I've been slowly working on the first of two projects (they're a set), and here's what it looks like so far. I'm LOVIN' the colors! And the stitching is going relatively fast. Got some work done on it this weekend. Enjoy!
Was out all day and came home to see this on my kitchen table:
Now mind you, the outside thermometer reads 35 degrees and I have a gorgeous deep red hibiscus bloom! It just made my day! .... and it made the cold and clouds suddenly disappear.
~~I'm so thankful for the gorgeous flower waiting for me when I got home~~
Every morning, before I take Autumn (my Greyhound) outside for her walk and while I'm getting dressed, she starts what I call her 'performance.' This consists of getting all her plush toys out of the basket, holding each one in her mouth, shaking her head, then sending each toy flying all over the living/dining room. This all takes place while I'm in the bedroom and I can't SEE what she's doing, but I certainly can HEAR everything..... every single toy has a 'squeaky' in it that she loves!
So this morning, this is how she decorated my chandelier! Now all I have to worry about is if she ever tries to get it DOWN from there! OY!
It's going to be a short post tonight. Tired and still need to take the dog out, make coffee (on a timer for the morning), shower, and hit the hay.
Just wanted to show my progress on the set of roosters I'm working on (click here to see the original post). I'm so happy with the colors and the way it's turning out. I'm being really diligent and trying to work on it as much as I can 'cuz I'm excited to get it done, then start the second one! WooHoo!
~~I'm thankful for the clear, bright sky tonight and the glowing stars~~
Can you believe it's the last day of September?? All summer long, when it's hot and humid and the temps are in the 90s and I'm really cranky 'cuz I don't particularly care for anything over 65 degrees, I keep asking (myself and anyone who will listen!), "Is it almost October???" Well, I finally got my wish and tomorrow IS finally October! YAY for me!
And in honor of the cooler weather, I decided to offer a sacrifice to the gods as a way of thanking them for our beautiful autumn weather by turning on the crockpot, loaded with sliced potatoes, sauerkraut, lots of onions and garlic and spices, and pork steaks! It's been simmering for almost 4 hours now and the house smells delicious. The offering to the gods still needs to cook about another hour, but with the yummy smell, I'm not sure I can wait. I may sneak a potato or two... I'm sure they're done and I'm sure the gods won't mind!
Looking forward to snuggling up on the couch tonight and getting more stitching done (<--- another reason to love the cooler weather!) May have some more photos to post tomorrow, depending on how much I get done tonight. Stay tuned.....
I've started another project. Well, really, it's TWO projects. Yep, can you believe? Me? ...starting MORE projects??? But I just couldn't help myself....
The 2 charts are entitled "Serenade 1" and "Serenade 2" --- yeah, I know, it's probably not too funny when these critters tend to serenade you during the wee hours of the morning, but read on.... (no, I don't actually HAVE real roosters, nor do I live near any!)
But last night, being that it was rainy and cold and windy, and I was feeling rather uninspired by my other 2 projects, an urge came over me to start this project (and a commercial came on for some sleeping pills with a rooster crowing on the footboard of someone's bed, although if I had a rooster serenading me at the foot of my bed, believe me, the 'urge' that would come over me wouldn't be pretty!!!!). Anyway, I've had this project all bagged and kitted (aka I have all the charts and threads and fabric ready to go), and it's been ready for a while now.
First, let me say that I'm NOT one of those stitchers that has 19 projects going at the same time (aka WIPs - Works in Progress), nor do I WANT umpteen projects going all at once. I don't usually do too well when I have too many things going at the same time, so I usually work on one, sometimes two projects at once, and that's about all I can handle. Secondly, like I said, I needed something new and inspiring to work on.
When they're finished, I'm intending to hang them in my kitchen --- the colors in my kitchen are sunflower yellow and navy so I thought the colors in the charts would go perfectly! I loved the colors, and especially loved the background design on each, so I couldn't resist the chart when I saw it. I probably won't frame them as shown, but I've got plenty of time to think on it.....
Here are scanned photos of the cover (rather small but at least you get the drift):
Enlarged photos (below) so you can see the intricate designs in the background:
(I apologize for the quality of the photos, but they're so tiny on the cover that this as good as it gets)
My progress as of last night on Serenade #1: (almost done, huh??? ha,ha)
The colors:
And here are the particulars on the chart:
"Rooster Serenade" by Jeannette Crews Designs #1286
Copyright 2005
www.jeannettecrews.com
Artwork by Stephanie Toral
Adapted by Sharonlee Holder
~~I am thankful for today and being able to share this with you~~
...but here's another project I'm working on. It's for a friend who usually reads my blog, so I can't show too much or else I'll ruin the surprise. Hoping to have it done by Christmas, or sooner, as I have a couple of other gifts to work on, too!
Cross-stitching is my guilty addiction pleasure, but at least I can do 2 things at once.....I'm stitching while watching TV, so it lessens the guilt of so much TV this week with all the primetime premieres in the evening !
As I promised in my prior post, here are photos of the beautiful needle book I received from Viv for my birthday, as part of our group's birthday exchange. Is it just so exquisite!
Here's the front cover:
(I forgot to photograph this with the dollar bill, but closed up, it's 3-1/4"w x 3"h)
... and the back cover:
...the inside covers:
(it looks rather awkward as I took 2 photos and put them together)
...and the actual needles on the felt in the middle:
Last year, my cross-stitch group drew names for our 2009 birthday exchange; we each draw a name and make something special for that person. I had Elizabeth's name, whose birthday was in June, and since I know she loves cats (she has 3 gorgeous ones!), I couldn't resist doing this biscornu for her.
She was thrilled!And several other women who have cats also wanted one. I think I'm going to re-stitch it again to give for our Christmas exchange.
(if you look closely, see the four tiny orange fishies on there? and the beads that are the bubbles? And don't you just love the 'cat face' charm? Everything was in the kit.)
Below is the opposite side, and if you look really close you'll see four mice on there, although I think they look like old-fashioned irons! And the dark brown footprints around the edges are just the cutest, with mauve colored beads around the entire edge!
And as usual, here's a photo just to show the size:
Next post will be what I received for the birthday exchange from Vivian... Stay tuned!
(chart by The Sweetheart Tree, "Cat Lovers" Biscornu, #SV-BP #3, designed by Sandra Cox Vanosdall; 2008)
