IHSW January

It has been awhile since I last posted!

For ISHW January, I worked on Gardenia by Nora Corbett. She is on PTP's crystal Chrysalis cashel linen. She was one of my new year starts.

Since I have not posted in awhile, I have a lot of pictures to show :)

My other new year start was Old World Vinery by Chatelaine. This one is on 32 ct ivory jobelan. I can't wait to get some more progress in, but I need to finish Lady Hera first.

This weekend I also finished Our Love Nest by Country Cottage Needleworks into a box. I thought it turned out pretty well, and I am glad it is no longer sitting in my drawer of finished cross-stitch.

I have been working a Lady Hera. It is about time I finished her, but the peacock tail is huge and taking some time to stitch! Hopefully I will finish her up in February.

Since I was getting a bit tired of Lady Hera, I also started At the Met by Mirabilia. I love the colors in her sash.

I also finished Knock Knock by Prairie Schooler into a box last October. I am finishing several of my other pieces into boxes too.

Last, but not least, is Luna by Nora Corbett. I stitched this piece for my sister's family, and it was their Christmas present.

Thanks for stopping by!

Moyland Castle Update

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I finally worked on Moyland Castle. Yay! And I made some decent progress. I put off filling in some of the border on the top left corner. It has a lot of 3/4 stitches, and they are such a pain. So, I am saving that part for later.

Top left corner:

Top right corner:

Right now I am working on Fresh Watermelon, and I hope to have it finished off this week. After that, my plan is to finish When Witches Go Riding. I am trying to clear out some of my works in progress. Hopefully they will go quickly, so I can start Gigi by Nora Corbett. I love Halloween, and I was quite excited when I found out that she is releasing six witches :)

Thanks for stopping by!

A finish!

I finished Take me out to the Ballgame by Little House Needleworks this weekend. Yay! I started it two years ago, so I am glad it is done. It will be a birthday present for hubby who loves baseball :)

I started Fresh Watermelon also by Little House Needleworks because I wanted a small pattern to take with me when we go up to Boston to visit our friends later this month. In the meantime, I am going to continue working on Moyland Castle and Lady Hera, both of which I have not touched in ages! Below, you can see where I left off on each of them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Framed Japanese Garden and a Finish

I picked up Japanese Garden from the framer last week, and I thought it turned out amazing :) This piece was definitely worth the effort. Now, I need to start stitching on my other Chatelaines.

After Japanese Garden, I decided I needed something small, quick, and easy. I finished Blueberries by Little House Needleworks. It is perfect for the summer.

My two oldest nieces made a quick visit to my parent's house for the weekend, so I of course had to go see them too. Olivia had a great time playing tug-of-war with Molly.

Ava, after seeing a picture of Bluebeard's Princess by Mirabilia open on my iPad, decided she wanted Bluebeard's Princess instead of Elizabeth. I said ok (even though I had already started Elizabeth) and put in an order to 123 Stitch for supplies. My package should be here later this week, and I will start working on her. If I am really industrious these next several months, I will have her done for her birthday in December. We shall see :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Japanese Garden: Finished!

I finished Japanese Garden this week!!! Happy dance time :) I started this in April 2011 when hubby was in France for work training (lucky him), and I was home all alone. I decided I needed a little pick-me-up and started this beauty. It took a little over two years, but I am done.

I stitched Japanese Garden on 32 ct ivory jobelan and used most of the called for silk threads, except the NPI silk (I used the DMC substitution). For the bridges, I used Caron Waterlilies Espresso. Enjoy the pictures!

Close ups:

Thanks for stopping by :)

IHSW May

It has been a while since I last posted. The good news is that I started my new job at the beginning of May. The bad news is that I have not had much time to stitch. I have been coming home tired, but hopefully I will adjust to my new schedule and find time for more stitching.

For IHSW, I worked on Japanese Garden. Before I started work, I finished all the cross-stitching. Now I am working on the beading, and there are a lot of beads :) Below is some of the beading, and my goal is to finish this beauty up by the end of May. I am so excited :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

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!

Japanese Garden Update and a Finish

It is hard to believe I am turning 30 this week! In honor of my birthday, I kindly gifted myself with some cross-stitch stash :) I ordered Lilac and Evening Primrose by Nora Corbett, beads, and some fabric. I also signed up for Chatelaine's Japanese Moss Garden, meaning I need to finish Japanese Garden sooner rather than later.

So, here is my progress on Japanese Garden. I am getting there!

I also had a small finish last week: Berries by Little House Needleworks. I needed something that felt like spring, because it has not been warm here in Alabama. We actually had snow this weekend (it didn't stick).

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

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!

Japanese Garden Update and a Finish

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We spent our weekend cleaning. Our old vacuum cleaner was not doing a good job picking up dog hair, so we ordered a new one (Dyson DC28). I was quite excited when it arrived, and even happier when I used it. Amazing! Then I used the little hand tools and cleaned the nooks and crannies in our apartment (This is how I know I am getting old-I was excited about a vacuum cleaner). Afterwards, hubby steam cleaned the carpet, and it looks so much nicer now.

On to stitching. I made some more progress on Japanese Garden. I'm getting there :)

 I also finished up February by Little House Needleworks. One more month to go :)

Thanks for stopping by!

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!!