Christmas- so fun, so busy, and so fattening!

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

Christmas is such a great time of year.  There is so much going on, but so little time to get regular stuff done...like updating my blog!  My oldest daughter always lets me know how long it has been since I've updated.  I am embarrassed that this is my first blog update of December.  She has been nagging me to do this for quite some time.

The picture above was taken at my brother's house when we celebrated Christmas with my family.  Just look at how big my girls are getting.  I am only 5' 1", but as you can see the oldest daughter has passed me up and the other is well on her way.  How time does fly! 

Santa was very good to our family this year.  Ellen finally got a cell phone.  We had heard for months about how dreadful it was that she is 14 years old and doesn't have her own cell phone for heaven's sake!  We finally broke down and got her one now that she is a freshman and involved in more activities at school.  She will be learning to drive in the next year and truth be told, we will probably appreciate the convenience of having her just a phone call away as much as she enjoys her unlimited texting.  Needless to say, she was completely surpriesed and thrilled with her new toy.

Rosie's favorite gift was a really cool Lego set.  I guess you could kind of describe it as a Department 56 scene in Legos.  Very cute Toy Shoppe with park benches, streetlights, and a town Christmas tree.  It is really sweet.  It even comes with a "light brick" which is a special Lego brick with little batteries and a bulb that actually lights up the toy shop (just like a Dept. 56 house).  She was able to put the whole thing together by herself without any help from either of us.  It will be her new tradition- she can take this set out every Christmas and put together and then display it for the holiday season.  I mean, are you ever really too old for Legos?

These were two of my favorite gifts this Christmas.  The first was a bunch of random dice that I wanted and thought would look really cool in a jar.  I LOVE things in jars dispayed around the house.  I've got jars of buttons, army men, marbles, old-fashioned Chirstmas light bulbs, candy canes, bottle caps, and now DICE!  The other thing I got that was sooo neat was this little ORIGINAL 4"x4" painting of a peppermint.  The artist is Linda Hunt and it was a gift from my friend (and business partner) Theresa.  She found it on Etsy.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is really cool!  Ha!  Get it?  It's a peppermint!  Seriously, the paint is really thick and dimensional and it reminds me of an original piece of art that you'd see in a museum or something.  It is adorable and I just love it! 

Well, that's all the news that's fit to tell for now. 

Everyone have a SAFE and Happy New Year!

"Hi my name is Susan and I love the Twilight saga."

Now the support group is supposed to chime in and say in a flat tone, "Hi, Susan..." 

I don't know why I am always somewhat embarrassed to admit that I am a fan of the Twilight saga.  What an awesome series of books Stephenie Meyer wrote. She is such a cool person, too.  When she realized that her book, "Twilight" might actually be published, her wildest dream was to make enough money to pay off the $10,000 balance on the family's mini van.  Ha! 

I was at the midnight showing of New Moon (the second installment in the Twilight Saga- in case you've been living under a rock) with bunch of ladies I work with.  There we were (all of us are moms and a couple are even grandmothers) in a movie theater at 12:01 a.m. on a Thursday night for a movie premiere.  We bought our tickets weeks ahead of time so that we could watch it in the theater with the "monster screen".  They were actually able to fill up two other theaters besides the monster screen at the midnight showing.  I was surprised so many showed up at that hour. 

The movie was great and I was pleased that the director kept the story so close to the book.  Great special effects/CGI work with the werewolves, too.  Much better than the first one.  It was nice to see Kristin Stewart's character, "Bella", crack an occasional smile in the scenes with Taylor Lautner (aka "Jacob").  She is a little too brooding for me in the first movie.  My only complaint about New Moon was that many of the hairstyles of the Cullen family were changed for this movie.  They were dreadful!  I hated the new looks of Jasper, Rosalie, and Carlisle.  Esme's hair wasn't as bad, but seemed a little too modern for her.  She's supposed to be their "mother", after all.  I would think a more classic look would have been better suited for her.

As far as crafty stuff goes- which is what this blog is supposed to be about (not football and vampires)- I have been working on some Christmas presents.   BUT, I can't really elaborate because some of the intended giftees read this blog.  I'll take some pictures and then post my projects after Christmas, how's that?  Have a great week!

Vikings beat the Packers...again!

