Sunday, February 28, 2010

“Fifteen Minutes Stitching a Day (FMSAD) - Successful!!!” -- February 28, 2010”

At the beginning of February, 2010, I set a goal to stitch at least fifteen minutes each day during the month of February. I decided to call this personal challenge the Fifteen Minutes Stitching a Day (FMSAD) project.

I am pleased to report that the FMSAD project was an outstanding success!

In some ways having three major snowstorms during February helped as we had several days off of work and school. On the other hand, we spent a lot of time digging out from all of the snow! :-)

What also helped was that there weren’t that many school and other activities scheduled for this month, so many of our week day nights were free. In addition, I spent a good bit of time stitching while watching the Olympics. I have several finished projects which I’ll be sharing with everyone over the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and I wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading each and every comment. I think it’s just amazing that my little home here in blog land is visited by people from all over the world! Wow!!!

Cynthia
A Slightly Snowy Windy Meadow

“Halloween Hats & Flowers Candy Cane” -- February 28, 2009

My last finish for 2009 was Halloween Hats & Flowers Candy Cane by Melissa Shirley Designs as I finished the Halloween Hats & Flowers Candy Cane on December 31, 2009.

Halloween Hats & Flowers Candy Cane, #953C
Designed by
Melissa Shirley Designs
Rainbow Gallery’s; Petite Very Velvet, Neon Rays, Petite Frosty Rays
Caron Collections Impressions

The second picture is of the threads that I added to my Totally Useless SAL container when I finished the Halloween Hats & Flowers Candy Cane. So these are some more threads for the December, 2009 TUSAL. Yes, I know I’m really late but once again since I took the picture I figured I would share it. LOL!


I’m so glad that you stopped by my blog!

Cynthia
A Lot Less Snowy Windy Meadow

Saturday, February 27, 2010

“Halloween Cat Bitty HS5772 by Heartstrings -- February 27, 2010”

Hello Everyone!

I’ve been busy catching up on life and work after our series of major snow storms. I’ve also been spending a lot of my evenings watching the Olympics and doing some new stitching which I hope to share with everyone soon. I finished one small project and I’m almost done with two more!
I’ve also started working again on the great “Needlework Organization Project” and I realized that I didn’t share with you all two of my recent finishes!

I finished the
Halloween Cat Bitty, HS5772 by Pat Thode of Heartstrings on December 28, 2010. As you all know, I just LOVE Pat’s designs so this was a fun stitch.


Halloween Cat Bitty, HS5772
Designed by Pat Thode of
Heartstrings
DMC Floss, DMC Perle Cotton #8

The second picture is of the threads that I added to my Totally Useless SAL container when I finished the Halloween Cat Bitty. So these are actually threads for the December, 2009 TUSAL. Okay, I know I’m late but since I took the picture I figured I would share it. LOL!

Totally Useless SAL
December, 2009

I’ll be back tomorrow with the second project that I finished on December 31, 2009.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are having a fun Saturday!

Cynthia
A Somewhat Snowy Windy Meadow

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

“Mail Art” -- February 16, 2010”

I’ve received my very first piece of mail art!


Beth asked a while back if I would like to receive one of her mail art projects. Of course, I said Yes!

She mailed it on Saturday, February 6, 2010. It arrived here in Windy Meadow on Saturday, February 13, 2010 in perfect condition in spite of the snow storms!

As you can see it’s made out of fabric with stitching outlining the hearts and the fabric shapes. Beth added some glitter to the fabric so it just sparkles!

Beth blogs at Beth’s Needlework Stash. You can see more of her mail art pieces on her February 4, 2010 post.

Beth, thank you so much for the mail art. It is just beautiful! It has brightened things up around here as I think we are all getting tired of the white and now not so white snow. LOL!!!

Thanks for stopping by very snowy and windy Windy Meadow!

Cynthia
A Very Snowy and Windy Meadow

Sunday, February 14, 2010

“February, 2010’s Totally Useless SAL!” -- February 14, 2010”

I am so amazed that I’m finally posting a TUSAL photo on the day of the New Moon!

Not only that, but I have three photos!

The first photo is of the orts from the January, 2010 “Happy New Year”
Fortune Cookie Club offered by Fireside Stitchery.



The second photo is of the orts from the January, 2010 Christmas Lights from the 2010 Canvas of the Month Club offered by
The Stitching Post.



The third photo is of the orts from the February, 2010 Christmas Lights from the 2010 Canvas of the Month Club offered by
The Stitching Post.



The fourth photo is of Ortessa with her new Orts!



Hope that you are staying warm and dry in this February wintery weather!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cynthia
A Very Snowy Windy Meadow

“February, 2010 Christmas Green Ornament” -- February 14, 2010”

In between digging out from the second major snow storm of the week, I was able to finish up the February, 2010 Christmas Green Ornament this past Friday.



"Christmas Green Ornament"
Sally's 2009 Christmas Lights from
Rainbow Gallery
Offered by The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland
February, 2010

The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland is offering 12 Christmas Lights for their 2010 Canvas of the Month Club. These were designed by Sally for Rainbow Gallery and are based on a concept by Susan Portra.

This was another very quick and fun stitch. Now I have to wait until March, 2010 for the next ornament. :-)

This is the Christmas series that I’ll be stitching for Yoyo’s
2010 Christmas Stitch-a-Long. I am now caught up as I’ve stitched both the January and February, 2010 ornaments. Actually, I’m thrilled as I finished both ornaments by February 12, 2010! LOL!

Dee asked if there is a different design on each light bulb. Yes, there are different designs and different threads used on each ornament. The only repeating design element between the light bulbs so far is the gold Neon Rays+ that is used for each bulb cover. This area is stitched in a long diagonal stitch. We will be using the gold for the first six ornaments so I’m “guessing” that we might be doing the next six with a silver cover. Or than again we might be getting a new card of gold to continue with the next six. :-)

Please note that since the designs are by
Rainbow Gallery each ornament is stitched using threads from Rainbow Gallery. These are a fun way try the Rainbow Gallery threads if you haven’t used them before.

I hope with the two sets of photos you can see the difference in the stitches by clicking on the photos. With all of the “fun” weather we have been having, it’s been a challenge taking photos! :-)

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that enjoy seeing my new finished project!

Cynthia
A Snowbound Windy Meadow

“The February 9 – 10, 2010 Blizzard! – February 14, 2010”

On February 9 through February 10, 2010 the Mid-Atlantic area experienced its second major snow storm of 2010. We experienced Blizzard conditions and at times we had white out conditions. We added about 20 more inches of snow on top of the 26 that we received earlier in the week!

We’ve been out and about the last three days as the driving conditions are slowly improving each day. One of the major challenges is pulling out of side streets or out of parking lots as the snow is piled high and in many places you can’t see over the piles. There are snow hills in many of the parking lots that are twice as tall as my van! It’s truly amazing at how much snow we received in this area. One snow storm of this size is very unusual let alone two in the same week! We’ve set records over most of the state.

I thought I would share some new photos, especially so our daughter who is away at college can see how it looks around here.

Hi Sweetie! :-)

Here we go again! This is the normal Windy Meadow view which I actually took from a window instead of from the end of our driveway. The second blizzard is just beginning. At the peak of the storm not only could we not see the tree line, we couldn’t see the house across from us which is quite closer than these trees.



A view out of our back windows during the blizzard on the night of February 10, 2010 as the blizzard was starting to wind down. The snow is up to the top of our fence.




This is our son who is trying to climb out of the snow after uncovering a vent which is located to the left of the window. The metal object you see right in front of him is our sundial which is telling us its snow time! :-)



Our brick sidewalk after about 1 ½ hours of shoveling and snow blowing by three people. The sidewalk lights are 24 inches tall. So in this area of the yard the snow is about 4 feet deep. You can also the top of our one evergreen bush which is about 6 feet tall. We had about 2 feet of snow blown up against our front door. It took a while to clear off the front landing to even get to the sidewalk. LOL!



The front of our house showing that the snow is up to the bottom of the windows.




The pile of snow at the end of our driveway before the plow guy came by for the second time in one week. We used the snow blower on Thursday after the blizzard to clear off the area right in front of the garage doors. I’m standing on the cleared portion of the driveway trying to take a picture of the dogwood that I include in all of the Windy Meadow pictures. As you can see, we can only see the dogwood’s top most branches. The top of the cut in the snow, on the bottom right of the pictures is 2 feet tall.




Another picture of the snow pile at the end of our driveway. This is the dogwood that I include in all of the Windy Meadow pictures. I had to stand on part of the snow pile to take this picture.




These last two pictures were taken after our plow guy stopped by and dug us out for the second time this week.

The pile of snow at the end of our driveway. For reference, it’s taller than the height of a standard car and almost as tall as the top of my van.



The light pole at the top of our driveway. You can see the huge pile of snow on the side of our road. Our road is still only one to 1 ½ lanes wide in most places.


We’ve had a lot of snow melt which means late at night its freezing and making driving challenging.

Oh, we are getting more snow tomorrow night, Monday into Tuesday. This time it’s supposed to be only three inches. Sigh…

I appreciate everyone’s comments and I’m so glad that you decided to stop by and visit us at Windy Meadow.

Back later today with some stitching pictures!

Cynthia
A Snowy Windy Meadow

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

“January, 2010 Christmas Red Ornament” -- February 10, 2010”

In between digging out from all of the snow this past week, I was able to finish up the January, 2010 Christmas Red Ornament this past Monday.




"Christmas Red Ornament"
Sally's 2009 Christmas Lights from
Rainbow Gallery
Offered by The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland
January, 2010

The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland is offering 12 Christmas Lights for their 2010 Canvas of the Month Club. These were designed by Sally for Rainbow Gallery and are based on a concept by Susan Portra.

This was a very quick and fun stitch. I’m already working on the February Green Ornament which I hope to share with you soon!

I know that I have the original patterns that were designed by Susan for
Rainbow Gallery in my stash. Hmm, I’ll have to find those when I start organizing again! :-)

By the way, the top of the ornament is actually gold which just wouldn’t photograph well! Especially with the gray skies we have been having with all of this snow. I’ll post a second picture below which hopefully shows the gold better. Sigh…


I decided to stitch the Christmas Lights as the series that I’ll be stitching will participating in Yoyo’s 2010 Christmas Stitch-a-Long. Yoyo decided in November, 2009 that she needed some encouragement to work on her Christmas designs. So she decided to create the 2010 Christmas SAL. The rules are very loose and you can read them by clicking on the 2010 Christmas SAL links.

Basically, the participants are to pick a design or series of designs that they want to stitch that have a Christmas theme. The goal is to spend the first week of each month working on this project. Did I mention that the rules were loose? Yoyo just asks that we send her a new photo by the end of each month so that she can post the photo in our Christmas SAL photo album. Hopefully by the end of year we will have made a lot of progress and we meet some new stitchers and have some new fun blogs to read. :-)

If you think that Yoyo’s name sounds familiar that’s because she is the creator of the Totally Useless SAL!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you are staying safe and warm this winter and staying busy with some fun stitching!

Cynthia
A Snowbound Windy Meadow

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

“Batten Down the Hatches! Again? Yes, Again!!! -- February 9, 20109”

Batten down the Hatches or in other words, A MAJOR SNOW STORM is HEADED OUR WAY!!!

Again???!!!

I can’t believe I’m saying this for the third time this winter and the second time in one week!

Yes, we have another huge weather event headed our way. It’s actually here already as it began lightly snowing at 1:30pm this afternoon. The snow became heavier at about 3:30pm. All of the bare surfaces, the few that are out there, are already white. The photo below of Windy Meadow was taken about 4:30pm this afternoon as the storm was worsening.



