Whiskers & Wings: Week 7

Saturday night update! I'm late in posting this so I'm not sure if this constitutes week 7 or 8, but for the sake of consistency, let's say it's week 7. Here's the project so far:

More snow has appeared, and two more birds! Another chickadee and a beautiful cardinal that just pops with that brilliant red, doesn't he? Again, I feel like the picture doesn't do the project justice, because when I see it in real life it seems to have such depth with all the light and shadow going on. My plan now is to add the third bird, and then fill in all the rest of the snow. I'm hoping to be done in a week or two, and I'm so excited! I really am enjoying this project.

Not much news over here. Work & lesson plan during the week, and during the weekends... sunbathing on the beach! The water is getting a bit cold now, but we still managed to get some snorkeling done this morning, which is great. The tourists have gone now so the beaches are a lot emptier, and the water is starting to get that crystal clarity that means the cold weather will be here soon. 

Also, I've finished this book: 

And it was amazing. It really resonated with me, as someone who moved to the US as a child, and had to learn a new culture/language. The author evidently knows what that experience is like, the good and the bad, and the way she handled the everyday details of it just blew my mind. Highly recommended read for anyone interested in the topic.

And that's me done. I hope you're all having a good week, I'll leave you with a few close-ups of the project so far, and as always, happy stitching :)

Whiskers and Wings: Week 6

I'm extremely proud to present a fully stitched and backstitched kitten at the window:

Isn't he just something else? I love the part the project is at now, with the window and kitten fully finished, and the play of shadow and light on the snow. I find that there is a lot of depth and feeling in this project, and I'm really surprised at how much I'm enjoying it! Also -and this is just a detail- but don't you just love that bit of ice sticking to the window on the bottom right corner, through which you can see a bit more of the kitten? I think details like these are what make certain pieces pop!

I was very tired today as I stitched this, so I curled up on the sofa and put on a nice cozy movie: Safe Haven. Nothing special, but I do tend to gravitate to small-town-by-the-sea stories when I'm tired or just in need of some comfort entertainment. The weather's been pretty bad too, with the worst rainfall this part of Spain has seen in... well, ever, so it's been nice to have some time at home to curl up with some stitching.

I hope you're all doing well, here's a closeup of the kitten's face as he looks at the chickadees, and as always... Happy stitching :)

Whiskers and Wings: Week 5

Well, if these haven't been the busiest couple of weeks, I don't know what! September has rolled around and we have been busy, busy, busy with back-to-school. It's all been lesson planning in this house and training and meeting our new students, and this weekend we've just both collapsed and spent a nice staycation at home, watching movies, lazing around the place with the cats, and taking walks. It's been fun! It's also given me a chance to finally catch up with my cross-stitching, and here is where Whiskers and Wings is at so far:

Cute, right? Just look at those two chickadees! I'm nearly done with the snow around them and then I'll backstitch them, they're really going to pop out and I can't wait. As usual with my projects, this one's taking way longer than anticipated and is looking far more beautiful than I could have imagined. There's a lot of depth to it, although I'm not sure if it comes out in the picture. The colors are quite rich in real life!

Also in cross stitching news, I don't know if you've seen this lacing tutorial by Meg at Live to Stitch, but wow! It's amazing. She goes into so much detail on it, I think it's the best tutorial I've seen on the subject and I am definitely going to use it next time I frame a project.  

I hope you're all doing all right, I'll leave you with some WIP pictures, and as always happy stitching :D