Peep, Peep!

Hello everyone! Hope you've each had a great week and that you're enjoying this lovely spring weather. Who can resist this cheery, little chick? I began working on her two weeks ago because I really needed a break from stitching that huge mansion in Block #4 of my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. Have any of you ever stitched these Valerie Pfeiffer chicks before? They have very unusual fractional and straddled stitches in the charts along with a lot of blended needles. They are very time consuming to stitch because you really have to study the chart, but I think that is what makes the chicks look so realistic. "Gardener Chick" is stitched on 32 ct. white Jobelan using the recommended DMC threads. This is the second chick I've stitched--(the first was the Christmas chick that I stitched last year). I think I'll simply frame this one with a simple black frame...


Last month, I lent a chart to Tricia over at the Simply Stamping blog through "Inter-Stitcher Loan." Imagine my surprise when she returned not only my chart, but included this darling pin pillow as well. As I told Tricia, she could not have made a more perfect choice for me since my favorite color is blue, my house is decorated in mostly blue and white and yellow, and I collect rabbits! Didn't she do a great job on it? She took a portion of the Prairie Schooler "Welcome Spring" chart and adapted it for this tiny pillow. And how about that darling card? Check out her site for more examples of her beautiful and creative cards. Thank you so very much, Tricia--I just love it!

As I've mentioned before, we have a pond at the back of our yard that attracts all sorts of wildlife... Ducks visit it each year--always in pairs. Well, a few weeks ago we noticed that only the male or female would visit at any given time, so my husband speculated that they must have a nest somewhere and the missing mallard was sitting on the eggs. I woke up Thursday morning to see both ducks preening by the pond and worried that something had happened to the nest. Imagine my surprise when I looked out after lunch and saw the mother in the grass next to the pond surrounded by nine peeping chicks! Of course, the first thing I did was to grab my camera and run out to photograph them... I wish you could all see how cute they are! They're just little brown and yellow fluff balls, but, boy, can they swim quickly. It would be nice if my camera and camera skills were better, but you can click on the photos for a bigger image:

"Now, my little chicks, it's time for your
first lesson in pond etiquette."

"Aw, mom, we want to swim underneath the
waterfall! Please mom, please, please?!"
"Hurry, let's get away from that crazy stitcher who
wants to photograph us for her blog!!"

I thought this mother duck and her chicks were just so perfect for this Mother's Day weekend--it really makes me smile to watch her guarding her babies so carefully. I am very blessed to have my own amazing mom... At almost 83, she just got her first computer and is now emailing and reading my blog! So, mom, I wish you the happiest of Mother's Days. Wish I could be with you, and I hope you know how much I love and treasure you...

Happy Mother's Day! And, as always, I want to thank you, my friends, for stopping in and taking time out of your busy schedules to leave a comment... I love hearing from each of you!