Thursday, December 23, 2010

Where Does The Time Go?

Happy Holidays, blogging friends! I hope all of you haven't been caught up in a last minute Christmas rush like I have. I spent most of the afternoon and evening wrapping presents, and I still have two ornaments I'd like to get "finished" before Christmas Eve.
I spent a lot of time last week making vinyl mesh project bags. I made two large ones and two small ones. One of each for a friend and one of each for me.


The two large ones are trimmed with this wonderful sampler fabric I found at Shakespeare Peddler. I love it and can't wait to use the rest of it for something.

The two smaller ones are trimmed with Moda fabric by Blackbird Designs. I've got more of these to sew into something too. I've been doing very little stitching but did manage to finish LHN's Winter Sampler. I've got some candycane fabric that I hope will work to make it into a pillow. But I'm sure that won't happen until after Christmas.

My only other finish this month was an ornament for a dear friend. I stitched Homespun Elegance's 2009 Santa for her.

I hope to get back here before Christmas to show you a wonderful gift I received. I still need to take the pictures. But if I don't I want to wish you all the Merriest Christmas and a wonderful time with family and friends.

Kathy

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Rainy Day Ramblings

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All 13 of us gathered at our youngest daughters to celebrated Thanksgiving and two birthdays. Our oldest grandson turned 15 on Sunday, and our oldest granddaughter was 13 on Thanksgiving Day. I brought the stuffing and the pumpkin pies.
Don't you love the birthday candles in the pumpkin pie? He wanted his own candles to blow out. After dinner three of the younger grands and I made Christmas ornaments from one of those foam kits I bought at Michaels.



Not much stitching to show because I have been stitching some Christmas surprises. I have done the finishing on a few ornaments.
                                            Believe by the Sampler Girl

                                          Quaker Snowman from Erynne Chard's blog
                                                     Fa La La by LHN
I did some stash shopping at my favorite ONS  Jan's Only One Ewe. I have no will power and, of course, bought too much.
I had planned to spend today doing some more finishing but my friend called and asked me to meet her at Macy's. I came home with a new purse that was 50% off. Then my daughter called and wants to go to the outlet mall on Thursday. So I'm glad I made my stash haul while I still had money.
Many thanks to Jan for changing my blog background for me. Blogger and I were having issues.

Until next time Happy Stitching!

Kathy

Friday, November 12, 2010

A Great Giveaway!

Belinda from Blue Ribbon Designs is having a terrific giveaway!

I Did It!

I got all 7 grandchildren's ornaments finished ahead of my Thanksgiving goal. Now I will be able to give them to them Thanksgiving Day. These are the last two. Rudy looks a little lumpy at the bottom but he isn't really.


I decided I needed another little fall pillow for the bench in my hall and found this older Heart in Hand design in my stash. It stitched up quickly, and I think made a cute pillow.
I'm one that starts stitching series and then never manages to stitch the whole series. I'm bound and determined to finish the LHN Sampler series. I've completed Spring, Summer, and Autumn, and now I've started Winter. I think this one may be my favorite. This is my progress so far.
My youngest granddaughter, Greta, is a Halloween baby, so because Trick or Treat birthday sleepover  with friends interferes with birthday with family, we celebrated her birthday last weekend. I promised her I would post her picture here.
I'm looking forward to a stitchy weekend.
Happy Stitching,
Kathy

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Greetings from the home of the germs....

My husband and I have spent the past 10 days coughing and blowing noses. After antibiotics didn't work, the doctor has decided that since so much of this sinus/bronchitis like stuff is going around that it is viral and has to run its course. He put us both on prednisone and said if it wasn't better in two weeks to come back. Two Weeks!!!! I don't have time for this. I was supposed to spend a long stitchy weekend at Jan's and had to cancel and, boy, was I bummed about that.
I haven't been doing much stitching but do have a few pieces to share. I finished LHN's Autumn Sampler that has been my Saturday night piece for a while.
I managed to stitch and finish into pin pillows two of La D Da's T'is Green from the JCS preview issue and another little freebie  piece from Aurelle's blog.
I finally got to work on doing the finishing on some of the ornaments I stitched for the grandkids. I've got five of them finished, so have two more to do. I think I need to get a fancy blade for my rotary cutter because it's too hard to cut straight with pinking shears.
Last fall I stitched JBW's A Very Merry Autumn but never got around to finishing it. I found some nice fall fat quarters at JoAnns and made it into a little pillow.

Thanks for all of your comments.
Until next time Happy Stitching!
Kathy

Monday, October 18, 2010

Goodnight Sun, Goodnight Moon

Goodnight scissors. I finally attached my LHN Needle and Thread piece to the bed. Now, of course, I wasn't going to buy this premade bed, I was going to make my own. I even bought some fat quarters to make it with. But then, in June, I went to Jan's and she had the bed in her ONS room and since I have no will power I had to buy it.

A couple of weeks ago I stitched up the new Homespun Elegance freebie and finished into a door hanger. I love the backing fabric I found.

I finally bought some crushed walnut shells (lizard litter) for stuffing and dug into my "need to finish" box to find something to try it out. Came up with Four Seasons by The Trilogy, that I had stitched several years ago, and finished it as a pin pillow.

