on second thought...

There are probably not really dumb dogs, only dumb OWNERS.
We'd never let our dogs out in the yard alone all day so that the only excitement they ever had was to bark at people or the wind out of loneliness...
and we'd never let our dogs run around loose so they could chase cars and risk getting run over. I mean, H E L L O....they're just animals, right? And they all depend on us humans to help them along when they feel the need to just be themselves and maybe act a little nutso. Poor babies. It really is upsetting when you think about it...I just can't stand the thought of people neglecting or abusing animals!

Anyhoo....more pictures of previous stitching from the old blog, just for your viewing pleasure :)

This one is a deisgn by The Goode Huswife, called "With My Needle"




And this one is a Carriage House design called "Big Fish"



And an ornament from one of the JCS Ornament Issues, can't recall which one, but the designer is Little by Little



Will post a few more pictures from my old blog in the next couple of days and also! Two new pillow finishes from dear Tobie. Stay tuned!

honey bunches of "oh's"

Oh no. Oh dear. Oh Astro!




Does that face look very innocent to you? I'm just askin' is all.

He may not be so innocent, but at least he's not DUMB. And there are some dumb dogs in the world. Two breeds of which come to mind right away, (but I won't say which ones so I don't offend anyone reading this that might have one as their baby). One of the two just barks their fool head off all the time for no reason. Our neighbor has one of these. They have lived next door to us for at least 5 years and so you'd think this dumb dog would know us by now and not bark at us when we pull into our garage or do things in the backyard. But NO. Bark bark bark bark bark, the whole friggin' time. And it's not just him (or her), every single one of these I've ever known have been idiots. But they're pretty I guess.

The other dumb breed, I swear, if I'm lyin' I'm dyin', the last four of them I've seen of late have been IN THE ROAD chasing oncoming cars!! They probably weighed like 3 pounds MAX and yet here they were, snipping at tires (that were moving). Plus they're mean as hell and they shake a lot and they're ugly when they get fat, which they always do.

I know Pugs aren't for everyone. But at least they're not stupid. Well, not our Pugs, anyway. We're not dog people, we're Pug people. Well, really... cat people, but that's a whole other issue.

Not ONE single recent finish to show today, so here's something I posted on my old blog last year.




It's an older Blackbird Designs called "Trifle for a Friend" and I stitched it for my husband, he's my best friend :) (hi hon)

Today is my second Weight Watchers meeting day, so I will weigh in and see if I lost anything after being back on the program for a week. Hopefully it'll be good news!
I have to think about a swimsuit for my trip to the Jersey Shore this summer and don't want to get harpooned while I'm there!

(update: lost 5.2 pounds!)

the longest week, ever

That's how this past week as felt to me.

Last Tuesday a co-worker was killed in an accident. There's a small article on what happened here.

I worked with Steve almost every night at my job and you just don't think about how much a fellow worker is a part of your life until they are gone.
Steve was the life of our workplace.
He would do anything for anyone at anytime, and that is no exaggeration.
If you said "Steve, I need you to give me the shirt off of your back", he would do it and not even ask why you needed it.
He was very knowledgeable about many different things and if a question would come up about something, the inevitable phrase you'd hear would be "Ask Steve".
We all would try and stump him with trivia questions, not an easy task, ha.
He loved to fish and hunt but he was a "catch and release" kind of guy and would not kill something just for sport.
He was a big fan of my baking and made it a joy to make something to take to work. He loved life, his family and his job.
I have determined in my heart to be more like him and do so in his memory.

So...on the stitching front, this is all I have finished lately:



It's a gift for a friend but is waiting for final finishing before I can send it to her. Meanwhile I am working on the newest Loose Feathers called "Their Song" and a Scarlet Letter sampler, "And All for an Appil" and of course, the Village. Hope to update here soon with more pictures.

Be safe.

a post from Astro

Hello!

