Kowgirl Kreations

3 day weekend

2007-02-10T09:33:00.000-08:00

What a gift that is! We got the grocery thing done last nite after work so now it's 3 days of doing whatever I feel like! And to start things out on the right note I watched Fellowship of the Ring and stitched after everyone else went to bed. I got alot done on Imbolc's cape. Today I'll watch Two Towers and work some more on her, and tonite I should get more progress done watching Return of the King. With a marathon like that i should get Imbolc into the biggest Qsnaps. She's very close now. It's still zero or below outside so not much horse training going on lol. But spring is coming, sooner or later, and better weather to be out in. We had 8 calves born so far this week (we have a herd of 50 Black Angus beef cattle) and my DH hasnt been getting much sleep cuz they like to be born at 4am it seems. This morning's arrival needed some tlc so into the basement he came with a heater blowing on him, and me at the stove thawing out colostrum while DH dealt with the mama, cuz it was a heifer and a hard delivery. We bought a new group of bred heifers last fall so it's a guessing game how they'll do calving. But this afternoon baby is fine and mama was checked out by the vet so she'll be alright. It's always good to hear that, and mama took right to baby and claimed him so they'll be fine. So far this season we've had 1 cow that wants to kill any human stupid enuf to get within 50 ft of her calf. She's on the short list, and as soon as things settle down she's outta here. DH wont tolerate aggressive cattle, and when she calved last year she wasnt near as bad, but obviously she gets worse with age lol. The others he can walk up to and pet and mess with thier calves without them fussing cuz they know him (lol me is another story, I am NOT a cow whisperer) . So the next month or so is gonna be busy for him so I probably wont see much of him when I'm home from work, cuz he'll sleep when he can. Oh well, it's just a temporary thing and he'd rather be farming than anything else. Next week should hopefully see the arrival of my show horse tack, headtall, reins and breastcollar. It's so cool looking, it's leather, light oil finish, with Texas star gold and silver conchos and loaded with silver spots too. Twista and Rohan will look awesome in it. I plan to order some matching conchos from a leather factory and deck out a saddle blanket to match. In the meantime I got a plain black leather show set and first chance I get i'll be taking that to the Amish to get spots and conchos put on it. I like to have my horses look fancy ;) , once they get out of the training gear. Twista will be ready this summer but Rohan is just a yearling yet, and Whiskey will be a yearling next month. But I like to get them thier own personal stuff. I spose I better go pop a movie in for the kids and one for myself and have some quiet time. Off to the stitchin now! : D

an update..

2007-02-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, since it's been so cold (10 below zero all week) I havent been out doing chores for very long, just too cold to sit out there and the horses might as well eat and stay warm. But then I've been in the house instead getting stuff done. I didnt work the entire weekend but had such a bad cold I didnt get any stitchin done either. So I need to catch up on lost time there. No idea how this wek looks for getting alot of stitchin done but I'm always hopeful. Imbolc is coming along, slowly, getting bits done here and there when I get a moment. What I long for is a marathon like I used to do-- watch 2 or 3 movies back to back and stitch the whole while, ah bliss. Lol, my kids were still babies when I could do that though. How times change. But tonite I plan to get some done before sleep, and this weekend too. She's so close to going in the big Qsnaps that I cant wait. Another 5 hours could move her there and so I gotta push for it, just piddly things left to get her there. After that it's just all those swirly skirts to deal with and the stitchin is done. Beading is my fav part (crazy I know) so I'm saving it to the very end as motivation. The other Celtics are starting to whimper since taking thier pics but I'm ignoring it lol. Samhain, being loudest cuz she needs a face, Lammas cuz I need to figure out the merge (I put 2 charts together, chop shop lol) Ostara cuz she needs progress and Lithia cuz she has only a few stitches done. I am SO ready for a finish, these have been on my plate for 3 years now and only Mabon is finished. but in all fairness, I hardly stitched at all in 2006. But once the conversion ones are finished, the origional ones are a cinch lol. I guess after Imbolc the closest to a finish is Beltane but I dunno, one of the others might yell louder. Hard to say, but I plan to have a very stitchy year this round :).

Well well well....

2007-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Another year is upon me and I'm still catching up on the old one. Have to make some changes around here to get more fun stuff done lol. The critters are fine, work is going fine, and the barn is mostly done- just little things left to do- but everyone is moved into it. Today it's a snowstorm so a good day to curl up with stitchin. I've been working on Imbolc, a conversion of LL Celtic Spring and she's about half done with the thread, I save the beads for last cuz it's my fav part. I made a New Year's resolution to do more stitchin, computer, and violin this year, and do the things I used to enjoy before life kinda took over. The job thing just leaves me so tired that I dont have the energy after chores, kids and house to get out the hobby stuff. But I have a peach of a DH who's taken over the house and chores pertaining to it, so when I get home I dont have to worry about it much. I just had 4 days off in a row, a near record, and got back to things I used to do daily, boy was it nice. I made alot of progress on stitchin, am slowly getting caught up on the BB's and stitchin news there, had some long sessions with my horses, and actually enjoyed cooking some meals cuz there wasnt any 'hurry, it's almost bedtime'. I finally feel like my old self! Gonna be hard going back to work again after so much fun time lol. I've been figuring out ways to make hobbies more convenient and for the stitchin that was to get a big portfolio bag for transporting the bigger Qsnap frames with the more progressed wips. Only the smallest frames would fit in a backpack and it didnt take long for the project to outgrow and in order to take a wip anywhere it had to fit. Now they can stay portable longer and I can work on them whenever I get a free moment. I'm hoping that'll make some finishes happen. The violin is a little more tricky cuz it's not a quiet hobby but I'm thinking if I can squeeze a catnap in right after work I would still have time before school's out and I dont have time for anything but kids. It's not something I can take out after the go to bed, tried that and they just stay awake listening. It'll happen though, the love for it hasnt dimmed any. The horses are coming along, Twista's rides have become few becuz of the weather but I still work with her, and continue to gear up for spring. I'm hoping to get a new saddle soon, man those are expensive, but I'll get there. Rohan and Whiskey are learning stuff as well too, they are so fun when they're babies. There's alot more space in the new barn but what could be an indoor arena is still a cattleshed till spring lol. But speaking of horses, it's time to go see what they're up to. :)

2006-09-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

And now here I am again, trying to cram as much goofing off into a day off as I can. No riding today, as it rained last nite and drizzling today, so too slick. Twista's training is going very well, she will be an awesome saddle horse because she accepts new things as no big deal. She got over the bug spray thing in a week and now knows it's a good thing ;). There again, I just kept talking her thru it and she figured out the spray means no biting flies. I did not tie her up and 'make her deal' cuz that destroys trust, in my opinion. Making a horse freak out over something you want them to accept is just losing ground, cuz they can get in the habit of freaking cuz they anticipate trainer impatience. As I've said, I want mine to realize boogeymen dont exist so why fuss? ;). Slow and steady wins the race ;). And tacking up now only takes 5 minutes so I'm glad to see I can still get a horse ready to ride in that space of time lol. Her rides are going very well, she hasnt shown any oneryness or 'I wont' , so knock on wood, I hope to keep that winning streak. And she'll follow whomever she thinks is 'leading' her even though there is no physical contact. My 5 year old can now lead her anywhere without a rope on her cuz she's in the habit of going where she's told. She'll be the ultimate baby-sitter. Today I was planning to go ride her out in the freshly tilled fields, closest thing I have to an arena, but the rain kinda canceled that. So instead I got my homework done (back in school now) and now I'll spend the afternoon doing cross-stitch, yay! Finally, cuz it's been forever. I'm working on TW's Dragon Ride and plan to start Storyteller, maybe even tonite. I really missed working on a TW, it's been a very long while and i'd forgotten how vibrant they are. And also a little more complicated than a Mirabilia or LL lol. but that's ok too, cuz I need some form of escape while being stuck indoors on a fall day. There should be a rule against rainy fall days cuz snowy winter ones are coming up fast. Oh well, there's still some good to be found in a rainy day too ;). So for now I'm gonna go find it. Happy stitching to me!

Been a crazy summer..

2006-07-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

..but that tends to happen round here. Now with just a few weeks left before school starts I'm finally getting into the swing of things. So many things left to do really and now I have a bit more time to do them. I havent been at the xs cuz of my work schedule and everything else but it's time to jump back into it. Enuf is enuf ;). It's been either scorching hot or storming, so outdoor things have to be adjusted for lol, and I've been doing the horse training in the evenings when it's cool, and I'm very pleased with how that's going. I have 2 main horses that I'm working on, and a third who's getting the basics down cuz she's a weanling. So, some intros.... My main project horse is a sorrel Paint mare named Twista. She's the first baby outta my stud and my Paint mare Chika's first foal also. Now she's 4 and while she's had all the basics she missed out on her riding training cuz she had a colt herself this spring. A 2 year old colt we had for awhile and then sold left us a momento to remember him by, and Twista had a 'loud' (beautiful uncommon Paint markings) sorrel Paint filly on March 3, '06, and we named her Whiskey and she's my weanling project. And now that she's weaned it's time to pick up where I left off on Twista. And that's going very well, she'll let me do whatever to her only bugspray is her 'Elmer moment' where she freaks so we're dealing with that. I dont tie up horses and make them deal with new stuff, I'd rather have them accept it as thier own idea even if it takes longer to accomplish. I think it helps to build trust. My other project horse is Twista's full sister Rohan. Rohan is a seal bay breeding stock filly, and that means she's solid colored but has Paint parents. Her only markings are a wide blaze and a hind sock. She's the first solid my stud has fathered and will be a year old in Oct. Her attitude is wonderful and I can do anything to her without her fussing or even batting an eye. Twista, Rohan and Whiskey will be my riding horses, they have a babysitter attitude and that will help once my kids are old enuf to ride. Whiskey is a bit more headstrong in that she wants attention NOW no matter what people are doing so that's something we're working on as well. She has to be patient and wait her turn. It all takes time, which is lucky cus I dont really have the facilities like a round pen or an arena. But things are moving along, and we hope to get a roof over a barn that's ideal for horses. It's built out of cement and was made for show-bulls, so the stalls are cement walls with iron bars at the top and all the feeders and waterers are made of cement as well, and totally bull-proof so it should hold up to horse use and be totally easy to clean. The back of each stall has it's own door to an outdoor pen. I tell ya, it was state of the art but the roof had fallen in 10 years ago. But now that we own the farm we're replacing it and Jeff will use part of it for his cows when they calve and I can use it for horses. I cant wait! It's gonna be so cool when it's done. But since my DH is doing most of the roofing himself it's gonna take awhile cuz he has other work as well. Tonite the game plan is to work more on Twist and just get her lounging under saddle. I haveta get things rolling with her so I can start riding again. Should be interesting....

2006-02-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Another storm hit us a couple days ago and since then it's been bitterly cold round here. Last nite it was -30*. Here that meant extra bedding for the cattle and horses to hunker down into, and my DH let all the outdoor cats spend the nite with our dogs in the basement. Lol, that was a rush cuz they know the routine and had been waiting to get in all afternoon, mostly to get the best sleeping places by the furnace. Then this morning nobody would leave, freeloaders! But cant really blame them, it's only 5* out there so I wouldnt wanna either. Nothing a shaking bag of catfood wont cure tho and they did show up for breakfast ;). Our Husky/shepherd dog Hooch was totally enjoying himself out in the powder, this is his kind of weather, but our lady dog Peanut thinks he's nuts and stayed indoors today, being her fur is short and the best sleeping spot isnt cat-covered anymore she had plans. Now since this is my weekend off my plans were to do some serious stitching. And last nite started off with an older wip, Middy actually. I havent worked on her in ages, mostly cuz the fabric is the recommended Permin linen, blech, but I started it before hand-dyeds came out and I knew better. But I still like the color with Middy so I'll see it thru. I needed a metallics fix and her wings fit the bill lol. i just wish I had done it on 28ct instead of 32 cuz the skin is over one, and I still have her arms to do. Today I hope to get the top part of the chart done minus beads. We'll see. Then I might switch back to a Celtic, Imbolc is still on the Qs and she could use another go. Or maybe another, who knows......

2006-02-08T17:23:00.000-08:00

Sigh. No stitching on my day off today, cuz everyone but me is sick in my house. I have to work till next Tues so I'm hoping to escape it. Lol, not too hopeful on that but oh well. Maybe tonite after everyone is sleeping I can get some done. I was hoping to go thru stash on a day off but that can wait. There's s0me that I wanna dig out to work on that are specifically for our bedroom and living room and most arent started yet. Seems like the ones without a plan take precedence lol. The Celtic Holidays will be displayed in our hallway, or the back wall of the living room as those are the only walls big enuf to group all 8 together. And then Eowen of Rohan(with the horse) and Celtic Ireland will be grouped together somewhere as well but I dunno where. And Arwen/Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar will go in our bedroom, along with Mirabilias "Queen of Peace' 'Fairy Idyll' 'Sleeping Beauty' 'Cinderella' and Cross My Heart's 'Secret Garden Unicorns.' Lol, as to WHEN all those will get done and on the wall???? I have no idea but it's fun to imagine it lol.

And so here

2006-02-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

I am once again, can of Dew in hand and a siamese (Jasmin)cat hogging my chair. I should be stitching really, and once the Dew kicks in and Jas gets bored I will be. But for now she's waited all day for attention cuz i worked, so she's entitled lol. No luck on the Rotation of WIPs yet. I totaled up my hurs for Jan and it was only 9, sheesh. Nov and Dec were even less so a Ro just wont work when it's more time to switch projects than stitch em. Man I remember when I used to have finishes lol. BUT oh well, maybe it's just Finish-It Febuary talking, since that's this month's theme. Still, I got Imbolc out again and Samhain is on the smaller Qs and needs her face done before a pic. Still doing the oranges of her hair though.

GFJ continues

2006-01-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

So far Guilt-Free-January has been good to me :). I started Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Mirabilia and another LL conversion I'm doing. This one is the Samhain Celtic holiday, or Halloween one, and she'll have red hair and a purpe dress. I forget what color lugana she's on, but it's a nuetral beigish-brown color, and I wrote it down somewhere.. Mermaids still needs to get all thier metallics but I've been doing the floss areas for now, there's part of an arm done so far cuz I always start in the center. The fabric is gorgeous, Ocean Fantasy by Silkweaver. I plan to get some more of those fabrics in the future. Now GFJ is half over and I wonder what else i'll have time for. Besides the new starts I've been working on my Ostara LLCeltic conversion, (the Easter one) I'd like to get enuf progress on her to post a pic but she doesnt have a face yet, and the last couple weeks I've been switching between her and the Samhain. One of these centuries I'll see the set done and on my walls :). Now I just gotta figure out a 'Centerpeice' project, cuz 4 Holidays face the left and 4 face right, it'd be cool to hang something in the middle but I havent found it yet. This weekend I dont work and it's snowstorming outside so a good chance to curl up by the fire with a wip and a movie. Maybe Harry Potter and Samhain or one of the other conversions. Once GFJ is over I plan to start a Ro again, and have some wips picked out to Rotate thru. The trouble is I only last so long with the structure, I must be a true Screamer Rotationer, cuz it's whatever yells at me to be worked on gets the time. Even with favorite wips I only get halfway thru before I cave into working on whatever I feel like. But it's worth a shot.....

Guilt-Free January

2006-01-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

There is something about this month and its free-for-all theme of starting as many projects as one wants, Gotta LOVE it. Yet it's the 7th and I havent gotten out my xs in awhile, let alone start a new one. I didnt do GFJ last year, although I had a couple of projects ready to go. this time I'm gonna join in though, and I hope to start Mermaids of the Deep Blue Sea and Queen Mermaid, and maybe Queen of Peace. All Miras lol. QoP is ready to go but I'm still waiting for fabric to arrive for the others., bounce bounce.
Violin is going very well, I havent forgotten anything so I can pick up right where I left off. And since it's a sunny day finally, I'm packing up the kids to take em outdoors and burn off all their energy that normally gets used to thrash my house lol.

another year passes..

