May 30, 2019

MAYNIA DAY THIRTY


The Gilded Cage
Carriage House Samplings
28ct Picture This Plus Valor
DMC, WDW threads

May 29, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY NINE


Needlepoint painted canvas purse insert
Designer unknown
Stitches and threads by Yours Truly

May 28, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY EIGHT


The Drawn Thread
Sisters & Friends
28ct Lambswool linen
Silk threads per the chart

I got a little more done than I would have thought possible today!


May 27, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY SEVEN



I really knocked it out of the park with these little FREE Maynia tickets, didn't I? I guess I really know myself pretty well, because they have kept me faithful to my plan.

Today I am in a different chair in a different part of the d-pod. I think I'll take advantage of the view and enjoy some stitchy time (if I can) and catch up on some Flosstube.

Our Memorial Day holiday weekend has been very quiet and full of rest and lots of good things on the grill. Tonight we will have steak, corn, and tomatoes...something I have looked forward to for weeks!

I have made some progress on Grasshopper Pie:

If everything goes according to plan, I will complete the stitching and commence the beading soon. I promised myself the I would start Plum Pudding as soon as this one was completed, so I'm anxious to get to it!

That's it for me today, Dearies. I hope your very own Monday is perfectly swell and that you get to do something wonderfully fun. Come tell me all about it!

May 26, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY SIX...PRE GAME

I've been sleeping most of the day, but am up, showered, and getting ready to stitch. I'm feeling a bit like Grasshopper Pie might be just the ticket...we'll have to see. Hope your weekend has been swell!


May 25, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY FIVE...THE SATURDAY REPORT

Good morning, Dearies!

Yesterday came and went with rain and in a bit of a blur, to be honest. I resisted at first but soon surrendered to it and just let the day take me where it wanted.

Unfortunately for Maynia, my selection of the day lingered while I played with Cirque:

I don't feel one bit bad about it, because as the moteefs complete I get this one closer and closer to a finish! 

Today is a bit warm and muggy for Yours Truly, so I might stay inside the friendly confines of CS2 with movies and cool bevvies. Magoo wants to play golf and go to a baseball game, but he might be sans spinster. 

I hope your weekend is off to a good start, and if this is a long one for you here in the US you get to do whatever your heart desires! Do something fun and come tell me all about it!

May 24, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY FOUR



Trip Around The World Quilt
Rosewood Manor
Unknown linen
Threads per the chart



May 23, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY THREE


Summer at Cherry Hill
Brenda Gervais
28ct Sand linen by Picture This Plus
Threads per the chart: WDW, GAST, CC

May 22, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY TWO

Rosewood Manor
Flowers Awake
32ct Barnwood
DMC threads


I've really lowered my expectations for d-chair days. This is the sum total of what I accomplished last night after dinner:

May 21, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY ONE


The Drawn Thread
Alphabets
28ct Light Examplar
Threads: silk per the chart


I feel like I got a fair amount accomplished today! This was just what I needed:


May 20, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWENTY



Not a ton of progress on Cirque, but I did put a few stitches in before bedtime last night:

May 19, 2019

MAYNIA DAY NINETEEN...THE BEST LAID PLANS

Well, so much for thinking I'm the boss of me, Dearies. My plan to sit and stitch went awry when I remembered an errand that I needed to run. This lead to me going over to campus and taking a mile long walk around a lake (!) followed by a lovely al fresco lunch of salad and iced tea.

And fried pickle chips.

(A girl needs a little treat every now and then, right.)

The afternoon and early evening was spent on the balcony watching a rain shower, and then a few episodes of the MadMen before hitting the big girl sleigh bed.

So even though a needle and thread were nowhere to be found I still managed to have a peaceful, happy, healthy, and very lovely day.

As soon as I get my wits about me I might contemplate some laundry and house scrubbing, but if that mood doesn't strike...there's always next weekend, right?

Happy Sunday! I hope your very own day takes you someplace fun and wonderful. Come tell me all about it!

