Across the Finish Line

Happy Monday!  What a great week it has been.  Today hopefully will start another great one off, and end with a great picnic and some fireworks :)  I wanted to share something I finished before Bramble and the Rose a few weeks back.  This was a secret project that my friend suggested we do with some of the Fibers to Dye For that we acquired several of these fabulous silks back in November.   She came up with the great idea to stitch up a project using colors from Amy Mitten. 
I actually chose a project in my Crazy January Start to do because I had wanted to stitch this piece and then it helped in my starts as well, and now, another finish.  Yesterday we did the unveiling of the projects we chose to stitch.  She chose fabulous Jane Withers from Plum Street Samplers and I chose Threads of Gold- Mary Corey.  Both pieces turned out amazing and I am so excited to show you Mary today.

I do know is that the color I used for the letters is called Evil.  Nice right?  Other colors used were Autopsy, Morbid, Old Lace, etc., etc.,  I dont have the list in front of me now, otherwise I would list those also.  I just had a great time using these silks, and again, if you havent tried them, they are worth hunting down to add them to your stash.  I chose 45ct V. Luna for Mary and I look forward to finding a super cute little frame for her this week.  I will have to share that with you too :)

I have also put in a few more stitches into the border of Isabella Johnston

and then I remembered about the other project I was working on with another friend, Fruit of the Spirit also from Plum Street Samplers.  I dug it out and added a few more stitches to that one as well. 

This is one of 3 houses in this pattern, the furthest one right, and I added in some of the over one into the houses window and door.   There are soo many colors in this tiny little project, I am forever switching out the threads.  I have chosen a 45ct V. Lakeside for this along with most of the threads called for with a few improvements :)  I hope to get more stitched on it this week.
I am almost ready to put some stithes into Dorothy W. the colors have been chosen, and the linen selected from the stash.  She is going to be exquisite. 
With some small talk, the last few days have been spent (amongst other things!!) putting together another great project-- locating all the pieces to the puzzle, that alot of you have started, and almost finished.  I cant give you to much more details just yet, it is only a matter of days before the colors are put to bed and I show you the next beauty.
Enjoy the week :)

One Blue Bird

Excellent news......another WIP is done :)  Well, it was done 2 days ago and my brain was literally all over the place yesterday.

Along with the variety of silk in brown tones, yes, there is One Blue Bird.  I used Ltd. Edition Gloriana for the special bird, along with Belle Soie and Florimell on 40ct Vintage Pearled Barley Lakeside.   Nice and easy, and another one checked off of the January Crazy Challenge!!!!

You know from alot of my past posts, that we like a good old fashion baked item.  Well, whether we bake it or if we buy it, we always like it.  So, as promised, I wanted to share this cake I baked on Saturday morning for the picnic we had. 

This is the pan from William Sonoma that is in the shape of an 'oreo' cookie, however, I switched it up a bit and made it a vanilla creme cookie cake.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!  Was it good.  It was gone in no time.  It is pretty big the cookie cake, about 12 inches so we all could have a taste or 2 :)  I love baking, and to make cakes and things in different shapes is always great fun.

So digging back into the challenge bin, I came up with a few others that I want to work on, and again, these WIPs might be sidetracked by new starts (i.e. Dorothy Walpole) until then.....this is what I had in my hands last night:

Isabella Johnstone from SANQ Summer 2010 using 45ct vintage lentil (I think), along with the called for Belle Soie silks.  Laying next to one of my gorgeous new project bags (I will have to take some more pics of those later).  Interesting enough the finished size of my Isabella is going to just be a smidge larger in length/width then One Blue Bird on 40ct.  I cant get enough of this 45ct, it all just looks so cute in this size!  If you have never tried it, it is worth it.  I know a friend of mine has started her first piece on 45ct (the new one in the SANQ Summer 2011 ?? magazine with all the great color-- I forget the name right now) she is doing a FANTASTIC job on it, and actually admits to liking it alot!!!!  Not as bad as she thought that is for sure.  I cant wait to see her progress on it.  It doesnt take long to get adjusted to it. 

Summer is here and the heat is on.  No complaints-- just crack open a nice refreshing beverage and pick up your stitching.  What could be better??!!!!

