Updates Galore

Wow, I lost a whole week somewhere!  I've been around, I've even been stitching!  I guess I just haven't had a lot to say blog-wise.  But my grandparents have received their anniversary gift, so I can talk about the finish of Dove Love!

First of all, here's Dove Love, a freebie from Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks, all finished.  It was stitched 2-over-1 on 28-count linen.  Colors are DMC - 2 are as called for, and the other 2 are "close enoughs" I had in my stash.  Stitching time on this was about 3 months.  I fray-checked the edges and machine-stitched this piece to a piece of muslin.  Katie chose the red and gold ribbon that I used to cover the linens edges - note: I cut the stitching fabric before I knew how I would finish this piece.  I used this as the cover of the the Family Tree Book.  You'll see the colors repeated on another "page".  There are 8 small hearts on Dove Love, which to me stand for the 8 grandchildren.

Her'e a scan of the cover page.  Thanks to Debbie from Tangled Stitch for her input on bringing this concept from my head to fabric.  You should be able to see on the tree, there are 8 red hears (grandchildren again) and 4 yellow hearts for my dad and his sisters.  The great-grandchildren are there, too, they are just leaves branching off from red-heart-branches.

The subsequent pages have a lot of my family's personal information on them, so I won't post them.  They've all received scans via e-mail.  But I'll describe them.  I made four additional pages, for my dad and his 3 sisters.  I continued the colorway, so my dad's name is in the mustard-yellow, and each of his children are in the blue-red.  The dates are like the branches on the trees - the numbers are done in green, to look like leaves and the slash marks are satin-stitched in brown.  However, instead of birthdates, I incorporated baptism dates.  On each page is a portion of the scripture found in III John verse 4 - "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are living according to the truth. " (NIV).  I know this verse means so much to my grandparents, who have dedicated their lives to ministry.  But the ministry always started at home.  This book is not just about births in the family, it's about legacy.

Here's what it looks like all put together.  It folded flat for shipping (yay!),  but it can also stand on the back page to be a display piece.  I included this picture in the package, and it was a good thing I did!  My grandparents love puzzle things, and they like watching people try to figure things out.  Not only does it stand like a pyramid, it also doesn't read straight front to back, so people have to flip it around - LOL, it will give them hours of entertainment.

Here's BoInk through week 11 - I didn't stitch this last Sunday.  I took a few days off after finishing the book, and the kids had a choir concert, so I felt it was as good a time as any to take a break on this one.  I still have a bit of color on the cat (did we decide it's a cat?) in the top right corner - the purple is a color I have to steal from Emma's baggie, but I can do that because.......

I've finished all the cross stitches on Emma #2!  Mini happy dance - still have a heck of a lot of backstitching, "lace" and a few beads to sew in place.  But you all know how I like that light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dim it may be.

Also, I did hear back from my friend, and she's received the little purse I sent her, and she loves it, so I feel very happy about that.

House updates - we've passed the appraisal, and have entered the underwriting phase of loan approval.  Closing is still set for the 29th - is that really next week?  Could it really happen?  We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond today to just look for curtains - we'll need something for the living room slider, and we want a cafe curtain for the dining room and a valance for the kitchen.  I'm not big into matchy-matchy things, but I do like things to go together.  We found a panel we liked, and the person looked it up and said "Good news - it's on clearance, only $9.99/panel.  Bad news - our store is completely out." So he ordered all the panels we needed from other stores in the area, which will ship directly to us.  I remember a time when you actually had to drive to other towns and hope and pray that the clearance item was still waiting for you.  We plan to cut down one of the drapery panels and make our own cafe curtains and valance out of that.

In the meantime, I really should start cleaning, decluttering and packing.  My husband is so much better at the packing part, but he's still in Seattle, so I have to do it myself.  I've put the girls to work this evening, separating all the plastic grocery bags in the kitchen by store type (Walmart, WinCo, Albertsons, etc.).  Now that Katie's potty-trained, I don't have the need for as many plastic bags.  I need a craft idea for these!

I hope everyone has a safe weekend - it's a holiday in the US, Memorial Day, on Monday.  The unofficial start of summer.  We'll bbq hamburgers on Sunday and steak on Monday, with sweet corn, baked potatoes and orange soda.  Until next time...

The joy of finishing

I'm working away at the Dove Love finish today - I'm ready to start gluing!  And stitching more.  I want to finish by Friday, just because I think I can.  My brain is spinning with "what do I attach first" dilemmas, and I wish I could show it to you all.  As soon as my grandparents have received, I'll post lots of pics, I promise!!!

Saturday Update

BoInk week 10 - I've graduated from scanning to photographing.  It's too wide for my scanner.  It will be boring again for a couple of weeks, I really need to get more frame done before I do another motif.

Emma #2 - this is where I finished after the SAL a couple of weeks ago.  I tried to work on it during the kids' choir practice on Wednesday night.  I opened up the stitching bag, pulled out the fabric, and discovered I forgot the needle.  Oh well.  Another Facebook SAL next weekend.  Since I WILL finish my Dove Love finish this week, I can focus on Emma #2 during that time.  Is it possible to have 2 finishes in a week?  LOL

As far as the Dove Love finish goes, yesterday I cut a bunch of pieces of cardboard.  I have a bit more stitching to do, and then I start gluing.

I have to mow the lawn this morning, then this afternoon we're going to go do more serious paint-color-looking.  Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies tomorrow - have a great weekend!

Goal update time!

My goals for April were pretty simple - I'd just found out that our offer on the house had been accepted, and I was a little distracted. So let's see how I did:

Finish-Finish gift for grandparents (that's Dove Love, if you haven't been following along) - no, but I'm making really good progress on it. Thanks to Debra Ann for her input via e-mail!
Stick to weekly stitching schedule - ummmm, yes? BoInk is easy to stick to - I'm so excited to work on it on Sundays. The others, well, I've been more flexible with them, but I'm accomplishing stuff...
Pack 2 boxes each week (maybe starting with beads) - nope! Haven't even started. But the beads are off my work table.
Focus on what I'm doing in the moment instead of being distracted by paint colors, new drapes, etc. - ummm, no, I found a game on facebook that I really like, and I've been spending way too much time there. I've recently started sitting down with stitching at the computer so I can stitch and chat while I wait to recharge...

Goals for May (holy cow, I can't believe it's May):

Finish-finish Dove Love. That means all stitches in all pieces of fabric, every drop of glue dried, finished product mailed before May 31.
Finish cross stitches on Emma #2. I only have 2 shades of pink left. I think that goal is totally achievable.
Sew dresses, but not until I finish stitching Dove Love finish.

I'm a little sad that I decided to pass up the most recent TTE - I really wanted to do a floss tag. But I have to be realistic - I just won't have the time to give to it without taking away from my other commitments.

I think anything I achieve above these is commendable, considering we'll be moving! We got the official word, the "seller" has recorded and officially owns the house he's trying to sell us, so we can move forward with the financing part. We have most of the documents already, but we're looking at a closing date of May 29. Only 2 weeks later, and if our landlords will let us have until June 15 to be out, then Hallie can finish out the school year on the same bus route and we can still have 2 weeks to peel wallpaper and paint before we move in.

I hope everyone has a great month of May, everyone! Thanks for reading!

Saturday Update

Final pics of Dove Love for a while, BoInk update, and a Lizzie*Kate finish-finish!
Dove Love at the stitchery "spa" - can you see the pins? Ahh, relaxing all the tension on the left side.



Time for a back massage! I mean, press. LOL, for those who like to check others' work, here you go. Remember, this is over-1. Go ahead, compliment me.



BoInk week 5 - I did more of the black knotwork at the bottom, just to be sure I was all-good. Then I went back to the top of this motif to start filling in. Very much enjoying this project, I wish I could do more than one day a week on it!



And Lizzie*Kate! Gift #1 is stitched and finished! This is an L*K snippet, "Ask Me About My Grandkids", Silkweaver Solo 28ct Cashel Linen, DMC flosses. Finished as a photo frame, using satin stitches to reinforce the cutout. The fabric is glued, but the picture can be changed. Yay, me! It even has a ribbon hanger (it's hanging on a coat hook in the pic), and handmade cording to cover the seams. Backing fabric nearly matches the linen. I'm not sure why it's so weird looking in the pic - it's kind of a cloudy-aqua, and I had some quilting fabric on hand that matched. Thank you to Vonna (The Twisted Stitcher) for her flat-fold instructions - I'm adapting them to other finishing techniques, as you can see.

Goal Review Time (You want to read this one!)

Recap of March Goals

Stitching:

Complete 3 new items for Etsy - no - I think I posted one new item, I have another one waiting to be finish-finished.
Stick to my stitching schedule (posted on the right) - weekly progress in each category - I'm going to say yes
Finish stitching Dove Love by 3/25 and move on to finishing - Completed 3/29!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stitch and finish Lizzie*Kate gift by 3/31 - will complete stitching today (3/31)
Stitch, finish and mail TTE Biscornu exchange piece by 3/31 (deadline) - mailed 3/28, and Dawn has already received.

Beading:

Organize stash (I know, too general) - no
Try one new seed bead stitch by 3/17 - no

Blogging:

Maintain posting pace (I'm happy with it, are you happy with it?) - yes
Create widget for bracelet giveaway - yes
Comment at least weekly on fellow stitching blogs - yes

Miscellaneous things I hope to attain by 3/31:

Find a house!!!!! - yes!!!!!!! We just heard back from the agent on the house we saw Saturday - the only change the seller wants is to exclude the storage shed in the back yard. Um, okay! Pending inspection, closing May 15!!!!! Pics later when more docs have been signed. But we were praying for a quick answer and we got one - the offer was sent at 6 last night, with a response by 10 this morning.
Potty train Katie!!!! - I'm gonna say...yes!!! She's been dry all day every day since Friday afternoon - Day 3. She's in pull-ups at night still, but I'm good with that. She even made it through Costco on Sunday without an accident, and I got out of Costco for less than $100.
Regular fitness routine - no, but I've been busy! And I always lose 5 pounds when I move, and it's almost time to start mowing the lawn again, and my size 14 jeans have a hole in them, so I have no choice but to fit into the size 12. Motivation, right?

So, goals for April:

Finish-Finish gift for grandparents (that's Dove Love, if you haven't been following along)
Stick to weekly stitching schedule
Pack 2 boxes each week (maybe starting with beads)
Focus on what I'm doing in the moment instead of being distracted by paint colors, new drapes, etc.

Happy Dance!

Dove Love is a complete! Yay! (This is how I twirl in cyberspace.) It's spending some quality stretch and rest time on my measure/press/cut thing downstairs. It's kind of like a spa for stitching, LOL. Although I don't know that I'd want to be pinned in 8 places and left to stretch for 24 hours. Sorry, I'm on my first full day without cold medicine, so I may not make sense. I may edit with a pic later, I may not. I'm just thrilled to have that WIP moved to the finish pile.

Saturday Update

I've been focusing this week on what I do have, what I've been able to accomplish. I'm trying to keep that positive attitude in every aspect of my life. I was so determined to finish Dove Love this week! And then this darn cold/flu thing knocked me on my butt! It's annoying, because I had enough energy to sit in the chaise and watch TV, but not enough to stitch. The last 2 nights I was in bed, lights out by 10 (early for me). So keeping that in mind:


I'm grateful to only have about 6 rows left in the tail. I'm grateful to only have about 6 rows left in the tail. I'm grateful...you get the idea. Maybe next week I'll just post a pic of the back. :D



BoInk - I decided to start Motif #1, and I'm glad I did, because in stitching the black tops of the knotwork, I discovered that I am not off at all in my count. Yippee! I really like the orange I chose - alone with the black, it looks like gold/copper filigree.


Housey-ness: No response from the seller on the cute blue house. Our offer expired at 7 pm on Friday, so we're not obligated. We looked at some more today, and found one that's very similar to the one we're renting - exact layout, somewhere, it's 400 square feet smaller. There's one less bathroom, and I think most of the lost space is in the kitchen/dining room. So we'll be talking about whether to wait for the sellers to come back with a counter offer or walk away and go for the one we saw today. I'm not as excited about it, but it is still in this area and in our price range. And it's pretty much move-in ready - just depersonalizing and repersonalizing bedrooms, and removing borders in all the main living areas. Holy cow, border-happy people!

Katie-ness: I think she's made herself "sick" - her tummy hurts and she has a fever, and you know, I'm pretty sure it's been since Monday or Tuesday that she pooped. But she's been dry all day, including wandering around strange houses.

While I wait...

We found out yesterday that we were the 3rd offer in on the house. They have until Friday evening to get back to us. They also discovered the 500 foot discrepancy between the listing and the actual house size, so I won't be surprised if they don't accept any offers and relist at a higher price.

I've nearly finished Dove Love. All I have left is the tail portion on the heart! My goal was to finish by yesterday. I think under the circumstances 1 day late counts. I'm determined, even with a cold/flu, to finish that tail today. I will do as much stitching as I can before my eyes feel like they've shrunk inside my head.

