Shhhhhh! Secret Garden Swap Sneak Peek

I finished my Secret Garden swap project and it is in the mail!  I had a lot of fun with this project; the theme really captured my imagination.  I don't want to ruin the surprise for my swap partner, so these are a few tiny sneak peeks.  Once she receives her box, I'll reveal all.

I've got 2 squares left to go on my 39 Squares project (I'm doing 40 squares).  And, I think I've come up with a new stitching project for myself that I'm excited about.  More on that later.  So, here are a few more peeks:

Square 38

Here's my next square, which I stitched yesterday while sitting in a hospital waiting room. That's a story for another time, but I will say that it was calming to me to be able to stitch while I waited.

Meanwhile, my daughter Chloe is on fire with her stitching!  Last night she came up with this mixed media creation:

Today I'm mailing off my Secret Garden swap box to my swap partner -- all the way in Malaysia!  Stay tuned tomorrow for a few sneak peaks of that fun project.

Square 37, a Guest Artist, and an Ode to Cath Kidston

So here's my next square.  I was inspired by my favorite Spode Mayflower dishes.  I've really been enjoying this project so much, I'm sad that we're nearing the end!

Remember when I said that one of my daughters was really taken with my stitching?  Well, I gave both girls an embroidery starter kit for Easter, and here's what my older daughter came up with on her first try:

I think it's so cute and wonderful!  I can't wait to see what she does next!

Lastly, my Cath Kidston order has arrived!  I didn't have time today to artfully arrange and photograph everything, so excuse the photos, but here's my loot:

And here's the inside of the sewing basket -- darling!  I also ordered the cute Union Jack needlepoint pincushion.  Now I just need to get all my stitching stuff organized....

Squares 34 - 36

Happy Easter!

Wishing you a blessed and happy Easter!

Square 33

The Plunge

So, for years I've had this thing about Cath Kidston.  I study her catalogs, and I went nuts over her line at Ikea (I'm still kicking myself all these years later that I didn't buy more of her line when it was available at Ikea prices)!  Every now and then I've ordered something, all the way from the UK, like my strawberry oilcloth bookbag, that is currently home to my 39 squares project:

But I haven't ordered anything from her in years, mainly because of the shipping cost.  I keep filling up my online shopping cart, only to change my mind because of the shipping.

Well, last week I reached a huge personal milestone -- I went over 1000 sales in my Etsy shop (something that last year at this time I thought was impossible).  I decided that this big achievement deserved a little Cath Kidston!!  So, I took the plunge, and finally completed an order!  I'll take pics and show you all of it when it arrives, but one of the items I bought is the darling cottage sewing basket shown above.  LOVE IT!

Below is my latest square:

Hope you have a happy Thursday!