Working in paper, cloth, lace and stitch for the new class with Karen Ruane called "Artists Books" these are the start of my samples that will go into the book/s that I make for class. Although, I have been thinking of making some samples to frame for the entry of the new house. I may have to make enough for both.:) It's not too late to sign up and join us for the class. There is some beautiful samples being made in class. You can find out about the class here . Hope to see you there.

Year of Stitches Update....

An update on my year of stitches project. It is coming along nicely and I am up to date with it. Some days I stitch more and other days I have to catch up. I've added the leaves and yellow french knots to the anchor. I will leave it like this for now, but may add to it in the future. I am enjoying stitching everyday just a small amount to help me relax especially on stress filled days. More to come...

Happy Mail

 

A few weeks ago I won a drawing on Anthea's blog here. It arrived today and I am so excited. An armchair caddy for my stitching chair. Already for use on tonight when I stitch. Look at the cute extras that she sent out. A really sweet pin cushion pattern and some pins along with a pair of scissors. She also included two packets of hot chocolate, but they are gone already. Again, thank you Anthea I will enjoy using these.

An Old Work In Progress...

This is an old work in progress that I wanted to pull out and start working on again after being re-inspired by one of my favorite quilters from here. I believe her hearts are smaller than mine though. My hearts measure 2 inches in size after being stitched down with the whole block finishing at 3 inches total. I was making these at the same time I was making the klojes ( which I need to work on as well). I started this in 2012 I believe, but put it down due to it being so fiddly. Not only was it fiddly, but my experience with applique was very limited at the time. I now have a bit more needle turn applique under my belt and it is much easier for me to do these tiny hearts. You can tell how skewed some of the hearts are on the previous blocks! I have about 20 hearts already appliqued down in my wip box. I decided that I would bring this project to life again and see about completing it this year. I don't know if I will make the original size (a king size bed quilt) I was going for at this time, but it has great potential. I'm not fast at appliqueing, so may take a while on these. My original plan was to do five blocks a day for the year. Now, I plan to use these as a fill in project for dr appts with my mom, car travel etc. This way I will still be working on this project, just at a slower pace than I originally had planned. Slow and steady wins the day.

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.