Yet another Paradigm Lost update (and there will be plenty more to come!)

Here is this week's progress on this very large sampler that I am SALing with Jo on Tuesdays. I am not sure what week we are up to now. I noticed there are some "scary huge" motifs coming up very soon now on this upper right side that I am working on. Uh-oh!!! I hope to stitch the little bee next Tuesday, though. You may notice that the stitching I did tonight, and a little of what I did last week is showing up a little darker on the sampler. What you see is real. I ordered a bunch of Konini silk for the sampler, and then more recently ordered some more. The second batch is a little darker and brighter than the first batch. No problem - I will just rotate them as I use them so the slight changes will run throughout the sampler - as it goes with hand dyed fibers (and as we noticed yesterday, with hand dyed fabrics too!). I like the more recent brighter skeins better :-)
Daylily: Blushing Lemon

***The FQ's of 28 ct Black Monaco (sold) and 28 ct Delicate Teal Jobelan (sold) are still available for $7 each. Anyone want them?

New DVD Release Tuesday, and finally a week with one we wanted: Lucky # Slevin.

Stitched on today: Paradigm Lost

A somber anniversary

The world celebrates a very somber anniversary today... and there are no words... still...
Tonight was SAL night for An Emblem of Love. I just love stitching on this sampler! Tonight I was able to finish filling in the birds and oak leaves on the second medallion. Love it :-)
Now, this is really something. I received my FOTM from Silkweaver today. My option is fat quarters of belfast from their Expressions line. Today I received Mountain Rose (on the right in the photo). I knew I already had some Mountain Rose belfast from one of their Christmas packages (or some package like that), but this looked different. So, I went upstairs to my fabric box and found it - it is the one on the left in the photo. Wow, what a huge difference! I guess differences are surely expected with hand dyeds, but this is an amazing difference. They don't look at all similar, even though both are Mountain Rose Belfast linen. So, if you were to order Mountain Rose Belfast Linen from the website, which of these would you receive? I like them both very much, though.
Daylily: Lake Norman Sunset

Stitched on today: An Emblem of Love

Mermaid Heaven & Fabrics For Sale

I dug Mermaid Heaven out tonight. I really don't want this project to be an official UFO. I was able to get a bit done, and as always, it was a fun stitch. I noticed in my WIP photo folder that I have not worked on this since 6/29/06. I hope to be a bit more diligent with it in the future!

I have some fabrics I want to sell off. Before I put them on ebay, I thought I would offer them here first. Just email me or leave me a comment if you want any of these. I accept PayPal, or check/money order if you live in the US. Contact me for super low shipping cost too :-)

Fat Quarters (18" x 27"), each $7 US:
28 ct Black Monaco - sold
28 ct Delicate Teal Jobelan - sold
32 ct Zweigart Blue Spruce Belfast Linen - sold

18" x 18" cut (still in Norden Crafts packaging), $6 US:
30 ct Northern Cross Grey Clay Linen - sold
Daylily: Bahama Butterscotch

Thanks to all who left comments yesterday about Mike's photo - I will pass them all along to him :-)

Stitched on today: Mermaid Heaven

Slow going with Mystery IX

I am almost half done now with Part 9 of Mystery IX (minus the beading that I will do at the end) - I underestimated how long it would take to stitch this part. I feel like I stitched forever tonight, but I only got this far. It is still early in the month, though. I will just have to give it more attention than I had expected it would need.
Mike asked me to post this photo in my blog. He apparently took it one evening while I was finishing up MTM. I must have been out of the room. Anyhow, he calls it "the solitude of the stitcher."
Daylily: Magic Dawn

Stitched on today: Mystery IX

HOHRH Update

I went back to Houses of Hawk Run Hollow tonight. I didn't need to use my chart at all. All I did was work on filling in the blue around the diamonds on House 3 (upper left in the photo). I didn't manage to finish it. I was a little distracted (or bored?) and kept putting it down and doing other things. But I will get the blue done next time and hopefully a bit more done on House 3. I think I have been working on this block for a while now, and I want to move on soon.

I witnessed something today that still has me shaking my head. I went to my LNS today to visit with my friend who owns the shop, and, of course, to shop a little. My LNS offers framing services, so I gave her Kingdom Sampler to frame (I can't wait - I really like the plum overtone of the English Walnut frame we selected for it). As I was in the shop, a customer came in to pick up a needlepoint project she had had the shop frame for her. It was just lovely. The customer had requested that some striped material from her drapes in her home be put on the mat. It looked kind of Martha Stewart style - a floral picture with a striped mat. Not my style, but very pretty. However, it was not possible to match the corners up perfectly due to the stripes in the material. OK, so the shop owner shows the piece to the customer and the customer looks thrilled. Then the corners are pointed out to her, and her whole attitude changes. The owner told her that the problem with the corners was discovered during the framing process and could not be resolved due to the very small amount of fabric the customer gave her. Well... nothing the owner could say to this customer was acceptable. She offered to reframe it with another mat. This customer refused to listen to her. She just grumped and was loud and rude... with three other customers in the store. In the end, the shop owner took the frame apart and took the needlepoint apart, she gave the needlepoint and the refund to the customer who left with a snotty look and not a single word. Of course, the shop absorbed the cost. Doesn't this woman know that special orders are at one's own risk?? Nope, she just decided she was going to be miserable, and that was that! I could not stop shaking my head. What a disappointment this woman was - people that grumpy don't deserve to be stitchers :-) Honestly, the piece was stunning. I have no clue what she didn't like about it! The shop's framer did a fantastic job!
Here is my little Anouk. she looked so cute taking a nap on the loveseat near me tonight, so I dug out my camera. But, as soon as she sensed I was near her, she couldn't help but to peek at me - LOL! I took several photos, but she was peeking in them all! I figured I would share one, as I don't think Anouk has been in my blog in a long time.

Had a little fun in the DVD dump bin at WalMart today - stocking up on fun movies to watch during snow storms - Little Shop of Horrors and Pleasantville.
Daylily: Chili Pepper (yep, with bug)

It feels like summer again here today - love it!

Stitched on today: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

Veronica's Neighborhood RR is ready to go to Holland now!

Tonight I was able to finish up Veronica's Neighborhood RR - ahead of the September 15th posting date. I really enjoyed working on her block. For those who do not know, Veronica is not online. She enclosed a note in her project and mentioned that she and her husband often take walks in the countryside. And, sometimes they stop at a tea room. So, I stitched her a tea room :-) I added an extra park bench and more flower pots. The walkway was a request from Veronica - each of us is asked to add a walkway to our house. That part stymied me, but I got it done. Then I added some bunnies from LHN's Morning Berries, but stitched them over one as they would have been monstrously huge in relation to the park benches. I am not overjoyed with how they ended up sitting on the fabric - I probably should have stitched them a little higher up and maybe a little closer together. You cannot see their little cottontails in the scan, but they are there. I hope Veronica likes it. Mike will post this off via GPM to Annemarie tomorrow. She should receive it in 3-4 days.
And here is the best shot I could get of how Veronica's entire RR looks now - Veronica did two blocks, Su did one, and of course, mine... I think it is a pretty neighborhood - very delicate.

**************************************************
I looked at the rotation today that I wrote up last night, and I thought - "yeah, right!!" - I don't see how I can stick to a rotation while in a Chatelaine online group... so ditch that, and the rotation will be solid again next year! I'm sad, but I'll live - I don't regret the Chatelaine class, I just want to "do it all!"

The daylily gallery continues - I spent a good hour earlier this evening labeling as many as I could of the hundreds of digital photos Mike took of the garden this year - I figured out about 20-30 of them - I have forgotten so many of the cultivars' names - today's floral offering to my pals: Cimmaron Knight

Von, I haven't forgotten your irises. The weather appears to be cooling down enough now to go out and dig some for you - next week, if I am lucky :-)

Stitched on today: Veronica's Neighborhood RR

Mystery IX Gets Attention

Well... my original plan was to figure out a walkway and some plants/animals/or other appealing items to finish off Veronica's Neighborhood RR tonight. I have nine days now until the next posting date. However, we had a neighbor over for dinner tonight, and by the time dinner had passed and our guest went home, I didn't feel like going upstairs to dig around in my stash to get floss and some charts with ideas.... later this weekend, I will! But, tonight I did get a start on Part 9 of Mystery IX instead. All I had to do was pick it up and put it in my Q-Snap, all ready to go, so much easier than the original plan for tonight. The photo is terribly overexposed, but here is the general idea. It will be packed with beads and crystals, but not until the last month. I really don't want to break away from my Q-Snap with this project. I love how the stitches lay when I use the Q-Snap and really don't want to switch to stitching in hand. So, those will have to wait like MTM did...

