the chickens are everywhere!

I was surprised and intrigued to receive a packet from Dianne yesterday. I took a picture because it’s extremely rare I receive anything that’s wrapped.

Inside … well, inside was just the cutest darn little thing. I love my little indoor chickens – and Niek can’t complain about the smell. LOL! Thank you so much, Dianne!

My other mail packet didn’t exactly contain chickens, but aren’t these birds gorgeous? I’m showing remarkable self-control in not tossing my other stitching aside and starting in on this kit!

In case you actually came here for real chickens – LOL, I’m shameless, I’m obsessed, I’m weird! – here are some of my little feathered friends.

But Deb asked if I even still stitch. I do! I started a new design (of mine) on the Fourth of July and I wanted to make a bit more progress before sharing a picture, but here it is. Obviously, there’s a lot more yet to be done! And not a chicken in the whole design, I swear!

And in addition to the stitching, there has also been baking. The girls help out a lot, providing eggs for delicious egg salad – shown here perched atop a slice of fresh pumpernickel.

And for those who came here hoping I’d finally post something without chickens, meet the new ducks! LOL!!!

And some sea monsters, too!

I hope your summer has been wild and wacky, too!!

ignore the typos, please

Arden’s little “bug” transferred itself to my sinuses, so if I miss a typo or two, please ignore it.
Sinus irrigation and all the usual tricks just aren’t doing it for me this time. Ugh!

But there’s a  lot of good stuff to share!! Nick and Rowen have been in school skits this week and they were so much fun to watch! Nick played a hornet (and I had to make his mask in the 10 minutes or so before he got on the bus that morning – nothing like a bit of excitement!) and Rowen played a girl who’d rather read quietly on the sidelines than play in a group. Both skits were about cooperation and friendship, and the kids made up the skits themselves.

With dear friend Tigger, we tapped our big maple tree out front and have been boiling sap to make our own syrup. Oh my gosh is homemade syrup delicious!! Arden got the first taste, but we all enjoyed it.

I received some fabulous stash from Mary Katherine, thanks to the generosity of dear friend Judy. The goodies arrived in two packets, and I unthinkingly put everything away from the first packet, but here’s what arrived in the second packet. And thank you, Mary Katherine, for the additional Dinky Dyes and needles! It wasn’t necessary, but very appreciated! Thank you Judy for a wonderful Christmas gift that I enjoyed to the hilt! I decided on all floss, hoping the beautiful new colors would whisper to my design muse.

I have done a bit of stitching and finishing. Here’s the end result of my Pink Girl with Swan make-do. I think it came out pretty cute. She’s set in the top of a papier-mâché decorative box that I use for storage of stitching supplies.

And here’s Penny Angel, my contribution to the world-wide SAL paying homage to Lisa and expressing sadness at losing her. She’s a woman who touched so many lives …. the void she’s left is just impossible to comprehend.

I’m going to close with a sweet picture I snapped of Rowen cuddling Flip the other day. It can be difficult to see our kids (or other family members) as people independent of our relationship with them … I hope I always honor and respect my kids for the amazing people they are.

going to the birds

It’s all about the birds here at Chateau Chaos lately, isn’t it? This weekend’s big excitement has revolved around a wandering Guinea fowl. Yesterday, when I was delivering dinner, the male shot out the door and took off for the highest tree around. I didn’t worry too much as he’s never strayed more than a few paces from his mate and because dusk was coming on (they roost at sundown). I figured he’d be back before I was even done with the watering and feeding.

But I was wrong.

