Exchanges Sent and Received

Life has kept me busy and I am finding it difficult to set aside time to blog but I must take a minute to share pictures of a number of exchange pieces that I received and sent...

This is what I stitched for Carol R for the HOE Ornament Exchange:

HOE Ornament

Stitched for Carol R

I participated in an ornament exchange with the Prairie Schooler group and received a wonderful exchange from Cyndi. Thanks so much Cyndi, I just love my new ornament and look forward to hanging it on our tree. Thanks for the wonderful extras that you included.

PS Ornament Exchange from Cyndi

And here is what I stitched for Cyndi:

PS Exchange

Stitched for Cyndi

Below are three of the latest Fair and Square exchange pieces that I received. Many thanks to Nicky, Melissa, and Sue!

FAIR AND SQUARE EXCHANGE

F&S Round #9 from Nicky

F&S Holiday Round from Melissa

F&S Round 10 from Sue

And here are two of the F&S Exchanges that I sent out:

Fair & Square Round #9 For Nicky

F&S Holiday for Melissa

I must wait until Sue receives her F&S round #10 before posting a picture.

Since returning from Texas I have been busy trying to finish some Quilting UFO's! I guess you could say that attending the Quilt Festival served to spark my passion for quilting. I have completed the top to my Flannel quilt, which is quite a large quilt (98" x 112"), and I picked up the Baby Quilt from the quilter and have put the binding on. I will show pictures of both in a later post.

As for stitching I have spent the last two days trying to organize my pattern stash. A visit to Staples yesterday left me organizing until about 3AM but I did get quite a bit accomplished ~yahoo!

It is hard to believe that I have no more exchanges due in 2008. I am keeping busy stitching a few Christmas gifts for friends and spending Friday nights stitching on VOHRH with the Let's Stitch Group.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Until next time...

Exchanges Received X 3

I arrived home from my trip to Texas to find three truly wonderful exchanges…

First, there was the Private Thanksgiving Exchange from Jill F. I was so excited when I saw the amazing cube that Jill so beautifully stitched and finished. She selected “Autumnology” by The Trilogy and stitched the six designs on 32ct Lambswool. Take a look…

I must show you all six sides:

Wow! I was blown away with this one, my first ever cube! In addition, Jill sent a bundle of extras…

• Private Thanksgiving Exchange
• Received From Jill

Did you see the beautiful Marking Pin/Thread Counter that Jill made? It is positioned to the right of the cube. :D

Thank you so very much Jill for making this such a wonderful exchange!

Next, I received a wonderful Floss Tag Exchange (HOE) from Joan S. Although I have made a number of these very popular Floss Tags, I do not have one myself and am delighted to have received this one from Joan.

HOE Floss Tag

Received from Joan S.

I love that she personalized it and that she stitched it in my favorite color.

When I tore open the package, I gazed upon one of Joan’s famous project bags. My eyes popped and my heart jumped! You see I have admired her project bags on numerous blogs and secretly wished for one so thank you Joan. The project bag was jam packed with all of these extras…

Floss Tag Exchange (HOE) from Joan S.

Thanks Joan, I love and appreciate everything that you sent.

Last but certainly not least, I received a beautiful new Christmas Ornament from Cyndi. We were partnered together in the Prairie Schooler Ornament Exchange. I am so partial to all of the PS designs but I especially love the older ones.

PS Ornament Stitched by Cyndi

In addition to a beautiful card, Cyndi also sent along some very pretty bookplates, Crescent Colours floss and some tea that I am anxious to try.

Prairie Schooler Christmas Ornament Exchange

Received from Cyndi

Thanks Cyndi for making this exchange so very special. I look forward to hanging your ornament on my tree!

I have learned that some of the exchanges that I sent out have been received however, I will wait and post pictures of them another day.

As always thanks for taking time to stop by.

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...

And I'm Off...

Saturday I will be flying off to Texas for a month where I will visit good friends and attend International Quilt Festival. This is a great Quilt Show with 1000+ vendor booths, hundreds of quilts on display, and an extensive class catalog. It is a Quilt Show like no other!

While browsing the Quilt Festival website I came across a great deal on a subscription to Country Living, 12 issues for just $5.00(click here if you are interested). Now if only I could find cross stitch magazine subscriptions for 5.00!

I spent the last two days making a baby quilt for my friend’s grandbaby that is due in early December. I really wanted to complete the top this week so that I could bring it in to have it quilted while I am away. It took me two days to piece this, I was up until 4am this morning but I got it done. I am pleased with how it turned out; even happier that it is now at the quilters. Once it is complete I will take a better picture of it, I quickly snapped this before heading out and it is not the best.



I have completed the stitching on three exchanges and I may even be able to do the finishing before heading to Texas, fingers crossed! I did join Becky's Let's Stitch group and have decided to spend Friday nights stitching on my VOHRH. I am on block #6, have been since the spring, and I look forward to finally removing it from the WIPs Project Basket and completing it.

