August TUSAL, a Quilted Tablecloth and St. Nicholas

Here's my August rendition of the Totally Useless Stitch A Long. This month I added to the jar some yarn ends from the kitty needlepoint I'm working on and some red and white threads from the tablecloth you see here that I am making.

This is the top of the table cloth in a 9 patch pattern. I was going to do a reverse of light and dark for the other side but my resident poet suggested I make large squares rather than 9 patch squares and I think I will! I got some beige and brown toile and I can use that for the large squares and I may play with small squares of red instead of long rectangles between.

I am not getting as much done now on the table cloth or the kitchen as I started my new job on Monday. This is transition week for me as I get used to new schedule which is days and I am a real night person. I'd rather go to bed at 3 am. Not any more! But I love my new job. There is virtually no stress, I do what I need to do with no one to bother me, no dealing with people, and lunch is when I want it not when someone tells me to go. Oh My Goodness! I feel like a real person. And I enjoy what I do which is photographing and listing items to an EBay store. Oh, and I get to play with beautiful jewelry all day. I also get to organize and inventory things. Unlike at home I am ultra organized at work. I can't stand clutter and disorganization at work. I actually don't like it at home either, but I get lazy. Something else I'm working on.

And like I need another project...I got this cross stitch pattern from The Holy Needle. And I downloaded it right then, what a great concept. I am an Orthodox Christian and I collect St. Nicholas the Bishop figurines. They are a little hard to find, especially within my budget. So this year I got this pattern. I think it may actually be for next year as I won't have time to complete it by December 6th - St. Nicholas Day. But isn't he gorgeous? You can learn more about the real St. Nicholas here: http://www.stnicholascenter.org and you can see other saints in cross stitch patterns here: http://www.holyneedle.com They also have a free pattern each month.