I'm a Winner!

Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe picked my name as a winner of any chart in her eBay shop!  I chose this one, "Merry Christmas."  It only uses variegated red and variegated green floss.  I added it to my list of projects to start in February.

Last night I made a list of all of my cross stitch fabric.  I have been buying some all year from eBay, thrift stores, CraigsList, and online shopping.  I was able to match up fabric to all of my charts for the UCJC and SDUCFebC.  I only need to buy a big piece of black Aida for one project.  Yippee!  I don't have a huge stash of floss, but I have Michael's, JoAnn's, and Hobby Lobby within a few miles so I can always pick up what I need.  All of my challenge pieces are lined up and ready to go!  How about you?  I put them all in this wicker sewing box, but it's not my permanent solution.  I will put half of them in a plastic storage tote, and keep the other half here.

I haven't made much progress on the Harley-Davidson puzzle and the cross stitch. Maybe I need another week. LOL.

It's also time for the Oldest UFO update.  I'm ashamed to say that I haven't put any more stitches into the Nativity scene since the last update photo.  I have been busy trying to get Christmas gifts finished.  Here is a current photo.  (Sorry, Evalina!)

Vickie is having a giveaway!

Vickie (Reading and Stitching) has cleaned out her craft room and is having a giveaway of fabric for stitching. She will draw 2 winners on New Year's Day. Leave a comment on her blog HERE for your chance to win, too!

Harley-Davidson logo and puzzle

Oops!  I haven't finished this Christmas gift yet, but I won't see my boyfriend until New Year's Day, so I still have time.  I finished the white letters in full cross stitches, but then I decided to do the orange and black in half-stitches only, saving half the time!  I think I have a chance to finish on time, do you?

I also planned to put together this Harley-Davidson puzzle for him and get it framed.  It's twice as big as I expected and not very easy.  This is my progress after 4 hours last night!

Wish me luck!

Last minute Christmas gift - finished!

I monogrammed these brand new handkerchiefs for my dad on Christmas morning before going to my parents' house.  He uses hankies everyday, which he refers to as "snot rags." LOL.  He was happy to get some new ones, but then when I showed him that I had stitched his initials on them, he was really happy!

Merry Christmas, Dad!

The pattern for the monogrammed capital "D" is from a freebie alphabet from StitchAlley.com, and the "DF" and "DGF" initials are from a Leisure Arts booklet.

Capital "D" from "Alphabet SA058"
Designed by Kai and Denis Chabault
StitchAlley.com
Started 12/25/2011, Finished 12/25/2011

Initials "DF" and "DGF" from "120 Alphabets"
Designed by Carol Emmer
Leaflet #2285, Leisure Arts
Started 12/25/2011, Finished 12/25/2011

TUSAL #13 - last one for 2011!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  This is the last pic of my ORT jar for the 2011 TUSAL!  These are all the bits of floss from my projects in 2011.  I'm going to need a bigger jar for 2012!  To join us for the TUSAL in 2012, leave a comment on Daffycat's post HERE.

We visited my grandma last week for her 100th birthday.  On the way home, we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant called El Rio for lunch.  I was so impressed that every table had a cross-stitched welcome mat under the glass.  Bienvenidos is Spanish for Welcome.

X-Stitching Christmas Challenge 2012

Lady Kell of Kincavel has started a new challenge of completing 12 items for Christmas 2012 (cards, ornaments, decorations, gifts).  We will post our progress on the first Saturday of each month.  You can join up HERE.

Help Randi reach 100 followers!

Randi is having a giveaway on her blog of a $10 gift certificate to 123-Stitch. She is trying to reach 100 followers and is almost there!  Enter HERE.

Mario and PS3 finished and framed for Christmas!

Hurray! I finished another gift in time for Christmas!  This is for my son's girlfriend, who is a PS3 fan (even though my son prefers his X-Box).  You can find lots of video-game themed cross stitch patterns in the Sprite-Stitch forum.

"Home is Where the PlayStation Is"
Designed by Ellentje
Sprite-Stitch freebie
Started 11/12/2011, Finished 12/20/2011

I have both gifts framed and ready to be wrapped and shipped, since they live very far from here and will be spending Christmas in Florida!

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Hand Dyed Floss Give-Away on New Year's Day!

Nancy is having another giveaway of 15 skeins of her hand-dyed floss on New Year's Day.  Check out her website, Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe, to enter.  Tell her that I sent you, and I will earn another entry!

Christmas gift finish and update!

