Jardin January update

I have plenty of reasons why I haven't posted in a month and a half. Things like Christmas, going to the Champs Bowl game to see my beloved Seminoles play, a trip to Atlanta for some time with friends and for work, then home where I've felt "a little puny" for a few weeks. But those would all be excuses and really no one reading this cares about them. All you care about is pretty pictures of what I've been working on this month.

I had grand plans...GRAND plans, let's review the list.

• Margaret W Brown 1838
• Tulip Slip
• Winter Garden Gate
• Pansy Garden
• Wild Woodviolets
• Antique French Ribbons
• The new Christmas Stocking
• Ann Dale
• Misty Morning Vineyard
• Anniversaries of the Heart
• Daughters of Longbourn Hall
• Mary Corey

Now let's see what I actually managed to accomplish.

When January started Winter Garden Gate looked something like this...

I'm happy to report that I finished it and even managed to take it to the framers where it's currently hanging out. I'm so excited! Since this one was started in 2005 I think it counts not just for Theme-a-licious but also WIPocalypse! I'll have to remember and hopefully show a picture of it framed when it's time for that post in February. See how pretty?

For whatever reason the only other piece that kept calling my name was Ann Dale. I made a start on it Jan. 1 and just kept picking it up. I didn't take it with me to Atlanta, it's a LOT OF FABRIC to travel with, but I'm happy with my progress so far. Most of the ladies in my Sampler Guild are working on this so I'm anxious to see how much progress everyone has made. The colors are so very me, all those reds and greens. This is one that I hope will continue to hold my interest. We'll have to see. I have a bad habit of starting large projects and then loosing interest. Oh who am I kidding, I do that with small projects too. All that "ohhh, look at the new start/project/shiny" gets in my way. But take a look and stick around to see what comes next.

And now comes Fangirl February. A Valentine to our favorite designers. Back in December I had a nice long list of designers I thought would be good candidates. I'm fairly certain at least one of those will make the cut and I might have to pull out something from another favorite. So for now here are the possibilities:

• Moss Creek Designs - I have plenty of WIPs from Rae I can choose from. Decisions, decisions.
• Ellen Chester - There are a few that I have in my stash. PLUS the fabric and fiber for Quaker Samplings III came in the mail the other day. Maybe getting a nice start on that is in order.
• Plum Street Samplers - Again, I have more than a few designs in my stash I can pick from here and some are even kitted up ready to start.

The problem is I have plenty of designers that I would be happy to work on. I could add Blackbird Designs on and work on AOTH, or Mirabilia and work on Christmas Fairy. I'm really going to have to think about it for a day or so and see what feels right. Hopefully I'll do better in February and you'll see an update on the 15th that will show some progress on something. I might even have to pull in some needlepoint for the month! Until then I hope everyone's stitches are perfect!

For those who want to see more about Theme-a-licious and check out The Magic That Is Heather's blog.

Getting ready for 2012

First a big southern welcome to my new followers. Can't believe I have over 50 now!  I'm sure some of you are finding me because of what this post is all about. Let's hope 2012 brings us lots of stitching time!

It seems I'm in the mood to start making lists for next year. I'm a great one for the making of the lists. I love lists. I even like to cross things off them. The problem comes when I make lists for stitching/knitting/crochet purposes and then aren't able to cross items off. I sometimes get discouraged and in a rut. But still I make them.

So, now I can make lists for Theme-a-licious 2012 and WIPocalypse 2012. The best news is that they aren't mutually exclusive lists and really each month's theme will help me figure out my list of WIPocalypse. I've kind of been throwing some ideas around in my head for Theme-a-licious, especially for January. My problem is do I want to use that challenge to focus on a single project each month or just create a my monthly rotation around the theme? Decisions, decisions. If I were only more like my friend TheresaR I wouldn't have such a problem. Unlike me of the many WIPs, she's a monogamous stitcher.

Here's what I've come up with so far.WIPs for WIPocalypse are noted as well.
Jardin January

• Margaret W Brown 1838 - I'm using Jean's (of The Attic fame) conversion. (WIP)
• Tulip Slip - my EGA chapter went together to purchase this as a project this year. We've contemplated doing the finishing in a program in 2012 so this makes great sense.
• Winter Garden Gate - cuz, well it's SO close to being finished and if I don't get it done by then why not have a nice finish to start the year? (WIP)
• Pansy Garden - and old UFO from ASG one year (WIP - kinda obvious)
• Wild Woodviolets - this is a silk gauze piece I bought after a class many years ago. So pretty. (WIP)
• Antique French Ribbons - since well there are flowers on some of the ribbons!(WIP)
• My new Christmas Stocking will fit nicely in this catagory.
• Apparently I wasn't around for the vote but I'm also going to start Ann Dale with my sampler guild friends. (Some friends huh? They wait until I've left to decide we're all going to do the SAL for this sampler!)
• Misty Morning Vineyard certainly fits into this month and I keep saying I'm going to work on it and finish it before I die. (WIP)
• Anniversaries of the Heart - because it's another huge project that I want to make progress on in 2012
• Daughters of Longbourn Hall - see AofH for a reason (WIP)
• Mary Corey - since I couldn't resist starting it when I bought it and it just is calling to me! (WIP)

Fangirl February (I'm listing the designers I'm going to choose from during the month)

• Rae Iverson (Moss Creek Designs - who's website is being redone so no link right now)
• Ellen Chester (With My Needle)
• Plum Street Samplers
• Patrick Woods
• Tony Minieri - cuz I need to make some progress on that class

I'm sure as I look through my stash I'll find some other pretties I could work on. I need to look at ornament kits and see if any fit the bill as well. Let's be reasonable, it's also possible that I'll start picking up something just because it hits my fancy. But looking at the list I've got more WIPs than new starts and even a few UFOs. If I could just finish one or two that would be fantastic. In January I have a nice 3 day weekend planned with my DF Jackie. We went to this same retreat last year. I took way too much to work on. I'm going to try and pare down this year and see what happens...oh who am I kidding, I'll take way too much to do and talk way too much, but at least I'll have a good time!

Any others making plans for next year?

PS - I just looked through this list and thought, "You know....I may just ditch that entire list and do something completely different. It's all going to depend on what I feel like come January."

Another Great Weekend in Atlanta

So, in case you missed it, I started the month off heading to Mesa, AZ with DF Heather for a weekend of stitching. Ok, let's be real, it was a partial day of stitching and lots of stash enhancement opportunities. Then I came home, worked to pay for that trip, and then proceeded to head off to Atlanta for 6 or so days of fun, stitching and more stash enhancement with my peeps up there after only being home for barely 10 days.

I worked from Jean's on Thursday but we managed to make a trip to Eat.Sleep.Knit's store. Now I've done some damage on their website. But as scary as the website is the store/warehouse is even more so. The proof is in the picture.

That's just my haul. DF Jean managed to have a pile just as nice. In all that is a full sweater and who knows what else.

Now, I was there to take a class at In Stitches with Tony Minieri Friday through Monday. But that didn't stop us from heading over to The Nimble Needle and checking out what they had. I like to make sure I support small business as many of you well know, so of course I couldn't leave empty handed.

 A little something for mom's blue & gold tree....eventually.

 Something for my stitched tree...eventually. 

And of course I changed the colors!

(Quick Jean...don't look!) I had to have the Halloween shoe.
And really, didn't your mom tell you about kissing lots of frogs? 

Then Friday we packed ourselves up and headed to In Stitches. Heather met us and she and I managed to get started on our project with Tony. About 2 hours in Heather leans over and says to me in a very low whisper, "I couldn't figure out what we'd be doing for 4 days!" That was way funnier than it sounds, believe me. By the end of the day my canvas looked like this...

No really, that's a day's worth of class. And that was a LOT of work. Tony kept the class moving and I kept up. By Monday, that's day 4 for those of you trying to keep track, I was a little punch drunk but still going strong. I think it helped that Jean & I decided back a few months ago that it would be fun to really try and relax some that weekend and to get a hotel room in Buckhead near the shop for Saturday and Sunday night. It helped some not having to get up quite as early as if we'd stayed up at her house.

We really treated ourselves, well and I found a good deal, and we stayed at the Grand Hyatt, which used to be Hotel Nikko. The Japanese garden is still there, but I didn't get out during a morning to get pictures. If you're staying in the area I highly recommend this hotel. The staff was wonderful and the whole place was beautiful. Unfortunately Jean started feeling sick Saturday and by Sunday she was slightly miserable...maybe really miserable. So she went home and I hung out Sunday evening with DF Heather watching the final NASCAR race and rooting for Tony Stewart to win. I even had Heather rooting for him, although if she'd seen Carl without his helmet before the race started she might have been yelling a different tune at the TV. Heather went home after the race and some dinner next door at Brick Tops and then met me Monday morning for breakfast at The Flying Biscuit cafe. Then we grabbed a ride from the hotel's shuttle for our final day of class. By the end of the day this is what my canvas looked like...

For those familiar with this pattern you might notice that the colors I have are a bit different than any of the pictures you can find online. That's because I went with the "fuchsia" colorway, which is really more a jewel tone take on the original. Love the colors and I'm planning on working on this next year. It's an amazing piece with lots of great stitches. Learned lots of great techniques as well during the 4 days.

Now most of you are wondering what other trouble I managed to get myself in to while wandering around such a great needlepoint shop for 4 days. Wait no longer...

I mean really? You expected me to by pass this? As Heather told her dear husband it was a triple threat. Lots of great blue/green colors, bunnies and they are in Medieval dress. I was a total goner. It really was sad. Plus Tony Minieri himself was there and kept giving me ideas for stitches and pulling colors from the vast supply in the shop. For four days we had it laying on a table in one of the rooms and would just pull fibers and play with what would look just perfect. I forgot to lay out some of the fibers I bought already to get a start on this, but let's just say I'll be working on this for a nice long time. Heck, I don't even have stretcher bars this will go on yet! Oh, and that brown dress is changing colors thanks to Mr. Minieri's suggestion. Now to finish the Mermaid so I won't feel too crazy about putting this in the rotation come 2012!

