Tiny Stitches to 'Dye' For

I have always been insanely jealous of those of you who can stitch "over-one". I love the delicate look of those tiny stitches, especially on ornaments where "size matters"! I think I have found a solution to my problem. I had dyed some fabric a while back with the boiling RIT Dye method. It seems that the boiling will reduce a piece of 16 count down to a lovely and quite usable 20 count. I am thrilled with the results, as seen here in my WIP on a Barbara Ana Designs Christmas ornament "Make A Wish". I was in such a dying mood that I broke out some other fabrics and had a go of it this morning. Here are the results. Some nice blues, a pale green with some blue splotches and....well, that last piece...it looks sort of like a bruise! Something spooky or creepy will have to be stitched on that one.

Tonight is the last night of the "Fun" Meet. Another 5 hours of non-stop hollering from the boss, set to the repeated strains of toddler dance music played at an excruciatingly high volume. I managed a little self portrait Tuesday night...me dressed in my "fun uniform" on my way to the gym. I had the best of intentions of displaying this photo on my profile. It was certainly time for a change since the other photo is nearly two years old. Of course my computer is not cooperating so I am a big blank for a while until I can solve the problem.

Here are some stitchy finishes. Both projects were completed a while ago but I wanted to show a clear photo of the Heart in Hand piece (and a close-up of the lovely 'Sequoia' Needle Necessities thread). "One Stag Leaping" has finally found a frame, in of all places, my attic room. I love it when I can find the perfect item hidden away in my stash and not have to spend a penny. This frame I had custom built (10 x 10 inches) for a New Jersey sampler I was going to make to match the Ohio sampler I made for Joe. I planned this out when we were first married as a cute display of our home states for our first apartment. Well, nearly 20 years have gone by and the Ohio sampler is framed, but the New Jersey one never even made it out of the kit.

Finally a full day of sunshine and all the animals are enjoying the outside. Hopefully it will dry up a bit in the garden and I can get some work done out there over the long holiday weekend. I will go right outside again as soon as the long wait for the photos to upload is over.

Pet snap.............Bud, enjoying the warm weather.

Have a great day!