Pencil Pouch with Cherry's on Top

Last night my daughter requested a pencil pouch with this fabric I had in my stash.  It turned out really cute and she loves it.

See the pretty lining fabric that matches the polka dots and gingham button? 

DD and I were running errands this morning while DS was volunteering to get service hours for his Confirmation coming up in May.  We were doing fun errands to Michaels and Fabricland.  We wanted to get to Wineberry's, our local quilt shop, but ran out of time before DS needed to be picked up.  He was very perturbed to have to come along.  Here's how our conversation outside the shop went:

DS:  Do I have to come in?

A:  Yes, you can't sit in the car.  Look, you won't be the only man in there.  One's walking in right now.

DS:  Yeah, but he's with his wife.  He doesn't have a choice.

A:   HA HA HA! 

Out of the mouths of 12 year olds!  When I relayed our conversation to DH later he said some snarky comment about learning early about married life, yada, yada.  I have NO idea what he's talking about!

Happy Stitching!

My First Lizzie*Kate Exchange was Received

I made this little needlebook for my L*K exchange partner Stephanie, Blue Star Stitcher. 

February Stamps Flip-It by Lizzie*Kate

Fabric:  can't remember!

Fibre's:  WDW and GA as charted

Embellishments:  teeny tiny buttons included with chart & shell button for closure

Finished as a needlebook

I LOVE how this turned out.  Stephanie's lucky I personalized it or I would have been tempted to keep it!

Happy Stitching!

Sun Shiny Morning

What's a kitty and a puppy to do when a window is open to the warm, fresh air and some (unusual for Vancouver in January) sunshine?  Bask in it of course! 

Aren't they cute???  And photogenic!

I had a great day yesterday.  It was my very first Stitch 'n Bitch!  My girlfriend came over in the morning, we had homemade coffee cake (the best recipe ever) and coffee.  We then moved on to the stiching and bitching part of the day.  My girlfriend worked on Christmas Eve by The Prairie Schooler and some knitting and I worked on my L*K Exchange piece which is now ready to be finish finished!  I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch along with pickles (a must with grilled cheese!) and veggies and dip.  Then more stitching!  We're definitely doing that again.

Last night I worked on LHN's Fa La La.

Not a lot of progress but I'm not stressing about it because I still haven't received Pear Tree or He's a Flake with my autoship.  It's fun to stitch though.

Happy Stitching!

Slowly But Surely...

I have some progress on the craft room or Girl-Cave as one blogger called it!
Here is the almost empty room painted Windmill.  I like how the colour turned out.  Light buy not nursery-like and not white!

Here are pic's of the latest load of junk that my son and I took to Value Village.  Good thing DS is big enough to sit in the front seat as there was NO room for him in the back at all.

My hubby took a truck load of junk out of the garage to the dump and on Sunday we gave away this old huge TV that has been sitting in the basement that my hubby replaced with a flat screen (of course!)  The basement and garage are slowly getting more livable!

As for stitching...I'm working on LHN's Fa La La, an Exchange piece and getting my 12 month project ready for a SAL I joined called the Festive Ornament SAL or FOSAL for short.  I'm doing Just Nan's 12 Days of Christmas WhimZi.  You should check it out and join!

Happy Stitching!

Happy Birthday!

My "baby" girl turns 14 years old today!  My how time flies. 

This same baby girl has a basketball tournament this weekend so I don't know how much stitching I'll get in.  You would think that's when I'd get the most done, but the way our weekends are, I barely touch my stitching.  I'm having withdrawals symptoms from it.  This week wasn't any better for stitching either.  I am getting a lot done around the house though! 

Christmas is all put away for another year and I'm making great strides in the craftroom redo.  I picked a paint colour.  It's called Windmill by General paint.  It's a light grey/blue that is soothing and goes great with my creamy trim colour.  I hope to start painting on Monday.  Woo hoo, progress!  I also picked up a comfy desk chair at Costco yesterday.  It's sitting in the garage for now though.

Have a great weekend & Happy Stitching!

How Embarrassing...

As you can see from the photo I started the purging process for my craftroom make-over:

All that stuff is now at the Salvation Army, waiting for a new owner.  Not all of it came out of my craftroom to-be.  It includes stuff that I had been hanging on to in 2 linen closets plus a laundry basket full of clothes that my daughter had outgrown.  Still...i'ts embarrassing to see the amount of stuff I'm getting rid of, and that's just the start!

I went to Benjamin Moore today to see if I could find some paint chips I like.  I tried 2 different types of grey on the wall but I'm not feeling them AT ALL.  They don't work with my creamy-white trim.  My problem is that I want a non-beige colour that's quite light but then I run the risk of it looking like a nursery.  I don't want to pick something that I get on the wall and hate it!  I know everyone always says "it's just paint" but painting is a lot of work and I'd rather paint the room once.

On another note...today is my 1st Blogoversary!  I'm going to dig through my stash and see what I can come up with for a giveaway to celebrate this blogging milestone.  I'm going to have an easy-to-enter giveaway.  None of this link, follower, yada yada stuff to be able to enter.  To me that's too much trouble and I don't enter those giveaways :D laaaazy!

Keep an eye out for my giveaway!

Happy Stitching!

My First SAL & Craftroom Progress

I joined the LHN Travelling Stitcher SAL and this is the progress I made this weekend.  I didn't get a lot done but at least I started it!

As for the craftroom part of this post...I now have an entire room to dedicate to my stitching!!!  It's definitely a work in progress:

As you can see from the photos I have a lot of purging and organizing to do as it's become a bit of a catch-all room.  I'm so excited about this!  I'll have my own space to retreat to for some "alone time."  I'll keep you posted with my progress. 

I plan on going through my whole house and donate a bunch of unwanted items to charity so this falls into those plans nicely.

Happy Stitching!

Final of Four Christmas Stitchy Gifts

I like to think I saved the best for last!

Jinglebell Reindeer...My Way by Daffycat

Freebie found here

Fabric:  25 ct. Antique White Lugana

Fibre's:  DMC 801, 816, 3051, Blanc

Embellishments:  Mill Hill Seed Beads in red & white, MH Petite Seed Beads in black

My friend Sandra:) of Sandra Sews:) gave me a great suggestion on wrapping this ornament up for my stepdad:

I used a cute sheer red bag I had, put chocolate covered raisins in the bottom and attached the tag with the cute little reindeer and poem on it.  (The poem was turned into a tag thanks to my 12 year old son and his Microsoft Paint wizardry!!!)  Thanks Sandra for your suggestion!  You always have the best ideas and I always really appreciate all your help!

Here is a close up of the poem:

Have a very Happy New Year everyone!

Happy Stitching!

Third of Four Christmas Stitchy Gifts

Here is the ornament I made for my son for Christmas:

Santa's Buddies by Angel Stitchin'

2009 JCS Ornament Issue

Fabric:  32 ct. Platinum Belfast Linen

Fibre's:  DMC 349, 612, Blanc & GA Baby Spinach, Sarsparilla

Embellishments:  Mill Hill Metal Treasures 15001 & Seed Beads 03039

My son really liked it, his reaction when he opened it was really cute.  A "special ornament" was on his Christmas list and I guess this qualified.  He's especially interested in what I'm stitching and always is so thrilled when I finish something.  He particularily hates it when I make something for an exchange and have to send it away :D. 

I've been thinking about stitching goals lately and what I would like to acheive in 2010.  I'm going to see if writing them down stresses me out or focuses me...I've joined two SAL's and just ordered the LHN Sampler months so I have plenty to keep me busy!

What are your stitching goals for 2010?

Happy Stitching!

Second of Four Christmas Stitchy Gifts

This is the ornament I stitched for my (almost) 14 year old daughter.

Elf in the Box by Brooke's Books

Fabric:  28ct. Platinum Belfast Linen, 14 ct. perforated paper

Fibre's:  DMC as charted

Embellishments:  Mill Hill seed beads as charted

She loved it and said she really had to "study" it to take in all the detail.  She (like her mom :D) loves bling so I knew she would love this design.  She has it hanging up in her room and told me she isn't putting it away with the Christmas decorations. 

My kids see me stitching all the time and know the time that goes into these projects so they really appreciate them.  I was thrilled with her reaction!

Until tomorrow...

Happy Stitching!

P.S.  Is anyone else using the new post editor on Blogger?  It works great!  (It makes it super easy to place photos where you WANT them.) I can't seem to find a spellcheck button anywhere though...is it staring me in the face and I just can't see it???