Another Prairie Schooler Ornament Completed

Just a quick post to share a picture of the Ornament that I sent to Janet for the HOE Early Christmas Exchange.

HOE: Early Christmas Exchange

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Design: Songs of the Season

Stitched For: Janet B.

Songs of the Seasons is such a great leaflet, I love all of the designs!  I am finishing up on yet another one of the designs (that makes 3) and have plans to send it off as an exchange piece.  I really would like to take some time and stitch all four designs for my Christmas tree; it's only May, I still have time.

Guess who is home from college for the summer???

GOOFY :D

Yup, I'm happy!

Thanks for stopping by~

Until next time...

2009 Exchange Finale

The last of my 2009 Exchanges are now officially complete! Here are the three beautiful exchanges that were delivered to my mailbox...

The first is from my very dear friend Paula C. who stitched for me in the Christmas Gifts Between Friends Exchange. I was so excited when I saw her name on the box and very happy when I opened it and found this amazing Prairie Schooler ornament:

2009 Christmas Gifts Between Friends

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Stitched by: Paula C.

Oh my word, there are so many seed beads perfectly stitched along the outer edge! What a fabulous job stitching and finishing this piece ~ Paula, you are a pro and you are always so good about personalizing. Here is a picture of the back (see what I mean about those tiny beads?).

As I sat at the table opening all of the gifts I truly felt like it was Christmas morning. I opened beautifully crochet slippers, a knitted kitchen wash cloth that has a steaming cup of coffee knitted into the design (very cute), a coffee themed dishcloth and some tasty coffee, some nicely scented kitchen soap as well as a small purse size, a handy notebook and notepad, a really neat stitcher’s caddy, and a box of See’s chocolate candy! Not only did Paula send a box of my very favorite candy she had them fill it with my favorite Lemon Truffles. I am nibbling on a truffle right now and I am in heaven!

Stitcher's Caddy

Thank you Paula for this amazing exchange, I love everything that you sent. I will forever cherish the beautiful ornament and look forward to hanging it on the tree this weekend. Most importantly thank you for your friendship I value it more than you know. :)

So, what did I stitch for this exchange?

A CANDLE MAT

Have you seen these? How cute is that? I saw the pattern while shopping at the International Quilt Festival this past October. I had never seen this before and I knew immediately that I would be stitching this for Tracy. This is the second time, in only a few short months, that I stitched for Tracy and I must say she is an amazingly appreciative and very sweet woman.

2009 Christmas Gifts Between Friends
Designer: Prairie Grove Peddler
Design: Little Candle Mat- Snowman
Fabric: 30ct Alma
Stitched for: Tracy C.

The next package that I opened came from Suzanne S. who stitched for me in the FTT Ornament Exchange. Honestly, this ornament took my breath away. What a masterpiece this is with flawless stitching and finishing!

2009 FTT Ornament Exchange
Designer: Praiseworthy Stitches
Design: Christmas Poinsettia
Fabric: 36ct Edinburgh cream linen
Threads: GAST
Stitched by: Suzanne

Thank you very much Suzanne for this gorgeous exchange it certainly is a wonderful addition to my handcrafted collection of Christmas ornaments.

So, what did I stitch for this exchange?

2009 FTT Ornament Exchange
Designer: Blackbird Design
Design: Quaker Medallion Strawberry
From: 2006 JCS Christmas Ornament Edition
Stitched for: Margaret

Look familiar? Yes, I recently stitched this same ornament for Tracy C. in the Christmas Ornament Swap (round #2).

The third exchange that I opened was sent by Faye R. and was stitched for the Christmas Ornament Swap round #3. Take a look at this little beauty~

2009 Christmas Ornament Swap #3
Freebie Design from Hearty Craft
Stitched by: Faye R

I absolutely love the design and the stocking finish, it just does not get any cuter than this!

Thank you Faye for this beautiful ornament. I certainly appreciate all of the time that went into stitching on this very tiny count, you did an amazing job. :)

Since I have not yet finished my Christmas Ornament Swap #3 I have no picture to share just yet.

I don't think that I posted pictures of the Fair & Square round #16 exchange that I participated in. My partner for this round was Christine R. (no blog yet) who stitched this wonderful PS design! Thank you again Christine, I love your blocks.

Fair & Square ~ round #16
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Stitched by: Christine R.

This is what I sent to Christine:

Fair & Square ~ round #16
Designer: Shepherd’s Bush
Stitched for: Christine R.

A huge thank you to Becky for organizing the Christmas Gifts Between Friends and Christmas Ornament Swap and to CathyB for organizing the FTT Ornament swap. You both put in a lot of time to ensure that the exchanges are enjoyable and successful...Thank you so much for keeping me happily stitching throughout the year!

I know this post was lengthy, but I had so many wonderful exchange pieces to share with you! Thanks for hanging on till the end and for taking the time to stop by for a visit.

For those of you who have sent me an exchange in 2009 be sure to stop by again and read about a "Give-A-Way" contest just for you.

Until next time...

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...

So Many Beautiful Exchanges

As promised, I will share with you the many beautiful exchanges that have been rolling in...

The first Exchange arrived all the way from New Zealand. It was beautifully stitched and finished into a Bourse by Margaret S. My very first Bourse and it is a beauty!

• Friends Through Threads
• Blackbird Design Exchange

• BBD Exchange
• Design: My Pink House
• Stitched by: Margaret S.
• Finish: Bourse

Margaret also stitched a very cute Scissor Fob using the strawberry design pictured and she even included those great scissors! She made the matching pincushion and included needles, sticky notes, quilter's wheel, and scented bath bag.

Thank you again Margaret for this fantastic exchange.

Here is what I stitched for Ronel in the BBD Exchange:

FTT: BBD Exchange

Threads: VMST (love this thread)

Stitched for: Ronel W.

Finish: Floss Tag

Friends Through Threads

Seasonal Exchange ~ Spring

My second FTT Exchange traveled all the way from Germany and was stitched by Gaby M. She selected a design from one on my favorite designers, Prairie Schooler, and finished it into a two-flanged pillow ~ how cute is this...

FTT: Seasonal Exchange ~ Spring

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Stitched by: Gaby M.

Finish: Pillow

As you can imagine the box that arrived was quite large and packed with so many extras: A magazine, book (it is always exciting to receive these from other countries), fabric x 2, silk thread, honey soap, delicious candy, a cute little ladybug for my key chain, and last but not least a very special bookmark made by Simon!

Thank you so much Gaby for the extra special exchange!

Here is what I stitched for the FTT Seasonal Exchange:

FTT: Seasonal Exchange ~ Spring

Designer: Blackbird Design

Threads: VMST

Stitched for: Gaby M.

Finish: Floss Tag

Look familiar? I just love this design and love stitching it, I really do! I love it so much that I am offering a "give-a-way" just so that I can stitch it again. :D Post a comment and leave your first/last initial and I will include you in the July 4th drawing for the Blackbird Design Floss Tag.

The third exchange arrived from Canada and was stitched by Wendy B. She stitched for me in the Prairie Schooler All Year Long Exchange and I could not be happier, just take a look:

PS All Year Long

Round #2

PS All Year Long #2

Stitched by: Wendy B.

Finish: Needle Book

I love the Needle Book finish, it is perfect for this design. I really like Wendy's technique and recently used it to complete a needle book for a patriotic exchange. The PS All Year Long is one of my favorite exchanges. I love that we always stitch a PS design and am happy that we do not include extras. A special thank you to Becky SC for organizing this exchange group.

Thank you again Wendy for the beautiful, and much needed, needle book!

Here is what I stitched for the PS All Year Long Round #2 exchange:

PS All Year Long #2

Design: Prairie Fairie

Stitched for: Janet H.

Finish: Pinkeep

Fair & Square Exchange

Here is what I sent to Jen R. ~

And what I sent to Jenn F. ~

And the beautiful squares that Jenn F. sent my way...

Fair & Square round #13

Stitched by: Jenn F.

I am anxious to try Jenn's hand dyed threads, they look beautiful! I love that Jenn stitched the Texas heart, thanks again Jenn!

This was a long post but I had so many exchange pictures to share...thanks for hanging in till the end!

I am off to work on a Penny Rug project.

Until next time...