Heinzit Wine finish

Wanted to put up this finish. I had to take the photo with my cellphone but I did it. This has been done for months. Gave this to a friend who lovesssss wine. But, I have a second frame and the charms to make my own...LOL

Part 1 of the Provence Mandala is done

Well - I did most of the final parts of 1 during the Wimbledon tennis matches. It was great to see Rafa Nadal beat Roger..... Back to stitching, so I am only 4 parts behind with part 6 being released in August. I guess I need to see what I can get done in the next two weeks. As you can see, I had to start some blue again. I was going a little nuts with the yellow and green. My husband is totally impressed with the size of this project and how many stitches have been done already.

Where have I been in the US

Well - this is so non-stitching but it was cool. Borrowed it from Ms. Woozle Madness. I only have a few states left - those in pale blue. I have also been to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, the UK, and France. I need to finish the ethnic tour with a trip to Finland.

Patchwork of Love Finish

Oh HD - I finished the stitching I made into a wedding announcement. Now I can get back to working on the mandala. The wedding is Saturday and the groom will deploy to Iraq 2 weeks after getting married. He is a graduate of the West Point, like his father. I hope all remains well while he is overseas.

Great Weekend Progress

Well - I have made progress - I started on the outer rings and the brown for the mandala fountain. Hurrah! This is really going to be sparkly. And while I was busily stitching, I had an 'Oh No' moment. I had almost forgot about the wedding we are attending of a good friends son at the end of May. I hadn't started the stitching that I was going to turn into a wedding pillow announcement. So.... off to the sewing maching to serge the fabric and a rush to start. I am posting both (Mandala and the Brittercup Design - Loving Patchwork) pics of the updates.

Update after PCA trip

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men - I think it goes something like that. I took the stitching with me to Maryland and did stitch a little in the truck on the way. After that it was hopeless. No time for any of that. Oodles of Poodles came first so without further typing, here is the update of Provence. I am also adding a pathetic update of the Mermaid of Atlantis. I hope to get a whole lot more done now that I am back. Martina is putting the third installment out on the Mandala this week and as you can see, I haven't finished the first. Sigh !

Post Injury Progress

Having a standard poodle can impact your world. Well, it did mine. I managed to fall face forward in my den in an effort to keep the poodle from getting sick on the carpet. If she hadn't chewed on something outside, she would have been fine. However, the hurt knee gave me great excuses to stitch a while so I did. I am please that I have at least completed the circle of the water fountain. Just a few more stitches and we will be off to the corners. Then comes the effort of tackling part 2, oh my.

April Fool's Day Progress

I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked, but, other things got in the way. I attended a weekend stitching re-treat and got to work on some beautiful pansies. Thanks 3 Stitches. However, on April Fool's Day, I did get to stitch some more on the Mandala. Of course, this came on the same day that Martina loaded part 2 of the chart. Holy Cow. Not finished with part 1 and you should see part 2. Hopefully now that the oak trees have stopped dropping pollen fronds and the yard and car are clean, a little more stitching can be done.

Provence Mandala Update

The majority of the fibers have been gotten along with the beads (from European X stitch). Cindy (European X Stitch) packaged the beads so nicely and I am so happy to have let her minions, aka children, help her on these instead of me doing that counting. I only have 2 NPI and 3 or 4 pearles that are remaining. This means I have cut, serged, and started the project. There are two photos of updates along with the floss toss on the fabric. This project definitely gets you in a zone. I already love it. My DH couldn't believe what I had stitched in two sittings. I think this is slow, but hey, maybe it is fast for some. I did end up changing one of the fiber colors. The major blue just didn't look right on the fabric so I went for Holiday Blue from Gloriana instead of Velvet Night Sky. The one I chose has some darker renderings of color in it and I prefer it to the original choice, especially with the Meditation fabby from Picture This Plus.

Mermaid of Atlantis Progress

So I created the blog for the Provence Mandala, but, I feel inclined to show the progress of other WIP's. Yes, this is so I keep working on them. Here is a pic. I got tired of the brown and gold so I had to do some blue and green. The Kreinik has been a little tedious but not too bad.

The Material List is in hand

Yes - this means $'s going out of the bank account. Wow, you should see the list. This on top of the fact that I figured out how big the lovely was going to be since I am stitching on 28 count instead of 32 count. Instead of 23" x 23" it is going to be 26+" x 26+". The "+" is just a fractional inch. So I am off to the lovely needle point shop to procure some of the silk . I really want to change some of the colors to Dinky Dye's silks. Especially the Gloriana 'Velvet Night Sky". I would prefer to do that much blue/purple in a silk I like. Will see what I am able to do and report back.

PTP Meditation on Jazlyn 28 count

As promised, I have scanned the fabric. I think it looks pretty close to what the eye can see, up close and personal. Can't wait until the list of threads and such come out. Martina promised them in the next couple of weeks. Yea!!

Bought some Fabby for the Mandala & we have a HD and a new start

I got a whole yard of Jazlyn 28 count Meditation from Picture this Plus. The fabric has just enough blue and lavender in it in subtle shading. I am so excited about this. When the supplies list for the Mandala comes out, I will have a great time picking the part of the yard that will get the stitching. I guess I should take a picture and post it.....

The other news is that the Mermaid of Atlantis got started and the Heinzit Wine is finished. Yea!!! I am stitching the mermaid on Silk Weavers Laguna 28 count Tranquility. The Heinzit piece was done on a 28 count Laguna that Da Dinky Dyer dyed. It is a pale sage green and goes great with the frame. I will post a pic in the near future.

So, Meditation & Tranquility both sound perfect for my purpose in doing stitching - de-stressing.

Fabby for the Mandala

Well - I decided to have a look at the several (not telling how many) large plastic and wicker containers that hold my stash. I was on the hunt for fabby that would be large enough for the Mandala. Didn't really see anything I loved. I have decided that cream is a great standby, but, I did go on line to the Chatelaine Designs site to look at the pattern and fabric viewer.

OH WOW - There's Blue Ice and Ocean Blue by Country Stitch, Mystic Crystal by PTP, Blue Lavender by Dreams w/Angels, and ,last but not least, Blue Moon, Forget Me Knot, In The Clouds, Pixie Dust, and Solitude all by Sugar Maple. You can see I have a reoccurring theme. I would love to get the threads so that I can put them on a couple of these lightly shaded blue/lavender fabs to see how things look. Martina, if you are listening, please oh please can we have the list.

With hopes the list will come before Nashville Market. I get to go and help Da Dinky Dyer with her booth. Oh how I love silk........

The Provence Mandala by Martina Weber

OK - so I have decided to start blogging. Can't imagine why- don't have enough time as it is. It is really to get me ready for the Chatelaine Online Class I have signed up for. I guess if I think I post the progress I might get more done.

I have chosen to take the plunge by doing the 'Provence Mandala'. My ethnicity had some influence, but, I love France, the wine, the culture and Provence couldn't be more appealing with the beautiful lavender fields. Yes, that pic is the whole reason for starting this blog. Hopefully, it will help me get more things done with regards to cross stitching.

As soon as we get the supply list I will decide what conversions I am going to make. So not only am I going to do a mandala by Martina but I think I can try and switch the brand of thread. See, I am a frustrated cross stitcher.