February is a wonderful month...

I have been so busy this month that I haven't had a chance to post in quite a while. First, my birthday is February 9th. I had the best birthday this year, thanks to my wonderful friends and family. My sisters and friends had a birthday party for me. Aren't they the sweetest? We played Yahtzee and Phase 10 and ate quesadillas. We had such a great time. They also gave me some wonderful stitching presents. Lisha designed and stitched a biscornu fob for me. It is in the picture above. I absolutely love it. She also gave the scissors to go with it. I also received several skeins of floss and a travel DMC StitchBow bag (thanks, Kim, I am using it for my DMC variations floss). The next day, my husband took me out to eat. We had a wonderful time. And then, we had ice cream cakes at my mother's the next day. I was very spoiled this year. The patterns in the picture above were also presents from my boys. I picked out several new patterns that I really wanted to stitch and the threads needed to finish them. I couldn't resist a couple of the patterns and stitched on them this past week.

My son, Patrick, also had a birthday this month. He is 13!! I can't believe my baby is already a teenager. He is a great kid. We are very lucky.


My first finish was CCN Violets. I was very excited about this kit. The price was great since it included the CC threads. I did substitute a different purple, though. I finished it as a pinkeep and absolutely love it.


Second, I finished the cutest biscornu from Barabara Anna Designs. It is very bright and happy. Makes me ready for spring and Easter.

I plan to get back on my rotation this week, but thought it would be OK to enjoy some birthday stitching for a while. Now, I need to get to work on the fairy. I also need to finish my squares for the Fair and Square exchange, a biscornu for an exchange and something St. Patrick's for a third exchange.

Another Update and February Goals

Well, I haven't been able to stitch as much as I would have liked this week, but I did almost complete another letter in the EM Alphabet Sampler Series. First, I stitched more on the Midsummer's Night Fairy. She is so beautiful. If you compare this photo to the last, you can see that I have added quite a bit to the bottom of her skirt. Just a bit more and I can stitch her face and the rest of her wings. Of course, next will be all of the beading. I can't wait.


Next, I worked on the letter H in the Erica Michaels Alphabet series. I really love this project. Each letter stitches up so quickly and you have the ability to improvise on the color choices to make it unique. I try to follow the suggested color palette, but do try to use several shades of similar colors to give it some interest. I changed the color of the house on this one and changed some of the letters. I think this one is my favorite so far. I still need to stitch the name, but that shouldn't take too long.


Finally, I completed one of the actual pages. Following the finishing directions, I have this one page ready for the book. It is quite easy, but looks so nice. It has given me a really good idea for a future project. I can't wait to finish the entire series and make it into the book. If you haven't started this project, I highly recommend it. I know Petra has decided to do it, and I hope she is enjoying it as much as I am.

Saturday was a very busy day for my family. We got up early and went shopping. Having only boys, it is not very likely that I can do much stitching shopping with the entire family in tow, but I made it a point to stop by Shakespeare's Peddler first. Theresa has such a wonderful shop, with all of her patterns stitched and hanging on the wall. Patrick and Nicholas stayed in the car, but Hobbie (that's my husband) came in and looked around while I picked out fabric for the boys' stockings. I also picked up some Lizzie Kate patterns for a RR I am participating and the buttons for Santa Clothes. After the fun stitching, we headed to Kohl's to buy the boys some clothes and shoes. This was my first trip to Kohl's and boy was I happy. We were able to get everything, except socks and underwear in one stop. Now, I don't need to do laundry every night to keep my very picky children happy. My older son will only wear certain clothes to school, so he wants me to wash the same outfits over and over. Now, he has several similar outfits. It's like living with Monk. Nicholas, on the other hand, just loves to buy cool clothes.

OK, now to get to the other point of this post: February Goals

1. Finish the stitching on Midsummer's Night Fairy
2. Finish Achoo! for Nicholas
3. Complete two sections on HC Colonial Welcome
4. Complete I - L on the Erica Michaels series

I think I am going to stop there though. If I complete more, that's great because March is going to be extremely busy with the two textbooks.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week.