Todays finish, and Mothers Day

Happy Mother`s Day, to anyone who is a mom!! I wanted to share with you the mini pillow I made for my mom The chart is a Bent Creek design - Red Winged Blackbird; I changed the colors to: 3371 - brown bird :) and dmc 4020,4050,4060,4080,4120 vareigateds :) for the colors, and ecru for the bird`s eye Hope you enjoy, now I will stuff the pillow and stitch the bottom shut for mom! Laura note the fabric in the background is the fabric behind the brown bird and the back of the pillow!

Deadline for Stitcher`s Lottery signups

Just a reminder that the deadline for the stitchers lottery signups are next week ... May 15th ... Then we will stitch our pieces, and the names will be drawn on July 4th!! To cast your stitching luck, just visit the Keeping Track link to the right on the top of the blog.... all of the information for the lottery will be found here as well! :) I am so excited to stitch this piece... I am getting there with it:) (oops... I have already started ... had to... found a great pattern to do!) Laura HAPPY STITCHING!!!

Staci

Staci, Just wanted to say thank you! You have enabled me to get halfway through my mice and cheese biscornu! I had inventory at work this week, so I threw together a little kit to work on ... and I am more than halfway there now... the cheeses are finished, and the mice ... three more to go! :) SO by Sunday night ... a new biscornu finish will post! Thank you! Laura

Pixie`s gift!

First, I would like to brag a minute about a gift that I received earlier in the week! I finally got it 2 days ago, and then my computer was giving me grief... BUT I recieved a bookmark with some beads on it from Pixie! What a wonderful gift. I had seen them on her creative blog, and she was so nice to send one my way! We have such creative people in the group! Thank you Pixie!! It is beautiful If you are interested in looking at her blog you can link to her blog on Pixies creative corner blog link on the right.

Quiet

It has been so quiet lately on my blog ... I hope everyone is doing good... enjoying summer, and getting some stitching time in. Today is a cool day ... and cloudy... I have my hot tea simmering as I post (cinnamon hot tea!) (love it) and my candles burning ... and my small stitching and sewing projects awaiting me as soon as I finish my tea! A perfect day when it is too cloudy for the beach - as far as I can tell! I also may stitch up a biscornu freebie with mice and cheese... When I finish that I will send the link with it!! Hope everyone is smiling !! HUGS Laura

A wonderful way to end the weekend!

I had a wonderful weekend! Got to do things that I love to do... and to top it off - today I recieved my squares from Heidi in Germany!!! What a treat! The squares are beautiful, and I have the perfect fabric to complement them! I cannot wait to finish them off! The fact that they are from Germany gives me a nice feeling as well! Thank you Heidi! Laura

Pinkeep!!!

Okay, so I have 3 pinkeeps! This one is the first one I personally put together! The squares were stitched by Melissa C. from the Fair and Squares group! She did such a nice job! She also sent all the materials needed for the pinkeep that I did not have, and this was an easy put together! Thank you Melissa! Happy Dancing! 2nd finish of the day !!! Laura

Finish !!

I just wanted to post a pic of a finish! I finished stitching The Rabbit by Bent Creek (1998). It is the second time that I did this kit, as I gave the first to a friend, SO I looked up a tutorial on finishing the pillow, and also finished it this morning. The only thing missing is the carrot buttons which should go into the four corners of the pillow. There was a star in the kit as well, but I think the carrots are all I will look for. BUT the tutorial was awesome! And I wanted to share the pillow. Focus on Finishing is the link on the right where I got the pattern for the pillow!!! :) Happy Dancing!! So sorry about the scan. . . someday I will get my camera right.. I always use my scanner instead. The background fabric is what I also used on the back of the pillow, so I thought I would display it so you could see it! Laura

Stitching Tutorials...

Have you ever wondered how to put a finish together once the stitching was done... I have! I just found Vonna`s stitching tutorials, and now I can make my altoid tin, and my pinkeep :) Here is the link... in case you would like to learn how to make a certain finish as well... there are a few tutorials... thank you Vonna http://tts-tutorials.blogspot.com/ The Twisted Stitcher - Vonna :) Laura

Surprise

Ok... so I sent out the Pink Plaid Pear Pattern finally, and a package also to Carol.... SO someone will be recieving the surprise of a free pattern... All of my 3 Ladies RR members will get one :) just need time to stitch them for myself first lol... BUT .... feel free to let us know when the charts are recieved :) Hope you have fun :) It actually snowed here... strange for April but ... the roads are fine so it is a nice change :) Laura

My Biggest WIP

Hi everyone ! I just thought I would share a picture of one of my works in progress... "A Matter of Time" by Nemia Rucker ... it is found on the link to the right of Mufu ...it is under the fantasy link, and it is by far the one project that will take me most of my lifetime :) ... Had to have at least one... and I think this one suits me to a tee... have fun :) Laura

Colleen, she arrived!

Thanks for sending her so quickly! She got special treatment! I'm a little giddy because it's my birthday, and my family is making me wait until Wednesday to get my present(s) - when dh can be home and bake a cake with the girls. So it was nice to have something to open, and that little project book is so cute! I've been wanting to have something like that! Andrea (leaving my 20s far behind!)

Melissa`s squares

These are the fair and squares earth exchange squares that I made for Melissa... I loved stitching them... and she has recieved them, so I thought I would post them to the blog !!! Happy day... going to go enjoy the sun :) laura

Stitching Lottery

OKay ... :) now that the biscornu exchange is finished, I have decided to host a Stitching lottery... :) Exactly what is a stitching lottery ? well... everyone who signs up for the lottery will stitch a piece.... at the end of the stitching period a person other than myself will draw the name of the lucky person who wins the pieces which were made.... In this particular lottery the only thing that is mandatory is that the stitching pieces be completely finished... example ... needle case ... tin... needleroll... pillow... framed... towel... etc. must be complete... there is no limit on what can be sent with the exhange to the lucky winner, and if you do not complete your piece by the deadline your name will not be entered into the drawing to recieve the pieces... SO ... as in all lotteries ... one must not play to win ... but the chance to win... someone will win :) and someone will win some really nice things, I am sure .... Signups will be posted on the Keeping Track page ... although you can add a post here to join and I will add you... The sign ups will be through ... May 15th and ... the pieces should be finished by July 3rd... July 4th we will celebrate by picking the name of the lucky winner :) Gee... time flies when you are having fun... LOTTERY anyone??? I am in ... :) Laura

Biscornu pics

The biscornu exchange is 100 percent complete! I hope you all post a pic of what you recieved if you have not yet done so... would love to see .... thank you all Laura

Thanks Vanessa!

Thank you, Vanessa, for the lovely biscornu exchange! It is so cute, and so perfectly made!! I think it arrived 2-3 days ago, but my DH said our neighbor brought it by this morning after I left for work. Not sure how the mailman, who has known the entire street for years, managed to drop it off two houses down! My neighbor remembered to bring it with him on his dog walk today since he saw my DH's car in the driveway. (Thanks Dave!) She stitched this adorable Casey Buonaugurio design that is one of my favorites. She used a pretty hand dyed linen... my photo does not show its beauty. She stitched the backside too... and sent me pretty fibers and a sweet tissue holder too. What a treat- thanks Vanessa! I hope all is getting better for you. I would send you a private email, but there was no note in the package and I don't have your email... I hope you see this post soon!

country bunnies

Sharing

So I opened up my finishes box... and I realized how many of these charts are not on my blog ! This is one of my favorite stitches. It is the country bunnies... I had them framed for a long time, but the frame was really too big for the bunnies, so I am going to make them into a pillow ... one of these days... I already have the fabby all picked out... I wanted to start by sharing the finish with you .... As you can see it was stitched in March of 1999... boy ... time flies ... I will always love these bunnies, mostly because I had stitched them in 1987... and the person I was with at the time accidentally (i suppose) threw them away.... YIKES.... I now have a definite place that everyone knows is my stitching... do not touch area... anyways ... the book was somehow then lost in the move from there to my next apartment, so ... I found it again later and stitched them very quickly! Laura

Beading

Here is a picture of a Batik beading of a dragon with the sun, which has been sadly neglected. I love the piece, so have decided to schedule in and my Red Poppy back into a rotation. The 3 Ladies and the small exhanges I am in are the other things that I will work on till I finish one of these designs.... they are both big,but the dragon will not take as long... If you would like to track my progress on the dragon, you can see him and his progress on my new beading blog... which - is sorta empty otherwise, at the moment, but I will fill with goodies - including jewelry :) shortly http://www.pinkerbelle.wordpress.com

Oh, by the way...

I'm back online a little more now. I think my computer is down to dying only 2 days a week. It's annoying, but my family was starting to notice that I didn't respond to e-mails as quickly, and I started getting comments. When my dad actually calls me to tell me something, that means I haven't responded to an e-mail in a "timely fashion." LOL Anyway, I've added some things to my blog, and I'm doing another Hardanger lesson, today! I promise! The fabric and thread are spread out on the desk in front of me, the camera is here, I just need to go get a needle from my stitching box and I'm good to go! Andrea

and finally !

Just 2 days ago I got a fantastic fair and squares exhange from Melissa C. I wanted to post the pics of all I recieved, and let her know - I love it! I will make a pinkeep, since you sent me all the ingredients for one, perfectly matching it - :) Thank you so much!

Next :

The next pic is of the sampler I made in March which is a pattern which is also from the Casey Buonaugurio site .... Which I bought several patterns from :) These are the ones I will be passing around to my round robin friends :) so ... perhaps you will get one ... soon :) Laura

Busy Busy :)

Okay, it is time to post !! I can now take pics, so here goes! First I recieved my March Fair and Squares and I made them into a biscornu, SO I would like to post pics of that .... Again, it is a biscornu made from a freebit at Casey Buonaugurio`s site:(Thank you Vonna!!!)

New Link

I have added a new link to our blog called keeping track It is on the right hand side on top ... It is where we can keep track of send off dates as well as sends and recieveds ... I hope we all can add to the list our progresses, as it will be easier for me to keep track... SO If you finish your 3 ladies, and send or recieve, post there also if you have not gotten your biscornu please let me know... if you have recieved it - please post a pic , we would all like to see it ! I will be adding to the keeping track link this will be easier than having to log in to a different site for this :) Laura

Metallics,

When using metallics, you may find it helpful to use the product, "Thread Heaven" ... it keeps the filaments together for ease of stitching. If you do not have this product on hand you can also try to slightly wet the thread, it seems to help abit as well. Blending filament can be very tricky, but you did a great job, Pixie!

Andrea's progress

Sorry it's been a few days but school has me SWAMPED! Here's the pic you requested. I don't know why the colors are a bit muted, but you can see how beautiful it is!

Pictures of Biscornu from Pixie

I recieved my Biscornu from Pixie today!

Yay! The biscornu is darling... :) and I love celtic design as well as the fairy bead! The fabby is great too! The assorted black and white fabrics will go very well for my collection of black and whites... I will add them to my upcoming quilt :) and the candles are just beautiful! I also got some butterfly beads :) and she made me a scissor fob. :) I wish I had my cable to my camera here so I could show more pics... I took these at Jons.... Thank you Pixie! Wonderful thing to find on the way home :) Hugs.... Laura P.s..... hope everyone is doing well... If you get a biscornu feel free to post it here :)Laura

Pixie, Do you think I could get a pic of the progress Andrea made on the lady?? ok.. so I am sorry it has taken so long to post. I have been on overnights for one week and then I was working on getting this apartment perfect for my candle party this weekend - for a girl at work... I did also get my finals done... so far I have 3 As and a B+ so ... I am happy .... now I am back on days and Saturday night I plan to stitch. Next Friday I am off... so at the latest I will go to the other house and find my cable for my printer, scanner so I can get some pics in here... I need to update badly... How is everyone.... Spring is here! It is a busy season... Hey... my spring cleaning is 98% finished!!!!!! I am so sorted out .... I havent been so sorted out in my life lol HUGS to all anyone not get a biscornu??? let me know... unless I have already talked to ya.... Laura

The Lady arrived

Andrea, just wanted to let you know that the package arrived yesterday, but life has had me SO BUSY I didn't get a chance to let you know then. Pix

I'm Back! Again!

