Happy Dance!!!!

This has been a great weekend for finishing :). I finally finished DH's Christmas stocking ... it only took me 2 years and 2 months. Hopefully the next ones will go faster (since there were long stretches of time without stitching on the stocking. I had a lot of fun stitching it and am looking forward to the next one. I am going to wait to finish finish it until I at least get mine done as well so that I am doing more than one at a time (and there isn't a huge time in between finishes).

Design: "Gingerbread Stocking"

Designer: Joan Elliot (The Cross Stitcher - Aug 05)

Fabric: 14 ct White Aida

Thread: Recommended DMC, Kreinik and beads

I also finished my "whet your appetite" ornament for the Little House Ornament SAL. I plan on finishing this as a pillow ornament. It was a fun stitch and now I'm just waiting for the first ornament of LHN's new series to arrive since I believe it has been shipped.

Design: "Glory to God"

Designer: Little House Needleworks (JCS Ornament 08)

Fabric: Stash Linen (count and color unknown)

Threads: Recommended and DMC alternatives

I also finished my SWO pin to go with hubby's dolphins. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before I took it into my LNS to get framed. So I will share a picture when I get it back. I haven't quite finished the next project, but am to the point where I'm working on the backstitch. This one won't be finished until I can personalize it with little one's information so it will probably be one of my first 2010 finishes. I plan on getting everything but the personalization done in the next few weeks. So here's my current progress on the Classic Winnie the Pooh sampler.

Since I finished up my other ornament, I was inspired to start another. I decided to start stitching Erica Michael's "Lights of Advent" from the 2006 JCS Ornament issue. This was as far as I got since I need to pick up the other DMC colors needed to stitch the ornament.

Since I didn't have the threads needed to finish, I spent the rest of this evening working on a wedding present (which I don't have any pictures to share of). I decided to put it on my scroll frame since I've taken the stocking off. So that's it for my stitching ... it feels good to get some of those long UFO finally finished. Hope you had a great Sunday!

Birthday Present for My Sister

I hadn't had a chance to post this before since I wanted to wait until my sister received it before I put it up. I finished the cross stitch a few weeks ago and finished it as a no-sew cube about a week and a half ago. I saw the kit at my LNS back in the spring and just knew that I need to stitch it for my sister. This is my first attempt at this kind of finish. I think it turned out fairly well and my sister loved it.

"N" Is For Nurse

Designer: The Sweetheart Tree

Fabric: 28 ct Summer Khaki Cashel Linen

Thread: DMC

Veterans Day

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 91 years ago, the Armistice was signed ending WWI. That day became known as Armistice Day and in 1954, the US changed it to honor all Veterans and it was henceforth known as Veterans Day in the US (I believe it's still celebrated as Armistice Day in many other countries). This Veterans Day, I would like to take the opportunity to honor three Veterans that have had an impact in my life. I would like to honor my grandfathers for their service to this country.

The first is Grandpa Ray (my paternal grandfather). He served in WWII in the US Navy. He enlisted towards the end of the war and continued to serve for another few years after the war. Once he got out of the Navy he used the GI Bill to go to college and then went to work for an electric company. Unfortunately, I never knew him that well since he passed away when I was about four.

Grandpa Ray

The second is Grandpa Mac (my maternal grandfather). He was a little to young to enlist during WWII, but joined the army afterwards. I didn't realize this until I had called him to get his service dates, but he had gotten out for a year or so and then reenlisted. He served for over 20 years and retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant. They were stationed in places such as Greece, Iran, Taiwan and Germany.

Grandpa Mac Sampler I stitched for him

The final person I want to honor is Grandpa Fred (my paternal step-grandfather). He retired as a LtCol from the Army. He served with Gen Patton in WWII. I always loved hearing his stories from that time and from his time teaching at West Point. Fred would always greet you with a smile. I want to honor him today because this past Sunday we lost him, as we continue to lose the WWII veterans almost daily. RIP Fred ... you will be greatly missed.

Remember the fallen, those who have served and those who are serving today and every day. God Bless!

PIF and WIP updates

Well, I heard from Belinda and Pike that they received their PIF a few weeks ago. I haven't heard from Gaby yet, but hopefully she's received it. So without further ado, here are the ornaments that I stitched for my PIF:


The Angels are from Leisure Arts' Holidays Remembered (Christmas Remembered Book 5). They are stitched on random pieces of fabric that I had in my stash (I think one was probably a 28 ct and the other two were either 30 or 32 ct) with the recommended DMC threads.

I've also made some great progress on DH's stocking. I've just got a bit more backstitch in the bottom, then it's coming off the scroll frame in order to add the beads. That aspect doesn't seem as daunting anymore since I completed a small project with beads as a present for my sister. That was the one thing I was slightly worried about. So right now I'm going to make my goal to finish his stocking by the end of November and start on mine. I think I will wait to do the finishing until I complete at least my stocking. I will also have to pick out a stocking for the little one as well. I'm planning on sticking with the Joan Elliot stockings from the Cross Stitcher magazine.


I've been working on two other projects as well. The first is the birth sampler for the little one. She's gotten nicknames such as Peanut, Pooh Bear, Dinosaur and others. We decided to decorate the nursery with a Winnie the Pooh theme (the classic style). I was lucky to be able to find this birth sampler kit from Anchor. Here is my progress so far:


The other project I'm working on is going to be a wedding present for a good friend. Unfortunately it's a wedding we won't be able to attend since it's two days prior to my due date in another state. At this point, I don't think it will be finished prior to the wedding, but we'll see how it goes.

I was able to finish a project for my sister this past weekend but since it's going to be a present, no photos at this time. I'll post a picture after I give it to her (I don't think she reads this but just in case). I still have to finish it into it's final form, but should be able to complete that this week. Other than that, I've decided to join Vonna's LHN ornament of the month SAL. I am also planning to actually start my work on my Bride's Tree ornaments for the Bride's Tree SAL this month so I will start with the Nov ornament and have them complete by next Christmas.

I've been enjoying the fall weather around here. The rain has finally gone away and hopefully it will stay away through out this weekend. Hopefully it won't be as long until my next update (I just need to remember to take pictures so I can post them). Next time, I'll share some pieces that have been framed with you. God Bless and have a wonderful day!

Long Needed Update

First of all, I want to begin with an apology to the three ladies that I owe PIF to. I have been terrible about getting them done, but not to worry, they are in progress and hopefully will be winging your way soon. Unfortunately I had about a two-three month period that I was not stitching at all (and of course the deadline for my PIF fell right in the middle of that period). Due to a few different events in my life, stitching was not high on the priority list.

The first major event was changing this:

into this:

DH and I decided that our kitchen was in serious need of a makeover, so for most of the summer most of our kitchen stuff had been moved to the living room and there was dust every where from the demolition and the construction. This was not the most cross-stitch friendly environment. So that is one reason my stitching got pushed to the side. The other reason was that for most of that time period I was just plain exhausted due to this:



DH and I are expecting our first little one at the beginning of next year. Thankfully the worst that I got was the exhaustion and not really the morning sickness. The pending arrival also resulted in a change in jobs which caused about a month or so of upheaval around the house as well.

Thankfully, I finally found my stitching mojo again towards the end of August. I succeeded in finishing the cross stitch for DH's stocking (now to finish the backstitch and the beading). It's taken a back seat so I can finish up these PIFs. The stitching is complete for the first and started on the second. Hopefully all three will be finished and ready to head out the door at the end of the month.

Oh, and I finally get to show you a piece I finished during my deployment. Thank you Vonna again for finishing it. It has been sitting around my house for months waiting to get sent to the intended recipient. I finally got my butt in gear and sent it to Miss Hope this week and she received it yesterday.

Design: "Hospitality"

Designer: Erica Michaels

Fabric: I think it was a 32 ct R&R that was suggested in the pattern

Threads: Suggested WDW

Finished by: The Twisted Stitcher

Hopefully there will not be such a long delay before my next posting. Have a great night! God Bless!

Fair Square Update

I received my squares from Karen T. about three weeks ago.  I'm a little behind in posting pictures ... she also received the squares I sent her about two weeks ago.  It's been a little busy around here because I am in the process of changing jobs.  I hope you enjoy :)

Design: "Spring Time"

Designer: Homespun Elegance

Fabric: 32 ct Linen

Threads: WDW and DMC

Stitched by: Karen R.

"April Showers"

Designer: Cookie Cutter Charmers (Charland Designs)

Fabric: 32 ct. Ivory Jobelan

Threads: DMC, Caron Collection, Needle Necessities

As for current stitching ... I've been working on DH's stocking and my pin.  I'm about half done with my pin (unfortunately don't have an updated photo).  I think I might begin a new start this weekend.  Enjoy your long weekends in the US ... don't forget to remember our fallen service men and women on Monday.

My Favorite Things

Since Shari tagged me ... here you go.

These are the rules:

1. Mentioned who tagged you.
2. List six unimportant things that make you happy.
3. Tag six more blogs, then go and comment on their blogs. Let them know that have been challenged, and invite them to play along.

Six Favorite Things

1. Watching TV series with my husband ... we started with the first season of NCIS and have also worked through How I Met Your Mother, Lie to Me and started Scrubs.

2. Reading ... mostly fiction but I'll read a lot of different things. I love to go to the library and check out a stack of books to read.

3. Cross stitch ... I love seeing the designs come together as you put more stitches in the project. Amazing what you can do with some fabric and floss.

4. Sunsets/sunrises ... the sunrise is the best part about having an early morning watch. I love the late watches when the weather is clear and you can see all of the stars.

5. Hot chocolate

6. Pictures ... I love to take pictures of people, places and things.

I think I'm going to pass on the tagging of others this time ... if you want to play along, feel free. If you do ... please leave me a comment so I can see your responses.