Thoughts of Chipper and my Braves...

Today was the final home game for Chipper Jones before his retirement and it was an emotional one.  You all know that I am a huge baseball fan and the Braves are MY TEAM!!  Chipper has been a part of that team for the last twenty years and this is his last season to play.  It has been a great year for him and the entire team and we are headed for the playoffs!! Go Braves!!    He has been a part of this team for so long and it is the only team he has ever played for.  The opposing teams, the Braves team, the management and the fans have really treated him well and given him the praise and ovations he fully deserves. 

But Chipper will be missed next year.  I for one am sorry to see this season winding down.  I have hopes that in a year or two we will see him once more in a Braves uniform as a coach.  I fully understand his reasons for retiring and his need for time with his family.  But that doesn't mean I like it!  Sorry, Chipper,  I do wish you the very best

Now go get them in Pittsburgh and get ready for the post season.  This year feels like a World Series year to me!

We Love you, Larry Wayne Jones! 

Small finishes

As promised I scanned the two smalls I finished yesterday.  The book mark is simply some small free motifs I used to audition some colors for a sampler I planned to do.  this was stitched in a Light red variegated silk from Hand-dyed Fibers and is stitched on 32 ct linen.  Not the best scan but here it is...
                         

In 2004 I attended "Stitchin' at the Beach" in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The retreat was lots of fun and our teachers were wonderful. The Dragon Ladies--Teresa Wentzler of TWDesignworks, Karen Black of Black Swan Designs and Jennifer Aikman-Smith of Dragon Dreams were our teachers.  This little pin cushion was a small bonus design given to us by Jennifer.  As I said yesterday, I stitched it there but then put it away and never got around to finishing it off.  I don' know what happened with the scan.  The fabric does not have brown edges!  It is all the color of the middle.  But at least you can get an idea of how I finished it.  All I have left to do is add the stuffing and close it up.  Just looking at it reminds me of the workshop and the fun we had--even in the middle of a snowstorm!  I shared that with you back then so I won't go into it again but it was a challenge, to say the least.

 

I haven't been able to get anything done stitching-wise today but hopefully I can get back to it tomorrow.

Until next time...

Lost is found...and another review

While searching through my drawers and bins of stash I found a bin of finished but unfinished cross stitched smalls.  Some I had forgotten about and some I had lost and could not find where I put them.  So I have decided to finish up some of them.  Today I finished a pin cushion/ornament (if I add a hanger) which was a bonus design from a stitching retreat I went to several years ago.  I did the stitching at the time and then put it away to finish later.  Now it is finished.  I also finished up a bookmark from a piece of fabric that I used to try out some floss colors.  I think I will be giving this to someone who is as avid a reader as I am.  I will be finishing up a couple of more things tomorrow if all goes well.  I will try to get photos tomorrow as well.


I just finished reading The Great Gift by Misty Wright.

Alyssa is 26 and doesn't like the way all men mistreat her. She decides a change is needed and applies to be a jillaroo on a cattle station named The Oasis, which is located in outback Australia.

She meets a cowboy, Kent, who is a rodeo champion. They agree on a bet. Eventually both want out, but neither wants to be first.

Through a series of adventures that stretch from the city to a fast-flowing river in the outback where Kent must save Alyssa from drowning, love germinates in the middle of a storm.

In her heart, Alyssa is a woman who adores the city's nightlife, but as the sun sets on each day, the Australian outback becomes more enticing and the excitement of the city fades. Then she saves The Oasis.

Love is growing between Alyssa and Kent, but then Brandt, Alyssa's obsessive ex-boyfriend, tracks her down.

My thoughts:
When I started reading The Great Gift I got very confused. I could see no connection between the first chapter and the rest of the book. When Alyssa's story was being told there was no indication that the story took place forty years or so in the past. I spent much of the time reading trying to figure out just how it all connected. It wasn't until the last chapter that this was revealed and I was quite surprised to discover that Jake and Bernice were the children of Alyssa and Kent. How did Jake not recognize his own father at the funeral--even though it had been twenty years since they had seen each other. I know I would have recognized my father even if it had been fifty years!

My other biggest complaint was the speed with which everything happened. Even with *love at first sight*, physical things tend to be a bit slower. Kaite and Mitch engaged after only one day! Alyssa and Kent together almost as quickly. I feel that Misty found a unique and interesting plot concept for her book and I think if she had taken a little more time to let the characters and relationships develop that this book would have been much more enjoyable.

I also really did appreciate the fact that she refrained from all the explicit sex that so many authors find necessary today. In spite of the weakness of some areas of the story I did enjoy the book and look forward to reading more from this author. I think as she matures as an author, Misty will be great.

At the moment I am reading a book which is totally out of my *normal*.  It is called Robyn's Egg by Mark Souza.  I will review it as soon as I finish it.

Until next time...

Broken Dreams

As I was getting things listed on Etsy I ran across a sampler that I stitched many years ago and I was once more struck with the verse and it meaning for me.  So I thought I would share it with you.  I hope you enjoy it.


