ALL the SALS!

I have been very neglectful of my stitching duties!  Let's start off with Wipocalypse and go from there.

Question for May is Do you look for LNS's when you travel and what is your favorite shop you've ever found?

Strangely no.  I have traveled but for some reason it's just never occurred to me to look around for any stitching shop.  I've helped others look for shops when they were traveling but for me...I was usually too busy to do so.  Definitely something I will not pass up in future trips!

Moving on to Turtle Trot!  I did a few more stitches on Cead Mile Failte and started Side B of the Quaker Christmas Ornaments....stitching has been a bit slow here lately.

I usually take this to work with me and work on it during lunch...but one day I picked up my 2DS and Animal Crossing took over my world again.

It's time I throw this little Turtle Trot project back in my bag so I can continue working on it during lunch!

Next up is ToT!  I have a few little things to share here:

The May Ornament of the Month which can be found at our very own NCCIH.  Lovingly created by Magical...and a teeny spoiler: There might be as many as FOUR for June...yeah, I'm VERY excited!  I'm sure she will announce that batch of gooey goodness when it's time.

So, I joined up with the lovelies at Halloween Ornie Sal 2015 and have been working on a little something for May.  The theme for May is Pumpkins....my FAVORITE part of Halloween, so watch out for that one! (I'm not sharing a pic because I want it to be a surprise)

Last, but really NOT least, I joined Sampler Life on Facebook and even though I read it, I wasn't prepared to receive monthly emails with free patterns!!  The most recent one was a pattern by Rosewood Manor and the owner/designer is Karen Kluba.  'm sure you will agree that this pattern is quite lovely.

I used black, purple and blue SILK MORI thread and some pretty Mill Hill beads to stitch this up on my hand painted AIDA (painted by me a few years ago), found some cotton fabric and some flannel and put it all together...then pulled out all of my stitching needles and some pins that I use to roll up my fabric....and CANNOT believe I hadn't made a needle minder before.

I've already "used" it to dig up the right needle for an ongoing BOF with Wendy over at Sugarlane Designs so I could stitch up the most recent block "Memories".  Like the monthly ornaments I DO NOT get tired of making them and love the surprise of finding a new pattern available.

I'm still debating on whether or not I should add these blocks or similar stitching to the ToT list, but as it is not cross stitch I'm leaning towards no.

They are so cute!  Five more and then it will be time to quilt them up into a wall hanging!

As for IHSW, well I really was doing the Hermit thing and just stitched.  I listened to some "Learn German" audio books and that is totally fun, finished the second Odd Thomas book that I did NOT read...I could swear I had read them all up to Book 5, but I am very very wrong.  

As it turns out there is book 4 which then has books 4.1, 4.2, 4.3....and so on and then you can go to book 5.  All must be done in order or the world will stop revolving around the sun and crash into Jupiter and the moon will spiral out of control.  Seriously, it's true....seriously.

Just took a look outside and it appears the Earth is stable....for the time being.  

I have finished all of my Hamish Macbeth Mysteries and was a little sad for awhile.  I really love that character and hope that M.C. Beaton is feeling inspired enough to write up a few more.  This isn't as extreme as when I had read Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy (that experience is a story all by itself!) and then cried for a few days after I finished.....I was really attached to "my people" by the end....then my daughter read the trilogy, had some tears in her eyes and now I can make jokes that she understands and laughs at..."My name is Lenti....I have a knife!"  or "Shall I cleave him in twain?"  

Sadly, if you have not read the books, you won't get the fun, but I assure you that Lenti was not a fearsome adversary...merely someone who thought that by stating he had some kind of "deadly" weapon he should be feared (it was not to be...he's just a dork with a little knife).  Wait...what was I talking about?

Oh yes, IHSW...in the true spirit of International Hermit Stitch Weekend...I did.  Learned some cultural reasons why you would introduce yourself one way to a friend and another way to a stranger in German (this really is a fascinating way to learn a language and about a culture), and generally had a lovely time.

I do hope to be timely for TUSAL....there's big news there!  Wait till you see!

Until next time my sweet, spring time stitchers....Keep on Stitchin'