Tuesday, July 8, 2008

A good mail day

Yesterday was a really good mail day ... two books I had ordered from A Libris arrived as well as a package from The Silver Needle. My stash package contained Workbasket's Quaker Pig and Rooster, Lizzie Kate's Housework..., Prairie Schooler's Limited Edition 2008 Santa kit, the replacement button pack for row three of Crabby All Year [I expect the "lost" pack to show up within the next 48 hours], the piece of aqua Jobelan for my Peacock biscornu, and a little surprise: a very pretty small silver purse charm. I'll have to wait for a few back-ordered items: the peacock bead, the cream Jobelan, and the 1/2 yard of Cafe Au Lait linen. I expect the Special editions of JCS will be sent as they become available... so the ornament preview issue should come shortly with the regular Christmas ornament issue and the new Halloween issue coming in August and Septemeber. I also got an e-mail from Joann's stating they had shipped my pillow forms, fusible interfacing, eyelets and eyelet tools on July 7 ... so I have that to look forward to, as well as my monthly Silkweaver fabric.
As for stitching, I finished the Love Ewe by Deanna Carter [Carousel Charts], a chart in the Feb 2008 Gift of Stitching. I plan to finish it as a small doorknob hanger, using the eyelets ordered from Joann's and some jute to blend with the whole primitive look. I used a sample scrap of Zweigart Lavendar Mist 14 ct Aida for this piece and I'll be using another sample scrap of Zweigarts damask black 14 ct Aida for the backing which I intend to personalize for the stitcher who will be receiving this finish as a gift in November ... I'll post a picture when it is all assembled. It won't spoil the surprise since the recipient has no idea that she'll be getting this. The samples came from the goodie bag from last year's Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway. Though I don't usually stitch with Aida, my frugal nature just won't permit throwing away odds and ends suitable for smalls. The Lavender Mist Aida was pleasant to work with and makes a nice background for the Love Ewe but the Black Damask Aida is positively awful to work with ... black is hard enough to deal with but the shiny damask finish just compounds the problem making the light bounce off the fabric, making it very difficult to see the holes even using the usual trick of placing a white pillowcase on the lap and using a strong light.
Finally, I chose the winner of my PIF for Crabby All Year: Debbie from Nova Scotia. I'd asked people to react to my post about Liam's rather Zen moment as Kermit. I liked her e-mail best ... the mention of the frog who'd snagged a pesky fly was what put it over the top for me.

No comments: