I have been very busy...

The summer is just flying by. I am teaching two classes this summer, so that is taking up some of my time. The textbook is also eating up a lot of my free time. BUT, I have found time to work on some of my existing stash. Last weekend I went through all of my patterns and kits and discovered I had 17 projects that were either started or kitted. What an eye opener. I need to avoid the stitching store for a while. Since our budget is tighter in the summer I made a Summer resolution to not purchase any new patterns until I have completed these 17. (I still have lots of other patterns in addition to these, but they aren't kitted, so I don't feel as guilty about those.) Fortunately, most are pretty simple. I have actually completed several.


The first photo is of a silk gauze Christmas tree. I purchase the kit at Hobby Lobby when they were clearing out all of the stitching kits. Talk about tedious work. That is quarter next to the stitched piece! Glad I got this one out of the way before the eyes get any worse.


This is another CCN pattern (Summer Bungalows). I love here patterns. I'm not sure if I like it on this fabric as much as I thought I would, but it is still cute. Plan to finish this as a needlework case.

I forgot to take pictures of my other two finishes. I completed LK January Flip It last night. This will be finished as an ornament for my sister, Sharon. Also, I stitched the Silver Needle Witch Way kit for Sharon also. I am very late completing some PIFs and this is one of them.

As I finish these projects, I am posting the patterns on my wishlist page. If you see something you like, check out that page. The link is in the sidebar.

Have a great week.

Lots to share...

I haven't cross stitched much this week. I have been very tired, especially today. I don't know if it is the weather or if I have some type of bug, but I have been very lazy today. Anyway, instead of cross stitching, I have been sewing. I made a pair of pajama pants for my dad for Father's Day. He was very happy. Apparently, his old pajamas are beyond repair. That got me started on a sewing frenzy.





I finished my summer and fall stitching bags also. This is a project that Lisha and I signed up for at our local quilt shop. We learned to make these really nice charm totes. Well, if you know how to make one, why not make lots. I made two last year, a winter tote and a spring tote. I then made one for my mother for Christmas and my sister for her birthday. Well, I pulled out the supplies and finished my summer and winter totes.


Now, I can change with the seasons. Nicholas thinks I should have one for each day of the week. (Careful, boy. You shouldn't make those types of suggestions to a person with my type of personality.)



Finally, I finished Nicholas's rag quilt. Isn't it adorable? It was very easy. I have the material to make one for Patrick, so maybe I will work on that next month.

Hopefully, I will get more cross stitching done over the weekend. We are getting together at my younger sister's house this weekend to stitch and talk. I'll let you know how that goes...

Have a great weekend!

Two finishes this week...

I finished LK ABC Lessons this weekend. I think it is so pretty on this fabric and can't wait to have it framed. This was a very nice piece to stitch. It was easy enough to stitch while watching TV.



My other finish is O'Starry Night from Little by Little. Very easy pattern and very cute. It is stitched on Smoky Blue Lugana (28 ct) from Silkweaver. Isn't it perfect? This would make a very pretty ornament.

The past few days have been so busy that stitching time has been limited. Hopefully, once the next few tasks on the textbook are completed I can relax a little bit. Also, I have declared a ban on buying any new patterns or fabric during July. The stash is getting a bit outrageous. There are at least 3 kitted patterns in my "to do" pile that I can work on, not to mention all of those UFOs and WIPs. If I focus on some of these projects, maybe my savings balance will increase over the next month. Who wants to be my accountability partner? Lisha?

Shopping Spree Saturday!!!

Shakespeare's Peddler is having a Cyber Sidewalk Sale and she has some really amazing prices. Earlier in the week, I purchased two patterns that were on my wishlist: Holly and a pattern for Tournicoton. Well, today, I decided to drive into Hattiesburg and shop the patterns to see if there were any that I just had to have. What a great idea! I picked up lots of great patterns at really great prices. Everything that I bought was 50% off the original price. I love the Just Nan Christmas Biscornus and was excited to see that there was one in the sale box. Even the embellishment packs were on sale! If you are interested you can check out the specials at Shakespeare's Peddler website.


I did purchase one item that was not in the sidewalk sale: Just Nan Bunny Charm Garden Pin. Isn't this just adorable? There are several in the series including bugs and a hedgehog. I really want to collect several of these because they are so pretty and detailed.



Though I have been very busy with work and gardening (spent all day yesterday at my parents' farm picking and snapping beans), I did get some stitching done this week. I have made some progress on LK ABC Lessons. I am certain that I can finish this piece in the next week or so. A Weary World Rejoices is taking a bit longer than I expected. I love stitching on it, but I made a mistake on one of the windows. Instead of putting it down and starting something else, I forced myself to make the correction and stitch on it the rest of the evening. I am glad that I did because I was able to finish all of the motifs on the bottom half of the pattern. I still need to finish the side borders. I really think the top half will be faster stitching. Hope to finish it by the end of the month.

Thanks for stopping by and all the nice comments. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

The Eagle is finished!!!!!

FINALLY!!! I finished it Friday night. It is really pretty. Pete was very happy with it. I still need to frame it.


I also finished Love Birds by Miss Crescent's Crowne. This was really easy and stitched up very quickly. This was the first time I have stitched with Belle Soie silk. Very nice.


I have also made a bit of progress on LK ABC Lessons. Only three rows left.

Baltimore was great. I had a very good time. The conference was very helpful.

The Quaker Turtles are finished....

Aren't these the cutest things? I love them. They are so tiny. It was a bit tedious to put them together, but it was worth it.



I also finished CCN Bumblebee. I absolutely love this one. I stitched it on a piece of Silkweaver Precious Metals 28 ct Opalescent Lugana. It is really pretty and it only took me 2 days to complete it.

The boys are almost finished with school. After next week I will be the parent of a high school student. I can't believe he is old enough to be in high school. Time flies...

It's finally May!!!

I am so happy that it is finally May. That means the semester is almost over. Now, don't get me wrong. I love my job at USM, but I also love the end of the semester. I will have a few days to just relax. Oh, who am I kidding, I can't relax. We have a lot of work to do on the textbook, so I have a few days to work on the book. I didn't have as much stitching time this month, but I did finish all the parts of Quaker Turtles. I just need to assembly the little guys. My son really, really wants one. I don't think he realizes these are sewing goodies. He just loves the idea of the turtle.


I have also worked very hard on this Bald Eagle. Pete's birthday was the 19th. Yes, I missed his birthday. So, maybe he will get it by the end of May.

I have also worked on the A Weary World Rejoices and ABC Lessons a bit this month. I love both of these. I usually pull one of these two out when I have had a frustrating day. Helps improve my mood.

By the way, this is one of our textbooks. I just love the cover. And there's my name in the lower right corner. I am still amazed to see that.

My goals were less that accomplished this month, but hopefully May will be better for stitching. I just really want to finish that Eagle!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.