off to texas!

i'm off to texas for the weekend to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend back in fort worth. can't wait to see my friends and family, and maybe sneak in a quick mexican food fix! no stitching while i'm gone, too many luncheons, rehearsals and parties. have a great weekend!

blah weekend

pardon my rant, but i pulled up to my lns on saturday morning, ready to collect my remaining threads and beads to continue moving forward with the tote bags, and they were closed due to illness! they've already been closed the past month because they're moving locations, and now this!!! 

i know i should be grateful that i have such a great local shop to get supplies, take classes and have finishing services, but i couldn't help but be in a bad mood. i had been looking forward to it all week...it was keeping my mind preoccupied what with babe leaving for austin. 

i had to make due with what i do have in my stash, so i continued padding and ribbon-ing the tote bag straps for 2 more bags. 

i'm in love with the electric blue / turquoise color on the crab tote. it was painted as black, but on the website it was this color. i'm glad i went with my gut to change it, it brightens the whole thing up!

i would love any suggestions for background stitches. there's 5 of these, so i want to mix it up.

hope you had a great weekend, it's just me and cricket for 6 whole weeks...yikes!

river silk is my best friend

our needlepoint beyond class for kelly clark's spring crazy quilt has been put on a brief hold since my lns is moving locations. it comes at the perfect time however, because i wanted to get started on my tote bags. it always seems like the christmas finishing deadlines get earlier and earlier, so i want to be prepared! 

because i can't get to my lns until saturday to pick up thread and beads, i went ahead and started on the "straps" of the bag. i padded it with cotton floss in the corresponding color, and then wrapped the 4 mm river silk ribbon around it to create a gathered, ruching effect.

you can faintly see the "sanibel" that i lightly penciled on as well. i am in love with with this effect and have to give vicky de angelis a big thank you for the tip! 

monday!

the weekends always go by too quickly for me! where does the time go?

i finished up the pavilion diamonds and completing the long cross in the sparkly accentuate. not one of my favorite threads to work with, but i really love the subtle sparkle on this section. 

i'm going to wait before i start on the next session. we have our needlepoint beyond class this weekend and i imagine we will be receiving the next thread kit. i'm scared / excited for the stump work to begin, this will certainly be an adventure!

love the sparkle!

i'll be tabling this project until class this weekend, but i'm starting on the linda lahm tote bags for my family. stay tuned!

crazy quilt progress

i started over on the pavilion diamond stitch last night, and made pretty good progress. my goal is to complete this square and then some this weekend. 

i absolutely love the black-on-black look once it's finished, but the process is somewhat trying, what with the petite very velvet picking up every single fiber and dog hair that's ever existed. 

speaking of dog hair....

with summer heat in full effect in new orleans, little has come to the conclusion that she is kept cooler by sticking her head under our slipper chairs. 

this is my favorite. have a great weekend!

princess and me pieces

with multiple shops having princess and me trunk shows right now (pocket full of stitches and needle nook of la jolla) i jumped at the chance to enhance my stash with these precious ornaments. princess and me is one of my favorite designers, i love that they include stitch guides and that each piece they make is a little work of art!

i love the hot air balloon santa, this will look so cute on my christmas tree!

crazy quilt progress

we've been doing a "needlepoint beyond" class at my lns the garden district needlework shop for the past month and our current project is kelly clark's spring crazy quilt. i've completed lesson 1 and was getting anxious to start the next lesson when our lesson 2 class was cancelled. since patience is definitely not a virtue of mine, i have pushed forward and started lesson 2. 

 the red and yellow sections in the very right-hand corner are the beginning of lesson 2. i started on the pavilion diamond stitch under the pansy bouquet in black petite very velvet, but it looks funny to me. maybe when the accentuate thread is laid on top in the "X" stitch it will look normal.

pretty scotch stitches just never get old to me!

horrible picture, but you get the idea. i'm loving all the different stitches and techniques, it really forces you to break out of your comfort zone!

another finish, and a new project!

last night i finished my "sir saint" ornament (the mascot for the new orleans saints). i had him custom-painted and loved this quick project! i am obsessed with memory thread right now, so i had to find some little way to incorporate it (the border of his helmet). i just love the feeling of taking a canvas off the stretcher bars!

up next, christmas gifts! these precious linda lahm tote canvases have been burning a hole in my stash and i am ready to tackle them! every year, my family goes to sanibel, florida for a week around memorial day. it's a great way to spend time relaxing, eating and drinking mike's hard lemonade (yes, you read right). i thought it would be fun to stitch these beach bags and have "sanibel" stitched on the front to commemorate our annual trip together, and have a fun reminder of the beach on the christmas tree every year.

can't you see the beads, river silks and embellishments? can't wait!

and just because she was sitting there patiently watching me snap these, here's a special weekend treat courtesy of miss cricket!

have a great weekend! it's supposed to rain in new orleans for the next few days, 

so i know where i'll be!

little finish

i recently finished a custom-made canvas for this precious Lee jewelry box. i love self-finishing products because you get instant gratification! this was a gift for my dear friend rachel who is getting married at the end of this month. it has her new soon-to-be initials on it and was painted by sweet annie at the garden district needlework shop.

here's a pic of all the girls at rachel's bachelorette party in dallas this past weekend! so much fun!