Lizzie*Kate Very Scary, part 1: SPOILER PIC!

I just put the final stitches in part one of the new Lizzie*Kate mystery sampler, Very Scary. There is going to be a pic further down in this post, so stop reading now if you don't want to ruin the surprise for yourself.

My LNS, The Stitching Bee in Green Bay, WI, got this in on Thursday, so I went and started it there right away. Kendra was having a stitch group from 6-9pm, so I was able to work on it from about 2-9pm--woo hoo! I spent yesterday and today with it, as well, and finished it up this evening.

To make sure that my pic doesn't show up as a spoiler in a thumbnail from my blog, I'm posting the pic that advertised the mystery:

And here is my pic of the finished first part:

I do really like the design, but not loving the WDW Tin Roof linen. I seriously think I'll end up stitching this again, probably on PTP's Cauldron linen.

Phew, finished it up just in time; the chart for part one of the Passione Ricamo SAL showed up in an email about an hour ago. So many great designs to stitch, so little time!

SMT progress

After the size and intricacy of the model I recently finished, I am really loving working on Silver Moon Tea. Here's a pic after just a few days of stitching:

Usually when I stitch a Mirabilia, I start with the lady, but this one was easier to start at the top edge and work across and down. I've decided that I'll try to get most of the background done first, and save the lady (the best part!) for the end.

I've also gathered all of the materials needed for the Passione Ricamo SAL, so I am ready for the first part to be released on July 1. For those of you on the fence about this one, here is a pic that Laura posted on Facebook of the first part stitched:

After seeing the layout, and the colors in the border, I have decided that I'm going to stitch this one on black Belfast; I think the border, especially, will just glow on black. Remember, you only have until June 30 to sign up; after that it will be closed, and this design will not be released at a later date.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Major HD...

...but I can't share a pic!! :( I finally finished the model for Karen, and it is winging it's way back to her as I type. It sounds like it won't be released until next year, so I will just have to wait a good, long while to share.

Luckily, my next model can be shared! I am stitching Mirabilia's Silver Moon Tea for Mel Munsell of Colours of the Outback, which is her fabric dyeing company. Mel is currently in the process of getting a website put up, but for now you can see and order her beautiful fabrics on her blog. She also has a group on Facebook, and we'd love to see you there. :)

Here is my start on Silver Moon Tea, being stitched on a color called Rosey Glow on 28ct opal Lugana:

I can't wait to get more done and see this one come to life; the colors are just so pretty!

And while I stitch, my faithful stitching buddies keep me company; here are Mai Ling and Keishu, in the chair behind mine:

These two belonged to my mom, before she moved into an apartment that had a pet limit, so my other kitties tend to pick on them. So I let them come into the basement with me, and my craft room becomes a wonderful refuge for all three of us!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Passione Ricamo Mystery SAL

Laura Lattuada of Passione Ricamo is going to have a SAL that starts on July 1; the info for it can be found by clicking the picture in the sidebar to the right of this post. So I am going to fall off the WIP wagon and start a new piece, in the hopes that I can just stitch one fairly small part each month and not fall behind. Here is a preview of the first part, from Laura's site:

I think the border is very pretty, and I believe it's stitched with Petite Treasure Braid, so it will be very sparkly!

I went and got the floss yesterday:

Lots of blues and purples! I have the bling ordered, so now I just have to find a fabric (the best part!).

If this looks like your kind of SAL, sign up soon; I think Laura is taking orders until June 30, and then it will be too late! ;)

P.S. There is a group on Facebook for this SAL, as well; hope to see you there!

Great weekend!

As previously mentioned, my husband and son went to visit family in Iowa this past weekend, so all I had to do was take care of our critters and stitch--and boy, did I stitch! I had told Karen that I thought I would be close to done with the model by June 18, and now I'm feeling even better about it getting done by then. I will be SO glad to be done with this one!

While I stitched I watched both seasons of "Sherlock" on DVD, and I really liked it. I also watched part of season 1 of "Justified", and am looking forward to watching more today. I just really like DVDs while I stitch, as they make the time fly by. Commercials during regular TV make me crazy, so anymore I just wait for the DVD to come out to watch my favorite shows. Come September, when a bunch of this past year's shows come out and my son is back in school, I'll be buried in my craft room, happily catching up with all my favorite characters!

I did take a two-hour break on Saturday morning to go pick up a couple of pieces from the framer's and to take my mom her mail. The framer called Friday evening to say that the pieces were done, but she warned me that they were having a street festival that might make it difficult to get to the gallery. I seriously thought about waiting until Monday, but my OCD kicked in and I just HAD to have them. So here they are, L*K's Halloween Rules...

...and Nora Corbett's Ladyslipper:

I'll leave you with a cute picture of Sabrina that I took this morning; she is snuggled into my son's travel bag (and she's still there as I type!):

Looks like she needs a bigger bag!

It's a small stitchy world!

So far I have heard back from 12 of my giveaway winners; I'm still waiting to hear from Lisa and Beauty Bonnet. All of the packages I had info for were mailed on June 5, so hopefully people will start receiving them soon. Here is a pic of the goodies on their way to the post office:

It was so much fun getting these ready, and thinking of all the places in the world that they are going to. Of the 12 packages, five went to five different states in the US, two went to Canada, and one each went to New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Scotland and Ireland. It is so amazing to share a hobby with people the whole world over!

On a stitchy note, I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on the model I'm currently working on; I'm hoping to finish it up in the next couple of weeks. Most of my stitching time has gone towards that, but I have been able to get a little bit more done on Nora Corbett's Pincushion Fairy:

I am really looking forward to this weekend, as my husband and son are going to visit family in Iowa; all I have to do is take care of our critters and stitch myself into a coma! ;D

Hope everyone else has a good stitchy weekend, as well.

Everyone is a winner!

Well, I had ten items to give away, and 14 people asked to be entered, so how could I not give something to everyone?! Remember, you need to send an email to me, as I didn't ask for any contact info; the address is rrowe"at"new.rr.com (but replace "at" with @). Please send your full name and mailing address, as well as your Google ID name. The winners are:

Floss: McKenna and Karen both won the 14-skein lots. Jocelyn and weustygirl, I had some extras, so each of you will receive a 10-skein lot of variegated floss.

Monogram Elegance: Was won by Blu.

Happy Birthday: Goes to Beauty Bonnet.

L*K ABC Halloween: Was won by Vicky.

L*K Cat Lessons and Britty Kitties III: Bonnie, you have your choice of one of these charts; please let me know in your email. :)

Puppies!: Goes to jkwrabbit.

Quaker Moon: Two people asked to be entered for this one, and both Lisa and Jacqui (Eyani Ryou) will get one. I decided to give mine up, as it's not like I don't have plenty to stitch for the rest of my lifetime!

Fabric: The SW Poltergeist was won by Courtney. Maud and Veronica, I have a couple of other pieces of 32ct opal Lugana in a similar size that I would like to send to you, as well.

I hope everyone is pleased with their prizes. Thank you all so much for following my blog, and for all the wonderful comments you've made. I look forward to "seeing" you all in the future; who knows what I might give away if I reach 100 followers!! ;D