Cross Stitch Bibs

Amazing Grace

2012-02-11T10:56:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that so much time has passed since my last post and that so much has happened in my life since the last post.

On January 11, 2012 my dear brother in law, Stan, went home to be with the Lord, after a 6 week battle with cancer. He got sick around Thanksgiving and was in the hospital until he passed away. He endured a major stroke and many surgeries during that time and I spent a lot of that time at the hospital with my sister. It seemed like he always got worse in the middle of the night and that is when we were called to the hospital most often. He always liked us to come in the middle of snow storms also.

What brings me to the title of this post was that at my brother in law's funeral Amazing Grace was played on bag pipes. I had started this piece a long time ago and sat it aside (like I seem to do with many projects). But since the funeral it has been on my mind and I decided to pull it out and start working on it again. I am making progress on it but it has been slow progress. We are under a winter storm advisory today so I plan on doing more stitching as I am not going out in the snow only less its absolutely necessary! So here are some pictures of my progress so far!!

This is where I had left off at and had sat it aside and then some progress pictures. Sorry for some of these being sideways. I don't know why that happens! These pictures show approximately 3 weeks of work. I would get lots more accomplished if the frogs would stay away and if my cats didn't think that they need to help me stitch!!

Progress #1


Progress #2

Progress #3


Progress #5 as of 2/10/12


Progress #4

And on a happy note I am ending with a picture of my great niece, Evelyn "Evie". She is my brother-in-law's granddaughter and was the proud and joy in his life!!

Until next time I hope you have all enjoyed this brief update!!

Wine Bags and Pickle Ornament

2011-12-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

Wine Bag #1

Wine Bag #2

Ok this blogger is giving me lots of grief!!!! It won't let me stick the pictures where
I want them to go! But anyway here are two of the wine bags and a picture showing what it looks like with a bottle in it.

Here are pictures of my pickle ornament. This is sort of a gag gift for a friend. He never knew about the German tradition of the pickle on the tree and was fascinated with trying to find the pick at my sister's house so he got the nickname Mr. Pickle. When I found this ornament I just knew I had to stitch it for him. It was a fast and easy one to do!

I was at a Walmart in Ashtabula, OH doing a job for work and I saw this display and thought it was pretty neat. It's made out of Pepsi and Mountain Dew cases. I also saw one of the Coca Cola bear made out of Coke cases but I was unable to take a picture of it. I just thought this was pretty neat for the holidays.

I have a wonderful customer that I deal with at least once a month on the phone. Although I have never met him in person he can really make me laugh and turn a rotten day into a good one. He works for Schwebel Baking Company which makes bread and buns. On Friday I received this shirt in the mail from him - it's really funny cause when I mention him my girls call him the "Buns Man" and then I get this shirt from it - pretty ironic - lol

And for my last picture on this blog update. I was in Danbury, CT over the Thanksgiving weekend and we went shopping at the mall. I just happened to run into the Grinch and had to have my picture taken with him! He was so excited to get his picture taken with someone who was almost as tall as him and from someone who was from out of state.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T21:42:00.000-05:00

Wow I cannot believe how time is flying by and how long it has been since I posted on my blog. It is definitely time for an update!!! Well one reason for no updates is because I have not had anything to show cross stitch wise. I fell in July and hurt my foot, shoulder and arm really bad. The foot has pretty much recovered but can't say the same for my neck, arm and shoulder. MRI is showing 3 bulging discs in my neck which are pressing on the nerve that runs down my arm giving me all the symptoms of carpal tunnel. So because of my arm going numb I have not been able to hold a needle to be able to stitch. I have just started stitching again within the last month and I have three finishes to show.

I am going to Connecticut for a baby shower on Black Friday so no shopping for me. These are the bibs I made for the shower. Sorry the Care Bear is sideways. I don't know why my camera on my phone does that!

On another note it has been three years since I started my blog. So much has happened in my life since I have started this blog. I have been through a divorce, almost lost my house to foreclosure and many other things have gone wrong. But I think the worse is over and by the grace of God I will be able to move on to a much better life. I have so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. My girls, who have stuck with me through all of this, my family, my health, a roof over my head, a job, good health (except for trouble with my arm) and a great new guy in my life!!

Updates in my Life and Stitching

2011-04-08T20:49:00.000-04:00

I started this Kustom Korner Stitch a Long called Sunlit Irises around the end of March. A new page comes out on the 15th of each month until the design is done. There are 12 total pages but pages 10, 11, and 12 will come out together as they are not full pages. Last weekend which was the first weekend of April I stitched in a Virtual Stitch In. The photo on the left was before I started stitching for the weekend and the picture on the right was what I had accomplished. It doesn't look like a lot but I did manage to get about 1000 stitches accomplished. I am hoping to have page 1 finished this weekend.

Here is a picture of my new truck. My van decided it didn't want to run anymore (transmission went out) and I had to get home last Friday on the back of a flatbed. I really didn't want to have a vehicle payment but I didn't have much of a choice. At least now I have something that is reliable and I won't be stuck alongside the road.

Duck


Pig


Rhino

Here are three more squares for the baby blanket I am working on. I really got to get busy stitching on this again as baby is due in about three weeks. I now have 11 squares done - 13 more to go. They look really cute but I sure hate stitching over 2. That is why I had to take a break and started working on the Sunlit Iris SAL.

For those of you who follow my blog my niece loved her wedding sampler!

