My last 2011 finish....

A busy holiday season has once again 

been conquered and I have found

time to stitch and finish this lovely....

Drawn Threads "Real Roses"

stitched on 32ct Belfast Antique White

NPI silks

I took advantage of my time this week to

finish #14 of my Crazy Challenge.  

I have had this kit for some time and was a

little intimidated with the speciality stitches, but

I am glad I decided to stitch this one.
  

The design is so delicate and "pretty" and a

nice change from what I normally stitch.

I did take some liberties with a few stitches.

It became necessary for the Queen's stitch

and myself to part ways....

Hmmm....think there should be a period after tree???

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Well...that leaves one lonely

snowman in my Challenge basket.

I am not too happy with my fabric

choice so I decided to leave it

last and  will restart this one as

part of my 2012 Crazy Challenge.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

As always, thanks for visiting!

I do hope you had a wonderful

holiday season and wish you a very

happy stitchy new year!

Lucky 13......

My 13th finish in my Crazy Challenge....

Goode Huswife "In the Bee Man's Garden"

Stitched on 35ct WDW Linen

w/DMC

Well my little pile is now down to two!  

This stitch wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped

....not sure why.  I think it was because I was

nervous about the beehive, which is done in

a satin stitch.   It was the very last thing I did

and I have to say it truly makes this design. 

Once done, I realized again why I loved this one.

I just love the look of the beehive...

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I did take a  little break for some

Christmas stitching.

The Scarlett House "Jingle All the Way"

Stitched on 40ct PTP Swamp

w/Victorian Motto threads

After seeing Tanya's finish at the Pals Retreat

in October, I couldn't wait to stitch this one.  

My favorite part is the fabric she used so I

decided to treat myself and I am so glad I did. 

Vonna (Twisted Stitcher) had the perfect

finish for this one and I hope to recreate

her magic myself with some coordinating

ricrac and a rusty jingle bell.

I love this fabric too! 

Mine is more of a mossy green, which

I love.   The entire time I was stitching I kept

seeing some type of white Christmas tree

design on this fabric so I am off to

search out the perfect design

to complement this finish. 

~   *   ~   *  ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~  

Now that Christmas is fast approaching it is time

for my favorite part of the holiday season!  

Yes....time to make the

"My LNS After Christmas Sale Wish List"!  

Each year at this time, I go through my stash

to  list my stitchy needs....and wants!  

I check it twice and then wait

anxiously for the big day to arrive....

the day after Christmas!   

Oh I get excited just thinking about it!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~    *   ~

As always, thanks for visiting my

little bit of the world. 

And in the spirit of Christmas,

do something nice for someone today!

Hodgepodge....

First....Frederick and Frederika are home!

CHS "Frederick"

 

CHS "Frederika"

I absolutely love the frames! 

My framer suggested coloring the beaded

area black and it really made a

wonderful difference against the dark

red/brown of the frame.

I couldn't get a good picture of the two

together but am so happy with the finish.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Next.....I have a some "Joy" to share!

"Joy of the Snowflake"

Stitched with Victorian Motto thread

I finally stitched the blue ornament

and the colorway is perfect for

my bedroom holiday decor.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~  *   ~   *   ~

Lastly....I have had some fun with my Briwax!

My own "Shaker" boxes!

I decided to do something with these

paper mache boxes I've had for a while

and decided to give them a "Shaker" look. 

A little paint and Briwax was all it took

to transform these boxes into great

hiding places for buttons, fabrics, trims....

My favorite....

I'm still hoarding a lot of little boxes and can't

wait to give them a little Briwax love soon!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Well....I'm off to stitch. 

Hope you have a great weekend.

Exchanging with....

My hubby was nice enough to draw and 
this month's ornament goes to ....

Lany

Lanybleu

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Thanks to all of you who commented...

so wish I could send you all an ornament.  

P.S.    Hope to be back soon with pics of my
newest members of the family!

