What a nice Spring Break!!!

Wow! The week is over and it is almost time to go back to work. Fortunately for me, I only have lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, tomorrow is primarily catch up in my office, posting grades, and working on the next chapter in the textbook. I actually got one chapter revised over the break, so that makes me happy.

Most of this week I spent at Shakespeare's Peddler helping Theresa pack all those many, many orders. Theresa is one of a kind. She is very busy right now, but she remains so calm. I had such a great time helping and talking. If you haven't checked out her online store and designs, you really should. She is great.

I have been a bit unmotivated with my stitching lately. I selected 22 designs (11 new and 11 WIPs) to complete this year. The main issue is that I selected several series. So when I finish a block, I still am not finished. This gets a bit frustrating for someone like me who loves to mark things off a list. I stitch and stitch and still this list is there. So, I decided I needed to work on a stricter rotation. I just went down my list and worked on a different pattern each day of the week. Some things were slow going others were much more enjoyable. I have three of these to share today.

First on my rotation was Trousse. I love this piece. All of the cats and motifs and letters. I can't wait to finish it and use it as my needlebook. But, I found a major error and spent most of the time pulling out stitches. But, I did make some progress, so that's good.

Next up, Lizzie Kate Go Green Flip Its Series. This one was great. I stitched the 4th block in one night. I love the colors, so bright. When this is finished, I am framing it for my office. Since I only have two blocks to go, that should be soon and then I can mark it off my list.

The next day, I worked on the 5th block in the BBD Anniversaries of the Heart series. If you have been following my progress on this one, you know that I am adding the initials and dates for my family members to these blocks. At first, I was only adding myself, husband, children, our parents and our grandparents. The problem was that I had no one for May. Now, I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers and Hobbie has 3 sisters and 1 brother. We also have lots of nephews on my side of the family and lots of nieces and nephews on his side. I decided to add our siblings and selfishly, just my nephews. So, after adding these extras to the completed blocks, I was able to focus on new stitching and actually finished this square. I love the colors and it looks great with the rest of the piece. I just can't wait to see this one finished, framed and hanging in my home.

I did stitch on several other things, but not a lot of progress. Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful Sunday and has a lovely week. Thanks for stopping by...

A few updates to share...

Wow, have a been busy lately. Both in my stitching activities and everything else. Fortunately, this is the first day of my Spring Break and I have plans to get quite a bit finished. But first, let's update...

This past week I have found that I love to work with these little wool felt pincushions from Just Another Button Company. I picked up the Pin Feathers that was released at the Nashville Market and actually finished it in one night. It is so incredibly easy and just adorable. Theresa (Shakespeare's Peddler) just loved it as well and thinks that it would be fun to make all kinds and colors of these. I also finished an older one called Mockingbird Hill (or was it Cardinal Hill). Anyway, it is a pyramid shaped piece that represents a grassy hill with lots of flowers blooming on it. I added a leprechaun button to make it a cute addition to my St. Patrick's Day decor. Again, fun and quick project. By the way, JABC directions are perfect and very easy to follow.

Another project that I picked up right after market was Praiseworthy Stitches Wonderfully Wicked Whimsies kit. This kit included the materials to make a needlebook, tiny pin cushion, scissor fob, pin disc, thread keeper, and slide tin. Lots of great goodies. Of course, the picture on the package is so tiny, but the kit has some cute things in it. The instructions for the kit are not that great, but I was able to figure most everything out. After lots of bad words, sticky fingers and recutting of materials, I finished everything. I had purchased the scissors last year, so my set is complete. I changed a few things. The thread keep originally had a key ring but I keep my threads on drops so I changed it to a binding ring that easily opens and closes. Also, the tiny pincushion was a total pain. The ribbon around the top wouldn't lay correctly, so I went through my scrapbooking stash and found this funny eyelash trim that I think looks great. I did make lots of mistakes, including leaving off the orange ribbon that keeps the needlebook closed, but I think this will just be for display anyway.

By the way, guess what I had the pleasure doing this week. I spent two days helping out at Theresa's shop, Shakespeare's Peddler. She is always super busy after market, so I offered to be her assistant. I spent most of my time packaging her wonderful designs. Also, I organized a bit and then helped her pack lots and lots of orders. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Theresa, you should check out her web page (the link is in the right hand column). She is so nice. I have had the best time helping her and seeing how things run at her shop. She is extremely fast and extremely patient.