My TUSAL Jar Overfloweth

Here it is, the end of 2012.  I've had a very busy but fun year and the past couple of weeks have been no exception.  I went home to visit my family in Wisconsin over Christmas which was wonderful.  We had a very nice holiday together!  I've also been working on some projects around the house during the time I've had off.  I didn't get quite as far as I had hoped on some of them but I did make a lot of progress! 

You can also see that my TUSAL jar for the year is quite literally overflowing!  It's been a year full of stitching too and as I look back at the pieces that I've finished and framed it's really fun to see.  I have no idea how I managed to finish all that I did though.  With as busy as I've been with work, the dog and friends, I certainly don't feel like I've had a ton of time to stitch.  Tomorrow is a new year though and I will be emptying this jar and starting fresh collecting ORT's for 2013.  If you'd like to play the TUSAL game in 2013 just visit this link to Daffycat's blog. 

I've also been stitching a little over my break.  I worked on Christmas Garden, which was my Thanksgiving start.  Here's my current progress on it. 

 

I'm almost done so am tempted to go ahead and pick it back up and finish it, there are probably only a few evenings worth of stitching left here so perhaps this will be my first 2013 finish!  When I was in Wisconsin my Mom and I visited the Country Sampler in Spring Green.  They had this hanging on the wall, and it is such a difference to see it stitched as charted (huge) and mine that is tiny on 40 count linen.   

I probably would have finished this already except that I've been totally distracted by Frances Pool, the latest release by With thy Needle and Thread.  This was my Christmas start this year. 

 

I started this piece on Christmas Eve day and was able to get the flowers, red border and part of the outer border done.  Now that I'm on the border I will probably continue until it meets up and then go back to Christmas Garden.

Or... Maybe I'll work on this...


This is Ruth Bacheler by the Scarlett Letter.  I'll be stitching it on 40 count Vintage Buttercream linen.  I joined Nicola's Scarlett Letter Year challenge so this fits right into the challenge.  Plus, I was completely enabled by a few friends who are also starting this piece.  This is supposed to be my New Year challenge, only I read in the pattern that the Irish stitches and Satin stitches are all done with 2 threads.  I panicked a bit so started with one pennant and found that the cotton floss on 40 count linen using two threads is no big deal!

So, that's that, I have these three projects plus the smalls for my SGR project going for a total of FOUR projects at once!  That is a new record for me!! 

Thanks for dropping by to visit my blog, may you and your family have a safe and prosperous New Year!!

Jen

Merry Christmas Garden!

Here's my latest progress on Christmas Garden.  She's coming along so nicely if I do say so.  After I finished the strawberry border, I went ahead and stitched the alphabet at the bottom and now I'm back to just stitching away at the various motifs. 

Christmas Garden

I've started to think a little about frames for this piece and what I might want.  That means I'm also thinking about where I might hang it.  Since I didn't stitch the words Christmas Garden and instead used Katrina's idea of putting an alphabet in it's place it can hang year round.  But, that means I have to decide where it will go.  I seem to have a growing collection of samplers with red in them so I'm thinking that I may create a samppler wall with all red samplers. 

Thanks for stopping by and may you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Done with Strawberries

Yay, the strawberry border is finished!  I must say that I'm really enjoying this piece!  It's so fun and easy to stitch since you can work one or two motifs at a time and then set it down.  That's nice during this busy time of year to have a fun and easy piece to work on! 

Christmas Garden

 

December TUSAL

Here's my TUSAL update for December.  This is a top view of my TUSAL jar with ORT's from all year.  You can tell that I'm stitching with silk because the ORT's are straight.  When I use cotton those bits of threads tend to be curly.  Just something interesting that I've noticed by doing this challenge this year. 

You can read more about the TUSAL challenge on Daffycat's blog here.  You can join in at anytime and I'm hopeful that she'll host another TUSAL challenge for next year!

This darling pincushion shown in the photo with my TUSAL jar is a gift from my good friend Katrina.  Earlier this year, I stitched several Mary Little pincushions, one of them was for Katrina and at our sampler guild meeting last weekend she brought me this sweet sampler pincushion for my basket!  I love it, thank you so much Katrina!  This makes me want to get out a couple little pincushion projects that I have kitted up and stitch my brains out during my Christmas break from work! 

I've been plugging away at the border of Christmas Garden over the last couple of days and here's where I'm at with it, over half way done with the strawberries.  Yay! 

Christmas Garden by Blackbird Designs

And, here's a close up of my Christmas Garden with my Sexy Black Dovo Scissors for scale.  I originally bought a conversion to silk that used this linen, the linen was in a bag that said 36 ct. Vintage Navy Bean but this is so tiny that it must be 40 count.  And, the silk conversion was all to shades of brown so I changed the whole thing to be pretty bright colors more in keeping with the original colors of the sampler.  That will teach me not to buy a conversion to silk sight unseen!! 
Lastly, here's a close up of the pincushion, I just had to show it to you again.  Isn't it sweet?  I just absolutely love it! 

A Christmas Garden Update

Just a quick update on my Christmas Garden progress.  I've made quite a bit of progress since my last post, finishing up the border vine and gold dividing bands. 

Having the border partially done is stressing me out so I'm thinking of working on all those little strawberries in the border to have the border done and have more pink in the piece. 

I've jumped around a bit but am enjoying stitching this and I think that once I get the border done and can focus on the motifs I'll really enjoy it!

I'll be back later in the week with a TUSAL update and will iron the wrinkles out of this piece to show my progress then.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Spring Mini Catalog Is Here!

A Thanksgiving Start

Here is my new start for Thanksgiving, this is Christmas Garden by Blackbird Designs.  I didn't used to be someone that needed to mark an occasion with a new start but I was ready for a new project so saved it for Thanksgiving day. 

I'm stitching this with silks on 36 ct. Vintage Navy Bean linen by Lakeside linens.  I originally purchased this as a silk conversion but changed three of the four colors to suit my tastes so I think I'm calling it my own conversion now.  So, since I was playing with colors and ripped a brown and a gold before settling on this combination I needed to do more than just the border.  I'm happy to have done so too, it's fun to work on the motifs as well as the border. 

I will probably continue like this, working to finish the border but popping in some motifs from time to time too. 

I hope that everyone reading this had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  My parents were in town for a few days over the holiday and we had a really nice visit and holiday weekend!  I just didn't even think about taking a photo of us all together!  Oh well!  Thanks for dropping by, I'll be back with more progress soon! 

JM Gardner Finish

JM Gardner stitched on 35 ct. R&R Abecedarian Blend Linen

I've finished JM Gardner, a super fast, super fun sampler from With thy Needle and Thread.  I absolutely loved this sampler when she came out and she was such a joy to stitch!  I really should have been doing some stitching for my sampler guild's ongoing project but am so happy that I snuck this little girl in here first.  Isn't she pretty?? 

I've also been doing a little framing and home decorating lately.  A few weeks back I framed my Paradise Lost (finally, I've had the frame since Mother's day).  I've hung her in the guest room over the headboard that I made from two old shutters.  I am thrilled with how this came out!  I just bolted the shutters together and then mounted the headboard on the wall using hardware to hang a chalk board or dry erase board (I found the hardware at my local Home Depot).  It was super easy and I'm so proud of doing the project myself and so happy with how it all turned out!  Now, I just need to make the quilt I'm thinking of for this bed and paint the wall.  :D

Thanks for stopping by!  Jen

November TUSAL and a JM Gardner Update

It's time for my November TUSAL report.  Don't know what a TUSAL is?  Go to this post by Daffycat to find out and to come play with us!

Some days I feel like all I do on this blog is report my monthly TUSAL but I've been trying to be better!  Actually, I've done a bunch of stitching and framing lately that I need to share on here but haven't taken the time yet to photograph it yet.  You might notice that I've got a bunch of red threads at the top here, that's all from JM Gardner, I'm a bit farther along than in the picture below and should have a finish to show you soon!  Now it's time for my monthly squish the TUSAL threads to push them farther down in the jar so I can keep stitching and filling this jar again.  It's good that the year is almost up since this jar is getting pretty full! 

I've been stitching and stitching and stitching on JM Gardner by With thy Needle and Thread lately.  I started this little sampler when I was visiting my parents at the end of October and even though I haven't had a ton of time to stitch since getting home when I have I've just been devouring JM Gardner.  She stitched such a pretty sampler and it is such a fun stitch!

Here is the last progress pic that I took, I've gotten some of the red in and should have a finish to report and show you soon!  We had our guild meeting last weekend and my friend Katrina and I are both stitching this sampler, her linen is a darker tan where mine is more on the beige side so our samplers look totally different!  she inspired me to change the reds so they were less rusty and more pinky-red.  However, we looked at some teals since we both loved the look of this with just the greens and tans stitched.  In the end though I decided to go with the pinky-reds so I could eventually hang this with a collection of mostly red samplers.  Stay tuned for a finish soon! 

