BIRTHDAY GIRL

Yesterday was my DM birthday - I think she looks great for her age - she would kill me if I published her age in print.
Here she is surrounded by the gifts from her girl group and her family. Standing up next to her is a new OTT Light that we got for her so she can see really well when she is stitching at my house. 



 She and my dad invited Jody and I to join them for dinner at Morton's last night - it is our favorite "special occasion" restaurant and the meal certainly did not disappoint.  So that was a treat for all of us.

Here is a great photo of Mom sporting her beautiful "Just Enough Ruffles" scarf handknit by DF Henrietta.  It is a beautiful subtle shade of green and actually looked great with what she had on.  Look at the beautiful card Henri created for Mom's birthday greeting.  Henri is so creative with her paper crafting and she also is holding an awesome BBD chart "Gathering Basket" - she is already looking forward to stitching it and finding some cool pins to stick in the pin pillow.  It's so great to have thoughtful friends like Henrietta.

DF Kerrie gave my mom a neat sweetgrass basket.  I am sick I did not get a photo of it at rug guild on Sunday.  it was a very unusual shape and I think mom intends to use it for a snippet basket to put wool clippings in.  Kerrie picked up this neat basket while in Charleston recently.  The art of basketmaking is still alive in Charleston but the prices have gone up dramatically in the past few years and the basket maker told Kerrie they are having to go farther and farther away from Charleston to obtain their grasses for making the baskets - why they even come to NE FL to harvest the grasses.  Coastal building is really inhibiting the growth of sea grasses - how sad this tradition is slowly dying out .

I showed a beautiful Noro jacket in the last post I was knitting for my mom.  Since I had not gotten very far along - I decided not to give her a WIP but keep plugging along and maybe give her a finished jacket for Christmas. That gives me a few more months to get it done.

I have no great progress photos to show on my stitching.  I did get some good hooking time on my scarecrow at rug guild on Sunday.  I'm having lots of fun with him and dreaming of my first Pumpkin Spice Latte and cooler weather in September. 

Hope you are all having fall feelings of your own and enjoying time with your needles and hooks!

IT'S A BEACHY THING

Oh my goodness - what a week this has been at work - I have been trying all week long to make this post.  I did not want my friends and followers to think I had succumbed to the heat.  I know we are all oppressed this summer and I for one am ready to bid the summer of 2011 bye bye but here in NE FL - I know we have at least 1 more month of really hot weather and it can be in the 90's even into October.  I just hope and pray we don't have any bad hurricanes come our way.  With all the extreme heat - it always fires up the Atlantic and starts creating storms this time of the year. 

On to the fun stuff - the meat of the post - what everyone wants to see - the photos. 

Every year for the past umpteen years - we have spent at least one long weekend at St Augustine Beach.  I have spent a lot of time in St Aug in my life - I adore St Aug - my grandmothers sister raised her 4 boys in St Aug and their families were reared there so I had lots of cousins and many visits to that area in my life.  It is very familiar and I know my way around very well.  We have favorite restaurants we always eat at while in town and occasionally we try something different.  So come join me and enjoy a few shots of last weekend.

Here is the view of the pool area and beach from our condo balcony.  I must say this is as close to the beach as I got - it was so dang HOT - I just wasn't interested in going down there during the day.  It was much more fun to stay inside and look out the glass and stitch and knit LOL !

Here's my best friend ( my DH) JD - we did manage to sit out on the balcony for a couple of hours and had a breeze so we didn't expire.  While we were sitting out there someone down by the pool was grilling hamburgers and the power of suggestion and sense of smell was so great we decided that we simply must have a hamburger.  So we went a few blocks down the street to the Oasis. 

Oasis is a true beachy dive - however the food is very good.  They have 3 stories of seating including a roof top - this area is interesting - it has 4 walls and even has windows in the walls but no roof - it was amazing that a breeze picked up and just at dusk - it was nice enough to sit in this area that was open to the stars.  It was a really neat experience - it's not often that one can sit outside in our area especially in the summertime - what with the ravenous bugs and oppressive heat - it just doesn't happen often.

