A New Start

I had a quiet birthday today and now feel sad... because I have to go back to work tomorrow - LOL!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who sent me comments, emails and e-cards for my birthday over the last few days! And, of course, for the lovely gifts! I have more to show below - you ladies are awesome!! {{{HUGS}}} to all of you! I hate to even say my age right now, but you all made this much easier! And, Mike took me up to ABC Stitch Therapy today - not as fun as last year when Patti, Barbara and Sara were there, though! I got some stash, and will have to gather it up and take a photo soon :-)

Before I show my gifts, I heard from Jean right before I went to bed last night that she received the FGBB Needleroll Exchange that I sent to her - so nice to hear it has arrived safely in Singapore!! It took 7 days via Priority Mail, not too bad! As usual, I didn't photograph all the goodies I sent in the package. Maybe Jean will put them in her blog at some point... here is the needleroll- the verse on it reads, "The Embroiderer stitches with a golden needle":

The Embroiderer Needle Keeper
Eventide Designs
Wichelt 32 ct Water Lily Linen, DMC Floss, John James Gold Tapestry Needle for embellishment

Yesterday, I received this lovely parcel of gifts from dear Katrina :-) Gosh, I have known Katrina for so long now, and she always sends such lovely gift packagese!! She stitched the gorgeous Opalescent Heart by The Sweetheart Tree for me! Yay! I just love it! And she sent the yummiest smelling soap and such pretty writing paper too! Thank you so much Katrina!!

Then, from the most wonderful Annemarie, I received a book and a magazine I have admired for the longest time - the much coveted Red & White samplers book by Isabelle Vautier and the special edition Atelier de Brodeuse issue of De Fil en Aiguille! An sure knows my taste - I have many ideas lined up from there! And, An says there is more coming???!!!! Oh my!! Many thank yous!

I also received this sweet felt Victorian shoe from Veronica!!! Oh, this is so sweet!! As is Veronica :-) Thank you so much!! I will get a proper thank you card off to her immediately, as Veronica is not online.

And... here is my new sampler start for my birthday - this has got to be the most popular sampler chart right now - Victoria's Quaker by AMAP! I am just loving it so far! I am using Vikki Clayton's Hand-Dyed Fibers set and 36 ct Sand Dune linen (I picked this linen up quite recently at my LNS and it was only marked as 36 ct Sand Dune.. comparing it to fabrics in my stash, it looks like it is Lakeside Linens 36 ct Vintage Sand Dune...but I am not totally sure). Nonetheless, I think it works really well with the colors of the silk. I am trying to do this as a SAL with Karen on Tuesdays - I wonder how her first day went?

Oh no - vacation over for now!!

Stitched on today: Victoria's Quaker

Busy Mailman

It's the eve of my birthday today, and the mail man lugged several parcels down the driveway for me today. The overwhelmed feeling continues. I don't want anyone to feel indebted or obligated to giving me gifts, OK? I love them all, but still feel so guilty to be receiving such nice things! I will post a few here today and save some for tomorrow...

First, though, here is my more comfortable element - I get to show you a gift I made and sent out to Carissa - she was away on holiday for her birthday, but she is home now and has received it :-)

Nature's Alphabet "C" Fob
Elizabeth's Designs
Silkweaver Belfast Solo Linen, DMC Floss

OK... and some gifts I received! First is a pretty parcel from Becky - Becky is always so generous and kind! She stitched me this pretty bunny/garden needleroll, which I just love. And she also kept the theme going with this Sweetheart Tree bunny kit (sorry you cannot see it) and a pretty garden rock that is already in my daylily garden now! She also sent me a very large bag of various tea bags, but they did not fit in the photo. Thank you Becky - as you know, you are very special to me. Becky is one of my oldest and dearest online blogging friends :-)

Then Nikki surprised me with this fantastic little castle ornament! She stitched it over one, which always impresses me. Over one is so much work, and I feel so honored that she did this for me. Nikki wrote in the card that the design reminded her of the SALs we have done... hmmm, she is right! We have stitched Legends of the Dragons and Kingdom Sampler together. I love it so much Nikki, and it is already hanging off the corner of a treasured photo of my nieces on my bureau :-)

And, look at this! Chiara stitched me this most amazing needleroll! It is large and so unique! She says it is a sampler from The Cross Stitcher (UK) Magazine and she stitched Happy Birthday and my birthday in Italian for me! This is so cool! Thank you Chiara! I love unique gifts!!!

More gifts to show tomorrow from An, Katrina, Veronica.... ;-)

And, last but not least... what did I do today? It is HOHRH Monday, of course! So, here you go - more of House 5!!

Oh... and my daily giftie from Mike?? It is hard to believe, as I have not in any way, shape or form followed the Harry Potter craze, but he gave me the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows novel :-) Yes, I will read it, and he wants to as well. I got pulled in, I guess - LOL

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift, and Houses of Hawk Run Hollow... ***Yay! My Needleroll Exchange has just arrived safely in Singapore! I will show it tomorrow :-)

One of those days

It is silly hot here - so muggy and sticky. Yet, I love it. We turned on the A/C and I had plenty of opportunity to stitch today, but it was really just one of those days. I picked up a gift I am working on, and could not get into it. I started another gift, and could not get into it. But, then I picked up Spring Ride, and that seemed to groove along just fine... finally, some relief and able to get some stitching done. It is pretty frustrating when it is hard to get into projects. I am sure you can all relate to that.

Today's gift from Mike was a pair of Red Sox slippers! How cool are these? They are a little large. I told Mike I wear a 7.5, and he mistakenly got men's size 7-8. They are OK, as they are only slippers. But my feet are a narrow 7.5 and these look huge on me - LOL! I love them, though! Yesterday's gift was a bottle of DKNY Red Delicious cologne. I wear DKNY Be Delicious a lot, so it was nice to get the new version. Isn't he sweet??

I came across this neat slide show site that had an iPhone as the skin... since Mike adores his iPhone, I had to try it out! I put in the photos of all of the exchanges I have received this year.... now to figure out how to get the photo names not to show next time!

While I was stitching tonight, I looked over and there was Beau with his head on the arm of the sofa next to me, watching over me. He had his eyes open until I grabbed the camera. Silly boy. Beau is never more than a few inches away from me :-)

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift, started a gift, and Spring Ride. Wow, I am waiting for two exchanges and several bday gifts that I stitched to arrive and be opened... kinda frustrating - I think some of the recipients are away on vacation right now.

Overwhelmed

I am now officially feeling overwhelmed by the generous outpouring from my dear stitching friends. I don't even know what to say, my chin keeps dropping to the floor. I say thank you to each of you... I am used to being a giver, and now it is time to receive a bit, and I just don't know how to handle the emotion. The mailman brought more lovely parcels today. Above is a parcel from Michelle :-) Michelle stitched this beautiful needleminder for me using a portion of Sarah Moon! Isn't it gorgeous?? She also sent me the PR fairy chart too! Thank you Michelle! I already have put this pretty needleminder to use - and thank you too for telling me how to use it - LOL!!

And, Kajsa sent me Beaded Rose, a Just Nan chartpack that I actually didn't already own! Yay! I love the design - thank you Kajsa!!! (The answer to the riddle on the card is... Mice Crispies!!) Cute!!

The outpouring of generosity surely did not stop there, as I also received this adorable little pillow stitched by Amy! I am just so impressed by this. For those who do not know Amy, she is only 8 years old. How cool is this? Thanks Amy - you are a little doll!

Today started off rainy and I figured this would be a wonderful day to get some real stitching time! But, the rain did not last long. After a brief thunderstorm, the skies cleared and the temps soared again. Off we went on errands and such... and stitching did not happen until this evening. But when it did, I was able to manage some decent time again on And A Forest Grew. I have now completed all of the full motifs in Section 10, and onward next week to Section 11!!

I will end with a cheerful daylily. This photo was taken in my garden earlier in the week. It is called Love Those Eyes.

Stitched on today: And A Forest Grew

Sweet Friends

I really have such sweet friends! I received this amazing parcel from Vonna today! Vonna stitched me this fantastic box with a pretty Prairie Schooler floral design on top. It is so beautiful!! Below, you can see how it looks on the inside. I have put my scissor collection inside of it now - finally a nice way to keep them all together and safe! But, Vonna did not stop there! She also sent me two charts off of my wish list too! Oh Vonna, you are so dear! I am beside myself!

Vonna even attached a little charm inside the lid :-)

Mike (DH) started giving me a gift a day yesterday. He has a pile of gifts wrapped in red for me - and he stands there and thinks for the longest time about which he wants to give me. My big birthday gift is the framing that will be back in maybe a week or so. Yesterday he gave me little gold hoop earrings that are tri-color gold :-) Today he gave me this pair of Gingher 4" Spring Action EmbroideryScissors. They are pretty neat. I used them while stitching tonight. They take a little getting used to, but I do like them! He sells these now, if anyone is also interested in trying them out.

Jenn also sent me a lovely gift which arrived today - she sent me St. Reatham by Long Dog Samplers - she knows I am hooked on LDS, thank you Jenn!! And she also included an LDS freebie I had never seen before, and a nice tapestry needle. Oh, thank you Jenn! You are alwasy such a sweet friend!

And, here is tonight's update of An's Neighborhood Round Robin. There is still more roof to do, then I can landscape and add the whimsical elements. But for now, this will get put away for a few days. My rotation and a SAL commitment are calling me!!

I got up bright and early today and drove off to the DMV to get my driver's license renewed. Despite my early arrival, it was a busy day there again today. About an hour later, I had a new license in my hands. I am free to raise havoc on the roads for another five years now - LOL! And my photo did not come out too badly either, although the lighting in the DMV does leave a lot to be desired!! When I got home, it was still very early, so I had to wait for Mike to start his day. I tried getting through some blogs, and noticed that Angus was lying on the floor next to my desk. I snapped a quick photo to show you all that he appears to be doing well. I get a lot of emails asking about him - so here he is :-)

Mike and I went to see The Simpsons Movie this afternoon - funny!!!!!!!!

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift (I need to get into high gear with this one!) and Annemarie's Neighborhood Round Robin

Many Thank Yous ~ And Hand-Dyed Fabrics for Sale

Oh gosh - more birthday gifts arrived today. Just look at this gorgeous flat fold that dear Harmien sent to me! How pretty is this? It now sits on my bureau in my bedroom by my couple of pretty cologne bottles. I just adore it, Harmien, and it was such a surprise! Thank you!

I also received this generous gift parcel from Hazel. She stitched me this super pretty scissor fob with a peacock design in it. The colors are amazing! And, she sent this assortment of goodies too! I was so surprised. Hazel, you are so sweet - thank you!!

And, with our Neighborhood Round Robin winding down now, Su sent each stitcher an adorable little house fob as a thank you gift for stitching on hers. Here is the one I received from her today - it is so cute! I hung it on a pot of sunflowers Mike started under grow lights in the house - the fob has little sunflowers on it, so it seemed appropriate - plus, Mike's little seedlings get to be seen around the world now - LOL! Su has a photo of the whole collection of fobs in her blog, and her completed RR can also be seen here. Lucky Su, she is the first to get her RR home. Thank you again Su, I adore the fob!

Speaking of that particular RR group, I am currently stitching on my last square for the group.. here is more progress on Annemarie's RR. Beau and I pulled some flosses to make some color changes, since the chart is primarily very pastel. Beau never lets me choose fibers or fabrics on my own - LOL!! He seemed to give a lot of attention to GAST Brethren Blue, so that won out! Many trials later, and DMC 729 looks like the best fit for the rest of the house :-) I am using The Monkey Sampler by Midsummer Night Designs. An asked us each to stitch something quirky in our blocks. I have been waiting for this RR to arrive, as I have wanted to stitch those dancing monkeys with the big flower on the lawn for her for quite some time! I don't have the monkey floss color, so I better pick that up on my way home from the DMV tomorrow morning (it is driver's license renewal day for me). Anyhow, I hope An likes it!

And... it is that time again - to clear out the old to make room for the new! I have several hand dyed fabrics for sale. I prefer PayPal, but will take a check or money order. Non-US bidders, though, need to pay by PayPal. I am still trying to figure out and get used to these new US postal rates, so if you want any, I will consult the chart Mike got at the PO and get you your postage :-) I hope you see something you like!

Top Row:
Silkweaver Seaside Melody 28 ct Lugana, 18" x 26", $20
Silkweaver 28 ct Cashel Solo (very earthy, nice!!), 17" x 17", $12
Silkweaver Periwinkle 32 ct Lugana, 18" x 18", $12
Silkweaver 32 ct Jobelan Solo (willow greenish), 18" x 26", $18
Middle Row:
Silkweaver Lavender Swirl 32 ct Lugana, 18" x 26", $20
Silkweaver 32 ct Jobelan Solo (pink and blue, like Rock A Bye), 18" x 26", $19
Sugar Maple Fabrics Summer Romance 32 ct Lugana, 18" x 27", $20
Silkweaver Limited Edition 32 ct Belfast, greens like Everglade, 18" x 26", $20
Bottom Row:
Silkweaver 32 ct Belfast Linen Solo (gorgeous plum, rose, tan(, 17" x 26", $19
Silkweaver 32 ct Belfast Linen Solo (green, peach, blue - amazing), 17" x 26", $18
Heaven Lee Creations Grapefruit 32 ct Jobelan, 18" x 26", $20

I remain woefully behind in blog reading. I have actually read several but with work having been very busy this week, there was little time to comment. I am on a mission now on my little holiday break to catch up! Please don't be offended if I have not commented in your blog lately. It's nothing personal!!

Stitched on today: Mermaid and the Sea, and Annemarie's Neighborhood Round Robin

Needleroll Exchange and Freebie Exchange!

What a busy mail day today! I received two exchanges today. The first one is the Needleroll Exchange from the FGBB. I received this pretty needleroll from Terry - the first one she has ever made, and it is beautifully finished! She also sent me the Liz Turner Diehl Dutch Garden chart from my wishlist (awesome!!) and some edgings for future finishings! Thank you Terry - what a lovely exchange! Thank you again Terry!
And, I also received the Freebie Exchange from the SBEBB today! I received this adorable thread keeper from Karine. I have wanted a thread keeper for some time, and now I have one I will surely cherish. Karine also sent me some wonderful fabric, some finishing materials and a super cute cat figurine (she clearly studied my blog a bit)! Thank you Karine! The mail treats did not stop there! I received a birthday package from KarenV today as well. I had a lousy day today, so I could not resist also opening this up - I hope Karen doesn't mind! She stitched me this lovely, petite biscornu and sent me a LHN/CC thread pack from my wishlist. How sweet, Karen! Thank you - I shall also cherish this biscornu! (I received a couple of other gifts today too, but will share them tomorrow - that way I will have something fun to put in tomorrow's blog). And lastly, I put a little bit of a start in on Annemarie's Neighborhood Round Robin (the 2006-2007 group) tonight. I had a bit more done than you can see here... but if you click to enlarge and look closely enough, you will see where I frogged the frame of the house out. Although An already knows what chart I decided to use, as I was stitching this, it just didn't look right to me. The frame of the house was stitched in light purple (DMC 210). Now, that is just not an An color! So, I decided to pull that out while this was still in its beginnings and will visit my stash very soon to pull a better color out - something in the blue or burgundy ranges she likes - which other stitchers in the RR already keyed themselves into :-) I don't think this RR will take me too long to stitch - it will be home soon An!!!

One more day at work tomorrow, and I am off until next Wednesday!!! Yay!!!

Stitched on today: Finished a gift, and Annemarie's Neighborhood Round Robin

Oh, I forgot about this one...!

OK, I do still have a sampler in my rotation! I had forgotten for a bit about the Long Dog Samplers Mystery Sampler! I was wondering what to stitch on tonight, as I did not have time tonight to start pulling the floss to start Annemarie's RR (worked too late).... and there it was nearby and looked like it would be fun! So... I was wrong :-) But, I do still plan to start a new sampler next Tuesday anyhow :-)

I took another big pile of garden photos today - here are just a few, as it has been a few days, I think, since I have shared anymore of my garden... My garden is in full bloom now! I just love July!

Quilt Patch

Dream Blue

Watermelon Time

My Hello Neighbor RR Group 1 piece has been finished by it's first stitcher (Nicole), and I just love it! It can be seen here if you would like a peek - thank you Nicole :-)

I am so sorry everyone - I have fallen behind in blog reading/commenting yet again... the office has been so hectic this week. I hope to catch up soon.

Stitched on today: Started a gift, and 18th Century Band Sampler

Little Critters Exchange from Jeanne

I just received this super nice Little Critters Exchange from Jeanne today! I just love it! I also just realized I took a terrible photo! You cannot see that what she sent me is actually a flat fold and that it has pretty pink tassles and a gold rabbit charm in the upper right corner! Oh my - I must rectify and take a better photo to share tomorrow - sorry Jeanne! I requested rabbits, and Jeanne really hit a home run! Isn't this sweet? She says it is her first time using this finishing method - you can't tell! It is perfect and immaculate! She also sent me a LHN/CC thread pack from my wishlist, two yummy skeins of Weeks Dye Works, some incredible lavender hand cream (long, long lasting scent!!) and a postcard from Arizona! Thank you Jeanne! You sure made my week already! What a fun exchange this was!!
And, of course! I kept plugging away on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow tonight :-)

Yes Cari - my fabric for Spring Ride does have sparkles. I am using White Opalescent Belfast :-)

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift, and Houses of Hawk Run Hollow ***I also posted off my FGBB Needleroll Exchange :-)

Still a Blob

Here is Spring Ride for the week. It still looks like a blob to me :-) But, I am chugging away and hoping to finish this page... then maybe this will look more like it should... some of you know how much I dislike stitching on headless people. She needs her head! LOL

OK, I chose my fabric today for the sampler I will start on my birthday - now I am getting excited!!

I figured I would put in a reminder about the Freebie Gallery Blog again - any stitcher is welcome to contribute :-) I hope you will!!

Stitched on today: Spring Ride, and started a gift

And A Forest Grew...and Thank You Claudia!!!

It is another Saturday, and another And A Forest Grew update! I am getting pretty close to the bottom center now!!!

Thank you Claudia! I received a total surprise, and a real treat, in my mailbox today! Claudia recently stitched LHN/CC's Pineapples, saw it in my wishlist and sent me her chart and left over floss! Oh, you are so sweet!!! Thank you!!

I did bring several pieces in for framing today... but the list is a bit different from what I posted last night... in about two weeks, I should have them. Mike is doing this as part of my birthday gift... I dropped off Paradigm Lost, An Emblem of Love, Mermaids of the Deep Blue, Medieval Town Mandala and Catch the Wind (I stitched Catch the Wind close to ten years ago - and finally, it is getting framed!!). Now the challenge will be to figure out where I want to hang each of these!!

Stitched on today: Finished my needleroll for the Needleroll Exchange, and And A Forest Grew ***and, posted Karen's Neighborhood Round Robin off to Nicole this morning :-)

Happy Weekend!

OK, I have been showing you this round robin long enough! I finished it off earlier tonight and Mike will post it off to Nicole in the morning for me. I added a fawn and a hedgehog tonight, along with some rather tall, large daisies. I figured I should quit at that point as I didn't want to make the square too busy. I wanted it to flow a bit into Karen's square, as she requested. OK, I hope she likes it!

It's the weekend!!! Tomorrow we will take some of my work off to be framed - I can't wait!! I have to make some choices. I know Paradigm Lost, Mermaids of the Deep Blue and Bordeaux Sampler are going... can't decide which other will go, as we decided to bring four in.... will have to sleep on it!

Stitched on today: Finished Karen's Neighborhood Round Robin, and stitched on Needleroll Exchange project

Almost ready for more neighbors...

I really didn't feel like working on Dawn tonight. Instead, I kept working on Karen's Neighborhood :-) I think that with a little digging in my charts after work tomorrow, I will find what I need to finish the landscaping and maybe even add some more wildlife for her... and then, off to Nicole!! I have really started to like this block, and I hope Karen will like it too!

It was a dreary, rainy day here today... so I am going to add a little cheer with a couple more of the daylily photos I took earlier in the week...

El Desperado

Karen Sue

I have decided to treat myself to a new start for my birthday next week... a sampler, since I don't have one going right now... I just need to select my fabric, I am so excited!!

Stitched on today: Needleroll Exchange project, and Karen's Neighborhood Round Robin

Thank You Barbara!!

I got back to work on Karen's Neighborhood Round Robin again tonight. It took much longer than I had expected to fill in the red of the house. Now that that is done, my little ideas are starting to take shape. The photo is a bit overexposed, sorry! You can see I added some birds from And A Forest Grew a couple of nights ago. Now I am using elements from Harvest Blessing by Country Cottage Needleworks...

I received a real treat in the mail today! Thank you so much, Barbara, for the lovely package of birthday gifts!

As you can see, Barbara sent me some gorgeous cuts of 40 ct linen and three skeins of Thread Gatherer Silk 'n Colors! I love it all! These choices are just right for me, and I want to use them all - right now! Thank you, dear friend!!

I also received a couple of packages of stash today - items I ordered for myself for my birthday - I definitely think LHN's Garden Pleasures has to be started soon, perhaps as a new "at work" project!! It has been absolutely forever since I have had new stash, so this is a big treat.

Mike and I are both struggling with a stomach bug right now, though. I have continued to go to work, but am tired. I owe some important email replies, and I will have to make sure to fit time in for those tomorrow - An and Karen, I promise!!

Stitched on today: Needleroll Exchange project, and Karen's Neighborhood Round Robin