Welcome Summer!

It's officially summer in the Midwest. It's hot and humid! And summer seasonal exchanges have been sent and received. Yes, there's no denying that summer is upon us.

I'm participating in a great seasonal exchange this year with a small group of gifted stitchers. I'm stitching for Karen and I heard Monday that she received the summer package I put together for her.

I stitched The Sampler Girl's Molly Pitcher 1778 for her with the recommended DMC on 28 count linen and finished it as a little hanger.


I sent along some patriotic extras:



Karen said she loved it and I am so pleased! I consider this to be my best finishing to date and I was very glad with how it turned out. I'm so happy she likes it too!

Today I got my exchange from Melissa and it made my day! She stitched a sweet Lizzie Kate design and finished it as a darling pinkeep. The backing fabric is the most perfect lemonade fabric - and we have been drinking a lot of lemonade around here lately - with a little pocket and everything!


And what a spread of goodies she sent along! 2 beautiful skeins of Dragon Floss and 2 more of Soy Luster from The Pure Patette! And check out that Eye & Eye & Friends sampler pattern. I can't wait to get started on this one. She also included some darling strawberry notecards. Melissa always includes a sweet little handmade card from soupofsuccess.com. I checked out their website and I have to say that it sounds like a wonderful organization. What a special touch.


Thank you for a wonderful package Melissa!

I also have a finish to show off. I stitched up the pattern Melissa sent me in the spring exchange! Excuse the terrible lighting:

Birds Wee One from Heart in Hand

Stitched 1/1 with DMC on 25ct mushroom lugana
Stitched 6/18/10 - 6/19/10

I want to make this into a floss ring tag. I've never attempted that finishing before so I have no idea how it will turn out or when I will have the time to try it.

I hope everyone is having an amazing summer so far! I know I am (despite the sunburn)!

Happy stitching to you all!

Can I Get a Venti Iced Triple Shot Soy Mocha Latte Please?

I feel like I have been going non-stop! And here I thought summer was going to be my chance to slow down. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that it's not!

I need coffee/caffeine like a plant needs water. I swear I'll wither without it! Between getting ready for our trip to Arizona for my brother's wedding in 2 weeks, I've been juggling play dates, and dealing with what turned out to be a sinus infection for 2.5 weeks before I sought medical attention and got magic antibiotics. Somewhere in there my sister got a job interview for her dream job here in St. Louis and I was hemming her suit pants and trying to help her prepare. Oh and we can't forget the 6 hour drive to Iowa this past weekend for a 5k with my sister that got cancelled due to weather.

On top of all that, I had an exchange due in the mail to Karen today and I never made it to my LNS to pick up goodies for her package. So now that won't go out until tomorrow or Thursday. It's only Tuesday and my week is already running behind schedule!

But on a fun note, I never did mention the beautiful PIF I got from Mary Kathryn a few months ago.


Isn't it gorgeous?! Mary Kathryn is truly a gifted stitcher and finisher.

PIF/Giveaway:

Well now it's my turn! I get to pay-it-forward. But I'm going to run this a little differently. I knew signing up with Mary Kathryn that in addition to my getting something from her, I was obligating myself to offer four stitched pieces forward. I'm fulfilling that obligation by offering four of my wonderful readers the chance to get a stitched and finished piece from yours truly in the next year. Now here's where I'm changing it up a bit: I'm going to say that you don't have to obligate yourself to pay it forward by offering stitched and finished pieces to your readers. Just pay it forward in whatever way you find in your own life to do that. If that means offering pieces to other stitchers as I am doing and so many others have done, go for it. If that means giving someone in line at JoAnns your unused 40% coupon, well that's good too. Just pay it forward in your life as you can or as you desire to. Does that make sense? I know some people avoid signing up for PIFs because it may be a lot for some to obligate themselves to. I'm hoping this will make it easier for some of you to participate who might not otherwise.

