Sunflower Bellpull

I worked on Drawn Thread's Sunflower Bellpull a little last night. I stitched most of the house in the middle of the pattern. I'm so glad I'm back to my rotation. I missed this project and I think I can finish it fairly soon if I stick to it. I think it definitely helps me to have goals.



I decided to take my Game Board Sampler out of my rotation. In fact I'm not sure if I'm going to stitch on it anymore. My reason is a little nutty, but it was driving me crazy! I started on the horizontal thread. I never do that, I always start on the vertical and everytime I stitched it - it drove me nuts! I don't know why I didn't fix it ages ago. The only thing I can think of is it was one of my first projects after not stitching for almost two years. So I may restart it one of these days, but I don't think anytime soon, it's just too frustrating!

Well, not much else going on here really. My brother (who is also my boss) went to Vegas for the weekend, so I'm kind of on a mini-vacation too. I'm sure when he gets back I'll have a ton to do, so for now I'm going to enjoy it! Write later! :)

P.S. If anyone wants my Sampler Gameboard UFO (stitched fabric only) and doesn't mind that it's on the horizontal you are more than welcome to it! Just email me and it's yours! Found a good home - thanks Peg! :)

Getting Back to my Rotation

I've decided to go back to rotating again. I seemed to get more done that way. I've decided to focus on the following...

Mon - A Simple Little Quaker
Tue - Village of Hawk Run Hollow
Wed - Pomegranate Sampler
Thur - Sunflower Bellpull
Fri - And They Sinned
Sat & Sun - Flip-it Bits/CHS Alphabets

Hopefully this will work out for me! And hopefully I can get some things finished up to make room for other projects I'd like to get finished and/or started! :)

I did work on VoHRH last night. I filled in some more of the black background on block #12.


Carriage House Samplings on 36 ct. Vintage Sand Dune by Lakeside Linens using NPI silk.

I was thinking yesterday that I really must cut off the bottom part of my old VoHRH to use the linen for something else. I originally had started it on Light Examplar (don't know what I was thinking). I finally came to my senses and realized it was too light. Then I remembered Kathy Barrick-Dieter from Carriage House Samplings posted that she needed cross stitch "dead or alive" to cut up and make pendants and I thought maybe she'd like my old VoHRH that I was just going throw in a box or something, so I emailed her and she said she would like and would pay me for it in cash or charts. Of course I chose charts! Have you seen my wish list! :) So I thought that was pretty cool. It will be neat to see my stitching in her pendants. Maybe I'll buy one to get a little piece of my stitching back.

Anyway, that's all I've been up to! We are going to be getting ready for Bradley's 7th birthday party! It seems like just yesterday I was driving to the hospital to have him! Time flies! :)

Feeling Much Better!

Thank you to everyone who wished me well. That was so kind of you! Well, I finally got up the energy to open my box! :)


Just a boring brown box on the outside.


It's getting a little better!


Pretty Pink Paper!


Hillside Samplings "Folk Art Sewing Roll."


Hillside Samplings "Alphabet Needlebook."


"Miss Kitty's Dragon's" Finishing Kit.
Yep, that definitely perked me up some! Now, if I could only get some stitching done in this house - that would really make me happy! I'm so glad to be over the bug. Now I don't have to anticipate getting it anymore and hopefully we're not all sick like that for a long, long time! Thanks again everyone! Write later!

P.S. I was browsing around etsy and came across these really cute sewing sets. I'm very tempted to get one! :)

I got it

I got the bug yesterday. I'm doing better now, just tired. This is what I wrote before I got sick...

>>This is going to be a short post. My mom and my dh now have the stomach bug. I have this sinking feeling that I'm next. It's awful and doesn't care if you are a baby, or a little boy, or a grandma, who needs to take care of her grandchild, or a policeman, who needs to go on duty, it just doesn't care. And I'm sure it won't care that I'm a mother who needs to take of her three children and a stitcher that has projects she'd like to be stitching. So I'm going to rest and hopefully I'm being dramatic and it won't get me. I'm hoping against hope!<<

Well, the hope didn't work, but I survived. We all survived! :) I won't say who was the one crying on the bathroom floor (it wasn't me). Well, I'm just resting now, and hopefully I'll be back to normal soon! I got a package from Silver Needle today that's bound to perk me up. When I open it I'll take a picture. :)

Write later!

