Christmas Ornament for my Stepdad

Here is what I stitched for my stepdad for Christmas.

It's Merry Moose by Mill Hill. I finished it as a hanging ornament instead of a magnet like the kit intended. I just love the beaded garland around his neck. This is a design I will actually stitch again...which I don't do :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Winner!

The winner of my giveaway for a copy of Cross Stitch for the Holidays is:

Cindy of Cindy's Cross Stitching Ornaments and Projects!!!!  Congrats Cindy.  Email me with your address and I'll post it ASAP.

I've started on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow:

A small start, but at least it's started!

The Start of Something Big

Just a reminder that if you haven't already entered my "Back To Blogging" Giveaway to go here and leave a comment to enter!

I made this today in preparation of the something big I'm going to start today:

My very first Qsnap cover!  It was really easy.  I used this tutorial here.

So what is this something big??? 



It's Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow (CaHRH) by Carriage House Samplings.  Waaaaaay back in January I won this chart and all the threads in a giveaway from the lovely Carol of Stitching Dreams.  I just searched my email inbox and saw that I ordered the custom dyed Lakeside Linens 36 ct. fabric from my Canadian LNS January 31 and I just received it in August!  The fabric is huge.  *gulp*  It's scary to contemplate actually as I usually just stitch smalls.   I'm looking forward to this project though.  It's gorgeous and everytime I read the words to the carol stitched on it I hear Frank Sinatra singing...

Hopefully I'll have some progress to show you soon!

Back to Blogging Giveaway!

Wow, has it been awhile!  I haven't blogged or stitched since February...

So to help get me back in the swing of things, and in appreciation to my followers who stuck it out with me ;) I thought I'd have a little giveaway:

Cross Stitch for the Holidays Magazine

As per the usual, no need to jump through any hoops to enter, just be a follower.  Leave a comment and I'll draw a name in a weeks time.

Thanks!



Reindeer Ornament Exchange

Here is what I stitched for my partner for the Reindeer Round ornament exchange for Hooked on Exchanging Too:

Christmas 17 by The Floss Box

Fabric:  32 ct. Ice Blue Belfast linen

Fibre's:  Charted and my own conversion

Embellishments:  Beads, reindeer ribbon

Finished as a pillow ornament

I highly recommend that you check out The Floss Box.  Emily has tons (and I mean TONS) of freebies on her site for both cross stitch and embroidery.  You can also purchase her very reasonably priced patterns and download them in minutes.

Valentine Finish

I made this quicky up over the weekend so I'd have something to post about!

"Say it With Stitching" Alphabet by Cross Stitcher Magazine #235

Fabric:  32 ct. Porcelain Opalescent by Silkweaver

Fibre's:  BeBopped silk Hand Dyed Fibers

Embellishments:  Teeny heart button & ribbon

Finished as a heart ornament

Thanks Sandra :) for the help with the curve's on the heart.  I think they turned out ok!

2 Finishes to Share

Red House in Winter by Little House Needleworks

Fabric:  30 ct. Northern Cross Linen by Norden Crafts

Fibre's:  as charted

Finish to be determined :)

I'm trying to catch up on the monthly ornaments so I can start this years ormanents.  I'm pondering how to finish all of them.  I'm pretty sure I don't want to do pillow ornaments, I'm kinda tired of them.

I'm really happy with this finish:



Travelling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks

Fabric:  32 ct. Lambswool linen by Wichelt

Fibre's:  Crescent Colors as charted

Finished onto Impie, Hattie & Bea Project Keeper

I did what some of you out there might view as the unthinkable and used Steam-A-Seam to attach the stitching to the project keeper.  I thought long and hard about it and decided I was okay with doing that. 

I also finished another one of my February goals, my HoE Reindeer ornament!  Pictures will be shown after my partner receives it.  :)

Now it's onto my final goal for February!  Merry Christmas by the Letter by Lizzie Kate. 

February Goals

Look at all the snippets from my stitching in January (trust me I looks like more in real life!)  I really did do a lot of stitching last month and there is my proof.  Aren't my jars pretty?  Michael's had them 40% off today :)

I know in my head the stitching I'd like to accomplish this month and thought recording it here would help me actually do it!  So here goes:

- finish finish and mail my Reindeer ornament for HoE by the 7th (8 days ahead of schedule!)
- finish stitching Travelling Stitcher by LHN (I'm "THIS" close to being done)
- finish stitching Red House in Winter ornament by LHN
- stitch "R" and "I" on L*K's Merry Christmas by the Letter (long term goal is to have this finished & framed for my mom for Mother's Day)

I think that's pretty do-able for a short month. 

Have a great weekend!

January Wrap Up

Like I said in my previous post, I got more stitching done in Vail than I thought I would.  This is what I worked on:

Red House in Winter by LHN

I worked on Red House on the plane.  I find the less colour changes the better while in such a confined space.  I've been bringing nail clippers for cutting threads when I fly.  I told my hubby that the next time we go I'm bringing my Little Gem scissors by Kelmscott and see what happens.  They're not a huge investment so I'm willing to risk getting them taken away.  What have your experiences been with travelling with your stitching?

Travelling Stitcher by LHN

I started it as a SAL but didn't get very far :)  The fabric was really bugging me at the time.  It was so stiff and scratchy.  As you can see I've gotten over that.  Anyone know of a tutorial for sewing the stitching onto the pouch?

Progress as of February 11, 2010

Now this really frosts me:



I started in the middle of the design (like it says to) on the fabric supplied with the kit.  Look at all the waste!!!!!  I still have the cover for the needlebook to stitch but still!  Ridiculous!

I got the most amazing news on Saturday!  I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself...I won this:

It's the chart and all the DMC for Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplers!!!!  I won it from Carol at Stitching Dreams for Birthday giveaway.  I've ordered a cut of fabric for it heard from Carol that she has already popped it in the mail!  When I'm done stitching all Carol asks is that I have a giveaway for the chart too ;)  Check out Carol's blog, she always has great posts and amazing stitching and is a superb finisher!

Have a great week!

Ski Trip and Stash!

We got home from Colorado on Tuesday night after playing Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  SUV from Vail to Denver, plane from Denver to Seattle, bus from Seattle to Bellingham and then home in the car.  Phew!  It was so worth it though.  Here are a few photos that I found online of the skiing and other highlights of our trip.

Beaver Creek Ski Hill  (This is what it was our first day of skiing)

Beano's Cabin (A fabulous restaurant)

On our second last night we were pulled up the mountain to Beano's in an open air sled pulled by a grooming machine of all things!  The trip up took about 15 minutes (going down took about 10) and was incredible and pretty warm too.  They had lined blankets for everyone to bury under.  The food there was spectacular too. 

We were treated to incredible meals and incredible skiing.  The best of our lives in fact.  Up at Vail mountain we were skiing in powder up to our knees.  Hubby was in his glory because he had someone to go on all the black diamond runs with him plus he got to go skiing 5 days!  (3 was enough for me)  I managed to get far more stitching in than I thought.  I'll post those pictures in a few days.

Here is some stash that was awaiting me when we got home:

32 ct. Lakeside Linen in Butter Cream & Aqua Mist

I signed up for a Linen collector program at Traditional Stitches in Calgary.  Janice, the owner, convinced me to give Lakeside Linen a try.  I chose 32 ct because that seems to be my go-to fabric count.

Variegated Silk by Hand Dyed Fibers 

These came on this little plastic spools which I hated so I made my own floss tags and peeled the stickers with the names off the spools and stuck to the tags.  It was kind of finicky but I was not keeping them on the spools.  You really see the sheen like this.

Have a great weekend!

UFO's into WIP's

UFO stitching has been going on around here lately!  I have to say it feels pretty good to be getting these projects closer to being finished.  The last time I worked on Lizzie*Kate's Merry Christmas by the Letter was October 2009.  Here is what it looked like then:

And here it is now:

Not bad for a weeks work, if I do say so myself.  Especially since I was also working on another former UFO; Travelling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks.  I'm about half done both projects now.

Here is my progress on 12 Days of Christmas Whimzi by Just Nan.  I'm on 6 Geese a Laying:

Have a great weekend!

ABC's of Me, etc.

Thanks to the lovely scheduled post feature on Blogger when you read this post I'll be here:

Vail, Colorado

Doing some of this:

Along with eating, maybe a little spa-ing and some stitching too.   Lucky me gets to tag along with hubby on a business trip!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's ABC's of me and thought I'd play along.

A - Age: 37
B - Bed size: King
C - Chore you hate: It’s a toss up between cleaning bathrooms and grocery shopping
D - Dog's name: Oscar
E - Essential start of the day item: My lemon/raspberry mix Herbal Life tea
F - Favorite color: Pink, though I don’t wear a lot of it
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5’6”
I - Instruments you play: Organ (super rusty now though) French Horn and Alto Clarinet in school
J - Job: Domestic Engineer, AKA The Best Job Ever or Mom’s Taxi Service
K - Kids: 2, Daughter 15, Son 13
L - Living arrangements: In a lovely house with my hubby, kids, Oscar and our cat Pumpkin


M - Music you love: Almost everything, for stitching I like something soothing in the background like Michael Buble, Josh Groban. I also play Jim Reeves a lot; it makes me feel close to my Gramma.  Guilty pleasure is 80's Hair Bands like Def Leppard, Poison, Bon Jovi, etc.
N - Nicknames: Meadows or Meadsie, I was given those nicknames by my hubby’s college friend 18 years ago and it’s stuck. Hubby calls me every endearment under the sun, so much so, it’s weird to hear him call me by my first name
O - Overnight hospital: Tonsillectomy at 11, when my kids were born
P - Pet Peeve: Men who wear swim trunks as shorts!!! FYI, if there is mesh inside an item of clothing you don’t wear them outside of a pool!
Q - Quote from a movie: Every line from Love Actually

R - Right handed or left: Right
S - Siblings: 1 brother
T - Time you wake up: 6:00 am, I like a bit of quiet before the craziness of the day begins
U - Underwear: No VPL (Visible Panty Lines) in the words of Stacy & Clinton of What Not To Wear

V - Vegetable you dislike: Mushrooms, they taste like dirt though I cook them all the time for my son and husband
W - Workout Style: Bootcamp, I like to sweat
X - X-rays you've had: Dental
Y - Yummy food you make: The best Chocolate Lava cakes ever! And Champagne Risotto
Z - The best place to visit: I LOVED Europe. After that it’s my parent’s acreage in Alberta, it’s so relaxing there


...and now you know my ABC's, won't you play along with me?

Gifts from a Friend

I received these sweet little zipper pouches on Christmas Eve and have forgotten to post pictures of them.  They're from my blogging buddy Sandra of Sandra Sews :).  She is a sewing fiend!  The first 2 are for my birthday, apparently she had them all ready to mail in July and then had an issue ;) so she waited to send them at Christmas.  Better late than never, I say!

How cute is the zippy made to look like a pair of panties!

This one Sandra made me for Christmas:

I love the cardinal fabric, it's so pretty!  Thanks Sandra :)

2nd Blogiversary Giveaway Winner Is...

Hillery of 22 Threads!!!  Congratulations Hillery!  Send me an email with your address and your prize will be on it's way to you this week.

Thanks to all of you who entered, to my long time followers and my new followers too.

Christmas Ornaments for my Kids

I have a confession to make...even though I had these ornaments stitched, sewn and stuffed, I didn't have them sewn closed until last Friday night (Jan 7th)!!!  How bad is that?  I made sure my parent's ornaments were done for Christmas morning, but I just showed my kids their ornaments and back up to the craft room they went until now. 

This is the ornament that I made my son for Christmas this year:



Run, Run Rudolf by Raise the Roof Designs

Fabric:  32ct. Stitches & Spice Linen, colour unknown

Fibres:  GAST, DMC

Embellishments:  ribbon, JABC present button

Finished as a pillow ornament

I made my daughter this:



It's Expensive to Be Me by Lizzie*Kate

(It's a Girl Thing Chart)

Fabric:  32 ct. Platinum Belfast linen

Fibres:  GAST & DMC as charted

Embellishments:  Kreinik #4 braid, Mill Hill Crystal Treasures, twisted cord

Finished as a pillow ornament

Let me tell you, that trim was a little time consuming to stitch on but I like doing the handwork part of the ornaments so it was no bid deal.  Isn't it pretty too?  I found it last year at Wal-Mart by the wrapping paper.

I know DD's ornament isn't very Christmasy but she loved it, especially the colours :)  Oh yes, my baby girl turned 15 on Saturday!  We celebrated with a sleepover party with her posse, as I call it.  She has a group of 9 incredible friends so it's no big deal having them all over at once :D  They enjoyed a taco bar, fancy cupcakes lots and lots of potato chips and candy and VERY little sleep! 

Have a great week everyone!

On the 4th & 5th Days of Christmas...

I've now finished 5 out of the 12 days!  I can't believe it myself...the best part is that even if it's only been 15 stitches, I've stitched every day this year so far!

4 Calling Birds

5 Gold Rings

12 Days of Christmas WhimZi by Just Nan

Fabric: 32 ct. Flax Belfast Linen

Fibre's: DMC & Kreinik conversion as charted

To be finish-finished in Just Nan WhimZi frames

5 Gold Rings had Kreinik Blending Filament.  Man, is that ever a pain to work with!  All in all, I'm thrilled with my progress.  Now on to 6 Geese A-Laying!

Have a great weekend.

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

I can't believe I've been blogging for 2 years today!  My husband says it's actually 1 year because up to a year ago I was a closet blogger and the only people who knew about it also outed me to my husband.  Dang kids and their big mouths!  LOL  I also can't believe I was embarrased to tell DH.  He's the one who's encouraging me to post things and asking if I received any comments from this or that. 

