A Singing Bird

I was so excited to receive e-mails from several of my faraway friends this morning telling me that they received the latest issue of the World of Cross Stitching magazine (WOXS 216) and they can't wait to stitch my latest designs featured in the issue. I'm still waiting on my copy and haven't seen the magazine just yet, but a dear friend was kind enough to send me a couple images and I was just tickled. Ruth, the editor, asked me months ago to design a pair of ornaments with a saying or verse and trees...well, right away one of my very favorite Chinese proverbs came to mind...

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

This was such a fun design to work on...and I LOVE working with this particular publication - Ruth had asked I use hand-dyed threads and two different colors of  28-count evenweave fabric (one for each ornament) - so I used Weeks Dye Works cotton floss and Zweigart Cashel in Summer Khaki and Antique Ivory...but the charts include a DMC color conversion and the designs would look lovely on a hand-dyed linen.

A here's little tidbit that will shock many of you...I personally stitched the designs, but the magazine finished them into the ornaments. We all know that I adore the finishing process and I thoroughly enjoy putting things together...but the magazine had an idea in mind and wanted to do the finishing, so this control freak designer had give the reigns to someone else for a change...and I am very happy with simplistic/folky finishing I see in the photo!

Image from The World of Cross Stitching Magazine (WOXS 216)

Those who subscribe to this magazine are currently receiving their issues...for those looking for it on newsstands - it is The World Of Cross Stitching (WOXS 216) on sale today (April 24, 2014) in the UK...those in the United States will need to be patient, as it usually takes a month or two for this magazine to arrive at shops and booksellers...

On The Mend...

Hello friends! I truly must apologize for my absence...I think this may be the longest I have ever gone without a blog post...but I do have somewhat of a good excuse. Remember the head cold/virus I told you I was suffering from???...well, I had a terrible/excessive dry cough for over a week...and then lots of extreme chest pain, like I broke a rib or two (or three)...turns out my viral infection turned into pleurisy...not fun at all and it has slowed me WAY down...yep, the girl who is always busy has pretty much been out of commission for several weeks (praying it didn't turn into pneumonia). I am slowly on the road to recovery, but that nagging cough is still hanging around and I still have some persistent chest pain...but thankfully, the exhaustion is starting to subside. Over the last few days, I have been slowly catching up on things (the piles are deep) and starting to get out of the house....and I have finally been able to get back to stitching (instead of sleeping). I posted the photo of my stitching nest on Instagram yesterday when I finally picked up a needle!

I have been doing some light spring cleaning in my studio and office...and trying to get organized...because I really want to focus on my BRD website redesign and some major sewing. My quilting scrap bin that is located under my cutting table is overflowing with good fabric scraps, so I have been putting my AccuQuilt Studio Fabric Cutter and some of my favorite new dies to good use and cutting piles of shapes for sewing. With my schedule, I have to make time to sew - when I have a few minutes, it's wonderful  to have a pile a basic shapes ready and waiting for piecing. Right now, I am obsessed with 1" equilateral triangles (perfect for really small scraps)...so I have been cutting them, sorting them by color, and placing them in poly bags in a basket by my sewing machine...then when I only have a few minutes, I can start piecing right away.

With my sick time downtime, I have also been working on my entries for this year's Quilt Block Design Contest...you know I enter every single year (and this year is definitely not an exception)...AccuQuilt has put together an incredible prize package...the best one to date...and it truly is a dream! I think I drooled a bit when I saw everything the winner receives this year...and included in the Grand Prize package - the winner selects a favorite Charity for AccuQuilt to donate $1,500 in the winner’s name...and, of course, you all know I am starting to do my fundraising for the Komen 3-Day in Dallas this November, so that would be HUGE! This year AccuQuilt has created a "design tool" that makes it super easy to draw your own design and enter for a chance to win! You can visit: http://www.accuquilt.com/block-contest to read all about the design contest and submit an entry...and of course, I will be asking all my friends and family to help me out by voting for my design(s) again this year! Here is a link to see my first entry: http://www.accuquilt.com/block-contest#!/entry/6665615...

Lastly, I have a current photo to share with you of Schatzi...with spring finally arriving (thank goodness!), we took her to the local park to play and do some training work (she is in training to become a certified therapy dog)...it is hard to believe she is a year old! She is definitely still a puppy, but is constantly learning new commands and happily walks 3 to 5 miles with me daily (when I am feeling up to it)...she is quite inquisitive and makes sure to keep me company throughout each day!

So now that I am finally on the mend, I will do my best to visit with you more often and share my creative endeavors...I have a nice long list of new projects just waiting to be created! Thank you for your patience with me over the last month - hopefully things will be back to "my normal" soon....

A Special Sneak Peek

As many of you know, I am participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day in November again this year – I'll walk 60 miles in Dallas, TX over the course of three days with my fabulous "Twinkle Toes" team members and hundreds, possibly thousands of other women and men....all of us with a common goal to raise funds for breast cancer research, scientific programs and community-based breast health and education programs. So, I will be asking for your kindness and generosity again this year to help me reach my fundraising goal. I am currently stitching the model for my exclusive 2014 Komen 3-Day fundraising design (ALL proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen 3-Day)...and today I thought I would share a little peek with you! You are seeing this little glimpse here first - I don't have the perfect title yet, but I can tell you, it is an autumn themed design and I am so excited with how it is turning out. Last year I did a more traditional "pink" design, so this year, I wanted to do something a little different. I chose an autumn theme because the 60-mile walk is in November...and because November is the month of Thanksgiving - and I am so very grateful for all your love and support. More details will be forthcoming - I just wanted to share my stitching excitement with you...as soon as this very special design is ready, I will be sure to post all about it here on my blog. For now, you can find my fundraising page and read more about my journey by visiting: http://www.the3day.org/goto/Belinda

Tonight, I am back to nursing away my terrible head cold, which has now moved to my chest...I am hoping to do a little more stitching this evening...I want to be able to share this extra special design with you soon!

A Squirrel Playing Guitar Kind of Day...

A very short post to let you know the April newsletter is forthcoming - just postponed a few days. This has been a banner week...I won't go into all the details, but I am suffering from a terrible head cold and have pretty much lost my voice...and, of course, both dogs have an intestinal virus, so I am a little "over the edge".

I will share a little something that is making me smile today...because even when I feel awful, it is still all about the squirrel...this adorable card arrived in my mailbox from my dear friend Robin...and yes, it has stitching around the perimeter...it is so very me!

So, with a little luck, and a whole lot of cold medicine, the newsletter will be sent in the next day or two...and if you are waiting on an e-mail from me, please be patient, I haven't forgotten you...and I have done a wee bit of stitching this week, so I will have a sneak peek for you soon...