JM Gardner Start

Due to a friend who emailed me practially the moment that the JM Gardner chart was available, I got swept up in the frenzy and I have now started this charming and adorable little sampler! 

I had been thinking about starting BBD Christmas Garden next but figured that this little gem won't take very long.  This is my progress after just a few days with needle in hand. 

When I was home the other weekend a friend asked me if I was tending to stitch the border first now.  I hadn't really thought about it except that I have done every sampler with a border this way since stitching Mary Roe this spring.  I guess I just like knowing that the border will match (or where I'd have to fudge in the case of Ann Sandles).  Plus the border is boring and then I have all the fun stuff left!  So, I guess I am starting with borders and then doing the rest now but I don't know that I'm always going to stitch this way! 

A Long Overdue Update!

The last two posts I've made have been my monthly TUSAL updates, so all you've seen from me in awhile is all the ORT's that I've generated but not what I've been stitching on to generate those ORT's.  So, here's an update of all the stitching that I've been up to! 

First off, I finished By My Hand by Barrick Samplers.  I personalized it a bit and now it's off at the framer's who has a stunning frame picked out for it.  I can't wait to show you! 

Next up was Margaret Cottam.  She was a really fun stitch and perfect for fall with those rich jewel toned colors.  I must admit, I didn't have any plans to stitch her but then I saw one stitched up in person and fell in love.  I took progress pics along the way, so here is Margaret Cottam. 

Margaret Cottam was stitched on 35 ct. WDW Cocoa with the called for threads.  All I did was pick a tighter weave so she'd be a little smaller (and so I'd only have to use one thread to stitch with).  I was back in Wisconsin last weekend and picked out a fabulous frame for her at Lynn's of Madison. 

I've obviously been stitching a bunch and just too busy to post.  One of the reasons I've been so busy lately is that Sage and I are in the process of becoming a certified pet therapy team at one of the local hospitals.  We spent three weeks in class and are now doing paperwork and tests to finish our certification.  Here we are graduating from the program!  Next we will get certified through TD, Inc as a team and I will complete the volunteer training at the hospital and then we'll start visiting patients.  I'm looking forward to having my rescue dog help others in need! 

October TUSAL

Wow, I'm not sure what happend.  I know I'm way late for a Blog update but I guess I've been so busy lately I just haven't gotten around to it.  So, here's a quick October TUSAL shot for you.  It's still not too late to join into the TUSAL craze, just go to this post to sign up and start playing! 

Since my last blog update I've finished up on By My Hand, you can see those threads just above the ribbon and started on Margaret Cottam.  That's what all the brown and red threads are on the top of the pile.  I've actually made great progress on Margaret and am enjoying stitching her.  She's a quick stitch and a great fall project.  Watch for another update later in the week and I'll show you my progress pics of her! 

Thanks for visiting!

Jen

September TUSAL

Well, as usual I'm a few days late for my TUSAL post, see below that for a current snap of my jar.  After finishing Ann Sandles I was really unsure what I wanted to start next and then I realized that I had started "By My Hand" back in July too during my girl's weekend away with friends.  I picked that up the other weekend to stitch on during our Sampler Guild meeting and was immediately hooked again.  Here is where I am as of today. 

Just the deer and the words left and of course I think I'm going to personalize the words on this one.  Just need to find my graph paper to chart out what I want to use.  This has really gone quickly and I must say that I'm in love with working with silk again. 

I used to be one of the people who just couldn't justify paying more for silk but it's really because I didn't know what I was missing.  I like the overdyed cotton and of course I stitched my Elizabeth Sheffield all in DMC and love how that turned out.  But, the thickness and feel of silk just can't be beat.  And, the difference is obvious in my TUSAL jar.  If you look close you can see the thicker strands of silk on the top of the jar and right below it the thinner, curly layers of overdyed cotton.  Both have their place in my opinion but for a piece that I just want to love to stitch there's nothing like the feel of silk! 

Even though it's September it's still not too late to play along with the TUSAL game.  Just go to this post to sign up and to get started! 

 

Ann Sandles Finish

I was able to finish Ann Sandles last week.  Here she is, next will be to pick out a frame for her.

Things have been busy at work and outside of work so I'm just getting around to posting again.  I can't say that I loved stitching this piece mostly because of the repetitive border.  But, I do like it and it was a perfect piece for me these last few weeks since I could pick it up or put it down rather easily when I had time to stitch here and there. 