The forecast is for between 10 to 20 inches of more snow over the next 24 hours!

They are also predicting higher winds this time so hopefully we won’t lose power. We are also hoping that the snow from this past weekend is packed down enough that it won’t add to the drifting problems.

I’m not sure where we are going to put the new snow as we still have over 2 feet of snow in the yard. We were able to get out late yesterday and then again today to pick up some more supplies. You ought to see the snow piles in the parking lots! There were still snow piles in many of the parking lots from the December 19, 2009 snow storm. Add in the snow from the February 6, 2010 snowstorm and we have mountains of snow! And a lot less room in many of the parking lots to park!

DH and I have been off of work for the last two days. We both work further south where they received 28 to 30 inches and the roads down there are still a mess. In addition a lot of trees are down on most of the major highways adding to the problem. We probably won’t be at work tomorrow as that will be the height of the storm and it will be questionable whether or not our respective places of employment will be open on Wednesday or even on Thursday. We’ve never been closed for this long, not even in the 1994 snow storms!

The public schools let out early this past Friday right before the snow storm worsened. They are still closed and will probably be closed for the rest of the week. Then on next Monday and Tuesday they are scheduled to be closed for Presidents Day and the day after. So DS may not be going back to school until a week from this Wednesday!

Yesterday, DH was a little bit under the weather so DS and I went out to Panera for lunch. We then stopped by the grocery store to restock on bread and bananas and a few other things. It’s amazing how much food we go through when we are all home as usually we eat our lunches at work and school! I then stopped by the local park so DS could do some sledding. Then we both came home and spent about an hour with the shovels getting the packed snow off the top of the driveway by the road where the plow pushed it back on our driveway. We also made sure to clear out the packed snow in front of our mailbox. Thank goodness we were up by the main road as suddenly a buck and two doe came running through the snow along the side of our property line, across the street, and down through the next yard. A car was slowly coming down our road, we are still down to slightly over one car width of cleared road, and he stopped when he saw the buck crossing the road. I started waving so he would know to not move as he couldn’t see the does. When they passed I was able to wave him on. As he drove by he rolled down his window and thanked me. :-)

In this area, we know if there is one deer there are going to be more! But we were able to let him know that there were only three and that it was safe for him to continue. It was also fun to see the deer running through the snow as they take huge leaps with snow flying! Two feet of snow does not slow them down!

We then had fun clearing the packed snow that was rapidly turning into ice from the main/flat part of the driveway. Usually, I would just let it go as it would be gone in about two days with the winter sun, but with another 10 to 20 inches on its way, we both thought we needed to clean up the packed snow and ice. It’s a lot of fun working with DS as he tells stories, pretends the snow is attacking us, has fun seeing how far he can throw the snow from his shovel, etc. Always and adventure! This was a nice workout for both of us so when we were done it was time to unpack the car, take showers and just goof off. :-)

What did we do when running around today? While DH was getting more gas for the snow blower, running a few errands, and then putting the two cars in the garage, I made a quick stop for several paperbacks and magazines for me and a new DVD for DS, plus a few other odds and ends. DH and I met for a quick lunch at Five Guys, love the burgers and fries, as DS wanted to stay home and catch up with everyone on Facebook.

Since I want to play with my quilting I decided to stop by Joann’s earlier today to pick up a couple of fat quarters. I thought this was a good idea, especially, since I’m a very novice quilter and I don’t want to ruin the good fabric! I have this vision of sitting in front of the TV watching the Winter Olympics while doing some English Paper Piecing to make a quilt. I’ll post a progress picture when I have something to share that hopefully won’t be embarrassing! LOL!

We just finished getting the candles, flashlights, and camping lantern ready, and filling up a bathtub with water (we are on well and septic and if the power goes out, we can't flush as the well pump stops pumping). We washed the dishes and now we’re doing laundry so we’re all caught up if we lose power. We are now all at home, warm, safe and dry.

