Our friend just left for their holidays

...but they will be back in about 2 weeks. And then we will go on holidays. I am so looking forward to our holidays. We will go on a roundtrip for about 1 1/2 weeks and then we have to come back because Lisa has an appointment with a specialist and will get tubings in her ears. Hopefully that will keep her safe from these almost permanent ear infections.

I am excited since I got Vikki Claytons newsletter saying that she is in the process of dying 40ct linen. That is definately a must buy for me....well known as a linen addict.... Can't wait till she is offering it in her shop!

So this is my not too big progress on Rubie Owl's Sampler. Surprisingly I am not tired of stitching the leaves, yet. I absolutely love them and the colours.



And this is where I spent some time during the weekends while Lisa is playing in her little pool in the yard.

Just some stash

As predicted in my last post not too much stitching going on. But I took a picture of some stash I got lately. "It's Berry Time" looked so nice that I had to order it right away when I first saw it.

I made a nice progress

on Rubie Owl but I doubt that I will go on in this pace. Today some friends moved in with us. They decided to move back to their homecountry and sold their house so we offered to move in with us instead of living in a motel until they actually leave. It is kind of a challenge to live together with some other people in one house but I am positve we will get along for a few weeks.

As soon as the weather is warm and sunny...

....time goes by unbelievable fast. I had two finishes since my last post but no pictures yet. :(
And I got some stash .... and guess what ... no pictures yet ;(

But I started on Rubie Owl's Sampler by Plum Street Samplers yesterday. I got it in the mail on friday. Thanks so much to Paulette for creating this wonderful design. The colours are my absolute favourite.
This is how much I got done yesterday night:


The colours are lighter and a bit brighter in real life but what more can one expect from a scan.

Long time no see...

...seems like I had one of my frequent blogging breaks again. But this time not as long as in the past. I did stitch a bit and we got some additions to our family and it seems as if summer is comeing to Brandon finally.

Lisa was still asking questions about her cats in Germany and sometimes she suddenly started to crying because of them so we decided to find some cats for her. We never wanted indoor cats but living in town there is no other choice....
I am pleased to introduce you to Holly and Ally:

I finished Kindred Spirits it was a fast and fun stitch.

Kindred Spirits by The Primitive Needle

threads: Belle Soie Silks and for the 4 stitches in Kiwi I used DMC

fabric: 40ct R&R Reproductions Dark Cappuccino

started: 2009-05-07

finished: 2009-05-22

While listening

to Hoot by Carl Hiassen


I stitched on Kindred Spirits by Primitive Needle which I started right away after finishing FStSS.


Happy Mother's Day everyone!!!!

From Sea to Shining Sea FINISHED!!

From Sea to Shining Sea by Little House Needleworks
threads: Belle Soie silks
fabric: 40ct Lakeside Linen Winter Sky
started: 2009-02-10
finished: 2009-05-07

Derek is pretty confident that he passed his red seal exam in Toronto. He flew back on thursday afternoon and we are so happy to have our little family complete again. Now he is busy looking for a Harley...because I promised him that he will get his Harley after accomplishing the goal to achieve his red seal. :)
He was so happy to be back. Toronto is a little bit too big for us countrynuts. LOL




But even in the middle of a big city you can always find some beautiful spots....

Sunday we spent a nice afternoon

at the Winnipeg Assiniboine Park Zoo before dropping Derek off at the airport hotel.


While walking through the zoo Lisa talked the whole time about the little train with the steam engine we saw in the park. So we went for a train ride later and guess who was a little bit scared sitting in the noisy little train:

Still not finished with FStSS. I got the silks for my next project yesterday that'll speed me up, I guess :)

The week was dedicated

to planning Derek's trip to Toronto. He has to go there to take a test for his Canadian red seal as a Journeyman Millwright. Tomorrow we will bring Derek to Winnipeg and spend a nice day there and while Lisa and I will be heading home Derek will fly to Toronto. We can pick him up at the airport on Thursday again.... So please cross your fingers for him to pass the test.

I just put a few stitches in From Sea to Shining Sea but still....I am getting there LOL Hopefully a finish tomorrow evening or on Monday.

I saw the other day

on the Tiny Treasures Exchange Blog that Sabine from Belgium received the biscornu I stitched for her. I enjoyed stitching it very much.....just the writing over 1 on 40ct linen was a little bit of a pain.... Sewing my first biscornu together and adding the beads around the corners was a lot of fun, too. It was the first biscornu I stitched:

The Bee Charmer

by Indigo Rose

Tiny Treasures Exchange biscornu for Sabine from Belgium

stitched with my own choice of Caron Waterlilies

on 40ct Shale Newcastle linen by Picture This Plus

Started: 2009-03-07

Finished: 2009-04-04

My house in the Midwest

is ready to move in :) The colour of the fabric looks a little strange on todays pictures and the house is in real live a wonderful cranberry red:

Hi Terri, you better get ready to start on FSTSS LOL - hopefully you will have your stitching paradise finished soon and get back your stitching mojo....There will be an envelope on the way to you pretty soon.....if nothing comes in the way... ;)

YAY!!!

I got my biscornu from the Tiny Treasures exchange. It came all the way from Pokua in autumnly Australia. And autumn is also the theme of this gorgeous biscornu. I love it so much. It is beautifully finished with beads around the corners that are the same colour as the stitching....my first own biscornu. Thank you so much Pokua!!!!
Front:

Back:

And look at the goodies that came with it beads in the same colour of the stitching, a wonderful big heart bead and a calendar with pictures from Australia...

The weather

is so nice right now that we spent some time outside cleaning our yard from the last leaves and making the flower beds ready for the plants after work. Not that we are already done but at least it is a start. Lisa asked us to put up her little swimming pool. LOL But it is not THAT warm yet.
While listening to Twilight I stitched some more on FSTSS:



And I have still one and a half CD left to listen to..... yay :)

I couldn't sit down

and stitch the last week. I only accomplished a few stitches on the Red Snowman:


I couldn't keep focused on stitching and had to put it down often. I usually stitch a lot when Derek is on nightshift. I then listen to audio books but I can't do that when he is at home. So yesterday I decided to go and buy some headphones.....
I listened to the last CD of Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella that was still waiting for me from Dereks last nightshift


and then I started on the 11 CD's of Twilight by Stephenie Meyers.


I couldn't put my stitching down till 1:00 AM in the morning and so I managed to finish The Mountains and a bit more of the border:



So I am listening to more of Twilight and start stitching The Midwest today. I absolutely love the story about Bella and Edward. I don't know why I did not buy headphones earlier. Derek can watch a movie and I can listen to an exciting story and learn English at the same time :)

Did you

get a chance to visit the Needlework Show? I just browsed through the pages of some of my favourite Designers.....and I could spend a lot of money....so I better stop and go back to my stitching :)

I got Catherine Agnes back from framing at Lasting Image and I absolutely love how it turned out. They did a great job:


....and doesn't the frame look awesome. When I went to Lasting Image I was looking for something plain. I am so glad that they convinced me and I decided on this frame.


I should really learn how to take better pictures..... LOL

We came back from our road trip yesterday late afternoon and went back to work today. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of places. I will tell you a little bit later about it after we freed the pics from the camera :)
I am not too good at stitching 40ct in the car so I had an excuse to start the cute Red Snowman by Shepherds Bush. That is all I stitched on it during our trip....I was more busy looking out of the window I guess, LOL:


But I also made a little progress on The Mountains. This part is the most timeconsuming:

I am going to build a house

in the mountains with my little crosses soon. But first I let some trees to grow ;)

I don't plan to finish my goldwork right away. I think I will just stitch once in a while on it for now.

We are going on a roadtrip over the long Easter weekend and we have never been further west than Virden. So this time we will discover a little bit of Saskatchewan. I am so looking forward to get out of the every day routine. Especially now that the weather is getting warmer. All the snow is melting away. The roads and driveways are free of snow and outside of town there are only some snowspots on the fields left.

Wanda, if nothing comes in the way I will come to the EAC seminar in Regina in 2010. I am looking forward to meeting you there! I can't wait to see what classes will be offered. Do you by any chance know some addresses for Needlecraft shops in Saskatchewan?