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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Busy Holiday

First off - I have some exciting news!  My super-duper buddy and peep L-Bug has finally taken the step into blog land.  Go check out her blog The Inspired Stitcher - I know that she'll love to have you visit her.  she already has  some real beauties posted!
This is the fourth member of "my" guild to have a blog.  Not bad at all, I think - the guild isn't really huge or anything.  The other bloggers are Big Dog (Indigo Rain), Bzz*Bzz*Bee (Everybody Loved Clark), and yours truly.  :-)


Wow, I am exhausted!  The In-Laws sure have some serious energy... hard to keep up!  :-)  They visited with us from Friday 'til Sunday.  After a solo cage-cleaning session on Monday I was pretty much pooped and ready to get back to work, so that I could "rest back up".  I miss them already though!

So, after a very productive holiday weekend, we now have:
  • brand new PVC pipes instead of the old, rusted iron pipes(I wish that FIL had not shown me the old ones...  yuck!)
  • new break pads on my car (I was told that I did not have a whole lot left to play with...)
  • most all flower-beds without weeds and a new set of pretty annuals in the front corner bed
  • trees and bushes trimmed and happy
  • a dish washer that does not leak (took DH ~4 hrs on Sunday to fix due to a defective part from Home Depot...)
  • a beautiful hand-crafted spool cabinet (built by FIL - I bragged about this one in my last post.  I am rubbing my hands while thinking about all the goodies that I can stash away in it!)
  • a gorgeous and very cool new seat cushion cover made by MIL.  I picked up the fabric at IKEA.  It is of upholstery quality with a trendy print that I simply love. Check out the serious craftsmanship in the close-up pic!:
 

Well, in all honestly, I really did not work that hard...  see, I still had time to start and finish this pretty kit, Jacaranda (30-6665), from Fremme.  I have another kit from the same series that I hope to pick up soon (Goldcrest, 30-6664).  I am picturing these finished very simply (just laced over cardboard) and resting in frame stands on the living-room mantle.  I hope that it will look as simple and elegant as I am imaging that it will....  Not so sure though - things tend to look quite different in my head than in reality, I have discovered.
 
Aren't these birdies just super-cute!?  I noticed that in the photos, the grey cotton floss almost looks fuzzy, but I don't really think that it appears that way in person.
I love how Fremme's designers manage to get so much detail and beauty in with just a few select floss colors.  I know, I have already said it before a hounded times over!  Anyway, I think that this design only uses 13 colors all together!  I especially love the fresh green shade - very crisp.  I am also a stitcher who enjoys larger fields of the same color.  Confetti is not may idea of fun!  Stitching, that is.
I have probably mentioned it before, but I keep some of my pieces pretty smooth while I stitch by rolling up the linen and holding on to the roll.  It actually works really well!  If you like me, are an in-hand stitcher, this may be something that you could try out.

Yesterday night, I started on Moonriders and Crowjackers from Just Nan.  I have been thinking about starting them for about 4 months or so now, so I just couldn't take delaying it any longer.  I got "Jinx" and "Jasper" stitched up in a couple of evenings and "Jack" will hopefully pop up on the linen tomorrow.  The Crowjackers look a little bit more complex (confetti galore...), so they may take a bit longer.  I may even finish them up as ornies next weekend - only 3 workdays left!!! (Oh, and yes - I know that I am extremely frugal with my linen, but this was one of those "bargain cuts" and I felt that the color was just right; a dusty lavender with a layer of a gray tinge on top.)

Other than that, not much to report.  We finally got some rain here today after being by-passed on Saturday.  We got the thunder, the lightning, the winds, and very long noses (= not a drop of rain).  Today, we got a good much-needed down-pour, so I know that the garden is thrilled!  DH was less than thrilled, since he was scheduled to play a soccer match that got cancelled.

I absolutely love the sound of rain.  That and a bunch of different bird-calls, especially sea-gulls, are my favorite sounds.  I also like the sounds of chickadees and crickets, but I may be in the minority there?
Here are some evening pictures from a freshly washed garden.  Note the butterfly bush that has just started to bloom in the second photo.  After a rough yesteryear in the back yard with DH trimming it down to the ground with the mower on a weekly basis, I felt like this poor fighter deserved something better.  I can almost hear the collected sighs of relief from all the branches....
 
 
 
Check out the sunflower!  It must have been planted there by a friendly critter.  For the longest time, DH asked me whether I was sure that it really was a sun-flower.  "Yes dear", I said over and over.  When I finally started to give up hope and begun to realize that the thing probably was an out-of-control weed, it was too large to pull out.  We laughed about it and then were both pleasantly surprised (as I am sure that the neighbors were too) when we realized that it indeed was a sun-flower after all.....

Well, I can not believe that it is past Midnight.  Again!!!!
Gotta' get ready and jump into bed.
Talk with you in a bit and Happy Sticthing.

7 comments:

  1. oohhh wow you got an awful lot done no wonder you are cream crackered ..lol love the seat too :0 and nice chart not seen those before ... off to go and check out your friends blogs .. t.t.f.n love mouse xxxxx

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  2. It sounds as if you do need to rest. I love the seat cushion. Your MIL has mad sewing skills.

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  3. Hey girlie!

    Thanks for the shout-out. :o)

    I love the birds too. There's just something about them. They are just so real looking.

    I think you deserve a rest after that busy weekend!

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  4. Love the embroidery with the birds. Really nice work.

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  5. Loooove the pics of your garden. The flowers are amazing. :D

    'Grats on the finish, it's so cute... and wowzas on your MIL's handiwork!!!

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  6. Å, vad fin trägården är! Helt galen solros, biiiig! :)
    Gillar det gra tyget till haloweenbroderierna. Ska bli kul att se dem som färdiga ornament (hm, vad heter det på svenska?). Sååå fin byrå, tyget på är fantastiskt. Att man kan bygg så är riktigt imponerande.
    Längtar efter dig!
    Pusspuss

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  7. Jenny,
    Great to meet you this weekend. I want to see a picture of your finished Hare Pyns this week!
    I'll post mine when I get it done.

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