WIP update

Here's my WIP. Yeah, it's wrinkled; I stitch with a hoop.

Winter...

...is happening somewhere else today. It's in the 70's and I'm running around in shorts, a t-shirt, and no shoes. I'm a happy camper.

I finished the never-ending border on the BAP. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

This afternoon I had to give Emma a bath as she was exuding an odor somewhat like funky socks that a teenage boy had worn at summer camp in south Texas in August for five days in a row.

There are two kinds of Jack Russell terriers - those with smooth coats and those with rough coats. Emma is a rough coat. She has an outer coat of longish hair and an undercoat of denser fur. We leave her hair long in the winter, but it sure makes getting her dry a pain. When she gets a haircut, she ends up looking like a smooth coat Jack Russell terrier.

Both kinds of Jacks shed like mad. After I get her as towel-dried as I can, I take her outside and brush her. This gets a lot of loose hair off her (and usually onto me!). I brush her hair against the grain to help dry the undercoat. She doesn't mind at all. She does look pretty after a bath and brushing. For a while.

What, you don't have a pile of construction stuff and boxes of shotgun shells by your front door? Why not?! (And while the shells may be by the front door, the guns themselves are under lock and key.)

You paid how much???

A while back, I bought all four patterns for the "Crabby All Year" series by Raise the Roof Designs. I had seen it on their website and thought it was right up my alley. I failed to notice that it had eleventy-billion expensive-but-cute JABC buttons.

At first I thought I'd just leave them off and stitch something in their place. Then I saw it stitched up on Daffycat's blog and really liked how well the buttons added to the design. So I gave in and decided to buy them.

I went in search of them on the Internet. I found sales in several online needlework stores, but shipping was a bit high, and I wanted to get them at a tightwad price. On a whim, I went to eBay. I found them new at about 25% off through a "stitchy" eBayer and shipping was very reasonable.

While adorable, the dang buttons were still over $45.00 bucks, though. *NOTE TO SELF - check all patterns for expensive buttons before buying them!*

Setting up the rack

I spent the morning putting together a fire wood storage rack we bought to hold our fire wood. I had to set six large bricks in the ground to set it on. Setting bricks and digging in wet south Texas gummy dirt is no fun and takes time. I had to make sure they were level. But I got it done. Now (if the weather will cooperate), we just need to cut some more firewood and fill it up.

This time last week, it was very cold; sub-zero temperatures at night, barely above freezing in the daytime. Today, it's about 70 degrees and I'm running around barefoot. It's only going to be down in the low 60's tonight. Gotta love the winter weather in Texas!

I'm still stitching on the never-ending border, but the end (of the page) is in sight!

Rooting the wrong way

It's that time of year - NFL playoffs. DH and I watched all four playoff games this weekend. Every team I was rooting for lost. This included the Cowboys. Poop.

When the Saints were playing the Cardinals, I was rooting for the Cardinals because I like Kurt Warner. I like the Saints, too. Now that the Saints have won, I will be rooting for them to go to the Super Bowl and win it.

My favorite pre-game, half-time, and post-game show is on Fox. I love "Kurt, Terry, Howie, Michael, and Jimmy." I grew up watching (and "hating") Terry and Howie as players as they played on teams that were rivals to the Cowboys (Steelers and Raiders respectively for those of you not into football). Now, I really enjoy them as analysts and they make me laugh. Terry is the biggest goofus ever and Howie is the brain of the group. Michael is fun and Jimmy is my favorite former Cowboys coach, second to Tom Landry. Poor Kurt just tries to keep them all in line (and not very successfully).

And speaking of Howie, I love the Chevy commercial where the guy tells him he has "cop hair."

Emma was very enthused about all the football this weekend. She did manage to steal a spot in the sun for a nap when it came out for about 3.5 minutes this weekend.

I did more stitching on the never-ending border on my BAP over the weekend. I'll post a picture more towards the end of the week.

Those with "Y" chromosomes need not read

This post is about bras. If you are male, this post will probably bore you, so reconsider reading it.

For me, my choice of clothing is all about comfort. I like clothing that is not too tight made out of mostly cotton. Comfort, comfort, comfort. This includes bras.

