Well I'm working from home today - for a few hours anyway. It's not a pleasant day, I am happy to say that I am finishing up an 8 day fast that I wasn't sure I could do or not and I did just fine. During the last 8 days I have eaten only vegetables (which I generally don't eat at alL!) and Kitchari - a rice/bean mixture for protein/carbs. There is very little fat in this diet and I could not satisfy my regular sugar cravings so it was hard but it's almost over as today is the LAST day! I'm very proud of myself and hoping to go get a manicure with some friends tonight!

PLUS - my class is over officially! I took the final exam last night which really wasn't bad, only took about 40 minutes and then I was off to stitch with my friends! I worked on Peaceful Silhouette a little but mostly just relaxed. I may pull out my stitching this afternoon after I finish up my work depending on how I feel mostly.

So I am feeling pretty good about this month and what I've accomplished, I was strict on myself and not once did i cheat which is just amazing for someone who's never done a diet before in her life!

A night of studying - no stitching last night. I watched Alias, the last Gilmore Girls episode I've missed (last weeks) and studied. That's it for the night - oh besides reading :)

I just started the Wicca Cookbook, i'm still in the beginning but I find some of the information given as "history" false so I'm a little disappointed with that but otherwise I'm really looking forward to the book so I'm keeping an open mind and really looking forward to some new recipes!

In talking with my sister today we have decided that I will only be at Celebrations Saturday and Sunday (sorry Carol, it does appear we won't be able to meet up this year :( ) but Friday we've decided to do a day together of stitching all the old projects from last year at my place to save on gas and to get into the celebrations spirit. So I'm really looking forward to going through all my class pieces and deciding what will get done, what won't and maybe working on some a bit!

8 MORE DAYS!

Some pictures finally!

First - the baby quilt progress - here it is all pieced and ready to be tied as soon as I get some pearl cotton and a curved needle. (I've never tied before so that in itself is putting me off too!)


And finally - the progress on Mini Cottages II - I apologize, i didn't realize the picture was so blurry :( I will try scanning this one for the next update!


I don't know that I will get any stitching done tonight - i have a final exam for my class tomorrow night so I probably should study a little - by study i mean do a quick outline of the book so I know what's in every chapter that the test covers since I didn't read the chapters :)

I got caught up on last week's Alias episodes last night - now i'm all ready for tonight's episode! I'm almost caught up on the missed episodes of gilmore girls as well after catching last night's and then watching one of the ones i missed.
Nothing interesting going on - just holding on until this weekend when I get to go shopping for some new clothes, maybe get a manicure and stitch a LOT!

Some Michael Powell progress - I hope i remember to take pictures tonight so I can post my progress. Now that I'm seeing progress on this piece I have to remember to switch around and work on Going To Market this weekend as well, plus I have some pieces from Celebrations last year I've been thinking about picking up again and trying to finish up... we shall see.

Yesterday at work was extremely productive, I'm hoping for the same today. I will be working kind of late today so I can work less on friday but I do hope to be home in time for gilmore girls at least. Plus I have last week's Alias episodes to catch up on!

A very productive weekend - but I forgot to take pictures- i can post some on wednesday though.

Sunday I pieced the baby quilt so it's all ready to be tied. It's very fun looking with lots of bright colors. Then I worked on the Michael Powell kit - Mini Cottages II and that's a lot of fun. I decided to start it on a large piece of fabric just in case I want to stitch I, II and III all on one piece and frame them with matting between them. Not sure yet but this leaves the possibility open and since I just ordered number III I'm only one short from doing that :)

I remembered to bring my large q-snap to work today so I can start working on Peaceful Silhouette at work finally and will probably bring it home on weekends to take a picture but it probably won't go very fast.

My final exam is this week in class so that's almost over! And next weekend I have very little planned so I may have another very productive weekend - and THEN - CELEBRATIONS - the countdown as begun - 11 days until my day off next week!

An update!



The picture quality is not very good for some reason so I'm not updating my regular picture (on the sidebar) but I thought I would at least post my progress since I've worked on this so much and am putting it away for a bit. I made my goal of finishing the left side of the background so next I will finish up the woman's feet and then stitch the boy and finish the background.

BUT FIRST - I will be starting a new piece - and I do believe it's Mini Cottages II from Carol! I opened up the kit, I'm not a huge fan of 14ct aida so I am going to substitute for something in my stash, keeping it simple with white though since it's completely covered and will be starting that probably tomorrow after some quilting time!

Off to shop a little online and then to bed - it's been a good day!

