Stitching Squad

Long time since last post...

2012-02-07T15:04:00.004-06:00

Well here I am again behind in my posting. I am not even gonna say I am going to try to do better, because let's face it I don't. Now with that being said I have been busy just need to take some pictures and start posting. Until then I will get going with this Red Exchange I received through the Friends through Threads group that I am in.

I received this pillow from Wendy Jo last Saturday. She stitched a Istitch design called
Sew Sapphire. Well she used Weeks Dye Works--Garnet.

This is a nice little pillow for my collection. I just love it.
Thanks Wendy Jo.

I do have one project that I have gotten done and have a picture of.

I finished my BBD Loose Feathers--Summer, Autumn, Winter. I am just waiting for
a frame to come in from JoAnn's since I just could not find a frame that would
work in my stash. I have been doing quite a bit of stitching and quilting.

I hope to be posting some of my progress soon.

I hope everyone is having a great week:)

First finished stitches of 2012

2012-01-11T18:25:00.004-06:00

I am getting ready for a four day retreat but I did want to post a couple of things.

First I did manage to get my first finished stitch done for 2012. I decided to stitch LHN's Poinsettia house because I have been stalking the 2012 Year of Smalls and they decided
this would be their first "small" stitch. I am not sure I want to join the group but as long as
I had the pattern I thought I would stitch it. So it's finished and have a frame for it so hopefully
I will get it framed sometime next week.

Next I stitched a model for The Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This is called "A Stitcher's Purse" by With Thy Needle and Thread. I stitched the needlebook and purse designs.

Here is my BBD sampler that I finished last month. Went through my framing stash and found the perfect frame.

I think the frame was under $4. I just love a bargain.

Well folks that's all for now. I will report back next week after I return from my retreat.

Happy Stitching:)

First post of the year....

2012-01-09T13:55:00.003-06:00

...by my lovely daughter, Kelsey Ann. ;) I bugged Mama Joan for a couple days straight so she would make this awesome Kindle cover for me. I found the fabric at JoAnn's and it was 30% off. She followed this tutorial and added a pocket, per my request. My momma is AWESOME! Special thanks to A Blue Sky Kind of Life blog!

Now Mama Joan is slaving away at the sewing machine for her friend, Lori, making a few cute Zippy Strippy bags. Here's a picture of one of them. I love that my momma is so dang crafty!

Last stitched finishes for 2011

2011-12-29T12:02:00.004-06:00

Well I think this will be my last stitched finishes for the year. I am hoping I will have sometime to get them finished into ornies, pillows or framed by Saturday. We will see:)

The piece on the left was a freebie from Primitive Traditions called Christmas wishes. I stitched it on 32 count light sand with ST Forest Glade. The next two came out of the 2011 JCS Ornament magazine. The top one is Brittercup Designs--Christmas Cat Tree, it was stitched on 36 count cream with DMC. The bottom ornie is LHN's--Fresh Fallen Snow, stitched on 32 count Olive Green with ST Forest Glade and DMC 3865.

This one is from Theron Traditions--Stray Pins and Mom's Scissors. I think I will be making a pin pillow out of this one. I stitched this on some 32 count I had in my stash. I also used overdyed threads I had in my stash.

I am so happy to have this one stitched. It is from Blackbird Designs Quilt book called Weekend. I stitched the model and knew I would stitch this one for myself. I even found a frame in my stash for this. I will be framing it tomorrow sometime--maybe even later today. I can't wait to have it done. I stitched this one on 32 count tea dyed linen with the overdyed threads called for.

I am planning on doing more stitching the next few days but I don't think I will have anymore finished until the New Year. In fact I will be stitching with the girls tomorrow:)

Happy New Year!!!!!

Some more ornies and finishing

2011-12-22T16:44:00.004-06:00

As with my Grandchildren I try to stitch an ornament for each of my six children. I didn't think I as going to make that happen this year. But I was going through my stash and found I had started stitching these--I had two done. So Sunday I got busy and started stitching. They were a pretty fast stitch. I managed to even stitch one for myself. I did the finishing yesterday.

This was a freebie chart from Samplerbird Stitchery called Holiday Spirit. I stitched them on 32 count with DMC 115. I think they turned out pretty good.

After seeing Cathy B's Circling Angels by Sheepish Designs (OOP) I had to stitch up one for myself. I stitched it on 32 count with CC Ye Old Gold and GAST Maple Syrup. I also stitched my LHN ornie #11--Winter Forest. I stitched it on some coffee dyed 32 count with DMC. One more 2011 LHN ornie to go:) Just need to get the pattern.

I have been stitching the dictionary series by Cherrywood Designs. I have had "scissors" done for a couple of months. Had to dig through my frame stash and I found this one which I painted. I like the results on this finish.

I started this piece which is Poppy Maye Russell by Heartstring Samplery before I started my seasonal job. Well I was pretty busy working but decided I needed to get this finished. Then I was on the hunt for a frame. Found this one in my stash of frames and again just had to paint it.

I stitched this La D Da design called My Friend for my friend Lori's birthday--which was in September!!! Now I had the stitching done but just got it framed this week. I was so happy to find this frame in my stash.

I am sure you are wondering about my frame stash, well I have bought quite a few frames over the years at thrift and antique shops. I have had to stop collecting because I really have to many but it is nice to rummage through them and find just what I need. I guess I am cheap--I mean thrifty because it can get quite costly to frame your pieces. Plus I enjoy doing the framing myself.

Well there you go for now. I should get supper ready.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

More Ornies

2011-12-15T12:50:00.002-06:00

I was busy yesterday doing some finishing. I stitched this BBD stocking--Crowning The Tree on Tuesday and put it together yesterday. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

Blackbird Designs--Crowning The Tree
Stitched on 30 count with DMC
Started and Finished 12-12-11.

I want to stitch my Grandchildren an ornament every year. So far I have accomplished that. So these are the ones I have done this year. The top one is for my granddaughter Emily and is a design by Country Cottage Needleworks from this years JCS ornament magazine.
The bottom two are Prairie Schooler designs, the one on the left is for my Grandson Silas and is from the PS booklet #151--Santas and Snowmen. The one on the right is for my Grandson Jacob and is from the PS booklet #143--Button Up.

I am happy to have them done. I am still stitching a couple more ornies.
Now I have to get ready for more cookie baking and also get ready to have
the stitching buds over tomorrow for a whole day and evening of stitching.

Have a great weekend.

Some finishing, and some stitching

2011-12-13T17:27:00.004-06:00

Last Friday three of my stitching buds and myself got together and did some finishing. Chris (no blog) and Jill (Purple Peacock) did the stitching and then Jackie (no blog) and I and the other two girls put all these together. The job went quite fast with all of us working. Many hands make light the work:) Since I have been working we have not gotten together much, so it was a fun time.

I received this BBD Blueberry Crumb Cake fabric on Friday. Can't wait to use this fabric. I have a couple idea's for it. May even order some more!

I was excited to get this Quilt Book by Blackbird Designs since I stitched the model of the sampler in this book. I enjoyed stitching it so much I wanted to stitch one for myself.

So---here is the start of my sampler. I can't wait to get this done and framed.

Yesterday I received these new Blackbird Design books and got busy stitching. I stitched up the small Gift Box design. I had the round box and got it painted up today. I also can't wait to stitch the Christmas Garden Sampler. Actually I am excited to stitch all the designs.

Here is the inside of the box.

And this is a view of the side of the box. It has a cute little raised design. This was a very fun and quick stitch.

Well there is another quick update. Now that I am done with my seasonal job I plan on spending a lot of time stitching. I am also hoping to post a little more often but no promises.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Happy Stitching!!

Finishing Frenzy Sunday

2011-11-14T10:17:00.003-06:00

I needed to get some finishing done and finally found sometime to do that yesterday.
Here are the results:

Just Nan--Jolly Old Elf
I received this pattern, frame, fabric and fibers from my stitching buds Jackie and Lori
when I was living in Aberdeen. So I thought I needed to get it stitched and finished.
He turned out pretty cute, even though I am not much of a Just Nan girl. Jackie
LOVES these little Just Nan's!!

Next up are these LHN 2011 ornies. I have had most of them stitched up for a couple weeks at
least. Now I am all caught up with the stitching and finishing for the 2011 ornies. Just waiting to get the last two designs. It is always so nice when I can keep up with a series:)

When I received my latest BBD Loose Feathers--Autumn I had to stitch up this design. This is the Pumpkin Blossom sewing box. I stitched it on some of my own coffee dyed and baked 32 count linen and DMC threads. I am happy with how it turned out.

Here is the inside view. I also had to buy these Kelmscott Blackbird thread winders.

I stitched this BBD Loose Feathers #3--Evening Shades a couple of months ago. I just couldn't find a frame for it--as I like to find my frames at the local thrift shops, so I went to JoAnn's with

a 50% plus $20 off coupon and bought this frame. I think it is a great frame for this design.

So I am somewhat caught up for now. I do have a couple more ornies and a picture to frame. They may have to wait until next weekend.

Well I am off to lunch with my hubby and then to work for a 12 hour shift:(
Have a great week.

Quick post

2011-11-06T18:05:00.002-06:00

I decided to try Daffycat's tea dying method. Here is how it turned out. I will have to say that I like it.

I think I will be doing some more tea dying:)

Hope everyone has had a great weekend.

I have not......

2011-10-25T17:31:00.008-05:00

Dropped off the face of the Earth!!!!! But it seems like it.

It has been quite awhile since I have posted. I started a new seasonal job at Target.com
about2 1/2 months ago and have been very busy. I have been working 4-10 hour days and it seems like I just don't have much free time. I have been doing some stitching, but it's been painful to find time to post. So with that I will do a little catch up.

First I am going to start off with all the scissors that I have acquired since our stitching retreat last August. The top five are the newest premax scissors, then another patriotic scissors, followed by the three polka dots and a stork scissor that I thought went well with our flamingo retreat.

This premax was suppose to come with the previous five but had been on back order.

Then of course the Tessa's arrived. I have to say I do like this bright and mod scissors.

Earlier this week I was at our LNS with my friend Jackie and she spotted these Dinky Dyes--#36. I was strangely attracted to the bats on these scissors. Not sure why because I am
not a big Halloween girl, but had to have them for my collection:)

I had some commitment stitching I was doing. This is a shop model I did for Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI. It is Mansion House at Fox Hollow by With Thy Needle and Thread. It was a pretty fun stitch.

I also stitched up a Sampler for Blackbird Designs which is not in print yet but it is really a pretty neat design and I can't wait until it comes out. I will be stitching it again for myself.

And finally here is some stitching I have been doing for myself. I was catching up on my 2011 LHN ornies and I have started my ornies for the grandchildren. I have one more of those to stitch and I just got the latest LHN ornie so I will be working on that.

Also picked up the latest BBD Loose Feathers--Autumn and put a few stitches in that.

Well that's it for now. Not sure how much blogging I will be doing with the way my work schedule is now but I will try to check in once in awhile.

ALICIA is here--who knew?

2011-08-30T15:48:00.004-05:00

Just returned from my JoAnn's and look what I found. A NEW Gingher scissors called Alicia.
Couldn't believe it. I was just there yesterday too. Didn't see them then.
What a difference a day makes:)
I didn't even know that Gingher was putting this scissors out.
I had been waiting for Tessa's.
A nice surprise for a scissors collector.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Flamingo's Everywhere!!! Retreat 2011

2011-08-13T16:25:00.009-05:00

Tuesday, August 9th, was the kick off of our annual retreat. This little stitched piece sums up how we feel about retreat.

Our theme this year was FLAMINGO'S!!!! So I found this sign at JoAnn's and had my DIL personalized the bottom sign. How cute is that. She is such a talented artist.

Couldn't resist this cute door mat, also from JoAnn's.

And here I am in my flamingo shirt--also had pants to match.

This is one of my good stitching buds Chris. She just joins us on our first day of retreat and then heads up to a guild retreat. This year she found the perfect hat while down in Florida. Quite stunning:)

Cathy B from With Needle and Thread joined us on Thursday and Friday because she had to work. But she loved the hat!!!

