a thing of beauty is a joy forever

…or so I hope….

I am in love with my current project, which isn’t too surprising considering it’s by my favorite designer, stitched on a to-die-for linen, and uses all NPI scrumptious silks. Oh, and I actually bought the design with Niek and I in mind. But when I saw Dirk’s house (Niek’s youngest brother, who is getting married next month), I immediately envisioned this design hanging on the wall - I even knew which wall I’d hang it on, if it were my house. Is this an indicator of cross stitch on the brain, when you go into a new environment and immediately begin decorating it with cross stitch designs? LOL! When I showed the design to Niek as a wedding gift suggestion, he agreed it would look great. Without further ado, here is Thine Forever by Carriage House Samplings. I’m actually following the suggested fibers and colors on this one - or will be until I run out of the burnt umber. Two skeins are needed if you’re stitching 2-over-2, it turns out.

Before I got started with stitching this morning, I thought I’d get my ‘puter chores done first (reading and replying to mail, commenting on blogs, etc.) and I accidently began straying about in cyberspace. Look at one of the incredibly gorgeous projects I found! Follow this link and take a look for yourself.

I also found some small, simple, pretty freebies here by a designer called Little Clover Garden. Scroll down and click the links for a PDF file.

And if, like me, you’re involved in a seasonal exchange and have an autumn theme looming on your horizon, I have to share the link to some adorable (!) toadstools that I’m envisioning as very cool pincushions. Have fun!

And that’s it from me for today. I hope your weekend has been full of all the good stuff that makes you smile. I probably should’ve done more chores myself, but I’m too content from all the sunshine and stitching to really punish myself too harshly. I’ll leave you with a cute picture of my beastliest wee beasties, engaged in a (rare!) quiet pasttime.