Come Dance With Me!

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 haven'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.

Happy Easter!

A most blessed and Happy Easter to all my stitching friends. It's been rather cold here today but a fairly pleasant day nonetheless. I spent the day at work as did my DH so our Easter meal will be celebrated tomorrow. I'm still working tomorrow but Bob will be home all day and is currently planning our Easter meal. A leg of lamb on the barbecue is in the works. Mmmm! My son Daniel and some friends will be joining us so I'm really looking forward to that. Chris is working and Jeff and family are never able to join us due to the lack of a road worthy car. If I hadn't been working I would have picked them up for the weekend. Perhaps next year.

I have an Easter basket filled with some decorative eggs on my coffee table and Clarisse has spent the day retrieving the eggs from the basket and batting them around on the livingroom carpet. The basket has now been retired to higher ground!

Speaking of Easter, my Mirabilia Easter Fairy came close to being finished, but no cigar! I managed to complete everything except for the beading surrounding the fairy. I just haven't had enough time lately to devote to her. Can't say as I like the backstitching around her. The colour of choice in the pattern just doesn't agree with me. I find it's a little on the dark side especially around the legs, but at this point I have no intention on redoing it. I thought I'd never finish her wings! You'd think I'd never worked with Kreinik before what with all the trouble I had. I finally found my Thread Heaven a few weeks ago and that made the going a bit easier. At least it got me to the finish line. There's quite a bit of beading remaining which I'll work at over the course of the next couple of weeks. I could get it done a lot sooner if I wasn't spending so much time on other projects. It's hard to tell in the picture but the fabric is a lovely opalescent. The picture doesn't do it justice at all.

I'm also coming very close to doing another happy dance. This one might even be a whopping jig! You guessed it, Cirque des Cercles is nearing the finish line. I'm working on the interior of the last circle now. On Tuesday night I joined the ladies from my former LNS for a group stitch and put in some serious time on this one. The evening was a lot of fun and I hope to join them again if not every week then every other week. Below is a photo of my progress. The next pic I post will be the finish, I promise.

We have some major renovations that need completing around here in the near future. I suspect that the roof is going to need replacing either this summer or next since it's now 19 yrs old. The carpets and flooring are the originals (19 yrs) and are showing significant wear. They're fraying around the edges and lifting in places. Next on the list is painting. We last had most of the indoors painted just before we married 8 yrs ago. In addition to all this, our kitchen cabinets have lost the finish on most of the doors. The cabinets are oak but from the very beginning I spotted problems with them and knew that they wouldn't last as long as they should. I don't think the original finishing was done properly. Now that the finish is worn, the wood is drying out and splinters are appearing especially around the door edges. We know that the flooring was never laid properly either. I'm not impressed with the contractor's work on this house and would definitely not buy another of his. There was a big difference in quality between this house and my last.

All of this has necessitated a visit to my friendly neighbourhood banker to see if we can get any help. I'm very fortunate that being in the health care field my job is fairly recession proof. Add to that the fact that I've been in this job for 32 yrs now.In fact we're still advertising postions for techs. If all is a go with the bank then I suspect we will be in a mess around here for awhile especially since we will be doing as much of this as we can ourselves. So much for getting my craft room up and running! Maybe all this will force us to do a major cleanup around here!

Clarisse is doing well and growing very quickly. I'm trying to decide what to do about her claws. I bought a product called Soft Paws to try. However she's not co-operating. Why does this not surprise me?! I can't even get her to sit long enough to clip her nails. These Soft Paws are a soft pliable material and are like putting on false nails. They completely cover the cat's nails and are applied with an adhesive. I read the directions today and the adhesive can bond skin like Crazy Glue can. I have visions of trying to put these things on and gluing my fingers together in the process! I think the cat will have to be restrained but Bob isn't much help. He's not comfortable holding on to her and ends up in fits of laughter every time he imagines me trying this. She doesn't like me playing with her claws so I'm spending 5-10 min every night for the next few days massaging her paws until she gets used to me handling them. I'm also bribing her with treats! Any suggestions ladies?

Bob has just brought down some coffee and Easter treats for me. Now that Lent is over I can have some but I'm trying to eat very little in the way of sweets. Don't want to get back into a bad habit!

Have a great week and I'll check in with all of you again soon.

