HAPPY FEBRUARY!

Hi everyone. Hope you have had a very stitchy month! We are having some beaufitul weather and I have spent time weeding the garden. Getting it ready for spring flowers. Dh gave me another double bloom hibiscus tree and some tulips for valentines day. He though the plants would be better than cut flowers. Very much agree with him!

Now to get a 1/2 cut whisky barrel to plant them in!
We also had some very good news concerning my right eye. Last summer, Dh and I were working on an 18 wheeler, putting the drive shaft back in. For some reason the driver opened his door, to look in his truck, and left it open. With the air compressor and impact running, I did not hear him open the door. Rolled out from under the truck, raised up and hit the top of my head, smack dab, on the bottom of the metal door. Was dizzy, seeing bright points of light and sat on the ground for a while. This was last july. This past October I went to the eye doctor for new glasses. Dear doc asked me if I was having head aches(yes...). Apparently I hit my head so hard I tired to knock my right eyeball out of my socket. I was still bleeding, slightly, inside the eyeball(for lack of a better word). Referred to a specialist and eventually the bleeding has stopped, and much to my eye doc's relief, my eye has shifted blood away from the retina. The 8 or 9 tiny holes are now healed and no more bleeding! Great relief. All I could think of was that I had so many cross stitch pictures left to do... And, that I could manage to stitch with one eye. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that any more and have definately started looking UP, before rising from the ground.
I had a sewing fit! Which is good, as many items were sewn into ornaments.

These are Just Nan smalls, sewn into ornaments.

  Celtic Wedding knot, designer Joan Elliott.

Another Just Nan smalls.

 And a JBW French Country design. The flower is a gift from Michelle, mon ami en France, and tacked on with invisable thread. Know that a strawberry bloom is white, But, this color shows up better than the white.
This past week I had a finish. All my WIP's went by the wayside. Became obsessed with finishing The Spirit of America Angel, designer Brooke's Books.

She is stitched on 14 count brown plastic canvas. With an assortment of Kreinik, DMC light effects and DMC floss/threads.

She is perched on one of my wrought iron wall hangers. Bought this at hobby lobby and painted it white. Although it is looking like I need to find another, as this one is getting full!

Now for the WIP's!

A Wizards View, artist Joan Elliott. Have been working on this one and putting him in the HAEDless sal, every month. Decided to focus on UFO's in this years 2013 sal.

HAED 2013 sal. This is my friday or saturday stitching, depending on work.

Bubbles is coming along. However, I am working on 6 pages now. Hope to finish more than one page, someday....

HAED has weekly themed sals. So I try so set a small goal for the week. For Autumn Cat, I decided to make the goal of filling in the three leaves, Was happy that goal was met.
Then, for Fun Guy, I worked on getting the snowball stitched. Mission accomplished!

Currently, I have 5 HAED's WIP's in rotation. When I get bored with those, I have some back up HAED's.  The new start, for a back up, is a most beautiful horse named Cielo! My camera did not pickup the beautiful pinks and mauve's on the chart. But, the horse's conformation is superb in every way.

And a new evening stitching start! I have been threatening to stitch a biscornu. It is on my stitching "bucket"list. Have many small, suitable designs and was putting off stitching one. Then stumbled upon the Creative Poppy, Faby Reilly designs.  Beautiful biscornu's, star ornaments, fob's and other stitchy ornament gadgets! So, this is the first of 4 designs I purchased.

 Looking forward to finishing this one so I can stitch the others.

This is my TUSAL bucket for the month. Also added bits of left over ribbon and shiny fabric bits, in with the thread tailings, from all the sewing of finished ornaments.

Michelle also sent another package with scrumptious goodies! And, included a very cute miniature witch mouse and an adorable, miniature strawberry slipper.

I love how Michelle knits the hat and then sews the ears on to the hat. Not stuffing the ears under the hat. Just so very cute, perfect and adorable.

  An absolutely beautiful miniature strawberry slipper. The stitches are so perfect!

Back to gardening! A few days ago we went shopping at Sams Club. I bought a box of gladiolus bulbs. The box really wasn't that big. Had a small handle and no bigger than a box of cookies. However, when we got home, I read the package to the tune of 90 bulbs... Soooo, DH has traveled to the home improvement store for some holding pans and soil to plant them in. They are already sprouting. Even after giving half to sister in law, we still have 45 of them. Looks like the rest of the day will be spent in the garden! Which doesn't break my heart.
Happy stitching and thanks for visiting!
Deb