Yes, my wonderful children have shared their germs, and I have a fuzzy-headed, volcanic-sneezy cold/flu thing. I have little appetite (Mommy's sorry, girls) and I feel yucky (again, sorry). Why does Mommy always get the sickness last? I'm the worst about telling my kids "it's just a cold, you don't feel that bad, go eat your dinner, I got pizza because I know you'll eat it" - oops. Yesterday I managed to make meatloaf and get it out of the oven before my hips and shoulders started aching. It wasn't so much that I wasn't hungry, I just didn't feel like eating until later. I warmed up a can of cream of chicken soup and drank it, along with some 7-Up, just cuz.

Otherwise, I'm chilling (literally) and playing games on Facebook, oh and trying the 3-day potty training method. Yesterday was day 1 - the only times Katie went potty and stayed dry were when I told her to go before nap and before bedtime. It's the "tell Mommy" that seems to give her a hard time. We've been "going potty" for nearly 2 years - she has to get it soon, right?

Thanks for visiting me - at least you can't get germs through cyberspace.

Saturday Update

Book of Ink Circles - I did not get very much done at all. Just enough to discover that I'm off one square each way on the outline of the first motif. I think Sunday I'll finish the outline of this motif and either start filling in the motif or do the yellow border.



Here's Dove Love! Okay, maybe it'll take me until next Friday to finish, but I'll definitely (I think) complete it this month. I've started thinking on paper and fabric about the finishing. And now my lips (fingers) are sealed, because otherwise I'll give it away.


House hunting! This one just showed up on our list this week, and it sounded really small, so we almost didn't look at it. I'm glad we did, because the square footage has to be a typo. This home is beautiful inside, well below our budget, needs some work, and we still love it. I'll keep you updated, it sounds like we're going to try to move forward on it. The realtor (foreground) and I went back with the camera and tape measures for a second look on the same day. I'm e-mailing 83 pictures to DH since he wasn't here to look at it with us. It's within 3 year-old walking distance of the grocery store, and still in the part of town where we live now. People who pray, please will you pray about this for us? It's scary, since this is our first home buying experience, it's a 70 year old house, and so many things can go wrong...but it feels right.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.

Saturday update - March 14

Picture updates!
BoInk first - 475 stitches accomplished on Sunday. I think I mentioned that we went out for pizza after church with dh. So it took us a while to get home, and settle the kids down.

This is Pixie's Lady - round 6 of the round robin. This will be my Tuesday stitching. It's a little big for my scanner, so when I finish my part, I'll take a pic with my camera.






Here's Emma #2 (as promised). All the green is done! Marilyn, I love you, but not everything has too look like a watercolor! Oh wait, that's the whole point of your designs! So the hollyhocks are coming along nicely, and even the ribbon is looking like a ribbon. I'm excited for Wednesday, now - I think I'll work on the roses in her hands.

Finally (the one you've been waiting for) - Dove Love! I made my goal of finishing the 2 colors. All that's left is the rest of the dove. I think I'll make my goal of 3/25. I had to press it already, so that I could get an accurate measure of the fabric and design area. Pressing always makes it look better, because I use beeswax on my thread to prevent tangling. I tried Thread Heaven, and kind of liked it until it got really far down inside the box. My hunk of beeswax has been with me since I started beading, and I'm really comfortable with it. And I know it disappears with heat!

Have a great week, everyone. We're planning a quiet day here - my mom has had a cold since last week, and Hallie woke up at midnight last night complaining of an ear ache. No fever, and the pain went away with Motrin, but she said it was starting to hurt a little again this morning. So it's Veggietales for them this morning until we maybe go to Costco. I'm hoping her body will fight this off - she hasn't had an ear infection in about 4 years.

Saturday update - March 7

Okay, progress for the week. First - Book of Ink Circles. 610 stitches in less than 6 hours last Sunday. A pretty good start, and by looking at the progress of the other SAL members, pretty average, too!

Dove Love - I'm on the home stretch of the red - finish the large heart and 2 smaller hearts, then on to gold. I really wanted to finish the large heart this week, but DH arrived home, and biscornu and a surprise date....well, it just didn't happen, that's all! In addition to adding a couple more rows this afternoon, I also worked more on my finishing ideas. Don't tempt me to tell you by asking - you never know who reads blogs, and this is a gift for my grandparents.

Emma has no new stitches on her - she stayed in her bag when I was distracted by my biscornu exchange. All the stitching is done, it's been "blocked" and pressed, and I'm forcing myself to wait until Tuesday to start assembly.

