2015 - WIP: "Indian Elephant" by Ross Originals

This is what I'm expecting to be my first completion of 2015 since I don't plan to work on anything else until I'm finished. Obviously things almost never work out the way I plan them, but I can keep on dreaming, right? A friend from our church choir asked if I could stitch a realistic looking elephant. Thank goodness for Ross Originals!!!

Hopefully I can update this every week, give or take a day or two. Wish me luck!

December 8, 2014

The first stitch went into 32 count jobelan on November 15th of 2014.  Silkweaver calls it Antique Gold. My camera calls it Blinding Blizzard White. My camera lies.

I realize that November ushers in Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas chaos of all sorts, but this is really pathetic for 3 weeks of work. Hopefully Donna will be okay with waiting until Easter to see this finished. At this rate it'll be Easter of 2020, but who's counting?

January 5, 2015

Not much of an improvement as far as progress goes, but at least there's some sort of visible evidence that I'm not completely ignoring my commitments.

So far it's been an easy stitch, but then again, all the Ross Originals I've worked have been clear, easy to read charts.  My only complaint about them is that they are always folded and the center point of the fold, as expected, is typically the center of the chart.  After the fourth or fifth time of folding open and closed, that center point is usually worn into an adorable little hole. If you decide you'd like to stitch one of their patterns, I highly recommend you find someone who can make a working copy from an oversized chart.  If not, you can do what I did...  I took a photo of the center section of the chart.  When I get that far, at least I can stitch from the photo instead of struggling to read frayed and worn paper.

Completions for 2014

2014 was a fun year for cross stitching for me.  One of my friends took it upon herself to organize a series of exchanges scattered throughout the year and I had a blast working on smaller designs than I have for the past few years.  It was especially fun to actually FINISH something relatively quickly as opposed to the 2-4 year stitching time I've gotten accustomed to.

Valentine Exchange 2014

I put the first stitch into the 18 count bookmark on January 7th and the last stitch went in on the 10th.

The little hearts and the alphabet came out of "Shaded Lettering" by True Colors.  The rose is "Oregold" from the Jeanette Crews Designs, Inc book "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

Julie gifted me with some lovely surprises and that adorable little Be Mine dragon pillow that I'm still trying to keep out of the hands of a certain 7 year old who is convinced it was made specifically for her!

Mystic Stitch's "Call of the Wild"

Look who finally hit completion after nearly FOUR AND A HALF YEARS of clinging to WIP status.  Granted, there were stretches of months at a time where this poor boy never got touched, but as of now, he's still my longest stitch.

I put the first stitch into him on September 3rd, 2009 and he was finished January 12th, 2014.  I used 18 count aida and 65 colors.  He still hasn't been framed, but I'm working on saving up the funds to have Jill Rensel frame him so I can make him the proper gift he deserves to be.

As you can imagine, there are a ton of WIP images, and even some update text when I was being diligent with my old web domain.  As soon as I get that page together, I'll make sure to add a link so everyone can peek and snicker at my stitching journey.

"Spring Butterfly" by Alessandra Adelaide
March/April 2013 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine

I began this design on February 3, 2014 for our spring exchange.  As is pretty typical of me, I figured I'd be done before March only to discover that I really don't stitch at warp speed after all.  The last stitch was applied on April 25th.

Believe it or not, the fabric it was stitched on was 28 count Mint Green Jubilee from Zweigart, despite it looking blue in the image.  I stitched over 1 using DMC 4100 for the wings and 781 for the body.

This was such a fun stitch and I have already picked out the fabric and colors I'll be using for the butterfly that stays in my home. :)

My exchange partner, Leslie, sent me these awesome gifts.  I can't remember what I included in my box to her, but I do remember they didn't measure up. LOL!

Frankenbunny, who still sports a bandage after donating his stuffing for that pin cushion I use every day now, sits on one of my computer speakers keeping me company while I putter around on the internet.

"Lemons Towel" by Marie Barber
August 2001 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine

I always associate citrus fruits and lemonade with summer so this was my choice for our summer exchange.  I started it April 25th and finished it May 8th.

It was stitched over 2 on what Zweigart labelled as 28 count Victorian Green Annabelle.

