2009 Christmas Challenge April Ornament

The Stag

Helga Mandl Designs

DMC 14ct Marbled Aida

DMC Fibers

Here's my April Ornament for the Christmas Ornament Challenge. I stitched this design for one of nieces for Christmas and liked it so much I had to have one for myself. I've already chosen my design for May to stitch. I don't usually stitch on Aida, however this design just seemed to work on the fabric. I braided three strands of small twine to make the hanger.

Off to cut fabric and pull threads for my Prairie Schooler Exchange! Have a great stitching day.

Woodland Exchange received by Simone

Simone sent word she had received the HoE Woodland Exchange I sent her. I chose a JBW design that had birds, reindeer, bunnies and a tree. The fabric was from my stash and I used a GAST thread. The finish was a new one for me. Simone says she's going to use the photo album for her stitching and quilting photos. That is exactly what I hoped she would do. Here's a snap:I also included a chart from her wish list in the exchange.

Jump over to her blog to see more photos.

Claremore, Oklahoma Day Trip--Photo heavy

Thursday, April 23, the old folk took a trip to Claremore, OK. It was a very easy trip, no rushing about. The day started at the J.M Davis Gun Museum. One of my favorite displays was of old movie posters. In the collection I found my all time favorite John Wayne movie poster of McClintock.

The museum also had a very large collection of beer steins. Here's a few of them:

Of course there are thousands of guns, outlaw memorabilia, and native American artifacts. If you're a gun enthusiast, this is a museum you want to see.

From there we headed to the Belvidere Mansion. Built in 1907, it is being restored by the local historical society. It has a beautiful tile floor as you can see by one of the motifs. There were period pieces of furniture and clothing also on display. Then it was lunch time. No photos there! Hehe. But there was a killer chocolate dessert.

Next we headed to the Will Rogers Memorial.

Ole Will is a favorite son of Oklahoma and the memorial is a tribute to his life. It's said if you rub the toe of Will's statue you have good luck. I couldn't resist.

We had a very entertaining speaker who had some of Will's mannerisms.

Now here's a snap of one display and grounds.

From the memorial we traveled to Will's birthplace. The setting is quite beautiful, overlooking Lake Oolagah. Unfortunately all the original pieces of furniture are gone, however, the house is decorated with antiques of the same period. Here's a few random photos of the homestead.

Lastly is the bus! We boarded and headed to the Nut House, where the girls served us samples of many of the goodies they had for sale. Sorry, no photos...they're all gone!

Simone is having a big give-away on her blog. Pop on over and take a look.

More Tulips

Today is my mom's 88th birthday. The celebration will be tomorrow with my two sisters and their families. I decided to stitch primitivebetty's spring freebie for her. Well, somehow I miscounted and the design was completely off center. So, I decided to dress it up a little to compensate for my error. Here's what I came up with:

Now don't look too closely at the ribbon or the bow! I had the iron too hot and the ribbon went poof, so I had to make a little bow. Another stitcher had added some button to her finish, so I used her idea. I think it turned out sorta cute.

The day trip yesterday was alot of fun. I'll post some photos later this weekend.

I finally got my HoE Woodland exchange in the mail. It has over 4800 miles to travel, so it will be a while before I can post the photo of the exchange.

Well, guess I'll stitch a little before I head to dream land. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Tulips

I've been quiet for a little while. Last week I had a miserable allergy attack, so not much was done. Before I got sick I stitched up primitivebetty's Tulip Time for my mother and my friend Diane. I finished Diane's into a little hanging pillow. Will give it to her tomorrow. We are going on one of the bank's day trips. We leave at 7:30 am...I have my alarm already set! I finished my exchange for the HoE Woodland Friends. I still have to get it mailed. Will post the photos as soon as my partner receives it. Well, here's my little pillow:

Drawn Thread Exchange Sent to Gaby

I heard from Gaby that she received the FTT Drawn Thread exchange package I sent her. (It took it's merry ole time.) She reminded me that this is the third exchange piece I've stitched for her. I believe I got carried away with the pins in the pinkeep. I hope Gaby knows that she can de-pin if she wants. Anyway, I stitched a portion of Souvenir Sampler for her. The other goodies included an Easter Egg that had some DMC floss in it and a nifty bead holder. Gaby tells me she loves Easter Eggs, so I did good on that choice. Her photos on the FTT blog are great.

I've decided I need to stitch that chart for myself since it has a reindeer in it. It's way past my bedtime (too much coffee at supper) so guess I'd better sign off. Hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend.

Great SD for me

Wednesday and Thursday are my weekend so to speak. So, when I don't have any plans I call them my slob days. Today was great. I received a wonderful HoE winter Quaker exchange from Edda. She stitched a snowman and made it into a mattress cushion. I know how challenging these cushions are, so this one is extra special. She included a Barbara Ana design "Fur-Ever Friends." I have in mind to do this on a large count fabric and take it to the Humane Society for the lobby. She also include some Piecemaker needles, some silk threads, and a Prairie Schooler freebie chart. Thank you so much Edda, I love it all.

I also completed the stitching on the Heart in Hand Easter Bird. These long legged birds are so much fun. I love them all. I finished it into a hanging pinkeep. I do believe I have gotten the hang of making the pinkeeps now. This one went together very fast. Guess the old adage is true...practice makes perfect. In my case, it's almost perfect, but what the heck. That's what makes it mine. These phots look a little blurry to me. The camera batteries must need to be recharged. I think they are clear enought that you get the idea. Have a wonderful Thursday.