Wow .. November already!

Happy Monday .. hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was good. Friday evening we had Sears come out and to tell us about re-facing our kitchen cabinets and updating the countertops. We should have the bid sometime in the next two weeks. This is the next phase of remodeling. I'm curious to know how much this might cost us! lol!

On Saturday, Lisa (my bff *smile*) and I went shopping .. Had to go to the Hallmark Open House to see all the next Christmas ornaments .. then it was off to figure out what we were going to make for our gf's this Christmas. A few posts ago I showed you pictures of the candlemats .. well, we decided we'd bitten off more than we could chew and decided to make something that was a little less labor intensive this year. We have all the supplies for the candlemats, so we can start earlier and make them for next year. We decided to make fleece laps blankets .. the kind you cut around the edges and tie .. we'll see how that goes. When it comes to the holidays, Lisa and I really try to keep each other grounded and as stress free as we can pull off .. I think making the blankets will be much more stress free for us .. at least I hope they will be! lol

While we were out shopping we stopped by the quilt shop near my work .. the one where I found that fun coffee banneer hanger .. they had more for the holidays .. look what I found ...

this cute Christmas tree banner hanger .. I finished No Peeking a couple of years ago, had it made into a banner last year .. but never could find the right one .. until now!

This is a Bent Creek exclusive that I stitched a few years ago .. it came with the tuck banner .. isn't this snowflake hanger perfect! I just love him :)

Saturday night we went to dinner with Chris, Monica and Robert .. it was kind of a bittersweet evening for me .. my mom passed away 10 years ago Friday .. I really don't like celebrating the day she died .. last week is always tough .. but I like celebrating her birthday and days like that .. for just going to the cemetary to put flowers out for her and chat a bit .. I do visit her grave, not as much as I used to, but often enough .. it's comforting to me. Well, this year I really wanted the boys to go with me .. I just thought we needed to do this as a family .. and I must say my kids really were wonderful. Chris, Monica and Robert thought it would be nice to do .. they really knew without me saying much how much I needed them to do this with me .. after our visit we went and had dinner ... toasted mom/grandma .. had great food, laughs and then came home and watched License to Web .. well, it was just one of those perfect evenings .. and I thank my family for giving me that *smile*

Sunday was just a lazy day full of nascar racing (only 2 more of the season!), football, laundry, grocery shopping and some stitching. I started Lizzie*Kate's Ho Ho Ho .. and just got ready for work today.

Thanks for all your wonderful comments about my Halloween decorations .. glad I could get the pictures to show up finally! I do enjoy the holidays .. all of them! lol .. I'm sure you'll be seeing a few more pictures in the upcoming months *grin*
I am so grateful for my sons ...

Happy Halloween!! fixed pictures .. I hope!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween .. with no rain on those cute trick or treaters and lots of candy *smile* .. Do your kids sort their candy when they get home? I remember when I was younger my brother and I would empty our pillow cases (yes we trick or treated with pillow cases! lol) in the middle of the living room .. mom and dad would do check to make sure there wasn't anything odd in our candy stash and then mom got first pick from both our piles! Then my brother and I would spend the next 30 mins sorting and trading our candy .. I loved watching my kids sort and trade .. it's one part of this silly holiday that I reall miss .. that and walking the neighborhood with the other parents and our kids .. and of course the older the kids got the further back we parents had to walk! ohhh what fun!

Thought I'd share a few pictures of my house and our halloween/fall decorations .. this is our fireplace mantel in the family room

My dad made these shelves for me .. they are really for my salt and pepper collection, but during the holidays, I take down my regular S&P's and decorate with halloween/fall and then Christmas stuff .. I have a wonderful collection of Christmas S&P shakers .. I'll share pictures later of those ..

Justa little decoration on the kitchen table ...

and this is the window over my kitchen sink ...


Boo!

I'm grateful for Halloween memories ...

Sunday and a few more pictures

Hope everyone had a good weekend .. I finally finished unpacking and got most of my stash put away, did the usual laundry/house stuff .. got to stitch quite a bit on Sunday .. finished my F&S squares but can't show you until they arrive at Pam's house. We went and got our pumpkins saturday, Terry and Robert carved them tonight. I'll have to put candles in them and take pictures .. they are pretty cute, and a bit scary! lol

I have some more pictures from Pals Fall Fling .. I think I've called it 3 or 4 different names so far lol ... anyway, there was an ornament exchange Saturday night. For every ornament you brought, you got a raffle ticket and got to pick from all the lovely ornaments on the table when your number was called .. here's pictures of all the ornaments .. aren't they wonderful!!





