WOW! L@@K!!!!!

I received a wonderful exchange gift in the mail today from my friend Terry! At the beginning of the year, there were 4 of us that decided to do a private exchange with each sending to the other. Well, Terry has stitched lovely gifts for the other two gals, but she really outdid herself with this one.... isn't it amazing? It's stitched using Crescent Soie Belle silks & 40 ct Edinboro fabric & it's just lovely!!! I took lots of pics so you can get a good look at it. I'm sure many of you are drooling on your keyboard aren't you? ;-) Didn't Terry do an amazing job? I feel truly honored that she would stitch & finish such an amazing gift for me..... thank you again Terry, big hugs!

This is the front....

This is the back.....

This shows it "open", front & back.....And this is the inside....

Isn't it wonderful!??! Thanks for looking & happy stitching!

HoE Ornament Exchagne Received....

I received an ornament by Irmeli in Finland, isn't it cute? She also included some other nice goodies with the ornament. The design is by Bent Creek & is adorable, thank you Irmeli, it's wonderful!
Still not much stitching going on here this weekend. Hope to get something accomplished tomorrow. Happy stitching everyone!

Several Exchanges Sent...

A few of the exchanges I've sent have been received....

The first one was for Carolyn in the Monthly Ornament Swap group. I stitched the Prairie Schooler Alphabet Tree (freebie) for her & I'm glad she likes it! I like it too & plan to stitch it for myself. In case anyone is interested, I bought the pattern on ebay for $2.25, free postage (yes, $2.25 for a free little pattern card, but isn't it cute?!).

This is a Historic Stitches Redwork piece that I stitched for Carol B in the HoE Christmas Ornament Exchange. I couldn't find any list for Carol for her "likes", so I chose red... doesn't everyone like red, esp. at Christmas?

Next Is a Bourse I made for Chris from the Make A Wish group. I chose LK's new "One Smile Fits All" as Chris had no wish for design/color. The pattern arrived a day or so before I started stitching it, so I was hoping she wouldn't have it stitched by the time it "flew" across the ocean. I think it turned out kinda cute.

I still have a couple more exchanges on the way to their home, and hopefully the will arrive safely & quickly.

I've been stitching along with Petra's Quick Stitch Weekend group & I hope this weekend will be no exception. (you can find the group link in Petra's Blog). I also sent the County Stitches Woodland Frosty (pictured in the post before this one) to Petra & I think she likes him! :-)

My mil is still visiting & will be here until Friday of next week. :-O So far, I haven't stitched since she arrived. I hope to find some time this weekend though. Wish me luck....

Have a great weekend & happy stitching!!

More Ornament Finishes.....

I didn't stitch all week until Thursday night, and I stitched this Emery by Anita's Little Stitches, on Thursday & Friday nights. I used opal linen, a blue verigated DMC floss and I think it turned out pretty. Now that the threads & ribbons I ordered from Anita have arrived, I will stitch the set in those colors!

Next is "Snowed In" by Stone & Thread. Isn't it cute? A very quick stitch which I did on Friday night.

On Saturday night, I was able to stitch two... PS's Alphabet Tree freebie and Country Stitches Woodland Frosty . I did all the finishing this afternoon. I hope to stitch a bit tonight, we'll see! I think I'm on a roll with ornaments... wonder how much longer this will last? ;-)

Thanks for looking & have a great week ahead. I found out yesterday that my mil is coming tomorrow for a week or so. Wish me lots of luck... ;-)

Happy stitching!

Several finishes to share.... :-)

I have been stitching ornaments, want to see? :-)
Petra started a QSW (Quick Stitch Weekend) Yahoo Group (the URL is on her blog if you want to join in) a couple of weeks ago & she also posted links to some freebies too... well, here are the results!

The first one is "Jingle Sparkle Joy" by Midsummer Night Designs & I think it's adorable! There are 2 more bells on the back that you can't see in the pic, I think I decided I liked the "jingle" idea just a little bit! Two are tied to ribbon & hang, and two are sewn on where the bow/hanger is attached.

Next is "Noel" by Maryse, which I just love. I made it into a pinkeep & at this point I haven't put a hanger on it for an ornament, though I might. I always have places to sit things during the holidays & I thought this would be cute in one of those places. This one I stitched this past Friday & Saturday nights, it was quick & just turns out so pretty I think!

I also stitched these 3 little Bent Creek ornies in the past few days. They're from the new "Littles" chart & are called Christmas Trio. Aren't they cute? Just simple finshing on 2" finishing forms, yes, they're that small!

This is a pattern that I downloaded from Patterns Online, can't remember the designer or what the "name" of the ornament is. I wish I had realized how much "blank" area was going to be above the design, I'd have added to it or made the "square" smaller before I finished it. I will stitch more, but I will make some changes first. Now I need some of those "breadcloth" designs that are made to be stitched in corners.... I don't know that I have any. Hmmm, maybe in some of my Leisure Arts Christmas stuff. Who wants to come dig through my stash? ;-) Anyway, shown are the front & back. It was quick & simple to stitch and finish, and it is pretty.....

Below is an ornament I've worked on off & on for a couple of weeks. I kitted it up to take the beach retreat, but never pulled it out (big surprise there huh?). It's actually a pattern I borrowed from my Pal Susan TN, and I'm not 100% sure of the title. It stays "Christmas Of Olde" and "Peace On Earth" and From the Friends of Threads of Gold. So anyway... Susan let me borrow her pattern as it's apparently oop & I couldn't get it. I love what it says but what really got me was the finishing....

Here is the piece stitched, laying flat, I had already sewn the 1 1/2" fabric strips on. (BTW, the gold is a pretty shade, it looks rather strange in this first pic, at least on my monitor)!

This is a pick of it hanging.....

This is the back.......

And a "close up" of the bottom. I just love how it turned out. It's rather large, several inches around, kinda "puffy", but oh so pretty I think. I think this is my favorite in while. I love what it says & I love the finishing. I'm going to try to find something else to finish in this way. It was really quick & easy too!

Thanks for looking at my ornaments! I have more finishes but I can't share them as they are for exchanges. I will when they are sent/received. I have some new ornaments that I hope to start tonight! I'll share them when I get them finished. Happy stitching to all!

PS-See the post below too as it was made today as well & has another of my ornaments in it! :-)

Seasonal Exchagne for BeckySC...

Becky got her pkg today for the Winter Seasonal exchange. I know she loves Christmas, so I decided to do Christmas instead of "winter". I guess she likes what I sent...The ornament is by Mary Garry from one of the JCS mags, 2006 maybe? I love how it turned out & plan to stitch one for myself one of these days. I also sent her the JBW Christmas Purse that I stitched last month (along with some other goodies). See, I had plans for my stitching... I just didn't share them. ;-)

Thanks for looking.....

Ornament for Edgar....

The ornament I made for Edgar has arrived in CA, so I can post a pic! I hope he likes it as much as I do.... look at all that lovely red! :-) It's from the 2006 JCS Mag, Blackbird Designs Quaker Strawberry (I have no idea of the exact name, but that's what I'm calling it). As you can see, I changed the "leaves" to a bow (a pretty RED bow!). The floss is DMC 115 & the fabric is antique white Belfast.

I hope to have more pics to share soon, so check back. In the meantime, happy stitching! :-)

I've been stitching....

Well, small things, but at least it's stitching! I have mailed out two exchange pieces this week, have another one stitched but need to finish (Hi Gaby!), finished an ornament for myself that I started a few weeks ago, and stitched 2.5 more!! Of course two of them are tiny & all are simple, but they are stitched at least. I'll post pics when they are "finished", which I hope to do very soon. I used my new sewing machine Sunday & I just LOVE it. :-) Hope to share some pics by Sunday!

Thanks to those who contacted me about the PS leaflet I was looking for... one is on the way to me now!! Woooohooo & big thanks! :-)

Just wanted to say a quick hello & happy stitching to all. :-)

I'm so slow...

Well it only took a couple of weeks (almost) to get these pics taken & posted, but here they are finally!

The first few pics are the finished Maderia Tin Class pieces taught by Jane Timmers (at the Pals Fall Fling). The class was Friday all day & 1/2 day Saturday. I'm happy to say I left the class with everything complete, yeah!!! Of course the stitching was done ahead of time, but lining the tin, putting the needlebook/pinkeep together and finishing the biscornu were all done in class. Jane happened to have a "bit" of red ribbon that she traded me for the blue that came in the kit, and I love it! I just need to find some glass head pins for the pinkeep, but so far, no luck. Does anyone know where I might can find them? Anyway, I did change the colors on the needlebook a bit, so if you see someone elses & think mine looks different, that's why. All of the stitching is over 1 on 32 ct with silk threads. I love the way it all turned out. If you have a chance to take a class with Jane, do!

This is the Pals "kit" that was in each registration pack. I stitched it & made it into a pinkeep. The design/button are by Hob-Nobb! Didn't it turn out cute? I have a few left if anyone is interested....

Next up we have my 7 ornaments from the Pals ornament exchange. I took 7 (you can see the pics below) and this is what I came home with, aren't they great!?!? The 3 from the top pic are from Rita FL (snowflake), Teresa KY (Stoney Creek mitten) and the adorable snowman was stitched by Karen AZ!

In the 2nd pic we have the lovely hardanger ornament by the "hardanger queen of Pals", Laurie aka situmat, and it's RED! The 2nd one is by Chris NC, the "Love", which is stitched on both sides is by Malinda NC & last but not least is the adorable little tree by Ruth CA! I LOVE all my ornies, so thanks Pals! :-)

And just look at this ADORABLE flip flop fob stitched by Michele/Mavis/Marva/Melba/Myrtle! It's RED too, she knows me so well, and don't you LOVE my new thread palette she gave me as well?

I'm hoping to get some finishing done this afternoon, using my NEW sewing machine I got last Monday... (it's a Kenmore as my other machine is a Kenmore I've had for 15-16 years and I didn't want to buy new attachments). It was on sale and I was given a gift by some of the Pals for my work on the Fall Fling... that's what I used it for, so THANK YOU Pals! :-)With an extra hour today maybe some finishing will happen. :-) Cross your fingers for me. I also hope to stitch a bit this afternoon/evening too. Wish me luck!

Happy stitching everyone!