More Stitching Photos

Here are the Halloween squares I sent to Lisa for the Halloween Fair & Square round. As you can see we selected the same exact pattern to stitch for each other. Isn't that funny? This is from the JCS Halloween Issue.








Next we have the squares I sent to Jenn for Round 9 of the Fair & Square Exchange. This is from one of the Tiny Tidings patterns.










Here we have the little birthday/thank you treat I sent to Joan. She loves Halloween and has designed some wonderful free charts for a Halloween SAL I am in. She has her own Yahoo group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sapphirestitching/



I am still waiting for two more exchanges to arrive to their recipients and then I can post those pics as well. Have a great day!

I'm Speechless!!!

Just look at what the mailman brought me yesterday!!! This is what Becky made for me in her personal Halloween exchange. I feel so blessed to have such an awesome piece of her work. I love it!!! I am thinking now that I will have to have a Halloween display up in my house year-round because I am NOT putting this away! Thank you so very much, Becky. I will treasure it always =)

Thank you for letting me use your photos!

Ornaments, Exchanges, & "Let's Stitch"

I am finally getting around to making myself do some finishing work. I think the exchanges really help because it forces me to try new techniques and to get things done because I HAVE to get them into the mail. Now, above you see one Halloween ornament and one Christmas ornament. There is one more Christmas ornament that I finished but it is in the mail ;)

I heard from Joan that she received the HOE Prairie Schooler exchange from me. I stitched the "stick it here" freebie and made it into a pin keep for her. It was a fun stitch and I am sure that I will stitch it again!

Now, for the goal setting part of this message. I have joined up with Becky at her "Let's Stitch" blog and am looking forward to being motivated to work on my UFO's and stash collection. I am just getting started on the organization of the kitted up projects. Here is my pink plastic tote filled with my needlework smalls projects (the ones I have found so far, that is).

• A Secret Garden Needlework Necessary (from a class I took long ago)
• Just Nan - Common Ground Accessories
• Just Nan - Miss Kitty's Dragons Needle case
• Just Nan - Octagonal Peacock Pocket
• Just Nan - Dragonfly Scissor Purse
• Ewe & Eye & Friends - Big Heart Paperweight (mine will be a pin cushion)
• Ewe & Eye & Friends - St. Nick Scissor Companion
• Ewe & Eye & Friends - Polka Dot Scissor Companion
• Heartland Needleworks - Rosey Tote, scissor sheath, needle case & biscornu set
• From the Heart - Sewing Pocket and Pocket Smalls
• Periwinkle Promises - "United We Stand" Sampler Accent
• Periwinkle Promises - "Hope" Sampler Accent
• Shepherd's Bush - Tiny Flag
• Shepherd's Bush - Shepherd's Scissor Fob
• Shepherd's Bush - Shepherd's Roll
• Shepherd's Bush - Shepherd's Purse
• Shepherd's Bush - Stitcher's Roll
• Shepherd's Bush - Snow Fall Roll
• Shepherd's Bush - Millennium Roll (yep, I'm embarrassed that this is not done)
• Shepherd's Bush - Glory Fob
• Shepherd's Bush - Christmas Treat Bag
• LHN - Wool Needlebook and Scissor Fob
• LHN - Schoolgirl Samplings - make a fob from pattern
• With My Needle - smalls from JCS Ornament Issues 2003-06
  

Next week I will purchase a couple more containers for organizing more of the stash. I plan to have one container for samplers, one (I hope just one) of the miscellaneous kits I have, one for UFO's, and we'll see what other categories I think of. I am really excited about this!!!

I mailed out a few more exchanges today and when they arrive, I will post their photos. I think I am comfortably caught up with this now. Just need to do one more finishing on something so I can mail it out this week.

Have a great day!

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Dawn B. for winning the two little Halloween Mill Hill kits. I will get those sent out as soon as I hear from you =) I will do more giveaways later. I need to take some time to work on exchanges and am still going through my stash to see what else might be a fun drawing prize. Thank you to all who have participated so far!
Have a great weekend!

More Exchanges and this weeks drawing!

Look at the wonderful package I received from Carol for the HOE Prairie Schooler Exchange!!! I love the mattress pin cushion she stitched for me! It is a freebie design that I have stitched a couple of time because I like it so much, but still hadn't stitched it for myself. I love it, and now I might try making a mattress pin cushion since I have a great example to follow! I think that lovely piece of silkweaver fabric is calling for a Haunted House design. Love it!

My appologies to Susan for not having posted this sooner. This is the adorable LK ornament exchange I received over a week ago. I am going to have such a nice tree this year with all my F&S exchange squares and all the other exchange pieces I have received. I just need to get into gear and do the finishing on some.

Don't forget to post to last weeks (Friday's) Halloween post to be entered into the drawing, which will be held tonight. I will post the winner tomorrow!!!
Have a great day!

Received, received, received!

Here are some exchange updates. I received a couple packages just before I left and now I can share photos! Above is the beautiful ornament I received in a friendship exchange with Dawn. Below is a photo of what I sent to her. I am really pleased with our exchange and hope to try more friendship exchanges with other stitchers as soon as I get caught up with what I am committed to right now. So, maybe after the holidays I will ask and see who is interested =)


These are the squares I received from Jen for Fair & Square round 9. I really need to get on the ball and finish hers. She also sent me a sheet of information about the Mien Sampler she got he pattern from. It was designed by Eva Walters and is from the "Travelers Tales Collection".

Here are my Halloween squares from Lisa. This is really cool because I am so in the mood for Halloween! She even sent me a spooky letter along with the squares, which is really cool! There is something really funny I will have to share about these squares later, after I send hers and she has received them ;)

Have a great day!

"Back to School, Back to Basics"

That was the theme of the retreat! All of our goodies and the optional project fit right along with this theme too, as you can see from these photos. The first thing we received was a brown bag lunch with apple bread (made by our very talented president) and chips, caramel sauce, and the pumpkin pin cushion. Then throughout the retreat there were little present left at our seats and I think everything is shown in the photo above.

The optional project was an apple needle book and scissor case. That was such fun to make! On Saturday morning we received a kit with all of the supplies needed to make it and were promised a surprise when we finished. As each person finished, they were taken aside and given the surprise which was the scissors for the case. Neat! We had a choice of red or green and I chose green.

Here is a photo of the inside. On the top piece is the flower with the needle threader attached and the threader is slipped into the square pocket below. I attached the fob from our goodies to my scissors. And you can see that inside the little apple shaped needle book is the gold needle that was also included in the kit. Everyone who made the project finished and received their scissors!

The retreat was held at Ross Point which is a beautiful area. I completely forgot to take photos so I am buying a disc from one of the ladies who was there and then I will be able to post more photos. It was loads of fun and I can hardly wait for next years retreat!!!
Have a great day!

Spooky Drawing & Another Giveaway!

I put all the names into my cauldron and Lyn W is the lucky winner. Lyn, please go to my profile and send me an email with your address so I can get your prize into the mail when I get back from the retreat!!!

Do you like things with beady eyes? Well, then this next drawing is for you! I have the two Mill Hill kits shown above to give away. The drawing will be Thursday night during the witching hour, and will be posted on Friday. Be sure to leave me a post and this time I would like to know why you love or hate to stitch on Aida cloth. I just started stitching a spooky project on Aida and am really enjoying it! I feel like I am getting back to my stitching roots. I think we must have all started our stitching adventure with Aida cloth, right?

Okay, I really have to go. My stitching is packed, snacks are packed, clothes - NO! And, I think I do need clothes. Must go throw pants into the dryer and get my car loaded. I am so excited. A fabric order just arrive moments ago from Enchanted Fabrics and they are awesome! I will post photos when I get back Sunday.

Have a great weekend! Don't forget to post a comment to be entered into the drawing =)

It's time to get your SPOOKY on!

As you can see, I have been doing a little shopping. I have loads of ideas for goodies to make, and have gathered all of my Halloween patterns, ordered fabrics, pulled threads from my stash and purchased a couple of really neat ones to add to my collection. This is the first year that I have really been bitten by the Halloween bug. I have my feather tree out and want to fill it with ornaments so I need to get busy stitching. I think the colors are so much fun and there are lots of great patterns available for spooky stitching!

What's this? Peter piper picked a peck of pickled pumpkins????? As you can see, I have two. One for me, and one for whoooooooo? You? Maybe. Leave a comment on THIS post and tell me what you are stitching for Halloween. I will draw a name and announce a winner next Friday before I leave for the weekend retreat I am going on. The lucky winner will receive the pattern, a piece of the 10 count Sweet Potato Heatherfield fabric, and the two skeins of DMC size 5 perle cotton required to stitch this Halloween quicky! And maybe I will even post another giveaway...... That is, if I don't scare everyone away with this one!

Have a great day!

PS Small Santa Exchange

Here is the Santa I stitched for my partner in the PS yahoo group small Santa exchange. I finished it into a pin keep although it is a bit difficult to see the pins in the photo. It is one of the free charts that I had wanted to stitch for a while.

Stay tuned for another post....