Miracles Happen......

from the 2008 JCS Ornament Magazine, this is Miracles Happen by Jennifer Cooke-Rabig of Ladybug Lane Designs. It's my absolute favorite from this years ornament addition. You can't really see the sparklies but all the white snow has Kreinik in it and it really does shine. All the white flakes and around the border are white beads - those didn't show up too well in this washed out picture either. You still have time to pick up a copy of this special magazine for your collection.

DH and I went shopping this morning, mostly just browsing and picking up some stocking stuffers, etc. We had lunch at Red Lobster, Seafood Stuffed Flounder. It was so good! Fish is one thing I never cook at home. Love the finished product but hate the smell as it cooks.

He is home until Jan. 5 and DD is home until the 12. I have a feeling I'll have all the togetherness I've been craving - and then some to spare. LOL It will make it easier to see her leave for college again. Then, DH leaves Jan 18 for a 3 week school.......I'll go stay with him a few days, probably the last part of the 2nd week. After all this holiday time together, it's a good thing and I'll really be glad when he comes home.^giggles^

I baked a batch of sugar cookies so I'm off to make icing and get those decorated.

Happy Stitching!!!!

Time to get into........

the holiday season. I hope it has biten each of you, lifting your spirits and making your days a little sweeter. Nothing new going on, just enjoying the holiday season and having my family close to home.

DD is home from college, as she said - I'm yours for the next month. It's supposed to be icy and cold tomorrow but I think we are going out for some girl shopping. We need to hit the new Ulta makeup store and of course as it's next door to Target, we'll need to have a run through there too. Then we'll take our business to Best Buy; she needs new Ipod earbuds and heaven forbid they aren't the Apple brand. Then a nice stop at Books-A-Million, that's always good for an hour or so. By then I'll be pooped and ready to come home. She might could entice me into a pit-stop at Hobby Lobby. I'm sure of it, especially if we grab a Starbucks on the way. Man, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, LOL.

Be proud of me, after 2 years in the local Embroidery Guild I finally stitched a beautiful name badge for myself. Of course I changed the intended thread colors and the beads too. I'll post a picture tomorrow or the next day.

Thanks for visiting, have a wonderful week and carve out a little relaxing stitching time.

Thanksgiving Day.............

has come and gone. Where do the days go? I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday with family and good friends. We love Thanksgiving around our house, it's the kick-off to the holiday season. Too much food, too much shopping and staying up late at night with friends, and too little sleep.

Our daughter will be home from college tomorrow and the ecomony and personal finances are starting to sink in with her a little. She is upset that her roommate will not be coming back in January - her parents just can't afford it. There are so many kids who aren't returning, it's sad. DD is going to the housing office in the morning to sign the papers to stay in her room, as a private room. This means she will get priority and be moved to the END of the line for new housing so anyone new who moves into the dorms in January will go to another room and she will get to keep her room by herself. This also means we don't have to pay for a private room - unless they run out of housing then they will give her the option of going ahead and paying to keep it private or having a roommate. She said there are many kids that she knows who won't be back in Jan. so it will probably work out okay. She took her last final this morning and has 4 A's and 1 B for the semester. My hard earned money at work - YAY!

So in stitching news, here's my newest little Love Quilt square. I call him Wacky Cat, isn't he just adorable? He's a freebie from http://pagesperso-orange.fr/anne-les-petites-croix/

I stitch so much over one stuff that it's a very nice change to work on 14ct Aida. You forget how relaxing and comforting it is stitching on the stuff.

I've been reading The Immortals book series; I'm up to book 3. They have a good story line and are easy to get into. And lots of hubba-hubba..........LOL

I've been trying to read a couple of hours every day as I've got book 4 of the Twillight series ready to start so I think I'll go pick up that book........

Hope everyone has a relaxing and joyful holiday. It's hard to do when so many things that we can't control are dragging everyone down and making everyone on edge, etc. But it's the only thing we can do; it's the days of our lives and we do have control over how much we smile (it's contagious you know) and whether we go to bed at night satisfied and happy with our lives.

God Bless you and your stitching mojo........

Playing catchup........

First my stitching news. Of course I forgot to get pictures of the finished products before packaging and mailing; but, I stitched 3 little house/winter scenes and made into flat-folds and one reindeer ornament.

I've also been stitching on my RR Verdure piece from last year. It's such a gorgeous piece.

We've been so busy since my last update. You ever have those times in your life when everything runs on fast-forward? You skip along and everythings calm and clean, then before you know it things are helter-skelter? Nothing tragic or can't be fixed, but everything that could disrupt my routine was saved up this year and all hit the same week.

My car had costly repairs (but GM was wonderful and reimbursed me out of warranty for every penny) my big screen TV went out (needed a lamp projection bulb - those are consumer replaceables now) ceiling fan in our office blew up (that was interesting) our daughter's car was hit in the parking lot at college (with her sitting in it - we left Orlando, FL and flew home 3 days early to see about her). Everything's good now and everything's fixed but maybe next time it could be spaced out and not hit all in the same week.

Oh -then we had rescheduled our Gulf Shores getaway cause Hurricane Ike brought in a pounding surf that deposited snowdrift like mounds of sand (truly looks like snow) so that the neighborhood where we rented a house was literally closed to traffic and evacuated. Well, we rescheduled for the end of Oct. and had a really good vacation - except our daughter called on our second night to tell us (before we saw it on CNN) that there had been a shooting in the parking lot at her dorm and 2 people were killed. While we were horrified for the families who lost their child - we were worried about the safety of our daughter. I think it was a blessing that we were away as we couldn't drive the normal 2 hours to be with her and make sure things were okay. The police stayed in the hallway of her dorm all night and the next day until they had a handle on why the shooting occurred and had made arrest. I feel so guilty for worrying about my daughter when two other families lost their innocent sons. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So tragic.

On a brighter note.......here's a picture of Don and I in Gulf Shores. The sun was so bright and most of the time the wind wasn't too bad. And the water - it was warm enough to walk in and so clear it sparkled.

We had the beach to ourselves and took long walks. On one of those walks we were lucky to be walking right at the shore line and the sun was behind us and with the crystal clear water, I looked out about 5 feet from shore and saw a group of sting-rays. Not real big ones (they were maybe 18 inches with their wings extended?) It's a good guess as the next day we saw one of them dead on the beach so I had to check. LOL Anyway, there were maybe 10-12 of them in the group and they were absolutely beautiful. So graceful like they floated through the water with their winglets furling and unfurling as they went. They didn't go fast, watching them was like in slow motion.

I got up each morning to see the sunrise. What gorgeous colors - as everyone knows, my favorite palette. Check out in the dark part of the picture - that's the sand mounds left from Hurricane Ike. They are still scooping it up and dump trucks full make the circle down to the beach to dump it. They were very nice and made all their noise working in other areas so we had mostly peace and quiet during out stay.

And a little later at sunrise..... You can see the oil platforms out in the Gulf they were lit up at night, actually very pretty. These pictures were taken from the deck of our rental home. Such beautiful colors at sunrise.

Here's a picture directly in front of the house of the sunset.

It was a perfect getaway and I can't wait to go back next year. Hopefully a couple of weeks earlier when the weather is just a tad warmer.

Thanks for visiting my blog - enjoy the upcoming holiday season and give all your kids big hugs just because. Whether they want them or not.

Kathy's Violets (Chatelaine freebie)

I finally decided to work on finishing off some stitched pieces. Here is Kathy's Violets finished into a flatfold. I really like this option as you can display it on a table or shelf and just change them out whenever......

Kathy's Violets.........

I forgot all about this little finish. It's Kathy's Violets a freebie from Chatelaine Designs

It's stitched over 1 on 28ct lugana that I dyed a soft light teal. I stitched 4 X's for each 1 on the chart so the dimensions stayed the same. I'll be making it into a flat-fold so I'll take another picture once I do the finishing. I made some slight changes to the design - like using opalescent teal bead for the dew drops, making rhodes stitches in place of the algerian eyelets in the border, lavender and citron beads in the border and a little silver dragonfly in the center. It's a fun stitch. I'll get it made into a flat-fold after our vacation next week.

We are leaving Saturday for Gulf Shores, nice relaxing walks on the beach are just what I need.

Our daughter was home this weekend from college, we baked chocolate chip cookies and an apple pie for her to take back. I really miss her but she's doing well and having a wonderful time. It's nice to hear about her classes, teachers, new friends and all the other new things she's doing.

Thanks for stopping by...........have a wonderful day

Fairy Flora.....

I've been wanting to start a Mirabilia chart for ages and have had the hardest time deciding which one. I finally settled on Fairy Flora and here's the first WIP. Of course, I changed the beads to delicas (they are so dainty and perfect) and I changed the recommended colors too. As this piece has such a bright background around her pale dress and wings, I decided on a plain fabric to compliment the colors and how they blend. She's stitched over 1 so finished size wil be 4/12" wide by 10" in length.

We've had rain (from Gustav) since around 8am yesterday. It's been a good steady rain and much needed in this area. It's helped cool the temps. off a little but it sure is wrecking havoc on my walking routine. I'll have to try and make it up this weekend.

Thanks for stoping by and have a wonderful week

Lazy Summer Days.........

This has been a crazy summer. We've been so laid back it seems wrong to say it's flying by, but it sure seems that way. I can't believe we're at the end of June. It's my special month, my birthday and anniversary month. 46 years old and married 25 years. Now that doesn't seem possible either.

I've not been stitching as much lately but I think it's because the house just has more activity during the summer. There are kids coming and going at all hours. We've been walking just about every evening (after the sun goes down and it cools off a bit).........and I have the first tomatoes in my garden.

I've been happy and occupied - and that's a good combination!

Taj Mahal Update......

May update WIP of Taj Mahal. This is still such a fun piece to work on. The over 2 stitching is a nice break from all the over 1 stuff and the silks just glide through the fabric, so smooth and easy. If I ever win the lottery I'll have to start my own hand dyed silk floss company with prices so affordable that every project could be done in silks.
I've hit a slump where I just don't want to stitch on anything. Nothing sounds appealing; except a new start of course.....hehe Truly, I think it's just the busy transition of spring into summer. Melanie graduates from High School tomorrow evening and we have tons of company coming; we have birthdays and an anniversary next week plus making a trip to Tulsa (about 2 hours away) to take my Mom for a Drs. checkup (everything's fine, just checking) so all in all I've just had a lot going on.

But I'm dying to start Evening in the Park and/or PIG..............and you know, a girls just gotta be able to stitch so if it takes a new start, well......LOL

Dreamsleep................

Check out the new Dreamsleep WIP on the sidebar. Isn't she just gorgeous? I love stitching on this one, the browns are all pink/rose shades and the shading and blending is just beautiful. I did put it up this week to work on Taj Mahal but the break won't last long. If you look close you can see the folds in her skimpy little dress......and see all the purple shades.

On the home front, I've been doing alot of gardening and have all the flower beds in the front of the house in good order. Now to tackle the one in the backyard, I think I'll put it off until next week; so long as I get it done before the hot days start. I need to make another run to the nursery and hope they have some Lantana; I love this plant. It has dark shiney leaves and is loaded with clusters of tiny flowers and it grows from a thick stalk like a bush. Most common colors in this area are yellow, white, or red but there is a color called confetti (pink/yellow/orange) that is my favorite. It is a good choice as it will take the hot sun (100+ days) and not wither away. As long as you keep watering, it will keep flowering up until frost.

Hopefully the next time you visit Joyce (thank you sweetie) will have my slideshow added to the sidebar. Actually 2 of them - one for finishes and one of WIPs.

Lucy's first haircut......

Lucy is now 7 months old and we had puppy spa day at our house this afternoon. She didn't like the clippers very much, and really didn't like it when you get close to her face but she was very, very good and doesn't she look like a nice doggie with her 'big girl' cut?

She's a Miniature Schnauzer but we call her our Greyhound on account of she has the longest legs. She's starting to grow into them and doesn't look that awkward anymore.

Gracie is getting a bath and shave tomorrow - I just couldn't face trying to do them both in one day.

Part 4 HD........

I just finished Part 4 of Papillon Creations 2008 Mystery 'How Does Your Garden Grow'. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you'll notice I downloaded the wrong file option for part3....so no specialty stitches but that's okay, I still think it's lovely.

This is a mystery in 13 parts; 1 each month. You can access the download section by signing up for their newsletter at the above link.

Finishing on Truth Storykeep (Sara Butcher)

Wow, 2 post in a single day. I decided to just pick something and work on it. This is Truth Storykeep by Sara Butcher. I finished the stitching last year and it's been laying around while I decided what finishing technique to use.

I decided to lay it on top of a stack of dinner plates in the hutch in the formal dining room.

Taj Update

This is today's update of my Taj Mahal. If you look really close at the bottom left corner, you'll notice the first 10 or so beads. I just couldn't resist starting the beading!



I'm going through a 'funk' right now. You ever have those days or weeks when everything is okay but your just anxious and unfocused? I pick up a book (a good one too) and I start reading and find myself reading 2 or 3 pages and not digesting what I'm reading - or I want to stitch and find myself staring at the bags of projects and can't decide which one to work on. I've always multi-tasked well and I'm really bothered by this. I have a ton of stuff I would like to do; new projects to start, redesign this blog site, upload all my finishes to the new finishing blog Fantastic Finishes ; and alot of spring projects around the house (fun ones too) but I just don't want to start any of these. I told my husband maybe I'm a little depressed and just don't know it? Maybe I need to find a part-time job, just anything that gets me out of the house for a few days a week; nicely dressed with makeup, etc. Something to do that is concrete then maybe I'll use my 'free' time better. Right now it's like - it's all free time so I can do anything at any time I want; so I find myself sitting there and not doing any of it. Am I making any sense at all?

2 Finishes in one day.............

I'm on a roll........finished the stitching on this one last month but I'm just now getting around to completing it into an ornament. Based on my sloppy work, I'm gonna beg - yes, beg our local Embroidery Guild to have some classes on ornament finishing techniques. This will be mine to keep. Once I learn how to do a neater finishing job, I would love to stitch this pretty snowflake again. It's from the Stoney Creek Magazine, Feb. 2008 issue - Snowflake Ornament #1 in a new series.

I used Caron Wildflowers thread in Carribean, 1x2 on 28 ct.

New Finish..................

I finished this today. It's the Friendship Tree by The Victoria Sampler (Thea Dueck). It was my first time at any type of hardanger stitch and I was surprised at how easy it is. Lots of fun too!

I love the finishing instructions for this piece and I think I'll pull out my Sara Butcher Truth piece (HAED storykeep) and finish it off this way, minus the fringe.

Needle Case for Brandy..........

It arrived safely so I can post pictures now. All of us who know and love Brandy http://branlaadeestitching.blogspot.com/ know how much she cherishes her cats, all 6 of them. So I had to have the Brittercup Cat Charts for her and then, well, I just had so much fun designing and stitching this piece for her. I even found the little firefly trinkets and loved working them into the design. It's stitched on 28 ct Lugana hand-dyed a light teal. There is a place for your needles, scissors, and a large pocket to carry floss.

another Taj Update.....

Just about ready to start putting some beads on this one. Then it'll be a beading project...

This one makes such a nice piece to come back to when I'm a little tired of 1x1 stitching.

Taj Mahal Update.......

