Christmas Garden Finished!

Blackbird Designs "Christmas Garden", a photo by Nicole's Needlework on Flickr.

Fabric: 40 ct. Vintage Light Examplar

Threads: Crescent Colours and Gentle Art

Started: 3/12 - Finished 9/25/12

After seeing some great Christmas Garden finishes (Katrina, Lois and Marsha to name a few), I decided to get my Christmas Garden back out...

40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar, CC and GAST (1 over 2)

And I worked on Charlotte Clayton a little bit.  I have the outline of the orange kitty stitched.

40 ct. Vintage Sand Dune, NPI silks (1 over 2)

Speaking of kitties, I have to share a picture of Oreo, She was sleeping on a quilt my mom made years and years ago (all by hand).

Works in Progress

I went up to Amy's for a day of stitching and chatting yesterday. It was so nice to get away! I worked on Christmas Garden while I was there.

40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar, CC & GAST (1 over 2)

Earlier in the week I worked on Elizabeth Mears.

I'm now working on the eyelet alphabet row...

40 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue, NPI (1 over 2)

And last, but not least, I got a little bit of stash while at Amys. I couldn't resist getting another fat 1/4 of the pretty dye-lot of Vintage Lt. Examplar that I'm using for Christmas Garden.

I can't wait to stitch this sweet little Adam & Eve design by Little House...

Well, next week is going to be very busy. The kids have field trips, egg hunts and dentist appointments. We are also going to be heading down to Florida on Thursday for spring break. We'll be down there for over a week, so I'll post when I can. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter with your families and friends.

Elizabeth Mears

I decided to get Elizabeth Mears back out yesterday. I really would love to get it finished up sometime this year. The castle is what made me put it away. It's huge! This is where I left off last year...

And this is where I'm at now...

40 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue, NPI silks (1 over 2)

I also worked on Christmas Garden a little bit...

40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar, CC and GAST (1 over 2)

I'm almost finished with the border. It really is such a fun sampler to stitch.

Another sampler I've wanted to stitch for a long time is Shakespeare's Peddler's "Spanish Mystery Sampler." I decided to kit it up after seeing Natalia's beautiful finish!

Not sure when I'll get to it, but I love it! Well, I'd better get going - I have a date with the copier at my son's school. :)

Christmas Garden Start

I started Blackbird Designs "Christmas Garden" last week. I wasn't sure if I was liking the colors, but I think they're growing on me now. :)

40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar, CC and GAST (1 over 2)

This sampler is so much fun to stitch. I have a little bit more stitched now and will share another picture soon. I asked Katrina for her permission to copy her idea of using the alphabet on the bottom instead of the words "Christmas Garden."

Another sampler I really want to start is "Mary Roe 1808" by The Scarlett House. Check out Margaret's beautiful finish!!

I was thinking of using the same linen for Mary Roe that I'm using for Christmas Garden - 40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar. It's a beautiful dye-lot.

A Little Break from Ann

I started this very sweet sampler last week...

40 ct. Vintage Navy Bean, GAST and WDW (1 over 2)

It's "Emma Mills 1839" by The Scarlett House. Faye started her too. Great minds think alike! :)

Here's where I left off on Ann...

I got all of the border finished (inside and out) and started working on the inside again. As soon as I get Emma finished I plan to get back to her.

I also ran up to my sort of LNS today and got some threads. I think I've finally decided to use the original called for threads for Christmas Garden...

Katrina and Lois have inspired me with their beautiful samplers so much! The linen I've decided on is 40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar. Now, I can't wait to get started... Ann may have to wait a little longer. :)

ETA: Faye has now finished Emma Mills! It looks amazing!!

Starts and Future Starts

I started "Sergei" a week or so ago. I just love this design by Plum Street Samplers. I'm a little over halfway finished with it now.

40 ct. Vintage Lt. Examplar, GAST and NPI (1 over 2)

My other start is "Be Kind and True" by Blackbird Designs. I've been wanting to stitch this one for awhile now. I don't have a lot to show, but I plan to get back to it after I've finished Sergei.

35 ct. R&R, GAST and WDW (1 over 2)

As far as future starts go, I've been thinking a lot about Christmas Garden after seeing so many wonderful starts around the blogs. I was thinking of stitching it on 40 ct. using Belle Soie.

Another wonderful design that I really want to start is The Scarlett House's "Hannah Tingey 1823." Tanya was stitching this in Myrtle Beach and it's just gorgeous!!

I want to finish up Sarah Elizabeth Brooke before I start another big sampler though. I think I'm starting to become more of a one-at-a-time kind of stitcher. I get overwhelmed when I have a lot of WIPs. I went through my stash yesterday and unkitted a lot of things - including some UFO's I knew I'd never finish. I got my little stash closet organized and it feels so good. Like I have a fresh start for the new year.