Classic :)

So this past weekend my Sister and Husband were over and we were chatting about some great items on youtube that were fun to see.  Some of my favs that I mentioned to them were the best of Justin Timberlake, Will Farrel (of course!!) SNL skits, that no matter how many times I watch them, I laugh.  Good right?  I think so :)

My sister mentioned one that I thought I would share with all of you, normally I dont do these things, but this one is Classic.  Make sure that you have your sound ON :)

The Bramble and The Rose

Happy Fathers Day to all of you great Dads-- I spent yesterday with my Dad, and later in the evening, went and saw his Dad who is 89.   Simply amazing right?!  We had a picnic on Saturday with my Sister and her Husband and as usual, had a blast.   It was great to see them, and share a few hours together out of all our busy schedules.  I will have to share some of the good eats tomorrow with all of you :)

I am proud to say I finally finished The Bramble and The Rose by Ink Circles.  What a difference a few weeks make.  Well, and putting in stitches when ever there was a pause.  I was so desperate to get this one finished, I was even stitching on the way to work in the car, and late into the night.  I finished it on Friday night and couldnt be more excited!!!!  I think this one has been over 2 years in the making :)

So this beauty is stitched on 40ct Meadow Rue Lakeside with overdyed silk from a Friend.  Isnt it GORGEOUS!!!!!!!  Very different from my usual sampler routine, but a fabulous addition.  Tracy did a great job designing this one :)  I am looking forward to the frame this summer for sure.
I completed another piece over a week ago, but that one will have to make its blog debut next week or so.  My friend and I decided to stitch a design using Fibers to Dye for, and I am positive they are both great.  We havent shown each other the finished pieces yet, nor do we know what they look like but it is only a matter of days.............I hope!!!  I cant wait :)

I did pick up from the January Crazy challenge One Blue Bird by Goode Huswife, and I should have this one wrapped up later today.

I think the finished size on 40ct is somewhere near 5 x 7 size, but I am not sure.  A nice easy one.  I am fired up about these finishes, and looking forward to a few more this summer..... But it all depends, on how many starts there are too!!!!!!  LOL there are always summer starts.

My parents have a family of deer that travels through the yard every night, and it was fun to capture this one last night.  I think there are usually 6 or 7 of them, along with a gorgeous red fox.  Good luck catching him in pics, he doesnt usually last that long for you to run and grab the camera.  You never know though right?

It is my Mothers Birthday today---Happy Birthday Mom!!!  Also, another friend of mine-- her birthday is today as well-- Happy Birthday to you too!!!!!

Until next time!

So many things

Thanks for being so patient!!!!  I know I have not posted in nearly a month, but you know what happens.....LIFE!  So many busy days at work, a few birthdays-- and so many parties! First up, no, I have not finished my Bramble and the Rose, however, she is getting closer :)

I also got my Mermaid and the Sea by Examplars of the Heart framed up.  So many options for a frame, but I just stuck with the basics, (what else is new!) and I think it turned out great.

I have been having a hard time resisting all the new goodies at the LNS......

Belle Soie, Florimel, new SANQ, of course linen!!!!  Also, see the 3 thread balls in the pic?  On Friday, my friend asked me if I had tried out the new Valdani silk, I told her I never heard of it before.  So, I had to take some home.  I am anxious to try it out, there are some great colors available.  All silk is not created equal, but I am always happy to give a newbie a try :)

On Friday night, after a few amusing texts, I pulled out my Sanctuary project from the Drawn Thread.  I finished up the letters on the bottom left, and powered out some trees.  Of course, the color in the pic is awful, but I am stitching this on 40ct V. Pear Lakeside along with a variety of silks.  In person, the colors are exquisite.

My Husband and I picked up a set of tennis rackets at goodwill and some tennis balls this weekend, and decided to start playing tennis again.  It has been a long time since we have played, but no time like the present to start exercising again.  We went down to the local school, and made use of the courts for an hour.  It was great fun-- and we are going to go again today.

After coming home yesterday and finishing up odds and ends, the laundry, the dishes, the cleaning out, I decided a great way to reward ourselves for doing such a great job with our new exercise program, and the chores.......

that cupcakes were an order :)

Enjoy your day, and thanks again for all of you who stick with this blog-- even though I have been away for sooooo long.