Expanding my horizon...

I know I probably should wait until Gifted Gorgeousness to post these, but I just can't wait!  LOL  I have been participating in a round robin and I have to say, these ladies sure pick some challenging pieces to stitch.  I love it!!  I have always been a bit intimidated by all the specialty stitches, but I love learning them and enhancing my stitching with them.  I added so many to my repertoire over the weekend!  And in all honesty, they may look intimidating, but they are actually quite fun!  There is one more "robin" making the rounds that I haven't seen yet, but here are the three that I have stitched so far, and I'll include mine at the bottom that I sent around.

So first off is from Lady M.  She is the one I've been partnered with before for exchanges and she is the one who included me in the group.  I can't thank her enough!!  These have been a blast to stitch!  She found these Dutch tiles in a magazine (May 2006 CrossStitcher Magazine I think).  I picked this particular one because I love the sheep!  There was another that had a man with the sheep, it was a toss up between the two!  LOL

The next to arrive was from Lady C.  She actually sent two so I chose this one from the set.  I believe it will be finished as a needle roll or drum but was originally part of a travel set and was a passport book cover.  This also was from a magazine, but I'm unsure which one it was.

She also sent along Hillside Samplings My Stitching Chair Necessaire.  Oh my goodness, I am in love with this pattern!!!!!  I will be on the hunt for my own copy.  First of all, the stitching may be lots of specialty stitching, but it stitches up very quickly.  I don't know if I'll be able to completely finish it (I may have to find someone to fully finish it when it's done) but stitching on it will be a blast!  I learned so many new stitches that are not too hard, but look fabulous when finished!  It makes me want to  play around a bit with patterns to just throw in some specialty stitches instead of cross stitching everything.  So...I worked on the pin cushion.  

That stitched up so quickly I decided to chose another...and decided on the needlebook.  Whew!!!!!  This was loaded with stitches, each corner was a different stitch!  There was the four sided stitch, the rice stitch, the Palestrina knot, and the Smyrna cross in the corners.  Then came the fun stitches...the cross tied windmill, the queen stitch, the double cross diamond, the spider's web flower and the rosette flower.  I think my spider's web flower is a bit wonky, but I dearly loved stitching on the others.  

This is why I love round robins so much!!  It expands my repertoire of stitches, it is fun sending notes and admiring other people's stitching, and I just love stitching for other people.  There is something so special about the community of stitchers.  I think this is why quilting bees and other ladies gatherings were so popular before the invention of the tv and telephone.  I miss the days when we encouraged one another.  

Last is the one I sent around.  I think I may have posted this before.  I saw someone stitching this in a Facebook group and had to stitch it too!  I'm glad I had it on hand when I was offered a place in this round robin!  So I outlined all the parts of the 15-sided biscornu then stitched one of the sides and sent this around.  It will be interesting to see if the others liked it.  I can't wait to get it back and finish it off!

Thanks again Lady Belles (and especially Lady M) for the invitation.  It's been a real pleasure!  Here's to all you out there I hope you find joy in your stitching too!  Happy Stitching!!

Oh Happy Day!!!!

I've been waiting to share this news for months!  The kids told us in January.  Ben handed his Dad a book for his birthday.  It was about the miracle on ice when the American team beat the Russian team during the 1980 Winter Olympics during the playoffs for the Gold Medal.  The inscription inside the book mentioned that wasn't the only miracle story they had to share.  There was a lot of excitement that day, and a few tears were shed.

I don't know if you know the whole story about Ben and his first love, Katie.  She had Cystic Fibrosis and was told she could never have children.  We loved Katie, and supported Ben in his decision to marry her, but deep in my heart I felt a heaviness that I would never be a Grandmother.  I just love babies, and after many of my friends have become Grandparents, I was aching to have some Grandkids to love.  We miss Katie, and she will always have a special place in our hearts.  I will say, though, I was thrilled when Ben met and fell in love with Heather.  Heather loves kids and I know she is going to be a great Mom!  We were a little surprised that they decided to have kids so soon, but I couldn't be more excited to be a Grandma!  I love how they shared this on Facebook!  I have already picked out a few things to stitch for the baby, and now you know why the urgency to finish up the Advent Calendar.  Off to rummage through my stash!  Thanks for reading...Happy Stitching!  Oh....by the way.....Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

March Gifted Gorgeousness

Good Morning!  It's the second day after we change the time and it's still dark outside.  This will take some getting used to!  LOL  Welcome to my March post featuring Gifted Gorgeousness.  This is a lovely challenge (and my favorite by far!) offered by Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching.  She has developed this challenge to showcase things that are gifted.  They can be items stitched from things given to us, or things we stitch to gift to others.  Mostly anything with the title gift attached to them.  If you want to see the original rules or if you want to sign up to join us, please click HERE.  If you want to see who is participating you can find the links on Jo's homepage by clicking HERE.

