the collection is complete!

yesterday's mail brought me the final piece to my mackenzie-child stash collection, the third mini stocking!

as previously stated, these are the pride and joy of my stash, which almost makes me scared to stitch them! no pressure right?

have a fantastic weekend!

the mackenzie childs stash

the pride and joy of my stash are hands down my mackenzie-childs ornaments by betsy b.

they are my most favorite canvases and i can't wait for them to decorate my future christmas tree every year! 

tulip stripe

gold harlequin

king's corner

poplar ridge

dublin hill

ribbon candy

in addition to the above ornaments, i also have 2 out of 3 of the mackenzie-childs mini stockings that betsy b. produced. the last one is being shipped to me soon. 

there are so many opportunities for stitches and fun effects, but i probably won't get around to stitching these for a year or so. i would like to set aside some finishing funds for them!

what are your favorite canvases in your stash?

a finish, and a new start

good morning and happy monday!

tonight is the alabama / lsu game so you can imagine how crazy it is today!  at the risk of getting caught in traffic, i took the streetcar to work.  we live right on the carrollton streetcar line so it was a nice and relaxing ride! my favorite part of riding the streetcar is eavesdropping on random tourists' conversations...heehee

i have some finishes to present, so let's get right down to it.  the first is the family sampler by the amazing diane williams of little house needleworks.  this was a christmas / 30th anniversary gift for my parents and depicts our nuclear family. it was a little bittersweet working on such a large (and beautiful) project only to give it away, but i know that it will be a cherished family heirloom that my mom will treasure. 

i made mental notes for the future, like what areas to do first, or how many skeins of thread i actually need.   next time i will do the border first!  i saved the border for last on my mom's, and i was miserable for about 3 weeks!  i was in strawberry vine inception.

started: may 14, 2011
completed: november 6, 2011

my new start is "beach cottage" by country cottage needleworks. i love nikki's soft colors and the shabby chic quality of all her pieces. this is a quick stitch (compared to my last cross-stitch piece!) and i am loving all the beautiful overdyed threads. i'm stitching this on the fabric and threads as called for, except i converted some of the dmc to crescent colours. excuse the crappy photo!

have a great week and happy stitching!

boo. hiss.

sooooo i recently found out that betsy b. originals had her mackenzie-child production rights yanked out from under her once the company was sold to new owners. i have been slowly stashing away the collection for my future mackenzie-child-themed needlepoint christmas tree. ugh. imagine my horror when i discovered the horrible news and now i'm dashing around like a mad woman trying to make sure i have all the ornaments! i think i have located all of them except this one.

if anyone knows of this little guy's existence out there in the canvas world, i would love to give him a home!