I'm an average size and I don't like extra padding, underwires, itchy lace, or itchy and bunchy seams, or straps that chafe. I don't like nylon or polyester, only cotton with a bit of Lycra thrown in for helping the cotton keep its shape. I don't want my breasts mashed, squooshed, pushed up or over, or perkified. I just want them to sit on my chest in relative comfort. Bra manufacturers don't seem to understand this desire.

When I find a comfortable bra (an oxymoron, I know), I buy up a bunch of them because, inevitably, the manufacturer will quit making them as soon as I decide I like them and need more. This vexes me.

My DH has been wearing the same brand and style of underwear since he was 16 years old. It hasn't changed or been "new and improved" or discontinued. This is unfair. Manufacturers don't seem to mess around with men's underwear. They figure they have a good product because the men are buying them so they leave well enough alone.

For years, I wore a bra made by Dillard's. Then they quit making them. After my supply wore out, I tried in vain to find something similar and couldn't. So I decided my sports bras were comfortable enough to wear for everyday. Then the manufacturer quit making them, too. I was able to find a different decent bra for sports, but not for everyday wear.

As clothing will, my everyday sports bras began to wear out and I began looking EVERYWHERE for a suitable and comfortable replacement. Did I mention that I loathe and despise shopping for bras? I went to the mall. I went to department stores. I searched the Internet. I googled. And finally, I ran across an Internet store called HerRoom that advertises "Lingerie we buy for ourselves."

So I checked them out. For each item, they have several pictures, front, back, and measurements, along with an excellent zoom feature. I felt like I could really get a good idea of what the bra really was like. They also have sizing guides and customer reviews.

So, as they have free shipping for anything over $70.00, I ordered five likely candidates in several sizes (because we all know how accurate bra sizing is - NOT!). I tried them on and found one I liked. After recovering from the near heart-failure from my great surprise, I ended up with a new comfortable bra. The company that makes it has been in business since1860 and this style has been made for over 15 years. It ain't going anywhere.

The only drawback is the price. As we women well know, a "good" bra can cost from $25.00 and on up. This one is in the "on up" category. But it is comfortable (for a bra) and so I'm willing to pay for it. So I'm good to go for now.

I've been stitching on the BAP. I gridded the edges for the pages I'm stitching on next. That took a while. I usually don't grid things because gridding makes me crazy. Anyway, I'm now stitching on the wide border (over on the left lower side) that goes around the entire design with a boring light peach color. I've stitched and stitched and it doesn't look like much. This is gonna be a loooooong stitching year. ☺

Copyrights and Wrongs

I'm one of those people who won't knowingly violate a copyright when it comes to cross stitching patterns (or any other printed media for that matter). Yes, I do make working copies of patterns when I am stitching them, but the copies get run through the shredder when I'm finished stitching from them.

Don't ask me for a copy of one of my patterns; I won't give it to you. Don't offer to give me a copy of one of your patterns if I express appreciation or desire for it; I won't accept it. Even if it means that I have to spend exorbitant funds on eBay to get a legal copy. If you give me a copy of something and I discover later that it is illegal, I'll run it through my shredder.

If something is out of print (OOP), this is not an excuse to make copies. I won't even try to rationalize that copying is okay because the pattern is no longer in print. Copyright laws still apply! I'll spend my money on eBay or peruse garage sales and thrift shops in search of OOP patterns I'm wanting.

Today, I was reading a cross stitch message board and noticed a post from a designer. She had discovered a picture of a finished project on a blog stitched from one of her patterns that has not been released to the public yet!

The designer had posted a picture of the pattern on her website, and this thieving blogger had made an illegal pattern from the picture! The thieving blogger had then given the pattern to her friends and posted it on a disreputable message board for further distribution!! And she bragged about it!!!

The post also included information about how some designers had backed off from the business due to losing money from copyright infringement. ACK!!

If you aren't sure about copyrights yourself, read this article about "Copyright Basics" from Yarn Tree.

Now, on a lighter note, here is Emma desperately begging (albeit mostly politely) for a chip from DH as he eats his "watching football snack" of chips and hot sauce.