Birds of a Feather

My plan to photograph my visitor inspired piece didn't work out as planned.  It has been very overcast today with only small periods of sunshine.  Tomorrow isn't looking much better with a 60% chance of thunderstorms.  I guess that means waiting a little longer to take that snap.

Thankfully I have some other progress that is bird related.  Last weekend I met up with all three of my stitching sisters.  (Our foursome is back in the groove!)  Both Maggee and Sheryl (no blog) had progress on BoaF.  Here's where we were at the end of Saturday:

Top Left - Maggee
Top Right - Sheryl
Bottom - Me

I haven't touched mine since last Saturday so when I pick it up tomorrow it will look the same as it did at the end of last week.

Looks like I will be building the house tomorrow.....

I still haven't decided what I am going to do about the alphabet.  I have a few sayings floating around that I may use instead.  If I go that route I have to figure out what alphabet to use since the one that is charted won't work.  I'm pretty sure that an alphabet from one of my Blackbird Designs books/leaflets would go nicely in its place.  Of course, I will need to decide on the saying as well. Maybe I'll leave it up to a vote.

Don't forget to guess who my visitor was.  Be sure to post your comment on yesterday's post.  You never know what may happen if you guess correctly!

I hope your needles are flying....

Snuck One In

I was able to steal a few minutes at the end of the day for a quick post from my work computer.  I couldn't help myself because I've been itching to show the BoaF progress.  Here is what our pieces looked like at the end of Saturday (7/7/12)....

Left - Mine
Right - Maggee
Bottom - Sheryl

Since Sheryl doesn't have a blog anymore, here is a closeup of hers. (You will have to check out Maggee's blog for hers!)

The color of the fabric is washed out here.  It is more golden than it appears.

 And, of course, I couldn't leave you without a closeup of mine....

I've stitched a bit further than you see here, but not much.  Plus, I'm really thinking about pulling some of the greenish color out of the trunk of the tree.  It is a bit too stripy for my taste, but the longer it sits the more it grows on me.

So, has anyone been able figure out who my visitor was?

Happy Stitches!

Time on My Hands

It seems that I've had lots of productive stitching related time on my hands lately. 

Last Saturday two of my stitching buds and I headed to a not so local needlework shop.  It is about 45 minutes away (on a good traffic day).  We love the short trip for a different take on our hobby.  While I was disappointed in the lack of new patterns in the shop, I did manage to pick up some fabric and threads for a couple of projects that are waiting in the wings.

The Gentle Arts Threads and the 32ct Bo Peep Pink Belfast was purchased for the Birds & Berries Needlebook by Blackbird Designs. (Crescent Colours are from my stash.)

The 34ct Legacy Linen in Oaten Scone was purchased for the Summer Harvest Needlebook by Blackbird Designs.

I also managed to stitch and finish a cute little Shepherd's Bush piece for my Friends Through the Seasons exchange.  This was the first time I tried this finish.  I'm pleased with this first time effort and I will definitely use this finish on future projects.

The pillow is sitting on the fabric that I used for the backing.

I've been spending the rest of my free time working on BoaF.  Boy, has my needle been smoking.  Here is where my piece stood shortly after last weekend.....

Part I ~ DONE!

Speaking of smoking, I don't know how the weather is where you are, but temperatures have been smoking here.  We've been in the high 90's to low 100's for the past week and tomorrow with be another 100+ degree day.  With the humidity in the area it means we are under an "Excessive Heat Warning" and the temperatures feel like they are 110 or higher.    They aren't forecasting the cold front to come through until sometime tomorrow and they are talking about it possibly stalling off the coast.  That means we go from extreme heat to lots of rain with violent thunderstorms and damaging winds.  Either way, heat or rain, I guess that means more stitching time on BoaF!

Wishing you cooler stitches!

Bed Rest

Over the weekend I was put on bed rest.  So, what is a girl to do while on bed rest?  This of course!

Birds of a Feather Saturday SAL
Did I catch up to you Maggee?

Why was I on bed rest?  Because on Friday I unexpectedly found out that I was pregnant.  You should have seen all of the people in my room.  No one could believe it!  Especially since I had just experienced the time of the month where I become "an unpleasant person to live with" (if you know what I mean).  Unfortunately my progesterone level was extremely low and even though they tried to boost it with meds, it was too little too late.  Yesterday the doctor's office confirmed that I ended up losing Baby #3 over the weekend.

I'm fine.....we are fine......our faith hasn't waiverd with this loss.  In fact I think it is stronger than it has been in a long time.

Thankfully this new doctor and his staff are the most wonderful, caring people.  They will be able to get me back on track and figure out what is going on so that they can help me carry a healthy little one to term.

In the meantime, I was thinking that maybe I would skip the alphabet on this one and save the space to make it either an inspirational sampler or save it for a baby sampler.  What do you think?

Stitching with angels,