We Have A Winner!!!!!!

LETS CELEBRATE!!!!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!! I used a random number generator and the number was 27 and guess who that was! Congratulations goes out to KARRIN HURD, so if you will email me at stitchduchess2@yahoo.com with your snail mail addy I will get your package off in the mail to you. As I said in a previous post if you prefer to have a crazy quilting squishie let me know and I will swap it out.

A big thank you for all those who left such nice comments and joined in on the fun. I had so much fun with this drawing that I may do it again very soon.

Happy Stitching Everyone,

A Nice Link

I was surfing thread sites a few weeks ago and found this which is a nice little pamphlet tutorial on embroidery stitches, I had meant to put it here with a link and forgot about it until today when I was visiting Karen Souths blogspothttp://karensouth.blogspot.com/ and she had it listed on her blog. This caused me to remember to put it here for you. You can find it here http://www.coats.com/ on the needlework page. It has some basic stitches for embroidery. They have been offering this little pamphlet since 1940 to those who might need it. They also offer one on "Huck" weaving on the same page that you will find this one.

As always Happy Stitching,

Death By Chocolate Cake

This cake is one that I make my youngest son once a year, usually on his birthday but this year we were not in our own home and so he wanted me to wait. Well today I baked his cake for him. I started making this cake because he has a really biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig sweeeeeeeeeet tooth! I am not kidding. Although he gets it honest from me, I love anything sweet but mainly chocolate. Anyhow, I came up with this cake to satisfy his sweet tooth for cake. Boy does it ever, as this cake is so rich. It has 5lbs of chocolate along with the cake being chocolate and of course the icing as well. It is so rich that you have to eat it in small slices or be on a high sugar rush.lol The inside is all nice and gooey just like he likes it. The bottom forms a candy bar like layer. If you have a chocoholic, this cake is for them. I came up with the recipe myself and he absolutely loves it. The picture would have been better if it had been made before he started eating on it. But as always he could not wait, he actually barely waited long enough for it to cool so I could ice it.lol He said we needed taste and smell pics! It does smell and taste heavenly to be sure.

Also, I found these two neat napkin holders over the weekend. They are made out of silver and are signed and dated by the artist. They are really cute and for $1.00 I could not pass them up.

I think this is all for today, as I do not have anything else to post about. I did get up one of my design walls today. I have enough wall space to have two in this sewing room unless I have to use the extra wall for storage later on. I put up a few things today and did some stitching, but other than that I have not accomplished much. Until next time,

Happy Stitching,

More Pics

Ok finally I am able to upload the rest of the pics for the drawing plus several more that I have. Don't forget that Friday is the day of the drawing so be sure and check back to see if you won. This has been a lot of fun to put together. This is a complete shot of the goodies.

Another pic of the fabric:

And another:And another this one of the thread, which is regular sewing thread.

These photo's give a better idea of what the squishie is made up of. Below is a list of what is in this particular squishie.
1. Thread pack
2. Needle Book
3.Beaded Embellishments
4.Water Soluble Marking Pencil in White
5.Oriental Fabric
6.Pastel Rose Fabric
7.Pastel Stripe Fabric
8.Pansy Fabric
9.Pink Flower/Butterfly Fabric
10.Pink Paisley/Flower Fabric
11.Butterfly Fabric
12.Fall Leaves Fabric
13.Christmas Fabric Boxes/Bears
14.Christmas Fabric Snowman
15.Set of Note Cards

If you happen to be a crazy quilter and would prefer a squishie with appropriate fabrics for crazy quilting I will substitute those for the sane/traditional fabrics if you prefer. Keep that in mind if your name is picked. Just two more days until the drawing and I hope everyone has signed up and if not you still have a little time left to do so.

Happy Stitching,

A Big Thank You

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has been praying for my daughter and her situation. She is doing much better physically and she is making strides mentally with all that has happened. Court date has been set, protection order is in place and we know that God is going to keep her safe and work in this situation for her. Again, thank each and everyone who has been praying on her behalf as a mother in means a lot to know that heaven is being bombarded with the prayers of the righteous. And as always I know the King I serve is always faithful to answer the prayers of His children.

