Redwork Exchange for Terry

Terry received my Redwork exchange today. I stitched this freebie and finished it into a biscornu. I used DMC 115 on some white fabric. I fell in love with this one as I was stitching it and had a hard time parting with it.



I have been working on the backstitching on Woodland Faerie so I don't have any real progress pictures to show. I finished the backstitching on the outside border and now I am working on the blue/purple flowers on the inner border. Let me just say...There is a LOT of backstitching on this pattern!

The second week of school and things are already back to the normal chaotic household. The thing I detest most about going back to school is the germs! Wednesday Mike was sick and ended up staying home only because he kept throwing up. Today I had to go pick Krissy up from school because she had started throwing up. Who will it strike next?! Hopefully, not me!

With the household full of queasy stomachs, I am not making any plans for this weekend. The only thing I have planned is taking the kids to the library in the morning to check out books. That is, if Krissy feels like it and the other 2 haven't become sick.

Have a great weekend!

August/September Goals

August Goals:


1. Mail Monochromatic exchange
*Yep, mailed and received.

2. Mail Redwork Exchange
*Yep, mailed out

3. Mail Tin Topper Exchange
*Yep, mailed out

4. Mail the last 3 My Gifts
*Yep, mailed and received.

5. Mail RAK's (in place of PIF's)
*Yep, mailed out 3 and received.

6. Start and finish Britty Puppy Stocking for Krissy.
*Yep, Started and Finished

7. Work on Geisha
*Yep, finished her!!

8. Work on Above the Clouds
*yep, Finished him!!

9. Start on Halloween Exchange for the EPBB.
*yep, finished and waiting to be mailed.

10. Start on Halloween Exchange for the SBEBB.
*Yep, finished and waiting to be mailed.

I did pretty good this month!


September Goals

1. Start/Finish Mac or Allie stocking

2. Mail out Halloween exchanges

3. Work on Woodland Faerie

4. Start a new project.

Problem with meeting all my goals is now I don't have a lot of goals for September!

Krissy's Stocking

It has been another crazy week for me so last night when I put the last stitches in the Britty Puppy Stocking I was really dancing...lol! Krissy loves it and want to go looking this weekend for finishing fabric. We might do that but I won't get around to the finishing as I STILL need to order the charms. Yes, I am a procrastinator...lol.


Have a good day:)

Monochromatic Exchagne

Yesterday afternoon I received my Monochromatic exchange from Catherine-Michele. Isn't it lovely?! I just love the little kitties:) She also sent me a skein of Needle Necessities. It's a variegated greens, blues and purples. All my favorite colors! Thank you so very much Catherine-Michele!!






Remember the floss I ran out of and had to go pick up? Well, after I got settled in to stitch what did I realize? I picked up the wrong color! I got 935 instead of 396.....grrr. I went ahead and finished everything else that needed to be stitched. I had to run in town this morning so I went ahead and picked up the right floss this time! I see a happy dance in the next day or so:)

Puppies

I actually have some stitching progress to show! I worked on Britty Puppy Saturday night and yesterday. I probably would have stitched on it until the wee hours of the morning but I ran out of both 936 and 3371. The only stitching (besides missing colors) left is the name banner.

I finally got everything to start on my Halloween exchanges. I had the patterns picked out and a finishing technique in mind but I needed the finishing fabric. Since I needed to pick up the DMC floss I figured I should go ahead and pick up some fabric. Hopefully, the exchange pieces turn out as cute as I have it in my mind!

Thank you for your comment on my stash:) I have to admit Angel of the Morning is the one that seems to be standing out the most to me.

Have a good day!

More Stash for Me

I stopped by my LNS yesterday but I was having way too much fun fondling my new stash to post it yesterday. I originally just stopped by to see if my Topaz Fairy pattern had arrived but it hasn't yet. I just couldn't leave without buying at least one thing. Well, one thing turned into 10 patterns and a fat quarter of linen. LOL! Actually, the owner of the LNS, had put together some grab bags and had this one held back for me. Now, how's that for customer service:) Here is the best part....it only cost me ten dollars for the whole set!!

top row

1. Butterfly Fairy-Mirabillia

2. Christmas Wishes-Mirabillia

3. Secret Santa-Lavender and Lace

4. Gift of Piece-Lavender and Lace

5. Children's Garden-Butternut Road

bottom row

1. Angel of Dreams-Lavender and Lace

2. Angel of the Morning-Lavender and Lace

3. Angel of the Sea-Lavender and Lace

4. Guardian Angel-Lavender and Lace

5. Angel of Grace-Lavender and Lace

I also bought a fat quarter of opalescent linen. With 10 new patterns I had to have more linen so my total for the came up to thirty dollars. Not too, shabby!

Sadly, no stitching for me yet today. Notice I say yet...that is because I AM going to stitch on something tonight!

