Unfortunately last week was a very trying one for my family. If follow my Facebook page, then you already know about my dad being admitted into ICU a week ago today (last Monday). Thankfully, he's no longer in ICU, but is still in the hospital and anxious to get home and get on with life, but at a slower pace for awhile.
Since I've been at the hospital every day since then, most days for hours at a time, and even overnight with no sleep when he was at his worst, I haven't had much time for stitching or healthy cooking. There were days I basically wasn't eating anything other than bananas, yogurt and apples. Thanks to those days I was able to take off some weight last week. I do have to give some big thanks to friends of mine that provided home cooked meals so Zach and I had something decent to eat, as he was spending as many hours at the hospital as I was, in addition to both of us still trying to maintain our work schedules. I must say between the two of us and my oldest sister, we basically covered the hours from mid-afternoon until the following morning so my mom didn't have to be there constantly.
Once they were able to move him from ICU, I was able to spend a little more time doing what I like to be doing...stitching and designing my next pattern. I even took some pics for you. :)
Over the last couple weeks, I've been working on stitching a new model for my "Laughter Is" pattern in between other things, to send off to Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts for a nice professional finish. I realized after I took the pic and was editing it that I didn't put the noses on the masks. Looks like I need to do that before I send it off.
I also finished stitching this heart keyring that was a cover kit with a recent issue of CrossStitcher Magazine. I'll list it in the newly created "charity section" in my Etsy shop sometime in the next few days.
This picture is of my 40 minutes stitching progress on the model for my next pattern. I absolutely dislike trying to get decent pics of green or blue fabric, as they seem to give me the most difficulty. This piece is actually a "very light jade green" fabric, and not grey like it looks in the photo.
I'm looking forward to being able to do more stitching during my "free time" along with healthy cooking & exercise and the dreaded cleaning and starting of packing the house for our move the end of next month.
And since I have committed myself to making at least one new healthy recipe per week, I made one tonight to make up for missing last week. Here's a pic of the "veggie slaw" I made tonight. I tried a couple of bites of it (it was after dinner) and really liked it. It has a very "fresh" taste to it. I'll definitely be making it again. I followed the recipe pretty close, but as it's basically a salad, there's flexibility with it. If you're interested in the recipe, just click the photo.
Oh yeah, and I even went walking tonight after work & a hospital visit before I started doing laundry, cooking, etc. I'm looking forward to nicer weather this week that will hopefully will allow me at least a few days of outdoor time.
Until the next time, Happy Stitching and Mangia!
It's been a crazy, busy week around here, but alas I'm making sure I get my blog post in.
I think I'll start with my xstitch stuff today. I mentioned earlier in the week I would have a new pattern to share with you. Here it is....NERDY WORDS!
The pattern itself is 114 elements of the periodic table that have all been individually charted so you can create your own words or names. I had a lot of fun stitching them, but I think even more fun picking out the words. It was sort of like doing a word search puzzle. :)
If you're into that kind of thing, and you're interested in the pattern, just click the photo and it will take you to my Etsy shop where you can purchase it. If you're a buyer for a LNS reading this post, yes it will be available through my wholesaler.
And of course you know that the finishing of the "wine" hangtag and photography were done by the ever-so-talented Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts. I have so much fun working with her to create the perfect presentation of my designs!
So now to the not so good news. :(
If you looked at my weight tracker at the top of my page you'll see I actually put on weight this week. I thought I was being better than evidently what the scales said I was. I have been eating some junk, as it's already in the house and I just hate to waste money. Plus, I'll be moving the end of next month and who really wants to pack groceries and move them. That means I've been eating a lot of canned soups & stuff for lunch. On the other hand, I've also been eating bananas, apples, yogurt, humus, various veggies, etc. And we won't discuss the m&ms or E.L. Fudge double stuffed cookies!!!
On the positive side, I DID try a new healthy recipe last night and I love it!! I made Healthy Broccoli Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing. Here's a pic of my bowl.
I will say, there are some things I would definitely change. I would only use about 1/2 of the salt, as I'm not a big salt person and I thought it was too salty. I would also use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds. I compared nutrition info on packages of both at the store and went with the pumpkin because they are supposed to be healthier, but found I'm not a fan of them. I will DEFINITELY be making this dish again. If you want the recipe, click on the photo and it will take you to the Pinterest posting where the recipe is.
Now to figure out before Tuesday afternoon what recipe I want to try next week. I'm thinking Zucchini Crisps or a Veggie Slaw. Hmmm.... I guess you'll just have to tune in next weekend if you want to see what I decided.
Until then, happy stitching and bon appetite!
I realized the other day as I was going through my past blog posts, that I haven't shared any of my new pattern releases for months & months.
This particular one not only is one of my personal favorites, but it has also turned out to be my best seller with both my retail and wholesale buyers. "Friends Welcome" was inspired by a wall plaque my mom got me that hangs next to my front door. It's very "country" looking. My version is a more up my alley...bright, colorful & eclectic!
The piece shown in the picture is my actual stitched model. The gorgeous finishing & photography was done by Rita at SnowBerry NeedleArts.
If you'd like to purchase a copy of the pattern, retail customers can get it here.
If you'd like to purchase on a wholesale basis for your LNS, you can do so here.
Be sure to catch up with me on Sunday for my latest pattern that was just released to newsletter VIPs last night.
Happy Stitching!
I know, it's been entirely way too long since I've blogged about anything and I wouldn't blame any of you if you've stopped looking at my blog over the past several months. Unfortunately working two jobs and running Stitchnmomma leaves little time for things like blogging, exercising, reading, etc. However, I'm going to have more free time on my hands, so I'll be back.
A lot has happened in the past several months. I've started selling my cross stitch patterns with a wholesaler, I've stopped making items and selling at the galleries that would only sell my items on a "consignment" basis and I've put back on about 1/3 of the weight that I worked so hard to take off a few years ago. If you follow my Facebook page, you know about all the other little things also, as I do post there on a daily basis since that's where the majority of my fans are at.
I've decided since spring SHOULD be here (Yes Mother Nature, I'm talking to you!) and I'm going to have some more time on my hands, that it's time to get serious about doing things for ME. I miss feeling well. I miss having the time to prepare & eat healthy foods. I miss my outdoor walks and bike rides and doing pilates. I miss having the time to read a book or stitch something I want to stitch just because. Yes, I am going to be self-centered here, lol!
I don't know how many of you have seen the movie Julie & Julia. I recently watched the movie and actually felt inspired by it. No, I'm not going to cook my way through a Julia Child cookbook, as yummy as that might be. Instead, I'm going to do something on the healthy side. Being a realist, I know I don't have time to do even one new recipe a day, so I'm going to commit myself to making one new HEALTHY recipe per week. With a new recipe a week I'll soon have a larger variety of dishes to put into my daily menus. And I'm going to share those here, along with the progress on the rest of the weight I want to lose (see my new ticker along the top of my blog). I figure if I put it in writing, there has to be at least one person of the 240+ that currently follow my blog that will help hold me accountable. I'm going to use recipes I'm finding on Pinterest, in cookbooks I currently have and any that you, my readers, want to share with me.
For those of you that may not care about what I'm eating, I'll be posting plenty of pics of my stitching stuff too. Not only am I working on new pattern models, but I'm also going back and restitching some of my older patterns so they can be finished and photographed by Rita at Snowberry Needlearts to give them a lovely professional look prior to listing them with my wholesaler.
Oh, and if you like to read, I'll probably share some too about any recent books I've finished. I recently found the Mitford series by Jan Karon and am currently working on the 5th book. I'm also in the middle of reading the Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben. Yes, there's a wide variety of books out there that grab my attention, so you never know what book (no electronic devices here) you'll see me carrying around.
Do you have a favorite healthy recipe? Share it in the comments below and if it sounds appealing I'll try it and let you know what I think.
Do you have a favorite LNS where you'd like to be able to buy hard copies of my patterns? Feel free to drop their name and city and I'll see what I can do.
In fact, feel free to share ANYTHING in the comments below. I always enjoy conversing with my friends/fans/followers!
And with that, it's after 1pm here and my stomach is growling. I think that means I should probably figure out what I'm going to eat that's healthy since all I've had today is cookies and m&m's for breakfast. Hey, I had to get it all out of the way before I committed to being a better, healthier person. Ciao!
As with most crafters, there are times I find my stash has started getting out of control. I like to limit the amount of space my stash and/or inventory can take up in my house.
I have a craft fair coming up Nov. 8, 9 and 10. I've decided anything that doesn't sell at that fair, along with a portion of my crafting supplies that I don't have a use for, will be sold in an online "yard sale". The only way I've come up with that I can do that is here on my blog. The date will be Saturday November 16th. Time is still to be determined.
I've also decided, in the spirit of good karma, all proceeds (less shipping costs) from my sale will be donated to a local food bank. I may work my butt off with a full-time job, a part-time job and Stitchnmomma, but always try to remember there are those out there that are in a worse position financially than I am.
So, if you're looking for a bargain on stocking stuffers, xmas gifts for people like your kids' teachers, etc. or just want to increase your own stash at bargain pricing, be sure to put the 16th on your calendar and keep an eye out here for more details to come.
Happy Stitching!
