Cross-stitch update

Here's the promised update!  I almost went to bed without it--i'm so lazy sometimes!

Before

 And now

I'd have been a bit further but I couldn't find the new bundle of thread I needed!  (It'a in this house somewhere!)  There are a lot of thread changes in these so it's pretty slow going.

Now, I'm going to bed!  I've been standing up at the cutting table dealing with the leftovers of fabric from various projects and cutting pieces for quilts in progress.  Working on a Bonnie Hunter design that needs 180-  4 patches with a finished size of 2 inches.  Do you know how long it takes to cut that many pairs?  I still have 50 to cut, sigh.

Raining again, as it has off and on all day.  This round is more of the downpour variety complete with thunder and lightening.  (Quinn  has been busy barking at the thunder -man I wish she'd get over that habit!)

Wow, it's October already!

I am a bad blogger!  It's been a whole month since I did a post, sigh.  It's not that I haven't been on the blog reading other peoples stuff I just haven't taken the time to write. I think Im boring.  That said prepare to bored some more.

In the Weight loss category:  I am sad to say I did not loose a single pound in September.  Okay, that's not completely correct--I lost the same three pounds several times!  I did lose inches though, so it wasn't a total wash.  It was a tough month for some reason, I'll do better this month.

In the knee category:  The nerve test results finally came in.  There is no pinched nerve anywhere.  Good news, I guess.  But, here's the kicker, the sural nerve (runs down the back of your leg close to the outside of your leg) is compromised.  It was damaged during the cyst removal surgery and it takes months to regenerate.  About 1 inch a month. It is much better, with still a ways to go.  In the meantime, the message from the brain to my foot doesn't get all the way through so I don't walk properly.  Can't walk properly.  That's what causes the pain from my knee to my hip (and the heel pain.)  Back on neurotin, to quiet things down.  And back on my BIKE!  Dr's orders!  Also continuing at the Chiropractor's as he is stimulating the nerve, which helps with the pain.

My cataracts are not (and maybe never will be) ready to come off.  Tried of that-as I can't see all that well.  Am headed to different Dr next year.  Also headed out to one of the eye places to get new computer glasses as I lost mine!

I have been sewing quite a bit since I got the studio set up.  I can't show much as most of the sewing is for gifts (and the folks read my blog!) Will post a photo of the studio after I clean it up!  I've made a pretty big mess!

I'll be back a bit later with this week's cross-stitch update!  That will make two posts in  one day!

Reporting in. . .

In August I only lost 5 pounds, sigh.  What can I say, I still can't ride my bike and it's been HOT so it's a struggle.   I did lose a bit more in inches as well-which explains why I simply can not keep my pants up!  Only need to wear the shorts for a few more weeks though.  Have finally decided that I simply can not eat only 1200 calories a day and still function so I reset my goals to 1 pound a week.  I know I can stay at or under 1500 calories, it will just take a while longer.  I hope to begin water aerobics this month even though it seems a bit silly when I'll be gone most of October.

On other fronts, I've a tidy house again!  The kitchen work is finished and except for some packing up everything is tidy.  Tomorrow, I'll scrub bathrooms to paint trim etc on Wednesday.  By September's end I should be completely finished with the stuff that needed to happen before I could sell the place!  Yeah!  Have no idea when I'll put it on the market or where I'm going when it sells but first things first.

I've been redoing Kolby's patch blanket, adding quilting instead of just ties and resewing all the patches.  I think Brayden's will be less work, just more stitching on his patches.  Ethan's the same.  Don't know what happened on Kolby's but the backing was all wrinkled and a mess-probably sewer error!

Still working on Kolby's Christmas stocking.  I'm at the fold-ugh- it's hard to keep flipping back and forth! In fact that's where I'm headed right now, down to the basement to sew on patches and make x's!

A Finish and an Update!

First the finish!

A bright baby quilt for a soon to be born baby boy!  My machine quilting definitely needs work!  It's cute though, I hope his mama likes it.

