I Was RAK'ed

While doing the Mail Art class that Meari taught I had mentioned several times how cute the envelope Shelley was doing. Of course all her pictures had the address blurred on it so I had no idea I was going to be the lucky one to receive it. I also had commented on how cute the magnet she stitched was. I was in shock when this arrived in the mail yesterday. I wish you could all see it in person. The stitching is beautiful and I just can't believe it made it thru the postal system in perfect condition.

Front of Mail Art and contents
Back of Mail Art

It is the perfect size to hold the little baggies I use for the threads for my projects so I'll be using it everyday.

I'll have another update soon with some finishes and more stash.....stay tuned for that.

Tracy and I have a date planned for tonight. We are going to the movies, out for a light supper and more people watching on Fremont St.

Until Next Time....Happy Stitching

Girls Day Out

I was so surprised when I got a email from Nancy R from NM Monday that she was here in Las Vegas. We talked on the phone and made plans to meet on Wednesday for a "Girls Day Out".

Rene and Nancy

We started our day with a yummy lunch at The Olive Garden where I gave her this "Cupcake" and a stitch picker that I made just for her. I think we did more talking than eating. It was like we had known each other for years.

After lunch we headed for the LNS "Stitcher's Paradise". While I love going there with Tracy it's a lot more fun to go with another stitcher. I was able to help Nancy pick out her threads and fabric for the Hardanger Class and we both added to our stash. I didn't do too bad and only got 3 new charts and some really pretty threads.

Here is what I got......

LK's "Did You Ever Stop To Think" and the threads for it

Barbara Ana's "Hand Over The Coffee"

DOODLES "Cabin in the Snow"

To show what a small world this is, while standing at the counter a lady who was in the shop with a group stitching came up to me and asked if I blogged. I said yes, with a puzzled look on my face I'm sure. It turns out that she follows my blog and recognized the froggie bag Mary made me that I take on all my shopping trips.

After all the spending at the LNS we needed a break and stopped at the nearest Starbucks for a Frappichino and more chatting. Refreshed we headed for JoAnn's since Nancy needed something to finish a project for her BF's mother's birthday. I did pretty well there and got a really cute Frog basket that was 70% off, some beads and more threads. Then off we went again to Michael's. Believe it or not I didn't buy anything there but Nancy found a few things she just had to have. By this time it was getting late so we said our good by's and talked about meeting again on Friday night when we both have plans to go out with our men. I sure hope we can work that out since I'd really love to see her again before she goes home. She has plans to come back again in July so I'm sure we will have another day out then.

When I got home I just had to start on the new LK project but didn't get much done. I was really tired and went to bed very early and just watched the new TV Tracy got for the bedroom.

That was our day out.....

Until Next Time....Happy Stitching

Monopoly Monday 5-25

Got a little more done on the Monopoly Board. I wasn't feeling well (ate something bad I think) so didn't get as much done as I would have liked. The frogs must have felt sorry for me as they stayed away. I'm still really enjoying working on this and look forward to next Monday when I should finish another page.

Time sure flies by.....

Maddie at 6 weeks

It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about the birth of Madalyn Rose. She is now 6 weeks old and according to my DD a very easy, happy baby. I just had to share this picture with you. If that doesn't make you smile you must be having a really bad day and maybe it will cheer you up.

I'm going out for a girls day out tomorrow. Nancy from NM (a member of my ILCS group) is in town and we are going to lunch and then shopping at the LNS. I just love meeting members of the group and I'm sure we will have a great time.

Until Next Time....Happy Stitching

Weekend Update

I had more starts and finishes since my last update. I did a couple more of the Hardanger Hearts but will share those at a later time. One is for a gift and the others I'm going to make into ornaments and if they come out as planned will go to Donna for the "Stitch for a Cure" tree.

"Starstruck" by Polstitches

Stitched on 28 count "Tea" Irish Linen

with DMC Perle, Dinky Dyes Silk and Mill Hill beads

I stitched this for my DH Tracy and will be putting it into a box top. These are his favorite colors and I think they went very well together. If you click on the picture and see the enlarged version you will notice the 4 beads together in the border. These are in the area that was cut and a real PITA to do. Now to find the perfect sized box and get it stained and ready for the stitched piece.