On vacation

I took this week off work to try and get some spring cleaning done but I seem to be seriously lacking some motivation. Fortunately it hasn't spread to my stitching since that's the only thing I really feel like doing at the moment. I finished stitching my ornament for March which if you remember was My Christmas Tree in Blue by Country Garden Stitchery. All that remains is the finishing on this one. I think I have some fabric that will work in my stash but if not the finishing will just have to wait until the fall when the Christmas fabrics return.I also managed to finish off my PS Bunny which I finished stitching last week. My egg shape isn't exactly perfect, in fact it's a little wonky on the one side, but as far as I'm concerned it'll do. I attached the cording with pins rather than gluing or sewing it so that I could remove the pins and use the stitching either on a wreath or in a basket. I plan on stitching several more of these in the future. Hopefully I'll get better at the egg shape as I go along!

When I went looking for fabric for the backing on this piece I struck gold. I didn't feel like going into Ottawa and instead went into the fabric shop in our small village. I really wasn't expecting to find a lot based on past experience but was pleasantly surprised to see several lovely new fabrics. It seems the shop is now offering quilting classes and has increased their inventory and selection to go along with the needs of the classes. Many of the fabrics are now being offered as fat quarters. I found some really great pieces for finishing off ornies and pinkeeps. It's kind of hard to tell from these photos but the fabrics actually have the appearance of some overdyed or hand dyed fabrics. They also have small tulips as part of the pattern. It's so nice that I won't have to travel very far now for my finishing supplies.

Now that my LNS has closed I'll have to buy most of my cross stitch supplies online which means using a little more planning. No more waiting until I've run out of something and replacing it right away. Now I'll be looking at 1-2 weeks before new supplies arrive once I've placed an order.

Besides these two ornies I took out Secret Snowdrift in an attempt to get this one finished in the very near future. I have several other projects kitted up and ready to go but if I don't finish this one first I figure it'll sit there until next winter. I'm making a concerted effort to put in time on my Easter fairy as well although I'm pretty sure she won't make her Easter deadline. I've given her one leg now and later tonight I'm starting on the second leg. I'm giving myself a bit of a break from working on the wings since I get so frustrated using the Kreinik. Not that there's much left to be done there either. If I can finish up those sections this week that will only leave the beading. I know I'm working Easter weekend and I have a busy week ahead of me before then so I won't be surprised if it just doesn't happen. I'll be happy if I can just get her finished before the end of April. I'll have an updated pic soon as well as an update on CDC. I'm still putting in stitches in on this one whenever I get a chance.

This past Saturday I made a trip up to Drummondville to visit my son and granddaughters. Daniel came with me to keep me company and to spend some time with his brother. Being the good grandma that I am, I had a car full of Easter gifts as well as Océanne's birthday gifts. Her birthday is two weeks from now and it was easier to bring them with me rather than mail them later. I actually could have gone up on her birthday weekend but they're expecting a houseful with all the family on Mimi's side. None of them speak English and they're all smokers which is enough to keep me away. By going up a bit earlier I get the girls all to myself and don't have to share them. It's a lot quieter and I don't have to deal with all the family. A bit selfish, I know!

I figure they get plenty of Easter candy from their parents and everyone else so I took things like board books, little purses shaped like carrots, blowing bubbles, stuffed bunnies and a summer dress for each of them. I found these cute little gift bags at the dollar store which I used as Easter baskets. I've included some photos of my visit including ones of each of the girls in their dresses. The day past by far too quickly and before you knew it we were on the road again. It's a 3 1/2 hour trip each way so by the time I returned home that night I was beat. Add to that the fact that my DH played in a recital on Sunday which meant we were gone from home all day. So yours truly spent a few extra hours in bed this morning trying to get caught up on some lost sleep.

Clarisse's antics this weekend included knocking over the plant in the bathroom just prior to my departure for Drummondville. Dirt everywhere including in the furnace vents and all over the toilet so consequently I ended up leaving a little later than planned after time spent cleaning up.

We've been using a water bottle on the mist setting to deter her from certain areas. When she sees us take out the bottle now she either runs or squints her eyes because she knows what's coming but it certainly hasn't stopped her from attempting things anyways.

My LNS had a stitching group which got together on Thursday evenings for a SAL. I could never make it because it conflicted with my choir practice. However, now that they've closed, one of the members of the group has offered to continue the SAL on Tuesday evenings at her book shop. I'd planned on going last Tuesday but was much too tired so I'm going to try and make it tomorrow night since I don't have to work the next day. Now I'm off to try and get some stitching in before bed. I'm hoping to get caught up with some of you tomorrow when I actually have some time to read blogs.

Bunnies, kitties and zombies?!

The lovely spring weather we've had here the past few days has really got me in the mood to stitch more. During my days off early in the week I managed to complete my PS Bunny. I've got the templates all cut out to make the egg but haven't found a suitable fabric in my stash for the backing. So I think I'll head out in an hour or so to visit our local fabric shop. Yes, my tiny little village has a fabric shop of all things! With any luck I'll find a gingham or similar fabric to complete the bunny. The other PS leaflet I ordered hasn't arrived yet so I'll have to delay the start of the next egg.

In the meantime I've actually pulled out my Easter Fairy. Can you believe it?! I didn't get very far though before I ran out of the Kreinik thread. Now that I have to order some it's unlikely that I'll have this one complete by Easter. So I'll work around the wings for now and see if I can give this girl some legs! A progress pic will follow shortly.

As I'm writing this Clarisse is being a royal PITA. We've had her on medication for the past 2 weeks because she developed an upper respiratory infection. The vet says that it's common in kittens and may be caused by a herpes virus. Although she may have been fine when she left the breeder, the stress of the move, leaving her mother and adapting to a new environment has probably let the virus take hold. It resulted in sneezing, runny eyes and attempts to cough up mucous. Over the past 2 weeks we've given her Clavamox which is identical to the Amoxil medecine that many of us have had to treat our children with, right down to the banana flavouring. No, she does not like it!!! As well we're giving her an enzyme supplement with her food that prevents the virus from replicating. Although it's a virus infection primarily, it has resulted in a baterial infection in the eyes.

Well let me tell you she must be feeling MUCH better. The sneezing has quit, the eyes have cleared up and she has become a wild banshee! Just look at her eyes in this picture...wild! I just kicked her out of the office here and shut the door so that I could get this posting done. In the past five minutes alone she's knocked over the hole puncher spilling its contents on the carpet, chewed Bob's music lying on the bed and her latest trick..... emptying the garbage pail and climbing inside. I think she's busier than any of my kids ever were!

Speaking of kids, my two youngest got together this past week to attend a play at Carleton University which was a parody of all zombie and horror flicks called Evil Dead : The Musical. It's right up their alley since all my boys are big fans of the horror genre. Chris said that the Ottawa production was a little more tame since there wasn't a splatter zone. A splatter zone? I questioned. Apparently at the Toronto production the first few rows are given plastic ponchos to wear during the performance because they end up splattered with fake blood! The play is being called the next Rocky Horror show and often fans show up dressed in costume.

However the only ones in Ottawa who dressed up for the production were... you guessed it!, my two sons and their group of friends. Chris has a friend who loves to do makeup and agreed to paint up the guys before the show. Here's the results. They got quite a few stares when they boarded the O Train in Ottawa to ride to the show.

That's Dan on the left and Chris on the right. I tell everyone that they take after their father, lol!! The boys all had a super time and are planning to do the same thing again in a few weeks at a concert put on by a punk group called Creepshow. Chris himself is a member of a punk band called Hands of the Few who play clubs in the Ottawa area. Okay, so it's nowhere near my type of music but I've got to give them credit for the hard work they've put into this. Chris has even taken on a second job in order to have extra money to devote to this. One of the members of the group studied in Toronto to learn sound recording engineering and they have recently recorded their second CD which is scheduled for release this coming summer followed by a 2 week tour of clubs in the Toronto area. They also hope to squeeze in a side trip to the Toronto Horror fest. This is Chris' idea of a summer vacation!! When they showed me a picture of the new T shirts they're having made for the release I asked if I could get one in a plus size. The boys all laughed and said they'd get me one somehow.

Last night I pulled out Cirque for a bit and finished off another circle (bottom right in the picture). Notice the pretty needle minder that I received as a Christmas gift. This weeks' mail brought the Kreinik and beads I need to complete my March ornie so it looks like I have plenty to keep me busy this weekend. I just let the banshee back into the room and she's washing my face as I'm trying to type. Gotta love her! Have a great weekend.

Spring fever

I think some of that spring fever is starting to hit me. Now that our snow has finally disappeared I managed to get out this week and remove all the Christmas lights from the shrubs in front of the house. The ground is a little too soggy yet for raking but that will come. This was followed by digging out all the spring decor from the basement. Not all of it is in place yet but I'm home the next two days so hopefully I'll have a chance to finish. Although we have had some lovely spring weather recently I haven't put the winter sweaters away just yet. When I left for work this morning there was a dusting of snow on the ground again and today's high wasn't much above zero.
I also found time to give my blog an Easter look. Think it's too much?

In keeping with the spring theme I put aside some of my other stitching and got started yesterday on a bunny ornament from the Prairie Schooler's Farm Fresh leaflet. I managed to get a fair amount done and plan on sticking with this project for the next few days. The light wasn't too bright when I took this pic so I'll post another later this week. The fabric is a pretty little 16 ct Aida Silkweaver Solo.I'm also waiting for the PS Just Hatched leaflet which I won in an ebay auction this week. I'd love to do up a few of these ornies which are finished using an egg shaped template. PS patterns are such an easy and relaxing stitch which is just what I needed. For some reason I just can't seem to get back to stitching on my Mirabilia Easter Fairy. I've totally lost interest in this one and I'm not sure why. It's a pretty pattern but my interest isn't piqued at all. Originally I thought the Stitch a Mirabila SAL would get me motivated but it just isn't happening. Which reminds me that I've been very neglectful in checking on the blog lately.
The increased pressures of work have resulted in fatigue which leaves me with very little motivation for either blogging or stitching when I get home at night. I've returned to reading for a bit and generally end up falling asleep shortly after picking up the book!



I've mentioned before that I often accompany my husband to his rehearsals and sit and stitch to pass the time while listening to the music. One of the violinists on the church's recital series, Mary Pat, would often join me while she took a break just to see what new piece I was stitching on. She mentioned that she used to cross stitch and Teresa Wentzler was one of her favourite designers however she had to give up stitching because of her poor eyesight. Recently she emailed me to tell me that she still had a few cross stitch supplies that she no longer needed and asked if I would be interested in having them. I expressed my interest so she dropped them off to Bob at the church with a note telling me to dispose of anything I didn't want. She had told me she still had some leftover DMC floss but imagine my surprise when I opened one large bag and found this!

Somehow this wasn't what I pictured when she said leftover floss! She doesn't have every colour but it's darn close. I was blown away! Besides the floss there was some Aida fabric, needles, hoops, beads, a couple of TW patterns and a fabric which I wasn't familiar with called Colored Linen Duck by Regency Mills in a 28ct peach and pink. Pretty pastels. Thank you so much Mary Pat for your generosity! She's refused to accept anything from me for all this so I think that instead I'll stitch up a pinkeep for her. I've found a freebie patten by Windy Willows called Amitié that will fit the bill. I found this site through a link on Laura's blog. She has links to several French blogs and it was on one of those that I learned of Windy Willows. Check it out, I love seeing what new blogs she's discovered.

Now I'm off to heat the kettle for a cuppa Chai tea, my favourite, and then settle in for some serious stitching. Have a great week everyone!

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?!

Rainy day stitching

It's been an absolutely miserable day here today with high winds and lots of rain. Now as the temperature is dropping, the fog is settling in. A perfect day for stitching. This was a day off for me since I have to work this weekend and with no other plans for the day I settled in for a day with Cirque des Cercles. The day has passed fairly quickly and I'm amazed at the progress I've made. You don't realize just how much you've accomplished until you compare before and after pics. When I looked at my last photo and then at today's I was really pleased at my progress. Mind you I did work on this briefly on a couple of other occasions but the bulk of the stitching was done today. I'm on the last page now and the finish line is in sight!

Here are the before and after pics.

Amazing what you can accomplish when you have a day of stitching without being disturbed!

Yesterday I tried to stitch several times but was always interrupted by a certain little kitty jumping onto my lap and grabbing at the floss. Today however my DH was home and kept her occupied this morning and this afternoon she was all tuckered out. She's been sleeping now for about 2 1/2 hrs. I'm starting to get some better pictures of her now that she's not as skittish. It's just like having kids around again!

During the past couple of weeks I've been fortunate enough to have received two different awards from fellow bloggers. Both are friendship awards.

The first is from Blueberry Heart who is a new blogging friend.

The second is from Suzanne whose blog I regularly visit.

As stated on Suzanne's blog:

'These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon's of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines.'

Thank you ladies! I'm very touched by both these awards. I've made so many new friends through the world of blogging and stitching. I can't imagine what it would be like without all of you now. Friendship is a true blessing. I know that both of these awards require that you pass them along to other blogs but I can't imagine just picking 6 or 8 friends and leaving the rest out! If you're reading this post now consider yourself tagged and award yourself. You are all very special as far as I'm concerned!!

I think that I will have very few days of stitching like this in the next few months. Our lab is due for accreditation in May and any spare time will be spent getting things in order. I'm in charge of point of care testing (POCT) which involves any bedside lab testing such as the use of glucose meters for monitoring blood sugar. This will be my first accreditation since I have taken charge in this area and there is a lot of unfinished work yet. I expect to be working several hours of overtime in the next few months because there is just not enough time during the general work day in which to get everything completed.

My stitching might suffer but then again it might not. Most of this work cannot be done from home and I'll be needing a stress outlet more than ever! Fatigue might be the only deterrent to stitching. So if you find I'm not posting or commenting as much you'll know why. It definitely won't be forever. Perhaps things will go much more smoothly than I anticipate after all, I do tend to panic, lol! There's always hope!