A Beautiful Gift from Gill

I received a lovely surprise gift in the mail today. Gill read my recent post about how disheartening it is to work with low income people during these very difficult economical times. She wanted to cheer me up, and she stitched me this perfect little needlebook with the most cheerful little frogs. The back of the book features the other half of this Casey Buonaugurio design, which just happens to be one of my favorites (I received a lovely biscornu stitched from this design in a recent exchange - I am so blessed). Gill's work is so perfect and exquisite - I plan to study this little needlebook as I love her finishing technique. Thank you so much, Gill, for this little gift. It was so unnecessary, but so very sweet of you! Tonight was HOHRH night for me. I finally finished the tall house in the 10th block. That was a bit of a mini-milestone for me. It seemed to take me forever... but now I am on to the next one as I started the outer border for the 9th block too...

I am going to be pulling some more hand-dyed fabrics for sale and will post them soon - probably on Monday. If you are interested, keep an eye out! I just have so many right now...

Congratulations Manny Ramirez! Welcome to the 500 Club!! And he did it off of a former Red Sox pitcher too ;-) ...This happened tonight while I was stitching on HOHRH....

Stitched on today: Finished CE return exchange for Simone, and stitched on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow **Mailed Glenna's Neighborhood Round Robin to Nicole, and mailed a gift

Phew!

I made the deadline :-) Glenna's Neighborhood Round Robin is ready to mail to Nicole tomorrow. Those willow trees took me forever, but I love how they add so much to the house. The top of my square does look a little empty. I wanted to start my house on the same line as the one in the bottom left (Carissa's). I think a bird would look good in the sky, but I couldn't find a good enough one in time to be able to mail this on time... I hope Glenna doesn't mind, she can add one at the end if she prefers.... The chart I used is called No Ewe 2 by Finger Work.


Congratulations to the Boston Celtics - Eastern Conference Champs! (Photo from sportsillustrated.com)

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

Landscaping

With only two days and counting left to get this RR off to its next destination, I started the landscaping on Glenna's neighborhood tonight. The willow trees are taking longer than I had expected, but if I keep my nose to the grindstone, I can get it done and off in time!

Maria... the floss I sent to Olga is Polstitches Dragon Floss and the color is Calm Dawn.

And... Joanne... Women of the Mayflower is by Olde Willow Design Group and in an old, retired issue of Fine Lines Magazine, Spring 2004.

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift, and stitched on Glenna's Neighborhood Round Robin

Another ornament finished

As I mentioned yesterday, I stitched up another ornament, and here it is (dark photo - I forgot to take the picture until it was already after dinner time):

Noel Ornament
Shepherd's Bush - chart found here
32 ct Dirty Belfast Linen, GAST and WDW Floss (modified from the Caron fibers in the chart)

And, with June 1st fast approaching, and even though I only just received this RR... I need to finish up and mail it off quickly, quickly, quickly! More work on Glenna's RR... a bit of landscaping to do :-)

Stitched on today: Started a gift, and stitched on Glenna's Neighborhood Round Robin

HoE Freebie Design Exchange for Olga

Olga has received my HoE Freebie Design Exchange for her today. I was intrigued when I received her name for this exchange. I did not know Olga at all, and I really enjoyed becoming a regular reader of her blog, and was tickled that she and I love pretty much the same designers. That made choosing for her to be easy! Here is what I chose:

Martina's Roses Biscornu
Chatelaine
28 ct Black Jobelan, DMC Floss, Kreinik #4 Braid, Mill Hill Beads

And the rest of the goodies for her... I figured she would enjoy some fun items for finishing, and some girly stuff too :-)

I think I got a better photo of my latest ornament this afternoon - a little less overexposed than last night's attempt... and here are the details:

Homespun Christmas Ornament
Heart in Hand
R&R Reproductions 35 ct Sheeps Straw Linen, GAST and WDW Floss

Stitched on today: Stitched (and finished) Noel Ornament by Shepherd's Bush (photo tomorrow) **Mailed out a gift today

Happy Memorial Day

Not a lot of energy for stitching today, but I did finish my ornament for the SAL :-) I will take a better photo tomorrow morning in the daylight and share that later - I used R&R Reproductions 35 ct Sheeps Straw linen, and none of my photos show it well yet...

This photo is for Veronica - Veronica sent me a packet of sunflower seeds in the HoE Pinkeep Exchange, and here they are - they really took off! I hope they don't turn into deer food when we finally put them in the garden. The germination rate was wonderful. I started them under grow lights.

Stitched on today: Finished a gift, finished Homespun Christmas Ornament, and stitched on Crazy Exchange return exchange for Simone

Irises and Christmas?

Holiday or not, it is still Christmas Ornament SAL weekend... so... here is mine. I started it last night, and if I am lucky, I will get the finishing done tomorrow ;-)

And, just to prove that it is not actually Christmas time, and that it truly is spring here... well, it is still early for my zone 5 garden to truly be in bloom, here are a few I found abloom today:





Happy Memorial Day to my US friends!

