An Expensive Halloween Finish

Over the weekend I finished Knock Knock by Prairie Schooler. I stitched it on PTP Willow Cashel, and I changed out the called-for "orange" DMC  to 721, an actual brighter orange. In addition, I used Mill Hill beads (2033) on the sides instead of cross-stitches. In the pic, the beads are not sparkling as much as they do in person.

So, why was this so expensive? One word...Mandy.

Friday night before dinner, I was stitching along, and then threaded my needle and presumably set the needle and thread on the arm rest of my couch. After dinner, I go to use my threaded needle, and it is not there. Ok, so I lost it, generally not that big of a deal. Skip to Sunday night, I take Mandy out, and she is having trouble going to the bathroom. Hubby takes her out later in the evening, and the same thing happened, except this time, he noticed a brown thread hanging out of her butt. And then it hit me. Maybe she found my missing needle and thread :(

This morning we take her to the vet, and the vet does an x-ray. Sure enough, my needle is right there in her colon. The vet then puts Mandy under, and we get a call about two hours later. They got the needle out. Yay! I am so glad she did not have to go in for surgery. The vet was impressed that the needle got as far as it did without causing issues. We will be picking Mandy up later today, and we will get the final vet bill. I should probably stop buying stash for a bit to help pay for our monster-dog.

Lesson learned: Obviously I need to be more careful with my needles in the future!!

Have a great week :)

Lady Hera Update

Last week I worked some more on Lady Hera. Lots of yellow stitching, but I am getting close to finishing the yellow part of her dress. There is a red/orange part left, which may be part of a shawl? I'm not really sure.

Over the weekend, my mom and I went to the Cotton Pickin' Fair. We had a great time and came back with lots of crafts :) One thing I bought was a Halloween fascinator. It was too cute! I am not sure if I will wear it, but right now it is decorating my pumpkin. I am also going to see if I can get Mandy to sit still with it on her head.

Thanks for stopping by!

Japanese Garden Update

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Last week I worked on Japanese Garden and finished off the top bridge. One down, three more to go. This piece is really starting to come together now that I am on the home stretch. I also changed the color of the bridge. It was supposed to be Mississippi Mud by Thread Gather, but my thread was crap (as in not dyed all the way through), so I used Espresso Waterlilies instead. The bridge has a bit more red to it which I like.

After working on all those bamboo leaves (which took longer than I thought they would), I decided I needed something a bit easier. So, I finished a Halloween ornament from Cats, Bats, and Witches by Prairie Schooler over the weekend. I also wanted another ornament for my Halloween tree :)

This week I will be working on Lady Hera and maybe another Halloween ornament. I like fall and Halloween, can you tell?

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Autumn Finishes

I hope everyone had a great weekend! My arm is a little sore from playing fetch with Mandy at the dog park yesterday. Normally, hubby throws the ball, but he was not here. Guess I need to work on my arm muscles :)

This week I have several autumn-themed finishes. First up is The Apple Orchard by Country Cottage Needleworks. It turned out really cute and reminds me of when I used to go apple picking with my mom as a child. And then making homemade applesauce-yum!

I also finished October by Little House Needleworks. I changed out the Crescent Colour's Pumpkin Harvest for DMC 922. Pumpkin Harvest looked a little pale, and I wanted my pumpkins orange, not anemic looking :)

Lastly, I finished Autumn Band Sampler, and it is now hanging up :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

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.

Thanks for stopping by!

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!