One Stitch At A Thyme

June Stitching Bloggers Question

2010-06-07T23:20:00.000-07:00

Lee the Lake Stitcher's Stitching Bloggers Question of the Month.....

Tell us about something that you have stitched or plan to stitch for any father in your life. Maybe it’s for your father, your father-in-law, your children’s father, your grandfather, your godfather, or someone who was or still is an important father-figure in your life. Why did you choose this particular piece of stitching? Tell us the story behind it.

And because a simple one part question is never adequate, let’s go some more:

Often times we identify our love of needlework and our skills with our mothers or grandmothers or other women. It’s understandable because often they were are first teachers or role models. Now let’s think about our stitching life as it relates to our dads. Is there anything about our approach to stitching that we can recognize as traits of our fathers? For instance, does your dad (or any other important man in your life) have an approach to one of his interests that you can observe and think, “Hey….if I substitute the word “needlework” for “fly fishing”, we’d be pretty darn similar!” So tell us about it.

Answer (part one) : There are a couple of things I stitched for my dad. The first one was back in 1988 a "Mallards in Flight" picture. It was because my dad and younger brothers were seriously into duck hunting back when my brothers were in there early teens.

The second one was a simple "fishing" verse picture as he was into fishing right after he first retired.

Answer (part two) : As for recognizing any traits between me and my dad I’m afraid now-a-days that would be a zero. He no longer has any hobbies except playing hearts on the computer, reading his email, and looking after mom.

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My Update: For my stitching on Berlin Woolwork Sampler, I managed to finish motifs # 17 & 18 and am currently working on motif #20. When I finish #20 I shall post a progress pic., Hopefully by this coming Sunday.

That's all for this blog blurb.

The Return of the SBQ.....

2010-05-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 3 years since Renee "The Blonde Librarian" hosted this fun meme. I'd like to thank Lee for bringing it back to life again. And without futher a-do ~ ~ ~ ~

Lee the Lake Stitcher Stitching Bloggers Question of the Month.....

Suppose we say that there are two types of stitchers.

There are those who enjoy the “process” of stitching. They stitch for stitching’s sake and if something gets finished, so much the better, but it’s not necessarily the end goal. Primarily, it’s the application of needle and thread to cloth that makes them happiest.

Then there are those who are “project” stitchers. They move steadily through their projects, certainly enjoying their stitching time, but finding their greatest joy in the completed stitching.

If you had to pick one to describe yourself, which type of stitcher would you be? I imagine that we could all say that we fall somewhere in between, but really think hard about this and try to pick just one. And once you’ve decided whether you’re a Process or Project stitcher, tell us if your recognize that approach in other parts of your life.

ANSWER:
Wow that is a tough first question to get me back in the Meme mood. And you're right most the time I feel like I fall in the middle. But to be perfectly honest I'm not a "project" stitcher. I don't have the discipline to sit and stitch every day and steadily move through a project, one project at a time, until it is complete.

Which is amusing as my real life job is "project" oriented and must be completed in a set time. Don't get me wrong there have been times when the need had risen, when I had to finish a project in a set amount of time - for a wedding or birth announcement. So if push, come shove I could do it.

But considering that I have around ten projects that I've been working on slowly but steadily since before 2003, I guess that would peg me as a "process" stitcher. I go through stitching phases that last for a few months to a year and stitching slumps that can last for a couple of months to years. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever clear the WiPs page on my website. But in the end it's simply being able to put needle and thread to cloth that makes me happy and if something gets finished all the more to set up and cheer about it.
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And speaking of progress I managed to finish motif 15 of BWWS. Sorry no picture as it's 11:30pm and my scanner isn't hooked up to the computer tonight.

Once again I'd like to thank Lee for kick starting the SBQ Meme.

And that's all for this blog blurb.

Stitch-y update and good news on the job front....

2010-04-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

I was planning to post this last Saturday on the 24th but it didn't get crossed off my to-do list until tonight. Anyway...

First the good news.... On April 16 I was officially given full time permanent status at my place of employment as an electronics stockroom clerk. Complete with a raise -- $9.00 an hour. Not only did I get a raise, but I am now eligible for health insurance that the company offers to their FT employees. For the first time in my life I actually have a health care plan. *WAHOO*

On the stitch-y front I haven't had much time to work on Berlin Woolwork Sampler, just Saturdays. So this is an interim snap showing motif 19 and part of 15 [of part 2]. In fact I've been rather tired from chronic fatigue and haven't been stitching at all for the last 2 weekends. (I won't update my webpage until I get all of part 2 finished.)

However.... To celebrate my status as FT permanent, I went a little wild with the credit card and bought myself Garmin GPS unit for my car, plus an HP 10-inch notebook, an external DVD writer, and mouse as accessories. Now I'll never get lost when I go on road trips by myself and I'll have e-mail/internet access at free wi/fi hot spots while I'm traveling.

That's all for this blog blurb.....

Stitchy Update...

2010-03-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

I’m home from work today with a sinus infection that appeared over the weekend. This is kind of funny because the last time I posted here I was sick with a virus. So anyway, I crawled out of bed long enough to update my blog with the finally finished part 1 of the French mystery project "Tree of Life" by Annick Abrial. Click on image for a bigger pic.

Now I'm heading back to Berlin Woolwork Sampler. I've just recently found out that all 2mm silk ribbon has been discontinued by YLI in January 2010. So if you plan to stitch this chart best get the ribbon that is required for part 3 ordered now as it's starting to get scarce. I got a little over eager and bought 2 extra packages. So if you need it I'd be willing to sell it - first come, first get.

Hopefully I'll get over this infection soon and be able to show some more input on this blog.

Site Moved and a Update...

2010-02-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

My best laid plans went up in a virus haze. I had planed to stitch all day Sunday and move my blog and publish my update on Monday. What ended up happening was me in bed for two days with the beginnings of a sinus infection and sore throat.

I was hoping to finish with Part 1 but that didn't happen. And since I'm not taking time off from work, I’m basically fighting this virus and I won't be doing much of anything else for awhile. So here's my progress on Part 1 of "Tree Of Life".

That's all for this blog blurb... until I'm feeling better.

Being forced to move....

2010-02-13T22:55:00.000-08:00

I was hoping for a stitch-y update for everyone but since I'm still working... (YEAH!) I just haven't done too much in that department. I seem to be using my 2 free hours in the evening chatting on-line and reading e-mails... Horrors!!!.... LOL Anyway since I have Monday off from work I'm gonna see if I can't stitch the whole day Sunday and post my progress on Monday.

As for the title of the post.... it seems that Blogger is no longer supporting FTP publishing after March 26th. So that means I'll be moving my blog to Blogspot. I don't know how this whole transfer thing works so just incase you lose my RSS feed link you can find me again through my webpage at.... www.alpinemeadow.com/stitchery/index.html

I'll be moving my blog either Sunday or Monday depending on how much I get to stitch.

Well that's all for this blog blurb.

Happy Blogoversary To Me!!!

2009-12-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe it's been 5 years. I've met a lot of new friends over these last 5 years. Done a lot of pissing, moaning, and complaining. Along with the occasional happy dance stitchery finish and quite a few book reviews. I hope this next year shows more frequency in the stitching updates, progress in my restructured weight loss plans, and less complaining about the other crap in my life.

Hope everyone has a very merry christmas tomorrow.

~Magickal Graphics~

Happy Holidays - 2 Small Updates And Other Stuff

2009-12-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

To all my Pagan friends Happy Yule, and to everyone else Merry Christmas.

I tried my best to finish part 2 of the Berlin Woolwork Sampler. However, I got called back to work after being laid-off for 3 months so I tried to work on it over the weekends but it just didn't happen all that much. So after tackling motifs 11, 12, & 14 I decided to stop working on it and move on to my French Mystery Sampler "Tree of Life". Which I started back in October of this year. As I am now 2 months behind, I really wanna catch up and for once stay current as the free charts are posted on Annick's site. I have this whole week off from work and now that I've got my shopping done for the holidays, I'm gonna give it my best effort to tackle parts 1 & 2. (Click in the thumbnail for a bigger pic)

From left to right accross the bottom Motifs: 12, 13, 11, &14

Here's the first 6 hours of part 1 "Tree of Life"

I'm still looking for full-time permanent work and a local boyfriend. Hopefully I'll have better luck with both in 2010. I've managed to contract Fibromyalgia this last year and it's taken a toll on my health. Constant joint pain and not being able to sleep soundly through the night has put 33 pounds back on me. This is somewhat depressing knowing that it took me the previous year to lose 88 pounds. I try to explain to people it's not what I eat, it's the fact that I can't workout like I use to. That and the lack of energy (chronic fatigue) makes my body try to shut down to conserve energy, hence the weight gain. Since I have no health insurance or permanent work to pay medical bills, I'm trying a natural supplement and vitamin treatment for the condition. I'm hoping it will work because I have no other alterative.

Anyway, I'm gonna try and stay positive over the holidays and through the New Year. I'm not really one for making resolutions; it's too easy to break them. So I will only say that I'm gonna do my best to keep up with my reduced treadmill workout and stretching exercises, reading my romance books, and stick to a rotational system for my stitchery so I can see some progress on my WiPs.

Happy Holidays everyone and see you next year.

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-11-06T00:42:00.000-08:00

Me and My Shadow by Katie MacAlister

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hey what can I say.... I LOVE IT!!!!! Started reading it at 6pm wed and finished at 4am thurs a 10 hour reading marathon... there were just so many good scenes in the book, but I gotta say Magoth "stole the show". The scenes in the woods getting whacked with May's tail and the nakid "butt cheek" leather pants/chaps... Oh and him and Drake's mom talking kinky sex toys... LOL

View all my reviews >>

Sad News of Needlework Note...

2009-11-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

Today I read on her blog and on her YUKU message board that Teresa Wentzler is closing TW Designworks permanently. It wasn't that much of a surprise; as back in May 2005 she had decided to take a leave of absence from cross stitch designing and concentrate on traditional artwork design. It looks as if her artwork design side of the business hasn't been as profitable as she'd hoped either.

Like the others who posted their heartfelt thanks and condolences on both her blog & message board; I too am sadden to hear of the closing of TW Designworks. But not the end (I hope) of her designing all together. I too, along with the other members of the TWBB, was hoping for Illuminata as her one last needlework design project. Perhaps with the burden lifted off her shoulders of the business end of design, Illuminata may still be finished and for sale on "PatternsOnLine.Com". The world of needlecraft design is losing it's brightest star. In my view no one will ever come close to matching her rare talent.

It's hard to imagine that 13 years ago (1996) I stumbled across Camelot, English Cottage, and English Garden Samplers in the clearance isle at Michaels craft store. And the rest they say is STASH history. It was Teresa's detailed designs that got me stitching again and becoming part of the family known as the TWBB. Thank You.

Brightest Blessings to you Teresa and to what ever your future may hold.

Crossing my fingers and knock wood…

2009-10-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today my OEM copy of Windows 7 came in the mail. I’ve been told by a techie friend of mine that because I’m going from Windows XP to 7 I'll be re-installing my system, probably from scratch… Goddess help me I hope not… but just incase, it might be a couple of weeks before I’m able to post here again…. Yea I’ve got that much stuff to re-install. So you’ll either see a stitch update from me by this weekend or not.

In the mean time…. Happy Samhain to all my Pagan friends and Happy Halloween to everyone else!!!!!

Stitchy Finish - Summer's End - and another French Mystery SAL

2009-10-24T14:30:00.001-07:00

Summer's End, originally uploaded by Jan J..

Name: Summer's End
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size: 17" x 17" (43.18cm x 43.18cm) on 14ct. Fiddlers Cloth
Leaflet/Kit #: E-mail PDF Chart
Designer/Publisher: Pamela Kellogg, Kitty and Me Country Crafts / CraftSoft Inc. © 2004
Finished: October 23, 2009
Misc. Info. : A Stitch-Along Project in 4 parts. Created for Pam's bulletin board group, at http://pamkellogg.yuku.com/ Started September 2004. I plan to finish this as a pillow. The french knots on the butterfly and red berries have been replaced with Mill Hill glass seed beads - #00479 & frosted glass beads - # 62023.

For anyone who still drops in from time to time, I finally got around and finished a WiP, Summer's End by Pam Kellogg. Believe it or not I managed it in 5 years 1 month... LOL

I already have another to take it's place. A new free SAL is being offered by Annick Abril – Mon Arbre de Vie - “My Tree of Life" or simply "Tree of Life" http://www.annickabrial.com/ Look under 'Mon Marquior' on the main page.

It's in 27 parts starting this October. It's a French site, so if you don't speak it you'll need to Google translate it. According to the information on her message board. The chart size is 411 wide x 430 high.

Because she uses her own hand dyed floss. The best I can do is go with DMC Color Variations floss (Art. 417) as the closest match.

While I'm looking for a new job, I thought working on my projects would keep me from getting depressed. And who knows I might get a few off the WiP list and onto the Finished list.

Book Review: Wicca, New Age, Inspirational

2009-09-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

The Witches of Dixie by Laura Stamps

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book in my opinion should have be named “A Witches’ View on Life” for the 4 separate but intertwining stores of the 4 witches by any other name is in fact the author. These stories are not totally fiction but in reality the interests and loves of the author, Laura Stamps. After reading her LiveJournal blog for so long and then finally getting around to reading her first book, which she recommended long ago (sorry it took so long – L.). It was as if I were reading yet another facet of her quite interesting life. This book is not so much an urban fantasy as it says on the back cover; but in my view more a collection of thoughts, and inspirational messages. I found several spells, chants, and rituals that I liked and plan to tweak them to my needs.

The only down side to the book is that the first two sections were written in 3rd person view point; and for some reason that grated on me and I had to push myself to read past that and finish the book.

View all my reviews >>

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-09-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

Tall, Dark & Fangsome by Michelle Rowen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tall, Dark & Fangsome made my all night page turner list. I’d been trying to savor the book, only reading a few chapters a night to make it last. But last night when I was in the middle of the book I just couldn’t put it down; and did an 8 hour marathon read to finish it. Poor Sarah blocked, or should I say staked, at every turn to try and rid herself of her nightwalker curse by Gideon Chase. The desperate, manipulative, and now dieing vampire hunter is hell bent on having Sarah sire him. In the end he gets what he wants, and more to his dismay. But alls well with the world of Sarah and Thierry for as with all romance novels they get their HEA. A very good series even if it is romance without sex scenes.

View all my reviews >>

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-08-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Darkness Revealed by Alexandra Ivy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know what happened to the authors muse, but this book just didn’t excite me the way the first 3 in the series did. I think she should have stopped with the last one, because the storyline for this book was just tolerable. I like a romance with liberal love scenes and the descriptive telling of how the vampires and their mates marry/bond with each other. This had little to none of that. Hopefully the next book in the series will redeem itself.

View all my reviews >>

Weigh In Update: I seem to be losing ground with the weight loss ever since I went back to work. I doesn’t seem to matter how little I eat or if I do a 1 mile workout on the treadmill during the weekdays. It's been another 2 months and now I'm 7 pounds fatter, it just keeps creeping back on and I don’t know what to do……

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-08-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Primal Needs by Susan Sizemore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last of the Prime’s loose end love interests are tied up into a proverbial love knot. An unspoken war and conspiracy plots are bubbling to the surface remain as a secondary plot that needs to be answered. But will it? It’s been 2 years between Primal Desires and Primal Needs. Will this be the end of the series? Will the author leave this threat to the vampire clans, and werefolk unresolved? By the looks of her website it will. She has a Primes #8 “Dark Stranger” coming out Oct. 27, 2009 but its set in the distant future on a starship. And since I’m not into spaceship/sci-fi romance I’ll be checking it out from the library but I doubt I’ll be buying it.

View all my reviews >>

Book Review: Contemporary Romance

2009-07-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A cute lighthearted romance. PG 13 rated in the sexual dialog between Rory and Vickie. A time filler read for those 15 minute breaks at work and during lunch. I liked it but not enough to read books 1 and 2 in the series about Vickie’s sisters finding love and marriage.

View all my reviews >>

Book Review: Contemporary Romance

2009-07-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

Wanting Something More by Kathy Love

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

Basically a hometown girl who is bullied in high school because of her tall lanky looks; comes back home as a supermodel to fall in love with a reformed guy, the chief of police, who use to tease and bully her in high school.

View all my reviews.

Toyota Music Presents: Rock the Space - Dragon Ritual Drummers link

2009-06-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

I love this Pagan Group and I'm just doing my bit to promote their music and help them win!!!

First of the Month News and Weigh-in Recap…

2009-06-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

Well as you can see from the stats map I’ve lost ground this year. I got down to 177 by the end of January and hit a brick wall plateau wise, and just couldn’t drop anymore no matter how strict I was. So at the end of February I cut back my routine from 4 miles a day down to 2 miles. In March there were 2 weeks I didn’t exercise at all. And in April when I got a month of temp work I quit all together and went back to eating what ever I wanted. And as usual my weight started to slowly creep back up on me to where I’m back up to 190 pounds as of June 1st.

My Weight Chart:

Because I haven’t had any temp work for the month of May and it doesn’t seem to be forthcoming for this month. On wed. the 3rd, I’ve begun my 1000 calorie/exercise routine again. I’ve been off my diet/exercise for 2 ½ months, and it’s amazing how quickly one can get stiff and out of shape. I’ve had to literally start over by using 1 pound hand weights, only walking 2 miles (1 mi in the morning/ 1 mi in the evening) and turning the speed down on the tread mill from 3.1 to 2.9 miles an hour. Thank goodness those 30 minutes of stretching exercises I do after each mile hasn’t changed and I can actually feel the difference when I do them now. Hopefully in 10 days or so I’ll be back up to speed at 4 miles a day with the 2 pound weights. I’m still riding my bicycle on the weekends for a 5 mile ride when the weather allows....

As for my love life…. I’ve given up on finding a boyfriend for the time being. The 2 local guys I was in contact with seem to have moved on. One e-mails me from time to time, although he’s not interested in a “relationship” but just a casual friend’s thing. I won’t even go into the crap I’ve had to deal with on-line… but just to say I almost got nailed by a scammer who took advantage of my naïve good nature. So I’m ignoring the invites from social networks like MySpace for awhile. Licking my wounds and pulling out my much neglected needlework and concentrating on that along with my Wiccan studies for the time being.

So here’s to the Goddess granting me a full time permanent job and a skinner new me.
That’s all for this blog blurb.

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-05-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK after reading the 4th book in this series I finally get it …. The author likes to write romance without sex scenes. Which really kind of irked me, cuz I was use to the writing styles of Katie Macalister and Alexander Ivy. Moving past that, I have to say I really enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of one Sarah Dearly, vampire. Yes, I’ll be quite happy when Sarah and Thierry get their HEA and the bad guys get staked; in the 5th and final book in the series…. Tall dark and fangsome.

It took the first 2 books to really get into Michelle’s version of her Toronto vampire world. Where the vamps can walk in the sun and tolerate human food and drink. Of course they do have the general vampire traits….. No reflections, fangs, and need for a pint of O negative when they get thirsty.

If you’re into sweet romance with equal amounts of humor and implied behind closed doors sex scenes then give this series a try. Like me, it just may grow on you.

View all my reviews.

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-05-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang
by Katie MacAlister

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I only have one complaint - not enough sex scenes between Pia and Kristoff. *LOL* Loved the fact Katie brought back a few old character favorites from previous Dark Ones books. Allie and Christian, Sebastian, and Esme the ghost. Just wish they had a little more page time.

View all my reviews.

Book Review: Paranormal Fantasy

2009-05-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

As always Butcher does it again with another "mystery/who done it" that left me guessing up to the last 1/4 of the book. Not as bloody and violent as his previous books, but just as entertaining. I was hoping to have more with the character of Thomas Raith (Harry’s halfbrother), but oh well…. Maybe I’ll get my wish in the next book.

View all my reviews.

First of the Month Good News…

2009-04-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I have a job again!!! Yea !!! Manufacturing Services called me back to work – for how long? who knows. I’m just happy to be working and have money to pay off the “plastic”. I also have a car again. Yea Me!!! Well technically it’s in dad’s name so I can acquire the pink slip and cheap insurance 6 months from now. It’s so nice to have a car again after not have one of my own for more years then I care to count.

Got my new prescription replacement lens yesterday. They finally got the damn bifocals cut right on the progressives. Yea again!!! Now I can read my ever growing mountain of books and start working on my stitching again.

Now for the depressing news. I’ve gained 6 pounds back. I was on the treadmill for 4 miles a day and then I got burnout out doing it by the first of the year. No matter how much or little I did I couldn’t drop below 177 and make it stick. Last month I made a effort to go back to 4 miles a day and was doing well for 2 weeks and then last week I didn’t workout at all. Plus on Wednesday of last week I fell on my hip and knee roller-skating and hurt my lower back, then I started back to work on Monday. Standing all day long on cement floors is making my back hurt again to the point where I can’t use the treadmill. Hopefully I’ll get accustomed to standing for 8 hours straight. Maybe in another week or two I can start back doing 2 miles on the treadmill. I’m too tired from work to do anymore than that. Hopefully my weight won’t creep any higher then 183 pounds.

That’s all for this blog blurb….

Book Review: Paranormal Fantasy

2009-03-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love this series even if the sex is implied and behind closed doors. What can I say I live in the Tri-Cities. It's fun reading about vampires, werewolves, fae, and a shapeshifting coyote that live right outside my front door.

View all my reviews.

Other stuff: Had to get the prescription on my glasses re-ordered again!!! Man this is getting old. Hopefully the third time they'll get it right. At least it's not costing me anything more. The dieting has hit the wall big time. I haven't lost any weight since January. I keep hovering between 177 and 180 pounds, which sucks big time!!! No stitching to speak of thanks to my prescription woes. At least I can take my glasses off to read.

That's all for this blog blurb folks!!!

Monthly Weigh-In, Glasses, and Needlework

2009-01-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, my official end of the month weigh-in is here. Sad to say a very disappointing blow for me. The scales have been bouncing up and down all month, as I’ve had to deal with aching joints, fatigue, and sugar cravings (which I gave into). So as of Jan 31, 2009 I’m 177 lbs - just a 3 pound loss. This is the first time since I started last year that I’ve missed my 5 pound goal. Hopefully next month I’ll do better.

I’m still waiting on the optometrist to call about my re-maded glasses. They didn’t get the bifocals cut right the first time. So I’m have a rotten time, reading, typing, etc. and needlework is out unless I switch back to my old glasses.

Speaking of needlework, I’ve found another free french chart stitch-along. I’m going to be collecting the parts for this, as I have too many other WiPs to deal with at the moment, to even think about starting another project. It’s called “Grand Abecedaire” part 1 of 8 can be found starting at this blog entry: http://gazette94.blogspot.com/2008/11/grand-abecedaire-18.html

The second acquisition is an out-of-print chart by Heaven and Earth Designs called “Eternal Promise” the artwork is called “Arwen and Aragorn” by artist Matt Stewart. I put up a {in search of…} plea on the HAED message board and a very kind person sold me her used copy. Almost the very next day someone else was asking if I’d sell it to them after I was finished with stitching mine. She’s going to have a long wait, because I probably won’t get started on this until sometime in 2010, if I’m lucky in getting a few WiPs done this year first.

Hopefully I can get over this cold weather/depression slump I’m in and start posting more book reviews and needlework updates this next month.

That’s all for this blog blurb.

Fun Quizzes

2009-01-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me a slippery fish. Catch me if you can!

Lets101 Quizzes - Fun Quizzes

Where are you on my compatibility Chart?

Lets101 - Free Online Dating Site

Well they might fall in love with me but they dump me just as fast. {grumble}

Lets101 - Online Dating

Yep, a Rooster. It's me exactly!!! especially the controlling part. {LOL}

Lets101 - Free Dating Site

I don’t know about the soul from venus bit. But having a boyfriend would be nice. {sigh }

A soul from Venus with a sexual appeal 7.6 of 10.

Guys hold your breath...

Lets101 Quizzes - fun Myspace quiz

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-01-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

First Blood by Susan Sizemore (and others)

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cave Canem By Susan Sizemore (rating 4 of 5 stars)

A story of the theft of 2 hellhound puppies and what happens to them.

I’ve been waiting almost 6 years for her to resolve the cliff hanger she left in the last Laws of the Blood book “Heroes”. I was disappointed in that of the 4 characters – the situation between Valentine, Geoff, Char and Jebel – only Valentine’s issue gets resolved.

I still have to read the other stories in this Anthology.

View all my reviews.

Weight-in update, Needlework projects, and On-line dating

2009-01-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well here it is the first Sunday in the new year. I kind of just squeaked in under the wire for my 5 pound weight loss goal for the month of December. At 1:30pm today I weighed in at 180.8 pounds. My water weight has been bouncing up and down by a pound or more this entire weekend. What’s worse is that during December I’ve been losing and gaining back the same damn 5 pounds all month long. That in itself has got me the most depressed. Hopefully with the holidays behind me I can leave the sweets alone and get re-motivated for this month.

I was going to pull out Camelot sampler and work on it. But I got new glasses last week and the bifocal prescription is off, everything is slightly blurred and/or ghosted. So no needlework until I can get in on Monday and have them look at it. I was very naughty today and I went to Everythingcrossstitch.com and spent $89.00us on 2 kits, 5 remnant fabric pieces ( all Zweigart 25 count lugana ), plus some kreinik braid and Mill Hill beads for the new Teresa Wentzler “Delightful Dragon Fob” that I got from patternsonline.com yesterday. I hope to put this cute little project on my quickie to-do list.

And now we come to on-line dating. It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere for me. I have several guy friends who text chat with me but none of them want to take it any further than that. I think I’m going to stop visiting my on-line message group forums and get back to concentrating on my dieting and reading my books. And if the Goddess sees fit to drop a man in my path, so mote it be. Otherwise I don’t want to deal with the emotional rollercoaster that I went through these last two months.

That’s all for this blog blurb.

Update: Weird, Strange, Yet Wonderful Holiday Season.

2008-12-28T02:27:00.000-08:00

The uber alpha, just dumped me. I guess when I didn’t jump and go “Ohhhhh” at all his over zealous praising and then dropped a list of questions for him to answer. He got impatient and left. Well, not totally left, he’s still sticking around on my PaganSpace friends list for now. Ha! 3 days - that’s got’ta be a record for me. *snicker*

Weird, Strange, Yet Wonderful Holiday Season.

2008-12-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

It’s kind of hard trying to start this post, I don’t know exactly where to begin. In the last month I have met more guys on-line, made friends and been dumped, than I have in the last 20 years of my life. Here’s a sample of what I mean.

On the 24th I get dumped by a guy I know from his LiveJournal blog. That same evening a guy on PaganSpace, sees my profile photo and proceeds to plaster messages of praise not only on my comments board but on almost every photo I have. Telling me how beautiful I am and begging me to be his friend and “much more” – to quote him. It’s like being pursued by an uber alpha and having the wee-willies scared out of me.

The very next day , 25th, roughly around 9:30pm. Some guy named Muhammad Ali, who claims to be from Pakistan, 32 and a software engineer. Pops up on my yahoo messenger saying he saw my One Stitch At A Thyme blog and wants to be my friend. I kind of worry that I might be getting scammed by this “Ali” guy. But stupid me gives him the benefit of the doubt and befriends him; and before 2 hours are up he’s got me sending him my pagan cape pictures – I am so stupid, stupid, fucking stupid. That would be the end of my future if those pictures ended up floating around the internet. Why didn’t I just say no. {shakes head in utter weariness} I think the Goddess is being way too generous in dropping guys in my lap and it’s starting to overwhelm me.

On a lighter note, mom and dad gave me $100 for christmas and now I have the choice of buying the 2009 version of Norton internet security or I can pay for 2 months of storage unit space. My sister, although not suppose to, bought me a present as well. An exercise ball and resistance band Pilates workout kit with DVD. Don’t know how much I can use the ball with my back problems – disks that slip – but the resistance band will help tone my upper arms. Speaking of which, the dieting is going slow but steady over the holidays. I’ve only been keeping up with 2 miles a day on the treadmill, so I’ll only be losing 5 pounds this month. Next month I need to start job hunting again as I haven’t been doing any for the last 3 months and I need to get back to my 4 miles a day treadmill workout as well.

One last thing before I finish this entry. I’ve made friends with a very nice older guy from PaganSpace; we’ve been text chatting for 2 and a half weeks now. He’s a barefoot hedonist and has got me interested in toe rings and walking around the house in my bare feet. For Yule I bought myself 2 sterling silver toe rings, an Ankh and Pentagram. I took a pic of them and sent him a copy, he says my feet are sexy. I say, if you're going to have a fetish I guess a foot fetish isn’t as bad as most. Anyway here’s the pic I sent, what do you think are my feet sexy? *giggles*

Well that’s it for this blog blurb.

Which creature of the night are you? Quiz

2008-12-14T04:04:00.000-08:00

Found this on another message board I visit. Glad to know my suspicions have been confirmed. HA!!

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Vampire You are a social pragmatist, as likely to kiss as to bite. Your sensuality and social pragmatism is the counter-balance to your existential angst and your tendency toward depression.
Sorceror
Ghost
Incubus/Succubus
Demon
Werewolf
Cthulu Spawn
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Short Lived Friendships

2008-12-10T00:11:00.000-08:00

Well it’s seems I spoke too soon about finding someone special on-line. And being too pushy I fucked up big time and chased him away. Yep, did a jim-dandy job of it too, he even pulled his profile down from PaganSpace.

David, If you ever see this please forgive me…for everything. {sigh}

I have come to the inevitable conclusion that no one is out there for me. Oh sure there’ll be on-line male friends to chat with and drive each other crazy with frustration. But in the end I’ll be going to bed alone. I’m simply too old and fat, and no one younger then me is interested. I hear by give up on ever feeling the arms of a man around me or the touch of his lips on mine.

Just too depressed to care anymore.....

What do I find attractive in a partner:

2008-12-03T23:03:00.000-08:00

His eyes. Which are the windows to his soul.
His mouth. With which a simple smile can speak volumes.
His voice. Which whispers words of love to fill my soul with joy.
His hair. Long soft tresses that need to be caressed.
His arms. Strong and confidant to hold me warm in their embrace.

Feeling suddenly poetic tonight…

End of the month weight-in, friendships, & other stuff

2008-12-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays everyone!

Once again it’s time for the end of the month weight-in – well a few days late that is. Anyway I kind of dropped the ball this last month. What with being depressed and then the temptation of Halloween candy and fast on it’s heels Thanksgiving {Hummm… pumpkin pie with real whip cream!} I just decided to let the month of November slide and only did 2 miles on the treadmill once a day or sometimes not at all. I figure I’ve been a good girl for 7 months I deserved a break. So the bottom line is I only lost 7 pounds this month. But because I always fluctuate by 2 pounds I’m officially stating a 5 pound loss for this month. Not bad, but not good either as I want to be down to 150 pounds by the 1st of March.

Why in such a hurry you ask? It’s simple. I’ve hook-up with someone special on-line from PaganSpace. We’re in the tentative get-to-know each other friendship stage but we’ve clicked on everything we’ve talked about so far. And if I don’t fuck this up by being too pushy in the mean time, we’ve made a tentative date to meet in March. Now it really is imperative I find a new job, as I’m going to need plane fare because he lives in North Carolina and I live in Washington.

On the other stuff front: Money being as tight as it is I’ve had to start going through my storage unit, to basically pick which bare bones things I can keep and store them in my parents basement and the rest I’ll have to sell. When I think of all the star trek collectable stuff I have, trading cards, school text, art, & general readings books, and knitting yarn stash I just want to cry. But as needs must it has to go and I readily admit I’m one hell of a pack rat. Like mother like daughter as they say. *LOL*

Happy Yule!

That’s all for this blog blurb….

No Job, Seasonal Depression, and a Hopeful Outlook

2008-11-20T02:15:00.000-08:00

Well it’s been 7 months now since my last employer sent me my “W-2 forms” in the mail. Which was an “in your face” hint for me to stop calling them about if they had any work. So I’ve been formally laid-off and haven’t been able to find a new job so far.

Which on the up side has given me all the leisure time I need to keep up with my diet and exercise plan. So far I’ve managed to lose 75 pounds and am down to a 190 pounds. I’ve still got 40 more pounds to go, and if I still can’t get a boyfriend I may try losing another 20 to get me down to a skinny 130 pounds.

I’ve kind of hit a plateau in the weight loss this month. I only managed 4 pounds and then gain 2 pounds back, and now I’m struggling to keep off just the 2 pounds I’ve lost. I think it has a lot to do with the seasonal holiday depression I’m going through right now, not having any motivation to get on the treadmill and walk my 4 miles a day. That and temptations like – halloween candy, thanksgiving dinner, christmas bake goodies, and the like, that are starting to show up around my parents house {where I’m living because of no job}.

I’ve tried to get my mind off the depression by getting out on the on-line community. An on-line friend of mine says if I want to start dating again I’ve got to get *out there*. So with that in mind she suggested I join www.paganspace.com I’ve been an agnostic since the age of 13 when I got fed up with the Catholic religion my mom kept forcing me to adhere to. I’ve always been fascinated about the Pagan/Wiccan religion since my early 20’s and in the last couple of months I’ve decided to gather up all the books I’ve bought over the years on the subject and start formally studying.

I’ve had my ego boosted a couple of times by guys who have seen my profile picture ( www.paganspace.net/profile/Janiece ) and thought I looked *hot* and messaged me to be on my paganspace friends list.

Well my face and my lower legs might look OK, but my upper arms, stomach, and hips are still really fat. But the really loose t-shirt I’m wearing covers that up very nicely {snickers}. It’s still going to be kind of hard for me to get back in the dating scene. It’s been 15 years since any guy has taken notice of me and I’ve never done the flirting thing, since I’ve been fat all my life, I’ve never learned how to. Anyway, moving on to something different…

I’ve put all of my stitchery projects away until after the new year begins. I’m just not in the mood to stitch now-a-days. I still read the occasional romance novel, but not like I use to. The depression just makes me tired and I sleep a lot. The rest of the time I’m on the internet checking my e-mail, several dozen blogs, and two on-line communities. Well that’s it, for what’s been happening in my life up to this point.

That’s all for this blog blurb….

Book Review: Paranormal Fantasy

2008-11-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

Backup by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Backup” is a novelette (70 pages) written in a first person perspective not from Harry but his older half-brother Thomas Raith, a White Court Vampire.

Thomas faces a problem. Harry is investigating a child's kidnapping, but, what Harry doesn't know is that the purported mother is actually a centuries old demon. Thomas knows all about the demon but is unable to tell Harry of the demon due to an even older pact amongst the demon-hunters that he's apart of. Thus, Thomas has to find a way to help Harry without letting Harry in on what he's doing.

Thomas does an awful lot of "I'm a monster" agonizing and he's really very whiny, more so than when written from Harry's POV. Still, it was really interesting to see things from Thomas' POV. His admiration for his brother comes through quite clearly and that's the real pleasure in the read. As Harry doesn't usually portray himself as one of the most powerful living wizards, good, but not on that level, so Thomas' view of him shines a whole new light on just how powerful Harry really is.

The story comes across as a “day in the life” kind of scenario. Way too short for an avid Butcher fan like myself. I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on a copy; and as this was a limited print run by Subterranean Press costing $20 you'll be lucky to find it new, let alone used.

View all my reviews.

Book Review: Paranormal Erotica

2008-11-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

I read this book a week and a half ago and only now have gotten off my ass for it's write up. I've been really distracted the last two weeks and been kind of depressed because my weight loss has had a setback.

Lyon: The Lords Of Satyr (Book #3)
by Elizabeth Amber

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

The date, November, 1823, Paris, France, and Lord Lyon Satyr youngest of the Satyr brothers searches for his FaerieBlend bride as his two elder brothers, Nicholas and Raine, did before him.

Because King Feydon had sown his seed where he should not have, Lyon would soon find himself yoked with a bride not of his own choosing. One whose name and face are unknown to him, but whom he nevertheless has journeyed from Tuscany, Italy to find.

Lyon not only finds one, but two potential brides – sisters. One has the outward appearance of a Nereid, a sea nymph or mermaid, named Sibela. The other a courtesan who has a unique talent for haute cuisine, named Juliette. Trouble in the form of a nights enchanted sleep not only robs Lyon of almost a weeks worth of memories but nearly his life as well.

The story was well paced, but for me drug at times simply because I was impatient for the sex scenes, which I must also complain about because there wasn’t enough of them either. {grin}

This time the story was more a straight to the point scenario and had little to no side twists or turns. The author seemed to be treating it as a horse race impatient for it to be over. Even her writing style was somewhat subdued this time around as her very vibrant and descriptive visualizations of the sex scenes were somewhat lacking. Which was not the case in the first two books, Nicholas & Raine. The book in and of itself was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it as a continuation of a multi-story arc. But if you are looking for something strictly for arousal purposes I would give it a pass, or find it in the used section of a book store and save yourself the cost of a new book.

View all my reviews.

Halloween, Stitchery Update, and more….

2008-11-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Halloween Day:

Not much happened around here today. I was planning on dressing up like a swashbuckling vampire complete with my red and black floor length (6ft.) hooded cape, taking my niece and nephew out trick or treating again this year. But due to my massive weight loss (75 lbs.) my old SCA costume didn't fit me anymore. So I ended up asking my nephew what I should dress up as, and with out batting an eye he said Witch. Well thank goodness that wasn't a problem. I simply put my floor length hooded cape on and hung my silver sabbath pentacle around my neck and I was good to go.

Trick or treating with my nephew lasted all of 2 houses and that was it. My niece on the other hand had her poor mother going around several blocks in the neighborhood.

Here’s a couple of pics. Jesse is a pokemon named meril and Sarah is a dementor from Harry Potter.

Stitchery Update:

Well this is my end of the month update for Musical Bell Pull ( by Donna Vermillion Giampa ). This is the banjo and the bottom picture of the 4 instruments. This month I just couldn’t seem to get any sort of stitching enthusiasm jump started with this project. I think it has to do with that time of the year and my seasonal depression is rearing it’s head for the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.). So with that in mind I think I’ll put away all my stitching until well after the beginning of the new year. Here’s the latest picture.

