Progress on the books and shelves.

Today I got to spend some time on the Max project. There are several books now to show and the underside of the book shelf. Above the radio will be a fishing hat draped. I am not sure where to go next on this project. Maybe it is a good time to take a break.

Shelf Works

Well, I suppose I am working on the shelf that holds the books/containers of stuff. LOL. I am not even sure of what I am looking at. Meanwhile I was busy today making carrot salad, macaroni and cheese, and corn for the freezer. Sweet corn is in season and available all over the place. We picked some up yesterday and it was wonderful. So I cooked up the rest of it and froze it for winter. Come Thanksgiving everyone will wonder where I found the delicious corn!! All this cooking is cutting into my stitch time.....

No More Black!!

I feel like I am stitching in slow motion. Everyday I have a hard time finding time to sit and stitch. The weather has been great. DH and I have been going on 'rides' around the area and finding new places for lunch. When I did get a chance, I worked on Max. There are books or boxes behind his head. It was fun to stitch something other than Max and with some real color!!!

Max is Back!

I continue to work on the black that is Max. I am getting close to having him done.
Yesterday I started and finished crocheting this small project bag. I put it together this morning. I spent some lovely time digging through my button stash. That stash now contains quite a bit from my sister's stash. It was fun to go through all the piles of buttons while looking for two buttons for this project.

Boat Ride Night

We had dinner on the lake this evening. This was early in the evening. I just love the water.
I did make three towels today. The top one has already been shared with family. LOL. It is nice to be appreciated.
This was later in the evening, on our way back home. The end of the day and it was so peaceful and happy.

Meet Max.

Here he is. I have most of the face and both ears done. As you can see, he is sleeping right now. I have been obsessed with getting the face done.
As a distraction I have been working on this. Palooza by Teresa Layman. It is created by making knots! Knots, knots and more knots are required to color this in. DH calls it stitch by number. I started this project last year. I did quite a bit on it just the other day. This will be a scissors case - some day.

Argh! Max and his nose!

A friend decided to sell her cross stitch bag. I already had the eagle chart to put on it. I put the two together today. When will I do this? How will I do this? It is 18 count so the stitching isn't all that difficult. Holding the fabric and doing the work will be a challenge.
Meanwhile Max has more of a face and nose. I am struggling to get his face done. I want to move on to some other part. Once I get his face finished, I think I will try to work on something else for a bit of time.
Gift of Stitching is closing their shop. I love some of their charts and things but the prices were too high. With the shop closing, prices dropped and I leaped on the wagon and purchased a few things. I am so happy it all arrived safe and sound.

What a beautiful day!!!

Max and I spent the afternoon on the back deck. It was sunny, breezy and 81 degrees. I started to work on his face. He has a nose now.
Meanwhile my front garden continues to grow. Here are the hostas and their blooms. Purple, of course. LOL. The deer appear to be leaving them alone now. I did see a family of turkeys in the side yard yesterday. It was very exciting.

Is it hot enough for you?

It is hot!!!! It has been hot and humid even in our neck of the woods. Tomorrow is supposed to give us some relief. We had the windows open last night and we hope to do the same tonight. It has been hot. The mail lady brought some stash today. This is a series from Blackbird Designs. This is more primitive than I generally like but this one speaks to me. I think it is the strawberries. This chart came with fabric and floss. I want to dive right in.

Alfred thought it was HOT also. He has on his sweat band and used an umbrella while taking in some fresh air on the back deck. He didn't stay very long as it was just too hot.
I did some stitching today. I am not sure I did a single cross stitch. It was all 3 or 4 strand half stitches. Well, at least that type of stitching goes pretty fast. I worked on the green on the right side and more on the newspaper. The newspaper doesn't show up very well.

Max background stitching and a kitchen helper

I worked on the far right side of the piece. It is hard to see in this photo. Going up that side, there is a bunch of green. I started working on that as I was not 'up to' figuring out the mistake' that is his face. Perhaps tomorrow? I have to admit that I am thinking a small project as a distraction might be called for.
Meanwhile last night I made this kitchen towel. I wanted a few of these towels for the cabinet by the sink. I am not sure I have ever made these before. My Mother In Law (Hi Mom!) has made them for years. In this house I have a perfect spot for one but I only had one. I have a few more towels to stitch up so I will have plenty. It makes for a good evening project.

Box Covers and just a little bit of stitching -

This is a little kit from Shepherds Bush. I put it on a box the size of an Altoid tin. I like it. I am sure this is a gift for someone.
I started on Max's face. There is a mistake that I believe was recently made. I need to stitch my way out of it at this point.
This is on top of an old Whitman candy tin. I stitched this some time ago. This is a chart called Strawberry Fields Forever. (Beatles tune). The strawberries were stitched with an over dyed floss and stitched over one. I love this piece and I am quite pleased to see it used. The bunch of red stuff in the upper left corner is the trim I plan to put around the outside of this box.

Newspaper Work

I worked today on the tan, grey, light brown parts of the newspaper. Just above there is Max's face. Here Kitty, Kitty.

Max has another paw!!

I have been working on Max's paw and the background in this section. The other part is a bit strange to stitch. It is the pages of a newspaper complete with many colors of tan, grey, and grey-tan. I am not sure what direction I will go next. Maybe it is time for a small finish to take over and let me take a break from Max. I say that but I have yet to put a project together yet. There is a heat wave coming and with luck I will have lots of time to stitch.

I found the corner!!!!

I made great progress. I filled in the corner and some of the background. Next up is Max's paw. You can see the spare left for it. With the coming heat wave, I plan to get a lot of stitching done in the next week or so.

I can't believe it!!!

I am within five stitched of touching the corner. I had to quit for the day. I am filling in the corner. I thought I would go right for the corner but then I was distracted by all the fishing lures. Tomorrow I hope to stitch the corner stitch. The it is upward and onward.