"Tea and Stitches" by Victoria Sampler

I worked on "Tea" while watching the Indy 500 (good race this year) and got more of the speciality stitches done on the border. The frogs must have wanted to watch the race too since they can out and kept attacking the stitching. I noticed that one of the blocks is off center after I did the scan so more frogging will need to be done.

Since it's Monday I'll be working on Monopoly again today and should have another page done before it gets put away for the week.

Hope everyone is having some good weather and getting lots of stitching done on this holiday. It's a American holiday but I hope everyone around the world will join us in remembering those who have kept us free.

Until Next Time....Happy Stitching and have a great week

The Best Reason for having Children......

The best reason for having children is they give you this....Grandchildren!

Finally my DD got all three in a good mood and still enough to get a picture.

Gibby (6 years) Maddie (5 weeks) and Jedi (8 years)

Jedi and Maddie

Hardanger Heaven

As I mentioned before I am going to be leading a group of stitchers in Basic Hardanger. I really can't say I will be teaching, more like a tutor. I decided it would be a good idea if I stitched up the class project before trying to help other do it. I haven't done a lot of Hardanger in a long while and while I was a but rusty at it I am very happy with the outcome and now the bug has bitten me and I have to do more.

Hardanger Class Project

"Sweet Dreams" free design from Polstitches

stitched on 28 count Cashel from Silkweavers with

DMC #8 and #12 Perle Cotton

I then just had to do another project. Told you the bug has bitten me. This little heart only took me a couple of hours to do. Not sure what type of finish I'm going to do with it but I think it is so sweet. I know I will be doing this design again and again as it was easy, quick and fun.

"Hardanger Heart" by Victoria Sampler from The Christmas Treasures Collection

Stitched on 28 count Evenweave with

DMC #8 Perle Cotton and Dinky Dye Silk Ice Strawberry

Still in the mood for speciality stitches I pulled out "Tea and Stitches" and spent a little time on the border. I did a few of the "fan" stitches and then got 3/4 of the eyelets done.

"Tea and Stitches" by Victoria Sampler

I also worked on "Home is Where You Hang Your Needlework" but forgot to take a progress photo before I put it back in the WIP basket. It is almost 2/3 done now and shouldn't take long to finish.

There has been lots of talk about "Fly Lady" method of cleaning and such. One tip was to set a timer for 15 minutes and do what you can in that time frame. I will have to say it WORKS. I tried it this weekend and managed to get a lot of my stash organized, put away and now I have a very neat and tidy desk top again. I am going to continue using this method and should have a very clean and tidy stitching/computer area very soon.

Well it's Monday and that means I'm back to stitching on Monopoly and should have side 2 done before it's put away for another week. Plans are to finish the "grow!" pin cushion this week and maybe even do another Hardanger Heart.

Until Next Time.....Have a Great week with Lots of stitching time

May Seasonal Shelf Redone

The May shelf is finally looking like what I had pictured in my head. Thank you to everyone for their suggestions on what I could do to make it what I wanted. I move things around a bit, added some Ivy for background and built the fence.

May Seasonal Shelf

Top of Shelf

If you click on the photo you can see the cute buttons I added to the fence. I won these in a give away from Shelley in my ILCS group and they arrived in the mail today and I thought they were a great addition to the fence. You will see more of these adorable buttons on my stitching in the coming months.

Right now I'm stitching like a demon on a new project for a Hardanger Class I'm going to teach for my ILCS group. It's really a very simple design but I think it's going to be a great project for a introduction to Hardanger. I also have made a little more progress on the "grow!" Pincushion and may get it finished this weekend.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We are under a Heat Advisory for Sunday since the temps are going over the century mark for this first time this year. It will be about 15 degrees above the normal for this time of year and you know where you will find me. That's right, inside with the A/C on watching NASCAR and stitching to my heart content.

Until Next Time....Have a Great Weekend with lots of good stitching.