Love the Postman

I love ebay and getting mail and I've gotten a bunch of stuff over the past few weeks. This will be a picture heavy post.

These are some of the back issues of magazines and hard cover books I got

More books I received and my son Kyle. He insisted on being in the picture

Ann, from Beadlework, was selling some silk floss from Caron. So I bought the skeins. They are gorgeous!

These are Soie Crystal. Aren't they beautiful?!?!

These are Caron Waterlilies, the two on the left are cotton, the rest are silk. They are just gorgeous!

Ann included a gift of a very pretty beaded scissor fob. These actually fit my scissors so I put them on. This is my one pair of needlework scissors that my friend Curtis gave me a few years ago on Christmas.

Thank you so much Ann! The silks are gorgeous and the fob is wonderful!

Back in May I had a giveaway for a couple gift certificates to 123 Stitch (ONS). Karen (Karen's Handiwork) was one of the winners. In late September I received a small package, inside were these gorgeous hand made note cards! Karen made them for me as a Thank You for the giveaway! They are beautiful Karen, thank you so much!


And last but not least..a crochet project I finished:

In one of the Leisure Arts The Magazine issues I got was this pattern for little Christmas Stockings in thread crochet. They looked easy enough so I thought I'd give it a try. This is my first one. I think it is adorable! I started a second one that will be red on top and white for the rest. Near the top a thin ribbon will be run through the stitches (I have to get some ribbon).

I have done some work on Christmas Dreams but didn't take a new picture. I filled in the stitches I skipped in Santa's hair and upper beard, so the progress is not easy to see. Hopefully I will do some more stitching on him today and upload a new pic in a couple days.

Floss, WIPs and RAKs ...Ohmy! Floss, WIPs, and RAKs...ohmy!

I can't believe I forgot to post this! I am very sorry Robin! A couple weeks ago I received an unexpected gift in the mail. When I opened the package it contained a beautiful LHN chart called Two Red Houses, some floss, fat quarter of very pretty fabric, a little thread cutter with magnifier, and a notepad with a note written by Robin on the top sheet. I was very surprised! Thank you so much Robin, I really appreciate this RAK and I love it all!

I've been stitching a little bit the last couple of days. I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked but I did make some. I chose to work on Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott which I am stitching on Charlescraft Silver Dusted 14 ct Aida fabric. Here are some pictures:

Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott ©
Stitched by Raven's Stitching Nest

closeup of new areas added in the beard

Better picture of whole piece as of September 22, 2010

I have also started collecting Anchor floss. Some of the designs which are in my magazines are ones I would love to stitch, but they are charted for Anchor floss. Since I am not real good at color conversions, and the conversion charts that I have found are not very accurate, I decided to just go ahead and start building my Anchor stash. Off of ebay I managed to purchase 254 skeins for $20.00, which was a very nice price! Now comes the fun of getting it all wound up on bobbins and put into boxes. I've already wound a few skeins and marked a box Anchor Floss, but since it only has 5 bobbins in it I didn't bother taking a picture. I did get some skeins that I was not expecting. There are variegated skeins in the bunch and I was expecting only solid colors so this was a very pleasant surprise. One of the orders was for 201 skeins but I only got 198. The seller was real nice about it and immediately shipped me out the missing floss. I got that small package today and was very surprised to find 6 skeins in it instead of just 3. I thought this was wonderful and I really appreciate the seller sending a few extra when she did not have to.

Well that is all that has been going on with me as far as stitching goes. Now that homeschooling has gotten into a routine I have started stitching when my son is doing written work that does not require my direct input. So while he is working on the assignment, I sit at the table and stitch. This way he gets to have my company (which he really wants) and I get to stitch (which I really want and enjoy)!. I would like to finish another project before the end of September if I can. I'm hoping to get Christmas Dreams finished so I can turn it into a small wall quilt and pack it up ready for gifting.

Full Set Of DMC

Thanks to ebay I have finally managed to get a full set of DMC embroidery floss. I have at least one skein of each color. My floss is arranged by number, with that bunch of skeins waiting to be put on bobbins. YAY!

I have also managed to give my sister-in-law Stephanie almost a complete set of DMC floss for her stitching. She is about 15 to 20 skeins short. Hopefully I can complete her set in the next couple of months.

