Gr8dame's Place

Sunday Sewing

2012-02-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

I had quite a few scraps left over from my last thread catcher/bird making session. Since I didn't want to let any of that lovely Blueberry Crumb Cake fabric go to waste I started cutting it into 2-1/2" squares. A few hours sewing, some pretty trim and voila! Three mug rugs.

I also had some squares left over from some mini charm packs Catherine gifted me and made this one too. I must have been in a Blackbird Designs mood as these fabrics are from their Antique Fair line.

Next up on the agenda....more birds!

Wishing you all the best week ever with lots of sewing and stitching and whatever else your heart desires. Remember to tell your loved ones "I Love You" not only this Tuesday but every day. :o)

Love-ly and a Winner

2012-02-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

Hello dear friends! The wind is really howling outside here in NC and we are about to have our first real winter temperatures of the season. Our wind chill is supposed to be in the single digits tonight and in the morning. Brrrr!

I always try to stitch at least one small for every holiday/season. For Valentine's Day I chose to stitch the Bonus Pin Pillow chart that is included with the "Not All Of Us" Inspiration Boxer by Lizzie Kate.

35 ct HDF Mystery Linen/Various Overdyed Floss from stash
Pin Pillow finish with crushed walnut shells and gorgeous Victorian Motto trim
(I am in love with Nancy's trims)

I think this one would be suitable for Valentine's Day as well as a nice little spring piece to display.

Yesterday I had to make yet another trip to the endodontist. I awakened with a toothache and off to the dentist I went. I arrived at the dentist at 11:30 am and did not get home until 3:30 pm. What a way to spend a Friday! So, today with plenty of Vicodin onboard I decided to spend most of it sewing. Speaking of sewing...a couple of weeks ago I made my partner in Halloween Rules crime a project bag to keep all her "Rules" things organized.

Mindi has received it and says she really likes it. I loved this fabric and it told me it wanted to be a project bag. :o) Which reminds me...I need to get back to stitching my "Rules".

What's that you say? You want to know who won the mug rug and the birdie? Hmmm, well let me see...the random number generator chose....

Jennifer!

Congratulations Jennifer and thank you to all who visited and for all your kind comments. I wish I could send each and every one of you something.

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend. I am off to sew a little more this evening. Enjoy your Sunday!

Happy Monday!

2012-02-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

Hello friends and happy Monday to you! We had quite the dreary, gray weekend here in NC but lunch on Saturday was a bright spot for me. I met Chris and after a quick run through Hobby Lobby we had lunch and tried to catch up a little on what had been going on in our lives since we last met. It seems Chris and I just can't get together without finding a reason to give each other a little gift and I was surprised and thrilled to receive this little beauty:

Isn't it just the sweetest? I am just amazed with Chris's tiny, perfect stitches and the lovely finishing. I can't decide if I want it to be a fob for a pretty pair of scissors or an ornament for my fall/Halloween tree. Hmmm, now why can't it be both?

In the spirit of giving and February the month of love and all things red, I would like to have a little giveaway for my regular visitors.

One lucky reader will receive the red "love" bird pictured above and the quilted mug mat on which it is sitting. Of course, some chocolate will probably be included as well. :o) If you would like to find this in your mailbox, please leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name late Saturday. Please do not advertise this giveaway as I would like for it to go to one of my regular readers.

As always, thank you for visiting my little corner of the web and for all your lovely comments and inspiration.

Birds...of a different feather :o)

2012-02-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

Several days ago I mentioned I was going to try something a little different with my birds. A trip to hobby lobby, some painting, staining, and waxing turned into these:

And this:

I am tickled with how they look. I made these to look "aged" but have more ideas about some bright spring colored ones. Stay tuned. :o)

I had a wonderful lunch with Chris today and she gifted me with the sweetest little fob. It was so grey and gloomy today I couldn't get a decent picture but I just have to share that with you tomorrow.

I think it is about time for another giveaway. Hmmm, lemme dig into my box of treasures and see what I might have to offer.

TGIF!

2012-02-03T23:27:00.000-05:00

Whew! What a week. I haven't had time this week to visit your pretty blogs or do much of anything on the computer. Work has been so tiring and my DH has been having some health issues but I do hope to get caught up on all your creativeness this weekend.

My friend Norma posted on her blog that she was making Valentine ornaments so she could have a Valentine tree. I couldn't resist the urge to stitch her a little something and here is the result:

This is the February portion of Sylvia's My Little Heart SAL. Norma has received it and already has it hanging on her little tree. :o)

I also managed to finish my Christmas ornament for February.

Brittercup Designs from the 2011 JCS Ornament Issue

I had no idea it would be so difficult to finish this in a triangular shape! It really doesn't have the same angle on both sides so it took some "easing" to make this work for me. I do love the bit of bling the Krenik metallic red adds and decided to carry that bling out to the trim.

Wishing you all lots of stitching time this Superbowl weekend. Who are you hoping will win?

I won!

2012-01-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

I am a proud winner of two recent giveaways. Nancy at Victorian Motto has been having a series of giveaways and I was very happy to have won this:

Just in time for Valentine's Day! This will be fun to sew up and display for the holiday.

Then I entered a drawing at Me & My Sister Designs and was lucky enough to win a copy of their book and a charm pack of their "Twirl" line of fabric. Cute, cute, cute fabric.

I managed to finish/finish the first two Halloween Rules ornaments for my Halloween tree. The fabrics in the background are the ones I used to back each ornament. (I promise they aren't as wonky as these pictures would make them seem!) I chose to finish these simply as the designs are so colorful and busy on their own.

I hope you are having a great week. Looking forward to the weekend!

A Forgotten Finish

2012-01-24T18:19:00.000-05:00

For Christmas I stitched for my friend Vera a By The Bay freebie "Let Your Light Shine" but in my haste to get it to her before the big day I failed to take a picture. Luckily Vera got a new camera for Christmas and was able to send me a picture. I left off the wording and stitched mine using DMC floss. So this is my last finish of 2011.

I have my first finish/finish for 2012:

"Joy"
Helga Mandl Designs
32 ct Antique Blue Linen/DMC floss

This satisfies one of my "unspoken" goals for 2012 - to stitch a Christmas ornament each month. I would really like to have 12 new ones to add to my tree this year.

I hope you are all having a lovely week. Thanks for stopping by!

TUSAL

2012-01-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

Here is my first TUSAL pic for 2012. Lots of Halloween Rules bits in there.

I decided that I would use the Little House Needleworks Monthly Samplers that I stitched in 2010 for my backdrops this year. I display them each and every month and really enjoy seeing them so I thought you might too. :o)

Brrrr!

2012-01-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

It is a cold and blustery day here in NC. I spent most of yesterday clearing out my file cabinet and trying to organize all the paper a household accumulates over the course of a year. I did manage to put the final stitches into this:

"Basking In The Sun"
Brittercup Designs
28 count evenweave/CC floss

I loved this design from the moment I saw it because of the bleeding heart plant. My mother had several bleeding hearts planted in our yard when I was a child and they just fascinated me. As chilly as it is today it is nice to look at something so summery. :o)

I also worked on a few more birds. I made these a little smaller and have an idea for a somewhat different finish for them. I have to make a trip to Hobby Lobby before I can try it out. (I didn't make the one in the upper left - that is a glass ornament. I have several of those teal colored birds that I have put on my little primitive tree for winter.)

I think perhaps a squirrel or a bird has found it's way into our attic. As I am typing I can hear something rustling around. Since I am having flashbacks of my raccoon encounter I think I will wait until DH wakes up to investigate.

I hope you are all enjoying a lazy Sunday!

I won!

2012-01-10T18:36:00.000-05:00

I won a giveaway on Mindi's blog and was just thrilled when the package arrived yesterday. There is just no better way to wrap up a Monday than with a package of stitchy goodness.

Now when I entered the giveaway I was thinking I had a chance to win a chart or two. Look at all the wonderful surprises Mindi included in the package. I am really excited about that floss holder that her father made. Isn't it fabulous?! And one of the charts she sent has little samplers that would fit perfectly when mounted in the center. Thank you so much Mindi for sending such a generous giveaway package!

Last fall I joined Sweetwater's Label Crew. Each month they send you a pattern/project with printed labels to enhance the item(s). Sunday in my sewing room produced these:

Aren't they sweet? I think they will make wonderful Valentine's for my family and friends.

I hope you are all having a great start to the week. Thank you for stopping by!

And The Winner Is....

2012-01-08T21:05:00.000-05:00

Sally!

A big thanks to all 57 of you who stopped by to leave a comment. I really appreciate all your kind words and encouragement.

I did a little sewing today, working on some things for Valentine's Day. ;o)

I hope you all had a great weekend and will have an even greater week ahead!

One down...

2012-01-05T15:00:00.000-05:00

...eleven more to go! This first one was fun and I am loving the colors. I am on a search for the perfect finishing fabric as I plan to finish these as ornaments for my Halloween tree.

For my Christmas RAK's this year I stitched up a flock of birds...

And a collection of threadcatchers.

These were received quite well and I had a lot of fun stitching them up and sending them out to their new homes. I used Blackbird Designs Blueberry Crumbcake line of fabrics and just love the blues and the vintage feel to them.

It seems I have one of each left and I would like to give them away to one of my regular readers to celebrate the New Year. The threadcatcher can be folded and taken along with you and the bird works quite well as a cupboard hanger. There might be a surprise or two added to the package as well. :o)

If you would like to be entered in a drawing to win this little bird and threadcatcher all you have to do is leave a comment on this post letting me know you would give them a good home. :o) Please don't advertise this giveaway as I would like it to go to one of my regular visitors. I will draw a name this Sunday evening and get it in the mail to the winner early next week.

Thank you again for your visits and encouraging comments. I appreciate you!

Finish Finishing

2012-01-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first day of 2012! Did ya'll eat plenty of collard greens and black eyed peas? I sure did and they were so good. I do love me some good old southern food. :o)

Before I could transition fully into the new year I had a couple of stitched finishes that needed to be completely finished. I worked on them last night and this morning. I will count these as 2011 finishes as all the stitching was complete, they just needed the final touches.

From Prairie Schooler's Santas and Snowmen leaflet - 32 ct khaki Jobelan, DMC floss.

You might recall me saying last year that I planned to finish all of the ornaments from this leaflet to hang on my tree this year. Ummm, nope! I finished two. I do hope to make at least two more of these this year. (I am trying to be a little more realistic when thinking about my stitching goals for 2012.)

A walk through Hobby Lobby last week revealed this:

Hmmm, not my cup of tea. But....look again.

Voila! My Birds of A Feather Mystery Sampler is framed! Is it a perfect fit? Nope. Is it perfectly straight? Another nope. But...I decided I would rather have wonky and on the wall where I can enjoy it instead of rolled up in a drawer for who knows how much longer. I really like it and that is all that matters to me. :o)

I like how the carved motifs sort of mimic the flowers in the design.

I also managed to make a little progress on Lizzie Kate's Halloween Rules.

I am using 32 count Belfast that I tea dyed and DMC floss. I have already had to change the color of the dog because the floss as charted was a perfect match for my linen. This is going to be a fun stitch and with Mindi, Ranae, and Cucki to poke and prod me along hopefully it won't suffer the same fate as Shores.

I hope you all have a great first week of 2012. Get on out there and make some new memories!

Wrapping Up 2011

2011-12-31T09:55:00.000-05:00

Can anyone tell me what happened to the rest of 2011? I would really like to find it as it seems that this year flew by so quickly I am bound to be missing a week or two somewhere. My mother always told me the older you get the faster time seems to go by and although I didn't believe her at the time I really do think she was right.

The past week brought a couple of new treasures to my mailbox.

Mary sent me this wonderful Yankee Candle tea light holder. It is gorgeous and I just love it. Mary said in her note she hoped it wasn't cardinal overkill and I had to laugh. Can anyone ever have too many cardinals? I do believe I am now officially a collector of cardinals as I just love them so.

Then an envelope arrived from dear Marylin in France with this little cutie tucked inside. Marylin, your stitching and finishing is just gorgeous! I honestly don't know how you ladies make such tiny perfect stitches on those small linen counts. Another one to be treasured.

Then for Christmas I was introduced to two new loves in my life. :o)

This was one of my gifts to my husband but I have fallen in love with it. From coffee and tea to apple cider and everything in between I am enjoying a cuppa of everything and love it all!

And then this dark, handsome thing strolled in and my life has not been the same since.

(How did that monster hand sneak in there? Ack!)

I wasted no time in stitching him up some suitable attire for him to match my handbag. His sleek nakedness was just too much of a distraction you know and besides, he needed to be protected.

