A bit late

I was hoping to get this finished by Valentine's Day, but just barely missed it:) Got it done early this morning though, then surged around the edges and stuck it in this 'tuck'. I know I really didn't 'NEED' another project to work on but after seeing this one done up on a blog, I just HAD to have it!!! LOL This is a primitivebettys freebie found on the side of her website here.
I did this on 32 ct Jobelan 'Sandcastle' and used CC's Muddy Puddle and Red Current. It took me around 4 1/2 hours to stitch it.
I hope everyone had a 'Sweet Valentine's Day'.

Lots of stitching and sewing

I've been keeping myself busy this past week. I finally have sewn up a couple of small designs that I've finished stitching and started and finished one that wasn't part of the 15 day challenge:)

This one is 'Cranberry Deer' from Beehive Needleworks. This one took me 7 hours to stitch. I added my initials and the year on the back, I am trying to do that with most of my pieces this year. The chart called for this to be turned into a pinkeep, but I thought it would be nice as an ornie, so that's what I've done with it:)
This one is my new start that I stitched up for a Valentine's SAL on a stitchy board. It is a freebie from Kissy Cross that you can find here...
She has lots of really nice freebies, and this is the second time I've stitched this one up. The first time it was for an exchange and I really wanted to do it again for myself. Well, here I am!!! This one took me 8hours and 15 min to stitch up.

This one is my favorite of all that I've finished this year. This is Small Tokens from BBD and it took me 10 hours 45 min to stitch this. I filled part of this with crushed walnut hulls and also polyfill as well. I couldn't figure out how to stitch the lace to all sides and get the corners right, so I just put the lace on the top and bottom. I'm really happy how this turned out!!!

Here they are all together. One of my goals for this year was not only to stitch more, but also to do something with what I stitched. I usually stitch something up and then place it in a baggie and forget about it. So far this year though, I've stitched up 4 things and finished them into something as well:) 4 for 4 isn't bad at all!!!

I also got brave and did a little baking. I used to bake a lot, but after going gluten free, well I can't get things to turn out nearly as easily and I just gave up for a while. I've found a few websites and blogs that have started getting me back into baking, and though it is really different than before, I'm starting to produce a few edible things. These are biscuits (and I say this because when my dh came in he though they were cookies;). They are really pretty good right out of the oven, though they turn into little hard rocks if I put them in the fridge:) All in all, pretty good though.

Well, I'm working right now on a WIP from 2010 in the Saltbox Scripture series (LHN) as I figure I should be getting some of those done too!!! :) Not sure I'll finish it before going back to my 15 challenge pieces, but at least it will be some progress on it.

Found a Great Givaway

I don't usually do the giveaways on sites that I don't know, but this one is too good to pass up. SO as part of the requirements, I'm to advertise this giveaway on my blog:), so if you'd like to see the goodies that is up for grabs, please go to ....
http://natalysneedle.blogspot.com

She's also got lots of neat pics of her stitching, so have a look around while you're at it!!!

A Stitchy update

I haven't been posting much because I've been busy stitching!!! I am trying to get a rotation schedule to work for me and I think I just about have it. Since I am trying to keep track of how long these pieces are taking me to stitch, I've decided to work on each piece for at least 5 hours before moving on to another project. This way I spend enough time on the project to make it look like I've gotten somewhere with it, but not so much time that I get tired of it. Now I've already broken my rule a couple times, but mostly it's working for me:)

First off I have my Sarah Tobias (BBD) to show off. This was one of my first projects that I started and I really love it:) As of this pic I've put in 9 hours on this (yes, I'm a really slow stitcher!!). I should have put a pair of scissors or something to show how small this is (over one on 32ct), it is turning out great!!!
This is my progress after 5 hours of work on Peony Fairy (Nora Corbett). I'm not enjoying this one as much, but it is a really different project for me, so it will be nice to have a challenge:)

And I got 'Small Tokens' (BBD) done!!! This project took 10hours 45min to complete. Hoping to get this one stitched up into a pincushion this weekend!! Will show pics when that is completed. So far this is one of my favorites that I choose to work on. I'm really excited that BBD seems to be a designer that I really love to stitch. This is my 2nd project that I've finished of theirs.

And I'm really excited to say that I found more GAST 'Mulberry' in my stash of threads (it was kitted with another project, but there's enough to share with two projects!!!). SO I started working on 'Cranberry Deer' (Beehive Needleworks) again and am hoping to have that done by tomorrow!!! That will be my 3rd Crazy Stitching Challenge finish!!! Not too bad:)

I haven't started any more new ones to this month and I'm thinking that other than a Valentine's Day start that I'm planning for this Friday (one of the stitching boards I'm on is doing a Valentine's SAL), that will be all the new starts for the month. Maybe next month I'll start a couple more new ones:).