Have a great night:)

Gift for Anne

Anne let me know this morning that her gift I sent her arrived. I am sure you are all tired of seeing these little fobs but I just love stitching them!

I have not picked up any stitching today. I have been so busy this week that I am behind in everything from laundry to grocery shopping. I did get a package mailed today and a little of the grocery shopping done but the laundry is just gonna have to wait till tomorrow. Five people can sure produce a lot of dirty laundry!

Yesterday FIL decided to take me to breakfast which was a nice thought. However, after the food was served I took 3 bites of the biscuits and gravy that I ordered and quickly decided I did not like it. I silently thought to myself that my puppy dog was going to have a nice treat. So, I got a "to go" box and saved it for Girly. When I got home and gave it to her and she wouldn't even eat it and she isn't picky about her food either! Now, if a dog won't even eat it that is BAD! FIL wants to take me to lunch on Friday and I hope this time it will be edible.

I didn't get a lot of stitching done last night. Usually I like to stitch after the kids have gone to bed but last night my neck was hurting so I knew that I would end up making mistakes and decided to stop while I was ahead.


I should get to stitch a good amount today since Mike has the day off and all he wants to do is catch up on some much needed sleep. He has been working 10 hours and a day 6 days a week. He is supposed to have Thursdays off but they have been extremely short handed so he has had to work on Thursdays. This has been going on for about 2 months and he is has been a walking zombie. So, while I let him sleep today I will be content to stitch quietly.

Have a good day!

Britty Puppy

Today was the second day back to school for the kids and again I wasn't able to enjoy the peace and quiet. I was able to squeeze in a few minutes of stitching this morning. I started Britty Puppy stocking for Krissy. All I got done was the back leg of the puppy and some of the Christmas tree.

Have a good night!

Gifts for Vonna and Katie

Over the weekend I heard from Vonna that her and Katie's gifts arrived. I made them both a biscornu fob but in different colors. I made a gold one for Vonna and a pink one for Katie. I wasn't for sure on the color for Katie so I hope she likes pink.

Vonna's fob

Katie's fob

It was so nice and quiet around the house today. Too bad I wasn't here to enjoy. I spent the morning with a friend running some errands and soon as I got back home FIL was here waiting for me. So now I am waiting for the first of the kids to start rolling in with paperwork for me fill out.

As for stitching today, I haven't even gotten close to my sttiching bag. I had planned on starting Krissy's stocking today but that didn't happen. I guess I will start it tomorrow. I did manage to get my Halloween exchanges picked out so maybe I will start one of those tonight.

Tiny Progress

Thank to everyone for their sweet comments on the needle roll I made for Heather. I have become quite fond of making them and involves no glue! Glue likes me too well, I usually end up with more on my hands than on the actual project..lol.

It was raining off and on all day so it was a day of kicking back, watching tv, and stitching for me. I worked some more on WF. Her stitch size is 236w x 208h. I'm stitching her on 28 count fabric that I dyed a golden yellow. Her finished size should be about 17 x 15 inches.


This is a close up of the area I have backstitched.

Today is the last day of summer break for the kiddos. 12 hours from now I will have the whole place to myself (and the fur babies) for 7 hours. What shall I ever do to keep myself occupied? I am sure I will find something..lol.

Have a good evening!

Gift for Heather

Heather let me know that the gift I made for her arrived safely. I made a needleroll for her. I used a design out of an old issue of Counted Cross-Stitch Plus (1990). The design is by Kendal Bushnell and is called Delft Blue "Welcome". I really love how it turned out. Another one to add to my ever growing to "stitch for me" list.

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful comments on ATC. :D His finished size is about 5"x7" (90x123) so he's not really a big piece but don't let that fool you, it was still a bugger to stitch. I will more than likely have him framed but not sure when it will get done. Another one of my piles I have..."waiting to be framed".

Today I worked on Woodland Faerie by TW. Before you get too excited, I wimped out and just started the backstitching on the border but it is progress! This is my last WIP and UFO so I really would like to finish her sometime this year but I am not holding my breath since I have worked on it for a year and half already. This is a progress picture before I started on the backstitching. I didn't get enough done to post an after picture tonight, maybe tomorrow:)

Above the Clouds

My weekend is off to a great start! I finished ATC just a little bit ago!! If you could see me, I am grinning from ear to ear...lol. It feels to good to have finished this one.


I am not sure what I am going to work on this weekend. If I am feeling brave I might just pick up Woodland Faerie. I still have the Halloween exchanges to stitch so that is a possiblity, too.

Have a good weekend!

