Finishes and happy mail day ...

I keep forgetting to share with you pictures of some wonderful finishes that Vonna did for me recently. First up is my Lizzie*Kate Christmas is Forever, finished into a box ... I just love how Vonna finished this box!

I'm going to use it for my Christmas jewelry ... isn't the fabric perfect!

I stitched this piece in 2007 and just now got around to having it finish-finished ... This piece always makes me smile ... it's In Every Nest by Raise the Roof. I love how Vonna finished this one too .. check out the cute bow!

and here's the back fabric ... very cute ... Thanks Vonna! You know I love all the creative things you do with our stitching *smile*

When I got home from work today there was a package waiting for me. Now I haven't ordered anything in months and I'm not in any exchanges right now, so what could this package be? It came all the way from England and the return address said it was from Sally ... well now I'm more curious ... what could Sally be sending me?? Quickly, but carefully, I ripped open the mailer and was very touched by a handwritten note from Sally telling me that she stitched something for me as her surprise PIF recipient and that when she saw this pattern she just knew she had to stitch it for me ... something about me liking reindeer??!!! lol Now acting like a child at Christmas I quickly, but carefully again, unwrapped this wonderful needleroll ... omgosh am I one lucky girl ... look at this!!!

So perfectly stitched ... she is a wiz with her finish of needlerolls! Sally, you just made my day! Thank you soooooo much ... like I said over and over in my email to you ... I just love it!

Looks like our weather will be warm and great working in the yard weather ... so my brownish green thumb and I will be getting some dirt under the nails and hopefully weeds will be a thing of the past ... at least for a couple of weeks. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

And I hope you find your joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for special friends ...

PIF's make me smile ...

Is there anything more enjoyable than coming home from work and finding mail waiting for you? Not the bad mail, bills and such .. nope the good mail, like some new stash, a new ebay purchase, nor perhaps an envelope that you weren't expecting. You look at the envelope, can't remember ordering anything that size, and of course like an idiot you don't look at the return address .. you just grap the first sharp thing you can find and rip, carefully, but you rib open the envelope ... look what I found when I got to rip open a package today ...

This lovely RED bag was a PIF from Jean ... and it's perfect! And I can't wait to use it! Of course I told Jean that it was too pretty to use .. but I can't wait to use it anyway! Look how lovely the lining is! Jean is great with a sewing machine!

And here's a close up of the stitched design on the front of the bag .. it's a little pocket :)


This was Jean's first ever PIF and omgosh she did a wonderful job! Jean's new to blogging, but not to cross stitch .. go over and say hi .. she's such a nice lady, for a Buffalo Bill fan *lol* Thanks again Jean for the wonderful bag .. I'll think of you everytime I use it :)

Hope everyone is having a good week .. I'm really glad the week is almost over .. I spend way too much time wishing my life away at work .. but dammm I just have way too many things I want to be doing other than work .. but owell, it does help pay for my many additions! lol

No stitching pictures yet again, but I did get my Halloween F&S exchange done .. woo hoo! Sure is nice to cross things off the deadline list!

May your day be a peaceful one tomorrow and I hope you can take a moment and remember what happened to all of us 7 years ago .. doesn't seem like it was that long does it? heavy sigh ...

I'm off to stitch a bit before bed ...

I'm grateful for a new stitching bag and a new blogging friend ...

Who am I ...

I got home from work on Thursday and there was this little box on the kitchen table with the rest of the mail. It was addressed to Madeline Walker. DH said it must be for you, but don't your stitching friends know your name? I thought it was kinda strange to, but didn't think too much about it .. not until I opened the package and started laughing, I mean laughing out loud .. I'm sure DH thought I'd lost my mind! This is a PIF from Ruthie, a good stitching friend that just can't seem to get my name right. She wrote this lovely little letter telling me why she stitched the reindeer for me and how this was one of her mom's old spools ... but she opened the letter calling me Mavis! Told you, I'm totally confused about who I am .. see this same Ruth Ann called me Margo and Midge all throughout the Fall Fling last October! I guess I'm just going to have to make a bigger nametag! Ruthie .. I love ya girlfriend! Here's the darling PIF she sent me ... I think this is truly my smallest reindeer! He's adorable!



I saw this online last week and just had to own it! I just love it! Now to work it into my ever growing rotation schedule ...


I've been stitching a lot this last week, but don't have much to show because it's all exchange stitching .. but I did start Earth Laughs on Monday ... OHHHH I love this fabric and all the colors ... this will be a fun stitch for sure.


My weekend has been really good .. Lisa and I went and saw Sex and the City Friday night. We started out at PF Chang's for drinks and lettuce wraps, salt and pepper shrimp and garlic pea pods .. then it was off to the movie. We really enjoyed it! Very funny and I thought it stayed true to the TV series pretty well. Terry and Robert went to see Kung Fu Panda with a few of Robert's friends .. it was definately a hit. Saturday and Sunday we worked about the house .. ya know the usual like laundry, grocery shopping, bathrooms .. all that fun stuff.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and weekend .. your blogs have been pretty busy .. it's always a delight to check in with you all. And keep those comments coming ... I really enjoy reading them!

I'm grateful for dinner and a movie with my BFF ...

Margo *grin*

Woo Hoo It's June 1st!

Thought I'd try and be positive about June being here, instead of the usual, where the hell did May go? lol June is one of the busiest months of the year for us. June brings my Dad's birthday (19th), my wedding anniversary (14th) my brother's wedding anniversary (19th), Father's Day, Josh's birthday (1st - nephew), 2 high school graduations (Josh and Travis, Lisa's son) and a couple of vacations .. Chris and Monica leave for London/Paris on the 2nd, returning the 12th and Terry and I are going to San Fransciso the 12th through the 15th for our anniversary. Whew .. I'm sure I missed something important too! lol

I heard that my biscornu arrived safe and sound it it's new owner. Here's the finished picture. It's a freebie design from Dinky Dyes, stitched with their Ocean Grove silk. I also sent along a pair of blue scissors.

I received a lovely PIF from Michelle .. There's a stitched bookmark, garden gloves, pink ribbon, a magnetic notepad and my favorite candy, M&M's :)

Here's a close up the stitched bookmark .. I just adore this pattern. The word Joy and the search for Joy in my everyday life has been a part of me for a few years now. I will definately be using this bookmark and remembering my Joy and my new found stitching friend. Michelle and I have traded a few emails here and there about health issues and stitching. I've really enjoyed getting to know her. And now I have something stitched by her .. such fun! Thank you Michelle :)

a close up of "Joy"

I finally feel like I'm getting over this head cold crud I've been battling .. hope it doesn't come back! Our weekend has been good. We spent Saturday morning with my FIL, had a nice brunch with him and then went to his house to play with the puppy, who's growing like crazy. Weighs about 12 pounds now. I forgot my camera :( he is a great looking Lasha and my FIL is enjoying him a lot! After our visit we went to check out Frye's, it's a new electronics store around here. The boys definately enjoyed it! lol .. got home about 2ish, did some housework, read my book for a while (I'm reading the 2nd of a new Nora Robert's trilogy, The Hollow). I'm loving this new trilogy. Later Terry, Robert and I went to dinner and then to the new Indiana Jones movie. They had seen it last weekend, but wanted me to see it .. I really enjoyed it. Harrison is such a cutie, even at his age! lol

Today I've been watching the Nascar race at Dover, NH .. this is a really fun track to watch. Catching up on emails, blogs and getting ready to finish up my 4th of July Fair & Square stitching .. mailing date is tomorrow :)

Hope everyone has had a great weekend full of fun and family and of course stitching!

Oh and before I forget, there's a giveway on the Stitch Pink blog. I'm offering up the Survivor Tree by MDesign .. come over and leave a comments and get entered in the drawing. If you haven't visited Stitch Pink before, spend a bit of time and check it out. Kim has done a wonderful job with this blog!

I'm grateful for new books ...

