Monday 11 February 2008

The sun makes an appearance!




Yes, it's true. The sun is still out there! It's been so long since we've seen it around here we were beginning to wonder. I'm off today and so have been enjoying the sunny day but don't let it fool you. The temperature has been extremely cold and there's a bitter wind out there as well. Today's temp is -16C which is 0 degrees F.

I finally had a finish on Sunday. USA Tree is now complete. I had a bit of trouble when I started in on the second half of this. It's supposed to be a mirror image and things didn't seem to be working out. I counted and recounted thinking the problem was mine but it turns out that it was a problem with the pattern. I had downloaded this pattern from PatternsOnline and upon closer examination I discovered some errors in the pattern. Hence all my trouble. So I made a few minor adjustments to the left side of the tree which I'm hoping are not noticeable. I think it looks pretty good. I've decided to finish off this piece as a flatfold. I haven't got any fabric right now which is appropriate so I'll put off finishing this until the fall when the Christmas fabrics are released again. I'll be giving this one to my sister as a gift next Christmas. Today I'm alternating between Warm Winter Wishes and my Christmas Joy ornament. When I get tired of stitching on one I pick up the other.








The mail today has brought me more stash! Some of this I have been waiting since December for! Hazard a guess as to which online supplier is the culprit? I think a number of you know who I'm referring to since you've also had some recent problems. This particular ONS has great prices but never seems to have anything in stock. I've decided to deal with them again only when I'm not in a hurry for anything.
The stash that arrived included Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio, LK's 2007 Special Edition Christmas Kit- Ho,ho,ho and a lovely little ornament from Stone & Thread called Snowflake Mitten. This one is so cute . I can hardly wait to start it! I think this will be the next ornament I start on. Just gotta find some fabric. I'd also ordered some Mill Hill snowflake treasures for the HS Cat in Snowman's Clothing. I've yet to find some fabric for this one. You'll recall that when I started it recently I discovered a fault in the linen which was definitely going to show up in the piece. On my next visit (next Tuesday) to my LNS I'm going to check their waste fabrics. These are smaller pieces from the ends of the bolts or pieces which customers have had cut and then returned. They package them up and offer them for sale. They're great for use as ornament cuts. The other new chart shown is one I won on ebay. It's by A needle and Fred and is called I Love My Carbs! It comes with the floss required which is mostly GAST and a couple of Crescent Colours.
This little piece speaks to my heart.
There's nothing I love more than my bread! Since last week I've definitely been trying to curb my carb intake. It helps that I've given up all the bad ones (cookies, cake, chips, etc) as my Lenten commitment. This seems to be the only time I can actually stick to things. Once I've passed the first month or so without them it seems much easier to bypass the breads, potatoes, and pasta. I'm not a big fan of drinking water either so I'm making a concerted effort to drink more which will help flush the little nastys( can't check the spelling, Blogger spell check isn't working) from my system. Wish me luck! I've booked a trip to Ft Myers for the end of next month so I'm hoping to have shed a few pounds by then.

Tomorrow is CdC night for me. Can't wait! In the meantime I'm looking for another start. It occurred to me that I have a family wedding coming up for which I might have the time to stitch something. I've got 2 choices available which are small enough that I could have them finished in time. They're The Trilogy's Wedding Spots or one by Big Toe Designs called The Wedding. I'm rather partial to the latter although I don't think I'd use the required colours. If you're reading this Sheryl - what do you think? Which would Stephanie prefer? Sheryl is my cousin and is the mother of the bride-to-be. I'm open to other opinions as well and if you have any other suggestions, let me know.

I'll leave you now with some pictures I took this weekend after waking up to find hoary frost on everything. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about and think the whole thing sounds a little perverted, I'll explain. Hoary refers to anything resembling gray or white hair or down. This type of frost results generally when there has been fog overnight which freezes on everything. It turns even the simplest dull twigs into things of beauty. I took a little drive around the neighbouring roads to take a few shots before the temperature rose and melted it off .

9 comments:

  1. congrats on your hd!!! Unfortuatnely on Saturday I didn't get a chance to photograph the forst... we had appointments we were going to be late for!

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  2. Your snow photos look amazing.

    Love the pics also of Tugger, how cute falling asleep on the mantel piece.

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  3. Hi Lynn,

    Congrats on finishing off USA Tree. It's really quite a pretty design and I love that shade of green used in the lettering. The tree's trunk is neat looking too. If there are mistakes in this one I for one can't see them so I wouldn't worry about it.

    Lovely new stash! I got that Stitchy Kitty one too, with the three snowmen. I've ordered the buttons from MaryKathryn and I'm really looking forward to stitching it. Such pretty colours and I love the patterns in each of the hats.

    The pictures that you took of the deer at the bird sanctuary are great, and the deer are so beautiful. I love the picture of Tugger looking out the car window at the herd. So funny. We have wild deer around here, and often see them from the Go train. At this time of year food is scarce so they move in closer to the town foraging for food.

    Your pictures of Winterlude and the ice sculptures are interesting to look at, and the mention of beaver tails and hot cider has my mouth watering. How Canadian can you get??

    It's certainly been an interesting Winter so far weather wise. Going from one extreme to another in both temperature and snow accumulations.
    And tomorrow we're getting more snow. Just in time for rush hour.

    Phil (DH) is being diligent in keeping our bird feeders full, and the bird bath clean and the heater set properly, because at this time of year our little feathered guests are having a tough time of it. The bird bath has just enough water in it to drink, but hopefully doesn't have enough to encourage any wacky birds to bathe in it.

    CdC is gorgeous. I've said it before...and I'll keep saying it. You're making good progress.

    Keep warm and take care on those roads Lynn.

    CHeers!

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  4. Hmmmm.... I wonder which ONS that could be??? LOL (Damn her and her good sale prices!!!)

    I love, love, love those snow pictures - so pretty. And since we're not getting anything here, I have to enjoy it on other people's blogs (although i'm sure many of you are sick of it!)

    The USA tree is quite pretty - I like that design a lot. But I'd let them know where the errors in the chart are so they have the opportunity to correct them.

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  5. Brrr your pictures are beautiful but making me feel cold! Im coming to Canada on Wed and not looking forward to all that snow!! Im a hot weather girl myself!
    Great stash. Congrats on finishing the tree, it'll look great as a flatfold.
    Have a great weekend :)

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  6. WHAT!!??? You're coming to Ft. Myers, FL!?? Lynn, you have to let us know when you're going to be here! Nicole (Carolina Dreams), Jessica, Martha (Gone Stitchin'...Wishin') and I have to get together with you and take you to our favorite stitching shop in Punta Gorda!!! Now, I'm too excited. Email me!! :)
    Hugs, Deb

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  7. The sun was beautiful wasn't it, we had it for a bit too. The frost pictures were great, that type of frost does make things look fuzzy. Very pretty, but cold looking.

    Lovely stash, and your projects are looking great. The USA tree looks fine to me, I can't tell where you made any adjustments. However, how frustrating to spend all that time trying to figure out where you're off and then find it is in the pattern.
    Sue

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  8. Congrats on the HD. Can't wait to see it. And BTW you've been tagged.
    http://pennygwen.bravejournal.com/

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  9. I love Warm Winter Wishes. I wish I could help with the fabric creases. I use a water spray bottle and reall1y soak the fabric and then iron, iron, iron.

    I hope you manage to steer clear of all the bugs making the rounds at work! Great hoary frost pictures!

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