Far too long without an update...

... and much to report!

A new design is available and ready to ship. The design is called Marigold and it was beautifully stitched by Darla Bohn - who did a fantastic job. It uses two colours of Crescent Colours Belle Soie and is stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linens Magnolia. I'm really not an orange person, but this orange really does steal my heart - isn't it lovely?

I've been plugging away at lots of new stuff and will be delving back into the world of model stitching soon - materials are making their way to me now. I finally get to use my Valdani silks! I have had this one nearly ready to go for some time now, but one of the colours I needed has been out of stock for ages and ages. I was happy dancing when I checked the site last week and found it was available!

I'll give you a little sneak peek at the new designs and a little description. Warning, these are NOT for the faint of heart, there is little cross stitch in them. However, NONE of the stitches in them are difficult, they just take a little practice and patience. 

The series is called A Sampler of Seasons and as you might guess, there are four designs:

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Each design uses six colours of Valdani silk floss, though there are a few overlaps between the designs. They will be released as four separate designs, however as a special gift to my fellow insane stitchers who LOVE BAPs, I will also be releasing some different ideas for layouts that include all four designs on one piece of fabric. There will also be some different borders to join them all up and a verse I wrote that could be included if you choose. It's not really that HUGE to be honest, not like Antique Lace HUGE or anything, but I suppose that all depends on your definition of huge, doesn't it? Here is just one idea - which will quite probably get added to and fiddled with quite a lot yet. Very excited and can't wait to get started!

On another note, the lovely and talented Jo has already used her prize from my giveaway and sent me some lovely photos of her work. She used two bands from Antique Lace in a band sampler round robin that she was stitching! I love seeing creativity like this, it's truly inspiring!

Okay, so what else is new... well I've nearly completed designing the last two pieces in the geometric flower series, and number seven is being stitched as I speak. I've also been working on some new band samplers and lots of other stuff. Hopefully I can keep up my design mojo for a while!!

It's been crazy at work - summer is here, and being a holiday town our population increases exponentially in the summer. And working in a butcher shop during bbq season... well you get the idea. Looooong busy days. It's tiring but I'm managing. It doesn't help that the temperatures here have been skyrocketing up into the high 30s - one day was OVER 40C and humidity on top of that. We finally got a little break yesterday, but today is climbing back up again. I'm about ready for fall now. I love summer, I don't mind high 20s, even low 30s, but this humidity sucks, especially since I don't have air conditioning. Just rain already!!! It's been weeks with no rain and the forecast doesn't look very promising. ICK. 

Which brings me to a little vent/rant. Friday the 13th fast approaches. Our little town gets overwhelmed by bikers every Friday the 13th. They close half the roads to cars, and it's nearly impossible to get anywhere. While it's great for SOME businesses, it's getting a bit ridiculous. Where I work is right next to where they start the roadblocks. We're a place of business but the police won't let people cross the barrier to come in and shop. I mean from a legal standpoint, they actually CAN'T do that. It's not like it's a state of emergency, it's a freaking bike rally. I really wish more people would stand up to them and stop putting up with the crap. It's bad enough that anyone who lives here either has to leave for the weekend or go without sleep because of the noise, but when it affects people's ability to earn a living it's going to far I think. I'm kind of hoping my boss will give me Friday off so I don't have to try and fight the traffic to and from work. 

Back to stitching - I have actually been stitching the last couple of days and my stitching mojo has returned in a BIG way. Not sure why it disappeared these past couple of months, but I'm very glad it's back! No WIP pictures today though - I don't really want to unroll the scroll rods. lol Laziness rocks.

And since I've been such a good girl today and done lots of work, now it's time to go relax and stitch. :)

I've Been Inked!

Wow it's been a busy few weeks.

Printing, packing, mailing, working out, cooking... notice what's missing? Stitching. I haven't touched a needle in two weeks - and I've been on holidays. WHAT is wrong with me??? The desire is there but time is elusive!


I've been on holiday from the butcher shop since Saturday, but have yet to just relax. We went up north for the weekend, and got to visit with friends and family up there which was nice. Monday was spent running around and getting charts printed and packed. Tuesday (my actual birthday) was more printing, packing and running around, dinner with Mom, Dad and Nate, and then planning my tattoo, which I got yesterday. I'm so proud of Nate, he did a fantastic job. :) 

Here is what it currently looks like. Nate did a little bit of outlining in blue to show me it looks better - he's right, and I will be going back so he can finish that up in a few weeks. He also wants to make the fade from blue to purple more gradual. And apparently (not that I can see them) there are a few spots where the ink didn't take as well so he wants to go over those. I think he was afraid of hurting me - I'm his momma after all. I've got him working on some ideas for filligree or maybe vines and flowers to come out from the sides eventually. Just a note - it's addictive. I'm already plotting out several more I want to have done. :D I chose a butterfly because it symbolizes change, and I'm going through a whole metamorphosis of my own right now.

Today I'm going to relax and attempt some stitching after my workout, then off to dinner with my cousin. Tomorrow is shopping for some new clothes that actually fit (not into my size 4-6 stuff yet, but everything else I have is HUGE) AND I'm getting my hair chopped off. Thinking of going really short for something different - kind of follows along with my whole transformation. :) Then possibly going up north (further north that is) for the weekend before heading back to work on Tuesday, though I may forego that and just spend the weekend at home relaxing and getting some design work done.

I FINALLY got all the prize packs sent out on Tuesday. So sorry to take so long but it's been, well, crazy is the only way to describe it!

A Warning About Eterna Silks

There is nothing wrong with the thread, I'll start off with that. It's a decent quality, low priced filament silk and it is lovely to use. HOWEVER...

I don't know if they've gone out of business or what, since there is no statement to that effect on their website, but they no longer respond to emails or contact requests via their website at all. And of course there is no longer a phone number listed on their site either.

The last few orders I placed were a bit slow, but they did arrive eventually, so I let this most recent one go too - my own stupidity because now I'm out $70 and can't get it back through paypal. This last order was placed on February 15. I got an order confirmation, the money was withdrawn from my account (so she obviously accepted the payment) and nothing since then. I've emailed at least a dozen times, probably more, and have had no response at all. I've just emailed again, but it's doubtful I'll hear anything back.

If the threads were for me, I wouldn't be as upset, but they're for my aunt. So now I'll have to go out of my pocket to refund her money.

Funny thing is that I warned her and urged her to use Silk Mill threads instead (again filament silk, though better quality) because they are much better to deal with even though they're pricier. 

ARGH!!!

On a happier note, my stitching mojo has returned. Now it's not a factor of wanting to stitch, it's finding the time to actually do it!!

And the Winners Are....

First, happy Mother's Day Everyone! It's sheer coincidence that I picked today to hold the draw, but serendipitous no less!

So here goes....

The 1st prize winner of one of each of my charts is.... Jo who can't think of a clever nickname! (a nickname I love btw).

The 2nd prize winner of 5 of my charts of her choice is... Orlythe.

And the 3rd prize winner or 2 of my charts of her choice is... Krista.

Congratulations to the winners! Please email me at northernexpressionsneedlework@gmail.com to work out details. :)

Thank you to all who entered!

I'm off now to mom's for mother's day, but I will get to the emails in the morning - so don't panic if you don't hear from me right away! :)

Wow, 100 followers!

I just noticed I now have 100 followers!

In celebration, I'm going to have a giveaway. :) It's also in celebration of my birthday which is coming up later this month - and since I'm turning 40, I WON'T be celebrating, so everyone else can instead. lol

There will be three prize packs:

First prize (first name drawn) will receive a package with one of each of my current published designs (including a copy of Just Cross Stitch containing Tulip).

Second Prize (second name drawn) will receive a package with five of my designs (your choice).

Third Prize (third name drawn) will receive a package with 2 of my designs (your choice).

To enter, you need to be a follower of my blog (new followers are welcome to enter) and post a comment below.

I will be drawing the winners on Sunday, May 13th at noon EST. :)

Good luck, everyone!

In other news... the weather here has turned hot and humid suddenly. We've gone from early spring weather (cool and damp) to mid summer weather (hot and damp) overnight. Where did spring go??

In the interest of sharing everything between us, my beloved Jon has shared with me his awful cold. I had been keeping it at bay for two weeks and thought I had successfully avoided it, even last night I felt alright, apart from a bit of a chill. Today I feel like a mass of phlegm has invaded and I ache from head to toe. UGH. Hopefully with all this healthy eating it'll pass quickly!

On the diet front, I haven't weighed myself lately - I really must pick up a scale - so I'm not sure how it's going. My clothes feel looser, so that's a good sign!

In stitching news... I've been trying to overcome the loss of mojo. I started a birth sampler for a friend's newborn little girl. I converted Hearts Entwined into a birth announcement, and am stitching it in a softer palette (pale pink, green and white AVAS) on 36ct Flax. It's sort of coming. I've got the top band done and the top border. If I feel up to it I might try to stitch some later today. Still waiting on some colours to be sorted out for some new designs so I can get some more models underway. Other than that it's been pretty stagnant on the stitching front. The desire is there the will isn't. Hopefully this passes quickly too!

Have a great weekend everyone. :)

My luck strikes again.

