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...

I Just Had To...

What, no stitching pictures???

Nope, not today ~ sorry. Please indulge me, if only for a second, as I share these memorable moments...

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

COLD AND DAMP BUT NO RAIN

GRADUATING CLASS OF 2009

A QUICK WAVE

PIZZA DELIVERY

A MESSAGE ON THE CAP

I love this picture of my son and his girlfriend (she too was graduating from the School of Business). The night before graduation I asked my son to mark the top of his Cap so that I would be able to identify him in the crowd...actually the "shades" did the trick...Well, to my surprise, he did mark his Cap with a message for me: "Thanks A Bajil" ~

It is still so very hard to believe that he has graduated, where did the time go? My very dear friend told me when he entered High School that it would fly by; she failed to tell me that his college years would go by even faster. For those of you that will be sending your DS/DD off to college this fall, hang on it's a fast ride!

I returned home to find three wonderful exchanges that I am anxious to share so stay tuned I will be sharing pictures of them in my next post.

Until next time...

Time Flies

It seems like yesterday he was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...

And on Sunday he will be graduating from college!

I will be heading off to Pennsylvania today to attend my son’s graduation from Villanova University this weekend. It is so hard for me to believe that he is graduating. It seems like yesterday that we were taking a campus tour and discussing how impressed he was with the University. Then again, it seems like yesterday that he was eating that sandwich!

I am truly looking forward to seeing both of my sons. I have never lived so far away from them and am not liking that too much. Fortunately, the younger one will be returning home for the summer and I could not be happier. The older one has a new job (close to NYC) and will remain in the northeast. Now that he is graduating what are the odds that he will ever return home? Slim, I know.

I do not expect to get much stitching done since I will be busy helping him locate an apartment and moving…yes, more moving! I did pack my HEAD stitching in hopes of making a little progress on that huge design. I am not certain when I will be returning home; it will depend on how fast he gets an apartment.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and as always I thank you for making time in your busy day to stop by!

Until next time...

What A Treat...

To open a box from Paula C. and find all of this….

I could not get over her generosity. How lucky I was to win her Blogiversary! Would you believe that I remember reading Paula’s very first post? I have enjoyed it ever since! Thank you so much Paula for this amazing Give-A-Way, I especially love the stacked pincushion that you made and shall treasure forever.

Can you believe that I also won one of the 2nd place prizes on the Blackbird Design Blog?

Yup, I was one of the 133 people that entered a picture of my stitched Petites Lettres Rouges sampler and my name was drawn. Seriously, I can’t win a cake in a cakewalk maybe my luck has changed. Can you believe that 133 people stitched up this sampler? 132 of them probably linked to it from Vonna’s blog! Thanks for sharing Vonna; you are always so good about that. I shall post a picture of the card from Paris that I won when it arrives.

I am very happy to say that four of the stitched pieces that were almost accidentally discarded by my DH are now at the frame shop being framed. I decided that, for their protection, they needed to be framed and mounted on the wall. I still have about five more that need some form of finishing; they have been safely tucked away in my sewing room where no “man” dare enter!

There’s a new blog in town: Cross Stitch in the Garden by Beth…you may know her from Fanci That Designs. Actually, Beth is not new to blogging; she is returning to the blog world so stop on over and take a look... Welcome back Beth! :D

I was reading Heather’s blog and she mentioned that she has been doing far more quilting these days than cross-stitch…I remember those days, I had put down my tapestry needle in exchange for the tiny quilting needle and gave up on cross stitch for a number of years (so very hard to believe). In 2007 I switched back and have done very little quilt making, however, I am seriously considering starting this quilt:

Spinning Wheels Quilt

What is holding me back? Could it be the many unfinished quilt tops and bags of quilt blocks that I already have? Why YES! I don’t know, this quilt is calling my name and I am not sure how much longer I can ignore it~ time will tell.

Have you visited the All People Quilt website? There are some great quilting/crafting freebie projects, video instructions, tips, and much more. I have found instructions for projects that I can modify and use in my cross stitch finishing. I printed out the instructions for this Sewing Roll so that I could use it to finish one of my cross stitch pieces:

Instructions for Sewing Roll

Thanks to those that shared with me their “dog” stories, I found them helpful and encouraging. Lily now has her crate and does not seem to mind going inside when I leave but then again who knows if she is howling while I am gone…let’s hope not. As for the messed up wall ~ well, it is being fix thanks to my DH and his million gadgets and tools.

Have a great day!

Until next time...

Fair & Square from Jen

My "collection" of Fair & Square blocks continues to grow, with the newest addition arriving from Jen R. What a wonderful block, I adore this sweet birdhouse design and love those tiny buttons. I wish that I could share with you what I plan to do with these beautiful blocks but for now, I have no idea so I shall merely share this picture:

Fair & Square ~ round #12 from Jen R

Now, how cute is that? Thank you so much Jen for the amazing blocks I love them.

