Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day!

Hi Folks!  To all the Father's in the world, I would like to wish you a very Happy  Father's Day!  And I would like to say I feel very blessed to have known some great Father's in my lifetime, my Dad and my husband being two of them.  So thank you for being great examples for your children, for providing and caring for us all these years, and for being great companions to your wives.  I miss my own Dad...and hope he knows how much I still admire him and love him.

  

Well, summer is officially here in my household.  DS is finished with school for the summer and is already heading out to a church camp in Florida today.  Look out Big Stuf...here he comes!  This will be his 5th year attending Big Stuf.  The kids have a blast and come back charged up for the Lord.  I'm always blown away by the leaps my son makes at these camps and love to hear the stories of how the Lord touches the kids.  I'm gonna miss my buddy while he's gone though.  Lately we have been doing a lot of things together, and I have to say, I love the person he has become.  He still does some silly things but the maturity I see growing lately just blows me away.  I'm so thankful for all the positive influences in his life, his Dad, his Pastors, and the mentors at our church.  It surely takes a village!

The following week, DS will be off to a missions trip to Mexico.  I have to say I'm a bit anxious about this, but am trusting my son to the Lord, and again, can't wait to hear how the group ministers to those in need there in Mexico.  Will you join me in prayer for the teens and adults going on this trip and those going to Big Stuf?  I love watching the Lord in action through his people!!  I only wish I were well enough to go with them!

Things have been a bit crazy lately, between work, doctors appointments, spending time with my son and getting him ready for these two trips I feel like I'm stretched beyond my limit.  Hopefully I can take a breather now that my son will be out of town.  I'm working on getting a stitch day together for some friends here in July.  I really MUST clean my house, that is my biggest hurdle, but hopefully I've given myself enough time (a month to the day!).  You'll see pictures after the event!

I haven't had much time to stitch, but I did work a bit on another crazy, a 15 sided biscornu.  Now, I started stitching it together and when I had only 3 sides left, I discovered I had made mistake.  I've seen these biscofluers before, but I really was trying to make a round biscornu.  I've decided to just go ahead and finish it as it is, and maybe make another one in the future.  Someone suggested I have a give away...I'll think about it, I have to say, it's my first 15 sided one and I had some issues trying to stitch the darn thing together, I'm not sure it's worthy of a giveaway.  Here are pictures of my progress.  I haven't stuffed it yet, but maybe if I get half a second I may try to finish it in the next couple of days.





I also finished the big project at work.  The frame wasn't made when I took these pictures, and I didn't have my camera with me for the last picture, but you can imagine it with a 1 1/2" flat black frame around the outside, can't you?


Here are the different steps.  The mat I used in the middle pictures was for placement of the top mounted guidons and coins, and then became blocking so I could "float" the top mat creating some depth between the mats.  I hope that makes sense...LOL   If you look closely you may see the guidons are a bit uneven.  The stitching drew the fabric in toward the middle in some areas, then whoever made the guidons did not make the legs even nor were they the same size.  As I tell folks, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.  Trying to get them to lay flat AND be even inside the rectangle was impossible, so I did the best I could.




 I threw in some pictures of our mat cutter with the mat board still in place.  We put some debossing on the areas next to the flag to even up the dead space in the mat.  The computer screen shows the layout of the mat before cutting/debossing.  

You didn't think I did this stuff by HAND did you?  I'm really in awe of the artists that can do that, but I'm just not that good.  I thank God daily for that machine!!  Programing a design takes a bit of time, but once it's done, cutting takes about 1 - 3 minutes depending on the complexity of the design.



It was a pretty big design when it was finished, the inside dimensions measured 41 1/4" by 35 1/2".  Thankfully the boss cut the glass, and someone else made the frame, I did everything else from start to finish!  I wish I had a picture of it in the frame, the black frame truly makes a difference.  So, there you have it.  It was a three day project, taking about 6 hours to complete.  When my boss asked if it met their expectations they said it went way beyond.  I love it when you have a satisfied customer!


Saturday, June 9, 2012

Woodlawn!!

Thank you to those of you who have been asking where I've been.  It has just been incredibly busy for me the past few weeks.  Trust me when I say, I've had enough!  I surely need my life to slow down some!!

I've been getting a little stitching done.  I was determined when the next parts of Sweet Flowers and Lavender Blue came out that I would stitch them as fast as  possible.  There are just too many things I have started that I'm itching to work on!!  So...I worked on both of these for a little over two weeks, and here they are!!  Can't wait to get started on things that have been on the back burner!!

Here is my update on Sweet Flowers...



And here is my update on Lavender Blue...




For those of you who don't know, after signing up at the beginning of the SAL (it is closed now) I receive the patterns for free, as long as I finish the stitching and send in a picture by a certain date, then they send the next part.  The last parts were a challenge for me and barely finished them in time for the deadline.  This time I am finished a month ahead of time!!  Thanks again Angie Designer for sharing your talent with us!

Well, Astrid and I have had our traveling shoes on again!  This time we went to Woodlawn to the annual Needlework exhibit they host.  Lovely setting, lovely exhibit...and delicious lunch!  Here are some pictures...







So after having this amazing Woodlawn salad which was yummy and fillling...



We decided we would have a much deserved desert...



The chocolate cake was scrumptious, (and mine), the lemon tart was Astrid's.  

And, of course, no trip is complete without a trip to In Stitches!  Last year I posted a picture of this shop and was surprised that later that day the owner had seen it and left a message.  I don't know how she knew, but it will be interesting if she finds me again this year...if so...I'm waving...and I want you to know, I just LOVE your store!!  The people working there were very helpful in finding a chart of a piece I had seen at Woodlawn, and they carry one of my favorite designers so I was able to pick up one of her charts while I was there.  I wish you were closer, but don't worry, I'll be back again on my next trip to Woodlawn!




Thanks for taking me, Astrid!  I really enjoyed the tour of Washington as well *wink*.  Because of construction, Astrid's GPS kept giving us fits and sending us on wild goose chases.  As a result we got to see the Capitol...LOL  As always, I have so much fun with you...can't wait til our next adventure! 





Last but not least, are some progress pictures of a project I have at the shop.  I did one last week, but was in a rush and didn't think to take pictures.  So this time I'm taking pictures as I go along so you can see the process.  We do a lot of "I love me" going away gifts for the military.  This one is probably one of the largest I've had to do.  I was only able to work on it for a short time Thursday, but hope to finish it on Monday.  Here are a few preview shots...













The shots above show the materials laid out, the second shot is the batting placed on the foamcore, the next shot is what it looked like after I had it stretched and the last shot shows everything that will eventually show in the frame, but not in the final layout.  That's as far as I got Thursday.  I'll take more pictures on Monday when I hope to finish the thing off!!

Ok, off to get some stitching done on something I really want to work on!!  Catch you soon, I hope!  *Hugs*