Quilted Christmas Balls

Hello again, thought I would close off the month of September with some Christmas cheer.... sorry its not booze (lol), they're Christmas balls, the quilted ones.  While doing the cleaning of the spare room,  I found my bag with all the fabric for my quilted balls.  I knew it was in there but just not sure where it had become buried.   So in this wonderous bag were 3 quilted balls, 2 for Christmas and one for all year, so of course I had to take some pictures to share them with you.  And of course I just had to make one.   The big one is a 4 inch styrafoam ball while the others are the usual 3 inches.  I wanted to do a larger size one to see what it would look like and I definitely love the look.  I used different fabrics to have an interesting contrast of colours.  And the one that I did yesterday is the middle one of the trio hanging on my wall.  It is in beautiful shades of turquoises, it reminded me of the ocean on the cruise.
Take care of yourselves, have a great day and remember that you are loved.  Louise

A Present from Cindy

I just had to share this with you.  My friend Cindy sent me some really cute things that she made especially for me (doesn't that make me sound special).   I love the Mug Rug, what a nifty idea and when I have my craft room all set up, that will be on the table right next to my chair to hold my cup of tea for me.  But I have to admit - I was wondering what the heck the Grin'n It was?!?  I felt like one of  the cartoon characters that have the little cloud over their head with a whole bunch of question marks in it.  Well yesterday I was exhausted and it wasn't until this morning when I looked at it again that it dawned on me. duh.... what a dumb bunny - of course it says "Grin and Bear It".   The two little teddy bears made it all the way from Colorado to Ottawa without a mishap.
So folks, until the next time, have a great day and remember that you are loved.  Louise

Merry Mouse

Hi everyone, well ... little sister finally got her "BeeeUtiiiiFull" outfit!  She thinks she looks quite spiffy all in pink.  She loves her nightcap with matching slippers but she is a little miffed at her big sister.  Her big sister also got a new outfit and she looks like a ray of sunshine.  What a pair of cuties.
I found the design in an old Leisure Arts magazine.  It is entitled Merry Mouse and then at the colours, it states Christmas Mouse, the designer is Carol Bowell. I used Charles Craft aida with DMC and Victoria Clayton threads.
So folks, until the next time, take care of yourselves and remember that you are loved.  Louise

It has already been a year

My goodness, I noticed when I signed in today that I started this blog on Sept 20, 2011.  I never thought that I would find anything to say let alone that someone else would be interested in what I was doing.  But the original idea of informing people about this rare disease was and is my main interest.  I love to stitch and if I can sell some things to make money for the charity then that is a bonus.
Thank you to all the designers who gave me permission to sell their stitched pieces, thank you to all who have bought goodies from me, thanks to my friends who have helped me and most of all, thank you for reading.
Until the next time, hugs and kisses to you all, Louise

See what I found while cleaning!

Hello again, tis me.  Just thought I would show you a couple of things.  While I was doing some cleaning (ugh) the other day,  I found this OLD magazine that we have had since 1951!!  It's older than me. lol   It is entitled Home Notes and I believe it is British, the advertisements have monetary values using the letter "d" which my Dad said was for pennies.  So if you know anything about this magazine, please leave me a comment.  Thanks.

The other photo is of a backing for a compact mirror that I did in 2003 and when I found it the other day, I decided that it was about time that I actually put it in its case!  So I laced it together and popped it in - only to realize that it is not centered!!  OOPS, well folks, it is going to stay that way!  It was designed by Eva Rosenstand and it is entitled Bilberry Garland, it came as a complete kit with the floss, aida cloth and the mirror compact and little pouch.

