That Dirty Little "S" Word

"SNOW"

Mother Nature is busy again. On Wednesday, the high was 65 degrees and the sun was shining. Today, we've had somewhere in the neighborhood of about 10 inches of snow dumped on us. The first snowfall of the year and it is quite a doozy. The snow is wet and heavy; the kind that makes shoveling the driveway quite a chore. Navigating the roads earlier today weren't much fun either. It seems like even diehard Minnesotans forget how to drive in this stuff from one winter to the next. Well, I'm home for the evening and I'm planning to stay put!

Here are some winter pictures for you of the area in which we live. The last picture I took through my windshield as I was coming home this afternoon. Counting the months until Spring arrives!




Despite the snow, this morning I was out and about. My mother had signed up to participate in a church boutique not too far from where I live. I had offered to help her today and tomorrow morning. Those of you who follow my blog know that my mother is a tatter. She has been tatting since eight grade; her eighth grade teacher (a benedictine nun) taught her how to do it and she has been tatting ever since (she's 78 years young.)

Here's a picture of her at her table. She has two small Christmas trees on either end of the table filled with white tatted ornaments. On the table, we had more ornaments, some tatted bookmarks and some tatted crosses.




Wouldn't it be cool to have a tree adorned with just white tatted ornaments?




We had a few other little handmade things that we sold too. Unfortunately, the weather took it's toll on the boutique -- since the driving was so bad, very few people ventured out today. There weren't very many shoppers! Maybe tomorrow morning will be better.

Well, I have more to share but will save my other stories for tomorrow! Happy Stitching!

It's Ornament Season!

Greetings friends! Just a quick midweek post for you -- while watching the CMA awards tonight (or maybe I should say "listening to" the CMA awards tonight), I finished up a couple of ornaments.

This little cutie from Country Cottage Needleworks can be found in the 2007 issue of the JCS Ornament magazine. Now, I'm not a fan of "big" ornaments, so I did not stitch the outside border, just the design inside. As you can see, I then finished it up with a little ruched ribbon around the outside. It's really cute. (Now don't get the idea that I am a speed stitcher, I actually starting stitching this one last year and never finished it.) Stitched on miscellaneous 28 ct linen from my stash with DMC threads.



I also finished up these cute little hardanger angels. They aren't very big, maybe 2.5 inches tall and not more than two inches wide. I will be making more of these for Christmas gifts.



Well, I wish I had more to share with you. If only I had more time for stitching. Maybe this weekend. A girl can dream, right? :)

Have a great evening!

A Purple Peacock for the Purple Peacock

Hello friends! Just a quickie post as I need to get moving and off to work!

Last Friday was Jill's birthday! My package was a bit late in getting to her, but it did eventually arrive and in it was this purple peacock that I had stitched for her! The pattern is in this year's JCS ornament magazine (page 23). It is from the Courtney Collection and it is called Holiday Peacock. I stitched mine on Picture This Plus "Shale" (36 ct I think) using Belle Soie Plush Plum. I ruched a coordinating colored ribbon along the outside with small purple sead beeds. Jill can use it as an ornament or a pinkeep - whatever she likes! Hope you had a great birthday Jill!



Not much else to share - I've been traveling some, so that means that I am reading. Here are two more books for you to consider. The first book is new needlework mystery (similar to the Monica Ferris series). It was an easy read - The Quick and The Thread by Amanda Lee. Sounds like she has book two coming out early next year.



I also read the third book in the series from Marie Bostwick. This is not a mystery, just fiction and the story centers around the people associated with Cobble Court Quilts in the small town of New Bern, CT. If you like the Jennifer Chiaverini books, you would enjoy reading this series.



That's it for me - I gotta run! Have a great day - do some stitching!

Happy Halloween!

The ghosts and goblins made their visits this evening. It's hard to believe that October has come to a close.

I haven't been blogging very much lately, but I have been stitching! Here are some of the projects I have been working on.

Hands to Work - This is the Day -- it's not finished yet, but it's close. I just have to do the filling stitches in the box at the top (around the alphabet). I'm not looking forward to filling that box in, but it will be gorgeous when finished! (Sorry, I did not take time to press this one!) Stitched on WDW Cappucino with recommended WDW/GAST fibers.



Mary Garry - Forget Me Not -- last week I was itching to stitch something that would be an easy finish. I pulled this one out of my collection of Mary Garry samplers. It's stitched with DMC on a miscellaneous piece of 28 ct linen from my stash. I think I will finish this as a pillow next time I have a finishing day. (I took a picture of this sampler on top of the quilt in the next picture - the color of the linen is cream, but it looks somewhat multicolored...which it's not.)



Last up -- another quilt. This is another one that my daughter started about 5 or so years ago. She did the rail fence blocks and put them all together. I added the borders for her and hired Joan to do the quilting for me. This will make a nice wallhanging or tabletopper.