Anyhoo, to celebrate this momentus occasion I would like to have a giveaway.  No hoops to jump through, though it would be nice if you were a follower.  I'll draw a winner on Saturday, January 15th, 2011.

Here is what the winner will score:

Naughty or Nice chart by Lizzie*Kate

includes 30ct. linen and buttons along with Magic by Mona finishing kit!

January is Cozy by Pine Mountain Designs

includes Pillow Sham & DMC threads

Faith by Lizzie*Kate

includes linen & felt for finishing

The Queen's Diamond chart by The Goode Huswife

Joyous Ark chart by Just Nan

"E" is for Empress Alphabet Sampler by The Victoria Sampler

includes accessory pack



Enchanted Mermaid by Nora Corbett

chart has never been opened!

Santa & Wreath felt stocking kit by Bucilla

Good luck to you all!

12 Days of Christmas Update & New Bloggers

Here is my progress on 4 Calling Birds:

I think some poetic licence was used by the designer for this day...I guess roosters are calling birds of a sort.  The colours really pop nicely though.

I would also like to introduce you to 2 new bloggers that have found me and in turn I was able to find them:

The first is Anne of Doll's Musings.  I love the fact that Anne is from the same city as me!  Anne is an elementary school teacher who hopes starting her blog will help motivate her to finish the stitching she's started.  With all the great support of all the wonderful stitcher's out in blog land she should have no problem with this goal!

The second blogger is Rhona of Tangled Threads.  She just started her blog on January 2nd of this year!  Welcome to blogging Rhona!

I hope you take the time to visit their blogs and say hi.

Also, Daffycat has an excellent post on user friendly blogging tips.

3 Finishes...Yes, You Read That Right

They're tiny, but with a bazillion colours so they seem to take forever!  I finally got smart on Saturday and pulled out the needle-holder my Dad gave me for Christmas 2 years ago.  I was using one needle...DUH!!!!!

It all started Friday morning, thanks to a raging case of PMS.  It was either sequester myself in my stitching room or kill my husband.  Poor guy, he knows there is no reasoning (or talking for that matter) with me when I'm like that.  While typing up my post for the New Year and listing my stitching goals I thought, I'm almost done, I'll finish my little UFO and be able to post one last finish in 2010.  Not so.  I was thwarted by one teeny stinking pear, and having to stop stitching to beautify for a New Years Eve party.  You'll be happy to note the PMS had subsided and I was actually talking nicely to hubby again in time for the party! ;)

Here is were I left off in February 2010:

And here it is finished: 

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

I was able to finish up said pear Saturday morning.  I was smart at the party, only a few drinks and tons of water until 12:30am when the kids and I went home, (lucky for us the party was right next door) leaving hubby to stumble home at 5am!!!  He's a trooper and has to go till the bitter end.  I was looking forward to bugging him about being hungover but no such luck!

I then finished this January 1, my official first start of 2011:

2 Turtle Doves

And Sunday I finished:

3 French Hens

12 Days of Christmas WhimZi by Just Nan

Fabric:  32 ct. Flax Belfast Linen

Fibre's:  DMC & Kreinik conversion as charted

To be finish-finished in Just Nan WhimZi frames

I've even started 4 Calling Birds last tonight.  All in all a lovely 3 days in my stitching room.  We even managed to get all the Christmas decorations put away yesterday afternoon.  With DH, DD and DS helping we had it all done and the main floor vacuumed and dusted in 2 1/2 hours.  Not too bad considering how long it all took to put up!

Happy Stitching!

Stitching Year in Review

I decided to look back through my photos and blog to see what I accomplished this year.  2010 I had a huge dry spell stitching wise so I figure I didn't do too bad.  I'm going to try to stitch more this year...Imagine what I can accomplish then!

This morning I was up at the crack of dawn to place my New Year's Eve order on the Silver Needle's website.  I want to do at least one large project this year and I've decided it will be Christmas Rules by Lizzie*Kate.  It's so cute and I love the "rules" too!

I also went through all my JCS ornament issues and made a spreadsheet of all the ornaments I would like to stitch.  From 2003 - 2010 there are *GULP* 44.  The ones that will take priority will be the Shepherds Bush "In a Stable" etc, that go along with the 2000 Years Ago chart I have in my stash. 

I'm signed up for an year long ornament exchange already, the first to go out in February.  It has to have a reindeer in it.

I also have a few WIP's that I want to finish in 2011:

1.  Travelling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks

2.  Merry Christmas by the Letter by Lizzie*Kate

3.  12 Days of Christmas by Just Nan

Thankfully there aren't many!  My mom really likes Merry Christmas by the Letter, I'd like to try to finish it for her by Mother's Day. 

Overall it my To-Do list seems pretty reasonable.  We'll see how I do!

Happy New Year Everyone!