Tuesday, March 22, 2011


Greetings all!! Look who's actually updating her blog just
three short weeks after her last blog posting. Yes, it's only been
three weeks since I last posted here and I'm back again. Can
you stand it??

To begin the festivities I've put an artsy shot from back in the Fall
when my SIL, a friend and I were wandering the shops in St.
Jacobs and I was playing with my camera in one of those shops.
It's kind of a cool, abstract look don't you think?

Remember in my last post how excited I was to actually have
not just one stitching finish to show you but two? A rare
event for me aka the worlds slowest stitcher and I was quite
thrilled about it. Well, guess what?

There's another one!!!!!!!



Presenting Halloween Quaker fresh off of the Q-snaps and
submitted for your pleasure and approval. Yes, it would
seem the prospect of starting that SAL with Maggie plus
sharing stitching get togethers with Alisa has inspired
me something fierce and my needles have been smoking!
Little tiny puffs of smoke perhaps, but smoking nonetheless.
I am very happy with this one.

Alisa and I went to Michaels on Sunday and I picked up
four picture frames, including a black one that will suit
this project quite nicely. I hope to frame it myself as soon
as I have an afternoon free to concentrate on it. So that's
two Halloween projects stitched and ready for final
finishing. Kind of strange how that worked out.

There was another reason why Alisa and I went to Michaels
on Sunday though. They had a 60 % off the regular price
discount on framing a few weeks back and I decided I'd
take advantage of that sale.



I dug Cottage Garden by Country Cottage Needleworks out
of my pile of finished projects and took it to Michaels for
framing and here is the result!! Isn't it pretty?? I'm so
pleased to have this project framed at last. As you can
see by the date on it I finished this project back in 2008.



A close up of the frame showing the detail along the inner
and outer edges. Michaels framing costs are still pretty
steep even with the extra discount and I hate to imagine
how much this would have cost to frame at full price, and
that's without the added cost of a matte around the stitched
piece.



Spring officially arrived on Sunday night and that's
welcome news for those of us who are sick to death
of Winter and all it's quirks and eccentricities. We
have had some nice temperatures here in the past
few weeks and even some sunshine (gasp!!) which
has melted most of our snow.

The Robins are back from wherever they spend their
Winter vacations and we have little clumps of yellow
crocuses opening their flowers in the front garden.
Both are sure signs that Spring is truly here.



So why more pictures from the Allan Gardens conservatory
you may be wondering. Well, because they're pretty. And
because they are soon going to be the only signs of Spring
that we'll have around here for a few days.



We're getting snow tonight while we sleep! Snow and colder
temperatures which will continue on into tomorrow and
might give us around 10 cm of snow before it's done. Oh joy!
So to those of you who are lucky enough to be sharing this
final blast (or so we hope) of Winter with me ... keep looking
at the pretty pictures of the pretty flowers and think happy
thoughts.



I finished reading An Echo in the Bone a week ago and
decided to read something completely different from
the historical romance theme. I try to avoid reading
several books in the same genre, one right after the
other, unless they are a series by the same author. I
chose Kelly Armstrong's Frostbitten which features
her werewolf characters Elena and Clay that was
published a year ago or so.

Another fun romp which also allows Elena and Clay's
relationship to grow and develop and become even
stronger, which is something I really like about K.
Armstrong's stories. Her couples are always evolving
and strengthening their bonds with each other,
even when they have been together for many years.



It was Phil's birthday on March 6th so we had a nice
little celebration for him, which is just the way he prefers
it. His sister came for dinner and brought a cake that
she'd made for him while I prepared the dinner that he'd
asked for this year. Macaroni and Cheese served with
sliced ham and biscuits. Pretty yum, if I do say so myself.

For his birthday this year I got us tickets to the Stratford
production of Jesus Christ Superstar. As soon as I heard
that they would be putting on a production of JC Superstar
at Stratford this year I knew that I would have to get us
tickets because the youth choir that Phil use to belong
to (called the Chancellors) performed the music from this
wonderful show many times. We're going in August
during our summer vacation and we're really looking
forward to it. It's been years since I'd last been to
Stratford for any reason so I'm happy for this excuse
to go. And I love musicals anyways.

In two weeks Gitta's Stitching Marketplace is happening
and I'm really looking forward to going with Alisa and
my dear friend Linda. Am trying to save my pennies in
case there's one or two (okay who am I kidding here ...
lots and lots) things that I might want to get. I'll take
my camera of course and provide a full report once it's
over.

Meanwhile, thanks for visiting and hope you've
enjoyed your stay. Come again soon.

Cheers!

16 comments:

barbara said...

That artsy photo at the beginning is really pretty! As are your springtime photos. :D

We've had some robins and other springtime birds active here, too. I hope the snow didn't scare them off! The 5-6 inches we got quickly melted down to about 2 inches. It's soft, wet stuff.

Congratulations on the latest finish! You're really on a roll! :D

Alisa said...

Congrats on finishing Halloween Quaker...it will look awesome in the black frame you bought!!! I love your spring photos...one more blast from old man winter and I am sure the grass will be green. :)

staci said...

Happy Birthday Phil!

Love your finishes! That Halloween Quaker is awesome and you're way ahead for October :) Love your framed finish too...we must've got in on the same sale at Michael's. I just had them make the frames and did the framing myself, it's much cheaper that way :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely! The stitchs, the finishes, the frame and the photos. Spring is quite shy here but some of the days are getting sunny and warm! It is surely to help us get along the country troubles!
Hugs and kisses to you and Phil

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I love the shot of those wonderful ball creations you captured whilst browsing...
but I must say, you've blown my shocks off with your darling framed creation of CCN's little garden houses. It is stunning!
And another real stunner off the snaps...well that Halloween Quaker is adorable!

BrendaS said...

Love your finishes! You are on a roll:)))

Happy belated Birthday to your husband!

Kathy A. said...

Nice finish there girl! You are on a roll.
Your framing from Michaels is wonderful. Love the color and detail on the frame.
Love the springtime flowers. I hope the weather gets better fast. We are on our way home soon. Expect to be back for April 20th. Look forward to seeing all the girls again.

Maggie said...

Love,love,love the photo at the begining of your post!!

Spring has officially sprung here in the UK too :-) and we have had some sunshine to prove it!

Congratulatios on another wonderful finish, and i love your framed peice too :-) You certainly have been firing on all cylinders, lol, i think you may loose your claim to be the worlds slowest stitcher at this rate, perhaps you had better pass that title on to me,lol
I'm looking forward to our SAL, i am off to the Sewing for Pleasure fair at the NEC on Saturday and i will get the rest of the threads i need.

Belated happy birthday to Phil, that cake looks yummy and he looks well please with it!

Have a good rest of the week xx

Jennifer said...

Congratulations Judy on your beautiful finishes. You sure came a long way on your Halloween piece. Love the florals in their beautiful frame. How inspiring .
Happy belated bday to Phil! That is great about Stratford. Could you try to spot Justin Bieber for Elisabeth!! I will give you a call sometime soon when I get over my terrible cold that I came home from Tuscon with. xoxo

Lynn said...

Congrats on your HQ finish, it's wonderful! I'll get around to mine sooner or later.
I love, love, love your Cottage Garden!! It's so very pretty and such a lovely reminder of the summer that's waiting in the wings.

You're right, Michael's is very expensive. My local framer is actually cheaper and I've found a much better selection of frames. Plus I get the added bonus of our talented John who does all the stretching.

In answer to your question about my Maison No 4. Yes, I have thought about doing more in the series but I have so many other charts I want to get to and not enough time. Isn't that always the way?

Enjoy your time at Gitta's! I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Dani - tkdchick said...

Yay Judy you're starting to blog more! Your finish is cute! Congrats!

Can't wait to see you!

Gina E. said...

Hey Judy, great to see one of your lovely long chatty posts here again! Your finished projects are gorgeous, and I love that frame you chose for Cottage Garden.
You didn't mention how old Phil was on his birthday...sensitive information, lol? He looks pretty good to me!

Siobhán said...

Congratulations on the finish! I love your framed piece, too. I have all the charts AND the fabric--just haven't started yet!

Pumpkin said...

Gorgeous finish Judy! Love it :o) And the piece that you had framed is just adorable and well done. They did a great job so I can see why you're happy. Did you get glass?

I can't wait to post a progress picture of Sabrina for you ;o) She's looking SO good and I AM getting closer to getting her done.

Happy Birthday to your DH! Sounds like you had a wonderful time for his special day :o)

We have no snow in sight and I've seen some crocus flowers but it's been so cold :o( I want the warmer temps!

Gina E. said...

Hi again Judy - just want to thank you for your 'comment' on my blog; I always love seeing your replies! It feels like an old friend has come to visit, and tell me her news all in one go! Thanks for your good wishes for Ken - I do pass on all the messages from my bloggy friends, and even though he doesn't have a clue who I am talking about, he appreciates the fact that all these nice people are sending him good vibes :-)

Judy S. said...

Love that Cottage Garden, Judy, and the Halloween one as well. You may be slow which I doubt, but you sure stitch well! A belated Happy B'day to Phil too. Hope your snow is melted by now.