Frederic the Literate - all done!

Did everyone had a good Christmas? I sure did! I had friends over for dinner on Christmas Day, on the second day of Christmas I was resting and stitching, on the third day we were invited to our neighbours, on the fourth day I was stitching and today, on the fifth day of Christmas I finished my Frederick!


Frederick came to me in the spring of 2007 as a RAK (random act of kindness) from Kim. I started the project promptly but for some reason I stopped and poor kitty became an UFO (unfinished object). Well, this year Raymond (a member of my yahoo group) started to stitch exactly same piece. I've got motivated and put my needles to work. I am a much slower stitcher than Raymond but I managed to finish and I am so, so proud of it. Frederick is the bigest piece I have ever finished (so far) and it took me well over 130 hours to stitch.

Merry Christmas from the north of 60

I wish you a Merry Christmas
and a happy New Year!

May all your Christmas wishes come true!

Advent Exchange

I could not resist any longer and I opened all remaining gifts from the advent exchange with Elena from CCS. She really spoiled me rotten as you can see on the picture below. Thank you so much Elena, you are a great exchange partner! Now I have a question. Do you see the heart shaped box? Inside there are 2 smaller boxes. They are made from cardboard and asking for finishing. I never done that before, do you have any advice for me how to finish them?

An update

So far this winter is very nice in the Yukon. Not to much snow and not to cold. But that has changed last night. This morning, -34C - to cold for a drive! Cars really do not like cold temperatures! I decided not to go to work. I had a very reflective time this morning during solstice and later I was working on Frederick. I finished all cross stitches, now I'm working on back stitching, writing titles on book covers etc. It is actually a very joyful experience.

During the day the temperature rose to -30 C (-25 F) but I'm noticing that it is dropping again... I hope tomorrow morning will be a little warmer... I want to go to work!

PIF winners

Thank you so much for a great response to my PIF offer. It is Christmas and I decide that everyone who say that wants to play it should play, so everyone is a winner!

As promised earlier I will send in the next 365 days (and I will not be late this time!) 5 stitching items to Cindy, Kelly, Tempewytch, Rae Ann, Pat, Vicki and Shelley. In return you will:

1. Send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.
2. Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.
3. The items must be new and not used. (Send things you'd be happy to receive.)
4. You will post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.

The day isn't over yet

This afternoon I've got another surprise! A package from "Sock It To Me Santa" exchange‏ has arrived today from sunny California. Thank you so much Marjorie, I love every item that you sent to me:

Priceless hand stitched ornament, adorable socks with pinguins,
lovely "The Reindeer Sampler" chart, the Prairie Schooler chart,
2 skeins of floss from Simply Shaker: harvest basket & pumpkin pie,
yummy, very creamy, peppermint crunch thins
and Christmas card

10 days till Christmas

On the 15 day I received a mousepad with an opening to insert a photo. I think I can put there a cross stitched piece...

Christmas countdown

11 more days til Christmas! Today I received Advent exchange package from Elena and what a surprise!
First day brought me a bookmark with a pattern "A rose is a rose"









Second day: stickers











Third day: ribbons










Fourth day: body lotion (it suppose to relive stress, so I will save it for tax season)












Fifth day: pens










Sixth day: Magnets and note cards




















Seventh day: Magnetic list pad











Eight day: scissors






Ninth day: needless










Tenth day: sticky notes


Eleventh day: a journal!


Twelfth day: note cards with envelopes


Thirteenth day: a magnet! Roses are my favorite.


Fourteenth day: colour pencils
and tomorrow is another day and another gift... stay tunned

Stitching marathon

Thank you so much for all the comments and good wishes. Exam is behind me! I think I did well but the results will be released in 8 weeks.

Last Saturday I joined Mel in the 12 hour stitching marathon. Mel was going to stitch in her LNS and I at home. Things didn't turned out the way we planned. Snow storm kept Mel at home and I had unexpected neighbour visit... but we did a nice progress. Mel had 3 finishes (you are reading right, 3 finishes!) and I worked on my Almost Perfect:

and Frederick:


I didn't work as much on Frederick as I wanted to but I also have a finish. It is an ornament, all finished and in the mail. Because it is a surprise gift I can't show it yet...

Mel and I had such a blast stitching "together", even though we are 1500 miles apart, that we decided to join each other this summer in Dawson City, here in the Yukon, and have a real stitching marathon without any interruptions. She will fly to Whitehorse and we will drive to Dawson City (about 400 miles) enjoing spectacular views, taking pictures, stoping here and there. We will go to the Top of the World, discover the city, stay in a cabin, barbecue and stitch. Our event will take place sometime in July, over the weekend. The exact date is to be decided yet. And we would like also invite other stitchers to join us. So if you would like to have a true northern experience, stitch at midnight sun, have a weekend full of fun, please send us a note.

Exam day

So, it is today... in about 6 hours I will write final exam (Managing Information System). And I'm not ready... my brain is completely turned off. I can't look on textbooks any more, I can't even think... So what did I do? I started a new project! I felt that stitching something small and easy would make me feel better. And it did!


And of course I was taking small breaks between studying different modules and he was waiting (sleeping) patiently right by my desk:

This Saturday I'm joining Mel in 12 hr stitching marathon. I hope that I will finish Frederick this weekend and then I can start on some Christmas stitching.

A visitor and more...

It was a very exciting day yesterday as we had a little visitor... about 6 inches long, small ears, all white and cute as a button:

and to give you an idea of his size, here is an ermine with a mouse:

and I learned that in the summer their coat is darker:


It is too bad I could not keep him. You see I also learned that a little bugger is a danger to my ZoomZoom and because I love my kitty to pieces I decided to get rid off ermine (or weasel). Otherwise I would try to domesticate him/her.

*****

And I received a Halloween exchange from Elena. I can't wait to start stitching those cute patterns, but exam has a priority. And the chocolates are delicious! Thank you so much Elena.


And that's not all! I also received a PIF from Mel in Calgary. The pattern with the tree has an "e" in them, and it could be an "e" for Evalina. I like it, thank you so much Mel!

Now it is my turn to offer the same.

If you would like to receive 5 stitching items from me, please leave a comment under this message clearly indicating that you would like to be included in my PIF (pay it forward) draw. I will announce winners a week from today, on Saturday, December 5th. Here are the rules:

1. Send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.
2. Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.
3. The items must be new and not used. (Send things you'd be happy to receive.)
4. If you win, you must be willing to post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.

Please remember to include your email address so I can send you a note if you are a winner! You see, this one is easy!

*****

I am a bad girl... I can't resist stitching my Frederick. The only excuse that I have is that I need some time to put mu thoughts together while studying so extensively. And I can't just "put my thoughts together" doing nothing! Frederick has a spot right beside my desk and it only takes a 90 degree turn... you can imagine the rest...

I didn't stitch a whole lot, here is the progress:

Frederick update and more

First a small announcement
In two weeks I'm writing another final exam (Management Information Systems) and between now and exam I will not make any updates and I will not spend a lot of time stitching. I do have to study...

Frederick update
I was able to spent a little time on Frederick and here he is:


Happy day shopping update
And a "Happy day shopping" is showing in my mail box. I knew I bought a lot but I didn't realize that it is that much and the packages just starting to arrive... I upload pictures to an album Happy Day Shopping. I will keep updating this album as other items will show up.

From Herrschners I also bought Surprise Package and I don't think I will do it ever again. It was only $11 and I've got my moneys worth just by receiving a beautiful book with Christmas charts but also I ended up with a lot of stamped fabric (pillow cases, table cloth, towels and gift bags) that I really dislike. They also included a package of 100 skeins of floss made in China, looks like colour is close to DMC 976.

PIF winners from last year
Melinda and Sadie soon you will be receiving packages from me but I have no idea who Mommy is... Please Mommy, reveal yourself and email to me your mailing address.

UFO Tuesday

I've accepted Kelly's UFO Tuesday challenge and I'll be stitching again my poor, forgotten Jesus.
So, from the bottom of a draw he is back on a frame. I had to frog a little but now I'm ready to go.

Life is good!

No more mice! It looks like I did an excellent job finding and blocking possible mice entrances. A whole week went by and I didn't find even one evidence of mouse visits.

And it has been a blast at work. I've got a $1000 bonus (less taxes of course) and I've got a wage raise! Life could not be any better! To celebrate I went shopping to Herrshners.com, 123stitch.com, koolerdesign.com and everythingcrossstitch.com. I was unstoppable! Many of my favorites on-line shops had sales and I found so many things at 40%-50% off that were on my wish lists.

And I was working on Frederick, here is my new WIP:

Frederick update

Happy Monday! What a weekend I had... I was chasing mice (Zoomzoom was laying on his "couch" making sure I do a good job), blocking their possible entrances, completely emptying kitchen cupboards, cleaning and washing everything. It was a lot of work but somehow I found a few moments to work on Frederick. Here is the progress:


So far, this morning I did not find any evidence of mice. We'll see how good job I've done...

Happy Day!

After being a little depressed and tired I am so happy today, I can't wipe off smile of my face. Remember? Back in September I was writing a final exam for Business Law in Canada and today, finally, marks were released... I pass!!! And now I'm a little closer to my CGA designation.

With absolutely no guilt I can go back to stitching and today is a perfect day to work on Frederick.

I was up for most of the last night writing assignment and fighting with MS Office. After 3 hours of sleep I just was to tired to go to work, I called my boss and asked for a day off and I got it. And my day could not turn out any better!

What happened to my dreams?

I woke up this morning kind of sad... there was a time when my head was full of dreams...


I was addicted to gliding, nothing could replace feelings of freedom while soaring high up in the sky. Just me, my glider, the wind and birds. And I can still hear the song that took me on a long journey years later...

Why I can't dream anymore? There is still so much to discover but I lost my desire...

PIF winners

And the lucky winners are: Janice, Donna and Lisa. Congratulations ladies!

I will send a handmade gift to you in the next 365 days. I don't know what that gift will be yet (other than it will be a stitched gift) and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week... but you will receive it within 365 days, I promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog (or - in your life - if you happen to be blog-less). I offered PIF to 3 people... in return, you must offer to do the same :)

Please email to me your mailing address so I know where to send your gift.

Happy Sunday!

Did you know that our Prime Minister can sing? Here is a clip from yesterday's National Arts Centre Gala where he sang the Beatles' hit with famed cellist Yo Yo Ma:

And I finished upper shelf of Frederick. I started to put some titles on those books, but it looked terrible... I frogged it all out and I will wait to see how Raymond will manage those...

PIF from Debbie Jo

I am so lucky! Last Friday I received another PIF (past it forward), this time from Debbie Jo. It is a gorgeous needle book. Thank you so much Debbie. I never made one yet, so it is my first needle book ever and I love it!

Now it is my turn to offer PIF. This is how it works:

If you would like to receive something made by me within the next 365 days, please comment on this post to say that you are interested. I will send a handmade gift to 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet (other than it will be a stitched gift) and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week... LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, I promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog (or - in your life - if you happen to be blog-less). I will take 3 people...and if there are more than 3, then I will do a drawing. In return, you must offer to do the same :)

I will be taking sign ups until Friday, October 9th and winners will be announced October 11th. Thanks for signing up!

What's a PIF? It stands for Pass It Forward or Pay It Forward, meaning pass forward a bit of kindness to make the world a better place.


And, as I promised earlier, some pictures from my commute to and from work. In the past I was fighting the traffic in Bay Area, on 401 in Ontario, on highways in BC. Not any more! Now in the Yukon very often I'm the only car on the road...