Surely, I'm getting unpacked a bit...("Only a bit, though, and stop calling me 'Shirley'!")

My dad's jokes make me laugh more, now, than they did then.


(me) "I feel like an ice cream!"

pinch-pinch

(him) "Funny, you don't feel like an ice cream to me!"

(me) "Aaahhh, daaaaaad!"

or...More......

...anything beginning with "Surely,..." which evoked comments about the subsequent part of the sentence, followed in rapid-fire by "...and stop calling me "Shirley!"

heh heh heh

Surely by now I'm getting some of the moving boxes unpacked, and some of the stuff put away.

Key word: "some."

My needlepoint cushions have found their new homes, though.

Two on the little etagère seen upon entering the living room, and...

...the rest up on the top of the big bookcase...right where they'll be hard to dust, but away from sticky hands.

Progress on the current project is still at a standstill.

Did Jack London ever write a sequel called The Call of the Boxes?

Milan Monday (21): a gorgeous corbel

Milan Monday back again, yeah! After the move,...More......

...everything is still topsy turvy, but one element of feeling a normal rhythm of life is trying to get back to blogging, and spending time with you.

So, here's a simple, but absolutely gorgeous corbel,which should sit nicely in the center of a 16x18" pillow with a border of your choice. If you're needlepointing a table runner, or a window valance, in a traditional style, it would be the perfect center element.

If you want to know more about the corbel, go to my blog on Milan, My Milan (Italy): http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/02/gorgeous-corbel-on-corso-xxii-marzo.html#0.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (09)

Moving hiatus...and not the emotional kind...unfortunately

The move looms....

So it's time for a hiatus--a break in continuity, according to the handy dandy Merriam-Webster online dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hiatus)--until the move is done, and--keeping our fingers crossed--the transferral of phone and internet service goes smoothly.

I might be able to "chat" with you a time, or two, before the early part of February, but if I don't, you'll know I haven't fallen off the edge of the world...just into a seemingly never-ending vortex of boxes.

In the meantime, here's an appropriate saying to stitch up, "BLESS THIS MESS," which I created for your personal, non-commercial use, just for this occasion. To keep you company, while I'm being blown about by the whirlwind.

Keep well and safe til then!

Photoless Friday (09): What inspires you to do needlepoint, or cross-stitch, projects?

Photoless Friday, again, and life is still getting in the way of needlepointing. The date of the move nears, so my every spare moment, day or evening, is dedicated to sorting, giving away, tossing out, deciding where furniture and stuff will be put in the new place and boxing. My needlepoint supplies already are safely tucked into their new homes: the clear plastic boxes mentioned in an earlier post.

I'm longing for the return of a more normal rhythm of life, which includes...More......

...more time for blogging and a hearty dose of time for stretching out my legs, putting up my feet, and getting out the needlepoint project in progress (still that Thank You project mentioned awhile back).

Couldn't resist pulling out the computer for a few words with you before hitting the chores, and I got to thinking: what is it that inspires me to do specific needlepoint projects?

Gifts, hopefully appreciated, but small enough to be put away in the back of a drawer, if not.

Specific moments, or feelings, to be remembered and shared.

Artistic challenges.

How about you?

Wordless Wednesday (08)

(http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/01/milan-monday-20-bounty-and-good-harvest.html)

Milan Monday (20): Bounty and Good Harvest

Twenty...that's a nice round number with which to start the New Year's series of "Milan Monday."

Today, there is yet another good thought for 2011: Bounty, aka Good Harvest...More......

She's a delightful female personification on a building in Milan (if you want to know more about the artist and building, go to this message on my "My Milan (Italy)" blog: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/12/whirlwind-gorgeous-afternoon-its-long.html (You'll have to click on "More," and scroll down to find it...I got a bit carried away that day!)

As usual, I used a photo of my own, uploaded it into StitchPainter, created the diagram, then made it into a BMP file to share with you for your personal, non-commercial uses.

Calling all wives and girlfriends of grain farmers! Here's a great project for a cushion for your house!

May the New Year bring us all serenity, in all its forms.

So, it's a New Year..."Count your blessings"

So, it's a New Year.

Have you made your needlepoint New Year's resolutions, yet?...More......

I'm looking forward to the end of the whirlwind, so I can dedicate more time to needlepointing. Got a bit more done on the present-in-progress.

In the meantime, today's needlepoint diagram seems appropriate for beginning a New Year on a positive note: "Count your blessings."

Milan Monday (sort of) (19)

Happy First Monday of the New Year! Let's hope that 2011 will be (much) better than 2010! A Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Serene New Year to you all!

What better way to start out the New Year than with an angel!...More......

On Monday, I try to post something that piques your interest in Milan, Italy. Capturing the Christmas lights already is hard, but getting the right angle and lighting and lack of surrounding distractions suitable for turning into a needlepoint design is beyond my possibilities of time and patience, so while on my blog dedicated to Milan, you'll find a snap taken down a street with trumpeting angel Christmas lights, here is my needlepoint/cross-stitch diagram, which I created by uploading the free Microsoft image, MC900331465, of a trumpeting angel into my StitchPainter program, and then turning it into a BMP image for your personal, non-commercial use.

A hearty thanks to Microsoft (and all others providing good, free clip art!)

If you want to see the original photo, please go to my blog dedicated to Milan: "My Milan (Italy)" http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/01/trumpeting-angels-to-herald-in-new-year.html.

Thanks so much for following my blogs, a hearty welcome for 2011!

Another Christmas stocking: it's almost time for the "Befana"

One strike, and you're not out! In Italy, you have a second chance to get gifts. If you were naughty all year, and Santa brought you a piece of coal, be good for a few days and the "Befana" (an old crone witch riding a broom) just might fill your stocking the eve of the 6th of January, the day dedicated to the "Epiphany" of the visit and gifts of the Three Magi.

Here's a Christmas stocking for you, thanks, again, to the free clipart provided by Microsoft (this one is n. MC900245593, in case you want to hunt it down on their site). I turned it into a StitchPainter diagram and then a BMP to share with you for your personal, non-commerical use.

Enjoy!