Frazzled Needle

I'm a slacker...

2012-01-20T07:50:00.000-08:00

I am officially a slacker! I didn't keep up with my Crazy January Challenge and honestly don't even remember what day I stopped at. I did start quite a few new projects and after looking through all my starts and WIP's discovered that I have at least 17 that I want to get finished this year. Most of them are fairly large so I'm definately going to be a busy girl.

I started my first HEAD-ish pattern...it's not a HEAD, but it's similar to one with multiple pages and it will take forever to get finished. Here's a pic of what it'll look like when finished....

And here's my progress as of today.....
Ok, so not alot of progress to show..just one color so far. I've heard so much talk of how hard these multiple page patterns are and I have to say they are NOT as hard or intricate as I thought.

My next one isn't a new start...I started it in 2011 but only had a few stitches into it. This was a PIF from Chele and will be going to Vicky when I finish with it. It's called Sex & Chocolate...I love saying that..hee hee! Here's what it'll look like when finished.....
And here's what I have so far......
I'm not using the called for floss...I just picked out of my stash and chose colors I liked. The fabric is an old piece of Silkweavers in kind of a mottled purple. This will eventually be made into a funky pillow for my craft room.

Next up is the SAL I chose to join this year...it's called Lavendar Blue. The first 2 parts came out January 10th so I've been working on this the last few days.
This is my progress as of today. Not much to look at yet, just the bottom part and I've got lots more to go to get caught up before the next part comes out. I am liking it though...it's just different and I seem to have this secret love affair with samplers lately.
My final pic of the day is Grand Marquoir....I've barely touched this since the last pic. Thanks to an early morning phone call with my friend Tara, she's convinced me to stitch along with her today on it. Sooo, here's my before pic.....
Sometime this evening I'll update with a pic of how much I get done today. Probably won't be a huge amount since it's so hard to hold the GIANT scroll frame but at least I'll get a few stitches in, right?

Ok, that's it for me..don't got much else to show so until next time....Happy Stitching!

Crazy January Day 5

2012-01-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Well day 5 of my crazy challenge did not go so well. I chose to start Bent Creek's "Snapperville".

I've had this in my stash for a long time and have been itching to start it. The fabric is a hand dyed 32 count and the charts with border is super long so I spent a good hour or two just counting out from the center of the fabric so I could find a good starting point. This one would just be too hard to start in the center. After finding my starting point I got on a pretty good roll with the stitching. Then I discovered I was off by two stitches at the beginning....Ack!
Spent another half hour picking out what I had stitched and now I'm at the part where I can start from where I messed up. Not much progress for me today since I had to frog so much, but I still think I'll enjoy working on this one.

Tomorrow I'm going to switch things up a bit and work on a UFO. I'm starting to feel super guilty about all these new starts and not working on one of the pieces I already have started. So my project for tomorrow will be "sex & chocolate"....I'll post before and after pics to show how much I get done tomorrow.

Until next time....Happy Stitching!

Day 4 of Crazy January

2012-01-04T18:05:00.001-08:00

Day 4 of the Crazy January Challenge brought me my first finish of the year! Since day two's project was so large I had started another project also and figured it could count as my day 3 start. I worked on it yesterday for day 3 and got so close to finishing it I thought I'd work on it today before I started my day 4 project. I was able to finish it!!! Yay! I already know exactly how I'm going to "finish" finish it.

For today's start I chose another My Big Toe pattern: Stitching is Cheaper than Therapy. I'm using the called for Weeks Dye Works threads and a 28 count white fabric.
Here is my progress for now. It's not much but it's a start. This one should stitch up fairly quickly too so I definately see this finished sometime this year.
I am starting to feel overwhelmed with all these new starts. I have so many UFO's that I should be working on and I keep starting more and more. I think I really am crazy! I'm going to keep going though....it's just too much fun to stop. The hardest part is deciding what I want to start each day...who knew there were so many options? I had originally thought I'd keep it to small or medium projects but now I'm thinking about adding in a couple of larger projects, we'll see just how crazy I get as time goes on. :)

Until next time....Happy Stitching!

Crazy Day 2 & 3-ish

2012-01-02T19:42:00.001-08:00

Today is day 2 of the Crazy January Challenge....so for today I thought I'd do something BIG. I've had this chart in my stash for so long and it's called to me and called to me but I just never had the chance to start it. This was a free SAL sometime around 2008 or 2009...*I think* Here's a pic of kinda what it will look like....

And here's my little progress for today.....not much.
Now before you all go...why is THAT all the progress she made? Let me explain.....this project is VERY large. I've had to pull out my largest scroll frame just to keep the fabric out of my way so I can stitch. I've tried a hoop, a q snap and stitching in hand...nothing is comfortable for me with the size of this fabric. So on my largest scroll it went! Which is why there is such limited progress....the scroll frame is hard for me to hold and stitch. I do not have a stand for it. Just to give an idea of the size of this frame......here it is propped against a chair in my craft room. See what I mean by BIG?
And since I can only work on that project for about 15 minutes at a time because of the frame size, I decided to start something else too. I pulled out this little Lizzie Kate boxer.....
And here is my progress.....
Since I started 2 projects today I will NOT be starting another one tomorrow. I'll just continue to work on these two projects for day 3. Grand Marquoir is going to be a long time consuming project just because of the sheer size of it and until I can get a stand for my scroll frame I won't be able to work on it for long periods of time. I'm looking forward to seeing it progress as time goes on though.

Well, there's my day 2 for Crazy January! Happy Stitching everyone!

Day 1 of Crazy January Challenge

2012-01-01T18:29:00.001-08:00

Since today is the first day of January 2012 it was time to start my Crazy January Challenge. The challenge is that we start a new project every day from January 1st - 15th. This is the project I chose to start today........

And here is my progress...... not a lot yet, but it's a start.
I had a big list that I've changed numerous times and even went so far as to pick which day I'd be starting which project. At this point I have over 30 projects fully kitted up and ready to go. I've tossed my list out the window and said the heck with it! I am now picking whatever project calls to me each day when I go to start a new one. I'm not going to worry about how big each project is or how long it'll take to finish it....I'm just going to choose according to my mood at that moment. How's that for crazy?? :)

Until next time....Happy Stitching!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T08:42:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note to say....HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope everyone has a wonderful year full of love, health, good friends and family!

For those that love a good giveaway, Miss Sarah is having one over on her blog for the New Year. You can hear all about it here: http://craftymoo-sarah.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-new-year-january-give-away.html

Until next time....Happy Stitching!

Goodbye 2011....Hello Crazy January!

2011-12-31T18:29:00.001-08:00

Whew, what a year of ups and downs 2011 has been! I am so ready for a new year! I joined the Crazy January Challenge for 2012....we get to start a new project for each day in January. So in a mad dash to at least finish one or two old UFO's I got out moms moose and decided I'd try to finish it in time to give for Christmas.

I did make that goal!! Yay me! And here's mom with the finished and framed moose on Christmas Eve.......

Since I did so well with finishing moms moose I thought a new goal should be set. So the next old UFO in my bag was Alla Turca. I was hoping to have it finished by midnight today. Well, I did it....and I have a little over 4 hours to spare!!
I am so proud of sticking with my goals on these two projects. I've been really bad with keeping up this year and have slacked off alot in my crafting. For 2012 my goal is to enjoy doing more of the crafts I love and to keep up a bit better.

I hope 2012 brings everyone better and brighter things, good health and happiness. Happy New Year everyone!

December Already?

2011-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe it's the first of December already! Seems like this year has just flown by so fast! So much has happened over this year it feels like a roller coaster ride.

I have been busy with my stitching over the last month or two. I recently "taught" a class at my local LNS on how to make a biscornu. That was a big step for me since I don't do crowds or people very well. I am glad I did it though, it took me out of my comfort zone and I needed it. This is one of the biscornu we did......

Here's the top view....the pic does not do this one justice. It's very elegant looking in person and I think it's one of the nicer ones I've done. I believe the chart was a freebie from flossbox.com
Next up is a round robin. I was the final person in this round so I got to do the patriotic snowman....it was a nice change since it's fall and I've been seeing so many fall type things lately.
Here is the entire piece all finished with everyone's stitched parts. Isn't it adorable?! I believe this is a stoney creek chart...not sure though.
Next we have my round robin that was returned to me. I love the way it turned out! The ladies did an awesome job. Just need to iron it and finish it into *something*...just not sure what yet. Any ideas?
I have three options rolling around in my head....a holiday pillow, frame it or turn it into a flat fold. What do you think it should be?

Next on my stitching list is a final round robin then I'm going to pull out 2 of my UFO's and try to get them finished before Christmas. If I succeed, one will end up being a gift and you'll see it in my next blog update. Wish me luck on getting done! Happy Stitching everyone!

Fall is here!

2011-10-28T07:50:00.001-07:00

What a month it's been! Seems like this time of year just keeps me busy and I don't have time for much stitching. Fall is has come to Idaho and I've heard reports that there's snow in the mountains. We've had frost on the cars in the morning and the leaves have been changing and falling all over. I love the crisp air!

We recently did a Halloween exchange in my yahoo group. We had to find items from a list...something with a witch, something with a ghost, etc. My partner was Vicky and she sent me this.........I love it all!

Here's my part of a round robin....it's not backstitched yet. Thankfully the owner of the robin is letting me off without doing the backstitching because I have a couple more sitting here that need to get done. This one was kind of unplanned and landed in my lap when one of our gals had to pull out due to health issues. I'm glad that we are able to get it back into the rotation though and we should have happy people in the end.
This next one is my part of Tara's round robin. She chose these adorable little teapots....they are all so cute! I may have to do these for myself eventually....hard to resist that cuteness.
Next is a biscornu.....I'm going to be teaching a class on finishing a biscornu at my LNS so I've been trying to get a few stitched up to show.
This little biscornu is teeny...about 1 inch in diameter. I designed it myself and forgot to show the cuter side...LOL Hope to get a few more stitched up and have a little basket full for the class.
I know it doesn't look like I've been doing much stitching but I have been a busy girl. I'm looking forward to falling back into a routine and getting things done. Now that I have a craft room of my very own I should be able to be more productive. I'll leave you with a pic of my Rudy....he's my stitching buddy. (when he's not chewing on my boxes)
This is his "I didn't do it" look.....such a little diva dog! :) Hope everyone has their needles smoking! Happy Fall everyone!

Stitching again.....

2011-10-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Now that we are finally starting to settle into the new house, I've been stitching again. It's been awhile and I can honestly say I've missed it. After a few visits from the frog, I was finally able to finish my section on Katie's round robin. It only took me THREE WEEKS!! I don't know what it was about this particular piece, but it did not like me! I'd get partway through it and find I messed up and have to take out half of what I had stitched. This one was a hard one for me for some reason and the funny thing is, it's easy...whole stitches and on aida. Piece of cake for most people....just not for me. Anyway, I'm happy to say Mr Santa is finally stitched up and moving on to the next person in the rotation! Yay!

This next piece was a quick and easy stitch, thankfully. One of our round robin participants had to drop out due to health issues so I've taken her place in the rotation and recieved Carein's piece to work on. These hearts are super easy and quick to stitch! I enjoyed doing this one and was so thankful to have a quick finish fix.
Next up is an exchange I recieved in the mail from Vicky. She made me the cutest little Fall ornament....I LOVE IT! Loved the extra's too...hee hee.
I went to my LNS today and picked up a few goodies......
While at the LNS today I got into a conversation about different finishing techniques. I have agreed to teach a biscornu class and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I am not a public speaker at all, and I'm totally NOT a people person. I just don't do well with crowds so this will be a new and exciting experience for me.

Ok, this is a short update, but it's all I've got at the moment. Life has just been a crazy mess lately and I know there is so much more I can put on this little blog but it's just left my mind at the moment. Hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather and stitching like crazy! :)

2011-07-31T16:34:00.000-07:00

If you've been following me along over the last few years you'll remember all the drama we've had. 3 years ago the house we had been renting was sold when the owners divorced. This started a long journey through 4 different moves, including moving from Oregon to Idaho. We moved to Idaho in June 2010 and stayed with my mom until January 2011. In January we were able to find a rental. The house was a Godsend at the time....just a little 2 bedroom/ 1bath but we had 4.5 acres to play with. Little did we know what kind of issues we'd face with this house.....we've had sewage issues with the toilet backing up into the bathtub. We've had electrical issues...and have had to play with so many breaker switches I never want to see one again. We've also had issues with mold ALL over this house. Now remember...we moved in to this house in the wintertime. We had no idea what we'd face when summertime came. The house is infested with spiders and earwigs. At night when we go to bed we have to shake out all our bedding to make sure there are no spiders or earwigs in them. We wake up to them crawling on us and are constantly smacking them all over the house. I would rather live with flies than the bugs we've had. Here are a few pictures of the house....

