Monday, January 30, 2012

New chart from iStitch......

My dear friend Carol has designed up a new chart called Sew I Love You.  You can buy the chart here.  I've already sent mine and hope to get it soon.  I just LOVE Valentines Day, any xstitch chart with hearts for the most part and this little one looks to stitch up quickly!  Now.....to find the time to do that to have.  And what a great price for a chart for $5 that you can pay via paypal and get it sent directly to  your computer! 

Cross stitching was minimal in my house this weekend.  I had that formal on Friday to go to, and Sat was spent with my daughter as our mommy/daughter date.  We went to see the movie "One For the Money" which was just hilarious and then to lunch at Freddy's Hamburgers.  Then it was back home for her to do homework and I started stitching on the SB 2012 Scissor fob.   I finished stitching the front of it and now am working on the backside.

So.....you know what that means????   I will have to make one day for complete finishing of several SB fobs.  I promise to show you them. 

Now.....I'm off to spend time with my son since I had to take him to the dr today for a bad cough.  The dr said she had seen most her patients this a.m. with the same thing.  So he is to rest for the remainder of the day and go back to school tomorrow.

Happy Stitching.......

Friday, January 27, 2012

New cross stitch kits stash.....

Woohoo.....all xstitchers love NEW stash!  That is what I got in the mail directly from Shepherd's Bush today.  I saw on there website recently their newest kits and I just could NOT live without 2 of them.  So I just called them up and ordered them.  But while I was ordering, I needed to add their Scaredy Sheep Fob to my stash as well.  Why not??  I was already paying postage so one more little kit wasn't going to matter anyway. 

Here is what I ordered from Shepherd's Bush. 

2012 Scissor Fob kit, Poor Robin's Pincushion, and Scaredy Sheep Fob kit



I hope to start the 2012 scissor fob tomorrow.  I will try to hurry and stitch it up so I can be using it all year long!

Here is my first ornament for the year that I stitched on Jan 1 at the Attic's New Year's Stitch In.  This chart is JBW French Country Hearts II oranment that I stitched in 1 1/2hrs.  Who couldn't do that to make an ornament?  I did this for my ornament exchange last yeat and also framed it in a minature frame from Michaels.  See posts below for more details on that one.  But I had this frame, also from Michael's, that I framed this one up in.  Yes...I know it covers part of the words at the top but it is for me and I don't mind. 



I have also finished LHN Baked Goods from Diane's 2011 ornament that was released last year but I never got around to it.  This one will be for my mom but I'll show you the final product when I do the finishing work for it.  Maybe this weekend will be a "finishing weekend". 

That is all I have for now. 

Happy Stitching

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

New start for me today....

Yes I can't stand it anymore....I'm going to start my SB Peace and Plenty pincushion that I bought when I went to the Dyeing To Stitch retreat last October.  I hope to finish today since it is just a pincushion and looks relatively simple. 

I finished sewing my top and skirt for me to wear to a formal this Friday night with my husband.  It is plum colored satin that thankfully I had in my fabric stash already.  I only needed to buy lining fabric for the top, buttons, thread and a zipper for the skirt.  I love the color as I had picked it out shopping online when we lived in Germany. 

So my reward to myself today is starting this SB pincushion.  I finish the SB scissor fob I blogged about before but sad to say....I've not done the finishing work on it of assembling it.  I think I will take one day next week to finish up all these little smalls and then have some more pictures to show you.

My other big project MBT The Lord's Prayer is coming along nicely.  This is the one I'm doing with the Becky Bees BOP contest.  See the post below what I'm talking about.  I'm enjoying it and I did pick up more silk on Sunday when I was at the Attic to have on hand.....just in case I run out with what I have now. 

Until another time.......HAPPY STITCHING!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Best Friend's late xmas gift.....

Yeah....I can post pictures of this now that Karen has received her box.  This box was done from the iStitch Mystery SAL but this was the 2nd one I did.  The first one I xstitched for myself but still need to assemble onto the box.  Karen is my one of my best friends and this was to be her 2012 xmas present.  We came up with the idea to xstitch something for the other person that was not xmas related for our xmas presents and then on our birthdays, we xstitch up an ornament or something xmasy to give to the other person.  That way when Christmas comes around that year we already have the xmas ornament ready to hang on the tree and enjoy the entire holiday season.

I had this all xstitched up before xmas but did not get to the finishing work of assembling it on top of the box and the inside pincushions.  I finally got it done and mailed out to her last week and she just called to say that she got it in the mail today.  YEAH!  She understood about me not getting it to her before xmas as she is finishing up mine as well.  I'm so thankful she loved it though. 


