mar 14 - lovely surprises and ladybugs

There were two lovely surprises waiting for me in our mailbox when we got home from our trip. The first is this pretty red block that Sue stitched for the monthly block exchange with the STO group. I think it will make a lovely scissor fob.

I also received this wonderful mattress pincushion from Mylene. She had a drawing on her blog and I was the lucky winner.This is one of Erynne's adorable designs and I love ladybugs so it is just perfect. Mylene did a beautiful job with both the stitching and finishing. It is my first mattress pincushion and I just love it.

Here is my stitched "Ladybug Ladybug" from Little House Needleworks. I've had this design for a long time but was finally spurrd on to stitch it for the spring SAL with the Little House yahoo group. This was really fun to stitch. I used a bone colored jobelan and DMC threads.

I'm trying to finish up the first three parts of "Alla Turca" this weekend, so hopefully I'll have a
picture to post tomorrow. It's kind of soupy outside so a good day to sit by the fire and stitch, I think!

Thanks for visiting!

mar 13 - we have a winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my drawing for "Ladybug Ladybug". I was able to stitch the design while we were away, so I have 2 patterns to give away instead of one! The winners are Laurie (in MA) and Jennifer (in PA). Please email me with your addresses and I will get these right out to you.
For some reason Blogger isn't letting me post pictures, so I'll try to post a pic of my finished piece later tonight.
Thanks for visiting!

mar 9 - on vacation

We'll be off in a little bit to the airport...on our way to the Phoenix area for a few days. We'll be going to a couple of spring training games (Mariners), do a little sightseeing, and a stop at Attic Needleworks in Mesa for me. I hear it's a wonderful shop.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a good week and I'll draw a winner for the giveaway when we return on Friday sometime...let's say, noon.
Bye!

mar 7 - Giveaway!

When going through my patterns for the spring SAL at the LHN/CCN board, I realized that I have 2 copies of "Ladybug Ladybug" by LHN. (gee- what a surprise - NOT!)
Anyway, if anyone would like a chance at winning this pattern, please leave a comment on this post and I will choose a winner when we come home from our trip next Friday (March 13).
Good Luck!

mar 6 - new to me

It was a year ago or close to it when this parcel arrived in my mailbox. Felicity
had decided to pass along a project that she no longer wanted to stitch on. She offered it on her blog and I received it. The design is by Glendon Place - Five Simple Rules for Happiness. Over time, I finally acquired the pattern and all the necessary threads. Felicity sent me the fabric as shown above - gridded (I have never done this before) and stitching started. So now I am in the mood to start something new and I have pulled this out of the stitching basket. Tonight is the SAL on Let's Stitch and I will be working on this piece. We'll see how far I get!

mar 6 - a tale of 2 robins

You may remember the trouble I had with this piece...it took me over a week to take out all the stitches I had mistakenly put in, but I have been stitching on this every night this week and it is done and in the mail to the next participant. There are six of us doing the Quaker Friendship Sampler. This is Clare's piece and it is stitched using Gloriana silk in "Autumn Arbor". The photo is too dark to tell, but the colors in this floss are beautiful. This was my first time using Gloriana and I really enjoyed using it.



We are also starting another robin with Ally's group. This time I have chosen Cross-Eyed Cricket's "Dickens' Mittens" for my piece. Everyone will stitch one individual mitten and I am planning on finishing them as either ornaments or small pillows. They will be stitched on "water lily" jobelan with the stitcher's choice of floss. I am also planning on doing a companion piece to go along with these. I just love all the CEC mittens!

feb 28 - Some stitching progress

February has slipped by and I really don't feel like I have been stitching all that much. It's been kind of a weird time around here though and I guess my mind was just on too many other things.
I did get a couple things done though...this is my start on Part One of "Alla Turca" a design by Pelin Tezer. This piece is a mystery SAL with the Stitcher's Heaven group. I am a bit behind but it is fun to stitch and hopefully I will catch up before part three comes. I am stitching it on 28ct evenweave in mushroom with Carrie's Threads in Banana Split. I love the colors in this thread.

