Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Stitching and puppy update

I spent more time stitching on Symmetry but have officially put it down to work on my GGM sampler. Here's were I stopped:


If you look at the original you may notice that I inadvertantly reversed the center squares, ie, the right is on the left, etc.  I didn't notice it until the zig-zag section was complete (ahem ... too busy watching Hugh Jackman on the telly, oh well.)  I decided it didn't really make a difference and just let it go -- the piece is, after all, called "Symmetry"  ;)

I also finished the current part of the Solo Brode piece and am looking forward to the next one:


And if Meadow will let me (she's being such a pest right now), I am trying to finish my GGM -- no new picture yet, mainly because I can't seem to get much stitching done with a beagle puppy crawling all over me.  LOL -- you know how that is ....

And speaking of dogs

I have a house guest for a couple weeks.  Her name is Ginger.  She is my neighbor's papillon and cute as a bug.  She is adjusting to the rhythm of my pack quite nicely. 
Even Firefly is beginning to find her not as objectionable.  And Firefly doesn't trust anydog.


And of course, I can't forget about little Meadow.  She's 5.5 months now, about 10.5 inches tall and has all her adult teeth (hooray!)



Here she is in my back yard following that elusive little mole.





And here she is sucking up to mummie after being such a pest all week.  I think even Shasta is getting tired of her antics.  It's a good thing baby beagles are soooo cute.  It keeps them alive long enough to become adult beagles ;)


Mind you,  not that adult beagles can't make royal pests of themselves also.

LOL

Later .....
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Symmetry update


The third block of Symmety is finished.  I think it's cool that the blue centers of block 1 & 3 (which have the exact same threads) look so different.  The little black areas really stick out in block 1 while in block 3 they aren't so noticable.  It's such fun playing with colors and patterns and seeing the results.  This piece has such a masculine look to it even though there is lots of pink in it.  I'm thinking it's the black and grey (colors I don't usually use) that are doing it.

Even though I'm having a really good time working on Symmetry, I need to put is down for awhile and get stitching on some other things.  I have a hard time doing this -- putting such a fun piece down, that is.  But then I get going on something else and I have a fun time stitching it also.  Go figure ....


I finished the third part of the Solo Brode SAL.  Aren't the little birds cute?  This is such a pretty pattern (and another fun stitch - vbg).

Monday, June 14, 2010

Just a quickie note

Not much stitching going on. I did manage to get some of Symmetry done during the week:

It's fun to stitch and I like the way it's turning out.

I remembered to get a current pic of Mary Wigham.  All the new stitching is in the lower right corner.

 
 

If you make it this far, please say a quick prayer for my stepmother.  She was in a bad car accident last Monday and needs some healing thoughts sent in her direction.  Thank you.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Stitching for dad


SBQ for the month of June:

Tell us about something that you have stitched or plan to stitch for any father in your life. Maybe it’s for your father, your father-in-law, your children’s father, your grandfather, your godfather, or someone who was or still is an important father-figure in your life. Why did you choose this particular piece of stitching? Tell us the story behind it.

Often times we identify our love of needlework and our skills with our mothers or grandmothers or other women. It’s understandable because often they were are first teachers or role models. Now let’s think about our stitching life as it relates to our dads. Is there anything about our approach to stitching that we can recognize as traits of our fathers? For instance, does your dad (or any other important man in your life) have an approach to one of his interests that you can observe and think, “Hey….if I substitute the word “needlework” for “fly fishing”, we’d be pretty darn similar!”

 

I believe this is the first thing I stitched exclusively for my dad.  The USPS had a series of  professional stamps and    someone made cross stitch patterns of them.  I don't remember who put this pattern out or even if I still have it but I stitched it for my dad  after he passed his CPA exam.
 
And, yes, it's a first class stamp that was issued in 1987.  I didn't stitch the piece until 1990 and I remember going to the post office in search of this stamp.  I wasn't sure they still had them but as you can see, they did :)
 
It's still proudly hanging in my dad's office.

Dad is one of those people with a mind for numbers -- birthdates, phone numbers, address, etc.  Me, not so much.  But before he was an accountant, he was an engineer.  I think stitching and engineering are alot alike -- just without all those pesky numbers and ciphering.


 
This is the most recent piece I stitched for dad.  It's one of Laura J Perin's patterns.  In his younger years dad was quite the hunter/fisherman/sportsman.  We had a Brittany when I was little that dad took out hunting.  I have no idea if they hunted duck or grouse or what but this reminded me of that time.  It's a beautiful pattern for a wonderful man.

Monday, June 7, 2010

I've been doing lots of stitching and here's what I have to show for it .....


The little Quaker sampler from the Marquoir Group is finished.  I added a bit to the top of the sampler to center it on the pillow (since I didn't get it centered originally).  Ooops, I added my dad and step mother's initials but apparently didn't get a pic of it -- sooo this isn't current.  Better do that another time.  Anyway, it was a fun little stitch and easy on my eyes.



The Mystery Sampler by Kelly Searles is almost finished -- only one more part to go.  How exciting!  I love to finish a project -- it's such a sense of accomplishment.  I added a little of the dark brown to the acorn caps.  It doesn't show up much in the picture -- hmmm, perhaps I should add a little more to make it more visible??



I started something new last week, Symmetry by Needle Delights  (I also love starting a new project).  So far it's a fun stitch.  Needless to say, I changed the colors a bit from the original and put it on grey congress cloth.  There's still lots to do but it's a good start.

Rats .... forgot to take a pic of Mary Wigham but I did get some stitching done on her also.

Anyone want a beagle puppy for a couple weeks???  Though I should warn you, Meadow is teething BIG BIG time.  Her new nickname is little Shark.  I will be sooo glad when she has all her big-girl teeth.