I'm now working my way through a pile of pieces that need framing, most of which I have the frames and just need to find the time to lace up.  I got out a couple of them to add my initials when I finished Ann Sandles and you can see that my little helper thought that they looked like a cozy spot to cuddle up on! 

Ann Sandles and a late TUSAL

Wow, I can't believe that it's been so long since I updated my blog!  It sure has been a busy few weeks though!  A few weeks ago I visited my best friend Jen for a long weekend of laughs, camping and whatever we happened to feel like doing!  We even took her camper and went out to the Portland coast for a night.

Here I am at the coast with her pup who seems to think our shoes looked like fun toys!  You can see that it was very windy and we were glad we started into the wind instead of going for a long walk and having to fight the wind the whole way back! 

While traveling I worked on the strawberries in Ann Sandles.  I was able to get the border done (I left the "hats" off the tops of the strawberries) and also the house so all that is left is the A&E section.  I am thinking of making one of the dogs look like Sage since I've already strayed away from it being a true reproduction. 

And, even though I'm super late in doing so I'm still going to post my August TUSAL.  It's not too late to jump into TUSAL 2012, just go to this post in order to sign up and play along! 

I'm afraid that you won't see much change in the level of thread in the jar for next month as I haven't stitched at all since I took this picture a week ago.  Just too busy with other things I guess!

And, not that it's bad that I've been too busy, it's all been fun!  I've completed a few home improvement projects that were on my list, spent time with friends and I have my grandpa here for a visit now.  It sure is nice to have him be able to come out to visit!

The other thing that I've been busy with is Sage.  Not that it will come as a surprise to anyone but we have been super busy and our latest adventure finds us as new members of the Dog Scouts of America.  I'm sure some of you reading this may wonder what the heck that is.  Well, I will admit that I did too when I first heard about it.  I meaning earning badges with your dog?  Well, why not?  I don't have kids to do girl and boy scouts with so why not join an organization that promotes positive training and allows you to get recognition for teaching your dog new things.  Plus it is really fun!!  We've already passed 5 agility badges and last night I heard that we passed her merit badge test to become an official dog scout and add the DSA after her name.  The best part about dog scouts is spending time with other people who are into doing fun things with their dogs!  I'll post more soon about this, either here or over on my dog blog. 

So, that's what I've been up to lately!  I hope to get Ann Sandles done in the next couple weeks so I can start something new! 

 

Finished Smalls

I won't keep you in suspense any longer, here is what was in those wrapped packages. 
Didn't they turn out wonderfully??  My finisher Deb really does an amazing job!!

I also have a little progress on Ann Sandles to show you.
She's a bit wrinkly but has been a fun stitch through the Olympics.  I obvously won't have her finished by the closing ceremony but I've really enjoyed this little sampler so far.  I did make one change, I changed the white thread used for the lettering to GA Straw Bonnet from my stash.  I found that the lambswool just didn't show up very well even on the darker linen so I just swapped it out for something that suited me a bit better.  I am already looking ahead to what's next to stitch.  Both Ann Priest and Lucy Redd are calling to me right now so they're sitting out waiting for me to finish this Ann! 

A New Technique

I don't have a ton to show you today, but I did start to learn a new technique at Wednesday's EGA meeting.  One of our members is very proficient at Temari and she is teaching us how to make them at our August and September meetings.  This month we learned how to make the mari, or the ball itself starting from rice hulls.  I have a bit more wrapping to do on mine but am starting to make progress.  How I will finish this with a dog and two cats who shed is beyond me! 

An interesting piece of information, I've often heard of these referred to a Temari Balls.  But, the word Temari means hand ball so if you say Temari Ball you're really saying "hand ball ball".  Now I'll know better!  It's been a fun technique so far and I can't wait to do the wrapping with bright colors! 

I also received a couple fun packages this week, one of them contained the following three items.
Stay tuned to see what these contain, you can kind of tell through the tissue paper if you look closely!  Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Olympic Stitching

Like many of you, I decided to start a new project for the Olympics.  I wanted to stitch on something patriotic so I chose "One Nation" by ByGone Stitches.  I changed the threads and my local shop had a beautiful piece of 40 ct. R&R 18th Century Blackbird.  The only problem?  The piece would only fit if I stitched it over one.  So, that's what I decided to do! 

