A Long Time Coming

Well, it has definitely been a while since my last post, and unfortunately, a while since I've really stitched anything. Work has taken up a big chunk of my time, even with 2-3 days off, I rarely find any time to stitch. I also haven't really "felt" any of the project's I've started lately. I pick them up when I do find time and just don't have the enthusiasm to work on them or get much done. Hopefully I get my mojo back soon! I do have a few things to share since I've been gone from blogging though...

Here is SanMan's calendar piece for July. The pattern is charted for the ice cream to be brown & pink but I added the white-ish color to make it a neapolitan ice cream cone. It's hard to believe this is the last week of July! The year, month & summer have flown by!

I'm also working on the June & July SanMan blackwork pieces. I can't wait to start on July, its a really nice stars & stripes theme in dark red, blue & gold.

I also finally found a frame for Hot Stuff! I got this on sale for $1.91 at Hobby Lobby! It was a little scratched up so it was in the home decor clearance aisle and with another so much of a % off the clearance price cost almost nothing! I liked the look of it being a little ruff, so I took a piece of sandpaper to it to give it an even more beat up look. Sorry for the bad picture, I hung it in a hallway to get a picture and didn't use the flash since it always showed up in the glass.

I feel terribly behind and am going to try to catch up on blogs so I can see all of the fun everyone else has been up to! Maybe I can find something that catches my eye & lights a stitching fire under me! lol Have a great day & thanks for stopping by! Nick

3 years ago...

Three years ago today, July 9, 2007, was one of the worst days of my life. I had to my baby, Tucker, to sleep. He was the most well behaved, lovable, fluffy cat anyone could ever imagine loving.

The story is really long and sad, so I won't go through the whole thing, but after getting really sick and trying to nurse him back to health for several days through vet visits, blood work, shots, IVs, syringe feeding, etc, there was just nothing more we could for him. Instead of making him suffer even more to try and keep him with us, we decided the best thing to do would be to let him be free. I remember holding him in the vet's office, with his head nuzzled under my chin on my shoulder, telling him how much I loved him and how sorry I was as they gave him the shot. I didn't cry at the vet, or in the car on the way home, but I balled for longest time once I got home and was alone. I miss him so much, it still hurts. He was my baby, since the day he was born. He was the most well behaved cat, I don't remember him ever hissing, scratching or biting. If another cat or dog came along and started barking or hissing, he would just look and go back to doing his own thing, he was just a big, fluffy and cuddly love ball. I hope he knew how much I loved him, how much I still love him.

I've always wanted to stitch something in his memory, but I've never come across anything that I absolutely loved. Thanks for stopping & have a great weekend! Nick

Our Little Princess

Happy humpday, we're half way through the week! Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend. I unfortunately didn't get the stitching done that I had hoped to do. Instead I went back to the art fair with my mom, and what turned into a quick trip to get the Michigan tiki face turned into 3 hrs and bringing home alot more than the tiki face! lol Here is a pic of it, I just need to tack a hanger on to the back so I can hang it...

Afterwards I spent the day at the beach (well, the lake, we refer to the lake as the beach here, even though we do know the difference lol) before going to another friend's house for a cookout and to watch the fireworks. I was wiped out afterwards though, I think I spent too much time outside in the heat. We have been in a heat wave that just wont go away. We've had temps in the 80s-90s, with 80-90% humidity which just makes it almost unbearable. Even at night and in the morning it's still in the low 80s. The worst part is the air conditioning fans went out @ work on Monday, I hope those got fixed yesterday on my day off! lol

Even though I didn't get any stitching done over the weekend I did get some done yesterday. I added the butterfly and boarder around the "Our Little Princess" on the birth announcement. There are so many different pinks used, there are 4 in this part alone.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a great rest of the week! Nick

Happy 4th of July!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Hope everyone has a great, fun & safe 4th of July! Also may we remember all of those who have fought for our country, and, even though its far from perfect, all the wonderful things we do have so that many others do not!

Since I have the day off I am hoping to spend a majority of it stitching before going to a cookout and watching the fireworks with some family & friends. I started the Baby Princess birth announcement on Thursday. I only stitched the "Our Little Princess" in the middle, so I will hold off on posting a picture until some more is done. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to do any patriotic stitching this year, though I did find this Bent Creek pattern while browsing for stash on Friday. It's called "Patriotic Branch" by Bent Creek. I absolutely love it, and may just have to order the 3 patterns/buttons when I get paid Tuesday. Bent Creek also has 2 other branch patterns, one with woodland animals and the other Christmas themed.

The picture is from www.silverneedle.net - They were the only site I could find with a picture of all 3 patterns together.

Yesterday before work I went with my parents downtown to the art fair. Starting at the end of June until a little after the 4th every year we have a big thing downtown called Summer Celebration. They have a huge carnival set up, concerts every night, activities during the day, fireworks shows and over the weekend of the 4th a huge art fair. They always have the nicest things down there. This year I found several new things to add to my Michigan collection, as well as had some fried Oreos.

The GO BLUE mat was $10, and I plan to put picture of my dad & I and my friends & I behind the letters. They had several framed mats for sale with generic pictures of/around the stadium as well, for Michigan as well as other colleges. The small metal sign was only $5.99 and the larger sign was $10.99. The booth had tons of similar signs for all kinds of college and professional teams. There was also a booth that had really cool air brush painted signs for different teams and pool/beach/drink themed signs and I'm kicking myslef for not buying the Michigan themed one. It was a wooden tiki like face with a big block M and football on his head. You could buy just the faces for $15 or have it added to a sign for $35. I think I might head back today and hope the booth is still there!

Hope everyone has a great day and thanks for stopping by! Nick