And here is the inside of the box:



You can still purchase the iStitch Sew a Mystery chart here.  It stitches up soooo quickly and it does make a great gift to someone.

Happy Stitching.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Best friend Kimberly's b-day gift...

Yeah I can post this picture now of BBD Waiting For the Harvest.  I stitched this pincushion up for my best friend and sent it along with several other goodies for her to enjoy!  Kimberly is the one who went with me to the Dyeing To Stitch Retreat in VA Beach and while at the Dyeing To Stitch store, I asked her about the chart.  It sooooo looked like what she would like and so ..... I just casually asked her if she liked it.  I went with the chart colors and fabric .... which were Kimberly's colors.  She loves antique things and what a great opportunity it was for me to "inquire" what she thought about it.  hehe   Sneaky ...I know!




The back is WDW Herringbone wool felt.  It is filled with the crushed walnut shells that BBD recommends.  She loved it along with the other presents I sent.

Happy Stitching everyone.  I'm still working on my mom's ornament so I hope to have that to share soon too!

Friday, January 13, 2012

More stitching....and a finish

YEAHH!  I finished my SB Harmony Scissor Fob that I started yesterday on my "day off".  When I finished stitching both the front and back sides, I started on LHN Baked Goods ornament from her 2011 ornament series.  No....I didn't finish it.  I hope to get my scissor fob totally finished up this weekend but we'll see how it goes.  We have some family activities planned so I'm not sure if I will get into my sewing room to do the finishing work on the fob.  I do the finishing on the sewing machine and not by hand except for hand sewing the ribbon around the edges but I PROMISE to show a picture of it when I do.  I just wanted to share that I had accomplished what I set out to yesterday.  I meant to write all this yesterday but again...still trying to stay off the computer.

Ok....back to stitching now on "Baked Goods"!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A day off and a new start....

Have you ever given yourself a day off?  I try to occasionally but sometimes my "day off" ends up running an errand for my children, the house or I end up doing laundry anyway thus ending in not really a day of per say.  Today I decided I am NOT doing any chores, running any errands, cleaning anything on the house.  This is to be MY DAY to do whatever I choose to do.

I choose to START A NEW PROJECT!  hehe  This one is small and it is a Shepherd's Bush scissor fob from my retreat last Oct that I went to with Dyeing To Stitch in VA Beach with my best friend.  We took the SB class and the Shakespeare's Peddler class track.  I bought two small kits of SB that was "retreat exclusive".  One kit was for a small scissor fob to attach to the new pink polka dot scissors that came out this summer.  I received the pink polka dot scissors as a birthday gift from a dear friend so of course....I had to have the scissor fob for them.  Who wants naked scissors?   The other small kit was the matching pincushion.  Both the pincushion and scissor fob coordinate with the SB retreat project.  I promise to show the finished product here soon. 

So now I'm going to try and stay OFF the computer as we all know how we can spend and waste too much time looking at this or that online.  I don't play internet games so that is never my downfall.  I just like to read other stitchers blogs and see what is all new out there in the cross stithing world. 

Happy stitching to you and to myself today!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Pic of my new start.....

Ok....as I posted in my last post that I was going to start a new project for Becky Bee's contest and that was going to be My Big Toe The Lord's Prayer.  I did start it on Sat afternoon and managed to get some serious stitching in that afternoon.  Then I was able to xstitch some more on it yesterday (Sunday).  This is the pic of the work from both day's.  I've not had a chance to xstitch any at all today due to other circumstances but I hope to be able to squeeze a little bit of time in later on tonight.


I apologize for the wrinkles but I wanted to post a pic of what I've gotten accomplished for two 1/2 days worth of xstitching time.  I wished it had been more but maybe that will happen this Thursday.  I'll keep you posted though and I thank you for following my progress on this huge project!  As my daughter gently reminded me, it is not as difficult as my Mystic Stitch Jesus Walking on Water or Examplars From the Heart Resurrection pieces.  I just love her encouragement for me on this project and she is sooooo right!  Both of those projects also went to my husband which this one will also go to my husband as well!

I will need to squeeze in a little time at night to work on my Ornament of the Month which I need to get a sign up for on  my blog somewhere and soon!  I have already done 1 ornament for this year already and have started another which will go to my mom for xmas this year.   So please keep checking back and see what I come up with for my Ornament SAL.

Happy Stitching

Saturday, January 7, 2012

A new project start......

Today I am going to start on My Big Toe The Lord's Prayer.  This is my project for Becky Bee's BAP contest she is having.  See my post farther down on my blog for complete details of what the requirements are.

