May 6, 2026

Man, these girls sure have landed in high cotton. They have a human who feeds them, cleans their litter box, and makes sure all their needs are met. 

This is a frequent view around here. Claudette on her throne, and Crystal not far away. They look so comfy, I often wish there was room there for me. (Not really, but you get the idea.)

Work went particularly well yesterday. We were really busy, and by the time I got back home, I just wanted to relax the rest of the evening. I took a cue from the little girls.

Today's another day. I harvested some rhubarb before dark last night because we were warned about freezing temps overnight. I'm going to make a dish of rhubarb crisp and a batch of rhubarb scones. 

I'm going to wire the lower wings for my Monarch, too. I'll be back tomorrow to share what I get accomplished!

May 5, 2026

Enough of This...

Sister, Jan hosted a ZenDoodle session yesterday afternoon. It looked like fun, so I thought I'd give it a go. Don't look too close. It's a mess.

I sent a message to her and asked, "Is this supposed to be fun?" She laughed.

I admitted that perhaps I was too hasty in my assessment so I'd try the second design. No. I was right the first time. The second one was even harder than the first, and I'd only drawn on half my page!

I finished the rest of the page with the relaxing doodle I've done since junior high school. Once I'd covered the page, I declared that ZenDoodle was in no way "zen" for me. I'm going to stick to needlework, thanks.

It's Tuesday, so I'll be leaving for work soon. Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow.

May 4, 2026

Wiring My Wings...


I completed the wire edges for the upper wings over the weekend. Next, I'll cover the wires for the lower wings and attach them to the fabric. The wires are kept long and taped to the side during the stitching of the wings because the wires will be attached to the butterfly body when all the stitching is done.


I'm sharing this closeup to show you how the covered wires are stitched to the ground fabric. 

The top of the buttonhole stitch faces the inside of the design. The actual wire sits just outside the drawn wing, and the buttonhole area sits right on the drawn line.

I then sew down through the buttonhole stitch using one strand of black thread. Once all four wing sections are attached, I'll be ready to start the next phase. I'll share all completed wired wings before I begin the stitching.