Steel Stacks

Steel Stacks

Monday, October 17, 2011

Been Gone Awhile

Good Evening All,
Sorry I am not posting as often as I would like but life has bee crazy. 

First we bought a RV and have been up at the campground for the last 3 weekends getting everything in order.  Here is our "home away from home".

 I am sure we will enjoy many wonderful weekends and vacations in our "new to us" RV!

This week Shari and Denise both finished their Northwind. I haven't heard from Angela yet and mine is on hold (more about that later) so here are the 2 finished pieces:
Denise week 9 finish

Shari week 9 finish

Aren't they both beautiful?!?! I have been working on my crocheting for class.  Here is my progress so far:

My first piece a heart


A hooded scarf with pockets almost ready to be put together.
And ...
A shawl that I can't wait to wear!

Now I have a Christmas exchange to get moving on and crocheting Christmas gifts, and move my daughter, and winterize the camper, and work, and . . . I think my North Wind will be waiting awhile!  

Hope you are all enjoying the fall. We have some beautiful fall weather at last.  Have a great week and I promise to be back a little sooner next time.


Monday, September 26, 2011

OH Where is Fall?? (SAL update too)

Good Morning All (it's morning for 5 more minutes),

Oh where, oh where has my mojo gone. Maybe when fall finally gets here it will return.  Lots of dr. visits this week and we are buying our RV Wednesday and headed up to the mountains this weekend. Maybe the colors are changing up there. I will settle for cooler temps, low humidity and some sun.   

My older daughter Siobhan is moving to Philadelphia November 1st. Funny it seems like we just moved her to the basement (oh yeah we did) and now she is off to Philly. She is getting a row home with her old college roomies and has a lead on a great job teaching art to learning challenged adults. I hope it comes through as she would be great at that.  My younger daughter Devin starts her internship today at Good Shephard Rehab Center where she will be working in the head trauma department. It should be an interesting 3 months. 

Crochet class is going well I will post my first project later in the week.  It is a heart and is really coming out nice.  I am bringing patterns to class on Wednesday to decide on my first bigger project.  I am thinking of a scarf or slippers or maybe a shawl.  

Here is our latest update on out SAL:

Angela Week 6
She is really moving along.
Denise week 6
Inspite of surgery she still managed to get some stitching done!
Shari week 6
She had a busy week but still is smokin'!

Rose week 6
Oh mojo come back!! I still love this pattern though!

Will "talk" to you all again soon!

Monday, September 19, 2011

SAL WEEK 5 and other updates

Hello all and welcome to Autumn in the Northeast.  We went from air conditioning to 43 degrees at night.  I am enjoying the cool weather (although my shoulder is not). I have been enjoying my stitching and practicing my crochet.  Not much to show yet int he crochet department.  Stitching? Well I am enjoying every stitch and seeing how the other ladies are progressing but I do notice I can't stitch for long periods (like I love to) with out my hands and neck bothering me so short spurts will get me to the finish eventually.

Here are the week 5 updates:

 Angela week 5





Denise week 5

Rose week 5


 Shari week 5

I thought I would do alphabetical order this week lol.  

Lady Mae is doing better. She went back to the dr. on Friday and will be doing 10 more days of antibiotics. Then we wait. If it comes back we will try 6-9 weeks of antibiotics. She is a wonderful old dog and we will try to make the best decisions we can for her. Well All are happy here in the Christmas City and I will "talk" to you all again soon -

Monday, September 12, 2011

SAL update Week 4

Hi all!
I hope you all have had a great week. Mine has been crazy as you can see by my progress.  I will be bringing up the rear again.  It finally stopped raining and I hear cool weather will arrive on Wednesday.

The beginning of the week my older daughter call me at work to say that our older dog Lady's eye looked really strange - only the white showing and she couldn't close it.  We rushed her to the vet but it turned out it was a absessed tooth.  She is on anti-biotics as due to her cushings surgery really is not an option.  She is better today so we shall see how she does.

Went (in the rain through the flooded roads) to my crochet class Wednesday. It was really fun and I am looking forward to this Wednesday.  Saturday we went to sign a contract at the camp ground. We take posession of the camper on October 1st.  

Lunch today with an old friend which is always wonderful.  Off to work tomorrow.  

Now for the update:





First is Denise whose fingers must be falling off from over use! Way to fly Denise!

Shari has her words done - do you think the cloud will slow her down? I'm not so sure it will - Way to go Shari!!







Moving right along is Angela - Keep up the great work Angela I am right there with you!


Last but not least (I hope) is little old me.  As my mom would say "slow and steady win the race" but I am not so sure!  I think those 2 "hares" are going to get to the end first :)

Til next time Take a little time and enjoy your stitching!!!





Monday, September 5, 2011

SAL Update Week 3

Good Afternoon All . . .
and a dreary Labor Day it is here in Bethlehem.  I have had enough rain to last me a long time.  Wish I could send some down to Texas where it is needed instead of constantly being under a flood watch.  It started raining again last night and is not supposed to clear til at least Thursday. UGH!  I am really ready for what I call "jeans and sweatshirt" weather. I love the cool temps of fall but since our dry season was the rainyest in history I am dreading the rainy season! This dreary weather really gets me down in the dumps so lets get to the update pictures and see if I can cheer us all up.


First let me present the speed stitcher - Denise!




 She is amazing! I can hope the barn slows here down a little.


Next burning up the fabric is - Shari!






She is flying (but the cloud should slow her a little :) )




Next is the indomitable Angela!





She is really moving along (considering she started a week behind by changing fabric) 


And last but not least little old me!




I'm getting there.  The lettering does go faster but oh how I wish I was home stitching all week long :(  Someday!


Tomorrow it is off to work I go followed by PT and Wednesday night I go for my first crochet class.  It is being held at a local store called The Knitter's Edge.  Here is a link if you are interested. The Knitter's Edge.  It is an amazing store. I stopped in today to see if I needed to bring anything and the selection of yarns from all over the world is overwhelming!  If you are a knitter or crocheter I suggest you check them out.  

Well off to the kitchen I go. I promised my husband Andy that I would make cabbage & noodles for dinner. I have been promising for 2 weeks so it is now or another week will pass me by.  Have a great week and Happy Stitching!!!





 

Monday, August 29, 2011

Survived and SAL Update!!!

Good Morning Everyone!! 
Well we all survived Hurricane Irene at our house and I hope you all did too.  We were very lucky only a little water in the basement and a small pond in the back yard (oh and the hot tub cover leaked so it overflowed). All around us is flooding, power outages, and trees down.  Today was supposed to be the first day of school but cancelled due to power and flooding. Now we have used our first "snow day" and we haven't even started school yet!

Saturday (before the storm) Andy and I went to look at a travel trailer at a campground about an hour from our house.  We just loved it and I will be headed to the bank this afternoon to get a check! We are all so very excited to have a weekend get-a-way/vacation "home".  It is on a great site with a beautiful view.  Andy's job really never gives us time to go very far for very long.  So now I can at least get him away for weekends.  Also I am not the greatest  traveler (I like to be comfortable and have my "stuff" (stitching books etc.). And I of course hat leaving the dogs behind! I will post pictures as soon as I can.  It is quite large but can be pulled if we want to later on.

Ok drum roll please . . . . . here are the updates on our Northwind SAL. 



Angela week 2 
(she started over and has made amazing progress)




Shari week 2
(flying along)


Denise week 2 
(I am amazed how fast she is going that cloud is a killer)




Me week 2
(boy do I have some catching up to do)

I have been really struggling with the fabric.  It is the softest aida I have ever used and I thought that would be wonderful but the needle just polks through anywhere and if you pull your tention too tight is really throws your stitches off. Oh well I love the pattern and the color so I will keep plugging away.  Funny enough the colors in this pattern really will look great at the camper!  

Until next time.  Keep safe and keep stitching!












Monday, August 22, 2011

SAL week one!

Hi All,
Sorry I haven't been around but life has been crazy.  2 funerals and a wedding, back to work full time and that was just this week.  Hopefully things will settle down and I can get some stitching in! Today is the end of week one of our Northwind SAL so it is time to post our starts.  






 This one is Denise of "Riverside Stitcher" 
She came up with this wonderful idea! She is starting in the upper left corner and just flying along!




This is Shari's of "Shari's sharing"
She is starting in the middle and looking really good!





This one is mine (again starting in the upper left corner) and as you can see my crazy week also took a toll on my stitching (that and the aida I chose is VERY SOFT and I am not used to 
having to stitch so loosely and there are a lot 
more stitches in the cloud than it looks lol).


