Books, Quilt and Neighborhood

It has been a very busy week or so around here. We have had visitors from Denver for the past few days and then our two sons were here for the weekend. Dad and the boys did some male bonding watching race cars at Mosport. Mom stayed home and stitched and quilted.

Progress for the week is:

First up - finished Book of Stitches. I had some trouble putting this together. I am not a big fan of hand sewing since I'm not very good at it. I need a lesson in making stitches that are hidden. I made an error with the corners too. The instructions said to trim the corners and when I did, they frayed. I should have sent this off to Vonna's Finishing Service. However, this one is for me, so I can handle it's little errors. I am so happy to have this off my list.

And it just wouldn't be one of my posts, if Blogger didn't flip a photo sideways. Don't you just love it!

Next up - Judith's Neighborhood

Judith has asked us to pick one of Maryse's houses. My choice - the August House. Why? My birthday is in August and my home is yellow with blue trim. I think her RR is going to be just beautiful.

I received this and stitched it in four days. I was on a roll and just could not put it down. It was quite the challenge for me as Judith asked that we all stitch in the same direction. I, of course, stitch in the opposite direction. Many thanks to Annemarie for telling how to do this successfully. You turn the fabric and pattern 90 degrees and stitch sideways. Lo and behold, when you turn it around, you are stitching in the right direction. How cool is that!

And here is her neighborhood so far.

Next up, a little piece of Marjean's RR. I have got some stitching done on it. This is just a teaser. I will let you know what pattern I have chosen once the stitching gets further along.

I have done a little sewing and quilting this weekend while the boys were bonding. My grandson Hunter will be two in September and it is time for his room to have a little character. He is crazy about Thomas the Tank Engine so Gramma has decided to add a little color to his room.

His valance:

Since I took this photo I decided the curtains needed some punch and I added a three inch navy strip to the top of the fabric.

And his quilt:

It is sandwiched and ready to be quilted. However, I have developed some muscle spasms in my neck and upper back so sitting at the sewing machine does not seem to be in my near future. I think I will tie this one instead. I have picked a nice bright red for the binding. I will make him a matching pillow and purchase decals for his wall. It has been such fun doing this for a little one.

I need to answer a couple of questions here from previous posts.

The dragonfly cubit is from the Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine from November 2007. If you would like I can send you a copy of the pattern - just email me.

The candle ornament is in a pamphlet from Dimensions called Holiday Elegance and it is #330.

The snowman stays in my RR - he is the tour guide for my neighborhood. I have put in a note that my neighborhood is about the people in it and to please add a snowman to their block if possible and/or if they wish they can add a companion to my snowman. I've also named him "Cheer".

I am looking forward to this weekend. We are having a stitching retreat at my home. I have 4 out of town guests coming and several of the local stitchers will be in and out. We will eat too much, talk far too much, stitch lots and hopefully, have lots of photos for you next week.

Thank you for the award nominations this week. I have decided to pass on listing any specific blogs. Like many of you, I find there are just too many great blogs and wonderful stitchers out there to list specific blogs.

I am struggling with my isp still. I read all your posts as they come into my google reader but am not commenting much as it is just too slow. Please bear with me and when I get to Arizona in November and am back on high speed, I will be all over the place LOL.