Every year we try to do a group project. So this year we each stitched a piece from LHN's Dear Diary series. We each had our own color of 32 count fabric and stitched a different word for each of the six of us. Then we assembled each piece into this block. They turned out GREAT!! Here are five of the blocks. Cathy 's block has to be finished but as I mentioned she had to work the day we assembled these.

Jill from The Purple Peacoc k ordered up this cake for us. It was sooo yummy. What's a retreat without a cake.

My SIL made us wonderful virgin Pina Colada's. And again these cute glasses came from JoAnn's. Look at that cool straw.

Every year we give each other goodies. It seems like we give more and more every year. This is a picture of all the goodie bags before we handed them out. I think we are out of control.

This was what I gave everyone. I made everyone a snap bag and then filled it with the things I made and bought. I stitched a floss tag with everyone's initial on it. I also made a lanyard with a pink stork scissors on it and a matching needle case. The wooden floss holder was a family project. My SIL cut out the shapes, my hubby drilled the holes, I painted them pink and my DIL did the faces and wrote the names. I think they turned out so cute but they were a lot of work for my hubby and SIL. Thanks guys for making such wonderful Flamingo's. I also added a couple of staples such as a pen and small notebook and safety pins in everyone's color. I guess I should explain that we each have a color so our gifts are color coded. My color is green.

I also made these stick pins. They are 5 inches long!! Quite festive I think.

This was our goodie bag from Lori. We got two project bags--a large one and a small one. On these bags the zippers have our color on it. Lori's color is blue. She also included some plates, napkins, straws, a flamingo magnet and towel. A flamingo Christmas ornament, note cards and a pattern holder.

This is Jill's goodie bag to us. Everything was in a cute little bag which is at the top of the picture. She marked out bags with a button in our color. We also got a flamingo pin, a clay baked flamingo thread holder, and magnet board, a magnet and a personalized tape measure, stickers and a pink boa.

Jackie gave us a great Flamingo beach towel, a stitched coaster, a flamingo magnet, stickers, a small bowl for all our snacks and a flamingo pouch.

Last but not least here is Cathy's bag to us. A cute insulated bag filled with a flamingo glass with chocolates in it, a Mill Hill kit--a beaded flamingo, a flamingo key ring, plant poke and hand towel.

Now the following pictures is the stitching I got done these last five days.

First off is a Just Nan Whimzi, Jolly Old Elf. I received this from my stitching buds Lori and Jackie when I was living in Aberdeen and since they were so thoughtful to buy everything for me to stitch and finish it I thought I should get it done. I have the frame and will post this again when it is totally done. Thanks girls.

Next is LHN's ornament Baked Goods. I am now caught up with my 2011 ornaments. At least as far as the stitching goes.

I've been doing the dictionary series by CherryWood Designs. I finished scissors and just received the next one which is "Chart". Now to find a frame and stitch Chart.

My last project was this BBD Loose Feathers #3 Evening Shades the Garden. I really like this piece. Was also fun to stitch.

Well there is the update on our 2011 retreat. Fun times were had. We did a lot of stitching, eating and laughing.
Thanks so much girls for the good times.

Next year's theme is: VEGETABLES. I can't wait to see what we come up with.

If you made it through this whole post--bless you. It has been a very long post.

Two more quick stitches

2011-07-31T16:44:00.002-05:00

Here are two more finished stitches, well the stitching is done. I finished my sixth LHN ornament--Pine Tree Hill. Stitched that one up today. Yesterday I finished L*K--Land That I Love from the Now and Then series. This one was the "now". Hope to get these two in finished form in the next couple of days. I will post them again when I get them done.
Sorry for the crappy picture.

One more fob....

2011-07-30T18:03:00.004-05:00

I managed to stitch another fob for my collection.

Shepherd's Bush Liberty Fob stitched with kit materials.
Started 7-29-11
Finished 7-29-11
View of the fob front.

View of the fob back.
Even had the Putford scissors from Kelmscot to put on my fob.

Life is Good:)

Fobs, fobs and more fobs

2011-07-29T15:06:00.003-05:00

Here is what I have accomplished since last Friday. I decided that I needed to start stitching some fobs, especially after I looked and found out that I have 14 Sweetheart Tree fobs waiting to be stitched!!!!

This is the front of the three fobs I stitched and finished this week.

First up what started it all this Sweetheart Tree design called Stitcher's Favorite fob. It is stitched on 32 count platinum with the threads called for. I have a stitching bud who wanted to borrow this pattern and I figured I should at least get mine stitched. So with that it started the fob frenzy:) I do have to say that as cute as the Sweetheart Tree fobs are they are a bit on the putzy side!!!!
Started 7-22-11
Finished 7-24-11

Which brought me to this fob that I recieved for a birthday gift in 2010. It is the Shepherd's Bush 2010 fob with the gingher Elena scissors, which I had. This was a kit so it was stitched with the materials provided.
Started and Finished 7-24-2010.

I had bought this Shepherd's Bush Be Happy fob earlier this year and since I had the scissors to go with it I decided it was time to get it stitched up. This to was a kit.
Started 7-25-11
Finished 7-28-11

Now besides the 14 Sweetheart Tree fob patterns I probably have just as many other designs to do. I'd like to say that I will stay on track with fobs but I just may have to take a little break and work on some other projects.

Hope I have enought life left in me for all the stash I have:)

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stitching.

Blackbird Designs Loose Feather--Summer Part I

2011-07-22T14:15:00.002-05:00

Just finished my BBD Loose Feathers --Summer Part I. Very fun stitch. Can't wait for Part II.

Now I will probably do a little more stitching on Holy Moses. If I don't get sidetracked with another new start.

Did I mention I love to start new projects:)

Have a great weekend.
Happy Stitching

Ornie Finishes, BBD Finish and a start and progress....

2011-07-19T14:45:00.007-05:00

I did a little finishing this weekend. First off I stitched the latest two LHN ornaments that I have. I need to get numbers six and seven. But for right now I am caught up with my 2011 LHN Ornaments.

LHN--Gingerbread Village ornament number 4.
Stitched on 32 count Olive Green with threads called for.

Started on 7-8-11
Finished on 709-11

LHN--Silent Night ornament number 5.
Stitched on 32 count Olive Green also with threads called for.
Started on 7-9-11
Finished on 7-10-11

Also stitched up this LK--Strawberry Sampler from Flora McSample. Just need to get it into finished form.
Stitched on 28 count coffee baked linen with DMC threads.
Started on 7-15-11
Finished on 7-17-11

Blackbird Designs--My Quaker House from the book With Needle and Thread. I have wanted to do this one for sometime. It was so much fun. I loved it!!! Found this frame in my stash. It was a thrifty find at $1.99.
Stitched on 40 count cream New Castle over 2 threads with one strand of overdyed threads called for.
Started on 7-12-11
Finished on 7-15-11.

Made a trip to my LNS on Sunday and had to have this new BBD Loose Feathers Summer. Also had to start it right away. So here is my progress since Sunday. I am really enjoying this stitch. I am stitching it on 36 count cream over two threads with one strand of DMC.

Last but not least, here is my progress on Holy Moses. It is coming along nicely.

Zoo with the Grandkids and a finish

2011-07-09T13:24:00.004-05:00

Our Grandchildren from Tennessee are here for 10 days. Grandma and Grandpa had them on Thursday and we decided to take a trip to Como Zoo. First off we stopped at Micky D's for lunch.

Here are Jacob and Emily with Grandpa.

Emily and Jacob looking at the HUGE turtle.

Since the theme of our stitching retreat this year is Flamingo's--I needed to get a picture of them. They are really pretty cool in real life. Can't wait until August 9th!!!!

Just finished this BBD loose feather called Sunflower House.
It was stitched on 28 count R & R Evening Song Blue with overdyed threads.
Started on 6-24-11 and finished on 7-9-11.

Here is my progress on Holy Moses. Keep in mind that this will be 32 inches long with I am finished.

Here is the picture of Holy Moses!!! I am really going to like this one when it's done.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Shop Project Happy Dance

2011-06-27T21:17:00.002-05:00

Today I finished Maria Tilley by Needlework Press. This is a shop model for The Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This is the fourth model I have stitched for them this year. I started this sampler on May 5th and finished it up today. I have been doing the Happy Dance since I finished. I enjoyed stitching this sampler and may even stitch one up for myself someday. Now I can get back to stitch some of the many projects I have in my stash.

Then yesterday I was in the mood to do some fabric dying and baking.

Here are the results. On the left is some 28 count coffee and tea dyed and baked. The middle piece is just coffee dyed and baked and the piece on the right is tea dyed and baked. I really like how they turned out. Can't wait to stitch on them.

Then I decided to dye some 32 count miracle mint. It is the piece in the middle. So on the left is a piece that I tea dyed and baked and the one on the right is coffee dyed and baked. I have quite a large piece of this linen so I thought I would try to dyed some of it to make it a more neutral color. I think it turned out well.

In fact I dyed this piece of miracle mint to stitch Holy Moses on by Silver Creek Samplers. Since I needed such a big piece of linen(12 x 42 inches on 32 count) and I had enough of the miracle mint I thought it would be a good idea to try to use it. I like the color and can't wait to start it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Requests for color changes

2011-06-18T10:54:00.005-05:00

I have had some requests for my color conversions for this Blackbird Designs piece found in the July 2011 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine. I have tried to follow up and with those requests but have run into trouble when I don't have an email address. If you are still interested in the conversion please email me.

This was a really fun stitch.

Happy Memorial Day, finishes and progress on Maria Tilley...

2011-05-30T10:19:00.004-05:00

Happy Memorial Day to everyone and lets remember to Thank all of those who have served and given their lives so that we can enjoy all the freedoms we have.

So in honor of Memorial Day here is a stitch I just finished.

This pattern is by Blackbird Designs from the July 2011 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine. I stitched in on 32 count Coffee Dyed fabric. It called for Belle Soie threads and since I didn't have all of them I pulled threads from my overdyed collection. I used Sampler and Weeks threads. Then I put it in a box that I had. Not even sure when I bought this box but it sure worked well. It was a very enjoyable stitch.

I received this cute pillow from Wendy Jo. She was here in the cities and Cathy B I were suppose to meet up with her. I had a change in plans at the last minute and couldn't make it. So Cathy met up with her and return with this cute pillow for me. Thanks Wendy Jo.

Here is my progress on Maria Tilley. This is a shop project stitch. It is coming along pretty good but I did need to take a break and stitch a couple of small things which were the BBD Land of the Free posted above and then the LHN Fresh from the Garden Needlebook posted below.

LHN---Fresh from the Garden Needlebook. I stitched this piece on 28 count tea/coffee dyed fabric and used the threads called for. I made my needlebook and put the design on the outside of the needlebook. I also made my tomato.

Here is what the inside looks like. I put in a pocket and then added round bead. I made a fob with a clasp on each end so I could anchor my scissors to it yet take it off if I wanted. I am really happy with how it turned out.

I had this piece stitched up and just did the finishing yesterday. It is LHN 2011 ornament--Deck the Halls. I had the next two patterns to stitch.

I have also been doing some sewing and quilting. I made this Huswif needle case about 3 weeks ago. This of course is the outside of it all folded up.

Here it is unfolded. It has three pockets and some felt to hold your needles. I enjoyed sewing this case and will probably make a few more.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has had a great long weekend.
Happy Stitching.

It's been a month---again

2011-05-17T10:05:00.005-05:00

For whatever reason I just can't seem to post with any consistency, well maybe the consistency that it is usually only once a month. I would really like to be more current but it takes time and an organized life. I am working on the organize part and it's not going to well for me.

So with that being said I have been stitching quite a bit. Here are the results:

SamSarah--Harried Hare Button Carrot
28 count Dusty Green Fabric with DMC
I really enjoyed stitching and finishing this little carrot. I can't wait to stitched the other two.

Shepherd's Bush 2011 Fob stitched with fabric and threads from kit.
This is a pic of the back of the fob.

And of course this is the front of the fob.
I received this kit for my birthday from Cathy B.
Thanks Cathy. This was a fun and quick stitch.

Blackbird Designs--Basket of Memories
Stitched on 32 count Miracle Mint with
Rainbow Gallery Silk Splendor color # S869.
I had this silk in my stash and thought it went well with the fabric.

La D Da--Yellow Bird
Stitched on 36 count R & R Espresso with
Rainbow Gallery Silk Splendor color # S982.
Another silk I had in my stash.

LHN--Deck the Halls-2011 ornament #3.
Stitched on 36 count coffee dyed linen by me and DMC threads.
Now I just need to get this ornament finished. I am staying on task with
these ornaments so far!

These next four pieces are shop projects I have been doing for The Country Sampler in Spring Green Wisconsin.

With Thy Needle and Thread--Proverbs 31:13
Stitched on 32 count with overdyed threads.

Willow Hill Samplings--Quaker Bluebird
Stitched on 32 count with Sampler Thread--Blackboard.

Notforgotten Farm--Brown Egg Farm
Stitched on 32 count with DMC

NeedleWork Press--Maria Tilley 1835
Stitched on 32 count with Belle Soie and DMC threads.

So there is another update.
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

Catch up again.....

2011-04-16T14:08:00.005-05:00

Before I start my catch-up post, it it really April 15th? This is what we woke up to this morning. REALLY!!!!! Have to love Minnesota.

Now that I have the weather out of the way I will try to catch-up with what I have been doing. I really hate having to play catch-up but that seems to be how I roll:)

Last weekend was the Stitchville retreat. Stitchville is our LNS here in Minnesota. The teacher for the weekend was Jeannette Douglas. Here she is last Saturday starting our class. As you can see the name of the Sampler she designed for us is "Three Pines Sampler". Jeannette was so down to earth.

Here is the sampler itself. It really is a cute sampler with a lot of specialty stitches. We learned a new and better way to do Queen stitches.

Along with the sampler Jeannette also designed these smalls to go with the sampler. How cute are these smalls!!!

Here is our table of girls. From left to right are: Joyce, Cathy B, LaVonne, myself and Chris.
I knew all the girls before the retreat except Joyce. Now I have another new stitching friend. Be sure to check out Cathy's blog for more of the retreat.

This is the project we stitched on Friday night. It is called Sweet Tulip. Everyone at our table finished this project and here they all are.

This is a picture of some of the designs stitched by some of the retreat girls.

I stitched up Jeannette's new design "Quaker Stitches" I stitched it on 32 count fabric with Belle Soie--Babbling Brook.
We had a very good time at retreat and I really enjoyed listening and talking to Jeannette. If you ever get the chance to take a class with Jeannette you won't be disappointed.

Yesterday one of my stitching buds Jackie and I got together and did a little finishing. We both stitched this Lizzie Kate "Peep" and finished them as stand up boxes. The background fabric is what we used on the sides and back of the box. I think these turned out quite cute.

Then I framed my "Sweet Land of Liberty". I stitched this at the beginning of the year and had to order a frame at Joann's. I am also happy with this finish. With a 50% plus $20 off coupon I managed to get this frame for $18. I just couldn't find the right frame at any of my thrift shops. So I had to order one.

I had these two LK Halloween stitches done for a month or so and finished them off as pinkeeps. I want to stitch and finish them all this way and put them in a basket. Only 10 more to go!!!!

This was a 2010 stitched piece by LHN that I finally totally finished. I think I am all caught up with finishing for now:) After all of that finishing then Jackie, Chris and I got together and stitched. We had a really great time. Thanks for the fun Girls:)

And lastly here is a model stitch for a shop called Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI. It is a design by With My Needle and Thread called " Proverbs 31:13. It was a fun stitch.

Now you can never have enough stitching lights---just ask my stitching buddies! So a couple of weeks ago I bought these two Ott lights. I couldn't pass up a deal. They were on sale for $99 and then I had a coupon for another 25% off, so that made them $75 for both!!! Now they have a new home and I have some new lights.

Sorry for such a long post, thanks for hanging on to the end, but I think I am all caught up now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Happy Stitching!!!!

Another Birthday....

2011-03-27T11:34:00.005-05:00

I had another birthday this past week and I received some nice gifts from my stitching buds. It's been kind of nice because my birthday was last Monday and I started receiving gifts about a week before that and a few days after. Now my family and friends say my birthday goes on for at least a month---I guess that's true!!

Wendy Jo sent me this card and scissor sock. I even have a new scissor to put in it.
Thank you Wendy Jo for remembering my birthday.

Then Jackie--one of my Friday night stitching buds gave me this. I had gotten one of these coasters for our retreat last August and I whined enough and she stitched up the other three:) Plus she gave me a new scissors and a magnet minder.
Thank you Jackie.

This wonderful shrug came from Jill. I just LOVE it. Jill knitted it for me in my favorite color--green. I really like shrugs for whatever reason and this one is very cute. So I went out and bought a new shirt for it!!!!
Thanks so much Jill.

This little beauty came from Cathy B. She is so good to me. She buys me the new Shepherds Bush scissor fob every year. At least for the last three:) Now I just need to get it stitched. I probably have last years to do to.
Thanks Cathy.

I spent my birthday afternoon with Lori another stitching bud and we had lunch at Chili's--one of my favorite places to eat, then we went clothes shopping. She also gave me some Sampler Threads and a gift card for a massage, can't wait to do that another favorite.

Two of my daughter's gave me a great digital frame. Which I have been wanting. That thing does everything. It has a clock, alarm, video, plays music and even has recipes on it!!! Got to love modern technology.

Plus my DIL and son had a family dinner for me last Sunday night. It was a very nice evening with my family.

So as you can see I had a great birthday week. I am a very lucky girl!!!!

I have a few more things I need to blog about but I will do that in a couple of days. I need to catch up with the stitching I have been doing for the last few weeks.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week.
Happy Stitching:)

The Inspired Needle

2011-03-20T16:48:00.004-05:00

This last week I had the opportunity to go to Chicago with my DH. When we travel my DH always humors me and takes me to stitching shops along the way.
On the advice of Cathy B we made a trip to The Inspired Needle in Lemont, Ill.
Here is a picture of Cathy (the owner) and myself. I had such a great visit with Cathy and sure wish that I could visit her shop more often. I feel like I have made a great friend in the short time I talked with her. She has a wonderful shop and she is just so friendly. I will make it a point to stop there again next time I am in the area.

Here is a pic of my DH and me at the shop. If you get a chance check out Cathy's blog and shop website. She wrote some very nice things about my visit with her.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

Wild Roses and a couple more finishes

2011-03-09T10:59:00.004-06:00

First off I am so excited about this piece. I just love it. It was a very fun stitch. I seem to like long skinny pieces and when I saw this as a shop model I knew I would have to stitch it.

This piece is from Carriage House Samplings. It is called Wild Roses. I Stitched it on 36 count cream with DMC. I did personalize is with my hubby's initials across the top and mine on the bottom. Then going down the left side I put our childrens initials and across on the right hand side I put their spouses initials. Our youngest is not married so I only put the last name initial in. For this piece I went to Joann's with a 50% off plus another $20 off coupon and ordered this frame. I did the framing myself. I am so happy with how it turned out.

Here is just a close up of the top of the piece. I put my own name and dated it 2011.

I stitched and finished my second LHN ornament for 2011. This one was stitched on home dyed 28 count and I used the threads called for in the pattern.

I posted this piece earlier but it was not finished. This is from the 11-08 Gift of Stitching magazine.

These are the last of my 2010 stitches. I just finished them off. The Christmas ornaments came out of JCS magazines and the bottom finish is a BBD freebie.

I just stitched up a couple of pieces in the last few days and I am hoping to get them finished and posted later this week.

Now I am getting ready for an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy!!!! What fun.
Did I mention that I hate having to do those over 50 things!!!
But better safe than sorry, I will be glad when it's over though:)

It never hurts to ask.....

2011-03-06T17:04:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week I was at a Quilt shop that at one time also had a needlework shop in the same building. While the needlework shop has been gone for at least 4 years or so there was some linen left and it was marked 50% off. So yesterday Cathy B and another stitching friend Chris
(no blog) and I went to the shop and I came home with this:

The colors are from left to right: 32 count Smokey Pearl, 32 count Clay, 32 count Olive Green, 32 count Willow Green, 32 count Miracle Mint, 32 count Quaker Pearl Grey, 32 count Lavender Mist and 32 count Baby Lotion. Now with that being said I wish I would have asked if they would have sold it for less because---today my friend Chris called me and we went back because she wanted to buy a piece for a project she wants to do and needed at least a yard.

Well today I asked the shop if they would sell it for less if we bought what was left. We got what was left for 75% off!!!! Between myself and Chris we bought what was left and this is my take. These pieces are from left to right: 28 count Little Boy Blue, 28 count Blue Spruce, 28 count Amsterdam Blue, 28 count Smokey Pearl, 32 count Cameo Rose, 28 count Miracle Mint, 28 count Apricot, and 32 count Tobacco.
Since between all three of us we bought all they had left the last two days we could have probably gotten it all for 75% off but we didn't ask yesterday because we, or at least myself didn't have the nerve to ask if they would take less. Today I did and they said yes because the shop has been wanting to just get rid of it for the last two years.
Moral of the story is: It never hurts to ask. The worst that could have happened is they would have said no but they didn't and we got even a better deal.
Did I NEED all this linen--NO, but I couldn't pass up such a good deal.

In between all my linen buys I have been doing some finishing. So here is my Prairie Schooler Folk Art Egg all finished. Now I need to stitch up the rest so I can have a basket of eggs.

I have some finishing touches to do on my other pieces and will be posting them in the next day or so.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend, and thanks for reading all my ramblings:)

As promised.....

2011-03-03T13:43:00.006-06:00

here are my framed pieces.

This one is Mary Garry's---"When I was Young".

LHN's--"Sarah Street-Faithfulness.

La D Da's--"Lauren's Voice".

Country Cottage Needleworks--"G is for Girl".

These pieces were in the previous post but I hadn't gotten to framing them. All my framing was done last weekend. I found all my frames at either a thrift shop or antique shop. Not only did I get the frames for a good price--nothing over $5 butI am also recycling:)

After seeing Diane's post about her stitching project book. I ran out to Michael's and here is what I found:

Here is the front of my project book.

A view from the side.

And the inside view.

Now I am not sure if I am going to line the inside bottom yet because I think it looks pretty without lining it. But I do plan on putting a magnet board on the inside lid and maybe a strong magnet to hold down my scissors. I will let you know what I do.

Bonus--these project books were on sale for 40% off, so with tax this book cost $7.70. Plus they also coming in different sizes.

Thanks for the idea Diane!!

I was hoping to

2011-02-21T18:20:00.005-06:00

have all these stitched pieces finished before I posted, but it has been almost a month since my last post and I have done quite a few so here we go:

Mary Garry--When I was young and in my prime. Stitched on 32 count coffee/tea dyed fabric.
I used Belle Soie Poison Apple and Herb Garden. I started this one on 1-24-11 and finished on 1-29-11.

Then while I was down in TN and GA to visit with our grandchildren I stitched this LHN.
Sarah Street--Faithfulness. I stitched this on 32 cream with the fibers it called for.
Started on 1-30-11 and Finished on 2-7-11.

I had gone to my LNS with a friend on the 9th and February and had to pick up this Prairie Schooler book--Folk Eggs. I wasn't real excited to stitch this on 18 count black aida but I couldn't find 36 count black. So I went with the 18 count and used DMC threads.
Started on 2-10-11 and finished on 2-11-11. Can't wait to get this one finished.

In trying to keep with stitching a Christmas ornament between other projects I stitched up this Red Noel from the November 2008 Gift of Stitching Magazine. It was stitched on an unknown 32 count with DMC 115.

I started this La D Da piece last fall and decided to get it finished. The design is called Lauren's Voice. I stitched it on 36 count R & R Lt. Expresso with DMC. I made color changes to this design.

I am not a Halloween person but these Lizzie Kate--Halloween Rules intrigued me. I did not want to stitch them all on one piece so I am going to stitched them and then make pin keeps out of them and put them in a basket. I stitched these on a 28 count dyed fabric with DMC threads.

I received my Just Cross Stitch Magazine last Monday and decided I just had to stitch this Country Cottage Needleworks design called G is for Girl. I stitched it on 32 count Lambswool with DMC and changed out Crescent Colors Poblano Pepper for DMC 92. I can't wait to stitch up the "B is for Boy" design.

