Welcome ... my bench

Most of the pictures I will be posting you can click on to enlarge, as they will be in my photobucket account! Here is the bench in my garden... It will be in my new craft room this next summer - once I repaint it, and finish the details of the craft room... :) Just thought I would post pics of the snow for those who are not yet having a white Christmas. Happy Stitching, and merry Christmas

wanna see!

off to stitch for the night :) I have looked at the blogs, and it was quite a treat... thinking of several to do`s for my list... I had a finish this week but cannot post till it is recieved... cannot wait :) I also am working on : MIRABILIA : NORA CORBETT`S GATHERING EGGS I have loved this for so long, and thought it better find its way into my rotation :) love working on it as well... happy stitching and a good night to all The pic is of Dante... who thinks he is showing us his teeth, what he doesnt understand is they arent in yet! He sure is being a ham though! he shows em off - proudly to everyone!!! adorable! He is quite funny and happy!

This is a piece I have had for awhile. Andrea sent it to me :) she is great! You can see her hardanger tutorial at her blog on the right.

Dante at 6 months old

Here you see Dante multitasking :) thumb in - sock off! 6 months old!

My brother`s Chopper

Here I am sharing with you pictures of my brother Dave`s work in progress: This is the closeup of the fender, the forks, and the barbed spokes!Dave is very talented!

Hi!

Just wanted to drop a little hello here! I am busy stitching away at the three ladies so I can send her off this next weekend at the latest!!! I am doing pretty well :)

Looking forward to Thanksgiving. I have bought almost all of the fixins :)

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season.

I`m a little teapot ....

Dante at 3 months in a cup ....

perfectly cute...

looks like he wants to get out of there - huh!

Laura

So I am catching up! Here are pictures of Dante in his dalmation costume on Halloween. Yes, he had 3 outfits... the other was just a shirt with glow in the dark skeleton bones on it... these 2 were so cute. The middle picture is of the towel that I got my brother from Sturgis (3 months ago) and finally gave him on Sat. :) He says its a tapestry, but its a towel... It will look great in his garage hanging over his custom built chopper :) ... will get pics of that when it comes back from its paint job :) Thank you for your patience with me! I will one day get my Sturgis photos in a place where you can link to them if you would like! Till then you can see them and the band photos at :http://www.doglegpreacher.blogspot.com/

Matress Pincushion sent to Australia

Here is a picture of the Matress pincushion that I made and sent to Kate in Australia. It was announced today that all pieces were recieved, so I thought I would post pics here. It was my firtst matress pincushion, and I really liked it. The freebie is from XStitchHappy, which is in the links to the right. I chose my own colors. Vanessa, thanks for the post... nice to see you... I am almost ready to start this piece :) Laura

November Stitching Goals & CONTEST!!!

Finish round 4 of the 3 Ladies stitchalong-rr. started Finish the dragon lottery piece. started Stitch on: Red Poppy Stitch on: TW Rapunzel Finish Be Mine by Bent Creek. started put A Matter of Time / Nemia Rucker into rotation and Contest to win a pair of scissors .... for the new year!!! I am going to enter anyone who has posted to my blog this past year into a random drawing to win a pair of beautiful scissors! I own a pair,and can tell you they are delightful! SO if you have posted to my blog this year, you may win! if you havent... you still can! I will pick a name on January 1st!!! (which means I will be starting now on my list of names!!!)

Deadline for Dragon Lottery Sign Ups

Today is the deadline for the Dragon Lottery Sign ups... so I will be taking the sign up box away this evening and replacing it .... Hope you all have a wonderful Nov.1st. I have Dante this morning... He was such a cutie for Halloween last night... He dressed up as a little devil... he seemed to enjoy my visit.... I hope he had fun... He will probably be tired this morning. Here are pics of my grandson:

Quoth the Raven; Happy Halloween

So this is a finish I made a few months back... I am not sure if I posted a pic, but I love it, and it is in season... I will make one for me one day... this was a fair and square which I finished into a basket for Mercy. http://prettyinpnk.blogspot.com/ blog on the right... :) Happy Halloween everyone! Laura

THE RAVEN (1845) -an excerpt by Edgar Allan Poe ...Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore... Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore- Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore! Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."...

Fabric question...

Where do y'all find your stitching fabric? My only sources here seem to be Joann's or Michael's, and they are limited to mostly Aida fabric. I don't necessarily want hand-dyed linen, but a nicer quality, softer fabric would be nice. Just curious. Andrea

My dragon egg...

