Icy inside day has advantages

LHN Ornament SAL Pear Tree
2010 Christmas Ornament Challenge
Cranberry Deer Pinkeep
Beehive Needleworks
January

It's snowing now. What can I say, rain, ice, snow, very wintry weather. I don't mind because

I'm not getting out. So, what's a stitcher to do besides stitch? Well, some finishing is in store. I think they both turned out pretty well, even though they are a little lopsided. No matter how hard i try, there's always a finishing imperfection. I decided to continue stitching a reindeer a month for the 2010 Ornament Challenge. A couple more days of fun stitching, then I must get busy on some exchange pieces. These are my deadlines, which I need in my life. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Oklahoma Ice Storm

I haven't lost electrical power yet. My lights did dim a while back. So, while I can still function, here's a photo of a crepe myrtle bush outside my back door. Ice can be so damaging, and pretty at the same time.

Friday will definitely be an inside day. I'll stitch. Yea.

Holiday Exchange received by Shay

I am participating in a private exchange this year that uses holidays as it's theme. My partner for this round was Shay. She received my stitched piece and the goodies I included. Seems I forgot to take a photo of them. The design is Hearts and Beads from Cindy at the Stitchworks

in Tulsa. It's an old design from 1996. I've stitched it many, many times using all colors of beads. It remains one of my favorites. Shay tells me she loves it, and that pleases me very much too because I love it too.

Yesterday was a miserable day. My aches and pains just got worse. My 88 year old mother took care of me with chicken soup. I spent a restless night at her house. Sometimes you just give in and do what parents want. Today she cooked me a great breakfast and more chicken soup for lunch. I think I am on the mend. Back home now resting comfortably in my recliner.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Lizzie Kate Round 3 exchange received by Jenna

I heard from Jenna today that she received my Lizzie Kate round three package. She tells me she really likes it, so I'm a happy camper. I sent it priority mail, but it took two weeks to get there. Seems the mail has been disrupted by all the weather Calif. is having.

Nothing was accomplished by me today. I was a bit under the weather, so I mostly slept and lounged around. Tomorrow is football, so I'll be occupied there. Hope everyone is feeling well.

Lizzie Kate Round 3 exchange received

I received this little pinkeep in the mail today. It is from Lisa S. Aren't those little heart pins and bee buttons just too cute? I wasn't expecting a package today, so it was a very pleasant surprise. Thank you so much Lisa. I love it, and have it displayed on my sideboard. I'm still a bit concerned that my round 3 has not arrived at my partner's mailbox. I mailed it priority two weeks ago. Hopefully it will turn up soon.

I've been stitching on Beehives Needleworks Cranberry Reindeer pinkeep. It is almost completely stitched. I'll finish it and LHN's Pear Tree this weekend. It's supposed to be a cozy one, so I won't mind staying in. Enjoy yours.

Pear Tree stitching complete

I put the last stitch in this piece last night. Such a simple design, but boy oh boy, did I have a time of it. I stitched the number 1 and 2 pears three, count them, three times. I was off one stitch each time and just could not "compute" how to compensate. So, frog, frog, frogging was my good friend. I used the recommended floss and fabric and beads from my stash. I didn't have the MH beads listed. Now I have to decide how to complete it. Have two projects kitted up, so off I am to choose one. Have a great day. BTW, we had quite the thunderstorm last night. My satellite reception was nill, so I read on Emma, by Jane Austen. Emma is on PBS soon. I wanted to read it before it airs. Have a great day.

Purple and more purple

My good, good friend Mary Ann is up from Idabel visiting her family. With all the snow and really cold weather, she was finally able to drive up. We celebrated our Christmas last night after a trip to Tulsa and lunch with our other friend Lynn. The snowman is my Christmas gift and the heart is an early Valentine. Mary Ann's stitching is perfect. Do you think she knows purple is my favorite color? The heart pillow is one of her first attempts at finishing with beads. She did it perfectly too! The packages also had a Brighton cross and friend bead to add to my charm bracelet. I love them all! Thank you Mary Ann!

Seven

Count them, seven stitches. That's the sum total I got to put in on my next project. It was a very busy day yesterday. It's cold and foggy here today, so I suspect I'll get a few more stitches in.
****Edited****evidently I cannot count! There's 8 of those little buggers.

My friend Diane was delighted with her julbock. She loved it. It was fun to see the reaction on her face when she saw it. We attended a NARFE meeting on identity theft. It was very eye opening, even though I thought I knew alot about it. We then went to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was very, very good.

Hope everyone has a great day, and weekend.

Never in a Million Years

I never thought I would ever stitch this design. Never say never, especially when a friend is involved. Diane was thumbing through my JCS ornament issues one day and happened upon this design. She said that was one she really wanted me to stitch for her. My, oh my, let's just say this was not one of my favorites from the 2004 Issue. I'm gonna have lunch with her tomorrow, and will present the ornament to her. I have to say it was a fun stitch and worked up quickly. Now I just hope she likes it. What do you think? Do you know anyone else who has stitched this design? Kudos to Rae Iverson of Moss Creek Designs, Inc. for designing it. I used the recommended fibers and 28ct Platinum cashel.

Julbock Christmas Pocket--made into an ornament.

Gift from Julianne

I met Julianne through an exchange blog that disbanded in 2009. We continue to exchange e-mails and birthday gifts. Here's my bd gift from her. She knows I love Prairie Schooler, reindeer, cats and fabric. That's exactly what she sent me. Isn't the Santa and reindeer great. I love the braid also. Love the addition of the bells also. You can't really see it in the photo, but the red around the border has sparkles in it, as does the gray. Thank you so much Julianne. I love it all.

A Little Teaser

I finished my project for the Lizzie Kate Exchange this afternoon. I'll take it to the post office today or tomorrow, but before I do...here's a little teaser, the back. HeHe!

Something happened with this project. I did the backstitching around each side to whip stitch together. When I started working with it, I found the sides were not the same size. Now, I'm a counter. I count, recount, and recount again. I knew my back stitches were the same number on each side. Luckily I was able to ease the fullness in. Perplexing to say the least. This was supposed to be really good fabric too.

Have a great week end.

YLPS Round 4 received from Encarna

I finally received my exchange from Encarna. I say finally because she mailed it Nov. 21st. I know she was worried that it had gone lost in the mail. Isn't it fantastic? She stitched it over one. I sure love it. Thank you so much Encarna. BTW, I stitched for her during round 3. It is always a treat to receive a stitched piece from someone you have stitched for.

It is cold here today. Not as cold as I thought it would be, but cold none the less. Lots of schools closed around here today and tomorrow because of the low temps. I don't ever remember getting out of school because of cold weather. That was years ago though.

I completed the stitching on my next exchange piece. Haven't quite decided how I am going to finish it, but most likely a pinkeep. I haven't done one in a while.

Stay warm everyone.

Two more finishes

Well, here are my two latest finishes. I just can't show them to you because they are for exchanges. They were so much fun to do. I even experimented with a new shape. Guess I decided to go for it in 2010. One of my bus trips has already been cancelled. I was going to Louisiana for one of the Mardi Gras celebrations. This is one trip I was really looking forward to.

It is supposed to turn very cold here in the next couple of days. I already know what I plan on stitching. The Sampler Girl has a new freebie on her website and I have a Lizzie Kate exchange piece to stitch. So, there is really no shortage of projects for me.

Time for me to hit the hay. Hope everyone is staying warm.

First finishes of 2010

Here are my 2009 stitching projects finished. My first ones for 2010. I'm not sure I've completed FaLaLa. I may add some pearl headed straight pins in it. I'll see. Can you believe it took me most of the day to do these two? Of course I watched a lot of football and played on the computer too. Since I didn't celebrate last night, I may pop my bottle of bubbly and celebrate tonight. Hope you ate some black-eyed peas for good luck, I did.