The Peacock's Feather

Too Hot to Stitch!

Sorry there've been no updates here.  June was very warm, but July has been downright miserable.  I live in an old house, which means even with air conditioning it can be pretty toasty inside.  Days in the 90s with  high humidity means it can be completely oppressive, so I've not been tempted to pick up a needle and sit with a piece of linen on my lap.  Maybe this weekend as the last couple of days have been slightly cooler and cloudy, so it's not quite so warm.  Not sure about you, but I am very ready for August!

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very safe and Happy New Year!  I won't be doing anything special for the holiday--watching movies and stitching, which suits me just fine as I am not much of a partygoer.  I have two rows left to stitch on Toccata #1, which I am hoping to get in tonight.  I plan on pulling out Toccata #2 for 2008!  I will, of course, share a photo of my finish!  I had hoped to accomplish a bit more over my vacation, but I find I am amazingly slow on these Toccata motifs!  I am also in the mood to start something new for the new year (something with plain cross stitch, nothing fancy), but I am not sure what.  I had thought a LHN design, but now I am not sure.  I could work on one of my unfinished Hawk Run Hollow designs, but you know that thrill of starting something new.  I'll let you know what I choose.  All the best to everyone in 2008!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates the holiday! However you celebrate!  I finally was able to work a bit on my birthday exchange gift last night.  I plan on taking it with me this afternoon to my sister's house where my family will be celebrating Easter.  I'm not sure how many stitches I will get in as Sunday afternoons always fly by--especially when you are with family!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!   

Bah Humbug!

Sorry I have not been updating my stitching blog lately.  I have been stitching (though not as much as I would like), but I can't really share my progress photos as they are gifts.  I am having a very hard time motivating myself this year.  I am so not in the holiday mood for some reason.  Already Thanksgiving is next week.  I have done nothing in anticipation for the upcoming holidays.  We even carved our pumpkins the weekend after Halloween!  It has been sort of a crappy last month or so, and I am just in a bah humbug mood!  Usually by now I have started my Christmas shopping.  Or I have at least started making lists.  I can't even seem to make myself do that!  I would have to say holiday stitching (other than my two ornaments for exchanges) is likely out of the question at this particular moment.  Last time I placed a needlework order, which was for a few small items to send along with my exchanges I didn't even order anything for myself!  I must be out of it!!  If nothing else I am ready for the long holiday weekend next week.  I have been so tired from work and other chores that I can't even seem to get the energy to do anything fun in my free time at night!  Hopefully I will get back into the stitching groove soon!

A Folk Angel!

Sorry, not the best photo (I am a really terrible picture taker, aren't I!), but here is a folk angel that I bought last weekend at a craft fair.  I bought it for my MIL, but I am not sure if she likes this style  of craft.  Maybe I need to choose a different gift for her (for Christmas), and keep her for myself....What do you think?  I personally love her!

May be giving into temptation...

I have been very good about not buying any of these Mirabilia seasonal kits, but I may have to break down and buy this one.  I have admired all these designs, but have managed to not buy any of them.  They seem to just get cuter each time around, however, and now I want all of them (well, starting with this one first...).  We'll see how long I can resist!

Sorry I have not posted lately.  And sorry to anyone I owe an email, and I have been terrible about replying to comments made on my blog.  My SIL was expecting a baby, but as it turned out the egg didn't make it down the fallopian tube.  She had been having bad pains, and they finally figured out what was going on.  So monday we were all at the emergency room from after work (around 5:30) until after 2:00 in the morning!!  Talk about slow.  And, not realizing that I would be there so long I did not have a book or magazine or stitching--nothing with me. So it was horrible for more reasons than one!  We have been going to the hospital every night after work, and finally tonight she was released.  I haven't gotten much of anything done this week, and no stitching at all.  Thankfully she is feeling much better, but she will likely be out of commission (so to speak) for a while, so I will be helping out--things will not be normal for a little while anyway.  The only stitching I have done this week has been on one of my birthday presents, so I have nothing to show at the moment.  Hopefully this weekend. 

By the way--Bea in Italy--I have been trying to email you, but my messages keep coming back--can you please email me your mailing address?  Thanks.

Too Many Diversions...

Sorry it has been so quiet around here this past weekend.  I'm afraid I got in next to no stitching.  It was my dad's birthday last week, and we celebrated on Saturday.  And between the regular weekend chores and errands and the birthday celebration, there just wasn't much extra time to do relaxing sorts of things.  I do admit I watched the next to last episode of Horatio Hornblower.  If you haven't seen this series, it is absolutely wonderful.  It is the story of Horatio Hornblower a young man who joins His Majesty's Royal Navy.  He starts out as a Midshipman and works his way up through the ranks.  It is set during the Napoleonic Wars.  A&E adapted this series from the books by C.S. Forester.  I have started reading them--I am only on the first and there are eleven.  I have been rationing out the DVDs, but there is only one left in this set.   There are an additional two episodes that came later, but I think I want to read more of the books before I watch those.  I was never much into seafaring tales, but I have to say that these have captured my imagination, and I can't get enough of them!

The other  distraction of late has been the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.  This is actually a young adult novel.  I read a review of it on a book blog and it sounded so good I checked it out of the library.  It was so absorbing that I couldn't put it down and spent three or four days reading it.  I spent mornings and breaks reading it--times I usually am stitching!  Generally I am not into vampire stories, but this one was very entertaining.  There is a sequel called New Moon, which is being held for me at the library right now.  I am afraid to get it too soon, or I will end up spending all my time reading it!

I did start the October ornament by Prairie Schooler, however.  It is a black silhouette of a witch on a broomstick.  Right now all I have stitched is a black blob.  As soon as it looks like something I will take a photo of it and share.  I have gotten back to working on my Just Nan.  If I had a good solid afternoon I could probably finish it.  As I don't at the moment I will just work on it when I have extra time!  Needless to say I have not made any progress on my Merry Cox!

I am thinking about going through my stash and starting to weed things out and possibly sell them.  Particularly I have in mind the Mystery IX project that I don't think I will want to stitch now.  I did hear from a stitcher who was interested in buying the supplies from me.  I think there are probably other things as well that I might want to get rid of.  I need to think it all through, though.  Once it is sold--that's it!  This might also be a way of getting some Christmas money, too.  It is still always so hard to part from stash, though!

Seen any good movies lately?

I have just discovered Netflix!  Actually I have seen ads all over the place, but I try and get my movies (free and for a three week check out!) from my public library.  Lately, though, I have been interested in seeing a few movies that are "off the beaten path" so to speak and that I cannot find anywere very easily.  So I broke down and have signed up for a trial of Netflix.  I am doing the two DVDs at once (though an unlimited number of check outs monthly) program.  Some of the movies I want to see are film adaptations of books.  Tonight I watched The Driver's Seat starring Elizabeth Taylor.  It was made in the 70s and has a very 70s feel to it.  It is from a book by the same name written by Muriel Spark.  The book was quite unnerving (a sort of literary psychological thriller...), and the movie was as well.  I would not have known what to think of it had I not read the book first.  Last weekend I watched Second Generation (which I thought was quite good!), an Anglo-Indian movie that is a modern retelling of the King Lear story.  I know once the newness wears off I won't be in such a hurry to get my movies viewed.  The sooner you get them watched and back in the mail, the sooner a new one from your queue is mailed out to you!  I think I will have to save movies for the weekends though, as now it is quite late and I am going to be whiney in the morning when I have to drag myself out of bed bright and early!  So, my question, now that I have 60,000 movies at my fingertips...any suggestions?  I especially love foreign (particularly Irish/British) films or artsy films.  But I am always open to suggestions!  I had hoped to stitch while I watched, but my DVD player is upstairs where we are nice and toasty...I pretty much was a couch potato tonight!

Too Hot to Stitch...

Tomorrow is the first official day of summer, but we have already started the hot, sunshiny weather of summer here in Nebraska.  Today it was in the mid-90s, and it was just too hot to think of picking up linen and working on anything.  Actually it has not been too insufferably, muggy hot (and it really can get so humid here that you feel like you can't breathe when you go outside).  It has just been plain old hot!  My house is old (and if you have been reading my blog, you will already have heard this story last summer...), and while I can't complain too much as we have central air, it doesn't get very cool upstairs (where the bedrooms are and where I do most of my stitching!).  And, of course, the heat of the day travels upstairs and just sits here (this is also where my computer and treadmill are--blah!).  Sometimes the heat gives me headaches, which it has managed to do today.  Anyway, all this to say...I have no updates to share with you today.  I do need to work on the last birthday gift (until November I think is the next one) for a birthday exchange I am in.  I have started it, but today I forgot to bring the pattern with me (I had all my other supplies) to work--so much for working on it!  I will try again tomorrow.  The nice thing about work...it is nice and cool in the building, and I work in the basement (where it is practically cold)!  How do people in tropical countries stitch, anyway?!

When life gets in the way of stitching...

Sorry no update today, and no stitching tonight as well.  A friend is in the hospital, so a group of us went to visit her.  I am not very good about doctors and even less so with hospitals.  I tend to be emotional (easily so--this is one thing in particular I wish I could change about myself--I feel so wimpy in these situatiuons!), so it was hard to see my friend come out of surgery.  She had actually been in recovery for several hours, but her room was not ready, so we had to sit and wait in the waiting room for a while.  I didn't even think to bring any stitching, and I thought a book might appear rude (I am never sure what the protocol is in these sorts of situations).  My friend was still rather groggy and feeling the effects of the anesthesia still, so we didn't stay long.  Are all hospital rooms that small?  She shares with another lady, which made it even more crowded, and doctors and nurses were in and out getting her vital signs and such.  Originally she was meant to only be in overnight, but I think she may have to stay several days.  Hopefully the stay will not be long and she can go home to recuperate.  Fingers crossed and good wishes are going her way that she is better soon!