Some spring garden photos today...

I didn't have much focus tonight for stitching as our eldest niece is up for the weekend right now. But, I did manage to plug away a bit at the bottom of Fairy Flora for about three hours tonight :-) No time to stitch at work today, though.

On a whim, I stopped by Ben Franklin in Derry (the store that is closing), and saw that they were open again today. Now the discount is down to 30% off. I was just glad they were open :-) I picked up a fat quarter of cream 28 ct linen by DMC (good quality, like cashel...) as well as some Mill Hill Beads, some Kreinik #4 braids and some more GAST while I could still scoop them up :-)

My order from Picture This Plus arrived today - the DaVinci Belfast I ordered does not look like their scan - it is much darker and has tons of green in it too.... well, it is pretty, but certainly not appropriate for Enchanted Mermaid... but I did kind of guess that it would be different in person.... but I did bite the bullet today and ordered the Kreiniks, beads and treasures for this mermaid today while Stitching Bits & Bobs is still having their 25% off anniversary sale... I will look at my stash of fabrics, I might have just the perfect one there already! I will try to get a scan of the new fabric later tonight or tomorrow (Caitlin, my 16 year old niece is here and dying to get back on my laptop to IM her friends right now....).... I wouldn't mind some input from others as to what they would stitch on this new fabric.... :-) Maybe I can put that in tomorrow's blog entry...

Red Sox 7, Mariners 2 - it was great to see the Red Sox have an easy to manage game tonight - even with Edgar Renteria and Johnny Damon both on the bench tonight letting their bruised up bodies heal :-)

I was in my garden this afternoon and found a few pretty blooms to share - I just love this time of year! We have some tending to do in the garden beds - clear out dead leaves, do plenty of weeding. But with heavy rain in the forecast for the weekend, it does not appear we will get any of that done soon :-( But, once again, a super cold, super snowy winter has reaped lovely blooms.
This is part of a good sized patch of 'Amor' daffodils blooming off in the side part of our yard...
The Leopard's Bane along our front walkway is beginning to bloom now...
A pretty little narcissus from a small patch by our back porch - I have no recollection of what variety this is.... I think I got the bulbs on ebay a few years ago when we first built this house...
And my Bleeding Hearts are growing taller and blooming along the back of our house too....

Your Birthdate: July 31

Your birthday suggests that you are a good organizer and manager, an energetic and dependable worker; attributes often showing success in the business world. Serious and sincere, you have the patience and determination necessary to accomplish a great deal. Your approach can be original, but often rigid and stubborn. Sensitivity may be present, but feeling are likely to be repressed. You are good with detail and insist on accuracy, but at times scatter energies. You're a practical thinker, but not without imagination. You love travel and don't like to live alone. You should probably marry early, for responsibility is necessary for your stability.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I treated myself to some DVDs tonight too - with a cold, rainy weekend ahead, we might need them :-) I picked up Birth, and a fun comedy classic: With Six You Get Eggroll (got to stock up on those fun Doris Day movies!)

Stitched on today: Fairy Flora

Blue, Blue, Blue....

Nope, that's not how I am feeling. That is what is in my needle... lots and lots of blue :-) Here is Earth Angel as of tonight.... :-)

Received Tulip Fields and A Year in Stitches from ebay sellers today.... both are great!! And... a late ebay win tonight, for only $1.49 I got Busy Bee Sampler - I bid on this every time it comes up and never win - but tonight I got it for only $1.49. Pretty cool!

Red Sox 2, Tigers 1 - day game today, so I had to listen to this one on the radio in my office... not so much fun that way! Really prefer the pictures LOL!! Edgar Renteria was lifted in the second inning after injuring his right index finger while squaring up to bunt.... cannot find an update on his condition anywhere though.... so hopefully it is good news! Wow, what a year for injuries already!

Happy Birthday Karen!! Hope you enjoy your day - and really hope you like the gift I sent :-) (Well, her birthday is tomorrow, May 6th, but it is already May 6 in Australia, so I chose to say Happy Birthday now....)

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher (almost done with Section 2 now, so a progress pic will be up soon!) and Earth Angel

Got to working on Legends of the Dragons tonight - not as much stitching time as I would have hoped to get in - one of my clients called quite distressed this evening and I was on the phone with her for a bit... cannot stitch, talk on a cell phone and watch baseball all at once - that is information overload and not attentive enough for the client... Anyhow, Magic is taking shape now - he has his face now, yay! - just have to finish the backstitching on him, then I will work on the border for a bit before starting either Majesty or Wisdom.... not sure which one I will choose to do next :-) I realized today it has been over a week since I worked on this one.

Q. Do you finish all your finished pieces? (pillow, frame, etc,) If so,
how do you finish the pieces? If not what do you do with them?

A. Gotta laugh at this one! I am one of those who are "queen of unframed projects!" But I did recently make a commitment to actually get projects framed - my framer gives me a good deal if I bring them three or four at once.... they like the business, I like the discount! I am terrible at finishing work. I don't own a sewing machine, so that really hinders how much I can finish off.... so I have a very large drawer that is very full of completed stitching that needs to still be finished off - you caught me!

Q. What is your opinion of Internet "freebies?"

A. My opinion of internet freebies has vastly improved over the last couple of years. While there is still a whole lot of subpar, or rather, too simplistic designs that I would never stitch, I do appreciate that designers post free charts. In the past couple of years or so, I have found some absolutely drop dead gorgeous free charts - Chatelaine, The Drawn Thread, Passion Broderie, Passione Ricamo, Indigo Rose, Dragon Dreams, Donna Vermillion Giampa, Michael Powell, Just Nan....just to name a few. If you like to stitch fobs, Jeannette Douglas has some nice charts for those too. Let's not forget MLI's lovely Christmas/holiday freebie each year too. Those are must haves! Great stuff can be found online for free :-) It just requires a little bit of hunting...

I just found out I was high bidder over on ebay for one of the few Mirabilias I was still seeking - this time it was Angel of the New Dawn :-)

Red Sox 4, Tigers 3 tonight, thanks to Kevin Youkilis' tie breaking RBI base hit :-) Not sure what happened earlier in this game - Red Sox were up a couple of runs, the distraught client called.... finally off the phone and the game was tied 3-3...sigh, at least we ended with the win!

I got an email from Customer Service at Stitcher's World today - they say they are sorry about the issue not sent and will be glad to put it straight in the mail, it should arrive in 8-10 days... yay!!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher and Legends of the Dragons

Here is a little bit of work on 17th Century Irish Garden for tonight - I started the Greek cross stitches in the rectangular garden at the top, decided I hated LTD's stitch diagrams, and pulled them out - will either search for better diagrams or rework them in another fashion (already have the idea of what I want to do....)....

While visiting Picture This Plus to do a favor ordering a chart for a friend out of the States, I came across this DaVinci belfast and ordered up a fat quarter right away (but ugh, they had a significant price increase a couple of days ago....sigh....I still bought it...). It really caught my eye, and I have to wait to see the fabric, but am thinking that maybe Enchanted Mermaid will work well on it... have to see the colors in real life first :-) Still love this fabric though!

I received my July 2005 issue of Stitcher's World today - but it is not the issue with the Maria van Scharrenburg design in it.... that was the May issue... somehow that never arrived here. I emailed them... I hope they will send it to me. Otherwise, I will run out to Ben Franklin in Raymond, NH (the one not closing right now) and pick up the copy.....

Karen V. asked today when a progress pic of Peacock Cypher would be posted. Well, although I get some time each workday to stitch on it, sometimes it is only a couple of stitches :-) So, I was thinking I would post one when I finish the second section... which is a little bit away still. But, I did set a goal to finish this sampler this month, so I will do my best to get moving on it - and post a progress picture too :-)

Red Sox 5, Tigers 3, thanks to a Grand Slam by Doug Mirabelli!!!! Woo Hoo!

I am really excited about this: National Treasure was released on DVD today, and mine is waiting for me here.... but the game ran too late to watch it tonight :-(

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher and 17th Century Irish Garden

Just Enough!

I plugged away on the wings of Petal Fairy tonight - I don't know if you can see my progress very clearly - I finished up the areas that called for the 9300 Kreinik #4 braid - geez, just made it! I don't know if you can see my needle in the fabric in the upper left corner - that is all that was left of the braid when I was done! I do have another spool of this on order, just in case I needed it. And, fortunately, I believe another of my projects calls for it anyhow. But beware - if you are planning to stitch this fairy soon, you might need two spools. I was ultra-conservative and am using the designated 32 ct. If you choose 28 ct, you surely will need two spools :-) Whew, glad that is all set now!

Got some mail today :-) I received my order from Paw Prints Cross Stitch with the light sand edinburgh linen and 16th Century English Knot Garden :-) I also finally received, after a month, Mini Topiary Sampler 2 from the ebay seller. I won't be buying from this seller again. At first, she flat out forgot to send this to me. Then she said she sent and I waited two more weeks, nothing. So, she said she put another in the mail, and I just received this one, postmarked as late as 4/28/05! Who is she kidding?? Geez!

Tigers 8, Red Sox 3.....

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher and Petal Fairy

Brand New Month! Stitching Goal Review Time!

April Goals:
1) Continue to work on Fairy Flora -YES
2) Continue to work on Petal Fairy -YES
3) Continue Earth Angel SAL with Jenn -YES, and I even got to meet Jenn too!
4) Finish Green Old Gardens -YES - Happy Dance!
5) Start Peacock Cypher SAL with Karen -YES
6) Start Legends of the Dragons SAL with Nicole -YES, and I got to meet Nicole as well!!
7) Continue Miracle Butterfly SAL -YES, even working on it today
8) Continue to work on Little Wings -YES, although only one evening's work...
9)**If we can get our fibers and linen in during the month, start Catherine Agnes SAL with Karen V. -YES!
**************In April I also managed to start L&L's Angel of Love and Liz Turner Diehl's 17th Century Irish Garden... as well as attended Celebrations and took Betsy Stinner's Mary Queen of Scots class :-)

May Goals:
1. Continue to work on Fairy Flora
2. Continue to work on Petal Fairy
3. Continue Earth Angel SAL with Jenn
4. Finish Peacock Cypher SAL with Karen
5. Continue Legends of the Dragons SAL with Nicole
6. Continue Miracle Butterfly SAL
7. Continue to work on Little Wings
8. Get some stitches in on Catherine Agnes
9. Continue to work on Angel of Love
10. Continue to work on 17th Century Irish Garden
11. Start Chatelaine's Springtime Roses
12. ****If our fabrics arrive soon and Jenn is ready, why not even start Mermaid Heaven SAL with her too :-)
Here is today's progress photo :-) Today was Week 6 of the Passione Ricamo SAL, so I worked on my Miracle Butterfly - I worked on her left side now, so she is starting to look a little more balanced now :-)

Good news and bad news in sports today (at least for me) - Red Sox 6, Rangers 5 (that was the good news), but after a strong start in Talladega today, Ryan Newman got caught up in the Big One, this race has one every single year, and finished 39th.... worst of it, he dropped all the way down to 15th in points... this bad luck just keeps going, and going and going.... And again, Jimmie Johnson starts a wreck and avoids being part of it! Enough already!

Stitched on today: Miracle Butterfly
And here is how Beau spent his day :-)

Celebrations Today :-)

Celebration of Needlework is going on this weekend in Nashua, NH, and I went today to meet up with new stitching friends and to take Betsy Stinner's Mary Queen of Scots class: Here is the scan of the project off of the chart cover - you cannot see how truly elegant this is - all done up in silks and metallics, "to make it regal enough to fit Mary Queen of Scots," says Betsy :-) This class included an interesting lecture on the life of Mary Queen of Scots as well. And, here is what I got done of the little preface piece while I was there for 3 hours and 45 minutes: I met a wonderful lady from Maryland in the class today, she was really lovely (even though she is an Orioles fan), and also sat with another stitcher, and both made the class so incredibly enjoyable!! Betsy looks wonderful, and is really recovering well from her cancer. She was, as always, fun and entertaining!

I called both Nicole and Jenn this morning to meet up at Celebrations. I was able to meet up with Jenn for something to eat at 11 AM with several other stitchers from New England Cross Stitchers - it was fun meeting Janey, Danielle, Susan and Violet... and seeing Joyce again for the first time in what... ten years?? I can't believe how grown her kids are now! And, surprise of surprises, Janey had invited Eileen Bennett (yep, of The Sampler House) to sit with us for lunch too!! That was very nice. What a fun group of ladies!! Meeting Jenn was wonderful!!

After my class I was able to also meet up with the adorable Nicole and her equally adorable sister, Aimee! We had fun looking at each others' progress on Legends of the Dragons - hers looks fantastic!! We were both amazed at how different our fabric is, though... mine is misty grey with a green hue, and hers is much bluer.... mine is lugana, hers is belfast.... but both are Dragon Myst from The Blended Needle... hmmmm....

I had a bit of a revelation today - a lot of people read my blog! I only have five or six regulars who leave comments, but I met many folks today who knew so much about me, what I am stitching, etc. because they read this blog. Well, hi to you all - I really had no clue you were all out there!!! I just figured I had those five or six who comment regularly - I had no idea there were so many other readers....

I also met Carol - a lady from Nashua, NH I have met through ebay - it was so wonderful meeting her! We have chatted via email in the past due our similar interests in Liz Turner Diehl, The Drawn Thread, Indigo Rose... she even bought some irises from my garden via ebay... I hope they bloom abundantly for you this year, Carol!
And, I keep plugging away still at
Fairy Flora :-)

I totally forgot that yesterday I made a fun purchase on ebay - Tulip Fields by John Clayton - I love this one! It really evokes great memories of our 2001 trip to Amsterdam!!

Oh - if you have ever been on the fence about ordering fabric from Sugar Maple Fabrics, I hope my story will help you to decide to make an order - Mindy, the owner/dyer, was wonderful about dyeing me just the perfect piece of Peach Grove Cashel for Once Upon A Time... but that is not even the best part! A while back I ordered a piece of Thunder lugana for Midnight Hunting, but when it arrived it was just blue and white - no grey/black. Well, I still planned to use it, but when Mindy heard about it she replaced it by also sending me a new piece - this time on belfast - and she does not want the original fabric back! How amazing is she??? I received my fabrics today and could not be more thrilled!

I behaved really well at Celebrations today - I only purchased a piece of 36 ct dirty edinburgh linen, perhaps for House Samplings - I say perhaps because shortly after buying it I decided it is too dark, I will wait and order some natural or flax edinburg for it instead :-) I saw it stitched up today on what looked like flax... so pretty! I am sure I can use the dirty linen for something - LOL!

Red Sox 9, Rangers 2 - well, that is more like it - and about time - better pitching, better offense!!

Stitched on today: Mary Queen of Scots.... well, the preface piece, and Fairy Flora

I worked on the iris garden tonight - it still needs backstitching, but I am not going to stay up to the wee hours of the morning tonight because I want to get a relatively early start on going to Celebrations tomorrow. My class isn't until 1 PM, but I want to give myself time to shop and maybe meet up with some of my new stitching friends too!
I received my April installment of Monthly Bits from Stitching Bits & Bobs today, and boy am I disappointed. I haven't done the math yet, but I doubt I got any kind of deal this month.... it is usually only about a $1 savings anyhow... and what is with these color choices? I have the distinct feeling that these threads are just their overstock that they could not sell. Well, thanks a whole bunch! They sent me a skein of Dinky Dyes Cotton Floss in Pacific Sunrise, a skein of Weeks Dye Works in Hot Rod (what would one ever use this for??), a skein of Crescent Colours in Ruby Slippers, a card of Stranded By The Sea floss in Yellow Tang (again, what would one use this for??), a skein of GAST Simply Shaker floss in Green Apple, and a 4 yd skein of Gloriana silk in Blue Heron... are any of these popular colors? Nope! I am either going to drop out or select the "wish list" option now, informing her of what I want to receive... not as much fun, but surely not as disappointing. If anyone needs any of these fibers I just received, just let me know!

Well, it is that time of year (at last!) when my thoughts also turn to gardening. Get ready, I go to the extreme with gardening, just as I do with stitching!! Today I purchased my first new garden addition for the year - a Theresa Hall daylily :-)

I found the sad article about Ben Franklin in Derry, NH closing, and figured I would share it here since so many of you haved commented on how sad it is to lose your "old reliable" local craft store :-( I love this guy who owned the store, seen in the article, he was always so helpful and friendly - if I didn't leave the store with 50 skeins of DMC, he would always ask is something was wrong, LOL! I hope he and his wife land well on their feet!

On our way out to dinner tonight, Mike took me to Michael's in Manchester, NH (craft store) - I wanted to scope out what they carry regularly now that Ben Franklin is gone... and I found they don't have much :-( However, I picked up some Nymo for beading and then found they had their cross stitch kits on sale, and was thrilled to get a great deal on The Guardian! I paid less than $20 for the complete kit! And, earlier today I went to the other Ben Franklin out in Raymond, NH - these stores are privately owned and this one is associated with Ace Hardware - it could not be more different than the one in Derry.... but may fare better as it is in a more rural area with less influence from WalMart and the like. Anyhow, they carry DMC and aida, for the most part. But, they also carry many Oberlin Samplers charts, so I treated myself to Cape Cod and Boston :-) They also carry four cross stitch magazines, so they were fun to look through, but none that I wanted this time around (Cross Country Stitching, Stoney Creek, Just Cross Stitch and Stitcher's World - I subscribe to the last two, though my Stitcher's World has not come in yet - can't wait for it now though, as the cover of the one I saw said they are featuring Maria Von Scharrenburg this month! The magazine is sealed in plastic, so I have to be patient now to see what lovely design will be in the issue!).

Picked up a new DVD while out tonight - Darkness - the previews looked good :-) I hope we will watch it soon!

Rangers 7, Red Sox 2.... something is really wrong with the Red Sox. Defensive errors, offense shut down.... injured pitchers, suspended pitcher... suspended manager... it just goes on and on! But, Ryan Newman had his best ever qualifying run for Talladega today - he actually starts 5th - let's hope that starting near the front of the pack will help keep him out of the many accidents that are destined at this track - but he will need a strong running car to stay up there you know... hmmmm.... hasn't really been happening much lately for him.

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work, and 17th Century Irish Garden

Earth Angel today :-) Lots and lots of blue.... and I added some of the petite gold beads I am using instead of the gold metallic thread for which the chart calls - this is my own modification. I really didn't think the DMC gold thread would look as well as the beads. Originally I had regular size gold Mill Hill beads, but since I am using 32 ct evenweave, I opted to use the petite beads instead. If this were on 28 ct, I think the larger beads would look better...

I received the Petite Treasure Braids (PB 01, PB 02 and PB 03) from the ebay seller today... I have so many upcoming projects that call for Petite Treasure Braid, so this is a welcome addition to my stash. And, I also received the 32 ct Breeze lugana by Sugar Maple Fabrics, which is gorgeous - even more vibrant than the photo! With that order were also the two skeins of Moss Waterlilies for Skyler Wayne :-)

Moments ago, I learned I was high bidder for Year in Stitches by Elizabeth's Designs - I am thrilled with this!! Sometimes I just crave an Elizabeth's Designs project - this booklet contains 12!

I wanted to share with you this photo of our cute little cherry tree in our backyard. It started to bloom a few days ago, but it has been very rainy here. This afternoon when I got home from work there was some sun and the rain was taking a break, so I ran out with the camera to get a photo before more rain knocks the blooms off! I don't know the name of this cultivar. It was tagged as an "import" at the nursery when we bought it three years ago. I love the trunk of this tree - it is very windy and twisty - it looks great at Halloween time when the branches are bare! It will be even better when the tree gets bigger :-)

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work (complete with some frogging...) and Earth Angel

Little Wings is back :-)

Here is my oft neglected Little Wings. I don't think I have touched it yet this month - shame on me! So, I gave it some attention tonight while we watched Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (which I loved). A milestone for this piece, as I managed to get the little girl's face and some of her hair done tonight...

I stopped at Ben Franklin's on my way home tonight. They are having their Store Closing Sale today and again on Sunday... it was packed! The parking lot was unbelievably full and my Jeep almost got hit twice by old ladies who don't know how to park. Anyhow, the sale is only 20% off at this point, but I got to their little needlework section and managed to get two pieces of 28 ct natural Irish linen for my LTD gardens, 7 skeins of GAST and 3 spools of Kreinik #4 braid.... I picked often used shades like 032, 002 and 018.... and I really don't recall what GASTs I selected, just ones that appealed to me :-) I will miss being able to get those so close to the house. I also got a small back of beads that are hearts, leaves, flowers... really pretty! They will make outstanding embellishments on needlework. Someone left them by the register, and in my boredom while waiting to check out, I saw them and got them :-) Bye Bye Ben Franklin's, I sure will miss you!

I did a little online shopping this morning, since Stitching Bits & Bobs is having their second anniversary 25% off everything sale.... their customer service and timeliness have improved markedly lately, so why not go for it... I picked up the three Gloriana silks I need for Take Time To Knit - I know I had ordered the Vikki Clayton silk conversions for this (and they did arrive today....) but I think the Glorianas are soooo much more vibrant, and I am sooo fussy with this being for my mother, so I got the Glorianas anyhow! I will use Vikki's conversions for the NPI and RG fibers though - they look fine :-) I also ordered all the beads and the Kreiniks I will need for Moon Fairy Spirit now that my Karma fabric is on order for this (yay!!), as well as the Kreinik blending filament I need for Once Upon A Time :-)

I received an order from Stitching Bits & Bobs today as well.... this one came in super fast (see, they are getting better!). This was the order for the Golden Grains Waterlilies and the Liz Turner Diehl Emerald Jeweled Garden chart. Ugh. The chart calls for Swarovski Crystals - sounded easy... but she describes them as "Size 6mm Glass Coin Disc, Emerald Green - 9 needed for Garden." I searched everywhere on the internet. No such bead exists! I finally emailed her and I hope she gets back to me with some hints. The chart also calls for a 1/2" x 1/2" Ceramic Green Leaf Charm - where do I get that? That is something I can find by choosing my own, but if she has hints... great! I was hoping the embellishments might be with the chart, but nope.... I hope Liz gets back to me about this... I really want to stitch this one, but need the stash first :-) Oh.... and I received Part 4 (the final part) of Welcome Stitching Club today from Rocky Mountain Needleworking (via ebay).... I love this piece!

Q. Do you set stitching goals?

A. I only recently started setting stitching goals for myself - maybe two years ago. The jury is still out on whether or not I like it. I have a rather strong touch of OCD, so I think I do like it really. I have a file in my Yahoo album that shows pictures of all the projects I want to do for this year... so far I have at least started three or four of them!

I hope my friend Karen doesn't mind my posting this, but I just have to brag on her Petal Fairy - look how pretty this is coming out on Silkweaver's Summer Breeze: Too pretty!

The Red Sox were rained out today - thankfully! Now Curt Schilling is on the disabled list for two weeks, David Wells for at least four.... and Keith Foulke is struggling with his mechanics and is not pitching well at all... oh God! They play the Texas Rangers tomorrow night... good luck to us!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work, and Little Wings

Tonight I worked on Legends of the Dragons for a little while - now Magic is getting his wings, but they still need one more shade of blue in them.... and he needs another glowing ball and some backstitching, then he will be done :-)

I received a nice treat from Becky today - she recently stitched up My Garden, and then sent me her chart! I am so excited! This has been on my wish list since the kit first came out! It will be so easy too - uses DMC and Weeks, and I have tons of those little bee charms! Thank you so much Becky - you made my day, that is for sure!!

I needed that pick me up, because I was so disappointed... crushed, actually... when I pulled up to Ben Franklin's in Derry, NH this afternoon - I was thinking of looking into whether or not they had any Irish linen for my Liz Turner Diehl gardens... and the glass store front is all papered up and a public notice is posted. They are closing! They will reopen on Wednesday with a "gigantic going out of business sale," and I don't know if I will be able to schedule any time to get to that... but now I am wondering where I will be able to quickly pick up Mill Hill beads, Kreinik fibers and Gentle Art Sampler Threads any longer. I am so crushed! This economy is really killing off our craft stores now. A.C. Moore is nearby in Salem, NH, but they only carry about 25 colors of Mill Hill beads... maybe 10 Kreiniks (if that).... oh, just so disappointed! I could cry :-(

Well, Celebrations is less than a week away now!! I am really looking forward to taking the Betsy Stinner class on Saturday afternoon - and if I am lucky I can meet up with some of my new stitching friends there too!!

Orioles 8, Red Sox 4....

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work, and Legends of the Dragons

Passione Ricamo SAL Week 5

I did not stitch for too terribly long today - felt a bit off today and spent some time outdoors weeding my garden. The fresh air, after so much rain yesterday, did me some good! Plus we still had Erin with us until Mike drove her home late this afternoon. I did a bunch more of the beading (around her waist), plus some things here and there.... :-)

I purchased Emerald Jewelled Garden today: I saw this chart was on sale at Stitching Bits & Bobs, and since I also had to order a skein of Golden Grains Waterlilies, I went for it (I realized after splitting what I had of this fiber that I will need quite a lot of it for one of my upcoming Chatelaine gardens.... :-)... no biggie, the Waterlilies are on sale too!).... Anyhow, since I am enjoying Liz Turner Diehl's historical gardens so much, I thought this one might be fun too!!

Red Sox 11, Devil Rays 3 - now, that is more like it! This game was full of drama with three Sox and three Rays all being ejected for fighting! What is with these two teams when they get together at Tropicana Field?? Many think the Red Sox and Yankees hate each other, but aside from the 7.24.04 game last year, such fights don't happen between us - there must be more respect between Red Sox and Yankees than with the Devil Rays? This hitting guys with pitches baloney is getting tiring...

Well, I won't complain about our rain since Michigan is getting snow from this system!

Stitched on today: Miracle Butterfly

I decided to keep going for another day and enjoy working on 17th Century Irish Garden - it really is a lot of fun to stitch. I have a lot of backstitching still to do in the camellia garden (the right side garden you see in the photo) but I made sure to backstitch the little black cat before I put it away :-) Stitching with the burmilana wool was a little interesting... :-)

What a beautiful day - sunny and a little bit cool, but really nice. I took today off - the way my schedule has been running at work, I have been able to get every other Friday off. I have to reorganize that soon, as it is not financially a great idea to keep doing that. But we have Erin, our almost 12 year old niece, up here with us and it has been fun - she and Mike are playing with their PSPs, which is giving me tons of time to stitch and watch the Red Sox :-)

The mailman was very good to me today (again): I received The Spirit of Christmas chart from the ebay seller today, and I received some of the items I have ordered from Stitching Bits & Bobs too - this included the new Enchanted Mermaid chart, Once Upon A Time, and a skein of Avalon and a skein of Iced Lavender Waterlilies too. Plus, my friend Karen sent me a packet of freebie charts from BH&G in Australia - I had to ask BH&G to send them to her, and then from Karen to me, because they won't send to the US... this included the pretty Marjolein Bastin Garden Sampler I posted here in my blog about a week ago. Here it is: I am so excited about that - and generous Karen also sent me some Petite Treasure Braid she knew I needed for Angel of Dreams - isn't she sweet??

I sent off four of my Just Nan samplers to Karen today - she is borrowing them to hang in her new shop for a while - way, way down in Katoomba, Australia! My babies have flown far away from me :-) I trust them with Karen, though (of course!) - I just hope they get there safely. I sent her my Lady Scarlet's Journey (can't find a link that shows the entire sampler in one piece), Ebony Rose, Flowers of Joy, and With My Needle :-)

Late last night, after I had already blogged, I did a little bit of shopping at Paw Prints Cross Stitch - a custom cut of light sand 36 ct edinbugh linen for Six Hem Sampler and, at long last, the 16th Century English Knot Garden chart - I am so hooked on these stunning Liz Turner Diehl gardens right now!

I did a little bit of ordering today - I want to stitch Take Time To Knit for my mom (she adores knitting - my dad passed away in front of her while she was knitting back in 1995, so getting back to knitting was a struggle for her), but I don't want to buy a pricey fiber pack... but I came across this conversion by Victoria Clayton, and I am going to give it a go! I will put on a charm of my choice and it will turn out great! I also ordered a skein of Buckwheat Honey that I need for Rose Lights too :-)

Devil Rays 5, Red Sox 4.......

Erin and I ran to WalMart today - I bought her a couple of DVD movies from the $4.88 sale bin, and picked up Saturday Night Fever for us - because, sad but true, Mike and I grew up watching this movie!

Stitched on today: 17th Century Irish Garden

Today's progress picture is of Earth Angel - her head is totally finished now :-)

I wanted to share the link tonight for that cute French chart I received yesterday in the trade - this is Atelier de brodeuse by Au Fil des Reves (www.aufildesreves.com). Isn't it a cutie? I see several on this site that I love!


The fat quarter of Impressionism Cashel by Sugar Maple Fabrics arrived today - beautiful! I think this might just be the perfect fabric for Winter Fairy Spirit :-)!! I know I had picked out another fabric for it, but then I realized I want to do all four spirits on 28 ct... the fabric I had chosen was 32 ct....

Which Red Sox/Yankee Player are YOU?
created with QuizFarm.com Just couldn't resist another Red Sox quiz :-)

Red Sox 1, Orioles 0 - not a high scoring game, but a real pitchers' duel... all that matters is... we won! And we are at the top of our division for now....

We have Erin, my brother's youngest daughter, up for the weekend now. She will be 12 on May 17th (she was born only 9 days after our wedding) - so I get to keep her busy all weekend - I am thinking... yardwork!! Kids love to earn money :-)

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher (literally only a few tiny stitches at work - my disposable contact lenses alerted me today that it was time to change them - my up close vision was blurry - all fixed now!!) and Earth Angel

Started Angel of Love... finally :-)

Finally, I gathered myself up today since I had some free time - it is a holiday in Massachusetts (Patriot's Day formally, but informally it is Boston Marathon Day) - I got out of work early and while watching the Red Sox game I finally started Angel of Love. I bought this chart when it first came out in 1993 (same year I was married), and according to the receipt for the floss that I kept in the bag, I bought the floss back on 4/3/04. I know I bought the fabric, Golden Turret Cashel from Sugar Maple Fabrics, well before that.... but now it is started and I will rotate it with the rest of my projects! OK, you can't see much in this pic, but I felt like sharing my joy in getting it started. I always start in the center of projects (when I can) because I am horrid at centering any other way... so now I am slowly climbing "northward" on the project to get to her face.... I did, at least, get one hand stitched today (though I am not sure if you can see it... I took many photos of this and this one is the best in the lot... it does not show the vibrance of this fabric color as well as I had hoped it would either...). So, now I have another project to rotate in!