2006-01-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

and a new one begins :). The Holidays are for the most part over, leaving in thier wake tired kids, new toys needing batteries, empty wallets and extra inches in the waistline to fret over in January. Still, wouldnt have it any other way :). My resolution this year is to take up violin lessons again, and that starts on Tuesday. Cant hardly wait, it's been a year and a half since I last had the benefit of a teacher, and though I play for fun now and then, it's not the same as learning new skill. In stitchin news, I worked on Imbolc for awhile and now I'm working on my Arwen/Aragorn conversion again. When I get Arwen's face done I'll take new pics of both. Guilt-free January has begun and since I didnt do any last year this year I will. Kirsten was so kind as to get me fabric for my bday, so I picked out some that should work for Mermaids of the Deep Blue Sea and Queen Mermaid from Mirabilia. It'll be cool to start something new and work on a Mira again, all the beads and metallics and diff colors. Yet the Celtics pull just as strongly as ever, and will till my set is complete. But no law says I cant go awol once in awhile. My other New Year's res is to get and start a HAED or 10 lol. I'm not putting any finishing goals on myself this year, been doing that the last couple years and it gives me the blahs to work on them and so I wind up avoiding them at all costs. Strange isnt it. The thing is so many of my wips are at the same point, halfway or less, that it's gonna be awhile before I see any finishes anyway, given my current rate. so I'll just plod away happy as a clam and see if any finishes happen this year, if not no big deal cuz they arent going anywhere. Not like there's a Stitchburglar who steals wips or something lol.

xmas is coming...

2005-12-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

and I'm not ready lol. The days have been a blur and going by way too fast. Why is it when you're a kid it drags on and never seems to get here- but as an adult there is never enuf time?
Anyhoo, it'll all work out. In xs news I still havent done any to brag about (see above lol) but I remain ever hopeful. Imbolc is impatiently waiting, I did less than 10 stitches on her last session which almost feels worse than not getting her out at all lol. She'll happen though. As will the rest, it's just a matter of when. In horse news, the medicine hat filly has a name now, Roxy, and she's taming fast. Grain can be a powerful motivator ;). I find myself looking forward more and more to the time I get with her cuz it's the one time each day that I'm not running around or dealing with everything else, nothing but calm quiet time. Last nite it was so bright with the moonlight on the snow that I was tempted to go riding, only none of my horses now are broke well enuf. One was but he hasnt been ridden in several years so he'd be quite squirrely lol, and the other is only greenbroke and it wouldnt be fair to just hop on and expect her to know when shes never been ridden at nite. But someday I shall again ;). In the meantime, there's plenty of other stuff that needs doing.... so I better get back at it :)

And the beat goes on....

2005-11-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

..and now it's officially winter here. There's snow and cold everywhere lol. The apple tree outside our kitchen window is bird cafe all day long, I'm filling the feeders once a day now and making suet cakes for them twice a week. But it's nice to see them up close and see signs of life when winter comes. Horses update... Weaning the medicine hat filly went as expected, her mom put up more of a fuss than the filly. But since the mom was a bear about it I only let her around for 3 days and put her back with the herd. Since her leaving, the filly has had a personality change and has gotten curious and more freindly. I havent touched this filly since her first day cuz the mom is extremely protective against anyone messing with her colts. Frustrating since my other mares dont care if ppl play with thiers. The first 3 days in the weaning pen this filly was aggressive and would threaten with her teeth and rump as she's seen her mom do when she doesnt get her way, which was what her mom was doing on the other side of the fence. Now she's had 2 days of no mama in sight and me as her only attention. Chika and Rohan share the pen on the other side so she isnt alone for horse company, but the filly isnt getting attention like her mom would give, so it's a vulnerable time for her and a perfect opportunity to make freinds. And to do that she only gets her hay from me giving her a bit at a time, same principle as her mom feeding her, to get her trust. Today now she's not pinning her ears at all and letting me rub her face when I give her hay. Sometimes she'll walk around to figure out the situation but she's got a curious expression and wants the hay bad enuf to accept my petting and figure out it's ok. She has come a long way in just 2 sessions. Today my DH is rewiring the lights in the barn so I'll be able to do chores after dark. This week is gonna be crazy cuz I work every day and the weekend, and my DH has his own work to do, so I'll need lights for sure, no more putting it off ;). but after this week my schedules improoves alot and i'll be home more. In xs news, I got out my Imbolc LLCeltic conversion but only did a few minutes on her. I hope to get a good session done yet this weekend. The blues and silver and Wisper fiber look so wonderfully winter and it's the perfect time of year to work on her again. Now if I just get the chance....... ;)

after a long absence...

2005-11-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

...I'm back again. Juggling a new job n family n farming was/is more than I thought it'd be lol. Anyhoo, in a nutshell, in my spare time I've been working slowly at the Eowen of Rohan conversion of LLCeltic Summer, and sometimes the Arwen conversion and the Arwen/Aragorn conversion as well. It's slow going cuz quiet moments are hard to find, specially during this time of year when harvest scrambles everyone's schedule. The last couple weeks have seen a couple of new arrivals here, 2 of my mares had late colts. Chika had a bay filly with a blaze and 1 sock, and Kajun sadly had a Lethal white stud colt that only lived 3 days in spite of all our efforts :(. He was so beautiful though, and it was a tough loss. The filly we named Rohan and she's a total love-sponge, just soaks up the attention. She'll be kept for a horse for my kids, and possibly for working cattle if she has the mindset. The filly we had born in the spring (blue eyed sorrel medicine hat) I'll be working with this winter to see what she's like as a cattle prospect. If nothing else I can see myself riding her on trails ;). So many plans lol. Anyhoo, all that is what's been keeping me busy and off the puter. This weekend I have off so I haveta cram as much as possible into it, weather allowing.

