New chapter in grasshopper hunting

Well, now Katie-Bug likes to bring her larger grasshoppers in the house. a lot of time she places it at Jack's feet for approval. This thrills Jack to no end!!! LOL! Poor guy! I tried to tell him she is bringing him a treat for being so good to her. He says he would prefer a different token of appreciation. I think it is just too funny!!! Of course I make Jack pick up the thing and put it outside. I for one am NOT touching it! i will handle small ones but not the big ones. YUCK!!!!!!!

Yesterday I was quite amused. This has nothing to do with grasshoppers but is still a bug. There was a small praying mantis on my marigolds. Katie never saw him and I am glad. But anyway, when she would get too close, the mantis would rear back and pull his front feet up. Looked like he was just daring her to come closer. I wonder if he had little boxing gloves to defend himself? LOL!

My first finished smalls pillow

Well I finally sewed up one of my little projects. Actually it is for a contest on the Stab and Stash Forum. It is called the Ugly Fabric contest. Loving sunflowers that is of course what I chose to stitch on it. They are not really visible, but i attached beads to the largest flower.

Victorian Girl with Roses

This is not the worlds best picture but here it is. I did this victorian girl for a friend. I need to get it framed and to her. It is a pattern out of a book called Sweeter Than the Rose from Leisure Arts.

Ahh fall!!!

It is certainly feeling like fall around here. Cool, pleasant nights and glorious days! We are surely enjoying it. The robins and hummingbirds have gone south for the winter. What amazes me is this. It is the time of year for the butterflies to migrate south too. We see them daily now fluttering by on their journey. Think about it for a moment. Isn't it amazing that they can make this trip? I mean, they are delicate creatures and not really meant to fly all those thousands of miles yet they do it. One of God's awesome miracles. Jack and I love to sit on the patio and watch them as they go by. You don't see nearly as many as you do in eastern Kansas. They are usually pretty thick there. Here it is just the fringes but we do see several a day.

What does fall mean to you? The end of summer and all it's fun? Too me it means a time to slow down, relax and enjoy life. Winter is coming, a time to rest and prepare for spring. I love the change of seasons. Here are a couple fall pics taken in my home town a couple years ago. I love them.

My basket from a dear friend

This is the handmade basket the 100 year old retired preacher made. I love it's rustic look and imperfections. It is made from oak strips. I treasure it and the memories it stirs up each time I look at it.

Our weekend

I wanted to share a couple pics with you. The first is the storm clouds coming our way. All we got was heavy rain and the lightening and thunder. However, some parts of Missoui were severely damaged with tornadoes and bad storms.

The next pic is Katie in a scarf that belonged to our Bubba Joe who passed away in March of 2004 at age 6 years. I know he would be pleased to see Katie wearing it. I will add a pic of him too. The pic is a artwork done by Larry merril. Bubba was quite the boy! He visited in nursing homes and never met a stranger. He could hold his ears up earning the nickname of Batdog!!! LOL! He was always a sickly dog but that didn't curb his zest for life. Someone remarked to me that Bubba lived more in his short 6 years than some folks do in 80. That's all for today. Hope your day is richly blessed!!!!

Small finish

Well I finished my little project I have worked on a few days. I added a couple buttons and called it done. Now I will make it into a pillow and put it in the basket. Just a refresher on the project. It was done on Harvest color 28 count luguna from Stab and Stash, DMC floss except for a little Autumn Leaves color floss from Carrie's Creation. The pat was a freebie from Rainbow Gallery.

Thanks Anne S!!!!!!

I have a lot of small projects laying around that I never knew quite what to do with them. Well now I do all thanks to a post on Anne S's Feather Stitching blog. Seems she makes them into little pillows and puts them in a basket. Well, that solves another problem! When I was still able to work I was a housekeeper in a small assisted living facility. There was a sweet retired preacher there who was 100 years young. He made baskets out of oak strips. I grew close to this wise, gentle man and he wanted to give me a basket so that I will always remember him. It is beautiful!!! He made it when his eyesight was failing so it is crooked but that is fine as nothing in life is ever perfect. So now I can put my small finishes in that basket. I know it will bring a smile each time I see it.

Batton down the hatches!!!

My goodnes it has been so terrible windy today. We had wind up to 30 miles an hour! We were supposed to have rain today but only had a little downburst tonight. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers though. We have a high risk of having severe thunderstorms tomorrow evening. We have had tornadoes even in December sometimes. Storms terrify me even though I know God has it all under control.

Here is a rainbow pic I took a few months back.

Anniversary sampler

Well, I finished my anniversary stitch a couple days ago. Now I just need to rummage through our frames and see what we have that it ill fit in. This was a simple fun stich and a nice break from my Gathering Honey project.

What a day!!!

Oh my but the weather is glorious here! I was actually cold taking Katie for her morning walk but I am not complaining one bit! Yesterday Jack, Katie and I spent time on the patio watching the horses out back. They aren't ours but I love to give them treats and pet them. They all are very sweet natured.

