Cate Blanchett, eat your heart out! You've got nothing on my Queen! This week I worked on her face and hair. I loved working on her hair - French and Colonial knots - and her hair combs. I haven't stitched her lips yet and will wait until I go to Amy's to pick out just the right threads (and stitch) to stitch those Angelina Jolie-esque lips. I also need to look for just the right jewels to attach to the larger of the two combs. The painted canvas shows "amethysts" on the comb but I am thinking that pearl drops might be a nice alternative. I always think of the Elizabeth I have seen in history books as wearing lots of pearls. I have also started on the white area of the "batwings" around her head. The stitch is a diamond design using one strand of Splendor. It's a little tedious but well worth the effort as it really does give a lacy effect to the area. Elizabeth is a lot of fun to stitch - Amy has worked her magic again on this Wild Woman!
Last weekend I received an email from Brenda Stimpson at Unique NZ Needlepoint announcing that they were having a sale on their "Keep Calm and Carry On" canvases in honor of the upcoming royal wedding. I gave in to temptation and purchased the lavendar Keep Calm canvas and it arrived on Thursday.
I'm spending the weekend in Jacksonville with Andrew and Anna. Today is Andrew's 28th birthday and Anna's is coming up in a few days. We went downtown this morning to a farmer's market where we saw some absolutely beautiful produce. Look at these strawberries!
Anna couldn't pass up some of these huge berries. We saw beautiful blueberries, squash, tomatoes, and all sorts of other produce. It really looked like most of the vendors had grown their own produce and were not just selling what they had bought from a distributor. There were lots of crafts being sold as well - jewelry, soaps, sculptures, etc. The market is held in the Riverside area of Jacksonville under one of the many bridges that criss-cross downtown Jacksonville. Even though the temperature was a pleasant 75 degrees, it was still nice to have the shade of the bridge to keep things cool.
We had dinner tonight with Andrew and Anna's friends in celebration of Andrew's birthday at Cantina Laredo. The company was wonderful, the dinner was good, but the service was terrible. It will probably be a while before any of us return. Too bad!
Hope you're all having a good weekend and getting lots of stitching done! Keep Calm and Carry On....
Melinda
ReplyDeleteSounds like your having a wonderful weekend with your family. Those strawberries looked beautiful and the Farmers Markets are always a favorite of mine.
I sure like the Queen and will enjoy seeing the magic that you do with it by way of Amy. I don't have her in my stash....yet. She is hard to resist.
I always enjoy your blog Thanks for sharing
Sue VanderNoor
Hi Melinda,
ReplyDeleteIn love the Queen. Her hair is fabulous. Amy has such talent. She always seems to know the right thread and stitch to use. I cannot wait to see what the two of you come up for the lips.
Sounds like Andrew had a great birthday. I am so glad you had a wonderful weekend.
Linda
Hi Melinda, I love your Royal theme. The Queen is looking great! I purchased the other saying, "Keep Calm and Stitch On", on the blue background....they both are great. Have fun picking your stitches and threads at Amy's, wish I could.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog.
Sheena James
Love the queen! Have you seen my Red Queen in Winter's Spool? www.spoolmag.com. Send me your address on the site, and I'll mail a Spool to you. Best wishes, De Selby, Editor
ReplyDelete