Last Exchange Of 2012

The days of 30 exchanges per year are gone for me.  For the past 3 years I participated in about one exchange per month which made stitching more relaxing.  A HUGE thank you to Carol S. for coordinating the exchanges on Hooked On Exchanges!  

The last exchange of 2012 arrived at my house yesterday.  Nicole S. stitched this sweet little ornament:

Designer: Erynne Chard

Design: Merry & Bright

Stitched by: Nicole S.

She included Christmas fabric, DMC wrapped with colorful bells, plaid ribbon, and a Canadian pen and pencil.  The 3D holiday card is adorable.

I was not familiar with designs by Erynne Chard so I looked it up and came across her blog called Stitcheree.  She offers some great freebie designs that you may be interested in, just click on the designer link above.

Thank you very much Nicole, I truly appreciate all that you sent!

My DS (G&D) were here for the entire week but will be leaving tomorrow.  We enjoyed time spent together celebrating Christmas, my birthday, skiing, laughing, and hanging out.  I always love to see their smiling faces stroll into the house but I hate to see them leave. Having them home was by far the best Christmas gift....

G

D

I just signed up for my 1st exchange of 2013 (HOE Shepherd's Bush Christmas)...I think I will head to my sewing room, drag out my stash, and select a design to stitch.  

Thanks for stopping by....

Until next time...

An Ornament To Treasure

This beautiful new ornament hangs on my tree...

Designer: Drawn Thread

Design: Christmas Quartet

Stitched by: Margaret C.

When my DH walked in with the mail he handed me a package.  I assumed this was my Stitcher's Choice exchange but when I opened it I learned that Margaret C. sent me this beauty as a Christmas gift, how very sweet.  What a great design! Did you notice the tiny heart charm?  I had the pleasure of meeting Margaret in person in 2011 and 2012 at the Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH.  Thank you so much Margaret, I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and I will treasure my new ornament.  I look forward to seeing you and Carol at the show in May.

Remember this?

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Design: Christmas Alphabet Book #64

Stitched for: Drew

Finish: Flat Fold

Well, I loved this design so much I stitched it again for my dear friend Mary, but I finished this one as an ornament.  

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Design: Christmas Alphabet Book #64

Stitched for: Mary K.

I am positive that this will not be the last one that I stitch. Hopefully this time next year I will have stitched one for my DH, DS, and myself. 

For the Caraghers' I stitched this little gem...

Designer: Little House Needlework 
Monthly Ornament
Design:  Peppermint Twist (2010 Sept)
Stitched for: The Caraghers'

And for my dear friend Carol I stitched this Shepherd's Bush design...

Designer: Shepherd's Bush
Design: Christmas Treat Bag
Stitched for: Carol S.

Many years ago Shepherd's Bush was my all time favorite designer.  I still love their designs but the stitching world has seen so many extremely talented designers enter the industry, introducing some truly wonderful designs.  I no longer have "A" favorite designer, I have many favorite designers. Hopefully I will find time make time in 2013 to stitch more SB designs.

In my last post I mentioned that I placed an order with The Thread Basket for  2 designs from the French Designer, Tournicoton.  My order was nicely packaged in this toile tissue paper...

Designer: Tournicoton

Design: Rendez-vous A La Maison Bleue

The finishing instructions for "A La Maison Bleue" are written in French...nope, have no knowledge of the french language.  With the numerous instructional pictures, and the help of google translate, I should be able to figure it out.  

Designer: Tournicoton

Design: Bourse Suzani

(Suzani Bag)

The finishing instructions on this design are written in English...phew!

I did manage to complete the stitching on Stacy Nash Primitives Blue Sewing Roll.  The finishing on this one is not very complex so I should be able to finish it and post pictures soon.

That's all for now...it's time to grab my stitching basket and see what I should work on next.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Summer Stitching

I received a wonderful ornament from Kathy K. who stitched for me in the HOE Christmas Bird Exchange. She selected two different birds from Homespun Elegance and constructed this beautiful two sided ornament...

2012 HOE Christmas Bird Ornament

Designer: Homespun Elegance

Design: Merry Birdies

Stitched by: Kathy K.

What a great ornament.  I also received some sewing gadgets that will certainly  come in handy.  Thank you Kathy, I love what you sent.

My dear friend Carol offered up a few LHN patterns to me.  It did not take long for me to complete this one...

2011 Monthly Ornament

Designer: LHN

Design:Cardinal Winter

It now sits in my "finishing basket" along with a number of others.  Thanks again Carol!

I believe that Margaret gifted this pattern to Carol, who gifted it to me, and I will gift it as well.  If you would like this pattern just let me know in your comment.  If more than one person is interested in it then I will draw a name on July 20th. 

It has been less than three months since our sweet 15 year old Yorkshire Terrier passed away.  I wanted to stitch something for my sampler wall and decided on this LHN design...

Designer: LHN

Design: Dog House Sampler

I was up for a quick stitch so I selected this little BBD gem...  

Designer: Blackbird Design

Design: Peace

From: 2009 JCS Christmas Ornaments

Here is a little something that I stitched for my cousin...

