Friday, May 16, 2008

START OF A WEEK



We paid a visit to our hometown the first of this week. And returned just in time for all this bad weather! We went to Tuscaloosa to check on my mother-in-law while my brother-in -law was out of town. She lives on Lake Tuscaloosa, which is actually 30-45 minutes outside TTown in a place called Northport. I took a few snaps of the lake and here they are. The large house is just across the lake from her house. We lovingly refer to it as the "Taj Mahal". We've never seen the inside of it and we're all a bit curious about it.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Mother's Day came early! The florist delivered these beautiful flowers yesterday: white roses, gerbera daisies, stock, white hydrangeas, glads and my favorite, bells of Ireland. And of course, my most favorite: orchids. All in a wonderful Shannon crystal vase. It's HUGE.

It came from David and the boys and I love it and them.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there in cyberspace.

Friday, May 9, 2008

HO HUM........



It's been a dull week-sort of. I finished one book and started another. And I finally finished a project started weeks ago.

I finished Mr. Darcy's Diary. I actually enjoyed this one. Mr. D's personality wasn't changed from the start: one can see his arrogance from the beginning. The author didn't try to excuse his behavior. She (Amanda Grange) left it as it was and it was possible to see him change his mind about Elizabeth. The interesting story within a story was the relationship between Anne de Burgh and Col. Fitzwilliam. That's a story for another book!

I've started reading Cranford. I watched PBS's production on Sunday night and thought it might be well to read the book. Well, PBS took quite a few liberties! The book is very short and the story line is a bit different than the movie. That's something you may discover for yourself. It's still a charming little book-and it is worth the read. Elizabeth Gaskell also wrote Wives and Daughters, which is a favorite DVD of mine. I think I'll read that one next.

I finally took the time to put my tea cozy together. The stitching chart was a freebie from Tanya Anderson at the Sampler Girl. I also stitched the bun warmer-it was included with the tea cozy pattern. I used one of the breast cancer fabrics. It is quite pretty and I have some fabric left for another project.

I also started stitching "Netty's Sampler Pinkeep Drum" by Stacy Nash Primitives. Robin Campbell had finished hers and I really fell in love with it. The stitching won't take long and the finishing instructions are fairly easy.



Sunday, May 4, 2008

THANK YOU, SARAH TOBIAS


I had a new finish this week. The needlecase and pincushion from Thank You, Sarah Tobias by Blackbird Designs were so fun to do and took very little time. The finishing instructions were so easy-the most difficult part was finding some fabby for the finish. I finally decided on the homespun green check from Hobby Lobby.
The fabric I stitched on was 30 count straw by Weeks and I used Crescent threads as suggested by the designer. I did add some blue because I just thought it needed it. The only drawback to Crescent threads is the color difference between skeins. I finally figured a way to use them to advantage, but not until I was well into the design. I'm running into the same problem as we speak. I'm working on "Daughters of Longbourn" by the Stitching Parlor. When more than one skein is called for I used a skein for a design and another-if there is a major color difference- for another design. It's an expense, but worth it because Crescent colors are so lovely.

I'm settling down for the night because Masterpiece Theater is having the first part of a major production tonight. Cranford starts tonight and I've been anxiously awaiting its start. And starting tonight the productions may be viewed on computer. Hooray!!!! And I'll be the first in line when it's released on DVD.