Monochromatic Exchange for Emilie

Emilie has finally received my Monochromatic Exchange on The Robin's Nest. I know the mail has been running slow in some areas so I mailed it off a little early. Good thing I did:) Emilie's favorite colors are greens and blues so I opted for a teal color. The pattern was a freebie from here. It's a real fun and quick pattern to stitch up. As you can, see I finished it into a biscornu.

I'm still plugging away at ATC. I think I should be able to have him finished this weekend sometime. What a better way to spend the first day of school with a new start and peace and quiet!

SBQ of the week

This is the last week of vacation for my kids! Yay!! Come Monday morning it is back to getting up at 5:30 and getting all three off to school and then I will have some much needed quiet time to myself.

Today's SBQ was suggested by Jennifer and is:

How did you get started stitching? Was there a person that inspired you?

I had to think really hard on how to answer this one. Technically, I taught myself how to cross stitch while I was pregnant with Krissy and on bed rest which was 14 years ago. So at first, I would say that no one inspired me but if I think back to when I was 10 my grandma Gladys gave me a set of embroidered pillow cases to put in my hope chest. I remember her telling me the names of the stitches like lazy daiseys and satin stitches. I remember I was intrigued by the stitching but she died shorty after that so she didn't actually get to teach me.

I have been stitching on ATC but it doesn't look like it. I finished the back stitching on the castle and finished the back stitching on the dragon's neck and body. All I have left to finish the wings. I see a happy dance either this weekend or first part of next week!

There hasn't been much going on here for the past few days. It is just too hot to do anything but stay inside where it is cool. The temperature today was only 113 degrees.


It doesn't look like it but I did make some good progress on ATC this weekend. I filled in the clouds and started on some of the back stitching. I finished all the back stitching on the clouds and rocks. I started on the back stitching on the castle but I grew tired of it so I filled in the area on the neck. I'm not too close to finishing him since I still have the rest of the wings to cross stitch and back stitch but I do see the finish line. :)

Trip to the LNS

It is another hot day. It doesn't look like it is going to cool down anytime soon either. This morning when we drove by Allie's school the temperature read 101 degrees at 10:30 am! I don't even want to know the heat index.

Even with it so hot I made it to the LNS. I was a good girl and only bought 3 new patterns and some DMC floss. I got 2 Halloween designs. One is from Lizzie Kate and the other is from Angel Stitchin. Both are cute but I can't show the exact ones since I will be using them in the Halloween exchanges on the EPBB and SBEBB. The last pattern I got is a needle roll design from Full Circle Designs. I might just make this one for myself!

What I can show you is the pattern that I ordered today for myself. :) I seen this one and fell in love instantly. No big surprise since I am a November baby. I can't wait to get started on her!

As for tonight, I am not sure now what I am going to work on. I have been doing so well with ATC that I almost want to put him away on a good note not when the frogs have visited. I am sure I will find something stitch on later. :) Although, before I can do that I have to cook dinner for us tonight. It has been so hot lately that I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. We have been eating a lot of sandwiches. What a terrible mom/wife I have been. So for a nice surprise for Mike I am making Pepper Steak and rice. Yumm!!

I hope everyone has a quiet and relaxing evening.

Hot Weather

The only way to describe today was....HOT! Ugh!! I'm talking walk outside to the car and your sweating hot. As you can guess, I am not a fan of summer. Give me any other season and I won't complain (too much..lol) about temperature but I really hate being hot.

With it being so hot we just hung around the house today. I worked on ATC and even started some of the backstitching. I am thinking I might continue on working on him this weekend. That is as long as I remember to pick up some 762! Those darn gremlins still haven't given it back to me.


Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me. I have to do the grocery shopping and finish the last of the school shopping. I have been doing pretty good over the summer picking up some things here and there but I still have a few things left to buy.

Have a good weekend!

Gift From Hazel

Look at this beautiful pillow I received from Hazel today in the mail!! She had it all nicely wrapped with a ribbon so when I opened it I was speechless! Even hours later, I still can't express how magnificent it is.

First of all the fabric she is used is awesome! It is ranges from green to blue-ish purple. The design suits me perfectly, too. The beads make it so sparkly, unfortunately that doesn't seem to show up well in the pictures. I can not forget to add how perfect her tassels look or how wonderful it smells of lavendar!



I LOVE the pillow, Hazel, and .thank you so much for making such a perfect gift for me!

I stitched on Above the Clouds today. Right now I am working on the dragon's head. Hopefully by the end of the evening he will have a head. Right now I seem to be on a roll with ATC since I didn't have the frogs come for a visit today. I will probably work on it tomorrow and then start on Krissy's stocking this weekend.

I am not sure what my next large stitching project will be. I could buckle down and finish Woodland Faerie but I don't have the peace and quiet to do that one yet. Oh well, I don't have to decide right now! Besides it wouldn't be fair to decide before I have chance to see what might be screaming at me to stitch at the LNS.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on Geisha!

Here She Is!!

I have to say it was a pretty good evening for me. I put the final backstitches and french knots in Geisha. I have to say there was a heck of a lot of backstitching and I am glad it is done, but it was worth the pain!

I am a little sad that she is finished since I enjoyed stitching her so much but it also means I can start something new. I think I should even reward myself with a trip to the LNS this weekend!

Gift for Maragret

My gift for Maragret has arrived safely in Nevada. I choose to stitch this freebie and finish it into a biscornu fob. I really like to make these fobs. I admit it, I am addicted to them. :)

Sorry no Geisha pictures today. I have all the backstitching done except for the kimono. There is quite a lot of detail to stitch on it but if I don't finish it today there definitely will be a finish tomorrow!

Gift for Dani

I heard from Dani that the gift I made for her arrived safely. I have been reading her blog for a long time and she is an awesome stitcher! Usually, I have to go thru my patterns a couple of times before I actually decide on what to stitch but not this time. I stitched the freebie Love Takes Two from Dragon Dreams. I decided to finish it off by making it into a tin. I really have come to like making these little tins!

Yesterday I managed to sew Allie another pair of gauchos. As you can tell she loves colors that are bright and stick out. That is so much like her personality! I just want to say that I am not playing favorites when it comes to sewing clothes for my kids. Krissy is 13 and won't be caught dead in something that is handmade. *Sigh* I know it is just the age (I hope!) but I miss making her clothes and hearing her proudly telling her friends that her mom made them for her. Mac is all boy so anything I do make for him instantly gets stained or ripped.

I think today I will start on the backstitching on Geisha. I am so close to being finished with her that she is all I want to stitch on right now. :)

TW and SBQ of the Week

I made some good progress last night on Above the Clouds. :)

Today's SBQ was suggested by Dani and is:

Have you ever thought of getting a rider on your household insurance to properly cover your stash (some of us have quite an extensive stash that an average household policy wouldn't fully cover) in the case of some sort of damage to your house that would destroy/ruin charts, fabrics, floss, etc?

I actually have had this very problem happen to me. In 2001, a tornado hit the apartment building we were living at and completely destroyed everything. Yes most of my beloved finished pieces were lost due to me not storing them properly. When finished I would put them into a drawer of my dresser. However, tornado speed winds can blow a drawer right out of the dresser. When the adjuster came to look at the damage and find out what was lost I was disappointed to learn that my cross stitching wasn't covered.

After that incident is when I started to store all my finished pieces in plastic bags and then they are stored in a huge plastic container which right now is located in the back of the closet. All of my patterns are also stored in plastic containers. So did I purchase extra insurance? No, for one, I don't really have that much stash to justify buying insurance and, two, when it happened to me my stash was the last thing I was concerned about.

Seeing Stripes

I haven't done any stitching today instead I have been sewing pants for Allie. Allie loves the gauchos I made her earlier this summer and decided that she wanted some more made for her. I made her 2 pairs this afternoon. The first pair is a dark grey. I didn't take a picture of them since they are pretty plain looking. The second pair turned our really nice.

I still have 2 more pairs to make for her. I'm not sure when I will get around to sewing them. I enjoy sewing but not as much as cross stitching! Speaking of stitching, that is what I am going to do after I finish this post. :)

Have a good evening!

Floss Gremlins

Does anybody else have floss gremlins in their house? Well, I do! Yesterday when I sat down to work on Above the Clouds I discovered DMC 762 was missing! Now, I just used that exact one the night before (I used it on Geisha!) so I know for a fact that I have it but now I can't find it....anywhere!

I went ahead and worked ATC and made some good progress...with no frogs! :) Let me tell you, it felt good to stitch on it on not have to rip out the progress I made.

Have a good weekend!

Cross Stitches Completed

Late last night I managed to put the final cross stitches in Geisha. That means all I have left to do is the backstitching!

Today I am going to work on a TW design. I'm not sure just yet if I will pick up Woodland Faerie or Above the Clouds. That is, after I get the house cleaned, grocery shopping, and a little back to school shopping for the kids.

Have a nice day!

Gift for Hazel

I heard today from Hazel that my gift for her has arrived safely. I was beginning to get concerned as I had sent it almost 2 weeks ago. Luckily, it arrived safely and now is residing with Hazel. I hope she enjoys it half as much as I enjoyed stitching it!

The design is from Heart in Hand and called Summer Fobs. I really fell in love with this one right away. I will have to make one for me soon. If you look closely there are a few mistakes but that is what gives it character:)

I worked on Geisha last night and I am proud to say I finished all the cross stitching on her! Now all I have left is to stitch the trees/leaves in the background and the backstitching. Yippie! I will more than likely work on her again tonight:) I want to finish the background stitching before I put her away to work on Above the Clouds.