SURPRISE!!!!!:

Well the biggest and most unexpected surprise came in the mail on Thursday the 30th. A personally autographed ARC (advanced reader copy) of Katie MacAlister’s Zen and the Art of Vampires. I had entered a random drawing contest hardly thinking I would win – and what’da ya know miracles really do happen. Because this is my very first ARC. {grins} The dedication page was for all the loyal minions that virtually live at her message board and of course I’m a card carrying member. I don’t know if this is coincident or not but my name was used as one of the fodder characters for two pages near the end of the book. It was however used as a male name, so ( Jan ) was pronounced like Yan ( as in yawn ). What’s really going to drive me crazy is the fact that I’m sworn to secrecy about what’s in the book and I have to keep my mouth shut until December 2nd when the book is officially released. I managed to read, or I should say rip, through it in an 11 ½ hour marathon read. From midnight Friday Halloween to 11:30 am Saturday. I still as yet haven’t had any sleep and I have this over whelming urge to read it all over again tonight. Yea, I know I has it bad addiction wise. {chuckle} Anyway here’s a pic of it in my hot little hands. My precious, My own, Bawhahahahha……

Weigh-In Update:

Wahoo!! I made double my weight loss goal again with another spectacular 10 pounds shed. That puts me 40 pounds closer to my tentative goal of 150 pounds. If I can keep up with this 10 pound loss consistently I think I may lower my final goal to 130 pounds!!!

Man one of these days I’m gonna have to get my hair cut and have a new {skinner} picture taken of me for the blog. {Grin}

For the next few months I’ll be catching up on my authors and writing book reviews.

That’s all for this blog blurb………..

Template Changes Again

2008-10-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone. After much debate I have decided to go back to my old “Harbor” blogger template. Even though the graphics looked really nice with the White Passion template, I just couldn't cope with the narrow column look. That and certain HTML text code attributes were over written which really irked me. So I'm much happier now.

On the stitching front I really haven't done much on Musical Bell Pull this month. I just haven't had any enthusiasm to work on this project. So I'm seriously thinking about just putting everything away until after the first of the year. At the end of this month I'll be posting a picture update along with my weight loss update which is going really well.

That's all for this blog blurb.

Book Review: Contemporary Erotica-Romantica

2008-10-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Wild Wild West by Charlene Teglia

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

As the back page blurb says… 3 girls from Seattle, 3 cowboys from Montana. All pair up at a coffeehouse called Lemon Espresso. Each story is told as a separate novella.

First I want to say that the stories in and of themselves are readable, but I find that I’m just not into cowboy erotica. Guess I like my stories with more of a paranormal plot. That and the fact I’ve been to Missoula and the only thing populating coffeehouses are the college students from Univ. of Montana where the campus just happens to be. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been around real ranchers and I just can’t wrap my imagination around the fantasy cowboys in this book. Shrug… who knows for sure, anyway.

A man’s word is his bondage, Gabe and Willow’s story. Willow’s a (Sub) and wanna be book author. He’s a (Dom) an english teacher and into bondage. Gabe is very quite spoken and sweet. He always tells Willow exactly what he going to do to her and then politely asks for permission. The story itself was OK, but really I'm really not into bondage. So meh, I'm giving it a 2.8 out of 5 stars.

Ready to play, Chet and Jolie’s story. Jolie is a recent graduate from law school. Chet is an ex rodeo rider turned horse breed rancher. The story basically involves a budding (but accelerated) relationship with straight vanilla sex (mission style) with a little voyeurism thrown in. A sweet simple story and an easy read on the comfort scale. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. I would have given it a higher rating, if it hadn’t been for the annoying fact that the author kept letting Chet call Jolie “baby” most of the time. I’m sure she thought of it as an enduring term from Chet’s P.O.V. but to me it just came off as sounding condescending. It would have sounded much better if he had used a special pet name instead.

Reuben’s Rules, Reuben and Laura’s story. Laura is the owner of Lemon Espresso the coffeehouse that is the focal point of the three stories. Reuben is an ex army ranger turned sheep rancher. Laura’s fantasy is BDSM with her as sex slave to Reuben’s master. There was no bondage, pain, or rough discipline involved. Just a fun fantasy of slave/master sex with a couple of first-timer sex toys and a little voyeurism thrown in. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I liked it the best for the sheer enthusiasm the author put into writing this story. This novella was obviously written first and her forte is clearly this sub-type of erotic/fantasy writing.

View all my reviews.

Book Review - Paranormal Romance: Dragons

2008-10-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Up In Smoke (Silver Dragons, Bk. 2) by Katie MacAlister

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

As always Katie you were brilliant !!! I did a 13 hour cover to cover read.

HEADS-UP THIS POST HAS SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD..... BEWARNED!!!!!

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The scenes that made me snort with laughter…

Aisling in the kitchen after getting a muscle cramp. Gabriel prodding her belly convinced she’s going into labor. Drake roaring at him to keep his damn hands off his mate. The whole house in a uproar with Istvàn wanting to boil water and Pàl bolting out of the house to get the midwife. All the while Aisling trying to tell them without much success that they’re over reacting. It was funny thinking of Jim as the squeamish type wanting to leave the scene to avoid the “baby juice, blood and guck”. Considering he’s a centuries old demon, he’s must of seen it all at some point. {snicker}

In the clothing shop in Paris with May on the mobile phone with Cyrene. Who informs her twin that because May is a mate to Gabriel, she must be mate to Kostya. And she being very attentive looking after this very needy dragon for the 6 weeks Mays been gone.

Thank you so much for hooking these two ( an airhead & control freak ) up. It’s so much fun seeing Kostya tortured like this. I dare say it won’t last for long as Cy will probably get distracted by some other needy/insane dragon.

Sally, Sally, Sally… for some reason I got it in my head that she was the 20 something version of Dolores Umbridge of Harry Potter ilk, puke pink pepto bismal outfit - attitude and all. Ha!

I loved Katie's knowledge of surfer speak 101. I snorted with laughter and lost my place so often I had to read that passage in the book twice. It was just so gnarly dude!!

Katie's really got me shaking my head over Magoth buck naked in a church fountain getting randy with a statue. I guess if he doesn’t have powers to create havoc, then the next best thing would be to cause wide spread disgust (ie thumbing your nose at the court of divine blood). Either that, or he’s up to something and Katie's going to spring it on us in book 3.

I loved all the dragon sex scenes between Gabriel and May. Especially that one with the gold dust and Gab trying, but without much success, at foreplay. As for May, I think she should just give into the shard and become a dragon for the time being. Who knows the key to her being freed from Magoth might be in turning into a dragon and braking the bond he has over her. I’ve heard Katie state several times dragons cannot be minions of demon lords.

Now what's up with this white dragon that’s also an archmage…. Hummmm interesting…. Or being white and therefore ouroboros without a sept? Even more interesting….. So who can he be? Baltic, Constantine Norka, some other ancient dragon or Dr. Kostich. And why is he helping Fiat trying to kill off all the other wyverns?

Oh man, I’m going to burst from curiosity/frustration before November 2009 gets here!!!

View all my reviews.

Over Half Gone!!!!

2008-10-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Happy Joy Joy !!!!

I had to post a special blurb today and say WAHOO!!! This last month I managed to double my weight loss goal to 10 pounds. Which put me well past the halfway mark for the goal I've set and I've got the picture to prove it. Only 50 more pounds to go. YEA!!!!

WiP Update: Summer's End

2008-09-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Not much to talk about except to say that I made major progress on Summer's End this month. I made one small change, in that instead of making french knots (which cause me aggravation) I used Mill Hill glass seed beads on the butterfly and red berries. Next month I rotate on to musical bell pull.

In other news: No luck finding work. All I seem to get in my inbox is rejection e-mails. No one wants to hire you if you don't have a car and can't be available for work 24/7. That just sucks big time. I'd hate to be forced to lie about my unavailability just to get in for an interview. {sigh}

Book Review - Paranormal Romance: Vampires

2008-09-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Dark Hunger (The Brethren: Book 2) by Sara Reinke

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Update: Oct. 4, 2008 Important Notice at bottom of post]

Dark Hunger the second book in a three book trilogy, gave me a rollercoaster ride for my emotions. I wanted to laugh, cry, giggle with anticipation, and stomp my foot in frustration, in this page turner of a book. As with the first book, Dark Thirst, it sucked me into the world of Brandon, Lina, Rene & Tessa and wouldn’t turn me loose until I finished the book 14 hours later.

This second book concentrates on the burgeoning love interest between Rene and Tessa. As they, along with Brandon and Lina, travel across country to Nevada in the quest to escape the Brethren, a prominent family of vampires.

For more character info read the review by Terra57 She’s done an excellent review.

If you missed the first book, not to worry, the author pulls information from it to let you know what’s going on in the developing plot. There’s also a lot of flashback/background information that’s new to the characters of Rene and Tessa. That’s what this book mainly focuses on - character development.

The one thing that the author, Sara Reinke, did which wins her high praise from me. Is that whenever Rene, the Cajun part human part vampire, spoke french she immediately repeated the words or phrase in english. I always found it frustrating when romance authors liberally laced their dialog with foreign languages and I not knowing what was being said. Unless, of course, you had an french-english or some other dictionary at hand.

The end of the book left you with one hell of a cliff hanger. In that Rene did something completely out-of-character. It left you with a twist to the plot that I never saw coming and it’s got me wondering – how in the hell is Sara going to write herself out of this!

2009 can’t get here fast enough when the third and final book in the series, Dark Passion, hits the stores.

Important Update:

I have just read via Sara Reinke’s e-mail announcement list that of Oct. 1, 2008 Kensington publishers have dropped the Brethren series due to sales on the first two titles.

I as a loyal reader of Ms. Reinke’s I am severely disappointed in Kensington for not, at least, letting the author finish with the 3 story line arc. To leave a reading audience hanging that way shows that Kensington is more interested in the bottom-line dollar wise then to satisfy it loyal customers.

I fervently hope that Ms. Reinke finds an e-book publisher so that the question of what happens to Brandon, Lina, Tessa, & Rene is resolved.

The outline for the proposed third book in the Brethren Series, Dark Passion is now available at her forum. IT CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE PUBLISHED BOOKS. Hopefully it will answer any lingering questions readers may have about the events set up in Dark Hunger; You'll find it here….. http://sarareinke.activeboard....

View all my reviews.

BOInk Mystery SAL Update

2008-08-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Greetings and a Happy Labor Day Weekend to those here in the States.

I just now finished up with squares 2 and 7A and have uploaded progress pictures See....

A full size picture of my progress so far taken outside on the neighbor's deck. The project is attached to my European Style Slate Frame.

I'll be moving BOInk to the bottom of the rotational pile since I've official worked on it a month now. Next I'll be working on Summer's End I really need to get some progress done on that. Maybe working on it this next month I may even finish it.

Other News: I've made my 5 pound weight loss goal again for the month - YEA!!!! Only 60 more pounds to go...
Starting next month I need to start looking for work again, for what little good it will do. Although, now that school has started maybe I'll have better luck with kids quitting to go back to school.

Well that's it for this Blog Blurb.

BOInk Mystery SAL Update

2008-08-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Finally after 2 weeks worth of stitching I’ve completed page one of the border for the Book of Ink Circles mystery SAL.

No your eyes are not deceiving you, the cat has slipped his flea collar and escaped. Thus I was unable to pin him to the fabric and stitch him in. Tisk, tisk cats are such slippery little critters.

The colors come off a little dull, they’re much more vibrant in person.

Since I’m so many months behind on this SAL I though I’d work two of the enclosed squares before I moved on to one of my other WiPs.

Book Review - Paranormal Romance: Vampires

2008-08-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

I Want You To Want Me by Kathy Love

My review

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

I WANT YOU TO WANT ME is a continuation of the story arc of two vampire (Lampir) half-brothers Renauldo (Ren) D’Antoni and Vittorio Ridgewood. In this story of Vittorio, he finds his soul mate in Erika Todd a sculptor.

Vittorio and Erika’s involvement starts out shaky and frustrating. But quickly turns into hot bunny sex 1/3 of the way through the book (ch. 12) and you get to read plenty of it evenly paced throughout the remainder of the book.

Trouble in the form of the brothers’ mother and Lampir creator, Orabella, rears her demented and possessive head. As she jealousy kills off all Vittorio’s lovers determined to have him all to herself and in a much more than parental way. And naturally she goes after Erika with the help of her demon lover, Maksim.

I consider the book a palatable piece of fluff. Not much in the way of plot but not boring either, and in the end you get your HEA.

View all my reviews.

SBQ Meme: Fabric or Floss?

2008-08-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Dawn and is:

If you had to choose, would you rather spend money on overdyed floss or hand-dyed fabric?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/08/sbq-fabric-and-floss/

ACK!!! What a tough question. Can’t I just have both??? { chuckle }

The first time I ever used overdyed floss was with Teresa Wentzler’s Dragon Needlebook. It was Dinky Dyes silk and I really loved the look and feel of the floss. I don’t collect it as a rule, since it’s expensive I only buy the exact amounts for what a project calls for.

As for hand dyed fabrics. I love looking at them but just can’t get myself to actually use a piece of it. I have 2 cuts of the stuff – one lt. blue, one lt. tea by True Colors.

Hummm….Well my choice would probably be the overdyed floss. I could always dye my own fabric using RIT® Brand Color Dye if I truly needed a piece for a project.

