Two Weeks to Christmas

Oh my goodness, 2 weeks until Christmas....where has time gone....in my last post I was telling you about the purging and cleaning that I was doing to get ready for my company.  Well, they have been and now they are gone.  Looking back I have to laugh, I was so looking forward to Roberta coming to visit and now she is back home already. We had a wonderful time, laughing and giggling like a couple of school girls, I'm sure that my neighbours must have been wondering what was going on at my place.  We went out for breakfast or lunch, I took her to all the classy joints (lol)....the dollar store (she wanted to buy some containers that I have my Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid stored in) and also to a local store here, can't tell you what she bought (it's a Christmas present) and then we had a lovely time at a Christmas market in a town close by.  It was lovely wandering around all the tables looking at everything, the leather belts, the wooden cribbage boards (they were gorgeous!!), the spiced nuts, the crocheted/knitted items and of course, the wonderful baked goods!  All I will say on  that subject is that there was a serious case of sugar overload in my house that night as Roberta and I sampled all the goodies. And of course some more laughter, it seems when Roberta and I get together, the laughter just flows. My friend Barb joined us on Friday for some stitching and more laughter, all of us had tears running down our faces, oh if the walls could talk (thank goodness they can't!).  So she is back home with her family and friends, hopefully I will see her at the next stitching retreat, I say hopefully because of my Dad.  Some days it appears as if a good strong wind will blow him away and yet other days he acts as if he is 10-15 years younger.  This holiday season enjoy your family and friends, and remember that you are loved.  Hugs Louise

Life is back to normal

I normally live a quiet life, stitching, reading and going to cross-stitch retreats.  Lately I have been busy doing some major cleaning and purging of some stuff (okay, call it junk) trying to get my house cleaned up.  And of course getting things ready for the craft fair.  In the midst of all this, I received a call from my brother asking if I would like some company for a few days...I was kinda of hesitant because my friend Roberta is coming to visit but then he told me it would only be for a few days.  So I had some lovely company, my Dad got to see them and my brother and his wife got to visit the grandchildren a lot.  We all had a lovely time and now they are back home and my life is quiet once more.....well relatively....I'm still trying to purge and organize.  My neighbour who is quite handy built me some shelves that fit the plastic boxes that I have all my material in, so now my aida cloth is in one bin with another for the overdyed aida as well as a couple of other boxes for my evenweaves.  They look awesome, he did a lovely job and now I  have easy access to my fabrics.  Now I need another shelving unit for the smaller boxes, lol.  But I can wait for that one.  That's it for today. Hugs Louise.

A Very Successful Craft Fair

Hello, how are you today.  I am simply chuffed (as my British sister-in-law) would say, in other words...I am very, very happy.  We had a successful day at the craft fair, we raised .... drum roll please.... $800!!!! Wow,  I was hoping that maybe, if we were lucky, we would get $500 but we surpassed that.  When I say we, I mean Manon and myself, Manon is a wonderful lady that I had the pleasure of working with for many years and I am very fortunate that she wanted to keep in touch with me after I retired.  It was Manon who suggested that I get a table at the craft fair (at work) and we could raise some money for the FOP as well as raise awareness of this rare disease.  She loves to do some crafts and she made the cutest little bath mitts (shaped like a kitten, a whale and a snowman) this year and they were so successful that she took orders for several more.  I cannot thank her enough for her help and her support in helping me with these craft fairs.  To all the people who bought some goodies, thank you for supporting us.  Big hugs, Louise