I've been working on Taj Mahal (Chatelaine) this week. It's such a nice, easy stitch. I'm approaching the 1/2 way mark. Once I finish this one, I can start Evening In The Park, wahoo! DH has been gone all week so I've just puttered around, reading and stitching.

I'm currently reading Agnes & The Hitman it's light chick literature, full of ribald humor.

After the last few weeks of dreary weather, I decided to treat myself so I scheduled a hair appointment and a pedicure today. It feels so good to pamper yourself. Besides, nothing nicer than comfy warm pj's and my stitching ottoman and seeing those pretty french manicured toes peeking out. http://www.crusiemayer.com/agnes/book.htm

happy stitching.....

Sarah's Key.....

that's the name of the book I'm currently reading. It's fantastic and not to be missed. It shows you the darkest part of the human spirit as it makes you think and reassess your thoughts and beliefs, it will change your soul. Here's a link http://mapage.noos.fr/tatianaderosnay/sarahken2.htm

BAP Happy Dance

It's finally happened - the last stitch has gone in and it's a happy finishing dance for this girl! It's Morning Rose by Linda Ravenscroft (charted by HAED; but now retired) she's 450x477, 14X19 on 25 ct cream jobelan and it's been a pleasure to stitch. I started this piece in Sept. 2005 and just finished today. I loved stitching on her, the background is made up of several different colors so not alot of solid stitching. The roses are stitched in 5-6 shades of pink; but, the think my favorite part to stitch was the iridescent wings, they are so delicate looking. My favorite of all the details is the dew drops on the leaves they are just amazing IRL.

Thanks for looking.....

Big teaser..................

It's a big teaser! Only around 1800 stitches left so next time I pick her up will be a finish. It's Morning Rose (artwork by Linda Ravenscroft, the cross stitch chart is no longer available).

I have a new project I just can't wait to get started on so off to plan

happy stitching........

I had to share this with you.....

I don't know where this originated as my Mother emailed it to me last week, but I want to share it with you. There are times in our lives when hardships and trials eat at us and make us doubt our selves. If your not a believer, don't worry it's a nice fable. I especially like the last sentence and will always be remindful of this.

QUILT OF HOLES

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all. I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the brig ht hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air. Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was. I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!

God determines who walks into your life....it's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.'

Freebie from Chatelaine

I've put some stitches into this freebie chart, it's Christmas Mandala from Chatelaine. It's stitched 1x1 but keeping the original dimensions, so for each 2x2 X - I've stitched 4 1x1 X's. Is that confusing? Anyway, I love how flat and delicate it looks. It's stitched on a very light aqua with a few slight changes in the gold threads and have completely different beads picked out too. Can't wait to actually start putting beads on.

Our new pup Lucy is a hoot! She is so cute, running outside with those big floppy ears. Gracie is very sweet to her and seems to recognize that Lucy is a baby. Lucy is teething but really good about only chewing on her toys. She likes to chew on Gracie though! She thinks she is getting Gracie to play with her but she's just too rough on Gracie. She runs up and bites on her, pulling on her snout or laying on top of her and trying to chomp on her - and Gracie lets her! I keep waiting for Gracie to nip at her and make her stop but she doesn't. Of course I get onto Lucy but they are gonna have to work that one out on their own.

New Puppy

Here's our new mini-schnauzer, Lucy. We also have an 8 yr. old mini-schnauzer, Gracie. Gracie is a lady and Lucy is trying very hard to learn some manners.

It's been icy and cold here. No snow, just ice on everything. I even noticed some of my daffodils have broke through and are around 3 inches tall. The wonders of nature!

Yesterday I was in the backyard with the puppies and we have this huge oak tree with 100s of brown shriveled leafs still attached. Each leaf is covered with ice and when the wind blows they ring with a delicate chime like a huge crystal chandelier, so dainty and refreshing. I stayed out way longer than I should have - my nose and toes were numb.

I'm off to stitch on Morning Rose..............should be finished within the week.