At last!

Well, honeybuns, how have you been? I hope you've been doing better than I have, but we're not going to discuss that either here or now. Or ever, really. So if you have an inquiring mind, you're in the wrong place. Unless of course your inquiries are stitch or cat-related, in which case you have come to the perfect (or possibly purrfect) place.

First of all -- and I know this will come as a complete shock to you -- I have made some progress on Noah. *Gasp*. I know.
Before:

After:
It's quite possible that Noah will have to live with only half a coat for the rest of this stocking's life, because I can't even bear to look at the colour 832 anymore. Therefore, I've decided to finish his arm and mitten and the peacocks, and then move on to the stocking's nether regions, where the fun starts with all the beasties.

Dear reader, look away now if you have a feeble constitution and there's only a limited amount of excitement you can handle, for I have two finishes to share. Behold:

Salem Remembered by The Primitive Needle, stitched with the Silk 'n' Colors the design called for, on 40 count pfprrrrrrplplpl linen (sorry. I can't recall the name)

AND:
The Second Angel Sampler by Kathy Barrick -Dieter, stitched on 28 count coffee-dyed and microwave-baked white linen, with the required DMC threads.

Both of these gorgeous, gorgeous pieces are at the framer's even as we write and read. Oh, they were such a joy to stitch. Would you believe it took me longer to finish the wee angel than that huge, 100 x 341 Salem sampler? I'm so into anything Lisa from The Primitive Needle designs. Have you seen her latest? Aren't they all to die for? This is going to be one hell of an expensive year for stitchers like me, with the Goode Huswife Colonial Garden book coming out, and Bent Creek coming up with all of these cute new designs after a couple of years of the blahs (IMHO), and now these lovelies by The Primitive Needle.

Speaking of stitchy goodness, I got some stash:

All of the BBD stockings are an absolute must-have for me, so I'm thrilled with these. I wasn't so happy with the latest Loose Feathers, though.

Hurray, hurray, my newest Primitive Needle! I adore it.

So, what do you think I did right after I was done fondling these new charts? The first person to guess correctly gets a hand-stitched gift from me. Shouldn't be too difficult if you know me, so hurry and take a guess. If there is a lucky winner, I will announce said winner next Thursday, October 1st, on this here blog.

***

Pelle is at school, and doing well. Pantoef, on the other hand, isn't enjoying life so much right now, poor thing. On Saturday, he learnt that you can't go about trying to catch just any insect you take a fancy to. Those mean, yellow and black striped zoomie creatures STING. Poor Pantoef never jumped so high in his life. Thankfully, after a couple of hours of feeling very sorry for himself, he was back to his old very active and playful self. Sunday wasn't much better though, because necessity compelled me to leave him alone all day, and when I got back I gave him a bath (yes, I do wash my cat, and no, I don't mind cat owners who think that's an insult to our feline companions. I just like it when he's so soft and shiny and smells like almond oil). And who could resist this slightly miffed looking creature looking up at them?

But Pantoef's day today is even less fun than Saturday and Sunday combined, because at this very moment, Pantoef is at the vet's having his balls cut off. I don't think he's going to be very pleased when he gets home (he should've listened to my father, who told him that any man coming near me loses his balls at some point) (which is complete bollocks, of course, because unless there's something he hasn't shared with me, I can't recall anything dreadful happening to his, or my brother's, or Pelle's).

Good grief, how did we get from talking about stitchy goodness to discussing a certain part of the male anatomy? I shall ponder this question whilst enjoying my coffee and my new stitchy start. Don't forget the contest, now!

Yours ponderingly,
Annemarie.

*Edited to add: thank you for the ladies who have taken a guess already. You are all right. I was actually hoping you could be a bit more specific? Like: which design do you think I started? You have to do a bit of work if you want to win something, you know :o))