November 1st - where has the time gone

I am definitely overdue in posting, my sister called me to ask if I was still alive....hmmmm, yup!  So what have I been doing over the past couple of months, to be honest - not a heck of a lot.  I visited my friends Roberta and Peggy in Massachusetts in August - the aim was to get a lot of quilting done.  Welllll, hmmmm, I took lots of fabric down there with me.... and of course I did bring my stitching with me and did I get a lot done? - that would be an emphatic no. (Big sigh)  However, I did enjoy the week spent visiting, we laughed and chuckled and laughed some more, I wish I lived closer than the 8 hour drive but hey that's life.  So what else has happened, I have been busy with my Dad - some days more than others.  I realize how fortunate I am to still have him here.  He will be celebrating his 90th birthday in January but there was times this past year when I wondered if he would even make it to his 90th birthday.  He has been so frail this past year and has started to develop some health problems and after much nagging (I do admit it, I was nagging him) he has finally started to use a cane or his walker when he goes out.  And that only started 2 months ago (I won't tell you how long I was after him to use a cane).  That said, I make sure that I talk to him every day just to make sure that he is doing okay.  I have to laugh because some of the conversations are very short (less than a minute), while others we talk and laugh for at least 5 minutes!! I am enjoying the time that I have with him because I know that he won't be around forever.  So if I might be so bold and suggest something to you, tell your loved ones that you love them because we never know how long we will live or how short our life may be.  On that note, love you dearly, take care of yourselves. Big hugs, Louise

Some pictures of the goodies from Barbara - Part 1

As promised, here are some pictures of the wonderful goodies that I received from Barbara.  I know when you see them, you will realize how generous this lady was to the cause.  I can only hope to do justice to her stitched pieces to get them ready for sale.  I also made myself a promise that I would name the designer of the stitched pieces as well as the makers of the fabric and floss.  I apologize to the various designers and manufacturers because I truly do not know who you are but I do thank you for allowing us to stitch your beautiful designs.  Now that I have said that, I think the Santas are Prairie School designs, if you know the other designers, please, please, please leave me a comment and let us know who they are.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Remember that you are loved.  Louise

A wonderful surprise

Hi there, I know, I know, it's been a long time between posts.... I must apologize again but there really has not been a lot to write about.  My brother Robert and his girlfriend came down on Sunday for brunch and of course most important to visit my Dad. Had a lovely brunch at a local restaurant as we do every Sunday.  So what surprise did I get - to be very honest, I am blown away by this persons generosity!!  My friend Aury (designer AuryTM) had moved to Texas last year and she had joined a local stitching group. She was telling these ladies about me and my Stitching for Jaxon project and one lovely lady Barbara said she had a FEW things she could donate to the cause.  Well, I don't know about you but to me a few means one or two, okay maybe 10 (if we were talking about buttons and small things like that) but holy cow, I sure as heck wouldn't think it meant over 40!  When I was in Nashua, Aury sent me a picture of what was going to be in the box when she mailed it and there was 48 stitched pieces.  Well, that was in May, I received this box last Wednesday, and it was STUFFED and I do mean stuffed!  There has to be close to 100 pieces, some are small (bookmark size) and some are large as is 18x20...and yes, I will be posting some pictures soon. A huge, huge, huge, gigantic hug goes to Barbara.  Words cannot express my thanks.  Louise  

Happy Canada Day

Hi everyone, Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians.  Yes, I am proud to be Canadian and feel very fortunate for being able to say that.  Soon my American friends will be celebrating with their 4th of July festivities.  Do you have a national day that celebrates your country, if so, when is it?  Please leave me a comment and tell us about it.  Thank you ever so much for taking the time to do so.  I do realize that I have not written much in the past couple of months but I honestly haven't done a lot but that changed yesterday.  My friend Barb took a vacation day so that she could have a nice long weekend and came to my house yesterday for some stitching.  Both of us were very productive.  She finished the backstitching on 3 penguin ornaments and then promptly gave them to me so that I could make them into ornaments for the Christmas craft fair.  What a sweetie.  She is now working on her Mill Hill beaded kit Believe, she just has some of the background and a few beads probably another good 2 days work.  As for me, I finally finished that silly penguin ornament that I was working on (I felt like it would never get done!), so that was good.  And then, oh dear, decisions to make, what to work on next....ha ha, I can't find a thing to stitch.....hmmmm, I have a living room full of projects but being a conscientious person, I picked up my Opposites Attract (design by Tracy Horner) and continued to work on it.  So it is coming along quite nicely.  So since I am now wide awake (I can't believe it is 7 a.m.), I think I will go downstairs, make a cup of tea, have some breakfast and do some stitching!  Take care, have yourselves a wonderful day, I hope that it is a good day, filled with lots of love and hugs.  Louise

