A question

Hopefully now that the Christmas season is over, I will get to blog a little more. Until then, I have a question. I have a lot of cross stitch charts and I need to get rid of them so I can get more! LOL! I tried ebay, but that takes up too much time and I don't want to just throw them in a garage sale box. What do you think about a pattern pass-along? People would sign up and then I would mail a package of charts. You can take one or more charts, but you must put one or more back in and mail to the next person. But, would that violate some sort of copyright laws or whatever? To me, it's just like offering them to a friend or selling them in a garage sale. Opinions? Anyone interested? I have a wide variety of charts, too. Well, will see what the comments are like and then I will let you know. Hopefully, we can start a little trade here, Thanks! Pictures coming soon - major holiday stitching!!!

Unsettled

Did you ever have one of those days where you just felt unsettled?? Just not right. I have been having more and more of those days lately. Maybe I am pre-menopausal or something, but I really want to ditch this feeling. Maybe it's my crazy obsession with the news - the hurricane, the election, the economy... Yeah, that could do it. Or maybe I am just in a blue mood. Either way, I need to stop. I don't even want to be around me! LOL!
So, I got the giveaway package and it is so funny, cause the winner lives fairly close to me!! Who knew? Blogging is so neat! My next project is to list some of my old patterns on ebay and I am signing up to do Country Cottage Needleworks Santa's Village. There will be one pattern a month. The first one is really cute. I am not doing them all on one piece of fabric - I think I will make them individually and make ornaments. I would love to someday have a tree with just my stitched ornaments on it. I have alot, but it takes a ton! I will stitch on Halloween until Black Friday and then I will make the transition over to Christmas. Sometimes I stitch an autumn or thanksgiving theme, but I really haven't found anything this year to float my boat. This year's obsession is definately Halloween! I will probably stitch something Halloween all year round.
We are still getting the garage in order and then I will post more pictures of house progress. We have a few projects that I need to get done before the holidays, so I need to get myself in gear. My hours are picking up at work - I work retail- and I usually take all the hours I can to pay for Christmas. Just a note - when you are Christmas or holiday shopping this year, please remember that the sales person isn't responsible for you waiting till the last minute to find the perfect gift and I really don't like picking up coffee cups from the tables of merchandise. Be nice. You would be surprised at the way some people act.
Getting lots of stitching done and will probably have some pics on Friday. I think I will have one finished today! It's a quick stitch, again from the JCS magazine!! What is everyone else out there stitching??

And the Winner is...........

I put the number 8 in random generator and the winner is .......
Comment #2!
Deb said:

DebOctober 31, 2012 6:05 PM

I'd love to be entered!!! I meant to comment on your earlier post today about the crazy weather. It's really hard to believe that we could be affected so far away, but those winds were really something on Monday and I can imagine they were even worse where you live.

Thanks for the change on the giveaway - oh, and I'm a stitcher

 

Deb - email your address to

jeffandlisaclarke@gmail.com and your package will go out Monday! Congratulations and thanks to all that entered!

It's Giveaway Time!

I just got the urge to have a giveaway!! It's a mystery - just a few little things to hopefully make someone smile. Leave a comment on this post only and tell me if you are a stitcher or not. Then, I can gear the winnings to the winner! Please post on your blog and you get a bonus entry! Just leave a separate entry to tell me that you did. This is for U.S. residents only, please. The deadline to enter is midnight E.S.T on Friday Nov. 2. I will draw a name on Saturday sometime and mail out on Monday! Good luck!!

Storm Stitching

Who knew that a hurricane would affect those of us here in Michigan? While we are no where near as devastated as the people on the Eastern coast, we did have a scary night here. We are very close to Lake Huron and there were reported 20 foot waves. All around us, people were losing their power. We were lucky and only lost our internet, phone and cable for a day and a half and a few trees. The youngest hasn't been in school for the last two days because the school doesn't have power. It has calmed down here ALOT and looks as though the trick or treaters will be able to do their thing. We got our garage cabinets installed last week and the storage is fantastic. With all the weather issues, I haven't had time to get all the shelves in, but that is on the list for tomorrow.  See all the storage?

 

Hockey season has started here and that is the time that I get alot of stitching done. There is so much time spent waiting at the rink. I also got alot of stitching done when the cable was out. These are the two - one I finished and the other I should finish tonight. Loved them both! I will Halloween stitch until about the middle of November then will start on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

 

Take care, friends! Talk to you soon!!

I'm A Winner! And Some Finishes!!

A great big thanks to Jeanine from http://okiobdesigns.blogspot.com/ - I won a giveaway on her blog and the package was so wonderful! Here's a pic of the beautiful package I didn't want to spoil by opening, but when I opened it, there were some great treasures! Go check out her blog - it's great!

I decided to do a picture wall down the hallway to the bedrooms. I like the idea of a picture wall, but the placement of the pictures was very scary. Finally, after WAY too much thought, I decided to close my eyes and hang the first picture and go from there. So far, so good. There is no rhyme or reason to it - just what I think looks good and the pictures are just the ones that made me smile. I am sure it will be a work in progress, since I will want to update pictures along the way. It is hard to take a picture of the hallway, but here is a shot from one end and a shot from the other. I am happy with it!
It's not done yet - there are more pictures yet to frame so I hope that the wall will be filled with family. It makes me smile every time I walk to my room. Success! Too many times I see things on Pinterest or blogs and just agonize over how to do it the "right" way. I should just DO IT already and stop with all the over-analysis. Next project is to paint the downstairs bathroom and I have a great idea for a wall in our bar area. I am going to paint it with chalkboard paint so that guests can doodle on it. Yep, another Pinterest idea. Oh, that site will be the death of me!! But I love it - so happy there are alot of people out there alot more creative than me!
 Finally, here are some finishes, but not the complete finish. I like to finish my smalls with a vintage button on the back or in the design. I am auditioning buttons for these finishes, but the are ready for the final touches. Some of them had been sitting for awhile, so I am glad to get them done.

Almost done!

Love the colors in this!

So happy to find the perfect backing fabric for a project. Taking these colors and using them in the master bedroom. LOVE!
 

Well, thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for the painting of the bathroom saga - wait till you see the color! Yikes!

It's Done!!

I am so happy!! I LOVED this chart when I first saw it - and I love, love, love candy corn (the regular kind, who ever came up with gourmet kinds??) and just knew I had to stitch it. Got it on Saturday and finished it last night.

Behind it are two of the finishes from this year. This is on the table in the entry way. I am going to try to get some more house pictures as I go through and get things done. I got  the glass pumpkin years ago at Walmart on clearance for $3.00 (actually I got 3 of them) and they are so great! I fill them with fall leaves, candy, cookie cutters, whatever but now it's filled with candy corn! Not sure how long it will last, since it's so easy to just grab a handful on your way out the door, but for now it looks pretty! I think we are going to paint the downstairs bathroom in the next few days. This should be interesting - stay tuned!

Still Organizing, but Almost There!

The floss organization is coming along nicely! Thanks for the comments on how you store your floss. There are alot of "accessories" when you cross stitch or craft, and I am so lucky to have a craft room. I hope to show pictures of it when I get done with the floss organization, but that would mean cleaning it, soooo...... Well, I might.

Here are some pics of the stitching I have been stitching on. Still working my way through the magazine, but when I was organizing, I came across some other projects that needed just a few stitches. Also, I have an insane love of candy corn,so I bought "Death by Candy Corn" and hope to finsh it today. Well, off to put laundry in the dryer and then it's stitching time!

Floss Storage

Can we just chat a moment about floss storage? I have been stitching a long time and I have never really had the perfect floss storage system. I started out with a fishing tackle box. The Plano one? Anyone remember that or have one? That was OK but then, somewhere along the line, I got more floss. And more floss. Maybe it grows in the dark? Yeah, that's the one I am going with. It certainly isn't that I am too lazy to look for floss, so I just buy what the project needs. No, ma'am, I would not do that :) So I started to organize in the little plastic floss boxes. Ugh. This is what I have at the moment in the stitching room.

So, here's the plan. I am having a box for the 100's, the 200's, etc. of DMC. If there are duplicates, I am planning to store those in a box, after I make a list. Not sure how I have duplicates..... yeah, right. Then, when I use up a skein, I will look to see if I have a duplicate in the box and if not, THEN I buy. I have almost all the DMC colors. I will have a full set when I am done organizing. Oh, and here's a tidbit that I am sure you all know. I am always late to the party. If you write on the floss boxes in permanent marker and you need to change what you wrote or erase, you can easily erase with a magic eraser. I used the kind from the Dollar Tree and it worked just fine. So, that's my plan. I am stitching alot - here are some snaps. Will update my stitching through JCS Halloween issue later - I was planning to finish 26 projects! Yikes! Any comments on floss storage? What's your favorite system?

 

Stitching away!

Had some internet issues ( not going to think about that again, since I am having a good day and don't want to ruin it), but finally able to post some progress with stitching through JCS Halloween issue. Plus, I stitched a little design from The Prairie Schooler that I really liked. Here are the pics. Moving on to the next designs. I am jumping around a little through the magazine and I am not stitching all of the patterns. Just the ones that will fit in with my decorating. It is starting to feel a little like fall here in Michigan, so I am starting on my fall decorating. I love Fall! Here is the wreath I made today and the start of the front porch decorating!

