Sorry for not posting in a while. I left last Thursday afternoon and was out of town for nearly a week visiting my friend Tracy up in eastern Washington. Even though she was feeling a bit under the weather, we still had a great visit.

On Friday, we headed over to Pasco for the day. I had an appointment with her brother Kevin to get another tattoo. I had him do a piece in memory of my beloved grandmother. She grew beautiful irises and loved hummingbirds, so that was the inspiration for the design. Lastly, I had him add in “Gran” in a nice script since that’s what I always called her. Here’s a pic of the finish product taken immediately after he finished it:

The colors are a bit softer now that it’s healed for a little over a week. I’ll take another photo to post once the healing process is completed. I know you can’t really tell from the pic, but it’s on the side of my right thigh about halfway up. As a size reference, it’s probably about 6″ across at the widest part.

On Saturday we just kind of hung around at Tracy’s house. I got in quite a bit of good stitching time on Moonlit Garden. It’s the Loose Feathers #22 design from Blackbird Designs. Here’s my latest WIP photo of this design:

Design: Moonlit Garden (Loose Feathers #22)
Designer: Blackbird Designs
Fabric: 30-count Broomstick Brown from R&R Reproductions
Fibers: Weeks Dye Works
Progress as of June 23, 2009

On Sunday, we headed over to Seattle. Her dad was riding in the 100-mile Livestrong Challenge, so we went over to be his cheerleaders. Even though he had to ride through some rain and a bit of hail at one point, he still finished the full 100-mile ride and raised nearly $1000, too! WTG Jim!! Here’s a photo I snapped of him right after he finished the ride:

Monday was my last full day in Washington. We just kind of took is easy most of the day. We did head over to Moses Lake mid-afternoon to take in a movie. We went to see “The Proposal” and had a great time. It was a really fun chick-flick to see together. Of course, it didn’t hurt that it starred hunky Ryan Reynolds either. Oh yeah, Sandra Bullock was in it, too. The main cast was rounded out with Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, and Betty White (who was hilarious!). In an ironic twist of art imitating life, Reynolds is actually a Canadian married to an American (Scarlett Johansson).

After the movie, we headed back over to Tracy’s place and spent the rest of the day just hanging out and watching TV. We both did a bit of stitching, too. Tracy spent some time working on Psalm 145 from Little House Needleworks. Instead of working on Moonlit Garden again, I did a bit of guest stitcher work on her Sistine Chapel project. I’m still amazed she decided to undertake this project, but I must admit that it was kind of cool to put some stitches in it. Here’s a photo of me working on it with the full 2.5 yards of linen sitting in my lap. Following that is a photo showing what I stitched on the piece.

That’s pretty much it for the photos from my trip that I’m going to post to my blog. If you want to see more, you can find them here.

I’m also nearly a week late posting my monthly photo for the Totally Useless SAL. The new moon fell on June 22, but I was still out of town at the time. I actually haven’t had much time for stitching since I got home, so even though it’s nearly a week late, it’s still pretty accurate.

In this photo, I temporarily set my ort bucket on my canvas WIP of Plum Blossom Kimono by Margaret Bendig. This is a class that I’m taking through my LNS, and I’m behind on my stitching right now due to my vacations. Canvas projects just don’t travel as compactly as cross stitching projects. You might also notice the quarter on the canvas. It’s not actually sitting on the canvas. It’s a needle park that was given to me by my friend Cindi. It’s a California state quarter mounted to a rare earth magnet. She gave one to my BSF Darla, too. You can see a better photo of it here.

Now that I’ve rambled on so much, I thought I should finally explain why I used “Updating on the Run” as the subject for this post. Even though I was on vacation last week, I’m heading out again tonight. I have an all-day class with Ellen Chester at the LNS today, but then I’ll be catching the red-eye to Detroit tonight to spend some time with my friend Nick. I’ll be there for nine days, and I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for updating my blog while I’m gone. If you want to know what’s going on with me, the best option would be to follow my Twitter feed (info in the side bar on the right).

Well, that’s it for now. I desperately need to get into bed since I have such a long day tomorrow. I still need to finish packing, too. Eek!

