Sorry for not posting in a few weeks. Life has just been a bit busy and when it wasn’t, I was playing with my new Wii. 
I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, especially with the Wii Fit. I have to be pretty careful with what I do though because I am currently dealing with a small tear in the medial meniscus of my left knee. It happened recently when I was running on the treadmill.
I went through a round of x-rays and an MRI before getting my actual diagnosis last week. As for treatment, I’m waiting on the approval from my HMO for the physical therapy the orthopedist ordered. My orthopedist did clear me to get back to gentle walking (no more than 3mph), cycling/spinning, and swimming. I can’t do anything that requires bending my knee more than 45 degrees though which lets out several of the activities on the Wii Fit.
Of course, the downside to the injury means that my half marathon in June is now off. My orthopedist said that it would just be too much too soon with the meniscus tear. He said that doing a half marathon isn’t out of the question forever, but is definitely on hold for now until we can get the meniscus issue resolved.
Anyway, due to having said new Wii, I haven’t gotten in nearly as much stitching time. 
However, I realize it’s been a while since I’ve really posted any stitching photos, so I thought I would share a few updates on the projects I’ve been working on lately. As always, you can click on the images here to see a larger version of them.
Just Peachy Santa
Design by Libby Sturdy (Just Libby Designs)
Canvas
Fibers: Anchor, Caron, Rainbow Gallery
Progress as of April 17, 2009
Click here to see a finished model
Sophie Stocking
Design by Shepherd’s Bush
Fabric: 18-count natural linen (stitched over 2)
Fibers: DMC #5 Pearl Cotton
Progress as of April 10, 2009
Click here to see a finished model
Acorn Hill
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Maple Sugar by Lakeside Linens
Fibers: Belle Soie silks
Progress as of April 18, 2009
Click here to see a finished model
Saturday was the monthly open stitch class at my LNS, so I headed over for that and had a good time. We have such a wonderfully diverse group of stitchers who all get along so well. I definitely look forward to it each month.
While I was there on Saturday, they had a finished piece from local designer Margaret Bendig on display. I was in awe of the beauty of the piece. I love counted canvas pieces, especially when they are geometric like this, so this design “spoke” to me immediately. I learned she would be offering the piece as a class later this summer, so I asked the shop owner to put me on the list! I don’t remember the exact name of the piece, Plum something, but here’s pic of it:
Designer: Margaret Bendig
I do have a few other photos that I wanted to share, but I think I’ll hold off on those for a day or two. I don’t want to overwhelm a single blog entry with a ton of pics. 
In closing though, I do want to share the link for a blog I discovered this weekend. It’s called “The Making of an American Sampler”. The blog is written by a woman who has embarked on a mission to stitch a sampler of the Gettysburg Address to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. She began the piece on Lincoln’s birthday, February 12th, and hopes to finish it by Independence Day on July 4th. She is calling the project “272 Words” which I think is brilliant! Here is a link to her blog:
The Making of an American Sampler
Well, that’s it for this entry. Until next time …
All your WIPs are looking good. I love that canvas work Santa.
Thanks for the link to the American Sampler – cute aside, it’s right below your blog in my reader.
Hope the HMO doesn’t give you any grief and that you heal well and quickly!
Sorry to hear about your knee Melissa but glad you are keeping going on your fitness quest and doing what you can until it heals. DH and I recently got the Wii fitness and I am trying to get on some sort of schedule. I was APPALLED at the fitness age the Wii assigned to me based on the little test. Very depressing! Your WIPS look good and thanks for the link to another interesting blog. I recently purchased Erica Michael’s “A Few Appropriate Words” which is the charted Gettsysburg Address. I have always loved it – I memorized it many years ago and can still recite it! He was such an interesting man – I’m kicking myself for never visiting the Chicago Historical Museum all the years i lived in Chicago as they have a large Lincoln exhibit.
OOOH BE CAREFUL WITH THAT KNEE.
glad you have the wii (even though yes Im still a wee jealous) as you can workout and keep it protected.