Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Scissor Case Finished!


I finished the scissor case for the monthly challenge a little while ago. I stitched the design on 25 ct. evenweave and it was too big for a small scissor case, so I decided to make a larger one for my 8" shears. I have lots of fobs for my little scissors anyway! I used one of Vikki Clayton's silks...Caribbean Reef...for the stitching. The colors went really well with a piece of fabric that I wanted to use for the backing. I also added some pins around the edging. The design is a complimentary one from Glory Bee.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Busy Weekend & A Finish & WIP

We had a busy weekend! On Friday night we went to the Washington County Fair. It's a small fair, but fun. There were a few cross-stitched pieces in the exhibits...not too many, but a couple were outstanding. Someone submitted Lavender & Lace's "Angel of Love"...it was beautiful with all the gold beading. And another stitcher submitted a cross-stitched "photo" of a couple (Herself and DH perhaps?). I have never actually seen one of these photos transferred to cross-stitch before and this piece was amazing. For one thing it was HUGE! And it was so realistic. My hubby said..oh you should do one of those!...yeah..maybe sometime when I have lots and lots of time and patience! Every inch of that fabric was stitched. I was wondering...do any of you exhibit at your state or county fairs? The owner of my LNS (Acorns & Threads) is always encouraging her stitchers to do that...maybe next year...it is certainly a way to make people aware of cross-stitch and how beautiful it can be.
On Saturday we went down to the Waterfront. They were having a MAritime Heritage festival and the last remaining PT boat was on display. It has been restored and was pretty amazing. There were also many boats on display from the 30's, 40's and on that were wonderfully restored and really gorgeous. The woods used are just beautiful and it was fun trying to imagine people in those days enjoying a leisurely ride out on the river.
I did manage to get some stitching done this weekend as well. I finally finished "Always & Forever" by Little House Needleworks. I started this one as part of a SAL with the LHN yahoo group back in May (I think it was May!) and it was going quickly until I ran out of thread! So I finally got around to getting some more and finished it up this weekend. I stitched it on a 28ct. cashel opalescent called "Glistening Heather" (from Silkweavers) with Victorian Mauve silk (from Vikki Clayton) You can see that the mauve in the second dye lot was a bit darker, but I had the border all finished so it still looks ok. This was a fun piece to stitch.
I also finally started on my Monopoly gameboard. This is a SAL with another yahoo group. I didn't get too far but at least I made a start! I am stitching it on an antique white jobelan with DMC threads.
I also started stitching on my scissor case for this month's challenge and should finish the stitching tonight. I've never done one of these before, so hopefully I will be able to put it together before the end of the month!

Kreativ Blogger Award!



I have been nominated by two wonderful stitching friends for this award this week! Both Marianne and Jill nominated me and I thank them both. I'm usually wondering if anyone is even reading my blog, so this was a nice surprise!

Here are the rules for this award:

...the winner may post the logo on her blog
...put a link to the person you got the award from
...nominate 5 blogs
...put links to the blogs on your blog
...leave a message for your nominees

There are so many wonderful blogs out there that I really enjoy reading, and I'm sure many of you have already been nominated for this award, but I randomly chose five anyway that I enjoy and think you will too! The blogs I have nominated are written by CJ, Amy, Becky, Brigitte, and Maureen.

Thanks again to Jill and Mar, and I hope you enjoy reading these blogs as well.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

PIF

I signed up for this on CJ's blog at the beginning of the month and then totally spaced on posting it!

What is a PIF? It stands for "pass (or pay) it forward" and is just a way to pass forward a little bit of kindness to someone else to help make the world a better place.

This is how it works: If you would like to receive something stitched by me within the next 365 days, please leave a comment on this post to say that you are interested. I will take names until July 31 and choose three names on August 1.

The only thing you must do in return is to offer to do the same for others.

Thanks for signing up! I am looking forward to stitching something for everyone.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008


It's been hotter than normal here, so we have mostly been trying to stay cool this past week!
My daughter's friends held a baby shower for her on Sunday. It was fun and she received some really nice gifts...many were handmade and very original, and lots of stuff she can use. The baby will be here before we know it and everyone is very excited.
Sunday was also the annual picnic for my husband's company. They raffle off lots of stuff, and he won a Magellan navigator for the car. It is really cool! We've named her Susie.
I have a couple of finishes to share from this week. I finally finished my piece for the last round of our latest round robin. It is Diane Graebner's "Catch A Tail" from the cats & quilts series. There are supposed to be little tassles on the quilts but I thought they looked a little weird so I left them off. Two of the six people in this robin chose the same designs so I got to stitch 2 of this series.
I also finished my July ornament for the JCS ornie SAL . It is "The Santa in the Moon" from Twisted Oaks Designs. I can't remember which issue it was in...maybe last year's? I'll have to check. Anyway, I finished it as a pinkeep that can also hang on the tree.
Thanks to everyone who has come to read my blog. I especially am grateful to all of you who take the time to write comments. Thanks so much!

Sunday, July 6, 2008


I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. We had a very relaxing weekend, and really enjoyed having the extra day off. We spent part of the 4th at the annual Waterfront Blues Festival. This is the main fundraiser for the Oregon Food Bank and it is always well-attended. This year was no exception and with the nice weather the crowds were huge. It runs for 4 days so I'm sure they made lots of money and collected lots of food this year. We heard Canned Heat play... a real blast from the past, among lots of other great musicians. We also hit the Empty Bowls booth...they sell pottery...both perfect and not-so-perfect pieces and we always manage to do some damage there. This year was no exception...we came home with six new pieces!
Yesterday we spent most of the morning at the Farmers Market which is always great for fresh produce, flowers, crafts and lunch, as well as some good music. Another beautiful weather day and another great crowd.
Today we drove out to Sauvie Island and wandered around a bit. The doggies got to play in the water a bit too.
I did manage to get a little bit of stitching done as well. I finished a biscornu for an exchange with the STO group. I think it looks ok but I am not entirely pleased with the finishing. I might be the only person stitching who isn't in love with this type of finish. Maybe I just need to try another one...maybe! I also stitched a bit on a round robin that I am already late on, and I started my July ornie for the JCS ornament SAL. My main goal for the week is to finish this round robin so that I can get back to some of my other WIPs.
Here is a photo of the biscornu. The design is a freebie that I got online but I can't remember the source. I stitched it with one of the new DMC variegated threads.