First Finish of 2012!

Well I haven't got any progress to show on my Hydrangea Wreath.  I haven't added a stitch in the past week, but I've finished and photographed the cosmetic case that I was stitching as a cover for my Kindle.  I love it!  It was more difficult than I anticipated, but I am quite pleased with my handiwork.  I can definitely see where I could have done better, but it turned out pretty good for a first attempt at needlepoint.  I'll certainly try this again.  In fact, I think I have another needlepoint project somewhere around my house that also uses DMC floss and not yarn.  I don't really like the feel of yarn between my fingers, but I am perfectly comfortable with floss.

One the television front, I've been watching a lot of "Bones" on Netflix.  Other than the fairly real-looking decomposing bodies (say it with me - eeew!), it's a great show.  My hubby and I have watched it before, but we both enjoy re-visiting shows that we enjoy.  Not that they'll give me a discount for plugging them, but I love the commercial-free viewing of shows on Netflix.  It allows me to watch shows that I can't possibly stay up late enough to watch while they are on regular television.

This last week, I also watched a series called Kingdom.  It starred Stephen Fry and was a really short-run but very enjoyable series from BBC, I think.  In it, Fry is a lawyer and each show centered on a legal case or two and each one was settled with a healthy dose of good will towards one's fellow man.  It reminded me of a cross between "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock" in a beautiful looking village.  I really like Stephen Fry.  He's quite an enjoyable person to watch and listen to!  Unfortunately, I finished the 18 episodes available on Netflix and now need to find another show to watch.  I'm leaning towards "How It's Made".  It's fast paced, shows the making of some household-y thing or another, and still gives me some tidbit of knowledge that I don't need, but will certainly fascinate me and will possibly come in use at some point in the future, even if just for trivia games!  Plus it has an available 100 episodes and I certainly like the longer-run shows so I don't have to keep searching for something new to watch all the time.  I know it seems like I watch a lot of tv, but really I don't watch that much.  During the winter months, I watch more because it's so darn cold that I only want to sit under a blanket and stay warm!  Once summer rolls around, I am lucky to watch 1 show a day!

Starting today, I am again working on my Hydrangea Wreath.  I needed a break and the cosmetic cover provided that break quite nicely!  I also plan on beginning the Monopoly Game Board this weekend.  I had to find a way to stretch this 28 inch square piece of material.  I found scroll bars in a 30 inch length and they should arrive via Fedex tomorrow afternoon.  I wanted something light-weight enough to hold, but I still needed to keep the tension and I HATE hoops.  They leave the worst wrinkles on fabric and no matter how hard I try, they always distort the finished portions as I move the the hoop around.  I only ever use scroll bars now.  Anyway, I'll post pictures of that project as it progresses, too.

I Know, I Know...

I know, I know... It's been weeks since I last posted.  So much for my attempt to post regularly.  Well, at least I took pictures of my current project each week.  I also started two of my other projects, along with a needlepoint cosmetic case.  I don't actually wear make-up, but this cosmetic case is the exact dimensions of my Kindle.  I went looking for a cover for my Kindle to provide protection while it is in my purse.  I didn't find a single cover that I liked and they were too expensive to boot.
  

After looking for a while, I saw a collection of needlepoint cases from the Alice Peterson Co. that looked nice.  There were several different designs to  choose from.  I have never done needlepoint before, but I'm quite pleased with my efforts.  The design I chose feels a little more complex than I intended to start with but it's not half bad.  They also had a cover sized larger that was intended for eReaders, but they were all too large.  I had so much fun with this one that I might try an eyeglass cover next time.  I have no pictures yet, but in my next post, I'll add a picture of my new Kindle cover.

Take a look at the progress on my Hydrangea Wreath project:

Week 4

Week 5