A pair of Anna’s hummingbirds have been visiting our feeder several times a day; we regularly see them at breakfast and lunch time. We’ve wondered if they have a nest nearby. The male “flashes” his iridescent red head at us. We haven’t been able to take a really good photo of them yet, but we keep trying. For now, I think this is the female enjoying some lunch.

Meanwhile, the Things’ grandparents also installed a pair of bird feeders, and the goldfinches who visit stay long enough to be admired. Bestemor was able to take two photos of them this week (see the other picture in the Gimlet Gallery) and very kindly shared them with us.

May is almost over, and it’s finally starting to feel like spring:

Lilacs! They bloomed about a month later than usual, and didn’t stay long, but we loved them while they lasted. Thing Two had to stop and smell the lilacs every time we went outdoors. Now when Thing Two sniffs the flowers, they crumble and shower him with little blossoms. He thinks that’s pretty funny.

Baby birds! A sparrow family has been visiting our seed feeder several times a day. The two babies wait none too patiently in the nearby rhododendron (we know they’ve arrived when we hear their insistent chirps) while the parents fill up with seeds, which they then feed to the kids. It seems like the parents spend all day doing this. We feel for them.

Other new stuff! To finish off May, the Gimletmobile shrugged off its mortal coil (or more precisely, its air conditioner compressor) and ascended to Valhalla with a tremendous death rattle and thick white cloud of freon. The Gimlet returned to his roots, or as he said, “This time we’re buying a car that’s reliable.” (We loved the Gimletmobile, but the past few months of expensive repairs have been less than endearing.) The new and improved Gimletmobile has plenty of room for everybody (especially the Things) and will be a welcome addition to summer Scout camp and family outings.

Mary Hickmott’s New Stitches magazine has published a series of tropical fish charts; so far I’ve completed five out of the six designs. These circular charts are approximately 5″ in diameter and I’ve been stitching them on 16 count white Aida, although the magazine also suggests using 32 count evenweave. Generally about 16 colors (Anchor floss) are used per chart, although the first one I made (the starfish) requires only 9. The charts in New Stitches include the number of ½ metres of floss needed for each color, which I find very helpful. It’s great to be able to prepare a floss card in advance. I wish more charts included that information.

It’s been a fun series of charts, each taking about one week to complete. These projects have been my first experience working with blending filament. The filament adds sparkle to the fish, making them stand out from the coral reef background. I haven’t decided what (if anything) I’ll do with these designs, but while I’ve been working on them, Thing Two has become very fond of the fish; he loves to take them out of the project box and look at them. So I may frame them for his nursery, or if a few more charts are published in future issues, the fish could be made into panels for a quilt.

Thing Two has become an eager assistant. I was worried that letting a toddler loose in a yarn shop was a disaster in the making, but our occasional floss expedition has become a fun way to practice learning colors and counting — and little children love to have a job to do. At the “color store” he loves to hold the floss skeins. We count them, of course, and he tells me what the colors are — often offering suggestions for colors he thinks I should buy if the ones I’ve chosen aren’t interesting enough. After briefly surrendering his colors to the cashier, he then carries the bag for the return drive. Some of them are unravelled by the time we arrive at home.

There is a sameness to a series of charts; after five fish I needed a break and wanted to try a larger project. The Owl and the Pussycat, based on Edward Lear’s poem and adapted into a colorful, enchanting image by Sue Cook (Cross Stitch Collection, issue 128) was ideal. Thing Two can recite the poem with a little prompting here and there and has been following my stitching progress with great interest. Every morning he examines the scroll frame and asks, “Where’s the owl? Where’s the pussycat?” He’s going to keep me on task until it’s done. I started May 12, and finished the “beautiful pea-green boat” yesterday, so its occupants will materialize soon.

This spring Thing One landed a spot in the school musical, Bye Bye Birdie. He played a policeman with one line, but made appearances in several scenes and even shared a quick dance with Rosie in the “Spanish Rose” scene. (Family blogs are for bragging. Repeat as needed.)

All the cast, orchestra, and production positions were filled by middle school students, who all did a fantastic job — and gained valuable experience for future school plays and musicals. It’s been a challenge balancing the rehearsal schedule with homework and other activities, but Thing One survived and had a lot of fun in the process. We’re all a bit sleep-deprived though, and looking forward to less busy days … at least until the auditions begin for next year’s winter play.

