November Ornaments.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well...it's time for this month's ornament exchange with me, myself & I. 

Cherished Stitches "Christmas Joy Needlebook design"--
JCS Ornament 2009

Cherished Stitches "Christmas Joy Pinkeep design"--
JCS Ornament 2010

Shepherds' Bush "Be Merry"

I just love this month's selection.  I stitched the "Be Merry" for the Pals Fall Fling ornament exchange and loved it so I decided to stitch another for myself.  Ironically, the other two I picked at random and was surprised when I started them that the were by the same designer.   I didn't realize until now they are coordinating pieces...guess I'm not very observant while I stitch! I do love them, though, and hope to stitch again both for their intended uses. 
Well..."we" only have one more month of exchanging and I hope to get an early start so that I can enjoy December's ornaments on this month's tree.  Can't wait to get all of my ornaments together so stay tuned for a pic soon!

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A toast to a wonderful day!

I also want to wish a very happy birthday to my hubby, who celebrated yesterday!  We will continue the celebration in Clemson this weekend as we meet our instate football rivals.  I have ordered up a win for his birthday and am hoping they can deliver! 

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As always...thanks for visiting and all of your great comments.   I do enjoy reading them and thank you for taking your time to share. I do hope you have a great holiday weekend with many happy stitches!

Pals private exchange.....

SB "Tudor Needleroll" design

stitched on 32 ct Belfast w/recommended DMC and a beads.

Yes...there is some stitching going on! At the Pals Fall Fling last October, my housemates and I decided to do a stitched exchange. Laurie (no blog) was my partner and I stitched the pin pillow for her. She indicated she liked pastels and smalls and I thought this would be the perfect. I love the way it turned out and hope Laurie will enjoy it too.

I have been stitching on a few other exchanges and hope to share some pics soon! Happy stitching....

Me, Myself & I Ornament Exchange.....

First, I have to blame Amy for this hair-brained idea! After seeing her Christmas trees packed with stitched ornaments, I decided I had to have one too. I know Amy not only stitched some of these ornaments but has received many over the years from gifts and exchanges. I love exchanges, but knowing myself, there was no way I could sign up for enough ornament exchanges to fill my tree by December. So....I decided I would start my own monthly exchange with me and myself. Over dinner one night, "we" formulated a plan, perused the JCS ornament magazines, discussed our likes and dislikes, and made a wish lists of our favorite ornaments. As with any good exchange, we had to have a monthly deadline and agreed we would get together on the 25th of each month to exchange said ornaments! If our calculations are correct, that would be 36 wonderful ornaments ready for my Christmas tree.

Well....here it is the, January 25th, and here are the fruits of our labors....

SB "2000 Years Ago", BBD "Quaker Medallion", Homespun Elegance "Starry Santa"

I would like to hone my finishing skills and decided to give try my hand at a strawberry...unfortunately it looks more like a carrot in real life! I believe we were all relatively pleased with our efforts and are anxious to start next month's batch.

On another note...

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments on "Truly Thine". I did find a white frame at Hobby Lobby so I just need to get busy and get it framed. After fondling my stash for a few nights, I finally decided to start an older design from Sheepish Designs.

I love the colors in this one...forgot to take a picture of my progress but here is the finished design. I t's stitching up quickly so hope to finish by this weekend!

Well...better get busy stitching. Happy stitches to you....

Autumn & Halloween finishes....

I have been busily stitching my exchange Christmas ornaments for the Pals convention, but couldn't resist stitching some autumn and halloween goodies. I just love autumn...though it practically skips South Carolina each year.

Homespun Elegance "Autumn Time"
Stitched on 32 ct coffee-dyed linen

I had this little frame and finished it right away. Just too cute!

SB "Be Witch"
Stitched on 14 ct. coffee-dyed aida

I just love this series from SB and this one stitched up pretty quick. Isn't this the cutest...though my camera skills have turned a light brown fabric into white. Can't decide whether to finish as a cube or treat bag or pillow...guess it will depend on whether I feel like dragging out the sewing machine. We shall see....

Thanks for all your comments on my needlebook. Thank goodness for all of the wonderful blogs with finishing instructions...made it very easy. I can't wait to try another but I have to stitch something first!

I also must report that the recipient of the Petite Rainbow Row was over the moon with the gift and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of it framed but will do so next time I visit it.

