This is Pekoe

OK, so this isn't a very flattering picture of me, but I don't hesitate to show it to you, because this is what my life looks like around 11:30 p.m. in my crazy cat house. Pekoe is a new cat to our household -- he's about one pound and about four weeks old. We'll have him a month or so. He really, really likes "the nice lady." (My husband thought he was being very clever taking this picture.)

Pekoe was being fostered by another volunteer from the shelter who has half a dozen dogs. (He was found in this woman's neighborhood.) She was keeping Pekoe to one room of the house, so he didn't get eaten or stepped on. I volunteered to take him in. What's one more little mouth to feed?

Gilligan and Skipper will most likely go for surgery next week already. They're doing great, and I'll post pictures soon.

Next week, I go to Virginia Beach for the Dyeing to Stitch retreat right there on the beach! I am teaching with Jeanette Douglas, Shepherd's Bush and the gals from R&R Reproductions. What an honor! My piece is very cute -- beach themed, and I will post a picture of that after the retreat (don't want to spoil any of the surprises.)

I'm recuperating from a back injury. Between bowling, the computer, stitching, carrying groceries, taking out the trash, hauling boxes and boxes to the post office, driving, and everything else I do, my back (according to my physician) was "very angry with me." I was having back spasms, she said, and I have had to limit my lifting to ten pounds or less while my back settles down. Stupid back!

Take care, and happy stitching!

A few new releases

October is here, and ho boy, am I happy about that. I don't have much time, as I am SWAMPED, but I wanted to share "Pumpkin Joe," a new Raise the Roof piece I just finished stitching yesterday afternoon. It's stitched on 30 ct. Tiger's Eye (Weeks Dye Works) with DMC floss 310 and Bittersweet Sampler Threads. A few buttons from JABCo are tied on with black floss.

And here is Ann Dale in her frame...now that the frame is here (just today!) I can start printing the graphs. Give me a few more days, and I can start shipping this and the big sampler. The smaller booklet of motifs will be not far behind.

And here's a close-up of Ann. You can click on these pictures to make them larger. I can't even tell you how beautiful this is in person. Well, yes I can. Very, very beautiful. Hope you like it!

You may notice the ground (at the bottom) is striped. That's how the original looks -- Ann's was very stripe-y. And I chose whites that were a little whiter than the original...just so they'd show up on the fabric (otherwise, photography can be very difficult.) If you want it to look even more antique, choose some "dirty-looking" white silks or flosses.