I've been giving some thought to what my rotation will look like - I really want to get back into one, but you already know that. What keeps hanging me up is not knowing how big the last three parts of Mystery IX will be, so I will do my best to keep that in account:
Mondays - An Emblem of Love SAL with Karen
Tuesdays - Paradigm Lost SAL with Jo
Wednesdays - Mystery IX
Thursdays - Mystery IX (in October, Violet and Lace Sampler SAL with Katrina)
Fridays - Houses of Hawk Run Hollow
Saturdays - Mermaids of the Deep Blue
Sundays - Mermaids of the Deep Blue or Mermaid Heaven or Women of the Mayflower (or... geez, decisions, decisions, decisions!!)

See... it is still kind of a loose rotation, but better than it has been all year!
Daylily: Mokan Butterfly (I originally labeled this one Violet Explosion - they are virtually identical... but I figured out from the order of the photos where this one is planted, and it is Mokan Butterfly).

Stitched on today: Mystery IX

Weekly Paradigm Lost Update

It's Tuesday again, so back to the Paradigm Lost SAL. 4.5 hours of stitching and just managed to finish that good sized motif. I fear I just cannot keep up with my SAL-mate, though. I don't know how she fits so much stitching in on a Tuesday evening. Oh well, here is mine. I am on to skein #3 of silk floss already. I wonder how many it will take to finish the whole sampler. I think I bought either 15 or 20 skeins... hmmm....


I received this lovely gift from Barbara today! Thank you Barbara, you shouldn't have! She got me Chessie & Me's 1890 House Sampler which I had on my Wish List! Aw, you are so sweet - I just love it! It is so New England! I look forward to stitching this one :-)
Daylily: Eye Yi Yi

Stitched on today: Paradigm Lost

Back to rotation stitching at last

I really hope that now that MTM is finished, I can get back into some kind of rotation again. That is what makes me happiest as a stitcher :-) Thanks for all the wonderful comments about MTM. I appreciate all of you so much! Tonight I got back to An Emblem of Love, the Monday SAL with Karen. I really didn't think I would be able to get much done on this tonight, feeling a little exhausted from the weekend's marathon beading sessions on MTM. However, I surprised myself and did manage to get a bit done. It simply moved along really well for me. I adore this sampler, and am thrilled with my fabric choice for it. I got to personalize it tonight, which was fun. Mike got to see it :-) I am so impressed with the quality of this chart. It is the one and only Ellen Chester/With My Needle chart that I own, and I am really impressed with the parchment paper it is printed on.

Someone asked how I will finish off MTM - I will frame it! But... that may take a while, I have not saved up any money yet for that huge job!!

I mentioned a rotation in my title... I haven't figured my rotation out yet, but I am working on it... I do still have Mystery 9 to cope with so it will get more than one day per week for now... and a new SAL with Katrina coming up too!
Daylily: Constant Comment

Stitched on today: An Emblem of Love

Medieval Town Mandala is Finished - WHEW!

Medieval Town Mandala
Chatelaine - Martina Weber
Antique White Belfast linen
Caron Waterlilies, Thread Gatherer Silk 'n Colors, Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid, Needlepoint Inc Silks, Gloriana Silk, Thread Gatherer Silken Perle, Gloriana Luminescence, Delicas beads and Swarovski Crystals
Stitched 9/30/05 - 9/3/06

WHEW! That simply must be said. Oh my gosh, this was a labour of love. What a tremendous amount of work. After all of the many, many hours I spent beading this today, I definitely need time on the treadmill tomorrow. I feel so stagnant and crampy from sitting and finishing this off! But, I just had to finish it tonight because Monday and Tuesday are SAL commitments, and I just wouldn't have felt right having MTM sit around for two days without getting it done! So, here it is, in all of it's glory!!

I've been asked by a few what will take MTM's place now that it is finished. Well, as tempted as I am to start a new project, particularly Bay Sampler by The Workbasket, I really don't think that I should! I have some major WIPS that need some serious attention now: Mermaids of the Deep Blue, Mermaid Heaven, Angel of Love, Convent's Herbal Garden, Women of the Mayflower, Girl with Cat, 17th C Irish Garden, A Christmas Spirit, An Open Heart, Paradigm Lost, An Emblem of Love, Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, Bordeaux Sampler, Blessings Be Thine, Little Wings.... probably others too... plus Katrina and I are due to start Violet and Lace Sampler together.. and I am still plugging away at Mystery IX. That's kind of a lot of WIPS, isn't it?? Yikes. I would say my plate is still full!!!
Daylily: Little Wine Cup

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

****R.I.P. Steve Irwin - thanks for the memories, you will be missed

Almost there now...

