Another Tweet Tea

I had a very productive weekend and was able to finish a few projects.  First of all I finished another bird from the Bucilla Kit- Birds and Teacups.  Two down and one to go in the series.  I will probably frame the series when I finish the last one and hang them in my kitchen.

I also managed to finish the March block from the Month by Month series from Sunflower Seeds.  It is pictured with the frame that I plan to use for each month.

This project I am very proud of and I just love how it turned out.  The pattern is from a company called Bloomin' Minds.  I used mainly fabric from my stash but I did buy the striped fabric at JoAnn's Fabrics.  You cannot tell but the words are stitch in a variegated floss from JP Coats that has pink, purples, greens and blues in it, very springy looking.  I also used a variegated green floss to long stitch across the stems with.  I cannot wait to hang this up this year.

I have a bit of good news to share.  I may have a job.  I got a call last week from a friend and she was letting me know that the company she works for is opening up a new store closer to me and wants me to work there.  It is a craft store and I would be working in the frame shop.  I used to work in a frame shop with my friend at another store and also in one that she used to own so she knows my work.  I am excited at the possibility and hope that I get it.  I would be working while my son is in school and also a few weekends a month so it should be fun.  Its funny, someone told me that they didn't know I was looking for work and I commented that I wasn't, that the job found me.  I should know if I get the job sometime this week.

A Long Overdue Update (warning image heavy)

Ok, ok, I know I am way behind on updating my blog but I just haven't been in the mood to post an update or really be at the computer to much.  The good news is I have given up playing facebook games, tired of the error messages and tired of the endless clicking so they went bye bye and you know what I do not miss them and I find that I have more stitching time, gee imagine that, LOL.

Now on to the fun stuff.  Before the ends of last year I started a new project, not a stitching one but a fun one none the less.  There is a wonderful new wood shop near me called Wood Creations and they have all kinds of unpainted wood to paint for the holidays and every day stuff too.  I fell in love with the word HOME, a simple word but each month instead of the O in the word you put a fun shape.  A pumpkin for November, an ornament for December, a snowflake for January and a heart for February.  For a few of them I have just painted them but for the snowflake and the heart I actually used scrap book paper to cover them.  I am really loving this project and its a nice break from stitching.  I used to do lots of painting so its fun to get back into it a little.  The word is perched high above on wall that does not go all the way to the ceiling, I have vaulted ceiling in part of my house.

 

Bet your wondering if I have any stitching to share, well of course I do.  I've started 2 monthly series, the first is by Sunflower Seeds and is called Month by Month.  I am stitching them using DMC threads on 32 count Country Mocha linen.  I have a frame picked out that I plan to use for the entire series and I will simply swap them out each month.

The next series if actually a Dimensions kit called A year of Events #35235.  I changed the white aida farbic for a white 28 count linen and I am stitching them each separately.  I have not decided yet how I am going to finish them.  They will probably end up being an ornament.

Nope I am not done yet.  This is a series from Val's Stitching stuff called Kitty's changing seasons.  They stitched up really quick and I was able to finish the entire series in a few days.  Finished size on each one is less then 2 inches squared.

Two last things...  Bent Creeks Red and White stitched on a 28 count queen annes lace linen and a little heart humbug.  The humbug was in the Feb 2011 Janie Hubble newsletter and its stitched on a 28 count Jamica sparkle linen.

I think that is everything that I have been stitching this year.  Well there is one more thing but I will try to post it later this week.  I have decided to work on several old WIPs and kits that I bought the past few years.  I am trying not to add to much to my stash and work on what I have for at least the first half of the year, we'll see if I actually stick to it. 

End of The Year Update (Warming- image heavy)

WARNING!!-- This post is very long and full of pictures, just thought I would let you know in advance.

I cannot believe that another month and year for that matter is gone.  This year went by so fast and was full of ups and downs.  Looking back on my year of stitching I didn't really finish much off my list of items I wanted to stitch so do not be surprised if a few of them stay on that list because I still want to stitch them.  I did manager to stitch lots of things and thought I had better post the last of my finishes.

I actually finished these two in November but I thought I was going to get them made into ornaments before posting that but it just hasn't happened, oh well, I plan to do lots of finishing in the next year.  Both patterns are from Crossed Wing Collection- #26 A Crossed Wing Christmas and are stitch on a 28 ct natural iridescent linen.

These two little cuties are kits I decided to do.  The snowy owl I gave to my Mom.  The Yo-yo cardinal was made from a kit from Mary Maxim.

This is the first CEC Mitten I have ever done and I am sure it will not be my last.  This one is called the Lone Pine mitten and it comes from leaflet 227 Winter Forest.

I know I already posted this one but I just love the way it turned out.  I was so excited to finally find the little tart tins for it.  By the way I got mine for .79 cents each at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I had to drill the hole in the top to put the ribbon thru but that was the easy part for a craft person like me.  I gave this ornament to my dear friend Cindy who loves and collects squirrels.  She was just thrilled with it.

Every year my sister brings me craft kits to do for her, this year she brought me a cross stitch kit of little stocking and mittens to stitch up.  I had her select 8 of them from the kit and I managed to get 6 of them stitched but I did not get them completely finished in time so they are first on my list of items to finish.  Here is what they look like so far.  Only thing I need to do is attach them to the felt backing and put a hanger on them.  I also made her a beaded ornament but I forgot to take pictures of it before I gave it to her, opps.

I seriously hope I have not forgotten anything.  I want to thank all my online friends for reading my blog and posting comments, it means a lot to me knowing that other people like what I am doing.  I hope I have not bored you to much with things, LOL.  Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year.

End of the month update and new treasures

It's been a while since I posted an update and people are starting to give me a hard time because while chatting with friends I keep saying I am going to post an update and still haven't yet so before someone takes a wet noodle to me I figured I better get one done.

I don't really have anything big and exciting to share, just a few small finishes.  The first one is by Prairie Schooler  and its stitched on a very fitting fabric for it.  The fabric is a 36 count from Birds of a Feather and the color is Barn owl, see I told you it was perfect for it.

This one I stitched for a friend for Christmas but its safe to post here cause she doesn't read my blog, as far as I know she doesn't even know I have a blog, LOL.  Its from the 2011 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue and the design is from Victoria Sampler.  I am still trying to find a tart tin to put it on or another type of small frame.  I am sure I will come up with something for it.

Here is one last little finish that I did.  On November 12th at The Stitchers Village,  Jennifer Aikmen-Smith from Dragon Dreams joined the site for a group chat and afterwards she posted a new freebie to her facebook page.  I couldn't resist getting to work on it right away and had it finished within a few hours.  Its called- Be thankful.

Last weekend my husband and I went to visit a friend and help her with a project.  On one of her walls she had hung a antique printing drawer and had little items that she had collected from all over the world while traveling with the military.  I commented on how neat it was and out of the blue she offered me 3 antique printing drawers and she just wanted to give away.  I was over joyed with these and cannot wait to figure out something to do with them.  I have seen people use them for all kinds of stitching projects and now I just need to decide which project I want to do.  Anyway here is what I got...  Two square drawers- each with spaces about 2x2 and 1 drawer has various size spaces.

On a side note I did manage to finish all of the Dragon Dreams Christmyth ornaments, I do not have pictures of them but it is nice to have the entire series finally done.  I will try to post pictures of them another day.

Well I am off to begin my massive project of decorating the house for Christmas- 10 large totes and various boxes of decorations.  It usually takes me a good week to get it all done.

Last of the Halloween stuff and a Halloween Surprise

I cannot believe that the month of November is already here and we are 10 days into it, where is time going these days??  I've been staying busy with projects and looking forward to the holidays.  I finished the last of my Halloween project and I am so excited that I am done with the AAN Spider Banner.  I was surprised at how quick it actually worked up even if I didn't get it made into a wall hanging this year.  I've stored the project with the fabric I picked out to go with it so I can hopefully get it done in time for next Halloween.

Update- Forgot to post what fabric I used- 28 ct Autumn Fields from Zweigart using DMC floss.


I mentioned in a previous post that I found a new quilt store in my area and that I love their projects.  One local product that they have is little mini quilt wall hangings that you applique fabric and add buttons too.  This is one called Spell Gone Wrong and I just love it.  I am doing a few of these little quilts with some friends and they are lots of fun.

I've also managed to get a few projects done for Thanksgiving.  One is from CEC and is a cute little turkey acorn and the other is from Trilogy and is called Thanksgiving Spots.  I love the spots series and I am slowly getting all of them done.