I finished this fun cross stitch picture for my son!  Now I am looking for just the right frame so I can send it to him for Christmas.  He lives in a different state.  The Sprite-Stitch forum has lots of video-game themed cross stitch patterns.

"Perpetual Mario & Luigi"
Designed by Lord Libidan
Sprite-Stitch freebie
Started 12/2/2011, Finished 12/16/2011

I am still working on this Sony Playstation Christmas gift also. I am finally finished with all the gray in the body of the controller.  Next, I will stitch the handles and the buttons and it will be done.  I already have a frame for it.

I made a new page on my blog for the WIPocalypse 2012.  All my current WIP's will be shown here.  I will update the pics every full moon.  To join the WIPocalypse SAL, sign up on Measi's blog.

I am in the Christmas holiday spirit now!  I'm getting closer to having my Christmas gifts finished, and I'm wearing an apron, baking cookies, and listening to Christmas music!  This is the first batch that I baked last night - Peanut Butter Blossoms!  Yummy!  I posted the recipe with step-by-step photos on my other blog HERE.

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Hand Dyed Floss Give-Away for Christmas!

Nancy is giving away 25 skeins of hand-dyed floss on her Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe blog! Be a follower and sign up to win! Drawing will be on December 17.

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Hand Dyed Floss Give-Away for Christmas!

Very generous Christmas giveaway!

Nancy from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having an awesome giveaway of hand-dyed floss, charts from her store, and trim packs.  Several winners will be drawn on Christmas day.  Check it out here:

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Merry Christmas Give-away! Hand dyed floss, charts and hand dyed trims!

Christmas gift stitching and SAL update!

I stitched this ornament for my friend's husband.  I already made her the martini ornament a few days ago.  I bought lots of ornament kits from Janlynn a few months ago, with the plan to make them for my friends and family.  I also bought a lot of ornament kits from Linda.  This is the first year I will have cross stitched ornaments on my Christmas tree.

"Pirates of the Caribbean"
Janlynn
Started 12/2/2011, Finished 12/6/2011

I didn't make much progress this week on Trick or Treat, just the outline of the letter R.  You can see Linda's progress HERE.  The reason why I didn't meet my goal of finishing all the letters this week is because I was stitching on two Christmas gifts for my son and his girlfriend.

My son has always had Nintendo or X-Box, but she uses the Sony PlayStation.  I will be glad to be done with all this gray and get back to something more colorful!

I am stitching this one for my son.  It is called Perpetual Mario.  The brothers, Mario and Luigi, are playing Nintendo, and the TV screen shows them playing Nintendo, and then another, and then another.  I thought my son would really get a kick out of it.  This is what the pattern looks like:

My cat usually sits next to me as I'm cross stitching, which gave Teddy a great idea! He climbed right up onto my lap!

The Oldest UFO SAL update #1

It's the last day of the month and time for the Oldest UFO update!  Since picking this needlepoint back up again for the first time since 1981, I have finished Joseph's halo, his face and hands, and the blue sections behind him and in front of him.  Next, I will do the rest of the blue sections in the middle.  Then I will do the black outlining in the third part with the three kings.

Here you can see my cat, Bubbles, supervising.  She loves to sit next to me on the couch when I'm stitching.

The Oldest UFO SAL was started by Evalina Maria.  You can sign up on her blog HERE.

Two finishes and two new starts!

I finished the Dog House Sampler one day early! I should have waited for our SAL day on Wednesday, but I was just so close to finishing that I couldn't wait. Now I can stitch on Trick or Treat on Wednesdays with Linda also. See her progress HERE.

"Dog House Sampler"

Designed by Diane Williams

Little House Needleworks

Started 10/12/2011, Finished 11/29/2011

I bought the kit for this cute little Martini ornament to make for my friend who always orders dirty martinis! I will send it to her with her other Christmas presents, since she lives in another state now.

"Martini"

Designs for the Needle - Janlynn

Started 11/27/2011, Finished 11/27/2011

I am making this for my son's girlfriend. I saw a pattern on spritestitch.com for a picture that says "Home is Where the (controller) Is" with a picture of an X-Box controller, or you can use an N64 or Super Nintendo controller.  But she plays video games with Sony Playstation instead, so I found a pattern with the PS3 controller and looked at pictures of the controller and made some changes to get it just right.  It is stitched on yellow 14ct Aida.

I am stitching this Harley-Davidson logo for my boyfriend for Christmas.  I will also put together a Harley-Davidson puzzle to go with it.  I got this free pattern from a French website HERE.  It is stitched on hand-dyed orange 14ct Aida.

