Mid-Year Stitching Goal Review... how am I doing??

What a joy it was tonight to stitch again on 17th Century Irish Garden!! This one fell out of my rotation all month while I was so focused on finishing Fairy Flora... I am hoping that it will not get neglected like that again :-)

Someone asked me in yesterday's comments section if I had seen Stitching Bits & Bobs' Fourth of July sale.. well, yes, I did. I visited it before my first client this morning, and I bought three fat quarters of hand dyed fabrics.... I know, I have been buying a bit of that lately, but I am noticing a trend towards (a) their suppliers are backordered with base fabrics, and (b) price increases are showing up... so with my penchant for the stuff, I am stocking up, I guess... I got a fat quarter of Picture This Plus Crystal Meditation Cashel ...a fat quarter of Sugar Maple Fabrics 32 ct Merfolk's Morn lugana (just loved the name of this one) ...and a fat quarter of Sugar Maple Fabrics 28 ct Summer's End lugana ... ;-)

I received an email tonight from Dyeing4U alerting me that there will be no FOTM this month due to an illness in the family. I am sorry to hear that, so what did I do? Ugh. I went back to the sale at Stitching Bits & Bobs and I used that FOTM money to buy the new Mediterraneo chart (I am thinking the Crystal Meditation Cashel I purchased this morning may be just about right for this stunning design...), as well as the beads it calls for.... and then I also purchased all the Kreinik fibers for Dawn Awakening too....

I received the British magazine with the Wild Cherry Blossom Flower Fairy in it today - very nice issue!! I was high bidder today for the actual issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly that really does have that stunning Merry Cox sewing roll in it - yay!!

Mike went and picked up Erin, our youngest (12 year old) niece, for the long holiday weekend. We just had fun watching The Pacifier - there are some really funny lines in that movie! Disney always does a great job. Even Mike was smiling and laughing through it :-)

OK.... today marks the end of the first half of 2005. I figured I would pull up my 2005 Stitching Goals and see how far along I am:
(1) Houses of Hawk Run Hollow - it is sort of in my rotation, but after six months I am still on the first house block...
(2) Legends of the Dragons - right on track, and doing this as a SAL with Nicole really helps to keep me going on it...
(3) Convent's Herbal Garden - haven't picked it up yet this year...
(4) Angel of Love - right on track...
(5) Little Wings - working on it, not quite as far along as I had hoped to be by now...
(6) Celtic Band Sampler - on track, should get it done - loving doing this as a SAL with Katrina and Dani...
(7) Kingdom Sampler - have not started this one...
(8) 17th Century Irish Garden - making progress...
(9) Rebecca's Sampler - have not started this one...
(10) Elizabethan Sampler - have not started this one...
(11) My Stitching Treasures - have not started this one... BUT, Becky and I have begun to talk about starting this as a SAL...
(12) Roma's Garden - have not started this one...
I also had set the goal to stitch anything by Brightneedle, Birds of a Feather, Just Nan, Long Dog Samplers, Drawn Thread, Mirabilia, Indigo Rose and Elizabeth's Designs... so far I am doing OK with this. I have stitched Peacock Cypher (Just Nan), Fairy Flora (Mirabilia) and Green Old Gardens (Elizabeth's Designs), with Petal Fairy (Mirabilia) underway as well as Catherine Agnes (Indigo Rose).... As for UFOs, I hoped to finish five of them... and I did finish one - Beneath the Stars :-) **I will recap my June goals and set my July goals tomorrow...

Stitched on today: Story Time and 17th Century Irish Garden

Legends of the Dragons SAL Update

It is Wednesday, so it is Legends of the Dragons night. I didn't get more than a couple of hours to stitch tonight. Anouk and Gig both required a lot of grooming tonight, and their welfare always takes priority over stitching... But Majesty is pretty close to finished now :-)

Q. When starting a new project, do you start in the middle? If you do,
once you've worked down to the bottom, do you turn your chart and
fabric around so that you are stitching the top section downwards
again or do you just stitch upwards from the middle?

A. I don't understand the concept of 'turn your chart and fabric around so that you are stitching the top section downwards again' - how does that work? I don't think you can turn your fabric, or your x's will not be crossed the proper way... am I missing something? I generally do like to start from the center. I see a lot of stitchers start at the top or an outer edge. I can't do that. My math skills are so incredibly poor that if I do not start in the center, I will be way off... have had to trash projects because of this. I truly have a severe math anxiety. Good thing I do not have a job that relies on numbers :-) However, if the project is a band sampler, I do always start from the top - after I double and triple check my math, maybe even have my DH check it for me too - he totally understands that my math is so bad :-)
I simply could not resist this fat eighth of Crystal Splash Cashel by Picture This Plus that I saw on Stitching Bits & Bobs' site today... was just cruising around, but ended up shopping! I have no idea if this color will look like this in real life, but it sure looks like a Dragon Dreams dragon or other fantasy design would looking striking on it! I also ordered up Finley Gold and Dandelion Stem Crescent Colours floss for Blackbird Designs' Summer House... guess I really was just looking for an excuse to order those fibers anyhow.... now back to work, I hear some disruptive children out in the office hallway and I am sure they are mine :-(
I received my "Monthly Bits" from Stitching Bits & Bobs today - I like what they sent to me this month: a skein of Needle Necessities in 178, a skein of Ozark Sampler floss in Blue Ivy, a skein of Weeks Dye Works floss in Old Glory, a skein of Dragon Floss in Friendship, a skein of Crescent Colours Cottage Colours floss in Cheryl Chic (a new release color) and a skein of Gloriana silk in Highland Meadow. This is working out great since Bobbie figured out that I don't care for receiving any crayon bright fibers :-)

Dyeing4U is having an Odd Cuts sale... most of the cuts they have are really small, but I found three that would work for me.... band sampler sized cuts primarily - 28 ct lugana in Manhattan Myst 6.5" x 20", 28 ct lugana in Nautical Lights 9.5" x 12" and 32 ct jobelan in Majestic 9.25" x 10".... they should be fun to use :-)

Almost forgot! Had two ebay wins today... little ones... I got Winter Visitor... and the chart I bid on as a gift for my friend... but I can't write about it because it is a surprise and she reads my blog :-) Oh, and I just noticed I also got the used chart from someone's kit for DMC's Lavender Fairy:
Red Sox 5, Indians 2... finally something good to write about my team again :-)

Stitched on today: Story Time and Legends of the Dragons

Celtic Winter Head Count Time....

OK, the general concensus appears to be that a September start for this SAL would work out for those who expressed interest. Is that still true for all? Also, I wish I had written down who volunteered for the SAL... but to the best of my memory I think it is Katrina, Kathy, Jenn, Karen, Becky and myself. I thought there was someone else, and I will kick myself for forgetting once I learn who it is! Did I forget someone? So sorry if I did, but please let me know if you are missing from the list! Thank you!!! Some of the stitchers have expressed interest in knowing who will be doing the SAL with us, so it made sense to post something about it here :-) I am really looking forward to this one! I hope you are too! (Totally kicking myself, I had forgotten Becky!! Yikes - sorry Becky!!).
I had planned to stitch on Earth Angel, and when I reached into my rather large satchel of project packs tonight, I thought I had pulled the right packet out... but instead I realized I had pulled out Little Wings. But then I figured, "OK, sounds good!" and worked on it anyhow! I hadn't worked on it at all yet this month, and I actually had some fun working through the green velvet of her gown tonight :-)

I also just discovered some bids I had pretty much forgotten about came through on ebay tonight - I got this Fire Dragon chart for only $2, and if nothing else I want to admire the charting of this one :-) I also was high bidder for two charms by The Trilogy, a small checkered heart and the tall heart I have been needing to stitch Wedding Spots. I have been considering stitching that one up for my FIL and his third wife, who married last Fourth of July weekend... now that I have the charm, I guess I best get to it!