I love that this case opens like a book. I altered the pattern a bit to insure a proper fit and added a velcro closure instead of the button one on the pattern. Now Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome can be tucked away all safe and sound.

In anticipation of my New Year start of Halloween Rules and my year long SAL with Mindi and anyone else that wants to join in I made myself another stitching tote. I simplified this one a bit and didn't add as many pockets.

I also made a spider needleminder especially for this tote. I really like to have these lengthy projects organized into their own little package so everything is there when I need it. The purple scissors that Chris gifted me in the Harvest Fob kit are perfect for this project.

Whew! That was a lengthy post, wasn't it? If you are still with me thank you and thank you for being with me this year and leaving pretty comments and wonderful words of encouragement. I think you are all very pretty. :o)

I would like to wish each and every one of you a heartfelt wish for a happy, healthy, prosperous, and stitch filled New Year! (Just as soon as I can find those missing weeks of 2011, I will celebrate along with you.) :o)

Final TUSAL of 2011

2011-12-25T19:25:00.000-05:00

These orts are really crammed in my little jar.

Merry Christmas!

My Heart Is Full

2011-12-23T21:10:00.000-05:00

The generosity and kindness of friends in this blogging community just makes me so happy. I was fortunate to receive 3 wonderful gifts this week that just filled my heart with joy.

I admired this design in the JCS Christmas issue this year and had it on my list as one I wanted to stitch. I couldn't have been more thrilled to find it in my mailbox finished to perfection by sweet Faye. She is a genius when it comes to finishing. This little beauty is in a boxtop! I wish I had taken a picture of the back as it is a gorgeous Christmas plaid that compliments this design nicely. Add that lucious chenille trim and a masterpiece it is!

Then my dear friend Carol sent this gorgeous ornament along with the little dish and tea towel. She knows I love me some cardinals and this tiny one is one of the prettiest I have seen. Her stitching and finishing is beyond compare. I have said it before and I'll say it again - I want to be able to stitch like Carol when I grow up!

The dish is gorgeous too!

My sweet friend Norma gifted me with this precious little felt ornament. I just love the vintage look of this one. Aren't those little girls the sweetest things? Norma and I "met" many moons ago on an art quilting forum and although I don't do much mixed media/art quilting now, she and I have remained good friends.

Ladies, I find it difficult to express in words how much I treasure these gifts. They will always have a special place in my home (as you will in my heart). Thank you!

Winter Wonderland Exchange

2011-12-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

I participated in the Winter Wonderland Exchange at Stitched With Love Exchanges . I had Coleen as my partner and this is what I stitched for her:

"Hiver"

Freebie from Gazette 94

And these are all the extra goodies I put into her package. :o) She said she was very happy with everything I sent and I am so happy to have met another blogging friend. I had never visited Colleen's blog before and am so glad to have found her through this exchange.

Catherine had my name. :o) It was a secret exchange and we weren't supposed to reveal who we were to our partner until after everyone had received their packages. When I saw the return address, I knew it looked familiar. A quick look inside my address book and I figured out which little elf was mine. LOL Here is the before opening:

Isn't it all so pretty?

This is the piece she stitched for me. I love it! It is from an old JCS magazine and is a design by Little by Little. Catherine's stitching and finishing is just superb!

I just had to take a picture of this gorgeous cardinal ornament she sent along as well. Love the pinecones!

And look at all the extras she sent! A shopping bag with cardinals, my first Kelmscott needleminder, a gorgeous pattern with cardinals, some 40 ct Lakeside Linen, and a whole fistful of red overdyed flosses. She truly spoiled me and gave me a Cardinal Christmas!

If you have a chance, pop over to the Stitched With Love Exchange blog. We have also been sharing recipes, favorite Christmas stitches, traditions, and pictures of our homes at Christmastime. Lots of fun being had there and if you think you want to participate in an exchange I highly recommend this group.

I am woefully behind on email and blog reading. Too many things going on in this week leading up to Christmas and not enough hours in the day. Thank you all for the comments on my last post and I hope to get caught up Friday when I will have the day off work.

I have received a few special gifts from some special friends this week and am waiting for the yukky rain outside to subside so I can get some decent pictures. More on that in my next blog post. :o)

The Tree

2011-12-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

I just can't seem to get a good picture of my Christmas tree. I see these gorgeous photos of your wonderful trees on your blogs - how do you do it?

(See that blue box on the left? It's for me and has the Amazon swoosh on the name tag. :o) :o) :o))

This is my $20 tree. Yep, I found a new 7 ft slim pre-lit tree for $20 at a wholesale place. I was just thrilled with it and I think the price makes it even prettier. :o) (I just wish my pictures could capture how pretty it really is.)

A quick shot of my mantle. I keep changing things around on it. Of course when we decide to start a fire, most of it has to come down anyway.

I have managed a few little finishes this week.

This design is a popular one and I just loved the way Becky finished hers. So.... I ~~stole~~ borrowed her idea. :o) It is by Primitive Traditions stitched on 32 ct raw linen.

Here is a little snowflake stitched on 32 ct Ruby Wine Belfast and finished with some pearl trim inside a bottle cap. The design is a freebie from http://madetotreasure.blogspot.com/ .

And last but not least is this little prim pinkeep I made for Faye. I changed the colors up a bit and stitched it on a scrap of mystery linen. This is a freebie by Pineberry Lane that I found in Attic Needlework's newsletter but it is also being offered for free at Pattern Mart.

Whew! That was a long post and if you have made it this far THANK YOU! I also want to thank everyone who send get well wishes. I am feeling better today although the cough remains. DH is now sick and I am hoping we will recover completely this week so we can enjoy the holiday without all the coughing and hacking.

Are ya'll ready for Christmas?

The Crud Before Christmas

2011-12-16T19:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, dear friends, once again I have managed to catch the crud right before Christmas. I missed two days of work earlier this week and am not feeling a whole lot better today. UGH! I told DH if I HAD to get sick right before Christmas (which I seem to do every stinking year) I am glad it was this week and not the very week before Christmas.

While I was lying on the sofa trying to figure out whether to sleep or watch TV a wonderful package arrived from my friend Vera.

This little bird on the pincushion is tiny! Vera's stitching is just gorgeous.

And isn't this just cute!? I hung it on my Christmas tree right away.

So what are you up to the weekend? I plan to stay in and try to get rid of this cold/flu whatever it is so I will be ready for Christmas next week. Can you believe it? Only 8 days until Christmas.

A Super Saturday

2011-12-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I met Chris for lunch at Saffron in Greensboro. Saffron specializes in Indian cuisine and it was my first experience with Indian food. Let me just say that it was delicious! I honestly have no idea what most of it was called but I do know that I really like Butter Chicken and Palak Paneer. :o)

After we ~~finished gorging ourselves~~ ate we exchanged Christmas gifts.

Isn't this ornament gorgeous??!! I couldn't wait to get home and place it on my tree. It is made of glass and the picture just doesn't show the lovely iridescence of the finish.

And just look at these other goodies - a huge bundle of Northern Lights silk floss, a cute birdie notepad, and this wonderful little pottery piece from a local potter. Chris said she envisioned it as a pincushion base and I think that would be gorgeous. Now to find the right pattern to go with the motif and fit inside.

I couldn't resist taking a close up shot of the floss. Aren't flosses pretty when bundled all together?

And since I am speaking of Chris...remember the Shepherd's Bush Harvest Fob kit she gifted me?

I finished it up this morning. :o)

I had said before I am not a huge fan of SB designs but this one has me rethinking that . I just love the purple along with the the autumnal colors and those little vegetables are just the cutest things. I truly enjoyed every little stitch in this one.

I also love that there was a different design for the back. Now, the back is a happy accident as the instructions said to count out so many threads from the design and pull that thread from the linen to give you a nice straight line to trim the linen for your fob. I did that to the front design and then I did it to the back design too. I never stopped to think that the design for the back was smaller than the design for the front. Ugh! What to do now? Well, I took a strand of the perle cotton for the cording and stitched across every 3 threads around the design where I had pulled the thread from the linen. Whew! Stitchy catastrophe averted. :o)

Cute, cute, cute carrots, turnips, and onions!

Chris, thank you so much for making my Saturday a Super one!

TUSAL November

2011-11-26T13:44:00.000-05:00

One last autumn themed picture and then it is on to Christmas and winter. :o)

You can read about and sign up for the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long for 2012 here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T00:18:00.000-05:00

Design by Primitive Betty

Wishing all my blogging friends who celebrate Thanksgiving a wonderful day filled with the love and laughter of family and friends.

Feeling Fallish

2011-11-19T21:08:00.000-05:00

After all that Christmas stitching I was in the mood for an autumn piece. This little design from By The Bay Needleart caught my eye as soon as I saw it.

Isn't it tiny? I stitched this 2 over 2 on 32 count fabric I had tea dyed. It is the freebie from her October newsletter. (Those have to be Knockout Roses on each side of the house, doncha think?)

I picked up this little frame from The Stitch and Frame Shop on my recent road trip with Chris. I actually had this design in mind when I spyed the frame. It makes a nice addition to my autumn mantle decorations. :o)

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Just when I think it's safe...

2011-11-19T14:02:00.000-05:00

to say I have all the charts I want to stitch for quite some time.

Paulette does this to me.

Dear Santa...

Another Ornie

2011-11-14T10:18:00.000-05:00

"Winter Song"
Primrose Needleworks
32 ct linen/DMC & CC flosses

I just love perusing the raw wood section of Hobby Lobby and this frame is one of my favorites. It is great for finishing a square design that is 4" or smaller. I painted this one red and then sanded it to distress it a bit. Then I slapped on a coat of Briwax to tone done the bright red. This finished up a bit large for my tree but it will look nice hanging on a door or wall.

Back to the sewing machine!

Ornamentizing

2011-11-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

Last week I stitched up a few more ornaments and have spent today ornamentizing them. :o)

"Snow Hop"
Daffycat Designs - freebie
32 ct White Opalescent Linen/DMC Floss

"Jolly"
2011 JCS Christmas Ornament Issue
by Miss Crescent's Crowne
32 ct dirty linen/CC floss

Do you love the colors in this ornament? I am so surprised that I do as I am a traditional red/green/gold kind of person when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Something about these colors and this ornament just spoke to me and I had to make it. Forget that it matches nothing in my Christmas decor - it is going on my tree this year!

I have tomorrow off work (whooo hooo!) and I plan to spend some time in the sewing room with this:

But don't expect to see pictures anytime soon - I'll be working on my Christmas RAK's. :o)

Have a great week and thanks for visiting my little corner of blogland!

An Autumn Walk

2011-11-12T14:49:00.000-05:00

My son and I headed up to Hagen Stone Park this morning. It was a perfect day for a walk in the woods. Come along with us, won't you?

Our walk begins on the Old Schoolhouse Trail.

A bridge across a small creek is littered with leaves.

The Oak Grove School is a reproduction of the original schoolhouse that served the students of this area in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. The teachers salary was $20 per month.

The cattails always make me smile. I can remember playing with them as a child and watching the fluff floating on the wind.

An old tobacco barn. I thought this hay wagon and the barn were very picturesque.

Formerly known as the "The Chapel Beside the Road" at Greensboro's Cotton Mill Square Mall, this one-room chapel was frequently used during the holidays, and at other times of the year, as a focal point for special community events. Several years after the mall closed, owner Carl Johnson donated the historic chapel to the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department.

It just makes me want to walk inside and sit for a while.

There is just nothing like a North Carolina Autumn. :o) Thank you for taking a walk with me. I hope you all have time this weekend to experience the delights of the season.

Winter Squirrel

2011-11-07T17:28:00.000-05:00

"Winter Squirrel"
The Victoria Sampler - Designs by Cathy Jean
2011 JCS Ornament Issue
32 ct dirty linen/VS Accessories Pack
Finished using Jumbo Bottle Cap from Hobby Lobby

This was a fun one to stitch and to finish. I looked and looked for some small tart tins as per the finishing instructions in the magazine but had no luck locally. While strolling through Hobby Lobby I found these Jumbo Bottle caps. The size was perfect. Now I am looking for more round Christmas ornament designs so I can finish them with the bottle caps. :o) I would like to make this one again using grey floss to more closely resemble the squirrels I see in my yard.

I hope you all had a great start to your week!

Are You Ready...?

2011-11-06T12:22:00.000-05:00

...for some Christmas?! I could have said football but my Panthers have a bye this week so I guess I will just have to watch some more Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. :o) I have become addicted to this series and find that it makes for great entertainment while stitching.

I finished my first two ornaments for Becky's Ornament challenge. I scored some of the scuppernong linen and the snowman buttons on my trip with Chris last week so I couldn't wait to start stitching "Merry" by Miss Crescent's Crowne from the JCS 2010 Ornament Issue. I used the DMC conversion for the floss.

I despise the ruched ribbon while I am making it but love it once it is on the finished piece.

I couldn't resist putting a cardinal on the back. :o)

I liked this quick little design so much I made another version with mini pom trim and a red polka dot fabric for the back.

Isn't that little snowman button just the cutest?

Happy, Happy

2011-11-01T20:07:00.000-04:00

Joy, Joy!

"Penny America"

Tree of Life Samplings

28 ct Days Gone By Linen, DMC floss

I finished this up last night just in time to start the Christmas Ornament Challenge today. I don't know why but it took me forever to stitch this. I think it had something to do with stitchy distractions but I can't be sure. :o) Now I can't decide whether I want to frame it or get some nice wool and make a pillow.

Thank you Faye for letting me borrow your chart, I really enjoyed stitching this one.

Thanks go to Chris as well who snapped me out of my stitching conundrum and convinced me that I needed to go ahead and finish this instead of starting something new. :o)

I hope you are all off to the start of a great week!

The Tree This Year

2011-10-30T22:44:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Lazy Sunday

2011-10-30T15:23:00.000-04:00

I have had a lazy Sunday. I am busy stitching on Penny America hoping to have a finish today. I signed up for Becky's Christmas Ornament Challenge and I am itching to start stitching some ornaments.

Here is a pic of the gift that Chris gave me yesterday on our road trip.

This gorgeous calendar from Hawaii with pictures of the flowers of Hawaii and this Shepherd's Bush Harvest Scissor Fob kit complete with PURPLE scissors. Aren't they great?! Thank you so much Chris - now that I have removed my proverbial foot from my mouth I am really going to enjoy stitching those little turnips and carrots and using those purple scissors. I can't wait to show off my calendar at work and when I need a little escape all I will have to do is look at it!

Last night I took my Halloween quilt down from the mantle so DH could start a fire and look what I found this morning:

"Yes, I am lying on your precious Halloween quilt. Whachoo gonna do about it? Huh?!"

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your Sunday!

Road Trip Report

2011-10-29T22:20:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions on my last post. It was very rainy and cold this morning when Chris and I left but it ended up being a gorgeous fall day. (This post is picture heavy.)

Here I am after spending about an hour at the Stitch and Frame shop. It was wonderful to actually go inside and be able to see all the shop models and fondle the linen.

As you can see, I picked up a few things there. :o) I love the little burlwood frame and it is the perfect size for Donna's (By the Bay) Autumn freebie she offered in her newsletter.

Then we were off to Mary Jo's. I really didn't have anything to buy there but I managed to pick up some needfuls such as sewing machine needles and iron cleaner. We took a break and had a wonderful lunch at McAllister's deli. My Reuben was delicious.

As we were on our way to Trader Joe's we spotted this:

And off we went. This place is huge I tell ya!

Here is the little lantern I snagged from Ikea along with my goodies from Mary Jo's. I also got a nice bundle of tea lights, some wonderful cross stitch pattern napkins, and some chocolates. :o)

And here is part of the bounty I acquired at Trader Joes. I can't wait to try that Pumpkin Pancake Mix.

Check out this cool vintage look reusable Trader Joes shopping bag. Chris had one similar to this and I knew one was coming home with me too.

We passed several of these cotton fields along the way which were so pretty. Both of us agreed they reminded us of snow. (Sorry for those of you that are getting the real stuff and don't want it. We get very little snow here in NC so it is usually a big event for us and thinking of it puts us in a holiday mood.)

The fall colors here are just gorgeous. This was the view out our window most of the way.

I had one more picture of the lovely gift Chris gave me but will save it for my next post.

We didn't solve any of the world's problems today but there is just nothing better than spending time with a friend. Thank you Chris for being the most excellent chauffer and tour guide. :o) I had a wonderful time and hope we can do it again soon.

Looking to the weekend

2011-10-27T19:25:00.000-04:00

One more work day until the weekend my friends and I am so looking forward to it. Chris and I are taking another road trip that promises to be lots of fun. :o) We plan to go here....

And here...

And who knows what other delights we may see along the way. :o) With Zippy as our magnificent steed, we shall have a great time indeed. (Sorry I just couldn't resist) The only needlework store I have visited is a very small one in Greensboro so I will be like a kid in a candy store. I have been to Mary Jo's before but have never been to a Trader Joe's. I know, I really should get out of the house more but I am a homebody through and through.

I received another piece of happy mail from my friend Vera last week. She discovered she had an extra copy of this BBD book and sent it to me. I was just thrilled and have already chosen a couple of projects in it that I just have to make soon. She included these lovely wooden acorns and leaves. I plan to break out the Briwax and finish them up a bit. Thank you so much Vera for your kindness and generosity!

I hope you all have a lovely Friday and a wonderful weekend spent doing everything that makes your heart sing!

TUSAL

2011-10-26T19:46:00.000-04:00

I think my ort jar is bewitched.

BOO!

Frightful!

2011-10-19T21:38:00.000-04:00

With Halloween fast approaching and me still stitching (slowly) on Penny America, I decided to take a little time out to stitch and finish up a quickie for my Halloween tree.

"Frightful"
Design by It's Daffycat
DMC w/WDW Trick or Treat for the border
32 ct my dyed linen

This was my first attempt at ruching ribbon and I love how it looks on this design. It is very time consuming but I feel it adds so much to the finish I will be doing it again.

I hope you are all having a great week! Happy Hump Day!

Fall Festival & A Winner!

2011-10-16T10:15:00.000-04:00

The fall festival was lots of fun. The weather was absolutely gorgeous which probably explains the large crowd. It was everything you can expect a small town fall festival to be.

There were cars...

A breast cancer awareness booth where I procured a new T-shirt. I thought it was neat that even their coolers were pink!

Lots of food...

DH had a smoked turkey leg. He handed it to me while he paid and I felt like Wilma Flintstone. :o)

DS had to have a funnel cake. (I stole a few bites.)

I was already stuffed with the barbeque, slaw, pintos, and hushpuppies we had at the fire station.

We walked a lot and looked a lot and listened to some live music while enjoying the beautiful day. There is nothing quite like a hometown fall festival with the bonus of taking it all in with those you love.

And now the moment you have been waiting for. (Don't you love how I made you sit through all those photos first? LOL) The winner of the bird pincushion, thread catcher, and Hootzi Humbug chart is...........

Maureen! at Maureen's Mountain of Stitching!

Thanks to all of you who stopped by to leave a comment and enter my giveaway. This was lots of fun and I am looking forward to doing another one soon.

Wowza!

2011-10-15T09:25:00.000-04:00

So far I have 53 comments on my last post. Wow! I am so glad some of you "lurkers" came out to leave a comment. I had good intentions of replying to each of you but the comments were coming so fast I just couldn't keep up. I enjoyed reading all about your favorite fall traditions and thank you for sharing those. If you haven't put your name in the hat for the drawing there is still time. I will be announcing the winner tomorrow.

There were many questions about the bird and thread catcher pattern. The bird pattern and tutorial can be found on the DIY Dish website http://www.thediydish.com/ . You will have to go back to March of this year to find the exact post. They have recently put up a dress mannequin pincushion that I want to give a try as well. The thread catcher was a freebie offered by Primitive Gatherings during the recent Moda Blog Hop. It looks like it was only active during the blog hop as she uses the pattern for workshops and such as well.

My birthday celebration continued this week with a delightful package from dear Berit. She sent this wonderful grab bag of linen, some floss holders, and a gorgeous stone needleminder.

I just love linen grab bags as there is usually quite a variety of fabrics that I wouldn't buy otherwise. It seems when I go searching for fabric for a small, the grab bags always seem to land me the perfect piece. Thank you so much Berit for making my celebration last a little longer!

Our little town is having a fall festival today so DH and I are headed down to enjoy some wonderful barbeque at the fire station and peruse the booths. I hope you all enjoy this beautiful autumn weekend and I'll see you here tomorrow to announce the giveaway winner.

Thank you for stopping by!

A Fall Surprise

2011-10-09T20:12:00.001-04:00

No, this isn't THE surprise but I must admit I was a little surprised to find this guy underneath Ziggy's food bowl today. He was in a coccoon of some sort. I suspect he will become a moth someday? If so, probably a large one as he was rather plump.

I am closing comments now so I can choose a winner - thanks to all who commented!

THE surprise is a little giveaway I have put together in honor of my blog anniversary (Sept 26th marked 5 years of blogging), having over 130 followers (I am amazed that many of you stop by to read my ramblings), and to celebrate fall.

I am offering Just Nan's Hootzi Humbug chart from last year brand new with embellishments, a blackbird pincushion hand made by little ole me, and a fabric thread catcher. I tried my best to get a good picture of the blackbird but the lighting and black fabric just didn't want to play well together.

Now, what do you need to do to win? Just leave me a comment on this post telling me about one of your favorite fall traditions. I know one of my favorite things to do in the fall is to visit the apple orchard - fresh apples, apple cider, and homemade baked goods just scream fall to me. If you don't really have something you enjoy every fall just tell me your favorite color and we'll be good to go! I ask that you do not advertise this giveaway as this is my way of saying thank you to those who stop by my blog on at least a semi-regular basis.

I will have the random number thingy choose a winner to be announced next Sunday, October 16th. In the event one of my non-cross stiching blog friends is the winner I will happily substitute the cross stitch chart with a few fallish fat quarters from my stash and draw a second winner for the chart only.

Good luck! I am looking forward to hearing the things you and your family enjoy during the fall season. I really appreciate each and every one of you who stop by to visit.

Happy Mail!

2011-10-06T19:08:00.000-04:00

Hello dear friends! I hope you are enjoying beautiful fall weather in your neck of the woods. It has been a gorgeous week here with chilly nights and beautiful sunshiney days. My mouth continues to heal although there is still quite a bit of swelling. I really appreciate all your good thoughts and get well wishes.

Mindi offered a little gift to the first few to stitch her little freebie and I was one of the lucky ones. Just look what arrived in my mailbox:

A gorgeous covered journal, and zipper bag filled with cute tissues, lip balm, and mints! Isn't that journal just gorgeous? I was thrilled as I have been keeping a stitching journal this year and have found mine to be a little on the small side. This one will be perfect for 2012. Thank you so much Mindi! Your pattern was a joy to stitch.

Then my dear friend Norma sent me this little kit for my birthday:

It is the cutest little thing! The mat is included and actually "finishes" the stitched design. I will surely enjoy stitching it this winter when I am dreaming of being in my garden. Thank you so much Norma - your little gift made my day.

I am working on putting together some things for a giveaway. It seems I missed my blogaversary last month and I want to do something to recognize the fact I now have over 130 followers. Check back this weekend as I hope to have it all together then.

I hope your week has been stupendous and you have wonderful things planned for the weekend!

Happy Saturday!

2011-10-01T11:24:00.000-04:00

Good morning friends! It is a beautiful fall day here in NC. The temps dropped considerably overnight, the sun is shining, and a brisk breeze is blowing the leaves to the ground. Fall has arrived!

I mentioned in my last post that I wasn't feeling well and what I thought was a terrible sinus infection turned out to be a serious tooth infection. I went to the dentist Thursday when my face and the roof of my mouth started swelling and ended up at the endodontist yesterday. I am the proud new owner of a root canal and an open incision in the roof of my mouth for drainage. How's that for gross? I am not 100% but I do feel much better now that some of the swelling is gone. Thank you for your get well wishes - I appreciate each and every one of you.

I am not one to sit idle even when I am feeling poorly. I have been planning to make one of those Tilda dolls by Tone Finnanger for quite some time and finishing the little kit from Carol finally gave me the courage to give it a try. Here is my Autumn Pixie for your perusal:

I had a lot of fun making this in between my fever and drug induced stupors and am quite happy with the way it turned out. I have in my mind to make a witch for Halloween but I don't know if I will get her done in time for the holiday. We shall see. I am planning to donate her to Pumpkin's Breast Cancer Fund for the auction at Attic Needlework. I am hoping she will get lots of bids. :o)

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

TUSAL among other things

2011-09-28T18:46:00.000-04:00

First, I want to thank all of you who stopped by to comment on my finish of Myra & Finnius. I have been hit with some kind of bug - fever, chills, aches, the works - and have been horizontal for the past two days more than I have been vertical and haven't responded to all of you. Please know I do appreciate all your wonderful comments, you keep me going!

Here is a pic of my ORT jar for September. I just keep pushing them down into this tiny little jar.

Mindi posted a freebie on her blog that I just couldn't resist stitching right away. This is the piece she designed for the Samplermaker's Autumn challenge. Thank you Mindi for sharing your design.

I finished it as a doorknob hanger. I just love the "primness" of it.

My son is taking a hiking class at college and I persuaded him to let me go along with him on his hike this past Sunday.

The weather wasn't great, very overcast and the trail was very muddy from all the rain we had this past weekend.

There are several trails at this park ranging in distance from just under a half mile to nearly 4 miles. We chose the Ridge Trail which is 1.6 miles long.

It was nice to enjoy some one on one time with my son and to take the road less traveled for a change.

Wonder if I can convince him to let me tag along again?

Presenting...

2011-09-24T13:27:00.000-04:00

Myra & Finnius - The Halloween Edition!

(Pattern & Kit by The Cheswick Company)

Oh my! What fun I had with this kit yesterday. Never having made anything of this sort I wasn't sure if I could put it all together. Some parts were a little fiddly but the instructions and materials were fabulous. I absolutely will not be able to wait until spring to display them so I just had to add my own little "Autumn" touch. Now this pair will fit right in with my Halloween decorations.

Here are a few more views of the original. :o)

Thank you again Carol for this delightful kit!

Now...what do I do next?

Another year goes by

2011-09-23T16:29:00.000-04:00

I celebrated my 48th birthday yesterday and what a wonderful day it was. I didn't let the fact that it was rainy and dreary outside stop me from enjoying my day. I just have to share with you the wonderful gifts that I received from friends.

Chris surprised me with a gift certificate to Needlecraft Corner. I am really excited about this as they have ornament cuts of the fabrics used in the JCS Ornament issues. I am headed to Greensboro tomorrow and I am determined to procure my very own copy of this elusive magazine. I have refrained from ordering it because I just knew I would be able to get it locally but the local bookstore doesn't have it yet. Once I decide which ones I want to stitch an order will definitely be placed.

Then Vera surprised me with this gorgeous ornament:

Isn't that squirrel just regal? We love to watch the squirrels scampering around in our back yard and this reminds me of them. Vera doesn't have a blog (yet). You may remember Vera was in NC a while back and I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with her and do a little fabric shopping. Her stitching is just lovely and this will be a treasure that I will cherish for years to come.

And Carol surprised me with this:

Isn't this just fabulous? It is a kit with almost everything I need to make this cute little folk art piece. Myra isn't a very common name and I am always surprised and thrilled when I am able to find something with "Myra" on it. (Myra is the duck. LOL) I have already made a good start on this and should finish it by tomorrow.

Thank you so much Chris, Vera, and Carol for making my day extra special. I really appreciate those of you who also sent me birthday emails - makes an old girl feel good. :o)

My sons bought me a new winter coat and DH took me out to dinner and got me a Vera Bradley purse to match. I can hardly wait for it to get cold enough to wear the coat and you know I am already sporting that new purse. I even managed to get today off work and have spent most of it puttering around in the sewing room

I truly feel blessed with thoughtful friends and family and am looking forward to spending many more happy years with you all.

ABCD Traveling Pattern

2011-09-19T18:53:00.000-04:00

I just put the last stitches in ABCD by La D Da and rushed outside to get a picture while it was still daylight.

I used 28 ct Raspberry Chocolate linen with Belle Soie Bahama Breeze & Icing floss. This was such an enjoyable stitch. A big thank you to Peggy Lee for sharing this pattern and to Jennifer for organizing this pattern's trip around the world.

Next stop----> Nancy's Cosy Stitching Corner. :o) I hope you enjoy stitching this as much as I did. I plan to get it in the mail to you tomorrow.

Ten Years Ago

2011-09-11T08:58:00.000-04:00

I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the news came over the radio. Watching the news this morning brings it all back to me as if it just happened yesterday. May we never forget and always stand united in the face of tragedy and adversity.

I felt so helpless in the wake of the attacks yet so thankful that my family and friends were safe. I needed something to calm my mind at the time and made this little quilted wallhanging as a sort of tribute to all those who lost their lives and as a reminder to me to never forget. I call it "United".

The Labor Day weekend and following week was extremely busy for me but I did manage to fit in just a bit of stitching. I have finished the smallest pieces from BBD's Casting A Spell. I managed to goof up my spacing on the motif with my initial and will probably end up frogging the flower part and fixing it - it will bug me to no end if I don't fix it. I will have to wait to do that because...the ABCD Traveling Pattern has arrived in NC!

I have decided to stitch this beauty on 28ct Raspberry Chocolate linen (doesn't just the sound of that make you drool?) with Belle Soie Bahama Breeze and Icing floss. I have never stitched with Belle Soie but after reading rave reviews from many of you I just have to give it a try. I plan to make a start on it today and hopefully have it on it's way to the next stitcher soon.

I must apologize because I haven't had time to visit many of your blogs this week - I am woefully behind again! Maybe this week will be less eventful than the last and I can get caught up.

I hope you all have a relaxing Sunday doing whatever it is your heart desires. :o)

TUSAL

2011-09-01T21:16:00.000-04:00

Here is my ort jar for the month of August - better late than never, right? Perched atop my little jar is a wee Honeycrisp apple just picked from the orchard this evening. Honeycrisp are my favorites and I have been so busy I almost missed them this year. I bought 5 lbs and the last of this variety will be gone in the next couple of day. They are now picking Red and Golden Delicious which are very good too. I just love having an orchard within 5 minutes of my house.

Nail update.... this is after 2-1/2 weeks. I am now past 3 weeks and you can see some tiny little fissures in the white portion but other than that they are holding up really well. I haven't been careful with them and have washed quite a few dishes without gloves (no automatic dishwasher here). I will be doing lots of yard/garden/house work this weekend so we will see how they look after all that.

What are your plans for the Labor Day weekend? We have some much needed house/yard maintenance that needs to be done and I have even taken Tuesday off work so I can at least have one extra day of fun time. I hope your weekend is everything you want it to be and more!

Sunday Samplings

2011-08-28T16:00:00.000-04:00

I am happy to report that all is well at my in-law's place at the beach and they are headed back home now. Yesterday was a very busy and exhausting day but I was sad to see them go.

I have been stitching on Penny America for the past couple of weeks. Here is my progress so far:

I am enjoying this one and love the colors.

The mailman didn't disappoint me yesterday and delivered BBD's Casting A Spell. I couldn't get the package open quick enough! LOL I was itching to stitch with some of those Autumn colors that I love so much.

I completed the first little piece and started on another. Doncha just love this fat crow?! I need to get busy on painting and waxing my box. The book instructs you to finish these as little flat pieces to glue into the box but I am toying with the idea of making little pin pillows filled with crushed walnut shells. I honestly won't "use" the box, only display it, maybe even put hangers on the back so it can hang on the wall - shadow box style. Who knows what I will end up doing? Isn't that part of the fun?

It is bright and sunny here today so I think I will head outside for a while. I hope you are all enjoying a lazy Sunday and please continue to keep those on the coast in your thoughts and prayers.

Irene has arrived

2011-08-27T11:51:00.000-04:00

Hello dear friends. Irene has arrived in NC. My in-laws evacuated Carolina Beach yesterday morning and are staying here. We are hoping and praying their house isn't damaged and they can return tomorrow. For those of you wondering I live almost smack dab in the middle of the state so we don't really worry too much about Irene's effects here. It is very windy here today and we have had a few sprinkles but other than that all is well.

I finished a little winter piece earlier this week. :o)

This is a design taken from Lizzie Kate's Six Fat Men border, it is available on their website. I am calling the finish/finish a pencil pillow because it is so long and skinny. A little ribbon, yo-yo's, and some snowflake buttons finished it up quite nicely doncha think? I think it will be cute just stuffed down into my Christmas tree and later displayed in a basket. It doesn't scream Christmas so I think I can display it into January too.

I am stalking the mailman today hoping to have a little package of goodies while preparing to serve 10 for dinner. Sirloin tips with mushrooms cooking away in the crockpot along with mashed potatoes, a salad, rolls, and blackberry cobbler for dessert.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. Please pray for those on the eastern seaboard.

Happy Monday!

2011-08-22T19:37:00.000-04:00

Hello dear friends! I hope your start to the week was a pleasant one. We had a pretty busy weekend cleaning around the yard and house. It is still HOT here but tomorrow we are supposed to have a bit of a cool down. We are keeping a close eye on hurricane Irene as we have relatives who live at Carolina Beach. I pray that it goes on out to sea!

Have you been looking at the new releases from the Baltimore market? I sure have....especially this one:

Squeeeeee! Blackbird Designs, Halloween, and a box?! You know this is a must have for me. And...I have already been to my local Hobby Lobby and purchased 2 of the boxes. :o) I love this box and probably wouldn't have even given it a thought until I saw this. Wouldn't it be pretty painted in green with red and white smalls tucked inside too?

Seeing the wonderful Halloween designs inspired me to finish up this little cutie this weekend.

This is the piece I finished stitching from Barbara Ana Designs a while back. I decided to use those big, chunky beads as shown in the model and make myself another ornament for my Halloween tree.

I have been stitching on Penny America but had to stop and stitch up a little winter design (just because I needed a color break) and plan to finish it into a little pillow tonight. Yes, the autumn and winter designs are starting to "call" to me even though I have a couple of new summer designs that I still want to stitch soon.

That's it for now. Maybe I'll have another little finish to show you before the end of the week. :o)

Finally some rain!

2011-08-14T15:05:00.000-04:00

We finally got some much needed rain here this weekend. You could almost hear all the plants sighing with relief. My cucumbers were about to dry up - hopefully the rain will make them want to give me a few more before they die out. I do love me some cucumbers.

Since yesterday was quite dreary I decided to sew a basket to sit on the table beside my stitching chair. It seems I always have a bunch of junk cluttering up the table (remote controls, hand lotion, nail file, calculator, etc.) and I needed a place to put it.

I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby and it matches the colors in my living room perfectly. I really wanted to trim it in turquoise ric rac but had to settle for brown. You can find the pattern for this basket here.

Last week I treated myself to a pedicure. I almost never have my nails done as I am so prone to trashing them as soon as I walk out the door. The nice lady painted a pretty design on my big toesies.

While having my toes done we were discussing manicures. The technician started talking about manicures and the new "shellac" polish which will last 3 weeks. Well, you know that got my attention as the last manicure I had lasted a total of 4 days before it was chipping and looking awful. Since I was there and might consider having a manicure more often if it lasted more than 4 days, I decided to give it a try.

This is 3 days later and it looks as good as the first day. I wanted to get a picture so I can see if it really will last 3 weeks. I also want to make sure it doesn't damage my nails. Long ago I had the acrylic nails and they pretty much trashed my natural nails. I have healthy nails now and was assured this new polish is not damaging. I will keep you posted. :o)

I hope you are all having a great weekend filled with pretty stitches! I am off to put some sirloin kebabs on the grill. Yum!

Catching Up

2011-08-09T21:39:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy the past few days it seems that time is just flying by. I had a fabulous weekend which started on Friday with this delivery:

I can't wait until I have a bit of uninterrupted time to break this baby out and play! A big thank you to Amy for hosting the giveaway on her blog and to the AccuQuilt company for donating the GoBaby! I promise to cherish and keep her and put her to good use. :o) I have some plans for the Tumbler die that just might involve some of the new Blackbird Designs Blueberry Crumb Cake line.

Then, bright and early Saturday morning Chris and I headed down to SC for a stitch-in. We both loved being greeted by this charming sign upon our arrival.

Manning and the ladies we met certainly did not disappoint. I didn't accomplish very much in the way of stitching but I made lots of new friends and saw all sorts of gorgeous stitching in progress. This was my first event of this kind and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Since Myra played all day Saturday she had to spend Sunday getting caught up on chores. :o) The tomatoes continue to produce and I have cooked tomatoes and frozen sauce for the past 3 nights. I just can't bear to see these go to waste and they will make great soups and spaghetti sauce this winter.

Now it is back to the work week and boy is it starting out to be a doozy for me. I hope you all are having a great start to your week. I have tomorrow afternoon off and am hoping to get in a little sewing and/or stitching time.

Dance With Me!

2011-08-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

"Bird of A Feather Mystery Sampler"

by Brenda Gervais

35 WDW Confederate Gray Linen

My own floss conversion & NC "Style"

My take on making the bird an Eastern Bluebird. I also "carved" my initials into the tree. :o)

Love the little sheep and yet another "carving" in the tree.

