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?!