SBQ- Oh those knots

Today's SBQ is:

How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically, do you or have you ever used a waste knot?

No, I have never used a waste knot. For over 2, I use the pinhead to start. Over 1 is started by running under. I always end with running under. I've never worked up the nerve to try the pinhead for ending.

Alternative Reality is progressing nicely. Still in blob form, but I expect that for at least several more pages. Lots of detail takes longer to pop out I've noticed. Will probably take another picture this weekend.

Don't have to work Saturday after all!!! God bless Wayne. So I'll be dressing my dolls for Christmas and finish at least one of my letters into its ornament form. I have trim and fabric for L, but none for R. So will require a trip to Hancock's or Hobby Lobby.

It's been a busy day!

The second part of the room makeover started today. I have a little dressing room area where my sink is and it had a desk built into the wall. For years I've wanted to rip it out and put shelves on that wall. I'd rather have the book space than the cabinets to fill with clutter.

So today the task began of getting rid of it! Cleaned the top off- no small feat, then cleaned out the inside. Again, no small feat. It's been nearly 10 years since we moved into this house and it's been my catch-all place for all that time. Didn't take nearly as long as I had thought it would though, for which I am very thankful. I had cleaned it out a couple years ago thank goodness.

All empty and it was time for the de-construction to begin! With the aid of my trusty hammer, a chisel and a prybar, out it came! It had a marble top that I'm not entirely sure was even real marble. So I had no problems whatsoever banging the thing into pieces to get it out.

I've started an album to chronicle my progress and the transformation. With a new camera to play with I couldn't resist!

Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

When somebody in the banking industry has never heard of PayPal, something just ain't right. Usually the people at my locally owned bank are wonderful and so kind and will bend over backwards to help you get something straightened out. But not this lady, oh no. Heaven forbid she should be helpful.

In paying for my camera, the seller had not changed his PayPal addy to the correct one, so the first payment I sent never went through. Meaning the money never left my account. And then I get an NSF notice, so I called this morning to explain. I would have to get the one lady in the bank's employ that has never heard of PayPal and did not understand anything I told her. She told me and I quote "Since it's not a bank error there's nothing I can do" in the haughtiest, most insulting voice I ever heard from an employee at my bank! I beg to differ, lady!!!

So my mom is going to go to a different branch and see what she can do to fix it since her name is on my account on too. How can you work in the banking industry and not know what PayPal is????

Just prattling on and the SBQ

Finished my other Arabesque letter today!! Will post pictures this weekend. My kitty is in my lap and I don't want to stand up to take the pictures right now.

Knitting For Victory is a new charity effort being sponsored by the D-Day museum. They're collecting knit scarves for veterans. Since a knitted scarf is supposed to be your first project, I'm going to do mine up and send it in! You don't have to knit the pattern on the site and you don't have to use those colors. They're aiming to have enough to send the first batch out in time for Christmas, so the deadline for that delivery is December 11th. I don't think I'll make that one, lol.

And the SBQ- it's Christmas!

Do you stitch Christmas ornaments? If so, how many do you stitch each
year and for whom? If not, why not?

Yes, I do! Mostly for myself to put in my hope chest, but this year I've stitched initials for my two best friends. I've shown pictures of them. Both are finished stitching-wise, I just have to finish them into ornaments. I love Christmas and ornaments and stitching, so putting the three together puts me in high heaven!

Both of these are from Dana's blog.

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

This one is what Sci-Fi crew would you fit best with.

SG-1 (Stargate) 100% Serenity (Firefly) 88% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 75% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 75% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 75% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75% Moya (Farscape) 75% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 69% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 56% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 56% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 56% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 44% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

I'm surprised and not surprised by that one. Thought Farscape would be higher though. And working on Serenity would be SO MUCH FUN!!

I have a kitty purring in my lap... And pictures from Sugar Day can be seen here!

Making lists...

I have this list of crafts that I want to learn how to do before I die. I don't necessarily have to master it, just know the basics so I can pass the craft on to others. Today, I came one step closer to knocking one off the list. I can purl!!!!!!!!!! It's slow going, but I can do it!!!!!

