Final Blog Update for 2009!

Wow! Can you believe the year is already over? Seems like time has just flown by! I'm looking forward to 2010 and hope to make it the best year yet! Since it's the end of the year I thought I would put my last two stitchy finishes on here and begin the new year with new things. This little ghost is my section of a RR for one of the yahoo groups I belong to. The entire piece is just adorable and I hope my contribution makes it just as good.

My final finish for the year is this little bookmark. I don't really like the way it turned out, just seems so...plain. But I guess it'll do for now, it'll hold a place in a book and that's what counts I guess. It's just not one of my better accomplishments and I feel funny putting it here when I don't really like it..LOL!

I've been making plans for 2010 and going through things I need to finish. On last count I had almost 40 wips/ufo's! Not all are cross stitch, some are quilting and sewing, but that's still alot of unfinished things! I'm going to try to finish a few of those things in the coming year. As I was looking through things I pulled out this heart. It was a freebie for the Wiehenburg yahoo group last Valentines day. I had planned to make this into a toss pillow and even purchased all the fabric and stuffing and buttons I wanted to put on it....but never finished it. I'm making this my first goal for the new year....to have it done by Valentine's day and made into a pillow for the holiday. I *think* I can do it....if I don't get distracted by all the other goodies just waiting to be picked up. LOL

I promised myself I would finish at least one ufo before starting something else and I have one fairly big project that I want to do as a birthday gift for my mom in July so I guess that means I better hurry up and get this one done! I've got one bookmark to do, one RR piece that should arrive sometime in January and this heart to start the new year off with...not too shabby. Add in the monthly "cube" finishes I want to do this year and I think I'll have a full month for January projects.

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year! Hugs to all!

Super Secret Project Has been Delivered!!

A few of you may have heard some talk of a Super Secret cross stitch project that some of us have been working on. Way back in June of 2009 I was talking to a good friend on the phone (Carrie) and we both decided that it would be fun to surprise another good friend of ours..Miss Donna. Donna has done so much to get cancer awareness out there to everyone and we felt she should be rewarded for all she's done. So we came up with this idea to make a quilt for her. After getting a few of our stitching friends on board with us this is what we came up with......

This little fairy/angel was my contribution to the quilt.....

Then after realizing we would need some 'spacer' type blocks between the "angels" we came up with this....cancer ribbons and hearts. So hubby and I drew them out on paper and made up some homemade templates....

In the meantime everyone was diligently stitching away on their squares. The center block was designed and stitched by Janet and it fit perfectly for the quilt. Great idea Janet! These are the squares all together in no particular order....

Now, fast forward to December 21, 2009 and this is what it turned into! We also have a matching pillow but I forgot to get it on here...oops!

This was a fun project to do and I think we may just have to do another one in the future! Miss Donna has now recieved the quilt and I hope she knows just how special we all think she is. Donna you've been an inspiration to all of us and we are all so blessed to call you friend.

Hugs to all!

Finished My Tote Bag!! Yay!

I've had this fabric for over a year and it's been sitting here just waiting to be made into something. I've never worked with the pre-quilted stuff before so that was a challenge. My sewing machine didn't like the thickness....especially when I made the handle for it! Poor little machine! You can't tell from the pic but the bottom green part is actually pockets. The pockets didn't come out nearly as big as I thought they would but for a first try I guess I didn't do too bad. This will be my project bag for my wips/ufo's so I can keep everything all together. The bag measures 20" x16" x 4" deep..not a bad size for all my stitching goodies!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday week so far! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

1 Kid, 1 World Record, 1 Attempt to Break it!

My 10 year old son checked out this book at the school library recently and has been reading it like a mad man. It's called "Ripley's Believe it or Not" and it's full of interesting little things. This morning he found this picture in it...... someone put 93 threads through the eye of a sewing needle. Pretty amazing stuff.......

My son believes he can beat this record and here he is at 60 threads........

Here's a close up of the needle with threads.......

What do you all think??? I bet he can do it, might take him a few days to get them all in there...but he's determined to beat the record! Wish him luck!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

The Grinch has finally left my house....

Christmas has been one of those things that we had decided to bypass this year since money is so tight But.....today we were gifted with a tree! Seems like that's all it took to bring the holiday spirit to our household. So, we put up the tree and got the boxes of decorations out of the garage. The kids decided that we were going to decorate the whole living room and not just the tree. In the process of all this holiday cheer, I thought to myself..."self, you should put some pics of the things you've done on your blog." So without further blabbering, the following few pics are some ceramic houses that I have painted in the past......

