Tuesday, March 31, 2009

My Garden Is In Full Bloom!

I've been stitching like a mad woman the past few days in a desparate effort to finish last year's Papillon mystery SAL How Does Your Garden Grow before the end of the month, and last night I finished it!!!! Stitching on that last bead was SO satisfying. I love the effect as a whole, am very happy with the colours I chose and am pleased with myself for trying such a big piece with so many speciality stitches, but I won't be in a hurry to do another lol. I love my cross stitch and this has definitely been out of my comfort zone. The frog visited several times and I had issues with beads working themselves loose when I was using nylon beading thread. Only halfway through did I find Nymo which I now LOVE. Now comes the hard part and trying to turn it into a bellpull once I get some ends lol. I pestered Sally on msn earlier for hints and tips on how she finishes hers, and think I have a bit more of an idea what to do now, it's just plucking up the courage to actually do it. So watch this space...

I've also been working on my HAED Cabin In The Woods on a Wed and Thur evening as part of the SAL with Sally and Claire and also the Our Friends HAED SAL . Last Wed and Thur I spent a little more time on it than usual and I didn't want to put it away after Thur, so I'm hoping I'm getting into it a bit more again and can give it some more attention and see some good progress soon.

I've also made a start on one of my PIF's and think I might do more on that tonight. They aren't due til November, but I had an idea for them and want to see if it works out. As it's hopefully going to be for a gift I can't show a pic unfortunately.
So the first three months of 2009 have been very productive for me. Two BAP finishes and one small, and I'm feeling really motivated to finish as many more wips this year as possible and reduce that list a bit. I'm not sure what I'm going to focus on next though so I think for a little while until I do decide I'm going to spend more time on Cabin, and work on my pif's or other small gifts I need to do when I need a break from it.
Thanks to all who visit and especially those who take the time to leave me a comment, it makes my day to know my stitching interests others.

13 comments:

Claire said...

Congratulations on the finish!! You will now be chasing at my heels for me to finish the birth sampler. I am about half way through without the back stitching! I will be working on that tonight I think.

Cabin in the Woods is growing nicely! Have fun with the PIF - I would love to do that but have no ideas how to finish things off very well!

Hugs
Claire

Michelle said...

That's a really pretty finish, congratulations.

Angela said...

It's a lovely finish.

Your Haed is growing well/

Annie Bee said...

Wow My Garden is in Full Bloom is stunning. I can see why it took you out of your comfort zone. Cabin in the Woods is looking lovely too.

jane said...

congratulations on finishing the Papillon - it looks beautiful!

Carmen said...

congratulations for your beautiful finish.

Sally said...

Wow! HDYGG looks stunning Lisa! Congratulations on your finish.

Cabin is coming along beautifully. I can't wait to see it grow more.

Brigitte said...

You have a very nice finish and I'm really curious to see how you finish it into a bellpull. I'm also making a bellpull with my latest finish.
Great progress on your HAED!

Chiloe said...

Your garden is SO beautiful !!! I love the colors you chose ;-) Are you going to make the new one? (the 2 years SAL)

Karan said...

Well done on a beautiful finish - love your colours. Hope the bellpull making goes well. Cabin is growing nicely too. :0)

Deb said...

Fantastic finish! Your Papillion Garden is just lovely. Makes me want to start mine. I don't know why I just copy and collect those things, and never start them! You are an inspiration. I love the way your HAED piece looks, too. Just awesome, Lisa.
Hugs, Deb

Vee said...

Congratulations on an awesome finish. It's very beautiful.

Your HAED is coming along quite nicely. I'm sure there will be some happy dancing when that one is completed :-)

Stitchingranny said...

Congratulations on your lovely finish.

Also on the HAED progress you can now see a picture starting to emerge.