Finally Finished and Mailed

Remember the adopted "Stitchers Angel" project that I was working on, well it is finally ready and heading out to its new home. I had a hard time finding the right size binding pre-made in the color that I wanted and needed. It finally came and now all three items are finished. So this project can be marked off as finished! Yeah for me. Not only that, but now this wonderful angel will get her goodies in the mail and will not have to feel as if no-one cares. I enjoyed working on this set of gifties very much. I finally made one of the armchair caddy's, as I love the one that Martine who was my swap partner made for me. I use it continually. This little project was easier to make than I thought it would be. I will definitely be making more of them in the future. There are several birthdays coming up and they will be getting a caddy from me. The one thing I am going to do since completing the caddy is to start making my own binding. I am going to get the tools this next week so I will be able to do so, plus I am going to be doing some reading up on making your own binding. If anyone has any knowledge and advice on this subject please email me at stitchduchess2@yahoo.com with all you know. It will be greatly appreciated. Anyhow, I hope to finish more projects this week and I also have another RR block to make, for a RR on CQI called "Birds and Bees", which means you have to have birds or bees or both on the block. I think I will go with birds. Probably hummers since they are my favorite. Well back to stitching, have a blessed day!

Siggy Swap Blocks

Thought I would post a couple of blocks I have made and two that I have received in my siggy swap. The first one is from Jutta over at : http://stoffundnadel.blogspot.com/ you should go by and visit with her. She has some beautiful work on her blog.This is the one I made for her:
And this is the block that Annelies sent to me you should also go visit her here: http://quiltsandsiggies.web-log.nl/quilts_and_siggies go check out her blog. She has some beautiful work also. I spent a lot of time just browsing through both of these blogs. Great eye candy.This is the one that I made Annelies:

I have no idea how this one pic got to the left side. With blogger you never know. Anyhow, I am sewing up more siggies so I will have them ready to swap out. I am so excited about this. And they are so easy to make that you can whip them out in no time at all. I have 25 cut and ready to sew, and that is what I will be doing on tonight. So if anyone who reads this wants to swap siggies with me, leave me a message and I will get back with you.

I have more items to share but blogger is acting up today grrrrrrrrrrr! So I will post again later if I can get it to work correctly. In the meantime happy stitching, and those in the cold try to stay warm and those in the warm think of all those who are freezing!

Pay It Forward: I Have My Three Ladies

This did not take long at all I have all three of my ladies for the PIF! A biiiiiiiiiig drum roll please! Notice how each of their last names begin with a G! What are the odds of that happening! Anyhow, these three ladies are passing along the PIF on their blogs, so since you did not get to participate here please go on over to one of their blogs and sign up with them and spread an act of kindness in 2009!

1. Jane G of: http://loopylousadventuresintohandicrafts.blogspot.com/

2. Nancy G of: http://nldugas-gilmore.blogspot.com/

3. Sharon G of: http://sharon-dancingthruthreads.blogspot.com/

Remember all you have to do is put the PIF logo on your blog with the rules and your set to go. I am already working on the first gift as I just couldn't wait to get started. Happy Stitching Everyone.

Swap Package Arrived

My "Vintage Valentine" swap package from my partner Rosannehttp://rosannes-blog.blogspot.com/ from Canada arrived yesterday so I thought I would post a pic of all the goodies that I received. I love all of it and a big thank you to Rosanne. The goodies in the package were :

Ornaments

heart cookie

soap

Lindt chocolate and some truffles (already eaten!lol)

post card of Paris

Quilted heart mat

recipe cards x2 packs

valentine cookie cutters

altered notebook

travel tissues with hearts on them

heart candle

and of course the beautiful box that it was all in. A big thank you also to Heidi over at http://foxglovesfabricandfolly.blogspot.com/ for hosting this wonderful swap. Below is a sneak peek at what I have sent Rosanne, I hope she likes what I sent her! When you have time stop by both of these ladies blogs as they are wonderful to browse through.

