Yesterday was apparently the first day of spring. I missed it. I've had it in my head that spring is some far off fantasy time of year that only exists in my dreams. I have ventured outside in the wee hours of dawn a few times in recent weeks, scarf wrapped tightly around my neck, to walk the poor dog, who has been cooped up for months. Yesterday I did some spring decor shopping at Michael's, thinking I was well ahead of the game (so forward-thinking of me!), some bra shopping (yuck) and shopping with the boy for some new Levis.
It was a lovely mid-60s kind of day, and I had every intention of going to Costco, too, but then the winds picked up, like a March lion, angry and fierce, and suddenly my eyes were dry and itchy and I just felt wiped out. I scurried home to the warmth and comfort of my craft room. It got so windy that Thomas complained he couldn't play basketball outside because the wind kept blowing his shots away from the hoop.
When Mr. Wonderful came home from work, he mentioned in passing that it was the first day of spring. I had to check the calendar because I didn't believe him.
Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow Update
I'm making good progress on Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow. I finished block four last month and am working on block five. I love the effect of the long, straight stitches on the bats' wings.
Block five is almost fully covered in stitches, so it is taking a bit longer than the others, but this block is my favorite of them all. I have been looking forward to it. I think the details stand out better when I stitch the background first and then fill in the objects above; otherwise, if I stitch the smaller objects first, they get "buried" by the background stitches and I lose detail. (Does that make sense?) Plus, it's fun to guess what's coming by the silhouettes in the background.
Adobe Creative Cloud is my new best friend
While it did work, I couldn't get used to it. I decided to download the free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud's subscription-based Photoshop CC 2019. I love it. I get access to the entire line of Adobe fonts as well, and I'm a font junkie. So this makes me really happy. The new Photoshop is waaaaay cooler than the version I had, and whenever they update the program, I get instant access to the new updates as well.
So I've been doing a little digital scrapbooking on the side, something I used to do a lot of and I miss. Most of the time I tend to scrapbook baby photos, but I have been trying to use current photos more often in my layouts. But who am I kidding? I just love those baby photos! Here's a layout of my nephew holding Thomas when Thomas was four months old:
So. Much. Fun! My nephew has a temporary tattoo on his forehead, in case you're wondering what that red blob is. My sister-in-law is standing behind them in the photo.
Special Thanks
Sending a shout-out to Carol of Stitching Dreams for helping me with a cording question. She sent me a step-by-step, photo-intensive tutorial that she created, and it has helped me immensely. I am actually looking forward to finishing some ornaments thanks to Carol, and that's really saying something. I usually think of "finishing" as a four-letter word.
Carol will be posting her tutorial soon on her blog, so watch for it. It's awesome!
Another very special thanks to Robin in Virginia for sending me the Summer Schoolhouse series charts. I'm doing a SAL with RJ and Mary of Stitching Friends Forever and I'm loving every minute. Watch this space for updates.
Until next time, dear friends. I hope you are seeing beautiful signs of spring. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I have enjoyed getting to know you through your comments and emails.