So let me know if you want to sign up for my PIF by commenting on this post. If I get more than 4 people interested, I'll draw names. And thank you again Mary Kathryn for the gorgeous strawberry!

Now I have to go change LadyBug as something smells not quite right. Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is getting more time to relax than I am lately :)

And We're Back...

Phew! I feel like I have been running nonstop for the past 2 months or so!

April really piled on the mayhem. I had an exam every week in April, and I was tutoring my lab partner for all of those exams. I felt like I was always leaving the house to run off to the library when DH got home from work. Cuddle Bug also celebrated his 4th birthday with three parties of varying magnitude, and Easter came and went in there somewhere. But my class is over (I got an A) and I'm not taking any classes this summer. So I am finally feeling like I have a second to exhale. I feel like I haven't had a second to breathe since March!

Speaking of March, I haven't stitched anything since March either. But I do have an exchange coming up that needs my attention so I will be getting to that very soon.

I can show you the exchange I sent to Ann through Stitch It and Exchange It way back in all the craziness of April. I stitched the Egg-cetera bird from Cross Eyed Cricket (one of my favorite little spring-time stitches) and finished it as a pinkeep. I included Hershey's kisses, tea, a cut of fabric, a skein of CC and (because Ann is Catholic like myself) I threw in a book of Poetry by Pope John Paul II and a finger rosary.


The only other crafty thing I have to show for myself the past few months is this quilt I finished up yesterday. It is going to DH's sweet cousin who just had a baby girl a few weeks ago. I made it with Thimble Blossom's Double Dip pattern and some of the Nature's Chorus layer Cake Camille sent me a few months ago.



In other news, I've been working on improving my health and physical fitness. I ran consistently before my pregnancy with LadyBug. Now I'm back at it. I have decided that 2011 is the year I will run my first half marathon and maybe even do a marathon! I've been eating right, cutting out the crap, and running as often as I can. I'm feeling better, more energized, and stronger. At least I can say in all the crazy of the past few months I'm getting it together!

Thank you to anyone who has stuck with me during my absence. I missed so many amazing projects and giveaways from all of you while I was on a bloggy hiatus.

Happy Tuesday all!

We Will Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming Momentarily

I have an exchange waiting to be mailed (late), a backlog of blog posts to read and respond to, 5 exams in the next 6 weeks (the first of which is tonight), new fitness goals I've been working on, a husband and 2 bugs to spend time with and care for, a house to maintain, and (God willing) a few hours of sleep every night to absorb so that I might get up tomorrow and keep on chugging along.

Oh and wonderful Michele of X Marks My Spot emailed me months ago, and would you believe that email has been sitting open on my desktop this whole time screaming at me respond to this! every single day since I received it?! Michele, I'm useless! I'm sorry! I have big plans for emailing you back tomorrow after I ace this exam tonight and get that tardy exchange in the mail!

As for stitching, sewing, or any other crafty endeavors...aside from that exchange piece I have basically nothing to show for myself. But I am currently getting 126% in my anatomy and physiology class. Does that count for anything?

I will be back...soon...just wait for all the mayhem to subside and I will be back with a vengeance! In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you're all getting better stitching time than I.

Exchange from Melissa!

My day started in a hole...a big one...made of laundry. Add to that an almost-4-year-old who is constantly testing his limits with me and a miserable teething 13-month-old whose entire rhythm was thrown out of whack by daylight savings time (whose idea was that anyway??). Oh and we can't forget the muscles in my entire body that are aching and exhausted from 5 straight days of riding an exercise bike perpetually stuck on the highest resistance. Have you ever tried carrying a 20+ lb toddler up the stairs for diaper changes with legs that feel like lead? I don't recommend it.

Anyway...so my day started in a deep dark pit of exhaustion. Then the mail man arrived and everything turned around! Why you ask? Well feast your eyes on this....





I got this from Melissa for our Friends Stitching Through the Seasons spring exchange. Are you drooling on your computer?! I don't blame you...it's even more amazing in real life! The fabric she stitched the fob on is iridescent and absolutely stunning! And would you believe she included that gorgeous pair of gun-metal ginghers?! Would you also believe I only had one pair of embroidery scissors before this pair arrived today? These are a much needed addition to my stitching goods. Also, I highly recommend clicking on the pictures to get a closer look at her stitching on the fob. Her stitches are so perfectly even and straight.

And the goodies! Oh I don't even know where to begin! 2 springy notepads, a darling hand-stamped card, a sweet HiH chart, and no, your eyes are not deceiving you...Melissa included six skeins of Vikki Clayton silks!

Who can have a bad day when mail like that arrives?? Not me! DH was home for lunch when I got the mail and he was particularly amused by my excitement! LadyBug's reaction was my very favorite though. She gave this delivery a round of applause!! Gotta love a giggly, clapping 1 year old.

Thank you Melissa! I may not come down off this stitchers high for quite a while!!

Friends Stitching Through the Seasons Exchange Received

I was invited to participate with the amazing ladies of the Friends Stitching Through the Seasons exchange and of course I couldn't say no! Exchanging is just too much fun! I will be stitching for Karen of Karen's Handiwork this year. Karen emailed me yesterday to let me know she got the spring exchange I stitched for her. I am so happy she likes it! Exchanging can be a little nerve-wracking hoping your partner likes what you put together for them.

Here's what I made for Karen.

Bird in Hand by Blackbird Designs
32 count coffee dyed Belfast linen
Tyler Boy Blue CC
Personalized with Karen's and my initials

I knew when I saw this new release from BBD that this would be the perfect thing to stitch for Karen. She loves BBD and a bird is so beautifully springy! LadyBug (who is miserable with teething) gnawed on this chart the whole time we were at my LNS so it was a good thing I intended to take it home with me. Cuddle Bug picked out the thread. It was a family affair!

I went with a little more primitive finishing for this in keeping with Karen's tastes. I pieced the backing fabric so it looked like whoever finished it was scrounging up scraps. And I added a little patch with a haphazard blanket stitch to cover a (make-believe) hole from wear. Then I stuffed it loose and lumpy for added effect. I was very happy with how this turned out. And Karen is pleased as well, so it's hard to beat that!


I sent along some other goodies too. A LK chart, some beautiful Hyacinth GAST, a little pad of paper, ribbon, and (since Karen does paper crafting too) I included some springy stickers. The Hershey kisses sheep was thrown in by Cuddle Bug. I can't tell who enjoys packing up exchange packages more: me or him? I love his enthusiasm!


I hope everyone had a great week. Happy weekend and happy stitchy wishes!

And the Winner is....

I got around to drawing a name for my blogoversary giveaway today. I was too lazy to put everyone's names in a jar as I was out late studying Anatomy and Physiology. So I went to random.org and it was easy as (cherry) pie!

So the winner is officially comment #3 Melissa who practically lives in my backyard - just East of St Louis! That should make for quick delivery, and finding some St Louis Cardinals goodies to go in the package will be no problem at all!

Email me your address, Melissa, and you will get a super fun surprise package from me sometime in the next year. You won't know when so it will be a fun surprise :)

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy blogoversary and for 2 years of fun!!

Exchange Stitching and our 6th Anniversary

Wow I cannot believe how long its been since I've done a real update around here! It's a good thing I set the date for my blogoversary drawing as no earlier than March 4th! See...even I knew I would be late for my own drawing! I'm leaving it open for one more day if anyone is interested, so I will now officially draw for my blogoversary tomorrow March 16th! Comment on this post if you want to be included.

I just haven't done much stitching that I could show here. I've been busy stitching a few exchange pieces. The first was due in the mail today and I just got home from the post office. Here's a sneak peak:



I've also been keeping busy with my family. DH and I celebrated 6 amazing years of marriage yesterday! What a blessing to be married to such an incredible man! The years keep flying by! The best part is that I can sincerely say we are happier than we've ever been. And I don't take that lightly. Marriage is work, hard work sometimes, and we were married young on top of it. But I can't wait to see what the next 6 years will bring us. Praise God for the life he's helped us build together. We really couldn't do it without Him!

I hope you're all having a beautiful March! I will be back tomorrow to announce the winner of my giveaway.

Hugs and happy stitching!

I Heart Thimble Blossoms!

Saturday proved to be an especially wonderful day. Not only was the weather considerably more tolerable than it has been all year, but I got an incredible package in the mail!


Sweet, sweet Camille of Thimble Blossoms sent me this amazing package! I feel genuinely unworthy of such a lovely gesture, but I'll have my arm twisted and accept it with all the thanks in the universe! I had sent Camille an email telling her that I had made my first quilt using her Wild Thing pattern (a pattern she had actually gifted my husband to put in my Christmas stocking along with another he had ordered from her etsy shop) and thanking her for making such a wonderful and easy to follow pattern that a beginner like me could use. I wanted her to know that I will always have a very special place in my heart for her company, Thimble Blossoms, as this was not only first quilt, but also LadyBug's first birthday present (In fact, she posted about my email on her beautiful blog here) Little did I know that Camille is made of sugar and she sent this incredibly generous package to me as a thanks for the email I sent her! I have been walking on air ever since receiving this!

DH thought it was especially hilarious since we purchased a new car on Friday night and Camille's gift got more enthusiasm from me than the sparkling new car! What can I say?!

In all sincerity, I would highly recommend Camille's patterns to anyone. I'm as novice a quilter as they come and I was amazed at how well my first quilt came together. It wouldn't have been possible had the instructions not been so easy to follow and understand!

I have been stitching too, but I can't show anything as I'm working on an exchange piece.

And thank you all for your sweet comments about my blogoversary! The giveaway is still open to anyone interested!

Rounding out February with a Giveaway!

Today is my 2nd blogoversary! This calls for a giveaway! Comment on this post to be entered to win a fun package from me in the next year. I will leave this open until at least a week from today: March 4th.

And I have one more finish for February, making my total stitching finishes for February a mere 2. Oh well. It was a very busy month! And let us not forget the quilt finish! This piece really should have been finished last weekend, but we got distracted with other things. That's pretty much how February went. Next month I will have more to show - including an exchange piece :)


Santa with Tree Crescent from Santa Moon by Prairie Schooler
DMC on 28 count black cashel linen
Stitched 2/18/10 - 2/24/10

Happy stitchy wishes to everyone!

I've Been Stitching!

In all the mayhem the past few weeks, I haven't had any time for my beloved cross stitch. But Tuesday afternoon I got started on a small project and last night I put the finishing stitches in it.

Wool Needlebook by LHN

DMC thread on 32 count coffee-dyed linen
Stitched 2/16/10 - 2/17/10

And I forgot to mention the sweet gift I got from a wonderful friend who is also a stitcher. My dear friend Renee - who is actually my twin sister's best friend - got me Lavender and Lace's "Angel of Light." While Renee and I were enjoying a girls day last November, I set eyes on this one as a model in our LNS Stitches Etc. I was instantly in love! This particular piece deviates from my usual, simpler projects as it has a lot of color changes. But I was so taken with her, I considered purchasing the pattern on the spot. My incredible self control won over and I left without her. Renee remembered and gave me the chart for my birthday. Don't you just love a thoughtful friend like that?

Finishing a Finish

Thank you all for your nice comments on the quilt I made LadyBug! I appreciate them so much! That will definitely not be my last quilting adventure. And to those of you wanting to try it as well - go for it! It is a huge learning process, but very fun and I felt incredibly accomplished.

This morning while Cuddle Bug was at preschool and LadyBug napped, I finished a very old finish - I stitched this in 2008. Like many of you, I am hoping to make a big dent in my pile of "Fuppies" (as Monique calls them) this year. Mark this one off the list!


I hope everyone is having a delightful week!

My First Quilt: CHECK!

I did it! I finished my very first quilt! I put the last stitches in the binding at about 1:30 Saturday morning and pulled it out of the dryer just in time to get it wrapped for LadyBug's birthday party Saturday afternoon!

Today I finally got a second to get some pictures of it to show you. I couldn't keep LadyBug off of it though. She insisted on dragging her toys on top of it and plopping her diapered butt right in the middle! Had I known she was going to want to be part of the photo op, I would have dressed her in something cuter :)

"Garden Blossoms"

Wild Thing pattern by ThimbleBlossoms
Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom fabric with snow Kona cotton
Finished February 12, 2010

It still needs a label, but I am calling it finished!

Hugs and happy stitchy wishes to you all! And thank you for all the sweet birthday wishes for myself and the LadyBug!

And Breathe.....

I know, I know, I disappeared for about 2 weeks... These past 14 days (give or take) were jam packed! Somewhere between 2 exams in Anatomy and Physiology class, nursing a migraine for 2 straight days, working on LadyBug's birthday quilt, making wedding invitations for my brother's wedding this summer, planning LadyBug's birthday party, dealing with Cuddle Bug's pink eye, and basic childcare, I managed to turn 27!

Exhale...

Oh and I managed to miss the drawing for own giveaway... Someone please pass the Hershey's Pot of Gold! Sigh

I am happy to announce that I finally did get around to drawing a name for the Abecedaire ornament chart! Karen is the lucky winner!

I woke up this morning dedicated to being stress free. Today is LadyBug's first birthday and we are celebrating! I still can't believe it's been a year already! Happy birthday to my sweet girl!! We're having her party on Saturday afternoon, so there's still work to be done (including the finishing touches on her quilt).

I do have a few pictures to share. First up is the little messenger bag I made for Cuddle Bug's friend for her birthday. I used this tutorial again, but this time I made a few changes. Most importantly, I added an extra inch to the length of the lining fabric to compensate for the trim. We put a little workbook inside for the birthday girl too.



And this is the darling little kit I won from Marjorie! This is at the top of my "to start" list :) Thank you Marjorie!



I hope you are all enjoying a care-free week! Thank you all for your sweet, sweet comments! I cherish them :)

One more January Stitchy Finish

I somehow managed a third finish for the month of January! I got this chart from sweet Becky a long while ago when she was de-stashing. I got started on it Monday afternoon and put the final stitches in it yesterday evening. This will be finished as the chart instructs so it can take its rightful place on my tree next Christmas. I haven't decided if I like the stark white yet, or if I will be coffee-dying it. Hmmmm....

Christmas Abecediaire Ornament from Historic Stitches
DMC floss on 32 count white Belfast linen
Stitched 1/25/10 - 1/27/10

The chart is up for grabs if anyone is interested. If more than one person wants it, I will draw a name on Monday night. Please leave your email address so I can contact you for an address if you win it.



I hope everyone's week is going well and that you're all getting plenty of time to put needle to fabric!

Crafts with Bug

It flurried this morning. There was no accumulation, so we took matters into our own hands. Cuddle Bug and I put on our scarves and built snowmen in our pajamas right at the dining room table.




Construction paper, scissors, ribbon, crayons, a glue stick, and 2 sizes of hole punch. My socks stayed dry and my hands stayed warm. Not a bad way to built a snowman I would say.

Happy Monday all!

Finishing Details

I've been busy the past week. I started my Anatomy and Physiology I class on Tuesday and I've been failing miserably at keeping the house in a respectable state. However, I did manage to get some (crafty) work done despite it all!

I finished my first quilt topper on Monday afternoon when DH was home for MLK day. He was a huge help keeping the bugs out of my way so I could get this worked on. I'm almost finished with the back and then I hope to baste and quilt it this weekend. We'll see how that goes.


Cuddle Bug went to Ironton, MO with his great aunt to spend the night at a little get-away cabin they have, so I had one less bug to manage today. That meant two naptimes all to myself as LadyBug still takes a morning and an afternoon nap (it's a sad day when they start taking only one nap a day). So i got to work finishing my pieces for Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden from Just Nan. This is a very special piece indeed! I have fantasies of LadyBug wishing to take up stitching and sewing one day and passing this sweet piece off to her :)



And for the record, those are my prized Piecemakers in the needle book. Vonna has changed the way I look at needles forever!

Wonderful Catherine (who doesn't appear to have a blog of her own but is a follower of mine) asked me about my adventures in school and how that works out with the bugs. I just started back to school in the fall of 2009 so this is only my second semester back. I'm trying to get some prerequisites completed right now to hopefully get into the nursing program at my local University to get my BSN. Last semester I took two courses online and one at night that met twice a week. This semester I'm only taking one course - Anatomy and Physiology I - that meets twice a week at night. I enjoy the chance to get out of the house and have some adult conversations for a change. And DH is a true gem! He takes fantastic care of our bugs while I'm away. He's the reason it's even possible for me to go back to school! I think he treasures his alone time with the kids as much as I enjoy getting away for a while. I do most of my school work while the bugs are napping or after they've gone to bed. So far it hasn't been as big of a juggling act as I had expected it to be. But since I just started A&P, there's no telling what this semester holds for me! This class is looking intense so far! :)

Thank you all for your sweet comments and all your support and friendship! I hope you all have a blessed and beautiful weekend! Happy stitchy wishes :)

Giveaways!

Thank you all for you comments on my recent finishes. I have been feeling very productive lately. I'll see how that keeps up once I start my Anatomy and Physiology I class tomorrow evening.

There are a few good giveaways out there to let you know about in case you hadn't heard:

Jennifer over at Feathers In the Nest is having a Cabin Fever Giveaway for everyone who's waiting patiently for spring! It includes a perfectly springy chart, the charms and linen that go with it, and a darling frame. You can enter that here.

Natalia at Piece N Quilt is giving away two $25 gift certificates to her online quilt shop of the same name to celebrate her shop's 1st birthday! You can enter that here.

Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous is giving away some fun jewelry. You can enter that here.

Sweet Su at Contemplating My Needle and Thread is giving away a beautiful valentine ornament she stitched and finished. Who wouldn't want to have one of Su's beauties?! That giveaway is found here.

And generous and kind Becky from BeckyBee's Stitching Hive is having 2 giveaways! She's having a SuperBowl giveaway for Quaker Diamonds (the chart and the fibers) that you can find here. And she's having an un-Birthday giveaway - because that's just the kind of woman she is - to celebrate her birthday by giving away a $100 gift certificate to the online needlework shop of your choice! That giveaway can be found here.

I wish you all luck on any and all of these you're interested in!

Happy MLK Day to everyone here in the states!

Happy Dance 2010!

My very first happy dance of 2010! I would have had Poinsettia House done a week ago but I got distracted working on the quilt. I ran out of thread for the quilt a few days ago, though, and was waiting for JoAnns to put their thread on sale today. So in the meantime, I got back to work on this one and put the final stitches in it Friday night. I love it! Every stitch was a joy! And I only had 2 - very minor - visits from the frog. This was a gift from sweet Vonna so all my thanks go out to her for making my first 2010 project so delightfully wonderful :)

Poinsettia House by Littlehouse Needleworks
28 count linen using recommended CC and DMC fibers
Stitched 12/31/09 - 1/15/09

After reading about Harmien's frustrations, I was especially conservative with the Clay Pot. And I am so glad I was! By the end of it, I had only two little threads remaining. So keep that in mind if you're planning to do this chart too.

To my shock, I have another finish to add to my 2010 list - Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden! I actually started this one over the summer when I was in Boston visiting my dad, but I only got as far as finishing the border. When I brought it home it just got set aside. I picked it up yesterday afternoon and got all the stitching finished by the time I went to bed last night. Today I picked up some beading needles while I was at JoAnns and got the beads added. This was my first time adding beads and I'm pleased with my results! This one is going straight to the top of the finishing pile!

Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden by Just Nan
28 count cream chashel using recommended DMC
Started 7/09; Finished 1/17/10

In other news, the weather was finally nice enough to try out the new running shoes DH gave me for Christmas (we exchanged running shoes this year). They are NICE! I hope to get a lot of good use out of them this year and finally get the last of the baby weight off.

I hope you are having a beautiful and productive long weekend too! Thank you again for all your sweet comments. I really do appreciate them so much! Happy stitchy wishes to you all!

Life is full of Choices

I've got two napping bugs upstairs and a little quiet time on my hands.

What I should be doing:

• cleaning the bathroom
• folding the laundry that's been sitting in the corner of the bedroom for 5 days
• vacuuming the rugs
• sweeping the floors
• unloading/loading the dishwasher

What I am doing:

homemade-fresh-out-of-the-oven banana bread, tea, and Littlehouse Needleworks

Ahhhhh. I love naptime.

Snow, Sewing, and a Finish

Thursday we got the first "significant' snow of the season here in St. Louis. I have to say, as a transplant from the desert, I absolutely love that we experience 4 seasons here in the midwest! But I perfer to admire the snow from inside where I can sip some (spiked) hot chocolate and wear my down booties that keep my toes so toasty.

So speaking of the snow, I must say that DH is such an amazing husband and father. I don't talk enough about him on my blog. He's doting and patient. He deals with my mood swings and my lame attempts to pick a fight from time to time. He rubs my feet, makes my coffee exactly right, runs out to the craft store for me when I run out of the thread I need to finish a project, prays with me, tells my I'm not chubby, and sits in the corner of my LNS playing with the kids all the while telling me to take my time and get whatever I want. And that's just the husband part of him. As a father he blows me away! He's on the floor putting together Lego train tracks into crazy loopy shapes with bridges and switching tracks. He plays peek-a-boo and asks what the specials are when Cuddle Bug plays restaurant in the playroom.

So what does that have to do with snow you ask? Well Thursday, that was my husband taking a vacation day to take Cuddle Bug sledding for the very first time! Those are the moments that will add up in the lives of my children. They will look back and think "my dad could have gone to work that day, but he took a day off and took me sledding instead!" And he showed my sweet boy how to make snow angels and build a snow fort too. I love him for the husband he is to me and for the father is to our children :)


So now that I've gotten past the sappy part of the past few days, I have a few things to show off.

First up, I finished LHN's "Peace" thread pack into a pillow on Friday. I finished the stitching on this one last year and I had the finishing kit from Mary Kathryn's ONS. It just needed to be completed. So I went ahead and did that on Friday.


Additionally, I've been sewing up a storm working on my first quilt! Knock on wood, but so far so good. I got all 42 blocks finished and sewn into 7 rows of 6 blocks each. Soon enough, barring any unforeseen hiccups, the top of this one will be finished. I am loving how this is turning out and really enjoying the process! If it turns out as I hope, this will be my birthday gift to LadyBug when she turns 1 exactly one month from today!


I haven't gotten to put too many more stitches in Poinsettia House. My fingers have been too cold to hold the needle and I kept dropping it. I finally set it down. I hope to get some more stitches in it tonight after I've warmed my fingers up with a cup of coffee. I hope everyone has been having a wonderful weekend and staying warm! Happy stitchy wishes to you all!

Poinsettia House and Ginger Blossom

I'm just popping in to give a little progress update on Poinsettia House. The trim has been painted, the windows installed, and some snow fell as well. I really love this piece more with every stitch I put in it!



And look what the UPS guy brought today for my quilting adventures! Some Ginger Blossom and Kona cuts from Fabric.com. And let me just say that they were very generous with these cuts!


Happy Wednesday and happy stitching to everyone!

Lots of Giveaways lately!