stitchin again

2005-07-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

with all that's been goin on lately I havent stitched at all. But my fabric came finally and I jumped back into it headfirst :), and started my Celtic Imbolc. Waited forever to get this going, ever since MLI said she was gonna design a winter. Only the real Winter isnt what I had in mind, so I made a rechart/conversion of Spring. Soon my Holiday set will be all started, Ostara Imbolc and Lithia are barely started, Beltane is half done, Yule and Samhain and Lammas are waiting to be started and Mabon is already finished. But before I get round to starting the others I wanna figure my Eowen/horse and she'll be the next start. I'd like to get the more 'involved' WIPs figured out before school starts cuz I wont have much time then, cuz i'll be working. So it's a last dash to cram as much xs as I can now lol.

stash

2005-07-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Tonite since I was too tired to actually xs I went thru the stash boxes instead. A bit like seeing old freinds after a long absence :), cuz some havent been out in months. Now I feel like a queen or something with a bunch of treasure, even if it's just fabric, thread, beads and paper-- it's still treasure to me ;). I wonder if other ppl think of memories they had while working on thier particular pieces, and get reminded every time they look at them. It's that way for me. And the worst one for it is my wip of Mira's Titania, a longstanding UFO. Why is she so? As beautiful as she is and as far as I've gotten with the stitching, you'd think she'd be a contender for an upcoming HD. But she has 2 things with her, one, she's on the recommmended fabric and it's so boring and blah, the saleslady would not let me get a diff color for her, rolleyes. And the other I did most of the work while I was in hospital waiting rooms wondering if my son would make it thru heart surgery. He's totally fine so I'm very lucky :). So it's just too much stress to remember every time I see that wip, if that makes sense. Yet I hang onto her cuz I can be stubborn lol. But lately I've been thinking about her again, but starting her on diff fabric cuz I really hate 32ct Permin linen and the color. Then there's Middy, who's about half done also, that I love working on and havent in forever. Only the metallics on 32ct drive me a little batty cuz I dont have an OTT lite. I started her before I discovered 28ct lol, which is what I chose for everything now ;). What other Miras,,,,,,, There's Rose Celebration, which is also on 32ct and with over-one skin no less so she really takes a long time to get thru lol, but she's about a third done. Then after the epiphany of 28ct (I swear there was a chorus of angels singing that day) the rest include Winter Queen, Cottage Garden Fairy, Adia, Mermaid of the Pearls and Fairy Idyll. I dont think I left anyone out lol. Bar none Miras are my fav, Nora's made so many that I love that other designers cant come close too, much as I love other designers' work. MLI hit a big score when she did the Celtic ladies, they're my all time fav designs of all time. Obviously, they've been my main thing for last year and this year lol. TWs I love cuz they're complicated and so beautifully rendered. A TW is the closest stitching I've ever done to a real painting, only instead of a brush I'm using a needle. And painting is 10 times easier too ;). My TWs include Rapunzel, I converted her to brunette to look like Arwen, Lady of Shalott, Enchanter, Storyteller, Celestial Dragon, Dragon Ride and English Garden Sampler. There's so many I wanna do tho, but they'll haveta wait till I get more time to concentrate properly, as I really detest frogging. A 'mini-vacation' that a TW provides would be just the thing now, letting myself think of nothing else but where confetti goes, that would be heaven. But it's too crazy round here lately to invite frogs in ;). Then there are sev Dimensions I have on the go, Sacred Connection, Gift of the Eagle Feather, Thunder Ridge and Mighty Samurai. Only I wish thier charts were so batty, lol if TW can think up a new symbol for each of 1000 blends then they could too I think, instead of choosing 4 symbols and making them diff colors. They're on 18ct aida, which I can deal with cuz they have the 3 or 4 strand thing going on, and it looks whack when I try that on evenweave or linen so it can stay ;p. I wish there was such a thing as Time Turner like in Harry Potter, I'd have time enuf to get everything done lol. But going thru the stash is always a great perk, gets me motivated like nothing else.
This week is gonna be crazy as well, gtg's all weekend and after I get a horse wagon painted for parades I haveta start a mural for my MIL's house. Lol, at least there's no deadline on the mural so that's cool. Long day tomorrow so I better catch the zzzz while I can....

Been awhile

2005-07-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sheesh, has it ever! I haveta get better about keeping this updated. As it were, life has been crazy round here. We got the ok to build a barn (pig nursery) so that has taken a huge load off DH's shoulders. Lol, I haveta admit the little baby ones are alot cuter than the big ones (I'm not a pig-liking person lol) so if he should need help caring for them I could handle it. They come little and leave only slightly bigger. It's the big ones that I have a problem with, mostly cuz they are the only animal that I lose patience with. Give me the rankest horse or meanest cow and we get along fine but there's something about a pig being stupid that is so frustrating. I've had my share of raising them, and getting stuck on top of a little hut cuz of mean mother sows or boars, so those days are long over. Plus if you've ever seen Charlottes Web it didnt matter if it was a pet, and I've been there too. It's something my kids wont go thru, I wont give them something to work at keeping alive, get attatched to and then take it away to be eaten or pocketed. I mean c'mon! At any rate, the building process is just starting now that the red tape chaos is done, so lol it's just a different chaos really, but now DH can deal with it on site.
I've begun tearing apart the kitchen, my plan is to get most of the icky work done before school starts so I can redo the room in relative peace n quiet once school starts ;). It's so Brady that I cant stand it lol. So a redo is long overdue but it's finally happening so I'm excited about it. Long way to go yet tho.
Stitching. Oh boy, where do I begin. It's been ages, or feels like, since I did any. During the day it's nearly impossible cuz the boys are still in the busybody stage, if I get it out I only get a miute or 2 before I haveta jump up again. I know they wont be little for long, but I could sure use some balance between 'totally depended on' and 'totally ignored' once they do get older. As for WIPs, I was pluggin away at AA last, and would like to finish up Arwen's face and hair, as it's still not done yet. The TW wips have been calling as well, for awhile now, probably cuz there's no way I could even get them out at this point, much less get progress lol. i'm in the mood for a colorful dragon tho :). But once winter comes it might work out better, as I'm indoors most of the time then. Tonite tho I plan on getting fueled up on Dew and having a late nite xs session, hopefully I'll get some progress on Arwen...