Well, after all that trouble with my hard drive, our broadband modem went out on me. It took almost 2 weeks of annoying calls to tech support before we figured out the problem and replaced the modem. I thought I would go crazy without the internet! But hopefully nothing else will go wrong. By the way, I got the next lady in the mail today and thanks for the calendar, Pixie. I will definitely put it to good use!

Patrick Swayze

One of my favorites seems to not be doing well... he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer... Keep Patrcick Swayze in your thoughts.... he seems to be such a positive and happy person... and always has made me smile ... Fingers crossed Laura

Pixie received my biscornu exchange

Pixie has received the biscornu exchange that I sent to her - I am so glad you like it Pixie - I had great fun putting it together for you. Heartfelt Biscornu Periphaeria Designs 32 ct Black Belfast Linen, The Dye Shop Floss - Magenta and Purple People Eater ...And the treats I sent too :-)

Yikes

Google either has changed their site or I have to do something different with mine... I had to juggle to add a new post as you could not scroll down completely on the customize page. I had to move all of the links from one side to the next till I could see the blog links for stitchers ... Hope they change this back soon...That is really inconvenient. Will post pics today... I promise. Andrea, thank you for all of the info.. and I would love to meet to go to the new sewing place:) This time I will bring my camera too... and hopefully we have a gorgeous day :) those days are coming for sure :) Thank you for the invite :) Laura

Laura, My mom and I went to the Ashly Home Store in Burlington today and found basically the same couch we saw at Fred Meyer, for $60 less. It's a different color, but we weren't sure we really wanted a dark brown sofa. Anyway, they had a matching double-armed chaise for $406. Guess what? It's less expensive than a chair and ottoman, so we ordered it as well. Yay! I'm excited. I thought I would let you know, so that you have another place to search. The sales person we talked to was Susan - she was super-nice, and I have no problem referring people to her. The furniture outlet place I told you about had some single-armed chaises (one was tiger-striped), so it depends what you're looking for. The other thing I wanted to tell you is that there is a huge store called "Sewer's Dream Fabric Outlet". We didn't go inside, but the name of the store makes me want to go back! Maybe once I have a working vehicle we could head up there? I promised the slightly-bigger child a red pillow for the new couch (long story), so I will eventually be in search of the perfect piece of red fabric. Andrea

I've finished my Lady round 2

Should I just send it? Pixie, are you ready to start working on another one? Be advised, there will be notes involved - you may have noticed by now, I'm a copious note-taker on my charts, and I had a little issue of the colors looking one way under my regular light, and then I switched to the other side of the couch and the other lamp, and saw how it was really supposed to be - let me just say that I'm used to "symbol charts", and ummm, well, I hope the notes explain everything. Let me know if it's confusing. I'm sure you will make it work. :) Back to my Egyptian bag until Round 3 arrives! Andrea

PIF

To the right you will see the logo I made today for Keeping Track... The same as this one, but it will link to the blog itself. If you would like to join my PIF you can do so here!

Vonna`s squares recieved and a finish!

I will post pics tomorrow after I get my scanner and camera in place. One thing I havent done since I moved :) BUT I got the cutest squares from Vonna today :) Funny enough they are the same cute froggies that I made for Rebekah :) I suppose she knew that I am not so good at stitching the same piece twice, but that I just loved it so much that I was going to :)... Vanessa, can you imagine :) (lol) It is froggie time... Will explain later :) I also have a finish to share tomorrow! I finished the Plaid Pear that I was working on as well ... it is a sampler and I love it. It is great :)! I am going to hang it in my new kitchen .... :) I have 5 patterns from this designer, so ... I am going to stitch them one at a time and send each used pattern to one of you :) If you get one I hope you like it ... and if you wanna trade them when you are finished... that is fine too lol SO ... one person will be recieving the plaid pear :) Laura