My Day Out

I had to pick up groceries today, since I didn't think it was all that healthy to have yet another meal of salsa and chips, or soup and crackers. So I tried the new Walmart Supercenter in Massaponax (my feelings are mixed about Walmart selling food, but I don't see the big deal really; there's nothing there that's going to lure me away from my usual grocery stores). There's a Sonic across the street. Looking at the sky, you'd think it was a summer day, but it definitely wasn't, so I ate in my car, which is a particular guilty pleasure for me. Nice warm car, music on the radio, and salt on the console (since I have high BP, that salt is a REAL guilty pleasure). If you don't have a Sonic where you are, you're missing out. Frankly, I like good fast food, and their cherry limeade is amazing. They have an old-fashioned drive-in as well as the regular drive-up window, and I was watching a poor waitress manage a tray while on roller skates, in the 20-degree temps.

Since I was so close to my LNS, I dropped by to see if some of the Crescent Colors and WDW threads had come in. I kit my projects up well in advance, so I travel around with a list of the thread that I need. Here's the winter display at my LNS. I got two skeins, but I'll have to wait for the others.

I bought an older Prairie Schooler chart on sale for $2. And I got this, which has been around for a couple of years but I hadn't noticed before. I think I probably noticed it now because of the rabbit who looks like Pink. It's Waxing Moon Designs' "Spring Sampler." I didn't kit it up, but I think I'd like to do it before spring comes.

Peaceful Paradise

I've worked a little on Peaceful Paradise this week. After all the black writing, the little shots of color are especially fun to do. I'm working into a section below that's all color changes, and I'm looking forward to that.

I picked up this WIP and worked a bit on it also. It's an old Beatrix Potter kit I bought maybe 20 years ago. Unlike some projects after that amount of time, it doesn't feel dated to me, and I like it as much now, even if the subject is a bit childish for a grown woman to display.

Didn't Coke used to use the slogan, "The paws that refreshes?" This is Elvis compared to the size of a normal 12-ounce diet coke can. He didn't drink it, though; he's already hyper enough without the caffeine.

It's a cold and sunny Sunday here--perfect for a long cozy stitching session by the fire. BF has decided, however, that we should see a movie and go out for dinner. I really can't argue--it's nice that he wants to do that, even if I tend to be a bit of a hermit on the weekend. I'd love to stay home and curl up on the sofa with my stitching, knitting or a book though. Fortunately, tomorrow's a holiday for my firm, so I get another day off.

A Few Words

Two posts in one weekend--because frankly, I could barely make myself leave my snuggly fleece jammies this weekend. I was tired, and it was cold, and accounting classes start up again next week (along with the exhausting slog through the remedial math classes that will allow me to pass calculus. Accounting/business/ legal classes? Piece of cake. Algebra II, geometry, trigonometry? Shaking in my slippers. Fortunately, I'm not one bit hesitant to hire a tutor. I sailed through the one and only required math class--algebra I--for my last degree, thanks to him. I never learned the stuff in high school; I was part of an experimental curriculum that allowed you to skip the things you didn't like or weren't good at. Tell your kids not to skip the basics in high school even if they hate them! Anyway, hanging out in my jammies meant I could spend tons of time doing needlework and playing with the bunnies.
So I worked on stitching lots and lots of words today. Morning Berries by Little House:

And Peaceful Paradise from Midsummer Night Designs:

And a picture of Pink, playing in the linens while I changed the bed this morning. I think I will submit this photo to Disapproving Rabbits. I love this website, which is a collection of the photos of a lovely Minnesota woman who began blogging about her pet rabbit while writing her main blog about birding. She began collecting photos of rabbits who appear to be expressing disapproval. Check it out! Even if you're not a bunny fan (you mean I haven't converted you yet?), there are some very cute and funny photos there!

Saturday Samplers

I've been catching up on some projects this week. News flash: I didn't start a new project this week! Although I'm about to start the next house in the Neighborhood Round Robin, but that doesn't really count as a new start, does it? Because I've got my eye on the net, along with a lot of other stitchers, to get a look at the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow when it's unveiled in February. And because I'm sorely tempted by the new A Mon Ami Pierre chart shown by ABC Stitch on their website. Contemplating these new projects makes me want to finish up some lingering stuff that's pretty far along, including Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, which I burned out on sometime last year. I won't finish it this year either, but I would like to make a little progress.

But for now, here's Winter Cardinal. Maybe done in time for next Christmas? Although there's no Christmas greeting on it, so maybe just frame it?

Here's my progress on Procession. I love the composition and the silk, but I wish it were just a tad more complex, color- and design-wise.

And here's a picture of Elvis, sitting in the cat carrier that we used to transport him to his well-bunny checkup.

Winter Crafts

It's not my fault: someone who doesn't know me very well gave me a (possibly regifted) terrible scarf for Christmas. Don't get me wrong--I appreciate that the giver thought of me at all, and took the time to wrap it and present it. But really, it is one of the worst things I've ever seen. It was made out of some sort of rat-like grayish acrylic matted "fur" held together by black threads. It was neither beautiful nor useful since there wasn't enough fabric to wrap around your neck. And goodness, you wouldn't want it dangling out of your coat in case you got it caught in a bus door and strangled on it, or in case someone thought you were wearing something's entrails. But it's gotten cold, and I've craved a new scarf, so I dug through my yarn stash and came up with a nice cranberry red boucle yarn with a soft mohair halo and a bit of gold running through it. It's a nice antidote to the acrylic roadkill. But as such things have a way of getting everything else rolling, I stopped by the Knitter's Cottage in Fredericksburg today and spent a long time handling some of their lovely yarns and looking at patterns.

A lot of people knit socks, which I think are fiddly and which I won't wear since I'm the princess and the pea when it comes to socks or shoes that don't feel absolutely smooth and soft and lump-free, although there's some nice sock yarn out there. I bought a modest project (a two-color hat) and I'm contemplating the purchase of some beautiful gray angora and wool yarn for another scarf. One thing's for sure: the cost of good yarn and a pattern book or two makes counted cross stitch look downright inexpensive, however expensive hand-dyed fabrics and silk floss might be. Here's my scarf so far:

Here's a little more on Fruit of the Spirit.

And I picked up Dimple Designs' Ladybugs I again. It's done over 1 on 32 count Glenshee linen, and I can only do it in bright natural light. It has about 12 different colors of red in it, so it's a little hard to keep track of what you've stitched and what you haven't!