Lately I’ve been selecting stitching projects from cross stitch magazines. The articles are useful for learning about different designers, offer a chance to try out new skills and include a variety of charts in size, level of expertise, and topic. I’ve been stitching several small projects; all taking one week or less to complete.

The first magazine project to catch my eye was a free kit by Margaret Sherry included in issue 196 of CrossStitcher magazine. It doesn’t get much cuter than this pair of cuddling kittens. The completed design measures 15 x 12 cm, stitched on 14 count white Aida fabric using 18 colors. I wish the magazine had listed the floss codes; I didn’t run out, but a few people wrote in to the magazine’s web site in need of more, and it would be helpful to have the codes if I wanted to make another one as a gift. I completed it in about two weeks: this was my first experience with fractional stitches, and the backstitching required a lot of careful attention, too. Both the fractionals and backstitching were very useful to create the charming, illustration-like appearance of the kittens. The most exciting part of this project was finally learning how to make French knots. As a lefty, most embroidery stitches have been beyond my capabilities. I found a great tutorial on the Primrose Design blog, reversed her photos as per her suggestion, and was making French knots in no time.

Next, a different magazine has been publishing a series of tropical fish charts; so far I’ve completed five out of the six designs. Look for a separate blog post describing these fun, colorful projects — they’re Thing Two’s favorites.

I haven’t finished off the fish series just yet because I wanted to try stitching a card for my newest nephew. Issue 136 of Cross Stitch Collection (CrossStitcher’s sister publication) featured a delightful birth sampler from Faye Whittaker’s All Our Yesterdays collection. Any one of the children from this sampler would make a cute new baby or birthday card; I’m especially fond of this little boy and his teddy bear. It was stitched on 18 count white Aida fabric with 13 colors of DMC floss. One fun aspect of this project was that I was able to make the card using a leftover scrap of Aida and I had most of the floss already, too. Cross Stitch Collection focuses on more advanced projects than CrossStitcher, but still provides easy-to-follow general guides and advice for the beginner.

After finishing my nephew’s card, I was ready to make Mother’s Day cards for my mother and mother-in-law. I chose two beautiful designs from Joan Elliott’s book, A Cross Stitcher’s Oriental Odyssey. The orchids were the natural choice for my mom, the orchid collector. Both designs measured about 2½ x 3 inches and were stitched on 18 count oatmeal Aida with 12-15 colors of DMC floss. Again, I was able to stitch these cards with materials already on hand and each took just a few days to make (a good thing, as I had to scramble to get the morning glory card to the post office on time). The cardstock colors are much darker than they appear in the photos; the orchid card especially is a very dark red rather than fuschia.

Joan Elliott’s book is a lovely resource for cross-stitchers interested in Chinese and Japanese art and culture. Extensive notes describe the meaning behind each design and several suggestions are made for finishing the projects — cards, sachets, pillows, and more. The stitches used are whole and fractional cross stitches, back stitch, and French knots, so these designs are within the patient beginner’s abilities. I agree with the Amazon reviewer’s opinion that these designs could also be stitched on linen (rather than Rustico Aida) to great effect.

Thing Two has become an enthusiastic bird watcher lately, thanks to Bestemor’s collection of toy Audubon birds. We’ve always seen birds passing through our yard, but we thought it would be fun to put out some bird feeders and really observe them: just how many different kinds of birds would we see? The Gimlet was happy to take on this quick project and set up a 4×4 cedar post for two types of bird feeders: suet and a large tube for seeds. Most of the birds in our area will eat one or both types of food.

The feeders have been up for about a month, and the response has been great. Black-capped chickadees discovered the seed feeder within hours of its installation, and have been our boldest, most frequent customers. The rarer chestnut-backed chickadees seem to prefer the suet, and confine their visits to the afternoon. House sparrows are our second most-seen birds, but they are much more skittish, flying away if we approach the window. So far we’ve identified over a dozen different species of birds, much to Thing Two’s delight. When the feeder is busy, he can be found by the window, bird book in hand.

About a week ago a hummingbird buzzed the window, as if to ask when it would be his turn to be fed. The weather was nice enough today for a few outdoor projects, so the Gimlet installed a smaller post outside the kitchen window for a hummingbird feeder and a thistle seed feeder. We’re hoping the thistle seed will tempt goldfinches into making an appearance.