SBQ Meme: What Ort I To Do?

2008-08-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Outi and is:

What do you do to your thread clippings?
Do you just scrap them or do you use them in something else?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/08/sbq-and-blog-awards/

Funny enough, I saved a massive Ort pile o' bits and put them in a notch, in the old maple tree in our yard. Thinking that the local sparrows would use them as nest filler. Surprisingly enough they didn't touch them, nor did the squirrels who run wild all over the neighborhood. Maybe I should save up the next mass quantity for stuffing material for a pincushion biscornus.

Somebody Whip Me….

2008-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

with a Wet Noodle Again!!! Taking a line from Brittany Spears “Oops I did it again…”

No sooner do I finally finish one of my long term WiPs, I manage to find and join another on-line SAL. {Shakes head in utter bemusement.} You’d think I’d be happy with the 8 current projects I have now. Nope.

I can totally blame this on Needle In A Haystack’s e-newsletter. They mentioned a free design SAL from Tracy of Ink Circles. So I took a look and found out it was a Celtic design called “The Book of Ink Circles”. I ended up joining the Yahoo group on Tuesday and downloading the available parts. I found that it was started back in March, so I’m only 5 months behind. If you’re interested in the SAL you can find it on her website HERE.

I was rather astonished to discover that I live less than 10 miles away (just a stones throw) from Tracy who lives in West Richland, Wa. So a big wave in the general direction of West Richland/Benton City area.

Anyway, I dug around in my stash Thursday and found a 20” x 20” piece of 28ct. Ivory evenweave and did a floss toss with DMC Rayon. I can’t afford to buy silk thread so I opted for something that had the same sheen quality as silk. I think I did pretty well in the color matching. As I only had a JPEG of the floss to go by. I’ll try and get the fabric’s edges sewn up on the machine and put on a scroll frame some time this weekend.

Here’s the floss toss pic from Thursday:

Today after I looked at the floss again, I decided to change the dk. Blue to a slightly lighter hue. As it looks like the black will overwhelm the 30336.

Other news: First the good news. I’ve reached my 5 lb. goal for the last month. That gives me a grand total of 50 lbs. lost to date, with 65 lbs. more to go. Wahoo!!! Now the not so good news. I’ve had no luck with finding a new job and basically gave up looking this last month.

That’s it for this blog blurb…..

A New Face Lift Again!!!!

2008-07-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

After nearly 4 months I've finally came across a blogger template that I can tweak to my heart's content. It only took me 4 days to get it up and working with my side bar items and the CSS code looks right in both Internet Explorer and Fire Fox. WAHOO!!!!

Thank you Pannasmontata! Finally someone who actually knows what they're doing and has artistic style as well.

I've decided to leave all my book related things – goodreads reviews, widgets, etc. on this blog. Since I really don't talk about much besides my needlework and the SBQ meme. Maybe I'll just end up making LJ a mirror site for my blogger posts. That should make everyone happy.

Well I'm off to finish the books in my currently reading shelf. Why not stop on by and give the new coat of paint a look see..

Later y'all......

WiP Update: Once Upon A Time - Part 6

2008-07-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well this was a very slow week and a half getting this small section done. Guess I’m starting to reach a mini burn-out again when it comes to stitching. Well at least I accomplished my goal for this project. I’ve decided to rotate it in between the other projects on my list; at least that way it won’t get turned into a UFO.

I thought I’d try something a little different this time in displaying the picture. I drew a box around the actual section that’s new and grayed out the rest of the picture to show just how much and where the progress was on the fabric. If you click on the picture link you’ll get to see a bigger snap.

As for what I’m going to work on next, I’ve got “Camelot Sampler” set up on the scroll frame cradle. But I’m also thinking about “Musical Bell Pull” I haven’t worked on that since February 2001. Whichever one I work on next will be awhile, as I’ve been neglecting my growing collection of romance novels. They’ve been collecting dust on my headboard so I plan to get some reading done until the beginning of August and then get back to stitching.

And speaking of books, I was thinking of moving all my book related things – goodreads reviews, widgets, etc. – over to my Live Journal Blog. That’s if I can ever figure out how to put my author banners and goodreads widgets in the side panels that is. I need to start posting to it or one of these days LJ may decided to up and nuke it. I’ll be sure to post a notice and have a link in my side panel so you can look at it if you want, when I get around to it that is.

Well that’s it for this blog blurb……

Book Review - Paranormal Fantasy: Vampires

2008-07-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume 2 by Laurell K. Hamilton

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent artwork and storyboard scripting!!! I managed to buy the book the day it hit the shelves and read it the minute I got home.

I now plan to put the paperback "Guilty Pleasures" in my TO-READ list. I’ve gotten the feel for Hamilton’s writing and I hope the book has a wee bit more romance in it than the graphic novel did.

View all my reviews.

Another Project Done off the WiP Pile

2008-07-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

YEA!!! I can finally scratch off Christmas Mystery Sampler off the side panel of my WiPs category. And it only took me 4-1/2 years!!! {groan} I promised I’d get it finished by the end of June, I got close and only over shot it by 2 weeks. I don’t have the money to frame it, so more than likely it’s going to get turned into a bell pull. Don’t know when that will be though, as for the moment I’m sick-to-death of looking at it. I only made one major change in it, and that was not stitching the last part. I just didn’t like the Kreinik metallic gold fringe effect of part six so I ended the project with part five for a more uniform look.

And now for all the other info just in case you want to know…..

Name: Christmas Mystery Sampler
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished size: Approx. 6.57" x 19.7" (16.68cm x 50cm) on 28ct. Lugana {Black}
Leaflet/Kit #: E-mail PDF Chart
Designer/Publisher: Pamela Kellogg, Kitty and Me Country Crafts / CraftSoft Inc. © 2003
Finshed: July 10, 2008
Misc. Info. : A free Stitch-Along Project in 6 parts (Oct. 29 - Dec. 14, 2003) created just for Pam's bulletin board group at http://pamkellogg.yuku.com/

I'll be working on part 6 of Il était une fois (Once Upon a Time...) next.
Well that's it for now.....

SBQ Meme: Stitching Time Management

2008-07-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ from Renée is:

How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations such as work, household chores, etc.?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/07/sbq-finding-balance/

When I was working full time my evenings were filled with getting on-line and checking my e-mail, a couple of message forums and a very long list of RSS feeds. Those feeds included book authors & publishers, my SBQ & needlecraft friends, and Brick n’ Mortar needlecraft shops. I only had roughly 3 hours in the evenings for this and then it was time for bed. Household chores, book reading, and stitching was given over to the weekends.

Now that I am temporarily unemployed I can read, stitch, or cruise the internet as much as I like during the day. Finding work is a bit more of a problem. No one wants to hire you if you don’t have a reliable source of transportation – i.e. a car.

Book Review - Paranormal Romance: Vampires

2008-07-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Lady & the Vamp (Immortality Bites, Book 3) by Michelle Rowen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really sweet story if you like romance with little to no sex. This book should have been labeled as "young adult/teen".

Which is odd because the characters were written as much older; Michael Quinn (age 30) and Janie Parker ( age 25 ). What was most in abundance was verbal loquaciousness. Both characters (well Michael more then Janie) went on and on about their self loathing and doubt.

Overlooking that little annoyance I rather enjoyed reading it. The book was sharp, witty, and had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. A very good vampire book.

View all my reviews.

Book Review - Paranormal Fantasy: Vampires

2008-06-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Since not everyone maybe interested in signing on with GoodReads I thought I’d start posting my comments/reviews here on my blog as well.

Heroes (Laws of the Blood, Book 5) by Susan Sizemore

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can’t believe this but I actually liked this novel, even with the 4 previous strike outs. In this 5th book the writing was tight, the scenes and dialog flowed smoothly, and even the plot made sense. It’s just a shame that Sizemore’s last book in the series finally got me interested and caring about the characters. Even when she left me with a small cliff hanger/dangling plot thread at the end with the characters of Char McCairn and Jebel Haven.

I’ll have to email her and ask if she ever resolved the cliff hanger in a later novella. Cuz I sure would like to find out how the situation between Valentine, Geoff, Char and Jebel gets resolved.

View all my reviews.

SBQ Meme: Stitching Magazines

2008-06-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ is:

Do you currently subscribe to any stitching publications or have you in the past? (Either in print or online) If so, which ones?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/06/sbq-stitching-pubs/

No not now, but yes in the past.

I‘ve two magazines that I subscribed to in the past – Just Cross Stitch (1997) and Piecework/Needleworkers (2000 ?) magazine.

When JCS parted company with Teresa Wentzler I dropped my subscription. By that time the charts they offered were too cutesy. (FYI: To date I have yet to stitch any of those designs!) I mainly read JCS for the articles and looked for TW’s designs.

I really loved Needleworkers magazine unfortunately I only discovered it after it had been absorbed by Piecework. And when they dropped the Needleworkers half of the magazine I dropped my subscription.

Now days the only time I buy a magazine is if it has an interesting series of articles. The last one was in 2007, it was a 6 part series from JCS on how to make different types of knots and novel uses for them.

This Week's Finish and Update...

2008-06-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

All rightie, I’ve got a finish and an update to share for this week. Sunday the 1st I finished the birthday present for my friend (towel and potholder) and managed to get it into the mail on Monday. They said it would take from 5-10 days to get to England, and since her birthday is this Saturday I’m hoping that the package is only a couple of days late. I was really pleased with the kitchen towel, not so with the potholder and that’s my fault I’m afraid. I took the thing apart so it would be easier to stitch, unfortunately I couldn’t seem to get it back together so it looked right. I ended up taking it completely apart and re-sewing the trim back on and somehow I didn’t have enough trim to make the loop at the top. I’m not very happy but there’s not much I can do about it.

The update is just a little mention. A couple of posts back I said I was going to catch up with replacing the french knots with glass seed beads for Il était une fois (once upon a time). Well I did that last night with part 4. So now all the sections that needed beads are up to date. I’ve posted a update picture of the 5 sections I’ve done so far.

Now I’m turning my attention back to the dreaded Christmas Sampler 2003 with the determined goal to get it finished this month. There’s only parts 5 & 6 to sew along with finishing it as a bell pull. Then I’ll have to figure out what to use for the hardware to hang it with.

Be sure to click on the pictures to get a better look.

Name: BlueBerries Kitchen Towel & Potholder
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size: Towel: 3.75" x 5.25" (9.6cm x 13.4cm) Potholder: 3.64" x 3.64" (9.25cm x 9.25cm)
Leaflet/Kit #: Fruit Tarts & Towels Book 244
Designer/Publisher: Stoney Creek Collection, Inc. © 1999
Finished: Towel: May 04, '08 Potholder: May 31, '08
Misc. Info. : The gold diamond backstitching is Glissen Gloss Spectrim

And here's Il était une fois (Once Upon a Time):

Well that's it for this Blog Blurb.....

SBQ Meme: What The Heck was I Thinking????

2008-05-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Me!!! and is:

Do you ever get to a point working on a project that you've had for so long, you start to wonder what possessed you to start it in the first place?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/05/sbq-what-was-i-thinking/

I asked this of myself back on April 15, and will gladly reiterate it here. Oh, and thanks Renée for using my question.

That’s what I’m feeling about christmas sampler. There must have been something about it I liked back in 2003 when I started it that drew my interest, but for the life of me I can’t remember what. Now I feel like it’s a chore to finish the beast. But finish it I will, then it will either get rolled up and put away never to see the light of day, or what’s more likely, it will get turned into a bell pull and only hauled out during December to be hung up on the wall after I give it to my mom. The funny thing is I don’t really care for poinsettias.

I guess like Renée says tastes change. Most of my WiPs are long term the oldest being Pegasus and Butterflies started back in 1999. The rest of them were started between 2001 and 2005. I swear I will finish them all ---- some day. [snicker]

SBQ Meme: Stitching Term or Acronym

2008-05-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

For seasoned stitchers: Define a stitching term or acronym for new stitchers.
For newbies: What stitching term or acronym would you like defined?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/05/sbq-stitch-speak/

I can remember the first time I joined the stitching boards over at www.ezboard.com ( now www.yuku.com ) I was so bewildered by all the abbreviations used in the messages.

The one memorable one that always gave me a start when I read it in a header was:

SEX = Stash Enhancement eXpense ( or eXperience )
: Materials bought, gained in an exchange, won in an auction, etc.

Others that always gave me trouble trying to remember:

SABLE = Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy
: To know for sure, simply ask yourself this one simple question - If I quit buying anymore stash and stitched everything that is currently in my stash? If the answer is no, you have reached SABLE.

AFAIK = As Far As I Know
FWIW = For What It’s Worth
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary ( your experience may differ from mine)

Kitchen Towel Finished

2008-05-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

I was going to post this Sunday but simply didn’t have the time, so it gets a quick little blurb today. My ordered supplies came in on Thursday the 1st and I finished the towel by Sunday afternoon. Now I’ve got 3 weeks left to stitch the pot holder. This is a first for me and proving very interesting as I have never counted cross stitched in-hand before. That and I had to dismantle the potholder down 2 of the 3 sides so I could work the stitches. I’m fairly confidant that I’ll get this finished in the next 3 weeks and mailed off to my girlfriend in England by the last Monday in this month.