OK, so I know that this blog is supposed to be about cross stitch and what I'm working on, BUT I have to take a quick moment to recognize the Minnesota Vikings and their awesome win against Green Bay today!  I have to admit, I had my doubts in the third quarter, but they managed to turn it around. 

The team this year is amazing.  Not only do we have Brett Favre (man, I love that guy), but we've got a ton of other notable players, as well-- Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, Jared Allen, Visanthe Shaincoe, Sidney Rice...the list goes on.  I don't want to jinx us, but I am so stoked about our chances to make it to the Super Bowl this year.  Can you even imagine?!  Minnesotans are so used to disappointment when it comes to their Vikings, that I almost hate to dream it.  I don't know how many of you know this little factoid, but the Vikings were the first team to both play in and lose four Super Bowls.  They have NEVER won a Super Bowl.  The last time they were even in a Super Bowl was 1977 (and I was only nine at the time).  Some people aim to see the seven wonders of the world, others hope to win the lottery, but I will die a happy woman if the Minnesota Vikings win a Super Bowl just once in my lifetime! 

Go Vikes, Go!!

A getaway, a bag, and a birthday!

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I have updated my blog.  I have been busy with family and work.  I got to spend a few days up at my parents' cabin in the north woods of Minnesota.  Thier cabin is about 50 miles from the Canadian border.  It's not on a lake or anything- just a hunting cabin in the woods- but we really have a good time up there.  We try to take a picture of all of the kids together, lined up from oldest to youngest every year.  They are (from left):  Ellen, 14 (our oldest), then my brother and his wife have three right in a row, Aaron, 13, Kyle, 11, and Erik, 10, and then Rosie, also 10 (our youngest).  I wonder how long before the boys are the tallest in the picture?  Oh yeah, the dog (Tikka) belongs to my brother's family.  She is a great retriever, very mellow and well behaved.

Another project I've been busy working on is a quilted bag for Rosie's friend Emily.  I asked my husband, to model it for me after it was all done and as you can see he did an excellent job.  This is the fourth bag I have made from this pattern.  It is a This & That pattern by Sherri K. Falls from the book "Woodroses in Winter".  They are a lot of work, but it makes such a perfect overnight bag for a little girl to bring to a slumber party.

And last but not least, I celebrated my birthday this past weekend.  We went out to eat, did a little shopping, and then came home to watch the Vikings lose to the Steelers.  :(   My mom and I celebrate our birthdays a week apart, so she and I spent Saturday on a "Quilt Shop Hop".  If you're not familiar with this concept, a bunch of quilters jump onto a coach bus and that bus takes you to several different quilt shops around the state.  There are treats at every shop and door prizes, as well.  It was a lot of fun.  The scavenger hunt was especially competitive and funny.  I gathered lots of interesting ideas that may make their way into a cross stitch design someday.  Have a great week!

The hummingbirds are not happy!

So this was the scene here in Minnesota on Saturday morning.  Yes, that four letter word-- SNOW has made its presence known again.  Then we got even more SNOW two days later.  They are predicting snow again early next week!  What gives?  The nectar in my hummingbird freezer is frozen and hopefully the hummingbirds are headed south by now.  I have this visual image of a hummingbird coming to visit my feeder in this weather, hitting frozen nectar with its beak, and going, "What the...?"  This is the earliest accumulating snowfall that I can remember and I've been around a while!  Snow usually doesn't visit until early to mid November, but this has been a very cold October so far.  I was lucky to have cleaned up my gardens and put away my planters and patio furniture last Thursday.  Our neighbor helped us pull our pontoon out of the lake today (thanks Gary!) and now we just need to pull out the dock and we'll be (pretty much) ready for winter.  I was getting the Halloween decorations out, but it feels like I should be setting up the Christmas tree instead.

I sketched out part of an idea for a cross stitch design the other day, but I haven't had time to do much with it since I've been busy working.  I just finished up my "bad week" at work.  That just means that it is the week that I work six out of eight nights.  The good thing is that now I will have six nights off until I have to work again.  That is the good thing about working 12-hour shifts, more days off in a row than just the two on the weekend. 

Speaking of work, the H1N1 flu has hit Minnesota with a vengeance.  Our ER has been a revolving door for people with "influenza-like illness".  Unfortunately, there is not much we can do for it since it is a virus.  It's shaping up to be a long winter! 

Funny Gerbil

I just had to share this funny picture that my oldest daughter took of her gerbil.  Ellen snapped the picture at just the right moment so that it looks like her gerbil is winking at the camera. 

