Progress on July, etc.

I took a little time off from stitching my Bee Line March Sampler to do the Prairie Schooler July sampler.  I had been oogling this sampler since it came out.  Then, over the winter, probably while we were snowed in by the blizzard, I saw Glenna do a post on hers.  She said that she'd decided to use Kreinik threads on the fireworks.  I really liked the look.  When I finally got my copy of the chart, I knew for sure I wanted to do the same with the Kreinik blending filaments and braids that I had.  But I wanted to tart mine up even more.  You can almost hear the 'bombs bursting in air' now.  And of course, I wanted to change a few things about the design.  Be sure to also check out the Kreinik Blog and Tweets by KreinikGirl! 

I made a bunch of changes including the phrase.  The moment I saw this chart I was taken back to 1993 when my family spent the 4th of July weekend on Solomon's Island in southern Maryland.  We watched the fireworks over the mouth of the Patuxent River.  It was the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen in my life and it was because they were not only going off in the sky, but being reflected in the water.  That's got to be the BEST way to see fireworks!  When I wasn't using Kreinik threads, I used Gentle Art (and one Weeks) overdyed floss. 

I think the fabric adds quite a bit to the fireworks scene as well.  The rosy hues on the blue do look a lot like the floating smoke that you see after the fireworks go off in the dusk.  This linen is a handpainted 28 count Crossed Wing Collection called Galaxy.  I might decide here real soon to trade away some pieces of it.  The original hunk was a "fat half" and I just don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of it.  So, if you think you might be interested, drop me a comment.

I'm about two thirds of the way through with this and expect I shall be done by end of the holiday weekend.  I am really enjoying it.  We had a weather front come through and it has just been delightful!  We were in the upper 90's to 100 the last week and more, but this morning when I got up it was 54!  These kind of mornings always remind me of when I visited with a friend in Oswego, N.Y.  We had to have blankets on the bed in July!  Great sleeping weather.

On 4th of July we sit on the front porch and watch the fireworks the neighbors shoot off.  We can see quite a few from here on the ridge top.  I don't know where they get them from, but they're as good as the ones we'd see if we drove and got caught up in crowds and the whole bit.  Sometimes (like this year) my son gets someone paying him back in fireworks instead of cash.  So, the two knuckleheads will be setting those off in the driveway while I watch - fearful that they're going to blow something off - from a distance.  I always remind my son that I still want grandchildren out of him.  A few years ago, my husband blew out an eardrum with firecrackers.  It was one of those  times that he was really glad he couldn't hear what I was saying!  It did heal, but his hearing has been damaged and really loud noises now give him terrific headaches.

Here's something neat I've been using. . .  I stitch in areas because it helps me make fewer mistakes.  So, I keep needles threaded in the different colors on my pincushion and then like to have my threads at hand to pick up quick too.  So working on this project I had them all in a pile on my cabinet and thought, I'm going to have a terrible coffee accident or something; what can I do to get the pile off the cabinet but still be quickly accessible?  Here's my solution:

It's a glass candy dish in the shape of a chicken sitting on a nest.  I'm sure you've all seen them in the antique and thrift shops.  Some have red painted combs, but mine is just plain white.  Anyway, it's working out well and far better for me to have thread, rather than candy, in that chicken!

Hope you have a terrific 4th of July!