Wedding Sampler Finish

2011-03-01T20:55:00.000-05:00

Here is the finished and framed wedding sampler for my niece. I don't know why my pictures are coming out sideways. It happens when I take pictures with my Iphone. I download them and they look normal but when I put them on the blog they are side ways. So frustrating!! Well anyways the wedding is this Saturday, March 5th. We are leaving for Georgia on Thursday and coming back on Monday. I am so ready for a vacation!! Especially to get away from cold weather and snow!!

First Finish of 2011 & Sweetheart Exchange

2011-02-04T23:25:00.000-05:00

Here is my first finish of 2011. This is a quilt square for Quilts for Older Children. This was hard to stitch as it had lots of 1/4 stitches in it and I don't like to do those.

This is the bookmark that I received from Carein in the Sweetheart exchange. Isn't it beautiful???? I just love it and am going to use it in my Bible.

Blanket Update

2011-01-15T19:57:00.000-05:00

Blanket w/7 squares completed

Here is an update of the 1st blanket - have 7 squares completed. Sorry this is so jumbled - can't get the pictures to go where I want them to and the picture of the blanket is sideways and I don't know why.

Dolphin

Mouse

Parrott

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-03T22:05:00.000-05:00

Wow so hard to believe it is 2011 already. The year started out great but is going downhill in a quick hurry. I have caught a cold and now its moving to my chest. I think I either have the start of bronchitis or pneumonia. All I do is cough, cough and cough. It sure makes it a little hard to stitch when you are coughing.

For 2011 I have 3 major projects that must be completed by May. I have a wedding sampler to be completed by March.

I was able to accomplish a lot on this yesterday. I went to a Browns/Steeler football party. Since I am not a football person I took this with me and stitched. Since all I have to do is fill in the border this was the perfect thing to take with me cause I was able to stitch and talk to everyone at the same time.

Here is the first square out of 24 squares to be completed on a baby blanket. This blanket will be for great niece / nephew that is due in April. I have another great niece / nephew due in May so I will be doing two of these blankets. It is a lot of stitching so I really need to get busy on these. They are being stitched on Anna Cloth Afghan 18 count. I am stitching them over 2.

Here is square #2. This giraffe gave me a really hard time. I had the hardest time with his legs. He almost became a legless giraffe.

Here is square 3 and 4. There are a total of 24 squares. These patterns are from the EMS site and they are baby animals and baby zoo animals.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T19:37:00.000-04:00

Wow it's been a long time since I posted to my blog but here is a little update of what I have been working on. Juliana has been sick today so I stayed home with her today and got some stitching done. It doesn't look much but I haven't been in a stitching mood lately so I am proud of what I got done.

I started a new quilt square for Quilts for Adults and Older Children. They are going to make a quilt of Kitty Alphabet squares and I am doing the letter H. The picture on the left is what it should look like.

This picture here is what I got done so far - I know not much but a great start for
me and I plan on working on it some more this evening if the cats will let me stitch. They seem to find my lap as soon as I get on the computer or sit down to stitch.

This is an update of the wedding sampler that I am making for my niece who is getting married in March. I really need to get busy on it and get it finished. Time is going so fast March will be here before I know it.

I don't know why but I just can't seem to get into stitching this year and I have hardly had any finishes. But now that the weather is changing and its dark when I get home from work maybe I will stitch a little more. When I look at my goals for 2010 I am so far behind!!!

On a personal front I am now officially divorced - I feel so much better now and the stress is gone.

New Project and Floss Organization

2010-08-09T22:37:00.000-04:00

Wow I can't believe it has been almost three months since I have posted something on my blog. Where has the time gone??? Anyways I started this project in June and the picture on the right shows my progress. It is going to be a wedding sampler for my niece who is getting married in March.

I decided that I had to find a better way to organize my floss. So here is what I decided to do: As you see from the picture on the left why I had to do something different. I was using ziploc bags with my floss in them and had them all numbered. Well the cats decided it was a good place to take a nap. This is one of the kittens sleeping in my floss. The picture on the right shows my new floss storage container. It is actually a container for screws, bolts, etc. but it works perfect for floss. There are 60 drawers in each one and I bought two of them. So I am able to put approx. 4 colors in each drawer. This will get all of my DMC floss put away and organized so I will know what I have and the kittens will not be able to drag it all over the house. I am finding skeins of floss everywhere!!

What A Surprise!!

2010-05-06T22:35:00.002-04:00

I was having a really bad day today (teenager problems and marriage problems) and I came home from work to find a package in the mail. I opened the package to find this beautiful magnet handmade by my friend Carein and her husband. Its hard to tell by the picture but it says September Aster. September is my birthday so this is perfect for me. This magnet matches the little pot that she made me that I keep my needles in. Thank you so much Carein for making a bright spot in my yucky day!!

This next picture is a cross stitch kit that I bought myself while I was at Walt Disney World last week with the high school band. The kit is to mark the 35th anniversary of Disney. Its hard to tell in the picture but is has Minnie and Mickey, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Jimminy Cricket, Dumbo on a Disney trolley. I am not sure when I will start but it will be a fun one to stitch. It is done on 14 count navy blue aida.

These 3 pictures are from Epcot. The characters are all made from flowers. The pictures don't show how beautiful they really are in person.

I saw this shirt in the Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom in Orlando, FL. For those of you who are cross stitchers you will truly understand the meaning of this shirt. I loved it but didn't love the price of the shirt which was $35 so that's why its still hanging in the rain forest.

I was walking in the room where I keep my cross stitch floss and look what I found. My cat Midnight thought that my container of floss would be a nice place to take a seat. She stayed in there all day. She gave me a scare as she was missing for 3 days after I returned from Disney. We do not have any idea where she was at but she decided she wanted back in the house last night before a thunderstorm hit. She has not left Rachel's bedroom all day today - I don't know if she is just tired or too scared to leave the room for fear she will get lost again. I am just glad to have her back!!

And last are two pictures of the kittens. They are sure growing. They are now 4 weeks old. Time sure does fly. We were keeping them in the clothes basket but they have learned how to climb out so we are now just tilting the basket to the side so that they can climb in to take a nap.

Nothing new on the stitching front as I have not picked up a needle in over two weeks. I sure hope to find some time this weekend to stitch. I am starting to get the shakes from withdrawals!!!!

The Kittens

2010-04-20T22:08:00.000-04:00

Here are pictures of the kittens - they are 13 days old and are really growing. I had them out of the box today and sitting on my lap. Now they are tired and are sleeping. I wore them out playing with them.

And this is Spooky my big guy. He is not too happy that their are noisy kittens in "his" house. He is the king here. He got his name because he appeared at our house on Friday the 13th in October and disappeared and came back on Halloween. He is solid black and has fangs. His tail is only about 3 inches long - I think he got it cut off in a car door cause he loves to climb in cars. Now with the kittens I have 6 black cats - sure hope that is not a sign of bad luck cause I love them all!!!

I was RAK'd

2010-04-17T20:53:00.001-04:00

For those of you who don't know what a RAK is - it's a Random Act of Kindness. I was RAK'd by a friend from one of the cross stitch groups that I belong to Krafter's Korners. Toni-Marie send me this beautiful bookmark and fabric in the mail and I received it today. I have so many ideas for the different colors of fabric that she has sent to me. Thank you so much Toni-Marie - it will definitely be put to good use!!!

Here are pictures of my garage sale deals I got today. It was so cold when we got there and it even started snowing. I was so glad everything was inside the fair buildings. All the money that is raised at this garage sale goes to help Angels for Animals which is a non-profit agency that takes in cats and dogs until they can be adopted. They will also have specials where you can get two animals spayed or neutered for the price of one. And what amazed me the most about Angels for Animals is how clean of a place it is - no smells at all of animals being there. The picture on the top left is my bag of kettle corn that I bought. I just love that stuff and its so addicting. Not good for a diet but good for the soul - well at least my soul - lol. The picture on the bottom left is of 5 cross stitch pattern books that I bought. They are Gone to the Dogs, Afghans and Pillows for Children, Alphabets and Borders, State Flowers, and 30 Fishing Motifs. I am hoping to use these patterns to make quilt squares for the groups that I belong to that make quilts for sick people and kids. The picture on the top right is of a wooden/canvas thing (not sure what to call it) that I am going to use to hold my cross stitch projects that I am currently working on instead of them sitting on the love seat or on the end table where I sit. It even has pockets on the side to hold my scissors and floss. The picture on the bottom right shows some of my M&M collection. My collection of M&M's started out in my kitchen only as I have my kitchen done in all M&M's. Well I ran out of room in the kitchen and it has grown into the living room. The shiny M&M in the middle of the top shelf was my find at the garage sale today to add to the collection.

Well I hope you all enjoyed my garage sale goodies that I got today. Until next time have a great evening!!

My new room

2010-04-08T23:55:00.000-04:00

Here it is!! It is finally finished!! Since so many changes have been going on in my personal life lately I needed a change in my house. I switched the living room and the family rooms. Last fall we had tore up the carpet in the living room and hallway and never replaced it. Since I didn't have the money for wall to wall carpet I decided to paint the floor and put down an area rug. We then moved the furniture into the room. Of course then we had to get some new curtains and new pictures for the wall. The cost of the rug was $100 and I got the thermal curtain panels for $71. I was proud of the money that I saved on the remodel of the room. I was able to redo the entire room for under $300 and now I feel like I am living in a new house. The old family room has been turned into the dining room and now I am not sure what I am going to do with the old dining room. I think I am done with home remodeling for a while because it will now be grass cutting time and I will be busy with outside work.

My New Family

2010-04-08T23:33:00.000-04:00

My cat Cookie had her kittens yesterday on top of a box in the family room closet. There are 4 of them and they are so cute!! Three of them are black and one is gray. They are so little I can hold them in the palm of my hand. I now have 6 black cats and 2 gray cats. Sure hope all the black cats do not bring me bad luck!!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:53:00.002-04:00

Wow it's so hard to believe that it is Easter already! And what a beautiful Easter it was in Pennsylvania. We could not have asked for nicer weather - in the 70's all day with sunshine. I went to sunrise service with my girls this morning and then had Easter breakfast. Following breakfast was our regular morning worship service at church and then we went to my mom's for Easter dinner. We got to spend the day with family. My sister was home from Georgia and my other sister was there and my brother came over. Its been probably at least 30 years since my mom had all her kids home for Easter dinner. What a great day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior!

Now for some updates - this picture to the left shows what I received in an exchange with Carein of the group Stitcherhood. She made me a bookmark, a needle keeper, a key chain with my name on it. The neatest thing was the little bowl that she made for me - it is so precious!!!

The picture to the right shows the stash that was sent to Tracy Harris. Tracy had a house fire and lost all of her stitching stuff. The picture shows the floss and fabric and gift certificates that were sent to her from all her stitching friends. Thank you to all who contributed - the box was stuffed very full when I sent everything to her!

Here is a cross stitch update on my Amazing Grace by My Big Toe Designs. I have accomplished a lot on this piece this week. I was able to complete the top row of the border this evening. I am really enjoying working on this project and hope to make a lot more progress in the coming weeks. I started this on New Year's but had not been working too much on it until this week. Hopefully I will have another update on it real soon!

Until next time................................

Dancing with God

2010-03-07T20:42:00.004-05:00

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing
God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues,
perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing

Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully..

