PIF from Joke... and Gingher Elenas for Sale

I cannot believe it is over a month since I have blogged. Life does continue its hectic pace. I am late in sharing this lovely PIF that Joke sent to me. I think it is so cute! Thank you so much Joke! (You can see I took the photo outdoors and there is some leftover "chipmunk food" in the photo - this is exactly where a certain little chipmunk in our yard likes to snack every day on our porch!). I am so sad, though, that a PIF I sent a good month ago to one of my girls on my list has gone amiss... she moved and I did not know it. It is somewhere in the postal forwarding system, and has been for weeks... I do pray she receives it soon!

And... Mike asked me to tell you that he has the new Gingher Elena scissors available in his store: Mike & Carol's Internet Store . He has 4", 5", 8" and 8" left-handed for you - super low prices too! **The 4" Elenas just sold out...for now... please feel free to place your order now, though, as a new shipment is due here on Wednesday and Mike will fill your order as soon as FedEx drops them at his door

Hope you have all been well!!






Stitching on: Stitching on HoE Halloween Exchange

Christmas Ornament for Marie

Yay! Marie just emailed me to let me know that the Christmas ornament I stitched for her for the Christmas Ornament Swap arrived safely in Texas today! Whew!! Here it is:

Symbolic "X" Christmas Ornament
The Sampler House
Just Cross Stitch Tenth Anniversary Issue
40 ct Natural Brown Linen, Atalie fil a broder in Passion




Stitching on: Just finished my first PIF of the year (mailing tomorrow), and started crocheting an afghan for Mike

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Beautiful Christmas Ornament from Julianne

I just received this really beautiful Prairie Schooler Santa Christmas ornament from dear Julianne today from the Christmas Ornament Swap. To say I adore it is an understatement. Julianne knows I live fairy close to the famed New England seacoast, so she was super thoughtful and personalized it a bit by choosing this Santa with a schooner and anchor. Love it! Thank you so much, Julianne. I cannot wait to display it in a few short months now.

Meanwhile, I am rather worried about the one DH mailed to my partner on Monday. Should have been there by now... fingers crossed all is OK!




Stitching on: Stitching on a PIF

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.

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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...

Surprise Birthday Gift

I just received a surprise birthday gift from Margaret today. I was stunned. I did not even begin to imagine I would receive any birthday gifts from stitching friends this year as I have not been able to do much by way of sending any out myself... but Margaret blindsided me with her sweetness and friendship. I stitched this sweet envelope/pouch that looks like a postal letter with a nice verse on it... and stuffed it with cosmetics! Thank you so much Margaret - what a treat!!




Stitching on: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, Edgar's Halloween RR and Winter Exchange for Cathy K.

Christmas Ornament for Becky

I'm afraid that with my lifestyle changes I ran late with the final Christmas Ornament for the Christmas Ornament Swap - this one was for Becky - she seemed to be pretty OK with my need to mail a little late - compounded by the unexpected early closing of the PO just before Fourth of July... sigh... but the ornament did reach her yesterday - whew!

A Spot of Christmas Ornament
Milady's Needle
Just Cross Stitch 2009 Christmas Ornament Preview Issue
36 ct Light Sand Edinburgh Linen, combo of Weeks Dye Works and DMC Floss
Made some color variations to floss and beads




Stitching on: Edgar's Halloween RR

Christmas in July Exchange for Veronica

I heard from Veronica (cannot find her blog link for some reason now) today that she ahs received the HoE Christmas in July Exchange that I sent to her. Given my ridiculous work schedule for the past couple of months, I chose to send her one of the Christmas ornaments I had made for my basket of ornaments for friends - made sense, she is a friend ;-) I have already shown it in my blog before - it is Candy Wishes: Joy by Plum Pudding Needleart. And here are all the goodies I sent for her...

Happy Fourth to All!

Don't miss these great summer reading deals!!



Stitching on: Stitching on Edgar's Halloween RR

Christmas In July Exchange from Stacy

I received this HoE Christmas in July Exchange from Stacy today. She wrote that this was the first pinkeep she had ever made, but you sure cannot tell - it is absolutely perfect! I love this design by My Big Toe from the latest JCS issue, and now I don't have to stitch it for myself ;-) The rest of the goodies are also wonderful - pretty linen, some cute charms, SMF Candy Floss and some violet transfers. Thank you so much Stacy, it was a treat to receive from you. And... another treat in the mail today! I received the rest of the Fourth of July Exchange from Julianne today - she had an ONS send me Where Stitching Leads by Chessie & Me (complete with hand-dyed linen) - and I adore it! She saw it on my wish list, and boy, am I overwhelmed and humbled by her generosity! Thank you so much Julianne!

Also... Mike wants me to tell you all he is having a Fourth of July Sale at his
Online Store - Gingher 4" Sarahs and Freedoms are only $19.99, and Gingher 4" Robertas are now $18.99. He is also now selling electronic cigarette supplies, if anyone has any interest. He swears by these - he was a 2 pack a day smoker for more years than I even know, but he has been off cigarettes totally for over 9 weeks now using e-cigarettes. Anyhow, I am really proud of him (and thrilled he quit smoking!!) - maybe his store can help someone you love too??

Stitched on lately: Finished Christmas Ornament for Becky for Christmas Ornament Swap, and sent my HoE Christmas in July Exchange today

4th of July Exchange from Julianne

I have received the most wonderful 4th of July Exchange from Julianne! Julianne stitched this gorgeous pincushion, which is filled with something fantastic, perhaps crushed shells, and I have already put this beauty to work! She nicely stitched and finished :-)
She also sent me all of these goodies - and apparently there is even still something on order coming from an ONS too! Oh my, Julianne, you have spoiled me! Those notecards are stunning! Thank you soooo much! The soap is delicious and fresh - I just love Crabtree & Evelyn!

4th of July Exchange for Marie

I heard from Marie yesterday that she has received my 4th of July Exchange for her. I wanted to stitch her something... different... but with my work schedule as it turned out to be again this month, I had to squeeze this in, so I ended up making a pinkeep. Fortunately, she told me she likes it - whew!!! Here it is:
Glory Pinkeep
SanMan Originals
32 ct Natural Belfast Linen, DMC Floss - changed colors from the charted pastels to traditional Independence Day Colors

... and the rest of her treats!

Glad you like it Marie! I received a lovely exchange from Julianne yesterday. It was too rainy to photograph it, so I think I will go try now while we have sun and post it tomorrow ;-)

Stitching on: HoE Christmas In July Exchange, and Christmas Ornament for Becky for Christmas Ornament Swap

Just Nan Exchange from Georgie

I received this sweet HoE Just Nan Exchange from Georgie a few days ago, and as I told Georgie, it has been raining absolute buckets here for about 10 days now. We have about two more days of it still ahead, but I did spot a little bit of daylight in the window when I got home tonight, so I grabbed the opportunity to take a snap! At last, I can share it! She stitched this teeny, tiny biscornu and made it into a fob for me. I cannot recall what chart she said she used :-( But, it is adorable! And she also sent some sweet smelling lilac & lavender soap too :-) Thank you, Georgie, for this lovely exchange!

Life remains hectic here... I am so far behind in blogging, stitching and email, that I am so lonely for my friends! But I understand that my virtual disappearance leads to not getting emails, so I will hang in there until I am free enough to be hanging back around with you again! In the meantime, dear ones, don't forget to pick up some quite excellent summer reading here:



Stitched on lately: Mailed out Fourth of July Exchange, starting Christmas in July Exchange and Christmas Ornament for Becky for the Christmas Ornament Swap

Frosty Friends Exchange from Outi

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This morning I received my Frosty Friends Exchange from Outi! This was the last exchange run on the SBEBB, and Outi needed some extra time to get hers to me - it was well worth the wait! She sent me this lovely M Designs needleroll with what she says are a few of her own modifications...
As well as all these amazing goodies!!!
Thank you so much Outi!

Also, my DH wants to thank everyone who bought Ginghers from him from his online store - he does still have the Robertas, Sarahs and Freedoms available at
Mike and Carol's Internet Store - thanks again, and do stop by often!!

Stitched on lately: Stitching on Fourth of July Exchange

Just Nan Exchange for Jennifer... and Gingher Roberta Scissors Blow Out Sale

I have heard from Jennifer that she has received the HoE Just Nan Exchange that I sent off to her... looking at it in her blog, it looks like my tiny little biscornu got a bit squished by the USPS... sigh... so sad! Here is how it looked before that!

Butterfly Bouquet Biscornu
Just Nan
28 ct Riviera Country French Linen, DMC Floss

... and the rest of the treats I sent to Jennifer - glad she liked my choices!!

Mike is having a sale on Gingher 4" Roberta scissors at his store site only, not on ebay for my blog readers only - $19.99 a pair, plus low shipping, depending on where you live... visit his store to get yours: Mike & Carol's Internet Store!!

Stitched on this week: nothing... too busy working!