More than just Cross Stitchin': Is Spring Near??

Friday, February 19, 2010

Is Spring Near??

Valentine's Day is over and March is just around the corner; but I still have my winter pictures out to enjoy for a little bit longer.

This picture I stitched is appropriately named 'Snow Angels' and it was a WIP for many years. Three to be exact.

I fell in love with this kit from the moment I saw it :^) (Anita also mentioned the other night that she loves this one too!) Since I have 2 kids, (a boy and a girl with the girl being the eldest), I seem to gravitate towards pictures, patterns, etc. with this commom theme.

As with the majority of kits that I get, I replace the aida (pass this on to Jody to add to her collection) with an evenweave fabric. In this case it was 28 ct. White (surprise!) Jobelan. Lots and lots of blended threads and half stitches with this pattern.(I think this being the reason it was a WIP for sooooo long!!)

There were also some big fat french knots they used in the pattern to represent the little balls of snow on the back of the kid's pants. (OK... I think now would be the perfect time to let you all in on a little secret about me... I LOVE to do french knots!!) I know, some of you are probably shaking your heads and calling me crazy, but there's something about the challenge of getting that knot to look just so. Now is Jody a lover of french knots?? I think 'knot'!!! One of the first things she did at our meeting Wed. night was pull out her latest finish to show us (well not quite yet a true finish) and replied, "This needs a french knot, Tracey!"

Of course I was happy to oblige...

Tracey

5 comments:

jayne@~an eye for threads~ said...: oh I love the Snow Angels and finished mine off in December with a periwinkle matt and gold frame. I have a love for the French Knots as well but in some pieces beads work well too.
Nice work and here's hopping that your arm doesnt' cause you to many ouches and that the ankle mends quickly.
Be always in stitches.; February 20, 2010 at 8:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Lol, cute posting & I also don't mind doing french knots. Have you scene the pieces that are done entirely of french knots? Snow Angels is sweet & I hope you are better soon.; February 20, 2010 at 9:31 AM
Jules said...: What a cute pattern! I am one of those who is shaking my head at the mere thought of doing French Knots! I tend to replace them with beads. I just don't have the patience for them.; February 20, 2010 at 1:24 PM
staci said...: Wonderful finish! LOL, Jody told me she was going to have you do some french knots for her ;); February 20, 2010 at 4:40 PM
Kerry said...: Iwas just going to ley you know my friend Jayne stitched the snow agels, but she beat me to it. I was at the stitching retreat at Brentwood on the Beach with the Thread and Eye group on the week end. We had such a good time. I can hardly wait for ours in May. Keep in touch, hope you check out my blog,
Kerry; February 25, 2010 at 2:15 PM

Charlie Brown

Growing up, I had a pet monkey named Charlie Brown. Actually, he belonged to my sister and he came to live with us in 1966. You were actually allowed to have monkeys as pets then and if you can beleive it, he was ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine. Charlie Brown was a squirrel monkey (just like the ones in the Telus commericials).

Everyone in school loved when it was my turn for 'show and tell'. You will see in some of the photos (if the slide show downloads for me...) that he used to wear diapers. Eventually, he learned how to take them off. We had a rope strung across the kitchen from end to the other. We kept a piece of papertowel on the floor at the end of one rope and that's where he did his business. His rope provided many hours of entertainment. At bedtime, if mom and dad were not home when it was bedtime, he would sit on his roap and cry out until they returned.

If I was crying, Dad would put him up to my face to lick away my tears. He would dangle from my hair and lick from one eye to the next. It alwyays made me stop crying. He would play outside and every once in awhile he would swing from tree to tree and end up down the street at the neighbours.

Often you would find the monkey lying in the cast iron pan on the stove. The pilot light from the gas stove provided him a warm and comfy spot. He would also sit on top of the lamp shade for warmth, and if you ever heard a 'pop' - you knew he peed on the lightbulb. It happens...

Charlie Brown used to sit on the wall phone.... until it rang. That was always funny. He brought many years of amusement to us all and I miss him and his antics.

Bonnie

Warm hearts ... and warm toes!

Well since we are talking winter, let's talk about warm hearts ... and warm toes.

A few years ago at Christmas we had a gift exchange. Ironically, both Anita and myself had the exact same idea for a present. We always open our gift bags at the same time, and it was really hard for me to keep a straight face when I saw that Anita had had the same gift idea as me and while she explained that she thought slippers would be a good idea, that way we could carry them in our bag with us at all times. Anita had knit slipppers for everyone and made a little draw-string pouch, with our names embroidered on it, to keep the socks in.

Then they all opened my gift bag and we burst out laughing. I knew how much everyone loved snowmen, so I had stitched faces on white slippers and added a carrot button for the nose. Well we weren't finished with the laughter because I thought we should get a picture with our slippers on. So then we were all sitting on the floor trying to get different positions in order to get everyone in the picture at the same time. We tried sitting up against the wall and taking the picture of our toes all pointing up to the ceiling and then I said, nooooo - that will show the snowman's face upside down. Someone said... (and I won't say who...) "Good point, let's think of something else. What if we lay on our back with our feet in the air - you know... like if our feet were ON the ceiling"

Well then the faces would still be upside down wouldn't they. Spontanious Laughter.

We had to think of something else. It was decided that we would just stand toe to toe in a huddle and we would take the picture from above in order to get everyone in the picture. Sounded like a good plan right?

Well... not if you have a protruding belly and/or big boobs. After the inital light-headedness subsided from sucking in our bellies, we had to deal with the shadow from the boobs.

So we stood in our huddle, adjusting, wiggling and laughing with our arms around each other while we tried not to tip over. It was about that moment when Anita's daughter walked in on us, which of course added to the laughter when we saw the look on her face.

Finally the photo was taken and our toes are doubly warm.

Bonnie

It all started with a tea towel...

Quite some time ago when I was perusing the Dollarama, I came across the cutest autumn tea towel with a teddy bear dressed up like a scarecrow. It immediately reminded me of Jody and I thought 'I'm going to get that for her', and then I thought... why not get one for everybody? And so I did and it was a hit.

From that point on, it's no surprise to any of us if there just happens to be an occasional 'mini gift' exchange on Cross Stitch night. Once when Jody hosted in February, she gave us all a tiny picture frame with a 1" x 1" opening. I had no idea what to do with mine, but Tracey knew immediately. Because it was Valentines day, Tracey stitched a heart.

Mine sat for a good number of months before I could figure out what I could stitch in such a tiny area and not copy Tracey's idea. And then one day it hit me; Jody loves snowmen. I would do a snowman in the frame that Jody gave me. But.... do they make snowman patterns for less than 1" x 1"? I couldn't be bothered looking, so I winged it. And voila! A happy smiley snowman face. I think it took longer to write this posting than it did to stitch that happy face.

We'll have to get a picture of Tracey's heart posted after her renovations are complete as I expect it's packed away for now.

p.s. I wasn't allowed to Blog today unless I cleaned my house. It's half cleaned; consider this half a blog.
Bonnie

Friday, February 19, 2010

Is Spring Near??

5 comments:

Christmas 2016