Nesting

I only worked on the Bride's Tree ornament yesterday trying to get it done. It is almost there but I have beads and backstitch to do as well a one floss to find. I must have 3740 somewhere. I used some of my Hand-Dyed Fibers on this. I like stitching with them. It looks very sweet but I don't know what I am going to do with it. Does it look Christmasy enough to be an ornament for the Christmas tree? I have 5 other ornaments patterns in this series so it could be made into something in combination with some of the other designs.

The English Tapestry Sewing Box has 6 pages of charts. That's a little intimidating. But the charts are large print and easy to read so hopefully I will go through them quickly.

I think we have a storm coming. Every time we have a storm, I am always afraid we will lose electricity. I am cooking cod tonight. My imitation of a McDonald's fish sandwich but much better.

I took a picture of my new sink and faucet. It is not fully tightened down as we have to take it out again when the correct counter top is installed. I really like it. The faucet pulls out and sprays if you want it to. I like not having two handles as it is easier to adjust the temperature of the water with the one handle. Our sink is two inches deeper than the old one. I like that too.

My goal for today is to finish off the Bride's Tree ornament and get that twirly vine done on the English Tapestry Sewing Box. I'm so lucky to be able to stitch.

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The Show

When I was growing up, the "show" was a movie at the Clintonia Theater. Ma and Pa Kettle on Saturday afternoons. Uh-Oh, I am showing my age. The show today is a special request for more pictures of my wheelbarrow. I thought you would be sick of them by now. But Margaret requested it. So "Hi" to Margaret and here are all the views I could think of. It is a risk giving you so many views as you may notice a mistake here and there. I still haven't sewn on the button. I forgot to put the bug near the year on the bottom. I don't have the strawberry done. There are many sweet little quirks about this design. The bunny hiding under the needle page is a nice touch as is the grasshopper that is under where the pin cushion goes. The design is a bit delicate as the wire will bend with pressure. I've been fascinated with this design ever since I first saw it so I feel very fortunate to have a chance to make it.

I worked on the English Tapestry Sewing Box yesterday. It is very slow going but I like how delicate it looks. I started a Brooke's Books Bride's Tree ornament of a bird in a nest. It is very cute and only 4 inches square so it shouldn't take too long. I show you my progress tomorrow.

I enjoyed going to the Farmer's Market. I got some interesting things like purple potatoes and fingerling potatoes. I was looking for peaches but the guy from a fruit farm said that Red Havens come ripe this week so I'll get some of those next week. I found a nice bunch of flowers. The lilies I bought last week are beautiful but have a strong scent that I could do without. Still too hot for the Cupcake lady to have cupcakes. She has other yummy things for sale. We wish the sugar snap peas were still around. There is a guy that sharpens tools and it is very handy to drop of mower blades etc., shop, and come back and pick them up.

Well, I have wasted half the day already so I need to get busy.

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Serendipity

It is great to be back to a somewhat normal schedule today. Exercise was harder today since I skipped two days. That will teach me. Then I had all kinds of errands. I got the box of junk to Goodwill. Then I had to get some floss for new projects I want to start. Yesterday I wanted to use my sewing machine. But there is a whole lot of junk piled on it. So I made it my aim to clean off the sewing machine table so I could at least sew a seam. When I was going through all the stuff on the table, I came across several projects that I want to do. I saw the English Tapestry Sewing Box by Rosewood Manor. I bought fabric for it when I was at Celebrations. So I dived into my bin of floss looking for the colors I needed. I am missing a few but I had enough to start it. I also found a little Just Nan rose that will be perfect for my wheelbarrow button. It was in a grab bag I got from Yankee Peddler's booth at Celebrations. Then I found Just Nan's Robin's Wreath along with about half of the floss I needed. So now I have all the floss for Robin's Wreath and English Tapestry Sewing Box. The box uses blue 32 count linen over one. With all the over one projects I have just been working on, I feel like I can handle it. Although I like how some designers use the tent stitch instead of cross stitch when going over one on high count linen.

I found many projects that are stitched and just waiting to be finished piled on my sewing machine table. I also found the box that I bought at Celebrations for one of the button designs from Drawn Thread. I got the button from a Civil Wall reenactment place that has some old timey tools. I'm not terribly happy with how it turned out but I didn't want to mess with it anymore. I have to be in the mood for finishing. Not today.

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Before and After

Well, life can throw you a curve ball now and then. Today was the day for the counter top to be installed. We were so ready. Everything was out of the bottom cabinets. The old counter tops were taken off. The sink is out. The water turned off. The guy came early even. I came down to check on the progress. The new counter tops are beautiful. They have the right design that I ordered. But - they are wrong. Totally wrong. I didn't want an ogee on the back. So I ordered flat counter tops and a separate flat back splash so it would mimic granite. The counter top he was putting in had the ogee on the back splash. I hated to break it to him that the counter top was wrong. DH said to get what I wanted. The installer said to not settle. So although they look very nice, I am holding out and getting the one I wanted. They have to make them all over again. Luckily they will leave the wrong ones setting in place so we have a functional kitchen. I don't know how long it will take. The flat back splash is better for when we tile anyway.

I finished Drawn Thread's Heartsong. It is very sweet and would look nice in a little frame. It is only 2 inches by 4 inches. I didn't stitch the tree trunk correctly but I like how it looks and am just going to leave it. I pressed Hare Pyns and blocked it into shape. It squared up nicely and without too much trouble. I'm proud of how it turned out. Today was a bit of a disappointment with the wrong counter tops. But all is not lost. As Sister Anthonita says, tomorrow is another day.

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Diversions

I picked up a little project that I had gotten when I was at Celebrations this year. It is Homespun Elegance's Neccessities. I bought the little matching scissors holder and pocket. They were a quick easy stitch - especially after doing some majorly challenging projects. I used some of my new Hand-Dyed Fibers to stitch them. I really like the threads. Coverage was great with one strand. I like the color variations. I used Burnished Gold (darker browns as in the stork scissors) and Country Road and the red is Brown Rust. It was fun. Then I picked up a project that I have had for a while from Drawn Thread: "A song in the heart is prophecy in part". It will be a quick stitch also. I have the thread pack for it. It is so nice not to have to go hunting for threads. I tried making the strawberry for the wheelbarrow but wasn't happy with the leaves. I'm not in the mood to mess with it today.

I skipped exercise class this morning to work on the kitchen. That's my excuse. In reality we had a storm at one a.m. and I slept in. I am emptying out the bottom cabinets and getting everything off the counters. What a job! We are taking out the sink today and turning off the water. That means we have to go out for dinner. I am trying to imagine how nice it will look when it is all done. Have to get back to work.

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There's Always Something

I am sooo close to finishing everything about the wheelbarrow. It is all put together but I have two things that still need to be done. I need to make the strawberry. I can't find a big enough piece of the lining so I may use a piece of something else. Then I still have that button to make or substitute for. There was a lot of hand stitching to put this guy together. I wrapped more wire than I needed to. Only one 18 inch wire is needed but there were two in the kit so I wrapped two then I turned to the next page of instructions to find that I only needed to do one. Duh. It was so hard to get that wire through the wheel I was about ready to give up then I tried making the hole larger with a knitting needle. That did the trick.

It is crazy town at my house this week. The countertop is being installed on Thursday so we are frantically getting ready. I got the faucet this morning. So many decisions to make. What finish do I want? Pull down sprayer? One handle or two? Soap dispenser? DH is making the biggest mess possible taking out the old countertop - in pieces. He tells me last night that I have to take everything out of the bottom cabinets. ARGH That's the worst part of remodeling - the mess. It is good to make myself get rid of years of junk that I never use though. I think we originally just wanted to get new flooring. How did we get to this point? No going back now.

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August

How did it get to be August?? Time flies when you are having fun - and even if you're not.

Hurrah! Hurrah! I finished the background of Hare Pyns. I have to read the directions and see if there are other things besides blocking that need to be done. Do I need to attach the pin keep? Should I cut out the lining pieces?

I am putting together the wheelbarrow. I stitched and applied the strips to hold the strawberry and thimble. One of them flops around a bit so I may have to tack it down to the side as well. Now I can finally attach the sides so it starts to take the shape of a wheelbarrow. I realized that I forgot to stitch a bug on the bottom by the date. Not sure if I will go back and try and do that from the outside.

I think the red bird would look nice in a tiny frame. I bet Hobby Lobby might have something.

The bathrooms are clean so it is on to other things. I'm waiting on pins and needles LOL to hear about the countertop. I will have to buy a faucet this week.

Uncle Bob from the Blue Mountains in Australia sent us a CD of Australian country and western songs. I didn't know that they have yodeling in Australia but they do! It was fun to listen to.

I see a new start in my future.

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