Happy Friday! Thank You Becky and a Finish!

Hello everyone! Happy Friday :) Thank you for all the dear, sweet comments on my kiddos pictures. Just a few answers to some questions....

*Yep, the boys are twins, nope they don't look identical because they are fraternal twins (i.e. two different eggs were fertilized) so really they are just brothers born on the same day! They even have different blood types (one is mine and one is their Daddy's)!

* And I was asked if I'm going to have anymore children, and although it pains me to say this....no I will not have anymore. The twins did a number on me and when I carried Ellie, I went in to premature labor and was on bedrest for 17 weeks! I mean flat on my back only get up to go to the bathroom bedrest. The doctor said I could conceive more children, but I would be on bedrest for the entire pregnancy most likely. So although I'd love to have a couple of more kids, I'm going to count my blessings and enjoy the ones I have fully :)

*Oh,...the house/yard in the center picture with the black-eyed Susan's is NOT my house/yard...it's is the house across the street and they don't mow their yard because it has a sink hole in it...so they've planted it with wildflowers....I figured if I have to look at it, I might as well use it, so I walked across the street and took my kids picture in the black-eyed Susan's! LOL!

*And finally the quilt was handsewn by my dear Great-Great-Aunt Katie. It's a wedding ring quilt and was passed on to me on my wedding day by my Mom. Katie is named after Aunt Kate :)

OK, now on to some stitchy goodness! I went to the mailbox today and there was a box without a return address, I wasn't smart enough to look at the mail stamp...LOL! But I ripped that open and look what I got!!!!

Early Birthday Gift from BeckySC!!!!

Becky's been really, really generous with sending goodies for my daughter, the patriotic pinkeep and now this! I've been spoiled over and over! I am just speechless at Becky's big heart, generosity and thoughtfulness :) Becky thank you from the bottom of my heart! I love it dearly as I know you know and it is sitting this very instant on my hall table so that all that comes into my home my gaze upon it's lovliness and know your graciousness. Thank you so, so much!

Next up: Another good friend of mine that I've met through blogging had a birthday on Monday. Dear Donna unfortunately didn't get this ON her birthday, but she got it a couple of days later, so she got to spread out her birthday goodies :) Here's what I made for Donna:

Little House Needleworks - Two Sheep

Stitched: 1 over 1

Fabric: 28 ct.

Fibers: DMC

Finished as: Tin

Up Next: Today I've been stitching on Inspiration. It's going S-L-O-W (!) because you have to change color threads so often. I'm hopeful after a full evening of stitching tonight, I'll have a nice picture for you at the beginning of next week. I've got loads of stuff to stitch, so I'll be busy this weekend and thank heaven's I'm off this weekend! Just have to go to the Eye Doctor's on Saturday and out to lunch and then to Church on Sunday...so I'm hopeful I'll have a lot of stitching time...as I have to work the next 3 weekends straight :(

Thanks for your visit and especially for your comments. I appreciate them so much! Have a great weekend! :o)

There's one in every crowd....

This has nothing to do with stitching....rather it has to do with my 4 lovely children. I try to take my own photos of the kids and get them made into portraits. It's cheaper and I can do it at my own convience and leisure :) Plus I get tired of plain backgrounds and if I'm taking my own pictures to make into portraits, we can look back and remember about where they were taken.



Today I got a bee in my bonnet to take some summertime pictures of my rug rats. Well as the old saying goes.... "There's one in every crowd".....that certainly held true today ;)



Ellie (I'm sure you'll be able to tell which one she is...but she's the youngest) just didn't want a THING to do with picture taking. Dispite my best efforts here's what I got:

Katie (9), Ian and Jacob (7) and Ellie (22 months)

My Best Friend the Postman :)

My dearest friend - the postman - was really good to me today! This is what he brought me:

USEBB Specific Finish - Biscornu Exchange ~ Summer 2007

from the lovely Cathy B.! Funny we had each others names! She sent me this lovely biscornu, in my favorite colors goldish yellows!!! I love it and it is bi-colored too! She did a fabulous job! Thank you Cathy you know I love it! :)

Then I opened up another package to discover this:

Fair Squares Friendship Square #1 from Marie P. Isn't this just lovely? I love AMAP's Victoria Quaker, and when I saw she stitched this for my square! Well I almost cried! I definitely jumped for joy!! Whoo Hoo Marie! thanks!! The great thing about these squares are you can finish them as you like! I'm making friendship square pinkeeps, others are making smalls, still others are making quilts, one lady is actually making a sampler book....the sky is the limit! I'm having fun with this exchange for sure :)

And then this:

My Praiseworthy Stitches autoship from sweet Amy at Down Sunshine Lane came!!! WHOO HOO! I've been looking so forward to these! And this pattern does not disappoint! I love collecting my favorite hand-dyed thread Crescent Colours in this fashion! You get 5 full skeins of thread and a sweet pattern to boot! And Amy always gives your fast service with a smile :) Can't wait to tear into this one!

Finally, let me show you my Fair Squares Friendship Square to dear Marie P. I mailed it last week and hopefully she gets it soon! I chose to stitch this:

Friendship Square from the Little House Needleworks Dear Diary Series. These are sweet little squares that are exactly 50 x 50 stitches. Marie P. and I met through the USEBB board and have become fast friends! So I stitched this square to represent our friendship. Hope you get it soon Marie and you like it!

Ok that's all for me today. I've started my SBEBB Seasonal House that is due on 7/10/07, my heavens I've been cutting these close! I've gotten some done, and I've talked my 4 kiddos into having a "movie" night tonight so they already have their baths and jammies on and it's only 5 p.m. here. LOL! So that means dear Mummy gets to sit and stitch! Well let's hope so anyway....until next time :)

USEBB Specific Finish Exchange for Cathy B!

Hello people! I'm still alive and I thank you for all the many people that have e-mailed to see if I was still thumping!! LOL! I've just been very busy trying to keep 4 active children entertained for the summer :) Plus I've been diligently stitching on my exchanges, which there are quite a few of! I can't seem to stop myself from signing up for them....it's a sickness!!

On the USEBB I signed up for the summer specific finish. The specific finish for this round was a biscornu....one of my favorites! Although I've finished a lot of projects in this fashion, I've never finished one for myself....LOL! After doing this project however, I can definitely see one of these in my future and sitting in the corner of my smalls cabinet! Now just to find the time to stitch it for myself! Without further ado, here it is:

Manuella's Sunflowers

by Martina Weber

Fabric: 28 ct. Silkweaver Opalescent evenweave - Spring Garden

Beads: Mill Hill Gold and Lemon (I added the lemon around the edge when finishing)

Fibers: DMC/Krenik as charted

I was mightily pleased how this turned out. I think it is lovely and hope that Cathy B. thinks the same :) On the back of the biscornu I stitched our initials and added a Sunflower button, the "button" on the front is just the Mill Hill beads that were charted for the design, I just went through them and drew them together to go down and capture the sunflower button. I was so happy to stitch this for dear Cathy, as she's stitched two times for me, but I've never stitched for her. I was greatly pleased to do so! I also sent her some goodies, LHN's Sampler Lady from her wishlist, some altoids (with the idea of she could eat the candies and finish the tin) and some other things that escape me at this time....I'm getting old. . . . but I'm sure if you hop on over to Cathy's blog here she'll have it posted. Thank you Cathy for being the great, sweet, dear person you are and I hope you enjoy your biscornu!

What have I been stitching? Well I've started My Hometown by Carriage House Samplings and am in a very "loose" SAL with Red's Thread, Joanie and Chelle. Thank heavens these ladies are forgiving...as I've been a poor SAL partner and wasn't even going to start until dear Sue talked me into it. My start is rather shabby, I've only just a few stitches in....but it is a start and someday when I have some more done, I'll post it. I'm using the DMC on My Hometown and stitching it on 40 ct. linen...the color escapes me, but it is a beautiful butternut brown color. (YES, Harmien 40ct.!!!)

I've not touched Inspiration by RM, since the last time I updated two weeks ago....two many exchanges, too many gifts, so little time....but I'm LOVING the way it is turning out and am vowing I WILL get to it this Friday come hell or highwater!

I did finish my Fair Square friendship square exchange and sent it off to my lovely parnter Marie P. of Creative Thread, she should be receiving it soon, so I'll have another post soon. If anyone is interested in participating in the next round of Fair Squares, which I and the good Annemarie are hosting you can go Here to read all about it. The rules are posted on the side bar links and there are many ladies that have already successfully sent their squares and their beautiful works are posted for you to browse. We have a super bunch of stitchers. And the nice thing about this is that the squares are only to be 50 x 50 stitches and unfinished so it's relatively easy to bang out a square in 6 weeks time and send it to your partners. Round #2 will start mid-July.

I've got loads more to stitch on...my Hello Neighbor! RR...which I chose a huge design to stitch for the next person....YIKES..... there seems to be a lot of my friends with summer birthdays coming up too.....so......that's my life in a nutshell.

I'd like to personally thank Julie, Becky, Chelle and Donna for sending a package in the mail to my daughter Katie. She was thrilled with each and every package sent to her and it is fun to see her look through all her goodies and say, "I want to do this one next and then this one and well maybe this one and ...." LOL! You've made her into a stashaholic girls!!! Way to go!! :0) And I'd like to thank all of the many, many people that have welcomed Katie and visit her blog and leave her comments! She's had a load of them for sure and I heard her telling her best friend the other day that she's had people from all over the world leave comments on her blog! I truly appreciate the warmth you've shown her and myself here in our blogging community!

Ok, I know you've not heard from me for a long time and this is a LOOOONG post and most of you, if you're still reading, are saying, "Ok enough already blabber mouth!" I do have a tendancy to foam at the keyboard. So that's it for me right now. I appreciate you all, thank you for your visit, I love the comments and they keep me stitching! Have a great upcoming week! And may you all find something in your life that brings you joy, even if it is a bird sweetly singing in a tree :) It's the little things in life that make it worthwhile. Big Hugs to you all {{{BIG HUGS}}!!! Until next time....

Becky's Pinkeep Arrives and Inspiration Week 2

This has been a stellar week for packages! Here's what dear Becky sent me today! HURRAY!! It's the Patriotic Pinkeep! I love it! Becky also sent me two patriotic themed tuck pillows and some lovely marking pins! I love it all and my sincere thanks to you Becky for these lovely gifts and but most of all your friendship! Here's my dining room and where I put the pinkeep...the man in the picture is my dear Pap when he served in WWII for the U.S. Navy.

Well today is Friday so that means it is Rosewood Manor's INSPIRATION SAL day with my friends Julie, Rob and Lauren. Here's what I accomplished today:

INSPIRATION Week #2

(*finished with the 1st page!!! 1 page down 29 to go!)

Here's a comparison from last week:

The fabric looks too dark in the first picture and too light in the second picture...its a color inbetween...I'm stitching this on the recommended 32 ct. Picture This Plus "Moonglow". Anyway I'm thrilled with how this is turning out, I turn a little cross eyed stitching it....and you have to count and count and re-count and then the darn frog still visits....but after I got all the backstitching done today...and I held it up and looked at it...it just reaffirmed why I started this project to begin with.

Ok, that's all I've got to share with you today. Everything else I've been working on are for exchanges, gifts, or something that I can't show you :) Have a glorious weekend :) I have to work this weekend, but I'll be checking in on all of your updates :)

Until the next time....

Summer Quaker from AmySC

Hello Dear Friends :) Yesterday I received the most gorgeous Summer Quaker from AmySC!! Here it is:

Summer Quaker USEBB

Amy used the most wonderful color of floss....it reminds me or a ripening wheat feild rippling in the breeze.She put my initials on the top corners (how nice!) Now everone knows its MINE :)

And did I mention it was a tin?!?!Look at the beautiful job she did lining the tin and all the details :)

Then here's the goodies that she sent along! I got a pattern to stitch up more Quakers, a lovely greeting card with 3D embellishments, a magnetic note pad (love those for "honeydo" lists), beautiful "honeysuckle" GAST floss, a beautiful skeing of Belle Soie Scarlet Sister red floss and a cute Sunflower Mill Hill Needle Minder!!

I am just tickled with all the bounty and the beautiful Quaker Tin :) Amy did a perfect job, but she said in her note that it was her first one and it wasn't perfect. Well I certainly would love to see her next one because this one is doggone perfect in my opinion!

On a final note, I'd like to thank all the wonderful people that went over to my Daughter's blog and left such sweet and wonderful comments. She has read every one and is getting the "bug" of can I check my blog? She is over the moon with delight and I appreciate it.

Thanks to all my readers too :) I know I've posted a lot this week and I wasn't expecting too! LOL! I'll hit a dry spell here real soon :) LOL! Until the next time, big hugs and even bigger smiles to you :)

My Daughter's Blog

My daughter, Katie, who is 9 years old started her own blog today. (After much hasseling her Mother) She's very excited to start posting her cross stitch projects on her blog. She's started a wee Trail Creek Farm project and has posted her first entry. I would appreciate it if some of you would pop on over and give her a comment. She's busting at the seams :)

She's written a pretty cute post too...(I know I'm her mother....!)

Thanks for your help! :)

Her Blog Name is: Katie's Little Stitches and it is HERE

Another RAK and The Robin's Nest Birthday Exchange for Cathy

Hello Folks! First off I want to say a warm "thank you" for all your kind comments on the Quaker I made for Marie :) THANKS!

First up: Look what I pulled out of my mailbox this morning! Dear Rachel sent me a RAK gift! I don't know what people are drinking, but it seems like my mailbox has been a happenin' place of late! And I'm beginning to feel a little hoggish :) But nevertheless...I'm a happy camper! Without further ado lookie here at my pretties sent from Rachel:

Teenie Tiny Pinkeep and Scissors Fob

(front side ~ w/ penny to show the small size of this beauty)

Back side
(Our initials and then she stitched "Pins for thee"! How sweet!)

Design: With My Needle from the JCS 2006 Ornament Issue

(look at the matching pins....Rachel tells me she handpainted them to match!!)

In the sweet card that accompanied the package, Rachel wrote, "I picked this floss color just for you - to me it has a bright, punchy energy and sweetness all at the same time - like you!" Awwww, Rachel - thank you! Not only are your words and wonderfully stitched gifts treasures to me, but your friendship is a gift from above. Thank you for all the time and effort that you put into this just for me! You are a sweetheart and I will treasure these gifts always! Every time I look at them I will think and smile for you :) I already have them displayed on my stitching smalls shelf!

Next Up: I also just received word that Cathy has received her Birthday Exchange. We are both members of The Robin's Nest, which sadly will be closing as soon as the current RR's and Exchanges are complete. I didn't know Cathy until I was paired with her for this exchange and I'm so happy that we were paired as we have many of the same interests and philosophies of life. I found out that Cathy likes the color blue and that she loves all things Victorian. Today, June 5 is her birthday, and after much sweating and worry her package arrived right on time! Here's what I stitched for her:

Victorian Pins and Needles Pinkeep by Blackbird Designs

(from the With Needle and Thread book)

*the fabric in the background is what I backed the pinkeep with

Cathy's birthday package

(JBW design leaflets from her wishlist: Glad Tidings and Spring Ornamentals, some "dress it up" Victorian buttons, some small scissors with a handmade beaded fob with a wee butterfly charm on the end and a Kelmscott Needleminder with a large rose and butterfly on it....I thought this was the most victorian looking needleminder I could find)

I was very pleased with how Cathy's pinkeep came out....here's a hint to getting perfect circles for a ornament or pinkeep...I bought cheap coasters from the Michael's $1.00 bin!!! I didn't have to do any cutting and they are perfectly round! All I had to do was glue the batting on and mount/stitch the pinkeep together. Sweet, Huh?!

