Christmas Ornaments on Halloween

I'm in the second round of Becky's Christmas Ornament Exchange Group. We are exchanging every other month which makes the pace a little easier.

I never posted the ornament I stitched for the first round. This one was for Carol and I thought she would like the nautical theme.


This one was for the second round and for Roberta, I'm hoping that she likes it.

13 Days from CA to TX?

The squares that I stitched for the F&S Halloween round were sent on the 13th, and arrived yesterday (the 26th) Wow, I could have practically walked there faster. Anyway, I'm sure happy that they finally showed up.



This is from one of The Prairie Schooler's newest leaflets "Boo To You"

I hope you all have a fun Halloween.

My Gift for Linette

My friend Linette celebrated her birthday on September 25th. I was a little late in getting a birthday package off to her, but I finally got it in the mail to her on the 6th. She finally got it today.

I guess the package went on vacation to Canada before it finally made its way to her in France. I'm so relieved that it finally reached her.

Here is what I stitched for her

Thank you for paying me a visit. I've been a pretty poor blogger lately. I just have not had the desire to post.

I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather and perhaps some pre-Christmas stitching and crafting.

Shepherd's Bush SAL

Several months ago, Becky posted her beautiful finish of SB Sail Away. I liked it so much that I e-mailed her and asked if I could borrow the pattern for it. Well if you have the pleasure of knowing Becky, you know that she is a very generous person. A week or two later, I received a surprise gift in the mail from Becky. She had gone ahead and purchased the kit for me, and had Shepherd's Bush ship it to me.

When Becky mentioned that she was going to be stitching a Shepherd's Bush piece, I suggested that we do a SAL. Yesterday was our first day; we'll be stitching on Tuesdays. Here is a picture (clickable) of what I accomplished.



Today's mail brought a lovely ornament from Donna for our first round of our Christmas Ornament Exchange Group. I think you'll agree that Donna's stitching and finishing are perfect. I'm looking forward to hanging this beauty on my tree.



Thank you so much for paying me a visit. I hope you have a safe, and relaxing Labor Day holiday.

The "Dog" Days of Summer

Over a year ago, I joined a now defunct Yahoo group to stitch a wreath by The Prairie Schooler. I chose the leaflet Barnyard Christmas and just a few minutes ago I finished the sixth design out of eight. With two more to stitch, I might actually have a wreath hanging in my home this Christmas.




Thanks for dropping by to pay me a visit.

It's August Already?

Time is flying by. In just a few weeks summer will be over, and my youngest child will be going back to school to start her final year of high school. My other daughter will be starting her final year of undergraduate studies. It's going to be a busy year.

I had the pleasure of making a new friend recently though her blog. I've been visiting Rachel's blog for a long time now, and only when she recently ended her old blog (which she wrote in French) and started her new one (which she is writing in English) did I actually take the time to send her an e-mail. That little effort was rewarded by a warm and gracious e-mail from her. Please pay her a visit.

I'll leave you with a picture of the gift that I stitched for Julie's recent birthday. I thought the gardening theme was just perfect for her. My daughter Justine picked out the fabric for finishing the little pillow. She said it reminded her of a garden apron.





Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to pay me a visit.

The Last Round Is Complete

I participated in a round robin where each group member built a theme using Little House Needleworks patterns. I finally finished the last piece that I needed to do, and now this lovely project will go back to Joan. She came up with a very creative theme. Below is my square for her piece.



Thanks for stopping by to see what my needle and I have been up to. I hope you have a safe, and happy Independence Day.

Hurray For The Red, White, and Blue

A bit of patriotic stitching has been taking place here. First up are the squares that I stitched for my partner Linda B (no blog) for the patriotic round of Fair and Square.


Here are the adorable squares that I received from Linda


I was also invited by Cathy B to participate in a patriotic exchange through her group Friends Through Threads and I stitched a portion of Homespun Elegance's Summer Patches for my partner Carol. I finished the little piece as a weighted pin cushion which I stuffed with crushed walnut shells.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the upcoming weekend.

My First Needleroll and A Lovely Exchange

This was the last month of our first round in Becky's Ornament Exchange group. I thoroughly enjoyed this exchange that Becky organized because I love to stitch Christmas ornaments.

