Boy and Bugs Finished

I finished the stitching on Country Cottage Needleworks "Boys and Bugs" last week, but was having trouble with the over thirty french knots called for in the pattern. Generally I don't do well with french knots and this time was no exception. Wawanna offered to do the knots for me but I felt badly asking so much of her. Over the weekend, I bought Mill Hill seed beads in black and tried that instead of the french knots. I think that the piece looks pretty good. What do you think?



Not much else going on here, I am trying to find another project to stitch but nothing feels right. I've started three separate projects and can't get in the groove. I will let you know what I decide. I went to my LNS on Saturday and purchased three charts. I will post pics of my new stash next week. Have a nice holiday.

Beautiful Music

My sweet Bonnie had her piano recital today. Milsey and I bought her a new dress and shoes and we took her to have her hair fixed for the event. Earlier this week, I ordered a wrist corsage to match her dress. She was so excited about having a special day and I wanted for it to be perfect for her. She looked lovely and her actual piano playing was perfect. Can you tell that I am a proud mama? Sometime next week I will upload the video of her portion of the recital. For now, pictures will have to do. The second picture is of Bonnie and her piano teacher.

Great Mail Day

I received a package in the mail today from Shepherd's Bush! I placed an order with them last Friday and I received my box today. I saw on their blog that they were offering pincushions and needle books from Blackbird/Moda Fabrics and of course I had to have one of each. They also have a new pillow chart called "Be Happy" and well I had to have everything to stitch it (stitching fabric, Crescent Colours thread, JABCo embellishments, and the lovely backing fabric to finish the pillow). They also had these really cute collapsible ort boxes that fold up into a little envelope so that you can toss it into your stitching bag. Milsey ordered the "French Heart" kit from Shepherd's Bush for my birthday and it came today with my order as well as a hand-felted pincushion in pink of course. All-in-all a great mail day!







I also received word from both Wawanna and Carol R. that they have received their prizes from my Blogoversary giveaway.



For Carol, I included two biscornu kits from Indigo Rose, a Quaker pattern from Ink Circles and some stitcher's lotion. And for Wawanna, I included a Just Nan kit for a drogonfly scissor keeper and scissor fob.



Well that's all for me today, looks like everyone had a great mail week. Oh, I put "Lo" away and have started on Country Cottage Needleworks "Boys and Bugs" for Ethan's room. I sure hope that he likes it. Have a wonderful afternoon.

In Anticipation Of Bird Babies

I have lots to share with all of you today! Like my dear friend Wawanna, Bonnie and I are bird mamas too! The pool man rang the doorbell on Monday and when I opened the door, a bird flew out of the wreath that I have on my front door. After closer examination by the children, we discovered that a mama bird has made her nest in my wreath. It is tucked very well into the branches of the wreath and is almost invisible unless you are looking for it. I have taken two pictures, but I don't know if you can really see it. I can't really even tell if there are eggs in the nest yet, but mama bird sits patiently in anticipation of bird babies (look closely in picture two for mama bird).





I also forgot to post a pic of an Easter project that I completed. It is a kit by Lizzie Kate and it stitched up very quickly.



I haven't been happy with how "Lo" has been stitching up and am afraid that I have lost my stitching mojo again. Milsey thinks that I should switch to something else so that I don't totally lose it. I have been on a roll and have completed three small/medium projects in two weeks time. I really do like "Lo" but it is very slow going what with all of the thread changes from letter to letter.



Bonnie made a sweater for Pickles a while back and I forgot to share. Seeing as it has been a long time since I posted Pickle pics, I thought that you would enjoy seeing how he is doing. I'm off to look through my stash to find a new project. Wish me luck!

Another Finish

I finished Hannah Purington this afternoon. I put the last stitch in her at a little before one o'clock. I don't think that my stitching looks especially neat on this one. The ecru stitches look messy to me. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions on how to fix it? Much to my chagrin, I am posting a pic of the finished product. I may never do anything with this one, but it's a finish nonetheless.



I had a very low key Mother's Day today. Milsey told me that we are getting an iPhone this month and he let me purchase a Vera Bradley large backpack in the print Hope Garden. We spent the afternoon at the beach eating a picnic lunch and I stitched while sitting in a gazebo over looking the ocean. I started on Lo How A Rose this afternoon, but don't have enough started for a progress picture. My dear friend Vonna gifted me with the same Silkweaver 28 count Solo fabric that she used for her Lo. I am using the DMC conversion and I love it so far. I don't have a mother figure in my life anymore but am pleased to say that my lovely friend Wawanna is my surrogate mother. She is there for me whenever I need her and is truly a gift from heaven. Thanks Wawanna for everything you do for me, I would be lost without you. Well, I'm off to stitch a little more before I turn in early tonight. Enjoy the rest of your Mother's Day!

