That's right, it's happy dancing time. Cirques des Cercles is finally finished! I'd hoped it would only take me a year but in total it took 16 months. I had a heck of a time getting a picture. I laid the finished piece on one of my tray tables outside on the deck and then stood on a chair in order to get the whole piece photographed. Next it's off to the framer's which will be my birthday gift. There's not enough material for mats so I just have to decide on a frame. This wasn't my first choice for material but when I ordered the original colour it had a flaw in it. Pressed for time, I searched my stash and came up with this piece of fabric which I actually like better than my original choice. However this was a 28ct as opposed to the 32ct which I'd ordered so I knew I wouldn't have enough fabric for matting. This was stitched on a Silkweaver Solo so I think I'll enter it into their Showcase contest. Prizes consist of free fabric!
Now for more fun.... new starts! I needed another small project for work and recently found a freebie offered on By The Bay Needlearts. This one is working up very quickly. I needed something to replace Cirque but didn't want to start something quite that large. I'd been browsing through some designer sites and discovered Whispered By The Wind. I ordered one of their new patterns called Spring Lace. The floss used is Hydrangea by Threadworx and is a really pretty mix of pinks and greens. I got started on it on Tuesday night with my SAL group in Ottawa and I love the way it's shaping up. I really hav
en't got much to show yet but I took a pic anyways. I'm really enjoying my stitching evenings on Tuesdays. As I've mentioned before, I could never join them when they used to be scheduled on Thursdays but now it's great. Great setting, great people and some fantastic stitching! I'd love to go every Tuesday but the commute in after a full day at work can sometimes be just too much so for now I'm limiting my participation to every other week. Plus now that the nice weather is here I think I should spend some time in my garden getting it ready for spring planting. Speaking of weather, it's supposed to be sunny and 27 C tomorrow. Yippee!
My son Dan came out to visit me last weekend and brought his cat Tugger to meet Clarisse. We figured it was about time the two got acquainted since they will be spending a week together this summer while we're on vacation. As expected, they didn't think much of each other the first day. Seemed to be an awful lot of growling going on mostly on Tugger's part. It was hilarious to watch Clarisse chasing him all over the house. The shoe's on the other foot now since it used to be Tugger chasing Finnigan all over! After only a day though they adjusted to one another and are now great friends. So much so that I kept Tugger for the rest of the week after Dan returned home. Clarisse will really miss Tuggs when he returns home. I've been telling my DH that she needs a playmate but so far he's not biting!
Last night Dan was back to join me for a Sci-Fi Spectacular at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The NAC Orchestra was performing music from science fiction movies and TV show including Star Wars, Star Trek, Close Encounters, Harry Potter, etc. The narrator for the performance was none other than George Takei also known as Star Trek's Mr. Sulu! This was a Christmas gift for Dan and he's been looking forward to it for some time now.
When we arrived we found the NAC lobby full of sci-fi characters such as Darth Vader, Imperial Storm Troopers, Princess Leia and various Star Trek commanders. These were all NAC employees dressed for the occasion but there were also several audience members who dressed in costume for the event. We saw some Harry Potter characters there. I'd been wishing I'd brought my camera when I remembered that I had my cell phone camera. So I managed to get a couple of pics of Dan with some of the characters. Too bad I haven't figured out yet how to send them to my email for downloading.
The concert was fantastic and we both enjoyed our night out. Now I've just returned from taking Dan and Tugger back to their place.
Can you believe it's taken me 3 days to get this posted? I haven't been home long enough on any evening to finish my posting. My life is way too busy lately. That's good, right?!
Now I'm off to enjoy a beautiful afternoon. The winds are a bit strong but the temperature feels like summer. Hope you are all enjoying a great weekend as well.
what can i say, that is so amazing. Well done
ReplyDeleteI'm dancing....I'm dancing! CdC looks LOVELY! And I know the colours are even better in person. Whispered by the Wind is one of my favourite designers...Etude is on the top of my list to stitch a second time. Hope to see you sometime soon!
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing finish! It must have taken you some time to finish it. It's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI also love your new starts. I had also discovered By The Bay's little freebie and have everything ready to stitch it. By The Bay is one of my new loves among the designers.
Lynn! Your new blog look is sooo pretty! I love it!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing Cirque! It is absolutely amazing! Happy Dancing with you:)
Hi Lynn,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to type this while Phoebe is settling herself within the circle of my arms, purring away, and resting her front paws on my left arm. We'll see how far we get with this.
Firstly, and most importantly, a huge congratulations for finishing the totally awesome, magnificent and thoroughly gorgeous Cirque des Cercles! The fabric, and the thread that you used to stitch these were a perfect compliment to one another. What a wonderful achievement! Can't wait to see it
framed.
Your newest starts are looking great too. That little freebie is lovely, and I always get a kick out of tiny sheep done in cross stitch.
They look so darn cute. I really
like that Whispered by the Wind design that you're stitching too. The thread color is lovely.
The picture of Tugger and Clarisse
together is adorable. It reminds me of how my Phoebe and Rupert are together. It's great that they soon settled their differences and became friends.
I would have loved that concert that you and your son went to together. I love all that sort of wonderful, full orchestra music from some of my favorite movies. And to have the inimitable George Takei as narrative would be an added delight.
Last year a friend took me to hear all the Star Trek music performed live by the Toronto Symphony and it was awesome. And many, many years ago we saw John Williams conducting the Toronto Symphony at Ontario Place. Hearing the Star Wars theme performed live sorta makes your hair stand on end, doesn't it?
Have you gotten anywhere with Clarisse and that Soft Paws stuff?? It sounds like a lot of headache trying to get the sheaths over her claws.
Isn't it nice to see Spring finally appearing to settle in around here at last. I don't think that this weekend was as nice as we'd been hoping for, but the warmth sure was appreciated.
Have a great week!!
Cheers!
Congratulations Lynn, your CdC looks amazing, dancing right along with you.
ReplyDeleteWaltzing...Tango ..Foxtrot..Line..
ReplyDeleteAnd then some !
Congrats it's beautiful!!!!!!!
Congratulations on a wonderful finish. Some great new starts too.
ReplyDeleteOooh you finished it!! Big congratulations! That sure is a piece to be proud of, it looks great.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Lynn, on finishing this super large project!! I've certainly enjoyed watching your progress as I'm planning to stitch CdC one of these days. :)
ReplyDelete