This is the tiny kitchen...excuse the mess all over, we are in the process of packing things up. Notice the standing dishwater in the sink, the sink is plugged and drains slow. Also notice there are no cupboard doors....
This picture shows the gap at the top of the backdoor and the mold around the top. Earwigs constantly come through here as well as spiders. I've often wondered if the ceiling is full of mold too considering it's so wobbly.

This is just a picture of the bare bulb in the hallway. It is covered in rust and mold....it will not come off no matter how much you scrub.

This is one of the heat vents. Notice the gap? Mice live in the walls and come out through the gaps. This is how EVERY heat vent in the house is....

Here is a picture of one of the windows. This has been scrubbed numerous times and it's still covered in mold.

This is a picture of how my kitchen sink drains. The pipe goes from the kitchen to the garage and drains into this trash can. We then use a garden hose to drain the trash can out in the yard. My washing machine also drains from a random pipe out to the driveway....nothing like pulling your car up and driving through dirty washing machine water.

I felt very blessed when we found this house to rent. We needed a roof over our heads and a place to call home. We were lucky to find it at the time and I've been thankful for it. Even with all the issues we've had just living here, I knew we were lucky and things could have been way worse. Well about 2 months ago the owners put the property on the market. They said they would honor my lease but I knew from past experience we had better start looking for another place to live.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago.....I was browsing craigslist for a new rental and happened upon a place that sounded great. Called the number in the ad only to discover the place had sold, but he had another house he had just purchased at forclosure auction and hadn't listed it yet. Told him our credit was bad and we really couldn't buy anything at this time. Come to find out, not only is he a liscensed broker....he's a liscensed lender too. Ended up chatting on the phone and telling him our entire story of the last 3 years. Sooo, out of curiousity more than anything I agreed to go peek at this other house. I fell in love with it! After many bouts of looking over our credit report, some financial planning and chats with the title/escrow company......we were able to find a way to purchase the home!!!

We now have a nice fat 30 year mortgage to worry about....but this is what I get to live in for those 30 years........enjoy...

Here is the front of the house....the grass was just planted so doesn't look so great yet but it's starting to grow.

This next pic is the living room area....

Here is my kitchen. So much more space than what I've had to work with....

Here's a pic of my pantry.......Love it! I had nowhere to store our food before....

here is my master bathroom.....

Master bedroom closet....

Master bedroom.....

Another shot of the master bedroom......

My youngest sons room...

Oldest sons room....

My craft room......(happy dancing!)

Craft room closet.....

Backyard for my little Rudy (my chi-pom) and the boys...

Another shot of the backyard.....

And my favorite thing of all.......my front door. They painted it "Ferrari Red"....love it!

Ok...so no stitchy pics this time....but I hope you enjoyed the pics of my family's new "homestead"......I am so excited to begin this new journey. And doubly excited to FINALLY have a crafty oasis of my very own. Hugs to all and happy stitching!

Been Awhile....

2011-07-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've wandered over here in blog land. I've been reading everyone else's blogs from time to time but just haven't been keeping up with mine. I lost my stitching mojo for a while and just couldn't seem to finish anything and nothing would hold my interest. Over the last month or so the stitching bug is finally returning and I've been able to finish my Lizzie Kate "Living with Charm" piece. I did NOT use the charms on this one because I like it just fine without them. I think I may make this into a wall quilt. Here she is in all her glory.....

My group KraftersKorner is doing a RR and after searching for just the right piece to do, I finally found just the right chart in one of my older UK magazines. I've left the middle 3 sqares for each person to stitch and sign and then when it comes home to me, I'll let the group vote on how to finish it. It was a little bit of a switch for me since this is 18 count aida and I usually stick with 32 count but I liked the color and it was the right size fabric so voila! Here is my piece waiting to be sent to the next person.....

My other group, the Stitcherhood, is having a challenge to get so many projects done before we buy new stash. I've fallen off the wagon and had to restart so I thought to myself the best way to complete those 10 projects is to finish some of the UFO's & WIPS I have laying around. I've had this next project sitting here for months just waiting to be picked up. It's Lizzie Kate's "Christmas by the Letter". I'm going to try to get this one finished soon and it will also be a wall quilt for the holidays. Here's my progress so far:

Not much else going on in my world at the moment. The kids start back to school at the end of August and I am so ready! I need some "me" time again! Hope this stitching bug hangs around for a while, maybe I'll actually update this little boring blog a bit more often. Hugs to all and happy Stitching!

Wow, it's been awhile.....

2011-03-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this is my first post of the year! Time is flying by! Not going to go into my family and personal stuff in this post....today it's all about the stitching. So without further blabbering......

I posted a challenge in my group KraftersKorner for everyone to stitch up 2 ornaments a month from January to June. In June we'll have 12 ornaments and pick a day to "finish" them into ornaments. Here are my January ornies....

In Suz's group, StitchesandStuff, we are doing a seasonal SAL where we could all choose to work on the same pattern or pick our own. I chose my own since I happen to have some Lizzie Kate seasonal boxers. This is my winter SAL.....

I know it's a bit late since Valentine's has come and gone, but I did stitch a little something for the holiday. I'll finish it off on the big finishing day in June. I've had this chart, fabric and floss for over a year. Jennifer sent it to me as an exchange and I just never had the chance to pull it out and work on it. I'm liking it and think it may end up as a little cube to decorate a shelf next year.

Next we have my challenge ornaments for February. The snowman was a freebie from online somewhere...it escapes me at the moment. "Humbug" was a chart found in a pile of junk at a thrift store...it was a photo copy so had no idea what it would even look like, but it just called to me to give it a go as an ornament, so off I went and that's what it came out like. I think it's kinda cute.

Next is a new little SAL I found online. Not sure why I like it, but I do. I've got January and February finished so far, still gotta catch up on March but it's a quick stitch so I'll get it done this week sometime. We are also doing this as a SAL in StitchesandStuff so it'll be fun to see how everyone chooses floss and fabric.

While going through some boxes in the garage last week, I ran onto 2 little "shelves". I pulled them aside and thought I'd stitch up something for them and hang them up in my living room. Since I'm desperately trying to have an African/Safari "theme" I started searching for something small that would fit in them. What I found was perfect for the shelves...one will be a realistic looking rhino and the other will be a realistic looking hippo. I have the rhino started but no pic yet. Hoping to finish both of these in the next week or two and have some "finished" shelves to show you in the next post. Here's a pic of one of the ugly little things....

Obviously I have NOT stuck to my goals this year. Lots of reasons and excuses, but hey, at least I'm stitching. Hope eveyone has their needles smoking and the frogs are staying away. Hugs to all my stitching friends!

Looking forward to a new year....

2010-12-27T10:46:00.000-08:00

The holiday has come and gone and I'm ready for the new year. I thought I'd start this final blog entry for 2010 with a few pics of mom's last project. Mom works for the school district as a kitchen manager for one of the elementary schools...yep, she's a "lunch lady"..LOL This year for her work party she made a gingerbread train. It turned out really cute and the ENTIRE thing is edible! Even the base it's sitting on! This first pic is the engine.....
Next we have the coal car and the wood hauler.......

And finally, the caboose.....

The "snow" is flaked coconut and the rocks are chocolate pieces. Who knew they sold that kind of thing?

The coal in the coal car is actually coal shaped chocolates.....

Here's what the entire thing looks like....complete with a tiny pond!

Ok, so that ends the holiday festivities for me....LOL On to new and exciting things.....

On Christmas Day there was a package tied to the mailbox. It had been torn in half and opened, but inside it had this.....

My very own Cross Stitch a day Calendar for 2011! My friend Janet RAK'ed me for Christmas! I've been wanting one of these calendars for as long as I can remember and have never been able to find one. I'm so thrilled! I've found a bunch of cute little things to stitch for the new year so I have a feeling you'll all be seeing a lot of this calendar in the coming months. :)

This year I'm starting something new for myself. I've always made plans to get things done, but seem to lose momentum not long after the plans are made. So...to start of the new year right, I've decided to start making monthly goals. I'll list those goals here on my blog and at the end of the month we'll see how good I did. Here's my pile of things for January 2011:

There is one thing missing from the pile, a crochet afghan. I'm determined I'm gonna learn how to crochet this year. Here's the breakdown of my plans:

2 sections (H & R) on Lizzie Kate "Christmas by the Letter"

2 sections (believe & care) on Lizzie Kate "Living with Charm", this is part of a UFO challenge in the stitcherhood group.

200 stitches in moms "moose sampler". This was suppose to be done a year ago but hasn't seen the light of day in months! This is another UFO challenge piece for the stitcherhood group.

1 page (part 4) of Alla Turca. This is an old SAL that I'm gonna be stitching along with Carla in the stitcherhood group.

I am also going to be starting a few new things in January.

2 ornaments for a 12 ornament challenge in KraftersKorner. (JBW designs "mitten collection")

Lizzie Kate "Winter" boxer for a seasonal SAL in Stitchesandstuff group.

2 squares on "Grand Marquoir" an old SAL that never got started.

1 square on Bent Creek "Red Thread Snappers"

And, last but not least.....I'm gonna attempt to start an afghan. I've wanted to learn to crochet for a long time and have decided this is the year to try it out. Sometime in January I'll be fighting the yarn monkeys and giving it a whirl. Kinda scared about that one!

Anyway, those are my goals for January 2011! I'll update sometime during January and let you all know how it's going. Wish me luck on accomplishing at least *part* of all this...LOL

Hugs to everyone and I hope everyone has a wonderful 2011!

November is Flying by!

2010-11-14T05:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, can you believe November is halfway over? Seems like the months have just flown by this year! I have been trying to stay busy with my crafty things. Most of you know that I have been putting together charity quilts this year....this is the next one:
The martians were stitched up by 6 different ladies over the last few months and they did a wonderful job! This quilt will make someone very happy!

This next little piece is a block for a "girly theme" charity quilt. For some reason this little piece took me forever to finish, I just couldn't get interested in it. But now that it's done, I can do a happy dance and say I have a finish...hee hee! I'm hoping to have all the blocks for that quilt soon and if I'm lucky it'll be the next quilt I get to show everyone.

This week I recieved these lovely goodies in the mail......

My name was picked from the "hat" and I won these wonderful magazines and tea from Regina over at:
http://oubliette-riona.blogspot.com/

be sure to check out her wonderful blog when you all get a chance. Thank you so much for the great surprise! I can't wait to try out the tea!

After having one great surprise come in the mail, I recieved yet another via 123stitch. I *thought* it was the package that I had ordered for some exchanges but the surprise was on me....

The message board over at 123stitch is having a secret santa wishlist exchange for the holidays. I received this lovely package from my secret santa. I don't have any idea who she is, but she made my day! It was an absolutely much needed surprise on a very bad day. I had just gotten news that hubby's grandma is passing, so this came at the perfect time. Thank you secret santa, whoever you are!

Well, that's my last 2 weeks or so in a nutshell. Nothing overly exciting, but hey, at least I'm making some crafty progress. :) Hugs to all my stitching family, I love each and every one of you dearly and you all brighten my days when I most need it. Keep those needles smokin!

Here's a great giveaway!

2010-10-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

At Willow Tree Pond: My 100th Post Giveaway!: "This year has flown by! I can't thank you all enough for the nice comments and suggestions that my followers post. But wait! I will try :..."

Fall is Here...

2010-10-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe Fall is here again! It seems like the years are flying by. My boys are in full swing of school this year and doing really well. Both boys recieved scholarships for 1 year of Karate lessons! The school gave out 5 scholarships and both my boys recieved one! Yep, I'm a proud mom! They had their first lesson on Friday and both love it!

About a month ago I was contacted by an old high school friend through facebook. She had heard through the grapevine that I had been making quilts for charity so she asked if I'd be willing to make one for her. She is involved with a womans group that makes care packages for our soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afganistan. They are having a chili feed and auction next weekend to raise money for the care packages and she asked if I'd make one for the auction. I felt it was a good cause and those care packages will mean alot to a soldier away from home and missing his or her family, so off I went to dig through my stash and this is what I came up with...

I haven't worked on my LK Living with Charm series for a while so I recently pulled it back out and did a couple more words. I hope to have it done by the end of the year. I'm at the halfway mark now so I should make it.

This next pic is a new start for me. My friend Jennifer did these charts a while back and decided she would 'PIF' them on to me. In turn I have to send them on to Tina when I am done. I've had them sitting here forever and thought I better get stitching before Tina gives up on me ever getting them done, LOL This is my progress so far... not much but it'll get there!

That about wraps up my little world for now. Not alot of excitement in my world but I am blessed with a wonderful husband and great kids...and all of you amazing stitching friends. I love each and every one of you! Keep those needles moving!

Busy Busy Busy Times....

2010-10-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I've been here! Time sure flies! I've been stitching and sewing alot lately. Last week I finished this little letter "N" for one of the charity quilts. Not sure what the little critters are suppose to be, but I think they turned out kinda cute.

Since we are so close to Halloween and I needed a quick finish to get my groove back, I thought I'd stitch up this little cutie. I think it's a freebie from Primitive Betty's but I can't remember for sure. I'm thinking it would make a cute little pin pillow.

Last weekend Mom invited me to go shopping. I picked up a few things.....

There's more but I forgot to take a pic of the other bag of goodies.

We recently did a couple of exchanges in KraftersKorner and I recieved this little ornament and goodies from Vicky. Love the snowman! He will look absolutely adorable hanging on my tree. Thank you Vicky, he is fabulous!

Another exchange we did recently is a Halloween Pin. I recieved this adorable little witch from my dear friend Ethel, along with a fat quarter of purple fabric and some Mill Hill beads. I love the witch and I can't wait to wear it for Halloween! Ethel, thank you for the goodies, I will wear the pin proudly!

That's it for the crafty part of life. Hubby had surgery yesterday to remove his teeth and get dentures. He was in for an hour and a half and came out with the dentures in his mouth. I felt so darn bad for the guy, he was a mess. I can honestly say I have never seen my husband drool until yesterday, and let me tell you.....it was FUNNY! I've never laughed so hard in my life. He's doing better today and taking his pain meds like a good boy. I'm thinking he'll probably sleep most of the day today because whatever they gave him makes him loopy or high or something....maybe happy would be a better word...LOL

Anyway, that's it for my boring update. Hope everyone is keeping those needles busy and enjoying the fall weather. Hugs to all my stitchy friends, you really are the best and I love you all dearly!

A busy week for me!

2010-09-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

What a busy week it's been for me! On Monday & Tuesday I finally got around to putting one of the charity quilts together. Carein had sent me some cute little diaper pin alphabet blocks months ago and with the move I just didn't have time to get things together the way I had intended. I figured I better get on the ball and start doing some things before I fall so far behind I can't catch up. Here is the first project of the week.......
The picture just doesn't do it justice. The little blocks are absolutely adorable! The 'white' part of the edge has little bitty pastel alphabet letters scattered all over it.
Next is a little train for another charity quilt that will have a "toy box" theme. I've got 10 more of these little blocks to do so it will be a bit before you get to see that one.

Yesterday I started cutting the fabric for this next piece. I got it all cut and the red part sewed on thinking I'd finish the rest today. Woke up this morning and got the blue border on, sandwiched it together, sewed it all up and realized I had it inside out! I could not for the life of me find a darned seam ripper anywhere! Three hours later after using my teeny gingher embroidery scissors, it was ripped apart and ready to re-sew. This is the final product......

It will also be going to charity. I hope the child that recieves it enjoys the cute animals and finds some comfort in it.

After all the darned irritation over the quilt fiasco, I finally got the mail. I recieved a wonderful much needed RAK from Carein! She sent a few candies with a little note explaining the meaning behind each piece she chose. It was a wonderful surprise this afternoon after all the tears over the quilt. Thank you so much Carein for brightening my day!

That's it for this week. I'm hoping next week I can stay on this kick and get more done. Hugs to all my stitchy friends, you all make my heart sing! :)

It's been a long time.....

2010-09-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've been here, I've been a slacker! I'm not going to go into much personal stuff right now but thought I would show off a few recent finishes. This first one is a little pin for an exchange. I don't believe my partner reads my blog so it should be safe to go ahead and post it here. It's done on 14ct plastic canvas, not so sure I like stitching on that stuff but I thought it turned out cute.
This next piece is for one of the charity quilts. It's for the "girly" themed one and I'm hoping it'll be cute with the rest of the blocks everyone is doing. It was an easy and quick stitch to do. The chart is a Lizzie Kate and it's done on 14 ct aida.

The final piece for today is the letter "O". We are doing all the letters of the Margaret Sherry Alphabet and they will be turned into a charity quilt. I've got one more letter to do for this one and I'm waiting for 3 more to arrive in the mail and then these will be ready to piece together.

I know this isn't much of an update but I've got so much personal "stuff" going on in my life right now I just can't think clearly enough to want to put it on here. Hope you all understand. Hugs to all my stitching friends, you all mean the world to me.

Life and a finish and exchanges....

2010-07-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated this poor blog. We've had lots of major changes in our life the last few months and finally moved back to Idaho and we are staying with my mother. I can honestly say I will be so glad to have a place of my own again. I wish I would have known how difficult it would be, I NEVER would have done it! Live and learn I guess...but that's for my other blog.

I've participated in a few exchanges the last month or two. Jennifer B sent me this cute little "Easter Surprise" pattern from Bent Creek for a Spring exchange. Thank you Jennifer! I love it and plan to make it for next Easter.

We recently did a patriotic exchange in KraftersKorner and Carein sent me this great collection of goodies. I can finally say I have my first ATC for a collection...LOL! I loved it, thanks Carein!

I haven't had a whole bunch of time, space and peace to stitch lately but I was able to finish a block for the quilt group. I believe we only have a few more letters to get stitched and then we can make a quilt! I love seeing all the blocks as the ladies stitch them and seeing how these quilts come together. It gives me a sense of peace...or something, I dunno, just feels good inside if that makes sense.

Anyway that about wraps up my world at the moment, not too exciting. Hope everyone is having a better summer than my family and I. Hugs to all!

Little stitching Going on Here...

2010-06-05T08:38:00.001-07:00

So much has been going on in my life lately I haven't had much time to stitch. My 10 year old son had been bullied at school so much that he was going through a bad bout of depression and talking about suicide. After numerous trips to the school and talking with the teachers, counselors and prinicipal, nothing was being done about it. For those that don't know, my son has Aspergers Syndrome. It's a form of autism. He's very smart, but lacks the social skills that most of us come by naturally. Anyway, the bullying had gotten to the point of my son finally fighting back and he ended up punching someone (in the arm). His teacher told him that he was going to end up in jail since he can't control himself...well, I basically lost it. I've been fighting with this particular teacher all year long and this was the final straw. At this point I had taken my son to a Dr to see what we could do for his depression and the Dr suggested he stop going to school for the rest of the year. So I pulled him out and am now homeschooling him for the remainder of the year. Best decision I ever made! He's coming out of his depression and actually went outside to play with the neighbor kids a few times.....this is something he hasn't done in over a year! (Aspies are known for not being social) He's doing fine with school work...except for math and we are working on that part. But so far so good! :)

My 8 year old has ADHD and we have chosen not to medicate him up to this point. Finally took him to the DR and put him on a low dose medication to help him concentrate at school and it seems to be working fairly well. The first few days were rocky while trying to give him the right dose, but we now have him on an extremely low dose that wears off after about 4 hours. Just enough time to get him through the school day and not have the nasty side effects. I don't know how long we'll continue with it, but we finally decided to give it a chance. I think I have more issues with this than hubby or the kids...I just don't like the idea of medicating kids like this. It really bothers me but I'll do it if it's the best thing for him right now.

Ok, on to stitching.....I pulled out my Lizzie Kate "living with charm" piece and have done another word. I love the way this one is turning out! I haven't put any charms on it yet, not quite sure if I will. I like it just fine without the charms and mom wants the charts when I finish so I may just leave it like this and let her have the charms. I'm still not sure how I want to finish it. I think a nice white 'antique-ish' frame would be pretty...but then I think it might be cute as a little wall quilt. Just can't seem to make up my mind. Any ideas???

Next is another EMS freebie. This is from the "toy book" series. I'll be doing all 12 of these ones for another quilt. We are hoping to have 8 quilts done for the girls home by November...I think we are going to make our goal or at least get pretty close.

Next is a magnet I received from Marie for a magnet exchange we did in KraftersKorner. I love it! She also sent me some candy but the kids and I ate it..hee hee.

And this is two more magnets I recieved from Vicky. ( I had 2 partners this time) She also sent me some adorable little note cards and some chocolate. Yep, you guessed it, the chocolate is gone..... :)

That's it for my little bit of stitching...not much but like I said it's been busy around here lately. We are finally moving back to Idaho! The Uhaul is reserved for June 21 and we should be out of Oregon no later than the 23rd. I'm going to miss this area a lot, it's become home over the last 9 years. I'm kind of dreading it though, we will be staying with mom for about a year so we can get our finances in order and take care of things that we just can't seem to catch up on. While mom and I have a lot in common with our love of stitching and quilting, they aren't used to having 2 rambunctious boys around all the time. It's going to be a huge adjustment for all of us and I know how tempers can flare in stressful situations so I'm a little spooked.

The good parts to it are: the boys will be going to the same elementary school that my daughter went to so at least I'll already be familiar with the school district. I was born and raised there so I know places to take the kids for outings. We have friends & family that still live in the area so we will have some kind of support system. Mom has a huge back yard with a garden so lots of room to play and tinker with growing vegetables. And it'll give the boys a chance to really get to know their Grandparents. The boys were just babies when we moved here so they haven't had the chance to spend alot of time with them. And the best part is there is lots more places to go and people to meet that have autistic kids. I'm hoping to meet a few parents and join a few support groups. There just isn't anything in this area for families like ours and hubby and I have been winging it on our own for the most part. Hopefully being around people that understand the disabilities and the things we go through on a daily basis with the boys will help us to be better parents. Anyway, I've made this short little stitching entry into a personal book..oops! Hope all of my stitchy friends are keeping those needles smoking! Hugs to all!

Mothers Day Flowers and Final zoo quilt block!

2010-05-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely Mothers Day spent cleaning out the garage and taking stuff to Goodwill, it feels so good to have some of the junk out of the way. This is a pic of the plant that my youngest son gave me for the holiday. Not quite sure exactly what it is since he took the poke out with all the information. I think it may be something I can plant outside, but I'm not sure so if anyone knows what it is, please let me know. LOL
I put the last stitches in this yesterday. It was the last block I needed for the zoo theme quilt. I am absolutely thrilled to have all 12 blocks done!

And now that the blocks are done, I get to start the quilting part. This is the fabric I'll be using:

The blue will be on the front of the quilt, the green is a soft flannel that will be used on the back. (Thanks Ethel for sending it!) I've decided not to use any other fabrics for this one so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Next on the stitching block is things for myself that have nothing to do with the charity quilts. I've got way too many things sitting here needing attention...like moms bday gift and my LK words. Hope to spend the next week or two working on those things and putting 2 of these quilts together. Hope the next update will have some kind of finish to show..LOL Hugs to all!

Two More Quilt Blocks & A RAK!

2010-05-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy girl the last 3 days and have finished two more quilt blocks. A cute little lion and a baby zebra. Only one more block to go and I'll have them all done and ready to be made into a quilt for the girls home. Yahoo!

Today I recieved a wonderful RAK from Carein! She sent me this cute little magnet that she made. It matches perfect with the little birdhouse she made me and it is already on my fridge where everyone can see it. Carein and her husband make the most wonderful little things out of wood, the craftmanship is beautiful and this piece will be treasured just as much as I treasure the birdhouse. Thank you so much Carein for thinking of me.

Nothing else to show for now, but hoping the next update will have that last finished block and a quilt to show. Hugs to all!

A Bit of Poetry & small finishes...

2010-05-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Can you believe its May already? Where on earth is the time going? I've been a busy girl over the last week or so. Last week my 8 year olds class had a poetry reading. The kids had been busy writing poems and invited the parents to come to their annual poetry reading. Here's a pic of my son reading the following poem that he wrote:

Who Am I?
A long 8 hours in the car but I am excited to get there.
We pull up and I see a small gray house with a large canal in the front.
I open the door and smell my old Grandpa.
It is a stinky old smell.
I hear him snoring.
I get lots of hugs.
I get to eat spuds all day.
They are awesome with a hint of coconut.
I like visiting Idaho, home of the potato.
I wish I could visit more.

Ok, so the kids poetry skills could use a bit of tweeking...but I thought it was hilarious! He did a really good job considering he was nervous about standing up in front of everyone. It was a fun day and I look forward to attending more things like this as the kids grow up.

On to stitchy news: I've been working on more quilt blocks for my zoo theme quilt. As of right now I only have 3 more to stitch and then I can start the actual quilt part. I was able to finish two blocks over the weekend...a penguin and a parrot:

I'm looking forward to getting the next 3 blocks done and getting this quilt made. These kids are going to be thrilled with all the quilts!

Against my better judgement, I've decided to go ahead and show pics of the magnets I made for an exchange in my KraftersKorner group. I have not sent these to my partners yet so I hope they'll still be surprised..LOL The first 2 are for Marie. It was hard to find just the *right* thing but I'm hoping she likes them.

These next 2 magnets are for Vicky. I hope she likes lighthouses and beach stuff...LOL!

I've been working a little bit here and there on moms bday gift. I will show a progress pic of that one in the next update. I seem to go in spurts with that particular project, a few minutes here & there but not any set amount of time to make good progress. Hope to pick it up soon and just get the darned thing finished.

I have been a good girl and DID NOT start the LK Christmas by the Letter charts yet. I am going to finish the Living with Charm series first and have brought it back out to work on this week. Hope to have an update on that piece next time too.

Well, now you know what I've been up to! Hope everyone is having a great Spring! Hugs to all!

A Dolphin & PIF winner.......

2010-04-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

I had a very busy weekend stitching away my time. I was able to finish 4 magnets for an exchange, No pics yet, gotta send them off to my partners first, and another quilt square for my zoo theme quilt. An adorable little dolphin......

I've only got 5 more little animals to stitch up and then I'll have them ready to make into a quilt! I'm making progress! Yay!

Now for the winner of the PIF...yes I know I'm a day late. My son did the drawing of the name and Tara was the winner!! Congrats Tara! I will have this off in the mail to you this week!

I know this is a quick update but at least it's progress! LOL Hope all my stitchy friends are enjoying the Spring! Hugs to all!

a Finish, a RAK, a PIF.... and Snow??

2010-04-21T10:20:00.001-07:00

Here we are in the middle of April and this is what I woke up to this morning......Snow? What happened to Spring?

The last few days have been a bit icky at my house. We have ALL ended up with a nasty stomache virus/flu. The one bright spot to all the ickyness was I recieved a lovely surprise from Carla for my birthday. She sent me 3 Just Nan charts complete with embellishment packs and she even supplied the fabric for 2 of them!! I am just thrilled!! I love Just Nan and am a firm believer that you can never have enough. Thank you so much Carla!

About a week or so ago I was looking through some of my "wip" bags and stumbled across this little teacher piece. I had started it last year thinking I'd give it to my sons teacher, somehow it got put away and never taken out again. The good news is, my youngest son has her this year so I took it back out and finished it up into this little pillow. Not too bad, eh?

Now for the PIF part....the above piece is a Heart in Hand chart called "teachers"....I have an extra star button and the chart is in like new condition. I would like to PIF the chart and button so if you're interested in recieving this chart please leave a message here with your email address so I can let you know if you win. If you mention this PIF on your blog I'll put your name in twice for the drawing, just let me know you mentioned it. I'll have one of my sons draw a name on Sunday (4-25-10) and I'll announce the winner here (and email you of course)

Until next time, keep those needles smokin'! Hugs to all!

A Few Special Frogs...

2010-04-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say....the froggie quilt is finally finished!! This quilt will soon be winging it's way to a very special little boy named Joshua who is fighting cancer. Drum roll please.........

I'd like to say a very big and special THANK YOU to each and everyone who put time and effort into this project. All of you ladies deserve a big pat on the back for helping to make this happen. Ok, now off to see what more trouble I can get into..hee hee! Hugs everyone!

A little stitching and a Wonderful Birthday

2010-04-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe another year has passed by and I'm another year older. I still feel like a 20 year old inside, just a little smarter then I was back then. I had bypassed doing any birthday clubs this year since our financial situation is so "iffy" right now, but darn it my stitchy friends still made sure I had a wonderful birthday. This is a picture of the cards and floss I have recieved over the past few weeks. Thank you to Geneva, Christine, Annette, Crystal, Anita & Laura! This was quite the nice surprise!

Yesterday in the mail I recieved this wonderful package from my dear friend Ethel. Carries Threads are one of my favorites and this 28 ct evenweave came at just the right time because I had just used up my last little piece of this color! Thank you Ethel!

Next we have a surprise from Jennifer.....I love Just Nan charts and she picked the perfect one for me. This is something I would have chosen for myself...how she knew me so well, I have no idea, but I absolutely love it! I have a feeling this will be stitched up VERY soon. Thank you Jennifer!

I spent most of the day thinking that my hubby forgot my birthday. The darn man did that on purpose just to see if I'd yell at him! What an absolute turd! He came home from work last night with a dozen orange roses and a Carrot Cake (my fave) This picture doesn't show the true color...they really are orange! Just a little lighter than the fruit...but a bright bold orange...and they smell fabulous! I really wish I could figure out better lighting so you could all see the true color of them. I've never seen this color of a rose and it is just amazing.

On to Stitchy news......I do have a bit more done on my Lizzie Kate words but forgot to take a pic before I put it away. I'll show the progress in the next blog update. While I was digging through one of my "wip" bags recently I found this piece that I started last year for my sons teacher. I have no clue why it never got finished, but I had completely forgotten about it. My younger son has her this year so I have brought it back out and will be working on it this week until it is finished. I'll be turning it into a pillow for her classroom reading corner. She is an amazing teacher and I really wish there were more teachers like her. She has gone over and above for both my boys and has made sure they don't fall between the cracks with their disabilities. She truly is an angel.

Next is a very special project that my quilt group has been working on. We have been making little frog blocks for a young boy with terminal cancer. I have finally recieved all the blocks and spent yesterday cutting them up and getting the fabric ready to start piecing together. I thought I'd show a little teaser of what the fabric looks like together....

I really think this quilt will look amazing when it's done. The girls have done a wonderful job on all the blocks, I just hope the quilt does them justice. I should have a finished quilt in the next blog update so you can all see what it turns out like.

I know, not alot of stitchy progress to show, but I've had my nose stuck in a few books lately and haven't been stitching much. Hope to have lots of finishes and a quilt to show in the next update. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring. Hugs!

Kinda caught up..finally

2010-03-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

What a week it's been! We are all still getting used to the changes since my daughter left. The boys are slowly adjusting to having their own rooms. My 10 year old claimed the empty room and had his bed moved in all by himself before I even knew what was happening..LOL! The boys have been out for Spring Break this week...usually they go visit Grandma for the week but this year things didn't go the way we planned so they stayed home. I really really wish I could have had the break!

I've pulled out the Lizzie Kate piece and did another word and some more of the border. Just finished this part this morning. I'm loving the way it's turning out! I had planned to frame this when I finish it but now I'm thinking it might make a cute little wall quilt. Still not sure what I'm going to do with it when I'm done.

Here is my next block for the zoo theme quilt. This is the cutest purple hippo I've ever seen! Just seems like she's batting those big eyelashes at you...lol.

Not sure what I'll work on next. I'm thinking I need to pull out moms birthday gift and at least put in a few stitches or it's not going to be done by July. The only problem is I have something else SCREAMING at me to start. Jenifer PIFed me with the Lizzie Kate "Christmas by the Letter" charts and I have all the floss & fabric to start them. I keep thinking I should just go ahead and start so I can send them on to the next person. (good excuse,huh?) I've got 6 more blocks to stitch for this zoo quilt and a couple of others to do also but I really really want to do the Christmas ones.....decisions decisions......

Anyway, not much else going on in my corner of the world at the moment. Hope everyone is stitching like mad! Hugs to all!

A Quilt Block & BIG CHANGES!

2010-03-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

I've had some big changes happening in my world that last few days but first....here's my latest little quilt block.....isn't it a cutie?

We've been spending as much family time together as possible the last few days. Amber & Eric are due to be at the base in Nebraska on Monday so we've been cramming the days as full as we can with board games, family dinners and lots of laughter. Bodie has been growing his hair out the last few months so he can look like a rock star, but finally decided he wanted a hair cut just like Eric. We searched the bathroom closet and found the clippers and Eric went to town on Bodie's long hair. He now sports a nice clean military style cut!

Here's the last picture of all my kiddo's together....lots of tears. It's hard to believe they were so sad since they are all constantly picking on each other. LOL!

Last minute additions to the car.....love that "I'm so happy to be leaving home" smile!

And we can't forget their first "child"....poor Cosmo. He's lost all his dignity being put into that tiny cage.....and they even made him wear 'dog tags' with a bell..*gasp*

And here they are all packed and pulling out.......

This is it.....off to their new life in Nebraska..........

Yes, I'm a little sad...okay ALOT sad. Hubby and I cried like babies.....21 years since she came into our lives. Seems like it's went way too fast and I'm getting way too old.....*sigh* The boys shed a few tears for about 5 minutes, then the fight was on to see who gets to move into her room...LOL! The battle lines are drawn so I'll let you know which one wins in my next update.....I'm so not ready for this next part. Wonder how many chores I can get them to do for that empty room??

Stitching & Our final family day.....

2010-03-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this month is flying by! It seems like I just haven't had time to do much stitching and I'm falling behind on my plans for the year. I haven't worked on moms bday gift for a couple weeks and it took up till now to even get my monthly cube done. But I finally knuckled down and did it......I think it's kinda cute:
I didn't get my word for February done on my Lizzie Kate piece so I need to do two words this month. I stitched the second word (love) the other day and will hopefully get the next word done in the next week or so and I'll be all caught up as planned. I love how this piece is turning out! I haven't put the charms on yet and I'm not sure if I will. I like it just fine without them...guess I'll think about it and decide later.

As most of you already know, my daughter and her new hubby are moving away. They were suppose to be going to Japan but last week he got new orders and they are now moving to Nebraska! Eric was able to come home last Wednesday and they are all set to move on Thursday of this week. I'm kinda sad to see them go but I guess kids grow up and move on with their lives eventually. I'm happy that they won't be all the way in Japan.....at least we can take a few road trips and go visit..LOL! Aren't they just cute?

Since they are leaving this week they decided to take us all out for one final family day today. We had so much fun! A day of bowling, pizza, bumper cars and arcade games.......

Brady told everyone right away that he was in it to win! LOL

Bodie hoping it wasn't a gutter ball.....

Amber celebrating her split....LOL

Eric showing everyone how it's done......

Pat wondering what the heck happened.....LOL (camera got blurry here, darn battery)

And the winner is....drum roll please......

Our youngest family member: Brady! Here he is doing his victory dance....LOL

After all this bowling it was time for a dinner break. What better than pizza and appetizers??

After all the yummy food it was time for the bumper cars......

Here's Brady in a complete spin....how he did it I have no idea.

Amber getting surprised by Bodie.....

Hubby and I...still happy after 22 years. Who woulda thought it?

Me with all 3 of my babies. This is probably the last time we'll be together for a long time. It kind of makes me sad.

All in all it was a great day! My daughter and her husband were very generous to take us out for one last day of fun. I'm going to miss us being all together for days like this. Maybe the next family day will take place in Nebraska......

3 New Quilt Blocks & TUSAL Update

2010-02-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

Mid February already! Wow! It seems like this year is just flying by! Soon we'll have flowers peeking out and sunny days....I can't wait!

I've got a few small finishes to show... This little polar bear is for one of the quilts my group is doing for the girls home. I've got 9 more little animals to do so there will be lots more coming soon. I think this one is kinda cute....

These next two are little froggies for a quilt we are working on. This quilt will be going to a young boy with cancer. We chose frogs for this quilt because this amazing young boy and his family believe F.R.O.G. stands for Fully Rely On God. I can't wait to get this special quilt put together for this boy! Just knowing that this will give him some comfort during his final time with us makes all of this worth it.

Next we have my late update for the Totally Useless SAL....my jar is getting quite a few threads and floss wrappers in it. I'm curious to see how full I can get this through the year.

Not much exciting has been going on in my world. Wish I had lots to tell everyone, but I lead a VERY boring life...LOL Hugs everyone!

An elephant, an exchange, a cube..Oh My!

