Another Year?

Oh my goodness, but another year has flown by since I posted! Last September we welcomed our first grand daughter, born to our son and his wife.They named her Scarlett June. She lights up the room whenever we get to see her.

Scarlett will be 1 year old on the 24th of September. As I said, where does the time go?

Finally! Another finish.

I've been busy toiling away on lovely projects that needed framing for my many wonderful friends.
So, while I was at it, I managed to frame a couple of my own recent finishes.
The first is Spring Quaker by Rosewood Manor designs.
I stitched it on a 32 count overdyed fabric from www.picturethisplus.com
It's in a peach shade and is different from the "suggested" fabric so there you have it; my "twist". LOL
I did use the lovely Valdani fibers the chart called for and I love the way the colors 'pop"!

The next piece is called Keys to the Kingdom, also designed by Rosewood Manor.

I'm afraid I don't remember the fabric color I chose, (which is a constant bad habit of mine), but of course it's different from the suggested one.

I also added extra beads for the ultimate "Bling"! Unfortunately, the bling doesn't show well in the photo but trust me, it sings!

Heeeeeeeere's Jack!

This is my project I worked on all winter.

It was a birthday gift for our wonderful daughter-in-law who is just in love with all things Jack.

So, I decided to take it upon myself to see if I could chart out one of his posters on my PC Stitch 9 program. Well, I got lucky! It wasn't too hard and I'm quite happy with the result and Sheri LOVED it.

I framed him in a black bamboo frame with rust touches that fit with the fiber colors perfectly. The only thing I requested from her was that she didn't hang him in the nursery. hehehehe.

Celebration of Needlework

Getting ready for my favorite time of the year!
10 more days and 11 sleeps before our entire stitching group descends on Nashua NH.
The "Ladies have been going to Celebration for 10 years now as a group and the "F.L.O.S.S. ies" are coming for their 4th trip.  Four and a half days of bliss full stitching, gabbing, shopping and eating with the best friends in the world, all sharing a common passion for the needle and floss.
AND to top it all off, not one time will we hear the plaintiff yell of MOMMY! LOL
Okay, I'll admit it; most of us are of grandma age but we still cringe at the sound and there will be NONE of that!
Check back in two weeks for pictures of our WIP and the fun and silliness.

www.celebrationofnw.com

Egg Hunt

Here is my rendition of Glory Bee's Easter Egg Hunt.
My daughter Stacey has a hunt every Easter with all the kids in the family. I changed the chart a bit as she is always reminding them to bring their own basket or it's a plastic grocery bag for them! LOL

Here is the original chart...

And here is my finish that I made into a door ornament...

I used leftover fibers from my collection and stitched it on 28 count white crystal linen.

I just happened to have the "egg" fabric in another collection of stash to finish it off.

New adventure!

Okay, I have fallen in love with biscornus' or, as my friend Sue in Texas calls them; Biscuits!
Of course it's much more effective when she says it. LOL
I have recently discovered 15 sided "biscuits and am diving in head first. They are stitched "over" one so we shall see how these tired eyes make out and I'll post pics when I make some progress.
Wish me luck!

New finish for 2011

This is a tray that was a gift from my dear niece, Deb. I finally found enough small motifs to fill it from my collection of Quaker samplers. I stitched it on 28 count linen using an overdyed thread fromThreadworx.

Snow days!...Many, many snow days!

We've had soooo much snow here in RI this January that my stitching has taken on a life of it's own. LOL

 Now for a teaser.....

I'm going gang buster on a piece that is very involved and taking on a life of it's own. My stitching group here at home know what and whom I'm speaking of but I can't say any further as it's a future birthday gift for a very special someone in my life.

Stay tuned in the future months for a completed pic.

My last projects of 2010

Now that I'm catching up here, it's time to share my latest finishes while I work away on my first for 2011.

This piece I stitched for my daughter and her husband. It hangs in her new dining room.

This is an Irish Blessing that was suppose to be white on white, but again, I changed it.

 Go figure! What are the odds of that?

Love with a Capital "L" by Pappillion.

This was stitched using Vicki Clayton silks and I changed some of the details to include Joe and my initials and our last name and wedding date to officially FINALLY give us a wedding sampler!

It's pretty sad when your two children and their spouses have wedding samplers before you do and after 36 years, I felt it was about time!

This is an "M" Designs with our last initial done in a VC overdye fiber

Antique Tin Tiles by Rosewood Manor

This was stitched on a hand dyed fabric using Threadworx fiber

"L" Monogram by the French Needle

I stitched this on a sparkly black hand dyed fabric from Picture This Plus and used Dinky Dyes white fiber

Ahhhh!

Buddy Holly!

This was stitched for my sweetheart of a husband who just loves this music. It was a surprise for his birthday.

I stitched it on a Picture This Plus fabric and the design was by Crafts Unlimited...

http://www.crafts-unlimited.co.uk/index.html

As one final note, with just a few exceptions, I do all my own framing with the help of a wonderful site...

http://www.pictureframes.com/scripts/WebObjects/PictureFrames.woa/wa/Home

Busy as a bee.....

January 15, 2011

BIG Time updating going on tonight! LOL

I can't believe I've let 7 months slip by again. I guess I have to wait until I'm ready to let everything pour out at once.

Anyway, I hope every one's holiday's were wonderful and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all!

So, here we go....I'll try to take a breath in here once in a while for all your sakes.....

This first picture is of a carrying case I designed for my Ott Light. It opens from the top and there's a pocket on the front of the bag to hold a handy dandy extension cord!

This piece is by Glendon Place and stitched on an unknown piece of fabric I picked up at the Celebration Of Needlework Convention one year. The fibers are Weeks Dye Work and the beads, (which are hard to see but sparkle like crazy!) are Mill Hill. This was a birthday gift for my niece Lauren.

This stocking was my very first design! . I designed it using PC Stitch 9 and it's for my youngest grandson.

This is a Sweetheart Tree Biscornu.

Christmas Tree Name design by Nouveau Encore for Benjamin

This is a Sampler in a Year 2000 by Linda Driscoll. I finally got the courage to stitch it and it was wonderful! The specialty stitches were a challenge but a pure joy. My spin on it was to stitch it in a green fiber. The original was white on white, and while beautiful, I was not putting all that work in to have to be on top of it to see it. LOL

 Blue Ribbon Designs, (thanks for the info Shannon!).  I used premium fibers by Vicki Clayton.

Now, this one I know!

Lizzie Kate's ABC"S of Life Lessons. I stitched it on 28 count Jobelene with the fibers that were supplied in the packet. Gee, where did my "Spin" go on this one?

Who knew?

About 10 years ago, I decided to give cross stitching a try. A friend, Donna and her mom, introduced me to counted cross stitch and to a lovely store that a group of women met at each Thursday to stitch, chat and get inspiration from each other. Sadly, the store is no longer available to us, so a small group of us meet almost every week, taking turns in our homes. From this craft, I have made many of the most wonderful , loving, generous and talented friends. If I were to stop stitching tomorrow, I would have these friends for life. They are family to me.

Speaking of family; many years ago, my Uncle Jim in Maine, watched me stitching while we were camping. He told me that he had started a project back in the 80's,( during a very long, cold winter and between wives), but never completed it. When we returned home, he found it and gave it to me. It sat away for about 7 years, my having almost completely forgotten about it.

Then, last year while doing some cleaning, I again came across it and decided to tackle it. It wasn't a really fun stitch. It was almost completely solid stitching and a mirade of color changes to boot but I was determined.

I delivered the finished piece to Uncle Jim this past fall.. He had stitched the entire tower section of the lighthouse. I finished the piece by stitching our initials on the bottom and the dates.

JL 1988 and RL 2009.

He loved it and was quite pleased when I told him it was his to take home. It gave me a great feeling of warmth and pride to share the love of my craft with my Uncle; himself is a very talented man in many fields.

Fathers Day 2009

This is a piece I did for my SIL.
The design, fabric and fibers are by JAR Designs.
I stitched it over one and framed it with my favorite picture of the boys and their dad at the park. When Ben gets bigger , we'll update the picture.
MY SIL never quite understood my stitching until this piece and I heard it truly moved him and it nows hangs in a place of honor. I love you Matt!

Ben's Quilt and Birth Sampler

Well, of course Ben had to have his own "Grandma special" to compete with his big brothers. LOL
Mom wanted a circus theme so I found this on Ebay and put "My Spin" on it as I usually do. The chart is by Perim of Copenhagen.

Benjamin Vuth Phok

And Benjamin makes 3

Our newest grandson is a wonderful addition to our family. Benjamin Vuth Phok, born March 30, 2009 in Providence RI and weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs. 12 ozs! Just look at those cheeks!

