Blogoversary!!!

OMG - it's been 2 years since I started this blog. I had high hopes that it would motivate me to finish projects, make some stitching friends, and get a glimpse into what others were stitching. I have not been disappointed! The first person to extend their cyber-hand in friendship was Sharon. By reading her blog & browsing her blogroll, the stitching world unfolded. She sent me great links for ethnic patterns & encouraged me to experience linen. Thanks, Sharon! To this day, I remain in awe of Carol. Her ability to work projects on a daily basis is what I aspire to (but fall short of). Keep up the good work, Carol!

Although I don't get to blog hop as much as I'd like, it's still a joy & pleasure to see what everybody's working on & receive comments from those that like my work. No predictions of what the next year will bring, but hopefully more of the good stuff!

Memorial Day Stash

Been stitching, been knitting, been working. That's right - medical leave ended and I've jumped right back into the swing of things. Honestly, I miss all that at-home crafting time. Just makes me hunger for retirement.

Last week was a business trip to New Orleans. My co-workers down there were nice enough to send me a gift certificate from one of my favorite LNS Acadian Corner in Metairie. I'm sure they knew my healing time would be accelerated with the thought of shopping. As always, I was not disappointed. Here's shots of my loot:




My favorite pattern has to be Glory Bee's - "Born to Stitch, Forced to Work" (lol). There's also Waxing Moon Design's - Live Simply (w/garden gate charm); Bent Creek's - Everyday Sampler & Valentine Row; Praying Hands' - Christ at Heart's Door; Sisters' - Thanks Be To God; Erica Michael's - Signs of Christmas; and Heart in Hand's - Hearts Sampler, Mind Your Manners, Look Both Ways, Study Hard & Wash Your Hands (gotta make these for the grandboys!). Be sure to check out Acadian Corner's website - they're having a fantastic pattern sale. Most are 50% off. I also stocked up on my fabric with Jobelan in Lavender Sweet, Babbling Brook, and Pewter as well as a Raw Cashel Linen and a Blue Country French Linen.

Surprise, surprise - I did a little more than shop. You can also see my progress on M Design's Pray Tree. My goal is to finish this in the next couple weeks as I rotate this project with a cardigan sweater I'm making. You can see my sweater progress on my other blog, MyDzire4Yarn

No More DMC?

DMC is declaring bankruptcy. This is the official press release from DMC on 24 April 2008, telling us they will "undertake significant restructuring in the near term". This apparently meant not paying April's wages to their workers in France. That is a surefire way to kill the business, combined with the news report confirming the bankruptcy. DMC's official website is saying the bankruptcy court may hold a hearing in May. DMC is a major supplier of threads for Cross stitching, either as individual skeins, packed in kits, or providing the source materials for custom thread dyers.What does this mean for Cross stitchers? Other thread suppliers should enjoy the opening market opportunities but it may be a while before new colours are in place to replace the DMC colours. Thread prices will probably go up. Less competition will mean thread makers have a chance of making better margins. Ah well. Interesting!