Tale of a Shooting Star…

Two stitching completions for me today!

First, my commute project for the past couple of weeks – Victoria Sampler’s Baby’s 1st Christmas ornament, stitched for a co-worker with a new baby:

And second, the matching ornament from Victoria Sampler’s Christmas Hearts limited edition kit:

Other than these, I’ve been working on a model this week, plus I started the M Designs Peace Tree ornament. I’m also chipping away at my 2006 Stitching Goals. Any remaining stitching to be done this weekend will probably be on the model and my Chatelaine Tiny Rose Mandala Garden (yes, I’m still procrastinating).

While I didn’t accomplish much stitching this weekend after my Christmas Hearts bellpull finish, I did manage to get my garden exchange gift onto a scroll frame and put in a few stitches. Sunday evening, while I was working through load after load of laundry, I started the Christmas Hearts ornament and finished all of the cross and back stitching. I also cut the fabric for the hardanger, so all that is left is the weaving and beading. I should have a happy dance and photo to post some time this week.

Ashleigh beat me to the punch, though, I have to admit. 🙂 Take a look at her beautiful, finished Christmas Hearts ornament.

This week I’ll be posting off my SBEBB Christmas Ornament Exchange gift to its recipient, plus a little surprise for someone else. As far as stitching goes, I’d like to make some progress on my Chatelaine Tiny Rose Mandala Garden. I know… I keep talking about it, and I actually managed to get it on my stand, but I’ve been avoiding it like the plague. I’m really not sure why, but I think (hope) that once I overcome my reticence and get some stitches into it, I’ll pick up some momentum. We’ll see, as the week is young!

By the way, I read Carol’s comment about my retail therapy realization (i.e. it doesn’t seem to work for me) and she couldn’t understand why I felt let down by such a lovely order. I thought about this for a while on Sunday and I think that the problem lies in the fact that I bought all of these goodies, but won’t let myself actually stitch any of them! So, perhaps I can limit my purchases to a time where I will allow myself to start a new project and then only purchase items relating to that project. In which case, my goals to be a stash only stitcher combined with the size of my stash should keep me from needing to purchase anything in order to start a new project, unless it’s fibers or fabric. 🙂

My Stitching Bits & Bobs order arrived this weekend – YAY!

I bought:

• Caron Waterlilies – Navajo, Painted Desert and Winter Wheat
• Just Nan – Beach Roses
• Indigo Rose – Folding Cross Needlebook (for a SAL)
• Passione Ricamo – Once Upon a Time
• Sweetheart Tree:
  • Blooming Hearts
  • Enchantment
  • Renaissance Romance
  • Sweet Valentines
  • Tangled Shamrocks
  • Teenie Hardanger I
  • Teenie Hardanger II
  • Teenie Hardanger III
  • Vintage Grapes
  • Windsor Rose

I’ve been waiting for a little while for this order because something was out of stock and now that it’s here… well… it’s anti-climactic. Hence, reminding me of the other reason why I decided to go on the wagon a few months ago. Retail therapy DOESN’T WORK for me. I get excited to place the order, wait for it to come and then feel a let-down because I’m not as excited as I expect that I should be once I have everything in my hot little hands. So, interestingly enough, instead of fueling my wagon smouldering tendencies, this has just served to reinforce why I want to be on the wagon.

Someone please pass the super glue…

And here it is, folks. The picture you’ve all been waiting for:

Now I just have to make up and paint a white dowel rod to hang it from when the SAL gets to finishing in a couple of weeks.

WOOHOO! Happy Dance #1 of the weekend and it’s barely even Saturday! 😀 And my wrists don’t hurt. And neither does my head. That’s right, I’m on a roll! Such sweet relief…

Now, I’m not sure what to do next. I put my Chatelaine Tiny Rose Mandala Garden on the needlework stand, but I also would like to start and finish the matching ornament from the Christmas Hearts kit, and I wouldn’t mind starting my SBEBB garden exchange gift, which should be a fairly quick stitch, too. I don’t really have electric needles, but I feel like it right now!

Oh yeah, and I have more graphics work and some housework to do this weekend, too, but that’s not nearly as exciting!

Okay, bed time for me now. I’ll post a photo when I wake up; hopefully, sometime before noon.

I was finally able to do some stitching this evening for the first time all week. I’m not going to say why I haven’t been able to stitch because I just haven’t felt normal from a physical (or mental?) standpoint since my mother-in-law died. This week is headaches and body aches, probably a direct result of my hormones going astray. Unfortunately, this is one of the primary triggers for my headaches. If they don’t come under control next week after things have normalized, I’ll probably have to take a trip into the doctor.

I’m not looking for sympathy, honestly. Once you get to know me, you’ll come to find that headaches are a part of my life. I just wanted to explain why my blogging has been mostly quizzes and other stuff this week and I haven’t made any stitching progress. The headaches this week have been around my eyes, so it really makes it difficult to do any fine work. However, I pushed through it tonight and finished all of the cross and back stitching on my Christmas Hearts bellpull. All that is left is the hardanger heart at the bottom and then the beading and I’ll be set. A good two weeks before the SAL! LOL. That’s a good thing because it will enable me to start my SBEBB garden exchange piece and work on some ornaments (including the one that goes with the bellpull). I’d also like to work on my Chatelaine Tiny Rose Mandala garden, probably before even starting the garden exchange piece. So, hopefully at least one happy dance on the horizon. We’ll see where the weekend takes me! 😀