For Becky's ornament I chose to stitch a needleroll. I had never done one before. I'm pleased with the results, and I really loved the subtle color variation in the Gloriana silk that I used.



I also received my exchange from Leah for our second round of the Year Long Prairie Schooler exchange that Becky leads. Leah made me a sweet little pillow that she accented with lace. I just love it.


Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a fun and stitch-filled weekend.

A Very Special Pincushion

I have fond memories of reading to my daughters when they were little. A few of our favorite stories were Bony-legs by Joanna Cole, Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel, and Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

When my oldest daughter Justine gave me this pincushion as a combined Mother's Day and birthday gift, I was teary-eyed. This is her own creation; it was lovingly handmade by her.


Here is a recent picture of Justine with her chinchilla named Chauncho

Thanks for stopping by to check out what I've been up to. I am stitching, but there's nothing to show at this time.

Two Exchanges

I sent out two exchanges on Tuesday and have gotten the delivery confirmation back on both, so now I can share some photos.

First up is the ornament that I stitched for Amy.  May was her month to receive an ornament from everyone in the exchange.  I stitched her French Country Reindeeer by JBW Designs.

The second exchange was for the second round of the Prairie Schooler exchange group.  I stitched the barn motif from the leaflet Old MacDonald and peep.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have an enjoyable weekend.

More Gifts

In my last post, I shared that there were two packages that I had saved for my birthday this past Friday.  I wanted to share them with you.  

The first package was sent by Sonja in Germany.  She made me a lovely little scissor fob and a coordinating biscornu.  She attached a pink pair of scissors to make a complete stitcher's set.

The next package was from Becky K.  She stitched this adorable hanging pillow from the Prairie Schooler and included a handy pair of scissors and a notebook and pen.

Thank you,  to all of you who left me such kind birthday wishes.  As always, thanks for stopping by.  I hope the rest of the week goes well for you.

Special Friends, Special Gifts

Tomorrow, I'll celebrate my birthday and I've received some lovely gifts from some special friends that I've made through my blog. Though I've not met these ladies in person, they are friends who have made my life a richer and happier one.

The first gift that I'll share with you is from Julie in England. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Julie's blog, I highly recommend it! Julie has a great sense of humor and is a very talented stitcher and finisher. She made me this lovely mattress pincushion.



The next gift that graced my mailbox was sent by the sweet Mylene.   Her package for me included a mattress pincushion with a design from Primitive Betty's.    Her finishing on this little piece is so perfect!   She also included some delicious chocolate bars, a bookmark that showcases her area of the Netherlands, and a very cute magnet of a sheep.


I have a couple of gifts that arrived yesterday that I'm saving until tomorrow. I'll share them with you in my next post.

Thank you so much for visiting me. I hope you enjoy the Memorial Day weekend.

A Flower For Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who have been blessed to be a mother.

I put the last stitch into this motif from my Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler last night. I dedicated most of my stitching time to it this week. I'm starting to enjoy the looks of the sampler a bit more. I had been regretting my decision to stitch the entire piece with the same color silk but I'm liking it more as I get more of it stitched.




I leave you with a picture of my mother on her wedding day. It's not the greatest picture because it's actually a picture that my daughter took of one of the photos in her wedding album.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope that the coming week is a good one for you.

A Pretty Freebie

I found this free design posted on the blog of Ravenelle. I started stitching it this weekend and just put the last stitches in it this afternoon. This was such an enjoyable stitch that I'll probably stitch it again with a different color. This one is stitched with GAST in blackboard.



Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope your week is going well.

What I've Been Up To

A few weeks ago I stitched this little pansy freebie and on the other side I stitched the word "spring" and a bee from the Marjolean Bastin Four Seasons piece. I hand finished this little fob and sent if off to my friend Sonja in Germany.

The pictures shows this little fob attached to a new pair of Dovo scissors that I bought myself from Crewel Jewels. I recommend them for great service. I also got this other pair at the same time.






Thanks for looking in on my corner of the web.

Meet Tess

Many of you have seen the creative talents of Wendy on her blog. She makes the cutest bears and last week I received one as a thank you!

I am now the proud mother of Tess. Isn't she the sweetest little bear? She has a movable head, arms and legs. I just love her feathered hat. She looks like she's heading off to a tea party.



Thanks so much Wendy for sending me one of your special creations. I just love her!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you have a good week.