DH already called our wandering plow guy so that he will stop by and dig us out again after this storm passes. So hopefully, we’ll be able to get out on Thursday or at the latest on Friday.

While we are snowed in we are planning on doing a few chores, playing a bunch of games and hopefully watching some movies if we have power. I'm also planning on washing and pressing some of my new fabrics.

Stitching? Oh, yes, I finished the January, 2010 light bulb ornament for the February Christmas SAL and I’ve already started the February, 2010 light bulb. I’m also planning on putting Uncle Sam back on the table as I need to finish him up by June, 2010 for the Black Eyed Susans challenge.

I’ll be sharing a photo of the finished January, 2010 light bulb ornament with everyone soon. :-)

We’ll be thinking again of our police officers, volunteer fire, EMT personnel, State Highway employees, and the personnel at the local Hospitals and wishing them well. Thank goodness we have them!

Many of them have been working non-stop since the first storm. Hopefully, we’ll get a break in the weather so they can have a chance to rest!

Today, the Mayor of Baltimore put out an all hands call asking for help from any private contractor with snow equipment. In addition, there are repeated reminders on both the TV and radio stations asking everyone to stay home and off the roads! Hopefully all will listen and honor their requests.

Vancouver, would you like some snow? We have some to spare that we would gladly send North! LOL!!!

I hope everyone in the path of this new storm, stays safe, dry, warm and that you hopefully find some time to stitch!

I also wanted to add that I appreciate everyone’s comments! I read and smile over each and every one. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that I have friends who enjoy reading my blog and who have been thinking of us and everyone in this area during these challenging storms. Thank you!

Cynthia
A Very Snowy Windy Meadow

Monday, February 8, 2010

“January Fortune Cookie” -- February 8, 2010”

This past weekend I had lots of time to stitch due to the 2010 Blizzard. That is when we weren’t digging out from all of the snow! LOL!

I was able to finish up the "Happy New Year" January Fortune Cookie canvas. This was a quick fun stitch and I would definitely recommend the Fortune Cookie Canvas of the Month Club from Fireside Stitchery.


"Happy New Year" Fortune Cookie
January, 2010
Hand Painted Canvas by
Little Shoppe Canvas Company
Stitch and Thread Selection by
Fireside Stitchery
2010 Fortune Cookie Club offered by Fireside Stitchery in Frazer, PA

The snowflake medallions are stitched in a silver metallic and the filler between is ThreadworX. Unfortunately, the camera is having problems with the silver metallic but it’s beautiful in person. Just shimmers and looks like silver fireworks or snow falling out of a night sky. Yes, we’ve seen plenty of night snow this winter. LOL!

My plan is to stitch two of the fortune cookies and then send them off for finishing.

Thank you for stopping by and I’ll have another post for you soon of another finish from this weekend!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Sunday, February 7, 2010

“26 Inches!!! -- February 7, 20109”

26 Inches!

That’s the unofficial measurement here in Windy Meadow, twenty six inches of snow during the February 6, 2010 Blizzard.

That my friends, is a lot of snow!

Our primary roads are now in good shape. Our secondary roads are passable as we now have one lane open in the road in front of our house and on the rest of our secondary roads out to the main road. Most of the public schools in the path of the blizzard have already cancelled school for tomorrow.

We are very thankful for our state highway employees, police officers, volunteer fire personnel, EMT personnel, our Hospital personnel, and all of the others who volunteered their time to keep everything running during the blizzard. Many of them arrived on Friday night and are just beginning to go home as they are being relieved by those who can now get out of their homes.

Once the snow stopped yesterday afternoon, we were able to dig our way out of the front door. Yes, even though we have a roof over our front door, the snow was blown up against the door!

I thought I would share some pictures of the 2010 Blizzard.


During the blizzard,

This is the looking out of our front door,



Our sun dial is almost under snow,


Looking out of our garage,



Front sidewalk cleared by dusk. Look at the snow on the little roof!




Dear son clearing sidewalk,



Front sidewalk cleared and sign posted asking to be plowed,



Dear husband working hard to clear in front of the garage doors,


Did you know that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter? Sigh…

By the way, there are now predictions for 5 or more inches of snow beginning this Tuesday through Wednesday. Yes, we have another winter storm watch posted already!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

“26 Inches!!! -- February 7, 20109 - Continued”

More pictures of Windy Meadow after the Blizzard of 2010.

We have a plow guy!
It only took him about 20 minutes to move all of that snow. WOW!



Deer tracks in 2 feet of snow at Windy Meadow,



Dear son exhausted after clearing snow. Or that’s what he wants me to believe! :-)



Climbing the snow mountain,



Almost to the top of the snow mountain,


Dear son’s Rocky imitation,



Back soon with some stitching pictures!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Friday, February 5, 2010

“Batten Down the Hatches! Again!!! -- February 5, 2010”

Batten down the Hatches or in other words, A MAJOR SNOW STORM is HEADED OUR WAY!!!

Again???!!!

Yep, we have another huge weather event headed our way. Actually it’s already here and we have gently falling snow outside right now. The grass is just about covered.

It began about 11:30am this morning and is supposed to last until about 10:00pm Saturday night. We are forecasted to get from 20 to 30 inches of snow”!

Some areas might get more than 30 inches of snow!

One of the weather newscasters said that so far Maryland has received more snow than Alaska?

This is not typical for this area!

DH and I took the day off as the storm would arrive at both of our places of employment before it would arrive here and the commutes home would be terrible. Neither one of us is critical so we don’t need to be there, thank goodness. The schools let out 2 hours early and a lot of the businesses are already closing. Basically, everything will be cancelled for at least the next two to three days. I’ve been receiving emails announcing cancellations from the school, and now from all of the LNS and the not so LNS announcing that their super bowl sales are being cancelled and rescheduled. :-)

We spent the morning running a few errands, getting the cars and the van in the garage, getting gas for the snow blower and the generator, one more trip to the grocery store, and getting the money ready to pay one of the wandering plow guys. We then took DS out for lunch at Olive Garden as we figure we won’t be back out until late Sunday night or on Monday.

And of course I had to stop by the fabric store to pick up some fabric to play with as I’ve decided that I want to teach myself how to quilt. Yes, Beth, I fabric stashed! LOL!!!

We should have blizzard conditions in this area after dusk. So it’s safer to be home than out and about. We’ll be thinking about our police officers, volunteer fire, EMT personnel, State Highway employees, and the personnel at the local Hospitals and wishing them well. Thank goodness we have them!

The storm on December 19, 2009 was predicted as the storm of the century but this one is expected to be much worse. Higher winds, blizzard conditions, and snow totals.

We just finished finding the candles, finding the flashlights, checking the batteries, filling up a bathtub with water (we are on well and septic and if the power goes out, we can't flush as the well pump stops pumping). We are now home, warm, safe and dry.

We are planning on doing a few chores, playing a bunch of games and hopefully watching some movies if we have power. I'm hoping to be able to stitch a little bit as I want to finish up my January, 2010 light bulb ornament for the February Christmas SAL. I also need about one hour of work to finish up the January, 2010 Fortune Cookie from Fireside Stitchery’s Fortune Cookie club. Once I have both of these done, I’ll have some new pictures to share with you. I’m hoping that once I finish adding the floss and the petite very velvet to the January Fortune Cookie it will photograph better. The silver metallic keeps showing up as gray on all of the pictures I’ve tried to take!

I hope everyone in the path of the storm, stays safe, dry, warm and that you hopefully find some time to stitch!

Back in a few!!!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

“Fifteen Minutes Stitching a Day (FMSAD)” -- February 2, 2010”

Instead of an apple a day, I’ve set a goal to stitch at least fifteen minutes each day. So, I’ve started the Fifteen Minutes Stitching a Day (FMSAD) project for the month of February, 2010!

