Third November Post (or I don't know what to tell you, I've been busy.)

This month has been busy!  I have been busy stitching!  I seem to have more time!  My housework has been very manageable, and I am getting more done.  It has been very pleasant, to say the least!  Even with Christmas coming, I'm not stressing.  I have most of the presents bought, and a good idea of what needs to be bought.  I am slowly decorating for the holidays, so it'a all good! 

Here is my first finish of this post!  It is Tiny Rose Mandala by Chatelaine!

 It was fun to stitch!  But I had bogged down on it because I was waiting for some silk floss to finish it.  (It finally arrived!)  I have three more little Chatelaine's kitted up, and will probably work on them in the New Year!

I started and finished this one yesterday afternoon!  I needed to get my ornament done for my November  ornament SAL post.  It's from Daffy Cat's blog!

 Mistletoe Reindeer.  Took it with me while DD had her rowing workout!

Here is the progress on my Stoney Creek Moonbeams and Stardust Witch.  Now working on the crescent moon she sits on.  It is full of metallic threads!

 This is the jar I chose for the Totally Useless SAL from Daffy Cat's blog.  It is a candle jar that I thought was pretty!  Started putting my cast offs in already!

Last Saturday afternoon, my LNS, Stitch It Central, had an open house, where people get to come and shop and sit and stitch!  The meal is pot luck, so everyone brings something.  I did not stay for the meal, but I still brought something.  My wonderful mom made homemade cream puffs for me to take!!  With real whipped cream and drizzled chocolate!  They are sooo yummy!  Everyone loved them!

I needed to grab some DMC's to finish kitting up a couple small projects, but that was all I was going to buy. Unless Maria had the new CCN Gingerbread Houses!  She did. (Sigh)  It came home with me, as well as all the threads to stitch it with!  Hee hee!  I brought my own fabric from home, just in case!  lol!

 And I had to start it.  Well, I had to have something to stitch at the Stitch and Sit, didn't I?  Never mind that I brought a couple other things to stitch in case she didn't have it.  (The Victoria Sampler Ginger Bread Stitching house and The Great Escape SAL)

 Here is my progress as of right now.  This one will probably be done before Christmas.

I didn't show you all this ornament from the Great Finishing expo a couple of posts ago, although it was finished.  You see, it didn't have the lovely silver trim around it yet!  Mom discovered the silver braid after she had sewn it together, so she asked me to bring it back so she could take it apart and add the silver braid.  

 This picture does not do this ornament justice!  It is so beautiful!  I love this ornament!  It turned out wonderfully!  Thanks again, Mom!  You're the greatest!

I worked on my Christmas cards last week, and Sunday night I finished them.  They are waiting for DD's school pictures to arrive, then they will be addressed and sent on their way!  

 I used my Cricut Expression to make all the holly and leaves! 

 Here is the sentiment inside the card.  I thought they were very cute!

Yesterday morning, I worked on my outside decor for the holidays.  I brought home a whole bunch of greenery that Mom, Deb and I harvested at the farm!  We took the loader tractor back to the fence line and gathered and cut all kinds of white pine boughs for decorating!  I brought mine home with me last Saturday night!  The whole back of my Cadi was full!  (shhh, don't tell Hubby!  I'm pretty sure I cleaned up all the evidence! lol)  Mom and DD cut some of the red sticks and berries while I was at the Sit and Stitch, and Deb gave me the birch stick.  I am pleased with the way it turned out, but I think I need a couple more birch sticks.

 What do all think?

I almost forgot to show you all what I got from the open house at my LNS!  All of us who attended the open house got to pick a little package!  In it was a sweet pair of scissors (of course I HAD to grab the pink!  lol), a lovely little biscorn pattern and either Aida or linen!  I believe it was all Polstitches fabric.  What a wonderful surprise!

 Now I just need to find some threads to stitch it!  Maybe some of my lovely silks.

This is my DD's latest finish!  She had stalled on this because she was missing one colour!  DMC 322, which I picked up on Saturday for her.  She finished it Sunday while we were watching movies.

 It's a Dragon Dreams freebie called "Compassion".

I don't have any bird pictures to show this time, but I do have a sweet picture of two of our kitties, Copper and Chloe.  The day before they were play fighting (I hope), but this was snapped yesterday, all tuckered out!

For all my firiends in the USA, I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful this past weekend.  And for my friends around the world, I hope your weekend was lovely, too!  I hope everyone is stitching and enjoying the start of holiday season!  Chat soon!

Second November Post! (or What is the World Coming To?!)

Hello all my faithful readers!  Yes, you heard right!  A SECOND post for the month of November!  I just had some things to share!  So here they are!

I finished the Biscornu for my Mom!  I gave it to her a couple days after her Birthday, but she was very happy with it!  It is a Papillon Creations freebie, called Love Letters!  I modified it slightly, as I cut my fabric a teensie bit too small!  Oh well, all well that ends well!  I used some Perle cotton 80 that I bought on sale and because I liked the colours!

 This is the Birthday card I made for Mom!

This one is for my "nephew" Korbin, for his first birthday party!  I think they both turned out rather well!  Now I have to make my Christmas cards!!

This was the Exchange I participated in for the first Birthday celebration of The Stitch Specialist's Yahoo group!  Rae sent all these lovely things to stitch and fondle!  lol!  I can't wait to play with all the new stuff!  Thanks again, Rae!  It was so worth the wait!!

Here is my ornie for my Ornament a Month SAL!  It is freebie from Daffy Cat's blog called "Snow Hop"!  How did she know I have a thing for birds, let alone fat little cardinals?!  It was like she was reading my mind!!  lol!  Speaking of Daffy Cat, I also joined her TUSAL for 2012!  I can't wait!  I added the New Moon dates into my calendar and set reminders for myself!  Now I just need to find a pretty ort jar!

I am bitterly disappointed in the weatherman!  We had snow a week ago!  I am sooo not a fan of winter!  Admittedly, the snow didn't stick around, but I did wake up to it!  I know it's not much, but why?!  Oh well, it gives me more time to stitch!

I saw a hawk yesterday morning!  So I changed lenses in my camera and managed to snap a couple pictures! I'll have you know I braved the cold in my pj's and slippers to get these shots!  Oh maybe I shouldn't share that I was still in my jammies!  Please disregard last statement!  lol!  As he took off flying I heard him scream which was really cool!  The only downside is that I didn't see any other birds for a while!  And I was kinda worried about him trying to snatch our kitty Chloe, but I'm pretty sure she would have won!  She's pretty spicy!!

DD and I are so excited today!!  We are hitting the theatre tonight to watch the new Twilight Saga movie, Breaking Dawn Part 1!  Will let you know how it is!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Chat soon!

On a Sewing Spree! (Not me, exactly!)

Hello all my faithful readers!  I hope everything is going well wherever you are!  I have been a busy little bee stitching, watching my mother sew, stuffing ornaments!  Yes, you heard right!  I have some ornaments completely FINISHED!!  Mom and I spent a couple Saturdays together working to sew my ornies together!  We went thru her stash of fabric and trims and buttons!  She sewed them while I stuffed!  It was very nice to spend time like that with Mom!  She has a little TV with a DVD player on her desk, so we listened to movies like The Sound of Music and Momma Mia while we chatted and sewed together!  Thanks again, Mom!  You're the GREATEST!!

 These are the ornaments I sent out to one of my exchange partners!  Plus a couple more goodies!!  But I forgot to take a photo of the card I sent for another exchange!  I hope I can get my partner to send a photo to me!

 Doesn't this look so inviting?  My Partner Deb spoiled me rotten!  She is so awesome!!  Thanks so much Deb!  I can't wait to play with all the goodies!!

 The ornament she stitched is so pretty and finished so beautifully!  Truly made my week!

 Here are the ones DD stitched!

 Had this Lizzie Kate one made into a small cushion!

 Same with this CCN one from a JCS Ornament issue!

The rest below are just ones made into ornaments, and I will be giving away most as gifts!

 Since it is Fall, I pulled out Stoney Creek's Moonbeams and Stardust Witch to feel festive!  She is coming along quite well, and I think I will continue on with her until she is finished!  I have the rest of her skirt ruffle, foot and the moon that she sits on left to do, plus the backstitching!  And a few beads! 

 But I have had to put her down for a bit to concentrate on a secret surprise for my Mom!  I am stitching her a biscornu for her birthday next week!  Shhh, don't tell her!  I will post pictures after I have finished it!

I did take a break from all of the above to work on catching up on The Great Escape SAL by Abi Gurden of The Stitch Specialists' Yahoo group!  I spent last Sunday afternoon folding laundry, watching movies with DD and working on TGE!

 Part 2-Feather Stitch and Basque Stitch!  The Feather Stitch was quite easy, as I had done that one before! But the Basque Stitch was a different story!!  I could not get it to look right no matter how hard I tried!  I had pictures of the stitch magnified on my iPad from the pictures on the group (Thanks Carole!!)  I set it down a couple times to catch my breath and relax and breathe!  My DD almost left cause I was getting a little snarly!!  Finally I looked at Abi's diagram again, and realized that I hadn't looped the thread around the top of the needle!  My "A-ha" moment!  After that, it went much smoother!

 Part 3- Sorbello Stitch and Cretan Catch Stitch!  No real problems here!  Went very well, actually!

Part 4-Long Stitch and Satin Stitch!  This part was a cake walk!  He is starting to take shape now! 

Update on my vehicle!  My Cadi is doing much better!  After having the starter and u-joint replaced, there was one other problem!  We had to have the rubber mounts replaced on the torsion bar!  I have no idea what this is, but now that it's fixed, I have no clanking noises!  It runs like a dream!  These are the first "real" repairs we had to do since we bought it!  And we bought it brand new in 2000!

I think the last time I posted, I was heading out to the open house at my LNS, Stitch-It Central!  I had so much fun!  I met some lovely people who share a love for needlework!  It was so much fun to sit and stitch and eat all the goodies!  And of course I bought some things!!  I picked up some fabric, over-dyed floss and needle for my one exchange partner, the JCS Halloween special issue, and a few DMC floss to kit up other ornament for the other exchange!  I can't wait for the next one on November 26, where I hope to pick up the Christmas present from my Mom that I ordered, The Victoria Sampler Gingerbread Church chart, fabric and accessory packs!!  Plus I NEED the new CCN Gingerbread Sampler!! (See a pattern here?!  lol)

Last Saturday, DD and I went into the big city and hit my other LNS, Thread'n'Eye!  I went in for some more HDF for TGE, and whatever else took my fancy!  Well, what took my fancy was Janice Love's Hardanger Basics and Beyond book!  Plus I grabbed some DMC perle cotton in a lovely purple!  I see some Hardanger in my future!  Then we met up with Hubby and grabbed pizza out at our fav pizza place, Rico's and then hit the mall to pick up DD new winter boots, and got a couple Christmas presents bought!

Well I think I have rambled on enough for now!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween last night!  And that the weather wherever you are is treating you well!  Chat soon!