IHSW September

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

We spent our weekend relaxing after getting back from the Florida Keys, where we vacationed last week with our friends. It was a long drive there and back, but we had a great time! The weather was gorgeous, and we saw lots of beautiful fish and a very large sting ray while snorkeling.

Picnic Island: A small island that we walked to from the boat. The water was about 3 feet deep and so warm. I loved it!

Mandy in the car. She rarely moved from this spot (behind the front passenger seat) while driving. Silly dog :)

For IHSW, I worked on Lady Hera. I did not take a before picture, but some of this was progress I made before we left for vacation. I did a whole lot of yellow stitching, and the flowers were a nice break from all that yellow.

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Cross stitch and a cute puppy

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We visited my parents this weekend to see their new little puppy, Molly. But first, I will show my cross-stitch progress for this week.

I worked on the crane in Japanese Garden this week. The crane was stitched over one and looks amazing, but it took forever. And my poor eyes... I really need to get new glasses as my prescription changed. I would work an hour and then take a break to let my eyes rest. Well, it is done, and now I have three more left to do.

Also this week, I finished Wine a Bit by Lizzie Kate. It was a quick, easy stitch, especially after working on the crane.

My parents brought home a new little puppy on Friday. Her name is Molly, and she is a tri-color Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She is adorable and full of energy. Molly was pretty cute when she would chase Mandy (our dog) from behind, but the second Mandy turned around, Molly would scamper away :) Enjoy the cute puppy pictures!

Japanese Garden Update and Fabric Stash

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Last week I had jury duty. It was an interesting experience. Jury duty threw my schedule out of whack, and I did not get a chance to stitch until Friday. I worked a bit on Japanese Garden, and I have to say, I really love the blue and gold border. I also started working on the top crane medallion. The crane is stitched over-one, and I am not the biggest fan of over-one stitching, so we will see how it goes this week :)

While away on jury duty, my Picture This Plus Christmas in July Sale order arrived. I ordered three pieces of fabric.

Mystic Cashel- I plan to use this for Little House Needlework's Snow White. I like the fabric, but I wish it had a touch more color variation. The white spots are pieces of fuzz.

Earthen Belfast - I plan to use this one for Passione Ricamo's Medieval Enchantment. This is the first Passione Ricamo pattern I bought, and I was quite surprised at how big the pattern is :)

Fresco Cashel - I liked it :) It appears slightly washed out in this scan.

In the right side bar, I added a link to my photo album containing the PTP fabric I have in case if anyone is interested. The scans are fairly accurate (at least on my monitor) of the fabric color.

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IHSW August

Sorry for the late post. I had to report for jury duty yesterday, and I didn't get a chance to take a picture until today. For IHSW, I started Lady Hera by Mirabilia. The fabric is Autumn Blush belfast and is a light pink-beige color. Her dress is the yellow stitching, the reds and oranges are part of her cape (not sure what to call it), and I worked on the bouquet of flowers that she is holding in her hand.

Last week I finished up Halloween Rules by Lizzie Kate. The rules are quite adorable :)

Have a great week, and I look forward to seeing everyone's IHSW progress!

Fall Stitching

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Last week I worked on some fall stitching. I started working on The Apple Orchard by Country Cottage Needleworks. The pattern was too cute, and I had to start it :) I finished the red barn, and then put it down to work on Halloween Rules.

I felt a wee-bit bad for starting a new project, so I picked Halloween Rules back up and finished two more rules. Only two more to go! My plan is to finish them this week, and then start Lady Hera by Mirabilia (my originally planned new start).

Yesterday we took Mandy, or Mandy-monster as I like to call her, to the creek at the dog park. She loves playing fetch in the water :) And, it tires her out, an added bonus for us.

Have a great week!

Two small finishes

Last week I finished two small projects :)

First up, I finished August by Little House Needleworks.

My second finish was a Christmas ornament, Hot Cocoa, also by Little House Needleworks. I am a big fan of hot chocolate, so when this ornament came out, I bought the pattern and stitched it right away. It seems I have been in a bit of a Christmas ornament stitching mood lately :)

This week I started working on The Apple Orchard by Country Cottage Needleworks. I didn't really need a new start...but this pattern was just calling to me. I am going to put it down (soon I hope) so I can finish Halloween Rules. After that, I can get back to Japanese Garden, and my originally planned start, Lady Hera :)

One new thing I tried this summer was canning. I have always wanted to try it, but I never got around to it. The first jelly I made was a jalapeno jelly. I did add some green dye so they jelly didn't have a nasty yellow-green color. It was great with cream cheese and crackers. Next time I make it, I am going to add a little more jalapenos as my jelly was not spicy at all. Then, I made a sweet onion jelly, and it is great with toasted bread and butter. Anne requested a picture of my jellies, so here they are, and in the background is the German chocolate cake  I made yesterday for hubby's birthday (it was delicious!)

Thanks for stopping by!