Update on Mike

Hi everyone, it seems that I am always updating on Mike and no sewing, quilting. Well I will have a quilty post later on today sometime before midnight. Anyhow, about Mike, we thought he was going to get to come home today, but yesterday they had to do emergency exploritory surgery to find a problem causing him to swell. He looked like he was pregnant! Anyhow, they found that his feeding tube in his stomach did not seal and was leaking in his abdomen which was causing the swelling. They fixed it and now we wait. Talk about being dissappointed, both he and my sister were so upset. He has been through so much, now this. He will be in hospital for a while longer. But, at least they found it before he was sent home. Which will give time for a ramp and porch to be built onto their home for him. The hospital bed and hoist was delivered yesterday in prep. for his coming home. All the doors have to be redone to fit a wheelchair. He will be in a wheelchair for the next yr. or more. It will be six months before he can put any weight on either of his legs, so learning to walk will start after he can stand up on them and bear weight. That means he is going to be out of work for a long time and her job does not pay very much. Our family (that is my dh,dd and ds along with me) have decided to forgo gifts this year and will be giving the money we would normally spend to my sister and her husband as they need it more. We have already recieved the best Christmas gift this year in the life of my son being spared  with no major injuries in the accident. As a family we know what is most important in life and that is love and what you do with it. Christmas is a time of giving and each of us love to give, so what better way to show that love than to pool our money and give it to my sister and her husband who happen to be in need. We are so excited to be doing this and some of our other family members will be giving to them as well. We will present them will our gifts in the coming weeks and our deepist wish is that nothing else will go wrong and Mike will be home for Christmas where he belongs. So please keep him and his family in your prayers for a speedy recovery from this surgery. And again thank you to all who have been praying for Mike, we so appreciate it.

I will post a crafty blog later with photos of some things I have in process and some things I have recieved as well. I am also wanting to do Mike a lap quilt for his wheelchair if you have ideas of a simple pattern and size I would so appreciate it. Maybe I will make him a bed organizer as well to match his quilt. Have a great day and happy stitching!

Wendy

A Great Giveaway

Hi everyone, Cathy over at http://cathyscrazybydesign.blogspot.com/ is having a great giveaway with some really nice items. She has a total of six lots so go on over and sign up to win one. While there browse her site with all her creative adventures. Here is a pic of the lot I would love to win.

Look at all the great items in this lot! I would love to win this and use in future crazy quilt projects.

Update on Mike: He was put in a step down room today! Praise God! My sisters birthday is tomorrow and what a great present for her. Hopefully over the next week or so they can wean him off the trach and close that up and then the feeding tube hopefully. All surgeries are done. Now will be healing then the intense therapy as he learns to walk again and such. Which the Dr. says will take from 1 1/2 yrs to 2yrs. It will be 3months before he can put any weight on his right ankle that was crushed. Now it is all titanium plates and pins, so it takes that long for the bone to attatch and be strong enough to hold up to working. Everything is healing wonderfully and he has had no more blood loss. Which for us is wonderful, at least we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and now we know that he will live and get better.  Again thank you for all your well wishes and prayers for Mike. Please keep them in your prayers as the long period of recovery is beginning.

Wendy

Gratitudes:
Love of my heavenly Father
Family, Health
For Mikes recovery increasing every day
For giving me my creative ability

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who reads my blog. Just wanted to list a few things that I am thankful for .

That I serve an awesome heavenly Father
The miracle of life that God gave us in the previous month for my Mom, Coy, Elijah and Mike.
For life everlasting
My husband of 21 yrs.
My children and grandchildren
My parents
My health and that of my family
My home
My friends

I could list more but these are just a few. Each member of our family always tells what they are thankful for while we are at the table. Today was no different and we as a family have so much to be thankful for.

Update on Mike: he was in surgery for 10hrs. on yesterday and this will be his last surgery! God has been so good to us. He is gaining strength everyday and is  fighting with all he has. We are looking forward to the day we can bring him home to celebrate.

Wishing each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving
Wendy

Flower Fairy RR Blocks

I tried three times to post this last night and it just would not do it. So, I am giving it a go again this afternoon. I have been working on a few more of the flower fairy rr blocks and have mailed them off. The first one is Cathy's block and I think this is my favorite block of all. Not that this block is prettier than the others, but that each stitch was put in place during the first hours and days of the accident. This little block kept me sane during the long hours of waiting until we knew if Mike would live or not. I have always favored the apple blossom fairies anyhow, but this block was worked on during a trying time for us as a family. I will always think of Mike when I see this particular fairy flitting about. It was really hard to mail this one on, but she is making her way to Marci and eventually home to Cathy to live and give enjoyment. I hope Cathy likes what I have done to her block. I know I enjoyed working on it.

The next block belongs to Karrin and is a pretty block if I do say so myself. I enjoyed working on this block for her and hope she likes what I have added. This was a fun block as well to work on and was also hard to stop adding to it.

I am now working on Marci's block and hope to have it finished by next week-end and in the mail to her. I have mailed out some swap items, but cannot post about them until they reach their new homes. That's it on the crafty side for  today.

Update on Mike: He had a trach put in today to remove the tubes from his mouth and throat area as he has developed thrush from the tubing. They also inserted a feeding tube into his stomach since he cannot eat at this time. The blood clot is still in his lung but shows no signs of movement as they placed an umbrella above and below to keep it from moving. Hopefully after all the surgeries they can try and dissolve the clot. For now he is off all blood thinner because it causes him to bleed out. All in all Misty said he is having a good day today as she is the only one allowed back in his trauma unit to see him at this time. So we sit and wait with her between visitations and someone stays with her at night.

Happy Stitching
Wendy

Gratitudes:
1) That I serve an awesome heavenly Father
2) My loving family
3) Another day granted to me so I can make a difference in someone elses life.

Update on Mike

Well I have some updating to do on RR and such, but first I want to give an update on Mike. Last Monday they called all the family in not expecting Mike to make it through the night. God has once again pulled him through. He has taken a turn for the better praise God! After having bottomed out and losing so much blood ( he has needed 28 pints thus far) the dr. did not have much hope. But he has come through and is doing much better. Mike has went from 100% on the respirator to 10%, which is very good. They have brought him out of the drug induced coma and he is alert although unable to talk due to the vent. They did another surgery on him yesterday to put a rod in his femur. All went well and no complications from surgery like the last time. He is alert although in pain, which for us and him is great news. They did another xray on his right hip as it was to be done in surgery next, but the Dr. said it looked like it had algned itself and was knitting back together like it should! Praise God! Some may not believe like we do, but we know that God has set that hip and started the healing process. So that leaves only three more surgeries to go. Both on his ankles and the lower right leg. Things are looking up. Yes there is going to be a long process of these surgeries and then rehab as he will have to learn to walk again, but at least he is alive and able to do so. It could have been much worse. God is still God and He has done miraculous things for our family during all this. For those of you who have commented and said prayers for us thank you. We appreciate all the prayers and thoughts of all of you. They mean so much to us as a family and my sister and her family. God is so good to us!  Please continue to keep Mike and his family in your prayers as his progress goes forth. I will be updating on him weekly to let those who want to know about his recovery. You can come here if you like. I am so glad that my big bear of a brother is doing so much better. He is well loved by all of us and we can't wait until we can bring him home again. Again thank you for all the prayers and comments.

Wendy

Secret Angel Stitcher Gifts Arrived/ Update on Mike

Hi everyone, first let me give an update on Mike. They did surgery on him yesterday to stabalize his femur in his left leg. It is broken in two places and had nicked his aorta artery which is why he kept losing blood. As of yesterday post surgery he has had eight pints of blood. They did not fix the bone they just stabalized it and repaired the artery. Tomorrow they will be going back into surgery to rebrake his pelvic bone and reset it. As long as he stays stable they will continue with the surgeries until all is completed. Which means four more to go after tomorrows surgery to fix both hips, a crushed ankle, a broken ankle and another broken leg (lower small bone on this one). Please continue to keep him in your prayers. As it stands now, the Dr.s are hoping to get all these surgeries completed so Mike will have a better chance of walking again. The longer it takes the worse the prognosis. But we serve a big God and we know that He is still in control. We are praying for a complete recovery. Please also pray for my sister Misty as she will not leave his side. She was supposed to go for a second mamogram on this Friday as they had found a large mass in her breast. Their family is under a lot of stress at the moment and need all your prayers. Thank you so much to those who have emailed or left a comment on my blog about them. We truly appreciate your prayers.

Now for my crafty part of this post. Today in the mail I recieved my gift box from my Stitchers Angel swap partner. Her name is Gina and I was and still am totally blowed away. She just blessed my socks off is all I can say. Everything in my package is Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And she made everything according to my tastes and what I love. Everyone who has ever visited my blog knows I have a love affair with batik fabric and peacocks. My box was full of peacocks and batiks. I cannot say enough about how beautiful and thoughtful each gift is. I will treasure them always. Take a look at my bountiful blessing for today. Again thank you Gina. This is all of them before I opened them. Also there was some candy, but we have already eaten that!

Soap and a Scrubber

all the gifties again

A wonderful crocheted pot holder

A candle, look at the little flowers.

Gorgeous Batik fabric!

A peacock pin in my birthstone color

A peacock blue stocking

The most Gorgeously Beautiful Peacock Quilt!!!!!!!!!

A wonderful pin cushion.

last but not least a peacock hair barrette! The pic does not do it justice!

Gina has been the best ever stitchers angel swap partner! I love it all and I will treasure each item that you made for me. The quilt will become a family treasure to pass down through the generations. It looks lovely in my peacock room. Thank you again.

Wendy

Updating and an Award

Good morning everyone, it seems I have adopted a get up before daylight policy!lol. I have already had a few cuppas and decided to go ahead and post while I had the oportunity as I will be keeping my grannephew while Mike has surgery on today. They are going to put a rod in his thigh and rebuild his right ankle that was crushed on today. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts. This is a pic of my son, I did promise not to show the pic of his side and stomach where he was burned by the asphalt. But I did want to share this pic of him today. His glasses were destroyed in the accident so he can't see very well and the flash did not help any. He gets his new ones next week. Hard to believe he is my youngest. They grow up so fast.

Here is a pic of Bliss, she is my middle daughter and is a wonderful daughter also. These are the last at home, my oldest daughter is living in Georgia since the summer and I have no recent pics of her. She is expecting her third child in Feb. as of yet we still do not know if we are having a boy or girl.

Ok now for crafty and bloggy stuff.......My friend Martine was my secret angel last year in the Stitchers Angel swap. She has sent me the cutest little gnome for my birthday which is Friday. Yes I did open it early but just a little early. Anyhow, I wanted to post a pic of this and say a big thank you to Martine for my lovely gift and for thinking of me. Martine is very talented and you should go on over to her blog which is here: http://martinejannaas.web-log.nl/  and check out her work. She is making basket quilts to just drool over. Lots of eye candy. Thank you again Martine for my lovely little gnome.

I have recieved part of my parcel from Cheryl over at "Willowberry Designs" from her drawing. I will wait to post pics until the balance of the package arrives so I can show it all at one time. Let me tell you though, the prize is full of yummy fabrics and great patterns can't wait to share with you. I do have some stitching to share, but will have to post pics later as Dewi has arrived with the baby. Will post again soon to update on the Flower Fairy RR and of course the Black/White RR. Until then happy stitching. Also, Gerry has given me the Kreative Blogger award and I will be doing that on my next post also. Thank you for the award Gerry.

Wendy

Gratitudes:

1.) that I serve an all powerful God!

2.) my family and friends

3.) that no matter what happens in my day I am still blessed!