2010-02-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Happy February! It's been a busy week for me. I've been able to finish two small projects! First is this adorable little elephant....he will be a quilt block for the charity quilts my group is working on. I'm doing 12 of these little animals and will be making them into their own little quilt with a zoo theme.

I can't wait to see the quilt blocks as they come in! Alot of the girls have already finished a couple and I know these kids will absolutely be thrilled to have blankets of their very own. This is a huge project to tackle, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Yesterday was a great mail day for me! I received a Valentine exchange from Jennifer...she sent me a cute little Lizzie Kate Flip it with a Valentine theme, fabric and all the "special" threads to stitch it! She also sent some really cute little buttons and charms, and some chocolates but they didn't make it into the pic, they 'accidentally' made their way into my mouth. MMmmmmm, yummy!

And...*gasp* I was a good girl this month and actually made one of my goals! I just finished my February cube this morning! Ha! I've stayed on track and now have January and February done...woohoo! On March 1st I'll do the March one...it's a cute little leprechaun.

Well, that's my update for this week.... I know I'm suppose to have some progress on moms birthday gift, but I just haven't picked it up this week. I've been so motivated to work on the quilt blocks that I've put it on the back burner. I really need to pull it out and do something on it, maybe when I get this next quilt block done....

Hope everyone is having a great week! Hugs to all!

Tiny Progress & a little finish...

2010-01-31T12:39:00.000-08:00

It's been another busy week for me. The kids were sick and missed 2 days of school so that cut into my stitching time but I was able to get a couple small finishes and a teeny tiny bit of progress on moms bday gift. This first piece is my section of a halloween RR. This was the final piece for me which means mine should be on it's way home to me sometime soon. I can't wait to see what it looks like! I haven't seen it since it left so I have no idea what everyone has stitched on it.

Here we have a teeny tiny bit of progress on mom's bday gift. Not much but it's been a busy week. I'm hoping to get the rest of the wording done this week and at least one of the moose.

Next is a very special project....this little giraffe will be going on a toddler quilt for charity. I'll be doing 11 more little animals and making a zoo theme quilt out of them.

For those of you that would like to stitch a quilt block for charity, please join my group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KraftersKornerCharityQuilts This year we are stitching quilt squares for babies and toddlers. These quilts will go to a home for young mothers and be given to their babies. I'm also organizing tote bags filled with items for the moms....the totes will be filled with toiletries, a hooded sweatshirt, socks, disposable camera's and scrapbooking supplies. This place is in desperate need of help for just day to day basic items that we all take for granted. This is a faith based home and it is run on donations only and a grant from the United Way. It cost the home approx $850 per month to house one girl. They provide counseling services, pre & post natal care, life skills and parenting classes while the girls continue to get their high school diploma's or GED. When the girls leave the home they are ready to face the world as parents to their children and productive members of society. This truly is a great cause!

If anyone would like to donate basic necessities like light bulbs, laundry soap, etc. please contact me for information. I have a long list of things that are needed.

Anyway, that's my update for the week! Hope to have lots of progress to show everyone next week! Keep your needles smokin'!! Hugs to all my cyber family!

Another Slooooowwww Stitchy Week for me

2010-01-24T09:17:00.000-08:00

It's been such a busy week that I haven't had much time for stitching. If it's not the kids needing time, it's a migraine or my husband. It's just been one of those weeks when I just wish I could run off to a quiet little cabin and stitch my troubles away.

So, after not stitching much of the week I was finally able to put needle to fabric and work a bit on mom's birthday gift. Here's my progress so far.....

Not much yet, but hey a stitch is a stitch. I've been busily looking through my stash bags and finding things that I've kitted up in the past and deciding what UFO's I want to focus on this year. I've decided to pull my BoInk back out and use it for my UFO Wednesdays. I had put it away after realizing I had made a mistake on centering the stitched part on the fabric. I'll have *maybe* and inch on the right side left when I finish it, but I'm hoping when its framed and hanging on the wall it won't make a difference. At least all those fabulous Carries Threads won't be wasted...:)

I also ran onto a French SAL that I had wanted to do last year. I believe it was called "Grand Marquoir" and can be found at www.edisaxe.com When I had first saw the pattern I fell in love with it and bought fabric and floss to complete it, then....I couldn't figure out how to get the patterns to print properly and just said the heck with it. I've had the first couple of parts just sitting there waiting but I just couldn't bring myself to do anything with it until I knew for sure I'd be able to get the rest of the pattern. Well, the other day I was looking around online and ran onto it once again and after about an hour of playing around was finally able to get all of it printed off! I am so thrilled!! This is one project that I really really want to do and I don't even have to go out and buy anything for it, LOL! (insert teeny tiny happy dance here)

That's it for my update this week...just a lot of ramblings about nothing...hee hee! I hope all my cyber friends are healthy and happy and keeping your needles smoking. Hugs to you all!

Slow Week for me....

2010-01-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a slow stitching week for me. I just couldn't seem to get alot done, either I've dealt with a migraine or the kids or something.....just seems to cut into my stitching time. I did receive a great little exchange in my mailbox early in the week! We had a bookmark exchange in my group (KraftersKorner) and I received this wonderful little bookmark from Margaret. It will be used often since I'm an avid reader.

I've decided to add one more piece into my "monthly" rotation...the lizzie kate "Living With Charm" double flips. I was able to get the first word done, but I haven't put the charm on yet. I'll do all of them last. I also haven't done too much on the border yet, I want to wait and see exactly how the words all fit before I get too far. The plan is to have this done by December and at one word a month, I think I can do it. LOL! I'm also using just regular DMC floss for this...the "special" flossies are so pretty, but way out of my budget at the moment. I think it'll look just as nice with the DMC though.

Next is a gift for mom for her birthday in July. There's not much progress to show yet since I just started it last night and haven't had a chance to do much with it yet today. It's called "Mooses Do Roam" from Designs by Lisa. Mom is a moose collector so I'm sure she'll love it. I'm having a heck of a time getting used to stitching on the 14ct fiddlers! I went with the fiddlers to make it more of a 'rustic' look, but sheesh I am not used to aida anymore! I feel like I'm a beginer stitcher! LOL

Anyway, thats it for my slow stitchy week. I have lots and lots of UFO's I need to pull out. Wednesday's are suppose to be my UFO day, but I wasn't able to do anything this week. Hopefully my next update will show some kind of UFO stitching.

I'd also like to offer an invite to anyone that is interested in joining KraftersKorner. There should be a button on my sidebar somewhere..... Hugs to all & happy stitching!

Finally finished a UFO!!

2010-01-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are already through the first week of the new year! Time is flying by so fast! A few days ago my friend Carein and I decided that our sewing machines needed a workout, so we thought we'd do a "sew along" with each other for the day. I had this extra fabric left over from my previous tote bag and thought I would do a little something with it. I made another bag, but it's super long and just big enough to fit a large scroll frame. Should be good for trips when I want to take my larger stitching along.

This year I am determined to finish up a few of my UFO's. I started this quaker style heart months ago and just lost interest in it, but since it's a new year and I promised myself I would start trying to get some of those unfinished things done, I pulled it out and got to work. I finished it this afternoon and made it into a cute little pillow for Valentine's Day. The pillow is 18" square so it should make a fairly nice addition to my Valentine's Day decor.

I was so excited to actually finish a UFO that I dug through my UFO bag and found a few other things I'd like to get done this year. I just can't believe how many things I've got started and never finished! I'm dedicating Wednesdays as my UFO days. I'll drop whatever I'm working on and then on Wednesdays I'll work on a UFO. Hopefully this will help me dwindle those unfinished things down and relieve my guilt at starting new projects..LOL

Hope everyone is having a great year so far! Hugs everyone!

2nd Finish of the Year!

2010-01-03T11:03:00.000-08:00

I have my second finish of the year! While looking through my stash a few days ago, I found some patterns from Heart In Hand that I bought off ebay a long time ago. I have all 12 months so I thought it might be fun to do one each month and make a no sew cube out of them for my kitchen shelf.....

I'm not overly happy about the ribbon I had..it's just a bit to wide, but it'll work for now until I can find another. I'll redo do the ribbon at a later date, but wanted to put it up for display since it's January. My plan is to start one of these on the first of each month and by the end of the year I'll have a whole set.

Hope everyone is having a great year so far! Hugs to all!

FIRST FINISH OF 2010!!

2010-01-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Yay! I've got my first finish of the year!! Woot! This is a bookmark for an exchange in my group "KraftersKorner". We all wanted a budget friendly exchange since money seems so tight at this time for everyone and came up with doing a bookmark exchange. I like this one, it had a bunch of 1/4 stitches in the wording but I managed it with a regualar sewing "sharp" needle. Not real fond of the 18ct fabric, but I had it on hand and it was perfect for this little exchange piece.
Yesterday I was browsing through blogs and found something called the Totally Useless SAL. Basically what you do is find a clear jar and put all your stitching bits in it for the year. This can be threads, floss labels, broken needles, etc. I thought it was a really cute idea and decided to follow along and try it out this year. I can't remember exactly where I found the SAL blog, but I'll post a link at a later date for those of you that may want to participate too.

This is my jar as of today, looks like there is a bunch of floss in there but there really isn't, LOL! So far I have a few bits of floss and a cardboard bobbin sitting in the bottom of the jar. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks at the end of the year, and hoping it's nice and full from all the things I "plan" to get done over the next 12 months.

That's it for day one of 2010, hope everyone is having a great year so far! Hugs to all!

Final Blog Update for 2009!

2009-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

Wow! Can you believe the year is already over? Seems like time has just flown by! I'm looking forward to 2010 and hope to make it the best year yet! Since it's the end of the year I thought I would put my last two stitchy finishes on here and begin the new year with new things. This little ghost is my section of a RR for one of the yahoo groups I belong to. The entire piece is just adorable and I hope my contribution makes it just as good.

My final finish for the year is this little bookmark. I don't really like the way it turned out, just seems so...plain. But I guess it'll do for now, it'll hold a place in a book and that's what counts I guess. It's just not one of my better accomplishments and I feel funny putting it here when I don't really like it..LOL!

I've been making plans for 2010 and going through things I need to finish. On last count I had almost 40 wips/ufo's! Not all are cross stitch, some are quilting and sewing, but that's still alot of unfinished things! I'm going to try to finish a few of those things in the coming year. As I was looking through things I pulled out this heart. It was a freebie for the Wiehenburg yahoo group last Valentines day. I had planned to make this into a toss pillow and even purchased all the fabric and stuffing and buttons I wanted to put on it....but never finished it. I'm making this my first goal for the new year....to have it done by Valentine's day and made into a pillow for the holiday. I *think* I can do it....if I don't get distracted by all the other goodies just waiting to be picked up. LOL

I promised myself I would finish at least one ufo before starting something else and I have one fairly big project that I want to do as a birthday gift for my mom in July so I guess that means I better hurry up and get this one done! I've got one bookmark to do, one RR piece that should arrive sometime in January and this heart to start the new year off with...not too shabby. Add in the monthly "cube" finishes I want to do this year and I think I'll have a full month for January projects.

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year! Hugs to all!

Super Secret Project Has been Delivered!!

2009-12-28T11:34:00.001-08:00

A few of you may have heard some talk of a Super Secret cross stitch project that some of us have been working on. Way back in June of 2009 I was talking to a good friend on the phone (Carrie) and we both decided that it would be fun to surprise another good friend of ours..Miss Donna. Donna has done so much to get cancer awareness out there to everyone and we felt she should be rewarded for all she's done. So we came up with this idea to make a quilt for her. After getting a few of our stitching friends on board with us this is what we came up with......

This little fairy/angel was my contribution to the quilt.....

Then after realizing we would need some 'spacer' type blocks between the "angels" we came up with this....cancer ribbons and hearts. So hubby and I drew them out on paper and made up some homemade templates....

In the meantime everyone was diligently stitching away on their squares. The center block was designed and stitched by Janet and it fit perfectly for the quilt. Great idea Janet! These are the squares all together in no particular order....

Now, fast forward to December 21, 2009 and this is what it turned into! We also have a matching pillow but I forgot to get it on here...oops!

This was a fun project to do and I think we may just have to do another one in the future! Miss Donna has now recieved the quilt and I hope she knows just how special we all think she is. Donna you've been an inspiration to all of us and we are all so blessed to call you friend.

Hugs to all!

Finished My Tote Bag!! Yay!

