framed, part 1

Today my friend Patti and I went to the needlework store to pick up two things I'd taken in to be framed. While there, I asked the owner if I could please take a couple of pics of my other framed things, the ones they wanted to keep for a time as shop models. So here they are...

First, Their Song by BBD. I couldn't get as close to it as needed to get a good photo but here it is anyway (remember to click on image for close up view):



and I zoomed in on the Earth Angel by La D Da, in hopes to catch the frame, which I think is just perfect for it, the whole shot is pretty blurry, but you get the idea:



And here's a wider shot. You can see my Earth Angel hanging next to someones Glory Angel...see how much smaller mine is? That's because it was done on 40 ct. linen. I think Glory Angel must have been done on 28 ct.



When these babies come home with me in how many ever months it is, I will get better, close up shots to share.

This shop has soooooo many models all over the walls. Wish I could have photographed all of them but the owner didn't seem real "into" the whole thing so I didn't press it. The shop manager is really cool though, next time she's there, it's so happening!

Stay tuned for more pictures of framed things, coming over the weekend sometime. If you care about that sort of thing that is!

holiday weekend

Not a big fan of the whole holiday weekend thing. Maybe because every time there's a three day weekend, I have to always work two out of those three days while the rest of my family has the time off! I am trying to be nice about it, but seem to be very immature and selfish because I want the same time off for myself!

Anyway, on the stitching front, here's my current WIP, Awake the Dawning Day, the latest in the Loose Feathers series.




This one is a real pleasure!
I am stitching it on 32 ct. Maritime White (by Lakeside), which is not really so much white as it is creamy, with Weeks threads.
Not too much more to do on this but had to put it aside to work on a gift for someone, which I can't show here ;) but it's from my WIP pile...that ever growing, wicked basket of distractfulness (probably not a word, but whatever)...I almost said basket of sin because every time I look at it I feel guilty and sinful. The basket contains about 8 projects that got dumped by me in favor of other projects that caught my fancy. Eight projects as WIP's doesn't seem so bad but then there's a whole tub in the closet full of them too, the basket just contains ones I'm trying to focus on finishing. Like this one:



Carriage House Samplings, My Home Town. I was zooming right along on it until those fish came along, they're done over one and while that's usually not a problem for me, the chart on these is a little hard to read, to I tossed it aside instead of sticking to it. I almost got rid of the whole deal the other day, but DH saw it and said NO WAY.

Then there's this one, also in the basket of pain:



This is The Millennium Sampler by Ewe & Eye & Friends. As you can see, I started it in 2000. For a time I would take it with me to various hospital/doctor visits with DH when he was sick and having problems so maybe it got ditched in favor of something without hospital memories attached to it or something. I would toss it altogether but really love the design and don't even have that far to go on it.

And more WIP's from said basket, shown before on my old blog, but still haunting me, so here we go:



Good Huswife's June Morning, which I truly love, so why can't I finish it?????



The Heart's Content something or other, maybe it's called "Balance", it's a "Candlestick" kit. Proof that I can, and do, over one with no problems.
Not far to go on it either, what's the deal here???




Oh gosh, this one!! Blackbird Designs Summer Jubilee (I think). It was published in a magazine first and then later on in one of their books, Summer Offerings(?) I love this design but decided to stitch it on 40 ct. with one stand of threads, and wasn't too happy with the coverage and am too far along to toss it!

Wish I could find some kind of motivation to get these things finally done and out of my hair and basket. Then I could move some other things in it to torture me, it's really not fair for the WIPS in the tub, never getting a jab in, ever! But it's bad enough having that basket talking to me, do you think I'm fool enough to crack the top of that tub?

a finish, a present and a find

Here's my latest finish, Quaker Garden by Blackbird Designs.



The whole piece was too big to scan. Here's a closer look:



and another. I used the fabric and threads the design called for and loved stitching it.



And here is my new Brighton purse, a present from my kids for Mother's Day,



It's called Vagabond and is made from a distressed type of leather and has a cool "bandana" type lining. To say I love it would be putting it mildly!

You can see, I have several other Brighton things in it. Since they put a store in close to me it's been so good. I mean, bad. Well, good for me, bad for the budget. Kinda, sorta...if you know what I mean, lol!




And now, my "find". From Wal Mart in the office supply area, for about $1.80 each:



These are perfect for keeping your stitching projects in, as you can see.



I bought all they had, about 18 or so.

Because that's just how crazy I be.

pug mug

Astro started his own blog. You can see the link on the sidebar to the right. His daddy is helping him :) After we spent the better part of Mother's Day looking at Pug blogs (who knew there were so many?), we asked him if he was interested and he said well, duh!

He is quite dazzling after all.

alrighty then....

Here's the one thing I made it home with last week, from the needlework store:

(Please excuse the off center picture, it was hard to get the shot with Astro pulling on the leash the whole time).

The design is "Chester" by The Goode Huswife. I stitched this several years ago because we also had a kitty named Chester and just the funny, almost comic look of the piece was so similar to our own sweet boy (he was truly cross eyed, lol). When he died in 2005, it was still unframed and I just couldn't bring myself to bring it out yet. Well, anyway, here is is, finally. There are a couple of other designs in my stash to stitch someday that also resemble him...he was the most beloved of kitties.

Now, there's this love....what a face.

Chester would approve I think.

tgif

My needlework store wanted to keep two of the framed pieces they'd finished for shop models so I only made it home with one of them! Will share that this weekend and the others in three months when they get to come home. Considering the discount they give me on the framing, I guess it was worth it, but I did have my heart all set to bring home Their Song. Oh well.

The UPS man came into the shop while we were there, so I asked if the Norden box was there and sure enough it was, and look what was in it:




The newest Loose Feathers!
Just for me!
Gotta love the brown shorts dude :)

I didn't get the fabric it called for, which was very pretty but when I saw the colors on Lakeside's Maritime White, that really made my heart sing! What a great project this one is!

Have a good weekend y'all!

even when i'm bad, i'm good

LOL!

Went to my WW meeting today, fully expecting to have put back on a wee bit of weight or at least, to have not lost any at all. Because I wasn't so very "good" the past week...a trip (actually two) to Texas Roadhouse, the later visit involving a margarita and a cheese pepper ::::::gasp::::::

Imagine my surprise when I was down almost 2 pounds! Yeah me!!

Oh, and let me just say, the WW scales you can buy for home use are excellent!! I weighed myself right before getting in the car to go to the meeting, drove straight there, and weighed exactly the same on the scales there!

I was impressed! Our old scales sucked. And sucked hard. When I went to my first WW meeting, I was SIXTEEN pounds heavier than I thought I was, that's how "off" the crappy scales at home were. How depressing is that, to gain 16 pounds overnight?!

Are you bored out of your mind yet?

Well here then, some recent finishes I got back from the finisher  this week.

First, my Pray For Peace, by BOAF:



And this one is from Ewe & Eye & Friends, but I can't recall the name of the design. As you can see, I stitched it almost 4 years ago. It may be called Lady Liberty or something like that.



And here's my finished Ladybugs and Bumblebees, by Country Cottage Needleworks:



(my stitching is really not "wavy", I had to lay this on top of a bush outside, the ground was too wet, so it's the bush that's wavy, not the stitching)
What a fun stitch it was! And it's on it's way to the LNS with me tomorrow to be framed. They have a model of this there and the frame is to die for! While I'm there I'll be picking up three framed items, one of them the last Loose Feathers design, Their Song. Will try to get some decent pictures of them over the weekend and post maybe Sat. or Sun.

Aren't you just happy to see anything that isn't Peace related?

Oh my, almost forgot the Dazzle shot of the day: