HOE Quaker Ornament Received

I participated in the HOE Quaker Ornament exchange and received this beautiful ornament from Carol S.  What a gorgeous ornament that is perfectly stitched and finished! 

2011 HOE Quaker Ornament

Stitched by: Carol S.



A true bonus to receiving this ornament is that I had the pleasure of meeting Carol S. face to face at the Celebration of Needlework show in Nashua, NH last Friday.   I have been “blogging friends” with Carol for what seems like an eternity so having the opportunity to meet and spend time with her was fantastic.  Since I have moved from Texas and will be living in the northeast, I look forward to getting together with her again. Carol, thank you so much for the gorgeous ornament!

I enjoyed the Needlework show and managed to add some great items to my huge stash. I will post pictures of my purchases later.

Another highlight of my trip to Nashua, NH was meeting Carol’s friend Margaret, who I know I have exchanged with in the past. We had a great time getting to know one another over dinner.  How I wish that I could meet all of my blogging friends face to face.

Here is a look at what I sent to Carol S. for the Quaker Ornament Exchange:

My blog posts have been minimal but there is a reason, as I mentioned I am once again moving. I left Texas and am in the process of house hunting in the northeast. Yes, I have returned to be closer to my boys…Yahoo! Living 1600+ miles from them was just too difficult for me, I guess I will forever be a “helicopter mom” but I like it that way. :D


My weekend will be spent riding around with a real estate agent; hopefully yours will be a bit more exciting.

Until next time...

They Are My Sunshine...

My only sunshine.

They make me happy

When skies are grey.

They'll never know, dear,

How much I love them.

Please don't take my sunshine away.

Every day I am thankful for these guys…

Jan 2011

Okemo Mountain

Ludlow, VT

 

And every day I miss them both.  Once again, they surprised me on Valentine’s Day with this beautiful gift that arrived at my door early on February 14^th…

2011 Valentine's Gift from G/D

Sooooo BEAUTIFUL! Their never ending thoughtfulness and generosity touched my heart. Thank you G&D for making my heart smile and for making Valentine’s Day extra special. Know that IL&IMY every single day.

Later in the day my husband arrived home and surprised me with these beautiful flowers...

2011 Valentine's Gift from DH

 
Such a welcome surprise that was truly appreciated. Thanks to all three of you for the GORGEOUS flowers!!!

Do you remember this?

I was preparing my sewing room for the arrival of my new Koala Sewing Center, which arrived in late December. 

Koala Studio

Quiltmate Plus IV

Truly awesome!  The sewing machine drops down into the cabinet with a push of a button leaving me with a large flat surface, which is perfect for basting a small quilt.

Anxious to put my new sewing table to good use I headed to Bonnie Blue Quilts and purchased this pattern, along with all of the fabric needed to complete it...

Bonnie Blue Quilts

I managed to get all of the 9 patch blocks done before I realized that I needed to make 2 baby quilts by April, 1 graduation quilt by May, and another baby quilt by July. For now the Bonnie Blue Quilt must wait as I tackle those “must do” quilts first.

I have completed one baby quilt and have started on the second. Here is a picture of the completed top…

"Just Ducky"

45" x 45"

American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

December 2009

This is such a cute pattern that is relatively quick to stitch. I did decide to hand appliqué the 12 duck blocks which slowed me down a bit but I like the way they turned out.


As for stitching projects….well, I keep starting (but fail to finish) SO many small projects. It is getting ridiculous, I need to gather them all up, dedicate a few days to “catch up” stitching, and complete these projects once and for all.

I know, I know, I have been very delinquent with my blogging ~ I will try to be better about that (no promises though).

Until next time...

2011 ~ A New Year!

Another year OVER and another year OLDER.  Here is a picture of this year’s birthday cake:

D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s, absolutely delicious! A chocolate cake with thin squares of chocolate scattered inside. I ate far too many slices but fortunately I still managed to drop an additional 3.5 pounds over the holiday/birthday...not sure how I managed that!

A huge thank you to Cathy for the wonderful birthday surprise!  I just opened her package and found this beautiful pendant that was designed by one of my favorite designers, Deborah Thorpe of Midsummer Night Designs. 

2010 Birthday Gift from Cathy B.

Hmmm, how pretty would this look on a silver chain?  Or maybe I will look through my Midsummer Night Designs patterns and find one that I can attach the pendant on to. Then again, I may take one of Cathy’s suggestions and use it on an ornament.  For now, and maybe always, the pendant will be placed on my silver necklace so that I can enjoy it throughout the year. 

Thank you my friend for the amazing birthday surprise. I cherish your friendship!

Let me share with you the Christmas gift that Cathy sent ~ this beautiful ornament...

Knowing how very talented she is I first thought that she made this but found out she purchased it at a craft fair. Thanks you again Cathy!

When I saw Cathy’s post with all of the GORGEOUS tatted ornaments made by her talented Mom I quickly emailed to see if I could purchase some. Here are a few that I ordered…

 
I did give a few away to friends of mine who loved them and asked if I made them. Yes, I told the truth and gave credit to Cathy’s mom.

These beauties are on the top of my list of favorite ornaments. I love them so much that I refuse to put them away until next year. They remain on my vintage fir tree so that I can see them daily! Many thanks to “Mom” for filling my order on such short notice.

Now that the holidays are over it is time for me to take a look at ALL of my UFO's and to determine how I will manage to complete some of them. My life is a bunch of unfinished projects! Yes, my goal for 2011 is to finish, finish, finish so much of what I have started and cast aside.


I hope that your holiday was enjoyable and that the New Year brings you much happiness and many hours of enjoyable stitching time.

Until next time...

Over The Top Gift From A Special Friend

I was in total shock when I opened a very large box from Vonna and pulled out this GORGEOUS Stitching basket:

2010 Birthday gift from Vonna

Designer: Little House Needleworks

Design: Traveling Stitcher

Finish: Stitcher’s Basket

I really do believe that my heart skipped a beat as my brain screamed, “Vonna, you are an amazingly generous, talented, creative, wonderful friend who has touched my life in countless ways!”  

Look at the stitching accessories tucked inside this basket:

Basket Accessories

A beautifully stitched pincushion, a ring of floss tags, a pair of scissors, and a gorgeous Mother of Pearl 3” ruler (complete with a handy tassel)!

Vonna, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful birthday gift and for your friendship. I will enjoy carrying my stitching projects in what will forever be a cherished heirloom. For now my new basket will remain by my sewing chair for ALL to enjoy.

I will leave you with a quote that always brings Vonna to the forefront of my mind:

Friendship without self-interest is one of the rare and beautiful things in life.



Until next time...

3 FRENCH HENS…

3 French Hens... cute, cute cute! I just received a RAK from one of the dearest stitchers that I know, sweet Carol S.  What a surprise it was to open Carol’s package and gaze upon this whimsical  ornament:

Designer: Sisters And Best Friends

Design: 3 French Hens

Stitched by: Carol S.

Finish: Ornament

How cute are these little hens all decked out in French Maid’s costumes?  I shall smile and think as I place this ornament on my tree every year. Thank you my dear friend for this thoughtful RAK, you touched my heart in a very special way.

Until next time...

A Sweet Reason To Post

Quiet? Yes, I have been very quiet and this is probably because I have done very little stitching.

Yesterday Edgar gave me a truly SWEET reason to blog.  I received an unexpected package in the mail that I anxiously opened.  I am not signed up for any exchanges and I had not made any recent online purchases so I could not imagine what this package held.  When I opened it and read the card I immediately said to my DH, "Edgar is so sweet!"  He sent me the most delicious chocolate covered cherries, a jar of Peach Jam that I am sure is delicious, and white chocolate candy filled with dried cranberries and nuts...SWEET.  With every bite, my brain screamed FABULOUS!

Thank you Edgar for being so thoughtful.  You made my day that much sweeter and put a much needed smile on my face! :D

So, what has kept me busy these days? A little bit of this and a little bit of that.  I have decorated my house for the holiday starting with this new wreath for the door.

The mantel is decorated with my small collection of Byers Choice Carolers...

Here is a closer look:

I will save the other pictures for another post.

Lastly, I have been busy rearranging my sewing room in preparation for the arrival of my newly purchased Koala Sewing center.  I purchased this at the International Quilt Festival in October and can hardly wait until it is delivered this month.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will be able to maneuver the 400-pound table up my curved stairway.

For now my sewing room is a MESS and I must get up there and work on organizing all of my "stuff"

Until next time...

It Doesn't Feel Much Like Fall Around Here

Oh how I love the fall, especially Halloween but I must say I am missing "Fall in New England".  It just doesn't feel much like fall around here so I decided that I had to get busy and drag out the Fall/Halloween box to decorate the house.  Now that so many of the stores have all of the Halloween decoration out on the shelves I need to try to stay out of them; I always seem to find something new that I must have.

A new wreath for the door…

A new centerpiece for the table…

A newly decorated vintage tree…

And yesterday I received a wonderful Halloween package from Erin W. that contained some great new decorations:

HOE Halloween Exchange

Stitched by: Erin W.

Take a closer look at the fabulous pillow:

Designer: The MonkeyWorks

Design: In The Graveyard

Can you see the beaded skeleton? Erin, clever stitcher that she is, decided to forgo the white floss and use white beads instead (the picture on Erin's blog is better so be sure to pop on over and take a look). I shall prop this pillow up on the mantel in my family room for all to see. The cute ghost bell and Halloween plaque are displayed on the vintage tree. Thank you so much Erin for all that you sent, you made this an extra special exchange!

My exchange has quite a distance to travel so I do not expect that it will arrive until next week. I will wait to hear from my partner before posting pictures.

Your comments make me smile and knowing that you visited makes my day so thank you all.

Until next time...