It's Done All the Way!

It's done, it's done, it's done! The poppies are finished! Even the beading. I was off last Friday and just decided to sit down and get to beading. I decided not the wash the poppies. I had such visions of the reds running and I just couldn't take that chance. So I'm going to steam iron it (not on the poppies though) and get the rest of the wrinkles out. It goes against everything I know not to wash them but better safe than sorry. I really love this piece. I'm almost sorry to be giving it away but Don loves poppies so much and he has none that are counted cross stitch. He does have several that are needlepointed but I think mine are much more realistic looking. Don usually lets me pick out his framing for him and I think I'll suggest a light and a dark green mat with a black shiny frame. Now to get back to Lizzie Kate's Time for God.

My New Obsession!

I have a new obsession. I have always loved jewelry. I especially love vintage looking jewelry. Years ago I learned how to make seed bead earrings but most of what I've done has been self-taught. Well, my favorite bead store recently opened a branch just a mile from my house. So in the last two weeks I've taken 2 different classes. I really would like to learn how to make jewelry the correct way. First I took a bead stringing class. I made the pink bracelet you see here. I made it for myself but when Sherrie saw it, she asked if she could have it. Now she NEVER likes anything I wear. be it shoes, clothes, jewelry or my hair. So I figured if she wanted it, she must like it. A Lot. So I gave it to her and I figured I'd make myself another one. The class I took last night was wire wrapping and we made the earrings and pendant shown in the next picture. Now wire wrapping is a lot like hardanger. It may be easy to learn but you need to practice it in order to do it well. But I'm happy with the results and think more trips need to be made to the bead shop.

10 Things I Like: #2

I like polar bears. In fact, I think polar bears are one of my favorite animals second only to cats. There is something so majestic about polar bears. Yet at the same time, they also look so cuddly and playful. Now I'm sure they would just as soon eat me as look at me but you know what? That's just who they are. And I don't fault them for their natures. If I'm stupid enough to get that close to them,... well, you get what I'm trying to say. I just feel so bad that their habitat and way of life is threatened. What a sadder world this would be if the polar bears go the way of the dinosaurs. I hope my grandkids (should I ever be fortunate enough to have them) will someday be able to see the bears where they live. By the way, the pictures here were taken at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. Believe it or not, polar bears are very adaptable to different climates. The same fur and skin which keeps them warm up in the Arctic also keeps them cool here in Arizona. At least that's what the sign at the zoo says. There are actually 2 different bears here in the pictures. One is Boris, a larger male and the other is a smaller female (I forgot her name). I could spend hours just watching them. So, yep, I like polar bears.

10 Things I Like: #1

I really like the ocean. I like the way it smells, I like the roar of the waves, I like the way the sand squishes between my toes. I could watch the ever-changing waves forever. I especially like watching a storm roll in off the sea. The clouds roiling in the sky, the waves crashing upon the beach, the wind whipping my hair. It's all so exciting. Now I'm not talking hurricane here. Having lived in Florida and going through Hurricane David in 1979, I understand the devastation a storm like that can cause. But the power in an ordinary storm is so amazing. I really would like to live on the coast but I know that's not going to happen. So I will just continue to visit the sea anytime I can and revel in the vastness of it all.

It's Done!

The poppies are done. Everything except for the beading, that is. I just took it off the q-snaps, hence the wrinkles and creases. The backstitching in the centers is done, that's where the beads are going to go. Now the problems is washing it. I am going to need to test the floss to see how much, if any, it is going to run. I'm not just going to drop it in water without checking. That would be a disaster if it ran. I think I'll check the floss first then if that looks okay, I'll put a wet paper towel on the back and see if the reds run there. Even if they don't run, I may just steam iron it rather than chance it. Once I find out if it runs or not, then I'll do the beading. I'm so glad this is done. Now to go on and pick out my next project. I think it will be the Lizzie Kate that I started earlier this year.