I finished all of the stitching now on MTM, and I have been moving along on the beading too. I have a bit left to do still.... I can't believe that this project is suddenly coming together very quickly and will be done soon!
Here is a closeup picture of some of the beading and crystals on MTM.... not the best picture, but it shows how much sparkly stuff is on this project. I am not a big fan of the Swarovski crystals, and had forgotten how much I don't care for them until I had to start attaching them yesterday. I remember disliking them when I did Mystery VI in 2004. I just don't think they lay well on the linen and are (in my opinion, and I don't mean to offend anyone) a little bit cheap looking. Oh well, I get the whole sparkly idea, and that's OK.
Daylily: Magic Carpet Ride

We have yet to get that rain we were forecasted from Ernesto. Maybe here in southern NH we are just a little too far north, or maybe it will come later when we are sleeping??

Oh, before I forget - this is my stitching journal - please don't feel you have to keep coming up with something to say about MTM day after day - LOL!! No need to comment if you can't think of anything. I am sure it gets difficult to come up with things to say since I post daily :-)

Mike picked up some new DVDs for our collection today - Poseidon (I think I know this story already...) and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (from the sale bin).

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

A peek for you of how MTM ends now!

Here is the final stitching on the first of the four corners on MTM... we are adding yellow roses that have algerian eyelets in them to finish off the mandala (Martina says they are roses, so roses they shall be!). Of course, there will be plenty of beads in these rose bushes before I am totally finished with this piece. With rain from Tropical Depression Ernesto due to come in tomorrow, I guess I should be able to sit down in front of some DVDs and get some more done on MTM. In fact, I will be working on it on Saturday and Sunday, up until my SAL commitments restart on Monday. Lots and lots of beading to do, as you know. I will still start the second corner tonight as well, but wanted to get this first photo up. Sorry I couldn't get a closer shot - those all came out overexposed.

I had some fun visiting with Sue today. I got to see her finished When This You See when I was with her - it came out just beautiful!!
***********************************************************

Q. How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share?

A. I am a flat media person, despite my desire not to be. So... I usually have my pieces framed. But then again, I have a very large drawer full of unframed projects. Just cannot afford to frame them all. I do post my finishes in my Yahoo albums in the sidebar of my blog as well - they get most of their exposure that way... since I usually don't have my drawer with me to show my work...

*******************************************************

Daylily: Buttered Popcorn

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Goals

August Goals:
1. Finish Part 11 of Medieval Town Mandala - yes
2. Finish Part 8 of Mystery IX - yes
3. Finish Kingdom Sampler SAL with Nikki - yes - had a great time with Nikki!
4. Work on Paradigm Lost SAL with Jo - yes
5. Work on Mermaids of the Deep Blue - yes
6. Work on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow - yes
7. Work on Bordeaux Mystery Sampler SAL with Anne - yes
8. Work on Blessings Be Thine - yes
9. Start An Emblem of Love SAL with Carissa and Karen - yes, but only with Karen, Carissa dropped out :-(
10. Start Violet and Lace Sampler SAL with Katrina - no, not yet
11. Work on Women of the Mayflower SAL - yes
12. Work on Veronica's Neighborhood RR - yes

September Goals:
1. Finish Medieval Town Mandala
2. Finish Part 9 of Mystery IX
3. Work on Paradigm Lost SAL with Jo
4. Work on Mermaids of the Deep Blue
5. Work on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow
6. Work on Bordeaux Sampler SAL with Anne
7. Work on Blessings Be Thine
8. Work on Emblem of Love SAL with Karen
9. Start Violet and Lace Sampler SAL with Katrina
10. Work on Women of the Mayflower SAL
11. Finish Veronica's Neighborhood RR and post to Annemarie by the 9/15 posting date
12. Work on Mermaid Heaven

A closer look

Since a few of you asked for it, here is a closer look at the beading on Medieval Town Mandala. Not a great photo, but this is what my photography skills will allow. I finished the beaded flowers around the edge of herb garden tonight, and it took me a full four hours (7PM - 11PM) to stitch them! I also got the passwords today for both MTM and M9. I realize I, like everyone else, tend to underestimate how long it takes to stitch a part, but I don't think either will really take long at all. The mystery is revealed - we will be adding yellow roses (algerian eyelets, I think - the chart is on my desk right now) to the trees/rose bushes in the outer corners of MTM to finish it off. Oh, and lots of beads! And speaking of beads, Part 9 of M9 is loaded with beads and crystals! The stitching part is not very big, but could be a little boring (that can add to stitching time, can't it?).
Daylily: Lilting Belle

