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The Dog Lives.....Barely!

Yesterday I finished working on my Skating Santa. As I put in the final stitches I realized it was time for me to pick my daughter up from her work. When I returned 20 minutes later I found the chewed up remains of my pen that I had use to make stitch guide notes in the bedroom. Not a good sign.... I had left the door to my studio open. I dashed into my studio and glanced around, everything looked alright but then the dog was acting rather guilty. When I inspected my just finished needlepoint I saw that the dog, bad thing that she will forever more be, had indeed enhansed my work. It was my own fault so I couldn't really yell at the dog. Word to the wise, never leave needlepoint on the floor with a sign on it that says "Eat Me".

Fortunately Santa only required minor surgery to be good as new.

You can see that I worked his beard and moustach in a couching stitch. I used one strand of Matte 18 #MO19. Couching goes really fast (I use two needles) and is one of my favorite ways to stitch beards or long hair.

The trim on his hat is done with Fancy Fur #FN62. I just made a series of straight stitches and then went back and fuzzed the thread up a bit.

All that is left now is to order the music box for his insides and then have it finished as a small stand up.

Happy Easter

Easter is such a fun holiday. I have bunnies all over the house, bowls of yummy candies and wooden eggs in the yard. And thanks to a rather mild winter my yard is a riot of color with everything blooming. I've even seen my first hummingbird. When I was young my mom would make up beautiful Easter baskets for all of us, then we would race through her garden filling them with the eggs she had hidden earlier. Some years we would get a baby chick or a bunny. I doubt the poor animal thought it was such a good thing. The picture shows one in my Two of Us Series, #74, Easter Time. In this one I've used lots of the Just Another Button Company's buttons in the border and the girls hair. I have a total of seven in this series covering most of the holidays and there is even one for a wedding. Happy Easter everyone.

Is Max Really A Cannibal?

One of my daughter's favorite books as a child was Max and The Chocolate Bunny, written by Rosemary Wells. I was reminded of this when I designed and stitched Max, #108. He is one in a group of five bunny egg's. Each egg is 4 x 5 inches in size. The first year I took the finished Max to the TNNA show I had a shop owner confide in me that she thought it seemed slightly cannibalistic, a bunny eating another (chocolate) bunny. I'd never thought of it that way.

The Dogwood Story

As we move into the Easter weekend I would like to share a story that never fails to move me and was the inspiration of the needlepoint piece you see to the left.

The author of the story is unknown.

It is said that at the time of the crucifixion of Christ, the Dogwood was a very large tree. So strong and firm that it was chosen as the timber for the cross. To be used for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the tree and Jesus sensed this. As he was nailed upon it, he sensed the remorse of the tree. In pity he said to the tree, "Because of your share of my suffering, never again shall the Dogwood Tree grow large enough to be put to such a purpose as this." He said, "Henceforth, the dogwood shall be slender and twisted. And the blossoms shall be in the form of a cross. Two long petals and two short. In the center of each petal there will be nail prints, Crown with rust and stained with red. And in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns.

And all who pass and see the Dogwood tree will remember me."

May you and your family have a blessed Easter.

Santa Progress

It hasn't all been baking cakes here, I have done some stitching on my Skating Santa. I finished the red tunic and moved on to his pants. I used a black Burmilana (#3892) and a Mosaic stitch. Next I filled in the white part of his skates with Petite Sparkle Rays (#PS21). I have a silver thread for the metal blades but I haven't stitched it yet. After the skates I moved up to his face.

I like the Kreinik Silk Mori #3042 for his skin and #3045A for his cheeks, a simple Basketweave stitch is used. His eyes are stitched with the same black Burmilana as the pants and each is a Smyrna Cross. His nose got the same treatment using Kreinik Silk Mori #1057 but I wanted it to be a larger (higher) bump so I added a few more stitches to build it up. I just made a few stitches of the same thread for his mouth. The hat is stitched in Double Baby Brick using Neon Rays #N118, and I'm thinking of using a small white pom-pom for the white ball at the tip of his hat. I wanted the mittens to look warm and fuzzy so naturally I used...Fuzzy Stuff, what else! I've stitched half of his right mitten. The green color is #FZ17. There isn't much left to stitch so I should be finished by the time I take another picture. Let's hope anyway.

Celebrate

Yesterday was a celebration day for us. St. Patrick's Day is my husbands birthday and it is also our wedding anniversary. Steve wanted everything on the same day so that he would have less chance of forgetting and ending up in the dog house. So far its worked. We decided early on that from midnight until 2:00pm was officially his birthday and from that point on it was our anniversary. I made a cake yesterday and while making the buttercream frosting I decided to tint it a pale green. Then I added dark green sugar crystals around the edge of the top. I placed our wedding cake topper in the center of the cake. A green bow, for Steve's birthday, is tied to one side of the cake plate and a gold bow, for our anniversary, is tied to the other. So I'm sending out hugs and kisses to my husband and sharing our good fortune with you. May you be as blessed as we.