Well that's all I've got for you today......I'm stitching, but its on exchanges, birthday gifts, friendship gifts and the like....so nothing to show you....so until the next time....which will probably be Saturday for my Inspiration SAL update....keep on smiling :)

Summer Quaker USEBB

Well I just saw that dear Marie received her Summer Quaker that I stitched for her! Here's the entire package that I sent :) excluding some scissors that Marie wanted from Hobby Lobby....I knew I was going to send her a package anyway...so I had to go along with the "sale" we were cooking up....knowing all along that I was just going to send them to her as part of her goodies for the exchange!

Summer Quaker Pinkeep

Stitched on Heather Blue 32 ct. linen using DMC B5200

Design: was a 1/2 motif from the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler

(I stitched it as a whole motif)

The theme of the design was anything that made me think "summer"

I used blue linen and white thread because it made me think of blue skies and fluffy white clouds rolling across the skies on a summer day

*the fabric that the pinkeep is lying on is what I used as the backing

I enjoyed stitching this piece for Marie because I already own a Marie Special and I wanted to stitching something equally lovely as what she sent me. You see, I met Marie through the USEBB exchange board and I don't what happened or even what started it, but all of the sudden we started e-mailing each other and now we've become really good friends. Like Marie wrote to me just the other day...."I wished we lived closer"...well - me too Marie, me too....

I have another exchange that someone should be receiving really, really soon....so check back again...

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and visiting my little slice of cyberspace :) Until the next time, I wish nothing but sunshine and blue skies :)

RAK'D x 2 and a New Start to boot!

Hello People! Hope everyone is having the best of weekends! We've had a good day today here at home. It's 89 degrees here in good 'ol Indiana, and the kids were hot. So we went to the hardware store and bought a piece of plastic sheeting that was 8 foot x 25 foot, got out the water sprinkler and for 4 hours my kids had the time of their life on our "redneck" water slide :) Nothing beats good old ingenuity and at home fun! :) I had as much fun watching their antics as they did sliding on that plastic :) The neighbors were impressed too, because about 5 of them came over to inspect my invention :) LOL!

Up Next: Look as this lovely little rooster that I found in my mailbox this week! Dear Julianne (my 1000th commenter) made this for me as a thank you gift. Isn't it sweet?!

Hen Magnet made by Julianne

Julianne didn't know that my kitchen is done up with Roosters, hens, chicks and assorted eggs and baskets...so this little beauty was right at home on my refrigerator. Thank You so much Julianne! You didn't have to do this at all, but yet you did! Thank you for sweet generosity and graciousness! I love it!!!

Up Next: Imagine my surprise when I went to the mailbox yesterday to find a large parcel with my name on it from Louisianna! I knew I didn't have an exchange coming up...and I was flabbergasted when I opened up the parcel and found all this LOOT!

RAK from sweet Sandy :)

She got me all sorts of goodies: Petit Cazrnet d'Ouvrages, Livre II by With my Needle, Kelmscott thread rings, John James petites, chocolate dipped altoids, sweet smelling lotion and the cutest little bluebird needle minder and 3D magnet!

Not only was I surprised, but imagine how I felt when Sandy wrote in the accompanying card:

"You're such a giving person, so I wanted to "give" you somthing." I nearly cried...I don't give that much to people, but thanks Sandy for thinking so!! I loved each and every item that Sandy selected. Thank you Sandy from the bottom of my heart. You know it made me smile REALLY big! Thank YOU!

Finally, Julie and I started our SAL of Rosewood Manor's Inspiration piece last night. Each Friday we'll pull out Inspiration and be SALing across the miles :) Hello Julie this one is for you as it isn't that impressive of a start...BUT I'm almost done with the first of like 30 pages! Here ya go girl friend....I'm waiting patiently (*not*) for your update....LOL!

Inspiration by Rosewood Manor START

Alrighty people, that's all I have for today...I want to end by saying THANK YOU to all my readers! Your comments make my day! Come back again soon, and until next time keep reaching for the stars!

*(isn't this what Ed McMahan said at the end of Star Search?! LOL!)