some finishes

Okay, so like I said I've been working on something top secret, so I've had nothing to show you.

Yesterday at Joann's I found this really cute red fabric with white snowmen. When I was describing it to my friend LindaP, she reminded me of a new ornament from this years JCS that would be perfect! I just stitched it quick on aida, and I really like it!:)

Then there are a few ornaments from the Halloween issue that I wanted to stitch, and LindaP wants to borrow them, so I stitched one up last night.

I'm working on the BritterCup one, but I stitched it over 2 on 28 ct instead of over 1! It does help to read the directions first! I was thinking it was looking awfully big!

Remember that fabric I got such a great deal on?! Here it is!

Here are the whites:

Here are the creams:

Here are the colors:

And most are great size pieces, most enough for a 5 by 8 picture at least!!

Remember my little needle book? Here it is all put together! The pattern was out of a magazine, I'm thinking it was Mary Cox, but I'm not 100% on that one! I've really got to figure out a trick with my corners. I mitre them, but they aren't making me very happy! :)


You can't tell it too well, but there are four pages for needles: 22, 24, 26 and sharps.

And last but not least, my parents were here for a few days! Apparently the jet lag from Alaska to North Carolina is a killer!
Don't ever tell my mom I put this picture on here, Lord she'd kill me for sure!! :) (that means YOU Rachel!) We had a great time together. Mom treated me to some shopping trips, including a big trip to the grocery store to stuck up on all the extras: laundry soap, shampoo, paper towels... all those things that are budget killers! She is very generous! We have one of those tiny Belk stores in town and she went a little crazy. (there are no clothing shops in the town she lives in) Anyway, she happened to shop on days where you could earn "Belks Bucks". Basically free money to use over the weekend. So Luke and I went back to Belks today and got a few little things for NOTHING!

Actually, I got a $40 pair of jeans, a purse for my MIL for Christmas, shorts for Andrew, some garish earrings that Luke picked out for my MIL (which she will love just cause he gave them to her), and two little toy sets for Luke. All total I spent $2.14 over my Belks Bucks!:) THANKS MOMMA! :)

Off to my hang with my stitching group tomorrow! Can't wait to go!

All Finished

Yup, finished something I've been working on the past few weeks. Can't show you a picture yet.. We've got to get the sewing part finished and then delivered...THEN I can show you a picture! Can't wait!

A lady on the 123mb was selling some fabric and I just happened to be online right when she posted. She sold it to me for $30... and when I got the package.. HOLY SMOKES BATMAN! It was crammed full of fabrics, mostly evenweaves, some linens. Really pretty light shades: pink, blue, yellow. A great mix of white, creams, tans and some neato handdyed too! She had given me a list, but I had NO idea! :)

I hadn't ever dealt with her on the mb before, turns out we live in the same state, and her dad lives in the same town we do! What are the chances of that, on an international board? :) Anyway, I am thrilled!

I'm lucky enough to get to gether with my stitching group this Saturday. I was supposed to be on my best behavior today and tomorrow, and guess what happened?! I took my parents to the airport, a 30 minute drive each way. I accidentally left my phone at home. Since I was on that side of town, I stopped by Joann's to look at fabric. They have some really neat new stuff, by the way!:) Anyway, by the time I got home, I found my phone and it had 4 voicemails..and 7 missed calls! OOPS! Turns out Luke was sent home sick, and DH had to drive from work (which was less than 5 minutes from Joann's) and get Luke and then drive back to work! I said sorry a lot of times....but at the moment he was a little annoyed! :) So much for being on my best behavior!:)

My group is the Tarheel's from 123mb, and we have a great time together. We've been getting together since 2000! My kids were 4 and 1 then...now they are 11 and 8! Scary! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies! YUM

This was last Sunday, we made some cookies to take to church. Luke was loving the beater, so I made him stop for a second for the picture! Sure looks like he's loving it, doesn't it?

No pictures today!

Nope, no pictures today! Seems kind of boring without them, doesn't it?! My parents, who live in Alaska, are on their way for a ten day trip to Spain. On the way, they are making a stop over at my house for three days. They get in this afternoon, and will leave on Thursday. So there won't be much stitching around here for the next few days! I've been cleaning like crazy this weekend, and have the sheets washing to the beds where they'll be sleeping. Don't we want them to think we always live like this?! Actually, I wish we did always live in a perfectly clean, organized, and clutter-free house! It just doesn't seem possible with boys! :)

I've really been stitching a lot lately, but it's just not something I can show quite yet! Maybe by the end of the week, we'll see!

I read on Marion's blog that she has already started working on our matchbox exchange! Yikes! I've at least thought about it, does that count for anything? I saw it on another blog somewhere: they decorated the outside of a full size matchbox and then filled it with cross-stitch goodies. I think it's gonna be fun, and something really different! Marion and I were in an RR together, gosh almost five years ago! So it's fun to be reunited!

I'm getting to go to one of our Tarheel gettogethers this Saturday! By the way, I am never sure how to spell that word, should it be get-together? Or Get Together? or what?! Anyway, Luke has a flag football game that day, but I'm going to skip it. It will be the first one I've missed and his grandparents will be here, so it should be fine! Right? I need a mommy break ASAP anyway! It'll be a fun day. Linda and I will drive up together and we'll talk stitching talk the whole way, it'll be about an 1 1/2 hr. drive! She does the driving and I do the stitching!

I'll see everybody in a few days!

My Bunny Finishes

A few people have asked me the name of the pattern for the little bunny set.

It is Garden Party for Bunnies and Friends. Besides that it just says Norma Flak, Keepsake Stitches 2004. I have no idea if it's available any more.

Just Nan Needlebook

I found this at a LNS last week when a friend and I went shopping. It called for a lighter orange WDW fabric, but the shop only had pumpkin colored WDW. So we got that, and I think it works fine. The pumpkins might have been a little easier to see on the lighter orange, but it's still cute. We changed a few things.. You were supposed to tack closed the bottom two corners, but we didn't like that! So I put cording in all four corners, and just tied the bottom part shut and then did the bigger tie for the top half. Isn't it cute?! :) And I had some halloween printed felt, so for the inside I cut a tiny square of the felt that had a pumpkin on it, but I'm not sure you can see it in the picture or not. The finished size, when it is closed up is about 2 inches squared. When it's all open, it's 3 inches.

Bottom:






And just for fun: Andrew blowing bubbles!

2 1/2" scissors??!!

Where in the world do I find those? I searched google and came up with hardly anything. The Joann site had 2 for $2, you know those were good ones! But the shipping was $8 and that bugs me! Course they didn't have them in the store! I found some hobby ones, but not sure if they are for thread. (or if it really matters)

I don't want to get really expensive ones, but I do want some that will work for more than a week or two!

I have two finished things that need 2 1/2 inch scissors.

I finished my Just Nan halloween thing I was working on! Oh my gosh, it is the cutest thing! I'll take a picture to show off tomorrow!

My inlaws are here overnight. It's my FIL's 60th birthday. I made Chicken Pastry (for those none Southern readers, basically chicken in chicken broth with squares of thin dough.. YUM) And a from scratch chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! DOUBLE YUM