The Busy Beehive

Lest I offend any of you who are celebrating this day of greeting-card days with your soul-mate (or said stand-in until you find him/her), please know I fully support you and am extremely happy that you are!  And, that I’ve had a most wonderful day myself and do NOT long for gooey, mushy stuff.  I did quite enjoy lunch with my brother-in-law, sister and their three daughters.  My great BIL wanted to take us to lunch for Valentine’s Day!  Great guy.  Did I say he’s a great brother-in-law?

I’m now listening to Queen Latifah singing “I Know Where I’ve Been”.  Better.  And a bit ironic after that last tirade, don’t you think?  Okay, maybe you’d think so if you knew more about my life.  Which I’m not going to share on a blog.  Not while I’m sane.  But, I will say that if you think of the princess looking for a prince by kissing a lot of frogs, you’d be really close to knowing a bit more about it.

So, yesterday we had a great time with Cathy B, running around to all the great stitchy spots along the Wasatch Front.  We started at the Craft Center, where my friend Cheryl and I met up with Cathy B, Alice, Lynn, and Brenda.  They had the Homespun Elegance chart in for “Home is Where You Hang Your Needlework”.  I picked that up and after everyone had completed their shopping there, we headed up to the Shrine… the Bush… the place where “the rock stars of stitching” live.  At least that’s what Cathy calls them. And, I quite agree.  Tina and Teri were extremely gracious as always.  It’s so fun to look around and see what they’ve done with new releases.  And, you know even though I make it up there every few months or so, I had neglected some of their shelves with “long lost” designs for a while.  Cathy was immediately drawn to the Mary Garry section… and thanks to her attention to that area, I was able to pick up two charts that are just great.  They are “Friends in the Garden” and “The Ice-Skating Party”.

I was a bit sad that they didn’t have market releases out yet.  But, that was actually fine, and Mr. Pocketbook was grateful he wasn’t punished like he was expecting to be.  I also picked up the remaining supplies for Mary Peacock, which I had purchased the chart for the previous week.  Cathy had her camera there, and she may get to post some pics, but I have some too.  Of course, we were all looking at Cathy’s camera and not mine…here are Tina, Cathy B, and Teri:

And, from left to right: Cheryl, Laura (me), Cathy B, Lynn, Alice, and Brenda:

After our shopping at the Bush, we headed over to Rooster’s for lunch.  Great food and great company.  Cathy, amazing person that she is, presented us all with a valentine… in our cards were hardanger hearts!  Wow.  She even had one there for Cheryl, who was kind of a last minute addition to the group.  How nice and thoughtful of Cathy to do that.  And the hearts are beautiful.

 Then, we went next door to the Needlepoint Joint.  Since I’ve started knitting it was hard for me to make it through the main part of the store and into the next section where their stitchy stuff is.  At one point, I said out loud “I’ll have to get me a sheep.”  I just love yarn.  I contained myself by thinking about the yarn I already have and the three projects that are on the needles.  But, when I caught up to the others in the stitchy section, I was happy to find an old copy of Fine Lines, which has the “Women of the Mayflower” chart in it from Sarah Ullman of Olde Willow Stitchery.  I only have a few copies of this magazine… and they’re mainly just the charts I liked.  I never was able to find this one.  Needlepoint Joint in Ogden has about four more copies if you’re looking.  And, about three other issues were there too.

After perusing some more there, Cheryl and I took Cathy to the airport.  It was a really fun day, and I especially loved the time we had getting to know Cathy.  What a sweet person!  I hope you enjoyed your time in Utah, Cathy.  We had a great time!

Okay, I don’t have any stitching progress to show, because I’ve been finishing an exchange.  But, that’s done, so I just need to wait until Tuesday to put it in the mail.  It’s a tiny bit late for mailing, but not anything that a reasonable amount of postage can’t cure.  I think.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, I’m now listening to David Benoit & Russ Freeman…  love this stuff.  I do have the ability to control this iTunes/iPod thing right?  (In the time it took me to post the pics for this along came Michael Buble singing “Call Me Irresponsible”, and the smooth talent of Marc Antoine.  I’m now enjoying the timeless Ella singing “Miss Otis Regrets”.  Love it.)

Happy day to everyone!  Take some time to stitch and listen to some fun tunes… or whatever relaxes you.

I’ve seen this around the blog-o-sphere… It’s my turn.

Things I’ve already done: in bold
Things I want to do: italicized
Things I haven’t done and don’t want to - no emphasis

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to Disneyworld
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped – Does being placed in a bungee slingshot by my nutso dad, looking out over a canyon when I was a kid count? No wonder I have a fear of heights now.
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked – Are you nuts?
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon – the 5K FELT like one…
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language (does a programming language count?)
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied – it’s not the money really, but the management of it!
38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt (the road to Old Faithful was closed when I was at Yellowstone!)
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted [drawn]
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies – but I buy plenty!
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving – Again… are you nuts?
66. visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt (a few blocks… but the entire quilt is coming soon!)
73. stood in times square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job – I think a lay-off counts here…
76. seen the changing of the guard in London – but, I’ve seen the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington.
77. broken a bone – not yet, but I’ve sprained everything.
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car – still driving it 13 years later.
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire Bible
86. visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating (I helped pluck the turkey on pioneer trek, does that count?)
88. had chickenpox (my senior year, just before graduation!)
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person.
96. taken a road trip
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee
100. met the love of your life (where the hell are you?)

I have been working on an exchange for a little while, so my progress on Brightneedle’s “Lo, How a Rose” has been on hold for a while.  But, I found my camera, and just happened to have the two things here where I could take some daylight pictures.  I surely wish I had ironed it, but you’ll get the idea of the colors at least!

As you can see, I started in the middle, then decided to work to the upper left corner.  I am using the Weeks Dye Works threads on antique white linen.  These are listed in the chart, and I love how it’s turning out.  I felt that I’d run out of my London Fog before I’d run out of letters to stitch, so I’ve been mixing in a new skein here and there, so that the dye lot changes aren’t that noticable.

For you stitchers out there, I hope you’re finding time to work on the projects you love.  If you’re not a stitcher, I hope you have a wonderful day, whatever you are doing!  Thanks for stopping by!