Guess what!!! I've been so bad, again! I was browsing through Stitching
Bit's n Bob's website a few weeks ago (very innocently) and discovered
that they were having an Easter sale. Well, what could I do? I had a list
made up of charts that I wanted, and I've been wanting to lay in some
fabric to have on hand for future projects, and one thing just led to another.

So, to tally up the damage....here is what I got:

1. Old Books ~ Cricket Collection
2. Family Mittens ~ Cricket Collection
3. All Hearts Come Home ~ With My Needle
4. Spot of Tea 1 ~ Samplers and Such
5. Watermelon ~ Little House Needleworks
6. Friendship In All Seasons ~ The Trilogy
7. French Country - Love ~ JBW Designs
   

The lovely fabric pieces are:

1. Queen Anne's Lace ~ Fat Quarter~ Jobelan
2. Pink Dahlia ~ Fat Quarter ~ Jobelan
3. Summer Sky ~ Fat Quarter ~ Jobelan

I've never gotten charts from any of the above designers before,
except for Little House Needleworks, so I was curious to see how
they packaged and printed their charts. All look to be reasonably
clearly charted and if I need to I can always use the photocopier
at work to make a bigger working copy when I'm stitching.

These are my first hand dyed fabrics and I love them!! Especially
the blue one. Gosh! When we started stitching back in the late
80's we never dreamed that these fabrics and hand dyed threads
would appear and enhance the stitching experience. I can't
understand how anyone could claim that cross stitching is not as
popular today with all this beautiful stuff out there to work with.
The many different designers available to chose from means that
there has to be a style out there to suit any one's taste. We are
so lucky to have them.

Okay, enough gushing from me. I'm all excited about my new
acquisitions (now I understand somewhat about how Gollum felt
about his "precious"!!) so please excuse the hyper boil.

I should also say that I added these charts to my "want's it" list
after reading stitcher's blogs out there and seeing their versions
of these projects all stitched and finished up. Many times viewing
pictures of these things on the designer's websites you can't
make out much detail from their pictures, and sometimes it's
almost impossible to see anything at all that conveys the
beauty of the project adequately. So when I go to Becky's site
or Lelia's or Shannon's or anyone else's (and there is a very, very
long list of blogs that I haunt and love) I get a better idea of what
a design looks like then on the site of the person who designed it.
And their awesome finishing techniques enhance the piece even
more. Okay, I'm gushing again. Sorry.

And I should add that I am very impressed with the service
that I've recieved from Stitching Bit's n Bobs. Very quick
delivery of my orders from them so far. Thanks Bobbie!

I should go make dinner. DH has mini-choir tonight so has to be
fed and out the door by 7:00. It's a rainy, grey day here so the
garden will be happy. TGIF!!!

And speaking of the garden, here's another charming, blurry shot of our
backyard taken last weekend when the sun was shining. Hurray for
Spring!!!