Happy Monday....

My work week started with waking up with a headache this morning. Not a bad headache, but annoying enough to take some Ibuprofin. The headache finally left around 11am. I also started the work week by sleeping late (I hit the snooze button a few too many times).

For my continuing saga of Patriotic stitching, after finishing the stitching on Shepherd's Bush "Glory" scissor fob last night, I took a break for a few hours and goofed off on the computer and heated up something for supper. After supper, I looked through the small Patriotic designs and started Trail Creek Farm "USA" pillow:



The design is very small, and it's mostly done. I could have finished it last night, but it was getting late and a wave of sleepy-ness sent me to bed. I was going to finish it during my lunch break, but alas, I didn't toss the white-dmc into the ziplock bag (and that's all that's left for it to be finished). I'll finish it this evening. Next in line is Shepherd's Bush "Scatter Freedom":



I do have everything I need to start this in the ziplock bag I brought into the office with me this morning. I think I'll spend a few minutes of my lunch break getting this one started.

Tonight is stitch night at my LNS. I tossed my digital camera into my stitch bag this morning. Thought I would take and share photos of "stitch night" with everyone.

A relaxing weekend....

How is everyone doing? I hope everyone has had a great weekend so far. We had some rain Saturday evening, rain that swirled inland as tropical storm Cristobal moved up the South Carolina / North Carolina coast. Today is sunny and a little muggy, a great afternoon for stitching.

My Patriotic stitching continues. I have 2 finishes from the weekend. Last Saturday I picked up Shepherd Bush "Sam" kit from my LNS. I had most of it stitched earlier in the week, finished it Friday night. I went to a coffee shop Friday after work to listen to some friends that play in a dixieland jazz group. I finished "Sam" at the coffee shop.



Then after getting home Friday night, I started Shepherd Bush "Glory" scissor fob. I finished the last stitches a few minutes ago:



I still need to join the sides together and stuff it. The red ric-rac is the "cording". It will go around the edge, being tacked in place with white beads. I'll show another picture when the sewing is complete and scissors attached (not in the mood to "sew" today, but will finish it up this week sometime).

I have a few other small Patriotic designs ready to start. Of course I could be working on Mirabilia "The Lady of the Flag", but I'm in the mood to work on some small projects. I will be working on "The Lady of the Flag" soon and will post a progress picture.

Hello everyone...

Ok, Ok, I'm finally posting. Between work and rehearsals and everything else, time has flown by. June is gone and it's now almost mid-July. I hope everyone had a very Happy July 4th. I had my usual 3 concerts, one the evening of July 3rd and two on July 4th. The concerts went fine .... lots of Patriotic music and flags waving. I love playing Patriotic music. The concerts on July 3rd and July 4th are my favorites. Now for my stitching update:

Here is photo of Fair&Square 4th of July squares I stitched and mailed early June (yes, finally posting a picture).



Around the end of April, I had posted a picture of a needlepoint star I had stitched from a class at my LNS. I finished it into a biscornu several weeks ago. Here's a photo.



Since it was a needlepoint piece, using larger size fibers, the fabric used was a larger count. I also didn't stitch anything for the back side of the biscornu, so it's a little on the plain side, but I still like it. It's going to be a pin-cushion next to my sewing machine.

For the Society RR, I stitched "K", "L", and "M" from Elizabeth Designs "Nature's Alphabet". It's on 40 count fabric, stitching over 2 threads. I love how this is looking on the 40ct fabric. I finished these a few weeks ago, sorry for being so late in posting a picture.



I was late in finishing Fair&Square Round 7 square, but it is finally finished and in the mail. I'll post a picture once it has reached its new home in Austrailia.

And tonight, I finished a needlepoint piece from the May class at my LNS. The design is called "Log Cabin in the Woods". Everyone got to choose their own colors, one being a metallic. For my metallic, I chose a lavender shade in Rainbow Gallery FYRE WERKS. It's a metallic ribbon. I love how the metallic ribbon worked for this.



I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Happy Sunday everyone

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. It's a little on the HOT side here. Highs the last few days in upper 90's with heat index over 100. Today's estimated high is 102 with heat index around 105. I was out a little earlier, but am now inside and plan to stay inside the rest of the day. Stitching update....

