A Lovely Win!

Last week I was the very lucky winner of Mary Kathryn's blog giveaway.  It was a fun giveaway and I can't wait to stitch it up.  You can visit her blog to see how she finished this quaker acorn.  She included everything I need to make one just like her model.  Thank you MaryKathryn!!

A Blog Award!!!

Carin at Stitches by Carin nominated me for a blog award.  I am honored to receive this award and love following all of the wonderful blogs out there.   In accepting this award I must list 5 things you may not know about me and pass the award onto 5 deserving blogs.  That's really hard to do because I love reading and catching up on all the blogs I follow so I will list the five I think you will enjoy.

First up 5 things about me:  My favorite drink is Starbucks Black Ice Tea Unsweetened (How boring is that),
I graduated from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and worked as a Pharmacist for 15 years before becoming a stay at home mom,  I  love to read ALOT and will read almost anything, I enjoy the drama of reality TV such as The Real Housewives of Orange County, Survivor and the Bachelor (really poor taste) and I would like to someday live in Portland Oregon.  I love the West Coast and Oregon is my favorite place.

Now onto nominating 5 blogs

1. Vonna at The Twisted Stitcher, she has the most enjoyable blog to visit.  It's full of fun info and her tutorials help with all of my finishing woes.
2.Mary Kathryn at ehandcrafts.com for her wonderful photos and sewing projects.  If you haven't visited her blog it's a must. The photography speaks for itself.
3. Faye at Carolina Stitcher for her beautiful stitching.  Everything she creates is gorgeous.
4. Natalie at A Stitch in Time for her beautiful blog.  I love the look of her blog, it is soothing and enticing.  She has so many wonderful projects she has finished and everything in lovely.
5. Myra at Gr8dame's Place.  Not only is she a talented stitcher but her sewing is fantastic.  She made the most adorable pumpkin pincushions and lovely owls.

There you have it!  I believe all of the blogs I frequent are beautiful and deserve an award in their own right but I am trying to follow the rules associated with this award.  Thank you all for visiting.  I love all of the wonderful and encouraging comments I receive. Until Next Post, Happy Stitching!!!!!

LHN December Sampler finished and a Daisy update!

We have had a few days of rainy weather and what better thing to do than stitch.  I finished stitching this on Monday but didn't post until now because I was down with a cold for a few days.  I am feeling back to myself and when I look around me all I see are the things that need to be taken care of for Thanksgiving.  I will have 18 guests this year and I am looking forward to every single one.  As far as the work goes, well I will try to fit it in between stitching time.  Just Kidding!  I have already started ironing linens and polishing silverware.  The platters have been cleaned and the dishes are next.  I took a break and decided to update my blog.  The above piece is LHN Monthly Sampler - December.  It is stitched on 28ct Natural Linen.  You may not recognize this piece from others you have seen in blogland because I played a switcheroo.  I changed the house from red to blue.  All of my holiday decor is silver and blue hence the blue house.  I am so proud of the fact that I have stitched all of the monthly samplers in a relatively timely manner and I am doing a happy dance.  Diane has created a great monthly series and I loved stitching each one.

On the puppy front, Miss Daisy had a follow up vet visit today and she now weighs 39 lbs.  That is about 1/2 pound a day since her last visit.  I really can't believe it.  I knew having a Great Dane was going to be an adventure but I really can't believe how big, but extremely GENTLE she is.  In my last post, I showed a picture of her in a rocking chair which she had taken over and last weekend, as hard as she tried to climb in that chair she just couldn't fit.  She rested her head on the cushion, looked at me sadly as if to say "Mom, I just don't fit anymore."  Way too cute!!! Here is a pic!

Thanks for visiting.  Back to work for me.

Farewell, Sweet Olivia!!

As some of you know,  I was fostering a sweet mommy kitty and her babes.  All of the kittens have been placed in their forever homes.  Olivia payed a visit to the spay wagon last week and recovered beautifully.  She is a darling cat and today was the day that she was placed in the shelter in search of the perfect owner.  I hope someone finds her as charming as I did and adopts this lovely lady before the holidays.  I enjoyed caring for her and her kittens for the last several months and I will miss them.  Best wishes Sweet Olivia!!

