August and the Olympics

Well here we are and it is already August. Work is just crazy and it is cutting into my crafting time. I wish I had more time but when you are self-employed you are just happy that you are busy. I am watching the opening games of the Olympics. I pray that all of the athletes and there coaches and support staff will all stay safe and enjoy this special event. The ceremony was simple and yet I thought they did a very nice job. I will be watching the swimming events with an added interest. A dear friends grandson will be competing on the USA team.

I have updates on just about everything I am working on. I am very close to another page finish on my HAED Christmas Cottage. I am working hard on finishing both Beauty and the Beast and also Minerva. I have not worked on Joy for a month. I have lost focus on that one but I will get back on track once I finish the other 2.

 I also have 3 new starts. On Facebook I saw the Death by Cross Stitch Sampler and I fell in love with it. I bought the pattern and kitted it up. I started it July 26th. I really love this pattern and I do not know why. I just talks to me and I do not normally like samplers. The 2nd new start was also inspired by Facebook. One of the groups I am part of is having a Halloween SAL. All you have to do is pick a Halloween themed piece. Start August 1st and stitch until finished or until Oct 31st.And my final new start is a birthday card for my sister. She made me the gorgeous card I showed you in a previous post. She loves daisies so I am making her a card with those flowers. Have to do it quick as her birthday is on the 20th of this month.

Finally I have a finish but I am not going to show it to you YET. I want to get the embellishments added on first. Right now I have to find 2 pieces that I am going to add and then I can show it off. So look back possibly next week and I will have it ready to share.

2016 July Wipocalypse

 Well I checked in for the Wipocalypse and so far no posting. I want to get this posted on my blog as the rest of the week is going to be super busy.

This months question is  "Tell us how this year’s stitching is going for you so far, and if you’re meeting your stitching goals so far for the year." I did not make any plans this year other then stitch all for me. I have so far stayed on track other then 1 project for my friend with cancer. I can not plan that for later so I did it up real quick. I have several completions and a good amount done on my Christmas Cottage, I am pleased with the progress and hope for a couple more finishes.

What have I done since my last progress update???????  I have worked on Christmas Cottage charted by HAED art work is Dona Gelsinger. I have worked on Minerva and got the tree, moon and part of the leaves done. And I have worked on Beauty and the Beast.

 

 I finished this mini Mill Hill snowmanhe was won from a Facebook competition. Very cute and quick.  

On the personal side my birthday was at the beginning of the month and I got my annual handmade card from my oldest sister. She is a scrapbooking master and makes gorgeous cards for the family. I also went a bit goofy and I got a tattoo. I never thought I would get one but the idea came to me. I love snowmen and especially Olaf from frozen. The sentiment about melting is a good one so I added the snowflakes for hubby and our kids and there you go. This picture was taken as soon as it was complete, I will show a new picture when it has finished healing and peeling so you will see the colors better

The deer are all over the place up at the house one after noon came home from work and the doe was lying under the trees out of the sun. Later in the evening a buck and his 2 ladies went trotting by the front window. 

And finally on a very sad note I had to put my sweet girl down today. She had quit eating and drinking and we had to let her go. It was not fair to make her suffer, and be selfish. So we said our goodbyes and let her go. 18.5 years of love and companionship. She was such a character and the best darn huntress. Had at least 1 dead critter per day and she liked to share. No more being supervised when I am in my sewing room and no more over the shoulder viewing when I am stitching. 

Busy Summer

It has been a very busy summer so far. Work is busy and my daughter and Son-in-Law surprised us by coming home for a visit for my birthday. They just showed up on Thursday. So fun to have them home for a few days. But that means that stitching is put on hold.

Since I last posted I have only worked a small amount on Whooligan's hangout. I got the path finished and I am working on the fence again.

 

 

That is the only cross stitch I have managed. But I did do a bit of sewing I have 2 more wallets finished. 

I got to spend a bit of money at the Shop Hop that the local quilting shops host each year. I love going to all of the shops and seeing the new fabric for the year. 

 I really hope I can get some stitching time in the next few weeks. Beauty and the Beast and Whooligans Hangout are very close to a finish.

2016 June Wipocalypse

The full moon and Summer Solstice!!!! What an interesting time. The heat has come out which means I am not a happy camper. I prefer the cool/cold weather which leads to our question of the month.

Do you find yourself more productive with stitching in summer or winter?

Well I like to stitch year round and I can usually get the same amount of time to stitch. since I do not like the heat, I tend to stay indoors to keep cool. That means stitching time.


What have I been doing stitchy wise??? Well lets see.
My HAED Christmas Cottage has another page finish. This makes 20 pages done.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast is getting closer and closer to a finish. Along with Whooligan's Hangout from Glendon Place.

 

 Saturday I finally pulled out my canvas work JOY and got a bit of work on it. I was at my LNS with my stitching group. 

 

I also have a new start. One of the groups I am with on Facebook has an SAL Challenge. The theme was Treasure Stitch, you were to pick a design that  had something in it that you would find in/with a Treasure Chest....... ie; jewels, gold coin, crowns, keys, pirates, ships, islands and so on. My design has jewels in it so I am stitching her. Minerva by Nora Corbett. I have made a few changes already the black in her dress and hat are now a dark hunter green. All of the beads, so far, are changed to metallic Glissen Gloss and Rainbow 2 greens and the rust on the tree limb. The tree is 4130 DMC and the moon is Caron Collection Lemon/Lime. And on the owls eye I made them half stitches and use DMC Neon E980. The pictures will not show it well but the fabric I am using is mint green.

 

 I have 2 new finishes I have my owl who sets by the front door. It was a fun little stitch and the finishing was something new for me and that was to use an old wooden hoop that I got from my MIL. The second finish is for a friend. She is going through some really intense cancer therapy and I wanted to send he a gift to lift her spirits and show some support .  I finished it off as a card with some fun fabric and ribbon.

 

I have recently bought some new patterns both cross stitch and quilting. 

 

I have gotten a bit long winded with this post I hope you are still with me because I will leave you with a picture from a couple days ago. I live in the country and we have deer in the fields around use. Well they like to come in and eat the rose bushes. I got a really good picture of the doe. We also have a young buck, but he is harder capture. 

I hope you have a nice summer with lots of stitching and many fun days. See you next month.

 

 

Trip pictures and Story

 I want to show you some pictures of my trip to Australia but it is going so slow. For some reason my computer does not want to upload my pictures on to my blog. 
We arrived in Sydney to a warm and sunny day. Picked up by our friend and headed north to Scone. Yes they really do drive from the wrong side of the, on the wrong side of the road. Well it is not wrong fro them.  :-)

While we were in Scone I saw these birds just about everyday. There were about 6 to 8 0f them. Not sure what they  were but they were beautiful and had a sweet song.

 

 We spent 2 weeks in Scone working. We did not do alot as it is pretty rural area and when we were not working we just rested.

We then went up to Sydney and spent a few days exploring the city. Our motel room was directly across from the Opera House.We also were very close to Sydney bridge.

The park and St Mary's Cathedral

While we were in Australia they celebrated ANZAC Day.....their Veteran's Day. Because of this we visited the Memorial that is in Sydney.

 We then moved on to Melbourne to visit with friends. That is when we got to see some native animals at the Healesville Animal Sanctuary. We saw kangaroos... I was even able to pet one of the females. They are so soft. They feel like a bunny or a very soft cat. There were also koalas, tazmanian devils and a bunch of birds. I was so disappointed that we missed getting a picture of the Lyra bird. He sang beatifully but we had missed his feeding by just minutes.   

 

More animals on the way home. The whole hill was full of these woolies.

Then on to the Melbourne museum, what a great place. Spent two days looking around. The highlights for me. Phar Lap, sewing machines, a carved and gold wall plaque and the country symbol life size.

Now you are going to think I am crazy but all over the city they had these amazing metal ornate trellises.  I wish I could have got more. But it was hard to get them as we were driving by.

Finally the time to come home and you can read that adventure in my other post. 

Well I finally got all the pictures to attach. not sure what the issues were but here you go. Hope you enjoy the pictures.