We have a Winner

in my kitty giveaway! It's Meari of Meari's Musings. I loved reading all the comments about everyone's kitty and wish I had a frame for everyone but that's not the case. And, yes, the extra one I have will be in honor of my little demon, Squeak. She is the love of our family and I wouldn't trade her for anything (although Rosie and Bear might disagree with me). So Meari, if you're out there, please email me at azxser@aol.com and I'll get your prize off to you. Thanks for playing, everyone!

the Home Stretch

I can't believe that I'm almost done with the poppies. I had a marathon stitching session today and finished the third large poppy. Now all that remains to stitch is the stem and the final bud and stem. It feels like I've been stitching on them forever. At the same time, it seems like I just started them. It's been a while since I enjoyed stitching anything as much as I've enjoyed stitching on them. Maybe part of that is because I know how much Don will love them. It's so much easier to stitch something when you know it will be appreciated.

I was looking for a project that I knew was kitted up when I stumbled upon a frame and pattern that I had a duplicate of. So I decided this would be a perfect giveaway for any kitty lover. Or maybe you have a friend who loves kitties. No matter whether you have a kitty or two or want to stitch this for the kitty lover in your life, this giveaway is for you. I'm giving away a kitty pattern and the handpainted frame that goes with it. There is NO fabric or threads with this. It's just for the pattern and frame. Now here's what you have to do to win this. Just comment on this post. That's it. That's all you have to do. Now you can get extra entries. If you talk about this giveaway on your blog, you'll get an extra entry. A link to my blog will give you a thrid chance. And for extra fun, you can get a bonus entry. Simply tell me in your comments the name of my kitty. It's here somewhere on my blog. Search the entries and you might get lucky. I'll run the giveaway until next Monday (8/16/10). Let's have some late summer fun!

10 Things I like

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about things I like. Now notice I didn't use the word love. I think that word can be so overused. I love ice cream. I love to read. I love flowers. Now do I really feel the same way about these things as I do about my family & friends? I don't think so. I love my God, my family, friends and my furbabies. So I decided to write about some of the things I like. And I'm gonna try real hard not to use the word love when talking about them. I've tried writing a gratitude journal but it felt artificial to keep saying saying thank you. Not that I'm not grateful for everything I've been blessed with, I just eventually couldn't think of anything new to be thankful for. So I've decided to think about things I like. I like a lot of things but to make it easy I thought I'd stick to 10 of them. So starting tomorrow I'm going to start blogging about things I like. They won't be in any particular order but just as I happen to be thinking about them. So join me tomorrow as I embark on my journey to discover what I like most.

Some Framed Projects

I thought I'd take a break for showing off the poppies and brag about 2 pieces I just picked up from the framer. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about the animal one but I'm not sure if I've ever shown off the other one. It's a counted needlepoint piece that I did as a class project here at the shop. You choose a Watercolor then coordinate your other threads to it. In case you can't tell from the picture, the outer mat is deep purple as is the frame and the inner mat is creamy yellow. I'm not a fan of purple but I thought this worked best with all the colors in the piece. The animal one is a kit I picked up in New Zealand. I substituted some better quality aida (it's also a larger piece of fabric), and all the threads in the kit were DMC so I was happy with them. It reminds me of our great vacation there so I have that one hanging in my hall where I pass by it every day. Unfortunately is was almost impossible to get a picture of them without reflections on the glass so if it looks likes there are marks on the mats, they're just reflections from the glass.

Poppy Update

Well, they're back. I'm talking about the poppies. It's been a week or so since I posted any update so I thought I'd catch you all up on them. I made some progress on them but not quite as much as I would have liked. But I still think I can finish the last main flower this week and possibly the rest next week. Then I need to try and figure out what I will stitch on next.

When I started cross stitching years ago, I was a one-project-at-a-time gal. I'd start and finish one project before I started another one. Then I started stitching in round robins and needed to work on more than one project at a time. Soon I had so many UFO's that I'm not sure how many I have stuffed away. So now I'm thinking of going back to one at a time. Of course, I know I'll have occasions where I need to start and work on something as a gift but I'm liking the idea of actually finishing something in a reasonable amount of time. So I can either start The Wave or finish the Lizzie Kate I started several months ago. Decisions, decisions.