Before I go, here's a picture of our pumpkin which my daughter carved when she was home last weekend. It sat on our front step and greeted the little goblins who visited tonight!



Happy Halloween!

On the Home Stretch

Hello stitching buddies! How's your weekend going? We are having some beautiful fall weather here in Minnesota this weekend. Hope that wherever you are it's beautiful there too!

I have a progress picture to share with you -- I've been working on This is the Day (Hands to Work, Just Cross Stitch magazine, February 2009). On the home stretch now. Just have to finish the alphabet at the top, the personalization in the box and do the filling stitches. Doesn't she look gorgeous? Rich colors!



As with my other posts this month, I want to include something pink. Just a reminder that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. A few weeks ago when Joan and I were out gallavanting around town we stopped at a bead store. I bought this pin and the beads/charm and then assembled it myself!




Enjoy the rest of your day. Have a good week. Happy Stitching!

Oh My Gosh ... Thank You!

Wow, I couldn't believe all the comments about my Three Crows finish! Thank you. Now, the fabric on the back....I've had it for at least 3 or 4 years. I pop into quilt shops every now and then and if I find something that might work well for needlework finishing, I will pick up a fat quarter or two. This fabric is from Red Rooster and the line is called "Cottage Garden" by Whimsicals. It looks like it might still be available in flannel. I also googled and found a site that is still selling the cotton fabric here. I'm seeing some other fabric lines from Red Rooster with cute prints for finishing too!

Now, as for the Three Crows pattern, sadly this one is OOP. I borrowed it from a friend last year so that I could stitch up this design because I loved it. Once in awhile it will pop up on eBay. Good luck to you if you are trying to find it. I don't think that Anne reprinted this one....

Today, I thought I'd share with you my recent WIPs. I dug the Jenny Bean Halloween Sampler out of hiding. Started this one last year and then put it away as Halloween passed and I moved on to stitching for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I stitched on this the past two nights and added most of the alphabet. Not bad for 2 hours of work!



Last weekend I was itching to stitch something from Blackbird, so I started Autumn Song. This is a loose feathers design from a couple of years ago. I made a good start on it.



Before I let you go today, I'd like to leave you with something "pink". I can't seem to locate the item I wanted to show you, so will save that one for next time. Below is another Blackbird project bag that Joan stitched up for me - I love this wine color, don't you? On top are some of the Essy friends (Elegant Stitch) pink stitches that I finished a few years ago. I like to take them out and admire them at this time of the year.



Isn't the fabric on this inside of the bag beautiful?



Recognize the sampler that's printed on this fabric? If you dig way back on the Blackbird blog you will find a link to the freebie chart for this design!



I think Joan may still have some of this sampler fabric left if you are interested in purchasing a bag from her. You can link to her email from her profile in her blog.

That's all I have for you today -- thanks for stopping by!

Another Finish and Some More Hardanger

I have one more finish to share from Sunday's finishing frenzy. This pincushion wasn't quite finished when I posted the other photos. The design is from Godde Huswife and its called Three Crows; I stitched this quite some time ago. The finish is ala Blackbird designs - an oversized pincushion filled with crushed walnut shells. You can't really see it, but there is small black rick rack stitched along the seams to finish it off. It's really cute!




And, something pink for today's post - here are some hardanger crosses that I've stitched recently. These are great for using up bits and pieces of leftover linen and perle cotton thread.



After my post about Marie Bostwick's books, Marie L (no blog) emailed me about this book. I found a copy at my local bookstore and am reading it right now. So far, I like it very much! The book is called How to Knit a Love Song by Rachael Herron. Thanks for emailing me with this recommendation Marie!



Will write more soon. Thanks for stopping by!

And Now...Some Stitching

Today has been a productive day! I didn't have too much going on and so it seemed like the perfect day for some finishing. Here are two of the projects that I finished. Both are finished as pillows with a wire hanger; they can be hung from a cabinet or door knob.

This first one is a Halloween design from Mary Garry - it's in one of the Seasonal Mementos leaflets.



Second one is a Lizzie Kate design ...



Funny story -- I gave this Lizzie Kate finish to Joan. Let's just say I was a little mixed up though. We recently participated in a LHN exchange with the Friends Through Threads group. Joan never received her LHN exchange. (The person who was stitching for her just never sent anything nor did she acknowledge the exchange she received. She's still posting on Facebook and occasionally posts on her blog. I just don't understand how some people don't follow through on their commitments - not even a note to say I'm sorry!) But I digress...anyway, I've felt bad for quite sometime now that Joan didn't receive anything on this exchange. So I gave her this Lizzie Kate finish. Lizzie Kate, LHN -- they are kind of the same? Both begin with an "L" right? :)

Here's some other stitching that I have been doing lately -- all Hardanger:





And let me finish off this post with something pink (or mostly pink!)

