Sunday, April 06, 2008

Let it be recorded officially that this was the first weekend
of this year that I was able to sit outside and stitch. We're
lucky enough to have a house with a West facing front, and
we have a knee high stone wall in a half oval under the den
window (see above picture - upper right corner to see
what I'm talking about) which absorbs the heat from the
sun. (as does the driveway around it) So it's always a good
five degrees warmer then it might be in say the backyard.
I put a blanket on the little wall to give me a softer seat,
and I sat there most of the afternoon yesterday, and for
a few hours today and stitched.

And so I've made good progress on my redwork piece
from Cross-Stitch and Needlework magazine. I think that
I'm pretty much half way done at this point. I'm pleased
to be making progress, but sorry to be done with the
wonderful fancy alphabet.

Goodies from Mary Kathryn. The inevitable moment
of weakness when Mary Kathryn has a "free shipping"
announcement on her site, and the resultant delight
when arriving home from a long day at work to find a
parcel or two on the kitchen table from her. The
Milady's Needle chart also came with a little key chain
plastic holder for one of the little designs to go in. If
you click on the picture for a closer look you can see it
on the top right edge of the chart. I also got myself
one of those pretty needleminders, with lily of the
valley on it. Those are the flowers of my birth month,
May.
The Peep chart is a freebie from Prairie Schooler, and
the Lavender and Lace chart Firefly Fairies was actually
a gift from a friend at work who'd bought it years ago
but decided that she'd probably never get around to
stitching it, so gave it to me. Don't know if it's some-
thing I'd be able to stitch with my meager skills, but it
sure is a pretty design. I don't recall seeing it before.

I really love these Lizzie Kate flip-its and I may just
have to get the rest of the series, and of course all
the threads to stitch them with. Took the little charts
to work and used the photocopier to blow up the
designs so they'll be easier to follow when I'm ready to
stitch them.


Signs of Spring in the garden. The crocus is always the
first hearty soul to flower in the garden. Sometimes it's
as early as January when we spot green shoots poking
through the earth. Of course with all the snow we've had
this year there was no chance of that happening. The
snow is just about gone on the grass except where it was
piled high around the driveway and backyard paths.

DH and I stood shoveling snow off of these mini
mountains yesterday and scattering them across the
lawn to get it to melt faster. Right now the grass looks
like shredded wheat with the hot water poured onto it.
It'll be a few more weeks before we might start to see
some greening there.

Heard from my Mom that she and another lady were
out yesterday for a walk in the warm sunshine. Their
place has been in quarantine since Easter because of a
bad cold or virus bug that hit some of the residents
quite hard. Mom didn't catch it, thank goodness.
Quarantine was lifted on Thursday.And finally, here's Rupert enjoying cleaning day and
the blankets from a stripped off bed which had been
tossed on the floor. Rupert's a nester.

Cheers all!

13 comments:

Kathy A. said...

Love your redwork sampler and all your new goodies. Glad to see the snow is almost all gone. i guess we can come home now.

Wendy said...

Aren't those crocuses a breath of fresh air to see! And how wonderful that you were able to sit outside and enjoy some stitching. That sunlight and warmth is so invigorating to soak up. I'm sure you felt like a new person! Hubby and I got down to trails along Lake Ontario yesterday for a walk, and we joined an army of people there with the same thought!

Pumpkin said...

Ohhhhhhh, I am SOOOOOO jealous! Those flowers are gorgeous and such a lovely sight I'm sure. We are still looking at a few feet of snow with very little brown grass showing through :o(

Your sampler is looking great and you've gotten some good progress on it.

Awesome stash!!!!

Dani - tkdchick said...

Urgh! It wasn't warm enough to sit outside and stitch in Ottawa but it was nice to get out for a walk with just a hoodie on!

Love your sampler!!!!

Lelia said...

Good Morning:

Our spring bulbs are shooting up the green stems. Hoping for blooms soon.

Your red alphabet is beautiful!!! And what a wonderful bunch of designs you have added to your stash. I have the 'peep', too & hope to get that one stitched soon.

Rupert is charming!!

mainely stitching said...

Greetings to Rupert! What a handsome fellow he is!

So glad to hear from you. Love the pictures - those crocuses are wonderfully cheery, aren't they? And your garden is just balm to the soul. It's really beautiful.

Great job with your redwork project, and I do love your stash haul!

Lynn said...

Your redwork sampler is so pretty! I'm going to love watching this one develop!
Our snow seems to be melting quickly now. As of today I can finally see the front lawn and my tulips are up about 2 inches now.
Still have a massive mound of snow at the street though.
Rupert is very handsome!

samplerlover said...

Hi Judy, I love your redwork sampler. It is really beautiful and I'm looking forward to seeing the end result. I had a look in a couple of newsagencies out here to see if I could find a photo of the finished result but it looks like its another one that we don't get.
Picked up Victoria an hour ago and had a quick flick through. Looking forward to sitting down later with the cuppa and having a good look through.
I'm glad that the weather is starting to be kinder to you. Although its starting to get cooler her everyday. Don't like the cold.
Your garden is starting to look lovely with the warmer weather coming along. - Take care - Sandra.

Kathy A. said...

Email me hon and I will send you that peacock pattern. It is a freebie I got somewhere just don't remember where - it is that old age thing!!!

stitcherw said...

How great that you were able to get outside to stitch. It is still to cold and dreary here to be able to do that. However, I'm hopeful that spring will be here soon and being outside will be an option again.

Your redwork is looking so pretty. While it is fun to watch it grow, I can see why you'd miss having the letters all done now, they are lovely. What great stash as well. The new LHN one is so cute, and I love LK designs they are such fun. The Fairy piece is lovely too, the three faries remind me of the fairies in Cinderella.

What a beautiful picture of your flowers. We have some shoots beginning to peek up, but nothing bloming yet. Glad your mom and a friend were able to get out and start walking now that the quarantine has been lifted. Also, Rupert looks very comfortable, my cats love to snuggle into sheets and blankets as well, especially when warm from the dryer.
Sue

Michelle said...

Welcome spring! Love the stash you received as well!

Gina E. said...

The redwork sampler is just beautiful! I don't know how the heck you run a household, go to work, and still find time to read AND stitch so much! Do you ever sleep?
Rupert is gorgeous as usual. I think all cats are nesters; all ours over the years have been happy to jump into any piles of rugs or sheets and curl up for a snooze.

Carla said...

Great progress on the sampler :) And your new stash is lovely!
Glad to see you finally have a little bit of sun there ...I can't wait for the sun to go away ;)

Thanks for the lovely comments you always write on my blog :)