I’ve checked the calendar and so far it looks like there aren’t gobs and gobs of activities scheduled for this month. Or at least right now there aren’t! But since this is Windy Meadow that could change quickly. :-)

Last night I was able to stitch over 15 minutes, so right now I’m on track.

Think I can keep it up for the next 27? LOL!!!

It's snowing again tonight. They are forecasting 3 - 6 inches. I'm just going to sit here and look at my blog header for a while and remind myself how hot it can get in Windy Meadow. Hopefully that and a cup of soup tonight will help. :-)

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Monday, February 1, 2010

January Fortune Cookie -- February 1, 2010

Hi Everyone!

I was working very hard to be able to share with you a finish, my January Fortune Cookie from the Fireside Stitchery's Fortune Cookie Club. I had a lot of time to stitch this weekend due to the Saturday snowfall and lot's of activities being cancelled. As I said, I was hoping to have a finish but sadly there was a bit of undo stitching here in Windy Meadow. Sigh...

Since I haven’t finished all of the non-metallic stitches it’s not playing nice with the camera. So let me point you to Fireside Stitchery’s
Fortune Cookie Club page so you can see what it’s going to look like. Have fun and I’ll be back soon!

Thank you for stopping by my little home on the web!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Friday, January 29, 2010

“Finishing” -- January 29, 2010”

I had several questions as to whether or not I would finish the Marquis ornament myself. Nope! LOL!!!

Even though I know how to finish ornaments and have experience finishing ornaments, I rather stitch. Especially since it seems that I’m only spending about 15 minutes each month actually stitching! Sigh…

So I usually send them off to be professionally finished.

I thought things were supposed to slow down when you sent the first child off to college? Not!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to have a picture to share with you soon of my stitching progress.

I appreciate your visits and all of the comments that I have received!

Thank you!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

"Spoiled Rotten” -- January 27, 2010”

Yep, I’m spoiled rotten!

Why you ask?

I was hoping you would!

Well, last fall was a “Magic” birthday for me which is a birthday ending in a zero.

Oh gosh guys, you are too too kind, no I didn’t turn 30! :-)

So my dear, sweet, clueless husband was trying to figure out what to get for me as he really, really wanted to make this a special birthday.

Now, this is especially hard as if we want something, we usually just buy it. He also, ahem, has absolutely no talent in picking out clothes or jewelry for me. And since I read between three to five books a week, well that wasn’t going to work.

So, to save the poor dear man, and at his fervent request, I pointed him to several websites for canvas and Canvas of the Month clubs gift ideas.

On the day of my birth anniversary, actually it was several days later as we were too busy on my birthday to slow down for a fun meal and presents, he presented me with my birthday gifts. I was absolutely amazed as not only did he buy the Fireside Stitchery Fortune Cookie Club, he also purchased the Fireside Stitchery Candy Cane Club!

Well, I was speechless!

And for those who know me, this is a very rare event!!!

This past weekend I received the first canvas from both clubs so I hope to share some stitching progress with you soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting Windy Meadow!

Where it is about to get very windy and cold this weekend!

And I don’t have to go anywhere so hopefully I’ll be able to stitch!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Snow Cone Santa -- January 23, 2010

Snow Cone Santa” by Janet Zickler Casey!

I had sent him off to Pocket Full of Stitches to be finished into an ornament last fall. He came back from the finisher in plenty of time to be placed on the Christmas tree. He looked so good!



Hope you enjoyed visiting with my newest Santa ornament! :-)

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

"Marquis" August, 2009's Canvas of the Month Club

I stitched "Marquis" back in October, 2009. This is the August, 2009 kit from the 2009 Bargello Ornament Club from The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland. The red, green and gold threads just sparkle on the red canvas.

"Marquis"
Sally's 2008 Bargello Christmas Ornaments from Rainbow Gallery
Offered by The Stitching Post in Catonsville, Maryland
October, 2009
Rainbow Gallery's Silk Lame Braid, Neon Rays, Panache, Petite Treasure Braid

Hope you enjoyed another one of my stitched projects from last year!