Here are the ornaments I picked .. can't wait to have them hanging on my Christmas Tree :) The first two were stitched by Ruth Ann, I knew Ruth Ann before she started blogging .. and she is as wicked funny as she is in her blog .. and a wonderful stitcher and I'm soo happy to have received two of her ornaments .. of course she stitched enough to give each and every one of us one! lol ...



This was stitched by Rosalie .. isn't it pretty :)

And this was stitched by Debbie .. This was the first Fall Fling that Rosalie and Debbie attended .. but I don't think it will be their last .. at least I hope it won't be. I really enjoyed meeting both of them.

Thanks for stopping by .. I really enjoy hearing from everyone :)
I'm grateful for new stitched ornament for my tree ...

Strawberries ...

Ahhhh Friday .. I do love Friday! lol .. I've been stitching this week, inbetween unpacking and laundry, but can't show you pictures yet. But I can show you pictures of what Pam sent me .. she was my Fair and Square partner this round. Look at these cute strawberries! I love these sqaures. The colors are deep and yummy. Pam said the design is called Russian Khokhloma-berries; designed by Barbara Sestok. She found the design in a mazagine that is no longer in business.

Pam also sent me some goodies along with the squares she stitched .. isn't the heart adorable?! She made it and it's just sooo sweet. She also sent me some fabric squares that look really nice with the strawberries .. and she included a Canada keyring and two postcards showing me pictures of Skatchwan where she lives. I've really enjoyed these F&S exchanges. Thanks Pam for stitching for me .. and thanks Vonna and Annemarie for organizing this great group!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comments .. I really enjoy reading them. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I should have some more picturs from MB soon :)
I'm grateful for stitching exchanges ..

Stitching and Classes at the Retreat

I did get some stitching done during my relaxing quite time .. I started and finished Just One More Stitch by Simple Stitches. I giggled a lot stitching this piece .. remembering all the times I've said just one more stitch lol .. I also stitched on my Fair and Square piece but can't show you pictures just yet.

Remember the Pals Sampler I stitched for the Signature RR? Well, here's a picture of what it looks like with a few signatures. There wasn't enough time for everyone to sign all the RR's that were at the retreat .. takes longer to stitch your signature than you think! lol .. and by the weekend everyone was getting pretty tired of stitching their name .. There were quite a few different center designs. Most of us are now going to send out RR's out to the girls that didn't get a chance to sign. I'll post some pictures of other finished RR's as they get done .. I really like the way this is turning out ...


Mary Turley of MDesigns taught 3 classes during the retreat .. I took all 3! and I was really glad I took them! The first class was a stitcher's pouch. You could stitch either a Fall design or a Halloween design

you can see the fabric bag on the right .. the flower fabric center is where the stitched piece slides into. The polka dot fabric is the backing for a scissor fob if you want to make one and the fabric/threads are on the left of the bag .. I started stitching the Halloween design .. I just love the colors and the purple spider is sooo cute and fuzzy!


The second class was for a stitcher's bourse .. below if the design for the inside of the bourse .. I love the design and the sweet saying. The flowers between the girls can be stitched like on the chart, or you can make a separate pin cushion and attach it between the girls.


Below is the fabric for the bourse that I picked .. Mary had 3 or 4 different fabrics to pick from .. all coordinated very nicely with the threads she choose. As you can see, I only got a bit of the words stitched ... and in all honesty, I would have gotten a lot more stitched but I was at the chatty table .. it's really hard to stitch when you are laughing and even harder when you have your hand raised .. nope not to ask a question of the teacher, you raise your hand so that you can take a drink of your water and everyone at the table has to be quite .. that way you don't end up with water up your nose .. or spiting water at your table mates .. right Ruth Ann? *grin*


The stitcher's pouch and bourse classes were taught on Friday .. the 3rd class was taught Saturday morning .. this one was called small and large ornament finishing class .. Mary put together a wonderful assortment of finishing supplies to try and get us to think outside the box with our stitching and finishing. There was wool, floss, scrapbook paper, boxes and buttons and cards .. it was really a fun class .. I made the card in the center of the picture, with Fa la la on it ..
Teejay, there really isn't anyting quite like a vacation at the beach is there! and in the off-season I was surprised how reasonable the room rates were for right on the beach. Sounds like you and your mom had a wonderful time!

