Black and White Gains a P

I guess I am inspired to stitch a lot lately. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's because I have a place to sit (2 really). Maybe it's just time. 

This week has been a bit up and down. The weather went from just under 60degF to the teens with a foot of snow. My mood has been all over the place with craziness at work and being frustrated about wanting to get outside more in the snow. And last minute errands have gotten me all dicombobulated. But at least I have had down time and been able to make a few things.

A couple of days ago (the 22nd?) I finished the next letter in my Black and White alphabet. It is not very much black and white, but then I have to do things my own way. Meet the letter P:

It feels good to finish this one because it involved the most stitching of them all. It seems I started it so long ago. I think the letter Y is next on my agenda for that project.

Meanwhile, I am stitching a little pallate cleanser. My cat had damaged one of my beaded projects and I needed to raid another for some matching thread for the repairs. So I decided to start a cute little one called Moonstruck from the Mill Hill bead collection (a subdivision of Wichelt). And of course I just wen to their website and was sucked right in to all the pretty projects. So here is the progress photo of this little project:

I'm happy with how quickly this one is going. I am trying to get to some of my outstanding projects, but it is always nice to have littles to finish in between.

I have had a helper while I have been stitching:

Generally he isn't too much of an imposition, but sometimes he wants to sit in my lap while I stitch. He is such a strange being. 

Time for me to get back to managing my upcoming vacations!

Red Birds Everywhere

 When my dad died my Aunt Kathy said he became a cardinal...the bird, not the religious figure. She says grandma and grandpa are also birds. So whenever I see a cardinal I say hello to dad. I see cardinals all over in our yard. I love it because they are such fun and showy birds.

I found the Red Bird pattern not long after dad died and decided it would be a nice project as a little rememberance. I'm not super sentimental, but hey I only got one dad and he was pretty good. Today I finished the project and added a button embellishment I found:

Hi dad.

I was planning on also fixing a project that Oreo the Destroyer (the tuxedo cat) decided to use for a stretch. I took it apart but realized I would likely need a little more thread for the repairs so decided to start a sister project to I could use the leftovers for the fix. So today I started Moonstruck:

Jon thinks this is the neatest thing because of the beads in it. He was thinking it was going to be slow stitching because of that. No, man, I'm a pro! :-D

Not much else going on here. Just the usual boring winter stuff: trying to get done with indoor projects, getting outside on warmer days, watching the dogs eat the cake I just baked...you know, the usual.

Time to get back to stitching!

Snowy Stitching Time

Last week there was a very cold snap that came through. We had temperatures that dropped to -25 degrees Farenheit. Since then it has warmed to the 40s yesterday. Now it has transitioned from rain to snow. As much as I love to be outside, and I have taken a few opportunities, it is also a great time to stitch.

I have made great progress on a couple of my projects in the last couple of weeks. In mid-January I had picked back up on my "Red Bird" and "Black and White" projects as shown in this post: Fast Forward a Year. And this is where I am at with each:

It feels good to make progress on these and feel more connected to my fabric and fiber loving self. I am looking forward to picking up on some of my longtime projects now that I have the space and some time for stitching.

In addition to the stitching, I also repainted a bathroom. Here are the before and after pictures:

I am so excited about my pink bathroom. It is a bright raspberry color and really brightens up this tiny space. It will look fantastic once we get the decorations and shelving up. We are hoping to expand the shower this summer, but I just couldn't wait to get rid of the tan from the previous owners. 

I also found some time to make a display board for my quilting so I can visualize the quilts as I make them. It looks amazing in the room:

So big happenings here... and looking forward to more!