Ornament Finish

I have been very busy the past few days with family here. I did have a little time to finish up this ornament that I started a while back. It is one of three from the Candy Cane Wishes pattern by Plum Pudding Needlearts. I used some dmc flosses. I used 3 flosses from Nancy at http://stores.ebay.com/Victorian-Motto-Sampler-Shoppe
I used her red, green & brown & love how they look. I am going to do the other 2 patterns on this same aida. It is a rainbow opal.
Thanks everyone for visiting & commenting!!!!!!

12 days of Christmas exchange

A group of online friends & I all were involved in a 12 days of Christmas exchange.
Renee had my name & she outdid herself with the gifts. She put so much thought into what she got for me! Everything was perfect!!! When I thought I had opened the best gift, something came along the next day that I thought was even more special. I have attached a picture here of the gifts I received. Renee, I subbed 2 candles I had on hand, because I have already been using the ones you sent!!!
Merry Christmas to all!!!
Thanks so much Renee for making the 12 days exchange a wonderful experience!

Progress on model & Merry Christmas!!!!

Well, since all of the Christmas preparations are now done, I have had a little time to get back to my passion in life! Stitching!!!!
I feel I have neglected my model & it feels so good to get back to it! I am enjoying so much working on this piece!!!!
I would like to wish each & everyone of you a very Merry Christmas. Thank you so much for making my blog a stop in your busy lives!!

Christmas came early!

Oh my!!!!!!!!!!!! I went out & got the mail today & there was a Christmas-y looking package. I couldn't figure out who it could be from. It was for me! It was my exchange package from one of my groups.
Sherry had my name & oh my!!! We were sent a stocking to stitch & fill. She went all out. I love every single thing she included.
So Sherry, if you see this, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! You truly made my day today!!!

Last RR neighborhood house finished

I just finished constructing my last RR house. This one is Pinetop Lodge by LHN. Another of Diane's charts that I haven't stitched, but I love the houses, so I am using them on the RR pieces!
With this, my commitments for 2008 are finished & I am going to get serious about my model now.
Thanks for all the comments about the candy. My family really enjoys them & so do my husbands co-workers & people we give the gifts to!!!

My stitching has been suffering because.........

........here is what I have spent a LOT of time on recently. This is an annual tradition that I cannot stop! I have tried, only to be told by MANY, MANY people that I cannot stop making my home made candies. And every year, when I say I am going to stop, I end up adding new things to my list. I still have 9 lbs. of the wafers on the counter, so I am not done yet!!!!!
In this picture are my turtles, choc. peanut clusters, several varieties of mints, peppermint bark, peanut butter & jelly bark, choc. covered cherries, cherry centers, raspberry chunks, molded peanuts & peanut butter fudge. I THINK that is everything! Don't eat too many while looking or you will get a tummy ache!!!
Merry Christmas!!!!!

My Neighborhood RR has come home!

My neighborhood RR piece has come home & now it is my responsibility to finish it!!! My house is the house in the middle & then 4 friends built their homes around mine. The bottom is a stream, running thru the neighborhood. I have to finish that, as you can see. I also will put some words on it, telling whose neighborhood this is!!! I am very happy with all of the houses. Thanks gals!!!! I am not sure how many of them read my blog!!!!

Walt the Malt---finished

Good morning! Between a very busy day yesterday, I was able to 'finish' Walt the Malt'. I was looking at posts on the 123 board & saw this finish. I thought it was perfect for Walt, so to the basement I went for canning jar lids! What an awesome, simple, adorable way to finish an ornament! It has so many possibilities! I plan to look for various ribbons & such when I go shopping with my best friend this weekend!!!
This ornament fulfills my obligations in 2 groups! We do an ornament each month. I completed & FINISHED all 12 of them!!!
Thanks for visiting & Merry Christmas!!!

Gift received & Christmas & stitching!

Wow, it has been a while since I updated my blog!
We had a very busy 4 day weekend. I was SO GLAD to HAVE to stay home yesterday. (I babysit on Mondays!) It felt good to stay home!!!
On Friday, my husband & I did the annual Black Friday sales. We left home before 4 am & were gone until about 2 pm. We got a lot of really good deals!!!
When we got home, I had a wonderful surprise in the mail. Mylene sent me a beuatiful package. It is a pinkeep she made, a card, and a box of wonderful chocolates!!! I am being kind & sharing with my guys, but oh, they are yummy! The funny thing about this is, I had purchased DMC for Mylene that very day!!!!
I am adding a picture of my stitching tree for you to see. It is so pretty with the ornaments from so many people, besides the ones I have done myself.
And, on the stitching front, I am working hard on my model, which I do not have a picture of today. I also stitched my Dec. ornament last night & added the final stitches this afternoon.
I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. Take time to relax & enjoy the season!!!
thanks for stopping by for a visit & thanks for the comments!!!

I have always wanted to live in a log cabin.....

but reality says that probably won't happen, so instead, I 'built my own' log cabin!
My log cabin is on the latest round robin piece I have done. I hope Carol likes it. I love how it turned out! It is from the LHN Dear Diary chart "Elizabeth McGuire".
Now, back to working on the model!!!!

Model progress & Tree to Cross

Wow, it has been over a week since I updated my blog. Time flies, for sure!
I have started on the model I am doing. I am taking it rather slowly here at first, because my eyes are bad. I went to the eye doctor yesterday, so hopefully sometime next week, I will be seeing better again. This getting older is for the birds!! The model is for Stephanie at nouveauencore.com
It is stitched over 1 on 28 ct. fabric. I am stitching Berries & Cherries. I LOVE IT!!!! It is so pretty & delicate!!!!
I am also attaching a picture of the Tree to Cross card that we framed after Christmas last year. We have a lot of the cards left, so I am offering to sell them for 3.00 each, postage included if anyone is interested. Just drop me a note & we can work out details.
I hope everyone has had a great week, has a great weekend & if I don't update again before than, have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!!!
Thank you so much for reading & for commenting! It means so much to me!

Bent Creek's Seasons of Change Row...

is complete!!!!! I finished it about a half hour ago, but had a few things to do before I could take a picture & post it!
I stitched it on Sassy's Sugared Coffee evenweave. I think this fabric is perfect for this piece. I used the called for WDW & GAST floss. If I hadn't already had this all kitted up, I could have easily substituted Nancy's Victorian Motto Sampler Flosses.
Now, I have to be totally serious & devoted to the model I have to do. I wanted to finish this one before I got too involved in it thou. Now...onward to the model!!!
Thank you for stopping by & to those who comment, an extra thanks. It seems my blog has lost interest again & I am not sure why!
Have a great evening!!!!

Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker SAL /Materials Chosen!

Woohoo!!!!!
I have finally decided on my materials for my Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker SAL piece. The SAL begins on Jan. 1st, so I have plenty of time yet.
I KNEW which flosses I wanted to use & got them quite a while ago. I was introduced to Nancy of the: Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. What awesome colors she has & oh my!!!!!! The prices are perfect! And the customer service is top notch as well. She is very quick to reply to emails & she send our your order very quickly.
I decided to go with a piece of fiddler's light aida that I had on hand. I am really trying to conserve money, so this was perfect. It is big enough & the colors I chose look great on it.
I have been tagged by a few people, but I am going to pass on participating in that this time. I have done this a while back. Thank you so much to those who tagged me.
I am hoping to have a finish to post today! Stay tuned!
Have a wonderful Thurs & thanks for looking & taking time to comment!!!!

Progress Picture

Hi all!!! Welcome to a new week. Well, Monday is about done, but still, a new week!!!
Today, I started & finished a very small piece for an exchange I am doing. We are provided with a small Christmas stocking. We are to stitch something to fit in the pocket of it & then fill it with stitching goodies for our partner!!! My stitching is complete, so now I must decide what to stuff in it!!!
I have also been working on Bent Creek's Change of Seasons Row. This has been a very enjoyable stitch, other than the frog visit on Sat. I think I stitched while extremely tired Friday night & the frog had fun with that!
I also have started a model that is going to take some time. Obviously, I won't be showing that, so my posts may be more sporadic.
My dad should have my pen made later this week & then I will have a better picture to share & more details on how you can get your own personal floss pen!!! I am excited for him about these!!!
Thanks for stopping by & thanks to those who leave comments. It is nice to know who pays me a visit!!! Have a great week!!!

Stitching afternoon!

I try to organize a stitch in at my house about once every 6 weeks or so. Today's group was very small!!!! I had one person show up. But, you know what?!?!?!?!!? We had a wonderful time, stitching & catching up.
I had won a contest on the group that Debra & I are in, so she brought the prize to me, instead of mailing it. See attached picture for the wonderful gifts I received. The contest was for the person with the most finishes that weren't finished! I realized after the contest ended that we didn't have a category for most finished finishes! I have LOTS of those too!!!!
She then surprised me with a lap quilt that she made. She has been making a lot of these & I was totally surprised when she gave me one!!!! I love it!!! And it is cold enough today, that I KNOW I will be covered with it before the day is done.
I hope to post a picture soon of what I was working on while she was here. I had a visit from the frog thou & I had to take out a good portion. I guess that is what I get for stitching TOO LATE at night!!!

Snowman's Quaker Christmas

Oh, it is good to have the computer back!!!!! My computer has been on the blink since the end of last week. It just started 'restarting' itself randomly sometime last week. DH worked on it all weekend & came to the conclusion we needed a new power pack. Well, UPS delivered it today & I am back in business!!!!!
Since I couldn't be on the computer, I had a LOT of stitching time!!!! I finished this little guy totally in one day. I have also worked on something else, but no pictures yet!!!!
I will try to catch up with reading everyone's blogs over the next few days. Please bear with me!!
It feels so good to be back!!! Thanks for looking & thanks so much for all of your kind comments!!!!! I so appreciate them!!!

Peace, by CCN

I chose the peace ornament by CCN for my November ornament to stitch. It was a simple, quick stitch & I LOVE IT!!!! The colors are totally me!!! I finished it with my new finish & it worked perfect. The colors match our bedroom perfect & I had one open peg on my display, so that is where it is!!! I stitched it on miracle mint evenweave.

Pen for Cross Stitchers!!!!!!!

As many of you know, my dad is a woodworker. Many of you have seen the bowls, pens, etc... that he makes. Well, if it works out, he will have exclusive rights to floss pens! He was sent a sample of what they would be like. I assured him that I would be 'showing it off' if I could see it. The person who does the blanks only sent him 1 of the the 2 pieces for a pen, but you can get the idea of what it will look like by the picture. I am also adding a link to my dad's web page, where you can see all of the other pens & goodies! You can bet I will be asking to get a floss pen!!!
http://www.finewoodturnings.com/ Dad has an email address listed on the website & a phone number as well! I am also attaching a picture of a whole pen, so you can see what the pen will look like!
EDIT: I just talked to dad on the phone! I am even more excited now!!!! Each of us who orders a pen will provide our VERY OWN FLOSS ENDS for our pens!!!! More details to follow!!!! Dad thinks these will sell for $25.00 each. Dad, are they ready yet?!!?!?!?!?! Love ya!

Jingle, Sparkle, Joy

What a fun stitch & finish!!!! I saw this freebie the other day & loved it. I then saw it stitched on Mylene's blog & knew I had to do it. I started it yesterday while babysitting, but couldn't stitch last night. So, I finished it today. I just now finished the 'finishing' of it. I even used my crop-a-dile. I am so pleased with that handy dandy tool. Thanks for the head's up Meari!
I found the freebie on this blog:
http://stitchingandscribbling.blogspot.com/

Warm Winter Wishes is finished!

And just in time I do believe. We had a few flurries in the air this morning. Only a couple, but enough to say, "yup, that is white stuff, not rain".
I finished Warm Winter Wishes last evening, but was too busy to update my blog. So, now I have a little time before needing to get busy again, so here I am.
I should have listed what fabric I used in the WIP update. So many of you asked about the fabric. I love this color & it was perfect for a wintery scene. It is called Lavendar Temptation & it is a FLAIR from Enchanted Fabrics.
I really like how this piece turned out. I want to have my husband make a frame for it & I want to paint it like the frame on the pattern picture. (it is a Waxing Moon pattern by the way)
Thank you so much for visiting & your kind comments!!! I saw some new names, some long lost names & some faithful followers!!!! Thanks one & all & have a great week!

Warm Winter Wishes

I started this project on Friday morning. I have seen it in progress on Julies blog & knew I had to get mine out & get started. I just love this little guy. I am ready to build his fire now, but I wanted to get my blog updated before I got too tired for the night.
I am real happy with how he is turning out. I am using the called for colors, but boy, they sure look different than the cover picture on the pattern!
Thanks so much for stopping by & for those of you who leave comments, extra thanks! It is nice to know who takes a look!!!!

Finally a Finish!!!!!!

Ok, maybe life will slow down now. I finally was able to finish the Neighborhood RR piece for Karen. I ran out of one of the flosses yesterday. We have ONE place in town that sells floss. So, away I went. I paid 69 cents plus tax for the silly skein of floss, but I had to have it!!
I just finished a few minutes ago! I hope Karen likes the addition to her neighborhood!!!

Enjoying the beauty of nature

WOW! Breathtaking!!! That is how I would describe our visit to the State Park yesterday. The leaves are beautiful. I found a tree that is a MUST GET for our yard!!! Not only does it have 3 different shaped leaves on it, the colors are gorgeous in the fall!!! I am posting a picture of it, among all the pictures. The first trail we walked was 4 1/2 miles. It was great!!! We knew we had time for one more, if it was rather short. We stopped in the nature center to get a drink of water & pick up some literature. One piece I picked up told about a maze in the park. So...that is what we did next!!!!! We walked thru the prairie grasses, looking for 'clues'. There were 8 of them. HOW FUN!!
On the stitching front, I am almost done with Karen's neighborhood house, so stay tuned for a stitched picture. Until then, enjoy God's beauty!!!

Incredibly Busy Week

Wow, where did the week go?!?! Here it is, Sat. I was so busy this week, I barely got any stitching done. I am working on a RR piece for one of the gals in a group I am in. There are 5 of us doing the aida cloth neighborhoods. I will post a picture after I finish it.
We missed taking our walks on Tues., Wed., and Thurs. because of our busy week. But, we were back out last night & I took more pictures!!! Amazing how the leaves have changed so much in just a few short days.
Tomorrow, look out state park---here we come!!!! One last trip before it gets to nasty to walk the trails. I can't wait!!!! I hope to replace the picture at the top of my blog with one from the same location, only with fall colors!!!
Until then, here are some from "down the road!" If you look real close at the one picture, you will see a deer running across the field. It & another one ran across the road in front of us, but I didn't have the camera ready.

who are the people(?) in your neighborhood???

We took our nightly walk again last night. I am planning to take my camera every night for a while, as the scenery is just breathtaking this time of year. I also need to remember to take it in my car when I am out & about!
Anyway, last night, I got a lot of neighborhood friends pictures. The cows are my friends! I talk to them each night. A few of them I have named & they know my voice & their names! I also took a few shots of some deer. And lastly, I took a picture of my dog & my adopted kitten.
I also am including some more pretty fall pictures.
Enjoy the beauty!!

Sunday evening walk

Hi all,
As we headed out for our evening walk last night, I saw a hot air balloon coming our direction. So, I grabbed my camera. I thought I might get a few nice shots. Well, it never came near enough for pictures, but I did take a bunch of the beautiful fall scenery. So, I am going to share some of them with you here. We walk a little over a mile each way, down to the end of the road. You can see, we live out in the boonies, but I LOVE IT!!!!!! Enjoy my views along with me! (edited late Monday afternoon to add the combine picture. This was right out my back door!!!!)

Fast Friday Stitch!!!

After finishing my October ornament on Friday, I wanted to work on something simple. Well, the Quaker Boo was just the thing to do. Quaker Boo is part of a freebie by Tanya of the Sampler Girl. I used Victorian Motto Sampler floss. Nancy has the prettiest colors!!!!
I started it on Friday late afternoon & finished it on Friday night. I didn't have time to touch it yesterday, but this afternoon, I set out to 'finish' it! I got out my handy dandy new Crop-a-Dile. THANKS FOR THE HEAD'S UP MEARI!!!!! I was anxious to see how it worked. Oh my goodness!!! I am in love!!! This tool is great for this purpose!!!
Many have asked how my book sale adventure went with DH yesterday. We got there as the doors opened at 9 am. At 11:45, we were leaving. We still had not seen all they had available, but we really did have more to do yesterday, than look at books!!! Between the 2 of us, we got 3 bags, crammed full to overflowing. I even found a stack of cross stitch leaflets. We were both thrilled with our bags!!! We have 'just a few' books to read now!
Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate each & every one of you!!!! Have a wonderful week!!

2nd post of the day! This time stitching related!

Hi, me again!!!!
I said in my earlier post to stay tuned for a finish today & I am here to proudly say, I have finished my Oct. ornament. It took so much longer than I expected but I LOVE how it turned out!!! Such a pretty design & colors!!!
It is Little House Needleworks Snow Bunnies from the 2007 Ornament issue. I did it on 32 ct. rue green evenweave (jobelan, I think)
Thanks so much for looking, for commenting!!!! I appreciate you so much!!!
Have a wonderful weekend!!!! Enjoy the beauty of fall!!!