2013 is almost over

Hello there, how are you doing? Another year is almost done and as always, I wonder where the time has gone. So folks for those of you who participated in my 2013 January Challenge - how did you do? Did you finish all your projects? Fantastic!! Oh dear, you only managed to complete half.... that is still fantastic!! Good job, well done. Even if you only managed to complete ONE project, that is wonderful - you get to cross that one off your list. Are you wondering how I did... well, to be honest - I didn't finish all of my 52 projects but I certainly put one heck of a dent in it!! I completed quite a few and I will have a better number for you tomorrow. So what's next you say... well the 2014 challenge!! Okay I heard a few groans especially from my friend Janice, she has already threatened to kick my butt if I started another challenge. (tee hee, I can't resist) My challenge for 2014 is to finish all the projects that I started this year as well as starting an ornament every day in January. Just think of all the ornaments that I will have ready for the craft fair next year. And speaking of next year, I wish you a wonderful 2014 filled with love and good health. All the best and until next year.... hugs Louise

Christmas Memories - Part 3

Hello tis me again. During the years we spent in Montreal, Christmas days were usually filled to the brim. Presents to be opened, then in the afternoon, the aunts and uncles came to visit and then supper! Oh my goodness, the big supper - turkey with stuffing, potatoes, carrots and we had to have mashed turnips! (I didn't like turnips when I was a child.) And then the desserts, Christmas cake and a variety of home made cookies. As the kids grew older, we all helped out with the desserts as these were made ahead of time and frozen or in the case of the Christmas cake, well wrapped and stored in tins in the fridge. Mom's Christmas cake was a very dark fruit cake filled with a lot of cut-up fruit (both fresh as well as dried), nuts, a bit of flour and a touch of brandy. These cakes were made in October/November and Dad helped in the preparation. All the fruit and nuts were cut up and left to soak overnight in juice (pineapple, orange) and the brandy, this was done to give it some lovely flavours. Now here's the part where Dad helps, he would add more brandy when Mom wasn't looking!! And oh yes, he had to stir the mixture. This recipe yielded 3 Christmas cakes and was very tasty (so I was told, I don't like fruit cake). If you would like the recipe, leave me a comment and after Christmas I can post it for you. And the cookies - did I mention I was the original cookie monster! (lol) Mom and I would make at least 6 different types of cookies including shortbread and these were then frozen but I have to be honest - some of them didn't make it to Christmas because yours truly would eat some directly out of the freezer - they were so good!! I had 2 favourites - Frying Pan cookies and peanut covered cake cookies (not sure of the name). The frying pan cookies are made from dates (and other ingredients) that you cook in a frying pan. They are so easy to do and so very tasty but they are covered in coconut and guess who is now allergic to coconut! Oh well, I really didn't like them all that much (I guess). As for the other cookie, I am not sure what it is called. Mom would make a thin white cake (about an inch thick) and let it sit out overnight to dry out a bit, the next day she would cut the cake into 1 inch cubes. She then made an icing (I think it was a seven minute icing) which was used to cover the entire cube - so we now have a cake cube covered in icing (as well as very sticky fingers) and then we would drop this cube into crushed peanuts (the kind with the red skin) and roll the cube until it was entirely covered in peanuts. This was so yummy, my mouth is drooling as I write! I am also laughing because I can see my Mom and I sitting at the kitchen table giggling while trying to make these cookies and both of us with sticky fingers and of course one of us would get an itchy nose... yup, never failed. Ah memories.... well the final memory that I want to share with you is about our Christmas stockings. Mom always filled them with a tangerine (boring), maybe an apple (again boring), the fruit was put back into the fridge very quickly.... okay so we were kids - where's the chocolate!! While we dug deeper into the stockings, we would find other little goodies, maybe a tiny whistle, some crayons, a new colouring book and yes, at long last - chocolate! One year, I remember Dad had a kazoo in his stocking (yes, we all had stockings - they were red with white trim and each one had our name on them - I still have mine). Dad's kazoo was really neat, it had a train at the end of the kazoo and when you blew into the kazoo, not only would you get music but the train would go around the track. This silly little toy that Mom probably got at the Five and Dime (equivalent to the dollar store today) kept the entire family busy all day long. We would take turns trying to see who kept the train going the fastest or the longest time - looking back, it just proves we were full of hot air. To all of you, I wish you a wonderful time this holiday season, may it be filled with love and laughter. Merry Christmas to you and yours, love Louise

