HoE Winter House Received by Lisa S.

I heard from Lisa S. my HoE Winter House exchange arrived in her mail box. Poor Lisa, this is the second exchange she has received from me this year. The design is from Lizzie Kate. I used 28ct Winter Wind opalescent Lugana as the fabric and the recommended threads. For the finishing I backstitched around the edge and whipstitched the backing fabric on to the design. This method takes a little longer to finish, however, I love hand finishing my projects. Many thanks to Lennu for suggesting this method. I love it and will use it quite often. Here's a snap of the backing fabric.
Today I meet Diane at the Y for Silver Sneakers, finish an exchange piece, and start a new one. Who could ask for a better day? Enjoy yours!

Cathy received her Easter exchange

Cathy received her GFTHMBYH Easter exchange. I poached the the photos from her blog because they were better than mine! The design is from the new Prairie Schooler leaflet Signs of Spring. Don't you just love the little chickie in the design? DMC fibers were used on a mystery fabric from my stash.

I am busy stitching on an exchange piece. Hopefully I will have it completed this weekend. Saturday is my slob day. Every day this week has been busy so not much stitching has been done. Does this say withdrawal symptoms to you? It does to me!!

My friend and travelling buddy Diane and I joined the YMCA. We are doing the Silver Sneakers program. We're probably the youngest seniors in the class, but not the fittest! Well, that isn't true. D is more fit than I am. So far so good for me. I have been a little stiff, but not sore. I'm also walking a little at the Y. We are exploring the possibility of doing water aerobics.

Happy stitching!

Beautiful Give A Way

Deb is having a fantastic giveaway on her blog. Pop on over and take a look.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope you have a wonderful day! This is Chris, 90 years young. She dressed for the recent bank party which was a combination Mardi Gras/St. Patrick's party.

Another boo boo on the stitching front. I cut my fabric too small. Luckily I caught it before I had stitched very far into the design.

Arbor Day Exchange from Malinda

Malinda had my name in the Holiday Exchanges Arbor Day round. Trees are the theme of this exchange and here's what she stitched. She said she started calling it "Topaz Tree" because she stitched it with WDW Topaz. I love ribbon ruching border. So far I've not tried it, but should. Thank you so much Malinda, I can't wait to display it in April.

Easter Exchange for Lisa S.

Here's the Easter pillow I made for Lisa S.. She was my partner on the Holiday Exchange. The design is a Shepherd's Bush. It was supposed to be a needleroll, but when I decided to change the color of the fabric to purple, I did a major screw up. So, the needleroll became a pin pillow. I also included some Threadworkx thread, note cards and Easter stickers in the exchange. Lisa's favorite color is purple so the exchange had lots of purple in it. She said she really loved it, so I'm a happy stitcher.

I stitched this design from The Sampler Girl for my friend Karen's birthday. I love the simplicity of it. Sure hope she likes it. I tried a new method of finishing the pillow. Instead of using the sewing machine to stitch the backing and the design together, I xxxxx'ed the outer edge all around, and then whip stitched the backing fabric on. I like the way it turned out and will use this method again. It's a little time consuming, but I like to finish by hand so it suits me perfectly.

My friend Mary Ann from Idabel is moving back to Okmulgee and if all goes as planned we'll be neighbors. She, Diane, Lynn and I went to Tulsa and shopped in The Silver Needle. Then headed to Hobby Lobby for some fabric. I didn't buy a single thing in HL. We also went to Southern Agriculture and purchased ground walnut shells. I want to try them out in a pin pillow. Then we went to a cafe-bar called Cosmos for an early supper. It was an interesting place, somewhat trendy, that had excellent sandwiches and and a killer cup of coffee. We had a great time.

Have a great week.

Big Giveaway

My friend Lynn is having a big Tax Day giveaway. Pop on over and leave a comment. Tell your friends too!

Easter Chicks

These darling Easter chicks were stitched by Casey for Easter in the Holiday Exchanges group. Aren't they just the cutest. I love baby chicks at Easter, but never seem to get around to stitching any for myself. The design is from The Prairie Schooler's Just Hatched leaflet. Thank you Casey, I've already got the pillow hanging up.

Pin Pillow from Carolyn

I received this beauty from Carolyn on Thursday. Don't you just love these long pillows? I know I sure do. It's Summer Alphabet by Heart in Hand. She stuffed it with crushed walnut shells and lavender so smells wonderful. Thank you so much Carolyn, I love it.

Great mail day

Suzanne had my name as her stitching partner in the FTT exchange. She stitched a Blue Ribbon Designs freebie, Alphabet Tree. in beautiful colors. On the back she made a pocket for my scissors. Isn't it great. She must know I like the color purple.

I've been busy doing NOTHING. That is bad, bad because now I'm behind in my exchange stitching. This lazyitis person must now get in gear and get two in the mail this week. They are stitched and one is finished. The weather must have something to do with it. I had to run the ceiling fan a couple of times last week. That means it's getting warmer and I don't like warm weather.

A busy week is ahead for me. So, guess I'll get in gear. Hope everyone has a great week.

What a day!

First off, I received this little fella from Julianne. We are in a private exchange group and this is what she stitched. When I saw the name on the return address I knew I was in for a great surprise. She didn't disappoint me. In addition to the stitched piece she sent a chart, a notepad, and beautiful piece of linen. Thank you so much. Did I mention I love it!!?
Then I received this chart and chart pack from a dear blogger that has a monthly give away. I couldn't believe it when I saw I won for March. BeckySC is a beautiful lady who is so generous. I thank her. This is a wonderful gift.

And here's some stitching I did for the HoE LHN exchange. I had Janet B. as my partner. On her wish list she asked for socks and seed, so I had to comply. Well, you know, I didn't really have to, but I wanted to. Check out her blog to see the back of the piece. I totally forgot to get a photo of it. In her description she referred to the braid I used as "gimp braid". I have never heard it called that, but I'm glad I know now.

We had soup and sandwiches before Lenten services at church tonight. One of the members brought a Chicken-Mushroom soup that was super. I wanted more, but controlled myself. I didn't want to fall asleep in church!

Have a good evening.

FTT Pinkeep exchange for Cathy B.

I heard from Cathy that she received my FTT pinkeep exchange piece. My idea was to try a two sided pk and I think I pulled it off. I chose two motifs from the Blackbird Designs book Joyeux Noel. Cathy said she loved it, so did I. This is one exchange I would have kept for myself! I used a mystery fabric from my stash and good ole DMC fibers. What do you think?