La D Da "Live Laugh Love" SAL....

Stitched on 28 ct linen w/ DMC 3750,

ST Dark Chocolate, and Victorian Motto Green 

Lee (Lake Stitcher) was looking for a SAL partner for this great design and I decided to get this one going.   I started a few weeks ago but have been lazy in posting a pic so I finally took one tonight.....three weeks worth of stitching.  I want to display this in my bedroom so I swapped the red for a blue and chose a more "mossy" green.  It took some stitching and frogging to find the right blue, but I am happy with this color combo.    

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I'm sure many of you have seen the  Crazy January Challenge 2011 and I think I like it!!!  I have so much stash I want to stitch and thought this is just perfect to get my rear in gear.   I have gone through my stash and pulled the 15 designs I think I want to stitch.  Most are large in size (for me at least) so it will be unlikely I will finish them all in a year but I plan to give it the old college try! 

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Amy is hosting another stitch-in in Manning this Saturday at the French Hen and it will be fun to spend some time with stitching friends!  I almost forgot....Amy has also started a new blog for Down Sunshine Lane so go check it out if you haven't already!  She is has already posted some "blog specials" so you don't want to miss anymore!

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Well....I am off to dreamland.   Happy stitching....



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!

La D Da's "Freebee - One Two"....

La D Da's "Freebee - One Two"

Stitched on coffee-dyed 28 ct. linen with WDW Red Pear

I love pink and brown together and couldn't resist this fabric.  I really wanted to use it and thought this design would be cute finished with it.  This was a quick stitch, although it did confirm my suspicions that I hate stitching alphabets and words.  (I guess it is the constant stop/start activity that gets on my nerves.)  I really like the way it turned out and this one will keep me company in my little craft room. 

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  Well...I think I will spend some time this evening with my stash.   The end of the year always puts me in the mood to take stock of what I have and make a plan for the new stitching year.  I rarely stick with this plan but it has become a holiday tradition for me to do this so and I think I will start a little early this year! 

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Thanks for visiting and all of your comments.  I really do love reading them and appreciate you taking the time to do so!  Hope you are having a great stitching weekend....

Couple of finishes.....

  I have these two darling finishes to share....

"Merry Christmas" freebie -- Threadworks Primitive

Nan at Threadwork Primitives offered this sweet freebie and nothing says Christmas to me more than bright red and mossy green....I just love these colors together.  I picked up the fabric last weekend at Joann's during their Veteran's Day sale and just had to use them so I picked my fibers to match.  I just love the way it turned out and will definitely go back to get more of this red fabric....especially before it goes off sale!

"Simplify" freebie -- Primitivebettys

Don't you just love this freebie from primitivebettys?  I picked  this  fabric up in Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago and just couldn't wait to use it. I decided I would modify the fibers to match and love it too!  I just love the message in this one and the good thing is it matches our decor so it will definitely be on display all year round.

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Well...I am off to stitch another freebie, La D Da's "Free-bee One Two".  I picked up the cutest pink/brown plaid fabric so hopefully I will have another finish this weekend.    I already have my next project ready to go.  I am starting a SAL with Lee (Lake Stitcher) on Tuesday and we will be stitching La D Da's "Live Laugh Love".  I have been stitching smalls lately and this will be my first "big girl" project in quite a while so I am excited to get this one going.

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I hope you are all having a great stitching weekend, and, as always, thanks for visiting!

Remembering our veterans....

I often take for granted the sacrifice of our military's time, and sometimes lives, that allows me to enjoy even the simplest freedoms  As we remember our veterans today, I thought I would share some pics from Clemson University's Military Appreciation Day held Saturday during the Clemson/NC State game.  Clemson was a military school up until the 1950's and is very proud of its students and alumni who have served our country.

Four F-16 jets from Shaw Air Force Base flew over the stadium

 a few minutes before the kickoff of the game. 

The crew included some Clemson alumni.

Preparing to run down the hill.

Clemson Corp of Cadets

More than 70,000 spectators were in silent as a

helmet, boots and wreath were placed on the field.

Following a salute by members of the Pershing Rifles team,

the Tiger Band played taps. A very solemn, humbling moment.

Families of 28 fallen soldiers from South Carolina.

LK Exchange for Elisa....

LK "Good Things"
stitched on 28 ct. linen w/DMC

I heard from Elisa that she received my LK Exchange for round 6.  I did change the colors in this one and love the pinks, mauves and green, although they may be a little "springy" for this time of year.  Elisa likes it too and I am happy she doesn't already have this one stitched. 

Thanks for visiting...happy stitching.

Breath of fresh fall.....

Ahhh....I just love fall and it has finally hit South Carolina this weekend.  The crisp cool mornings and pleasant, sunny afternoons the past two days have been very invigorating!  I was even motivated to clean my craft room and put away all the "stuff" strewn about the last few months.  My charts are all filed away nicely, my threads are neatly organized and my pending exchanges are finished! 

And...what happened to the clocks "falling" back last night???  I was so looking forward to that "extra" hour.  Oh well....I guess the extra evening sunlight will be compromise enough.

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While had my sewing machine out, I decided I would finish this freebie I stitched a few weeks ago. 

 LK "Noel" freebie

stitched on 14 ct. aida w/ DMC

I changed the colors to make it a little "brighter" and I love the blue and red together.  They are not "conventional" but a nice change from the norm.  I can't show anymore until my exchange partner gets a first glimpse.  I am now off to do some"big girl" stitching. 

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I will leave you with a pic of my "warlock" as he relaxes before the evening's busy festivities...

happy halloween....

Pals Fall Fling....

 Oh my gosh....this year's fling was great but too short for me.  Amy from Cross Stitch Pals always does a fantastic job and this year was no exception. Although it started on Wednesday, I couldn't arrived until Friday night. 
(Can't figure out why my boss had a problem
with me taking a 3-week vacation...oh well!)  
 I did get there just in time for the evening festivities which included some exchanges. Here is my loot from the Grab Bag Exchange, which was full of stitching goodies...

From Teresa-TN

I wish I had taken pictures of some of the containers....it is amazing how creative some stitchers can be!

The registration packet was full of great goodies and we received so many wonderful freebies all throughout the weekend....

I also got to meet some great blogging buddies including Michele and Karen.  They are so sweet in person and treated me with this cute little pin cushion, pins and scissor fob. 

After a full day of shopping, laughing and stitching, we had the stitched exchange Saturday night.  I found the cutest freebie on the web and decided to make a needlebook....

Front of needlebook

Design: "Needles & Scissors"  freebie
Designer: Sandy in MT

Log Cabin Designs

Inside of needlebook....I just love the little stitching motifs.

I was excited that my stitched piece went home with Judy, another SC stitcher who was there with her sister, Donna.  Both were a joy to be around and I had a great time laughing and stitching with them.

I was fortunate enough to receive both of these lovely items from Doris who travelled all the way from Wyoming...

I just love the little drawstring bag that she made to keep the needleroll safe during the exchange.  This will definitely go into my stitching bag to house some of my little stitching tools...

Though I had my camera, I just couldn't put my stitching down long enough to take pics!  I will leave you with a few that I did manage to capture...

View from our room at the Springmaid Resort..weather was perfect!

It was a beautiful weekend spent with some great stitching friends, both old and new.

Donna and Judy
(Both of you should be blogging!)

Me, Nicole, Yvonne (aka Yvonka)  and Faye (aka Phey)

Linda P...where are you????  She definitely kept us in "stitches" Friday night.

Shhhhhh.......We all know how fast a stitcher Nicole is and I think I found her secret. Two pairs of magnifiers!  Now we know how someone can finish one of the Hawk's Runs in just a few days!

She's so good she only needs one hand to stitch!

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Well...if you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there.  Make sure you check out some of the other blogs since many have posted a lot pics from the weekend.  Amy has already set the dates for next year so go ahead and mark your calendars!  Happy stitching...

Me, Myself & I October exchange with a twist....

Here is my monthly ornament exchange but I have a little twist this month.  I stitched two ornaments for the Pal Fall Fling ornament exchange.....

"Poinsettia" Cross Stitch & Country Crafts



 SB "Be Merry"

 

Since I knew I would get two ornaments from Pals, I decided I would count them in October's ornaments along with a cute LK freebie I stitched....

LHN "Frosty Flakes" stitched by Nicole

"Happy Holidays stiched by Char-OH

LK "Joy" freebie stitched by me!

I love the two ornaments I picked and can't wait to add them to the ornaments I received last year.

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Well...I will be back later with some more pics from this past weekends Pals Fall Fling! 

Thanks for visiting my space on the web! 

Happy stitching....

Fair & Square exchange from Linda....

I received another amazing exchange in the mail this weekend....

"Broom Hilda" by Brenda Gervais

Just love the button detail!

Linda B (no blog but should obviously have one!) was my partner for the Halloween F&S exchange and we decided to go ahead and finish our stitched pieces.  I was blown away when I opened this goodie!  Linda picked the perfect design for me and it is stitched over one!  She did a great job finishing and I am pleased as punch to have it!!!

 

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I got back earlier from the Pals Fall Fling and had a blast.  I will share pics later. I think this little beauty deserves a post all by itself don't you??? 

Hope you had a great stitchy weekend too!