Rainy Days and Monday's Always Get me Down......

Aside from the fact that it is raining and it is Monday....I'm really not all that down, but I LOVE that song so I couldn't pass up posting the title!

I had a wonderful weekend, despite the weather.....and got some stitching accomplished!!
My hubby went out with his brother on Saturday evening, Kella skipped her afternoon nap so she went to bed early and Sebastian was hooked on either his laptop or his Xbox.   That left me with a good chunk of time to myself to stitch and catch up on the television episodes I missed through the week! 

I've been soley working on HAED's this year, and I got an itch to work on something I could finish before Monday.  So I stitched ths cute little needlebook for a wonderful friend of mine that has recently picked up stitching again. 


Needlebook Front (this is from a Lucie Heaton free design you can find here )  I changed up some of the colors and the picture in the frame:

That's supposed to be me on the left!  :)

Needlebook Back (I know I've said it before, but I despise back-stitching, so I avoided it as much as I could with this self-made design!) :

Inside:

  I wrapped it this morning and sent it off in the mail!  I hope she likes it!


I also finished page 3 on Coral.  It was a small page but finishing it puts me at about halfway complete!  I am so loving how her face is turning out.  Her eyes are so beautiful!

I had taken my Angel of Hope piece to be framed and it was completed this weekend.  I think it turned out lovely.  Once I finish Coral and have it framed, I'll be giving these pieces to 2 of my sisters-in-law:


 One of the wonderful gifts I won from blog giveaways came in the mail during the week.  I received this intricate  Hand Dyed Cluny Lace Ric Rac Trim in beautiful Boysenberry from Nancy at the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. 
Her blog can be found here and her eBay store can be found here.   If you've never visited her blog, please take a moment to travel over there!  I love all of her designs, and she is soooo generous, she has giveaways all the time!

The picture doesn't do it justice!  I need some ideas on what to use it on!!  I'm thinking maybe some ornies for the holidays.....but I can't decide.  I'd love to hear any ideas anyone has!


 I hope everyone has a fantabulous week!


-lesli

Late IHSW and Early February TUSAL

So I'm a little late to post my update for the IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend) but I'm making up for it by posting a little early for the February TUSAL!  That should even things in the balance, right?

My IHSW update......I worked on Coral this weekend and was able to almost finish page 2!!  (there's a tiny bit left to complete in the bottom right hand corner!)  Here's some pictures:

Coral Before:

Coral After:

And my early TUSAL for Febuary!

Sitting with my Valentine Sock Monkey :)   I layered on top of what I completed for January....but I'm thinking I'll transfer these to a larger container and start fresh for the next update!

Hope everyone had a great weekend (maybe a longer one for anyone that had Pres' day off too!)  Tomorrow I'll be catching up on everyone's IHSW updates and new TUSAL pics!! 

Though this is a quick update post....I can't contain my excitement for having won 2 blog contests!!   I've never won anything online before, so I'm soooooo excited!   I'll share more info with pictures in my next post!!   Now I have a new piece I'll be adding to my WIPocalpyse!! 


-lesli

First finished project for 2012!

Though..it's not a cross stitch project :)

I finally finished the quilt I started in January....with my new sewing machine from Santa.

The quilt pattern is Cathedral Window and I just love how it turned out!

Here are a couple pictures of the finished product:

Now I'm off to plan my next sewing project!  I have a good friend I'd like to make a lap quilt for, so now to find a pattern I like!


I actually found some time to cross stitch while also working away on my quilt.  I was able to complete a portion of page #2 for Coral.  Here's how she looks now:

Since it's IHSW weekend coming up, maybe I'll get the full page completed!  (that's a big maybe!)

For all those stitchers out there that rotate the pieces you work on, how/where do you keep all your projects?  I stuff all mine into an old Coach purse I have (I love it, but it has some stains on it....but this is a great way to keep using it and not have to toss it!).  I keep telling myself....if I can't fit it in the bag, I can't add it to my rotation of work.   Luckily it's a HUGE bag!!.

Looking forward to my 4 day weekend coming up!  I'm taking Friday off to spend with my little girl, Kella.  It's her birthday!   and then Monday is a President's Day, which means NO WORK!   I should definitely get some stitching done!!


Thanks for stopping by and catching up....I truly appreciate everyone taking the time  :)


-lesli

February WIPocalpyse Update

Hello?  Is it really already time for February's update?   I'm scared to blink.... it'll be Christmas before I know it!

I'm posting my most recent progress below, but if you want to see my full list of goals, just click here:  Lesli's 2012 WIPocalypse Page or you can click on each pieces title name, and it will take you to the history of that WIP!



Blue Moon - Officially have half of a page done

Cathedral -   First page complete

Coral - Started into the 2nd page

Can't wait to see everyone's progress! 
Have a great week!!


-lesli

January IHSW and TUSAL

Just a quick update for the January 2012 International Hermit and Stitch Weekend and the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long......

January IHSW:

Blue Moon (Can I just add that stitching with the metallics just makes me cry!)  :)

Before:

After:

And my January TUSAL:

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!  A quick thanks to everyone that posted on my last blog update..... I'm slow to get some responses out!


-lesli

First HAED page complete!

I've finally completed 1 full page of one of my HAED pieces! 

Page 1 of Cathedral:

It still resembles camouflage to me, but when I compare it to the real picture I can see the right images coming through.  So excited!!

I've never rotated so many projects in one month before....I'm so used to focusing on one piece at a time, but I have so many different things I want to work on!!   I've actually enjoyed the rotation, but I'm looking forward to finishing some items and focusing on just 2-3 instead.

Another project I've made some headway on is my Cathedral Windows Quilt.  My last update had me with all my circles cut out and ready to sew.  I've sewn them all, turned them all out and ironed them.   I've finally started sewing them together and hope to have a finish to post soon!!

My quilting progress:

Piles of my completed circles!

I taped my circles to my wall to figure out the best patterns to put them in.  Was trying to avoid having duplicate material too close together.  This took more time than I could have imagined!

And finally.....some rows of sewn circles!

This weekend is my first IHSW!!  I'm happy to finally participate  :)     


I'll be working on my Blue Moon piece.  I haven't touched it since my January WIPocalypse update, so hoping to make a good chunk of progress.

Here's my before picture:

I can't believe January only has about a week left!   I swear it was just Christmas!!!  
Work has kept me busy for this new year, so time has just been flying by!!   Hopefully things slow down in February and I can visit my blog-world more often.  I feel so disconnected from everyone's blogs because I haven't been reading them for a week or so! :(   I need to find an hour this weekend and play some catch up.

My quick weightloss update:  32 pounds lost so far!  It's been 9 weeks since I started my journey.  I'm hoping to lose 75 pounds in total....so I'm almost halfway there!  I have baggy clothes that sort of fit, but I don't want to go out spending money on new clothes if I'm going to lose more!  Guess I'll be using my box of safety pins for the next months!  :)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 2012 so far....I'll catch up on all your blogs this weekend!  I'm sorry I've missed out on your updates!


-lesli