Argh! Having trouble posting pictures!!! Do you see them?

I am having so much trouble with Blogger!!! I guess everything changed, and I missed it. I used to upload pictures from Picassa. Now I cannot find the blog button. When I post pictures, there is a divider band between each one, and the pictures are still on top of each other!!! Is there some weird little imp in my computer or has anyone else had problems? Anyway, over the weekend I visited my WIP basket. I was shocked! When I start something, I am usually so excited and think it is the most wonderful design in the world and calculate how soon until it is finished. Then, somehow, it winds up in the WIP basket. I looked at WIP after WIP thinking "Why in the world did I ever put this down?" I took pictures of some of my favorite finds. The above picture is by Little by Little. I have no idea when I started it or why it was cast aside. I LOVE the color combination. I worked on it last night and really hope to finish it up. As I was stitching the inner border, I thought how nice it would look done in satin stitch. Around midnight I glanced at the chart and noticed it actually called for satin stitch!! I decided not to rip out my evening's work though. The next picture is an actual finish! This is 'Anonymous Women' by Sheepish Designs. It is actually their first design and the work of Little by Little designer Cindy Bradford. Very fun piece!
'Anonymous Women' was published in 1985 the same year as Margaret and Margaret published this design. I found it in my mom's stash and began it as soon as I finished AW. I got a chuckle when I noticed the dates! Here is a lovely WIP by Nostalgic Needle. This was in two editions of Just Cross Stitch a few years ago. I started it the day I saw it. The colors and designs are beautiful. How could I put it down??? Wow! This is by With My Needle. I started this during the early phase of my Scottish Sampler passion. I think it was the band of queen stitches that stifled my passion. I hope you enjoyed some of the highlights from my WIP basket. I hope to get this HTML thing straightened out soon! Michele

Two cross stitches

That was a really imaginative title, wasn't it? I finished Weathered Garden a couple of weeks ago. I love the color combination! I just finished 3 days on Grateful Heart from JCS. I love the colors and the textures!

A Priest, A Dog, and A Sampler

Our ancient, 13-year old dog, Ursa, received the Blessing of Sick Animals this past Sunday. We had spent the weekend at my parents' house so Ursa was with us when we drove back Sunday morning. Ursa was having unusually bad leg pain over the weekend. A vet said it could be a fracture due to brittle bones caused by Old Age or bone cancer. I asked our priest if he could give Ursa a blessing. Traditionally there is a Blessing of the Animals on St. Francis' Day in October. This was a Blessing for Sick Animals. I can imagine the importance of this blessing years ago in rural communities where your livestock was all the wealth you might have. And yes, Ursa is much better and is putting weight on her hurt leg.

I have restarted my sampler rotation. I had gotten out of the habit because I was missing various threads I needed. There must be a gremlin in my house who likes cross stitch thread! Hmmm.. .I can think of two...