I have one more order from ebay coming in and this will be 201 colors of Anchor embroidery floss. I figure that will give me a decent start to that brand of floss and make it possible for me to stitch the designs that I like which are charted for Anchor. I'm not very good at conversions so I figure having some Anchor floss won't hurt.

Because I won an auction I wasn't expecting to win, we ended up with a bunch of duplicates as well, which replaced my backup floss which I have packaged up to send to a friend of mine.

So now I have plenty of floss, lets see if I can actually start stitching again to use the floss. LOL

My Prize From Cyndy, Stash Enhancement, and Magazine Review

This is kind of a long post but I have lots of updates! No new stitching pics though, sorry about that! I have a couple other things going on but I'll put those in another post as this one is already long enough LOL

On July 31st I won a giveaway on Cindy's Blog ( Cindy's Cross Stitching Ornaments and Projects ). I was so excited to be chosen as a winner! I was expecting a few stitching goodies as that was the stated prize for the giveaway but Cyndy's generosity went way beyond just a few stitching goodies. The box arrived yesterday afternoon. It felt like Christmas! I was so excited and when I opened the box I was completely floored! So many wonderful stitching goodies, trims, ribbons, patterns and just WOW!

In the box was a ziploc bag full of ribbons, ric rac in lots of different colors, a packet of Madeira metallic floss (dark blue), a keychain to put stitching in and a tiny little tuck pillow for making an ornament (it is so cute!); ohhhh so very wonderful! One of the ribbons has beautiful little roses on it, the other is a very pretty blue. Now I have lots of stuff to try my hand at finishing stitching into items other than little pillows such as maybe a flat fold or pinkeep. The ribbon and ric-rac will be excellent trims for those items!

Stitching Goodies from Cyndy's giveaway!

As if this wasn't more than enough, Cyndy spoiled me even more! Included with all the wonderful finishing items was a large stack of magazines, charts, and a kit! There is a 2009 calendar full of Margaret Sherry designs. A UK Cross Stitch Crazy magazine, an older Just Cross Stitch (US) magazine, a few Cross Quick magazines including the premier issue, a bunch of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts magazines, Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine and a magazine I have not seen before called Stitch and Craft. I am enjoying reading each one (I started with Cross Stitch Crazy UK mag). I love magazines and have quite a collection. They are a great resource for patterns. There is a Prarie Schooler Santa chart, and a Stoney Creek booklet of celebration type samplers (weddings, anniversaries and such). The kit is a Needle Treasures kit of an adorable mother and baby giraffe. Here is a pic of all these goodies as well!

Charts and magazines from Cyndy's Giveaway!

Cyndy thank you so much! You have spoiled me with all these wonderful stitching goodies, thank you so much! I was not expecting so many different items and I am truly grateful for your generosity. Thank you very much I love it all and I am sure I will put these items to good use!

Thank you thank you thank you!

I've been working on increasing my magazine stash and helping my sister-in-law build a stash of patterns through magazines as well. I won a few auctions on ebay for lots of magazines (one was 15, one was 30 and one was 40+). These lots pretty much doubled my stash of magazines. lol I am slowly going through them all. I love reading stitching magazines, specially the older ones. I find it very interesting to see how patterns have changed over the years, and reading the interviews with older designers that are new to me. I now have magazines from the mid-eighties, as well as 90's and early 2000's. Some I already had so those duplicates I gave to Stephanie (DSIL) right away. The others I am currently sorting and reading, then I will let DSIL take her picks. As I have gone through them I've come across a couple that are a third copy. Since Stephanie and I both have a copy of those issues (legal copy, actual magazine not a photocopy) I have decided that when the sorting is done I will post a giveaway for those extra magazines and some additional stitching goodies! So keep an eye out for the giveaway announcement and rules. 

Speaking of magazines, I got a subscription to Stitch Magazine from The Embroiderer's Guild in the UK. I ordered it because Jane Greenoff's (The Cross Stitch Guild) The Embroideress sampler is being published in the magazine over 3 issues and I really wanted the chart. Since I also enjoy stitching magazines and have enjoyed my subscriptions to other UK magazines (Cross Stitch Gold, Cross Stitch Collection etc.) I wanted to see what this magazine was like. So rather than just order the 3 individual issues, I got a subscription. I am very impressed with this magazine! It is full of gorgeous pictures of many different types of stitching and needleart. It has great articles and projects for trying different embroidery techniques and articles about different artists. In the current issue (Aug/Sep. 2010) there is an article that includes blackwork (which I love) and getting shading with blackwork. There is an absolutely fantastic full page picture of a blackwork tiger that was designed and stitched by Sarah Homfray. If you scroll down on this page http://www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/currentissue.html you can see a small image of the sketch Ms. Homfray used to design her blackwork tiger. The completed embroidery is as beautiful as the sketch and the shading is gorgeous. A very impressive piece! I wish the chart was included because the piece is truly outstanding and I would love to stitch it for my DD Sam as she loves tigers! If you are looking for a magazine that includes information and articles on many different forms of needlearts, as well as how to's and charts for various beautiful projects, then you may want to give this magazine a try! Here is a picture of the current issue. On the front is a beautiful biscornu that is canvas work embroidery rather than cross stitch. It is quite beautiful!