Our dear Angela of "Indomitable Angela" is starting over this week with new fabric so I will show you hers next Monday.

Until then I am going to hop in the hot tub and warm my shoulder (PT today) and maybe get some stitching done before I fall asleep.  Updates on "The Three Kings" later in the week.

Hugs,
Rose




 


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Stitchy chairs and updates :)

Well gang this weekend I got a lot of stitching done and worked on getting my chair choices in order. I my shoulder took a turn for the worse and I discovered that the recliner and the couch are not "neck friendly" especially when stitching. Sooooo I got rid of the recliner (off the the local thrift shop) and moved my blue chair (which works) and then went to storage and got out my mom's chair and my old floor stand (which I think I used once) and they work perfectly together!

My comfy blue chair with my beloved Bailey


Mom's chair which is perfect!

Now for the updates - I finished Basket of Memories here it is with the fabric I think I will use to finish it.



 It is stitched on a lovely yellow (brighter than it looks here) with DMC Color Variations 4235.

Last night I just didn't feel like working on the Quaker and I can't start my Northwind  until Monday so I did what all good stitchers do and started another project.  Angela over at Indomitable Angela sent me some beautiful aide so I could do:


The Three Kings
by Diane Arthurs

And here is my start from last night:


 Not much yet but moving in the right direction.  

I hope you are all having a beautiful day and thank you all for you comments they mean the world to me. Until next time . . .
 
 

Friday, August 5, 2011

Remember Me

Good Morning All!  It's been a busy last few days! I was getting ready for all the company that Musikfest brings to our house! Musikfest officially starts tonight but they did have a local kick-off last night and I hear it was a great success.  Musikfest is a huge festival that takes over downtown Bethlehem for 10 days of music, food, art and fun.  This year for the first time they are splitting the venues between the north and south side of the city (the Lehigh River divides the city in half). If you are interested in more info you can go to www.fest.org and of course I will post pictures so that you can see.  The downside of over a million people in 10 days is of course the traffic and lost tourists.  Yesterday I was trying to get home from PT and of course was already being held up by drivers on their cell phones, and lost. A small price to pay as it is only 10 days and great for out economy.  The residents who don't like it just go on vacation!

Yesterday I also got my new glasses.  We shall see. They are progressive lenses as it was that or tri-focals.  So far they are something I need to get used to but not too bad. 
Also yesterday my yellow fabric arrived.  You can't really tell from the picture but it has small sparkles in it.  I re-started Basket of Memories and I just love it on the yellow! I am so glad a changed the fabric color - it is in memory of my mom and I would never have been happy with the first try. What do you think??


And of course my update on my Quaker.



I am really happy with how this is coming out even though I did the make an error in my measuring of the edges but it will make it.   

Denise (Riverside Stitching) and Shari (Shari's Sharings), I and maybe Angela (Indomitable Angela) - will be starting our SAL of the Northwind on the 15th so keep watching for our weekly progress updates!
Well I am off to run my errands and get home before the "festers" get out and about.  Have a great day -
Hugs to all. . .

Thursday, July 28, 2011

updates and SAL

Good Morning All!
Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while but as usual life got in the way. It seems like there is something to go do every day.  At least the heat broke for a couple of days although I hear today is the start of another heat wave ugh.  Right now the AC is off and the doors are open for a couple of hours til it heats up again.  

Yesterday I had my hair cut and high-lited (gotta hide the grey for a little while longer hehehe) and then I had lunch with 2 lovely ladies that I used to work with.  Since they are teachers we always have lunch in the summer.  It is always so good to get together and catch up and it was a nice enough day that we could eat out on the deck.  Lunch started at 1 and ended at 6 (do you think we can chat?). A wonderful time was had by all.  

Here is an update on my Quaker:


Well I got some stitching done. Hopefully I can get some more stitches in today.  I signed up for a Christmas exchange of at About.com and I am still waiting for my yellow fabric to come so I can again attempt Basket of Memories. Denise from Riverside Stitching and I are going to be doing a SAL together.  We are going to stitch Northwind by Silver Creek Samplers.  I love that poem - it was one of my mom's favorites.  

 If anyone wants to join us just let me or Denise know. She has all her supplies and I already have my fabric and 123 Stitch just sent me the shipping confirmation so the pattern should be here tomorrow.  I think she said a September start although could be sooner if no one else feels like joining in.  


I'm off to PT this morning! Will catch you later! Happy Stitching.