One last thing.  Some of you know that I have lots of pets including several tortoise and this year on Halloween I was surprised to get a baby hatching .  I have named it Punkin and its the only baby that is going to hatch this year.  The other hopeful egg did not hatch and the other day we opened it to see that the baby died late in development which does happen.  Lucky for the new baby it will have 4 older siblings from last year to keep it company.  Punkin is going well and is eating great.  He/Shes cage is right next to its siblings and I hope in a few months that I can put them in the same cage, right now Punkin is just to little to be with the bigger torties who enjoy climbing over each other.

First picture was taken on Halloween night and shows the baby with just its head out of the egg.  The egg is about the size of a ping pong ball.

The next picture was taken 2 days later after it was ready to come out of the incubator.  I just love the little face.  Look close on the bottom and you will see the last of the egg yoke still there.

This picture shows the new baby at 1 day old next to its 13 month old sibling.  Its amazing how much they grow in a year.  That is a quarter in between them so you can get a better idea on their sizes.

Well that is it for now.  Hope you were not to bored with the tories, I know not everyone gets as excited as I do about my reptiles.  My next projects are ornament for my sister for Christmas and I am working on an older Prairie Schooler chart right now as a last minute fall project.  I have ton of items I want to get stitched for Christmas, lets hope I find time to work on them.

Spiders oh my!!

Well it seems that Fall has come to Utah again and wow was it cold this morning.  Last week we were enjoying temps in the high 60's and now its in the 30's.  I love the colors of Fall and I love the feeling of walking in a warm house after being outside in the chilly air.

I mentioned I would tell you why things have been so crazy the past few months and since tomorrow things will get back to normal around here, well normal for my house anyways, I guess I can mention why.  My hubby has been in Korea since the first part of September employed with the government.  Because of the fact that my blog is public and I never know which crazy person might be reading my blog I figured it wouldn't be the smartest thing to post that he was gone.  Never can be to safe and I've learn in the past that I have people who read my blog but are not listed in my followers which is fine with me.

While he's been gone I've had his parents come visit for a few days and also a dear friend from Arizona.  It was great to have them come visit because it helped to break up the time and also gave me adults to talk to, LOL.  One can only watch so many cartoons and talk with a 6 year old for so long before going a little nuts.

You'd think with all the extra time I would have gotten more stitching done.  Its amazing where the time in a day goes and you have no idea what you did with it.  I do have a finish to share and as promised an update.

I've been wanting to stitch this one for a while and finally got it done.  I bought this pattern many years ago at a store in California called The Fuzzy Penguin.  The store is now closed and I miss it.  They had a great selection of used patterns and every time I went to CA I would make my hubby take me there.  I would spend a few hours in the store going thru the new and used patterns and found many goodies there including Long Spider by Annalee Waite.  Its stitched on a 28 count Tropical Orange from Wichett using DMC 5287.  I know its not the best picture but you can kind of see that is has a sparkle to it.  I was able to get this project stitched up in one evening.

I was hoping to get my spider banner done before Halloween but I just do not think its going to happen.  I have been enjoying working on it and its looking great.  I am a little more than 1/2 way done on it.  Do not ask me what it is with me and spiders with year cause I have no idea.  I am not afraid of them or anything, in fact I think they are interesting creatures and I have had several tarantulas as pets over the years.  Not really crazy about the little fury ones that jump but I am not a person to go running from the room screaming if I see one.

Well that's it for now.  I hope to have more to share in my next update and who knows maybe my hubby will have brought me something fun to share with you.  Thanks to all my family and friends for keeping me company while my hubby was gone, it means so much to me that you are there for me.

Short update

Things have been crazy around my house the past few weeks, I will tell you why later this month.  I have had company coming and going.  Last week a friend came to visit me from Arizona and we had a blast hanging out, stitching and going to places like Antelope Island and the zoo.  I have worked some on my spider banner and its coming along nicely but my other stitchy project I am so happy with that I couldn't wait to share it.  For the past year I have wanted to stitch Candy Corn by With Thy Needle but have not been able to find the right color of fabric for it because the color it calls for has been on back order for the last year.  While going thru the shelves at my LNS with one of the owners from the shop (Teri from Shephards Bush) she found a perfect fabric as a substitute that was way in the back on a shelf.  I had her cut me 2 peices of it so I will have more for future projects since its such an odd color.  Here is what I managed to make and I just love it!!

It's done on a 28 ct. gold Joblein linen using DMC floss.  I made it into a little pillow with crushed walnut shell in the bottom to weight it down.  Here is another view of it with a yo-yo pumpkin that I made.

Hope to post more soon and I promise to post an update on my Spider banner very soon.