Girls will be girls

I bought a whole bunch of toys for my baby for Christmas, but I thought that the real girlie thing to do would be to go shopping for clothes together, like girls do. I only had money for one item, but she was very understanding about it. She chose this pretty lavender ballet skirt in H&M and she's wearing it every day. Obviously, given the weather that is unusually cold even for winter, she can only wear it indoors, but she loves it and won't stop dancing in it. She even drew a picture of herself in this skirt. Please observe how much care she took to add sequins to her belt. Yep, she's my girl, and she's multi-talented.

Beauties of many kinds

First of all, thanks for all the nice words, whether in group/private mail or a blog comment. A fellow crafts blogger pointed me to the Blogging Without Obligation "movement" and you can find the logo on the right. The click will take you to the original post where it all started.

I also have Deepest Love back at home. Isn't she lovely in that beautiful frame? Fits her perfectly. It was by far the most expensive framing job, but it's for my mom's birthday, so what the heck.

I found some long forgotten WIPs as well. This one is called something like Butterfly on Bramble and it's a DMC kit. I started about two years ago, put ten stitches in it and put it aside. I found it last week and decided to make it my next project. Nice progress in two days, right?

I have finished a mini Lanarte kit that I just cannot find right now. Who knew that things can get lost for good in a 25 m2 apartment? It had a blue china teapot and a bunch of flowers on it. I think it is no longer on sale. I finished a pink teacup too, it was a magazine freebie, but it is also lost in the mess vortex. One day it will pop up on the middle of my dinner table when I least expect it, I just know it.

One finish I can show you is also a Lanarte kit I stitched almost a year ago. Only the backstitch was missing. At the time I got fed up with all the subtle, pale colours, but stumbling upon it last week, I decided to finish that project too. Here it is.

I started filling the gaps on my Dimensions tiger too, plus made some progress on Lady of the Thread as well. Not sure if I shared these progress photos before, but hey, I'm in a good mood and wanna show off my craft! So here they are:

 As far as non-stitching beauties are concerned: well, it's spring and the garden is finally in bloom! The tulip bulbs I purchased last year were the best buy ever! Look at these amazing colours! A dozen tulips to my daughter's delight. The loveliest flowers I have seen in a while. My girl is spending most of her time outside. Is she a diva in those sunglasses or what?

Another giveaway!

Robin is celebrating her blogoversary by organizing a giveaway! Click HERE to check it out and enter the draw before Thanksgiving!

I finally finished part 7 and 8 of  my Christmas sampler and scanned it. I'm not sure if it will fit in the scanner next time! I didn't print part 9 yet, I might need to buy a new ink cartridge before. Which worries me, as it's rather expensive. There is the option of having the cartridge refilled, but I heard some cases when it was done so badly it spilled out of the cartridge and ruined the printer. Anyone knows anything certain about this topic? I have no idea, just rumours but no facts.

I got another great package from Granma Jane, again two issues of the Stoney Creek Cross Stitch magazine and a hand made Christmas tree ornament as a bonus! Plus I got some nice postcards from an exchange in one of my favourite Yahoo groups. And I even treated myself to a Heritage kit by John Clayton that I wanted to stitch since the first time I saw it. And since I've been browsing those kits I decided to make a collage wish list just for fun!

Been a bad girl

It all started with a Dimensions chart. I was organizing my

leaflets and realised I bought a second copy of a chart I already had. As it happened earlier this week, I hurried back to my LNS to see if I can swap it for another while the lady behind the counter still remembers me. She was very nice and allowed me to swap my leaflet for another in the same price category, which is great because I managed to get yet another birdhouse pattern. :)

Problem is, I had to wait for the other shoppers to be served, and my eye kept wandering... and I realised that the beautiful Coffee Bean linen I purchased with the Dimensions chart a few days ago is exactly the one this stunning Mirabilia design calls for... so of course I had to buy it!

And while the lady before me got a little tutorial on blending filaments I discovered there is a 20% sale on kits for a couple of days only... and you guessed it... another birdhouse design that has been on my Wish List for about 6 years decided to come with me.

Do you think that's bad? Wait 'till you find out that I pre-ordered threee DMC kits! My LNS doesn't carry them but they are always ready to order whatever we like, and these kits were available for such a good price!

Yeah, I know it's no excuse... but I really, really needed Somebunny To Love.

Attention, all you HAED lovers!..PLEASE READ.....

Artists being retired...PLEASE READ.....

Needless to say, I have already purchased three charts, and with that, I have lost the right to buy new stash until... let's say, Christmas, probably... not sure which year's Christmas it'd be...

My new darlings: