2 more stars to Glory

I had to take down all my Easter decor last week, and now my walls are empty. I'm debating moving a few of my permanent display pieces around, but kind of really like them where they are. So I am hoping to finish Glory by the end of May, so I can get my Summer/Fourth of July decorations up. I am also looking for a few other smaller summer designs to work on. I really like one by Trilogy with a cute little red crab and a summer/beach scene, but can't remember the name of it. I always work on one bigger piece and then a few smalls. And right now all my smalls are Halloween stuff.

This week was a slower week than last week, luckily. My garden outside is still growing. And my tomatoes are finally turning red. I have two tomato plants with about 10 tomatoes each on them, but it took forever for them to ripen. I also have summer squash, peppers, and a pumpkin patch. I think i'm most excited for the pumpkins, I planted a white variety (Lumina I think) and a Big Max variety which is supposed to make 20lb pumpkins. Hopefully they will last through our hot hot summer here.

Happy Easter! yes yes i know i'm late

This is my Easter finish for this year. "Uber-Egg" by Bent Creek. I really like most of their uber series, and think I may do their Thanksgiving Uber-Turkey as my fall seasonal project. Somewhere in my counting I messed up on the lower left hand side of the egg, so I have a lop-sided easter egg. It's ok, it's one of those mistakes people notice only if I point it out.
This is my Easter finish from last year, finally framed . I think another Bent Creek piece, but I changed alot of the colors on it. The colors they used looked grey-ish and for spring I really like the purples instead. I hand painted the frame. It was actually a really nice wood frame originally from Target that I found at Goodwill for 99 cents. I was tempted not to paint it it was so nice, but for 99 cents how could I resist a little creativity and the opportunity to pull out my paint brushes!

And this is my BABY, turning eight this year. Her birthday fell on Easter this year so we had a friends party on Friday instead. We made friendship bracelets, and she got a bunch of legos which are her new favorite thing. I kind of like that she likes legos, since they are not so much a "girl" toy. It's also fun watching her read and follow all the directions in putting together all the little cars and houses.

I hope everyone's Easter was wonderful, and filled with all things Spring.

What Happened!

Actually a lot has happened in the last four months. I have been a busy busy (slightly frazzled) little bee. Besides the usual holidays, I switched shifts at work (we do it every 6 months so that at least is nothing new, moved houses (same city...really less than 3 miles away from old house), remodeled a bathroom (and had to explain to a 4 year old which buttons for what on the new water saving toilet), painted a whole house (if I never see a paint brush again it will be TOO SOON), and ran a half marathon (someone should have better explained to me how far 13 miles really is!!!)

So now my life is just beginning to settle back down. Most of the boxes are unpacked, and the ones that aren't have been hidden in closets. I still can't find any of my craft supplies, but now have nice IKEA bookselves to put everything away in once I do. Don't you hate it when you have to go out and buy something you KNOW you already have but just can't find. Yes I am now the proud owner of FOUR craft knives and 3 hot glue guns. When the end of the world comes I will so be ready...to craft! I've also planted my spring garden and have 2 different kinds of squash, 4 different kinds of peppers, 2 kinds of radishes, lettuce, and tomatoes growing. By the end of summer I should be able to fix myself a lovely salad. Pic's of the new garden, and maybe some of all my x-stitches displayed in their new home in the next post I promise!

In all of this I have been able to start and even finish a few cross stitches. I have my two Easter ones framed and hanging already, I just don't have pictures on my computer yet. This is my next seasonal piece, "Glory" by Bent Creek. I love the patriotic-ness (is that a word?) of it, but am not sure how long i'll be able to tolerate only three colors on such a large piece. Also the threads aren't as veriegated as I would like.

So here's to actually getting back to blogging this year. I like doing it, and LOVE seeing everyone else's work. It always helps me find my next project. Not that I need any more projects! Sigh

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Ours is off to a roaring start, I already spilled bacon grease all over my stove (yuck) and almost dropped the Turkey while trying to flip it over into the roasting pan, man those things are slippery! But while dinner is cooking, I wanted to take a quick second to wish every one a great holiday.

"Thankful" row made it back just in time for Thanksgiving. I am so happy with it. I rarely have things professionally framed, but always love them when I do.
This is "Thankful" among my Thanksgiving display on my piano. We still have the little pumpkins left over from Halloween. And the fall garlands I got for 60% off after Halloween. I love the color they bring into my living-room. All the little crafts next to Thankful are courtesy of my four year old and her wonderful preschool teacher. Someday I will miss having little painted turkeys made from tiny hands.
And this is the gobble-gobble quilt top. Another one that was done just in time. I love the punch of color brought from the bright red binding. Please ignore how clean our couch is, it is old and well loved by snacking children and dirty dogs. But we wouldn't have it any other way. And below is the back of the gobble quilt. I used a yellow fabric with green/red/orange leaves on it. And the stripe down the center is made from left over pieces of the nine patches from the front. Which I swear were in a straight line when I sewed them together, though now they look really crooked in the picture.

Anyways I hope everyone has a great Turkey day, filled with family and friends and lots of yummy food.

Row Row Row your boat

I have been on a Bent Creek Row kick these last two weeks. I finished "Thankful Row" and it is now at the framers. Due back to tomorrow, just in time to be on display for Thanksgiving. And I just started this one, "Winter Row", and again I changed the colors more to my likings. The letters were a brown, and I want them to look icy/frosty so I changed them to a variegated blue. The snowmen are also being stitched in DMC silk to make them look extra chilly, and I am going to but some silver thread into the blowing snow.

In between "Thankful" and "Winter" row, I also managed to finish Autumn row. But have not made it into anything, so it may not be part of my Thanksgiving tableau. I still think it is cute though, and the only thing I changed was the leaves. You know the only thing I don't like about these rows? The photo on the chart has so many buttons attached you can't see the actual piece. Sometimes things look better simple (I know! coming from me the queen of buttons, sparkles and bling!)


And this little peice is a gift that just arrived in the mail today. So cute, I think I am going to have to frame him though as he is too big to make into an x-mas ornament.
Well hope your Thanksgiving prepartations are going well. I have house scrubbing to do tomorrow, and then a full day of cooking planned for Thursday. I am excited to be hosting it this year, but am starting to feel a little under the weather. If I can just stay healthy till Friday! Dayquil/Nyquil/Theraflu here I come. And no I didn't get my flu shot this year, and I can already hear my mother and her I told you so. SIGH!

And the turkeys are in the lead!

So I finished my gobble gobble quilt top today! Yeah for me. I have a super cute idea for a peiced back, i'm gonna use the extra squares from the nine patches to make a stripe along the center. I used a soft corduroy for the sashing on this, to give it a little extra weight/warmth/snuggly-ness. I think it may just be done before the end of the week. I also picked up a pretty orange blendable (or in x-stitch terms "variegated") thread called Candy Apples to do the quilting with. Though the backing fabric is pretty busy so i'm not even sure it will show. But I will know it's there.

And this is my cross stitching for the week. It is a Bent Creek. I'm just not ready to start stitching X-mas ornaments yet. I don't want it to be winter time yet! I changed the colors on this one. Originally the letters were supposed to be in brown, and the vine running through them was also a lighter brown. Me being a color girl couldn't resist changing them to a brick red, and the vine to a nice green. I think it still looks fall-ish, don't you?

Trees and Turkeys

I can't make up my mind what to work on this month. My goal/X-mas present to myself is to have 10 new ornaments stitched for my tree this year. If you remember from last year I only have the one tiny little mouse for my own tree while I have made dozens of ornaments for friends and family. So this is my start on that goal. It is a Lizzie Kate, and oddly enough it is the only one I like out of this chart.


But a part of me is not ready yet to start gearing up for Christmas/Winter and wants to enjoy fall just a little bit longer. We are having such beautiful fall weather, highs in the eighties and nights just a little cooler. It's the perfect time of year for walks to the park and a little work in the garden. Also I hate that all the stores are already bombarding us with Christmas stuff. I really think they overdo on the Christmas holiday season (it shouldn't last two and a half months!) So this little lap quilt is my Thanksgiving quilt. The black looking squares are actually a dark brown.

This is a close up of the fabric that inspired me to start this little quilt. Aren't the little turkeys just the cutest? The red and yellow fabrics have sparkle in them too. I know I can finish the top in time, but i'm not sure I will have it quilted in time for this years Thanksgiving. But I like to work on seasonal stuff during the actual season, so even if it's not done in time I will still love working on it for the Autumn theme. (And Jo-anns had the turkey fabric at 40% off already-yippee).
Halloween Fairy has alas been put aside unfinished. I decided that if I stitched the spiderwebs at her feet with the wrong color thread that it really would bug me for forever and ever and every time I looked at her. So I have mail-ordered the correct thread, and hopefully I will pick her up again and finish her once it arrives.