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!

loving these cute thread holders!

i am dying for these adorably precious thread holders made by missy kulik in georgia! before day's end, i believe these will have to come and live with me and my 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!

happy carnival!

why is it that short work weeks always seem to drag on and on and on?

it's good to be back home in n'awlins, the city is buzzing with excitement over the sugar bowl game and all the festivities along with it. today marks the beginning of the carnival season, and therefore the abundance of king cakes around every corner for the next few months. i for one am not a huge fan of king cakes, but i do love how the city lights up around mardi gras. can't wait to add to our bead collection!

ps. isn't this the cutest little puppy in the whole world???

cricket's first christmas!

this was taken at my parents' house in fort worth while we were there over the holidays. it was so fun to see friends and family, and have some down time from work. i was able to work a bit more on some stitching. i'll post pictures this weekend!

tgif and geaux saints!