Love my Blizzards !

Nope not the weather kind, but Dairy Queen where today is Canadian Miracle Treat Day. One hundred per cent of the proceeds from every Blizzard(R) treat sold will be donated to the Children's Miracle Network a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for Canadian children's hospitals. So, for such a worthy cause I had to have one. Tiger likes them too and did share a bit of mine, the picture is actually from a year or two ago, I couldn't get a good one today.

I've been doing some stitching, hope to have pictures to show soon.

I learned about Google Reader yesterday, Thanks Carol and highly recommend it. If you read a lot of blogs it is well worth the time to set up. I started with 12 blogs to see if I would like it and only 2 had updates today. Imagine the time saved when you have "tons" to read.

PIF Received

I received this lovely pin cushion as my PIF from Mary Kathryn. The picture does not do it justice, it is absolutely awesome.

I stitched this for a friend who retired and moved to Prince Rupert to be with her daughter and family. It seemed appropriate as she made the move to help look after their 2 boys and new born daughter. I couldn't get it finished before her move, so will be mailing it off this week, hope she likes it.

We have been having absolutely gorgeous weather. Some days are so hot, but then it cools down the next day which is nice. So it looks like we will get a summer after all.

There's a contest going on over at Stitch Pink , take a look at the July 9th posting.

Quaker Box Received

I received my Quaker exchange from Jennifer and she has outdone herself. This is her first exchange and I think she was rather anxious about it. Not to worry Jennifer, I LOVE IT !
She stitched the Sheep and finished into a box and filled it with goodies. My favorite Bliss chocolate, DMC Linen thread, postcards of Ohio, colored book rings, Lavender sachet and candles and she also stitched a fob.
Thank you so much Jennifer.

Quaker Inspired Exchange

We were to stitch a Quaker Critter from The Workbasket, and this is what I did for Donna.
I really enjoyed stitching it and may do one for myself.

At first she didn't know it was from me. I have a very bad habit of sealing up the envelopes and then realizing I forgot to write up a card.

I have finished one PIF and am working on the second. July 15th (or sooner) still looks good as the mail out day.

I received some of the latest LHN patterns in the mail this week, making me anxious to start them all at once. Oh how I wish I could stitch in my sleep :) which is where I am off to now, so I can stitch when I get up !

Happy Canada Day

Pillows

I had a successful weekend making 5 pillows, 2 I can't show till they have reached their new homes.

Here we have LHN Berries, Peace and Be Joyful in Hope. The respective fabrics is what was used for their backing. I may do this again in a few days. Seems if I get a few of them lined up I have better success of them getting done.

We had a HOT weekend, a little too hot, but nicer than the cold dreary cloudy skies.

Lovely Day

It has turned out to be a lovely day, the sky is blue, the sun is out and it is very warm with a nice cool breeze. We haven't had too many of these days and it sure is nice.

On to stitching.

On the Hoe Blog I took part of the LHN exchange and Staci sent this wonderful package to me.
She took part of the Thread Gathering and stitched a floss and scissor fobs on her own hand-dyed 22ct hardanger. I've admired this type of finish for a while now, so it really means a lot to me. I just may give it a try one day.

Tomorrow I will share some of my stitching. If I say this I will have to keep my blog up to date right? We'll see....

74 Days Ago

was the last time I posted. I don't know where the time goes. Then I thought spring had arrived, now we are into summer and the weather is lousy. We do get a few nice days, but most are cloudy and cold. On the stitching front, I don't have pictures to show, but have done lots (for me) stitching. I will take pictures in the morning and be sure to post them, maybe not all in one day. Speaking of time, it was a year ago that 4 people signed up for a PIF, 2 no longer have blogs and I don't know how to get in touch with them, for the other 2 I have one stitched and am working on the 2nd. When I have both done I will mail them out, I promise it will be no later than July 15th, 2 weeks late is better than never. Like many other stitchers out there I have heaps of patterns I want to stitch, not to mention all the new patterns that keep coming out. At times I feel so overwhelmed and don't know what to do. How do you handle your ever growing list and decide what to stitch and when ?

Spring has Arrived !

Yes, according to Tiger spring has finally arrived and she can look for rocks. I'm sure glad she wasn't trying to pick up the one in front of her. Yesterday and today have been gorgeous days, sunny and warm, I only hope it will last.

Last week I received this lovely pin keep from Aniza in Malaysia , as part of the Hooked on Exchange group. She choose a pattern from a favorite designer of mine, LHN, and stitched it 1 over 28ct.It is so tiny and delicate and I just LOVE it. Thanks Aniza.

I also received some stash in the mail and couldn't resist doing this one right up. Called Modern Bloom, it is an exclusive from Brittercup Designs and Stitches 'N Things. I'm a "little" disappointed in the Cinders floss, which should be red/black, I could see no red in it and it stitched up as black, but it is still a cute design. The floss minder I bought from Monique of Studio Twenty. It's just the cutest and I love it.

Earlier in the week I started a LHN Scissor Fob and then yesterday noticed some fabric that would be perfect for LHN My Needle's Work, so started that. I have a "few" others I'm working on, so am going to try a rotation system, which always fails for me, but will try anyways.

Thanks to all who come by to read my blog, I'm not very good at keeping things up to date, this is my first post for April and the month is already half over.

