Thanks to all who have visited my blog recently - and thanks to those who have left comments!

Cindy - the Hardanger hear scissors fob is an adaptation of a pattern from Pure Heart Designs (Lacy Bookmarks I). There were a series of five hearts that made a bookmark. I just took one of the five hearts to make the scissors fob. Thanks for asking!

Today was a great mail day. As I pulled into the driveway I could see a box sitting on the chair next to the front door. It was a teal colored box, so I knew immediately that it was from Myrna (Myrna had posted a picture of the box on her blog!) This was for the Grab Bag Exchange on the U.S. Exchange Board. Myrna went all out - the theme was "blue" and everything was packed in a blue bag. There were beads, a scissors, Silkweaver fabric, a candle, some chocolates, blue DMC floss, Homespun Elegance pattern, Blueberry lotion - oh my gosh, the list goes on and on. Thanks Myrna - you are awesome! Here's a picture:



As long as I had the camera out, I took a picture of the Hardanger valance I stitched a few years ago. It hangs on the window over my kitchen sink:



Tonight I went to my LNS for a stitch-in. I rarely have time to do this since Thursday nights I'm usually at choir practice - our director and his wife are adopting a baby from Russia and so all choir rehearsals are cancelled until September! I stitched the scissors fob to go along with Apricot Elegance. I hope to finish the fob this weekend!

Take care everyone!

It's Small but it's Still a Finish!

I've been working on finishing an exchange gift for the Beginner's Exchange on the U.S. Exchange Board, so unfortunately you will have to wait for pictures on that one.

Tonight I finished a quick small - a Hardanger scissors fob! It's heart shaped and done on pink Hardanger fabric with some leftover Needle Necessities floss that I had (great project for using up left over fabric and floss!) I used pre-made cording and for the first time ever, inserted a 2006 quarter to give it weight. Isn't it cute? I'll be making more of these!

Stash Enhancing

Unfortunately, this is all I have to post. More stash; no stitching!



Quaker Garden is calling my name! Check out Donna's blog; she has already started it!

My Quaker Exchange for Becky

First of all, thank you for your comments to my "dilemma". I appreciate your honesty. Knowing that others have experienced this too makes me feel better. I think I've decided to start over - I'd like to do it on 36 count with one strand of floss over two - I'm going to check my fabric stash first.

Last week you saw that I received my Quaker Exchange from Becky. Coincidentally, I also had Becky's name and so I was stitching my gift for her! I was a tad bit nervous - not only was the first time I had ever stitched a Quaker motif, but it would also be the first time I had tried one of the required finishes. My motif was taken from the Beatrix Potter Sampler (which I had purchased a few weeks ago after seeing it on several blogs). This particular motif had "bees" incorporated in the design (appropriate for Becky - don't you think?)

We were to use purple fabric - I chose lavender bliss (32 ct Belfast) and use purple or yellow threads. I broke the rules a little bit - when I saw this Needle Necessities overdyed it was perfect for the fabric, so you'll see some pink, green and blue too. (Hopefully Becky will get a better picture of it - the fabric looks pink in my photos!)

We could finish as a scissors fob, needle book or a pinkeep. The design was too big for a scissors fob, so I decided to take a shot at the pinkeep. I followed Karen's directions posted on the SBEBB and they were quite easy to follow. I was quite pleased with my final project and Becky indicated that she was delighted with it!





(Becky- there's one pattern in this photo that you didn't receive because it didn't fit in the box. It's coming to you later this month!)

Dilemma

Have you ever started a piece, made significant progress on it, and then wished that you had done it another way?

Right now, I'm feeling that way about my DT Game Board Sampler. As my regular blog readers know, I started this piece in January (January 1 to be exact!). I am working it on the linen called for on the pattern - 25 count natural Dublin linen. The finished design size will be 192 stitches wide X 192 stitches long. If you are familiar with this piece, then you know that it finishes into the size of an actual game board.

I'm wishing that I had worked this on a smaller count fabric - perhaps 32 count or 36 count. It's unlikely that I would ever use it as a game board and I think it would be really fun to work up a smaller version of this - sort of a "mini game board".

Has this ever happened to you? Would it be silly if I started over? I could always pass the started piece on to another stitcher who would like to have the full size gameboard. Your thoughts?

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to my stitching friends! Hope you have a wonderful day however you choose to celebrate it!

Sorry for not being a more active blogger or stitcher this week. One of my other passions is singing and it has been a busy week for that. I sing in the choir at my church and we've had a number of rehearsals for the various Easter services. Last Sunday evening I sang at Evensong and now since Thursday, there's been a service every evening.

We will spend Easter at my mom's; she's a wonderful cook. My four brothers and their families will be there - unusual that we will all be together on the same holiday! Hopefully, my sister-in-law and I will be able to squeeze in a little stitching time after all the dishes are cleared.

Last evening, after I arrived home from church, I spent a couple of hours straightening up my stitching room - it needed it! Why is it that we experience such enjoyment from fingering our stash? I still have a few more things to put away this morning, but my WIPs are organized. While going through my patterns, I picked out designs for the Dog Days of Summer and For the Birds exchanges that I will be participating in on the U.S. Exchange Board. I also discovered a number of patterns that I didn't even remember that I had (how sad is that?)

It's going to be a beautiful spring day here in Minnesota - wherever you are, I hope you experience a delightful day. I'll be blogging and stitching more soon.

Lucky Me!

Look what I received in the mail today from Becky:




Becky received my name for the Quaker Exchange on the Exchange Place EZ-board. We had to stitch a quaker design on lavender linen with purple/yellow threads. Becky finished it off with some coordinating purple/yellow fabric into a needlebook. Isn't it lovely?

The special handmade gift from Becky was more than enough - yet she also sent me a Kreinik kit "Because Nice Matters" (I'll enjoy testing out those silk threads!) and sampler key chain designs from Milady's Needle. The Busy Bee self-stick notes will remind me of Becky each time I use them and I think the mini memo pad might be just right for making notes on stash to be purchased. I'm touched by Becky's generosity!

I'm in the process of putting the final touches on my Quaker exchange gift for ??? (can't tell - it's a secret). Hopefully by the weekend I'll be able to post an update on my project!

My Spring Exchange for Satomi Arrived

Satomi in Japan was the recipient of my SBEBB Spring Exchange and I received a message from her today indicating that it arrived safely! It took me a long time to decide on what design I should stitch and after going through all of my charts I came across this one by Lizzie Kate called Think Spring. I just happened to find the coordinating fabric by sheer coincidence! Satomi can either hang it on a door knob or use it as a pillow - her choice!

April Showers

Another rainy day here in Minnesota...but a good day for inside projects! Unfortunately, not all of them are good projects (like doing the laundry) but some of them are fun (like cleaning my computer/craft room). It's always fun to "finger" one's stash.

First, here's a picture of a project I started recently and worked on quite a bit over the past three days. It's the Quilt Time Sampler from Little House Needleworks - I've almost completed the middle section; now I have to stitch the two ends. This will be a gift for my sister-in-law when finished (she doesn't read my blog!)



March proved to be another challenging month for stitching - we just had a lot of other outside activities going on. Here's what I accomplished in March:

DT Game Board Sampler - stitched some letters and numbers (right border) and four more squares!

Apricot Elegance - almost done!

Spot of Spring - done!

Quarterly House Exchange and Spring Themed Exchange - done!

In addition to these, I completed the stitching on another Essy's Friends kit (just need to complete the finishing) and started a Danish Pulled Thread project (as part of a class at my LNS).

April's Stitching Goals are as follows:

DT Game Board Sampler - get back on track! Stitch two squares per week; Sundays with Bine - anyone else going to join us?

Spot of Summer - Thursdays with Katrina, Von, and Kath

Finish Apricot Elegance and Essy's Friends projects (started in March)

Quaker Exchange Gift (stitching is done - finish and mail by April 14)

Continue to work on Quilt Time Sampler and also, pull out a Hardanger WIP and try to finish...we'll see!

Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog recently! Your comments are greatly appreciated!

House Themed Exchange

When I started blogging late last summer, I quickly became acquainted with Becky and her exchange boards. I watched and was amazed at some of the beautiful stitched pieces being exchanged from one stitcher to another. I wanted to receive beautiful gifts like these too, but I was really scared that I might not be able to produce gifts equally as nice (my finishing experience is quite limited!) In January, I finally bit the bullet and joined two of Becky's exchange boards - the Stitching Bloggers Exchange Board and the Exchange Place.

Recently, the deadline passed for one of the exchanges I signed up for - the house themed exchange. The instructions were to stitch a house with a Spring theme and plant some flowers around it. Finishing instructions were stitcher's choice.

When I returned from my short vacation today, a package was waiting for me from Nancy in San Diego. She stitched a lovely pillow for me. The design is from a Darlene O'Steen sampler called "House Sampler". I love the colors and the fabric she used to frame the piece (it's a sampler fabric!) Along with her stitching she sent a notepad and some DMC floss. I'm just thrilled with this first exchange gift! Thank you Nancy!

Front of pillow:



Back of pillow:



While I was away, Laurie in Decorah received the house I stitched for her. I based my design on the Drawn Thread design "No Place Like Home" (with some modifications of course!)




This first exchange has been a great experience!