Victoria's Quaker

It's Victoria's Quaker night! I am already really loving this one - it is a pleasure to stitch. Gig was needy again tonight and I lost about 45 minutes of stitching time while he needed to be in my lap. I really prefer the colors that are shown on the cover of the chart so much more than the colors Vikki Clayton is now dyeing for this sampler, though. The silks are so much darker than in the photo. I know she had to switch how she dyes her silks due to bleeding problems, so it is understandable. But still, I like the cover colors better.

Thank you, Carissa, for this unbelievably generous birthday package that arrived today - she spoiled me so much - look at all the treats!!

Stitched on today: The Mermaid and the Sea (Barbara, I will post a photo as soon as I make enough progress worth showing - I still am doing this at work, so it is only in tiny bursts), started a gift, and Victoria's Quaker

HOHRH Monday

I finished the mattress pincushion tonight - thank you, Karen, for the answer on the finishing! It was what I figured would be best to do, but didn't want to reinvent the wheel if there was some other way. I will show it once it is received by its recipient. I believe it came out quite well. After that, I worked diligently on HOHRH... I don't know if the white birds I did under the two houses tonight will show well or not, though.

I want to thank Judith for the birthday gift I received today. I was so surprised to receive a package from The Silver Needle today. I was wondering what I had ordered from them. Inside was Quakers Rule Accoutrements from my wish list - and a card from Judith! Aw, thanks, dear friend, I just love it!! Brave World

Stitched on today: The Mermaid and the Sea, finished a gift, and Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

Sunday Stitching... and a finishing question...

I heard from Bine a couple of days ago, letting me know she has received the little birthday gift I had sent to her a little while back. Poor Bine, she is so busy packing up her life and her daughter to move from her homeland of Germany to Canada at the end of the month, while her DH is already in Canada and working... poor girl, I hope all goes smoothly, and my prayers are with her. I stitched her this little house fob in commemoration of the Neighborhood Round Robin we are currently in together:

Home is Best Fob
M Designs
32 ct Vintage Country Mocha Belfast Linen, GAST, WDW
And, of course, my weekly update of the Spring Ride SAL. I finished all of the off white in her dress on this page. Now I need to stitch two flowers and their leaves, and I will have finished this page! Yay!!

I have a finishing question for anyone out there who has made a mattress pincushion. I started my first one today, and will probably do the finishing tomorrow. But, I am confused. I have looked at three tutorials (all in French) and read Kathy Barrick-Dieter's directions on Quaker Pincushion... none answer this key question. When you add the thin strip of linen between the upper and lower sides, what do you do to close the ends of the strip of linen? Vero's tutorial appears to say you just fold them and keep stitching along... but won't that still leave them able to open up? Maybe this is a duh question, but I sure cannot find an answer... yet I know someone out there in the blogosphere knows - thank you in advance!!
Outrageous

Stitched on today: Started a gift, and Spring Ride

Congratulations Isabelle and Sebastien!

Like many of you, my thoughts have been with Isabelle and Sebastien today! I cannot wait to see wedding photos :-) I am so happy for them and wish them a long and joyful marriage.
I received a beautiful package from my dear friend Sonya today. She stitched me this amazing little pillow, and sent me some small cuts of some really pretty fabrics, some bellpull hardware (nice!!) and a skein of WDW. She stitches so beautifully - thank you Sonya!! And the Serenity sampler behind the gifts is from Margaret. Margaret and I have grown to be such good friends through our annual trips to Celebration each May :-) She sent me a chart I have wanted for the longest time - and sent the fibers too! I adore it, thank you Margaret! I hope to stitch this one up once Victoria's Quaker is finished! I also received a chart off of my wishlist from Leslie a couple of days ago, but since I blog so late at night, I often forget important things - and I sure did this time! Thank you so much Leslie!!! I love it! **If you have not visited Leslie's blog lately, there is a treat there for you - a pregnant photo! Leslie looks so cute!
And, of course, an update of And A Forest Grew. I didn't realize until I was almost done with the tree I stitched tonight that it is the apple tree from Eden with the snake twisting up the trunk. How cool is that?? Not much to show tonight - we went to my MIL's for brunch today and spent time with her and Mike's uncle who is quite ill from cancer right now :-( Later in the day, I finished a little gift (sadly, not Isabelle's yet!!) and then found time for AAFG... Even with brief stitching time on it tonight, that was further reduced by three visits from Gig tonight demanding lap time!
Rocket City

Stitched on today: Finished a gift, and And A Forest Grew

Flora and Fauna

Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments on my recent framings!!! I really appreciated all you had to say - and no, I have no idea yet where I will hang them. Mike wants me to think about that this weekend :-)

I heard from Tessa tonight that she has received the SBEBB Freebie Exchange that I sent to her. I sent it some time ago, but Tessa has been in the UK visiting with her ailing grandmother. Now Tessa is trying to recover from the 25 hour plane ride home. Ugh - that sounds terrible! I am glad you like this Tessa! I was worried. I had many wonderful freebies put aside and all kinds of grand ideas. However, given Tessa's love of ladybirds (ladybugs), I just kept finding myself going back to this old freebie in my stash... and it won out afterall! Maybe Tessa will show all the goodies I sent to her in her blog - I never remember to photograph those!

Lady Bug Fob
Hillside Samplings
40 ct Natural Linen, DMC Floss
Yesterday I received this amazing hardanger doily from Cathy for my birthday. This is stunning! I am so honored and so proud to own one of Cathy's hardanger doilies! Oh, thank you Cathy!! And from dear Joanie I received this really sweet little biscornu! Isn't this adorable! I just love it! She also sent me a chart from my wishlist - Joanie, you shouldn't have! You are just wonderful. Of course, I will also cherish this little treat too!

Oh, and thank you, of course, to Von for the lovely card and floss - you are so sweet!
And finally, Fridays are currently for round robins, and I picked up An's again tonight. I added some flora and fauna. Now I am am laying down a little of the grass to set the stage to start stitching the monkeys - LOL!!

***Oh, great news!!! I received the Fall 2007 issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly today, and was filled with glee to discover that Martina Dey (Stickideen von der Wiehenburg) has published her OOP Tsunami Sampler in the issue! Yay!!!!! I know a lot of stitchers who have also been wanting this chart - now we have it!

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

My Framings Are Back!

Mike got the all important phone call today from the framer - "come pick them up!" So, right after I got home from work tonight, we went and got them! I love them!! As you can see, I just am not in a mood for mats right now. I didn't use them much last time I did a bulk framing job either. I really like how needlework looks just in a nice frame.. so, here they are (I photographed each leaning against the back of the sofa in the living room - sorry the Mermaids are so crooked - I didn't realize that until after I had put the plastic bag back on them - I have no idea yet where I plan to hang any of these):

Medieval Town Mandala
Chatelaine
Stitched 10/05 - 10/06

Paradigm Lost
Long Dog Samplers

Mermaids of the Deep Blue
Mirabilia

An Emblem of Love
With My Needle

Catch the Wind
Butternut Road
Stitched somewhere around ten years ago, maybe longer!

I received several more gifts today - and wow, they are just gorgeous! I will email the senders tonight to immediately thank them, and take photos tomorrow in the daylight, as I would like to show them to you the best that I can. By the time I got home from the framer's tonight, the light was not very good any longer. But, I can show you some stash that came in today from the extremely generous gift certificate from DSL that Sharon recently sent to me for my birthday. I love all of what I got - I have recently begun to love the new Praiseworthy Stitches/Crescent Colours thread packs. After seeing what the Birthday Birds actually look like stitched up, I fell in love! Thank you so much dear Sharon!!! I hope you approve of my choices :-)

Oh, and I did find some time to stitch tonight. I actually followed my rotation and chose to work on Dawn. I bet I could get her done really quickly if I focused only her for a week or so. But, I am in no rush! My next big framing binge probably won't be until Christmas anyhow - LOL!

Stitched on today: Started a gift, and Dawn, Fairy Spirit of Grace

For An...

Hi An - here is an update of your round robin as of tonight - I hope it cheers you up! I should have been working on Mermaid Heaven, but really just felt like moving along with the RR instead... I think it is going to take me longer than I had predicted, so I will keep picking it up a lot.

I sent off a little birthday gift to my Birthday Sister, Patti. As some of you already know, Patti and I not only share a birthday, we also share a birth date. I think that is cool. I was born on July 31, 1963 at about 9 AM in Arlington, Massachusetts, while Patti was born the same day in Florida at ??? - hmm, not sure when - LOL! Anyhow, Patti emailed me a few days ago saying she received the package and would open it on "our day." Knowing she has opened it by now, I can share :-)

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

Birthday sweetness is continuing! I received this pretty pincushion from Cindy today :-) I think it is just beautiful, although Cindy is so cute - she expressed doubt over her finishing skills. Now, what could possibly be wrong with this beauty? Silly Cindy - LOL! And, thank you for the Truly Thine chart too! I hope to stitch the strawberry emery in it soon!!

(Here is the back of the pincushion from Cindy, which is from a recent issue of The Gift of Stitching...see, it is perfect!!).

Dianne sent me this package of treats - so nice! She sent me a cat themed bookmark, a wildlife frame (which she suggests should be used for a kitty photo - love the idea, Di!!) and a friendship suncatcher! Aw, Dianne, you are wonderful. Thank you!!

Wow, it's the first again - goal review time!!

July Goals:
1. Continue to work on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow -yes
2. Finish Bordeaux Sampler -yes
3. Continue to work on Dawn, Fairy Spirit of Grace -yes
4. Stitch Karen's Neighborhood Round Robin and post to Nikki by 8/1 -yes, Nikki has it
5. Finish my Hello Neighbor RR Group 3 and post to Annemarie by 7/15 -yes, An has it
6. Continue to work on And A Forest Grew -yes
7. Continue to work on Spring Ride SAL -yes
8. Stitch Little Critters Exchange and post by 7/21 -yes, Vonna has received it
9. Stitch Freebie Exchange and post by 7/27 -yes, it is posted
10. Stitch Needleroll Exchange and post by 7/31 -yes, Jean has received it
11. Stitch some gifts -yes, I stitched six gifts in July
12. Meet freebie challenge on FGBB -no, I only stitched two freebies in July
13. Plan out Fair and Square round two -was just assigned to Wendy B. a few days ago and I have many thoughts on what to stitch
14. Stitch an ornament for the Christmas Ornament SAL -no, no time this month

August Goals:
1. Continue to work on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow
2. Continue to work on Victoria's Quaker
3. Continue to work on Mermaid Heaven
4. Continue to work on Dawn, Fairy Spirit of Grace
5. Finish Annemarie's Neighborhood Round Robin and send it home to her
6. Continue to work on And A Forest Grew
7. Continue to work on Spring Ride SAL
8. Stitch and post What's The Buzz? Exchange (SBEBB) by August 31
9. Stitch and post Redwork Exchange (USEBB) by August 31
10. Stitch and be ready to post Quaker Alphabet Exchange (SBEBB) by Sept 1
11. Stitch some gifts
12. Stitch an ornament for the Christmas Ornament SAL
13. Stitch and send off Summer Seasonal Exchange
14. Stitch and send off Fair and Square to Wendy B.
15. Work on Cathy's Neighborhood RR (Group 3)

Here is where Lily spent part of the evening - on the back of my stitching chair, keeping a watchful eye over An's RR!!

Stitched on today: Annemarie's Neighborhood Round Robin

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