Finishes, birthdays, and gifts, oh, my!

I'm a bit late in getting this post written and posted. July ended up very busy, as was the start of August. We're into Birthday months--and September is THE worst of all. (five and counting) My birthday was at the end of July and I have a few gifts to show you from that, and then my youngest granddaughter's birthday was August 1st. Hubby actually made it home for both of those days, though he couldn't stay long for mine. More miles run mean more bills caught up, and thanks to my Mom, Dad and Hubby, a stash order will be forthcoming. (I'm panting in glee right now, and can't wait to get started with my online shopping.)

First, a finish finish. Took me far longer than I expected, but Witches Hat Scissor Case is now completed. What an absolute pain it was to do but it turned out looking pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'm thinking of using the leftover black belfast and the chart to make a fob for my witch's scissors so have left the threads and chart out. (okay, so I'm a slob and haven't put them away yet--but I can still make a fob, right?) Putting the cording around the edges hides a multitude of tiny mistakes, or tiny linen threads that just didn't want to stay put. If ever I do another finish like this, I'm using GLUE!!! Of course, my friend Deb would say there is nothing wrong with a little judicious use of glue in finishing. (though I know she uses very little.)

I tried copying some of your techniques to make pictures interesting, so here is my Witch's Hat Scissor Case, front and back, with my Witch's Scissors by Uncommon Scissors. (She makes great and cool scissors.) Okay, so I know I take boring pictures, sorry about that.

My birthday was a lot of fun. The grandkids came over and brought their Wii, so we had a Wii party. I won on archery--yeah for the old lady! Both my boys got me a game for my DS, Guitar Hero and Harry Potter. Chad also got me a leather notebook/journal, and a lovely pair of opal earrings. I baked a three layer cake, and thankfully, no one put candles on it. (could of burned the house down, lol) We all had a great time, and the day ended with me feeling very loved and appreciated.

My dear friend Beth sent me a lovely package for my birthday--stash! Wonderful, glorious stash. And all from Shepherd's Bush. She sent me three kits, all wonderful: My Pins, Home (the newest sheepie with hat) and Purple Snowman (I've been wanting this one a long time) and a leaflet that I really want to do up for Chad: Halloween Night. It's shown done on 20 count but I thought doing it on 28 or 32 count would look really awesome.

I mentioned last post that we had a new puppy. She's part Cairn terrier, and feisty! She weighs like 5 pounds and thinks nothing of attacking Boo's nose to play--and Boo weighs in at about 95 pounds. Unfortunately, one week after bringing her home, son got called back to work, so the job of house breaking her has been put on me. BOO! HISS! I so hate that job. But, she's doing well, not many accidents and the cats are putting up with her.

In trying to take pictures before Chad got home from work, I forgot to snap a picture of what I'm working on right now. I'm about half done with Shepherd's Bush's Into the Night and nearly finished with Little House Needlework's Pine Tree Hill. Will try to get pics taken soon.

That's all for now. Hope everyone's summer is going well, and that the heat isn't getting to you. I know we have really high temps coming this weekend and I plan to stay inside with the a/c and my stitching. Stitch on, my friends! And for those of you who have children in school--school starts soon! Yay!

UFO now a finish!

Here it is, Shepherd's Bush "FRIGHT", finally done. I really like how this one turned out. It's so pretty. (Yup and it's another one that eldest son has put his name on since the theme is Halloween.) You probably can't see it, but the fabric is distressed, and the fibers are silk, with the variegated thread Autumn Foliage by Threadgatherer.

That makes at least three UFO's that I've done in the last month. I'm so psyched about that. Of course, I have plenty more to get done, but I'm feeling righteous so . . . . . a new project. I'm thinking of starting LHN's 'Where there is hope' but I'm really tempted to get started on her 'Winter Whites', that Nicole started. It looks so pretty and wintery--and here in Indiana, it is certainly winter. Our high for today was -1 and right now, we're at -4 degrees. Just too too cold. We did get a bit of snow yesterday, so when I look out the front door my car is simply a white mound. I'm staying indoors to keep warm. I've been keeping busy, with laundry mostly, and some minor picking up. As soon as dinner is over, then I'll pick which new project to start on. I'm sort of leaning towards the 'Where there is hope', but I'm trying to decide if I want to do it over one or over two threads. Wouldn't it be neat to have that as a miniature? Decisions, decisions. If my order from Shepherd's Bush had come, there would be no decisions to make--I'd have started the 2009 Fob immediately--it's really adorable. But, from what I understand, the Bush is awaiting an order of ribbon for the kit and they won't be sending any out until it arrives. Boo, hoo.

I'm off to make dinner and then head for my stitching nest and an afghan for my feet. Hope all of you are keeping warm, and enjoying your stitching. Stitch on dear friends. And for those on the other side of the pond, keep cool, stay out of the sun, and send a bit of the warmth our way.

I've been FRAMED!!!

I finally got into the back room, got my power tools out, and got some stitchings framed. Can you believe that? It's been simply ages. Unfortunately, I missed taking pictures of most of the projects. Yep, Lil Miss Too Much To Do forgot about taking pictures until after 6 of the projects were wrapped up and ready to give as gifts. I was so mad. And then I forgot to take my camera home to take pictures when the recipients opened the gifts. I still have "Come Tarry" to frame but as it's going to be a huge frame, I needed to make sure I had enough molding for the gift frames first. That one will come tomorrow and I can't wait. Seems like I've had that Shepherd's Bush piece done for years.

First up, the gift for my daughter-in-law, Brown House Studio's American Sampler. It was stitched with the recommended WDW's threads over one on Belfast Linen. She really liked this design when we saw it at House Of Stitches. She was very surprised when she opened this gift.

Prairie Sampler by Little House Needleworks


Holly and Berries by Little House Needleworks

Thread Gathering by Little House Needleworks


Autumn Blessings by Shepherd's Bush

Stripes by Shepherd's Bush

The rest of the framed pieces were for the house here. Prairie Sampler, Holly and Berries, and Thread Gathering by Little House Needleworks, and Shepherd's Bush Autumn Blessings and Stripes. At least I think its called Stripes--it has been forever since I stitched it. It was the first design I thought to give to my brother-in-law--until I found Brave Hearts. Yep, that was one that also got framed, along with Morning Berries, Strawberry House, and Drawn Thread's Spring Spot that I forgot to get a picture before wrapping.

Until next time, dear friends, stitch on and don't forget to get those lovelies framed or finished for all of us to drool over. And take lots of pictures before you wrap!

Gifts and new stash

Its my birthday this Saturday, and my partner for the birthday exchange sent me this lovely Etui. Isn't it just gorgeous? The first picture is of the front of the etui and the extra gifties Dane sent. Aren't those threads lovely? The second picture is the back of the Etui, with my initials--and please, anyone that can translate what else it says, please tell me. (I flunked out of high school French.) The last picture is the inside of the Etui, and what a superb job she did. There is a little pocket with a ribbon that holds a pretty pair of scissors, a needle and pin page with a gold needle and a special pin with a heart on top. On the other side, a heart shaped pocket with several heart shaped charms inside. The two small sides have heart-shaped mother of pearl rings for threads. The finishing is exquisite, and I love how it folds up to be another heart shape. I was very impressed with the gift and the package. Also included in the package was a chart by Atalie called Mon Petit Jardin. So, does that translate to "my little garden" or "my little heart?" The instructions are all in French, of course, so a visit to my sister is in order. My niece Katie is fluent in French.

A little side bar to the first part of my post. This package arrived last Friday but on Thursday, I had a really bad day. I had an infected tooth, and the infection had spread to my jaw. Now, that's bad for most people, but I'm diabetic, and as such, my immune system isn't as strong as it should be. This was bad enough that my husband, dear sweet Shawn, came home from Chicago, and took me to the dentist--who not only extracted the tooth, but put me on a very high dosage antibiotic. Now, we live 20 minutes away from the dentist office, and were still 7 or 8 miles away when the numbness wore off. Poor Shawn, I kept saying "hurry", and he was already doing above the speed limit--he thought I needed to use the bathroom. Anyway, he got me home, put to bed after taking some pain meds, and went to fill my prescription. He let me get up for a bit of soup for dinner and then back to bed. Friday, still on pain meds but feeling a tiny bit better, and in he comes from the post office with the package from Dane. It made my day.

