Fairy House completed

Posted on 2026-04-09 by Holly

and those ~400 stitches are done.

As mentioned before 18 ct Vintage Stormy Night (white?) with BeStitchMe’s silk pack. I think that is 8 down and 4 to go.

and I am here on the Quick Quaker

 

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Under 400 stitches to go

Posted on 2026-04-08 by Holly

on the Fairy House – from Cottage Gardens Samplings 2024 Houses Series. I had blasted through the first 5 or 6, then had found other things I wanted to stitch more. They didn’t count as WIPs because I didn’t start the last few in the series. But since I had this one skinned into Pattern Keeper, it seemed like the logical one to do next. Plus I had a silk pacl from BeStitchMe. And I like purple.

The fabric is the same 18ct Vintage Stormy night that I have used for the rest of the series and it has a total of 8505 stitches. Looks like I started it about the 29/30 of March and should finish it up tomorrow.

Currently it looks like this –

with just that lower corner to go….

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But I only left for a moment

Posted on 2026-04-02 by Holly

and came back to find

my stitching chair occupied.  And it would be hardly right to disturb a sleeping cat…..

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not fooling

Posted on 2026-04-01 by Holly

Ok, so I am slow at things. But one of the things that I don’t do is April Fool’s jokes. Partly because there have been some really funny and amazing ones over the years and I just can’t compete. The Australian ones from Royal Caribbean come to mind (the spoof about a new ship called Crikey of the Seas with barbecues one the balconies) & the Voyager on wheels).

So instead I watched a number of YouTube videos and attending the UCSD Medicine Grand Rounds by Zoom which was a fascinating look into the drug industry – the investments, costs, and money made off new drugs…including the horrendous amount of money spent on advertising. For many of you – the last won’t make any sense. There are only two countries in the world which have direct to consumer advertising – and the US is one. Which explained to me why, the rare times when I see a TV screen, there always seems to be a drug ad being played.

Anyway…. I thought I was going to completely stay away from SALs this year. But then a few popped up from designers that I really like. So I have added Modern Folk Embroidery’s Quick Quaker SAL to my stitching. The whole pattern has been released and just divided into 30 sections meaning less than 200 stitches a day….

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The view from the Oakland Hills

Posted on 2026-03-25 by Holly

This evening was one of those rare times when George convinces me to go along to one of his meetings or receptions. In this case it was for CITRIS (will add the long form when I find it), one of the organizations whose advisory board he is on, Held at the home (I believe) of the outgoing board chair, we were high in the Oakland Hills. The snacks were fabulous, the people were interesting and the program was short. All in all an excellent evening.

But most important – the view is different from what I normally see. It is still the SF Bay, but from south of the Bay Bridge with a portion of the Oakland Port visible.

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a bit of beauty

Posted on 2026-03-23 by Holly

I have no idea where it came from, who planted it. But every year it just appears outside of the downstairs window.

as always, clicking on it will give you a larger version.

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Life with Cats – Best Bed

Posted on 2026-03-20 by Holly

is a pattern from the Blue Flower. I I started it on the 18th and finished it tonight. I swapped out colors and used what ever I could find,,,,

this is what it looked like finished (I actually finished something…) Of note, the cat in the chart wasn’t really a tuxedo. The box says (hard to read when small – CAT BED) since we all know that all boxes belong to cats…

The following picture was sent later to me (and added to this post) by the person to whom it was gifted. Apparently Romeo – one of the cats in that household needed to take a closer look…

you can see a bit of his white furry “bib”….

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The Horse

Posted on 2026-03-17 by Holly

was only 4965 stitches, The thread is a variegated from Live & Dye in LA with a name something like My Favorite Mistake. The fabric is 18ct Vintage Stormy Night. Yes, I have a lot of it, I really like it for a lot of different patterns. It provides an interesting background without overwhelming the piece. Any way – started in retreat in LA on 2. March and finished it up today. The designer is Artmiska and purchased off Etsy.

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And the Phoenix flies…

Posted on 2026-02-20 by Holly

there are times when a variegated thread is the answer. In this case, Dyeing for SAS in Jack. the 33xx stitches came out of one ten yard skein with a couple of strands left over. stitched with two strands on 16 ct Through the Stones from BeStitchme (a 2021 FOTM)

The pattern is from Artmishka on Etsy. I think I will do the same (but not in these colors) with her horse pattern…

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A slight diversion

Posted on 2026-02-18 by Holly

Every project for the last couple of weeks has been really, really complicated. I just needed something that was technically one color and not all that hard to do –

So Phoenix from ArtMiska (PDF off Etsy)

Stitched on 16 countn through the Stones from BeStitchMe which was purchased a number of years ago and originally was to be used for an Alice in Wonderland SAL (?Tiny Modernist) which I abandoned by the second installment. Too fusy, too much backstitch). The thread is called JACK and it comes from Dyeing for SASS

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Masqued Mischief

Posted on 2026-02-16 by Holly

and here she is – I have yet to add the backstitching and beads. I have a tendency to do that all at once. So will wait till my other Mira is at the same point and do them both at the same time

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Valentines Day

Posted on 2026-02-14 by Holly

Is really more of a commercial holiday than any real form of love, remembrance, or social meaning.  Except for two friends of mine who chose the date for their wedding five years ago. I have to admit, it would make it hard to forget one’s anniversary date, now wouldn’t it?

George is still dealing with the whack that comes along with changing time zones to Taipei last Saturday and returning home on Thursday morning. I, on the other hand, had planned on audiobooks and wound up with the cat in the lap helping.

Masqued Mischief has progressed.

In the morning I need to wander back upstairs to get the two remaining colors I didn’t pull so that I can stitch her legs, her hair and the rest of the winged stuff …. followed by back stitch and beads. There is always back stitch and beads…

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and it is

Posted on 2026-02-13 by Holly

Friday the 13th which apparently happens only in years that start on a Thursday or on Leap Years that start on a Sunday. Wow – amazing what information designers find when trying to promote their “Friday the 13th” sales. I ignored the sales that same way that I am ignoring all the new releases for the Nashville Needlework Market this year.

Me? I am trying to avoid purchasing anything for the rest of the month. Realistically I know that I will still be putting fuel in the car and groceries on the table. But otherwise? I have more than enough things to stitch, I have plenty of fabric, patterns, and threads. And I probably have enough supplies on had to take me through the next millennium.  Not that I would like to live that long. I already don’t appreciate looking in the mirror – I have seen what the 100+ individuals look like..

Where was I? Oh yes, attempting to get a few things done while the youngest grandchild bounced around for a few hours this afternoon. The Eldest has the majority of her move complete. But as someone who has moved a couple of dozen times as an adult, I know that it can take forever to get things organized. If things ever get organized.

I still have to complete searching and organizing the garage… all of which might explain this as a local post rather than hitting the distro list.

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and a bit closer

Posted on 2026-02-12 by Holly

on the game score than most of us would have liked.

Cal Women’s Basket Ball took on the Virginia  Cavaliers at Haas Pavilion. Before the game the “Golden Circle” supporters were thanked and fed a snack type meal. I passed out a few more pins (now down to under 20). And since our seating area is no longer general admission, I am starting to know the people with seats near us.

First 1/2 of the game was amazing as Cal dominated. The second half? Not so much, it seemed like they were out of energy and there were way too many turnovers. Dropped from a 14 point lead to essentially even, then managed to pull it out in the last minute. I really don’t understand the “foul your opponents to get the ball back” mentality. Especially when the target is one of the best shooters on the team She sunk those last four free throws and the game was won.There are only a couple more home games to the season. I am looking forward to the break before the Valkyries start up.

Hiking back to the car, then driving home all I could think about was sleep.

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A good start

Posted on 2026-02-11 by Holly

I was down to two WIPs – works in progress for those not of the stitching/craft persuasion. The first I planned as a long term projects; it is full coverage and is just not amenable to rapid progress, The other was started in the last week and is now at 60%. I need to finish it in the next two weeks, then stuff it in a shiny frame. No sweat.

So I needed something, given small people temporarily at my house, that didn’t take concentration. Certainly not the 90 colors in the first project or the 35 in the second.  Hum – how about nine colors? Even if 40% of them are black – it seemed reasonable. Plus lots of chunks of color and not many beads. Masqued Mischief (Nora Corbett) seemed to fit the bill. 20% so far,

with most of the stitching left will fill in toward the bottom in a huge skirt, plus hat, wings and a large black bird….In fact 50% of what is left? Black….

