Blue Ribbons Are Good for the Ego

Purple ones are even better!

 This is my Hearts and Flowers shawl that I entered in the county fair. That purple ribbon is for the Textiles Grand Champion. I know we are a small county, so there was not that much competition, but I'm still extremely pleased. Next I'll see  if it is accepted in the juried exhibit at the Mayfeld Art Guild in November.

I couldn't get a picture that shows the hearts well, but you can see the flowers and the vines. This is my own design, using motifs from my stitch dictionaries. I don't usually name my projects, but in this case the name seemed a natural. I worked the shawl in two pieces so the flowers and hearts would be right-side-up from both ends, and then grafted them together in the middle. Friends have asked me what I'm going to do with it, and I'm really not sure yet. I guess I'll hold onto it until the spirit moves me to do something else.

The past week has been quite busy. About 2:30 am last Tuesday, Carmen, Sara, Rose and Sara's friend Justin arrived. Sara and Rose are now living with me. I'm glad Justin was with them, because I didn't feel real lazy for not helping them carry stuff in. He also did a couple if minor repairs while he was here. He and Carmen left Friday morning to drive back to New Jersey. Sara has gotten much of her and Rose's stuff organized, but there are still some things to be figured out. She is also working on finding a job and getting Rose in school. Lexi started school on Wednesday (8/4), but the preschool doesn't start until the 18th. The two girls are happy to have their cousin to play with.