5k results

Hey everyone,

Sorry for not updating in a while. It’s just been a very busy month for me. I did want to at least post my results from the 5k Turkey Trot I did on Thursday. I finished in 55:30 which gave me an average pace of 17:52. It wasn’t a PR, but I was pleased with my time since it was my first organized race since my spinal surgery 7 1/2 months ago.

Here were my split times:

Mile 1 - 16:55
Mile 2 - 18:12
Mile 3 - 18:41
Last .1 - 1:41

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Ho Ho Ho Happy Dance

I finished another piece a couple of days ago. This is the 2007 limited edition Christmas kit from Lizzie Kate. It was a really fun and fairly quick stitch. I think I’m going to finish it into either a pillow or I may take a shot at making it into a flat fold. I’ve never done the flat fold finishing technique, so it would be something new for me.

Designer: Lizzie Kate
Fabric: Light mocha cashel linen
Fibers: Crescent Colors cotton floss & DMC cotton floss
Extras: Kreinik 032 blending filament for snow (not called for in the kit)

I’ve also joined a SAL on one of my Yahoo groups. We’re all working on Gingerbread Cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks. It’s a really cute piece and I’m hoping to get it done in time to finish it as a pillow for Christmas. Here’s my first progress photo taken yesterday at the end of my first day of stitching on it:

Designer: Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: Unknown hand-dyed linen from a grab bag of fabric
Fibers: Crescent Colors cotton floss and DMC cotton floss

That’s it for now. I’m off to do some more stitching. Happy stitching!

Protected: Tree Finish

I finished this last Saturday, but I’m just now getting around to posting the picture of it. It’s a personalized tree that I plan to finish into an ornament.

Designer: M Designs
Fabric: Holly by R & R Reproductions
Fiber: DMC B5200 cotton floss
Extras: Mill Hill petite glass beads, glass star as tree topper

Here kitty, kitty …

What it’s like to own a cat.

Stash Happy Dance

Woo Hoo! I’m a very happy stitcher right now. I went to my LNS today for an all day open stitch class. When we got there this morning, the owner told us that she lost her lease and was going to be moving the shop a couple of blocks down the street to a new location in about 6 weeks. As a result, today was the first day of a 2-week moving sale.

She had a lot of different sale categories, but the one that caught my eye the most was 35% off kits, including Shepherd’s Bush charts! She also had all regular charts for 15% off. Naturally, I couldn’t let a sale like this slip by without partaking just a little bit. Shush, Darla!

Here’s what I bought:

Halloween Treat Bag (Shepherd’s Bush kit)
Merry and Bright (Shepherd’s Bush kit - which included a Jill Rensel mat )
Happy Haunting (Shepherd’s Bush kit)
Prairie Sampler (Little House Needleworks chart)
Acorn Hill (Little House Needleworks chart)

I should have some more LHN stash arriving soon. I picked up a few things from Courtney’s stash reduction sale. She has some GREAT stuff, so if you haven’t checked out her sale list, you should! Here is what I bought from her:

Curly Q Ewe (Little House Needleworks)
Home Sweet Home (Country Cottage Needleworks)
Autumn Leaves (Prairie Schooler)

I also finished a piece today, but I don’t have a picture of it yet. I’ll try and post a picture of it in the next couple of days. It’s the same piece that was featured a few days ago in the password protected entry, so if you emailed me for the password for that entry, it will be the same password again when I post the finished pic.

Happy stitching!

Password

Yes, it’s that time of year when I’m working on holiday gift-giving projects. As a result, I’ll be password protecting some of my posts until after the holidays. If you would like to view these posts, just email me for the password. As long as you aren’t the possible recipient I’ll be happy to send it along.

I’ll be using a couple of different passwords, so please let me know the subject and/or date of the entry you want to see. This way I’ll be sure to send you the correct password.

In the meantime, here is a little diversion for you:

Protected: Tree Update

I’ve been plugging away on a couple of small holiday stitching projects. I have just about finished a personalized tree from M Designs for a friend of mine. I have all the stitching done and just need to finish up the beading. Here’s a pic:

As a point of reference for the size, those are my 6″ Q-snaps holding the project. I’m stitching it over 1 on 30-count Holly R&R fabric using a single strand B5200 DMC floss. I’m using a combination of burgundy and gold Mill Hill petite glass beads as the “ornaments” on the tree. I still need to pick up a star for the top of it. I’m going to an all day stitch at my LNS on Saturday, so I’ll probably try to find something then to finish this project that day.

I’m also still working on the 2007 Lizzie Kate Limited Edition Ho Ho Ho kit. I’ll post more about it in another unprotected entry since it’s not a gift.

Happy Stitching!

Thanks & LHN Hoarding

Thanks, everyone! I’m still getting used to the new ‘do, but I really like it so far. I’m still working on learning how to style it properly to get it to look reasonably close to how the stylist did it. I haven’t used a round brush in a long time, so it’s taking some adjustment. They sure seem to make it look so easy, don’t they?!

In response to some comments in my previous entry:

Nicole - I was thinking of going with Lambswool, too. I think that design would look great on it. Then again, I’m a HUGE fan of Lambswool.

Christine - Yes, I did get it colored as well, but back to my natural color. It actually looks more red in that picture than it does in person. It’s definitely more brunette than red, but I guess the flash pulled the red out.

On the stitching front, thus far Gingerbread Cottage is my first CCN chart. I did stitch her Winter’s Eve design from the 2006 JCS ornament issue, though. I do have a couple of others from her that I want to pick up, so I need to get them added to my Wish List. Here are the ones I’m interested in:

Home Sweet Home
Geranium House
Holly & Ivy Sampler

As for the other LHN charts mentioned, I also have that Winter Whites and Snowflakes, too. I’ve become a bit of a LHN collector/hoarder of late. I still have a few more to put on my wish list, too. Here is my current stash of LHN charts, which has actually grown quite a bit over the past couple of weeks.

Home of a Needleworker (completed)
Spring Sampler (completed)
Winter Whites
Snowflakes
Fruit Game Boards
America
Thread Gathering
Necessities Sampler
Where There is Hope (Elegant Stitch exclusive)
Winter Wonderland
Daisy Lane Cottage
Stars & Stripes
Two Blue Houses
Two Red Houses
Coffee Menu
Blueberries
Woodland Sampling

Here are the ones I’ll be putting on my Wish List:

Cappuccino
Frappuccino
Caffé Latte
Autumn Sampler
Summer Sampler
The Sampler Lady
Prairie Sampler
Curly Q
Spot of Coffee
The Counting House
Two White Houses

Yep, I’ve definitely become a hoarder of LHN charts! Happy stitching!

New ‘Do

Woo Hoo! I went and got a new hairstyle today. I LOVE IT! I think the stylist did a wonderful job. It’s cute and it seems like it will be very easy to maintain. Here’s a pic:

In stitching news, I’m working on another over 1 project. It’s for a Christmas gift, so I won’t be posting a picture until after the holidays. I should finish up the stitching on it this weekend and then I’ll start thinking more about how I want to actually finish it off.

I also picked up a new chart today that my LNS ordered for me. It’s Gingerbread Cottage from Country Cottage Needleworks. This will be part of an SAL with the Little House & Country Cottage Stitchers Yahoo group. I think it’s a really sweet chart.

For those in the U.S., don’t forget to turn your clocks back tomorrow night. Woo Hoo! An extra hour to stitch this weekend.

Happy stitching!

October Recap/November Goals

Wow! October sure went by in a blur. It’s hard to believe it’s already November. Even though I didn’t do as well in the weight loss department as I would have liked, I’m actually pretty pleased with how I did in the exercise department. I actually surpassed my goal of walking/running 25 miles by nearly 20 percent. Here is a recap for last month.

I’ve signed up for another exercise challenge for November. Here are my goals for this month: