FUN DAY!!!!

I had a fun day today with Nicole & Karen - and I hope that Karen & Nicole had a fun day as well! :-)
Nicole was here around 8:45, and we went to Sumter where we met Karen at the first yarn store/quilt shop. They didn't have very much in the quilt shop, but the yarn shop was really nice & they even carry DMC floss - woohoo! ;-) Somewhere closer than 75 miles with DMC, that's exciting!! ;-)

Then we went to the 2nd quilt shop where we managed to spend about 3 hours (gasp) with Barb, the owner. She's very friendly & funny too. ;-) I didn't buy A LOT, but I got some great things - will share some pics as I make some things with the fabrics. I had my camera & Nicole snapped a few pics for me while I was chatting with Barb - beautiful fabrics & LOVELY quilts - don't you agree?

We came back here & went to lunch at one of the most popular bbq resturants in SC, and it was SO good. We were all starving by that time - trust me! This place has really good bbq (for those not in the south, that's pulled pork!). Then we came back to my house to play with our stash, both quilting & stitching - so all in all, a wonderful day spent with wonderful friends!

Now all I want to do is sew/stitch or stitch/sew - so guess what my plans are for tomorrow.... ;-) I plan to stitch for awhile tonight though...

Thanks for stopping by & HAPPY STITCHING!!

Valentine exchange received....

I received this Floss Ring Tag from Su in a Valentine's Exchange I was in - isn't it pretty? A Blackbird Designs "design" in my fav color, and over 1! Lovely! She did the back in brown fabric, so either she has seen my comments on loving red/brown, or she & I have very similar taste! :-)

She also sent some pretty squares of fabric (one is a Blackbird Moda piece too!). Thank you Su, it's all great!

Off to see if I can get some sewing done this afternoon while waiting on the new washer/dryer to be delivered! Wish me luck!!

Thanks for stopping by & happy stitching!

Busy busy..... (finishes....!!!)

How did Sunday evening get here so quickly? I would swear it was just Friday a few hours ago....

I did do some stitching last night & some finishing & sewing today - but first, look at how pretty my Amaryllis is! I bought it a day or two after Christmas and it has 3 blooms open with 2 more to come. I've never had one with 5! I think it's lovely! :-)




I decided to try to make a couple of zippered bags - just wanted to see how they would come out. Both are fairly small & odd sized - just using some zippers a friend of my mom's gave me to see which I prefer to make. Both worked out - so either one works - I guess that's good! What do you think? The bottom one is a Moda Blackbird "Madeira" fabric - love it!

I was listening to an audio book last night & just stitching up a storm. I did the 3 following pieces and finished them this afternoon. The first is a freebie in the latest San-Man newsletter. It's on 32 ct Ruby Wine Belfast with CC Spun Sugar - might look familiar as it's the same thread/fabrics as in the exchange I just sent out.

Next is my "Funky Bird"! I think he's just the cutest thing.... he's from a big thick cross stitch book - don't recall the name of it right now but I can pull it back out if anyone is interested. I changed the colors (of course) and I like it! It's stitched on 32 ct White Belfast w/DMC floss & filled with crushed walnut shells - so that makes it a pin pillow doesn't it? ;-) I don't understand why it looks wrinkled in the pic - it doesn't in person. :-( Oh well, I'm happy with it!

Last but not least is a freebie from "The Stitcherhood", isn't it cute? I LOVE the new red paisley fabric - got it yesterday at the quilt shop. I think the ribbon is a bit wide but it will do until I can get something else. All I had in white was too narrow or this, and all I had in red was either too bright or too dark. Can't win sometimes huh? Again, LOVE this red paisley - I see a tote bag or maybe a purse in the near future from this fabric... **YES** I am a fabric addict!

Yes, that was 3 full finishes in 24 hours - I can do it when the mood hits - which isn't very often. I just decided I was in the mood for Valentine's Day.... and didn't stop once I got started! :-)

Okay - off to stitch a bit and listen to more of my book - Diana Gabaldon's "Dragonfly In Amber" - I'm LOVING this series - and I can stitch & listen at the same time, so that makes it even better!

Have a great week ahead, thanks for stopping by & happy stitching!!!

Valentine Exchange sent......

I was trying to think of something "useful" to make to send for the Valentine's Exchange I was in. I decided on a "tape measure pouch". The design is a freebie (thanks C!) stitched on 32 ct Ruby Wine Belfast with CC Spun Sugar. The fabric is from the Moda L'Amour line. I think it turned out cute & I HOPE the recipient likes it.

I made it to one quilt store today (in all this COLD, COLD rain) and plan to go back SOON! :-) Hope to have more to share soon.....

Thanks for stopping by - happy stitching!!!

My New Tote Bag (aka how I spent Sunday afternoon!)!

This is how I spent my Sunday afternoon - I made a tote bag!

I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt, if I do say so myself! Not my first attempt at sewing, just the first at making a lined tote bag from scratch. The pattern is from the Jane Timmers class that she taught in MB 2 years ago, part of the Madeira Tin Collection. I DO have that jelly roll, but I wasn't going to pratice with it because it's my all time fav fabrics! This fabric is from the Moda Blackbird Harvest Home series. I had the Jelly Roll and a yard of the piece for the handles, lining & top. (I needed more to do the pockets, but I had some other pieces from the Harvest Home Layer cake that worked well). I have enough strips to make 3-4 more... but no fabric for the lining. What on earth would I do with 3-4 more anyway? ;-) I do have several other jelly rolls and I absolutely FELL IN LOVE with the new Blackbird "Garden Party" fabric, which I MUST HAVE!!! I guess I'm going to add to my "tote bag collection"! ;-)

Just had to share - thanks for stopping by & happy stitching (and sewing)!

BTW, Nicole & I (and hopefully Karen) have made plans to go to the two new quilt stores on Sat. :-) FUN FUN FUN!!

Anyone want to come to a SC Stitch-In?

I'm thinking of having a stitch-in in a local place here on Sat. March 27th. Hours 10-4, cost $10 which includes lunch (it's at a cute little cafe and would be closed to the public that day). If you are interested in coming, send me an email or post here for me to email you more info! Join us - it will be fun!

Happy stitching!!!

Quaker Virtues Progress....

I haven't stitched as much as I'd like this past week, but here is what I did get done - not a lot, but I love how it's looking. This was last weekend -

And this is as of last night -

My back/neck/shoulders have been bothering me so I haven't stitched as much - it just makes it worse. BUT I do hope to get more done on it soon. I decided I wanted to try to do a bit of sewing this afternoon so while looking for a pattern this a.m., I kept finding other things I want to stitch on as well - 2 UFO's & one new project that I hadn't thought of much since I got it in Oct! SO.... I think I'll put down QV for a bit & see what else I can work on. We are getting ready to go visit my parents for a bit & then it's home to either stitch or sew for awhile - wish me luck! :-)

OH and I found out something yesterday that has me all excited - (remember, I live in a VERY small town!) - a lady called to see if we carry Needlepoint supplies from the next town over & she told me that TWO (not one, but two!) Quilt shops have opened there! I think it's time for a trip to see what all they have!! Wooohooo!!! Doubt it will be this week, but you never know! :-)

Have a great day - thanks for stopping by & Happy Stitching!

I have the sweetest friends.....

I received a LOVELY SURPRISE in the mail today from my good stitching friend Karen... isn't this wonderful? Not only did she send me a lovely stitched pincushion in RED, she made me some of her GORGEOUS cards, and in my absolute favorite colors too! (She knows I ADORE her cards, and these are wonderful!!)
Thank you so much Karen, that was so very sweet & thoughtful of you, and I appreciate it so very much! You just made my day!!! :-)

I haven't stitched much this week at all - I think I'm tiring over over 1 & QV. I would like to finish the motif I'm working on before I put it down though, we'll see. Karen now has me in the mood to stitch HEARTS, so we'll see if that actually comes to pass.... ;-)

Thanks for stopping by & have a great weekend - HAPPY STITCHING!!

I have been stitching....

This is about 10 days or so ago (hadn't touched it in a LONG time)...
And here it is as of last night....

Boy talk about bad lighting! lol Anyway - stitching over 1 seems super slow to me... but it's so worth it in the end. It sure doesn't look like much progress either, oh well. I keep waiting to "get tired" of stitching on it & decide to start something else (or pick up another UFO), but so far, so good. Now watch what will happen tonight/tomorrow.... I shouldn't have said that huh? ;-)

It's finally warmed up some here but it started raining today. UGH! But Monday (which I realized yesterday is a holiday and means no mail!) is supposed to be in the 60's & sunny. Let's hope that holds true - I'm so ready for a bit of warmer weather & sun!

Okay, back to work for a while longer this afternoon - just wanted to share my progress. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy stitching!!

Sharing Some Finishes....

Finally - stitching pics to share with you!

First up is Tanya's (The Sampler Girl) LE 2009 Christmas Kit - Bedford Falls. I LOVE "It's A Wonderful Life", it's my favorite movie and Tanya sent me her wonderful kit as a special gift. I stitched it on Christmas Day while watching "It's A Wonderful Life". I just adore Jimmy Stewart and I thought this was the perfect piece to stitch while watching the movie. I just did the finishing on it today though (talk about slow!) and here it is! Cute huh? I did make a few color changes (no big surprise there) and I stitched it on a 30 ct R&R fabric, but I don't remember which color it is. It will go in a box with lots of NEW ornaments for Christmas 2010. Thank you again Tanya for your very thoughtful gift!


Next is my finish of LK's ABC Lessons with LOTS of color changes. I don't like pastels very much (as you can tell) so I used CC's German Chocolate for the words, Onion Skin for the blocks and then other CC's for the red, greens, blue and gold. I LOVE how it turned out. It's stitched on 32 Antique Ivory Belfast. Hopefully I can get it framed this winter sometime.... we'll see about that... I can be slow! I finished it last Sunday - no sure when I started it, but I had between 1/4 & 1/3 done when I picked it back up right after Christmas - so not too bad I don't think! :-)

Last up is what I decided to work on for a bit - my BIGGEST UFO. This is my start in 2009 on Quaker Virtues. I'm stitching on 25 ct Vintage Country Mocha with DMC 815 & 838. I can only stitch over one for so long before picking up something else, so hopefully you will see an update on this at least once a month in 2010. NO PROMISES though..... I'm not making specific plans for my stitching this year. I'm going to stitch on what I want when I feel like it. This past week I didn't get to stitch hardly at all - but hopefully I can get some in this coming week. Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by & happy stitching!!