Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Sweet little gift in the mail.

Yesterday was my birthday. I don't make a big deal about it so I normally do not post online about it. But one of my stitching friends had me in the birthday exchange this year.


This is what she sent me some linen and a chart by Country Cottage Needleworks "Snowmen Trio" Super Cute and she made me this cute little zippered bag. I love it. I love little pouches and bags you can never have to many to store random things :)

I am almost finished with January's Snowdrops it really is an ejoyable piece to stitch.
That's all folks short and sweet today :) Thank you for the comments latley. I really enjoy reading them and I am sorry if I have yet to respond but I do appreciate them!
Wishing you all a very happy day and happy stitching!!
Natasha

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

a change sometimes sets people on edge.......

I have always been a conscious eater. I was always aware of where my food came from.At 13 after a year of feeding my cousins hog Wilbur I was eating dinner one night and asked where he was... I got a shock when my Uncle said "well Honey he is on you're plate" I knew it was bound to happen but was sad to know that the sweat Hog was sacrificed for my pleasure, As a conscious eater now I am aware of where my food comes from. My eggs are farmed 20 miles away by a dear friend and her feathered friends at Humble Farms in Gilbert ,SC I work in the restaurants world and we serve meat. We get our meat from small farmers who value their animals lives and even though they sell their cattle and hogs to small restaurants they still care about how they are raised till the end.

But that brings me to this point of setting people on edge. I was raised on a Midwestern diet of Meat, Potatoes and some veggies. Over the years I have noticed a change in my self I crave veggies over meat. I dislike cooking bacon although I do love biscuts and gravy. I am not a huge steak eater and while I do enjoy fried chicken I could live without it. So it comes to this. Come Feb 1st I am giving up meat and not only meat but dairy too...I will stil have the random egg only because I know where that happy egg comes from. YUP full VEGAN-ISH here. I have seen the looks from those I tell and their face says it all Ewwwww... Someone asked me "why are you doing this" My response is of course it is a personal reason but also my body deserves to be happy. And I believe a plant based diet is the best for me. So wish me luck on this new adventure of mine. It is amazing the wonderful meat free dishes that are out there. I will hopefully give updates once a week of my progress.

Yesterday I meet coworkers at a local Vegan place only one of two in the Columbia area... It was really amazing even my husband liked the Kung Pao "Cick-N" and that is coming from a meat and potatoes guy Hhahahah He said he would have it again. The Collard Greens were out of this world unlike any I have had. I could have eaten a whole pot. I suggest ya'll try it out if ever in the Columbia,SC area.

Other than the amazing food I also received a lovely Birthday present. I will share a photo tomorrow. It is super sweet :)

Wishing you all a great night. Happy stitching!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

It's good to be a kid

We don't have any kids of our own and I am ok with that. But I do not hesitate to act like one when I am around them. This little guy is "Munchkin" I have been around for all of his 4+ years of life. He is a talker and full of imagination. I realize I don't see him often enough. He was so excited to see me today when I pulled into the drive way.

This picture was taken after we had lunch, and played at the park. He wanted to go for a walk and come on I can't say no :) When a boy asks you to skip you don't say no!

I only spent a few hours visiting but I have already planned a sleep over in a few weeks and then the adults can get together and catch up...... On my way home I had to stop off at the store and look at this photo I caught. I mean come on is it not beautiful???

Sunsets here are always so pretty.

Last I would like to leave with the current WIP you may remember I was using blue and yellow well I switched it out for two blues 930 and 931 I am digging it. I shared a picture with my friend who is gifting it to the boys Mother and she is pleased. YAY!!!!

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Sunny days are the best

I grew up in Northern Ohio, Cleveland where we are use to lake effect snow, cold snowy Aprils and gray skies as far as the eyes could see. Where the annual amount of sunshine is 163 days and the amount of sun Cleveland gets is 49% But when I moved to California and even in Denver I got spoiled by endless days of sunshine. Did you know that the Denver area averages 245 days of sunshine a year... I mean come on yes please!!!!And Palo Alto,Ca where we lived before moving to our current state had 261 days of sunshine on average. Amazing place to enjoy the outdoors.

Where we live now
Amount of Sun
Columbia,SC 64% of sun with 218 days of total sun. Not to shabby. But like I said I have been spoiled. It has been MANY years since I have been in temps below 40. The last few weeks here have been so cold that todays sunshine was such a welcomed sight. I got to wear a light jacket and took this sweet girl for a nice long walk at the park
It is really amazing how sunshine can make people so cheerful. Today was so wonderful.

Usually we just take walks down our street to go visit the local farm animals, a whole mess of goats.

This guy is in relations with the friendliest lady goat ever.she comes running when she sees me coming usually it is because I come with food :) She "talks" to me as she runs and then greets me with licks.

Living in a city environment was wonderful everything was always so convient but living further out from the city is great. At night you can see the stars and hear the crickets. There is a peacefulness that washes over you when you come home to the "country"

I want to thank you all again for the comments left on the last post. The tattoo is healing nicely and I am already thinking about the next one. Will I go through with it? maybe maybe not but I have some ideas in case.

I have signed up to volunteer at a local animal Shelter PawMettoLifeLine I am really excited. I have an orientation soon and then I will be a full fledged volunteer.Makes my heart happy.

I am still working on the memorial piece and I did change the colors I changed out that yellow for a lighter blue. Looks great I will share a photo on the next post.

Wishing you all a wonderful night and to my SeaHawk friends. Congratulations. Even though I was pulling for Green Bay. It was a tough win for the "HAWKS" Now I just want the Colts to win :)
Natasha

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

One not done??

First let me give a big WooHoo to the 2015 National Champions Ohio Sate. Some said you couldn't do it. But against adversity you pulled off a victorious win against a tough team with your 3rd string QB!!! Way to Go Buckeyes :D

On to the title of my post. They say once you get one you are hooked and usually you'll get another. This could be cross stitch collecting, maybe dog or cat collecting haha but I am referring to tattoos. I went yesterday and got my very first tattoo. I have been wanting one for many years but once Samson passed away I knew what I wanted. And I called my friends tattoo artist right away so I didn't back out.



I won't lie and say it did not hurt, but it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, it was uncomfortable more than anything. I was actually alittle sad when it was over. Which both my friend and the tattoo artist found funny. My husband was shocked when I came home because this was originally going to be alot smaller and just a heart with a paw in the center but the design he drew up was actually better than what I had originally wanted. Will I get another one like everyone says happens. I don't know. In my mind I have many drawings and ideas but I think I am happy with just this one...... for now :)

I am working on another stitched memorial piece for a friend, her boyfriend lost his best friend in an ATV accident so I am stitching that January's Snowdrop chart again for the boys Mother. Here is a snap of the progress so far. I am not to sure about the yellow it looks alittle washed out with the darker colors so I think I will finish the boarder and use the blue throughout the entire wording. What are your thoughts?


Thanks for all of your lovely comments on the last post.
Valerie, I use a marker and write the numbers on the bobbins, never have to worry about stickers anymore :)

Dee Holly I am sorry for the loss of your sister, I hate the C word!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Day
Natasha

Friday, January 9, 2015

First finish of the New Year

Good morning dear friends,
Happy Friday!! I am pleased to announce my first finish of the year. WooHoo! As I mentioned in a previous post my only stitching goal this year is to TRY and stitch the WIPs that have been laying around for a few years, There are about 4 that need finishing. But once they are finished I will be faced with the dilemma of what to stitch next. I always have a hard a hard time picking out my next project, usually because I am so indecisive over fabric and floss.....

When I started stitching it I knew right away that it was going to be a tribute to my Mom who passed away May 2004.You can see progress from that post Here So in place of the flowers I added her initials and date of birth. I used a piece of 28ct even weave and DMC.

I started this one on November 30th and finished Jan 8th.

I was asked by a girlfriend of mine if I would stitch this for her Boyfriend in honor of his best friend who passed away in an ATV accident. So I am going to start it all over again this weekend but I think in blue, gold and green. She is going to give it to the boys Mother.

I probably would have been finished a few days sooner but on News Years day and the day after I spent it winding floss. I had fun doing this, it was mindless and relaxing HaHa!

How do you store your DMC? Do you wind it? I use to keep like numbers in ziplock baggies but searching for that ONE floss is time consuming. This is way more efficient :)

Well that's all I have for today. I hope you all have a blessed and happy day.
Happy Stitching
Natasha



Wednesday, January 7, 2015

A beautiful sunset

Last night while I was cozy under my blanket with a cup of tea in hand I looked out the window and caught a glimpse of fire in the sky. I went out to get this picture.



We are blessed with many of these. And whenever I get the chance to see one I try to take a photo of each sunset, they are different each time. I should make a little book of those I have taken. After I took that photo I quickly retreated back to my cozy blanket to work on my January's Snowdrop WIP.

I wanted to thank all of you that sent condolences, said prayers,sent warm vibes and good thoughts to us on the loss of Samson. Hard to believe that it will be one month since we had to say goodbye to him and it is still hard. When I look at his blanket or think of something silly I get teary eyed. I know it will get easier but.....still hurts. I have been looking at Westies and thinking of the day when we can add one more to our life. I know Licorice is lonely missing Samson but in a way I think she likes having us all to herself :)

A photo from a few years ago. My husband and I were taking a weekend getaway and I guess he wanted to come along :D

And one more, this is one of my favorites. He was determined NOT to come in the house. He made me wait till his friend Buddy came out to visit him LOL
I hope everyone is having a great week so far and getting lots of stitch time in. Even though I don't welcome the colder temps I do like that they allow me to stitch because it's to cold to do anything else :)

Blessings and happy stitching!
Natasha

Friday, January 2, 2015

A new start and a BIG win

Okay let me first give a big WooHoo to the Ohio State Buckeyes. They beat out Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last night, and what a game it was.Way to go boys next stop Texas to PLUCK SOME DUCKS, Oregon that is!! This game started pretty late, my hubby and I stayed up till 1a.m hooting and hollering. I have a boss who is an Alabama alumni and a HUGE "Bama fan I must not go in bragging today :)

While I watched the game I was also stitching and I must say I did pretty good concentrating not one single frog, at least none that I could tell last night, I have not looked at yet this morning. I kept stitching the entire game because both time I set it down something happened in the game like a fumble or that interception. So my superstition kicked in Haha

This is Blackbird Designs Secret Garden. I bought it on EBAY about 5 years ago it came with the floss and fabric. Why have I waited so long to start it? So far I am really enjoying this piece. The fabric is 30ct from R&R Reproductions and the floss is WDW Turkish Red which I LOVE!!


I don't usually do resolutions for the New Year but I will try and have a few goals set up this year. One goal this year is to stitch from my stash. And also to KIT up as many charts as I can so I have them ready to stitch when I feel the need to start something new. You see how I do not have FINISH as a goal LOL

I hope everyone had a great New Years. Take care and Happy Stitching!!
Natasha