The mailman was friendly today - I received the Flower Fairies book from Julianna, and she included her Tulip Fairy chart from when she had stitched the kit as a special treat! Thank you so much Julianna! My Flower Fairy stash is getting huge (I forgot to mention that Jenn had sent me a few Flower Fairy charts recently too - thanks guys!) And I also received the gorgeous Ametrine opalescent belfast from Silkweaver today too (for Titania, Queen of the Fairies)! And a stunning Merry Cox chart from my pal, Margaret in Baltimore! I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends!!! And, the Autumn Feeder chart came in from ebay today too - a great day!!

Did I buy any stash today... um, yes... while ordering a gift for a friend from Silkweaver today, I could not resist that their special was still going on and I ordered myself a fat quarter of 28 ct Green Apple Reflections lugana too - I truly love that shade, so why not.... I am thinking one of the L&L celtic ladies might look great on it since I am doing Celtic Winter on 28 ct Blue Diamonds Reflections lugana... :-)
My delphinium came back this year - woo hoo! I wasn't sure it would tolerate the miserable winter we had!And here is the It's Ours daylily again, and for the last time... just that this is a much better photo today...My primrose is blooming! Sorry for the blurry photo - it looked better in the camera than it does here... :-)And, Mother Nature knows best! Every year she moves my violas around to new places - here is one of this year's chosen spots... she put a huge clump along the corner of the front walkway by my roses. Good job Mother Nature!

I am so glad this is only a four day work week for me! I am taking Friday off to make a four day weekend for the Fourth of July! Mike wants to drive out to Troy, NY to visit friends, but I am pushing for a nice quiet weekend of gardening, stitching and my sports.... wish me luck!!! I had a shorter day today because we had to go to Town Hall this evening to register our two Jeep Grand Cherokees and the new Corvette - yikes, what a bill that turned out to be! I can barely catch my breath! I hope the Town of Auburn finds something good to spend all that money on!! :-)

Stitched on today: Story Time for a little bit at work, and Little Wings

Miracle Butterfly is back...

Now that my rotation is getting itself back together, I went back to Miracle Butterfly for today's Passione Ricamo SAL day. I thought I would be able to get her large wing done tonight, but it was deceptively time consuming... almost there though :-)
I thought my magazine bidding on ebay had ended, but I was wrong - there was this one last one that ended today, and I got it. This one has a cute Wisteria Fairy by Black Swan that I had been tracking down for a little while now. I see her stitched up in stitchers' online albums from time to time and she is quite cute :-)

Red Sox 12, Phillies 8 - swept that series. Interleague play turned out to be very good for the Red Sox this year :-) And, Ryan Newman drove a super clean race in Sonoma, CA today. He came in 9th and stays 7th in points... doesn't sound amazing, but that is good for him on a road course :-)

Stitched on today: Miracle Butterfly

It's the Weekend!!!

...And tonight I got back to Petal Fairy. She is definitely one of my favorites right now. I didn't quite get the flower done, which I had hoped to do... but I am still happy with the progress.
I finally received my FOTM from Silkweaver today. It takes so much longer to get to me than it does to Becky in SC - mine is a pretty blue, slightly lighter than the scan shows and has a nice hand dyed appearance to it... as usual, I can always use blue fabric! I contacted Silkweaver today and asked them to replace that Midas Touch Reflections lugana I ordered a few days ago with their Blue Diamonds Reflections lugana, and of course they said, "Sure, no problem!" That is the fabric I have decided to use for the Celtic Winter SAL - I want mine to be sparkly like the snow that covers the ground here from November through March (trying to develop a positive attitude about winter here, and that is not easy for me - I hope this celtic lady will help to improve my attitude - HA!).

I had a couple of my older ebay bids come through today - MH 1836, an older retired Goode Huswife chart, as well as a fat half of Silkweaver Antique Gold cashel linen :-) I received the Guradian Angel kit, as well as Wedding Sampler Love, Flame of Friendship and the "must stitch" Summer House from ebay sellers today :-) But, the only new bidding I did today was for a chart that, if I get it, will be a surprise for a good friend (so, another good day with not being a compulsive spender on my own stash!!). ****I spoke too soon on that one! I ended up going to Joann's Fabrics while Mike and I ran a grocery errand for his birthday family BBQ tomorrow, and I picked up several extra skeins of DMC 927, as Katrina advised me I will need several when I stitch Mermaid Heaven...and I also got the invoice and paid for my FOTM from Heaven Lee Creations/The Blended Needle...sigh...

Red Sox 8, Phillies 0 - in first place, at least for now!

Stitched on today: Story Time for a little bit at work this morning, and Petal Fairy

Celtic Band Sampler...Still Plugging Along...

OK, this took me a long time to stitch - and I still haven't finished the band! But at least all the knotwork is finally stitched, I have to do only the center flower of the last medallion type area, and then finish the acorns... still sounds like a lot to do!! I swear I will catch up with this SAL someday!! LOL!

I got some sad news from the stitching world today, and I thought I would pass it along. I followed up with Laurel of Laurel's Stitchery about the parchment jobelan I had ordered from her. She had to get it in stock for me. It is on its way, but she also told me that her husband died suddenly on June 16th. She sounded OK in her emails, so I am sure shock is still in control here. If you are one of her customers, I thought you would appreciate knowing this sweet lady is going through a hard time. She needs our support right now.
I think all of that magazine bidding I did on ebay ended today, and I got this one :-) Yep, because of the Flower Fairy.... maybe I have enough Flower Fairy charts now :-) LOL! I also got the Pecking Order kit, which I want to give as a gift to someone dear to me... But other than those old ebay bids coming around to win, I am proud to say I had a mentally stable day - a day without any compulsion to buy stitching goods! Yay me! This is big!

Stitched on today: Story Time at work - stitching up really quickly!, and Celtic Band Sampler

Edited to add: Happy Birthday to my Dad... he passed away suddenly on 12/17/95, but today would have been his 69th birthday... I miss him so much!! On a much different note... I got in the Anchor flosses today for Kingfisher, along with the four cards of Petite Treasure Braid for Celtic Winter - going to get the fabric ordered Friday so I will be ready to go for that SAL at the end of the summer :-)

Happy Birthday Mike!

My hubby's birthday is today :-) He got his big gift, the Corvette, a couple of weeks ago. But I am making today a short day at work and will go home around 1 or 2 PM to spend the afternoon with him, give him his smaller gifts (standard stuff he relies on every year, like summer shirts) and hopefully he will enjoy his day. Time sure is starting to fly - I can't believe he is 45 already!!
I was in need of a new project that I can bring to work, so I chose the one I had set as my goal to start this month, Story Time. I am stitching it on 28 ct Antiquity Jazlyn from Dyeing4U. This is a fun stitch, and I can tell it is going to be a quick one! I am wondering, though, if anyone knows what kind of birds these are? I don't think I have ever seen this variety in New England :-)
And, here is my updated photo of Legends of the Dragons after a few minutes here and there on it at work the past three days... now it will go back into its weekly rotation spot again.

Q. Are there any types of designs that you won't stitch?

A. Oh, absolutely! I just cannot stand Precious Moments! I hope that doesn't offend anyone!! I also don't like to stitch cutesy designs. I did just buy Glory Bee's Bon Bini, which is a little cutesy, but it is so reflective of our trips to Aruba that I will excuse its cutesy nature this time around :-) I used to have firmer guidelines - like I wouldn't stitch a natural animal scene... until I came across Kingfisher in Cross Stitch Gold, and that changed that!! I won't stitch something I don't like, or that I cannot find a place to hang. I adore Noah's Sub, but am not sure I will ever stitch it because it doesn't fit my decor.... so I guess that is my bottom line, if I don't like it or it has no place to go, it doesn't get stitched...
I have changed my mind again about what fabric to use for the Mermaid Heaven SAL starting July 4th weekend! Originally I planned to use Silkweaver's Meadow Mist lugana, 32 ct. But I was in one of my fabric boxes a few nights ago and my fat quarter of Sugar Maple Fabrics Impressionism Cashel jumped right out at me! I pulled out the floss and I loved it! The fabric is lavender and aqua, not so very bright, blended together like a misty dawn. Wow, so much more interesting than the Meadow Mist, plus I was more in the mood to use a 28 ct for this pattern. I am posting a photo of my floss toss... Jenn, what do you think?

********Would anyone like to adopt either my used Fairy Flora or used Shimmering Mermaid charts?? They show some wear, so I surely wouldn't put them up on ebay, but they are still really useable and I would prefer to post them off to a good home than to either store them away for eternity or dispose of them.... anyone?? (edited to add: Shimmering Mermaid has a new home in SC...and Fairy Flora is off to Singapore!)

I have seen a lot of comments in blogs lately about stitchers being dissatisfied with ordering hand dyed fabrics off the internet. I figured I would share some info I got from the owner of Dyeing4U a few months ago when I got a fabric in that was not what I expected.... not all fabrics take dye the same way. Most of the internet sites show their color swatches on either lugana or jobelan, unless otherwise noted. Linen takes dye the darkest, followed by jobelan, and finally by lugana. If you want dark and bright, you have to go with linen. If you really want an evenweave, then select the jobelan. She didn't say anything about jazlyn, but I have some and noticed it dyes well, like the jobelan does. I have no idea about tula, since I do not use tula. It's just a basic rule of thumb that might help save some disappointment for you if you are ordering off the net. Of course, there are just always going to be those times when swatches don't match. Another dyer told me it may have been my monitor, but when I checked on several computers I saw the same color each time... go figure! (By the way, Dyeing4U, Silkweaver and Sugar Maple Fabrics have all happily exchanged fabric for me, no questions asked, no extra charge... so the risk isn't that bad anyhow...just don't be afraid to ask for help from the dyer.... Most noteably, just last night I asked Silkweaver about the 32 ct Ametrine Reflections lugana I ordered a couple of weeks ago - the base fabric is backordered, so they offered to upgrade me to the Ametrine opalescent linen for absolutely no extra charge - excellent, excellent customer service!).

I had a fun ebay win last night - for a rock bottom price I got Autumn Feeder, and today I got a fat quarter of 28 ct Antique White linen, an essential to the stash, for a bargain basement price from one of my favorite sellers... pretty cool!

I found Stitches and Stuff's new location in Candia, NH this afternoon. I came across their new address and put it in my GPS as I was driving home. It is only about seven minutes from my house! I didn't go in because I wanted to get home to spend time with Mike on his birthday. I will go soon, though. I hope she has increased her inventory. She had only start up stuff when she was in Raymond, NH... I am looking forward to going soon to check it out!

Red Sox 5, Indians 4 - excellent game! Now we are only one game out of first place (for now, at least - LOL).

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons at work, and Story Time

I am a bit out of sorts with trying to get my rotation back on line now... so I decided to work on Angel of Love tonight. Partially because it has been a while, and partially because I spent most of today on the computer working on treatment plans and progress notes and the 28 ct had more appeal to my slightly strained eyes than my projects on 32 ct did... plus I love this one! I saw it stitched up at Yankee Cross Stitch, my LNS in N. Hampton, NH.... and I was surprised. They have it stitched on what appears to be 16 ct aida and the beads are so crammed together. Yikes!

I finally received the embellishments for Emerald Jeweled Garden today, and along with them I ordered the specialty threads pack for 15th Century Medieval Herb Garden. I ordered these directly from Liz Turner Diehl's website. I was a bit disappointed. I paid a lot for shipping ($5.50) yet these tiny items took two weeks to get here by some slow ride... and the thread pack consists of four tiny partial wheels of Glissen Gloss, at about three times what it would cost to get all four colors in full cards... oh well, live and learn!! Communication on their part was really poor too, but I am glad the embellishments came, as I could not find them anywhere else :-)

I also got in the lovely By the Bay charts today too (Colonial Harbor and Spring Hill). It is safe to say that these are just amazing! I love them!!
And, here is a new fabric adoption as of today... sigh....
I have bid on a few stitching magazines this week, and I was high bidder on another again this week. This Stitcher's World is great, because I don't think I have that Teresa Wentzler dragon in my stash yet! He looks great though! Here's a close up, Dragon Ride :-)
It's Ours - The first daylily to bloom here this season - a bit ahead of the rest, this one is cheating - it overwintered in South Carolina and was just shipped to me in early May :-)

Red Sox 9, Indians 2 with Bronson Arroyo starting to pitch better again. And, two home runs by David Ortiz, plus one by Manny Ramirez, just did not hurt the cause at all!

It is New DVD Release Tuesday - Mike picked up Hostage and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (I think I should get a niece or two up here soon to watch that one with me)

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons (just a little at work today, tomorrow is its official day in the rotation) and Angel of Love

Here she is.... Fairy Flora Happy Dance!!

It took another three and a half hours of beading today, but finally - happy dancing!!!! Boy, I sure did prick my finger with the quilting between needle a lot last night - that was such an exhausting experience :-) Don't know if you can tell, but she has soooo many beads in her wings! If you plan to stitch Fairy Flora any time soon, make sure to buy three packs of Mill Hill 00161 beads - it took just over two packs for me to bead this. You will only need one pack each of the 00275 and 02024 beads, as well as of the 70161 bugle beads. You will use almost a full spool of the 013 Kreinik blending filament... on belfast linen, that is :-) I just went back in my blog and discovered I started Fairy Flora back on 1/17/05 and finished her on 6/18/05... keeping her in my rotation I still got her done in almost exactly five months! I think that is quite decent!

Thank you to all of you very sweet, encouraging cheerleaders who kept me motivated all week in finishing Fairy Flora :-) You are all awesome!
Hey, hey!!!!!! Ryan Newman is on the pole again for the race in Michigan tomorrow!! :-) (photo is from www.nascar.com)

I got in some items from Stitching Bits & Bobs today - the rest of the Mill Hill Treasures that were backordered for Enchanted Mermaid (anyone looking to do this as a SAL??) and most of the beads for the upcoming Celtic Winter SAL... the magnifica beads are backordered....

I treated myself to a little stash shopping tonight too - I ordered Autumn Winds (this designer is new to me, and this design appealed to me... great colors!), Thistle Stop (a chart I've eyed forever and loved seeing stitched up at Celebrations at the Crossed Wing Collection booth), Red Dragon Bookmark (a cute newbie from Dracolair) and a sheath for my Cougar scissors I bought several months ago (I like these for traveling since they were so inexpensive)...

I also finished Peacock Cypher late tonight :-) I only had a tiny bit of stitching left to do on the bottom band, and then the beading - which was nothing compared to Fairy Flora! So, double happy dancing today!!! I will post a photo tomorrow. I am going to have Mike take a photo of it, and a better one of Fairy Flora to post tomorrow :-) It has been a productive weekend, and now I shall forego my Passione Ricamo SAL for the second week in a row tomorrow and get cracking on the Celtic Band Sampler SAL - I am quite a bit behind my SAL mates, so I could use a day to get some progress made on it :-)

Stitched on today: Fairy Flora (Happy Dance!!) and Peacock Cypher (Happy Dance!!)

8 Hours of Beading.... No Happy Dance Yet!!!

Hello! I am in the midst of the most incredible beading marathon tonight - Fairy Flora, of course! So.... I am sure it will be quite late tonight when I either finish or have to give up for the night... therefore, I will edit my blog entry tomorrow with my update and the rest of today's entry.... so... watch this space :-)

I went to A.C. Moore today and picked up the floss for the Mermaid Heaven SAL for next month.... yep, Jenn, I agree - the colors are gorgeous for this one :-) I am looking forward to starting this up with you!
I bought a small twiglet of a wild rose on ebay back in 2001 when we built our house... it finally is big and is blooming this year - aren't the tiny white blooms sweet?And, my favorite of my many siberian irises, this is Pink Haze... :-)

Red Sox 6, Pirates 5...

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher and Fairy Flora

Here she is after the second night of beading... there are several little crystal beads still to go around her wand, but after it took a good hour to figure out the placement of those bugle beads... I am ready to wrap it up for the night! I don't want to make any mistakes! I know it is hard to see the beading in my photos. I hope that when I am done, Mike can get a good photo with his camera :-) Maybe tomorrow I will try area closeups or scans (although my scanner makes this fabric look green blue) just to try to show some of the beading... hmmm... a thought...

I have received several questions about what size Q-Snap I am using to do the beading on Fairy Flora. Due to the popularity of that question, I will answer it here, but will also try to answer individually too. I used an 11" x 17" Q-Snap but added a full set (4 pieces in a set) of 3" extenders on to it, adding 6" to the length, making this an 11" x 23" Q-Snap (Fairy Flora is 8" x 22")... oh, I do so love my extenders! If you don't have a set, you might want to get one :-)

Today I received my Millennium Sampler kit, and, at last, the British Cross Stitch Crazy magazine with the cute knitting Felicity Wishes chart in it... all the way from Scotland... :-)
No baseball tonight - but enjoying the NBA playoffs instead!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher (oh so close now!) and Fairy Flora (that counts, I figure beading is still stitching - LOL)

Happy Birthday Lily & Anouk :-)

OK, here is tonight's progress on Legends of the Dragons - going to make sure I keep up with this SAL :-)
My little girls, Lily (on right) and Anouk (on left) are three years old today. As you have surely figured out, they are sisters/littermates. I haven't taken a picture of them together lately, but they still look the same as they did when I took this one in November of 2003. I love these little girls. Lily is particularly attached to me, while Anouk simply adores Mike :-)

Q. Do you feel the need to stitch a design from a specific designer just
to say that you've experienced stitching one of their designs?

A. Hmmmm.... no, I don't think I would stitch something based upon that reason, but to that end, it still kind of does work out that way!! I love the more detailed and challenging designs, and I do think this question is leaning in that direction. I would not stitch a Bent Creek design, as an example, simply to say I have stitched one. I collect charts from virtually all designers, so if this question actually read "do you feel the need to collect a chart from a specific designer just to say you have one of theirs"... then YES :-) I simply am compulsive and cannot resist pretty things!! Do I stitch most of what I own? YES! So, I guess, in a way, then yes, I do stitch something just to take on the challenge of a specific designer :-)

An LNS hop today, reaped wonderful rewards :-) I picked up Sailor Collar, one of the Shepherd's Bush kits I have been coveting, as well as Bluebird Trail (after seeing the stitched models for these Crossed Wing Collection designs at Celebrations, I totally covet them now!!). Additionally, I got a small cut of R&R 40 ct Mockingbird for one of my many samplers in my stash, the two spools of Kreinik #4 braid and all the beads for Fairy Roses (oh, those large MH beads are quite funky!!), and four cards of Rainbow Gallery PB01 for Celtic Spring (the pattern & fabric selector shows me that the 28 ct Meditation lugana by Picture This Plus is ideal for this pattern, so ready, set, go - soon!), and a fat quarter of white cashel to divide to stitch Lavender Path and A Secret Garden (because after seeing these two models at the trunk show at TWIS last week, I knew I had to do them - and as soon as possible, of course!).

I was shocked to find out that I was high bidder on ebay for Guardian Angel - not just the chart, but the complete kit for just over $16! I have always liked looking at the model for this in my LNS, so now I get to stitch it too :-)

My Meditation lugana arrived today and is just perfect! I also received a skein of GAST and two skeins of WDW that are new and had not been in my stash, plus the Emma's Garden chart and The Potting Shed kit... everything is just perfect!!

Great news - Red Sox 6, Reds 1 - very nice to see Bronson Arroyo get his pitching groove back - that's four excellent pitching starts in a row for the Red Sox! Yes!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher (getting close, I swear I am! There will be a happy dance soon!!) and Legends of the Dragons

The beading has begun!

Here she is on the Q-Snap with the first beads put into her bodice :-) Thank you all for your wonderful comments - and the cheers too :-) There will be a HD very soon for you! But, tomorrow I will not be beading, as it is Legends of the Dragons night, and I am very committed to staying on schedule with this one :-)
I received my FOTM from Dyeing4U - two fat quarters of belfast linen in Hyacinth and Spring Glow. I shall have fun deciding on what projects to use each for :-)

I also received an order from Stitching Bits & Bobs today - always fun! I received my Fairy Roses chart, as well as Bon Bini - I will be hoping to find a time when I can devote a couple of days to stitching this fun design that will forever remind Mike and I of our trips to Aruba :-)

I really have been getting a lot of lovely comments about the flower photos I have been putting up from my garden. I want you all to know how much Mike and I both appreciate those. We both adore gardening, and I collect plants much in the same manner as I collect stash.... so you can imagine how many we have! Once upon a time, I knew all the names of the cultivars.... but winter weather keeps taking away the tags (or at least erasing them), so most of them now are really anybody's guess - which really messes with my OCD :-) It was a little rainy this afternoon, so I only took one photo - this is of one of the several clusters of white carnations Mike has along our walkway:
I think I totally forgot to report on the wonderful success the Red Sox had last night - and then had even more tonight! Last night was Red Sox 10, Reds 3, and tonight was Red Sox 7, Reds 0 - our pitching staff has really stepped up - David Wells threw a one-hitter tonight, and Matt Clement was just as stellar last night :-) Yay!!!

Oh, of course, it is New DVD Release Tuesday once again! A comedy for us this week, Hitch (just love those Will Smith movies!)

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher (made it through the last band of over one lettering and a good portion is done now of the very final band - another HD coming soon!) and Fairy Flora

I got the majority of the backstitching of the border on Fairy Flora done tonight. I have the bottom left portion still to do, then the wand and the beading. Here it is off of the scroll bars now.... sorry about the odd angle of the picture. I am no photographer :-) When she is finally totally done, I will have DH take a better pic. But for now, here she is. Karen asked how big she is - she is 8" x 20" on belfast linen. Unlike most Mirabilia's, this one is a bit tougher due to having a background, at least at the bottom. It was like stitching forever, but no regrets!

I gave into impulses again today, and I ordered all 12 Needlepaints and all of the beads needed for Celtic Summer - I am not sure when this will go into my rotation, but Stitching Bits & Bobs is including Needlepaints in their Flag Day sale.... so... well, you know how the story goes!! Yesterday I also picked up a fat quarter of Picture This Plus Meditation 28 ct lugana - I thought it might work well with this particular chart... maybe... either way, love the color :-)

I received two stitching magazines in the mail today - my first issue of my Cross Stitch Gold subscription and the new issue of Just Cross Stitch. There was nothing at all, whatsoever in JCS this time around that I would even think of stitching... kind of sad about that! I also received the Un Petit Paradis chart from the ebay seller today and am thrilled with it. But on a very sour note, the Summer 2002 issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework also came in... and boy was I misled. The Merry Cox sampler that the seller highlighted in the auction is not even in the issue! Rather, there is a part 2 to that sampler in there - which is a tiny little additional piece that just is basically Merry's signature... you know... kind of like "Merry Cox... stitched in the year..." kind of a thing. The seller had no concern for helping me out, so I am very disappointed in that. She did mention it is part 2 in her ad, which I totally missed the first time around. But... what would that have even meant to me? She has the correct issue, but is not offering to sell it to me... rather says she will post it "soon." I truly feel misled - why show a large photo in an auction of a sampler that is not even in the issue? I just don't understand what that was all about! I told her I would like to just return the magazine now...

I decided today that after I finish Peacock Cypher at work (I am now very close to my HD on this one), I will just start bringing Legends of the Dragons to work, as well as keep it as my Wednesday night piece, because my SAL mate, Nikki, is plowing way ahead and I would really love to keep up with her now...

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher and Fairy Flora