My "cute" little dog is driving me NUTS! Unlike any other dog that I have owned, this one chews and does not like being left alone. I was out and about for a mere 2 hours and when I returned and opened the laundry room door this is what I came home to:

She must have scratched at it!!! I use to leave her in the master bath until she chewed on the corner of the vanity! Now when I leave I put both dogs in the laundry room (Misha is a good girl and does not need to be in there but I am fearful of what Lily would do without her) this is the 1st time that she has done any damage and it shall be the last. I am going to end this post so that I can read about "crating" and check for some type of a corral to keep her in. I have plans to attend a quilt show on Friday and had planned on leaving her in the laundry room, now I am afraid....very afraid~

Thanks for stopping by~

Until next time...

24 Hours And It Is Done!

I am certain that Vonna did not realize when she wrote her April 16th post that she would be setting me up for a challenge. When I read these words:

"I printed the chart off, picked my colors and fabric and here it is 24 hours later"

I thought, "How did she do that?" I was determined to see if I could stitch this in 24 hours!

Well, I loved the chart and knew in an instant exactly what I would do with my version of the Blackbird Designs Petites Lettres Rouge sampler...

When I first saw the sampler, it brought to mind the Schoolgirl Samplers of earlier days when young girls under the age of 10, as a way to learn letters and numbers, executed these simple style samplers. These samplers enabled the girls to learn various stitches but more importantly, they served as an educational tool setting the foundation for reading and mathematics. For this reason, I immediately thought of stitching Petites Lettres Rouge as a way to commemorate my oldest son’s upcoming college graduation from Villanova University. With the school colors in hand I headed to my LNS to find the appropriate threads, selecting WDW Americana, Sampler Threads Blue Jay and Morning Glory I then rushed home to stitch this design on a piece of 32 ct Belfast linen. And to quote Vonna:

"I printed the chart off, picked my colors and fabric and here it is 24 hours later:"

Petites Lettres Blue, I Am So Proud Of You!

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Design: Petites Lettres Rouges

Fabric: 32ct Belfast Linen

Threads: WDW, Sampler Threads

Here is my version of Petites Lettres Rouge Sampler, now titled: Petites Lettres Bleu, I Am So Proud Of You!

Once framed it shall hang on my sampler wall where 3 years from now I shall hang the second one, stitched in browns, to commemorate my youngest son’s graduation from Lehigh University.

Thanks Vonna for sharing the information and link to this design. I must also thank Alma and Barb at Blackbird Designs for offering this free pattern for without it I surely would not have thought to stitch such a beautiful remembrance of my son’s accomplishment.

I had a number of new visitors to my blog and would like to say thank you for finding me and for your nice comments! It is always exciting to see that new bloggers have stopped by, but as always I value the returning bloggers more than you know!

Have a wonderful week. I encourage you all to jump at every opportunity to challenge yourself it is so very rewarding!


Until next time...

“Is This Trash?” He Asks

As he stands in front of me holding this opened, and almost emptied, book box...

My eyes bulged, my heart skipped a beat, and my blood boiled as I spat these words, “OMG NO, that is not trash, that’s my completed cross stitch pieces!” And this my friends is what could have easily been discarded…

He, my husband that is, meant no harm ~ he was trying to be helpful. You see as I open boxes I tend to leave a small one for trash or items I no longer want and he thought he would be helpful and bring the box outside to pile with all of the others. Can you imagine sending these off for rubbish collection? I am not sure my marriage would have survived that. :D

All is well these lovelies are safe in my sewing room, a place that he does not enter. I did not realize that I had so many completed projects that needed finishing!

Yesterday was a very nice mail day. I received this beautiful exchange from Nic who stitched for me in the FTT Drawn Thread Exchange. She stitched a gorgeous scissor fob and a floss tag:

Friends Through Threads

Drawn Thread Exchange

Scissor Fob and Floss Tag

From Nic

In addition, she sent some wonderful extras: a fat quarter, some ribbon, folding scissors, a note pad and some seed beads. Nic also sent a very nice card wishing me well in my new home and when I opened it I found the leaf buttons and flower bud; so very thoughtful.

Thank you so much Nic for the wonderful exchange, you certainly brightened my day!


I recently complete a Sheepish Design titled: Pray For Me. I stitched this one for my cousin but I have not decided how I will finish it. I would like to find a nice wooden box and mounted it on the top but if I cannot find one then I will frame it.

My friend had her first grand daughter so I made her this quilt and I also made this little door hanger but I forgot to post a picture of it.

Recently I sent pictures of Little Lily to my son who sent me a text to say that she looks so much older, she has grown fast as you will see but she is still cute as ever.

Lily at 8 weeks ~ too cute!

Lily at 10 months ~ still too cute!

With that lovely picture, I will end this post! Thank you for taking the time to stop by for a visit and for your comments I do enjoy reading them.

Until next time...