My gift box from Marsha was such a sweet surprise!  The candies and tea packs didn't survive the evening and the lotion and candle have been put to quite a bit of use. :)

Those seeds already have their spot in my flowerbed picked out and we're anxiously waiting for spring to put them into the ground.

Of course, the little stitched flower was just the cutest thing and is currently waiting to be put onto the cover of a stitching book I want to put together.

"Welcome Fall"
Summer 2011 Stoney Creek magazine

I find myself drawn to the delicate leafy and flowery welcome samplers and this one really caught my attention when I saw it.  I loved stitching it and it is yet another project that will be stitched again to hang on my wall.

I started stitching July 30th on a piece of Silkweaver fabric that was labelled as Mottled Brown 32 count evenweave, and it was completed on the 17th of August.

Because I won some cosmic lottery somewhere in the craft world, my fall exchange partner ended up being our much beloved Patsy.  Of course, she instantly put my pitiful little exchange gift bag to shame with these amazing items.  We actually ended up exchanging our items at a stitching get together and I spent the weekend running back to my room to bring out that personalized bag that Patsy put together.  It's stunning and sturdy and has become one of my prized stitchy possessions.  Having said that, those scarecrows will have places of honor on my mantle every fall as they are the absolute cutest!  And you see that big book there?  It's actually a box and was crammed with loads of goodies that I assimilated into my stash before I was smart enough to get a picture of it.  I did remember that beautiful little enamel "Lucky Frog" though. He sits with the rest of my frog figurines and statues that I seem to be accumulating on the hutch above my computer.

"Royal Velvet" by Marc Saastad

A few members of our Xchange group got together to participate in a first test run of a "mystery exchange" during the now annual North Texas GTG.   We each put together a box filled with items that satisfied a list of ingredients intended to surprise, entertain, and benefit the recipients while revealing bits of our personalities along the way. None of us knew who would get our boxes, nor whose box we would receive.  It was quite an enjoyable exchange and I'm really hoping it becomes a tradition at the GTG as more people hear about it and have the opportunity to join us.

My choice for a stitched piece was a Silver Lining chart.  And once again, this is something that will get stitched again so I can keep one in my home. LOL!  The color of the fabric, something called "18th century nickel", really made the roses leap out and I plan to use a very similar color on mine. I began stitching on the 32 count hand-dyed linen on August 18th and managed to get the last stitch put in about an hour before we exchanged boxes on the 24th of October. *blush*  Since I'd been working on it at the GTG (without telling anyone what it was for), everyone had already seen it and made me feel pretty darned confident about my work.  Lynn sure seemed happy with it when she found it in my box and that was enough for me.

The mystery box I chose turned out to have been put together by Barbara and I couldn't have been more pleased with the goodies.  That little angel bear has already been claimed by my daughter who wants to put her onto one of Barbara's tuck pillows.  I'm more partial to protecting her behind a frame so that's likely what's going to happen, but we'll see.

While I don't drink coffee, you should have seen Steve's face when I pulled that mug out of the box.  "Oh no. Do you really need that much hot chocolate in one sitting??"

Muwhahahahahaaaaa!!

"Elegant Ornament Quartet" by Sharon Pope
December 2014 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine

This little project chosen for our winter and final exchange very nearly became a train wreck.  I had intended to stitch one of the other ornaments, but wasn't paying attention and ended up following the chart on the page that had the color key instead of the chart on the page I'd actually wanted.  *twitch*

Lucky for me, all of the ornaments are beautiful so I just shrugged it off and kept going.

I chose some 18 count white aida and began on November 3rd, then completed it November 14th.

Marie sent me a wonderful little box with some adorable fabric swatches I can't wait to put to use.  The winter stag chart is going to get used repeatedly as is the cup and crayons, although the cup and crayons got stolen from me within moments of the box being opened.  Derned kids.

I was never one to collect those little pouches, but you know... I've managed to use each and every one of the pouches gifted to me through these exchanges and I've been on the lookout for more of them.   You enablers, you!




As you can see, 2014 has actually been a fairly productive year for me in the cross stitch department.  I'm currently trying to finish up a project I promised to a friend at church and preparing to start another gift for another church friend once he approves my charting job.

Then there's "Night Moves" from HAED.  That I started in January of 2014.  And has been soundly ignored for pretty much the entire year.

