Working on wings

I think I might be enjoying this break from model stitching a bit too much, as I haven't even felt like working on my own project very much! I've been doing some housework, reading (a lot!), spending too much time on the computer and just generally lollygagging around!

However, I have made some progress on Faerie Spring Fling; here she is as of last night:

I'm playing with the colors in the wings, as I didn't really like the way they looked in the chart photo. I think I'll like them when I'm done, but it's always hard to tell until the last of the backstitching is done.

I really need to get to work on this one, because the third seasonal fairy, Faerie Summer Love, arrived yesterday. She is a beauty, and I will be starting her as soon as this one is done. I'd like to get them completed before the autumn fairy is released. I've already pulled the floss and picked a fabric for Summer, so I'm ready to go!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

A new start

This past Sunday I finally finished the Rosewood Manor model that I've been working on since February--woo hoo! It is so gorgeous that it was hard to send it off, but it's good to know that it will eventually end up back with me. :)

I celebrated by starting a new project that I've had waiting for the past month, Nora Corbett's Faerie Spring Fling:

This is the second in a series of four seasonal fairies; I've already finished Faerie Winter Dream, and I want to finish this one before the next one is released. The fabric is Sugared Ambrosia on Lugana, from Sugar Maple Fabric, and I love how spring-y it feels.

I'll leave you with a picture of Sabrina, looking very regal on her "throne" (aka my son's beanbag chair):

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Almost finished!

I am getting very close to finishing the model that I have been working on for the past four months; another week or so, and I will be doing a major happy dance! Yesterday, I put the final Qsnap extensions on, and here's a picture that shows the size of the piece (artfully covered with a beautiful piece of fabric by Sugar Maple Fabric that I was recently lucky enough to buy):

Those are my 4" Ginghers, to help show how big this piece is. Once this is done, I plan to ask Karen for a break from models for a while, so I can get back to stitching for fun. There are several new Nora Corbett/Mirabilia designs that I really want to stitch, without feeling guilty that I should be "working". ;)

Speaking of Nora, I recently bought another of her gorgeous oil paintings, which joins the roses painting I bought at the retreat:

I'll finish with a picture of poor, isolated Tailor, stuck in the basement for just four more days:

I'll be so glad when she can come back upstairs, and sleep with me again; I've had her since she was a kitten, and we've never slept apart for so long! 

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

More cat stitching

I have been making good progress on the model, and am really hoping to have a finish within the next three to four weeks. Unfortunately, this means that I still don't have any new stitching that I can show, except for one piece that I worked on for a while in the airports when I traveled to South Carolina. It is "Tribal Cat" from White Willow Stitching:

Stitched with, of course, black floss on a Silkweaver solo. 

Speaking of black cats, Tailor has been home for a week now, and seems to be doing well (although she's not pleased about being quarantined in the basement!). I'm taking her to our regular vet for some blood work on Monday, as she might have an underlying condition that will show up now that her thyroid should be going back to normal. Here's another picture of my sweet girl:

Speaking of sweet girls, my dog Chloe is usually sweet as can be, but the one thing she hates more than anything is having her nails clipped. My husband and I tried it once, and it was a disaster, so now we have our vet do it, and even he has to muzzle her in order to get it done. I took this picture the last time we had it done, because her snarl is just too cute!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Some more of my framed Mirabilias

Since I have spent my recent stitching time working on the model, I don't have any new stitching pictures to post, so I thought I'd share some pictures of my very girly guest room:

There are currently 13 framed finishes in the room, 15 in my craft room, and 6 others in different rooms. Someday I might need a bigger house, just to display all my Miras! ;)

On the furbaby front, Tailor was dropped off at the referral center yesterday for the radioactive iodine treatment, which has gone well so far. However, she hasn't eaten anything as she is very scared, and she needs to eat and drink in order to excrete enough of the iodine to come home. So, she probably won't come home tomorrow; I'm hoping for Thursday, instead. To keep her away from the other cats, she'll be spending the next several weeks in the basement, so hopefully I will get this model done during that time, as I'll be spending a lot of time down in my craft room with her.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

A finish for Tailor

A bit over a week ago, I found out that my furbaby Tailor has hyperthyroidism, and today I'm taking her to the internist to discuss our options. After reading about the condition, I was pretty upset, and to top it off I got a nasty cold, so I haven't gotten much stitching done. When I did start to feel better, I decided to start Nora Corbett's "Red Kitten" as a way to take my mind off my worry; I imagined myself holding Tailor as I stitched it:

During part of the time, Tailor sat on the ottoman next to me, so I will always think of her when I see this piece. Here's a picture of my baby:

I also see her when I look at my finished "It's Mine" by A Mon Ami Pierre:

I've had three all-black cats, and probably have 50 charts of black cats in my stash!

Hope everyone is having a great stitchy week!

A small finish

I finished the Mill Hill Love Halloween ornament that I was working on, and it turned out very nicely (even if the picture is a bit blurry!):

It makes a nice addition to my little Halloween tree. :)

There is still a lot of weeding to do in the yard, but I also have to get this model done; I've made some good progress on it over the past couple of days, so hopefully the momentum will carry forward.

I still have two models turned in that haven't been released, yet, but here's a picture of one that's out now, called "The Garden Flowers":

A bit of fun back story on this one: originally, the black squares all around the edge just had four Algerian Eyelets inside. This left a single square in the middle, and of course, being a fan of bling (and symmetry), I thought it would be nice to have a bead there. So I mentioned it to Karen, and she agreed, so that is my small contribution to this design! ;)

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

More garage sale treasures

Okay, I confess, I went back to the garage sale I mentioned in my previous post, but really, I HAD to go back! No, really, I did; one of the kitted projects that I bought turned out to be already completely stitched, with the stitcher's initials and the date on it. So I took it back to the woman's daughters, and they were so happy to have it back, as they kept all of their mom's finished work (this one slipped through) to distribute among the family as treasured keepsakes.

So, since I was already there, I decided to go through the individual patterns that I hadn't taken the time to look through the previous day. Perhaps as a small cosmic reward for my good deed, I found a pattern that I have coveted for quite some time, Michael Jolly's "Little Women":

It is in perfect condition; I have seen this go for $30-$40 on eBay, and I was rewarded for waiting by finally getting it for $1!

I also found five Judith Kirby Victorians for $1 each, including one of her Halloween houses:

Just had to share a bit more of my treasured finds; hope everyone has a terrific stitchy week!

Too tired to stitch?!

As previously mentioned, I have been spending a few hours each day trying to get our landscaping back into shape after a couple of years of neglect. It's funny, because for the first few years after we moved in, all of the plants were so little that I could get all the work done in a day; not so after 10+ years of growth!

A few days ago, I finally finished trimming back most of the plants, except for several on the west side of the house. Here is the reason I have to wait to trim those:

I don't want to scare mommy (to-be?) away!

So, I then spent two days scraping moss from between the bricks on our patio, and then filling in the cracks with paver joint sand; between the scraping and the sweeping I ended up with some blisters, so now I am taking a few days off before I tackle the weeding that needs to be done all around the landscaping beds.

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I haven't picked up the model for over a week, now. I'm just so tired by the end of the day, I can't concentrate on such a big piece. I have spent a little time on a Mill Hill ornament, which I'll take a picture of once it's finished.

However, I do have a bit of stitchy news: yesterday I went to a garage sale held by the daughters of a stitcher, and it was like a true treasure hunt! I won't list everything I found, but I did want to share a picture of a very pretty Santa kit that I bought:

But my most prized acquisition was this wooden DMC floss cabinet, fairly filled with Anchor floss, all for $25:

I am currently trying to stop myself from going back over there today, as I did enough damage to my wallet yesterday! ;D

I'll leave you with a sweet picture of my little Callie O'Malley, catching a bit of morning sun:

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Another goody from the Mirabilia Minion retreat

During the retreat, Nora allowed us a glimpse into her designing process while she created a pattern for the attendees. She couldn't quite finish it up by the end of the weekend, so the chart wasn't mailed out until the end of last week. I received it this past Monday, and just HAD to stitch it right away to see how it would look--not having a chart picture was kind of neat, as I could see it come to life bit by bit. Here is the finished piece:

It's a beautiful reminder of a terrific weekend!

I've been a bit bad, as I should be working on the model, but between spending hours every day trying to get my landscaping back in shape and then working on this design, I haven't touched it this week. Yesterday I must have spent a little too much time outside in the yard, as I actually ended up with sunburn on my arms; looks really good with my white, glove-protected hands!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!