I have pictures of the Fair & Square 4th of July squares I sent to Sue W, but she hasn't posted that she has seen them yet, so I can't share those pictures.

I can share the pictures of what Sue W sent me. Here are the Fair & Square 4th of July squares Sue W stitched for me:



I love the design. I had never seen this design and think it is absolutely the cutest 4th of July design. And here are all the goodies she included:



Stitching the 4th of July squares for Sue kicked off my "patriotic" stitching a little earlier than usual, and I found myself in the mood to stitch something else Patriotic, something quick. I picked up Sekas and Co's "Patriotic Heart" last weekend, started it this past Tuesday. Finished the stitching yesterday and attached the button today.



It is stitched on 10ct Tilla. Instead of the button that was listed, I substituted a Flag Heart button. A couple of the sections were stitched over 1, but the rest were stitched over 2, so it was really quick to stitch.

I'm going to get comfy on my sofa and get back to stitching.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. This is a weekend that marks the beginning of summer for many people. For many, first weekend to go to the beach.... have a cookout in the back yard.... big weekend for car races (if you're into watching car races)....

For me, it is also a weekend to remember our Veterans. A Memorial Service is held on Sunday afternoon of every Memorial Day weekend at the National Cemetery in my town. I play in a community band, and our band always performs at this service. It is a small thing I do, but, for me, is one of the most important concerts we do each year. It's my way to thank, to respect and to honor our Veterans, past and present.

You may not agree with me, and, thanks to the freedoms we have in this country, you don't have to agree with me. But, if you do agree with me, remember to take a moment sometime this weekend to think about our Veterans, remember them, and thank them for protecting us.



I'll end with lyrics to "Taps". There are multiple opinions on the origin of "Taps". Eventually, lyrics were written, and there are multiple versions of those also. Here is a version I found...

Day is done,
gone the sun,
from the lakes
from the hills
from the sky,
all is well,
safely, rest,
God is near.

Fading light,
Dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky
Gleaming bright,
From afar,
Drawing, near,
Falls the night.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun
Neath the stars
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This, we, know,
God is near.

Stitching and a Surprise

Happy Monday everyone. I hope everyone's week is starting out great. My week is starting on a high note thanks to a surprise I received Saturday night. Saturday night is date night for my sweetie (boyfriend) and me. This past Saturday night, before we went out to dinner, he disappeared to the other room for a second and came back and handed me a box. And in the box were these:



I was speechless and so surprised. Note, my birthday was almost 4 months ago and Christmas is a long way off, so this was a total surprise. Aren't they beautiful?

Now, onto stitching related things. Last week I completed a biscornu and mailed it to Karen for an exchange. She has received it, so I can now share a photo.



I found this biscornu on the Freebie Gallery blog, and fell in love with it. I love the red-on-red. I have enough fabric to stitch another and plan to stitch a second one for me eventually.

Tonight, I worked on finishing another biscornu, the needlepoint star I posted a few weeks ago. I have all sides joined except the last one. Just need to add the stuffing, close the last side and add the buttons in the middle. I'm probably not staying up too much longer tonight, so I'll finish it tomorrow night.

And, finally, I received the fabric I ordered from Silkweaver and now have everything needed for Mirabilia "The Lady and the Flag". I thought I would share the "ready to start" photo.



The fabric I chose (everything is piled upon it) is a Silkweaver Expressions Hand Dyed Lugana, 32ct. The color is "Chasescape". Piled on top of it is the pattern/photo and all of the DMC flosses, Kreinik #4 Braid and Blending Filament, and Mill Hill beads that I'll be using. I plan to start it tomorrow night as soon as I get the biscornu done. I have other projects I'll be finishing up and starting the next few weeks (squares for Fair and Square and for the Society RR), but my plan is to stitch on "The Lady" at least 1 or 2 nights per week over the next few weeks.

That's all for now. Good night all.

Do you like PINK?

If yes, take a look at these:



It includes hand-dyed, silks, satin, ribbon, & wool there, a total of 50 different fibers.

The Stitch Pink blogsite is hosting the contest. All you have to do is visit Stitch Pink and add a comment to the contest post. Deadline is May 15. There will be 5 winners, each winner getting 10 fibers.

If you have never visited Stitch Pink, please do. It's a nice site that tries to bring awareness of the importance of breast screening, and early detection of breast cancer.