Definitely overdue to post

Hello dear friends, I am definitely overdue in posting!!  I really do apologize but there hasn't been a lot going on that was worth writing about.  Some days, I am very boring... honestly, some days I don't do a lot.  But I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking.  We recently had Fathers day here in Canada (not sure when everyone else celebrates it), Dad and I and our friend Angele went out for brunch like we normally do and then last Sunday, my brother Robert and his son, Patrick came down to join us for brunch.  Patrick is a full head taller than me, he has to bend down to give me a hug... now before you start thinking that I am vertically challenged (short) I am 5 feet 7 inches tall (honestly) so now you have an idea how tall Patrick is!!  It was great to see them again, I am very fortunate that they come down often to see Dad. I know that he appreciates it.  I love catching up with all the good gossip that I hear from them. Recently my cousins Dad passed away, I don't really remember much about him except his smile and his laughter and to be honest what a lovely memory to have of someone.  Well, I am off to make myself a cup of tea and to pick up some stitching  so that I have something to show you.  Until the next time, remember that you are loved.  Big hugs, Louise

Doing lots of Nothing

Hi there, ever have one of those days where you do absolutely Nothing!  well,  I have been doing that for the past 2 weeks!  I have been downloading a ton of free e-books on my ipad and just reading to my hearts content... I will be honest, some of them were excellent and others.... well, I am glad they were free. lol  Last Sunday, my sister and husband and kids (all adults) came to Ottawa to have brunch with Dad and I.  okay they were visiting folks in Montreal and they decided to include us in the visit.  (Montreal is about 2 hours drive from Ottawa.)  So I made sure that we invited some of the rest of the gang to join us for brunch - we ended up being 12 people, it was great to see everyone.  I don't know about your family but I know that I don't always get to see my cousins, growing up I would visit my aunts and uncles and if the kids were there, great, if not... maybe another time.  So it was fun time for us because I hadn't seen 2 of my nieces in a couple of years and my nieces and my nephew were trying to figure out when was the last time they had seen each other.  We had a great time but sadly it was over way too soon.  Well, it is about time to get some stitching done, maybe I will start one of the ones that I got in Nashua... Toodles for now, take care and remember that you are loved.  Big hugs from me to you.  Louise

Some pics of the goodies from Nashua

I don't know about you but time seems to pass very fast these days.  It seems like yesterday that I was still working and looking forward to retirement and now... well, it has been 2 years already... oops, its 3 years!!  I retired in 2011, oh my goodness, I must be having a lot of fun because I really don't see the days flying by.  So I promised you some pics of the goodies from Nashua, sorry to be so late in posting them, we had some very cloudy days which is not good for my picture taking.  Ah, enough with the excuses, without further adieu, here they are, enjoy.

 
   

 

 