Happy Friday :)

Anyone else as glad it's Friday as I am? I ended up staying home from work today .. my cold has settled in my sinuses and I've had a headache now for three days. I did start my antibotics on Wednesday .. sure hope something starts working soon .. this is getting really old! lol I watched The Jane Austin Book Club on DVD today .. has anyone else seen this movie? I really enjoyed it. It wasn't at all what I expected, but I enjoyed the story line .. the characters and their interactions. The ending was a bit too "nice" .. but all in all I would really recommend this movie.

I have been stitching a bit here and there .. I started Lizzie Kate's Double Flip-it's .. I'm stitching them a a pretty piece of banding. I'm almost done with Spot of Love .. I'll post some pictures over the weekend.

The bright day of my week was Thursday .. when this wonderful stitcher's bource arrived in my mailbox. Sally stitched this as a PIF for me. I've never seen one up close and personal .. didn't she do a lovely job!

and look at the stitching inside! I just love the colors and the alphabet, and the adorable flowers in the middle ... opps, I forgot to take a picture of the colorful threads that were hiding inside the bource when I opened it ...


Sally, thank you so very much .. your stitching and finishing are beautiful. Thank you for stitching this for me ...


I'm grateful for stitching gifts ...

Meet Doug ..

Isn't Doug cute! A very dear friend and coworker of mine, Pat, stitched this for me. It's a hand painted needlepoint canvas. A couple of years ago we were bored at work and did some surfing .. Pat was looking for a new canvas to start. She found Doug and it was love at first sight for both of us. Pat offered to stitching him as a Christmas gift for me .. Doug came home to life with me this Christmas. I just love him! My camera is taking awlful pictures lately .. the colors on Doug as very bright and cheery. I'm going to have him framed. I was going to have a pillow made out of him .. but with all the furbabies around, I really don't want him to get layed on .. so now to get him off to a reliable needlepoint framer.


I've been doing finishing some of my WIPs .. I kinda decided in December that there were some WIPs that I really wanted to finish up .. so January is WIP month for me. This first piece is a teaching piece from a class I took from the Bent Creek sisters .. 2 years ago! yikes! silly to take that long to finish stitching a small piece .. but I love how it turned out. And since it was a teaching piece .. I decided to make it my first pinkeep .. seemed fitting. Again, sorry for the picture .. colors are all off ... but I finished a pinkeep! woo hoo! and it's not too bad .. a little off center ... but I really like my first pinkeep, and I'm looking forward to making some more *smile*


And here's another of my finishes this week .. it's JBW's Pumpkin. I used GAST Fragrant Gloves. The fabric is just a piece I had in my fabric bin .. not sure what it's called.

I also have been finishing up SB's Christmas Drawers, but I ran out of med. olive .. I called and SB is sending me some along with their 2008 scissor fob .. well, I couldn't just call and ask for more med. olive without placing an order for at least one thing! lol .. it won't take me long once the floss arrives to finish CD too .. and I won't tell you how long this piece has been a WIP .. I'm too embarrssed! lol

Thanks for visiting ...

I'm grateful for trying new finishing techniques ...

Happy Friday ...

and Happy Birthday to me *smile* .. 54 years ago this was me and my mom (I was about a week old in this picture) .. and yes I was born with a full head of hair! lol


I think this picture is of my 2nd birthday .. I just love old photos :)

The family is taking me out to dinner at the Outback tonight .. sure hope I can taste the food! I'm really looking forward to a blooming onion! lol My cold is starting to get better .. finally slept through the night last night.

In honor of my birthday I would like do a Pay It Forward .. here's how it works ... the first 6 people that e-mail me (michele11wa@yahoo.com) or indicate interest in my PIF challenge, will get something made by me in the next 365 days (this challenge will have a deadline of Dec. 31, 2008). In turn you must post to your blog the same challenge and accept 6 people to send a PIF to...they do it to their blog and so on....sound good?

Looks like my weekend will be full of football and stitching and putting away the rest of Christmas. Most of it was put away last week, the reindeer still need to be put away and there's odds and ends all over the house that need to be scooped up and put away until next year.

Anyone watching the football playoffs?? What team(s) are you routing for?? We of course are all excited about watching the Seahawks kick some major Green Bay butts on Saturday ...



Thanks for all the lovely comments about my 1st finish of 2008 .. and nice to see some new ladies commenting too. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

I'm grateful for birthdays ...

A Great Friday ...

I received the most wonderful package today from Kim .. I signed up for her PIF and it arrived today .. and I love everything! Look what Kim sent me .. all coffee stuff! Guess she reads my blog eh? lol ...

Here's a picture of the pinkeep she stitched for me .. It's sooo cute! I love the hanger and the twine ... I'm taking it to work to hang in my cubicle ...




Here's a picture of everything she sent .. the little coffee cups are magnets! After taking the pictures, the magnets are on the frig .. they are perfect! She also included a couple of DMC flosses and two freebies that I don't have. Kim, thank you so much .. I just love everything!


A great mail day and a great finish today too .. I finished my Pals Sampler! Woo Hoo! I just love how it turned out and can't wait to take it to Myrtle Beach, SC this October for the 10 Anniversary retreat. This will be the center of my signature RR .. I'm hoping to have lots of stitched signatures from all the wonderful Pals that will be attending the retreat *smile* There's one square that looks empty, but it's an anchor done in all white .. I might be changing the color later .. and right below it is a blank square left for each stitcher to personalize with their initials or a charm or button .. I'm going to do my initials and I want to find a charm with the word Joy on it .. because stitching and my Pals are part of my Joy ... so one of my goals for this weekend is done already .. now on to my next weekend goal .. I think it's going to be a good weekend *smile*



I'm grateful for stitching friends .. online or in person ...

I heard from Jamie that she received my PIF I sent .. I'm really glad you liked it Jamie, I had fun stitching the fob for you, even though the cording is a bit long! lol .. here's a picture of the fob and the other goodies I sent her .. 2 down, 3 more to go *smile* The design is from Lizzie*Kate's coffee leaflet .. stitched over one .. I don't stitch over one very often. For some reason the fabric was really easy to stitch over one on. I forgot to take a picture of the back of the fob, it has Jamie's name on it ..

The tin as a candle in it .. thought it was cute with the J on top .. and that's a miniture coffee cup I picked up ...

I've spent most of the day cleaning .. amazing where dust hides isn't it! lol .. we are slowly reclaiming the house after the remodeling .. sure does feel good! I'll take some pictures after everything is back in place.

I hope to get some stitching done tomorrow ... hope everyone is having a great weekend!
I'm grateful for PIF's ..

Woo Hoo! I received my first ever pinkeep .. it was a PIF from Cheryl and I just love it! Red if my favorite color :) and I love the design ... it's "The Three Emblems" by Papillon Creations, a freebie Cheryl found .. isn't it wonderful *smile* .. thank you so much for stitching it for me Cheryl!

Happy Birthday Robert! My baby turned 19 on Thursday the 27th .. it's hard to believe he's all grown up .. this is one of my favorite pictures of him .. taken on his 11th birthday .. I'm so proud of him. He's grown into a nice young man, with a great sense of humor, very nice friends and still enjoys being with his family. He's off school for the summer, but his attending a community college in our area and wants to major in Sports Journalism ...


and this is Robert in one of his casual graduation pictures ... I hope for all your dreams to come true Robert .. in everything you do .. love you, Mom ...



I've been stitching but it's going slowly .. my rotation is all shot to hell .. mostly because I don't seem to be stitching everyday, which doesn't fit well if you are trying to rotate projects .. so right now I'm just concentrating on a couple of PIF's I want to finish and get mailed and the PALS sampler that I want to get finished before the Fall Fling in October. And my stitching room is so disorganized right now and it's on my nerves .. I really need to spend a day cleaning and getting it back in order so I can find things .. never enough time for it all! lol

I hope everyone is having a great weekend .. and getting lots of stitching done :) I do love the comments and visits from all of you .. thanks for taking time to check in with me ...

I'm grateful for my boys ...