Another giveaway!

Terri over at Dixie Samplar is having a Christmas giveaway.  Go check it out here. 

A 2nd Giveaway @Victoria Sampler!

Just realized Nancy has a 2nd giveaway on her blog, this one is for threads only - 25 skeins @20 yards each of her hand dyed threads.  Wow, that's 500 yards!  What a generous giveaway.

Go here for a chance to enter.

Victorian Motto Sampler giveaway!

Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler is having a Christmas giveaway.  She's so generous and offering 3 different gifts on this one giveaway.

I've been wanting to try her hand dyed threads & trims, but haven't been able to justify the extra expense recently, so maybe I'll get lucky and win one of them.

Go here to enter!

Linen for Sale - Vikki Clayton Linen

 I bought these from Vikki Clayton and they are her mercerized linen and I'm pretty sure they're all 36ct.  These are fun, funky, bright & they're all pieces that didn't make the cut for selling on her site.  Yes, they have some "odd' spots to them, but there's a lot you could do also.  I kept quite a few, but these just weren't for me.  Each big piece is $2.

Green is 19 x 12 - Dark Blue is 19 1/2 x 13 - Blue is 19 x 12 1/2 - Pink is 19 x 12 1/2
The bottom picture are 3 ornament cuts that are a little over 8 x 8 $2 for all 3.

Thanks for looking!

Linen for Sale

This is the various fabric I have for sale.  I may have more after I go through another small box.

The following are all unknown types of linen - $3 for each piece.

28ct 17 x 16 

28ct 23 x 17 1/2

28ct 16 x 29

30ct 10 1/2 x 18 Irish Creme Linen

28ct 21 x 19

28ct 14 x 14

Our Granddaughter is 2!

It's hard to believe that two years have gone by since our daughter and son in law brought this beautiful baby into this world.  We have been so richly blessed by her in our lives.
 

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY EMMA ANN! 

 

Stash for Sale

Well, I managed to go through nearly all my charts and kits.  I have listed them on my "Stash for Sale" page, which you can find at the top of my blog - just click on the tab and you'll go to the listing.

I have charts for every taste, kits from The Silver Needle Secret Needle Night, and also several Fibers n Stuff kits, and magazines.

I think I've priced everything pretty reasonably, but I'm open to offers.  If anyone wants pictures of something in particular, I'm happy to take them.

I will also be listing fabric, threads and a few more charts soon.

Thanks for looking!

iStitch SAL Progress

Just a real quick post to show my iStitch SAL.  I actually got this part completed a while ago, but because of our medical emergency I just got the picture taken and off to Carol so I can get the last bit.
Here it is. 

I definitely want to stitch this again with some HDF I recently got called "Examplar Moon Called Sea".  Thanks for looking.

Prayers needed

I don't have a lot of time to post and I know it's after the fact, but my husband had a substantial heart attack on Saturday evening which required him to be med-flighted to a major hospital in Madison, WI.  On the flight over he went into full cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated.  He had/has 3 blockages which includes a major blockage in the main artery.  The cardiac surgeon did an Angioplasty and placed balloons/stents in the two smaller arteries and he will have the 3rd done on December 14.

He did come home from the hospital Monday evening and is quite tired of course.  This is a major lifestyle change for our whole family and I have yet to completely deal with the emotional fall out of it.  I've been in survival mode, making sure he's taken care of and our boys are where they need to be.

We did find out yesterday, that although he has short term disability, the waiting period for it is 42 calendar days!  No idea how that is considered short term, but it is what it is.  So his std won't even start until Jan 6, if he's still off at that time.

How we'll make it on my income alone, I just don't know.  I did go through all my charts/kits last night and ruthlessly pulled everything but my absolute favorites and will be listing them here on my blog for sale.  Next I will be going through all my linens, evenweaves, aida, fabric for backing and overdyed fibers to see what I can sell of those. 

Thanks for reading.

Millenium Embroidery Frame

In my email today from Craft Gossip there was a link to a review that Mary Corbet from Needle n Thread  did for the Millenium Embroidery Frame.  She did quite a lengthy review  along with pictures of the frame and her fabric on it and also included a video of the frame and how it goes together that was made by the maker.

Can I just say....I WANT this frame!  It looks absolutely perfect!  It's made of all wood, and there were several commenters on the review that indicated they'd had that same frame for many, many years and it's still in great condition.  Her only "con" to the frame was the fact that at this time it's only available in the UK, which in turn means it's a bit heavy on the shipping costs.

The company name is Needle Needs and the owner is John Crane.  I tried to go to the website from Mary's review, but it came up as bandwidth exceeded.  I'd be willing to bet they're getting a ton of hits from this review.

This is going on my "must have" list!

Christmas Freebie

I've started browsing the various blogs I visit and message boards looking for some new ornies to stitch this year.  Here's one that I found tonight that's cute. 

The blog is Les petites croix de Christine and this is the post to the ornie.  It's a brick chimney that shows Santa's black boots and his Christmas sack sticking out the top, along with two Christmas trees on either side.

It looks as if she has other freebies there also, but I haven't delved too far into her blog to look.  One hint though - her blog is all in French and there doesn't look to be a translator on it.

Enjoy!

ILCS 10th Anniversary Exchange

We recently had an exchange on the Yahoo Group I Love Cross Stitch to celebrate the 10th Anniversary/birthday of the group.  My partner was Pat from California and she definitely spoiled me.

She sent me the most recent Little House Needleworks 2011 ornmanent "Peace and Joy", the fabric to stitch it on, and the threads needed to stitch it.  This is my first LHN Ornie and I was so excited to get it that I started it last night and I've already got the tree done (with the exception of the trunk that is).  She also treated me to some yummy Lula's Dark Chocolate California Toffee.  This is handmade by Lula with real butter, raw California almonds and it was so delicious, I devoured it in one sitting!  Oh, but it was soooo good.

Here's a picture of my goodies along with a close up.

iStitch Part 6 update

Here's my WIP of the iStitch Mystery SAL.  This is part 6.

iStitch SAL Part 5

Just a quick drive by posting of the iStitch Mysteral SAL Part 5 completed!

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary

To my beautiful daughter and wonderful son in law!

SAL Progress - iStitch & Oakhaven

Here's just a quick update on two SAL's that I'm doing.  The first is part 4 of the iStitch Mystery SAL.  I've just sent my picture to Carolyn and am awaiting Part 5.  I think this will be really pretty when it's done.

And here is the very little bit I've completed of the Oakhaven Owl SAL.  As you can see I've only completed January and February.  I did, however, start March on Wednesday night and will hopefully complete that over the next week.

Well, that's it for now.  I plan to work on Part 5 this weekend, along with a small piece by LHN that I'm doing as a 1st Anniversary gift for my daughter and her hubby.  Their anniversary is Sunday and I'm hoping to have it complete by then.

iStitch SAL Part 3

Here's a quick posting of Part 3. I'm going to wait to stitch the borders and the rest of the lines until I finish all the motifs, because I'd like the thread to flow around it seamlessly. I also decided to add a few other pops of color, rather than using just the one floss. I like the way it looks. What do you think? Now I'm off to email my photo to Carol to get Part 4.

iSitch Part 2 SAL Done!

Here's Part 2 of the iStitch SAL completed.  I just got Part 3 in an email, but my black ink is out, so I can't print it out, bummer!  I may end up sitting in front of the computer later today and just stitching it from the screen, since it's such a small portion to do.  We'll see if I have time.

I've got to wash and hang the whites today, pick apart a chicken and make stock and some chicken noodle soup.  I'm also doing baking for my boys lunches this week and am making Snickerdoodle Muffins and Banana Buttermilk Muffins also.  These were both new recipes I tried last weekend and everyone just loved them both and devoured them in no time, so today I'm going to make double batches of both.

So I leave you with a picture of my SAL wip.

A Video to Honor ALL

This is a video of a song written and sung by Steve Hollis that he made to honor our Veterans for Veterans Day.  Steve is the son of the Pastor of my "home" church that I attended and was a member of from childhood until I moved away from my hometown of Freeport, IL back in 2003.  I met Steve when I was in 3rd grade when his parents came to pastor our church and I believe he was in Kindergaten, as I think he's about 4 years younger than I am.  He is a wonderful man and has a beautiful voice.

Please enjoy this video today as we remember and honor ALL who were affected on this day 10 years ago.

We Remember You

Giveaway!

Terri over at Dixie Samplar has got her blog up and running again and she's having a surprise giveaway.  You can check out her giveaway here and enter for her drawing on August 31.

Winter Queen progress

So, here's my most recent picture of Winter Queen. I'm sure some of you will remember that I posted about having to ripit ripit out all that I had previously done of her head and shoulders. I've not done a lot of stitching this summer as we had a lot of activities going on with our boys AND I spent a lot of time out in my yard working in the flower gardens. Now that school is starting next week, I'll actually have a little more time to work on it. I've really got to get the nose to the grindstone as I've only got 3 1/2 months to finish this and get it framed. My DD's 21st birthday is December 18th and I plan to have it done so I can give it to her at her family birthday party.