Well as you can see I have some serious finishing to get to. I was hoping to do that today with a couple of my stitching friends but the weather did not cooperate. We ended up with 14 inches of snow and traveling was not very good today.

WHERE IS SPRING????

Some more finishes

2011-01-24T14:47:00.008-06:00

I have a couple more of my 2010 stitches finally finished. This is an Elizabeth's Garden design from "Three Swedish Pincushions". I stitched it on 36 count with Vicki Clayton silk called--Inner Space.

Next is this Lizzie Kate "Fa La La" kit. I found this moda fabric at a quilt shop. It is a perfect fit:) It was stitched on 30 count with DMC threads.

The final Lizzie Kate season fob--"winter". I stitched this up last month, but just finished it up this last week.

Here are all the fobs. They are pretty cute, but I really just wanted the scissors.

Now on to my 2011 stitches and finishes. I am really trying to be organized about how I keep track of my stitching and getting it finished right away. With that being said we will see how this year goes.

I have had this LHN--"Home of a Needleworker II" in my stash for awhile. I stitched it on 36 count fabric that I had coffee dyed so that it would fit in this frame. I bought the frame at an antique shop for $2. Another good match.
I have been trying to use frames I have found at antique shops, so I adjust the fabric counts to accommodate the frames I have.

Another thing I have been trying to do so far this year is to stitch an ornament after each "bigger" stitch I finish. So I stitched up this Country Cottage Needleworks ornament--"Season of Love" from the 2010 July/Aug. JCS magazine. I stitched it on 32 count fabric with DMC.

I stitched this Stacy Nash Primitives--"Monogrammed Pinkeep". One I have been wanting to do for sometime. I plan on gifting this one. But I will be making myself one too. I stitched it on 28 count natural with DMC.

A Primitive Betty's freebie--"Simplify". Stitched on 28 count natural with DMC and made into a pinkeep.

Brittercup Desings-"Mine" From the 2010 July/Aug JCS magazine. Stitched on 32 count sand with DMC. I must say that these ornaments are so much cuter once they are stitched up.

Finally I was at my LNS and pick up the first 2011 LHN ornament--"Cardinal Winter". Had to hurry and get it stitched up. Another cutie. This one was stitched on 28 count coffee dyed linen and stitched with Crescent colors and DMC.

Well now I am caught up again until I finished the last few 2010 stitches. I am off to do some coffee dying of linen.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Surprise in the mail and a couple of finishes...

2011-01-17T12:43:00.006-06:00

I received this little surprise on Saturday from Jill. She stitched this for me as a Thank you for our mini retreat weekend. It is "Friendship Sampler" by Goode Huswife. I just love it and she was very creative on how she personalized it with our initials.
Thank you Jill:)

I have been trying to finish the last of my 2010 stitching. I still have a few left but this is what I did get done this weekend.

This is my Christmas Fair and Square from Jenna. I finished it into an ornament.

Here is a pic of the back of the ornament.

I had this piece stitched up for a month or so and finished it into this box. It is a Blackbird design.

A view of the inside.

Another piece that I stitched at the end of 2010 and framed this weekend. It is LHN Alphabet Rhyme.

This piece was in my last post but wasn't framed. I went looking in my frame stash and found this frame which worked perfectly for this project.

This is my sixth stitched finish for this year. It is "Valentine Cupboard Keep" by Country Rustic Primitives. I stitched it on 28 count natural with Waterlillies-African Sunset.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching:)

Two more finishes

2011-01-13T12:09:00.004-06:00

I have been on a stitching roll.
This is my third finished stitch piece since the first of the year. It is Cherry Wood Designs--Needle. I dyed some celery gingham I had and used DMC 935. I have a frame for it, just need to paint it and get it framed.

I have wanted to stitch this piece since I bought it this last summer. It is Silver Creek Samplers--Eye of the Sparrow. I stitched it on some 28 count coffee/tea fabric I dyed. I also used DMC threads with this piece. I have a frame for this piece too. Guess I will have to do some finishing this weekend.

I am really trying to limit my stash buying and stitch up what I have, since I have enough stash for a lifetime of stitching. We will see how that goes--so far so good but we are only 13 days into the New Year:)

HAPPY STITCHING.

2010 clean up and 2011 finishes

2011-01-09T14:23:00.011-06:00

Well I have a couple of 2010 housekeeping items to post.

First is the Christmas Fair and Square I received from Jenna A.

She stitched me French Country Star by JBW Designs from the 2010 JCS ornament issue. I wanted to stitch this design myself and now I won't have to:)

Thank you Jenna.

Now on to the rest of my 2010 stitching finishes.
This is LHN's Alphabet Rhyme. I stitched it on 28 count with the threads called for in the pattern.

I stitched this freebie from The Sampler Girl. It was done on 40 count flax stitched over two with one strand of Sampler Threads. I just used various colors I had.

These two designs are from Midsummer Night Designs. The first one is from the 2010 July/August JCS magazine. It is called I love Reindeer. It was stitched on 32 count with DMC threads. The second one is I Love Christmas from the 2010 JCS ornament magazine also stitched on 32 count with DMC threads.

Another freebie, this one is from Plum Street Samplers called Adore Him. It was stitched on 32 count expresso over two threads with various overdyed threads from my stash.

I stitched this Lizzie Kate kit--Fa La La on 30 count northern cross over two with DMC threads.
I have the perfect fabric to go with this design and I think I will be making a pillow.

On to my 2011 stitching so far.
I really would like to do some more Christmas ornaments so I started out with this one from Primrose Needleworks called Windows of Faith, Hope and Peace. I stitched it on 32 count antique white with two strands of Blue Jay Sampler Thread.

I also finished this Cherished Stitches piece called Sweet Land of Liberty. I stitched it on 32 count cream with DMC variations 4210 and 4240 and DMC 729.

I had a mini retreat this weekend at my house. There are seven of us that try to get together on Friday nights to stitch and so at one time or another this weekend we all were here. On Friday night their were five of us and then on Saturday six of us were here. Jill stayed the whole weekend and we got a lot of stitching done.

Now I need to have a finishing day!!

Christmas and exchange update

2010-12-31T11:47:00.003-06:00

Well as usual it has been awhile since I have blogged. I have been busy getting ready for Christmas. I always seem to be working right up to the last moment! My DH and our youngest son and myself drove down to Chattanooga, TN to spend Christmas with our DD and her hubby and our two oldest grandchildren.

Here is some of the fun on Christmas morning. I had made the two grand-kids capes. Jacob is into spiderman, so of course I made a spider-man cape and pillow for him and Emily loves princess', so I made a princess cape and pillow for her.

Here is a princess tie blanket I made for Emily's birthday, which is in January.

These are the capes and pillows.

This is what we woke up to on Christmas morning in Tennessee. I couldn't believe I drove 1000 miles for this. I could have stayed in Minnesota:)

Our car just before we left Chattanooga for Atlanta. The drive was just terrible for most of the trip because of the snow. We did make it safely to Atlanta, actually Newnan, Georgia where DD number 2 lives. We ended up with 4 of our six children in Georgia for part of Christmas, which was very nice. We had a great time except of course for the weather.

When I arrived home from down south my Friends Stitching through the Seasons exchange was waiting for me from Michele. She stitched me this BBD piece which I have been wanting to do for myself. It was made into a very cute pillow. The back ground fabric is two fat quarters that Michele sent with the exchange. Thanks Michele for another great exchange.

Michele also included all these goodies: 3 skeins of Belle Soie (my favorite), a scissors, two pieces of linen, two patterns, some marking pins and mints plus it was in a really cute basket. I think I will be using the basket for the ornaments I plan to stitch through the year. I have really enjoyed this exchange group. I received four wonderful exchanges from Michele.

I decided to stitch ornaments for my children so here are the six I stitched from the 2007 JCS ornament magazine. The designs is from Sisters and Best Friends called "All Flakes Welcome". I think they turned out pretty good. Now my goal is to stitch ornaments every year for the children, check back next year and see if I accomplish this goal:)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2011.

Happy Stitching!!!

Lots of Finishes...

2010-12-03T10:08:00.009-06:00

I have been quite busy with stitching and finishing over the last three weeks. Here are some of my results:

This is the Fair and Square I received from Kathy A, in it's finished form. Turned out cute.

Here is the back view.

Then I stitched this Bent Creek stocking for my grandson Silas. I my plan is to make each grandchild a stocking, this one is number 3.

I have also decided to stitch an ornament for each grandchild and I have used this pattern for their first Christmas. I also stitched this ornament for my youngest child, so the first one I stitched was 22 years ago. This is such a cute first Christmas ornament.

Here is that first ornament stitched back in 1988.

Here are the two ornaments stitched for my grandson Jacob and granddaughter Emily. They live in Tennessee.

This ornament is from the 2010 JCS ornament magazine. This design is by Ladybug Lane Designs called "Joy". I stitched it on 32 count lime green with Belle Soie Kiwi.

Here is the 2010 Snowman by Lizzie Kate. I knew I wanted to do this one and finish it as a stand up box.

A view of the side.

This is LHN's Winter Wonderland. I stitched this one up about a month or so ago. I made the pouch with some fabric from the Minnesota Quilt shop hop.

Here is the inside of the pouch. I added some pockets and a place for needles.

I have been making a lot of pin pillows. The to one is Miss Mary Mac's Pins and Needles by M Designs. I believe the bottom one is from Notforgotten Farm Samplers called Alphabet Pin Keep.

I also stitched this about a month ago. It is Erica Michael's design "Button, Button". It was stitched on 32 count antique white with Belle Soie Kiwi. I made this into a bag for my buttons.

A view of the inside of the bag with some of the antique buttons I have collected.

I decorated my little Christmas tree. These are all of my LHN ornaments and some ornaments I have gotten from other blog stitchers plus a few others I have stitched. My tree is quite full I may need a bigger tree next year.

I still have a few more finishes to post but that is it for now.

Have a great weekend and Happy Stitching:)

Squares received some finishes and a baby...

2010-11-28T11:55:00.002-06:00

First off, I received these squares from Kathy A for round 22 of the Fair and Square exchange. This pattern is from the 2010 JCS ornament magazine. They are from Ink Circle. I was going to stitch this design myself but now I won't have to.
Thank you Kathy:)

I have been stitching some ornaments for myself and I stitched Country Cottage Needleworks design Merry and Bright from the 2010 JCS ornament magazine.

I used this cute Christmas fabric for the back.

I stitched this design from Cherry Wood Design Studios. It is "Stitch" from the Dictionary Series. I bought the frame from an antique shop for $8 and I love the way it looks. Now I will be stitching the 2nd word in the series which will be "Needle".

And finally here is the latest picture of our grandson Silas. It was taken just today. He is here to visit with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Kelsey and Uncle Donncuan. He is already for the Vikings game today:)

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stitching!!!

A day late, and the winner is.....

2010-11-21T11:24:00.002-06:00

laurawilson25.

I meant to draw a name yesterday, but I have been ill. I am finally feeling a bit better today.

I will be sending out an email to Laura.

Thank you to all of you who entered my drawing.

Little House Needleworks Ornament Finale

2010-11-16T09:25:00.002-06:00

Here is the last LHN monthly ornament "Joy to the World".
It was stitched on 32 count abcerderian blend with DMC.
I can not tell you how happy I am to have stitched all twelve.

This is all twelve. I see that they are not all in the order in which they came out, but they are all finished and together.

I also stitched "Willie Winter" from the 2010 JCS ornament magazine. He is the companion to "The Merry Skater". So I stitched him in the same color fabric as the Merry Skater.

I think they both look cute together.

I have been wanted to stitch this BBD pincushion since I saw in done last July at the Silver Needle retreat. I am really pleased with how this one finished up. This is "Winter Garden Pincushion" from Loose Feathers #39 called Winter Wonderland.

So there is a little update on my stitching and finishing. I have quite a few more things to post but I will leave that for next time.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enter my giveaway by leaving a comment on my November 13th post.

Snowy morning and a giveaway

2010-11-13T11:23:00.002-06:00

Here is what we woke up to this morning!!!! This is the view out to our backyard. As of 11:30 this morning, when I took this picture we have received about 6 inches of snow. It really looks pretty, but just makes me want to stay in and just stitch.

