Medieval Town Mandala Chatelaine

Medieval Town Mandala has arrived in the mail today.  Because I have been blog hopping a ton of late, I have seen all the beautiful Chatalaines out there.  I have been drooling over these, but have been too nervous to try. 
HOWEVER, because I am me, I will never be happy until I do one of these.  And Meari was so helpful,SO I pick one and this is it... 

Doing this means speciality stitches and beads.  No doubt, can't get away from it.
Whats new and different:

I am and AIDA fabric person.  But I am going to do this on a 28ct evenweave. I know it is not the Belfast Linen 32 they suggest, but I am going with the evenweave - I have to take baby steps.

The other thing, that right now I can't do is the silks.  I would so love to, but after totalling them all up on more than one cross stitch site, I just can't do the silks right now.  My kids would starve or the cable would get cut off - well maybe I would feed the kids, but you know, it is what it is, and just can't work in this expense right now. .  So for this first attempt I am going to go to DMC.  I want to start this project soon, and that means DMC.  I know I will lose something in the translation.  But I will still do a project that is going to be an amazing learning experience, completely out of my comfort zone, and something I know I will frame. 
Also I am going to start this in the middle.... Which means I will have to work up and out - I have always, always started top left.  But I am actually going to read the directions and follow them... Oh my goodness, Mindy, you can change your ways.

There it is.

So with my Olympic Decoration Challenge starting this week, and Medieval Town Mandala (MTM) and my other adventures (will update as they happen), well my next few months WIPS will be way different.

  

There has not been a stitching update in awhile.  Why not,  because I was not stitching.  So what to do, what to do.  My brain wants to stitch, but it can’t convince my hands to pick up the needle.  All those wips out there, all those HAED half (quarter) done pages.

All those NON HAED pages begging for a little attention.  Some of them with so few stitches left one good stitching week and they would move from the WIP to the finished…

Knowing, wanting to do something, I started reading blogs.  Lots of blogs, lots of blogs where you guys did all types of stitching.  All different designers.   Reading about specialty stitches, online SALS and online tutorials.   Meari posted great instructions about her Chatalaine project, Japanese Garden.  There are so many beautiful  Norah Corbett’s, thank you Koehler Kreations and Joan Elliot’s, thank you Manbroider .

 Not taking anything away from my HAED, because I love HAED and I so love those projects.  But  I did not want to do a new HAED start but I wanted something different.  Michele, you know how much I love you guys.

Stitching the Night Away
Ornament Pattern Club
Changed Colors to DMC 666 and 606

So as I am blog hopping I find Stitching the Night Away and I join their blog hop, and I join their Ornament Pattern club.  So quickly I got my first ornament and here you go, I have a finish.  Yes a small one, but it’s a finish.  Like when losing weight – celebrate even the ½ pounds. 

I ordered from 123stitch my first Chatalaine Medieval Mandala – this is so me.   

From Fabulous Froggers Blog I learned about Around the World in 80 stitches and joined that at Papillon Creations basically to learn about all the different types of stitching done all over the world. 

From Gizzimono I searched out GeckoRouge and have my wonderful Whimsical Shoes, I posted about earlier this month.

Dang I feel like I just won an Oscar and who do I thank – I know it is from all of the blogs I read over the past week – please review my blog ‘s to the right – cause every author has something amazingly wonderful to show and share.  And I do have to stop this post, or no one will read to the end. 

So bottom line, I am going to change my focus for the rest of the years.  If I try to complete all my 2012 HAED goals I will get none done, but I have not quite figured out the new plan.  Do I need one, no I don’t think I really do, I think I just need to stitch.