And two more makes three!

Yaaay! Two more finishes to add for 2010. This past weekend I finally finished Blessings. I really enjoyed working on this one even if it did take me a little longer than it should have. I was determined that I wouldn't stitch on anything else until I'd finished it.

Once complete, I reached for the next UFO which was the Ink Circles Spotted Owls. I finished it up on Monday night, just in time to show off at my stitching group on Tuesday. Now the hunt is on for my Trilogy Secret Snowdrift. I've found the floss and pattern but have yet to find the actual piece. I remember removing it from its Q snap which I needed for another work. I was concerned that it would get dusty with all the renovations that were taking place and I know that I put it somewhere where it would stay clean. But I can't remember where!!!!! I've looked through drawers, in stitching bags, fabric boxes and the like with no luck at all. I'm sure that it won't surface until my spring cleaning if then. That leaves my M designs ornament for Oceanne next on the list. The floss for this one is missing in action! I can't believe my mind is this bad. At the end of it all, I was too tired to start an extensive search so I did the next best thing. I started another project of course!

Up next is my Little House ornament of the month, Pear Tree. I'm off to a good start on this one now and I'm itching for something a little bigger. Then I remembered my Nantucket Summer Sampler. I'm not working for the next 2 days so perhaps I can get back to spending some time with this one.

The mail brought a pleasant surprise this week. Some stash showed up which was a little delayed in its arrival. The package included Plum Street Samplers Beloved, Val's Stuff Kitty Kalendar January and The Drawn Thread Spot of Spring. These were a treat from me to me. Beloved is based on the Song of Solomon 6:3. My DH has been known to refer to me as his Beloved and we had readings from the Song of Solomon at our wedding. I originally thought of doing this for him as a Valentine gift but at this late date it will either have to wait until next year or I could have it ready for our anniversary this summer.

Being a cat lover I just couldn't resist Kitty Kalendar. I see now that the February kitty is out. I'm wondering if I should do these as smalls or stitch them all on one piece. By the time I get around to stitching them, a year will probably have passed and I'll have the whole collection by then anyways!

Autumn Leaves and Sunflower Seeds by Blue Ribbon Designs was the other arrival which I'd been impatiently waiting for. I love it! The different squares can be finished in so many different ways. The owl and the turkeys are my favourites. As much as I'd love to get started on this one, I'm going to be good and wait until I've got more done on Nantucket.

It looks like I'll have a lot more stitching time this spring. I've been having some post-menopausal issues and as a result it looks like I'm being scheduled for a hysterectomy. It's not an urgent matter therefore there is a wait. I was told most likely late Feb. or early March. When I mentioned that I had a trip planned to Florida in late March, the Dr. decided to wait until after I returned just in case I had any complications while on vacation. That brings us to mid April with a 6 week recuperation. I might even get some finishing done with that much time on my hands!

Thanks to everyone for your recent visits and positive comments on my stitching. I love hearing from all of you.

First Finish of 2010

LHN Fa La La is my first finish of 2010. I frogged out all the white lettering last night and replaced it with the red and I'm much happier. This morning I finished off the beading and then proceeded to look for fabric for the finishing. I think this one will do quite nicely. Now I'm off to work on frogging out the stars in Blessings and replacing them. Hope everyone is able to have a stitchy weekend!

Close to a finish

I'm hoping it won't be long now before I have my first finish for 2010. I have 2 pieces which are close to being completed - Blessings and Fa La La by Little House of Needleworks. I started Fa La La about a week ago and it's been progressing very well. However once I got the lettering stitched in I wasn't happy with the way it looked. I didn't go with the recommended fabric,
choosing instead to use up some of the fabric in my stash. I chose a Silkweaver called Sand which is very close in colour to the recommended choice. However I find that the lettering in white is just not showing up. I'm thinking of replacing it with the red colour used in the one girl's dress. I think I shall start frogging tonight. The frogs have been in residence a lot lately and although this ornament is a simple piece, I've had to frog out several times. I think I was just too tired when I was stitching on this one. I managed to get both girls stitched when I realized that one was sitting up just one row higher than the other. In fact it was the first stitched girl that I'd counted wrong on and there was just too much stitched to be frogged. It would have meant redoing one whole side of the ornament. I chose instead to frog out the girl in green and move her down one row to even things up. That'll teach me!!

I joined the LHN monthly ornament group but because I live in Canada it seems that I'm behind the ladies who live in the US. I don't receive my charts until they've had theirs for about a month or more. I just received notice this week that my second ornament chart is being mailed to me so I should receive it next week. I think the ladies in Vonna's group are getting ready to receive their 3rd ornie chart. I am enjoying stitching these though. LHN is one of my favourite designers and her patterns are always a fun stitch.

As for Blessings, I'm having the same problem with the white floss not showing up on my fabric. The white stars just weren't popping so I replaced them with a soft gold colour. I'm still thinking though that they could've been much darker. Any thoughts? I'm looking through my floss to see if I can find a darker gold colour.

I know the date on this piece is 2009 which is when I'd hoped to complete it but I'm not changing it now.

Tuesday night stitching was a lot of fun. It was good to see all the ladies after our holiday break. There were a couple of happy dances to celebrate including Sally's finish of the Village of Hawk Run Hallow and Barb's Orca finish. Both works have been in progress for some time so there was much to celebrate. And then of course there was the fun of seeing all the new starts. Three members of the group are stitching Christmas in Hawk Run Hallow. Each of the three have different colour choices so it's fun to see how things are progressing.
I'd like to finish off some of my UFOs like the Ink Circle's Owl and my Trilogy Snowman. The snowman however seem to be lost at the moment. I remember removing it from my stitching bag which was getting too full at the time but for the life of me I can't remember where I've put it. Of course that was during the time of the renovations and there have been many things which have gone missing then. Sooner or later we'll find them all. I just found a Bluetooth accessory for DH's cell phone which has been missing in action for the past year! It's a real shame though because if I can't find the snowmen I just might be forced into a new start, lol!

Both myself and DH are under the weather right now. Bob has been ill with a chest cold for 10 days and I'm fighting it now. Fortunately it really hasn't taken hold of me the way that it did Bob. I stayed home from work today and didn't really stitch much at all. I spent most of my time sleeping instead probably due to the cold. I'm waiting for the arrival of a Blue Ribbons Design, Autumn Leaves and Sunflower Seads. I love doing designs like these and of course I'm partial to autumn scenes. Now I'm off to settle in for a couple hours of stitching before bed. If I can managae to drag myself out of bed tomorrow at an early hour, I should be able to get in some quality stitching time before heading into Ottawa. We've been invited to a choir potluck. Mmmmm!