I use to be too hard on myself about getting things perfect. Nothing is perfect really. That said, I was going through my cross stitch stuff last night and found about 4 UFOs (unfinished obejects/pieces) that only need a few things to actually complete them. Like the Christmas peace sheep only needs the 4 words ‘peace’ in the border. And the Hershey kiss kids just need the background. I held that last one up to tell Brian that I worked on it when we lived in the apartment-that was over 20 years ago. One is of Amish children under an apple tree. I need to finish the tree, birdhouse and basket. I think this one put me off because of all the apples. Then I have a beagle pup in an unfinished basket. Does anyone have a beagle out there who would like this? I forget who I was making this for, maybe an old friend of my brother’s. So I have a few pieces to get finished and I’ll show them to you soon!

I am a little upset because I still have the ear problem. I’ve had it off and on for years. It’s annoying , especially if I am sitting quietily and better when I am working around the house. It’s like hearing crickets outside in the summer, but quieter. I read it could be from allergies, Lyme Disease or too much wax. I’ve had/have all three. Our newer phone projects the speaker quite loud, so I am wondering if that could be a problem too. I can hear Bri’s dad talking to him on the phone when he is 10 feet away! I remember having a bad episode of it when my niece was born-that was 7.5 yrs ago. My allergies were not great that year either. I’ll get them checked out if it gets any worse.

Thanks to Mindy for reminding me to answer this:

Have you ever just quit a project while in the midst of it? (We’re not referring to UFOs here, rather projects that you know that you’ll never work on again.) Why? What did you do with it – throw it out, give it away, put it away?

There are a few that became so infuriating to stitch on, I packed them up. One is a Dimension kit of ocean waves that turn into galloping horses. I could finish it sometime, so it is really an UFO. The problem was that the color chart/symbols were on the other side of the chart. I’d go to change colors and lose my place! I need to get the one page copied. Why Dimensions would do this with a large chart is beyond me. Paper is cheap. I haven’t worked on it for a few years and whether or not I do is questionable.
The other things are a beagle dog I was making for a friend of my brother’s and I think the dog died, so I didn’t finish it. I may finish it and give it to my mom the dog lover. The other was a design I was doing for a friend who isn’t a friend anymore. Looking at it makes me unhappy even though it’s not a bad design. Guess they sound more like UFOs, but it’s been several years since I have put one stitch in any of them.
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I just purchased the Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue for 2005. It’s nice and I am happy to have all the past issues of this yearly issue. I just need to stitch more of them! I like these because of the different designers who contributed their designs, a few I have met.
My brother just sent a big box of cross stitch stuff from his thrift shops excursions down in Florida. There were several bags of DMC floss which I could always use. I had to laugh because there were about 10 skeins of this green color and several of a gold. One kit had the little ornaments all stitched up, they only needed washing. I will probably donate them for a Love Quilt. There was a nice North America animal design still in the metal hoop. I took it off, and you guessed it, there was a hoop mark! I washed and soaked it twice and it’s faded alot. I think that the stitching will cover a majority of the mark that is left. I thought that I didn’t have the floss for it, but here it was in a little bag and the colors were all nicely wrapped on cardboard spools. I don’t even do that with my own DMC. I may complete the design, I may not. I got someone else’s UFO!!! I appreciate Don thinking of me and sending me goodies once in a while.

I was playing around with my cross stitch software and I came up with this, all free handed:

I didn’t center it or put in the correct size, but this is something I think I will pursue in the colder months when I don’t have to worry about doing anything outside. You can tell it’s a mushroom, right? : ) Remember it’s a fantasy mushroom. I, of course, didn’t have time to cross stitch it. Brian got all excited (he bought me the software last year) and asked if I was going to stitch it up. I told him to think of a funny thing to do with mushrooms. I’m still waiting….
Technorati Tags: cross stitch,mushroom

I am still a little tired from our recent trip. Today I decided to sort through some magazines and papers that have been accumulating on the dining room table and overflowing in the magazine basket. Good thing I did this as I read that the priest from church is coming for a visitation tomorrow! I thought he was coming Tuesday. So I have to tidy up a few areas that he will see (LOL) and since I did the sorting, I can just rearrange some knick-knacks and run the vacuum around. I have a feeling that I will be the only one home here. He will probably only be here about 10 minutes, so no big deal. Maybe I’ll bake some brownies. I have until about 4 pm. We skipped the church picnic today. We haven’t gone for a few years as it’s rather boring if you don’t have kids to put on the ponies or have them do sand art.
Brian goes back to work tomorrow. I actually got him to do a little something for me. He cleaned out a few file drawers in the downstairs cabinet! Sean and I had been down in this area and he had just tossed papers in there haphazardly. He threw away a lot of my old eBay paperwork. I haven’t looked at it for years. I feel some organizational vibes coming my way!
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The stitching question of the week was what was your biggest project and what was your smallest project.
I think my biggest project was a Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse design I did for my nephew when he was born. It was Mickey handing Minnie a flower. They kept that hanging up for a long time. The smallest has to be the little sampler I did when I was a new stitcher back in 1980.