Christmas and exchange update

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...

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...

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.....

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

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

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.......

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....

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

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:)