Busy Bunny ...

I've just been having the best time stitching and finishing for Easter this year. Every year we put together Easter baskets for friends and family and deliver them Saturday night so when they get their paper in the morning, there's a sunny surprise on their doorsteps. This year I'm hoping that every basket has something stitched in them too. And of course there's a few new ones for me too :)

I stitched this design a few years ago. Never got around to finishing it ... I never could find the right fabric for it. Well this year I really just wanted to get it done so I could enjoy it in my Spring/Easter basket. I love the rick rack I found ... the fabric isn't horrible and now I can enjoy it!

Egghunt by Lizzie*Kate
stitched on a misc. piece of fabric with the
recommended threads

I stitched this sweet freebie from Carol of iStitch for my dear friend Elaine. I've know Elaine since I was in high school. We lost track of each other over that last 10 years, but that's to Facebook, she found me and I'm sooo glad she did! She lives about 60 miles south of me. I've been going to visit her about every couple of months and it's like we've never been apart. And one of the best things is that she's a stitcher too! She also knits and scrapbooks. We have lots of fun crafting together. I'll have to get her to start a blog someday *smile* I loved stitching this design and have it kitted up to do again for me.

Easter freebie by iStitch

Stitched on a scrap of white linen with

CC Candied Yams

When I saw this design I knew I had to stitch it, at least once! ... thought it would be great in the baskets ... since we are the Easter Bunny's helpers lol I've only got one stitched so far but it a really quick stitch so one or two more should be no problem ... nothing like leaving it to the last minute!

Here bunny bunny by Angel Stitching

Stitched on coffee-dyed 28 ct. linen

with Belle Soie Chocolate, Fern Frond and Carrot Cake

Lastly, I stitched two more Easter freebie by primitivebettys. I stitched this for Beth in our personal Spring/Easter exchange and just loved it when it was done ... so I stitched another one for me and one for one of our Easter baskets ...

Yep, I having way too much fun stitching for Easter! Thanks for looking and thanks for your comments ... love love love them!

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for bunnies and chicks ...

Bunnies and Chicks

Easter stitching/finishing is in full swing here and I'm having a really fun time with it all ... I've stitched up 2 Chicks Rule. One for me and one for Lisa for her Easter basket. I've stitched this fun design 3 times now. Once last year when the chart was released (Lizzie*Kate design). That one I gave to my DIL Monica. I knew I wanted to stitch one for me and well, I was having so much fun I stitched it again! lol I used the same fabric on the back that I used on Peep. I wish I'd bought yards of this fabric ...

I had a big chuckle setting up to take this picture ... I forgot I had these three silly chicks ... now they go with my silly pillow ...

Chicks Rule by Lizzie*Kate

one stitched on a misc piece of 32 ct light yellow linen

and one on a light purple 32 ct linen

stitched with recommended WDW threads

Last month Carol (iStitch Designs) released Sew a Brown Bunny. What an adorable design! So cute that I had to pass it around for Easter stitching. I RAK'd Karen, Michelle and Staci with this sweet design and then I stitched it up for myself. The fabric it's laying on is what I used to back it ...

Sew a Brown Bunny by iStitch

Stitched on a misc piece of 28 ct fabric

with GAST Shutter Green and Belle Soie's Chocolat

One of my personal exchanges arrived over the weekend. I really enjoyed putting this exchange together for Beth. I stitched and finished this Easter freebie by primitivebettys. I really loved how this pillow turned out ... I was tickled when I found a little purple Easter egg in my stash ... I thought it was a fun addition to the pillow. I sent along some fabric, a little Easter towel, some threads, a scissor fob made by me :) and of course some chocolate. I'm so glad you loved everything Beth ...

Easter Freebie by primitivebettys

Stitched on coffee dyed 28ct fabric

with WDW Purple Majesty, Lilac and Belle Soie's Chocolat

I'll leave you with a picture of my kitchen table and my basket of Spring pillows all stitched by stitching friends ... I just love my stitching friends!

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for bunnies and chicks ...

