Bloomers

I have 1 last 'finish' to post this year. This great piece is 'Bloomers' from Ink Circles. Tracy did a great job designing this piece. I made this for my mother for Christmas and changed the colors to match her home. I put it into a Sudberry Tea Tray and ta da! I think it turned out terrific. I used 32ct Belfast Mocha with DMC.

This is the last day of 2009 and we are almost ready to ring in the new year. Looking forward to another great year! This year was good-- next year even better! I have made many new friends this year and I am so blessed to have them-- you know who you all are!! Cant wait to get together many many times and have tons of fun. Tons of laughter and tons of stitching!!!!!!!! Thank you to all of you!!

Thank you to all of you who read my blog and leave all the wonderful and loving comments about my progress/finish pics. You all too, keep me encouraged to keep doing what I love to do. STITCH!!!!!

Happy New Year to all of you and I will talk to you again next year!

Summer Iris

For Christmas gifts this year I made several homemade items. This is the first time I have done this, and had such a blast doing it. Each piece I made was selected perfectly for each and every person.

Summer Iris by Blackbird Designs was no exception. I made this for my Grandmother and switched up the colors (of course) using Crescent Colors and Weeks Dye Works on 32ct Vintage Woodsmoke. Went over to Joanns and found the perfect cotton backing and added ric-rac to the edges. With each and every stitch, I was thinking of great times that I have had with Grandma, and trying to guess where she might end up putting this super cute piece. She did open this gift early and was so delighted that I made it for her. To hear her excitement and laughter made it even more special. I wasn't able to be with her this year, but I did feel like I was right there. I am so glad I am able to still call her up and share stories with her!

Last week I mentioned to you that we had deer that come through the yard almost daily. Of course, I am hardly ever up to see them. This morning after hours and hours of rain, these beautiful animals came through at coffee time! There were 7 of them, and how fun to see. Last weeks snow is almost all gone now. We are glad we got rain yesterday then 2 feet of snow! It is warmer today, and the sun is shining. It is another great day for stitching!!

Home Coming Sampler

Did everyone have a great Christmas Day! Get all that they had wished for?! We had a great day, saw relatives we haven't seen in a while which is always nice!!

On Christmas Eve I finished my Home Coming Sampler by The Sampler House Eileen Bennett. Nice to be done with this one, it has not been a easy one for me to work on, although it should have been. Using 40ct Liberty Gathering Grey with the called for DMC. I had only 6 animals left to stitch and I told my Husband I wasn't moving from the couch until is was done! In a small matter of time I was off and moving :)

From Our House to Yours

Enjoying time with Family and Friends is such a wonderful thing on this very Special day. Just talking to some special friends on the phone to brighten your day with a few laughs!! Hope Everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

Look at this....

A very special gift arrived today, from a very Special Person. I knew that something was on its way last week. My package arrived today, and in a MILLION years, this would not have been anything I would have expected!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??!!!!! Look at these beauties!!! We saw this pair of scissors a few months ago, and we both commented on how wonderful they were. Never, did I ever expect to OWN them!!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! I am so THRILLED to have these in my collection of scissors you have no idea!!!!!!!!! Lucky me!!

Treats and Snow

Despite all the snow we were getting and what we got, my Christmas party still went off without a hitch! Some of the goodies we had were these great treats. Look at all those eyes! These cupcakes are some of our families favorites. The local bakery has been making them for years and years, and they are such a fun treat. We like the big bird style because of all the icing. They make them in other Sesame Street characters- such as Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, etc. etc. They are always a hit.


My Husband wanted sugar cookies, and I said, well, if you want them, knock yourself out. Make them. I am usually not much of a baker, and didn't want to deal with the mess, so he went ahead and made them. He did an excellent job, they turned out fabulous!


My sister made this bunt style cake with all the drizzle and almonds. She is an excellent cook, as well as a baker so this treat was a must have! She does everything to perfection, and I wouldn't have expected anything else with this. Everyone thought it was purchased from the local bakery. Nope, she is truly amazing!!


Being as cold as it was, and all the snow that was falling, a Christmas party wouldn't have been the same without a fire. I just love having one, so warm and cozy. Of course, this one was just the beginning, it was roaring in no time.




Looking out in the backyard, there is a beautiful blanket of white. So calm and peaceful. So perfect and un-touched. It will be fun to watch for the deer tracks, we have a family of 5 that come through almost daily. I will try and get some pics of them. The sun is shining now, and things will start to melt. It is always a nice treat to see the snow, even though I HATE the cold weather. For the past few days it has been a high of 25 and a low in the high teens. The wind doesn't help much either!

It is a great day to stay indoors and stitch by the fire. All cozied up and enjoying some of the great left-over snacks! Only a few more days until Christmas, and not much left to do. Perhaps a few more parties and get togethers. We shall see!

Sampler Purse Finished!!

As you can see, this is the 'something' I was working on this week, that is now finally complete. The stitching part to me, was a piece of cake, the finishing part however was a pita. I cut out the interfacing, ironed and sewed this beauty into a new look. I am sooo excited to see the final product and look forward to using it sometime over the Holidays. This design is from Dames of the Needle, and I used the called for fabric- 32ct Vintage Woodsmoke Lakeside. I changed all the Gentle arts threads it called for (shock) into Gloriana and Silk N Colors. I love the Blackbirds! The colors are just so vibrant. For the lining I chose a deep teal in Dupioni Silk, I felt it needed a fancy fabric, especially because I chose the silk threads.

I am still working on a few other projects, soon to be posted. But I just had to stop and share this with you!! Thanks to everyone who reads my blog-- and takes the time to comment, email or text me. I just love it :)

Added to answer some questions!

I am going to keep it as a clutch, to me it is very dainty that way :)

I purchased this pattern at my LNS, most shops should be able to order this--it is a must have for sure!!

Some progress..

Only a few more animals to show, but I am moving along slowly on this Homecoming Sampler by Eileen Bennett. The lady on the corner is so cute, and I just have to stitch her shoes.

My Christmas shopping is done now. I have been enjoying the Holiday decorations, in the mall, in peoples homes, on the outside of their homes. I love white lights. Something about them, they are so elegant and classic. Timeless white lights. My husband loves colored lights, He has his own tree. When I was growing up, my grandmother always had a real tree, and the big colored bulbs-- I think they are the C7's. I found them a few years back, and was so excited, I purchased them for His tree-- so it satisfied his fill for the colored lights, and the 'crazy' ornaments, and satisfied my fill for remembering Christmas at Grandmas.

This weekend we are having our first Christmas party of the season. Everyone is bringing their favorite dessert, and we will just get together for some fellowship. I look forward to seeing my family, it is not often to get everyone together, so many states and so many schedules need to collide. Not to easy! It should be a great time. Getting all dressed up, and enjoying cocktails and company. Not to shabby right?! I hope it doesnt snow....

I have been working on a project that I will post soon, I am so excited to have it almost done. It is very exciting to see posts about favorite treats and favorite Christmas ornaments that are sent over from stitching friends. Everyone of them are so beautiful! I am stitching an ornament currently, I should be done tonight, tomorrow I will visit the fabric store to see what I want for the back. I will post pics of that one too!

Gotta get back to it! Enjoy the rest of your day :)

You ever have one of those Days?

Anyone have one of those days you wake up and wish you could start over?! Today is one of those days. I got up at 8am, and by 8:25am things were already hitting the fan. Holy smokes. Crazy emails, voicemails, packages not delivered on time! AGIDA I tell you! AGIDA. Yesterday I already started dealing with these things and opened a bottle last night. Let me tell you, I am ready to pour it over my cereal!!! LOL. It is supposed to be a GREAT day today, and maybe after a mid-morning cocktail it will be :).

Progress on the Homecoming Sampler is moving along nicely. On the 3rd out of 4 rows. It really is a cute piece, and nice to see progress so quickly on the animals, although the one I left half done last night, and said to heck with it, I am going to bed already!




A challenge has been brought to the table concerning Paradise Lost, and I am always up for one! I pulled out PL yesterday and decided to start on the top-right hand corner, to get the A & E done. I dont really like backstitching so I thought if I could put it to bed right from the beginning, I would enjoy stitching it for sure. Not that it isnt pretty, it is very pretty, I just need to figure out how to wiggle my nose and get it done immediately. I am still working on it, will keep all of you posted!

I am thrilled to start PL. I have chosen one of the most beautiful piece of 45ct linen. Vintage Sand Dune from Lakeside. OUTSTANDING. Of course, is there any ugly Lakeside linen? Heck No!! I am using the called for NPI and Gloriana silk threads. I cant believe how gorgeous it is so far, and there isnt really that much done! Stay tuned!



I splurged on something for myself, well this isnt really something new, I am always splurging--especially when it comes to stitching! These Dovo scissors--silver handles with blue blades. WOW is all I can say. Absolutely exquisite. I have used them for the past couple of days now and they are amazing. I highly recommend these!!

Hope all of you are having a great day! Mine will be too-- dont you worry.

Progress on Home Coming Sampler

It is beyond me that Thanksgiving was over a week ago already! My oh my! Christmas preparation and decoration is now in FULL swing! Trees are being purchased, lights hung on the houses. Holiday programs on TV! I love hearing Christmas music, now for sure, 2 weeks ago, not so much. I am now down to needing only 2 gifts yet. Not to shabby.

It has been a hectic last few weeks, and I have decided to take the weekend off, and perhaps not WORRY about things! Well, the weekend came as early as yesterday- why not start early?! Heck, the weekend could be all week right? No, not really, but I am positive I will have more then a few takers. I watched Notting Hill last night. I set myself up to stitch, and actually for the first time in a week, enjoyed it. I didn't make much progress because I was laughing so hard. But some is much better then none. I haven't seen this movie in years and years, but I am telling you, that laughing out loud is a great feeling! That character Spike-- William's (Hugh Grant) flat-mate had me going for sure. I had tears in my eyes!!! Nothing like a good comedy, a little far fetched, and I had a few thoughts on what I would change, but over-all, was very entertaining.

I cant remember if I have talked about the Home Coming Sampler in any previous posts, but as you can see, it is a fairly easy stitch, although it is (was) my least favorite to stitch. I cant explain why, I just love the design. I love the colors. I know other things have been calling me, but I need to put this to bed already. I have had this started for ever ago already-- I chose R & R Liberty Gathering Grey with the called for DMC. Let me tell you that I had no idea how many colors there are in this piece maybe 3 or 4? Nope 14. 14!! I was floored. So, I am using the DMC for sure (there is nothing wrong with DMC), however, the colors are all very similar, and didn't want to spend the time to switch them out. Not for this piece :).

Thanks to all who sat and read my last post, it was really long huh? Gosh, I had no idea. Thanks for all who commented, or thought kind words in their heads. I hope all of you have a great weekend, and get lots accomplished!