This is my progress so far on the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler, again, not much so far, but it is really a pleasure to stitch and I am enjoying it. I am thinking about bringing this one with me when we go to Arizona in a couple of weeks...so maybe I will get some stitching done then. I want to take something that will be easy to work with and since this only uses one floss color, it fits the bill perfectly.

We will have our grandson again this weekend while his mom is working, so there will probably be little stitching done, but we'll have lots of fun anyway!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Thanks for visiting, and thanks for all your comments. I really do appreciate them.

feb 25

Today is the day we are supposed to post our pics for the Totally Useless SAL
...I didn't do much stitching this month so I don't have

alot to show at this point...but here it is, with my little guardian gnome watching .

These are the adorable squares I received from Nancy for the Winter round of Fair & Square. She stitched a part of Bent Creek's Snow Sampler for me...one of my fave designers, and I just love this little snowman. Thanks again Nancy!

Today is my baby's birthday...she is 27 years old, and a mom herself now. I can't hardly believe it. Where did the time go?

Robin was the only person who expressed an interest in the PIF, so Robin, I will be emailing you shortly for your address, etc.

Luckily I was able to find the Gloriana silk I need for the round robin I bungled. So tonight my job is to undo all those stitches. Guess I should get to it!

Thanks for visiting!

feb 23

Last chance...to sign up for my PIF...the post is a few down from here. So far only one person has said they are interested although a few others did post on that post...I wonder if they are interested too...if you are reading htis please let me know! Anyway, I'll draw 2 names tomorrow evening.

The rain is beating down on the roof...our roof here at work is flat and it always sounds like horses running across the roof when it rains! We have no windows so it is hard to tell what the weather is like without walking to the front door...unless you hear the horse's hooves on the roof!

I decided to start the "Alla Turca" SAL yesterday...I needed a fresh start. Didn't get much done before my little guy came over for the evening. Maybe I'll get some stitches in tonight.

Thanks for visiting,

feb 22

I feel so stupid!!! I spent most of yesterday stitching on a round robin piece, and was almost halfway done with my bit when I noticed late last night that I was 1/2 stitch off. Of course it was the first little motif I stitched which means I have to take out everything I stitched. I couldn't believe it...what a stupid error. If it was my own piece I would just make the adjustment and carry on but since it belongs to someone else and others will also be stitching in the same area I can't do that. I hope Acorns & Threads has some of the right color thread on Tuesday. I think I may just leave it until then. I can't bear to look at it.
So today I will stitch on something else! Not sure what yet. It's a bright sunny day...maybe I'll just start something new.
The photo above shows some stitchy mail I got yesterday. I received my Fair & Square round 11 squares from April yesterday. She stitched a Quaker snowman with a very pretty blue variegated thread. It looks more teal in the photo, but it is actually blue. I love Quaker designs so this was just perfect.
Asher will be here later today and tonight so that is something fun to look forward to. And then the Oscars later tonight.Should be a grand day.
Thanks for visiting.

feb 21

I finally picked up needle and thread last night...I don't think I have put in a stitch for the last 2 weeks...withdrawal doesn't even begin to describe it!
I have been really busy at work, and for some reason have had way too many meetings to attend. By the time I get home I am just too tired to do much of anything. But yesterday when I came home I took the doggies out for a walk and then promptly went home and took a nap! I never do this doing the week unless I am sick but it sure felt good and I slept almost until supper! So last night I was able to sit up and stitch a bit.
I worked on a round robin piece...we are stitching Quaker Friendship Sampler for this robin and it will be fun to see everyone's because we are all using different threads and fabrics. I am working on Claire's and she chose a beautiful Gloriana fiber in autumn colors. Unfortunately I didn't get as much done as I had hoped because I had to pick out 2 bits that I had miscounted but I fixed those and went on my way. I am hoping to do some more today and will post a picture tomorrow.
The other reason I didn't get much stitching done this past week is pictured above...my adorable grandson! My daughter was moving into a new apartment this week so we were lucky to have the little guy with us for most of the weekend and again Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. When he is here I pretty much just focus on him 24/7! I did read a bit while he napped, but that's about it! What a blessing he is!
Well...chores to do before I can get back to stitching...
thanks for visiting!

