Monday, April 22, 2013

Round and round and round we go...

Hi there fellow bloggers and bloggettes!   My what a few weeks we have had.  I don't know about you, but with all the upheaval I'm beyond exhausted!!  Where to start?  Hm....how about with some good news?

Ok, so, I was invited to participate in a Round Robin a few weeks back.  Ask my DH, I agonized over the pattern and finally decided to use Orchard Valley Quilting Bee.  It had the right number of divisions, and they were small enough to finish within the time period.  I got my fabric, floss and pattern and began stitching.  While I was thinking about how I would work this, I had a brain storm.  I know, grab your umbrellas, it could get messy!!  LOL  I started out stitching with two threads, but realized soon that it would be too bulky on 36 count fabric.  So... the frogs visited...and visited...and visited.  Well, ladies who are participating in the Round Robin, I hope they don't visit you while you are working on this, I'll try to keep them here, but hopefully will boot them to the backyard as I'm pretty fed up with them!!  LOL  



As I was staring at the pattern, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to change the name of the pattern to Friendly Stitchers Round Robin.  The only letter not present was the S....so I fudged, frogged, and frazzled my nerves until I had sorted out the letter.  Then after looking at it at length again I though, what if I made the bee a bird?  I cannot tell you how much I fussed and fretted until finally I found a pattern that would fit in that little space.  BUT...the colors weren't just right...so I fumed and fudged some more until I found colors that would sort of work.  The bird isn't the shape of a robin, but the colors make you think it could be...so there it is.  I have a few other ideas, about how to incorporate the names of ladies who will be participating into the pattern, but I may have to put that on hold until the piece comes back to me.  I hope the other ladies like what I've done.  I hope, now that I've finished running up and down stairs in my house trying to sort out colors and designs, that I can finish up what I've begun stitching before it's time to pop that baby in the mail.    Here is what I've done so far.  Tell me what you think, I really would like to hear your feedback!!




I had to put another project on hold while I was messing with that, this is a wedding sampler for my Physical Therapist who is getting married next Saturday.  I didn't finish in time, but she has an idea of the size of it, and we decided she should find something (a shell, starfish, sand dollar) while on her honeymoon to put in with the finished sampler while she is on her honeymoon.  Hopefully I will have it finished by the next time I see her in two weeks.



I had a lady from my church ask me to teach her to crochet.  This is a daunting task I must say as she is left handed, and someone I don't know real well.  We've had to cancel twice so far as things keep getting in the way.  I decided to have an afghan on the go so she could see how things work, and started this one for a lady who's baby is due in October.  If my life ever slows down I just might be able to finish something!!   I wish you could feel this yarn , it's as soft as it looks!  This is my "riding in the car" project.  It's seen quite a few miles!  LOL




I worked on it on my way to see  Mercy Me in concert.  Being friends with Astrid is such a blast.  She finds the neatest things to do!!  Here are a few pictures of the bands we saw.  I've been humming "I can only imagine" ever since.  What a wonderful group they are!!





I nearly forgot to mention the tea that Astrid and I had together.  I thought I had posted about this earlier, but apparently I lost the one I had saved.  We enjoyed our Ginger Peach tea, little finger sandwiches, fruit and desert, then walked the streets of Ellicott City and visited a few antique shops.  It's always fun to visit with Astrid, she's so much fun!!










I've had a few visitors to my back yard.  What fun when spring decides to rear it's head and show the softer side of mother earth.  Here's some pictures of the delights in my yard.







 


The countdown has begun for my annual trip to St. Michaels.  A few things are packed, but I still haven't decided which projects to take.  I hope I can take a few that are almost finished so it will feel like I accomplished something!  We have added an extra day to our weekend, hopefully my chuckle muscles will be able to hold out the whole weekend.  I can't tell you how much I look forward to this each year!  I'll fill you in when I get back!

And on that note, I'll bid you a fond adieu until we meet again!  *Hugs*

12 comments:

Tricia T said...

DJ, your round robin is fantastic!! I'm just glad I don't have to stitch it over one on 36 count. You'd be waiting awhile, I'm afraid, my dear!! : ) I love the pictures of the flowers and birds. Soon, soon, soon I hope to see them here, too!!!

Tricia

Astrids dragon said...

LOVE what you did for your RR, can't wait to see that completed!Wow, you work fast, the afghan looks great so far.

You are my cohort in concerts aren't you?! And now we can add Tea to our list - couldn't imagine doing it without you. ♥

Can't wait until our get-a-way, it's just around the corner...

lynda said...

From someone who will be working on your robin....I can't wait! I love your changes! This will be fun!

Mouse said...

ohhhh just love it .... well worth the hassle ... can't wait to work on it now .... love the look of your cream tea with Astrid .... hope you manage to teach the crochet and guess what I have managed to do a wee bit of knitting !!!!!
enjoy your retreat and glad you have added an extra day ... chill relax and get lots of stitching done :) love mouse xxxxx

Gillie said...

Relax! LOL!

Mii Stitch said...

What a great post DJ!!! I love the RR design & the modifications you have made so far are for the better. The birds look really cute!!! Good luck with teaching the crochet! :D I wish I was there too, I'd love to learn &... I'm left handed :D I've read all about the little afternoon tea on Astrid's blog, sounds like you really had a lovely time! Have a fabulous day xx

Jo said...

Love the FS Round Robin, he's so cute and it's going to look great. Love the wedding sampler, it's so different and the colours are wonderful x

Parsley said...

Oh what FUN! I love MercyMe and have seen them in concert more than once. So cool!

Love the Robin stitch.

Pam in IL said...

Fun post! I like the changes you made to your Round Robin design. Love seeing the birds and flowers as well as all the other things you have going on.

Maggee said...

Your RR looks wonderful so far! And the bird looks like a robin.. from England! I have a picture I snagged from someone's blog (maybe Mouse??) and that is the same bird! So you done good! Have fun at St. Michaels again! Hugs!

Anne Sans Tete said...

The RR changes are great! I really like the bird.

The tea setup looks fantastic! I wish we had a tea shop around here.

- Lisa

MysteryKnitter said...

The RR looks awesome! I am happy you could make the changes. I've no doubt the participants appreciate it very much.
Pretty flowers too. The real ones, that is. Spring is full of surprises, that is true.