WIP update - Gingerbread Santa.

Making good progress. Over 2000 stitches on this new start. Yay

Colored pencil sketches

Here is a cartoonish horse and a more realistic cactus. 

WIP update - Gingerbread Santa

Here is my progress thus far on my Gingerbread Santa by Sue Hillis

Watercolor Unicorn

Here is a cute unicorn. I haven't drawn a unicorn since 5th grade

Watercolor Gnome

Here is a gnome I watercolored. It made me wonder if the Santa Claus mythology came from gnomes. Mine has quite a resemblance to Jolly Ole St Nick. 

Watercolor Snowman

Watching some Christmas Advent drawings in watercolor and decided to create my own. 

Oh Me Of Little Faith

Oh Me Of Little Faith

Oh Me Of Little Faith (video)

by Susan Ashton, Margret Becker and Christine Dente

We are in a bit of a crisis at our church. Our worship leader left for another position at a different church and that leaves us with limited resources musically, but where we fail is in our faith. Many are falling apart in their worship life because they no longer feel fulfilled musically. We are limited in what we can do and so we have been doing basically the basics. Maybe that is our messages: we need to get back to the basics.

What is basic worship: (these are coming off the top of my head and may not be true basics)

A capella 

Hymns

Instrumentals

Feeling led to sing a particular song

Songs rooted in scripture

Our purpose is to glorify God and not ourselves. Do I want more contemporary worship? Of course. But is that what is best for our church? I don’t know. God seems to keep breaking it down so it makes me wonder.

Do I think we can do this? Maybe. I feel like the entire team is on this precarious edge of a cliff and we are threatening to tip over. If one more thing gets pushed out of place… all the structure will fall and we will be left with nothing.

And do we want that?

I don’t think so. I don’t.

I have been praying that we be led in the direction we need to go and things keep falling apart as a result. It seems a huge restructuring is in order. I wonder what will be left when all the pieces fall together.

Catch a Snowflake SAL - complete

I had to do 250 stitches in a project with a snowflake. This is over 280 stitches on 18ct Aida 

Starry Night a watercolor tutorial

It didn't turn out exactly right. My stars look more like midnight explosions. But I will keep watercolor sketching to get better. 

Catch a Snowflake SAL

Here is what I am doing for the Catch a Snowflake SAL

Watercolor Snowman

Watched a tutorial on YouTube and I made my own watercolor snowman

Winter Wonderland SAL - new Start

I decided to start Gingerbread Santa by Sue Hillis because Santa lives in a winter wonderland. 

The Finishes of StitchWhats

Here are my ornament finishes. I backed them with a sticky foam sheet and a yellow ribbon

4th & 5th Ornaments of StitchWhats.

Here are my last two ornaments ...on to finishing. 

3rd Ornament Finish of StitchWhats

Here is the 3rd ornament for the ornament challenge. I am really happy with this one. Simple and so super cute. 

The 3rd Ornament of StitchWhatsIts.

I started working on ornament number 3 from the winter 2004 Just Cross Stitch magazine. It's by Glory Bee called Joy. 

2nd Ornament finish

Not completely happy with the lettering but it is good enough. 

One ornament down, starting on No. 2

Yes! I completed the stitching on the snowman face snowflake. You can see it hiding behind the hoop. Now I am stitching a Joy to the world ornament. The thing was in petite point but since I am using Aida I have to try to figure out the script lettering on my own

WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT NOT HAVING A WORSHIP LEADER?

I decided to journal about our lack of a worship leader. Here was my first question to myself:

WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT NOT HAVING A WORSHIP LEADER?

I though that was a challenging question. I mean, what’s good about that, right? Here is what came up with.

1. We can sing whatever we want. Those songs we wished had been in the rotation, we can sing those now.

2. We are forced out of our comfort zones. Those hiding in the background are forced to be a more visible part of the team. And that is a good thing. We are a team and not just the back up of a worship leader.

3. We are forced to communicate and become more of a true team. We can each put in our ideas and the rest of us listen and evaluate. Not one person has the final gavel to say no to anyone. It is a group effort.

4. We become more of a family unit. Yes, there are fights and disagreements but we get over it and come together in some sort of compromise that not only benefits us but the congregation as well. We love each other and want the best for our team and church.

WIP updates - Crest & Ornaments

I finished my crest for the crest challenge. Some of the black threads from the word "Froggin" came through to the front making it look dirty in places. Where is a snagnabbit when you need one?

Started the ornament challenge last night

Check out my major progress already. Loving it. 

StitchWhatsIt Ornament SAL

Here are three ornaments I want to tackle for the Ornament SAL. From 2016 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue and the Dec 2016 Just Cross Stitch Magazine

Froggin Crest WIP

Here is my house crest from the Cross Stitch It's Fun's StitchWhatsIt Challenge 

Nearly done. Finishing up the banner. Working on the yellow and I think I will outline it in dark grey. I changed the banner shape so I hope that's okay. 

Harvest Brew WIP update

Here is my progress on Harvest Brew by Tempting Tangles

17th Cross Stitch Finish of the year

I finally finished number 17. Woohoo. 

Harvest Brew Cross Stitch WIP

Here is my current work in progress. 

Fractured Focus and Magical Manifesting

Fractured Focus and Magical Manifesting

I have noticed in the last few days how hard it has been to focus and finding that when I want to focus on one thing, something else seems to come out of nowhere to take my attention. I have had to take extra steps to make sure that I am single-focused when I am doing anything. I find I tend to multi-task when doing anything, especially at work. 

Multi-tasking has been celebrated by people everywhere that they got more done than they did the day before because they did more than one thing at a time. Right now I am listening to the audiobook, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor as I am writing this. It is hard to focus when I am multi-tasking.

I have to make a side note here, I keep typing AI and I AM over and over and I find that quite telling. Maybe our focus is being fractured by AI aspects of the matrix that we call the real world. They don’t want us to focus on what we want. They want us to focus on what ‘they’ want. Because it is in the focusing where all the power lies. We are magical manifestors. Haven’t you noticed? Take time to take notice.

Let me give you an example.

I had not been cross stitching for months and I had no motivation to stitch either. But I knew I wanted to. But nothing seemed to be able to motivate me onward toward my goal of getting may projects done. Then I discovered the groups on Facebook all centered on Cross Stitch. Everyone was talking about their projects, their WIPS, and as the days went on, I wanted to focus on my WIPS too. (WIP=Works In Progress)

Then I realized that stitchers were making Youtube videos. On Youtube they call their group: Flosstube. I had previously watched video after video of BookTube videos and found myself reading over 150 books that year. I even read 29 books in one month too. 

The lightbulb came on in my head. Focus. It’s all about focus. When I focus on what I love, what I love expands. The same happened with Flosstube. When I focused on these videos, my want of cross stitching grew by leaps and bounds. And the more I watched, scoured the Facebook groups… the more I wanted to work on my own projects. My WIP pile grew from 3 projects to 15. I even completed 16 projects in 2015 which was a ton more than the one or two from previous years.

So, the power is in your focus. Don’t let the AI of the matrix, the “they” powers of this world keep you from focusing in what is important to you.

There was a video I watched not too long ago called the Miracle Morning routine. I think the man who created it was named Hal Elrod. He found that the way to make a great day was to do certain things first thing in the morning.

Here is his way of magical focusing:

S: Silence. Take time to pray or just be silent for a certain period when you first wake up.

A: Affirmations. Create affirmations that will bring your focus on what you want to manifest. Want peace? Make peace affirmations. Want love? Make love affirmations. But word them as if they are already in your life.

V. Visualization. Take those affirmations and make them into magical daydreams where everything in your world goes right. Have you noticed that we all seem to visualize on the fear in our lives? That only make TPTB more powerful. They feed on fear. Focus what you love and bring love into your life instead of the fear.

E. Exercise. Get the blood pumping and make all those chemicals in your brain flood your body with the feel good you deserve.

R. Reading. Read a book, a blog, a note about what you love, what you want to bring into your life.

S. Scribing. This is journaling. Take time to put pen to paper and speak of what great things happened in your day or in what good will happen in your day. A life worth living is worth recording.