I did a little shopping today and got a fat quarter of Impressionism Cashel from Sugar Maple Fabrics at The Avid Stitcher - only $16 for a fat quarter of pretty hand dyed cashel?? Sold!!


Received my monthly fiber club installment from Paw Prints Cross Stitch - I switched from the cotton option to the silk option this month. They sent me a skein of Caron Waterlilies in Polar Ice (lovely, but my timing was bad... I just bought a skein of this for Catherine Agnes a couple of weeks ago!), a skein of Caron Soie Cristale in 7055, a skein of Needlepoint Inc silk in 894 Lilac Range, and a skein of something called Eterna Overdyed Twist 8 in Mediterranean.... I will keep on with the silk option for now....

Red Sox 12, Blue Jays 7 - now Curt Schilling has his first win of the season :-)

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work - will put up a progress picture soon, Angel of Love and Legends of the Dragons (will edit this later with the progress pic, just getting going on it now...)
(OK, here's the progress as of tonight...)

Passione Ricamo SAL, Week 4

Today was the fourth week of the Passione Ricamo SAL, and I worked on my Miracle Butterfly - I started off by doing the beading of her tiara and outlining her face... and then the beading took over - I did her neckline and the cuff of her sleeve - and her dangly earring (which I don't think shows up all that well in my pic) - and some more work on her wings. I love her! She has a very Italian style to her - I have not seen any US designers do soooo much cluster beading for tiaras and necklines - she is so unique and Mike even complimented this one today - so it must be a good one! She is moving along nicely too :-)

It is kind of bugging me that with all the projects I have started (and am loving them all), I am not following my plans for 2005 as well as I wanted to - I really want to get started soon on Angel of Love (I have had this one kitted up for two years now, but keep getting sidetracked) and 17th Century Irish Garden as well... so I will pop both of this into my rotation very shortly now...

Mike ran out to run an errand today, and he picked up a treat for me - Finding Neverland DVD - my friend Karen really praised this movie, so I figured if she loved it, I will love it too :-)

Ryan Newman did not exactly have a stellar day today in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 in Texas - - - he started on the pole but fell back quickly - I am getting a bit concerned (and frustrated) that this team just cannot seem to get their car ready for races now - seems Ryan is struggling with his car every week, they just don't seem to have it "dialed in" when the race starts.... argh, frustrating! Other teams are getting it right, why not the #12 Alltel Dodge?? So, he came in 16th and is now 9th in the points.... can't take much more of this mediocore racing Ryan.... But... better news today... Red Sox 3, Devil Rays 1... get out the brooms, that is a sweep!!! And, Tim Wakefield passed Cy Young today for number of strikeouts! Go Wake!

Oh, and the Boston Celtics have clinched their division and will go on to the playoffs for the first time in... ?? a whole lot of years! Good luck to them - they could complete the trifecta for us!! (Red Sox/Patriots/Celtics ???) Hmmmm.... too much to hope for, I am sure!

Stitched on today: Catherine Agnes (finished the acorns this morning), and then... Miracle Butterfly

Catherine Agnes

It took me a while to decide what to stitch today, but I ended up starting Catherine Agnes - this is a SAL with Karen V. - she should receive the Waterlilies I split with her for this any day now (if not already) - looking forward to seeing her progress pics too. I quit before the cut work, as I want to make sure I am wide awake for that - and am not sure my embroidery scissors are sharp enough to cut those threads neatly, so a little worried about that...

I was high bidder for The Spirit of Christmas today.... and I ordered skeins of Caron Waterlilies in Iced Lavender and Avalon as well... Stitching Bits & Bobs is having another sale so I grabbed them there.

I received my first FOTM order from Dyeing4U today - I received two fat quarters of belfast linen - one in Cameo Peach and one in Morning Dream. They are pretty, but I am not sure I have anything that Cameo Peach will work with. I am not big on pastels. You take that chance with FOTM clubs. Maybe I will hold on to it for a while and see what comes along, or I will put it on my trade list over at Fiberswappers or post it on ebay... or if any of my blog readers are interested in trading for it... cool. It's truly pretty, just not my taste. I believe the Morning Dream will work well with some of the L&L angels I have lined up.... I have been wanting a pale blue or pale lavender for one or two of them anyhow :-) ...I also received the Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch & Beading Issue No. 43 from ebay today... love those Australian charts in this one.

Isn't this pretty? It is a Marjolein Bastin freebie that I will be receiving soon by way of Australia :-) BH&G Magazine in Australia had it to offer - I am looking forward to this one :-)

Red Sox 6, Devil Rays 2 - and a great start for Matt Clement tonight :-) Not to mention Manny Ramirez! It is safe to say he is out of his slump now with this back to back homeruns, the second of which was a Grand Slam :-) He provided all six RBIs for the Red Sox tonight!

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

Wonder how they figured this one out - all they asked was what color undies am I wearing?? I said black and grey tiger print hipsters by Victoria's Secret - so they made me brown?? ROTFL!

Stitched on today: Catherine Agnes and Fairy Flora

"Magic"

Tonight I worked on Legends of the Dragons. "Magic," the center dragon, is starting to grow now... and I ambled on to work on a little of the knot work border too... I opted to use one strand of Waterlilies silk for mine - just a standard response for me using 32 ct. It is really delicate - I like it a lot :-)

I ordered a custom cut of Peach Grove Cashel from Sugar Maple Fabrics for Once Upon A Time - this is the fabric recommended by Laura of Passione Ricamo for this design. Mindy of Sugar Maple Fabrics was really excellent to work with - I told her what I needed the fabric for and she helped me out tremendously - I think I am going to like the fabric she will be dyeing for me in the next week or two.

I received a small order in the mail today - Wintry Mix and the embellishments for Ice Blossom - I put in a request over in the Fiberswappers group to see if anyone has a small amount of Iced Lavender Waterlilies silk that they would trade with me so that I can stitch this one :-) I really hope someone can help me out - I have tons of fibers I can trade for a small amount of this...help??

Hey, hey! Ryan Newman is on the pole again for the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 in Texas on Sunday :-) Go Rocket Man! (photo from www.nascar.com)

Red Sox 10, Devil Rays 0 - great game tonight for David Wells - seven solid innings of pitching - YES!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work and Legends of the Dragons... not sure what I will stitch tomorrow... which one is next?

Miracle Butterfly Progress

Tonight I chose to work on Miracle Butterfly - after waiting so long for the 010HL blending filament, I wanted to use some :-) I did more of her hair, some more of the body outline and some sparkly in her wings... during the Passione Ricamo SAL day on Sunday, I think I might do the beading of her tiara, outline her face and do the beading of her neck band... she will start to take more shape once that is done :-)

Much better night for the Red Sox - though the night was not without its dramatics! First our hitting coach gets ejected (NO clue why...), then our coach gets ejected for arguing.... but that was NOTHING compared to NYY's Gary Sheffield getting into a scuffle with a fan - the fan may or may not have tried to hit Sheffield in some way... it is way too unclear by the tape. But, what is totally clear is that Sheffield takes not one fraction of a second to react by swinging at the fan. Some news reports say he did not hit the fan, but I saw it live... it happened. What happened then? The fan gets ejected and Sheffield stays in the game?? What???? Since when can you hit someone and get NO consequences? (mlb.com acknowledges the incident as it was seen on TV: "Jason Varitek's two-run triple made it a three-run game, but as Sheffield went to field it, he appeared to be hit in the head by a fan who was reaching for the ball, prompting him to take a swing at the spectator. Security intervened quickly and no further swings were taken, though the game was stopped for a few minutes as tempers settled down.")

Anyhow, Red Sox 8, Yankees 5

Just Nan has two gorgeous new releases coming out in May!!! I want these (of course) - Morning Flowers and Robin's Wreath - Nan just never fails :-) But, when, oh when, will Drawn Thread have some new releases???

The new issue of Just Cross Stitch arrived today - in general, not a thrilling issue.... but, Carriage House Samplings is a featured designer and there are two Carriage House samplers in this issue. Nice!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher at work and Miracle Butterfly :-)

A snow flurry today? What???

Yep, it is true - not forecasted, but very there. As my last little child client was in my office late this afternoon, she told her mom and I that she saw snow falling outside... it was hard to believe. Then when I left to go home, I was surprised to see she was right... Good thing I had a late change of heart this morning and opted not to wear sandals and did put on my leather jacket! Geesh!

Here is where I am at now with Fairy Flora - the dense stitching of the flowers and the ruffle of her skirt sure is keeping me busy :-)

And, it is "New Release Tuesday" once again, and Mike picked up Ocean's Twelve for us - happy, happy dancing for that one!

Stitched on today: Fairy Flora and Peacock Cypher at work - finally took a couple of minutes to read Nan's clues and quickly cracked her code and can read the verse now - LOL!!! Will post a progress photo pretty soon.... just want to make a little more progress first :-)

Ring Ceremony and a big win too!

And today, for the first time in 86 years, the Boston Red Sox received World Series rings :-) Here is Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez after they got theirs (photo from www.redsox.com). Even cooler, they won big over the NY Yankees in today's home opener, 8-1. It was great to see Derek Lowe and Dave Roberts there too. Too bad Orlando Cabrera, Doug Mientkiewicz and Nomar Garciaparra weren't there. Nobody expected Pedro Martinez. He is still off feeling jilted by the Red Sox.... silly.

And today was Petal Fairy day! I reset the pixels on my camera and am beginning to take some better photos for my blog now. I really like stitching this one - I wish I could get her in more than once a week :-)

Some really nice mail today - I finally got in the order from Paw Prints Cross Stitch today with the long awaited 010HL blending filament for Miracle Butterfly, so that I can finally fill in some gaps during next weekend's SAL day... and also the 902 #8 perle cotton for Love Letters, two of the Kreinik braids for Midnight Hunting, and Camouflage Silk 'n Colors for Castleton Sampler, so most of these projects are about ready to go now :-) I also received the embellishments today for Peacock Cypher (yay!!) and the three pretty little Liz Turner Diehl knot garden charts from ebay as well.....

The Golden Grains Wildflowers for Catherine Agnes came in today - so all is here now for that one! Karen V., just give me a day or two now to sit down and get the threads together for our fiber swap and I will zip them out to you :-)

Stitched on today: Petal Fairy

Finally, some little spring blooms in my garden! These are my little tete a tete daffodils, that are in one of the happiest, sunniest spots in my garden. I bought these little bulbs, already forced, in a small pot in the winter of 2001 while we were living in an apartment in Bedford, NH. We had just sold our house in Derry, NH and were building this one in Auburn, NH. I needed some indoor garden.... and they are here, early, every year for me still! You can see that some daylilies are now also spreading over to them and are already trying to come up too :-)
Today was Passione Ricamo SAL day, and here is my progress now on Miracle Butterfly. I am enjoying her, but I keep hitting these areas that call for the 010HL blending filament, and this is hard to believe, but that fiber still has not arrived :-( I emailed Paw Prints Cross Stitch, and they say it was already shipped... I am hoping it will come in this week. I have so many areas I want to fill in on her. She has a face now, yay! *****If you would like to join our SAL, please do! There are no formal rules or commitments. Just if you feel like stitching on a Passione Ricamo design on a Sunday, then you are with us! It is great if you can post a progress pic after your stitching day at the link above... once I finish this project, I plan to stay with PR Sundays and just start a different pattern :-) It has been a fun group so far, this is week 3.

Well, the Red Sox had another ugly day - they lost again - Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3. I am looking forward to their home opener and World Series ring ceremony tomorrow - I even took the day off from work to watch it :-) But, on a brighter note.... (photo from www.nascar.com)Ryan Newman battled back from this lap one bump with Scott Riggs to come in fourth this afternoon in the Advance Auto Parts 500 in Martinsville, West Virginia.... and now back in the Top 10 for points, coming in now at 8th in points! Yes! Fun race to watch - nice to see the determination this week to gain points.

I had a couple of ebay wins today - Issue No. 43 of Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch & Beading (great chart of Sydney Harbour in this one!), a trio of Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braids (great, could nix them off of my wish list).... and two great Red Sox T-Shirts too - one Damon, one Wells :-)

Gorgeous weather today - didn't get to stitch a ton, spent time in the garden, going for a ride with Mike in the Vette with the top down, just a nice spring day in the 70's here in New Hampshire :-)

Stitched on today: Earth Angel for a little while this morning to finish up an area in her hair where I left off really late last night, and Miracle Butterfly

Earth Angel frustrations....

