Two Bookmarks

These bookmarks were made as an adaptation to a published design. The original was longer. The one on the left was stitched with Dinky Dyes stranded silk, and was given to a friend. The one on the right was stitched with Caron Wildflowers Pistachio Nut.

I love how different the same design can look stitched with different threads! And of course, different fabrics too.

And, in case you haven't figured this out by now, I love making small but intricate pieces.

I'm back! Been busy, distracted, you name it!

Wow, I have really been remiss in posting here, almost a year! I guess other things have just gotten in the way, and I have been pretty busy.

Here is just one of the things that I have done since the last time I posted. This is not an original idea, but the stitching design is all my own. I didn't make it as a gift, and I don't really know what I am going to do with it, but right now it is sitting at my stitching station gathering orts. Hmm, not a bad idea. I finally found something to stiffen it months after I finished it. I was at Joann's Fabrics a couple of weeks ago and found Allene's Stiffen Quick. It is a spray bottle, and you just keep spraying until you reach the desired stiffness. And, you can wash it out if you don't like it. Perfect for this! Glad I waited until I found just what I was looking for.

Victoria Sampler Christmas Humbug Contest

Victoria Sampler is having another contest, so of course I had to make up an entry. This is it, my Christmas Humbug. A humbug is constructed from a rectangle of fabric, and turns out looking like a pyramid, actually quite a nifty little thing. So far there have been lots of entries, and each one is quite unique and beautiful.

I didn't want to use traditional Christmas colors, so had to really hunt through my stash to find threads and fabric that really spoke to me. I ended up with 32 ct. Star Sapphire linen, Dusty Rose (I think) Kreinik ribbon, and for the eyelet stitches, Needle Necessities metallic braid in Passion Flower (too bad this metallic doesn't really show up in the pictures, cause it really adds a lot to it). Plus some matching DMC threads. It was so much fun to do, and I was really pleased  with the way it turned out. And, I have a new ornament for my tree. I try to do at least one each year.

Calis has grown!

Calis is almost six months old now, and he has really grown a lot! He is a very adventurous cat, but also very loving and funny. I got a few pictures of him up in the tree in our front yard the other day. He loves climbing trees. What would have been the best picture was marred by me cutting the top of his head off, so this one will have to do. He moves so fast that it is hard to get a good picture. Hahaha!

The other cats have come to accept him a little more, but they are still not friends. That will take a little longer I am afraid. But he has a special love/hate relationship with Ming. Of course he loves to jump on her, chase her, all those good things. And she acts like she hates it. But she will also follow him around and act as if she wants his attention when she doesn't have it. Very funny together. I think they will become close friends eventually, and this is just their testing period. And his kitten period, of course.

Update on Donovan, and other things.

I am sorry that I have not posted for so long, and also sorry that I have left you in suspense about my son, Donovan's, condition. He spent three weeks in the hospital recovering from pneumonia and diabetic ketoacidosis. He was really sick, but is now just about fully recovered, back to his old self. But when he got home, he required a lot of care, and really kept me busy. So, that is why I haven't written any posts in a while.

Since I last posted, I have been doing a lot of stitching too. No photos yet, but will get some up in a few days. Also got a new phone, a Blackberry Pearl, and have just about figured out how to use it now. Sure is complicated, but now I don't know how I ever did without it.

Also had to search for a new background for my blog. When I came back, the old one was gone. Not sure I like this one yet because the other one was really perfect. I really need to find some other websites with blog backgrounds to search for another "perfect" background. Well, perfect to me anyway.

Donovan and Calis

Here is a picture of Calis with my son Donovan. Calis has grown quite a bit since this picture was taken, but I wanted to add one with Donovan in it. He is very sick right now. We had to take him to the hospital this past Monday, and found out that he has a very bad case of pneumonia. He is also diabetic, and that complicates things too. He is in the ICU and is hardly aware of what is going on around him. It is so hard to see him this way because he is normally such an active, engaging and intelligent person. We are all hoping and praying for his speedy and complete recovery. I will try to keep this updated on his condition.

We got a new kitten!

We got a new kitten yesterday! He is so cute, 8 weeks old but tiny for his age, and just so sweet. We named him Calis, from a character in a Raymond E Feist book. We just really needed another cat, what with having four already. What were we thinking! Hopefully the others will eventually get used to having him around. Right now they are warily watching him, and hissing and growling when he gets too close. That is my son, Kevin, holding him. Sorry Kevin, sort of cut your head off, but we really did want a close-up of Calis.