Tried and True Cliché

Cliché: Dangle a carrot in front of him. Explanation: 1. To motivate someone by providing an incentive or reward. 

 How to begin the New Year of stitching?  Well how about a little needlepoint motivation?  I finished my first project as the midnight hour had just passed and 2013 had arrived!  Thinking in terms of the reward I will give myself if I am able to relieve my stash list of some of its members.  Undoubtably, the reward will be new additions to the list.  (Yes, I see the irony in this!).  

Associated Talents provided me the realization of this cliché with one of the Easter carrot canvasses.  I love the way Pam finishes these for us at Needle House....and truth be told, it was the finishing that made me want to stitch a couple of these.  Here is my first project for 2013:

Also, completed today is one of the Raymond Crawford Owls that I am stitching.  I started it in late December and just added some finishing touches tonight.  As a matter of fact, after this photo, I added his feather "whiskers", but I did not take another photograph because I have put some temporary stitches in to train the feathers to extend in the direction that I desire.  So, I will add a refreshed photo of him in a week or so, when his whiskers come out of "traction"!

Meet Archimedes!

These two items put me on the track for a successful Needlepoint Year!   Cheers!