This week is going to be finishing week. I have all 7 grandkids' ornaments and a few others to do the finishing on. Wish me luck!
Have a great week and happy stitching!
Kathy

Friday, October 8, 2010

Star Wars

A few weeks ago, I asked my second youngest grandson, Daniel, what he wanted for his birthday on Sept. 29. His reply surprised me. He wanted me to take him to the mall to the Build-a-Bear store and the Lego store. So last Sunday off we went and this is what we came home with. First of all meet Darth Panda(his mask is off for the picture).


Then after a pretzel at Aunt Annie's shop we were off to the Lego store where we found a StarWars Lego kit that he loved and a little Star Wars guy on a key chain.


I've been stitching some smalls and reading about ways to finish them in many wonderful blogs. After emailing Faye, who finishes such great smalls, I decided to get some crushed walnut shells to use instead of fiber fill or doll pellets. So off I headed to my local Pet Smart and told the young guy working there that I wanted some crushed walnut shells that were used for lizard or bird litter and he led me straight to the ----bird seed and that was the last I saw of him. I finally found the lizard litter and didn't realize there were so many to choose from, but finally found what I wanted.

This week I've been stitching on Raise the Roofs Libertyville and have almost finished part one.







Have a great weekend and happy stitching!
Kathy

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

It's About Time......

It's about taking the time to update my blog. I've been back from my six weeks in northern Michigan for over a month and haven't taken the time to post.
We had a wonderful six weeks at the lake, were blessed with beautiful weather, and had week long visits from both of our daughters and their families. We went on hikes, saw a bald eagle in the wild, took picnics to the shores of Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay. I even was able to talk my DH and brother into a day trip to Mackinac Island, one of my favorite places in the world. We won't talk about my non-boat driving husband helping my brother get the boat on the trailer and the $600 repair bill that resulted.

There is nothing better than drinking your morning coffee on the deck and watching the lake.
Unfortunately not much stitching resulted from these 6 weeks. I would love to stitch on the deck but after a scare with some seagull poop landing on my hand while I was stitching I gave that up. The lighting in the cottage is not good, so I had my Ott light but all the television watchers complained about it. So I only have a couple of things to share.
The first is Little House Needleworks Lakeside Lodge. The original plan was to have it finished, framed and hung on the cottage walls this summer, but that didn't happen.

My only other finish was an ornament. LHN's He's a Flake.

I'll be back soon I hope to share the little stitching I've completed since I've been home. In the mean time, happy stitching and thank you so much for your comments.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Good Grief!!!!

I haven't blogged forever. I've been reading blogs and not commenting much. I'll blame it all on the loss of my stitching mojo. I did stich, but not as much as I usually do and do have some finishes to share with you.
Earlier in the winter I finished Blue Ribbon Designs Proud and True. I mad some changes to the house and fretted over the over-one part and finally got out my q-snaps and survived it.


Then I finished My Quaker Lady. I used NPI silks for the first time on this and loved working with them.


Blackbird Designs Bluebird pincushion was a small fun finish. I put blue rick rack along the edges.
Spring found me busy with grandchildren and activities at their school. I hauled my sewing machine to the twin's 6th grade classroom one day and joined other grandmas and moms in making caftans for their international day. The kids had cut out the fabric themselves as part of their math class so the sewing was somewhat of a challenge. I went to a Grandparents Day at one school, a spring concert at another, a piano recital and to my oldest grandson's 8th grade graduation.



A couple of weeks ago I drove to south western Indiana to visit with my friend Jan. Spending a few days stitching with a friend was a great way to get my stitching mojo back. We talked, laughed, shopped, and stitched. And I brought home too much stash that I bought at her webshop. I stitched BBD's Bird in Hand as a little thank you for her.






We are heading Sunday to our place on the lake near Petoskey, Michigan for a month. I hope it is cooler there than here because we have no AC up there.

Jan is having two wonderful give aways. One on personal her personal blog and one on her design blog
Deb is having a great giveaway too!

Until next time, happy stitching!
Kathy

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I Need It Back

It's been forever since I blogged so I want to wish you all a belated Happy New Year.
I had eye surgery for my glaucoma early in December and wasn't allowed to stitch or read for ten days. It almost drove me crazy. Then when I got the okay to stitch my eye was so blurry because of the drops I had to use I could only see large count projects. I pulled out a couple of Pine Mountain kits but they didn't hold my interest.
Now my eyes are back to normal but my stitching mojo has gone.I REALLY NEED IT BACK I did manage to finish Tree of Life Samplings Quaker Silence.


In December I was spoiled and received the cutest ornaments. One was from Kathy in a swap.



The other was from my friend Jan.

Aren't they both the cutest things? I love them.

Right now I'm trying to work on Blue Ribbon's Proud and True and Jardin Prive's My Quaker Lady. I really need to get started on my January ornie. That works so well to stitch one a month, because I make them for all 7 grandkids and some friends.

We had a wonderful holiday and I managed to get a couple of decent pictures of my two daughters and their families.




Wishing you all Happy Stitching and hoping my stitching mojo returns.