Linen Stitcher

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Carol (a.k.a. Linen Stitcher), and a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I used to cross stitch.

But I haven’t quite given up on my stitching hobby yet, as evidenced by this:

Designer: Carriage House Samplings
Pattern: Black Willow Farm
(Stitched with 1 strand over 2 threads on antique white linen that I thought was 40-count but only turned out to be 36-count; using recommended DMC colorway with some minor substitutions.)

And by this:

Designer: Blackbird Designs
Pattern: Sarah’s ABC Pincushion from the book Thank You, Sarah Tobias
(Stitched with 1 strand over 2 threads on a scrap of Lakeside Linens 40-count Sheep’s Straw, I think; used Thread Gatherer Silk ’N Colors “Apples & Oak Leaves” instead of the called-for “Autumn Twilight” because I thought it matched the model in the photo better; I changed the bottom row to switch out the name “Sarah Tobias” for numbers and my initials instead.)

And this:

Designer: Blackbird Designs
Pattern: BlackBird Sampler (just the bird at the bottom)
(Stitched with 2 strands over 2 threads on 32-count fabric; used floss I had on hand)

Actually, I finished all of these some time ago, I just haven’t had time to share them with you. Stitching time is sparse. I think “Black Willow Farm” took me about 3 months to finish. Frightening, isn’t it?

But while I’m excited about these three little finishes, I’m rather more astonished at this:

THE NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDER IS BACK!!!

Don’t believe me? Well, feast your eyes on this:

The owners at Lot 1 hired a stone mason to build that gorgeous wall (from PS Bk 50, Prairie Seasons), then of course, they added in those lovely evergreens, which sets it off just perfectly, I think. Now they’re considering putting in a garden area just a bit to the south and west of the house. Yes, it’s a little late to get started in the summer growing season, but they’re the enthusiastic and overly optimistic types, so they probably won’t let that stop them.

Also, I see that the owners at Lot 2 have started installing their landscaping. Not sure how that will turn out. The scuttlebutt in the neighborhood is that they can’t decide whether or not to install a fence, and even if they do decide to install a fence, then there’s the challenge of deciding what color and style. With the simple fence (wall) style of their Lot 1 neighbors and the ornate fence style of the Lot 3 neighbors, they’ve just continued to dither over the whole thing.

When you consider that they were the first house to go up in the neighborhood way back in August 2007 and they STILL don’t have a lawn, landscaping, or a fence, well, I’m not hopeful that they’ll make up their minds anytime soon.

But I promise to let you know if anything changes.

In the meantime, here’s what the neighborhood looks like on this gray, rainy June afternoon:

Now, you’ll have to excuse me. I’m off to circulate a petition to get the city to do something about the sorry state of that park. But thanks for stopping by!