Chelle, did you attend the first two Pals retreats? We need to talk! I'd love to meet you there someday! I was at the 2nd one in 1999 .. wish I'd known you then.

Michelle, as you can see .. I did get some stitching done .. but never as much as I took with me in hopes of stitching! lol .. eyes bigger than my stomach lol

more later .. I'm off to bed .. night night and thanks all for stopping by *smile*
I'm grateful new projects ...

Rest in Peace Laurel ...

I just learned that one of my favorite artist passed away on September 13th ..
http://www.laurelburch.com/
I don't remember a time since the late 70's when her art wasn't part of my daily life .. whether it was the pair of earrings I was wearing one day or the cup I was drinking my coffee from .. her art was always with me. My mom and my sil also where huge fans of LB. I first fell in love with her bright colors and her cats. DH's favorites have alwasy been her birds. It didn't help my addiction to her art when DH fell in love with her stuff too! lol .. although it's really nice to collect/lust after things that you actually have DH's permission to purchase! *smile*

Back in I think 1978, mom and I went to her Laurel speak at a woman's breakfast .. she talked about her illness, she had brittle bone disease, and her art and her connection to animals and people .. she spoke a lot about Kindered Spirits .. a theme that runs through so much of her art.

Here's just a snippet of her artwork .. there's a lot more to view at her website ...

and here's one of my favorite quotes of her's ..

"A woman's spirit blossoms in the colors of her soul."

I'm grateful for kindered spirits ...

I'm home ....

and exhausted .. my mom always said if you didn't come back from vacation tired, you didn't have a good time .. well I had an awesome time lol I have lots of pictures to share .. some I'll put in my blog but most I'll put in my webshots album and give you the link when they are uploaded.

My trip to Myrtle Beach, SC started early Saturday morning .. my flights were very uneventful, which is a good thing when you are travelling, don't you think? lol .. The retreat I was attending didn't start until Thursday .. a lot of the girls were arriving on Tuesday .. so I had a couple of days just to myself .. and it was heaven! I missed the family a lot, but I have to admit it was totally dedicant to wake up in the morning, walk outside my room, and look at this view ... I just love these little Palmetto trees .. they are all around Myrtle Beach ..

My front door ...

and my room .. cute and comfortable ...


The 2-1/2 days I had to myself were very very nice .. walking on the beach, stitching, napping, having the tv remote to myself (lol) it was just what I needed and got me ready for when the girls all arrived ... more to come tomorrow ...

I'm grateful for the beach ...

Packed and ready to go ...

Yep, I'm leaving on a morning flight to Myrtle Beach! Woo Hoo!!! I can't wait .. looking forward to walking on that beautiful beach and feeling 70 degree weather one more time before winter sets in! lol .. and I'm also looking forward to spending the week with stitchers! See old friends again and meeting new friends ... add laughter and stitching and late night eating .. what could be better than that!

I have one more finish to show off .. this is a shop exclusive from SB .. I really like it made into an ornament!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments .. I'll miss you all and your blogs and expect that I'll have lots and lots of catching up to do when I get home .. be good and I wanna see lots of finishes when I get back *smile*

Hugs, Michele

I'm grateful for vacations ...

Even with a cold ..

I had a very productive weekend stitching wise .. and it felt great! On Friday I worked on a new name tag for the retreat (dogs ate my old one! lol) and worked on my signature for the signature RR .. take a look .. I really like what I came up with *smile*



Saturday was ornament finishing day .. I really pleased with how the ornaments all turned out although I won't go through all the gory details, I'll just say I learned a lot .. read some wonderful tutorials out in blogging land and I'm looking forward to finishing the other 2 or 3 I have left to do. This is from Glory Bee that I finished last month ...

This ornament I stitched last year ... it's from a Heart in Hand leaflet but I can't remember which one right now lol

Here's the back fabric for the tree ornament .. I thought it worked really well with the design :)

The next two ornaments were also stitched last year. They are MDesign and from a class she taught last year at the Pals retreat .. I'm really happy with how they both turned out when finished .. even my cording turned out good on these! lol These two were finished using the metal finishing forms (they came with the kits) and ohh I am in love with these forms, you are right Monique, they really make finishing a bit easier .. no measuring and cutting and recutting .. the fabric looks spotty, but its supposed to .. it's fabric from Picture This (I think that's the name) and the backing fabric is the same yummy yellow.


While I was looking for all my Christmas fabric and finishing supplies I found this old old design I stitched .. I can't remember when I stitched it .. back when I was using only aida though. Anyway, I found this tuck pillow amongst my tucks that I've purchased over the years .. and wow, they went together really nicely! Not the most difficult finishing but I do love the pillow none the less ..

Thanks everyone for your comments .. I am starting to feel human again .. a bit sniffling still and coughing now .. but I am getting better!! lol

Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I'm grateful for some finishes ...

ah choo ...

Ahh the first cold of the fall/winter season .. I'm sooo excited! lol .. what I'm really excited about is tomorrow is friday and I'm staying home so I can get over this crud .. I have way too much to do between now and leaving on the 13th for the Pals Retreat. So this weekend I'll spend figuring out what I have done and what still needs to be done and then figure out what I can do .. somethings not going to get done .. but ya know what, that's ok .. I do tend to procrastinate too much and this time it's biting me in my rear end lol

The one thing I really want to get done are some Christmas ornaments .. I think I have five that are stitched and just need finishing .. just!! lol .. not my favorite thing to do .. but I will get them done .. tonight I found some metal finishing forms for ornaments that I had forgotten I had! That should help lots in getting them finished .. all I have to do is go out and get some more Christmas fabric. And I have to work on my signature for the signature RR we are doing at the retreat .. I have a few ideas, just need to sit and stitch them and see which one I like the best.

DH is gone for a long weekend .. he went to Santa Fe with his dad .. they are meeting up with his sis and bil (they live in Farmington, NM) .. my fil is 85, in great health, but he doesn't like traveling by himself anymore .. so DH gets a nice little vacation and time with his dad .. and I get a fairly quiet house all weekend .. Robert works this weekend so he won't be around much .. I am looking forward to a weekend of stitching, finishing, football and nascar .. and hopefull getting over this cold! Wish me luck! lol

Thank you all for your comments! I do enjoying reading them :) Here's a few answers to your comments/questions ...

lol yes we are going to attempt to make 15 of those candle mats! I think once we get the cutting out done, putting them together will be a piece of cake! Marie .. you've made some of the Bareroot designs before?? I'd love to pick your brain a little about them!

The Family Sampler is a design my Mary of M-Design .. it was a class piece from last years Pals retreat. I don't know if she'll every release the design to the public .. but if she does I'm sure you all would love working on it! Ruth, the wine color is Diane's Rouge from Vicki Clayton. When we were design our samplers I really wanted to incorporate Red .. when I found the color I wanted, I decided that our first name initials would be in the Red and so would the W .. and the word Joy. The sampler includes our names, words that mean something to all of us, like believe, laughter, music .. the house is dated with the date of our marriage .. the two intertwining rings will have Chris and Monica's initials in them and the date of their marriage below the rings. The sampler is still in work, I don't know if I'll but a border around it or not .. and I'm not sure Ruth if I'll get it done in time for the retreat or not .. I was hoping too .. but it's not looking good! lol Oh and Ruth .. the shop name is Threadneedle Street .. I'm sure she ships anywhere! I love enabling :)

Hope everyone had a great week! I've really enjoyed reading your blogs this week .. and finding new blogs to enjoy too .. thanks Vonna!

I know everyone's saying it .. but where the hell did September go?? It's not that I'm complaining .. I actually love this time of year .. the colors, the smells, the holidays, the weather, even all the rain we get .. I'm just surprised how fast the month went and I didn't cross off nearly enough things to do on all my many lists! lol

Saturaday Lisa and I got together to starting working the Little Stitchies Bareroots .. we picked the one with all the flowers on it .. not exactly the best choice for our first attempt. There's a whole lot of cutting to do just for one .. we want to make 15 of them .. we really liked putting them together .. really like the look of them .. but damm there's like 23 leaves for each rug! lol .. here's a picture of one, it's still a work in progress, not totally stitched down ...

sure doesn't look like the photo on the leaflet .. but I still think they are cute .. but way too labor intensive ...

