Calendar Poodle SAL

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Crows

Hi friends! Still pretty cold and white here, what's new? ;)

I continue to stitch on my chocolate linen with pink flosses by day. I will give you a sneak peak of that piece soon. Getting close to a finish on my night time stitch, LK Spring String.

Do you like crows? I mostly like them. Our next door neighbor has been putting out bread for the birds for years. Just a small amount in the morning. Months ago, maybe even half a year ago, I noticed crows come and eat the bread. At first I thought, "Oh brother!" They are so noisy.

When I was 18, I worked at Hawthorn Glen, a small nature preserve in the city of Milwaukee. I took care of the animals in the nature museum. One of those animals was Bart. Bart was kept there because a young man had kept him as a pet when he was very young. Bart was a crow. He was a rascal and messy. The man tried to release him. He did not want to go.  He did not know what to do with Bart, so Bart came to live in the nature museum.

One day as I was cleaning the bottom of Bart's cage, he turned around on his perch and shot a poop right at me. It JUST missed.... my head! Then he faced me again and laughed. Yes, he laughed as a human does. Boy was I mad! For years I thought crows were punks because of Bart. Yes, it is true. I have since come to realize they are quite intelligent.

So a few weeks ago, I decided to toss out our old hot dog buns onto the trampoline in the back yard. You know, see if they would be brave enough to venture onto a trampoline. Oh they came to our neighbors, but it took almost a week for them to care about the buns on the trampoline. They came several days in a row and squawked and made a fuss. No one was brave enough to go get the food. Then as I sat at the kitchen table and stitched I caught sight of a crow who landed right on that trampoline. He thought for a bit as he walked timidly. He picked up a bun and off he flew. So no picture that day. Since then I have been listening for the noisy crow caws and go straight for the camera and the back window.
This first crow flew off seconds later with that half of a bun. The second and third pictures show the crow working away at Oatnut bread. ;) He could not free it from the snow. I went out and kicked it loose and he returned and flew off with it.
In other news, I finished reading the short book The Gift by T. Davis Bunn. A good, easy read. I also finished Leviticus and am into Numbers in the Bible now.

Thank you for your visit today and your friendship.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Friday, February 20, 2015

Dear Rudolph

Hi friends! Still frigid here. Our highs are in the single digits mostly and our lows are in the negative numbers. And it is snowing right now.

I have a finish to share with you all. Our friend Shirlee borrowed me the adorable Lizzie Kate pattern, Dear Rudolph. Madeleine commented more than once how cute it is. So I decided as I stitched it, I would make it into an ornament for her. Boy, was she surprised. So was everyone else in the family.  I guess no one thought you could receive a stitched ornament from Mom if it was not in your Christmas stocking. ;)
I stitched this two over two on the recommended lambswool linen. About half the colors are the recommended DMC. The other half are my own substitutions. Since Shirlee had already used the buttons for her finish, I bought tiny Christmas colored buttons from JoAnn for the stocking. I could not find teeny, tiny buttons for Rudolph's nose at JoAnn, Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I gave him a french knot nose and think he looks very good.
I had this great Christmas fabric in my stash. See the ribbon that matches perfectly? That was a gift from Annette two years ago. =)
Madeleine is happy and so am I. Shirlee will be happy when I get this pattern returned to her in the mail!

Still stitching up pink Quaker motifs on chocolate linen by day. I have started a new pattern for night time stitching. Can you guess what this is?
Thank you for your kind words and friendship. A warm welcome to my new followers also.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie
Madeleine's coat and sweater dumped on her bedroom floor after school make for a cozy bed for these two.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Valentine Finishes

Hi friends! Very cold here. And of course, still blanketed in white.

I stitched up two Valentine pieces for Jo's Valentine Blog Hop I took part in. I did the finishing on them and want to share them with you. Did you spot this one on Jo's blog? This was a Valentine for her.♥
That is June the poodle on the right. A gift from, you guessed it, June.
This first one uses a freebie for the word LOVE. You can find this tiny freebie by clicking right here. Have a look around while you visit the blog. There a few more small freebies too.

How do you like the poodles? I designed them! tee hee! I am happy because I do NOT find designing cross stitch easy at all. And, I think I captured Mabel and Henry.
I stitched this two over two on 30ct Antique White linen. I used Nancy's/Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe Floss in Valentine Red ;). For Henry I used DMC and Anchor flosses. Mabel is in all DMC.

I also used Nancy's red rick rack in the finishing. I had the Valentine fabric, pink ribbon and poodle charm in my stash.