My date with DH last night was fun! What a surprise - not only dinner without the kids, but a hotel suite with a jetted tub. It was a great opportunity for us to be like we were before we became parents. No, I did not take any stitching with me ;).

We were home by 10:30 this morning - the hotel was hosting at least 3 basketball teams in the state tournament, and there was no breakfast left by the time we got to the lobby! Plus we missed the kids lots, so we went home and had breakfast, then went house-hunting, so DH could see the houses on the short list.

I hope you all are having a good weekend!

Saturday Update - February 28

Dove Love from last week and this week. Pretty good progress, since I only spent about 2 days on it this week. My girls have both said, "Mama! The big heart is almost done!"

I spent most of the week working on the 3 Ladies round robin round 5, so I could be finished by this weekend. Only to discover that Pixie is not ready to receive, so I'll hold it until she says she's ready for it. I think this is Rebekah's:

My work is all above the crease.

Other work this week - sorting beads (I'm only doing about 15-30 minutes each day, or else I'll go blind and my shoulders will be tense beyond all hope), and an hour on Emma. Last Saturday I stitched another handbag for Etsy - start to finish in one day! Shock! But I still need cording for the handle. I'd like to incorporate beads, but I'm not sure how to make it durable and pretty. No picture because it's not technically finished. I'm planning to head out to the store today, so maybe I'll find some commercial cording that makes me happy, just to finish it.

Book of Ink Circles SAL starts tomorrow! Yay!

Otherwise, no new news on house-hunting - we still have 2 houses on our short list, no new listings to look at this weekend. DH will be home next week (yay!), so we'll take him to see the short list houses and get his input. Hallie has some virus, she started with a tummy ache and fever on Thursday, and it's been up and down since then. I think she's a bit better today, more energy, cheeks not quite as pink, but when she tries to eat crackers and drink apple juice she says her stomach hurts. And with the little one, it's hard to tell if she's really sick, because she listens carefully to her sister's symptoms and copies her. Oh! And my best friend will be visiting some time soon. She had a family emergency that took her from Montana to Seattle, and since the emergency is less emergent, she's making plans to return home by visiting me! It's been about 18 months since I've seen her and her kids. It would be nice to have Emma #2 finished so she can just take them both with her, but I don't think that will happen!

Remember my bracelet experiment from yesterday's post. I still have 3 unclaimed. I may create a widget for it soon. But if you want a bracelet, read the "beading" post, and leave a comment with your e-mail! Thanks! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Saturday update - February 21

Before and after of Dove Love for this week. Of course, I think I should have done more, but I'm happy with what I've accomplished so far. I won't stitch as much on this during the week, because I have a deadline for my 3 Ladies Round Robin, and I want to meet that. So I'll put Dove Love aside until that is ready to send on.

For Etsy today, I'll be working on a black, more formal, version of the little handbag I posted last week. This is actually what I was inspired to do back in December, and I had to wait until my other projects were done, and the black stitching fabric arrived. I'm excited about the color scheme. For those who've asked about international shipping, I'm slowly adding that option to my listings. It's a bit of a pain to add multiple shipping options - I guess I just need to print out my prices and do it manually instead of using saved options.

I'm also getting excited about the Book of Ink Circles SAL starting March 1 - I'll spend this Sunday afternoon (or maybe during the Oscars) gridding my fabric so it's easier to keep track from week to week. I'm also planning to keep better track of the number of hours I spend on this project. Just for myself.

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading!

Saturday update - February 14

This is what disappointment looks like - so close to finishing that section! But my eyes gave out. I'm tempted to avoid red for a while. It's not so much the color as the 2-over-1ness. The rows are getting squishy, and I have to hold it really close to my face to try to stay in a straight line. You can see that I was smart, and outlined the rest of the section so I didn't have to worry about counting. I posted the link to this pattern yesterday.

This morning we're heading to Costco, and then this afternoon is a baby "reveal" (to appease the church ladies who hold that second babies don't deserve a "shower") for my pastor's wife.

At some point I WILL finish that wristlet. I got it stitched together the way I thought was right, then I second-guessed myself. I ripped it apart. and pinned it together a different way, but set it aside until "later". During dinner, I played with a napkin and figured out that I was right the first time - it would be the least amount of work, and still look nicely finished. I also need to make some cording for the handle. I'm still deciding on colors and technique for the cording. The twisted method is really easy, but I'd like to add some beads, and I'm not sure how to get them uniformly twisted in.

Again, happy Valentine's day to all. Today is also my half-iversary, but no celebration for either event with DH in Seattle. I'm praying that by our 10th anniversary (August) he will have a job here in ID. This has been a rough time, but I know our marriage will be stronger for it. Okay, a rare moment of very personal sappiness from me! Love to all my readers!

Friday Thoughts, and Dove Love link

I'll post progress pics tomorrow as usual. I have a mental goal that is totally achievable today, as long as I get off the computer and get to work. I'm working away at the bottom of the big heart in Dove Love. For those who wanted to know where I found this AAN freebie (!!), look here: http://www.inkcircles.com/html/2007%20Goodies.html. Scroll down below September 2007. It's a PDF file, so you'll need Adobe Reader. If you don't have it, why are you reading blogs? LOL.

I came down with a cold on Tuesday, and I'm blaming my kids. I was feeling a little better yesterday evening, and then I took NyQuil, just in case. Only a half dose. Apparently, even that is too much alcohol for me, because I had a tough time waking up. Now I have the fuzzy head that had trouble thinking straight. Sorry if this is rambly - I'm blaming the cold medicine. I'll try to work some more on the Etsy wristlet while the kids rot their brains with Dora and Diego. Sitting the other day was really hurting my tailbone (yes, it still hurts from my fall, no I haven't been to the dr.), so I may try standing and beading. Unless I get dizzy.

On a totally off-topic thing (again, blaming the cold medicine), I got a message on Facebook from a college acquaintance. When we were in college, I called her a friend. We were associated for a year, and then she left school for her own reasons, and the next time I saw her, she didn't say a word to me. Now she's all friendly, and not really asking for a friend request, but I know what she's getting at...Do I "friend" her? I've friended "virtual" strangers who are fellow stitchers (hi, Julie!), but I don't know. Do I wait for the cold to subside and deal with it then? Wait for my best friend to be in a better cell reception area so we can disect the situation thoroughly? I don't know!

Happy Valentines Day everyone, thanks for reading!

Saturday update - February 7

More Dove Love! Here's my progress as of last Saturday:

And my progress through last night:

The entire bottom right corner is finished! This represents "2 pages" and a big hunk of the bottom middle of the design.

I did my Etsy work earlier this week. I'm still hoping for some comments on my current piece - even from non-stitchers. I feel like something is missing, and I want to get it right.

Here's a "before" picture of Emma #2:

I'm taking part in a Facebook group SAL - working on whatever we're working on for the weekend. So I'm going to do some work on Emma - hopefully finish leaves and start getting more color on the fabric. I haven't posted any updates on her in a while, so I thought I'd share this as long as I was scanning it for that.

Otherwise, this morning will be spent house-hunting! I have to go eat and get dressed so we can meet the realtor.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for looking, and I'd love to hear your comments!

Saturday Update

More Dove Love! Here's my progress as of last Saturday:

And my progress through last night:

I was excited to finish the right-hand dove completely last night. It's finally looking like something.

Today is my "Etsy day", so I'll finish the orange and yellow piece into a black tote bag and get that posted by tonight. It's been very easy to avoid the sewing machine this week. It's my least favorite part!

We spent the morning at the realtor's office, meeting with the agent and a lender. We're disappointed that we won't be able to afford as much as we hoped, but it's still do-able, especially in our market. We know that "our house" is around here somewhere. We just need to be patient and keep our eyes open, and be tough negotiators!

Thanks for everyone who reads and comments - I really do appreciate it!

Saturday Update

I've spent most of the week working on Dove Love. Here's my progress as of last Saturday:

And my progress through this morning:

This is all still the same page of the pattern - I finished the solid part of the heart, started the vine, and the accent heart, and made good progress on the right-side dove. I get bored just filling in the blanks, so I also started on the upper portion - you can begin to see the feather details and the wing shape. I'm frustrated that it's coming along so slowly - it seems like I should be able to accomplish more when I have about 4 hours each day to devote to stitching.

I've also worked on the Hardanger piece for Etsy (orange and yellow). Here's the inspiration fabric and my thread choices:

And the piece I stitched. It will be backed with black. And I need to do some more detail in the orange diamonds:

I want to finish stitching this today, so I can "finish" it tomorrow, and go back to Hardanger lessons for this coming week. I know, I've been promising that for a while. But it's time to get back to work!