The return of Beatrix and other stories

Yes.  She's back from the Framer of Ill Repute.  She came back to me 2 weekends ago with Grandma Rose's roses, but the whole fiasco has left me less than excited-- hence the delay in posting.  She's still lovely though ....

You know, as I look at her, she really is nice.  I love the copper frame and the suede and that he decided to put spacers *under* the mat.  She really is quite a sight.  Given a year or so, the trauma of her framing may yet pass from my mind.

As one "story" comes to an end, another begins-- I have (miraculously enough) put the first stitches in the Eastern European Girls Go to the Fair piece for my buddy, So Many Books.

Can you see my big accomplishments?   There's a row of black Kreinik Rhodeses (would that more properly be Rhodesi???) around about knee level, and the black squares at the bottom are completed and the pink drips under those latter black squares are mostly in (the pink is in Fyre Werks-- my fav).

Ok.  Ok!   So that's not the greatest afternoon's progress ever seen in the Western World.  But I did also make the beginnings of a map for this piece -- which was really my starting problem.  I would get it out and dump out its bag of threads and think, "what the heck goes where?"   It was always easier to put it away and go back to work on something I knew where I stood with.  lol  I bet none of you know that feeling.
Anyway, below is the latest and greatest floss dump --

Those are only the threads for the dresses, the pig, and the grass.  I'm not certain from this pic that you get the full sparkle effect, but trust me, there's a significant quantity of shiny bits in there!  Hey, So, you don't mind sparkle, do you?  lol

Now I have to apologize, I have gotten behind on progress updates do to photographic laziness.  {I am the Queen of Entropy, you know.   Actually, I prefer the title Director of Entropic Studies --- sounds so much more academic.}  So  will do a little catching up here.

Remember that Bent Creek Noel I asked for opinions on the background "swirls" for?  Well here it is --

That's the Belle Soie Fern Frond that came to my rescue.  It ended up just the way I envisioned it-- so a success there.

I have been putting some time in on By the Bay's summer mystery SAL as well --

Yes, yes.  I'm behind on that.  Buuuut, can I at least have credit for already spotting a couple highly-likely pre-made frame options for it at The Good Framer?

My last share of the day encapsulates my stupidity.  Early last week I started Christmas-in-July exchange ornie as part of a yahoo group exchange.  Here it is...

Well, no, of course I'm only showing you that little edge of the stitching.  Duh.  It is an exchange....  I cannot spoil the surprise, now can I?   The threads you see are all fully approved, but I'm not certain about all the beads.  I don't think I will use both blues and I may not use both greens.  Oh, and I am contemplating some red Fuzzy Stuff.  The stupidity comes in when you realize that the same group hosting the exchange is also hosting a how-many-ornies-can-you-start-finish-stitching-and-FINISH-finish in July event.  So here I go and start this ornament in June.  Dang it!!!   Now I need this one done for the exchange, but I cannot count it for the challenge.  Sheesh.  I couldn't just have waited a week????  See, I'm lame.

Happy 4th to all and to all happy stitching!