Good news about the black spots

I think the black spots all came out of The Awakening. I haven't found any so far, and the ones on the unstitched fabric are mostly out, except for a very few faint spots. I'll probably take a magnifier to it so that I don't find spots after I have it framed. I have been almost afraid to look at the piece but finally did this morning. I am so relieved, I can't tell you.

The bad news is that my current magnifier is starting to shed black dust as well. I know I move my gooseneck magnifier a lot, especially during confetti, but surely I'm not the only one! The Daylight company said they had never gotten a complaint, and then I never heard anything else. I'm going to have to take a photo and send it to them. I also never heard back from the Gripit people (the screw hole was definitely corroded on my clamp) or received my order for the new clamp. Sigh. The new magnifier has already fallen off my cheap backup stand and chipped in three little places.

Anyway...I have to say thank you to all the people who have commented on my finish! I am very excited about it, and I'm glad I can share that with you guys. The support I receive online keeps me stitching (not to mention Matt's support--I'm so lucky).

I'm about halfway through my HAED RR stitching, and I hope to finish it this weekend. I'm also almost done with a little ornament, which I've decided to keep. Pics soon!

I recently bought a pair of Gingher Julia shears, which I just love. It was one of those items I had asked my LNS to order and never got. When I read about Mike and Carol's eBay store and I saw the shears, I had to have them! A reasonable price and fast shipping--what's not to love? The shears match my smaller scissors I use for my stitching. I gave my mom my pair of Sophia shears. Since she's a quilter, I know she'll get some use out of them (and all I used them for was to cut my cross stitch fabric, so they're in good shape).

Baby stuff: The doctor's appointment went fine yesterday. He wants to start seeing me twice a week now and do a stress test each time. It's so painful lying on my back for 15+ minutes, and the baby kicks like crazy during it. He even kicked the nurse when she was putting the monitor on my belly. But at least he's doing well!