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.