Colours too close!

I'm stitching this for an exchange, and these two colours are way too similar. It's hard to tell the difference between them when I stitched them together.

I thought I'd be smart and pulled out my guide, only to see the lighter colour is still 964, ugh. I wish I had looked earlier, I would have used 958 as the darker colour instead. I already frogged once and I'm not willing to frog all the 959. I even checked the newer colours that aren't in the guide and didn't find anything.

 

Suggestions? I'm thinking of blending 964 & 958, yah or nay?

Organized? Ha!

I thought I was organized.
My floss has been put away in boxes, my table is was actually uncluttered and clean, and all my Christmas kits put away in a box.

But then when you open these doors...
 
At least I know where everything is, sort of!

This isn't too bad, it holds most of my individual patterns and booklets. I do have some that need to find their way in there though.

Now this on the other hand, there's no rhyme nor reason sorting this mess.

I can group them together by magazine and separate the Christmas/Halloween ones on their own, but how the heck do I remember what's where?! I have post-it notes stuck on patterns I'd like to stitch, but then what? Most of the mags have a little bit of everything, what to do with them?!
I'm not sure I want to write it all down or put it in the computer. I guess I could take a picture and sort it that way. 

Do any of you have this issue?
Any thoughts or suggestions on how to organize them?
And this is why I don't by magazines anymore! (Unless I see something I really like)

So frustrated!

I'm making this for someone special, her birthday is next month. I was thrilled to find this particular lighthouse on ebay even though I had to buy a bundle of lighthouses, it was a terrific price. And bonus, I bought it on the 31st, so I didn't buy it in the new year!

So looking through my fabric, I found these two which I thought might work. I liked the top one better, it's darker and looks like a starry sky.

But the problem is...

The words looks lost in it. I tried it with two strands and it was too bulky, and one isn't enough.

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and head to The Stitching Post. I'm wondering if I'll need to use Aida, which I really don't like using. Yes, I'm a fabric snob!

Any other ideas?

Pinterest winner! And a question.

Cranberries? Yes, please!

Cranberry Christmas Cake to be exact.

We were having a holiday potluck at book club and I signed up for sweets, no surprise there!

I've been wanting to make this cake ever since I saw on Pinterest, and this was the perfect time.

It's a very simple recipe, the hardest part was not tasting it before I left!

Not the best picture, but I thought it looked yummy and it smelled wonderful.

I guess it was, because this is what I came home with! Now this wasn't eaten all at once, some of it went home with the ladies. 

You can find and print the recipe here - Barefeet in the Kitchen. The only thing I did differently was use orange extract instead of vanilla. The next time I'll add some orange zest to give it even more flavour. I normally use a bundt pan because I like the way it looks, I'll try that next time too.

Last year I made these two ornaments, using the Foxwood Crossing sleds. So simple, I love they way they look.

I bought these after Christmas thinking they would be a cute variation.  

My question is, is it better to stain or paint these sleds? Will either one have an effect on the perforated paper being glued on there? Thoughts or suggestions?

Kitty company and a question

One wants in, one wants out. 

Finally, both in and ready to keep me company.

Then Nathan decided to join us,

so Max found a hiding spot with my Odies!

My craft room is nice and tidy, until you open these doors. Time for some rearranging and organizing.

The bottom cabinet has all my photos in it, from way back when. I'm getting ready to box them up and put them away to sort during the winter months. More storage space!

That is if I can get these two out of the box!

Here's a question for you all- what storage secrets are you willing to tell?!

Blogging Comment Question

 

 

Okay, I have a question for all my fellow bloggers/friends about comments left on your blog... how do you respond? 
I have just recently started to respond to comments, so sorry I didn't in the past!  I've been emailing the person directly from the notification email I receive - as long as there is an email to respond to. 
On my comment section, I have enabled the comments to show reply, but wouldn't the person who wrote the original comment need to have clicked "Subscribe by email" to see it?  Does any of that make sense? 
I know I don't always subscribe after leaving a comment on a blog, but am wondering if I should?

Example - Here are two comments on my post "Our 2nd Jingle Bell Walk for Arthritis"

 

 2 comments:

 

Carolyn December 21, 2012 11:44 AM

Astrid,
What a great family/friend walk for an important cause. You have a great group and the pic of your Mom and Dad is so sweet.
Hugs!

ReplyDelete

 

1. 

   Nicola December 22, 2012 2:33 AM

   Are you parents from Essex UK or were they on holiday?

   ReplyDelete 

Now I did respond by emailing both Carolyn and Nicola, but thought about just replying to Nicola on my blog since she asked a question.  Would she have seen it if she didn't subscribe?  Or should I just do both?   (btw, my parents were living there at the time - might have to have my Dad guest blog about it!)

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful, or maybe I'm just spending too much time thinking when I could/should be stitching?!  This is what happens when I'm sick with a stuffy cold, no energy, and a new laptop!