Nothing planned

That is such a wonderful place to be!! I've really enjoyed the last couple of weeks with NO plans. It's been pretty hot here, the kind of weather that you don't mind staying in the house. I found out what the problem was with Fairy Garden. I am using a color chart (which I rarely do-but seems to be easier to follow with these patterns) and I have never marked off what I have stitched on a color chart. I don't know why it never occurred to me. I was having a hard time figuring out what I've done and what needed to be done. Especially those Hollyhocks!!! Since I have the chart saved on my computer, if I need to look something up that I marked up it's always there! DUH!!! So after a nice solid week of stitching on it ,it now looks like this.Photos are all clickable. It's nice to have the bottom border done, except the beads of course. My goal is to finish ALL the stitches and beading on this part and then start to roll it up and work my way up. The only other thing that I worked on was Lyne's RR, And A Forest Grew. I made it all the way across to the right side for her. Pretty sure I have several more weeks before I have to mail it on, so we'll see how much farther I get. This a a before and after shot.
I also did a "finish" for a friend. A frame just didn't seem right for this piece, so she gave it to me to come up with something. I thought the shape and size would be perfect for a flatfold. It took me awhile to find the right material to match the stitched piece. I think it came out pretty good! And of course I have to leave you with a picture of Amberlyn. They had this cute pool on sale for $10 and I couldn't resist. She enjoyed splashing around and gave us some entertainment! Until next time....happy stitching!

Have you ever felt lost?

Stitching wise, I mean?? Well that's how I felt last week. After finishing Fruit and Cheese and having a great weekend with friends and seeing all their WIP, I just didn't know what to stitch. So I decided to have a start and finish all within 2 days. My son loves my sports coaster I made for him (and they actually use them!!!) so I decided to make his old roommate a Green Bay Packer one. Carl and Brett went to the Packers/Lions game last weekend and I know Tom likes the coasters.....so one Christmas present down!!

Then it was time to revisit my castle.....thinking positive thoughts here. I added a couple more rounds on the spider web stitch (which I didn't do right in the first place and then finished part 2!!!! Unfortunately I was looking at another blog and got a close up of what they are really supposed to look like and I was really disappointed in mine. I decide to cut one out and redo it the right way. They look slightly better, but I still think it's because of the *twisted* premium floss and not the way DMC lays flat. I will redo the remaining 14, but only when I am working on that particular color.
Next up? Well the WIP photos people are putting up on the Fairy Garden (A Chatelaine design) were just too hard to resist, so I finally got that one out. I worked 2 days of this and here is where it stands now. I am so glad I did my first one that released a part a month, because I'm not sure I'm smart enough to figure out where all the specialty stitches go and which ones!!! I might just have to travel out to the border now and leave the petals alone. 2 pieces with specialty stitches can cause havoc to this cross stitch lover!!!
In my last post I forget to put a photo of Amberlyn!! I know....how could I forget?? Well here is my latest. She's had 2 ear infections now.....the fun begins. All the local schools are closed for the flu outbreak, most return this Wednesday. Glad I got my shot since I'm around that age at work all day!
Have a great week and keep those needles smoking!