At Long Last A Post (and a Finish)

I have been stitching; although I have not been blogging. This is the Garden Marquoir from Alice and Co. It is stitched on Pearled Barley Lakeside Linens using Hand Dyed Fibers in Rose Quartzes and Luteous Greens. I stitched in it for two hours a week while my son attended orchestra practice. I will now add it to the list of things to be framed.

Today I finished an ornament for an exchange; and started an ornament for a group. I also have joined a German stitching group on Yahoo. They have simply gorgeous projects, and they provide motivation because you don't get the next part until you finish the current part.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Happy stitching, Margaret

Valentine, Garden Marquoir, and Ornament 2

I seem to be running on a monthly blog update schedule. So, here's a summary of my February stitching. I stitched this heart for Valentines - I used HDF silk and mystery 36 ct. linen. The pattern is a freebie, but I can't locate it now, and so I can't give credit to the very talented and generous designer.

Here is Garden Marquoir - I wish I could take a good photo of it. The colors are so spring-like. I love it when a new installment is published so I can pull it out and stitch on it. I'm using HDF Luteous Green and Rose Quartz shades. I love it!!!

I also wanted to show you my February ornie for the 2009 Christmas challenge. I stitched it with mystery HDF silks on mystery linen. This is my first attempt at at heart shaped finish. Before I start the next one, I will try to find an online tutorial. The pattern is here.

I noticed that they have started updating the Celebration of Needlework website with this year's classes. Every year, I tell myself that I won't go crazy and sign up for a bunch of classes that will later turn into PIGS or UFO's. We'll see how my will power is this year.

We have had a few days here in Maryland that would make you think that spring can't be too far away. I noticed my daffodils and allium are poking their heads out of the ground. I can hardly wait until spring really arrives!

I think I will go and pull the threads for the new BBD March stockings - they are just too cute; and not a lot of stitching involved!

Happy stitching! Margaret

Here's a pic of my January ornie for the Christmas Ornament challenge. It is Quaker Christmas Holly by the Workbasket, stitched using mystery HDF silk on mystery 36 ct. Sassy's fabby. (Does this highlight my extreme disorganization???) Gee, I didn't realize how lumpy it is until I looked at the picture - I will have to massage it some to straighten the seams.

This is my latest start - the Marquior du Jardin. I'm using light to dark HDF Luteous Greens and Rose Quartz on Lakeside Linens Pearled Barley. This is such fun! And I'm using my "safe" colors: pinks and greens.

Well, tomorrow starts the first full week I have worked in two months - I don't know if I'll survive five days! We're under a winter storm watch - so if the bad weather materializes, chicken me will stay home (I grew up in Mississippi - and I never learned to drive in snow and ice - so DH has to chaffeur me everywhere in the winter).

Happy stitching! Margaret

Finish: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well, I finally finished something! I started working on this on January 20, 2008

and finished it yesterday. I put off working on it because I wasn't sure I liked my color choice - I normally pick purply-pinks and greens; but for this project I picked bright colors. I have mixed feelings about how it turned out; but all in all, this was a fun project.

I have started a couple of the mystery SAL's that are out right now; but I haven't made enough progress to show any pictures.

A couple of people have asked about the seaside cottage I stitched on a Neighborhood Round Robin piece - it was part of a kit that I bought a long time ago; but if anyone is interested and they send me their address, I will send them the pattern.

Happy stitching! Margaret

Ornaments!

Here is a picture of the lovely angel that Carol stitched for my tree. She is so lovely - I had DH take this photo so that everyone else could see how charming this ornament is.

This is a snap of the ornaments and the goodies I received in the ornament swap that Meg organized:

Kirsi stitched this ornament - I'm not sure of the designer; but from the photo you can admire its simple elegance. It looks just beautiful on my tree. Kirsi also stitched the lovely card. Meg added some goodies to the bag - the chocolates she included did not last until picture day. I really enjoyed participating in this exchange.

Well, I'm off to bake cookies for the mail man and the milk man. They always do a great job of protecting my packages, and making sure my milk stays cool, I want to show them some appreciation. I have been spending some time visiting old unfinished, but not abandoned, projects. I'll show some progress pictures in a day or two.

Happy stitching! Margaret

Gloire du Matin, Finis

YEA!!! This is Gloire du Matin finished! It is beautiful. Carol and I were doing this as a SAL on Saturday. Carol finished hers yesterday; but I didn't get quite so far along - I had planned to finish it next Saturday, although I hated to put it away. When I saw this morning that Carol had finished hers, I decided to finish mine today. This was a quick stitch, and oh so pretty.

So now, I'd better get back to working on some ornaments - I have several stitched; but they need the final finishing; but the stitching is so much more fun!!!!

Happy stitching! Margaret

Gloire du Matin, Semaine Trois

Here is my progress on Gloire du Matin, week three. I actually cheated a little bit - I'm supposed to be stitching this on Saturday - but I only had about ten minutes to stitch on Saturday, so I put in a couple of hours today (sorry, Carol!). Nonetheless, my SAL buddy is still way ahead of me. I'm still loving this piece.

I just received an e-mail from the Drawn Thread, showing a new release - Moonlight Garden. My clicky finger has ordered it already - I plan to get the fabric and silk using my birthday discount at Needlecraft Corner.

So, you may ask why I didn't have time to stitch on Saturday - I was on the sidelines of the field at a soccer tournament - screaming my head off - cheering my team on, not booing the other team. It paid off, though - DS's team ended up winning the tournament. I'll post pictures soon.

Happy stitching! Margaret