On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

Here is the ornament other goodies that I sent to Darla for the TOL ornament exchange.

The ornament is a freebie on the Just Nan Site, under the Whimze section. It is called Whimze Rose. It is stitched on 32 count antique white fabric, with DMC fibres instead of the suggested silks.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas....

Here is the ornament that I stitched for Pat, my youngest daughter's mother-in-law. Pat and I have been exchanging ornaments for years, and this is the one I stitched for her this year. It goes with the Hot Chocolate mitten ornament I stitched for her last year.

Over the years I have received many beautifully stitched and painted ornaments from Pat, and I treasure each one of them. The last few years, she has been sending me a cake instead. She said she was intimidated by my stitching and finishing. She shouldn't be, I can't paint nearly as well as she does! But the cakes are yummy!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas....

O received this ornament from the Threads of Life Ornament Exchange. It was stitched by Charlotte, and is really beautiful in real life. It made a wonderful addition to the hand made ornament tree.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas....

At the Threads of Life Board, we had a Christmas Sweet Exchange. The gift had to enclude something related to stitching and something sweet. I received this wonderful package from Karen Jackson! I just love it and can't wait to start stitching.

Here is what I sent to Margie. I forgot about the rules when I put the package together. I had some sweets in it but didn't have something stitching related - unless you count the Christmas fabric that could be used to finish some stitching.....

On the Third Day of Christmas...

The first Christmas Party of 2009 was our EGA chapter's Christmas dinner in late November. We had a gift exchange, an ornament exchange and received a few other goodies as well.

The small table topper was a door prize drawing. The cupcake was a gift from the outgoing chapter president. The dish towel was a gift from the incoming president and dinner organizer, the poinsettia ornament was stitched by Karen Johnson and the Santa and Santa candy dish were what I received in the gift exchange. It was a lovely evening!

On the Second Day of Christmas.....

This is one of my favorite stitchy gifts received this year. It was stitched by my sister, Trudi, from a Leisure Arts ornament book by Donna Kooler. It is stitched on 14 count plastic canvas with DMC fibres, and backed with felt.

I just love this Santa Star! He is such a cutie!

On The First Day of Christmas.....

The family tradition while I was growing up was that the Christmas Tree did not appear until Christmas Eve. Working for the Catholic Church also causes me to observe Advent, and not do too much decorating until Christmas Eve. In past years, when I put up lots of trees, I did start earlier, but in recent years, I only put up three. Perhaps one day (in my retirement) I will start putting up trees in November and have them all put up by Christmas, but not in the near future.

The tree pictured is the tree in my family room. Only handmade ornaments are allowed on this tree. I usually spend the time between Christmas and New Years, as well as the first few weeks of January stitching ornaments that will be used as gifts for next Christmas.

In the next 11 posts, I will show you some ornaments and other stitchy gifts that I received and gave this Christmas.

Field Trip!

Sorry to have been absenst from blogging for awhile, I have been sick. It's not life threatening, but bothersom none the less. It seems that the minute I am feeling a bit better, another part of my upper resperatory system is attacked by germs! I haven't even felt energetic enough to stitch!

But I did get a chance to visit a new (to me) shop last weekend. The Inspired Needle has been in business for a little over a year, and is located in Lemont Illinois, a mere 45 minute drive if you don't make a wrong turn or three.....

It's a wonderful little shop! Lots of things to tempt stitchers of any level! They carry my favorite silks!! Cathy, the owner, was very welcoming, and after shopping, we sat and stitched and visited a bit. It was great to see Karin, Denise and Barb again, and to meet Audrey for the first time.

Just Another Button Company 2010 Stitch Every Day Series

The 2010 Stitch Every Day series by Just Another Button Company will begin in December and designed to compliment the Teapot and Cup of Tea series. The subject this year will be Teaspoons and yes, they won’t be ordinary teaspoons! You will be able to stitch these on just one large piece of fabric. They have chosen 30 ct. Weeks Havana, but other colors that coordinate with your kitchen would work well too as long as it is dark enough to contrast with parchment and straw Weeks Dye Works. They do suggest stitching it on something close to 30 ct. for buttons to be sized to scale. There will be a stitched “spoon rack” with space for twelve Teaspoons, 3 rows of four or stitch them individually if you wish. The price for them will fluctuate depending on the price of the buttons and floss. All we have for a picture at this time is a rough sketch. 196w x 298h. (Gentle Art, Weeks and Crescent Colours will be used)

Autumn Leaves

Finished this evening, Autumn Leaves by From Nancy's Needle.

This chart was gifted to me by Barb Hansen about a year ago, and I finally took the time to stitch it up. It is done on 18 count mono canvas with the suggested threads. I enjoyed doing this one very much and look forward to finishing other charts I have by the same designer.

How Many Scissors?

Recently, my son was over and saw all my Gingher Designer Scissors and asked how many scissors did I need. Silly boy! Need has nothing to do with it!



Here are the two newest members of the collection: Elena on the left, and Mia on the right.

A Prairie Schooler Finish

I finished this Prairie Schooler chart the other day. It is Weather Wise, done on 32 count cream Belfast linen with DMC floss.