Again, thank you very much Cyndy for the wonderful giveaway prizes! I love them all!

When the time is right, the right person comes into your life

I went to the doctor today for my pain management appointment. I was assigned to a new physician's assistant (PA) named Denise. After finding out yesterday when the office called to remind me of my appointment that I would be seeing someone new (this has happened for my last 3 appointments) I was worried. But since I knew it was a woman I was also hopeful that she would be as good as my old PA (also named Denise). In my experiences I have much better luck with female doctors or PA's than I do with male ones. Anyway she is a really nice lady, who actually listens to her patients. She did a physical exam, which I was expecting since this is the first time we've met. She also told me that the reason I am scheduled for an appointment every 3 months instead of every month is because I am listed as not being at risk for addiction, diverting my medications, or anything like that. I already knew this about myself because I am very careful to follow all the rules and only take my medication as prescribed, but it was still nice to know that my doctor's office knows that I am not a risk as well. So it was a great visit just for the new PA, but something happened in the waiting room that made it a truly wonderful and touching visit.

I was stitching in the waiting room like I usually do. Usually the wait can be a couple hours so stitching keeps me occupied and helps keep me from getting annoyed that I have such a long wait time. This lovely older woman came over to me. Her name is Grace. She asked to see what I was stitching. I was working on the Delft Card for a friend in the UK to sell and raise money for cancer research. She said it looked wonderful then asked to see the back. I knew right then that she must be a stitcher because only a stitcher would know that the back of a piece is important. So I showed her the back and I was nervous! With her age I knew that she had most likely learned from her grandmother and mother, add in her accent and I knew she had learned from an older generation in a different country. The older generations, when teaching younger people to stitch, emphasized that they do it correctly, including making sure the back is as neat as possible. Knowing all this I was nervous to show her the back of my work, that it may not be up to her standards but she told me my back was perfect! She started complimenting me on how neat my stitches were, how neat the back was and complimented my grandmother and mother for teaching me. I had to tell her that they did not teach me, that I taught myself. She was surprised but said I obviously learned well.

She then told me how her mom and grandmother taught her to stitch when she was a little girl, back in Panama. She told me she used to stitch a lot and tried to teach her 3 daughters, but none of them were interested. She asked me to put some pieces in the County Fair in October and mentioned how sad she was that there was so little needlework being shown at the fair now a days. I told her about the ribbons I got in the Cochise County Fair back when I lived in Arizona. She said she wasn't surprised because my stitching is so neat.

She went on to tell me that she still had many patterns that belonged to her mother and how she kept them because they were her mother's. She talked about how much they meant to her and had tears in her eyes while talking. Then, she blew my mind! (i'm still very pleasantly surprised!)

She wants to give me those patterns! Can you believe it? Some of her most prized possessions and she wants to give them to me! I still can't believe it.

She said many of the patterns belonged to her mother and grandmother, but since she doesn't stitch anymore and her kids aren't interested, she has held on to it all hoping to find someone who would treasure them to give them to, someone who would use them as well. I almost cried! I will certainly treasure every single chart! I am so touched that she would give me the patterns that obviously mean so much to her, specially since we literally just met! I started to cry a little and couldn't thank her enough. I know how much those patterns mean to her because they were her mother's and her grandmother's. She said that she had watched me stitch for a few minutes before approaching me because she wanted to see if I was really enjoying the stitching or just doing it to get it over with. She said that I appeared to be a true stitcher, one who stitches for the joy of stitching. I told her how much I enjoy stitching, that it is very important to me because I can't work, so stitching gives me something to work for. I kind of see stitching as a job almost, I may not be able to work but I can make beautiful pieces of stitching for people. She understood. So we talked for a little while about stitching, her coming to the U.S., friends, family and lots of stuff. She gave me her phone number and took mine. She said she will call me in a couple of days, after she gets the patterns together. Her husband asked for directions to my house and we talked about being transplanted Yankees living in the south (He is from Maine and I am originally from Mass.) They were great people and I really enjoyed talking with them. I am hoping this is the start of a friendship.

Stitching On A Wednesday

I have been stitching. On the Cross Stitch Forum I volunteered to make at least 1 stitched greeting card. One of the members has joined Relay For Life and would also like some stitched greeting cards to sell to raise additional funds for cancer research. Since I will have to send the card overseas (to the UK) I have to finish the 1 I said I would make (and hopefully a second one to go with it) by June 21st at the latest, to ensure she will receive it by the date needed. So I put Frogging Around on hold, went through all my UK stitching magazines because they contain the only greeting card charts that I have, and found a chart I liked. It is one of 4 from a series called Delft Cards". They were published in Cross Stitch Collection, March 2010 issue. I love this magazine as it always has at least 3 charts (or more!) that I want to stitch in every issue! I am hoping to get 2 of these cards done on time. Here is a picture of the one I've started already. I would say it is just a tiny bit away from half-way done already, and I've only stitched for 4 hours on it, so it shouldn't take much longer.

Delft Cards
14ct Aida using DMC Floss

My sister-in-law also wished to stitch a card. So she picked a chart from Jean Greenoff's "New Cross Stitcher's Bible" and started stitching. This is only her third stitching piece and I have to say she is doing a fantastic job! Her stitches are nice and even, well shaped, and great tension. Here is a picture of the front of her card so far. This is only about a few hours stitching time so far, she stitches quickly too!

 


Tudor Rose
by: Jane Greenoff
DMC on 14ct Aida
Stitched by: Stephanie C.

I am very impressed with how neat her back is already! The rose has 3 colors in it and the leaves have 2, but even with those color changes in such a small area, her stitching is still nice and neat! There are no knots, tangles, or hanging threads. Everything is nice and neatly tied off underneath stitches already placed. The back of my 3rd ever piece of cross stitch was never this neat! Stephanie is a great stitcher already! I am so very proud of her and how quickly she learned.

Tudor Rose stitched by Stephanie; back side.

Here is the promised update picture on Frogging Around. I love the way the variegated corals look on the words. As I said earlier, I set it aside to do the card so I haven't gotten anything else done since my last entry, but I did promise a picture. This picture is also the first one that shows the fabric color so well.

Frogging Around by Jessica Willis Burr
28ct Jazlyn Irish Fields by Enchanting Lair
Stitched by: M. Hull with DMC Floss

Again, thank you all for your help on finding a thread that would work for the words. I love the look of this thread even though the flash washed it out a bit in this picture. The words show up real well and the variations of the corals and pinks add a delicate flowery touch to the piece that I really like.

When rearranging my stash I found out that I have 2 of the same Dimensions Gold kit so I decided that it may be time to make a list of what I have so I won't duplicate them and thus waste money. So I made a list of all my charts, kits, and leaflets (not counting hard cover books, digital freebies, or magazines) so that I won't accidentally buy a chart I already have. It was a lot of fun to pull out all my charts. I rediscovered a bunch that I really want to stitch, and some I didn't realize I had because they were given to me as a gift from my mother-in-law a few years ago. I have 249 charts, leaflets, and/or kits. I haven't included my freebies because I haven't printed them all out. According to my computer there are 599 files in my cross stitch folder (not counting my folder for finishes). This, however, counts each folder name as a file and I give every designer their own folder so I always know who designed the freebie. There are 162 folders. I am quite surprised at how many freebies I have! Many of them are small charts. There are also 2 folders for digital magazines (The Gift Of Stitching and Blackwork Digital Magazine). Maybe it is silly of me to create an inventory of my patterns, I don't know. I am not meaning to brag or anything, I'm only babbling about it because of how surprised I was to find out how many I actually have. I wasn't expecting it to be that much! Now I will feel guilty every time I purchase a new chart because of how many I have already and I know I can't possibly stitch them all in my lifetime. But oh man they are so much fun to look through. While doing this I found a few charts and kits that I know I will not stitch. They are all in excellent condition, the kits have not even been opened. I will post a new page on this site listing those items for sale or trade. Hopefully I can get that done tomorrow. Maybe one of the items I list will be something you would like to have. 