Until next time …

Last night was the second round of voting night for the new season of So You Think You Can Dance. The Top 18 took the stage as 9 couples. This week’s judges were Lil’ C, Mary Murphy, and Nigel Lythgoe.

I’m packing and getting ready to leave on vacation a bit later today. Unfortunately, that means I didn’t have time to find video clips of last night’s performances & links to the choreographers like I did last week. Sorry!

Here is my recap of last night’s show:

Couple 1: Randi and Evan
Music: “Shake a Tail Feather” by Ray Charles
Dance Style: Ballroom – Jive
Choreography: Louis Van Amstel

Well, if their goal was to show the audience they were having fun, they succeeded. I LOVED when Evan jumped over Randi. That was awesome! The little ass grabs were cute, too. Lack of chemistry is definitely not a problem with this couple. It may not have been the most technically perfect Jive ever, but it was FUN! *ding*

Couple 2: Melissa and Ade
Music: 24 Hours by Terry Poison (Ashton Shuffle A-Bomb Remix)
Dance Style: Jazz
Choreography: Sonya Tayeh

As soon as I heard Sonya’s premise of the dance, I figured Melissa would have have no problem playing a high-maintenance girl given how much she liked to remind us she was a ballerina in the audition rounds. I’m not sure I thought of her in that light watching the dance, but I did enjoy it. Sonya’s choreography was awesome, as usual, and Melissa & Ade did a great job with it.

Couple 3: Caitlin and Jason
Music: “Missin You” by Trey Songz
Dance Style: Hip-hop
Choreography: Shane Sparks

As soon as I heard Shane Sparks would be choregraphing their dance, I was psyched. Shane Sparks is probably my favorite hip-hop choreographer, and I’m so glad he’s back on SYTYCD this year! Personally, I thought Jason was absolutely amazing! For me though, Caitlin was just OK, although that reverse flip thing she did was unbelievable! All in all though, I just didn’t think she was hitting things quite hard enough. Even though it was a softer style of hip-hop, she was too soft and didn’t really come across as hip-hop to me. Not sure if they’ll make the cut this week with that performance.

Couple 4: Janette and Brandon
Music: “Loving is Really My Game” by Brainstorm
Dance Style: Disco
Choreography: Doriana Sanchez

I <3 disco! Perhaps it's because of my age, but I just love fun & funky disco music, and this dance did not disappoint! OMG that leg-split lift of Janette's was caaa-raaaaa-zyyyyyyyy! I'm still amazed how high she lifted her legs in that split. Then, no sooner than I had recovered from that, Brandon did his full layout backflip! This couple is absolutely amazing and are definitely giving everyone else a run for the money!! I have to say that I was completely :lol: at Lil' C's commentary on their dance.

Couple 5: Asuka and Vitolio
Music: “Dreams are More Precious” by Enya
Dance Style: Waltz
Choreography: Louis Van Amstel

I usually feel sorry for couples when they draw the waltz because it’s not a dance style that generally excites people. However, I loved this waltz! I actually got goosebumps a couple of times watching them dance. Even though they performed immediately after the high-energy disco of Janette & Brandon, this couple completely captivated my attention and I was mesmerized watching their performance. The dance was graceful, elegant, and beautiful to watch.

Couple 6: Kayla and Max
Music: “Hot Like Wow” by Nadia Oh
Dance Style: Pop Jazz
Choreography: Brian Friedman

Well, the song title completely sums up this dance. Hot Like Wow!! Max and Kayla definitely brought it again this week. Lil’ C was on a roll still when providing his commentary on Max. I don’t know what was up with him, but he was saying silly ass stuff all night. Then, to top that, he said absolutely nothing about Kayla other than implying he hope she screws up in the future so he’ll have something to say to her. WTF?! Along with Janette & Brandon, this is definitely a couple to watch!

Couple 7: Karla and Jonathan
Music: “Falling Slowly” by The Frames
Dance Style: Contemporary
Choreography: Stacey Tookey

This was our first time seeing Canadian choreographer Stacey Tookey on SYTYCD. I definitely didn’t care for this performance as much as the judges clearly did. I loved Stacey’s choreography, but wasn’t really moved by the performance of the dancers. For me, it was just OK and nothing really that special. I fear they will find themselves in the bottom three again. Personally, I would love to see this dance performed by Katie & Joshua from last season!

Couple 8: Jeanine and Phillip
Music: “Violento (Up Mix)” by Bailango!
Dance Style: Tango
Choreography: Tony Meredith

This was another just OK dance for me. They did OK, but there just wasn’t the “heat” between them that I expect for a tango. I did love when Mary called Lil’ C on the carpet over the bent knees comment! Will they be in the bottom three? They should be, but will America’s love of Phillip keep them safe? I think it might.

Couple 9: Ashley and Kupono
Music: “Imma Be” by The Black Eyed Peas
Dance Style: Hip-hop
Choreography: Shane Sparks

Yeah, this dance was bad, and it had nothing to do with the choreography. Shane, as always, had some very creative choreography going in this dance, but it just wasn’t executed very well. They didn’t hit things hard like they should, and they weren’t synchronized. They absolutely should be in the bottom three.

Well, that’s my recap of all the dances from last night. Here are my predictions for the bottom three couples: Ashley & Kupono, Caitlin & Jason, and Jeanine & Phillip. If America’s love for Phillip does keep them safe, then I think Karla & Jonathan will find themselves in the bottom three instead.

Until next time …

My blog is going green today in support of the freedom movement in Iran. The people of Iran seem to be clamoring for freedom & democracy. Going into this past Friday’s election, it seemed pretty likely that incumbent President Ahmadinejad would be defeated and the former Prime Minister Mousavi (a reformist) would become the new President. However, post election, there seems to be substantial speculation that the election outcome was rigged in order to keep Ahmadinejad in power.

Regardless of how all this ends up, my thoughts go out to the people of Iran. I hope the bloodshed ends quickly, and that the true results, whatever that might be, will be verified.

I love this conversion that I saw for the Mary Wigham sampler so much that I just had to share it on my blog. This conversion was done by Katrina who prefers softer colors in her samplers, so she converted it to more muted tones using cotton over-dyed cottons (GAST, WDW, and CC).

Here is a photo of her floss toss followed by her substitutions:

That’s it for now. Until next time …

Last night was the first voting night for the new season of So You Think You Can Dance. The Top 20 took the stage as 10 couples. Overall, I was very impressed with the level of talent in this year’s Top 20.

After seeing all of the performances, there was only one couple that I immediately felt would be in the bottom three on the results show tonight. Even with their dance, it wasn’t that they were really bad, per se, they just weren’t as good as the other nine couples. All in all, I was shocked at how quickly the show went by last night, even discounting the fact I was fast-forwarding through the commercials thanks to my DVR. If last night’s performances are any indication, we should be in for a GREAT season of dancing!

Here is my recap of last night’s show:

Couple 1: Jeanine and Phillip
Music: “Mad” by Ne-Yo
Dance Style: Hip-Hop
Choreography: Tabitha & Napoleon D’umo

I adore watching Phillip when he does his locking & popping style of dance. It’s so unique and I just don’t understand how exactly he makes his limbs look so fluid. I was very worried about how well he would do going into last night’s show since he hasn’t really had much training in other styles. Fortunately, he lucked out and got hip-hop for the first show. I *loved* their performance! Jeanine did an excellent job given she is a contemporary dancer. She brought her energy levels way up and held her own which is amazing given most eyes would typically be on Phillip.

Couple 2: Asuka and Vitolio
Music: “Hot Honey Rag” from the “Chicago” soundtrack
Dance Style: Broadway
Choreography: Tyce Diorio

I’m a bit worried for Asuka and Vitolio based on last night’s performance. Technically, they did a good job, but I just didn’t necessarily feel a connection between them and with the audience. That connection is key to getting people to pick up the phone and vote. They also had the misfortune of following Phillip which didn’t help things. I think they likely will fall in the bottom three and end up dancing for their lives tonight.

