Bit by bit....some framing and progress......

Well it's sort of dreary Monday here in Phoenix this morning.  That's rare for us but a storm moved in over the weekend and we had rain and hail yesterday.  It's pretty weird having hail in March here!  We actually had to go out between storms and get on a ladder to clear out some of the gutters that were overflowing in front of the house.  Guess we should be doing that when it's not raining but we didn't realize there was so much tree debris built up in them. All in all though it was a good day for staying in and getting things done around the house - including stitching of course! 

I picked up a few framed Lizzie-Kate  pieces on Thursday night....I always put museum glass on my pieces but it makes it hard to photograph them.   "Dog Rules" is getting mailed out tomorrow to a nephew in Colorado - I hope they like it!  I put a sort of rustic frame on it which I think should go well in their home.    The little piece in the pink frame is going to be hanging in my sewing room/office.  I found the pre-made frame from Victoria Sampler at the LNS and it fit the piece just right so was a little cheaper than getting a custom frame made. I like the buttons on the corners - fits right in with my sewing theme.  :)

"Dog Lessons for People" by Lizzie Kate

"Life's A Stitch" by Lizzie Kate

I've finished up my March ornament this weekend - yeah!   This is from Ursula Michael's Design...I don't know what year it came out in the JCS Ornament issue as it's in my '10th Anniversary Collection" magazine.  I stitched this ornament for an exchange some years ago on the old SBEBB group and always wanted it for myself.  I backed it with some vintage-looking Christmas fabric and love it.

"Holiday Sled" by Ursula Michaels

JCS 10th Anniversary Ornament Magazine

I've having a great time stitching an ornament per month and already completed 4 this year. I've kitted up LHN's "Merry Skater" and the companion piece "Happy Skater" for April. I'm anxious to start them but need to work on my Year of Smalls projects.  I haven't gotten the March one by Blackbird Designs started yet (better hurry!) but I'm trying to catch up with the January selection - the house is a lot of stitching.  I'm hoping once I get the house done I can finish up the rest a little faster. 

"Poinsettia House" - Little House Needleworks

Here and there I've been picking up a little stash....I've got "ornament fever" now and seem to be accumulating way more patterns than I have time to stitch! (as usual....)   When I picked up my framing last week another pattern sitting up by the register called to me loudly and then I saw the cutest tiny little hornbook (no photo)  that was a "must have".  I now have to go through my patterns and find an ornament pattern that will fit on it but I'm sure I'll find something.  Milady's Needle had some kits but they were $25 so I just bought the hornbook by itself ($12)  and will find my own pattern to stitch for it.   So I actually SAVED money this way, right??

Recent stash........

I'm plodding along on American Sampler...working on the house in the middle of the sampler.  There's a thread that is used for filling in the background behind the verses that wasn't showing up well on my light-colored fabric.  I ended up having to order a couple more colors of silk that I hope will work.....now you know you just can't go and order 2 skeins of thread from a website right?  So I added in a few other things....I'll be watching the mailbox anxiously this week for sure!

I hope your week is a good one and you find a few moments to enjoy something you love........