Do a search of videos on Youtube about the Miracle Morning. And see how this is revolutionizing people’s lives. When we focus on what we want, what we love, what we deserve instead of what we fear, we are made new.

Stop fracturing your focus and instead create a magical life. 

Blessings.

Progress of a WIP: Autumn Fraktur by Plum Street Samplers

I have been working on Autumn Fraktur since May 30th, 2015. This cross stitch reproduction design is by Plum Street Samplers and has been a real joy to stitch. I am stitching it on 36 ct. Antique Buttercream Linen. I guess this would have qualified as an entry in 2015's Stitch Maynia which is though a Facebook group run by Garrett (Coffee Stitcher) and Katie (The Stash Queen).

I am calling this Progress of a WIP so you can see how the design grows as I stitch it. And if you didn't know, WIP stands for Work In Progress.

I did work on it a bit in 2015 but I think I have done most of my progress in May of 2016.

I found most of my photos in my Facebook feed and so I want to thank them for keeping all my photos safe and in a place I can find them.

I must have had a big jump in progress here. Wee! I have to admit that I think the WIP stayed at this point just put away in my stash until May of 2016.

Making progress now. I had talked myself out of working on this many times because this fabric has very tiny holes. And my eyesight was straining to see it. Of course, allergy season didn't help matters any.

It is always nice to see progress and I was happy to get to this point.

Yep, there is the bird starting to appear.

All he needs is a head now.

Finishing up on that flower on top right.

Here is where I am now. I have completed the bottom waves and am now moving to the left side of the design. I hope to get this project finished in May 2016. I have worked on it every day in May thus far. The colors are really popping for me and I just love how they look with the fabric.

Bye for now. More progress in a different post when I get to the end.

Much love,

Toni

123 Stitch Haul

I really haven't spoken much on here about my love for counted cross stitch, but I thought I'd share with you my most recent 123stitch.com haul. 123stitch.com is a company located in Utah that has more than just stitchy stuff, as I like to call it. They also have scrapbooking, and other craft items too. So, definitely check it out if you are a crafter of any type, crochet, knitting... yep, they have it.

Left is Buttercup and right is Violet from the pixie collection by Nora Corbett

These patterns are designed by Nora Corbett and are a part of her pixie collection. They are smaller patterns than her big pretty ladies under the Mirabilia name. I like them because they are not so overwhelming to me and seem a lot easier to dig into as a stitcher. Definitely check out all the Nora Corbett patterns. They are definitely a favorite of mine.

As you can see in this pattern called Bubbles, I have all the floss (aka colored thread) for this project as well as fabric. It is peeking out from behind the pattern. We call that "kitting up" a project. That means I am all ready to go to start this whenever my stitchy bug gives me an itch for a new start.

Here are a few patterns I just wanted to add to my "stash". I think they are cute. I even purchased fabric for Sleepy Hollow and Get Kraken. Those are the two patterns on the bottom at left.

This photo is a bit blurry. Sorry about that. I have two of the seasonal banners from County Cottage Needleworks, an October calendar girl and two other patterns I thought were just cute and they fell into my shopping basket.

This Spruce Mountain Run has been in my stash since the beginning of my stitchy career. And I finally decided to buy some fabric for it. I am excited to start it soon. 

Hope you all have a great stitchy day.

Toni

Color overwhelm

Color Overwhelm

by Toni Walker

I have to admit that I am a lover of color. And I have fifty-ga-jillion pens in my collection to attest to it... not to mention an entire shoe box filled with colored pencils and a tub of skinny markers. Yes, I am that obsessed. I have even started succumbing to the new craze of "adult coloring."

Needless to say, color is where it's at for me. But even I, a color-loving person, can get color overwhelmed at times.

Kit I created for my Plum Paper Family Planner.

I created a kit a few weeks ago for my Plum Paper Planner. (Yep, I am a planner girl too. Name a fad, I am probably into it. I just like trying new things.) And this kit was a bright yellow-orange, green, light blue and pink creation. It was probably the most colorful kit I had made for my planner. That week, it worked for me, but as I look back on it now, I can literally feel the blast wave of color as I turn to that page. I squint my eyes as if looking into the sun... that is how much it effects me. I have included a picture here to show you the kit.

