I'm Back!

I am much better now and my back is almost back to normal, still wearing a brace but will be doing that for some time to come. But I am better and I have been working on a few things while not being online. My internet connection modem had to be replaced again, but we think we have the item in question finally fixed. We shall see. Anyhow, I have been stitching and I have received some fabric that I have been waiting on. While sitting with my aunt in the icu unit I crocheted a lapgahn and here is the pic. It is made with Lion Brand Homespun in Heather. I just love this thread as it is medium in bulk, but is so soft and it always works up really nice. The photo does not do the color justice.

Next is a panel of Apple Blossom Fairies that I ordered. Of course I will be embellishing this and making a wall-hanging with it. The fabric with all the small fairies is for the backing that came with it. The backing:
And a closeup, I just love this panel! And I can see it all encrusted with beads and such!lol
Next is a block that I have been working on in a RR that I am in on CQI, it is Birds and Bees. This is the whole block after my work.
Here are the closeups of each area that I worked on. I completed two patches and two seams on this block. The first patch I did silk ribbon colonial knot roses and ribbon stitch leaves.
Next I completed a paisley in variegated pink thread and used fuchsia pink Czech beads for the center of each rose and on the outer border.
Next I completed a seam treatment with the Cretan stitch and beaded it with pearl beads.

Last but not least is a seam treatment of Double Chain Stitch with Straight Stitch as well. Done in variegated pink and the straight stitches in blue.

This is just a little of what I have been up to. I have also worked more on my redwork peacock that is my swip and he is shaping up nicely. I also have more fabric to show as well as more siggy blocks that I have received as well as those I have made in return. I will post those in the next couple of days. I also have received the next block in another rr that I am in called Anything Goes DYB, this block belongs to Gerri and is named aptly "Gypsy Rose". I will post pics of before and afters when I complete my work on her block. It has some of my favorite bold colors, so I am sure I will have much fun with this block. This is all I have for today, my youngest son turns 17 tomorrow and we are having a nice family day with him to celebrate. Happy Stitiching everyone,

Small Update

Well it has been a while since I last posted anything crafty. But alas things here have been really hectic. With my sitting at hospital with my aunt who is doing better but now has pneumonia and is back in hospital. She was only home for five days, but at least she is on the mend and not near death this time. While sitting at hospital somehow I pulled a muscle in my back and am now having to wear a brace and my back hurts most of the time. But I have been able to do some stitching on the RR's that I am in. The first RR is the one on CQI group and it is a Traditional Anything Goes RR. This is the block that I have worked on this past month. I hope that Lisa likes what I have done on her block. She had enclosed some crocheted flowers that her aunt had made for someone in the group to use. I decided to go ahead and use them. I did not embellish them much, just a little beading in the center of the flowers. I did not want to overdo the beading and take away from the beauty of the flowers themselves. I did enjoy working on her block. She had nice soft colors and wanted us to think spring. Here is what I did on her block. First I did a seam of feather stitching with beading.

Next is the crocheted flowers that I used. The seam directly above is one I finished along with the seam of butterflies on the right of the flowers. The seam above is chain stitched in Carons wildflowers with beaded flowers and then dragonfly beads in each half circle. The pink butterflies are done in variegated thread DMC #5 with pink chech beads.
The next RR is the Birds and Bees RR on CQI also. The first block that I had is Lyn G's and she wanted us to plant her a garden. Truthfully this block posed a problem for me as I did not really know how to go about planting her garden if you will. So with much thought I decided that every garden needs a tree. At least all my flower gardens have always had trees and those of my mother have trees in them also. So I decided to plant a tree in her garden. I did a tree with french knots for the green leaves and outline stitch for the tree branches and trunk of the tree. I have never made a tree out of french knots before and did not realize how time consuming it was! But I love how the tree came out, it is really nice and I will definitely be doing more in the future. Next I put little dots of color to represent flox at the base of the tree. At the bottom I tried to do flowers to resemble bluebells, but did not hit the mark on those. The other flowers were made to represent hollyhocks like in my moms garden. I hope Lyn likes what I did on her block.

Here is the tree:Next is the flowers

Last is the overall pic of the whole block.

I have no idea why one picture is so light and the others so dark. Hmmmm.......will have to find out why. I did crochet a lap-gan while sitting with my aunt at the hospital and will post a pic of it tomorrow. For some reason I could not upload it on blogger tonight. So I guess I will say good night and happy stitching everyone.

Another Giveaway

I have run across another great giveaway. This one is over on http://indulgeyourshelf.blogspot.com Be sure and go check it out. Laurie has some great stuff on her blog. Also you may want to check out her etsy store, she has some great vintage items on there at really great prices.