2009-12-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

I've had this fabric for over a year and it's been sitting here just waiting to be made into something. I've never worked with the pre-quilted stuff before so that was a challenge. My sewing machine didn't like the thickness....especially when I made the handle for it! Poor little machine! You can't tell from the pic but the bottom green part is actually pockets. The pockets didn't come out nearly as big as I thought they would but for a first try I guess I didn't do too bad. This will be my project bag for my wips/ufo's so I can keep everything all together. The bag measures 20" x16" x 4" deep..not a bad size for all my stitching goodies!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday week so far! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

1 Kid, 1 World Record, 1 Attempt to Break it!

2009-12-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

My 10 year old son checked out this book at the school library recently and has been reading it like a mad man. It's called "Ripley's Believe it or Not" and it's full of interesting little things. This morning he found this picture in it...... someone put 93 threads through the eye of a sewing needle. Pretty amazing stuff.......

My son believes he can beat this record and here he is at 60 threads........

Here's a close up of the needle with threads.......

What do you all think??? I bet he can do it, might take him a few days to get them all in there...but he's determined to beat the record! Wish him luck!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

The Grinch has finally left my house....

2009-12-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas has been one of those things that we had decided to bypass this year since money is so tight But.....today we were gifted with a tree! Seems like that's all it took to bring the holiday spirit to our household. So, we put up the tree and got the boxes of decorations out of the garage. The kids decided that we were going to decorate the whole living room and not just the tree. In the process of all this holiday cheer, I thought to myself..."self, you should put some pics of the things you've done on your blog." So without further blabbering, the following few pics are some ceramic houses that I have painted in the past......

The final little house at the end of this pic is the very first one I ever did...maybe 20 years ago and it never was stored away properly so it's yellowed with age and grime over the years but I had to put it up anyway just for nostalgia....at least that's what my daughter says...LOL!

This next pic is a doll that I made about 10 years ago. My mom and I had entered a Holiday Bazar that year and I made a few of these to sell. This was my last one so I kept it for myself. I can't believe it's held up all this time!

This next pic is a gingerbread boy & girl that I had made at the same time I made the dolls. I have no idea why I made them at the time, guess I thought they were cute. I never even display these anywhere, but my youngest son decided he was putting them in this corner and that's where they were staying..his contribution to the decorating....LOL!

This next pic is of my gingerbread village. I got this about 4 years ago when I found them at walmart. I didn't have the money at the time to purchase them and my daughter knew that I really liked them so she got me all the larger pieces for Christmas that year. After the holiday I went to the sales and got the little pieces for 90% off! I don't think it's a complete set, but I love it anyway.

And next we have my 3 wonderful kids. They so did not want a picture taken, but I made them do it anyway....LOL, all of them refused to smile except my daughter and she was being dorky....so this is my revenge. I told them if they didn't give me a good pic I would post it on my blog for all to see.....so here it is: LOL...take that kids, see mom can get revenge! heheh

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season and staying warm and healthy! Hugs to all!

A few exchanges and a BIG RAK!

2009-12-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

We recently did an exchange in my group KraftersKorner for a Christmas ornament...my partner, Mary A, sent me this cute little snowman ornie. It's done on plastic and backed with felt...this has got to be one of the cutest ideas I've ever seen! His skinny little arms and legs are made from white cording...I just love it! Thank you so much Mary!
Next is another exchange I received from Katie from another one of my groups, the stitcherhood. We did a card and floss exchange and she sent me this cute little card and even made it into a ornament so I can hang it on my tree. The picture just doesn't do it justice! Katie's stitching is perfect! I just wish mine would look as good as hers! I love this little mouse and he will have a branch just for him on my tree. Thank you Katie!

Next is a huge surprise from my friends Carrie and Rog. Some of you may have heard that my family has been going through a rough patch financially and Carrie graciously offered to help with my sons birthday this month because I am unable to do anything for him this year. Well, Carrie and Rog sent him a big box filled with a sweatshirt and tee shirts all with a rock star theme, which he will absolutely love! And a big stack of his favorite books too! He will have an awesome birthday!

But there was even more in the box.....I recently had to pull out of two exchanges due to our financial situation. Carrie sent me a card and inside was a wonderful note that brought tears to my eyes. She said she didn't want me to go without an exchange and sent me one anyway. I was in shock! The picture does not show everything she sent, but needless to say....I was literally brought to tears by her generosity. The blue velvet stocking was filled with all kinds of goodies including some six strand sweets floss and mill hill charms, a 2010 calandar and lots of other items.

Carrie, I don't know how you always know when I'm feeling down, but you never fail to amaze me. I am so blessed to have found such a wonderful friend and I thank God that He's brought you into my life. If the world only had more people like you and Rog and your generous hearts it would be a much better place. Thank you for being my friend and giving me a shoulder to cry on. You are an angel in disguise.

Hugs to all and happy stitching!

My feeble attempt at an ornament..

2009-11-21T09:06:00.001-08:00

The Gift of Stitching Magazine is running a contest. You stitch up the pattern in any manner you like, using any threads you like and show off a pic of it. Well, here's my pic:

I made it a two sided ornament, one green and one red. I used Caron Wildflowers thread in "Holiday" on 14 ct aida and made a loop hanger with some cording I had on hand. The pics just don't show the detail in it very well. I think it's cute and it will be going to a wonderful friend for the holidays.

I love the little pattern and have a ton of ideas rolling around in my head for it so you may see it make an appearence again in the future....maybe for valentines day.

Hope everyone is having a great week! Happy stitching!

Has it really been over a month???? Geez....

2009-11-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted an update! So much has happened since the last time. I finally finished my super secret stitching project, but can't show any pics of it or say much more about it. When the entire thing is completely done....I'll be posting a HUGE blog update about it.
In the meantime, I stitched up this little card for an exchange. I wasn't sure I would like the burgandy cardstock, but it's growing on me. Hope my partner likes it!

This next little piece is what I call..."the worlds ugliest scarecrow"..... trying to find a scarecrow to fit in a certain size square is pure headache! This is the only one I could find that would fit the space I had and I honestly hate it! Anyway, I stitched him up since it was the only one I could find that would work.

Next.....was a wonderful surprise I received this week in the mail! My friend Carein sent me the cutest little birdhouse! Her and her hubby have a small business making these and other cute things. (Wildwood Products) The picture just doesn't do it justice. It is beautiful craftsmanship! I am just amazed at what they can do with a piece of wood! My hubby quickly fell in love with it and hung it in my dining room so everyone can see it. I'm sure I'll be getting lots of compliments on it and everyone is going to want one! It truly is a unique treasure and I'm honored that Carein thought of me to send one to. I love it!

Here we have my 2 goofy boys.....hubby happened to go into our local convenience store the other day and he found some old style coca cola bottles. I had no idea they still sold them! He picked them up and brought them home for the boys. They couldn't believe they actually got to drink "antique" coke! They honestly believe that the coke was at least 100 years old...LOL! It was quite amusing to listen to them talk about how the taste was so different from now days....LOL! I wasn't about to tell them it was probably made within the last month! hehehe

On Sunday my hubby's grandmother came to visit us for a few hours as she was passing through town. We haven't seen her for at least 5 years so it was a wonderful afternoon. The kids had a blast talking to her and listening to her tell stories about when their dad was little. She's in her late 80's, so I'm VERY thankful that the kids got to spend a few hours with her. My daughter took off with her in her bedroom and spent at least an hour in there chatting with her and showing off her wedding dress. I have no idea what the heck they were talking about but when they came out of the room both were smiling like they had some big secret..LOL!

Not much more to report in my neck of the woods. I've got lots of projects to finish soon. I have an ornament I need to get done for an exchange and I really want to get some of my UFO's done before the end of the year. Hope everyone is having a great week! Hugs to all!

Stitching like a mad woman and a new kitty....

2009-09-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

I've finally gotten my stitching groove back! The following 2 pics are of a RR that belongs to a friend..she had a few squares that needed finished so I offered to do a couple for her. I really enjoyed stitching on this.

Next is another RR piece with a halloween theme. I've stitched this before, but I thought I'd pull it out again because it went perfect with the others that were on there. I hope she likes it, it was a quick and easy one to do.

Next is a RR piece for myself. I found this freeebie online and thought it would be perfect as a pillow. So I've put this at the top and hopefully the other ladies will put some random cute things below and it will be a great little pillow for the holiday next year. This was done on some purple 14ct aida that I dyed myself a while back. It's more of a lighter purple, but I thought it was perfect for this RR. And if you read the previous post....this is also the one that the cat got revenge with! LOL

Now for the non-stitchy part....this little guy was brought home by my daughter when I sent her to walmart to pick something up. She came home and had this cute little ball of fluff. I could have just throttled her, but then I loooked at that cute little face and fell in love. He's half ragdoll and half persian and we've named him Garth. I've convinced my daughter that I'm keeping him! He's the most lovable little guy.....he loves to be held and hates being put down. He's a definate lap cat. LOL

Anyway, not much of an exciting update..but at least I'm stitching again! Hope everyone has their needles smoking! Hugs to all!

Cats CAN and WILL get even!

2009-08-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

My Brother in Law came for a visit this past weekend and brought us a baby kitten. This is a wonderful addition to our family because my hubby had to put his cat down in March after 14 years. Kitty is 6 weeks old and has no name yet, but here he is.......

Now, here's the getting even part: We have a cat, "Cosmo" (who would not let me get a picture) and he's been an only cat for quite a while now. He belongs to my daughter and her fiance so they will be taking him with them when they find out where they will be stationed. He does not like the new kitty. He turns his nose up at him and walks away. He hisses, bats his paw the whole bit. Well Cosmo has been hiding from us since the new kitty came and last night I found him in my craft closet......howling away for being locked in there! This is what he did to get revenge......

See the shredded pattern?!! And I was going to work on this today! I can't even piece it back together enough to use it...darn cat! I guess he really got his revenge.....

I have no stitchy pics to show at the moment, but I'm working on a few things. I've got a friends RR that I'm working on and my super secret project that no one has seen yet. The shredded pattern was suppose to be a RR but looks like I'll have to find something else to do up real quick. The pattern was a freebie, but darn it, I don't have any ink in my printer to get it printed out. (Mom is sending me the pattern, thanks mom!) I've got probably about 16 different projects on the go at the moment and not a finish in sight! I've got to quit starting things! LOL

The kids start school September 8th....I can't wait! They are driving me nuts lately. My youngest got him self grounded to the house for 3 weeks and he's bored as heck! Last week him and his friend took off a sewer grate and 'accidentally' dropped it down the city sewer! The city had to be called to come get it out and put it back on. Anyway...he got grounded, darn kid! I think it's worse for me to have him in the house all the time....and he thinks he's being tortured. LOL!

Anyway, hope everyone is having a great summer! Hugs to all!

I'm Ebaying Stash!!!

2009-08-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have heard that I've recently become the owner of an LNS closeout. I've decided to sell most of the items on ebay. I would like to invite everyone to check out my auctions and get some amazing deals. My ebay id is: xfrazzled1x
I've only got about a dozen items up so far but I will be putting new items on daily until it's all gone.

Here's a sneek peek of what's to come.......

I have alot of charts/leaflets and more bolts of fabric...mostly 14 ct aida, white, ecru and fiddlers. If anyone is interested in fabric from the bolt please feel free to email me for details.

Hugs!

A new start and a tiny finish!

2009-07-31T19:00:00.001-07:00

I started a new project the other day. It's called "Halloween" and is a freebie from www.passionericamo.com I thought it would make a great little pillow top, so my plan is to do the chart and then put it in a round robin and have people stitch little halloween motifs under it. I'm using some 14ct aida that I dyed myself. The picture doesn't do the fabric justice....it's more of a lighter purple with a few variations through out. For some reason the picture made the fabric look darker than what it actually is. Anyway, here's my start......

This next one is a little ornament for Donna for her Stitching for a Cure project. The pattern was a freebie online, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I found it. I changed it up a little. It did have the "hope" in these letters then "for a cure" in small backstitched letters. I left the "for a cure" off and added some thin pink ribbon secured by tiny pink heart shaped buttons. I stitched it on 28ct white sparklie fabric. You can't see the sparklies in the pic, but I love the way it turned out!

Not alot going on lately. I'm really wishing summer would just get over! The heat has been unbearable lately! Hope everyone else is staying cool. Until next time, Hugs to all!

A tiny finish and some fabric dyeing...

2009-07-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't shown any 'crafty' stuff in a while, I thought I better show something...so here's a tiny magnet I did for an exchange in my yahoo group KraftersKorner. I just finished it this morning and will be handing to my partner this weekend when she comes to visit.