*twitch*




(Originally typed up in 2014)


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Whenever possible, I will create a link for the project title and designer in case anyone wishes to add anything to their stash.  Most times, an active link will direct you to 1-2-3 Stitch!'s online store as I've never had a bad customer service experience with this company and I tend to be loyal to a fault.  If the item is no longer for sale through Joanne, I will do my best to find another active seller, but please be forgiving if something goes out of print and my links lead you on a wild goose chase before I'm aware of their shenanigans.

Completions for 2013

2012 was not a stitchy year for me.  2012 was actually spent trying to get back into the workforce after a decade of staying home and chasing children.  Can we just agree that it was a colossal failure and go from there?  The big take away from that particular experiment was that I do NOT like having to answer to someone else's schedule anymore.

I managed to complete one single solitary project in December of 2012...

"It's a Wonderful Life" from Pinoy Stitch

The first stitch was put into ivory 18 count aida in June of 2011.  From about the third week on, I really disliked working on it and probably would have quit outright without the constant encouragement from everyone who saw it, as well as my desire to be able to gift it to our Pastor.

Despite this being a screen capture from one of the most beloved Christmas movies I know, I was creeped out while stitching this.  Sure, it looks all nice and pretty from a few feet away, but up close and personal...

...they looked like pixelated aliens to me.

Pastor seemed happy with the finished product and even showed it off to the congregation while I tried to crawl under my chair, so at least someone's proud of it. LOL!

Your basic, run of the mill, nametag/nameplate doohickey for a work space.

I stitched my name over 2 using an alphabet from the True Colors chart "Shaded Lettering".  The rose, stitched over 1, is the "Peace Rose" from the Jeanette Crews Designs, Inc book "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

I completed this in April of 2013, which is about a month before I decided I was tired of missing my kids and put in my notice at my job.

Mirabilia's "Cinderella"

This was a gift for our Pastor's wife.  I actually started working on her a couple of weeks before I started the Wonderful Life image, but because I was so intimidated by the fancy metallic threads I'd never worked with before, as well as the sheer number of beads... well, I suppose I can honestly say I was terrified that I would absolutely butcher this project.

Now that it's completed, I am really quite proud of the job I did.  And I can't say enough good things about Lauren from Sassy's Fabbys. She custom dyed the 32 count jobelan that I used and I'm completely thrilled with the color she came up with!

Underdog!  Who doesn't love Underdog?

We decided to include a gag gift of sorts for Pastor along with the other two projects and since he's got a tendency to randomly strike a pose and quote Underdog in the middle of his sermons, it was kind of a given that this was the direction we'd go in.  After hunting through internet images for something suitable, a message board friend kindly took the time to convert the picture into a chart and I was on my way.

The fabric was something that was gifted to me quite sometime ago and wasn't labelled as anything, but I believe it was 32 count evenweave of some kind and was actually a bright yellow that really helped the cartoon colors pop.

This was a thoroughly entertaining stitch that took me just over a month to complete.





(Originally typed up in 2014)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever possible, I will create a link for the project title and designer in case anyone wishes to add anything to their stash.  Most times, an active link will direct you to 1-2-3 Stitch!'s online store as I've never had a bad customer service experience with this company and I tend to be loyal to a fault.  If the item is no longer for sale through Joanne, I will do my best to find another active seller, but please be forgiving if something goes out of print and my links lead you on a wild goose chase before I'm aware of their shenanigans.

Completions for 2011

Yes, I know. The year is almost halfway done already and I'm just now posting a finish. In my defense, 2011 didn't exactly start off in a forgiving manner. But that's okay. That means the rest of the year has to get better!

"In Loving Memory" chart pack designed by Ellen Maurer-Stroh

This project was begun about a week before March and was very hard for me to work on. It was intended to be displayed at my Mom's memorial service, but I kept getting so frustrated and angry with the entire situation that I couldn't spend more than an hour or so at a time working on it before I just stopped stitching and fumed at the world in general. By the time I got my childish temper tantrums under control and really buckled down to stitch, there simply wasn't enough time to finish before Mom passed.

I stitched this over 2 on 28 ct Jobelan. The fabric was labelled as being a color called "cameo". The chart was very easy to read and equally easy to stitch once my personal issues were removed from the process. Even with me refusing to stitch for days at a time, I completed "In Loving Memory" in just under 4 months. I probably could have completed it in half that time if circumstances had been different.

