Framed finishes, kitchen update and more!

Happy Monday!  I have to say I am glad the weekend is over.  I'm worn out after getting ready for Abby's graduation party.  Not that I did a whole lot  but what I did do was tiring and by the end of the day yesterday, I was hurting pretty good.  Then having everyone in just 2 rooms (too much construction crap in the dining room and library) was a bit too close for me.  Dan tried valiantly to get as much done in the kitchen as he possibly could but we were both slightly disappointed that some things just did not come together.  But really, there were so many people you couldn't see anything anyway!  I didn't get to go to the graduation ceremony.  Dan said it was very nice though.  Now we just need to find the girl a full time job and life will be good.

I think I mentioned that Adam was going to be moving to DC.  Well, he left here last Wednesday to begin the drive and arrived there on Thursday in the late afternoon.  He called me from his local Safeway store to let me know he had arrived and he sounded so tired and stressed out.  In fact he told me that driving in DC and the surrounding area was the single most stressful thing he has ever done and the next time he drove his car would be the day he moves away from DC.   That about broke my heart.  I did my best to talk him down so to speak, told him not to make any decisions when he was so tired and already stressed.  Told him there would be an adjustment period, Omaha is a larger city but compared to DC it might as well be a small village.  That will take time to adjust to.  In the end I think he was feeling much better.  Things didn't get any better for him though.  He stuff was supposed to be delivered on Saturday and the moving company somehow mixed up the dates.  Instead of July 9th they had him down for August 9th.  As of this morning, he still doesn't know when his things will arrive.  He did however, make it to work on time this morning, via the bus and the metro and was feeling more relaxed about that.  Can you tell my family doesn't do change well?  I shudder to think what they would have done if we were military and moved all the time.

Before my surgery, I did my best to get as much framing done as I could.  On the last day I was finally able to frame a couple of stitched pieces.  This first one was stitched by Mary Ann.  She finished it up right after Halloween this past year if that tells you anything about how busy we've been.  I really love how it turned out and I think she liked it too.  Sorry for the poor quality picture.  I had one without the glass on it but it's on the shops computer and since I'm not there....I had to send Abby in to the shop last week to take pics for me.  It's hard to get a good shot when there is glass on it.  The chart is from Kit and Bixby and it's called Creep Sheep.

                                                                   
You can't really see the frame in this picture.  It's a distressed burgundy frame with beading on the inner edge from East Side Mouldings.  The top mat has a cool/creepy mottled finish that you can see if you click on the picture to enlarge it.

The second piece I was able to finish was my Jenny Bean Friendship Sampler.  I debated back and forth on the frame for this one.  On the one hand, I have used a black frame on the other 2 Jenny Bean's I have stitched and I kinda wanted to keep with that theme.  But in the end, I just loved this frame from Valley House Primitives.  Maybe, if I hadn't made that big mistake with the color on this piece I would have liked the black frame but stuff happens and I love how it turned  out.  LOVE.IT.

I want to thank everyone for all the get well wishes and comments.  They warmed the cockles of my heart and made me feel loved.  Thanks Everyone!  I had several who commented on the acrylic finishing technique. I don't know if there's a tutorial somewhere out there.  I kinda just did my own thing on it and happily it worked out!  The acrylic stands looks sorta like an "L" and the short end goes into a notch on the bottom of the package.  It's about an inch wide.  I'm not sure where you can find them locally, we order ours from one of our suppliers but if anyone is interested, you can order them from the shop.  Off the top of my head I think they run around $3.00  I can try to write a tutorial on it but please don't hold me to it anytime soon.  I'm still trying to fill bird orders!   

Finally, I will leave you with a shot of the kitchen.  I'm excited to see it finished but know that is still some ways off.

I need to sign off now.  Have a Dr. appt. this afternoon to get ready for.  This will be my first time out since surgery!  Of course there would be a heat index advisory so I won't be able to enjoy the outside as much as I might like, but it will feel good just to leave the house.

Take care till next time!

Julie