He joins a very loving household with mom, dad and two adoring big brothers, Alexander Joseph and Theodore Seng.
Theodore Seng, Daddy Matt, Alexander Joseph, Mommy Stacey, and Benjamin Vuth

Love of Family

Nothing is more important to me than my love for my family. Don't get me wrong. A lot of things are important to me. My friends, a beautiful day at 65 degrees, a nice relaxing ride in the car during peak foliage, a really good ice cream, and of course, my stitching. Now, combine that last love with the first and you get a very special gift for two extremelly special people.Growing up I had many "favorite" uncles. One, was my Uncle Al Gusman. I got to spend almost every Saturday of my childhood with him and my Aunt Alice having cookouts and holiday meals, playing cards and board games and going to the lake for a big picnic and playing in the water. Sadly, they have passed but the fond memories remain. My daughter has named her first son Alexander and was surprised at my delight when I found out, as she wasn't fortunate enough to remember him that well. Every time I look at Alex, I smile with the memories. But I digress.....My other two favorites are my Uncle Al and Jim Locke. They are my mothers brothers and live in Maine, where we visited each summer. As I was growing up and to this day, Jim was and is the family clown and fun loving, trouble maker. He was always involving us kids in some kind of mischief. Loving hugs that took your breath away, were always, and still are, the norm. A big shitty grin is a constant on his face.Uncle Al on the other hand was the stern one. When he said to "STOP" something, you stopped! LOL He had a career in the Navy and "seemed" to rule everything with an iron look and manner. I say "seemed" as I have since found out from growing older that it was all a facade. He is one of the most loving ,big bear of a man, I have ever known.In the past 7 years since the passing of my mother and her sister; within six months of each other; we (my Joe and I), have visited the "Uncles" each August for a week. Al and his wife Val were full time RVers for many years and would camp out in Jim's yard each summer. Our weeks with them were always wonderful and Al and I have had some really deep thoughtful conversations by the campfire after everyone else retired for the night. Last year, he and his wife decided to give up the RV and settle down at the ripe young age of 75. They built a new beautiful double wide and we spent a few days in their home with them last August.After those few days, I came to realize just how deep his love is. He compliments Aunt Val constantly. Looking through old photos, he showed me a picture of her from 30 years ago and said, "can you see why I just HAD to marry this lady?" Explaining how good Joe and I felt that week can only be stated in one way and I'm glad I was able to state this fact to them without losing my composure as I am while trying to type this.... Their love; re-filled our hearts, so that we may continue to pass our love onto others.So after rambling on like this, here is our gift to them this year. My Uncle loves his country and will defend it to his dying day, and Aunt Val is an accomplished quilter. When I saw this piece and showed it to Joe, we both knew it had to reside in their home. Now, my Joe never really notices what I'm working on other than to say; "that's nice", when it's finished, so I knew this really was the "one" when he showed a keen interest. He watched my progress over the months it took to stitch and will help me choose the right frame for it before it goes to it's final spot in the home of our loved ones.I hope they feel our love refilling their hearts when they look at it.

Rosewood Manor- American Flag Quilt Sampler

Uncle Al, Aunt Val, Me and Joe

A late Happy New Year to all !

The holidays ran away with my time. I hope all my friends and family had a wonderful holiday season.

The month of December was CRAZY for me. I had many, many projects to complete for gifts and orders for others. I made and sold six of my popular handbags and they were well received by the purchasers and the recipients.

I also made quite a few of my armchair stitching caddy's. My stitching group friends have been big supporters and I thank everyone one of them for purchasing one. My stitched gifts were for my children and my nieces. I stitched their last names using Redwood Manor's Red Squares chart.

And this one was for my DD's new kitchen and dining room.

Last but not least was this "Trot To Your Own Beat" for my niece Lauren, who just lives for horses!

On top of all this work, there was more.

I offered to alter a wedding dress for my DD's sister-in-law and I also made their wedding cake as their gift.

The dress had to be taken in and hemmed, which required the removal and replacement of many, many beads.

The cake weighed a ton and it took two men to deliver it but it did get there in one piece and still standing. (Phew!) LOL

Well, now I'm exhausted...LOL until next time, keep on stitching and have a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas!

These are my grandsons, Theo and Alex. How fast they do grow!

New Finish

This is "Baby Shoes".

I stitched this on commission for a friends' family member.