"Wreath" from the Millcraft, Inc book "Garfield... A Very Merry Christmas!"

And here's the famous fat cat in all his holiday glory! It took me three weeks to complete this project and even then I spent quite a number of days vegging out in front of the television with the floss and fabric spread across my lap waiting to be remembered.

As I'm sure you can imagine, he was an extremely easy stitch with the most complicated part being the backstitching throughout all those holly leaves. It was wonderful stitching with the bright contrasting colors and taking a break from my other three projects which all use more subdued and subtle shades.

Garfield was stitched on a piece of 32 count linen from Silkweaver's. (Back before they were sold to some big company that destroyed their reputation. But that's a different saga). It was called a "unique one of a kind mini solo", which I think means it was a leftover snippet of a larger cut. Whatever the case, it was perfect for this project.

I finally have something Christmassy that I made myself to hang up on the wall! Wonder how long it'll take me to make some others...




(Originally typed up in 2011)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever possible, I will create a link for the project title and designer in case anyone wishes to add anything to their stash.  Most times, an active link will direct you to 1-2-3 Stitch!'s online store as I've never had a bad customer service experience with this company and I tend to be loyal to a fault.  If the item is no longer for sale through Joanne, I will do my best to find another active seller, but please be forgiving if something goes out of print and my links lead you on a wild goose chase before I'm aware of their shenanigans.

Completions for 2010

Welp... another huge gap between stitching projects. We moved the summer of 2006 and Heather was born that fall. I got back into playing World of Warcraft and then Hunter came along in 2008. I think the only time I lifted a needle in that entire span was when I was ordered to bed rest while pregnant. Fast forward to summer 2008: Another move right back to where we were in 2006 (YAY!!!) and the World of Warcraft addiction has finally been kicked!

Now I'm back in the stitching groove and having a ball. Of course, I'm working on a large, very color intensive project, so this page may have exactly TWO completions by the end of the year, but we'll see! I'll just have to keep the WIP page updated instead, I guess.

"I Will Praise Thee" from the book "Bookmarks from the Psalms" by Praying Hands

After our move, we fell back into our prior routine with all the church activities and that meant I got to go buy a new Bible. Of course, you HAVE to have a new bookmark to go with a new book, right?? Okay, so I actually completed this in 2009, but since this is the ONLY thing that I completed in 2009, I thought it might be kind of lonely all by itself.

It's likely going to be May or June before anything else gets posted on this page. So if you're interested in what I'm up to, you're gonna have to check out the WIP page. No laughing!!!

"Happy Ever After" from Stoney Creek's "Best of Stoney Creek Wedding Collection (Book 318)"

Well at least I got the May part right. Of course, I was talking about the wolf when I said that, but who's gonna gripe?

Her wedding is in 6 days and I still have to get this framed, but at least I have something for her to open up and show off now! Once I got past the dove, it was a quick stitch over all. I could have screamed... actually I think I did scream... when I stitched up all of the words only to get to the bottom line and realize it was off by one row. So, one day was spent ripping out a lot of stitching. But other than that, it went smoothly. I have to admit that I was intimidated by the beads since I've never used beads before, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy they were to apply. I'm especially pleased with the way the fabric colors make it look like sky for the background. Aren't hand dyed linens wonderful?? I stitched on 32 ct Belfast Linen. It was dyed by Silkweaver's and called "Blue Dynasty".

"Fall Cat" from Cross My Heart, Inc's "Fall and Winter Cats"

Since this piece is going to be used as a quilt square I only stitched the inner square of the design, and even that took me three months to do (twice what I'd expected). The completed quilt will be gifted to a boy named Charlie and I have the sinking feeling that my square is holding up the entire project since it took me so long to finish.

I'm very proud of this one and intend to do it again, along with the three companion pieces, to be framed and hung in my home. Autumn is probably my favorite season because of all the rich, warm colors to be found pretty much everywhere you look and I just love how this design manages to catch all of them in one fell swoop.  Hrmm... if I'm not careful, I'm gonna end up turning around and starting this one again right now...

"I Have to Scream" by The Sunflower Seed

A really quick project, it only took me four days to complete this one, and that long because the kids wouldn't let me shove them into a closet while I stitched uninterrupted. *grumble* Children have no sense of priorities... really.

Thanks, Michelle! I loved stitching this up and sadly, it really does sum up my typical day of late. I'm told that tends to be normal when a two year old and three year old live in the same house. *cringe*

"I Have to Scream" was stitched on 28 ct Powder Blue Meran. I was initially concerned that I'd have to start over and use a different color because I didn't think the green would stand out enough, but that turned out to be an unnecessary worry. The yellow box really jumps out and that's what I had been aiming for so I'm pleased with the finished product.

"Roses and Music" by Kappie Original Redeux, LLC

I stitched this design on 28 ct Lugana. The color is called Fairy Dust and is actually a pretty yellowish tint as opposed to the beige the photo seems to insist on. I'm not sure I chose a very good color, though. There are supposed to be shadows under the roses and while they're very clear and obvious on the model, they aren't that easy to see on mine.

I was excited to start working on this gift and the cart is very easy to read for the most part. However, there are numerous things that I considered errors and had to correct.  Several lines of the music staffs weren't complete on the chart, as can be seen on the model in the link. I felt it left the design looking unfinished and added them into mine. The backstitching slowed things down a little bit because there are three different colors used and with a black white chart it's very easy to lose track of what you're stitching and use the wrong color in places, especially where the leaves and music staff lines cross. The alphabet was also inconsistent. Some letters were scaled to 8 squares while the rest were scaled to 7. The letters used in "United In Love" didn't match the alphabet included for the customization, either.  By the time I got to the words, however, it was a minor inconvenience and I was used to changing things anyway.

This won't be gifted until late October and it's intended to be an anonymous gift, but I'm really oping the couple this is for are pleased with it. *crossing fingers* (I'd hold my breath, but it's an awfully long time til October...)

"Black and Tan Dachsund" by White Willow Stitching

I started this guy the first week of July and somehow managed to convince myself that it would be ready for framing by August. I swear if Steve snickers and mutters "delusional" one more time I'll be able to use justifiable homicide as an acceptable defense.

I suppose that since we're preparing for Halloween in a couple of days I should probably concede his point, though. Just don't expect me to do it willingly!

The dachsie was stitched onto "Bay Rum" colored 32 ct Jobelan and, despite taking 4 months to complete, was quite a fun stitch.  Well, okay, there was a bit of a love-hate thing going on. I loved working on him. My back absolutely hated it. (One of these years I'll be able to get a floor stand.)

This is going to be a gift for one of our pastors and his wife. I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to give it to them, however. There's the matter of framing and finding a suitable excuse to bestow gifts... I had hoped to make this an anonymous gift as well as the roses above, but I've managed to become... well, it's gotten around the church that I cross stitch regularly and apparently I'm the only one.  I'm told that everyone's going to know who did them anyway, so being all stealthy is kind of pointless. Now I REALLY hope they like it, since I can't pretend it wasn't me! *gulp*

S20 - Toy Story 2 - "Buzz Lightyear"
A kit by Designer Stitches

Stitched on white 14 ct Aida, Buzz here was stitched up for a friend of Hunter's who spotted our original when I was taking it in for framing (nine years after he was completed *blush*). He took me about 10 days to stitch because I kept getting distra - ooh! Shiny!!

*blink*

I mean... ummm...

Sadly, the company that made this kit years and years ago seems to have gone out of business. Heather is extremely disappointed that there won't be a Jessie or Bullseye to go up on the wall next to the Woody and Buzz already hanging in their room. But, I'm assured that little Connor is going to love this, with or without the rest of the gang.





(Originally typed up in 2010)

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Whenever possible, I will create a link for the project title and designer in case anyone wishes to add anything to their stash.  Most times, an active link will direct you to 1-2-3 Stitch!'s online store as I've never had a bad customer service experience with this company and I tend to be loyal to a fault.  If the item is no longer for sale through Joanne, I will do my best to find another active seller, but please be forgiving if something goes out of print and my links lead you on a wild goose chase before I'm aware of their shenanigans.

Completions for 2006

It's been four years since I've completed a project. Depressing, huh? Now I'm starting to stitch again and I'm working on finishing at least three WIPs. Here's hoping there aren't more lying around waiting to ambush me. On a good note, when I do finally start finishing them off, at least I get to start filling up more pages again.  And then I get to start buying more materials, more patterns, more fabrics, more...

