Nearing Febuary's End!

 Hard to believe! I have just about recovered from the Holidays!

I didn't want to start anything large, so I picked this little design. I think it has a sort of "deco" look to it.

Welcome in Bloom by Jennifer Rodriguez

This came out of the August 2008 edition of The Cross Stitcher Magazine.

This is what I have so far:

I have finished all of the cross stitching. Now I have to do the back stitching, and there is quite a lot of it! I made a very small start on the leaves in the upper left.

I have had a lot of trouble concentrating lately. I have an upcoming medical appointment which seems to occupy most of my brain! I will be so glad when it is over!

Happy St. Valentine's Day Everyone!

 This holiday always presents me with a splendid opportunity to use my pink floss!

 

This year I took part in the Secret Stitching Sweetheart, sponsored by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching https://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com.

 

This is the beautiful little piece I received! 

The finishing is absolutely beautiful!

I will be hopping around the blogs later to find out who the talented stitcher is.

Enjoy the day everybody!

My Little LOVE Pillow is Finished!

 It has been a while since I have stitched on black linen OMG! My eyes have gotten worse! 32 count black linen is tough to see, so this is not my best work, but it is finished.

"Love" - Ezia Gladstone - New York Dreamer

The backing is unremarkable, but I had trouble finding something that did not detract.

So, this is my St. Valentine's Day display this year:

I know this is a pretty silly holiday, largely made up by the card and candy companies, but I do love pink, so it is a good excuse for me!

We are expecting to get a snow storm on Monday night. We haven't had much snow this winter, but now frankly I hope we don't get any! We have been feeding some feral cats on our deck, and I always worry about where they go when it snows. They have enough trouble with all the raccoons, dogs, possums, and foxes! We have tried to lure them closer, but they are true ferals and are very afraid of humans. To make matters worse, we think one of them is pregnant. 

I almost forgot. I haven't put this out there in a while. This is my TUSAL! I continued it from last year as it wasn't anywhere near full. A lot of what is in there are snippets from my Nut Border Sweater.

I love seeing all of your stitching feats. It keeps me creative!

Where have all the Pussy Willows gone?

Pussy Willows are my all time favorite flower! Some of my favorite memories are finding them unexpectedly along the roadside.

Usually every February I could count on cutting bunches of them. Now when I pass by where I used to find them. they are nowhere to be seen. What has happened to the roadside weeds? They are all mowed down. It seems every bit of roadside has now been thatched, mowed, sprayed with herbicide, or otherwise "landscaped"!

Yesterday my husband came back from Trader Joe's with two beautiful bunches of pussy willows! I was thrilled to see them. 

They are absolutely gorgeous! They are full and beautiful, completely all in bloom, but they have a look of "farmed" florist flowers.

The pussy willows from the side of the road never had so many blooms. They were definitely more scruffy looking, but I do miss my roadside weeds!