Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Some finishes and trying something new



I spent last Friday working on finishing a few stitched pieces.  I try to save things up and finish them all on the same day because I don't have a designated area in my home to sew, cut or glue things.  Once I take it out I want to do all of my finishing so I can put everything away when I am finished.  Someday I hope to have a CRAFT room but right now all of those rooms are filled with boys.
The first thing is a tooth fairy pillow for my niece.  She phoned me to say that she had a wiggly tooth and wanted a pillow like the one I made for her brother.  The pattern is from Sweetheart tree and has her favorite color purple in it.

I showed the stitched piece a while ago and decide to make it into a pincushion.  I edged it with beads to match and love the way it turned out.  The colors scream spring to me.

Another spring pillow.  Please be mindful that I am an amateur at sewing and there are definitely imperfections but the more I practice the better I will get, right? Design by The Stitcherhood using DMC floss stitched on remnant Antique Green.

Lastly, after all of that finishing I decided to try someting new.  I started this Counted canvas piece on Friday evening and finished it Sunday.  Talk about a quick stitch.  I love the way it turned out and I can't wait to do another one.  I have a few projects in the pipeline right now but as soon as I finish them I will definitely to another Counted Canvas.  This design is from Nancy's Needle titled Two Cabins.  I LOVE IT!

I hope you are all having a great time with your stitching projects.  Time to jump over to your blogs and catch up!  Happy Sttiching!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Spring!! Where??

Well, so much for the first day of spring!  Mother Nature gifted us with snow today.  Nothing that accumulated but it still felt like winter.    I got a serious case of numb-butt this weekend with all of the model stitching I am working on.  I am 1/4 way through LK Spring Alphabet and LOVE the vibrant colors.  It feels like spring inside because I bought tulips and irises. 
Today was a mile stone for the family.  WARNING!!  Everyone get off the road.  Son #1 celebrated his 16th birthday yesterday and got his driving permit this morning.  YIKES!!!  It can't be.  Has that much time really passed.  I blinked and now its gone.  My husband and I were reflecting how much things change as they grow up.  We used to be able to go and do anything.  Throw the kids in the car and off we went.  Now it's a struggle to get them to get in the car to go on an adventure and then when they do the car ride is torture.  I miss the days of playgrounds and picnics.   
Above is a picture of Miss Daisy. Bad picture but the best I could do with the nasty weather.  She will be 8months old tomorrow and my how she is growing.  She is now checking in at 85 pounds and today when I commended her on "good sit" she proceeded to put her paws on my shoulders and lap my face (YUCK)  I couldn't help but scream No Kisses but was cracking up laughing at the same time.  I am 5 '2" and she was face to face with me.  Oh what a joy and pain at the same time.  I will try to post pics of stitching tomorrow but hope to have a finishing day if all goes according to plan and life doesn't get in the way.

Happy Stitching!!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Baby Kitty's Birthday

Miss Macy turned 2 years old yesterday.  She is a delightful young lady and she has been grooming Cosmo since he got home last Sunday.  It's really a love/hate relationship. I think she just wants him to feel well enough to play with her.  She has the spirit of a kitten.  Her favorite thing to do is worship the sun and whenever it is our you are sure to find her in the windowsill.  Cosmo is holding his own and sleeps roughly 20-21 hours a day.  Thank you for all of the lovely comments on my last post, it really helped me come to terms with what is going on with him.

On the stitching front, not much to show.  I am working on shop models and will post pics when they are finished.  I just finished the first 2 LHN 2011 Ornaments and will start on Little Snowy Church by Mirabilia and Spring ABC by Lizzie Kate.  Still waiting on some threads for those but will stitch what I can and finish the rest when I get the threads.  I hope you are all having a weekend full of stitches! 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Great Sadness!

It is with a heavy heart that I write this.  To all of my regular readers, followers and friends you may know that Cosmo celebrated his 5th birthday last week.  On Friday morning he wasn't feeling himself,  he was rather mopey.  I had a long day with the boys, there was no school and for son #2's birthday we took 9 boys paintballing.  When I got home, Cosmo was having difficulty breathing and meowing ALOT!  He doesn't usually meow, we actually thought for quite some time that he was mute.  It turned out he was just a man of few words.  We rushed in to the Animal Hospital and it was determined that he was in heart failure.  I was crushed!!  It was so sudden.  They gave in diuretics to clear the fluid from his lungs, kept him in an oxygen chamber for the weekend.  We brought him home yesterday but the prognosis is NOT good.  The vet couldn't indicate how long he had but cardiomyopathy is not curable.  He is on heart medication and a diuretic.  They said typically 3-6months is the most.  I am sooooo very sad.  I cried so many tears all weekend that I can't cry any more.  I have decided to hold him as much as I can and enjoy what time we have left.  He is not in any pain and quite happy to be cozied up in his bed.  So my friends,  I will most likely not blog as often as I would like but will try to keep you posted on stitch"y" stuff. 
This is Cosmo telling me to take a break from blogging.  Thank you for your support!  I never imagined last week when I posted that I hoped to have many more years with my furry friend (truly my stitching buddy) did I think it would be cut short sooooo quickly.