So far we haven’t had any problems with squirrels, crows, or other animals. A squirrel has been eating the seeds which have fallen on the ground, and we’re happy to let him clean up the area; we’ve also seen it once or twice on the post trying (and failing!) to grab seeds directly from the feeder. So far the baffle and squirrel-proof design of the feeders have been successful, but we think the crows and raccoons may have hitchhiked to the big box home improvement stores to buy wire cutters and a blow torch.
Exploring Further:

• Seattle Audubon Society (or search the National Audubon Society to find your local chapter)
  
• BirdNote radio programs on KPLU 88.5 FM
• Chickadee Nest Webcam, courtesy of the Seattle Audubon Nature Center. A volunteer at the Nature Center told us that there are 7 or 8 eggs in the nest!

Suggested Reading:

• Birds of the Puget Sound Region. This pocket-sized guide features a handy list of commonly seen birds at the front of the book, a checklist and space for notes. Highly recommended by Thing Two.
• Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.
• Welcoming Wildlife to the Garden: Creating Backyard and Balcony Habitats for Wildlife.
• For general North American information, see Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife published by the National Wildlife Federation. The magazine Birds and Blooms is also a useful resource, with a variety of region-specific and general articles.

Editor’s note: The Gimlet’s recent business trip happened to be (1) near Walt Disney World and (2) during Thing One’s spring break holiday from school — an irresistible combination. Thing Two is still too small to enjoy an amusement park (or be patient in the lines for the rides) so he stayed home. We had a grand time at home. In the snow. Really, we did.

For work, I had to go to Orlando for a conference. Since I would have quite a bit of free time, and the Gaylord Palms Hotel was convenient to Walt Disney World, it made sense to bring Thing One with me. With our four day passes to the parks, we were ready to have a good time. Unfortunately, it was spring break for most of the USA and we had thousands of other people there to enjoy it as well. The dollar devaluation seems to have resulted in many tourists from Great Britain.

Since I grew up the Los Angeles area, I was very familiar with Disneyland. Before our annual trip to Disneyland I would memorize the map and make a plan of attack as to which rides we would go to first. On March 29 we went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning. My childhood memory worked pretty well, but things are in slightly different places, and a few rides seemed to be missing. I learned through the rest of the days that the rides are all there, but spread out throughout the 4 parks. Thing One’s favorites at the Magic Kingdom were Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. I like those as well, but I am partial to Pirates of the Caribbean. The addition of Captain Jack to the ride is a lot of fun. The animatronics Captain Jack really looks like the actor.

Since I was in Orlando to attend the conference, I had a late afternoon meeting I had to go to. The meeting coincided with the alligator feeding at the hotel, and Thing One took the camera to take pictures. After my meeting we went to the Disney’s Hollywood Studio since it was open late. We enjoyed the Star Tours ride and the Muppet Vision3-D movie particularly. My only comment here is that generally speaking Hollywood is a “fake” place. I spent the summer between by Bachelor’s degree and law school working on a Hollywood set. It was really strange walking down a fake Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd in Florida. I was in a “fake” Hollywood. It was double fake.

The next day we started out at Epcot Center. We really enjoyed the test track. We had to stop by the Norway showcase and enjoyed the Maelstrom ride. (I am partial to all things Norwegian including your usual narrator.) I then had another meeting in the mid-afternoon. Following that meeting we went to the Animal Kingdom hitting the most popular rides and then finished off the night in the Magic Kingdom. (Wow, were we tired after three parks in one day.) On the ferry between the parking lot and the Magic Kingdom I spoke with the father of a family from England. It was interesting how many people traveled to Orlando from England. Their non-stop flight was only one hour more than the flight from Seattle. Since we had a layover in Dallas, we actually took longer to get to Orlando from Seattle than the flight from London to Orlando.

The next day was spent returning to all four parks and hitting rides we missed. We had lunch at the Toy Story pizza place. Thing One is a big root beer fan and wanted a root beer with his pizza. I said okay and ordered it. The lady in front of us in the line was from England and turned and asked what root beer was. I said it was a caramel flavored soft drink. She said she was relieved because anything with “beer” in the name in England is alcoholic and Thing One does not look old enough for alcohol. I laughed and we then had an interesting conversation about housing prices in the U.S. Because she had been watching the DIY network in her hotel room, she was amazed at the home you could get for the bargain price in Texas. I explained that Texas housing prices are very low compared to Seattle, Los Angeles and most Northeastern cities as well. We ended that evening at the Magic Kingdom again.