I keep thinking that I will do something small and do something to get away from this one for just a little bit. But then I pick it up and as I stitch, I am planning the next color the next part to do. Max is totally addictive.

The canoe continues

I worked today on the background to the canoe, finishing the paddle and moving toward the right edge of the picture. The frog also visited today. I am trying to not think about where I would be if I had not stopped to frog.

My new living room and an oar!

First is the big news! I have a new living room. Today we purchased and put out the patio table. It will be my new living room. Some music and comfortable place to sit and I can see stitching happening here. I do like to sit on the porch behind this area but the breeze is so much better on the deck. We had dinner there with my son and his girlfriend. It was a perfect evening. Just imagine me having my morning coffee there tomorrow. Oh - - and I get internet there also. Yippee Skippy!!
I did get a bit of stitching done. I am working on the oar for the little canoe. The top of the canoe is less than twenty stitches from the right side. That will mean that I touch another wall!! I consider 'touching a wall' a major accomplishment in any large stitching project. Maybe tomorrow I can get some more stitching done. The weather is perfect and wonderful. Having family close is even better. I love this place!!

Brrrr - in a canoe - -

I spent most of the day working on this project. I now have a front of the canoe and a some fishing gear. Now I am sitting here with a very cold breeze coming down off the mountain. I may have to close the windows and put on long pants!! I wish I could share this with my friends in Missouri as I know they are suffering with a heat wave.

Start of a canoe and Max finds his fav boat

I started working on the canoe today. I wish I had more time to stitch. Maybe tomorrow needs to be a stitch day.
Meanwhile, the other day while Alfred was out and about, he tried out the pontoon boat. I think he looks good. So does his keeper. LOL.

Fence Sitting and Max Moves Along

Alfred sat on the fence at the marina for a bit yesterday. He was watching the parking lot while all the water activity buzzed behind him. The land behind him is Sagamore Island. It was such a pretty day.
I have made a bit of progress on Max. After I finished the piece for the needle book I had every intention of doing the sampler for the outside of the needle book. But Max was sitting there ready to go and didn't require measuring, calculating or thinking. So Max got some progress. I have even started to work on the canoe. I have to celebrate that this project is now better than 25% stitched, base stitching only. I should take some time and do some back stitching. Nahhhh......

A Finish and A Trip for Alfred

Alfred went for a ride today. Here he is in the back seat of the car. We went to Bolton to visit the Water's Edge.
I did finish this piece today. I have pins in it to test that it will fit. There is enough material to have the same material on the back and to use this as a pocket.
We went up to the deck to check out the boats in the Channel. Alfred was a bit leery of the sun so he picked a picnic table with an umbrella. More Alfred pictures to come.

I don't remember where I found that red house design for the box. The box is adorable with three drawers and that raised lid to show off a piece. I purchased this from a dear friend so I am not sure where you would find the box. I can do some research on the design if anyone really wants me to.

Busy Day with several things done!

I fix this piece. This is the top of little box. I have been wanting to put a bit of batting under this design so it looks better.
Then I put together this little pin cushion and scissors fob. I stitched it last month and today I finally got to put it all together.
I also took some time to stitch on the tomato pin cushion. It was a beautiful day here today with sunshine, blue skies and a gentle cool breeze. I tried to enjoy every moment of it. Max is lonely but I promise to get back to him soon.

A Stitch in Thyme

I did get some stitching done. That tomato pin cushion is only just started. This photo makes it look huge. It will fit inside the needle book. I am taking a second look at the sampler that goes with this design. What about stitching it over one so it is small enough to go on the outside of the needle book? I am considering it.....

A finish and a start of something new.

Well, I finished this early today. Next up will be the finishing. It is supposed to be a fob but it might end up an ornament. Or maybe a fob with scissors hanging on the tree. LOL. Then I looked at Max and ran to the craft room. I decided to stitch the inside of the needle book for Little House Needlework's Fresh from the Garden. I doubt I will stitch the sampler but I do like the prefinished needle book that this part will go in. Most of the border is done and now I can move on to the meat of the project.

Max is still on the drawing board and I promise that I will get back to him.

Max Continues and a new diversion

Yesterday I forgot to do an update. I am so sorry. I worked on the bottom of the radio and worked on the yellow lure on it's right. Some days I don't feel like I accomplish much. Max is taking shape.
Then today I decided that I needed a diversion. I had picked this out for stitching on the 4th of July. It is a scissors fob by Lizzie Kate. Horrors! It has an error and now I have an error. Believe it or not, the grid used for the chart has a horizontal line in the wrong place. I count on those lines to tell me ten stitches one way or the other. One square (?) has 9 stitches and the other has 11. Argh!! Anyway - it is almost done.

Frogs for the Fourth

I continued my stitching across the table and just finished working on the frog fishing lure. Thank Goodness I didn't have to frog the frog.... LOL. I am almost at the 25% done point of this project. I should consider doing some back stitching and perhaps a small little project as a nice distraction.

Happy 4th of July Everyone

Yesterday evening we had a cook out. It was fun and I believe everyone had a good time. I have done a little stitching over the last few days. Max now has a tail and I am working on his paw.
Nieces! Great niece Andora came for a visit. She is being held by her Aunt Erin, my niece. Michelle, Andora's Mom is there in the background.

Welcome the Holiday!!

I did get some stitching done. Very little. Bottles, bowls and other containers fill the lower left corner. I wish I could have spent more time on it today. Family gathering is planned and I was busy getting the house and food ready.
I found this tee shirt the other day. Peace in the Adirondacks. That is what I was looking for and I do believe I have found. I feel so much more settled, more at peace, more natural than I have for years leading up to this. I can't begin to describe it but I have found peace.