This photo is a bit washed out and looks a bit blurry on my laptop screen (sorry if it looks that way on yours too, the original photo looked fine), but here is how Earth Angel is looking now - after several hours of fighting with her (aka more frogging) - she has not been very kind to me at all. However, now that I have given her her face, I am hoping she will become a friendlier stitch. Yikes, all that frogging, but now everything lines up perfectly. I thought I knew what was causing me problems (those blasted shaded repeat lines, that are unlike any others I have seen before.... took me forever to figure them out)... but apparently my error occurred quite far from the shaded areas... I hope we will get along better now. My friends and regular blog readers know how much I like to get faces stitched as soon as I can on projects like this, and I am happy I got that done tonight. I hope that tomorrow I can get the face onto Miracle Butterfly, as it will be Passione Ricamo SAL day.... I wonder how Jenn, my SAL partner for Earth Angel, is progressing this week.

I received the Apple Sampler chart from an ebay seller today. I just love this one - the model is done up on 36 ct, and my friends all know I love 36 ct.

Not a good day for the Red Sox today.... Blue Jays 12, Red Sox 5... sloppy, sloppy!

We enjoyed watching Elektra (Mike's choice) and Sideways (my choice - but I am so proud of Mike for actually sitting and watching this one with me) tonight - boy, these two movies sure couldn't have been much different if they tried! And, I picked up Spanglish while I was at WalMart picking up a DVD for a friend anyhow :-)

Which Rock Chick Are You? Found this in
Jenn's blog this morning - looked fun and gave it a try.... wish I knew more about who Tori Amos is, though - LOL! I listen more to Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver, Godsmack, etc....! (That dress she is wearing is really bugging me :-)

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher (just for a little while as I watched the baseball game, not enough to scan in, just most of the other peacock in the top band...) and Earth Angel (really working hard to make friends with her tonight...)

Started Peacock Cypher SAL tonight

Oy, major internet problems tonight, but let's see if I can get this done....
I started Just Nan's Peacock Cypher, a new SAL with my friend Karen, tonight. We are both stitching this on Zweigart's Platinum Cashel using the DMC floss alternative... kind of wish I had held out for the silks, but this will turn out great. I know many believe in not stitching the date onto a sampler until the very end, but I had just the perfect length of floss in my hand, and ready for the ort jar, when I decided "what the heck" and stitched it on. If there is some unforeseen tragedy that prevents me from finishing this in 2005, it will only require one tiny little stitch to change it to 2006 anyhow :-)

I attended "therapy school" today - aka, a psychology seminar. This one was really fun, and was called Play Therapy and Beyond: Counseling Techniques with Children and Pre-Teens. The presenter knew his stuff and had a great (funny) personality. He spent a good hour of the seminar showing us how to make proportionally correct stick figures and cool Play-Doh figures and objects. Pretty funny. His website, Clay Therapy, gives more info. So, one might wonder what is therapeutic about Play-Doh, but if you think in terms of making a dinosaur and talking about extinction, while at the same time trying to extinguish a child's maladaptive behavior, it makes sense. Or think of making a race car - remember, race cars need brakes in order to have control.... good for ADHD kids, and so on. I am glad I attended this one, even though sitting in that chair all day sure was uncomfortable.

I felt a bit unwell this evening, so I cheered myself up with some online shopping - I ordered Once Upon A Time, a spool of 085 #4 Kreinik braid for Queen Mermaid, and the embellishments for Ice Blossom and Wintry Mix.... OK, that helped me feel a little better (think I am getting a slight cold and/or PMS) - LOL!

I received a skein of Storm Clouds Waterlilies today from Nikki for our Legends of the Dragons SAL... Hint, hint Nikki - how can I repay you?? (she didn't answer my email request, so maybe posting that question here will help - she is such a sweetie!!)

I had a really lovely ebay win today too:
Look at these gorgeous little Liz Turner Diehl knot garden charts. I am really drooling over these and am so excited!!!

I really enjoyed watching The Michael Waltrip Celebrity Poker Tournament on the Speed Channel tonight - why? Well... Ryan Newman was playing, and it was fun to watch him in a non-race situation. He plays well - but came in third in tonight's round.... will keep my eye out on Thursday nights for more of this tournament. It is really neat, and even Mike will watch it with me since we both love to play cards :-)

Stitched on tonight: Peacock Cypher and Legends of the Dragons (just a wee tiny bit, because I spent most of the night trying to get Blogger to accept my post - and it only accepted the pic and top portion, better than nothing, I guess!)

Green Old Gardens Happy Dance!!

Here it is, all finished up! I spent part of the day at work starting the border, and then I spent my evening finishing it up. I love this piece. It was one of the funnest pieces I have stitched as of late :-)

I received a small fiber order today that I had placed with Down Sunshine Lane - a skein of Split Pea Soup Needle Necessities for Rose Lights and 014 and 102 Kreinik #4 braids for Queen Mermaid, two projects I am slowly but surely kitting up... someday they will be all set :-) Anyhow, great customer service, fast shipping from this INS!
(photo from www.newyork.yankees.mlb.com). Uh-oh! It looks like the Yankees have a bit of a problem! It appears that the Red Sox have faced their stellar (and he IS stellar) closer, Mariano Rivera too many times now and have figured him out! Today Rivera blew his fourth save in a row against the Red Sox (and also his sixth out of nine!!). As much as the NYY want to deny this, this truly is something to worry about. They may have a better starting rotation, but if their closer cannot close out games against us, the value of the starting rotation does drop.... time will tell. Go Red Sox! Red Sox 7, Yankees 3!

Q. What is your next specialty stitch?

A. I am really afraid I don't understand the question this week :-( Maybe it is just the wording? Does the question mean what specialty stitch is coming up next in one of my projects, or which do I plan to learn?? Well, I will answer it my own way. I plan to be starting Indigo Rose's Catherine Agnes soon as a SAL with Karen V. I noticed it requires the bullion stitch, which I once really struggled with on a Moss Creek sampler.... so my plans are to practice this stitch a bit before it crosses my path on Catherine Agnes.... Yikes!

Stitched on today: Green Old Gardens (all done!)