A little cutie

Sunday my middle sister and her family came for a visit. My great-nephew is the only boy in our family, so you know he is spoilt rotten. He's always good for a laugh or two and keeps us old folk on our toes. Here's a couple of snaps of him.

In the first one he's just acting silly.

The second one he's imitating his Aunt Becky wearing her glasses.

Hope the photos bring a smile to your face today.

Two finishes

Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be my "slob" days. Rarely do I get to slob out. This morning I slept really late. I stayed up till about 3:00 am reading Pillars of the Earth. Slob out includes something stitching related, so I decided to finish two small projects.

First one is my March ornament for the 2009 Christmas Ornament Challenge. It's a freebie from Aury. I used Valdani and Vicky Clayton silk to stitch the ornie. The size is somewhat large, but I'm using it anyway. At least one ornament should have a little purple in it. March's ornament is my choice this year.

The second finish was a kit I received in an exchange box. I stitched it quite a while ago, but thought Karen might like a small pillow, since she's been hinting for a stitched piece! Here it is. I think it turned out very nice.

Have a great evening.

FTT Drawn Thread Exchange from Hazel

Today I received a wonderful mailbox surprise. My Friends Through Threads Drawn Thread exchange arrived. It was from the talented stitcher Hazel. She stitched a mattress cushion from the DT chart Spot of Spring. Isn't it so very pretty? The goodies she sent are fantastic. Just look at that green thread, it's so vibrant. I needed the pearlized pins. In my e-mail to Hazel I told her I would have to take the candy to my mom's so I could nibble on it there. I'm not to have much candy because of the Diabetes. So, dear Hazel, thank you so much. Hazel and I have a running joke. For some reason I insisted on calling her Helen. Finally she oh so gently reminded me of her correct name. Now I call her Helen for fun.

Here's a close up of the front and back of the cushion.

Top of the Morning to You.

Today is one of my favorite holidays. I love shamrocks and love stitching them. Hence, the pattern for my HoE biscornu exchange. Seems my partner has gone missing, so I'm going to go ahead and post what I stitched. The USPS has confirmed delivery, so here's the exchange stitching. I hope my partner isn't ill. This piece was hard to part with. The design is from a chart by Lady Periphaeria Luck of the Irish.

Exchanges, oh exchanges, I do so love participating in them. Heard from April, via Edgar that she received the HoE Winter Quaker exchange. (Another one that was hard to part with!). The design is a freebie from Liberty Primitives and Needlework. The chart is posted on the Jan. 1, 2009 entry. Here's the entire exchange:

The thread is Valdani overdyed #P-3 Aged White-Medium. I received it in an exchange and must say, I love it. There are three hints of other colors, purple, yellow, and red. The purple and yellow are for the pansies that bloom during the winter months, and the red is for the occasional cardinal. Alas, another piece that tried to stay out of the postal envelope!

No celebrating planned today for St. Patrick's Day. I will wear lots of green to the Humane Society though! Hope everyone has a fantastic day.

New Dollars

Thursday was the First Priority Club's St. Patrick's Day Luncheon. We had a fantastic lunch of corned beef and cabbage, Irish Stew, and Potato Soup, plus some very tasty salads and dessert. After lunch, the leader asked anyone who decorated hats or themselves to come up. At first there weren't any takers. I held up a hat my friend gave me. The leader said come on up Becky. So, I went up front and modeled my hat. Soon, others joined me. These are what the she gave all the participants. New dollar coins. Somehow I missed these were going to be issued.

It was fun.

Also Kim at Threadheads Unite is having a fabulous giveaway. Pop over and take a look.

Finally finished my piece for the Drawn Thread exchange. I don't know why I had such a hard time deciding how to finish it. I think it turned out very cute. So, once my partner receives it I'll post the photos.

Have a super Sunday.

A small exchange

Here's a photo of the Frosty Friends exchange I did earlier in the year. Have not heard whether or not it was received, and since the SBEBB has closed I thought I'd go ahead and post my photo since I'm certain my partner doesn't read my blog. It's the January floss tag from Anniemiek's A Primitive Year of Floss Tags. I haven't stitched it for myself yet, but do intend to. March promises to be really fun, so I'm eagerly awaiting notification from her that it's ready to download. Enjoy your evening.

BBD's exchange from Brigitte

Just look at this beautiful pillow I received from Brigitte. She stitched this for the SBEBB Specific Designer exchange which was Black Bird Designs. The SBEBB was closed about the time this exchange was going on. Several of us went ahead and sent our stitched pieces. Brigitte learned I had not received an exchange and volunteered to do one for me. Well, my, oh my, the wait was certainly worth it. The piece is from the book Sarah Tobias. I absolutely love it, and go grateful to Brigitte for being such a giving stitcher. She also included some fabulous goodies. Thank you so much Brigitte. I love it all.

HoE biscornu from Jen R,

Just look at this beauty I received from Jen R this week. I just love biscornu's and this one is part of the HoE exchange. Unfortunately my photo doesn't show the vibrancy of the colors. I love it. Thank you so much Jen.

She also included some fantastic goodies pictured below.

She included some great thread, two adorable charms, some ribbon, purple fabric, cute buttons and Altoids. What a great exchange package.

Last Finish for February and an answer for craft-t-leigh

With 3 hours and 12 minutes to spare, I met the February Christmas Ornament Challenge. I stitched this chart earlier for my sorority's ornament exchange in December. With much sorrow I allowed it to be taken home by one of my sisters. This one is mine all mine. The buttons were a stroke of luck. They were just waiting for me in my mom's button jar. I found one, then searched and searched for that second one. The pattern is Stag Pinkeep Ornament from Stacy Nash's A Simply Early Christmas. The fabric is from my stash, and the thread is some I received in an exchange. I believe it is some of Anzia's and it was wonderful to stitch with.

Earlier in the week I received an e-mail from Craft-t-leigh asking about linen, threads, and such. My advice is to start on 28ct or larger. Stitch a small pattern, then stitch the same on 32ct. Study the difference and decide which thread count you like best. Stitch on it for a while and then start experimenting with other counts. I have some larger count, 9 and 10, kits that are excellent to begin on. If you'll contact me again, I can send a couple to you to practice with. As far as thread goes, silk is wonderful to stitch with, but expensive. I like the over-dyed threads except for the way they feel. I usually end up using good ole DMC in my favorite colors.

Hope everyone has a great stitching week.