Time to take stock

Well, as can be seen I've not blogged in quite some time.
And to be honest I've not really stitched at all.
But this is all about to change.

We've taken time off from showing Misha since the first part of July. She started to loose her coat around the end of May, and fully blew her coat by the beginning of July. While Misha has absolutely nothing to hide, i.e. she is perfectly in proportion, has good breadth of chest, nice neck arch, no faults, etc., I think it does them good to have a rest from the ring. It keeps the interest more alive and the spark in their performance.
Misha is certainly enjoying her time off. We have been working on honing some of her off lead skills. One in particular is 'Look at me'. This is used to guide her around situations where I want her to focus on me, not on another dog, child, interesting looking adult and bolt away. This is also tied to the 'ignore' command.
She is getting very good at both.
She has been incredibly responsive. I must say all the training and work we have put into her is paying off.

Timing has been perfect because Misha came into season last week. She is about a month and a half ahead of when we were expecting her to. But, it works out great - we can move forward with the autumn show schedule and not worry about when she was due.
Unfortunately, this means she is tied to the lead for the next three weeks. Something she accepts, but isn't too happy about.

Anyway, I am going to start a blog specifically for Misha and what's going on in her world so as to not clutter up this one.

Stitching ~
After having started great guns, I slowed down to a dead stop.
I truly do not know what my problem is. I still love the look of the finished products, I love choosing patterns. I just seem to get bored when stitching.
Probably a lot of it has to do with when it comes time to sit down and do some I've lost interest.

I do have to admit it was a heck of a lot easier when my husband wasn't home 24/7.
When he was out of the house working I was able to straighten up the house, get dressed, take the dogs for a walk, shop for the ingredients to make the evening meal.
Then I could stitch or knit.
A short break to take the dogs for another walk in the afternoon, stitch some more until about 6p and then start dinner.
More time in the evening to stitch as well.

But my peaceful days are gone with him home.
I seem to be waiting around to find out what the plans are.
There is more house to care for, and certainly no help there.
Mind you, there is more care and training going into a 22 month old dog than there was in a 14 year old and a 10 year old dog. Much more active (and totally cheesed off today because it has rained since we got up at 6a), longer walks, play in the course of the day as well.

But...I want to stitch. I want to work on some of those fabulous samplers I have.
I will be finishing A Quaker Style Friendship Sampler by Samplers and Such soon I hope. I'm just under halfway finished. It's for a friend I met on a message board several years ago. She has been such a sweetheart and I wanted to do something very special for her. I know she will cherish the piece.
I've enjoyed working on it. It's my first outing on 36 count linen and I must say I've enjoyed it. I love the colours I'm using as well. They are very soft and feminine. Perfect for Susan.

But, before that I must finish this. Misha's sire's owner had a baby last month and I wanted to do something special for her.
She was wonderful in buoying me up when I was so low over showing last year. She wouldn't let me quit. It was her faith in me (not to mention Misha..but it's a given she has what it takes to be a champion) that made me persist and become a better, more confident handler.
I will never forget her encouragement in telling me to take Misha to Crufts and to show her myself.
She has been handling and showing dogs for over 14 years, since she was 14. She is a honest to goodness dog whisperer. She can take any dog and make it show it's ears off for her.
We were in the ring together at Crufts, and Misha and I placed over her. She was ecstatic that we won.

Anyway, I digress. I found a perfect chart for the baby. It's three Samoyed puppies grouped together. I will add the baby's name and birth date underneath in some shade of pink. I think I will also put the kennel name on as well since she is the newest kennel maid! ;)
So, I'm trying to work on this, but as it's on a black 32 count fabric I tend to go slightly bug eyed after a while...even using a magnifier.

I've chosen a few other projects and trying to work out colours for some others. I just need to force myself to stitch!
WHY can't I work up the enthusiasm?