February Smalls SAL ....

Today is our Smalls SAL posting day!!  I have done several this month.  Some you may have seen in earlier posts.  The first one was for my daughter for Valentine's Day which I had posted earlier this month.

This is iStitch My Valentine freebie found HERE.  This was given away in my Blogoversary contest.

Here is my last smalls for this month.  It is SB I Saw from JCS 2013 Ornament magazine. It was just a fun quick stitch as well.

I'm sorry that it looks like the picture it photographed too far up on the ornament but there was a big crease that I didn't want showing.  And in my hurried state, I didn't iron it either. 

That's all the smalls I have to share today.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!!!

Happy Stitching!

 

Blogoversary Winner is MAGGEE....and a few WIP pics

I'm sorry I did not get around to drawing a name out on last Saturday for my Blogoversary.  I've been busy with my son having Friday off from school and then again yesterday.  So I was spending the days with him and my husband this weekend.  I've drawn a name out of the list for my Blogoversary prizes and the winner is MAGGEE!!!!!  So Maggee, if you will email me your mailing address, I will get your goodies to you in the mail.

Now....on to some fun stuff.  I've been stitching up some small things but I can't show you those right yet.  They are for gifts for upcoming retreat to Junipine with some of the Attic Needlework ladies.  You can see more about where we are staying HERE.  This will be my second year going and I'm really looking forward to it.  You bring your own projects to stitch on and food if you want.  There is a restaurant on the grounds and we had snow last year. 

As for what project I'm going to take, I really haven't decided on that yet.  I know I will take some small projects to work on when I get tired of those bigger ones.  I am thinking I will take at least one UFO and that will most likely be my Just Nan needlebook that Nan did for The Silver Needle long ago.  It is on that pink and white gingham fabric.  I love the design......I just hate stitching on that gingham fabric because when the fabric is woven, the corner blocks do not start on a vertical thread.  So I think that is why it got put away shortly after starting it long ago......or it could have been the fact that Air Force was getting ready to move us overseas to Germany for our next assignment.  Needless to say, I want it done so I can use it.  I will most likely take a couple of smaller SB kits and perhaps a PS Santa to stitch on or PS deer to stitch for my dad's xmas gift this year.  I will have to see as I think I've already stitched him all the PS deer.  YIKES!  (I was having a theme of deer ornaments going on for many years now.)

I did manage to stitch on MBT Apostle's Creed SAL the other night.  Here is where I'm at right now.  It looks like I am going to be having to stay up late all this week to get caught up to where I need to be for this coming Sampler Sunday at the Attic.

 

Then on Valentine's Day evening, I did give my husband his Valentine's Day card with some restaurant gift cards in it and his unfinished MBT Pray Building Block.  Yesssssss.......I went ahead and gave it to him so I could work on it in the evening sometimes too.  Here is where I am at now. 

I'm sorry for any wrinkles and excess background items in the pictures but I wanted to at least share where I'm at on them for now.  I did work on my Scarlet Letter H.K. Smith one as well as a SB ornament for this month.  I had high hopes of getting my Scarlet Letter almost finished before Feb 20 but then I decided to stitch the MBT Pray for my husband.  It will all get stitched....eventually!!! 

I'm off to do some finishing work on those little extra things I am taking to retreat for my roommies!!!  Hmmmmmm wonder what they will be.  I will show you pictures AFTER retreat.  I can't right now as some of them read my blog. 

Happy Stitching everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day.....and Blog anniversary!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!!  Oh today started out WAY early for me today.  First off, I was stitching on 1 part my husband's Valentine's Day present until 3am this morning.  Yes....you read that right....I was xstitching until 3a.m.  hehe   I do a LOT of my best stitching in the wee hours of the morning before anyone gets up.....or has already gone onto bed the night before.  That is my time.  I had started MBT Pray Building Block for him but did ask as secretively last night which color of silk did he like better with the green stitching......the yellow silk or the red variegated silk?  He asked if he could see the pattern.  I said, "No."  He asks me, "Is this a project for that part of my office wall that is empty?"  I replied, "Not if you keep asking me questions and not answering my question of which color silk looks better."  Needless to say.....his comment was "yellow" which is what I was thinking all along.  But I tend to second guess myself when it comes to his projects for his office wall.  I want his input as he will be the one to look at it and I don't want to waste my time stitching on something that he thinks is just "ok" and not "Oh wow!!!!  Look at what my wife stitched for me!" 