Very early Sunday morning - like 5am - I could not sleep - so finally at 6am - I got up - walked out on the balcony and snapped this shot of the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean - A rare sight for Ms Mel indeed.  Anyone who knows me well knows that if I had my  choice I would stay up late and get up late but with work - I am obliged to get up at 7am - getting up before dark is reserved for early flights or vacation departures only !

 Sunday morning after we checked out - we had already decided that we wanted to try a restaurant down in the historic area called the Bunnery - We had to park and walk about 1.5 blocks thru the historic district.  It wasn't so bad going to the restaurant but coming back at almost 11am - YIKES it was just SOOO hot - I stopped for a quick shot of this beautiful courtyard - it is near the Columbia Restaurant and St George St for anyone who knows St Aug.

Here's my buddy again reluctantly standing for a photo opp next to some old well type thing.  He's sporting new sun glasses and we decided they look a lot like those Gargoyle glasses that Arnie wore in the Terminator movies.  I guess that was a popular expensive brand in the 80's - his are cheapy knock offs but they looked good on him.  Plus who doesn't love a sovenir from a get away.

Just so you know that I do still stitch - this is a shot of the new BBD Loose Feathers bonus piece - those beautiful silks that Alma used in this piece just got me - Plus I love LL Vintage Pear - This is the first time I've used Dinky Dyes silks and I was very impressed with them.  The only thing I hate is using 2 strands - AACCKK - but it really does make the colors pop and show up beautifully on the linen.

Closer view of the stitching I have accomplished - A lot of it was done at the beach - I always associate fond memories of stitching certain pieces in certain places.  Do you do that too?

For the last shot - here is a jacket that I started for my DM - for any knitting fans it is Noro Furisode - a silk/cotton/wool blend.  I hoped to finish it for her birthday but since that is just a couple weeks away - I am doubting i can but it is a short jacket and has elbow length sleeves so there is hope.

I have not been hooking at all - so no progress to report on any rugs.  However my next post will focus on the Olde Green Cupboard retreat which is coming up next weekend.  I will hopefully get tons of hooking done next weekend and hope to take a lot of photos.  this will primarily be a quilt retreat and I hear there will be about 150 people in attendance.  Better take my earplugs I guess !  No offense to the quilters out there but hooking is basically quiet compared to the machine noise and can you imagine the chatter from 150 excited crafters.  Should be a blast. 

I see that I have gained a few followers - welcome !  for some reason - I can't very easily see the followers any more - wonder if Blogger has messed that up too.  I love hearing from you so please do leave me a comment and please come back and visit again real soon.

SURELY FALL IS NEAR???

What a stupid title to this blog post - with record high temps all over the country and the heat index here at 100 + and rising thru the week - I must be delirious from the heat or maybe just day dreaming about fall when I was plundering thru my rug hooking projects on Saturday night looking for something new and different to work on at rug guild yesterday. Meet Mr Fancy Pants.  Here is a close up shot of him - Jody made me laugh - he said he looked like that Jeepers Creepers thing in the horror movie - like he was going to jump up and get you any minute.  He said he has a sick sadistic look on his face - AAAWWWW - now wasn't that mean of him - I think he is sooooo cute and doesn't look mean or creepy at all to me.

I love this canvas with the whole backround filled with pumpkins and pumpkin leaves.  I thought the bird looked like some silly tropical bird instead of a crow so I had someone redraw it for me - I think it was DF Henri or maybe DF Karen - honestly it has been so many years since this guy has seen day light I don't remember who helped me redraw the bird.

My goal is to do every single pumpkin in a different shade of orange and use a lot of textures.  It is a very busy canvas and really does require quite a bit of study to make sure you are seeing everything correctly that is going on in this canvas.  For any rug hookers out there - the canvas was designed by Bev Conway and is called Punkin Patch or maybe Pumpkin patch and I did this in a 2 day workshop with her some years ago.  I've only worked on it a time or two since that workshop about 5 years ago but he is such a cutey and I sure needed a blast of fall feelings yesterday.  I am doing this mainly in a 6 cut mostly with wools I bought from Bev at the workshop.  I have a lot of browns so I am hoping to find stash for the aged picket fence in the foreground.