I am stitching it on 32ct Vintage Country Grain Belfast linen using Soie d'Alger silks in blue 1436 and a red in 946.  I will be stitching one strand over 2 threads on this linen and I hope to have some progress pictures here sometime this next week.

I get sooooo excited about starting a new project and this one is a project I've wanted to do for a long time now.  What better way to get it done than particpating in someone else's contest! 

Happy Stitching!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Stitching......

So what are you stitching on these days???  I'm working on my xmas ornaments for this coming year.  Well at least I am when I'm feeling good.  The past few days I haven't felt too good thanks to some fatigue from my MS.  That's ok.  I've spent quality time with my husband and children and reading Janet Evanovich Explosive Eighteen book at night.

During the day, when I am feeling like stitching, I am working on some ornaments for this coming Christmas.  I did finish my first one on New Year's Day but need to put it into the actual ornament hanger I had bought from Michael's last year.  I also started LHN Baked Goods.  I'm thinking of giving that one to my mom.  The other thing I'm thinking of stitching is for one of my best friends but I can't reveal what that is yet because she reads my blog.  I also have another finish to share with you once I mail the "other" finish to my other best friend as part of her Christmas present. 

Now....I'm back to stitching because I'm feeling really good today and I have to get as much done on those days as possible.  Keep checking back as I hope to share some other pics.

Here are a few to tide you over til I get the other presents to their respective owners.  These were Christmas ornaments to family this past year.

My dad's xmas ornament front pic:


My dad's ornament backside pic:


My mom's front side pic:


My mom's backside ornament pic:


My MIL PS ornament......which is a first as I have never stitched for her.


My MIL ornament backside:


I just love how I was able to find such great matching fabrics for the backside of the ornaments.

Here is another finish for a dear sweet stitching friend.
CCN Merry Christmas from the 2011 JCS ornament magazine.  Pat and I are pink fanatics so I HAD to stitch this one for her this year.  Now to get me one stitched as well.


And I forgot to take a pic of the great matching fabric for the backside so when I get mine finished, I'll be sure to take a pic of it to share with you.

For one of my best friend's Christmas present, I stitched her this PS ornament from The Gift of Stitching online magazine.  No....I can't remember which issue it came from at this very moment.  If you must know, please leave a comment to ask.  This one is for Kimberly who loves PS designs!



Now for my other best friend's xmas gift, I will have to show you here soon.  I just did the "finishing work" for it.  I will tell you though it was the iStitch Mystery SAL made into a box in her colors to match her bedroom.
That's all for now.  I'm off to xstitch some.

Monday, January 2, 2012

A new challenge.....

Oooo I sometimes love a good challenge in my stitching.  I was reading Becky Bee's Stitching Blog.  You can find her link on the side link of my blog.  Becky is having this BAP challenge for 2012 and I signed up for it!

Becky's requirements:
The Design size must be at least 10 x 12 (that will roughly be in the neighborhood of 175 x 200 stitch count. The design can be larger but must meet the minimum requirement of 10 x 12. (if size differs due to stitching it over 1 but still meets the stitch count requirement that is acceptable.

So my project is going to be My Big Toe The Lord's Prayer.  I have the fabric already and the threads are on their way to me this week.  The stitch count is 240w x 392h so it definitely meets the requirements.  I've wanted to do this chart for the longest time and now I have the motivation to get it done.  The prize for the winner will be a $100 gift certificate to the ONS of Becky's choice.  Ooooo think of all the stash a stitcher could buy with that!

Now....if ONLY I had the threads I could go ahead and start on it right away.  We have to publish our WIP photos to our blog or email them directly to her to show her we are stitching it.  So look for the upcoming WIP photos and wish me luck!!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Years Day......

Happy New Year's Day today!  We went to church this morning and then I came home to hurry and eat lunch because I was going to go to my cross stitch shop for a stitch-in!  And I'm soooo glad because I had A LOT OF FUN!

I started on my 1st ornament of the year and COMPLETED the stitching there at the shop today.  I started AND FINISHED the JBW French Country Hearts II Noel heart shaped ornament today.  It normally takes me 1 1/2hrs to stitch the entire design but you know how it is when you are laughing and talking with other stitchers! 

Next I started on LHN Baked Goods ornament from 2011 LHN Ornament series.  I got some stitching done on it before I left to come home.  I hope to have this one completed in the next day or so and then I will finish it into the ornament in hopes of showing the ladies at the shop during the Thursday night stitch time!

I hope you've had a wonderful day and started your New Year off right!  I just hope the rest of my year is filled with many hours of stitching and completed projects.