Lucy the Puggle Dog and I went on a walk last night to checkout the blackberry status in our neighborhood. Last year the HOA chopped down our main supply of blackberry bushes down by the park because they were an eyesore. 🙁 So this year we have to do a little hunting if we want to collect enough berries for pies and jam. BOOO! I posted a little video of the Amazing Lucy Puggle on YouTube if you want to see. 😉
In other news… The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird has been going through all her stuffed animals, weeding out which ones she wants to donate to the thrift store. 
Although if Lucy has anything to do with it she’ll be keeping them all. So far 4 plush toys have mysteriously disappeared from The Girls donation box. 😉
A giant box of wool arrived yesterday. 13 yards to be exact. I figure it’s plenty to keep me busy and out of trouble through the end of the year. Plus I have a feeling I’ll be needing some more area rugs soon… but more about that a bit later. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I tried my hand at cross stitch but I think I’m just going to go ahead and throw in the towel. I fear if I don’t stop now I will end up with crippled hands and blind. I think primitive samplers a beautiful, I really do, and I applaud anyone who has the patience to finish one but I just don’t think I’m cut out for it. I could never hack in it Victorian times that’s for sure.
And last but not least, dinner. Holy cow man, are you on vegetable overload lately? Every night around here lately is stir fry night. The HH probably thinks I’ve gone mad. It’s amazing he still eats the stuff.
Ahh summer. Isn’t it grand?
How about you, what have you been up to lately? Have you ever tried cross stitch before? Did you finish it? Can you still see?
~Mavis
HollyG says
I’ve done a few cross stitch samplers but they always take me forever. That one is really adorable, definitely worth finishing if you can. I just picked up a strounger pair of readinng glasses at the thrift store and did a little every day – like your rug. Good luck!
Delores says
I stopped cross stitching years ago, I have no where near the patience needed. Now, I knit. 🙂
LisaL says
If you don’t mind how many blackberries she eats, you can teach her to eat them right off the bush. We go picking with our dogs every summer, they eat the bottom ones and we pick the top ones.
Kathy says
I used to cross stitch but alas no more, due to carpal tunnel and arthritic hands, I no longer have the fine motor skills to hold a needle. It was very relaxing for me.
Peggie says
My dogs eat blackberries too. The Border Collie pulls back his lips and plucks berries from the canes. The Bassett just dives into the bucket! They also love beans, blueberries, and cucumbers.
Cindy says
I cross stitch still. Working on an outside chairs for all seasons project right now. Then a sampler for my SIL. I need the bear and lamb in the pic for my collection of ‘wooly’ babies. LOL
Madam Chow says
That dog is a hoot. I just went back and watched the carrot video, too!
Kathy says
Dogs and their stuffed animals! Funny story, our dog Goldie used to sneak upstairs and carry off the stuffed animals from our son’s room. Problem is that she had to walk in front of us to come back downstairs, so we would see her before she could take them to her crate. Amazingly she would often pick out the PUPPIES in the midst of all other kinds of animals. How did she know they were dogs??
That plate of stir fried veggies looks scrumptious!
Helen in Meridian says
I buy my cross stitch completed from the Goodwill, Savers and Idaho Youth Ranch. Where did you buy your wool? When I lived in Portland/Vancouver for 18 years I used to buy the surplus discount wool from the Pendleton outlet in Washougal, WA for $1 to $5 a yard.
Mavis Butterfield says
You are funny! Yes, we’ve been to the wool outlet a few times but this wool came from the great state of Pennsylvania.
Michelle says
I have three craft passions: knitting, quilting and cross stitch! I love them! As another commenter said, it is sooo relaxing for me. With homeschooling four kids ages 4-13, as well as being a military spouse whose husband just went to another country for a year, I haven’t had as much time to devote to crafting as I used to (hmm, I wonder why :), but I’m slowly able to give more time to it. Doing these crafts keeps me sane – lol!
Teckla says
Mavis, you need a magnifying lamp for your cross stitch! It’s much easier on your eyes and your hands, too, because you won’t be so tense while working on it! Some of them are quite reasonably prices and some are very expensive, depending on your taste and budget. But they sure make a difference!
CathyB says
My Grandma did cross stitch and needlepoint until she was well into her 90’s! The saying on your sampler reminds me of a little plaque we had in our house when I was growing up. It said, “A plump wife and a big barn never did any man harm.”
Mavis Butterfield says
Ha! I love that!
Katie says
Your experience with cross stitching made me laugh! I spent HOURS on my first cross stitch and got so frustrated one day I took the scissors to it cut it up into a million little pieces! 🙂 I felt much better after that 🙂 A few years later I attempted it again and I successfully completed it! I made one for each of my 4 kids when they were born and am once again SO done with cross stitching! It’s not as easy as it looks!!!
Jennifer says
I can’t believe they would chop down a free, organic food source because it is an ”eyesore”… that is just awful!! 🙁
Mavis Butterfield says
I agree. I personally didn’t think it was an eyesore. 🙁
Ariel says
Careful with those stuffies! Our pug, Daisy, loves them but what she loves more is destroying them and eating the stuffing! Eyes on them can also be a choking hazard for our cute little pups! Lucy is too precious 🙂
Heather says
I can/have cross-stitched, but haven’t pulled it out for a while (I have unfinished projects around the house). Lately I have been into mostly quilting and scrapbooking (and hiking, gardening, etc, etc). Our golden retriever loves her stuffed animals (made for dogs), but also loves pulling out the stuffing! She now has a ‘flat’ cow. Make sure there are only stitched eyes and not the plastic ones since Lucy could choke on them.
Gloria says
Mavis, do you use the wool fabric to braid or hook your rugs?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes I wash or dye the wool first and then cut it into 1/4″ strips and hook my rugs with it. 🙂
Bonnie Dale Keck says
I am legally blind, but I knit and cross stitch, but that’s probably attention to detail that doesn’t bother me {was an accountant & legal assistant & house cleaner thru the years among other things}. There are some others that I do such as crochet but find it takes me much longer than knitting etc {stiches are way too tight for crochet}.