New Year, New Plans.....

Hello Friends! Did you all have a spectacular Christmas Holiday? I hope so! We sure did here in good 'ol Indiana :o)

Before...I start talking about all my new "plans" for the New Year....I need to show you some fabulous items that were sent to me the past week.

First Up: this fabulous pyramid Etui from Rosalie (no blog). She and I were in a private 4 way exchange and this is what she stitched for me. Isn't it absolutely stunning?! I was just astonished when I opened up the box and found this:

Jealous? It is absolutely perfectly finished, fantastically finished and totally AWESOME! Thank you Rosalie!!!!!

Then in a sweet Christmas Card came this stunning tatted heart from Cathy B. This was tatted by Cathy's mother...it is stunningly perfect, and it is a treasure that I will hang on my tree each year. Thank you Cathy for your kindness, generosity and friendship - don't know what I'd do without ya girl! :o)

What about those.....plans you say? Well I've got 'em friends...big ones, inspired ones, lots of plans :o) My plans for 2009 are:

• stitch more for ME
• be a better person
• achieve personal goals I've set for myself

as far as stitching goals - I'm of course tackling a HAED - well starting it anyway, I'd like to work on my Village of Hawk Run Hollow (finish it?) especially since my Neighborhood Round Robin is missing the village would make up nicely, I want to stitch a lot of ornaments, both seasonal for my Dowel Tree and also Christmas Ornaments for our Christmas tree...I have a lot of Christmas Ornaments, but would like to have ONE full tree of totally stitched ornaments. I'm going to cut back a bit on the spending, and stitch from my own stash....I've got a lot....I'm not on "the wagon" or anything like that - just want to stitch more of what I own. I want my stitching to be FUN for me! That's why I do it right? I loved exchanging (and I hope to have a few personal exchanges throughout the year) but all the exchanging I did for the past 2 years made it a little harried for me. I view our home as my "vacation" spot....I'm not happier any other place then in my own home. I love to decorate it and switch it up and when I walk by something that I've stitched myself - it makes me proud, makes me smile, and makes me - well, happy! So I'm going to stitch for myself.

So to do a little "STITCHY" Summation for the Year 2008 - here goes:

I had 56 finishes broken down like this:

• 9 were gifts
• 29 were exchanges
• 9 were for me
• 1 was a model
• 8 were Round Robins

I change my visitor counter every Jan. 1 at midnight (it's like my own little bloggy anniversary) so to date I've had: 105899 visitors this year, tonight it will go back to zero.

I've added 4 tutorials to my Tutorial Blog this year adding up to 12 tutorials.

I opened a Finishing Service this year and things continue to be busy there.

I've become good friends with many people near and far - all over the world thanks to this blog!

I've had a great year....I thank YOU all for your continued visits, your friendship and support!

I wish you ALL a very happy, bright and BLESSED NEW YEAR!

Until next year.....count your stitches and your BLESSINGS!

Last one for the books??

Just coming on-line to share a..... "MERRY CHRISTMAS"

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Design: From Chart "Berries and Pins"

Fabric: Sassy's Tan Marble 32 ct.

Fibers: DMC

Finished as: ornament

Started: 12/23/08

Finished: 12/24/08

And finally....from my family to yours: May you have a very Merry Christmas and may the Infant Jesus bring your heart peace and love!

Thank you for your friendship, thank you for your visits, thank you for your comments and may we together share many more stitching moments in the New Year!

Until next time...count your stitches and your blessings! My love,

Christmas Ornament Swap...

SWAP for Joan. I had a hard time with this one. I started 3 different ornaments and this one won:

Designer: Debbie Draper

Design: taken from The Gift Of Stitching on-line Magazine November 2007

Stitched on: 35 ct. Weeks Dye Works Parchment

Fiber: DMC 815

Finished as an ornament

Sorry for the two posts in one day...but I'm just trying to keep up with my finishes before the big end of the year. So that I have a clean slate, fresh start and new lease on stitching!

Until next time....you know the rest!

A couple renditions....

