Exchanges: One Down Four To Go

Over the course of three years, I have participated in 80+ exchanges. I have never been late in mailing, and pride myself on always meeting my commitments. Fortunately, those assigned “my name” have been just as responsible. There have only been three individuals (I shall not mention names but shame on them) that failed to honor their commitment and have forever gone MIA. That averages only 1 per year so I cannot complain but I will never understand how people can receive an exchange and not send one.

Here is an exchange that I sent out over three weeks ago but I have yet to hear from the individual, she has not responded to my email, and I have not received her exchange so I must assume that she too will join the ranks of MIA.

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Design: Trick or Treat

It is hard to believe that I only have 4 more exchanges this year! One of those is already packaged up and ready to mail, the other three need to be stitched. Maybe next year I will do as I had planned and not sign up for as many exchanges. Like everyone, I have so many projects that I would like to complete. The WIP basket keeps growing, as does the new stash bin ~ so many projects so little time.

My new neighborhood is large and filled with children so I thought that I would need quite a bit of candy for Halloween. I purchased 12 bags of the Fun Size chocolate bars but only used 6 so I quickly tossed the rest into a flat rate box, taped it up, and mailed it to my son at college. I certainly do not have the willpower to keep all that chocolate around.

Costume creativity was top notch this year. The one that made me laugh was 4 teenage boys standing at my door with only their boxers on and a gold medal around each of their necks. They quickly stated "We are the US Swim Team" ~ I thought that was rather clever. As for this year's cutest trick-or-treaters:

Misha dressed as a clown ~ Lily as a witch

I am heading out this weekend to attend a Scrapbook retreat. I have attended quilt retreats but never a scrapbook one. I just found out that the retreat is being held a mere 26 miles from my house, somewhat close for a weekend get-a-way. I am not much of a scrapbooker and I have very few scrapbooking gadgets. I never intended to add Scrapbooking to my list of hobbies but I am on a mission to create three scrapbooks for family vacations to London, Paris, and Tokyo ~ after that I call it quits!

I shall leave you with this "Wishing Custom"...

Potato Chip

When you have a potato chip that has a bubble in it,

put the whole chip in your mouth and chew exactly

ten times. Make a wish as you swallow. If you

swallow the whole chip at one time, your wish will

come true.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Fair & Square from Jen

My "collection" of Fair & Square blocks continues to grow, with the newest addition arriving from Jen R. What a wonderful block, I adore this sweet birdhouse design and love those tiny buttons. I wish that I could share with you what I plan to do with these beautiful blocks but for now, I have no idea so I shall merely share this picture:

Fair & Square ~ round #12 from Jen R

Now, how cute is that? Thank you so much Jen for the amazing blocks I love them.

My "cute" little dog is driving me NUTS! Unlike any other dog that I have owned, this one chews and does not like being left alone. I was out and about for a mere 2 hours and when I returned and opened the laundry room door this is what I came home to:

She must have scratched at it!!! I use to leave her in the master bath until she chewed on the corner of the vanity! Now when I leave I put both dogs in the laundry room (Misha is a good girl and does not need to be in there but I am fearful of what Lily would do without her) this is the 1st time that she has done any damage and it shall be the last. I am going to end this post so that I can read about "crating" and check for some type of a corral to keep her in. I have plans to attend a quilt show on Friday and had planned on leaving her in the laundry room, now I am afraid....very afraid~

Thanks for stopping by~

Until next time...

“Is This Trash?” He Asks

As he stands in front of me holding this opened, and almost emptied, book box...

My eyes bulged, my heart skipped a beat, and my blood boiled as I spat these words, “OMG NO, that is not trash, that’s my completed cross stitch pieces!” And this my friends is what could have easily been discarded…

He, my husband that is, meant no harm ~ he was trying to be helpful. You see as I open boxes I tend to leave a small one for trash or items I no longer want and he thought he would be helpful and bring the box outside to pile with all of the others. Can you imagine sending these off for rubbish collection? I am not sure my marriage would have survived that. :D

All is well these lovelies are safe in my sewing room, a place that he does not enter. I did not realize that I had so many completed projects that needed finishing!

Yesterday was a very nice mail day. I received this beautiful exchange from Nic who stitched for me in the FTT Drawn Thread Exchange. She stitched a gorgeous scissor fob and a floss tag:

Friends Through Threads

Drawn Thread Exchange

Scissor Fob and Floss Tag

From Nic

In addition, she sent some wonderful extras: a fat quarter, some ribbon, folding scissors, a note pad and some seed beads. Nic also sent a very nice card wishing me well in my new home and when I opened it I found the leaf buttons and flower bud; so very thoughtful.

Thank you so much Nic for the wonderful exchange, you certainly brightened my day!


I recently complete a Sheepish Design titled: Pray For Me. I stitched this one for my cousin but I have not decided how I will finish it. I would like to find a nice wooden box and mounted it on the top but if I cannot find one then I will frame it.

My friend had her first grand daughter so I made her this quilt and I also made this little door hanger but I forgot to post a picture of it.

Recently I sent pictures of Little Lily to my son who sent me a text to say that she looks so much older, she has grown fast as you will see but she is still cute as ever.

Lily at 8 weeks ~ too cute!

Lily at 10 months ~ still too cute!

With that lovely picture, I will end this post! Thank you for taking the time to stop by for a visit and for your comments I do enjoy reading them.

Until next time...

And I'm Off...

Saturday I will be flying off to Texas for a month where I will visit good friends and attend International Quilt Festival. This is a great Quilt Show with 1000+ vendor booths, hundreds of quilts on display, and an extensive class catalog. It is a Quilt Show like no other!