An Ornament Giveaway.....

Want to me my last
"Ornament Exchange" partner?  

I just couldn't wait until the 25th to
do my December ornament "exchange" so I
decided to mix it up and make it a giveaway!  

Just in time to adorn this year's tree!

"Snowflake" freebie
http://madetotreasure.blogspot.com/
Stitched on 32 ct. blue lugana
w/Victorian Motto

I decided to do the other two snowflakes

from this freebie and love how these

turned out too!   I just had to use the scallop
finish again so I added the border.

So.....want to "exchange" with me this month?
Best part is you don't have to stitch anything.
  

Just leave a comment on this post and I will

draw a winner on Monday, December 5th!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Guess I better get busy and get that tree!

Goodness...how quickly these months went by!  

I truly enjoyed doing this and I plus 12 of
my stitching buddies now have these
new beauties to add to my tree. 

All of your lovely comments
certainly gave me that push to keep going.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Hope your holiday season has gotten off

to a good start and your needles are

enjoying some holiday stitching.

My Frederick.....

CHS "Frederick"

Stitched on 40ct. LL Pearled Barley

w/ DMC

I can truly say this is one of my favorite finishes. 

I always amazed how the colors come together

to form such a beautiful color palette.  

The cover picture of this design does

not do it justice.

 

Sporting his VT colors....could he be a hokie?

I just love him in this wonderful

color combination.

 

Such a beautiful pair!

These two are already off to be dressed in their

finest and I hope to have them hanging on

my wall this time next week!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I can't believe the holiday season is upon us

and a great time for reflection.   I am so

appreciative of all of my visitors and the

time you take to leave a comment.

Thank you!

Wishing you a great stitchy week!

November's ornament.....

"Snowflakes" freebie from

Made To Treasure

Stitched on 32ct. linen with

NeedleNecessities 120

I found these wonderful freebies last

week and just had to stitch them up

for this month's ornament. 

So simple yet wonderful to stitch. 

I did add the little border around the edge

so I could finish with a scalloped edge. 

I really like the way they turned out

so don't be surprised if you see this again.

So....this month's lucky exchange partner is.....

Bekca

The Stitching Lion

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I do hope all of my American friends had

a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. 

He's my favorite Clemson Tiger!

We had an extra celebration since it was

my hubby's birthday so my mom

was sweet enough to get him a cake.

Well....I'm off to stitch!   Hope you have a

wonderful weekend full of stitches.

Joy.....

I have been stitching away on CHS "Frederick"

but couldn't resist the urge to stitch this

ornament after seeing  Lee's (Lake Stitcher)

wonderful adaptation, which I just loved by the

way.   Yes, I just had to order the PTP Phoenix fabric to "borrow" Lee's colorway, but I

decided to play with this brown linen

while I waiting on my order.

Little by Little "Joy in the Snowflake"

2011 JCS Ornament issue

32 ct. brown linen w/ Victorian Motto threads

This has to be one of my favorite designs in

the new JCS ornament issue.  Although I love

the suggested thread colors, I am very pleased

with the look of the red and cream on the

brown linen.  Too large to be an ornament,

this will become a little pillow to tuck

away in a basket this holiday.

Yummy blue from Victorian Motto!

This was a pretty quick stitch and since I

love the original blue/brown combo, I now

want to stitch it again with blue on the brown

linen.  I also got my red fabric so I will be

stitching it using Lee's green/creme colorway! 

Good thing I like this ornament!

These will have to wait though.....

I am determined to finish Frederick first!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

As always....thanks for visiting and I hope

you have a great stitchy week!

Strawberries....

Wild Berry Strawberry emery

From BBD "Joyeux Noel"

Stitched on 32ct linen w/DMC

I couldn't resist stitching these cute
designs any longer.   I used wool felt for
the tops and "cheated" by using my

Big Kick to cut out the top design. 
These were so easy to stitch up and I 
hope to stitch up a few more .

