Mario page 13 finish!

Another page finish!!

Before:

After:

I had to go back so far to find that Before shot! It's incredible how long it has been - almost 4 years! It was a pretty quick stitch, though, and one more page done!

I don't have much of a life update. My toe isn't broken, thank goodness, but badly bruised. Much better now. The dog is still a menace. My first work day of being 30 I ripped my entire dress down the back sitting down in the car and had to run back into the house and change.

Tonight I start stitching on the next page of the Flapping Parrot. And so it goes on!

Happy Stitching, everyone!

A Finish (!!) and WIPocalypse, the last coming

"You're going to read over my shoulder, aren't you?"
"Yeah, just to make sure you mention me in every other sentence, at least. It's a proof-reading thing. You know you want to."

And that is how Handsome Helpful Boyfriend is helping me write this blog post.

I finally finished his secret Christmas stitching. A few days late and it would have been done a tad earlier if I hadn't lost an entire bobbin of 159. As I didn't have a spare, I ended up having to go to Hobby Lobby the next day and buy another one (and keep from buying all the Thomas Kinkade Disney kits). BUT, all that aside, I finally finished, and here it is:

"Spring Meeting" by Alessandra Adelaide

Stitched on 22-count "Precious Metals" Hardanger by Silkweaver Fabrics

2 over 1 DMC

And there you have it. It took me roughly 3-4 weeks to finish it and it would have been done on time but I ended up getting the fabric a bit late, mostly due to Hurricane Sandy.

I do have another secret stitch going on right now but it's incorporated into my rotation so there should (theoretically) be more updates coming. 

Handsome helpful boyfriend is very handsome and helpful and wonderful. He got me a Golden Kite pattern for Christmas of this beauty:

After a serious bout of handsome helpful puppy boyfriend eyes and "maybe you can start the parrot?" I have now incorporated it into my rotation. My long.... long rotation. Oh well! I just got a finish so I'm not complaining.

Handsome helpful boyfriend's mom also got me a lovely kit:

Definitely itching to start this one (along with all my charts) but holding off... for now. Maybe when I finish the horses I'll pull this one out. It's got beads and blending filament and all sorts of things to make it both a fun and challenging stitch.

Those are all the stitchy Christmas things I got, and it's plenty in my opinion. I will also mention that Lesli of the Fabulous Frogger was super naughty and sent me a $50 gift card to White House Black Market. I will most certainly find a very good use for it, thank you Lesli!

So now the WIPocalypse. Unfortunately I don't have any new stitching to show for any of my regular projects, so I'll just do a recap of the beginning of the year and where they're at now.

College of Magical Knowledge before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Mario before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Riding the Wave before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Tiny Rose Garden Mandala before WIPocalypse:

Tiny Rose Garden Mandala now (FINISHED!):

Middle Earf before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Greek Mandala before WIPocalypse:

NOT STARTED

Now:

So there you have it. I will not be participating in the 2013 WIPocalypse or the 2013 TUSAL, mostly because of Grad school and it being difficult to maintain obligations like that but it was fun this year and I'm glad I did it. Also glad that the world did NOT end because I didn't actually get to finish any (except one) of my WIPs. oops!

So today I go back to my regularly scheduled rotation. If you're curious about what's coming up next, I have posted the next ten rotations on the top of my left sidebar. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2013 brings nothing but joy and good things. From Handsome Helpful Boyfriend and myself! 

WIPocalypse, the 10th Coming

I managed to finish another rotation on College last night and start the next rotation on Riding the Wave today. I have stitched an unprecedented 4 hours today - only because I decided to stitch while watching video lectures for school. Super exciting - but 4 hours of stitching! That's almost halfway through my rotation and I've already gotten a ton done.

Anyway, here's my WIPocalypse post for the month, only a day late!

College before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse (and last update):

Now:

I feel like you can barely see the difference. I also feel like this is the most confetti-heavy page I have ever stitched. Ever. EVER.

Mario before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

"Riding the Wave" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and as of this morning, but not now:

"Middle Earth" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and now:

"Greek Mandala" was not started before WIPocalypse.

Last WIPocalypse and now:

So there you go. A little bit of progress. Not so much but considering school, not too bad.