While browsing the Quilt Festival website I came across a great deal on a subscription to Country Living, 12 issues for just $5.00(click here if you are interested). Now if only I could find cross stitch magazine subscriptions for 5.00!

I spent the last two days making a baby quilt for my friend’s grandbaby that is due in early December. I really wanted to complete the top this week so that I could bring it in to have it quilted while I am away. It took me two days to piece this, I was up until 4am this morning but I got it done. I am pleased with how it turned out; even happier that it is now at the quilters. Once it is complete I will take a better picture of it, I quickly snapped this before heading out and it is not the best.



I have completed the stitching on three exchanges and I may even be able to do the finishing before heading to Texas, fingers crossed! I did join Becky's Let's Stitch group and have decided to spend Friday nights stitching on my VOHRH. I am on block #6, have been since the spring, and I look forward to finally removing it from the WIPs Project Basket and completing it.

This is where I left off~

Well, the house is very quiet. Misha and Lily left for PA with my DS yesterday. He eagerly agreed to tend to them while I am away, but I am not quite sure he knows what he is in for with Little Miss Lily! She is nothing like Sweet Misha who, at 11 years, is an angel and SO easy.


Apparently, my DS has plans for Halloween that will include Lily (hopefully no wild college parties). Here is a peek at her costume, cute huh? OINK!

Lily 4 1/2 months ~ 2.5 pounds

I am not sure how much blogging I will do over the next month; I will probably read blogs but will not be updating mine for a while.


Have a great month and I will leave you with this image ~

HAPPY FALL

Until next time...

On The Move

My blog has been neglected but for good reason, we sold our house and have temporarily moved to the next town. Our plan is to purchase a permanent house in Vermont but after this move I need a break from all the packing and unpacking so, I will start my house hunting early next year. Given the depressed housing market I am truly thankful that our house sold and that we can move on.

Since I have had no time for stitching, I shall share a few before and after pictures of what I have been busy with:

Before:

After:

(Notice the three boxes? These were used to "try" to keep Lily out but she managed to squeeze through the railing and leave me a little surprise!)

Although I have lived in seven states and nine homes, I have been fortunate in that I have not had to engage in the daunting task of packing and moving, our moves have been corporate moves…except this one. Having to pack up a 4400 square foot home, taking care to inventory each box, and moving many of them on our own makes me truly appreciate the benefit of a corporate move. We did have the movers come in to handle most of the furniture and heavy boxes. They lifted furniture with easy, toted large boxes with minimal effort but when it came to hauling the commercial treadmill, they truly struggled. I honestly was not sure how they would accomplish this task without dropping it, but they did. Even "the big guy" (actually huge guy) was straining, not to mention sweating.

Somewhat settled I have resumed my stitching and am busy trying to complete some exchanges before I head off for a one month stay in Texas on the 18th. I am going to spend a month in Houston where I will visit my good friends and attend International Quilt Festival. I am also hoping to meet up with an online friend, Anita; this will be the first time that I get to meet an online friend...there are so many of you that I would love to meet!

Well, little Miss Lily is adorable but I am still struggling to housebreak her. Consistency is what I am aiming for and she just does not seem to get it. Therefore, I must live with baby gates and hope that she will “get it” very soon so that we all can roam freely about the house.

Oh, what is that? I hear unopened boxes calling my name…Grrrr!!!

Until next time...

Drum Roll Please...Meet Lily

Fortune truly does come to those that wait! For the past few year I have been looking for another female Yorkshire Terrier and am so happy to say that I found her ~ Meet Lily:

LILY

12 weeks old

We picked her up a few weeks ago when she was 12 weeks old and she has certainly been keeping me busy. The timing of her arrival was perfect, we brought her home on a Sunday and both of my sons left for college on Tuesday. My house is certainly not as quiet or boring with Lily in it! But I must say that I really do miss G & D, and I let them know that almost daily! :)

Yesterday the postman delivered a package from Gaby which contained the HOE Needleroll Exchange. I was thrilled to see her name on the envelope; she had filled a wish for me on the MAW board and stitched up the most gorgeous Biscornu. I quickly tore open the package and gazed upon an equally gorgeous Needleroll. I had to smile because it is the very same design that I stitched for my partner, I do believe that we are not the only ones that selected this popular design. Every detail is simply perfect ~the stitching, the beading, the finishing! I do wish that I could finish the top/bottom edges as nicely as you do Gaby, I just may need a few tips from you on that!

HOE: Needleroll Exchange
Designer: M Designs
Design: Five Roses Needle Roll
Stitched by: Gaby

In addition Gaby included some wonderful extras she stitched the most adorable little Biscornu scissor fob, this little gem measures a mere 1 ¾ across! I have stitched and finished hundreds of items but never have I made a Biscornu and certainly could not imagine making one this small. Thank you Gaby for that little treasure and for the Flower Pot stitching kit, the Heart for finishing, and the large cut of 32 count linen which will be perfect for a Halloween design. My life is a bit hectic these days and I must say that you managed to brighten my day with all of these wonderful treasures, thank you so much!

Tiny Biscornu Fob

I have heard from Margaret that she received my Needleroll exchange so I will share a picture of that:

HOE: Needleroll Exchange
Stitched for: Margaret S.

I participated in a Small Santa Exchange on the Prairie Schooler Fans Yahoo Group and here is what I stitched for CJ:

PS Friends Small Santa Exchange
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Design: St. Nicholas II – Book 36

And for your viewing pleasure (I cannot resist) I will leave you with another picture of the Princess and the Pea (Misha and Lily)...

Misha age 11 years
Lily age 15 week

Until next time...