Oh well...off to stitch. Work is extremely busy right now with all of the college students reporting back to school so it will probably be an early evening.

Happy stitches.....

Ornament finishes and UFO update...

Here are some ornaments I worked on last week. I tried finishing two circular designs for the first time and they are so-so....will need to use more batting next time.

Threads Through Time "Reindeer Garden"
2000 JCS

I omitted the reindeer from this design and added the initials for myself and hubby...so I guess "Reindeer Garden" isn't really an appropriate name!

Threads Through Time "Poinsettias and Pines"
1998 JCS

I omitted the pines and gold urns in this ornament just using the green/red combo. DMC 3363 and 3771 are my two new favorite colors for Christmas ornaments.

With My Needle "Needleworkers Pocket"
2003 JCS

Obviously, I didn't finish this as a needlepocket, but loved the design. The pic looks "pink", but the design is actually stitched on coffee-dyed 18 ct w/ 3771 DMC.

Progress on SB "Herb Gatherer"......

I missed stitching last week on my UFO, but got in about 6 hours this past Friday night. I have finished the lady with the exception of beading and will start the border and herbs next week.

Lastly.....

LK May Flip-It Stamp

I finished my May SAL with Needlework Haven forum....at least I will get to enjoy it for a couple of weeks!

Thanks for all of your nice comments and happy stitches.....

Stitching progress....

UFO progress.....
Friday nights are my UFO stitching night and I was able to get in a few hours on Herb Gatherer. I love the design but just can't seem to get into stitching it, however, I will trudge forward next Friday.


I just have a little left to finish the skirt and can move on to the border. Thanks to the new UFO blog, I hope to finish it this year!

More stitching progress.......

I also wanted to share my progress on BOAF "No Honey". I really love stitching this and hope to finish this week. I don't care to stitch on linen too much, but love this Belfast. The actual fiber colors are also more pastel in real life than in the model, which appear much darker, but I like it.

Thanks for looking and thanks for all your comments...they are the perfect link to your blog and I love visiting other blogs! It's amazing how many ideas and new designs you find! Thanks for all your inspirations! Happy stitches....

New life for my UFO....

Thanks to Caroyln, I found this new UFO blog and just had to join. My first UFO of choice......

Shepherd's Bush "Herb Gatherer"

This is my oldest UFO (well...that I really want to finish), which dates back to the summer of 1998, and will have my undivided attention every Friday night. This was a birthday gift that year from DH and I loved the design. Not quite sure why I never finished it. Actually, I didn't get very far on it before it became a UFO......oh well. Hopefully this new blog will motivate me to finally finish it!

Got a UFO that needs some attention and you need some motivation? Head on over and check it out. There is still some room left if you would like to join!

New life for a UFO and Q-snaps.....

The Let's Stitch has been a great Friday night stitching group and I have been able to finish two UFO's. I picked up SB "Herb Gatherer", one of my oldest UFO's, tonight and hope to finish it before spring.

Here is what it look like when I started....

After 5 hours stitching....


I started this summer 1998 and I don't know why I never finished it. I immediately fell in love with it all over again and can't wait to stitch again next week. Actually...it will be really hard not to pick it back up this weekend, but I already have two designs in my rotation so I will have to resist the urge!

I have been struggling for a couple of weeks with La D Da's "Bushel & Peck". I saw this stitched on 18 ct. lambswool over 2 at a not so LNS and feel in love with their model. The design is 110 x 147 stitches so the fabric I am working on is pretty large! It is so "course" it has been very hard to hold and stitch freehand. I tried a large hoop, but found that very hard to hold and I couldn't keep the fabric taut. Well....I think I found my solution tonight. I have Q-snaps that I have never liked using in the past...just too awkward to hold, I don't use a frame, and the fabric would lose it tautness, even with scrap fabric between the snap and fabric. I see that so many stitchers use the Q-snaps ...so what was I doing wrong? I decided to search for some tips last night and saw on Vonna's blog that she used felt between the stitching and the snap. I decided to try it tonight on my SB since that is a big piece of fabric. Oh my....what a difference it made. I couldn't believe how taut the fabric was and it kept the tautness the entire evening. I could have bounced a quarter off of it. I can't wait to try them tomorrow on the La D Da. If it works as well, I do believe my needles will be flying!

Thanks for looking and happy stitches this weekend....