Another UFO...

Of course, I mean an UnFinished Object. I began this one a few years ago, but it's time for me to get it done and out. This is a petit point bouquet my BFF Cyd asked me to complete when her mum passed. She found it among her mum's things. 

I asked her how she wanted it done, and she said, "Finish it any way you want." So far, I've chosen the black background, which I think will really make the petit point stand out. But I'm not sure how to complete it from there. Frame it? Make it into a cushion? I do have time between stitching out the ground and being done. Any and all ideas are welcome. 

My knee is feeling much better. It's still a little tender, but I spent most of the weekend with my leg up, icing/heating and rubbing castor oil/frankincense all over it. I even tired a little frequency healing. It's the first time I've done that, and it's interesting how my knee tingled the entire time, and all I did was put the tone generator near my knee, set to a healing frequency (174 HZ or 285 HZ). I'm sure I'll be fine to work tomorrow, but I'll rest it one more day just to be sure. 

Snow Day Stitching...

I'm Getting There

I sat at the embroidery hoop yesterday, and I can see my progress now. I'm reminded of the story where someone was asked if it's possible to eat an elephant. The answer was yes...one bite at a time. (Sorry for the visuals.)

So, I'm looking at this project as equivalent to eating an elephant. A little at a time, and the next thing you know, I'll be finished. I can't say whether I'm a quarter finished or less, because I still don't know how I'm going to finish this. A circular frame would be the easiest (and least amount of background stitching necessary), but turning it into a cushion would be nice, too.

Do you think this should finish as a circle or as a square? I'm open to suggestions. I still have time to finish it in multiple ways. Let me know what you think.

I'm not going to stitch today. I'm going to be listing up fabrics for my shop, and there might be a little cookie baking in the schedule, too. I'm giving my hands a rest. I was right about the weather change. I went to bed on Wednesday to mild weather and no white stuff. I woke up to something akin to a blizzard! We couldn't see the road, driveway or a blade of grass. I said a lot of naughty words.

I'm hoping Mother Nature has got this out of her system now. Like Tag, I've had enough of winter, and am ready to welcome spring. Any day now would suit me just fine, thank you. 

Be wary, friends. It's April Fools Day!

Little By Little...

I'm making Progress On My Petit Point Bouquet

I got all my tax paperwork assembled and posted to our tax accountant yesterday! Once my work was done, I still had daylight to play! Of course, I sat down at my embroidery frame to work on the petit point canvas. I'm taking your great advice, and working on this in segments to avoid overload.

It was overcast and rainy. The weather change causes my arthritis to flare up a bit, so I could only stitch for an hour or so before my hands hurt. It's okay. It's something I've learned to live with. I take a Tylenol and stitch a while. Then I stop and do something else - like read (which I also love).

I'm not sure what I'm going to do today. I'll decide after coffee, but one thing's for sure. I won't have to do anything tax-related for a while. Yippee.

Slow Going...

Progress On My Petit Point Project

I've spent at least six hours on this so far, and have approximately four square inches of stitched background to show for it. This is going to take a while.

My Needlework Spot

This is my stitching spot in the studio. I have a great view of our yard and beyond. I was tickled to watch the Barn Girls and the BIG GREY opossum snuffling around in the yard today. Otis was content to stay curled up in Crystal's bed in the barn. 

I'll continue stitching on this, but don't think I'll update you on every, little section. I'll share more when I have a lot more finished. Tag will be back tomorrow.

Change of Plans...

Feeding The Birds

I'd originally planned to be on my way to another craft day with my dear friends in Portage today. Plans changed last night when I got a message saying there were some sick kiddos at the hosts home. Better to take care of babies instead of crafting, to be sure.

That means I'm going to get another full day to work on the petit point canvas I showed to you yesterday. It appears that most comments on my post yesterday are leaning either to black or blue. So, I'm going to do a little of each on the canvas and see which one I like best. (These were both my choices, too, by the way.)

I'm sharing this photograph today from last weekend. After the snowstorm, Otis Redding (the name I gave the little black opossum who visited this area before the snowstorm) moved into the Compass Barn with Claudette and Crystal, and the birds were looking for food. I filled their feeders, and it didn't take long for the word to get out. He hasn't left all week. Otis has taken over Crystal's bed, and during the day, he snores away while Crystal and Claudette snooze right above him in the southern exposure window (in the sunshine).  

Not only were these red-wing blackbirds happy to see the smorgasbord, but cardinals, bluejays, morning doves, chickadees, purple finches, nuthatches, and woodpeckers (two different varieties) showed up, too! We also have two large crows that show up a few times every day. I've taken to calling them Heckle and Jeckle (for those too young to know, they were cartoon characters from my childhood).

Had we kept craft day for today, I would have left home by 7:30 am. Instead, I could sleep a little later, and devote my entire day to working on my needlepoint piece....as soon as I feed my barn girls (and Otis). Time to go...

Please Help Me Decide...

Petit Point Bouquet Canvas

This will be my next project. I've been putting it aside for a while. It's a needlepoint canvas my BFF, Cyd sent to me having found it with her mother's things. As a BFF would do, she left the background color choice and finishing up to me.

Do You Like A Black Background?

I can't decide, so I'm asking for your input. What do you think of a simple, Victorian-style black background? That one's always a winner for needlepoint and makes the design really pop.

How About One Of These?

I have these background colors, too, that I think would be lovely in their own right. Each color appears in some fashion in the design. I numbered them clockwise sitting on the design to give you the best idea of how each color looks with it.

I'd love for you to help me choose. Oh, one more thing. She's left the finishing to me as well. Pillow? Round or square? Framed piece? Oval, round or square? These are all the reasons I haven't even begun the piece yet. I'm going to start it this weekend. I know a lot of you follow and read my blog. I hope you'll comment and let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance.