The Dog Days of August Have Arrived

   Now that the Summer Twist stitch-a-long has wrapped up, things have really quieted down on the business side! It is pointless to tempt people to sew when the outdoors are beckoning... so this is the time we start to think about fall and Christmas sets.

    This week, I got three-fourths of the way through this fabulous Christmas ABCs cross stitch set-- with four 5x7 hoopings, you get a fabulous 12" block!

     It has been sew much fun thinking of a "thing" for each letter-- so proud of the way the "Kings" and "Jesus" work together-- and how about that cute "Village?" I bought a pretty piece of Lugana fabric from EverythingCrossStitch.com. It is 28 count, which means if you were handstitching a14ct design, you'd do it over two threads. What it means to a machine embroiderer-- none of the big holes that Aida has-- it's a very fine weave, so even under very close inspection now, you won't see that the holes aren't aligned.

    I posted some peeks on Facebook-- this beauty won't be for sale until October, so you have to wait! I have ton of Christmas wall decor, so I'm thinking of a pillow-- I love to work in a series, so should I do a Halloween version?

    So while we're talking cross stitch, here's my two week progress on this pretty handstitched thing:

    Not bad, huh! I think I am about 1/4 done-- that's two months of work-- so I could be finished by the end of February. Unfortunately, the gray block behind "Back to School" was two-plus hours of work, and it killed my enthusiasm. Also, I figured out those acorns were supposed to be green-- they're staying brown-- so it might be time to move on for a bit. Apple Lady still needs her backstitch.

     For quilty goals-- I'd love to have my Coriander Christmas Block of the Month done by the end of August! Here's Block 11 finished last night: 

     Block Twelve is such soft, lovely colors-- I'm hoping to cut Block 12 tonight and get as far as I can before Monday. 

    After that, it's the part I strongly dislike-- wrangling with rows and increasingly sized pieces! I have the sashing kit already-- it came with Block 12. Could be on my bed in time for Christmas!

   You know I've promised to never dive into cooking or housecleaning tips, or God forbid, beauty. But I can't resist showing off my garden from time to time!

You know how you're supposed to do your plantings so that you have successive blooming all through the year-- well, I did not plan this garden, and whoever did, went for broke in July!

Absolutely everything comes out at once, and it is beautiful!

We are also lucky to have some pretty stone walls-- do not be tempted to go up that charming stair, though-- always go around-- or you will get a face full of spider webs!

In the front gardens-- I have to report a tragedy. 

I thought we had one of these:

But it turned out to be this:

Or rather, two of them. So absolutely ALL of my annuals-- including marigolds, salvia, impatiens, coleus-- were eaten in one night.

Gosh, I'd love to just be able to bill them for the "salad!"

So the quandary is-- replant, or just mulch? I will mull that over from the safety of my sewing room, and until I decide I guess we'll just have to say,

xox

Carol