Now, if you read yesterdays blog entry you'll remember that I had a bit of dye left over from the kids shirts. Well, I rummaged through my stash and came up with 3 pieces of 14ct aida. Not 'exactly' what I wanted, but figured I would attempt the tye dying anyway. The next 3 pics are what I came up with this morning.....

I like the last one the best. I'm not a big fan of 14 ct aida, but I think these would make some great fabrics for Halloween stitching, especially when they are cut down a bit. The colors might make some interesting backgrounds. Especially with a haunted house or something like that.

Anyway, thought I would show off my zany way of killing boredom. Hope everyone is staying cool this summer! Hugs!

A Day of Dying.....

2009-07-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I recieved a wonderful RAK in the mail from my good friends Carrie & Rog. The great thing about these two wonderful people is they always include a little something for my kids......

Yep, you guessed it, they sent a tie dye kit for the kids! Well, today the kids were bouncing off the walls and I thought now was the time to bring it out and give them something to do....

Here we have my 3 "angels" (yeah right) showing off their plain white tees. Even my 20 year old daughter got in on it which is amazing since she can't stand to be with her little brothers for even 5 minutes! LOL, Amazing what a little dye and a plain t-shirt can accomplish...sibling love.

Here are their tees all ready and rubber banded.....

And here they are doing the messy parts......

This is my crazy little red head sticking his tounge out at the camera....it's so hard to get a pick of him being normal.....

And here's my oldest...yeah, I know she needs a little lift..hehe. (I had to put it on here just to embarrass her while I still can!)

And here's my middle one, can you tell he was not happy about the camera? I love annoying my kids! LOL

And here they are with the tees all dyed and ready to sit for a bit.......wonder what they'll look like?

Fast forward about 5 hours......and here's their finished tees!!! This was a great way to spend a hot summer day!

Thank you Carrie & Rog for helping me to make this memory with my kids. As much as they've been driving me crazy this summer this was a much needed break from the norm.

With the left over dye I plan to dye some cross stitch fabric. I've never seen any tie dyed aida so I'm going to attempt it. Not much more to report here. I've got a few projects in the works but nothing I can show a pic of yet. Hope everyone is keeping out of the heat this summer!

Hugs to all!

July Already!! Wow!

2009-07-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already July! The year is half over and I haven't done as much crafty stuff as I've wanted. Guess I better get busy! I've been wanting to learn how to knit and crochet and after looking at the price of yarn I thought it was alot of cash to spend on something I wasn't sure if I would *really* like so I posted an ad on my local freecycle group and asked for yarn. My thought was maybe someone would have a couple leftover skeins or half skeins that they had no use for. Well, a wonderful lady named Jolene answered my ad and said she had a couple. So last Saturday I went to pick it up and this is what she gave me.......

I thought that was a wonderfully generous lady! LOL, I have plenty to play with and learn! Thank you Jolene!
We recently did a patriotic theme exchange in my yahoo group (KraftersKorner) and this is what I received from my friend Lynn......

The picture just doesn't do it justice. I have it on a shelf in my kitchen displayed for the holiday. The funny thing about this exchange....her and I did the exact same pattern! I made a scissors fob and she did the pinkeep. Guess great minds think alike! LOL

We also recently did a "pattern wishlist" exchange in my yahoo group (KraftersKorner). We listed 5 patterns that we really wanted and our partner picked one from our wishlist and sent it to us. This is the one I received......

Thank you Meadow! I can't wait to collect the rest and get them started!

Then I recieved a mysterious package via 123stitch in the mail the other day........

Janet sent me this pattern that was on my wishlist!!! It is "Amazing Grace" from My Big Toe designs. I've been wanting this one since it came out and I can't wait to start it! Thank you Janet!!

I have company coming for the July 4th holiday. I'm hoping it turns out to be a fun weekend and not one of those where you sit there wondering what the heck you got yourself into..LOL! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Hugs!

A Few Tiny Finishes....

2009-06-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've had a few tiny finishes this week. This first one is a floss ring tag I made for an exchange. It was my first one and I hate the way it turned out. One edge just looks terrible, but I'm hoping my partner will like it anyway. This is the back......

And this is the front......

This next picture is a scissor fob I made for a patriotic exchange in my new group. (KraftersKorner) It was a freebie I found online. I love the way this one turned out! The picture didn't do it justice. This is the front....

And this is the back.....

Next is this little piece that I finished stitching this morning. This will be an ornament for Donna's "Stitching for a Cure" project. This was an easy and quick stitch, it only took me a day to complete it! I've started another one this morning and hope to get it done over the weekend and I'll do the actual "finishing" of them both next week.

On a more personal note: My kids are officially on Summer Vacation. I was so not ready for it! They are already driving me crazy. I think I've become the neighborhood babysitter too.....yesterday I had a housefull and when hubby came home from work I tried to send all of them home. Their stupid parents kept sending them back over! I finally had to tell them that we were having "family time" and the kids had to come in for the night. At 8:00 this morning the kids were back over here knocking on the door! UGH! I am so not prepared for this!

I'm looking forward to the summer though....I'm hoping we can take a quick weekend trip to the beach sometime with the kids. They've only been once in their life so it would be a fun inexpensive way to have a short vacation. Might be able to get some great beach photos for scrapbooking too! LOL

Hope everyone is having a great week!

HUGS!

Stitching, Kids and a little Gratitude

2009-05-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much stitching progress the past couple of months but I've started to finally stitch again. Here's a little piece I'm doing for one of my sons teachers. It's from Heart in Hand and it's called "teachers". It will have an apple next to the words with a little star shaped button when it's done. I haven't decided what to make it into yet. Maybe a cube?

This is a little piece I started the other night. I ended up staying up LATE and working on it. Both are freebies from Trail Creek Farm. This will be for a patriotic exchange we are doing in my NEW group. I don't know what I'll make it into yet, but I liked the simplicity of the designs so I'm doing them. LOL

Today was a hot and muggy day. It finally rained this afternoon. We had a good solid downpour for a good half an hour and my kids decided to go play in the puddles. Well, this is what they looked like when they were done! Here's Bodie......

And here's Brady....

Pretty messy little boys, huh? LOL, I am so thankful for moments like these. It's these kind of times that make life worth it.

I've started a new journal. Each day I'm writing something down that I am grateful for. It can be the most trivial little thing or a big thing, just something that made me happy that day. Not long ago I went through a nasty bout of depression and I honestly didn't know if I would make it through it. After a few weeks of thinking long and hard about what was making me unhappy, I made some changes in my life. I've started the "gratitude journal" and discovered that there is more to be thankful for than I thought. I've found myself having a more positive outlook rather than expecting things to be bad all the time. I've made a choice not to carry on some friendships because I realized that it just depressed me. I'm sad to give some of those relationships up, but for now I know it's the best thing for ME. I gave up my yahoo group and started a new one. I'm looking forward to watching it grow. It's for cross stitchers, but it's also a place to show other things too. Whatever each individual is into at that moment, whether it be scrapbooks, quilts, knitting, photography...whatever. The main focus is cross stitch, but other things are ok too. Soooo, if anyone is interested in yet another group, feel free to join us:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KraftersKorner

I am looking forward to more good things in this journey called life. I hope I haven't bored you all too much! LOL

HUGS!

FRAZ

Family Fun & Tote exchange!

2009-05-20T11:45:00.001-07:00

My daughter left last week to go see her fiance in Texas. He was graduating from boot camp. Instead of getting a ticket to the airport here, she got one for $400 less and went to Portland so we had to go pick her up this past weekend. Since hubby's mom and sisters live there we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it and go visit the family. We haven't seen them for about 4 years. We all had a ball!! Here's a pic of my youngest, Brady (the shirtless redhead) with his cousin Austin. They were filling the bucket with water and filling water guns...this turned into a BIG water fight between all the kids and all the adults. The kids won! LOL

Here's another of Brady and Austin....they were having so much fun. They stayed up playing until about 12:30 that night! Neither of them were having anything to do with "bedtime".

Here's my middle one, Bodie. He played pool for about 5 hours straight! We could not get him away from that pool table! When it was time to eat he kept doing the whole..."just one more game" thing. He kept telling his aunt Jen that he wished he had a pool table and she told him he could have it so.....you guessed it, it ended up coming home with us strapped to the top of my car! LOL

Here's another pic of Bodie with his Aunt Jen. He was showing her how great his guitar playing skills are. He was definately in his element here.....

We had a great time visiting everyone! I can't wait to visit again...now that the kids are older and actually play together the adults can have uniterrupted grown up time. It was nice to be able to have a conversation with someone without hearing, "mom, I'm bored!"

I recieved my tote exchange from Meadow yesterday! Thank You Meadow! This was a wonderful surprise after our weekend away. She sent so much stuff! I was definately spoiled rotten! You can't see the actual tote in the pics, but it is cute. It's kind of a distressed denim and it says Rock & Roll on it....it's so me! LOL

I couldn't fit it all in one pic, so here's the other half....

Anyway, it's been a great few days in my world. We had some fun family time and I got a great surprise in the mail. Doesn't get any better than that!

This week I'll be working on another RR and mailing out packages for exchanges and birthday clubs. Gonna try to get my sewing machine out sometime and work on my grocery bag holder. It's all cut out and ready to sew together, I just haven't had time to actually work on it. I so wish I had a craft room! Hope everyone else is having a great week! Hugs to all!

Fraz

A small finish & kittens!

2009-05-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished my little part of a RR! This is the first thing I've stitched in quite awhile. Now I feel like I'm getting my stitchy groove back. I love the stitchers verse on this one.....I can't wait to see it finished when everyone else does their part.

For my birthday this year my kids bought me this diffuser thing.....

Now I'm not all that into that kind of thing so it's been sitting in the box for a month now just waiting for me to open and start using it. Well, it definately works! LOL Thank goodness it's apple - cinnamon scent! I don't think I could handle anything else! All you do is pour this teeny tiny bottle of oil in the vase and stick the bamboo sticks in it. The sticks soak up the oil and smell up the room.....ha! Not mine! Mine smells up the WHOLE house! You walk in the front door and it smells like an apple pie is baking. At least it's a good smell, right? LOL

On Mother's Day (last week) we were sitting outside and this small little kitty walked up. The poor thing was just skin and bones! So I asked around to see if it belonged to anyone and couldn't find an owner. I even called the Humane Society and they wouldn't take the poor thing so I gave it a bowl of food and some water and let it stay out in the garage. Over this past week she started gaining weight and wandering into the house. We've been trying to find a place to take her to but so far no one in our area has any room, so in the meantime we've been feeding her and letting her come in. Well, this morning hubby walked outside and yelled for me to come quick! She had given birth to a tiny little kitten in the flower bed! We grabbed the dog carrier and put her and the kitten in it and brought her into the laundry room. About 15 minutes later she had another one, and then 2 more about a half hour after that! Now we have 4 kittens and a mama that needs a new home. I guess she came to us on Mother's Day for a reason. Maybe I have SUCKER written on my forehead! LOL I'll show pics on my next blog update!

Hugs to all!

Fraz

A Wonderful Craigslist find & other endevours

2009-05-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I was browsing through Craigslist and found an ad for this tote for just $20. I called the lady and asked if it was still available and asked if she would be willing to hold it for me until payday. I went and picked it up yesterday evening. I've priced these in the past and they are always waayyy more than I can afford, I just couldn't pass this one up. Here's the front:

Here's the front opened up. You can't see it in the pic, but there are places for pens and zippered areas for stickers & dye cuts, ect.

This is the left side. There are more pockets behind this area, but I've lifted the flap so you can see under them.

Here's the other side. Even more storage pockets and places for scissors.

Here's the inside. There is an accordian style pocket for 12x12" papers and lots of room for photo albums and other goodies. I will be so glad to have an actual place for all my scrapbooking things. Everything has been in rubbermaid totes for years and now I'll have a place for it all! And it will even fit right into my closet without taking up massive amounts of space!

Since I am more than just a cross stitcher I've decided to start showing a bit of my other hobbies too. This is a small quilt I made a few years ago. You can't tell by the pic, but when I did this one I had no clue how to do the binding so I zigzag stitched all around the edges. It's a bit shabby but that's the look I was going for.

This next one I also did a few years ago. It was originally intended to go on my bed but I didn't buy enough fabric at the time and it ended up shorter than I wanted and became a lap quilt. This was my very first try from start to finish and I love the way it turned out!

Next is my current cross stitch piece. This is a RR for a friend. I don't have too much progress on my part of it yet but I love the saying. I have a few other stitchy things on the list so hopefully my next update will have more progress.

If anyone is interested in a variety of crafty things please join us here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KraftersKorner

This is for crafters of any type from sewing to stitching to beading to knitting to whatever your craft of the moment is. All are welcome!

Until next time.....Happy Crafting!

Fraz

A New Beginning

2009-05-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

Not sure where to begin here....the last few months I've been dealing with a bout of depression. Usually it passes fairly quickly, but this time it just seemed to hang on. I have no pics to show this time, I lost my desire to do any stitching or crafting of any type but I'm slowly coming back into my groove. I have given my yahoo group to one of my mods and have stepped down as "list mom"...I'm a bit sad, but I'm also looking forward to a new beginning. I didn't like where the group has been going the last few months and I've been trying to figure out why. Then I realized maybe it's because it's so focused on just one thing...cross stitch. I love all kinds of crafts, not just stitching. So after thinking long and hard about how I've been feeling I decided to start a new group. It's called KraftersKorner and it's not just about stitching....it's about whatever is calling you at the moment. Maybe it's quilting or beading or scrapbooking...doesn't matter, it's about what we are creating. All those creations are a part of us and should be represented. I would like to take this moment and invite my friends to join me in this new endeavor. The group can be found here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KraftersKorner I hope to see you all there!
~hugs~
Fraz

Finally finished the kids pillows!

2009-04-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

After months of waiting for me to get these sewn together, my kids finally got their pillows. Yeah, I know it's 4 months after Christmas...better late than never, right?

This one I stitched for my daughter about 3 years ago and it's been sitting in a closet just waiting.
This one I did last year for my youngest son. They are the elemental dragons from Dragon Dreams. This was a SAL in one of the yahoo groups, but I think I may be the only one that actually stitched them. LOL

This last one is my latest dragon. Most of you have probably seen it a few times before. He is finally a pillow for my middle child, yay!

They all measure about 20" square and should be a great little decoration for their bedrooms. I'm glad to finally have them done! Since I've got my sewing machine out I plan to do a few more things....I've really got an itch to make a few rag dolls. We'll see how long the sewing bug sticks around.

HUGS

Fraz

My tiny little RR

2009-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finished my section of my RR piece for my group CSA. It took me so many tries to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I started out with Popcorn Bear then changed my mind to flower pots and then changed it again about 3 more times! LOL! I ran on to this Lizzie Kate chart and it just said "I'm the one!" So this is what I decided to do.....

Pretty tiny, huh? I love it, I can't wait to get it back home all finished with the ladies names on it. I will be making a flat fold out of it and displaying it in my bedroom. A little something to remind me of my stitchy friends.
HUGS!
Fraz

Wonderful Birthday Surprises!

2009-04-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Today is my 37th Birthday...I'm calling it my 29th again! LOL! This year my group CSA decided to do a birthday floss exchange. This is the pile of cards that I received.....

And this is all of them opened up and all the wonderful floss. Doesn't it look delicious? Now I just need to find the perfect projects for them all....

I also joined a birthday club with the I love cross stitch group. Here's a sampling of the packages I've been recieving the last few weeks. ...

This package was from Rene. It contained a wonderful purple fabric from Silkweavers, a Bent Creek chart called "Tree of Me", 2 notepads, a journal, a cute little thimble for my collection....I love it! And the best part of it was a handmade "cupcake" pincushion. I love that cupcake! It's the most darling little thing I've ever seen! The pic just doesn't do it justice. Thank you so much Rene!

The next package is from Carolyn. It had the cutest JBW Designs chart with all the dmc floss to stitch it with! And some wonderful 28ct evenweave fabric too! It also contained a tiny little "doodle" chart complete with a watering can shaped button. She also made me a teeny tiny little needlebook with my name on it, all done in animal prints! I love it! Thank you Carolyn!

Next, from Jenifer, we have a beautiful fat quarter piece of fabric called "Forget me Not Blue". And a $10 gift certificate from Stitches N Things! I already have something in mind for the fabric and can't wait to spend the gift cert. Thanks Jenifer!

Next is a package from Kathy K. It contained a wonderful Lizzie Kate chart called "It's a girl thing" along with all the WDW & GAST floss to stitch it with! She also included my favorite needles and fabric too. And some wonderful little victorian charms. Thanks Kathy!

Next is a package from Tracy. This was 4 pieces of Silkweaver fabrics....and we all know how much I love love love Silkweavers! The colors are: "Karma Sparkle", "Summer Breeze" , "Poltergiest" and another that is a beautiful variegated blue. Thanks so much Tracy!

Next we have wonderful floss from Cynthia. She sent 4 Skeins of Carries Creations, 3 skiens of GAST and a skein of WDW. On top of all that she sent a "star de tailor" too! I love all the floss! My collection is growing! Thanks Cynthia!

Next is a wonderful Sampler pattern from Ashrie. It's called "A simpler Life" and its by Papillon Creations. I love it! Thanks Ashrie!

Next is from Evalina. She sent me a wonderful AOY book full of lots of patterns and a cute little Lizzie Kate chart called "Birthday Blessings". She even sent me a little nail care kit so I can have pretty nails on my birthday. Thanks so much Evalina!

Next was a package from Lisa. She sent me 2 great charts...Bent Creek "Easter Snapper" and Heart in Hand "Egg Hunt". I've had the Easter Snapper chart on my mental wishlist forever! Thanks Lisa!

Last is a package from Deborah, Max & Mizprecious. She sent me Just Nan's "Jolly old Elf" and 2 kits with a teapot theme. I collect teapots so these are just perfect for me. Thanks Deborah!

I also received a gift certificate from my mom from 123stitch! Thank you ladies for making this birthday so special! I have so many new things to work on, now I just need more time to do them all. I love all my gifts and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Thanks again ladies, you have truly made this birthday a special one.

HUGS

Fraz

THE DRAGON IS FINISHED!!!!

2009-03-25T17:55:00.001-07:00

I have finally finished my sons dragon!! WooHoo! I just put the final backstitching in about 10 minutes ago...

I am thrilled with the way it turned out!! I can't wait until my son sees it for the first time, he's going to love it! Anyhoo, I had to share! HUGS!!
Fraz

Backstitching Blues.....

2009-03-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show a picture of the backstitch on the dragon. It is sooo boring! I'm halfway through it now, but I am so tired of dragon scales, LOL! I do love the detail the backstitching is bringing out but I can't wait till it's completely done! Hopefully I can finish it this week and put him away till my "finishing" day when he becomes a pillow for my son.

To break up the monotony of the dragon and all my other BAP's I decided to start something new. This is a Valentine freebie from the Wiehenburg samler yahoo group. It's a heart shape but done band sampler style. I love it but when I first seen it I just didn't think it belonged in a frame. So I decided to try to "shabby" it up. I'm doing it on 14ct oatmeal aida (ewww) I have some red & tan gingham check fabric in my stash so I'm going to make a toss pillow out of that and then sew this to the front and fray out the edges, then I'm going to add a big red button to each corner. I'm shooting for the "shabby chic" look..lol, we'll see how it comes out.

I would also like to give a big THANK YOU to all the ladies in my yahoo group for keeping me accountable with my stitching and making me stick to my stash diet. I've got 3 done and 7 more to go until I reach my first 10 finishes and they are doing VERY well at keeping me on track. So thank you ladies...my hubby's wallet is loving you right about now!

In more personal news, my oldest son finally got his cast on Wednesday. He chose the color blue and has been carrying a sharpie marker everywhere with him. I don't think he could fit one more name on it anywhere! LOL

On Saturday he decided he could ride his bike with the cast and did really well until I turned my back. He ended up crashing his bike and getting a bad case of road rash. He tore up one knee, the elbow right above the cast and his entire hand of his good arm! He stood up and all I saw was blood dripping down the cast and blood dripping from his other hand. It was a nasty crash and now he's terrified to even walk out the front door! He keeps telling me that every time he moves something bad happens! LOL

My youngest son is going through the "I want a cast too" stage. He's been trying so hard to break something.....climbing trees, skateboarding off the porch, jumping off the back deck....sheesh! He's making me pull out my hair! I keep telling him that the more he tries the less likely it is to happen....he doesn't listen, LOL!

Anyway, hope everyone is happy & healthy and stitching like mad!

Hugs to all!

Fraz

Thank you Frishawn!

2009-03-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

Recently we did a color exchange in my yahoo group, Cross Stitch Addiction. I recieved mine today from Frishawn....and boy did she spoil me rotten! She sent me some delicious smelling bath goodies and lots of stitchy items. There were 2 pieces of 28ct fabric, one lugana and the other was jobelan. 4 skiens of DMC color variations, a skien of Dragon Floss, which I have heard of but never tried, 3 skiens of Dinky Dyes Silks...those are my most favorite of all flossies! And 3 packages of Mill Hill beads!

I can't wait to pick a project for everything...I'm in stash heaven right now! I'm on the "stash diet" and haven't been able to buy anything so this is just what the DR ordered! LOL
On top of those goodies I also recieved my first copy of Cross Stitch Gold magazine. It was the last thing I got before the stash diet started so I'm happy to know it will be coming to my mailbox on a regular basis now. Hopefully it will ease the pain of the stash diet......naw, I'm kidding myself aren't I?? Guess I better get those last 7 projects completed!

On a more personal note, my 9 year old son fractured his arm yesterday at school. This is the first broken body part for either of the boys, and let me just say.....I am relieved! I know that sounds awful, but when I had boys I totally expected to have broken bones constantly. I think both hubby and I gave a big sigh of relief that it had finally happened. It's kind of one of those things a parent knows will probably happen eventually, but you hope it never does. It almost feels like a weight has been lifted.....pretty sick, huh??? Makes me sound like such a bad mom! It's been kind of funny though, so far he's suckered his big sister into taking him and his little brother out for ice cream at 9:00pm last night. He's suckered his Dad into waking up and making him eggs and toast for breakfast at 6:00am this morning and he's been trying to milk it with me all day! LOL Kids!
Happy Stitching!
Fraz

Finished Part 3 of AT & RAK

2009-03-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

I finished part 3 of the Alla Turca SAL! The part came out yesterday and I went straight to work on it! This is the only SAL I've been able to keep up with regularly, and I'm finding that I really enjoy it. It's such an easy and quick stitch. It's back in it's ziploc bag waiting patiently for part 4 on April 1st.

I've been feeling a bit under the weather today, well for the last few weeks actually. I've got a headcold in a VERY bad way. :( This is the 4th time this winter! This time I've got a sinus infection and it's heading to my ear. Guess it's time to go to the DR and get some meds...I just hate doctors! I'm so sick of being sick!
So as I've sat here in my misery feeling sorry for myself I decided to wander out in the rain and grab the mail....don't want the bills to get wet! LOL Aside from the regular junk and bills I recieved a wonderful surprise from Donna today! She sent me a RAK!! Talk about a great way to quit feeling sorry for myself! LOL

Isn't that just the best thing?? She sent me 2 cards of wisper floss, a white and a gray, AND 3 skeins of Caron Wildflowers! Black Cherry, Ruby and Seafoam! Thanks so much Donna! Now to decide what to make with my new flossies......

Happy Stitching!

Fraz

Trying out this new blog.....

2009-02-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought since I have this new blog, I may as well start putting some random things here. I recieved a RAK from Carla this week. She sent me 3 cards of wisper floss and a spool of Vicki Clayton silk........

Isn't that just the prettiest stuff you've ever seen?? I can't wait to use it! Thank You so much Carla!

Let's see....in other news....I'm almost done with that EVIL dragon!! I'm down to the backstitching!!! YAY! I know alot of you have been following it on my other blog, http://frazzled1.multiply.com/journal/ and I'm happy to report that it will soon be done.

I've found my tastes in stitching have really started changing over the past year. Lately I seem to be really drawn to quaker style patterns and samplers. Don't know what is up with that...maybe I'm just getting old. LOL! I can picture them hanging all around my house, the sad thing is, I like the way I picture it in my mind. Am I nuts? Is there anyone else that has done a complete turn around from what they usually like?

Happy Stitches everyone!

Fraz

A new blog

2009-02-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

So many have switched over to blogger I've decided to follow the pack and give it a try. I think I'll use this blog just for my stitchy stuff and keep my other for family stuff. It should be an interesting experience trying to keep up with 2 blogs. LOL