A quick stitchy update

I hate to be so brief this post but I have very little energy going for me this week. I can't believe how much fatigue I'm still experiencing which I'm sure has a lot to do with being back at work full time. I don't remember being this tired after previous surgeries but then again I was a lot younger then! This is also the reason that I've fallen behind in my blog reading. I hope to catch up on the weekend.

As I write this it's teeming buckets outside, perfect for a stitchy evening. Here's an updated photo of my LHN ornie. Not much done on it and I haven't touched it again since this pic was taken last week. I already know there's a counting error and I don't feel like dealing with the frogs right now.

As for Forget Me Not, that one has seen it's share of frogs too. Mainly because I've not been happy with some of the colour choices. I spent this past weekend stitching and restitching the birds and numbering three times with different shades of blue until I found one which I liked. I've also restitched the butterfly wings, the windows in the house and the flowers which make up the border on the left. When I first saw this pattern I really like the colour choices in the picture. However as we all know, pictures don't always give an accurate representation of the actual piece. So as a result, once I got more stitches in on this one I realized that the floss colours didn't match those in the photo which I'd admired so much. I spent several hours, pulling out alternate shades and giving them a try. Finally I think I've come to the point where I'm happy with the results. Keep your fingers crossed....some days there's just no pleasing me, lol! So here it is so far. What do you think?

A fellow choir member has asked if I would stitch something for her. She said that she has long admired my work and would really like to have a large framed piece for her home. She has insisted on paying me for my time and will have the work framed herself when completed. I really haven't got a clue what I should charge her and don't really like the idea since she is retired and is on a fixed income. I would rather give her the piece as a gift. She has chosen a pattern by Tree of Life Samplings called New Mercies. I pulled it out yesterday to get started at finding fabric when I realized that it had been stitched on 40 ct. I've yet to try 40ct and don't think it would be wise when it's for someone else. However it's going to be a rather large project when stitched on 28ct. I tried to find something in my stash in a 32ct without luck. I don't want to incur the extra expense of ordering more fabric so the 28 ct it is. It's actually a lovely Silkweaver Solo in a lovely beige colour. For most of the floss I'll use the DMC equivalents except where the overdyed blending would look better. So I hope to be getting started on this on the near future. I don't want her waiting too long. After all it might take me a year to get this one completed.

Now the rain continues, I'm tiring and I've written far more than I intended. I'm off to bed with a good book. I'm afraid if I pick up my stitching at this point, the frogs will see all those lovely puddles out my window and decide to stay for awhile!