Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone is having a great day. Whether family members, a spouse, children, friends, or a mixture of all of the above, there are people in the world that love you no matter what. Today is a day to remember....think about....embrace, if you can....those that love you and those that you love.

I owe some update pictures, but I don't have any handy at the moment, so no pictures today. I have made progress on the UFO I started working on a couple of weeks ago. And this past weekend, I started working on Red Cottage by Plum Street Samplers.

I went on a 3 day weekend with some local stitching buddies this past weekend to Williamsburg, VA. When we arrived on Friday, we did a little shopping first. First stop was a cross stitch shop, The Stitching Well at Haus Tirol. I was good and only bought a couple of things. A few doors down, I visited The Knitting Sisters. I bought a kit for a very cute scarf that is knitted with 5 yarns, all shades of red and each very different in texture. The scarf is knitted lengthwise, which makes the changes in yarn texture really stand out.

After shopping, we had dinner at The Blue Talon Bistro. The food was outstanding. I had lamb shank which was delicious. It fell off the bone and was so tender you could eat it with a spoon. Yummm!

Saturday was a day of relaxing and stitching. A few of the ladies drove to Virginia Beach to shop at another cross stitch store, Dying 2 Stitch. I opted to stay at the condo and stitch. It was a great weekend. One we hope to repeat sometime later this year.

That's all for now. I'll post pictures in next day or so.

Hugs and Happy Stitching, Chris

My adorable dragon is finished

WooHoo, 'The Needle Guardian' by Teresa Wentzler is finished (well, the stitching is finished). This is the first of what hope are many UFOs finished this year.

I made a couple of changes. There was an outer border of Nun's Stitch and the instructions had you fringing the piece beyond the Nun's Stitch border. I didn't want to fringe it, so I left off the Nun's Stitch border too. As I fold under the edges and attach a backing fabric, I'll add a running stitch just inside the outer border. The design also included a similar cluster of braid lines (what I called the "Medussa Hair" that is around the Dragon's head) and beads on the tail. I made decision to leave it off. Now to pick out the fabric I want to attach on the inside, and then to find some pretty wool felt for the inside for the needles.

Next up on my to-stitch list is another UFO:

This is a stitching project from a Susan Greening Davis stitching retreat from 2008 (I think it was 2008). When finished, it gets attached to the purple pansy bag you see behind it.
I hope everyone is having a great Sunday afternoon. I'm currently watching Braveheart on TV while I stitch and blog.
Hugs and Happy Stitching, Chris

Progress on my Dragon

Hello all. I hope everyone has had a great weekend. I have made good progress on 'Needle Guardian' this weekend. Here is what it looks like now...

There still a little stitching to do, below the words and in the corners, but after getting my name and the backstitched words done, I was in the mood to get a little of the other backstitching done. I'm loving how it is turning out so far. Hopefully it will be done in a few more days.

Before Christmas, I had signed on for the Stitch A-Long for Country Cottage Needleworks 'Santa Village'. I had started the first piece, but didn't like the fabric I initially chose. I'm waiting on a couple of fabric options to arrive in the mail. Was hoping to have decided on fabric by now. Oh well, once fabric has been decided, I can get back to working on them.

I hope everyone has a great week. Hugs and Happy Stitching, Chris

Belated Happy New Year

It's time to start blogging again. At least to keep track of my stitching projects during the year. I'll start with my last finish of 2012. The finish below is a pattern that Tanya from The Scarlett House made for us at the PALS Fling in Myrtle Beach this past October. It's stitched over 1 on 25ct evenweave. I finished it December 31, 2012.

Next is my first start and finish for 2013. It is 'Halloween' by Threadwork Primitives, stiched on 28ct antique white evenweave.

I've decided this year to split my time between working on new projects AND finishing some of the many UFO's I have in various boxes and craft bags. Here is the first UFO that I pulled out about a week ago. It's 'Needle Guardian' by Teresa Wentzler. This is what it looked like in it's last touched state:

And here is what it looks like tonight:

The dragon will look much better once the backstitching is added at the end. This is a cute design I stumbled on years ago. Can't wait to get it finished.
That's it for now. Hugs and Happy Stitching to all.