Rocks, Reindeers and a Crow

It all started with an innocent Facebook message from my friend Jennifer. She is addicted to surfing craft blogs and likes to share her finds. One day she sent me this blog ... the specific blog post was about making these Pottery Barn Chalkboard rocks instead of buying them.

I do love Pottery Barn, but for some things their prices are a bit steep, and Monica (my dil) loves rocks, so I sent her the blog link. We decided it sounded like fun so on Labor Day we went on a day trip looking for flat river rocks ... here's what we found and what we created. The rocks ...
priming the rocks ...
rocks are aready for painting with chalkboard paint ...
We used black, green and red chalkboard paint ... think we'll use the red ones for Christmas or Valentine's Day ...

and here's some pictures of the final project ...





Monica and I had a blast working on these silly rocks. I'm so glad Jenn shared that crafty blog with us.

A few weeks ago I had posted some sunflower finishes. I received a sweet comment from Virpi asking if I wanted to trade for two of the charts. I love trading charts with other stitchers. Virpi is from Finland and asked if I would like something from her country instead of a chart ... of course I would love anything from another country! This week I received a box from her with a really nice dish towel with reindeer on it ... love love love it! Also in the box was this funny coffee cup (with more reindeer) and a cute skiing moose. Thanks Virpi for this fun trade!

And lastly, I had another quick finish last night ... the fabric ended up a looking a little more peach color than orange, but I think more black for the trim and backing fabric should help. I really enjoy stitching primitivebettys' designs ...

Crow freebie by primitivebettys

stitched on 28 ct Belfast Chalice

Wow, that was a long post .. hope your coffee/tea didn't go cold! Thanks for all your comments ... you know I love hearing from everyone!

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for rocks ...

Hi there ...

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone has had a great weekend. My weekend was filled with yard work with hubby, some MLS (WTG Sounders!), some NASCAR (if they every get the track dry!), lots of Mad Men watching (season 2, episode 6) and a nap! lol

I thought I would give you a very wrinkled look at a couple of my rotation pieces ... first up is Peppermint Twist by BRD. I haven't worked on this lovely for a long time. PT is my Monday rotation piece. I just love this design and the Belle Soie's are wonderful to stitch with. I'm glad to have it back as an active rotation piece ...

Here's my Tuesday rotation ... Autumn Song that I'm SALing with Natasha. Just a couple more leaves and this pretty will be done ...

And here's what I picked to replace Primitive Wizard of Oz that I finished last week ... Wednesday's piece is Earth Laughs by Mdesigns ... fun fun fun stitch ...

I've been stitching on a couple of exchanges that I can't show you yet, but I can show you a quick sweet finish from a couple of weeks ago ... it's a freebie by primitivebettys called Tulip Time. Now I need to finish finish it before all the tulips are gone!

I've also been playing with beads again ... here are two scissor fobs I made ...

and here are a couple of new bracelets ... it's almost as fun to play with all the colors of beads as it is with all the colors/types of floss and fabrics out there ... is it a wonder that stitchers like playing with beads? lol

Well I'm off to do a few things around this house since the race is still on rain delay.

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for tulips ...

Happy Easter

I've been doing some stitching for Easter this last couple of weeks. As always, I left my finishing to the very last minute which usually doesn't work out too well for me since I tend to be finishing challenged ... but ya know what ... I'm really rather pleased with how they all turned out. First up is Chicks Rule by Lizzie Kate. I stitched this one for my daughter-in-law Monica. I'll be stitching a few of these over the next couple of months ... I love it and have a some Chicks that I know will love it too!

Here's the backing fabric ... I wasn't 100% sold on it, but once it was all done up, I kinda like it ...

Next up is Strawberries and Bunny by primitivebettys. This was a delightful quick stitch, so I stitched it twice! lol ... and will be stitching it at least once more for myself ...

I fell in love with this fabric ...

and here's it stitched up with a different backing fabric ...

Terry liked this one best because it brought out the red of the strawberries ...