 Next up is the Figurehead shawl FINISHED and on time for the Camp Loopy KAL with the Loopy Ewe shop.  For anyone interested in the knitting stats - it was a design out of the Summer Knitscene mag knitted with the called for Spud and Chloe Sweater which is a worsted weight 50 wool/50 cotton - lovely yarn.

This photo is more accurate of the true colors - one of the requirements for the Loopy project was the item had to be striped - anyway - here is the cool horn button  I found in Savannah last week.

Yes there has been stitching going on in my house but I just did not feel like trying to take another WIP photo of that huge Spanish sampler - I do enjoy working on it but Jody's nickname of "the lap blanket" does paint a picture for how big this sampler actually is and working with that all over my lap and under the OTT light - it is a hot project so I don't work on it as often as I should.  I have fallen far enough behind in the Attic SAL that I no longer feel obligated to work on it when I don't want to. In sampler world - I just don't have anything that is screaming my name - I have enjoyed working on the Plymouth Sampler a few days here and there but no dramatic progress on it either. I have been doing some fun needlepointing on the Autumn House and maybe next post I will show you a WIP photo on that one.  That is what I am really enjoying doing at the moment.  Oh and I have just started the 2nd Camp Loopy project with the Loopy Ewe - mittens of all things - well my logic was that I had a better chance of  finishing mittens than gloves and certainly more than socks. To participate - you had to knit one of those 3 items using cables. 

I'm going to leave you with a beautiful breathe of summer - This hibiscus on our patio has done really well.  It always reminds me of sultry summer days.  I hope you are enjoying your sultry summer day doing what you love to do most.  Clink ! and Cheers to you all ~ ~

HAPPY HARES

Well well - finally a finish - the Hare rug is complete. It is a gift for DF Anne Marie - the same dear friend who made the gorgeous crayon box jackets for my mom and I. She is uncertain exactly how she wants to use or display Momma Hare and her bunny babies so I'll try to show another photo of it when it is completely done.

This design was adapted from a freebie by Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Samplers - with her permission it was transferred to linen rug canvas.  It is hooked with cuts 4,5,6.  This little rug has been thru a lot - I pulled out about 1/4 of the original backround I started hooking in which was a very pale aqua - so pale that when I got to Momma bunny - she faded right into the backround - AAACCKK - didn't notice it right away because chocolate boy bunny looked great.  So I pulled all that out and started with the pretty sky blue backround - then I got to Momma Hare and her dress faded into the blue backround - another pitfall which had to be corrected.  Then as I'm hooking along I began to panic that I was not going to have enough backround to finish - since this was something I pulled from stash - EEECCKKK - there was no more.  So I finished with just a few strips to spare.  I think it is darling and in spite of the couple of snafus it has been fun to hook.  So - I am busy trying to decide what my next focus piece will be - having finished TWO rugs this year - I am on a roll.  Perhaps I should put my BIG Antique Blue Basket up on the frame and shoot for a finish on that beautiful rug.  It is too big to carry to rug guild so I have to choose a smaller rug for guild.  Oh so many rugs so little time to hook . . . . . .

I 've also been doing a fair amount of knitting in June - and BTW - can you believe today is the last day of June (heavy sigh) I just don't know where this month has gone - truly - time is flying by.  This is a small shawl called Figurehead and is published in the most recent issue of Knitscene for any interested knitters out there.  It is a KAL with the Loopy Ewe - a great online shop I order from.  Sheri the owner has a great blog and is always doing fun things to include her "away" customers.  We are "camping" this summer and all doing projects of our own choosing except to participate in the incentives - your yarn had to be purchased from TLE - if you finish in the appropriate time frame - you get entered into some great giveaways.  The only requirement for this project was that it needed to be striped.  Lots of knitters are working on and have already finished Daybreak by Steven West - that is one I would really like to do in the future.  One good thing about this type of KAL - you see many projects you'd like to do in the future and also what color combinations work. 

