AotH - July Block Finished

I got this block finished up last night. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

40 ct. Meadow Rue, various cotton over-dyed threads.

I decided to start something new today! It's the Birds of a Feather mystery sampler by With Thy Needle & Thread.

I decided to stitch it on what I think is 40 ct. Lentil by Lakeside Linens. It could be an older dye-lot of Pearled Barley, but I'm pretty sure it's Lentil. :)

The kids only have one more week of school (three days actually) and then our get together in Manning is next Saturday (can't wait for that)!! The next day we'll be headed down to Florida for a few weeks, so my posting may be sporadic. Write when I can!

Anniversaries Progress

Yay! Blogger is back! It's amazing how much you miss something when it's gone!

Anyway, Here is the June Block finished...

And here is June and July together...

July will be for my mom. When I first saw it I immediately thought of her, and it worked out that her birthday is in July. Not sure what made me think of her....

My mom's house - can you tell she likes gray and white?? :) Here is the whole thing....

Well, I'm going to be taking a little blogging break. Things are going to busy for a little while (end of school craziness and we are planning to go to Florida again once school is out). Just thought I'd let you all know it might be awhile until I can post again. I'm also going to be busy working on my Prairie Schooler RR. I'm determined to get the pieces finished before our get together at the French Hens in Manning.

AotH

If you haven't seen Katrina and Siobhan's Anniversaries of the Heart finishes - you must go now!! They are both amazing! They inspired me to get back to mine. I'm getting closer to being finished with the June Block (block number 7).

This block is titled "Happy Birthday," but I'm going to change it to "Happy Anniversary" and make it for my husband and I. I can't believe we'll be married 18 years next month. That means I'll have been married for half of my life!! :)

Therapy

It has been a very sad couple of days. Lisa was an amazing woman. I didn't know her long, but I am so glad I knew her for the amount of time that I did. She was so generous, so creative and so full of life. Words just can't express how much she'll be missed. My stitching has been here to comfort me - it's such great therapy.

I finished the May block (which I personalized for my dad) on Anniversaries of the Heart...

40 ct. Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, various cotton threads (1 over 2).

I also got Elizabeth Mears back out ...

40 ct. Vintage Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, NPI silks (1 over 2).

The soft colors are very soothing. Write soon...

Pink Hill Manor Finished!

Well, it's almost finished. I haven't done the personalization yet.

I'm a 1/3 of the way through now! :)

40 ct. Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, Various cotton threads (1 over 2).

I also have a tiny bit more progress on Hannah Pepper to Share.

40 ct. Vintage Light Examplar, NPI (1 over 2).

I had couple people ask where to find this pattern. It is in three issues of Fine Lines Magazine - Summer 2002, Fall 2002 and Winter 2003. I found a couple of the them on eBay. Write soon!

A Wish For You Finished!

I finished the fourth block on Anniversaries of the Heart yesterday. I think it turned out pretty cute.

I'm going to get started on block number five later. Here are the threads for it, I think they're so pretty!

Well, hope you all have a great weekend! Write soon!

Blackbird Designs Start and AotH

I ended up starting Blackbird Designs "Blessings and Kind Wishes." I have loved this design for a long time. The only thing I'm not loving is the 30 ct. linen. I'm so used to 40 ct. and I'm so used to using one strand of thread that I'm thinking of starting over (I know, crazy). I may set it aside for now and decide later.

30 ct. Olde Towne Blend by R&R, CC, GAST & WDW (2 over 2)

I also got back to my Anniversaries of the Heart. I'm working on the March block.

I think I'm going to put my oldest son's name on this block. His birthday is actually in June, but the June block is pretty girly, so I might just put my family where I think they look best instead of what the month actually is.

40 ct. Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linens, CC, GAST & WDW (1 over 2)

I substituted WDW Beige for GAST Harvest Basket in the windows. I thought it gave a little bit more contrast.

Well, nothing else going on here!! Just hanging out with Matthew and doing laundry, which I always seem to be doing! :) Write soon!

Christmas Rules Start

Here is my promised picture of Christmas Rules. I worked on it quite a bit yesterday - I finished the top freebie border and got a small start on the first block - "Be Kind."

32 ct. Lt. Mocha Belfast, WDW and CC threads.

I also got a small start on the fourth AotH block...

I'm not sure how I'm going to personalize this one. I think I may put my nephew Harrison's name in there (he was born on 3/16). But that makes me wonder if I should now put my niece's name in the February block since she was born on 2/3 and then maybe stitch one of the samplers from the Honeysuckle Manor book for my great-grandma. Maybe I should have waited until the end to personalize!! :)

And I worked on some more filling in on Rubie Owl's Sampler...

40 ct. Vintage Sand Dune by Lakeside Linen, Belle Soie Silks.

Last, but not least... On December 4th, there will be a stitching get together in Manning, SC. It will be at The French Hens restaurant again. It was so much fun the last time we went in August. The food was wonderful, the lighting great (for stitching) and of course the company was awesome!! Come out and join us if you can - there's more info on Amy's blog.

photo courtesy of The French Hens

Well, I think I'm going to try to finish getting that green filled in on Rubie today. I really want to get working on the top half of the design. Write soon!!

Two Blocks Finished!

The first block I finished over the weekend is the bonus block on Anniversaries of the Heart....

40 ct. Meadow Rue By Lakeside Linen, Various hand-dyed cotton threads (1 over 2).

And the second block I finished last night is the BIG block on Shores. I finally got it finished!!

40 ct. Summer Khaki (over-dyed with Tan Rit Dye), NPI silks (1 over 2).

I also started a new Christmas Project - Lizzie Kate's "Christmas Rules." After seeing Natalie's progress pic, I just had to stitch it for my kids - not sure if I'll get it finished by Christmas though. I thought it would make a good car/Florida project. We are going to be driving down for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't have a pic yet, but hopefully tomorrow. Write soon!

Valentine Rose Finished!

I finished up the second block on my AotH project. I love how it turned out!

Here is the whole thing...

40 ct. Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linen, GAST, WDW, and CC threads.

As you can see, I got a small start on the first bonus block...

Well, the kids do not get off today for Veteran's Day, but my dh did. He's golfing of course (going tomorrow too)! He's so spoiled, but worth it! :) My dh was in the Army, but thankfully did not get deployed. With him having been in the Army, it has really made me appreciate the men and women serving for our freedom today and everyday!

Write soon!


ETA: I didn't do the chain stitches around the flowers yet. I really stink at chain stitches, so I may just leave them out!

Valentine Rose Progress

I worked on this a lot this weekend. I'm loving it!!

Blackbird Designs "Anniversaries of the Heart," 40 ct. Meadow Rue, Various hand-dyed threads.

I can't believe I put this away for so long. I'm having so much fun stitching it. I'm already looking forward to the next block!

In other news I decided to create a forum for all my sampler loving friends. I thought it would be fun to have a friendly community where we could get together and talk about stitching (not just samplers). Hope to see you there! Here's the link...

Sampler Lovers Forum

Snow Garden Finished!!

I decided to get out my Anniversaries of the Heart project. Katrina, Siobhan, Laurie, and Faye (I got to see Faye's in person and it's just gorgeous) have inspired me so much, that I really want to get back to it!

40 ct. Meadow Rue by Lakeside Linen, GAST and WDW.

The last picture shows off the beautiful scissors I got for my birthday from a very special friend!! Thanks friend!! :) My husband's birthday is in January, so I put his initials and birth year and then I did our kid's initials over one. I plan to put my great-grandmother's name for February - Olive Emma Roof (isn't that a great name)? She was the most important person in my mom's life, and unfortunately she passed away while my mom was pregnant with me, so I never got to meet her, but from all the stories I've heard of her she seemed to be a very special person.

Threads for Block 2

Well, my dad and his wife are coming this weekend, so I'm not sure how much stitching I'll get done. Not sure what we have planned. I think it's going to be a quick visit because they are headed down to Florida for the winter. Write soon!!