Aug 18/09

These photos could be called "Variations on a theme" I suppose. I stitched up all four of the kits that I bought called "Kindness", but discovered on the first kit that there was not enough green so I dug out my mystery thread box. Does any one else keep threads from kits and such just in case or am I the only one? Most serious stitchers probably do not use kits so perhaps that is a dumb question. I am such a "could be useful someday" kind of person although I try to keep a lid on keeping stuff just because. Anyhow, each piece is slightly different in the stems. These little kits have come in handy as one finished piece is now in British Columbia and another one will be going to Cuba this week with a professor friend who comes here from Cuba every summer to teach.

Aug 17/09

I was checking out the Christmas Ornament SAL blog that I post to and I was very pleased to see that the designer of the last ornament I had stitched complimented me on my ornament! How awesome is that?! Thanks to Brooke Nolan for designing "Elf In a Box" and for her kind words!

Aug 11/09

This little cutie will be winging its way to Fort St John, British Columbia tomorrow with my friend Dave to share with his family. He was home to NB for a week and we met for a big greasy feed at the local diner this morning which is where I took this photo. I have 4 of this same kit so it will be variations on a theme of green for the next while as the kits do not have enough green in them so I am playing around with the stem colours.

Aug 9/09

Summer has finally arrived here on the East Coast of Canada! I spent the afternoon out in the woods, clearing poplars and birch trees from around my apple orchard. The woods are really wet for this time of year, but the mosquitoes were mercifully held at bay by the insect repellent.



And another shot of the orchard.


Yesterday was so beautiful and sunny that I went to St Martins to sit by the ocean and read "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. The sun shining on my face, the waves whispering and crashing against the rocks, few people on the beach.....Heaven!

Aug 8/09

I stole these questions from this blog just for fun:

1)Why do you stitch?

I have always done handwork of some sort ever since I can remember. It is a way of life for me to make stuff.


2) On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being least important and 10 being most important what is your cross stitch passion level?

10 does not even begin to describe my passion for stitching.


3)If you're only option for cross stitch supplies and patterns happened to be the major chain craft stores would you just walk away from the little X? Kiss it goodbye?

Nope. That is pretty much my only option at the moment. Fortunately, my stash is so big at the moment that I do not have to rely on the chain stores for materials.



4)Also are you so passionate about cross stitch that if indeed your only option was the major chain craft stores, would that inspire you to create your own cross stitch pieces because you have to stitch and you've stitched your way through the whole of Dimensions catalog--because you must stitch and the thought of life without a relationship with the little X leaves you feeling empty?

I am stitching on mosquito netting at the moment to add cuffs to a bargain jacket I bought a while ago. Need I say more?


5)Finally what do the cross stitch magazines on the market offer you? Do they relate to you as a cross stitcher? Do you look at them and think to yourself, who do they think buys this magazine? I guess what I'm asking, when you see the current cross stitch magazines do they make you feel like they know their readers or do you find it's more of the same? What could they do to be ambassadors for the art of cross stitch other than putting a sampler on the cover with "F-U" on it? What are we missing on a PR level that could change the opinion of cross stitch itself?

I think that cross stitch magazines have come a long way from the cutesy (*gag*) country style patterns that used to predominate to the more artistic and varied styles of patterns that I see now in the magazines I come across. I still buy alot of magazines, mostly for inspiration as I have a couple of life times of patterns already at home. Do the magazines represent me as a reader? Sometimes. How can magazines change the opinion of cross stitch itself? Perhaps more smalls and more tutorials and techniques for current stitchers to share their skills and passions. I have never joined a stitch and bitch group because I can not fit one more activity into my schedule, but my blog reading fulfills that part of me that wishes to socialize with other stitchers because I can see what they are stitching and get a glimpse into their lives.



6) And finally, finally, do you do other crafts and if so what are they and why do they pull you away from cross stitch?

I dabble in other crafts from time to time, but my "talents" lie in cross stitch. All the other crafts went by the wayside once I discovered the little x twenty years ago.

Aug 6/09

The Iris HAED is underway! I decided to bite the bullet the other night and start a big project. Plus, I needed the space on my cluttered desk so the material pile had to be moved. My eyes are probably going to lose a few years of usefulness as I am stitching over one on 28 count. Thank heavens for the natural lamp that my mom bought me several years ago.

Well, it is a beautiful sunny day here and I am not scheduled to work today so once the laundry gets hung out, I am off to sit by a friend's pool and soak up the few rays we have had shine us this summer!

Aug 3/09

Because I have not been able to find the motivation to start working on some of my big projects, I am still concentrating on smalls. This ornament is from the JCS July/August issue in the ornament preview section. The design is called "Elf in the Box", designed by Brooke Nolan of Brooke's Books. I stitched it up in the evenings after work this past weekend on mystery cloth and with mystery threads. The little ornaments that the elf is holding are supposed to be stitched on perforated paper which I dislike working with so I used some of my little decorating snowflakes that I have in my stash instead.

July 31/09

Sigh. Working on a long weekend here in New Brunswick! The weather is looking like it might be some what kind of maybe nice for all of those people who are off for the weekend. We need a reprieve from all of the rain we have been getting for the past month or more. Happy New Brunswick Day!

July 28/09

My little nephews started to blow out the candles on MY birthday cake before I had even managed to take a deep breath! The family had an early celebration for me last weekend with lobster. Yum! My cousin was in town with her son (one of the candle-blower-outers!) to visit before she moves to Burkina Faso next month so it made my birthday extra special.


I finally picked up a needle and stitched something last night. This design is from a Provo Craft kit that I bought at a closing out sale for less than $5. The kit even included scissors and a needle threader so it is was a great bargain and the design is rather cute. One of my friends has a birthday this week so I stitched this up for her.

July 21/09

Unfortunately, I did not manage to buy any of the gorgeous fabrics I saw in the Black Market in Darkhan because of time and the need for a local to tell me what is the good stuff! I did come home with this little felted piece as a memento of the Darkhan Habitat office. The affiliate sold these instead of t-shirts like the other affiliates I have visited (El Salvador and the Dominican Republic). I also bought a cross stitch kit of wild horses that I will get to stitching one of these days. The woman who sold it to me was so kind. She took the kit apart to show me that all of the pieces were there and she made sure that I knew how to stitch!

Stitching is on the back burner for me these days as I re-adjust to being home, my cousin is coming to visit this week before she moves to Burkina Faso with her son, and I have to complete my professional continuing education ASAP because I put it off for so long! I did manage to pull the majority of the weeds out of my gloriously flowering flower beds and my tomato plants are coming along nicely. The deer have found my hostas and lilies, much to my dismay, but the vandals who have been roaming my neighbourhood had left me alone. The vandals thought it was funny to loosen the bolts on a neighbour's truck tire and to paint swastikas on the main street of the neighbourhood. Honestly, it is too bad that they do not invest their efforts in good works instead of senseless activities like this.

July 17/09 (I think!)

Hey all! Just back from my Habitat for Humanity trip to Mongolia. Here are some of the pictures!

Galaa needed to be strict to maintain order on the construction site.


Inside a ger at Amarbayasgalant Monastery.




The two homeowners in front of our handiwork. Sorry for the sideways pictures. I will try to fix that when my brain and body are back in the same time zone again!


The team, the Habitat workers and the homeowners. The smiles and hugs say it all.

June 27/09

Sitting here in Seoul at 5am after a long 13 hour flight on Korean Air from JFK. I slept alot and I had really nice seatmates so the flight was as pleasant as it can be for being on a plane for over 14 hours. Passed the H1N1 check with flying colours and am now waiting for the (free) shower rooms to open up so I can freshen up before spending the day in Seoul with a friend who teaches English here in Korea. Then, this evening it is on to Ulan Bataar!!

냐ㅜㅊㄷ ㅑ 므 녀초 ㅁ 애가, ㅑ ㅗㅁㅍㄷ ㅠㄷ두 ㅗㅁ퍄ㅜㅎ ㅣㅐㅅㄴ ㅐㄹ 려ㅜ 쟈소 솓 ㅣ무혐ㅎㄷ ㅏ됴 ㅐㅜ 소ㅑㄴ ㅏ됴ㅠㅐㄱㅁㅇ. I just wrote that I am having lots of fun with the language key on this keyboard! That is the Korean one and there is a chinese one as well, but it is not being as much fun for me! I am starting to get really excited about all of this!

June 24/09

One more sleep and I am off to Mongolia with Habitat for Humanity! I am so freaked out that I am calm. I have done everything I can to get ready for this trip and now things are out of my hands. What will happen will happen and all I can do is go along for the ride. I will be taking some stitching with me to work on during the long flights and layovers and I look forward to checking out Mongolian textiles.
Bon voyage!

June 22/09

In between packing for my trip to Mongolia and finalizing details, I have been doing some stitching to de-stress! A few months ago, I found a black jacket on sale at a discount store for $10. The only things wrong with it were a button that needed to be sewed back on and the belted cuffs were missing (the loops are there at the wrists, but the belts were missing). A designer in one of my design books had designs done on mosquito netting so I went to the hardware store last week and bought some. I am using 4 strands of DMC 501 with a motif from the book in the picture. The plan is to blanket stitch the edges together, but I have yet to figure out how I will finish the cuff as I want to do it in such a way that I can easily remove and re-attach the cuff for laundry purposes. Mosquito netting, who knew?!

June 11/09

Oh my goodness! In 2 weeks time, I will be loading my bags in the car and heading out to Bangor to start the long air journey to Mongolia. What have I gotten myself into? My to-do list is slowly being chipped away and the days are flying by. It is hard to believe that this time last year I was just home from my last Habitat trip to the Dominican Republic and beginning to think about where I was going to go next. Mongolia, eh? Who knew?

June 9/09

With three cats ruling the shack, one never knows where one might find one! Penelope was making my wardrobe selections that day!


So many of my friends are putting in vegetable gardens these days. Part of it is probably a reaction to industrial agriculture and the generic-ness of our food these days and part of the movement is to recapture the memories of our youth. Most everyone around here in rural New Brunswick had vegetable gardens when I was a kid thirty or so years ago. These tomato plants are the extent of my efforts this year since I will be away to Mongolia for 3 weeks.


Finally, but definitely not least, I have finished the stitching portion of three Teresa Wentzler bookmarks. The finishing will have to wait until I get home later this summer.

June 1/09

Hmmmm....I am a technological dork. When I went to show my co-workers what I had accomplished this weekend, I realized that I only uploaded one photo of the two bibs that I stitched this weekend. Here is the second one!

May 31/09

Yesterday was a rainy, grey day so I rented some movies, downloaded these patterns from the Michaels website and stitched up these bibs as part of my campaign to reduce my stash! No babies in sight for me or any of my friends at the moment, but one never knows!

May 28/09

Nothing too exciting to post about at the moment besides the usual craziness of my life. I have my tickets booked to Mongolia in June and am now trying to finalize all the rest of the details for the trip. There are some personal things that are in great flux for me at the moment. Who knows what the next few months will bring for me!
My next big cross stitch project is going to be QS Iris. I recently repainted my living room with Benjamin Moore's Desert Mauve so a few accessories that used to match Louisbourg Green do not go so well with the new colour, one of them being a mirror with a green leafy designed frame. In its place, I plan to hang the new cross stitch when I finish it in the next 6 months or so. The colours of the threads are so beautiful that I can not wait to start working on it, but I need to finish the Teresa Wentzler bookmarks I started as I have a golden rule to only work on one stitching project at a time.

May 24/09

This stitch was a quick and easy Dimensions kit that my best friend gave me for Christmas. We have commiserated and laughed over many a cup of coffee over the years! I am working on some small projects like this one and some bookmarks as I try to decide what to stitch for my living room. The room has just been repainted and some of the decorations no longer work with the new colour so I was trying to think of a cross stitch picture that could replace the mirror that is hanging in there now. I think that a design called "QS Iris" that I bought from HAED may just do the trick.

May 17/09 Part II

Mom lent me her camera so here is a piccie of the finished stocking!

May 17/09

The lens on my camera is causing me trouble so unfortunately I have no pictures of the stocking I have been stitching for my mother. What a moment that was to put in the last stitch and to be able to think about the next stocking!

I have been doing some reading in the past week or so about the Middle East and Haiti. Jared Cohen has written a compelling book about the youth of the Middle East in a book called "Children of Jihad". Once again, I was struck by how the people he met were "just folks". They want the same things that we do here in Canada and the US: good living conditions, friends, to enjoy life, education and employment and to live life without repression and fear. He looks below the hysteria of media reports and takes the time to really understand the people. "On That Day Everybody Ate" by Margaret Trost follows the journey she made after the death of her husband to find herself and how she founded an organization called What if?. It is haunting to me how children are starving to death on our literal doorstep. Haiti is not that far away from the US and yet unfortunate historical events like the US-led embargo of Haiti after the successful slave revolution have led Haiti to the disaster that is happening there now. The US was still engaged in slavery at the time and did not want Haiti to succeed post revolution because it might have inspired the American slaves.
I just took a look at my Kiva account and I see that I am inching closer towards my goal of having enough loans repaid each month that I can start a new loan. I currently have ten loans on the go and about $15 was repaid this month from five of them so I am $10 shy of starting another loan. My only criticism of Kiva is that I have not been able to find any loans for women who are single parents. Having watched my mom raise a family of four kids with no help of any kind from my dad has given me an inside look at how hard it can be even here in Canada.
So, hopefully my camera will sort itself out or I will remember to borrow my mom's camera to take photos of the completed stocking. I hope that my Canadian readers are enjoying their Victoria Day long weekend!

