Good morning all! I just put in the final stitches of Blackbird Designs' "Something Sweet" last evening. Now, I'll have to say... I think this was my favorite stitch ever! Don't you love that giant violet hugging the creamy, yellow house? There was just something so calming about it...Not sure if it was the colors or the sentiment, but watching it appear on the fabric was such a pleasant experience. I ended up stitching it on a cream colored 28 ct. evenweave with the suggested WDW and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads. I did change the wording from "I looked for something sweet to send you, the violets asked if they would do," to "I looked for something sweet for you, the violets asked if they would do." It just sounded more like something I would say and since this is a gift, I wanted it to sound like me talking.
"Something Sweet" was one of those pieces that was stitching up so easily, that I kept thinking to myself: "Something is going to go wrong." Well, it did... As I rounded the final corner in the upper left, it became clear that the borders were not going to meet up properly. I'm sure you've experienced that sense of panic! Would I have to re-stitch the entire piece? What on earth did I do wrong? Well, it turned out I was one stitch off on the entire left border--just a simple counting mistake that was easily remedied by ripping out that side of the border and moving it one stitch to the left. Whew!! Crisis averted! I can't wait to get it framed and see my dearest friend's face when she sees it... Thank you again, sweet Kim for passing along this lovely chart to me...
Just look at these lovely fabrics that Barbara gifted me with. I answered a question on her blog and the next thing you knew, these beauties appeared in my mailbox. I think she knows my love of ornament stitching and I can assure her that these will be perfect for backing future ornaments or pillows. Thank you so very much, Barbara--you are so thoughtful and kind :)
Thank you all for your comments on my bird nest photos from my previous post. As you can see, the baby cardinals hatched! I was so excited when I saw the little fluff balls in the nest that I ran right outside to photograph them. They thought my camera was their mother coming to feed them and whenever I held it over the nest, they craned their necks upward hoping for a bit of squishy worm to eat.
I enjoyed watching the mother (and occasionally the father) cardinal feed them for the next few days, but one morning I awoke to the most awful sight. The birds were gone and in the branches below the nest lay one single lifeless, little body. Clearly, a raccoon or some other animal had gotten to them. My thoughts immediately went to the poor mother cardinal and what she must have been going through when she returned to the nest to feed them and found her little brood destroyed. So sad... I know it's the whole "circle of life" thing, but I still felt badly. I was really hoping to see the little things grow up and fly away...
Here's a question for you... Do your friends, families, co-workers, etc. know that you have a blog? I've been thinking about this, because I saw an old friend last week who asked me how I'd been keeping busy. I mentioned work, reading (a very enjoyable book called The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott), and stitching, but I didn't mention blogging. I really hesitate to share the fact that I have a blog with anyone but my closest family members. Not sure why... Are any of you that way? Or do all of your co-workers and acquaintances know that you blog?
In honor of the lovely shades of violet that I used to stitch "Something Sweet," I'll leave you with a few images of the purple, violet, and lavender hued flowers that have we've been treated to this spring. Aren't they glorious?
I want to say a special "Welcome" to each of my new readers and followers and simply thank you all for your visit today... I truly appreciate each comment and email that I receive. You're the best :)