Now a cross-stitch update.  When you last saw it:

And now:

I've been working really hard on it, I'd really like to finish this one and begin the next one before Christmas!  I always hope to finish two in a year but it never happens, sigh.  I have this one and three more to do before I'm caught up.  I only needed two more until Scott and Bri announced that they are expecting in February!  It will be their first and they will be awesome parents!  I'd like a little girl as we are heavy on the boys in the family but I will love it no matter what!

It's going to be quite hot for the next several days, so I'll be hibernating in the basement in my new studio!  More cross-stitching will be done and maybe a little machine sewing as well.

Hill country Spring!

So here it is!  In all it's "Glory" ;))

So glad I took the borders off it would have been really wide!  As it is it covers the (very deep) mattress and meets the dust ruffle!

Here's a close up of the quilting Robin did, looks great.

Another one off the list!

The Completed Office

I have finished every task in the office save one, I need to fix the shelf in the closet.  I've fixed it twice before and the screws will not stay in the wall, even with anchors!  Need to think on how to fix it. might need a board put up or something.

At any rate it is done and in use.  I know there were photos in 2010 when I moved into this room but I can't find them!  So no before photos.  It's a small room so getting a good photo is hard and the color is off in these-it's Easter Egg green (or so Tanya tells me!)

The view from the door.

The view from the corner.

The view from my desk chair.

I haven't decided if I'll keep the chair or move a small piece of furniture in (once I buy it) to hold my tv and DVD collection.  I think it depends on how well I get "air" tv in the basement.

Yes, there's huge pile of paper on the corner of the desk-mostly Town of Kansas Stuff to sort and enter onto the computer.

I think I will like this arrangement better and it will show to buyers better.  Quinn loves the new space-there's actually room for her to lay on the floor and she's found TWO air conditioning vents she can lay by!  Heaven.  

Part of the ME Project complete!  Having is tidy house is a big Happiness boost!

Project Me--July update

I can happily say that I lost another 8 pounds during July making a total of 20 pounds lost!  I found that little piece of paper with my measurements on it from April 26 and this morning's measurements show that I am down 1 inch in the bust, 3 inches in the waist and 2 inches in the hips!  This makes me really happy!  I needed a new push to keep going-while I am determined to loose the weight, losing the bike ride has made it more difficult.  Dieting is SO boring!  I  am wearing a pair of shorts this morning that I couldn't even get up to my waist in June--of course that means that all my other shorts are getting harder and harder to keep up!  That's a lovely problem, or it would be if shorts were available in stores here-fall stuff's out.  I have a long way to go, when I began in June I figured that it would take a bit over a year to lose the weight I wanted to at a 2 pounds per week rate-so 10 or 11 months from now I'll be thinking about how I'm going to  maintain my skinny self. (As well as what to do about all the extra skin!)

Other parts of the project are moving, at last!  The office is nearly finished, I need to find my desk top, paint the vent covers and put back up, buy curtains for the windows and the closet door, make some cushions for my rocker and decide on wall ornaments.  Once done I'll have a reveal.  Oh, I need to buy a skinny head extension cord as well!  The room looks much better, the only trouble being that I've lost my tv watching space.  Must figure out where to put that tv in the studio as it is the one I hook up to the "air" to watch for free, don't get as many channels but that's ok by me as I don't watch that much anyway.

Speaking of the studio, I'll begin working there now but the pool table is still in the way.  My Dad is trying to sell it without much success, so I'm waiting until Aug 10 to take it down and return it.  Meanwhile I'll fix some rather minor issues with the walls and stick down tiles where I can reach.

Quilting wise, I finished Hill Country Spring and began a baby quilt.  Cross-stitching showed a bit of progress as well.  I really didn't stitch much for the past two months.  BUT, I did stitch.

On the knee front.  I'll be calling the ortho today to make an appointment as the insurance referral went through (quite speedily!) yesterday.  I feel like a broken record.  It has made me decide to change things  I've been dithering over -like where to live etc-as I'm not getting any younger and who knows how long I'll be able to hike and bike etc. I guess a kick in the pants (or in my case, knee) has been needed!
I'm off the the chiropractor this morning, then a few errands before I hit the office again.

Have a great day, get in something creative and enough sleep!