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift, and on Homespun Christmas

A little more house

It's Memorial Day weekend here, and thus, not much of a day for stitching. But I did get a little in here and there. Glenna's house is growing (if not photographing well)... and I started a Christmas ornament as it is SAL weekend... not a whole lot done there either!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Stitched on today: Started a Christmas ornament, and stitched on Glenna's Neighborhood Round Robin

Second Neighborhood This Month

Tonight I started my second neighborhood round robin this month - this one needs to be mailed by June 1st, and am under some duress as I only just received it a week or so ago... somewhere along the line in Group 1, the RR's are a bit slowed down, so myself and the stitcher ahead of me are trying really hard to get these done quickly to try to get them back on track. This one is Glenna's. My block has a lawn and a little black cat so far ;-) My first garden photo that I am sharing this year. This pretty little standard dwarf iris finally opened today. I had some orange sdi's a week or so ago, but I have to admit that I was too lazy to get the camera and take photos....

Thank you to all of you who wrote to me about my difficulties with being a therapist in these tough times. You don't know how much I appreciate the thoughts and support. I never blog about my feelings like that, but last night I guess I really needed the catharsis, and a good friend saw that I was bothered even before I did - she knows who she is, and I hope she knows how much I care about her :-)

Ah, and now we start a three day weekend - that will surely help too - a little mini vacation from hearing all the grief... it doesn't go away, but it will be nice to stitch, garden, eat, enjoy myself... :-)

Stitched on today: Stitched on a gift, finished part one of Spring Exchange for Myrna, and started Glenna's Neighborhood Round Robin **Mailed HoE Freebie Design Exchange today

Got some windows

My windows are finished! They were my biggest hold up with this block! Yay - I feel satisfied! Now I need to only fill in the rest of the bricks, which is mindless work, and this block will be finished!

I have found myself really struggling lately. As some of you know, I am a psychotherapist. When I went to school, I envisioned myself working in a nice cushy office with a rich population. Well, I got a nice office, but work in a poverty stricken city with clients on state insurance. I want to share, because writing is cathartic, that I am getting really depressed... and am so thankful for my stitching friends who bring me such comfort. My clients are starving and are losing their homes. I hear sadness, grief and hopelessness all day long. The current state of the world, and the US in particular (only because I am only intimately familiar with the US economic situation), has affected my clients so deeply and I am feeling so much for them, losing sleep and cannot stop feeling my own level of personal grief and hopelessness. Thank you again, my friends, for being there. I can count on little right now, but I can certainly count on you. I appreciate you very much.

Stitched on today: Started a gift, and Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

Stuff to share!

Yay! I received two lovely emails today, both letting me know that an exchange and a PIF have been received... so, here they are, stuff to share!

Nancy has received the SBEBB Feathered Friends exchange that I sent to her. I dug out an older freebie that I have been dying to stitch. It is hard to find photos of this one online, and the ones I did find were altered using brighter threads... I was anxious to see it as it is charted, and I have to say, I love it! I am glad Nancy likes it too!

Birds & Berries Mattress Pincushion
Lilybet
Silkweaver 40 ct Newcastle Solo Linen, GAST & WDW Floss

... and the rest of the goodies I sent along for her - I hope she enjoys them too.

I also heard from Linda that she received my PIF for her as well - the rest of the goodies I sent her can be seen on her blog ;-) And as you can see, I clearly enjoy using Prairie Schooler's Garden Alphabet for fobs as much as I like Elizabeth's Designs' Nature's Alphabet ;-)

Garden Alphabet "L" Fob
Prairie Schooler
Unknown 32 ct Belfast Linen, DMC Floss

Stitched on today: Finished HoE Freebie Design Exchange

A Quaker Christmas

Long time, no stitch on A Quaker Christmas (12 days). What a pleasure it was to pick this sampler up again. And a nice treat from the Freebie Exchange I am working on - polar opposites, really, in terms of fabric. Of course, I am a bit partial to this one :-)

Miss Anouk makes it into the blog tonight. After all, she is the only one of my six cats to finally make an entrance into the finished basement tonight to visit Mike and I... have been down here stitching away to the Red Sox and Celtics games tonight - she gets her photo up here for her efforts at being social :-) The other five are all upstairs lounging in their little beds with fat bellies full of food!

Oh... and something special that happened at Fenway Park last night - I like this video as it is shot by a fan behind homeplate, next best thing to being there!


And, something fun from the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night... Taylor Swift! How talented is this young girl??


Stitched on today: Stitched on HoE Freebie Design Exchange, and A Quaker Christmas

A bit of Acorn Sampler

Tonight I am trying to get as much as I can done on my HoE Freebie Design Exchange - my choice for this exchange is a bit of work...so I am off again to go and work on it, but I did spend a little time today working on Betsy Stinner's Acorn Sampler again. I really like this part and had to pull myself away to work on the exchange again ;-)

Thank you to all who have left such nice comments about the many fobs I have stitched lately. I don't want to be the "fob queen," but I do love using Nature's Alphabet for fobs... and nope, I have not stitched the whole alphabet yet... I have not yet stitched H, O, Q, U, X, Y or Z :-)

Stitched on today: Acorn Sampler, and HoE Freebie Design Exchange **Mailed Kathy's Neighborhood Round Robin to An today

A PIF for Nic

I found out today that Nic has received the PIF gift that I sent to her last week. I keep plugging away at my PIF list and still have a few left to do. I am wondering if all of the people who signed up, though, have posted on their blogs to follow through with the other side of the PIF? I am not sure, but it doesn't seem like many others are stitching PIFs at the moment... I picked up a whole pile of little pieces of 32 ct linen at a shop at Celebration a couple of weeks ago. Each piece was only 25 cents, but I have no idea what colors some are... like this one:
Nature's Alphabet "N" Fob
Elizabeth's Designs
Unknown 32 ct Belfast Linen, DMC Floss, WDW Floss

Stitched on today: Stitched on HoE Freebie Design Exchange

Some HOHRH

My youngest niece/god daughter, Erin, is 15 years old today. Mike had a good idea and we drove down to see her and hang out with the kids and my brother for a while. By the time we got home, I was feeling really wiped out. I did stitch on the HoE Freebie Design Exchange for a bit, but then picked up HOHRH to continue with my commitment to stay on track with it ;-)

My brother and I were talking a lot today about a funny play made by Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox earlier this week, and then I began to wonder if it was on YouTube, and it was, although a bit blurry - this is a funny one - who but Manny could make a great catch in left field, have momentum lead him to half run up the wall.. and then high five a Red Sox fan... and then turn around and still throw out the runner at first base? Too funny! ...cannot figure out why guys post such blurry video on YouTube...


Stitched on today: Stitched on HoE Freebie Design Exchange, and Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

A surprise, a gift for Harmien, and Kathy's RR

I received quite a surprise in the mail today! Dear Cathy saw that I had not received a scissor fob exchange over on HoE, so she took it upon herself to stitch one for me. Aw, she did not have to do that - I was not feeling badly. But I just love the delicate little heart fob (she called it "humble") that she stitched for me. Isn't it pretty?? She also sent me a cute cat bookmark chart and a pretty bookmark she picked up on a recent trip to Japan. Thanks so much Cathy. This was so lovely of you, and you made my day!

I heard earlier today from Harmien that she has received the birthday package that I sent to her. This Lizzie Kate design in the current issue of The Gift of Stitching really appealed to me when I first saw it, and I had an urge to stitch it 1-over-1.... I did not know what it would grow up to be... and it turned itself into a scissor fob easily when I saw how tiny it turned out to be :-)

Plant Love Fob
Lizzie Kate
The Gift of Stitching Magazine, May 2008
32 ct Natural Belfast Linen, WDW, GAST and DMC Floss

I finished up Kathy's Neighborhood Round Robin tonight. Despite my huge stash, I had no beach houses! So, I ordered up one of Bent Creek's Summer Snapperland charts from Amy at DSL... and now I live on a sailboat in Kathy's neighborhood :-) The sails do show up quite a lot better in real life... now I hope to get this off to Annemarie tomorrow!

Stitched on today: Finished Kathy's Neighborhood Round Robin, started HoE Freebie Design Exchange

Hanging at the beach!

Well, not for real, actually. I had to work today ;-) I think it was nice enough today for the beach - at least for strolling on the beach, but probably not yet for swimming or tanning for any length of time... Rather, I worked away on Kathy's Neighborhood Round Robin again. The photo is lousy - sorry! I am getting there quickly with it - just need to finish the little sailboat I shall be "living on" in her neighborhood.. some clouds and a star... then sign my block. I need to assess the colors and make some changes so that the clouds and sail will show up on the white linen. I think I can get this done tomorrow (my day off from work) and mail this off to An on Saturday morning!

Stitched on today: Kathy's Neighborhood Round Robin **Mailed out a PIF today

Crazy Exchange for Flo

Wow, we are a bit of quiet bunch lately, aren't we? We must be enjoying the warmer, better weather in the Northern Hemisphere... no time for blogging :-)

I finally heard today that Florence has received the Crazy Exchange that I sent to her. It took quite some time to reach her in France, and I was really getting a bit concerned about it. It did arrive safe and sound, though, and I received such a sweet email from Flo today - so glad you like it! Here is the stitched part of the exchange I sent:

Nature's Alphabet "F" Fob
Elizabeth's Designs
Silkweaver 32 ct Solo Belfast Linen, DMC Floss

**Note to those in HoE: Summer Quaker sign ups ends tomorrow - if you are thinking about joining and have not told me yet, please let me know now - thanks

Stitched on today: Finished a PIF, and started return Crazy Exchange for Simone