Awful!! Awful!!

Ladies and gents, please welcome my most awful finish of the year...Ugh! I'm totally complaining to myself and shamelessly posting this here... Seeing this is like adding salt to my breaking heart. But anyways, I have the thickest calloused face ever!!! LOL

Isn't it ever so disgusting!? I don't know what kind of holy spirit came over me and told me that I should stitch this piece out of the center!!! It does have about an inch and a half allowance to the top. Grrr!! I hate myself!!! I should have asked hubby to do the counting for me because God knows math isn't my forte. But it came out so bad like this, I feel soooooo mad. I showed it to hubby and he readily said "Just rip it out and stitch it again!?" w00t?! Nuh uh, not in a million years!!! I'll probably just even it out a bit, so that means cutting part of the excess at the bottom. The people I am giving this to is going to have it custom framed, so they can surround it with the baby pictures, and i doubt it will make a difference since most of the framers will probably glue it down to the mount board anyway.

Thanks for looking!!! =)

Not once..but twice!!!

I am so honored, two beautiful stitching blogger friends had awarded me. Thank you so much. What an honor. I appreciate it very much that you guys awarded me.




First "Kreative Blogger Award" from sis Joie

Now it's time for me to pick 5 based on the rules.

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.

2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to the blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

Now i get to pick my 5 nominees:

1. Andie
2. Itching to stitch
3. Mel
4. Cindy
5. Juls

My second award was from ver0nic@. It's A "Brilliante Weblog" award.

Ok, first off, the rules for this award,

1 Put the logo on your blog;

2 Add a link to the person who awarded you;

3 Nominate at least 7 other blogs;

4 Add links to those blogs on yours;

5 Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

And here are my nominees for this award.

1. Abi
2. JenJen
3. Joyce
4. Lyn
5. Romantic Fool
6. Sharon
7. Sue

Thank you again for the award sis and ver0nic@. I truly appreciate it.

Have a good night everyone.

To hell and back...

Can i say...looking for an apartment is hell? Going back and forth to the old town is hell. The gas prices have been hell. No internet or cable tv was hell. And sleeping on the floor is a complete "my back is killing me" hell! LOL. But the good news is, we finally found an apartment, been living in it for a week, it's pretty fine, and I love that we have our own washer/dryer so I did not have to brawl/badmouth/catfight with other tenants trying to wash clothes at some "laundry on site" service. Yay! It also has a/c. Pretty sweet. It's only a one bedroom place, but it's big enough for the 3 of us. And it was about $400 cheaper than the last one we looked at. I am also feeling very confident because we are living in the ground floor, so no stairs for Connor to deal with. And, they also accept dogs, so I didn't have to give up my beloved P-chan. By the way, after a night of sleeping on the floor since we didn't really have like a couch or anything big when we came up here cuz it wouldn't fit in our Montero/van/ SUV/ cart..whatever you call it... We went parading down at Costco and grabbed an air bed, one hubby swears is more comfy than a regular bed. Not so much for the action though LOLOL.

This place is pretty damn sweet. I love the varieties of just about everything. I still have to make plans of visiting any LNS's or two, someday!

Now, before i go on and update on stitching, let me just say that I haven't been very deligent lately. Honestly, there is more to see on my current wip, but I have worked on some parts before we moved up and just didn't have time to capture a photo, while prepping our stuffs for the big move. I am still working on the EMS oval birth announcement, but one day while moving hubby broke my ott-lite bulb, and to tell you honestly I cannot work without it, not that my eyes are bad. I still have 20/20 vision thanks God! But I aint working on aida anymore which has holes more visible than a window made of lattice bamboos LOL. So I have been slacking really bad, atleast until I get a new bulb replacement. I talked to the couple who I'm giving this to, and they totally understand that I have been going through alot lately and are not in a hurry for the sampler. They are really nice, I'm glad! So here she is, and this is my current progress. I finished the oval thingy, but i didn't want to re place the whole fabric back. But anyways, you get the idea. =)

As I said before, my interest in reading perked up again. I had mentioned that I started on Michael Crichton "A Case of Need". I got about a little before half point, but when we went to Costco I saw "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown. He happens to be one my favorite conspiracy authors, after I read the "Da Vinci Code" of his, I decided on a whim that I needed to hunt this prequel down. Nontheless, we came home and i couldn't wait to start it, it has only been a couple of days and I am way past the halfway mark. It's very interesting read. Not that I let it influence my beliefs and perceptions about my own religion. But i really love the plots and puzzles and secret organizations type stuff that is on his book. Pretty absorbing and unputdownable!

Looks like someone else is interested in reading conspiracy stories in this house other than me. =]

Now, I am on the hunt for "Das Perfume or Perfume: The story of a murderer" by Patrick Suskind. I wonder if i can handle that right now. But i hear it's really bizaare and twisted (he makes perfumes out of virgins) (O_0)

I haven't worked on my PR wedding piece lately. But soon...I hope.

Sorry this is long, I am also hoping to catch up on you guys blogs today. Finally, let me say...Having the internet is a bliss, I can live normally again. LOL (",)

Have a great day everyone!

We're Up North

Just dropping by to announce to the world that I am still alive and kicking =)

We started our journey towards the new town where hubby got his new job last Sunday night. We were staying at the motel 6, spending the most boring days of my life, with what seemed to me like they only have 5 freaking channels on the tv, it also seems like they have been doing Family Guy Marathon all day, everyday LOL (I have watched every episode a long time ago but don't mind reruns...but everyday reruns...ack!!). I didn't even get a single stitch in, I have been reading books, and just recently finished one I purchased at the grocery store called "The Last Mermaid" by Shana Abe. I love it. It was so romantic, mythical and timeless. I have currently started " A case of Need" by Michael Crichton. Last night we found out that the motel overbooked and we couldn't extend our stay which we planned was until saturday, but they had told us that we had to leave this afternoon. Bummer! So we did left early, I am right now at hubby's friend's house spending half the day until hubby gets out of work, thus i got to use the internet, wee! and then we will have to go to another motel Super 8, i think is what it was called. Hope this one is going to be so much better, with atleast 6 channels on tv LOL!

I love this town, it looks rather interesting, so many options especially food! So many asian resto's and grocery outlets. Lots and lots of shopping center and a tiny little shopping district with a plethora of boutiques, resto's, bookstores and who knows what else...?

We haven't found an apartment yet, it's so hard, since you can only view by appointment and usually their offices close at the same time hubby leaves for work =( We looked at a 1 bedroom/1 bath yesterday, but it was $1700 (no utilities included) worth of stash!!! So we are still searching...searching...I may even have to go back to Santa Maria by the weekend and spend the whole week down there so hubby can stay at his friends house without having to pay anymore for motel stays because it is truly expensive and it is draining our savings from his resignation which was suppose to go towards a deposit for an apartment rent. And then he can also look while staying at his friends without having to burn anymore $$$.

I have nothing to show today...so sad.

Vent over. =)

Hope you all have a great stitching weekend.

Latest HD, A new start for a baby...sweeeeet!!

After what seemed like forever of back-stitching. Stoney Creek's are notorious for those. I had finished finally my wedding piece, the one i was making for a friend as my gift to her for being just...well, my friend. =)

This piece was...something...not only was the backstitching totally all over the place, the blending with kreinik's all over was challenging as well. I mean, Mirabilia's have blends, but its usually a mix of different ones like #4 braids or #8's. This one was mostly of blending filaments, so i cheated and used a bit of the RG PB01 on the borders, just cuz i didn't have enough to go around, was using the same thing for my PR OUAT, so I had to order more, but did not want to wait for my order to arrive. I used the BF's on both the birds though, and then a bit of ewww, yuck! DMC 282 (light gold metallic) for the rings back stitching. Whaaaat?! I totally dissed that, as i hate the dmc metallics, so i used something else that i have around. A #4 braid from kreinik that i thought is quite similar, as i was not ready to lose my mind, thank you very much! tee hee

Wedding Treasure by Stoney Creek

Once again, I made another new start. A family friend, who works with hubby had a baby girl last month. Yey!! I'm so jealous... But i have to restrain myself from that, I am not ready to have another bout of more sleepless nights yet...hehehe. They are the ones who were basically handing over their little boy's clothes to us. Their oldest son is only couple months older from Connor, so in the past 2.5 years, we only had to buy him 4-5 times new clothing, and that was if it was really necessary (like Darth Vader costume haha). I talked to them and asked if they would like a cross stitch piece for their new daughter as i had made one for their son before and the answer was "We would be honored." Don't you love it when people truly appreciates your hand-made gifts that's smothered with love before you even started it? Amazing!!!
Again, this is my own hand-dyed piece, I made it yesterday and totally colored our white sink red...So I quickly rinsed the sink out with bleach before hubby got home LOL. The fabby came out a little wilder than i anticipated, it's a monaco fabric after all, so I wasn't that shocked. I'm hoping the design would work itself out around it. I am trying to finish it quickly so I can give it to them before we move.

Animal Baby Oval Birth Announcement

Ellen Maurer Stroh

As to hubby news, yes he got the new job, wooohooo!!! Can't believe they offered him 60% more raise than what he is making now. Finally, he is getting what he deserves to be paid. He is to start on the 23rd, so we are anticipating to move out of town by the 21'st. We are still looking for a temporary place to move over there, since it's so far, it's impossible to just drive down and sign contracts, so far we can only find studio's that allow pets, and God knows I can't live without my P-chan. I have no problem with living in a studio or in the car LOL. But a studio probably won't let you stay if there is like 3 of you. So we will have to see how things will go. My birthday is also coming up and I don't have any plans on what i want or to do yet. Usually I go like "baby, I want a year's supply of FOTM." heheh
I know i have been bad with not updating my blog often. But as soon as we get settled in at where we are moving, I will try as much as i can to update.
Finally, I leave you with pictures of my son who like all of us, loves the wii fit. LOL

The sun salutation

Sporting in Wii Fit Yoga.

Thanks for taking a peek. May you all be blessed with stash, stash and more stash then more stitching time.

I got me a new toy!

Awesomeness, hubby bought me Wii Fit last night!!! I told him when he got home that I want a Wii fit, actually eversince it was announced at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) I had been saying to him that when it is released in the US I would like one. It became so popular that people were lining up outside the game stores for it. We drove to Gamestop, Target, Best Buy and finally at Wal-mart, they had one left, and some1 else wanted it but I was lucky that hubby got it first! Woohoo!!

I gave it a try as soon as we got home and it was so much fun. =^-^= I love it!

Hmm, wonder if it will help me maintain my figure LOL. Although it screamed at my face that i was underweight. LOLOL

You gotta get one! It is a fun way to exercise! I hate to exercise but hell yeah this is more like playing than exercise being a task!

A Wedding Gift

First of all, thank you to those who greeted my mom a Happy Birthday. I believe that our Mom's are angels sent from heaven to watch us no matter where we go, no matter how old we get, and no matter the circumstance. They are amazing! *^-^*

So, how's everybody's stitching going on??? I need to catch up on some of you guy's blogs. I have been stitching a little bit, here and there. Two weeks ago I met this wonderful lady, her name is Tiffany. Both our hubbies work at the same place and when hubby was called in for that job interview which was literally an 8 hour trip back and forth, she spent the whole day with me and my son. She was so nice and sweet, we went out to lunch and then spent the day talking about babies because she is 6 months pregnant!

So as a thank you I decided to make them a wedding announcement since they don't have one. I asked her of course if she would like a cross stitched piece and she was excited about it, so i started one a couple of days ago. I really love the saying on this design. And the fabric is fab as well, it's a silkweaver opalescent, called Coral. I think it may have been discontinued. It has whites and soft peachy pinks. It's really pretty, too bad I looked at SW site and they don't seem to have it anymore.

Design from: Stoney Creek Collection Two Hearts Together
Title of the Design: Wedding Treasure

TFL!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to my most beloved Mom.

You're my inspiration. I love you so much!!!

Been a while...

It's been a while since my last update. Alot of things had been going on in my side of the world. First, we had to move to a new house, we are now moved, but we still have a few things left to pick up at the old house we were living before. It's only a few blocks away but having a small child while doing the move can really take forever. And we also found out last week that the old house has been infested with fleas. There were alot of stray cats in that old neighborhood, and remember that doggy door? I wonder if they were going inside the house through that since i used to leave some cat food out the front door while we were still living there, which meant i was basically feeding the homeless cats. So hubby decided to bug bomb the place last weekend before we bring in more stuff to the new house so that it doesn't get infested here as well.

Secondly, hubby received a job offer in San Jose, and went for a job interview last friday. If he gets this job, looks like we will be doing another move, San Jose is close to a 4 hour drive. He really wants to get this job as it pays alot more than what he is paid now and I'm hoping and praying that he will get the job as well, cuz I am planning to go back to school and study nursing. The earlier notice the better, as registrations end by June.

Anyhoo, I do have some stitching updates.


I have been slowly making some progress on OUAT. Not very much as of late due to the move. But this is my only accessible project so I did get some stitching done, I didn't even bother unpacking our stuffs incase hubby gets the job and we will have to move again. So here is what it looks recently.

I also ordered some SMF fabric during Mindy's spring sale. Took 2 months to receive but well worth the wait.

I ordered Cursus in linen and Angel Kisses in jazzlyn both in FQ. Love them!

Thanks for stopping by everyone.

Lover's progress

I have quite a bit done on my WIP. They are really coming along nicely, I am just loving every minute of this. Our internet was down all day yesterday and i worked on the bouquet she is holding. I can't believe how much we can get done while there is no access to the internet LOL.

I only took a picture of the lover's as I am too lazy to unroll and re-roll the piece. You know what the arbour looks like anyway. =)

Mel asked "can I ask, what are the clips on your stitching for?"

Hi Mel, they are my take on stitch clips which you use to tighten the side of your fabric. One day I was stitching Ivy and i couldn't get the fabric right (the way I'm comfortable with). I took clips and rubber bands and used it to pull the fabric sideways.
Also I find that the bigger the fabric, no matter how much pulling you do to tighten it, it will eventually start to sag esp. in the middle. So I thought the paper clips and rubber bands will do the job and sure enough, they did, they've helped me alot in my stitching, I have been using them for quite a while, I also use them to hold my pattern LOL. Hope this answers your question.

Thank you guys for visiting and for all the lovely comments. It sure keeps a stitcher happy enough to pursue her stitching career. hehehe