Stitching Friends Bonanza

I had the best time yesterday. Terri, hosted a get together in her home. I think this was the largest home gathering I have been to. Terri, me, Melissa, Jill, Laura, Debi, Nancy, Darla, Karen, Kathi, Laurel, Sandy and Sue. (I’ll add some hyperlinks in here later. I already did it but it got hung up and I had to start over.)
Anytime I’ve got to any sort of stitching gathering I get all revved up. It’s so inspiring seeing everyone’s stitched work. There were so many amazing pieces. Jill is a Chatelaine machine (gorgeous work!) but the christening gown she is working on really got my attention. As is happens, four of us are in a quaker round robin that is just starting. Terri had her silk palette and lots of fabrics to toss them on and she’s got a beautiful combination. It will be wonderful to stitch. Darla brought her framed The Sanctuary – it’s marvelous, of course. Well… on and on… went the show fest. It was so much fun! As a matter of fact, it was such a success that Terri has started a new yahoo group for us to organize our future meetings. I am so thrilled!
I’ve also had a little reuniting with quite a few of the old BB’s and that brought me a lot of smiles. I even got some chat time in. I love to chat. I wish more people liked it to.
So, anyway, I’ve been in a great mood today!

Since I don't have any current stitching to show right now, how about this..
This is the darling pinkeep I received from Jan for last year's Valentine's Exchange.

Back to stitching on my model project . . .

Let's see....

I am happily stitching on a model project. No pictures.

I just bought an old DT chart.
I missed the deadlines on a couple of exchanges that were tempting me, but there are one or two that may still reel me in.

Today, I joined a Quaker RR! Do you know how many Quaker RR's I have sat out? I lost count! I had sworn off RR's for a while. I did pretty good; I haven't joined one in years. In it's place I did a lot of exchanges which I find a lot of fun and more inviting because the commitment is short-lived. Now that I have actually accumulated a few quaker sources I figure I might as well join in. Most of the stitchers are familiar to me, and quite a few are right here in California. So that's cool.
I miss my old Birthday Buddies group. It was a small group and it's easier to get to know one another. We shared much the same taste in designs and you always knew anything you received from a fellow Buddy would be really great. I've joined several other groups and I'm spreading my "influence" lol.. wherever I can, but still, it's the friendship connection I want. All this rambling to say, I hope to establish some good friends among my fellow quaker stitchers. We start in a few months. Anyone have any old used quaker charts they'd like to trade?

Comment Away!

Thank you, Anne, for letting me know I didn't have the commenting feature turned on. My, my, my. What trouble one can make for oneself. I've been gradually trying to add features and changing the look bit by bit. Who knows when I turned off comments, but that was definitely an oversight!

Yesterday, I started my model stitching project. If I'm making good time I may sneak a small finish in there somewhere. There are a couple of exchanges I am dying to sign up for. Best to wait for now.

World Trade Center Memorial Quilt Project

My 9-11 World Trade Center panel is finally complete. I had big plans to compile a stat sheet of some facts describing the 18 lives on my list. I thought the sight I had would give me more information than it did. My desire was to bring more of a personal dimension. I have studied their faces and prayed for their families and loved ones. I will always remember 9-11. This stitching experience has helped me memorialize people who left their homes and went to work that day. I am privileged to honor their memory in this small way.

Here's all I can tell you about these dear souls at this time:
• I had 13 men and 5 women on my list.
• Their ages range from 26 to 56
• The average age of my 18 names is 40.7
• I know from the comments I read that one woman had 4 children
• Two of the men have 1 child each
• Employers: 1- American Exp, 2- Aon Corp, 1- Cantor Fitzgerald, 1- Euro Brokers, 1- IQ Fin, 1- LJ Gonzer, 6- Marsh, 1- NY State Dept Tax, 3- NY Fire Dept, 1- Vestek

Interested in stitching a panel? There are a few people who have not followed through and they are looking for people to fill in those spots now.
World Trade Center Cross Stitch Quilt

Making slow progress

I participated in a Stitch-a-thon weekend with one of my new ezboard groups. I didn't take full advantage of the Fri-Sat-Sun but I think I did ok. This project will be completed this week. Period. Someone who was behind me (Jenna ) passed me right up this weekend.
My dad is now 81 years old. I made him some enchiladas and he ate them; this is amazing news, believe it or not!

Black and White

I am so glad it is Friday. I congratulate myself every time I complete another week at work. Sad, isn't it? I'm bored to death there and I don't know how much longer I can take it. This week had some especially hard days for me emotionally, but at least I had a bit of work to do by the end of the week.

On the stitching front -
I have been concentrating on the WTC quilt panel I am stitching. I hope I can finish it this weekend. I expect to be starting a model soon, so I really want to get this completed. Stitching with white floss on black fabric is very intense. This is going much slower than I thought it would.

SBQ January 4th

Now that I'm ready to blog a little more regularly, I thought I'd tackle the Stitching Bloggers Question of the Day. This is my first time.

Do you do your stash shopping at your LNS, ONS, or both? Which do you like better? Why?

I do my stash shopping both at my LNS and several ONS also. Why shop a ONS when I have enormous LNS just about 25 minutes from where I live? (I used to live 15 minutes away.)
1. They don’t carry some of my very favorite designers.
2. They never, ever, have a sale! (Clearancing unsold junk doesn't count.)
3. They aren’t very friendly. This greatly diminishes the personal touch.
4. Except for some pre-cuts, the fabric is behind the counter. Everybody knows the #1 reason to go the LNS is to see, and touch. Yes, they'll put it out on the counter for you, but remember #3. On the other hand, they have nearly every fiber I use most, except for NPS and Gloriana, and they keep them nice and clean in tiny labeled bags.

My top 3 reasons for shopping on-line:
1. Sales!
2. Selection
3. Convenience
These top 3 reasons are also my downfall. LOL... I venture to say the bulk of my overwhelming stash was purchased on-line. That is not counting auctions and trading boards, etc. which have also greatly contributed to my addiction.

What is the world coming to?

IT'S RAINING! In sunny southern California, it is raining. It's raining on the Rose Parade. Outside my kitchen window it is very windy and rainy at the moment. There's small tree branches all over the place. The parade goes on though :) I guess I'll get over it.

Today, I will continue working on a quilt square for the WTC memorial quilt project. It is simply the names of victims in white thread on black aida fabric. I've got 18 names. There's a website where you can look up the names to know more about each person. wow. I'm glad I decided to do this. I am not sure if they need any more stitchers, but you can check out WTC Quilt if you are interested.

From the Netherlands

Oh my! I have just received the most wonderful ornament and extra goodies too. It is so much fun to receive stitched gifts from around the world. This one is from Annemiek. Isn't it wonderful?! I love it! I've learned the desiger is Little House Needleworks and this design is in the 2005 JCS Ornament issue. I love this americana style designer.
This is the second item I have received from Annemiek and her stitching is excellent, of course. This proves good things come to those who wait.
Thank you so much, Annemiek! My husband loves it too. The girls haven't seen it yet.
Thank you also for the beautiful sparkly fabric, the gorgeous Gloriana silk, and the cute Christmas sticky notes. Blessings to you and your family this Christmas season and Happy New Year too!

Rose Parade - Trader Joe's float

My plan was to keep this blog to stitching related posts. However, I must digress. It's not the best picture in the world, but what you are looking at is a picture of my daughter and her friend working on Trader Joe's entry for the 117th Annual Pasadena Rose Parade. It was the feature article in the Local section of the Orange County Register. She is a Key Club member at her high school and this was a service project they were honored to participate in. That's my girl! She the one in the jacket and hat.

I am officially a Model Stitcher

I don't exactly know why, but I've wanted to be a model stitcher for some time now. The first item I completed is now on the designers new website. I have to admit it is kind of fun to see it (even though the pic is super blurry).
Curious? Visit The World of S for a look at it. I stitched the letter "V" of the Ruritania style. I was glad when it was done and shipped off to Australia.

Soon, I will be working on another piece for a different designer. I am really looking forward to this next one.

Edited to add:

Subject: References - oodles of them

The following stitchers did a great job stitching for me:

Veronica (Senorita Stitcher) did an absolutely beautiful job of the
Ruritania V. And I have to say I have never seen anything packed so
beautifully!
Thanks so much to all of you for your wonderful sticthing and for
helping me to get started.

Sharon Carlton
www.theworldofs.com

Marvelous Malaysian REDWORK

I am just beside myself with utter elation over the Redwork Exchange piece I have received. It came to me from the other side of the world - Malaysia. It is the most wonderful bourse. Thank you Leena! It was worth the wait. I will treasure it forever.
I am posting these scans but I am hoping Leena has digital pics I can substitute.

I've been busy!

Here they are! All three of the ornaments I stitched AND finished for exchanges this year. I consider this an enormous accomplishment! LOL...
The mini stocking is from an older leaflet by NeedleLove (I think).
The Santa is this years' Prairie Schooler 2005. He is a quilter. :) I learned the box finish technique from Judy O'dell's on-line class. It's easy. Give it a try!
The last one is from a back ornament issue of JCS. It's by Darlene O'Steen. The design is a continuum of the breast cancer ribbon. I modified it. Basically, I sized it down to 1/4 of the design and added a tassel. It's my first attempt at a fancy tassel with beads.

Christmas Ornament Exchange

I joined three Christmas ornament exchanges this year. I love Christmas. While I am still waiting to receive my redwork exchange, it was a special treat to receive this one a bit early. Thanks to Stacie! She did a great job of picking something I would enjoy- both sampler motifs and sajou letters. Cute tassels too, don't you think?

Antique Redwork

Thankfully, my redwork project has been received by Murielle. These are my scans of the project. I dream of owning a digital camera someday. If you want to see the wonders of a digital photo compared to the scan you must visit Murielle's blog.

Murielle’s blog
Be prepared. The blog and gallery of a PCB member is a sight to behold.

A little detail about my project- The motifs are from a french book, Repertoire des Frises, by Valerie Lejeune. If I owned only this book alone, I could stitch for the rest of my life. My goal was to try to achieve an antique look. I love antique needlework and tools. Someday I plan to own some. For now, I must mimick it. The cushion is stuffed with wool. The thread is Vicky Clayton's silk floss in garnet, one of my favorites. The ribbon edging did not come out quite like I had hoped - it was hard! I know how I'll do it next time, so I have learned something and that makes me happy. Besides that, Murielle loves it, and that makes my heart glad.

Senorita Stitcher Stitches by the Seaside

This is the blog I used for a short while. I did not like the photo part of it. Everything about it takes too long. I'm using blogger now but I need to learn some more html tricks when I have some time.

Red

Here is my project for the Redwork Exchange on the Stitching Bloggers Board.

The contents are secret for now :)

Sampler Guild Party

I had a fun day today. I belong to a sampler guild and today was our end of the year party. Our special speaker today was Jean Lea, of The Attic needlework shop in Mesa AZ. Our guild stitches ornaments for her shop's breast cancer fundraiser auction every year. As part of our year end gift we each received Jean's first published design and it's just wonderful. It's called the Chocolate Sampler and obviously, it's all about chocolate. She tucked in a couple of the chocolate Dove Promises in each kit and cautioned us not to leave it in the car with the hot sun on it. :) No problemo! Every member received a black bag with orange stitching that said "Sampler Treating at Orange Coast Sampler Guild." Then we when "treating" through the line where each one of the board members deposted a goodie in our bag - truffles, tea, commemorative needles, a special pin "Queen for a Day", and a teacup and saucer with our guild logo on it. We used our new tea cups for a tea party. We had opportunity tickets for door prizes. As usual, I didn't win anything. Not even the Merry Cox scholarship for our project next year. Sob sob. Just so we wouldn't feel left out, even those of us who were unlucky in the draw still got to pick a small gift. I chose the goodie bag from last years party that I missed. I love my sampler guild. Now for the next two months I better get to work on the pre-stitching for January's project.

So here's the ornament I donated. It's a freebie from the Chocolate Cat. It's called Christmas Rose. Visit http://choccat.com/index.html for the freebie. This was supposed to just be a practice one but I ran out of time and this had to do for the real thing. Jean said the highest bid they have ever received on an ornament was $200! A funny lady at our guild asked, "was that for mine?" You know, it could have been!

A New Finish Technique

Here it is! We had a "freebie" exchange in the Birthday Buddies group. We could finish the design in any manner we chose but it had to be a free design. I chose this Merry Cox fob. I always like to try to stretch my skills and try something new. I've had this idea floating in my head. Instead of just whip stitching it closed as called for I wanted to try something a little different with ribbon. How do you like it?

A recent project

I forgot I even started this blog. I didn't like how it was going, that I remember!
Just to get going again I am posting this pic of a friendship exchange piece I did. It was the first time I've ever used beads to finish off an edge and I added the handle just for fun.
The back side is personalized with an inscription in spanish.