An Exchange and Wonderful Stitching Friends!

Today my mailbox runneth over! It's been a busy week at work so far, so I was happy to come home to lots of mail today.

Let's start with the exchange first - I participated in the USEBB Eye of the Needle exchange. This exchange was dedicated to our love of stitching. Nancy had my name and stitched this beautiful pinkeep for me. The design is from Mary Garry. The fabric is perfect for this exchange! She also sent me this cute little ort bag - the outside fabric has frogs in the design. Hopefully I won't be doing too much frogging! There were a few other goodies enclosed - a fat quarter of fabric, some ribbon and some stickers. A wonderful exchange - thank you Nancy!




Now, let's talk about my stitching friends Barbara and Carol! We'll start with Carol - she sent me this lovely pin pillow for my birthday. The design is from Plum Pudding Needlearts and it is called Blessed Be. Beautifully stitched and finished by Carol!

And Barbara has been a dear friend since I first discovered this online stitching world. She sent gifts for my birthday and Christmas. This little ornament is called The Gift and is a design from The Needle's Prayse. The pillow is a design called Reindeer Garden from Threads Through Time.

Wonderful gifts from wonderful friends!

I'm hoping that my Little House Needlework exchange will arrive soon at its destination. It had a ways to travel.

I forgot to share that I spent last Friday night out stitching with a nice grup of ladies - they get together every Friday night and invited me to join them. We talked and stitched and stitched and talked. Midway through the evening we took a short break for supper and then we stitched and talked some more! It was a fun time. If you have a chance, please visit Joan's blog. She just joined the blogging community recently, but has been stitching for a long time. This little group met at her house on Friday night.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Another Exchange Received...

I heard from Simone today that the Autumn Exchange (Seasonal Exchangers) package that I sent to her arrived! The piece I stitched for her is from Homespun Elegance and it is called "Delivering Harvest". I finished it as a flat fold. Of course, I sent other goodies too, I just never take pictures of them! Be sure to visit Simone's blog, her pictures are better!



Of the three exchanges I mailed last Saturday, two have been received. Just one more to go now!

Happy Friday!

The morning after...yes, we enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast yesterday - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots, wild rice, gravy, pumpkin pie....my mother cooked a delicious meal and for that we are all thankful!

I'm thankful too for all the great stitching friends I have made online since I started this blog a little more than two years ago!

Today I'm at home, enjoying a day off of work. I have lots to do - I have a newsletter to put together for EGA, a couple more exchanges to finish, well, and then there's always the laundry and other housework (it never ends!) It's still good to be at home!

Goldie sent me a note yesterday advising that she had received the Eye of the Needle exchange piece that I had stitched for her. I really liked the piece but was at a loss for how I wanted to finish it. I ended up finishing it as a pillow. Goldie also received some charts from her wishlist.

Mary Garry's Sew & Sew:

Finally - Something to Post!

I know, I know! It's been a long time since I last posted. I've just been so busy working on exchanges that I really had nothing to share. The tide will be turning though -- I'm mailing three exchange packages tomorrow: Eye of the Needle, Specific Designer (LHN), and Seasonal Exchange (Autumn). I must say that I really liked all three items that I stitched and finished; it was very difficult packaging them to send away. My consolation is that they are going to good homes! Hopefully I'll be able to share some pictures with you soon.

I do have one picture -- my Fair and Square blocks arrived from Tuula on Saturday! When Tuula asked me what she should stitch on her square, I suggested a Finnish design. On the block she sent me, Tuula stitched a cap that is typically worn by reindeer owners in Lapland. Along with the square, she sent some mittens knitted with a traditional Lapland pattern. I love them! Finally, she also sent a calendar with beautiful pictures of Finland. I will be reminded of our friendship each time I look at it! Thank you Tuula!

She Shops, She Scores!

Yes, I feel like I scored big time today. My SIL and I visited our favorite needlework store on the other side of the Twin Cities today. We hadn't been there in awhile, and I managed to get out of there without spending too much money!

On our way home we decided to check out another store. This shop has lots of yarn and offers knitting classes, but is now under new management and they are going to try to include more needlework supplies. In the back room, on the floor, underneath the shelves of linen fabric were two boxes of counted cross stitch patterns (left from the old owners I think!) Now my SIL and I love to dig through clearance bins and old patterns, so we started flipping through the stack.

I thought I died and went to heaven -- I found some old Prairie Schooler charts that I liked after seeing them on a blog (and purchased off of Ebay!) #74 The 12 Days of Christmas, #62 Kris Kringle, and #20 St. Nicholas! And the piece de la resistance....Raspberry Girl Sampler from Mary Garry! Needless to say, this little stop made my day!



Sorry for the dark photos, it's kind of hard to get a decent photo at this time of night! Talk to you soon!

Cleaning House

I've decided that I have way too much stuff! Too many patterns, too much fabric, too many threads! I was cleaning through some of my charts tonight. The following are available to anyone who wants them (you can pick and choose if you want!) The majority of these charts have never been stitched and are in good condition.

Heart in Hand
-Wee Santa '97
-Wee Santa 2005

Hillside Samplings
-House Samplings

I'm not asking for any payment, but perhaps you would consider a contribution towards postage, depending on what you would like and where it is going to! Please send me an email if you are interested. Thanks!