Friday, September 28, 2012

A Super RAK and ATS Update

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends it's Friday and we have made it through another week....  today we are looking October in the face, so Fall has really arrived!!  Also, we are quickly coming up to the big 3 Holidays....  only 33 more days until Hallowe'en.... only 55 days until Thanksgiving... and only 88 until Christmas... time is ticking away quickly!!
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Yesterday the mail brought a wonderful RAK from Beth, from over at Beth's Crafts.  She wrote me a while back that she was de-stashing and would I like to have the "bunches and bunches" of DMC she acquired during a sale.  I thought that was so kind and such a sweet gesture and excepted.  Well, she sent me a box jammed packed to busting full of skeins of DMC floss.......  here's a snap...

..... there are 100's of skeins of floss!!!  What a kind generous thing to do, and I thank you so very much.  I have started to sort through them, and now need to figure out a good way to store and keep up with what is here.  Stitchers are just the nicest people!!!
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I also wanted to get a couple of snaps of ATS posted to show you where it stands at the moment....  an over all shot...


As you can see I shifted some of the verse to make it a bit less wonky, but not too even.  I am not very happy with the way Mr Lion is so looking very two-toned, I am thinking I need to frog out the light shade and make him more even coloured.  it amazes me how the variation in skeins is so great - these are both labeled "Tarnished Gold" - I guess one is more tarnished than the other.   And, here's a close up shot of the section 5 ...


I am just dreading the grass in the final section, but like everything else it is just in the doing and it will get done!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, and for your super comments, I do appreciate them.  Just a quick note about next week, I will be away from the Blog and in Florida - without computer access - so no posting/emails until October 8th or 9th. I am visiting my Mom and will be there for my Birthday next week.

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Hallowe'en Mail

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thanks for stopping by again this morning.. afternoon... or evening - whatever it is wherever you are - welcome to my little Blog!!  I also wanted to welcome all the new and old Followers!!!
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Well, yesterday the mail brought me my 1/2 of the HOE Hallowe'en Exchange.  I have already sent mine and it was received.  My partner Rosa, also mailed early so I get to enjoy her wonderfully stitched piece the whole Season!!!   My package contained a really cute Pyn Keepe.......


... with a stitched "E" Witch and a kitty!  Rosa also included with the Pyn keepe some extra treats...

..... a great little Ort bag (with a bat in the bottom!), a super piece of Hallowe'en fabric, some DMC floss in seasonal colours and some herbal tea!  What a super Exchange!!  Thank you so much Rosa!!  You can click on over to her sweet Blog and also meet her darling chihuahua Bella!!
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In addition to my Exchange stitching I have been working on ATS, but not very much. For some reason I have not been very enthused about my own stitching lately....  but, I do stitch a little every evening...  I would guess it is just a lull in the old mojo, and hopefully won't last long.  I may show a snaperoo tomorrow, but who knows, I might not.  I'll see how I feel tonight about what I have completed.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Two Easy Baked Treats

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends I so enjoyed the comments this morning about the Hallowe'en Exchange, and I thank you!!  It was a fun project from the start to finish.  Probably the hardest part of the whole process was making a decision on what colour purple to paint the box.
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I thought today I would catch up the last couple of baked things  -   The first was from two weeks ago.  I was in the mood (and still am) for  Fall things, so I turned an old stand by "All Recipes" and found a recipe called "Easy Apple Crisp" - and it was so super easy!!!  After getting all the stuff together...

... Instead of a large single crisp, I chose to make two of them, I didn't double the recipe I just broke it up into to dishes.

I sent the larger of the two to work with Rico and kept back the smaller one for us to enjoy.  You can go HERE to get the recipe.  I did change the topping a bit with the addition of pecans and oats, and of course added some nutmeg, but other than that I followed the recipe.
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The second treat I made was from a great Blog called Six Sisters' Stuff.  I stumbled on their recipe called "Samoa Brownies," a  great twist on the Girl Scout Cookie (which is a favorite of mine BTW).

Once again I got the stuff together to make them....


I toasted the coconut...

... which made the house smell really good!!  .....and after following the few easy steps they came together really fast.  These went over really well with both Rico's and my co-workers.  The recipe can be found HERE.


So there you go - two easy treats for Fall.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Some Weekend Fun

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends I wanted to thank you all so much for your super comments on the Hallowe'en Box I made for the HOE Exchange.  It was a fun piece to make!  I wanted to mention how much I have been enjoying coasting around the Blog-o-sphere an seeing all the great things being stitched up for the Fall and especially the Hallowe'en Season.  There are some super projects out there and so many that I want to get for the old stash heap!!!
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Over the weekend I made it to a few Thrift and consignment shops and found a few goodies......


The things I picked up, because as you know I don't have enough stuff and just couldn't live without more "stuff."  :)

From l to r  I found this really well made basket that I knew would work out for storing my pile of smaller charts, in fact they fill the basket to almost over flowing (no surprise there), but it does gather then into a single space.  I also picked up a three ring pencil case, since I keep the majority of my charts kind of sorted into three ring binders, I often have trouble keeping the Prairie Schooler "cards" in the front pocket.  This case does the job really well and I can just snap in into the front of the PS Binder.  I just couldn't resist a 60th Anniversary copy of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  One of my all time favorite Christmas specials and this super copy in pristine condition, I just couldn't pass up.
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The City we live in has about a bazillion restaurants and eatin' places - but we tend to go back to the same places over and over again.  I made up my mind that I wanted to start to try other places.....  but where to start you might ask??  

On Public TV there is a show that comes on Saturday evenings called "Check, Please!"  It's a great show with host Leslie Sbrocco, where she sits down with three regular people and talks about 3 different restaurants or eateries here in the Bay area.  The 3 regular people change weekly.  What happens is that each person picks a different restaurant and then, on there own, they each visit the restaurant and then come on the show to talk about them.  

I really enjoy this show and this past Sunday we visited a place that had been reviewed.  It is a restaurant over in the Civic Center area called Brenda's.  I had seen it on the show a few weeks back and so we headed out to get there early as it is on the small side and quite popular, I found that out doing a bit more research on the Internet.  We got there at 7:45 am and found a line ready for when they open at 8. 


The restaurant is owned and run by Chef Brenda Buenviaje, a native of New Orleans.  
The food is southern inspired and really delicious!!!!

Rico got....


... eggs over medium, hash, wonderful bacon and biscuit......and I got...


..... a dish I love, eggs Benedict, their version starts with one of their great cream biscuits topped with maple cured ham, poached eggs (not leaking, I hate that) with Creole Hollandaise sauce, and a side of some terrific grits!!  This is a super eatery and now on our short list of places to eat breakfast at on the weekends, we just have to remember to get there early.... by 8:30 the place was filling up fast.
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That's the skinny for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, September 24, 2012

Hallowe'en Exchange Arrives

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends we had a lovely cool weekend here in the City by the Bay.  Especially yesterday... the fog sort of rolled in over the city and through the Golden Gate to envelop us in grey loveliness!!!  Not too much going on and the few things we did get accomplished I will hold off writing about until tomorrows post.  Today I wanted to focus on a Hallowe'en Exchange that arrived.
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I took part in the HOE Hallowe'en Exchange and it arrived over the weekend to my Partner Kayona, from over at "My Sometime Cross Stitching Obsession."  Here's a snap of what I made and sent....


Since this was for Hallwoe'en I thought that finding some of the specialty treats for the season would be nice I also included some Holiday fabric and trim.  Here is a close up of the piece I stitched...


I stitched a Lizzie Kate chart called "Sampling Hallowe'en."  I used a piece of 32ct linen I hand dyed and the recommended floss'.  I took the stitched piece and made a great box finish.  Here's a snap of the piece and the inside of the box...


I painted the box using a pearlized purple paint that matched the letters, the inside is also painted and lined with a contrasting pumpkin fabric.  This was a fun piece to make, and Kayona has let me know that she enjoyed what I sent.
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That's it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Friday, September 21, 2012

An Autumnal Package Arrived

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends as you might remember I am part of a small exchange group, Friends Stitching Through the Seasons.  We are just wrapping up our Fall Exchanges and mine arrived yesterday.  The mail has been coming later and later and yesterday was no exception, it arrived after I left... so I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me that just made my Friday Morning!!  I usually have my camera with me and today is no exception..... so I have snaperoos.....


