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I'm not normally on the 'puter on a Saturday, but inspiration struck during breakfast and I decided to get my next column for Needlepoint Now sent off to Miss Elizabeth.

(How's THAT for a shameful plug?)

(And before you encourage me further, I should probably warn you that the title of the column is "Coming Soon to a theater near you....Needlepoint, The Musical".)

(As I told Miss Elizabeth in my apology/email to her: There is a reason why people like me should not have coffee machines that brew on demand.)

(Yes. I have forsaken my beloved Capresso for a Keurig, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm never going back. The only problem is that I now refer to the pods as "Crack Cups", which completely mortifies my sister when I announce (quite loudly, I might add) in the Bed Bath and Freaking Beyond that "I NEED CRACK CUPS, AUNT CHRISSY! I NEED THEM NOW!").

But I regress...

Bronny asked about the windowpane linen that I'm using for the Sam Sarah monthlies. Well, Bronny, believe it or not...it comes that way! It's called 28ct. Newport Natural and it's made by Zweigart. Cool, huh?

Paisley has thrown the proverbial gauntlet and hinted that L'Hiver needs to be finished this year. I agree, Paisley, but you do know that there are three other seasons, right? And you do know that I'm a nutball of the highest order and am already stressing over the fact that if I finish ONE of these damn things, then I need to finish ALL of them, and that they should all be finished in the same year. Right?

Sherry, the big red sunflower piece is actually a painted canvas that I'm needlepointing. It's a 13 mesh, and was a gift from Aunt Chrissy several years ago. I have finished quite a good chunk of it, but I just never seem to get it done. This year, though. This year.

Whitney...oh, don't be afraid to start the Threedles piece! What's the very worst thing that could happen? 1) You could fall in love with it and then obsessively rush off to purchase very single thing that this designer has ever done (witness my own Laura J. Perin obsession), or 2) You hit a schlumpadink wall and put it in your WIP pile. Either way....I'm with ya' sista' and will be right here cheering you on. (Metaphorically speaking, of course.)

Hey, Phyllis! A "ready made" is a picture frame that is already painted and assembled at the Michaels or the Hobby Lobby or the craft store mega mart near you. Instead of going the custom framing route, I am sometimes able to find a great "ready made" that I can pop a finished piece into and then feel like a framing genius! Try it! I promise that you'll get a good cramp from patting yourself on the back. (At least I did.)

Laura, as much as I would love to tell you that I whipped out "Snowflake Serenade" this year, the truth of the matter is that I started that one last January and got about 3/4 of it done before putting it away. So my needles didn't smoke exactly. They just plodded along at my usual dopey pace. (I'm not a fast stitcher, people. I promise you that. It's all an illusion, and if you peek behind the curtain you'll see my pile of WIPs that is the approximate size of a Buick. So when I finally do finish one, chances are that it only needed an hour or two to get it to the FeeNee stage.) I'm a complete fraud. A big fat complete fraud.

And finally...Ginny asked me if I was going to frame "Snowflake Serenade". Yup, Ginny. I think I am. Unless I wake up tomorrow and am able to figure out how to use the sewing machine without stitching my sleeves together...framing it shall be.

I think that about covers it for now, kids. There is a small patch of sunshine coming in the back door, so I guess it's time that I go re-position the living room furniture so that You Know Who can catch a few rays! I wouldn't mind it so much were it not for the fact that he insists I spritz him with Evian every fifteen minutes and that I ply him with umbrella drinks. Damn dog.