Ann Grant sneak peek...

OK, just to tease y'all, here is the Ann Grant reproduction FINISHED! I'll be picking the frame up tomorrow (hopefully), stretching and photographing it, and then I can pack graphs. It is beyond wonderful. The colors are awesome, and I even got to do some of the stitching. My model stitcher put in about 32,000 stitches, and I put in another 6,000 or so (I did the over-one verse and a few of the motifs), so it was a team effort. This one is FUN to stitch, and it is just a quintessential sampler. It's got a house, birds, a beautiful tree, strawberries, and an Algerian Eye alphabet. Plus, red, pinks, olive greens and browns? It's drool-worthy.

I'll be posting an update before I go to market of ALL of my new designs (there will be eight or so.) Wish me luck in getting everything framed, printed and packed. This is a super-fun time of year for me, and I appreciate your support. :)

Theresa

Warning: Sad Story

Readers: Sunday morning I woke up to the following message on my Facebook account. Since so many of you commented on "Mustache Man's" adoption of Alexis and Zeeba on January 15th (I got phone calls and e-mails about it, too), I wanted to let you in on this story. I have been talking to Gene (aka, Mustache Man) since Sunday, and he is doing okay. I will continue my part of the update below, but I warn you, you may need a Kleenex.

I also need to say that I made a mistake in my first post -- it was Zeeba (the orange kitty) who first climbed up on Gene's belly, and growled and meowed at him until she was comfortable. This is important to make this correction, and you will know why shortly.

*****

Dear Theresa,

As I type this, Ziva (the silver tabby known as Alexis) is curled up against my chest - well now she has moved to the folded blanket next to my keyboard and is laying with her paws tucked under chest, purring, watching me type. It's Panther's old blue American Airlines inflight blanket that she used to lay on in front of my printer as I typed my papers for college. think Panther would approve of another kitty enjoying its softness. (Theresa's note: Panther was Gene's 20-year-old cat who passed away Christmas eve.)

The kittens came home and spent a few days in the master bedroom and soon were romping and playing - the first night was on the schedule as such: eat, drink, play non-stop for 40 minutes, then pass out against me for an hour and a half. Needless to say, when I finally let them have the living room/kitchen/dining area for play and exploration, sleep came much easier for me as I no longer suffered (happily I might add) being pounced on, my face patted and little heads rubbing faces rubbing against my face, mewing, wanting me to play. I would come home and go to the bedroom and when I announced, "hello ladies", two furry heads would pop up from the blankets and start mewing until I got on my knees and gathered them to me, the purring drowning out any other noise.

Nalla (Zeeba) became my favorite as she would always come to me - I became her play toy, napping spot (was embarrassing when she started kneading the fat - kept telling her, to no avail, that fat doesn't fluff. Nevertheless, I am back in the gym again after that!), conversation buddy, and general affection sponge. And yes, she would talk to me when I look at her. she would always sleep up near my face and both would waken me with purrs, paws patting my face, little heads rubbing on mine, and whiskers tickling as they whuffled my ear.

Neither would stay skinny either - two food bowls kept filled with Hill's Science Diet for indoor kittens have added to their frames, and skinniness gave way to lithe, athletic feline forms. Rarely had to intervene unless the sounds during wrestling went from play growls and meows to "Hey, that hurt!" They soon inherited another play tree - they got the super tall one with the sheepskin hammock initially - it is in the master bedroom - and then a shorter one to go in the living room - mainly to save the couch from claws. but both got major play action.

I strongly discouraged both from playing behind or underneath my couch. It is a double recliner and as such, has multiple metal stress bars, springs, and the metal frame itself, which can gravely injure a small animal if they are caught under it. Friday night I heard both playing underneath - tilted it forward and shooed both of them out form underneath - what I didnt' see was Nalla going back under it as I lowered it back down. I sat down and my worst fear was realized as I heard it. I sprang up, sick with fear and literally flinging the couch across the living room, snatching up Nalla, wrapping her in a blanket, keys and shoes and we went flying to E-Vets, the whole time, I am saying, Not my Nalla, hang on baby. Raced in and the vet got me to a room, but Nalla was already gone. When I got home and put the couch back, I saw why she zipped back under it - she had gone back to retrieve her favorite toy - a green rabbit's foot that Panther had stashed somewhere in the apartment and that Nalla had found.

