WIP: Maibäume

I guess I finally broke my slump. Yesterday morning I started stitching the next pansy on my SAL with Renee (this is my third one). This pansy is pretty small and only has three different colors of floss, so I think it will stitch up pretty fast. Maybe I can finish it tomorrow.

This evening, instead of continuing with the pansies, I made a little progress on my Bavarian maypole pattern (pictured above). The picture is of a traditional maypole, with the symbols of different city guilds attached to it. I still can't decide if I want to stitch the pattern the way it is drawn, or try to add some different symbols that are more appropriate to Munich. I think I'll just stitch the pole before I decide what I want to use for the symbols. I like how the maypole looks with the border on the material. I got the chart and the fabric in Munich a couple of months ago. Blue and white are the national colors of Bavaria.

In other news, my first Round Robin is just about done. It hasn't gone exactly as I hoped or expected, but I will be getting my piece back and I am grateful and relieved about that. I would still do another RR, but definitely with people I knew rather than strangers from a bulletin board. Live and learn!

Not a Stitching Month

Well, May has been a very busy month for me, and not in the cross-stitching way. In fact, I've hardly had time to stitch at all.

Except for one thing:


Click to enlarge!

I stitched this little design to make a birthday card for Renee, whose birthday is today!

Of course the reason I chose this pattern in the first place was because of the watering can! It is supposed to be a potting bench. The chart was a Rainbow Gallery freebie, a design by Erica Michaels. However, I modified it quite a lot. The original was a lot wider and had more flower pots on the bottom shelf, and the writing just said "May" on the top shelf (it is part of a monthly series). I added the writing freehand and cut down the length of the design so it would fit on the card. I also took the opportunity to use some of the Weeks colors I got on eBay last month!

Anyway, I think this is going to be my only finish for May... but at least it was a gift for a friend! So, happy birthday, Renee! Hope it's great!

HD: Watering Can Round Robin

Click to enlarge.

Here's my latest finish... a watering can for Renee's Round Robin! This is the second time I've stitched this little Mary Engelbreit chart. I love the colors of the flowers on this cheerful little design.

I received Renee's RR on Wednesday and started stitching on Thursday night. I finished it up early yesterday evening.

If you'd like to see the whole Round Robin so far, it's here. This piece has just one more stop -- with Lesley in England -- before it will go back home to Renee in Germany.

Hope you like it, Renee!