HOE Quaker Ornament Received

I participated in the HOE Quaker Ornament exchange and received this beautiful ornament from Carol S.  What a gorgeous ornament that is perfectly stitched and finished! 

2011 HOE Quaker Ornament

Stitched by: Carol S.



A true bonus to receiving this ornament is that I had the pleasure of meeting Carol S. face to face at the Celebration of Needlework show in Nashua, NH last Friday.   I have been “blogging friends” with Carol for what seems like an eternity so having the opportunity to meet and spend time with her was fantastic.  Since I have moved from Texas and will be living in the northeast, I look forward to getting together with her again. Carol, thank you so much for the gorgeous ornament!

I enjoyed the Needlework show and managed to add some great items to my huge stash. I will post pictures of my purchases later.

Another highlight of my trip to Nashua, NH was meeting Carol’s friend Margaret, who I know I have exchanged with in the past. We had a great time getting to know one another over dinner.  How I wish that I could meet all of my blogging friends face to face.

Here is a look at what I sent to Carol S. for the Quaker Ornament Exchange:

My blog posts have been minimal but there is a reason, as I mentioned I am once again moving. I left Texas and am in the process of house hunting in the northeast. Yes, I have returned to be closer to my boys…Yahoo! Living 1600+ miles from them was just too difficult for me, I guess I will forever be a “helicopter mom” but I like it that way. :D


My weekend will be spent riding around with a real estate agent; hopefully yours will be a bit more exciting.

Until next time...

Wonderful Mail Day!

I was so excited to see a package in my mailbox from Edgar; I am such a fan of his work! I knew immediately that he must have had my name for the Ornament Exchange run by Becky. Well, you can only imagine how quickly I tore into the package and how wide my eyes got when I saw this beauty…

Ornament Exchange From Edgar

Gorgeous, simply gorgeous! Edgar chose a design called “Christmas Pinkeep” from the JCS 2007 Ornament issue. Oh how I wish that it were Christmas so I could hang it on the tree. For now I will display it on a one of many small display trees around my house… this is much too nice to tuck away until December! Thank you Edgar for all of the time that you put into stitching and finishing this beautiful ornament…I shall forever remain a fan of your work and blog!

I have been busy behind the Bernina stitching up those "pain in the neck" quilt exchange blocks. We had one set due May 1st and the next due July 1st. I will be heading to NY/MA for the month of June so I had to stitch the July blocks early. I love the block but I cannot stand stitching them! Here is a picture of the two sets…

Brown and Pink Quilt Block Exchange

As I mentioned I have plans to spend June in the Northeast. My son is moving from an apartment in northern NJ into an apartment in Manhattan so I offered to go up and help him move. I will also have an opportunity to attend a relatives HS graduation. I am racing to complete a “college quilt” for him; this should have been started much earlier! I must end now and head back to my sewing room…that college quilt is not going to sew itself.

I would like to wish all of the Mom's a very Happy Mother's Day. I will leave you with two of the most important reasons I LOVE being a Mom:

ONE:

(Then- Enjoying lunch)

(NOW)

TWO:

(Then-impressed with his "guns")

(Now)

I will miss them both on Sunday!!!

Thanks for stopping by~

Until next time...

Generosity Of A Stitching Angel

On Christmas Eve, a package arrived in my mailbox from Lisa…Who is Lisa? I truly had no idea what was in the box. When I opened it up, I found this:

PS Fans Halloween Exchange

Replacement stitched by: Lisa

A great PS Halloween Pinkeep, some adorable buttons, and some DMC floss. I was so surprised when I read Lisa’s note and learned that when she read about the MIA stitcher on the PS Fans blog she immediately contacted the moderator and offered to step in and stitch an exchange piece for me. I must say that was so thoughtful and such a generous gesture on her part! Although we were in the same exchange, I did not know Lisa nor had I ever visited her blog but she found it in her heart to stitch me a wonderful pinkeep. With all that she had to do during this busy holiday season she still volunteered to “make right” another person’s “wrong” ~ Lisa, you are a stitching angel and I cannot thank you enough. I will treasure your pinkeep; it will be a constant reminder of your selfless generosity.

