So Glad To Say It's Done

WAHOO! The quilt is back from the quilter and is complete, except for the label that is. I spent last night applying the binding and as soon as I finish this post, it is up to the sewing room to make the label. Here it is in all its glory…

It's Done!

College Quilt for Connor

Design: Shimmer

WAHOO! Primitive Wizard of Oz is stitched and framed, in record time I might add.

It's Done!

Designer: Midsummer Night Design

Design: Primitive Wizard of Oz

WAHOO! Scatter Seeds of Kindness is complete. Okay, the stitching was completed in 2001 (no, this is not a typo ~ it has been stashed in a drawer for 9 years) but it is finally framed.

It's Done!

Designer: Mary Garry

Design: Scatter Seeds of Kindness

Mary Garry designs may well be my favorite!  Seeing this one framed makes me want to immediately stitch all of the charts that I have in my collection.  Although I probably will not do this, I am moving some of them up on my "to do list".

I got my son to hang both on the sampler wall. Here he is in action:

Naturally, he had to do a bit of clowning around. Yup, made me laugh!

I am happy to say that he follows instructions well and returned the pictures to their correct position.

It is difficult to get a decent picture but here it is:

Just when you think that life can’t get any better, the mail person delivers this…

HOE Early Christmas Exchange

Designer: BBD

Design: House on Holly Hill

Stitched By: Sadie

Sadie had my name for the HOE Early Christmas Exchange and stitched this beautiful ornament! I immediately recognized that it was a design by BBD (one of my very favorite designers). Thank you Sadie, it will make a wonderful addition to my Christmas tree!

I hope that you are all enjoying your weekend.  It is rather hot and humid here in Texas so I shall remain indoors and stitch.

Until next time...

A Woman On A Mission

I am exhausted, really I am.  I lack sleep and I hear the humming of the Bernina in my ears! I sat behind my sewing machine for hours sewing a quilt top. I wanted to make a graduation quilt for a relative using the school colors of the college that he will be attending. The problem is he did not make his final decision until the very end of April. Once the decision was made, I had to select a design and I had to do it quickly since I needed to construct the top, get it to the quilter, and get it back into my hands before the end of May. Yikes! Given the time constraint, I thought that I would do a very simple design, like a rail fence...

No, this is not what I wanted to make so I continued to look until I found the perfect pattern. Two hours into the construction of the quilt top, I knew that I made a huge mistake. It was going to take me FOREVER to complete it. Too late now, I had cut so much of the fabric there was no turning back. There were a few days that I started sewing at 11AM and continued until 2AM. It all paid off because I completed the top and dropped it off at the quilters on Monday. She promises to have it back by May 24th, which gives me ample time to apply the binding before I leave for New England at the end of the month. And what did I manage to stitch in 4-5 days???

THIS:

Graduation Quilt for Connor

Pattern Design: Shimmer

Size: 67w x 86h

I have been participating in a bi-monthly Ornament Exchange and have a picture of the Ornament that I sent to my dear friend Carol S.

2010 Ornament Exchange

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Design: Songs Of The Season

Stitched for: Carol S.

I hope that all of the Mom's had a wonderful Mother's Day. I talked with each of my boys on Mom's day; it would have been nicer had they been here. They sent me a great gift, a Video Conversion System. Now, I can convert my old VHS taped to DVD. Prior to moving to Texas I had quite the scare, I thought that my DH sold our VHS storage cabinet (with all of my VHS tapes) during his yard sale; you know the ones you cherish like the birth of your children and all of their birthday parties. I was devastated! Well, as luck would have it, he did not sell the tapes; he had packed them in a box. That episode made me realized how important these tapes (memories) are and I decided that I needed to convert  them to DVD’s, now I can.

I must say that an even better Mother’s Day gift will arrive on Saturday. My youngest son is returning from college for the summer….Yahoo!

Many thanks for stopping by, I truly enjoy reading your comments!

Until next time...

Off To See the Wizard

I am happy to report that I have finally put needle to thread on my Primitive Wizard of Oz. I saw this design on Michele's blog many months ago and rushed to purchase it. Sadly, I did not rush to start it! I have watched as Michele made progress, each time telling myself that I should get started. When she posted a picture of the completed design I decided that the time had come! It is a relatively quick stitch (nothing like my HAED WIP) so I knew that all I needed to do was pull it out and take that first stitch. After not so many hours of stitching here is my progress...

• Design: Primitive Wizard of Oz
  Designer: Midsummer Night Designs

I am using all of the colors called for except for the green, which I changed to NN Creme d menthe. It will not be long before I complete this one and get it framed to hang on my sampler wall.

This past weekend I got started on some finishing work. I have three of the LHN Monthly Ornaments stitched and was able to finish "He's A Flake"

• Designer: Little House Needleworks
• Design: He's A Flake
• Monthly Ornament

I happened to have some little icicles that I added to the bottom. You really can't tell from the picture but I found some trim that glitters; it looks great with this design.

I am just about done with the finishing of the first two ornaments but I will save these for another post.

After waiting many weeks for my Victoria Sampler order to arrive, I spent two days stitching the Ireland and France International Hearts. This is a gift for my aunt, a gift that I needed to get it mailed this week (which I did, phew!). I was in a rush to get to the post office and snapped a quick photo ~ a quick "not so good" photo!

Designer: Victoria Sampler

Design: International Heart: Ireland and France

Finish: Flat Fold

I have been good about not signing up for every exchange that I see posted! I am still participating in a few but I am trying to leave substantial time for a little "me" stitching...as Martha would say, "That's a good thing!"

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

BOOK

If you accidentally drop a book, step on it with one

foot and make a wish. Be sure to pick it up with the

hand that's opposite the foot you used; otherwise, your

wish won't come true.

Until next time...

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...