But I digress on what I am wanting to share for today.  I stitched up this MBT ornament from the 2011 JCS ornament magazine that I saw last month on Stitching Lotus Smalls SAL post.  Lee, of Lake Stitcher Blog posted her picture of what she stitched for her daughter who was in college.  You can read more about it on her blog link that I have posted.  Soooooo, I thought that was sooo cool that I would do the same for my daughter who just went off to college last fall.  I had that magazine, and I just pulled supplies from my stash to stitch this design up for her as well and make it into a pinkeep for her to hang in her dorm room. 

Here is what I stitched and made for her.

I thought it turned out really cute.  It stitched up SOOOOOO QUICKLY as well.  Grace got her Valentine's Day box just today on Valentine's Day.  It was supposed to arrive yesterday but they had snow that delayed the postal delivery.  She LOVED IT and all the other candy goodies and stuff from home. 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.  We are keeping it simple tonight with pizza and a movie I bought today. 

Happy Stitching!

Blogoversary Contest!!!!

Yeahhhhh!!!!  Tomorrow, February 14, will be my 3 year anniversary.  I have meant to hold a contest each year but somehow life/chores/errands/stuff get in the way. 

So....let's get on to the fun stuff.....which is GIFTS!!!!  I have sewn up one of my T.O.P.s (Thread Organizer Packs) in Valentine fabric, stitched up iStitch Designs new freebie chart and made into a small pinkeep, added some Valentine pencils and DMC red and pink floss to the pile.  You can see it here.

Here is what the inside of the T.O.P.s looks like.  There are 12 floss bags sewn in along with a small piece of felt for a needle park.  These are great for your projects because your fibers aren't all jumbled together and a complete mess in a ziplock bag.  It even has a Velcro closure.

The rules are simple.  Just leave a comment on this blog post and I will draw a name out on Saturday sometime.  I meant to have this run all week long but as I said before.....life got in the way.  Yes....I will mail overseas as well before anyone starts to question.  Like I said, I want it to be a FUN Blogoversary to say THANK YOU to everyone who follows my ramblings, new starts, shopping, and finishes!!!!!

Happy Stitching!!!

Friday....another finish I can share

Yeah!  I can finally show this to you.  I had stitched this wonderful little Stacy Nash needlebook for my best friend's birthday present.  And silly me, I got soooo excited in wrapping up her needlebook and getting her other birthday presents all wrapped up that I FORGOT....yes forgot.....to take a picture of it before sending to her.  DUH on my part.  I have only done that once before and now that makes me 2X for sending a present before photographing it.  I have to do that so I remember what I gave them the year prior.  Plus....I like to keep pictures of all my finishes.

I loved it.  I chose the fabric to match the little bits of blue on the inside flower.  The buttons are from my grandmother's button box.  Sadly....she is now long gone but her buttons do find their way into a lot of my projects.

I also wanted to show you another photo of my husband's 272 Words.  This picture was taken at home for a close up of the stitching and the frame.  My sincere apologies for not including it with the other pictures before.  This was taken after Christmas.  The framing WAS his Christmas present but oh sooooo worth every penny of it.

I'm off to find something to stitch on today.  Wonder what it will be???  My Scarlet Letter, my Apostle's Creed, or something for Valentine's Day.  Decisions.....decisions!

Happy Stitching everyone!

Some WIP pictures to share & and JN Favorite picture to share....

Here are some things that I'm working at the moment. The first one is my SAL with 4 of my other friends.  It is My Big Toe (MBT for future reference) The Apostle's Creed.  I am stitching it on 40ct Light Vintage Examplar in the threads called for with the exception of one.  I changed the Caramel Corn to Heirloom Gold so it would show up better on my fabric. 

Next is another from MBT and it is called Pray Building Block.  I changed the colors TOTALLY for this one.  I am using Gloriana Thistle Green.  I had bought another silk called Gloriana Bellagio Red for the roses but not too sure if that is what I want for the roses in this picture.  I was thinking yellow roses but maybe I can ask hubby what he thinks might look good. 