....of *BELIEVE* by the Sampler Girl:

~~~a small pillow~~~

~~~and a primitive ornament with rusty bells on the corners~~~

I worked...all weekend and will work through until Dec. 26. I only have to work at one hospital so that's not near the work like when I have to work at both. I'm hoping for a lot of non-ill people walking around Bloomington! :o)

Just a short and sweet post....

Until next time....Count your stitches and your Blessings!

In generosity and friendship....

Hello Friends...here I am again...getting tired of me? :o) I have some things though that I cannot wait to share with you. Late yesterday afternoon, my Post Man showed up at my door with a contrite face and a smile. He told me that he had not delievered these things for me and that he swung by before he headed back to the depot. I thanked him and ran to the counter because they looked like some GREAT things were going to be held inside :o)

I wasn't wrong....first up there was a package from Marie P . Now Marie and I met through exchanging and she's been my bud for a couple of years now. She does the most divine stitching and finishing, she has a heart of gold and she always sends something just when you least expect it. I wasn't expecting a thing and yesterday this is what came:

Do you see what I see? A beautiful "Vonna" ornament tree that she got especially designed for me from M Designs! Can you believe it? I've never had my name on anything unless I stitched it myself because how many people do YOU know with the name "Vonna"? See that's what I mean...the pattern would have been plenty - I would have been thrilled! But nope, not so for Marie she stitched it up on the most beautiful Kiwi Illusions fabric using lovely Silk and finished it perfectly. Then as if that wasn't enough she put in the two little ornaments in the wagon above the snowman face and the angel - yep, handmade. Well her generosity of spirit and kindness of heart brought real tears to my eyes....really I was a blubbering idiot....it just really touched my heart that Marie went to such lengths to make something so perfect - for me. I'm undeserving of such kindness. I truly am. Thank you Marie - words cannot express.

Then as if that weren't enough there was another package - this time from Portugal and inside these lovely items:

jolly Santa ornament and a lovely bookmark all from Paula who I've had the pleasure of getting to know through our blogs. What a lovely surprise and again - a touching thing that Paula would take time out to stitch something for myself and my family to hang on our tree and remember a fine lady that I have "met" through my little blog. Thank you Paula "Feliz Navidad" :o)

And then this came out of a package - I had ordered the HAED that I'm going to stitch for the next 25 years (as Amy said) from DSL and my friend AmySC stitched this up for my floss ring....what about that?

Honestly, and I'm not trying to be falsely humble here or pat myself on the back or anything like that - I just can't (really can't) get over how generous and kind that people in the stitching world are. I mean - what do I do? I keep asking that to my husband and my Mom, what do I do to deserve such kindness? I honestly - really and truly honestly - haven't the faintest. I really don't. I'm just a bumbling human that makes MAJOR mistakes every day. I try hard to be a good person, to be true of heart and reach to be the best - but I fail miserably and then to have friends such as these - and its not the "stuff" that I'm getting. It's the time, thought and ENERGY that I know they all put into this to make me smile. For that I am truly humbled, honestly gobsmacked, and unworthy. I honestly feel as thus.... thank you one and all - for your friendship to me.

OK, well now on to what I did last night - oh it's exciting! I kitted up:

Peppermint Twist - Blue Ribbon Designs

(couldn't resist anymore - joined the SAL that's starting in January)

This one I paired with a hank of Sassy's Fabbys Tan Marble - think its gonna be PERFECT!

Lo How A Rose ~ Brightneedle

Stitching this on a piece of my own Bake and Basted Evenweave

Pulled the threads for the first page of my HAED

(look at that sweet floss tag!)

waiting on the fabric for this one - but am stitching it on 25 ct. Lugana (just plain old antique white)

Got my Zippered bags full of the newly kitted projects!

Finally Mr. Chatter Box would like to say Merry Christams to all and to all a MEOW!

Until next time my dear readers..... count your stitches and your blessings!

The weather outside....

....IS FRIGHTFUL as ice has visited Southern Indiana...and our driveway could rival Rockefeller Center's Ice Skating Rink....but inside it's so DELIGHTFUL! Because look at what the Post Man brought me today:

Merry Christmas Friend

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Stitched by: Harmien

Isn't it lovely?! Opening the delightfully wrapped package and seeing the little ornament tucked inside with such wonderful sentiments made my eyes mist with gratitude. Harmien was the first cross stitcher that I ever connected with 3 years ago and I'm ever, ever so happy that we connected, she's got a heart of gold and it shines through everything that she does! Thank you so much Harmien for you wonderful friendship and ornament....I have placed in a place of honor on our tree and will always remember you each year....This is the third Ornament Harmien has gifted me with over the past three years and I always smile thinking of her each time we've put up our tree.

Well the caramel corn making went great...we made 80 quarts (10 batches) and it's been scooped into bags and delivered. Everyone is always happy to see our token of neighborly friendship hanging from their doorknobs and we have fun looking out our windows watching people get it off their doorknobs....like a little surprise from St. Nick himself! Today the caramel corn was delivered to the teachers along with a small gift card to show our appreciation to the teachers and staff that guide our children at school - always fun because the teachers at the school know that is what the Christmas gift from the Pfeiffer's will be and they await the homemade caramel corn each year!

SO, until next time my dear friends.....count your stitches and your blessings!

Counting the days...

Hello Friends! :o) my kiddos are counting the days until Santa comes....I remember the anticipation of the waiting when I was a little girl, straining to hear the faintest *clomp* which might mean a reindeer's hooves on the roof of our house, a tiny *jingle* that might be Santa's sleigh bells....and I distinctly remember a *beep* of a Merlin through the air vents in my bedroom about a month before Christmas when I was 8 years old (that would have been 1978) and I desperately wanted one for Christmas! And....you guessed it - it was my Dad trying it out.... :o) 'cause I guess Santa needed a Merlin tester.

Well Santa came...in a big white US Postal Truck today because look what I got from my good buddy and friend AmySC I love them! And they look adorable on my Dowel Tree!

A Gift of Beauitful Ornaments from AmySC:

Then ever since I saw the simplicity of The Sampler Girl's (Tanya Marie Anderson) freebie "Believe" I knew it was a must stitch. Here is my version (but I have a couple more versions going).

The Sampler Girl's Freebie *Believe*

fabric: Week's Dye Works 35 ct. Parchment
Fibers: DMC 815
Finished as: Ornament with bone buttons, rusty bells and rusty safety pins

Me thinks....that turned out pretty doggone cute! Although....I have noticed the last few times I've stitched on 35 ct and 40 ct fabric OR over 1 even on any count....I'm having problems seeing the holes to stitch - *oh dear*....as my Pap used to say, "it's hell getting old".... so I had to jump in the car and run to my LNS last Friday, to see and try out what they had in magnification. So I purchased some MagEyes. Yep, I look like a dork, but they work WONDERFUL! So is 38 considered middle age? Don't tell me....I don't want to know.

Hold onto your.....popcorn bowls because the great Caramel Corn Pop Off is beginning tomorrow or Wednesday of this week. My long-time readers will remember that every December all our neighbors, friends and the kid's teachers at school receive a 2.5 gallon bag of Caramel Corn as a little gift to spread Good Cheer in our little corner of the world. I've got about 20 lbs of brown sugar, 10 lbs of butter, 15 lbs of corn and about 2 liters of corn syrup - let the gooiness begin. Actually anyone that ever makes homemade caramel corn especially in the quantities that I make it....Oh heaven's it is back breaking work....it is a gift from my heart, that's all I can say. And it take 365 days before I ever have the urge to even *look* at popcorn sideways :o) BUT it looks like snow/ice may be in the forecast this week and if that is the case, Mr. Pfeiffer may find himself up to his knees in Caramel Corn - you know he took vows - for better and worse, in sickness and health, caramel corn and butter....

Until next time....count your blessing and your stitches!

My Baby's Birthday....