Couple 3: Karla and Jonathan
Music: “Poker Face” by Lady GaGa
Dance Style: Latin Ballroom – Cha Cha
Choreography: Tony Meredith

I was a bit surprised over how much the judges were oooohing and aaaaahing over this dance. There were parts that I really thought were amazing, like when Jonathan did the splits between Karla’s legs, but overall, the dance just didn’t thrill me as much as it clearly did the judges. Even though they’re both talented dancers, I fear they also may end up slipping into the bottom three and will have to dance for their lives.

Couple 4: Randi and Evan
Music: “I Only Have Eyes for You” by Jamie Cullum
Dance Style: Jazz
Choreography: Tyce Diorio

I loved this dance! There was such a wonderful chemistry between them. They both looked like they were having great time with the dance, yet still conveyed the appropriate mood for the choreography. Even though they may be underdogs in some people’s opinion (height & looks issues, not that I agree with those theories), I personally think they are definitely a pair to watch.

Couple 5: Paris and Tony
Music: “Let the Beat Rock” by Black Eyed Peas
Dance Style: Hip-Hop
Choreography: Tabitha & Napoleon D’umo

This is the aforementioned couple that I think will definitely be in the bottom three and will be forced to dance for their lives. They didn’t do a horrible job by any means, but compared to the other couples, they clearly just weren’t as dynamic. One might excuse the lack of hip-hop ability for Paris because it’s not her genre, but it is Tony’s and he just wasn’t very impressive.

Couple 6: Caitlin and Jason
Music: “Jai Ho” from the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack
Dance Style: Bollywood
Choreography: Nakul Dev Mahajan

This dance was definitely one of the highlights of the evening for me. Was it the best technically? No, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly nonetheless. I love when the producers bring in dance styles from other cultures and incorporate them into the show. Yes, it definitely makes it more challenging for the dancers, but I think Caitlin and Jason pulled it off. Was their Bollywood dance as good as Joshua & Katee’s Bollywood dance last year? Probably not, but Joshua & Katee had been dancing together longer as a pair and weren’t doing a Bollywood routine the first week of the season either. I still think it was really good and very entertaining.

Couple 7: Janette and Brandon
Music: “Come Fly With Me” by Michael Bublé
Dance Style: Ballroom – Foxtrot
Choreography: Louis Van Amstel

Ok, let me start by saying I totally don’t get Mia Michaels & Lil’ C saying during the audition rounds that they weren’t impressed with Brandon’s dancing. This guy is a crazy good dancer, and his performance in this foxtrot proved it. Neither he or Janette have a traditional ballroom background, but you wouldn’t know it after seeing them dance this foxtrot. Their lines were beautiful! Janette looked so elegant, and Brandon did an amazing job with the lifts. Given he’s a contemporary dancer that’s used to dancing solo, that’s pretty impressive!

Couple 8: Ashley and Kupono
Music: “Felt Mountain” by Goldfrapp
Dance Style: Jazz
Choreography: Wade Robson

Ok, as Nigel said last night, whether you hate it or love it, it’s hard to NOT watch a dance choreographed by Wade Robson. He is an absolute genius choreographer who has dancers moving in ways that no one else does. I was mesmerized watching Ashley and Kupono absolutely transform themselves into crash test dummies, and how could you not like the little robot dog?

Couple 9: Melissa and Ade
Music: “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx
Dance Style: Contemporary
Choreography: Mandy Moore

This dance was gorgeous!! No, I’m not saying that just because her name is Melissa. I will admit that Contemporary is one of my favorite styles of dance, and this piece did not disappoint! With Melissa’s background in ballet, her lines and movements were graceful and simply exquisite. Ade’s strength made all the lifts seem completely effortless and smooth. They also seemed to have a wonderful chemistry with one another, especially for their first week paired. I loved it!

Couple 10: Kayla and Max
Music: “Jum Bah Day” by House of Gypsies
Dance Style: Latin Ballroom – Samba
Choreography: Louis Van Amstel

Holy crap! This Samba was a-maz-ing! Even though she has no prior ballroom or Latin experience, Kayla rocked it. This girl was born to dance Latin! Of course, it certainly didn’t hurt that she had Max as a partner who is yet another fantastic Russian male ballroom dancer in the history of SYTYCD. He might not be as good looking as Dmitry from Season 2, but he sure can dance!

