It's Giveaway Time!!!

I am currently stitching #9 (Kenny Kangeroo)

from the free Animal Advent series by Brooks Books.

You can find the charts HERE.

She is generously offering these charts,

one per month through October 2015.

Each one is just so adorable!!!

I also joined her Facebook group for this series.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/animaladvent/

I am stitching these on 32ct Blue Petit Point Belfast Linen

that I got from Crazy Annie's Stitchin.

So what is this giveaway all about?

Well here's how it works.

Just leave me a message in the comments 

with your guess of  which 3 of the following 

completed animals are my personal favs.

You must have all 3 correct to win.

If no one gets all 3 right I'll choose a winner

from those who get 2 right :)

The prize will be a surprise giftie

handmade by me.

I will announce the winner on Friday night Jan 30th.

Ok....I just had to share :)

Most days I'm overwhelmed and so very grateful 

that God loves me and knows my name. 

Then there are days when He blesses me 

above and beyond anything I could imagine.

 In June the Editor of Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine 

contacted me about featuring my bags

 in the "Fab Finds" section of the November issue! 

It's finally here and I'm SO excited

 and I SO appreciate all my wonderful customers  

Thank you all! 

You totally make what I do a joy every day!

Work in Progress Wednesday

I don't usually have more than one cross stitch project 

at at one time.

But right now I have been working on 3.

Crazy times, right?

I finished this adorable little thimble purse necklace

by Brenda Gervais.

I added some extra red floss,

 my initials and the year 2014. 

I am on the hunt for a nice long chain so that I can wear it.

I am working on this stitch along from http://mmechantilly.blogspot.com

I am finished with the first 2 segments.

It is supposed to be finished by Dec. 15th.

And last but not least,

I am stitching "Witchy Washy" by Raise the Roof.

Isn't it really fun? 

Do you finish one project before you start another one?

The Big Girls are here :)

I've been sewin' up a storm these days.

The project bags are keeping me busy, 

to say the least.

One of my wonderful customers

contacted me a while back 

about making a bag with a larger bottom 

so that the Heaven and Earth design chart

she was working on could fit inside.

Those charts can have 90+ different colors of floss

so it made sense to have a "Big Bottom Bag".

I'm so glad that she was persistent and patient

and I finally got around to designing a new bag.

I love the way it came out

and more importantly

so did she :)

These bags are 11 1/2" tall and 13 1/2" wide

 with a 5" pleated bottom. 

They are perfect for bigger projects :)

I'll be adding new fabrics as time permits. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Cross My Heart :)

Cross Country Stitching Magazine April 2005

I'm not really sure when cross stitching became my obsession.

I mean,

I need to stitch.....

I pretty much stitch every single evening.

I can sit quietly next to my hunky hubby

while he watches whatever

"shoot 'em up everyone dies" man movie.

We are together,

both enjoying our favorite past times

and it works for us :)

This is my current WIP.

I stitched this design a few years back

for my daughter

and I've wanted to stitch it for myself ever since.

I love the little sheep with the hearts.

I mean seriously cute right?

Hope you are all finding time to be crafty.

It's good for the soul :)

I Heart Cross Stitch :)

I've been a bit busy with sewing work lately,

but I found time to finish this little heart today.

I've had the cross stitch done since before Christmas.

I have no idea who designed this chart.

It was in a stack of cross stitch charts given to me.

If anyone knows who designed it,

please let me know. 

I stitched in on 28ct Victorian Red Lugana

with 1 thread Ecru over 1.

I just love the look of those tiny stitches :)

Feels so good to scratch this little treasure off my "to do" list....

I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it......

I'm super excited to share my news with you all!

Last year I was asked by the very talented 

Cathy Haberman of Hands On Design

if I would be interested in designing a bag

around a chart she would design.

Of course I said YES!

This is what we came up with.

It's just so fun and bright

and represents all the things I love about stitching!

This pattern will be released at the upcoming

Needlework Show this month

 and will be available to purchase

 from your favorite Needlework shops very soon.

