I'm Free!!!!

I've been distracted the last week or so because my husband and I sold our business, closing just yesterday morning. This has been in the works for months but finally, the papers were signed, payment made and we are semi-retired!!! I say "semi" because my hubby will be helping out the new owner for awhile, especially through the upcoming busy season. We had a home inspection business so things pick up a lot spring into summer. I'll still have some book keeping and such to do, but the daily chores like answering the phone, scheduling and accompanying paperwork have been lifted from me!!! I am ready to stitch...stitch...stitch!!! But, we'll also be getting ready to move to the Richmond area to be closer to my oldest daughter and her family. So, I will be very busy dealing with all that that entails---house hunting, house prepping for sale, cleaning out, traveling back and forth, packing, etc.!!! So, will I find time to stitch??? You betcha--it's what keeps me sane! In fact, I have to get cracking on two pre-stitches for classes with Sherri Jones in April at Salty Yarns. Here are the projects:

I have managed to get a few things accomplished since last we visited. First up is a framing job. I mounted the piece over the weekend and just have it "popped" into the frame. I still need to get glass and finish the framing  off properly. Isn't the frame perfect? I included a close up of the frame so you could see how well the colors go with the piece. The design is Hibernation Day by Heartstrings Samplery (with a few twists of my own) and the frame is an East Side Mouldings.

Then I got May from A Year in Chalk stitched and finished up the number "4" in the Samsarah calendar series (this is a car project). 

 Finally, I had been seeing a lot of this design posted on FB and knew I had it in my stash. I felt an extreme urge to pull it out and "get er done". I am almost finished and think I can complete it tonight. I changed colors up quite a bit, mainly replacing the black with a rich dark brown and just pulling on leftover silks from classes. I knew I wouldn't be using much silk since I stitched it on the 52/60 count Lakeside linen fabric. So here's Good Intentions by Kathy Barrick. And yes, I did add a beehive, instead of a dog, on top of the left stack of spools! :)

 I hardly ever use a hoop, but it helped a lot with being able to see this teeny, tiny count linen.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi