Bees, Bugs, and Bunnies (and other critters...)

Happy Monday everyone!
It has been a while since I posted - I have been pretty busy with my new job-position. I have wanted to do something new and more challenging at work for a long time now, but I have a feeling that it will take a few weeks to get back up to 110 mph. I am most happy at work when I am really busy, so I am sure that even happier days lie ahead. Since the weeks will be a lot more packed (did I tell you that your truly was voted in as president of the local Scandinavian Heritage society? Yup, I am big time now... LOL), I am hoping that I won't be neglecting all your blogs or my own.
As always, thanks so much for all your comments. It is great to hear from all my cyber-peeps! I have not been as good about commenting on all your blogs lately, but I have been reading them and enjoyed every minute!

This weekend was interesting. We went hashing on Saturday and had a nice time. Before the running and beer drinking, DH and I had time to go and check out a hous with the realtor. This is the time to buy - 3.5% interest! I mean, can it get better than that!? On the other hand - it may be a bit harder to sell, so it all evens out at the end of the day, right? LOL
We saw another house on Sunday. Both of them were "interesting"... say no more. The Saturday house was definitely the better one and it is apparent that DH is in love with that particular house. The Sunday-house must have been built by very short folks. Nothing wrong with that, but I did tell DH that if we buy that house, he will have to sit down during #1 because the WC is so incredibly far away (as in very, very low)... On the other hand, the garden was fantastic! I am hoping that we eventually will find a house that has it all...

Well, on to the more exciting stuff.

Bees and Bugs!
With a special *hello* to my buddy Bzz*Bzz*Bee! After about 1 whole week of solid rain, we got some wonderful Saturday sun. The bees were very excited about being dry and fed. I love this first pic. If you click on it, you can see that a bee was caught mid-air in the lower right corner. I am amazed at the capacity of my camera!

I also like that these two share the same sunflower. The little yellow bug has the exact same color as the flower has.

Bunnies!!!
Here is the progress on Hare Pyns. Two out of the three panels on the main part are now done. The first photo shows the "invisible stitching" on the part that will be the inside of the purse. Thank goodness that I am done with that part! I did decide to add an additional bunny in the second zero. That bunny is facing the first bunny and I like how it turned out.
The photo below that shows the progress on the last panel. It is actually working up much more quickly than I thought (tent-stitch). I ran out of floss while stitching the outlines, but found a good substitute among my Sailors Huswif leftover silks (plus - of course - I used the wrong color... I would have run out of the other color too though). This panel has a completely filled in background too, which I must admit that I am dreading a bit... The upper left corner has already been filled in, but as you can see, it is another page taken from the book of "invisible stitching".

Here is DH and Bubba saying hi!

Is that a bunny under your jacket, or are you just happy to see me? (Sorry, it's past 10 PM and I guess that I am slap-happy over here...)
I have been meaning to share a couple of interesting videos with you. If you are under the impression that bunnies are shy and very timid animals, these movies are for you (no bunnies got harmed during the making of these films...)


(I love birds, so I do feel bad about the poor crow in the second movie. If you have a heart that bleeds for feathery friends, you should probably not click on the second link. It is not a funny movie, just showing that bunnies can be super-dangerous!)

Speaking of Bubba, he is even more world famous now! Check out the post on Beth Twist's blog (Heartstring Samplery)! Bubba got us a wonderful freebie for posing for this pic; the wonderful I Sew'd My Heart design.

All right, Henny is seriously starting to get jealous, so I have to pay more attention to her for a while. It is always an adjustment to get a new sibling. LOL

Other Critters
Speaking about feathery friends, check out what we had hanging out in out tiny hanging Japanese cherry tree:

Doesn't this put you in the Halloween mood? I love it!

And finally, a bunch of gifts from all over the world! Check out this super-cute strainer from Little Sis back in Stockholm. Littlest Sis showed Little Sis what she was sending me fro my birthday and Little Sis decided to send a matching piece. Love it! And I got more tea - yay!!!! But, best of all, the Godparent Certificate for the baby-boy. DH and I have 4 God-children now, which we are thrilled about - what an honor. (Brag, brag, I know that I am pitiful... LOL)

During the retreat the weekend before last, my best stitching buddy L-Bug gave me these wonderful gifts. L-Bug is a very talented seamstress and made these wonderful stitching pockets for a bunch of her friends. She made sure that the one she made for me matches with the tote-bags that we made a couple of years ago. It is simply gorgeous!

The contents; a wonderful sampler book, a sweet book-mark, a beautiful (really gorgeous!) slide-lid magnetic needle box, and...

...this fantastic pin-cushion. Both L-Bug and I are die-hard Prairies Schooler fans and as many of you probably know, this design is taken from the "Forget Me Nots" chart. Isn't is just the prettiest thing you ever saw!?

L-Bug and I were especially thrilled about the photo below, Berthe Dupont. The book does only contain charts for some of the samples presented, but I found a Berthe Dupont SAL on this French blog: BD Sampler. Isn't she a beauty!? This blog has a lot of free vintage/antique charts; a real gold-mine.

L-Bug and I have decided to start a SAL sometime after our Patricks Woods class/es are over with. This link (same blog) shows a few other samplers that are also displayed in the book.

I am also super excited about another upcoming SAL. Valerie of A Shenandoah Sampler and I are planning on stitching Shores of Hawk Run Hollow together. She is already ahead; everything is kitted up and ready to go. I have some serious shopping ahead of me... ;-) My sweet MIL sent me a gift-card for $50, so I know exactly what I will invest all those dollars in. I am planning on stitching it on silk-gauze, which I think will be a lot of fun!

Finally, here is a photo showing a very tired stitcher wearing some very cool earrings. Froggie gave me these peacock inspired earrings during the retreat. Don't they look glam!?

Well, if I want to avoid looking that rough tomorrow, I'd better get to bed!
Take care, Happy Stitching , and talk with you in a bit!