March IHSW

I hope everyone had a great weekend! It was gorgeous here-warm and sunny :)

This weekend I finished Cattleya Orchid by Chatelaine!! It is my first finished Chatelaine, but not my first Chatelaine start. Japanese Garden was my first, and hopefully I will finish that in a few months (I am aiming for May). While I was beading away, I noticed that part of the gold border was supposed to have green beads in it. Ooops! I made the executive decision to leave it alone since I did not feel like pulling out those stitches.

And some close-ups:

I can't get over how sparkly this is! When I walk by it, it just shimmers! And it doesn't even have that many beads in it. I am quite pleased with it :)

Lastly, a picture of my other orchid. It just started blooming :)

Thanks for stopping by!

IHSW February

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

For Valentine's Day, hubby and I planned on cooking a nice dinner, and I made a rich, chocolate sponge cake layered with a light, whipped ganache for dessert. Unfortunately, hubby came down with a stomach virus on Wednesday night, so I ate the Valentine's Day dinner and dessert, while he had a plain sandwich. Valentine's Day was kind of a bust for us this year, but hubby did get me a new orchid :) My other orchid is a dark maroon/purple color, and it should be blooming shortly. Yay!

And, for IHSW, I worked on Cattleya Orchid by Chatelaine. This one is moving along quickly, and I love the pink thread in the border :)

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to checking out everyone's IHSW progress!

IHSW January

I hope everyone had a great weekend and found some time to stitch :) The sun finally came out this weekend after nine days of clouds, four inches of rain, snow (a rarity for Alabama), and cold. I was definitely ready for some sun.

This weekend, I worked on Cattleya Orchid by Chatelaine. Its bright colors were refreshing after all the icky weather. I finished the center square (including the over-one center) and started working on the big orchid. The little orchids around the center are so adorable :) I love the way this one is turning out.

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to seeing everyone's stitching progress :)

New Year Starts/Christmas Finishes

Happy New Year!

My two New Year starts were Cattleya Orchid by Chatelaine and Our Love Nest by Country Cottage Needleworks. I love the colors in the Orchid. They are so bright and cheerful. I did avoid working in the center of the square because it has some over one stitching. I will get to it later.

Here is my second start, Our Love Nest. The pink thread, Blushing Beauty by Crescent Colours, looks so pretty. I stitched a bunch on this one last night while watching Downton Abbey (yay!), and my plan is to finish it up before Valentine's Day.

Lastly, I have two ornaments that I finished up before Christmas. They are Tree Farm and Snow in Love by Little House Needleworks. The reindeer in Tree Farm looks so cute :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

2013 Stitching Plans

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We did minus the trip to the vet on Christmas night because Mandy chewed through a small bottle of advil and may have ingested some. I am not entirely sure how much was left in the bottle, but we did find two advils on the floor that she did not eat. We took her home that same night, and she did not appear to have any side effects. The vet assessment said Mandy "has a tendency for dietary indiscretion." I thought it was a hilarious statement for saying she eats things she shouldn't. We are definitely trying to be more careful about keeping stuff out of her reach.

On to my stitching plans for this year:

I plan to finish:
1. Japanese Garden
2. Lady Hera

And I plan to start:

1. Lady Alexandra by Mirabilia on Wood Violet jobelan (a light purple-gray fabric)

2. Water Lily by Nora Corbett on Water Lily jobelan (a light green fabric)

3. Our Love Nest by Country Cottage Needleworks

4. Strawberry House by Little House Needleworks

5. Flower Panel 3- Cattleya Orchid by Chatelaine. Click the link for a picture, and below are the goodies for the design :)

These are pieces I definitely plan to start, but I am sure there will be some random Christmas ornaments and other pieces that I will also work on. I will be starting Cattleya Orchid and Our Love Nest today for my New Year starts after I stop at the framers and finish my errands.

Happy New Year!!