The last new start of mine is SL H.K. Smith using the silks called for on 36ct Cream Edinborough.

I find this one very relaxing to stitch on in the evening time after all my normal mom duties and taking and picking up kids from school. 

On the finish note of things, I did finish stitching my JN SAL for this month already!  YEAHHH me and it's all framed up and ready to be photographed on a much brighter day.  I also finished stitching a Valentine present but I can't share it yet.  I am not sure how often she reads my blog so when she gets it I can share it with you.

Off to do some crafting in my sewing room today.
Happy Stitching everyone!

272 Words and hubby's office pics.....

I thought I would show you the Primrose Needleworks 272 Words that I did for my husband for his deployment project.  I let him pick out his project this time.  I haven't done this in the past as I used to keep it a secret of what I was xstitching on for him while he was deployed.  He soon caught on that he would be getting a nice xstitched project when he arrived back home.

He did tell me that there is a small space that still needs to be filled up between his 272 Words and the ones to the right of it.  You can see it in this picture below. 

I am sorry for the "lights" reflecting in the pictures but it made it too dark in his office with the lights out.  I will show you his MBT The Lord's Prayer now hanging on his wall at you can see in the laspicture.  But this is taken with the lights off......so you can see it better.

That is all I have to share for today!!!  Happy Stitching!

My new Scarlet Letter supplies and pic.....

I just posted this on Nicola's Scarlet Letter stitching link but I thought yall might like to see it here as well.  If you want to see what I wrote on her blog post, you can read about it HERE.  You will want to see the post by me "SL H.K. Smith....my new project".   

Anyway, here is going to be my new start for today!!!  Scarlet Letter H.K. Smith!  I LOVE this Adam & Eve in this but I also like the verse....very simple.  As I said in my post on the SL Blog, I liked the DMC colors but I LOVVVVVEEEEEDDDDD the silks when Janet and I pulled them.  The colors just seemed to pop on this 36ct Cream Edinborough.

Don't you just LOVE a new start on a project????  I do!!!  But I am trying to be better about starting so many new projects but sometimes I just never know what I want to stitch on some days.  I will be going through my UFO bag.....once again.....and weeding out what I like but am not IN LOVE with anymore about stitching up.  So to no avail, those projects may get donated away to someone who would love to finish stitching them. 

I hope to have some progress to show you on this new little project in the next few days.  Until then.....HAPPY STITCHING!

Another belated Christmas gift and free iStitch Designs chart....

So I didn't get to post a start of my new JN SAL on Saturday morning.  I ran some errands first thing that morning, went to a baby shower and by the time I got home, I had lost my voice.  Ok....so I started coughing during the baby shower for some reason and it seemed like it was all downhill after I started the coughing.  Within an hour, I had lost my voice and started to feel HORRIBLE!!!  Wow!  Talk about something just hitting you all of a sudden, it did.  I rested the rest of Saturday on the couch sipping on some hot tea....my go to for when I have a bad cough or sore throat.  Needless to say....I didn't get any stitching done at all until Sunday while watching the Super Bowl. 

But I wanted to share this picture of a recent Christmas gift that I had received from my friend Lynne!!!  She was my roomie last year when we went to Sedona for a stitching retreat.  But she stitched me this Homespun Elegance Wondrous Joy over one thread and made it into an ornament!!!  Now I don't have to stitch one for myself!!!  It's soooo teeny tiny.  She also gave me a beautiful white scarf, blue needlebook and gift certificate to the Attic Needlework shop.  Oh darn....I have to go shop now.  WOOHOOO!!!

I did finish my JN Cherub Whimzi on Sunday but I will save that for another day's blog post.  I need to start picking out some Prairie Schooler ornaments to start stitching up for this year!!!  Hmmmm wonder which one I will start??  Off to my sewing room to look!

And if you are need of a quick gift to stitch up for Valentine's Day, Carol has designed up a lovely Valentine Freebie for us to have from iStitch Designs.  Be sure to pop on over there to see what she has gifted us with and don't forget to scroll down to see her 2 new charts coming out at the Nashville Market here in February!!!

Happy Stitching!