My Fair Squares to Staci...

Hello Friends!
I forgot to do a post of my recent Fair Squares that I stitched for Staci (who doesn't have a blog...*yet*)

Design: Heart and Home from Joy in the Journey Booklet (Leisure Arts)

Designer: Diane Williams (of Little House Needleworks)

Fibers: DMC as called for

Fabric: 32 ct. Raw Belfast

*It should be clickable for greater clarity*

Thanks for all the well wishes... I'm feeling more myself, thanks to good 'ol mother nature and the way of things, if you get my drift..... I sometimes have horrible hormone fluxes and this month was no exception. I've found that if I use a herbal creame with "naturally" occuring progesterone, it helps me with mood swings, etc. (but I hadn't been using it recently...but I've started to do it religiously again) I know it sounds hokey...but my DH asked me a few months ago when I started using it....if I'd been doing something different because I was in such a *good* mood! LOL! So it MUST work!

I've lost my mojo and I dear sweet friend of mine that has a birthday coming up is going to not get her birthday present on time...but it's near completion.....so it will be late. But that's the way of a busy Mommy....

My family participated in a pumpkin carving last night at our Church's Focus on the Family fall harvest party. It was great fun and the kids got loaded up on sugar and it was quite a time for us to calm them all down last night to go to sleep :)

I'll have to take a photo of our pumpkins to show you their endeavors...it was boys (DH, Ian and Jacob) vs. the girls (Mom, Katie and Ellie) carving our pumpkins.....shhhh! But I think the girls won!

Until next time, I hope everyone can stitch like there is no tomorrow!

Fall days, exchanges, gifts, shake down....

Hello Friends :0)

I guess another week has flown by and I need to let you all know that I'm still kickin'

This weekend was a GLORIOUS fall weekend here in good 'ol Indiana. Here's a picture on a local hillside of my four youngsters. From Left to Right it is: Ian, Jacob, Ellie and Katie. They are sweeties aren't they?! My pride and joy!

I've been the recipient of some lovlies over the past few days as well:

SBEBB Halloween Exchange

Stitched by: the lovely Outi

Check out the super hand-dyed linen that she stitched the wee ornie on...as well as sent me a hank of it! And she also sent me a gorgeous similar color of thread that she hand-dyed and two Atalie threads! Such a super exchange, I'm most blessed by these exchanges!

Thank you Outi ~ I love every single thing!

Then look at this FABULOUS Project Bag that Wendy sent to me as a PIF!

ISN'T THIS GRAND?! I didn't even realize that I was one of her PIF recipients...show's you how much I know! LOL!

See I can put all my threads/scissors/WIPs in there and carry them all around! This is already getting used as I travel here and yonder with my active kids!

Thank you so much Wendy from the bottom of my pea pickin' heart!

I love it!!!

My Ashely Gingher's are modeling the lovely beaded and tassled fob that Karin made for me because I was the winner of a draw that she did for an exchange she hosted on the Robin's Nest Exchange Board.

Isn't the beads cool? The big one in the middle is one that Karin crafted herself...it's gorgeous and just the "thing" that my dear little Ashley's needed :) Thank you Karin, I love it!!!

This is a lovely zipper pull that Monique sent to me. Isn't it gorgeous as well? She asked me for my address to send me a Christmas card...then a few days later here appeared this jewel! You sneaky girl Monique! LOL! :) Thanks so much...I'm proud to be the owner of this and it's gracing my nylon bag as I speak! It snazzies it right up! A little bit of *bling* on my bag :)

Well the next reason, I've been a bit absent is, I've been chasing my tail all over God's creation....I mean really, I have! I'm praying (hard) for reserves to get me through some busy days ahead...I've *as typical* over extended myself a bit. Plus I'm just sort of hanging out with no Stitching Mojo...and I can't let that stop me stitching because I've got a long list of stitching I need to get done....but other than my over extended calendar....I ended up in the ER on Monday evening with my baby. :( Ellie has learned to push the button on my automatic side van door. She didn't apparently move her hand Monday night and her hand was crushed in the door. I thought she had just crushed it, so imagine my surprise when there was spurting blood....I quickly ran into the house carrying her and found that her thumb had been cut, deeply and quite wide. Now this was 5:28 p.m.....my husband doesn't get home from work until 7:45 p.m. So I quickly packed up my kids, put the girls in the back with instructions to Katie to keep her hand elevated and on the ice pack and away we sped. I got to the ER in less than 5 minutes (we're quite close to a hospital). After X-rays, cleansing and 6 stitches...we were off to get antibiotics because of the severity of the cut. So my baby has a hurt thumb. I do thank God however, because it could have been A LOT worse... so here's my baby with her owie thumb....taken today as she watched Rescue Pets...her favorite cartoon:

Notice her fluffy penguin blankie, multiple *pacies* (pacifiers) and milk sippy :)

I told her to show Mommy your hurt thumb...so that's why she's holding it out for you all to see :)

Well I don't know how much I'll be around in the next few days. I'm trying to keep up with everyone's blogs....but I'm a bit down, a bit out of breath, a bit too busy and a bit hormonal....so I'm going to lie low with my head in the sand and hopefully with a lot of luck, this will all blow over. I shall leave you with this picture of my foursome...taken on our front stoop:

HAPPY FALL!

and remember to:

Stitch with dancing fingers!

My Bloggerversay Winner's Prizes Finished!!!!

Hello Friends....well today I got my fanny in gear and I finally finished the stitching and finishing on my three Bloggerversary Winner's Prizes! I'm so happy to mark these off my list. Next time, when I have a Bloggerversary, I'm going to have something pre-stitched! :) I've been worrying myself nutty about these....Here's what I decided to stitch for: LYNN, SUSAN and MEL (ladies, btw, I will be mailing these TODAY after I pick up my kids from school! So start stalking your Postal Worker!)

Prairie Schooler - Autumn Pinkeep - from the Gift of Stitching Magazine

Backing Fabric

Braided Ribbon and Pins

I made a 4th one of these for myself, but I gave it away to a friend of mine that was having a tough week last week. She loved it and that made me happier than keeping it for myself :) After completing these 4 pinkeeps that brings my total finishes for the year up to 42! WhooHoo ME!

Now what am I stitching on? I pulled the threads, fabric and chart for my Fair and Square Exchange. I hopefully will get a LOT knocked off of this today yet! Hopefully finish it tomorrow, then I get to get hammering on a couple of birthday gifts that are FAST approaching.

I hope you all have a great weekend! And until I "see" you again, stitch with dancing fingers!

Halloween and Fall Exchanges

Hello Friends! Look what the postman brought to me today! This is the Seasonal Exchangers Autumn Exchange from my partner and friend Sylvie, isn't this a lovely flatfold?

Homespun Elegance "Delivering Autumn" *front of flatfold*

Back of flatfold - don't you love that rich orange of the fabric?!

Here's the whole kit and kaboodle! I was DEFINITELY spoiled a whole bunch!

AMAP designs from my wishlist! Thank you Sylvie!

Some lovely fabric...I've wanted to try this fabric out! And look at the cool Atalie threads and WDW threads!! All in autumnal colors :)

Dearest Sylvie, thank you ever so much for this special package! I shall treasure the flatfold always and I shall relish using the fabric, threads and lovely AMAP designs. Your the best! Thanks from the bottom of my heart :)

Next Up: Nadine alerted me that she received my Halloween exchange, I sent her for the SBEBB board. So here's what I stitched for Nadine:

Prairie Schooler - Pumpkin Patch

Threads: DMC

Fabric: 32 ct. raw linen

Finished as: pinkeep

Pinkeep Back

I also sent Nadine some extras, but I didn't photograph them...oops! I hope Nadine likes what I stitched for her. I really thought it turned out well. I liked how it all came together in the end :)

Thanks for all the well wishes on my teeth. I have my temporary crowns in...they stink...but hopefully my final crowns will look and feel much better. I'm mainly eating soft foods because I don't want the temporary crowns to fall off! I really don't want to see the teeth that they ground down...it felt like they were the size of tiny corn kernels....yikes! The whole process yesterday took 2 1/2 hours. I wasn't in any pain, I was just getting tired of sitting there. Plus my gums were bleeding so badly they couldn't get the resin for the temps to stick....so thus my eating very soft foods and liquids....I hope my permant ones look nice, I'm really sort of disgusted with these temps!

Today I've cleaned my house...deep, deep! AND did the laundry for the week :) Tomorrow is the teacher appreciation lucheon I'm in charge of and then I'm done until the weekend when I work. But I'm hoping beyond hope that I get to do nothing but STITCH on Thursday and Friday!!!

Thank you to all my readers and visitors :) until next time, I hope your weather is fine and stitching hours long!

Friendship Squares....

Dear Staci, (who doesn't maintain a personal blog as yet), was my partner on Fair and Square for this third round. She has me pegged apparently because look at these beauties that she stitched up just for me!!!!
Gorgeous aren't they? I love them. Of course I'll be making them into a pinkeep soon! Staci also sent me some sweet goodies that I can't get a decent picture of...so I'll have to describe what she sent. She sent me some seed pods that look like tiny pumpkins and are smell good bowl fillers, some lovely wood and plastic rings for floss fobs or other crafts and some hand made beautiful floss bobbins. All lovely and well received here! Thank you dear Staci for your thoughtfulness and these lovely squares. They are perfectly stitched!

What have I been up to? Well I've been stitching and stitching some secret surprises for some special ladies. Hopefully I can get those wrapped up and sent off in the next week. I won't be on-line much this week because I've got a load on my plate...tomorrow (Monday 10/8) I have my bridgework done on my front teeth. Soon, I'll have the front teeth I've always dreamed of! Albeit a little pain, I'm sure - this all happens in the a.m.....whilst in the p.m. I have my first Girl Scout meeting with my troop for the new school year. Hmmm...hope I can talk! LOL! Then on Tuesday I think I have a down day, but on Wednesday, my children's PTO is hosting a Staff Appreciation Lucheon...guess who the organizer is? You guessed it good 'ol Vonna. Honestly folks, I don't know how I get hooked into these things. But anyway after Wednesday, I think I have a relatively down week. But my house is due for it's monthy "deep, deep, deep" cleaning and that always exhausts me. But it'll get done I'm sure.

Well dear friends, that's all I have for today. What a boring post....hope that this all finds you well and stitching your little fingers to the bone. Thanks for your visits and many thanks for your comments. Have a great week! :)

New Tutorial, New Blogs and more...

I've had some people ask for me to make a tutorial about pinkeeps, so after a couple more ladies asked me this week, I decided to get on it! I had the pictures taken of the steps way back in July...but never got around to making the tutorial. But thanks to dear Sharon today asking me how I made my pinkeeps because she liked the feel of the one I made her for her Seasonal Exchange ~ I got to writing one up! Thanks Sharon for kicking me in the pants! So without further ado...here's the link to my Vonna's Pinkeep Tutorial. I hope you find it clear and easy to follow. I tell you pinkeeps is one of my *most* favorite finishes! ENJOY! It's my pleasure to help people find new ways of finishing :)

Here's a fantastic new blog for you all to go visit...I had the privilege of meeting Wanda through Fair and Square because she wanted to join us. Hop on over and take a gander at her lovely Yellow Biscornu and her SUPER present for her husband...STUNNING! She's a brand spanking new blogger and it's always nice to meet a new talented stitcher.

I may be late on the bandwagon for this next blogger, because I see her commenting all over the place, but I wanted to draw your attention to Teejay of The Passion of my Needle she's a real stitching dynamo and has fine projects and intersperses her blog posts with stitching history and background. She's quite the needle artist. I had the luck of meeting her also through Fair and Square. So click on over there to visit with her as well.

Today, I had the lovely luck of seeing my beloved Postman walking to my door, that means only one thing...that there is *something* that doesn't fit in my mailbox! And Lo and Behold it was from dear Staci, my partner in Fair and Squares. She made me some lovely squares to share! She nailed my likes pretty doggone good too! I love them Staci! HOWEVER, in the middle of taking pictures of the squares and goodies....my batteries died...so next time I'll be able to show you the lovelies that Staci made me and sent me!

Thanks to all my readers, visitors, commenters and friends alike! You make me smile and my heart sing! Take care :) and Big Hugs to you all :)