Sundown came and went, and we had dinner plans out of town. When we got home, Max and I searched the property by flashlight but found no signs of Mr Guinea and the worst was assumed. And then this morning, in addition to David Brownie’s melodious welcome of sunrise, we could hear the distinctive craaaakkkk craaaaaahhhhhhnnnk of an upset male Guinea. Naturally, he was perched in a tree just outside our neighbor’s bedroom window, and thus we finally had a chance to talk with our very quiet, private neighbors. (Who are also, I must add, incredibly kind and understanding people!) We crated Buckwheat (the female Guinea) and put her at the bottom of the tree together with a feast fit for a king (fresh greens, an apple core, and lots of yummy grain) … but the foolish fellow would not come down. Max and I hid behind a tree, feeling like a ridiculous version of Crocodile Hunters, while the two Guinea fowl made such a racket I was certain someone would call the police. LOL. Eventually, with the neighbors’ help, we managed to pull the branch down low enough to toss a towel over the Guinea’s head and catch him. He and Buckwheat are back in the coop and after they go to sleep tonight, they’ll get a trim of their flight feathers! What a morning!

We celebrated by sledding – the snow here is still thigh-deep if you can believe it – and then we warmed up with our version of high tea: cocoa, cake, and ice cream.

Even my stitching seems to be bird related! Most recently I’ve finished The Chrysanthemum Tree by The Gentle Art. I’ve done it on a scrap of Lakeside Linens from my stitcher’s pack purchased from Shakespeare’s Attic using some called-for threads and some GAST substitutions that looked enough like the model.

I also finished this little ditty that I’m calling Pink Girl And Swan. I’ll be finishing this as a make-do pincushion. Sorry for the blurriness, but I am just too lazy to take another picture. This is done on a scrap of distressed linen using GAST fibers from their Colors of America limited release thread sets.

After making the difficult decision to remove myself from a very stressful aspect in my life, I’ve been enjoying some more time with the kids. I mean, I’ve had time with the kids but I’m enjoying it much more, if that makes sense to you. Anyway, here they are, mugging for the camera. Nicky’s black eye is the result of a collision between his face and Rowen’s head (Ro’s head won, obviously).

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!

who’s that girl?

If you’ve found a comment on your blog from someone named “max” it’s me. After trying to help Max set up a hobby blog (unsuccessfully), I had the brainstorm of setting one up under my blogger ID to circumvent the age restriction. But when I set it up to sign his posts “max” I also reset my own signature. Apparently you can’t sign one blog with one name and everything else with a different name. Sigh.

Anyway, here’s what I’m working on these days. It’s a little something of my own, inspired yet again by old samplers. There will be a verse to the right of the picture … someday.

I see everyone jumping on the 15-new-projects-challenge for January and have managed to resist temptation. I’ve decided to do something a little different. For the first 15 days of January, I’m going to work on WIPs – a different WIP every day. And if I don’t have 15 WIPs (ha ha ha ha!!), I’ll start back at the beginning and keep going till January the 16th. I think I’ll be a lot less stressed out by this approach, and maybe I’ll even finish something! Gasp!

at long last … some stitching

It really has been ages since anything stitchy-like has happened in this space, hasn’t it? I wish there was time enough to really get involved in all the things that I really want to do! Cloning, going without sleep, astral projections … not much that I can really do about it, I suppose, but I do thank you for sticking around despite my leapfrogging from one obsession interest to another.

I made a couple of small gifts for Niek’s birthday. Really, these are more like in-jokes than actual stitching projects, but since I haven’t completed much lately, I’m sticking them in. LOL. Niek turned 42 this year, and since we are both big fans of Douglas Adams, I played upon The Ultimate Answer in making/buying his birthday gifts. (The alphabet is from Brightneedle’s Dutch Hornbook.) There is a towel, because every galactic hitchhiker needs a towel (mostly  harmless is the brief description given to planet Earth, and Niek acknowledges that it describes him pretty well, too):

and a bookmark – with his current reading material – so he’ll always know where he is (again, the elements all tie in to the various Hitchhiker novels):

A side note on the bookmark: I stitched this on the new paper-linen (color – Magpie Tears) that Vikki Clayton’s selling and I can honestly recommend it as a wonderful alternative to stitching on paper (which just drives me up a tree). Vikki also has several kits available so you can create some cool finished items like trays and boxes.