Name: BlueBerries Kitchen Towel
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size: 3 3/4" x 5 1/4" (9.6cm x 13.4cm)
Leaflet/Kit #: Fruit Tarts & Towels Book 244
Designer/Publisher: Stoney Creek Collection, Inc. © 1999
Finished: May 04, '08

Potholder progress as of Sunday:

This will probably be the first and last potholder I stitch in a very long time. I find I don’t really like to stitch in-hand on pre-finished items.

Well, that’s all for this blog blurb.

SBQ Meme: Family Heirlooms

2008-04-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Jennifer is:

Do you have any pieces that you would liked passed on to future generations as family heirlooms?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/04/sbq-heirlooms/

My fantasy would be that everything I stitch gets passed along. That said, I doubt that any of them will become family heirlooms and will most likely end up in a yard sale long after I'm buried and gone. I'm not married and don't have any children, and by the looks of things I'm not going to have either in the near future. I do have 3 younger siblings,1 niece and 1 nephew so far, and they've all gotten wedding and birth announcements stitched by me. So hopefully some of them may appreciate my stitching after I'm gone and rat-pack away a few items.

Birthday Present Update

2008-04-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well it’s been 1 1/2 weeks now and I’ve worked all I can on the kitchen towel for my girlfriend’s present. I’m still waiting for a skein of Glissen Gloss spectrim gold and a ball of DMC Pearl Cotton #12 I’ve ordered from www.needleartmania.com. Jackie’s brick n’ mortar shop is in Pasco, Wa. the only needlepoint and counted cross stitch shop in all of the Tri-Cities sad to say. I’ll be giving her a call next week about my thread. I’ve never ordered from her before so I don’t know what her ordering schedule is. I do hope I get my order before the middle of May, cuz the birthday package need to be sent out the last week of May if it’s to get to England in time for her birthday. In the mean time I’ll be working on the matching potholder that goes with the towel.

In Other News: I’ve been laid-off and out of work for 3 weeks so far, and it doesn’t look like the company is going to be calling me back to work this month. Damn but on-call work really sucks.

SBQ Meme: Blended Threads

2008-04-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Christine and is:

How do you handle blended threads? Do you kit the blends up before you start a piece, or do you grab what colors you need and blend when the need arises? If you kit up the blends beforehand, how do you store them? Do you have another option for blends to share?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/04/sbq-blends/

Like most stitchers I blend (tweed) as I go. I set up my LoRan small project cards so the 2 solid colors are on either side of the blended color. Example [ 378 – 378/379 – 379 ]. That means I pull 1 thread from each solid color, use the blend and place the unused piece in the middle hole to be worked later in the same project. I try to organize all my blended pairs this way on 1 – 2 project cards. That way I'm not duplicating solid colors on more than one card. When I'm finished with the project I either toss the blend or, if the length is still usable, separate the threads and return them to their respective plastic bobbins.

A hint for the LoRan cards: Write on the back and not the front of the cards, that way you can easily erase the pencil markings and use the cards again.

Christmas Sampler 2003 Update and Page Loading Problems

2008-04-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

As promised here’s my progress picture for parts 3 and 4. This will temporarily be set aside as I work on a birthday present for a girl friend. Her birthday is coming up in June and I’m going to stitch her a kitchen towel and potholder combo with a picture of blueberries. No worries about her finding out, as far as I know she doesn’t have internet access so my secret will be safe.

After that I’ll be working on Le Marquoir - Il était une fois replacing french knots with seed beads for part 4. Then it’s back to christmas sampler forcing myself to finish it.
Do you ever get to a point working on a project that you’ve had for so long that you start to wonder what possessed you to start it in the first place? That’s what I’m feeling about christmas sampler. There must have been something about it I liked back in 2003 when I started it that drew my interest, but for the life of me I can’t remember what. Now I feel like it’s a chore to finish the beast. But finish it I will, then it will either get rolled up and put away never to see the light of day, or it will get turned into a bell pull and only hauled out during December to be hung up on the wall.

As for the wonky page loading problems. I’ve gone out and bought myself a 3 inch thick Cascading Style Sheets book. Basically it’s a developer’s guide for CSS1 and CSS2. It may take me a while but I plan on teaching myself the basics and fix my blog myself. I guess it doesn’t pay to go copying and pasting other peoples code together when you have no idea what the hell you’re doing.

Well that’s it for this blog blurb.

A New Face Lift, Sampler Progress, and the SBQ Meme: April 10, 2008

2008-04-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well after four years I finally decided it was high time for a face lift. I got tired of seeing blue skies and fluffy clouds deciding to go for a green motif and earthy flowers, orchids to be specific. It took me roughly six hours to tweak the template just the way I wanted it, and for someone who know zip about style sheets I think it looks damn nice. There's just one catch - it only works in Internet Explorer. For some reason, I can't figure out why or how, the style sheets screw-up in Mozilla's FireFox.

On the stitching front I'm hard at work on Christmas Sampler 2003. I'm up though part three, the center flowers, and halfway through part four the band just below it. I should have a progress picture by Monday or Tuesday showing both parts completed. Then thank goddess I'll be in the home stretch with part five. I've decided to leave off the bottom row of diamonds, part six, as I feel it unbalances the length of the bell pull.

This week's SBQ was suggested by Jennifer and is:

What is the most complicated piece you've ever completed?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/04/sbq-complications/

At this moment in time none. I consider Teresa Wentzler's Camelot Sampler the most time consuming if not actually complicated, as I'm still plugging away at it after 7 years. Most things I've done aren't actually complicated. Then I guess it all depends on your idea of what complicated is.

QuizFarm Silliness

2008-04-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

I found this bit of silliness via Jim Butcher's Livejournal posting today.

Looks like a tie between Snape and Harry. Dang it I wanted to be Severus!!!!

Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Harry Potter

You can be a little reckless and hot-headed at times, but a more brave and courageous friend would be hard to find.

Severus Snape

75%

Harry Potter

75%

Ginny Weasley

65%

Remus Lupin

65%

Hermione Granger

65%

Ron Weasley

60%

Albus Dumbledore

55%

Sirius Black

50%

Draco Malfoy

50%

Lord Voldemort

35%

SBQ Meme: April 3, 2008

2008-04-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Terri and is:

What items do you consider essential to your needlework that you keep in your stitching bag?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/04/sbq-the-essentials/

I have 2 navy blue DMC heavy-duty travel bags.

They have a 3 ring binder that holds stitchbow transparent inserts, my charts, & working copies. Then of course there's the fabric, plastic embroidery hoop, a package of size 28 tapestry needles, needle threader, scissors, laying tool (if needed), clear tape for getting rid of the fuzzies the frogs leave behind, 11 inch bookmark for cutting 18 inch lengths of floss, colored pencils and florescent pens for marking the working copies, magnets for holding the needles to the fabric, LoRan cards to hold the cut floss, stitchbows to hold the uncut skeins. Last but not least single wrapped life saver candies!!!

SBQ Meme: March 26, 2008

2008-03-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ is:

When you stitch a pattern that you have downloaded do you print out the pattern or do you stitch directly from your computer screen?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/03/sbq-downloads/

Nope! There’s no way I can look at the computer screen and work on my scroll frame at the same time, which happens to be in another room. So I puzzle out if I can convert the file to a PDF and enlarge the chart through the Adobe Reader program and then print it out. Thankfully one of the places I buy downloadable charts – Patterns-Online.com - allows me to save them in that format.

But whether it’s a freebie or something I’ve purchased, I collect the charts downloaded and burn them on disk. It's much easier (and cheaper!) then to keep them in dozens of 3-ring binders and use up a couple of pounds of paper and printer ink.

What be Your Nerd Type...

2008-03-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

Ha!

Well with the amount of romance books I read in a month it's hardly surprising.

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Anime Nerd
Drama Nerd
Social Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Needle Book Happy Dance!!!

2008-03-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got around last night and finished my dragon needle book after 5 weeks of procrastinating. I think my check book design turned out excellent and with 4 pages I've got more than enough room for my needles. Also instead of marking the needle size numbers on the pages, I plan on using small paper stickers and writing the size on them. That way I can re-arrange the needles when necessary.

Here’s all the info from my finished projects page on my website.

Name: Needle Guardian Needle Book
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size: approx. 4" x 6" (10.16cm x 15.24cm)
Designer/Publisher: Teresa Wentzler - © 2007 TW Designworks / PatternsOnLine
Finished: Assembled March 14, 2008
Misc. Info. : I tried to take pictures up close of the Kreinik metallic braid and beads as they kind of get lost on top of the stitching for the head and tail. The bead used as a clasp is a stone - Tiger Eye.
Front Panel : Started August 14, 2007 - Finished October 7, 2007
Back Panel : Started February 3, 2008 - Finished February 7, 2008

I used waxed cardboard panels from an orange juice carton and 4 used Bounce dryer sheets as padding to make the front and back covers stiff. On the inside I used a white felt fabric square as pages.

I think It's time I got back to working on my WiPs and to that end it's going to be a toss-up between “Christmas Sampler 2003” and “Summer's End”. Oh, I'll still be reading my romance books but I think I'll keep it to a Friday/Saturday 12 hour reading marathon. I have a tendency to read a book cover to cover in one go.

Other News:
I’ve decided to start looking for a new job. The company I’m at now was suppose to upgrade me to permanent full-time hours. Instead I’ve been down graded from full-time temp to on-call status. Which means I’ve only had 4 weeks of work so far this year, and since I’ve got bills to pay *now* I can’t afford to wait around for them to call me. Looking for full-time work really sucks when the only thing out there seems to be 4 hour-a-day part-time jobs. It’s also hampered by the fact that I don’t own a car and have to rely on public transit.

Well that all for today's blog blurb....

SBQ Meme: March 5, 2008

2008-03-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

This week's SBQ is recycled from January 4, 2005 and is:

After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/03/sbq-recycling-questions/

Being a packrat of grand proportions I save all charts, instructions, thread samples from kits (where necessary), and design cover sheets to clear sheet protectors and organize them in a "Projects Completed" 3" D-ring binder. In the hopes that one day some other family relative or future kid of my own takes an interest in needlework.

SBQ Meme: February 26, 2008

2008-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Rachel and is:

What is your cross stitch weakness? (i.e., What do you have to have when you see it, even if you are supposed to be on the Wagon?)

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/02/sbq-stitching-weaknesses/

That’s an easy one. Anything designed by Teresa Wentzler. Even if I don’t stitch them all, I have this compelling need to collect her designs.

Belated Valentine's Day and Fantasy Author Autographs

2008-02-16T16:50:00.000-08:00

Greetings everyone two posts in as many days the mind boggles. ;-)

Well I managed to get to Wal-Mart today and there were no mini rose bushes to be had. So I hoofed it across the parking lot to the Home Depot Mega Store and lo and behold they still had a dozen left by the front entrance for $5 each. White, deep red, pale pink, and something that looked like bright pink tipped in orange. I got one 4 inch pot of the bright pink tipped in orange.

I had a friend of mine take pictures outside of his house to day. He cut off the bottom of the picture so you can't see my hand holding the bottom of the pot. I don't know what's up with that yellow bud in the bunch. Next.....

RADCON a Sci-Fi and Gaming convention was held this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Red Lion Hotel in Tri-Cities, Washington. One of the fantasy authors I read, Patricia Briggs, was going to be there this weekend but not in an official capacity.

As I live in the Tri-Cities I wanted Patty to sign the six books I have of hers. Problem - what if I'm not able to find her during the 3-day convention after shelling out over $30 admission fee.
Solution – Patty is good friends with the owners of the local new/used book store "Book Worm" and took the time to visit both branch stores and signed every new book they had on hand. Huzzah!!!

I missed her for a personal signing at the "Book Worm" because of a doctors appointment on Friday. But I made it over to the larger of the two stores before they closed that same day and picked up an autographed copy of each of the 6 books I wanted. Some of her earlier novels were there but I only had $50 with me at the time so I could only get the 6 I really needed. Yeah, I know $30 verses $50. But I figured I'd spend more on a sure thing, and get a second set, than to risk $30 and come away with nothing. Anyway here I am grinning like an idiot at my book acquisitions. The one in my hands is the anthology "On the Prowl".

Yes, definitely a late but still happy V-Day even if I had to buy it myself.

One Last Thing:
eHarmony.com sent me spam a couple of days ago saying – come take our personality profile test and check your matches for free this valentine’s weekend. So on a whim I did it today. I answered all the questions truthfully and the final outcome of all this was….. Soooo sorry but we can’t match you. They basically implied that I’m too old, too fat, unattractive and set in my ways. THANK YOU so much eHarmony for letting me know I’ll never find a husband, die an old maid, and never have sex with anyone for the rest of my life. That’s what you get for telling the truth….I should have lied through my teeth and been happy. ;-p [snicker]

Miscellaneous Updates and the SBQ for Feb. 6th and 13th.