I only got the letter "R" done on Trick or Treat this week!

All of the cute Q-Snap huggies are from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies.

TUSAL #12 and SAL update

Here is a pic of my ORT jar for November! I have so many projects planned for next year that I'll need a bigger jar for the 2012 TUSAL, or empty this one more often.

The Dog House Sampler SAL with Linda is almost done. I need to finish the roof and some flowers in the top right corner.

Happy Stitching, everyone!

Fabulous Frogger giveaway!

Lesli at Fabulous Frogger is having her first 2 giveaways!  She keeps adding more goodies for every 5 new followers of her blog.  I have seen her giveaway mentioned on many blogs that I follow already, so you might have seen it, too!

My new fabric stash!

I got all this stashy goodness on eBay for only $6.95! The 15 pieces of cross stitch fabric includes Aida and linen in different counts, colors, and sizes! The dark green Aida 14 ct is a big piece, 36" x 50". Wow! I also got raspberry, elderberry, chocolate brown, dirty Aida, white, off-white, and more!  Now I will get all my other fabric from another eBay stash buy and try to figure out which fabric I want to use for each chart coming up in the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge!  Oh fun, fun!

Trick or Treat SAL - update #9

I made good progress on Trick or Treat!  Four more letters are all done, including the back-stitching.  Hopefully on the next update pic, the letters TR and TR will be done.  Then I'll finally get around to starting the purple hat!

A to Z about me!

I just read this list on Denise's blog, Country Stitcher, and decided to copy it and post a list about me, too!

A - Age: 48
B - Bed size: full
C - Chore that you hate: dusting
D - Dogs: yellow Labrador retriever/Mastiff mix named Teddy & Sheltie/German shepherd mix named Sophie
E - Essential start to your day: cold cereal
F - Favorite color: red
G - Gold or silver: gold
H - Height: 5'7"
I - Instruments you play: learned to play piano when I was a kid, but never touch it anymore
J - Job title: medical transcriptionist (working from home)
K - Kids: 1 son, 1 daughter - Christopher and Christina
L - Live: in sunny southern California!
M - Make of car: no car since accident last December (see pic below)
N - Nicknames: my kids' friends call me Miss Debbie
O - Overnight hospital stays: 2 baby deliveries, then 2 weeks after car accident (see pic below)
P - Pet peeves: misspelled words
Q - Quote from a movie: "We're off to see the wizard!"
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: 2 younger brothers
T - Time you wake up: 5 minutes before I start work (working from home)
U - Underwear: granny panties
V - Veggie you hate: brussel sprouts
W - What makes you run late: my inherited family genes (LOL)
X - X-rays you had: dental, chest, arms and legs (after the car accident)
Y - Yummy food that you make: pumpkin bread
Z - Zoo animal favorite: polar bears


I still don't have a car since the accident last December 1, 2010.  I was hit by a drunk driver and my car caught on fire and rolled several times.  I was in one hospital for a week, then transferred to another hospital for another week.  I stayed at my mom's house for two months, then finally came back home.  I went back to work after six months, but I work from home so I don't have to drive anywhere!  But with all that time off work, I certainly got my cross-stitching mojo back and I'm so happy to stitch, stitch, stitch again!

Whenever I do get a new car, I will be sure to post a picture on my blog!  Then I can drive to Michael's, Jo-Ann's, or Hobby Lobby every day if I want to! 

A finish, a new start, and a SAL update!

I finally finished this double light switch cover for my mom!  I bought the book, "Stitches and Switches" by Fond Memories way back in 1997, with the plan to have cross-stitched light switch covers all over the house!  Thanks to the Crazy January Challenge 2011, I finally made one!  This is for my mom's kitchen.

"Plymouth Rock Chickens"
Designed by Laura Doyle
Started 1/12/2011, Finished 11/16/2011

This Happy Easter Snow Globe is a new start for World of Charity Stitching as a quilt square.  They are making a quilt of Snow Globe designs by Vee and Co Cross Stitch.  Vee donated the designs for us to use.  She has lots of adorable patterns for sale on her website!

On the Dog House Sampler SAL with Linda, I finished the fence and a few more letters.  Linda is way ahead of me, so I have to hurry and catch up!  When we are finished, we will stitch on Trick or Treat on Wednesdays too.

Getting ready for 2012!