feb 19

Squares received!
I have heard from my two recent "fair & square" partners that they have received my squares, so I can post pictures now.
The first set is a heart design from the Workbasket. It is stitched on 32ct. jobelan with Crescent Colours "Caribbean Waters" floss.The second set is also a design from the Workbasket called "Quaker Holly". It is stitched on 32 ct. white linen with DMC threads and red beads. These are both freebies and can still be downloaded from the Workbasket site.

Thanks for visiting!

Feb 19

Pay It Forward...

I was lucky enough to be chosen by Jill for one of her PIFs and now it's my turn to offer the same.
If you would like to receive something stitched by me within the next 365 days, please leave a comment, on this post only, to say that you are interested.
I will draw 2 names on Mardi Gras (February 24) and then will post the recipient's names here on my blog.
In return, you must also offer to do the same on your own blog.

Thanks for visiting!

Feb 17

Connie tagged me with this fabulous blog award and now it's my chance to pass the award along to five other great bloggers. It's so hard to choose because I read so many wonderful blogs as often as I can but since I had to only choose five, here they are:


Sharon http://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/


Pauline http://paulinesxshideaway.blogspot.com/


Jill http://purplepeacockjill.blogspot.com/


Lori Ray http://loriraycrossstitch.blogspot.com/


Andrea http://deepfriedcupcake.blogspot.com/





So, please pass the award on to five others if you like, and also tell us all five of your favorite things...five of my favorite things are:

spending time with my family - husband, daughters, and my adorable grandson

cross-stitching


reading cozy mystery series


the Oregon Coast


watching baseball

feb 9

I'm sitting here at work, at my desk, trying to keep my eyes open! We had a bit of a late night last night. Hubby and I went to see the Edgar Winter Band...amazing that he still sounds really good. it was a great show and we had lots of fun rockin' and rollin'.

Didn't get much stitching done this weekend. I started a freebie design with a peacock and heart that I saw on someone's blog. It was coming along very nicely until I realized I had added an extra row and had to take out a good portion of what I had stitched. I'm about 2/3 finished though and will post a picture when it is done. I also started my monthly block for March...the theme is birdhouses. I stitched on it at a meeting I went to on Saturday night. Hope to finish that one this week as well.

I see that Susan has received her Prairie Schooler exchange piece. I stitched a design from the "From My Heart" leaflet and finished it into a pinkeep.

feb 7

It was 45 years ago today that the Beatles first landed in New York...I remember it like it was yesterday...yes I was a true Beatlemaniac. Things were certainly different then...


On to stitchy things...I have received some exchanges over the past weeks.
I received my bookmark exchange from the bbinteractive group. MaryAnne stitched this lovely bookmark for me and also included a set of marking pins that she made herself. I still haven't heard if she received my bookmark yet. It was mailed nearly a month ago so I am sure she has. I don't think she reads my blog so I will post a picture of it. It is a Celtic design that I got from a library book.
The last photo is the beautiful ornament I received as part of the Year Long Prairie Schooler exchange. Malinda stitched this for me...the back is personalized with our names, but I don't have a photo of that. She also included an ort container that she made. This was really a coincidence because I recently read about these on someone's blog and was wondering how I could make one for myself. They fold up so they are portable and can go right in your stitching bag. I love it. Again, I don't know if my partner has received her exchange yet so I will wait to show a photo of that one.

