HD: Flower Fairy RR

Can you believe it? I thought I wouldn't have a single happy dance for July. But here she is -- the Spindle Berry Fairy I stitched for the International Round Robin I've been involved with since the beginning of the year. Click to see a larger version.

After I finished the flower fairy, I started on the next pansy on my SAL with Renee. I don't know if she will have time for a pansy in August, but I wanted to do something small before going back to my next WIP. Boy, this pansy is tough. It is mostly white, and on the white fabric it is very hard to see where the stitches should go. I rarely have problems with miscounting when stitching over two, but white on white certainly complicates things. After stitching out my first needle full of white floss (not a very long strand, as it tends to get dirty in longer lengths), I decided to break down and start some of the gray just so I could have some points of reference. Of course I am saving the black for last so that it doesn't "run" when I stitch the lighter colors. I'll post a WIP picture when I make a little more progress.

I don't normally set monthly goals but I guess I will give it a try for August:

- Finish Margaret Sherry bear design (a gift). I still have about 3/4 of this to complete.

- Stitch one pansy for the SAL with Renee (already started).

- Continue with German maypole design -- finish the first maypole.

That is pretty ambitious, considering how little I've been stitching these last few months. But I'll try!

Stash!

Today I went to my favorite LNS, The Thistle, and picked up a few charts. Click on the images to see larger versions.



First of all, I was looking for this "Tiny Little Teapots" book by Cross My Heart, Inc. Renee is currently doing a Round Robin with some other bloggers and she has chosen charts from this book for her RR. I loved the cherry teapot she stitched, so I called The Thistle to ask if they had the book in stock. They did! These charts are really cute. My favorites (besides the cherry teapot) are the Delft teapot, the valentine teapot, and the honey teapot. But all of them are adorable! I can't wait to stitch a few.

As you can see from the teapot picture, I also picked up "Barnyard Sampler" by Cedar Hill. I have noticed this pattern before but I think the crazy mixed-up letters on the sampler held me back. Today I noticed how cunning the little baby chicks are, though, and the chicken-scratch letters seemed to tickle my funny bone. So I picked it up. Just what I needed -- another chicken pattern!

Besides the teapots, I was also hoping to find some charts of backyard birds. My birdfeeder has been so active all spring and summer -- I have chickadees, cardinals, bluejays, sparrows, wrens, doves, and several different kinds of woodpeckers that stop by every day. I was hoping to find charts I liked of some of those birds. I ended up with these:



I enjoy the folk art style, and the chickadee and wren are two of my favorite feathered visitors. I would still like to find some more charts, maybe a variety, but I wasn't completely taken with any of the others I saw at the store.

However, I was lucky enough to find a Valerie Pfeiffer chart:



I love English robins, and I prefer them to American ones. The English ones are fatter and rounder, and I think they are so cute. So even though there was a cardinal chart and a chickadee chart, also by Valerie Pfeiffer, I got the robins. I think they will be a lot of fun to stitch this winter.

And finally, as usual, I could not pass up a "grab bag" of fabric. I love these $5 bags... they are stapled shut, so you never know what you will end up with. Today I got a nice variety:



As well as a nice big piece of cream 22-count hardanger and some 14- and 18-count Aida in pink, blue, and white, there were some unusual things. I got a large piece of 8-count hertarette (which I have never heard of before) in rose, a piece of 28-count Quaker linen in khaki, some 7-count monk's cloth (so soft!) and a nice piece of Klostern in mushroom. I am never sure what I should stitch on those large count pieces of fabric, but I am sure that one day I'll figure it out. If I am ever teaching someone to cross stitch, it will come in handy!

There was plenty in the package that I will use, and the best part is -- the value of the pieces added up to $27, and I got the whole lot for $5! I will definitely get $5 worth of use out of all that fabric.

So, I guess I have some stitching to do!