Karen is my year long partner and she stitched and finished a wonderful decorative cube!!  The chart is called "Falling Leavers" and is by Threadwork Primitives.  It is finished up just lovely with gold and orange organza ribbon.  Here's a close up......


The goodies included with in the package include a lovely piece of cream linen, a gorgeous hank of Limited Edition of Belle Soie silk, in the most rich shades of brown!!  There are some of my favorite petite gold 28 sized JJ needles, a magnet note pads, a cute pumpkin photo holder, a great piece of cast iron, some fun Fall Bells and a package of Whoopee Pie mix!!  An overall super Fall Package!!!!  Thank you so much Karen!  

What a wonderful way to wrap up the week!!!
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  That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A Short Hump Day Posting

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thanks again for stopping by - I'm so glad you did!!

There's not been too much going on around the old hacienda lately.  I have been stitching a bit on ATS, nothing really big just a bit here and there.  I am getting the itch to start something new and really Hallowe'en and I've got it narrowed down to a few things....  just not sure which one to start, yet!!

If you've not seen the November Cottage over at CCN here's look....

(Picture of November Cottage from the CCN Website)
It is really charming and so Fallish - I'm salivating to get my greedy mits on it!!!  I am loving that turkey and all those acorns!!!  Bravo Nikki!!!!!!
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My crazy Christmas Cactus is at it again...  all blooming and budding and it will be lovely for Hallowe'en, but probably not a bloom in sight at Christmas.....  here's a snap...

  

I guess it's the change in light that triggers this monster... my little red one is also blooming away.
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My HOE Hallowe'en Exchange got into the outgoing mail this morning so I'll be able to show a few snaps of that as soon as it arrives.  

That's about it for today sports fans.  Do drop by again!!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Winning Cookies!!

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends I do thank you for all the kind comments and emails about yesterdays Post - warmest thanks from me to you!!!!  and to Faye, who without her sewing prowess I could have never pulled off the basket!! 

 I had a question from Tracey about how I "dyed" the linen to age it up a bit.  It was super easy, I had been afraid to try dyeing any myself for fear of ruining some expensive linen.  Well, I found some linen at an Estate sale for a great price - so now I had no excuses.  Having read how to do it over on Vonna's Blog, "The Twisted Stitcher" I just followed her directions.  She is a wonderful source of Stitchity Information and a super Gal Pal!!!!  It was her coffee method, soaking, and spattering the linen with grounds, then a baking of the material in the oven et voile, aged linen, after a quick iron it was good to go. 

I also wanted to say how grateful I am to you about all the nice things everyone had to say about all my changes to "October" cottage, I often second guess myself about colour, and this was no different.  I think I frogged as much as I stitched to get the oranges were I wanted them.
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Over the weekend I ran the rounds to the Thrift / Consignment / Estate Sales and only found a couple of books....  slim picking for sure!  Here's a snap - 



I found another Philippa Gregory novel, about Mary, Queen of Scots.  I have really enjoyed her take on the history.  I also found another "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, a facsimile copy from the Columbia University Press, 1st edition in slipcase, 1959.  Although the slipcase is a bit rough the book is in pristine condition.
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Now, the winner of the Special Edition Oreo, Candy Corn Cookies.....  I made a copy of every ones entry on slips of paper and then mixed them up for Rico to draw a name.....  but...


Smokey jumped in a drew one for us....  after getting the slip from him we found that he had drawn.....

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.......#16. Melodyr as the winner.  So, Melody, if you could send me an email with your snail mail address I can get those sweet treats into the mail and on their way to you!!  Thank you all for entering my little Gift-a-way!!
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 That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Monday, September 17, 2012

A Stitching Monday

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends the weekend was as many others - very relaxed and easy going!!!  Just the way I like it! 
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I heard from my partner Diane, over at Nan's Needlework Notions -  that my "Friends Stitching Through the Seasons" Fall Exchange had arrived.  This was the second piece that I had Faye finish.  I had the idea of what I wanted to do for this Exchange, mulling over in my brain for a few months.  I knew I wanted to make a Fall Basket -  I also knew I couldn't accomplish it with out help and that's where Faye stepped in and rescued me!!!  Here are a couple of snaps....


and here is a snap before finishing - to see the entire stitched piece...