Designer: Blackbird Design

Design: I Thee Wed

This should have been posted on June 19th ~ a bit late but here it is, my TUSAL:

TUSAL ~ June 2012

Thanks for stopping by...

Until next time...

A Few Of My Favorite Things

I hope all the blog reading Moms had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I received this gorgeous flower arrangement from my two favorite sons:

This was such a wonderful surprise and the flowers smell beautiful.   Thank you G and D for making my day extra special! 

Here is my favorite YouTube, so perfect for mother's Day. Get your tissue ready...

I thought that I would share with you my every growing collection of glass flower frogs.  I actually come across these often and have had to curtail my spending when it comes to these frogs..

I do have a few favorites, the green one and the frogs that are thicker...

I am finally finding time to post a picture of an amazing silhouette poster of The Wizard of Oz. 

This was given to me by my DSs on Christmas 2010 and I absolutely love it...

This Wizard Of Oz poster is composed entirely from the body text of Frank Baum’s classic novel. Carefully arranged, the words form an image in negative space of Dorothy and the gang skipping down the yellow brick road with the Wicked Witch of the West hovering over them.  Here is  bit of the detail...

How awesome is that???? Because we were planning on moving I decided to wait to get the poster framed. We are now settled in our new home and I am happy to say that my favorite poster is now on display in my sewing room.

A week from tomorrow is a very special day ~ my DS #2 will be graduating from Lehigh University.  We have had so much rain lately that I am hoping that the day is sunny and bright. When DS #1 graduated in 2009 it was not only raining, it was freezing.  I shall keep my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates this time!

Thanks for stopping by ~

Until next time...

Man's Best Friend ~ A Sad Goodbye

MISHA

March 22, 1996 - April 12, 2012

On April 12, 2012 we lost a very special member of our family.  Misha, our 15 year old Yorkshire Terrier left this world, filling our hearts with tremendous sadness.  She was beyond sweet, truly loved, and will be forever missed.  IL&IMY!

Treasured Friend

I lost a treasured friend today 

The little dog who used to lay 

Her gentle head upon my knee 

And shared her silent thoughts with me. 


She’ll come no longer to my call 

Retrieve no more her favourite ball 

A voice far greater than my own 

Has called her to his golden throne. 


Although my eyes are filled with tears 

I thank him for the happy years 

He let her spend down here with me 

And for her love and loyalty. 


When it is time for me to go 

And join her there, this much I know

I shall not fear the transient dark 

For she will greet me with a bark. 


Author Unknown 

Stitchy Pictures To Share

It is hard to believe that there was a time when I would participate in 30+ exchanges per year.  Today, that number has dropped significantly but I wish that I could say that my personal stitching has increased, it has not! What is wrong with me?


I do miss the excitement of meeting all the exchange deadlines and the joy of opening packages with great anticipation. I had the opportunity to do this when Joan's package was pulled from my mailbox.  Here is what I gently unwrapped:

2012 FTT Red Exchange

Designer: Blackbird Design

Stitched by: Joan S.

How gorgeous is that??? Really beautiful.  From the design… to the stitching… to the finishing… to the hand dyed chenille trim… Even the note card is perfect. Yes, I am impressed and extremely grateful for the time and effort that Joan put into stitching the beautiful exchange piece. Thank you so very much Joan, I will display it proudly and view it often.


I stitched for Jill in this same exchange and here is what I sent:

2012 FTT Red Exchange

Designer: Casa Mia

Stitched for: Jill F.

I was initially going to finish this as an ornament but I did a lot of ornament finishing just before Christmas so I decided to do something different.  I decided to make a Scissor Pocket and am happy with how it turned out.  It was also nice to change things up a bit, I hope to do more of that in the future.


Today I received my HOE Santa Ornament from Ellen.  She selected a design from one of my all time favorite designers, Mary Garry. What a beautiful ornament:

2012 HOE Santa Exchange

Designer: Mary Garry Sewing Studio

Stitched by: Ellen

Thank you Ellen!!! I love this design, it put a huge smile on my face the very minute I laid eyes on it.  Thanks for the great trim as well.


My HOE Santa Ornament arrived in Edgar's mailbox so i am free to share a picture of it with you:

2012 HOE Santa Exchange

Designer: Heart In Hand

Design: Wee Santa 2004

Stitched for: Edgar

The Santa face fabric was perfect for the finishing on this ornament. I must say this is a favorite design of mine; I love the small Merry Christmas tin stencil.  I keep saying I will stitch this for my tree so I have added it to my 2012 "To Stitch" list.  I must place an order for more of those adorable tin stencils because I used the last one in my stash.


Let me share some pictures of some of the Ornaments that I rushed to complete before Christmas:

Yesterday these beautiful flowers were delivered to my house from my DS's:

What a wonderful Valentine's Day surprise and so very sweet of both of them.  Thanks you so much G/D, you made Valentine's Day VERY special.


I also received these beautiful flowers from my DH:

As well as this delicious chocolate/raspberry cake:

Great big thank you to all three of you!


I can hardly believe it, I moved back to the northeast from Texas with great anticipation of a snow filled winter where I would spend much time skiing on the beautiful mountains in Vermont only to find that THERE IS NO SNOW… yet (there is still a little time left and I have hope). 

Until next time...