Well, I'm off to get some housework done and maybe I'll get to do a little stitching as well. Have a great day.

Monday Blessings 1-31-11

At the rate that I'm going with this, it's going to take me the rest of my life to write down 1000 gifts:) Oh, but what a great thing to have written down so that I can look back and remember!!!

So here are a few that I've come up with this week...

9. Hints of Spring - what wonderfully beautiful weather we had the end of last week and some of this weekend. Makes me think of getting the garden in and ordering new chicks:)

10. Winter storms - that remind us that winter is still here and that force us to slow down and give us an excuse to snuggle under the blankets with our 'not-so-little-ones'. :)

11. Indoor play time that remembers making forts in the frontroom (even ones big enough for this momma to climb into).

12. Warm, cuddly, miss-matched socks on my pre-teen:)

Well, 4 a week seems to be a theme so far, so I'll stop there. I do have a few pics of stitchy progress to show soon, maybe we'll be snowed in tomorrow and I'll get a few minutes to do that. I would have liked to have had some sewing progress to show as well, but I never did get around to doing any of that. The 'offical' Friday Night Sew-In group only checks in once a month, but I was hoping to make a habbit of sitting down with the sewing machine every Friday. Will try again this week and see what happens:)

Have a wonderful night!!!

Monday Blessings

I forgot to do this last Monday, but after reading a little over at this blog, I'm ready to get back at it:) So here is my list of what I'm thankful for today....

5. Dh - who goes to a job that he just can't stand (nothing wrong with the job, just one that completely goes against his nature and personality) so we can be comfortable and so I can stay home and raise, and teach and love our dd.

6. His job. I hate to complain that he hates his job since so many don't have one and so many of dh's co-worker's have lost theirs. While it isn't for him and he'd love to change, we know how futunate we are for him to have it at all.

7. This home. We have a small house (under 700 sq ft). It's tight, but well built. It needs work (and lots of it:), but it's bones are good. We also have 10 acres, a nice size barn/shop and a very small mortgage. If he does lose his job, we are okay, not good, but we'll probably make it.

8. For family visits. That give me a kick in the hind-in to clean this small mess of a house:) Hopefull to have a housefull this coming weekend. With so little space things tend to get stacked in every availible corner we have (and closets, top of the fridge, counters, cabnets, etc...) so this week my goal is to clean, declutter some and try to at least find the surface space on some of these things:) Still not sure where people will sit, but I'm sure we'll figure it out!!!

Think this is all for today. I should be keeping notes through the week so I'll have something ready for Monday Blessings:) Maybe I'll get to that this week.

Friday Night sew-in Progress and pics

I actually did it!! I sat down with my sewing machine and only thought of throwing it out the window once or twice:) I can't blame the sewing machine. I have a older model Bernina, pretty close to the exact model my High School sewing classes had, which I love because at least I know how to use it!! Not that I can remember that far back very well, LOL. And it is a pretty simple machine, I'm sure it does more than I know or could figure out, or would ever use, but the basic forward and backward is very easy to do:) This isn't actually MY machine, as I'm borrowing it from my mother-in-law, but I've been 'borrowing' it from her for almost 10 years now.

I started sewing mid-day, figuring that I would get more done and be less frustrated if I spread out the work through-out the day. The first thing I worked on is a pattern for one of my cross stitch projects. This is from 'With Thy Needle and Thread' called Hoppin Along Sampler. I finished stitching this one around the beginning of Dec and had wanted to sew it up into this cute little bunny right away, but didn't get to it. I got the bunny body done, it's eyes and nose sewn up and the ears sewn together and cut out and was about ready to scream, so I put it nicely away before someone got hurt!!! :)

Before... After... I went and bought what I needed for the wiskers today but forgot to pick up the ribbon I will need for around her neck, so I'll still need to get that. I also don't have any blush for the insides of the ears or the cheeks, but I'm sure I'll find someone who does.

After a little break and searching for a little chocolate, I got out my patchwork quilt that I started just before Christmas. I had two rows of 15 squares done before... And after a little work and two chocolates later, I now have 4 rows of 15 squares each:) I would have worked on this a little longer, but I needed to cut out some more squares, and my stitching was calling my name, so I worked on that for a bit. All in all I think I had a very seccessful first sewing night and am excited to do this again next week!!!

I should also have stitchy finish to show off later this week that will probably become my sewing project for next Friday in order to sew it up into a pin cushion:)