May 9/09

I was looking for some books on Chapters Indigo a few weeks ago and checked out the cross stitch books to make up the order to $39 to get the free shipping deal. This heart comes from a book called "Stitch Graffiti" by Heather Holland-Daley that caught my eye while ordering from Chapters. She included an alphabet at the back of the book so I decided to add the word "dream". I used her photo as a guideline for the colours as I used up more skeins from my odds and ends box.

Hmmmm.....so I did not accepted to grad school for September. I had applied to some universities to do a Masters in International Development Studies, but was not successful. There has been a little struggle going on in my head these past few months as I grappled with the fact that I may not get accepted (this was before the rejection letters came in the mail) and about whether this is the path I want to follow or not. These thoughts are still there although the figuring out the life plan thing is pushed into the background until I finish the Habitat trip to Mongolia. Who knows where I will end up? I certainly do not!

May 1/09

I finished these ornaments last night. Sorry that the photos are so dark, but it is grey and rainy here and I could not wait to post the photos! The ornaments are double-sided.
Side 1:

Side 2:

They are stitched on 14 count Aida that has silver threads woven into it. The silver gives it a snowy sparkly effect. The threads are from my miscellaneous box so no two ornaments are fully alike because I was playing around with the colours and most times, I only had enough to stitch just one ornament. The designer is Alma Lynne and the designs are from a booklet called "Snow Folks at Home".

April 30/09

Spring has sprung and I wanted to get a picture of this crocus before the deer find it! The crocus is not the first flower to make its appearance in my gardens, but I was too sick the past two weeks to get a photo of the snowdrops who were the first brave little flowers to show themselves this year! Winter has finally let go of us here in Eastern Canada. Mind you, it is only April yet so it could snow again, but I am defiant with my sunglasses and flip flops!

I just heard on the news that a Rotary Group Study Exchange member in Nigeria who was recently kidnapped has been released. I participated in the GSE in 2004 to Adelaide, Australia and had the time of my life! Being a participant renewed my commitment to the Rotary Youth Exchange program which I facilitate within my Rotary club. Getting know other cultures and languages is so very important to bridge the gaps that occur and to build solidarity. So glad to hear that this kidnapping has been resolved.

My Mongolia trip is still ticking along. If anyone is interested in joining me or any of the other teams, check out my link! I am still looking for team members for my team which is stressing me out a little bit, but I have all my digits crossed that it will be achieved.

May 1/09 I am such a dolt. That is a daffodil, not a crocus! Thanks Christine!

Apr 24/09

This picture is the end result of my personal Earth Day project. Last weekend when I was out walking, I was horrified to see three small nearby brooks so choked with garbage. These brooks feed into the huge river and marsh system that surround this town. The marsh is several thousand hectares in size. After a little thought, I decided to remove one bag full of garbage from each brook as my own gesture to recognize the importance of this planet that nurtures and sustains us so this is what I found last night minus the tire that was too full of mud and water for me to drag home, but at least it is no longer in the brook! At first, I was kind of embarrassed to be seen covered in mud and picking garbage as all those cars drove by, but then I decided to be proud of the fact that I at least was doing something about the mess that we are creating. Passersby probably thought that I was nuts, but I feel so much better about the fact that those waterways are just a little less choked with garbage.

Apr 18/09

Whew! My research paper on microfinance has been emailed and the bibliography just went in. My prof very kindly let me send in the bibliography separately because I have been too sick to get things done this past week. Now, I need to focus on my pharmacy education programs before I decide about taking an on-line course that interests me.....

Just as an aside. I have just emailed in the bibliography which I pieced together while hanging out at the Red Whale Cafe because they have a wi-fi connection that I needed to access some of the necessary information. Now, I am sitting here writing this blog entry as I listen to a couple who are on a first date. Eavesdropping is so evil, but it is so delicious! They met on a dating website and she is sitting here giving him every reason to run away screaming as she details all of her "complications". I kind of suspect that this may be a first and last date, but who knows, maybe I have a front row seat to a "happily-ever-after"!

Well, onto burgers on the BBQ and getting the new clothesline up to replace the old one which is falling apart. If I still have enough energy before it gets dark, I may pull on the rubber boots and clean out the garbage in my brook.

April 15/09

Wowza! I did not realize how many ornaments I had stitched in the past few weeks! There are quite a few of them. I still have 3 more blanks sitting in the pile to complete before I start on the back stitching and finishing. My scrap floss box has been reduced enough that it is no longer a struggle to snap the box closed and I have used up a good sized piece of cloth to make these ornaments. Now, if I could just reduce the junk in the rest of the house in such a fun and relaxing manner.

The wreath raffle for Relay for Life is going well. So many customers of my pharmacy have bought tickets and given me lovely compliments on the piece. I am thrilled to share my passion and to raise money to fight cancer!

Tonight has been a "talk on the phone" night. I interviewed another candidate for the Habitat trip to Mongolia and talked with two local friends who are quite keen on the trip as well. The applicants are all so interesting and motivated that I can not wait to meet them all in Ulan Bataar and hang out with them for a couple of weeks. Having those 3 great convos. makes up for how miserable I am feeling with bronchitis at the moment. My throat, lungs and ribs hurt from coughing and expectorating so much. The antibiotics are starting to kick in, but my poor body is running on empty. Oh well, it is just bronchitis and I will be as good as new in a few days.

April 12/09

Happy Easter to everyone! I woke up to see snow on the ground...grumble, grumble. Things could be worse though I suppose. No war, no natural disaster, no man made disaster, just snow.

I am not a particularly churchy kind of person anymore but I always do pause on Easter to think about its significance and importance in the Christian church. The ideals of forgiveness and love are so important to me. I truly am blessed in my life on every level. There are so many good people in my life and who have re-entered my life recently. The love that surrounds me nourishes me and allows me the opportunity to follow my dreams and crazy flights of adventure. This morning while I was doing a reading-out-loud review of my paper on microfinance that is due on Friday, I was also mulling over how to share my good fortune besides the obvious of spending the afternoon with my family as we eat a delicious feed of turkey prepared by my brother. I did not buy any Easter candy treats to share with the family this year so I decided to place two more Kiva loans in place of the treats. I chose a Palestinian family in Hebron because of the ongoing difficulties in that region and a family in Samoa because of a Paul Theroux book I read last fall. In a minute here, I will print out the profiles and share them with my family over dinner.

Now if I could only magically get rid of this nasty bronchitis, things would be even better for me!

Apr 4/09

My snowman ornament project has been coming along nicely. I have 3.5 more to cross stitch before I start the back stitching and assembly. My focus needs to be redirected to the research paper that I am doing on microfinance which is due on April 14th. To that end, I am searching the Internet for criticisms of microfinance institutions like Kiva to round out some of my thoughts before opening up the laptop and writing today. While I was beginning my search, I logged into my Kiva account and realized that I had not donated to any African borrowers when I had started my first round of loans. My initial loan was disbursed to Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Lebanon. Recently, enough of the loans were paid back that I could make another loan to a borrower in Pakistan. Today, I added Senegal and Mongolia. So, for US$150 I have hopefully made a difference for seven families around the world. I am well aware of the criticisms of microfinance and its limitations, but I am also well aware that many of these people would not be able to access credit otherwise. Here in Canada, we can so easily access credit cards and lines of credit to keep our households and businesses going when there is a downturn in income. We have social safety nets to catch us when we stumble or need help. So many people in the world do not have these opportunities.

Mar 31/09

Here is a picture of my work in progress. They are from a Jeannette Crew book called "Snow Folks". I am using my scrap thread box to stitch them so each "twin" is slightly different from the other although that may be hard to see in this photo. These designs are quick and easy which is great for my little brain that is exhausted at the end of the day when I fall on the couch and dig out the stitching.

In the meantime, I am working the same number of hours of work, but we have less overlap of pharmacists so my workload is higher because I am usually the only pharmacist on duty. My boss has been trying to help out by covering breaks and lunches so that I can get a few minutes to myself in an 8-hour shift, but some days that does not happen and my only moments of peace are when I hide out in the bathroom! Unfortunately, I think that some anxiety and depression are being triggered so I am trying to take good care of myself to avoid falling into that hole.