So glad you took the time to stop by and I enjoy reading all of the comments. :-)

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

All Caught Up with Reading Blogs!

Things have been a bit busy around here lately with the Holidays, kids home from school, and family visiting. I still have several "older" posts to add to the blog before I can show you the little bit that I've been working on this year. But in the meanwhile I wanted to catch up with what everyone has been up to since I last checked in.

I have finally caught up with reading everyone's blogs!


Wahoooooooo...

Uh... Wait a minute... I was caught up... Dang... Be back in a minute...
So many pretty things to see....

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Trick or Treat Heart - Finished! -- January 13, 2010

I finished the Trick or Treat Heart in November, 2009!

The original stitch guide was by Sekas & Co which I followed except for the area behind the Halloween figures and around the outside of the heart. I added a brown background in DMC #612 Tan which exactly matches the brown canvas.




I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this project!

Sekas & Co. has a nice range and variety of projects. Many of which are available as needlepoint canvases and have also been charted for cross stitch. Enjoy looking over their site!

Hmmm.... there are a couple more of the Hearts that I would love to have. :-)

Thanks for stopping by my VERY windy and COLD meadow this week!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Lee's Needle Arts Update -- January 14, 2009

It's now official. The new Lee's Needle Arts website by Colonial Needle is up and available for our viewing pleasure!

You can find it at;

http://www.newleesneedlearts.com


The online catalog is at;

http://www.newleesneedlearts.com/files/Lees_Needle_Arts_Catalog.swf


I'll be back again soon. I need to go and look at every item in the catalog. :-)

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Monday, January 11, 2010

November, 2009's Totally Useless SAL!” -- January 11, 2010

Well I'm a tad bit late but here is the official post for my contribution to the November, 2009 Totally Useless SAL.

These are the orts from the Trick or Treat Heart which have now been placed in Ortessa.


November, 2009
Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long

I do have some orts to share from a project that I finished in December, 2009. But next up will be the finished Trick or Treat Heart!

Hope that you are staying warm and dry in this January, 2010 weather!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Pink Patchwork Shoe -- January 10, 2010

The Patchwork Pink Shoe is from A Collection of Designs and was one of the designs available in 2004 through Fireside Stitchery's " Halloween Cookie Club". I finished the first several in the club series and then of course, life got busy. :-)

I pulled it back out earlier this fall and this is where I left the stitching when I last put it down. I've made a bit of progress on the pink background and some of the other areas. It's back on the table and hopefully I'll be able to make some more progress soon so I'll have something to share with you.


Patchwork Pink Shoe
A Collection of Designs
Halloween Cookie Club through Fireside Stitchery

DMC Floss, DMC#5 Perle Cotton

Rainbow Gallery's Grandeur, Petite Frosty Rays, Petite Sparkle Rays, Splendor

River Silk Ribbon,

Kreinik #12 Braid

YLI Corporation Ultra-Shimmer

Wichelt Corporations Mill Hill Petite Seed Beads

Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting my blog!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

It's 2010! -- January 10, 2010

Thank you for all of the well wishes during the Snow Storm of 2009!

I took several pictures of the 17+ inches of snow but I'm not too sure what happened to them on the camera. They ummm disappeared! Okay, it was probably operator (that's me) error.

The snow didn't stick around very long as the next weekend we had fairly normal to slightly higher than normal temperatures for our region. But while the snow was here, it was very pretty. The Holiday lights looked just beautiful with the snow.

Now that the Holidays are over and all of the guests have left my thoughts are turning to closing out all of the family 2009 paperwork, taking down the decorations, eating all of the leftovers, and stitching!

While I was not active in Blog Land I did make some progress on several projects. I'm going to catch up with those here on the blog before I show you what I've done since the first of the year. I also several photos for the 2009 TUSAL. By the way, don't get too excited as I haven't done much stitching since the beginning of 2010. LOL!

Back soon,

Cynthia
Windy Meadow