Christmas Memories - Part 2

Hello dear friends, how are your days shaping up, everything ready for the big day? I had a lovely e-mail from my sister Alice telling me how much she enjoys my blog and the warm way of writing that I have - what a lovely compliment - thank you. She also shared a little story with me that I certainly didn't know about. Let me share with you some more memories, my mother always wanted a new nightgown for Christmas and her Chanel No 5 powder! Whenever Mom got the new items, she would then burrow into her drawer and pull out last years presents so that they could now be used and then she would put the new ones into the drawer for next year. My sister wrote "one of my memories (besides all the cookies, lol) is Dad giving me his credit card so that I could go buy some things for Mom. Of course, it had to include a new nightgown (just in case) so that she could now dig out the one from last Christmas. And the funny thing was that I would check with Mom first to see what she really wanted. I am not sure if Dad knew that I did that, it was supposed to be Mom & my little secret. And of course, Mom wasn't supposed to know that it was really me who shopped, not Dad." In the 60s and early 70s, we lived in Montreal and my parents listened to CJAD a radio station. Paul Reid, one of the announcers on this station would have an evening dedicated to his memories of his parents and growing up in a large family. Our entire family would sit and listen to his stories and the music, the beautiful songs and carols that his parents loved. The best part of that special, for me, was when he read "The Littlest Angel". Oh, he made that story come alive for me, a deep booming voice for God, a childs voice for the littlest angel. You could see this new angel running down the streets of heaven, getting dirty and his halo all askew (he must have tried the patience of the saints). It is a beautiful story and if you ever have the chance to listen to it, just sit back and enjoy. More memories soon. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Love Louise

Christmas Memories - Part 1

Christmas memories - its that time of year again.... kids looking forward to the big day, people getting ready - doing all the baking, shopping, wrapping presents and hopefully listening and singing along to some Christmas music. What do you remember most about Christmas? For me, it was the presents (an absolute ton of them), the cookies that Mom and I made way ahead of time, and of course the music. My friend Barb was over recently and she downloaded some Christmas music and we were laughing over the choice of the songs. She was even kind enough to download some of my favorites. Growing up I listened to a lot of different music, my Mom loved country music and her favorite singer was Jim Reeves. I remember her on Sunday mornings (before church), she would lie in bed and listen to the LPs (remember them - vinyl records). Looking back we would tease Mom about the music but now I can appreciate the beautiful voice this man had. Barb very kindly downloaded "An Old Christmas Card" - it brought tears to my eyes, remembering Mom and listening to this man's voice. My brother George loved Nana Mouskouri and I love her version of "Ave Maria" and "Petit Papa Noel". Then of course, favorites by Bing Crosby, Mahalia Jackson, Mario Lanza and some fun songs by Great Big Sea, the Irish Rovers and of course Alvin and the Chipmunks. Mom and I would sit for hours and wrap presents - she would sit at one end of the table and pass me the presents in their boxes and then hand me the sticker with the persons name on it. I cannot tell you the number of times that I had unknownly wrapped my own presents. I don't know about you but I always thought we had lots of money when I was growing up because we had presents piled up under that Christmas tree. They would be stacked 3 or 4 high, leaning up against each other. But I have to tell you - Mom would wrap everything!! We always received new underwear, new socks, new nightgowns and pajamas, new slippers every year AND each item was wrapped separately ... so with 4 kids and 2 adults - that was a lot of presents under the tree. That's it for now, in the next post - the cookies and the fruit cake and our Christmas stockings. Thank you for taking the time from your busy life to read my blog. Hugs Louise

Mill Hill Believe is finished

Yippee, another one finished. I finished the Mill Hill beaded kit entitled Believe. It is certainly a very different Santa Claus but you know what - I like it, there was something about this picture that kept calling to me. So much so that I decided to stitch it before a lot of my other kits. So this means that I can now strike another one off of my list from my January challenge. Now that calls for a happy dance!! I know, I know - I can hear my friends asking so which one are you working on now.... sorry I can't tell you yet... its a surprise. But as soon as I am finished that one, I am going to work on my "Housework makes you ugly". If you know me, you know how much I hate housework.  So wonderful people, until the next time, hugs from me to you and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Louise

Some packages have arrived

Good morning, how are you today? If the weather were sunny instead of the gunmetal gray, life would be even better!! Yesterday I received an e-mail from Cindy and today an e-mail from Ingrid stating they had received their goodie packages. Both are pleased and that makes me very happy.  I sent Ingrid the floss, I love these colours and use them a lot in my stitching, and I included a few patterns from my stash and voila, instant gift.  Cindy loved my little humbug so of course it was hers from the very start. I also included a little piece of lavender fabric for her.  What she will stitch on that fabric will remain a mystery but I do hope she tells me because I have another piece of that fabric and I haven't used it yet!  Cindy was kind enough to tell me that Debby (the winner of the blog anniversary) is away visiting family so I can't post a picture of the goodies that I sent her.  So folks, you will just have to wait for that one.  On that note, have a wonderful day, I hope that you have some "me" time today.  I am going downstairs now to do some serious stitching on a Christmas present for a dear friend.  Hugs, Louise 