May 18, 2019

MAYNIA DAY EIGHTEEN...THE SATURDAY REPORT



Today has dawned anew, and I am in the Happy Chair ready for action. I don't have any stitchy progress to report, Dearies. Once the trauma of the day wore off I was just too tired to contemplate needle and thread, so it was a binge-watch of MadMen and pizza and not much else.

It is a Maynia free day, so this means I will putz about with a few different things. I might have a little Grasshopper Pie or play with Cirque or even give some consideration to Oscar's Corsage...wherever the day takes me.

Thank you for your love and cooing and pats and hugs and kindness. I just don't know whatI did to deserve yous...

But first there is damn good to be consumed and laundry to be sploshed and floors to be swept.

Wherever you find yourself today, I hope it's exactly where you want to be! Come tell me all about it!

May 17, 2019

IN WHICH A HEIFER HAS AN UNHAPPY COUPLE OF MOMENTS...




I am in perpetual awe of how my life can go from one extreme to another at Mach V speed, and how I somehow manage to survive the ride.

This morning in the d-chair I apparently decided that it would be a good day for a full-blown Tony Soprano right there in front of God and everybody, followed by a Lucy for what seemed like two and a half hours.

Translation: I had a huge panic attack followed by a long wet ugly cry all over the front of my old lady big top.

They could not get the needles into my arm no matter how hard they tried, and despite me doing the calm soothing breaths, singing the Sesame Street song, and clutching my BitzyBob, it was a hot mess. Three different techs tried, four different needles were used, and I'm pretty sure we pulled one of my lungs out of my armpit because the pain was...ungodly.  All three gave up and went in search of a fourth tech...the Access Whisperer...and I was left sitting there with needles hanging out of me, a debris field of bandages and gauze, and a small crime scene of blood and fluid all over the floor.

Why this upset me so, I have no idea.

(She says sarcastically.)

I don't know if it's a full moon, that time of the month, or just an overload of stuff happening to me all at once, but I went into one of the very worst panic attacks I've had in recent memory. This one harkened back to the Great Meltdown of 1999 in which I tried to crawl out of a moving car in the middle of a brushless car wash. If it wouldn't have been so scary, I probably would have clutched my chest a' la Fred Sanford and started hollering "I'm coming for you, Stewey! Hold on! Mommie's almost there!"

(If you don't get that reference, look up 1970's TeeVee sitcoms...specifically Sanford and Son.)

Soon enough, the Whisperer was there telling me to go to my happy place again, and she went to town. Two jabs later and I was hooked up, and she patted my hand, told me to put my big girl panties back on, and she moved on to her next patient/victim.

That in itself would have been enough for the day, but something about it caused the waterworks to start, and then the hiccup/cries, and then a good old fashioned bawl session that had an entire life of its own. I desperately tried to hide my face a bit and pretend like I was meditating, but the copius tears, red blotchy face, and heaving bosom gave me away.

So did the river of snot that I kept trying to quell with the back of my hand.

(Note to self: Learn to carry a gd handkerchief or box of tissues.)

In the midst of all of this, the lady-part doctor called to report bad biopsy results, the nurse practitioner tried to discuss labwork from Monday, and the techs had a shift change.

By the time Lorie came on board, the entire team was ready to unplug me and call it a day, but she took one look at me and told them to "Just give a heifer a minute" and I got over it.

I made it all the way through treatment and somehow managed to get home and into my sweats, and then it was time to open the mail.




Inside was the very most perfect gift from a very most perfect stitchy friend...a gorgeous little pin pillow that says "No place like home" and a Starbucks gift card. As I told the sender in my note to her...home really is the perfect place, and the only good reason to leave it is Starbucks!

(Does she understand me, or what?)

So what was a horrible no good lousy terrible drastically bad day turned itself right around in a split second because somebody out there was kind enough and generous enough to think of me and remind me that I am the very most blessed spinster on the planet.

I'm going to go have a good long sleep now and then a nice piece of pizza and then enjoy some stitchy time in the Happy Chair. Thank you for indulging me, Dearies. I hope you know that your presence in the world makes mine all better! Happy Weekend to you and yours! Time to do something fun and come tell me all about it!





MAYNIA DAY SEVENTEEN


CooperOaks
handpainted 18ct mono canvas
Various threads

May 16, 2019

MAYNIA DAY SIXTEEN


Oscar's Corsage
Ink Circles
28ct French Meadow Green linen
WDW and CC threads

Update:

A little more progress today that yesterday:

May 15, 2019

MAYNIA DAY FIFTEEN



Good in Everything
Rosewood Manor
28ct unknown fabric
DMC threads

Update:

Not much progress, but progress nonetheless. I need to adjust my expectations for getting anything accomplished on d-days it seems...just can't function well enough to let the needles fly.




May 14, 2019

MAYNIA DAY FOURTEEN...IT FIGURES



Well, Dearies, this is the perfect day to re-configure the PS abc project onto a different piece of linen! I forgot that I put these little guys in there! Sure makes this interesting!

I have a procedure at 11:00 today and then it's home to stitch!

What's on your agenda for the day?


Post-figuring/post-procedure:

Well, it appears that I will need a full yard of fabric to do this over two!

The procedure was awful...glad that's over with!

May 13, 2019

MAYNIA DAY THIRTEEN...HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEWEY!


PrairieSchooler
ABC sampler
25ct cream fabric
DMC threads


Happy Monday, Dearies! My Stewey Little would have been 14 years old today, and it's been 15 years since my dear Dad has passed away. Missing them both fiercely today!



Well, so much for my brilliant plans on this one. I started it quite some time ago on 25ct fabric one over one, but this just isn't going to work for me. I cannot see to stitch it this way no matter how hard I try, and I'm just not loving the coverage.  So I think I'll re-think the fabric, do some figuring, and look for a new piece of linen.  Onward!





May 12, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWELVE...HAPPY MO-THER'S DAY!

Progress on Cirque des Coeurs thus far:


And the plan for the day:


If you are a mother or are with your mother or are missing your mother as fiercely as I am today, I wish you happiness and joy and love and giggles today, Dearies!

May 11, 2019

MAYNIA DAY ELEVEN...ANOTHER SATURDAY REPORT


I. Am. Exhausted.

But not from StitchMaynia 2019.

I have just binge watched seven seasons of the Game of Thrones in six days. Last night, I stayed up until two in the morning to watch an hour and a half epic battle, and I am wiped out.

Let's just say it was rather...intense.

Anywhoose...here we are on a lovely Saturday morning (er...early afternoon), with our candle burning and our damn good slurping.

As soon as I finish reading the paper I'm going to stitch and do laundry and not much else today. I enjoyed playing with Cirque des Coeurs so much yesterday that I might continue the fun today and then play with Grasshopper Pie tomorrow.


Life is swell, Dearies. Just a small hangover from treatment, so absolutely nothing to complain about in any department whatsoever. I hope your corner of the world is perfectly wonderful and that you'll come tell me all about it!




May 10, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TEN...ANOTHER WOOOOHOOO



Free day bliss...in the d-chair:



May 9, 2019

MAYNIA DAY NINE



Richfield Designs Needlepoint
(artist name unknown)
18ct handpainted mono canvas
Threads: mostly Vineyard silk, RG Treasure Braid
Stitch selection by Yours Truly


Damn, drat, and phooey...no update today because there was no stitching!




May 8, 2019

MAYNIA DAY EIGHT


A Quaker Study
Carriage House Samplings
28ct Cafe Mocha linen
WDW Basil

Pretty good progress today:












May 7, 2019

MAYNIA DAY SEVEN...WOOHOOOOO


My first free day! Pulling this means I can do whatever I darn well please today...stitch, paint, putz, sew, read...anything my pitiful little heart desires!

But first, a trip to the clinic for lots of tests...mammogram, ultrasounds, etc. I'm dreading all but know they must be done. I just need to remember that the sooner I get there the sooner I'm back home in pajamas, right?

Dearies, thank you so much for continuing the love and good wishes and happy thoughts! I get so many lovely notes and comments...I am in awe of you! Please know that the feeling is so very very mutual and that I appreciate you more that I can ever say!



My free day stitching was a wonderful way to clear my head after too many hours getting poked and prodded:

May 6, 2019

MAYNIA DAY SIX


Bent Creek
The Big Zipper/ Live Love Stitch
28ct unknown fabric
DMC thread per the chart


Today seemed like the least productive day of Maynia, but I think it's because most of what I stitched was white:


May 5, 2019

MAYNIA DAY CINCO...EASY LIKE A SUNDAY MORNINGI

Well, Dearies, here we are on a lovely Sunday morning in Hoosierville.

I slept in quite late today and am getting a very slow start, but methinks that is just fine. I've had my damn good and started a load of towels in the washing contraption, and now it's time for stitching and Game of Thrones.

I finished season three in the wee hours, so I might have to go back and catch the last little bit of the last episode since my eyes were closing and I'm pretty sure I missed some crucial parts.

Here is the progress from yesterday on Grasshopper Pie:

Only the upper left corner to complete and then it's on to the beading!

Flank steak and roasted veg for dinner tonight. I've really been trying to behave myself while Rich is away, but I decided to stick with a Sunday meal plan and cook something nice fir myself. Tomorrow I'll get back to salad...today is treat day!

I hope your very own Sunday is lovely and swell and that you'll come tell me all about it! Happy Cinco de Mayo if you're so inclined...have a margarita or two for me!

May 4, 2019

MAYNIA DAY FOUR...THE SATURDAY REPORT

Happy Saturday, Dearies!

I'm up and in the Happy Chair with my first cup of damn good. It was a late night of bingeing season two of Game of Thrones. I started re-watching the entire series on Thursday and managed to watch a full season each day, so hopefully I will be able to catch up to the finale by the time it airs.

Stitch Maynia 2019 has proven to be a lot of fun for Yours Truly. If you're just joining us today, I decided to participate by drawing a different WIP to play with on weekdays and play with Plum Pudding on the weekends.

(I may amend that to Grasshopper Pie, because I am so very close to a finish on it and would really like to have it complete before diving into PP.)

In any event, I have really enjoyed the three different projects in three days. It was a lovely way to reconnect with pieces I hadn't seen in years, and the variety of styles and threads really kept me interested. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of progress I was able to make in just one day of stitching! Granted, they were very long days, but sitting down and being focused for that long was wonderful for my tiny little brain!

It's a bit gloomy here today, but I don't mind one little bit. I am determined to spend a bit of time spiffing up CS2. Nothing major today...maybe just a quick swish of the bathroom and kitchen and a ride around the place on the vacuum. Just enough to keep the Health Department away and Stewey from haunting me in my sleep.

I got a lot of questions about my Starbucks order yesterday. On Fridays, if I've gone to every treatment that week, I treat myself to a trip through the Starbucks drive through. Lately I am obsessed with the vanilla sweet cream cold brew...made as skinny as they can. (Venti refers to the size...large in Starbucks speak.) It's a bit rich and indulgent, but so far has motivated me not to play hooky from dialysis, so that's a good thing, no?

OK. Enough blathering. I'm going to get my second cup and get the paper read before getting on with my Saturday. What's on your agenda today?


May 3, 2019

MAYNIA DAY THREE


Love and Wisdom
The Drawn Thread
32ct unknown linen
DMC threads per the chart


A very rough treatment today, but I treated myself to a Venti Cold Brew on the way home and settled in to get a surprising amount of stitching in! I have to say...these three days of Maynia have been very fun, indeed! Two days of free stitching/crafting, and then it's back to WIPs next week!


May 2, 2019

MAYNIA DAY TWO


Shepherd's Bush
Come Tarry
32ct linen and threads from the kit

I think I managed to stitch almost a full twelve hours today! I finished the three hill section:

May 1, 2019

MAYNIA DAY ONE



 Big Red Sunflower
(not sure of the artist)
13ct painted canvas
Threads: Vineyard silk, DMC perle cotton
Ultrasuede applique: black border

At 9:00 last night I pulled my very first project for my very first Stitch Maynia! I'll work on this Big Red Sunflower when I get home from treatment today and see how much progress I can make before pulling tomorrow's project!


Today's progress...a few more black and white squares in the border: