A Doodle...

I seemed to have forgotten to post this doodle I made at the first of the month.

Spring Break....

This week was spring break for schools in our area...my sweet Jazmine was here for the week. She wanted to make an Easter tree, so of course I let her decorate an outdoor tree with Mardi Gras beads to make it. That's what she wanted to do and Monkey was glad to let her do it.:)

Mobile's Mardi Gras

Vernadean the Dragon

My brother throwing beads to the crowds

a closeup of the dragon

my brother and his youngest daughter

My brother is really big into the Mardi Gras scene in Mobile, Alabama. He is part of the MOT's which is Mystic of Time...they had their parade on this past Saturday. Here are a few shots of him with his dragon float that he rides on. One pic of him and his youngest daughter, who went down to be with him during Mardi Gras. Also a bit of history for those who may not know about Mardi Gras being celebrated in Mobile. " Before New Orleans, there was Mobile, Alabama-the birthplace of Mardi Gras in America. Mobile, was founded by Roman Catholics from France in 1702 and was home to the first mystic society or "krews", which held America's first Mardi Gras celebration in 1704, 14 years before New Orleans was even founded."

More Stitching....

Worked a bit on my sample, which may turn into a small pocket, still undecided at this point. I have added silver thread french knots and added some glass bugle beads as well as a seam of gimp.

Sampling Stitch

I have stitched a bit on my sample page for Embroidery School with Karen Ruane I am slowly working on these and another project with stitch. This helps to keep my mind as well as my hands busy during this hard time in my life. I am really enjoying embroidery class. There is some beautiful projects going on at the moment. Its not too late to join in if you are so inclined. Now off to stitch a bit more and drink a cuppa.

The boys are such sweetie pies that I had to include them on today. This was on the bay at Daphne, Al this past Sunday. We went to the beach after church service and had a picnic lunch on the water. It was very nice and relaxing. The sunrise was so beautiful on the drive there.

Initial Heart Swap 2017

Every year I participate in Cheryls Initial Heart Swap and it is always a wonderful swap. This year my parcel came from the lovely Michelle and this is what she sent out to me. A beautiful mini quilt, a zipper pouch, a pair of cute socks and this beautiful little felted dachshund! Is he not the cutest little thing ever! I am so in love with him. The pouch is already filled with some epp items and in use. The mini quilt will be hanging in my studio once the renovations are complete. Thank you Cheryl for another great swap. I will be posting my partners goodies that I sent out soon. Have a blessed and lovely day!

Yes Two Posts in One Day...

I call this liquid gold! Fresh non-processed honey from a local bee keeper. My oldest daughter surprised me with this quart jar on yesterday. I was doing a big happy dance as I had run out of my last bit of honey and was thinking it may be summer before I was able to purchase any. I always like to buy local when possible as it helps with allergies to use honey from bees that are local to your area. Such a wonderful gift! I do have another source of pure unfiltered and raw honey, but it comes from Texas. Having this honey is much better with the coming of allergy season as it builds an immunity to the pollen from our area. And I love that she was able to request some of the honey comb to be added as well. The keeper loaded the jar with comb and I am a very happy camper. Just look at the beauty of this pure unfiltered organic honey! Now off to have a cup of tea with a bit of this lovely honey.

My Year of Stitches project is up to date at day 47 and I am really enjoying putting new stitches on this daily. Some days I stitch more than others, but that is the beauty of this project. It does not matter if I stitch a huge amount or just a bit on any given day. The purpose of this project is to stitch something daily. Between this and Embroidery School with Karen Ruane from here I am working with building up my stitches and a sampler of sorts. I will be posting soon about my class projects as I am stitching on them as well. Now off to drink a cuppa.

Embroidery

I have completed two bases for stitch and I have three more that need to be put together. Hopefully I can get that done this weekend. These are for my sample pages for a cloth book I will be making in the class I am taking from Karen Ruane. You should visit her here and think about taking a class from her. We have loads of fun and you always learn something new. Some very creative ladies in these class groups. I have learned so much over the years of participating in these classes. Hope to see you there as it is not too late to join the class.

A Year of Stitching...

These are the progress pics of the Year of Stitches project that I am working on. I am enjoying this project so far and am looking forward to the end results, which will be a wall hanging of sorts.

I am really liking how these hearts are taking shape. I love hearts and make them throughout the year. These are a few of the Valentine ones that I have made recently. I plan to fill this basket with hearts that can be kept out all year long. I do have some still packed up waiting for the sewing room to be renovated. That will happen as spring approaches. Something to look forward to. New paint, design walls and storage are all decisions to look forward to making. It will be nice to have a dedicated space again to stitch, sew and quilt in. I have several quilts that need to be quilted, just waiting to have the room to do so. Come on spring!:)

Background Change

This is how I decided to fix my problem with the denim background. I appliqued it to a neutral piece of fabric and will now continue to stitch. I may add more circles throughout the year to bring a bit of interest to the project. This will eventually be a wall hanging. I think adding more circles will add interest to the piece. 

More Stitching....

More additions to the year of stitches project. I am thinking of starting over on a lighter background fabric though. The light denim fabric is not doing it for me at the moment. That means I will have to restitch the month of January.:(  So I may just start another piece of work. We shall see.

Valentines

My small nod to Valentines Day. I am thinking about making a bunting to hang from the mantle, but am still undecided about that at the moment. Have a lovely day!