My dragon egg has a little over 4 days before he hatches into a baby dragon. He can only hatch if enough people click on him... :) I would love to see what he looks like! The egg is the green egg to the right --> Thank you all for helping out :) When he is born he will have a name, and he will grow.... :)fun stuff. Happy Stitching, Laura

<...-*ScissorS*-...>

Here is the information for the scissors posted below: You can buy them from ebay user: rosa0537 and it's item #300254457205. Hope this helps. Make sure to note the shipping charges. She is very quick with her delivery and was very nice.

What`s new

The first two images are the front and back of a miniature fob I stitched awhile back, and just finished the finishing touches on... the next picture is a new pair of scissors to add to my collection... I love them... they remind me of a gothic church window panel from Ireland... (where I would one day hope to visit!!) Laura

Dante:October 25,2008

Dante with his pumpkin!

Well, unfortunately the other day I was leaving the house, and took my plug out of my camera... and now I am on the hunt for it. I will find it...gee anyways Yesterday Jon and I took Dante to Craven`s pumpkin farm. We all had so much fun... so fun to hear him giggle... He has a baby pumpkin :) and I will post a few very happy pictures of the trip soon. It is beautiful here, with fall colors popping! I have a goal to also take a picture of my son, Jared`s friends` tree... it is the most awesome color of red I have ever seen in a tree... very bright ! He loves to garden just like I do, and I am almost certain he has a secret :)... As far as stitching, I am coming right along on my current lady rotation, and some of the dragon lottery has been coming along as well... It is hard to believe October is flying by so fast. I do not think I will finish my goals... but I will still try :)... Laura

Here is a wonderful new link to a list Carol has made of stitching blogs to watch :) We are on it :) and it looks great, too bad I am on the run! http://bigblogofstitchingblogs.blogspot.com/

Touchdown

Just want to touch base and say hi... Vanessa, I got the package today :) so it is safe and sound. I also am upstairs stitching on my 3 Ladies piece, so I can send it on time. Rebekah, WOW! I already signed you up - because you said you thought you would join... you are fast!! I have a tail done on my dragon from yesterday! My goal is to stitch every day this week since we have no college.... Here is a pic of Dante...Jon is holding him, and he is so big, that Dante looks like a football lol Touchdown!!!! Such a cutie... Gee Grandpa, is this how you teach a baby football? LOL Laura

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :) It went by too quickly for me, but I did get all of my projects out that are left on my list for the month :) and I did start my dragon for the Stitching Lottery. I would like to see what projects everyone else is working on. I see that Vanessa is knitting a bit :) nice work Vanessa! I also check Rebekah`s blog often :) I love to watch your stitching progress. Have a good week, and I will post what I can of the stitching. Of course I have sent off a surprise mattress pinkeep, which I cannot wait to post. It came out so nice, I almost wanted to keep it! It was my first one. So, although it is a lot of work, eventually I will make another. I need to make a few more biscornu as well. Happy Stitching! Laura

A package is recieved today :) so nice :)

Here are the pics from the Hooked on Exchanging round that I just recieved from Carol S. She sent me a cute mattress pincushion titled: Friendship Knows No Season : Pine Mountain Designs stitched on 36 ct Summer Khaki; Edinburgh Linen stitched in DMC 100 pearl headed pins, Mango Mandarin body cream (nice), Some really pretty dotted ribbon, a 9x12"piece of Starry Night linen from the Dye Shop... this has cute little stars within the linen :) so so so cute.. I do not know what to stitch on it yet :) a set of Mary Engelbreit buttons, and last, but definitely not least :) a Nora Corbett design: Lilly from the Pixie Couture Collection. I am so so thrilled, thank you Carol :) what a nice exchange this was :)

Game Day

needless to say... baby Dante is quite dear to my heart... last weekend when he was here I took these pictures. Uncle Jared happened to be here as well :) (my son :)) and he was playing one of his x box football games... Dante was drinking his bottle... and when the referee started to announce something, Dante turned his bottle to see what was going on. (he is just getting used to holding his bottle, and this was so cute!) He did this several times, and then decided when he was through with his bottle that he would take the game over... he rolled over towards Jared and tried to take the controller, so Jared put him on auto-pilot Sports and Games... I suppose he is all boy :) lol and Jared was pretty impressed :)

well... here are pics of baby... :) Dante... 10-3,4-2008

Stitching Lottery 2 DRAGON RELATED SWAP!

Time for a new Stitching Lottery and, although it looks like Christmas this is a fun one!!! Requirements: DRAGON RELATED!!! FINISHED PIECE in other words if you decide to join this round you must stitch a dragon related project, and it must be finished into a piece such as a pillow, small quilt, nice frame, cube, pinkeep, scissor fob, keeper, etc. The ideas are limitless. Please only sign up if you plan to complete, since it will be an exciting gift for the lucky winner !! MUST SEND OUT BY DECEMBER 1ST Take a picture before sending, so that you may post once it is recieved. Who will get the Dragon treasure??? DUE.. TO SEND OUT DECEMBER 1ST SIGN UP IN THE KEEPING TRACK FORUM ON THE RIGHT :)

Goals for 2 weeks after finals.

Here are my goals for the 2 weeks after finals. To finish my laundry in my new washing macine / dryer (mine have been broken for a month ... but we survived.... needless to say, though... it was not fun)

• The 3 Ladies....
• some of Red Poppy
• Mattress Pinkeep - finish off and send
• Finish off the Plaid Pear by Casey B.
• and kit up a Casey B. design....I am thinking Hot Chocolate...
• Preparation for Dragon Lottery

due to weather changing :)

Have fun everyone!

So this week is finals week... so it may seem like a slower blogging week for me... I soon will post some new stash...including

• scissors
• fabbie
• i touch

These were presents from my birthday... and finally I have a scissor collection to match my stitching hobby... so exciting.

I also indulged and bought my grandbaby several outfits ... lol / could not help it... and I will post a more current pic soon :)

thank you all for your patience... Your stitching is coming along so beautifully

oh, and I do have one small finish to share... It is a freebie from Mausimom`s but I am not sure how to finish it ... perhaps a keychain :) as I have not made one yet, and have loved so many... :)

stay tuned!

Round 4 of Round Robin

I have finished Round 4 of Colleen's Earth Goddess. These ladies are going to be so pretty when they are all finished! I mailed her out to Vanessa today.

Here is the needleroll that I made for the last

Hooked on Exchanging round that I did. It was

a fun stitch, but the sun was one over one, so I

did fall a bit behind. I will make it again one day

for me... But not at the moment as it will take

time to do the one on one... lol

Happy Stitching to all...

Inspiration

http://stitchinlove.blogspot.com/ This site is an inspiration to stitch what you love... and love what you stitch... wow!!!

Cross Stitch Cube

Cross Stitch Cube
Originally uploaded by butterflyjones03

Here is a cross stitch cube I won in a cross stitch lottery - I love it ! The Fabric is awesome and all sides have different sayings actually embroidered on.

another freebie site

http://cyndistitchesfreebies.blogspot.com/ At this time of year, we start to think about saving, and getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I thought I would start with a freebie site I found, so perhaps you can save on a few charts .... :) happy stitching

Sorry for the strange layout of the pictures below.... you just never know what you will get. :) lol It is my birthday today and I got an Ipod touch :) I got an ipod a few years back, and loved it but it went missing... this is a long awaited treat :) Also had a nice dinner.... Hope all is well... will be working on my matress pincushion for Hooked on Exchanging... the stitching is done, it is now just putting the pieces together. :)Laura Happy Stitching :) I did get the pleasure of watching Dante today, and I have him one more day tomorrow :)

Exchanges to April

Here are the squares that I finished for April in our Fair and Squares group, and at the bottom is the Shepherd`s Bush Halloween bag that I also finished for April because she was also my Fair and Square partner.... She has recieved her items so I thought I would post a picture of my finishes here :) I am making a resolution ... early.... After my final Matress Pinkeep exchange I will be working on finishing some of my projects. As much as I love exchanging it has taken a lot of time away from my stitching that I do not have. I will probably not be able to get back into the group because their limit is already reached and the waiting list is long, but I can always peek at what they are up to!! April loved her exchanges, and has recieved them.

Hardanger SAL week 1 is up

I've posted the first part of the SAL pattern. I'm really excited! I couldn't wait until tonight! Andrea

Dont you just love Halloween... These are the closeup pictures of my beadwork sorry if they arent perfect... But I have so many beads that I had no problem tossing this combination together!!!

Here are the pictures of the dragon dreams - boo dragonlet finished into

a pinkeep using the method in the JCS 2008 Halloween ornament edition.

This method can be seen on the cover surrounding the bat pinkeep. Although

it was timely coming up with the design, and putting all the beads and pins

together, I think you will agree, it was well worth it. I am still not sure what

else I will do with it, put it on a hanger, or in a frame with fabric backing...

But whatever I do, it is already one of my favorite pinkeep finishes! Please

let me know if you try this, and I would love to see your results!

the finish below

So if you are in my round robbin the freebie I stitched below is one that I sent to you all :) I am so excited because I got the new issue of Just Cross Stitch, the new Halloween premier issue. There are some cute designs, BUT the best part for me was on page 40... the finishing on the pinkeep is just gorgeous... I am using this technique to finish this freebie! Today I hope to buy the beads... because i definitely will use brown, green, and orange colors complimented with maybe copper :) for fall... I cannot wait for you all to see it :) Perhaps this is my tomorrow project! Jon, Dante and I are going to Seattle today!!! yippee. I am not sure if I mentioned earlier that both my washer and dryer quit this month. Well Jon wanted to conserve space, since we have a lot of changes going on and such; so I bought one of these... which came highly reccomended! I am so excited! http://www.homeelegancecenter.com/Haier_HWD1000_Combo_Washer_Dryer_Ventless_p/hwd1000.htm Anyways... have fun :) and Happy Stitching. Enjoy your weekend Laura

a FiNiSh!! - 4 HaLlowEen

Here are some pics The first one is my finish last night :) a Dragon Dreams Freebie by Jennifer Aikman; 2006 Boo Dragonlet :) The second is Dante in his sweatshirt... It is fall once again! One of my favorite seasons. The next picture is Jared... growing up way too fast. He is my youngest and is 16 - almost 17 geesh!

Laura can you check something for me?

I'm in a bit of a panic - I was at my Nampa Wal-Mart today, and the Caron Simply Soft yarn (no dye lot, beautiful shimmer, super soft) was red-tagged from $2.07 to $1.50. Is it going the way of cross-stitch supplies? I bought 4 skeins - I was needing one anyway, but I got some extra just in case I can't get it at that price ever again! Also, Bernat Baby Soft Chunkee was red-tagged (I don't remember how much) If you like knitting or crocheting, maybe go to your local Wal-Mart and look for an even better deal!

Needleroll

Here is a picture of the needleroll I recieved earlier this week from Natalie B. for the Hooked on Exchanging exchange :) It is the stitchers needleroll by Lorri Birmingham :) I love it :) and cannot wait to post pics of the pieces that I have sent this week, once they are recieved! Click on the pics to see the wonderful goodies I also recieved! Thank you Natalie!

Halloween Fair and Square

Here is a pic of the Halloween Fair and Square I recieved today from April K. Thank you April! It is adorable. I hope to make a beaded scissor fob and attach it as well as a tassel .... :) Thank you!

4 months old

My sweet Dante is 4 months old today :) This is a pic of him last weekend ... napping :)

Info on Hardanger tutorial SAL is up!

If you have been trying to follow along with the Hardanger classes, or just waiting for the SAL, it's almost here! The pattern is all converted from Excel to blogger-friendly .bmp, and I have the design size, stitch count, etc. posted so you can shop if you need to. I'm excited! I think I'm going to do mine in autumn colors, since it's the first day of fall, and it feels like it! I picked up some pretty variegated thread - it reminds me of caramel, which reminds me of caramel apples - yum. Andrea

Jon, who I am matched with :)

ENTP - "Inventor". Enthusiastic interest in everything and always sensitive to possibilities. Non-conformist and innovative. 3.2% of the total population.

Free Jung Word Test (similar to Myers-Briggs)
personality tests by similarminds.com

even more rare... wow... it explains a lot :) Laura

Unique; Journalist

ENFP - "Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.

Free Jung Word Test (similar to Myers-Briggs)
personality tests by similarminds.com

This is the results of my personality test in college... boy, I knew I was different , but wow :) Laura

3 new lessons in Hardanger tutorial

I have a "follower" - someone I've never "met" (although the only one of you guys I've met is Laura) - apparently all I need to get my tushy in gear is a stranger looking over my shoulder! I've also made a lot of progress on the tutorial SAL. Progress! Hah! What am I talking about? I have the .bmp images all ready to upload, I just need to type the posts. Anyway, I think I'll start running that after I finish round 4 of the 3 ladies and get her in the mail. Yay! Andrea is happy dancing because she finished the basics of her tutorial!!!!!

Hello Everyone

Hello, BTW the blog looks awesome! Just wondering though - there is no way to add comments to another persons post???? I tried to add a comment to your post Laura - I didn't see a link for that . Just wondering"?" Anyway - Sept has been crazy with my new schedule and the kids in school , so I decided about 2 weeks ago to finish up the Round 4 of our "ladies" - and don't ya know I sliced the pad of my forefinger on my left hand very deep and bad - I know I sliced through a few nerves ( sounds gross huh!) I cried a good 15 min - the pain went right through me - and just so you know I am left-handed - I refused to go to E.R. - they take too long - so I suffered through it and couldn't stitch for 8 days - Now I am on a stitchin' frenzy. I have the right side to do on my Round 4 and then it is off to you Laura1 I love this one - it also happens to be the one that I chose for myself! (the purple one _cannot think of the name right now) Also I received a gorgeous embroidered block from Andrea = the fabric is gorgeous - I must find time to upload photos Hope everyone is doing well. Vanessa

Ouch!

Vanessa, wow, that is not good ... No slicing !! I hope you feel better soon.. Thank you for the compliment on the blog... I love it so much. I recieved my fair and square and sent mine out, so I will post pics this weekend. I am gathering up all of my projects this weekend, and doing lots of stitching :) I will have a to do list soon :) Here is a wonderful link for those of you who scrapbook or digitally scrapbook: www.scrapblog.com you sign up, BUT the actual site is free; and fun expect to see some changes here soon on my links :) I can do this! Laura

Freebie Link

http://mausimomsfreebies.blogspot.com/ Wow, some really cute freebies at this site. :) I will post it as a link tomorrow. Just so much college, and now I am winding down for the night. I am almost caught up to myself. So I will list my finishes and WIPS for the month by the weekend, with pictures where I can. Thank you to all for your patience. Catching up has been a challenge ... I DID IT! Laura

Blessings

I have been with Dante all day :) Needless to say, he is really spoiling me! I have him again tomorrow! He is quite the talker, and getting quite big. We went to get pictures for Christmas. We only got 5 and have so many more to go :) but he wasnt up to it all today. He is so small. He did however manage to soak me, and later in the day stain me :) He is so precious, though! Since his birth, I have been reminded of how precious life is. I would like to also mention a dear friend, Verla Copple, who used to work with me. I found out today that she passed on one week ago. She was an older lady, but I can tell you that she definitely worked harder than most of the young ones. She came in to see me last week... She had lost a lot of weight, and when I asked her how she was, she said basically nothing. I knew. God bless you, Verla. Life is full of blessings, and you were one for sure. I have a beautiful new life, and yet it is not certain how long any of us will live. Count your blessings. Love you all. Love you Verla, Laura

New Blog Layout

I love my new blog layout. The difference, for now, is that in order to post a blog you have to go to the dashboard by clicking on About Me, and then click posting, and create. I hope to change this soon. I really miss my navigational bar, as I used this alot. Otherwise I love the blog. Please let me know what you think! You can add comments the same as usual. If you would like more information on how to create a blog like this, I used Designs By Vheil ; she is a designer who can help. Her links are at the bottom of this blog! Thank you all for visiting, and by the end of the weekend this should have more info! I have a 3 day weekend. Dante and I are going to Wal-Mart to get his pictures taken for Christmas presents. (he is 3 months, and I want them to have pics before too long!) Keep hanging in there. Laura

Hi again!

I'm moved in and online - there's an update on my blog. No pics yet - I'm looking for a camera that works. My digital camera bit the dust (literally - I dropped it) when we visited Idaho in July. So those will be coming later.

Changing

So I did some rearranging of the blog; some of this is temporary, it is so that the new blog will be easier to put together :) Hope you all are excited. I have seen what it will mostly look like, and I can tell you that I am Very very happy with it! It is exactly the look I was going for. There have been minor changes to the original plan, and many changes to the planning in general, but ultimately, this is the blog I intended! :) Laura

Header

Well I changed the look of the blog temporarily out of boredom, and the old header wouldnt work, So I posted my pic of a recent finish in the header... Here is the Quaker Hedgie freebie from workbasket. I think I will make him into a matress pincushion. Note the fabric is same as the Garden Fairy in our 3 Ladies, except there is no shine to it. :) have a wonderful weekend, friends! Laura

Fair and Squares

So I will be updating my blog since blogger is cooperating today and hopefully tomorrow - with pictures I have been waiting to show you all. These are the squares I recieved from Christine for my July fair and squares. I love them. I am thinking of making a biscornu, I am not sure... Laura

3 Ladies

Colleen, I did it. It has been done but it goes out tomorrow ... Sorry for the delay... I bet youre excited! :) theres a little something for your patience too... :) it is beautiful Laura

Love

Hi, everyone! I finally got my pictures to start posting, and of course, I have to post my pictures of Dante... love... sweet... perfect... blessing... funny... cute... captivating I miss him!

Dante 8/21/08