Well, that’s my recap of all the dances from last night. One can never predict how America will vote, but here are my predictions for the bottom three couples: Paris & Tony, Asuka & Vitolio, and Kayla & Jonathan.

Until next time …

Yes, I was giddy when I opened my mailbox today and realized that I was the recipient of a RAK (Random Act of Kindness). Knowing my love of bunnies, my BSF (best stitching friend) Darla RAK’d me with an absolutely adorable bunny chart. It’s called “If I Can’t Stitch” by The Sunflower Seed. Here’s a pic from their website:

It looks like it should be a fairly quick stitch, too. I just need to figure out how to work it into my rotation. Yes, I know I just use a screaming rotation, but I still have to figure out time to work on everything at some point.

I have a couple of other pics I need to share, but that will have to wait until tomorrow or Friday. The rest of tonight will be spent stitching and watching a couple of shows off my DVR (Top Chef Masters and So You Think You Can Dance).

Speaking of DVR … only 4 more days until the new season of True Blood starts on HBO. Yes, it’s definitely going on my DVR schedule. I’ll be out of town on vacation for three consecutive Sundays after the season premiere, so I’ll have lots of catching up to do when I get back home.

Until next time …

Well, my hope of starting the new project I mentioned in my previous blog entry came around sooner that I thought. Initially I said wasn’t going to start this piece until I finished the exchange piece I have due on June 15, but I just couldn’t resist. I started my version of the Mary Wigham 1790 reproduction sampler last night. I’m stitching her on 32-count Legacy linen from Picture This Plus using the recommended DMC fibers.

I’m so very pleased to see how much this SAL has taken off thus far. Jacqueline Holdsworth has done a wonderful job of organizing things on the Needleprint blog. There are coordinators in place for several countries, and many of them have set up sub-blogs so that the stitchers of the various countries can interact more and get to know one another better. The coordinator for those of us living in the United States is Shari. She has set up a blog for the U.S. stitchers which can be found here.

In related news, I was speaking with the owner of the LNS tonight and mentioned I was starting a new Quaker sampler. She immediately chuckled and asked if it was 24″ square. I told it was and then looked at her rather quizzically wondering how she knew. She told me that I was the third person she spoke with today who is stitching this sampler. The other two stitchers had been in the shop today purchasing the fabric & fibers to get started on it as well.

As for the rest of my day, I had a really nice evening with friends. It started out with dinner at a local Mexican restaurant after my physical therapy appointment. After dinner, we all headed over to the aforementioned LNS for an evening of stitching. As always, I had a blast! There’s nothing better than good food, good friends, and time to stitch.

While at the LNS, a couple of us who are taking an upcoming counted canvas class (Plum Blossom Kimono by local designer Margaret Bendig) picked out our fibers since we wanted an alternate colorway. My kimono will be done primarily in shades of green (to match my stitching chair) with burgundy, blue, and gold accent colors. I’m hoping to pick up my kit on Saturday during the monthly all-day stitch at the shop so I can start the homework stitching soon.

I also have to admit that I also succumbed to a brief lapse of willpower in my 25 project challenge. The shop currently has a Lizzie Kate trunk show going on, and all the LK charts are on sale. I ended up purchasing two charts (Fall Crazy and Just Text Me). I’m hopping right back on my no-stash train though! I won’t be purchasing anything else until I have completed my challenge. Promise!

Until next time …

I was stuck at home all weekend nursing my injured knee. It started aching a bit last week, but then gave way beneath me on Wednesday when I was out running an errand. It gave way beneath me again on Thursday morning, so I called my orthopedist to have him check and see why it was acting up again.

I was very fortunate and was able to get a work-in appointment for Friday morning. The ortho checked it out and said that it was just a flare-up and that those are very common when dealing with a torn meniscus. He said the best thing I could do was stay off of it for a few days, take pain medication as needed, and keep it iced to reduce the swelling. So, my weekend was definitely uneventful.

Between bouts of loopiness from the pain medication, I got in some good stitching time. I finished up Part 1 of the Mini Mandala Mystery IV from Chatelaine Designs that came out earlier this year.

Mini Mandala Mystery IV
Designer: Chatelaine Designs
Fabric: Silkweaver 32-count Peaceful Waters Lugana
Fibers: NPI, Silk ‘n Colors, Waterlilies, Petite Treasure Braid
Progress as of May 31, 2009

This photo doesn’t show off the fabric very well. I took it last night right before I headed off to bed. It’s not long available in their Lugana line, but they do still offer it in their Classic Linen line. Here is a more accurate color sample from their website.

Finally, as if I don’t have enough stitching projects going on already, I’m really hoping to start another one very soon. Jacqueline Holdsworth of Needleprint is going to be offering the Mary Wigham 1790 sampler as a free download on the Needleprint blog as part of an international SAL (stitch-a-long). Here is a photo of this lovely reproduction sampler:

On one hand, I’m very happy that she is offering the chart for this SAL for free. Yet, on the other hand, I’m saddened it’s having to be done this way due to the fact that the sampler was charted and sold commercially by someone else without license or permission.

The chart will be released in sections beginning today. The sections will be released weekly until the entire design has been made available. While donations are not required to download the chart, participants are encouraged to make a donation to the Ackworth School if you download the chart. This money will be used to help with the costs of conservation and possible purchase of more of these beautiful old samplers.

Well, that’s it for now. Until next time …

Ok, so I’m very excited! My order of Holey Donuts arrived today. I’ve been wanting to try these for a while after reading Heather rave about them several times on her blog. So, when I saw they were offering free shipping last week, I decided to give them a try.

I was very impressed with how they arrived. Each variety pack of six donuts were packed in individual boxes. Those boxes were then packed into a Styrofoam cooler with dry ice. Once unpacked (& photographed ), I kept a couple out to try and the rest went immediately into the freezer per the directions. When I want to have a donut in the future, the directions indicate to microwave them in 5-10 second intervals until they are thawed and just slightly warmed, but not hot. Of course, since the ones I received today were cool, but not frozen, I popped them into the microwave for about 10 seconds just to warm them. I then settled down with the donuts and a nice cuppa.

Holey crap! These things are good! It’s so hard to believe they are low-fat/low calorie. All of the varieties I ordered range from 145-158 calories and are 3 points each on Weight Watchers which I find pretty impressive given they are a traditional full-size donut and not some miniature version.

Here are pics & nutritional information of what I ordered. All of these are from their low-fat line of products:

Original Glazed
158 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber

Classic Vanilla Frosted
148 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber

From left to right: Caramel Crumb, Vanilla Crumb, Chocolate Crumb
148 calories (Chocolate are 149 calories), 3g fat, 1g fiber

From left to right: Vanilla Coconut, Cinnamon Strudel, Toasted Coconut
145 calories (Cinnamon are 148 calories), 3.5g fat (Cinnamon are 3g fat), 1g fiber

Ok, now I will admit these are a bit spendy. It worked out to roughly $2 per donut. They would have been even more if I had to pay for the shipping. Since they were delivered 2nd day air from Brooklyn, it normally would have been $22 for shipping. So, economically speaking, I will definitely only be able to order these during free shipping promotions. Even though they are expensive, I figured they weren’t any more expensive than getting a muffin at Starbucks and such. Besides, it will keep me out of Krispy Krack and satisfy my donut tooth.

Until next time …

She’s finished! As always, you can click to biggify, if you like.

Design: Letters from Nora – Madeline Melissa
Designer: Nora Corbett
Fabric: 32-count Waterlily
Fibers: Crescent Colors, Treasure Braid
Stitched 2 over 2 except braid which is 1 over 2
Completed May 27, 2009

I did make several changes from the original chart. If anyone is interested in seeing those, just leave me a comment and I’ll post them.

This puts me at 5 completed projects in my 25 Project Challenge. My focus will now shift to finishing up my squares for Claudia as part of round 13 of the Fair & Square exchange. I have the main square about halfway finished already. It’s due to be mailed by June 15, so I’ve still got a couple of weeks to finish them up.

That’s it for now. Until next time …