Happy Halloween!

Well, I think this is the first that I have went a week without posting. I am in one of those little slumps of no definitive plan as to what I really want to stitch. I have been working on LHN peach fruit pack. I even have been browsing over some of my UFO's. But, nothing just hits me. I hate when this happens. Also, my arthritis has been really bothering me in my right wrist which is my stitching hand. So that does not help either. Anyway, it is very nice weather here in Florida-it actually has been very mild here. A perfect night for trick or treating. Since it is Halloween, I thought I show a picture of an old finish called It's Monster Time by Annalee Waite designs. It happens to be in my finished-I haven't decided what to do with pile-LOL Hope everyone has a great Halloween and happy stitching!

A Happy Dance and Some SBQ's

This is Dream Tree by M Designs completed today. It was done with Passion waterlilies thread and I can't remember the name of fabric. I haven't quite decided what I am going to do with it. It's nice to have another finish though. I hope everyone has a good stitchy weekend.

This weeks (Sept. 28) SBQ is suggested by Lee and is:

As we all know, stitching in the winter can really be rough on the hands. What do you do to treat your hands well in the cold winter months? Do you have any suggestions for creams or soaps? Or perhaps a special regimen that you would like to share?

I have no special regimen. I just make sure to clean my hands and try to make sure there is no oil on them when I stitch. I usually use a shea butter lotion.

This weeks( Oct 18) SBQ is suggested by Vash and is:

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on
top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or
right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I am right handed and I stitch /// followed by \\\. I have tried to stitch the other way when stitching over one, but I find it very difficult to do so.

My First Biscornu

Sorry these are not the best pictures. But, here is my first biscornu. I am not to happy with it. I don't think I have it filled enough and I am not to sure that it is big enough. Though, I guess that biscornu's are not to big. If anyone has any thoughts on this or suggestions, I would appreciate it.

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Rava

The rules; List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

These are my current favorites-I listen to these sometimes as I check blogs.
Deja Vu-Beyonce
Ring the Alarm-Beyonce
Irreplaceable-Beyonce
Baby Boy-Beyonce
Don't Phunk with My Heart-Black Eyed Peas
My Humps-Black Eyed Peas
Hey Mama-Black Eyed Peas

I tag the following

Jinger- Rae of Sunshine Stitches
Deb -Stitches of Heritage
Faye-Stop the world-I want to get off!
Cindy- Stitching Korner
Michelle Craftee Cab
Tina - An Italian-Scots Stitching Journal
Anne Marie- Wacky Wanderings

I'm back!

That's sounds sort of ominous-LOL. I had an absolutely lovely time at the retreat this weekend. The weather was great and the company was wonderful. It started Friday evening with check in, followed by dinner. We then went to the room we were going to stitch in and at each stitcher's place there was a little denim bag. Well,the bags had different names on it and you were supposed to find the person with that name. Learn as much as you could because you would be introducing that person. It was a really fun way to get to know people. Then we commenced to stitching and a little later we had an ice cream social-very yummy! We also started collecting tickets for various things-so we could win doorprizes. I crashed closed to midnight as I had been up all day.

Saturday started out with breakfast which I missed due to sleeping in a little. We went into our stitching room and on the tables was our first project-a tin topper with all supplies needed to complete it. It was in a little plastic box wrapped in ribbon. Very cute. I decided not start mine yet. We stitched until lunch and then after lunch, we had a massage therapist come and give massages. The first 5 minutes, our LNS owner paid for. But you get extra minutes for a dollar a minute. I won a door prize in the afternoon session-a cute butterfly pattern with needle necessities thread to go with it. Then another lovely dinner followed by more doorprize and our second project of the day.

This was an applique project, something I had not done before. So, it was very interesting. You can see my first attempt at pincushion above. The rest of the evening was spent stitching. Now you did not have to stitch all the time. The camp was very peaceful and quiet and you could out into the water on the pier. Thee was open air church. A very neat place. No TV or telephones in the rooms.Very relaxing.


Our final day consisted of breakfast followed by more stitching. The last of doorprizes were given away. We still had to pull for the final two big doorprizes which were a hand painted lap stand by K's creations and a $65 bundle of thread from Crescent colors. Believe it or not I won the Crescent colors-I was so excited! They are quite lovely and they are all mine! I was also second runner up in our little exhibition. We then said our goodbyes until the next retreat!



Here are tribal beauties completed! A big happy dance for me!

Off to retreat!

Just a quick note to let you know I am off to my stitcher's retreat this weekend. I will be back Sunday morning. I am looking forward to it as the weather here in Northwest Florida and Alabama is a little cooler. Just think guilt free stitching-imagine me doing a Tiger Wood fist pump-LOL I hope everyone has a great weekend with lots of family, fun and stitching! Catch ya Sunday!

Another pinkeep and a stitching update

Well here is my second attempt at a pinkeep. This is actually a special piece for me as it is the very first piece that I ever cross stitched. It has been floating around in my finished pile now for 6 years. It is by Jemini Designs who did peppermint Nick in this years JCS ornament issue. I put a loop on it, as I plan to hang it in my guest bathroom which has s beach theme.


Now, an actual stitching update. Here are my Tribal beauties-whom I hope to have completed this week. I wanted to have two finishes by the time I went to my stitching retreat-but that will not occur. If any of you guys recall this was supposed to be completed in July. I guess better late than never. I am also stitching on 2 pieces which I hope to make into a biscornu. Also, I am trying to decide which projects to take with me on the retreat. I think they will mostly be new-as I have some new stash.

Yes, I have become finishing crazy.....

Well after a little trip to Jo-Ann's this afternoon with my Mom, I decided to tackle the no-sew cube. I used Kim's no sew cube instructions. So, here is the result. It is my alphabet heart. The colors are some of my favorite-lime, sage and purple. The colors match either my bedroom or bath, so I could display it in either place. I think I have been bitten by the finishing bug. Still on the to do list a biscornu and a scissor fob. I have been stitching on an UFO, tribal beauties. They are complete with only the very tedious backstitching and border to do. So, I hope to have a happy dance very soon to share. Got to run now-happy stitching.

A Mini HD and Catching up on SBQ's

This is Goddess Heart by Enchanted Needle. A really quick simple stitch that just appealed to my general sense of funkiness. I haven't quite decided how to finish. I wanted to thank you all for the lovely comments on my flat folds. They are much appreciated and I hope to finish many more things. If anyone of you fabulous stitchers have any tips on scissor fobs I would love to have them. Now on to the SBQ's.

Today's SBQ 8/30/06 was suggested by Carolyn
and is:

How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them,
scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you
would like to share?

The way I usually share my finishes is in person with my friends,family, and stitching friends. Now, if I am giving it away. I usually frame my finishes. Now that I am blogging, I always photograph my finishes and place online. I would eventually like to do an album with pictures of all my finishes

Today's SBQ 9/21/06 was suggested by Elisabeth and is:

How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been
for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques
besides cross stitch?

In the six years I have been stitching, I have completed 38 pieces. I have given 7 pieces away. Maybe one or two had a Smyrna stitch, but no other stitches that I recall.
However, I am aiming to branch out.

Today's SBQ was suggested by Me and is:

When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching
projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you
take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do
you take?

I have found it better just to forge ahead. If I get frustrated, I will put it down for awhile. Sometimes I am just tired and I pick it up again the next day. It sometimes depends on how close I am to finishing the project. I have a UFO from 2 years ago that I just picked up again. I got so frustrated that I just couldn't work on it. I haven't had a real break in stitching besides a few days for a long time now.