I turned 4 months old today and celebrated with a roast beef bone.

And by soaking up some sun...



I did not concern myself with the sad state of the yard or things Daddy was busy fixing:



When Mom wasn't taking pictures of me, or the dilapidated birdhouse, she was inside playing with some new stash, which is really weird, all that stroking and purring...



And her recent order from Williams Sonoma...she said something about a "sale and free shipping" and how rocked her world gets by all that...

And she was so happy that she was done with block three on her Village, she ran right out and did a happy dance on the back porch!

Which indeed, was quite a sight to see.

my house is starting to look like a LNS

My friend was game for going to the needlework store with me (truly a BFF, is she not?) so we headed over there this morning. Waiting for me was this:


The design is from Birds of a Feather and called Kindness Sampler (I think). I stitched it on 36 ct. Meadowlark with one strand WDW over two.

Also, this:


This is Blackbird Designs Strawberry Garden, which I stitched on 40 ct. creme brulee with whatever threads the chart called for, can't really recall right now, but I did use just one strand.

The above pictures were taken with them sitting on some easels I got at Pier One, they were very cheap. Like under $10 for both of them. Maybe under $7, something like that. Anyhoo...took these pics inside, then took some outside and because I care about y'all so much, here are those pics too (just in case you'd like to see in natural light:




(Oh my gosh, i just clicked on these to make sure they were showing up and they are HUGE!! I have no idea why they're so big...sorry about that).

So anyway, with these sitting on their easels until I decide where to hang them, I looked around my living room and thought, gosh, there sure is a lot of stitching stuff around here. Finished stitching all over the walls, television console, fireplace mantle...then there's all the stitching STUFF, covering the fireplace hearth (almost entirely and what's not stitching is books and magazines)with is next to my stitching chair. It's really shameful and I should be embarrassed about it but really, I don't let many people into my house that don't love me, and those that do don't care, which is the way it should be, right? Anyway, my friend said her husband would never let her get away with that. He also restricts how much stitching she hangs on the walls.
So I realize (once again) how blessed my life is that I have such a great hubby and family that indulge me and let me do my "thing".
All. Over. The. House.
Amen.

hearts

Recent finishes from the finisher....





All of these are Ewe & Eye & Friends designs. Stitched up by me, sent to (...) for finishing.

Sent the middle one to a friend, kept the rest, for the time being.

Taking a blogging break for now. May be back next month.

my valentine

Whew, made my self imposed deadline to have this one done by today!

My Valentine by Blackbird Designs:



This was stitched on 30 ct. Alabaster linen with GA and WDW threads over two. Some pesky over one had to be done for the verse. Not all that happy with my initials, think they're kinda wonky, so I may redo that....maybe with DH's initials as well, and some kind of "25 years together" thing on it. I don't know. Always planned on stitching Drawn Threads "The Marriage of the Minds" to commemorate our 25th, so maybe this one doesn't really need to mention it.

Speaking of our 25th, today is the day! We're not doing anything big, just a favorite meal at home. We may go out tomorrow night for steak or something. We;ve talked about going somewhere for Spring Break, we'll both have some time off then and can get away. Not sure where yet.

Still need to post a progress pic on HOHRH, but wanted to get a bit further along so there's really something to show, lol. Also need to crank out an ornament this month so I can keep up with my "goals" for this year. Not real big on stitching goals like some people are, but have some things I'd like to get done and accomplished, so I came up with two. One is the ornament a month thing, and the other is one block a month on my village. Everything else is gravy!

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day, may it be sweet and filled with love!

bluebirds and boys

Here's my finished Bluebird's Message.
I like how it turned out and took
Deborah's advise to not fiddle with the wing.
Actually did try a little backstitching in between the two colors and it looked worse, so that's when I went with the advise, lol.
My finisher is playing around with a couple of ideas for this, I know it'll be turned into something beautiful!

And here are my Birds of a Feather "Spring" and "Summer" finished pieces that Tobie
made into pillows for me!
Aren't they adorable? I found the pom-pom fringe at Hancock Fabrics

And the fringe for this one too. She used a hot pink velour fabric on the backs of these, so perfect! Thanks Tobie!

Here's the little man, out for his walk on this cold Sunday afternoon:


Those wee legs cast a long shadow

Here he battles the big Dog, Scooby, for the HoHo Froggie (you can see a little of the pillow backing in this picture too
More chasing and tormenting of the big dog. Poor Scoob.
You might think I'd be embarrassed by all of the shredded paper on the floor (thank you puppy, love ya!), the dust, the piles of books, magazines and stitching stuff in the background, but you'd be mistaken. I am too tired to care, much less be ashamed, lol!

what it is

This will be a strawberry ornament as soon as my finisher makes it into one for me. It is the Quaker Medallion Strawberry Pinkeep ornament from the 2006 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. Blackbird designs, naturally.


I used the recommended fabric and thread, which was 30 ct. LaCrosse linen and Gentle Arts Rhubarb thread. I enjoyed it so much that I am now thinking about stitching it a couple more times for Christmas gifts. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, below is my start on the newest Loose Feathers, Bluebird's Message. This one I am doing with the recommended threads, but am stitching it on 35 ct. French Vanilla linen instead of 30 ct. Not sure that I am that thrilled with it so far.


There is not much difference in the two shades of blue on the bird (his tail is not finished yet), so I am thinking it may need some backstitching in-between so it shows up better.


Just not that thrilled with the coverage I'm getting but think I'm too far into it to chunk what's been done so far and start over.
I mean, life is too short, right?
For some reason I am stuck on thinking this would be a nice stitcher's roll or little bag, if it's folded in half, so the top part is the front of the roll (or bag) and the bottom part is on the back. Wonder if that's do-able? Deb, what do you think? The finished size is coming out to be about 5 x 8, but folded, just 5" wide and 4" tall. Just thinkin' out loud...

Now, lest you think poor little Astro is not getting his fair share of attention, please note just who it is at my feet this morning, while I stitch and surf:



He's in "winding down" mode in these pictures. We've spent most of the morning in the kitchen (he nibbles while I clean or whatever) or front yard, doing his business and playing.

He's a really smart dog, I can't even tell you...just a dream pup! So sweet and lovable. And especially to his "Ho Ho Frog", which he loves in that special, humping way that a young male pup does, which just sends my husband into fits of laughter...he says it's just like the dog in "Meet the Fockers"...whatever...MEN! It's going to be a loooong five months until time for the snip snip (he's only 3 months now). Poor ho ho froggie.

a blackbird day

Here's my friend Sheri, on the right, with her BBD quilt top she's working on. That's Barb from Blackbird Designs on the left, holding up the quilt (and her friend that was taking pictures :))



When Barb started talking about her sampler fabric line from Moda and made reference to doing some quilts with the larger panel centered, I made sure it was OK with Sheri first (she's very quiet and not one to pipe up to show off her stuff) and then I just had to speak up and say that my friend, sitting right beside me had hers with her! So the pictures here are of that :) If you click on them, you can see a larger size of the picture.

It was hard to get a good picture since this was in a cramped classroom that is in the basement of a very old building and the lighting wasn't that great. I bet when they have actual quilting classes down there they must have a lot of Ott Lights set up so people can see.

Anyway, here's a quilt Barb made where she took some of the color out of the background fabric and was showing us the difference (she's holding a fat quarter of the same fabric, in it's original state).

It was so beautiful...I am kinda scared of doing applique quilting, but Sheri says I can do it. She helped me with my first patchwork quilt and if it wasn't for her, I'd still be afraid of a sewing machine.

I hope she makes it....long enough for us to quilt into our old age....she's got a lot to teach me.

Birds of a Feather flock together.....and

must. stay. together.