Happy Stitching Everyone,

A Little of What I Have Been Doing

Just a brief post to show some of what I have been up to. Not much I can show at the moment as two of the swap items are secret until they arrive at their destinations. One is my "Vintage Valentine" and the other is the fat quarter swap that I am in. I will post pics of those when they arrive at their new homes. I do have a pic of the block for my new RR that I am in over at Crazy Quilting International. It is a "Anything Goes" Traditional RR and there will be four other ladies to work on my block besides me when it gets home. This will be one block of eight for a wall hanging for my entryway. I chose pinks, creams and green for the color palet and I think it will be very pretty when complete. I want this wall hanging to have a victorian look to it. The print fabric has luscious roses and teacups/pots/saucers on it and will be used in all the blocks and I may use this as a border for the whole project once it is done. Will have to see. The next pic is of my continuation of the chicken scratch stitch. I have decided to do a heart shaped pillow with this stitch. This is a pic of the progress so far. I am using crochet thread for the thread as I wanted to see how it would work out and it does work pretty good. Next I am going to use this particular stitch on some solid fabric, I will post a pic when it is completed.Don't forget to sign up for the pay it forward on the previous post if you want to join in on the fun. You have to leave an email addy for me to get in touch with you. The other swap that I am in is on the Carol Doak yahoo group for paper piecing and this is the f8 fabric that I am sending in to have my blocks made out of. I will recieve the same amount of fabric from four other people and will make their block using their f8 and fabric from my stash. Then we send them back to the swap hostess and she will then send our finished blocks back to us. I have done this type of swap before and I love paper piecing so I am looking forward to this swap. I will post pics here as I do the blocks for those in my groups.
(edited to add: the pic does not do the colors justice. They are really much deeper than they look)I also have recieved two siggy blocks and have sent two in return. I am collecting siggy's now to make a quilt from around the world. Anyone who would like to swap drop me a line with your email addy and I will get in touch with you and we can swap a block. Have a good evening everyone.
Happy Stitching,

Pay It Forward

I made a promise on the blog of Mai, http://mariejoze.blogspot.com/ I joined her Pay it forward and this are the rules. It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie Pay it Forward where acts and deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, in the hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on the blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. It will be sent to you within 12 months.What YOU have to do in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So who will be the three that I will send a giftie to?

Some of What I've Been Working On

Well it has a little bit cold here the last four or five days. Not like those who live in the north, but cold for us. It got down to 13 degrees the other night and I thought I would never get warm! I am now ready for spring to come!lol. Anyhow, I have been stitching some and thought I would post some of the pics. The first pic is the extra Angel gifts that I am working on. I still need to put the binding on the armchair caddy and the needle book that I am doing. I picked up the wrong size binding, and I have never made my own, so I need to go and get the correct size later today. But I wanted to go ahead and post a pic of it anyhow and I will post a finished one with binding when I get it on.

Armchair Caddy:

Pin Cushion:Next is the first part of the new challenge from Sharon B over on http://www.pintangle.com/. The first challenge of the year is the "Chicken Scratch" stitch. I have done this before a long time ago. This is just the first of my attempts and I will post more later on today. Sharon has given several ideas to further the stitch and push yourself outside of what the traditional way this stitch is applied. I will have further samples to post later. For this sample I chose red gingham and used black thread as I liked the way a bolder color looks. If you look closely at the fourth circle you can see a mistake that I made and will rectify later. The stitch is going in the wrong direction and can be easily fixed. I guess I was in a hurry and did not pay attention to the direction until I had finished the row. I used perle 8 embroidery thread. I will be using different types of thread for the others.

Here is a seam from the "Build a Seam" challenge over on Kerry's blog, which can be found here http://kerrykatiecakes2.blogspot.com/. In this challenge you can join in the fun at any time during the process. I believe she started this for the novice group of crazy quilters, but anyone wanting to stretch themselves with new seam treatments should give this a try. I have several more that need the beading applied before I post pics.