I'm regulating my sleep patterns. Going to bed between 10 and 11 and waking up between 645 and 7, so not too bad. Feeling better about that. School is still crazy and Boyfriend is still Handsome and Helpful. The only exciting piece of news is the incredible flooding we've had here. I actually got chastised by my boss for coming in to work on Friday. I had watched the news and called the inclement weather hotline and there was no news about closures but my little car would not have made it through the streets, so we got in Handsome Helpful Boyfriend's truck and he got me to work (and picked me up when the county shut down early). The library flooded, too and there were 80 something (if not more) water rescues just that morning. Here's a photo I got in the morning on the way to work:

The water is flowing over the sidewalk. I definitely wouldn't have made it in to work in my car. I kept getting flash flood warnings on my phone all day and throughout the night. But it has calmed down now and is nice and sunny. Also nice and cool - in the low 70s. Kind of nice, for once. I have to say, though, it was scary.

Hope you're all having a great stitchy weekend. Take care!

I Have No Willpower

Both in the stitching world and in the personal world, though the title refers to the personal world, in this case. I'll go over that at the end of the post for whoever is here just for stitching.

I just finished up my 10 hour rotation on Mario, just in time for the IHSW post!

Before:

After:

Wow... last time was back in April. That's a world away. I'm pretty happy with how much I managed to do, and I think it's looking awesome! Maybe next rotation I'll have a page finish. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but hey, it's looking good! I may have been stitching while watching Lord of the Rings. When I should have been doing my homework. Oops.

Also, here's my TUSAL. I'm using my living/dining room as a background.

You can also get a rough idea of how big Mario actually is. Answer: Big. I'll take a picture with him (and any other BAP I finish) when he's all done. Still a ways off, but not as long as my brain thinks!

So what's up with the willpower? I've always been the kind of person who seizes the moment. I used to get up at 5:30 just so I could make it to the gym. I would go to the gym 5 days a week, no excuses. And go to bed by 10 every night. Now, unless I have work, I'm lucky to be in bed by midnight and up by 8:30. No gym. Plenty of excuses. I'm feeling... doughy. My productivity sucks. Something needs to change.

It doesn't help that I haven't had the best of times in Texas. I won't get into it, but it's been a little rough. I'm doing my best, though.

Change does not come easily to me, and I know this, and lately there have been a LOT of changes in my life. I haven't really been dealing with them well. Read: I'm SUPER WHINY.

I also know that if you try to make too many positive changes in your life at once, you're setting yourself up for failure. So, baby steps. Step 1: bed earlier, wake up earlier. I can get back on my schedule, I think, and be able to fit everything in. Step 2: get less dough-y. Ok, ok I know I'm exaggerating I'm far from dough-y, but when you study for 8-10 hours a day and don't move off the couch, man it gets to you.

That's it for tonight everyone. I've still got about 400 blogs to catch up on. I've been neglecting you all dreadfully.

Have a wonderful week and take care!

WIPocalypse, the Eighth Coming, Greek update, and more!

I'll  start with the WIPocalypse updates.

"College of Magical Knowledge" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

College of Magical Knowledge by James Christensen from Heaven and Earth Designs
Stitching on 25 count antique white evenweave
1 thread over 1 with DMC


"Mario" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

Mario - darklilac.com self-made chart
Stitching on 22 count white Aida
2 threads over 1 with DMC


"Riding the Wave" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

"Middle Earth" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

Middle Earth from Heaven and Earth Designs
Stitching on 25 count antique white evenweave
1 over 1 with DMC


"Greek Mandala" was not started before WIPocalypse.

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

Greek Mandala by Chatelaine Designs
Stitching on 32-count antique white Belfast
2 over 2 with DMC, various silks, petite treasure braid, delica beads, and Swarovski crystals


There's my update for Greek Mandala, which I've been working on for the last week. Not much, but getting there. I'm glad the edges of my border met up! I've been working a lot lately. In fact, I'm scheduled for practically every day in August except Sundays because we're closed. Besides Sundays I have a grand total of 4 days off in August. Tomorrow is one of those days, so I'm going to make an attempt to get my car re-registered (wish me luck!). Besides working an insane amount (part time, huh?) I've also started school so, to be honest, I'm surprised I got as much done as I did! But I'm happy with the progress. Still a lot of cross stitches to go and then specialties but getting there! That gap on the right side of the border is supposed to be there - part 3 fits in there.

The next item up in my list is I was a bad bad BAD girl. I got my first paycheck and, with the encouragement of Handsome Helpful Boyfriend, I picked a chart and bought it. May I present to you Thomas Cole's "The Past" by Golden Kite:

I was going to get "The Present" but decided I liked this one more. If you're going to buy a Golden Kite just be aware, this pattern is 105 pages. I'm not even kidding. The grids are larger than an HAED, though but still - when I saw that 105 pages I nearly had a heart attack. Still waiting on the fabby sample from Crafty Princess so no new start yet... but soon probably!

And last, but not least, here's a picture of my finished living room:

Still working on the other rooms. Been working a lot and Handsome Helpful Boyfriend was gone for 2.5 weeks on a rig in New Mexico. But he's back now and as Handsome and Helpful as ever! We're finishing up the rest of the apartment together.

Watching The Dark Knight now with Boyfriend in preparation of The Dark Knight Rises so I hope you all have a wonderful and stitchy night!

WIPocalypse, the Seventh Coming (and lots of news!)

I'll start with the WIPocalypse and share the news at the bottom of the post for those who are only looking for the WIPocalypse.

"College of Magical Knowledge" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

College of Magical Knowledge by James Christensen from Heaven and Earth Designs
Stitching on 25 count antique white evenweave
1 thread over 1 with DMC


"Mario" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

Mario - darklilac.com self-made chart
Stitching on 22 count white Aida
2 threads over 1 with DMC


"Riding the Wave" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

"Tiny Rose Garden Mandala" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now (FINISHED!):

A Tiny Rose Garden Mandala by Chatelaine Designs (freebie)
Stitching on 32 count hardanger
2 threads over 2
DMC, Thread Gatherer Silk n' Colors, and Mill Hill Seed Beads


"Middle Earth" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

Middle Earth from Heaven and Earth Designs
Stitching on 25 count antique white evenweave
1 over 1 with DMC


"Greek Mandala" was not started before WIPocalypse.

Last WIPocalypse and now:

Greek Mandala by Chatelaine Designs
Stitching on 32-count antique white Belfast
2 over 2 with DMC, various silks, petite treasure braid, delica beads, and Swarovski crystals


The moral of the story is that moving across the country is not conducive to getting stitching done. I can't wait to get the rest of my projects here. I've been itching to stitch like crazy. I think I finally realized why I love stitching so much - it gets my imagination going. I get put in whatever landscape or project I'm stitching. It's wonderful and magical.

I've got two pieces of news. The first is that the bathroom is finished! I'll show you guys the before and afters. I'm pretty proud of myself since I designed most of it, and I think it looks good!

Before:

Yeah, I know, I have a lot of stuff on the vanity... oh well.

Now:

I think it looks pretty nice! We went with a beige tile on the wall and a gray tile on the floor (which you can sort of see in the last picture - it's also the same tile we used for the baseboard). Anyway, mission accomplished. Too bad I'm not there to see it.

The other piece of news is that I got a job! I sent an email to the Midland County Public Library a week or two ago and they said they were interested in having me volunteer. Yay! So I went over there last week to meet everyone I would be working with, the director of the library walked by, we got to talking and he hired me. Right there. It was actually kind of bizarre. I then had to apply for the position that  I was just hired for. And I start Monday. Crazy. It's kind of perfect, though, since I'll be getting experience in that for which I'm going to school (what a convoluted sentence that I probably messed up).

In other news, Handsome Helpful Boyfriend has been working 12 hour shifts and I've been missing him. The Internet went down about a week ago and only got fixed today (and we don't know for how long, either) so it's been kind of boring around here without a Boyfriend to bother and with a cat who bites at every opportunity.

I added a "Wish List" tab at the top of the page because I'm an evil enabler and like to share pretty things. So, if it strikes your fancy, feel free to drool over what I've been drooling over. The Thomas Cole pieces from Golden Kite are going to be my next acquisitions. Sometime....

Also, because the Internet has been down I haven't been able to read blogs. So here I go again, catching up with all your beautiful work.

Stalk stalk stalk...