Middle Earf, page 3 done!

It's about time, too! I've been on this page almost 4 months!

Before:

After:

WOO!

I meant to post earlier but I was so close to finishing the page that I held off posting until it was done (which happened about an hour ago). Of course life got in the way a bit too so that kept me from finishing super quick. For starts I had the end of the summer semester. Can't get too excited about it since I start school back up on Wednesday but at least I had a little time off, and I finished my last final just in time for my birthday last Tuesday. Nothing too exciting, I had the day off work and Handsome Helpful Fiancé had to go to work, so I went out on my first oil rig to have dinner with him:

Crazy, right?

The next day we were going to hang out, go to a baseball game, etc., but Handsome Helpful Fiancé injured his back at the gym. We thought he was ok until 5:30 the next morning when he woke me up because he couldn't move. So I called my supervisor (at 5:30 in the morning and I STILL have my job!) and told her what happened since I was supposed to be in at 8 and I was the only one scheduled that day. But he's doing much better which is good.

In other news, I was feeling nostalgic today and going through some of my photos on facebook and I had the realization that I am really, really lucky. I have been to some INCREDIBLE places in my 27 years and I hope to go to some more incredible places. I've seen glaciers, walked on volcanoes, roamed castles, and gazed at Roman ruins. I've slept in tents during terrible storms and gone to the Arctic Circle! Truly, truly lucky and very grateful for everything. Despite the fact that where I live now isn't exactly pretty and the landscape is bleak and depressing, life goes on and this is a temporary thing. Eventually we will live somewhere beautiful again, it's just a matter of time.

With that, I'm off to play Oblivion until my eyes bleed and start setting up stitching College, so get ready to see lots more of that!

Hugs to all and happy stitching!

Sickness, Stitching, and Wedding Snafus

It has been about two weeks and in that time several things have happened. I'll start with the stitching. Middle Earf is still going strong and here's the proof.

Before:

After:

It's kind of fun to watch it fill in bit by bit. I have to say that my stitchy bug had been gone for a while, but I think it's finally coming back! All I want to do is stitch these days, so I have a feeling I'll have a page finish soon.

Regarding the sickness, last Monday night I went to bed and at about midnight I got violently ill. All night. For a week. It was awful. But I'm finally eating real food again and I don't feel like I'm going to throw up the moment I move. I can even sleep on my side and I don't physically feel the pressure on my abdomen as excruciating pain. So yay! Progress! Handsome Helpful Fiancé was wonderful, though. He kept making me tea and bringing me water and crackers (which didn't exactly stay down) and tucking me in like a little burrito. Hero saved the day!

And the last bit of news is that there was a little snafu with my wedding dress. I ordered it in early May (maybe May 7th?) and was told it wouldn't be ready until November-February due to the holidays, turnaround time, and the fact that each dress is made to order. Fine. No problem. My wedding isn't until October 2014 so I had absolutely no problem with this. Well... it turns out the designer read my wedding date wrong and decided to rush the order on his own thinking it was October 2013. I checked the receipt and the receipt was correct. So one thing led to another and my dress is now ready. Which means I need to get all my undergarments etc. and plan a trip to Dallas. Honestly, if this is the worst thing that goes "wrong" then I'll take it. Seriously.

 And with that, I'm gonna go stitch while listening to lecture. Yay! Happy stitching everyone!

Middle Earf #16

Yes, yes I know, it has been two weeks. But it turns out my glasses were no good and by noon all I could really do was lie on the couch with my eyes closed because my head hurt so bad I felt like I would get sick. So back they went to get remade and I just picked them up today. We'll see how they do this time around.

In other news, I'm only taking two classes this summer session (instead of my usual three) and it feels like I'm taking four. So much more work than usual. So I'm slogging through that. Week 3 of 10 started yesterday. Crossing my fingers that all will go well.

In the meantime I've managed to get a bit more in on Middle Earf, so here goes.

Before:

After:

I will share one last tidbit. The naughty lesli RAK'd me, yet again! This time it was Snow Wizard by Randal Spangler. This guy is only 10 pages total, 6 of them partials, so shouldn't take too too long. Can't wait to get to him... someday....

With that I go back to homework. Forever. Happy stitching for those of you who have more time to enjoy it than me!

"And so it begins."

(insert dramatic Helm's Deep Battle Music here)

I was about to sit down and do my reading for class, which started today, when I remembered I have one more thing to procrastinate with! My blog post!

I have to admit that stitching has no been a priority, mostly because I've rediscovered video games, but also because I got new glasses and I'm still adjusting to them. Those of you who wear glasses know the headaches associated with that precious awesomeness. Still trying to get my contacts just right and I miss my contacts very, very much.

I don't have much news to contribute for the last two weeks, so I'll just show you my stitching and try to wade through my (already) ridiculous amounts of reading. 40 weeks of school until I'm completely done! (Not counting breaks between semesters).

Before:

After:

BACK!

Here I am! All done with the semester and ready to relax. Which won't happen but a girl can dream. I did manage to stitch a little in my absence while listening to audio books. And I know I said I'd be back last week but we got an extension for our last assignment and I decided to take advantage of it. Also, lots happened the past week so this might end up being a mega post. Anyway, here goes!

I finished a page of the Golden Kite Parrot so here it is.

Before:

After:

I think the blending effect is just stunning and I'm absolutely loving stitching this. Granted, it's just page 1 out of 60 but I have high expectations for this pieces particularly after seeing this first page done.


Now my new thing is that Handsome Helpful Fiancé chooses the next project that I will have a page finish of. And, of course, he chose Middle Earf. Therefore, that's what I've been working on since then.