At the same time, I am beginning the overhaul of my research paper on microfinance whose final draft is due on April 14th. I was feeling rather blocked and overwhelmed about re-working 20 pages of stuff, but have hit on a technique that seems to work for me. I am writing a short document in a conversational style as if I was explaining over coffee what my paper is about. This style is helping to identify the important bits and the story I want to tell in my paper.

My remaining waking moments have been spent contacting, interviewing and reviewing potential team members for my Habitat for Humanity trip to Mongolia. Things are going well so far and have chatted with some really great people.

I know that I get bored if I do not have several big projects on the go, but I should do more thinking about the scheduling of these things. The paper is due April 14, car inspection is due in April, my Rotary club has a fundraiser on May 2, I leave for Mongolia on June 25, I work full time..........No wonder I am just wanting to curl up in bed and pull the covers over my head.

Mar 27/09

No pictures to post today although I may post some later on the Christmas ornaments I have in progress. My main focus in life at the moment is supposed to be a research paper which is due in a few weeks. The first draft did go in a few weeks ago and it was ripped apart/discussed during Monday's class. I have spent the week digesting the comments, mostly because I did not have time to even open up the document again what with working 7 days in a row since we are short staffed again at work. Family issues have reared their ugly head so time has been spent dealing with those things. On the plus side, my Thursday night curling team won the league last night. My brain has been so out of focus that I did not know we were playing the championship game until friends of mine playing the game beside us told me. I thought that they were pulling my leg until I asked one of the men on my team. You can imagine my surprise when we ended up winning the game and we were named league champions. Life is its usual chaos here in my little corner of the world although I see the sun is shining from vantage point here at a window at the university library.

March 15/09

My stitching has been replaced by all of those notes that Hayes is sleeping on top of. This paper on microfinance and poverty has to be emailed in by Wednesday at 9am, but I have pretty much over-researched and written the bulk of it. Now, I am writing the introduction and the conclusion while fine tuning my arguments and writing style. My problem is editing.....there are so many things that I could write about because this is such a huge topic. Being focused and clear are proving difficult for me.

Mar 4/09

OK, so this is not the straightest photo I have ever taken! I was trying to move the cat out of the way at the same time after having to sweep up the cat litter that gets tracked EVERYWHERE in this house by the 3 furry ones. Anyhow, back to the cross stitch. This kit is a Daydreams one that I bought in Connecticut this summer. It was on mark down because it was missing most of its bits, but I had the cloth for stitching and stitched the design using the picture on the box as the pattern. To clip it all together, I "borrowed" document clips from work and slid them on before unhooking the silver bits that act as levers for the clips. A bit utilitarian, but the clips work and one more thing has been finished in the big pile of stuff in my craft room! I am chipping away at organizing and reducing my cross stitch and craft stash so that it is not completely overwhelming if I ever get accepted to grad school. Packing and moving all of the stuff would be a daunting task, to say the least!

Mar 3/09

Yesterday, I was showing my boss the framed "Wreath of All Seasons" when he made a comment that got me thinking. He was surprised that I had the patience to do cross stitch which got me to thinking about me and my personality and how it can surprise people to find out that someone is a cross stitcher. Then, I got to thinking, well what does a cross stitcher look like so here I am!

Don't mind the fat lip, I bit the inside of my lip yesterday and it is swelling to historic proportions!

Feb 27/09

I just got this one back from the framing shop yesterday. "Wreath of All Seasons" has framed up very nicely and the framer was able to remove the gob of hair dye that fell on the piece one night. It could have been covered by the matte, but he was able to remove it with masking tape! Who knew?!

Now that it is framed, my co-workers and I will be selling raffle tickets on it as part of our fundraising efforts for the Relay for Life in June. I am very excited about this raffle because it should raise a fair bit of money for our team!

Feb 23/09

The back stitching has begun! Back stitching is my favourite part of projects because the piece just seems to come alive under my needle. I have been stitching at night when I need to clear my brain of the research I have been doing on microfinance. My current focus for the research is poverty and the theories surrounding it. The interesting part for me beyond learning all kinds of new information is that I find my self being challenged on all fronts on what I thought poverty and its solutions might be. Well, speaking of research, my boss just called to tell me that the drugstore will open later today because of the 30+ cm of snow that fell overnight so I should take advantage of the time to do some more reading. My driveway is already shoveled (I was out doing that when he called) so now all I have to do is wait for a snow plough to clear the roadway!

