A little Chicago football Halloween humor!

Chicago Bear's coach Lovie Smith's house was bombed with eggs! About a dozen eggs seem to have been thrown.
2 went over the house.
1 landed on the roof.
About 3 were in his yard to the left, and a few more were in the front yard, didn't even make it to the house.

Only 1 or 2 actually hit the front door.

The prime suspect?

Rex Grossman!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

New charts!

Well I've been nuts getting ready for the Online Needlework Show, but its so much fun isn't it? I love looking at all of the different designs and discovering new "must haves"!

Here are my 2 newest charts:
Folk Art Stocking and Crows and Pumpkins. They are not available on my website until the show is over.

Speaking of my website, I am having NOTHING but trouble with it. After all these years of smooth running, now I am having big time problems. My shopping cart is not charging for shipping. I cannot figure it out on my end, and I am getting absolutely NO HELP from Paypal. I have a distress signal in to my webmaster, and guess what! I'm getting no reply there either. I mean what the heck! I am seriously considering going wholesale only and having just a web page. I mean what am I paying for here?

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a gripe fest, but Wow! It can really be frustrating!

Needlework Show

Work basket Wednesdays will return next week as I am preparing for the Needlework Show which will begin October 17. Hope to see you there!

Shepherd's Bush stockings

I have been admiring a lot of the SB stockings that
are being stitched on different blogs lately. I stitched one for my son Aidan in the mid-90's.

I will be getting it out soon with my Christmas decorations and I promise to take a pic when I do.

I started looking at all of the stockings SB has now, WOW! There are tons! Some I really love! Like this one~Elisabeth's Stocking, and this one~
Reed's Stocking. Both are really nice.


















But what is with this one? Jillian's Stocking, below. Have we just forsaken the stocking shape altogether? Is this a new interpretation of the Christmas stocking-the Christmas sack? I'm confused...





However I love this design-I think it is my favorite one. I am thinking about
collecting all of the charts and embellishment packs for these to stash away for future grandchildren, as I know I will not be having more kids. (wink!)

Gorgeous day here in Chicago!

And I should be outside painting my porch. But instead I am inside working on my next model because I have decided to join the Needlework Show in October, and I want to get 2 more patterns done for it! I am so excited about doing this show and getting my designs seen by more people and more shops! Here is a little peak at whats in my hoop, I will be releasing 2 Christmas designs.

Workbasket Wednesday!

This week's tool is the Boo Boo Stick. Sadly, I use this tool a lot! But I love it because once you are done frogging out all those mistaken stitches, this little thing works wonders for getting out all of those little tiny "hairs" that are left behind. This is especially effective when you have used a black or red fiber, which can actually leave a little shadow on the fabric.

I don't know where I got this tool, I've had it for years. But if you don't have one and you ever come across it don't hesitate-its a great tool!

P.S. that sweet little blackbird is an unfinished exchange piece I received this week from Chris over at the OOE bulletin Board. It's a freebie design from Waxing Moon, isn't it cute!

Workbasket Wednesday!

This week's tool is the embroidery hoop. I love these beautiful wooden Hardwicke Manor hoops. They are made from birch, and they have a beautiful finish. They have a tightening screw made from brass, and they are very lightweight and easy to hold.

The skinniest one in my grouping I actually bought from Hobby Lobby. I was so surprised when I brought it home to see the Hardwicke stamp on the side! The finish is a little different, still smooth-perhaps a different wood? The price was a lot less, I think it was about 5 dollars.

The 2 larger hoops are 6" and 8" wide. I have wrapped the inside hoop with bandage gauze to protect my fabric. The only caution I have is to be careful when pulling your fabric taut, if the hoop is too tight it can really damage your linen, especially on the looser counts such as 28 or anything lower. Love these hoops though-try one!