Another giveaway and I'm a winner!

Cross stitch bloggers are so fun and generous!  I won Kate's Easter giveaway at The Flying Needle of a $50 gift certificate to 123-Stitch!  Thank you so much, Kate!  It's time to check my wish list and start shopping!  Any suggestions?

Ruth is having a birthday giveaway on her blog of some wonderful gift certificates!  Drawing will be on April 7.  Enter HERE and tell her that I sent you! Good luck!

March ornament and WIPocalypse update

I'm in the 2013 Ornament SAL, where we stitch a new ornament each month for any holiday.  My March ornament is Boule Bordeaux, a freebie from a French blog, Le blog de Vava.  I used DMC gold metallic 5282 and a red/pink variegated J&P Coats floss.  This is stitched on perforated paper with red felt on the back.  It is about 4" x 5".

Boule Bordeaux - FINISHED!

"Boule Bordeaux"
Designed by Vava
Le blog de Vava
Started 2/9/2012, Finished 3/27/2013

Since my last WIPocalypse update in February, I finished Singing the Blues and made progress on my SAL pieces.  I sent this chart to Ruth in Ireland, so follow her blog to watch her bluebird come to life!

Singing the Blues - FINISHED!

On the monthly Prairie Schooler designs, I've been stitching the eagle for July. He is patiently waiting for his wings.  This will be done soon, and then I'll start the August square.

Summer & Winter (July) update #4

The Bear and the Bees by The Prairie Schooler is my Monday SAL with Linda.  I stitched the grass and some leaves.  Linda already finished hers.  We'll start a new Monday SAL next week.

The Bear and the Bees update #3

On Boo! Club by Lizzie*Kate, I finished Spiders and started on Eek!.

Boo! Club (Eek!)

Linda, Sharon, and I will start a new Monday SAL on April 1, for Bothy Threads Cut Thru' designs.  Linda and Sharon will do Stable and I'll do Igloo.  Does anyone else want to stitch along with us?

You can see current pics of all of my WIPs on my WIPocalypse page. Remember to check in on Measi's blog with a link to your WIPocalypse update, too!

A very old UFO is finished and I'm a winner!

I bought the kit for Bear Hug at a Creative Circle needlecraft home party waaaaaaay back in 1988 (25 years ago!) and guess what?!  I finally finished it! This will be donated to World of Charity Stitching so they can sew it to a pillow or walker bag or tote bag.

Bear Hug - FINISHED!

Bear Hug
Designed by Sue Miyata
The Creative Circle
Started 1988, Finished 3/22/2013

I did the backstitching on the two windows and the roof of Halloween House.

Halloween House update #29

I pulled out one of my starts from last year to use for the 2013 Ornament SAL for this month.  It is a freebie from a French blog, Le blog de Vava.  I'm stitching it on perforated paper with DMC gold metallic 5282 with the word "Noel" in white DMC.

Boule Bordeaux update #2

I am using a variegated red J&P Coats floss for the top and bottom.  It's not turning out exactly how I planned (LOL) but I'll try a different method for the bottom half.  I bought a piece of red felt with an adhesive back to put on the back of this ornament.

Boule Bordeaux update #3

I was a lucky winner of a Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe giveaway!  Nancy sent me five 20-yard skeins of over-dyed floss.  She is having another giveaway on April 15.  You can enter HERE and tell her that I sent you!

I was also a lucky winner of DMC linen floss from Brenda in her "From My Horde to Yours Giveaway" at The Dropped Thread!

I also bought the rest of the DMC floss at JoAnn's yesterday that I need for my next BAP.  Hint:  It's the big picture at the top of my blog!  Yes, that's actually a cross stitch chart called "We're Off to See the Wizard."  I had a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase, so the floss was only 29 cents each!  Here's what the chart looks like:

"We're Off to See the Wizard" chart

My 4 SAL updates and more giveaways!

I always try to stitch on my SAL pieces on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  Here are my latest updates!

Friday SAL with 10 other stitchers:  I did more backstitching of Halloween House on the roof and ghost on the left side.

Halloween House update #28

Saturday SAL with Linda and Rosemary:  I stitched the eagle's head and feet and the arrows on Summer & Winter (July).  All that is left is the word July at the bottom and the eagle's wings (all solid brown).

Summer & Winter (July) update #3

Sunday SAL with Linda and Kaye:  I stitched more (and more and more) red of Santa's coat.

Santa's 12 Days of Christmas (Day 4) update #4

Monday SAL with Linda:  I finished the inner border and the bear's blue overalls.  I will stitch the outer border in the same blue.  We will finish this one soon and we have already planned our next Monday SAL!

The Bear and the Bees update #2

Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having another great giveaway of floss, chart, trims, and fabric to several winners.  Drawing on April 15.  Leave a comment HERE and tell her that I sent you!

McKenna at Chic Crafting is giving away a handmade crocheted octopus! Drawing on April 1.  Leave a comment HERE and tell her that I sent you!  Good luck!

More great giveaways!

Don't miss your chance at winning 5 skeins of hand-dyed floss from Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe!  She is choosing 5 winners to win 5 skeins each tomorrow on March 15!  Leave a comment on her blog HERE and tell her that I sent you!

Karen of My Stitchy Ramblings is up to 100 followers and is having a great giveaway of Silkweaver hand-dyed fabrics and pretty spring time charts.  She is choosing 2 winners on April 1.  Leave a comment on her blog HERE and tell her that I sent you!

Annette of California Stitcher also passed the 100 followers mark and is having a wonderful giveaway of a fabric project pouch, a chart, floss, and linen!  She will choose a winner on March 21.  Leave a comment on her blog HERE and tell her that I sent you!

Turtle Trot SAL - March

For the Turtle Trot SAL, we choose 13 WIPs to work on and post progress pics on the 13th of every month.  You can sign up at BAP-Attack.  Here is my progress since last month.  You can click on the picture to see it bigger.

Universal Unity:  I stitched more on the tiger, but he isn't finished yet (maybe next month).

(before)

Universal Unity update #5

The Sorcerer:  I finished the left side of the moon and started his purple cloak.

(before)

The Sorcerer update #3

Flaming June:  I did 800 more stitches in the sky, but still only 1% completed.

(before)

Flaming June update #2

All's Good in the 'Hood:  I stitched more border on the top and the words "GOOD IN."

(before)

All's Good in the Hood update #4

Disney Princess Birth Announcement:  Cinderella has a face!

(before)

Disney Princess Birth Announcement update #2

Day of the Dead:  The flowers on the other cheek are done, and I started on the mouth.

(before)

Day of the Dead update #5

Majestic Eagle:  I started stitching the wing.  There are lots of combined colors with 2 different colors of floss for each symbol.  Then there will be lots of backstitching to make the feathers come to life.

(before)

Majestic Eagle update #1

Orange Poppies:  I stitched more of the poppy.  There are so many different shades of orange!

(before)

Orange Poppies update #1

Canyon Waterfall:  I'm still stitching the tree in the corner.  Maybe I'm doing this the slowest way possible.  I pick one symbol at a time to stitch.  You can't really tell, but there are lots of shades of gray, black, dark blue, and dark green already!

(before)

Canyon Waterfall update #1

Thank you for looking at my progress pics.  I wonder how they will look by next month!

I bought all my Q-Snap covers from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies.

March TUSAL

Here is my TUSAL blog post for March!  Be sure to check in on Daffycat's blog with your TUSAL post, too!

TUSAL 2013 #3

On Halloween House, I finished the green roof on the left side and a ghost. Next time I'll do the backstitching on the ghosts and start the roof in the middle. You can see everyone else's updates HERE.

Halloween House update #27

I finished Spiders on Boo! Club by Lizzie*Kate.  Now I'm one-third done with this 12-part design.  I bought the tiny black and white buttons for the eyes and spider bodies, but I misplaced them!  I'm sure I'll find them before I finish this and will add them at the end.

Boo! Club (Spiders) - FINISHED!

I had a great time on Saturday, stitching all day with the SoCal Cross Stitchers Yahoo group.  We met at a mall and stitched outside from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The patio had nice padded chairs and a waterfall and beautiful blue skies. We were steps away from the food court, too!  Here is the view from where I was sitting:

Now with Daylight Savings Time, it doesn't get dark until 7:00 p.m., so I can try stitching outside after work all week long, unless it gets too hot!

Happy Stitching, everyone!

Stitching bears!

Linda and I have a new Monday SAL, The Bear and the Bees by The Prairie Schooler. We started this last February 2012 and haven't touched it again until now.  I stitched the bees last year and now I'm starting on the bear.

The Bear and the Bees update #1

I've also been stitching on some other WIPs with bears.  I started Bear Hug in 1988, when I bought the kit at a Creative Circle home party.  I'm going to donate this to World of Charity Stitching and they can sew it onto a pillow or tote bag.  It's a great charity to stitch for, since you don't have to wait for a quilt theme to stitch something.  They make all kinds of things with cross stitch designs.  I finished stitching the bears and now all that is left is the border.  It will be great to get this old one finished!

Bear Hug update #2

Picnic Area by The Prairie Schooler was started in the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge this year.  I stitched two more letters and started stitching a bear. There will be bears on both sides, and a fox chasing a rabbit on the bottom.

Picnic Area update #1

Bear in the Janlynn Wildlife Series was another start in the UCJC this year.  He got the rest of his nose done but still only has one eye!  I have other kits from this series that I will stitch some day.

Bear update #1

This was fun to have a "bear" theme on my blog post today.  I have more ideas for future blog post themes by grouping some of my WIPs together.  Happy Stitching, everyone!

Another FINISH and Prairie Schooler SAL progress!

