Busy With More Than Just Cross Stitch

It did not take me long to finish stitching Autumn in New York but it did take me some time to figure out how to finish this piece.  Here is what I decided to do with it...

Designer: Primrose Needleworks

Design: Autumn in New York

Fabric: 32ct linen over one

Floss: DMC

Stitched for: Meg C.

I purchased an unfinished wooden box and covered it with fabric.  The box did not come with a lid so, with the help of my DH, I made the lid and mounted the stitched piece on the top.  I had never tried this finish before and did not have any instructions to follow, as a result I had to "winging it" but I am pleased with how it turned out. 

Remember this?

Pattern: Hannah's Rainbow Quilt

It now looks like this...

 Stitched for: 2012 Graduation Quilt for Emily

75 x 98 Pieced Nine Patch

The quilt top was quilted by Mary Lea, a wonderful machine quilter in Texas.  I mailed her the top and asked her to do whatever she thought would look nice.  She selected a swirly pantograph and quilted it with black thread. It turned out perfect!

Machine Quilting by: Mary Lea Reynolds

Polka Dot Backing ~ Black binding

My sewing machine has been getting more use these days.  I am trying to finish my huge stack of UFOs.  Here is the latest completed quilt top...

A number of years ago I participated in a group block exchange and these are the blocks that we exchanges.  I actually completed the quilt top, less the borders, quite some time ago.  Hard to believe that all this needed was the borders!  Now I just need to get it quilted.

I recently attended the Champlain Valley Quilters' Guild Quilt Show and took  pictures of some very pretty quilts.  I will leave you with a few....

Thanks for stopping by...

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...

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...

Mystery Stitching Angel

I received a Stitches ‘N Things Gift Certificate for my birthday and I do not know who the sweet stitcher is that sent it to me. The “From” section on the gift certificate is blank and when I phoned the shop they had a record of the order but not the person that placed it. So… to the Mystery Stitching Angel, Thank You! Please, please, please email me so that I can properly thank you for this wonderful surprise? :D

STITCHES 'N THINGS

Fenton, MI

Yes, just prior to the New Year I turned the BIG 50. I cannot say that this milestone bothered me it did not; birthdays never do. I was just so happy that both my sons and my son’s girlfriend were here to celebrate with me. One of the highlights of my birthday was this beautiful Quilt cake:

My DS managed to find a local bakery and send them a quilt picture for "inspiration" ~ I was impressed with the delicious cake the baker managed to create!

Now for some stitching…

I am participating in the LHN Ornament SAL and have completed Ornament #1 Fa La La. Actually, it is almost complete I just need to stitch a yellow bead in the lamp light for the flame.

This is my first 2010 finish and I am happy to say that I plan to keep it. In an effort to get a jump-start on future exchanges, I did stitch it again and hope to do this with all of the LHN monthly ornaments.

Little House Needlework
Monthly Ornament #1
Fa La La

I am almost done with Ornament #2 Pear Tree. I just need to stitch the amber beads, which I will do this week.

Little House Needlework
Monthly Ornament #2
Pear Tree

I am embarrassed to say that it has only taken me 10 months to start hanging pictures on my walls. We resist what we do not like to do and for me it is trying to figure out what to hang where. Here is the start to my sampler wall:

I have about 6 more finished designs that I need to get framed and about 1,000,000,000 on my To Do List.

I will leave you with a picture of the flannel quilt that I started when we had our Vermont house. I wanted to make a Fall Quilt, one that would look perfect on the bed in VT. By the time I finished it we had sold the Vermont house, sold the Connecticut house and left New England for Texas. The quilt is fine for the winter but I must now concentrate on making another quilt for the summer. The idea of a flannel quilt draped on the bed in the August heat is dreadful ~ almost as dreadful as the idea of whipping up a king size quilt in just a few short months!

Until next time...

Gorgeous Ornament

I am so excited to have received such a wonderful ornament from Valerie! She tells me that this is her first pillow finish, hard to believe seeing as it is so nicely finished. The design is from the November 2008 Gift of Stitching ~ I recognized it immediately since it tops my list of projects from this issue! Valerie stitched the ornament on 32ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Light Examplar using Crescent Colors (Cupid). It is perfect and I love what she did on the reverse side, take a look...

In addition I was treated to this lovely array of extras.

HOE Ornament Exchange from Valerie

Many thanks Valerie for this wonderful exchange, you certainly made my day!

My friend just had her very first grand baby (a baby girl) and here is the baby quilt that I made.

Khloe's Baby Quilt

My younger son arrived home from college and I am anxiously awaiting the return of my older son who is busy with finals. He is expected home on Friday, that is if the weather holds out. We are expecting icy conditions but nothing like what those in MA, NH, and parts of VT are dealing with~that is truly dreadful!

I was watching Martha Stewart prepare this potato recipe and I have decided that I will include it in our holiday meal this year. What I like about it is you can prepare it ahead of time and bake it later. The recipe is courtesy of chef Emeril Lagasse and can be found in his cookbook, "Emeril's Potluck."

Potatoes a la Boulangere

Yield: 10-12 servings

Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups thinly sliced onions
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
5 pounds red bliss or Yukon

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Transfer onions to a large bowl and let cool.

3) In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat, and cook a quarter of the potatoes until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a platter and let cool. Repeat process three more times with remaining butter, potatoes, salt, and pepper.

4) Arrange a quarter of the cooled potatoes in a slightly overlapping single layer in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with a third of the onions and sprinkle 1 teaspoon thyme over the dish. Layer another quarter of the potatoes over onions and thyme and top with another third of the onions and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Repeat process and finish with a layer of potatoes.

5) Pour chicken stock over potatoes and transfer baking dish to oven. If you like you can refrigerate until ready to bake...

6) Bake for 25 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue baking until potatoes are golden brown, about 30 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

I know that you are all quite busy so I thank you for taking the time to stop by ~ I do hope that you are able to find a few minutes to sit and stitch!

Until next time...

Away But Still Stitching and Posting

I am still vacationing in Houston, Texas with only about two weeks left until I must return to the cold weather in the Northeast. I have been keeping very busy stitching quilt blocks, and sewing on Deb's NRR and exchanges. Yesterday I spent the day at the Quilt Festival; it was wonderful. I have posted a picture of one of the many gorgeous quilts hanging at festival.

I participated in the Prairie Schooler Exchange (HOE) and received a beautiful Pinkeep from Karen K. I love all of the PS designs but am truly partial to fall designs, this one is absolutely stunning.

Karen included a great selection of extras including one of the older PS leaflets that I did not have. Thank you so much Karen, I appreciate everything that you sent!

HOE Prairie Schooler Exchange ~ Received from Karen K.

Wendy has received the Floss Tag Exchange (HOE) that I sent to her so I am now able to share pictures:

HOE Floss Tag Exchange ~ Sent to Wendy

I spent Thursday at the Quilt Festival in Houston and will be returning to the show on Saturday as well. I will leave you with a gorgeous quilt that was designed and stitched by Cynthia England of England Design Studio. She is an award winning quilter with an amazing talent; I encourage you to check out her website and take a look at all of her beautiful quilt patterns. Her latest patterns, Hens and Chicks and Barnyard Boss are wonderful. She offers a free pattern on her website if you are interested in trying out her Picture Piecing Technique.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Until next time...