Nicole's Needlework

I've actually been stitching here! I set up the dining room table as my computer/stitching area. I have my Ott-Lite set up on it and I've been listening to "Outlander" while I stitch. It's been great. The kids are being pretty good. Matthew has been an angel, he's so adaptable. Jake is bored, so I'm going to take all the kids to Chuck E. Cheese today. Well, not much else going on here. Write later! :)

Well, we made it to our hotel room. I told Bradley as part of his Christmas present that we could stay in a hotel on our way up. He loves hotels, so it's a very big treat for him. And an extra big treat because all the rooms have Tempur-Pedic beds. He was fascinated by the commercial with the girl jumping on the bed and not spilling her wine. :) I did get a little more stitching done on PS. The picture is a little funny, but you get the idea.


I was feeling a little down the other day (long story), so I decided I needed a little retail therapy (like a hole in the head). I treated my self to a new Vera Bradley bag.



It's called the Little Travel Case. A stitcher at the Susan Greening Davis class was telling everyone how perfect they are for holding projects and when I saw they were being discontinued I thought I'd better get one while they last! I loaded up my wips and stash and it is awesome. It holds so much! Well, I think I've rambled on enough for one night. I'm going to sink into my Tempur-Pedic bed and sleep - hopefully sleep late if the kids allow! Write later!

I didn't start anything new after all. I decided to get "Prairie Sampler" out again. I worked on it just a little bit before I got too tired...

Or maybe I'll start one of these...


I stopped by my LNS today after receiving an email saying the new Lizzie Kate's were in. I picked up a couple of them with some threads I was needing for them and some fabric I was not needing! :)

Three posts in one day! Must be a record! :)

I think I might start this next....



"With All Your Heart" by Blue Ribbon Designs. I think it's so pretty! It's also pink and not Christmassy! :)

I put some fobs on my sale/trade blog. I really do have too many!

Write later!

I finally got past the lower tree section on P&P!



The words shouldn't take too long. I'm kind of over Christmas stitching though. I may work on something else... Maybe get back to Prairie Sampler?? Well, not much going on here. Write later! :)

We are all doing much better today. We all survived yesterday, made it through dinner, etc. :) I got some great presents yesterday. One thing from my mom that I got that I love is a pair of vintage pillowcases with a crocheted edging.





From my SIL I got the 7th and final season of Gilmore Girls. I was so excited about that! I can't wait to start watching it!


My mom got us both these cute Starbucks cups...


My MIL got me a gift card to Jo-Ann's. I got some new 5" Ginghers...


I've found it easier to cut linen with smaller scissors, so that's what I plan to use these for.

I also got this cute little sewing box....

We all got sick yesterday. First Bradley in the middle of the night then Chris, then me. Jake only got it a little bit. I guess Matthew wasn't throwing up because of phlegm. I guess he had a bug and then we all got the bug. Fun, fun!

Unfortunately I have a history of being being sick at Christmas. One year I even spent Christmas day in the hospital because I was so dehydrated. I hope I'm not passing this unfortunate tradition (curse) down to my kids. The poor things. Thankfully they all seem to be doing better today. We are supposed to celebrate today because Chris is leaving to go back to S.C. today. He has to work tomorrow. I don't know if I can stomach a big Christmas dinner though. We'll see....

Well, I did manage a little stitching before I got too sick. I'm almost done with the bottom tree section on P&P. I'm definitely not going to get finished by Christmas. Oh well, what can you do?? :)

I love having my dh home, but he's really cutting into my stitching time! :) Matthew being sick hasn't really helped matters either. He's been waking up very early around 4 or 5 am crying and coughing. This morning he woke throwing up a little because of all the phlegm. The poor guy. Waking up so early has left me exhausted at night. I've been going to sleep around 9 pm. I do have some good news. My husband checked out my wish list on Amazon and he actually bought me something from it. I was so shocked, I never thought I would get it. It came yesterday and he let me open in early.


It's a Nikon D40. I just can't tell you how much I love this camera and how much I have to learn about it. I've been experimenting with all the different settings. Here are some pictures I took of the kids...

I haven't been stitching too much. I've kind of gone fob crazy the past couple of days. The bead shop has captivated me! It's just too tempting and sparkly going in there to come out empty handed. I did get a little bit stitched on P&P.


Along with making fobs I coffee-dyed some more linen. I may try doing a couple more pieces again when I have more time to see if I can get them a little darker. The best way for me is to just do them in the sink and poor the coffee over them. I tried simmering them with grounds, but they turned out a little grey.


My dh is coming home tomorrow for about nine days! He has a trial that he has to testify in from when he arrested someone down here. So they are giving him off for that and his supervisor told him he didn't have to come back until Christmas when he goes on duty as a duty agent. That when they get their cases. And then I'll be going up there with kids for a week on the 29th. :)

Well, not much else going on. Matthew is sick. He's caught a bug of some kind. He's had a fever, coughing and runny nose. I just gave him some tylenol, so hopefully he'll go to sleep soon. The poor thing.

