Watch Out!

I learned recently that it is best to watch where you are walking. I was walking back from getting the mail across the street and happened to look down at the sidewalk in front of the house. There was a snake and I almost stepped on it or it almost ran across my foot. Either way, I have been looking around when outside now. One near miss is enough to keep me more alert!

It is now under two weeks to go until the TNNA wholesale show in St Charles, MO. I will make a final list tonight of everything needed. I've been stitching and printing and planning and just trying to keep on track. I'm a little nervous, but that is to be expected since this will be my first TNNA show as an exhibitor.

Great Customer Service Day

The award for best customer service goes to ATT!!! My daughter wanted an Iphone. She went to the apple store rather than ATT and was given misinformation regarding the portability of her phone number. I called ATT this morning anticipating that I would spend the morning trying to straighten it all out and - SURPRISE - it is the first time I have ever spoken with 3 customer service representatives, each one anticipated the upcoming activity, had the information transferred to the next step's department representative, and fixed it with as little hassle as possible!! Great job! I am so happy that I have all my services bundled together with this excellent company!!! Yeah for me!!

I also received a random email from someone and it looks like it, also, is a good thing I followed up. www.positiveyarn.com/wp/ You just never know how a day will go!! Wake up and expect good things.

Fall Decor

If I see Christmas decorations being sold do I need to hurry and put my fall things out? I could not believe it when I saw the Christmas decorations aisles. I know I have "moments" when I get distracted and then have to pause and think about what I was doing, but that made me stop and check - what is the date? Oh, yeah, August 31st!! I haven't lost time and suddenly regained conciousness - it's only September!! Time flies quickly enough without feeling like I completely missed a season!

I do need to work on the procrastination. I mean, I have it perfected, I need to stop! My time perspective is out of whack! Wonder if there is a pill for that. . . Or a life coach!

I managed to get the September newsletter posted on the 1st! I was tickled to see that I did not have any contest entries before the email was completely sent. That has fascinated me the past two months. As soon as I hit send on the email, I start getting entries from the contest. So, I decided it was too easy and tried something a little more difficult. Not too difficult. I could have made it harder, but didn't want anyone to pass it up because they didn't have the time.

What was it? Code XS. I made a 5x5 grid symbol substitution for each letter of the alphabet. I made a band sampler style design using the letters from two words (very obvious words) by making each symbol repeat 7 times connected across a line and then spelling the words down in rows. I added a spacer line that is obviously the word break to make it really easy. I think it has potential! I hope the Stitchers' Village members enjoy it. Pictures above are b/w and stitched on swamp colored fabric from Picture This Plus using bush baby colored silk thread from Dinky Dyes.

Early Bird

Don't you love it when you wake up at 4 a.m. and then are wide awake unable to go back to sleep. It is definitely "me" time. No one else is up!! I got some quality online research time this morning. I also played a little Spider Solitaire.

The water in Topeka, KS is "safe" but has a foul odor and taste. Lovely!! So I hauled home some gallon jugs of "spring" water from the grocery store in hopes of having a decent cup of coffee. I had also cut back on drinking soda and had been drinking water during the day. Not tap water anymore. Yuk! I noticed some of the water in the store said "from a municipal source". I've not been having a good experience with that lately, thank you.

It really makes you think about our natural resources, right? I heard a presentation given by Jean Michel Cousteau in which he talked about the impact each one of us has on the ocean, even in Topeka, KS. Obviously, Topeka is having issues with the local water, so the ocean is in big trouble.

In addition to stitching my little fingers away, I spent about 7 hours entering data yesterday. The St. Francis Hospital Foundation is hosting the Childrens Miracle Network Radiothon at the Westridge Mall here in Topeka. I am entering each of the pledges and donations into the database. I almost finished Tuesday's information yesterday. My right arm is feeling the strain from the marathon typing and stitching. I will be doing data entry again today, but don't think I'll make 7 hours again. I may have to spread it out a little and plan on some time there next week, also.

STITCHED

A very productive weekend. I started and finished a piece that I need for the September Stitchers' Voice. 2164 stitches (an exact stitch count is a perk of having it in the design program). You know how you get an idea and it really sounds great? Well, kinda like that and it stitched wonderfully. I hope everyone finds it interesting. Here's a color swatch - swamp linen from PTP and bush baby silk from Dinky Dyes. I don't want to give away any more yet. . .

I am working on a list of member blogs, also. The problems with that is, I go wandering off into cyber land reading them. It is fun, but slows down progress. Hopefully, I will figure out the best place to have them on The Stitchers Village and get that on the site soon.

Unfortunately, Moonflower Designs needs to get some new designs finished. I may be stitching around the clock for the next month!!! Better get back to it!

Chatty Patty

The Stitchers' Village August update just went out. There is now a chat module so that Village members can "get together" in a more real-time way. A test run is scheduled for Friday, August 20 at 8p.m. CDT. Hopefully members will register and this will run smoothly. There will be future scheduled chats with designers, etc.

I don't believe I posted about the Kansas Stitchers group get together this past Saturday. We all met in Abilene at Picture This Plus. There were 19 and it was so great to see everyone and their projects, both finished and WIP. I was very pleasantly surprised when I was asked if I had lived in JC. It was a classmate of mine from high school. How great! She knits and has done a little cross stitch. She found a new project to work on at the shop.

Working From Home

I do love having my work from home job. Thanks to wonderful people such as Cheryl from Glendon Place and the telephone, I'm not a complete hermit. She and I had a great conversation this morning. Today has not gone as scheduled, however, and that is the good thing about the situation - flexibility. The bad thing is that putting laundry away was interrupted by the UPS delivery of some paper. Now I find I have lost my cup of tea. I have not launched a serious all points search, but the walk through when I started the last load of laundry did not produce my tea. It was very good - Assam Gold from Teavana. Don't you love that - Teavana? I ordered some fruit mix, also, because I wanted some delicious fruity iced tea. Perhaps it is time to find my cup and work on the email list for the mid-month Stitchers Village update. Have a good one!