Good Bye David Wells. One of my all-time favorite Red Sox players was traded to the San Diego Padres tonight. I feel so sad. I will miss him. He has quite a personality... but he is likely to retire at the end of this year and wanted to play on the west coast this year to be closer to his wife and children... and in a classy move, the Red Sox let him go home so he would have a better shot at the post season with another team. But... we won tonight! At least our third string rookies are getting enough experience to be playing better now! (Silver lining time....) Anyhow, I sure do wish you luck, Boomer. Thank you for two wonderful years ;-)

Stitched on today: A gift at work - the recipient reads my blog, so cannot reveal.... and Medieval Town Mandala

Sparklies

I got to work on the beads and crystals on Medieval Town Mandala again tonight, since the password for the very final part (I can hardly believe it!!) comes out in a day or two. It was really kind of burdensome to bead the corner triangles near the center tonight. The entire outer edge of each of the four triangles is blue and gold beads. But... the delicas beads are slightly wider than two threads of belfast linen. So, the vertical sides of the triangles were a bit of a tight fit (that is putting it mildly). However, that is done now, and I am now on to making little beaded flowers around the next border - which I love doing. I look forward to getting back to them tomorrow night. I think the darker purple ones really look a lot like lavender - good job Martina! I don't think any photo I can take (and most certainly not this one) can show how sparkly MTM is getting now :-)
Daylily: Siloam Valentine

After tomorrow, I am off for four days as the US celebrates Labor Day. I had anticipated having Fridays off for the month of August, but it never really did work out that way when I got the notice about my record review. I spent the last two Fridays either catching up with paperwork at home or going to the office to finish my filing... this Friday, no work at all.

Stitched on today: Bordeaux Sampler ( at work - only a tiny bit, but still some...) and Medieval Town Mandala

Weekly Paradigm Lost Update

It's time again for the weekly update of Paradigm Lost, the SAL I am doing with Jo on Tuesdays. I am now working on Page 2 of the chart and have started another big motif :-)
I received some lovely belated birthday gifts from Anne a couple of days ago. She is so sweet, but I think she may have forgotten that she had sent me a Silkweaver gift certificate!! Now a second gift?? Oh my gosh! She sent me Vineyard Sampler by Periwinkle Promises. I love this. I have never owned a Periwinkle Promises design, but do love them! She also included a cute magnetic kitty memo pad for the refrigerator and a sweet little oriental change purse too - and look at that card - LOL! Anne, you are such a good friend, thank you!!

Get well Big Papi!!! I have to add this, as I am very concerned. David Ortiz, aka Big Papi, of the Boston Red Sox flew back to Boston and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital today with an irregular heartbeat. He was also seen at MGH during the dreaded Yankees series a week or so ago. All is not well, this is clear! And, we can ill afford him with: Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, Alex Gonzalez, Lenny DiNardo, Matt Clement, Doug Mirabelli, Manny Ramirez, Jon Lester, and Wily Mo Pena all hurt... plus Mark Loretta, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell are playing but hurting and needing time off.... the walking wounded, MASH unit... it is unfathomable how many players are hurt right now. That leaves nobody but minor league players who are not really ready for the Big League to come in and play for us... and lose, as the stats show. Get Well Red Sox is even more appropriate to say!
Daylily: Frans Hals (this one is actually still blooming here)

***Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and kind words about my record review - I appreciate all of you! It was a huge stressor in my life, and you all helped!

Stitched on today: Paradign Lost

An Emblem of Love SAL, Week Two

Tonight was the second night of the Emblem of Love SAL. I really love working on this project. It took forever to stitch the tree, but I did manage to get the first medallion finished now - a sweet little bluebird in an apple tree... makes me think, "awwwwwww." LOL. My scan is a little crooked, but what else is new!!

Thank you to everyone who offered me a lot of support with my record review today. I am really pleased to let you know it went extremely well. I was nervous at first. They only sent one reviewer out, and when I saw who it was, I was pretty disappointed. I didn't get the best vibe off of this guy when he was my area case manager a couple of years ago. And, since they sent one reviewer, not two, I couldn't kind of eavesdrop and try to get a sense of how the review was going. Unfortunately, he didn't have a habit of talking to himself either. I was a bit at ease that he was not bringing any of the 15 client charts I gave him back to me asking for missing items. That is never a good sign when they do that! And, he was due to review until 12:30, but he approached me at noon to say he was ready. He gave me a very quick summary. No charge backs and no correction plans needed - very good review! The only things he came up with was having me add new things to forms - things I never could have even guessed about... so I figure I won't see them for another couple of years now :-) And, I get a rate increase that is retroactive to July 31st. I already knew I got that a couple of weeks ago, but today's news helped me to really realize that all is well!
Daylily: Patterns

**** Anyone know anyone who can play baseball?? The Red Sox really, really need your help if you do! They are a walking MASH unit - who isn't hurt or down with the stomach flu at this point?? I can't think of any of them that don't fit into either or both of those two categories - yikes!!!! What horrible luck for them this year! They aren't even playing at a contending level any longer.