It's a busy time of year, as I'm trying to finish a few more projects from my Crazy January Challenge 2011, and get ready for the CJC 2012!  I'm also stitching some Christmas gifts and another square for a WOCS quilt.

I have joined the Crazy January Challenge 2012 Yahoo group and the CrosstitchCrazy 2012 Facebook group.  The challenge is to start a new cross stitch project each day for the first 15 days in January, then finish them in 2012.  Niina suggested an Ultimate Crazy January Challenge by starting a new project every day in January, for a total of 31.  Yes, I signed up for it and I have my list with pics on its own page, Ultimate Crazy January Challenge 2012.

I bought several charts from Needle Delights, where Kathy is having a going-out-of-business sale.  She has hundreds of designer charts at rock-bottom prices.  There are no pictures, but you can Google the images or refer to 123-Stitch.

I also signed up for the Totally Useless Stitch-Along (TUSAL) for 2012 on Daffycat's blog.  We post a pic of our ORT (old ratty threads) jar every new moon in 2012.

I also signed up for the 2012 WIPocalypse on Measi's blog.  We post pics of all of our WIP every full moon in 2012.

I also signed up for the Oldest UFO SAL on Evalina's blog.  We post a pic of our oldest UFO (with hopefully some progress) on the last day of the month.

Linda (Stitchin' with My Furbabies) and I are stitching a lot of the same charts in the UCJC, so we will be having SALs all year long!  Feel free to join us if you are stitching any of the same charts.

Here is a glimpse into my everyday life!  I work at home; can you tell?

Two finishes and two SAL updates!

Hurray!  I know it's creepy, but I cross stitched the Ant for my aunt!  (She collects them.)  Now I just have to find a frame.  I found this free pattern on http://cross-stitch-pattern.net/.

"Ant"
Designed by Ann Logan
Started 10/21/2011, Finished 11/9/2011

When I visit my aunt, I will also visit my grandma and give her this walker bag sewn by Dona with the finished Violets Teacup cross stitch that I made from a free pattern from Vermillion Stitchery.  There are four pockets in the front and two in the back and a big one in the center.  It hangs on the walker and the ties are attached at the sides.  I bought the purple roses fabric and purple corduroy at Jo-Ann's.  Dona sews a lot of these walker bags with cross stitch pieces made by members of World of Charity Stitching to donate to nursing home residents.

Now for the SAL updates!  Linda and I are stitching Dog House Sampler on Wednesdays.  I didn't make very much progress, only stitched the big dog bone.

This is update #8 on our Friday SAL of Trick or Treat by Ursula Michael.  I stitched the letter K and some spider webs.  Next week I plan to do a few more letters.  When we finish the Dog House Sampler, we will stitch Trick or Treat two days a week so we can finish it before January.  You can see Linda's progress HERE.

If you're interested in the Q-Snap huggies, I buy them from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies.  She sews them up in a jiffy!

BluStitcher is having a giveaway!

Linda (BluStitcher) is having a giveaway on her blog for her first blogoversary!  So pop on over for a chance at some great cross stitching books (US only).  Wish me luck!

Trick or Treat SAL - update #7

I filled in the spots on the blue hat, and completely stitched one letter "T" including all the back-stitching too!  I plan to stitch a few more letters before I start on the purple hat.  You can see Linda's progress HERE.  I bought my Q-Snap huggies from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies.

Craft Gossip is having a giveaway of a Joan Elliot Fairy Enchantment book!  Enter HERE!

Hurray, I got to lay in bed for an extra hour today!  How about you?

Chickens, Ant, and Dog House updates!

My mom's kitchen is decorated with chickens, so this will be a perfect gift!  This will be put into a clear plastic double light switch cover.  There will be a chicken coop and barn in the upper corners.  The bottom half is completely finished.  I'm using a hoop for this one since it's too small to fit in my Q-Snaps. It is stitched on 14ct Fiddler's cloth.

My mom's sister (my aunt) actually collects ants, so I'm stitching this one for her!  I found the pattern at http://cross-stitch-pattern.net/.  The rear and middle part of the ant are finished and now I'm starting on the head and front legs.  It is also stitched on 14ct Fiddler's cloth.

Linda (Stitchin' With My Furbabies) and I are both stitching Dog House Sampler on Wednesdays.  It looks like I have a couple more Wednesdays to go before this is finished.  It is my third project that is also stitched on 14ct Fiddler's cloth!

Here is a pic of Teddy all dressed up for Halloween!  He also greeted the trick-or-treaters at the front door!