, in the future, I can acquire some hand-dyes or other interesting fabrics for my stitching. I had no idea there are so many different kinds of fabrics to choose from. For this design, I will be using 25 count cream Dublin linen.

Gathering Honey is a design that I've wanted to stitch for my home since I first saw it on the cover of Cross Stitch & Country Crafts Magazine in the May/June 1987 issue. Every time I would go back through all my cross stitch magazines, I'd pull it aside and think that I'd stitch it "someday". Well, that someday is here. I thought I'd better start it while I can still see well enough (with a magnifying lamp) to stitch it. If any of you have stitched this one, I'd love to know if there are any errors in the pattern before I start. Leave me a comment if you are aware of any errors for me to watch for.

Happy Dancing!!!

Fish Medley Completed

Here it is, unwashed and before it's ironed. Now I need to decide on framing options.

Happy Dance for Fish Medley

Fish Medley is complete!!! However, I noticed a small ink spot, at least I think it is ink, on the fabric. Do any of you know of a way to get this out without harming the stitching or fabric? Let me know if you have suggestions. What a difference it makes when you backstitch a piece! It just brings everything to life.

DS/8 attended Vacation Bible School at our church this past week. He had a blast!

They learned the Lord's Prayer, verse by verse, so now he knows the whole prayer by memory. I am so proud of him. It was quite a sight to see the rooms that were decorated for the children. A lot of work goes into it. I saw a lot of great ideas that could be adapted for a school classroom that has a safari theme. You can see some of the decorations here.

As you may remember, our Pastor, Dr. Rogers, retired recently. Now he has colon cancer. He has already had surgery once, and now, he is being evaluated at a center in Texas. We still don't have a new pastor. I think we all are still grieving over the fact he is no longer "in the pulpit". I had hoped he would have a carefree retirement, but instead, he is battling cancer. He has touched so many lives, and I'm sure through this experience, he'll touch many more.

Cross Stitching Stand Has Extended Life

I called Artisan Design, after no response from my email, regarding a replacement part. It is so much easier to cross stitch large projects with a stand. Without mine, my hands aren't large enough to hold my Q-snaps, comfortably, for very long. When I spoke with the maker of my Gazelle stand, they told me they only had 2 or 3 of this part left! Yikes! It's a good thing I called when I did. They are shipping it out snail mail and it cost approximately $19. I'm guessing it will take a week or so to arrive. I would like to have a heavier stand with maybe more bells and whistles, but that can wait until after we move in a year or so.

Note: If you go to Artisan Design, the stand I use is the original Gazelle, not the Gazelle II, as featured on their site. The Gazelle II is more sturdy and has some features that aren't on the original.

DH, DS/8 and I watched a rental movie called Racing Stripes last night. It was a really cute film about a zebra who thinks he is a horse. My son loved it.

Very Musical Weekend

DH (on the keys) had another gig with Dani at Isaac Hayes Club Friday night.


Dueling Guitars at Isaac's
(L to R: Jimmy Craig, Zack Mack & Stephen Adkisson)

DH (aka MusicJock) and Dani (In the background - Jimmy Craig on guitar & Jeremy on drums)

On Saturday, he had a gig with Dani and the band to raise awareness and funds to sponsor children (i.e. homeless children as a result of Tsunami). This gig was a starting point the tour called Play For Change.

What is Play for Change?

It's a tour that is sponsored by Indieheaven.com and Mission of Mercy. Indieheaven has artists across the USA and their founder, Keith Mohr thought it would be great to visit towns across the country to hold concerts with Indieheaven artists. Mission of Mercy is a child relief and development agency based in Colorado Springs, CO. You can read more about this 18-city tour here. The Play for Change blog can be read here.

Saturday night, DH, DS/8 and I went to the Memphis Italian Festival to hear Larry Raspberry in concert. It was extremely loud and hot! The music was great (just wish it wasn't so loud). Following Larry Raspberry was a former member of Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner, and he put on a great show. You can read more about the concert here.

Not much stitching accomplished. I'm lost without my stand. I did, however, email the manufacturer, as Connie suggested. I'm waiting on a response. I have been backstitching Fish Medley at a snail's pace. I'm anxious to start a new project, so I really need to wrap this one up!

Bummer!

I haven't crossed many stitches since returning from Chattanooga. I was backstitching Fish Medley and a section of my needlework stand cracked! The stand is the original Gazelle and is about 12 years old. I'm sick about it. The piece that cracked is the one that holds everything, including the scroll, and bookholder. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me about what stand you use and the reason you chose it. I may have to replace mine since it's useless if I can't get a replacement part.

I did have a non-stitching HD this week. DH and I finished the ceramic tile in our kitchen! Yay! Now, we have to do the laundry closet and we are officially finished tiling floors (that's after tiling the den, livingroom, and kitchen).