Reading, Stitching and New Glasses Oh MY!

 I have been keeping up with my reading challenges this month putting in a few chapters for each book I'm reading until I get to that point where it's time to finish the book.  Once I get to that point all books get put aside and I read through until it's done.

For this last book it wasn't much that the story was good and I wanted to finish it, this time it seems the book lost a few pages or chapters for that matter and it just felt chopped and then the end was rushed and it was quite disappointing.  

A friend of mine sent me the first 7 books in the series, this is number 3 which started off  with a good story and then it wasn't so good and just felt there was a chunk of the book removed, as I was reading I kept checking page numbers to see if there were missing pages.  This has happened before with other books I have read where the story falls apart and the ending is rushed to finish the book.  I often think bad editor. Oh well I'll try the next one and see what happens only because a friend sent them to me knowing I like cozy mysteries. 

I went to have my eye exam on Saturday since it's been about 4 years since my last upgrade in glasses. I picked out new frames and was told it would be up to two weeks before they were ready, well 4 hours after I got home don't I get a text message my glasses are ready to be picked up, I knew I had taken a long nap but I didn't think I slept that long.  So just now while typing this I get a call from LensCrafters my glasses are ready, I asked how is that possible when I was told up to two weeks that the lenses weren't in stock when I was there Saturday?  Needless to say she wasn't able to answer me and just said they are ready to be picked up at my leisure.  

On a stitching note here is the piece I briefly gave a peek at last week, another hand embroidery of Brigid's Cross I started last Sunday.

It's another coloring page from the Celtic Cross coloring book by Dover Publications, this one is not a free coloring page it's a page from the coloring book which I scanned and then printed onto Pellon's Stick and Wash Away. 

My progress as of last night for my slow Sunday Stitching, I'm a day late with my link up over at Kathy's Quilts https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2021/01/slow-sunday-stitching-old-friends.html

Slow Sunday Stitching and Some Beads

This is my first Sunday stitching post for February and my first Slow Sunday Stitching since the eighth of January.  I posted other post with some stitching updates but for one reason or another the post were not on a Sunday.

I don't know about you but there are days when I just don't feel like posting to my blog, or I'm busy or I just don't want to sit at the computer, which for me is more often then I like to admit and some days I find myself with nothing to say.

Today's post will be linked at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching  https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/02/slow-sunday-stitching.html 
And on Monday at http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-96/

My Brigid's Cross hand embroidery was finished just in time for Brigid's Day which was Thursday 

Brigid's Cross

the photo shows the piece after it was removed from the hoop it has since been pressed and finished.

I have started the hand embroidery on a new greenman project, I think this is the fifth greenman so 

greenman

 far or maybe the sixth.  I have also started on the winter goddess though progress is slow going I like how the few leaves turned out, I always had trouble with the satin stitch but these look okay 

On the last day of January I attended a wire wrapping jewelry class and had a great time, I have done lots of beaded jewelry over the years but wire wrapping was something I tried a few times and it didn't work out to my satisfaction, I think in part because I wanted to wrap some stones I have and I just couldn't get the wire to stay put or the wrap to be tight enough.  Cue up me at the local bead shop hunting for my supplies and having a chat and finding out if I had used half round or even square wire my results would have been different. Ha who knew? obviously not me!  There are lessons every where and I learned one that day, when you don't know simply ask.  All those jewelry making books and magazines I had read over the years, all of them at one time or other mentioned half round, square wire knew what they were talking about. (don't even get me started on half hard or soft wire).

For the first class we made earrings, I used silver wire and pink bicone crystal beads I was thinking

Spring time, I think they turned out nice, they look sort of Victorian in style, I even made the ear wires, I may remake the ear wires smaller. Oh and I did realign the spirals after the photo was cropped I noticed they were off. I don't wear long dangling earrings but I know the perfect person who does so I am going to gift these to her.  Here is a close up the loop on the bottom allows for

a dangling bead to be hung there most of us in the class opted not to add the dangle, I did make them so I will let my friend decide once she sees them.  There are four other wire wrap classes coming up in he next few months I'm not sure if I'm going to take them all, I do know I plan to take the class on March 21 we will be wrapping a cabochon to make a pendant.

There is also a beaded jewelry class coming up on the 22nd of February I have to check my calendar before I sign up.

All the supplies are included in the beaded bracelet class which makes it so much easier not to have to hunt through the beading supplies or shop which can lead me to add so many more extras then I really need.

I added a new rose bush to my garden, it's a bi-color rose in lovely pink shades. I resisted buying 

more of the rose bushes for now because I really have to clean up the garden before I add any more plants.

Stitching update for late January

It's been a very productive week for me on the hand embroidery projects as well at the stitching for the 2 hand embroidery challenges I am taking part in this year.   1 Year of Stitches:2017 and A Year of Stitches.

First up is the Brigid's Cross, I'm going to make a small hanging or a small table top decoration.

Brigid's Cross

After several attempted starts and stops the stitching is finally in progress on the Winter Goddess piece.

Winter Goddess

The pattern is by Urban Threads and I used Stitch and Wash product so I didn't have to trace it.

 The pattern is called Earth Mother and can be found here:
 http://www.urbanthreads.com/products.aspx?productid=UTH2073

The hand embroidery for the Elemental Goddess is also coming along, I want to add a few symbols to the piece before I add any other embellishment to it.

Elemental Goddess

I have another project ready to put in the hoop once I make the choices of floss colors  than I'll post the project.