TUSAL for August and another RR

Oh it is TUSAL time again. Once again I am able to fill my little frog.

 He is full of threads from 3 round robins, my Chatelaine, my etui, and my new start.
 Doesn't he look like he's saying "Lady - give me a break! You keep stuffing me til I want to burst!!!"
 
My birthday has lasted all week long. I received several beautiful cards in the mail. At stitching on Thursday, I received this gorgeous piece of fabric and skein of thread from Ann

From Judie this wonderful lighthouse pattern and a gift certificate to Knowledge and Needles.

With my two earlier gift certificates, I bought these scrumptious fabrics!

I think I will be 60 again next year ROFL.

I have two more RR's to show you.

The first one is Sophia's Band Sampler RR. I forgot to take photos when I stitched this one. Cat has kindly sent me photos of my work.

I will show the RR when it arrived and after I stitched on it. I find Celtic knots quite challenging but so beautiful when done!

Next is the latest Band Sampler. Joanne has let us choose our bands but asked that we use DMC 333 as our main color. What fun I had doing this. Her fabric is from Sparklies and is the most gorgeous purple called Purpleberry Sludge. I chose bands from Just Nan's Parlor Ribbons.

 And I have a new start! The is Prairie Moon's - Merry Xmas on PTP  Haunted. Isn't this just so cute!

My DIL will love it. It is her type of thing.

And for Barb - I stitched Sister Stitcher on cream evenweave and finished it the same as Beatrice's.

That's it for this week. I have this crazy skeleton calling my name from my stitching bag and I need to answer.

Let's home that all our future frogs are nothing but a bag of bones.

Birthdays and stitching

I survived my 60th birthday.
 My husband threw me a party. What a great party it was. My family and friends did their very best to make me feel special. They were successful.

My grandson Hunter thought he should be in the picture with Gramma and Poppa and so - he is LOL.

Here is a quick shot of some of my birthday gifts.

You can see - a cookbook stand (Bob and Julie) a nutcracker apron (Fran and Simon), gift certificates to my LNS (Barb and Joyce), gift certificate for framing (Beatrice, Lisa, Adriana and Angie), gift certificates to my favorite restaurant (Dani and Rebecca) (along with lots of offers to join me), a  new scissor frog (Bonnie), stitching scissors and fob (Christin), stitchy fabric (Bernie and Bonnie), walnut shells (Bonnie), nutcracker (Bob and Julie), a wishing crystal (Paul and Linda), a book on being 60 (Bob and Julie) and a White Willow sister statue (my sister Susan) and 2 rings. There is an angel coin(Paul and Linda) that is tucked away in my purse. The money (Mom and Dad) is already tucked away for a special something and there is a lovely birdhouse (Joyce and Randy) that is already hanging outside.

Here are a couple of the gifts closer. From my son Adam and his wife a Kameleon ring - the center stone pops out and can be replaced with many other wonderful colors and styles

From my mother - her family ring - she is getting on in years and wanted to pass it down to me. She chose this occasion to do so. She made me cry.

From my friend Christin - LEFT-Handed Dovos and the beautiful fob with a lighthouse on it.

Joanne sent me this lovely card she stitched. It arrived last week.

Today in the mail came this lovely gift - from the same sweet Joanne. 

I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and I am so touched that they gifted me with things that are dear to my heart

 Lots of stitching pictures including the stitching I did on vacation.

I did the outside band that you can see on Desert Mandala

I finished LHN - Acorn Hill

I stitched Poppy on Johanna's Mirabilia RR.

I stitched on my Petit Samplings Etui - the lettering  is over 1 on 36 count - a challenge for me. The front of the box is almost done. I have a bit of the border to do and a BUNCH of Queen Stitches.

I made this little gift for my BFF Beatrice  Her birthday is 4 days before mine.

I made this travel bag for my friend Christin's Ott lite. Her birthday is 3 days before mine.

Ovver the past two days I stitched Holland on Kim's 2012 International Dancer RR.

I chose the Dutch dancers to honor my BFF Beatrice and her mother Adriana who are Dutch. Adriana will be 96 on the 15th of this month and still stitches on 32 count evenweave. She was my stitching teacher and is my mentor.