October Reads

I just recently finished two books written by Marie Bostwick. I was not familiar with her novels and just happened to see an advertisement in a recent quilt magazine with information on her latest novel. While searching for more information on this new release, I discovered that there were two other books in the series that I should read first.

Both stories are pertinent as October is not only Breast Cancer Awareness month but also Domestic Violence Awareness month. In the first book, A Single Thread, the quilt shop owner is diagnosed with breast cancer on the day she opens her new shop.



The second book, A Thread of Truth, tells the story of a woman who has been physically abused by her husband but finds strength and receives support from her friends at the quilt shop.



I haven't located a copy of the third book yet, A Thread so Thin, but I am anxious to read it! If you enjoyed reading the quilt series of books by Jennifer Chiaverini, you will like these books from Marie Bostwick.

Promise that I'll have some stitchy pictures soon...

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The month of October started a day early - yesterday, we welcomed the Delta Pink Plane at the MSP airport! The flight originated in Atlanta, stopped in Detroit and then ended it's day in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Onboard were 100 Delta employees who are all breast cancer survivors. We have been celebrating "pink" all week at work with pink lemonade, pink cupcakes, and pink T-shirt sales. There were even mammogram screenings available to those employees who hadn't one. Interesting fact - Delta Air Line employees have raised/donated over 2.5 million dollars to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation over the past five years.

More information about the pink plane can be found here.

More Framing and a Finish

I had a couple more pieces framed recently; this time at JoAnn's during their 60% off sale. I've decided that I like their frame selection better than Michael's; they did a nice job framing these pieces.

First up is Lakeside Lodge from LHN. I stitched this quite awhile ago - maybe 2005 or 2006; would have to dig really deep in the blog archives to know for sure!

I just stitched this one last year - it's a Mary Garry design called Peace. I love the frame for this one!



Last but not least, a Mary Garry piece that I stitched earlier this year - When I was Young and in My Prime:



And, there's been a bit of stitching going on around here too. I started this last Sunday and stitched my way all week through to a finish watching the season premieres for my favorite TV shows!

Blackbird Designs
Loose Feathers #15
Sunflower Charms
32 ct R&R Korty's Special Blend
WDW/GAST Fibers

Off to a booya now! See you later!

Disappearing Act

Hello dear friends and fellow stitchers! I didn't mean to disappear on you like that. It's just been a busy time. I have been keeping up with my blog reading and have done a fair amount of stitching; I just haven't had the time to keep up with my blog. Will try to rectify that now with a couple of updates for you!

One project on my to-do list was to finish up a quilt that my daughter had pieced together a couple of years ago. She got the idea that she wanted to take some of her old basketball t-shirts and make a quilt with them. We went shopping for fabrics (she likes bright colors) and we purchased some stabilizer for the t-shirt blocks. She then spent a couple of days putting the top together. When she was finished it went into box and there it sat for about 2 or 3 years now.

As you might remember, she went off to college in August. I decided that I wanted to surprise her by finishing off her quilt. With help from my friend Joan, we went shopping last weekend for backing fabric and for the batting. Joan did the quilting for me and put the binding on; I finished the hand sewing of the binding. Here are some pictures of my daughter's finished quilt!




My daughter personalized the quilt by transferring some photos of herself playing basketball onto fabric:



I also like this saying which she added to her quilt:



My daughter is home from college this weekend. Was she ever surprised to find her finished quilt waiting for her on her bed!

On the stitching front, I've been working on some Hardanger pieces lately. I have a doily that I'm almost finished with and have stitched up a few Hardanger crosses. I've been trying to use up some of the fabric scraps and small amounts of overdyed perle cotton threads I have in my stash.

One project that I thoroughly enjoyed doing again is this beautiful Cindy Valentine Hardanger scissors and needlecase. My friend Judy celebrated a birthday recently. She's been very good to me in the past year and I wanted to do something special for her birthday.

The case folds up in thirds; there's a matching scissor fob for the scissors:



Here's the outside of the case:



Here's the inside of the case; it's lined with dupioni silk:



As I mentioned, this is a Cindy Valentine design. It's called Apricot Elegance as the model was done on Apricot cashel. For the one I stitched above, I used Lakeside Linens 28 ct Bittersweet lined. The fibers were from Needle Necessities. It's pretty don't you think?

If you are interested, you can visit this older post from June of 2006 to see a picture of the needlecase I made for myself in a soft mint green! Click here.

Finally, check out this wonderful stitching portfolio that Joan made! We were out and about a few weeks ago and found this great Blackbird Designs fabric. I like the alphabet fabric on the outside; the inside is lined with coordinating Blackbird Designs fabric. It's large enough to hold some of my BBD books.




Joan has made more and is selling them. If you are interested, please be sure to visit her blog. There is a link to her email address in her profile.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Need to do a little shopping with my daughter this afternoon and then we're planning to grill a delicious meal for supper tonight.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are enjoying your weekend!