Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Superbowl Fever and sore hands!

Here in Arizona everyone is fired up about the Arizona Cardinals going to the Superbowl! Go Cardinals!! It’s truly unbelievable as the Cardinals have never gotten much respect and been such losers forever it seems. We’ve got our championship T-shirts and will be glued to the TV next Sunday cheering them on with beer, pizza, and Superbowl snacks. LOL My heart is mostly with the Chicago Bears but I also support the Cardinals. That’s the case with a lot of people here – when you live in a city like Phoenix where most of the people are transplants from elsewhere, a lot of sports fans have dual loyalties – to their hometown teams as well as where they live now. I think there will a collective faint in the state of Arizona if the Cardinals actually win it! I’m almost afraid to watch it.

The end of January is rapidly approaching. I did pretty well on my goals for this month but didn’t meet all of them. I was supposed to get one ornament stitched this month and didn’t do it, and I was supposed to get some time in on my French Alphabet Sampler and that didn’t happen either. I have decided to lay off from stitching for at least 4 days this week so that is also taking time away. My hands have really been bothering me lately so I am giving them a rest. I stitched a lot more than normal the past 3 to 4 weeks and my hands hurt and are stiff so I’m assuming I’m getting arthritis. I’m on a computer keyboard at least 8 hours a day and that plus stitching in the evenings is taking a toll. I have been applying heat, massage, doing hand exercises, and taking Ibuprofen – hoping it starts helping soon. It’s kind of depressing me though – I need my eyes and hands to hold out for many more years!

Here is where I left off with my Beatrix Potter SAL. The light pinkish thread came out looking a bit lighter than I wanted it to, but I will only be doing a few medallions in that thread so I think that will be okay. I'm really enjoying stitching on this and not having to change colors so often like some of my projects. It won’t be picked up again until February.

I’m trying to pull myself up onto the ‘stash wagon’ – but it’s painful!

I certainly don’t need any more but it is so hard to resist. I try to shop at my LNS and local quilt stores to support them, yet the husband and I both want to try to save more money "just in case". We both are a nervous about possibly getting laid off especially when you see the news every day. When you work in Information Technology, at a lot of companies you are considered “overhead” – never good in tough economic times. Just the other day I saw news on Vonna’s blog about the new Blue Ribbon Designs that are out on the website – yikes! I love them all! Guess I will just keep adding them to my “buy list” that I keep. For now I‘ll be concentrating on my 3 new starts and stitching from stash as much as possible.

13 comments:

  1. Hi from across town! I have never been a football fan but am hoping the Cardinals win this! and yes, there will definitely be a collective faint across the state, will be interesting. LOL
    I hope your hands start feeling better soon, never fun when we have to stop doing our hobby for a bit because of health or anything else really.
    love the progress on BP. i still have to post my pic.

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  2. Anonymous1:29 AM

    I love your progress on BP, the colours are so pretty :)

    I'm trying desperately to cling to the wagon and stitch from my stash this year, but it's hard when you see everyone else's WIPs and new stash ;)

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  3. Good progress picture. I love the idea of using different shades of a colour for the motifs.
    I also have a sort of wish list and it helps me not to fall off the wagon too often. Because sometimes the urge to buy a certain kind of stash vanishes after a while. And until this happens I stitch from the stash I already have.

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  4. Trying to avoid stashing is like trying to diet, for me. The harder I try, the quicker I give in!

    Love your WIP pic. BP is such a lovely design. :D

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  5. I'm a diehard Eagles fan but was glad that if they had to lose out on going to the SuperBowl, they lost out to the Cardinals. As an Eagles fan, I can relate to being a fan & not seeing your guys do well. We'll be cheering on the Cardinals here! And I'm a dork, I love cardinal birds so there's another reason, LOL. The colors on your BP are beautiful. I hear you on the stash wagon thing. It's sooo easier said than done, especially with Market around the corner!

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  6. I can honestly say...that I love that BP sampler and I think it is one of the most pretty I've ever seen...and I mean that honestly and sincerely. I love it *A LOT*!!!

    Aren't the new BRD designs great? I'm holding back until I get Peppermint Twist done then I'll buy one of them ;O)

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  7. This no stash buying is KILLING me and I'm not doing great at it! Ah well at least I haven't bought any new charts though I think I 'need' some more ribbon. hmmmm what will dh say when he sees that arrive. I have honestly been the best I can be of late and wish you the very best of luck in getting on the wagon. Love Patti xxx

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  8. GO CARDINALS!!! I am a Cleveland Browns fan so I can not cheer for the steelers :)

    I love the superbowl no matter who is playing.
    Natasha

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  9. I hope your hands feel better soon!

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  10. Love your progress on the BP SAL. The colours you're using are lovely.

    Mmm that stash wagon keeps throwing me off! I swear those stash sites hypnotise me! I just bought two SB needleroll kits (I'm collecting them) in the JJ's superbowl sale but that'll be it until they have another sale and I get a couple more!

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  11. Beautiful progress on your BP!!
    Such a pretty floss choice!
    I also love the new Blue Ribbon Designs Charts!!

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  12. "Wait for the Wagon, Wait for the WAgon, Wait for the Wagon, and we'll all take a ride."....remember that little song :-) Reminds me of my youth...anyway, I agree it is probably painful to get on the wagon, but think about all those projects you will finish this year! Concentrating on your stash has a lot of rewards, and so many of the things you already own and love will become 'realities' as they are stitched and you can enjoy them on your walls instead of in chart form! Ha! Ha! I am not buying as much lately, but like you I keep my "future list" going. Another solution might be to trade with someone if you want something that is relatively new and can find a person who is ready to let go of their chart. I may do some of that this year instead of buying if I find anyone who has stitched a few of the Sampler Cove pieces I want, and a few of the Ackworths I missed getting. Trading can be as much fun as shopping! Hope you can hang onto that wagon, and I agree it may be time to do some saving for the future. I probably should have been doing it all along, but you know how that goes!

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  13. Your Beatrix Potter is coming right along. I love the colour you chose.
    Good luck with staying on the wagon :)

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