Before:

After:

Not so much progress but it's a fun stitch and every stitch brings you progress!

So in the time I was gone, not only did I finish the semester but my mom came to visit! It was a good time. We went to Dallas and (drumroll) bought a wedding dress! I can't give too many details since Handsome Helpful Fiancé isn't allowed to see it until the day of the wedding (hehe) It was the first dress I tried on and I tried on a number of dresses after in different styles and by different designers but ultimately came back to the one I bought. AND of course now I'm having wedding dress nightmares like that they deliver the wrong dress or a dress in a different color.

So besides wedding dress, mom's visit, and school being done (until June 3) the last bit of news is the a bunch of little fluffers hatched in our hanging plant a few weeks ago! They were cute, and loud, and killed our plant, but it was worth it. They flew away a few days ago, but until then we got to look at their angry eyebrow tufts and hear them screaming for food. I did manage to get a few photos, so enjoy those and happy stitching!

Middle Earf, page 2

I think I have stitched more over the last two weeks than I did all of last semester. Two factors: 1. I had the Plague all of last week, and 2. I've developed an awesome system that allows me to stitch more often. More on that later. For now, I finally finished page 2 of Middle Earf!

Before:

Now:

This is the original Middle Earf map, not the large re-released version. Handsome helpful CHARMING Boyfriend is quite happy with it so far. 

Since I've switched up my rotation big time, I will now be focusing on College for a long while. I'll try to update weekly if I can. Gotta make those insane year goals, after all!

So the system I developed in order to have more stitching time is actually one I used in college that was quite helpful back then. It's pretty basic, but very effective. Do all your reading for the next week the weekend before the week starts. Then, during the week, focus on assignments, doing them as they are due. That way - evenings are for stitching! Very simple but it takes a lot of focus and a lot of making myself do things when I might not necessarily want to do them. Overall, though, it has been working so far, as evidenced above. 

When I first started this blog I did once weekly updates every Sunday night or Monday through work I completed Sunday. I'm going to try to get into that habit again. I'm dropping the 10 hour rotation just because right now, with the goals I've put in place for myself, it will be easier for me to just work on stuff as I see fit. That means you might see a LOT of one project at once (up until about the point where I get ready to throw it out the window). My ultimate goal is to whittle down my BAPs until I just have one going at a time. Crazy, right? I'm just getting a bit overwhelmed with so many projects on the go. No promises as we all know how fickle a stitcher's heart can be, but there it is.

Also, when its turn comes up, I will be sharing progress photos of the "secret stitch" as I have discovered that my sister does not read my blog. Not even sure if she knows it exists. So stay tuned for that and until then, happy stitching!

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 twelfth coming

Looks like I'm not going to finish any of my pieces before the end of the world. Oh well! I guess that's what's called the stitcher's dilemma or some such thing. I got a little progress though, so here goes.

Riding the Wave before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

And the only reason I got anything else done was because the Middle Earf SAL happens every month.

Before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

I'm pretty happy with the progress I'm not going to lie, especially since it's the last week of school right now so everything is due. I did complete one of three classes today, so just two left! Turned in the final project for one and just have a presentation and final exam left in that one, and a group project, small assignment, and case study post for another and that's it! Freedom for a month and a half to video game until my brain leaks out my ears and stitch until I can't see straight.

Speaking of stitching, you won't see much more here until after Christmas (BOOOOO) because I'm doing secret stitching for Handsome Helpful Boyfriend who is also a Hero because he has let me do my secret stitching while in the same room as he is so I can watch him play Skyrim and he hasn't peeked one bit. Nope, not one bit. I am also told to let you all know that you're more than welcome to send him plenty of Christmas presents this year since he's so Handsome and Helpful and such a good Boyfriend.

On another note, I want to do a small giveaway - especially for those of you who have made it this far. To be honest I don't even know what will be included in it yet so here are the rules:

1. Comment on this post with the following information:
2. Your favorite song or piece of music. HHB and I like all sorts of music, particularly classical (in my case) and jazz (in his case) and we're always looking for more stuff to listen to;
3. What kind of stitchy stuff is your favorite stuff to stash. Is it fabric? Threads? Silks? Beads? Dreaded metallics? Embellishments? This will most definitely influence the contents of the giveaway; and
4. INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Sometimes people pose questions to me in the comments section and I can't respond via email because there's a "noreply" address in the field. SAD FACE.

Enter by December 14th and I will ship international so have fun.

Last time I got a question about my gridding thread - do I like the fishing line or not. I like it. I don't have a problem with it leaving marks, mostly because of my stitching style. I use a LOT of tension when I stitch and I think that keeps the line from making the holes bigger, for some reason. Also, the way I run my needle under the fabric has something to do with it, too. I think.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen (are there any gentlemen?). Hope you've enjoyed and hope you have a great night.

WIPocalypse the 11th coming

I don't have much to report for this WIPocalypse, but thanks to the Middle Earf SAL I have something! So here goes:

Middle Earf before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

So that's what five days of after-work stitching when one has a bunch of papers and group projects due looks like. I honestly don't think it looks too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Besides that, Halloween was awesome. I dressed up as Batman and all the little kids wanted to get their picture taken with Batman and give Batman a high five and show him how far they could jump. Here are a couple of pictures:

I had SO MUCH FUN with that cape. I was swishing it around everywhere and at one point Handsome Helpful Boyfriend just looked at me and asked, "did you just woosh your cape at me?" Yes honey. Yes I did.

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!