Bunnies, kitties and zombies?!

The lovely spring weather we've had here the past few days has really got me in the mood to stitch more. During my days off early in the week I managed to complete my PS Bunny. I've got the templates all cut out to make the egg but haven't found a suitable fabric in my stash for the backing. So I think I'll head out in an hour or so to visit our local fabric shop. Yes, my tiny little village has a fabric shop of all things! With any luck I'll find a gingham or similar fabric to complete the bunny. The other PS leaflet I ordered hasn't arrived yet so I'll have to delay the start of the next egg.

In the meantime I've actually pulled out my Easter Fairy. Can you believe it?! I didn't get very far though before I ran out of the Kreinik thread. Now that I have to order some it's unlikely that I'll have this one complete by Easter. So I'll work around the wings for now and see if I can give this girl some legs! A progress pic will follow shortly.

As I'm writing this Clarisse is being a royal PITA. We've had her on medication for the past 2 weeks because she developed an upper respiratory infection. The vet says that it's common in kittens and may be caused by a herpes virus. Although she may have been fine when she left the breeder, the stress of the move, leaving her mother and adapting to a new environment has probably let the virus take hold. It resulted in sneezing, runny eyes and attempts to cough up mucous. Over the past 2 weeks we've given her Clavamox which is identical to the Amoxil medecine that many of us have had to treat our children with, right down to the banana flavouring. No, she does not like it!!! As well we're giving her an enzyme supplement with her food that prevents the virus from replicating. Although it's a virus infection primarily, it has resulted in a baterial infection in the eyes.

Well let me tell you she must be feeling MUCH better. The sneezing has quit, the eyes have cleared up and she has become a wild banshee! Just look at her eyes in this picture...wild! I just kicked her out of the office here and shut the door so that I could get this posting done. In the past five minutes alone she's knocked over the hole puncher spilling its contents on the carpet, chewed Bob's music lying on the bed and her latest trick..... emptying the garbage pail and climbing inside. I think she's busier than any of my kids ever were!

Speaking of kids, my two youngest got together this past week to attend a play at Carleton University which was a parody of all zombie and horror flicks called Evil Dead : The Musical. It's right up their alley since all my boys are big fans of the horror genre. Chris said that the Ottawa production was a little more tame since there wasn't a splatter zone. A splatter zone? I questioned. Apparently at the Toronto production the first few rows are given plastic ponchos to wear during the performance because they end up splattered with fake blood! The play is being called the next Rocky Horror show and often fans show up dressed in costume.

However the only ones in Ottawa who dressed up for the production were... you guessed it!, my two sons and their group of friends. Chris has a friend who loves to do makeup and agreed to paint up the guys before the show. Here's the results. They got quite a few stares when they boarded the O Train in Ottawa to ride to the show.

That's Dan on the left and Chris on the right. I tell everyone that they take after their father, lol!! The boys all had a super time and are planning to do the same thing again in a few weeks at a concert put on by a punk group called Creepshow. Chris himself is a member of a punk band called Hands of the Few who play clubs in the Ottawa area. Okay, so it's nowhere near my type of music but I've got to give them credit for the hard work they've put into this. Chris has even taken on a second job in order to have extra money to devote to this. One of the members of the group studied in Toronto to learn sound recording engineering and they have recently recorded their second CD which is scheduled for release this coming summer followed by a 2 week tour of clubs in the Toronto area. They also hope to squeeze in a side trip to the Toronto Horror fest. This is Chris' idea of a summer vacation!! When they showed me a picture of the new T shirts they're having made for the release I asked if I could get one in a plus size. The boys all laughed and said they'd get me one somehow.

Last night I pulled out Cirque for a bit and finished off another circle (bottom right in the picture). Notice the pretty needle minder that I received as a Christmas gift. This weeks' mail brought the Kreinik and beads I need to complete my March ornie so it looks like I have plenty to keep me busy this weekend. I just let the banshee back into the room and she's washing my face as I'm trying to type. Gotta love her! Have a great weekend.

Spring fever

I think some of that spring fever is starting to hit me. Now that our snow has finally disappeared I managed to get out this week and remove all the Christmas lights from the shrubs in front of the house. The ground is a little too soggy yet for raking but that will come. This was followed by digging out all the spring decor from the basement. Not all of it is in place yet but I'm home the next two days so hopefully I'll have a chance to finish. Although we have had some lovely spring weather recently I haven't put the winter sweaters away just yet. When I left for work this morning there was a dusting of snow on the ground again and today's high wasn't much above zero.
I also found time to give my blog an Easter look. Think it's too much?

In keeping with the spring theme I put aside some of my other stitching and got started yesterday on a bunny ornament from the Prairie Schooler's Farm Fresh leaflet. I managed to get a fair amount done and plan on sticking with this project for the next few days. The light wasn't too bright when I took this pic so I'll post another later this week. The fabric is a pretty little 16 ct Aida Silkweaver Solo.I'm also waiting for the PS Just Hatched leaflet which I won in an ebay auction this week. I'd love to do up a few of these ornies which are finished using an egg shaped template. PS patterns are such an easy and relaxing stitch which is just what I needed. For some reason I just can't seem to get back to stitching on my Mirabilia Easter Fairy. I've totally lost interest in this one and I'm not sure why. It's a pretty pattern but my interest isn't piqued at all. Originally I thought the Stitch a Mirabila SAL would get me motivated but it just isn't happening. Which reminds me that I've been very neglectful in checking on the blog lately.
The increased pressures of work have resulted in fatigue which leaves me with very little motivation for either blogging or stitching when I get home at night. I've returned to reading for a bit and generally end up falling asleep shortly after picking up the book!



I've mentioned before that I often accompany my husband to his rehearsals and sit and stitch to pass the time while listening to the music. One of the violinists on the church's recital series, Mary Pat, would often join me while she took a break just to see what new piece I was stitching on. She mentioned that she used to cross stitch and Teresa Wentzler was one of her favourite designers however she had to give up stitching because of her poor eyesight. Recently she emailed me to tell me that she still had a few cross stitch supplies that she no longer needed and asked if I would be interested in having them. I expressed my interest so she dropped them off to Bob at the church with a note telling me to dispose of anything I didn't want. She had told me she still had some leftover DMC floss but imagine my surprise when I opened one large bag and found this!

Somehow this wasn't what I pictured when she said leftover floss! She doesn't have every colour but it's darn close. I was blown away! Besides the floss there was some Aida fabric, needles, hoops, beads, a couple of TW patterns and a fabric which I wasn't familiar with called Colored Linen Duck by Regency Mills in a 28ct peach and pink. Pretty pastels. Thank you so much Mary Pat for your generosity! She's refused to accept anything from me for all this so I think that instead I'll stitch up a pinkeep for her. I've found a freebie patten by Windy Willows called Amitié that will fit the bill. I found this site through a link on Laura's blog. She has links to several French blogs and it was on one of those that I learned of Windy Willows. Check it out, I love seeing what new blogs she's discovered.

Now I'm off to heat the kettle for a cuppa Chai tea, my favourite, and then settle in for some serious stitching. Have a great week everyone!

Springing forth

Spring is just around the corner. Don't believe me?....well lookee what I found in my front garden today! Amidst all the stones, frost and leftover leaves I spotted these. Yup, that's some of my tulips poking through! My tulips tend to come up fairly early because they are planted close to the house and there is an overhang which protects the area. I know it won't be long now though. I also spotted some geese returning to the area. Now the hunt for the robin is on!

So if spring is just around the corner why am I still stitching snowmen? I sense a new spring start if only to get me out of the doldrums which I've fallen into lately. Any suggestions?

I'd hoped to be a lot further along by now on my Secret Snowdrift but life keeps getting in the way and not a heck of a lot gets accomplished these days as far as stitching is concerned. I had a really lazy weekend following my 7 day stretch of work. On Saturday I decided to take a drive into the nearby village of Embrun where a friend told me that she thought there was a new stitching shop. So off I went to investigate and sure enough she was right! One Silver Needle just opened this past fall and are carrying supplies for cross stitch, knitting and quilting. With such a variety of crafts they don't have a lot of stock of any one thing but have assured me they can order anything I need. Plus they are still in the growing stages. Their website is fairly new and they are adding things all the time. I'm just thrilled that I have a local retailer who can supply me with the basics like my DMC and beads. In addition they have fabric squares for quilting that I can use in finishing.They're only 15 minutes from my place as opposed to an hour's drive to my previous LNS. Bonus!!

I had a small new start this past week. This is my ornie for the month which I found in the Nov. 2008 issue of TGOSM.
I didn't really look very close at the designer, I just liked the look of this one. As I was stitching it I was thinking that it reminded me of the Christmas Box ornments from Country Garden Stitchery, one of which I'd completed this past December. So when I finally got around to looking at the designer of this particular pattern, sure enough it was Cathie Richardson of Country Garden Stitchery. It's called Christmas Tree in Blue and I'm stitching with a lovely Gloriana silk named Holiday Blue. This if the first time I've stitched with a Gloriana silk and boy am I lovin' it! Beautiful floss!! I've got the beads and Kreinik for this one on order so I hope they come in early enough that I can finish this off in the next couple of weeks. I've woefully neglected my Mirabilia Easter Fairy and I want to get back to her.

While I'm writing this there is a little wild girl running around the room. No I'm not referring to either of my grandchildren but to the new baby here, Clarisse. I haven't quite figured out how to make her see that at this time of night she should be quieting down instead of gearing up! I snapped this pic just as she emerged from inside one of the pillows on the spare bed. Notice the wild look in her eyes! The sheet music scattered around her had been in a nice neat pile until she hit the scene. I'll have to get everthing back in order again before Bob finds the mess she made.

It's taken me most of the evening to get this posted. I seem to be moving in slow motion so I figure it's time to hit the sack now. They're calling for high winds here tomorrow so I'm counting on a strong tail wind to carry me in to work quickly. Does that mean I can sleep in longer?!