feb 2

Well, I guess the groundhog saw his shadow so we'll be having 6 more weeks of winter. As long as we don't get any more snow I guess I can handle the cold. For some reason I have been unable to get warm this year. Even at work, my hands and my nose feel like ice cubes...and yes, we do have heat. Is this just one more thing that happens as we get older? I hope not!
Thanks to everyone for the get well wishes. I'm almost afraid to say it out loud, but I think I have turned a corner here and am feeling better. Let's hope so!
Did you all watch the Super Bowl? I didn't really care which team won this year, but I thought it was a good game overall. And it was definately worth watching for Bruice Springsteen at half-time. He is one of my faves and always puts on a great show. And now that football season is over...it's almost time for baseball. Yeah!
I managed to get some stitching done this weekend, but can't show any pictures yet. I finished 2 sets of squares for Fair & Square and also did the finishing on my exchange piece for the Year Long Prairie Schooler exchange. It wasn't hard once I decided how I wanted to finish it! I'll be mailing all of these out tomorrow, so hopefully I can show pictures soon.
Hope everyone is managing to stay warm!

jan 31

Beatrix Potter Sampler - January progress

Prairie Schooler freebie ornament

Lizzie Kate - Happy Holidays

Lizzie Kate - waiting for little spider charm

I can't believe January is over already. It seems like it was just Christmas.
I'm still struggling with this bug...I did go to the doctor for a Rx but I don't think it's working too well.
I finished my three ornaments for the month this week. There are 2 Lizzie Kate designs and one Prairie Schooler. I still want to add the little spider charm to the one LK, but I have to get the charm first. I really don't like spiders, but when I re-read the story of the Christmas spider it made me want to add the charm after all.
My Beatrix Potter sampler is progressing slowly, but I'm ok with that. I really enjoy stitching on this one so I'm going to take it slow I think.
I'm not sure how well my rotation plan is working. Some days I have done what I set out to do...others, not so much. I'm thinking that it may be partly due to the fact that I really haven't felt well all month and most days when I come home from work I am too pooped to do much stitching. I'll keep pluggin away at it though.
I wish I could figure out how to get these pictures to pst someplace other than the top all the time...can anyone help me?

lynda

jan 25

It's been a quiet Sunday...we woke up to snowflakes but they didn't stick. It's still cold though. I did some grocery shopping and laundry...I don't understand how 2 adults can accumulate so much dirty laundry in a week! But now there's food in the cupboard and an empty laundry basket so I can stitch for a bit. Hubby drove up to Mount Hood for night skiing so I'm alone with the doggies, some leftover pizza and my stitching basket.
I finished the stitching on two ornaments (I'll post a picture once they are finished) and my piece for the Prairie Schooler exchange. Can't show a picture of that one yet though. I'd like to work on one more ornie tonight and maybe finish up one set of fair & square squares.
I've been hit with some kind of infection for the past week which has been making me a bit miserable. I think it's basically the same old cold germs just moving around from body part to body part! Right now I'm drinking lots of cranberry juice!
I didn't get to stitch on "Three Things" this week, but here is a picture as it is now. I've been trying to stitch on Beatrix Potter on Sundays but haven't done any today yet, so no new photo there.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. It seems weird not to have any football to watch. So I watched figure skating instead!

Jan 21 ~catching up~

I don't know where the week has gone! I thought it was starting to get a bit milder, but this morning it was very cold when I left for work. I feel the sniffles coming back...ugh!
I have been getting a little bit of stitching done, but my camera battery has died so I won't be able to post pictures until the weekend.
I've started one set of squares for the Fair & Squares exchange. Also worked a bit on "Three Things" and the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler. I'm almost finished with the first of three ornaments for this month...better get moving on those! And last night I started the Inauguration Sampler design from The Sampler Girl while watching the ceremony and events from yesterday. What a wonderful day...I was in awe watching the faces of everyone in the enormous crowd...you could just feel the hopefulness and pure joy. I am not a very political person, but I am looking forward to the next four years and I truly believe that that they will be good years if we all work together to make it so.

jan 13 ~some small finishes~

With being sick for a week, I wasn't in much of a stitching mood. But I did manage to get a few small things done. One is a bookmark for an exchange so I can't show a photo of that one yet. Ther other two are my monthly blocks for January and February for the Stitcher's Timeout group.
January's theme was "desserts". I stitched the central cake motif from LHN's "Chocolate Shoppe". For February we were to stitch something red, so I chose this red bird from the Reader's Digest Big Book of Cross Stitch Designs.
I also stitched a little bit more on "Three Things", but not enough to show. And I started the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler and finished 2 motifs.
I'm hoping to get lots more stitching done this week!

jan 13 ~ stitchy mail!~

I should really go get the mail more often! Today my mailbox was full of wonderful stitchy treasures. The top picture show the very special new design from Heartstring Primitives...I know I said I wasn't going to buy more stash but I just couldn't resist this one! And I didn't even know that Beth lives right here in Oregon! Small world!
Lori Ray had a give-away on her blog a short time ago and I was the lucky winner. This is the package she sent...2 skeins of Eterna silk in the prettiest pastel shades, an issue of the British magazine "Quick and Easy", a piece of ivory jobelan, a stitchy card to make, a tiny Prairie Schooler pattern and a Bent Creek Santa design (2 of my fave designers) and some really pretty thread from South Africa in a beautiful shade of yellow. At the bottom of the photos is the very pretty snowflake block that I received from the Stitchers Timeout monthly block exchange. It is stitched on a pale blue and is so delicate...the photo doesn't do it justice. Thanks so much Rita!

jan 9 ~a no photo post~

I'm sitting here at work sniffling and sneezing...been like this all week. It's really getting old by now!
The worst part of it all is that I am so tired and stuffy that I don't even feel like stitching. So my new rotation has pretty much flown out the window this week! I did manage to almost finish my monthly block, just need to add the personalization. And I did one more motif on Beatrix Potter on Sunday.
I am determined to get at least a little bit of stitching done on "Three Things" tonight at the Friday night SAT with Let's Stitch. So wish me luck, and hopefully tomorrow there will be some pictures to post!

jan 4 ~ the best laid plans ~

Last year I planned to stitch only from my stash. It worked pretty well until about September when I started buying stuff again.
So this year I planned to stitch only from my stash. Then we got snowed in around here and Acorns & Threads (my LNS) decided to have a sale.And I still had my discount coupon from the fall open house. So I stopped by on the way home the other day and promptly fell off the wagon! I did try to buy only things I was almost certain I would get stitched this year though (well...with the exception of the initial "L" piece...I don't think I'll be able to finish that one). Here are some pictures of what I bought. I also got some needles, a few pieces of fabric and lots of floss to go with these and some other things I needed floss for.
So from now on I plan to only stitch from my stash.......

jan 3 ~ rotation ~

I've decided to try doing a rotation this year with my stitching. I've never really done this before so I'm not sure if it will work out or not but we'll give it a go anyway!
This is the plan:
Sunday: BAP
Monday: Blocks & Ornies
Tuesdays: SAL & WIP/UFO
Wednesdays: WIP/UFO
Thursdays: Ornies
Fridays: Let's Stitch SAT (pick a project)
Saturdays: Exchanges & Round Robins
I'm thinking if I finish all my commitments for the month (like have all the ornies done early) then I can start something new. It sort of sounds like a plan to me....

Last night I worked some more on "Three Things". This will be my Friday project until it is finished. The photo shows my progress so far.

jan. 2 ~ happy new year! ~

I can hardly believe it's a new year! Where did the last one go??
I want to update my photo album with pictures of all my finishes for 2008 but probably won't get to it until later this week. I was surprised to see that I had 53 finishes...many were small pieces, but that's a lot for me nonetheless.
I started the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler last night and nearly finished one motif. My DH got me a floor stand for Christmas, which was a wonderful surprise, but it took me a little while to get used to using it. And we had to move the recliner back downstairs and my stitching chair upstairs...so it didn't leave much time to stitch. I'm planning on working on it some more on Sunday so I will post a picture then.
Here is a photo of my last stitch of 2008..."Penguins First Christmas" by Brooke Nolan. I was looking through some stash on Christmas Eve and came across this pattern and thought it would be so cute for Asher. I knew I wouldn't see him until late on Christmas night so I stitched like a crazy woman and put the finishing touches on literally minutes before they walked through the door. I know he doesn't even know what an ornament is yet...he's only 5 months old!...but maybe someday he'll think it's kind of cute!
Here's the ornie and a picture of Asher with his Pappi and one of him with his Auntie Sara.