Procrastination but goodies finally on their way

Hello there, I'm back and I have been busy stitching and relaxing and more relaxing. Retirement is wonderful, highly recommend it. lol Are you wondering about the title of this post? I finally put the Debby's goodies in the mail yesterday. What took me so long you ask? Well.... mystic linen.... the goldarn piece of fabric was hiding from me. I knew it was in a certain box but everytime I checked, it wasn't there. Hurummph... not too happy but I would get distracted by something and off I go to do some stitching. So yesterday, I decided I would get my butt in gear and find the fabric. I looked in my fabric box and there it was, hiding in plain sight!! Don't you just hate it when it happens. Yup, there it was, stuck in between 2 other pieces of linen (big sigh) - okay, a little happy dance. Now for the rest of the winners package - yup, got that.... now for the addresses. I decided that I would put all my addresses together in a word document - after all, what else do we use computers for.... can you see where I am going with this, yup, can't find the addresses. And of course I have signed out of my email account. Here we go again, open email, find all the addresses, cut and paste addresses and now I finally have my list! Envelope time - not a problem, I have lots!! and they are handy, right above the computer desk. So I had great fun putting some stuff in envelopes and off to the post office I went. AND they are now gone. So Debby, Cindy, Ingrid and Diana, keep an eye on the post for the next couple of weeks. Hugs to all. Louise

January 2013 challenge update

Hello everyone, how are you today? Have you managed to find some "Me" time in the daily bustle of life? Me time for me - is stitching or reading. So now that the craft fair is finished for this year, I have some time to sit and relax and enjoy some quiet time. I had to do some serious clean up on my wooden tv/magazine stand next to my stitching chair. It was getting really messy with all the projects that I was working on for the craft fair. So... yup you guessed it, I had to clean it off - now you can see the top of it. While in the process of cleaning it, I started my box for the 2014 challenge! Okay, so I haven't finished all the 2013 starts but I certainly have made a dent in the list!! One of the large projects (7) is finished, the rest will just have to get done next year. lol Of the 9 medium projects, I have 5 done. For all the small projects (34) - most were Christmas ornaments, 25 are completed. Not bad, eh. Now I think that I can finish the balance of the small and medium projects before the end of the year - that is, of course, if I don't start any new ones!! Hugs to all of you, I am a firm believer that we can never have too many hugs. Louise

$750

$750 - nice number, isn't it - I like it a lot!! It is the total amount donated to CFOPN for 2013!! and of course the year isn't over. lol Hopefully we can raise some more money before the year is over. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and as always remember that you are loved. Big hugs, Louise.

Craft fair is over

Hi everyone, well the craft fair is over for another year. We did pretty good, we had sales of $350. We also sold a couple of things ahead of time bringing the grand total to $500 for the day!! But more important, I spoke to a lot of people about this rare disease. They had a lot of good questions - almost always they asked if surgery was a possibility. Unfortunately it is not, the healing process from the surgery would cause more bone growth. People were appalled and saddened that there was such a horrible disease out there. But like everything else, unless we have family or friends with rare diseases, we don't hear about it. Thank you all for your support, love Louise

Blog Anniversary Winner is Debby

Hello there, it is already Nov 3, and as promised here is the winner of my blog anniversay gift. It is Debby of Mountain Stitcher on the Plains. Whohooo!! Debby, could you please send me your snail mail address and I will mail your gift to you but it will have to wait until the weekend (after the craft fair). lol I can just hear all the disappointed folks saying good for her but drats it wasn't me!! so I have a couple of smaller things for consolation prizes. Rhona, Mii, Tracy, Tina, could you please send me an e-mail with your snail mails at stitchingweezie"at sign"yahoo.com and I will send a little something to all of you.

Is It Too Late? is finally done

Hi there, good news, I have just finished Lizzie-Kate's "Is it too late" - it is so cute now all I have to do is stuff it. So I am going to do that right now and then take a picture so you can see it. As my dear sister-n-law would say "Doesn't it look smashing?"  I used Cupid for the hearts and Kodiakery for the clock, I do like the colours and how they came out.   Finishing off a few more goodies before the craft fair (its coming fast). Unfortunately this damn cold is still lingering with me doing lots of coughing, hopefully it is almost finished. Don't forget that I will be doing the draw for the blog anniversay gift sometime tomorrow. Take care and hugs to you all.

Quilt patterns and fabrics

Hi there, I am feeling much better and as promised here are a couple of pictures of the quilt patterns and fabrics.  I love houses and cabins in the woods, I think it is the serenity of the scene that calls to me, I have included all the fabics in this picture that will be used with the pattern.  The backing fabric is the birch trees.  Along with these fabrics, I bought some beautiful batiks which I want to use in The Curtesy. This designer is the lady that I met in the store and she kindly gave me permission to use the finished project for charity.  I am always amazed and humbled by the generosity of these designers who work so hard on their designs yet do not hesitate to give their permissions.  A big thank you to all of you and you know who you are!!  I can't wait to get started sewing.  The fabrics in the stores are so gorgeous and fun, check out the lizard.... he reminded me of the geckos I saw in Barbadoes and the bright vibrant batiks are simply amazing.   And a little surprise for you, I finished the background of the Poppy and I have inserted it into the Sudberry House 5x5 Square box. I think it looks quite nice.  Well folks, time to get some stitching done, I am working on the Is It Too Late ornament.  Take care of yourselves and as always thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Hugs, Louise 

  

I have a cold

Hi there, sorry for not writing more about my sisters visit and showing you all the beautiful fabrics that I bought but I have been sick with a cold since Sunday. You know the one - your eyes are watering (can't stitch because I am constantly wiping my eyes), your nose thinks it is a water tap or even worse - a fountain and you can't stop sneezing!! My poor nose was a little red and getting slightly chapped from all the blowing... do I have your sympathy yet? lol big sigh Seriously since Sunday I haven't done a lot of stitching, I have read my e-mails, slept and that is about it. Tomorrow I will take some pictures of the gorgeous fabrics and the patterns that I bought so that you can see and enjoy them. As soon as the craft fair is over, I plan on doing some sewing/quilting. So dear friends, until the next time (hopefully tomorrow), take care of yourselves and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Hugs Louise (oops - don't get too close I don't want you catching my cold.)

My sister is in town

Hi there, as the title says - my sister is in town visiting my Dad. His cousin was in town and the two of them went out for lunch which left my sister and I free to do whatever. It just happens to be the weekend of the quilt shop hop (all 2 of them). I picked her up about 9:30 and then proceeded to get stuck in traffic (even though I took some roundabout ways to avoid traffic) for the better part of 30 minutes - yuck! so glad I am now retired and I don't have to fight traffic every day. We decided to start at the shop the furthest away (70 minutes from my house) and work our way back home. The shop is very nice and the people were so friendly - I was admiring one design and the lady I was talking to said "That's my design!" Whew, good thing I didn't say something horrible! So I bought the pattern and even got her to autograph it for me! (I'm not shy. lol) (PS, I was going to buy the pattern anyway because it is so pretty.) After shopping we stopped for lunch at the creperie restaurant which is literally right next door. The lunch was excellent but they were busy and it took 45 minutes to get our meal - everything was made from scratch and it was so tasty. It was now 2 o'clock and we still had an hours drive home - so we took a different route and along the way my sister spots another quilt store.... yup you guessed it - we pulled a u-turn and went shopping. Now this store had lots of beautiful, colourful fabrics ranging in price from $18 to $22 for a meter (39 inches) of fabric. Whew, that tends to be a bit pricy especially after seeing the prices down in Massachusetts in August! After shopping there - I bought some fabric and another pattern, we continued on our way home visiting another fabric store along the way - but nothing there jumped out and said Buy Me - so that was a really quick and cheap stop. lol All in all, we had a lovely day travelling around the Ottawa area and tomorrow (Saturday) we have to go shopping at the other quilt store - thank goodness, it is only 5 minutes from home. Needless to say I didn't get any stitching done today but I can probably get a few stitches done tonight. So my dear friends, take care and hopefully you can find some "Me" time to enjoy yourself even if it is just sitting and relaxing. Hugs to you all, Louise

JBW - Noel

 I'm back again with another finish.  I was a busy little bee last night and quickly stitched up this cute little ornament entitled Noel from JBW designs.  It is just so sweet, now I want to stitch one using my Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid.  The tough decision - which aida fabric and what colour of the petite treasure braid do I use.  Life sure is tough if that is the only decision I have to make. lol  So dear friends, until the next time, hugs from me to you and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Louise

Snow Mom is finished

Hi there - guess what ... I finished Snow Mom.  She is so pretty, the main colour used for her coat is called Lavender Louise (Crescent Colours).  Have you been wondering what I have been doing since the last post?   Well... stitching of course - my friend Barb came over on Saturday and we had a lovely turkey breast with stuffing and veggies to celebrate Thanksgiving (Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October while the United States celebrates Thanksgiving in November).  And of course we did some stitching!  A day without stitching is almost unheard of in my house. lol  Then on Tuesday, I went to Janice's house and stitched some more - I worked on my Mill Hill Believe kit (still part of my 31 day challenge).  I was amazed at how much I managed to get done.  I am still working on getting the things ready for the craft fair and I have learnt (much to my chagrin) that it is not easy putting stitched pieces in frames and having all the lines straight (I am super particular about this)!!  I  must apologize to the wonderful lady who does all my framing for me.  I now know how she feels when I say the line is not quite straight. So I have spent quite a few hours trying to get the cute little pieces in my 4x4 inch boxes. Big sigh....

I have also been reading Edgar's blog about his trip to France - all I can say is Wow.  He really puts a lot of work into his posts - if you have never read his blog - you really should check it out (see the list on the side - Blacksheep's bit of the Web).

Well folks, that's it for now, hugs to all and remember that you are loved. Louise

A few more finishes

Hi everyone, I have been busy making up some more ornaments, getting ready for the Nov craft fair and most importantly enjoying your comments on the giveaway.  I realized as I was making up "Snow Dad" that I had not finished stitching up "Snow Mom".  oops.... so last night, I dug through the box with my 31 challenges (which is almost empty) and there she was ... with 4 rows of her coat done.  Oh dear, time to get going on her.  I managed to stitch another 4 rows last night while watching TV.  At this rate, she might be finished for next years Christmas fair. lol   Today's plans are to work on her and attack the craft room so it can be used as a craft room!!

A big thank you to Debby for her kind comments on her blog about my blog and the giveaway.  Please pass the word on about the giveaway - I am only trying to raise awareness about this rare disease.  Thank you all for taking the time from your busy day to read my blog.  Hugs to you all.  Louise

Blog Anniversary & Giveaway

Hello dear friends, I hope that you are enjoying some "ME" time and able to get some stitching done or to enjoy your hobby.  I am always amazed at how fast time passes now that I am retired.  I keep wondering where all the days have gone.  It is already October and I just realized that I have had my blog for 2 years now and have been completely remiss in having a blog anniversary giveaway.  Oops.
If you are interested in participating in my giveaway, please leave me a comment and be sure to tell your friends about the contest. I will do the draw on November 2 (a month from now) and depending where you live (and how fast the mail systems are) you should have your goodies before Christmas. lol
So what will I give away.... I am not quite sure yet but it will definitely be coming from my stash of goodies, I know that it will include some fabric (Picture This Plus Mystic linen), some charts and of course some floss.  
So enjoy your day and remember that you are loved - a big hug from me to you.  Louise

Father & Daughter/ Father & Son

Hi there, I have a couple of photos to share with you today.  When I was going through all the magazines that I had, I found a couple of delightful designs that I wanted to stitch.  It was a single colour design of a father pushing his son on a tricycle and the other one was a father swinging his daughter up in the air.  I could just imagine the squeals of joy because I remember doing that with my nieces and nephews. The disigner is Carol Emmer and the designs are from the Just Cross Stitch magazine June 2008.





As well, I stitched a couple more stockings and the Lizzie-Kate Love design from her latest Christmas series. 

Remember I told you that I had taken a couple of quilting courses, well, here is my perfect square.  I love purple and when I saw the pink, I had to buy it to go with the purple and there is also a green fabric that has the same pattern design as the pink.  Will let you know what I am going to do with them when I figure it out.

Thats all for now, have a wonderful day and until the next time, big hugs from me to you. Louise

Kincavel Krosses Stained Glass Windows

Here they are, aren't they beautiful?  I had so much fun doing the first one - it is part of my 31 day challenge that I thought I would do a couple more for the craft fair.  This is all aida and floss from my stash. The designer is Kell Smurthwaite, Kincavel Krosses She is a very talented lady.  Thank you for these beautiful designs.
Louise

January challenge - a few more finishes

Hello dear friends, once again, it has been a long time since I wrote anything.  I have been busy finishing a few things, I had some company and I took a quilting course.  Hmmm, as you know from the previous post I came home from Massachusetts with an itch to start quilting/sewing again.  I found some beautiful teacup fabric for my kitchen curtains and some gorgeous dolphin fabric. 
I took a quilting course to make a bread and butter table runner - I have some beautiful Christmas fabrics that I wanted to use.  Well to make a long story short, my square did not turn out the way that I wanted because I used the wrong fabric for a certain part, the block/square still looks nice but it doesn't have the "oomph" that I was looking for.  Good thing I have lots of fabic. lol  I will take some pictures and update this posting for you.
So I finished some ornaments for my upcoming craft fair and I think they look pretty nice.