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person and
gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "I" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head,

I became willing to trust that
I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies are upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God, as God abides in you.

Dance together with God,

trusting God to lead and to guide you
through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.

If God has done anything for you in your life,

please share this message with someone else.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards;

so let's continue to pray for one another.

And I Hope You Dance Through 2010!

Frog Quilt Square

2010-03-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

Finally here is my frog square for a quilt for a boy who is sick. It took me forever to do this square. I had so many problems with it. But it is finally done and will be mailed off tomorrow.

I am not sure what I will be working on next. I have not been in much of a stitching mood. There is so much turmoil going on in my life at the moment and I can't concentrate on much of anything. I do think that I will be working on Katie's afghan again to get it done. I haven't worked on it for a couple of weeks and it doesn't take much concentration.

Quilt Square for Breast Cancer group

2010-02-11T22:20:00.000-05:00

This is a square I just finished for Quilts for Breast Cancer. I did this square doing the 2010 Blizzard. We already had snow on the ground and received another 15 inches on Saturday, February 6. On Tuesday and Wednesday, February 9 and 10th we received another 10 inches of snow. Everything outside is white so it was nice to do something colorful.

Here is an updated picture of Katie's afghan. I now have 33 rows done. It has been a nice project to work on during the cold winter days and nights. It looks prettier in person than what the picture show.

20 minute challenge and another finish

2010-01-24T22:22:00.000-05:00

Today I challenged myself to cross stitch for at least 20 minutes. I have been so involved in crocheting on my daughter's afghan that my cross stitching was kind of put on the back burner. So I decided I would cross stitch for at least 20 minutes and then crochet. Well my 20 minutes turned into 3 hours but I started and also finished a quilt square for Quilts for Older Children. Now its time to crochet until bedtime!

2 New Finishes for 2010

2010-01-05T22:16:00.000-05:00

Here are my first two finishes for 2010. The letter F is a quilt square for the group Quilts for Older Children and Adults. The other square is for Donna at Stitching for a Cure. It is a poem entitled "What Cancer Cannot Do". It will be used in a quilt that Donna is going to raffle at a Relay for Life. It was a struggle for me to do this square as it was done on 25 count Lugana. It came out beautiful but those holes were so small. I will be glad to go back and work on my aida cloth once again. So far this year I have completed two of my 2010 goals and the Cancer Poem was actually a WIP. Let's just hope I can keep up at this pace throughout the year.

2010 Works in Progress

2010-01-02T12:15:00.000-05:00

Here are two starts that I had on New Year's Day 2010. On the left is Amazing Grace by My Big Toe Designs. It is a very large design 16 1/8" wide x 23 7/8" high. On the right is the start of an afghan for Katie. I didn't get much accomplished on it as I am relearning how to crochet. Hopefully as the month progresses I will have much more updates on these two projects along with other things that I would like to accomplish in the year 2010. I have set goals for myself -lets see if we can stick with them. So far so good on day 2 of 2010.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T19:10:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I am posting some last minute finishes that I have had for 2009.

This is a baby bib that I made for my great nephew Carter for Christmas.

This is a quilt square that I just completed. This is for the group Quilts for Older Children.

This is another quilt square that I made for the group Quilts for Older Children and Adults.

Here is my newest project I will be working on. This is the yarn that my daughter picked out for her afghan. I am going to try and start on it tomorrow on New Year's Day. Hopefully I have enough yarn. We bought 11 skeins of the variegated and 3 skeins of the solid color but they solid color are pound skeins. My daughter is tall so I need to make it long enough for her. Our Joann's did not have a large selection to choose from - should have gone to a larger Joann's but would have to drive about 30 miles to get there. Our weather is also not too cooperative today as we are under a winter weather advisory so I really wanted to stay close to home.

For cross stitching I am starting a new project - Amazing Grace by My Big Toe Designs. It is a very large design being 291 stitches wide x 431 stitches high. I am doing it on 18 count aida - tan color - so it will be 16 1/8" wide x 23 7/8" high. Due to the size it will be my project to work on at home. I will post pictures later of what it should look like and my progress as I go along.

Do you all remember that secret project that I was working on? Well here is! Friends of mine made a quilt out of cross stitch squares for Donna at Stitching for a Cure. Donna was the coordinator of a raffle for Relay for Life that consisted of two Christmas trees full of cross stitch ornaments. All the money from the raffle went to Relay for Life. If you look further down in my blog you can see pictures of some of the ornaments that I made for the trees. Below is a picture of the finished quilt that my friend Mary did. Mary put all the squares together and did all the quilting .

As 2010 comes along I have set some stitching goals for myself. I have made a list of things I would like to accomplish in 2010. A few of the things that I want to do are: 1. Make at least one quilt square a month for charity 2. Stitch at least one ornament a month for gifts for Christmas 2010. 3. Complete at least 1 of my WIP's but hopefully more than that. 4. Complete the afghan for my daughter.

2010 is the time to begin again
With needle and floss
All projects that have been lost
In my hand is my material
and I vow not to be a serial
starter that is
Just a wiz
in completing all my UFO's and WIP's

Winter is Here in PA!

2009-11-27T19:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Day after Thanksgiving everyone!!! Are you all tired from Black Friday shopping? Are you still stuffed from all the turkey you ate yesterday? I am excited because I got a finish yesterday on my snowman and since it is snowing today in western Pennsylvania he seems appropriate. He is a really cute snowman especially in person. The backstitching really made him stand out. This is a quilt square that is going to Quilts for Older Children and Adults and it is one of 12 squares that will be put together in a quilt and then raffled off.

The present boxes are another finish that I had this week. Two finishes in one week - that is a lot for me - I am so proud of myself - lol. These boxes are made out of plastic canvas and they will be going to a nursing home for the patients for Christmas. My sister and I made these for the church where my daughter Rachel plays the piano and the church will be giving them to the nursing home filled with goodies.

On another note it has now been one year since I started my blog. I started it last Thanksgiving so this is my anniversary of my blog. Although my blog is not as fancy as a lot of others I have seen I still enjoy showing off my work. My goal for the next year is to find out how to add some bling to it and make it better.

My next things I will be stitching on in the next few weeks are a quilt square for Donna at Stitching for a Cure. It is on 28 count and the holes are very small so I can only work on it for a little at a time because it bothers my eyes. The square I am working on is the center square which has a poem about cancer. I will also be working on three alphabet squares for Quilts for Older Children and I have a baby bib to make for my great nephew for Christmas.

I want to thank all of you who view my blog and are my followers. I am looking forward to blogging more with you in the next year!!!

Quilt Squares for Older Children and Adults and a Zombie

2009-11-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

These are two quilt squares that I just finished for Quilt Squares for Older Children and Adults. The theme was alphabet squares - could you have guessed that?

And here is my zombie! Don't you just love the hair!! This is my daughter Rachel. The high school band dressed as zombies for the football game and performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

I don't know how she ever got the knots out of her hair!!

It is so hard to believe it is November 1st already. Where has the time gone? Christmas will be here before we know it and I am so not ready! I am ready for Thanksgiving to have turkey and stuffing and all the other goodies that go with it!

Katie was diagnosed this week with H1N1. She is over it now and back to normal - thankfully. I have been so tired and feeling real sore the last couple of days. I sure hope she didn't give it to me - cause I can't afford to take off work with the holidays coming!!

My Gift from Kaghos

2009-10-25T14:37:00.000-04:00

This is the gift I received from Kaghos this week. It's real hard to see the pretty color of the beads that she sent me. They are a dark sea green color and she also made me a scissor fob with a frog on it to keep the frogs away. So far its working as I have not seen the frogs for a while and hopefully it stays that way. Thank you again Kaghos for the wonderful gift!!

Video Game Excitement

2009-10-13T20:30:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of the Nancy Drew video game that came out today. Katie and Juliana's picture is somewhere in the game. Katie entered a contest with Her Interactive and won. Her prize was to submit a picture of herself and it would be in the next game somewhere. Katie wrote to Her Interactive and asked if it was ok to include her sister also since Juliana also loves to play the Nancy Drew games. Her Interactive thought that was a great idea so Katie submitted a picture of the two of them. You have to play the game to find their picture! Now how cool is that?!?!?!?!

Sick of Being Sick

2009-10-12T12:08:00.000-04:00

It's Monday, October 12 and it's Columbus Day. Not much happening here as I have been sick - well our whole family has been sick with this sinus stuff that is going around. I feel like someone is squeezing my head in a vice. I am going to go and sniff the pepper in the kitchen cause it feels good to sneeze and relieve some of the pressure. I even called off work today cause I feel so lousy.

On the stitching front I am working on a special project. I cannot post any pictures until the project is completed. I am hoping to have it finished soon so that I can move on to something else to stitch. I have a Christmas ornament to do for an exchange, two alphabet squares, a snowman, and a quilt square for Love Quilts that I need to complete. So today I am cuddling up on the couch with a blanket, box of tissues, something to drink, and my stitching.

Homecoming 2009

2009-10-03T18:28:00.001-04:00

These are pictures of Katie and Rachel all dressed up and getting ready to go to Homecoming 2009. Katie is a senior and Rachel is a freshman. My little girls are growing up too fast.

American Soldier Memorial

2009-09-06T00:22:00.003-04:00

This memorial was made for Marine Sgt. David Wallace III who was killed in Afghanistan on January 27, 2009. The memorial was presented to his mother at a football pregame presentation where they retired his jersey and number. I personally did not know David but he grew up in the town where I lived and he went to the same school as I did (Sharpsville, PA). The saying is a Bible verse which says "Greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend.
John 15:13. Operation Enduring Freedom, Marine Sgt. David William Wallace II, June 5, 1983 - January 27, 2009.

The American Memorial Soldier project can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/americansoldiermemorial.

I definitely plan to stitch more memorials for this site in memory of these soldiers who gave their lives for country.

Cancer Ribbon Blanket

2009-08-28T19:37:00.002-04:00

Check out this blanket. This was entered into the Transfer Harvest Home fair. I thought it was pretty neat especially since I stitched ornaments for Stitching for a Cure.

Best of Show

2009-08-28T19:32:00.002-04:00

Well here it is!!! It's my baby blanket with the Best of Show ribbon that I won at the Transfer Harvest Home. It's the first time I ever won a Best of Show ribbon and I do have to say I was very excited about it!!!!

The blanket was a gift to my niece who is having a baby. Of course the baby is going to be a Best of Show baby!! After the baby is born I plan to take pictures of the baby with the blanket.

Pattern Exchange

2009-07-25T22:45:00.003-04:00

I was in a pattern exchange on the group Krafter's Korners. My partner was Carrie and this is what she sent me: Celtic Quilts: Friendship Star, Serenity Prayer by My Big Toe Designs, and Summer Time Quilt by Imaginating.com. Thank you so much Carrie!! I can't wait to get started on them!!

Baby Blanket Update

2009-07-25T22:38:00.002-04:00

Here is a better picture of the baby blanket.

More Ornaments

2009-07-25T22:29:00.003-04:00

Here are four more ornaments for Stitching for a Cure.

Finished Ornaments

2009-07-23T22:38:00.005-04:00

Here are two ornaments that I have finished for Stitching for a Cure. Let me know what you think! I have eight more to finish but I need to know if these look okay. I am not good at finishing things.

Baby Blanket

2009-07-23T21:59:00.006-04:00

Well here it is!! It is finally finished. Once the baby is born I will add the baby's name at the top and the birthdate at the bottom.

Stitching for a Cure Ornaments

2009-04-20T21:53:00.005-04:00

I had a very good stitching weekend. I was able to complete the stitching on two ornaments for Stitching for a Cure. I just love how the one on black turned out. It looks much better than the camera shows. I used Dinky Dye floss from a floss exchange that I was in. It was just perfect for this ornament. Now comes the hard part for me in assembling them to make them into ornaments. I am real nervous about putting these together so that they will look okay and that someone will want to buy them.

Prom Night

2009-04-20T21:49:00.002-04:00

It is so hard to believe that my oldest daughter Katie is old enough to go to the prom. I really feel old now! She had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect!

Katie and Adam - Prom 2009

Duck Bib

2009-04-20T21:43:00.003-04:00

This bib seems appropriate for the weather we have been having here in Pennsylvania. It rained all day today. But at least it wasn't snow. This is a bib that I made for my daughter Katie who is going to a baby shower for another girl named Katie.

Baby Blanket Update

2009-03-21T20:42:00.004-04:00

Do you all remember all the problems I was having with the baby blanket and the letter B? Well I decided to try and do the letter C by going over 2 instead of 1. I like the way that it came out so as it is so much larger than the letter B. So I frogged the letter B and it took me 3 days to get it totally ripped out. What a pain!!!!! I think I finally got the hang of stitching on evenweave but I still don't like it!!!! I still like my aida!! Stay tuned as I will post more pictures as I complete more of the letters.

On another note I was a bad girl and ordered some new patterns. I ordered the new Big Toe Designs Amazing Grace and I ordered two Dinky Dye patterns, one called Celtic Cross and the other one is Celtic Sister. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival in the mail. Now I just have to find time to do all this stitching!!

Today I found a local cross stitch shop about 25 miles from my house. When I went in the shop I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I have never seen so much cross stitch in one place!! It was a small store but the owner had many patterns, lots of different kinds of floss, and lots of different kinds of material. I behaved myself and only bought flosses for my two exchanges I am in but I will definitely be going back.

Spring Tote Exchange

2009-03-21T20:29:00.003-04:00

I received in the mail today my spring tote exchange from Georgena. It was totally fantastic. She sent me many M&M things which are my favorite. I also received a cross stitch booklet called Sample the Seasons, an amber scented candle, 3 skeins of DMC linen embroidery floss and a pattern booklet, a purple scarf, some scrapbooking stuff, and some yummy M&M's to eat. Thank you so much Georgena.

Has Spring Arrived in Pennsylvania?

2009-03-16T21:57:00.004-04:00

I came home from work today and found that I have crocuses blooming in my front yard! Maybe spring has finally arrived in PA. I sure hope it is here to stay and winter doesn't decide to pay us another visit this year.

My crocuses sure are pretty - don't you all think so? It's so nice to see some color in the yard after all the snow we had this year!

B is for Baby Blanket

2009-03-16T21:48:00.003-04:00

Ok I need everyone to take a look and give me your opinion. Do you think the letter B is too small for the square? Does it look lost? Should I put a border around it?

I am not sure if I like doing this on this fabric. I have decided that the fabric is evenweave and I did it over 1 square. Should I have done it over 2?? I have never done anything over 2 before. I have stitched on 18 count aida many times but the holes are smaller on this and very hard to stitch.

Bookmark Exchange

2009-03-08T21:36:00.004-04:00

These are bookmarks that were done for an exchange. The bookmark on the left was one that I received from Princess Crystal and the other two were what I sent to Crystal. I glued them together to make a double sided bookmark.

Frog Finish

2009-03-08T21:31:00.003-04:00

This is a hooded towel that I made for a baby shower. This pattern made me think of spring while I was stitching it.

Exchanges

2009-03-08T21:23:00.004-04:00

These are two Color My World exchanges that I have received through Cross Stitch Addiction and I Love Cross Stitch. Penny from I Love Cross Stitch sent me a beautiful piece of dyed yellow material, a Colors of Summer by Country Garden Stitchery kit, and three skeins of floss from the Dyepot.

Jess from Cross Stitch Addiction sent me the beautiful hand dyed blue fabric (unfortunately picture does not show the blue dyed floss - its much darker than picture shows), 2 skeins of floss, some blue material for finishing, a scissor fob, two marking needles, and a frogging needle which I do not plan on using.

Thank you Penny and Jess for these two exchanges!!!

My First Two Finishes for 2009

2009-01-28T20:13:00.004-05:00

I finally have two finishes for 2009. The snowman is for a SAL I am doing on the OakHavenDesigns group for January. It is stitched on a 6" square of yellow 14 count aida cloth. I am not sure what I am going with them but I will decide once I complete all of them. There is a different design for each month. I have a shelf in my family room that I am thinking about turning into a monthly or seasonal shelf (thanks for the idea Rene).

The pink ribbon blackwork heart is for Donna at Stitching for a Cure http://www.stitchingforacure.blogspot.com. I really like this design. I have made one in purple also. I am hoping to do 2 ornaments a month for her project so I got to get busy and do another one.

I can't believe how fast this month has gone. Wasn't it just New Year's Eve?

Today we had snow and freezing rain and then more snow. All the schools in our area were closed. I stayed at home today due to the freezing rain so I was able to do some stitching and I did some organizing of some of my floss. I still have more organizing of my floss to do but I got a great start on it today.

Time to go back to stitching.

Alla Turca and The Hunt

2009-01-19T21:45:00.004-05:00

I have joined two stitch alongs (SAL's) in two yahoo groups. Alla Turca (bottom picture) is a mystery SAL where a different section is released each month. I have completed Part 1. I really like how the color purple looks on the oatmeal fiddler cloth. The Hunt (top picture) is done in a variegated blue and a solid blue. I wasn't going to do this SAL but I am really glad that I started it. I am really enjoying it. I am not sure what I am going to do with these two pieces when I have them completed but we will wait and see how they turn out.

I Have Won an Award

2009-01-16T21:08:00.005-05:00

My friend Donna gave me the fantastic pleasure of winning this blog award! Donna's blog is a very special blog as she has a special purpose for her blog - Stitching For a Cure http://stitchingforacure.blogspot.com/ - she is asking all her friends to stitch special ornaments that are to be sold in November 2009 with all proceeds going to help fight cancer.

I am supposed to list 5 of my addictions and name 5 bloggers who I think are "Fabby".
So here are my 5 addictions:
1. My 3 daughters
2. Cross Stitching and buying stash (not in 2009 I am on a stash diet!)
3. M&M's
4. My 4 furry lovable cats
5. Being able to help someone in need

Now here are the 5 people I have nominated for the fabby award:

Carolyn http://xstitching5.blogspot.com/

Deborah http://dmarkham.blogspot.com/

Linda K http://lindakscreativityworks.blogspot.com/

Patty -http://thecompulsiv ecrafter. blogspot. com

Joanne (kaghos) http://kaghoscreations.blogspot.com/

(Sorry I don't know how to make the names into a link)

Now, you must do the same on your blog, winners!

Winter in Pennsylvania

2009-01-10T20:50:00.003-05:00

Winter is definitely here in western Pennsylvania. We got about 12 inches of snow since last night but most of it came this afternoon. The first picture is my driveway going to the road. The second picture is of my house while I am standing at the end of the driveway. The third picture is a pine tree that is in our front yard by out driveway. The snow is so heavy on the branches and the snow is making them hang really low. We are supposed to get more snow tonight but we also have the possibility of freezing rain. I really don't want more snow but I really don't want the freezing rain. No matter which way I go anywhere from my house I have to go up or down a hill and I don't like that in the winter time. If anybody would like to have some of this white stuff I will be happy to send it your way. I do have to admit it kind of looks pretty stuck on all the trees - now only if it wouldn't stick to the roads, sidewalks and my driveway! We have so much snow my cats go outside and they sink in the snow and you can't see them anymore. Needless to say they don't want to stay outside very long. I think the snow is depressing them.

The Hunt - SAL

2009-01-10T20:35:00.003-05:00

The first picture is a progress picture of "The Hunt" which is a stitch a long that I started on New Year's Day. This stitch a long is being done through the group called Cross Stitch Addictions.

The second picture is a progress picture of "Love Rose". It doesn't show well on the picture but there are squares on the frame of the big square that are completed with a light lavender and a yellow in the center. I haven't worked on the "Love Rose" too much since I started working on "The Hunt". I originally was not going to join the SAL of "The Hunt" but I am real glad I did because I am really enjoying working on it. I am not sure what I will do with it once it is completed but I will worry about that when the time comes. I have a long way to go on it yet.

I've been RAK'd

2009-01-10T20:31:00.004-05:00

Wow's it's hard to believe that we are already 10 days into the New Year. Time is sure flying.

I want to thank Ethel for sending me a Bucilla kit called Welcome Birdhouse. It makes me think of spring which is a very good thing since we have about 12" of snow outside today.

2009 Goals

2008-12-31T18:08:00.003-05:00

My goals for 2009 are:

1. To complete at least one of my WIP's.

2. Stitch at least 2 ornaments a month for Stitching for a Cure.

3. Start and complete Christmas ornaments for Christmas 2009.

4. To have more money in the bank at the end of 2009 than I have at the end of 2008.

5. To get all my bills paid on time.

6. Loose some weight.

7. Paint my bedroom and 2 bathrooms.

8. To work on any cross stitch project every evening even its just one stitch - lol. My theme for 2009 is One Stitch at a Time to get it completed in 2009.

Projects I Would Like to do in 2009

2008-12-31T16:54:00.004-05:00

These are projects that I would like to do in 2009. OR I would like to at least get some of them started. BUT I do not want to start any of these until I get some of my other large BAP's finished. I am making a vow that I must finish at least one BAP that I have in progress before I start another. Two of these kits are Victorian Style houses, one project is four (4) placemats with the double wedding ring quilt design, one is a Disney kit that is sold only in Disney, one is the Lord's Supper, and the one that will be a real challenge for me will be the 23rd Psalms as it is done on 28 count
evenweave. I have never stitched on anything but Aida.

I also have some ornament kits that I would like to do for Christmas next year. Since they are small items they will be my take along projects to do when I waiting on my girls at practices.

WIP's - Hopefully Finishes in 2009

2008-12-31T15:46:00.006-05:00

This is called Cowboy Cats. I started this about 6 years ago when I was just learning how to cross stitch. I can remember how hard I thought it was when I started it but now when I look at it, it's not really that hard of a pattern.

This is called Day's End by Dimensions. It is done on 18 count Aida

Faith, Hope and Love - this is a design from Cross Country stitching magazine. They have another one similar to this in another one of their magazines that I would love to do to match this one. I am doing this on 18 count Aida.

