Needles have been working!!

Well, my needles have been working but not my dialup service. This morning it was very generous and allowed me to download photos. Yippee!!

I have made good progress on my Little Book of Stitches. This is page 5 - only three more to go.

Next time I will include a photo of the first 5 pages so you can see how this is coming together. And as I look at this page I realize it is upside down. OOPS

Noddy and friends is clipping right along. When I pick this stitch up I find I get quite a bit done at a time.

The never-ending Paradigm got some good work too. I finished the large motif on the left and added some smaller motifs. I am looking forward to finishing this page as I will then be officially 1/2 way there. I am hoping to have this completed by years end.

My ornament for May is a freebie "Catch a Falling Flake" by Vivian Bales of Northern Needles.

A quick stitch as I was behind this month due to my trip to Texas.

Here is the finished Swedish weaving afghan for the new bride in June. I have to turn the left and right borders under and stitch them down and it is ready for wrapping and giving. The long car ride to Texas and back gave me the time to finish this.

My DIL's parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary the weekend that I left for Texas. Although I was unable to be there, I stitched this little Anniversary sampler from JBW Designs for them. I learned that the 35th anniversary is Coral and so---coral it is. Ann from Knowledge and Needles so generously donated the tiny gold hearts.

And a little advance notice if anyone is interested. Dear Dani was here for the weekend and we had some wonderful stitching time. On Saturday Beatrice and Barb (no blog) came to stitch with Dani and I and the conversation went "My next Miribilia will be....." At the end of the discussion, it was more or less decided that we would all start a Miribilia as a loose SAL starting Jan 1, 2009. I will be doing Royal Holiday and I cannot remember what the others are starting but will keep you updated. If anyone would like to join please keep it in mind and we will give out further info closer to that date.

The trip to Texas as you can imagine was very stressful. My sister was and is still in shock. She cannot really believe that Jim is gone. Even though he was quite ill after his last seizure I think she believed that he would pull out of it. It has difficult to understand that he is gone at 57.

My two sisters and I are very flamboyant personalities - we are always right,the only one right and know better than the other. LOL. To have the three of us and my mom together for 9 days was quite the challenge. Regardless as to how much we disagree and at times dislike each other, when it comes to a crisis we all pull together. We got through it with amazing grace and are all still friendly - quite the accomplishment.

My sister is doing okay - she will not suffer financially for the next few years. The children are understandably upset. They are having a difficult time understanding this process as well. The emotional ups and downs are expected and she will deal with them for herself and the children very well, I am confident.

My thanks to all of you who extended such warm wishes to myself, my sister and our families. It is very much appreciated.
And the rainbow at the end of the day. This was the view out my back door on Thursday. It doesn't get more beautiful than this.

And the winner is .........

My darling DH pulled the name this morning and the winner is Carolien of Carolien's Stitches.
Dear Carolien, please send my your mailing address via drewsgrands@hotmail.com and I will send you off your winning gift as soon as it is stitched.
To all of you who checked out my blog and entered thank you so very much. It it a real pleasure to know you all.
I hope to post with some stitching photos in the next day or two.
Again, thank you one and all.

BLOGAVERSARY #1

Well, here it is my first blogaversary. I cannot believe that much time has passed already. This past year has been a real eye opener for me. I cannot believe all the wonderful friends I have made in this past year. I have seen the most amazing stitching by some of the most awesome people. I have seen more pattterns, colors, beads and ideas than I can even mention.

I would like this opportunity to say a few thank yous to some very special people


To Ann from Knowledge and Needles - it all started with her little shop
To Beatrice - who has been there always
To Dani - who started me down this blogging road and has enabled many stitches and ideas
To Carol of Garden of Stitches - she was the first blog I ever read and has kept me interested all this time and who sent me my first scissor fob for my birthday
To Ranae - one of the first bloggers I met who has been so kind to me and who sent me a Painted Pony pattern to do for my granddaughter - see Ranae - I haven't forgotten
To Vonna - who always cheers me up whenever I am down
To Teejay from Passion of My Needle - who always leave such encouraging words - we will meet one day I am sure
To all the ladies in my very first RR - A Sweetheart Tree RR that was just the most beautiful ever
To all the ladies in my neighborhood RR - it is a real pleasure connecting with you
To all the ladies over at the Snowbird SAL - we do perservere don't we
To my new friends that I have made through the Fair and Square exchange - what fun!
To all my new friends from all over the world - from England, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia
Holland, from all parts of the U.S and other countries - how cool is that!!!
To Heather from Quilt or Stitch or should I say Curran for pulling my name and winning such a lovely stitched piece from her
To all the rest of you lovely people. I so enjoy reading your blogs and seeing all your stitching. I love reading about your lives and the places that you live. It has been the best experience ever.


Now, you know the drill. Please leave a comment. I will pull a name in one week and the winner will receive a stitched piece from me!!



THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!

James Larkin B May 1950 - May 2008

For those of you who are regular readers you will remember that my BIL suffered a massive stroke last September.
He suffered a mini stroke this past Sunday and died this morning.
I am leaving for Texas later this morning with my middle sister and my mother.
Any prayers for my sister and her family would be greatly appreciated.

Fair and Square and A Special Quilt

We are all in. The house is unpacked and all my stitching supplies have disappeared into their appropriate spots. This is to spare DH's comments when he sees the amount of stash that has been accumulated. The dust is off the furniture and the mice have been given their eviction notices. The fridge and cupboards are full and the welcome mat is out.

First order of stitching is a thank you. When I am in Arizona I frequent this lovely quilt shop called Log Cabin Quilts. Kim, the owner, called me the day before I left to come and get something she had for me. She made me this lovely door knocker that says. "Do Not Disturb - I'm Sewing". This was the result of a conversation she and I had had. I was touched by her thoughtful gesture. In return, I have made her this little scissor fob since I am a better stitcher than quilter. It was a freebie I saw elswhere on a blog. Since she is not a blog reader, I am able to show it while it is still in transit.Next up is the past Fair and Square exchange. Here are the squares I did for Clare and a photo of the entire package. The pattern is Wisteria Cottage a freebie from Maryse.Below is the package I received in return from Clare. The squares were taken from a Lizzie Kate design. I love the little birdhouse on the signature square. Included were the neatest accessories - a lovely fat quarter of fabric, some varigated floss, a really cool wooden star shaped key ring, a kit for a lighthouse bookmark and some really awesome Harry Potter postcards. It is obvious to me that Clare took the time to find out my likes and to include them in her package. Thank you so much Clare. You can check out her blog from the Fair and Square Exchange.

And a tear jerker to finish it off. Our 11 year old granddaughter Drew made this quilt for her Poppa - my DH. She started in November with the help of her other grandmother and worked until this past weekend to finish it. Since her Poppa is a Frenchman and they are often referred to as "frogs" she wanted a frog fabric. Her grandmother helped her pick the fabrics and colors and then let her work away at it. She was just beaming as she gave it to her Poppa and he had tears in his eyes when she gave it to him!!! We are so very proud of her.
Blog entries I am afraid will be hit and miss again. Computers and anything to do with them have been major issues for me these last few months. This time it is my dialup access. We live in the country and the only option available at this time in dialup. My service is so incredibly slow this year. I have time to stitch an entire piece of needlework by the time some things are downloaded. LOL I am looking into a new provider. In the meantime, I may have to take my computer into town to upload information. Please bear with me as I work this out!!