Just so there is no misunderstanding, Mabel and Henry are NOT in LOVE. I was expressing MY love of poodles. ;)

My second Valentine finish is also a freebie. I came across THIS FANTASTIC BLOG THAT HAS MANY FREEBIES FOR US. Click this link here for this next pattern. You have to scroll down the page a bit. Go check out this wonderful site if you love freebies. You will NOT be sorry.
So, isn't this sweet? I just found it adorable. This is the Valentine stitch sent to my partner in the Valentine Blog Hop. I stitched this one over one on 32ct Angel Blush ;) Linen. I used Nancy's 1795 Faded Sampler Red Light floss. I asked Miss Madeleine for fabric and floss input. She chose both. And no, she did not know the linen was called Angel Blush.  I occasionally ask her for input on linen and floss colors. I hope to keep her involved, even in just that small way, with stitching. She has stitched only a handful of items in her 16 years of life so far. I am hoping she takes stitching up again one day. How great it would be to sit and stitch with her.♥
I simply encircled this sweet pinpillow with some x's. The backing fabric is just pink linen fabric, slightly darker, I had in my stash.

I am not done sharing freebie links with you yet friends. If you love poodle freebies, wait. You do don't you? Am I REALLY the ONLY one who loves poodle freebies? NO, this cannot be. Well, in case there is one more stitcher out there who also wants to stitch up more than one free poodle pattern, yes, seriously!, click on this site link: Fearn Abbey Needlework. Take a look under designs. tee hee!

I did finishing on the Lizzie Kate ornament also. I will share that next time.

I finished Exodus. I am now reading Leviticus. Keeping up on my daily Bible reading!
I am so glad you stopped by today friends. Have a great week in the Lord!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop

Hi friends! Welcome new friends! Happy Valentine's Day! I am taking part in the Valentine Blog Hop hosted by Jo/Serendipitous Stitching. Click on that link above to see the list of participants and you can see what Valentine each of them have received. I received this adorably sweet stitched Valentine.
Aww, isn't it precious? Now I just have to wait for my Secret Stitcher to stop by and tell me who they are.

I will soon share with you two Valentine pieces I stitched up earlier this month. I am waiting for my Sweetheart Blog Hop recipient to receive them first.

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1John 4:16

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

A Perfect Gift

Hi friends! I received the most wonderful surprise in the mail yesterday. Our friend Mii Stitch sent me a fabulous pinkeep by Joan Elliott. Have a look!
Is this not darling?! Just look at that wagging tail! I LOVE this!! Did you notice she stitched this sweet poodle on pink evenweave for me too? I sure did. :)
What perfectly matched fabric for the back. And a precious butterfly pin for the top. Can you possibly tell I adore this gift?! Ha! I forgot to share how our sweet friend wrapped this up for me. Pink perfection!
This precious pinkeep is on display in our front room with my Valentine display. Oh Ingrid, I am so very thankful. This sweet gift comes at a perfect time. I am fighting feeling down. I have been suffering a new, additional daily pain. I think this may be sciatic. I see the pain doctor next month.

I finished listening to Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good by Jan Karon. This is her latest book and I cannot recommend it enough. What a great read. This is Jan's 23rd book, and I have read them all. :)

I am currently stitching pink quaker motifs on a dark chocolate linen. I stitch this during the day. These aging eyes cannot see the holes well at night. So my nighttime stitch is a Lizzie Kate ornament. Pictures of that one soon.

Thank you for stopping by my friends. I appreciate your friendship. I am so glad to have you in my life.♥

Take care and have a blessed week in the Lord.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Smalls Again, Hooray!

Hi friends!

I have stitched two smalls, and I am not showing you them yet. I think they will both be for Jo's annual Valentine's Day Blog Hop. Well, here is a microscopic peek. ;)
I have begun framing the needlepoint icon. I spent one hour last night pinning it.  Glad that part is done. ;)

I am not much of a tea drinker. I have perhaps one cup a week. I do have 4 or 5 tea chai lattes weekly though. My loving husband Brian makes them for me. My favorite kind is Pumpkin Spice.
Speaking of pumpkin, I baked pumpkin bread. mmmmmm! Love pumpkin.
 I also baked  Vienna bread and cheese bread. I did not take a picture of the cheese bread. I may stop taking pictures of the breads. I will still be baking them, but I do not want to bore you.
I finished reading The Quilt by T. Davis Bunn. This book was recommended to me by Maggee. What a great read this was. I am now listening to Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good  by Jan Karon. I am absolutely enjoying myself. I have listened to quite a few books on CD and do not always think the voice matches up with what I expect or imagined. This narrator is just perfect for this book. I have read every single book Jan Karon has written. That would be 23 books relating to Mitford and Father Tim ( the main character in these books). They are about a priest in small town life. Some humor and small drama in every book.

I am so glad you visited with me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend my friends.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie