Finally a finish!

Tuesday evening I finished Love is Enough. This one seemed to take forever.

Although I liked the way it turned out, I didn't really enjoy working on this one. It was a very finicky, fidgety piece, with a lot of teeny tiny back stitching with constant change in direction.

Rather tough on the old eyeballs!

Now I have to find the right frame for it.

After this, I decided to work on a quick little one. I have had Bountiful Blueberries from Sweetheart Tree, in my stash for ages. This one is only 43 X 34 stitches, and works up very quickly.


The first evening I finished up most of the cross stitching. Then last night I finished up the rest of the cross stitching and did all the back stitching for the tendrils. By the way, I think the designer has probably never seen blueberries growing in nature. There are no tendrils or vine. They grow on a bush! That said, I like the design.


This is what I have so far:


Tonight I will do the outlining on the berries, and attach the beads and the little charm in the center.

I totally missed the March edition of the Totally Useless Stitch Along. Here is the March-April edition. Atleast there are a few more colors in there. Before it was totally pink from my quilt.

Today is my birthday . . .

and oh, what a large and terrible number it is!!!

Ugh! Do not know how I got here! I couldn't possibly be this old!

Ok, don't think about it! Just don't think about it! Just keep going!

That's it! Denial, denial, denial!

Not much going on around here today. It is very, very cold here today, and windy too. Looks nice out, but way to cold to be out for any length of time.

I have gone back to working on Love is Enough. It is a difficult stitch, and frustrating with back stitching at odd angles, and color changes every 2 or 3 stitches. It is quite a slow-go. I will be glad when it is finally finished.

Here is a picture of what I have so far:

The colors in the photo came out a little off. The blues and the greens are ok, but the pinks came out too coral looking. What is hard to see, is that there are actually three shades of green, three shades of blue, and three shades of pink. The pink colors are too subtle,
and unless you look really closely, it looks like one color. That is a bit of a disappointment.

Oh well that's all I have for today.

Guess I have to go back to face my grim reality!

Back from Oblivion!!!

Not that I have actually gone anywhere! Just life getting in the way!
Time, since the summer has been just a blur! Although I have been very busy, I don't really seem to have much to show for it. I have been spending a lot of time fixing up my old house. It seems everything needs to be re-painted. Also, I have been trying to finish a part of the attic so I can have a little craft studio. This has proven harder than I thought, not to mention colder than I thought! There is no heat up there, so for now the plans will have to be on hold until spring.

I really appreciate all your comments! I am always amazed that anyone out there would care about my little scribblings!

I still haven't gotten The Old Aviary framed yet. Soon, hopefully. Atleast I have the frame for it.

I was working on the William Morris design, Love is Enough, but I put it aside for a while to work on a few other projects. This is a deceptively intricate pattern and it really requires my full alert attention. It is nagging at me to finish it! This is where I was when I left off:

With so much going on, I picked up a fairly brainless project that I have been working on off and on now for over a year. I am happy to say that I have finally finished stitching the little Christmas lap quilt, 'Tis the Season. It's ok, but frankly, I am not sure this one was worth all the work. Maybe I will feel better about it when it is quilted. I hope so.

I had some trouble finding the backing fabric for this. Finally I found one the other day on ebay. Of course it will be a while before it is quilted and finished.
Oh well. There is always next year!

After I finished that, I still wasn't ready to go back to the William Morris design, so I picked up another Cross stitch quilt. I love these old kits, but unfortunately they do take forever! This one is called Country Garden.


It didn't come with the thread, so I picked my own. The colors I chose are not as bright as pictured. I wanted a more antique look, so I went for some muted tones. This is a a king-sized quilt, and is a huge design !
I started working on the center panel. The part between the borders hangs down at the bottom of the bed. I have really just started the center design. I guess I have about 2-1/2 feet before I get to the top. Then I have the 2 side panels to do!

This is what I have so far:

I did manage to stitch a few little ornaments, but I have not finished them yet,

Well, I guess that is it for the stitching for now.

Sorry for such a rambling post. I promise, I will not be gone so long this time!

The Old Aviary is Finished!

Hooray! This has been a long time coming! I started it back in March.

Here is part 4:

(click to enlarge)

I love all the critters in this! There are many birds of course, including an owl. There is also a rabbit, a squirrel, and a very odd little porcupine! The only thing I am not too crazy about is the flowers. They are all exactly the same style. I think if I had noticed that earlier, I would have changed them a bit. All in all though, I am pleased with it.

Here is the whole thing:

(click to enlarge)

I aplogize for the photo. This has been a miserable experience trying to get good pictures of this sampler. I promise that it looks better in person!

This is going to be a bear to frame, but I think I already have a frame for it, so I will give it a try. I will post a picture when it is completed.

For my next project, I chose Love is Enough, a Christmas present from my husband. I am a bit nervous about it though. I decided to stitch it on 36 count instead of the 28ct that came with the kit. I made a small start on it, and I am finding myself worrying if I have a big enough piece. That is such an awful feeling! Aghhhh! I am keeping my fingers crossed.Here is what I have so far:

The Cat Who Came for Christmas!

Meet Hermie!

The last thing I needed, the very last thing I needed, was another cat!

Hermie had been casually visiting for the last 3 years, however during the last year I became aware that he was completely dependent on me for food. Also, it became apparent that he had no place to go. At one time he belonged to someone who was renting across the street, but apparently they thought he was disposable, and just left him when they moved. We noticed that he was no longer crossing the street, and just before Christmas we found him crouching under the tarp on our wood pile.

Well, what could we do?

Hermie as it turns out, is quite a character, and has made himself at home! (Why do they always have to sit on the top of the chair)!?!

Of course this has not gone unnoticed by the other cats who clearly do not appreciate this interloper! They were used to seeing him outside, but sleeping on the bed is another matter! There has been quite a lot of howling, growling, spitting, and the occasional fur flying! Hopefully soon they will all become used to him.

Christmas generally seemed to be much more stressful this year than it should have been, family matters, etc. Not sure how to fix that, but somehow we need to simplify our lives so we can appreciate the things that really matter.

On the stitching front I have not made a lot of progress. I am disappointed that 'Tis the Season, the lap quilt I have been working on, is taking so long to finish. I have only completed 4 of the 9 squares, and scarcely any of the border.
This will takes months more, and then there is the quilting! I am not one of those people who enjoys Christmas stitching after Christmas. Somehow I guess I will have to put it into some kind of rotation, though I have never been very good at that.

One very nice thing I got from my husband was Love Is Enough, from Millenia Designs in England. They do a beautiful job on their kits. This one is a William Morris design.
I am looking forward to working on this! I have to somehow find the time for it.

Of course my main project, THE RUG, is still unfinished, and I must concentrate on that first. I made a little progress on it. I will post a photo later. I still have a long way to go though!