Zippety Do Dah.....

As I watched our nation's leaders make total fools of themselves this evening, I finished up this latest in the calendar series. This was a very quick stitch, & I just love the ribbon work.

My theory for doing the backgrounds first didn't work out as well as it did in the last few canvases, as you can see that a few of the horizontal threads shifted askew. I got over it. My Nanny used to say there needed to be an error to make it yours. Besides, I think when it's matted & placed inside the calendar, we won't notice a thing.

Linda got a good report from the doctor today. Recovery will be slow but will happen; I know all of you are encouraging her to be patient with herself and not to push herself too much. She's being very good and I am looking forward to seeing her this week at our class at Stitch by Stitch.

Later....

Denise

Stitching Through the Heat Wave

It's been brutally hot here & really throughout most of the US these past few weeks. I've had a busy July, what with the 4th of July holiday, a glorious wedding, work on the campaigns of two local candidates, Linda's surgery, a family BBQ, out of town family sleepover guests (twice), a christening and--oh, yes, work, too. Throw in my pulled hamstring (don't ask) and it's been a circus around here. This was my first free weekend in weeks, and when my husband suggested going to a movie tonight, I looked at him like he was insane.

Considering all this, there's been some stitching lately. Our class with Tony M at Stitch by Stitch was cancelled on Wednesday, so I found myself with a hole in my stitching calendar. I took the opportunity to finish the insert for my Lee's credit card case (sorry, no photo, it's already in use in my purse that's downstairs). I've started a new canvas for my Lee's bag as well. I finished up the 4th canvas in the Raymond Crawford calendar club from A Stitch in Time, & I've already started this month's canvas. Woo hoo! Big stash action!

Linda's recovering slowly; she's pretty limited in what she can do with that arm. Monday she'll see the doctor and start PT soon thereafter we're pretty sure. She's bored to tears, but is being a very good patient. I'm very proud of her discipline. I think she's going to heal up just fine!

It's going to be pretty warm here again tomorrow.....so I think stitching will continue. Next week promises the return of the insanity.....I can't believe the summer is half over!

Denise

Special Thank You and Progress Report

I want to thank every one for all their good thoughts. A very special thank you to Denise, my sister, for clearing her calendar to be with me on surgery day and also to my Southern Stitching Sister, Melinda, for the beautiful bouquet of flowers that arrived Friday morning. Also I want to thank Amy and Ruth for their emails of support. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

I have been very lucky in that I have not had any terrible pain. The first night my arm was numb so I felt nothing but I was told to take the pain pills to stay ahead of the pain. On Friday, I had mild discomfort but nothing I needed pain meds for but Don and Denise said to take them. On Saturday, I really had no pain but took the mildest pill. Today I stopped all pills. I feel pretty good. I am still having blurry vision, which is a side effect of one of the pills, and, of course, limited movement in my arm. I consider myself very lucky after all the horror stories I heard from people who had the surgery. The only inconvenience is sleeping in a chair but the good thing is my hair always looks perfect when I get up.

Linda

A Linda Update

Linda's surgery was successfully completed yesterday afternoon and she is home now resting as comfortably as possible after rotater cuff surgery. The report from the surgeon was that all went well and she recovered swiftly from her anesthesia. Last night, and again tonight, she has to sleep in a chair. This may have to ensue for a few days. She did her exercises today, as instructed, ate a little, made a few calls, looked at her newest Needlepoint Now, watched some TV & was generally bored out of her mind. She is taking her pain medication (begrudgingly), and fortunately is not feeling too much more than annoyingly uncomfortable, particularly because the arm's pretty unusable.

The pain meds make her too tired to stitch, so, naturally, she's a little cranky. I know all of you are thinking happy thoughts with me for her swift recovery, as her stash awaits her prompt attention!

I am in the midst of my crazy July, and will have a needlepoint update for you as soon as I can do some needlepoint!

Denise

FUN WEEKEND

Karen and I left on Friday for our class at Bedecked and Bedazzzled. Our first stop on our trip was to Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. It is about three years since I was last at Rittenhouse. I was shocked when I walked in to see all the new and wonderful threads they had. The store is just filled with threads. Our next stop was Fireside Stitchery also in PA. They were having a Pische trunk show and I purchased one of the small tote bags. Karen also purchased one with flowers and butterflies on it.

On Saturday morning we headed out to our class. Julia Snyder was teaching a Raymond Crawford piece and we were really looking forward to meeting her and seeing how she brought the canvas to life. Julia is a lovely person and she did a wonderful stitch guide for this piece. I am always happy when I learn something new and Julia taught us several things in class. The one stitch that I really loved was the beaded Jessica stitch. I would have never thought of beading this stitch. It gives the stitch a totally new look. We had such fun in class Julia is very funny and
we had a lovely time.

Denise & I are busily working on our Rebecca Woods "Twas the Night Before Christmas" piece that is the Christmas in July piece that our LNS is doing this summer. I am about three quarters of the way through the sky.

Denise will keep you informed as to my progress.

Linda

Busy Weekend

No photo from the Stitching Sisters today. Linda is on the road today, for a class at Bedecked and Bedazzled. On her road trip down with Karen, they stopped at Rittenhouse; Linda told me that I wouldn't recognize the place, it's just filled with threads and threads & threads! So glad they made this stop along the way.

Today I dropped off 14 ornaments for Christmas finishing to our local Stitch by Stitch. Can't believe Christmas finishing deadlines are looming ahead.

We have a huge family wedding this weekend; my cousin's daughter, Silvana is getting married tomorrow. The wedding's been in planning for over a year, and we are all so excited. My daughter Ashley is one of the 13 (!!) bridesmaids, so today was a big "beautification" day for Ashley and I.

I'll try to get up a wedding photo this weekend. Everyone, happy stitching!

Denise

Time to Catch Up

Here is the most recent of the Raymond Crawford ornament's from Fireside's club. I have four left in this club. I enjoyed the effect of the Boucle in the chain stitch, as it makes for a nice, embellished curve. I love the accent of the sequins on these pieces.

I am going to take a break from the ornaments now. If I put my mind to it, I probably could finish up this series in time for the Christmas finishing deadlines. I've decided, though, that I have too many canvases from wonderful classes with teachers like Tony Minieri and Sharon G; I want to work on those, and finish them. And I have two more classes coming up, one with Tony in August, and another with Amy in November.

It's raining here in NY, which caused the cancellation of one of the two 4th of July BBQ's we were attending this weekend. I am going to try to make some real progress on....something.

Wishing all of you a wonderful 4th of July. God Bless America.

Denise