Where did the summer go?

I swear just last week  my grandkids were getting out of school and here it is, they have already been back about a month.  I did manage to get some stitching in over the summer....I am working on Glendon Place's Plum Pudding and enjoying it.  I also have Grasshopper Pie and Cherries Jubilee all kitted up and ready to begin when Plum Pudding finishes.

I took a major step and ordered my very first Chatelaine...the Polar Mandala...which begins tomorrow.  The pictures that have been posted are so wonderful looking.  I have my fabric ready and will have to get the flosses together so I can start.  I would have had this all done in advance except that it appears the list of supplies has not yet been released.  In any case, I know I will have to get myself set up on a rotation or some things will be so neglected.  Did I mention that I also got the new Ink Circles design (hearts) to go along with the triangles, circles and diamonds?   So that's another waiting in the wings for me.

I'll try to get some pictures loaded so I can attach them to my blog.....and have made myself a deal...I will try to post each Sunday so I can keep a record of what's gotten done and what's in the future!

Spring Fling and some stitching

I am home and resting after a wonderful weekend of stitching with a group of ladies at the Spring Fling 2012 which was arranged by my LNS, Acorns & Threads.  We stitched Friday evening, all day Saturday and again on Sunday morning until early afternoon.  The Fling involves a lot of stitching, laughing, talking, and eating.  They want to make sure we are not so weak from hunger that we can't stitch.  I came home with a new appreciation of counted cross stitching and the women who do it.  I saw so many lovely projects that it just boggled my mind and I wanted to stitch them all.  I bought a couple of Shannon Bags (wonderful fabric bags designed to hold a cross stitch project and protect it), some wonderful Antique Lilac fabric from Lakeside Linens and I won a fat half of Luna also from Lakeside Linens.
I even found something I hadn't expected.  One of the women at my table, Dawn, was using her iPad to view her chart....she could make it large or small....she told me that she uses Dropbox.com and moves the PDF files into there and then can have them available on her iPad, iTouch or iPhone....as well as her computer.  I don't have an iPad, but I do have a Kindle Fire.  Dropbox does not seem to be compatible with the Kindle Fire, but Amazon has a program called "send to kindle" which does the same thing.  I can move my files to the Kindle Fire and then can make them as large as I need.  It also works well for crocheting and knitting directions.  How nice to not have to have a paper pattern....the Kindle stands up just like the iPad does, so it's much easier to see them than if they are laying flat or propped up.


Here's a picture of Cirque de Triangles which has since been completed.  I stitched it on 28 ct Opalescent that I received from my FOTM club with Silkweavers.

Ready, Set, GO!!

Here I am, at the brink of a new experience.  I'm going to try blogging about my favorite things...counted cross stitch, grandkids, cooking and life in general.
I began stitching in 1974 and have run the gamut of things.  I've got so many finished projects that it's hard to believe I have stitched them all.  I promise I will get pictures taken and posted in the very near future.  It all started with a Pansy Pillow kit that I was bought at a small shop in Bennington, Vermont....sadly the shop is long gone.  I was so excited to see those pansies grow as I stitched.  I brought them with me on a vacation to Florida and shared them with my very crafty Aunt who took a look and said she could never do that.  However, it wasn't long before she was stitching even more than I was....the benefit of being retired was on her side.  I worked full time and had a spouse who did not like having my attention diverted to stitching....but I did keep on stitching and was fully supported by the women I worked with who were also stitchers (they taught me).  Counted Cross Stitch is my passion and my stash has grown accordingly.