Another Pet Peeve

My last pet peeve was about disembodied greetings one encounters when walking into some shops. Today's pet peeve is about insurance commercials that try to convince you that they care about you. REALLY...are we so stupid as to believe the drivel put out by these commercials?..."You're in good hands" claims one. Another tells you that their wonderful little umbrella will keep you nice and dry when the rains and flooding come.  Others claim to give you peace of mind...try getting your claim paid by any of these folks, its just arbitrary what they will pay and what they won't. I have a friend who has been paying home insurance for 50 years. She put in one claim on her roof and they refused to pay her the claim cause the roof was older than 10 years...since when is that a criteria? A little old lady like that (she's 92) had to pay for a new roof. She thinks that the insurance was hoping she would die before they paid out the claim but she wouldn't die so then they just refused to pay it.

Sell the product, quote the savings but PUHLEASE don't make it sound like you actually care about me or my loved ones, just stop it already.

Recent travels and Stash Enhancements

Hello and happy greetings to all. It's been a few weeks since my last update and this one is going to be a long one.

To start off, I visited Lewisburg, Pennsylvania last week. I stayed  at a lovely bed and breakfast called The Pineapple Inn. The proprietors, Deborah and Charles were very charming and helpful. It was a real treat to stay at this establishment as I have never stayed at a B&B before. I recommend it but only if you won't miss modern day amenities, such as a phone and TV in your room. Below are pics of the town, the inn and my rooms. I think that the intention of this B&B was to give the guest an experience of Victorian design and living. Growing up in Brooklyn, most of the homes were decorated like this so it was bit strange. This style of furnishing reminds me of poverty, not wealth. It's all about perspective, isn't it?

The building is the Pineapple Inn which is right on Market Street. Very convenient for shopping and restaurants. I stayed in two different rooms because the one was booked for part of my stay. Very clean and comfortable beds. The parlour was comfortable and afforded a lovely view of the street from the bay window. Breakfast was served in the dining room (pic below).

 Pics of the hallway and stairs:

 Pics of a few of the very many churches in town:

Here is a pic of a very interesting house:

OK, here is what most of you probably care about...pics of my stash enhancement done at the Village Stitchery in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The owner, Lisa was great (chatty and helpful) and I purchased the following:

I bought this because it reminded me of the houses that I saw in Lewisburg.

Not a good pic. I liked this rabbit's pose...it's surrounded by berries and leaves. Easy!!

The above is from DMC, a freebie...there used to be so many freebies on-line and I have a very large library of freebies which means I don't have to purchase for years and years. Of course, I still do purchase, but don't HAVE to!!

The following are pics of a biscornu that one of my exchange partners sent me. Its a lovely blue hand-dyed fabric with blue thread. See those cute buttons? Just precious. Thanks, Bev, for a wonderful biscornu.

She also sent the pattern and piece of fabric and thread.

Well, that's it folks. Its been a busy few weeks what with traveling and the holidays. Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend.

Hugs, Christina

Hollywood St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival

Greetings my stitchy friends,

I had a complicated day today. It started out well enough. We got up early and headed down to the parade area. Well, we missed it by an hour because...you guessed it, I failed to set the clocks forward. Regardless, we stayed for the other festivities and music. There was great original music by an Irish pub band (sorry, the name escapes me) and great rock from a U2 cover band named U2 by UV. These guys looked and sounded like U2 so much it was creepy.  The New York City Police Department Pipe Band was also on hand.

Much to my children's consternation, I managed to dance a little Irish jig and was accompanied by another woman so I wasn't alone. I had a grand time.

Then I got home and had to take care of a family medical emergency. I was so tired from the dancing and clapping and singing and eating that I was in a foul mood while in the ED and was no help to anyone. I tell you, grab the fun while its there, the misery and fear shall come so have fun while you can.

Well, here are a few pics of the day , also a short clip of the band. Wishing you all a great week and keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers, please...we need them.

Spring Musings (more like St.Patty's Day musings)

For me, Spring is heralded by St. Patrick's Day observations here in the States. I celebrate the day more from a sense of nostalgia than any religious  importance it may have.

My sister asked me the other day what my "fascination" with things Irish was? I had to correct her that I am not fascinated with things Irish, just with things related to St. Patrick's day celebrations! Aaaahhhh, said she. You see, my house right now, is covered in St. Patty's day decorations. We've got party hats, funky straws, table clothes that are covered in tre-foil clovers (shamrocks, heh, heh) and bouquets of white and bright green flowers sit on every table. I assure you that all that green and white against my mustard yellow walls is quite garish and I just love it!!!

As I plan my menu for this most auspicious of days, I am having difficulties deciding what type of beer to serve? You, my readers, shall decide for me. See the poll on the right...shall it be an ale or a lager?  I sure hope I can find something OTHER than Guinness around here! I will spend next week hunting for a proper beef brisket. Almost impossible to find here in Miami, as the ones available are cut to meet the tastes of my Jewish neighbors and do not have sufficient fat on them. So sad! I was unable to find a brisket last year but this year I am heading over to Penn Dutch Meats to try my Irish luck there (I shall bring a shamrock for luck shopping). I will also be picking up some green hair spray and few buttons that say "Kiss Me, I'm Irish". Too much stupid fun!!!