Storms..

2005-06-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

We sure had a big one last nite, it toppled trees in our pasture and took branches off many others. We've got our work cut out soon as it's dry enuf to drive the skidloader on the grass. But the animals weathered it fine, safe in thier barns. The ducks were having a feild day in puddles this morning, as were my kids lol. What is it about puddles lol.
But since it was stormin last nite I got a fair bit done on AA (Arwen n Aragorn). Dunno if I'll get her face done by the weekend or not cuz I worked on her sleeve instead lol. I havent decided if I should add blending filament to it or not. This calls for watching the movie again for a better look at the dress ;). I wish my fabric would arrive soon so I can start the others, getting impatient to put these ideas to reality! Today looks to be a good day to get more progress on it, if I get really lucky the kids will even take a nap after lunch. Boy do I miss those days when that was a guaranteed thing ;)!
Update: Well, no naps today but a movie came to my rescue lol, and they watched it while I got to xs. It's been a rather chilly day so a nice change for this time of year. Not sure what we'll do for the weekend holiday, I think my Mom-in Law has a gtg planned but other than that it looks quiet. Lol, I like quiet though, most of the time anyway. Perhaps cuz little kids dont allow for much lol! I just finished watching Return of the King so had a good look at Arwen's dress trim only now I'm too tired to xs so haveta file it away somewhere in my brain ;). Here's hoping tomorrow brings more progress :)

weeds

2005-06-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Seems no matter what, they try to overpower one's garden lol. Since I feel philosophical today I got to thinking about how much it's like life in general. Like how we're given a patch of earth, our life itself, and what it becomes is up to each of us. We can let it get overgrown with weeds and watch it become something we dont like and needs alot of work to get sorted out. We can cultivate whatever things to grow: some grow 'roses', things for beauty; some grow 'vegetables', practical things for sustenance; some grow things that are a challenge to make flourish but nonetheless they try. Then I got to thinking about the weeds, things that steal nutients from the plants, they serve no purpose and are pulled out and thrown on the compost bin- once removed the garden looks alot better and they die to fertilize the plants and make them stronger. I could pull more weeds in my life lol. For one I worry too much, I'd love to yank that weed out. Just some random thoughts I had while weedin the garden this morning....
In other news, I've been getting some xs done every day, not always alot but every little bit helps right? still working on the Arwen/Aragorn Wip, what I'd love is a whole day to just xs without jumping up every 2 seconds cuz somebody needs something. But I sneak my chances in by staying up late to work on my stuff. What's sleep anyway? Lol, I have too much to do to sleep much, much as I love sleep. Anyhoo, I hope to finish the face and hair of Arwen this week, that's my plan anyway. The over-one skin always takes a bit longer lol.

2005-06-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Finally some rain! We had a big storm last nite and it's still rainin today, finally a reprieve from the heat. But not from the work lol. Every horse took a mudbath! Even the baby was out there rolling in the wet grass and mud. My Paint horses all look like grullas now lol. So much for appearences ;). Chief, my largest horse (18.1 hh) looks like a moose now, even his mane and face are muddy, and he is notorious for getting as dirty as he can every chance he gets- so he's taking full advantage of this! I cringe about cleaning him up lol. I think to be on the safe side he can wait till it gets sunny again or he'll just wallow around again, been known to do that before I even get my brushes put away. And why is it the horse with the most white likes mud the most?? my 3 horses that are mostly colored dont get too crazy about mud and tend to stay out of it, whereas the whiter ones cant stay outta it. What goes thru thier minds... So while they're out there plotting how to get attention I'm indoors making progress on the xs. So much left to do on Arwen/Aragorn cuz I have to figure it out as I go so it's definately one of my big faves, I would like to get it done this year. I've been trying to think of a way to get to xs everyday but seems life keeps happening otherwise lol. All things in good time I guess ;)

havin a heatwave

2005-06-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

...a tropical heatwave... And is it ever, we've had high 90's and lots of humidity, but no rain, anything green is starting to suffer. I've had my work cut out lugging what seems like miles of hoses to keep the garden and flowers thriving. Should be getting the first ripe tomatos very soon, lol if I can beat my Father-in-law to them. In stitchin news, I plan to get back to it it tonite, what I should do is go thru stash and Wips, that always gets me motivated. But then I wanna work on everything lol! But that's not so bad, rather lucky at that. So maybe I'll keep it small and go thru LLCeltics stuff lol. Tomorrow seems to be a quiet day so since we'll be indoors anyway I plan to bask in stash and get some xs done. Lol, movies afternoon to keep the kids occupied- with any luck they'll be tired from swimming ;).

In Stitches

2005-06-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Finally the stitching slump or whatever is over! I finally got out a wip and made some progress. It's been over 3 weeks since I picked up a needle so it was quite a treat. The wip that won was a a LL Celtic conversion, this one is modified to look like Arwen in her sea green coronation outfit, and she holds hands with an Aragorn that I designed. Now that her colors are figured out she should move along quickly-- it's finding the chance to sit down with a wip that I stumble with lol. Let's see, that wip is my primary focus peice, and it gets every other session. I was doing really well with a small rotation but with the chaos of spring it got rather scrambled cuz I wasnt doing any xs at all for awhile. The last year has seen me working nearly exclusively on LL Celtics- besides a set of 8 depicting the Celtic Holidays, I'm also doing LOTR conversions and one of Ireland, some are started and some are waiting to get kitted. These patterns will keep me busy forever! But this 'Ro has in it some of my LLCeltics wips, and was set up for weekly sessions :
Week 1: Arwen and Aragorn
Week 2: Ireland (Celtic Autumn conversion with a horse I designed)
Week 3: Arwen and Aragorn
Week 4: Arwen and Horse (Celtic Summer conversion with my horse design)
Week 5: Arwen and Aragorn
Week 6: Beltane
Those are the ones that currently hold my intrest and are hard to move away from and onto the next lol. Beltane is about half done now so she's in it and the other 3 since I wanna see my designs finished up. I just started the Ostara holiday girl and might add her in to a regular timeslot but right now she's the 'screamer', meaning when the Ro seems too structured I work on whatever screams at me, and it's been her. Feels great to be back in the saddle with xs, now I just haveta set time aside to do some every day.
Today's list includes weeding flower beds and charting up a pattern for the painting job this week. Better get to it before it gets too hot out there!

the word for today

2005-06-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

..is hot. Summer is finally here, tho nites are still cool. It has been wonderful for the garden, and harvest is already starting. Soon I'll have my father-in-law here everyday, scoping out what can be raided from it lol. Which is totally fine, I just like growing the stuff and giving it away. There is no comparision to homegrown, even simple meals taste like a feast. This afternoon, once it cools down a little I'm planning to finish up a painting outdoors and wanna get it done before next week when I'll be off painting for someone else again and might not get back to it for awhile. I spent the day moving big rocks to edge flower beds, a workout onto itself, so I can skip a session on the bike lol. This past week has just been chaos so I'm hoping the weekend is quiet. I'd like a chance to just sit around and watch stuff grow lol. Baby chicks are here now, at least the meat-type ones, so they're so cute to play with(for now lol) and my kids have been sneakin into the pen to 'check' on em whenever I'm not looking. My exotic baby chicks havent come yet but I hope to hear they'll be shipped soon. Baby chicks are just so cute! This is our first year of having egg chickens and ducks so it's been a fun project, especially for the kids. Where they come up with all the names lol. But I cant sit for long as the list for today is only half done so I better get back out there so I'll have a chance to get out the stitching tonite! Bye for now...

update. Well, it's dark lol but the list isnt done yet. The painting is mostly done, just a few touches and tomorrow will see it done, my kids came home early which meant the paints had to be put away for awhile. Tonite it's all about stitchin, I dont even know what WIP I'll pick up but most likely a LLCeltic. Finally!! :)

Mountain Dew

2005-06-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Lol, it's that kind of morning today, and coffee is just too strong for me even tho I love it, well lattes anyway lol. But i dont feel like being on fast-forward all day so Dew it is. At least it isnt raining, maybe I'll actually get out in the garden sometime. I'm still hoping for a chance at xs, but havent had any luck lately, hmm something needs to change there! friday will finally be a normal day and I'm not planning anything special, just getting thru the day so i can relax at nite.
This morning Buddy was out, sampling on my garden and flowers. He can be such a stink. At 1o0 lbs he's big to be called a lamb lol, but he's only 6 months old. And why would he wanna eat plain old grass compared to the salad bar he discovered?? So after a good run (for me that is) he thought he'd hide in the shed. I 'cant see' him if he's got his head buried in a bag of dog food, so he's easy to nab then. He's addicted to the stuff cuz Peanut and Hooch eat it, so why cant he. He and Peanut play like puppies, I wish I had a camcorder cuz they get rediculous. Anyhoo, I discovered this morning the my Blue Moon tea roses have bloomed, at least the ones Buddy didnt eat. And what a disappointment! They're not Blue Moons!! They're not even hybrid tea roses!! I am so mad cuz that's what they were advertised as >: ( . instead they're a floribunda type rose, tiny flat bloom clusters and instead of pale lilac they're a pink/mauve color. I am NEVER buying roses from that store again, grrr. I'll bite the bullet and order them maybe this fall, just thought I got lucky when I found them, but seems I wasnt. Ugh, I haveta move one for sure now, but the rest can stay where they are. A rose is a rose but I've been searching for those for about 10 years now.
In other news, it's time to get out and start the day, lots to cram into it :).

Rainy Mondays

2005-06-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Feelin creative today, woke up to the sound of gentle rain, which in warm weather always makes me think of magical places for some reason. Just the way our ancient trees look in a mist or fog or downpour lol, and I get to thinking about the Black Forest, Ireland, UK, and places that just breathe mystery and ancient secrets. I'm drawn to such things like a magnet. What i wouldnt give to actually visit those places but at least I can enjoy them from afar. Many times I've wanted to become an archeologist, but haveta stay content with the book aspect of it. Still, what I wouldnt give to actually be there! Looks to be a good day to stitch one of my Celtic ladies if I should get a chance.
Now that the sun has come out, it promises to be muggy today. I have a Maltese coming this afternoon for a groomin, and a movie bribe for my kids so they behave while I'm busy, since I'm flying solo today, no babysitters to be had. Tomorrow I'm taking the day off to catch up on my garden and xs (stitching). It's been several weeks since I had a chance to do any xs at all so I have alot of catching up to do. I'm waiting on some fabric to come before I can start the remaining LLCeltics in my set, and in the meantime I'd like to get more progress done on the ones already started. Ever hopeful for a chance.....

Nope, no chance today. Was too tired to focus on anything after everything got done. Just watched tv and fell asleep on the couch.

easy like Sunday morning

2005-06-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Is there anything better than getting to sleep in? Especially followed by a quiet walk outdoors? It's a rare treat around here lol, and was made possible by my kids having a sleepover at Gramma's. Yay Gramma! I much prefer to watch sunrises with my eyes closed lol, as I see alot of them with my eyes open anyway. Very much a niteowl here, living in a house with early bird people so a sleepin is just the thing :). However I got some strange 'You're late' looks from the critters when I did get outside. Not that they were hungry, everything is on a self-help feed plan, but they're used to early visits. Since the kids were gone all morning I got some painting done outdoors. Lol, not artwork, but painting trim on the shed. Now that it's done it's time to move onto the next project, planting a herb garden somewhere in the yard, I wanna give it a sort of Zen look or a medieval look. But right now it's just way too hot out there to be shoveling up sod lol. Haveta aim for tomorrow morning I guess. In the meantime I haveta help out at the park tonite for a community kids thing, should be fun I think. Afterwards I plan to get out some stitching and get something done on that department, I miss it. Lots of WIPs (Work-In-Progress) to wade thru but I love the variety, it's how I measure wealth lol, I feel rich having stitching stash. I love changing patterns even more, to give it a unique touch. The BBs are being funky lately so I've missed out on getting a fix that way, when things are too crazy in my life to do stitching it's great to admire other ppl's work and get inspired. When I do get time it's been the LLCeltics that I've been working on. I love these patterns! I've made changes to them to suit my purposes. Now if I could just hide for awhile to make progress on em....

Where to begin..

2005-06-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Let's see, where to even begin. My intrests are many, but the primary things are horses, art and music, needlearts and basically anything creative. I run my own buis as a commission artist, and part-time dog grooming. I love dogs. Well any animal really, except bats. I can quote Ace Ventura on that score lol. What else, I decided to learn violin 2 years ago, and although I dont take lessons anymore I continue to decifer it on my own. I love it, total destress session every time I get it out. My fave music to play is the LOTR soundtracks. Wish I could have started when I was a kid though. Better late than never ;). The art buis keeps me busy but every once in awhile I haveta just paint something for sake of painting. My fave subjects to paint are fantasy, fairies, dragons n such; Native American, and wildlife, especially horses and wolves. I havent gotten the oils out in awhile cus my kids wanna 'help', not good with that type of medium. I love to cross-stitch, Mirabilias, TWs, and the LLCeltics are my faves. If I had my way I'd spend all day creating works of art with thread but somehow life seems to have other ideas lol. I do manage to get progress on them in the evenings, when everything and everybody is fed and sleeping. My DH is a farmer, born 100 years too late cuz mordern times require a job off the farm. Nonetheless, he's happiest out there raising his Angus cattle, crops and pigs. I help with the cattle but tend to avoid the pigs lol! Lots of animals round here as well, we have 2 dogs, Hooch and Peanut, 2 indoor cats - Lilly and Jasmin, lots of outdoor cats, and a confused bottle lamb, Buddy, who thinks he's a dog. All that and my family keeps me busy but it's a great kind of busy, even on slow days. No wonder my stitching takes forever to get done lol. But the great thing about it is it waits till I get a chance, mostly in the winter cuz summers are crazy round here. My kids are outta school then, the garden always needs work and a good spring brings colts. My thing is raising and training colts, there is nothing so cool as finding a new baby in a stall--sometimes after I went into the house to get another Mountain Dew to stay awake all nite 'just in case'. So far we've had 6 babies total, and I've seen 4 born so i count myself lucky. But also stubborn lol, I wont quit and miss out ;). The herd is currently at 8. Warning, I could blab horses all day lol. But i'll share their names since they're a major part of my life. Scenic, barn name Rado to us, is my stallion. He's a bay medicine hat and at 5 years old he's still a puppy, calm and lovey, and he passes that onto his babies. My geldings are Cim and Chief, and my mares are Kajun and Chika, thier daughters Stormy and Twista, and Kooli. Kooli was the only mare bred last year and had a med hat filly this year, yay! But Rado's back with his ladies (minus his daughter Twista who is going to visit another stud) so next spring I'll be losing lots of sleep if all goes well :). It's taken me a very long time to build my herd, I like to buy horses as babies and raise them myself so I know all thier quirks, then they wait till 4 years old to be a parent. It keeps me busy keeping them happy, but what a rush when they come tearing up to the fence to be petted (and get sugar, lol they're not stupid). I had a pair of 2 year olds that i was planning to train this summer but I already know I wont have time to devote to it, so they were sold to somebody who could devote to them. It was hard but better to have them be what they can than 'lose the window' for best training and have 'pretty idiots' lol, that doesnt do them any favors either. But I have a hope for another chance when the time is better suited for it. In the meantime i have lots to keep busy with, and tomorrow is another day to wrangle ;).