Another start

I hadn't really planned on another new start so soon but sometimes I just get carried away! I've never been very good at working on too many pieces at one time but things seem to be changing. Shortly after I got started on Warm Winter Wishes I had to put it aside for a short time. When I picked the fabric for it I thought I was dealing with a 28ct only to discover once I started stitching that I was using a 25ct. Suddenly I was worried about whether I would still have enough material for stretching and framing. When finished it will only leave me with about 1 1/2 inches on either side. So before I got any further into it I emailed my LNS , gave them my dimensions and asked what they thought. They assured me that as long as I don't plan on using any mats I will still end up with 1/2 in left visible following stretching and framing. Otherwise I'll have to sew some fabric on either side which will be hidden under the mats. I'd already decided that I didn't want mats with this piece anyways so it looks like I'll be alright. I didn't want to pick another piece of fabric because I just love the colour of this one and how the stitching looks on it.


So until I heard back from my LNS I dug out something else. I chose USA Tree by Helga Mandl which is a pattern I obtained through PatternsOnline. My sister who lives in Michigan became an American citizen this past year so I decided to do this one for her for Christmas next year instead of a snowman piece.
I don't know what's wrong with me lately but I wasn't very smart. I planned on doing it as an ornament originally but was well into it before I realized I was stitching it over 2 instead of over 1! I think my brain is still on vacation!! Oh well, it's going to end up as a small framed piece instead or maybe a flatfold. If I finish it this month it will be the first time I've ever finished anything for Christmas this early in the year.
I started stiching on WWW again this afternoon but I'll hold off posting another picture until I have a little more done on it.


Thank you all for your best wishes for Finnigan. He's a little better this weekend. I couldn't get an appointment for him until Monday afternoon but I did talk with the vet about him. This particular vet used to look after my other two cats , both gone now, until she moved out of the area. Now she's returned and I'm pleased to be dealing with her again. She thinks that Finnigan has his insides full of fur right now and this is contributing to his digestive upsets. He's been passing some major furballs lately. So until Monday we're giving him a laxative which you place on the end of his nose and he licks it off. Supposedly most cats like this however Finnigan is not impressed! Everytime he sees me coming anywhere near him he hightails it in the opposite direction. I haven't seen him run this quickly for some time! I can be just as stubborn as he is though and I'm bigger! As I write this he's sitting beside me licking off his nose.


Why is it that animals tend to hang around the very people who don't like them? I've mentioned before that my DH is not a cat person. Bob was raised with dogs instead and was horrified when we starting dating to discover that I had not one but three cats! I've since lost two and he keeps joking that we're going in the right direction. I thought it was hilarious that everytime Finnigan passed one of his hairballs this week he chose to do it near Bob. The first time he left it on a piece of Bob's sheet music and last night he deposited one right behind him as he worked on the computer. I don't think he's impressed with Finn right now but I can't stop laughing!
In reality he likes cats more than he will admit to and I did manage to catch him playing with my son's cat Tugger over the holidays as evidenced by this picture.




I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. The sun is shining here today for the first time in more than a week and the sky is a brilliant blue. Now that a good portion of our snow has melted I'm heading out to remove the Christmas lights from the bushes. After that I have the remainder of the afternoon to stitch. It couldn't be a more perfect way to spend the rest of the day!