My October Gift and a Free Holiday Pattern for You!

December greetings! I hope that everyone had a fun Halloween and a Happy Thanksgiving. I have missed spending time here. I am so behind posting, reading, and commenting, that I may never catch up. I guess I'll move forward and hopefully do a better job of keeping in touch. Thank you to all that commented on my last post about the pumpkins. I'd be glad to share how easy they were to make if anyone is interested. Let me know by commenting on this post or just send me an email.

I missed posting my October finishes, but I just have to show the gift that Julianne (one of the sweetest and most generous stitchers around) sent to me. I received her little "just because" gift in October. Thank you again, dear Julianne. 


Lovely surprise in lovely packaging from Julianne.

 Don't you just love the rose embossed gold bag! And the "pear" card was perfect for October. Inside the bag was the sweetest ornament. Julianne stitched the robin design from Prairie Schooler's "Signs of Spring". I collect robins and I just love it!!! It is hanging from the lamp by my stitching chair so I can admire it whenever I sit down to stitch. (I plan to send a little something Julianne's way after the first of the year.) 



Robin from PS "Signs of Spring"

Here's a pic of Miss Zoe, my very own "Dora the Explorer" checking out the new gifties that came in the mail.   



Zoe (doing her best Vanna Whiskers impression.)



Since I am "between employment" at the moment, I decided to pursue one of my long-time goals: designing. Back eons ago when my Mother and Aunts was collecting dollhouse miniatures (70's/80's?), I designed and stitched quite a few mini samplers and linens for their dollhouses and displays and I designed and stitched an extended family tree in honor of my grandparent's 50th Wedding Anniversary. All designed on graph paper with colored pencils. About five years ago I purchased charting software. Until now, I have only used it to customize little bits and pieces of charts that I was stitching, but haven't taken the time to start fresh and let the creative juices flow. 

So over the last several weeks, I have been charting and stitching, recharting, frogging, and restitching and today I put the finishing touches on my first original ornament design, "Holiday Spirit" from Samplerbird Stitchery (that's me). 


 I included words that evoke the spirit of the holidays for me. I wish I could stitch one for each and everyone of my blogging friends and the wonderful shop owners that have kept me supplied over the years. You are all very dear to me and make even the roughest days a bit brighter. Since I can't stitch that fast, it is my pleasure to gift the chart to you. I hope that you like it.

If you stitch it, I would love to see how you choose to finish it. There are so many possibilities. The matching trim and ribbon that I used were purchased at Michaels (this year) to add lots of bling! I like bling at Christmas. It's a quick stitch, especially if you leave off the beads and just use a simple cross stitch. Enjoy!

Click on the picture to make it bigger.

If you have any questions, you are most welcome to email me at robinndlwk@aol.com. Happy Holidays!



Thank you for stopping by my little corner of the world today! 





"Holiday Spirit"
Designer: Me!
Copyright: Samplerbird Stitchery 2010



And We Have a Win-na!

Thank you to each and every one of you that left comments on my last posting. I find it gratifying to know someone is interested in my projects and cares enough to leave a message. It reaffirms why I need to be more diligent about leaving comments on other blogs...it means so much to the receiver. Don't you agree?

Before I get to the main topic of tonight's post, here's a pic of the little pumpkin pincushions that I put together this past weekend. I finally got around to using some of the crushed walnut shells that I purchased this past summer. I've got to make more of these, they are ADDICTING! You wouldn't believe the mess I made in my craft room/studio/office as I dug through boxes and drawers to fine all the components. Oh, what fun I had!

And now for what many of you are waiting to read...the list of candidates has been tabulated, the winner's name selected by my DH...........BUT before I reveal the winner of Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler chart and leftover threads, let's review the selection process, shall we?

First, I listed the names of everyone that left a comment and stated they wanted to be apart of the drawing.

Next, I cut the names apart.

Then I carefully folded each name and placed the little pieces of paper into my trusty candy corn tin (from JoAnn's). And my DH had the honor of selecting a name from the ever-so-cute tin. And the winner of Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler chart and leftover threads is...............

BERIT!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS, BERIT! I hope you enjoy stitching the sampler even more than I did! 

Please email your snail mail address to me and I'll send Jenny Bean off to you ASAP!

Thanks again to all that left comments. And to all that took time to just drop by for a visit. I'm glad that you stopped by my little corner of the world today! Hope your stitching adventures are always happy!

A Finish and My First Giveaway Ever

A couple of nights ago, I finished my favorite fall design from 2009, Shakespeare Peddlars "Jennny Bean Halloween Sampler". It was one of those sampler designs that I just fell in love with at first sight. It took about 3-4 weeks to stitch with a couple of breaks to stitch things for an exchange. Here's a pic of my Jenny Bean:

Stitched on 40 ct Sandstone linen with the Limited Edition The Gentle Art Sampler Threads.

And, because I enjoyed stitching Jenny's Halloween Sampler so much, I'm offering the pattern and the remaining 9 Limited Edition threads as my first ever giveaway. I think there will be enough of all the threads except for Nightmare (the black) to stitch this again, especially if it is stitched with one thread on 40 ct (or maybe even 36 ct.) linen.

         

Since this is my first giveaway, I'd like to keep it as simple as possible, so all you need to do is comment on this post and tell me if you are interested in going into the drawing. It is not necessary to be a follower, although you are most welcome to join me. :)

On Thursday, October 14th, I'll draw a name from the comments to this post and announce the winner's name. Please make sure that your email address is available so that I can contact you if your name is drawn. If you are a fast stitcher, you might be able to stitch this up before Halloween! Good luck to all!

QUILT SHOW: On a side note, I attended a quilt show this past weekend and I was pleasantly surprised to find a Blackbird Designs quilt. Such a shame that pictures just don't have the same impact as seeing it in person! Beautiful!!

I happen to live next store to a quiltmaker-artisan extraordinaire, Pat. She is always creating something of beauty. Here she is with her Country Cupboard wallhanging. Again, the picture just doesn't do the quilt justice. The red, black and white border detail is jaw-dropping gorgeous! Check out Pat's blog to see more of her quilting and crafting projects. She has lots of tutorials, too.

Well, enough of my meandering for today. Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world. I trully appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for making the blogging world such an enjoyable place to visit!

I Can Stitch...When Traveling @ 70 MPH

I had pretty much given up trying to stitch while riding in the car. Then about a year and a half ago, I came across a little Bent Creek zipper kit in my stash and decided to take it along while my DH and I took a drive. And I discovered stitching with #5 Pearl Cotton on 18 ct Cork linen is Michigan roads friendly! What a relief, no more "pin the tail on the donkey" type stitching (that's where you struggle for about five minutes trying to get the needle in the right hole). I can now actually stitch and enjoy the drive, too.

Here's a pic of a couple of my first Cork projects: "Made in the USA" kit, Bent Creek (center), in the lower right corner, Trail Creek Farm's "USA" freebie. On the left is "Land That I Love" from Lizzie Kate which is stitched on 32 ct raw Belfast.



We haven't been traveling much over the last year but I have managed to stitch or finish stitching the little grouping below:

Trail Creek Farm "Summer" freebie, Birds of a Feather "Halloween Costume" freebie, and The Gift Of Stitching, "Cupcake Doily" motifs with added buttons.

So now I have a little travel case packed and ready to go with some #5 pearl cottons, 3 or 4 smaller cuts of Cork linen, a few smaller, Cork appropriate patterns, a package of #22 needles, and a pair of travel scissors that I clip to my seat belt.

And then this past weekend, I made another discovery. We took a little camping trip and on the way, I pulled out an exchange piece that I am stitching on a piece of mystery 28 ct linen and found it surprising easy to work on. That is until we hit a nasty, bumpy stretch of highway and then it was back to the Cork. So now I have another travel option. Let's see, what do I want to stitch on 28? I really wish I could share a picture of my stitchy progress on the exchange piece but I don't want to spoil the surprise. I'll just say that it is very cute and such a clever idea from one of my new to me favorite designers. I just wish I had enough of the linen left to make one for me too!

I'm ready for a road trip, how about you?

Happy stitching! Thanks for stopping by my little neck in the woods.

Glory, Glory, Halleluiah!

I finally have a few finishes to share. I haven't had much time to stitch over the last several months. I won't go into it all now, but it involves a job, extreme stress, long hours, and finally a decision to move on. So last week, DH and I went camping, that is, we took our travel trailer and camped in a lovely KOA campground  near Petoskey Michigan. We relaxed and I tried to regain my sanity. (Note: I'm still working on it.) In the meantime, I stitched.

On the left is "Spring Glory" from Sisters & Best Friends. Stitched in honor of one of my favorite flowers. I stitched it on a piece of pale pink 32 ct linen that I had on my stash and used DMC and overdyes. I changed some of the recommended colors and stitched the letters randomly with a few coordinating overdyes. I must say I am pleased with the changes I made. 

On the right is a sweet little pattern from a new to me designer, Jardin Prive. It is called "Ronde de Fluers Pinkeep". I stitched in on 36 ct white linen with DMC. I just love it and I plan to make it into a pinkeep using  purple head pins (like the one in the picture).

Check out the object in the upper middle. Yes it is a little flower frog. It's about 3 1/2" wide. A few weeks ago my sister and I went on one of our sister's getaways and along the way we stopped at a few antique/second hand stores and I found not one, not two, but three flower frogs. Unfortunately, they are all small and only my tiny scissors fit in them. I did see a few of the larger ones but opted for the small ones as I didn't take into regard that scissors actually have to fit in the holes. Duh! Oh well, live and learn. Next time, I'll be on the look out for one of the larger versions. 

I tried to upload a few more pictures but Blogger is being obstinate and is giving me a "failed" message so I will take that as a hint to say goodnight.

Thanks for stopping by my little blog.