One Nation, stitched on 40 ct. 18th Century Blackbird Linen, over one

I just love how the colors look on this linen and the advantage of over one on this size is only needing half a cross!  Yay!  I had a friend over for the opening ceremonies so I cooked a Portabello, Bacon and Spinach risotto and we stitched and I started this.  I had to use the magnifier on my Dazor.  It was dusty, I haven't had to use it in years...  Oh well, it's going to be pretty when I finish it! 

I had hoped to at least get the outline of the stripes done during the games but I'm finding that it's tough to stitch on something this tiny and switch between stitching and watching TV.  So, I've set it aside and my new Olympic stitching project is Ann Sandles!

Ann Sandles, stitched on 36 ct. Lakeside Vintage Meadow Rue

Ah, much better!  And, now that I have a little color in her she's proving to be so much fun to stitch!  I think she'll go pretty quickly (except for the 24 strawberries inthe border).  I don't know that I'll finish her during the games but I'll sure enjoy stitching on her! 

I'm getting ready to do some framing, my frame for Mary Roe should arrive next week and I still need to lace up my Paradise Lost plus I'm sending a few things out for their frames including Mary Ann Blackburn and Grace Bridges.  So, I decided to press everything and it is fun to see all my recent stitching piled up on the bed together.  My Mom has already offered to take some of it off my hands if I have too much!  LOL, nice try Mom!!  (In the picture below, Paradise Lost is upside down, just in case you're wondering why it looks a bit funny here.)

Grace Bridges Finish

Here she is, finished and in all her glory...

Grace Bridges sampler by Stacy Nash, stitched with the Attic conversion to silk on 36 ct. Lakeside Vintage Examplar linen

I absolutely loved stitching this sampler!  Even the house wasn't that bad, it just was a week or so of stitching and stitching and stitching to get all those bricks!

I had a comment about the brick stitch and what it is in my last post.  All I did to get this effect was to stitch little bricks, I started at the top and stitched four stitches over, went down a row and stitched four stitches back.  That way I would end up with a "brick" that is four stitches wide by two tall.  I'd jump over and stitch another brick somewhere else and eventually work my way back.  I offset the rows of bricks by a half brick (two stitches) as well.  I stitched this in little sections and the varigation in the thread makes the bricks look like slightly different colors. It took a little thought but is a nice break from the stripey look and I just love how it turned out! 

A New Start and a Weekend Away

Last weekend several friends and I took a trip up to Breckenridge, CO for a weekend away and to celebrate a birthday.  It's only a couple hour drive from home and was such a fun and relaxing getaway weekend!  With all the stress this spring and summer a girl's weekend was just what the doctor ordered!  And, the weather cooperated with us too!  Instead of being oppressively hot and sunny like it has been at home, it was cool and rainy for part of our weekend which made for perfect stitching weather! 

We drove up Friday afternoon and Theresa and I were the first to arrive.  We sat out on the deck, admired the view and had fun going through each others stash while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.  Here was our view from the deck.

 
We had such fun stitching out here on the deck and later in the day listening to the thunder rumble it's way in!  I worked a little on Grace Bridges on Friday evening and again Saturday morning.  I'm getting close to a finish on this one!  Here is my current progress.

Grace Bridges, silks on 36 ct. Lakeside Vintage Examplar

Sorry for the wrinkles and the light shining on the left side of the piece.  Oh well!  The next time I show this it should be finished!  Just the window outlining and one more peacock left!  I was really hoping to get this piece done by today so I could start a new piece for the olympics.  But, it won't be done and I'm going to start an Olympic piece anyway!  That means I'll have four pieces going...

During our girls' weekend, some of us decided to start new projects.  I was going to start One Nation which is going to be my Olympic stitching project but I've had an older Barrick Designs chart kitted up and ready to go.  It's called "By My Hand" and I just love it because it has two funky deer on it, it's very cute!

 

By My Hand, silks on 40 ct. Lakeside Vintage Buttercream

I was able to get the border in and start on the inside.  Alas, I've set this aside now to work on Grace Bridges and of course will be starting One Nation for the Olympics.  Maybe I'll sneak some work on Grace to get her finished up, maybe I'll work only on One Nation and maybe this piece and Ann Sandles will get some attention too.  I don't know how those of you with a WIP rotation keep up!  LOL!  I guess you'll just have to tune in and see what gets stitched on!! 

Doing a Happy Dance, the Gold House is Done!

Happy Dance, happy dance, I'm so happy to be done with the gold house!  In reality this took me a little over a week to finish (my blog posts are off a bit this last week) and the bricks were kind of fun to do but I'm so glad that I'm done with the house and can move on to the rest of the sampler!  I hope the rest of it goes quickly, I have some Olympic stitching to get to! 

