My Stitchalong

Now I know that I said yesterday that there was nothing more satisfying that putting that last stitch into a project and looking at a completely finished piece. But, I have to admit that my little heart goes aflutter when I get the call from the framing center that tell me that my custom framing order is ready for pick up whenever I want to come in. I never wait too long. I need to see if what I picked will really look as good as I had hoped it would. I've never really been disappointed with a frame that I've chosen, though. This is called "The Anniversary" and is by designer My Big Toe. It was done with overdyed floss, which I really don't like to work with alot because it's not color fast and I'm paranoid that it will get wet somehow and the colors will run all over the place. I am, however, getting used to working with it and I think that I"ll be using it more in the future. The dark color is Pansy Purple by Crescent Colors and the lig...

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? Our was very good. We had dinner at my in-laws house, which is a whole two minute drive from my house. So not only did I not have to cook, but I didn' t have to fight traffic, either! Christmas will be a different story when we head to Delaware to be with my side of the family. It's a good thing that my kids are good in the car. Last weekend I had the good fortune to finish not one, but two projects. When I know that I'm near the end and I can see that bright light at the end of the tunnel all I want to do is stitch until it's done. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than putting in that last stitch, holding the piece up and shouting, "It's done!" What did I finish? I finished "The Anniversary" by My Big Toe and piece by Alessandra Adelaide Needlework's called "Panda" (is anyone surprised by that one?) It will make a wonderful addition to the panda wall. Both of them have b...

Well, this is the first day that I've able to get online in almost a week. Last week I turned on the computer and all of the sudden the screen went black. I turned it off, re-started it, and I got the same thing. MJ came home from work and looked at it, but could not get it to work either. So, we had to take it to a computer tech person to have him try to fix it. The good news is that he got he computer up and running again as good as it was when we first bought it two years ago. The bad news...I lost EVERYTHING!! All of the pictures that I had - GONE! All of the the things that I designed on PC Stitch - GONE! All of the tax information that MJ had - GONE! I just wanted to cry. The stuff on PC Stitch, well I could live with losing that. I was not happy, but I could live with it. The pictures, however, are a different story. I called some relatives to see if they could send to me pictures that I e-mailed to them so that I can have them again. The family has been very ...

When I finished sewing my Tinsel door hanging, Z asked me to sew him something. "What would you like?" I asked him and his response was, "Winnie the Pooh!" I has stitched these two small Pooh piecesfor him two years ago ( I remember watching hockey from the Turin Olympic while I was working on them, so that's how long ago I started them) and never made anything with them. By the time I remembered about them he had grown out of the Pooh faze, or so I had thought. Pooh was what he wanted. So my little guy and I headed to the fabric store and picked out this great Pooh fabric and I started sewing (did I mention that I love my new sewing table?) This was the end result: Of course, once M saw that Z had a new wall hanging, the first thing that he said, "What can you make me?" I had this Buzz and Woody piece that I had stitched a while ago for him. It was supposed to be the center of a "Toy Story" quilt, but I could not find Buzz and Woody...

I was going through my calendar the other day and was absolutely astounded to realize that Thanksgiving is in two weeks. WHAT?? Where did the time go? I haven't even started my Christmas shopping. Not only did I not start the shopping, but I hadn't even made the list of people that I have to buy for. I am way behind. By now I'm usually at least half way done with buying for people and I'm looking for good places to hide things from the kids. The only present I had was the trivet that I made for MJ's mom that I finished months ago. It's time to swing into action! Finally , yesterday, I started my shopping. I didn't get a whole lot done for the adults on my list, but I did get a bunch of the things that the kids wanted. I actually like to shop for the kids. They are the easiest to buy for by far. A game, a few books, some surprises and the kids are always happy. There are so many other people that I just don't know what to buy. Most of th...

My kids love to help me cook, especially sweet things. It was a cool and rainy day on Saturday, so what do we make? Ice cream!!! Home made ice cream is the best. The little people wanted chocolate chip, so I froze the canister to my ice cream maker, bought the ingredients needed, and we spent part of our Saturday morning making ice cream (this was going in while MJ was upstairs putting together the sewing table). M's favorite part of cooking anything is breaking the eggs. Whenever he comes to help me the first question he asks is, "Are there any eggs? Can I break them?" Look at that egg breaking technique! Not too bad for a 9 year old! After the eggs were cracked into the bowl they needed to be "lightly beaten." M is teaching Z everything he knows about whisking: M is really interested in cooking until you get to the part where you stir constantly until the custard is thickened. Z finally got some stirring time in at the stove: The finished ice cream was re...

I got a call from the furniture store the other day that the sewing table that MJ bought for me was in. We picked it up and MJ put it together for me yesterday afternoon (with only minor injuries, I might add!) This is what it looks like when it's closed: It looks like a nice table. The color of the finish actually matches our bedroom furniture pretty well, too, so I was happy that it doesn't look totally out of place in there. This is the table when all the cabinets are opened for sewing: So I just had to open it up and use it this afternoon. MJ was mowing the lawn and M and Z were playing and quiet so I took my sewing things up to my room and finished this: I can't wait for Christmas decorating time so I can hang it on one of the doors!

MJ's brother called us this morning to let us know that his wife had their baby. A beautiful little boy! We knew she was having a boy, but it's still really exciting to hear that this little one made his way safely into the world. Z is excited because he and his new cousin will be sharing the same middle name. M is not too thrilled because now is another baby to mess with his toys. We'll have to do our best to see that doesn't happen. MJ's parents are thrilled to be grandparents for the fifth time (four boys, one girl). They are looking forward to being able to meet their new grandson. Hopefully for them, that will happen soon. It's good things that are happening right now in the family. The new baby being born and the wedding next year for MJ's younger brother. It's nice when there are good things to look forward to.

I usually don't do alot of stitching for Christmas. A few years ago, during my first Christmas as a stay at home mom, I thought that making some gifts for people would be a great way to give nice gifts to people and still come in on my Christmas budget. I found, however, that the gifts were really not appreciated the way that I had hoped they would be. So now I just usually make one or two small things that I usually keep for myself. I just finished these two . This tree is by JBW Designs and there was something about it that I just really liked. This is by Lizzie Kate. I think it's so funny! When I get my new sewing table I plan on making both of them into door hangers for two of the many doors here in this house. I already have the perfect fabric for the LK design. I have to see what I can find for the tree design. Warning: I am about to get on my soapbox. Today is election day. We are lucky enough to live in a country to wants our opinion as to who we think should be lead...