First Exchange of the Year Received

I arrived home after a fun filled weekend stitching at a Quilt Guild Retreat to find a package from Becky K. When I opened the envelope, I found this beauty:

Christmas Ornament Exchange
From Becky K.
Designer: Jeannette Douglas
Design: ’09 Christmas Stamp
2009 JCS Ornament Issue
Fabric: 28ct Opalescent

Becky stitched for me in the Christmas Ornament Swap. Wow, this is truly a gorgeous ornament. It has been beautifully stitched and finished and I simply love the Opalescent fabric; perfect for this holiday design. I love that the backside is personalized:

The beaded trim is such a wonderful accent! Thank you so much Becky for this beautiful ornament, I shall treasure it!

I recently attended a Saturday class at My Little House (Katy, TX) where we learned how to make this little Wool Feather Tree. The class was wonderful, probably because Jan, the instructor/shop owner, is a fabulous instructor and a wonderful person! When I left, I purchased some additional wool to make a few more of these; one will be a purple wool tree for Easter. I am thinking of making a larger Wool Feather Tree to display some of my cross stitch exchange pieces.

Wool Feather Tree

When I walked into My Little House I was in heaven! There is such a wonderful selection of gorgeous wool, a huge array of rug hook and punch needle patterns, as well as some beautiful shop models to inspire you. Not long ago I took my first Punch Needle class with Jan which I enjoyed. I am hoping to attend her regular Wednesday "Hook In" so that I can dedicate some time to my new punch needle project.

The deadline is looming and I am once again stressing over the completion of the next set of Pink and Brown Quilt Blocks! Although we have 2 months to make each set I tend to wait until the last minute to make the blocks. With only 7 more days to finish the 3rd set I am busy trying to complete 5 more blocks. Here is the block that just drives me crazy:

I must end so that I can head up to the sewing room and complete the remaining blocks. Oh, how I would rather sit down and pull out my PS Alphabet SAL or my HAED A Moment To Cherish!

Until next time...

Yikes, it’s February!

Welcome to what is turning out to be my “monthly” blog post! I shall try harder to post more frequently.

This has been a very busy month as I try to keep up with the five exchanges that are due in early March. So, did I tell you all that I was not going to participate in as many exchanges this year? Every December I declare to the world that I will limit my exchanges so that I can dedicate more of my time to stitching the many LARGE projects that I have been neglecting. However, by late January/early February I am busy sending out “sign me up” emails to the exchange moderators! A tally of my yearly exchanges is proof enough that I am not succeeding in lessening my exchange stitching… 2007 total 24, 2008 total 28, and 2009 total 33. On the flip side, I do have an abundance of gorgeous exchange pieces from so many talented stitchers.

I was able to do a bit of “me stitching” on my PS Alphabet SAL ~

Designer: Prairie Schooler
PS Alphabet SAL

I also found time to have one of my older samplers re-framed; yes, I did stitch this in 1985. It was in a frame that went nicely with one of the homes that I have lived in but the frame did not work well with my current Sampler Wall. Here it is newly framed:

It now resides on the Sampler Wall:

I shall leave you with a picture of the beautiful Valentine’s Day flowers that I received from two of the best sons in the entire world! They had these delivered to my door just days before Valentine’s Day, how sweet is that??? It would have been even SWEETER had they been at my front door, but that would have involved airline tickets, vacation days, and missed classes. Thank you both so very much! IL&IMY~

Until next time...