2008-02-15T22:00:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like I’ve gone and fallen behind again with updating my Blog. The only new thing I have to report is, that after going back to work at my temp job in January and managing to work the entire month. I’ve now been laid-off at the first of February. It’s been two weeks now and no phone call, so I have a feeling I’m going to be off for the entire month. Hopefully no longer than that.

I hope everyone who’s married or has a Significant Other had a happy Valentine’s Day. For me the week came and went just like any other. No flowers, no card, no acknowledgement from anyone. Not having a boyfriend really sucks during certain times of the year. Anyway, I dare say I was temped to buy myself a single rose, then I gagged at the price they wanted. Maybe I’ll head out to Wal-Mart tomorrow and see if they have any potted miniature red rose bushes left, hopefully they’ll be on sale.

I’ve gotten tired of reading paranormal romances for the next few days, so I’ve decided to pull out and do the finish work on an old project TW’s Dragon Needle Case. I’ve finally stitched a back for it and now all I have to do is sew the front to the back, line the insides and sew in the felt pages. Maybe if I can muster a little enthusiasm I might put it together in the next week.

SBQ - February 6, 2008

This week's SBQ was suggested by Kathryn and is:

Are there other crafts that you have tried and abandoned?
Why do you like stitching better?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/02/sbq-other-crafts/

Abandon seems like such a harsh word, I think I’ll say temporarily lost interest in. The crafts that came to mind when I read this question were crocheting and knitting.

My grandmother taught me the basics of crochet and I eventually inherited her steel hooks. The projects – a circular Pineapple Sunburst doily 15 inches across and various baby blankets for cousins, and a couple of queen size blankets for me and mom were the bulk of my interest. I moved on to knitting and taught myself the basics - making your standard knit 2, purl 2, winter scarf. From there I jumped in the deep end making a long sleeved, hooded, with pockets, Irish cable knit sweater. As I recall it had 3 different types of twisted cable designs and I made it without a single problem save one. It was too small for me. So I ended up giving it to my sister. Everyone oooh’d and aaah’d over it, and even my dad whined about making him a sweater. But my interest in knitting had petered out by then - that was over 20 years ago. Although, last year I had the urge to make myself a simple knit cap for winter. I bought myself a set of double ended needles and found a free chart on-line. Just like the last time it turned out perfect except for one thing - it was too small, again, so this time I ended up giving it to my mother. You’d think I’d learn by now.

Anyway, I can’t exactly say why I’ve settled on counted cross stitch. Maybe because it looks more like art work. Or maybe my packrat gene, which I inherited from my mother, leans more towards cross stitch charts, embroidery floss, and evenweave fabrics. In any case, I’m happy knowing that I’ll be leaving something of myself behind after I’m long gone.

SBQ - February 13, 2008

This week's SBQ was suggested by Loretta and is:

Do you have any projects that you have scrapped and started over?
What made you start over from scratch?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/02/sbq-starting-over/

The only project I have ever scrapped and started over was Camelot Sampler by Teresa Wentzler. I had finished the center sword block and had gotten 75% of the Guinevere block done, when I decided I didn’t like the look of the over-one section of the face. It seemed too lumpy and contorted. That and I didn’t like the count and quality of the fabric that came with the kit. So I special ordered a half yard of 25ct. evenweave Lugana [Mushroom] and started over. It will be 7 years come this November ’08 and I’m still working away at it.

SBQ Meme: January 16, 2007

2008-01-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Outi and is:

What is your favorite past time while stitching? Do you just enjoy silence, listen to music/audiobooks or do you "watch" TV/movies? Do you have specific favorites you listen to/watch while stitching?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/01/sbq-favorite-pastime/

I usually listen to music CDs or audio books when I stitch.

I tried watching TV and stitching, but would usually end up miscounting and being off by a square frogging what I just did. Or I’d wait for the commercial breaks and only managing 8 - 12 stitches per break so in reality I hardly got any sewing done at all.

Audio books can be a bit tricky too. Sometimes I get into listening to the narrator and have a tendency to stop stitching if it’s a brand new book.

No specific book favorites, just what every happens to be handy - Fantasy, Romance, etc. For music I prefer new age, classical, anything instrumental.

SBQ Meme: Favorite Finish

2008-01-10T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

What was your favorite finish of 2007?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/01/sbq-last-years-fav/

It's not only my favorite but my only finish for 2007.

Name: To Love and Cherish
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size:
11" x 14" ( 27.9cm x 35.6cm ) on 28ct. Jubilee by Zweigart [Antique White]
Kit #: 023-0139
Designer/Publisher: Sandy Orton/© 2004 Janlynn Corp.
Finished: May 29, 2007

SBQ Meme: New Year Starts

2008-01-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

Are you starting something new to celebrate the New Year or participating in "Guilt Free January?" If so, what are you planning on starting?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/01/sbq-new-year-new-start/

Sorry to say – not a blessed thing. I’m putting all my stitching out-of-sight for the next 9 months. So when I do get it out again I’m going to be r-e-a-l-l-y enthused to work on it.

SBQ Meme: Holiday Gifts... What ya get?

2007-12-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

Did you receive any stitching-related gifts for the holidays?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/12/sbq-holiday-gifts/

Nope, no stitching related presents for me.

All I got was a card and some money from my sister, but it was enough for me to head straight to Hastings today and picked up My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon Anthology – edited by P.N. Elrod and Lynsay Sands' The Argeneau Series, all of them up through the latest - The Accidental Vampire. She's the latest on my list of newly discovered authors.

I've basically gone a little off the deep end in finding and buying books from new (to me anyway) authors. Here's the complete list so far.

Monica Ferris ……………. Mystery
Patricia Briggs …………… Paranormal-fantasy
Jim Butcher ……………... Paranormal-fantasy
Carole Nelson Douglas …. Paranormal-fantasy
P.N. Elrod ………………. Paranormal-fantasy
Tanya Huff …………….. Paranormal-fantasy
Elizabeth Amber 1 …....... Paranormal-romance (Erotica)
Amanda Ashley ............... Paranormal-romance
Alexandra Ivy .................. Paranormal-romance
Kathy Love ...................... Paranormal-romance
Katie MacAlister ............. Paranormal-romance (Humor)
Sharon Page .................... Paranormal-romance (Erotica)
Sara Reinke 2 .................. Paranormal-romance
Stephanie Rowe ……...... Paranormal-romance
Lynsay Sands 3 .............. Paranormal-romance (Humor)
Susan Sizemore .............. Paranormal-romance
Shiloh Walker 4 ............. Paranormal-romance (Erotica)

1: The Lords of Satyr Series
2: The Brethren Series
3: The Argeneau Series
4: The Hunters Series

And to think I started out with just reading Jim Butcher, Katie MacAlister, & Monica Ferris. Don’t however get me started on science fiction; big trekie fan here. I’ve got the original series, next generation, and all the spin-off series in my ancient paperback book collection. As well as the Babylon 5 series.

Later, Y’all……

Merry Christmas!!!!!

2007-12-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd pop in here before the day was over and wish everyone a

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year!!!!

I'm afraid I've done absolutely nothing stitching wise since my Thanksgiving Day post. Instead I've turned into a paranormal romance reading whore. I don't know when I'll get back to stitching again. Maybe taking a few months just to read and indulge my fantasies will do the trick. I don't think I've ever totally packed my stitching away so I couldn't physically see it. Maybe that's what I need to do to really get back into a proper stitching mood. In the mean time I'll try to keep up with the SBQ Meme, other than that I'll be on a blog posting hiatus.

SBQ Meme: Taming Your Threads

2007-12-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Nancy and is:

Do you do anything special to your threads before putting them through your fabric to make them more manageable?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/12/a-finished-row/

I only use two methods to make my threads more manageable.
1) A make-up sponge and water. And 2) Thread Heaven.

I only use “Thread Heaven” on projects that are totally over-one in nature, like Teresa Wentzler’s the “12 Days of Christmas” ornaments. Other wise it’s just plain old water for me and spit on the ends – Yes, I’m a floss licker too.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving…..

2007-11-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a hassle free Thanksgiving yesterday, I did. The family (me, mom, dad, sister – kids & husband + mother in-law) all went out to Old Country Buffet for dinner.

On the stitching front I finally manage to finish part 5 of “Il était une fois”. After much debate I decided to go back and frog out the french knots for parts 1 and 4. French knots on 18ct aida looked really suck-y so I replaced them with Mill Hill petite seed beads #42012 Royal Plum. I think it gives the project just that little bit of “Bling” that was missing. That and no more making french knots with a single strand of thread….YEA!!!

Anyway, I’m starting to get bored with this so it’s time to move on to the next project on my WiPs list. That being Camelot Sampler. I just now took a look at my website and I can’t believe it; but it’s been 2 years this month since I worked on it last. Looks like I need to put some serious work into getting that over-1 section of the jousting scene finished. It’s either that or I finish the twisted rope border around the top half of the chart. Hummmm….. decisions, decisions…..

In other news: I went and got myself a very early christmas present. A black Zune 30 gig digital media player with docking port. I was a little over whelmed by it at first trying to figure out the computer software interface. But once I figured out how to rip my audio books and set them up in a play list under the music folder I was a happy camper. That’s what I plan to use it for mostly, that and maybe two dozen of my favorite music albums. It also has folders for pictures, videos, and an FM radio. It also has a built-in wireless connection to link up to other Zune devices, but since I’m a little paranoid about viruses I turned that feature off. I don’t like the idea of riding on the transit bus and suddenly getting a pop-up message from a stranger in the vicinity.

Well that’s it for this blog blurb……

Once Upon a Time Update & SBQ Meme – Catching Up

2007-11-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Well I finally managed to finish part 4 after many weeks of delay, plodding along, and being called back to work, just for a week. I discovered that Aion NeedleCrafts message board is now gone. So I’ve signed up on a different message board called “A Crafty Natter” in the hopes that I can generate interest in this stitch-along mystery. Well a week and a half went by and only 2 other people said they’d look at the chart, so I guess that’s a bust there. O well, guess I’ll just plod along by myself then.

Here's what it looks like so far....

Remember to click on the pictures for bigger images.

And now to catch up with the Stitching Blogger's Questions......

SBQ - November 8, 2007

This week's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

When you have to frog out stitches, do you reuse that thread or do you
start over with a new strand?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/11/sbq-recycling/

You know I could have sworn I answered this same question before in the SBQ. But I can’t seem to find it in my blog archives. So…

It depends on how much I have to frog and what condition the floss is in once I have pulled out the stitches. Also if I find it immediately or if it’s found a section later. It also depends on if it’s back stitching or regular 2-strand stitching. If I don’t have to frog more than half a dozen stitches or so, I just trim the ends, re-thread my needle, and continue on unless the floss is too short or too frayed. If, on the other hand, it’s back stitching I’ll usually just snip it out and start over with new thread. If metallic thread is involved it’s a definite snip it out and start over with new thread.

SBQ - October 31, 2007

Today's SBQ was suggested by Ternezia and is:

If you were a cross stitch designer, what would your design style be?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/10/sbq-designing/

Wow, tough call there. I’ve always loved Teresa Wentzler’s designs so Fantasy/Mythical would one, another would be a combo of Pagan/Wiccan/Celtic design styles. Celtic knot work has always fascinated me.

SBQ - October 24, 2007

This week's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

Do you railroad?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/10/sbq-working-on-the-railroad/

YES! In fact I was doing it long before I knew that was the official technical term for it.

SBQ - October 17, 2007

This week's SBQ was suggested by Jennifer and is:

What proportion of your stitching is for your own personal use versus
gifts?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/10/sbq-gift-giving/

For the last 15 years or so it seems I’ve been doing, for the most part, projects for family members. But as of this year I’m putting my foot down and “Just saying NO!”. I have to start thinking about myself for once, and sometimes I got the feeling that my stitching was more or less expected and not appreciated for the work and time I put in on it. So from now on I stitch just for me!

SBQ Meme: Stitching Mastery

2007-10-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

This week's SBQ was suggested by Ternezia and is:

What for you means to achieve mastery as a stitcher?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/10/sbq-master-and-queenie/

I guess for me, it would be to set myself a series of goals and achieve them. Some of those goals being…

* To finish Camelot Sampler by Teresa Wentzler, and get on with stitching all the designs I’ve collected of hers.
* To rein in my fear of cutting fabric so I could attempt my hand at hardanger.
* To discover as yet untried techniques of needlework and see if they’re to my liking.
* To stitch a design I created for myself, but have yet to see if it’s marketable.
And the biggest goal – to get my list of Works In Progress stitched and completed !!!!

Needle Guardian Stitchery Part Finished !!!!

2007-10-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

Name: Needle Guardian Needlebook
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size: approx. 4" x 5.75" (10.16cm x 14.61cm)
Designer/Publisher: Teresa Wentzler - © 2007 TW Designworks / PatternsOnLine

Started: August 14, 2007
Finished: October 7, 2007

As usual my skill with a camera is less than average and the pictures are slightly out of focus.