This reminds me of a time when I used to watch a show on Nickelodeon called House of Anubis. As I would watch the show, I was bombarded with so much color I felt like I might go blind. Man, is color powerful or what? The commercials were just too much (not to mention the music on them). They literally dripped with technicolor on every square inch of the screen.

So, what can we do when we experience this?

We can read. 

Most books are basically black and white and this will help to keep our color stress levels down. Maybe your body is trying to tell you something when you react to color in a big way. Red is a signal to our body when it has a security issue. It can increase our fear or stress. Orange is a color of creativity and nurturing. Yellow is a sunny color that enlists happiness and brings a clarity into our lives. Green is a color that is very soothing. But you need to watch the tones of color. An olive green might bring a more murky vibration than a spring green. Blue is a calming color. Pink is a color that can calm our nerves as well. I heard a story once about a football team that painted the away locker room in a specific color of pink. That pink acted on a subliminal level making the players feel not as pumped up as the would if the walls had been white or just beige.

We can go into nature.  

We can go outside and take a walk in nature. The color of our world is just perfect for our eyes and maybe your color overwhelm is due to being on your electronic devices a little too long. 

We can limit our color palette. 

For a few weeks I had to select two colors to work with on any spread in my planner so my color overwhelm wouldn't get too bad. 

We can turn off the tv and actually talk to the people in our lives. 

Don't worry, I am sure you can catch that missed program on Netflix or Hulu. 

That is all I can think of at the moment. 

You may even have some better ideas about how to not let color overwhelm your life. Of so, leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you. 

Have a colorific day! 

Choose To Be Kind ~ Do Not Fear

Choose To Be Kind ~ Do Not Fear

By Toni Walker

One Sunday morning not long ago I was driving to church and I had to cut through what many people consider to be the "bad part of town." I have never personally experienced anything bad but I have heard stories. I have a very good friend from this side of town. She is a self-proclaimed God girl who does Christian motivation and comedy. So, that part of town can't be all bad, right?

I was about to test this theory. 

As I was driving, I came across an older Blackman riding his bike. He had a grim expression on his face and I felt that momentarily pang of fear blossom in my chest. 

It was at this point I had a choice. Surrender to the fear and be afraid to go this way again or try something different. 

I chose to try something different. 

I chose to be kind instead and not surrender to my fear. 

I smiled and waved at the man. And then surprisingly he perked up with a big smile and gave me a giant full arm wave back. 

I didn't know him and he didn't know me. We were just two people from the same city passing each other on the street. Together we shared a brief moment of kindness that helped to heal a cracked part of my soul. 

I chose not to be afraid and it paid off. 

What have you been fearing to do or say or experience that might possibly change everything in your life?

A single action. A tiny step forward. That's how it starts, right?  I think we need to take more moments to be kind and more moments to step into our fear so we can experience the joys of this life. 

Kick fear in the face. Make today a great one. 

You have the power to take it slow

You Have The Power To

TAKE IT SLOW

Don't let others dictate your pace in life

by Toni Walker

Have you noticed how crazy life can be sometimes?

You start one thing and then when you've barely begun someone comes along and wants you to do something else. They want you to do something that they deem more important and urgent  Stuff like that really has the tendency to frazzle me especially when I am at work and already busy. 

I want to work at my own pace but other people have their own plans. Needless to say my own pace is pretty fast so I really don't appreciate when other people try to speed me up even faster. 

I know we live in a fast-food society and we want everything to be done instantly but everything in life can't be that way. We need balance. We need to step back and evaluate life once in awhile. Not everyone's agenda in life is more important than yours. 

I really don't know what the motivations are behind these people who continually disrupt us and prompt us to drop what we were doing and hurry up and do what they want.  We act as if what we were working on wasn't important (even if it was). We need to remember that our time is important and what we choose to focus on is important too. 

