A May Update

I cannot believe it is May already!! The year is almost half-over already, and the boys only have 3 weeks of school left! I am looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend, as we are going up to KY/OH to see family - not looking forward to the drive, especially with the goofy dog along (you know, the one that likes to fart in enclosed spaces) (in the back with two boys of a similar nature), but we haven't been up in a while, so it's time. And DH & Little Kid's tryouts the afternoon we are coming back - that ought to be fun, for them; I assume I'll have to come home and go to the store and start laundry :( Vacation - not always worth the trouble...

Again, I will attempt to make all the pictures here clickable for the original, zoomable pics....

Well, another week of many projects. Where to start? Well, let's see; since it looks like my first RR piece might be done before we run out of people, I have started a second band sampler, another by Patricia Ann Designs, Moonlit Orchid. This one has a border around it, all done in white perle, so I took it to practice last Wednesday and started it. Then frogged out all I'd done, since I didn't actually read the entire paragraph of directions (hey, I'm impatient - so?) and started again. Somehow, it was easier the second time... I have gotten a bit further than this picture shows, as I worked on it at yesterday's game a little bit:
Also, I got a little progress in during 3 lunches last week on TW's Medieval Miniature - you might actually be able to tell what it is now:

And you might have already seen the new album I started, for Lyne's Wedding Sampler; Lyne asked me if I would be willing to finish this up for her, to which I said sure, I'll take a crack at it :) Because I need 1 more WIP :) But actually, it's kind of neat, because wedding & birth samplers just don't really appeal to me, but this one really is pretty; it's different. I am going to save this alphabet used, too, for other things - I really like the script Stoney Creek used to put in the Corinthians verse. I got it Saturday, and put a few hours in it Saturday & Sunday - in this picture, it's the cluster of roses below the blue ribbon, where I picked up from Lyne - and with leaves still to go below those: Saturday, after working on Lyne's piece for a bit, I really felt like getting Kaleidoscope out, so I did. I completed not one, but two squares! A whole other 1/8th! I only need two more to be half-done! I really should get it out more, since it really is pretty quick :) We'll see...


And lastly, the main focus piece of the week was Knotgarden. I thought for sure I'd get that whole right side done this week, but after 2 nights working on the topiary trees in 3 of the pots, I kind of ran out of steam when I got to the gates - though I did remember to go add that missing stitch from last time. I didn't even get to the top 3 topiaries, or the other half of the gate, though I did get one of the birds done :) The black DMC, as many know, can look thinner than other colors, and I'm okay with that on most things, but I wanted the blackbirds to be really black, so after I got all the Xs in, I ran a single black thread, backstitching, between the rows. He's pretty solid now :)
A Detail shot is here.

And that's all, I think :)

This week, the main piece will be that small Long Dog/Foursome Reel piece - first thing tonight, I'll go redo the alphabet I hosed last time, hopefully covering up where I frogged that over-1!! I will try my very best to be more careful this time, though there's no more words in the thing (I think), so I should be good :) And who knows what else I'll work on? I like to call this Sampler Week, so I may also do that AD Samplar 4 Saisons restart on better linen. I have a tournament this weekend, including a necessary overnight in a hotel, so that will cut into my time - I'll have to think about what I take with to work on in the dingy room. Will even have to wait to get a forecast later in the week to see if it's going to rain (it wouldn't be a tournament if the weather was nice, after all). I have practice again Wednesday, so I'll do more border on Moonlit Orchid - I don't plan to do any of the bands themselves, just the border. Unless I get overly ambitious, which, you know, is unlike me :) Until next week, happy stitching, everyone!!