Three down

   Last year I bought a set of four needlepoint canvasses. They were small, square and had pictures of flowers on them. My plan was to finish them and use them as coasters.
   I didn't have much time to work on them. Most of the time I worked on them on Sunday nights. I brought my needle point bag with me anytime I thought I might have to wait somewhere so I could work on it. Little by little I watched the painted patterns on the canvas come to life through the needle and thread.
  It is soothing work. The colours of my threads are restful to the eye. All I have to do is one type of stitch. It's like painting by numbers using a thin yarn as opposed to paint. I didn't have to spend hours and hours to see progress.
  I finished the the third one late last week. I took it off the stretcher bars. Before I put it in the bag with the other two that I had finished I took all three out and looked at them.  They are beautiful. One of the flowers is in shades or orange and red, one in pinks and the other in blues. I ran my fingers over each one. The stitches were nice and even with only a few small flaws. The thread was smooth. I was pleased with my work so far. I'd done a good job.
  I started to set up the last canvas. First I tacked the canvas to the stretcher bars. Then I got out my thread bag and colour list. I pulled the colours I would need and set them aside. The rest went back into the thread bag. I looked at the colours one by one double checking them against the colour list. When I was sure I had all I needed I put them in the bag reserved for my current project. I looked at the canvas. It's more detailed than the other three which is why I left it for last. I was happy to see that there would be very little background to stitch. I was running low on the background colour. The other colours would look very nice together. One of the shades of blue caught my eye. I definitely wanted to use that shade in another project down the road.
  Underneath my flower project supplies is my next project. It is a larger canvas. One the top and bottom are a row of alternating green and red peppers. In the middle are the words "Howdy Y'All". The first time I saw it I had to have it. I say "howdy" a lot. It's my standard greeting when I don't have to be formal. The "y'all" part is a tip of the hat or rather needle in this case to C's southern roots. I bought some special sparkly thread to use on the words. Once I finish it, I will hang it in our kitchen.
  I have another project after that one. This project is a birdhouse using more advanced stitches and different types of threads. I thought I would do the flower project and this one at the same time, but it just didn't seem right. I like to finish one thing before I start another.
  I put all my needlepoint things away. It was time to stop dreaming of all the future projects and time to get started on the current one. I looked at the canvas all ready to go on the stretcher bars. The canvas looked naked and thin. Don't worry, I thought at the canvas. Pretty soon you will be as plush and colourful as the other ones. I put it in another bag. Three down, one more to go. I was looking forward to it.