So my friends, that's it for now.  Must get back to stitching, I am more than ready for a day of sipping tea and stitching away.  I am currently working on the Mill Hill beaded kit "Believe".  Hugs to all and remember that you are loved.  Louise

Visit to Massachusetts

Hello everyone, I apologize for not posting in a while but I was off visiting 2 wonderful ladies in Massachusetts. I first met Roberta and Peggy at a retreat in February and they invited me down for the garage sale at Sudberry House.  They have a sale the first 3 Saturdays in August, so of  course I just had to go down and visit and shop!!  I stayed with Roberta and her husband and their 3 cats and Peggy was there as well.  We had a wonderful time, they took me to 3 different cross stitch stores (one that was 2 hours away!!) and 3 or was it 4 different quilt stores.  Oh dear me, that was dangerous and they really had to twist my arm to go shopping at these stores!! Let me just say that I spent a few pennies and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I used to sew quite a lot years ago and I even did a bit of quilting but nothing like Roberta, she has gorgeous quilts and quilted pieces everywhere in her home - simply stunning.  So of course, all these goodies brought back the itch to sew!  I bought some lovely fabrics and a few kits to get me started.  Don't worry, I will take pictures of the finished goodies.

I hitched a ride with Janice and Dave and since I wasn't driving I was able to do some stitching.  I started the little red piece and did the middle of the design and then added a few fans at the edges and turned it into a humbug.  It is really cute. 
And of course I talked about Jaxon and FOP and Roberta was very generous and opened up her Christmas ornaments box and donated quite a few.  Check them out, these ladies are finishers extraordinaire!

Hockey Santa is finally done

Hi there, yes another finish for me... another happy dance... what can I say... actually I thought I would never get this little guy finished. It is about 5 inches high and 3 wide, but I have to admit, towards the end, the needle was flying.  The designer is Charlotte's Collectibles and this pattern booklet also contains the designs for a Santa holding a basketball, a soccer ball, a baseball and glove, and a football.  The fabric is an overdyed aida from my stash as well as the DMC threads, I did use a Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid for the cuffs and the hat's brim.  I think it looks smashing.  Hugs and kisses to all and once again, thanks for taking the time to read my blog.  Louise

Jim Shore Santa Claus finished

Hi everyone, did you think I would never post again. OOPS, sorry about that but I really didn't have a lot to say (or write).  Like my t-shirt says "Eat, Sleep, Stitch".... yup that's what I do.  But I have a really good reason for not posting, I was working on my Santa Claus by Jim Shore and its finished.  (Can you see me doing my happy dance?)  It is so pretty, I love it and now I want to order another one of his - Saint Nicholas.  I showed it to my Dad and Angele today at brunch and Angele liked it so much, she wants me to do one for her!  So... here's the picture.  Hugs to all of you. Louise

Mill Hill World Peace is finished

Happy Canada Day to all Canadians where ever you are.

One of my many January challenges was a Mill Hill beaded kit entitled World Peace, after finishing the Love Tree, I decided to work on World Peace.  It was beautiful to stitch because there was large areas of one colour so it did stitch up rather quickly (at least I thought so).  I was hoping to finish it for the end of June and thus be able to show it off today and as you see by the title - it is finished.  I think that I will put it into a box like I did with the Poinsettia, I like the finished look of them when they are in the boxes.  Guess I will just have to go back to Sudberry House and buy some more of them. lol

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog, hugs to you all. Louise

PS, I have created another "gadget" in the right hand column so that you can see the progress of my January starts.

Newfoundland pictures

Hi everyone, today I thought I would share with you 2 pictures that I bought in Newfoundland when I was there in 1995. I "found" them when I was purging.  I bought these 2 watercolours, they were complete with mats and I kept saying to myself  I would get them framed when I had money!  Well, we all know how that ended up... they were still in the plastic sleeve and they are so pretty.  Even funnier, I was at Michaels recently and bought 2 very nice frames on sale and thought that I could use them for my stitching... well, don't you know the watercolours look absolutely gorgeous in them.  Check them out.  Hugs Louise.

Love Tree finished

Hi everyone, it's been a week since I posted - I obviously don't lead a very exciting life (lol). As the title says, my Love Tree is finished - yahoo.  The pattern is by "M Designs", I used aida from my stash and the silk is Cardinal, it has just a hint of overdyed and it is very pretty.  For those of you who have never seen the tree designs, if you tilt your head to the left and look at the design sideways, you will be able to see the word "Love". 