I had a quick little finish this afternoon .. stitched the new Halloween Pine Mountain Pillow while watching the Nascar race and the Seahawk game .. I took it to dinner this evening and gave it to my dil Monica .. totally forgetting to get a picture .. lol

I worked on my Family Sampler this week .. I'm really enjoying working on this piece .. love how it changes everytime I add a letter or a motif ...

I'm off to bed .. hope everyone had a great weekend!
I'm grateful for the fall ...

A Finish and A Find ...

I finished stitching another Christmas ornament this week .. The design is Christmas Redwork Ornament from Historical Stitches. I'm thinking about backing the ornament with one of these two fabrics .. I'm leaning towards the green fabric with the Christmas lights on it .. What do you think??


I'm really excited about my new find .. today during lunch I stop in to one of my favorite fabric shops and look what I found .. an adorable banner hanger with yes, a coffee cup and coffee pot on it. I knew instantly it was perfect for Hinziet's Coffee. It was stitched for me 2 years ago in an exchange. I had it made in to a banner that same year, but never found a good hanger for it. I played with painted dowels but they never turned out like I wanted. So when I found this hanger I just had to have it .. it's now hanging in my kitchen and I love it!!!


On a personal note .. I want to thank everyone that comes by to say Hi .. I really enjoy reading all your comments .. as much as I enjoy reading all your blogs. I've been online for quite a few years, enjoying all the different stitching communities out there for all of us .. I've had the pleasure of meeting online stitching friends at retreats. My family has always been very supportive of my online stitching life. They are constantly in awe of how generous stitchers are .. whether it's words of support and encouragement or a well planned exchange .. stitchers are always there for each other .. and that was never more apparent that this week .. when bloggers all came to support Mary Ann. It warmed my heart to read Vonna's and Barbara's blogs and all the comments that you all left in support.

One thing you probably don't know about me is that I'm a lover and collector of quotes .. I'd like to leave you with this quote from Maya Angelou ...

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

I'm grateful for how you all make me feel ...

A Finish and some stash ...

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was busy but really good. My friend Lisa and I got together Saturday morning to go over a few ideas for our Christmas craft. Every year for the last 10+ years we do a craft for presents for family and friends .. we have a great time coming up with ideas. We think we are going to make these ... Little Stitches by Bareroots .. we are going to make one this weekend and see how it goes .. we might be changing our minds lol

Late Saturday afternoon Lisa and I went to lunch with a friend from high school that we haven't really seen other than at reunions .. Yvonne was my first roommate when I moved out after high school. It was soooo wonderful to reconnect with a dear friend. And then Saturday night we went to dinner for Chris and Monica's anniversary .. no I didn't eat! lol .. there was like 3 hours between leaving my lunch date and arriving for dinner .. burp! My Dad and FIL had dinner with us .. it was really a nice evening.

Sunday was MY day .. DH and Robert went to the Seahawk football game and I took the dogs for a pampering at Petco .. which left me to a quiet house all to myself, well except for the cats, but they're easy *grin* .. so I stitched and watched the nascar race, stitched more and watched the end of the Seahawk game and then went to pick up the dogs .. it was a perfect Sunday :)

I did have a finish this weekend .. cute Christmas ornament by Glory Bee for last years JCS Anniversary issue .. it was a really fun stitch ..

I went to my not so local stitch shop last week and got some fun stash .. I'm really really excited about the two books I got .. one has awesome borders and one is full of lovely alphabet designs .. I just love a good book *smile* .. I'm also excited about the floss rings I found .. I think they will work perfect for my silks.





Hope everyone is having a great start of the week!
I'm grateful for books ... all kinds ...

Happy Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Chris Walker

Happy 1st Anniversary Chris and Monica! I know we say this all the time, but I'm so shocked how fast this year flew by .. my son and Monica were married one year ago today .. what a beautiful Seattle day it was and how happy my DH and I were to welcome Monica to our family. I hope for lots of beautiful Seattle days for years and years to come ...

I'm grateful for my son and daughter in law ...

Fair and Square Exchange

Happy Friday Everyone!

I received my F&S squares from Amy yesterday .. I just love them! It's a very familiar design to me .. but look at the color changes .. she knows I love RED and Coffee :) lol Thanks you so much for stitching these for me Amy .. I just love them!


And I heard that Amy received the squares I stitched for her ... she loves RED like I do so I thought this french miniture design would be perfect for her *smile* I really enjoyed this round of Fair and Square, it was my first round and definately not my last one!


I'm grateful for red ...