A new view

Hi, my name is Dawn and I'm a stitchaholic.  I am addicted to stitching and I have to do it everyday or I get withdrawals.  I am also addicted to FaceBook, my iPhone, TruTV, and the Casey Anthony murder trial.  It is unfortunate that some of the memories I will have of stitching this piece will be poisoned (no pun intended) by the trial of this evil woman.  Here is the progress this week.

Most of the alphabets are done and fun stuff is ahead.  Here is another view.

Apologies for keeping this so short but the trial is coming back on.  Casey would be torn to shreds by the prosecutor if she took the stand so if she is smart she will just sit her butt in that chair and roll the dice with the jury.  Closing arguments are going to be riveting.  Till next Thursday, happy stitching ladies.

Now I DON'T know my ABC's!

This is the progress made in the last week on And They Sinned.  I stitched the right side of the grass under Adam and Eve, everything to the right of the fruit basket, the right half of the coral flower border, and more ABC's.  The alphabet is moving along quickly, even though each of the upper case letters have to be stitched individually so the thread will not show on the back between the letters.  The letters N and M are in reverse order, the J is missing, and the V and U are in reverse order as well.  Theo, my 16-year-old, was watching me stitch yesterday and said, "Mom, do you know that you got the alphabet wrong on that?"  Thank goodness he's not 6 and getting confused.

Most sampler stitchers know that alphabets change with the period of the piece and the style.  For example, the letters Q, X, Y, and Z are missing from some Dutch alphabets.  The Greek alphabet has no Y.  They use the G and pronounce it guttural.  There is no K in the Spanish dictionary.  I really don't think this sampler has a period to it.  I mean it seems pretty modern to me but one of my Facebook friends told me this sampler was meant to look like it was stitched by a young girl.  That is why the spacing is off on some of the letters and the flowers in the hill are not perfectly symmetrical. 

This will be the last week I will be able to take a picture of the whole sampler, unless I have someone hold it up.  It's growing quickly.  In about four inches I will be half way finished.  Total stitching time is 142 hours in 14 weeks.   Only one hundred and fifty more hours to go!!  Till next Thursday, happy, happy, stitching ladies. 

ABCDEFG....

I haven't been this excited to do my ABC's since kindergarten.  This coral colored flower band is so cute too.  There was minimal frogging this week but I did miss stitching for a couple days due to my son's 16th birthday party.  These past 16 years have gone by so fast.  Cherish your children everyday.  Talk to them.  Be involved because one day you will wake up and they will be grown.  Till next Thursday, happy stitching.

Let her rip!!

     There was no blog last week because there was no stitching.  Yes, it made me sad but seeing my mom and the rest of the family was necessary.  My grandmother never ages and my mom is shrinking.  She was at least two inches shorter than the last time I saw her.  When I got home, a trip to the pharmacy for calcium was on my short list as well as joining a health club with the boys.  Visiting with my mom was like seeing an age progression in live mode.  It woke me up.

     I did take my stitching with me and the hotel room had nice light but there were just too many people to see and too many places to go.  If anyone is ever in the Effingham, Illinois area, you must check out Firefly Grill.  It was ranked #2 in the country by Bon Appetit magazine for being eco friendly.  They grow their own produce, raise their own catfish, and buy only organic, localaly raised food.  The steaks are cooked over an oak fire (the oak trees grown locally as well), the tables were built by the Amish in Arcola, IL, and the martinis are shaken by the best bartender I have found.  Beware, take your credit card.  Just as organic foods are more expensive in the store, they are more expensive in the restaurant.  It was worth it though and when my server brought my leftovers to the table in a biodegradable box, I was able to write it off as a tax deduction under the column--field study.  These boxes would be very cool at my own restaurant. 

     Here is the latest on And They Sinned.  There was some frogging involved in the vine on the left and the basket in the middle.  I really thought that vine repeated all the way down and as I looked at it I was getting mad.  Why would Vilma make so many mistakes on her chart?  Just look at all the leaves she missed.  Silly me, I was the one screwing up.  Then I was one stitch off on the right side of the basket but didn't realize it until I started stitching the fruit and it didn't work out.  As always, I thought about leaving it but decided it would drive me crazy.  Some mistakes just have to be fixed.  By the way, the peacock is very proud to be under that awesome angel.  Her dress came out beautiful.  Till next week, happy stitching!!