My 3rd year blogoversary was on November 6. I wanted to have a giveaway but I was out of town at the time. So I am going to have a drawing now for this stitching pouch I made. It is made out of Blackbird design fabric from their Beach House collection. Leave a comment on this post and I will enter you in the drawing. I will draw a name next Saturday, November 20. Good luck:)

I received these wonderful knitted dishcloths yesterday from Pam, a stitcher that Cathy B and I met at the Silver Needle retreat back in July. Pam is from Iowa and she and her sister Cheryl came up here to the cities to go to Stitchville our LNS for her birthday. So Cathy and I had lunch with them and then did some shopping at Stitchville and the went to The General Store which is quite a gift shop. We had a great time. Thank you again Pam for the gift and I hope you have a Happy Birthday.

I have been doing a lot of stitching and finishing and I will be posting about that is the next couple of days. Have a great weekend and stay warm.

Don't forget to enter my drawing.

What happens in Vegas.......

2010-11-01T10:37:00.005-05:00

Stays in Vegas, or so they say. I am in sunny Las Vegas for the week. Hubby is here for work and I tagged along. I plan on hitting the stitch shop and a couple of quilt shops and of course Hobby Lobby.

Yesterday after we arrived we drove to the Hoover Dam to drive over the new bypass bridge. We also walked about half way across it. Let me tell you it is VERY high and I am VERY afraid of heights. Well worth the hike up to the bridge though. Then we had a great dinner at Ruth Chris' Steakhouse.

So while hubby is busy for work I will be stitching away:) Weather here is wonderful--70's today and 80's the rest of the week.

Your are probably wondering why there is no mention of casino runs--well not much for gambling so I find other things to do in the cities that never sleeps.

My blogaversary is coming up in a few days and I will be having a some kind of giveaway, but it will have to wait until I get back home.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Flowers of the Field Part 2....

2010-10-21T14:02:00.002-05:00

Today I finished the Pin Pillow from Blackbird Designs "Flowers of the Field". Another quick stitch. I stitched this on 30 count Legacy Coconut Macaroon with DMC.

Thanks for stopping by and now back to some more sewing and stitching:)

Blackbird Design finishes and buttons

2010-10-20T10:27:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday I was at my LNS and picked up this Blackbird Design called Waiting for the Harvest. I decided to stitch it in a different color than the Sampler Thread Dark Chocolate it called for. I stitched it on some 28 count fabric I dyed and used DMC variations 4130. The fabric in the background is what I used for the backing of the pillow. I like the way it turned out and it was a quick stitch.

I also pick up this Blackbird Designs pattern called The Flowers of the Field. I stitched it on 30 count Legacy Coconut Macaroon with DMC thread. I did make it into a sewing bag but I didn't put in button holes since I could not find my button hole accessory. So I sewed some buttons on it and used snaps to keep it closed. Again I was very happy with how it looks. This design also stitched up quick as I started it yesterday 10-19 and finished it this morning.

Then my hubby and I also stopped at a couple of antique shops on Saturday and of course I had to buy these shell buttons. I just love them. They had such character. I did used two buttons from this collection on my previous finish - The Flowers of the Field.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by:)

Finishes....

2010-10-17T16:43:00.003-05:00

Here is my Fall Squared by Lizzie Kate. I stitched it on 28 count overdyed gingham linen with DMC threads. As you can see I finished into a pillow. I was a little worried that the fabric is kind of busy, but it is fallish.

I saw this freebie design by La D Da on Faye's blog and knew it was one I would have to stitch. I was lucky enough to receive the design from a friend so I got right to stitching it. I stitched it on 36 count antique white with Needlepoint Silk color #356-- a gray green. Decided to make another pillow. To hold down the braid I added a button to each side and the middle. I really enjoyed stitching this design which was a quick stitch as I started on Friday and finished last night.

I hope everyone has a great week and Happy Stitching:)

My latest finish....

2010-10-15T14:25:00.006-05:00

I started stitching this pincushion on Wednesday night and finished the stitching about an hour ago and decided to just go ahead and get the total finish done. I am sooo happy with how it turned out. This is a Blackbird Design pattern called Summer House Pincushion from The Honeysuckle Manor book. I stitched it on 30 count Legacy coconut macaroon with Sampler Threads Endive and Brick Path.

This is the back of the pincushion which I used Blackbird Design quilt fabric from the Garden Party Collection.

Well I am off to get ready to pick my hubby up from the airport. He has been out of town for two weeks now and I am happy to have him home again.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. The weather here has been so nice the last week or so and I hope it lasts through the weekend.

Happy Stitching!!!

Up date on blogging.....

2010-10-11T13:39:00.007-05:00

As usual I am behind on my blogging. I wish I would just blog when I get a project done, but I seem to like to wait for whatever reason. I have been busy with some finishing this last weekend. Here are the results.

This is the Fair and Square I received from Faye. I finished into a tree ornament. It will be a lovely addition to my tree this year.

Here is the back of the ornament. Thanks again Faye.

These two finishes are for my daughter Melissa. She stitched them up and sent them to me to be finished.

This is my LHN ornament which I finished about two weeks ago. It is number 10 out of 12.

This is number 11 in the LHN ornaments which I just finished this weekend.

I have been very good in keeping up the the LHN monthly ornament stitching. So with that being said here are the 11 ornaments which are out. I am just waiting to get the last one. Then probably against my better judgment I will do the next set of monthly ornaments for next year.

My last finish this weekend was my Sampler Roundy by Shakespeare Peddler. I finished mine off with a round box I purchased at Michaels.

Here is a picture of the lid and the inside of the box. I really liked how it turned out. Just as I had in my mind.

This is a side view of the box. The rick rack I used was from an exchange I received sometime ago. It worked out just perfect.

My blogoversary is in 26 days and I will be having a giveaway so be sure to stop by and thanks for taking time to visit today.

Happy Stitching!!

Exchanges

2010-10-07T16:39:00.003-05:00

Look what arrived for me today. I received my Fall Exchange from Michele.

It was well worth the wait. She really spoiled me.
This is the box that all the goodies arrived in. I thought it was so cute.

Michele stitched me a Blackbird Designs stocking. It's from the book Tis Halloween, the design is called Deadly Nightshade. The ribbon on it is bats. They are so cute.

Here are all my goodies: a little gems scissors by Kelmscott with a beaded fob, some handmade marking pins, the DMC pink kit, candle pumpkins, a halloween hand towel, halloween ribbon, seven hand dyed threads, a stuffed pumpkin, Heart in Hand Wool Whimsy, some harvest M&M's and some pumpkin/harvest beads.

Thank You Michele.

I also received this little cutie on Sunday from Cathy. She was making up for an exchange that I didn't received from the Friends Through Threads blog. This is a Lizzie Kate design called Autumn ABC's. The fabric she used is just so cute, it is quilted with pumpkins. Which you can't see but they are there.
Thank you Cathy!!!!

As usual I have not been very good at blogging but I do check the blogs everyday. So keep stopping by.

Project Bags

2010-09-23T08:06:00.004-05:00

I have been busy making vinyl project bags which are available for purchase.

These bags are approximately 10 inches wide x 9 inches high. The fabric is from Blackbird Designs Beach House Collection. The cost of these project bags are $15 plus shipping costs.

I also have these 3 pink ribbon project bags. The cost is the same for these bags plus the shipping costs.

I you are interested in either project bag or both, just send me an email which is in my profile.

A couple of exchanges, and famous or infamous???

2010-09-15T14:08:00.007-05:00

Here is my Fair and Square exchange from Faye. She stitched "Christmas Elegance" by Milady's Needle with Belle Soie--Creme de Menthe. Faye did a wonderful job of stitching and I can't wait to get this finished into an ornament for my tree.

Thank you Faye.

This is the Fall exchange I sent to Melissa for the Friends Stitching Through the Seasons blog.
I stitched Lizzie Kate's Sampling Halloween Quick-it. I finished it as a box

Here's a look at the inside. I also included a witch scissors.

I also sent these goodies in the plastic tote. A Kelmscott Needle minder, some halloween socks, note pad, note cards, pen, buttons and beads. I really had a great time putting this together for Melissa.

Today I received my copy of Clara Ellen by Blackbird Designs. It was very exciting to see my name in print as the stitcher of this pattern. I really enjoyed stitching this piece.
Thanks Alma for letting me stitch this design:)

Well now I am off to do some more sewing. I have been making stitching portfolio's and some vinyl project bags. Check back again.

Happy Stitching!!

Stitching Portfolios ......

2010-09-12T16:13:00.010-05:00

I have been busy sewing. I made myself this stitching portfolio out of Blackbird Designs quilt fabric from the Beach House collection.

This portfolio is approximately 13 inches wide by 10 inches high when closed. It has an antique button on the front flap and snaps closed.

Here is a picture of the inside of the bag. The inside lining is a coordinating quilt fabric from The Beach House collection by Blackbird designs. This stitching portfolio is large enough to hold an
8 1/2 x 11 inch book, plus your linen, fibers and any other items for your project.

This is the smaller portfolio version. The approximate size of this portfolio is 10 1/2 inches wide by seven inches high when closed. This stitching portfolio also has an antique button and snaps closed.

This portfolio will hold a book that is 8 1/2 x 6 inches plus your project items.

I have made up a few of these stitching portfolios to sell.

If you are interested in buying one of these please email me using the email in my profile.

WHO IS ELLA? And model stitching......

2010-09-03T14:02:00.006-05:00

So Jill and I ran to Joann's to check out the Labor Day Sale stuff that we thought we needed. Jill wanted some DMC and I was looking at the omnigrid ruler that was on sale--50% off. Well $60 later for both of us and look what we found. A new gingher scissors we didn't even know about. Because you always have to check out the scissors when you are at Joann's.

Here they are: Ella's. Kind of funky I think.

Since our little stitching group has a "scissors pack" we only have to find 4 more. We bought the three that were at my Joann's.

What a great way to start out our Labor Day Weekend!!!!

Also I can share now that I am doing some model stitching for Blackbird Designs.
Click on the link to see "Clara Ellen" which was my first model stitch.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.

Happy Stitching:)

Happy birthday to my wonderful hubby.......

2010-09-01T08:47:00.005-05:00

Today my hubby caught up to me. He is now 50!!!!

Happy Birthday David.
This picture was taken in June went our grandson Silas was born.

Here is Silas as of a week ago. He has grown so much. But what a cutie!

Here are three more of my LHN ornaments. I have one more stitched ornament to finish and just bought the newest pattern on Sunday, so for the most part I am pretty much on track with my ornaments.

I have really enjoyed stitching these ornaments and I am happy with the finishes.

I stitched up the latest Lizzie Kate seasonal fob last Friday night and finished it up on Sunday.
It always feels good to get projects done. Now if I don't run out of life before I get all my other projects done I will have it made. I should probably quit buying stash then:)

Again, thanks for stopping by. Now I am off to do some birthday boy stuff.
Happy Stitching.

Overdue retreat post and more.....

2010-08-24T08:12:00.005-05:00

Ok as promised two weeks ago, here is the last update on retreat. I meant to post much sooner but as usual just been busy. First I wanted to post what I had did for the girls for retreat. I stitched these floss tags and made some marking pins with crystals. Also made a long stick pin. The crystals are in the colors each of us have. This design is part of Country Cottage Needleworks called Mermaids. Cathy B also used this designs for a fob for each of us. Great minds think alike!

Here is a photo of the rest of the goodies I gave. Each year I try to make a pillow case, plus we now have a small retreat pillow and I make a cover for that pillow too. Then I also gave a small piece of fish fabric.

This fob is from Lori. She didn't have time to finish it, so I did get this finished off into a fob.

Now I am revisiting last years retreat. The theme was snowmen. I wanted to make these quilts for last years retreat but had other life events going on. So this summer I got on a quilting frenzy and sewed up these five quilts. Next year's theme is Pink Flamingo's!!!!

I also had this quilt kit and finally got around to putting it together. I just love the colors in this quilt.

Then I made these two quilts with fabric I have had for a couple of years. I always wanted to use the fabric for something and when our daughter was home from TN she had this pattern and I just got busy and did a lot of cutting and sewing.
I tried my hand at making a carrot pincushion. There is a tutorial on eHandcrafts blog. Not to bad for my first attempt.

