Audrey Goes to Washington

I am closing out 20 years of working in Washington, DC. There are some things I don't like about DC--politicians and politics being two of them. I wish there were more downtown shopping options. I will miss my favorite breakfast and lunch places though--I'm not much of a brown-bagger. I won't miss leaving the house at 6:45 a.m. and returning home at 8:00 p.m. I won't miss the smelly bathroom or the broken air conditioning on the bus--not for $280 a month, anyway.

I'll miss the view from my bus windows sometimes though. Goodbye, Capitol.


I've shown a little of the town to Audrey, along with some of the art installations in the law firm I'm leaving. This is a nice piece of folk art that my firm owns. Audrey is a little uneasy about the eagle (she had a scary experience on her last trip), but she is trying the Capitol on for size and is thinking about running for Congressbun.


Here she is perched on the Chihuly glass in the conference center. She's not in any danger of knocking it over, since it's glued to the table.


Audrey, contemplating the Capitol in the distance and thinking about political action committees and campaign contributions.


We went to lunch together at Mixt Greens. I've been treated to lunch by my friends for the last week and a half. On Thursday they're throwing a going-away party for me in the afternoon. I'm hoping to get through it without crying; I am going to miss my co-workers. On Friday I'm headed to New England with Audrey in the passenger seat of my car. Because I'm not flying I'll be bringing my computer, so I'll blog on vacation. Audrey is looking forward to the beach. I'll just be there a few days though, I'll be returning to Virginia to clean house, stitch and get ready for my new job in Richmond after the 4th of July holiday. Speaking of which, "July" is framed and waiting for me at In Stitches--along with a wonderful new chart that I'll unveil when I get back from vacation!



This is Audrey's campaign manager. I think he might be a little sneaky.


See you on Cape Cod!

Before and After II

Look who's back--Audrey! Last time she was here, there was too much going to to take a tour, so now that my job is ending on Thursday and I'm taking vacation and heading up to Cape Cod on Friday and then touring Richmond a couple of days the following week, there will be something to show Audrey doing. Thank you, Ann, for the Texas bluebonnet card, which will go up in my new cube, and for the wood bunny and the copies of your wonderful flash fiction, Maelstrom Madness!

I stitched on Catharine McNeal this week. The Before shot:

And After. I made it to the right hand inner border and I've started work on thistles #8 and #9 out of 20. I plan to stitch a lot on the Cape; my parents are in their 80s, so they're not up for lots of running around, although we'll probably go to the beach and to one of my favorite restaurants in Monument Beach, a seafood shack that has wonderful views of the salt marsh.

Yesterday I took my stitching buddy, Yazziebear, to the vet, for a checkup. Yazziebear is our old-lady cat.

Pink: "I thought I was your stitching buddy!" Note to Pink: my stitching buddies do not eat skeins of silk. Nor do they chew faster when I try to remove the strand of AVAS (green, appropriately) from their mouths!


Happy week ahead!

Before and After

Just a quick drive-by today, as I'm headed out on an antiquing jaunt with my sister and a friend. It's been a busy week. My biggest before and after is my job. I gave two weeks' notice on Thursday because I'm leaving Washington, DC and taking a job in Richmond, VA. Better commute, better quality of life, and a new position. I'm not moving--I live roughly half-way between the two cities. More later with pictures of "my" new city, and photos from my vacation between jobs on the Cape. Bunnygirl, maybe Audrey would like to fly back and join me on vacation and scouting expeditions now that I finally have something to show? Click on the link to see the fun that Audrey had on her vacation with Ann and Dan. Ghost towns! Eagles! Mesas!

Anyway, Before, Sarah McPhail:

After, Sarah McPhail:


Before, Elvis' hair-do:

After, Elvis. Elvis: "It's a miracle! I can see!"

Happy week ahead!

Summer Sampler Sunday

The last few days have been very hot; this morning it was 90 degrees when I got into my car at 9 a.m. to go to Lowes for a propane tank exchange for the grill so that I could grill the chicken before we had the usual afternoon thunderstorm. I got the tank home without blowing up the car (always my worry as it rolls around in the trunk) and hooked up and BF got the grill cleaned as I got the chicken cleaned and cooked and sauced and everything put away just as the first rumbles of thunder were heard.

Because it was so typically a Southern-hot day, and I was sitting under the big ceiling fan stitching and thinking about when I lived in Chattanooga in an apartment that didn't have air conditioning, so we'd go after work and spend the evening at one lake or another and on the weekend head for the Smokies, where it generally was twenty degrees cooler among the streams and mountain laurel (although I despise camping--just despise it). But thinking about the smell of the Tennessee River (in those days not so pleasant--a mixture of mud and chemicals from the tannery although the river's been cleaned up a lot and there's even a big river aquarium to see now) made me think about stitching on Sarah McPhail, so I got her out and went to work today and won't be putting her away again anytime soon.



Ann Wallace and I are, I'm sorry to say, having "issues." You may remember that Ann is a re-start because I didn't really like the previous fabric. I don't like this fabric either, even though I like the color. It's too THICK, and I keep poking my needle-pushing finger with the eye-end of the needle, which hurts, and it's extra work to keep pushing that needle through thick fabric and realizing just how enormous the design is, so it's time to put it away for a little while and contemplate my options. I have sort of an itch to work on a patriotic or Americana-type sampler anyway. Take that, Ms. Difficult Ann Wallace and Your Miserable Fabric!


Here's a photo of Pink and Elvis just as the storm got rolling. They actually are unfazed by the thunder, but they snuggle all the time. The house is nice and cool, but even so, you'd think snuggling with Elvis and all his fuzziness would be hot on a summer afternoon, wouldn't you? And whoever mentioned that he needs his bangs trimmed is right--he looks a little like Cousin It.
Pink: "zzzzzzzzz."



Happy week ahead!

For Rabbits' Guy: New Wheels II

Rabbits' Guy asked for a picture of the other wheels:


We both buy all our cars used.My own car is eight years old, and a plain-jane sedan. BF has been trying to talk me into this car, also at Cooper's. It's a Shelby GT500. Not me, really, but I'll bet it screams.



THIS is me, and I'm a little tempted: 1972 Ford LTD with a 351 V8 Winsor engine. And only 27,000 original miles.


But it's the white leather upholstery that really gets me. Sweet. I think I'll stick with buying needlework though; having a car payment would cut into my hobby budget.



I'm a little shaky right now. I was off work today to have a tooth extracted. Why the tooth had to go is a long, stupid story of dental malpractice on the part of both a dentist and an endodontist with both a botched root canal and a shoddy crown. I went to a different dentist recommended by a friend who relieved me of my poor ruined tooth today. I have never had a tooth extraction before; like most things, the anxiety about it was worse than the execution. While it didn't hurt really, it wasn't a great deal of fun, and now that the novocaine is wearing off, I think it's going to hurt a bit. On the way home I stocked up on soft foods: pudding mixes and tapioca grains and gelato and ice cream. While I waited I did get to stitch a bit on Ann Wallace:



Peaches: "I'm built for speed. And I get 90 miles to a bale of hay."

Happy rest of the week!

A New Ride

BF retired his ten-year-old car and got himself a new one. I got a new set of wheels today also. I may have told you that other than my needlework habit, my greatest weakness may be a good vacuum cleaner. I have a stable of them, each of them for a specific task on a specific floor, and each of them sleaker and more beautiful than the last. I may have to name each of my vacuums; this one I'll call Catharine McNeal after the sampler of roughly the same color, since I've been looking at aqua/turquoise/minty green quite a bit. This machine is lighter than the other cannister vacs I have and is ideal for upholstery/blinds/baseboards/stairs as well as the floors. With 6 cats and 3 buns, we are experts in vacuuming here.

Since we slept so long by napping during the weekend, last night we didn't go to bed until 4 a.m., so there was plenty of time for me to start a new project. You should have seen me at 2:00 in the morning, rummaging through my stash. This is Ann Wallace 1817 by the Scarlet Letter.

I did a trial run on some yellowy/gold fabric that was just ok. When I was at the LNS I spotted some 40 ct Newcastle in Flax because the floss colors looked great against it. I also like that it's about half the cost of Lakeside. I mentioned that the house color IRL is brown, not gray, but I changed it to gray. That meant I had to change the accents from brown (outlines) and pale green (window fill-in) to navy blue and pale aqua.

Ann Wallace says: "When I was a girl in 1817, we beat our carpets with carpet whips. We didn't vacuum. And I loathe aqua."
Says Catharine McNeal, sniffing: "You never beat a rug in your life. You lived in a big fancy house with servants to beat the rugs!" Note to Tanya--Catharine McNeal is stitched on 40 count Picture This Plus Legacy. Those colors do pop against the brown blotchy fabric.



Pink: "Elvis, Mom thinks the samplers are talking to her!"


Until later!

Asleep

I have spent most of this holiday weekend either cleaning, stitching or asleep. Since I am sure you don't want to see pictures of me snoring in my stitching chair with my mouth open or napping under the big ceiling fan in the master bedroom (surrounded by cats) or of my blinds-cleaning operation, I'll show you pictures of my stitching progress instead. Progress on Catharine McNeal--I pulled out the satin stitches on the one thistle that I stitched that way and replaced it with normal cross stitch. I'm glad I went with that decision; I'm not balking at the idea of stitching along on this now.

And because I get a tad tired of all that blue-green, I have restarted Charlotte Clayton. I had started it previously on a 32 count Lakeside that was a rosy/yellow color which swamped the colors of the thread and also meant that the coverage was a bit skimpy with the NPI. So I rekitted the cannibalized colors and restarted it this weekend on 40 ct Lakeside in navy bean. I'm much happier with this, although I've adjusted some of the thread colors to compensate for the fabric color.

Here are the buns, having their Sunday nap just prior to the one I had.

Happy week ahead!

Summer

Phew! Almost didn't manage a post today. It's been a busy weekend, and while I am normally quite the homebody, I was a social butterfly this weekend. Now I'm exhausted, and the work week starts in something less than 12 hours! Because I was in Northern Virginia Saturday, I stopped by In Stitches to pick up a couple of things I ordered and came across this little gem by Cross-eyed Cricket: "Summer." It's charted for DMC on a pale purple R&R Reproductions "Ann-tique Hydrangea." I may stitch it on a Lakeside or PTP fabric though.

This week saw a little bit of work on "Catharine McNeal." I have decided to skip all the satin stitching though and substitute regular cross stitch. It was everywhere: every 2nd set of thistles, the roof of the house, some of the large trees. I don't enjoy doing it, and it's a bit more fragile. The effect is nice, but I'd rather move ahead instead of fiddling with why one strand of a group won't lie flat.

Poor Audrey--I've been too busy with work to go out at lunch and show her the town and take photographs. I'm going to be sending her along to Bunnygirl this week, who's planning to take Audrey with her on vacation. Maybe Audrey can come back when I have something more interesting to show than the inside of my tote bag, although Audrey did enjoy riding the commuter bus. And Hef's Mom: thank you so much for the Craisins and the cat toy and the chocolates which came along with Audrey. The bunnies loved the craisins (and I put a handful in a pilaf I made for the 2-foots too).

Pink is enjoying a cat scratching lounger here. I am enjoying seeing Pink wrestle this and hearing Peaches chew on this instead of the wall!

Happy week ahead!

Brief

Just a quick post this week. I've stitched a good bit on "Catharine McNeal" but haven't stitched much of anything else. I have a new, busier position at work, which makes me a little panicky because while my old job was a bit of a snore, it was predictable and allowed me to come and go in terms of vacation days and lunch and leaving on time and now...yikes. But hey, if it gets in the way of stitching, it'll have to go! (You can imagine the merriment at home when I announce to BF that I'm quitting my job to stay home and stitch full time.)

Oh, and last week a commenter asked about In Stitches, which has so many of the samplers I post here. In Stitches is on Pear Tree Court in Alexandria, Virginia, and they'll very happily fill an order for you if you give them a call or email them (just click on the link for that information.)

Pink, contemplating a little dash down the hall.

Peaches and Elvis, sharing a wheat grass snack. The grass is grown from seeds right in the special bag. It's a bit gimmicky and too small for enthusiastic rabbits. (It's meant for cats who typically are slightly daintier eaters.) The minute Pink entered the scene, he upended the container and happily chomped on the bottom of the bag.

Happy week ahead, all!

Needle Bling and Other Treasures

Picture-heavy post: lots of samplers! Progress on Samplers Revisted's "Catharine McNeal." I really would like to finish this sampler by the end of summer. Note the little bit of bling at the top?

Yesterday I went to In Stitches to pick up some things I ordered. I saw this little needle minder and picked him up. There were so many little critters and objects to choose from: bugs and hats and palm trees, all with rhinestones, by "Needle Bling--Elizabeth Turner Collection." Maybe I won't drop my needle down the sofa cushions now that I have him.

Scarlet Letter Sunday: I had ordered this fabric for Ann Wallace. It's Edinboro Summer Khaki in 36 count. Several of you asked me about the gray AVAS that I'm substituting for the blah brown that's called for. The gray is the skein on the lower left. Now that I have the fabric, I'm not sure it's the right gray. Maybe a gray with greenish tones? Note that the photo of Ann Wallace below shows a darker fabric. I had the chance to see the darker fabric (natural dirty linen, I think it was called) and felt it was too dark.


I took some photos of some of the framed samplers at In Stitches yesterday. You can see Catharine McNeal on the left, and a sampler called "Isabella Jemima Catchpoole 1857" on the right by the same designer. I would like to stitch that one one of these days soon.

By the same designer is "Martha Wood 1853" on the left and "AR 1829" on the right.

I did get this one--an older sampler design by Threads of Gold called "Sarah Munday." I also picked up Threads Through Time's "Ann Rayner." You know--in case I run out of things to stitch.

Little Peaches says she does not remember her mom. My own mom is probably going out for dinner at Ihop with my dad. She will be satisfied with that or the early bird special at Hearth and Kettle or perhaps a turkey sub at Subway, but I feel a little sad that I can't be there to make a favorite dish for her--shrimp or a grilled steak. Happy mother's day, and treat yourselves to something special!

Happy week ahead!

Biting Off More than We Can Chew-Scarlet Letter Edition

I went to In Stitches yesterday with every intention of picking up just thread and maybe a zipper project bag or two and perhaps some fabric, certainly not to buy another Scarlet Letter chart. But this chart called out to me from the SL stand, and of course I wound up buying thread for that instead of the other chart I was kitting up. And Patricia, Enabler-in-Chief at In Stitches, said, "it would be a great companion piece for And All Was for An Appill." I like AAWFAA, but I wasn't really going to stitch it, but now I really should, shouldn't I? Or maybe this one, which is a similar style: The Lady and the Castle in an Autumn Landscape. Since school is over and I have sensibly decided to take just a single course this coming semester, I'll have more time to stitch, but even I think this is all a little nuts. But I'm going to try it anyway! Here is my start on "A Parrot, A Leopard and a Lion." I'm using 40 count vintage Navy Bean and AVAS (over two). I'm not doing the tent stitch background. Why use nice linen if you're going to do that?

In any case, I decree this the summer of Scarlet Letter, and I will try to show SL progress each week. And I'm thinking it's high time to re-start the Summer Sunday cocktails as well. Mental note to self to go by the Virginia ABC store and select some interesting things. Today would have been perfect for a frosty cocktail in the silver shaker: it was 90 degrees.

Bet you thought I'd abandoned Catharine McNeal. Nope--I put some time into her this week. She's coming along nicely.

Don't you just love the Picture This Plus Fabric for this project?

Pink and Peaches, having Sunday brunch. Peaches: "I think that I have bitten off more than I can chew." It's fun to watch the buns eat their timothy hay: they chew it down like spaghetti strands--little by little it disappears into their faces.

Along with Outdoor Bunny, whose best feature is that he does not doot in the house. He's rather impatiently waiting for me to put in the garden, which I didn't do this weekend because I stitched instead. Sorry, OB!

Happy week ahead!