Stitching for Jaxon

Hello again

2012-02-21T14:34:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, I am so sorry to have such a long time between posts but I have had a bit of a rough time. My surgery was a success but then I developed an infection in the incision and have been on heavy duty antibiotics since. I haven't felt like doing a lot so I have spent a lot of time watching TV and basically snoozing and letting the body recuperate! Today I managed to do a load of laundry - sounds exciting I know - whohoo. As for stitching, well, to be honest I haven't managed to do very much. However I did contact the 3 designers that were aboard the stitching cruise and they have all given me permission to stitch and sell their designs. While I am on the subject, I must be a little blunt here (please forgive me) but I want to make it clear that I have received permission from the designers and this does not mean you have the same permission. If you want to stitch someone's design and sell it for charity, you will have to contact them yourself and get written permission from them. I am sorry if this sounds extremely rude but I want to give the designers their credit and to make sure that we respect their copyrights. Thank you for being so understanding. I must go and update the list of designers. Until the next time, I hope that you all stay healthy, and have plenty of time to stitch.

Hugs and kisses
Louise

I'm back from the cruise

2012-02-02T17:29:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, my friends and I are back from the cruise, I had an absolutely wonderful time. I enjoyed meeting some wonderful designers and some fabulous stitchers. I will post more about that later and I will update my designer link page.
I also met a wonderful family from Costa Rica when I went swimming with the stingrays and the dolphins. Their two little girls made the experience even more enjoyable, seeing the wonderment, the awe and their joy on their faces - gotta love it. I think I have another couple of munchkins (my term of endearment for little kids that I love) in my life now. Swimming with the dolphins was a dream come true for me - something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. They are so beautiful and to be able to touch them was fantastic. Pépé and Luna (the dolphins) gave everyone kisses and rides - how fabulous is that!

This is just a short note to say hello and that I will be incommunicado for a while again, I am having some surgery tomorrow so it will be at least next week before I am on the Internet again. Until then, take care of yourselves

Louise

January - first posting of the year

2012-01-14T21:55:00.003-05:00

HI everyone, I hope that each and everyone one of you had a safe, healthy and happy Christmas and New Years and that maybe you got a chance to sit and do some of your crafts.
I have to apologize for a couple of things, I am still new to the blogging idea and I am not sure how to fix some of the things on the site - like all the extra space in the right hand column (big sigh).
And I also have to apologize to Ally in Saudia Arabia for not answering her e-mail in a timely fashion. I have switched to yahoo for my e-mails, so the new e-mail address for the blog is stitchingweezie "at sign" yahoo.ca
The holidays were quiet yet busy for me. There are a couple of things that I want to share with you. First, I am going on a stitching cruise organized by Sue Hillis - I am so excited, I have looked forward to this for a very long time. I will tell you all about it when I get back. However it might be a little while before I post everything because I have to have some surgery - so I will be out of touch for a bit.
Until the next time, I wish each of you all the best for the new year - a mountain of love from your family and friends and of course enough stash in your craft pile to enjoy.

Hugs
Louise

Diana's Tooth Fairy Pillow

2011-12-30T15:20:00.002-05:00

Shortly before Christmas, I received a wonderful surprise, in the mail that day was a small parcel containing a cute little Tooth Fairy Pillow. Diana from Ohio stitched it up for us. The little pillow even has a pocket in the back to hold the tooth until the tooth fairy comes along. Thank you so much Diana, it is so sweet.

Hugs Louise

Angela's Flowers

2011-12-30T15:11:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, I have been remiss in posting a few articles. Angela (friend of my niece) did two cross-stitch pieces years ago and never quite knew what to do with them. She donated them to us so that we could use them to raise some more money for the charity. It is a beautiful basket of flowers with a straw hat - I am not sure of the designer but it looks like a Paula Vaughn design. Silly me forgot to get a picture of the smaller design Angela stitched. It was a bowl of flowers, very pretty, I had it professionally framed and a friend bought it as a Christmas present for her mother-in-law. Thank you Angela, they are beautiful pieces.

Louise

Marg's Wreaths

2011-12-14T09:29:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone, look at these beautiful wreaths that Marg made for us. They are simply stunning... they are so nice that I had to buy some!! Marg, you outdid yourself and you will simply have to make more for us for next year!! Thank you ever so much. Hugs and kisses from all of us.

Louise

A Gift from Bob

2011-12-03T12:14:00.004-05:00

Carole taught a friend of hers to cross-stitch and look what Bob stitched for us. His very first cross-stitch, it is beautifully done. And Bob, it is already sold!! A big hug and thank you from us.

Some goodies from Carole

2011-12-03T12:04:00.006-05:00

As promised, here are some goodies from Carole. A cute little Santa Pirate from Sue Hillis, Jingle All the Way and Is It Too Late to be Good.

Some small finished ornaments

2011-12-03T11:54:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of the small ornaments that I have stitched and finally finished. They were all done on aida cloth. The purple one actually has little beads that were leftover from a Mill Hill bead kit. The orange/green one is done using an overdyed thread that I stitched on a diagonal which really changed the effect.

I love the pink celtic knot, it also used an overdyed thread from a company which is now out of business. It is so pretty, as I was stitching it, it kept reminding me of the pink ribbon that represents breast cancer. Lots of hugs to them.

Louise

Joy Towel

2011-12-03T11:48:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone, long time that I didn't post and for that I apologize. I have been back to work to help out a former colleague and I didn't realize how tiring that was!! But I do have some wonderful news to report.

Di sent me a lovely package and it contained the "Joy" towel that she had been working on at the Ohio retreat. It is beautiful and when I took it to work to show some ladies, the first person who saw it... bought it!! Whoohoo - both of her towels have now sold.

Hugs to all and a very big thank you to Di.

Caitlin's Quilted Christmas Balls

2011-11-09T14:33:00.003-05:00

Hi again, I had the most wonderful surprise this morning. My great-niece Caitlin (who is 13) sent me a lovely package. It contained 6 quilted Christmas balls and they are so beautiful. She wanted to help so she offered to make some Christmas balls for the project. I am very sure that they will be sold very quickly!! A super big hug to Caitlin, luv ya dearly. Thank you very, very much.

Christmas Humbugs

2011-11-09T14:27:00.003-05:00

Hello, here is one of the Christmas Humbugs that I stitched. The first picture is before I sewed it together, and the other two pictures are after the sewing is done. And this humbug is already sold! I was showing it to a friend of mine and she bought it. Yahoo!! Thanks a bunch.

Di from Arkansas

2011-11-09T14:17:00.002-05:00

Hello tis me again, I must apologize to Di, I have not posted very much since Janice and I got back from Ohio. We were down there with some wonderful ladies who we met at another retreat in Canada and when they had their own retreat in October, I invited myself down. Of course they said yes, and that they would love to have us (Janice and I). While we were there, Di had stitched up a lovely fingertip towel for our project and she was working on another one that weekend. And silly me had not posted her work. So finally, here it is.

Janice's Cards

2011-11-09T13:47:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone, Janice has been stitching away, I swear her needle must be smokin' hot! She does such pretty cards. Here are some of them. Louise

Moose Quilt

2011-10-29T23:44:00.002-04:00

A very wonderful, caring lady sent us a Moose quilt. It is so beautiful, and the backing fabric is gorgeous.

Thank you so much.

Louise

Clay Ornaments from Laurie in New Brunswick

2011-10-29T23:39:00.003-04:00

Along with the wonderful goodies, my sister came with, her daughter Laurie sent up some clay ornaments. They are just so cute, I love the faces. I love the "Marshmallow Family" and the "No Fly Zone" frog. Thanks a bunch Laurie.

