I forgot to show this in my last post. Holly 'n Hardanger from the 2005 Just Cross Stitch Christmas issue.

All the stitching is done. I just need to finish the Hardanger in the centre and add the beads and bling. I got a lot of the backstitching done last week during Skip's cancer treatment. Many of the nurses were quite intrigued. 

On Friday, when I was at Kimat Designs picking up the threads and fabric I needed, I purchased this Christmas sweater chart.

Meagan did one for our guild's ornament exchange last Christmas and at that time, I made a mental note to get the pattern when they got it in stock.

I've made a little bit of progress on Live on Little.

How convenient that the centre of the chart (where I like to start) was on the edge of the house's brickwork. It's been pretty satisfying and fun. The roof will be a lot of DMC3371 - perfect for stitching while watching TV, YouTube, or social stitching. 

I started stitching it with a size 26 ballpoint needle but the fabric is too stiff for it to be comfortable so I switched to a regular tapestry needle and it's going better.

More Good Mail and a Small Start

Canada Post delivered the 'Live on Little' pattern I ordered from 123stitch. 

I love so many things about it.

• the mermaid looking at herself in the mirror
• the whales, fish, and lobsters
• the floral border
• the sailboat flying nautical alphabet flags with the designer's, Paulette M Stewart's, initials

In the pattern is a page charting all the nautical alphabet flags so the stitcher can use their initials.

I LOVE the brickwork on the house. It will be fiddly changing colours and jumping around but the effect will be amazing.

I have recharted the flag appropriately.

I got the flosses I was missing at Kimat Designs on Friday, as well as the 40ct fabric.

Yesterday I started it and got this far. Then had a lovely visit with my niece and her husband who are on their way for a holiday down east. Scooter is coming for a visit in about an hour.

I usually start in the centre when I have fabric with only a small border for framing (in this case, 2"). I was concerned that this house outline was the same colour as the fabric but it is further outlined in a darker colour; so phew! No worries.

On the pattern the sea and ocean colours aren't filled in but the instructions explain that they are outlined in the correct colour and to continue filling in as required. This is a good move so the waves, mermaid, fish, whales, and lobsters stand out.

I'm not going to grid this. I may live to regret that choice but as finish a section, I fill it in on my working copy with a coloured pencil. That should help me keep my place.

As there is so much filling in, I don't expect to finish this before this time next year. I'm also not a monogamous stitcher so I hope to come back to it fairly frequently. I can do a lot of filling in at my various stitching events and during my online Crafternoon chats.

The last couple of days the Black-Eyed Susans have been putting on a fabulous display. This iPhone photo doesn't do them justice.

They and the echinacea have really inspired me to do some more watercolour painting.

The bees and monarchs have been enjoying feeding on them.

A Couple of Nice Things

I got the rest of the blue shimmer hexies sewn together and trimmed. They're measured by the length of one side so these are all 3/4" hexies. The finished piece measures about 14" x 10". 

This fabric was the inspiration. The 3/4" templates fit perfectly on a 2" WOF strip. I have lots of fabric left to use for more hexies or to coordinate with the stitched piece. The fabric was purchased at the Bolts and Bobbins garage sale last month that Jen1 and I attended.

Out in the garden this morning I saw a female black swallowtail butterfly (I had to look it up in my butterfly book) land on a tomato plant. She stayed there for over a half hour.

The echinacea are still looking great. I love the perfect, pollen-bearing anther rings.

The bee enjoyed it too. 

I have plans to embroider this little piece. I want to practice a bit before undertaking the kit I bought from Beaks and Bobbins.

I have most of the necessary materials in my stash but I still want to buy a water soluble marker for tracing the pattern.

Yesterday we got the results from Skip's CT scan. They were disappointing so he will start another course of treatment today with a new IV drug and will be reassessed in early October. In the meantime we are making things as comfortable and enjoyable as we can within the scope of what he can tolerate. 

We still have so many things to be grateful for: the short distance to drive to the hospital; being comfortable with all the routines that have been established; friends that check in frequently and are always ready to help; Skip still being able to get around and up the stairs to our house; Skip's good appetite, ability to sleep well, and nap as needed; Skip's arthritic pain being managed adequately; a beautiful garden to enjoy in the cooler parts of the day; etc. etc.  Focusing on the positive things helps us continue to appreciate the days we have together.

