Quilt Festival 2010

Since I'm starting to explore quilting as well as my cross stitch, I wanted to participate in the Blogger's Quilt Festival this year.





Unfortunately, I have yet to finish a quilt. I have a quilt top upstairs that needs to be pressed and quilted (it's a strip quilt kit that I picked up at my LQS eons ago) and a few other wip. I've started the cutting on little one's baby quilt so I'm hoping to finish that before her first birthday (I figure that's a good goal ... gives me about 8 more months ;)). Since I don't have one of my own to show off, I wanted to show case a quilt that my sister made for me as a wedding present.



If you look closely, you will see that there are pictures from our wedding included in the quilt. My sister completed it shortly after our first anniversary about three years ago. She had started to do picture quilts for special occasions. I think I also received the first one she made as a graduation present when I graduated from college. This quilt has a place of honor on our bedroom wall. My sister has inspired me to explore quilting as well. I love the special memory quilt and hope to return the favor soon to her.

Thank you for visiting. I hope that you enjoy looking at some of my other work in cross stitch. I have some plans for some projects that combine the two ... quilting and cross stitch but they are years in the making. God Bless!

May Stitching Bloggers Question

Lee at Lake Stitcher has started up a monthly SBQ. Here's this months:

Suppose we say that there are two types of stitchers.

There are those who enjoy the “process” of stitching. They stitch for stitching’s sake and if something gets finished, so much the better, but it’s not necessarily the end goal. Primarily, it’s the application of needle and thread to cloth that makes them happiest.

Then there are those who are “project” stitchers. They move steadily through their projects, certainly enjoying their stitching time, but finding their greatest joy in the completed stitching.

If you had to pick one to describe yourself, which type of stitcher would you be? I imagine that we could all say that we fall somewhere in between, but really think hard about this and try to pick just one. And once you’ve decided whether you’re a Process or Project stitcher, tell us if your recognize that approach in other parts of your life.

I would say that I am a Project stitcher if I had to pick one to describe myself. Part of the reason that I enjoy stitching is that there will be a finish project at the end. There is something tangible that results from the work I put in. In other parts of my life, the work does not always have the tangible results. I am satisfied in what I do, but some of it can be very repetative both at work and at home (ie standing watches or doing laundry). I love the repetiveness of taking thread to fabric ... it is very relaxing after a long day. However, for the most part, it's not just about the stitching to me. It is about the project. Many of my stitchings have been gifts for others, with deadlines and such. Others are projects for myself that have a purpose. I enjoy being able to have a finished project and start a new one. I try not to have too many projects that I'm working on at one time ... though I do enjoy have a few different ones to work on so that there is some variety. So what about you? If you take the time to answer this SBQ, please go and leave a comment on Lee's blog. God Bless!

The Promised Pictures

WARNING ... PICTURE HEAVY POST AHEAD :)

Here's the finished birth sampler for my daughter ... I guess it's time to take a trip to my LNS to have it framed :).

Anchor's Classic Pooh Birth Sampler

Threads/fabric included in kit

Close up of personalization

Close up of top of sampler.

Here was my last finish of 2009 which I realized I never shared for the LHN ornament SAL:

LHN's Fa La La

Threads: Recommended DMC

Fabric: Random scrap piece (stitched over 1)

Next up, the current progress on my stocking. I haven't worked on it for probably a month now so it's time to start again. Hoping to finish it before Christmas, with time to possibly have someone else finish it.

And the last WIP is Nora Corbett's "L" ... a gift for my SIL (I don't think she checks my blog).

Until next time ... happy stitching and God Bless!

Happy Dance :)

I finished little one's birth sampler tonight at our ladies' UFO fellowship that my church holds once a month. I will post pictures tomorrow of it and my WIP (I'd rather get pictures using natural lighting). However, I'm really excited so I had to share :)

First Finish of 2010

This post is hard to start. Yesterday I had my first finish of the year. It was a special piece in memory of a special little girl named Layla Grace. I stitched a quilt block for a quilt that I heard about at the Isaiah 43:1 Project, a site that I found just recently. Candace of Cotton Candie Fabric came up with the idea to make some quilts for her family. Layla Grace is a little girl who lost her battle with cancer last week. You can read more about her and her family here. I decided to make a block with some fabric that I had picked up just last weekend when I was at my local quilt shop, What's Your Stitch N Stuff. I picked it up because I realized I didn't have any spring or Easter fabric in my stash. I think it was perfect for the quilt block. I found a floral alphabet to use to stitch the word "Hope" on the block. Hope for a cure and hope for healing for this family.

Design: From 101 Alphabets by Dale Burdett

Fabric: 28 ct Luguna Fairy Dust

Threads: DMC

Mom - if you're reading this and you haven't gotten a box of tissues yet, you might want to.

Part of the reason I wanted to make this quilt square is that Layla's story really touched my heart. I'm no stranger to pediatric cancer. My little girl is named after a friend that I lost to cancer. That is how my husband and I chose her middle name. I'd known Emily my entire life ... her family lived next door to ours when I was born. Her birthday was just two days before my own (she was a year older). Our families vacationed together often. Both families had two girls ... Emily had an older sister and I a younger sister. My sister was the odd one out in the four of us since the three of us had birthdays in July and hers was in December. My family moved around quite a bit when I was younger. We kept in touch with Emily's family though and when we moved back to the area we got together a lot. Emily's family even lived with us for a few months after their house was damaged in a hurricane. We moved away again and then ended up living near each other again when my father left active duty (in a different state than we were born in). It was soon after we moved that Emily was diagnosed with cancer (I think she was 11 at the time). She fought a hard battle. I remember when she lost her hair to chemo her sophomore year in high school, her sister shaved her head as well so that she would have to go to school bald alone. Unfortunately she lost her battle with cancer later that year. It was very hard to lose a friend that I had known my entire life at the tender age of 14. Whenever I hear about pediatric cancer, I think of her. Her memory was one of the main reasons I wanted to help make this quilt(s) for Layla Grace's family. I hope that it will help to bring healing to the open wounds that they have. There will always be scars ... I know that. Please pray for all children who are affected by cancer and their families.

Where I've Been

On Jan 7, my husband and I welcomed the newest addition to our family. She has already brought such joy to our lives ... though the only stitching that I have really done since she arrived is putting her name on her birth sampler (I still need to finish the backstitch and the rest of the personalization).

Caitlyn Emily

Hopefully I will be getting some more time to stitch soon. God Bless!

Happy New Year

Hope everyone has had a wonderful 2009 and here's to 2010. I did have one more finish for 09 ... I finished the first ornament "Fa La La" for the LHN SAL. I received "Pear Tree" this week so that will probably be my next start. I've put a few more stitches in my stocking as well. I've had a fairly productive year ... but I do believe that I still have quite a few projects to finish finish. I don't have that many WIPs at the moment (I think two) and have some projects that I do want to start next year for birthdays and such. We'll see how it goes with the little one around.

Here's was my second to last finish for the year ... an ornament for an exchange. I hope you enjoy.

"Snow Cottage"

Designer: Cross Wise Designs

Fabric: Unknown linen from ornament pack

Thread: DMC White and Krienik pearl

HAPPY NEW YEAR!