More about the giveaway she is having: it is one that I particularly like because it is one featuring one of my favorite actress' Audrey Hepburn and the movie is Breakfast At Tiffany's. She has included some other really cool things in the giveaway as well. I love Audrey and this is one movie that I do not have, so I really would like to win. Not only that, but I would like to have the vintage fabric as well. Anyhow, I put my name in and so should you.
Happy Stitching,

Over on http://simplythisthatandtheother.blogspot.com/ is having a wonderful give-away celebrating her 703 post, along with a few other things. You need to go on over there and check out her site and enjoy all the goodies she has to show. The chance to enter and win ends on March 22 at 7:30 pm her time, so go on over and leave a comment to enter. She is giving away some really nice things: a gorgeous table runner, a 360 degree spray bottle, some cute working gloves, mentos, scrubby brush and last but not least is Zinnia seeds! I really hope I win this because I really want that table runner and those gloves!

Update on my Auntie Mary

Hi everyone, I have an encouraging update on my Auntie Mary today, she is doing some better since they filtered her blood. Her blood pressure is stable for the second day! And they are removing one of the meds that she was on. Also they are weaning her off the ventilator a few minutes at a time on today. So we are making progress and I know that God is at work here. Please continue to lift her and the family up.

Please Pray

Hi everyone, this will be a quick post as I am in a hurry. Please pray for my moms youngest sister Mary. She was rushed to hospital and put in ICU on Sunday morning. She is not doing well at all. They have found that she has a bacteria in her blood that could be fatal. They are trying to stabilize her in order to do a cat scan and also put her on dialysis to clean her blood system. They do not really know what is wrong with her but she is very weak. She is 65yrs. old and on lots of medications. My mom of course is very upset and this is not good for her heart! Please pray for recovery for my aunt and protection for my mom against all the stress. I hope to have good news tomorrow. I will post as soon as I can. You can only see her for 2min. at a time, two people at a time every four hours. I have been able to see her twice and my mom has seen her also. We are trying to let her son be with her the most and he has been so gracious to us. He lost his dad this past year and this is really hard on him and his family. Please lift them up as well. His name is Jack. Must go for now.


Even as I have typed and posted this a call from my dad letting me know they have started the dialysis process. He said the nurse told them they were going to do it slowly in hopes that this will be a one time process! Her blood pressure has stabilized finally going from 70/21 95/45. They would like for it to stay here for now. I really appreciate those who are already praying and would like for those who read this blog to send up prayers and good thoughts for her and her family. Thank you so much!

More Fabric Stash and New Siggy Arrived

OK I have more lovely fabric to add to my stash! Here are the pics I made of what I bought on today. The really bright pink is actually an organza that I will use for postcards. The tie dye fabric I was sooooooooooo..........excited to find! Remember sometime ago I posted my ocean quilt top that I was ready to start putting together, well I did not have enough of this fabric to finish the stripping. I had bought this fabric when I lived in Texas and bought all they had at the time. I was debating whether or not to use a different fabric to finish it off. Anyhow, I found this fabric yesterday and purchased the last 2yds that they had. Now I can finish my quilt and finally get it off the design wall. The fabric on the right is actually a black/white print for my black/white/pink quilt that I am making for a challenge I am in. The rest is just because I liked them.

Next I received another siggy in the mail, this one is from Ria isn't it lovely.

Next is a pic of another dishcloth that I have finished, this one is white also (trying to use up all that white cotton thread I have). This dishcloth looks like a flower. I have also purchased another dishcloth book for more patterns.Well that is all I have for today. Happy Stitching,

New Fabric and Some Goodies Recieved

This will be a long post with lots of pics so hang on. First is some fabric that I have added to my stash recently. My sweet hubby knows of my love of Batik fabrics and he bought me 23 new fq's a week ago. Here they are and are they not just luscious! I have been collecting them to make a king size quilt. Some day I will have enough to make one. Are they not wonderful!Next is my new fabric for my regular stash: This is my fabric for my Black and White quilt with a splash of color. I chose pink as the splash of color. Now to choose the pattern and get the flimsy made soon.Next up we have a small piece of fabric that has cats on it. Isn't this lovely. I will be using this in a small project for my brothers girlfriend who is crazy about cats.

Next we have this lovely floral print and soft pinks that will become a wall-hanging in the near future.

Next we have these lovely fabrics that I stumbled upon, and the best thing is they were on sale at the local fabric store for $1.00 a yard. So of course I had to get 4yds of each of the vine print only. The pink is from another store and I only have a yd of it.

Next we have this lovely floral and the green and all three of these were on sale as well and I purchased the last 6yds of the solid floral, 4yds of the green and just a yd of the striped floral. I may go back and get more of this though. I wish I had gotten more at the time as it goes so well with the other fabric. This is earmarked for a quilt for my mom.
I just love getting mail! Don't you, anyhow this is what I have received in the mail this past week. So here they are: The first is a siggy from Martine and she also sent me a couple of pieces of this wonderful fabric for my crazy quilting. Isn't this lovely! I will definitely be using this in my next project. And her siggy is wonderful also, nice deep red color.

Next is a siggy from Breda, this one is lovely also.
Next we have a siggy from Manie v.d. Berg and she used some vintage fabric on hers and it is just wonderful! Mine to them will go out in the mail on Monday. I will post pics after they have received theirs from me.

Next is my post cards that have arrived this past week! And they are wonderful: First up is the post card I received in a one to one swap with Wanda from South Africa. I just love this card, she entitled it "Winter Scene". The one I made her is on its way to her and I will post a pic of it when she receives it.The next post card is the one I received from MaryLou our monthly swap on www.FabricPostCardsForStitchers at yahoo groups. I love this card, it has lots of beads on it and the orange color is beautiful.
This next one just came yesterday and it is this months card from the same group (we do a monthly card swap with different themes and partners) this one is from Illse. I love the technique that she used and all the different scraps of fabric that she used. The little saying says "Agree with your imagination" And when you make these post cards or any other creative art you should remind yourself that your art comes from your imagination and you should just let it flow!

I told you this post was going to be a long one. I hope you have a good week-end and get to stitch a lot. Happy Stitching Everyone,

Birds and Bee's RR Block

Here is a pic of my Birds and Bees RR block that I am in over at CQI, this is the second RR that I am in. I had swapped hearts over at COH and received a gorgeous heart with a birdhouse on it. I decided I would use it as the focus center for this RR. I so love this heart. Now it no longer looks like a heart but the work is all intact and I love it. There are five of us in the group so four other ladies will be working on this block before it comes home to me. This block will be matted and framed when finished.Then I was in a fq swap and this is what I am sending my swap partner. I also enclosed two for her son in fabric that she said he would like. That way they both can have some swappy goodness! This is for her:
And this is for her son, she said he liked dragons, turtles and penguins I had two out of the three so I think I did good:
I just love the penguin fabric. I have been waiting and waiting for this yarn to go on sale so I could buy some. It was $9.99 a skein and finally my patience has paid off, it went on sale this week for $1.99. I am doing a happy dance. I am going to use it on a denim jacket that I want to use the embellisher on. I may go back and get some more over the weekend just so I can have it for more projects later.They have this same thread in pastels also, of course at the time all I could see was the bold and beautiful colors!lol. It has a velvety feel to it and is just luscious. This photo does not do the colors justice but it will have to do. I am definitely going back to get more. I have four hoodies that I could embellish with this. And of course post cards with this would be fun too.

Finished Seams on RR Block

I finally have time to post a pic of my work on Megs RR block. I am in a RR over on CQI it is called DYB Traditional RR. The first block to arrive for me to work on is Megs. She is going to be turning this into a small clutch bag. I fell in love with the colors she chose, they are blues and greens with a touch of gold in them. I did a seam treatment of fly stitch to make it look like lace, then I beaded the flowers on the patch above that and added the sequins. Next I put some lime green ric rac down. I was going to do the whole seam treatment until I recounted and realized that if I did it would not leave enough for the other ladies in the group. Therefore I just laid the ric rac and someone else will be able to finish the seam treatment. I enjoyed working on Megs block and I hope that she likes what I have done.The block is now on its way to Ati for her to work her magic. The photos I took for some reason does not really do the block justice. I guess the lighting was off.
Happy Stitching Everyone,

Dusting of Snow and Some Projects

Well we did get a small dusting of snow on Sunday morning which is a rare thing for us being so far south. You had to be up early to see it and I almost did not get any pics, because I forgot about making them at first. It was so pretty when we first got up all white and crisp looking. But it was cold also so while I made and had a few cups of coffee it had started to melt. My mom who is 73 was excited about it but disappointed that there was not more of it. So now we are left with just the cold and wind! I will be so glad when spring finally arrives! My neighbors yard is full of buttercups and they are so pretty, and my moms yellow bells are in full bloom which means spring is not far behind. Yea!!! I am so ready for bright sunny and warm days. Anyhow, here are a few pics of our dusting, nothing like those in the north experience, but again a rare sight here in the south.Although we did have a blizzard in the early 90's and we had 36" of snow! Once in a lifetime occurrence I am told. Anyhow, here are some pics of projects that I have completed in the last few weeks. I finally taught myself to knit and have made more dish cloths. They are so much fun to make. I have this really big roll of cotton thread so I have made white dish cloths and also I have made some out of the peach/cream color also. Finally I have knitted my mom a neck warmer out of Bliss by Paton's. This is the softest thread I have ever felt of. I originally bought this yarn because it has the same name as my middle daughter and we thought it was fun having a yarn with her name! This one is Bliss Mango:My mom is very cold natured so I thought this might help keep her toasty when she is just sitting around. That's all I have for today, I have more that I am working on but have not made pics and will try and do that in the next few days. I have finished Megs RR block and will be sending it on to Ati in the next day or so and I will be posting pics of it soon.
Happy Stitching Everyone,