Liebster Blog Award

The very sweet Alice over at Pins and Needles with other cat things blog gave me a new to me award. Thanks Alice! 

Here are all the details about the Liebster Blog award:

Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition.  The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1.  Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2.  Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3.  Post the award on your blog.  List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites.  Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4.  Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

My 5 blogs with fewer than 200 followers - this was harder than I thought it would be.
Corgi Cottage -  Laurie has beautiful stitching and sweet Corgis. What more could you want?
Karoline's Korner - I love Karoline's blog for the stitching...and well because of where she lives. I dream of going for a visit!
Wooley Thoughts - Melody is a dear friend and I love seeing all her WIPs. I'm lucky and get to see most in person since we don't live too far from each other and are both members of our local EGA.
Tot Hill Farms Stitches - Chris is a fantastic stitcher, plus she makes great pictures of trips she takes.
Knit Kimber Knit - Thought I'd throw in a little yarnie-goodness only blogging. Kim knits and spins. I just love all the colors. Plus she's a collector of sock yarn, love me some sock yarn! I'm not sure how many followers Kim officially has, so she's kind of a wild card.

5 Random Facts about myself: (these are always hard!)
1. I was on a competitive swim team as a teen, before my parents moved me to "the country".
2. I love rabbits/bunnies/hares and really want to own one but never have.
3. I live in Florida but I'm not that fond of the ocean, I'd rather be in the mountains.
4. I collect cookbooks.
5. Sadly I like all the "Housewives" shows. Everyone has their vice.

I keep meaning to share something fun with everyone. Now is as good a time as any since we need some pretty pictures.

Anyone want to take a guess what this is?

Maybe this will help....

The last time I went to my hairdresser she had this for me in her car. The perks of having a hairdresser that also deals in antiques. She figures its from the 70's.  She found it at am estate sale and immediately thought of me so she picked it up for me. I had some cleaning to do, but it turned out nicely. I love it. I put it in my office, which still needs some work to turn it into the office/craft cabana.

I'll leave you with some final pictures and wish everyone a great week!

What the March Madness Winds Blew In

Well March has come in here all blustery and that has helped me pick something different each day. I think what I'll do this month is try to work on something different each week day that I stitch but let the weekends, especially Sunday, be my wildcard day(s). Sunday gets special treatment because I tend to knit while watching that week's NASCAR race and chatting with my knitting/crochet buds who are fellow fans. So, here's what's been done so far.

1st - If you were reading yesterday's post you'll remember the "key to quality blogging - foreshadowing" moment I threw out for you all to ponder. You see I stuck with Blackwork Band Sampler from Rae Iverson/Moss Creek Design since I was making some good progress. Managed to finish up the satin stitch border and work some more of the vines.

The first was also my first day as an employee, rather than a contractor/consultant, at ING. I'm excited about this change. I'll also be changing jobs within the company, but that comes a bit later, first I have to hand over the large project I just took over in February to a new contractor. That will take a few weeks since she also has to learn the way ING does things.

2nd:
Decided to go back to Long May She Wave by Ellen Chester and see if I couldn't finish one of the small pieces that gets attached to the book. Went with the needlebook front and managed to finish it. Of course that's because it's so tiny and the red and white stripes are closed herringbone with is so easy and goes so quickly when worked "in hand". Isn't it cute??

I know it looks almost exactly like last month's flag, but really it's different, and even smaller.

3rd:
One day last week I got a new goodie from market in the mail. I totally blame my DF Jean for this one. She's the one that pointed it out to me and of course I had to have it. I mean, it's Noah's Ark! So, I decided to get a start on it. It goes quickly since it's on 18 ct and is stitched over 2 with a single strand of pearl cotton. It's going to be fun to work on and I may have to pull it out to work on it when I'm tired this month. This is called The Noah's Ark Mantle.

4th:
The 2nd race of the NASCAR season brought out my version of Saroyan. I'm knitting it with a 4 ply cotton yarn that I found on Etsy. It changes colors so right now it's just blue, but soon it will start changing to the next color. I love this colorway. I think it will make a great piece to wear this summer, or next considering how slow I'm knitting on it, with a cute dress or tank top. I've only managed to get 5 repeats done, but hey, I have all season right?


Next weekend I'll be in Atlanta with my friend and work buddy Theresa R. We're going to take a class for the painted canvas called Halloween March. I'm looking forward to playing with something new and fun.

Hope to everyone is having fun with their version of March Madness!

Fangirl February!

I'm REALLY late with this post. No excuses, I've just been busy with work and...and...like I said I've got no excuse. Anyway, you don't come here to read, you come here for pictures.

Fangirl Febrauary was fun. I ended up not working a whole lot of different things. I got started on Long May She Wave, a class I took last year with Ellen Chester. When I started it I just had a few red & white rows done. I worked on it until I finished. This is the front of the book that you end up making after you've stitched all the little pieces. I was excited to get this finished. It's the largest part until you start putting it together.

 I also worked on one of my favorite of all time pieces from Rae Iverson. I took Blackwork Band Sampler back in 1998. Interestingly this is the class where our fearless Theme-a-licious leader Heather and I met. I do have a picture from the last time I pulled this piece out so you can do a little before and after comparison.

Before

After

This one is getting close. Of course I've been saying that for YEARS and as you can see I still haven't finished it. I'm sure it will show up again soon (foreshadowing).

I also pulled out a needlepoint piece that I've been working on to finish. I've only got her hair to put in and she'll be ready to go to the finisher. Here's how she looked at the end of the month. I really only worked on her one Saturday, so it's not a lot of progress.

Finally I took Ann Dale with me to Sampler Guild since it's our guild project this year. Didn't get a whole lot done since I tend to do more talking than stitching. However, I got more of the ground under the trees finished so that's progress.

I also did some finishing. I stitched this several years ago and have never done anything with it. I have no clue why I went with this grey fabric, but I like how it's ended up now that I've got the box made.

I also picked up my pieces that I took to the framers. Have a look.

Winter Garden Gate

HallowEden

March Madness has begun and I've actually worked on a few different things. I might even manage to get a post out before the end of the month!

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!