By The Sea Exchange from Nic

Thank you, Nic, for this lovely HoE By The Sea Exchange, which arrived today! I just love the pinkeep! Soooo nicely done! Nic also sent me other hand made gifts, as she is a crafty gal! She made a beaded and charmed scissor fob for me, and she also crocheted a dishtowel for me! What treats! You are so talented! And... to keep me busy with "other" crafts, she also included a make your own card kit, complete with seashore theme! Amazing! Thank you so much!





Stitching on: Mailed ornament for Christmas Ornament Swap today, and stitching on an HoE By The Sea replacement exchange

Not a stitching post... just a funny video

One of the teen girls I saw in therapy this morning showed me this funny link - had to share!

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Stitching on: Christmas Ornament for Christmas Ornament Swap

By the Sea Exchange for Erin

Yes, my third straight day of blogging... sigh... who knows just what it could lead to??

Today I am blogging because I saw on the HoE blog last night that Erin has received the HoE By the Sea exchange that I put together for her...


Blue Moon Scissor Slide
Brightneedle
32 ct Cream Belfast Linen, DMC and WDW Floss

And the rest of my goodies for her.... I know Erin likes fairy tale/fantasy type designs, so I was hoping she would like this large Wizard chart by Peter Underhill... and I had to send her scissors to go with her slide.... and some fun Bonne Bell Lip Smackers, which she writes in the blog she promises not to eat like she did with the ones she had as a child ;-) I thought they would be fun :-) Glad you are pleased, Erin! I had fun stitching for you.

August book offers - get them before they expire!:

Stitching on lately: A PIF that may turn out to be a replacement for the By the Sea Exchange as one member may be MIA... we shall see what will end up happening with what I am stitching... and stitching on Christmas Ornament for Christmas Ornament Swap

Amazing Mail Day

I have had an amazing mail day today! Two fabulous packages are here! First is a birthday package from Katrina - I know she must be feeling pretty anxious about it, as it took a very, very long time to arrive - but it sure did arrive, safe and sound....


...and I just love it! She stitched this pretty ornament for me using one of my all time favorite designers, Prairie Schooler! It adorns one of the knobs on one of the glass doors of our barrister bookcase even as I type this - and looks fantastic there in front of my favorite books! She also sent me several pretty fabrics for finishing, all arranged like a lollypop! How cool is that?? It doesn't end there - Katrina sent me lovely bath products too. Oh Katrina, thank you so much! I love it all!

And... I also received my Summer Exchange from Cathy today. Great timing, since she just received my Winter Exchange for her ;-)
Cathy stitched this amazingly beautiful scissor fob using JBW's A Very Merry Summer - all over one, of course, and so perfectly finished... so delicate, I cannot wait to select a pair of scissors and fasten it right on!
Here is the back - this might be my favorite part... oh hey, both sides are my favorites! Cathy used a French monogram book she purchased a while back, and look at how my first initial and my second initial interlock... isn't that neat? What a great idea!
Of course, she spoiled me rotten - again! She sent me one of those Just Nan Needle Slides - I have been eyeing those! There are some really pretty buttons inside, but I did not pull them out (for fear of dropping them outside on my deck), a packet of MOP heart buttons (my favorites!), a pack of Piecemaker needles, a gorgeous starfish thread winder (on the left laying atop the card - which was not a good idea in hindsight since it blends in with the card), thread loops, some pretty blue trim, a spool of Old Lady of Liberty silk (nice!!), and a super pretty journal too! I was so blessed to have Cathy as my seasonal exchange partner this year - thank you so much, Cathy, for making such a fun year for us!!

Stitching on: Christmas Ornament for Christmas Ornament Swap

**Yep, two blog entries in two days - is it possible I may be on my way back now? I think I might be... ;-)

Winter Exchange for Cathy

I have heard from Cathy that my Winter Exchange for her has finally made its long trek to Australia, where, of course, it is winter and not summer, as it is here in the Northern Hemisphere... I swapped all year with Cathy - one exchange per season. Now our year together draws to a close, and I really enjoyed stitching for her and sending her goodies too ;-)


Snowman Sampler Scissor Slide
San-Man Originals
32 ct White Opalescent Belfast Linen, DMC Floss

... and the rest of the treats for her. She has better photos in her blog - thanks for that, Cathy!





Stitching on lately: Finished and mailed HoE By The Sea Exchange, started Christmas Ornament for Christmas Ornament Swap

Edgar's Halloween RR is Home At Last!

Edgar emailed me this afternoon to let me know that his Halloween RR that I just sent to him on Monday is now safely in his hands, so I can finally, at long last, show something that I myself have stitched ;-) I stitched the coffin with the skeleton, snakes and rats that is kind of near the center of the sampler. This is from the bottom portion of BOAF's Remember Me On Halloween. I was a little nervous about this one. The space left for me by the other stitchers to stitch in was rather large... and this one being Edgar's meant that I really want to do something special. After considerable deliberation, I added this large bit of stitching... held my breath, and whew! He likes it! Yay! I did not want to overwhelm, but I have to admit, it does look pretty good there and his sampler is really stunning (I think). I wish my photo showed the true beauty of his linen. It is much brighter, deeper and has a topaz like jewel coloring to it.

GREAT book offers here!!:

Stitched on lately: Stitching on HoE By the Sea Exchange

Thank you Debby!

Birthday goodness continues a little while longer with this adorable LHN ornament from dear Debby. I think it is the cutest thing, and I just love it! Thank you so much, Debby, for your kindness!





Stitching on: Stitching on Edgar's Halloween RR, and started HoE By the Sea Exchange

Birthday Gifts from my Friends :-)

At last! I am home and have a chance to post and share some photos of the birthday gifts I received last week from my stitching friends! I apologize for my tardiness, as well as for the very poor quality of my photos. We had bright sunny weather the past few days, but when I took these photos we had absolutely no sun and plenty of rain! But I want to really share these lovely gifts anyhow:

I received this package of treats from Gwen (I cannot get her blog link to open!) for the Stitching Bloggers Birthday Club - she stitched me a pretty little mattress pincushion and then stuffed the envelope full of other treats, including two little charts from my Wish List. Thank you so much Gwen!
Edgar then sent me this super pretty pinkeep along with two bars of yummy soap - and a bottle of excellent body lotion that somehow did not make it into the photo! Oh, thanks Edgar! The pinkeep is proudly displayed on the mantle in my living room and means very much to me!

I also received a lovely package from Wendy Jo - she stitched up this large and fantastic pin cushion using part of a design from Blue Ribbon Designs. I think she says it is stuffed with crushed shells. It is beyond perfect and I love it - so thoughtful of her! She even sent me pins ;-) Thank you Wendy Jo!
And dear Cathy stitched me this sweet fob... and sent a card that made me giggle for at least three minutes non-stop! Thank you soooo much Cathy!!

GREAT book offers here!!:

Stitching on: Edgar's Halloween RR (I chose something very dense to stitch, but I think he will like it - worth the work!), Winter Exchange for Cathy K... and planning my HoE By The Sea Exchange...