I was shocked when I recieved my order from TLE - apparently I had met the criteria to become an official "loopy groupie"  and I was truly astounded with the generous gift that came with my order.  A neat plastic project carrier with TLE logo, a lovely sock pattern and a special colorway just for the TLE by Lorna's Laces - their Shepherds Sock yarn in an extra large skein.  Oh AND a $25 GC for the next time I shop with them.  OK people - Sheri and her crew know how to do internet right - they know how to entice you to order - they process your order quickly - you get tracking on your order and an email when it ships - you get frequent buyer credits which add up to a free GC AND the best of all - they have a tremendous supply of the best yarns from all over the world.  Sheri's blog  is awesome - she even does giveaways on her blog of great stuff - not just junk she needs to move out of her shop.  I guess I sound like I am gushing over TLE but I feel it is truly a stand out in online shops and if you are a knitter or want to be a knitter or even if you just enjoy reading a great blog - check Sheri out.  She also posts some awesome recipes on there.

Yes I am stitching also but I just don't have anything noteworthy to post.  I am back on my needlepoint again - working on the Autumn House - I've been avoiding those hay stacks too long and I want that piece on my wall for the fall season so I will show a progress photo soon.  Samplers (sigh) I am still plugging away on the Spanish SAL - those rows get longer and longer - I am about to finish up the April assignment so now I am two months behind.  Yes it's a drag but I knew it was inevitable that I would fall behind so that's no shock.  My eyes are not always up to stitching on linen after staring at a computer screen all day at work.  Knitting and np are just easier on the peepers - for me anyway.

I hope you are all gearing up for a very happy and festive 4th of July weekend.  I have a 3 day thank goodness - I'm sure we are going to my folks lake - they have a great community fireworks display over the lake which we enjoy every year.  Probably won't get back to blogland before the 4th so I'll wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

JUNE JOY

Well - I had to come up with a catchy title for this blog post. I don't have anything joyful to share with you. I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted. Furthermore - I can't believe I have almost no progress on anything to show you - I have been knitting more these past few weeks. I am in the home stretch on the Madeline Tosh KAL "Sugared Violets" I am working on.  Here is the latest WIP photo - there is one more eyelet row and then I start the fleurette border.  It has been a mindless enjoyable knit so far.  the yarn is MT Pashmina and the color is Wash which is out of the box for me - however it is green - it is just a very pale pastel type hand dyed green.  I wanted something suitable for spring and this was the best I could do w/o ordering on line and I wanted to support the LYS.

This lovely lady is on Garden Glade - I got this beautiful linen and conversion from the Attic.  This sampler just says "summer" to me - the rich colors and cool backround - I have enjoyed working on it when taking a break from the Spanish Sampler SAL - also with the Attic.  I had a photo of it downloaded but when I brought over to blogger - I imported a previous photo and I can't seem to get the current WIP to load - URGHHH- anyone else hating blogger these days??????

I hope everyone is gearing up for a very nice weekend.  I wish I had a more exciting post but I mainly just wanted to pop in and say hi and I hope everyone who has kids and relatives graduating from HS and college that you enjoy the festivities and enjoy your weekend.

MEMORIAL DAY

Good morning and Happy Memorial Day! 

I hope you all have great plans for today - barbeques beaches and blue skies.  Today is not a holiday in our company so I am "working" today however I will be attending a BBQ at one of the local stores.  That will be a nice break in the day and something special that we don't do every day.

I have been working on a little patriotic piece by Handwork - the America pillow. It is on BOAF Sparrow and done in the called for overdyed cottons. It is so fun to work on something like this - I don't typically do these colors. I've made good progress in the past two days. I think I am going to keep it out this summer and make it my "fun" piece to break to when I am tired of working on my samplers.

