basket-weaving

i am still reeling from this weekend's good fortune! i feel like eliza doolittle in "i could have danced all night" 

thank you so much for all your sweet words of encouragement, i could not have survived without my sweet stitchy friends! 

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so i stitched a basket this weekend (hence the dorky pun-filled post title)

the first part of the basket stitch called for stranded floss and a padded satin stitch for the balustrade 

then i went back and added the second color floss on every other row

 and finally i went back and added krenik crosses for a little shine

i am ready to stitch the contents of the basket, and then santa will be able to take flight!

i found the silver lining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

omg. omg. omg. OMG. OMG. OH. MY. GOSH. 

the lns found my stocking and ornament on saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

somehow the stocking and water meter ornament were in a separate box and were misplaced until saturday when they were moving some things around and presto! i cannot believe my good luck and have to thank all of you sweet friends and readers for your happy thoughts and prayers that you sent my way. i am SOOOOO relieved that i don't have to stitch this again yippee! 

instead of sending it off to be finished right away, i'm going to remove the bead garland at the bottom and do some experimenting with sundance sparkles instead. that was really the only area i was having second thoughts on. the water meter ornament will be sent to the finisher as is. 

i am so happy and so excited and so completely overcome with all human emotions. this has been a wild rollercoaster of a journey, but if anything, it cemented the fact that i freakin' LOVE needlepoint!

no deja vu stitching this summer! now what do i do with the canvas i just got in the mail??????

best. weekend. ever. 

mail time!

look what mr. mailman brought me yesterday!

the third wiseman! this cutie will soon be joining his friends

and

it's fun to see the pieces next to each other and how they complement. i'll have to pull out all my finishes so far and take a group picture for you!

hand is still crampy so i may take the night off again. but i am itching to start on santa's balloon basket!

ta-ta!

wild and crazy!

that's how i feel starting a new project when the other one is not yet complete!

i'm wild and crazy and loving it!

last night i put in a few stitches on the princess and me ballooning santa. i love how the moorish stitch really makes the balloon pop! (no pun intended, lol)

this is such a cutie!

almost there!

i reached the end of my thread (literally, reached the end of the DMC) on this guy's background this weekend, so i'll have to wait for the next shipment to finish the rest.

i love how the navy makes everything "pop" off the canvas. it really brings out all the colors!

i'll be working on a different project until more thread comes in...and i'm super excited to start! give you a hint...

happy monday! 

his hump is complete!

last night i put the finishing touches in the camel's hump, and i'm looking forward to a weekend full of basketweave background!

i  just love all the colors that decorate this cutie! his gold leash chain will be couched down after the background is all done. 

how's your weekend looking? festival season is upon us and i can't wait to soak up the sunshine!

finding the silver lining, pt. 2

since i've received so many emails and comments regarding my stolen needlepoint, i thought it would be best to do a follow-up post on the current situation. 

after a trip to my lns to ensure that the items weren't just misplaced, we came to the conclusion that my items (among other customer's projects) were indeed stolen. the shop owner was very gracious to let me look through the shop with her, and i somehow felt a sense of closure knowing we did everything in our power to help relocate them. 

i'm determined to re-stitch the items, and i'm actually not as upset about it as i thought i would be. to be honest, both projects that could have used an improvement here and there with the little finishing touches. and this is my second chance to make them perfect. i have plenty of photos and documentation on the stocking's stitch guide, so it will go faster. and i still have all the leftover thread so i won't have to re-purchase everything. 

i truly appreciate your concern and your encouragement through this entire fucked up situation. it sucks. SUCKS. but if this is the worst experience i go through with needlepoint, i'd rather get it out of the way early on in my career. i hope the thief is is very happy with her "katherine" stocking and at least has some half-brain idea of how much love and care went into that piece of canvas. and in 20 years when i look at my stocking on the mantle, i'll remember the drama behind it and laugh. because there's no point in holding on to anger. i have so many things in my life to be thankful for, and i don't intend to waste anymore time looking back on this. 

i hope you enjoy my deja vu blogging adventures this summer with the stocking! 

blegh. 

i love this camel!

if i'm being perfectly honest, i really wanted the title of this post to be camel toe because it makes me giggle...

but seriously...i love this camel!!!

i finished up the milanese for his body and couldn't resist moving onto his hump. i die for the bullet stitch in turquoise...

i love LOVE it!

like i said before, this camel was one of the main reasons i wanted to stitch this club...he's my absolute favorite!

a weekend finish!

i received my replacement thread in the mail on friday afternoon and immediately got to work finishing this little guy up!

after adding the last white stripe in petite treasure ribbon, i beaded his eyes for an extra "oomph"

i love how he turned out and can't wait to send him off to the finisher!

happy monday!

nothing worthy of showing yet...

so i started on my camel friend, but it's not enough to show you yet. #needlepointfail

but i am on the hunt for this precious couple by labors of love

i had posted this on the facebook group too, but if anyone knows of upcoming trunk shows or store's special order discounts...send them my way!

first finish of april!

i lucked out last night and got to finish up this majestic king!

i had so much fun with all the different stitches, but i love the padded headdress most of all!  

as promised, here is the next beautiful character in this nativity club...

the camel!

to be perfectly honest, seeing the stitched version of this camel was the sole reason i joined this club! i am itching to start this soon!

where did march go?

well i literally blinked and out of nowhere it was april! where has the time gone? 

march was a tough month for me. with the news of my stolen needlepoint pieces, i had absolutely no motivation to stitch whatsoever. i'm slowly getting back into my usual routine and picking up the pace on my lagging projects. le sigh. 

the end of march also found myself fort worth for spring break. i spent the long weekend relaxing and catching up with family and friends. not one single stitch the whole time...and it felt great! i needed a break to clear my mind from the stresses of work. 

however, my stitchy mojo was rejuvenated this holiday weekend (finally!)

 here's what i picked up saturday evening...

and here's where i got last night!

hoping to finish the background and beard so i can move on to the newest piece! he is by far the cutest and you're going to love LOVE it!

happy april!