A few things to share.........

Got a few things to share with you before I'm off to Hawaii on Monday.   How is it that even going on vacation is sort of work....at least until you get there. There's shopping for clothes and things you need....laundry...packing.....getting the dogs ready to go to the dog resort....and a busy week at work getting things transitioned off to coworkers while I'm gone.  I'll be glad when those wheels lift off the runway!

I was able to complete 2 little finishes last week.   This is from the 2012 Year of Smalls group and it's the January project - Little House Needleworks "Poinsettia House".   I started it in mid-March as I only joined the group about mid-January and so started out right away with the February project.   This seemed to be quite a lot of stitching - that house particularly!   It was my "Celebrity Apprentice" project that I would work on Sunday nights while DH and watched the show.  (We love to diss the celebrities LOL.   Some of them seem to be real wackos!)   I changed the words from "Poinsettia House" to "Tis the Season" and added a few beads.  I guess it'll sit in the framing pile for awhile now....I've been spending a lot on framing and quilting lately so taking a break for a few months.

Little House Needleworks "Poinsettia House"

stitched on 36-ct LL Vintage Examplar with Crescent Colours

I've been so busy this month I was getting bummed about not getting an ornament stitched....on Tuesday I started a LHN one and it was such a quick stitch I finished it on Weds evening. So glad!  Now I can keep to my one-a-month schedule.    I plan on stitching the companion piece (Happy Skater from the 2012 JCS issue) to go with it and then I'll finish them both into ornaments.  This was just a totally fun stitch!

Little House Needleworks "Merry Skater" - 2010 Ornament Series

stitched on 32-ct R&R 18th Century Stone with DMC

I did get my little BBD piece finished into a pincushion....I have a lovely piece of plum colored wool on the back and it's filled with crushed walnut shells. It's now sitting with all the rest of my pincushions.

And speaking of framing...this is partly why I need to take a break.  I picked up another framed piece below last Saturday from the LNS.     It's been patiently waiting its turn for about 3-4 years now.   This was a round robin project that was done with a small online group I was in for a few years.  We aren't together anymore and sadly one of our members passed away a couple of years ago.  I don't know what most of the others are doing but assume they are still stitching.  Many of you may read Roberta's blog, she was also in our group and stitched on this piece.  She's only other member I know of that is currently blogging.    I don't  have hardly any blue in my house but once we tried this frame it was perfect for the piece so I went with it.  I'll hang it in one of my hallways once I figure out a place -  it will remind me of some fun times stitching in our little group.   When we stitched this piece we stitched all the squares to be in the same direction - the original pattern has every other row facing a different direction but I planned on hanging my piece and wanted them all facing 'up'. 

"Sampler Gameboard" by The Drawn Thread

Stitched on 32-ct lambswool with DMC

That's all for me for a bit....I'm not taking any stitching with me on my trip. I downloaded a couple movies and some books to my Kindle and will spend some time doing that instead. I don't like stitching on planes anymore because I have to wear readers on top of my regular glasses and it looks rather nerd-ish in public!