The chart is from Bent Creek and called "Autumn Row" - it is stitched on a piece of 32ct linen I over dyed, it is stitched using the recommended floss'.  Here's a snap of the the exchange goodies I included...


It was a fun exchange - and I was really pleased with how it all turned out!!!
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I finished up CCN October Cottage over the weekend - here's a snap - 

 
I loved stitching this cottage - since October is my birth month I have a special affinity for it - and I made a lot of changes!!

I converted the DMC to over dyed - 
DMC 434 - I used GAST Nutmeg
DMC 436 - I used GAST Brandy
DMC 3031 - I used GAST Dark Chocolate
DMC 3033 - I used GAST Flax - for the entire cottage,
 I also added the withe trim to make it look more like the previous cottages.
I did stay with the WDW Scuppernong for the green
(I did not used DMC 728 Topaz nor did I convert it)
I used 5 different Oranges instead of only using WDW Carrot, in fact I did not use WDW Carrot at all.

The Oranges break down as follows - 

For "October" I used GAST Fragrant Cloves, the large 6 flowers in the top and bottom borders I used VM (Victorian Motto) 05, I also used VM05 for the centers of the little brown flowers, the Pumpkins I used VM 04, the tree leaves I wanted it to look more fallish so I used VM 01 & 02 - I also added two more birds and left off the floating flowers again.  I am really pleased with the results.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop by tomorrow, the winner of the little Gift-a-way will be announced.

Take care,
edgar

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A Little Hallowe'en Drawing

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thank you so much for your super comments!!  I also wanted to welcome the New Followers to my little Blog!
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If you remember back a few posts I was talking about finding the Hershey "Pumpkin Spice Kisses."  I said I was out on the hunt for another Seasonal Treat.....well, yesterday we headed to South City to the Target to find this Limited time only Seasonal Treat!!!  How these two things tie together is that I read on the Internet last week that there was going to be a release on Monday of a Candy Corn Hallowe'en Cookie... from Oreo.  Now, when I read the words "limited time only" and Hallowe'en cookie tied to the words "Candy Corn"  I knew I was going to find some of these cookies!!!  I have read the reviews and that only fueled the fire so to speak.....   

We made it to the Target and found the cookies!!!!  I was stoked!  What had been a huge display of these cookies had dwindled dramatically by the time we arrived so I rushed to get a couple of packs of cookies ...  I was in Hallowe'en Heaven!!  I was very excited to try them, but waited till I got home....

I already had gotten out my Fall cookie Jar....


.....my Mr. Oogie Boogie from the Film "Nightmare Before Christmas." a favorite film of mine.  Here are the cookies and packaging.....


The cookie parts are the golden Oreo cookie with the middle being what looks like a squished candy corn - 1/2 yellow, 1/2 orange.  When you open the package it really has a Candy Corn aroma, but the cookies only hint at the flavour of the "Corn."  They taste more vanilla like, but what a great gimmick for the Season!!

Now for the Drawing, I picked up and additional package of cookies for a Gift-a-way, so, if you would like my extra package of Candy Corn Cookies -  all you need to do is leave a comment on This Post Only and on Monday, 9/17, I'll have Rico draw a name and announce the winner on Tuesday's Post, please make sure that your contact info is available.  That's it, very easy peasy!!
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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A RAK, an Exchange and some Stash

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends thank you for all your kind comments  - as always I so appreciate them and enjoy reading them.  I am falling way behind in my Blog reading and commenting.
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I had some super mail arrive yesterday.  So in order of arrival........

A few weeks ago I loaned out a little chart from my Heap o'Stash and when the chart was returned there were some goodies along with it...


I love me some cheese straws!!  - and - the hank of silk is simply gorgeous!!  It was so sweet of Vera to send along these treats.  I do know how hard some OOP charts are to find, I never mind helping out other stitchers with a loan of them!! 
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The other day I showed you the Fall exchange piece that I made and sent off - well, mine arrived yesterday and it's super cute!!!  Marie was partner, her Blog Creative thread is really wonderful and so worth a look!!  Here are a couple of snaps.....


This is the Acorn she made me from Prairie Schooler Book #65, it is stitched 1 over 1 and is just darling.  I love Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims with the little wee Turkey are so great!!!  


