Bug Bites

I got bitten this week by a bug ... the new start bug. This has resulted in a case of startitis which could only be remedied by a look through my stash and a subsequent new start. The mad itch has now abated and my needle is happy at work on its new project, Nature's Beauty by Little House of Needleworks. I still have several pieces of fabric by Sugar Maple Fabric in my stash although sadly SMF have now gone out of business. I chose a piece of 32ct linen in the shade Arthur. I've only just got started at it and it's not worth posting a picture quite yet. I'm also looking at some freebies that I'm anxious to try.Instead I'll show you my latest small finish, Bayview Estates. I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this little piece. It was my first By the Bay pattern and I'll definitely be doing another. I plan on finishing this one as a pinkeep. I'd love to do the Colony series and finish them all as one piece.
The pattern for this called for 2 over 2 but after I stitched the house I felt there wasn't enough coverage so I used 3 strands of floss for the tree.
I almost wish I could have done the house over but since it's a small piece I'll leave it as it is.


Next up is this week's progress on Spring Lace. I'd hoped to have a lot more completed on this one although I have completed one page. I had full intentions on going to the Tuesday SAL and concentrating on this stitch. I came home from work and planned a 30 minute nap before my drive into Ottawa. It was an hour and a half later before yours truly managed to drag herself out of bed. By that time I was out of sorts and the last thing I felt like doing was driving. I parked myself in front of the TV and vegged for the rest of the evening. This is one of the reasons I hate taking a nap after work. I end up feeling like a zombie for the rest of the night. I really must have needed the sleep though cause I had no problem hitting the sack again a few hours later. So I've only managed to sneak in some stitches on this one during my breaks at work this week. I'm off work this coming week so with any luck I'll get a bit further on this one.


The reason for my week's vacation is a quick trip home to Windsor. I'm not looking forward to the 8 hr drive but maybe I can stitch in the car. My DH is taking part in a recital to honour his former music department head at the U of Windsor. While he is in rehearsals, etc., I'll be visiting with my family which I haven't had the opportunity to do for several months now. My youngest sister is taking a day off work to lunch and shop with me and then the following day my other sister is driving over from Michigan to pick me up and take me back to her place in Livonia for the day. Later in the day Bob will join us and from there we are driving to Okemos ( a suburb of Lansing) to stay overnight with some close friends. This will be a real treat for us as well. Nixon and Bob can talk music while Ann and I stitch! Ann, if you're reading this, we can't wait to see the two of you again.
After our brief visit stateside we head back to Windsor to visit with our mothers before we return home again at the end of the week. We really would have loved to stay a bit longer to visit school friends but Bob has to work on the Saturday and I'm flying to Rochester, NY for a week for training on a new lab instrument. So if you don't see any postings from me for a couple of weeks you'll know why. On one of these visits to Michigan I'd love to drop by Stitching Bits and Bobs. It's a little out of the way for us though I think. If we'd had more time I'd make the effort.
I've been feeling quite badly about leaving little Clarisse by herself for the week but my son Dan has decided to stay at our place during our absence and keep her company.


Now that our lab accreditation is finished, work should have improved somewhat, right? Wrong!!
We've lost another tech due to illness and a meeting is being held while I'm away to figure out how to deal with the staff shortages. The summer is shaping up to be pretty hectic so I'm already counting down the days until I'm doing this:

Yup, stitching at the cottage has never looked better! Muskoka, here we come!! Have a great weekend everyone. With any luck I'll have a pic of the framed Cirque when I check in next.