Scissor Fob

My Prairie Schooler yahoo group did a scissor fob exchange and I received this lovely fob and card made by Bev from England. It came in the mail this morning just as I was finishing hers. Today's the deadline for mailing, talk about cutting it close.

I'm meeting a friend for lunch today at the River Rock Casino the link should take you to a virtual tour of the casino, just picture me sitting there loosing my money while my friend wins ! She always wins, just one of those lucky people.

Wacky Weather

Hey what's this white stuff and why is it so cold ?? That's right we awoke to snow on the ground this morning. I can't wait till spring arrives, oh wait it did, must have missed us. I know other areas have it worse than we do, but come on it's almost April.



I have been so ill the last week, too much Easter chocolate. I know better than to over indulge, but I LOVE chocolate. I did this at Christmas and swore I would never do it again. Not to mention the weight gain, yup I ate so much it shows on the scale.

I had a big surprise last week, eHandcrafts , my favorite on-line shop, had a St. Patrick's Day drawing and I won out of 30 people ! The prize was $17.00 to spend at the shop and I am going to stock up on some dyed threads.

I have finished stitching a scissor fob and a pin keep for two exchanges I am in. Just need to put them together this weekend and in the mail. Should be able to show photos in a couple of weeks.

Hope everyone who reads my blog had a Happy Easter.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I managed to get the stitching but not the finishing done in time. I will do that today, so it will be ready for next year :) It is stitched on 18 ct. white Aida with DMC701.

Birds is an HIH design stitched with DMC on Sassy's 28 ct. Lugana Morning Blue.

I have 3 other designs stitched for exchanges, just need to finish them. Can't show them here as I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises.

Schoolgirl Lessons

I received this pattern in the mail the other day and just knew I had to stitch it right away. It is from LHN recommending Rose of Sharon by CC Belle Soie . I've used these silks in other colors before and just loved them and not had a problem. It's hard to tell in the picture but the red has turned this white fabric pinkish. Should I have rinsed the thread first ? I used Jubilee fabric, does it not go well with dyed floss ? One thing I am definitely not going to do is wash it, that would be a disaster !! I was going to stitch the bottom of this for the back, finishing it as a pillow. I am still going to finish it as a pillow, but will find some fabric for the back, in the meantime it will go with the rest of my "finishes" waiting to be finished. I really have to set aside a day and do some, my drawer is getting full.

Pink

First we have the tree that Terri designed for Stitch Pink . I had stitched this up some time ago and used dyed thread and it ran when I ironed it. After living in the laundry room and going through every hot wash I remembered to put it in, it is as clean as it will get.

Second we have a design from Tantes Zolder stitched on 28 ct. with DMC CV4180. Thinking of making this into a pin keep. This design would be better in a solid color for the hearts to stand out more.

And last we have a Pink Butterfly from

DMC also using DMC CV4120. This is my first pillow tuck and I just "tucked" it in for the photo. There is not enough fabric to "fill" the tuck. Any help in how I would get this to stay put would be appreciated.

This is the Gastown Steam Clock. It is situated in the oldest part of downtown Vancouver.

Happy Valentine's Day

In Feb. 2000 a girl at my work asked if anyone wanted some Love Birds. I said sure I will take 2, my Dad had always talked about getting a pair. I asked her to bring them in on Feb. 14 (Dad's birthday) as this would be the perfect gift. Imagine my surprise when she comes in with a couple of finches. Her family were calling them love birds as they bred like rabbits :) Needless to say Dad laughed and off we went to the pet store and bought two Love Birds, naming them Sonny and Cher. Shortly after midnight New Year's Eve I happened to look in their cage and Cher had passed. Sonny was broken hearted, he started sticking his head out the bars of his cage begging for affection. If we let him out he would come and sit on our head or shoulder, like always, but now was pecking to the point of biting. He truly missed his mate. A friend had an extra Love Bird, who she said needed a mate, so Sumas came to join Sonny 2 weeks ago and they are very happy together. Sumas is a baby, 2 or 3 years old and a bit smaller than Sonny, but they are Love Birds, which says it all.

New Look

Just like a haircut or wardrobe I was getting tired of the same old look. Came across this site http://www.pyzam.com/ and thought why not. While it may look like I know what I am doing, I really don't. When I was saving the new template it said something about saving widgets, what the heck are they ??? Guess I didn't agree to saving them and now half my blog is gone. Thankfully none of my posts are gone, just the sidebar, which probably needed updating anyways. Hopefully next time I will know what I am doing :)

I do have some stitching done, but my camera battery is being charged.

This is BC Place, future home of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2010 Olympics. While I won't be going to see them, I do remember like it were yesterday, going to see Pope John Paul II in 1984.

Hooked on Exchanging

This is the fob I received from Nic in the scissor fob exchange. She also included some beads, buttons, WDW and Rainbow floss.

If you would like to see what I sent to Jean you will need to look at HOE blog as I can't find where I saved the picture of hers.

Today we have a photo of the main branch of the Vancovuer Public Library.

Hope Perches

is stitched on 32 ct. Belfast Vintage with hand dyed floss from Stranded by the Sea, no name on the card, does say Limited Edition. When looking for more of the fabric I was going to use I found a scrap of the one shown and I think it matches perfectly. Once again I don't have enough, but I'm pretty sure I bought this at Michael's, if so I should be able to get more. Groundhog Day is stitched on 32 ct. Vintage Linen.

To get to Michael's in North Vancovuer I would need to to cross this bridge, The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing Bridge.