TUSAL

It is already time for the TUSAL photo for the month.  I can't believe that we're preparing for Halloween, but it has been nice to have the cooler temperatures.  

You can see that I was working on the Song of the Seasons sampler, a beach Christmas theme and the Waterlily Pixie in my top threads of my ORTs.  It's been very productive lately, but I will need to step things up in order to get ready for all of the Christmas gifts I have planned.  

May ORT Report

Wow! I'm still trying to figure out where 2013 is going?? It's already May??  I missed the April report as testing and catching up on reports kept me far too busy, but here is my update for May:

You can see all of the yellows, browns and black that I've been working on - between the giraffe from the Baby Sampler and the Gadsden Flag, it's been a LOT of the same colors.

We are getting the pool all set up. The temperature will be in the 90s all weekend, and the girls cannot wait to get in and cool off.  Hubby is completely conspiring with the girls to prepare for tomorrow's Mother's Day celebration. It should be low-key, but I know he's planning on smoking a tri-tip for supper. Yum!

I'm a beach chick by birth and in spirit, so I am incredibly happy that the weather is finally playing along nicely so no one looks at me funny for wearing flip-flops. I'll wear them year-round, but it's nice to not garner funny looks while doing it.  HeeHee.  The toes even got done in honor of the warmer weather.

TUSAL, WIP update, a Blog Hop and IHSW Weekend

This week has been crazy. The hubby and I left to go to Buffalo, NY in the winter to say goodbye to his grandmother. It was a very sad reason, but she was just shy of 96 - a good long life and plenty of memories to carry us all with. However, this beach chick was unprepared for Buffalo in winter. Wow!! That was an experience!!

So, to get caught up, I missed the TUSAL update for February, so here is my jar so far:

You can see the Valentine Heart that I created - all of the red and pinks. I also put the picture of Grandma and Grandpa behind it since they're together now and the reason that I was traveling.

I also figured since I had so much time on the plane ride home to start Stoney Creek's March pattern. It is a fun stitch, and it took up a few hours on the plane:

Whew! And I have returned home to a Blog Hop. 

This topic is "How many needles have you lost?"

Hmmmmm, I think over the course of my stitching career, I have lost quite a few. An estimated amount is probably 20 or so.  The "best" story is not a pleasant one. I lost a needle about two years ago, and sadly, I found it with my foot. That was VERY painful and I have continued to be diligent in hanging on to my needles so that they don't end up in a tush or a foot ever again. 

Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here.

And now for the IHSW. It is the Hermit Weekend, and I would love to have time to finish the Month of March from Stoney Creek, the Hope bookmark and get a lot of work done on the Baby Sampler. I just realized I started the baby sampler in August!! I am just not motivated to finish it for some reason despite the fact it's for my own daughter.  What a crappy mom I am about that one!!  So, "finding motivation" is my goal for the weekend.

TUSAL - First of the New Year

I was thinking of continuing my ORTs for another year, but my girls were very rambunctious over the Christmas holiday, and my last jar was broken. So, I purchased another jar and started over.

Here are my ORTs for January. It's a small start, but I'm doing pretty well on the baby sampler.

December TUSAL Ort Report

Where, exactly, has the entire year of 2012 gone??? I seem to recall that just the other day I was posting on my family blog about what a great New Year's celebration we had, and now I have decorated my house for Christmas. Hmmmm......Time just keeps flying by! Wow!

So, here is my December Ort Report:

Can  you see all of the Christmas stitching that I was feverishly doing over the last month??

I am not sure if I will have a post prior, but Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that no matter what your faith or beliefs and what your situation, that you will have a wonderful holiday and being able to spend this season exactly the way that you want. 

November TUSAL

Here is my latest TUSAL picture:

I've been working hard to get each of my little month's done resulting in the fun changes in the colors for each season in my jar.

October TUSAL

It is that time again! I love being able to show off what I've been working on via the ORTs.  I thought that for this picture, I would give you not only a glimpse of those little pieces left over after stitching, but one of the autumn decorations I made.

Can you see all of the Christmas colors in there from completing the boys' ornaments? Now, I am seriously hoping to find time to work on the baby sampler for my almost 9-year-old.

I will also share my new fabrics:

I placed a rather large order from Stephanie because I wanted to get some of her Fall Limited Editions on hand, and then I found that I wanted two more smaller pieces for a couple of projects, and THEN! she had a test dye that I totally loved.....Well, you get the idea.

There had better be some time for me to get some stitching done, or I will not have anymore room for fabric.  OK, seriously, I'll just buy another bin, but you get the point. Work has interfered with my ability to stitch for long enough.  

Hope everyone is having a great start to their week!! 

IHSW & TUSAL

The weekend is over, and while I had a great time with friends and traveling, I did not get much time in to stitch during the Hermit Weekend.  I did use the "excuse" to sit down last night and take just a couple hours for my stitching, and I think it went very well.  

Yesterday was also the day for the TUSAL Report, and I am happy to report that my jar is filling. I kept my middle daughter from smooshing the floss down, so you can actually see the last few projects: September's month, a couple of Christmas ornaments and now October's month.

Well, I think that it will just be the two more small projects before I return to the large baby sampler on my scroll rods.  My youngest is just dying to have a sampler on her wall like her sisters.  

Acronym Weekend

It's an acronym weekend.  As a Special Education teacher, I'm used to sounding like I'm from another planet when speaking with my peers, so I find it awesome when both of the Stitching groups fall in the same weekend. 

The first is TUSAL - Totally Useless Stitch Along.  My ORTS have grown considerably, but I have one daughter who cannot stand to see the jar filling. Because the threads just seem to be compiling, she just has to smoosh them into the jar.  Hence, it doesn't seem as full as it did prior to her smooshing.

It is also the beginning of the International Hermit & Stitching Weekend which takes place every 3rd weekend of each month. In our very busy and hectic lives, IHSW is a chance for us to squirrel some time away for ourselves and "Hermit and Stitch." It is a time set aside to take care of us and our love for stitching.

My plan is to work on Jordan's Baby Sampler, so I want to post my current WIP picture for comparison.

Now, here's to hoping that I get a lot done on it!

ORT Report

It is that time again - time for the ORT Report, and I am happy to say that my jar is filling up quickly!!! I've been on a roll with my stitching, and I am loving the progress!!

I had to share our dog, Addie.  She kept trying to nose into my picture of my ORTs, so I finally got her to lay down and allowed her to be in the picture.  Normally, she is laying on my feet while I stitch. Yes, very cute but while it's been over 100* here AND she's over 80 pounds, well, let's just say it's a good thing she is so pretty.  LOL


I know I joined late, but it looks like my little jar will be pretty full at the end of the year.  

TUSAL - ORT Report

Well, I went with the date listed at the TUSAL site, so I waited until tonight to post my ORT Update.  As you can see, I have been busy - YAY!!! You can see the tropical summer colors of the Flip-Flop Welcome that I finished as well as the July Sailing finish.  If you look carefully, you can see the beginnings of the June bold red colors.  


It's been fun to watch the jar get more full as time goes on!

May's ORT

Well, I managed to get some stitching done since learning about the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long, and I even bought a cute little jar to hold them in. Part of me wants to stop stitching until there's no thread left so I would have more to show, but I so hate to waste.  

Remember to click on the link to the right to join in the fun!  Until the next New Moon....