Tatting Toolkit Giveaway

As I mentioned, I've always wanted to learn how to tat and recently found this tatting blog.  She's having an Absolutely Beginner Tatting Tutorial series that I'm going to start following.  She's ALSO having a toolkit giveaway for the beginner tatter and I'd love to win it.

Go here for a chance to win the giveaway at Tatted Treasures!

Giveaway - Tatting related!

Both of my great-grandmothers tatted beautifully and while I was too young to have learned before they passed away, I’ve always wanted to. My Grandma kept all of their shuttles, patterns on index cards w/pieces of the lace either taped or stapled to them, along with a lot of the threads. My Mom has those now, but I’ve thought about getting a couple of the shuttles from her to learn and then eventually getting some of the patterns too, once I have learned.

I just found this wonderful blogger who tats and she's having what she calls "Absolute Beginner Tatting Tutorials".

If anyone is interested in learning how to tat, OR you already know how to tat, but need another blog to read, here ya go!   Tatted Treasures

iStitch SAL

I was fortunate enough to get in on Carol's Mystery SAL over at iStitch. You have to complete Part 1 before she'll send the next part. So here's my picture of Part 1. I have not completed the border as I prefer to wait for the next Part before I do that as I tend to mis-count long borders like that. LOL

I'm using a mystery piece of linen that I got from Ebay a couple of years ago, but I believe it's 30 or 32ct and I'm stitching it over 2. I'm using a spool of SSP HDF that I got in a detritus bag earlier this year. I love this thread as it reminds me of a peacock and I think the blue and green are just lovely together.

I can't wait for the next part!

Saying good-bye to a fellow blogger

I found Jennifer's blog 2 years ago when I first started blogging and have always enjoyed her posts.  She is funny, dedicated to her work and a talented designer also.  There were times reading her blog when she would post just the right bible verse that would speak to me and lift me up or remind me of who's in charge of my life.

Sadly, Jennifer is leaving the blog world and she is also, unfortunately, taking down her blog.  She posted about it this morning, so by tomorrow morning her blog will be gone.  She still has some beautiful freebie designs on her blog, so if there is anyone out there who has visited her, but not taken the time to explore all she has to offer, do so tonight or you'll miss out on some truly simple, but beautiful designs.

Feathers in the Nest is the name of her blog, and she will be greatly missed by all who have known her over the years in the cyberspace world.

All in a days work

As much as I wanted to stitch today, I decided to take advantage of the nice breezy cool (well, cooler than it has been) weather with the windows open and do some baking.  I had 3 monster zucchinis from my garden I wanted to start using up and so I made lots of yummy goodness today.  I made Zucchini Banana Craisin Muffins, Zucchini Muffins, Zucchini Cookies, Banana Bread, Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Egg Frittata Nests.  I also tried making scones for the first time - they're quite easy, but these particular ones are a bit on the dry side, so I'll have to try to revamp the recipe.  They were Maple Oat Scones and they had a decent flavor, just dry.  I also went out to my garden at my daughter's house and picked a few more smaller zucchini to use in my salads for work this week and then went to my BIL/SIL's house and had at their beans - they've got more than they know what to do with.

Here's a picture of my day's work.  Well, it doesn't include the 4 loads of laundry I washed and dried on the laundry (but still need to be folded - I'm too pooped right now!)

And here's a couple of recent pictures of my grand-baby Emma. 

The outfit she's wearing is one my Sister (her great-aunt), made for my niece who will be 12 in December (just 3 weeks younger than my son Caelan).  My Sister made tons of clothes for each of her kids and has recently weeded through them all to keep just the very most special ones for memory boxes for each child and then she sent a whole box full to my daughter for Emma.  The sizes ranged all the way up to a 4T and I know she has more to send in the future when she gets older.  I love that we have these special hand-me-downs that were made with so much love.  My Grandma kept many of my handmade childhood dresses that my daughter then wore when she was young and Emma has worn a few already and will wear the others when she fits them.  I also kept many of the handmade dresses that my Mom made for Therese and Emma has worn some and will wear the rest as she fits them.

Alrighty, I'm pooped - it's been a busy, busy day and I'm ready for bed!

Header Picture

For those who are wondering, my header picture is my two boys and my nephew.  My nephew is in the middle, my oldest son Devan is on the right - he turned 13 in March and my nephew is just one month younger than him and on the left is my middle son Caelan who will be 12 in November.

This was taken last Saturday when DH, myself & my nephews parents (DH's brother & wife) picked them up from a week long bible camp in Dixon, Illinois.  It's called Rock River Bible Camp and hubby, his brother & wife attended this camp when they were children up through high school.  Hubby was even a camp counselor for the intermediate camp in his high school years (this was the camp our boys attended).  I used to go to Manville Church Camp in Manville, Illinois when I was in high school - that was the camp for the Nazarene Church where I was a member in Freeport. 

This was the first year our boys had attended any camp of any kind and been away from home for more than just a stay and Grandma/Grandpa's or their aunt/uncles homes.  All three boys had an absolute blast and are already looking forward to going again next year!

I won!

I'm still just completely flabbergasted that I WON Gabi's giveaway here.  I'm so excited!  I've had nothing extra the last several months to get any new stash or to get the threads for some LHN I have and need to stitch in the coming months.  Well, with the exception of the $10.50 I spent for the floor stand I found at the thrift store ( I just couldn't pass that up!).   Thank you so much Gabi for the giveaway and "Thanks" also to Anita at Anita Little Stitches for adding to Gabi's giveaway to make it $100!  I've admired several of Anita's designs and will definitely be getting at least one or two of those, plus some threads for my LHN patterns and I THINK I'm going to get Rosewood Manor's Spring Quaker with the Valdani threads, as I've loved that pattern since I first saw it.  I just have to go through the site and browse a bit more.

I leave you with a couple of pictures of my Granddaughter Emma from the last couple of months.  This first one is with my hubby at our 4th of July parade - she just didn't want to look at the camera!

Riding the merry go round at a nearby park, and another with an expression that reminds me so much of my daughter at that age.














As soon as I purchase & receive my new stash, compliments of Gabi & Anita, I'll be sure to take pictures and put them up here.  I also need to take pictures of Winter Queen progress since having to rip-it, rip-it, rip-it, when I started over.  I haven't got as much done as I'd like due to lots of summer activities with my boys and watching Miss Emma, but now that I have my stand, the stitching certainly does go quicker. 

I also found as I was going thru my LHN charts that I have a duplicate of the "Virtue Sampler".  I had bought it for myself, and then I also received it in my "Mystery package" that I bought a while back.  Some time in the next couple of weeks I'll be having a giveaway of the chart for my followers, so stay tuned.  Oh, and I have quite a bit of stash to work through and post pictures of to sell.  A couple of years ago I had bought a "lot" of fabric on ebay and found some of it just isn't to my liking - it's mostly linens in a variety of sizes varying from quite small (ornie size) to bigger pieces, along with some aida.  I also have several charts, some kits and also quite a few older kits from The Silver Needle "Secret Needle Night".  These include the chart, threads, needles, fabric & any charms/buttons that are needed.  If there's anyone who is specifically interested in those kits or have a specific kit they're in search of, please let me know and I'll see if I have it.

Well, that's it for now - I'm LATE to leave for work, but I just couldn't stop writing today!  Have a blessed and wonderful day.

An idea for floss winding

I subscribe to "Craft Gossip" and today in their newsletter there was a link to a blog called Little Lovelies.  She had blogged about the way she wound her floss - it involves the floss, the little cards, bobbin winder and a drill.  Yes, you read that right - a drill.  It's actually quite genius. 

I have most of my floss in generic plastic baggies, sorted by numbers and then ordered in plastic shoe box organizers.  I just might have to borrow my sister in laws drill and try this out.  It would certainly make everything less bulky for storage. 

Here's the link. Little Lovelies Floss Winding

Gabi's having a giveaway

Gabi over at Lady of the Floss is having a spectacular giveaway for her blogaversary!  The chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Anita's Little Stitches.

Go here to check it out!  Gabi's Giveaway

Thrift store find - Stitching stand and Sampler book

I used to make Saturday my St Vincent de Paul thrift store day, but I haven't been there in a few weeks.  Since we'll be out of town all day tomorrow I decided to stop there today.

I am so glad I did!  I found this for $10.50 It's the FA Edmunds Universal Craft Stand.  Now, I know this is not the best one out there, nor is it the stitching stand of my dreams, but it's better than nothing and I can't wait to use it!  It even came with a small scroll frame, so that was a bonus. 

There was actually a 2nd one there that looked just like this one, but I believe it may have been homemade to be like the one above.  It's was a bit taller that the Edmunds and rather than have the knobs, it just had wing nuts.  I'm contemplating going there on Monday after work and getting it if it's still there. Thought I could give it to my MIL for her own stitching.

I also found this for just $1.50.  I glanced through it briefly at the thrift store, saw a couple of samplers that I liked and bought it.  I decided to google it and have found several for sale at prices ranging from $9 to $125 - WOW!  I also found when searching it, that two of the designs in here are by Theresa Wentzler.  I'm so glad I picked this up!

