my June WIPocalypse Update

Multi-Coloured Alphabet by Gail Lawther

It's WIPocalypse time again!  I have only completed a tiny bit of stitching on my WIPocalypse projects.  

I stitched a bit on my "Multi-Coloured Alphabet" (shown above), and a bit on "Afternoon Nap" (shown below). 

Since I'm a bit short on the stitching, I have a couple more photos to share from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  The first is "Earth Goddess", one of the wonderful "mosaicultures" that is featured as part of the "Imaginary Worlds" exhibit.  "Mosaicultures" are 3 dimensional sculptures made up of living plants.  

The "Earth Goddess" is part of the Cascades Garden fountain, in which water spills from her hand into the reflective pool.

And the next is a photo of the pool on the side of the "Fuqua Conservatory", which was looking lovely that day.

Gosh, I'm bound to have more stitching completed next time ... right?
Have a safe & happy Summer!

my Gifted Gorgeousness Update for June

Mini Banner Fall

It's time for another "Gifted Gorgeousness" update.  This stitch-a-long is being hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching.  Gifted Gorgeousness projects are projects that were made to be given as a gift, or in some way or part received as a gift.

I did not accomplish much stitching this month ... but I did stitch a bit on "Mini Banner Fall" (shown above), which was a kit that I purchased with a gift card.

I also stitched on "To Everything There Is a Season" by Sandy Orton.  This chart is in a pattern book which was gifted to me.

Here is what the finished project looks like:

I also put in a wee bit of stitching on "Candy Nutcracker" stocking ... I may be inspired to work on this more after Summer.   This chart is also in a pattern book that was gifted to me.

On another topic, I have been spending time at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, where they are featuring several wonderful "mosaicultures" as part of the "Imaginary Worlds" exhibit.  "Mosaicultures" are 3 dimensional sculptures made up of living plants. 

That's all for this update.  I hope to work in more time for stitching this month.
Happy Summer!

my April WIPocalypse Update

WIPocalypse time again!

Things have not been going as I had hoped ... but I am going to post the little bit of stitching I managed to accomplish anyway.

I put some stitched into my Butterfly Forest.  The image below shows where I left off last time. So yay! some progress has been made.

The only other project I stitched on was my "Too Much Honey" Sampler.  I finished the alphabet and the honeypots ... but "Uh-OH!"  Who Moved my Honeypot?

Clearly the honeypot on the right has jumped a stitch or two to the left.  UUGH!  Looks like I have some frogging in my future. The image below shows where I left off last time.

So, I did make a little progress - even with the moving honeypot.

And that's how my Spring stitching has been going.

On the brighter side, several new art pieces and murals have been popping up around Midtown Atlanta.  Here are a few:

Finding art around town is one of my favorite things about living in the city.
Happy Stitching!

a Prize, a Project, and a Parade

First, a big THANK YOU to Jo at Serendipitous Stitching for the lovely gifties she sent to me for winning her Halloween Blog Hop drawing.  Jo sent Blackbird Designs "Spell of the Moon" pattern,  a beautiful dark pumpkin colored piece of 32 ct. fabric to stitch on, and a lovely holiday card (my first of the season).  I will enjoy stitching this during the stitch alongs I have joined: Gifted Gorgeousness,  Halloween Ornies, and WIPocalypse.

Next is a recently completed project of mine.  This button wreath was simple to make and is "cute as a button" (well ... cute as a bunch of buttons).  You can find many of these online - just search "button wreath".

And last, but not least ... a parade!   We were lucky enough in Atlanta to get a break in the rain this morning for the annual Children's Healthcare Christmas Parade.  Here are a few photos:

Ringling Brothers Circus walked a giant tiger (balloon) down Peachtree Street.

Paddington Bear waves "Hello".

Let's not forget "Frosty the Snowman".

Santa and Mrs. Claus closed the parade, riding on a giant Rudolph float.  There were many marching bands, balloons, floats, and much more.  A wonderful parade!  Merry Christmas.

WIPocalypse Update for August

It's time again for the WIPocalypse check-in. 

My stitching isn't too terribly interesting this month ... so I hope you enjoy this photo, which I snapped on one of my morning walks this week.

I had a very busy month, so not much time for stitching.

The small bit of stitching I managed this month includes a good start on "Blue Mr. Monster" by Mosey 'N Me from the 2012 JCS Halloween Issue.

I am stitching on 14 ct aida that I dyed myself and then "dirtied up" with coffee grounds.  I am using little bits of leftover floss ... it's a work in progress. 






I have made a tiny bit of progress on "Gathering Honey". 










And ... I finished the edges of the Lighthouse latch hook rug, by stitching on the rug binding.  This photo shows the back side of the rug.  It is ready for gift giving!

This month’s WIPocalypse topic is: Tell us about your oldest and newest WIPs.

My oldest WIP has to be "Her Majesty's Carousel", which I started sometime in the 90's - It is so close to being finished, yet I never seem to pick it up.  I'm sure one day I will feel the urge to finish it. My newest WIP is "Blue Mr. Monster" (shown above), which I just started a couple of weeks ago.

That's all for my update.  I hope to find more time to stitch this month.

a Happy May Day Off!

Yesterday was the first day off I have had in months!  So I spent the day relaxing and working on many of my projects. 

I haven't had a finish in so long that I decided to stitch an ornament from start to finish.  I selected "Majestic Bird" by Sandra Sullivan from the JCS 2013 Christmas Ornaments Issue.  I stitched with variegated floss on 18ct oatmeal Aida, but the variegation is hard to see in the photo. 

I will post updates for my larger projects next week in my WIPocalypse post.

I will leave you with a lovely Springtime photo from one of my morning walks this week.

The dogwoods, azaleas, and wisteria blooms have disappeared - but now the roses are all blooming!

WIPocalypse Update for April

Time once again for my WIPocalypse update!

I had a very tough month (emotionally, physically, and financially) and almost no free time to stitch.  I'm encouraged that things are going to improve ... so time will tell.

I did manage to make a bit of progress on my Nature's Alphabet Sampler.  Below is my progress photo from last month.

And I also worked on my latch hook rug:

March progress:

April progress:

That's it for my needlework progress this month.

For this month's WIPocalypse update, we are supposed to talk about how we organize our stash.  Well ... I don't really have much stash.  I keep my current kits, magazines, and extra fabric in a canvas tote.  I do have some of my older projects packed in storage (which will be like a treasure hunt when I finally re-discover them!).  I tried the little bobbins for floss & just don't like the crimps in the floss that you get from winding them.  I tried the binder pages with the long bobbins & didn't care for that system either.  So, I keep my extra floss in a big plastic bag inside my wooden stitching box.

Instead of showing boring photos of my tiny stash ... I will share photos of what has been going on in Atlanta:

The Dogwood trees are in full bloom!  As well as the Wisteria:

 

Happy Spring!

See more WIPocalypse stitching blogs here:
http://measi.net/measiblog/2014/04/16/april-wipocalypse-check-in-post/

Pumpkins for Cathey

Happy blogoversary Cathey! (Pumpkin Patch & Co )
I'm seeing lots of love from blogland. 
 

I can't believe I don't have any stitched pumpkins to share (what?!) ... so I will share my most favorite pumpkins in the world.  These pumpkins are all blown glass!  They were on display a few years ago at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  I hope you enjoy them!

To join in on Pumpkins for Cathey and find out what iit's all about, please visit Daffycat's blog.

holiday happenings

at Piedmont Park in Atlanta you will find horse drawn carriages,

and a carousel.

Pretty lights at the Botanical Gardens.

And to all a good night.

Halloween Fun!

I've made several visits to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this month, as the weather has been so wonderful here.  There have been lots of Halloween festivities going on!

The multitude of scarecrows is in place along the walks ... so much fun to see them all.

This "button skeleton" scarecrow is one of my favorites this year.  It is life sized & wonderful!  I especially love that every here & there appears a colored button ... hmmm.

This year I was able to attend the "Fest of Ale" and see the pumpkin carving contest (between Atlanta area chefs).  It was very crowded that evening and hard to get a good look while the actual carving was going on, but I was able to view the pumpkins up close after the event.

The winning pumpkin is pretty cute ... but I can't help but wonder how amazing the pumpkins would've been if the general public was allowed to enter the contest.

Summer's End

I found this Monarch having a lazy summer Sunday, sipping nectar in Piedmont Park last week.

My end of summer has been anything but lazy.

There has been a lot of rushing around to get things done, and my busy season seems to have started a few weeks early!

Hello Sunshine!

Sunny and in the upper 70's, it was a wonderful day for a long walk in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
 
This month is all about the tulips.  Tulips of all colors and sizes are filling the gardens right now.  The gardens are looking quite beautiful. 

Holiday Fun at the Botanical Gardens

I took another trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens last weekend to see the holiday displays. 

The G-scale model trains are set up for the annual display, and they have arranged poinsettias into an 18 foot tall tree. 

There are special events running for the next couple of weekends, including visits with Saint Nick, a puppet show, and the annual "reindog" parade Dec. 11th.

Bonus: I found a sweet little glass frog ornament for my tree in the gift shop!