This is Blackbird Designs Rose Garden. I stitched it during retreat and finished it into this pin pillow. I stitched my dad's initials and year of his birth on this pillow. I thought it would be a nice remembrance of him. He has been gone many years. I was six years old when he died.

I have wanted to stitch this piece for a while now. It's LHN's Traveling Stitcher. I finally finished the stitching this week. With that being said I then made the needle case and pouch for this piece.

Instead of using a tie and buttons to close these pieces I used snaps and then just sewed on a button. I got these buttons from an antique shop and thought they were just right for this project.

Last but not least I finished this LHN ornament. I have them all stitched up to date but have the 3 previous ones that need to be finished.

I have also been doing some model stitching which I can not share right now. Thanks for taking time to read this long post.

Happy Stitching!!!

A very happy dance...........

2010-08-12T15:52:00.005-05:00

Just a quick update on the Friendship book. As you can see Jill and I have our books done. I can not tell you how happy I am to have this finished. It was quite a challenge!!!!! This seemed to be a very painful finish for me. I just could not wait to have it done, not sure if it was because I just wanted to stitch and not spend all of my retreat on this finish or what. But I have been doing the happy dance since about noon today. My Friendship book is on the left and Jill's is on the right. We stitched our pieces on 36 count flax and I used Belle Soie Enchanted Forest. Jill used a threadworx fiber number 1157. I must say after all the work our books turned out very well.

Here is a look at the book opened

and the other side.

After I finished my book I got back to work on this Blackbird designs Rose Garden. I stitched it on 30 count St. Valentine's Blend with Crescent Colours Cappuccino. I stitched this for my dad who passed away many years ago when I was six. I stitched his initials and year of his birth in this piece.

Lori finished her LHN scissors bed. Hers is on the left. I did mine earlier this year and made my own bed. Just thought we would take a picture of both of our scissors beds.

So there is an update of retreat 2010. I am sure I will have one or two more posts before the fun ends:)
Thanks for checking in and Happy Stitching.

Retreat update...

2010-08-11T14:10:00.007-05:00

The theme for this years retreat is: Under the Sea!!!

Here is day one of retreat. This was fairly early when it was just Jill, me and Lori. As we were waiting for the other 3 girls to get here, we did start working on our Friendship Book.

This is just before we handed out our goody bags. The fun was just beginning.

First up were these bags from Jackie. She bought us these bags when she was in Hawaii last March. We each have a color assigned to us so to speak, so Jackie got us a bag in "our" color. The items in the front of the bags are what were in each bag.

Another picture of our goodies: a fish cup and bowl, a stitched coaster, fish magnets, a scissors with a light on it, a tape measure with a light, a fish key ring that lights up and make noise some note cards and turtle note pads.

Cathy's goodies for us were wrapped up in this cute paper, with a personalized name card.

Here is what we received: a mermaid scissor fob, a fish themed pin cushion, fish soap, goldfish S'mores, a very cute dish and two skeins of Crescent Colours thread--Deep Sea Blue and Shrimp Cocktail.

A close up of the pin cushion and fob Cathy made. How cute are they. Each fob was stitched in our color, mine is green.

Jill wrapped each of our goodies separately.

The goodies revealed. Jill's mom crocheted each of us a pair of fish slippers before she passed away. It was a bittersweet remembrance from her mom. This is the third pair of slippers Jill's mom made for all of us. We will miss not having a pair next year. Jill also stitched a fish pin keep, beaded up a fish needle case, included a fish scissors with a beaded fob that says: Under the Sea, a Kelmscott thread winder,a vinyl project bag, a scissor charm from her mom's stash, pencil and some candy.

A close up of the needle case.

This is the goody bag from Lori. A great mesh project bag filled with:

these goodies:

Some cards Lori's mom made, a fish candle, fish napkins and plates, a fish cookie cutter, some homemade chocolate dolphins, an orts jar painted with Under the Sea theme, stickers and candy, plus a fob which we will all finish ourselves as a group project.

Today the girls were busy stitching and talking. It doesn't take long to settle in with all of our stuff.

Thought I would include a picture of our snack table. Seems we could have used a bigger table!!!

Cathy is working hard on her Friendship book. She is staying on task.

Yesterday because of our friend Chris, four of us had to take a break and make a Joann's run to get these new Ott Lights. They are battery operated LED lights. Nice and bright and portable. You can also buy a DC adapter cord for it. That will be my next purchase. You just can 't have enough lights!!!

Last but not least here is the progress on my Friendship Book. I have the first two pages together. This is a very intense project and is taking longer than we expected. There is a lot of hand sewing to do before you can put this book together. So I have decided to do a little work each day.

This is the other side or the inside of my book.

The rest of my book. All the hand sewing is done, lining is on and they are ready to be put together. So I will do that tomorrow.

So there is the first day and a half of retreat. Sorry for such a long post but we have been up to a lot. Tomorrow I will have to post the goodies I had for the girls, just remembered that I forgot my goodies. Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully I will have another update tomorrow. Still three days of stitching fun left:)

Happy Stitching:)
Joan

Pre Retreat Post....

2010-08-09T21:13:00.004-05:00

I have been very busy getting ready for our annual retreat which starts tomorrow at 9 am and goes until Saturday afternoon. With that being said here is what we will be doing tomorrow. These are the squares that I had to stitch for the Ackworth Friendship book. Now tomorrow the six of us will put our books together.

I have been doing a lot of stitching and sewing for retreat. I won't be able to show my works until after tomorrow. But I have also been doing some other stitching which brings me to the following item:

I stitched this LHN ornament for Cathy B for an exchange on the Friends Through Threads Blog. This ornament is from the 2010 JCS magazine Christmas ornament preview. It is called the Gingerbread Tree. I stitched it on 28 count coffee dyed fabric with DMC.

Since about the middle of June I have also been obsessed with quilting. So I made this table topper with a new tool called the lil twister. The fabrics are from the local Quilt Shop hop here in Minnesota. I have some pictures of other quilts I have made in the last 7 weeks, which I will post later.

I received these squares from Jill last year for my birthday and I finally decided how I wanted to finish them. Here is the front of the pillow.

Here is the view of the back of the pillow. I am quite happy with how the pillow turned out. Thanks Jill.

Blackbird Designs retreat update.....

2010-07-20T12:14:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update on the progress of my retreat project. Here is a picture of both projects.

I finished the small box pin keep while at retreat. I started to stitch on the Needle book on Saturday night after we got back to the hotel. I finished the stitching this morning and went right to work on making it into the needle book.

Here it is in it's folded form.

This is the outside view of the whole stitched piece.

And the inside of the needle book. I added a scissors, a thread counter that Jill had made for me and a Kelmscott thread keep.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Happy Stitching:)

Blackbird Designs retreat at Silver Needle

2010-07-18T15:01:00.007-05:00

Cathy B and I have just returned from a fabulous weekend at the Blackbird Designs retreat held at the Silver Needle in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We were both excited to go to this retreat not only because of the Blackbird girls, Alma and Barb but we were also going to be able to meet some of the girls we have come to know through the blog world. There was about 150 women at this retreat and they came from 20 states and Canada.

Here are Karen and Michele. I have done exchanges with both these girls. It was so great to finally meet them. We had a chance to get to know each other on Saturday night when we all went out to dinner. I wish I would have thought to get some pictures from dinner because of course Cathy was with us as well as two other gals, Chris and Michelle which we met through Karen and Michele. Karen is from Arizona and Michele is from Washington. There was lots of fun and laughing going on.

This is Cathy, Edie and I. Edie had seen on my blog that Cathy and I had been to a Blackbird Designs retreat back in April here in Minnesota and that we were planning on going to the Silver Needle for this retreat. Well Edie got signed up for this retreat and we got to meet and stitch with her. She sat with us for our class on Saturday. I was glad to get to know Edie. Edie is from Texas. Thanks for such a great time.

I also got to meet Yvonne another blogger, and I thought I had gotten a picture with her but I guess I didn't. So I hope that you got one Yvonne and will share it with me. Yvonne is from Georgia.

We also met two gals from Iowa, Lisa and Loretta and of course I didn't get any pictures with them either. I sure hope that maybe Cathy got some of those pictures, because she was much better at socializing and picture taking then me.

I am sure Cathy will fill in with more stories about our trip.

Here are Alma and Barb on Friday night sharing some stories with us.

This is a picture I took of the pin keep we would be making in class. I should have gotten a picture of the needle book to, but I was not thinking.

This is my pin keep, which I did finish during class and how far I am on my needle book.

This is a side view of my pin keep. We painted our box and then gave it a "worn" look by sanding it and putting briwax on it. We also made the pins that are in my pin keep.

These are all the wonderful goodies we received from the Silver Needle. There are 16 limited edition skeins of Sampler Threads, a small scissors, and some Vera Bradley items: a Quickstep wallet, a small coin purse, two different note pads and a small metal tin.

All I can say is I love Alma and Barb from Blackbird Designs and if you ever get a chance to take a class from them you should. And it is worth a trip to Tulsa to go to the Silver Needle. The staff there is great and you will be overwhelmed by that shop.

Keep Stitching and thanks for stopping by.

Catch up post...

2010-06-29T17:10:00.007-05:00

As usual it has been a bit since I have posted. The first order of business is the birth of our son Kyle and his wife Mackenzie's first child and our third grandchild. Silas William made his entrance at 11:33 on the morning of June 19th. He weighed in at 9 pounds even and was 21 and a half inches long and has a head of light brown hair. Of course he is just perfect and we are going to keep him!!! Here is a picture of my DH and myself on Father's Day with Silas.

Silas is taking after his Daddy as Kyle also weighed in at 9 pounds and one ounce!!!

Now on to some stitching, finishing, a bit of crafting and some thrift store shopping.

I stitched up this Erica Michaels design from a book called Signs of Summer. The design itself is called Liberty Garden. I stitched in on some coffee dyed 28 count fabric with DMC threads. I decided to make it into a pillow. I am very happy with the results. This was the start of my 4th of July theme.

This is a freebie pattern that I have wanted to stitch for sometime. I mentioned in a previous post that I had stitched this design and the day after I finished the stitching I received this same design from Michele for my summer exchange from her. I turned my design into a pin pillow. It was stitched on 28 count antique white with DMC variations 4150, 4210 and 4240.

Last Friday Jill and I went to our LNS for the Lizzie Kate Summer Fob. I had to have the scissors!!! I decided to finish my edges with beads as I was having issues with the ribbon I was going to use.

Jill and I also made ourselves a stitcher's lap desk. The top has a magnetic board and the bottom has a bean bag base. I think it turned out pretty good and it didn't cost me $80, which is about how much they are to purchase from the LNS.

Now on to my thrift shop finds. I bought this vase to hold my 8 inch Gingher designer scissors. I think it is just the right size as long as I don't buy anymore 8 inch scissors!!!!!:)

This doesn't happen very often at the thrift shop, but I found this piece of linen which was 24 x 26 inches in size and cost 99 cents but because it was 25% off Monday I got the piece for 74 cents.

This piece of 32 count linen was 18 x 27 and was $1.99 originally but after the discount was $1.12!!! I have to tell you I love those kinds of bargains:)

Again thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

I also want to thank my DD Kelsey for the blog face lift.

Summer Exchange and some new trinkets.....

2010-06-17T11:49:00.004-05:00

Look what the UPS man brought me yesterday. It is my Summer exchange from Michele. This exchange is between a group of us on the Stitching Friends through the Seasons blog.

Michele stitched a Blackbird design called Small Token. Of course I just love it as I am into stitching Blackbird designs. The patriotic pillow is a freebie design called 4th of July Quaker Style. Now the funny thing about the 4th of July design is I just stitched that design on Tuesday night!!! Great minds think a like:)

Here is the rest of the exchange. Michele knows how to put together a great exchange. She always sends me things in my new favorite color--green. I received a piece of linen from R & R Reproductions it is 32 count Sea Fog, a pair of green scissors, a roll of fat eighths, some heart pins, a accessory gift set from My Big Toe Designs, a really neat pincushion that also holds a scissors and a small patriotic basket and flag and some mints.

Thank you so much Michele.

Now on the accessory/trinket front I purchased this Ultra Magnifier Light by Craftlight. Now the great thing about this magnifier is the long neck. It does have a built in light which isn't that bright, so I also purchased a Dritz Flexible LED light. It wraps around the neck of the magnifier and you can point the light right on your fabric, it also sits on a table or can be mounted on a wall or side of a sewing machine. Now the other great thing about these two trinkets was the price. The Ultra Magnifier was only $25.00 at my LNS and the Dritz LED light was only $8.00 after using a 50% off coupon at JoAnn's. I am set for when I go traveling now!!!!

This is a portable LED light from Ott Light. This is really a BRIGHT light. It has a clip or will just sit on a table.

This is what it looks like when it is open. The cost of this light was $10.00 after using a 50% off coupon at JoAnn's. Oh how I love those 50% off coupons. And remember it's not what you spent, but what you saved!!!!

So I will have to say I have had a pretty good week. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

Antique shopping and more

2010-06-14T19:05:00.005-05:00

On Saturday the DH and I went out for lunch and then hit a couple of Antique shops. Here are my finds. I bought an old wrought iron--iron, two thread/yarn spools, a flower frog, an old hand forged scissors, some black heart valentine trim, buttons, a bone dish and box of DMC thread. It looks like it was made for traveling emergencies. Not sure how old it is but looks like it could be from the sixties.

Then I bought this Lizzie Kate scissors kit with Jill last Wednesday and got it stitched up and did the finishing last night. I think it turned out pretty cute.

I entered a drawing last month on Berit's blog for this biscornu and I was the lucky winner. It is a wonderful biscornu. I just love it. Thank you Berit. I am sorry I didn't get it posted earlier.

I stitched this pyn pillow for Edgar as a little Thank you for being an angel stitcher for my for my birthday a year ago. It is Cranberry Deer Pinkeep by Beehive Needleworks. I knew that Edgar liked deers and thought this was perfect for him. I have stitched this twice now and think I will do one for myself.

I also sent off a summer exchange for the Friends Stitching Through the Seasons blog. My exchange went to Melissa of the Daily Mel. Now with that being said, I forgot to take a picture of the exchange, so you will have to visit Melissa's blog if you want to see it.

Now I think I have gotten somewhat caught up on blogging. I seem to have a hard time with getting my blogging done in a timely fashion. I am hoping to change that.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish everyone Happy Stitching.

Long overdue post

2010-06-06T16:17:00.009-05:00

Again it has been awhile since I have posted. Much has been going on. I just returned home from a trip to Chattanooga, TN and Atlanta, GA where two of our daughter's live.

Here are two of the reasons we were in Chattanooga. Emily Kate who is 18 months and Jacob who is 3 1/2 years old. Our oldest daughter Melissa and her hubby Shad are the parents of Emily and Jacob. We spent a couple of days with them and then we drove down to Atlanta to spend a couple of days with our daughter Karissa and her hubby Jason. This was our first trip to see their new house. After a couple of days in Atlanta were went back to TN and left for home on Saturday and made the drive back to Minnesota in one long day. After 16 hours we were back at home.

So with all that being said on our way down south we made a couple of pit stops to some cross stitch shops. Our first stop was to Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI.
Our next stop was at the Needle and I in Rockford, Ill. Then we hit Tomorrow's Heirlooms in Glen Ellyn, Ill. After all those stops we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and stayed at a hotel in Mattoon, Ill. I checked out the phone book in Mattoon and lo and behold there was a cross stitch shop there. So on Friday morning before we left Mattoon we of course checked out Stitcher's Express. After all these stops here is--- the stash I acquired---

I picked up these scissors at Tomorrow's Heirlooms. DH said I should have two of them, not sure why though. More for the collection!!

My DH also thought I needed this cute little scissor/needle case. So he bought this little treasure for me from Stitcher's Express.

I still have a few more things to post but I will do that in the next couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

New Treasures and some more finishes.....

2010-05-12T11:55:00.004-05:00

I have been wanting to post some pictures for the last day or two but I was having some kind of computer/blogger issues. I think they have been resolved so I am going to give it another try.

Last Thursday was our anniversary, so the DH and I did a little road tripping over the weekend and hit an antique shop and I came away with these lovely items. The dish is called a "bone dish". I thought it was so cute and would be a perfect place to put buttons. I am collecting pearl buttons, so I bought a couple of jars of them. I think I will have enough for awhile. I also found some hat pins and crocheted lace. I have already put some of the pins and buttons to work. I can't wait to use the lace.

Then I have been on quite a binge of stitching pincushions. I stitched up this Shakespeare's Peddler "Ole Pincushion". It was stitched it on 32 count black with 2 threads of Belle Soie--Kiwi. This was a very quick stitch. I stitched it and finished it all on Monday.

As I mentioned I have been on a pincushion binge. I stitched this BBD--Bird in Hand on 36 count cream with Belle Soie Cranberry.

And yet another BBD--Bluebird, which I stitched on 32 count cream with Belle Soie Kiwi. So I guess mine would be a green bird. The back ground fabric is what I used on the back of the pincushion, along with some of the buttons and pins I bought the other day. I just love these pincushions.

I had this LHN design--Snowy Pines stitched up and was in a finishing mood, so I took care of this little ornament. It was stitched on home coffee dyed 32 count with DMC. Turned out pretty cute.

Last Sunday my DD and I framed these two pieces. They are Bent Creek Snappers. I stitched this back in 2003!!!! I can't believe it. My SIL made the frames and my DD painted them and we finally got them framed. One piece is mine of course and the other one is my stitching bud Lori's.

Over the last three Wednesday's my friend Jackie and I have been putting together these Christmas ornaments. Jackie and another stitching bud--Chris did the stitching of the ornaments and then I helped Jackie put them together. So we ended up assembling 26!!! No last minute Christmas rush this year!!!

Tulip House finish and a couple of other finishes

2010-05-05T07:54:00.008-05:00

I finished the stitching of my Blackbird Designs retreat project called Tulip House. I went to my local thrift store and found this frame which I thought worked perfect. I like the texture of the frame and the good news is the frame cost $2.42.

This is the stitcher's box which is the companion piece to Tulip House. I really enjoyed this Blackbird Design retreat, so much so I will be going to another Blackbird Designs retreat at The Silver Needle with my stitching bud Cathy B. I think we have become BBD groupies:)

Here is my version of the BBD cupcake. The design is from BBD book Honeysuckle Manor.

Another thing I learned from Alma and Barb was how to dye headpins to make them look antique. As you can see from the picture I started out with the pins on the right and dyed them with the end result being the pins on the left.

I stitched these next two pieces when we were still in Aberdeen, but just framed them over the weekend. This design is LHN--Faith. I used this Mill Hill frame that I bought many years ago and found in my frame stash.

The Sampler Lady by LHN.

I found this frame at a antique shop and paid about $2 for it. I really like to use frames I find at antique or thrift shops. Sometimes I find a frame and then look for a project to fit the frame.

My Birthday Bash Retreat Slideshow!

2010-05-03T14:28:00.003-05:00

Thank you to all the girls for a GREAT 50th Birthday Bash Retreat.

New header and life update....

2010-05-03T10:49:00.001-05:00

It has been a month now since we have returned home from our nine months in Aberdeen, SD. With that being said I have put up a new header which conveys my feelings about being back home in Minnesota!!

Here is a picture of me on the day we left Aberdeen. I was very excited to be leaving for home. I have been so busy trying to get settled here back at home I have not had a lot of time to blog all the things that have happened in the last month so I am going to try to get caught up.

Here is a picture my stitching bud Lori modified for my scrap book. A cute little reminder of our days in South Dakota--As they say Great Faces, Great Places--South Dakota!!!!

I will be posting about my BIG birthday and a some other stitching related happenings in the next day or so..

Blackbird Design retreat update

2010-04-27T14:02:00.012-05:00

To start off our retreat weekend I stitched this Blackbird Design motif from the book Joyeux Noel. The bird was from the Vintage Pincushion pattern. Then I soldered the design between glass and attached it to a chain. I made one for myself, one for Cathy B, since she and I were roommates at retreat and then one for Alma and Barb.

The first project we were given on Friday night was a monogram sachet pillow. We stitched our initial and then added whatever else we wanted to our design. This was a quick and fun stitch.

Here is a sample of other pillows that the girls stitched up. There was quite a variety of ideas flowing through the room.

Here is the sample of Tulip House which was the project for our retreat weekend along with the Stitcher's Companion Box.

This box was Alma's sample of our project.

Here is the outside of the box that we all painted.

This was my stitched piece to go on top of the box.

And here is the finished result of my box. I think it turned out quite well.

Here is what the inside of the box looks like. I had such a good time working on this project. I may have to stitch another one sometime.

If you ever get a chance take a class with Alma and Barb of Blackbird Designs. You won't be disappointed.

I also want to thank Deb the owner of Stitchville USA for hosting this retreat. Everything was great.

Brief update.....

2010-04-25T15:58:00.003-05:00

I have NOT dropped off the face of the Earth--although it sometimes feels like I have. I have had many changes and events occur since my last post. I am just going to tempt you with one of my many adventures with this quick post.

This weekend Cathy B. and myself went to a retreat sponsored by our LNS--Stitchville featuring Blackbird Designs. Here is a picture taken with Alma, Cathy, myself and Barb. We had such a great time and these gals are GREAT!!!! I loved every minute we spent with them. They are so friendly and down to Earth, I feel like I have made two new friends.

I will be posting more pictures and showing and telling what these girls taught us and the great designs they had for us. So stop by later tonight or tomorrow for more on the retreat and why I haven't posted in the last month

Alma, Cathy, myself and Barb.

Happy Stitching!!!!

A Spring Exchange and Birthday Package

2010-03-23T14:15:00.003-05:00

I received this Spring exchange from the Friends Stitching Through the Seasons blog. Michele sent me this wonderful package. She stitched Sew Red but made it green, since that is my new favorite color---by Carol R of iStitch. It was stitched with Belle Soie Creme De Menthe and made into a flat fold. I just love it. Michele also included 3 skeins of Belle Soie in green tones, some needles, a beaded fob a Blackbird Designs pattern and some fabric. Michele did a great job in her stitching and in the goodies she picked out for me.
Thank you Michele.

I also received this Birthday gift from Cathy B. She made me a wonderful Hardanger doily. Cathy also sent me the new Shepherd's Bush Fob kit.
Thank you Cathy. I love it all.

Now I am getting ready for my Birthday retreat weekend with some of my stitching buds. Have a great week and Happy Stitching:)

More pre-birthday gifts, finishes and WERE GOING HOME!!!

2010-03-22T12:25:00.009-05:00

I am late in posting some of my pre-birthday goodies so without further ado here they are:

At the beginning of last week Jill sent me this package of floss bobbins and my favorite Laffy Taffy, which is banana. So now while I will be winding all of those DMC flosses I can enjoy some banana Laffy Taffy. Thank you Jill.

Here is the card Jill enclosed.

And again here is the reason I need all those floss bobbins--to fill this DMC floss cabinet. I ordered this cabinet from Herrschners. And right now they are on sale for $79. When I ordered mine they were $99 and I contacted them about the price change since it was only about a week from the time I ordered it and the price change and Herrschners refunded me the $20 difference. I thought that was great.

Then a day or so after my package from Jill I received this very cute flower frog from my hubby. He found it on Ebay and thought I should add it to my collection. Besides this he surprised me and signed my up for the Blackbird designs retreat that Stitchville, my LNS in Minnesota is hosting in April. I will be going to that with Cathy B. I just can't wait. He also gave me $50 to spend at my LNS when we went home again this last weekend.

So when we returned home last night from our quick trip back to MN I had another package waiting for me from my friend Jackie. She thought I should have this new Dinky Dyes scissors for a pre-birthday gift. Thank you Jackie. She even managed to make sure I received this while she and her family were in Hawaii for Spring break. I tell you I have GREAT friends!!!!

Now here are a couple of finishes. This first one is from Cherry Wood Designs called: Eat, Sleep and Stitch. I stitched it on 32 count line green with Cresent Colors.

