It's finished! It's finished!!!!

My aim to complete at least 4 needlepoints this year has been met! Woo hoo for miracles! I completed needlepoint #4 last night --


That second picture is my attempt to show off the plethora of beads making up the cherry blossoms. Yes, I know cherry blossoms aren't purple, but I made it for someone who is fond of purple so there you go. This one was enjoyable and went quickly-- Thankfully!! I don't think I could have stood another 3-year kimono! lol

It was all I could do last night not to start a whole new project last night in celebration for finishing the kimono. I contained myself, barely, and went to work on the Halloween Fairy. I'll have a new update pic for you later this week, Margaret. [Thanks so much for your kind words about it. I hope you're enjoying your version of her!]

I've heard from Melisa C. of Simone's 2007 ornie exchange that she received the make-up ornie I sent her (the bird in the pic below).

Seems her partner's ornie never arrived at her place. I had volunteered to help Simone with make up ornies, and Simone asked me to send one to Melisa. The funny thing is that Melisa and I used to be email stitching buddies several years ago but had lost touch. Small world, eh?
Oh, I just saw a post saying that Niki that she received her make up ornie for Simone's exchange too. She got the little tree on the sparkly fabric.

By the way, if you like ornament exchanges, Simone might be running one later this year [she just closed one for Christmas in the summer]. I'd highly recommend it. Despite several lost people/ornies, it seemed to be a nice group.

They'll be more pics later this week of WIPS, but I missed my photo op last night. Of course the things I really want to show off I can't because they are either in process for an exchange or in the mail/about to go in the mail to folks. Hopefully the post office will be quick so I have more show offs soon.

I realize I am behind in showing off a wonderful surprise I got from Karen --

Isn't that stunning fabric? And the LHN is wonderful -- eagle-eyed Karen spotted it on my Pals wish list. Thanks so much, Karen!!!!!!!

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Almost finished: Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear -- rotflol -- smart humor and great fun. Oh go on, enjoy yourself! You know you want to. Even funnier if you know your fairy tales. but you really should read the series in order. The first book is The Big Over Easy
About half through: Algis Budrys' The Unexpected Dimension -- an anthology themed on deaths -- good ones, bad ones, different ones. So far I've finished "The End of Summer," "The Distant Sound of Engines," "Never Meet Again," and "The Burning World." All different, all wonderful, and all very much relics of their time, but that does nothing to diminish their niftiness.