I think that what we do when we stop to do the supposed urgent task is that we think what they are handing us is indeed more important. Maybe it isn't. This is when we need to stop and reevaluate. What is the real priority here? 

I know when it comes to me I am projecting my feelings on their appearance on the scene and then both judging and labeling their motivations and behavior based on nothing except how they have interacted with me in the past. In a nutshell, it all comes down to me and how I react to the stimulus provided by people I come in contact with.  And just saying that shows me that I am truly the one in control of my own emotions. 

Wayne Dyer once said in a talk that if you're having trouble with someone have them come and see me and then you will feel better. So, I think we kind of fool ourselves into believing that someone else has control over us. And that is totally not true. They are not in your head. They are not you. I heard a statistic once that we say thousands and thousands of things to ourselves on a daily basis and that most of that chatter is of the negative variety. No wonder we drop what we are doing and jump on some one else's priority. We don't think that we are the priority. Heck, we tell ourselves that thousands of times a day. I am here to say that you are worthy. And your time is indeed important. Even if it is only ever important to you... That is enough. 

Nothing anyone can say can harm you... unless you let it pierce your soul. Every day you think you are not important you give those people who interrupt you permission to treat you badly. And most of the time, those people will jump at the chance. 

Take control of your life back!

You are the only person who can decide that you no longer want to multi-task and make some one else's want a priority. If you want to lead a slower paced life, take hold of that. Own it. So, when those people come up to you and want you to do something immediately ... decide that today you will write their request down and then get to it at a time when you are free to do it. And then at that time you can decide where this task lands on your own priority list. If you continue to let people dictate your time, the only person you are hurting is yourself. 

Blessings. 

Visions 2016 - Why I Live Here

I work at the local newspaper in my town. And during February we publish different stories about different counties that surround our little berg. And we call this conglomeration of stories Visions. We were asked this year to write about why we live where we live. 

Here is what I put forth...

Why I Live Here — CENTRALIA, IL

by Toni Walker

"Why I live here" is an interesting question to contemplate. I had never really considered it before. Why do I live here?

I live here because the people I have encountered in Centralia are the most awesome people in the world. Yes, our dear city has its crime, shady elements and whatnot but what city doesn't? I choose to look on the bright side and see all the goodness this city has to offer.

This is the city where I grew up. And with that comes a ton of great memories. I remember the snow in the early 80's when we were stuck at home and everyone in our neighborhood camped out at our house for days because we had the only working fireplace. My sister and brother made an igloo in the front yard and the snow was as high as the mailbox.

I live here because it is where I call home. This is where my parents live. My nieces and nephews, who don't even live here, call Centralia home too. There is a lure to this city that really speaks to people's hearts.

   Have you ever had the feeling that something was meant to be? I know I was meant to be here. I had a choice early in my life if I wanted to move to Chicago and I just had this knowing that this city was where I truly belonged.

   I went to Centralia High School and participated in the Centralia Cultural Society during my high school years. I was shy and drama club really brought me out of my shell. I learned how to be more of myself in my hometown while discovering my love for theater and music.

   Ever since the sixth grade I have been in some sort of choir or worship team and continue to do that until this very day. These days I sing alto in my church's worship team and have a solo every few months.

   A lot of people I know yearn to get away from wherever they live. Move to the big city. Experience life. I have experienced a great deal of life right here at home in Centralia, IL.

   I am a second timer here at the Sentinel. That means I have worked here at two different times in my life. In the late 80's/early 90's I worked for three years in the mailroom, paste-up and as an assistant to the ad staff laying out ads that were to be typeset into the Compugraphic machine.That's all old-school tech nowadays. 

   I work this time around as a graphic designer in what is called Composing. I design advertisements, send plates to the plate machine for different publications and am currently in charge of the TV Weekly that runs every Saturday in the Sentinel. 

I am a third-generation Sentinel employee. My great-grandmother set linotype, my dad was a paperboy and I have had quite a few different jobs here. It is so cool to know that I am a part of the Sentinel's legacy, even if only a small part.

Like I said, why I live here is an interesting question that I think we should all ponder. Ask yourself... why do you live where you do?

-- Toni Walker