One more look at the cardinals.

I can't thank all of you who stopped by to admire my progress or posted about my sampler on your blog. YOU kept me motivated and made me want to finish this yesterday! I really appreciate all the lovely compliments and encouragement. I also want to thank Brenda for such a wonderful design and concept in the mystery sampler. I do hope she will design another one for us next summer.

Stay cool my friends - it is a scorcher here!

TUSAL

2011-07-31T20:03:00.000-04:00

Here is my ort jar for the 2nd TUSAL post of July.

Lots of orts from the Birds of A Feather Mystery Sampler in there. :o) I am stitching along although slowly. For the past week I have been experiencing some pain in my right index finger down into my hand. I suspect it is from stitching as that is my needle hand but I am so close to finishing this sampler I just refuse to stop. Have any of you ever had this to happen?

Today was a banner day for me as I found out I won a Go! Baby cutter and 3 sets of dies on Amy's blog. I am stoked! I am already imagining the wonderful things I can cut and sew with this little jewel. Thank you to Amy and the AccuQuilt company. I can't wait to get it in my hot little (sore) hands! Maybe I'll give my stitching fingers a rest when it arrives. :o)

Sending warm(perhaps cool would be better) wishes to all of you for a wonderful week ahead!

Bird Brained!

2011-07-30T20:46:00.000-04:00

Hello dear friends! I have birds on the brain...and in my sewing room too.

I "jazzed" these up a bit with a safety pin on the wing and a little charm.

And...

I'll just bet...

you can guess...

what kind of bird is next!

Bwahahahaha! I do wish my camera photographed red a little better as the wing really isn't the dayglo color this photo suggests. It probably doesn't help that when I take my camera from the cool environment inside to the heat and humidity outside, the lens is immediately fogged over. I have to wipe off the condensation and wait for the cool lens to acclimate before I can get a pic that isn't just a blur. I just had to alter the pattern a little to make the little bird look more like my favorite. :o)

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful weekend and staying cool!

Woefully behind

2011-07-26T19:37:00.000-04:00

Hi dear friends! I am soooo behind in my blog reading and commenting I don't know when I will ever catch up. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do all that I want to do.

Our tomatoes and cucumbers (and weeds) are coming in fast and furious. It is amazing how many cucumbers I have already harvested from one $1.59 plant. Just this evening I picked 7 cucumbers and 6 tomatoes and will have at least that many ready to pick again tomorrow. I sure wish some of you lived nearby so I could share the bounty.

Stitching continues on the Mystery Sampler - I can taste a finish coming soon. :o) Oh and I managed to add LHN's Summer Garden and By the Bay's Stitch an Inch Summer and one of Donna's beautiful pendant fobs to my stash because you know I don't have enough to stitch already. (It's an addiction I tell ya! And yes I was too lazy/tired to go take a picture of these beauties.)

I needed a little sewing fix this weekend and managed to sit down in the sewing room for a few hours and finish this:

Isn't she cute? The pattern and tutorial can be found on the DIY Dish website. I can see several of these in my future.

That's all I have for today. I do hope to find time to stop by your blogs soon where I know I will be tempted, inspired, and enabled by all your beautiful work. Stay cool out there and thank you for stopping by!

Thank you!

2011-07-19T20:20:00.000-04:00

I really appreciate all the lovely comments you left on my last post showing my progress on the Birds of A Feather Mystery Sampler. Those comments make me want to stich more pretty things - you keep me motivated and for that I thank you. And...did you see? Brenda Gervais her very self stopped by and left me a comment. How did she even know this little ole blog existed?

While I am waiting for Part 3 to arrive in my mailbox (along with a few other things I couldn't resist, ahem) I decided to stitch up this little Shepherd's Bush freebie.

I thought it quite appropriate for this time of year, don't you? I have a little different idea for finishing this one up - will have to see if I can make it work.

I hope your week is going well. Stay cool out there my friends!

Part Two Complete!

2011-07-17T12:52:00.000-04:00

With a pair of Cardinals! I attempted to make one of the cardinals look more like the coloring of a female - I think I did okay. :o) I used 3 different greens for the leaves on the tree to give it a little more interest. I am thinking I may make the final bird look more like an Eastern Bluebird since I have never seen an Indigo Bunting nor do I think they live here in the South.

Part 3 is now on order and I am surprised to say I may be sad to see this one end.

A Bird Of A Different Feather

2011-07-16T20:35:00.000-04:00

I think this one suits me a little better. :o) What do you think?

I am coming down the home stretch to part 2 and realized I haven't ordered the chart for part 3 yet. Guess I should get busy placing an order.

We finally got a break in the weather this weekend - the humidity is low and it is much cooler. My garden is yielding 3-5 cucumbers a day and we picked our first tomatoes this week. Ahhhh, gotta love summer.

I Need Your Help

2011-07-15T18:56:00.000-04:00

I NEED YOUR HELP!

I'm going behind bars for "GOOD"

PLEASE HELP BAIL ME OUT!

(Lola isn't going but she can't stand to be away from her Momma for very long.)

Mendy - a co-worker and friend - on the other hand is my "partner in crime" and will be going with me.

I was nominated to be "locked up" to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This event is held in communities all over the United States. I will picked up at work by a "jailer" this coming Thursday and taken to the lock up at an undisclosed location. I can remember growing up watching the Jerry Lewis telethon. Back in the days before cable and satellite TV it was shown on all 3 of the major networks and was the ONLY thing on the television that day. :o) I seem to remember it always being broadcast on Labor Day - when everyone was home from work and school. My mother and grandmother would sit and watch it for hours and hours.

Your donation is my key to our freedom! Even a donation of $1 adds up and helps these children in need. Be proud of the fact that together we're providing help and hope to kids and adults served by MDA in our communities. You can read more about this event and access the secure donation site here.

Any help you can give me would be very appreciated!

Determining a winner

2011-07-13T16:09:00.000-04:00

I sorted through all the comments and guesses as to what would be in the final part of the Mystery Sampler. The guesses included birdhouses, bird nests, bird baths, fledglings, a tree with fruit, a feeder, hearts, a piano, and a house. It seems that we were all surprised by the sheep!

Amy, Carol F, and Catherine correctly guessed a house so I put those 3 names on a slip of paper and placed them in a bowl. And the winner is...........................

Amy!

She will be receiving this coordinated set consisting of a large and small Maggie bag and a Wonder Wallet.

And just because I am going to send this Wonder Wallet to Carol.

And Catherine is going to be a winner too! :o)

Ladies, if you will please email me with your addresses I will get these out to you.

Thanks to everyone who played along. I really enjoyed reading all your comments and imagining all your guesses. :o) Now get back to that stitchin'! LOL

Vacation Over :o(

2011-07-10T20:41:00.000-04:00

I am in the final hours of my vacation and I think I need another week! Isn't that always the case? I did no sewing, very little stitching, a lot of reading, a lot of resting and basically doing nothing at all. It was really nice. We did take a quick trip to Carolina Beach and spent one day on the beach. It rained the next day so we visited the Aquarium at Fort Fisher and the Civil War Museum and found both very interesting and entertaining. I really, really missed my furbabies and I think that is one of the reasons we don't go away more often. I couldn't wait to get back home although we had only been gone 3 days!

Did you see?

Isn't it fabulous!? I love the house, the little sheep, and the grassy hill with flowers - such a pretty finish to this sampler. I know a few of you guessed a house for the drawing - give me a day or two to get my act back together and I will draw a name and announce the winner. Oh, and I guess I will announce what the prize will be too. :o) I am almost finished with the tree and all the leaves in part 2 and have only a bit of the alphabet and the birds left to stitch. I am planning to "change up" the birds a bit - I wonder if you can guess what I will do with them? ;o)

I hope you all had a great weekend and I am wishing a wonderful week ahead for each of you!

Staycation!

2011-07-03T19:36:00.000-04:00

Today is my 2nd day of a glorious 9 days off work and I have done nothing! Oh, I have stitched a little and visited blogs a little and read a little but mostly I have been sitting on my butt doing nothing. I have to say it feels good. :o) Work has been grueling the past few weeks and I really needed a break. I have big plans for this week - don't know if any of them will happen but I am okay if they don't. Maybe tomorrow I will be a little more motivated.

I am a little late but here is my TUSAL for July. Lots of Mystery Sampler threads there.

I have some exciting news to share. Berit has started her own design company Jaunty Fox Designs and is having a great giveaway and is sharing her first design with all of us. I just love the design (it's Halloween after all) and her model is fabulous. Please head on over and check out her blog and her first design. You won't be disappointed. I believe we can all look forward to more great things to come from this talented new designer.

I hope all of you here in the states have a wonderful Independence Day! I am planning ribs on the grill with fresh corn on the cob, marinated cucumbers from my garden, and who knows what else might make it on to the table. (That is, if I can get off my rump long enough to cook it! LOL)

Feeling Patriotic :o)

2011-06-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

I am in a patriotic mood today so I took a few pictures of my patriotic/summer tree. I really enjoy getting all my ornaments out as they always bring to mind the special friends who have been so generous to send me these little beauties either as gifts or exchanges. I consider them some of my most treasured possessions.

From the bottom:

Center:

Top:

I suppose I should really make an eagle to act as the topper to this tree but I am quite fond of my cardinal. :o)

Deborah of Cranberry Samplings recently finished this little Shepherd's Bush design and was kind enough to pass the pattern and leftover silks on to me. (Thanks again Deborah!) I am trying to decide how to finish it so I can add it to my tree.

O Say CUTE!!!

Road Trip!

2011-06-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

I met Chris this morning for breakfast and then we headed down the road for a little retail therapy. :o) Our first stop was Lynne's in Siler City for some inexpensive linen, fabric, and trims. Chris bought the linen and fabric - I escaped with just a few trims.

We then headed down the road a bit to the orchard. Not a whole lot happening there yet but we did pick up some fresh corn, blueberries, and I snagged a couple of tomatoes. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures. I had my camera but completely forgot about it! I was having so much fun talking and looking it just didn't even cross my mind.

Isn't this ornament just the cutest?! Chris gifted me with it and the wonderful apple scented hand soap below. She also gave me this cute little fall pattern that she just finished stitching. I promptly hung the ornament on my summer/patriotic tree and I just can't stop admiring it. Thanks Chris for lovely gifts but mostly for the lovely friendship and time spent together today. I am already looking forward to the next time.

We had a new visitor to our yard last week:

We have lived here 3 years and this is the first one I have seen. I am just hoping he doesn't find his way into my garden - I hear they really like tomatoes. Despite the drought here, my tomatoes and cucumbers are thriving. I expect to be picking my first cukes sometime this week and I may even get a cherry tomato tomorrow.

I hope you are all having a good weekend. I am about to settle in on the sofa for a movie and lots of stitching on the Mystery Sampler.

Part One Complete!

2011-06-19T19:19:00.001-04:00

I finished Part 1 of the Mystery Sampler today. I am right on schedule since Part 2 arrived in the mail yesterday. Now we start on the interior of the piece. For those of you following my DMC conversion, I ended up using DMC 831 for the WDW Sage. I had originally thought I would use DMC 370 but after comparing it to the Weeks floss I went with the 831.

So now dear friends I have a question. Is it okay to mix the overdyes with the DMC? I have some of the Weeks flosses and I believe I would really like the subtle shading they would offer on the tree trunk and the alphabet. Would this be a stitchy faux pas?

As I was looking at the chart for part 2 I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for a contest and some additional summer fun. I have been having all sorts of thoughts on what lies behind that bird nest picture that will be the final installment of this mystery. Those of you who are stitching along know there are several colors that haven't been used that must appear in that lower left corner. So, what do you think lies in that lower left corner of the finished piece?

Submit your best guess on this post by July 1st. Then we will wait impatiently for the final installment to be revealed sometime in mid July. I will put together a little prize package for the person who guesses the closest. In the event, more than one person hits the nail on the head - I will draw a name from the correct entries. (No fair if you have some sort of inside information, please don't submit a guess). You don't have to be stitching this sampler to participate (although you should, it really is a lot of fun) - just head over to Brenda's blog and read a bit to gain some clues. One entry per person please. :o) I can't wait to hear your guesses!

Where Oh Where....

2011-06-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

...have I been? Why outside of course! With summer upon us and the grass and garden growing like crazy it seems every spare moment I have has been spent outside. Last week we had storms blow through 2 nights in a row and the wind did major damage to our tomato plants. We no sooner got them all staked and tied back up and another storm rolled through and it was the same thing all over again.

