Thursday, May 17, 2012

Meet The New Members Of Our Family!

Skittles, our beloved 18 year old cat, died late last fall.  We've been without animals for the first time in a really long time so we... (me, Rach & grandson) decided it was time to adopt a kitty or two.  Last Friday, these two sweeties were on our local humane society website. Instantly, Rach wanted the yellow puffball on the right.  The other one, with the face that only a mother could love, ended up coming home with us too.  When we saw them in person, how could we possibly separate these two sisters?
So we brought both kitties home with us...
They were shy and scared at first so we decided to confine them to the kitchen and hallway until they became familiar with us and the sights and smells of our home.  They instantly adopted my dye pot as their sleeping quarters.  This is not something that we expected at all ... they found the pots, jumped in and fell asleep.  After almost a week, this is still their nightime place to sleep.

It's been a long time since we've had kittens so watching these girls play is such delightful entertainment. After a few days, they've become friendly and affectionate and if you own a lap, they will find a way to get up onto it.
The only thing cuter than a kitten sleeping in a tissue box....

is TWO kitties sleeping in a tissue box!

It's been a bit of a problem with my stitching time though.  They both insist on climbing up my leg to play with my wool and threads.  I now wait for their sleep times to do my work. 

Happy Day Everyone!
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

My 1956 Chevy BelAir

Spring is always such a busy time for me.  With the summer-like weather, most days, I'm outdoors getting the flower and vegetable gardens ready for planting.  That leaves me less time to design and stitch .... and blog post.
But I'm here!  It's a rainy day today so it's a perfect time to blog and show you what I've been up to!

My brother-in-law had his 60th birthday party this past Sunday.  A huge birthday party to celebrate a huge birthday.
Without thinking too much, I knew what our present to Mark would be.  Along with a case of his favorite, Heineken beer, I made him this:


Mark's pride and joy has always been his 56 Chevy BelAir.  So I created this wool penny rug for him using pictures from his own car and from the internet to create the pattern so that I could get the details just right.  I stitched a pocket onto the back and added a dowel rod so that it can be easily hung on the wall.
It took a long time but I absolutely loved doing this...not just because it was for Mark's special day but I loved the whole process of seeing it all come together, stitch by stitch.
The most exciting part of stitching the car was when I stitched the tires on.  It was at that point that I knew this project was going to turn out super nice.
My favorite things about the car that just made me giggle with excitement was :


The BelAir logo  and ...

The door handle and lock.  I used silver metallic threads for the chrome accents. 
I wish I had pictures of his expression when he opened the gift.  I'm pretty sure he liked it .. a lot. :)

So this birthday party was a surprise birthday party.  We all met at his Knights of Columbus hall and waited for my sister, Carol, to walk in with the birthday boy.  They were late with their arrival which is understandable but ....
their lateness only added to my anxiety.
I was having a big problem there at that hall without my sister being there. 
You see, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were friends and relatives of Mark, but didn't know ME.
Since everyone always remarks how much my sister and I look alike, the people who didn't know me, automatically assumed that I was Carol.  I lost count of how many people did this...greeted me as if I should know who they are. I was confused at first until I finally realized that they thought I was Carol.
  It got to the point that I sat down in the back of the hall, away from everyone hoping that perhaps people wouldn't notice me. I was really concerned that people would think that Carol was being snobbish for not properly greeting them. 
After her and Mark arrrived, things got much better. 
It was a good day and I'm sure Mark was feeling pretty happy by the end of it ... He's Irish and everyone knows how much he loves his Irish whiskey ..He is well stocked in whiskey and beer now!
Happy Birthday Mark!

That's all for now.   I've been busy with stitching finished things for orders, which I much prefer to do over writing pattern instructions.   I have a couple more orders to finished up and then I'll have to take the time to write pattern instructions for two designs that I've finished.  After Mother's Day, I'll show some of the finished things that I made for the orders ... I don't want to spoil the surprise for a particular regular reader!

Happy Day everyone!