Until the next time, take care, love you dearly. Louise

A new start - Elegant Angel

Hi everyone, at long last I have taken a picture of the angel that I am doing for my friend.  The pattern is published by StitchWorld, designed by Linda Bird and  entitled "Elegant Angels" and it contains 2 angels that can be done separately or together, one has a green drape and the other has a pink drape.  They are both very pretty and I have been wanting to do them for a number of years.  I am using DMC floss and the fabric is a white opalescent Belfast linen (28 count).   I know the fabric looks blue but it really is a beautiful bright white which shimmers and sparkles. So far I have 3 shades of pink and the overdyed gold ribbon.  The face, arm and legs are stitched over one while the rest is stitched over two.  It is progressing quite nicely.  Hugs to all, take care and have a great day/evening.  Louise

Hi everyone

Hello to everyone, I have been remiss in posting... a friend just sent me an e-mail to see if I was alright.  What a sweetie.  She is a wonderful lady that I had the pleasure of meeting at Branson this past April.  We have kept in touch through e-mails and she and her daughter read my blog all the time.  So to my wonderful friend Diana and her lovely daughter Nat, thank you for caring. 
I have been stitching a bit, working on my angel, I will have to take a picture tomorrow to show you the progress.  As well, I have been working on another little Merry Mouse, she is almost finished and she can't wait to show off her beautiful nightshirt and nightcap with matching slippers.  I have her nightcap to stitch and then a bit of backstitching to do.  I did a lot of the backstitching at the doctors office yesterday while I was waiting for Dad.  Yes he is doing fine and it was just a follow up and the best news - the doctor doesn't want to see him for another year!!
I have also been cleaning out some of the boxes that I have had (feels like forever) since I did some renovations, so that has kept me busy and yes, it feels great to get rid of some stuff!!  I spent most of today going through my jewellery boxes and that was an eye opener!  I put a lot of things into a bag for charity and then I cleaned some silver jewellery that I have (that took me all evening), my fingers were black (I am not kidding) after doing all that cleaning!  And the cleaning cloth is no longer white and pristine!
Well friends, it is past the witching hour and time for me to head for bed.  Hugs to all, luv ya dearly and once again, thank you for reading my blog.  Louise

Poppy has beads!

Hi everyone, I finally got my package last week and was able to put all the beads on my Poppy.  It looks gorgeous (if I do say so myself... lol).  I did not do the green that is supposed to surround the poppy so I will be able to use a smaller frame.  The perforated paper has a slightly mottled light green effect which unfortunately does not show up in the picture.  I have to apologize for the size of the picture, when I made it smaller, the background went wonky (now there is a word for you), it looked as if a mad professor was trying to drive you nuts with a herringbone design.  It was horrendous and my eyes were going nuts just looking at it so I left it the bigger picture.
So now that the Mill Hill Poppy kit is finished, what am I working on?  It's an angel for a friend of mine. Sorry, it is not a Mirabilia or a Lavender & Lace angel!  I will post a picture soon of the progress, right now, I have about 2 inches of her dress done, so it really doesn't look like much. So until the next time, keep smiling and have a great day.  Hugs to all. Louise

Another Christmas Ornament - Noel

Hi everyone, yes I have finished another Christmas ornament... funny, we are going through heat waves and I'm stitching Christmas ornaments. lol  This pattern was designed by Mary Beach Jones and it was in an old magazine from 1992, I think it was Leisure Arts but I am not sure.  There was  a pair of them and they are entitled "Symbols of the Season", I stitched up the "Noel" ornament, the other one is a tree not sure if I will do that one but you never know.  I used an overdyed aida cloth from my stash and its colour tends to be more of a dark teal blue-green than the sky blue it appears here.  The floss is some Rainbow Gallery Splendor silk floss in Gold (colour # S1011) and then I added some beads to sparkle it up just a bit.  I do like how it turned out.  Thankfully I had just enough floss to do this one and will have enough to sew it into an ornament but then its all gone.  I am using up some of the odd flosses that I have received over the years at various retreats - you know the ones I mean, the ones that don't match any of your collections of floss!  So the ornaments win with a variety of colours in silks and overdyed threads.
Now you must be wondering what am I working on now.... well, I received my order with my beads and I am back to working on the Poppy putting all the beads in.  Good thing I don't mind beading. lol 
So until the next time, may you have a wonderful day and remember that you are loved.  Thanks for reading my blog. Louise