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yowling cat

Posted on 2026-02-09 by Holly

It is somewhere in the middle of the night.

The cat has decided to yowl. Upstairs, downstairs, disrupting everyone’s attempt at sleeping. I am sure he doesn’t have a clue as to what is going on. But the Eldest and her two boys are in the process of moving and neither place right now is fit for in habitation.

But the cat seems to have had his whole world disrupted.

It is not going well…

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too hard to do

Posted on 2026-02-08 by Holly

I rarely watch any television. And the few times I have seen anything, it has been going into the TV/lounge area and joining George to see something in progress. As I mentioned – he is off in Taiwan for a meeting. No problem.

But today was the Super Bowl. I am not sure that I cared at all about the teams or the game, but perhaps to see the adds and watch the half-time show?

Going back a few decades, remember the jokes about getting a VCR to work? Find a 10 year old otherwise give up? Well, I hadn’t ever tried to do anything with this set up beyond turning on YouTube which is easy.

Not so in this case. George sent me instructions which involved an iPad of which I have no idea on the location, two different remotes and voice commands. How badly did I want to see anything?

Not that badly. Instead I had a lovely afternoon on a couple of phone chatting long distance with friends and getting some more stitching completed….

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not quite brain dead

Posted on 2026-02-07 by Holly

I had today all planned out and scheduled in my mind. Errands, including getting George to BART so that he could use public transportation to get to SFO and his flight to Taiwan, a Zoom call with friends, and a portion of the day with the younger grandson here.

And then everything went off the rails. Instead of getting up when planned, the cat started major noise at 0530 preventing anyone from getting more sleep. As a result, I focused  on time, coffee and George. Instead of a Zoom call, I was dropping off George. Getting back, I checked in with the Eldest to let her know I was home.

End result? I didn’t even think about missing this morning’s call till early afternoon.

But it was an interesting day. Ilan will be 2 later this month. He uses words when he needs or wants to. Except for when he is exhausted, he is a happy, busy child who is relatively easy to entertain. He can also entertain himself. Blocks, trucks, and a “talking” plane come to mind along with way too many stuffed animals that inhabit our house.

Otherwise? I managed to get in ~450 stitches on each of two projects. The full coverage is a bit of a challenge right now, and the other one has just enough block stitching for a nice balance…

 

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right time, wrong day

Posted on 2026-02-06 by Holly

Yesterday I set a couple of reminders and an alarm or three. Even completed the registration for the Zoom lecture with a minute to spare. But then realized that the lecture was scheduled for the 6th…..and this was the 5th….

Probably the single most important positive thing to follow was moving to a table and getting the cat off my lap. I am finding that managing a magnifying light, q-snap, thread changes, scissors and marking off progress in Pattern Keeper is made significantly more challenging by the presence of a limp cat in the lap. Said cat goes to fully non-cooperative should I disturb his slumber in any way.

He wasn’t happy when I tuned in to my conference this morning. He was less than happy when I took off for a while to run errands. Ir is now evening: George is packed for his trip tomorrow. I finally found a bit of the Olympic Opening Parade and Ceremony to watch.

And unfortunately, that ear worm is still singing – band on the run, cat on the lap.. at the table looking for an early bedtime snack

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Cat on the Lap

Posted on 2026-02-05 by Holly

Are you old enough to remember a song that included the following

“man on the run”? And then I went searching and realized it was BAND on the run by Paul McCarthy.
”

Band on the run, band on the run
And the jailer man and sailor Sam
Were searching every one
For the band on the run
Band on the run
For the band on the run
Band on the run

which takes me to the present – Cat on the Lap. And when he isn’t taking over my lap, he is taking over my chair. As a result, I have been switching locations rather often. It isn’t that I don’t want to sit at the large table in our living room, it is just that the recliner type chair is just so comfortable.

I am nearing the completion point on my longest outstanding stitching project. I started in in July, then got distracted by other things. I will try to remember to take a picture tomorrow.

And I still have that stupid earworm humming about “on the run…..

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