Easter Bouquet

I like the Tulip Welcome sampler, and in fact, would like to get going on it as I have the idea to do a bunch of "Welcome to our House" kind of things for our foyer, but it was taking so long with all its many backstiches and quarter stitches that I gave in to the startitis, beginning to stitch Procession, by the Workbasket. I'm doing it with the recommended fibers, Caron's Soie Cristale, on the suggested fabric, R&R Reproductions' "Apple Brown Bindy." Except the fabric is not nearly as dark as it is in the chart photo, so the "yellow" silk disappeared into the yellowish fabric completely. As there was no time to get to an LNS yesterday, I borrowed from my bag of HoHRH stash. The Au Ver a Soie is very similar, but just a bit thicker, so it worked well. I used a darker gold, and it's showing up nicely against the paler-than-expected fabric.

It's been terribly cold here, as it has in the rest of the country, but here's the Sunday sampler: It's "Springtime Delights" by Stephanie Lynn Pearson. I like the picture of the chickens at the top (I'm a fool for little yellow chicks on samplers), and the eggs and flowers and the colors are great, but frankly I think the verse ("Spring time hatches heavenly packages") is just drippy and makes me think of the maggots that hatch in my trash can. I was reading in someone else's blog how they believed they'd outgrown some of the charts they'd once found so appealing.

And here's the Easter Bunny, tearing around our still-empty dining room, looking for the basket of eggs he misplaced. We're still holding our breath that the contract on our house won't fall through somehow (although we have received the lender's commitment letter), but once we safely have the money in the bank, it will be time to think about putting furniture in some of these rooms. I'm planning an antiquing trip in the next few months through rural Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and hoping I turn up some treasures that way. Also I'm hoping to get to the Brimfield antique show in Western Massachusetts in May. I also need to take some vacation time to repaint those dining room walls. They look mauve in this picture (my least favorite color in the entire world), they're darker IRL--sort of maroonish--the Ralph Lauren color that we saw in so many homes. There's also a wallpaper border of big white magnolias which doesn't particularly appeal to me. There's nice chair rail and crown molding which the loudness of the wallpaper strip and the paint cause to disappear. I'd like to paint it all in a nice creamy yellow or in a barely peach, painting all the woodwork in a glossy white. More ideas than time! And who would put white wall-to-wall in a dining room? I overturned a glass of tomato juice at dinner tonight, but fortunately, we were eating in the kitchen, which has wipeable floors! Picture that on a white rug!

Happy Easter everyone!