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 :)

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!

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!

Lovelies!

*Disclaimer: poorly lit photos that don't do a bit of justice to their subjects. My apologies*

My life has been hectic lately to say the very least. But I do believe that by the end of Friday, I will be able to finally slow down. Last week I was up to my ears in finals preparations. My first semester back at school, and I'm proud to report I got 3 very high As! My highest course grade was 107.4% , my lowest was (as of right now...it may yet be curved a little) 98.5%! A pat on the back for me! To celebrate, we took the bugs to Chuck E. Cheese's. Cuddle Bug has been begging for months to go since he saw a sponsor "ad" on PBS Kids. It was a huge hit! He had a blast and LadyBug was entranced by the lights and sounds.

This week I've been working hard on Christmas details. Last night I was up until 1am making cookies for Cuddle Bug's preschool Christmas program. Welcome to motherhood, my dear :)

In all the mayhem, I didn't get to mention that I got the most amazing exchange package from sweet Vonna! Vonna kindly agreed to exchange a Christmas ornament with me despite the fact that her stitching and finishing are perfection and that hardly seems like a fair trade! All I can say is that the ornament she sent me is absolutely stunning. I gasped when I opened it! I don't call this beauty "it," I call her "she" as she is much too lovely and special to be an "it." She's a beautiful PS angel and she is front and center on my Christmas tree. Just today she was complimented by a friend who stopped by for a brief visit.


Vonna also included 2 precious stuffed dogs for the bugs! That made their day Vonna! And for me...oh heaven as if the incredible ornament wasn't enough, Vonna included the chart for LHN's Poinsettia House and the specialty fibers, fabric, and piecemaker needles to complete it! I have big plans for this chart next week when DH is home on vacation. And Vonna says the piecemakers are absolutely divine to stitch with so I am very much looking forward to giving them a try!



Thank you Vonna! I feel so unworthy to have something so special in my possession. I will cherish this beautiful angel always!

Here's a peak at what I sent Vonna (and some candy thrown in for her bugs):


I also got a wonderful little Christmas surprise from Staci! I am now the proud owner of Staci-dyed fabric! I literally jumped for joy upon opening this! Staci, you are too sweet for words! Thank you for thinking of me :)


I am always so overwhelmed by the friendship and generosity among stitchers. I know it is said often, but stitchers truly are some of the most generous and wonderful people in the world!

Still On Cloud 9 over My First Exchange

What a week! After being sick last week, this week I had 2 huge midterm exams. I was completely overloaded this week. Has anyone else been forced to take statistics? Wow! That is an intense class!

But now here it is Saturday morning...the exams are behind me. Cuddle Bug is curled up on the couch watching Miffy and Friends on PBS and LadyBug is upstairs taking her mid-morning nap. The floors - that shamefully have been neglected for 2 weeks - have been swept and vacuumed. No more stale Cheerios on the rug under the table for LadyBug to be stuffing into her mouth when I turn my back for a split second (did I mention she's "crawling" now...it's really more of a butt scoot but she's very good at it). Now I can exhale.

Ahhhhhhhh.

So now I can mention that I am still absolutely living on cloud 9 over my exchange from Ranae! That was one of the most fun things I have done in a long time! Milling over charts, picking out just the right thing to stitch and deciding how to finish it. Picking out fun things to keep the exchange piece company in the box during it's travels. It was an absolute blast! And then there's the excitement, the anticipation of finding a box on your doorstep! Oh my gosh...it is fantastic!!!

Of course I forgot to get a picture of my piece before I taped the box shut. Wouldn't you know? It wouldn't have been right if my first exchange went perfectly. So I had to make at least one amateur mistake, right?! So there you go, no picture. But fortunately Ranae took a wonderful picture and has kindly given me permission to post it to my blog.



This is part of Tanya's Quaker Boo freebie she posted last year. I have wanted to do this one since she posted it. I went back and forth over this and a Bent Creek design. I really wanted to do this chart, but I couldn't decide if it's poor exchange etiquette to use a freebie chart or not. It was my favorite since I thought it would make the most interesting finish, so I went for it anyway. Anyone want to set me straight on this? Anyway, I did the large octagon motif over 2. Then I stitched 4 slightly varied versions of the pumpkin motif over 1 and hung those from the bottom 4 corners of the octagon. I put mine and Ranae's initials on the back along with the year. My pillow ornament finishing wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But Ranae didn't seem to mind.

Ranae, thank you so much for offering to exchange with me! I had so much fun doing this with you! You are wonderful! My flatfold from you is gracing my living room window sill, and I seriously can't help but smile every time I see it!

Hugs for Ranae and all the amazing stitchers out there who continue to inspire and support me in my stitching adventures :)

My First Exchange!

After a rough week - everyone in the house was sick except DH - I had a very exciting pick-me-up!

Ranae and I had arranged to do a personal Halloween exchange, and look at the amazing lovelies that came in the mail for me!!



I couldn't have dreamed of a more incredible exchange! I have been walking on cloud nine over receiving this! Thank you Ranae for such a sweet package!! This is my first flatfold and I'm going to use it as a reference to try one this finish myself. Isn't it darling? And look at that trim! So festive! The little stickers walked off in the hands of my 3-year-old, so he keeps calling the package "our Halloween package." What a goober! And check out that scissor fob! Isn't it fantastic?! This was so much fun!!!

Ranae's package from me is in the mail finally. It's off to it's new home. I have to admit, my exchange pales in comparison to the beautiful package she put together for me. I just hope she has as much fun getting her package from me as I did getting mine from her :)