Busy as a Bee

Hello Everyone,
Spring is in the air. Here is the view from our front door looking down our driveway. Soon we'll be able to begin planting our vegetable garden.

 Our neighbor's honey bees have been buzzing - enjoying the blossoms on our crab apple trees.It looks like we will see quite a few apples as well - the wild apple trees are also loaded with blossoms.

Our rose breasted grosbeaks have returned- they look in our window every morning until we put the feeders out. (We bring them in at night - hopefully that will keep the black bears away).









This week We had some snow mixing in with some rain, and some strong winds with multiple short duration power outages. When we finally got our power back for good, I sat down to work on  stitching on one of my Heaven and Earth designs only to find out that that my stitching light needs a new bulb. It looks like I'll be busy with some finishes or beading projects while I wait for my new bulb to arrive at the end of the week.

My finish for this week is  a kit that I had in storage for quite some time.

Home Tweet Home Adirondack Chair Kit © 2004 Stoney Creek Collections, Inc.
28ct white evenweave
DMC Threads
Stitch Count 28 x 42, 2 over 2

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

Patriotic finish

Hello everyone,
This week I have a freebie finish to share with you It is available here, click on designer OakHaven Designs.

America the Beautiful © 1999-2011 Tonia Pappen OakHaven Designs
Fabric: 28 ct mystery linen from a grab bag
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count:  48 x 57, 2 over 2









We've had more feathered friends arriving, including this rare red bellied woodpecker today. This is the second year that we have seen this woodpecker.












We usually only see the hairy and downy woodpeckers. They are year round visitors to our feeders.


We also have some pileated woodpeckers around - but I haven't been able to get any pictures of them on my camera.

I'll share some more of my spring visitors in my next post.

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

Almost there

Hello everyone,
This week I thought I would take a break from my Christmas finishes to share the progress on my HAED Storykeep.

Less than one page to finish :) 

HAED Forest Walk Storykeep Chart design by Michele Sayetta (Artwork by Anne Stokes) © Heaven and Earth LLC 2009  now at 9850 stitches.
25ct Dublin Linen
DMC Threads (90 colors), 2 over 1

 I just love how this is coming along. I had to set it aside for a few weeks to get an exchange piece finished. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to it soon.





 

Spring has arrived and our gardens are starting to show some color.

Earlier this week DH said "look at the hummingbird feeder". I expected to see that the hummingbirds had returned -  instead this is what I saw.

Then yesterday evening I happened to look out and saw our first hummingbird of the season.

Now all we need is the first hatch of the dragonflies so the black flies and other insects won't be such a bother.

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

Another JBW finish

Hello everyone!
Oh my - time is flying by. I meant to post last week...bur life got in the way.
Then this past weekend we took advantage of the nice weather and spent most of our days cleaning up the gardens and lawn. Amazing how many tree branches and limbs were down.

Here is my finish for the week:
© 2009 JBW Designs
Fence Tree from Christmas Tree Collection IV
Fabric: 28ct Fairy Dust
Threads: WDW
Mill Hill Beads

Stitch Count: 30 x 36, 2 over 2






 Don't you just love the cardinal at the bottom of the tree? Well- look who visited this week. Our cardinals are back...and yesterday we saw a few goldfinches.

Still waiting for the hummingbirds to come. It's still a bit too cold for them. We usually don't see them until the 2nd week in May - but I heard they are early this year.




I've been stitching away on my exchange piece. I had started in early April before I got my partner's info, but once I did, I decided on something else that was more suitable. It took a week to get my fabric and a few missing  threads so I've been stitching away (since April 19th) trying to complete my project as it has to be mailed out by the 8th of May. I still have about 600 stitches still to complete...

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

Another Christmas Ornament

Hello Everyone.
Welcome new followers!
This week's Christmas finish was in the 2010 Christmas Ornament Preview Issue (July/August 2010) of Just Cross Stitch Magazine.

Season of Love © Nikki Leeman of Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 32 ct vintage buttercream Lakeside Linens
Threads: DMC, WDW, GAST
Stitch Count: 66 x 67, 2 over 2
I found these cute felt buttons for the top two corners.

I took this picture on a nice day earlier this week before the snow / ice mix and before today's sleet showers.


The grackles have returned along with the pine siskins and juncos. Hope to have pics of these feathered friends soon.
Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

Christmas finishes already?

Hello everyone,

Spring is slowly arriving - the snow is melting, the birds are chirping, and we have been making plans for our big project this year. Enough time has passed since my FIL has passed away, so this year we are planning to convert his bedroom into a den for DH. Hopefully we will get started in the new few weeks as the weather improves. There is so much to be done- add shelves to the closet for storage, remove carpet floor and replace with a hardwood floor, paint walls and ceiling, install wainscoting, change lighting fixture, replace the 2 windows, and make some floor to ceiling bookcases for him. This is after we completely clear out the room.

Our other big project is to replace our living room tv system that died just before Christmas.

This month I think I'll be sharing with you some Christmas ornaments that I have finally finished. Some have been in my finishing basket for quite awhile - I just did not have enough time to finish them - until now. I think I'll share one each week since this month I'll be working on an exchange. I also hope to continue to work on one of my HAED's.

Sweet Nothings / "French Country Ornaments II - The Reindeer Collection"
© 2011 Designed by Judy Whitman (JBW Designs)
Fabric:28 ct R&R French Vanilla
Threads: Crescent Colors
Stitch Count: 26 x 27, 2 over 2

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa

Spring is here

Hello everyone,
This week I want to share with you a pretty older freebie that I received with one of my orders. I came across the pattern when I was cleaning up my craft area.

Bunny © 2007 Imaginating, Inc.
Fabric: 28ct Oceantide Lugana by Silkweaver
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count: 26 x 26, 2 over 2
I added Miyuki Delica aqua mist beads #078











This week we had some feathered friends that are a sure sign of spring.

These Red wing blackbirds are very camera shy. We had a large flock show up but every time I reached for the camera they flew away.







 


 

We had a small flock of Robins show up, but this was the only one willing to stay put for a photo.

And our common redpolls returned.

We've heard our pheobes singing but have yet to see them. Now all we need is for the snow to slowly melt away.

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Easter ! Happy Spring!
Lisa