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.
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!
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.
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:
- Send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.
- 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.
- The items must be new and not used. (Send things you'd be happy to receive.)
- 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:
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 updateAnd 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.
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:
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...
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...
Today is all about cats...First, the WIP:
I was working on Frederick and I think that I will be able to finish this week the upper shelf...And here is my ZoomZoom hiding in his favorite place, paper bag.
And this is very precious... Finally I found a cat who likes water more than ZoomZoom. My kitty is just fascinating by water, this one actually enjoys it!
Thanks God it is weekend! I have so many plans for those couple days and so little time... To keep myself sane I'm taking a few relaxing breaks and do some stitching. Here is my progress on the Frederick:
