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!

Thanksgiving trip and Melody finish

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We made the long drive up to Wisconsin with two dogs, hubby, and my parents. The dogs were very well behaved in the car, but I can't say the same of Mandy at my Grandma's. Mandy was not playing nice with my Aunt's dog :(

Mandy and Molly in the car.

My niece Olivia eating the cake ball I made for Thanksgiving.

 My youngest niece, Harper. She is such a smiley baby.

We came back from Wisconsin with 18 lbs of apples and lots of cheese. Wisconsin has a much better selection of apples than here in the South. My plan is to make lots of applesauce :)

I did not get a whole lot of cross-stitching done last week, but here is my last pixie finish: Melody.

Thanks for stopping by!

Eventful weekend

We had a busy, eventful weekend.

Saturday morning, hubby, Mandy, and I drove to Augusta, GA to visit my sister. My car thermometer topped out at 111F/44C on the way there. I believe this is the hottest weather I have ever been in. It was like an oven. Needless to say, we all stayed inside. Sunday, was my niece Harper's baptism, and then afterwards, we celebrated Olivia's (Harper's older sister) 2nd birthday. Olivia is such a cutie.

Harper:

 The birthday girl, Olivia:

After the party, hubby, my dad, and I went to a fish store in Augusta, and we noticed some dark clouds forming and heard a few rumbles of thunder. Whatever...just a thunderstorm even though the last forecast I saw was for 100+ temps and no chance of rain. On the way back to my sister's, my mom called and said there was a severe thunderstorm warning and a chance for hail (I am still skeptical that the weather will be bad). My parents leave right after we get back. We get our car packed up, and are almost ready to head out, when my brother-in-law says he hears hail. I run out to the car to throw one blanket over it, and the second blanket blows off. I run back into their garage, and just stand there while it hails for the next 10-15 minutes. The hail slowed down briefly, but then picked back up with even larger pieces, at least 1 inch in diameter. Ugh!! I cringed every time I heard the pinging of hail off the cars, and it was loud. My parents made it out just on time-they only had a few pieces of hail.

Finally, it stops, we take a bunch of pictures, examine the damage, and then head out in heavy rain. We drive for 15 miles on the interstate, and it starts hailing again (pea-sized this time). Fortunately, there was an exit, and we got off and took shelter at a gas station (along with several other cars). We leave about 20 minutes later, drive a bit more, and then there was one more bout of hail (this one wasn't so bad). Eventually, we made it back home safe and sound. Unfortunately, I was unable to tell if the hail actually dented my car. It was dark when we got home, and it is raining this morning.

Now for cross-stitch:

I finished July last week by Little House Needleworks. This is one of my favorite months so far because I loved the cute pink and blue flowers in it :)

I have also been working on Melody by Nora Corbett. I love the pinks and oranges in her dress. Here is my progress thus far:

I am stitching her on a light green-blue fabric. The picture does not show the fabric color very well.

I hope everyone has a great week, and enjoys the 4th of July!