We made our first trip of the season to the orchard today. Not a lot happening there yet but I did manage to score some fresh green beans and these blackberries.

Aren't they huge?! And seedless too. :o) I just pulled a big ole cobbler out of the oven and can hardly wait to dig in.

When we arrived home I checked the mail and was thrilled to see a package from Lois. I sent her one of the boxes for the BBD Stitchers Companion and she sent me all this in return.

A wonderfully cute sheep magnet from Dublin, a gorgeous crocheted brooch (I wish you could really see the lovely button in the center), a wonderful Tra La La Sampler pattern, and the most fabulous Irish Quilt Magazine. (Shhh, don't tell but there is a recipe in there for Chocolate Truffles that uses Bailey's Irish Cream!) Thank you so much Lois as I just love it all and it tickles me pink that it is all from Ireland. :o)

There was another package in my box from my dear friend Norma. Norma is a wonderful artist and I always know when I see a package from her it will be something she made and a one of a kind original.

Check out this dapper fellow she made for my Patriotic tree! He is hand drawn and painted and will make a wonderful addition to my tree. Thank you so much Norma.

On the stitching front I have been steadily stitching on the Mystery Sampler. I should finish up the floral border tonight and will only have the straight cross stitch borders to finish before part 2 arrives later this week. I love what I have seen in the sneak peek of part 2. :o)

Off to grab some of that cobbler now. Happy Hump Day everyone!

Progress

2011-06-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

I am thoroughly enjoying the Birds Of A Feather Mystery by With My Needle And Thread. I am using the 35 ct WDW Confederate Grey linen and DMC floss. Here is my progress as of today:

I was very surprised that several of you emailed me to ask for my DMC conversion so I tried to take better photos this time to actually show the colors of the floss. The DMC colors I am using for Part 1 are 422, 3858, 3363, 3802, and 370. The 370 is what I am planning to use for the straight border stitching - that may change once I get a few stitches on the linen and see how it "plays" with the other colors. I hope to have Part 1 finished before Part 2 arrives.

I visited a couple of thrift stores this week but came out empty handed. I am always on the hunt for interesting frames and flower frogs. I did manage to find a couple of cute things at the dollar store to add to my patriotic decor.

For $2.00 each I couldn't pass these up and both were surprisingly well made. I love the little box as is but I can't help but think what a stitched piece would look like on top. Maybe the July heart from Prairie Schooler's A Prairie Year? Or perhaps Aury's latest freebie? Decisions, decisions. I may have to snag a couple more of these, with the white box a Christmas piece would look nice on top as well.

I hope you spent the weekend doing exactly what you wanted to do. Have a great week!

TUSAL

2011-06-01T19:45:00.000-04:00

"Dayglow Orts"

I just have to find a way to be a bit creative with these ort photos. :o) For more information about orts and the Totally Useless Stitch A Long head on over to It's Daffycat - you can learn all about it and join in too!

My ever present assistant and I wish you a happy "hump" day!

Sew Productive

2011-05-30T19:45:00.000-04:00

I thoroughly enjoyed my extra day off this weekend and spent most of it in the sewing room. First up - a couple of ornaments for my patriotic tree.

I have no idea where this fabric came from. It was discovered in the last clean up/organization of my fabric stash. I knew the minute I saw him that he was destined to be fussy cut and made into an ornament. Luckily, the fabric contained mirror images so I was able to cut another for the back so that both sides are the same. Doncha just love "Air Force One"? Makes me grin every time I see it.

This was a paper pieced mini quilt from Quiltmaker many moons ago. It has been pieced and sitting in a drawer for at least 5, 6, 7? years. I made a little quilt sandwich and quilted it and then zig zagged the feathery yarn stuff around the edge. I don't know if I am "feeling" the feathery stuff - I may take it off and do something else to the edge.

I had depleted my stash of little gifts so for the past week or so I have been sewing up a few little things here and there. I like to keep some things to have on hand for RAK's or when you just need to give a little something to someone.

The Lazy Girl Designs Wonder Wallet is one of my "go to" little gifts. This is the only wallet I have carried for the past 3 years and I just love it. I have given them to relatives and friends and every time I see them they tell me they are still enjoying theirs too.

You might recognize this fabric from my trip with Faye to Lynne's. I just had to make something with these bright, happy colors. Jen of Miss Punkie Pie allowed me to borrow her Maggie pattern so I made some matching sets. (Thanks again Jen!) The larger Maggies are the perfect size for a camera or cell phone and the small ones would make a great scissor case or card holder.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed a little time doing what you love!

Stoopid Blogger!

2011-05-29T10:18:00.000-04:00

You have all been showing gorgeous creations this week. I have been visiting your blogs and ooooing and ahhhhing and leaving lovely words of praise...make that TRYING to leave lovely words of praise. Blogger asks me to sign in. I do, but I am only recognized as anonymous and can't leave an anonymous comment either! I sure hope they get this worked out soon.

I have been doing some stitching. Not on what I SHOULD be stitching (ahem, Shores) but I just have no willpower sometimes when it comes to new, fun, and beautiful designs.

Happy Owl-O-Ween

Barbara Ana Designs

32 ct Platinum Belfast/DMC floss

This was supposed to be stitched over 1 as a scissor fob but I don't do over 1 very well. I am thinking this will end up as a little pillow. I am a bit out of season but I couldn't resist all the fun colors and things in this design. The cauldron with green slime, the spiders with their creepy red eyes, the cute owl with candy corn hatpins! I just had to have this one. Had to!

Then....this mystery sampler kept popping up on your blogs. How could I resist when there is the word "Birds" in the title of the design? I decided not to spend the $ on the WDW flosses, I only had 1 of them in my stash and am doing my own DMC conversion instead. I have never converted a design this size to a different floss so I am hoping it turns out well. I like what I have done so far.

During this Memorial Day weekend please take a moment to remember those who have served and sacrificed so much for our wonderful country. I am enjoying this 3 day weekend and hope you are as well. Lots of stitching and sewing and gardening and grilling and spending time with family. Baby back ribs and turnip greens from the garden are on the menu today with watermelon for dessert. :o)

Red, White, and Blue

2011-05-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

Do you have as much trouble coming up with a post title as I do? I just can't think sometimes and want to get right to the "meat" of my post.

Thank you for all the comments on my "Tale of Me and The Coon". Wouldn't you know that I haven't seen the darn feral cat since I brought the trap home. So goes my luck. :o)

I managed to finish another little ornament for my patriotic tree. Dear Faye was kind enough to let me borrow this pattern and I couldn't wait to start stitching.

"Happy 4th"
Threadwork Primitives
28 ct tea dyed Monaco/DMC floss

I stitched this little cutie 1 over 1 and finished it using some homespun fabric and a bit of cotton lace. I just fell in love with this design when I saw it - I love the way the flag looks as if it has movement. I rarely stitch over one but this was going to be too large for an ornament any other way. Thanks again Faye for your generosity in letting me borrow this pattern!

It has been raining here off and on for the past 4 days. I was awakened at 4 this morning by the rain pounding on the windows. We planted tomatoes and cucumbers this weekend (in the rain) so they should be happily drunk by now. LOL

I hope you have had a great start to your week!

About Last Night...

2011-05-15T18:41:00.000-04:00

We have been having problems with a feral cat who has decided to make our yard his new home. He runs away as soon as he sees us so our attempts to "tame" him have failed. Of course, Ziggy tries to defend his territory and ends up getting beat up...repeatedly. This cat is about twice the size of Ziggy and Ziggy is not a small cat - around 12 lbs. It has gotten to the point that Ziggy no longer hangs out in our front yard. He would rather take his chances in the back yard with Lola in the fence than feel compelled to defend his territory all the time and end up with bites and scratches all over.

I decided to trap this cat, take him to work and have him neutered and vaccinated and then try to find him a new home. Having baited the trap with some yummy fish flavored cat food, I set it on our front porch and went to bed for the night. This morning when I awoke, the first thing I did was look through the peephole on our door and check the trap. Bingo! Gotcha!

I stumbled to the kitchen to put on my shoes and my glasses and proceeded out the front door. Guess what? There wasn't a cat in my trap.

I caught a freakin' racoon!!!! Now what the heck was I going to do with this?! DH was at work, DS was still asleep, and I was just hoping that Ziggy wouldn't come around and attempt to pick a fight with this beast. First things first...I went inside and got my camera. LOL I snapped the picture and when I leaned over to sit the camera on the porch this sucker charged the cage and hissed and growled! Well, my legs were like rubber and I was shaking like a leaf and I nearly did a backflip off the porch it scared me so

I ran back inside and started a conversation with Lola. "Lola, we've caught a raccoon. What are we going to do? I can't leave that thing in the cage, I need to turn him loose. How am I going to do that?! Where are my work gloves? I have to find my work gloves because I am not about to put my unprotected hands near that cage. Lola, what did I do with my work gloves." Oh Lord, help me. I checked all the closets and drawers and couldn't find my work gloves. I found my gardening gloves and decided those would have to suffice. Wait, I need a stiff drink of tea before I attempt this.

So, here I go out the front door again and see Ziggy rounding the corner of the house coming to see what was going on. I scooped him up and back into the house we go. I put Ziggy in my bedroom, closed the door so he couldn't pick a fight with Glitter and Lola wouldn't try to eat him and back out the door I went.

When I leaned over to pick up the trap I nearly wet my pants because the raccoon really started charging all sides of the cage, hissing and growling and lemme tell you that fellow was strong! I honestly don't know how I managed it but I was able to pick up the trap and walk over to the edge of the woods. Now, I had to unlatch the door and pull it up in order to release the racoon. After a few jumps and screams I managed to open the latch. Now to pull the door up. Wait a minute! If I pull the door up, he is going to come straight towards me.

I trudge back to the storage building on my jelly legs, trying to find some sort of stick or pole so I could stand to the rear of the trap and open the door. The first thing I find is DH's fish net. The handle on it is about 4 foot long. It took me several tries to hook the pole under the door handle but I finally managed to pull the door open. That raccon didn't waste any time getting out of that trap and running into the woods. It took a couple of hours for my legs to stop shaking and my heartrate to return to normal. I don't know if my nerves can take this again. Ziggy may just have to "man up". Whew! Sometimes it just ain't easy being me.

If you have read this far, thank you! I just had to share that adventure and thought you might all need a good laugh. I can tell you I laughed afterwards but I was not laughing while this was happening. I do have something pretty to show you. :o)

This gorgeous needlebook and floss winder arrived in the mail from Marylin earlier this week. It is stitched on the tiniest linen and is so pretty. I didn't know what the floss winder was and had to ask Marylin. It has so much detail, it seems a shame to cover any part of it with floss.

I love the little heart button she put on the back. :o)

Thank you so much Marylin for such a wonderful surprise! I will treasure it and think of you everytime I use it.

I have been busy in the sewing room this weekend and should have some more things to show you tomorrow. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T19:41:00.000-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful day today, mother or not. I had a great day spent being lazy and stitching.

"USA Heart In Hand"

The Prairie Schooler

32 ct Antique White/DMC floss

And I finished another ornament for my Patriotic tree!

I just noticed I now have over 100 followers. Wow! Thanks to all of you who take time out of your day to visit. I sincerely appreciate all the kind words and encouragement and treasure all the friendships I have developed through this blog. I am thinking a giveaway will be in order soon. :o)

TUSAL & A Finish

2011-05-03T18:35:00.000-04:00

"Orts - A New Perspective"

LOL Don't you just love it when I go all artsy on you? I thought my TUSAL pics were becoming a little boring so I decided to change it up a bit. I think they look much prettier when viewed from this angle. :o)

The blue ribbon trimmings in my ort jar were from this little freebie. I finished the stitching a couple of weeks ago but just now completed it as a pillow ornament. This was a really quick stitch and will make a nice addition to my tree.

I am happy to report that I am the proud new owner of a new heat pump system! Gosh, I have been such a grump the past couple of weeks. Who knew no A/C could do that to you? I promise to return to our regularly scheduled programming, and blogging, and emailing now that my butt isn't firmly ensconced in front of the fan.

I know there is lots happening in the world but please keep those here in NC and those in Alabama who were hit so severely by the recent tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers. They are still digging through the rubble that used to be their homes.

How Could I?

2011-05-01T20:03:00.000-04:00

Post about a shopping trip and not show a picture of my purchases? LOL So many of you asked so I thought I best correct that oversight right away!

Two packages of Moda crochet trim, 3 yards of cotton ric rac, buttons, 2 pair of adorable stork scissors, and the lovely fabrics you see in the background.

Some of you have noticed I haven't been visiting your blogs lately. Our A/C went out last Sunday and with the heat we have had this week I have felt like a slug and moving about as fast as one too. It doesn't help that our A/C at work is set to freezing temperatures. Then I would come home to a house that was 85 degrees inside. This makes for a very grumpy Myra. :o) My time at home this past week was spent sitting in front of the fan and trying to stay cool. Thankfully this weekend has been much cooler and a new A/C/Heat system is scheduled to be installed tomorrow.

I did manage a small finish this week:

I think this will make a nice addition to my summer/patriotic tree. I really need to get busy stitching up some more red, white, and blue things or else I am going to have a pretty bare tree.

I hope you all have a fabulous (cool) week!

Friends :o)

2011-05-01T09:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I drove to Siler City to meet Faye for some serious bargain shopping. We arranged to meet at Lynne's, a small fabric and trim shop with great prices.

When I arrived, Faye was already getting busy. :o)

This place is packed floor to ceiling with any kind of trim you can imagine.

There are also ribbons, zippers, buttons - you name it, Lynne's probably has it. You might have to dig around a bit but I'll betcha it's there.

She has upholstery trims and upholstery fabric as well as quilter's cottons such as Moda. I love digging through the buttons. Where else can you find a card of buttons for 60 cents?

Lynne is an accomplished bow maker. Most of the people coming in to her shop are there to have bows made. She makes bows for mailboxes, doors, wreaths, weddings, and parties.

After about 90 minutes, Faye and I were drunk on trims, fabric, and fun. (What did I think was so funny???)

With our wallets a little lighter we headed to a nearby cafeteria for lunch. Thanks Faye for a great morning filled with friendship and fun! I am already looking forward to the next time we can get together. :o)

We have a winner!

2011-04-21T21:45:00.000-04:00

The winner of the painted and waxed card box is...................

Nancy! Please email me with your address and I will get the box off in the mail to you. I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you to all who entered and all your wonderful comments. This was a very popular giveaway and it seems quite a few of you are unable to find these boxes. I have more that I am in the process of painting right now and plan to offer those for sale. If you are interested, send me an email. I am not exactly sure of the price just yet, have to check on postage prices but will probably be around $15.00 including US shipping. International will be a bit more.

I am also working on some of the small oval boxes which I will also sell. Gotta do something to help feed this stitching habit! :o)

One More :o)

2011-04-20T22:02:00.000-04:00

"Birds and Berries Pinbox"
Blackbird Designs - A Stitcher's Journey
30 ct WDW Baby's Breath - GAST and CC flosses

I had a tough time getting a good picture of this one. I took a dozen pictures both inside and outside and this is the best of the bunch. I couldn't seem to get a picture that showed the beauty of the design while at the same time letting you see the painted/distressed/waxed box. I am enjoying the painting and waxing of the boxes for these projects almost as much as I am enjoying the stitching.

If you haven't commented on my previous giveaway post, you still have time. The winner will be selected tomorrow evening. Good luck everyone!

Only 2 more days till the weekend my friends!

Framing

2011-04-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

My husband and I ventured to Hobby Lobby yesterday to find frames for a couple of pieces that have been resting in a drawer for a while. I really didn't expect to be very successful as these designs aren't standard sizes.

"Where My Heart Blooms"
Blackbird Designs

This frame was $12.50 and was an "almost perfect" fit. The frame has a "weathered" look which looks great with the aged look of the linen.

"Wash Day"
Carriage House Samplings

This frame was $7.00 and in my opinion suited this piece perfectly. The size could have been a little smaller but I love the pattern on the moulding.

These are two of my favorite finishes from last year and I am very happy to have them out of the drawer and on my walls.

A Little Giveaway

2011-04-16T13:50:00.000-04:00

While I was painting and waxing the boxes for my BBD Stitching Companions I decided to make an extra one to give away. I actually think this one finished better than mine as I learned a little more about how to apply the Briwax. The inside panels aren't pretty as the wax was left off to allow the glued panels to adhere to the wood.

If you would like to be entered in the drawing for this box just leave a comment on this post. I will draw a name Thursday evening 4/21.

Little Bunny Foo Foo arrived today to remind me Easter is coming soon. :o)

A big thank you to everyone who sent well wishes. I am happy to report that my back is feeling much better today and with another day of rest tomorrow I should be back to normal by Monday.

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

More of the journey

2011-04-13T17:50:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! I have been absent from my blog for a bit as I have been having lots of trouble with my back. A visit to the doctor this week for x-rays left me with pain meds and muscle relaxants so hopefully I am on the road to recovery.

Before the pain set in I managed a few more finishes from the BBD "A Stitcher's Journey" book.

I completed the Tulip House Stitching Companion and the Tulip Pincushion. These were stitched on 30 ct Cafe Kona with the charted floss. Having no chenille trim I improvised and coffee dyed some tiny pom pom trim for the design on top. I decided the pincushion is just too pretty to keep closed inside the box so I made a fabric pincushion to keep inside the box.

As you know, the first one of these I made as a gift but I can show you I have now completed and "decked out" the inside with some stitchy goodness.

Next, this "Summer Sachet" demanded my attention. I used 30 ct Baby' Breath linen instead of Parchment and stitched my initial in GA Old Purple Paint instead of the CC Cappuccino as charted. I also added the year at the bottom.

Dear Faye who knows I am in a Blackbird state of mind right now gifted me with this lovely little box topped with a pincushion design that is also from the BBD book. Doncha love that chenille trim? Thank you so much Faye - your stitching is just gorgeous!

If you have read this far you deserve some dessert. :o) Delicious Banana Pudding, fresh from the oven!

A Purse, A Pincushion, and TUSAL

2011-04-03T13:49:00.000-04:00

We finally have some lovely weather in NC today so I headed outside to take some pictures.

A couple of weeks ago I set out to make myself a "springy" handbag. Having fallen in love with the Bliss fabric line from Moda I just had to order a charm pack and get to it. I used the "Charming Handbag" pattern
from http://www.modabakeshop.com/ with a few modifications. I think these colors are just perfect for spring.
I believe Carol of The Polka Dot Chicken and I are in the same frame of mind when it comes to spring colors and fabrics. This lovely pincushion arrived in my mailbox last week. Don't you just love the fabrics she used? I just love it - it is large and filled with crushed walnut shells so it won't scoot around on my sewing table. I couldn't resist putting those flower pins in it for the photo shoot. :o) Thank you so much Carol, I am just thrilled with it and have it sitting on my sewing table awaiting my next sewing project.

This is the card Carol enclosed with the pincushion. It is "almost" as pretty as the pincushion!

Here is my ort jar for this month. Quite a few new additions from my feverish stitching of the new Blackbird Designs.

If my pictures seem a bit wonky it is because my trusty assistant was helping me with staging. :o) He thought batting the ort jar off the table was loads of fun.

I hope you are all having a glorious sunny Sunday!

Trying again

2011-03-28T20:19:00.000-04:00

Blogger was being a real pain yesterday. I know some of you were able to click in the blank areas and see the pretty pictures but some of you were unable to see them. So with my third attempt I present...

Tulip House Stitching Companion - Blackbird Designs
30 ct Cafe Kona/GAST & WDW
Button used to disguise the identity of the recipient

Tulip House Pincushion - Blackbird Designs
Fabric and Fibers same as above

Pretty fabrics from Vera
(Thanks again Vera)

Crossing my fingers that these are viewable. :o)

On a side note - we had snow here this morning! It was 80 degrees here just last week and snow this morning. Unbelievable!

I Am On A Journey

2011-03-27T13:18:00.001-04:00

I must have overloaded blogger with all my lovely pictures today. Will try to post again tomorrow as this post just isn't the same without the visuals. :o(

"A Stitcher's Journey" that is and I can't seem to get away from it! This week this arrived:

And I have been painting and staining these:

And stitching this:

Tulip House Stitching Companion - Blackbird Designs
30 ct Cafe Kona, GAST floss except for the bird motif,
I used WDW Dolphin. (This is destined to be a gift so the
button is used to hide the initial of the recipient. :o)

And then I had to stitch another of these:

Tulip Pincushion - Blackbird Designs
Fabric and Fibers same as above

And I have been cutting matboard and batting and fabric, oh my! I am having a grand old time in the sewing/craft room. LOL I have wanted some of the Briwax for quite some time and I finally broke down and purchased it. That stuff is messy and stinks to high heaven but it really does give a nice finishing effect if you want your piece to look "aged". The tin is more than I will use in a lifetime so if anyone needs a little bit (a little goes a long way), email me and maybe we can work out a trade.

My friend Vera attended a Mennonite Relief sale a couple of weeks ago and earlier this week these gorgeous fabrics arrived in my mailbox. There are lots of blues, some wonderful Christmas prints, a lovely bird FQ, a seashell FQ, and a couple of orphan blocks. I was surprised to see that the star block is also hand pieced. :o) Thank you so much Vera for thinking of me. You know these will be put to good use.

It is a cold, rainy day here in NC. The turnips, collards, and salad greens we planted last weekend have already sprouted and the rain will help speed their growth along. I am happy to report that work slowed down a bit this week and I "think" I may have regained my sanity. LOL

I hope you all had a great week and are enjoying a wonderful weekend. As for me...I have to get back to my "journey"!

~~This is my 2nd attempt at this post. I can't seem to get the pictures to load on my computer. :o(~~

A Little Birdie Told Me

2011-03-19T21:28:00.000-04:00

If I would give him a nest he would become a pincushion.

And he did! :o) It was another one of those light bulb moments while strolling through Hobby Lobby. I ran across these nests and the rest is history. I was at HL again today and found the card boxes featured in BBD A Stitcher's Journey. Two of those came home with me along with paint. I am really happy that Barb and Alma shop at Hobby Lobby - these boxes were only $1.99 and with a 40% off coupon I paid $1.29 each, the paint a mere .69 cents! Now to make them into something someone will treasure.

It was a glorious spring day here - 72 degrees with bright sunshine. DH and I planted turnips, mustard, cilantro, and lettuce. We also picked up the bazillion sticks in our yard and serviced the lawnmower. Rain is expected tomorrow so I expect lots of sewing to be done here.

A bit of spring

2011-03-17T22:01:00.000-04:00

As soon as I saw the "Bloom Pincushion" by M Designs in the JCS March/April issue I knew I was going to stitch it or at least part of it. I saw these itty bitty clay flower pots at Dollar General and the light bulb came on. I stitched up one of the flower motifs, added a bit of rick rack, stuffed it with some polyfil, and shoved and glued it into this tiny flower pot. I thought it turned out quite cute and it just screams spring to me.

Here is another view while it is hiding amongst my Italian Parsley that is coming back in my herb garden. It is so nice to see the bright green amongst all the brown around here. My Rosemary bush is perking up as is my Lavender. It will be hot and humid here before we know it!

Are you seeing signs of spring where you are? Our temps are supposed to be near 80 here tomorrow which is unusually warm for this time of year. I am hoping to do a little gardening this weekend as well as picking up the million or so sticks that have fallen from the huge oak trees in my yard.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend filled with signs of spring. :o)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

Fabric Postcard made in 2008

A Tisket, A Tasket

2011-03-14T19:33:00.000-04:00

Another fabric basket!

I made this yesterday with the little charm squares Catherine sent along as an extra goodie with her bluebird giveaway. These fabrics are from the new Antique Fair line by Blackbird Designs. Aren't the colors and patterns pretty? I filled it with some raffia and speckled eggs I found at Hobby Lobby. Yep, I am ready for spring. Thanks again Catherine for giving me some fuel for my recent sewing frenzy. :o)

I thought you might also enjoy this shot which precisely shows the enormous cooperation and hard work I get from my photography "assistants" around here. What is it about the camera and pets? When I want to take a picture of THEM they either disappear or refuse to sit still. I didn't realize until I downloaded the pictures that I had such a detailed view of Ziggy's eyeball! LOL

I hope your week is off to a fabulous start! Thanks for stopping by. :o)

Tulip Pincushion

2011-03-13T13:45:00.000-04:00

I just love almost all of the designs in the new Blackbird Designs book. I want to stitch them all and I want to stitch them now. :o) Alas, I had to start somewhere and so I present to you "Tulip Pincushion".

"Tulip Pincushion"
Blackbird Designs "A Stitcher's Journey"
28 ct coffe dyed Monaco - DMC floss

I didn't have the overdyed flosses so I used the DMC conversion. I really like how subtle the colors are and I managed to find the perfect button in one of my old button jars.

I personalized it by adding my initial over one.

And I just had to add another view in the bright sunshine we are enjoying today. :o) I hope you are all enjoying a bit of sunshine and stitches in your neck of the woods today. I think I am going to stitch another Tulip Pincushion! LOL

It's the little things...

2011-03-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

Teeny little Poochie Pouches

(The Happy Zombie)

Needle Wallets

(me - messing around at the sewing machine)

A cute little ladybug, finally finished as a floss tag

(From "In Your Easter Bonnet" Designed by Brooke Nolan)

A fabric basket

(tutorial from The Pink Penguin)

... that bring sunshine to our lives!

(from the PS Sunny Days leaflet)

Take time to appreciate the little things my friends. :o)

Unbelievable!

2011-03-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

The kindness of those in this blogging community continues to amaze, enlighten, and thrill me on a daily basis. This week I was the fortunate recipient of several random acts of kindness.

On Thursday, this fabulous box of goodies arrived from Raffaella. (No blog yet but I am working on it. ;o))

She stitched the most gorgous biscornu in my favorite color combination of purple and green. Her stitching and beadwork on this piece is just divine. And if that wasn't enough, she sent me the entire kit for the fob to match as well as delicious chocolates, ribbon, and those cute Little Gems scissors. I think I may start a new fashion trend by putting those scissors on a ribbon and wearing them as a necklace. :o)

Then today I was so surprised to open my mailbox to reveal 3 packages, only one of which I was expecting.

The first surprise was from Elaine. She had read that I am working on stitching enough patriotic ornaments to fill my tree this summer and made me this fabulous R, W, & Blue apple ornament. Isn't it just perfect?! She also sent along some wonderful chocolates (watch out hips!), lovely tartan napkins, and a new mascot for my sewing room. :o)

Then Lois blessed me with some luck from Ireland. :o)

Now ya'll know how enamoured I have become with those quirky Plum Street Hare's so I was just thrilled with this scissor fob. And....it is stitched over one! Gosh, isn't that just the cutest thing? And just look at the gorgeous green floss and the fabric with Shamrocks. My gold gingers are proudly decked out in their Lucky finery for St. Patrick's day now. :o)

Then, the one package I was expecting arrived from Catherine.

I won a drawing on her blog for this lovely bluebird pillow ornament but I wasn't expecting all the extras she sent along. There was a fistful of gorgeous DMC floss in lots of springy colors, a nice cut of evenweave, the prettiest sticky notes, and a charm pack of BBDesigns Antique Fair fabrics. I already have the perfect project in mind for the charm squares and I will sew a little something for the both of us to enjoy. :o) The beaded hanger is just gorgeous and matches this pillow perfectly.

It was a dreary day here so my pictures don't do justice to the lovely work of these talented ladies. I just can't thank each of you enough for brightening my day and bringing such loveliness to the end of an otherwise tough week. I will proudly display and treasure each one of these lovelies as I treasure our friendships.

I also want to thank each and every one of you who stops by to see what is happening in my little corner of the world. I really appreciate all the comments, encouragement, and fun you give me on a daily basis. I truly believe I am becoming a better person because of you. :o)

I was deeply saddened by the loss of Lisa Roswell this week as I know many of you were. I didn't know her personally but she still made an impact on my life through her designs and her blog. It really made me stop and think about how precious each moment of every day is. I have always made it a practice to say "I love you" to those I hold dear and to never hesitate to give a kind word to someone or to let others know I appreciate them. Lisa's death made me realize that it could be any one of us, at any time. I guess what I am trying to say is this just reminds me that every day is a gift, we should make the most of it and never hesitate to let those we love and appreciate know how we feel.

Wishing you all the gift of a blessed tomorrow filled with people and things you love. :o)

TUSAL & Stuff

2011-03-03T21:56:00.000-05:00

It is the new moon and time to show off those orts! Here is mine. Not a lot to show as stitching time has been very limited this month. I hope to add quite a few more in March. :o)

I indulged in a little retail therapy last month and purchased a metal ornament tree from Improvements Catalog. Belinda had posted a picture of her large tree on her blog and it was just the sort of thing I had been searching for. I plan to use it to hang my summer/patriotic ornaments as well as using it for a fall and halloween stitching display. This one is about 3 foot tall and will hold 36 ornaments. I'd better get to stiching if I want to come close to filling it up this year.

I just can't resist these Plum Street Samplers hares. :o) I finished stitching "Hare's Lucky Day" and made a hanging pouch. I still think it needs a little something more along the bottom so I plan to make another pair of yo-yo's to put on the bottom corners. I have been looking for some pretty dried or silk flowers to put in it but haven't found the right ones yet. Maybe I can do that this weekend. I changed the color of the bunnies to white and used a green in place of ecru on the little girl's dress.

I hope you are all having a good week. I have lots more to blog about but haven't had the opportunity to take pictures, maybe that can happen this weekend too. I have lots to do this weekend including working 1/2 day on Saturday. Taxes, FAFSA, cleaning, sewing, stitching.......wish me luck!

Good grief!

2011-02-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

I knew it had been a while since I had posted on my blog but I didn't realize it had been this long! Our workplace has been hit hard by the flu bug and short staffed for the past two weeks. I have been exhausted each day after work and reading your blogs is about the most I could manage. I have been keeping up with all of you but you will have to pardon me for not always stopping and leaving a comment. Hopefully, the flu bug will move along and I can get back to my regularly scheduled programming. :o)

I have to share with you some goodies that arrived from dear Lisa .

I made her a project pouch several weeks ago and she sent this wonderful pin pillow as a thank you. I just love the saying and the finishing and fabric and lace is just perfect. She also sent me the "Boris" chart because I admired her finish on her blog. And look at that cute little dog on the card she enclosed. :o) Thank you so much Lisa, I will treasure the pin pillow and can't wait to get stitching on Boris.

I have managed to squeeze in a bit of sewing time. My carry all bag that I drag back and forth to work with me is starting to show some wear so I decided to make a new one. This is a free pattern by Monica at The Happy Zombie called the Poochie Bag.

I also completed my first contribution to the Pumpkin Patch and Co. breast cancer fund. I made a stitcher's portfolio that I think would appeal to quilters as well as stitchers. For more information on the auction and this worthwhile cause you can head over to the blog and read more. I am hoping it will get lots of bids. :o)

That is it for now my friends. I hope to be back soon with a finish or two and wish you all a wonderful weekend!

The Winner

2011-02-07T20:49:00.000-05:00

I thoroughly enjoyed reading how each of you celebrates (or doesn't) celebrate Valentine's Day. I found that many of you have very sweet husbands and that many of you are very sweet to your loved ones. I also enjoyed reading about everyone's snow or lack thereof. I myself am wishing for one BIG snowfall here and then I am ready for spring. I haven't had a chance this year to show off my ~~falling~~ sledding prowess and would like that chance at least once this winter.

Thank you all for the well wishes for Ziggy. No need to worry, he is back to his normal self just with a freaky looking face. Hopefully, he will stay close by for a while and stay out of trouble.

The random number generator chose lucky # 5 Kathy A. as the winner of the needlecase and stuffed pennie pocket. Kathy, when your name came up I had a nice laugh as now you absolutely WON"T have to make one of these for yourself. LOL

Since there were so many entries I decided to stuff another pennie pocket to send along to the second person chosen by the random number generator - #15 Elaine.

Ladies, if you will send me your mailing addresses I will get these out to you on Wednesday. (I know I said Tuesday but I wasn't thinking that I might actually need your addresses before I could mail them. LOL) I will be sending you an email right away.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit my blog and share a little of your life with me. I enjoyed reading each and every comment and I am thrilled that some of you keep coming back to see what I have to show and say.

Frankenface and a Finish

2011-02-06T16:24:00.000-05:00

Ziggy is at it again! He went missing on Tuesday, January 25th. We searched high and low, rode around in the car looking on the roadsides, combed the fields and forests by our house, called the pound and the local police department to no avail. Still no Ziggy. After 5 days of worry I had almost resolved myself to the fact that he wasn't going to return. I headed out the front door on Sunday, January 30th and there he was on the front porch as if nothing had ever happened. @^$@^ Cat!

As you can see, he didn't go without harm in his absence. Only Ziggy knows what happened but he returned with a golfball sized abscess on the side of his face. I took him to work with me on Monday and after a little shave and draining of the abscess he was (almost) as good as new. I am thankful he returned with no more than this small injury. I can hardly wait to see what worry he can come up with for me next. He has now been dubbed "Frankenface".

"Yankee Poodle"

Plum Street Samplers freebie

I think I mentioned that I am trying to make some patriotic/summer ornaments so I can decorate a tree for the summertime. Here is my first finish towards that end. I giggled at this one when I first saw it on Paulette's blog and knew I would have to stitch it. It has a dog in it after all. :o)

Of course the poodle had to have a patriotic bow on it's poof. :o)

This bunting fabric in my stash made for the perfect backing. I gave it a little coffee bath to tone down the bright white that it had in it's original state. A bit of pom pom fringe and a wire hanger finished it up.

Time to go check on the ribs. Are you ready for some football!?

Be Mine :o)

2011-02-05T11:11:00.000-05:00

To celebrate Valentine's Day I am having a little giveaway. Up for grabs is one of the "I love to sew needlecases and scissor holders" I made, a pennie pocket stuffed with goodies, and nearly a fat quarter of the heart fabric you see in the background.

I would like to hear how you celebrate Valentine's Day (if you celebrate). If you don't participate in Valentine's Day, tell me how much snow you have on the ground at your house. :o) Just leave this info in the comments and I will draw a name Monday night and get your goodies in the mail on Tuesday. Hopefully they will arrive just in time for the big day.

Good Luck!

TUSAL & Pennie Pockets

2011-02-03T22:07:00.000-05:00

It is time for my Totally Useless Stitch a Long Update. :o) I found a new ort jar and you can see I have managed to put a few new old ragged threads in it. I am modeling it with some Valentine Pennie Pockets I whipped up in the sewing room this past weekend. The recipe for the pockets can be found here.

I hope those of you that were bombarded with snow and ice are staying warm, safe, and dry. I am still behind on my blog reading but hope to catch up soon. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-01-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting another online friend in person. I first "met" Vera through Peggy Lee's blog and although Vera doesn't have a blog, she and I have been exchanging emails and she has been commenting on my blog for the past few months. She had let me know she would be coming to NC this week on business and staying with a friend for the weekend. We made plans to meet and do a little fabric shopping and have lunch.

I had the best time with Vera and her friend Leslie and Leslie's friend Marilyn. It was like we had all known each other for quite some time. We went to a couple of fabric warehouses that sold mostly upholstery and drapery fabric and trims. I have never seen so many fabrics under one roof! Although I don't do anything with upholstery fabric I had a blast looking around and listening to the other three planning and choosing fabrics for their projects. I did manage to find a few cottons - these were $1.00 each and with the exception of the blue toile they are all at least a yard of fabric.

You know I couldn't resist the birds and I am a real sucker for gingham checks. The brown print is a Ralph Lauren Home fabric that I think will make a nice tote bag for the fall. I spent a whopping $4.00 but the fun time I had with these ladies was priceless. We had lunch at a wonderful little diner and the Gyro I had was delicious.

And doncha know we came bearing gifts. :o) Sweet Vera gave me this wonderful Orange Spice Soap, a notebook full of sticky notes, and this wonderful spa cloth that she made. Do you see the flying geese pattern? There was a bar of dark chocolate but it didn't last long enough for a picture. :o)

Thank you so much Vera, Leslie, and Marilyn for making a ho hum Saturday spectacular! I am looking forward to the next time we can all get together for another excursion. :o)

I have been puttering around in the sewing room today putting together some things for my Valentine giveaway. Hopefully I will have pictures to show tomorrow. I hope you all have a fabulous week!

First Friend

2011-01-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

Prairie Schooler
From Santas and Snowmen Book #151
32 ct Sage Jobelan/DMC floss

Ta Da! My snowman has his first friend. :o) I had such fun stitching this one and even enjoyed the finishing. I finished this one exactly like Carol finished the snowman ornament she gave me. I really like this series of ornaments as the colors are a bit brighter than some of the PS designs. I just love the lantern in this one and the way Santa looks a bit like "Vanna White" with his arm posed to showcase the message at the top. :o) The red fabric in the background was used as the backing.

I have put Shores away until February (only a few days away, where DOES the time go?) and am working on a patriotic piece. I would like to have enough patriotic ornaments to decorate a tree for the summer.

I hope you all have a great weekend jam packed with doing something you love to do!