TUSAL and a Gold House Update

Here's my July TUSAL update.  You can see from the photos that I've been stitching, stitching, stitching away on that gold house with all the gold at the top.  Each month after I take my TUSAL photo I squish the threads down to the bottom and it's fun to take a close look to see where different project are.  For example, I can see where I did the Briar Rose Etui because of all the pinks and greens in that section of the jar.  I wonder if I'll be able to mark my progress through the rest of the year by the layer of gold from this gold house!

If you're interested in playing along in the TUSAL game, you can join at anytime, just click on the TUSAL post and sign yourself up! 

Speaking of gold house, here is an update on Grace Bridges.  You can see that I'm finally nearing the end of the gold house, yay!!
I'm using a "Brick Stitch" as Jean from Attic Needlework called it.  I'm using the variation in the overdyed thread to stitch little bricks.  I thought since this house is so big it might be a nice change from the stripey look that normally comes with overdyed threads.  I've been working my way through the house in sections with the bricks so there's a little less traveling of threads on the back.  I am really enjoying how this is turning out!  I'm playing catch up on my blog but this is about a week's worth of work on the house and a few more days and I hope to have the house done.  I think that the rest of the sampler will then go very quickly!!

A Much Needed Break

Wow, where to begin, it's been a busy couple weeks!  My sister and I drove home with our dogs for a week.  It was such a nice break from my crazy busy life here in Colorado but it's also nice to be home too!  Here's a picture of me, my mom and sister out on the boat with the dogs.

 
While home in Wisconsin I of course got to go to Lynn's and I spent 2 hours there, I think my family was ready to send out a search party!!  But, I had such a good time!  Jean who works there had just finished stitching Susan Rambo so we were looking at frames for that and also for my Mary Roe.  I did a little shopping for charts and then Jean and I pulled a conversion to overdyed threads for Dutch Beauty.  I guess this means that I'm going to stitch on Dutch Beauty!!  It was really fun! 

Also while I was at Lynn's we looked at other options for the gold house in Grace Bridges and found a really pretty BS Pecan Pie.  I tried that and it was the perfect blend of a light gold but still being gold enough for my taste.  Here's a picture of Grace with the new gold in the chimneys and a little in the house itself.

 
By the time I finished that much I needed a break from this sampler (and I admit that I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of that whole house) so I did something that is uncharacteristic for me and started a second project.  Here's my start on Ann Sandles. 

I'm stitching Ann on 36 count Vintage Meadow Rue and don't have much to show yet except how I zig zagged my way through the border to get all the way around.  I tend not to love borders like this so I like to get them out of the way.  My sister was nice enough to drive a big stretch on the way home so I could get the borders to meet.  Yay!  As of this writing the border outline is done but that's as far as I've gotten.  Ann is going to be a fun sampler to stitch once I get the flowers in the border done and can move on to the inside. 

Sorry for all the wrinkles in my photos!  I'm using some Belle Soie silks on Grace which I've seen run so I'm waiting to iron her until she's done but really I'm just too lazy to fire up the iron for every post.  If I had to do that I'd probably never post on this blog! 

The rest of our vacation was nice.  It was hot and humid while we were home so we couldn't spend as much time outside as we would have liked but it was nice just to spend the time together as a family.  I'll leave you with a photo of me playing ping pong with my Dad.  We had some helpers while playing, one who thought it looked like a fun game and the other who figured if there was barking going on then she should probably bark too!   :)
 

 

An Update on Miss Grace

I've been able to make a good amount of progress on Grace Bridges this week but am starting that huge house so I'm likely to slow down a bit now.  I started the roof and put some different colors in for the chimneys, one is the gold called for in the conversion and one is a brighter gold.  I'm not sure which I like best yet so I may just finish the roof and work around the house for now until I decide.  She sure is a fun sampler to stitch with many more fun motifs to come! 

If you follow my adventures with my dog Sage, you know that we've been having fun with Agility.  I'll be the first to admit that we have a long way to go before thinking about going to a trial.  But, it's such a good activity for us.  First of all, it wears Sage out both mentally and physically so she's content and good (and so I can actually get some stitching time in).  Also, it's just a lot of fun!!  So, to practice more often and improve our skills I've gotten a few pieces of equipment to practice in the backyard with.  Well, our tunnel arrived and we have had fun playing in it so far.  You'll notice that it's purple, one of my favorite colors.   Go Sage go!!  :D