This is where I left off~

Well, the house is very quiet. Misha and Lily left for PA with my DS yesterday. He eagerly agreed to tend to them while I am away, but I am not quite sure he knows what he is in for with Little Miss Lily! She is nothing like Sweet Misha who, at 11 years, is an angel and SO easy.


Apparently, my DS has plans for Halloween that will include Lily (hopefully no wild college parties). Here is a peek at her costume, cute huh? OINK!

Lily 4 1/2 months ~ 2.5 pounds

I am not sure how much blogging I will do over the next month; I will probably read blogs but will not be updating mine for a while.


Have a great month and I will leave you with this image ~

HAPPY FALL

Until next time...

On The Move

My blog has been neglected but for good reason, we sold our house and have temporarily moved to the next town. Our plan is to purchase a permanent house in Vermont but after this move I need a break from all the packing and unpacking so, I will start my house hunting early next year. Given the depressed housing market I am truly thankful that our house sold and that we can move on.

Since I have had no time for stitching, I shall share a few before and after pictures of what I have been busy with:

Before:

After:

(Notice the three boxes? These were used to "try" to keep Lily out but she managed to squeeze through the railing and leave me a little surprise!)

Although I have lived in seven states and nine homes, I have been fortunate in that I have not had to engage in the daunting task of packing and moving, our moves have been corporate moves…except this one. Having to pack up a 4400 square foot home, taking care to inventory each box, and moving many of them on our own makes me truly appreciate the benefit of a corporate move. We did have the movers come in to handle most of the furniture and heavy boxes. They lifted furniture with easy, toted large boxes with minimal effort but when it came to hauling the commercial treadmill, they truly struggled. I honestly was not sure how they would accomplish this task without dropping it, but they did. Even "the big guy" (actually huge guy) was straining, not to mention sweating.

Somewhat settled I have resumed my stitching and am busy trying to complete some exchanges before I head off for a one month stay in Texas on the 18th. I am going to spend a month in Houston where I will visit my good friends and attend International Quilt Festival. I am also hoping to meet up with an online friend, Anita; this will be the first time that I get to meet an online friend...there are so many of you that I would love to meet!

Well, little Miss Lily is adorable but I am still struggling to housebreak her. Consistency is what I am aiming for and she just does not seem to get it. Therefore, I must live with baby gates and hope that she will “get it” very soon so that we all can roam freely about the house.

Oh, what is that? I hear unopened boxes calling my name…Grrrr!!!

Until next time...

Drum Roll Please...Meet Lily

Fortune truly does come to those that wait! For the past few year I have been looking for another female Yorkshire Terrier and am so happy to say that I found her ~ Meet Lily:

LILY

12 weeks old

We picked her up a few weeks ago when she was 12 weeks old and she has certainly been keeping me busy. The timing of her arrival was perfect, we brought her home on a Sunday and both of my sons left for college on Tuesday. My house is certainly not as quiet or boring with Lily in it! But I must say that I really do miss G & D, and I let them know that almost daily! :)

Yesterday the postman delivered a package from Gaby which contained the HOE Needleroll Exchange. I was thrilled to see her name on the envelope; she had filled a wish for me on the MAW board and stitched up the most gorgeous Biscornu. I quickly tore open the package and gazed upon an equally gorgeous Needleroll. I had to smile because it is the very same design that I stitched for my partner, I do believe that we are not the only ones that selected this popular design. Every detail is simply perfect ~the stitching, the beading, the finishing! I do wish that I could finish the top/bottom edges as nicely as you do Gaby, I just may need a few tips from you on that!

HOE: Needleroll Exchange
Designer: M Designs
Design: Five Roses Needle Roll
Stitched by: Gaby

In addition Gaby included some wonderful extras she stitched the most adorable little Biscornu scissor fob, this little gem measures a mere 1 ¾ across! I have stitched and finished hundreds of items but never have I made a Biscornu and certainly could not imagine making one this small. Thank you Gaby for that little treasure and for the Flower Pot stitching kit, the Heart for finishing, and the large cut of 32 count linen which will be perfect for a Halloween design. My life is a bit hectic these days and I must say that you managed to brighten my day with all of these wonderful treasures, thank you so much!

Tiny Biscornu Fob

I have heard from Margaret that she received my Needleroll exchange so I will share a picture of that:

HOE: Needleroll Exchange
Stitched for: Margaret S.

I participated in a Small Santa Exchange on the Prairie Schooler Fans Yahoo Group and here is what I stitched for CJ:

PS Friends Small Santa Exchange
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Design: St. Nicholas II – Book 36

And for your viewing pleasure (I cannot resist) I will leave you with another picture of the Princess and the Pea (Misha and Lily)...

Misha age 11 years
Lily age 15 week

Until next time...