This is a birth announcement that I must get completed. I have been very frustrated with this pattern. I have had to do much frogging on it and now I despise working on it. The back of the cradle just didn't want to come together correctly. I really don't have much to do on it but I am going to have to force myself to complete it as I am doing this for another person who I make bibs for frequently.

This is called Twilight Bridge. It is one of the Gold Collection designs by Dimension. It is being done on 18 count ivory Aida.

Love Rose Progress

2008-12-26T14:53:00.003-05:00

Here is a progress picture of my Love Rose. My youngest daughter, Juliana, says it looks like a head. I know its not a lot done but I was very excited when the circle came together perfectly - no frogging needed. I started this on Monday evening, December 22, 2008. Now let's see how long it takes me get it done. The actual pattern calls for beads and for some colors that I don't have so I have made some changes. I have lots of thread and material that I need to use without buying anymore and besides who has money the day after Christmas to buy anything - surely not me! Ok time for some stitching now. My oldest daughter has to work today and my middle daughter is going to a friend's house for the evening and there are plenty of left overs in the fridge from yesterday so I am free to do whatever I want and I want to stitch. So stitch is what I am going to do! I am so glad I didn't have anywhere to go today!! I will post later as to my progress on Love Rose. I also want to work on some of my cancer ribbons.

My Daughters

2008-12-26T14:06:00.003-05:00

This is a picture of my daughters, Rachel - age 13 1/2, Juliana - age 10 and Katie - age 17. This was my Christmas present from them. It was supposed to be a surprise but it was real funny watching them trying to keep it a secret about the day they were going to get the pictures taken.

This is my husband Ed - he's all excited because Santa brought him a new 50" Plasma TV for Christmas. In this picture he is programming the TV and because its an HDTV we are getting more channels that we used to get so he was very excited over that.

Here is a picture of my Christmas tree. It is done in 90% M&M's. Even the lights are M&M's. Next year I hope to have the whole tree done in M&M's if I can get enough ornaments. I would like to make some M&M ornaments in cross stitch but I can't find any patterns for M&M's and it makes me sad.

Below are 2 of my furbabies -Comet and Spooky. They have been sleeping under the Christmas tree ever since Santa has brought the presents. I think they are keeping guard over the presents. My other 2 cats Tic Tac and Midnight do not leave the bedrooms. Tic Tac and Midnight are females and Comet and Spooky are males and the males and females do not get along with each other so they stay in different sections of the house - you would think they were married to each other - the way they fight - lol

Better Picture of Love Rose

2008-12-25T21:34:00.003-05:00

post a
Here is a better picture of the Love Rose that I am doing. I got a new digital camera for Christmas that takes better pictures than my other camera. I was able to do some stitching on it last night while I was waiting for Santa to arrive. I am going to do more stitching tonight so I will post a picture tomorrow of my progress.

We had freezing rain yesterday and our driveway was very icy. I fell and hurt my hip and thigh and have a huge bruise on my thigh. So as I am sitting on the heating pad I am stitching while watching my husband's new TV that Santa brought him.

My New Project for 2009

2008-12-23T22:40:00.003-05:00

I have started a new project for 2009. It is called the Love Rose. It is in the new issue of Stoney Creek's magazine. I have posted a picture of it but its not a good picture. It is based on 1 Corinthians 13. This is known as the Love Chapter in the Bible. The scripture at the bottom which has a glare on it in the picture says "Love is Patient, Love is Kind, It Does Not Envy, It Does Not Boast, It is Not Proud, It is Not Rude, It is Not Self-Seeking, It Is Not Easily Angered, It Keeps No Record of Wrongs. Love Does Not Delight in Evil but Rejoices with the Truth. It always Protects, Always Trusts, Always Hopes, Always Perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS.

Cancer Ribbons

2008-12-22T23:16:00.004-05:00

These designs are for Donna at Stitching for a Cure. Donna will turn these into ornaments that will be placed onto a tree and they will be sold to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I have plans to make more of them for her using variegated pink thread. I believe that the angel is my favorite one.

Baby Bibs

2008-12-22T23:01:00.004-05:00

These are two baby bibs that will be Christmas gifts that my friend Sunny will be giving for Christmas.

More Finishes

2008-12-22T22:46:00.003-05:00

This was a gift for my secret sister at card club. I have to figure out how to rotate my pictures. Can anyone tell me how?

Some Finishes

2008-12-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

I finally have a few finishes to share with all of you. Now to figure out how to post a picture?!?!?!
Hey I think I figured it out -lol. This could be lots of fun - maybe?!?!? Anyways this is a bookmark that I made for my 17 year old daughter who loves to read. The bible bookmark and the bookmarks with names on them were given to 8 people who were recently baptized at our church. My youngest daughter Juliana was one of them. I used my variegated thread on them.

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-27T23:40:00.000-05:00

Well this is my first post to my blog and it happens to be Thanksgiving Day. It wasn't the greatest of Thanksgiving days as I spent about 6 hours in the emergency room with my mom. We all thought she was having a gall bladder attack after eating too much turkey but it ended up being her heart and so they decided to keep her in the hospital to find out what is wrong. They have placed her in ICU as her blood pressure is really high and her blood enzymes are high. I was planning on doing some Black Friday shopping tomorrow but I will be at the hospital instead. I guess I will save some money this way and not have to fight the crowds.

I did get started on a new baby bib while waiting in the emergency room. Hopefully I can post some pictures on my blog and soon as I figure out how to do it. Blogging is all new to me but I have seen so many sites that I like that I decided to try one of my own and post some of my cross stitch items that I am working on or have completed.