Of course with this nice weather, Katie has been a grasshopper chasing fool! She would go out every 5 minutes if allowed. Today she zeroed in on one and it jumped on her ear. It was funny! Katie didn't even know he was there. She was busy trying to find him in the grass! Too bad I didn't have my camera. I hope everyone out there is having an awesome week. Here is a pic of the view on the back of our duplex.

The horses were hiding out somewhere else when I took the picture. Oh well!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I Love" series

These are my 3 ladies from Cross Country Stitching magazine by Jeremiah Junction. They were easy and fun to do.

All my WIPS

this is all I have worked on the past week. I usually don't work on so much at one time. However, the tree skirt is heavy and makes my carpal tunnel in my left hand unhappy. So I can only manage about one day working on it with a couple days or so rest. Only 9 groups of berries left to go!!!! Also coming along nicely on my Gathering Honey one. Plus I stole one of Jack's project called Sewing Room. He got frustrated with it so I am finishing the satin stitches, french knots, and outlining.

Jack's WIP

Isn't this the cutest thing? This is what Jack is working on now. It goes with his "On the Pot" bear.

The dresser

I wanted to share this project with you. In April when we rented our duplex, the lady in the duplex west of us was moving out. She had put this dresser out to be thrown away. I wish I had taken a pic of what it looked like then. It was bad!!! The veneer was pulling away from the top, the carcass was coming apart at the joints, the drawers were coming apart and the finish was in real bad shape. It took us several months to bring it back. With our disabilities we work pretty slow. But it turned out wonderful!!! The style is called waterfall because of the way the top front curves. I love this style! We have a waterfall vanity that was my dad's. We also have a desk we bought at a garage sale that needs refinished. These pieces were made in the 1930's and 1940's. We will have to replace the handles on the dresser eventually as one is in pretty tough shape. Anyway, here it is!

My afghans

I wanted to share a picture of my afghans. I have been crocheting since my aunt taught me when I was around 12 years old. The pink and lavender afghan is Katie-bug's. It is called a nine patch. The other is called streaks of lightning. They are based on quilt patterns. This is how I quilt. I am working on a rail fence and log cabin pattern right now. Those are the next ones I want to crochet. I also have in the works an afghan called Double Diagonal that is bassed on a quilt pattern as well. i did not design that pattern. Anyway, thanks for looking.

Another project

I started a simple little project this week. That way if I need a little break form my Gathering Honey WIP I have something to work on. It is an anniversary cross stitch.

An older project

This is a cross stitch I did last year. It is supposed to have specialty buttons that look like houses and a church. I was never sure I wanted to use them. Well, this week I sat down and drew some houses and a church to cross stitch. It is a rough drawing but you get the idea.

The wild weekend drive!

Every now and then Jack and I like to go for a Sunday afternoon ride in the country just for fun. No place in particular at all. We just pick a direction and off we go for our little jaunt.
This was the first time we have done this since Katie our min pin came to live with us the end of May. We stopped and had a little bit of ice cream at Sonic and we were off.
Then Jack remarked that there was a grasshopper in the car on the back glass. I was thinking, "Just so long as he doesn't jump on me!" Then Katie spotted him and the battle was on. She was all over the back seat bouncing up, trying to get up in the window, zooming here and zipping there. It was a riot!!!! I wonder what people thought if they saw her!!!!!!! She caught it and much to my surprise she ate it! That WASN'T funny!!! I was so glad I wasn't eating my ice cream then! You should have seen Jack's face!!! LOL!!!!! He was really not enjoying it either!
However, Katie's expression was nothing short of smug!! She licked her lips, put her front paws on the console between us and acted as if nothing had happened. She was ready for her ride and that grasshopper was only a memory. I kinda felt sorry for the poor thing. That was the most interesting ride I have ever had.

To all my blogger friends

Well, I am sorry but Blogger will not let me post a comment on your blogs. I have the beta version and I guess most of you do not. Or they are having troubles. Please know I am reading your posts, just can't comment. Well, I figured out how I can comment! Yippee!!!! As long as I can comment without using my blogger I.D.

WIP-Gathering Honey

I am back on my current project after a small break. I have been working on the corner flowers. The blue periwinkles and strawberries are not too bad. However, the pink flowers gave me plenty of grief! I spent more time frogging than anything else. It took longer than it should have because I kept messing up. Oh well such is the fun of stitching! Thanks for looking!

I have created a monster!!!

Oh mercy but I have caused myself all kinds of grief!!! Katie-Bug loves to chase grasshoppers and , well, I egg her on when we are outside. I point out grasshoppers and tease her. It has backfired on me!!!!!!!! HELP!!! Now she is driving us both nuts wanting out every 5 minutes to go hunting. For those not familiar with min pins, they are very determined little beggars and I should have known better! Will I ever learn? As hubby says, probably not! LOL!

A finish

I finished this a couple days ago. It is what I worked on after I put my tree skirt down. Now I am back to the "Gathering Honey" project. I will work on the tree skirt one week a month until I get it done. I will have it finished one way or another by Christmas.

This project is on Magic Sprinkles fabric and the pattern is celtic keys in case anyone forgot.