Another Small Finish

I decided to stitch Carriage House Samplings "Deer." I meant to do it last month, but never got around to it. I would like to try for two letters a month.


Carriage House Samplings "Deer"
Fabric: 36 ct. Examplar by Lakeside Linens
Threads: GAST
Started: 6/2/07
Finished: 6/3/07


All four letters together.



I got some charts from a trade I did through my new trade blog. They are three Little House Needleworks Dear Diary charts: Abigail Winslow, Rebecca Small, and Emmaline Whitcomb. Too cute! Thank you again Kristin for the great trade! :)

Well, Matthew is still not feeling too well. I gave him Pedialite in his bottle tonight. I'm hoping that will help him. He's also cutting a tooth on top and I'm sure that's not making him feel any better. :( He did feel well enough to get into a little mischief today. Click on the picture below for the whole story.



Well, it's almost 11 pm. I'd better get some sleep! Write later!

New Start and Some Stash

I started "And They Sinned" by Examplar Dames yesterday. I was just going to get on a scroll frame to get ready for the SAL to start today, but I couldn't resist putting a few stitches in!


"And They Sinned" Stitched on 40 ct. Elegant Bean using GAST.

There's not too much to see. I started at the bottom, which is where I normally start my projects. I just started working on the border. I ended up putting the frame on an old lap stand I had. We'll see how that works out. I'm used to working in hand or on smaller frames. I have a feeling this will be slow going! It may take me the rest of my life, but I will persevere! :)

I got a little stash the other day that I thought I'd share. I've been watching Gill's (Chewed Away) progress on her AMAP Reves de Brodeuse. It's so pretty and I just couldn't resist ordering it and another pattern. It was my first time ordering anything overseas and I couldn't believe how fast it got here - just four days!


A Mon Ami Pierre - "Reves de Brodeuse," "Porte Aiguille Angelots" and a very pretty freebie that was included.

I also got one of the latest Little House Needleworks/Crescent Colours thread packs from Handcrafts Online. I didn't get the pineapples because I'm just not a pineapple person, so I got "Faith," which I think is very pretty. I also got the finishing kit. Mary Kathryn always picks out the prettiest fabric!


LHN/CC "Faith" with finishing kit.

And last but not least I signed up for Shakespeare's Peddlers Fabric of the Month Club. I asked for fat 1/8, 40 ct, which I may change because I may be going blind soon from stitching ATS on 40 ct! It's only $10 for a fat 1/8, which is a pretty good deal I thought! :)



This last month's was Navy Bean, which looks totally different from the Navy bean I'm using now. I guess that's a good thing, so I don't have two of the same, it's just crazy how much the dyelots vary. I still love LL linens though - they are definitely my favorite!

Well, unfortunately Matthew caught the bug today. It's so strange how Bradley was sick on Friday two weeks ago and then Jake last Thursday and now Matthew this Friday. Please don't let me be next Friday! Bradley is having a birthday party the Saturday after! The poor little guy though, he doesn't know what's going on and he's being so brave. I did end up catching a cold somehow. I can live with a cold, I'm just a big baby when it comes to the stomach flu. Matthew is finally asleep, so I'm going to try to get some rest too! Write later!

A Tiny Little Finish!

I decided to stitch up a little fob for my new scissors. I decided on "A Tiny Little Quaker" freebie by Papillon Creations. I think it turned out pretty cute. My sewing still leaves something to be desired, but oh well! What can you do?? :)


Papillon Creations "A Tiny Little Quaker"
Fabric: 40 ct. Navy Bean by Lakeside Linens
Thread: DMC Color Variations #4230 (Crystal Water) - one thread over two.
Started: 5/29/07
Finished: 5/31/07

I also worked on "A Simple Little Quaker" the other day. I didn't get too much done, but I did get a start on a new motif.



Well, the kids are acting crazy, so I'd better see what they're up to! Write later! :)

Finally!!

I finally got "Their Song" finished! I don't know why, but it seemed to take me forever! Well, it's done and now I can send the pattern off to Becky tomorrow! :)


Blackbird Designs "Their Song"
Fabric: 30 ct. Apple Brown Bindy by R&R
Threads: Weeks Dye Works (I only used one skein of Moss and used just a little bit of the 2nd skein of Havana)
Started: 4/21/07
Finished: 5/27/07
Now I think I'll work on "Simple Little Quaker" or "Pomegranate Sampler." Or maybe I'll take a nap! LOL! :) I just wanted to thank you all for your very kind comments about my dh's new job. I read him a lot of your comments and he thought you all were very nice! He is excited and nervous at the same time. He has to talk to his sergeant at work today is not excited about that!

Well, thank you again everyone! Becky, look for a package at the end of the week! :)

P.S. I started a trade blog - click here to view. I will be updating often.

Not Sick Yet (knocking on wood)!

Thank you all for your concern and well wishes. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed though! :) I went stitching today. I decided to take "Pomegranate Sampler" with me. I finished up the sampler part and now I'm working on the border - lots and lots of pomegranates to stitch!



While I was there searching through some of the older charts I came across a couple of Goode Huswife charts.



They are "Dutch Strawberries" and "Nine Patch Cushion." I got the silks for "Dutch Strawberries." I can't wait to stitch this one - I think it's so pretty!

I also stopped by my LNS (Silk Road Needle Arts) yesterday. I thought I would treat myself to some new scissors and I also picked up a couple other things that somehow jumped into my hands.



Some pretty new Gingher scissors "Julia", a fat 1/4 of 32 ct. Examplar by Lakeside, and "A Quaker Pattern Book."

I do have some other news to share. Dh was offered a job with ICE as a Criminal Investigator (Special Agent). It's a dream job for him, but he has to go away for five months for training and then he will be stationed in Albany, Georgia. He actually applied in Dec. 2005! We weren't even sure we'd ever hear from them! I've decided though that I just can't move again with the kids and all our family being here. I just couldn't do it to my mom, my brother (who is also my boss), my MIL. So I think we've decided to have me and the kids stay here with my mom and he'll be up there during the week and try to spend most weekends down here. It's not going to be easy, but I know we can make it work and it will be worth it in the long run. He will eventually be able to transfer to an office closer to here and will finally have a normal schedule (mon-fri). So anyway, I'm sad for me, but happy for him. If it doesn't work he can always come home and get his old job back. He's supposed to report for Training on June 18th, so that only gives us a few weeks to prepare for this! We are still talking about it, but I think he's pretty much decided that he's going to take the job. Well, not much else going on - I'm going to try to stitch a little bit. Write later!

Uh Oh

Now Jake is sick. The poor guy. Is it selfish that I keep hoping that I'm not next?? I just can't handle being sick right now, or anytime for that matter. There's nothing worse than a stomach bug!

Well, in other, brighter news, I finally finished Little House Needleworks "Pear" into a pillow. I had the fabric cut for months now, I just never got around to sewing it.



The bow on the bottom left may look a little funny, but I put it there to cover a mistake - oops! For the most part I think it turned out ok. I don't think I'll ever not be critical of my finishing. Finishing is not like stitching. It's more freestyle where as with stitching you have a pattern and there are certain holes in the linen that you put the needle through. It's much more structured, which is what I like. I'm not a freestyle person. Anyway, enough about that!

I stitched a tiny bit on Their Song. Probably not even enough to post a picture, but I will anyway. Just because I think this post needs one more picture. :)



I am so determined to get this finished now! Hopefully I can get it finished by this weekend so I can get the pattern out to Becky! Write more tomorrow (if I'm not sick that is - wish me luck)!