Along with the super Acorn were some pretty terrific treats!!  Thank you so much Marie, you did another stupendous job!!!!!!
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As you know, I can barely help myself from buying stash.  It's a crazy illness!!  But, I have cut way back, or at least I tell myself that.  A while back I was perusing the Bay of evil and came across a couple of pieces of linen I couldn't resist.....  I also came up against another stitcher "downsizing"  (which I should do )  and couldn't resist a little something there either!!  


The two pieces of linen are from "Stitches and Spice" a company in Australia.  I have never seen nor stitched on this brand.  But, a chart I have calls for some and I have hemmed and hawed over it for a couple of years whether or not to get a piece to work with.  Well, this looked like the opportunity to jump in and so I did - The linen is really lovely and I will not hesitate again about this brand!!  I got a great piece of "Camofudge" and a piece of " Sugar Cane Crunch."  The chart I acquired was a "Pocketbook Needlework" booklet from one of my favorite OOP designers Mary Beale!! 
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by and commenting - do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Harvest Treats

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends so many wonderful comments this morning, thank you so much!!!  The Cottage SAL is a really fun piece to work on and now that we are coming to the end with only Novemeber and Decembeer left it will be sad to see it end.
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Over the weekend we got to one of the larger Farmers Markets and found it overflowing with fruits and vegetables just pouring in the the local farms.  I got some snaps.....


The peaches and nectarines seem to have been bumper crops locally  - they are really tasty this year and I have been enjoying them for the past few weeks....  I know that the season is comign to an end and it will be an entire year until they com back in.

The cauliflower were gigantic and lovely

There was lots of peppers to see.
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I made the rounds to the Thrift/Consignments Shops and found these two medium sized bowls..

 
....  Marked Upper Hanley they can dated to about 1895 and the pattern is called "Myra."  I think for a few $'s they were totally worth it.
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I stopped off at Walgreen's last night on the way home from work and found something I had heard about.....


 .......  some Pumkin Spice Kisses!!  You know what a sucker I am for the seasonal things that are foisted upon us... well, it is even worse during the Fall and Winter.  I read about these a while back and had kept an eye out for them and what a treat.  All spicey and pumpkiny they are pretty tasty!!!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, and for your super comments!!!  Do stop again.

Take care,
edgar

Monday, September 10, 2012

A Monday Stitching Post

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends it was a low key cool weekend here by the Bay.  I thought this morning I would share some stitching - two pieces in fact, one and ongoing SAL and the other an Exchange piece.

First up let me show you the exchange piece that arrived.  I took part in the Fall exchange over at HOE and my partner was Stephanie over at Blue Star Stitcher.  I read on the HOE Blog that my package arrived so now I can show you what I sent.

I chose to make a large PynKeepe and sent along a stand for display.  The chart is from Prairie School #66 "Autumn Samplers."  I stitched the top part of the first sampler on a piece 32ct linen, I hand dyed to give it an aged look - using the recommended DMC floss.  Here is a snap of the the entire exchange I sent...

It was a fun Exchange to take part in and was the first of the Autumnal exchanges I did.
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The second piece of stitching is on the Cottage SAL - 
I finished up September and here is a snap of that...


As you can see I changed it up quite a bit from the way it was charted.  The most major change was the cottage itself - with so much red in this square it was a bit overwhelming - and if I wasn't stitching this as a single piece I might have left the red cottage, but this sits directly under June, which has lots of red and will sit above December, as of yet unpublished, but I am thinking more red there also.  I used CC "Queen Bee" as it reminded me of the great old colour "Harvest Gold.  Other changes include a modified attic window, the one charted was a bit on the large side for the space, I also did away with the floating flowers and added a bird. I am really happy with the changes.  The floss was also changed from DMC to over dyed - here are my changes:

DMC 349 - GAST Geranium
DMC 351 - GAST Rhubarb
CC Queen Bee for the Cottage
DMC 728 - WDW Marigold
DMC 3031 - CC Caterpillar
DMC White - DMC B5200
WDW Pecan
WDW Grasshopper

 Here is an over all shot of the Cottages Piece.


