Their Song Chart Update

Rosa in Iceland was the first to email me about this chart. It will be on the way to its new home this week.

Happy Dance!!

I finished Their Song this morning! I was expecting to finish this on Friday, or at least over the weekend. I was so close that it really didn't need much work. But life (read: "gardening and animals") got in the way and I didn't have time or energy to stitch until this morning.



This was such a fun stitch that I put everything else on hold and worked obsessively on it until it was completed. I rarely stitch anything straight through like that, unless it is something tiny. If you would like to stitch this, send an email to me at flosslady99 @ yahoo.com, and I will be happy to pass the pattern along.

With Their Song completed, I plan to get back to work on Tradewinds and Adia, plus a few small things that I want to start. I need to spend some time clearing out a few FUFOs, too.

A New Project

Joanie was kind enough to pass along her pattern for "Their Song". It arrived a week or two ago (I've totally lost track of time recently) and I couldn't wait to start it. I went through my stash and found a lovely piece of fabric for it-- Antique Gold 36 ct. Edinburgh from Silkweaver. After selecting fabric, I set about pulling threads. I changed the colors just a bit, so that they would show properly on the fabric. I started on Monday, and here's what I have so far.


I really don't like the way this photographed. It's so pretty IRL, but doesn't look so great here. The photos I took of Adia today aren't much better.

Speaking of Adia, that project got a few beads recently. That's about the only thing that is left on this project, and it is slow going.


Here's how she looked before my most recent beading session.


Sadie is still settling in. We've had a few "accidents" since bringing her home. I do believe that she is house trained, but I don't think that I've gotten the right schedule for her yet. (Obviously. LOL) This is made worse by the fact that she gets very distracted when she goes outside. There are so many new things to see and smell! We got a kennel for her a few days ago, and that has helped quite a bit.

She's still learning about her new home, and has started to investigate her "room mates", also known as The Cats. This has been entertaining for me, but I'm not sure the animals are finding it quite so humorous. We've also discovered that Sadie likes to open our mail... with her teeth. She chewed up part of an envelope today. Fortunately, it was junk mail and not anything we needed. I'd hate to call the phone company and explain that the dog ate our bill. LOL

My First Biscornu... and a note on the cardinal nest

I completed the second piece of stitching, Green Moroccan Tile from BH&G, this week. Both designs were stitched on 28 ct. colonial blue lugana, with "Waterfall" floss from Carrie's Threads. This was my first time using these threads, and I must say that I really like them. The variegation is nice and there were no tangling issues. I only have a few of these threads, but I will definitely be getting more of them.


With the stitching completed, I immediately got started on the finishing. It was really easy. I understand now why other stitchers say biscornus can be so addicting.





As for the cardinals, I think the eggs must have hatched, but I haven't actually seen the babies. The nandina bush that contains the nest has gotten a bit thicker since I photographed the eggs, and it's nearly impossible to see anything now. Getting a view of the nest at this point would require too much disturbance for the birds. I have seen both the female and the male back and forth a lot around the bush, bringing food for their offspring.

Meet "Sadie"

She's the newest member of our family. I brought her home from the pound on Tuesday, when I went in to drop off some blankets that we were donating to the shelter. I had been planning to get a puppy, and they didn't have any, so I thought it would be "safe" to go there that day. Wrong! I was just going to look at the dogs, but the instant I got to this one's cage, I thought "that's my dog!" It wasn't a puppy (she's 2 years old), but I was sure it was supposed to be MY dog. The big concern was how she would work out with my cats, so the shelter workers took her into the room where all of the kitties are kept... no reaction whatsoever. The only time she paid any attention was when one hissed at her, and she scrambled away as fast as she could. :)


Sadly, this poor little dog has been at the pound before and was adopted. Apparently, she got loose a couple of times and was recently picked up, but her family didn't want her back. :( She's well socialized though, and was clearly treated well, except for the fact that at two years old, she still hadn't been spayed. (We'll be "fixing" that in two weeks.)

She has done extremely well with our cats, and oddly enough, they've done quite well with her. They've never actually encountered a dog before, so they didn't know quite what to make of her. They don't seem afraid, just a little cautious, and I think with time that they may actually become friends. She doesn't bite or chew, and hardly barks. The only "negative" we've noticed so far is that she loves to dig. But, she's a beagle mix, so we expected that.

Tradewinds Update

I haven't worked on Tradewinds in a week or so, but it has been even longer than that since I've posted an update. During my last Tradewinds stitching session, I completed the ship's compass.







I've also made some progress on the biscornu for May's Monthly Finishing Challenge. I completed the stitching for the first side last week. The design is Orange Moroccan Tile, a freebie from BH&G.



Side two will be the "Green" tile from the same series. I'm stitching them with "Waterfall" floss from Carrie's Threads. The fabric is 28 ct. Colonial Blue lugana.

Brace Yourself!

I have a feeling this is going to be a long & rambling post. Lots to share today. LOL

Thanks for the comments and emails regarding the "Family Heirlooms" question. I knew I couldn't be the only one who didn't really have immediate family to pass these things on to. ;) I do have members of the extended family who would probably be delighted to have my stitching, and of course, there are always my stitching friends.

I also realized that I posted a pair of assembled needlerolls and neglected to give any design details. So, I'll try again...

The one on the left is Pansy Sampler, by Victoria Sampler. I finished it some time ago, but the assembly was on hold until I could find something to line the hardanger area with. The one on the right is Little Gift Sampler, a freebie by Indigo Rose. It was a recent finish.

Speaking of FUFOs, I finished another one today. This is a Sweetheart Tree heart that I stitched ages ago. At my used-to-be LNS, there once was a little Christmas tree decorated with all of the Sweetheart Tree hearts stitched and sewn into ornaments. The patterns were on little cards that didn't have photos, so this tree really helped to sell those designs. I collected most of them, but have only stitched two so far. This one was meant to be a Christmas ornament, until I found a little heart-shaped box at a craft store that looked about the right size. It was perfect!! Unfortunately, I only got one of the boxes. :( I may look for more of these, but I'm not sure I'll be able to find them.





I finished the box using coordinating paint colors and simply dabbing it on randomly. It took some time to get it just right, but I'm quite happy with the end result.

The last of the tulips are blooming. The blooms on the doubles are so large and heavy that they fell over. Can you believe this is a TULIP blossom?



Happy Generation is also in bloom. It's the one with the red stripe. Daydream is fading, but a few are still holding on. I've really enjoyed watching the colors change on that one. I really need to find more bulbs for these and the doubles this fall.