I promised a photo of the new persian oriental rug I started last weekend in my workshop.  Here it is - I need to do some tweaking here and there.  I'm not happy with how the larger red flower came out - not enough contrast so I need to add some outlining of a lighter shade of red or perhaps that yellow green. Overall I'm very pleased with how it is coming out.

Here is a closer photo - you can see what I mean about the larger flower needing some enhancement.

I did not say before but this is hooked in a 5 cut and some stems in a 4 cut.  I am proud to say that all the wool except a few pieces came out of my stash cupboard.  I had purchased all the yellow greens from the teacher Eric at a previous workshop so I definitely wanted to put some of that in the rug and I also wanted some of Linda (the workshop director) in the rug so the beigy brown center of the pomegranate is from her lovely wall of wool.

This is a KAL I have been doing on the Madeline Tosh board on Ravelry - only knitters will understand all this jargon.  It was called MADMAY and the object you chose to "knit a long" was supposed to be finished in May to be eligible for the prizes - oh well - it won't be finished in May but I have enjoyed working on it - I need to put on a longer circular needle - that one is getting crowded with stitches so it would not lay flat.  The yarn is MT Pashmina in a color called Wash - the yarn is yummy to work with and I would highly recommend it.  There was as great article in the new Vogue Knitting mag that just came out about the Madeline Tosh company.  Take a read if you are a fan of this awesome hand dyed line out of Texas.

I'm going to leave you to celebrate the day in whatever way you enjoy most.  Whether it be quietly stitching or lounging around the pool, lake or ocean.  It's a day that we Americans should all hold dear to our hearts and always remember those who have given their lives for our freedom. 

HEAVENLY HIAWASSEE

Oh my goodness - the rug hooking workshop I attended this past weekend at The Hookery in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North GA was simply heaven.  It was held at the home of certified rug hooking instructor Linda Bell - her home is perched high up on a hill overlooking Lake Chatuge and with a stunning view of the Blue Ridge mountains.  Linda engaged another national level certified instructor Eric Sandberg to teach an intimate workshop of 14 at her home.  Apparently Linda does a spring and fall workshop every year and invites guest teachers.  She also has classes in her studio that she teaches all during the year.  I was excited to be able to attend and met many nice women.  I learned so much from Eric - his style of teaching is a bit different from most instructors I have taken classes from.  The whole first day was spent learning about the color wheel and how placement and usage of color in your rug could make or break the overall quality and appeal of the piece.  This type of lesson would be applicable to any type of design work - quilting - needlepoint - home decor placement - etc etc. - I had Eric in a 2 day workshop some years ago and he was on the same track but has honed things tremendously and I would say this is a teacher not to be missed.

After the lecture on the color wheel was over - we all took our canvas, wool bags and chairs out to the covered patio just off of Linda's studio which is on the ground floor of her home. One by one Eric called out each student to discuss her canvas and see what wool and colors she brought to contribute to the design.


Some people had everything they needed to make a successful color plan and some he said "go shopping for this, this and this" - Linda had two WALLS of wool and Eric had a whole table full he brought from home.


Here is Eric's table overlooking the covered patio.  Who wouldn't love that view !

This was my view from where I was sitting in the workshop - total bliss - huh?????

Here is a beautiful oriental that Eric is hooking.  The rug will be for sale to the highest bidder when he completes it.  It is 5 ft X 7 ft and is hooked in a 3 cut - it is an old Pearl McGown pattern but I don't remember the name.  His current highest bid is $4500 - a pittance of what this rug should be worth - so if you have $5000 to spend and want this rug - it might could be yours. 

 

 For some reason - I did not take a photo of my persian oriental.  It is a small rug - I think 18" X 30" but a very interesting design and I was pleased with the color plan.  We did not get a lot of hooking done on our actual projects because Eric also gave 2 dye demos and a finishing demo so I guess maybe that is why I did not include any WIP's of the projects in this workshop.

Since I was in a hurry to get a post made before the holiday weekend - I did not take any WIP photos of my needlework or knitting either.  Actually there has not been a lot of progress with my stitching or knitting lately.

So for those of you who are lucky enough to be taking off on a trip for Memorial Day weekend - have a great time.  I have sampler guild on Saturday and we'll probably hang out around the pool and cook out on Sunday - Don't forget to remember all of those who have fought and gave up so much for our freedom in this great country.  America the Beautiful - sing it loud and sing it proud !!!!!!!!

 

ANNUAL RUG GUILD HOOK-IN

WOW - miracles never cease - 2nd post in less than a week.

This one is mostly just photos from the informal exhibit we held at our recent hook in.  The Northeast Florida Rug Hookers hold one hook in every year in May.  We had about 30 hookers there.  Most were guild members but we did have a group from the Ocala guild and the Citrus Belle guild and one friend even came from South Florida. 

I'm going to make this short and sweet - I am on my way to another rug hooking workshop in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NE GA right on the NC border.  Linda Bell is hosting Eric Sandberg at her studio The Hookery for a workshop and he is focusing on wide cut orientals.  YEP - I am starting another oriental - this one will be much smaller than the dreaded albatross I spoke about in a previous post.  I'll have another report from the workshop when I return next week.

So on with the show . . . . . .

This rug is a pictoral hooked by a guild member - Lynn did a great job using a lot of as is wool and it was so much fun to see her work on this rug and be there for the binding and throwing on the floor of a great finished rug.  CONGRATULATIONS Lynn for a beautiful finish.

This is not a very good picture of a beautiful 3 cut rug by Connie Charleson - Connie is a NE FL resident and has been a rug hooker and teacher for well over 50 years.  She is amazing at 88 still teaching - still dyeing - still hooking and still creating patterns.  She said this rug was hooked in 1964 and look at the color retention.

This sunflower is from Connies line of patterns - also hooked with a 3 cut - what a stunning backround.  It was hooked by a student of Connies but I won't say because I am not quite sure who laid it down.

I did not hear whose pictoral this was but it is so pretty.  I think maybe it was by one of the gals from the Ocala guild.

This very beautiful purse/tote was done by one of our guests from the Ocala guild.  What gorgeous colors - I love the crewel type elements in this design.

Sorry but I have no idea who did this lovely street scene.  It is out of focus and I apologize to the hooker.

DF Susan hooked this beautiful Angel Sampler rug - I'm not sure of the cut but I think she used 6,7 and 8 - it was worked at a rug camp in Texas and the design is by Bea Brock as well as the color plan.  I worked on this same design at the hook in but mine is a runner and not as big as this one and my color plan is completely different with a dark stormy night sky.  I will show mine to you soon.

This WIP is done entirely in  a 4 cut by another guest at the hook in.  Michelle does exquisite work and has won many prizes for her rugs at our local rug camp.  I think she said that she did all the dyeing for this rug herself.

Another 3/4 cut beauty - I'm not sure of this guests name but she attends every year and it is always a pleasure to see her beautiful creations.

Another Bea Brock canvas and color plan by a fellow guild member Nancy.  The colors are bold and dramatic and that olive green backround is just perfect.

I think this rug was also done by a guest from the Ocala rug guild.  It is in a 5/6 cut I believe I heard someone say.  Love the scallop border - very pretty in person.

Last but certainly not least - Here's ULYSSES !!!!!!  DF Karen started this darling guy at Ocean rug camp last year.  He makes me smile every time I see him - he is too cute for words.

That's all folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUTTONHOLES AND BUNNIES

Well its been a while since I've made a post.  Thought I would get this done last week but its been crazy busy at work and I am usually able to take a short break to visit blogland.  Nevertheless - here it is almost the end of another busy week.

I am looking forward to our rug hooking guilds annual hook in this Saturday.  We have about 30 members and guests coming.  Our guild members all bring a dish or dessert to share and our guild purchases the main entrees.  Hopefully I'll have some photos of this event to share next post.

