Blogoversary

I was wished a Happy Blogoversary and couldn't believe another year went by and I missed it. I am going to make up 2 gift bags of stitching supplies (sorry, it would take me too long to stitch something) for a draw of names. You will be able to use all the items for stitching and finishing. Won't say more or it won't be a surprise. Just mention in your comment that you would like to be entered into the draw, which I will hold on Oct. 5th. I do love all the comments I receive and enjoy visiting your blogs in return.

Otter Love

A sea otter who captured the hearts of millions with her heroic tale and loving nature died yesterday at the Vancouver Aquarium.

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/PDF/2007/10/10/20080924.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kavoAsYkjq4

Burn After Reading

Nope, not my blog. The movie. The furnace is broken and it was raining all day yesterday, so took my Mom to see a movie. Originally we planned on seeing The Women, but we were early and in time for this one. I'm not sure what I was expecting, surprising in a lot of parts, but overall it was a good movie. Brad Pitt plays the goofy/nerdy part very well.

Had someone out on Friday to look at the furnace and a part needs ordering, so it will be a few days before it gets fixed. We do have a gas fireplace so are not freezing by any means. Today is nice and the sun is trying to come out. Tiger and I walked Trout Lake twice to make up for yesterday, I might have done one more but she had a hard time keeping up with me.

Also started some finishes yesterday morning, but they are not quite done. Oh and I got the JCS Ornament issue, lots in there I would like to do, have even started the PS one. I'm stitching with the called for colors, but as I'm stitching it I start thinking it would look nice with green trees and a reddish/brown house, so may do another with those colors.

I'll have some pictures of my finishes to post in a few days.

I Love Red

Finally I have some pictures to show for my stitching. I have been trying all week to get decent pictures taken and they were either too dark or blurry. Maybe I need a new camera or maybe it's the photographer.

First up we have a Star with a Heart in the middle. I stitched this with DMC CV4210. I can't seem to find the pattern to say where I got it from. It is a free one, if anyone really wants to know I will look for the site. Here's the site http://aurelle.over-blog.com/article-4775483.html

Thanks Anna.

I stitched up a little fob using Lizzie Kates Alphabet. I only stitched the background for the initial, assissi style. I was so engrossed in hand stitching the seams and getting the needle through the ribbon I didn't realize it was upside down, the little hearts should have been facing the other way.

This lovely design is from Debbie Draper . I stitched this using Carrie's Creation Ruby. I used the same for the fob.

This little birdie is from the Readers Digest Big Book of Cross Stitch Designs. I stitched it with DMC 817.

And lastly we have a Pelin Tezer free design. I left the border off and stitched it in DMC 304.

I do have another red one in the works, just a little more stitching and it will be done.

This week I think I will go back to stitching LHN Neighbord and LK Christmas flip its. If I just do these two I should get a fair amount done on both.

The Holly Frog !

That darn frog just won't leave. I decided to start LK Christmas Double Flip. I got the fabric especially for this so knew it was the right size, I just don't know how to count very well. I started the border across the top and down the sides a bit then started Holly, got the HO done and then the L wouldn't line up right. Found where I went wrong and had to rip what I had done, not the border thankfully. Got the HOLL done and half the Y and it wouldn't line up right. I started the top of the Y over one stitch too many, so instead of ripping it out I added a stitch at the bottom so it looks okay, I think. It's too late to take a picture now, maybe tomorrow.

A few weeks ago we met this dog at Trout Lake and he took an instant liking to Tiger. I managed to get a little video clip of them playing. You will hear his owner refer to him as a Jack Russell, which he is, only the tail was never cropped, which I rather like.

Blues and Frogs

Well It's been a while since I've been here. I was without a keyboard and it's kind of hard to keep a blog or yahoo groups up to date when there is nothing to type with. Then I got the "summer" head cold, the sore throat came first, then stuffy nose, now a lingering cough. I'm feeling blue enough with the lousy summer weather we've had I don't need to be sick any longer.

Even with feeling lousy I did manage to get some stitching done. I found these cute little patterns about a year ago, printed them off, but it doesn't say where I got them and I can't seem to locate where it was. If anyone recognizes them please let me know. There were 8 in total in light blue and reds. Anyways, here is two of them, didn't turn out like I thought they would, but they will do.

I couldn't resist this Helga Mandl pattern from the June 2008 issue of The Gift of Stitching. It's just the cutest, but hasn't' been doing a good job. Maybe if I move him closer to where I stitch it will help :)

That's it for today, tomorrow I will share more of what I've been stitching and some WIP's.

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.