And now it's August?!?!

OK, I seriously don't know where the time keeps going!

I have to start by saying I had a GREAT shopping day Saturday! We were going down to Ogden and DH said he'd take me to Shepherd's Bush, even though I have SOOOOO many unfinished projects (which I agree with ) and I don't really need any more (which, unfortunately, I agree with too). So I started thinking, maybe I should be buying FRAMES instead of more stuff to stitch - Gee, what a novel concept! LOL



So I went through a pile of finished stitching and picked out 12 of them I wanted frames for and DH and I took them to a local frame shop that makes frames from leftover molding and sells them for great prices. Most of my local stitching group goes there, and I'd never been before - I had no idea what I was missing! LOL











I got 8 frames for $53 and picked out molding and got pricing information for 3 more pieces that will need a custom size so I can get them on subsequent paydays. The 12th piece DH decided would look better as a bellpull (which surprised the heck out of me! LOL). SO, now I've got some framing to do!


I also pulled out a bunch of fobs & ornaments that need hand finishing . I think I have my work cut out for me!! The saddest one is the 2006 Shepherd's Bush fob for the matching Gingher scissors which is 1/2 stitched together! I'm going to start on the fobs first.

We did actually go to Shepherd's Bush because I wanted to pick up a chart for the Halloween/Autumn exchange in my Yahoo group. Unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking for in stock, but they're ordering it for me. I DID end up getting a new chart, which I thought was TOO cute to pass up: Witches Stitch Too!! by Homespun Elegance. I figure it won't take me too long to stitch, and I know where to get a great frame for it when it's done! LOL

So, speaking of exchanges, I had Donna for the Birthday exchange in our Yahoo group in July. I made her some fun things.




I knit a nice wide scarf made with Sensations Rainbow Boucle in Black perfect for those cold Canadian winters.



I stitched a chart from Donna's wish list (I love it when I can fine something on a wish list to stitch) by Plum Pudding Designs called Stitched With Love. I used threads we dyed at out GTG in Wisconsin a few years ago and made it into a pinkeep and scissor fob. The backing fabric was muslin dyed that day as well, so it was a perfect match!















And the really fun piece was a little beaded teapot! Donna collects miniature teapots and I thought this would be so cool to try to make. The pattern is from the December 2008 issue of Bead & Button magazine. The pattern is by Diane Fitzgerald, who always has such beautiful designs! There were a few false starts, but I was pretty proud of it when it was finished.














Before the birthday goodies, I was working on my part of Summer Flowers Sewing Set by Lody that my local stitching group was making for Cindy, one of our members who is suffering from breast cancer.

I stitched and assembled the biscornu (my favorite thing to finish!) and I assembled the little scissor keeper. You can read more about the set on Loraine's blog and see the wonderful bag that Melanie made to match the set.










And something I stitched back in January and never talked about because it was for an April birthday surprise was the little butterfly I stitched for Isle's 50th birthday quilt that Dane organized and put together. It's also one my hand-dyed flosses and the chart is from the French book Repetoire des Motifs by Valerie Lejeune.

You can see the beautifully finished quilt on Dane's Blog post.


I doesn't seem I have much to show for how busy I've felt lately!!





I finished Welcome to Cupid's Garden by A Kitty Kats Originals, again using some of my hand-dyed threads. This is one of the pieces I got a frame for, so hopefully it'll be up on my wall soon!!



I've also been plugging away on my Little House Needlework's American Sampling, and I'm fairly close to finishing.

Almost half of my local stitching group is part of a SAL for Shepherd's Bush Sail Away. I was REALLY tempted to join this one, but I truly have SO much stash (and WIPs and UFOs!), I just couldn't justify it. But it prompted me to pull out another larger Shepherd's Bush kit that I bought years ago called Thoughtful Heart. I'm so enjoying stitching it, just like all their samplers!

The other thing I've been working on is a color exchange - my favorite type of exchange to do! This one is for Lody - can you guess what color she picked? LOL

Geez, where has the time gone?!?

I can't believe it's been 3 months since I've posted - so much for bi-monthly updates! LOL I've been busy and trying to remember to take pics, but every time I thought about updating my blog, I thought I should be working on "The Token" instead. I'm very happy to report that on Tuesday, only a month late, I finally put the in the last stitch!! YEH!!!

So here is is! Since it's stitched on 40 ct, it really looks smaller than all the work that went into it, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's stitched on a hand-dyed linen, but I can't remember which one. The thread is my favorite Gloriana Cranberry!

Now I can finally move on to something else! LOL Friday, I started Welcome to Cupid's Garden by A Kitty Kats Original. I'm using some of the threads that I dyed myself and I love how it's looking so far. I hope to finish it soon.

Now to be fair, I have stitched on a few other things the last few months when I was away from home.

I started Little House Needlework's American Sampling on my trip to Virgina. Didn't get too far, but it was fun to stitch on something patriotic while I was there.

I also started an Easter piece to work on while I'm away from home. It's Hop by The Trillogy. I bought both of these kits on clearance from Pine Needles almost two years ago - it's nice to finally be working on them.

So, that leads me to my Virgina trip! I went the first weekend in March for the Bead Retreat National Conference in Newport News. It was SO much fun!





Here is a pic of me with my sponsor Sarah (in the middle) and her sponsor Dawn (on the right) before the Black & White themed Friday night awards banquet.









And here is Sarah and me with co-founders Cindi Swett and Lisa Shephard on the final day of conference.

Everything was wonderful, but I have to admit my favorite part was the unveiling of the new Seven Collection catalog! We got to see EVERYTHING in person - it was overwhelming at first - but such a great opportunity! I went home with OODLES of kits to make - and I've bought more since - I just love it all - LOL.




After the showcase of the new collection, some of us went to the hotel bar and broke out our kits. I had a Newport News Mellontini - yummy! But I must admit, I had to work on kit with bigger beads! ROFLOL








In April, I had a Seven Collection open house and served Seven Layer Dip, chocolate cupcakes with Seven Minute Icing and 7-Up - too much fun! LOL



After the conference was over Sunday afternoon, I met Laura and Jennifer in Williamsburg! I've always wanted to go there, and we had SO much fun together - but 1 1/2 days is NOT near enough time to see what I wanted to.



Jen made the cutest little gifts for Laura and me from the Blackbird Designs book My Heart is True. You can see Jen's post about it here, she actually posted about it in a timely manner! LOL






So after we met up at the hotel, we went over to Colonial Williamsburg for lunch at The Cheese Shop, where I got (what else?) a fantastic cheese plate! I was so enamored with it, I took a picture. I actually had to save the rest of it for dinner - that was a LOT of cheese! LOL



We walked though the old cemetery and came across this stone - I loved the inscription. It says: Here sleeps in Jesus united to Him by Faith and the Graces of a christian life, all that was Mortal of Mrs Ann Burges once the tender and affectionate Wife of the Revd Henry John Burges of the Isle of Wight: She died December 1771 in giving Birth to an Infant Daughter, who rests in her arms. She here waits the transporting moment when the Trump of God shall call her Forth to Glory, Honour & Immortality. Oh Death where is thy Sting. Oh Grave where is thy Victory.


After looking around some of the shops, we took an evening Lanthorn walking tour, which was really interesting.



Here is the Battery at sunset.



And this is a picture in the wig-maker's shop by lamp-light.


After the tour, we went back to the hotel, ate, chatted, beaded, chatted, swapped stash, chatted and even stitched (a tiny bit!). LOL The next morning we went back to Colonial Williamsburg and walked around all day.




For lunch, we went to Chowning's Tavern, where I had a delicious slice of peanut pie for dessert! I ended up buying The Colonial Williamsburg Cookbook and made that pie for Easter :)





And here's Jen and Laura in the maze at the Governor's Mansion. I'd always wanted to walk through a maze like that!




Here's what it looked like from above.






And we saw a hornbook in the silversmith's house, which I thought was pretty cool.

Laura and I took a drop spindle class later that day after Jen went home. It was really fun, but I must admit, I haven't picked it up again. One of these days!


I could spend all night showing all the pics I took that day, but I'll spare you that and put them in my Webshots album - LOL



On April 16th, Justin and I celebrated our 20th anniversary!




We went down to Thanksgiving Point south of Salt Lake City and visited the Museum of Ancient Life, which has the largest collection of mounted dinosaurs in the world. We had a great time! When were were dating, we went to a dinosaur museum, so it was fun to do something like that again. For dinner we went to The Harvest restaurant, where I was able to have another cheese plate for our starter - LOL




On Sunday of that week, we drove over to Bear Lake and walked along the beach. Here's Justin trying to skip seashells (there were no flat rocks). He was actually pretty successful! :)


For Easter, I made a FANTASTIC pork roast. I found the recipe on the Food Network website and it's by Bobby Flay. I highly recommend it. I didn't get a chance to take a picture, but trust me on this, it was terrific!






After dinner, we went outside for a little pellet gun shooting. Wanna know what we were shooting at?









ROFLOL!

BTW, it was me who shot that pink egg :)






Let's see, what else has been going on?



Last weekend I participated in my first craft show. This was at Black & White Days in Richmond, Utah, which is about 20 minutes north of me. It was a very small show and pretty slow, but it was a beautiful day and I enjoyed myself. I hope to be able to do a few more this summer. It's a great way to reach new people!



I also had a great mail day this last week!



Cheryl sent me this piece in exchange for me making a necklace kit she bought from the new catalog (the beautiful Kyanite one on the cover!). This is a freebie from Aurelle called L'ete (Summer) and Cheryl made it into a sewing roll.


It's a perfect fit for my blossoming red-work collection!



And Laura made me this wonderful bag with some of the cutest kitty fabric!

Thanks again Laura and Cheryl!!






I think that about does it for now. I'll try not to wait another three months for my next post!

Happy Birthday to ME! :)

Friday was my birthday, and I got a fantastic box in the mail from Jen for our Friends in Threads Birthday Exchange!


The first thing I noticed is that the box weighed a TON! She had sent me a cake mix, icing (2 tubs!) and candles for a birthday cake! How cute is that? LOL

And she sent me some great stash from my wish list - Stash Nash Primitives Schoolgirl Sampler Pinkeep Drum, Chessie & Me Miss Chessie's Tuffet and Olde Colonial Designs Mimi's Pin Cube Kit as well as six skeins of Gentle Arts Sampler Threads.

She also sent a wonderful Ackworth Coaster from Kelmscott Designs (which is perfect for by my stitching chair!) and a pair of "Stitching Girl" socks, which are TOO CUTE!!!

And for my stitched gift, Jen stitched me the wonderful Prairie Schooler design K is for Kitty and made it into a beautiful pillow! I love it! Especially since I love the design and for some reason I hate stitching their charts!

Thanks again for all the wonderful goodies Jen!!



I've also got a couple of finished to show off :) On the 15th I finished Shepherd's Bush Dresser Drawer Hearts, just a tad late for Valentine's day, but it was fun actually stitching it "in season". This was one of the most fun pieces I've ever done! I loved every stitch of it!!



I also stitched Winter ABC, which was a really quick stitch - just one evening!

Now I just need to find frames for these (along with everything else!) - LOL









I have a major goal that I'm working on now, and I think I'll be able to reach it! On the 16th, I picked up Long Dog Samplers The Token again, which I had started in early 2007 (I had gotten just a bit farther than this picture when I put it down). I really, really want to finish it for our 20th Anniversary on April 16th! Think I can make it?

A Finish and A Winner!

I have another finish! Last Saturday, I finished Charmed Hearts by Shepherd's Bush. I started this one last year, in January if I remember correctly, and put it aside after Valentine's Day. I love all of SB's hearts!! I'd also love to get it framed like the model, but I looked up the price and it's just a titch out of my budget right now! LOL







Stamp Club was last Friday, and we made a couple of cute Valentine's Day projects - a card and a little pillow box filled with chocolate.










And last Saturday, I happily found myself at Shepherd's Bush! I bought their latest kit, Winter ABC. This will be my next new start. :)


And now, on to the drawing that I announced in my last post. Thanks for everyone's comments! I used Random.org to pick a winner from the 7 people who left a comment - and the winner is.... Debs!! Congratulations Debs - I'll be e-mailing you to find out what colors you'd like :)

Three Finishes in Three Days!!

I had a GREAT start to the new year!







On New Year's Day I finished my Papillon Creations 2008 Mystery Sampler How Does Your Garden Grow. I LOVED every stitch of it!! Now I just need to get it framed - and hopefully before the year is out! LOL








I've been going through my stash and trying to clean and organize things and one of the WIPs I came across was this one by Indigo Rose called Bee Charmer. It was about half finished, and I can't even remember when I started it. But I finished it on Friday, January 2nd! All I had to do on Saturday is make and attach the tassels.

I've decided for this year that I can't start anything new until I finish two WIPs (unless it's for a gift and I'm under a time crunch - LOL). So, since I finished these two pieces, I treated myself to a new start - and finish! That means only one more finish and I can start another new piece! LOL






On Saturday evening, I stitched Spring Greetings by Blackbird Designs - I didn't have two of the colors called for, so it's not exactly like the picture, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. Now I just need to figure out how I want to finish it.




As part of my organizing, I FINALLY did something with all my self dyed thread. At the 2006 Shepherd's Bush Retreat, I dyed threads and fabric with my room mates, and then we did it again at our Friends in Thread get together in April 2007. They've been rolled up in paper towels ever since. The first batch is now wrapped on bobbins and the second batch is on these wonderful floss tags that Juli made!


Look at all that color!!

While I was untangling and wrapping, I decided that it would be fun to have a giveaway, so on January 15th, I'll draw a name from everyone who leaves a comment to this post and send that person an assortment of 5 of these hand-dyed flosses!

Good Luck!

Christmas Crafting!

I've been busy this month with crafting for Christmas - stamping, knitting, beading and even a little stitching!

Stamp Camp was at the beginning of the month - I LOVE Stamp Camp, we always make such cute things!

The first thing I made was this adorable snowman plate. First you stamp on mulberry paper, then you Modge Podge it to the back of a glass plate. So easy and so cute. I gave this to Dad and Lynn, but I might have to make another one for myself sometime!








Next I made two different boxes which are filled with candy - the triangle one was really clever!









And last, but certainly not least was a set of three cards. Aren't they cute?










Now, on to the knitting :)




I made Lynn this Light and Lovely Boucle Wrap from JoAnn.com in Black/Gray. It took just a LITTLE longer than the weekend the pattern said it would! LOL














I also made my girls special toys :)




I found the pattern for a cat nip mouse on Lion Brand's website, but I made a few changes. I used wool - and not very well washed handspun wool, so it smells nice and sheepy - LOL. And it took more than 20 rows to make it into a square, so I just kept going until it looked right - I think it was 32 rows. And I stuffed them with mostly fiber fill and only about 1/4 catnip - that's more than enough! ;)

And the girls loved them!



Here's Minnie just after she unwrapped her mousie.














And here's Odette hiding behind the love seat with hers.








Ellie had fun killing this poor little guy. She then proceeded to kill the rest of them over the next few days! LOL I've already had to sew back up the bottom of the gray one.











After a while, Akasha decided the catnip scented paper was just as much fun as the mouse - LOL








So, on the beading front, I made this bracelet, called Endless with matching earrings for Jodi. It's from the Design Collection II that was released this fall.







I also made Jodi this bookmark with the ribbon ends and sleigh charm, just adding crystals and ribbon from my stash.






For Leigh's birthday, I made her these pink shell and crystal earrings.





Sorry these pics didn't turn out that well - I was in a rush to get them in the mail - LOL.











And I don't think I ever showed what I made Jennifer for her birthday in November. This one is called Crab Bisque from the Sapphire Collection. I know how much Jen loves crabs and I knew I had to make this one for her as soon as I saw it!







I made a few other pairs of earrings as well, but I didn't get pics taken before they were given away.





Besides the ornaments I made for Dane which I showed in the last post, my only holiday stitching was Holiday House by Elizabeth Designs. And this one was a present for ME! LOL




I think that's about it for the last month or so! I'm looking forward to getting back to some serious stitching. I have a goal of getting my Papillion Creations Mystery Sampler finished before the new year - I only have part 12 left to go! Then I'll have to take a look at what my stitching goals will be for this year :)

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

Well, it's Christmas Eve day, and I'm ALMOST ready for tomorrow - LOL. The house is decorated, the presents are wrapped and I've started preping for tomorrow nights dinner. The only thing I really have left to do is finish up some kitty toys I'm making :)



I've got lots to share, but I'll start with the exchange package I sent to Dane. Her package included a scarf knit with Lion Brand Fun Fetti in Rainbow Black, some blue fat quarters, charms, buttons and a Bead Retreat bracelet I made called Blockbuster in Sky.









For her stitched gift, I made a set of ornament from three different issues of Just Cross Stitch magazine by Jeanette Douglas Designs. They were full of specialty stitches and were lots of fun to make. I was so lucky to find the perfect frames for them at Hobby Lobby!!






I've been busy with lots more Christmas Crafting, but since not all of it has been received yet, I'll save that for the next post.

I had fun with my decorating this year and got a good portion of my decorations up!







I started with my Department 56 Village, which I haven't had up since we moved in this house 4 1/2 years ago.









I also got out my Santa collection. I have two more in the kitchen, which I'll have to take a picture of later.











Here are some more decorations, some of which I made when we were first married almost 20 years ago. The picture hanging over the chest of drawers was drawn by DH and it's one of my favorite things!









Here is my stitching tree for this year!










And last, but certainly not least, my main tree :)


Merry Christmas everyone!