Sunday, June 15, 2008

Sunday, June 15th


I've started a new project. It's one of those lovely designs
from My Aunt's Attic, where all those amazing free designs
are on offer to whoever wants them. Once again I'm using
red thread (DMC #304) and it's being stitched on 32 count
Lambswool....I think. This is roughly one weeks work,
usually done in the evenings on our front stoop, to
relax and get some air after a long day.


And remember I said that I'd been addicted to Ebay in last
weeks post?? Well, here are the results, so far. I'm thrilled
with the Lizzie Kate designs here. They are so cute, and so
colourful. The Bent Creek is a bit too primitive for my taste
but came with the lot. Perhaps I'll pass it on to someone
else who likes this style of design. Note: that's Rupert's ear
to the left of the picture. I barely snapped the photo in time.


These two designs were also a part of the package. I love
designs which show the change of seasons, so the one on
the right is great for that. The Chessie & Me chart is a
pretty house design, with lots of fancy stitches.


And this is my monthly bits from Stitching Bits n Bobs.
More beautiful Crescent Colours to sigh over, and keep
away from Rupert.

Yesterday I had the privilege of being invited to a dance
recital being put on by one of our local dance studios.
Little Naomi, from across the street, was participating
in her first dance recital and asked me to join them. I
was delighted to do so. I've never been to one of these
things before, and was quite impressed with the level
of professionalism. The event ran like clockwork.

Naomi, aged 6, is in her first year of ballet. I wish I
could show you the pictures of her in her white tulle
dress, trimmed in pink and silver, with her hair in a
bun, and white tights. She looked adorable.

The dancing was wonderful to watch. The teenage
girls were amazing, so graceful and poised. The
tweenage girls were also amazing to watch, whether
they were tap dancing or doing a type of gymnastic/
dance combo. And the little ones....well, I'm sure you
can just imagine.

Clustered on the stage, somewhat bewildered and
a little directionally challenged, but always sweet
and adorable, they bounced on their toes,
waved their arms and ran around in almost
circles. Their teacher just off stage prompting and
encouraging when necessary.

The audience full of proud parents, relatives and
friends provided enthusiastic applause and shouts
of delight as each dance was performed. I was so
glad that I got to go and see it.


After one week I am amazed at the growth in my pots.
The past week was mostly moderate temperatures and
we had some heavy rains on Friday night, and a few
sprinkles throughout the week which kept things well
watered without too much effort required on our part.
It's not going to be too hot next week so things should
continue to be stress free for the garden. The weather
forecasters are predicting a hot summer, but so far we
have only had five days of muggy weather to tolerate.



Here's one of my straw flowers. These are strange but
wonderful plants for the garden. I have three colours
in my pots this year. Red, Yellow and White. The
flowers are great because they change appearance as
they grow so you always have a mix of blooms in
different stages of growth and bloom. No fragrance
to them but that's okay. Other plants can provide that.
The odd, straw like texture of the flowers is always
a surprise for someone not familiar with the plant.

And this is my current read. Another recommendation
from Jaimie's book blog, and Barbara has read this one
too. Both enjoyed it immensely, and though just half
way through it at this point myself, I too am enjoying it.
It's the sort of Victorian drama that hints at what one
of the Bronte sisters might write, with a hint of the
world that Dickens wrote so eloquently about as well.
There's thieves and rogues and an oppressed heiress,
and a dank, brooding manor house, and twists and
turns which keep you guessing. Lots of well researched
period detail and language to make the story come
alive in your imagination. I'm loving it!

Rupert's been full of beans this morning. If he keeps it
up Phoebe is apt to tackle him and teach him a few manners.
Here he is "mountain climbing" at breakfast time.

Happy Father's Day!! To my own Dad who is always with
me in spirit, and to all the other dads out there in blog land.
Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Have a great week everyone. Cheers!!

11 comments:

Pam @ Heart2Heart said...

Love your new project, red monochrome is becoming a favorite of mine. Nice stash and yes, eBay is addicting LOL. I am in the process of going through all my stash and listing things on eBay,most of which I bought there LOL. I just have more stuff than I'll ever be able to do, imagine that! I haven't done any gardening yet, just have been to busy de-cluttering to get motivated out there! Rupert is so clever, they do the darnest things. Hope you have a wonderful week!

mainely stitching said...

Oh my goodness, but Rupert's a naughty boy! LOL!

That's a lovely new start. Isn't DMC great? I mean, overdyeds are great, but DMC will always be "king". ;)

I've just started Middlesex and although I'm only a few pages into it, I love it already. You'll love Fingersmith - it's so full of twists and turns!

staci said...

Isn't ebay great?! Terrific new charts...I've stitched the Meow and Woof, so cute and fun. I've not seen that Bent Creek one before, it's quite cute too!

Deb said...

Oh my! Rupert is too much cat!! LOL I just love your red Aunt's Attic. And I've read Fingersmith, as well, and loved it. You have lots of great stash, Judy. I'm afraid of Ebay, but applaud you for finding and getting those treasures. Thanks for leaving such a sweet note on my blog, too, about Jessica and Kellan. I promise I'll be moving on to my stitching now!! :]
Hugs, Deb

samplerlover said...

Hi Judy, looks like you have another great stash. You can find the most amazing things on ebay. One of my sons keeps buying English soccer shirts (Liverpool). If he keeps going he'll be able to kit a whole team out.
I love your red monochrome My Aunts Attic has some really lovely designs on there. I have collected a few that I like. Did you ever see the sampler that was put together with designs from MAA website (If you go to that website and click onto Nouveau Encoure Designs that is on the left hand side then click onto "freebies" you will find it. It is called G is for Garden. It is quite lovely.)
Your cat is very naughty LOL. I die of shock if my dog did that. She's a Border Collie and if she jumped up onto the clock, I could see it falling straight off the wall LOL. Although a few weeks ago we were away all day, and when I came home I discovered that I had a small hole in the lid of my washing machine. I think she jumped up onto it to see out the window of the laundry. All I can say is that I wasn't happy. Luckily the lid hasn't cracked all the way through. Hope you have a lovely week - Sandra.

Carla said...

Great new start! I'm currently stitching a freebie from that site for an exchange :)
The stash you got from eBay is really nice too!

Michelle said...

Great new start! Love all that fabulous stash too. That book sounds great, I will have to check it out. Just finished the Thirteenth Tale, which I loved!

Lynn said...

Seeing Rupert on the clock is just too funny! What does he use to get up there? We used to have a cat that liked to sit on top of the kitchen cupboard bulkheads. She broke her foot one night trying to jump over the sink from one bulkhead to the other!
I love your new start. I'm also doing one of the patterns from My Aunt's Attic. Check my blog and you'll see. I only recently found out about these treasures.
Seeing your beautiful strawflower makes me think I should have planted some of those in our front garden. It gets full sun and everthing's wilting!

stitcherw said...

Lovely new start. The monochromtic ones are so relaxing to stitch, no having to keep changing colors. I wasn't familiar with My Aunt's Attic till recently. You're the second blogger I've seen working on one of her designs.
Sue

Sonda said...

I'm working on "Meow" right now! What a cute kitty! Naughty, but cute.

Pumpkin said...

Look at all the great stash that you have accumulated! Maybe you should stay away from Ebay ;o)

Those patterns from my Aunt's Attic are really nice. I haven't been over there for while.

Rupert is hilarious!!!! HOW did he get over there????

I love strawflowers. They're so pretty :o) Will you pick them as use them in a dry arrangement?