I don't know if this last week has been a good one or a bad one. It's been up and down like a yo-yo.

Everyone at work has jumped on the weight loss bandwagon and are doing this silly "ultimate challenge" in which they're basically betting on who will lose the most weight in 2 months. I find it silly because they'll starve themselves or exercise like mad for the next two months and probably drop weight but they won't keep it off and they'll likely binge and all that unhealthy stuff. What I find amusing is they're saying I'm an inspiration, yet not one has heeded my warnings about guzzling the diet drinks or eating like birds instead of just eating healthy. They're mystified as to why I don't want to join since I'm doing so well. Well, because I'm not under the illusion that I'm going to lose weight each and every week - and there will be times when my weight goes up even though I'm getting thinner because muscle mass weighs more than fat. BUT if you gain any weight you get penalized and have to pay more money. Again, very silly. And everyone wonders why they're soooo tired.

As far as my weight, I've lost another 3 pounds, but it's been a pretty tough week. I was doing really well early on, but the later part of the week brought the period from hell. I actually had to stay home, pretty much in bed with a heating pad alternating between my lower back and lower abdomen to try to fight the cramps. Needless to say my eating habits weren't great for those couple days, I broke down and had a pepsi and McDonalds. Nasty. I was immediately thirsty and guzzled water like there was no tomorrow! Back on track a bit better now. Today is "officially" cheat day, but I'm not doing too badly. I had a couple of pancakes for breakfast, so I did cheat a little but two pancakes aren't terrible. AND they have eggs in them which is about the only way I can bring myself to eat eggs!

That brings me to a question. I want to add a cardio workout to my exercise regimen. There are two problems. Time and body issues. Time in that I can't go to the gym - I really don't have time. It has to be something I can do at home. The other problem? My knee. I can't do anything like step or exercise bike or anything like that that puts pressure on my knee. I've had several reconstructive surgeries and I have been putting off another one so it has to be something very low impact. I'd love to do swimming and when the lake heats up I will probably start that, but the closest pool is a 20 minute drive - time I don't have. I'm thinking of getting an elliptical machine? I don't know if that is a good option? For now I'm walking a fair bit, plus work is very physical, and I'm doing Yoga 3 times a week.

I did manage to find bread I could eat at the grocery store in the frozen organic section. I didn't find most of the other things I was hunting for though. Will have to look again in other places.

My stitching mojo returned this week, and it was welcome! I finished up the first square on Trip Around the World Quilts - though I'm debating redoing the beads because I found a colour I like better. Not sure yet. Then I did some work on Antique Lace Band Sampler. I really am not destined to model stitch this one. I'm on my third restart. The first because I didn't like the floss I'd picked so reselected and decided on Gloriana Ecru. Then I matched up fabric samples I had here - and when the fabric came in, it was two shades lighter than my sample and the floss came in darker than my sample, so there went that idea too. So I finally restarted on 35ct Almond Bar from Weeks, only to find that it ISN'T 35ct. It's 40ct. The beads and ribbon don't fit. I'm NOT dumping them from the design so now I have to find fabric again. I've emailed Weeks in hopes that it might have been a dying error and not shrinkage that is the problem. I'd try the 30ct, but then I won't have enough floss so that idea is out. It kills me because the colour is perfect and after so much switching around, I really have my heart set on chocolate brown fabric. But it has to be 34, 35 or 36 ct AND has be available in a full yard piece. 

And I'm aching to start the models for a Sampling of Seasons, but Valdani is STILL out of stock on S12 Black Bark silk and I need it for all four seasons. Might have to just forget it and go with something else, it's been out of stock for six months now and I can't keep waiting and hoping.

So now I'm working a little on Rhapsody in Red but all this is killing my mojo again, it really is. There is nothing worse than being totally psyched to start something and then everything going wrong. AGAIN.

Going to do some Yoga and clear my head!

Today - a rant of a different kind

So I'm on a diet. Scratch that, it's not a diet in the modern sense of the word, but changing to a healthier way of eating. You'd think eating healthy would be easy, right?

Surprisingly, it's not. You'd be shocked at how hard it really is.

About a month and a half ago I joined the Beyond Diet program. It's about heathy lifestyle choices and eating REAL food. Forget all that diet, low cal, low carb, low fat (and low taste) stuff that's loaded with chemicals. Sure it's quick and easy to toss in the microwave, but it takes me about 20 minutes to make a meal that tastes 100 times better, and is actually GOOD for me. No chemicals. All real, natural ingredients.

There's a short intro video on their website that gives a brief explanation of the program, and actually tells you several different foods to avoid - and even if you DON'T join, following those few tips she gives you WILL help you lose weight and feel better.

