All kinds of fun stuff...

This weekend was another International Hermit and Stitch weekend.

So that's what I did as often as I could :)

Cross stitch is so wonderfully relaxing for me. 

I just love it.

I'm working on this "Love and Be Loved"

 by With Thy Needle & Thread.

I'm going to finish it as a  pillow for my bedroom.

I also had to share photos of my beautiful granddaughters

 wearing their new jumpers.

This is Sofie and her beautiful Mommy :)

And this is Evie (little Ms. Independent)

They are just so adorable I almost can't stand it! 

And before I forget,

here is my ORT (old ratty threads) jar

for my August TUSAL report.

And last but not least,

I'm going to be taking part if the Quilter's Blog Hop Party with Give-aways!

You can jump over to QuiltingGallery.com  to learn more about it

or just come back here on August 25th to see what I'll be giving away :)

July TUSAL and my work in progress :)

It's time again to show my ORT's (old ratty threads)

for the July TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long).

I've got quite a bit as I've been stitching almost every night!

Today I'm working on some more project bags.

I just love the dark red fabric. 

I would totally LOVE 

to have all those beautiful reds in my collection!

These 2 bags are pretty much done

except for the wool felt hearts for the zipper pulls.

These are 4 more that I am still working on.

If you are interested in any of them,

they are for sale.

Just shoot me an email.

al4jrh@hotmail.com

I'm loving my own project bag

that I made last week.

Keeps all my cross stitch supplies safe 

and clean and out of my dog's mouth :)

My friend Marcia uses hers for 

a "Sewing Work in Progress" bag.

At 13" by 11" they are handy for all sorts of crafts.

I have the Brown & Pink and the Dark Chocolate Brown linen

 still available from my last batch 

and you can see them  here

And last, but not least,

I received my threads today from 123stitch.com.

(That place is dangerous! Great prices and fast shipping......uh oh!)

I'll be starting the "leaping cat" by La D Da tonight.

It reminds me of my own kitty, Arthur :)

Busy Saturday and a Tusal update :)

There are days that I feel like I get absolutely nothing done,

and other days where I'm surprised by what I manage to accomplish.

Yesterday was a good day.

My machine was hummin'

and all was right with the world!

I used my new walking foot for the first time

and made these fun pot holders

using the free tutorial on Sew4Home.

I was dancing around in my sewing room singing

"I'm walkin on sunshine...yeah

and don't it feel good!"

It's a very good thing you couldn't hear me :)

I leave the singing in the family to my son and daughter in law!

If you read this blog often, you know that I tend to

get on a roll making one project

and before you know it I've made 49 more.

So of course I had to make 3 more taggie blankies too!

I also whipped up 6 coasters as a little anniversary giftie

for my son and his bride.

They've been married 12 years today!

Awesomesauce, right?

I used this free tutorial from Sew4Home.

They are totally FTS (fun to sew)

and I"ll be making more for myself!

And last but not least,

it's time to post my Tusal (Totally Useless Stitch Along)

and show my ORT jar (Old Ratty Threads)

Hope you had a chance to be crafty this weekend too!

What is a TUSAL?

That's exactly what I asked myself when I kept seeing TUSAL

and ORT showing up on stitching blogs.

So I followed the Internet rabbit trail to Daffycat's fun blog :)

Apparently she has a "Totally Useless Stitch A Long" going on 

and you can join in at any time!

I love the idea and totally LOVE the name of it!

And every new moon

(don't worry......she has a list of dates)

you post a picture on your blog

 of your "Old Ratty Threads" or ORT's in a jar.

This kind of stitch along is right up my alley!

 Hop on over to Daffycat's blog

and join us for what she calls the Totally Useless Endeavor!

Today I wanted to show you 2 little finishes I did

this morning.

I added a tiny flower button to the little birdie

stitchery because the stitched flower wasn't really showing up.

I like the way it turned out :)

I added some large rick rack to my flag stitchery.

It's the first of my Patriotic pieces.

I have some more patterns picked out and ready to join

this guy pretty soon.

I just finished stitching Lizzy Kate's "Time for God".

I changed the thread colors to better match my home.

I stitched it on hand dyed pale blue 32ct linen over 2 threads.

And last but not least,

(and since I joined in after the last new moon)

I'm going to show you my ORT jar anyways :)