On April 1 we were flying out at 5:00 pm. We still had time to go the Animal Kingdom in the morning to hit the dinosaur ride and Everest rollercoaster again; and “It’s tough to be a Bug” theater for our only time. In early afternoon we went to the Hollywood park, hit the Aerosmith roller coaster for the 2nd time (rock & roll and loops in the dark), and saw the Muppet 3-D movie for the fourth time. (Thing One’s favorite attraction overall was the Muppet 3-D movie.) Then off to the airport. The terminal we were to go to was closed because a guy from Jamaica decided to pack materials for an explosive device in his bag. Fortunately the incident was resolved and the airport was re-opening when we arrived. Texas barbeque in the Dallas Airport was the last meal of the trip. Home at last. Tired and ready to stay home for a while.

Just when we left Team Gimlet teetering on the edge of Kilauea (check out what’s been happening since we were there - wow!), Thing One’s homework, cello practice, and musical practice schedule really picked up and has been taking most of our free time. But I’ve resolved to bring the blog up to date. Upgrades are available for the blog and photo gallery programs, so expect a little down time while those are installed. The Gimlet and Thing One went to Walt Disney World for spring break, so look for a post and some photos; meanwhile, Thing Two’s new interest in birds led us to install bird feeders in the yard, which has made bird watchers out of all of us.

… but I finished another cross stitch project from Thing One’s babyhood! Back In The Day, I bought the Beatrix Potter Counts set of charts from Green Apple with the idea that I would use the cute character/number pairs to decorate Thing One’s nursery. I managed to complete the three specialty numbers and the regular numbers one through eight before getting distracted, or bored, or who knows what happened? Eventually Thing One grew too old for Peter Rabbit decorations in his room, and Thing Two took his own sweet time joining our family, so the cross stitching box ended up in the basement. After successfully completing Thing Two’s birth sampler shortly after Christmas, I decided to finish numbers 9-12, and did so just before Valentine’s Day.

Each number was stitched on a 9″ square piece of 18 count cream Aida fabric, and uses about fifteen different colors of DMC floss per design (two strands of floss for the cross stitches and one strand for back stitches). The chart book provides handy measuring guides for 11, 14, 18, and 22 count projects, and suggests using the numbers to decorate bibs, hooded towels, growth charts, and other baby items. These are cute little designs, but most of my satisfaction derives from completing them after so long. Although now that Thing Two is discovering Peter Rabbit and his woodland neighbors, I may get to add these to a nursery after all.

Meanwhile, I had ordered a kit from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath based on a watercolor Jane’s sister Cassandra sketched in 1804. That project took considerably less time to complete: I started it immediately after the Beatrix Potter patterns and it was done by February 29. I’m very pleased with how it turned out; the color scheme and small size of the piece give it a very delicate appearance.

The design area is about 6″x5″, stitched on 18 count cream Aida fabric, using seventeen colors of Anchor floss (one strand for cross and back stitches). The directions combine two contrasting colors into a single cross stitch in a few areas, creating extra color tone and texture in the lower deep folds of Jane’s pelisse. The kit provides the fabric, a needle, and plenty of floss: I made a mistake early on and had to redo most of the pelisse, but at the end I still had a small amount of floss which could be used for a future project. At the time, though, I wasn’t sure I would have enough to cover my goof, and the big chain craft stores don’t carry Anchor floss, so I was delighted to learn that a nearby knitting/crochet specialty shop sells Anchor floss as well — and it’s much easier to visit than the chain stores, which are mostly out of town.

I haven’t decided what to stitch next: I bought the companion kit depicting Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Hampshire, but I also own a Beatrix Potter chart book for Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes and would like to stitch the two designs depicting a favorite poem. In the spirit of continuing education and family heritage, I’d like to try Hardanger embroidery, but I’m not ready to start learning that yet. Meanwhile, I hope that Uncle B will apply his mechanical engineering skills to improve my scroll frame. I like the theory of the frame: I find it easier to work with and it doesn’t leave heavy creases like the hoop I used for Thing One’s projects. But the frame I bought doesn’t always hold the fabric securely. Does anybody have a favorite brand of scroll frame, or any thoughts about using scroll frames or hoops?

Emmeline B. Wells (February 29, 1828 — April 25, 1921) was the fifth General Relief Society President from 1910 until her death, the chief editor of the Woman’s Exponent newspaper from 1877-1914, a poet, an early advocate for women’s rights, and a mother of five daughters.
Explore the links below to learn more about the life and accomplishments of this great and formidable lady:

• Wikipedia entry
• List of works
• As featured on PBS’ program New Perspectives on The West
• Women of the West Museum
  (Contrary to the photo caption, Wells is in the back row, on the left.)