december 24

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers! I am always finding inspiration from other's blogs and it means so much to me to read everyone's comments here. Please continue to visit! I hope you will all have a very happy holiday season, and that the new year will bring you peace, good health and much happiness.

hugs and happy stitching....lynda

the card in the photo was handmade by Donna, a stitching friend. She always makes wonderful cards each year. Thanks Donna!

december 21

We have been in the deep freeze around here since last Sunday and I am really done in by it all! Coming from upstate New York, I should be used to this...but we haven't seen snow like this in Portland in years and I just don't like it! I can't drive in it so I've been back to commuting on bus and train...which is fine...except that I have to be up at 3 am to make the train and by the time I get home at 5 or so I am truly tired! I haven't even had any energy to stitch all week. My daughter is supposed to be flying in from Boston on Christmas night and I just hope it clears enough by then so that she can get in safely.
So enough whining! I did finally manage to stitch up my second ornament for Vonna's seasonal challenge last night. Here are the two ornies I stitched for the challenge. The little reindeer is a freebie from Sharon at Daffycat Designs. And the other is a design from Stacy Nash Primitives..."Silent Holy Night".
I also pulled out "Three Things" this afternoon and am going to see how much I can get done on this one before the end of the year.
The other photo is a picture of the little gifts I opened this week from the CCS group Advent exchange.
Hope everyone is staying warm!

december 16

Since it snowed all day on Sunday we stayed inside and decorated the tree. I stayed in my pj's all day...can't even remember the last time I did that! Here are a few pictures. I collect Santas as you can see...last year someone told me they looked scary, but I like them all together like that anyway. There are a few cube-its included that I made also.
The second picture is our tree. We decided several years ago to go with an artifical tree after years and years of having real ones. It took a long time but we finally found one we liked and haven't been sorry. It has lights already strung and always looks nice. Plus my hubby doesn't have to vacuum up needles for the next six months! Our ornies are pretty eclectic. Some are from when the children were little, some from places we've visited, some are gifts. The star on the top is probably at least 40 years old. Hubby's dad brought it home and it has graced the family tree ever since. It just wouldn't be the same without that star.
The last photo is my little ornie tree with all the stitched ornies...some have been from exchanges and some are ones I have stitched myself. It's hard to see all of them but they are all very special to me.

december 15

W

Another week has gone by and we are that much closer to Christmas and I still have tons of stuff to do. And on top of everything, we are in the midst of a cold streak with snow and ice...something that is really quite rare for this area. When we want to see snow, we get in the car and drive up to Mt. Hood. This snowing in the valley stuff is just not right!
Anyway, here is a photo of my second week's little gifties from my Advent partner.
I also finished my bit for the Quaker Friendship Round Robin and sent it off today. I am excited about working on this project.

december 13

It's getting colder and very blustery. We're supposed to have snow in the valley tomorrow so I'm getting all bundled up now! Our fireplace (gas) is out and won't be fixed for another week, so there will be lots of cozy blankets and hot tea going around here!
Our tree is up and I hope to get it decorated sometime today. I finally got all my cards written and sent yesterday so that made me feel like I had accomplished something! We also did a little bit of Christmas shopping for Asher. He's really too little to understand this year, but it was fun for us anyway!
I finally got around to starting my bit for the Quaker Style Friendship Sampler RR. It has to be mailed this week so I want to have it finished before the weekend is over. I am stitching mine on a pewter jobelan with Carrie's Threads in Black Cherry. It will be fun to see the same design stitched six different ways.
I'm also working on a couple of ornies but I'll wait to show a photo until they are all finished.