My girls have mixed feelings about the holiday. It can be fun but also an endless source of "corny-ness" and embarrassment for them.We usually go to the festival in Hollywood, Florida and listen to the bands playing their crazy, music that just gets faster and faster as they go along. I try to sing along and keep up with the tempo. And there is always a short little fellow dressed up as a Leprechaun that teaches any who are interested how to do a jig. I always join him and pull the girls into the fray, as well. During the festivities last year, a non-Irish person received the "Most Irish Amongst Us" award - it was given to a gentlemen of Puerto Rican descent because of his costume and general "spirit" of Irishness (whatever that might be, LOL). We all had a very good laugh at that! On the other hand, the girls also have a bit of trepidation as I start speaking in a fake Irish brogue during breakfast (it just comes on me and lasts ALL DAY LONG) and I put green food coloring in a lot of my food...it shall go into the milk and eggs in the mornings, into the soda bread for lunch, and into the mashed potatoes and beer at dinner.Why??? Because I can!!!  In the evening, we'll build a fairy house for the little sprites to come and rest during their day of carousing. My poor family, attached to a mad woman!

All in all, it's an excuse for silly fun, but also to embrace the diversity that is America!


I shall take pictures of my efforts next week for all to see!

'Til next time - 

"May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live."

"May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, 
may good luck pursue you each morning and night."


"May those that love you, love you;
And those that don't love you - may God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn't turn their hearts, 
May he turn their ankles,
So you'll know them by their limping"

Priceless!

Hugs, Christina G

Biscornu Finish

Hay y'all,

I have been away on business, traveling thru South Carolina. It's a lovely state filled with warm and friendly people. The saddest thing about my travels last week was learning that so many of the cross stitch shops have closed over the years. I remember the first time I went to South Carolina I visited 5 cross stitch shops in one week (I drove all over the state). During this most recent visit, I should have been able to visit 3 shops but found two closed and the other had very limited hours. I suspect that the on-line shops have put a dent into the LNSs.


Below are pics of my latest biscornu finish. There were several firsts for me with this one, namely the Rhodes hearts (very easy, by the way) and the pulled thread work around the edges (not so easy). I was stumped on how to end and begin a thread on the hem stitching and couldn't  figure out where to cut the piece out from the fabric after it was stitched. I had all these little bits of thread hanging around and snipped them all but how in the world with the stitches stay locked in place? 

I had much fun stitching this even though I've made some errors in the edging (some of the blocks have 4 threads and some had 5).

This design came out of the March Issue, 2012, of Cross Stitch and Needlework.  Nach bhfuil sé deas? (Isn't it pretty?)

That's it for now. Hope everyone has a wonderful new week! Hugs, Christina

Biscornu exchange

Hello all,

Just a short little update regarding the Friendly Stitcher's Spring Biscornu exchange. My partner has received the one I made for her and so I can post a pic of it...we do love to show off our work, no matter how simple!

I have a love - hate relationship with biscornus...the darn things are just adorable and look great piled up in a basket or laid across a shelf. But finishing them up makes me bonkers! My sides rarely ever match up and when they do it just pure chance! Are you a love 'em or hate 'em person when it comes to biscornus, or sort of in between like me?

This design uses color variegated silk thread from Dinky-Dyes but I separated the themes and used several skeins of DMC cotton. I filled the hearts with blackwork...I do believe that the blackwork finishes the piece off. Oh, and I added a few beads. Its on light yellow 14 count Aida and filled with polyester stuffing. A little dragonfly button pulls it all together. It really is a very different piece than what was portrayed on design. I enjoy changing things a bit but I changed this one a lot....even the back is different. The original design was published in The Gift of Stitching,  Issue 60, Jan/Feb 2011 and designed by Patrizia Martellini of The Cute Mermaid Designs. I really enjoyed stitching it.

That's it, folks.  Wishing all a week of stitching successes!! Hugs, Chris.

Needle fobs finishes

Greetings to all,

Today was spent finishing the two needle fobs that I have been working on. The first was for a challenge, and it does double duty as a needle keep. I forgot to add the ties for the closure so have used snaps instead. I don't like how the snaps look but I was not about to undo the whole thing. I  used interfacing to line the stitching on the cover of the needle keep. I like the stiffness of it. I also substituted my initials for the hearts. This pattern is from the digital magazine The Gift of Stitching.  Here are pics:

I also finished up this scissor fob by The Shepherd's Bush. There was not sufficient ribbon in the kit to allow for a long enough loop for the scissor and to make the ruche  around the sides. There was more than sufficient threads and beads. I think it turned out pretty well, especially since this is the first time I have ruched ribbon like this.

That leaves only one more small to finish. Its a St. Patty's day themed biscornu with drawn thread work...another first for me. I have had many stitching firsts the last few  months and its because of reading about and seeing what other stitchers are doing (and how).

Well, that's it for this post. Thank you for visiting and for inspiring me. Hope everyone has a lovely week filled with stitching and all good things. Hugs, Chris G