Feb 15/09

Happy belated Valentine's Day. My day was so romantic as it started with cleaning up kitty barf and the afternoon was spent at a local cafe drinking coffee and using their free Wi-Fi to do some reading for my university course. Mind you, a friend came to take a break from his studies and he gave me a big hug as he was leaving so it was not a complete romantic dud! Then I ran into my brother and his girlfriend while I was running errands so we chowed down together at Dairy Queen for supper. It was not the Valentine's Day I had thought I would be having this year, but it was the one I had.

I have been putting a few stitches recently into my stocking project instead of running on the treadmill. If I could only find enough time in the day to do everything I love to alongside everything else that has to get done........Magic wand anyone??? Speaking of getting things done, I must get back to my reading on microcredit/microfinance for my research paper. The books are due back at the library tomorrow and I still need to scribble out my research notes from the pages marked with little scraps of paper.

Feb 10/09

Not much stitching going on because I have been busy trying to read and digest 3 books on Muhammad Yunus and his microcredit organization Grameen. I do not understand much about economics and how capital works, but it is a very interesting and long overdue idea to focus on the bottom half of the poor to stimulate economic activity. According to Yunus, Bangladesh should be able to meet its UN Millennium Development Goal of decreasing poverty by 50% by 2015 with its current rate of development. By extending capital through credit in the form of small loans, Grameen has been able to free so many people from the crushing cycle of exorbitant interest rates when they were able to borrow money and to allow them to develop their own economic activity instead of it being a top down activity like so many aid programs.

Well, back to the books. They are on loan from other universities and due back later on this week!

Feb 1/09

Who can resist Winnie the Pooh! Not me, that's for sure! I stitched up this bib from a kit for a new little boy named Carter who is quite adorable I must say. He is just over a month old and we had a lovely visit the other day. I will have to go back soon once this is washed and ironed to give him his welcome-to-the-world present. I also could not resist digging out my pot of honey to pose with the bib. Some day when I finally get around to doing something with the 10 acres of land I own in the country, I would like to try my hand at beekeeping. There is a stand of 20 apple trees there plus I am a bit of a flower growing nut so bee keeping seems like something to try.....some day.

Jan 31/09

One of the magazines I suscribe to is a Canadian feminist magazine called Herizons. In the Winter 2009 issue that arrived this week there is a brilliant essay by Margaret Cho about sexual power. The essay really spoke to me and its meaning to me can be summed up in the last line which reads "I say yes to me." This line has been echoing through my head this week as I deal with the break up mentioned in the entry below. While the essay is about the reasons why she has or has not fully consented to sex, I think that the concluding line is important for everyone in all aspects of our lives. Too often we silence our wishes and desires because it is easier in the face of resistance or to keep the peace. We carry on harbouring resentment because we do not feel like we have been true to ourselves and therefore true to those around us. Last night as I was struggling with not contacting my now ex-boyfriend, I turned to my paper and pen journal to think things through. One of the things that I wrote goes as follows: I love him, but I love me more.

Jan 27/09

My stitching mojo has been sadly lacking in the past few weeks as I dealt with a (short but intense) relationship that suddenly destructed. There was anger, there was heartbreak, there were tears and now I have deleted all of his emails and texts and I am moving on! Nothing major and nothing that does not happen a thousand times a day around the world. We had some really good and interesting times like a fantastic trip to Chicago together in December and then towards the end, we did not. On to the next adventure!

Jan 14/09

This Dimensions kit was one that I picked up in the US this past summer. Friends truly are the family we choose and I have been blessed in my life with some pretty good ones!

I have recently acquired Teresa Wentzler's Christmas Collection from Chapters Indigo. I can not remember the price on the website, but it was a bargain so I could not resist adding just *one* more piece to my collection of her patterns!!

Jan 11/09

I realized the other day that it has been a while since I updated the pictures of the stocking I am stitching for my mother. The Christmas break afforded me alot of stitching time, but classes start tomorrow for me so it is pack away the cross stitch and crack open the books for me!

Jan 5/09

My friend Shelly gave me a gift certificate to Michaels so I rushed right in after Christmas to pick out something cross-stitchy. This kit is so cute that I could not resist! It is a Dimensions Jiffy kit called Tree Frogs Trio. I used some ribbon and matching cotton fabric as well as DMC E987 (Key Lime Splash from Light Effects) to finish the project.

