More BoAF Progress

Not much going on in my neck of the woods other than stitching. I've managed to come down with something that's completely sapped my energy. My Birds of a Feather sampler is shaping up nicely but there's still a long way to go. I'm pretty sure the lake will be completely thawed before I finish!

BoaF Progress

I wanted to share a quick progress picture of my Birds of a Feather sampler. I'm about 1/4 of the way done with the border. At this rate it's going to take me another three weeks to finish it which almost sounds depressing except for the fact that I'm loving every stitch. And the more I get done, the more I love it! I can't wait to start the center! In fact, I'm thinking since I already have all three parts I might just start on the center instead of moving my q-snaps to continue with the border. It would take me three or four tries to get the fabric exactly how I liked it so I may as well save myself the bother, right? I have q-snap angst covered!

March Madness continues here, with Indiana playing their first game today. I'm not up on the whole basketball vernacular but I imagine if I say my bracket sucks most of you will know what I mean. Our printer even refuses to print it out! I wouldn't mind so much but as The Willow Tree Stitcher pointed out to me, there's money to be won and money = stash! So, go Hoosiers!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Frosty Finish

Big Blizzard Sampler

by Heart in Hand

stitched on 32-ct. Dirty Belfast linen

with WDW and GAST fibers

Not exactly a First Day of Spring type project but I've been on the verge of finishing this one for several weeks and decided today was the day to get 'er done! We're having more of a Fifty Shades of Gray type of day here anyway with snow falling and the wind blowing across the lake. I wish Mother Nature would wave her magic wand and put an end to this!

Oh, this sampler is supposed to have four little buttons which I'm 1000% sure are upstairs in my sewing room but I can't seem to find them at the moment. I have a special talent for losing buttons apparently. Maybe I need to do a little Spring Cleaning up there tomorrow. I have thread and fabric scattered everywhere, and I'd really like to put together a spring stitching basket. 

I'm still plodding along on Birds of a Feather. No picture today but I got another one of the flowers in the border done and a good start on another. I also decided to stick with my first choice of fabric. I really do like the thread colors with it even if a couple tend to get a little washed out.

By way of celebrating the first day of spring, I watched the last inning of the Detroit-Tampa Bay game. We're knee deep in March Madness but I still have baseball on my brain. 

Which reminds me, I better work on my bracket. Phil is a Hoosier so I'll be picking Indiana to at least make it to the Final Four.

Hope you're having a first day of spring that actually has some spring in it!

Fresh Start

I was able to get started on Birds of a Feather yesterday afternoon. I can already tell this project is going to take me a looooong time! I'm also having second thoughts about the fabric I chose. It's super stiff and maybe a shade or two too dark for the thread colors. I might just switch to my second choice linen before I get too far along.

It's another cold, windy day here on the lake and it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow. Winter still has a hold on us in SW Michigan unfortunately.

Hope it's warmer where you are!

Another Finish

We are back from Texas, safe and sound, surviving positively horrendous construction traffic on I-35 that seriously tried my patience and an overnight stay in the most bizarre hotel room ever! We had a great time down south but it's always good to be back home!

I wanted to get back into my stitching as quickly as possible so I cut a piece of linen lickedy-split and picked up Lizzie Kate's Is It Coffee Yet. I already had the threads pulled from the last project I did so it was super easy to get started. By Friday I had another finish!

 Is It Coffee Yet by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 28-ct Light Mocha linen with Weeks Dye Works

Here is a picture of the three designs together plus one nosy cat named Harry...

Coffee Crazy by Lizzie Kate

My son, Evan, came to visit us during his Spring Break. He loves to cook so we did a lot of this while he was here...

We're going to miss his dinners (and him of course!) but luckily we have a fridge full of leftovers to help us transition back into my cooking. Tonight's menu will include leftover ham and potatoes from our Preaster Feast (we had an early Easter dinner since he won't be here to celebrate with us) and tomorrow we'll have the last of the barbacoa. We're considering offering him a position as our personal chef this summer!

Back to stitching... I've decided my next project will be of the Big A** variety. I have gathered all the supplies for With My Needle and Threads mystery sampler from a couple of years ago.

Phil was a prince and took me to House of Stitches on Saturday to get the last of the threads I needed. (He even went inside with me!) They had their La-D--Da trunk show set up early so I got to feast on some real eye candy. You can see a picture of the display on their blog. If there are any stitchers in the area who would like to plan a little La-D-Da get together next month for some shopping at HoS and perhaps lunch afterwards, please let me know and we'll see what we can arrange!

Time for me to get off this machine and have my lunch. I'm thinking a nice hot bowl of Campbell's Creamy Tomato soup on this gray, drizzly day followed by a few hours of stitching!

Greetings from Texas!

I'm having a great time in Texas with the kids! I rolled into town on Sunday with one of my migraines but I'm feeling much better now. The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday and we headed over to Firewheel Town Center to do a bit of shopping and to just enjoy being outside in the sunshine. No winter blahs here!

What better way to enjoy the warm weather than with some al fresco dining and frozen drinks!

It's a little cooler here today but I won't complain since they're expecting up to six inches of snow back home! All I can say is hurry up spring!

Friday Finish

Coffee Crazy by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 28-ct.linen

with Weeks Dye Works fibers

This was a super fast stitch! I started it on Wednesday and finished it today! And that includes ripping out half of the coffee mug and restitching it! This has to be a new record for me! I had to "pose" it next to my Keurig, a birthday present from Phil back in December. I have been enjoying the heck out of it! I was coffee crazy before but now I am certifiably insane! I love those adorable little K-cups!

Anyhoosie, back to stitching! There are two more designs that go with Coffee Crazy. I stitched Love My Coffee five or six years ago. That leaves Is It Coffee Yet and I'll have all three done. I plan to hang them near my coffee area. We have a long way to go with decorating the new house still so I'm hoping to get them finished soon.

I am attempting to write this post entirely on my Galaxy Note 2. This is my first smart phone and I have a lot to learn still. So that is my excuse for any spelling errors and formatting issues!

Tomorrow I have to get up bright and early for another trip. It is my daughter's Spring Break so we are heading down to Texas to visit my youngest son who started school there in January. He will then come back to Michigan with us for his Spring Break. Maybe there will be a blog post from the road if this first post goes well!

Thanks for visiting! Have a great weekend!