A finish

As promised, I'm back with a finish. But....not a finish from my challenge list. ::sigh:: This finish was a Christmas ornie for a long-time stitching friend from Sacramento CA. Geri and I met through an old AOL craft room and have stayed friends through a small Yahoo group. Geri is not only a wonderful cross-stitcher but also a terrific seamstress and makes period clothing, including corsets! I wanted to stitch Beehive Needlework's "Ephinea's Snowflakes" and couldn't resist stitching this for her. The thread color (Belle Soie - Cranberry) was matched to the backing fabric (the pincushion is resting on it) which I bought at a quilt shop while on a weekend stitching get-a-way in November. The little heart buttons were an addition from my stash.

As for the challenge list - no wonder those items are WIP's. They still weren't grabbing my attention to work on, so I picked up BBD's bonus chart from the AOTH series. This chart is part of The Swan Lake pattern. I am stitching it on 25-count Floba, 2 over 2. I wanted this chart to be a larger piece and not the small as charted. I'm enjoying the Floba so very much. I ordered it from Violarium and it's like stitching on silk. I love the "flecky" background - reminds me of Fiddler's Cloth, which I've always liked. Just wish I could get the same affect in 28 or 32 count.

Obviously, I have a lot to learn about posting pictures on blogger as I can't get the pictures where I want them. The BBD design is first and the Beehive's Needlework is second of the pictures at the top. But you get the idea.

Today is DH's birthday - his birthday is so easy to remember: 2-3-45. So we had Chocolate Lava cake for dessert. No......I didn't make it - Omaha Steak made it. LOL - friends sent us a gift package for the holidays and one of the boxes had 4 Lava cakes inside. They go in the microwave for 50 seconds and voila - add whipped cream or ice cream and you have instant dessert! No idea what the price is to purchase separately, but DH likes them, so it was a good dessert for 2 on a work night.

Work - the 4-letter word that in my case turns into a 5 letter word - taxes. It's started already with the people who are applying for financial aid coming first in the door. So stitching time will be limited, although I'm planning on some time for me before the game on Sunday.

Stay warm and be well.

Linda