Linette's Gift

About a week before Christmas an envelope arrived for me from Linette. I was rather surprised to find the envelope opened but thankfully nothing was missing. Linette stitched this lovely ornament for me and she included a pattern that I have been wanting from a French designer.





I stitched and finished this ornament for Linette's tree. I also sent her other gifts but I didn't take a picture of them. If you'd like to see what I sent her, you can click on her name and take a look at her blog



Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2009.

Winter Exchange for Becky K

I had the pleasure of being paired with Becky K in the Seasonal exchange group. We agreed to stitch a Christmas ornament for this round. This is the ornament that I made for her. It is a design from The Prairie Schooler leaflet "A Christmas Visit".



Thanks so much for dropping by.

Some Special Ornaments

A little over a year ago, my mother moved from her house into a condominium. I went back to Michigan to lend a hand and I came back with some very special mementos of my childhood.

These are some ornaments that my mother made when I was a child and I remember hanging them on the tree every year. I'm so thankful that my mother has always enjoyed handcrafts and that she passed that on to me.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that these sweet ornaments bring a smile to you.

Odds and Ends

I realized that I haven't posted pictures of my Christmas Round Squares that I did for the Fair and Square group. My partner was Jill and I read on her profile that she likes Bent Creek designs. I was excited to see that because I've had a couple of their patterns that I've been wanting to stitch. Here are the two squares that I came up with for her. I definitely want to stitch "Glad Tidings" again for my own tree.



I also participated in the Prairie Schooler Fans Yahoo Group ornament exchange. I've been a member of this group for several years and always look forward to this annual exchange. Here is a picture of the ornament I received from my partner Denise.


Here is the ornament that I made for Denise


Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog.   I wish you peace and time to stitch in these next couple of weeks before Christmas.

Ornaments Galore

I received a super Winter exchange from Becky K. She stitched and finished my favorite motif from The Prairie Schooler's Button-Up leaflet. Becky stitched on both sides and even put our initials on the back. Notice the two cute tiny buttons that she used on either side. I just love this sweet keepsake because it came from such a sweet and talented lady.





And here are the two ornaments I made for the private Christmas ornament exchange that I'm participating in. The angel was for Joan and the other one was for Carolyn.

Better Late Than Never

I promised quite some time ago that I was going to share some pictures of Christmas gifts that I received from Arcadia.

I had seen this stitched box on some French blogs and mentioned to her that I really liked the pattern. Well, wouldn't you know that she went ahead and made it for me! This design comes from a book entitled Cartonnage Brode Un Fil des Boites. I believe it is available through Elegant Stitch.

Arcadia also made this doll. Isn't she wonderful? I am amazed at her skill and patience. Can you imagine stuffing those long, pencil thin, limbs? That would try the patience of Job! This lovely doll sits proudly atop the armoire in my bedroom. She's high enough where the dogs can't get her but I can still admire her.

Thank you dear friend for these beautiful treasures!

More Pre-Christmas Joy

I received these lovely squares in yesterday's mail from Jill. We were partners for the Christmas round of the Fair and Square group.

The design square is "Christmas Wish" from The Cricket Collection and the name square that Jill did is the most creative one I've seen.  Jill stitched all the information in the same shape as the tree of the main square. It is so delicate too, as it is stitched over-one on the 32 ct. antique white lugana.

Thanks to Jill,  my Christmas tree will have a very pretty new ornament on it this year.

Julie received the ornament that I stitched for her for our personal exchange. It's the first Prairie Schooler design that she has seen in person and alas I think a new PS addict has been born.

Personal Exchange from Julie

I have been enjoying Julie's blog for quite some time and I e-mailed her awhile back to see if she wanted to do a Christmas ornament exchange with me.  We decided upon mailing out the first week of November.  Her package came in record time and was delivered to my door this past Saturday.  Here is picture of the beautiful ornament that she made for me.

She also gifted me with one of her precious hand-knit bunnies.  I'd like to introduce you to Robyn.

Isn't she sweet? Thanks so much Julie for these precious gifts made from the heart :)

A Sweet Surprise

Yesterday's mail brought a sweet surprise from dear Becky.  She made me the cutest pin pillow. The design is Proud Lil Pumpkin by The Sweetheart Tree.  I just love the button that Becky used in the middle.  I treasure this little token of our friendship.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a beautiful pair of Dovo scissors on Staci's blog.  I e-mailed her to ask her where she had purchased them.  It is a limited design, but I was able to find a needlepoint shop in the state of Washington that still had a couple pairs of them for sale.  They came in my mail yesterday and I think they are a super addition to my growing collection.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Please come back later this week because I'm going to be posting about some beautiful gifts that I received from my dear friend Arcadia in France.  You're going to be wowed by her handiwork :)

Autumn House Exchange

This is the lovely exchange that I received from Wanda for the Autumn House Exchange on the SBEBB. She stitched "Bittersweet Moon" from Blackbird Designs and finished it at a stand-up. I really like the design, especially the checkered pattern of the house. It must have been a lot of work! I appreciate the amount of time she put in to making this wonderful exchange. It serves as a fantastic decoration for this time of year. :)

I heard from Becky K that she received the exchange that I sent to her, also from the Autumn House Exchange on the SBEBB. I stitched her the bottom portion of The Prairie Schooler's "Pumpkin Patch" and finished it as a two-sided pin keep (minus the pins).

Linette's Birthday Gift

About a year ago, I left a comment on Linette's blog about a Christmas design that she and several ladies were doing as a SAL. To my surprise, she gave me a response about the design and offered to send it to me! Since then, we've formed a friendship, and although I speak almost no French, and she speaks very little English, we manage to communicate with the help of Google's translator feature.

Linette celebrated her birthday on the 25th of last month. Here is a picture of what I stitched for her special day.

She sent me a lovely gift for my birthday back in May and I never shared it here on my blog. Here are a couple of pictures of the lovely thread book that she made for me complete with floss which she hand dyed herself.

Vonna's Ornament

Vonna received the ornament that I made for her in today's mail. This one was a little hard to send away, but I know that Vonna and her family are going to give it a terrific home.

I made it especially with her young children in mind. I have great memories of special ornaments that I loved as a child, and I'm hoping this one will become a favorite of her family.

Back From a Hiatus!

It's been quite a long time since I have posted on this blog. I've been stitching, but I can't show any pictures, just to keep things under wraps. :)  

I did get a message from Kendra that she received the Fair and Square 

Halloween Round that I mailed her on Monday.

I received the squares she stitched for me a couple of weeks ago and I really like them.  We both stitched the same border for our squares!  How's that for a coincidence?  

Cross Country Stitching and An Exchange

Annemarie was wondering out loud on her blog why more stitcher's don't like Cross Country Stitching Magazine. I am a fan of this publication, and have been admiring the design below for a year or more. I know to some it probably looks cluttered and junky, but it really appeals to me. I hope that I'll actually be able to stitch it some day.


BeckyK received her first seasonal exchange from me yesterday. I stitched up this cute design from The Prairie Schooler. It is great being paired with Becky for this year-long exchange because we're both avid fans of PS, and they have some wonderful seasonal designs. Here are a couple pictures of what I sent her.



Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I really appreciate the comments that you leave; they really help to brighten my day.