Started!

Thanks everyone for all the recommendations for shops with supplies in DFW! I so appreciate the spirit of camaraderie here.  I ordered some linen online and was really pleased with it, but it failed to impress my mother who will be the recipient of my Mary.

My daughter and I went to visit Mom last week and stopped in at The Needlework Boutique just minutes from her house. Mom corralled Marlowe (my two-year-old) and I tried to take it all in. Mom selected some really lovely hand-dyed forest green linen and Suzette at Needlework Boutique helped me make sure there was enough for the finished sampler (of course Mom couldn't select something with the same count.)

Turns out Suzette is also working on a Mary. I hope we'll hear from her here.

My husband took my daughter out Saturday and I got started.

I hope to get at least an hour in each day before Marlowe gets up and while she naps. I'm in a bad mood today because I have to spend nap time getting ready for a neighborhood meeting tonight.

The Needlework Boutique is quite a drive from my house but I'm looking forward to future visits and with a built in babysitter minutes away it could be my new happy place.

Mary From January & Blog Update

I realized that I didn't post my latest work in progress photo of my Mary. This was taken at the beginning of January and I haven't picked her up since. She is screaming at me every night demanding to be stitched on but I am currently gift stitching. I'm stitching every waking moment I have on my sister's 50th birthday present! I am hoping to finish that by the end of the month so I can pick up my Mary again.

Thanks for looking.

I've spent some time revamping the look of the blog a little as well as developing a list of all participants with hyperlinks. This should make it easier for everyone to "visit" each other. =)

Thanks!
Valerie

Mary so far.....

Mary and I have been apart for a couple of weeks but we are reunited now! It's a peaceful stitch with not too much reverse stitching, lol! At first I was sorry I hadn't gone with the colours given but tucking a few different shades into the monochrome has definitelly given the piece a lift. For enquiring minds threads (so far) that I am using are Waterlilies Winter Wheat (monochrome part) together with Gloriana Sable and Silk n' Colours Fallen Leaves.

I'm rechallenging myself to a couple of needlefuls a day again. Let's see how I do!

My Mary

Shown below is my Mary. I haven't worked on her nearly enough lately. I have decided that I hate the fabric that I am using, but I have too many hours invested to change that...I think!

This was the official beginning to my "blue and green" period. I'm still there and it makes me happy. I would like to replace the original initials with the letters of the alphabet like I saw someone on the Needleprint site do.

I'm in the process of finishing up a BlackBird Design project with hearts, but am looking forward to getting back to Mary after that...at least on a part time basis.

Bobbi

Another New Member!

Hi, All -

My name is Bobbi and I live in the Cleveland area. I just came across this blog for the first time this morning and am thrilled to be able to join. I started my Mary quite a while ago, but she has gone to the bottom of the list a few times in favor of new starts and some actual finishes.

I am a widow, a mother to two, a grandmother to five, and will become a great-grandmother in July. Where in the world does the time go?

I have to run out to do some errands that I have been putting off for a couple of snowy days, but I will post a photo of my Mary over the weekend. I look forward to becoming excited about this project again and meeting the goal of having the project completed in 2010. I will catch up on all your photos and posts over the weekend, also.

Bobbi - Ohio

Hello

Another new Mary here. My name is Jennifer and I live in Dallas, TX with my partner of 13 plus years, our two-year old, an elderly boxer/pug and a middle aged fox terrier.
I have to finish a project (a service flag in honor of my nephew) for my sister in law before I can start my Mary. Little did I know that was not my only obstacle.
Finding the supplies has been a real pain! I am returning to needlework after twenty-year hiatus. I had no idea how hard it is to find quality supplies now! The WalMarts, JoAnns, and Michaels have made it really difficult. I've decided I'm done with them.
I have a couple leads on some far flung independent shops. A trip to any is going to have to be a planned adventure due to my little sidekick. Anyone in the DFW area with some favorite local shops, please email me. j.roberts.ratliff@gmail.com

Thank you to those of you that have posted about what materials you used and where you found them. While my daughter fought a nap, I placed my order today for some linen and thread - and a new, free standing scroll frame. (A huge splurge for me.)

This is the corner of our bedroom where I like to work. It's drafty and the view isn't so great (except in spring when the trees bud.) but the rest of our little house is behind my back when I sit here and so I can pretend that the mountains of laundry and towers of mail are someone else's problem.

Since I have no work to show, I'm posting this to ensure that I finish that darn needlepoint service flag and am ready to start Mary as soon as the supplies arrive. I hope to publish my first start (I usually have to rip out the first 2-5 starts.) here next week.

My thanks to everyone posting and following here. You have been a real inspiration to me since I discovered Needleprint just a month or so ago.

Jenny

A newbie and her MW

Hello, my name is Lisa D from California and I am new to USA MW blog. I started my MW Thanksgiving weekend 2009 and unfortunately put her down mid-December as exchange stitching took priority. I am stitching Mary on 40ct Maple Syrup Linen using 1 strand over 2. I started out using the GAST color conversion, but as I stitch motif after motif, I find myself changing the "assigned" color. I find stitching the motifs very relaxing and cannot wait to get back to stitching MW. I look forward to participating on this blog as I know it will inspire me to continue working and finishing MW.

Thank you Valerie for inviting me to participate.

Take care everyone and remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa