Stitch Night

Last night Lynne and I got together for dinner and stitching. I think we both got a lot accomplished other than eating and gabbing! I started and finished my Mini Mystery Exchange piece for a friend on Tranquil Stitches. Once she receives it I'll be able to post it here. I think it turned out very pretty! I also worked on the model, and Miss Lynne got most of the gridding done on her TS Neighborhood Round Robin. I also got to give her my RR for the first leg of it's journey. Can't wait to see what she does with it!

On Thursday I received my very pretty tuck from JoAnn to stitch for my partner in our TS Halloween Exchange. Isn't it cute?

Hope to get some stitching done this evening after the typical weekend cleaning and laundry. Have a great Saturday!

Me, Myself, And I Round Robin

Vonna had an idea for a great new SAL called Me, Myself, And I Round Robins. It's a stay-at-home Neighborhood Round Robin where we each build and stitch our own piece with no deadlines, no mailing, and no worries. The actual SAL starts on December 31st, but we can go ahead and work on our theme, placement, border, etc. I like that there are no deadlines and I can take forever to work on it if I want. I'm thinking of a Halloween theme for mine, or maybe an Autumn work like this one stitched by Kathe Lyndsley which I LOVE...



Decisions, decisions. It's going to be fun joining in on the discussions and seeing everyone's neighborhood take shape next year. My priority is the one at TS, but hopefully I can find some time to work on this one as well.

Halloween Tuck On It's Way!

I'm expecting any day in the mail the new TS Exchange for Halloween. One of our members, JoAnn, made these CUTE tuck bags for us. We're stitching something to insert in them, and filling the bag with goodies for our partner. Wonder which one I'll get???

YUM!!!

Happy mail! I got my most recent silk Floss of the Month from Vikki at Hand-Dyed Fibers and it's SO yummy!

Such brilliant colors. We're getting close to the end of the alphabet which means I'll soon have her entire line of silk floss. Talk about happy dancing!!!

I stitched for quite a while yesterday on the model. It definitely helped occupy me while I watched my Redskins get WHOOPED. :( Thank goodness it's only pre-season, but they'd better get their act in gear before the first game on September 4th!

We're heading to the County Fair today. Can't wait to see the XS Exhibits.

A Couple Years Ago...

I stitched holiday jar lids for my coworkers and filled the jar with a matching candy. They were a hit, and I'd like to do this again one year. The colored rings are hard to find, but thankfully I do have several squirreled away.

One lady still has hers on her desk! It makes you feel good when you know your stitching gifts are appreciated.

What was I saying yesterday about "hope?" I didn't stitch at all last night! I'm not saying a thing today because I don't want to jinx this evening! Ah, the best laid plans....

All Gridded Up!

My eyes are crossed from all the counting, but my TS Neighborhood RR piece is gridded up and ready for everyone to add their houses...

(Click to see it larger)

I'm not sure what I'll stitch in the spaces on each side of the top square, but there's definitely room for trees and such. And I plan to stitch "Tranquil Stitches" above and "2008-2009" below the center square.

Missy has decided she'd like us to stitch over one on her piece, so I'm going to have fun going through my stash and deciding what I'd like to add to it. She's such a sweetheart and I want to find the perfect house for her.

Working on my model at lunch, and hopefully this evening. Patrick said he's doing dinner tonight, so after I get the dishes done I hope to sit and stitch. Hope is a strong word! LOL

Birthday Needleroll

Along with my fabulous stitching bag, my BFF Diana gave me this beautiful needleroll that she stitched just for me. I absolutely adore it...

One day I'll have a pretty basket filled with needlerolls just to admire. Hopefully Miss Diana will agree to make them all for me because she does a beautiful job. We'll see....lol

Got a great start on the VeeandCo model last night. I'm having to get used to evenweave again because it's really not my fabric of choice, but this piece is gorgeous which makes it easier. I can't wait 'til you guys see the new design (tease, tease)!!!

I Can Show My Model!

Vee at VeeandCo has released her new Fall designs so I can share the model I stitched for her. This is "Fall" and is part of her seasonal series...

Isn't it cute? I really enjoyed stitching it up for her. I have enough of the fabric left to do the other 3 seasons, too, so they're on that ever-growing "To Do" list.

I finished up the gridding of my TS Neighborhood RR this weekend. Tonight I'm starting on another model for Vee that she needs by the end of the month, so I gotta cook on that!

Hope everyone had a wonderfully stitchy weekend!

Autumn Stitching

I LOVE Fall. It's my absolute favorite time of the year. And I adore stitching anything with those fabulous Autumn colors!

"Leaf"

by Bent Creek

Give me a crisp Autumn day, a cup of coffee, football on TV, and my stitching and just let me hybernate! That's what I'm doing when I retire. And nobody better bother me! LOL

Center Of My Neighborhood...

I finished the center of my TS Neighborhood Round Robin. I used a portion of the LHN Neighborhood and rearranged it a bit...


I still need to grid out the squares for the girls to stitch in, but I've already got it laid out on paper so hopefully it won't take too long. This is my first Round Robin and I'm very excited! (It looks like it's off-center, but it's not really.)

I agreed today to stitch a model for VeeandCo, so that's what I plan to do next. It's SO cute!!!

Miss Lynne didn't stitch a stitch on Friday night. I think we need an intervention!

Stitch Night At Lynne's

I've got some motivating to do. After work, Lynne and I are meeting for dinner, then going back to her place for some stitching. She hasn't picked up a needle since the last time we stitched together, so she needs some inspiration. Or a swift kick in the rear! Either way, she'll stitch tonight...guaranteed!

Last night I worked on my TS Neighborhood Round Robin. I got the tree finished for the middle section. Underneath the tree I'll stitch a gal in an apron, a rooster, and a squirrel. Then I'll block off where I'd like the other girls to stitch their houses.

I think after I finish my RR, I'm going to start Three of Six. I really want to get those done and get them to Lola to finish before Christmas.

I did find another WIP that has turned into a UFO. This is Drawn Thread's "Spot of Spring" and "Spot of Summer."


I need to find a good conversion from the Weeks that the chart calls for to DMC so I can get Autumn and Winter stitched.

Thanks for visiting today, and happy stitching!

The New PS

Is this not the CUTEST thing? It's Prairie Schooler's new design "When Witches Go Riding."

"When witches go riding

And black cats are seen

The moon laughs and whispers

'Tis near Halloween"

I'm a sucker for anything Halloween, and the colors on this one are just perfect. I also love their new "November"...

"Dull November

Brings the blast

Then the leaves

Go Whirling past"

Yup, these are definitely on the 'ole To-Do list!

Finished Two of Six

I finished my third and final "Give Encouragement" Blue Ribbon ornament over the weekend. Two down, four more to go. This is actually the first one I did, but the one I just finished is remarkably similar. LOL I used more gold to replace the pink that the chart called for. Definitely more my style...

I also started my center for our TS Neighborhood Round Robin. I'm using a tree from the LHN "Neighborhood" with a lady, a squirrel, and a rooster under it. Talk about me in a nutshell! Then I asked the girls to stitch any house they'd like that makes them feel "cozy." I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Mother's Tree

Well, it's more of a Mother-In-Law's Tree. I did this for her as a Christmas gift, and it actually brought her to tears! I was able to find a website owned by a member of her family who had traced her ancestry back to the early 1800's. And since she had no daughters of her own, I replaced "mother of" with "mother in law of" and added my name, then continued with my daughter.

It's stitched one over one with Vikki Clayton silks on a beautiful Belfast linen (can't remember the color right now.) I moved the words "Mother's Tree" out of the trunk of the tree and to either side. I just thought it looked better that way. Terry of "The Stitching Post" in Waynesboro, VA, did a gorgeous job on the framing...

This is definitely one of my favorite pieces, and hopefully someday it will be handed down to my daughter as a wonderful family heirloom.

I have a funny story that goes along with this piece, too. This is actually the second time I stitched this same design. The first one I did over 2 on Belfast and it was massive. I put in the last stitch, folded it up and laid it on my stitching basket before going to bed. When I woke up the next morning, it was on the floor with a BIG HOLE chewed in the middle of it! The dog had gotten hold of it for a midnight snack! I cried for days, and it was months before I could even think about starting it again. I'm so glad I did, though. And no, I didn't kill the dog! Felt like it, though! LOL

Happy weekend, everyone!

Ribbon, Ribbon!

I wanted to share the ribbon Diana and I found at the Williamsburg Pottery last weekend. You can't see it very well, but the red on the left turns gold when you move it. So elegant! And the red on the right turns blue, so it's perfect for the 4th of July. I'm a big fan of Christmas plaid, so the one in the middle is just perfect. But the neatest spool is the one on top! It looks like aida and I'm going to stitch on it!

Click to see them bigger...


I brought Two of Six with me this morning to my mammogram appointment thinking I could make a little more progress while I waited. I went to adjust the Q-Snap, caught my needle underneath and broke it! Isn't that great? So I was forced to play a game on my cell phone. It was either that or read an old magazine about Hannah Montana. Choices, choices...

Showing Off More Pictures...

As promised, here are more pictures of my gorgeous stitching bag and accessories from Diana and Lola! Click on the images to see them bigger. Notice the little "Lola 2008" tag in the upper lefthand corner. How cute is that?

And this is the pretty needlecase to go with it...

And a thread organizer...

And last but not least, this pretty rooster sunglass case and pouch!

I absolutely love all of it, and am so honored to have the first prototype of this bag from Lola. Someday it will be worth big bucks when she's the next Vera Bradley!!!

My Stitching Bag -Slash- Purse!

OK, I didn't get any pictures last night so I swiped the ones Lola took just to show you what this beauty looks like! I'll snap some and show more views in a later post, but for now, isn't it gorgeous???

And here's the inside...

For the next few days I'm using it as a purse, but then I'll switch it over and use it as a stitching bag like Miss Lola and Diana intended. But it's just so pretty I don't want to not have it with me! LOL Even last night sofa shopping the lady at the furniture store commented on how pretty my bag is!

She made several stitching accessories to go inside as well, so I'll show you those later. I'm a very happy birthday girl all over again (without going up another year! LOL)

LNS Shopping!

Diana and I met at Haus Tirol in Williamsburg for a little stash shopping and visiting on Saturday! She didn't get ANYTHING (she's too good for her own good), but I found a piece of fabric for our Neighborhood Round Robin at Tranquil Stitches. I wanted Pearled Barley, but they were out of the size I needed, so I went with my second choice of Lakeside Linen's "Lentil."

It's got just a tad of a green tint, so I think the houses will look very pretty on it, no matter what colors the girls choose.

Miss Diana also gave me my birthday present from her and Miss Lola. I am so thrilled with it! I'll take pictures this evening and share. It's the prettiest stitching bag EVER!!!

I worked on Two of Six over the weekend replacing a section I had to frog. Argh. But hopefully I can find the time to finish it up soon so I can move on to my RR.

Happy Stitching, Everyone!

The Pinkeep

Well, here it is. I'm not that thrilled with it, but I guess it'll do for a first attempt...

and the back...

I have to say the lacing was not as hard as I imagined it to be. I may have to try it again. But a sewer I am not, so I hope practice makes perfect.

I started "Two of Six" last night and got a right smart done already. I love those Blue Ribbon ornaments!

Belated Birthday Gift!

I had a manila envelope from Miss Jana waiting when I got home. I couldn't figure out what she could be sending me, so I was so surprised when I opened it and found a lovely birthday card along with Blue Ribbon's "Fruit Smoothie!"

What a wonderful gift! I have a lot of the Blue Ribbon gameboards, so this one goes very nicely with my collection. My TS girls are just the BEST!