That brings me to my rant. I'm beginning to understand why it's so hard for people to lose weight after reading labels and comparing those to the things I should eat and the things my body can't process and put heavy stresses on it. Almost everything in the grocery store from breads to cereals to deli meats to canned fish to peanut butter and even fresh meats contain things they shouldn't. Finding things that are healthy, not loaded with sugar, salt or chemicals is HARD these days. Since when should meat have an ingredients label???? Shouldn't a fresh chicken breast just be a chicken breast? You'd be surprised. Almost every package of meat I looked at in the grocery store also included salt and water. Thank god I work at a butcher shop and don't need to buy meat there. I know exactly where all our beef, pork, poultry and lamb comes from, what it ate before we got it (we slaughter on site, we don't used boxed products) AND that there were no steroids or antibiotics injected into it. The bonus is that it's cheaper anyway - plus I get an employee discount on top of it. ;)

However, that's the only thing that cheaper. I haven't gone to organic veggies, they're too expensive for me to justify. I might eventually, but for now I'm still just buying the normal ones.

All natural anything is expensive. In a lot of cases, you have to do a lot of searching to find it because the grocery store just doesn't carry it. Even stuff that's labeled all natural or healthy choice and stuff like that? When you read the label it's loaded with things like sugar or salt. OR it has a list of chemicals that sound more like an experiment than food.

That's part of the reason I'm taking this step by step.

I've got a long way to go to make the switch to totally healthy, but so far the changes I have made? I've cut way back on sugar by giving up pop, juice and fruit drinks (never was one for energy drinks but I wouldn't be drinking those either). I've given up breads and cereals for the time being until I can find actual healthy versions. I'm drinking tons of water. I've switched to eating 5-6 small meals per day - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack - so my stomach always has something in it. I'm eating protein with EVERY meal or snack. Well I started this in March and have been gradually making changes since then. I was already losing weight because I ramped up my activity level a few months ago, BUT since making these changes I've lost 15 pounds now in 5 weeks. My energy is better and I feel better. I find I care more about my appearance again and my self confidence is through the roof. In other words I'm starting to feel like me again - the me that disappeared years ago when medications, injuries, surgeries, a very BAD relationship and the resulting depression kicked my butt. But wait, my butt is (from it's heaviest point) 60lbs lighter than it was... so now who's kicking butt??? :D And Jon is happier because I'm happier. He's even starting to try to eat a bit healthier himself because he's realized that maybe that's why he's so tired all the time. :)

I get a cheat day once a week, where I can eat what I want - within reason of course. I should still try to eat my 5-6 smaller meals per day, but if I really want chocolate? I'll have it. Grilled cheese? Yeah, okay. Funny thing is I'm finding that since I cut out all the sugary stuff and have gotten used to unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit, water instead of pop... when I do break down and have something I miss they are SOOOO sweet! I had half a brownie today and the first bite was pure heaven... a serious OMG. But after that I realized just how sweet it really was!

The biggest things I've noticed apart from the weight loss is how much energy I have, the huge decrease in body pain I'm feeling, and that I'm eating a LOT more than I ever did before. I'm rarely hungry unless I get lazy and don't make dinner right away when I get home from work. Oh, and my hair is thicker and shinier than before. And my skin looks better. I'm sleeping better. I FEEL like exercising. I FEEL like doing stuff. I FEEL great, to be honest. And my colitis is SOOOOO much better. To be honest, that was the main reason I started this - I was having far too many flare ups and the prognosis was another round of steroids, which inevitably meant another massive weight gain. So I decided to try this first. I'm very glad I did.

Okay on to other more stitchy matters... I want to again thank everyone who took the time to read my blog posts on infringement. I won't inundate you with details again, just again say thanks. :)

And other stitchy stuff... well I haven't been stitching much. This past month has been such a whirlwind - printing, shipping and re-inventing my whole lifestyle - it's been very hard to concentrate. I have done a little, but I haven't taken any pics lately. I worked on Sleeping Beauty a bit, started the Antique Lace Band Sampler and started Rosewood Manor's Trip Around the World Quilts, but haven't gotten that much done on any I'm afraid. I have however, been doing some designing, and will be starting the model stitching on a new series as soon as one of the colours I need is back in stock from Valdani. :) It's a very colourful seasonal series, which can each be stitched on it's own or all together as one large design. I can't wait to show it off to you as I work on it, in fact I wonder a little if my focus on this design is part of the reason I don't feel like stitching - I want to be stitching this!! :)

Right now, however, I do have the stitching bug. So with that I'm off to stitch a little before bed. :) Happy weekend everyone!