Honey, They're Home!

My new framer had a nice surprise for me today. It's an overcast day, so I had to use flash and the colors are not quite as true as I'd like (esp. MTM) but I just could not wait to share!

Chatelaine's Medieval Towne Mandala: Mat is linen silk that reflects the light and so picks up all the turquios-y colors in the design. The frame and filet are from the mouldings created for the Biltmore restoration. Will hang in my office at home - the walls are a medium violet/lavender shade.





And Chatelaine's Hanging Gardens of Semiramis: Mat is suede. Will hang in the hall right outside my office at home.





And finally, Chatelaine's Medieval Times. No mat because I love this fabric so very much. Hard to see in this pic how well the reds pop on the fabric. This will either hang in my bedroom or my office. Need to see where I like it best.

Puttin' on my Dancin' Shoes!!

Yep! Hanging Gardens of Semiramis is FINISHED!!!! I punted all household responsibilities today just to finish the beading. Perfectly reasonable thing to do, right? I mean, I was thisclose to a happy dance. Can't let little things like laundry and shopping get in the way. Without further ado, the photo essay (as always, click for biggification):






The color of the fabric even comes close this time. I am SO excited to have this finished. I have no real idea how I want this framed yet. There is a really wonderful framer in town that Melissa has used to great success, so I might try that out. My LNS is great for basic framing, and they did a decent job on my Indian Summer Reflections, but I want this to be really spectacular. I did think about Jill Rensel, and may still consider her. I'm just nervous about sending her something that took a gazillion man hours to stitch for fear it would disappear.

So what's next? Well, tomorrow is a stitching GTG with Melissa, Dana, and Wendy (no blog, or she's holding out on me). I think I may do a stint on Egypt Garden whilst visiting with them. It will appease the DH, plus I'm up to the duckie band which is a fairly easy stitch. Then, I'm going to start on Snow Queen's Slipper which will be a stitch/finish-a-long with MissyAnn. Beyond that, I'm not planning. Many of my WIPs are vying for attention. We'll just see which one screams loudest!

Drive-by Post

Today is Perfectionist Child's 8th grade graduation. It's a big deal because she's been at this school for 11 years - since she was three!! And, she has been selected to give the graduation speech (yes, proud mom moment). Pictures and such will follow, hopefully tomorrow. I am hoping to get a decent video of her speech and figure out how to upload to flickr so I can share. That may be beyond my expertise, but we will see. Meanwhile, today is all about PC.

My other piece of news for the day is that I am officially in ALL of my skinny clothes! Weight loss is just a tad over 21 pounds by the unofficial scale. Clearly, I'm doing OK with the dinner meal thing. Mostly, I think the new gym is just really whipping my sorry butt into better shape.

On the stitching front, Hanging Gardens continues to hum along. I'm down to the specialty stitches in the three remaining corner ornaments and then on to beading. I *think* I will be dancin' by the weekend.

Hanging Gardens Progress

I am so motivated to finish this! Progress is happening. I am finishing the backstitching at the bottom center of the design. I have to do the little bit of greenery to the outside of each side of the arch still, as well as the repeat of the corner motif on the three corners I've not yet done. Then I'll add the beads and crystals and Voila! Here's the progress pics!



And the close up of where I'm working now.



I can feel the HD anticipation building. :D No time estimates, but it is conceivable it will happen by the end of the month.

An Actual Stitching-related Post!

I've been stitching. Yes, I have. And, I am about to show you proof. Well, I will show what I can. I can't show you my Chatelaine Smalls Exchange piece, which is not only finished, but finish-finished (for the few non-stitchers, that means I finished stitching, AND successfully made it into a...well, I can't tell what I made it into. :p ). That finishing happened on Saturday after a trip to JoAnn's for finishing necessities. However, I CAN show you my progress on Hanging Gardens, which has been considerable since I last shared with you.



And the full-view, just because I can:



Fabric color looks wonky in that shot, but it's a cloudy, rainy day in Nashville, so it's the best I can do.

I am making such great progress on this. I am seriously considering pushing through to the finish on it. With the girls in exams this week and next, I will probably have some good stitching time. At least, I think so. If I don't get distracted by another WIP, a finish by the end of the month is a possibility. Wouldn't that be something?

What's that you say about goals? The flood washed them all away. Really. I mean, the month is one third over. A bit late to document anything meaningful. And, of course, it is exam time. Which means my teenagers turn into something that defies explanation even by hormones, and Robot runs through my house shouting, "Danger, Will Robinson!!!" whenever one of them is sighted in the common areas of the house. This would be the clue for DH and me to run for cover. I have explained to DH that not only should he avoid conversation with Perfectionist Child and Diva for the next two weeks, but even eye contact can be deadly. He's been told, so any injuries he sustains are entirely his own fault. I'll be making the trip to the grocery for the necessary chocolate and caffienated supplies today.

Oh, I have another happy to share! Saturday's mail yielded some long-awaited stash!



I've been waiting for this about a month because some stuff was backordered. There was a bit more, but it's a surprise for someone, so no photo. ;) I really cannot wait to stitch that Just Nan peacock needle thingie! The cutest useful thing EVER! You know, me and my peacock thang!

We Three Kings of Orient are...

Progress through March's rotation (about another 20ish hours). Don't my kings look good? I refuse to use the oxymoron "wise men". Just can't do it. I still love stitching this so much.

Right now, Hanging Gardens is getting some attention:



The pomegranites are supposed to be backstitched in black with a black bead in the center. I'm debating whether to backstitch or not. I kinda like it the way it is. I might test one and see how it looks.

Feels good to be stitching again after a week and a half of enforced hiatus due to Diva's volleyball travel schedule. Get to be home the rest of the month, then gone again.

One thing this last trip really brought home is how much my close vision has deteriorated just since the first of the year. I really need to be wearing readers more than I do. Time to buy multiple pair so I don't have the excuse of "can't find them". Really, it's embarrassing to have your teenager read the menu to you. I promise.

Many bloggable tidbits of nothingness have flitted through my mind while I was out of town. Maybe tomorrow I'll share some.

OH, NEWS FLASH: It's actually SPRING in Nashville. With sunshine and everything! Yipeeee!

Enjoying the Garden

As promised, Hanging Gardens of Semarimis photos.

Full view:

And the closer up:
OK, so I didn't say they'd be great photos. I probably did closer to 11 hours this rotation. Since I've kinda found a groove with this project and none of my other WIPs are shouting at me today, I think I am just going to continue on a while. I'll probably take HG to Louisville this weekend. Maybe I'll change projects next week. Then again, maybe not. You know me.