OMG, LOVE!

Every once in a while, you see something that completely grabs you.  These scissors qualify for me.  When I saw them, I was filled with wishing for them.  So much so, I actually contemplated making an unplanned visit to see my brother this weekend so I could visit the Silver Needle booth at Celebration of Needlework show in Louisville.  That’s just nutty, not to mention expensive.  I can daydream, though.   I’m not one for collecting scissors.  I have more than one pair, sure, but I don’t remember ever having been overwhelmed with scissor-love at first sight.  Until today. 

In other stitchy news, I picked up a couple of framed pieces today.  *clap, clap*

Dandelion Clock by Margaret Sherry framed with our dwarf hamsters

Betsy by Sheepish Designs.  I LOVE this frame.

I hope you have a good stitching day, too.

22, 7+, 1,858, 232/574, 12, 6, 1

Our road trip by the numbers–

22: is the number of days our trip lasted.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

7+: is the number of states we visited (+ the District of Columbia). Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, Maryland and Pennsylvania. North Carolina and Maryland were first-time visits for the boy.

1,858: is the approximate number of miles traveled. Not the actual number driven, of course. I didn’t keep track of that.

232/574: is the number of miles my husband rode (232) out of the number planned (574). His back went out severely after he rode 127 miles (of 469) on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He was down for a week, and then he rode the entire Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National park (105 miles).

 

12: is the number of hotels we stayed in.

Oak Park Inn in Waynesville, NC.

6: is the number of bears we sighted on the trip.

Mama bear and cub, Shenandoah National Park, Luray, Virginia

1: is the number of cross-stitch projects I completed.

Vitals:
Shepherd’s Bush 2008 fob
Used supplies included in kit:
32-ct Peach Whisper linen
DMC and WDW cotton floss, button

WANT

Sarah Elliot’s Sewing Chest by Primitive Traditions.  It costs a bundle ($180), but it comes with the chest and scrimshaw bookmark and a brass ruler and a whale charm and a button and felt and finishing instructions, and it’s lovely, simply lovely, and right now I can see it on a shelf under Shores of Hawk Run Hollow.  My birthday is in November…Christmas not long after.  If I send the link now, the husband can start saving. ;o)

Look at that checkerboard sea!  This picture is from ABC Stitch Therapy, second on the page as of today.  And it’s on the Silver Needle site with more pictures that make you swoon and drool and reach for the smelling salts.  Damn the Silver Needle for tempting me so!

I <3 the Rocking Horse

The Rocking Horse is my LNS.  It is a *wonderful* store.  The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, service-oriented.  They have so many models, I can’t tell you.  Every wall is covered in models–floor to ceiling.  There is no empty wall space.  The shop has two large front windows, both of which are always filled with seasonally current models.  They are always shifting models around. If you need inspiration, this is the place to find it. 

Skeptical?  The front page has a link to pictures inside the store.  Take a gander.  Models, models, models.  New stuff, classic stuff.  It’s mostly framed pieces, but there are pillows and stockings and fobs, too.  It’s a cross-stitch addict’s visual paradise.   

Still don’t believe in the inspirational power of this store?  Today, I took my son to the store to get Magnificent Wizard framed.  He’s tried cross-stitching a couple of times, but he finds it a tedious craft, and loses interest quickly.  Still, after looking around, he saw a model of a Margaret Sherry pattern that I believe I have in my stash, and asked me to kit it for him and to alter the pattern so it’s a hamster, not a mouse, because after this afternoon he wants to try to stitch again.  After talking with the clerk, he’s decided that if he has the patience to edit a video game, he might have what it takes to stitch.

Such is the power of The Rocking Horse.

iGoogle

My computer seriously crashed, and I’m putting it back together (s-l-o-w-l-y).  One thing about the putting back together is the looking at stuff I never pay attention to, like iGoogle. At the moment, my iGoogle has a “how to” section on it, and one of them is how to cross stitch! 

It doesn’t take much to excite me, which gives you a little insight into my daily grind. ;o)

Here is the how to link from iGoogle: http://www.wikihow.com/Cross-Stitch

As for the crashing, all I can say is this: I’m grateful I paid for an extended warranty, and I’m grateful I backed up my computer in the morning of the very day it crashed.  The final result of all my tech support maze negotiating is that my monitor is mostly kaput, and my DVD+RW is a goner, too.  *sigh*  It could be worse. 

But: waiting for Mozy is like watching paint dry, and so is my older back-up, StorageSync.  Eh.  I’ll get there.  I have much experience with the long-time-taking projects. ;o)

I’m in love

 I’m going to hell for ganking this off of the Shepherd’s Bush website, but OMG!  It’s so Shepherd’s Bush and so Ewe & Eye & Friends at the same time.  I MUST have it.  I must.  I wonder if my LNS has it yet?  I can go tomorrow and find out.  Or Saturday.  Or tomorrow.