Broken Dreams

As children bring their broken toys
 with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
 because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him
 in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
 with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
 "How can You be so slow"?
"My child," He said, "What could I do?
 You never did let go."               

 Author unknown

Book Review and more...

Book review for today:   The Florida Chase by Paul Moxham

When a father does not return home as scheduled, his two college aged sons begin a search. From Pittsburgh to NYC to DC to the Florida Keys the search leads the young men through break-ins, hurricane, fire, flood, snakes, alligators, and capture from would-be assassins. Never giving up hope of finding their father they follow the clues until they reach the end of their journey. The suspense keeps the story moving and the reader interested. The surprise ending brings the story to a valid conclusion.

It is obvious from terminology that the author is not American even though the story is about Americans. But the book is very enjoyable--especially for the younger readers. A bit of proof reading would also do much for this book.  But I would still give it 4 stars.

I look forward to reading more stories from Mr. Moxham and hope to read about Australia in one of his next works.


I have been very busy this last week.  I am working on my designs for Nashville as well as trying to get a Christmas gift finished.  I have also been doing a bit of cleaning out--as in organizing and de-cluttering.  I have been thinking for a long time that I need to do something about all the finished and u-finished (as in stitched but not framed, etc) projects that I have.  I have my walls filled with my stitching and still have a closet floor filled with framed pieces I have no where to hang.  I also counted 47 pieces that have not been framed or soft finished hanging on pants hangers in the closet.  How many more there are in drawers or project bags is yet to be determined.

At any rate I have decided to sell some of them.  So I have opened an Etsy shop. You can find it here  My Etsy Shop   Please check it out and tell me what you think.  I haven't worked with Etsy before so don't know if I have everything done correctly.   
I will be adding more things as I find them, especially the older things.

Until next time....

Release Day

Today is release day for my fall designs.  If you want to take a look at them just go to Lady K Needlearts and see what I have been up to.  I hope you like them.  If so please visit my shop at MadStitcher.com or go to your Local Needlework Shop.  I have worked so hard on these and while I really like them I can only hope you do as well.

I began reading Friends with Partial Benefits yesterday and I am not so sure I should review it here.  Let me just say if you enjoy very explicit scenes you will enjoy this one.  'Nuff said...  I will be moving on to another book in the morning.

Until next time....

Book Review

Yesterday I promised to give you a review on the book I was reading well....Here goes:


Last Plane out of Paris  by Paul Moxham

I really, really enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting and the characters seemed very real. I really had trouble putting it down.  It is about two British soldiers in 1939 sent to France to rescue a French airplane designer whom the Germans want to work for them.  The French resistance is called in to help with the rescue and the adventures begin.  Through plane crashes, bad weather, kidnappings, enemy troops, and attempted assassins these brave men are determined to succeed in their mission.  I found the story to be fascinating.  There may have been some historical inaccuracies, but these didn't bother me. However, the atrocious grammatical errors in this one almost did me in. A good proof reader would have done wonders for this book. I liked this book so much I really wish I could give it a higher rating but just can't get past the lack of proofing.

Next on my list to read is  *Friends with Partial Benefits* by Luke Young.  I'll let you know what I think.

Until next time...

I Love my Kindle

When I was given my Kindle for Christmas year before last, I had no idea just how much I would enjoy it!  It has become one of my favorite toys.  Not only can I buy books to read on it but I can get free books!  Being on a tight budget really needs this feature!  I can also carry my entire library around in my purse.  I don't have to decide which books to take with me on a trip or worry about what I will do if I finish a book while at the doctor's office and still have hours to wait.

Over the last year I have gotten back into reading a lot--as I did when I was younger.  I read at times that I don't have time to do my stitching.  And I do my stitching every evening but have time to read an hour or so before I go to sleep.

Over the next few weeks I will share with you some of my favorite titles and authors.  If you enjoy reading as much as I do, I hope you will find some new authors or titles that you will enjoy.  If you have a Kindle, go to Amazon  and check out the free ebooks.  They have a list of 100 free books each week and they usually update it on Thursdays.  Not every book is changed but I usually find new ones I want to read.  They have everything from cookbooks to how to books to romance to mystery/thrillers.  At the moment I am reading Last Plane out of Paris by Paul Moxham.  I will give you my review tomorrow.

Until next time...

New Finishes

Well, it certainly has been a busy summer for me.  Sorry I haven't written in a while but we have been trying to get the house in order.  And I have been trying to get my designs ready for release.  Check out Lady K for a sneak peek at the latest designs which will be released later this week!  I have also been trying to finish up a couple of consignment pieces.

I managed to get Heloise de Cornu finished for Carol.  Here is a photo of this one.  It really turned out beautifully. She should be receiving it today so I hope she likes it.

 

I also managed to finish Quaker Heart from Suthern Stitchin' as a thank you gift for a lady who has really given me much support during these last few very difficult months.  I plan to give it to her for Christmas.  

Lots of things have been going on so I will try to get you all updated over the next few weeks.  

Until next time....