2011 ~ A New Year!

Another year OVER and another year OLDER.  Here is a picture of this year’s birthday cake:

D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s, absolutely delicious! A chocolate cake with thin squares of chocolate scattered inside. I ate far too many slices but fortunately I still managed to drop an additional 3.5 pounds over the holiday/birthday...not sure how I managed that!

A huge thank you to Cathy for the wonderful birthday surprise!  I just opened her package and found this beautiful pendant that was designed by one of my favorite designers, Deborah Thorpe of Midsummer Night Designs. 

2010 Birthday Gift from Cathy B.

Hmmm, how pretty would this look on a silver chain?  Or maybe I will look through my Midsummer Night Designs patterns and find one that I can attach the pendant on to. Then again, I may take one of Cathy’s suggestions and use it on an ornament.  For now, and maybe always, the pendant will be placed on my silver necklace so that I can enjoy it throughout the year. 

Thank you my friend for the amazing birthday surprise. I cherish your friendship!

Let me share with you the Christmas gift that Cathy sent ~ this beautiful ornament...

Knowing how very talented she is I first thought that she made this but found out she purchased it at a craft fair. Thanks you again Cathy!

When I saw Cathy’s post with all of the GORGEOUS tatted ornaments made by her talented Mom I quickly emailed to see if I could purchase some. Here are a few that I ordered…

 
I did give a few away to friends of mine who loved them and asked if I made them. Yes, I told the truth and gave credit to Cathy’s mom.

These beauties are on the top of my list of favorite ornaments. I love them so much that I refuse to put them away until next year. They remain on my vintage fir tree so that I can see them daily! Many thanks to “Mom” for filling my order on such short notice.

Now that the holidays are over it is time for me to take a look at ALL of my UFO's and to determine how I will manage to complete some of them. My life is a bunch of unfinished projects! Yes, my goal for 2011 is to finish, finish, finish so much of what I have started and cast aside.


I hope that your holiday was enjoyable and that the New Year brings you much happiness and many hours of enjoyable stitching time.

Until next time...

Over The Top Gift From A Special Friend

I was in total shock when I opened a very large box from Vonna and pulled out this GORGEOUS Stitching basket:

2010 Birthday gift from Vonna

Designer: Little House Needleworks

Design: Traveling Stitcher

Finish: Stitcher’s Basket

I really do believe that my heart skipped a beat as my brain screamed, “Vonna, you are an amazingly generous, talented, creative, wonderful friend who has touched my life in countless ways!”  

Look at the stitching accessories tucked inside this basket:

Basket Accessories

A beautifully stitched pincushion, a ring of floss tags, a pair of scissors, and a gorgeous Mother of Pearl 3” ruler (complete with a handy tassel)!

Vonna, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful birthday gift and for your friendship. I will enjoy carrying my stitching projects in what will forever be a cherished heirloom. For now my new basket will remain by my sewing chair for ALL to enjoy.

I will leave you with a quote that always brings Vonna to the forefront of my mind:

Friendship without self-interest is one of the rare and beautiful things in life.



Until next time...

3 FRENCH HENS…

3 French Hens... cute, cute cute! I just received a RAK from one of the dearest stitchers that I know, sweet Carol S.  What a surprise it was to open Carol’s package and gaze upon this whimsical  ornament:

Designer: Sisters And Best Friends

Design: 3 French Hens

Stitched by: Carol S.

Finish: Ornament

How cute are these little hens all decked out in French Maid’s costumes?  I shall smile and think as I place this ornament on my tree every year. Thank you my dear friend for this thoughtful RAK, you touched my heart in a very special way.

Until next time...

A Sweet Reason To Post

Quiet? Yes, I have been very quiet and this is probably because I have done very little stitching.

Yesterday Edgar gave me a truly SWEET reason to blog.  I received an unexpected package in the mail that I anxiously opened.  I am not signed up for any exchanges and I had not made any recent online purchases so I could not imagine what this package held.  When I opened it and read the card I immediately said to my DH, "Edgar is so sweet!"  He sent me the most delicious chocolate covered cherries, a jar of Peach Jam that I am sure is delicious, and white chocolate candy filled with dried cranberries and nuts...SWEET.  With every bite, my brain screamed FABULOUS!

Thank you Edgar for being so thoughtful.  You made my day that much sweeter and put a much needed smile on my face! :D

So, what has kept me busy these days? A little bit of this and a little bit of that.  I have decorated my house for the holiday starting with this new wreath for the door.

The mantel is decorated with my small collection of Byers Choice Carolers...

Here is a closer look:

I will save the other pictures for another post.

Lastly, I have been busy rearranging my sewing room in preparation for the arrival of my newly purchased Koala Sewing center.  I purchased this at the International Quilt Festival in October and can hardly wait until it is delivered this month.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will be able to maneuver the 400-pound table up my curved stairway.

For now my sewing room is a MESS and I must get up there and work on organizing all of my "stuff"

Until next time...

It Doesn't Feel Much Like Fall Around Here

Oh how I love the fall, especially Halloween but I must say I am missing "Fall in New England".  It just doesn't feel much like fall around here so I decided that I had to get busy and drag out the Fall/Halloween box to decorate the house.  Now that so many of the stores have all of the Halloween decoration out on the shelves I need to try to stay out of them; I always seem to find something new that I must have.

A new wreath for the door…

A new centerpiece for the table…

A newly decorated vintage tree…

And yesterday I received a wonderful Halloween package from Erin W. that contained some great new decorations:

HOE Halloween Exchange

Stitched by: Erin W.

Take a closer look at the fabulous pillow:

Designer: The MonkeyWorks

Design: In The Graveyard

Can you see the beaded skeleton? Erin, clever stitcher that she is, decided to forgo the white floss and use white beads instead (the picture on Erin's blog is better so be sure to pop on over and take a look). I shall prop this pillow up on the mantel in my family room for all to see. The cute ghost bell and Halloween plaque are displayed on the vintage tree. Thank you so much Erin for all that you sent, you made this an extra special exchange!

My exchange has quite a distance to travel so I do not expect that it will arrive until next week. I will wait to hear from my partner before posting pictures.

Your comments make me smile and knowing that you visited makes my day so thank you all.

Until next time...

A Few Exchanges

Where in the world is sweet Heather??? Since the quilting bug bit her, I hardly ever see any of her beautiful cross-stitch work. Well, she did complete this beauty not too long ago but much of her blog these days highlights her gorgeous quilts!  I was so happy to be able to participate in a personal Fall exchange with her and was excited when her package arrived.  Knowing Heather I knew that it would be amazing.

Fall Personal Exchange from Heather

Heather selected a design from My Aunt's Attic website and stitched it on 32ct linen using a pretty fall variegated floss. She selected the most wonderful fabric, one that truly compliments the design and matches the floss perfectly, and she stitched up the gorgeous Project Bag.  How could I not love this one??? I tore through my unfinished projects and selected a Scarlett Letter project to tuck away inside the bag.  Many thanks Heather, you are a dear friend!

I was a bit undecided on what to stitch for Heather; should I stitch a Halloween Design or should I stitch a Thanksgiving design.....Hmm??? Sort of like Heather's Blog title "Quilt or Stitch? how about both.  Okay, Halloween or Thanksgiving? How about both.

I love using Anna Lee dolls to display a cross stitched piece so when I came across this handsome Pilgrim I snatched him up and took him home.  And what do Pilgrims bring to the table to feast on? A Turkey.

Since receiving this really nice glass mason jar from CathyB I have been anxious to make one. Luckily I took her advice and rushed out to locate these cute little canning jars before the stores ran out or packed them away until next season.  It did not take long for me to select a Halloween design: A pumpkin.  

JBW French Country IV Pumpkin

It is hard to believe that it is October 3rd and I only participated in one, yes one Fair and Square exchange this year. I certainly picked a good one....HALLOWEEN!  My partner for this round was Nancy K. who sent me these wonderful blocks:

Fair &Square Halloween

Designer: BBD

Stitched by: Nancy K.

She stitched the design using Tentakulum variegated thread called "Halloween" and WDW "Twilight" floss for the cat.

Thanks Nancy, you did a great job selecting and stitching the perfect design; I just love it!

Here are the blocks that I stitched for her:

Fair & Square Halloween

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Design:

Stitched for: Nancy K.

I was recently pulling floss for a project and I realized that I was running low on one of my very favorites: Victorian Motto Sampler Floss. I immediately ordered some and VERY quickly received these:

Nancy offers some of the most beautiful colors. Gorgeous, simply gorgeous! I can't wait to thread my needle with them. 

Hop on over to Edgar's blog where he is having his annual Hobbit Birthday Drawing! Better get over there quick, he will be drawing at 7am Monday!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Enjoy your week.

Until next time...

Back To Quilting

I have been quiet because I have been busy… QUILTING.  Yes, I have been spending more time behind the Bernina these days.  I recently completed a baby quilt for my neighbor, who will be having her 1^st baby at the end of this month.  I participated in a shop hop with some friends when I came across a pattern by Bunny Hill Designs titled, Binkies on Broadway.  Having recently seen the new baby room I knew that this was the perfect design. Fortunately, I was able to complete the quilt before the arrival of the new baby; that’s a first. 

Designer: Bunny Hill Designs

Design: Binkies On Broadway

Size: 52"x52"

Baby Gift



I am working on two other designs by Bunny Hill the first is Yoyoville. 

Designer: Bunny Hill Designs

Design: Yoyoville

Size: 69"x87"

I just love this quilt. I decided to stitch mine using a fall color palette and am busy making yoyo’s….lots and lots of yoyos!



The second design that I will be starting soon is called Little Friends. 

Designer: Bunny Hill Designs

Design: Little Friends

Size: 44"x52"

I am going to stitch mine in shades of blue, green and yellow and have put together this collection of fabrics…

I still want to “audition” a few more fabrics but I must get started soon.  My son’s friend will be having a baby in early November and I offered to stitch a baby quilt; what was I thinking???



A few weeks ago, our Quilt Guild held their first ever quilt show, and what a fabulous show it was!  Seriously, they had 200+ quilts on display and about 40 vendors, not bad for a local quilt guild.  I decided to enter my miniature quilt for judging and was very excited when I saw it on display looking like this:

Garden In Bloom

Miniature Quilt

Yes, I won two ribbons! I won 1st place in the miniature category and I was awarded a ribbon for Best Precision Piecing. The quilt measures 15"x18" and consists of 331 hexagons, all hand pieced.

I just mailed two exchanges so I should have some cross stitch pictures to share in my next post….whenever that might be.

As always thank you for taking the time to stop by.  I know that I have not been very diligent with my blogging but it always takes me SO long to create a post, sometimes it feels like a 9-5 job. :)

Until next time...