Hugs Louise

Some wonderful goodies from NB

2011-10-29T23:24:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone, my sister arrived yesterday from New Brunswick with some wonderful goodies for us. I shrunk the pictures down a lot so please click on them to see more details. Alice loves to quilt, so she made the Teddy Bear Quilt with a pink backing. She also hand quilted the book, it is soft-sided and it is about Helping Heroes! Then she made us some lovely little bags in a variety of colours. The placemats are beautiful, the seashells on one side with a turquoise water on the back, the black and white musical instruments with striped backing and the autumn leaves with a homespun backing. And she also knitted up some dishcloths (I can never have enough of those). Oh yes, she is knitting up a scarf while she is here, will post a pic when it is done.

Hugs,

Louise

Just a quick update, these placemats are already sold, as is one of the snap bags.

A generous donation

2011-10-27T21:36:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, a very dear friend of mine is a member of the Lions Club here in Ottawa and they will be sending a cheque to the CFOPN. Yahoo!

Karen, thank you for all your help, it is appreciated. For those of you who don't know her, she has a heart of gold!!

Louise

2011-10-23T21:51:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, it seems like forever since I posted anything here. I have been down in Ohio visiting some fellow stitchers and having a ball. We were right in the middle of Amish country, it is so beautiful there. Even the Wal-Mart had a hitching post for the horse and buggies driven by the Amish. Did not do a lot of shopping except for the stitching goodies. I found a booklet that has 3 patterns for Christmas humbugs, will stitch them up next. They look so pretty. I will download some pictures for you soon. Until then, take care.

Louise

Other goodies coming soon

2011-10-07T17:08:00.004-04:00

I forgot to mention that my friend Carole is working on some goodies for us as well. She has the Christmas Pirate almost done. It is by Sue Hillis and Santa Claus has a patch over one eye - it is so sweet.

As well, my friend's daughter Carole will be knitting up some afghans for us. My great niece wants to make us some quilted Christmas balls. My sister says she has some goodies as well but I won't see them until her visit (at the end of October).

Can't wait to see everything, will take lots of pictures for you to see.

Louise

Janice's Celtic Knots

2011-10-07T17:04:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone, I have been busy stitching but nothing is finished so I have nothing to show you right now. However, my friend Janice was busy taking care of her Mom and still managed to stitch up a bunch of Celtic Knots for the cause. Unfortunately you know who (me) forgot to bring her camera to take pictures of them. So the next time I see her, I will take lots of pictures so you can see her beautiful work.

Until the next time, hugs to all

Louise

From Susie in the UK

2011-09-27T00:02:00.000-04:00

Today I received a wonderful package in the mail. It was from a dear friend Susie who lives in West Sussex, UK. She sent me 2 adorable Christmas ornaments - a little gingerbread girl and the matching gingerbread boy. The fabric (aida) and threads are from her stash. Thank you ever so much, it is appreciated. Hugs to all. Louise

A piece for Barb

2011-09-26T23:56:00.000-04:00

Hello, tis me again, just wanted to show you a piece that I stitched for my friend Barb, she wants to put it up in her office at work! You really have to have a sense of humour for this one! It is done on Whisper Aida with "Acts of Violets" silk thread from Vikki Clayton. It is a free design from Kincavel Krosses in the UK. Enjoy.

Day with Jaxon

2011-09-24T18:57:00.001-04:00

Hello, tis me again. Yesterday, I spent a lovely day with my niece and Jaxon. What a cutie pie. He showed me some of his favourite toys... motorcycles are his thing right now. Then he showed me the transformers. I don't know about you but I am not "au courant" with little boy toys. These transformers change from cars/trucks to a person (is that correct?) or should I say "super hero". Well, umm, I think I failed transformers 101. My niece told me which one was one of the easiest to do... sure it was... I think I got it transformed about 75% (and was stuck on the rest of it) when I was interrupted by his nibs (Jaxon) handing me his transformer and saying "Car". This meant change it back to a car, and yes he did say please and thank you. Okay, put mine aside, try and work on his, it was a little more difficult. Ha, you think that an adult could do it... well, I am sorry to tell you that when we were told to clear the table for lunch - I was one happy person!! Jaxon and I cleared the table and the transformers were put away for another day. I think I will have to "borrow" one so I can work on it at home. lol

Afternoon was nap time and while he was sleeping/trying to sleep, I did some cross-stitching. The nap did not last very long so we played some more and then went outside to wait for his big brother to come home from school. Another little snack, some more play time outside, and I left just before supper. It was lovely and exhausting.

For Christmas cards

2011-09-22T12:26:00.000-04:00

Tis me again, here are some photos of items that will be made into Christmas cards. I promised myself that I would put as much information about the pieces as I could. I have to apologize, I do not know who any of the designers are for these pieces. All the fabric is 14 Count Charles Craft aida cloth. The two stained glass windows done on the navy aida were done using Weeks Dye Works Fiesta and Calypso (respectively). The next two were done using leftover DMC floss. The two Celtic knots - the pink one was done using leftover DMC floss while the other was stitched using Baneberry overdyed silk by Vicki Clayton. Louise

Would you like to Help?

2011-09-20T23:59:00.001-04:00

Do you stitch, knit, crochet, quilt, etc? I have sent out an e-mail to some of my stitching friends asking for their help. And because we care, a lot of them said of course they would help! One friend asked if she could do bread cloths, then make a basket for me to sell - the answer ... yes, of course! Another lady asked if she could make me some "pocket warmers"... for those of us who live in cold climates - what a great idea.

Since this is the first year and I have no idea how things will go, I am grateful for all your support and your help. If you would have any questions, please e-mail me, my e-mail is stitchingweezie "at sign" yahoo.ca.

I will be including this information as well as the address in another tab as soon as I can get it set up, since I am not all that computer savvy, I have another friend helping me.

Thank you

Louise

Bethlehem from Imaginating, Inc

2011-09-20T23:40:00.000-04:00

The first piece that I have finished and sold is entitled Bethlehem, designed by Diane Arthurs of Imaginating, Inc. It sold for $200 and $175 will be donated to the CFOPN. In this piece, I used an overdyed fabric (Crystal Dwarf (14 count) from Picture This Plus fabrics) and Midnight threads from Gentle Arts Sampler Threads. The finished size is 3" by 20 1/4".

I feel as if I have to apologize for not donating the total amount to CFOPN, but the materials were expensive.

Oh my goodness, my apologies to Imaginating, Inc - in my original post, I had their company name wrong!! I am so sorry!! Thank you for pointing it out to me.

Stitching for Jaxon - how it started

2011-09-20T23:25:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, my name is Louise and my great-nephew has a rare disease called Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP). Jaxon was diagnosed with FOP five days after his second birthday. He is a cute little guy with a great sense of humour and his belly laugh makes me smile.

I did some research on FOP and found out what a debilating disease it could and can be and I wondered how I could help. I had been mulling over in my mind how I could raise money to help the organizations. And then it hit me - I am a stitcher!! And I know a lot of stitchers and I am sure that they would be willing to help me. Cross-stitching is my passion and I have been stitching for many years.

I started by speaking with some wonderful people in Florida from the IFOPA (http://www.ifopa.org/), from there I spoke with a lovely lady here in Ontario at the Canadian site CFOPN (http://www.cfopn.org/). I explained what I was thinking of and did they have any comments and what would I need from their organizations in order to help them. In the meantime, I had contacted a few designers and asked for their permission to stitch some of their designs for charity. From all the sources that I contacted, people were saying "go for it". Thus "Stitching for Jaxon" was born.

Since this is the first year I am not sure how many items I will have for sale. Eventually I would like to have a table at one of the Christmas fairs here in Ottawa, and it will become a yearly event. I am in this for the long run and I definitely can use all the help I can get. Hopefully together we can raise some money for this rare disease.