Bea's progress and news

Ok...I'm back. Did you miss me? I took myself out of circulation for a few weeks, there's so much going on right now at Chez "What Are We Going To DO" that I became a tad overwhelmed, stressed, bitchy and most of all weepy. I have to say that my stitching has kept me sane. Thank goodness for linen, silks, DMC and a needle. And of course, all the blogs that kept me motivated to be creative and not hide under a rock.

This month, I've made significant progress on Bea: (sorry for the crappy photo, but if you click on it, it'll get BIG!)

She's almost done! I am down to one motif on the lower right side and the initials in 2 motifs. Plus, while I was pressing the piece in order to take a semi-decent photo, I noticed that some of the thread ends are working loose. I didn't double back my threads when I was ending them until very late in the sampler, so I may have to do some repairs just to ensure that nothing unravels.

It's very possible that I could see a finish in the next week or so. Hear the band warming up? It's going to be a Happy Dance!

I decided to stay true to the pattern and stitch the initials from the original sampler. I toyed with personalizing the sampler with my family's initials but my anal tendencies won over and I'm staying true to the original. I may break from tradition and add my initials above the bee motif on the lower left corner. I don't think Bea would mind and there is enough room in that space to make it look like adding my initials was intentional and not crammed into the space. I don't think placing my initials there will detract from the over all composition of the piece so I'm going to stitch them in that spot.

Before I forget, I am accepting signups for Round 2 of the Blackbird Exchange I am hosting. I hope you will join us for the next round. Stop by for all the info to sign up. Round 2 sign-ups will be open until June 15th. Shoo! Shoo! Go see what treasures have been stitched in Round 1! That should whet your appetite to come play with us!

I have been stitching every night for the last few weeks. Mainly on the projects that "Shall Not Be Shown". I've finished my Prairie Schooler piece, now for the finishing and the Blackbird Designs exchange is just about done. I am torn on the finishing for that piece, I have a couple of ideas clanking around in the ol' cranium but nothing that's won over my heart. But I'll figure it out very soon!

I've bought a bunch of stash but I'll save that for another post cause the camera is wheezing and is refusing to take another picture. And I've got LHN's Watermelon to show you and Blackbird's Petite Rouge sampler to show you too. Plus, Feed the Birds which is inches away from completion.

After getting my exchanges sent off to new homes, my focus will be the Wedding Sampler. I am combining Victoria Sampler, Heirloom Wedding and Heirloom Christmas patterns into the sampler. There's a section of stitching in the Heirloom Wedding that I am not fond of so I decided to swap that part out for a section from the Christmas sampler. Plus, I like some of the lace patterns from the Christmas sampler better than the Wedding Sampler. It will be unique for the soon-to-be Second Lietenant and his lovely Jenna. But I've got to get cracking, otherwise I'll be giving it to them on their 5th anniversary. I am stunned to think that the Wedding is about 100 days away! Geez, where's the time gone! So much to do!

Lastly, I want to thank each of you who've stopped by to read my drivel and keep up with my adventures. I certainly appreciate all of you who come by and honestly, it's a comfort and a blessing to know that you care enough to stop on by. I promise now that things are somewhat settled, I'll be back around a little more frequently.

HI everyone

I just wanted to say that I am sorry I haven't been around recently. I am just a little overwhelmed with life right now and I always tend to withdraw when that happens. Please forgive me!

I've been stitching, on my exchanges and Bea. Bea is 1.5 motifs from being finished! I am so excited! She's all I want to work on but I MUST, MUST, MUST be disciplined and work on my exchanges. I do love what I am stitching so it's not that big of a chore.

I haven't taken any pics to share but I promise I will tomorrow as long as we have sunny weather. So stay tuned.

In other news, we were told that our gelding, Joey, is severely arthritic in his hocks and in his right front fetlock. The ponies got pedicures today and the farrier was very concerned about him. We will be putting him on an arthritic supplement. The farrier really gave us a start cause initially, he thought it was laminitis which is very bad. He thought this because our horses have been on grass for the past few days and new grass is very rich. We've been weaning them on it for a week now so we thought all was well. Fortunately, laminitis is not the case, YAY!

The Cadet, the lovely Jenna and the DH graduated this past Saturday. I am so proud of all of them!

So, off I go, my needle is calling!!! Stop by again soon!

Stitching and the Military Ball

First of all, I want to tell you how much I missed all of you!

This week, I finally got a chance to stitch. Yes, you read it right. I. STITCHED.
I worked on my 2 pieces that "Shall Not Be Shown" (exchange pieces) and I stitched on Bea.

Below is my progress (click and it'll get BIG):


As you can see, I am nearing the finish! YAY!!! I love Bea and I will be sorry to hang up my needle with her but honestly, Bea, you are quite the demanding girlfriend!! Every time I sat down to stitch, YOU cried the loudest and then pouted until I picked you up and stitched on you. And if I left you alone, you unleashed the frogs just to let me know that you were upset to be neglected. Because of you, I have 2 exchanges to complete in 2 weeks, you Vixen!

Now on to family stuff...you can stop reading if you don't want to hear about the Military Ball.

Two weeks ago, we attended the Cadet's final Military Ball. We had such a great time. It's such a special evening, filled with good food, an engaging speaker and awards. This year was no exception. Even though the Cadet didn't receive any awards, we are still very proud of him.

Here we all are..

And another family pic:



The DH and the Cadet:


And the Cadet and his lovely bride-to-be:

The Cadet received his assignment, upon his commissioning as a Second Lietenant in October, he will be going to Intel school in Texas for 7 months. From there, I don't know...one step at a time.

Right now, we are planning graduations, the DH graduates with his Masters in Education, the lovely Jenna graduates with a BS in Elementary Education and the Cadet will graduate with a BS in Criminal Justice. I am also hip deep in planning a girly-girl bridal shower in July and getting together a bunch of things for the happy couple. I started the wedding sampler (just basting guidelines cause I am waiting on thread) and I am putting together a scrapbook for them. Also, I am trying to gather recipes for a cookbook too. Somewhere in the midst of all this, I have to find a dress for the wedding, a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner and so much more, I just can't remember. Before you know it, the wedding will be here!!

Busy times!

So, I hope all of you are well and are finding more time than me to stitch. I promise though, I'll be posting more pictures soon. I actually put ALL my wips together in one spot (and I won't tell you how many I have...let's just say I have Stitcher's ADD) so I can pick and choose what I want to work on. I know the focus piece will be the wedding sampler but I hope to finish up some of the pieces that are 3/4 complete. This year, I haven't finished one thing except for a few exchanges! What's up with that!!!

Take care everyone, and to all you Mom's out there...Happy Mother's Day! I wish you a wonderful day surrounded by the love of your family. For me, it's going to be a quiet day...we will go to church and just spend the rest of the day at home. The David will be grilling steaks, the Cadet will make a phone call and so will my sweet MIL. And I'll be thinking of my Mom.

Have a sweet day, Mom's everywhere!