I tried to take pictures up close of the Kreinik metallic braid and beads as they kind of get lost on top of the stitching for the head and tail.

I haven’t decided as yet how I’m going to finish it. I’m not just going to fringe the edges. Maybe a checkbook type of flat fold with either a bead or ribbon closure. I did a Google search on needlebook finishing techniques and found a few ideas to get me started. Anyway, it will be awhile before I get that part of the project done. But when I do don’t worry I’ll be posting it to the blog.

Rotational Stitching: Well I’m back in my stitching groove, now that I’ve actually finished something. So it’s back to my side bar WiPs and I’ll be pulling out the French Mystery “Once Upon A Time”. Of the 16 parts Annick has posted up through 11 and so far I’ve only done up through part 3 so I really need to get moving. It’s free if anyone’s interested in stitching it – check it out!!

SBQ Meme: On-line Stitching Shops

2007-10-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Jennifer and is:

What are your favorite online stitching supply sources?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/10/sbq-sources/

NeedleworkShoppe which is a division of Herrschners, I shop at whenever DMC has a new line of floss fibers coming out. I’m impatient and can’t wait the 6 months it takes to see them in at my local Michaels store.

Patterns Online I use to get the latest Teresa Wentzler patterns. I was so glade she found this place for her designs until she’s found herself an on-demand printer so she can start publishing on her own again.

Being that money's a bit tight nowadays I like to keep my shopping down to four on-line shops. The first three are in the US and the fourth is in the UK.

Paw Prints Cross Stitch is good when you want to get your hands on new stuff from designer shows from the east coast. The same can be said for One - Two - Three Stitch! for shows on the west coast.

For fabric I go to Nordic Needle it’s nice in that they carry all the major fabric manufactures and quite a few specialty fabrics as well.

When I was collecting designs by Maria Van Scharrenburg I shopped at Sew and So I’ve never had any hassles with over seas card payments and the turnaround time for shipping is one week. For speed you can’t beat that! If it wasn’t for the ungodly high exchange rate I’d buy from them more often.

Wow I’m a Silver Dragon and my 100th post!!!

2007-09-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my 42 hour reading marathon of all 3 Aisling Grey books and thus finish my goal of reading *ALL* of Katie MacAlister’s adult romances ever published. I went to her Dragon Septs website and discovered which dragon sept was for me.

Which Dragon Sept is Right For You?

You are calm, understand the meaning of zen, are a poet, and value the time you spend with other people. You would do well with the Silver Dragon Sept
Take this quiz!

Here's a little added info on traits from www.dragonsepts.com/ handbook:
The silver dragons are renowned healers, and as such, are very much in demand in both the mortal and Otherworld. Some silver dragons also have empathic abilities, a trait that has been exploited by other septs. They have a particular affinity with nature, and many spend time with earthier beings such as wood sprites, elves, and sylphs. They are cautious and careful in battle and politics, and while they hold honor and loyalty to be among their most valued traits, they are formidable in their revenge if you cross them.

It was mon., tues., & wed. of last week that this marathon happened but I kind of let posting to my blog go until this Sunday. You’re probably scratching your head wondering how I could spend 3 days straight reading and not work. Well the simple answer is I’ve been laid-off for the next 6 weeks until the company work orders for circuit boards start coming in again. So in the mean time I’ll be at home doing a lot of reading and stitching.

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! My 100th post. I can’t believe y’all have put up with my sometimes mindless drivel. To bad I don’t have any updates on my dragon to post, oh well, I’m sure to have something next weekend. Anyway, I’m off to watch my recorded episode of this weeks Doctor Who!!!

Later y’all

Dragon Project Update #3

2007-09-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

Gosh can you believe that two weeks went by in just a blink. My little dragon is showing a bit more progress so I thought I’d take a quick picture and post it today. I hope the picture is a little brighter than the last one I took.

I’m going to put in a few hours today and maybe tomorrow on him. Then I’m going to be taking a break from stitching. I’m seriously falling behind on my novel reading and need to catch up on four books, as you can see from my side bar items.

Well anyway here he is...

SBQ Meme: The Second Time Around????

2007-09-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Renée and is:

Would you ever stitch one of your BAPs a second time?
(This does not include starting over because of mistakes,
bad fabric, etc., rather stitching something from the first
stitch for a second time.)

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/09/sbq-seconds/

I don’t know if you’d call it a BAP, but if I had the time and inclination I’d love to stitch “To Love And Cherish” by Sandy Orton again. For myself, if I ever got married. But since I haven’t had, nor can find, a boyfriend in the last 12 years I don’t think it’s going to happen.

On the Reading Front: I’ve finally finished Katie’s Adult Historical Romances. Now it’s on to the Aisling Grey series. Then I’ll have read every book she’s ever WRITTEN!!!!!

Dragon Project Update #2

2007-09-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

I managed to get a little more work done on my needle case, and that’s only because of the 3-day (labor day) holiday. Friday night, *ALL* night, was spent in a 12 hour marathon reading of “Noble Intentions”. I started at 8pm and finished at 8am. Then promptly crawled into bed and managed 2 ½ hours of sleep before someone started mowing their lawn, and I was up for the rest of the day Saturday.

Well here he is so far….

*Next time I'll try to get a little brighter picture.

Now I’m off to start reading Katie’s sequel “Noble Destiny”. And no, it won't be a marathon reading session. I have to be up at 5:30am Tuesday for work. Rats!!!

Just a small dragon project...

2007-08-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Back in July I bought Needle Guardian by Teresa Wentzler from Patternsonline.com. And after waiting almost 6 weeks I finally got the supplies from Paw Prints Cross Stitch.

I decided I needed a small project to get me back in the mood to work on my larger WiPs. Being that I only have 2 hours a night after dinner to do anything; I thought a small project that I could get done in a reasonable amount of time would make me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

So last Wednesday I scrounged around and found a piece of Monaco 28 count Ivory evenweave by Charles Craft. I did have white but thought using the ivory would make the specialty stitches more noticeable. Anyway I've only been working on it for 4 days which is roughly 8 hours of work. Mind you I'm stitching while I watch TV so I'm more apt to be stitching during the commercials, which means not much gets done. Anyway here's the progress so far.....

Hopefully I'll show enough progress to post an update on future weekends.

I’m a Katie Minion....

2007-08-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

in the worst (or best) possible way. Case in point-yesterday. Saturday night 6pm I grab the next in my (to read) stack of Katie novels “Hard Day’s Knight”. 14 ½ hours later – Sunday 8:30am - I finish the book. What can I say, I read as slow as a snail and always read the r-e-a-l-l-y steamy parts over twice {wicked grin}. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t put the damn book down.

I love Ren Fairs and the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism)

Next, “Blow Me Down”, historical romance then paranormal dragon (Aisling Grey Series) romance books!
Then I’ll have devoured them all, until next month that is….

What kind of witch are you? Quiz

2007-08-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

Found this on a fellow stitcher's blog from www.quizilla.com
What's really amusing is that it kind of pegs me, in that I'm a night

person and I don't let others see my feelings.

What kind of witch are you?

You are a Dark Witch! You are more powerful than witches of the Four Material Elements, and everyone knows it. Your powers stem from darkness and the night. Many have shunned you, and called you evil, even though you may not be. Most of the time, you try not to pick sides, only maintain the balance of nature. You love people, but refuse to show it, afraid that people will use it as a weapon against you, even if you could kill them with a thought. But you wouldn't do something like that....would you?

Common Powers:
Telekinesis- The ability to move objects with ones mind.
Astral Projection- The ability to project a copy of one's soul to another location, retaining all the senses.
Telepathy- The ability to read thoughts, and plant them.
Night Vision- The ability to see in pitch blackness perfectly.
Dark Weaving- The ability to conjure and control shadow creatures, objects, and spells that nothing can destroy or kill but the user.

Take this quiz!

SBQ Meme of the Week

2007-08-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today's SBQ was suggested by Jennifer and is:

How did you get started stitching?
Was there a person that inspired you?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/08/omg-sbq/

It was my grandmother that got me interested. She like to hand embroider pillow cases with hot iron transfers and finish the edging in crochet work. She got me started with embroidering pillow cases and I even tried stamped cross stitch. I was 7 or 8 at the time and my interest didn’t last long. It was in 1983 when my interest was re-kindled and just out of comm. college when I bought my first counted cross stitch kit. It was worked on 14 count aida and was Gather Ye Rosebuds by Kathi Wagner. I simply followed the directions and taught myself.

Just a Quick Note....

2007-08-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Well it's been 3 weeks since I poked my head in here. So far I've managed to read through 4 of Katie's books. The Corset Diaries, Men In Kilts, Bird of Paradise, & Improper English. To say the least I'm driving myself crazy, being that I don't have a boyfriend and no way to relieve the frustration except by other means which I won’t do or go into. {Wicked Grin}

Anyway, I have some good news on the stash front. Back in July I bought Needle Guardian by Teresa Wentzler from Patternsonline.com And just today after waiting almost 6 weeks I finally got the supplies from Paw Prints Cross Stitch in the mail. Wahoo!!

I am so itching to start this, I think just this once I'll fall off "The Wagon" and do this small project. I think that's what I need to get me back in the mood to work on my bigger WiPs.

Ta, All...

Turning Bookworm…

2007-07-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

It seems I’ve shifted into a bit of a stitching slump, and have been more cheerfully engaged in reading Katie Macalister’s romance books. I was never interested in romance fiction before I picked up her book “A Girl’s Guide to Vampires”. The paranormal series is excellently written, well balanced with just the right “laugh out loud” moments in all the right spots.

Anyway, I’ve tried to work on Pamela Kellogg’s “Christmas Sampler 2003” but I just feel like I’m plodding along in my rotation. I just don’t seem to have any enthusiasm for stitching right now. So this will probably be my last post for awhile. Maybe if I put all my projects away for a couple of months the stitching bug will bite me in the ass once more. In the mean time, I’ll be devouring the rest of Katie’s adult Contemporary, Historical, & Paranormal romance books – that’s 12 books so it should take me a month if I pace myself.

Part 3 - Christmas Sampler 2003 – Well technically it isn’t really finished as I just couldn’t get myself to do the back stitching with the kreinik gold braid. Click pic for bigger image.

SBQ Meme: Just One More Stitch....

2007-07-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today's SBQ is from Renée and is:

Do you consider yourself a "floss miser?"

The permalink to this post is:
http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2007/07/one-thousand/

The answer to this question is – Yes, No, and Maybe.

If I’m stitching from a prepackaged kit - yes, I try my best to conserve the floss and not have much in the way of left over orts. I’m always panicked that I’ll run out of a certain high use color and I won’t be able to match it with the stock I have on-hand; considering that certain kit companies special dye their floss lots.

If I’m doing a chart with a lot of confetti stitching then yes, I’ll save the orts to finish up sections of the design.

If I’m using limited edition sampler threads like from “The Gentle Arts”, then that’s a definite yes.

If it’s plain old DMC or Anchor then no, unless you consider one - two inches left on the needle miserly.

Other news: I seem to have let my stitching slide this last week and a half. I got so caught up in reading about my favorite vamps in the Dark Ones series that I managed to polish off two books!!

"Bring Out Your Dead" in the Just One Sip anthology and
Even Vampires Get the Blues

I’m now at the lastest book in the series and I’m chomping at the preverbal bit wondering if Katie will have another Dark Ones book out this year. Who knew I’d fall so hard for vampire paranormal romances?!?! ;-)

To Love and Cherish - sent to it's new home...

2007-06-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

WAHOO!! DONE, DONE, DONE!!!!

Name: To Love and Cherish
Type: Counted Cross Stitch
Finished Chart Size:
11" x 14" ( 27.9cm x 35.6cm ) on 28ct. Jubilee by Zweigart [Antique White]
Finished Frame Size: 17" x 19"
Kit #: 023-0139
Designer/Publisher: Sandy Orton/© 2004 Janlynn Corp.
Finished: May 29, 2007

Misc. Info: Started March 19, 2006. Faces have been covered to provide anonymity. The frame is polished aluminum, the mats are Off-White Linen and Very Lt. Antique Violet ( DMC 3743).

Me and digital cameras just don’t seem to get along. Case in point these pictures. If you were to see it in person the Antique Violet matt really makes the (DMC 3743) shadows under the roses and banners really pop giving it a 3-D look. I’m really happy the way the stitching turned out. I would’ve preferred the sepia couple that came with the chart. To tape a photo in the center just seemed wrong to me. But that’s my taste and my sister insisted, and well, it’s going on their living room wall. (click to see larger pic)

Other Stitching News: Well I’m going to be starting up my monthly rotation schedule again. And since there’s only a week left in June I thought I’d put some time in on “Christmas Sampler 2003”. Working on black fabric can really be hard on the eyes. But I need to show some progress on it, so it gets a week and starting next month it’s on to TW’s “Camelot Sampler”.