Of course while  Niek was celebrating his birthday, his parents were visiting here and for some reason they brought me gifts. They selected these utterly amazing handmade napkins and apron from Kloskanthuis in Gent, Belgium. I’m utterly floored by these. The detail, the perfection of the stitches, is incredible. If only I could do this! The flower napkins put me in  mind of Gerda Bengtsson’s designs and I have (crazy) ideas of creating a tablecloth to coordinate with the napkins. You’ll see it here, first, but it might be 10 years from now. LOL! And the hen apron (which I should’ve modeled, but I’m having waist-issues today) is the cutest darn thing I’ve ever seen! Thanks again, Niek Sr and Brigitte!

I have been stitching more now that the days are shortening. It’s like my internal clock regulates which hobbies attract my attention. In the summer months, you practically had to drag me in with the kids at dusk. I had no interest in cooking or any other homemaking skills. I wanted to garden, play with the chickens, go on adventures … all outside. By nightfall, I was so tired I practically fell into bed – but when the morning dawned, I wanted to do it all over again! But now that the days are getting shorter and chillier, I suddenly want to stitch and bake every day!

Anyway, I started this little gardening-theme sampler for a friend way back in April or May and have gotten nowhere with it. How dreadful! But I love it and I know I will work a lot on it now that my heart once again belongs to stitching and indoor domesticity.

Here is a sweet sampler I designed for Niek as a companion piece to Love of Myn, an earlier so-called Dutch Primitive that I designed & stitched for an anniversary. Again, it’ll come together quickly now that I’m indoors.

A WIP that I took along to Sara and Ken’s last month, this fun design by Birds of a Feather had languished far too long on my WIP shelf. I still have quite a bit of filling-in to do, and I’m adding a top band with the kids’ names, but it shouldn’t be too much longer before this joins the to-be-framed pile.

My current WIP is this tombstone angel that I designed based on several New England tombstones from the 1700′s. The phrase that will be below the angel is my own, but that crazy looking angel really is based on one from an actual tombstone. This is stitched on a gorgeous (much lovelier IRL than in the photo!) piece of 36 ct dark Old Gray Mare from Vikki Clayton using sumptuous Silk n’ Colors. I am so loving it and I hope it will be ready (stitched and framed) by Halloween.

Some projects I’m looking forward to starting include the Lerena Comins pincushion kit from the Gift of Stitching monthly magazine (August issue). If you haven’t yet purchased any of Kirsten’s kits, you’re missing out. The materials are absolutely top-notch and there is enough of everything, so you aren’t constantly fretting about running short on floss, etc. The prices are agreeable, too – and watch out for those sales!

While Jenna was here last month, she surprised me with these two patterns from The Victoria Sampler hearts series. How perfect are these for Chateau Chaos?!  The two hearts are the same size, so I’m picturing a two-sided pillow. Thank you so much, Jenna!!

Thanks so much for visiting with me and for leaving a little comment so I know you stopped by. I have lots of baking to share with you, and hopefully more stitching, and I’ll be having a little giveaway later in the month. Take care, and seize those hours of sunlight whenever you can!

the spirit moved me

It’s been a long time since I finish-finished anything. I had visions of a huge pile of stitched goods that would take me all winter to finish-finish … but today I started rummaging around for a substitute fabric for the design I recently finished and one thing led to another.

First &  foremost, here is My Baby Brother. Nicky was the inspiration behind this design – feel free to check over here to read the story behind the design. If ever the Civil War reproduction fabric that I ordered arrives, I’ll change out the homespun check that’s currently backing the design.

While I was rummaging through my fabric stash, I came across several stitched pieces that needed finishing and decided to get busy. We were “stuck” at home today because Rigby’s been sick and required hourly ministrations (I’m glad to say he seems to be nearly back to normal) and it was just the perfect day to do this. Thanks to Niek for giving me the space to do all this!

First up is a Fair Square exchange that I received two years ago – how embarrassing is that?! I absolutely LOVE this design and was delighted when Wendy Jo stitched it for me. I have no reason why it languished so long in a drawer. This is finished with some fabulous Moda charm squares and a bit of ricrak and wee buttons.

Then I finally finished a gift from Niek’s grandmother. She originally gave it to us in a frame that neither fit nor flattered it, and it’s been my intention for a couple of years (!!) to remedy the situation. I love it with the old-fashioned brocade tassel trim.

Finally, I finished a wonderful freebie design from The Sampler Girl that I stitched around this time last summer using my choice of colors. I love the silks I used, but they didn’t stand out enough for my original intent of using this as a sort of banner. The fabric I found in my stash brings out the soft colors, and the fabric roses (from Conny’s farewell gift) added the perfect touch to this simple, whimsical pillow.

It felt great to have such a productive day – and it’s really a joy to finally share some stitching-related photos with you!

i am having so much fun that it must be bad for me

The days are zipping by at a furious clip, How can it be the first of August already? We’re packing each hour of the day full of fun - I just wish there were more hours!

On Thursday, 4H camp wrapped up and the kids are already asking when they can go again. The camp focus was on playing together, teamwork, and health (rather than about animals) and it was a huge hit.

On Friday, we hung out and played with each other, with the chickens, and so on. We paid an overdue visit to the local library to stock up on some more excellent reading material. And I went through the nearly 300 entries in my bloglines. :0

Yesterday, Saturday, the boys and I went to Birds Acre in Ellsworth while Rowen went raspberry picking with a good friend and her family. Birds Acre was celebrating the birthday of Cordelia Stanwood, the amazing lady who got the sanctuary started way back in the last century. This lady was ahead of her time, and I urge you to read more about her. We had a great time during the day. Activities included listening to some totally amazing fiddle music, meeting some of the sanctuary’s residents, enjoying a cookout, and walking one of the many trails. Mother Nature put on a fabulous art show for our benefit, too!

I used to go to Birds Acre with my Aunt Cindy regularly when I was a kid – my grandparents’ house is just up the hill – but I hadn’t been inside Cordelia’s house until yesterday. Finally seeing the interior was quite the occasion for me. They do (graciously!) allow photos, so here’s a little selection of the many I took.

We also stopped in at Scotty’s Bookstore in Hancock and I was thrilled to find three Mary Beale charts as well as a few older magazines with interesting contents.

And I wrapped up the day by starting a new project. This is a little gem from Bent Creek. Although I have finished one of my models, I’m reluctant to show it until the reproduction fabric I ordered for the finish-finishing arrives. (Thanks for your patience, Annie!)

However, I’m delighted to say that there is a model of my designs available right now at The Gift of Stitching! Kirsten has published the last of my Dame Snowe series in this month’s magazine and she has really outdone herself. Kirsten, thank you so much for the stunning display. This is Sarah Jane Lathrop’s sampler, and I must admit that I really love it. Although this is the last of the series in the magazine, I will be designing others in the future.

I also  have another article in this month’s magazine – the first in a series exploring the meaning behind the verse of the sampler and the life & times of the girl or woman who stitched it. I’m very excited about this series and have had the best time doing the research and choosing the samplers.

ens and updates

I’m going to be with just me, myself, and Arden for a few hours tomorrow. Max is in the Netherlands with his father, Niek is off on a 2 week job assignment, and Nick and Rowen are having their first overnight with my Aunties. It is weird, I tell you! (ens = empty nest syndrome)

But before everyone flew the coop, we had some days that were busy, fun, and hot! We enjoyed the Fourth of July at Bass Park with my Dad and Mary. We had a cookout, watched the races, and enjoyed the fireworks. We narrowly avoided melting in the near-100 degree heat. The kids thought the fireworks were fabulous – with the exception of Arden, who fell asleep shortly before they started.

We’ve had picnics in our backyard every day and sometimes twice a day. The little chickens have enjoyed the big playpen and all the chickens have been getting along and enjoying each other’s company. They’re all getting so big! Nick and Rowen have fun trying to ‘train’ them to do various stunts, like outrun each other or pose while on a box.

To stay cool, the kids have found new uses for the toys they have. Nick and Rowen have complained bitterly that they had to leave their bikes behind in Holland, so they’ve taken over Arden’s trike. But Niek and I have a surprise waiting for them when they get back from my Aunties – new bikes!! You can bet pictures will be forthcoming!

Another recent purchase was a little bit of stash from Violarium and from a local quilt shop – Sewing by the Sea. If you’re ever on the road from the Ellsworth to Bar Harbor, you should stop in!! You should also catch Leena’s 22% off sale while you can!

And finally, just to remind you that I really do stitch, here’s my progress on one of my designs. The detail photo shows the colors more accurately.

My next post will be for a giveaway (about time!!), so watch this space!

state of the coop address

Guess what I found while looking for a pen last night – my camera battery recharger! And now I have a working camera again. I can’t tell you how good that feels. Maybe you expected me to start catching you up with needlework, but ha ha! Chickens are on my mind this morning. Look at my little cluckers. Here they are right before my camera quit working (about 10 days ago?)

And look at them now! Can you see how much bigger they are? Herbert, as the oldest, is also looking much more grown up with changes other than just growth – the skin around his eyes is red, his wattles and comb are more pronounced, and he’s getting small bumps on the backs of his legs that should develop into spurs. (Sorry it’s a bit blurry – it was their breakfast time.) Honestly, though, I’m still not sure that he’s a rooster and the other six are hens. LOL. The poor babies have been stuck inside during the week of rain we’ve had. If the sun comes out today, I have some serious cleaning to do!

We’ll be using part of the tool shed for their coop. The porch was rotten, though, so I started to tear it up and also ordered some replacement boards. It turned out to be entirely rotten, though, and what should have been  maybe 3 afternoons of work mushroomed into much more … and then it started to rain, and nothing got done at all. Here’s their coop-to-be. Cross your fingers for some sun, especially this weekend!

We had a great time with Sara and Ken and were really sad to see them go. It’s ironic (and irritating) that the charger showed up a few hours after they left, so we don’t have any nice pictures to share. And I can’t even show you what I stitched while they were here because it’s for the Independence Day exchange. Sigh. But I can show you the design I’ve just started. It’s going to make you laugh so hard when it’s done. Nicky is collaborating on this one, and when it’s done, you’ll understand why.

I’ve heard that the gifts (in regard to this post) I sent to Margaret and Carol arrived. I hope that Deb’s birthday gift arrived in good time, too. I’m afraid I don’t have photos of what I sent to everyone. However, I’m delighted to share a picture or two of the wonderful penny rug that Annemarie gifted me with. Thank you once again, An – I love-love-love it!

livin’ it up at chateau chaos

Thank you so much for your supportive comments about my sampler in the Gift of Stitching - I really appreciate it. It’s a challenge when something you do for love suddenly turns into work and differences with the boss arise.

But on to happier subjects – we’re enjoying an absolutely delightful time with Sara and Ken (even if it has rained every day, LOL!). We celebrated Ken’s birthday yesterday with sushi, spring rolls, & seafood and followed it up with a chocolate cake that was really scrumptious. Sara has introduced me to a couple of new recipes, including one for no-knead baguettes that you really must try. They are amazing. We’ve also enjoyed some quality stitching (or knitting, in Sara’s case) hours and have slurped down a couple of Ken’s irresistable dirty martinis. Mmmmm.

And today, the mail brought me a truly wonderful gift from dear (and dearly missed) Annemarie for my birthday. It’s a fun, whimsical, perfectly-me penny rug. Thank you so much, An!

Oh but you’ve noticed there are no pictures! Although the mailman brought An’s gift, he did not bring my new battery. Sigh. I feel like I’m missing one of my  hands!

Tonight we’re all off for a delightful dinner with Sara and Ken at the Riverside Inn. Max will have some assistance with babysitting from the oldest daughter of one of my all-time best friends and Niek and I are hoping that situation will go well enough that we’ll be able to enjoy other evenings out.

Well, that’s it from me for now. I really, really hope that I’ll be able to share some photos in my next post! Thanks for continuing to check in with me here. I hope your weekend is full of sunshine!