We've been having some wonderful stormy weather this week ... I'm sure sunshine is right around the corner! We've had a busy Easter weekend ... but busy in that good way. Spent Saturday with my dad, watching basketball, enjoying a yummy dinner (ham, baked asapagus, sweet potatoes, rolls and fresh baked pies ... Monica made a chocolate pie and a huckleberry pie) and played a couple of games of farkle.

Then it was time to delivery our Easter baskets to our friends/family. We delivered six this year ... we love helping the Easter Bunny with his deliveries! lol

Today has been pretty lazy ... slept in, played on the computer a bit ... we'll be leaving shortly to meet up with my father-in-law for dinner ... no cooking this time, we're going to The Spagetti Factory ... love their broccoli!

Hope your Easter has been wonderful, filled with family and friends, or just quiet with some stitching and movie watching ... whatever it was I hope it was great!

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for a Easter baskets ...

Happy November

The weather around here is really getting me in the holiday spirit. I love this time of year. We've had some incredible thunderstorms and lots of rain and wind ... perfect for lighting a few candle and curling up with a good book or some stitching and a good movie.

Keeping with the lovely fall feeling in the air, look at these sweet squares I received from Melissa P. (no blog) for the latest Fair and Square round. She stitched for me Harvest by Lizzie Kate. I just love them!

I've been doing a a lot of stitching but only a couple of things I can show you ... the rest are for exchanges and a few Christmas presents. The first is Thankful freebie by primitivebetty ... fun stitch ...

I liked the turkey so much I stitched him up all by himself ... I think he'll make an adorable pinkeep :)

Nina at Between Crosses is having a lovely giveway on her blog ... you have until November 30th to sign up ...

Now I need to go make some decisions ... see my 3rd Blogiversary is coming up on the 15th ... wonder what I'll come up with to celebrate my blogiversary ... stay tuned :)

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for thunderstorms ...

Michele

Ahhhh Monday ...

Fall is definately in the air around here. Our days have been sunny but only about 65 and when the sun goes down, well you know it's not summer anymore ... I love this time of year. I really don't know why, but I always seem to have more energy in the Fall.

I had a really nice weekend. Met up with Lisa for a trip to our favoriate craft store (Ben Franklin) and then to dinner and visit. I've started a bit of beading lately ... took a class so I could learn how to attach the start of a bracelet or scissor fob and how to end one ... that really was the only thing I couldn't figure out ... damm but it's easy when you know how! lol ... anyway, I wanted/needed some beads so I could start playing ... this is one addictive hobby! I thought stitching was, but wow, all the beads and colors ... it's much like walking into a cross stitch shop and heading over to the threads ... I could get lost for hours! lol ... I haven't taken any pictures yet of the things I've made ... soon I promise.

Saturday I spent the day with my Dad ... I soooo don't do that enough! We had a great day working on pictures. He takes a lot of pictures at family events, downloads them this computer and there they sit ... so we spent much of the day downloading them on cd's ... trying to get us a little organized. We had homemade chicken rice soup that he had made the day before and some yummy french bread. Nice way to spend a Saturday. Sunday was the usual football and nascar, stitching and laundry lol

I finished a couple of small designs last week ... I really need to start stitching something other than Halloween designs! lol ... this is Wicked by primitivebettys ... it's one of her freebies and a very fun quick quick stitch ... I used some of mine (or Karen's) coffee dyed fabric and Belle Soie's Noir ...


here's a design by La-d-Da from the JCS Halloween issue ... stitched on some very funky 30ct green R&R, I just love it!


I've been playing with beads and finishing too ... here's my Black Cat from BBD's Trix or Treat book all finished into a Halloween pinkeep ...

and here's the back ... very fun finish :)

Oh and on Sunday I even got my house decorated for Halloween ... I like to enjoy my decorations all month long ... here's a picture of our mantel ...


Thanks everyone for all your wonderful comments about my cube finish. And even if you don't leave a comment, thanks for visiting my blog :)

Off to watch Monday night tv and I think I'll stitch on Peppermint Twist tonight ...

I hope you find your Joy in your stitches ...

I'm grateful for sunny fall days...