...

....

Hubby's gonna kill me.

"Graduate Keepsake" from Jemini Designs 

Welp, it's the first completion of the year. First completion in a few years, actually.  Figures the year is already almost half over. :) This one took me six days to complete, then another two months to wait for the graduation ceremony so I could get my grubby paws on the tassel. I was originally concerned with the colors because I had been told the tassel would be off white, but the graduate wanted gray and red. Imagine my shock and pleasure to discover the tassel to be the exact shade of gray I'd stitched with! The finished project has since been mounted in a shadowbox my husband built and the recipient was very happy with it. (Not that he'd have told us if he thought it was terrible.) *grin*

Bedtime Bear Latch Hook

Another latch hook rather than a cross stitch design. This one was promised to my little girl a few months ago and since I've been going through the house preparing for a move, I stumbled across it and decided to spend a few days finishing it for her. I don't still have any of the packaging for this one, so I'm afraid I can't offer much information about who released it. I have seen other members of this collection at Walmart and our local Hobby Lobby, though.

"We Were Blessed" using elements from Stoney Creek's "Flowers and Verse" and "The Omnibook of Winged Things" by Jeanette Crew Designs.

This was a gift for some dear friends who have become more family than neighbors. Our daughter considers them adopted grandparents and the feeling, I'm assured, is more than mutual. When we learned we were going to be moving to the other side of the country, Steve and I wanted to leave them something to show how much we'd appreciated everything they'd done for us. It took me longer to decide just what I wanted to do than it did to stitch it. Which is probably a good thing as I finished it two days before we had to leave and it was framed the day before we left. I will be forever grateful to the gal at Hobby Lobby who gave up her dinner break to frame it for us on the spot! The flowers and alphabet came from "Walk Humbly" found in the "Flowers and Verse" book, while the butterflies were taken from "The Omnibook of Winged Things".  Please forgive the blurriness. The glass was being less than cooperative about the photography.





(Originally typed up in 2006)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever possible, I will create a link for the project title and designer in case anyone wishes to add anything to their stash.  Most times, an active link will direct you to 1-2-3 Stitch!'s online store as I've never had a bad customer service experience with this company and I tend to be loyal to a fault.  If the item is no longer for sale through Joanne, I will do my best to find another active seller, but please be forgiving if something goes out of print and my links lead you on a wild goose chase before I'm aware of their shenanigans.

Completions for 2002/2003

Unfortunately, there's not much to show off here. My stitching came to an abrupt halt due to a divorce, trans-Atlantic move, trans-Atlantic re-move, and life in general whomping me about the head and shoulders with a whiffleball bat.

"Wisteria Welcome" from Cross My Heart, Inc's "Your Welcome" 

The first project of the year! Since the majority of my stitching seems to find its way into someone else's home eventually, I figured I'd start alternating between stitching something for our home and something for a gift. As soon as we agree on the matting and frame, this one will go into the little foyer just inside our front door. The design is pretty easy to stitch. The only thing I had even the slightest problem with was keeping track of my stitches on the wisteria. The backstitching is very quick work and really makes the picture. It took me just under 4 weeks to finish this.

"Python" from Stoney Creek's "Reptiles & Amphibians"

After my life settled down some, I managed to get this stitched for my father for Christmas. Dad's a herpetologist, which tends to draw blank stares that rapidly turn to gasps of horror when people find out he studies, raises, and occasionally breeds snakes around the house.

"Attitude" from Jeanette Crews Designs Inc's "Cattitudes: The Eighth Litter"

This isn't quite completed, though I stopped stitching on it in the fall of 2003. At the time, I was trying to sort out how I was going to add an Army softcap to the kitten. Since then, DH has been assigned to a new unit and now I get to figure out how to stitch in a maroon beret. Hopefully, I'll get it figured out and he'll be able to frame it and take it to work as was the original intention.

(Originally typed up in 2004)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever possible, I will create a link for the project title and designer in case anyone wishes to add anything to their stash.  Most times, an active link will direct you to 1-2-3 Stitch!'s online store as I've never had a bad customer service experience with this company and I tend to be loyal to a fault.  If the item is no longer for sale through Joanne, I will do my best to find another active seller, but please be forgiving if something goes out of print and my links lead you on a wild goose chase before I'm aware of their shenanigans.