Gifts For and From

It was my friend Nicola's birthday the other day and we did a birthday exchange this year. Here is the gift that I
made for her.



This design is from The Prairie Schooler's alphabet series. I mounted it atop a wooden box which I stained.

I received a lovely e-mail from Nicola telling me she really liked the gift. I'm so happy that it got to her in time to add a little more joy to her special day!



This is the ornament that I stitched for her Christmas gift; it's another Prairie Schooler design. This one is from the Old World Santas Leaflet.

Besides sending gifts to my friends, I have also received some really sweet ones from special people.

This first sweet ornament is from the very talented Myra. I just loved the elegant Victorian look of this little skate. The blade is creatively fashioned from a piece of wire. I thought the way Myra shared it on her blog was beautiful. I was really touched when a little package appeared in my mailbox last week bearing this delicate little keepsake. Thanks again Myra! It is really a charmer and it will be treasured every year when I hang it up.



This next stitched beauty is from the sweetest lady I know, BeckySC
When Becky posted this little pillow to her blog, I commented how much I loved it because of the color combination of red and green. I was really touched when it came to my house last week.



Thank you everyone who has made my Christmas holiday a very special one this year!

Happy Holidays,

Catching A Glimpse of Santa

I remember when Thanksgiving Day marked the arrival of Santa. Do you remember waiting for him to make his grand appearance at the end of the Thanksgiving Day parade? I do, and I feel a pang of sadness that everything has changed so much for the children of today. The anticipation made it all the more special.

I came home last week to a package on my doorstep. What a wonderful surprise to receive something from a friend when you had no idea that she was sending anything. Nicola had put together a lovely gift package for me that contained a beautiful calendar of a delightful destination that she and her husband enjoy visiting frequently. She also enclosed the ornament that I am sharing with you here. Isn't it just lovely? I am thrilled with it but even more so to have Nicola as a friend.

Thank you so much for stopping to visit with me. I appreciate your friendship. I wish all of you in the U.S. a very Blessed Thanksgiving.

Pac Man Does It Again!

We are celebrating the 8th world title of Manny Pacquiao in last night's fight against Margarito. My husband is a big boxing fan and the fact that he is Filipino makes him a HUGE Manny Pacquiao fan.

When we were in the Philippines late this summer, we had an opportunity to meet Pacquiao at the founder's day celebration of my husband's alma mater in Dumaguete City on the island of Negros. Andrea was really thrilled to be able to get his autograph and pose with him in a picture. I got to shake his hand.



You would definitely not assume that he is a world-class fighter just by looking at him. He is quite small but as showed his opponent last night; looks can be deceiving.

Thanks for stopping by. I should have some stitching to share soon.

A Pumpkin or An Apple?

I started stitching this design a couple of years ago. I dug it out of it's hiding place a couple of weeks ago and finished up the stitching on it.

It's from The Prairie Schooler leaflet "Pumpkins" I knew that I wanted to finish it in a pumpkin shape but I didn't want to sew it. Here is what I came up with. It's decidedly more apple shaped than pumpkin shaped. Oh well, I think my friend that I am sending it to will like it.






Thanks so much for stopping by to pay me a visit.

Lost In Cyberspace?

It's been too long since I've posted. Perhaps many of you had given up thinking I would ever post here again. I've never been a very consistent blogger but I greatly admire those of you who are.

Things are very quiet here. My husband and I are now officially empty nesters. We moved our youngest daughter off to college toward the end of last month. Perhaps the whole "empty nest" theme had me itching to stitch this little mama with her full nest.





Thank you for stopping by.

The Graduates

My youngest daughter, Andrea, graduated last Saturday with high honors from high school.



And this is my oldest daughter, Justine, who graduated at the Greek Theatre on the UC Berkeley campus back on May 15.

Congrats to my grads! I'm very proud of both of them.

Coeur est terminé

I stitched this as a gift for my oldest daughter who will be graduating from college this month. It is from the book Un petit fil rouge m'a dit... by Isabelle Vautier. It was a gift from my wonderful friend Arcadia.

An Oink Oink Here, and a Meow Meow There

It's been too long since I've posted here; I have been stitching but not posting about it.

I did manage to finish stitching my 7th animal (the pig) from the Prairie Schooler Barnyard Christmas leaflet and I've started the final one.



My oldest daughter will be graduating from college in a few short weeks. She asked me to stitch her a cat for her French professor. We both agreed that this one by Danybrod would be perfect. I stitched it up yesterday and she is going to sew it together and put some whiskers on it.



This spring break she went to New York City and had some fun adventures. She met Clifford the Big Red Dog and visited a store dedicated to trims. Can you imagine that, an entire store filled only with trims, most of them imported from France? She picked up several nice ones for me.





I sent my most recent Christmas Ornament Exchange to Edgar which he received this week. I'm always so happy to stitch for Edgar because we both share a love for Prairie Schooler designs. I thought this one was perfect for him because he is a very hospitable person, and pineapples are a symbol of hospitality.



Thanks so much for dropping by. I hope you are enjoying springtime.

Two More Exchanges

I received delivery confirmation on two other exchanges that I mailed out on Monday. I thought I'd share pictures of them.

The first was for a mailart exchange that I was in. The theme was birdhouses. I stitched a portion of The Prairie Schooler's Birdhouse Sampler from the leaflet Garden Samplers.


This is the ornament that I sent to Meghan. It is from The Prairie Schooler's Cranberry Christmas leaflet.


Thanks for stopping by.

Spring Showers

We have been having our fair share of spring showers here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was pouring when I drove my daughter to school this morning. I couldn't get Owen to go out in the stuff. Fortunately, when I got home the rain had stopped and I took the dogs on a long walk.

I heard from Becky K. that she received the Easter exchange that I sent to her. Here is a picture of the pinkeep that I made for her. It is one of the designs from The Prairie Schooler's new leaflet Signs of Spring.


Thanks so much for stopping by.