I heart organization

After making trips to THREE stores, I was finally able to find the bags to store my silk floss. By the time I hit Joann Fabrics I was extremely frustrated.

Here I am, all ready to dive into A Sweeter Love and I have no way to store my threads in a manner that won't get them all mixed up and my blond self confused trying to figure out which color is which after I rip off the labels.

Not one store had Floss Away bags and I am too impatient to wait for them to come in the mail. All the while I've been kicking myself for not getting them when I was at In Stitches staring at them two weeks ago. Luckily, Joanns had some small storage bags and I also picked up a couple of the metal rings.

I rushed home to the comfort of my couch and cherry coke zero and promptly started sorting my floss and labeling my bags. The bags didn't come with holes punched in them for the ring so I dug a hole punch out of the junk drawer and punched away.

Now they are labeled and bagged and ready for some serious stitching!

Sweet Relief.

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Total Snooze Fest

Nothing much going on over here. It is supposed to be spring, but I haven't seen any sign of her. What a B....! She tricks me with the sun, and then slaps me in the face with bitter cold as soon as I walk outside. Not happy.

Matt and I got some supplies for our bathroom adventure. I got started while Matt was working in another part of the house. I soon came to realize that I, as the planner, did not plan well and we did not have enough bleach to get the all the bathroom walls cleaned. I got about halfway through and could not continue. And of course, we went to the grocery store on Sunday and I still forgot to get more bleach. Bride brain is in full effect. Oh well. We will get there.

Matt worked Saturday night so I was able to do put in some quality time with my couch and Netflix. I worked on my gift for a spring swap I am in (no picture...yet) and watched many episodes of "My So Called Life". Do you remember that show? Mid 90's....I forgot how good/funny it was...but honestly, I didn't think and still don't think Jared Leto is all that. Just sayin'.

After finishing one part of my swap item, I got a bit of craft A.D.D and spent the rest of the weekend switching from one project to another. First I was working on my bouquet and started to assemble some of my flowers. After about three of those, I could no longer stop myself from starting "A Sweeter Love". I still have yet  to get floss away bags for my silks so I only let myself start stitching the green border. This way I don't have a bunch of silk skeins lying around with their labels no longer attached. Isn't that a disaster in the making? Then after about ten minutes of working on the sampler, I went back to my bouquet flowers and was doing more embroidering.

Clearly, I need to sit down and focus and just finish something. It has to be the swap, it must be. Because I don't want to be that one loser that hasn't sent their package out yet...even though I do want to keep it for myself....aaaand I got my swap package in the mail yesterday and it was FAB-U-LOUS!!

I would show you, but I took crappy pictures with my phone and am only now realizing how truly crappy they are. So, you just gotta keep your pants on and wait.

Peace Out!

I Got This!

Oh, it is Friday! I am soooo happy! This has been a long week!

First off, let me just state how fantastic it was to get to enjoy a brand spankin' new episode of Greys Anatomy last night. It was soo good, and next week comes our musical episode with the cast singing! I love Sara Ramirez (she plays Callie), she is gorgeous and can sing it out! Matt and I also watched the season finale of Jersey Shore last night. Wow, what a hot mess those people are. Of course, if people paid me that much money to act a fool, I just might do it.

Tonight, in the continued effort to save money, we are having a date night in. We should have a DVD from Netflix waiting for us in the mailbox, and  this morning before I left for work I threw a chicken and some spices in the slow cooker. Can't wait to walk in the door and smell all the chicken goodness.

This weekend we are determined to tackle a big project in our house. Our bathroom. It's so gross. I hate it. We rent our house, but our landlord is a bit...elderly, and really is not interested in making improvements or changes to the houses where we live. The number one thing I hate, hate, hate about where we live is the bathroom. The floor has CARPET!! CARPET!! Yea, I said CARPET in the BATHROOM! It. Is. Awful. Impossible to clean and just ugly. After talking with a neighbor last weekend though I discovered that before he moved in, he took the carpet out of his bathroom and replaced it with linoleum and had no problem with the landlord. In fact, he told me he spent the whole month before he and his family moved in making improvements on the house with the landlord's blessing. So screw it, I'm doing that too! So this weekend, we are starting from the top down with the walls. They need a good scrub down before they can be painted. Previous tenants had a hideous border on the walls which I promptly ripped down when I moved in, but was too lazy afterwards to clean up the mess it left behind. After the scrub down, it will be time for spackle and painting. I don't think we will get to painting this weekend, but as long as the walls are clean and ready, I can deal with that. This is the one room I really want to improve before the wedding. As it gets closer, I know people are going to be coming by to see us, plus we have an out of town guest staying with us that week and I will be completely embarrassed for her to see that room in its current condition.

On the stitching front, this week I have been hastily stitching a gift for a swap I have to mail out next week...or is it the week after? No pictures yet, but oh!, is it cute! Hopefully I can finish it up this weekend and have my package already  to go out when the time comes. I am thinking once I get that finished, I can start assembling my wedding bouquet and also *maybe* start working on A Sweeter Love. I see it all kitted up next to my stitching spot and I just want to snatch it up and get it started, it's so tempting!! Tomorrow night Matt is working so maybe then I can pick it up for a bit and just put a few stitches in it to satisfy my needs.

Hope you all have a great weekend and get to do lots of stitching!

This Is Me....

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Stash and New Stuff!

So I've been on the prowl for the last few weeks for the perfect sampler for my wedding. Everything I've seen is very cheesy and hokey, and just not me. But, a couple of weeks ago, I came across "A Sweeter Love" by Plum Street Samplers and I fell in love with the verse and the scene itself.

Stitch night came and I walked all around the stitching post in search of the pattern and happily snatched up their one and only copy! I know Paulette, the designer, uses silks in the majority of her designs and had already decided to just go with it since its a special piece for me, but I was not prepare for the list of 27! 27!! At almost $4 a skein, that's about $100 just for the threads! I bought ten that night thinking I'm busy and have so many wips that I could take my time getting all the threads.

When Danielle and I planned our trip to In Stiches, I decided to just buy the rest of the threads and be done with it. So, here it is, all kitted up. Well, minus two threads because they were out at In Stiches, so I can order them later.

I'm not sure if I will get it started before the wedding, but its ready whenever I am. I'm stitching it one over two on 40 ct. Sand newcastle. This is my first time using silk so I am excited to try something new. Plus, the feel of the silks in my hands is so wonderful, they are so soft and have such a pretty shine to them.

I do have a question for everyone though: how do you store your silks while in use on a project? Bobbins? Thread drops? How do you store them after you complete a project?

Thanks!

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Woodlawn Needlework Show

Yesterday, Danielle and I made the trek to Alexandria, Va to see the needlework exhibit at Woodlawn plantation. It was a wonderful experience and one I am looking forward to repeating it next year! Woodlawn plantation was originally the home of George Washington's nephew, Lawrence and his wife, Eleanor aka Nelly. Nelly was known for her needlework back in the day, so naturally it is a prime spot to have the exhibit. Danielle and I were told not to take any pictures inside the house, but it was spectacular! It was fun to wander through the rooms upstairs and down imagining the residents of the house in their daily lives and also admiring all the needlework pieces that had been submitted and those that had won ribbons.

This is the back of the house as it overlooks the hill behind me. From this view, you can see the Potomac and Mount Vernon. Through the windows, we could see all the people walking through the house. Thankfully, Danielle and I got there just as they opened at 10 a.m. so we were able to avoid the crowd. This is always nice as my purse and I tend to knock things over in crowds.

 Danielle getting ready to chow down!

Mmmmm, cake!

While there we also got to enjoy a lovely lunch provided by Nelly's Needlers. All proceeds earned from the needlework show and the cafe go to the preservation of the plantation, so even though I was a bit surprised at the price for a chicken salad sandwich ($9 o.m.g.), I figured it was well worth it for such a good cause and a great day.

Here are a couple pictures of the front of the house. I love the circular driveway, imagining all the neighbors/family coming to visit in their carriages pulled by horses. The door with the ramp in front of it is actually the room where they served lunch, but was not actually an entrance. The main entrance to the house exhibit is actually on the far left.

After spending a couple hours exploring the house and its properties (we even found the "necessary" aka outhouse), we got back in the car and found our way to In Stitches. It was a fantastic shop! They had so many things in their shop that I hadn't seen anywhere else. Danielle and I were both so excited that we forgot to take pictures in the shop. But, take our word for it when we say that it was well worth it! I was able to pick up what I needed to start a new project and also fabric for an upcoming swap I am in.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are not suffering too much from the Mondays!



Snowman Progress and Weekend Plans!

Almost done!

This weekend Danielle and I are going to the Woodlawn needlework show! Neither of us have ever been so we are super excited. We are also going to explore a new (to us) needlework shop right across the street from the show called In Stitches. Hopefully I will be able to get the rest of the silks for my plum street piece and also a few things for a swap I'm doing in April.


We are having some great weather here and I hope it lasts the weekend.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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