My LHN He's a Flake ornament. He was stitched on 36ct crystal loch with DMC, I used DMC variations 4045 for the tree.

I really like the saying on this Sampler Girl design which is Northanger Abbey stitched on 32ct coffee dyed fabric with DMC threads. The saying is: Friendship is certainly the finest balm. Can't agree with that more.

With all of the great gifts I have received for my BIG birthday the best one is the news that my hubby received a job offer for us to move back to Minnesota. So we only have two more weeks left here in Aberdeen, South Dakota. We are both very happy to be moving back to our "real" life. So I have been doing the happy dance since last Friday.

I just want to say that life is good and I have the greatest family and friends in the world. I hope that they all know that.

Now I have my birthday retreat that starts on Thursday and goes through Sunday so I will have more birthday reports and pictures when I return from there.

It's MY Birthday!!!!

2010-03-21T15:31:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone for wishing me a Happy Birthday!

Apparently it's my birthday month and a finish....

2010-03-11T16:59:00.017-06:00

I have received the following birthday month goodies:

I received this card from Lori earlier in the week.

Here's what was on the inside.

Then today when I got home from work this was in the mail from Jackie. She knew, as did a couple of my other stitching buds that I got a new floss cabinet and now I need to wind all my DMC onto floss cards and get them in my cabinet.

Here is the inside of the card. So as you see my friends have had to put up with my month looooong birthday shenanigans before, and they play right into them. Got to love them:)

Now here is my newest finish. It is the fob that belongs to my new scissors bed. These scissors are one of the first Gingher designer series scissors---Gloriana.

Here they are together.

Thanks again for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

I've made my bed......

2010-03-07T13:56:00.003-06:00

And now my scissors will sleep in it.

I decided to make my own scissors bed for this LHN design. I am happy with the results. I have put my Gingher Glorianna scissor in it's new bed. It is nice to have this project complete.

I have had a couple of people comment on the background of some pictures I took in which I used this tabletopper. Carol R asked that I post a picture of the whole design, so here it is. It is a pattern called Sampler Tabletopper by Dutch Treat Designs. I stitched this a couple of years ago.

Then I have added a couple more scissors to my collection. The top two are from Yuko's scissors blog. The small one is a Kelscott designs little gem--in brown new from market.

Now I have a BIG birthday coming up and I am not real excited about that, although it sure is better than the alternative!!!! All my friends know that I usually remind them weeks in advance that "My Birthday is coming", and they say it goes on forever, so with that being said I received this cute little card from my BFF Lori.

Here's what was on the inside. So my birthday has officially started:)
And I will be celebrating with the stitching girls with a 4 day birthday retreat starting March 25 and going until March 28. I can not wait. It will be a great time of stitching, laughing , eating and a massage!!!

And since I am having a BIG birthday I have always wanted a cabinet for my floss. So I told that to my DH and he said go ahead and order it. So here it is. Now I just need to get 454 floss tags wrapped. I will be working on that probably until my next birthday.

A Very Happy Weekend

2010-03-02T12:11:00.004-06:00

We made another trip home to Minnesota this weekend, here are the results of being home:

Before we left for home my hubby gave me this to use at my LNS.

Here is the end results plus a few more $$$. I have enhanced my stash with a few new things.
I went to my LNS with Jill and Cathy B, we also met up with Judy a friend of Cathy's at Stitchville and had lunch with her. So now I have a new friend in the stitching world. It was good to meet and spend sometime with you Judy. Maybe you will be able to stitch with us in the future. Then we had plans to meet up with Jackie and Lori at Jackie's house for some food, fun and stitching. I had a really great day Saturday.
Before I left Minnesota I had this wonderful pinkeep hand delivered to me by Cathy B. as she had my name for the FTT pinkeep exchange. This design is from Carol R.--iStitch. It is Sew Patchwork. Cathy did a great job on her stitching and finishing. I just love it.
Thank you Cathy:)

On our way back to Aberdeen my hubby and I stopped at a couple of antique shops and of course I found some flower frogs. The yellow frog at the upper left is a "vaseline" glass frog and under black light it glows. Really pretty cool. The bottom frog is carnival glass.

I also found these jar lids and had to have them to make some pincushions. At least try my hand at it.

So all in all I had a great time back in Minnesota, but I am not back to the real world and off to work later on today.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching:)

Catching up

2010-02-14T11:34:00.006-06:00

I have been meaning to post for at least the last week. Much has happened in the last week or two.

Here are some goodies I have gotten and a couple of things I have stitched.

The DH had two job interviews on February 4 and 5 and so we were back home in Minnesota and while I was home I went to my LNS and found this cute little design by The Sunflower Seed and of course it is called "Oh Stitch!". I stitched it on 32 count lambswool with DMC thread.

Before we left for Minnesota I stitched this Shepherd's Bush fob for the Roberta scissors.

Here is the back view of the fob. I received this fob kit from Cathy B for my birthday last year.
Thank you Cathy:)

I went to Joann Fabrics of course while I was home in MN, since I don't have access to a Joann's here in Aberdeen. In fact the closest one is about 2oo or so miles from here. Anyhow I found this pincushion that also holds a scissors. I thought this was the greatest thing. Had to have it!!

Yesterday the DH and I went to Watertown. It is about an hour and a half drive from Aberdeen. We went to just bum around a couple of antique/thrift shops and go to see what a shop called Expressions Frame shop and Knit Nook was about. The above picture shows the treasures I found. The books, thread and hoops came from the Knit Nook. I was happily surprised to find that they had quite a bit of cross stitch supplies. Not a lot of new designs, but they had a lot of the essentials, plus it is always fun to look through older books. Sometimes you find some older treasures and I did. A couple of older Prairie Schooler patterns and the 10th Anniversary JCS ornament book. Plus they had Sampler Threads and WDW. I bought the small hoops because I like to use them when doing one over one and I can't seem to find that particular kind of hoop anymore. I found two flower frogs at an antique shop and so I had to have them. The scissors in them are some scissors I have acquired in the last two weeks or so. The small gold Kelmscott Little Gems came from Linda from my last exchange, the three multi-colored ones came from one of my good stitching buds Jackie, and the bigger bronze colored one came from Yuko's scissors blog. I just don't seem to have enough scissors:)

Our trip to Watertown was also quite eventful in the fact that we were in a car accident. We are both fine, but our car was rear ended and it did not fair so well. We thankfully were able to drive it home and now this week the fun will begin with dealing with the insurance and repair shop. I just thank God that we were not hurt and neither was the person in the truck that hit us. So life goes on.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone is having a wonderful VALENTINE'S DAY.

A Wonderful exchange from Linda

2010-01-26T17:18:00.003-06:00

I today when I got home from work I opened a wonderful package. I had Linda as a "Fair and Square" partner and we decided to do a private exchange. I received the following:

Linda stitched and finished this cute pillow. She spent a lot of time reading my blog getting to know me and captured what is important to me--my family. Linda did such a good job on the stitching and finishing. I am so happy with this exchange.

Linda also sent along these goodies. A chart from my wish list and of course the fabric and fibers to go with it and another chart which sums up our time here in Aberdeen--Life is good in Aberdeen. I must stitch that very soon. Plus the Hob Nob design which is how I feel about stitching. Plus a cute little scissors---I love my scissors!!! A thread holder and some note pads, pins and fabric. I love it all.
THANK YOU Linda.

I hope everyone is staying warm and stitching.

Antique/Thrift shop finds

2010-01-23T17:41:00.002-06:00

The DH and I did a little antique/thrift store shopping this weekend and here are the treasures I found:

First I was looking for some frames for my friend Lori who is also stitching LHN's "My Needle's Work". She liked what I had stitched and how it was framed so I set out to find some frames I thought would work. These are the two I found.

Here are some of the treasures I found at the antique shops we stopped at. I got a real bargain on the zippers. They were only 25 cents each, and I use them when I make my vinyl project bags. Then I picked up some more frames because they were a good deal and I know I will find some projects for them. I already have some project to go into a couple of them. I paid anywhere from 50 cents to $3 for the frames. Then I had to have that little green hoop. I don't use hoops much just on tiny one over one's and I like to use this type of hoop and it was only 25 cents. Also got some mother of pearl buttons for 50 cents.
I bought this olfa mat because I thought it was a deal for $3. And even if I didn't need it, I thought I could give it to my daughter Chastity, as she wants to start sewing.
I picked up this wire holder--(I think it is a small plate holder) at the local Salvation Army Thrift store. Now I thought it would work nicely for holding some of my smalls and for 59 cents I couldn't pass it up.

Here is a pic with some of my smalls in it. I really like this little hanger.

So there you have it. I spent sometime with my hubby and found some treasures.

I hope everyone is having a great and relaxing weekend and as always Happy Stitching.

My Baby's Birthday and fabric dying and baking

2010-01-20T13:00:00.004-06:00

Today is my baby's 22nd birthday. Here he is with his newest tattoo at the time. Notice the cross stitches and the scissors. It is in "honor" of his mom and her addiction!!!! Gotta love him.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRISTAN. Dad and I love you.

I decided to do some coffee and tea dying and baking. Here are my results:

The above picture is coffee and tea dyed then baked.

The top picture and the next is just tea dyed and baked.

And these are just coffee dyed and baked. I am quite pleased with the results.

I hope everyone is having a great week and Happy Stitching.

Stitchin' the dream in Aberdeen MLK retreat weekend:

2010-01-18T12:04:00.006-06:00

This year was a bit different for our annual MLK retreat weekend. Since I have moved out to Aberdeen it is not as easy to stitch with all my good stitching buds. So this year my good friend and stitching bud Lori decided that she would come out here to Aberdeen, which is a 5 hour drive from St. Paul, MN to stitch with me. We had a great time. Lori even brought a little bit of home out here with her by bringing some of our favorite foods. We had pizza from one of our favorite places--Savoy's, and our favorite soup from Chili's and my favorite spaghetti sauce from Dontelli's. It was so nice to have Lori out here and be able to spend sometime just stitching, laughing, talking and eating. I was really sorry to see Lori leave and have our retreat end today.

Here are some the fruits of our labor:

I finished LHN My Needle's work. I started that project on Tuesday and finished it up on Saturday and then we even got it framed. I bought the frame last weekend at a antique shop for $2.00. I think the design is just right for the frame. I am so happy with how it turned out.
Then I stitched the square on the left from the Ackworth Friendship Book by With My Needle. Our stitching group is doing this project and since I have 12 squares to do, I thought I should try to get one done. Then I stitched up LHN's "Faith". I have been wanting to do this one for quite sometime and now it is done. Just need to find a frame.

Here is a closer look at My Needle's Work.

Lori and I also framed this piece. I finished this one last weekend. I found this frame at an antique shop also and this one was only 50 cents. Now it is really a tight fit going width wise but I like it all the same. This is Blackbird Designs "Summer Basket". It was a very fun stitch.

This La D Da piece has been finished for at least a month or so, but we just framed it over this weekend. Again this is a frame I got at either an antique shop or thrift store and it probably only cost a couple of bucks. I like to "recycle" frames if I can.

Here are all the pieces that we finished as far as framing goes. Some of the pieces just needed the backing paper and hangers put on. Three of them needed to be pinned and then finish with the framing.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching.

Another finish and my new 2010 start

2010-01-08T11:16:00.003-06:00

Here is another finished Christmas ornament. This design is from the 2009 JCS ornament magazine. It is by My Mark--called of course Christmas Stitching. I stitched it on 40 ct summer khaki over 2 threads with one thread of DMC. I really like this ornament.

Then I decided I NEEDED to start something new for myself for the New Year. This is Summer Basket by Blackbird designs. I am stitching it on 30 ct Baby's Breath with Sampler Threads and Weeks Dye Works thread. This has been a very fun stitch.

I will leave you with a view from our apartment window. We live in a "Garden View" apartment, just a fancy name for a basement apartment. Anyhow it is hard to see but the snow if halfway up the window. We have had a good amount of snow here in Aberdeen and with the winds that seem to blow all the time we have some very BIG drifts. Then if it is not snowing and blowing it is darn cold---This morning at 9 am it was -23 and that was just the outside temperature, not windchill!!!!

I hope everyone is staying warm. As always Happy Stitching.