Hannah Purington Update

As you can see I chose to start Hannah Purington. I was really busy last night and so I didn't have much time to work on her. I did stitch quite a bit today and so I will show my progress (looking at the pic, it looks so wrinkly even though I ironed it. Any suggestions?). I am stitching Hannah on 28 count Rue Green Cashel linen with the called for DMC threads.



Thanks to all who posted comments on my anniversary post. I will update tomorrow with the details of my day. It is late now, so I'm off to bed.

Fifteenth Wedding Anniversary

Today is our fifteenth wedding Anniversary and this is a picture of me and Milsey (aka Michael). No one thought that we would make it past the first year, (thanks for the confidence) and here we are fifteen years and two children later. We were looking at these pictures tonight and we both remarked how young we were. It's funny what the years can do to you.



These two bottom photos are of Milsey with our children when Bonnie was almost three and Ethan was only a few days old. Milsey is a good father and a good husband. I couldn't ask for more. We certainly have had our share of ups and downs, but we made it this far. I love you Michael!

Liberty and Justice Finished!

I put the last stitch in about an hour ago, but children's baths and a rousing game of Jisaku (it's a magnet game - very fun!) prevented me from posting any sooner. I am on a roll of sorts with my stitching. I go through these spits and spurts of productivity. The last spurt was when I had my second ankle surgery. I finished twelve medium-sized projects that summer. Whew, I was productive. Perhaps I can hang onto my stitching mojo for a streak like that. I have over fifty projects kitted and ready to go in my pile. I am thinking of starting LHN's Hannah Purington, but I'm not sure yet. I will probably edit this post later and let you know my decision. Until then, I'll leave you with a very dark photo of Liberty and Justice. Have a nice evening!



Edited: I decided to go with Hannah Purington! Oh and I sent out the goodies today to both of my Blogoversary winners! Keep me posted ladies!

Liberty and Justice

I started Little House Needleworks "Liberty and Justice" late last night. I finished the border last night and I stitched the woman this afternoon in between children and household chores. At the moment, it looks as if she is holding a shotgun but I promise it will soon be an American flag. I thought that I would post a progress pic of my meager stitching progress. That must count for something? I am stiching this on 28 count Lambswool Linen with the called for DMC threads.



Not much else going on here. My fifteenth wedding anniversary is this week, so I will post pics of the oft mentioned Milsey. Have a nice afternoon filled with stitching joys!

Be True...Finished!

I just finished LHN's "Be True" about two hours ago. I am so happy to be finished with this one. I would have been finished yesterday but the frogs came and stayed for almost two days. I had to take out two entire sections. I could have sworn that I learned to count in kindergarten. Oh well, it's finished and I am exhausted. Without further ado, here is the finished pic.



I did a little stash shopping at my very poorly stocked LNS, and then my husband so graciously drove me to the Olde Green Cupboard. I bought a few La-D-Da charts, the new Midsummer Night's Designs chart "Primitive Wizard Of Oz" and the threads to stitch it. I found a few other items as you can see from the pics below (sorry for the shiny table in the background, but I polished it within an inch of its' life).







I'm think that I am going to start on LHN's "Liberty and Justice" next if I can recover from the frog attack that I suffered. Have a wonderful week!

Be True

I'm currently stitching Little House Needleworks "Be True" and am having such a fun time with it. I am stitching it on 32 count Natural Raw linen and am using DMC. I don't usually share progress pictures, but some of you have been itchin' for some stitchin' pictures so I thought that I would share. It seems that I have my stitching mojo back for now, so I am pleased as punch to have something to show for a change. I was working on another piece from a 2007 magazine, but the angel I was stitching and I had a falling out of sorts, so I picked up something else so as not to loose my groove.

I went to my Garden Club luncheon yesterday and had a wonderful time. The lecture was on the urbanization of natural habitats in Florida and was very informative. The actual lunch was delicious and consisted of a strawberry and chicken salad with candied pecans and goat cheese. We had warm banana bread for dessert. So yummy! I could have that everyday. Fernandina Beach hosts The Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival the first weekend in May. We went to a spaghetti dinner at the local Methodist church last night and had a great time. Over the weekend there will be a pirate invasion of the city, fireworks, arts and crafts and lots of shrimp. Sounds fun! If we attend, I will take some pics to share. Have a great weekend!