Birthday Rambles and FotM - May Edition!

Hi! Did you survive May? Do you believe it's June? I'm still in denial. :b

I have safely made it through another birthday and even managed to get stitchy related stuff this year which is really exciting! I am never sure if gifters want to be announced "in public" so I have left out the names but I LOVE YOU GUYS! ;u;

The first was so completely unexpected that when I received the package I didn't understand why it was even coming in the first place haha. I opened it up and saw the little parcel wrapped in lovely blue paper and my husband, being the kind derp he is, decided that he needed to open it even though it was clearly addressed to me. o well, he opened it and I just gasped.

crystal whirlpool by picture this plus

:D Isn't it lovely?! I tried so hard to capture its loveliness but those of you with special fabrics know how that goes. It's a Picture This Plus fabric in Crystal Whirlpool, 28-count Lugana. My friend decided I needed it in my life and she was right!  It's such a big piece too! With SPARKLES~!  :D  Will I stitch one big thing? Will I stitch a million little things?! The possibilities are amazing! :D  I can even use this for Gifted Gorgeousness once I figure out what I'll put on it, eeeee!  :D

I may have blown up her Twitter feed in my excitement lol.


Next, way back in January I was RAK'd a $10 gift certificate to Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery! I knew (hoped) that they'd have their sale around this time of year and they did (code is SUMMER if you want to join in the fun too wink wink)! I have been wanting the Christmas Celebration Sampler since forever and figured since I had the gift certificate I might as well splurge a little and get one of the minis (lookit the kitty!). I did debate getting one of the SALs but I am very fond of display typography so the Christmas Sampler won out.  But when I went to check out, there was no where to enter the gift certificate code!  I think PayPal was glitching as it also said that I'd have a chance to review my order but nope, it just ordered directly.  I emailed them immediately after purchase because I was so puzzled why I didn't get a chance to enter the code. They were super sweet and applied the gift certificate amount after I sent it to them. 10/10 will definitely do business with them again!

three varieties!

Lastly, these aren't exactly crafty items though it is another hobby I love. I was complaining to my mom about a particular part of the yard that is awkward to mow/trim yet stays shady for about 80% of the day. She thought hostas would do well there so that's what she got me!  I look forward to mostly ignoring that corner now haha.

Also these lovely new pots. I teased my husband that I need more plants for them and he teased me that I should give the ones I have upgraded homes lol. We'll see who wins this battle. ;)

before

after

Now enough bragging and a shameful update on the still-incomplete February Violets. I did work on them more since Muppets are done.  I don't know what it is about this piece but they are very stubborn to stitch!  It's not a super confetti piece.  It looks cute.  What is it?!

I have also ran into a snag -- Hobby Lobby no longer carries the showcase huck towels! I liked buying them there (not only because they are the only store in ~50 miles to have anything needlework) because I could use the 40% off coupon. Now they don't have them! And they're not on the website! I have tried searching online at other stores with the cheapest being $6-8/towel. I feel unreasonably grumpy when supplies I like go out of production, how about you?

Hmm.... I almost feel like a new start...