I plan on adding mums and a bigger scarecrow and possibly a hay bale or two. I really look forward to our first fall in this house. We have alot of trees in the back yard and I think they will look very pretty in fall colors. Any fall or Halloween patterns out there that anyone recommends? I am really on a stash diet (more like a fast), but I could possibly make an exception for a really great pattern. My birthday is coming up so that is a good time to add to the stash, as well. That will be my only exception to the fast. I really need to de-stash. Maybe when things slow down a little. I still have boxes to unpack from the move! Well, take care friends - see you next time!!!

First update of progress

Really enjoying stitching through the Halloween issue. I have all the back issues and have done this before, but never really got through the whole issue. I also want to do this with the Christmas Ornament issue. These issues are the main source for my stitching and I love it when the issues come out. Here's what I did so far. Finished one while camping and started on two more two days ago. I like to switch between two designs. The finished one isn't ironed or anything. I stitched it on Aida (I know, but I have ALOT of it and want to use it in the ornaments) and the other picture is the two I have started. I will wait and have a big finishing day for the ones I get done. This is so much fun!! What are you stitching on?

Stitching My Way Through JCS Halloween 2012

Often when I go on vacation or on a hockey trip, I will start a new project. It makes me look forward to my time away from home. I was so excited to get my copy of JCS Halloween 2012 and I started a project notebook to organize the charts I wanted to stitch. They are all wonderful, but some do not fit my house or my taste, but that's not to say that they aren't wonderful. So, I am going to stitch my way through the magazine. I started with Happy Halloween on page 15 and finished that on my camping trip last week. Now I am on Mr. Whiskers on page 14. I will update as I continue through the magazine. I planned to go exactly through the magazine, but I think I will skip around some. Anybody else out there stitching these great projects?

Beginning the Transformation!

Well, we still have some stuff in boxes but for the most part, we are in. Our internet/phone has barely worked since we moved in but we had someone come out the end of the week that MAYBE knew what he was doing and we have had consistent internet/phone for the last 3 days. Here's hoping it stays! It's so sad how dependent I am on the internet.


We had a birthday party for the granddaughter that is now 4 last Thursday, so we had to spruce up the place pronto. Big Daddy did a great job on the front. Here are some before pictures of the front, affectionately known as the putting green. It was truly horrible.

Underneath the green indoor/outdoor carpet, we found very nice concrete slabs. We cleaned them up, swept up all the muck underneath and, viola - a much better front of the house. It looks so good! It was alot of work, but totally worth it! Here is the finished results.

We had 17 people for the birthday party, all in the family room downstairs and there was plently of room. That's what we needed - a party space! Next time, I will start going room by room with some of the changes. Believe it or not, I made the blue toilet work for me! Just wait till you see it!!

Lots Going On! Pictures!

There's lots going on in the world of the Southern Belle in Michigan. We are deep in the process of moving. Not out of town, but just to a new house. We found a great house - location wise - but it is completely stuck in the 80's. Now, I love me some 80's but decor-wise, this place needs some updating! Here are some before pictures so you will see what I am dealing with. The move will be complete on July 2 and we are not planning to paint or anything until we are moved in and live with the house a little. I have big plans and can't wait to get started. I am still working a little bit, around 12 hours a week, and I am still stitching. I am currently working on a project for a family member's baby so I can't show it until it is finished and she gets it. I am still pecking away at my list I posted. Making good progress, I think, for all the chaos going on around here! OK, here are the pictures. I will post some of the move as well. I only posted pics of a few rooms - it's a big house! Will post more later.

 The kitchen. Good space - bad wallpaper and I really don't like cabinets without handles. Really needs some work, but just cosmetic.

 The view from the front door. This will be an office area. This is a very awkward space and getting a picture of it is hard, but I will describe it when I work on it. It will be a great space for the computer and the all-important family calendar!

 The front of the house. Across the street is Lake Huron. We can walk to a wine store and the beach.

 The guest bathroom. Notice the blue toilet peeking out? And behind the door is a matching blue tub. Lovely. Going to have to work with it though, unless I get brave enough to paint the toilet. The tub will have to stay but it's easy to cover with a shower curtain. Using the blue and adding brown. Hoping it will work! LOL! Good space and love the window in here. The master bath has one too.

 The view from the sliding doors in the living room. There is a frog pond in the distance and we are on almost an acre. It's beautiful. Lots of landscaping to get done this year.

 Future man cave. This is one side of the large basement. There is a full bath, laundry room and two  bedrooms down here. It is a walkout basement.

The other side of the basement. This area will be perfect for games - I am looking for a pinball machine! Notice the bar area. This is a great space. Needs sprucing. Hate the white carpet. Need to always have carpet cleaner on the shopping list now!
Upstairs there is 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. One of the bedrooms is the guest room/ craft room. It is already a sweet space with lots of light. Will post more pictures later.

Today and Everyday

Please take a moment today to remember those who have given their lives while defending our freedom....and those who are serving still.

Some Progress

1. Prairie Schooler Boo To You - there's 9 designs
2. Blackbird Designs - Remember Me
3. Just Cross Stitch -Candy Corn Witch
4. The Stitcherhood - Expressions: Halloween there are 8 and I have 2 stitched
5. Just Cross Stitch - Autum Harvest Needleroll
6. A Christmas Ornament freebie from the internet
7. Just Cross Stitch - We Lift Up Our Hearts in Thanksgiving
8. Lizzie Kate - Good Things Come To Those Who Stitch
9. Blackbird Designs - Casting a Spell Stitching Box/Pincushion

I am working away at the rest and hope to get them mostly finished by next weekend. Hey, I can dream right? Here are some pictures of those projects and others I need to "finish". Looks like I need to plan a "Finishing Friday"!

Accountablilty

Oh good heavens, I have been busy. As soon as I say that I am returning to blogging, everything turns upside down and there is much to do. Not bad stuff, just every day stuff. We are trying to find a house to rent at the end of the summer because we think we have a buyer for our house. So, we are cleaning and getting things in order to make this happen. That is the biggest thing I am dealing with right now. In the cleaning spirit, I cleaned out my stitching bag. I have 3 actually but this one is the one that has the most in it. Here is the list of the UFO's in this bag -

1. Prairie Schooler Boo To You - there's 9 designs
2. Blackbird Designs - Remember Me
3. Just Cross Stitch -Candy Corn Witch
4. The Stitcherhood - Expressions: Halloween  there are 8 and I have 2 stitched
5. Just Cross Stitch - Autum Harvest Needleroll
6. A Christmas Ornament freebie from the internet
7. Just Cross Stitch - We Lift Up Our Hearts in Thanksgiving
8. Lizzie Kate - Good Things Come To Those Who Stitch
9. Blackbird Designs - Casting a Spell Stitching Box/Pincushion

These are all in various states of stitching. Ugh. I am going to power through these and see how many I can finish by the end of the month. And, I am doing a ribbon wreath at the same time. Stay tuned - at the end of this adventure I need to get rid of all these charts. There will be a giveaway coming soon and another one as I finish. Also, there may be some charts listed to sell. Wish me luck!!

17 Years Ago.....

I was just about to have our fifth and final baby. Where has the time gone? He is so grown up and yet still goofy. I love this about him - most of the time. Happy Birthday, #5!

Yes, please!

This weather we are having in Michigan is spectacular and I am hoping that it just continues on!!!  The winter was practically non-existent and we are having upper 60s and 70s this week! Whee!!! Not much to blog about on the home reno front, because I am sure that you do not want to see pictures of me cleaning out my lower cabinets. That is what is going on right now, but next week we paint the first room. We are going with a neutral for the bedrooms, like Sherwin-Williams Basket Beige. We had this in our old house and loved it. the living room/dining room/kitchen area is up for debate. Big Daddy thinks Beige throughout but I am leaning toward yellow. We will see. I have the new plans for the entrance hall. Right now, you just walk into the living room. So, I am going to create a foyer with a dummy wall. I will post pictures when we start on that. Should be soon! For now, enjoy the weather and I will be back with stitchy finishes and I have some charts that need a good home. Some are giveaway and some are for sale. Stay tuned!

Drumroll, please............

It was unanimous - and I am happy to say that it was my first choice too! The uppers are gone!! Here is the not-quite-after shot. There is still painting and decorating and all that to go, but everyone was right. It made a huge difference in the room and the extra counter space is now usable!

The cabinet to the right side of the sink was supposed to stay, but it was not up there very securely and I just thought it would look better down. I am going to paint the cabinets white and we are putting in a wood-look vinyl floor throughout. I will start looking for something to hang in that spot - maybe a vintage plate rack or something. Garage sale season will start soon and I know I will find something! Thank you for all the input. It made the decision a little easier!! Next up are some improvements in the master bath. There are some mirrors over our jacuzzi tub that absolutely have to have something done to them. I have a plan, though!! Stay tuned!