One of the last exchanges that I mailed out for 2009 was an Ornament to BeckySC. I know how Becky loves snowman so I stitched this design for her:

2009 Ornament Exchange
Stitched For: BeckySC

Sampler Winter by Marika Belfiori ~ Freebie

I put a musical button inside that, when pressed, plays Frosty the Snowman. I also added a cute silver mitten/snowflake charm to the front.

Now that I have actually put needle to fabric and stitched most of the PS "A" block, I feel like an official member of the PS Alphabet SAL group. With much of this block completed I look forward to stitching the remaining 25 letters!!!

Designer: Prairie Schooler
Design: A*B*C

Wondering what this will look like when completed? Check it out.

Wishing you only good things in the New Year~

Until next time...

Two Beautiful Exchanges Received

I am so glad that I signed up for Becky’s Ornament Exchange; it is an ongoing exchange that runs for an entire year. My second ornament arrived from Donna this past Friday and I must say that it certainly made my day! I truly love the design and the finish on this one. I love how Donna tucked some tulle and adorable Christmas lights into the cone shaped ornament!

2009 Ornament Exchange from Donna

Thank you so much Donna, I can hardly wait to hang this beautiful ornament on our Christmas tree.
Here is the ornament that I stitched for Tracy:

2009 Ornament Exchange for Tracy

Designer: BBD

Design: Quaker Medallion Strawberry
From JCS 2006 Ornament Edition

After spending the entire weekend scrapbooking, I was glad to get home and feast my eyes on Cross Stitch. Waiting for me was a large envelope from Kerstin who was my partner in the final round of FTT Seasonal Fall Exchange. I was so excited when I opened the package and found all of this:

Kerstin stitched a fun design on some ginger type fabric then finished it into this great little pillow. She sent me two pieces of neat cross stitch fabric in my favorite fall colors, a large cut of cotton fabric that compliments the cross-stitch fabric perfectly, two skeins of hand dyes threads (such gorgeous colors) and two new patterns for my stash. What a way to finish this year long exchange with a very talented group of women. Thank you so much Kerstin for this amazing exchange, I love everything that you sent and I adore my new decorative pillow.

I must thank Cathy for organizing the FFT Seasonal Exchange and for inviting me into the group. It was one of my favorite exchanges and I feel so blessed to have received beautiful exchanges from four talented, generous and sweet women. Thank you to Kerstin, Brigitte, Moni and Gaby!


Here is the Exchange that I sent to Kerstin:

2009 Seasonal Exchange Fall for Kerstin

I must confess that I stole the finishing idea from Brigitte who sent me this beauty:

2009 Seasonal Exchange Winter from Brigitte

I do believe that I taxed my brain a bit too much this weekend trying to figure out color schemes and page layouts for my scrapbook. I am also feeling a bit sleep deprived so I must end now so that I can rest and maybe stitch a bit.

I will share a Scrapbook page with you before I end:

Have a great week~

Until next time...

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I was so surprised to receive these beautiful note cards in the mail from Michelle. She was the winner of my BBD Thread Keeper give-a-way and sent me these cards as a thank you. I am just happy that she liked the Thread Keeper so much! Thank you Michelle, you are too sweet. :)

I joined Becky's Christmas Ornament Swap and received a truly gorgeous ornament from Carol.

REST EASY MY FRIEND, YOUR PACKAGE ARRIVED TODAY! :D

When I opened the package my mouth dropped, this beautiful ornament is stitched on 40ct over two, using Atalie floss! ~ How lucky am I??? Carol, you are an angel, please know that I will treasure this special ornament. Thank you so much for making this an extra special exchange! :)

Christmas Ornament Swap

Stitched by: Carol S.

Designer: The Sampler House

Design: Symbolic "X" Christmas Ornament

Here is the ornament that I stitched for Amy:

Designer: M Design
Design: Joy Tree
Ornament Exchange for: Amy

I am such a HUGE fan of the M Design and especially love the word/name trees. Over a year ago I purchased name tree designs for both my boys and, although I have not barely started stitching on one, I REALLY hope to finish them both this year!
FYI: tomorrow is September 9, 2009...09/09/09 what a great birthday that would be. Well, I just read that not only does the date look good, but it also represents the last set of repeating, single-digit dates that we'll see for almost a century (until January 1, 2101). Hmm, I wonder where I will be then? :)

I shall leave you with this "Wishing Custom"...

If you slice an apple into equal halves without cutting or nicking a seed, your wish for love will come true.

Until next time...