In my last post I mentioned going to a needlepoint class down in central florida at Needle Orts.  The class was so much fun and it was good to see Deb the owner again and a few women I knew when I took classes at my beloved Black Sheep in Winter Park.  Those days are gone forever and it has been very hard to get back into needlepoint.  The shop owner was a dear friend and mentor and I enjoyed spending time in her shop - we became close personal friends over the 20 years I patronized her shop.  So now I am tryng to find my way back to needlepoint thanks to the local chapter of EGA which I joined last year.  All those ladies mostly do canvas work and they have inspired me to dust off my NP books and projects and become involved again. 

I don't have much progress to show you on my class piece which is a bunny tree by Ruth Schmuff.  I'm embarrassed to say it took 2 hours to complete that one purple flower I am going to show you.  There is also a bunny next to it that flower that just needs his fluff and bunny #2 will be completed - at this rate - this will be finished in time for Easter 2020 LOL !  Ok - it is fun using all those great fibers - I do miss that about NP.  I also paid a visit to my other new fave NP shop in Savannah last week - the French Knot and stocked up on some silk threads for a canvas I bought from her in the fall.  I'll show you in another post.

The title of this post refers to the fact that every one of these flowers are edged in a buttonhole stitch - that's why it took 2 hours to complete one flower.  It is lovely and I am really enjoying the fibers but getting that butonhole stitch to lay just right is tedious and time consuming.  I'm sure the results are worth the effort.

Is this wool gorgeous or what???  the color is called Poodle Skirt and I found it on my foray to Savannah last week.  This is a gorgeous cowl from the Shibui Luxury book - The Staccato variagated yarn is a wool silk blend and you knit it together with 2  strands of Silk Cloud which is a kid mohair/silk blend - to say it is heavenly is an understatement. I have been in  a huge knitting slump for so many months it's really hard to believe.  However one visit to Wild Fibre and I'm back in the saddle again.  Knitting every night is such a zen thing for me.  Even if I stitch for a couple of hours - stopping and knitting a few rows before bed really seems to relax me and prepare me for a rest ful night.

Is this mermaid pin pillow precious or what !!!  DF Carol  stitched this darling SB piece for me.  She even did the finishing herself and put on that dreamy ruched edging.  The lovely scissors in the photo are KAI scissors from Japan - I had never heard of them before so I was excited to add them to my collection of scissors.  I found some interesting info on the KAI website and would love to order a rotary cutter from them and a pair or fabric scissors even though there is certainly nothing wrong with my little used Gingher fabric scissors.  Carol has made me so many treasured gifts over the years - she knows that I love mermaids.

Look at the perfect fabric she found for the back of the pinpillow.  I think you can see the ruching even better in this shot.

I did not get to make a post for mothers day but we had a great one.  My mom has been wanting an orchid so here is the one I found for her.  What lovely creamy yellow blooms it has - sorry I don't remember the name of the type of orchid.  She also got some pandora earring charms and a new pandora pendant to hang on one of her bracelets.  We love collecting pandora and I still have not shown a photo of the new leather pandora bracelet I got for my birthday.  Next time !

the last photo is the sad progress I have made on my Spanish SAL.  I am not even 1/2 way across this band for April.  I do have a very valid excuse - I am using the Attic's silk conversion for their SAL - on this particular band - the Belle Soie color was so light those golden leaves just faded completely into the backround.  I kept on stitching them until I had about 6 done and was having such a difficult time stitching the leave because I could not see the thread against the linen - URGHHHH - So I found the color that Theresa at SP actually used in her chart (Gloriana Lacquered Gold I think) and did another flower in that silk - OMG - WHAT a huge difference it made - so then there was the dreaded task of pulling out 6 leaves which I could hardly see - I was so scared I was going to pull the linen threads by accident.  That took several sessions because it was just so unpleasant and so unproductive.  AAACCCKKK - Sooooooo - that is my sad story as to why I am behind - very behind on my April assignment.  Plus the lure of the buttonholes and bunnies did not help my plight.  I'm going to keep at it - I really do enjoy stitching on this sampler but I really like forward progress.  Here's hoping all my friends in blog land are making lots of forward progress of their own.