Are you ready for some football???

 

Fall has to be my favorite time of the year

for several reasons....

 

~~  Experiencing the first day of school  ~~

with 4000 new college freshmen

(and their parents)

 

 ~~  Preparing for the Pals Fall Fling  ~~

 

  ~~  Clemson Tiger football  ~~

 

Faye (Carolina Stitcher) knows (and understands)

my love of college football and sent me

this little goodie in the mail....

 

 

Such a nice surprise from such a sweetie pie.

 

Faye is so talented and this little pouch

is perfectly made down to the smallest detail.

 Isn't it just the cutest????  

 

The tiger head pull adds just the right touch.

 

I will be putting it to good use as we make

our first road trip to Atlanta this weekend

to watch my Tigers play the Tigers!

 

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If you are in the states, I hope you have

a great holiday weekend!  And for all of

you college football fans....

happy stitching!

And then there were none....

Feels like forever since I have been here.

I had the pleasure of spending last week with my
mom after she had surgery.  Unfortunately, it
wasn't a picnic for her and her time with
me wasn't as pleasant.

Although I packed my stitch bag as if I would be
stitching 24/7, it was not to be.

I did have one finish.....my last fat man!

LK "Snow Day"

stitched on 28ct khaki evenweave

w/DMC

My basket of snow beaus....

I think I will enjoy them for just a little longer.

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I'm a few days away from celebrating my birthday and Miss Faye (becoming better known as the Carolina Sewer)

sent me one of her fabulous pouches.

She even personalized it just for me....

I forgot to take a pic of the pretty red floral fabric used inside. Faye is such a sweetie and this was a nice surprise.

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I do have another little finish to share.   A co-worker retired last month and I decided to stitch up a little goodie.

BBD "Friends with You"

Chart 2 from My Heart Is True

stitched on 40ct khaki linen

w/Victorian Motto

This is becoming one of my favorite BBD books.  There is a companion piece to this one that is so pretty but time didn't allow me to stitch it.  Hopefully soon....

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As always, thanks for giving me a little
bit of your time.   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!

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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!

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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.

Stitching friends.....

Back in March 2009, I met Amy when she emailed me to asked if I would like to come to her house and stitch with some friends. 

That is where I met Nicole. 

Three months later Amy emailed to ask if I would be interested in sharing a room with another stitcher from NC at the Pals Fall Fling. 

That's how I met Faye.

 So what do four stitching friends do?

A Friendship RR of course!

We chose designs from PS "Friends" & "Friends More" and have been busy stitching since last June.  This past Saturday we finally exchanged our finished pieces at a stitchin Amy arranged. 

Boy, I was excited to bring home these beauties.....

 Amy's square

Faye's square

 Nicole's square

 Mine

I think I am going to frame my finished
pieces so I can enjoy them as I stitch.  
I will always treasure them.

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Amy hosted a stitchin at the French Hens in

Manning and I got to spend the day

stitching with some wonderful ladies.  

And yes....we actually did stitch! 

Amy, Charlene and Faye have some wonderful pictures on their blogs from the day so you will have to check them out.  Funny that I had the same pics so I won't bore you with them.  

I do want to give a shout out to

Judy and Donna......

They just got back from the last Victoria Sampler retreat.... how lucky were they!!!!  

Their retreat project is just gorgeous and

I can't believe I didn't take a pic.

Well, it is stitching time.  As always...thanks for

visiting and hope you have a happy stitchy week.

RAK from Carolina Stitcher......

I had the nicest surprise in the mail
yesterday from Faye!   Before you see
the pic you just know it is going to be good
...and it is!

I  Y love Y  M Designs "Bloom" from a recent JCS
issue so Faye could not have picked a better
one to use for the cutest needlebook!

Just love the pink/brown combination on the green linen

Isn't this design perfect for a needlebook????

As always, Faye's eye for detail and finishing is flawless.  What a wonderful gift from such a great friend.....almost too pretty to use!

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Thought I would share another Dollar Tree goodie I found last weekend that I just couldn't pass up.  

What started out as a pencil holder .....

  

My "ends" to a means

has now been transformed with a few scrapbook
embellishments into my travelling ORT holder! 
  

See how nicely it folds up???

They had several colors to choose from and I
think I may need to pick up a few more.

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Thanks for visiting and I hope you have
had a wonderful stitchy weekend! 
Now....I have to get back to some
exchange stitching!!!

happy stitching...

RAK & LK Exchange #3......

Week from hell....that is how I will describe my week. So I can't tell you how badly I needed this little pick me up. I received the cutest package in the mail today from Faye ....

front

back

Though Faye is a NC state graduate and huge North Carolina fan (hmmm..how can that be), she stitched this cutie for me...hopefully her fingers weren't burning since we are their conference rivals! I love the way she finished it with the cute charm and love the back! Isn't this the cutest fabric and I love the pin and buttons. Faye does papercrafting too and made this cute card with the sweetest note. Even though I work for Clemson's in-state rival (gotta eat..right!?!) I plan on displaying it discreetly on my desk so I can enjoy everyday! I need this little reminder to keep me sane and remind myself that I am one day closer to retirement!

On another positive note.....

LK "Gather Friends" stitched on 28 ct evenweave w/recommended threads

Angela received her Lizzie Kate Exchange yesterday! I loved this design and am so glad Angela liked it too! I had issues with the finishing but I pleased with the end result.

RAK with some irony.....

Primitive Betty's Valentine freebie

After seeing this freebie, I stitched up a couple as pincushions to share with some special friends, Amy & Faye. This was a very fun design to stitch and I did take a few liberties with it. I love this design and will definitely stitch again for myself. Ironically, Faye received hers on Monday, which is the same day she had mailed my surprise.....great minds think alike I guess!

Thanks for all your comments on the Me,Myself & I exchange. If you have multiple personalities like me, you have just enough to form your own exchange! You can then have a pretty tree at the end of the year like me...and Amy! Oh well...off to stitch. Thanks for visiting and happy stitches....