I'll leave you a pic of some of my fobs. I guess I need to put some up for sale, but I just hate to part with any of them. I get so attached! LOL! :) Write later!

I did get some stitching done once I tore myself away from the computer! Although, now I'm not as confident that I will finish this in 13 days. Oh well, I'll just keep working on it and we'll see. :)

Bine in Germany asked what fabric and threads I'm using and the answer is 40 ct. Luna by Lakeside Linens and 1 strand of Belle Soie silk by Crescent Colours.

Thank you all for your very kind comments on my progress! Write later!

You know I'm bored when I post twice in one day! I should be stitching, I want to be stitching, but I'm not, hmmm.... Anyway, I decided to try coffee dyeing some fabric. I really like how it turned out!


I just let soak in some coffee for about 15 minutes. I sprinkled some salt in the with it. I rinsed it out some, not too much. I didn't want to lose the color. That happened to me before. Anyway, I'm happy with it! The fabric was white Belfast and Cashel linen.

I also went to the bead store by my house today and picked up some beads. I made this fob for myself today. They had these crystals together in a pack and I fell in love. They are more autumn than winter, but I think they're pretty!

I got a little bit more done on P&P. It's coming along. I'm almost to the reindeer and tree section. I keep thinking if I do keep working on it non-stop maybe I will get it done by Christmas?? Maybe?? We'll see! :)

I really do have the nicest blogging friends! Andrea from The Craft Room asked if she could send me something and I said "Of course!" I've always admired her stitching and was so excited to receive this beautiful pinkeep in the mail today...




I feel so honored that she thought of me! The stitching and finishing are perfect! I love it - thank you again Andrea!

And I'm not leaving home for a while! I got back from Georgia tonight and we are done! The house is cleaned out and cleaned up. I took all three boys and that was an adventure to say the least. They were pretty good though. I think I did say "Shhh" and "Be Quiet" at least 500 times. They were bouncing off the car walls! :) I should have took pictures of the house, but I didn't. It's too sad. I will miss it and the area we lived in. It really is so pretty there. I'm definitely a hills and trees kind of girl rather than a beach girl as much as I try to like it down here. Oh well, what can you do? It's done and it's time to move on!

I did get a bit of stitching done before we left. Here's a little bit more of "Poinsettias and Pines."

I got the bottom row finished last night and started on the numbers above it. Again I only made it to 9:30. Which I guess is a good thing because Matthew woke up before 5 am today! Anyway, here's my wip pic. It's not much!

I actually got it last week and was so surprised! Thank you whoever you are out there! :) You made my day!



I got a little bit more stitched on Poinsettias and Pines. Not much because I'm still recovering from moving. I've been going to bed around 9:30 every night!

I'm back and I'm exhausted. Moving is not easy. At all. I feel like I've been run over by a truck. A big orange U-Haul truck. :)

Tuesday I drove up to Brunswick and that was fine I was able to relax and I got up the next day and stitched some. I went to Target and found something decent to wear to dh's graduation. After the graduation we drove to Charleston to drop off dh's car at the apartment and then drove up a little ways and stayed the night in Orangeburg, SC. We got up early and drove to White, GA where our house is. We got right to work. Bagging up garbage and packing up dishes, etc. On Friday we got the U-Haul and loaded it up with the garbage and old furniture. I'm ashamed to say we filled a whole 14' truck with just junk. We were amazed at all the stuff we accumulated in 14 1/2 years. It felt so great to get rid of all the stuff we didn't need, all the junk we had been carrying around with us for so long. After a trip to the dump we started loading the truck with things to take to the apartment. We got up early the next day and drove back to Charleston. Again we got right to work unloading and unpacking. Much easier this time because there was no junk to deal with! Only the essentials! The next day I got dh setup with wireless internet (only took two tries with two different routers), did some laundry (our dryer is not working so we had to go to the laundromat) and then I left for Florida. Dh did not want me to go, but I had to get back to the kids. They were missing me and I was missing them! It took me 7 1/2 hours to get home. I fell into bed hugging my pillows.

I have to go up again this weekend. We have some things we need to put in storage down here in FL. And I want to get some more cleaning done for the closing, which is still supposed to be on the 14th. I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.

Well, I knew it would be a miracle if I got any stitching done. I probably stitched one hour in five days. Here's my little progress pics....


LHN "Prairie Sampler."
I decided to change the red in Prairie Sampler to Sister Scarlett instead of Red Fox. Red Fox was a little too light and pink. I think Sister Scarlett looks better with the rest of the colors in the design.


BRD "Poinsettias and Pines."
I tried to work on this in the car. That didn't work too well. It's not easy to stitch on 40 ct. linen in a moving vehicle! :)

Well, I think that's all. I wonder if I could get away with not working one more day. I just want to lay in bed and be lazy! :) Write later!