'Old Man Winter' made one last attempt.....

and we woke up to this beautiful (not!!!) sight in our backyard last Saturday. Thankfully it melted away by the end of the day and hasn't returned.

There is a barbecue buried under that mound of snow on the left.

Now on to more pleasant topics. As I mentioned awhile back I decided to join the Spring/Easter Exchange hosted by Elaine of Lainey's Stitching Hoose. She has set up this blog - Stitched With Love Exchanges to display all the lovely packages everyone sent out. The following is what I received from Nataly.



Isn't the pin cushion she made just darling. The beads at the corners are shaped like the flowers in the design.


I am using the pail that originally contained the chocolate eggs, jelly beans as an ort collector.

This is what I sent Nataly.


I made a scissor case using a pattern by Marie-Anne Rethoret-Melin. I had the butterfly button in my stash and I found the butterfly scissors at Anita's Little Stitches.


Wednesday evening I put the final touches on the Bluebird's Message (Loose Feathers Pattern #23) by Blackbird Designs.

It is stitched with WDW floss and on 30ct French Vanilla by R & R Reproductions.

I decided that even though my neice is not getting married until September of 2012 that I had better get started on the Bride's Tree Ornaments in order to have them done in time. This is my progress so far.


I have started the box top first. (I haven't decided yet whether or not to purchase the wooden box used in the leaflet or to use a decorative cardboard box I already have in my possession.)


I am currently collecting the Bride's Tree Ornaments form Brooke's Books Publishing. I have 3 out of the 4 currently available. I figure I shoud be prepared if my other neice gets married.

On a final note I thought I would mention that I have decided to take on another Mystery SAL. It is called Birds of A Feather by With Thy Needle & Thread designs by Brenda Gervais. It starts in May and I can't wait. It looks very intriquing.

Take care and have a good Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring's A-comin'

I thought I would post some updated pictures so you can see that spring does eventually come here. It is not the prettiest time of the year. The ground is still frozen and there is still a few patches of snow here and there. Hopefully we will be seeing leaves on the trees and green, green grass soon.





As I mentioned in my last post, I just love the colours in BBD's "Bluebird's Message". I love them so much I took every opportunity I could this week to stitch on this project. Below is a picture of my progress as of 15 minutes ago.



I am currently missing the colour for the branches - WDW Havana . I didn't have it in my stash and my LNS was out of stock. I did order it online and I hope to have it by next weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing this piece completed.

A week ago my mother told me that someone had donated some embroidery floss to her knitting grou and since the members had no use for it she asked if she could give it to me. She was given the okay and I picked it up on Tuesday. It is quite a nice haul. The bag contains a combination of both DMC and Anchor.



A couple of weeks ago I read this post. I thought it was such a neat idea to display my scissors in a flower frog and I went and bought this little gem from a seller on Esty.





I know I will be picking up some more of these since I discovered all the lovely little scissors sold on this site - Anita's Little Stitches. Since January I have already bought 4 and have a few others earmarked for future purchases.

Well, it has been a long day. Take care and happy stitching!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TUSAL check-in, A Start and A Finish

Wow! It has been 2 weeks since I last popped in. We are finally beginning to see signs of spring. We still have some snow on the ground but quite a lot of it has melted since I last posted. Thank goodness!!!!!!!!!!! I am so done with Winter!!!

Below is a picture of my TUSAL jar. The top layer is the result of some frogging I had to do this morning on the "The Blackbird's Message" (progress pic below). I discovered I was 1 row out on a few of the flowers and leaves on the right hand side. (Ouch!!!!) Below that layer is the clippings from the stitching I did last weekend at the retreat. It also includes bits and pieces from my friend, Stacy, who spent the weekend sewing crests onto her husband's and son's camp blankets. (As promised, I gave you credit, Stace!) It was a great weekend. It is lovely being able to spend time stitching and not have to take time out to make meals or to clean.



Two weeks ago, I started organizing my charts and when I came across the "Bluebird's Message" - Blackbird Designs (Loose Feathers #23), I just loved the colours so much I had to start stitching it right away. (Like I really needed another start.) This is my progress since last Saturday.




Last Sunday, I finished another of my starts from Crazy January Challenge (3 down, 12 more to go.) It is LHN's "The Merry Skater".


Well, that is it for now. I am off now to watch "The Borgias" on Bravo! with my DH. I am really looking forward to this series. I have just started reading "Sins of the House of Borgia" by Sarah Bower. I won an ARC copy of this novel on a giveaway hosted by Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks in February.

Have a great week and Happy Stitching!!!!!!!!!!!!!