April Gifted Gorgeousness...and then some...

I am a little early this month, but I'm going to have a busy weekend so I thought I'd get this written up early.  It's been a busy 30 days since I last posted....lots going on so I'll get started.

First off, I have a few items to show you for the gifted gorgeousness challenge that is going on over at Serendipitous Stitching.  If you are interested in signing up, I think you can join up at any time but you can find the rules here.  And if you want to see what everyone is posting, you can visit the homepage of her blog here.  Thank you, Jo, for all your hard work in keeping track of us!  This challenge has kept me on the straight and narrow, I'm thankful for the gentle push for keeping up with my goals.

So....let's see...what can I show you?  First off is another Advent number finished.  I'm slacking a little here, but it's been insanely busy in my neck of the woods.  Here is number 19.  These are freebies that can be found at this site.  There are lots of really nice free patterns here!  I just love Ellen Maurer-Stroh patterns! 

I made up one of the Advent numbers that I had finished, but I didn't like the way it was done, so I redid it.  I like this finish much better....but as I've been stitching these up, I think I've decided to finish them all a little differently.  Hopefully I'll have a couple more done by this time next month to show you!

I showed you last month the piece I stitched for my cousin.  I still haven't got it in the frame, there just aren't enough hours in the day.  But I did finish another piece for her sister.  This is Enter into His Gates by My Big Toe.  It's stitched on 32ct Jobelin over one.  I just love this, and I will be stitching one for me when I get a minute to start another one...

I stitched a Betty Boop for my friend's Mom.   I've been friends with this lady since I was 7 years old, and her Mom is a sweetheart.  When I heard she liked Betty, I searched for a long time before I found this pattern.  It is actually a crochet pattern, so I had to pick the colors and play around with it before I liked how it looked.  It's stitched on 40 ct. over two, using one strand of floss for most of the colors, but two strands for the black.  UGH!!  Never again...LOL  It's just too hard to get two strands to get through 40 count...well too hard for me I guess.  I hope she likes it, and I'm still trying to figure out how to finish it off...frame or bell pull...decisions, decisions...  

I was able to stitch up April from The Snowflower Diaries SAL.  These patterns are so much fun!!  These are freebies and you can find them here.

I have two other things I've stitched and finished, but because they are gifts for other people I'm reluctant to show them now.  I should be able to post them next month...so watch this space!
 
 I'm not sure if this counts as a gifted gorgeousness entry, but I'm taking part in a Round Robin, and this is my part of the piece that was sent to me.  I just love stitching for other people, and these Round Robins have been a joy to stitch!

I have been working hard to keep up with the goals I've set for myself. Though I fell a little behind on the  Advent numbers, I've been able to keep up with the Country Cottage Needleworks monthly cottages.  Here is March....

 

In case you are not sports fans, or have your head buried in the ground, it's baseball season again!  We love our Orioles here in Maryland!!  We counted it all up, and this is our 10th year attending Opening Day.  Of course it was cold....but we always have fun.  We had two rain delays, the wind was whipping up a storm...literally...and I nearly froze my cheeks off, but it was worth it to see the Orioles win!  We are always hopeful for a good season...knock on wood.  Let's Go O's!  Here are my boys relishing in the day!

I'll leave you with some pictures I took around my house today.  It was so beautiful outdoors, even if it was a bit chilly.  I just love spring, don't you?