The newest Kent House employee, Emily, knits. She's making a cardigan out of this BEAUTIFUL chenille yarn, the color is called Sea Glass. She found it at Hobby Lobby. And it's stockinette. So I took my little swatch of knitting with me to work this morning and learned how to purl! I now have a 6" tall 4" wide swatch of stockinette. And I am so proud of myself!!! Emily said she'd show me how to increase, decrease and cast off too. I'm very excited.

I have this dream of being able to knit my own socks. I have chronically cold feet and sleep in socks year round. (except when the power's out in the summer) It is nearly impossible to find good warm socks locally that aren't camoflouge. And as pretty as Mossy Oak camo is, it just doesn't fit in well with my ankle boots and sweaters in the winter. My socks don't have to be anything fancy, just wool and warm. I already do thread crochet so I'm used to working in rounds with tiny needles/hooks, so I'm really looking forward to it. Once I get a chance to sit down and breathe for a weekend with nothing else planned, I'll be looking around for a free and simple sock pattern.

And in stitching news I finished a page on Alternative Reality! I will admit that I cheated and started at the very bottom with one of the 10 row pages. With the express purpose of being able to say "Page HD!" within a week. :D I'll have a picture sometime before Monday I hope.

SBQ- Floss floss floss!

This week's SBQ was suggested by Jan and is:

How many different brands of "complete" embroidery floss sets do you
own? How do you keep track of it? (i.e., spread sheet program, index
cards, palm pilot, etc.)


Thanks to the infamous Hancock's print mistake, I own 1 complete set of DMC. And that's it, lol. I keep track of it with an Excel spreadsheet. And since I just pulled for an HAED, I need to replace a whole bunch of it.

Zoe was spayed yesterday. She's speaking to me again, begging for her ears to be scratched and chewing on my knuckles. She's still quite perturbed that she can't run though. Until yesterday she had two speed- head on run and asleep. She's recovering slowly and will thank me eventually when the tomcat leaves her alone.

It is finished!

My room that is. I spent the weekend building myself a new desk, putting up a new bookcase and re-arranging my room. I am all tuckered out now and my arms aren't speaking to me. Manhandling wood, a 50 pound bookcase, a ten drawer dresser, a full hope chest and a 30 pound bookcase are not things that one with fibromyalgia should do by herself. But I did it anyway and am VERY pleased with the results of my labor.


I have a hallway from my bedroom door to the main part of the room. This shot is looking down the hallway from the door. On the left hand side of the picture are my bookcases, on the right side is my little dressing room area where my sink is at. That's the area that will get made over Thanksgiving weekend. And I've picked my color too! And on top of my dresser you can just see Molly and Emily there on the right- Emily's the redhead, and on the left is my sister's Kirsten. Between her, me and my mom we have 11 American Girl dolls.

Over there to the right of your screen (I hope!) is my new bookcase. It's not even full!!! The top two shelves are entirely Hardy Boys, the third shelf is some of my miscellaneous series books and then the next one down is temporarily holding my mom's Trixie Belden books. On the very bottom is one of my hats because I haven't figure out where to put it yet.


And this is my desk! Behind me is my bed. That left end of it will eventually have a skirt made out of purple toile that I picked up at the KH yard sale last month. The filing cabinet is pretty self-explanatory and it meant I didn't have to buy quite as much wood, lol. You can just barely see Josefina over there on the right.


Now this bookcase used to be where my desk is now. My old desk was on this wall. I moved it out, moved the bookcase and even though there's more stuff in the room now, it feels a lot more open. Old desk had a hutch on it that really seemed to close the space in. And it was too short for my long legs and kind of uncomfortable. The new desk is just right for me! On the top of the bookcase are L-R: Elizabeth, Felicity, Samantha Nellie. On the smaller bookcase is L-R: Marisol and Katrina (AGOT #24). Off screen to the left of the small bookcase is my bed. On the lower right corner there is the head of my daybed.

And there ya go! My new room. :D

SBQ- What's in a name?

Yeah, yeah. I'm late!

Today's SBQ was submitted by Lee and is:

How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random,
or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?


Usually I struggle with titles for things. But for my blog name, it was quite easy! I'm a romantic. And I stitch. My favorite types of designs are romantic designs, like Alternative Reality. (pic coming soon! Right now it's a tiny blob of brown and navy blue) So there ya go. It's two words that describe me beautifully.