I'm a Terrible Blogger! But...

...I'm hoping to get better!  I'm preparing to move next week and my husband just left for Korea so life has been CRAZY!  Of course, with all of my stress, stitching has been my saving grace.  I'm working on a Mirabilia Round Robin right now and for my square I'm doing Silver Moon Tea.  I really love working on her!  Her colors are so Day-Glo!

I had my local copy shop reverse the SMT chart for me so she'd be more balanced with the block above her, Butterfly Fairy.  Here is a pic of the whole thing so far.

I am moving next week and will be driving across the southern USA.  I'm hoping to hit a bunch of cross stitch stores as I go.  If I have Wifi or 3G access, I will blog about the different cross stitch and needlework stores I visit.  TTFN!

Stitching Rituals

Stitching for me is very much a stress reliever.  When I stitch, I enjoy sitting in my spot on the couch with my pin cushion handy and a glass of red wine or cold glass of beer.  I have my favorite walmart pole lamp to light the way.  It seems that I get most of my stitching done after the kids and The Husband go to bed.  Is it a ritual?  I don't know.  I know I never feel completely myself if I don't get to stitch a little bit.  Do you have any stitching rituals?

A Progress Update, A Round Robin, and A Homecoming...

Hello All!  I've been so busy since summer started!  I've hardly have time to stitch the last few weeks!  I've made a little bit of progress on Merchant Mermaid.  She's coming along... swimmingly! Yeah... Pun Intended! 

I joined a Mirabilia Round Robin and I finally finished the borders and wording.  I'll be mailing it to England before the end of the week.



This is not a very good picture.  The fabric is a nice deep purple.  The quote at the top is from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  It says "The rude sea grew civil at her song...".  I'm asking the other ladies joining me to stitch their favorite Mirabilia Mermaid into the shell shapes.  The shell shapes were created by searching google for a seashell coloring sheet and then importing it into my cross stitch pattern program.  I wanted it to be pretty and flowing.

I brought my Mermaid of the Pearls back home from the framers.  I love how she came out.

I have Merchant Mermaid on scroll rods and I'm thinking I need a new project to keep in q-snaps to work on during waits and travelling.  Or maybe I'll put Merchant Mermaid in the q-snaps and start something new on the scroll rods!  I have a purple conversion for Enchanted Mermaid, a Blue and Purple conversion for Emerald Mermaid, a Lavendar and Lime Green conversion for Crystal Symphony, and Villa Mirabilia.  I put a poll up on the right side of the page so please vote and please feel free to tell me why in the comments!
TTFN!

A Friday Finish! Yay!

Hello All!  I'm so excited to say I finished Nora Corbett's Tulip last night!  She is soooo sparkly!  I subbed all of the Mill Hill beads for Swarovski Crystals!  The picture just does NOT do her justice!

The wings were converted to yellow from my friend Mary's conversion that I adapted a little according to the flosses I had on hand.  Also, the fabric is 32 ct Opalescent linen that I named Tulip's Sunrise.  The wing and crystal conversion are available under the "Nora Corbett Pixie Coutore" tab at the top of the page.

Thanks for looking!  TTFN!

Happy Father's Day!

Hello All! I recently found out there was an app to create blog posts on my phone. I know, I'm probably behind the times but this is my first post with it. Sorry about any weird errors in advance!

I finished Tulip's hair last night. All she has left are her wings and part if her dress before I can do the backstitch and beading. I ordered 2 mm faceted Swarovski round beads to bead her with. It was a little pricey, but I'm hoping to use these for Enchanted Mermaid and I wanted to try them out on a less expensive piece.

Happy Daddy Day to all the fathers out there. I'm lucky to have three wonderful dads in my life: my husband, my dad, and my father-in-law. I'm grateful for every thing they've done for me and my boys.


TTFN!

Whew! It's Getting Hot Out There!

Hello Everyone!  I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted but I have a good excuse and her name is Tulip.  I've only stitched one Nora Corbett pixie completely, mainly because I prefer her mermaids, but I fell in love with Tulip's color scheme and sassy dress, hair and pose.  I've been stitching on her non-stop for several days and she's been an absolute joy!

You can see I'm almost done with her dress.  Isn't the orange and magenta amazing together?  I dyed the fabric for her myself because I just couldn't find anything I really loved.  It's a very light orange and pink mix that I wanted to look a little like sherbet.  I'm hoping to finish her before next weekend.  Fingers crossed!

I finished Part Five of Deep Blue Sea on May 30th. 

Sorry the pic is kind of blurry.  My camera and I have been at odds lately.  I've printed out part six but I've put it away for awhile.  Not only because I've been obsessed with Tulip, but also because I'm hoping to get some serious work done on Merchant Mermaid after I finish Tulip.  If I can finish her by the end of August, I might be able to get her framed in time for Fair season.  

I've gotten some requests for some of my recipes.  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to create a page with some of them.  I'm still working out the format for them.  If there's any of my recipes you'd like me to share, let me know!  TTFN!

Memorial Day: A Day to Remember

Happy Memorial Day to all of the men and women who serve our country and to all of the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to serve.  I personally believe that any person who puts their life on the line to protect their country deserves every ounce of respect that they can be given.  To the spouses and children who stand behind our heroes, thank you as well.

To all of our fallen heroes, we salute you, we miss you, and we will never forget you.