TUSAL & a shoe victory!

 Another New Moon...another TUSAL offering. Not too bad considering I only stitched this past week. Getting back in the groove though!

 

After Jeff's eye apppointment (he had to get another shot in the eye...ouch!) I decided to go out and try to find some shoes for the wedding. One of my co-workers had a cute pair of sandals on this week and I thought something like those would be perfect...patent leather and they were even the right color...but she bought them two years ago, so I hoped to find something similar. Off to DSW, where after much searching, I found a cute pair of wedges that I thought might be ok...I sent the photo to my daughter and she liked them, so I bought them and headed out. Once in the car, I started thinking that maybe they were a bit too casual...my dress is a little sparkly, and these shoes...while really cute...are canvas. So I headed across the road to Nordstrom Rack and searched through their shoes. Just when I had given up and was ready to leave, I looked up, and there on the top shelf of clearance shoes was the exact same pair of sandals my friend had...in the right color...and more importantly, in my sizre! I couldn't believe it, so I tried them on, sent the pic to DD (who loved them) and bought them in a flash. Still can't believe my luck...they were the only pair like them too!

And before I go, this is the little patriotic square I stitched for the block exchange at Stitchers' Timeout. It is an old freebie from Heart in Hand - Freedom.

I hope all you moms have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow. Thanks for taking the time to visit!

finally.......

It's been a month of no posting, and way longer than that of no stitching...but I think I am finally getting back in the groove!

Everything has been so busy...life is just flying by and I feel like I am on a merry-go-round. Our daughter's wedding is just three weeks away...so hard to believe! I was back in Boston a couple of weeks ago for her bridal shower...and yes...we did find a dress for me...thank goodness! It is short, so hopefully I can find flats or low heels to wear...I do not fare well with high heels at all! We had a great weekend, but all too short. I was very proud of myself for going alone though...I am really not much of a traveler!

Thank goodness for the Friendly Stitchers' Round Robin group! It was decided that the time was right for our next robin, so I had to sit down and get my piece started! I got the border stitched and sent it on it's way. This time I chose Plum Street Samplers' Halloween Hornbook Sampler. I am looking forward to this round. Everyone always chooses such wonderful pieces for us all to stitch on.

I also realized that I had a block to stitch for our Stitchers' Timeout block exchange, so I am working on a small patriotic block. It might even be finished by tomorrow so I can post a pic along with my TUSAL report. I was afraid my orts bowl would be empty this month, but there will be something to show after all!

I did have a piece picked out to stitch for my daughter for her wedding Actually she picked it out when she was here last summer. But, guess what? Well, probably no surprise....but I can't find it anywhere! It is a fairly simple design, and I could probably finish it in time for the wedding...if I could just find it. Why do I always put things in "safe" places and then forget where they are?????

So it's back to work I go...lots of summer reading stuff to get together before June 1st!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit! Once the next few weeks are over, I think I'll be more relaxed and able to post more often! Hope everyone reading is having a wonderful day!

fly by TUSAL

It feels like the New Moon came awfully early this month...or maybe I have truly just lost track of time!
My orts for this past month....a rather pitiful offering, I must say!

 

 
It is obvious that not much stitching has been going on around here. Sad...really sad!

Thanks for taking the time to visit...I hope to get back into the swing of things soon!

I'm late, I'm late....

Once again, time has slipped away from me. These last few weeks have really gone by in a blur. Work has been crazy with planning our upcoming 100th birthday celebration and summer reading, and we've had special programs these last two weeks as part of our annual Community Wide Read. I have to say that I was really pleased with our author visit. After reading her book, I wasn't really sure if I liked Cheryl Strayed or not, but after her visit to the library I was really impressed. She was wonderful and everyone enjoyed her presentation.

Also in the mix of the last few weeks was a week long visit from my daughter. We had a good time and got a few last minute wedding things taken care of. I stillhave not even begun to look for a dress for mysef and I am getting just a tad stressed out about it. And don't even tal to me about shoes! I cannot wear heels, but I am also short...so I am afraid I will just look like a little dumpling instead of the mother of the bride!

So I am very late with my TUSAL photo. I was on a roll at the very start of the month, but everything went downhiill fast, so there aren't many threads to show.

 

I also sent out my last exchange for awhile yesterday. It's not that I don't love exchanges...I do! But I have two wedding related pieces that I really want to finish (well, start and finish!) and time is running out! So for now, I can show what was sent and received in the WInter Exchange at Stitched with Love Exchanges.

June sent me this wonderful package

 

and I just love everything she sent. Here is a close-up of the stitched piece...

 

And here is the package I sent to Mindi. She loves red, so I sent her lots of red things!

 

I stitched A Stitcher's Companion (also in red!) from Blackbird Designs and finished it as a small pillow.

 

I've decided on a Halloween and a Christmas ornament to do for this month, so hopefully I'll have a couple of finishes to show soon. And now, I just have to choose a WIP to work on this week with Friendly Stitchers...hmmm...what to pick???? There are so many to choose from!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and visit!

a late wipocalypse

Wow...I hadn't realized how long it has been since I have posted. I think these past couple weeks have been a blur. We are really busy at the library planning our budget for the next two years, as well as getting ready for our Community Wide Read programs this month. We chose Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed as our book, and she will be coming for a program this month, as well as us having a few other peripheral programs. And then we are also planning for the Carnegie's 100th birthday celebration this summer, and summer reading. I guess it's no wonder the weeks are flying by!

And I have also missed the official WIPocalypse posting date, but I did get some stitching done this month. I am participating in two ornament SALs...one for Halloween ornaments, and the other is for any kind of ornaments we choose, but I think mine will mostly be for Christmas.

The theme for our Halloween ornaments for February was Black Cats, so i decided to stitch the Black Cat ornament from Blackbird Designs. it is part of the Casting a Spell booklet. I used the called for colors, but substituted black for the cat, since the design called for that dark dark brown like the fence.

The Christmas ornament is a design from Lizzie Kate called Merry.  It is from one of the Tiny Tidings leaflets, but I can't remember which one right now.I love these little ornament designs. They are quick to stitch but also fun.

I've also been trying to finish up things already started, and the first one I finished was Coverlet Birds from The Scarlett House. The fabric is actually more of a pale bluish green color, and I changed the threads as well. I love this design, and I'm not sure how I will finish it yet, but I am glad it is stitched!

The second design is from Patty C.and is called Let's Stitch.  It is the pattern that was chosen for 2013 SAL blog that I am a part of. We are stitching designs from different designers, one every two months. I changed all the colors in this one, using mostly different shades of purple, and it is on a hand dyed purple fabric. Again, I am not sure how I will finish this one, but I love how it turned out.

It's hard to believe it is March already...we are supposed to have mild temperatures for the next week...I hope so! My daughter will be visiting from Boston this week, so I am really looking forward to that.

Thanks to everyone who stops by to visit,and thanks also for your comments!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned.

daybook for february 13

for today...

outside my window...the sun is peeking out
i am thinking...of all the work still to do
i am thankful...that my daughters are both happy and healthy
in the kitchen...wonton soup for lunch
i am wearing...a dress!
i am creating...more clutter than I can handle today
i am wondering...what the furbabies are up to at home
i am hoping...that my hubby's eye treatments will work

i am looking forward to...a weekend of stitching
i am learning...to slow down
one of my favorite things...eos lip gloss

Please visit here to read other daybook posts and learn how to join in with your own.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

TUSAL and a little Valentine's stitching

 

It's time to post our TUSAL photos...where did this month go?

Mr. Owl is guarding this month's orts...

Asher was here this weekend. He was fascinated by the pictures of all the snow at his aunt's house in Massachusetts. She lives in Quincy and they got 30" and lost power for awhile. I really really do not miss all that East Coast snow! We get a lot of rain here, but at least you don't have to shovel it!

Somehow, even with running all over after the little one, I managed to get a little bit of stitching done.

I finished up I Will Stitch You in My Heart from Heartstring Samplary.I have had this one since it weas first released, but somehow just never got around to stitching it. I don't know why...I love this design! Stitched on a piece of neutral evenweave with the DMC called for. I only made one change...using a red for the two hearts.

This next piece is a freebie from Jennifer at Feathers in the Nest. I stitched it on a rose colored evenweave fabric with a pink variegated thread. I think this is really cute...Jennifer always offers lovely little freebies on her blog. Thank you, Jennifer!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful relaxing weekend! Thanks for taking the time to visit!

catching up

We had a  Valentine exchange at Friendly Stitchers, and my package had to travel all the way to Saudi Arabia! Well, it finally arrived, so I can share what I stitched for Denise. The design is a freebie  from a blog (unfortunately I don't remember which one), stitched on a neutral evenweave with one of the DMC variations threads. I added a bit of lace and finished it as a pin pillow and added a couple of pins. Denise likes it, so I am happy!

We are also doing WIP Wednesdays, and I decided to finally get some of those languishing pieces finished. The first one I finished is Waiting for the Harvest from Blackbird Designs. This was one of my crazy January starts from either last year or the year before...I can't remember. It is stitched with a pretty Waterlilies silk that someone sent to me in an exchange, on a mushroom colored fabric. The fabric is more brown than it looks in the photo. I haven't decided how I am going to finish it yet, but at least the stitching is completed.

So now I will be working on finishing Coverlet Birds, from Scarlett House. I loved this design the first time I saw it, and I don't know why I didn't just stitch it right up, but...anyway, this is my progress  so far. I will keep you posted on how it progresses.

And finally...my start on my sampler for the Scarlet Letter SAL. I wanted to start this on January 1st, but didn't get to it until Super Bowl Sunday! The design is the Abigail Gould Sampler, and here is my small start. I think I will continue to stitch on this one on Sundays. We'll see how it goes!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!