So...what have I been up to this month?  Hm...Let's see...my husband (who is my biggest fan) is very good at supporting my habit.  He has bought all the JCS discs available and gifts me the subscriptions too!  I consider anything I stitch from the magazines a gift from him.  I've been busy this month with a few.  First off is Little Lambs by Ursula Michaels from the 2002 JCS Ornament issue.  This was stitched on 36 count Mystic over two.  I just love how it came out!

Next is Snoelle by Linda Jenkins from the 2020 JCS Ornament issue.  This was stitched on 36 count antique white over two.  This was a fun one, and now I have to figure out how I want to finish these two!  Decisions, Decisions!

I've been working on the free Advent calendar from Brooke's Books for my DIL.  She loves these little characters, and they have been fun to stitch.  The latest two are Pearly Pig

And Kenny Kangaroo.  These are both stitched on 32 count Blue over one.  I really need to get busy and get these finished into ornaments!

Next up are some monthly pieces I have been making.  These are from Little House Needleworks and I've been stitching them for my friend over in England.  She has been putting a flip book together.  She just received the latest, so here are the last two I've sent to her, March, and April.  These are stitched on 40 count natural over two.

I've also been working on a monthly SAL I signed up for last year.  I'm stitching them individually and will make them into pillows.  The first three were free on her facebook page, so I consider these two gifts.  Here are February, and March.  I just love the little one playing in the puddle.  February was stitched on 40 count flax over two, and March was stitched on 36 count natural over two.

For my 12 Days of Christmas this year I've been stitching the 12 Dragonlets of 2021 that were free from Dragon Dreams.  I love the little characters in this set.  This was 3 French Hens, and all the French references had me cracking up.  See the wine glass, the chees, the little beret on the hen's head and the baguette.  So much fun!!  These are stitched on 28 count natural over two.

I've been able to keep up with the Peppermint Purple Blackwork SAL this year.  This is also a freebie offered on their Facebook page.  Here is where I am right now.  This is stitched on Antique Ivory 40 count over two.  I love how it's coming along.  One of these days I really should start on the border....

I stitched a wee bit on Flowers and Lace by Kooler Designs.  This was a Christmas gift one year from my husband, he found the fabric, the floss and the pattern!  I should spend more time on it, I love  this one so much!!

I've been asked to participate in a Round Robin again this year.  Anyone who knows me, knows I love to participate in these.  The lovely Ms. M from Canada sent this Dutch Tile series to me she found in the May 2006 CrossStitcher magazine.  This was stitched on 28 count white over two.  I love it!!  Now I'm on the lookout for these patterns so I can stitch them for myself!!  I think a bellpull would look lovely!

I guess that's all the gifted stitching I've done since last time.  I hope I haven't bored you with my stitching.  I think the reason I got so much done is because I participated in a challenge last month where you had to stitch at least 30 minutes a day and post before and after pictures each day.  I was able to stitch every day!  Hopefully one day I'll receive a needleminder for completing the challenge!  Thanks for stopping by!  I'm behind in answering your comments from last time, but hopefully I'll catch up soon.  Till then, Happy Stitching!

SALing Along...

Whew....it's been a while since I've posted anything.  There have been some days when DH was home for one reason or another, and I never seem to get much done while he's home.  We did spend one day organizing some new drawer sets I bought and reorganized my floss.  Now all of it has been put away...YAY!  I have been working on a Round Robin I received in the mail the other day, so we will start there.  I love how this turned out, especially the little sheep!  This Dutch Tile is from a 2006 CrossStitcher Magazine.

I sent Dans mon Jardin, by Jardin Prive'.  This is what I sent, but here is a picture of the pattern for the 15 sided biscornu.  This is stitched on Tea Dyed Lugana 28 ct over two.

Next is Winter Quaker, a SAL by Wiehenburg.  This is being stitched on Navy 28 ct. over one.  I dearly love this one, though I have to admit, the pieces are large and take a fair amount of time to stitch each month.  I'll be glad when this one is finished, I can't wait to hang it on my wall!

Next is the Modern Folk Embroidery SAL for 2021.  It's called The Fruit of Plenty, I love the motifs in this pattern...but I also like the Assissi feel to it as well.  I even love the colors!  This is stitched on Antique White 28 ct. over one.  People have been asking what colors I chose, but I'm not going to post them.  I think everyone should chose the ones that "speak" to them.

I am loving this Peppermint Purple SAL I have been working on as well.  This is stitched on 40 ct over two Antique Ivory.  Again, I'm not posting the color because I think everyone should choose a color that suits them.  This last pattern really drove my eyes bananas!  LOL  But I do love how it looks when finished!

It may be a week or so before I post again for the Gifted Gorgeousness post.  I have a few things I will be able to post then.  Till then, Happy Stitching and thanks for visiting!