School will be starting next week for me so my stitching has been put to one side as my house is awash in papers that I am preparing for my grad school applications. Man! Deadlines suck! Especially when I make last minute decisions about applying to Masters programs and only have just over a week to get the thing completed and on the desk of the graduate studies office!

Dec 26/08

Some of my gifts are a little late getting into the mail! These little stockings that I purchased in Connecticut this summer will be heading to Norway as soon as I can get to the post office next week! I spent most of Christmas Day stitching while waiting for the turkey to cook because once school starts again in university it will be open lap top, put away embroidery hoop again.

I hope that everyone is having a lovely holiday season and that 2009 brings you all much joy and love.

Dec. 4/08

In case anyone is wondering, I have not fallen off the planet!! Life has been a little busy with my university courses. I have just handed in two papers and am gearing up to write an exam on Saturday and another one on December 11. Then, I am taking a much needed vacation in Chicago! Not much time for stitching, needless to say!

Nov. 9/08

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

This poem is one that every Canadian school child learns in elementary school. It was written by a Canadian doctor who died on January 28, 1918 in France. November 11, 2008 is the 90th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the war that was supposed to be the war to end all wars. This Remembrance Day, I will pause to remember those who have served and fallen in the name of my country, those who serve today and those are facing conflict like the civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. I dream one day of a world free from war.

Nov. 1/08

Ah! My favourite beer! I have had a hard time convincing my local liquor store to stock it, but they are carrying it specifically for me after harassing them so many times! I was drinking this last night while trying to stitch. Um, well, yeah. Gave up when the pattern started to waver around.....


The stocking is slowly coming together, a few stitches every day!

Oct 22/08

A little update on the stocking. I stithced a fair bit over the weekend, but have not done much during the week because my evenings have been sucked up with school work. I am working on a presentation about human rights and HIV/AIDS in the Canadian Aboriginal population and a paper on international aid and development and gender.


One of my friends that I met on my Habitat trip to El Salvador in November 2006 came into the Port City on one of the cruise ships last week. Suzy and her mom were here to see the fall colours of the East Coast. We had a wonderful afternoon driving around the countryside and taking in the beautiful colours with a wee stop at one of the local covered bridges. Apparently, it had been a long held dream of Suzy's mom to see the East Coast fall colours so it was a great pleasure for me to show the two of them the beauty of this region.

While I was searching through my research on the paper about development, I was reminded of kiva, an organization that I had heard about last year in my Global Issues class. There are some very interesting projects listed and I decided to spend $25 on 4 different projects to see how it all goes. Heck! I easily spend $100 on a pair of shoes without blinking so I figure that the money could be better put to use to help out 4 small entrepreneurs make their lives a little better.

Oct 11/08

My mom's stocking is coming along nicely. The chart is challenging by times to read because it is hand drawn and in black and white, but the design is worth the trouble! Plus, I keep reminding myself that I am making a huge dent in my thread stash with this project! A few years ago (six or seven), I bought out the overstock that we had at our drugstore from when my boss had dabbled in craft supplies and there were hundreds of skeins that came with the plastic display shelving!I was thinking the other day that I can finally get rid of one of the shelves because there are so few threads left in it, but I am still left with 17 more!


When I was getting out the stocking piece to photograph it, I came across this little scene in my living room. Not sure why she had to clear off the ottoman when there was a perfectly good and empty couch to sleep on right behind the ottoman. The joys of cats!

ETA: I bought the JCS 2008 ornament edition the other day. I have not had the time to read through it in depth, but there were several on the cover that caught my eye. So many beautiful projects to stitch and just not enough time in this lifetime!

Oct 5/08

There has been some progress made on the current stocking project. The camel heads are becoming more defined. Sorry for the fuzzy photo! I did not see the poor quality until after I had uploaded the photo onto my computer. This stocking is for my mother who as I write this should have arrived in Japan for a 3 week trip with her sister. I am SO excited for her because she is finally getting to visit the homeland of her mother. Now, I am sure that the Japan of today in no way resembles the Japan of the 1930s that my grandmother left behind to come to Canada, but there is something magical and profound about getting in touch with one's roots.


My neighbour did a wonderful job of fixing up these two pieces so that I can finally display them. The piece of embroidery on the left is a Fernando Llort inspired piece that I bought on my Habitat build in El Salvador in 2006 and the painting on the left was purchased in the Dominican Republic this year. Aren't they stunning? I just love the colours and I was absolutely amazed at the beauty of the embroidery. The back of the piece is almost as nice as the front!