Well that's it for me on the stitching front. Thank you all for coming by and leaving comments, I really do appreciate every single one. They always make me smile :)

My Stash

My favorite posting board (Cross Stitch Forum) started a topic asking people to post pictures of their stash. So I grabbed my camera and took pictures. I knew I had a decent sized stash, except for fabrics, but I didn't realize just how much I had mostly because it is spread out in two different rooms. Anyway, here are the pictures with descriptions beneath them.

This is the top shelf of a small bookshelf (3 shelves only) that sits in my bedroom, on my side of the bed. This shelf contains US Stitching Mags, lots of charts and some kits. The charts that come as leaflets, or in plastic baggies (such as HAED) are on this shelf.

These are my bobbin boxes that contain all the floss that I have on bobbins. Most are DMC floss, but there are a few silks on bobbins, metallics and such on bobbins as well. The red and black box holds my backup DMC in ziploc baggies, sorted by the hundreds (100, 200s, etc.) This all sits atop the small bookshelf in my room.

 This pile sits atop the 3 drawer plastic chest next to the bookshelf in my bedroom. It contains a floss bobbin box from a finished project, waiting to put bobbins away. A travel case with all the floss needed for both of my Teresa Wentzler WIPS. Magazines I have received lately, and a few printed freebies, waiting to be put away.

This is a 3 drawer plastic cabinet. The top drawer holds extra floss, beads, metallics, needles, silks, and a couple small kits. The second drawer holds thread crochet stuff, hooks, ribbons and things like that. The bottom drawer holds fabric, wips, and kits. Behind this cabinet are two plastic tubes of Aida fabric. One is mine, one is my SIL's.

This is my stitching travel bag. It currently holds 4 projects because I took them to Indiana with me. There are two magazines I bought in it as well. Bobbin boxes containing the floss for those projects. The projects are: anniversary sampler, frog from TGOSM, Christmas Dreams and the Quaker.

Top shelf of large bookshelf in Den. This contains my hard and soft cover pattern books, leaflets and two binders. One binder has charts from done projects, as well as small charts (like Miribillia charts) all in those clear plastic page protectors. The other binder contains charts from an old mailing service I had joined then canceled because I didn't like most of the charts.

Bottom drawer of old dresser in the den. It contains UK Stitching magazines with a few US ones as well.

Middle drawer of dresser in Den. This contains all finished pieces that have not been framed or finished into something. They are protected with acid free tissue paper and white towels.

Top drawer of the dresser in the Den. It contains off-size charts, and UK and US stitching mags.

Well that is my stash. This does not count the items I packed up to send to the UK for a friend whose ex threw her stash out.

I am a bit embarrassed at how large my stash is. But I love it! I get a lot of pleasure out of re-reading the magazines, looking at the charts and re-arranging my threads, so it is very worth it to me!

New Stash! (Picture Heavy Post) & Mean Guy

Over the past 4 weeks I've been able to order some new stash with some of the tax refund. So here is my new stash!

The Curse Of The Raven by Carriage House Samplings
Tuscan Rose by Sampler Cove

To Trim A Tree: Dragon Dreams
Summer's Magic: Dragon Dreams
Grace Quaker Sampler: Sampler Cove

A Quaker Christmas by ByGone Stitches
A Quaker Halloween Sampler by Cherished Stitches
Quaker Seasons Of Friendship by R&R Productions
Santa's Dragon by Dragon Dreams
Christmas Peace by Just Nan

 

My Needle and My Floss by Waxing Moon Designs
Stitching Mends The Soul by Waxing Moon Designs
Wings Of Courage by Dragon Dreams

Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issues 2004, 2005 and 2006

 

Murphy's Laws by Annette Bradshaw and Gwyn Franson
Subversive Cross Stitch by Julie Jackson

M Designs Trees: Family, Hope, Imagine, Dream & Cherish

Enchanted Lair: Firedance, Be A Dragon, Cookie Dragon, Teatime and Lans The Guardian

and last but not least:

Enchanted Lair fabrics: 28 count Jobelen or Jazzlyn
Meadow, Fairy Mist, and Irish Fields

I am so excited! I've been going through my stash and just enjoying looking at the charts, magazines, books, fibers, beads and everything else. I'm finally starting to build up a fabric stash as I didn't have any. I would order fabric when I chose a new piece to start rather than keep some on hand. Well a few years ago I ordered a 3 yard piece of 28 count evenweave to do the Sistene Chapel on but I decided to hold off on stitching such a huge project! So I've been using that large piece of evenweave for other projects and just cutting off pieces the size I need. In the meantime I have been ordering a few hand dyed fabrics here and there to help build up my fabric stash.

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday and found out that she had broken up with her boyfriend. He turned around and threw out 95% of her stash! I couldn't believe it! She didn't have a huge stash, but she did have a decent sized one that was worth some pretty good money. She had a lot of silks, hand dyed fibers, over dyed fibers, fabrics, charts, magazines etc. And this asshole just threw it all away! She managed to save some of her silks, the design she had been working on at the time, and some of her linens and evenweaves. The rest, is all gone. So I am putting together a box for her that contains lots of DMC floss, needles, aida fabric, a stitch ripper, dmc plastic bobbins and color number stickers and anything else I can think of to help replace some of her stash. We have similar taste in charts (she loves fairies, dragons etc) so I probably have quite a few that she would like. I'm really pissed at her ex-boyfriend and I have never met the guy! What a horrible, spiteful, childish and mean thing to do! While I was talking to her she mentioned that she had been looking at stitching stores online and just couldn't decide where to start to replace her stash. I can understand that. If it were me I would feel so overwhelmed and depressed that the items that I spent years collecting and that I greatly enjoy were all gone because some asshole wanted to be mean. I do hope that the box I am going to send her cheers her up a little and helps her find a starting point from which she can begin to rebuild her stash.

Well that is pretty much it for me. I haven't stitched in a couple weeks because I've been sick off and on. I've done quite a bit today and my back is really hurting so I'm going to go ahead and go to bed.

Thank you all for reading my ramblings and your wonderful comments. They mean a great deal to me and always bring a smile to my face. Thank you for brightening my life.

Good night all!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

It is time to rotate back to the Quaker piece. Here is a picture of Christmas Dreams as of March 20, 2010. I didn't get as far as I wanted to but I did get quite a bit done. I focused on filling in the areas above Santa's face, and his beard (which forms the crescent moon shape). I miscounted on the blue (which outlines the waves/curls in the hair) on the right side. I will pull those stitches out before putting this away for the next two weeks.

I can't believe it has already been 2 weeks since I started the rotation. But my blog says I switched to Christmas Dreams on the 7th, so it has been 2 weeks and tomorrow is time to rotate back to the Quaker piece.

On Friday I got some stitchy mail! I ordered a few Quaker charts and here they are:

A Quaker Halloween Sampler by: Cherished Stitches
A Quaker Christmas by: ByGone Stitches
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by: Heartstring Samplery

I love these three charts and can't wait to get them done. I think they'll make a beautiful set hanging on my wall together!

Thank you for the wonderful comments, they mean a lot to me and I appreciate every one!

Well that's it for stitchy news for me. Enjoy your stitching!

WIPS on Parade

Here is where I left off on the Quaker when I switched projects for the next two weeks. I am really loving how this is looking!

Here is a closeup of the stitching on this piece. It is being done 2 strands over 2 threads on 28ct Jobelen.

On Sunday March 7 I pulled out Christmas Dreams to work on it for the next two weeks. I have made more progress than I thought I would. Then two days stuck in bed resting my knee gave me lots of time to stitch! I also did some stitching while I was at my doctor's office today. This is still in my hoop because I plan on doing some more stitching tonight.

This is really taking shape now! It is going to be gorgeous! When I am done with the blue version, I hope to stitch the red version on the gold dusted aida but I have to get the chart flipped so that when I make the wall quilt, both Santa's will be facing each other. I think its going to look great!

I ordered a few new charts, quaker designs. I can't wait to get them. I wasn't sure I would like stitching a Quaker design but I really love it! The mini-finishes helps keep my interest up, and the way each medallion/motif looks crisp and clean just looks great!

Well that is it for me for today.

Happy Stitches!

Stitchy Mail and WIP

Yesterday I got a package in the mail from my friend Angi. She is also a stitcher. Months ago she got a look at my wish list and said she had many of the Dragon Dreams charts that were on my list. She said she probably would not stitch them and offered to send them to me. I got the package yesterday. I was so happy! Here is a pic of everything she sent me:

Back Row Left to Right: Dragon Dreams: Child Of Mine, Childhood Memories Sampler, My Treasure, Morning Dragon, Proof, Dragonlets Birth Sampler, Sleeping Dragon Sampler, No Late Knight Snacking, A Stitcher's Blessing and Moonlight Guardian

Middle Row Left to Right: Dragon Dreams: The Time I Spend Stitching, I'll Make My Own Happy Ending, Blackwork Princess, A Dragon's Tea Party (with all floss); Chatelaine's Weeping Willow Keep with all floss and silks plus Kiwi Illusions 32ct Belfast Linen from Country Stitch

Third Row left to right: Country Cottage Needlework's The Flower Shop and Passione Ricamo's Moon Fairy Spirit

This package made my entire day! Now I get the wonderful job of figuring out what to stitch when I finish Christmas Dreams. I love the Dragon Dream's charts. They are cute without being too cartoonish and I love dragons as well. Thank you so much Angi, I really appreciate it!

Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott

Here is the latest WIP pic of Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott. It is looking pretty good I think!

This is a closeup of the stitching. I still love how much detail my camera can get.

I gave Rachel the framed Raccoon Baby. She loved it! She was really happy with it and seemed to be very touched by the information that I added to the back of the frame and the message I wrote on the paper covering the back of the frame. The message was wishing her a Happy 21st Birthday and telling her I love her. I used clear packing tape to attach a piece of paper to the back of the frame. This paper contained the same birthday message as well as the information on the design. Designer name, threads used, fabric used, design's name, who it is for, who it was stitched by, when it was stitched, and when it was framed. I didn't think to take any pictures of her opening it and I keep mentally kicking myself for that. She said the message and information on the back was very sweet. She loved the carved scrolls on the frame and kept running her fingers over it following the curls and loops. I am very happy that she liked it so much!

Well that's it for my stitching update! Have a good day everyone!

Stitching Progress, Birthday Presents and Book Review

I did some more stitching on Christmas Dreams. I got alot of the white in the band of his hat done, as well as some more of the dark blue of the hat and began filling in the lighter blues as well. So far I've managed to stitch for a couple hours every other day, sometimes I've even managed to stitch for a few days in a row! I am very pleased that I have continued to stitch almost every day whether I feel like it or not. What I find most interesting is even on those days when I haven't wanted to stitch, once I start I usually begin to enjoy it. Then I find myself asking "why didn't I want to do this?". Depression is very weird that way. LOL

I got three new books this past week for my birthday and have read them all. Here are my thoughts on those books:

The New Cross Stitcher's Bible by Jane Greenoff

I bought this book for the stitch diagrams and directions. I was hoping for more stitches than are actually in the book, such as some of those stitches that are used in needlepoint or counted canvas to create beautiful designs and textures within the overall picture. Sadly those were not in this book. The stitches included were mostly (in my opinion) the specialty stitches that are most commonly used in cross stitch designs such as old samplers. So in that area I was disappointed and considered sending the book back. However I chose to actually read it first. It contains a great deal of information about cross stitch ranging from beginner's information, to cutwork, pulled thread, hardanger and more. This information changed my mind! It made the differences between cutwork and pulled thread very clear to me. It also contained directions on how to do both of these styles that I actually understood! I would reccomend this book for people who are new to cross stitch as well as those who are already stitchers but want to increase their abilities by learning other techniques. Despite the stitch diagrams not including as many as I was expecting, this book does contain a great deal of information that is easy to understand and would be helpful to any stitcher.

Art Nouveau Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammett

I really enjoyed this book. The designs are beautiful and fairly easy to do. There are quite a few that have made it onto my "to do" list. What I enjoyed the most was the information that was included on each artist. The book was separated by artist with all the charts that came from the artist's original works in one section. At the beginning of each section were a few paragraphs about the artist, their inspirations, their artistic style and more. To me this added to the enjoyment of looking at and reading the book. So if you like art from the Nouveau period, this might be a book you would enjoy.

Ancient Egyptian Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammett

I ordered this book for the King Tut's Mask chart on the cover. I was very pleased to discover many more charts inside that are definite "to stitch" charts for me. The colors are fantastic and closely match the original art-work it was based on. Like the Noveau book, this one also offers information about Ancient Egypt. There are many interesting facts sprinkled throughout the book that are in addition to the paragraphs that open each section. This is a book I would highly reccomend to anyone who enjoys Egyptian art and wants some nice charts to stitch from as well as learning a few things from the text included.