As far as cross stitch goes, I came up with a great idea for next year's Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue.  I know you're probably thinking, "What? This year's issue just hit shelves. Why is she already thinking about next year's issue?"  But the truth is that the invite from JCS magazine always comes around February or March each year and the finished ornament is due in April.  The bummer is that it is always so hard to think up Christmasy ideas at that time of the year.  We've usually got Easter and Spring on our minds at that time.  Theresa and I take turns submitting the ornament every year and it's my turn in 2010.  Anyway, I think I'm ahead of the game now that I have an idea.  I don't want to say exactly what it is yet, but think retro...

Rosie...Rosie...

So this is what my youngest decided to do while I was at Needlework Market this year.  She broke her pinky finger on her left hand.  She did it while playing Dodgeball at school.  At first they thought it was just dislocated because it was at a twenty degree angle right at the knuckle, but after the x-rays, they realized it was a break.  Phil and the orthopedic doctor both said that she was a real trooper when they reduced it back into place.  Poor thing- I'm so glad I missed it.  There are few things worse than seeing someone you love in pain.  I think she's pretty proud of it, though.  And to think we almost named her Grace...

Words to Live By

So this was my contribution to market this year.  I think this is the biggest sampler I have ever designed and stitched.  The finished design measures 15" x 20".  It is called, "Words to Live By" and I stitched it with Belle Soie Silks on 36 count Fossil linen from Picture this Plus.  It is basically the Ten Commandments in rhyme.  I chose my sampler's title, but the rhyme came from the McGuffey Reader from years ago.  The phrase reads:

Thou no God shall have but Me.
Before no idol bend thy knee.

Take not the name of God in vain,
Nor the Sabbath day profane.

Give thy parents honor due.
Take heed that thou no murder do.

Abstain from words and deeds unclean.
Steal not, for thou by God art seen.

Tell not a willful lie, nor love it.
What is thy neighbor's do not covet.

If you aren't familiar with the McGuffey Reader, it was one of the first school books created to teach children to read. In 1833, a small publishing company called Truman and Smith based in Cincinnati, Ohio, became interested in the idea of school texts. Truman and Smith began scouting for an educator who could create a series of readers. They happened upon Rev. William Holmes McGuffey.

McGuffey had already planned a series of readers and had published his first reader in 1836. The child modeled in his book is prompt, good, kind, honest and truthful. This first book contained fifty-five lessons. I guess you could call it a pioneer child's version of Dr. Suess.

My favorite thing about this sampler (other than the rhyme) is that there is nothing traditional about it.  Just a collection of modern random motifs.  If you think about it- isn't that just what samplers really are?  But instead of butter churns, acorns and peacocks, my sampler sports light bulbs, umbrellas, and robots.  It even has buttons!  In fact, at Market, Cecile from Just Another Button Company tracked me down and said, "OK, I've got to see this new design.  I'm sure it's adorable, but I have to tell you-- it is one of the ugliest button packs I've ever seen!"    She did end up loving the design, but said that she just couldn't imagine how all those buttons could ever come together on one cohesive sampler.   It was a great seller for us at market!

Welcome to my Blog!

I am starting this blog as a way to keep my stitching friends up to date with projects I'm working on. I just got back from Needlework Market in St. Charles, Missouri on Monday night. Lots of people there are blogging and/or following blogs, so I have decided to jump into the 21st century and give it a try myself. Theresa and I had a terrific time at Market, as usual. It is always so nice to connect with friends in the industry and see the new things that everyone has been working on.

I was so happy for Theresa. She and I both operate Raise the Roof Designs together, but she also designs and graphs reproduction samplers under her Shakespeare's Peddler name (which is also the name of her online shop). Anyway, one of the big hits of the show was her "Jenny Bean Halloween Sampler" which is pictured here. I wish I had a dollar for every shop owner that came into our booth and asked for her Jenny Bean Sampler by name. It really is a sweet little sampler. The phrase reads: "When I am dead and in my grave and all my bones are rottin'; If this you see- pray think of me or I will be forgotten." Her biggest seller under the Shakespeare's Peddler name thus far. I have heard from a reliable source (Theresa) that Jenny Bean will be designing a Christmas Sampler soon!

I'll update what's new with Raise the Roof Designs in a couple of days (once I get a chance to download the photos from my camera). Thanks for reading!