Please join me in my happy dance!  I finished Singing the Blues, just a week behind Linda.  I used DMC variegated blue, Anchor variegated green, J&P Coats variegated red, and Anchor white Marlitt floss for the border, since I didn't have the Crescent Colours or Belle Soie silk floss listed in the pattern. I'm passing the chart on to Ruth next.  I wonder which floss and colors she will use!

Singing the Blues - FINISHED!

Singing the Blues
Little House Needleworks
Started 1/15/2012, Finished 3/4/2013

Big thanks to Annette, who sent me some B5200 for my Prairie Schooler July design.  I'm lucky to live close to JoAnn's and Michael's and Hobby Lobby, but they always seem to be out of black and white floss.  I even checked at Wal-Mart too, with no luck.  One of these days I'll get lucky and stock up!

Summer & Winter (July) update #2

Isn't it fun to be in a SAL with someone else and they start the design in a completely different place than you?  Linda started Santa at the top and I started at the bottom and am working my way up.

Santa's 12 Days of Christmas (Day 4) update #3

I told my kids that I'll display these 12 Santas every year for Christmas, so when my "future grandkids" come over, they can sing the 12 Days of Christmas song and follow along with each Santa square!

My first YOTA post and lots of non-stitchy photos!

I just joined a new stitch-along, YOTA (Year of the Acronym), which is a UFO SAL on the Pull the Other Thread blog.  We will post update pics on a UFO on the first Saturday of each month.  I have chosen my oldest cross stitch UFO, Universal Unity, to use for this challenge.  It's also in my Turtle Trot SAL so I'll post update pics on this one twice a month.  I started this in 1998 and then it sat for 15 years!  I finally stitched the squirrel and some grass and started the tiger.

Here is the before pic from last month:

(before)

And here is my first photo for the YOTA blog post:

Universal Unity update #4

I got about half of the green roof on the left side done on Halloween House, my Friday SAL.

Halloween House update #26

Last Friday the 22nd, I didn't stitch on anything at all because my son came to visit.  He lives far away in a different state.  My son, daughter, and I went to Los Angeles (an hour away) and saw the Space Shuttle Endeavour, then we saw costumes from the movies at FIDM (the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising), and then we went to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), then out to eat at a nice Mexican restaurant.  What a great non-stitchy day!

I really do enjoy seeing non-stitchy pics on other blogs too, just to see what you do for fun where you live.  I hope you like these photos!

DD Christina, DS Christopher, and me!

The California Science Center is a great science museum to visit and see the Space Shuttle and best of all, it's FREE!

Space Shuttle Endeavour

We saw a great 3D IMAX movie about the Hubble Space Telescope and I highly recommend it!

Model of the Hubble Space Telescope

I took my kids to JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) in 1996 where we saw them building the Cassini space probe, which was sent to Saturn in 1997.  It's still orbiting Saturn today.

Model of the Cassini spacecraft

They had some of the actual space capsules to look at.  Oh boy, talk about a tight squeeze!

Mercury space capsule (the real thing!)

Gemini space capsule (the real thing!)

What a great idea to use the space shuttle over and over again, instead of the one-time use space capsules above.  The Endeavour flew 25 missions into space.  The 26th mission was to move it from the airport in Los Angeles to its new home at the museum.  Here is a photo of it going down the street.  You can see the Hollywood sign in the distance.

I took a video with my camera of the museum video of the actual trip of the space shuttle through the neighborhoods on the city streets.  You can see it here on YouTube.

Then we went to FIDM (the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising).  My daughter graduated from this college.  It was a beautiful February day in Los Angeles in the 70s, but today it's in the 80s!  There is a grassy park area behind the college, and the only wildlife you'll see are these statues! Haha!

There was a great view of some of the buildings nearby.

The FIDM museum displays the costumes from the movies every year.  This is also FREE admission!  We saw the costumes from the movies Argo, Lincoln, Les Miserables, Django Unchained, Anna Karenina, The Hunger Games, and many more!

These are the costumes from the silent movie, The Artist, which won the Academy Award for best picture last year.  My daughter said we were lucky to be able to see the actual clothes in color, since the movie was in black & white! This was the poster outside the museum, since we couldn't take any photos inside.

Then we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibition. He has directed lots of movies like The Shining, Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket, etc.  They had props and costumes from the movies and scripts all over the walls.  Here is the typewriter from The Shining, where Jack Nicholson typed "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Then we went into another building with a Pablo Picasso exhibit.  I took this picture of "Weeping Woman with Handkerchief" from 1937.

"Weeping Woman with Handkerchief" - Pablo Picasso

Other buildings had modern art, but I just don't understand why they devote one big room to something like this!

This outdoor exhibit of a bunch of light posts was a big hit.  Don't ask my why!

Now it's time to get back to cross stitching!  I hope you enjoyed seeing what I did on my day off!