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 ....

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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....

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....

BBD "Truly Thine".....

My interpretation....

BBD "Truly Thine"
28ct linen w/GA Raspberry Parfait, Victorian Pink, WDW Moss

I really liked this design on the recommended fabric, but decided to reverse it since I didn't have a good second choice. As you see from the original, I made some major changes. I love pinks, reds and greens together so I changed the colors to suit my taste. My hubby gave me an odd look (because it really is that bright) but I like it and that is all that matters! I tried it with a rosy red mat I made from cardstock and loved the way it looked so I will be off tomorrow to find the perfect frame! I think it will make the perfect Valentine design.

I loved the phrase "Truly Thine" so I decided to whip up this pin cushion....

Stitched 32 ct linen w/DMC 498

Luckily, I picked out my backing fabric before I picked out the thread so I was sure it would match! (Usually I pick out the perfect thread but then find I don't have any fabric in my huge stash of fabric that will match....has that ever happened to you???) I even have some fabric left over so I am off to find another Valentine freebie to stitch.

Now I am at a lost of what to stitch.....Paradise Lost in fact. I have all these wonderful designs and I can't make up my mind what to stitch next. What to do ...what to do!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you ... for all your recent comments. I love reading them and appreciate everyone who takes the time to leave one. My friend at work loved the pillow and was very excited so my heart was smiling that she appreciated it. I am off to figure out what to stitch next so I'm wishing you happy stitches ....

Gift for a friend....

Lizzie Kate "Friends Are..."

Stitched on 25ct w/ DMC

I stitched this for a very special lady at work who has been a lifesaver for me over the last three years! I was told she is very creative and so I know she would appreciate something handmade. I was going to make into a wall hanging for her to put in her cubicle but then decided to make it a small pillow. I love the combination of pink and green, especially a mossy green, so I love the colors in this one. It may be a little bright, but it will definitely match her personality and hopefully brighten her day!

Thanks for visiting and happy stitches.....

Lizzie Kate Exchange from Angela....

I can't tell you how excited I was to see a package from Angela for the Lizzie Kate Exchange 3 and this is what I got.....

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back

Angela does awesome stitching and finishing so I knew it would be great. I love this design and she finished it into a pretty pinkeep. I plan to display it at work for Valentine's Day. Thanks again Angela...I'm so excited to have something stitched by you!

Now...I need to get mine packaged and send it on its merry way! Happy stitches....

Goode Huswife "Sheldon Hawks House"....

My first finish this year....

Goode Huswife "Sheldon Hawks House"
32 ct coffee-dyed linen w/ recommended DMC

Started on New Year's Day, this is my first finish for 2010! ( Thank goodness for all of the college bowl games on this past weekend....made it easy to stitch all day and night!) I picked this up this oldie but goodie last week at a LNS and loved it at first sight! The colors were kind of odd once I pulled them but I love them now that it is finished. I have another older Goode Huswife sampler, 1797 Ship Sampler, and will have to add it to my To Do pile.

Year in Review......

The best part about blogging is it truly is a "journal" of your stitching endeavors and I spent Sunday afternoon going through my finishes this past year. I was amazed at how many I had forgotten about and quickly realized by framing budget needs to be quadrupled! After a quick tabulation, my 2009 finishes included 68 total finishes which included...

26 SOS challenge (stitch own stash challenge=50)
9 ornaments (big bummer...should have been more)
19 exchanges (what wonderful goodies I received)

I put myself on a "stash diet" last year and challenged myself to stitch 50 designs from my stash before making any new purchases. I fell off the wagon a few times, but did cut back on my purchasing considerably. I still have so much older stuff I want to stitch so I plan to continue on my "diet" again this year. It was fun going through everything and "rediscovering" some older stash so it would be a shame not to stitch some of them. My goal this year is to stitch at least 25 with the understanding, of course, that gift money and gift certificates used for new stash don't count !

Thanks for looking and all of your wonderful comments! Wishing all of you happy stitches.....

2009 Finishes....

43--Jardin Prive "My Lady's Quaker"
42--Gazette 94 "Heart" freebie
41--"Glory to God" ornament '02 SANQ
40--Earth Threads "Band Sampler" JCS 98
39--JD "Bell Ornament" JCS 08 Preview
38--LK "Joy Peace Love" ornament (8)
37--BBD "Noel" ornament-Exchange
36--BBD "Sweet Heart"
35--LK "Christmas Is..."
34--Leta Sullins "Floral Sampler"
33--BBD "Moonlit Garden"
32--"Boo Quaker" freebie
31--Triology "Tricky Treats"
30--SB "She Tends"
29--HE "Autumn Welcome"
28--JABC "Winds of Autumn"
27--BC "Autumn Zipper"
26--SB "Be Witch"
25--HE "Autumn Time"
24--Diane Williams "Joy in the Journey"
23--B&C "Petite Rainbow Row"
22--BBD "Evergreen"
21--BC "Here Comes the Sun"
20--BC "Summer House"
19--Sunflower Samplings "You May Delay"
18--CS "Briar Rose Sampler"-JCS 1990
17--Ornament-"Needleworker's Pocket-03 JCS
16--Ornament-"Poinsettias & Pines"-98 JCS
15--Ornament-"Reindeer Garden"-00 JCS
14--BOAF "No Bees No Honey"
13--LK Flip-It Stamp: April
12--BBD "Autumn Bouquet"
11--La D Da "Old Glory Angel"
10--La D Da "Bushel & Peck"
9--LK Flip-It Stamp: March
8--La D Da "Act Justly"--UFO 2006
7--LK Friends Make Life Sweeter
6--Jeannette Crews "Old Glory"-UFO 2005
5--BC Seasons of Change
4--Ornament- Tudor Rose-99 JCS
3--Ornament-SB Noel-99 JCS
2--Winter Sampler-freebie
1--PV "Pink Ribbon"--UFO-1998

My Lady's Quaker finished....

First, thanks for all of your comments on my recent ornament finishes. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and found some time to stitch. I certainly did.

Finally, I finished one of my last WIP/UFOs for the year....

"My Lady's Quaker"--Jardin Privé
Stitched on 28 ct. evenweave & DMC 930/932

I made several unintentional "alterations" to the original design (i.e. mistakes I was too lazy to rip out!) and believe this resulted in my lack of interest in finishing it. After seeing it in my basket Tuesday, I decided I really needed to finish before the new year so stitch I did. I do like the colors and hope to hang in my bedroom once framed.

A freebie finish too....

Stitched on 22 ct. hardanger w/ DMC 321

Designed by Gazette 94

Amy gave us this little freebie and I thought it would be perfect for this little frame I found at the Dollar Store. I was able to stitch it while traveling over the holidays and it was a quick stitch. After stitching it, I wished I had stitched it on red fabric with white thread. I may go back and stitch it again since I do have red 22 ct. hardanger in my stash. I really like the frame and will probably go back for more.

Lastly, my Christmas gift.....

My hubby (to his surprise) gave me some Blackbird Designs & BOAF designs (count 'em.....10 wonderful designs) that I have been looking for. Actually, I was able to purchase the lot from a nice lady and decided it would be the perfect gift from my hubby, though he didn't know it. The best part is I got exactly what I wanted and he didn't have to stress over what to get me! Perfect don't you think????

I have spent the last couple of days also organizing my stash and making my 2010 Stitching List, which will be out the window by the second week most likely! I still amaze myself each year with the amount of stuff I still have to stitch and think I need to stick to my "stash diet" for the new year. Unfortunately, visiting all of your stitching blogs makes it very hard but I am going to try...we'll see how that goes!

Off to visit your blogs and do some stitching. Wishing all of you happy stitches in the new year.....

Christmas Eve finishes....

Now that my holiday break (8 glorious days) has begun, I found some time to finish a few ornaments just in time for Christmas...

Jeannette Douglas "Bell Ornament"--2008 JCS Ornament Preview Issue
Earth Threads "Mini Band Sampler"--1998 JCS Ornament Issue

I stitched the Bell Ornament a few nights ago. The Mini Band Sampler has been a UFO for a few years and I found it yesterday while organizing my stash. I almost put it to the side, but made the decision to go ahead and finish it, which took all of 30 minutes!

"Glory to God" from Christmas Ornament Trio--SANQ Winter 2002 (Issue 29)
Designed by Barbara Jackson of Tristan Brooks Design

I love this one!!! I started this earlier this fall and never finished it. Again, I found while cleaning and decided to go ahead and finish it. I did change the colors since the original called for silks and were a little more muted. I used DMC and made the colors a little brighter (almost springy). Interestingly enough, all three have a lamb and remind me more of Easter than Christmas. Needless to say, I love the way this one came out and will definitely stitch the other two designs, "Peace on Earth" and "Goodwill to Men".

Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas! Happy stitches...

Beautiful surprise from Amy.....

Waiting in my mailbox tonight was this beautiful ornament from Amy and my heart is smiling.....


I love the color, fabric and finishing! She is a beautiful stitcher and always does such a great job finishing so it is a treat to have one her pieces.

Amy has become a great friend this year and I definitely consider myself lucky! She (and her nice hubby) are so gracious to open their house often for Saturday stitch-alongs. I will truly treasure this ornament for years to come.

Merry Christmas and merry stitches....