There's A British Theme This Month

It must be the royal wedding making its influence known when it comes to my stitching projects this month. The two pieces I want to work on are definitely a nod to the monarchy. I mentioned last week that I have had Melissa Shirley's Queen Elizabeth (Wild Women Series) in my stash for the last two years.  I purchased the canvas, threads, and stitch guide from Amy's in Memphis in their after-Christmas sale in 2008.  I decided that it was time for the Queen to take the spotlight.

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.

It even came with a small package of Keep Calm tissues! Do you know the story behind the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan? From what I understand, the British government had Keep Calm posters printed in 1939 just as war was looming for the British. These posters were to have been displayed as morale boosters in public areas like the Underground. Stories vary as to whether the posters were ever actually displayed but a few remaining examples were found recently and now there isn't much you can't buy without the saying on it - even tissues and needlepoint canvas. I bought this canvas because this phrase really speaks to me. I've had some unexpected things come up in my life over the last few years and there wasn't much I could do about it but "Keep Calm and Carry On". I'm taking this with me to Amy's in a couple of weeks to pick out some stitches and threads. I think that crown is calling for beads, don't you?

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....