Summertime Summertime!

Summertime in Houston is only good for two things ~ Lemonade & Needlepoint!  I have been making good use of both this summer.  And, managed to do both in the company of friends!

I finished the Keep Calm & Needlepoint canvas and sent it off to the framer.  This will be my second project to have framed and I am excited to see the finished product.  Until then, here is the completed canvas!

This was a very quick project and very relaxing!  I beaded the crown, but the letters are basketweave and the background stitch was easy and enjoyable!

Then, as an Ode to the Seashore (another mandatory summertime activity) I started on the Mystery Class from Ruth Schmuff, Aquamarine.   I quickly nicknamed her the "slutty mermaid" for my own purposes.  Sweet little thing, I hope that she did not mind!  I LOVED doing this project.  It follows the same theme as the "Keep Calm" project of ease of stitching.  I did really struggle with how to begin on the black curls, but, once I got started it was an easy task.  This, too, has been sent off for framing and I am really excited to see how it comes back.  

I was also thrilled to get Shaw's belt back from Elizabeth Turner Finishing,  He loves it and modeled it for some photographs below!

So, now you have seen it all.....even a little peek of his boxers sticking out ...... what a lucky day for the blogoshere!

On a related stitching note, I decided to do some reorg in my office and ended up with some new boxes for my needle point.  The two photos below will show you some of the fruits of my labors!

I think that this is a better way for me to know what I have and to be able to look at stash thread to ensure that I do not purchase more and more of the same thread!  Instead, I bought out the container store of all of these convenient storage bins!

I am back to the stitching chair to work on Tudor's Kit 3.  Kit 4 is on its way as I type this entry!

Time to get some lemonade and stitch!