This week, reality set in. Diabetes has lost me most of my teeth. The tooth the dentist pulled was the last molar I had on the bottom. My doctor has me on a high protein diet--but now what do I eat? I refuse to live on soup the rest of my life. (Receding gums was the first indication that I had a problem. My dentist asked me outright if I was diabetic--NO! but guess where my next stop was? You guessed it and yes, I was!) My gums have receded so far that I don't have a bone ridge for a denture to sit on. So, I was feeling really low today. Hence, the reality setting in. (do you know how hungry one can get without chewing? Even if your stomach is full.) Today's mail brought another package. From my friend Beth, the friend of my heart.

This is what she sent me for my birthday. The Shepherd's Bush kit, Queen Sheep and the gorgeous--I need to find another word--pair of Sajou scissors that look like Mother of Pearl. I was totally in shock! I love these scissors. And won't they look perfect in a sewing box with the Kelmscot thread rings, winders, and ruler? I feel so spoiled. Of course, I had to open my gifts early, just couldn't NOT open it. Isn't she a thoughtful friend? We do all the SB sheepies together. Now it's my turn to put together a lovely package for her as her birthday is just days after mine.
My package also included my latest order of Shepherd's Bush items. The leaflet, She Tends, with the charms--won't they make lovely scissor fobs?--Happy Pumpkin NR, Into the Night Sampler, which is a really cool Halloween sampler, Mermaid Sampler and Sail Away. I'm happy, even with soup for dinner.

Until next time--and there will be a next time, I have ring tags to show off--Stitch on, and have a great summer. Thanks Dane and Beth.

Designer Exchange

Let me start by apologizing for being so lax in updating this blog. In my own defense, I signed up for way too many exchanges. This exchange had to be mailed by mid September and the next one has to be mailed tomorrow. So, I've been concentrating on getting it ready for packaging and mailing, but had to wait before sharing this exchange with you all.

This was a designer exchange. All participants expressed the designer they liked the most, and their partner was to stitch that designer for them. My designer was Shepherd's Bush, of course, and my partner's was Indigo Rose. I was thrilled because, as you know, I also love Indigo Rose. I don't have many charts by Indigo Rose but I do have a few charts from the kits I've bought. I chose to make my partner a bourse, and used the charts from "Mary's Pin Pillow" and "Bee Charmer" for the stitching part of it. I think it turned out exceptionally--I changed the colors of the silks to suit my partner--she's into pastels, and used a lovely Silver Lilac silk dupioni for the outside. I was very happy with the way it turned out, and I think she liked it also.

I, in turn, received two SB scissor fobs, "Happy Wishes" and "Snow", I think its called. My partner did a great job with the stitching, and my package from her was very thoughtful. She also made me a really pretty beaded scissor fob with a tiny pair of scissors attached. Here is my package that made me so happy. She also sent me several skeins of Needlepoint silk and two of Vikki Clayton silks. (I really love using Vikki Clayton silks, the colors are so scrumptious.)

As soon as my partner for the Halloween exchange gets her package, I'll post a picture. I really enjoyed stitching the Halloween one--I don't often stitch that theme.

And while I'm thinking about it, on our Yahoo group, we got to talking about scissors, and collecting them. I pulled out all of my scissors, from the rack they hang on, the lamps they hang over, from sewing boxes and stitching bags, and laid them out on the dining room table to photograph them. I surprised myself at having, in excess of 70 pairs of scissors. I counted 72 but then forgot the pair left hanging on the rack with a SB fob, a pair in a stitching project bag and a pair in my big Vera Bradley stitching bag. Looks like I have at least 25 pair that are languishing without fobs--boo, hoo. Guess I need to get busy with stitching up a few more. I think I also need to make another herb drying rack to hang some more--my only problem, I'm not sure where to hang this new rack. My stash room, perhaps? Sorry that there isn't more detail in the picture. I ended up taking four other pictures just to show a few of the pairs in detail.