A wonderful birthday surprise! I got a little package in the mail yesterday from Carol - a Michael Powell Kit - Mini Cottages II. I love it! She also sent me one from a magazine a while back - now I can't wait to stitch a Michael Powell and I have some to choose from!

Depending on how much stitching I do this weekend - I may just be starting one of these up - probably the kit since the thread is all there for me :) Oh I can't wait.
THANK YOU CAROL!

-- on a bad note - my cold is getting worse - last night was a rough night and i woke up this morning feeling crappy. I think I might leave after lunch some time today and go home to take a nap. So far just trying to get as much done as I can this morning so I can leave guilt free but man I wish I could breathe!

Well we had a great night out with a delicious dinner. No stitching though. Tonight before class I'll probably get some stitching done and then hopefully I'll remember to bring my large q-snaps to work tomorrow so I can start working on Peaceful Silhouette again at lunch time.

I really have the itch to start something new and i have the perfect piece in mind - it's something I wanted to do as a gift for my aunt for christmas - so I've decided to hold myself off I must force myself to finish the woven butterfly first - that is going to be a gift for my other aunt for christmas and then I can start the new piece.

I love stitching gifts, I wish I had more time to devote to it, now I'm remember all sorts of pieces I wanted to stitch for my mom and sister too. More of a reason to stitch more :)

The cold that wouldn't go away :) No seriously - it's really not that bad, but I'm a little congested today. I went to bed early last night and slept almost 11 hours - much needed. Hopefully today will be productive at work and I will have more energy tomorrow!

On the stitching front - well I've met my goal on Going To Market this month - oh man forgot my large q-snaps at home again - I need those for Peaceful Silhouette. I'm ready to start stitching Peaceful Silhouette at work again - if I remember my larger q-snaps ever :) And my class is almost over - Next thursday is the final!

So... that means it's almost time to start a new piece. I'm thinking some time in May - first there's celebrations so that will be a few little pieces I'll want to finish up - but by the end of may I'll be ready for something new. I have a few choices:

1. Kingdom Sampler (if carol is ready for a SAL on that one)
2. Winter in my Garden (i think carol mentioned doing a SAL on this one too so i can hold off)
3. Just a little piece and quiet please (Dragon Dreams) - i really want to stitch this for my bathroom!
4. Michael Powell chart - i think it's a freebie one
5. Blackwork Dragon - restart on Wandering Ivy fabric

Plus i have some WIPs i'd like to pick up again and finish off - they include:
1. Wrapped butterfly - i have to weave the butterfly and make it into a pillow
2. Wisdom Virtue Series Dragon
3. Tiffany's Sweet bag scissor case and accessories - from celebrations last year? I want to at least finish the scissor keeper and needlebook i think, even if i don't do the bag, but i'd like to do them all.

Oh - so much to do and so little time!

Half way -

On the background that is. Minus a few stitches, the top half of the background is finished. I think I will try to finish up the left side of the background before stitching the boy as I am worried with just background left to go I might slow down my progress a bit.

A nice long weekend - we had a really good weekend, Friday I had a girls' day out - just out and about shopping with my 2 closest friends, it was awesome, after cleaning the house so when I got home I didn't even have to do any cleaning for family coming :) Saturday my sister and her boyfriend came over and we spent the day with family. Sunday we went up to NH for the day to see more family and finally got home after 10. Unfortunately I got a cold starting sunday night so my birthday (yesterday) was spent with a headache and sore throat.

The cold isn't that bad, I was able to do everything I wanted to - I potted all the herbs my mom gave me for my birthday into the fancy pots she got me :) And we went out to dinner, and I cross stitched - what more could I ask for (that's where all the progress on Going To Market came from). Last night I took some nitequil and i slept soundly, even made it in to work by 8 instead of 9 which hopefully is a sign for things to come.

All in all it was a great weekend, seeing friends and family, now just 4 days until the next weekend ;) No plans for the next 2 weekends either which is always great ;)

7 more hours - until I head to class and then my long weekend! I SO can't wait!

Last night to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday we went out to dinner for steak and ribs and then bought some movies - and rented Narnia (2 dollars to rent for a night). So we watched Narnia, which was a blast - we both remember bits and pieces from when we were kids and they really did a good job with it. I dont' know that I ever read the books but I used to watched the cartoon version of it and this seemed to follow that pretty well.

To add the cherry on top - my last homework assignment was due last night - so homework for my class is over! Now it's just preparing for the final which honestly I don't have to do much for if the midterm is anything to go by. Only 2 more weeks and I'll be done with it!

I hope this weekend to work more on Going To Market and I will post a picture update next week. I'm saving monday (my birthday) as a day to do nothing specific, maybe go look at some apartments, but nothing major! I can't contain my excitement :)

Finally I got to stitch - after making a nice pork chop dinner, I pulled out Going To Market while watching some more ER. Worked on the background, it was slow going but today at lunch I'm positive I will get to work on this! I'm trying to finish up the top half of the design before I start sharing my time with Peaceful Silhouette.

I don't think i'll get to stitch tonight though - it's my boyfriend's birthday so we're going out to dinner and maybe picking up some movies. Tomorrow night even though I have class, it's only 7:30-8 so I'm looking forward to that short meeting and then it's my day off already ;)

Oh man I love short weeks!

Mmmm .. chili

That's what my boyfriend made for dinner last night and that's what i'm eating for lunch now - we're very picky about our chili and there are no beans in this chili, it's mostly beef but it's the flavor that counts, and it's good with chips.

Last night when I got home we went for a run - that's awesome considering I managed to run yesterday morning too! Then we ate dinner and I did some homework, ending the evening with 2 ER season 4 episodes before reading and going to bed. If i had managed the energy to stitch while watching tv it would have been a perfect evening. But you can't have everything.

I ran again this morning - just a mile but I ran it pretty fast so i can tell i'm getting in better shape and I hope to run again tonight when I get home.

No stitching yesterday like i'd hoped but i think today after i eat my chili i'll break out the stitching for a bit and get back to work on Going To Market. Really looking forward to my 4 day weekend too!

I'll take my happy dances any way I can get them :)


I finished the teapot RR (I stitched the teapot on the right). It's all ready to mail back - probably next saturday being the first time I can get to the post office.

So now i'm back to stitching on my own pieces! Definitely picking up Going To Market at lunch time today - and I think by the end of the week I will be stitching on Peaceful Silhouette at lunch and saving Going To Market as my at home piece.

My last homework assignment for class is due this wednesday, and I put most of the work in yesterday so there shouldn't be too much left to do this week. I worked on the website this weekend - wrapping a few more things up there. I basically got a lot done, but I didn't work on the quilt at all - and next weekend is looking packed - maybe next monday since I took the day off.

Next weekend I gave myself a 4 day weekend, friday to hang out with friends and monday to hang out with my boyfriend as it's my birthday. I already got my present (snowboarding pants) in march so we're not really doing gifts (his birthday is this coming wednesday and I got him a snowboard as his birthday/anniversary gift in march). But my real gift is getting to hang out with him and i will have to plan something fun for monday!

A good night of stitching, I worked on the teapot for the RR and I've almost finished the stitching on the actually pot, leaving the handle besides a splotch of light blue tweeded with green on the pot. The reason I didn't stitch this area is because the green was missing so I have to wait until i'm home to get the missing color.

Today at lunch I will start working on the handle and then I can stitch before class probably like usual and tomorrow night besides a little cleaning I hope to stitch and watch tv shows for the evening since I have the time to myself. I can't believe it's thursday already, only one more day to get up early and hopefully I can make myself run tomorrow...

A little snow dusting - yes it snowed, my whole drive in this morning and it's sticking a bit too. I wonder if it will accumulate or not.

A little stitching last night and I'm about halfway done with the teapot for the RR, I got the base which is beige and then green all done and i'm stitching the blue now. I plan to work on it some more at lunch today and at my aunt's tonight.

Nothing else new going on. work is busy as usual but my list of things to do is shrinking and i'm making good progress for the week :)

A stitching update:



That is the progress I've made on the teapot RR, I am stitching the teapot all the way to the right. It feels like it's slow going but I think it's coming along none the less.

This weekend was awesome, spending time with friends. This week however is looking to be a busy one - with late nights working and homework to do. Our last homework assignment is due apr. 12th and then I will have 2 weeks before the final and be done with my first class! Oh I really can't wait until May - I am definitely starting a new cross stitch piece in May!

Oh and on saturday I finished reading Like Water for Chocolate - I love that book, it was hard to put down near the end and I'm so happy I found such a touching book! Last night I started a field guide to goblins or something that a friend is loaning me, should be a fun short read, which is all i can handle this week :)

April Goals:

1) Finish Mercedes' Teapot RR and mail off
2) Work on Going To Market, finish the top half of border
3) Get the buttons for my SB RR
4) Frame my Shepherd's Bush Month RR pieces so they can be
swapped out each month.
5) Work on Peaceful Silhouette
6) Piece baby quilt together and tie

Looks to be a busy beginning of the month but hopefully by the end of the month things will calm down and I'll have time to complete my goals :)