TUSAL

I realized I completely forgot about posting my TUSAL. So, better late than never, here it is!

Winter Queen Frustration & Disappointment!

ARRRRRRRGH!           I am so frustrated with myself!  I was working on Winter Queen Tuesday night and was just looking at my progress and looking at the photo that came with her and as I was looking at them together, I realized something just wasn't right.  I STARTED IN THE WRONG PLACE!!!!!


I must have miscounted when I drew/counted out the middle line. So I started cutting and picking every stinking stitch I've put in since I started.  I've almost got it all out and will probably finish getting it out tonight.  When I get it all out, I'll give the fabric a quick rinse in cold water, just to help the holes close up a bit and then when it's dry I'll start all over again. 

I just am so disappointed about this.  At least I don't have to have her completed until the beginning of December.  Therese's 21st birthday is December 18th, so I want to have her done by the 1st in order to have her framed and back to me on time.

Now to add a smile, here's a recent picture of my beautiful imp of a granddaughter, Emma Ann - this was taken a couple of weeks ago in Grandpa's arms.  She will be 17 months on May 1.

WIP

Here's where Winter Queen is as of now.  I really, really don't like stitching with cream/white/natural colors.  I don't know why, but they always seem to knot/twist so easily and I feel like the stitches don't lay as nicely as colors do.  Does anyone else ever have this problem?

And here's my most recent picture of Quaker Sampler by the Workbasket.

NEW STASH!! - Picture heavy & long!

I love new stash!  I splurged on new stash with a little of our tax refund and here are the spoils!  I bought Mirabilia "Autumn in My Garden" for myself over a year ago, but hadn't found the "right" fabric for it.  I was cruising Ebay and found this beautiful 32ct hand-dyed Lugana called "Queen Annes Lace" from HomeSweetHome Needlecrafts and I just knew it would be perfect.  I then converted the called for DMC floss to Vikki Clayton HDF and ordered those.  I don't know when I'll start this piece, but I fell in love with it the first time I saw it.  Here's the floss toss.

Next up we have LHN's "Patience" and "Love and Faithfulness" that I got from another stitcher at the HDF message boards.  I've started "Patience" as a birthday gift for my FIL.

These are my "carrots" from my HDF order....I just love the two on the right.

Now we have stash ordered from Down Sunshine Lane.  The first picture are all items from her BOGO/$1 pages with the exception of the ornament form.  I thought I'd try the form out as my "finishing" skills aren't all that great yet.  The LHN "Soft and Sweet" is intended for my granddaughter, "Trustworthy and True" for my daughter and SIL and "Strong and Beautiful" for my daughter.  The other pieces were also bought with the intent to be made for specific people, but I won't detail it here, because they sometimes read my blog.

DSL was having a special when I put in my order where you could order a "Mystery Box" for $30 and so I decided to chance it.  I was VERY happy! This first picture is some of what was in the box and what I intend to keep and stitch eventually.

This is the rest of the box that I will either end up posting for sale or possibly using for a giveaway.  I've never done a giveaway and I think it may be time.

If you made it this far, I'm thrilled!  Thank you for your visit to my blog and for any comments you leave. Have a great week!

A Giveaway

If you like LHN, Shakespeare's Peddler and/or Blackbird Designs, then check out the giveaway that Carolyn is having over at Just One More Stitch.


Happy stitching!

Oakhaven SAL 2011

And last, but certainly not least, I have joined along with the Oakhaven Yahoo group 2011 SAL.  Tonia is designing monthly owls and they're adorable!  I wasn't sure how I wanted to stitch these - individuals, on a big piece of fabric, a few together or what.  So I searched through my stash and found some wall banners that I forgot I had bought a couple of years ago from a lady local to me.  She'd sold cross stitch supplies out of her home and was finally selling off her stash.  I have 5 of the banners, so I decided to do 3 wall hangings with 4 owls each on them.  I've completed the January owl and am getting ready to start February and March has already come out also, so I need to get a move on.  These use DMC fibers, but I did have to alter my first owl though, because the colors were too light for the fabric.  I believe I used GA Sampler thread & Weeks Dye Works, and I really liked the way it turned out and I think these are going to really cute hanging when they're done.  Here's a close up of my first owl. This is a bit washed out even without the flash, and the fabric is more of a cream color. What do you think?

And here's the whole piece of fabric w/the lines between each owl stitched in.

And just because, here's a picture of my adorable Grandbaby Emma thrown in for cuteness!

 As always, thanks for stopping by and I welcome any comments!