TAST Week 15: Stem Stitch

This week I was inspired by the 18th and early 19th century needlework that I saw in the Fabric of a New Nation exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute and the birds that have been checking out my yard, the bird feeder and the various flowering plants.  I even got a picture of one of my visitors before the dogs chased it away.

The branch is stem stitch and so is the bird, the flowers are made up of detached chain.  All of it is stitched in rayon Edmar threads on green cotton.

Six word memoirs for pets

I read the book Not Quite what I was Planning which is full of six word memoirs collected by Smith Magazine and I have been writing some of my own for my pets. Holly, the beautiful, long-haired calico cat wants only to be waited on and left alone. However, her long, soft fur and beauty make her irresistible -- everyone wants to pet her.

I know I'm beautiful, don't touch.

Gambit on the other hand is extremely tame, to the point that we have sometimes wondered if there is something wrong with him.

I am shameless; rub my tummy.

In addition to the pets in the house, we have animals outside the house. I apparently did not scare Mama Robin off by cutting down half the tree and exposing her nest, she has laid her final egg and has taken up residence. She stays put when the dogs are out but gets up and scolds us when we get too close. I suppose we are lucky that we don't have a nesting red winged blackbird -- they apparently dive bomb people who come too close to their nests.

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I made up some six-word memoirs for myself as well, they include:

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Iron low, thyroid low, very tired.

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Mother, manager, engineer, artist -- hired housekeeper.

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Teenager driving, parents gray and broke.

Red, white and blue . . .

All of the snow this winter, and spring, and all of the rain an cool weather have made my roses very happy. My favorites are the firecracker roses. Since I hurt my back last fall and did not get them cut back, they are starting to climb the porch railing and are very happy. The buds and flowers are just beautiful.

We also have a bumper crop of white alpine strawberries. When they are ripe, they taste like the essence of strawberries and I think they look very pretty against my blue glass bird bath.

The real blue in my garden are the robin's eggs I found in a nest. I was afraid that I disturbed the mother too much when I pruned the tree her nest is in but when I got home from work today, Mama Robin was sitting on her nest. Unfortunately, every time I get close enough to her to take a picture, she flies off. Maybe she will stay put once she lays another egg or two and has to stay on the nest to keep the eggs warm. I think it is cool that we will get to watch the babies grow up.