A Miracle For Our Family x3

Hello everyone. I just had to take a moment this morning to tell of a miracle that happened for our family on yesterday. As everyone knows this has been a hard month on my family and yesterday it rained down on us again. But in the midst of our troubles God has given us three miracles in one day. On yesterday morning my son, my nephew and my wonderful brother-in-law was in a head on crash. A lady fell asleep at the wheel while driving at a high rate of speed and came into their lane and hit them head on at the same time they were hit from behind causing the truck they were in to roll. My son was sitting next to the door on the passenger side while Elijah was in the middle with Mike driving. None had seatbelts on! which for my son has never happened before. (when questioned he said he just felt like he shouldn't put it on at the time so he didn't) The state trooper said had he had his seat belt on he would have been killed on impact of the roll over. As you can see from the pics his side was completely crushed to level of the window. You see I say a miracle times 3 for this reason. All three are alive. The boys have no major injuries. They are sore today. Coy had a 10" road rash on his right side, a small black eye and a chin bruise and cut. Elijah has a headache and is sore! Thats two miracles, that is the only injuries that these two young men recieved. Mike was not as lucky in injuries. His injuries are as follows: both hips have multiple fractures, pelvice is fractured, left femure in his thigh is broken, left ankle is broken, right lower leg is broken, right ankle is crushed, cut deep into the muscle on his upper right arm, an aortic bleed requiring 3pints of blood and brusing and scratches all over. Yet with all that he is miracle 3. They should all be dead, yet by the grace of the God that we serve they are all alive. Although yesterday was a hard day it was a good day for us. Our children are alive and Mike will recover. All because God had His hand upon our loved ones. When we got to the scene of the accident my son said " God is so good"! And He is so good to us. I thank Him for the three miracles that He gave us on yesterday. The month of October has been a hard one on us, but I will not complain as God is in control of all things. And I am so thankful that through it all God is the constant faithful and peaceful force of our lives. Everyday we encounter many things in our lives that we are not even aware of that God protects us from. And when He openly gives us a miracle, I will be faithful to openly praise Him and give Him the glory for His works in our lives. So thank you God for the three miracles on yesterday and for the miracle of my mom on last week. You are forever my strong tower and protector! There is no denying that there is a God who cares for His children and I give HIM praise for keeping my family alive on yesterday!                

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Wendy

Second Post: Crafty Update

This is my little bag from the "Friendship Bag" swap over on Quilting Gallery. Isn't it lovely! I just love it. It came all the way from Italy. My swap partner was Claudia. I love the fabric she used in the little bag. The colors are so yummy and the inside lining has little birds on it. So cute! These are the neatest little bags and will make great Christmas gifties as they are so easy and quick to sew up. I am going to be making some this year.

My swap partner also sent me a cute pin cushion to match with these lovely butterfly pins. There was a pretty purple one but my lovely daughter Bliss took it! She said I could share the wealth!lol. A few posts ago I showed the little bag that I sent to my partner. Thank you so much Claudia. These little gifties are so timely for me since it has been a stressful month they have added a little sunshine to my day!

I received this swap item in the mail last week. It is my mug hug swap. My partner was Jeanette from New Zealand. She should be getting hers soon also, until then I cannot post a pic of what I sent. This was a fun swap consisting of a coaster and cup/mug hugger. These would make great little Christmas gifties.
This is the full shot of both trees that I put on Beth's block. I was in a Fantasy Landscape RR on CQFN until my mom had her stroke. I dropped out because I did not know if I could keep up my end on time because at the time we did not know how bad my mom was. This is the work I did for Beth and the only block I got to work on. Hopefully next time I can join them again. I enjoyed working on Beth's block as her theme was Bridge to Teribithia and she said it would be a good block for trees. Hope she likes what I did to her block.
This is a willow tree. I had fun making this one. I just love willows, my mom has one out back at her house that is just lovely.
This is a type of pine tree I did for Beth's block
I have received my block back from the group today. Janet and Lesa have worked on my block and I will post pics of it later. The camera battery is charging. I will finish this block on my own since I had to drop out of the RR.

I also had to drop out of the Winter/Christmas 2 RR on CQI when all this happened. I did not even get to mail out my blocks on this one. I am going to work on them myself. I have decided to work on them each week when I take mom for her Dr.'s appt. Since she has to go weekly it will be time well spent stitching for me. I should be able to finish them soon. I will post pics of those later also. They are so cute. I used some penguin fabric I had and did a winter theme.

Again a big thank you for those who have been sending up prayers for my mom. God has answered and been so good to us.

Until next time,

Happy Stitching

Wendy

Just a Quick Update

Hi everyone, first let me thank each and everyone who has sent up a prayer for my mom. We so appreciate it. God has been good to us and has answered so many prayers since moms stroke. She is much better and everyday there is improvement. The stroke specialist said the type of stroke she had is not fatal and that she will totally recover. Praise God for that! He is so faithful! Her Dr. said that a small blood clot left her heart and caused the stroke which affected her left side. They have placed her on blood thinners and are hopeful that she will not have anymore. When she had her heart surgeries 2yrs. ago they did not feel she needed to be on any blood thinners. But, since this bloodclot left her heart they have decided it is time to put her on them. It has taken a while to regulate her meds and may take a little longer. Her blood check today said it was too thin, so we are still in the adjustment stage. She will have to have her blood checked on a weekly basis but this is a small thing considering what it could have been. She is feeling much stronger each and every day. She has seen a physical and occupational therapist and they have given her the green light. And we are so blessed to have her with us. She has had heart problems since she was 14 and she is now 75yrs. young! And has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure 2yrs. ago. So for us each day with her is more precious than the previous day. We just trust God to take care of her through the good and the bad. She has all the use of her left leg again and is gaining strength daily. Still a little wobbly but doing good considering she couldn't move it at all last week! She told me today she was ready to start quilting again as she has a quilt in frames she was working on when this happened. She has pieced 7 quilts over the summer and is quilting them for Christmas gifts for each of her grandchildren. I have volunteered to help her bind them as she wants to do all the quilting and she is determined to get them all done. Please continue to pray for her that her strength will return full force. As for me........I am tired but ok. I have had to rearrange a few things but other than that all is well on my end. Again thank you for praying for my mom.

Wendy

Prayers Needed

Hi everyone, just a quick note to update and ask those who pray to please pray for my mom as she has had a stroke. That is the reason my blog has been so quiet. I have not had time to update and post. I have swap updates and other items that I will update on soon. I have mailed out most all swaps except my post cards and they will be a little late. Please bear with me on these. I will post again when I can to update on projects and my mom. I am working on RR hand projects while with her and will mail them out when due. I will be back with updates when I can. Thank you in advance for all your prayers for my mom. Her name is Marie and we appreciate the prayers. We are trusting God for full recovery.

Keep Stitching,
Wendy

Free Motion Quilting

Okay if you are a sane/traditional quilter you need to go and check out Leah's blog you can fine her here: http://www.365daysoffreemotionquilting.blogspot.com She is doing 365 days of free motion quilting. Everyday she is doing a new design for the whole year and she is up to day 52 I believe. I hit it everyday to see what she is doing and then I am going to do a 5" practice square to familiarize myself with the stitch. This is going to be fun. I will be posting my little challenges on my blog as I get them done. But I will have to play catch up since she is now on day 52. I think I will do the current day and one of the previous days until I catch up with her. I think that would make it easy for me to catch up with her. So.......if you are a sane quilter you should pay her a visit and see what she has to offer. So far she has had some great filler stitches.
Happy Stitching,
Wendy

I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to post this as I just found out that I won one of the Under The Gum Trees drawings. I won Cheryl of Willowberry Designs drawing! I am doing the happy dance. I love her work, you need to go over there and check out her blog! While there look at her patterns and such, she is a great designer. You can find her here: http://www.willowberrydesigns.typepad.com/
Now all I have to do is wait patiently for it to arrive across the pond.............patiently wait.........lol


Toodles,
Wendy doing the happy dance!!

Whew How Time Flies!

Okay, I have been working on something and here is a sneak peek. Can't show it all to you as it is a giftie for someone. When they receive it I will post a full pic of it then. As you can see from this post I have been busy although not with posting. Sorry about that but my time has really been crunched with working on several projects with deadlines and doing some remakes on others. Add dr. appts, sitting at hospital and just doing regular family stuff and you will see why I have not been posting. Although I have been busy. I have several more projects finishing up and when they arrive at their destinations I will post pics of them here. In the meantime, I will have other items to post about.


This is the quilt I made for the "Good Ol Summertime" mini quilt swap over on Quilting Gallery. I hope my swap partner likes what I have made her. The lines you see is not thread but the binding pinned in place before it was sewn down. This was a fun little quilt to do and I enjoyed making it.



This is the bag I made for the "Friendship Bag" swap over on Quilting Gallery. I did mine in black and white as that seems to be really popular right now. It was fun and quick. I will be making more of these for gifties at Christmas.

The inside of the bag. I love this fabric and I think I will make myself a larger bag with some of the black/white I have been buying for my stash.
This is what I put inside of the bag. Some moda fat quarters and enough black/white squares to make a mini quilt with if she likes.

This is the next Flower Fairy block I had worked on. I did do more work on it, but forgot to take another pic. Anyhow, this is some of what I did to this block. I just love her sitting in the tree amid the blossoms.
I had been seeing these spools all over blogland and really wanted some of them. Well I hit the sweeps on these babies! I purchased 15 of these at the thrift store for $5.oo. I hope that was a good buy, if not I still wanted them enough to purchase them. I do feel like I got them for a great bargain and I will be looking out for more. I plan to put my lace and ric rac on them. Maybe if I do that it will stay neater in the bins or I may display them in a glass jar or in this wooden bowl after I paint it.
Well hope everyone has a great rest of the week. By the by does anyone know what the above spools were actually used for? Just curious.

Happy Stitching,

Wendy

A Giveaway from "Our Cozy Nest"

Nicole over at www.cozynest.blogspot.com is having a wonderful giveaway. You need to go on over and sign up by leaving a comment. You can earn more than one entry if you follow the rules. So hurry this ends on Monday and you still have time.

Need more incentive? She is giving away a charm pack from Moda called "Hushabye" by Tula Pink. This fabric is awesome, so go on over and enjoy the fun!

Happy Stitching,
Wendy

Something I Have Been Working On

This is a little project that I have been working on for someone and it is now ready to be quilted. I call it Lilly's Sunset. Now to quilt it and send it on to its new owner.

I found these great star bowls for .25 each that were left over from the 4th of July. I will be using them at Christmas to put candy and such in. Aren't they great I bought six of them to use for the upcoming Christmas holidays.

I am working on more items but cannot post pics as of yet. I also need to post pics of the last Flower Fairy block and will do that one day next week. I am caught up on everything finally and will have more pics to show when some packages arrive at their destinations. Have a good afternoon everyone.

Happy Stitching,

Wendy

August Finish A New Quilt for Riddick

I finally finished Riddicks quilt for my August finish and made some pics after washing and drying. It turned out really cute. I am so used to hand quilting and doing this one by machine has been a real learning curve for me. It was a lot harder to move around than I thought it would be. It seemed to drag from the weight I guess. Anyhow, I finally got it finished and now my arms are really sore! But it was worth it as it was a great practice piece for me. I have been doing mini quilts on the machine but this one is baby size and took more effort on my part. I think I did pretty good. I am working my way up to full size by machine. Although there will be some that I will always do by hand, I do want to be able to machine quilt really well. That way I can quilt quickly if need be and still have one in the frames as a slow work in progress. I love to hand quilt as it is so relaxing. Anyhow, here are a couple of pics.
For those of you who do not know who Riddick is here is a pic of him being studious!lol He is such a sweet, sweet boy. My constant companion and joyful little friend.

Anyhow, he was very happy to get his new quilt. Dachshunds love to tunnel and hide themselves in cover. Now he can be all cozy with his quilt.

New Swap

Hi everyone, I have joined a new swap over at Jenny's you can find her here http://elefantz.blogspot.com to join. Sign ups will close on Sep. 4th will a mail out date of Sep. 25th. You are making a small mug mat and a mug hug. They are small and simple to make. So go on over and sign up if you want to join in on some more fun. I am already making mine. Also these would make great gifts.

Later,
Wendy

Nina in Norway is having a blogversary

Hi everyone, Nina over at www.ninainnorway.blogspot.com is having her third yr. blogversary. Go on over and wish her a happy one and sign up for her giveaway. While there have a look see at her blog and all she has to offer.
Happy Stitching,
Wendy

WIP

This post may look hodge podge to everyone, but I promise it was blogger and not me!!!!lol. I sometimes hate to try and post because it is such a chore. Today is one of those times. Maybe I will have better luck tomorrow. I am now through with my rant!!!!!! On to the good stuff......

Below is the flannel fabric that I am working on a raggy quilt for the new baby that my daughter Frostie is expecting Feb. 12th. We could have a Valentine baby if it comes around her due date. Her birthday is the 5th of Feb, so I hope she misses that date so they can have separate birthdays. She is high risk, so we are praying for a healthy and on time baby.

These are the first four blocks put together on the first raggy quilt for the new baby. I am trying to do non-gender specific quilts for now. And do one specifically for the baby when we find out if Frostie is having a girl or boy.

Are these not lovely! I love the tee pee as it reminds me of my 5th great-grandmother she was an Blackfoot Indian princess. These are some recent acquisitions from swaps that I have been in. I love to collect post cards. If anyone would like to swap one to one just email me at stitchduchess2@yahoo.com and I will swap with you.



I decided to post some pics of the post cards that are in progress. These will be sent out at the end of the week. Also I am having to redo two that never arrived to their destinations. That happens sometimes, more often believe it or not it is when I mail to Canada. Of course I have had it to happen to other places, but Canada is the one most often to not reach its destination. So, that leads me to believe that someone on this side or that side of the border likes the post cards that I send. Anyhow, these are the ones that are on my work table at the moment. The fuzzy thread will go around the edge when finished. These first two are the remakes. The thread to the side will go around the outer edge of the finished card.

The bear starts the new sets of post cards that are in process. I just love this bear.

These are going to be so cool when finished. I am going to put black eyelash yarn for the mane and around the finished edge of these.

Another set of zebra.....I love the way these look on this fabric. I actually cut the image out of a different fabric and then zigzagged around the edge.
The last of the zebras. Although I am going to have to make one for me to keep since I like them so much

I get so irritated with blogger sometimes. I can't get my pics to move like I want them today!Arg..................Anyhow, these are some post cards that I have received lately the rest are at the top of the post because blogger would not let me move them down here. These are also very lovely cards.

I have more that I need to post but will wait for another day since blogger does not want to be nice today! Anyhow, I need to get back to work on some more projects.Will be posting pics soon of those. One is the mini summer quilt, but with blogger messing with me today I will wait to post those.

Happy Stitching Everyone,

Wendy

A Fun Drawing

Pat Winters is having a fun drawing for this cute little bird nest necklace. Go on over to her blog and leave a comment on that particular post. You have to scroll down to find it, but she will be drawing the winner on this coming Sat. So you still have time to enter. You can go here: http://www.gatherings100.blogspot.com/ and leave her a comment. Please do not copy this photo as it belongs to Pat Winter.

Edited: I don't know what happened with the link above but it was not working properly. I have now fixed the problem and am so sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused anyone. It now works like it should.

Wendy

Another Project In My Future

Well I have finally gotten around to actually making a Dear Jane quilt. This one is being done as a block of the month. The thing I really like about it is it is going to be in bright rainbow colors! Colors that I really like. And it being a block of the month makes it doable for me. I will receive fabric and directions for 10 blocks each month starting in October and it is a 24 month bom. Which is good for me, surely I will be able to do 10 blocks a month. Then at the end of 24 months I will have a completed Dear Jane quilt. I am so excited about this. If anyone wants to make this rainbow Jane you need to go on over to www.twiddletails.com and sign up. Sign ups for this particular bom is very limited due to the color scheme. Or you can click the button on my sidebar to go and sign up. This is going to be a fun and wonderful quilt when finished. I just wanted to give those who have been sitting on the fence like me a chance to sign up and go for it. I have wanted to do one of these for the longest time so I am going to take the plunge.

On another note, thank you to all who have commented on my back with well wishes. It is getting better. I am doing some yoga and pilates and it is helping. Also, thank each of you for your kind words about my work. I don't always take the time to answer all the comments, but I do read them and thank each of you in turn for taking time out of your busy schedules to visit here and leave such nice comments. If you ask a question I do try and answer so come back and check it out often to find your answer.

I don't have any pics today but I am working on a few things. I found out I was going to be a gran again from my oldest daughter with her due date being 12th of Feb. I am working on a baby quilt for her now as I want to make more than one. I will post pics soon of the one I am working on. It is a raggy quilt (the first one I have made like this) and is Winnie the Pooh theme since that is what she is doing for the nursery. This one is made of all flanels of some pooh fabric that I have had for a few yrs. The next one will be Pooh themed also, but out of 100% cotton fabrics. I am trying to decide on a design for this one. I am thinking on fussy cutting the characters so I may use stars or churn dash to showcase them. I will try and post pics of the fabric later on today if I have time.
Happy Stitching Everyone,
Wendy

A little updating

OK so everyone knows that when you sign up for a swap you never know what you are going to receive. Especially if it is a secret swap. Well I am in the Good Ol Summertime Mini Quilt Swap over on http://www.quiltinggallery.com/ . My swap partner has finished and sent my quilt out. It arrived in yesterdays mail! Talk about being surprised. WOW, I was so happy when I opened the package and pulled out this little quilt. It is absolutely gorgeous! Its a mermaid quilt! I love mermaids (so does my dd Bliss)......I will probably have to keep an eye on this one as she will want to take it from me!lol. Anyhow, my partner is Ann from WV and she has done an absolute wonderful job on this little quilt. I had looked at the flicker site just yesterday morning and seen this little quilt and thought what a beautiful and fun quilt. Now its all mine and I am absolutely in love with! Thank you very much Ann you have gave me a treasure! Now I just need to hang it.




Now I must finish up my little quilt. The deadline to have them made and in the mail is September 21st, 2009. I should have mine completed over this next week or so and will post pics of my work then.

I have been in a couple of pc swaps and these are some of the post cards that I have sent out. These are for a separate swap:

This is set 1:

This is set 2:

This is set 3:

I love making and sending out post cards. They are quick little pieces of art and are so much fun to send out in the mail. I will post pics of my received cars when camera battery is charged again.

I feel like I am forgetting something but if I am I will post about it next time. Until next time Happy Stitching,

Wendy

Jo's having a giveaway!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to tell you about a great giveaway that is going on right now. Jo over on her blog which is found here www.nzjo.blogspot.com . I have been following her for a couple of yrs. now and I enjoy seeing all her fabulous work. She is a very talented needle artist. She makes the most amazing bags and pin cushions. You should go on over and check out her blog.

She also has an etsy shop that you should check out. She sells bags, stockings and of course her fabulous pin cushions. Go here: www.nzjo.etsy.com


She also has an etsy shop for vinatage goodies that are oh so yummy! You can find all of them here: www.VintageVices.etsy.com

Go on over and check out her sites and while there you may decide to buy one of her creations or maybe her book of seam treatments.

Wendy

The Next Block In The Black/White RR and Some Sad News

First my sad news, a friend of mine in TX passed away on Tuesday evening leaving behind a 16yr. old son and loving family. For all who knew Gail, she will be missed deeply. She was an inspiration and blessing to all those whom she knew. My life was touched by knowing her. Please keep the White family in your prayers during this hard time.

The next block I had was Nancy's block in the Black/White RR over on CQI. This little block had 10 seams and the patches were small so I decided to do seam treatments only. I think it turned out nicely as the patches were too small for motifs to look good with all the seams completed. I did however do one black ribbon rose on one center patch. I hope Nancy will like what I have done.

1. Diamond shape done in outline stitch with beading and sequins with straight stitch fans
2. Cretan stitch with detached chain 3. Double herringbone 4. Ribbon Flowers on white lace 5. Detached chain 6. Buttonhole stitch with beading 7. Sheaf stitch 8. Zig Zag chain stitch with straight stitch and french knots 9. Beaded feather stitch 10. Ric Rac seam with beading and sequins on upper seam. Lower seam detached chain 11. Black silk ribbon flower on patch

This block was a challenge as it was wonky, but I think it turned out really nice for Nancy. There is a lot of seams for such a small block and I think it works with just the seams being embellished and not patches. Hope you like it Nancy.

Now to work on my next Flower Fairy block which is one of my favorites as it is the Apple Blossom Fairy! I already have in mind how I will do this next block.

On another note, my back is better but I am not pain free. I am trying to lay down several times during the day when possible to help. It seems to be better when I do this. It is the nerve in my lower back that runs down the side of your hip. So I am learning to be careful and rest more. Which is very hard for me. Other than that I am getting along and trying to get my projects out as they come due. I have sent out a pin cushion swap and am getting a little concerned as I have not seen my partner post that she has received it as of yet. It went to Germany and I don't know how long that takes as I have not mailed there before. I am contacting the swap mom to see if she can find out since this is a secret swap. Hopefully I will know in a few days. Hope everyone is getting plenty of stitching time in. Happy Stitching, Wendy