Well, I did promise you some update photos -  and here they are!
First off - here is 'foxy', as she appears in my sampler:-


I decided to use diamond-rhodes stitch for the plums, if anyone was wondering!

I took part in an exchange on Friendly Stitchers and my partner, Jo, has now received the hanger I made her, so I can share it with you!  The exchange was for a small picture/plaque to hang in your partners "Stitching Place".  Jo has a special fondness for the sea, so this design seemed perfect for her!

Jo\'s My Stitching Place
I used a hand-dyed opalescent evenweave to creat the feeling of 'below the waves' - although how that mermaid can risk getting her stitching wet I don't know!   
I also sent Jo "She sells Sea Shells" by Country Cottage Needlecrafts, the speciality threads for the design, and I created her very own 'Sun, Sea & Stitching' chart!

And this is what Jo sent to me! 

My Stitching Place Exchange from Jo
The threads in the packet are all perles; as is the thicker skein.  The smaller skeins are Six Strand Sweets which I haven't used before.  She sent me a little cushion 'hanger' with the oriental symbol for double happiness stitched on it, and a matching little bag which contained a large piece of hand-dyed evenweave!  Perfect!  Thank you again, Jo!

Do you remember I started the HUGE piece called Bees Magic?  Here is where I have got up to . .

Bees Magic Pt2
It really is an incredibly detailed piece, but I'm so glad I'm persevering with the black evenweave as the colours do seem to 'pop' on it.  It has a lot of 'confetti' stitches and because of that, it takes a long time to do, but as it progresses I can see what a very clever artist this was created by.   This will be years in the making, I'm quite sure - but it will be a piece that makes people stop and go "Wow!" when the see it!

You'll remember that going back to the black on Bees Magic meant that I had a large piece of stunning "Natures Grace" hand-dyed jobelan (by Polstitches) spare.  Obviously, this called for something a bit special, and after a great deal of deliberation, I decided to stitch "Lilly of the Woods" by Mirabilia onto it; here is where I've got to with her . .

Lilly of the Woods Sep 09
Don't those colours look great together?  I can't wait to start adding in all the lovely sparkly threads, beads and gems - this design is absolutely loaded with them!

In other news . .  My son began at Birmingham University last weekend and the house does seem remarkably quiet without him!  He has managed to be allotted the largest room in his student flat (don't know how that happened!), and is settling into University life nicely.

My Mum has been struggling in her on-going battle against a rare cancer condition; her medical team at Leicester Royal Hospital, and the nurses from Macmillan, have been absolutely wonderful, however, and she is back at home again, feeling much better.   Yeay for the NHS and Macmillan!  If you have a few pennies to spare, please donate what you can to Macmillan; they do such a fabulous job in the face of quite overwhelming odds.  You can donate online . .
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx

Right, that's all from me this time - happy stitching everyone!
Buzzing off . . . .
Bee