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I am trying so hard to finish up at least 2
of  my January Crazy Challenge designs.   
I have been stitching all week on
CHS "Frederick" and it has been slow
going, but every stitch counts, 
so I am off to put in a few more.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I am thankful for all of the sweet comments I

received over some recent finishes.  As always,

I do appreciate you take the time to visit

and hope you have a great week.

happy stitching...

Oops....another Halloween post!

 I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby a few

weeks back and just fell in love.
  

Is this not the cutest fabric????  

I totally forgot this one until I was
tinkering in my craft room this morning.
Thought it would be a shame to let
it sit another year.

Stitched on 25ct. evenweave w/ DMC

I stitched part of Trilogy's "Tricky Treats" and

decided to make a little treat bag.   I sewed the

front of the bag a few weeks ago but had not

made the "bag" since I wasn't really sure

how to make a bag!   Needless to say, I

made my "version" of a treat bag and

will hang it on my pie safe for now.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Just one last bit of crafting....last one I promise!

I was in Walmart yesterday and couldn't
resist the Hershey kisses in Halloween colors.

There is one lady in my office who doesn't celebrate

Halloween so I made a little fall treat bag just for her.

  I decided to make some "treat bags" for hubby

& I to take to work.   It was
good to play with paper for a little while.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

No more halloween I promise.....
hope you do have a happy halloween
with lots of treats and no tricks!

The Spell is Cast....

 

Just in time for Halloween....

Boy...do I now love Briwax!

I was able to finish up the stitching this

week and decided to go ahead and

get it ready for Halloween.

BBD "Casting A Spell"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/recommended threads

I have to be honest....some of these

designs were great to stitch and

some....not so much! 

Very happy this one didn't end up in limbo.

I didn't exactly finish it as instructed but

I do like the way it turned out.   I think

this one will stay on display all year.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I had to get the sewing machine out this

morning so I decided I would go

ahead get this earlier finish "finished". 

Threadwork Primitives "Harvest Moon"

 

I love this design and am glad to

enjoy it for a few more weeks.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Thanks for visiting and happy stitching!

It's ornament time....

LK "Peace Joy Love" freebie

stitched on 25ct over one w/ DMC

Nothing says Christmas more

than red and green!

I just love this simple little ornament.  

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

This month's lucky exchange partner is...

Beth

Beth's Blog

I just saw Beth at the Pals

Stitching at the Beach retreat....

too bad I didn't have my ornaments ready.

It would have been nice to hand deliver it!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

As always...thanks for visiting and all

of the nice comments you have left. 

I do enjoy reading them.   

A little halloween.....

I finally got around to stitching a couple

of designs from BBD's "Trix or Treat"...

I just love this book!

BBD "Boo!"

Stitched on 36ct linen w/DMC

BBD "Black Cat"

Stitched on 32ct rust linen w/DMC

My favorite....the black cat!  

If he was just a little fatter, he would

remind me of my own black cat!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

"Boo!" almost became a casualty. 

Don't you love the little scallop fabric frame?

I hate to waste my fabric so I usually leave
just enough for finishing. I stitched this little
cutie with no problem. Unfortunately I started
another design on the same piece of fabric
thinking I had plenty of room between the
two and was horrified to see just an inch
between the two when I removed the q-snaps.

Well....what to do.

Thanks to my handy Big Shot, a scallop square 
die and some fusible web, I think my finish
turned out pretty cute.   I actually like the
way it turned out and hope to do this again.

(Hubby will be happy I'm finally using some of those dies.)

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Well....I'm off to the beach for the Pals

"Stitching at the Beach Retreat"!  

I am so looking forward to several days

of stitching and laughing with good friends.

happy stitching....

Goodies to and fro....

There is nothing better than goodies from a
crafty friend.   After some email conversations
regarding pins and beads, Patricia shared
these cuties she made for Valentine's Day....

Aren't these cute??? 

I am "stealing" this idea so that I can

attach them to my Christmas gift tags.  

If I add a little tag with the year, my family

and friends will have a small token

for next year's tree.

To my surprise, Patricia also included this little gem....

Yes...that's a realy acorn cap!

I wish I had taken the pic with a quarter
so you can tell how small it really is.   She
made it too and all I can say is it is darling!

She also sent some chocolate but it
didn't make it to the photo....
I can attest it was good!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I have been most fortunate to become good 

friends with Faye, aka "Carolina Stitcher",

over the past few years.  

Faye is truly as sweet in person as you probably
believe her to be from her blog.  I wanted to

stitch a little something for her birthday

and one of Carol's new designs was just perfect!

iStitch Designs "Sew Forth"

stitched on 36ct Lakeside Linen

w/ Victorian Motto

I loved this design as soon as I saw it on Carol's
design blog, iStitch Designs.  Although the
design called from beautiful pastel shades, I
knew it had to be red.   I am very happy with
the results and hope Faye likes it too. 

This one will be stitched again soon with

the called for fibers...too pretty!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Thanks to this wonderful blogging

world, I have had the opportunity to meet

such wonderful stitchers.   Although I may

never meet some of you in person, it is

comforting knowing I have so many

wonderful "stitchy" friends in this world.

As always....thanks for visiting.

LK "Love Blooms"....

This wonderful design has been in my stash

for quite some time and I thought it would

be perfect with some fabric in my stash.

LK "Love Blooms"

Stitched on 28ct. linen w/DMC

The two came together to create my

exchange for Angela, my partner this round
in the LK Exchange.   Don't you just love this
funky fabric...I just couldn't resist using it. 

Unfortunately, the print was a little larger
than I realized so my small dainty pillow soon
grew to a throw size pillow!  I really wanted to
show the flowers so I had to comprimise
form for fashion. 

Hopefully Angela won't mind and can find
an appropriate place for it.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

As always...thanks for visiting my little

piece of the stitching universe.

happy stitching...

Cuteness.....

I was wandering through Hobby Lobby today

(BTW....they have papermache boxes 50% off this week)

with my 40% coupon when I saw these.....

.....and I knew they would be perfect for .....

Motif from "Bloom Pincushion" by M Designs

JCS March/April 2011 issue

Stitched over 1 on 25ct evenweave

w/ DMC

....a needleminder to befriend my

needlebook made by Faye .....

now...what will I do with the others......

~  *  ~   happy stitching   ~  *  ~

LK Exchange and other goodies...

First.....I got this goodie in the mail Saturday.



Laura picked the perfect design, fabric and

finishing for me.   I have always loved this

saying and so happy to have this cute

pillow to display.   This was Laura's first

exchange with the LK Exchange and her first

pillow finish.   This certainly won't be her last!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Second.....I got these goodies a few weeks ago!

You can never have enough Lizzie Kate!

I was lucky to win a giveaway from the

The Stitcher's Market.  I've seen some talk

about the Sullivan's floss and can't wait to

try these two variegated aptly named

Arizona Desert and Aquamarine.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Third....my week got even better with these

goodies from Victorian Motto.

Guess I need to get busy finishing!

I just love all of Nancy's stuff and this

was certainly a generous giveaway.

Nancy just added these little grab bags on

her site and they are full of chenille, ric rac,

seam tape and buttons.   I was amazed how

much was included and think I may need

to pick up a few more of these! 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I have decided to stop the insanity! 

 My stitching time has been seriously impeded

the last 6 weeks due to work and I plan on

changing that this week.    To kick it off, I have

started BBD's Casting a Spell.  Stitching the little

motifs is actually pretty rewarding since I can

celebrate each as a little finish.  Hopefully

I can get them all done before halloween!

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~  *   ~

If you made it this far...thanks for giving

me a little nugget of your time. 

Wishing you a happy, stitchy week....