Home Sweet Home

Well, it's done. We are all moved into our new home. All the furniture is in it's place. All the new purchases to fill the empty spaces are placed.The 130+ boxes are unpacked and in their place. All the pictures are on the walls and all the knick knacks are in their spots. It looks and feels like home.
We signed over our old home today to the new owner. It was time to move but there were some small feelings of loss as we left the house for the final time.
It has been a long gruelling four weeks. Leo and I moved 90 percent of our belongings ourselves. Our van became a moving van. We learned that you could even move a futon in a Dodge Grand Caravan!
Our eldest son and his father in law were a great help with the big heavy stuff. It was moved using their two 1/2 ton trucks and two trailers. Our niece's boyfriend installed some kitchen cupboards for us. I painted our master bedroom - ceiling and walls before we moved furniture in. My BIL came and he and my husband installed hardwood flooring in the master bedroom. My sister came and helped wash walls. Friends came to help unpack, set up, commiserate and check out the new abode. We had friends come for a weekend. Linda helped me decide where to hang my many, many treasures and her wonderful husband helped mine transport all the outdoor furniture and garden ornaments to the new abode.
I don't know how all this stuff fit into an 800 square foot park model. We now live in a 1750 square foot house and it is full!!!!!! Leo is still trying to figure out where I found room for 130 boxes worth of stuff and to be honest so am I LOL.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your lovely comments on my finish of Royal Holiday. It was good to have her done. All your wonderful comments went straight to my head and I was awed at your kind words.
I have stitched hardly a stitch in this past month. I have often picked up a piece, did a few stitches and put it down, just too tired to concentrate.

On the stitching front, I have a couple of things to show you.

I do owe an apology to Annette at Annette's Acre. I received this wonderful exchange from her at the beginning of September. I did personally acknowledge her wonderful, thoughtful gift but had not posted it before now.
Isn't it gorgeous. I absolutely love the color of this thread!

Here is the exchange I did for her. Her biscornu is stitched on 32 count ivory lugana. The pattern is a freebie from Casey Bounaugurio Designs. The pattern gave me the idea for a theme for her exchange and so she ended up with a collection of froggy things.

I did complete this little pattern. This scissor keep was in a package that I won in a giveaway a while back.
The pattern is a Bedouin design and made an interesting and very different keep. It was a fun stitch.

My mother gifted me with this blanket a couple of days ago. It had been given to her by a family member and she thought that I might like it. I learned from her that my great grandparents were lighthouse keepers on an island/rock in Nova Scotia. When they lived on the island, they raised sheep. My great grandmother made this quilt and filled it with wool from those sheep. It is all hand stitched and quilted. Considering it's history, I think this has become a treasure.

Although the blanket is plain in color, it is rich in stitches. The second photo is closer to the true color.

Today I found a couple of wonderful things to add some character to my new home. It will have to wait for my next post. I will share with you some photos of that and some of my new home if you are interested.


Thank you so much for stopping by and checking in on me. I have missed you and look forward to renewing our friendships. Now to catch up on all your blogs and see what wonderful things you have been up to!

Royal Holiday Happy Dance

Here she is in all her glory!!!!!

 Started January 1, 2009 and completed August 31, 2010.
Stitched on 32 count Queen Anne's Lace from Silkweaver using recommended threads.

Dancing all around the room going "Yippee!! I'm glad she's done"

Stitchers Showcase

Saturday, Ann of  Knowledge and Needles  held an open house! Ann and Barb counted - 45 stitchers stopped in over the course of the day. Many brought their work to display!

Check this out!!!

It was a wonderful, awe inspiring day. We all contribute food and have a wonderful lunch and the leftovers are enough for supper. We started at noon and went till about 11 p.m. Ann had stitchers in her sunroom, her dining room, her living room and even a group in the garage. We talked and stitched, compared WIP's and enabled each other! Thanks to Beatrice letting me use her photos of the stitched pieces. She has others on her blogs as I am sure will Dani and Ann at some point.

You should have seen the shop! You couldn't move for stitchers. I found the most wonderful fabric. It will make an amazing background for another Mirabilia RR.


I also received the most wonderful birthday gift from Dani and Christin - a pair of Dovo scissors. Aren't they beautiful.

And I stitched and have stitched the past several days. I am obsessed. I want her finished. And here she is this morning - Royal Holiday.

Almost there!

I will warn you - blogging may be hit and miss for a bit. We have company coming from Denver tomorrow for several days and then the rush is on to get the rest of the boxes packed to move. Will do what I can.

Until then, keep those stitches crossed!

Edited to ADD - one of my stitching friends is almost finished a piece and has run out of thread. She needs about 12 inches of Waterlilies - Antique Pewter. If anyone can help please email me.

Pennies and stitching

Look out world - two posts in 5 days!!!! I guess that's what happens when you have a birthday. The wonderful gifts continue to arrive.

From Barb (no blog) at Thursday stitching - these wonderful marking pins.

From sweet Clare - these wonderful goodies - look at that lighthouse fabric - LOVE IT!!! and the lighthouse card. That key holder will hold the key to my new house in a few weeks.

My DIL and son gave me this too cute snail that my granddaughter Drew named Esci - for escargot LOL.

And Drew - well she made me this sign on the beach with the lovely pile of seaweed. Works for me!!!!! Will treasure this photo always.

Melissa also sent me this lighthouse card with my gorgeous lighthouse box. It is Peggy's Cove lighthouse in Nova Scotia. I was born in Nova Scotia and stood on those rocks in 2000!!!

And here are my stitching progresses.

I finished up this wallhanging. It was a kit and went together very nicely! I consider it a stitching progress cause I had to add the windows and the rails after with floss.

I brought my lighthouse RR to the cottage and got lots done. I did the boat border up the right side.
I decided to name and number each lighthouse underneath - over 1 on 32 count. My eyes just about crossed.
I added the words - Lighthouse Keepers and added the names of the stitcher for each lighthouse.
I'm really liking how it is coming together.

And Royal Holiday got some major work!!!
Here she is before.

 And here she is now!!!! She will now be my focus piece until she is done! I can finally see an end in sight.

Well, off to buy a kitchen countertop, and hardwood floor and paint for the master bedroom. Three weeks until we have possession of our new house. Am I excited!! You bet!!!!

Until next time - keep those needles singing.

Pennies from Heaven

I have been truly blessed by the wonderful stitching friends I have made since I started this blog three years ago. The generosity of stitchers is amazing.
My birthday is tomorrow and I have received some lovely gifts.

From Melissa  the most astonishingly beautiful gift you could imagine.

Look at this box.

The finishing is impeccable. Melissa has stitched the lighthouse from Shores of  Hawk Run Hollow for me and used it to top this wonderful box. She has lined and covered the outside and inside of the box perfectly. It even has a drawer. I wish you could see it. It is just so gorgeous..

Inside she included a pair of lighthouse scissors (she said they called my name LOL). She made the lighthouse needleminder herself.  She included some of the fabrics in case I wanted to add smalls to the case. She added some wonderful button pins and some sticky notes with my initial K. I had to pick up the phone and call her personally to say thank you. Melissa is indeed one of my pennies from heaven. My birthday card was a photo of a lighthouse from my birth province of Nova Scotia. Melissa put her heart and her thoughts into such a wonderful gift. Thank you my friend!

From Bonnie who knew I had been searching for this - a wonderful milk glass scissor frog. And here it is Bonnie -  full of scissors. Thank you so very much.

From my dear 94 year old friend Adriana this wonderful bookmark. I am so blessed to have her in my life. It is because of her that I stitch.

Just before I left for my vacation this gorgeous little packet arrived in my mailbox from Michele W. This is her personal exchange to me. Love the wrapping. I may have to borrow this idea for a future exchange.  The needlebook - just too cute - and the other goodies were greatly appreciated and quickly distributed to their new homes. You can see the scissors in the afore mentioned frog. Thank you Michele for a wonderful experience.

When you go away for two weeks you have a full mailbox when you return.

I won this wonderful handmade Q-snap cover from Sadie and she included these beautiful threads as she did not want the cover to be lonely on it's long trip LOL. Of course, the Q snaps are packed when I went to find them to put the cover on.

From Margaret came this wonderful lighthouse pattern that she offered to pass on once she was done. She included a JBW design from my wishlist with a wonderful skein of thread.

I won a draw on Carolyn's blog for Mirablia's Valentine Fairy. Carolyn says she is glad it went to me as I moderate a Mirablia blog. She sent the fabric, threads, Kreinik and beads. And she added a little extra. The sunflowers will be a really cute stitch. Generous indeed!

And so, my mailbox was full of "Pennies from Heaven". Thank you everyone for your generosity. It is greatly appreciated.

Before I left on vacation I sent Mare her blogaversary package.She was this year's winner and I asked her for suggestions.  She asked for a Christmas ornament and so I stitched "A Christmas Song" from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Magazine and included a few other little goodies. She assures me she likes it.

My clicky finger found this pattern I had been searching for and it was in my mailbox when I returned - Dragon Quaker by Stickadeen van den Wiehenburg.

I did not shop much while away but I did run across these. Now, you can't be surprised that they ended up in my cart ROFL.

My google reader has 592 posts. As our cottage is many miles in the bush with no internet access I only checked emails twice. Cell phones do not work and we don't have a landline there. There is no way I can catch up with that many posts. So, I will read as many as I can but commenting won't be happening until I clear my reader. Please know that I am looking at, admiring and oohing over all your stitching and other assorted projects. You all amaze and inspire me. You too, are my pennies from heaven.
Edited to add: Phew, I made it through all your posts. WOW!!!! Will be back to reading and commenting now!
I did stitch and stitch and stitch but that will have to wait till my next post for pictures along with some photos from my holiday.

and keep those needles smokin'

If you made it to the end of this post - thank you for letting me share with you.

Exchanges and gifts

I have received notice that my two exchanges for July have been received. I can now share them with you.

The first exchange went to Michele. I stitched the scissor protector and needlebook from The Gift of Stitching 2008 on 32 count Ivory Lugana with the recommended GAST Threads. I loved the colors in this and it went together beautifully after having some help understanding the instructions from Beatrice.

Here are the other goodies I included in her package.

The second exchange went to Nic in the U.K. Nic is new to me and she has Linden Bee Designs. Now, doesn't that make one nervous about stitching when you are stitching for a designer.

For her I stitched For My Friend Scissor Pocket from Cat Whiskers Studio, Limited Edition 2009 on 32 count Cookie Dough using Dinky Dyes - Kalamunda. Again, a challenge to put together but well worth it in the end.

Here are the little extras I included in her exchange.

From my sweet friend Helen - a gift - Blackstone Fantasy Garden. Helen has stitched it and then passed on the pattern. I love this one and it was on my to do list. Thank you so very much my friend.

I also won a giveaway and look at the cool gift I won.

I will be taking it to Thursday stitching where we shall all try it out. Thank you so much Joanne.

I'm sure like many others of you, it has been so stinking hot! The humidity has been brutal! and let me tell you I get very cranky. I just don't handle it well.  It did break for a day but today we are back in the high temps again.

I will be leaving Friday to go on vacation for a little over two weeks. We have a cottage in Northern Ontario - no phone, no internet! I am looking forward to some quiet time and some serious stitching. And I hope to do some fishing - I am a closet fisherperson. I love fishing for bass. That is the only time of the year I take to do that but I love every minute of it. I will bait my own line and I take the fish off with a rubber kitchen glove - hey - whatever works - right! Cleaning the fish is up to DH.

My blogging and reading will be sparse as I have to drive 15 miles into town to get internet but I will catch up where I can. Until then, keep those needles singin'