Quick Update

Whew.......this has been a busy past week and weekend. I feel like I have been in a marathon race at times (mentally).lol Anyhow, I have finished some projects that I have been working on and am finished with another swap and one more swap almost finished. I have been busy trying to unpack my sewing room finally! With everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks it had gotten placed on hold. I am still not finished as I have to acquire more storage for my fabric and crochet thread. There is no closet in this room (old Victorian home) so I will need more shelving and such. I think I will use those hanging sweater racks for the closets and run a curtain rod along one wall. That way I can add more as needed. I am going to try and do all of that this week so I can start sewing in there instead of my dining room. Not only that just having all my sewing, needlework and crafting supplies in one room will be very nice for a change.

Below is a pick of my "Secret Stitching Angel" gifts that I have completed and sent on their way across the pond to my swap angel. I hope she enjoys them as much as I have enjoyed making them. I made a thread bucket, needle case and a pin cushion. I had started to do them in different colorways but decided to go with all blue and white. I am very pleased with the way they turned out. I really enjoyed working and participating in this wonderful swap hosted by Helen over on http://hugsnkisses.typepad.com/ . I have really had a wonderful time looking at all the blogs listed. There are some really talented ladies in this world and it is so nice to make new friends. I cannot wait until the next swap that Helen puts together as this one has been so rewarding.

My gifts should be arriving any day so I will post this small pic of them. Next is some pics of some of the items to be in the squishie that I am giving away on Friday, I will draw the name at 9:00am central time USA.

ok, I have several more pics to upload and for some reason I cannot seem to be able to upload the pics. I will try again later in the day. I have more fabric and such to show you but blogger is being contrary today. Anyhow, this will give you a small sneak peak at what will be arriving for the winner of the drawing. As always, Happy Stitching,

100th Post Celebration!!!!!!!!!!!

It's celebration time! I have finally reached my 100th post!!!!! Thought it would take me forever. In celebration of that I will be having a drawing on Oct. 31 for this great occasion. Stop by and leave a comment on this particular post and I will enter you in the drawing. If you put this on your blog I will add your name a second time. So come on and tell all your friends to come by and put their name in for the drawing. I will put up pics of the giveaway on Monday as I am putting it together now.
Happy Stitching,

Update on Carol's Block

Well I have finished my part on Carol's block and it is now on its way to the next person which is Amy over at http://www.inthefold.com/ you should visit her if you have a chance as she has some wonderful things going on over there. Anyhow, on this block I did a beaded crochet motif, a fly stitch lace seam and a web with spider. I like the way they all turned out and I hope that Carol likes what I have done to her block. I really enjoyed working on this block. I have one more to do and then this rr will be complete. I have Amy's block and will start on it this weekend. Here are the pics of Carols block, please enjoy!

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Please Pray

I wanted this post to be seperate from my block update post. I want to ask all those who read my blog to pray if you pray for my eldest daughter and her family. She was at work on yesterday and she was beaten up. She does home healthcare visits to elderly people. She was with an eighty yr. old patient yesterday when they heard someone yelling and cussing outside the lady's door. My daughter went outside to ask them to please be quiter since it was upsetting her patient. She was then attacked and beaten about the head and chest. She is very bruised and shook up to say the least. They arrested him and put him in jail and they do have a court date. The horrible thing is it was her ex-husband that she has been divorced from for 13yrs. She now has a protective order for her and her family until the court date. Please pray for safety and peace for her. She is very upset and sore today. Thankfully there was no broken bones, but a lot of swelling and bruising. He is a 4th degree blackbelt in karate and now she is very fearful for her life. Also, pray for peace for the elderly lady as she is very upset as she witnessed the whole thing and could do nothing but call 911. I thank each and every one of you in advance for all your prayers.

Mail Call WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOW, is all I can say. My mail-lady was really good to me on today. As you know I am in a swap called Stitching Angels over at Helen's place at http://hugsnkisses.typepad.com/ You should go over and visit her, lots of wonderful goodies and some free patterns from different designers on her site. Anyhow, I signed up along with over 200 other ladies to be a secret stitcher. We were to make three homemade gifts and send them by the end of this month to our secret stitching angel. Well mine came today and I am so blown away by my secret angels generosity. Not only did she make me three wonderful and gorgeous items, but she also sent me fat quarters sequin trim, loose sequins, embroidery floss, some lace, a beaded/sequin motif ( which of course will find their way into one of my crazy quilt projects) and a little card. It all is just gorgeous, and the fabric is like she has been in my sewing room and knows what I like. It is all so lovely. The only thing is, she still did not tell me her name! So my secret stitching angel when you read this post please comment and identify yourself. All I know is she is from the Netherlands, a place by the way that I have always wanted to travel to. Thank you so much for all the lovely handmade gifts and the bounty of extras that you sent to me. I am so happy and have a very thankful heart. Wishing you the best and many happy hours of stitching. Thank you.The photo does not really do the items justice, but the lighting is not good at this time of day so I will take a photo out of doors in the morning and post a better pic.

My items will be going in the mail on Friday to my swap partner and it will be making a long journey across the big pond. I hope she likes what I have made and what I am sending her. So be looking for a package in the mail on next week. Wonder who I am sending it to? This has been a very fun swap and I hope that Helen does this again. This is a wonderful way to make new friends around the world.

Happy Stitching,

Small update

Well this has been a rough past week and weekend I will not elaberate on the emergency just that it involved my grandaughter. This week is the week I will be using to catch up on everything. I did manage to get my postcards out in the mail, so those of you who I have swapped with in the fall/autumn swap on stitchin fingers, know that they are on the way to you. Pics are posted below, but I will not say who gets what card that way it will be a surprise when it does arrive. I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making them. This has been a really fun swap and I enjoy making postcards. I am actually gathering fabric to make Christmas postcards now. Hmmmmm........maybe a swap there as well. I like to send pc's instead of regular cards for the holidays, who knows maybe you are on my list. Never can tell about that.

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall season as much as I am. This is one of my favorite times of the year. All the glorious colors on the trees and bushes. I lived in Texas for eleven yrs. and forgot how beautiful Alabama was in the fall. Although I love Texas, this is one thing that I did miss while there.

Happy Stitching,

Squishie Has Arrived!

Well the post-lady was really good to me on today! I received two pc's and my squishie from LouAnne today! I am doing the happy dance.lol LouAnne over at http://gettingtocrazy.blogspot.com/ had a drawing for her 3 year blogversary and I won! Well just let me tell you what an awesome squishie she sent to me, wow tons of fabric, lace, ribbon, thread, beads, buttons, charms, floss, silkies etc. below are pics of my squishie and all the goodies she sent. I have been drooling over all the wonderfully delicious fabrics etc. Thank you again LouAnne for your generosity. If you have time you should stop by her blog and check it out. She does amazing work and I know you will love all the eye candy.
Is that not an awesome haul or what! Next is some pics of the pc's that I have received from the fall swap I am in over at stitchin fingers. Here they are: This one is from Ruth in Australia, isn't it pretty This one is from Heidi at http://www.calinesblog.blogspot.com/ my daughter Bliss had a hedgehog when she was 8 and it was the cutest little thing. So soft on its under belly but those spikes hurt when they stuck into your hand. He caught a cold and did not recover from it, we were all so sad. This pc reminded me of him.

This one is from Kathy in MN, the colors are so beautiful and I just love the way she did the fibers on this card.Last but certainly not least is the card from Gina all the way from Australia. I love the little lady bug and all the stitching. Is this not a wonderful cardWhew, this is one long post on today, anyhow last year I had bought some crochet magazines that were in a group inside a plastic bag. Well in the middle of those were these patterns for counted cross stitch which I do not do. Sooooooooo......... I have made pics of them in sets of two. I will give these to the first four people who respond to this post. Pics are below, please specify which set you would like to have and it will be first come first serve on these. Thank you ladies.

Well this post is done for today hope you enjoy the pics. Happy Stitching everyone,

Update on Carol's Block

Just an update on the RR block that I have been working on in the CQI RR Sampler Stitches that I am in. This is still Carol's block that I have now, I have completed a spider web on the central patch of the block. I learned two things while doing this. 1) I hate working with that metal thread because it tangles and bends so easy. 2) That even though I hate it, it does make a delicate looking web. So I guess it is worth it, I don't know. Most people just couch it down, but no I had to stitch it using a back stitch. But I do like how it turned out. All I have to do now is put the spider on the web. Also, I am going to put some flowers around the web as well, just need to decided what kind I will do. Then all I will have to do is the beading on the previous seam and this block will be ready to go to the next person. The pictures are not all that good due to the shine factor, and these two are the best out of about ten.

I have also made this pin cushion and am working on several other projects. No photos of them as of yet. But, I did take a quick one of the pin cushion. I still need to make the bow for this and it will be complete.

That's all for now maybe I will have more photo's to share later today or tomorrow. Until then Happy Stitching,