Giggle Time

This post is completely not stitch related but not to worry....it's GIGGLE TIME!!!! I love these "LOL CAT" pictures and I wanted to share them with you! These are a few of my recent favs. Take a break and have a chuckle from your buddy Bex!!! (I might have gone a bit over board with the amount but it's so hard to choose!!!) LOL!

BEX IS BACK!!!!!!!

I'm baaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!! And so happy to be back in this happy blogging world. Not sure what happened to me...my life took a brief turn into insanity. However, all is well and I am positively giddy to be blogging again! I missed you!!! Thanks to everyone who wrote me such kind notes!

So....what have I been up to lately. I'm still stitching and I will post some pictures of my progress shortly but I seem to have ended up in a knitting frenzy! I'm loving it! I finished my bamboo scarf and it's super comfy and with the chilly weather here in Canada it's coming in very handy!

Next I did a pair of pedicure socks for my Mom! What are pedicure socks you ask? Well! They're basically socks with no toes in them. The idea is that you can pop on you're pedicure socks and flip flops so that you're feet stay nice and warm and not have to stuff your feet back into regular socks and boots and ruin your lovely pedicure. They're a great idea and my Mom loves them! I plan to make more of them for Christmas gifts but my Mom got the prototype! Here's a picture and no those are not my feet! LOL!



Next I made a sweater! It's a real sweater and it actually ended up looking like a sweater! I'm totally amazed! And quite impressed with my handy work! Here's the pattern picture:



My sweater is a red tweed not blue but you get the idea! Also, I made it quite a bit longer. I'm 5'11" and the length they had it set for would look ridiculous on me! I also had to increase the sleeve length for my gorilla arms! LOL! Anyway, I made a large and in hindsight I didn't need the large! It's really big! But it's the most comfortable sweater in the ENTIRE world!!! I'm so proud of it! I wear it all the time and I'm terrified to wash it just in case the whole thing unravels! LOL! I'll post a picture of my actual sweater shortly too!

After all the success I had on the first sweater and my new found knowledge in sweater making (LOL!) I decided to make another one. I'm almost done this one too! I've finished the back and the front so all that's left is sleeves and the collar. It's going to be sooooo cute! I think it will be my Christmas sweater this year! And as my Mom says: "It's definitely NOT a sweater for cooking in!" LOL! Gotta love Moms!!! Here's a picture of it:



So that's been my knitting frenzy as of lately. I love learning new things! I've been pouring over the sweaters that I previously bought and trying to figure out the patterns! LOL! I think my husband is sick of me shouting from the closet: "I could have made this myself!"

It's so good to be back with all of you!!!!!

Craft Gluttony

My latest endeavour is to teach myself how to knit! I remember knitting as a child with my Granny but I haven't knit since then and I never got past making scarves but here I am again trying to knit. I went to Michael's the other day and got myself some knitting needles and some yarn. I picked up the cheapest needles in the entire store for some reason and I now realize why they were the cheapest. They honestly border on useless and I don't even know what I'm doing yet! LOL! I think they're metal and the yarn keeps on falling off. I'm not very good at rescuing lost stitches yet and so I end up pulling the entire thing apart! Yowza! However, the yarn I got is incredible! I picked up a bamboo/silk mix. It's honestly gorgeous! If you've never felt bamboo fabric then you really have to because it is DIVINE! I found a really cute sweater pattern on the internet but I swear it's in German. Is knitting terminology German? Just kidding! So the sweater pattern got put aside until I can understand "knit-speak". Guess what I'm doing instead? Yes indeed I'm making a scarf! Winter's coming and I love scarves and wear them often so it will be practical and a good beginner project. I'll post a picture when it looks like a scarf. :D

What else have I been up to? Oh yes! I am working on my writing skills. I'm trying to write more and type less so that my handwriting looks better. I have a dream of having my favorite books handwritten on beautiful paper with a beautiful italic fountain pen and then personally bound. (I know this is insanity at it's best! There's a reason why I haven't started yet! LOL!) That was a nice segue into my next endeavour...I want to learn how to bind books. I've been looking at it online and it doesn't look too earth shattering. I was thinking I could make a nice cloth bound journal for my Mom for Christmas!

I also joined an artist book club. What is that you ask? Well, a bunch of crafty people have gotten together to read artsy books and inspire and support each other. We're reading "The Vein of Gold" by Julia Cameron. It's meant to be the companion to her other very popular book "The Artist's Way". It's really interesting and the exercises that she gets you to do are pretty neat. I've learnt a lot about myself! Why is it that you can see the patterns and idiosyncrasies in other people but you can never see them in yourself?! As part of the exercises she asks you to keep a journal. No problem! I've kept a journal for ages. Here's the difference though: she asks you to write in the morning and to write about anything that falls into your head. ("Today I must remember to..." "So and so drives me up the wall..." "My dish clothes are smelly...") By writing in the morning I have a whole different tone to my journal. It's no longer a catalogue of daily events. Now it's actually about what's in my head! It's so much more interesting!!! I highly recommend it!

Well, that's all for today. Sorry that this post had everything in it but cross stitch. I'm still stitching... Lissandrea looks great! I'll post a picture of that one soon!

Trucking Along

I finally made it to the store to get batteries...not only that but while at the store I also remembered to put the batteries into my basket! Now that my camera is functional again I am able to give a Lissandrea update. Here she is and she can see you too! (I love a project once their face is done!!!)

Lost in the Wind

Have I ever dropped off the face of the earth recently!!!!!!!! I have been stitching but not nearly as much as I normally do. I'm onto page 4 of Lissandrea and she looks gorgeous! Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera have died and there are none in the house. Thus, no pictures for a bit. Hopefully I will get to the store today so that I can update you all on my progress!

But the real reason for my absence is due to a book. I borrowed "Gone with the Wind" from the library and I CAN'T put it down! I've never read it before and I've never seen the movie. I am HOOKED!!!! I'm completely lost in the world of Scarlett and Rhett! LOVING IT!!! Has anyone else read it?! WOW!!!! I promise that I'll surface again shortly! LOL!



I've also signed up to be a volunteer with the local Humane Society. I'm so excited to start this! I went by the other day to fill out the necessary paperwork and I just know I'm going to love it! While I was there I couldn't resist playing with a room full of ADORABLE little kittens! I have a training session this Thursday so that I can learn all about what they do and how I can help. My husband is already worried that we're going to end up with a few extra legs in the house! LOL!

Woo Hoo I'm Done Page Two !!!!

I'm making GREAT progress with my Lissandrea project! I just adore her! I'm motoring my way through page 3 and am LOVING it! I just love doing faces...it gives the whole work a presence!!! Check out my progress: Please excuse the poor photography; I`m not sure why my camera won`t get a good shot of this one!



I have a degree in Literature and have always wanted to work my way through Harold Bloom's Western Canon (not the book but the list.) I have finally begun! I went through the list and have ticked off all the books that I have read. I've made it through the majority of the British, American, and Canadian Literature but have barely touched on other cultures. I have skipped the Theocratic Age because I`ve never really enjoyed the classics (ex. Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Plato) and have gone directly to the Aristocratic Age that begins in Italy with Dante. I have made my way through The New Life and am now working on The Divine Comedy. I can`t believe that I`ve never read it before! It is terrifying! Seriously giving me nightmares but I`ve made it to Paradiso and it`s all more positive there! I also grabbed some biographies and critical essays for my endeavor! I`m so studious!!!!! LOL!

Well, with all this reading and all this stitching my eyes are a little sore. I`ve started wearing my glasses again. My hubby likes to tease me that I look like I`m wearing goggles...He walks past me through the room and pretends he`s doing the breast stroke....Here`s a pic of me in my goggles; I don`t think I look so bad! LOL!!!



I was hunting for my cat in the forest the other day and I must have bumped into some Poison Ivy on my travels because I`ve got a nice itchy rash on my leg! I`ve had it once before and forgot the agony it is! It should be called Poison Itchy!!! I was checking online for some home remedies for it and was amazed with the strange things people recommend! I`m putting hydrogen peroxide on it and then using a baking soda paste instead of calamine lotion but online people suggest salt, aloe, banana skins, oatmeal, Clorox bleach, Lysol, Windex...the list goes on and on and gets more ridiculous as it goes! Wish me luck! Any suggestions!!! LOL!!!

Isn't She Beautiful?!

Right now I am procrastinating before I go and work out...not in the mood today...maybe I will be in an hour though. I really have no excuses for not working out: we have a gym in our basement because my hubby is a fanatic about exercise! He just went down to work out and my response was "I'll be down in a minute." :D It might be a bit longer than a minute...

Well, I'm still trucking along with page 2 of Lissandrea. I think she is lovely! I've never done a pattern like this before. It's a Mystic Stitch design and the pattern definitely took some getting used to. Also, I've never done one of this magnitude that was completely stitched. I'm thoroughly impressed with the result though! However, you should see the back of my work!!! Yowza!!! It's dreadful! I usually pride myself on how neat the back of my work is but not this time! EEK! Seriously, it's an abomination! Luckily, no one will ever see the back so it doesn't matter! YEAH! Except the framer...:o

Here she is in all her page 2 splendour!!! (Please excuse my dreadful photography)

Gone But Not Forgotten

I have been one BUSY lady lately!

I have decided that we have too many birds and our present set-up is not working. So...instead of complaining, I have decided to do something about it! I realize that right now our cage is too small for the amount of birds that we have, even though it is the largest cage that we could find. Here's a picture of all our little ones in their little cage:



Everyday we put the cats in the bedroom for an hour or so for their afternoon nap and we let out the birds for a fly around the house. They are very good birds and we have devised a system of putting sheets over plants and other perching places when we want them to go back into the cage. But it is seriously getting ridiculous! Sometimes we spend a good half hour trying to lure them back in and running around like idiots! And worst of all: the other day the cat got out of the bedroom by accident and he ended up with a bird in his mouth! We pried the little one out and he seemed to be unharmed but the poor little guy ended up dying a few hours later anyway. (We nicknamed him Kibbles...please excuse our dark humour!) That was the final straw! So....drum roll please...I'm going to build an aviary!!!!!! I have never built anything other than IKEA furniture and I think that a two-year old could do that...needless to say, I am generally not too adept at woodwork. My endeavour should be interesting and I will definitely keep you posted on my small disasters along the way! :D Here is a picture of the future home of the aviary. I'm basically going to put a front on the window seat that is hidden under all that junk.



My aviary will be lovely! I've already done all the blue prints and have begun scouting out supplies at Home Depot! However, there is a little hang-up...I haven't painted that room yet and the paint fumes will kill the birds if I do it after the birds are in their new home. So....I began to paint! And this is a picture of my life this week:



My hubby likes the California look of white walls and lots of plants. I'm totally cool with that because I don't have to mess about with wall colors. I am fully aware that interior design is not my forte... but I'm doing well with my attempts. All of our furniture is cherry wood and it looks gorgeous against the white walls. The room I am painting is the only room that we still need to replace the furniture. It still has my old white furniture from university days. Here's a pic of the one half of the room that is complete...sort of...the computer desk won't be there for long, just while I'm painting the other wall. Once the desk moves I will put in my big comfy leather reading chair! SOOOOOO excited to get that back! Anyway...the picture...my two first loves: books and shoes!!!



So that is my life lately...Oh, and my one cat got taken into the pound this week again by a thoughtful neighbour and I think he got a cold while he was there. Here is my little snuffly kitten Apollo:



And so that my other little kitten doesn't feel left out, here is Jericho (the bird killer):



Well, this has been one long post about everything and nothing all at the same time! But I have saved the best for last: STITCHING!!!! Yes, I have actually gotten a lot of stitching done in the last little while. I started my Lissandrea project! She is beautiful! I'm already on page 2!!! Here's my progress:




Did you notice that it is on a scroll frame? Yep, I bought myself a new gadget! I can't believe that I ever lived bereft of one of these before! I LOVE it! Here's a picture of the full thing, just because I am so proud!



Well, that's all for today. I've started jogging to help my wibbly bits get firmer and my knees are killing me! I need some ice and to curl up with my book. I'm reading Michael Cox's "The Meaning of Night" and I highly recommend it. All you Canadians might recognize it because it was a Heather's Pick at Chapters a while back.



Ok, I'm seriously going now! Tomorrow I promise to write a very special post because a very kind stitching/blog friend has nominated my blog for an award!!! More on that shortly as my knees feel like they are going to blow up!