I've finished stitching these, now what?

Today was a beautifully sunny day and I spent time doing some tidying up.  Once that was out of the way, I ironed and photographed some recent finishes.  Finished stitching that is!!  I am not quite sure what to do with them.  I thought pillows or boxes, but maybe they should be frames??  So until I decide I thought I would share the stitching part.  The first is Autumn in New York by Primrose Needleworks.  I used the recoommended thread and stitched it on 36ct Sandcastle.

 Next is a design by Plum Street titled Gobble.  My stitching group friend Deborah did this one a month or so ago and I just couldn't resist.  That Turkey is just too cute!!  I stitched it on 32 ct Antique Ivory using DMC thread.

 The next is A Sampler Girl design titled Quaker Boo.  I stitched it on Dirty Belfast 32ct and used DMC threads.  It was a quick stitch and I hope to make this into a small pillow.

Lastly is my latest LHN Monthly Sampler finish.  I just got the pattern in the mail on Monday Nov 8th (even though it was an autoship) and thankfully it worked up quickly.  This will be stretched to the size of the others for my pop-in frame.

I am currently working on December LHN Monthly.  I want to thank everyone for reading my blog and leaving your wonderful comments.  I love all of the new stitchy friends I have made in blog land and love sharing my work and seeing yours.  Happy Stitching!!

Info about my Header picture and a giveaway!!

I have had a few inquiries about my header picture and realized I didn't even show the best part of this project.  This design is by Catherine Strickler of Indigo Rose.  She taught this class at Celebrations of Needlework a couple of years ago.  The design, from the best of my memory, is titled Tiny Tool Needle Book.  It uses many specialty stitches and wonderful Caron silks.  I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this project.  Catherine is very entertaining and her instructions are quite AWESOME!!  She credits her husband for those but I have to tell you they don't get better than hers.  The above picture is the front, the back I don't have photographed and the inside, when the book is opened is pictured in my header.  It holds 3 tiny plastic tubes to hold 3 different sized needles.   It's a wonderful addition to my smalls collection.
Other news is that Belinda of  Samplings from a Blue Ribbon Girl is hosting a wonderful giveaway for a beautiful quilted needlebook.  Hop on over and check it out.  A dear friend from my stitching group won a handcrafted project bag from Belinda's last giveaway and it's just beautiful.

Better late than never Finish. . .

Well,  what can I say.  Life has clearly gotten in the way.  I am trying to stitch more and spend less time on the computer.  I have more finishes to show you but they need to see an iron before they are photographed.  In the last 2 weeks we have been busy with parent-teacher conferences, DH was away on business for 5 days, and then Halloween and now Theme nights for the boys.  Loving every minute but it is cutting into some of my me time.  The above pictures were stitched in the last couple of months but I thought I would post them in their pop out frames.  Above picture is September Sampler from LHN on Natural Linen with some colors changes and the bottom is October Sampler from LHN on Natural Linen.  The best part of these is that no one, not one of the 5 humans that share my house noticed that I changed them. HUH!  So much for being observant.   

The other thing keeping me busy,  DAISY. 

Daisy 13 weeks

Daisy, the rocking chair thief

Daisy enjoying a sunny autumn day!

She is growing by leaps and bounds.  At her vet appointment last week she weighed in at 31 lbs.  The vet recommended increasing her to 4 cups of food a day because she was looking thin. She would like us to continue to increase by 1/2 cup a week until she fills in a little.  I am loving her company, we enjoy daily walks after lunch and it's fun to see how she reacts to new things.  When the leaves are falling, she barks and chases them which is darn cute.  She has outgrown her crate and her puppy bed is getting kind of small so she tends to take Jessee's.  She and Jessee spend most afternoons in a game of tug-of-war with the latest conquest, stuffed toy or boy.  Quite Entertaining.
Also wanted to let you know that I updated the New England Stitcher's Retreat Blog with May Retreat information.  Next week we will be hosting a giveaway so be sure to become a follower!  I know you will love the prizes.