Stuck

I'm glad I didn't dedicate this blog to my cross-stitch efforts, since there has not been much work to show lately. Spend a lot of time on little Quaker motifs and the Workbasket Quaker Animals, but since they may be part of an exchange I can't post any photos. So there has been some stitching going on...really there has. I saw a very interesting item on another blog. I think I got there through Anna, but I can't seem to retrace my steps now. Anyway, it is a 'project bag'. A large zipper bag that can fit a magazine or chart, fabrics and threads. Even scissors I suppose, since they always seem to poke through the nasty zippy plastic bags I use. Yes, the plastic bags are cheap and convenient, but I found out while stitching outside that if you set them down in the sun they gather a lovely amount of moisture that turns photocopied charts into a watery blur. Then all the ink gets on your fabric!! So here is my effort at a project bag. It is 12 inches by 15 inches. I chose the size to coordinate with the only large zipper I had hanging around, but I think 12 inches is a good size. I want to make some matching accessories to go with it, like a scissor case and a floss tag. I got a wonderful selection of Quaker charts from the lovely Nicole from Belgium yesterday. A huge "THANK YOU" to her. She always makes my stitching wishes come true. There is a huge red Quaker Sampler from Long Dog that has a perfect rose motif that I can stitch with blue on yellow fabric to match this bag. Then there is a stash of lovely coordinated kitty material that I had set aside for a baby quilt (the child is 10 years old now!) that I will try to make up into another bag tonight. I see the Christmas list being filled up already!!

The rest of my time is spent in the garden. The weather has been lovely....a true Spring with moderate temperatures in the day (65-75F) and cool nights. Ohio weather is so odd. Sometimes we go right from snow and wind to boiling hot without much of a Spring. That is terrible for my garden. I think this year I will have a bumper-crop of veggies. The "Jubilee" yellow tomatoes went in yesterday along with the basil. The little striped Roma tomatoes that I started from seed are still too small. I am still waiting on the lemon cucumbers, eggplant and spaghetti squash seeds to sprout. The sweet banana peppers go in this evening after work. I have to limit myself on what I plant. We have plenty of space, but I want to make sure everything gets eaten. Since Joe is not a big veg eater I pick out my favorites and plant those. The 'left-overs' get traded with the neighbors for items that I didn't plant, like potatoes, watermelons and pumpkins.

A few pet snaps today. Alix in the wheelbarrow, her favorite hang-out. She can roll in the warm dust and leaves without the indignity of getting herself wet in the yard. Here is another shot of the new guy...I really do hope he has another home; it is getting pretty crowded around here. For that reason I have not assigned a name to him.............yet.

Here's my little $2 yard sale find. It is hard to see the lovely engraved pattern in these scissors. I am sure they are nothing too valuable, but I couldn't pass them up.