Stitched on today: An Emblem of Love

Bob and I ....

Tacky Bob, that is. We spent quite a long time together today. I started the beading on Medieval Town Mandala. There is a lot of beading to be done in this center portion of the design, and it is quite slow going as I am attaching each bead with a full cross stitch to assure that they sit very properly. I almost had a crisis with MTM today too. I managed to drop one of the olivine Swarovski bicones in my chair. Uh-oh, they only give you just enough in the kit! But I did somehow manage to shake it loose from inside the chair, and it is safely attached to MTM now :-) Also, the delicas beads are a really, really tight fight on the vertical side of the blue and gold triangle to the right of my Tacky Bob in this picture. That was a little bit tricky. So, I give up now for tonight... my big record review is tomorrow and this beading was making me feel a bit agitated, that is no good. Will get back to this in a few days as I have SAL commitments (fun ones!) the next two days - yay!!
Daylily: Matt

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Mystery IX Part 8 Done

OK, it took me a while... all that filling with Winter Brook in the background of the triangle took a long time, but I managed to finish Part 8. Now maybe I can get some beading done on MTM tomorrow?? Thank you, everyone, for your inpsiration and giving me the motivation to keep plugging along at these huge Chatelaine pieces... you help me a lot and I appreciate you!
Daylily: Cat Dancer

There were a few people who commented on the morning glory photo I posted a couple of days ago - I have to grow them intentionally here every year in pots. They are not winter hardy at all in New Hampshire. So, every spring I run to WalMart, buy a packet of seeds, nick each hard covered seed and soak them for a couple of days before starting them inside for a few weeks. This year, I put them out too early, and the bear who was visiting us for a little while in the spring ate the first batch. I found the pot toppled over on the porch. Too bad, those were mixed colored ones. When I went to get more seeds, they only had Heavenly Blue left. (I know, Heavenly Blue is pretty - but I pretty much end up with them every year - LOL). I laughed that they are like weeds to some of you - I wish I were that lucky, I just adore morning glories.

Stitched on today: Mystery IX

Facing the (last) corner

I kept up with Mystery IX tonight. I have made it to the final corner now. I love this garden more every time I pick it up to stitch on it. I really love the Thread Gatherer Bronze Age Green silk that Martina is using in this garden. It is pretty much everywhere in the design. It is more of an antique gold color. But it really stands out and, I think, pulls this project together. I also love, love, love the Lavender Bliss belfast on which this is being stitched. Hopefully tomorrow I will still feel motivated and will finish Part 8.
It's been a stressy couple of weeks as I have been staying at the office and preparing for my record review with a major insurance company that is scheduled for 9 AM Monday morning. I went into the office today just to do what I needed to do to make sure all the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed. Then I went straight to Colonial Needleworks to visit my friend (she listened to my anxiety - thanks Sue!!!) and to pick up some stash to help me to relax a bit! I picked up these great new charts - Spring Violets by Hands To Work (Sue knew I wanted this brand new release, and there it was for me when I got there!) and the new Loose Feathers Club design from Blackbird Designs, Garden of Life. It also included some super pretty R&R 30 ct Alabaster. Nice color, and a nice large cut too!!! Not in the photo are the 6 skeins of Crescent Colours floss for Heart of Gold, and some linens I had special ordered from Sue - R&R 30 ct Liberty Gathering Gray for The Apple and the Oak (and thank you, Karen, for sending me the Anchor floss for this wonderful sampler - I got the other four colors on ebay last week!!)- and R&R 35 ct 18th Century Gold for Quaker Diamond. And... I got some 40 ct Flax linen for Memorial Sampler - it was a good day!! Oh, Sue has a gorgeous supply of hand dyed linens in from Enchanted Fabrics right now! Wow, so pretty!!! If you are in the Southern NH area, you may want to stop in and see them yourself! I was good... so far... and didn't get any!
Daylily: Blackberry Candy

Stitched on today: Mystery IX