Busy days!

I haven't posted lately because I've been busy with Sweet Pea, who is getting crazy playful, great fun to watch. And then DH came home from Australia. He'll be here with SP and me till midweek, then he heads down to Vegas to work. I haven't done much stitching while taking care of SP & DH. Today we are going to see Angels & Demons and then out to dinner. Anyway, I probably won't get a stitching post done till late this week.

Sweet Pea

Here is what has been keeping me busy! Miss Sweet Pea came into my home on Sunday. I picked her out at the shelter last week, but she couldn't come home till she had been spayed & chipped. She is a little darling! Very scared though, she had been picked up as a stray and I imagine she had some terrifying times! Until today she mostly stayed behind the washing machine in the laundry room. She's been confined there with all her supplies & equipment! Today she let me pick her up and snuggle her and she got to explore a little more. We'll expand her territory again this afternoon. I expect she'll be all over the house by the end of the week. Hopefully I'll be able to get some better pix.

Six Favorite Things

I got tagged by Carolyn to tell about six little things that make me happy. How do you "tag" someone? Oh, well, I'll list them here:

1. Seeing baby quail in my back yard.

2. Trying a new thread and having it work.

3. Starting to read a new book.

4. Hearing the coyotes.

5. Getting a new dance step right the first time.

6. Spending time with my stitcher friends.

So, now I'm supposed to tag six other people. Uh-Oh, I don't know that many bloggers.

1. Jan
2. Judy

Do you guys want to keep this going?

SOTM Section 4

This afternoon I finally completed the 4th installment of Minieri's Stitch of the Month. I had a really hard time with this one! In the first place, I am not a big fan of couching. In the second place, I did not see that there was a pattern to the couching, and assumed (wrongly) that it was random - I'm not good at random! Anyhow, somewhere along the way I found out there was indeed a pattern, but I had too much finished to start over, so I continued with the random couching. It looks OK, but it sure did take forever!

Vanilla Orchid is Finished

Hurray! Vanilla Orchid is finished! Now I have a couple of other things to work on, but will probably start the White Orchid this weekend.

Vanilla Orchid 3rd Quarter

Oh Boy! Three down, one to go! Finished the left side quarter last night. I think I'll make my goal: This piece will be finished in a day or two. Then I will start the next colorway which will be the White Orchid.

Vanilla Orchid 2nd Quarter

Moving right along! The second quarter of the Vanilla Orchid's background is complete. It is so much fun to stitch because no two quarters are quite the same.

Vanilla Orchid 1st Quarter

I finished the Bargello background for the right quarter of Vanilla Orchid. On to the next quarter. This goes very quickly once the pattern is established. If I work on it everday, I might be able to finish this piece by next week!

Needlepoint Now May/June

Just to let you know, the May/June issue of Needlepoint Now is out. If you haven't received yours yet, it should be in the mail soon. This issue has the third installment of my Bargello series, this one is on Rectangular 4-way. Be sure to check it out! Here's a picture of one.

Also in this issue of NN is Judy Harper's article on adapting children's art to needlepoint, a lovely Marnie Ritter project, Rosalyn Cherry-Soleil's article on masks, and lots more. A jam-packed issue! The Needlepoint Now website has a new, fresh look, check it out at www.needlepointnow.com. There is also a new Needleoint Now blog: http://nneditor.wordpress.com/

I am back in Reno, but still trying to get organized! My office/studio is a pile of projects, threads, books, papers, canvas, yikes! I haven't done too much stitching yet, but should have something to show you in a few days.

Vanilla Orchid 1st Step

I have begun working on the new and improved Vanilla Orchid. Many of you have noticed this design in my slide show. I am hoping to be able to offer this design for sale later this year. I have just finished the flower and now will begin the Bargello background. Then there will be two more colorways! I am working this new version on 18-mesh. This flower is in floss with a touch of Kreinik and the Bargello will be in Silk & Ivory. Stay tuned!

I won't be posting again for about a week. Tomorrow we are driving to Reno and I will be staying there all summer. My husband has to go on a long business trip to Australia and Macao and we wanted to get me settled in Reno before he leaves. So this is an unexpected rush trip! I am packing up most of my needlework stuff to take "home", along with a few clothes, lap top, etc. Then of course it will all have to be UNpacked and put away.

Double Up Progress Report #2

The pilot class for Ro Pace's Double Up stitched together this weekend. It was so fun to see everyone's progress! I had planned to show you a wonderful photograph (LOL) of my progress, but it is so nasty & overcast today(but very warm) that I decided to just lay it on the scanner. You only get a section of it that way, but it is pretty much all of what is stitched except for the outlines. It is coming along, slowly but surely. The next band will have some more aqua in it.