To all my dear friends who read this blog faithfully, thank you kindly. Hugs to you all. Louise

Not much going on

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while, not much happening here.  Still doing purging... yes that is how much stuff I have and no I am not a hoarder! ... okay, only for some stuff.... you know, the purple corduroy pants you think you will get back into.... (I am keeping those!!)  but I have reached a point where a lot of the stuff is going out the door.  I had a charity pick up last week and there is another one coming tomorrow.  Last week I put 5 boxes out and there will be at least that many this week.  Feels good to get rid of the stuff I was hanging on.... why I kept them - who knows.
So as a result of all this purging, the stitching is not very far along, my Love tree is about half done and it seems it is taking forever but actually I have basically done 2 threads a day for the past week which is very slow for me.  Usually when I am stitching I do a couple of hours not a couple of threads!  But I do have a funny story to tell you.  Last week my friend Barb and I went to the Bulk Barn (a store where you can buy food items in bulk quantity).  She was picking up a variety of spices and I was meandering through the store, I didn't really need anything.  I looked at some of the bulk candy and was looking at the fat content - some were as high as 90% and there was one that was 102%!! Yikes, that is high.  So I only bought a few M&Ms peanut candies (I enjoyed them thoroughly), normally I would have bought several pounds!! But since the operation (hysterectomy) I have been trying to eat healthier (I don't always succeed).  As I continue through the store I saw the "black balls", they are little round balls and they are black, hence the name - black balls - that's what I have always called them.  I go to the cash to pay for my purchases and the cashier asked me if these were "anise" candy... hummm, I explained that I always called them black balls and when I was a kid I would go to the local store when my sister worked in the penny candy section and I would ask her for 25 cents worth of black balls.  And my sister would shoot me daggers as she counted out 75 black balls!!  They were 3 for a penny back then (the early 60's).  Tee hee, I still giggle when I think of her having to count out 75 black balls for me.  So folks, have a great day and I will try to think of something exciting to write about tomorrow .. or the next day.  lol  Love you lots and thanks for reading my blog. Louise

Not a lot of stitching done...

Hi there, I haven't done a lot of stitching this past week but I have been doing a lot of purging!  Have you noticed how many advertisements there are in magazines... I had forgotten how much there was.  Now don't get me wrong I know that we need the ads - how else do we find out about new fabrics and stores and goodies that we absolutely must have.  In the past couple of weeks I have done a major purge of my magazines, I ripped out the designs that I wanted either for myself or for the Jaxon project and then the rest of the magazine went into the recycling box.  What a lovely feeling to be rid of them... you ask how many.... ummmm, I hate to admit it but I am sure that it was over 500!! 
Now about the stitching, I was at my friend Janice's place on Thursday and I was working on the Love design... you know the one, the one where you have to turn the design sideways to read the word Love and it looks like a Christmas tree when its done.   I was stitching away after we finally got started (we had a lot of show and tell - we hadn't seen one another for quite some time) and it was going smoothly, lovely design... know where I am going with this... yup... that blasted frog came for a visit... I just hope I left him there... oops sorry Janice... I hope that darn frog is in your garden!!!  So I unpicked a few stitches and then it was time to go, so I still have some frogging to do and then I will be back stitching.  Until the next time, hugs to you all.  Louise

10 years ago today

Today is a day of reflection for me, Mom passed away 10 years ago today.  And I must admit we was blessed to have her with us as long as we did.  She would have turned 80 that year, she was a "normal" mother who hollowed at her kids to come for supper (we obviously didn't have cell phones back then) and she was cranky at times and she wasn't perfect but then again none of us are either.  I have to tell you about a piece that I stitched for her.  We were visiting the family in New Brunswick and my niece Laurie asked if I wanted to see her stitching mags... duh, yeah!  Among the magazines was a kit entitled Footprints, it was a beautiful design and she said if I wanted it, I could have it.  After much deliberation I said No thanks.  We had a lovely visit with them and just before leaving my Mom asked if I would get that kit because she would like to do it.  Not a problem - inside my head I was thinking she really had no idea how big it was.  Shortly after our visit, Mom ended up in the hospital.  While visiting I brought the kit along with me to sort the threads, she gasped when she saw the size of the fabric!  Its huge! She knew at that point that she was not going to be able to stitch it, she thought that it was an 8x10... oops, its more like 20x24!  To make a long story short, I stitched it for her and she saw me working on it and kept saying how beautiful it was and how beautiful it would be when finished.  I finished it the week before she died.  Luv ya Mom.