Some wonderful new designers that I met in Nashua

Hello everyone, may I start out by saying Happy Mothers Day to all of the wonderful Moms out there.  Well as I mentioned in the previous post, I met some wonderful designers at the show.  Now some of them you might have heard of already, like Karen Kluba of Rosewood Manor or Jeannette Douglas of Jeannette Douglas Designs but I had never heard of Julie Norton of J.Designs.  What a lovely lady, she has gone through a lot in the past year but her smiling face was right there to greet you.  She taught a couple of courses on Hardanger... oh my, they were lovely pieces.  Before I go any further, I have to tell you that it was a difficult decision trying to decide what courses I wanted to take because some of them were a bit pricey (for me).  I really would have liked to take her hardanger courses, her designs were very pretty... but I did manage to spend a few pennies in her booth.  I will have to take pictures of all the different patterns/kits I bought from everyone and then you can all drool.... lol.... I also met Beth Seal of Summer House Stitche Works  (I had never heard of her or her company before), what a delightful lady with some beautiful designs and yes, you guessed it - I spent some money there as well.  Then during a round robin, (4 designers came in with kits for us), I met Maureen Sorenson of The Heart's Content - she does beautiful work on 40 count over one!!  hmmm, while I can admire the beauty of it, over one on 40 count fabric is not really for me. I also met Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished, she was so embarrassed because she had forgotten the fabric for our kit so she had to run out and buy some envelopes so that she could mail us the fabric.  I can certainly understand why she forgot, she was a very busy lady at this show.  Tracy Horner from Ink Circles was also part of the Round Robin and I must apologize to the other designer because I can't remember who it was.... I must be getting old (ha ha).  Well wonderful friends, I am going to sign off, go take some pictures (it is a gorgeous day here in Ottawa) and find out who that other designer was - it will bug me until I figure it out.  Until the next time, Hugs, big hugs from Louise

Back from the Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, New Hampshire

Hello wonderful people, I'm back..... I know, I know, I just got back from Branson and then took off to go to Nashua.  Well, to be honest, I did unpack part of the suitcase, did the laundry and then re-packed it!  I had a wonderful time there, it was great meeting some designers, meeting new people.  My friend Janice and I had wanted to go to the Needlework show but every time we checked it out, there was anything that interested me.  I didn't realize it but you don't have to take any classes (I thought you did) and you can just go and stitch and meet up with some friends or do as I did and make new friends.  I have to tell you this story, I was coming back from my room and as I stepped out of the elevator I saw a lady who was pushing an elderly lady in her walker.  I just stood there, kind of laughed to myself and saw my mother and I.  When Mom and I used to go shopping, she would use her walker to get around and when she got tired, she would sit on the seat and hold her feet off the ground and I would push her around.  So being the nosy person that I am, I had to go over and introduce myself and find out if they were mother and daughter.  Betty (the daughter) and her Mom were laughing when I told them that they were a familiar sight and the wave of love that I felt when I saw them was wonderful.  Betty, I apologize but I can't remember your Mom's name.  These ladies were great, every time I ran into them (not literally), we would share a smile and a laugh.  Betty was also in one of the courses with me so that was great.   So what courses did I take, well.... I had to take the course on the History of Perforated Paper by Claudia Dutcher of Dutch Treat Designs.  I had met Claudia on the stitching cruise I took a couple of years ago and she is one heck of a designer and teacher.  She had brought with her some of her pieces from her collection of perforated paper, it was fascinating, some of these pieces dated back to the 1840's!!  Simply stunning and before you go thinking perforated paper ... that's not stitching... you might want to do some research and check it out.   I also took a course on Colour Play with Tracy Horner of Ink Circles designs. That was so neat, this lady is an engineer and likes things symmetrical (so do I) and she was showing us how to use some really wild coloured floss, and the way to stitch the design so that it appears as if you are changing colours but you aren't.  If you ever get a chance to take a course with either one of these ladies, Claudia or Tracy, I highly recommend it.  Both were informative as well as making the classes fun and interesting.  Tomorrow I will tell you about the other designers that I met.  Until then, take care, and remember that you are loved.  Louise

Back from Branson, Missouri

Hello there wonderful readers, well as the title states - I am back from Branson, Missouri. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had such a wonderful time at Cecilia's Samplers retreat last year (and the year before) that I decided to go again this year. My friend Barb wanted to go back with me and her Mom, Marg, decided that she wanted to join us as well. Whoohoo, another road trip for Weezie and friends. I love to drive so the thought of driving for 2 1/2 days was not a problem. The drive there was uneventful, seeing some green along side of the highways was great, the closer to Branson, the more green grass there was. Now just to explain a bit more, when I left Ottawa, my front and back yards were covered in over 2 feet of snow so I got a bit excited to see green grass and thinking that maybe spring was finally here! lol For those of you who were just as fed up with winter as I was, you can really relate to this.  Here is a shot from last year and look, some green grass..... I know, I know, you must be thinking that I am crazy, getting all excited over some green grass but winter was really long this year!!    We actually went down a little earlier than the expected so we decided to take in a couple of shows.  I had wanted to see "SIX" and "Doug Gabriel" last year so I was determined to see at least one of them this year.  Fortunately for me, both Marg and Barb wanted to see them as well.  "SIX" is a group of 6 brothers who not only sing but do all the instruments with just their voices - what a fantastic show.  I will do another post just about the show and with pictures about them.  We also got to see Doug Gabriel,  I had met him 3 years ago when we went to one of the local breakfast places and also met him last year as well.  He was just a regular guy out talking to people and inviting them to see his show.  So this year, we go out for supper to a restaurant called RibCrib and guess who is there.... Doug Gabriel... so of course I just had to go and talk to him.  He came over and talked to us and gave us a coupon for 50% off the ticket price for all three of us - gotta love that.  (I will do another posting about his show as well as some pictures of him.)  Getting back to RibCrib, if you are in Branson please be sure to have a meal there, the ribs were absolutely wonderful, the baked beans (one of their sides) were yummy!! The portions were huge, so we all had leftovers the next day for lunch.  I will definitely be going back there next year.... ummm, yeah, you guessed it... I'm going back again next year.  And on that note, have a wonderful day and remember that you are loved.  Big hugs, Louise aka Weezie.

Toy Shop is finished

Hello wonderful friends, first another happy dance for me.... I finished my Toy Shop late last night and I am so pleased. It is another Mill Hill beaded kit and it is part of my Christmas village as well as being part of my 31 day challenge from last year. So whoohoo, another one to cross off of my list ... but if you are like me, you've added a couple more to the list. lol So what am I now going to work on, welllll.... I promised my girlfriend Barb that I would stitch a teapot for her as her birthday present (I am so cheap). I am using Bejewelled (Crescent Colours, I think) on a lovely overdyed evenweave entitled Mint - we picked these up last year when we were in Branson Missouri for the Cecilia's Samplers retreat. I enjoyed myself so much last year we are going again this year! Can't wait. I have to apologize for not having a picture of the Toy Shop for you but you are not going to believe this, I couldn't find my battery charger for my camera. I looked upstairs, downstairs and even in the kitchen!! I have been looking for it for a couple of weeks and the worst part was that I was absolutely positive that I had put it back in my craft room on top of the computer - and it wasn't there. Now I know that I have a messy house but I do have certain spots that I always keep certain items - camera and batter charger are two of them. So yesterday while at my computer, I turn around and see a black spot on the floor underneath my sewing chest - yup you guessed it - it was the charger! a big sigh of relief because I really didn't want to buy another one. So when I get a chance I will take lots of pictures of the finished challenges as well as the goodies I received in Sturbridge Massachusetts. So wonderful people, until the next time, remember you are loved. Hugs Louise

It's still cold here

This morning I opened the door to head out for lunch with my Dad and just about froze! The wind was chilly and I changed my mind very quickly about the coat that I was going to wear - I grabbed the ski jacket instead of the spring jacket that I was hoping to wear. Today is cold and windy but very sunny. I am still having problems accessing my blog but please bear with me. And to lovely lady in France who commented about spring over there (see last post), welcome and please send us some spring weather here. In my last post, I talked about the wonderful time that I had in Sturbridge at the Stitchers Hideaway retreat. Sue works very hard to put it all together for us, getting door prizes from a lot of designers and shops. We had a new store there this time because Chris's Collections closed - a good thing for her, she wanted to spend more time with her family but sad for us. You should see all the goodies that I got on sale. My good friend Roberta was very nice and picked up the big bag of goodies and kept it for me. It was like opening presents at Christmas... because to be honest, I had forgotten exactly what I had bought. I knew that I had cleaned her out of the Petite Treasure braid by Rainbow Gallery as well as buying a lot of Wisper. I knew that I had bought some Mill Hill beaded kits but didn't remember all of them. I will have to take a picture of the goodies to show you. I haven't done a lot of stitching this week, to be honest, I have done a lot of nothing! absolutely nothing! I read the latest novel by Robyn Carr, started a new book by author Laura Griffin. I enjoyed the last one I read by her so I thought I would try another to see if I really like her. I will let you know. So folks, until the next time, luv ya dearly, big hugs from me to you. Louise

Okay, its official - is winter over yet?

I don't normally complain about the seasons - I like winter because its cold and vice versa, I love summer because of the heat (and yes, I have air conditioning in my house!). But this year, I am tired of the snow, the cold and I can't wait for spring!! In fact, yesterday afternoon, I opened the bathroom window for a couple of hours to let in some fresh air (and yes, the furnace did come on once or twice) but it was worth it - fresh air, absolutely lovely. Okay, I am going to complain a little bit here, so bear with me. I have had to change the way I access the internet and with the new system, I couldn't log into my blog! ACK!! So there I was, getting extremely frustrated because I couldn't log in and I had some wonderful things to tell you. Now do you think I can remember what I wanted to tell you.... okay, its official... I am also getting old.... let me amend that... getting older and like wine - I just keep getting better! That's my story!! LOL I have bookmarked this site on my new system, so hopefully I will be able to access it a little better but if you don't hear from me, please hang in there, I will keep trying. I am now off to do some serious stitching on my Toy Shop which is very close to being finished, will take a picture so that you can ooh and aah over it. Until the next time, remember that you are loved. Louise

Back from Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Hi there, did ya miss me? I do apologize, it took me forever to get back into things after being sick in January and February. As the title states, I am back from Sturbridge. I attended the Stitchers Hideaway alumni retreat in Sturbridge. What a fantastic time I had - I received the door prize for coming the furthest distance - it is a big frog with googly eyes and its mouth is wide open! It reminded me of having to kiss the cod in Newfoundland (a tradition to get "screeched in" so that you can become an honourary Newfoundlander), so I promptly gave the frog a kiss hoping that it would appease the "Goddess of stitching boo-boos" - guess what - it worked!! I have to admit though, at times I was a little worried.... I was the sole Canadian sitting in a room of American women when the Olympic womens hockey game was on... Canada vs USA.... oh dear... but you know what - we had a lot of fun with the Olympics, we cheered on our teams, commiserated with each other, teased each other and of course, I had to say "let the best team win.... and may that team be Canada, eh". During all this frivolity, I did manage to get some stitching done and my Toy Shop is almost finished, well not quite.... these little Mill Hill beaded kits are very deceiving. They are full of beads (regular size and petite) and this one has a ton - okay, a lot of different beads, if I remember correctly 9 different ones and they are everywhere!! So as soon as I am finished it, I will be posting a picture for you to ooh and aah over. Then I will get back to my January challenge. Hmmm, I had to change my rules this year since I didn't start one every day. My challenge is to do the original 31 ornaments but the difference this year is I will finish stitching each one before starting a new one. So hopefully I will have lots of pictures to show you soon... Until the next time, remember that you are loved. Big hugs from me to you. Louise

Having computer problems & photos

Sorry folks, I have been having problems logging into blogger, don't know why, will have to check into it some more. (big sigh). I know that I owe you some photos of last years completes so here are a couple of them. This is the Santa biscournu that I did for my friend Janice, it was one of her Christmas presents.  On the bottom side I attached some buttons - Christmas tree, snowman, poinsettia and of course a Canadian flag - yes, I am showing off my pride in my country.  Hmmm, now I have to find the other photos, I really hate it when I can't find something on the system.  Am I the only one like this?  Found the one that I wanted, it is a picture of the biscournu before I stitched it together.  As you can see, Janice has already put it to good use, see the needle sticking out - she was absolutely thrilled to receive this.  Well folks, time to find the other pictures and maybe do some more stitching this afternoon.  Take care, love ya, big hugs. Louise

I'm still here

Hi there, did ya think that I fell off the face of the earth? Since the last post, I have had a major head cold (I think its going around - tis cold and flu season). And I have barely stitched at all - I mean days without stitching!! Gasp, gasp.... in fact, I must be very honest with you - gulp, my daily challenge isn't up to date! I know, I know, you are all thinking that Louise has to be really sick to not be stitching! Part of the problem was a major issue I was/am having with my cable company (I won't get into it) which was/is extremely frustrating and depressing. I have run through the gamut of emotions from anger to resigned futility and thats pretty bad. So even though I haven't stitched, I still pulled a design every day. This means, my challenge is going to proceed a little differently this year. I will pick a pattern every day (so far, I am up to date) and I will complete them on an on-going basis. Does that make sense.... Okay, I am off to complete the UFO's from 2014, pull todays design, make me a lovely cup of tea and get stitching! Yea.... all I can say now is "I'm Back!!" Hugs to all of you, Louise

Jan 2014 Challenge - Day 2

Hello again, right now if you have read the previous posts, you are probably thinking that I am absolutely nuts!! and you might be right. (lol) But you have to remember something - all the ornaments I make, I then sell at a craft fair to raise money (and awareness) of this rare disease - so I have to start early and early in the year is January 1st!! So yesterday I started "Santa & the Children Silhouettes" by Homespun Elegance Ltd and today I started "Oh-ho-ho-ho" by Babi's Treasures. I spotted these little gems about two years ago on the designers blog. They are done in one colour and then made up to look like Christmas crackers. Cool, eh. I can't wait to finish one to show you what they look like. I liked all 12 designs in the Christmas Collection, so fair warning to you, all 12 are in this years challenge. Okay, so you are thinking that this sounds like something that you might like to do BUT not to the extent that I am doing it - fair enough. My challenge to you.... pick one new project or pick a UFO that you have wanted to start/finish for a LONG time but there was other projects ahead of it. Start this project this month and I challenge you to finish it within the year. Have fun, tell your friends, let me know how you are doing. Leave me a note and join in the craziness of my challenge. I will open a new page (if I remember how) for the 2014 challenge. I would be happy to have you join me on my adventure. Hugs and kisses, Louise

January 2014 Challenge

Hello and welcome to 2014! I remember when I was little and thought that 2000 was far, far away and look, here we are 14 years later in 2014. It's true, the older we get, the faster time passes!! So its another year and this means a new challenge. This time I am going to be more realistic - I am only going to start one new project a day for the month of January and they will only be ornaments! Hmmm, I just have one small problem.... I put the names of all the projects on little pieces of paper so that I can draw a different one each day and when I counted all the itty, bitty, little pieces of paper.... I have 38!!! oops, all I can say is thank goodness my box wasn't full. There are some patterns that I stitched in 2013 in the box so as a compromise I will only start an ornament if I didn't stitch it last year. Does that make sense? Sounds good to me... and of course I still have to finish the projects from the 2013 challenge. Here is a quick update to the 2013 challenge - I actually completed 36 of the 52 starts!! But I have to confess I did complete a few other items - I did 2 model stitches for AuryTM, I also completed 10 other ornaments so I think I did pretty darn good for the year!! This leaves me with 14 UFO's to complete from 2013 and oops, I also started 4 other projects which weren't on my list, so the total UFO's for the year are 18. oh dear, dear, dear, dear.... I think that I am going to be pretty busy stitching this year! (lol) On that happy note, take care and tomorrow I will tell you which ornament I started today as well as the Jan 2 ornament. Hugs to you all. Louise