Connie Gee Designs - Cross Stitch and Needlework

Girlie and I want to wish everyone a HAPPY EASTER!  Here's hoping you find lots of candy in your Easter basket.

Valentine's Day will be here before we know it, so I have added a new free pattern.  It's called "Stacked Hearts" and it's kind of got a quilt feel to it.  If you doubled it, it would make a great biscournu.  Click on the image to get the free chart.

I'd planned to participate in the 15 Cross Stitch projects for the first 15 days of 2012 (with a little modification) as I posted in my latest blog post, but a recent illness - a bout with a kidney stone - made my plans void!  I still plan to do my 15 projects, I just won't be starting them during the first 15 days of the year.  I am slowly recovering from my recent illness and hope to be blogging and posting more free patterns soon.

I am in a group that will be stitching 15 projects in 2012.  I already know I will bend the rules a little for myself due to my writing duties - we were supposed to start the 15 projects the first 15 days of the year, but I don't think I will be able to do that exactly.  I will however, keep as close to the rules as possible.  I am excited to get started, so I will be counting down the days.

That means I need to get my Christmas trees down and packed up over the next few days so I don't have that to worry over.  I will start that process tomorrow.  I should have started today, but unfortunately, I had a post-holiday panic attack to deal with so it put me off my game a little.  I hate those things.  My meds helped, but then I was tired during the afternoon and ended up napping quite a bit.  I wish I could conquer them once and for all!  It literally feels like I am having a heart attack.  For a minute I thought I was going to have to go to the emergency room, but then it eased up, thanks be.

Tonight, I think I will watch a little telly and stitch on my project for my nephew - he wants a Broncos-themed project for his bedroom so I am doing the Broncos logo.  He is a big fan of Tim Tebow.

Whatever holiday you celebrate this season, we wish you the very best, happiest one!  Happy Holidays and a Healthy, Happy New Year from Connie Gee, DH, and Girlie!

I started this blog quite a while ago and it's taken until today for me to be ready to share it.


Finally, after three starts, one complete toss of a partially finished attempt, a frustrated switch from linen to Aida, The Stitcher was done.  Why would an "expert" on stitching who's been at it for almost 40 years have so much trouble with a one-color, whole cross stitch project?  Well, the story gets a little personal, so bail now if you don't want to know the details and you just want to keep me as a stitching icon (kidding, I'm kidding) in your life.

Let me digress by saying that I have always admired designer Pamela Kellogg's openness and honesty about her depression and anxiety which ultimately led to her changing focus from cross stitch to crazy quilting.  I admire her willingness to share her story about her breakdown and treatment and it has helped me deal with my own situation. 

I haven't updated my blog much in recent months.  I was "on vacation" and then I have been dealing with my husband's  surgery and subsequent recovery.  My vacation wasn't really that though - what really happened was that I pretty much "lost it" in August - my mind, that is.  Many of you know that I cared for Mr. Pat, my father-in-law for the past few years.  I was being treated for depression before and during that situation. 

After he passed on Dec. 20, 2010, I seemed to be doing better, but then several things happened - my Grandmother died in Jan. 2011, then there were several other losses and situation and I just never seemed to "get it back."  Well, come to find out, I was misdiagnosed with depression with bipolar tendencies when I was really BIPOLAR in a big way.  The meds they had me on were not working.  Unfortunately noone realized this until I was in such a deep depression that I saw no way out of my situation.  I told someone of my dark thoughts and ended up in the hospital for three days, off the meds cold turkey (That was NO FUN, believe me). 

Long story short, since then, lots of work, lots of therapy, trying out several different meds, taking it one day at a time - slowly, slowly, slowly I am getting better, feeling better, achieving more balance and coping with my diagnosis.  I am able to stitch more, work more, enjoy life more, and live more. 

I don't have all the answers, but here's what I am doing and what I suggest you do if you face mental health issues:

Get Help - professional help - seek the helpt of family, friends, and people in your community

Be willing to get out of your comfort zone including group therapy if needed.  I hated admitting I needed therapy, but it does help.

Do the work - educate yourself about your Mental health disorder, educate yourself about your meds, take time for yourself, journal.

Schedule - meds, exercise, healthy food, no matter how difficult.  Following a routine is the hardest part for me - I am a night owl, but find that following a more "normal"
schedule actually works out a lot better for me now.

Find joy - Even though the dark shadows lurk, don't let them overtake you.

For me, each day things get better and better.  One constant highlight during this whole time has been my stitching and my stitching friends!  Stitchers rule - they get it!

Today I am stitching and watching TV - Tron Legacy was a really good movie, especially considering I didn't really remember the plot to the first one.

I am working on this design from Yiota's Cross Stitch and Kits.  This was my first experience with cross stitch kits from Yiota's and I can highly recommend them!  Included in the kit is a quality piece of fabric, a needle, plenty of floss already wound on bobbins, a photo of a stitched model of the project, and a pattern that is wonderfully sized and easy to read. 

Even with interruptions to do thinks like cook and clean and those other pesky house-hold chores like let Girlie in and out of the house, I should be finished with the kit in time to make an ornament of it by tomorrow!

Thanks to Yiota's Cross Stitch for providing me with this kit to test out and review.

Please forgive me for taking a little trip down memory lane for a minute - My Dad would have been 71 on Oct 4th, so I have been thinking of him a lot lately.  Happy Birthday, Daddy.  I can't even imagine him that age.  49 was too young, but then again, it would have never been the right time for me since I was such a Daddy's girl.

Now on to other things -
I have promised to share some things about what has been going on with me here in Connie Gee's world.  I haven't forgotten.  It's just taking longer to process than I thought - continue to enjoy the free patterns already posted and watch for more.  I am hoping to have some charts for sale in 2012 - exciting start to a new year!

I am still blogging on Tuesdays and Fridays at Kooler Design Studio - talk about a dream come true - I still have to pinch myself when I think about working for them!

Still over at About.com Cross Stitch too - please visit - it helps keep the lights on!

And my latest gig - Craft Gossip Cross Stitch Editor - if you have suggestions for links to feature there, feel free to email me at conniegee.designs@gmail.com - I'd be happy to feature your site, shop, or designs.  It's not just for free patterns - it's for anything stitchers need to know about now.

You can contact me at conniegee.designs@gmail.com to find out how to be featured at any of my various ventures!

Stitcher Bren Ahearn (who is always so kind to mention that he learned to cross stitch from my About.com site) and his husband Doug Brown have a design that has been selected for an on-line voting contest on the Apartment Therapy Design Showcase 2011. Check it out! Go to the link below and vote 3 stars if you like it. It appears that you will need to register and sign in on the website in order to vote. You can vote once a day for 4 days. Let's help our stitchy friends, mmmkay?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/design-showcase/armchair-quarterback-by-doug-brown-and-bren-ahearn-design-showcase-2011-156762