April 28, 2012:

She's finished!!!  My beads arrived yesterday and I was able to finish Elizabeth.  My youngest son Christopher (5) helped.  I was amazed that he was able to get the petite beads on the needle but he did a great job.  I can't wait to get her framed!

Christopher did such a wonderful job that I'm going to let him try his own project.  I went through my stash today and we were able to find a Lion King pattern book, tomorrow off to find some 14 ct Aida so he can start the project.

Along with my beads I received two new Mirabilia patterns: Stargazer, and The Feather Fairy.  They are going to go into my rotation as soon as I decide which fabric will work the best for each.

I also received my fabric for Heaven Above.  It is a 40 ct tea dyed linen:

And last but definitely not least I received my first two Joan Elliott Designs.  The fabric for each is on order from Polstitches:

Today I've been working most of the day on Miss Valentine by Nora Corbett.  I will post progress pictures tomorrow.

April 25, 2012:

I haven't had a lot of time to stitch this week, but I am still working away on Madonna of the Garden.  Each new color that I add really makes the fabric pop even more.  I can't wait to see this one finished, I think it is going to end up being on of my favorites.

Received some fabric stash today.  I love all of these fabrics and can't wait to pick a pattern for them.  All three of the fabrics are 32 ct Belfast Linen.  Any ideas of what to stitch on them?

April 22, 2012:

Happy Earth Day!!!  I celebrated Earth Day today by taking the boys to see Chimpanzee.  We enjoyed the movie very much, especially Christopher who loves all animals.

I've been busy this week stitching on Madonna of the Garden.  The Baby Jesus is largely finished, except for backstitching and the blanket.  I have started on Mary, without the backstitching her face looks very unfinished, but the colors are wonderful and I'm loving her on this fabric.

On Thursday I received a large shipment of stash for a variety of projects.  Since my fabric finally arrived I decided to start Blue Moon Fairy by Heaven and Earth Designs, which is being stitched on 25 ct linen 1 over 1.  I stitched about 3 rows of 80 stitches only to realize after I put the pattern under my magnifier that I had read the symbol wrong and had stitched the wrong color.  Now all three rows will have to be frogged.  If you've ever frogged stitched that are 1 over 1 you know that is no easy task... it will probably take me longer to frog the 3 rows than it took me to stitch them.  That project is going back on the back burner for a couple of more days.

Also on Thursday, the boys and I attended Chairs of Hope at Vandora Springs Elementary.  Chairs of Hope is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  The theme this year was famous paintings.  My son was really excited because he has been studying artists and their most famous works in school.  One of his favorites is Starry Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.  He feel in love with this chair which even lit up like a lamp:

We had the high bid all evening, but there was another family interested too.  About 10 minutes before the bidding ended the man outbid me and then blocked me and would not allow me to write in another bid.  I was really upset and trying to decide what to do without causing a scene in front of my son when my son said, "Mommy that little boy really wants the chair let him have it, lets just go make sure that Christopher gets the chair he wants."  I was very proud of him.  He is only 8, but he let the chair he really wanted go so that the other boy could have it, and so that we could go stand by the chair his brother wanted to make sure that I could place a higher bid on that one if I needed to.  This is the chair brother Christopher won, they are sharing it.

Because I was so proud of Mark for being the better person and letting the chair he really wanted go, I purchased the Starry Starry Night pattern from Heaven and Earth designs.  I will be ordering the fabric on pay day and it will become one of my summer projects.  Mark is going to help me stitch it.  I've looked over the pattern and it is all confetti stitches so it's going to be a pretty challenging project, but worth it for my sweet boy.

April 18, 2012:

I have made pretty good progress this week on Madonna of the Garden.  Still working on Baby Jesus, I can't wait to get to Mary because that is when the color of the fabric is really going to pop and make sense.  I love this design!!  Plan to keep on stitching her tonight and tomorrow.  On Friday, I'm going to pull Miss Valentine back out and see how far I can get on her.

Just had some stash go out in the mail to me today.  The fabric I need for Heaven Above is no longer available, so I just submitted a replacement request, and one of my Weeks threads is on back order.  But the fabric I need for Blue Moon Fairy (Heaven and Earth Designs - Artwork by Bernadette Lusk) will be in the package, along with thread and beads that I need for various designs.

I also decided to include a few pictures of my Stitching Angel by Susan Greening Davis.  This is not a recent finish - but I recently saw a doll on one of the stitching boards and I thought I would show this one off, she is one of my favorites.

April 15, 2012:

Yesterday was a rough day for starting new projects.  After I kitted up Madonna of the Garden I went to put her on my 20 inch scroll rods and they broke when I tried to put the frame together.  They jammed and I couldn't get them put together or take them apart again.  I finally found another set of 20 inch rods and got her on a frame.  Then when I went to put the frame on my Gazelle stand the clamp broke.  I ended up having to switch to my twin towers stand, which meant taking off The Awakening of Psyche and changing the size.  I had the extender bars on, which run the entire length of the couch.  After about an hour of fiddling with equipment, I finally had my stand set up and ready to go.

