Gingher scissors

Hi. My name is LoriRay and I am a scissor ho'. My scissors aren't just for collecting -- I actually use them and it feels good to do that. I don't plan on doing anything about my addiction so don't try and help me. There is no help for me. I am too far gone. See for yourself:

That's a picture of my entire Ginghers scissors collection. The two silver pairs at the top are the 8" spring-action and 4" spring-action scissors. The rest are all 4" embroidery scissors. The middle row from left to right are: Emma, Ashley, Freedom, Glory, and Bianca. The bottom row from left to right are: Julia, Katelynn, Lindsay, and Penelope.

Due to my scissor addiction, I am certain more Ginghers will find their way into my scissor collection along with a couple of cheap pairs and my new Heart's Content black cat scissors. Oh yeah, I forgot about the five scissor fob kits by Shepherd's Bush in my stash closet -- complete with matching scissors. One of these days, I'm going to make a ton of fobs for my scissors.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, I do love scissors. :-)

Last teacher's gift finished

Well, I finished the final teacher's gift this evening, just in time to give the teachers their gifts tomorrow. Whew! I opted to purchase the male teacher's gift but ended up stitching the three female teacher's gifts. I didn't do that just because the teacher was male but because my 6th grader insisted his male teacher loooooooooooves golf and would prefer a gift related to golfing. So, that's what I did and it ultimately allowed me to relax a bit in getting the third and final gift stitched instead of worrying about four.



The third and final gift is from a Leisure Arts pattern booklet and is mounted on an eraser for a dry erase or chalk board:

The last picture I have for you is a wonderful gift stitched for me by my mother. She did one of those Altoid tins! Daaaaaang, I've never even done one of those! LOL! Here is the outside (top) of the gorgeous tin she finished:

And here is the inside:

Did she do good or what??? I know I am impressed and honored to have this gift. Thanks a million, Mom. I love you.

My life

A friend asked me yesterday if I was having any regrets since I quit Radilogy school. Nope, no regrets...and her question got me to thinking about my life. If you don't want to read sappy, sweet, happy stuff, then back out now.

I am so content. Not "content" like "having settled"...but "content" like "happy and at peace". My life is good. I have two beautiful and healthy boys and a husband that mean the world to me. (The boys are up for rent when their mouths get going and I'd consider loaning out my husband when he decides to use my food storage bowls to house greasy nuts and bolts when he and my oldest son are working on a truck.) I get to work at the shop doing the books while working with my husband/best friend and I get to play happy little homemaker, too. Every week I do our grocery shopping after making a menu which usually entails several new recipes. My little family sings my praises every night at dinner (they do love my cooking!) and we have wonderful conversations.

Today is a wonderful day. I got up with the family this morning, helped the boys do their hair (shhhhhhh - don't tell anyone...it was a first and probably a last), and have piddled around the house ever since. I have had a relaxing bath, done laundry, started a roast in the crock pot for roast beast sandwiches for later (new recipe -- another perk of having extra time at home), posted on message boards, and played with the youngest cat (I tried to be affectionate to her but noooooooooooo). All of this and it's only 10:30 AM. See? Life is good.

The rest of today will be busy -- gotta work at the shop for a bit, wash the truck, clean up a little more around the house (dang cats and their fur balls that seem to accumulate overnight in almost every corner), finish up some laundry, and then this evening will find me stitching. Well, after the roast beast sandwiches, that is. ;-)

I hope everyone finds a reason to reflect and be happy today. *hugs*

Halfway done with teacher's gifts - woo hoo!

As of today, I have one more week to get a total of four teacher's gifts stitched. As of this very moment, I have two completed -- stitched and framed! The first is a design from a Leisure Arts publication and placed in a frame I bought at Hobby Lobby for 50% off -- please pardon the angle I had to get to avoid strange glares and lighting issues:

The second is a Lizzie Kate pattern called "Teachers Touch the Future" and put in another Hobby Lobby frame that I got for 50% off -- again, please pardon the weird angle. I am not a professional photographer and it shows. *snort*

Thanks for looking! Now I have to get busy and get two more done, plus a Father's Day gift. And I wonder why none of my big projects ever get completed. LOL! ;-) Happy stitching!

Another LK finish and a PM confession

Well, there it is! Just a few minutes ago, I finished the July Lizzie Kate Flip-It. I am getting more and more excited about this WIP and am anticipating what it will look like finished. *big cheesy grin*

I want to say thanks to everyone for their comments! It makes me feel good to know people are enjoying the pictures and my stitching ramblings here. And to Carolyn, thanks for the nifty lil' tidbit of advice about clicking on a commenter's name and how that'll take you to their blog (if they have one). I never knew that! Thanks! Cool beaners!

Speaking of leaving comments...one particular person (Lisa) recently left a comment on my blog and asked a question. (Lisa) This person (Lisa) actually asked me how many Pine Mountain pillows I have in my stash. (Lisa) Does she (Lisa) realize that counting how many PM pillows I have might cause me to go into some kind of awful seizure or something equally horrific? (Lisa) Okay...I'll be brave...but if something happens to me, it'll be her (Lisa's) fault. (*narrowing eyes at Lisa*) Okay...here we go...I'm goin' in. *insert Jeopardy music for about a minute or so...and keep an eye on Lisa so she doesn't leave town or something in the event I stroke out and can't return*

Okay, I'm back. I did it. I counted nineteen total Pine Mountain pillows left to stitch in my stash-- this includes tuck pillows and pillow kits that require separate pillow forms. And before somebody (Lisa) asks, YES, I already have all of the recommended pillow forms. (Are you happy now, Lisa?) ;-)

Hee hee, thanks for the laughs. Happy stitching!

And yet another Pine Mountain finish...

I finished this a couple of nights ago but just put in the pillow form and took a picture tonight. This is a finish for me and Brad. You can see our names at the bottom of the stitched area. I was going to add our wedding date in the middle between our names, but since the two boxes on the bottom aren't the same sizes I thought it would look off-center.

2007 Finishes

My list of "Recent Finishes" over on the right-hand side was getting too long. I decided to remove all of the 2007 Finishes and put them here.

12/31/07 - Bent Creek Zippie kit, "Snowman", for me! :-)
12/6/07 - Pine Mountain pillow kit, "Thoughts of Mother", a small Christmas gift for my mother
12/1/07 - Hinzeit's "Racing", a small Christmas gift for my 11-yr-old son
11/23/07 - a pattern from the "All God's Chillun" leaflet as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law
11/1/07 - Pine Mountain "Snowman Face" pillow kit
10/30/07 - "MKT/Katy Railroad Logo" for my uncle
9/5/07 - "Bucket of Bluebonnets" by Country Cousins for my mother
7/28/07 - Quilt Square for a 123 Board Member's grandson
7/21/07 - "Birds" by Heart in Hand for my mother
7/8/07 - Faithwurks wooden cat with the phase "Here Mousey Mousey" (for my shelf with cat stuff on it)
7/1/07 - Bent Creek's "Wedding Row" (for me and Brad)
6/22/07 - Hinzeit's "Nurse" (for a friend)
6/14/07 - sewed a pair of pajama pants for my bonus son
6/12/07 - Bent Creek's "Snowman" Flatbed Zippie (pattern only) for a 123 member's son
5/31/07 - completed square 5 of 16 for my "Town Square" afghan
5/19/07 - stitched a small card for a 123 member's son
5/18/07 - stitched an apple from a Glory Bee pattern and placed it in a tuck pillow for a teacher's gift
5/17/07 - altered the size and stitched Lizzie Kate's "To My Teacher" for a teacher's gift
5/14/07 - Lizzie Kate's "To My Teacher" for a teacher's gift
5/13/07 - a teacher's gift by Anna Lee Waite Designs that says, "Teachers who love teaching teach children to love learning."
4/22/07 - a freebie "Pi, Er, Squared" for my Algebra instructor
4/14/07 - Pine Mountain pillow kit called "Sew Glad We're Friends" for a friend
4/8/07 - Shepherd's Bush "Forget Me Not" needleroll for a friend
3/25/07 - Pine Mountain pillow kit called "Play Ball" for my oldest son (Steven)
1/16/07 - sewed curtains, two fleece blankets, and three pillow cases for youngest DS's and bonus son's room
1/8/07 - Kreinik's "Snowglobe" 40 count silk gauze kit (over one)
1/7/07 - Hob Nobb's "Winter Blues" (for me)
1/6/07 - sewed curtains and a matching pillowcase for oldest son's room (Steven)