I started October, but will hold off on a picture until I finish it up.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

Friday, September 7, 2012

Four Films

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends I wanted to thank you again for you kind comments!!  They do make ones day more bright and cheery!!  I hope I am getting the hand of the Comment thing and that it is easy to use for everyone!
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There have been quite a few films I wanted to mention  - some good and some not so good.  There are three new films out on DVD and one that is a couple of years old also in DVD that I think are worth a look....

The first up is the oldest film - "The Nutcracker - the Untold Story - 2009 - the original title was "The Nutcracker in 3d" - but since I think 3D is once again a silly fad like it was in the 50's I waited to see it on DVD and much prefer it that way. Although it was a critical and financial failure when it was released....


.......I really enjoyed this version of the story - it is NOT and I repeat NOT the ballet version - although there are musical allusions to Tchaikovsky throughout the film - and there are musical numbers in the film, do not expect the annual Christmas version in this film. Here is the Official trailer...


Don't get me wrong I love the Tchaikovsky ballet version of the story - one has to remember that the story of "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" was originally written by ETA Hoffman in 1816 - and that this is just another interpretation of the story.
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A newer film I saw recently was "The Hunger Games" - 2012 - 


This is a film I avoided and really was not very interested in seeing... but all the hype and what not got me to thinking I should probably give it a chance.  I got it from Netflix and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film - although there are moments of the "not so nice" and a bit of the expected bloodshed, I did find the manipulation of the public by the media very much a contemporary theme and something to think about.  I have not read the books so I do not know how close to the story they kept, but have read that it is a good movie version with not too much left out.  I am eagerly awaiting the second and third instalment of the films.  Here is the official trailer.

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The third film is "Wrath of the Titans" - 2012 - I was really anticipating this film after seeing "Clash of the Titan's" a few months back.  


This is another film that did give all that I had expected - lots of CGI and myths come to life kind of stuff - I liked the whole adventure theme of the film. Here's the Official trailer...


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The final film for today I saw last night... "Dr Suess' The Lorax" - 2012 - 


This is a film that I was looking forward to ever since I heard about it going into production.  The story comes from one of my favorite books as a child  "nature vs big business"...  Although the movie expanded the story to include a host of extra characters and a few musical numbers it was a good effort and a film I enjoyed.  Here is the Official trailer..

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I enjoyed these films and would recommend them as worth a look - all are available on DVD.

There you go sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!!

Take care,
edgar


Thursday, September 6, 2012

Fall Decorations

Gentle Readers and Dear Friends your sweet comments once again are makin' my day!!!!  Thank you so much!!   - and - for the the new Followers thanks for following, I hope you enjoy my blathering!!   - and - for the lurkers...  thanks for lurking, I do like to know that you are there also!  I also wanted to mention that in response to the overwhelming email requests and what I have seen happening all over the Blog World I have turned off the "word verification" and turned on the "Comment Moderation" - I think that will be easier for everyone.  Some of the squished up words and numbers are just really too hard to read!
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I got a box in the mail yesterday that had a couple of wonderful finishes I had Faye over at Carolina Stitcher whip up for me.  I can usually accomplish most things I set out to do, but occasionally I know when I'm licked.  So I turned to an expert in the field - I told her what I was thinking of and slam bam thank you ma'am she magically transformed my bits o'stitching into lovely pieces.  I can only show one of them at the moment as the other has not not been sent and received. 

 I redid my Fall Table over with one of the pieces Faye made up for me... here's a snap - 


As you can see I added a few more Fall / Hallowe'en things and now I'm all set for the Season!!  Here is a close up of the table mat ....


I stitched this piece a few years ago and at the time I made it into a flat-fold.  I was never very happy with the way it turned out - so - I ripped up the flat fold and sent the stitched piece the Faye and now I have this beauty.  I can not say how great Faye is and her work is impeccable!!!  I highly recommend her finishing skills!!
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Yesterday at dusk we had the privilege of a double rainbow.....

 
.....yes, the sky was a purple/pink colour and although you can see the double rainbow in the snap - the real thing was just mind boggling.  It lasted for about 14 minutes and then was gone.  This shot is taken looking East across the Bay and toward the Oakland Hills and Mt Diablo.

That's about it for today sports fans!!  Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!

Take care,
edgar

Flowers and Fruit

 Gentle Friends, I wrapped up the centre square stitching... here's a snaperooo... ... I thought about straightening up the baskets and ...