A Lazy June Weekend Perfect For Stitching

What a laid back weekend this has been! Yesterday was spent watching movies, stitching, napping, stitching, more movies, stitching - you get the idea. With all that stitching time yesterday, you might think that I would post a picture of a finished Queen Elizabeth. But, no, the last little bit of detail still needs to be taken care of on Her Majesty.  She has requested that her photo not be taken again until the stitching is completely finished. What the Queen wants, the Queen gets! I finally finished her left sleeve this week and added the small, pearl-like beads to the middle of the Jessicas that are dotted across the sleeves. It's a small detail but so perfect for her costume. Today I am going to finish her hand and the cuff of the sleeve. The embellishments come next  - her hair comb jewels, the false eyelashes, and the ruffled collar. There really isn't a lot left to complete as I wait for the ribbon (on backorder) to come in. The ribbon will criss-cross the sleeves. She'll be stunning when completely finished!

I have been following Laura J. Perin's blog Two-Handed Stitcher for a while now as she and I share similar interests - needlework and gardening. Laura designs wonderful counted thread pieces. Some of her May postings really caught my eye - her upcoming cyber class called Garden Gate and a new project from her Secret Garden series, Peony Collage.  Laura and I had a very nice chat on the phone last week as I signed up for the cyber class. She kindly pointed me in the direction of some shops that carry her stitch guides so I was able to order a couple of them. Two projects arrived this week and I started one of them yesterday - Peony Collage.

After all the reds and velvets and glitz and glamour of Queen Elizabeth, Peony Collage is a lovely, soothing study in pinks and greens - perfect for a lazy summer afternoon. I haven't done any counted thread needlework in a while but this project will be a nice way to return to it. The other project I purchased by Laura is One Long Sampler, a new design for 2011.

Talk about soothing colors - this project has them! One Long Panel just screams shady summer afternoon to me. If I had a pool, it would scream shady summer afternoon by the pool! The colors are cool greens and turquoise. Our friend, Conni, over at Spinster Stitcher stitched this piece back in January and I have admired it off and on since then. I'm not abandoning my painted canvases - just taking occasional detours along the counted thread canvas highway.

Can't leave you today without sending a round of applause to Amy Bunger on her receiving the TEN Award (Tribute to Excellence in Needlearts) at TNNA this weekend. I can't imagine anyone more deserving of this award! Cudos to Amy!

Hope you have all gotten in as much stitching time as I have this weekend! Have a good week ahead!