It just makes me want to dance :)

Final Week is here!

 It's crazy how fast January has gone by!

I apologize for not posting much last week

and for the late post today.

I've been battling the flu

and haven't done much besides

veg out on the couch and stitch.

Between the low grade fever and annoying cough,

I've been exhausted for about a week.

"Country Sampler" Cross Country Stitching Magazine April 2005 - stitched on 32ct Lakeside Ivory Linen

The Flickr group for Week #4 is now open :)

Even if you haven't joined in the fun yet,

make sure to post your projects this week.

Who doesn't want to win a $75.00 Gift Certificate 

to the Fat Quarter Shop???

AND....

this is the last week to use these

  fantastic coupon codes!!!

It's Friday!!!

LHN "Home is Where the Sunflowers Grow" stitcher over 2 on 28ct Blue Monet Linen

Hope you are all having a wonderful Friday!

I'm excited to be sewing tonight :)

I finished up my cross stitch by Little House Needleworks last night

and I love love love it.

Not sure how I'll finish it just yet.

I guess for the time being it will join my growing stack 

of cross stitch pieces waiting .........

I also finished this fun apron this week.

I'm obsessed with this fabric.

Don't you just love the red bowls with polka dots?

I know I do :)

I received my charm pack from SistersandQuilters.com.

Isn't it fun?

I'm going to make a Valentines Day table topper.

It's called "Surrounded by Love"  by Deb Strain.

I also rec'd my vintage buttons from pillowtalkswf.etsy.com

Those little wooden doll buttons just stole my heart. 

I have no idea what I'm going to use them for,

but they needed to come to my house :)

Don't forget to make use of the coupon codes!!!

You can find them HERE! 

And remember you have until midnight tonight

to add your photos to this week's Flickr Group.

This week's winner will be announced here tomorrow!

My little herd is complete!

I can hardly believe that I actually finished all 12!

I'm a habitual "never-finish-what-you-started" kinda girl.

But I'm super happy with my little "herd" :)

These darling sheep will become a table topper soon.

Here are the final 2 that I finished last week.

Gratitude and Joyfulness.

Perfect words for the new year! 

Check back tomorrow for all the details 

of the upcoming 

After Christmas Sew Along 2014!

A stolen moment.....

I've been sewing A LOT lately,

but nothing for myself in quite a while.

Last night I finished up a large custom order

and found myself with an hour to myself at the end of the day.

I've been wanting to make this "Tammy" bag

designed by Madam Samm of "Sew We Quilt"

ever since I took part in the Tammy blog hop.

You can see my first bag here.

It's a totally FTS (fun to sew) pattern

and I finished this project up in about an hour.

That didn't include the time to cross stitch of course :)

I stitched my pattern on Osnaburg and then 

used  lightweight iron on interfacing to give it some stability.

I found this pre-washed red and white polka dot linen on Etsy

and knew it would be perfect for this bag :)

These bags hold tons and I'm so excited 

to finally have a new home for my nail polish

and manicure supplies!

I don't often sew for myself so it's fun

to have something lovely all for me :)

Hope you find some time to sew for yourself too!!!

My little flock is almost complete :)

I finished up "Kindness" by LHN Sheep Virtues last night.

I'm so excited that I've kept up with this series.

I'm waiting for "Gratitude" to arrive

and then there is only 1 more after that!

These will become a table topper

featuring all 12 sheep.

There is a new series starting called "Calendar Girls".

I'm so tempted to start on that one.

We'll see :)

Everything from Angels to Wild Kratts

Stocking Angels I by The Cricket Collection

I finished up this darling little angel a few nights ago.

Of course I changed the colors :)

Those french knot curls just remind me of my 

granddaughter Sofie.

How could I resist?

I also made 9 Creature Power Vests

for my oldest grandsons' birthday party.

He's a HUGE fan of the Wild Kratts.

Since there aren't any ready made vests available

his Mommy asked me to do it.

There are plenty of great tutorials online to make your own.

The kids were big fans!

Here are the "Kratt Brothers" aka "Torres Brothers" :)

They wore them every day since the party.

I also got the sweetest email from another Mom that her son

wore his to church, school and even slept in his.

I'd say that was a worthwhile project.

Makes my heart happy!

A lot to be thankful for!

Hard to believe it's already November!

It's a time to think about all the blessings in our lives.

There is so much to be thankful for.

I am especially thankful for my November boys/men.

My firstborn, Brandon was born Nov 7, 1980.

Brandon's firstborn, Elijah was born Nov 3, 2003.

My daughter's firstborn, David was born Nov 22, 2007. (on Thanksgiving :)

That's a lot of happy to fit into one month !

I thought I'd share my progress on the DMC "Red Crockery" kit.

I'm almost done.

Just the finishing touches

and then I can add it to the stack of projects 

waiting to be finished/framed at some later date :)

Today I'm working on Christmas items for the shop.

These little felt owls are going to get added

later in the week.

The larger owl is a pin  

and the smaller owls are necklaces.

Here's a peek at another gift set in progress.

I'm loving the scissor fob that was made to match

by my friend Cherise!

So what are you thankful for today?

What makes you happy?

What makes you supremely happy?

For me there are many things.

One of them is being organized.

Looking at my thread

sitting neatly in my new thread cases

(that I got for 70% off at Joann's)

just makes my heart happy.

Am I a neat freak

with my home ready for a surprise guest

at any given time?

NO

(that's why I took the photo of my thread

in my kitchen and not my sewing room.....)

But just because my house is usually a mess,

doesn't mean I don't love it when it's neat and tidy.

But like most people,

I can't sew all day and have a spotless home.

Something's gotta give

and I'm lucky that my hubby is understanding :)

Here is a photo of my sewing room wall.

Makes me smile every time I look at it.

So what am I doing all day?

(because I can assure you it's not housecleaning.)

I'm working on some new tiny treasures

drawn for me by Michelle Palmer.

These little darlings are part of a custom

order for a special customer of mine.

I can't wait to show you when it's all done :)

And I finished up "Friendship" by LHN.

I can't wait for the next chart to arrive!

Wisdom.....Now there's something I can use more of :)

I finished "Wisdom" last night.

It's #8 in the LHN Little Sheep Virtues Series.

I changed a few colors

and I'm SO lovin' these little sheep!

As soon as I stitched my final "x",

I started on "Friendship" right away.

They just released "Kindness"

and I don't want to fall behind!

Wisdom can now join her brothers

and sisters :) 

I found the perfect fabric to use for the table topper

I'm planning to make with these little treasures.

I can't wait to finish them all up so that 

I can get started :)

Have a lovely weekend everyone!!!

Feelin' a Bit Scattered.....

"Autumn Sampler" by Waxing Moon Designs

I don't know about you,

but I don't like to start a new cross stitch chart

until I have completed the last one.

I've been working on this fun Autumn Sampler

and I need a specific Weeks floss for the corn,

and a DMC substitute just wouldn't do it justice.

I haven't had a chance to get over to 

Needleworks Ltd to pick it up

so I did the unthinkable......

I started another project!

*GASP*

I know right?

AND I've also been working on the fairies

that I showed you earlier this week.

I feel a bit scattered.

It's funny because I have no problem

with multiple sewing projects all at the same time.

But there is something about cross stitch

that makes me want to finish one, before I get into another.

"Red Crockery" kit by DMC

I'm not usually one to buy kits,

but this one came with the linen and

all the DMC floss already sorted out.

And the best part is

I found it on ebay for $9.99!

How could I NOT buy it?

Do you see those chickens?????

How cute are they?

The chickens are stitched 1 thread over 1

and the rest of the chart is 2 over 2.

Do you see all the red?????

I really had no choice,

but to buy it :) 

So are you like me,

a one chart at a time girl?

Or are you a 

throw-caution-to-the-wind-mutltiple-project-girl?