It will be a Christmas gift for my favorite sailor. I just need to find a frame.

Fall Exchange

I received a wonderful package from Cynthia recently. It was my part of the Fall/Halloween/orange exchange at the Threads of Life board. I chose fall, and got some lovely fall things.

I sent my gift off to Sue, who also chose fall. It was a fun package to put together.

One More Halloween Picture

This is my first grade class at German School, all dressed up for Halloween! It was really hard teaching a girl with a green face.......

Happy Halloween!

Even Murphy got into the Halloween Spirit! In case you can't tell, Murphy is dressed as William Shakespear for the big day!

First Ornament Exchange

This is a picture of the ornament I received from Suzie in the very first exchange I was ever in. It was 2003, and I forgot what I stitched and sent to her.

We were talking about this exchange last summer when we finally met in person, and Suzie couldn't remember what she stitched. I have been meaning to post a picture of it for some time so that she and the rest of you can see this cute little guy!

Thanks again, Suzie. As you can see, I still have it and still treasure it!

A Framing Finish

I stitched the Ellen Maurer-Stroh Rose Sampler last year, and really enjoyed stitching it, but when it was finished I didn't really know where I was going to hang it, it turned out a bit big!

Since Sue's house is done in lots of reds and she loves samplers, I sent it to her for her birthday last year. This is how she framed it.

August Cup 'O Tea Finish

While is was in Lancaster, PA, I got quite a bit of stitching done. I finished the August tea cup by Just Another Button Company that weekend. I should have finished October by now, but I am hopelessly behind in my stitching schedule!

Lancaster County, Day 3

Our last day in Lancaster County was again rainy, but not quite a gloomy as the previous days. We spent the day visiting two quilt shops in Denver PA that were recommended by other stitchers and quilters.

The first was Burkholder's Fabrics where we found some lovely fabric and some instructions for some very cute Dresden Angel ornaments. Some of the people in our group just pulled up a chair and made themselves comfortable while others shopped.

Our second stop was at Sauder's . I must say, it was quite an experience. The very large store is in the basement of a house, and there is no public restroom, just an outhouse out back. The bulk food and spices that are also sold there were a bit of a puzzlement, but the prices for the fabric were very very reasonable.

After stopping for lunch at Miller's Smorgasboard again, and checking out their quilt shop, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon and evening of stitching.

Of course there was a session of show and tell so that we could all admire each other's purchases.

Thanks, Barb, Carol, Elaine, Lynn, Pam and Sue, for a great weekend!

Lancaster County, Day 2

Day 2 started out bright and early at the crack of 10 with breakfast at Friendly's. By the time we got the eggs we ordered, they were cold and it was time for lunch, but we laughed and drove on....

Our first stop was at the Log Cabin Quilt Shop in Bird-in-Hand PA. It was a lovely shop with lots of quilts and fabric and gifts.

There were lots of little shops in the town, and we especially like the little hardware store! So many fun gadgets to look at!

Next, we were off to Intercourse and more quaint little shops. It is a lovely area, but the constant rain prevented us from enjoying it to the fullest.

The Kitchen Kettle area was especially fun, fillle with lots of cute shops. The lemon merangue pie was yummy! Among the shops there were lots of quilt shops, and we especially liked the quilt shop which housed a quilt museum on the second floor. The quilts were amazing!

Just a few purchases for me that day.

A Fall Get-a-way!

Very, very early Thursday morning, I took off for Lancaster PA, via Washington DC. I was meeting some friends at the Stitching Jubilee and we had also planned to spend some time in Lancaster County to see what kind of trouble we could get into....



At about 1:30, Sue and I arrived at the Lancaster County Convention Center. It wasn't too easy to find, we had gotten some sketchy directions from our hotel, and my GPS was having trouble finding the satellite. But we did find it, and quickly found the rest of our group, Carol, Barb, Lynn, Pam and Elaine. The 5 of them had already finished their shopping, so I had some catching up to do.



The shopping mart was not very impressive as a whole. There were less exhibitors than I expected, but I did manage to find a few charts that I couldn't live without.


After examining all the booths, we settled down at a table and to look at each other's stash acquisitions, and then stitched for a bit before heading out for dinner.


The destination for dinner was Miller's Smorgasbord Restaurant. It was yummy! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and stitched before heading off to bed.

Singing with Ms. Viki

This is where I can be found many Friday evenings, rehearsing with the children's folk dance group. Here they are singing with my lovely and talented daughter, Viki. The kids love singing with her!

For Marguerite!

Recently, my friend since college (and that's a really, really long time ago) Marguerite and I were chatting and the subject of my Pope John Paul II stitched piece came up. It hangs at work (I work for a Catholic Church) and she has never seen it. She asked me to post a picture, so here it is.

It was stitched right around the time of his death from a chart in a Polish magazine. Stitched on 28 count antique white Jubilee with DMC floss.

Kit up a Freebie!

I recently participated in a "Kit Up A Freebie" exchange on the Threads of Life board. It was kind of fun searching for just the right freebie to send my partner. I sent "Snow" a freebie from Wichelt to Norma and since she notified me that she has received it I can show you what I sent.

I received this biscornu kit for the exchange from Darla and can't wait to stitch it for Christmas.

A Long Overdue Visit to Welcome Stitchery

My stash shopping list had become very long, and getting longer every week. It was obvious that I hadn't been to my favorite LNS, Welcome Stitchery, in a long time. When Michelle e-mailed me and asked if I wanted to ride up with her I jumped at the chance.

We walked in the door late Saturday afternoon, and ran into Ilona, who I hadn't seen in almost two years. It was great catching up with her. As I walk a few more steps, I almost tripped over Eileen, who was sitting on the floor inspecting all the new charts that had been brought back from the St. Charles market. It was great catching up with her also!

It didn't take Michelle long to make her purchases, but it took me considerably longer.....I got almost everything on my list. One pack of beads, one spool of Kreinik and one piece of fabric were not in stock, so I will get those when they come in. Meanwhile, I managed to spend quite a bit of my children's inheritance. But....I have things kitted up and am good to go for awhile.

The Culprit!

Here is what Murphy looks like now. He is about 8 months old right now, and still growing.

This picture is of Murphy at about 2 1/2 or 3 months. He was a lot smalled and affraid to jump off the couch.

He is still very sweet, and loves to play.

Murphy's Mess

I arrived home on Friday evening to find this on my kitchen table. Murphy, Tony's 8 month old puppy (who is almost the size of a horse) found a ball of #8 perle cotton.

Tony tells me that he must have run around the entire first floor with it as it unwound. Murphy managed to wind it around every single piece of furniture and Tony had quite job getting it cleaned up. Dear boy tried very hard to wind it up nicely but eventually gave up and cut it a few times. I wish he would have taken a picture of the mess before he cleaned it up. I would have liked to have seen it.

Lucky for him, perle cotton isn't very expensive. If he had gotten into my silks, I wouldn't be laughing!

Sunflower Mail Art

Now that Julie has received the Mail Art that I sent to her recently, I can show all of you!

I just love it when everything matches! I first found the stamps, then the fabric for the lining, and those were my inspiration for the stitched envelope.

I am not too happy with the back, but I just couldn't find something else to stitch there that fit the theme.

Thank you, Susan!

Awhile ago, Susan had a PIF on her blog, and I was one of the lucky winners.

I received this lovely pin keep in the mail yesterday. It is beautifully stitched and expertly finished.

Thank you so much, Susan! How did you know I am yearning to learn to quilt? (And I will as soon as the room I want to use is vacated of #1 son's stuff!

Wild Things

This morning's blog entry is a photo of a recent finish. "Wild Things" is a birth sampler for the baby of a co-worker. The baby has just had his first birthday, so it was high time that the sampler was finished.

This piece was not a fun stitch! The chart is part of a Dimension Kit, but I used 32 count fabric and my own DMC instead of the supplies provided. I also eliminated the "bubbles" that go all the way around the piece. The backstitching was a real killer! But it is finished at last!

I will get it framed this weekend, so that Adrian can hang it in his room.

What I learned last weekend....

Last weekend I learned that you can't sail if there isn't any wind!

I spent some time last weekend on John's sailboat, the Leander. Unfortunately, there wasn't much wind so we spent more time in the harbor than out on Lake Michigan. But all was not lost, the cockpit of the sailboat was a great place to sit and stitch in the fresh air!


We were kept busy with various chores on the boat and the dock, we socialized with all of the other boat owners on the dock at the annual dock party. I tried a new recipe that Cindy mentioned on her blog for Tomato Pie. It was a hit! We also got to see Julia & Julie, and really enjoyed the movie!



On Monday afternoon we did get out of the harbor and onto the lake. It was a beautiful, sunny day after a morning of heavy fog.

Another Framing Frenzy!

I tend to put off framing and finishing, I would much rather stitch. If framing weren't so expensive, I would have it done, but I have learned to frame things myself to save a few dollars.

Patsy had ask that I show her how it's done in exchange for some finishing work, so a week ago last Sunday she and my sister came over and we framed!

I hadn't done any framing in awhile, so the first piece took me quite some time to complete, but as the afternoon wore on, it because easier and faster. I framed all seven of these pieces and Trudi framed 3 pieces. Patsy took notes and decided that it didn't look so hard after all.

Stash Acquisition

A little over a week ago, a few of us met at Welcome Stitchery for some stash acquisition, followed by lunch at Finn McCool's around the corner.

We had a great time chatting and fondling in the shop, and then and even better time at lunch. Patsy brought her Garden Chair by The Cat's Wiskers and other finishes so that everyone could see them in person.

Patsy has promised to put together my Garden Chair once it is stitched in exchange for a framing lesson. I have the chart, the fabric and most of the floss. Just waiting for one more color of Dinky Dyes and I will begin stitching me chair!

July Cup 'O Tea

Another finish! The July Cup 'O Tea was finished this weekend. Only 5 more tea cups to stitch.

When Just Another Button Company releases the 2010 Stitch Every Day Series, will someone please remind me not to order it?