A little Valentine's stitch, a little late...

Late last week I was feeling the need to take another short break from the "shades-of-brown" blanket. Fortunately, I had this sweet little cross stitch waiting in the wings to be finished:

I enjoyed using a variegated floss and strategically working out where the light and dark shades would be on the design.  And then twisting the variegated with a solid red floss for the trim.  You can perhaps see the different shades in the lighter floss of the cording in this close-up:

And just look at the sweet fabric on the back:

I'm so glad I snatched up this pretty "Valentine's" fabric (from the tiny holiday section in Hobby Lobby's fabric department) when it was first discounted right after Christmas. I think it was gone by January.

To be honest, what I like most about the fabric is that it's not overly Valentine-themed. I'm already imagining other uses for it. 

While I mentioned this the first time I showed this project in progress, I'll note again (mostly for myself) that the cross stitch pattern was found in the February 2015 Just Cross Stitch magazine.  The variegated floss is DMC 48, and the solid red used in the cording is DMC 321.  To get this size cording, I used 4 lengths of each color (solid and variegated, all six strands in each length).  And the length of each color used was 5 times the perimeter of the square pillow.  I'm so glad I tried making my own cording again.  Using my Kreinik Custom Corder was a cinch this time.

 

Lenten reflections...

Popping in today to share a new resource for the Lenten season that the pastors of our church are offering this year.  The podcasts are short (today's is 11 minutes) - which makes it nearly impossible for me to come up with a reason NOT to tune in.   The short format will also make it easy for me to catch up if I miss any. 

The official description is below the graphic.  If you click the graphic, it will take you to the podcasts.  I'm also keeping this graphic/link at the top of my sidebar during Lent this year - to make it easy to find.  

"In Light of the Cross is a 40-day devotional podcast helping us view every part of life - our sin and failures, our relationships, our suffering, our calling, and our hopes - in light of the cross. Through a daily P.R.A.Y. rhythm (Pause, Reflect, Apply, Yield) we'll consider how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ cast a different light on everything - revealing the truth about our sin, the depth of God's love, and the unshakable hope that carries us through suffering and into resurrection. Join us as we slow down, listen to Scripture, and learn to live anchored in grace. 

On a mission to finish...

A short and sweet post today.   I've gotten back to the shades of brown blanket, and it's still giving me angst.

The two mid-range browns are very similar.  To the point that I'm second-guessing them again.  

I have to say, though, that it's kind of amazing how quickly I can make progress when I plough forward through my uncertainties and stop ripping back and starting over again.  I keep telling myself the recipient will love me (and maybe the blanket) in spite of whether or not I am comfortable with it.

There are, no doubt, several life lessons in the making of this project.  Some, yet to be discovered, I think...

Visions of growing things dance in my head...

Every once a while in central Indiana we get to experience a few amazingly warm days during the winter months.  Yesterday, it reached 70℉, and today may see a high of 65 before the rains and winds blow in more seasonably cold weather for the next week of days.  

I celebrated this spring-like weather by sitting myself in the sun and planting some seeds in pots.  Just whatever struck my fancy.

Mostly, lettuces and other leafy greens.  And a few herbs.  And kohlrabi - which is possibly a ridiculous thing to plant in a pot, but I did it anyway.

I also moved my hibiscus plants (above) into the sunroom, and fertilized them. If these perk up, I will repot them to a larger planter outside when the temperatures have stabilized.  These were bought on clearance last summer. Years ago, I had great success with clearanced hibiscus - keeping them for a couple of summers.  I'm hoping I can get at least another summer out of these.

And the amaryllis (above) that my neighbor gave me last spring is producing some growth, so it got a side dressing of new soil and some fertilizer.  Since Easter is early this year (at least in my mind it is) I might be a tad late getting this back in the sun if I hope for a bloom by then.  I'm not overly hoping.  I'll just be thrilled if it blooms again, given my complete neglect of it since its blooms died off last spring.

We'll see if anything above grows.  Just planting and tending these things made me happy yesterday. And then dinner and good discussion with youngest son made my day complete.  The snow here has finally melted. Birds are singing. Sandhill cranes are flying overhead with their distinct call.  

Spring is coming! 

A small cross stitch...

Thanks to all who gave feedback on my blanket project.  I've decided to put it on hold until I get with my friend for her to weigh in on it again.  Comments helped me see some ideas I didn't think about, and also made me feel a little more confident of the colors I'm working with.  I appreciate it.

While waiting to get back to the blanket, I've given myself permission to start a small cross stitch project I found in an older (February 2015) Just Cross Stitch magazine.  I have found some gems in old craft magazines - which is good and bad.  It's fun, because the ideas are so old, they're new again.  It's bad because it feeds my hoarding tendency of all things crafty...  Do you relate?

While Valentine's Day was the inspiration for picking this pattern to work on, and the variegated thread color, I think the finished project will look fine through the spring and summer months displayed with other colorful small projects.  Do I have those other colorful projects done?  No...  But this may just inspire me to begin that collection.  😉

We're warming up here for the next week to temps in the 50's and 60's.  Anticipating the warm up, I bought some seeds a few days ago - with the thought that I might just get something planted this week.  We are also expecting a fair amount of rain in the upcoming days, but hopefully I can find a dry one to do some potting of seeds outside.  The idea of doing that in February just sounds incredible!