Blizzard Stitching!

So....after a few hours of shoveling, and keeping the guys entertained...I was able to get some stitching done.....actually quite a lot!!  Where do I begin?

Let's see, I have an exchange coming up.  I'm going to show a couple of pictures from what I'm making, but I'm still kicking around ideas on how to finish.  I've got some really interesting ideas how I should do it, but that will remain a secret until I actually send it on it's way.  This is stitched on 54 count fabric over two.  I would hate to stitch anything really big on this count, because the stitches turned out quite tight in there, and took much longer than it probably should have.  I had nothing better to do anyway, so I just kept at it.

Next up is one of the pieces I'm stitching for a RR.  This one belongs to Mouse and you can see her blog here.  This fabric is from Sparklies, and was such a joy to stitch on...really!  I wish I could browse their stall at Harrogate...maybe one year I'll get there.  We'll see...

I have been participating in the Joyful World SAL from The Snowflower Diaries.  They sent out February's chart, so I thought I would squeeze it in and finish it up this month. This is stitched on 32 count over one.  I've been trying to figure out a way to finish, finish it so I can include it in a challenge Friendly Stitchers is having.  I think I have an idea, but it's still on the back burner.  Watch this space because I have to do something with it before the end of the month!

 In trying to stick to my schedule, I went ahead and stitched two letter Rs from Prairie Schooler Christmas Alphabet.  My goal was to stitch two letters a month spelling out Merry Christmas, but these two only took about 3 hours, so I may just go ahead and stitch a few more.  The more I stitch, the sooner I finish.  I'm looking forward to getting these on blocks.  I have other patterns and might stitch small blocks to spell out Welcome, or another holiday, we'll see.

I edited this to include the Valentine's exchange piece I did.  I happened to be in Michaels and stumbled across this frame that I thought would be perfect for the piece I had stitched.  I wasn't planning on framing it, but this frame had a ribbon to hang it with and a lovely scrollwork design on it that fit perfect with the theme.  My partner in the exchange said she loved it and thought it looked perfect too, so here it is finished!  So glad you liked it!

Looks like I'll have to put my needlework casket on hold.  As I was stitching I realized it was going to be too big for the opening in the box.  A few friends tried to convince me to just go ahead and not worry if some things are covered.  UGH!!  I would be so disappointed every time I looked at it and decided to go back and buy a higher count fabric and start over.  It was so discouraging that I haven't had the desire to get back into it...soon though!  Aurora Cabin is languishing on the sidelines calling to me...funny I haven't picked it up because all that shoveling left my arms aching...so it's hard to hold anything big right now...maybe in a couple of days.

I haven't started London either...I just can't seem to get on to the big stuff right now...hoping my mojo for the bigger projects comes back soon!!  The fabric came in just before the storm hit.  I'm going to stitch it on 40 ct. over two, but I will have to set up my floor frame and right now I'm not sure where I'm going to put it...sometimes I wish I could hang it from the ceiling and lower it when I needed it!  LOL!!

I'm off to stitch on some advent numbers...we'll see how they turn out.  I think I'll stitch 24 next as that's the biggest one, and then I can decide how to finish them off.  That way I can finish them as I go, and make them similar in size.  Wish me luck!

I hope those who were in the path of the storm are doing okay.  We have a window leaking like a sieve...I'm not sure what to do about that at this point....ugh!!  My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones, and for the people on the West coast who are dealing with the storms there.  It just seems there are so many tragedies going on out there in the world...it puts problems like misunderstandings between friends, or family members, being snowed in for a couple of days, leaky windows, and the like in perspective.  So my final words are these....forgive quickly, learn to speak gently, love unconditionally, pray for others who you feel have wronged you, and seek peace.  If all else fails...move on, if they can't get over their disappointment in you, (because let's face it, we're all human and make mistakes), then they weren't meant to stay in your life anyway.  Getting even, being snide or nasty, excluding others, doesn't make them look bad, it makes you look bad and it doesn't hurt anyone else but you.  The only person who can rob you of your joy is YOU!  As for me, I choose joy!