I Have Been A Busy Girl!

Well I have had a busy weekend in my sewing room which leads to a very happy girl!! I guess I should really start last Thursday though. I was traveling for work and was able to stop at Bush Mountain Stitchery....which always makes a long travel day much better! So of course I had to do a little stash building while I was there. :) I picked up Bluebird's Thread Keep from Blackbird Designs and the threads to go with it. I got a 30 ct. Mocha Linen from Weeks Dye Works. I love the color. I also got the new thread slide from Just Nan. It is a cute Christmas one. I just couldn't resist. I also picked up more needles just because you can never have enough. And last but not least, I got a new needle minder from Puffin and Co. It is toooooo cute!! Take a look at all my goodies!

Then this weekend, I spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday making my first quilted tote bag. I was so excited that I actually did it. I know that there are several things on here that I could have done better, but I don't think that it turned out too badly for my first attempt. Please let me know what you think or if there are things that you think that I could have done better.
And just because I didn't get enough stitching done this weekend, I just had to start a new project. I am working on "Rose Sampler" Little House Needleworks. I have the thread keeper to go along with it. I just love little stitching goodies. I never can resist. This one I ordered from "Shakespeare's Peddler". If you have never visited Theresa's website, you should. She is a designer as well as a shop owner. She designs under Shakespeare's Peddler and Raise The Roof Designs. She is so nice and easy to deal with. I was just thinking that I am going to order one of her new designs called "Jenny Bean's Christmas Ornament". I just love the colors and too cute.

Well, I suppose that I had better get back to work. This stack setting here in front of me is never going to do itself. If I can just get one more thing done tonight, that would be great.

So until next time, Happy Stitching!!

Catching up

I thought that I would have been able to post a little more regularly, but you know how life gets in the way. I have been busy and traveling some more. Plus my DD has been sick and even stayed home from school one day. Which is really something as she HATES to miss school! So I knew that she was really sick.

I have been finding a little time for stitching and stitching related things. If you haven't ever read any of Monica Ferris' stitching related mystery novels, I highly recommend them. Right now, I am reading "Blackwork". It is the newest one and it is just as good as the rest. They are really light reads and entertaining and boy does she know needlework lingo! LOL!!

I have also been back to working on "From Sea To Shining Sea" by Little House Needleworks. I am on the third house and I am doing the border pattern as I go. I think that it is coming along nicely.
Also, I forgot to post a picture of my little goblins and ghouls from Halloween. They had a great time trick or treating with their friends. My DS had two friends stay over night and my DD had one. So we had 5 kiddos here over night. I am so not used to that, but they were all really good.
Well, lots to do tomorrow. Or I guess I should say today when I wake up so I better get to bed. Just wanted to say Hi and show you my little cuties!!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

A Finish & Other Fun Stuff

Yesterday my DH picked up my framed "Mermaids" piece from my framer. DD really loves it and we think that it is going to go great in her room!! Here is the snap. I think that it turned out great. The color in the snap is a little off as it is after dusk. I forgot to take it during the day with natural light.

I also worked on my "Traveling Stitcher" and finished the stitching on it. Now I just have to get it sewn to the needle book and the bag. I posted a snap of the needle one before, but I am going to post it again. I couldn't get the Needles snap to lighten up at all without really making it look really off. I am going to have to learn to start taking these when it is light out.

I also have a new start. It is the "My Pins" pincushion by Shepherd's Bush. I didn't take a snap of that one because I am almost finished with it and I thought that I would just take it when I was completely done. This was a really quick and easy one.

Also today, we took the kids to a Corn Maze. They had so much fun but boy was it muddy!! This is a great corn maze that starts operation in mid-August. Here is a picture of the kids and DH up on the bridge at the corn maze.
Ok, so I am off now to do some finishing and to sweep the floor. All of these leaves that are falling off the trees onto the ground here in Western Pennsylvania always seem to end up all over my carpets!!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!!

Can It Truly Be A Month???