Build a Seam Challenge: Seam #1

Another New Challenge for 2009

I have joined another "Challenge" for 2009. This one challenges you to finish one project each month during the year. This should be fairly easy and will allow me to get some wip finished sooner instead of later. Not only that but you can do more than one project per month and there will be monthly drawings for those who do complete projects for the month. I felt like this would help me to stay on task and maybe do some extra gift making through out the coming year. I am excited about this, and I already have one project almost finished for this month. You can go sign up for the challenge over on May Britts blog here

http://abyquilt.blogspot.com/ or you can go over to Kris's blog http://tagalongteddies.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-years-action-excitement-challenge.html : which is where you will let her know that you have finished your project for the month along with a pic of the project. Also, you need to put this pic in your side bar and keep a list of all your finished projects for the year on your blog as well. Just think, this will give you a little nudge every month to complete some of those projects that have been waiting on you. I am excited and will be posting mine soon so stay tuned and see what I am doing through out this year!

Happy Stitching,

What I have been up to

This past week has been so busy that I have not had time to post. So I am doing today's post tonight so that I do get something posted today. I have been busy here with sewing and stitching, I just have not had time to sit down and post anything. And there are a couple of things that I cannot post as of yet but will give a sneak peak and let you know why. I have been trying to get my sewing room back into shape. After the move it was the last room to be set up and then hodge podge and anyone who knows me will tell you that it was driving me up the wall. So order had to be established in my "creative tower" as I call it. Not quiet finished, but a big improvement and hopefully this week will see it finished the way I like it.lol Anyhow I have been working on some items that I am going to show pics of. The first two are post cards that I did for a swap on "Stitchin Fingers". One is a landscape and the other is a color theme of green. The landscape is a replacement for one that I had already sent, but the card never arrived to its new home, therefore I made a new one for my swap partner and hopefully she has received it or will some time this week.

This is the landscape, which is my first by the by.

This is the "Green" color study:
Next is some fabric that I am using to make some gifts for another "Stitching Angel". There were some who did not receive anything from their swap partner and I had such a wonderful experience with my swap partner that I decided to do something for one of those who were left without their gifties. This is the fabric that I am using. After she gets her goodies from me I will post a pic of what I make and send to her. I am working on her gifties now and should be finished and mailed out by the week-end.

Next is some fabric that I am using in my "Vintage Valentine" swap. I can't tell you what I am making just in case my swap partner comes to have a look see at my blog. But I will post all I send her when she receives her box from me.
So you see I have been busy with sewing and quilty things. I am also working on a mini quilt and will post a pic soon. I am also working on another post card done in all blue as that is the theme for this month. I will post it on tomorrow as I should be finished and ready to mail it out. I just have a little bit of tweaking left to do. Happy Stitching everyone,

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Whew what a month! Lots of visiting going on along with all the other preps for the month. All in all our holidays was wonderful. Now to get back on track and finish up some projects and start some new ones! This year promises to be busy already and I am so looking forward to what lies ahead. I hope everyone is looking forward to this new year as much as I am. There is so much that I want to achieve this year both naturally as well as spiritually. Anyhow, come by often and see what is happening in my world leave a comment if you like and if you don't that is ok too. Now, back to putting up all those trees I had out!lol. And I still did not get four of them up! Not only that but my lovely Bliss gave me three more table top ones for Christmas that will be put out next year! A gold and silver bottle brush tree and a silver wire tree with blue and lime green balls (some of my favorite colors). I will post a quick pic of those soon also. Well, back to packing up!

A New Challenge for 2009

Coming up in January of 2009 Sharon over at Pin Tangle is going to be doing a "Stitch Explorer" Challenge. A new challenge will be posted on the 15th of each month. If you have not already done so, go on over and sign up for it. You will learn lots of new styles, stitches and techniques. I have signed up and excited for the first installment to be announced. Here is the link http://www.pintangle.com/community-challenges/, see how easy I have made it for you. Look forward to seeing you there.

Happy Stitching,

Some Christmas Spirit to Share

Just thought I would post a few pics of the trees that I have already put up and out this year. I have five more to go and will post those when I get them up. That should be sometime tomorrow I hope. I am running out of time for this!lol. Been busy here and have had so much to do and not enough time to do it in. Anyhow, I hope everyone enjoys the pics! This is called a "Brides" tree as the ornaments each hold a special meaning for a new bride.
Angel: symbolizes God

Bird: good luck
House: family shelter
Teapot: hospitality

Pine Cone: eternity

Fruit: plentiful blessings

Rose: Virgin Mary

Animal: peace with nature

Santa: giving and caring

Fish: Christ and fertility

Flower Basket: beauty in the home

This is the tree with the rest of the decorations on this table in the entryway.
In the same entryway since it is very large is my "Disney Character Tree" which is a 50's replica of a nice shiny silver tree. I put all my Disney ornaments and some stuffed Disney characters on this tree. This is my fun tree for the kids!lol

Next we have the main tree which is a work in progress, as I need to make some more of the flower balls and ribbons. But this will give you an idea of what it will look like when finished.

