a sweet finish, and a long awaited new start!

it's a little bittersweet to announce this finish...

it went by so fast! 

mini-stocking by susan roberts

i loved every second of this quick stitch. each area was so small that there was no time to get bored! my absolute favorite part is, of course, little cricket in the center! 

 

notice the difference between how it started and how it ended! i love having the opportunity to make a canvas personalized just for you! i made sure to define cricket's little nub, and stitched the fur in slanted gobelin with gumnut tulips. since she is a blue merle australian shepherd, i combined 1 strand of grey and 1 strand of blue to give it a subtle tint. the dog bone button came from JABC. i love it!

if you follow me on instagram you'll remember the above picture that i uploaded. after mulling it over, i ripped out the memory thread bow and went with a real ribbon. i'm a sucker for ribbon bows!

and for my new (and long awaited) start, the first king from the princess and me nativity club!

i managed to stitch his face, and the top part of the head-dress last night while i watched the first few episodes of "house of cards" on netflix. if you're a fan of david fincher (the social network, girl with the dragon tattoo) you will LOVE this show! 

that's it for me! counting down to the weekend so we can go catch some beads!

a weekend finish!

remember this guy?

after ripping out both the thread and my hair, it was time to start over. 

the stage was set, and my batteries were re-charged. 

so this weekend i sat down and did it!

and i love it! the olive green memory thread was the perfect addition (thanks diana) and the beaded stars make it complete.

i really love how primitive it looks with the irregularly shaped stars. it's not the fanciest ornament ever, but it's a perfect representation of our historic water meters. and let's face it: a water meter isn't the most beautiful thing to behold anyways, so it should be a little primitive and gritty. 

i love starting off the week with a finish!

and because she looked so beautiful in her bow from the groomer's...

princess peanut!

a year already?

tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary since we picked up little cricket from the farm outside of tyler, tx. we bought all the supplies, read all the books and watched our puppy play with her litter on the webcam. 

she was the only female blue merle in her litter. the one we had dreamed of. the one i had been on the wait list for. our breeder almost didn't let us have her because she was so beautiful!

i never dreamed how much i could love this little thing, that my heart would grow infinitely over this past year, that being a "mommy" to her made my soul content. 

yes, cricket's just a dog, and no i don't have children, so i don't really understand the capacity of how much your entire life changes with a baby, and how your love grows...but she's my baby for right now.

this girl has been my sole companion, my shadow and my best friend. she's cuddled with me under the covers when i felt lonely, kept me busy playing frisbee and going on walks to the levee, and given me unconditional love even when i didn't deserve it. 

she is my child, part of me, and while it may have only been a year that we've had with her so far, i can't remember what our lives were like without her. she makes me whole. 

i love you little!