Can it be truly a month since the last time that I posted here?? I can hardly believe it. But that's what it says. Work has been consuming a lot of my time. But I have been getting some "Stash Enhancement Shopping" done and some work on a couple of projects. With this fabric, I am going to make a notebook cover. I use so many notebooks for work and travel so much, so I always have one stuck in the car or the truck or in almost every bag that I carry. I really like the colors of this.

The next is for a small wristlet. My DD picked out the fabric and she wants me to make it for her. I think that I am going to try to embroider a flower on the front of it before I sew it.

Next is a collection of fabrics that I picked out to work on for a quilt called "Briar Rose". I found this pattern in a magazine and I think that it will be easy enough to start with. I really like these fabrics.

I have been working on a couple of projects when I get the time. The first one is something new that I have tried for the first time recently. It is called "Knotwork" and the pattern is by Theresa Layman. I really like it. It is easy and fairly quick. It is done using just two types of knots, a French Knot and a Colonial Knot. I really like it.

Then of course I have been working on the "Traveling Stitcher" by Little House Needlework. I don't have much more to do except finish the words and put my initials on. Then I will just have to do the finishing work on it.

So you see that I have been busy. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Along with all the traveling for work and follow up work after I got home, my DD had her 7th birthday. Her biggest present was something that she wanted, but that she had no idea that she was getting.
Well, I think that this post has gotten long enough. I will save some for my post tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks for looking and sticking with me. I hope to get back to my more regular schedule of posting on my blog.

Until next time, Happy Stitching!!

Summer is coming to an end.......

The last days of summer of approaching and the kids want to go back to school but they don't. Funny how that always works. Today we took the kids to Cook's Forest to ride bumper boats and go karts and play miniature golf. They had a good time. Abby couldn't figure out how to get the bumper boats to always go straight when she wanted it to, just around and around in circles.


While we were out, I of course coerced my family to stop at our LNS, The Stitcher's Stash. I was doing a little more stash building. I bought the Loose Feathers Designs Nos. 35, 36, & 37 from Blackbird Designs. I got the wooden pincushion form to put the one sewing piece in. I also picked up the frame that "From Sea To Shining Sea" goes in. I am so excited. I also picked up the needlecase and scissor fob from Little House Needleworks.


Oh and I forgot to mention that as soon as I am done with the "From Sea To Shining Sea" series, I am going to start the "Winter Wonderland" serious by Country Cottage Needleworks and Crescent Colors. I bought this beautiful chocolate fabric to stitch it on. It is a "solo". This means that once this color is gone, the manufacturer will not make any more of it. I love it!!
So now I am back to finish off my ornament exchange to mail out on Monday!! I can't wait for my partner to see it! I hope she likes it, but I am a little nervous!

Hope you all have a good weekend, and Happy Stitching!

Jen

Lots of Updates

So we have been very busy here at our house this week. We have been painting the kids rooms, had a yard sale to get rid of a bunch of junk and I have been stitching!! Yippee!!

So my DD wanted to have her room done like an underwater scene. So her daddy did a GREAT job painting the room to look like her underwater kingdom. And we have sparkly curtains that we put up. We are waiting on her new bedding which is going to add mermaids to our underwater experience.
Then my DS wanted to have a John Deere theme to his room. So we were working on making that really reflect his obsession! LOL!! Again, daddy did a great job with the painting and the wall paper.
So now onto my stitching stuff!! I have put a few stitches into my "Traveling Stitcher" , but I just couldn't help but to have a new start with all the fun stuff we were doing in my DD's room. I have started "Mermaids" by Country Cottage Needleworks. It is a really fast stitch and is just so cute!!









Well, it is getting late here and so I am off to dream land as I have a busy day tomorrow. But I hope that you all had a good weekend and were able to put needle to fabric over the past couple of days!

Happy Stitching!
Jen

Pictures and Updates

Well, I have to say that I have been very bad about keeping you updated. Summer time is so busy for us and especially this year with all the work we are doing to the house. But enough of my whining, I have some fun stuff to show you.

I have the needle book front done for my Traveling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks. I have also started the other part of the piece that goes on the back.


I have also been playing with the embroidery module to my embroidery machine. I am having so much fun with this!! This is my first completed project with my embroidery machine. It is a flip flop keychain that has a little pocket in it. I LOVE this and I am going to be making a couple different versions of this. I think that I could seriously get addicted to this! LOL!! Like I don't have enough other addictions to keep my busy!

Now what has really been keeping me busy is the painting that we have been doing in our house. We are painting the kids bedrooms and ours. My son has a John Deere theme in his. He is all about the tractors. He picked out a REALLY bright blue for the walls and he has John Deere border for around the top. Then he decided that the inside of his closet should be painted.......a VERY bright green. Ahhhh, at least it is only the inside of the closet.

And my daughter decided that she wanted an underwater theme to hers. She wanted it to look like she was underwater and she was looking up from the bottom of the ocean. Her favorite color is teal and so the walls are a dark teal color and then we are putting a couple colors of brown at the bottom of the wall to look like sand, green ocean plants up the walls and fishy stickers on the way to decorate all around. When it is all done, I will take snaps to show everyone. So far, it is looking really good.

Well, I am off to bed as we are off early tomorrow AM to see the newest Harry Potter movie! I am so excited! I bought the tickets as soon as they went on sale and my poor dear husband is getting drug along! LOL!

I will let you know how it is! Hope you all have a good week.

Happy Stitching,

Changing It Up

These past couple of weeks have been exhausting to say the least!! We have been having a lot of shows to do with our business. I also had a HUGE project that was due for my regular job, but happy to say that it went very well, and I am very proud of that.

So I decided it was time for a little change on my blog. What do you think? I really like that it is brighter. I think some of the items are a little easier to see.

Well, my Traveling Stitcher piece is coming right along. I have the needle book part done and I am well on my way with the larger portion that will make a pocket. As soon as the battery in my camera is charged, I will take a picture to show you. I will also take a picture of some of the good stuff I have been getting. Let's just say that I have been doing some stash building! :)

Oh, and I have joined my first exchange! I am so excited!! It is a stitcher's choice ornament exchange. My partner is Karen from Australia. I am going to be popping over to her blog to see what I can find out about her likes and dislikes. This is my first one, so any advice from those of you that are pros at exchanges??

So I am off to the post office right now. Hopefully it won't take long for the battery to charge and I can show you all what I have been up to!!

Enjoy the beautiful day wherever you are and Happy Stitching!!

Busy Week....hopefully relaxing weekend

This has been a busy week with work. But I have been able to get some stitching done. AND I got a couple of great packages in the mail from one of my favorite needlework shoppes on the web, Shakespeare's Peddler. Theresa is a very nice and knowledgeable stitcher and she has been having some GREAT sales! If you have a chance to check her out, you should at Shakespeare's Peddler.

I am working on the Traveling Stitcher from Little House Needleworks. It is coming along. Not too bad for not stitching much.
Now here is my good deals that I got from Shakespeare's Peddler. The colors are not quite as good as what I would have liked. They are much more vibrant. The pinkish one is a 28 ct. Cabernet Lugana. The other one really is purple mixed with blue and ivory. It is 28 ct. Starquest Linen. I am in love with both of them. Next to it is the next project that I will be working on. It is the Rose Thread Pouch by Little House Needleworks. I love it too!!

So I am off to list a couple of things on eBay this evening. But very quickly before I go, I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and came across this great site that has wonderful tutorials, including this one for a needlecase. So if you have a minute, check out The Painted Quilt. I really love this blog!

Well as always, Happy Stitching!

Where to start.........

I can't believe that it has been two weeks since I last posted!! It has been so busy around here that sometimes I feel like my head is spinning! So where do I start to tell you about what I have been up to?

