Wonderful Birthday Surprise!

I opened the mailbox and saw a package. I was confused at first, I didn't think I had ordered anything. I opened it up and it was a very sweet birthday (which was on the 1st) gift from Amy.


Included was a pincushion that Amy stitched and finished beautifully and a cut of very pretty 40 ct. Meadow Rue Lakeside Linen (my favorite) and four packs of #28 needles. She really spoiled me! Thank you so much Amy!! I love it all!



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Sweet Gift from Charlene

Sweet Gift from Charlene, a photo by Nicole's Needlework on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Charlene gave me this sweet pincushion at Myrtle Beach. She is just too kind to all her friends! Thanks again Charlene!

A Little Stitching and an Early Present!

I decided to start Margaret Cottam after I finished Mary Roe. I only stitched a little bit because I wasn't sure if I was liking the linen I chose for it. It's much lighter than the called for linen.

40 ct. Vintage Pecan Butter, WDW & GAST (1 over 2)
After stitching a motif, I think I'm going to like it. I also worked on Ann Priest a little bit...

40 ct. Vintage Pecan Butter, GAST (1 over 2)
My early birthday/Christmas present is the new iPad. My kids had pretty much taken over my old iPad and I really missed having one all to myself. So my very sweet dh took me shopping today. My birthday is still weeks away, but I wanted something for when I go to Myrtle Beach. I'm so happy with it!

Speaking of Myrtle Beach - I leave in only six days now! I can't wait!!
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Sweet Suprise!

I received a surprise package in the mail the other day!

Inside was this adorable pin cushion and sweet note from Charlene.  She said in the note that she thought I might need a little cheering up because we didn't get to stay in Florida.  

I was blown away by her thoughtfulness and kindness.  I'm truly blessed to have such nice friends up in the Carolina's and I'm really looking forward to being near them again.  

Thank you again Charlene!! I love it and I'm so happy to be your Sister Stitcher! :)

Another Birthday Surprise!

I got another surprise in the mail today!  This time it was from Faye.  She sent me this beautiful tin...

Thank you so much Faye!!  I love it!! :)

I also got myself a birthday present today.  This Mr. Coffee Espresso Maker and some Starbucks Espresso.  Yum!!  Tastes just like the real thing!

Birthday Surprise

I checked my mail this afternoon and got the sweetest surprise from Karen!  She sent me this beautiful pincushion for my birthday, which is tomorrow.

Pincushion and handmade card

Pincushion and inside of the card


Fabric on the back

Thank you again Karen!!  I love it!! :)

Huswife from Merumo

Huswife from Merumo, a photo by Nicole's Needlework on Flickr.

I won Merumo's second chance giveaway. I received one of her huswife's yesterday. It's just beautiful! Thank you again Merumo!!! :)

Shores Block Five and a Surprise!

Thank you all for your very kind comments on Paradise Lost! They really mean so much to me. And I do love "The Flood," but think I need a break from starting anything too big right now. Once I get Shores finished I plan to work on some smaller things for awhile. :)

Anyway, here is my progress on block five...

And the surprise came in the mail today.

I received this very sweet pincushion from Karen.

Thank you so much Karen!! I love it!!

Needlecrafts of all Sorts!

The rocks are finished! I was determined to get them done last night. Now I'm on to more solid stitching. A very nice change! Please excuse the wrinkles (too lazy to iron). :)

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

I went up to Amy's yesterday as planned. We had a fun day - not a stitching day, but a knitting and crochet day. She has always wanted to learn how to knit, so I brought some yarn, needles, and a couple books up with me. I showed her the basics of casting on and the knit stitch. She was doing very well, but decided to crochet a little (which she is an expert at). She started on a dishcloth and finished it up in no time, and she gave it to me, which was very sweet of her!!

I love it! Thank you again Amy! I decided to get out my old BFF socks. I love the one I finished and really wanted to finish the second sock. I was stuck on the pattern though. I couldn't remember how I did the cable increase. I tried it and ripped and tried it and ripped some more. When I got home I finally figured it out.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get them finished up soon!

In other news - I got a couple threads (still missing one - it's on back order with the dyer) I was needing for "Jane Tindall 1864." I just love this sampler. I hope to start it sometime in 2011. :)

40 ct. Pearled Barley, AVAS silks.


Yummy silks...

Well, nothing else going on here! Just cleaning, so I can relax and stitch (or knit). Write soon!

Stitching With Friends

I went up to Manning, SC on Saturday to meet up with my stitching pals. We had such a blast and you can see lots of pictures on Amy, Faye, and Charlene's blog.

We did an ornament exchange and a small gift exchange. I forgot to take a picture of my ornament. I stitched the bonus pattern from the LHN All is Calm ornament - using Natalie's changes.

The ornament I received was Amy's!

I love it! I love how she finished it - it's just beautiful! I also got Amy's gift (no, it wasn't rigged)! :)

Lots of great items were in it - threads, a threader, magnet, gold needles, frogging needle, ornament form and ornament pattern. Thank you Amy! I love it all! :)

And speaking of Amy - I got a little bit of stash from DSL the other day. I couldn't resist the new sheepie Kelmscot magnet. I also got some 30 ct. R&R, and a very sweet Repro pattern by Beehive Needleworks.

I ended up restarting my "Holly and Ivy Sampler" while up in Manning and I'm so glad I did. I'm really enjoying it!

Well, my two older boys are getting ready to start wrestling for the first time tonight. I'm excited and little nervous for them. Maybe I shouldn't go??? :) Write soon!

I'm Home!

Well, I actually got home yesterday around 12:30 pm. I was going to stay later and do some stuff around Myrtle Beach, but decided to get home to babies instead! :) They were all happy to see me and I was so happy to see them. Distance (even for a couple days) definitely makes the heart grow fonder. :)

My dh is such a sweetie - he had the house all clean and the dishes done, so all I had to do was get lunches ready for the coming week.

Anyway, I promised to share pics of my exchange pieces. Here is what I gave...





I had stitched it awhile ago, but never got around to finishing it, so I decided to finish it for the gift exchange. I only took it apart three times - I just could not get it right - it's still not perfect, but oh well. Michele ended up getting it in the end (she traded with someone to get it). :)

I actually got Michele's pin cushion in the end, but someone asked me to trade (she really wanted it, so I reluctantly said yes), but it wasn't a bad deal because I ended up getting Karen's sweet little Shepherd's Bush pin cushion.



And speaking of Michele and Karen they gave me a surprise package when I arrived! In it was a very nice card and this adorable pin cushion made by Michele and scissor fob made by Karen (attached to my Premax scissors). Thank you both so much!! It really made my day!



Well, I still can't believe how fast the weekend went and now it's. Back to reality and back to cleaning and doing laundry (Matthew decided to destroy the house today - it's amazing how fast he can do that). Write soon!!



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Get Together and a Finish

About 20 stitchers from SC, NC and even GA met up in Manning, SC for a stitching day hosted by Amy. It was a lot of fun! I forgot my camera, but took some pictures with Amy's camera.

We had so much fun stitching, chatting and eating!

Faye gave me these pins in exchange for a chart from my sale blog. I love them!! Thanks again Faye!

And here is my little finish...

Blackbird Designs "Summer Iris"

Fabric: 34 ct. Cafe Au Lait Legacy Linen

Threads: Gast and WDW

Started: 3/19/10 - 3/28/10

There were three other finishes by Faye, Karen and Chris yesterday too. You can see them in my flickr album. Well, I'd better get back to laundry! Write soon!

A Gift and Progress

I received a surprise in the mail the other day.  I had loaned a chart to Berit and she included this adorable fob when she sent it back to me.

She made a small cube with different motifs from the chart I loaned her and our initials.  I just love it!!  Thank you again Berit!

I have been working on CaHRH quite a bit since my last post.  I decided to to go up to block three.

I also started Ann Grimshaw today for my first Quaker Friday.

I hate to say it, but I'm not quite happy with the silk.  It seems to be a little too thick for the linen.  I may just end up going with DMC, or maybe I'll try a different silk??  I don't know - I hate it when I get wishy-washy!  :)

Edited to add: I decided to go with Vikki Clayton Basic Black silk.  I think it's going to be perfect! :)

Home from Florida!

Hi Everyone!  I hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas.  We sure did!  We went down to Florida last Saturday (12/19) and just got back on Sunday.  Before we left my dh brought in a box and told me it was a microwave for his parents.  I thought it was a little strange because I know they have a microwave, but didn't really think too much of it.  We let the boys open their presents early (Nintendo DSIs) for the trip.  After that my dh asks if I'd like to open my present.  I was very confused - I told him not to get me anything!  He then says the big box is really for me.  I was so shocked!  I was even more shocked when I opened it and found just what I'd been hoping for, but never in a million years thought I would actually get.

Vera Bradley Mini Laptop Case

Acer Netbook

I'm loving it!  It was perfect for our trip.  I also got spoiled by my parents and in-laws.  My dad got me a Jo-Ann's gift card, which is already gone.  I got some pewter Gingher scissors, a battery operated travel Ott-Lite, two of these French General Journal Sets (one for me and one for my mom) and couple other things like needles and threaders.  

I got just a tiny bit of stitching done.  I haven't stitched since last Sunday (12/19), so I'm really going through withdrawals.  I got block #7 finished on CaHRH, so I'm halfway done with it now!

I also had a package waiting for me when I got home.  The last ornament from the exchange I was in.  This one is from Chris.  It's so pretty!  Thank you again Chris! :)

Well, now I have to decide what I want to stitch.  I'm thinking of working on block #6 on CaHRH or maybe getting back to Paradise Lost.  It doesn't really matter - I just need to get stitching!! :)  Write soon!