Someday Crafts is giving away a pattern from Little Blue Boo. I need the halter/tie-back pattern to make darling "up-cycled" dresses for the LadyBug, so I'm hoping I win! But if you want to try to win a pattern to make these sweet designs for the bugs in your life, go enter here

And don't forget that Edgar is offering his JCS issue with "This is the Day" in it over at his blog! So go enter that for sure! You can find that giveaway here.

I'm plugging away at PH when I have time and waiting for my fabric.com order to come in the mail today. Brrrrr it's cold! We're expecting the first "significant' snowfall of the season tonight and I'm just thanking the Good Lord that I have these comfy down-booties to keep my feet warm!

I'll update on PH soon! Hope you're all getting in time to work on your beautiful projects as well - and staying warm too!

Chirp Chirp

It's 22 degrees F outside and I've got spring on my mind. This morning when we left the house to take Cuddle Bug to preschool it was 3 degrees! WOW! I couldn't believe it! I'm a desert dweller...this whole single digit thing is just not right! I can't even bring myself to check the temperature in Phoenix today. This is my third winter in St Louis and by far the coldest I've ever experienced! I miss you warm, sunny Arizona! I'll see you in July and you better have the Wigwam pool ready for me!

Anyway, back to spring. I'm not very good about making it a priority to finish-finish pieces I've stitched. 2010 is going to be different! I have a little drawer of projects that need "finishing" and I intend to finish each and every one by the end of the year! So here's the first:



Egg...cetera from The Cross Eyed Cricket finished as a small pillow

Tell me this doesn't make you feel a little springy too! I'm very pleased with how this turned out - especially considering that there was a bug crawling around by my feet for most of its construction - not the kind you squish of course, the kind you snuggle and love :)

I hope everyone is having a beautiful beginning of the week! Thanks for visiting and thank you for your wonderful comments and support.

I'm off to put some more stitches in Poinsettia House. I'm enjoying each stitch more than I can say! And those Piecemakers...oh my goodness I am in love with every pass through the fabric! It sounds like most of you know their magic already. Where have I been?? Vonna has opened my eyes!!!

Happy stitchy wishes to you all! And happy Tuesday!

Edgar's Giving Away Something Grand!

Edgar is giving away the JCS issue that contains the chart for "This is the Day!" I love this design but am declining to join the drawing as it would surely derail my other stitching goals for 2010 if I were to win. So if you want this, go on over and enter here! I'll be pulling for you :)

A Little House, Space Ships, and Red Corduroy!

I am happy to report that I got some (fairly) adequate stitchy time in over the weekend! This is where LHN's Poinsettia House stands to date:


I made it out to JoAnns yesterday to pick up the 3865 DMC I had run out of. No one seemed to notice on my last post that the last row of snow on the rooftop was only half cross stitches! But I've replenished my supply so all is well.

I promised some pictures of my recent sewing adventures in my last entry. So here goes.

This is the library book bag I made for Cuddle Bug using this tutorial.


He picked the fabric out himself and I think he did well! I made the library card pocket on the front extra deep so his card would fit deeply in it and wouldn't fall out when he bends over. I call this one a success! He loves to take it to the library and fill it with new books. And Daddy got a hook to hang it in his bedroom so all his library books would be tucked away there instead of getting mingled in with his huge personal library!

Now despite the fact that I make an effort to not post pics of the bugs on my blog - because I'm a crazy neurotic mother - I can't bring myself to crop off LadyBug's face on this picture to show off the dress I made for her to wear to the family Christmas Eve gathering. So for your viewing pleasure....


It's red corduroy - soft and comfy. This was my first time sewing in a zipper and I would call it a good first go! Next time I know what I would do differently. And check out those butt ruffles! I added those myself since the pattern didn't have them. I absolutely love how this dress turned out! And I made it a little bit bigger so hopefully it will still fit for Valentine's Day :)

I hope everyone else had a great weekend! Happy stitchy wishes to you all!