Heading to bed at 4 am... working hard during my last week-end here, not happy at all!

Just popping it to show the BD exchange I stitched for Nancy K. So glad she likes it, I loved it too!

It looks bigger than it was on the picture, I zoomed to much with the camera. It is actually stitched one over one, so pretty small and delicate, with much fresher colors - it was a very grey day and even going out of the house didn't help much with the light!

December's Wishes by Blackbird Designs, 

from the book "A very fine collection"

TADA!!! Meet my pear

See what I found in our garden:


A real pear! Did it grow there? Naaah, I made it for the Blackbird Designs exchange!! So glad with the result, really. It has now found a welcoming, warm home at Barbara's.
I used a Tilda pattern from the book "Home Sweet Home" - I love Tilda designs (and of course, she's Norwegian), though I am not a real "Tilda addict" as her fans call themselves. Don't really like the lady dolls - just like with Prairie Schooler, I am in the minority, it's not the Santas I like most (but the flora and fauna-related charts). Anyways, I am showing the original to the right - I like Barbara's more, hehehe! But this is where I got the idea.
The pear is not difficult at all to construct - but I have to admit it doesn't look like a pear at all till it receives a stem and a leaf (which I made but forgot to send). I chose to add a piece of wood from the garden, thicker, which I cut to the right proportions - and it looked fantastic.
The next step was to sew the BD design, the crow from "Souvenirs of Summer" onto it. I stitched it one over one but I am totally unsure of the count of the fabric, maybe 36ct? Really don't know. I am so hopeless at remembering such details that I need to check a close-up - did I use Lakeside Linens or R&R? Oh I'm so bad at those details.
Hah! I even bought the same Tilda fabric on a trip accross the border to Sweden. H. did the food shopping while I grazed in the Panduro shop.
I was not so happy with my sewing on the pear but Barbara is gentle on me and doesn't pick on the details :)
Two wooden buttons and the trick was done.

I was also delighted that the post service was so fast - sent on Wednesday in Norway, received in Holland on Friday!

And here's the bottom... these threads make the pear look even more "real"... but it's hard to see it on the picture.

I'll be back later with more to show.... but now I need to return to packing. I'm leaving Norway on Monday... sad, sad, sad days as I pack, sort, clean and enjoy every moment with the cat-boys! :)
We want to do as much at home as possible today so we can enjoy at least half a Sunday outdoor somewhere.

This conversation took place two days ago:

me, showing something: H., does it look like a pear?
H.: - Yeah, not really.
me: - Oh? Why not? I mean, it's a perfect pear?
H.: - Well...
me: - Pfffff. You have no sense of art. It's a perfect pear.
H. - So why do you ask me, if I don't know anything?
me: - Oh well.
me, trying again: - Hey, see, isn't that an absolutely beautiful, perfect pear?
H.: (...sigh...) - Oh YES, it's so beautiful, an absolutely perfect pear!! ...(silence...) isn't that what you wanted me to say?

I resisted the urge to... well, you know. He's just a man.

The pear, you ask? You'll have to wait to see :) A week or so.

I've finished and sent my PS exchange, I'm almost done with the finishing part on my BD exchange.... stitched a PS piece for myself, but need to do the finishing so I can show it properly... and tonight I plan to start on the LHN "Snow" piece that Gigi is offering on her blog and the benefits of which go to the Unicef. Two more designs come with the LHN, but I only like one of them. It is possible to pay with Paypal. To see and/or order, click HERE.

It's getting late, but I thought I'll post a short update about our cat boys. They got their next vaccines this week, they were also chipped (answering to comment: tattoos are much less popular here, I'll hope for the best that they don't get cancer - but then I am much more worried about the street and the risk of them being hit by a car next spring...) and they got their European Union/Norwegian passports :)
We weren't planning to that fast, but we just had to and the boys were neutered yesterday. I spent a long time searching the web for info about the advantages and disadvantages. Had I known it would be so painless and fast, I wouldn't have worried beforehand.

The boys upon arriving home...


Happy checked on them from time to time till they woke up. It was sort of funny to see cats sleeping with totally open eyes, it's the first time I saw it.

Our new vet has a home practice and I just stayed in the room and watched the whole intervention while it happened. The actual surgery part took less than a minute! What took time was all the preparations - injections of morphine, local anesthetics, antibiotics, vitamin B, shaving, cleaning... I and the vet (a woman) had a fun time observing H. who was really uncomfortable about the neutering part and just left for a 40 minutes walk! He became so pale and all... She said all men react that way! LOL

They were supposed to wake up after 4-10 hours and to relax for 7 days.
Well, they started to wake up after 2,5 hours and already at night, they were fighting, running, chasing each other, enjoying life at fullest. Nothing could be done to stop them - nothing at all! Like if nothing ever happened. We just had to stop worrying about the open wounds (no stitches, it starts to grown after 3 days, we were told).

They're just the most adorable cats on Earth I know. Watching them play is endless joy - and then they are perfect companions, they're more like dogs than cats. Humans are so important for them... They sleep close to where I type and they're on my lap when I stitch... they follow H. till the shower cabin... And then Felinek is vocal (his brother is not at all), he asks for water, for food, he complains when he's forbidden smthg (Felinek - no! - meeeeow!! I said NO! - meeeooooo!!!!) LOL
They come for hugs in the middle of the night and they generally are always around.
H.? He's so fond of them!! He made a clean space on his work desk where we laid a soft plaid for them to sleep on... He's planning to clean a sort of hall room in the basement where we plan to put a climbing/playing furniture for them, money allowing. They're such a joy!
(answering to Anonymous comment - thanks for the tip about wet food, I didn't know about that issue. We won't have them on wet food only, much too expensive, but they get some daily and they drink a whole sea of water in addition to their dry special food so I think they should be fine. Actually I almost worried at first seeing how much they drink!)

Before the CATS update...

... a cross-stitch and general update is in order before I post more recent stuff as well. I've decided to split a longish post into two so that those of you who are not so interested in cats (which I can understand, I used to be a total dog person) don't stop visiting :)

I stitched Black Ribbon Designs' Peace freebie, but haven't done the finishing yet - this one stays home :) My choice of fibers.


My Victoria Sampler Tea Party sampler has been a bit neglected because it is not as relaxing as the other, easy projects... I have to follow the instructions point by point and well, it's work and not relax, to say the truth... I will love the result but I occupied my evenings with easier projects.
Here is where I am now.. more lettering to do and many more details: the rest of the bird on the roof, the tea set on the small table etc.

Now I know - of all the stitches I tried and learned, the bullion knots drove me NUTS! Hate them, hate them. Might be I need to practice more, to read different instructions.
This sunflower is made of tons of them, outlined with a single thread and then completed with lazy daisy stitches. Hmmppppf. Hated working on that one, it was frustrating and it didn't turn out completely perfect - but then what flower is totally perfect in nature? :)

In the meantime I stitched this one, a pattern I loved the minute I saw it:

This photo shows it as a big close-up, but it's very tiiiiiiiny in real, stitched over one on what looks like 36 ct - I think, because it's a Lakeside Linens piece from one of these no-name bags Theresa sells (shakespearespeddler.com); they are just perfect for ornaments and smaller projects. I've finished stitching all of it, but here is where I was at some days ago:

And then I forgot to post two pieces I sent out weeks ago for two exchanges. First comes my first needlebook project for the Blackbird Designs exchange , I used the recent BD chart but adapted it to a needlebook. Of course, I forgot the name of the hand-dyed fabrics I used :(.

... the inside....

... and the back:The second piece was for HOE's Just Nan exchange. I really regret I didn't take better pictures, that small pillow was adorable!

Now, the cats....

Wrong is who thinks I'm on vacation here :). Each time I'm coming to Norway, people wish me a good vacation - but vacation it is not! As a free-lancer, I can travel all work wherever I want, provided there is a reliable and fast Internet connection and that my laptop survives its trip to the destination. Work has been (very) slow this year, but it changed a lot in June and I find myself typing away all days and some nights... I won't complain, mind you, money pays bills and money pays stash :) and I have perfect working conditions here - through the window in my working room, I see trees, squirrels, all types of birds which provide a lot of entertainment, neighbor cat fights, neighbor cats visiting and playing... I just adore my summer here. H. has installed air conditioning in the lower part of the house, so even on the hotest days, I can work all I want without sweating... Once a day, I do a bike trip with Happy tied to his springer-thingy (is it known in other countries? how popular is it in the US? it is actually produced just a few kilometers from here) through the woods, around lakes... or I walk with him in the nature... and frequent walks in the garden make great pauses when I work... The first part of the month, it rained A LOT. Now, since ten days or so, temperatures are in the 27-30 degrees Celsius range, so it's been HOT and not really good weather to be out long, it feels like opening an oven each time I peek out. So H. and I often bike late in the evening, even around 11 pm - remember it is more north here than the rest of Europe and days are very long, nights very short...
And I've been awfully sick again for some days, and then had to work, work, work fast! to be able to deliver jobs in due time.
All that to say I am really sorry I sort of disappeared from the blogging world - and I am especially sorry that I am posting pictures of exchanges (today) and more birthday gifts (soon) this late. Diana and Leah, I hope you'll forgive me - you've sent me awesome exchanges! :)

Here they are, I hope anyone who sees them turns green with envy ;-)

First, the HOE Just Nan exchange I received from Diana. Oh, see that purse/little bag!! I love, love, love it!


A close-up on the handsome little guy... isn't he just PERFECT?

The bottom... ah, Diana is so skilled in sewing!


The lovely extras, including a Just Nan pattern from my wishlist!


But that's not all... let your eyes feast on the next gem, the Blackbird designs exchange from Leah...

Leah wrote it is a design called Flock of Birds from the My Heart is True booklet... one I don't have yet, so I totally didn't know it contained this sampler chart with birds! And I so love those... Leah couldn't have chosen better... and everything is just wonderful about this pillow, the colors, the fabrics, the work.... I couldn't believe how lucky I was when I opened the package! Thank you so much again, Leah!!

However, what is not perfect, is my pictures... Can you see that fly on both of them? I didn't see it when taking the photos... looks like Norwegian flies need a lesson in politeness! :)

Hah, I know you like this pillow...!

I'll leave you today with a fresh bunch of peonies I picked this morning in the garden... They are my very favorite flower and H. couldn't have made me more happy yesterday when he let me choose two more species at the gardening center. We're getting a truck of good soil tomorrow so I'm only waiting for it to plant them :). Norway is very rocky and so is the garden here. The house itself is built a little higher than the level of the road, on a huge rock and wherever a plant (or even grass) needs good soil, H. has to provide it, otherwise the ground is just a layer of clay on rocks.

Aren't they beautiful? If it only depended on me, I'd plant different varieties of peonies absolutely everywhere! :)

Here's my version of the contest freebie. I stitched it on Lakeside Linens, a very light pink color (can't give the name because it's from a LL bag with small fabric pieces, so perfect for stitching 'smalls') but the artificial light shows it creamish, totally different from the reality. On the other hand, I like the old look of the photo, so I'll show it this way :)
I used GAST Cranberry, Hollyberry and Gingersnap and finished it into a rather flat, barely stuffed little pillow. Must make more of these, it shows the design very nicely.
I stitched my grandma's maiden name and her birthdate. She is still with us :)
The bird was _supposed_ to look like a baby chicken, because she always had hens and eggs... BUT... as you see, it looks more like a baby dinosaur. I laughed a lot at the end result but what, at least I'll be the only one to know why it's there! LOL
I also reproduced the schoolgirl's errors and added one in the badly done upper part of the E in the surname.
In some years, when my grand-mother will no longer be with us, this little pillow will remind me of her.

Blackbird Designs
'Red Sampler' freebie
stitched over on on 36 ct Lakeside Linens

Barbara, I'm like you, I prefer the green asparagus much better! Yummy, yummy... The sauce: I'm not sure how you call that in English? Not really a sauce, it's fried butter with powdered breadcrumbs (?) - is that how you call this powder made from dry bread? This is the most usual way we prepare it in Poland. But I love it under bechamel sauce too!
Jennifer - I love tomato/mozzarella/basil a lot too!
Melissa - I need to email you for details!! It must be delicious as well and I'm curious to try.
Ela - podejrzałam ostrożnie, jedno ziarenko kolendry ma mini-kiełka ;-)
Linda in MA - thanks for dropping by!! I am still waiting for your new blog :)

Pillow from Nath...

Today, I invite you to see the fantastic pillow Nath made for me... isn't it beautiful? Nath is a wonderful stitcher and finisher... I am exhibiting it in my room so I can look at it all the time :) Nath also sent me a lovely white towel with big grey dots and a chocolate rabbit which didn't last more than 24 hours.... actually it was devored within seconds when I suggested to H. that we should it eat! :)
Merci encore une fois, Nath! J'adore tes travaux et je suis bien contente d'en recevoir quelques-uns!!

I received the new Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers yesterday - isn't the fabric much, much more dark than on the booklet's picture?? I was surprised. I have decided, however, to trust the ladies that it will look just great. Won't start it now yet, probably it will be a summer project.

Still working on the HOE Woodland exchange and still hoping to send on time, or just a day late... Not sure how I landed with 3 exchanges to do in May: Becky's Prairie Schooler blog exchange, the Blackbird Designs exchange and the HOE Just Nan exchange... I'd better work, work, work fast! :) All will be a pleasure to stitch, though, and all will go to new partners

By the way, Gabi, I used the Australian thread from you to stitch the 'Spring' word on the Primitive Betty's piece I posted yesterday :) It is such a springful color!