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!

Old Year, New Starts

Lots of pictures, and more to come in the next day or two. I felt like some new starts--things have been stressful around here, and nothing calms like a fresh start, right?
This is "Peaceful Paradise," by Midsummer Night Designs. I've wanted to do lots of biblically-oriented samplers lately, and there are a few designers doing a really fine job with them.

Here's my start. I'm doing it on 40 ct Light Examplar by Lakeside Linens using Crescent Colors with a couple of required DMC skeins. There's a lot of writing in this, which gets a little tedious, but I think the results will be worth it, and the pictorial areas are gorgeous.

This is Plum Street Samplers' "Fruit of the Spirit."

Here's my start: I'm doing it also on 40 ct Light Examplar by Lakeside Linens, using NPI and two required skeins of Silk 'n Colors. I love the colors in this as well as the design.

I'm not a resolutions person, although I occasionally will set a general goal for myself. For instance, I'll try to plant the tulip bulbs I bought, since it's finally stopped raining. And the windows behind me could really use a good wash. And I should get out and go for a walk and enjoy the first sun we've seen in a while. I'm home today and tomorrow, and I really need to attend to some cleaning tasks around the house. Here's one that Pink has pointed out to me in the linen closet.

"Whew, Mom, what a mess!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas: A Holiday Tale

Do you hear what I hear?
So early last week, having found a little white rabbit on the website for the Frederick County Animal Shelter, we traveled 85 miles to pick up Pink. Like Elvis, Pink (who was supposedly also at least part lionhead) was a rabbit given up by a family who didn't want him. Pink was owned by people who had five dogs and "no longer had time for him." Given his age--just under a year--Pink was likely a poorly thought out Easter purchase. Poor Pink. White rabbits with pink eyes are generally adopted last. We met Pink's foster mom, Patti, who fosters a number of rabbits and who has a business taking pet photos. He was larger than I expected, easily twice Elvis' size, but she put Pink on my shoulder and I just melted. His paws were dirty and he had an ugly scab from his neutering and the not-lovely pink eyes, but he had a little mane and beard of the softest white fur and a wistful expression and no forever home if we rejected him, so we packed him up and drove back home and settled him into his new quarters in one of our two "rabbit rooms" (the master bath with a new large cage).

The next day we went to work and when I came home, I sat on the floor to clean his cage, something I'd always enjoyed doing with the Bunnyman. While I spread clean newspaper in the bottom of the Bunnyman's cage, I'd read and pet the Bunnyman, who would stretch out next to me, clicking his bunny teeth in a kind of purr that happy bunnies have. Pink wasn't purring though. As soon as I sat down and reached into his cage to clean it, this formerly docile bunny turned into a maniac, rushing at me and lunging, snapping his teeth and biting. He bit me on the hands and the arm and the leg, drawing blood and causing terrible bruising. With his red eyes he looked like a little vampire bunny.

I called Patti, shaken and crying. I needed to bring the bunny back; he wasn't working out. He hated me. Patti promised to take him and said she'd rehabilitate him; that sometimes stress turned little rabbits into bunny monsters. Perhaps, she theorized, he didn't feel well. His neutering scab didn't look right to her. And he'd lived in four places (his originaly family, the shelter, Patti's after the surgery and then our house) in just a short time. He might be scared and uncertain. I couldn't bring him right back anyway; it would have to wait two days to Saturday--the drive to Frederick is too long at night and in holiday traffic. And she told me to push his head down if he rushed at me to bite, and to blow in his face, which bunnies don't like but which is non-violent. So the next night I followed her suggestions, talking calmly to Pink, blowing a puff of air into his face when he got edgy or too close. It worked; he calmed down and began to relax. He watched me warily at first, and then he came closer, nudging me and finally creeping into my lap to have his ears rubbed and his back stroked. He did the tooth purr. I emailed Patti and said I'd keep him another week. Yesterday I told her he could stay permanently.

He's perked up. His incision has healed and the green scab has fallen off. He drank a lot of water for a while and slept deeply in his little dishpan litterbox. He ate everything brought to him and asked for more. Little by little he became less hostile, then less wary, and now he plays with his pinecones and his cardboard tubes and does little jump-and-twists called binkies.

Pink is home for Christmas.


And here's another shot of Elvis, our other Christmas bunny, who looks and acts more like a puppy than a rabbit. Elvis was neutered Friday, so he's a little subdued today; normally he tears around sniffing everything, licking your face, squirming, jumping into your arms. Tonight he's had his dinner of hay and fresh cilantro and parsley and carrots, with a tiny syringe of fruit-flavored anti-inflammatory, and he's nodding off in his little box.


Merry Christmas from our hutch to yours! Stitching pictures to come when I've had a chance to do something other than shop and cook and clean and bunny-tame.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Lobsters!

My mom loves tablecloths and old fashioned linens like table runners and napkins. So when she runs across some in a church bazaar or antique store, she sends them to me. This is a table runner which I'm embellishing with lobsters from Lobsters in the Round by hmmm. That chart is two floors up, so maybe I'll have to tell you the designer another time.

And here's a little progress on the Ark. I have made a gross error though, and I'm going to have to frog out the bottom chamber with the squirrel in it; it's one row too narrow. Argh! Don't you hate that?

Meet Elvis! I hated walking past my bunny's empty bunny room, so last week, my sister and I went to the Alexandria Animal Shelter and I adopted this little guy; they sent someone out to inspect my home today and she said I could go get him right away, so I did. He's a lionhead, which is a miniature breed of rabbit. He's young--about a year old, and we decided he should have a bunny companion, so I went online and found another lionhead at the Frederick, Maryland animal shelter. That one is white, with pink eyes. They've called him Pinky, but I'm calling him "Pink," and I can pick him up later this week. Pink looks a lot like the little white bunnies under the tree on the Christmas ornament in the 2007 Just Cross Stitch ornaments issue. Each of them is about 3-4 pounds, fully grown. This is not an especially good picture, because he was adjusting to his new home. More pictures to come!

The Bunnyman--1998-December 5, 2007

Last week I lost my dear bunny friend to cancer. He was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago, so I had some time with him before we had to have him put to sleep. Bunnyman was a throwaway bunny whose family didn't want to bother to care for him; they set him loose in the neighborhood to fend for himself. I had spotted him a few times before he showed up in my yard, where I found him contentedly munching on the seed that drifted out of my bird feeder. Bird seed was always one of his favorite snacks. So we took him in--bunnies on the loose generally meet a quick and grisly end in the talons of a hawk or the jaws of a dog--and he became our much doted-on little pet. House bunnies are wonderful pets; they can be trained to use a litter box and they're endlessly amusing when young, and quiet, peaceful and loving companions when they're old. They're subtle though, and the shelters and bunny refuges are full of unwanted and unappreciated little pets. In a few weeks, when I can do it without weeping, I will go to the Bunny Magic refuge in Maryland (www.bunnymagic.org) and choose two bunnies who are waiting for a home and who might otherwise go unadopted because they're white with pink eyes (an unpopular color combination) or because they're seniors or because they're missing an ear or an eye or were nearly starved to death in a backyard hutch and are shy and fearful.

In the meantime, I have kitted up Little House Needleworks' "Morning Berries" with the Crescent Colors threads. I've had this chart for a long time because I collect bunny needlework projects and now I want to stich this to memorialize the Bunnyman's too-short stay on earth. I will change the color of the bunny at the bottom of the chart to black though.

And those stitchers in my neighborhood RR (as in this picture of Carol's neighborhood) are getting a little black Just Nan bunny, who is happily passing from yard to yard, looking for dandelions. Every spring the Bunnyman and I would go into the backyard for a supervised romp and gathering of dandelions. He loved the greens, the bitter milky stems, the bright full flowers and even the seed heads.

Have you Met Mary Beale?

When I posted on Sunday, I mentioned that I made a discovery at my LNS. When I was poking around the sale charts and fabrics in In Stitches' back room, I noticed a number of completed needlework projects clipped to hangers, waiting to be framed. In Stitches has a wonderful framer, and you never have to wonder if they're going to do something freaky like glue your precious finished object! Anyway, after admiring the various works hanging there, my jaw dropped to see one of the most unbelievably complex (stitched over 1 on a fairly high count fabric) and beatiful project I've ever seen. Now, it takes a lot to knock me over like that. The framer told me it was a Mary Beale project, and although I pride myself on my in-depth knowledge of what's out there, I confess I'd never seen one of her projects. Here's the project that I saw on Sunday, and bear in mind, these pictures don't begin to do justice to the design.


The stitcher had laid her blocks out differently, running 12 over 12 horizontally on the fabric. I joked with the framer that I'd be glad to quit my job and stitch full time on it, and the framer remarked that she knew the stitcher had a full-time job and still managed to get it all done!
Mary's website is MaryBeale.com, and she sells her designs exclusively from her website. The first thing I did was purchase a small design called--darn, I don't remember exactly what it's called, but it's essentially a Boston Tea Party historical design, and the project is finished as a tea cosy! This picture is tiny--sorry. But if you go to her website, you'll be able to see in in greater detail I think. Look in the Gallery section to see some finished projects by stitchers who answer a series of questions, all of which makes for fascinating reading and viewing. Anyway, I paid for my order with paypal, and the digitized design came to my computer within about 10 seconds. I printed it off, and I can't wait to start it (I think I'll make it a Christmas weekend start). After I got my design, I contacted Mary Beale herself via email and asked to show you these pictures, copied from her website. She responded within an hour (I love it when a designer does that) and very graciously gave me permission to show her pictures.

Needless to say, I want to stitch all of her designs! I plan to purchase Days of Advent, Book of Common Prayer and I'd love to do all the historical stockings as well. My discovery of her incredible designs comes at a time when I find myself gravitating more and more to religious themes in sampler stitching. I have recently purchased most of the new Plum Street Samplers (I'll show them in another post), including the Sunday School lesson of Jonah, as well as Still Waters and Rejoice (and a couple whose names escape me now). And interestingly, my own Book of Common Prayer is an illuminated edition; I've always thought it a shame that someone didn't make a sampler out of those illuminations.
In the meantime, The Ark is coming along--it's an extremely quick stitch. Of course it helped to have another day of jury duty where I showed up at court only to be paid $30 (I guess we know what I'll do with that) and then sent away when the lawyers for the defendant plea bargained their client out of having to face a jury. So today I stitched, put some Christmas lights up outside and even made dinner!

Be Ye Thankful

It was a quiet Thanksgiving--just the two of us. It gave us a chance to experiment with the menu, sleep late and spend some relaxing time in the house pursuing hobbies. My favorite kind of holiday. We did some non-mall Christmas shopping, and I drove up to Alexandria for In Stitches' blow-out Thanksgiving sale. For those of you who live in the No.Va. area or maybe even a state or two away, I promise it's worth coming to the post-Christmas/New Year's and Super Bowl sales. I'll let you know about dates when I hear, and you can also go to In Stitches' website to sign up for their newsletter (www.institchesneedlework.com). I bought a Moira Blackburn chart for 75% off, stocked up on various kinds of floss to kit out some projects (20% off, which adds up when you're buying the various kinds of silk), and 1/2 off many pre-cut fabrics (although there were no large cuts left when I got there on the second day of the sale). I bought some gorgeous smaller linen pieces for $4 or $5 apiece. The rest of the charts were 20% off also. Pictures of some of my stash in another post along with a discovery I have made and some progress on my various Christmas projects--it's too much to stuff into today's entry.

I bought this little chart: "The Ark" by La-D-Da. I love Noah's Ark samplers, and I've collected several. The fabric is 40 ct RR in Dark Cappuchino, and the fiber is Needlepoint Inc. Silks.

The black and cream design was a nice change from the pink/green/red/white of the Gingerbread House sampler.

This is the Bunnyman, who says he looks like the little silhouette bunny on the chart.

Lugnut

An unsettling event: on my way back from an accounting class yesterday morning, I had a tire blow-out at 75 mph on Interstate 95. I made it to the shoulder fine (wondering what the roaring sound and shimmy was until I got out to look), dialed up AAA, which responded with a nice tow truck driver within 30 minutes--apparently breaking down on a major interstate is considered a priority. I've doubted in the past whether it makes sense to pay money every year to AAA since I had previously only used them once, when my tire went flat in my driveway, which hardly seemed much of an emergency (I know how to change a tire, something my dad insisted on all those years ago when I got my license, as he said that sometimes there's no one to depend on but yourself. He's right about that, of course, and I've found that to be true about more than just tires. Nevertheless, I'll call someone to come do it when I can, as wrestling with the jack and the tire iron are just not something I enjoy.) I consider myself lucky: I had my phone with me, and it was actually charged. Although it was cold, it wasn't raining. The donut tire in the trunk was actually inflated. After rummaging through my trunk we were actually able to locate the lugnut unlocker (apparently my wheels are locked to the car so that they can't be stolen). Had I ever noticed that unlocker in the trunk, I might have thrown it out, thinking it was a piece of chrome junk--good thing I'm not that tidy. And last, I got lucky because the tire store had just one last tire of the size my car needs. My only misfortune, other than the cost of the new tire, is that I didn't have my needlework with me. BF makes fun of me for toting it everywhere, even when I drive 10 miles away to do errands. I always tell him that in the heavy and unpredictable No. Va. traffic, you never know when you'll be stuck behind a hazardous material spill or major accident for four or five hours, and why waste all that stitching time?

I worked on several projects this week and don't have a lot of progress to show on those, but I'm coming down the home stretch on Carol's Neighborhood RR. I have some landscaping to do on this, some flowers to plan perhaps, and some critters to stitch, and then I'll be able to send it along to Wendy in Canada. I'm enjoying stitching this so much! It's Thistle House by Ewe & Eye and Friends, but I've fiddled with the colors so they would show up well on the fabric that Carol chose.

And I got a framing job back and dropped another one off. This is probably called something like Cats or Cat Alphabet, and it's by the Drawn Thread. I stitched it about six years ago while on a nice long relaxing vacation to Vancouver, BC and Tofino on Vancouver Island. It's been sitting in a drawer with a little stack of other finishes, so I thought I'd finally frame and hang it. Taking a long break like that made it feel fresh again--sometimes by the time I've finished stitching a design, I'm a little tired of it.

I'll be posting on the Hello Neighbor RR site with Carol's picture and with a picture of Karen's RR that I received from Leslie on Friday. And maybe a midweek post on some of the other stuff I'm working on. I dropped by my LNS yesterday and picked up a couple of project bags and some floss, and I've fallen in love with another chart by Plum Street Samplers (Plum Street Designs?) called...um...Rejoice, I think. It's a very pretty Christmas piece and is a nice companion to the two other Plum Street designs I've purchased recently (both of them biblically oriented, full of beautiful silk threads and just so pleasing to look at). I'll buy it when I get over the wallet whiplash from purchasing a big fat $250 tire! Oh! and speaking of big ticket items, my LNS told me that Silk 'n Colors, which are now selling for about $5 apiece, are going to jump to about $7, so if you like stitching with them, now's the time to stock up, before the price changes go in.

Little Winter Sunday Samplers

I like the little winter samplers and ornaments so much. I'm not sure if I've shown you this before, but here's one of my favorites from my stash: Snowkin' Uncle Willy by Sisters and Best Friends. The chart came with a cute carrot button for the nose. I figure this is a one-weekend project. I've kitted it up and am waiting for the first hint of snow on a weekend to start.

I bought this on ebay recently. It's vintage (1998) and is by Homespun Elegance. It can be stitched as a little picture or as a Christmas Ornament. The chart came with a thick length of twine to stitch onto the ornament as decoration and as a hanger, and a little pineapple charm (I think it's a pineapple) for the front door.

And here's some progress on Gingerbread Cottage. I love the little cupcake, don't you?

The Jury's Out

So today I was called upon to do jury duty in my county's general district court. We check a call-in line the night before, and my panel was called for today, so I let the folks at work know and packed my trusty bag with two needlework projects, two books and change for the Coke machine. God forbid I should be bored or uncaffeinated. I had to leave the scissors at home, since they wouldn't have passed through the metal detector, but I packed a retractable seam ripper (probably in itself a weapon but it wasn't specifically excluded) since as usual, I can't find either of my clovers. I've done jury duty before in this county, and it can be grueling and unpleasant. The docket is crowded in our booming county, and trials can run to midnight or more. Another gentleman and I actually had to argue with a couple of people on a past jury that simply not liking the accused or his lifestyle was not enough reason to convict. Plus for me, jury duty is unpleasantly like work, even though I work in the transactional end of law rather than in litigation.

After checking in and receiving our jury numbers and our $30 in cash, we waited around until we were sent home, as there were many more of us than were needed to fill the jury box for the two trials, as during the voir dire, apparently no one was dismissed. So that left me free at 11:30 to go spend my $30, which Big Law does not demand we turn over to them. And you know what I spent it on, I'll bet: Country Cottage Needleworks' Gingerbread Cottage.

Tomorrow I've been called to serve again. I am hoping for the same result.

I had a chance to start it this afternoon:

And I worked a bit more on the Christmas Cardinal ornament:

I'm enjoying the cardinal theme a lot, so I bought another one. This is by Imaginatings. I'd love to finish these three projects in time to have them framed for Christmas. But you know, the jury's out on that....

Sunday Sampler--Mini

I made some progress this week on the cardinal Christmas ornament. Here it is on Friday:

And today:

This little guy was a Prairie Schooler freebie at my LNS--he's on a little card about the size of a business card--so clever (chart on the reverse side):

I went into our little library to take these photographs, since the sun was on that side of the house. This room amuses the heck out of me. With six cats in the house, there's very little that doesn't receive a regular dusting of cat hair, despite a virtual army of vacuums. You name it, we have it: uprights, canisters, little ones, big ones, bagless, beltless, European, American (the Germans make a heck of a vacuum, in my opinion). But even with regular vacuuming and brushing, it's hard to keep up. So we have this one room, with a door that closes, but with glass panes. It's so satisfying to go into that room and shut the door. Within minutes, a crowd gathers. Here are three of them now (payback time for whoever threw up on the stairs last night):

"Aren't you going to come out and feed me?"