Ziva hasn't looked for her, (she saw me pick up Nalla's body and wrap her in a blanket to go) but instead has become almost inseparable from me. I make sure she gets a lot more playtime and holding time and she has taken up Nalla's habit of sleeping on my chest as I sit back in a chair, reclining. Before they kept each other entertained, bathed, and were bed buddies. She follows me everywhere and today I had her assistance in making the bed and in folding laundry - she prefers that I fold tee shirts her way - with a helping paw and a lot more wrinkles in the shirts.

Please know that in the short time Nalla was with me - she got all the food she wanted, two playtrees, her littermate to play with, her favorite toys (the rabbit's foot was the ultimate tho) which she played with almost nonstop with the exception of naptime and food, and unlimited affection from and to me. I have not been able to type this without having to stop several times and not because of Ziva. (she's asleep now) But her fur was absolutely luxurious and that tail would have been the envy of many a cat - she talked to me as much as Panther did. Dr. Brenda, on her visit, thought both were absolutely gorgeous and was happy for me.

I will adopt another because Ziva, being so young, needs companionship when I am not here, and I really got used to having two cats - have always had one, but two added so much and I never realized what I was missing.

I wanted to let you know and to thank you for your help with both - and if you would help us (Ziva and I) find another kitty who would need a home such as she enjoys now. (by the way - Ziva avoids behind the couch and has not been under it since.)

My thanks so much for what you did for all three of us.

Gene

*****

Theresa here again -- sorry for the sad story. But we are on the look-out for another cat for Gene. I told him we won't be able to replace Nalla, but that we will find him another sweet cat to love. There are so many who need homes. I will update this story as I know more.

If you would like to send Gene an e-mail of support, his address is rgeorge003@comcast.net. I know he'd love to hear from some of you fellow cat lovers. He is just heartbroken at his loss; please know that he is exactly the type of person who is perfect to own pets. Keep him in your throughts and prayers.

Gracie...

This isn't my cat. She's just one I had the fortune of playing with this week (one of our shelter cats.) I took the picture in the dim/halogen light of PetSmart, and I think it turned out really sweet. If this doesn't make you say, "Awww...," you might need a heart transplant.

Oooh, look what I got!

Now before you get after me, keep in mind I have been a good girl for almost a whole year! I've been working my way through reproducing the big samplers in my collection. I also have a number of smaller samplers that I'm releasing here and there...but I went to madelena.com this week...and I saw...

THIS:

And I bought it. Well, I'm buying it. In installments. (First one is out of the way). Isn't it gorgeous? It's was stitched by Ann Dale in 1827. (You can click on the picture to make it bigger for ogling purposes.) Please notice the swans with EGGS on the lawn, ALL of the wonderful baskets and flowers, the almost circular tree in the bottom center, and...well, just the awesome-sauce-ness of the colors.

It is BIG! The original is 25 1/4" by 19 1/4" on FIFTY COUNT LINEN. That means the stitch count is approximately 630 by 480. Wait. In case you were just speed reading over that last part: SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY STITCHES BY FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY STITCHES. Wow! Ann, way to go, girl!

Here's what the verses say:

1 PASS a few swiftly fleeting years,

And all that now in bodies live,

Shall quit, like me, the vale of tears

Their righteous sentence to receive. (yikes!)

2. But all, before they hence remove,

May mansions for themselves prepare (yea!)

In that eternal house above!

And, O my God, shall I be there.

(The "yikes" and the "yea" were my additions.)

Now, since this sampler is a tad on the large side (ya think?), I have already talked to Pat at Lakeside Linens and we both agreed that I should probably stitch the reproduction on "regular" linen (meaning, un-dyed...less-expensive.) I mean, this sampler is going to be 31 1/2 by 24 on 40 count. A (crazy) person could squeeze it onto a half...IF that crazy person was using 40 count. Basically, a very large piece of fabric is needed (bedspread, anyone?) And I want to keep the cost down.

Now, if you like hand-dyed linen, you can order hand-dyed linen in a full-yard cut. You will have a big chunk left over, but special cuts are out of the question -- there would be too much waste. There is, of course, the option of using 45 count linen as well...are you man-enough? (Ann stitched hers even smaller, thank you very much!)

I talked to Kathy my model stitcher this morning and had her look at it. She said, "Oh, I don't know about that over-one verse (her eyes, like mine, are getting old.) And I said: "I want to stitch this one!"

What do you think? Am I crazy? Isn't it wonderful? Should they lock me away in a padded room? Am I a glutton for punishment? What's for dinner?

A to Z and happy, happy, happy

I have the semi-official title of "Cat Pals Coordinator" for the Southern Pines Animal Shelter in Hattiesburg. About a year ago, I started volunteering anywhere from two to five hours a week to helping with the local shelter kitties who are up for adoption at PetSmart (just across the street from my shop). Basically, besides a few cleaning/errand-type duties, I get to volunteer by playing with and loving on adorable cats and kittens a few times a week. (I'd pay good money to do that, but shhh...don't tell the shelter.)

Steve goes with me, and it's nice time for us to spend together. He loves cats, too, and we come up with names for them, talk about their personalities, and on the drive home, talk about which one we'd adopt if we could (we have decided the four cats we have are enough.)

This is Alexis.

And this is Zeeba.

They had just come over from the shelter an hour before our volunteering shift, and while we were playing with cats, a mustachioed, grey-haired gentleman was looking in at the cats. We have learned to ask people if they have questions, and often, they will come in to look at the cats. He was shopping for cats.

His cat, Panther, of 20 years had to be put to sleep on Christmas eve. You could tell he was heart-broken. "That cat lasted longer than both of my marriages three times over," he said. He talked about how Panther would run to greet him every day, how he had a cat sitter come check on her while he was at work, how he had a special bed for her in the file drawer of his computer desk (he works on computers), and how, toward the end of her life, he hand-fed her, carried her to the litter box, and cleaned her.

Maybe, he said, he'd get two cats. That way, they'd have each other for company. "My home is pretty lonely," he said. He looked first at a black kitten named Polo. Panther was black. But Polo "didn't feel right," he said.

Then he looked at a grey kitten named Bunny. She was very affectionate. Too affectionate, he said. He didn't want a cat who was going to be begging for attention all of the time.

Then he wondered if maybe he wasn't honoring Panther's memory by getting another cat so soon. I said: "Panther would want you to be happy."

Steve, in the meantime, had opened a cage with Alexis and Zeeba, two striped cats (one orange, one grey), two very skinny strays. Zeeba jumped down and ran straight for the man. "Oh," he said. "Look, she's running for me." Alexis sauntered her way over, climbed up on the man's round belly, and meowed and growled until he was positioned just right. Then she curled up and shut her eyes. Zeeba, seeing her sister comfortable, jumped up, walked across the man's shoulders, and found the crook of his arm. She curled up and shut her eyes.

"I think I've just been adopted," he said.

It is an amazing thing to see someone fall in love, and I went to bed smiling that night thinking about mustache-man and his two new best friends. Alexis...Zeeba...and happy, happy, happy.

Jenny Bean's Creation Sampler (sneak preview)

People have been bugging me for a sneak peek of the next Jenny Bean sampler. This is the top portion of the sampler -- below is a Garden of Eden scene with Adam & Eve, a stitching angel, animals, hills, a cartouche, waves, fish and more! But I hope this at least gives you an idea of what it's going to look like. The colors are turning out really well on the Pear linen (Lakeside Linens.) Hope you like it!

There are going to be several bands of specialty stitches, too, since this is a band sampler. They're fun to do (and will come with instructions), but you could choose to leave those out or fill with something else!

Old Eyeballs

I'll be 41 in March which means, unfortunately, I have old eyeballs.

My eyes are one feature of mine I'm fairly proud of. They're green, like my dad's, and prettily-shaped, like my mom's. I get complimented on them frequently. I'm not bragging (well, OK, maybe I am), but I was stopped in the grocery store last year by a leather-clad biker-looking guy who asked me if anyone had told me that day how pretty I was, and didn't I have the most beautiful green eyes. (At least I know if anything happens to Steve, I've got a shot with the Harley Davidson crowd.)

But I have to face it. They're old. After decades of stitching on fine fabric in near-darkness, I started using an over-the-shoulder Ott-Lite recently. And this weekend, while working on the new Jenny Bean sampler (on 40 count), I said, "Hey, Graham, can I borrow your reading glasses for a sec?" And wouldn't you know it, it was EASIER to see the fabric. Go figure!

Steve gave me a little bit of a bad time. He said something like, "Ha ha, your eyes are old," and I stuck my 40-count linen in his face. "Well," I said, "can YOU see these holes?" "Hey, I WEAR glasses," he said. Steve's about as blind as a potato.

A sweet potato.