I THINK I can take a breather!!!

wow, what a busy month it has been since my last post.
We were not able to get the room painted before my BIG NEWS!!! Our son got back from Afghanistan on May 23rd. We went down to the base for the groups welcome home ceremony. Imagine the pride & relief in this mom's heart.......we watched the plane fly in that held our men & women. We watched over 200 hundred of them file off of the plane. We had no clue which one was our son, but oh the pride!!! And then to watch them march into the arena in formation....then, the announcement.....troops, you may reunite with family!!!!!!!! The bleachers emptied as everyone went to the floor to meet their soldier!!!
We got back home after a few days visit & had to make a trip up to my hometown. My aunt had a lawn mower she was giving us. (our rider broke the night before we left) At least having a good push mower would get some of the yard work done!!!
I babysat the last week of May, finishing 10 years with the one family. I will miss them this fall. I cared for all three of their children from birth to kindergarten.
We got the room painted on the weekend of the 1st & 2nd! Yeah!!!! I love how it turned out. My husband said it looks pretty girly! Oops!!! oh well, it is the guest room & also my Thirty-One room.
We didn't put anything in the room, except for the double bed, because on Tues the 4th, we were invaded by our triplet grandsons! They had been at the other grandparents house & now it was our turn until daddy could get up here. He arrived on Friday & oh my!!!! What a reunion that was.....
They all headed back home on Monday of this week.
Now, the story about my piece I am showing you! It has been a UFO for quite a while. I decided before our trip to see our son that I would work on it. I took it along, hoping to get a little stitching time in the car on the way home. (I couldn't on the way down, because Duane & I each had to drive since we had our sons car) I pulled the project bag out from where I had stored it. I lifted the fabric from the bag & imagine my horror. The fabric was damp, as was the pattern on the magnet board. We could not figure out HOW it had gotten damp. The fabric had water spots in a few places & I thought the project was ruined. So much for stitching on the way home. When we stopped for gas & a bathroom break, we checked where we had had it stored. Sure enough, it was damp in there. How it got damp, we haven't a clue. We have been so busy, my husband hasn't had time to check into it since.
When we got home, I took the project & hand washed it with a touch of dish soap in warm water. YEAH!!!!!!! 99% of the water marks came out & the little bit that didn't is up in a corner that will be on the back when it is framed!!! So thankful!!!! So, in the little bit of stitching time I have had since our return, this is what I have worked on.
I did get a new project the other day. I had my parents pick up Sue Hillis' "SUPERCALA..........
at House of Stitches for me. It is going to be perfect in the guest room.
I am super excited about the colors of the guest room, because the one color matches one of the new  Thirty One patterns. (Best Buds) Also the turquoise from the previous catalog. You can see some of the products in pictures. I am storing everything in the guest room. I still need more shelves for it.
Whew! I think that catches you up.....hopefully I can get some more stitching time now. have a great weekend!! I am looking forward to Sunday. It is our 34th anniversary & we are going somewhere/doing something, JUST US...we need a day away!!

The Drawn Thread....Sampler Gameboard

Retro Metro Bag with Turtle Coin Purse & Bring a Bottle Thermal

Corner of the room to show both colors! (still need to find curtains & a bedspread)

My Thirty-One Wall

Two Finishes!

I finished my April Word Play last week sometime, but didn't post it. I got busy right away on my Great is Thy Faithfulness. I finished it yesterday afternoon! So, I am showing my two latest finishes today. I also have pulled out a very long time ago start......I am guessing maybe over 4 years ago?!?!!? I don't know why I put it away & basically forgot about it?!?!! But, alas, it is out now & I will work on it as I can for a while.
Things have been extremely busy around here. About 3 weeks ago, our basement flooded. The entire basement had water in it. We had to have professionals come in & do the work. We are so thankful we are early risers.....had we not gotten up as early as we do, the water would have risen up to the woodwork & the drywall. SO THANKFUL!!!!!! We are still working on getting everything put back where it belongs. I have taken probably 8 boxes of books to the local drop off books site. They are probably loving me!!
We are planning to paint our sons old room up here & make it the guest room. (it was in the basement) Figure while the place is tore apart, might as well make some more mess!!!! I picked two Disney Paints at Walmart & now we just need time to do it!
have a great week.......praying it warms up here...the weekend was COLD!!!!

April Word Play

Great is Thy Faithfulness

FINALLY!

This piece took forever to do.....I think this was the most boring piece I have ever stitched in my life. I  know I have been busy, but for a piece to take me this long, unless it is something that I put aside to work on something else.......well, that tells you it wasn't my favorite thing to work on.
By just now finishing March, you know my calendar is outdated!  Just the other day, like maybe April 2 or 3, my husband says to me.....why does your calendar say Feb? I told him, I still had not finished March & if he is just now noticing it, I guess I don't feel too bad! If he just noticed it & sits in that room every night for supper, then others aren't noticing it either! ha!!!
So, I have April's set out now.....hopefully I can whip it out pretty quickly & be onto May, so when May comes, I can update the calendar!
It is finally starting to warm up here. Maybe spring is in the near future? My lone crocus bulb has multiplied a bit! I had about 5 beautiful flowers out there!!!
We went to a state park last week. We both very much needed a day away. It was so relaxing. We had a great time walking the trails & seeing the first sights of spring. Elmo had a great time too. He kept right up with us on the many miles we walked!
The babysitting jobs will soon be coming to an end. I only babysit during the school year & one is for a college teacher. So, that one will end sooner than the other. The other, when this school year ends, I will be totally done! Pretty sad! I have babysat for this family for 10 years. I started when the oldest was 2 months old. Now, the youngest is finishing preschool & will be in all day kindergarten in the fall.
I am still loving Thirty-One. I am really hoping it will take off well for me. I am learning lots of ideas, it is just hard to get 'out there'!!!! I have seen people talk about having a facebook party....seems that would be the way some people would like to go!!! You can have the party & not have to clean house, prepare snacks, etc.......everyone who 'comes to the party' just gets on the computer in the comfort of their own home! How about that?!?!?!! :)
Well, I best keep moving here.....thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful week.....get outside & enjoy some sunshine & hear the birds chirp, see the flowers budding, etc......