This is a pic of my son's tree in his loft room. Of course he is not finished with the decorating part of it. Says he will do it sometime this week!lol. Kids are so funny.

Next we have the five multi-colored small table top trees which are also in the entryway on top of my blanket chest.
Have you guessed yet that I love Christmas trees!lol Up next we have a purple tree that I was given by my middle daughter as her room colors have changed along with her taste. She is into more earthy tones now.lol This little tree is a novelty and it has fiber optic lights all through the branches. When turned on it is pretty.Next is one of two porcelain trees. The other tree was broken during our move and subsequent storage of all our stuff. Still I have this one at least.
Next are the two trees on the fireplace hearth in the living room. None of the fireplaces in this house are usable, thus I decided to place these two here.

Those are the tree's that I have up. I will post pics of the last five one day this next week. Is there anyone else who loves trees like I do? I would love to know so I could come take a look at yours. The last pic of this post is of my Nativity on the living room mantle. Of course this is something else that I collect and I have about twenty of them so far. None are the same and I do have a few vinatage ones also.

Whew, that is a lot of pics for one post. I do hope you enjoy my little festival of trees! Check back this week to see if the others are posted for your viewing pleasure.

Happy Holidays,

A Wonderful Giveaway and a New Swap

Over at Em's Scrapbag (here) http://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com/ you can sign up for her 100th post giveaway. Be sure to go by and look around and leave a comment to enter. She has some really nice things on her blog.

Then over at Foxgloves, you can find her here http://foxglovesfabricandfolly.blogspot.com/, she is heading up a new swap for Valentines Day. The sign ups are until Dec.29th so you have time to go and join in the fun, your swap partner will be given to you on Jan. 2, 2009. I have already signed up and am looking forward to swapping out a Valentines package with someone. Packages will be mailed out by January 21st so that gives you plenty of time to gather, package and send so it will arrive in time for the big day!

Small Update

Whew..........I have been busy putting up Christmas decorations and have put up ten of my trees so far. I will post pics when they are all up and ready. Should be one day this week. This is my favorite time of the year as far as holidays go. I love the way all the decorations look and the smell of all the wonderful bake goods. Hmmmmm........which reminds me, I need to start making my cookies and candies that I plan to give as gifts. Not long before it will be time. I may post a few pics later today although that will depend on my available time.lol! I never seem to have a lot of spare time lately. I Happy Holidays everyone,

Christmas Drawing

Lenna over at the Stitching Cow is having a drawing for one of her Cottages in Common which is her online class for Christmas at a value of $300. Go on over to her site and check it out. http://stitchingcow.blogspot.com/2008/11/block-of-month-quilt-competition.html go here for the details on how to enter. The drawing is on December 24th. While there check out her site and all the goodies she has. I have put a link in the sidebar that will take you directly to the site for all the info.


Happy Stitching,

A little of this and that

Whew, where should I begin as this has been one of those weeks. First let me say we had a wonderful time with our family for Thanksgiving. The down side to that is that I fell on our way to my moms and hurt my left ankle/foot area as well as a big strawberry on my right knee. It looks better now but was really black and blue for a few days there. Cannot walk on it as of yet and the swelling is beginning to go down. The up side is no broken bones, just a really bad muscle and ligament sprain. Will be laid up for a while with foot as it is, but it could have been worse so I am not going to complain. Below are a couple of pics of my foot and it is much better today than it was two days ago.I'm just so thankful to the Lord that it is not broken! Now I will have plenty of time to sit and stitch. I also need to do my decorating but have not been able to do all of it as of yet. Will post pics when I am finished. Happy Stitching everyone,