Jan TUSAL, a Card, and HalloSAL update

Ok, I am going to start this off with a picture of my January TUSAL update:


I recently found out that my neighbor had a triple bypass over Christmas. She has been in Illinois since Thanksgiving and was scheduled to be home around the 5th of this month. The bypass changed those plans, so I stitched her a card:


HalloSAL part 3 is "in the books". Here are a couple of pictures of it:


Look closely at the bats above the haunted house. I used beads instead of french knots.

I recently purchased a couple of patterns from Cindy over at Cindy Mae Designs, Paw Prints and Catnap Time. I also received one of her lovely Grab Bags of blended cording (although I haven't figured out for the life of me how to use cording - I have a little in the Christmas Design SAL that I am stitching so I am gonna learn soon enough!). Here is a pic:


Thanks Cindy for the beautiful cording and great designs!

Finally, I was really bummed at Christmas when the package my mom sent didn't arrive. I have been looking for it every day (except Sundays and holidays) since. It finally arrived this morning. Here is a look at the goodies I received from my mom, brother and niece, Ariel:


Clockwise from left: Michigan State stocking, Frog knicknack, MSU gift bag, MSU ball ornaments, MSU candy cane ornaments, Froggy pillow (made by my niece), Walmart Gift Card from bro and niece, and The Beatles Anthology.

A couple of Small Finishes and progress

Well, I was trying to get some research in today, but Google Books kept messing up so I decided to do a little stitching. I am also a bit under the weather as I believe the cold conditions in Florida have finally gotten the best of me. So, here are a couple of small finishes:

First up is Pineapple Cone

Stitched on 18-ct Charles Craft fabric
DMC Floss (came with kit)
Designed by: Barbara Bangser
2007 Posy Collection

Next is a bookmark. Part of the design is my own and part is from a magazine (JCS, June 2009). The poem, or rather haiku, is mine as well.

Stitched on 14-ct Aida fabric
Floss color: Dark Brown (left over from Quaker Medallion)

And I have completed part of HalloSAL part 3. I still have a couple of sections to do, but I need to get the right floss first. I decided I didn't want to try to use something similar.


I do intend to stitch a little on the Christmas Design SAL with Yoyo tonight.

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway! So far there are two who actually posted a comment on the post indicating which mag they would like to receive.

First Finish of 2010!

Well, I finally finished Quaker Medallion and I have to say that I really like the design. Now I just have to decide how I will "finish" the piece. Will I frame it, turn it into an ornament, something else??? I have seen others' Quaker-style pieces and wasn't sure how I felt about them, albeit their stitch work was/is nice. I may have to find some other Quaker-style designs to add to my stash.

Here are a couple of pictures of Quaker:



When I was adding my initials and the year, I started to put "09". I had to remove the stitches and replace with the "10". The first couple of days I was doing great in writing the correct year, now...fa-get-aboud-it! LOL

I also read on a couple of different blogs where the stitcher is looking for ways of storing their floss. Here are a couple of pictures of my floss storage bins:



The first photo shows a couple of drawers open on each, the second one shows them all closed. I found one of them in Michigan, but I can't remember what store. The other one was bought at a local K-Mart. They are generally in the hardware section of the stores, if you can find them. I prefer the darker (black) cabinet as opposed to the lighter (grey) one. You can see that I still have some cleaning up to do with excess floss!

Soon...a new start

Well, I spoke with my mom today (a few times) and during one of our conversations we were looking around on my blog. She goes to it from time to time to see what I am up to in stitchy things, but this time I was pointing her to specific posts. As she was looking, she came upon the Christmas card (kits) that I purchased a few weeks ago, and the one I finished. She really liked them and [hinted] that she would love to make some cards this year like that but she doesn't stitch. Well, I will be stitching inserts for her over the next few months! She also asked about the design I am stitching in Yoyo's SAL. I pointed her to the original post showing the purchase I made at NeedleCraft World in Kissimmee, FL. She really loved Ink Circles, Cirque des Carreaux, so I ordered the fabric and floss and should get it before the end of the month. It was another subtle hint that she would like it for her west wall. Gotta love subtle hints from mothers!! I don't mind as it will be another big project for me this year. A little variety never hurts!

Nope! I didn't finish Quaker Medallion last night as I thought I would. I will tonight though!!

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway and tell all your friends!!!

Very cool animations

I just found this website and I have to share a link with you! It's a link to The Victorian Sampler's stitch animation!!! It shows you, in animation, how to do various stitches. I think I may just give those darned French Knots another go!

New Start

Well, I broke down and started another, small, project. Quaker Medallion that I picked up while in Virginia in October. I don't really care for the feel of the fabric, but I will muttle through to the finish. It is a brown colored 28ct linen, but it is a rough feeling linen. I do like the design, however, so I may stitch another one later in the year on a different fabric. Here is a pic of what I completed last night:


In other areas of stitchdom, I have a random question about ornaments and finishing. What is your preferred method of finishing?

I am new to ornies and would like to make the best possible ornaments I can. I have read where some are finished using a strong matte board or foam board to keep them firm. I have also read where some are like mini-pillows with a filling inside.

What I want is to make an ornament that will last for a long time. I plan to start stitching a few ornaments each year for each of my nieces and nephews, my mom, my sister, and my step-mom (to start). There are 8 nieces and nephews in total and with the other 3 included I will have to make 11 or 12 each year! When looking at other stitchy bloggers, it's really not a lot.

Section One Finished!!!

Well, I finally finished the first of nine sections on the Christmas Design SAL with Yoyo. Here is a picture of it so far:


As you can see, I have little red "tick marks" (actually a piece of floss) to mark the center of the design and to section off the first couple of areas I will be working. A couple of markers are missing as my kitten amused herself one day and pulled them out. Oh well, such is life! LOL!!! I wasn't sure until tonight if I was gonna go across then the middle and across etc or just continue down the right side and then the mid and then the left...well, I am gonna continue down. My needle is marking the area I will begin working on next.

Speaking of kittens, here are a couple of January 1, 2010 pictures of my Sandy:



She just loves her cyclops from the movie Monsters, Inc (I believe). My dad won it for me in the local Wal-Mart crane machine and I gave it to her. She's just like a dog with her dolls (she also has one of the bears from the movie Country Bears and a green Care Bear).