My crafty pursuits soothe me and provide a creative outlet which I seem to be craving lately. I am thankful that most of the materials I need are already in my stash. My Monday morning stitching group is a great way to start every week and I've been able to get Skip's appointments changed so I can still attend them. I've even had the energy to attend my Wednesday night spinning/knitting/crochet group the last little while. Every couple of weeks there's a daytime stitching event with my cadre of stitching peeps - these events are like breathing pure oxygen for me and excellent for my mental health.

Inspired by Our Garden

I spent much of the morning out on the deck, painting. The light is so good out there. It was the perfect temperature and there was only a slight breeze.

There was a lot of bird activity in the cedars along the fence so I got the binoculars. Of course when I came back outside, the birds had all left. 

Our echinacea are spectacular right now. 

I've been wanting to paint them for several days and was so inspired to do so today.

I have two pots of these shorter sunflowers on my front step. They make me smile with their 'sunny' faces.

I got a couple of small paintings done. I only paint small things - my attention span is not long enough to focus on anything major. I like making cards from my paintings and used to attach my originals to card stock but I had trouble keeping up. I liked a lot of them and started printing them off onto card stock and embellishing with greeting messages with stamps, coloured pencils, HotFix 'jewels', etc.

 So glad I took the time to do this today. It was lots of fun.

I Felt Really Great Today

Not sure why. Perhaps because I slept in until 9:30? Who knows but I felt good. 

It felt good tidying up for a guest that would be arriving around noon. We just did normal things around the house. Skip napped, watched Wimbledon tennis, and did some chores around the house. I went out shopping at several stores and treated myself to a coffee and apple fritter at Timmies before heading home. This evening I met my spinning/fibre loving group and had a nice gabfest with them.

I have enjoyed looking at the daily changes in the garden. I did a Facebook post on what made me happy today.

I bought two pots of sunflowers on sale a week or so ago. I love their sunny 'faces'.

The lone Asiatic lily and echinacea plants are just outside my side door and just started blooming last week.

We have to cage our tomatoes as an attempt to thwart any rodents that make their way into the back yard. They don't seem to bother the purple salvia (Victoria blue) or the dwarf zinnias.

Air conditioning makes me very happy. Old 'Rusty' has served us well for many years and keeps on doing a great job.

The first tomatoes plants I put in the ground got totally destroyed/mown down/chewed by some critter in the back yard. I found replacement plants that were already about a foot high and they're doing great. And yes, they are in cages. They're Early Girls and already have fruit on them. The bigger tomato in the photo is about half the size of my fist. Our Roma tomatoes have just started flowering.

I got this bee balm/monarda/bergamot plant from a friend 27 years ago. Some years it develops a powdery mildew but so far not this year. The blooms are particularly spectacular right now. I love rubbing the leaves and sniffing the aroma. My friend also gave me sea holly which has a pretty, blue, spherical flower. However the flower smells like dog poo. On the positive side, the bees and other insects love it so I think they're great for pollinators.

We planted this echinacea plant that same year - 1996 - the year we moved into this house. It is also blooming very nicely. 

I like to spend time dwelling on things that give me joy. There can be so much in life that is difficult to deal with but I like to focus on the pleasant things I experience and revel in that. Those crappy things will still be there but I don't need to spend any time fretting about them. 

A Quick Stitch and Addition to Fabric Stash

I've had this little chart for quite a while and kitted it up with the DMC equivalents and a couple of substitutes the other day.

It's really little and finished to about 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" on the 36ct Picture This Plus Bramble linen. I used two strands because I wanted the lettering and squares to appear a bit raised. It took me a while to figure out why it was called Le Poulet (the Chicken) - all I saw was the alphabet and little squares. FINALLY I noticed the bird on the bottom right. D'oh!

Then I had to find some coordinating fabric as I wanted to make it into a little pillow or pincushion.

I found the perfect thing. I had exactly nine 2 1/2" squares left over from another project that were the perfect colours. I sewed them into a nine patch.

I quilted the back a bit and sewed it to the front. Oops! it's a bit crooked. Oh well.

It's all ready for stuffing. I now have to decide if I'll use polyfil or sawdust.

I have really enjoyed making the wee quilted pieces so will take another look at my Pin Pals book and see what else I can make.

Country Concessions in Cooksville ON had a free shipping sale on Canada Day weekend. Minimum order was 0.5m. I ordered a few Morris & Co. or Morris inspired fabrics to add to my collection.

This fabric was on sale for $2/ 0.5m so I ordered $4 worth. I think it will go with a lot of other neutrals I have.

I'm also trying to decide what fabric to use for this project. It needs to be a small print.

Will dive into my stash again...