Today is our Katie's birthday! Here she is a few days after we brought her home from the hospital:

Then here she is one month after we brought the boys home from the hospital - she was just a baby herself - a week shy of her 2nd birthday when she was rooted out of her spot by the birth of her twin brothers!

And here she is now... she's my best friend and my helper. If I didn't have Katie, life would be a whole bunch harder.

We love you Katie :) Happy 11th birthday!

Help with a HAED....

I have a question...so anyone with experience HELP!

I have never purchased nor stitched a Heaven and Earth Design chart. But we all know my tastes and doesn't this just say: "HEEELLLLOOO! STITCH ME VONNA!" ?????:

Deigns: Copyrighted by HAED

Artist: Jane Wooster

I mean really - doesn't it?

So anyway because I'm stitching for myself for the forseeable future - I want this. Now my question is: do you stitch these over 1? Over 2 (that would seriously be HUGE) if you did that. I'm thinking... What count? It says 25 ct. and I think according to the size on the website,that means over 1.

So step on up you HAED stitchers and give the sister a bit of help!

THANK YOU! :o)

Fa~La~La.....

Hello Friends! How are each and every one of you? First off: thank you for continuing to visit with me, although I've been a less than stellar blogger and return visitor to your blogs of late.

What have I been up to in the last few days? Well seems like I've baked a bakery full of cookies for my DH's Christmas Party at work tomorrow, seems like I've lost some sleep somewhere a long the line too, I've worked 36 hours in 3 days at the hospitals, and I've tried to catch up my poor partner's Fair and Square set of squares that I needed to mail over a week ago. So to sum up - I stink because I just am all over the chart. Not settled - maybe I need to take some Kaopectate?

Some news: I found out last week that my Hello Neighborhood RR has gone missing - lost in the mail. Have I said I will never participate in a RR again? Well - let me say it now: I will never participate in a RR again! Of course there are a lot of worse things that can go wrong in life and in the grand scheme of the universe this is just a small drop in the bucket - but still after it was held hostage for 3 months and now lost in the mail - if it ever does resurface from "la la land" - I'm taking it to our priest for an exorcism and I think after that I'll just give a big dunking in the Holy Water Font for good measure. But I think it is well and truly lost - as its been almost 2.5 months lost now. There is some serious bad JU - JU with my RR piece apparently. Its almost funny....and I'm trying to think of the bright side....but when I think about the hours I spent stitching on 9 round robins....I get just a little twinge in my chest region. What happens happens for the best, so that's all I have to say about that! Life is a box of chocolates and you never know what you're going to get - and my life has been filled with chocolate covered cherries, so I deserve a pit every now and again too.

But one thing that I do have to share that turned out successfully and positive is this little ornament that I stitched for Carolyn in the Christmas Ornament Exchange that BeckySC set up earlier this year.

Designer: Plum Pudding Needleart

Design: Fa-La-La - Complimentary from their website

Fibers: DMC

Fabric: 28 ct. coffee/tea dyed baste and baked by me

Speaking of my Coffee/Tea dyed basted and baked fabric - I did up 3 yards of it last year - and this ornament used up the last bit of it :o( Hobby lobby stopped selling it off the bolt - so now I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I could start asking around at the shops or maybe my LNS to see if I can get a bolt of it. I love it!

The Elliptical Chronicles: up to 15 minutes twice per day without calling 9-1-1.

Until next time friends - count your stitches and your blessings!

Twins..

Happy 9th Birthday to my twins - Ian and Jacob!!!

9 years ago today, at 8:39 p.m. and 8:41 p.m. two little bundles came into the world by the grace of God and looked like this:

Ian and Jacob

How long I had waited and anticipated the sight of their little faces.

Now I have the joy of seeing my two bigger bundles each and every day. I couldn't imagine a day without them in my life. I am so very thankful. They've changed so much and now my bundles look like this:

Ian and Jacob

My Sweet boys, my little men...Mama and Daddy are so proud. May God protect, bless and guide you all your days!

Mama wishes you many more birthdays and may your days be filled with nothing but sunshine, rainbows and the sound of your laughter.

I Love You! ~ Mama