A Slew of Pictures...

I have decided that if I were to give you a day-by-day recap of my last two weeks it would probably take you two weeks to read it. In lieu of torturning everyone with all the boring details, I am just going to share pictures from the last two weeks.

I have amazing friends who continually surprise me with random acts of kindness. These are some of the RAK's I have received recently:

From Becca H in southern Maryland, I discovered Enchanting Lair's Celtic Treasure and My Big Toe's Cheaper Than Therapy in my mailbox. CT includes charts for a bourse (drawstring bag), biscornu, and scissor fob.

If you are not familiar with CTT, it is a very simple sampler (WOO HOO!) whose verse states, "Stitching is cheaper than therapy...but not if you do it right" How perfect is that?

Thank you so much, Becca! You caught me off guard when you said you had something for me.

The other day a UPS truck pulled up my driveway. As the driver was walking up to the house from the turn-around I was thinking to myself, "I didn't order anything from Amazon! I've stuck to my no shopping edict!"

I opened the box to find this prettily-wrapped package. The card said:
To Beth
From Judy
In honor of my birthday
...enjoy.

From my Amazon wishlist, Judy sent me subversive cross stitch. I would show you some of the designs, but they are rated R. I would rather not put an "Adult Content" label on my blog, so use your imagination.

Happy Birthday, Judy! ...and thank you!

At the Heirloom Stitchers meeting Tuesday night, Kathy Y gifted me with the two most recent issues of Just Cross-Stitch. She renewed her subscription and they sent her these two issues after she had already purchased them. I mentioned at Barnes & Noble last week that I had been hearing alot about the Ink Circles design and she offered me the magazines. She didn't mention the two-part band sampler. I might have to add it to my "to do" pile! It is gorgeous. Thank you so much, Kathy!

This is a trade I received from Linda M. The Nov/Dec 1988 issue is another issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts that I was missing. Linda also sent me more over-dyed cotton flosses in exchange for the stash I sent her. Slowly but surely, I am completing my collection of CS&CC. I've listed the issues in the sidebar of my trade blog, if you have any you would like to get rid of (hint! hint).

Here is a catch-all picture. From left to right are:

Bread-covers, a RAK from Lynn in Texas. I will make use of these, Lynn! Thank you so much!

My replacement DMC travel binder! I first wrote to DMC in October 2007 about mine having a split seam. It only took 16 months to arrive! I am excited to start using this one!

Gold-plated Needles. 100 petite 28's! If you would like to use the coupon code for 5% off any purchases from Anne's website (http://www.crossstitchneedleshop.co.uk/), it is YM83642RC. I paid under $14, including shipping from the UK, for these. Do needles count as stash? If so, I fell off my diet, but they were desperately needed because I am allergic to regular needles.

PS: Anne gave me permission to share the coupon code, otherwise torture couldn't get it out of me!

Birthday cards with floss, which complete my Birthday Floss Clubs. Thank you to all the BFC members. I look forward to receiving all the beautiful flosses each year on my birthday.

Last, but certainly not least, was a card from Wawanna. Thank you for the get-well wishes my beautiful friend.


Okay, this isn't a gift, nor is it stitching-related. But it's funny, right? Uncle Wes was cleaning out the carport and picked up this little rake that he bought to clean between the azaela bushes out front. Kasey was afraid of it until he started brushing her with it. Is that a look of rapture, or what? Her Tail was swishing back and forth the entire time. Needless to say, Kasey isn't afraid of the rake any longer!

On Saturday, March 7, these daffodils were just green stems with buds on their tips. By Sunday afternoon the buds had bloomed. It's amazing that the previous Monday we had eight inches of snow. Hopefully this is the first portent of Spring!

This brave daffodil is coming up in the middle of the driveway. Well, it's a part of the driveway that we don't use, but I thought it was neat the way it's growing in this little bed of moss surrounded by gravel.

Now! On to the stitching!

Sunday, March 8. I was only able to complete two letters, but at least it was two more letters than I had previously stitched!

By the following Saturday night, March 14, I completed Panel 1 of A Stitcher's Companion by Enchanting Lair.

I continued stitching Saturday night and completed this much of the thread pocket.





On Sunday, March 15, I finished the thread pocket...














and the scissor pocket.

This picture shows all of the completed panels and pockets to date. From top left to bottom right are the outside cover, scissor pocket, inside cover, pages 1 & 2 (Panel 1), and the thread pocket. Now you can see the color variation in the fabric, too. I will be stitching the other two panels on another piece of the same color evenweave.