Of course all good things must come to an end. So it is with getting to hang out for 4 days stitching and looking at fibers and great canvases, spending time with old friends and making some wonderful new ones. Tuesday I had to get back to work and fly home, in that order.

Thanksgiving was a day spent with my parents, nice and quiet. Didn't even cook. I took them out to dinner so we'd have a relaxing day for a change. Didn't even make it to shop on Black Friday (oh please stop...I know what you're thinking...why would I need to shop after my two out of town crazy stash hauls...and you might be right.)

Now I'm on the countdown to Christmas. We'll be starting to decorate this week I'm sure. Takes time to put all those tree's up you know. Of course now it's dark at like 5 so it's time to have trees with lots of lights to brighten the darkness.

If you want to know...

Earlier this month I took a trip to Mesa, AZ with DF Heather and took the infamous Chocolat with Jackie du Pleissi. Much fun ensued. She introduced me to her friend Annette who is apparently my twin separated at birth! The three of us had a great time.

Now, if you want to see pictures and a really good recap of what I did you need to head over to Heather's blog and read the post. My camera decided to hide on my and I didn't have it on the trip. Plus Heather does a much better job of letting you know all the fun we had (and the food we managed to find to eat).

I will show you my stash enhancement. I'm not sure what kind of fumes Jean pumps into the store to make you go all weak and have no will power to resist the patterns, fabric and threads, but apparently I'm hyper-sensitive to it. Here's what I couldn't resist...

 Mary Corey with my own twist. 

Changed all but the alphabet color, and working over 1 on 40 ct.

 Some things off my wish list.

Changed the fabric but that's all.

And then Heather surprised me with the great project bag

Obviously it's perfect because it has bunnies! But that's not all. Inside was....

That would be fabric for Spring Quakers. I had the pattern and the threads. Now I just need to get some things out of my rotation, or not.

So that was my weekend in Mesa. I'm proud that I managed to blog about it in the same month. Next up the weekend in Atlanta taking Tony Minieri's class, Antique French Ribbons. Not too many pictures from that, but there is more stash!

Honoring Veterns Day

It's days like today that I hope we all stop and think about the sacrifices that many have made so that we can all enjoy many of the freedoms we enjoy. Many of you who have read my blog and know me know that my family has a long tradition of serving our country in the armed services, well mainly the Navy. My brother Doug is retired from the U.S. Navy, his son, another Doug, is currently active duty Navy. Both my mother and my father's fathers served in WW2 in the Navy. One was lucky enough to come home, the other did not.

My mom's family served on both sides during the "War between the States" and I've been told that we even had members who served during the Revolutionary War. If I'm not mistaken someone in our family has served during every war the U.S. has fought since the start of this nation.

So today we take a few minutes to pause and remember and honor the many, many brave men and women have served in our military to make sure that we can live in a country that, while it may have it's problems, is still one of the best experiments in government by and for the people this world has known. There are still some of those great men and women who served in WW2 around, and if you are honored enough to know one, or are related to one, I hope that today you will say thank you for their amazing service. Same goes for those who served in Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and the current wars we are waging. And don't forget those who just put the uniform on and served even during  the years when there wasn't an active "engagement" going on. Their willingness to stand guard is what has kept us free.

Thank you Veterans and may God bless you for you unselfish service to this country I call home.

A Return of the Themes

Some of your know my DF Heather (or as many of us call her "The Magic That Is Heather") and her great blog. Some of you may also know that she and I spent the last weekend together in AZ (hey H you need to blog for us 'cuz you have the pictures!) and while we were there we not only stitched, ate and bought more stash, we spent some time talking about fun things. Heather mentioned she was thinking of resurrecting monthly themes like we have done in the past. I LOVED the idea and mentioned it would be fun to have some alliterations. (Not sure why but it sounded like fun to me.) We laughed, we talked, we laughed some more at some wild ideas of words that start with "J", and "O" and well a few other letters.

In the end Heather came up with a great list and you should head on over to her "Theme-a-licious" post from yesterday to read all about it...and sign up to join the fun.

And yes, I have already been planning what I could stitch for each of the themes. I love making lists. Plus the last time we did this I managed to get quite a few things finished and made some good progress on other items.

Camera should be here tomorrow. Until then I'm picture free.

No Eye Candy

So, here's the deal. I've lost my camera. I went looking for it before I went to Arizona for Chocolat. Couldnt' find it. Figured I'd come home and "bam" there it would be right in front of me. Well, no "bam" no nothing. I'm at a complete loss. I've looked through all my bags, in my office, all over the house. NO CAMERA. I realize it's not that large so it could be hiding anywhere, but seriously? It's a nice Nikon point & shoot, about 2 years old. Takes fairly decent pictures. I really like it because it will fit in my purse and doesn't weigh a ton.

What's a girl to do?

Buy one of these is my answer.

Should be here by the weekend. Then maybe I'll have some pictures to share. And I'll probably find my sweet little camera as well.