July Ornament SAL

I had a Christmas ornament in mind for this month's ornie but while I was hunting for the chart in my stash I came upon this. It was screaming, "You have to stitch me, you have to stitch me!". I agreed, it was perfect.

This is a Bent Creek design and it called for all three birds to be stitched in the same blue. I dug the colour from my floss and wasn't happy with it so instead I chose three different blues from my stash.... one Dinky Dyes and two Carrie's Creations floss. I'm really happy with how they've turned out. Each bird is unique!

The hunt is on for the perfect finishing fabric and as of this morning I started stitching that Christmas ornament I originally planned. I just know that August is going to fly by with all of our plans this month.

If you'd like to join in the fun, just click on the 2013 Ornament SAL icon on my sidebar and it will take you to Heather's site where you can find all the info. 

Monday's Mail

I've been rather fortunate lately to be the winning recipient of not one but two giveaways! They both arrived in Monday's mail.
First up is my winning chart from Sherry. She has been cleaning up her stash and giving away some gently used charts. This one has been on my list and I was thrilled to receive it! Thank you so much Sherry!

Next are my winning charts from Kaye. Kaye and I are members of the Random Acts of Stitching Kindness blog. I was gifted by this RAK. Being a cat lover it was absolutely perfect! Look at the pretty card she tucked in the package. Love it! Thank you Kaye!

I can't seem to make up my mind as to a new start so I've continued to work on A Wicked Plant. It's really coming along and I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm stitching this on PTP Ancient linen and it's perfect for a Halloween stitch. The grays do show up much better in person. Pictures never seem to get the colours right.

I have some questions regarding the starting point for my Torah stitch so it has been put on hold for now. The contact person in our area for this project  will be joining our Tuesday group in a week so I will wait to start this until after I've checked some things with her.

I really need to get moving on another project though. A Wicked Plant won't take me all that long to finish. In fact it could be done before I leave for my holidays. I need to have another project or two waiting in the wings to pack for my dockside stitching in Muskoka. I should be starting some of the other projects on my WIPocalypse list but none of them is calling to me right now. After all, that list is just a guideline. I tend to stitch whatever and wherever my mood takes me.  After completing Wicked I only have Paradis Perdu remaining on my list of incompletes and I've stitched many other projects up until now. I'm pretty pleased with what I've accomplished. I'll have another quick post tomorrow with my Ornament SAL photo too.

I hope you all have found a few quiet moments for stitching. We all need some time to ourselves and what better way to occupy that time than with needle in hand?

Two finishes for WIPocalypse

The full moon this week signaled the time for a WIPocalypse post. I held off for a couple of days because I knew that I was so close to a finish on my one project. 

Plum Street Samplers Fruit of the Spirit

After four months, Fruit of the Spirit is completely finished. It took me far longer than I expected which I think had a lot to do with stitching on the 36ct fabric. My eyes would tire easily and I put the piece down more frequently than I usually do. I also needed good light for this one, particularly for the over one stitching, so I couldn't just stitch on it anywhere. The picture really doesn't do it justice. The colours are so much more vibrant in real life.

My second finish occured a little earlier in the month with the completion of Weeds Make Haste.

Shakespeare's Peddler Weeds Make Haste

This one is off getting stretched right now for framing later in the fall. I get a discount the more pieces I bring in at once so my friend and I are going to combine all our recent finishes in the fall and have them framed then.

I have also finished stitching my ornament for my monthly SAL but I can't post a picture until the chosen date at the end of the month.

Not knowing quite what to get started on next, I picked up my Halloween stitch from last fall and spent a little time with it. It's called A Wicked Plant and is designed by Barbara Ana.
Here's a progress pic.

I have received my kit for my Torah project, titled Torah Stitch by Stitch. For more information on this project follow the highlighted link. The project is open to stitchers of all religious denominations and from all countries. We have 140 stitchers signed on for the project and a total of 1463 are needed. I will be getting started on my verses of stitching next week.

Today I plan on rooting through my stash and deciding on my next ornament and design to stitch. We'll be leaving for the cottage in mid August and I want to have everything organized before I leave.
My next WIPocalypse should have some progress photos from these new ventures. Until then, enjoy your summer!

Summer Fun with the Grandkids

Summer is well underway. The temps have been hot, it's been humid and thunderstorms have ruled the night skies. This past weekend however, Mother Nature ruled on our side with lower temps, lots of sun and cool evenings for sleeping. My eldest son Jeff and his family dropped by for a visit and we filled the weekend with loads of summer fun. 
Check it out - first stop Prehistoric World in Morrisburg, ON!

My grandchildren, Oceanne and Summer.

  
They were joined by my step-granchildren, Yanie and Loik.

Even the adults joined in the fun!

Uncle Dan

Pascale under attack!

Prehistoric World has been around for 31 yrs now. It is filled with 50 life-sized dinosaurs complete with an info-filled tablet on each species and a sand pit filled with fossils for the kids to root through. 
As you can see, our family has been enjoying this attraction for years. Here's Jeff at age 5 and me with Daniel, age. The place hasn't changed a bit as you can see in the photo of Jeff and Pascale that follows these two pics.

Jeff & Pascale

After returning home from the afternoon we filled our faces with an awesome meal of pork tenderloin, rice, corn on the cob and greek salad. It was topped off with peanut butter pie and chocolate sauce. I couldn't believe how much these kids could eat! It was time to head off to the park and work it all off.

Bob stayed at the house and cleaned up, bless him, but it wasn't long before he joined us too!

This one was a little on the blurry side  and not too flattering (lol!) so here's a much better pic of him.

It wasn't long after returning home before it was lights out since everyone was pretty wiped out.

The next day turned out to be just as gorgeous as the previous one.....definitely boating weather. Bob took the whole family out in two shifts for a tour on the St. Lawrence River.

Poor little Summer is sporting a mark on the bridge of her nose from a collision with a Frisbee during a visit to her Grandpa John.  The kids spent the day at the beach with their Grandpa a day or so earlier.

Summer is Grandma's girl though and spent time in the gazebo with me whispering secrets in my ear.

The boat ride was followed my another meal. It seems we were always filling our faces. As you can see, the kids had a great time hamming it up!

We had an amazing visit with them! Congratulations if you've stuck it out this far through all these family pics. I only see my grandchildren a couple of times a year so you have to bear with me over my gushing and numerous photos. A lot of this is for the benefit of my mom and siblings too.

All good things must come to an end though and it was time for them to head back home to Quebec where they have a camping trip planned. You can't leave without a family photo! My son Chris was the only one absent. Unfortunately he had made plans weeks ago with some friends and couldn't join us.

Thanks for dropping by and I hope your summer plans are going well. For us, the next adventure will be a visit from longtime friends and then off to Muskoka. Can't wait!

Almost Done!

I'm getting there! Slowly but surely, Fruit of the Spirit is nearing a finish. I really haven't had much time to work on this lately what with a road trip to my family's home and visits from my son and family. However I snuck in a few hours here and there. The one thing I noticed after taking this pic is that the walkway from the middle house isn't very visible. I think I'll frog it out and replace it with a darker colour. 

I'm now in the process of deciding on my next start. That's besides the Torah stitch. My kit for the Torah arrived shortly after I returned from my visit to Windsor. It looks pretty straightforward.... black lettering on white Aida. I can add a border when I'm finished but I'm limited to only three or four colours. 

Summer is well on its way as my next post will illustrate. It's going to be picture intensive and no stitching pics so be forewarned! I should have it up later in the day so I'll see you soon.

Giveaway notice

No, it's not me this time (however there's reason to celebrate!). Instead I have two fabulous giveaways to fill you in on.

The first is over at Sub Rosa. Esther is celebrating her second blogoversary with a wonderful giveaway. If you have never checked out her designs you definitely have to pay her a visit! She has a number of fabulous freebies too.

I've been on holidays and consequently am just getting caught up on the blogs so I'm just squeaking in under the deadline on this one. Better hurry, you only have until midnight tonight!

The second fabulous giveaway is over at The Snowflower Diaries. This is the first giveaway for this amazing blog and its budding new designer. Please stop by and pay a visit. You won't be disappointed.

As for me, this is my 400th post and I celebrated the anniversary of my 6th year of blogging in June. I promise I will host a giveaway to celebrate however there is far too much going on this summer and I just don't have the time to organize one right now. By summer's end I hope to have an official giveaway to mark the occasion so keep an eye out for a future notice!

Summer Blog Hop

This summer I signed on to be a part of the Summer Blog Hop which is being hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. We're celebrating the staycation this year with pictures of anything we've stitched on a home theme.

My lovely photo arrived courtesy of Christine.

Here is Christine's comment on her photo:

"A compass to help you find your way home."

I love Christine's take on the home theme. After all, we could all use a little help once in awhile!

If you are interested in participating in this year's Blog Hop, please check it out here and contact Jo. The more, the merrier!

Speaking of home, I have only just returned home from vacation as of last evening and have lots of laundry to catch up on and groceries to pick up. I'll update you with my stitching news later this week once everything has settled down here. See you soon!

An exciting new project and my finish revealed!

Recently I learned of a new stitching venture from some of my Tuesday night stitchers. It seems that there is a group in Toronto who are planning to stitch The Torah. Now for those of you who do not know, The Torah consists of the five books of the Hebrew bible, known more commonly to non-Jews as the Old Testament. 

I was told that Torah Stitch By Stitch is now underway and they are looking for volunteer stitchers to aid them. In fact, a total of 1463 stitchers are needed!  The project is open to stitchers of all nationalities and religious persuasion. The Torah is stitched in Hebrew and once you sign up you will receive a kit with the necessary fabric, floss and chart. Each person stitches 4 verses of the text. When completed, the stitching will all be assembled into a scroll measuring 2 metres high by 86 metres long! 

Several of my stitching friends have already signed up and received their kits and stitching is underway. I wanted to be a part of the project but I had a few questions first which they answered for me. So earlier this week I went ahead and signed up. I'm anxious to get started and see which 4 verses I will be assigned. At this point, only the book of Genesis has been charted and several of my friends are stitching of Noah. Although the text is in Hebrew, you do know which verses you are stitching so that you can look up the text in English. I think it's an amazing project and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it.

Today I put in the final stitches on one of my WIP and did a little dance. Which one? Weeds Make Haste! It beat out Fruit of the Spirit and arrived at the finish line first!

Shakespeare's Peddler Weeds Make Haste
stitched on 28ct  LSL Vintage Lentil
using GAST and WDW floss

Since this was stitched on 28ct it was a faster stitch than Fruit which is being stitched on 36ct. I ended up making the legs under the bee skep a little longer after making an error in counting. Consequently the bees had to be adjusted some too. You'd think by now I could count, lol! 
Tomorrow I'm off to visit family for a week. Fruit will accompany me and with any luck I'll actually find some time to work on it. I don't always have access to internet while I'm away so if I don't respond to your comments please be patient and I'll check in as soon as I'm home. 

First Summer TUSAL

Summer has arrived and no summer would be complete without a TUSAL pic. After all, I have to prove that there has been some sort of stitching taking place!

Lots of reds and whites from my patriotic stitch last month and greens from Weeds Make Haste. The floss I'm using for Fruit of the Spirit is silk and I'm only using the one strand at a time so it's difficult to see it hiding out among the orts but trust me, it's there.
So where were my orts hanging out?

They're hanging in my garden lilac bush alongside my latest birdhouse addition. I keep a couple of these hanging ort jars out in my gazebo where I spend a good portion of my summer evenings, stitching. 

Next post, I have a finish for you. Yes, I'm doing a little dance! I just have to add my initials, date and iron it. So which is it, Weeds or Fruit? You'll just have to check back and find out! 
See you soon.

Happy 4th!

Wishing all my American family and friends a very Happy 4th of July! I hope you enjoy a safe and fun-filled day.

Tea Anyone?

A few weeks ago I paid a visit to one of my fav stores, Homesense. I was with a friend and just browsing when I came across some wonderful teacups. They were bright coloured, textured and huge! I love a good cup of tea but my biggest complaint has always been that most teacups hold only a small amount of tea and I like a good sized cup. These were perfect! The cups were reasonably priced and I picked up a couple. I knew that if I waited long enough the rest would end up in the clearance section on sale. Over the next few weeks I picked up one here and there at their various stores and eventually found the teapot too.

I love them! They are so bright and cheery and the textured surface is really neat. Several of the cups have motifs in the inside surface as well.

I'm still short by one cup but I'm sure I'll be able to pick up another one. The cups are still showing up here and there. 
I don't normally drink a lot of tea in the summer but so far our summer has been cooler and rainy which fits the bill for tea time.

Speaking of rain, we had a good thunderstorm late last Monday afternoon. The storm brought hail with it too. I could hear it hitting the back door of the house. What I didn't realize was that the hail did considerable damage to the roof of our gazebo.

At first we thought that just the tinting had come off from the impact but on closer examination we realized that these were actually holes. There was no water in the gazebo but the panels are actually double paned and only the top pane was damaged.  Every one of the smaller panes on the top of the roof were damaged as well as four larger side panes. Fortunately we're able to order replacement panes from the company online and they're not quite as expensive as we expected them to be.
It won't be long before it's all returned to its previous condition.
We've had hail at other times since the gazebo installation but this is the first time we've experienced any kind of damage. Due to the direction of the storm, the neighbour's identical gazebo was not damaged.

I spent some quality time with Fruit of the Spirit this weekend. I can't seem to put this one down!

Now I just have to concentrate on the bottom portion of the sampler. Coincidentally, this Sunday's New Testament reading from Galatians 5:22 was about the Fruit of the Spirit.
As much as I'm enjoying this one I forced myself to put it down and stitch some on Weeds Make Haste. I'll have an updated photo on this one for you on my next post.

We had a very quiet Canada Day here. We've been very busy lately and decided to just sit back and relax. Both of us had spent most of Sunday in the city, each doing our own thing. I headed off to the National Arts Centre with my friend Trish for a performance of Jersey Boys. It was awesome!! If you get a chance to see this, Go!
You won't be disappointed.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and your week is off to a good start.