The final little house at the end of this pic is the very first one I ever did...maybe 20 years ago and it never was stored away properly so it's yellowed with age and grime over the years but I had to put it up anyway just for nostalgia....at least that's what my daughter says...LOL!

This next pic is a doll that I made about 10 years ago. My mom and I had entered a Holiday Bazar that year and I made a few of these to sell. This was my last one so I kept it for myself. I can't believe it's held up all this time!

This next pic is a gingerbread boy & girl that I had made at the same time I made the dolls. I have no idea why I made them at the time, guess I thought they were cute. I never even display these anywhere, but my youngest son decided he was putting them in this corner and that's where they were staying..his contribution to the decorating....LOL!

This next pic is of my gingerbread village. I got this about 4 years ago when I found them at walmart. I didn't have the money at the time to purchase them and my daughter knew that I really liked them so she got me all the larger pieces for Christmas that year. After the holiday I went to the sales and got the little pieces for 90% off! I don't think it's a complete set, but I love it anyway.

And next we have my 3 wonderful kids. They so did not want a picture taken, but I made them do it anyway....LOL, all of them refused to smile except my daughter and she was being dorky....so this is my revenge. I told them if they didn't give me a good pic I would post it on my blog for all to see.....so here it is: LOL...take that kids, see mom can get revenge! heheh

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season and staying warm and healthy! Hugs to all!

A few exchanges and a BIG RAK!

We recently did an exchange in my group KraftersKorner for a Christmas ornament...my partner, Mary A, sent me this cute little snowman ornie. It's done on plastic and backed with felt...this has got to be one of the cutest ideas I've ever seen! His skinny little arms and legs are made from white cording...I just love it! Thank you so much Mary!
Next is another exchange I received from Katie from another one of my groups, the stitcherhood. We did a card and floss exchange and she sent me this cute little card and even made it into a ornament so I can hang it on my tree. The picture just doesn't do it justice! Katie's stitching is perfect! I just wish mine would look as good as hers! I love this little mouse and he will have a branch just for him on my tree. Thank you Katie!

Next is a huge surprise from my friends Carrie and Rog. Some of you may have heard that my family has been going through a rough patch financially and Carrie graciously offered to help with my sons birthday this month because I am unable to do anything for him this year. Well, Carrie and Rog sent him a big box filled with a sweatshirt and tee shirts all with a rock star theme, which he will absolutely love! And a big stack of his favorite books too! He will have an awesome birthday!

But there was even more in the box.....I recently had to pull out of two exchanges due to our financial situation. Carrie sent me a card and inside was a wonderful note that brought tears to my eyes. She said she didn't want me to go without an exchange and sent me one anyway. I was in shock! The picture does not show everything she sent, but needless to say....I was literally brought to tears by her generosity. The blue velvet stocking was filled with all kinds of goodies including some six strand sweets floss and mill hill charms, a 2010 calandar and lots of other items.

Carrie, I don't know how you always know when I'm feeling down, but you never fail to amaze me. I am so blessed to have found such a wonderful friend and I thank God that He's brought you into my life. If the world only had more people like you and Rog and your generous hearts it would be a much better place. Thank you for being my friend and giving me a shoulder to cry on. You are an angel in disguise.

Hugs to all and happy stitching!

My feeble attempt at an ornament..

The Gift of Stitching Magazine is running a contest. You stitch up the pattern in any manner you like, using any threads you like and show off a pic of it. Well, here's my pic:

I made it a two sided ornament, one green and one red. I used Caron Wildflowers thread in "Holiday" on 14 ct aida and made a loop hanger with some cording I had on hand. The pics just don't show the detail in it very well. I think it's cute and it will be going to a wonderful friend for the holidays.

I love the little pattern and have a ton of ideas rolling around in my head for it so you may see it make an appearence again in the future....maybe for valentines day.

Hope everyone is having a great week! Happy stitching!

Has it really been over a month???? Geez....

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted an update! So much has happened since the last time. I finally finished my super secret stitching project, but can't show any pics of it or say much more about it. When the entire thing is completely done....I'll be posting a HUGE blog update about it.
In the meantime, I stitched up this little card for an exchange. I wasn't sure I would like the burgandy cardstock, but it's growing on me. Hope my partner likes it!

This next little piece is what I call..."the worlds ugliest scarecrow"..... trying to find a scarecrow to fit in a certain size square is pure headache! This is the only one I could find that would fit the space I had and I honestly hate it! Anyway, I stitched him up since it was the only one I could find that would work.

Next.....was a wonderful surprise I received this week in the mail! My friend Carein sent me the cutest little birdhouse! Her and her hubby have a small business making these and other cute things. (Wildwood Products) The picture just doesn't do it justice. It is beautiful craftsmanship! I am just amazed at what they can do with a piece of wood! My hubby quickly fell in love with it and hung it in my dining room so everyone can see it. I'm sure I'll be getting lots of compliments on it and everyone is going to want one! It truly is a unique treasure and I'm honored that Carein thought of me to send one to. I love it!

Here we have my 2 goofy boys.....hubby happened to go into our local convenience store the other day and he found some old style coca cola bottles. I had no idea they still sold them! He picked them up and brought them home for the boys. They couldn't believe they actually got to drink "antique" coke! They honestly believe that the coke was at least 100 years old...LOL! It was quite amusing to listen to them talk about how the taste was so different from now days....LOL! I wasn't about to tell them it was probably made within the last month! hehehe

On Sunday my hubby's grandmother came to visit us for a few hours as she was passing through town. We haven't seen her for at least 5 years so it was a wonderful afternoon. The kids had a blast talking to her and listening to her tell stories about when their dad was little. She's in her late 80's, so I'm VERY thankful that the kids got to spend a few hours with her. My daughter took off with her in her bedroom and spent at least an hour in there chatting with her and showing off her wedding dress. I have no idea what the heck they were talking about but when they came out of the room both were smiling like they had some big secret..LOL!

Not much more to report in my neck of the woods. I've got lots of projects to finish soon. I have an ornament I need to get done for an exchange and I really want to get some of my UFO's done before the end of the year. Hope everyone is having a great week! Hugs to all!

Stitching like a mad woman and a new kitty....

I've finally gotten my stitching groove back! The following 2 pics are of a RR that belongs to a friend..she had a few squares that needed finished so I offered to do a couple for her. I really enjoyed stitching on this.

Next is another RR piece with a halloween theme. I've stitched this before, but I thought I'd pull it out again because it went perfect with the others that were on there. I hope she likes it, it was a quick and easy one to do.

Next is a RR piece for myself. I found this freeebie online and thought it would be perfect as a pillow. So I've put this at the top and hopefully the other ladies will put some random cute things below and it will be a great little pillow for the holiday next year. This was done on some purple 14ct aida that I dyed myself a while back. It's more of a lighter purple, but I thought it was perfect for this RR. And if you read the previous post....this is also the one that the cat got revenge with! LOL

Now for the non-stitchy part....this little guy was brought home by my daughter when I sent her to walmart to pick something up. She came home and had this cute little ball of fluff. I could have just throttled her, but then I loooked at that cute little face and fell in love. He's half ragdoll and half persian and we've named him Garth. I've convinced my daughter that I'm keeping him! He's the most lovable little guy.....he loves to be held and hates being put down. He's a definate lap cat. LOL

Anyway, not much of an exciting update..but at least I'm stitching again! Hope everyone has their needles smoking! Hugs to all!

Cats CAN and WILL get even!

My Brother in Law came for a visit this past weekend and brought us a baby kitten. This is a wonderful addition to our family because my hubby had to put his cat down in March after 14 years. Kitty is 6 weeks old and has no name yet, but here he is.......

Now, here's the getting even part: We have a cat, "Cosmo" (who would not let me get a picture) and he's been an only cat for quite a while now. He belongs to my daughter and her fiance so they will be taking him with them when they find out where they will be stationed. He does not like the new kitty. He turns his nose up at him and walks away. He hisses, bats his paw the whole bit. Well Cosmo has been hiding from us since the new kitty came and last night I found him in my craft closet......howling away for being locked in there! This is what he did to get revenge......

See the shredded pattern?!! And I was going to work on this today! I can't even piece it back together enough to use it...darn cat! I guess he really got his revenge.....

I have no stitchy pics to show at the moment, but I'm working on a few things. I've got a friends RR that I'm working on and my super secret project that no one has seen yet. The shredded pattern was suppose to be a RR but looks like I'll have to find something else to do up real quick. The pattern was a freebie, but darn it, I don't have any ink in my printer to get it printed out. (Mom is sending me the pattern, thanks mom!) I've got probably about 16 different projects on the go at the moment and not a finish in sight! I've got to quit starting things! LOL

The kids start school September 8th....I can't wait! They are driving me nuts lately. My youngest got him self grounded to the house for 3 weeks and he's bored as heck! Last week him and his friend took off a sewer grate and 'accidentally' dropped it down the city sewer! The city had to be called to come get it out and put it back on. Anyway...he got grounded, darn kid! I think it's worse for me to have him in the house all the time....and he thinks he's being tortured. LOL!