March Word Play

My Lone Crocus Bulb!

Gorgeous!!!!

another beautiful view

worn out!

Mid March Already!?

scarves I have made

where has the time gone? Oh my! Here we are, mid March already! I will start with the really sad news! I still haven't finished the March Word Play....I got so bored with it, that I just stopped working on it. In fact, I didn't work on anything for a while. oh my!
Then, I also have not begun an ornament for this month......this is so unlike me....
ok, got the bad out of the way. Now, onto what I have been doing!!!
First of all, I have learned how to crochet the fancy scarves with the sashay yarn! I have made three of them so far. I have done a cream/brown one,  a varigated purples & a varigated blues.I love each of them.
Next, I have been working on my Great is Thy Faithfulness piece. Not a whole lot, because I am always so tired in the evening that I can't stitch that much & I am falling asleep. I am really getting annoyed with it. I sit down & I fall asleep.
And then, the most exciting thing for me........I signed up to be a consultant for Thirty One. So far, I am LOVING IT!!!! I never would have dreamed I would do this, so I am amazed at it so far. I love the product & I believe the product sells itself.

March word play so far

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Bunny Basket

How Many Eggs!?!

Fireplace Display

I hope everyone is having a great week!! Spring HAS to be coming soon!!!!!

February Ornament & New Start

I devoted stitching time this week to my February ornament. I chose Roaming Reindeer by Blue Ribbon Designs. I love Belinda's designs, so this was a must do. I finished it similar to the model in the JCS ornament issue. The fabric it is laying on in the picture is the fabric on the back of it.
While I had finishing supplies out, I decided to finish my Winston also. I stitched him sometime last year. He is laying on the fabric that I backed him with.
Next, I am showing you my latest new start. I bought this probably a year ago (right after it was published), but just now am getting around to starting it. I hated to put it down the other day, but I knew I needed to work on the ornament.
I will now either do my March Word Play, or go back to the new start, or.......
maybe work on a WIP?!?!??!?!
Elmo went to the groomer the other day & oh my! He looks like a different dog now. So white & soft & nice!!!
I hope you are having a great week. To those in areas that the weather is not being so kind......stay safe!

Roaming Reindeer

Winston the Snowman

Great is Thy Faithfulness

What do you see, Elmo?

February Word Play

I finished this on Monday, but my time is so very, very limited on Monday & Tues. that I did not get a chance to update my blog. I have both boys that I babysit for on those days & I have to take the older one to preschool & anyone who hauls kids around knows that taking a preschooler & a young toddler takes a lot of time!

February Word Play

January Word Play

February's word play took me longer to stitch than January's did. I think part of it was because I enjoyed the snowman on January so much that I just kept stitching. I also wasn't caring for a young toddler when I stitched that one! I have included my January finish so that you can be refreshed on how it looks!
I have now started a pattern I got quite a while ago. I am not sure why I didn't start it immediately! I love it already!
Ok, a question for fellow bloggers!!! I used to be a ONE project at a time person. I then upped it to two or three at a time. Somehow, one year, I went over board & started way too many. I am not one to NOT finish what I start, but this is where I need your help!!!!! How do you regain interest in your older starts when there are so many new projects screaming START ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did some real organizing over the weekend. I got a couple AWESOME bags from Thirty-One. I thought....perfect! I purchased a couple packages of large envelopes. I then found all of my patterns that I had either partially kitted up or fully kitted up & placed them in the envelopes & then labeled the top with the design & the designer. So now, all of these projects that are screaming DO ME are very organized. I wish my WIP containers would fit in this bag, but they are too large. Oh well! I just need to get them done!!!!
Wishing everyone a great week. Hope the weather where you are is treating you nice! Ours has been quite crazy!
Edited: I forgot to mention.....I am willing to sell these patterns as I finish them. So, I now have January & February available for sale. I would like $4.50 for the pattern & I believe shipping in the US would be about $1.50, so $6.00 each in the US. Out of US, I would adjust shipping accordingly!

January Ornament Finished

I was able to stitch a good portion of the afternoon today & I was able to finish the stitching of my January ornament. This evening, I did the finishing work. I am real happy with how this one turned out.
It is a Pickle Barrel Design called Christmas Eve. It was in the JCS ornament issue this past year. I used Earthen 32 ct. lugana from Picture this Plus. I used 2 of the recommended flosses & subbed the third.
I tried to do the finishing very similar to how they showed it in the magazine.

Next up......my February Word Play, so that it is ready to hang in a couple weeks! Thanks for stopping by & visiting my blog. I appreciate each & every one of you!