Here is my progress on Madonna of the Garden so far.  She is going to be a slow project.  Lot of color changes, very few large blocks of color.

Madonna of the Garden by Nora Corbett is described as:  "Reminiscent of a Renaissance painting, the Madonna is calm and radiant as she cradles the angelic child.  The lush fruits represent blessings and abundance. "  What you see above is the blanket wrapping the baby Jesus.  She is being stitch an a 32 ct. Lugana solo from Silkweaver.

April 14, 2012:

Elizabeth is done except for the beads.  Unfortunately, I discovered that I don't have the beads I need so I won't be able to finish her up until my order comes in.  I hate not having a local needlework store.  When I run out of supplies I have to order online and wait, which is really frustrating when I'm so close to being finished.

Since I couldn't finish Elizabeth, I pulled out Midsummer Night's Fairy.  All I had left on her was beading.  I was finally able to finish her!!  She has been in progress for a long time.  I ran out of supplies several times while I was working on her.

I have started on Miss Valentine by Nora Corbett.  One of the holiday fairies, this is the 4th in the series of 6 that I have stitched.  I also kitted up Madonna of the Garden, and hope to get started on her later today as well.

April 11, 2012:

I'm making slower progress on Elizabeth now that break is over.  After I finish the hair all that will be left is the backstitching and beading.  Very pleased with the way she is turning out.

I've been on a fabric binge over the last couple of weeks.  I've picked up several wonderful pieces on the Silkweaver Facebook sale.  Here are some of my favorites that I've already received.

This one is actually a lot more yellow and a much paler yellow than it appears in the photo - but it is still really pretty.

The pink piece is a really small piece, but very pretty.

I have three more that I've ordered and I'm still waiting for:

I love this one.  It's called Tropical Storm.  I wasn't planning on ordering tonight - but I could not resist it.  I think I have an idea what I want to stitch on it... but I'll have to wait and see my piece before I decide for sure.

April 8, 2012:

Happy Easter everyone!!  The boys were up bright and early to see if the Easter Bunny had come.  They had a great time eating their candy and had a mini egg hunt in the front yard.  Christopher got a pink lamb, which he named Lamby, and Mark got the Muppet DVD.  So they had a great day.

We spent yesterday at the NC Zoo and had a wonderful time there as well.  The weather was perfect and we ended up staying almost until closing.  The boys were exhausted and slept the whole way home.

I haven't made as much progress on Elizabeth as I would like.  I've come down with a bit of a spring cold so spent part of the day resting.  I hope to finish her face tonight so that I can get started on the hair tomorrow.  Spring Break is officially over and it is back to work tomorrow, so progress will be slower, but I still hope to finish her in the next few days.

I also got a delivery from Silkweaver fabrics yesterday.   8 different cuts of fabric and they are all beautiful.  I hope to post pictures soon.  Here is a preview, this is a small cut of 32 count Belfast linen 7x17 I'm thinking maybe one of the Nora Corbett's free designs or one of Told in a Garden's Christmas Angels.  The fabric is amazing I wish I had a bigger piece.

April 6, 2012:

A lot of progress today.  I finished the dress, and stitched the chair.  I have started on the flesh colors but haven't' taken a picture yet.  Tomorrow my goal is to get the flesh done and at least get started on the hair.    So far I'm very pleased with the way she is turning out.

Today I watched "Gone With the Wind" while I was stitching.  It seemed appropriate given the colors and the big fabulous dress.

Tomorrow less stitching.  We are taking the boys to the NC Zoo.  The weather is supposed to be perfect for a day at the zoo - not hot, not too cold, and lots of sunshine.

Tomorrow I am also expecting another package of fabric from Silkweaver!!

April 5, 2012:

I have made a lot of progress on Elizabeth.  I will finish the dress tonight!!  I still hope to be able to finish her before Spring Break is over - 3 more days...  I didn't meet my stitching goal yesterday, but had a great day at Marbles Kids Museum with the boys.

Yesterday I received a package in the mail from Silkweaver, two of the hand dyed fabrics I ordered from last weeks Facebook sale.  The first is a 36 ct linen called Frankenstein  - I plan on using it for some Halloween designs, not sure which ones yet.

The second, is a 32 ct. Lugana solo.  It is very different than I expected the picture on Facebook was much more red, but I like it.  The photo below does not do it justice it is a grey background with reds and a little blue.  I'm not sure yet what I'm going to stitch on it.  Mirabilia's Queen of Freedom has been suggested, but I haven't decided yet.

Today I received Mirabilia's Miss Valentine in the mail.  I'm very excited to get this one - it is a limited edition kit from the Fairy Holiday Collection.  I have already stitched Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween.  Now I only lack Easter and New Years.  Can't wait to stitch it!!