The stitching bug is BACK!

The stitching bug is BACK, honeybuns! I realised last week that looking at my growing pile of current WIPs was like standing at the foot of Mount Snowdon in your walking shoes and knowing that you have to climb that mother (I've been there. It's not for the faint of heart). The best way to go about it, I thought, was to put on my big girl's blouse as well as my walking shoes and finish some stuff. Do you know I haven't finished a thing since the start of this year apart from a small tulip?

First of all, I got the Blog Contest gift out of the way. You remember the one? The tulip cornucopia that had me all in a twitter because I thought it was too fall-like for a Spring gift? Here it is in all its finished glory:

This is an old freebie by Blackbird Designs, called Savoir Faire. Hopefully this will arrive before Annemiek has the chance to visit this blog :o) See those dangly red things at the bottom of those cords? They're my first (and last) attempt at tassle making.

I accomplished another thing that warrants a happy dance, even though no cross stitching was involved. I mounted Mrs Slocombe onto a huge (HUGE) scroll frame that I found at a LNS last Friday. I could have finished Rites of Spring in the time it took me to scaffold the good Lady, but at least she will be manageable the next time I work on her.

In said attempt to get the current WIPs out of the way, I devoted quite some time to Nobody Loves Me.

I'm predicting a middle-of-the-week finish for this one. Barring any unforeseen circumstances. Obviously.

Now, admittedly, the WIP pile still gives me the vapours when I see it, but I didn't think that was a good enough reason not to start a new project. Last week saw the arrival of some new stash (which I am embarrassed to show you, considering the amount of stash that I had already acquired, and in this time of global crisis, too), of which this piece of stunning brilliance is my favourite:

Noah's Stocking by CHS, to go in Pelle's Happy Noah Bedroom once it's finished. In order to achieve this state of finishedness, I would like to propose a SAL. Lately I've found that the no-obligation, stitch-when-you-feel-like-it SAL works very well for me. If you feel the same way and have a CHS Stocking you would like to attempt, why don't you join me and Barbara? Starting date is Thursday April 16th, which is when I hope to be finished with my current Thursday SAL, Rites of Spring. This will also give those of you who would like to join plenty of time to get materials and what have you. The only requirement is that you post a progress pic on Thursdays, but that's it. Even two new stitches is considered progress, so I think that's completely do-able. Hey, even I can do it, and that's saying something.

Okay. Off to brew a new pot of soup (not the goat's vomit variety, because I'm out of pizzas, but a nice tomato soup, which really is very very yummy, if I do say so myself).

Yours affectionately,
Annemarie.