Friday, March 11, 2011

A Mailbox Surprise, Stitching some spring and a finish!

It has been crazy busy here!  Boys are transitioning into spring sports and suffering from cabin fever.  The weather has been DREARY!  It's hard to get excited about rainy days but it does allow for some stitching time.  This week I got a wonderful surprise from my California Stitchy friend.  Teresa sent me this wonderful St. Patty's day treat. She sent enough Shamrock pops for each member of my family, a "potato" from See's Chocolates, (that goodness will be for me) and a beautifully stitched Shamrock pin. Teresa, Thank you, you are such a talented stitcher. If you haven't visited her blog check it out at Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches.
On the stitching front, it was time to create my own spring.  This piece was a freebie from Industrioushead and the colors are vibrant and cheerful.  I stitched it on Blue Breeze fabric and it makes me smile.

I stitched this one up in about an hour.  It's soooo cute.  I had some fabric in my stash and will most likely make it into a pillow.  This was a freebie design from The Stitcherhood.  I have wanted to stitch it for some time and love the way it came out.


Lastly,  a winter finish.  I personally had to finish this in order to shed winter.  I had started this at my Wednesday stitching group.  I had been reserving it to stitch only at stitching group but quickly realized that I don't really get too much accomplished.  We spend lots of time chatting, laughing and eating so last weekend I said enough.  I picked it up and didn't put it down until I finished.  The design is from Plum Street Samplers and named Dust of Snow.  I stitched it because the verse is from Robert Frost and that is my dad's favorite poet.  I stitched it on 32 ct Light Mocha and will frame it because it measures 10 x 13.

We celebrated a Birthday this week for my #2 son.  He is now 14 yrs old.  I always find b-days as a time for reflection on the actual day.  His birth was magical.  My midwife was very calming and soothing and that is the kind of child he is.  He is the sunshine in my heart.  Always helpful and looking out for me.  Happy Birthday!!! 
Thank you to all of my blogging friends for checking in on what is happening in my side of the world. Back to stitching my models.  I am also working on some swap gifts and loving the idea of sharing a little stitched piece with some new friends.  Happy Friday and Happy Stitching!

Monday, March 7, 2011

A Big Thank You and a Birthday

I haven't been in blog land for a while because our computer just stopped working!!!  How frustrating is that?  I love technology when it works but when it doesn't do what I ask I get extremely irritated.  But all is well now that we have it up and running after 2+ weeks of grief. 

I got a wonderful package in the mail from Australia.  I won a giveaway some time ago and it finally made it's way to me!  Fiona, sent me a wonderful sampling of thread, fabric, notebook, scissors and the MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTED CANVAS FOB!!  I love the colors and the dimensions of this piece.  THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  I love all of the wonderful stitchers I have met through this blog and hope to continue making more.

In the stitching department, I needed a quick fix and dug this out of my stash!  It is from Homespun Elegance, and has been in the stash for quite some time.  I switched it up a bit, chose a thread color that matched the basket and finished my own way and attached it with some twine.   It was fast!  Pretty much, instant gratification.
On the pet front, we are celebrating Cosmo's 5th Birthday today!  I can't believe we have had him that long already.  I hope we have him for many more.  He is quite pampered and will probably out live the rest of us.  Happy Birthday Cosmo!

That's all for today!  Happy Stitching!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Heavy Heart

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Roswell of Primitive Needle at Nashville Market..  Those in the stitching community  knew her best for her Halloween Designs but her personality was so polar opposite.  She was extremely cheerful and charismatic.  I found out this afternoon that she passed away in rushing flood waters while driving to work.  She was an oncology nurse, a very difficult line of work, that takes a very empathetic approach.  She will be missed greatly.  My thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues. I am so thankful that I got to meet this wonderful lady.