Anyway, hope everyone is having a great summer! Hugs to all!

I'm Ebaying Stash!!!

Some of you may have heard that I've recently become the owner of an LNS closeout. I've decided to sell most of the items on ebay. I would like to invite everyone to check out my auctions and get some amazing deals. My ebay id is: xfrazzled1x
I've only got about a dozen items up so far but I will be putting new items on daily until it's all gone.

Here's a sneek peek of what's to come.......

I have alot of charts/leaflets and more bolts of fabric...mostly 14 ct aida, white, ecru and fiddlers. If anyone is interested in fabric from the bolt please feel free to email me for details.

Hugs!

A new start and a tiny finish!

I started a new project the other day. It's called "Halloween" and is a freebie from www.passionericamo.com I thought it would make a great little pillow top, so my plan is to do the chart and then put it in a round robin and have people stitch little halloween motifs under it. I'm using some 14ct aida that I dyed myself. The picture doesn't do the fabric justice....it's more of a lighter purple with a few variations through out. For some reason the picture made the fabric look darker than what it actually is. Anyway, here's my start......

This next one is a little ornament for Donna for her Stitching for a Cure project. The pattern was a freebie online, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I found it. I changed it up a little. It did have the "hope" in these letters then "for a cure" in small backstitched letters. I left the "for a cure" off and added some thin pink ribbon secured by tiny pink heart shaped buttons. I stitched it on 28ct white sparklie fabric. You can't see the sparklies in the pic, but I love the way it turned out!

Not alot going on lately. I'm really wishing summer would just get over! The heat has been unbearable lately! Hope everyone else is staying cool. Until next time, Hugs to all!

A tiny finish and some fabric dyeing...

Since I haven't shown any 'crafty' stuff in a while, I thought I better show something...so here's a tiny magnet I did for an exchange in my yahoo group KraftersKorner. I just finished it this morning and will be handing to my partner this weekend when she comes to visit.

Now, if you read yesterdays blog entry you'll remember that I had a bit of dye left over from the kids shirts. Well, I rummaged through my stash and came up with 3 pieces of 14ct aida. Not 'exactly' what I wanted, but figured I would attempt the tye dying anyway. The next 3 pics are what I came up with this morning.....

I like the last one the best. I'm not a big fan of 14 ct aida, but I think these would make some great fabrics for Halloween stitching, especially when they are cut down a bit. The colors might make some interesting backgrounds. Especially with a haunted house or something like that.

Anyway, thought I would show off my zany way of killing boredom. Hope everyone is staying cool this summer! Hugs!

A Day of Dying.....

About a week ago I recieved a wonderful RAK in the mail from my good friends Carrie & Rog. The great thing about these two wonderful people is they always include a little something for my kids......

Yep, you guessed it, they sent a tie dye kit for the kids! Well, today the kids were bouncing off the walls and I thought now was the time to bring it out and give them something to do....

Here we have my 3 "angels" (yeah right) showing off their plain white tees. Even my 20 year old daughter got in on it which is amazing since she can't stand to be with her little brothers for even 5 minutes! LOL, Amazing what a little dye and a plain t-shirt can accomplish...sibling love.

Here are their tees all ready and rubber banded.....

And here they are doing the messy parts......

This is my crazy little red head sticking his tounge out at the camera....it's so hard to get a pick of him being normal.....

And here's my oldest...yeah, I know she needs a little lift..hehe. (I had to put it on here just to embarrass her while I still can!)

And here's my middle one, can you tell he was not happy about the camera? I love annoying my kids! LOL

And here they are with the tees all dyed and ready to sit for a bit.......wonder what they'll look like?

Fast forward about 5 hours......and here's their finished tees!!! This was a great way to spend a hot summer day!

Thank you Carrie & Rog for helping me to make this memory with my kids. As much as they've been driving me crazy this summer this was a much needed break from the norm.

With the left over dye I plan to dye some cross stitch fabric. I've never seen any tie dyed aida so I'm going to attempt it. Not much more to report here. I've got a few projects in the works but nothing I can show a pic of yet. Hope everyone is keeping out of the heat this summer!

Hugs to all!