Home alone

It's weeks like this that give me a completely new respect for single mothers. I was flying solo with the munchkin while dear husband was out of town with work. It doesn't happen often, but when it does we find all new challenges and adventures. This week she used her bath time cup, filled over and over again, to soak her comforter from pillow to dust ruffle. She was 'cleaning'. The bright spot to the alone time is that I get a LOT of stitching done while I'm not sleeping. The end of the week left me caffeine dependent. Life is now returning to normal. The water thing was still nothing compared to finding the cat/walls/floor/hallway/closet/comforter covered in Sweet Pea scented lotion.

My stitching bug has returned with a vengeance and I'm designing and stitching up a storm. One project is in hold, waiting for new thread colors, but what has been stitched with Aged Plum by Thread Gatherer is gorgeous. The design is for the Just Cross Stitch October 2010 issue and I hope to have it done by the end of next week. I finished up a series of designs this weekend and hope to pull threads and fabric for them tomorrow when the sun comes out. It's a Federal holiday for MLK day and we have a long weekend for work and play as a family.

Holiday survival

A new year is here and it's finally time to get back to stitching. It has been a few months since I've done any x'ing and it has been missed. I have been working on an ornament for the 2010 JCS issue and am nearing the home stretch of the finishing. The fabric I'm using is Weeks Dye Works linen and I can't tell you how impressed I am with it. The 35 count has been a delight to stitch on and it is the same count horizontally and vertically, which is fantastic for a linen! I have only been able to stitch with really good light on the Kudzu fabric, the dark color has definitely challenged my eyes, but the end result has been well worth the time. I'm restitching it on a lighter fabric, Dove, and will decide between the two when they're both completely finished. I had purchased 9x9 cuts of the linen from Stitchville USA this past summer and have been in love with the fabric ever since.

Our Thanksgiving was one of joy spent with my parents, who were visiting us from Texas. The days that they were with us were priceless. There isn't enough grandparent time in the world! We managed to pull off a full feast, turkey and all the trimmings, for our family and some friends. Christmas was very quiet with just the three of us, but it was peaceful and we enjoyed the time as a family. My mom will be up to visit again in March and the munchkin is definitely wanting Grandma to be here again.

last weekend we made our annual tamale batch. Each January we make up 12+ dozen tamales and freeze them to use for quick dinners throughout the year. It takes a few days to get it all done but the end result is very tasty. Some of the pork we saved and used with barbecue sauce for sandwiches. Lately we've been trying to make meals last and see how many times we can reincarnate a protein. It's amazing how creative you can get with a 15 lb. turkey!

Tomorrow morning I hope to spend it digging through fabric and threads to find something for a design for next October's JCS. Once that's pulled I can finish up some stitching on a few other projects and get new releases ready for the April online needlework show. Yesterday I made an accessory set to go with the Elena scissors and I really like how it all turned out. It was a special order through Stitches N Things and I liked it so much I had to make one for myself. The colors are all a bit funky, and there are a LOT of them, but the scissors are unique and there was no way to narrow down the palette. I only wish that the colors in the picture were as true and vibrant as they are in real life.

Now it's time to go sit, stitch, and watch a bit of the Canada vs. US Olympic hockey game. It was days ago, I already know the outcome, but I still want to watch the game and enjoy the skill displayed by the players on both sides. I am a hockey fan and wish we were closer to an NHL team. Locally we have the Steelheads, and we went to two seasons of their games, but now that the munchkin can repeat words we think it's best not to go to the live games. At least on TV I don't have to worry until she learns how to read lips. She is a fan in training and cheers right along with daddy and I.