Well, first we had decided that we needed a new roof on the house (not really what you wanted to spend your money on) but its one of those things that you have to do. So when we started getting estimates for the roof, they were all saying the same thing to us......you need to have this chimney fixed before we can start!! UGH!! I don't know about where you live, but here, it is EXTREMELY difficult to find a mason. Well, we finally did and he told us that really the only option that we have is to complete rip down the chimney and start over, for way more reasons than I care to list here. So long story short, what we thought that was going to be expensive enough just about doubled in an instant!!

So we have 7/8 of our roof redone right now. The mason will start with the chimney on Monday morning and it will take him about two weeks to complete. Once he is done, the roofer will come back and finish the roof right around the chimney. I do have to say that the house really is looking great!! I love the change and I can't wait to see what it all looks like when the chimney is all done.

And on top of that, my DH started to build a small porch on the front of our house that I am VERY excited about!! We have never had porches on our house, which I really miss. So I can't wait till its all done so I can sit out there and stitch to my heart's content. When it is all done, I will take some pics and show you all!

So that is one thing, then on top of that, our summer business has started up, which takes more of my stitching time than I would like. We own a motorsport production company that has us traveling every weekend from Memorial Day to the first weekend of October. Plus there is all of the prep work and follow up work after each event.

So you may be asking what exactly is a motorsport production company. Well we produce tractor and truck pull events on the East Coast. It is a little hard to explain, but we do have a website at www.fullpullproductions.com. It might be easier to take a peek there than to try to explain exactly what we do.

Then this week we took the kiddos on a little mini-vacation. We took them out to the Poconos to an indoor water park called the Great Wolf Lodge. They had a blast!!

I was so happy while we were there that one of my dearest and closest friends came to have dinner with us on Wednesday night with her DS! I haven't seen her in quite awhile and talking on the phone or via computer just isn't the same!! The kids loved playing with each other too! Here they are being silly and playing up for the camera.
And in between all of these things, I have been cleaning out my house like a mad woman. My friend and I have decided to have a yard sale in the middle of July and I have decided that my house has needed a SERIOUS HOE OUT!! LOL!! So if you are in the area the middle of July, stop by.....I may even be getting rid of the kitchen sink!! Hahaha!!

Now on to what I have been doing stitching wise! I am so happy to say that I am FINALLY done with the last Monthly Flip-It!! I know that it doesn't sound like it, but I really did like stitching these up. They are too cute and I am so glad that I did them. My kids comment on them all the time. My last one is August. The overdyed fabric doesn't show up very well in this picture. I took several of them, but it just didn't seem to come out. Really it is a great green color.

Since that is done, I have started on my next 'take along' project. I am working on the Traveling Stitcher from Little House Needleworks. I don't have much done, but it is a start! :)

I have also been doing a little stitching shopping too! And I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with the two new Pixies from Nora Corbett! One is called Pansy and one is called Sweet Pea. I picked up both of them up and I am going to do them both on Pink Whisper. I don't think that this really soft, soft pink overdyed comes out nearly as beautiful in this picture as it is in person and it is just gorgeous with the purples in these two patterns.

UGH!! It must be too late. I can't get the picture to rotate and I hate when that happens. I will look at it tomorrow and post the picture.

Well, thanks for reading this super long post! So sorry about that! I still have more to tell, but that will wait for tomorrow. I hear my pillow calling!!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching!

Crazy Week with a little progress

What a busy and crazy week that I had last week! I was traveling a great deal for work. But I did manage to get a little bit of stitching done. Just a little bit on the July Flip-It and I finished "The Southwest" house on "From Sea To Shining Sea". I was was very happy about that. Here are the pictures of those two projects.










I also took some pictures to share with you of the other months that I already have done. I hope that you like these.














Well I hope that you liked all of these! I will be so glad to get these completed!! Just half of July and August left. Yippee!! Well I am off to pick up my sewing machine, so that I can finally start to play with the embroidery module! I am so excited!! :)