11th Tea Cup and Mug Exchange - The Big Reveal!

Stephanie over at The Enchanting Rose recently hosted her 11th tea cup/mug exchange.

While this is the 11th exchange that Stephanie has organized, it is the first time I have participated.  When I signed up, I indicated whether I was interested in a tea cup or mug (I chose mug.) and I also gave some personal information, such as hobbies, favorite color, stuff like that.

The person that I was assigned to send a mug to was Ida.  I found her a cute bird mug and a few other "goodies" and mailed the items off to Walla Walla, WA.  If you want to see what she received, you can take a look at her "reveal" blog post here.

Kris, who blogs at Lavender Quilts, had my name assigned to her.   Here is a picture of the lovely gifts I received from Kris.........

The mug that she sent was so pretty.  Take a closer look. 

  See the cute bee flying around the lavender flowers?  Well, take a look inside the mug........

  Kris also sent me some "made in Oregon" gifts, such as yummy cranberry jelly beans and cranberry blood orange black tea.

A cat cross-stitch pattern, handmade doily, and a book was also included in my package of goodies.  Kris' sense of humor was evident by this gift that was included in my package.....

  WAX LIPS!  😂😂😂😂

Thanks again to Kris for all the gifts and to the exchange hostess, Stephanie for making this a fun exchange.  

November FNwF

Can it be November?? Already??????? Really??????

It is time for FNwF or Friday Night with Friends.  Stitchers from all over the world "get together" on the first Friday of the month for a bit of stitching.  It's been a couple of months since I have been able to attend FNwF so I have a few things to show you.  At the September FNwF, I was just starting to stitch a fall-themed piece by Little House Needleworks as part of a two-month SAL.  I actually finished two fall-themed Little House Needleworks projects during the SAL.  So let me show you those.

Little House Needleworks Autumn Sampler - I have a small wood tray that I am going to use for "framing" this piece. (Side note - I no longer need this pattern so I am selling it for $5. If you are interested, please leave a comment or email me.)

Little House Needleworks October - This finished piece was "framed" with a 7x7 wood box.

With these finishes behind me, I decided to work on some WIPs for November FNwF.  

A friend gave me this cute pattern that has a wood pumpkin "frame" and buttons for finishing.  

There really isn't a whole lot of stitching.  Here is my progress on this piece....

The kit also includes a strip of floral cotton fabric that goes at the bottom of the stitched area.  I'm stitching this on 36 ct linen using 1 strand of DMC and Sampler Threads.

I'm also working on this cute piece by La-D-Da - Big Red House.

I actually won the pattern (it is signed by Lori M.) several years ago from Norden Crafts' Facebook page.  I had put the pattern away, totally forgetting about it......that is until the "memory" popped up in my FB feed.  I had posted a photo of the pattern after I won.  When I saw the photo, I decided it was time to start stitching it!  I had to search through my ever-growing stash to find the pattern!  I'm stitching it on 32 ct Straw linen from Weeks Dye Works using most of the called for sampler threads.  

Hopefully I will have a finish to post at December FNwF.  I am also working on some Christmas things but those will have to wait until January FNwF to "reveal" those so not to spoil any surprises.  

Alrighty........what are you stitching?

Fall Fun Exchange Goodies

Chrissy over at Keeping Home hosted a Fall Fun Exchange which I participated in. Last week I received a package from Rosana who had my name.  Take a look at my fall surprises.......

Pretty dish towels and wash cloths, pumpkin plates and matching napkins, and an adorable hand painted pumpkin.  

I sent fall gifts to Chrissy.  Want to see what she got?  Take a look here.

What a fun way to start off Autumn and to make some new friends.

I also recently participated in a teacup/mug exchange which I will be telling you about soon!

September FNwF

Time for September's virtual stitch 'n chat.....also known as Friday Night with Friends (FNwF).  The last FNwF that I "attended" was July.  I was working on a Plum Street Sampler piece then.  I have since finished it.  Let me show you a picture before I tell you what I am working on for September FNwF.

Plum Street Samplers 'Fraktur Friends'

I love the way it turned out.  Not sure if I am going to frame it.  I may finish it into a pin cushion.

Now, let me tell you a little about my current project.  I joined a Little House Needleworks/Country Cottage Needleworks Autumn-Themed SAL on Facebook.  Our start date for the SAL was September 1.  Here is the project that I've chosen for the SAL.

This has been in my stash for a number of years.  How convenient for the SAL to begin on the same day as September FNwF!  Here is my progress so far..........

Hopefully by the time October FNwF rolls around I will be able to show this as a "completed" project.  If I get this project stitch fairly quickly, I plan on doing a 2nd fall-themed project since the SAL will not end until November 1.

How about you? Got any fall-themed projects going on?

FNwF

                           

On the first Friday night of each month, Cheryl over at Gone Stitching invites crafters of all kinds (cross stitch, quilting, needlepoint, etc) to a stitch 'n chat.  She calls it Friday Night with Friends.  Sounded like fun so I signed up.  Did I mention that Cheryl lives in Australia?  Did I mention that I did not have to make the 13-14 hour flight to Australia to attend this event?  You guessed it......a virtual gathering of crafters.  I actually had plans on Friday night so my stitching happened during the day.  Here are some photos of what I worked on......

This piece has been a WIP for at least a year.  I stitched the border and '1808' shortly after getting the pattern and then abandoned it.  I happened across it a few weeks ago and decided that I needed to move it to my "actively stitching" pile.  

Plum Street Samplers - 'Fraktur Friends'

(Exclusive design for Silver Needle's 2016 Circle of Friends)

                    

     

And then.....drumroll, please......I have a finish to show you.  Heartstring Samplery's Stars & Stripes Forever Stocking Ornament #3.  Another exclusive design....this time for Dyeing to Stitch 2017 Ladies Prim Society.  It is stitched on 35 ct linen.  I stitched it using the called-for threads.....including silver and gold metallics.  I do not like stitching with metallics but I must say that it did make the fireworks "pop"!  

First is a photo of the stitched front and the cute cotton backing.

                  

And then a photo of the assembled stocking.  

                     The stocking is approximately 6" long.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you want to join July's FNwF event, keep an eye out for Cheryl's sign up blog post near the end of June.  

Fancy Works Stitch Retreat 2017

Fancy Works is a cross-stitch shop in Bloomington, IN.  Several weeks ago I attended the Fancy Works Stitch Retreat which was held at McCormick Creek State Park located in Spencer, IN.  

I signed up for two finishing classes that were taught by Vonna Pfeiffer.....also known as The Twisted Stitcher.  The patterns for the two classes were emailed to class participants several weeks prior to the retreat so that all stitching could be completed ahead of time. The first class project was a Christmas ornament finishing class.  Here is a photo of the finished project......

            Front 

 

Happy Hearts by Little House Needleworks

       And back....  

  Cute, isn't it?

In the second class, the finishing technique that we learned was flat-fold.  This type of finishing allows a piece to be displayed standing up.  Take a look

          Flag Maker by Notforgotten Farm

In addition to taking these two classes, there was lots of time for stitching on WIPs and/or new projects.  Many tables were set up in the stitching room.

There were also patterns and stitching supplies for sale.....just in case us stitchers needed more stash (never enough stash!).

Here is where I sat (that's me in the blue with my back to the camera....smart!) along with my 5 table mates.  Looks like fun, doesn't it.

Here's what we look like without needle, thread, and fabric in our hands.

From left: Carol (my SIL), me, Joyce, Pat , Claire, and Liz

The six of us had a fun time stitching and getting to know each other.  You do realize that stitchers are some of the friendliest people around. 😋  

Here is a project that I started stitching at retreat.This is Black Capped Chickdee from Heartstring Samplery's The Bird Collection, Part III.

I have since finished the above project and will be posting photos in an upcoming blog post.  In addition to working on this, I brought along this WIP Christmas ornament by Little By Little Design Company from an old Just Cross-Stitch annual ornament issue.  As you can see, it is no longer a WIP!

  Stitching is done.....now I need to work on the finishing part....which should be a breeze after the retreat class that I took!

The retreat was lots of fun.  We stitched, ate, stitched some more, and visited the Fancy Works shop for "souvenirs".  

Over the past year or two, my stitching has been somewhat sporadic.  However, my interest has been renewed after attending the retreat.  Guess it was "just what I needed"!  The Fancy Works folks put on a great retreat.  All participants came home with lots of goodies!  Plans are being made for a 2018 retreat and I'm looking forward to attending!  Wanna go with me? 

Has It Really Been A Year?

Yep!  Looks like my last post was 5/2/16!  Seems like posting photos of my stitching projects on Instagram (with a link to FB) is a whole lot quicker than typing blog posts.  But I thought I would do a quick post to show you a few things I'm working on.

First of all is a sampler by La-D-Da called Me & You.  I'm stitching it on 55 ct. Ivory Kingston linen.  With the high count linen, the stitching is slow.  Hopefully I won't go blind trying to focus on my stitches! 🙀 Here is a picture of my progress on this project.

The next project has been a WIP for over 10 years.  I bought the pattern at a stitch retreat in either 2002 or 2004 and immediately started stitching on it.....but not for long!  It has been sitting at the bottom on a project bag for at least 10 years.  A few weeks ago, I decided to pull it out and start stitching on it again.  I have been working on it frequently but, again, due to the small stitches (one-over-one stitching) it is slow going.  This is a pattern called Splendor IV - A Colonial Coverlet by The Heart's Content.  Take a look.....I almost have the outside border stitched.  You can see how small the piece will be (approx 14" x 2").

The entire piece will be stitched in DMC 815 with the exception of my initials which will be stitched in a slightly lighter or darker (haven't decided which) color.  Here is a better look at the color of the thread.

And finally.....another small that I'm working on.  Here is a photo of what I have done but I am not going to give any more information since this will be a gift and the recipient is on social media.  Once I get it finished and the gift has been given, then I'll post a photo of the completed project with project information.

I stitch like I read books......several at a time.  I am also currently working on a few more projects but will post photos of them later.

So, what are YOU working on?