And yes Mom did see it completely finished.  Today my friends, take the time to appreciate your loved ones because we never know how long they will be with us.  Love you dearly.  Louise

More finishes

Hi there, have you been wondering where I was?  I know I haven't posted in a while when my friend Kathy e-mails and asks if I am okay.  ooops, glad to know that people actually read my blog.  Gotta love them.  Well I have another couple of finishes to show you.  I have my Teapot and Wicked Accident back from framing.  Here they are, don't they look nice.  A Wicked Accident is designed by AuryTM, I just loved the design.  It reminds me of the movie "The Wizard of Oz" when the house crashes on the wicked witch.  The fabric is Midas by Picture This Plus and I used Vicki Clayton overdyed silks.  The teapot is also designed by AuryTM done on Picture This Plus Calypso fabric using DMC variations #4240 Purple/Blue combo.  I think it looks smashing.

Then I have 2 more ornaments done, Lizzie-Kate Peace and the Ink Circles: Treble Clef.  It is so pretty that I can't wait to do the Bass clef and Alto that are part of the series.    

      

January 2013 Stitching Adventure - Update

Hi there, have you been wondering how I am doing with all my projects?  I finally said to myself that I MUST make a list for you and give you an update... so today is the day.  I will colour code the projects - plain ordinary black for all the started projects in January, hmmm, let's use blue for the ones that are completely stitched and Purple (it's my favourite colour) for the ones that are completely finished into ornaments or framed. So here goes...  Oops, forgot to mention that some days have 2 starts... remember ... I had a lot of projects that I wanted to start in January.

January 1 - Lizzie-Kate: Faith & AuryTM: Teapot
January 2 - JBW: Christmas Tree Collection II & Ink Circles: Treble Clef
January 3 - LOL & Victorian Charm
January 4 - Hockey Santa
January 5 - Frosty
January 6 - Six Stockings #1
January 7 - JBW: Noel & Mill Hill Toy Shop
January 8 - Stained Glass Noel
January 9 - Cottage Garden (Hardanger) & Cricket Collection: Tea
January 10 - Winter Biscournu
January 11 - Ink Circles: Attractive Opposites #1 & Mill Hill: Believe Santa
January 12 - Snow Family Tree - Dad
January 13 - BFF & AuryTM: A Wicked Accident
January 14 - JBW: Country Hearts - Joy
January 15 - Is It Too Late & Mill Hill: Poinsettia
January 16 - Don't Bug Me
January 17 - JBW: Christmas Tree Collection IV & Love Tree
January 18 - Lizzie-Kate: Friends
January 19 - Bent Creek: Ze Rink & Mill Hill: Jim Shore Santa
January 20 - Lizzie-Kate: Cozy Christmas Wishes
January 21 - Ink Circles: Attractive Opposites #2 & Mirabilia: Winter White Santa
January 22 - Snow in Love
January 23 - Bent Creek Trio: House & Hand Over the Coffee
January 24 - Ski Bum
January 25 - Santa Biscournu & Mirabilia: Christmas Elegance
January 26 - Lizzie-Kate: Family & Ink Circles: Bass
January 27 - Lizzie-Kate: Peace & Eileen Gurak Needlework Designs: Hooked on Tea
January 28 - Country Christmas & Mill Hill: World Peace
January 29 - Six Stockings #2 & Horse Whisperer
January 30 - Snow Family Tree - Mom & Ink Circles: Alto
January 31 - Housework Makes You Ugly & A Summer Stroll

Mill Hill Poinsettia is finished

Hi, did you enjoy the pictures of the Precious Moments Chapel?  I enjoyed it very much as you can tell. 

So have you been wondering what on earth have I been working on?   As the title states, the Mill Hill beaded kit entitled Poinsettia is finished - not only did I finish the stitching but  it is completely finished!!  What's the difference.... check out the picture.  I used it as the stitched piece that fits into the lid of the Sudberry House box.  Doesn't it look gorgeous?  One of the ladies in Branson mentioned that these kits are gorgeous and are very lovely when finished but they are a tad deceiving!  I agree, it doesn't look like a lot of stitches but this little project contains 4900 stitches including 6 different type of beads.  The beads all sparkle in the sunlight and for once, the colours are right on!

So wonderful people thanks for reading my blog and remember that you are loved.  Louise

Precious Moments Chapel - Part 3 (picture heavy)

Hello again, this is the final posting on this beautiful Chapel by Mr. Samuel Butcher.  These pictures were taken of the walls and stain glass windows in the hallways as well as the room decidated to his son Philip who passed away.  This man is truly amazing, I, for one, am very glad that he decided to share his talent with us.  I can only hope that these photos inspire you to visit the Chapel because it is well worth the visit.
Once again, thank you for taking the time from your busy day to read my blog. Hugs Louise

The Bridge to God

Philip's Room