Here is a photo of Angie, Adriana and I

 Whew, I think I am caught up more or less.
I hope you are all having a wonderful stitchy summer even with the terrible heat.
Until next time - stitch frog free!!!

It is with great sorrow........

That I announce that in a few hours I will be 60

That's right - the grand old age of 60.

And my grandson has informed me that I will be "older than dirt"!!

Am I sad - just a bit.
Am I gonna cry - you bet!
Will I get over it!!! You bet!!!


 I have had the most amazing life. I have the most wonderful family. I love my husband very much.  My two son's have been my greatest joy. I have two sweet DIL's.
My grandchildren are my greatest gift.
I have travelled the world, met the most awesome people and I have stitched and stitched and stitched.

And just in case you think I am too old to learn something new - my son taught me to use his new crossbow last week while at the cottage.

 I was aiming for the center target.

Not bad for an old broad!

TUSAL for July and new house construction

Good morning one and all. It is TUSAL time again and my little frog is only partly full. I don't really know why. I have been stitching away.

Here is the little guy this month.















I have done some framing - birth sampler, Snowflake Serenade and Summer Stroll. My photo of Summer Stroll is very blurry but I wanted you to see the beautiful frame.

I went to visit a friend of mine who is a very talented quilter and she helped me make my Jardin Prive into a bolster pillow. I love it.

I am enjoying my 4 day rotation so far. I find that I can actually see some progress at the end of each 4 day.

Day 1-4

LHN - Acorn Hill

Day 5-8

Carriage Samplings - Petit Samplings Etui

Day 9-12
Desert Mandala - all the back stitching on the cactus is done and all the beading on part one.

Day 13-16 - for RR's and any other wonderful pieces I can find.
Next up is the latest RR. This is Sophia's Rainbow. I took a photo of her RR before I add my stitches so you can see the difference once I finish the stitching on it.
It is a Celtic Knot RR. I love the look of Celtic knots but they are not easy to stitch. I hope I don't have to frog this one too much.

And then I shall repeat.


I am off to my cottage in Northern Ontario for the next 2 1/2 weeks. It is time for some country living. Our cottage is in a remote area with no internet and extremely limited phone service. I will go into town to the local library to check my mail when I can. I am looking forward to some quality time with my grandchildren, children and assorted family. I have a whole bag full of stitching, my portable Ott lite and my magnifier light to keep my company.

The weather has certainly been the topic of conversation almost everywhere. We have near drought conditions and extremely hot weather with high humidity so far this summer. I hope the weather is a little more normal where you live.

Until next time, stay frog free and stitch happy.

Wipocalypse for July and many, many stitches.

July's Wipocalypse was a bust for me. The only WIP stitching I did was complete the cactus stitching on Part 2 of my Desert Mandala.

But, I did stitch on 3 Round Robins, stitched 3 travelling patterns (shown in previous posts) and an Adoption Sampler.

I do have some things to show you.

This is the third travelling pattern that I stitched.  The pattern came from Marlene.
Tribal Penguin by White Willow Stitching. It is a gift for my friend Judie who is a penguin collector.

I think she likes it.  The pattern is now on it's way to Annette. If you are interested in the pattern, be sure to check with her when it is ready to travel.


Here is my completed Adoption Sampler for the family of friends.The lettering is over 1 on 32 count. I love how delicate it looks.  The pattern was designed for me by Jenna.

I am not sure yet whether to make this into a pillow or frame it.

I purchased this pattern from my friend Jocelyn. Now, I am missing only Autumn Queen.

From my friend Rowyn - she has kindly passed on the Just Nan Humbugs. 

I won a summer giveaway on Shannon's blog. Look at the pretty cube she made and the lovely extras that she included. I love the fabric she chose for the cube.
Thank you so much Shannon.

And I must share this beauty. My Band Sampler Round Robin from the TWBB came home today.
I have to share several shots because this sampler is just so gorgeous.

I am going to finish it into a bellpull.


At the moment, I am free to stitch whatever I want. . That doesn't happen very often with me as I have many commitments. One of my RR's is on hold - illness in one family, one is in the mail and one is due to be mailed soon. All my obligation stitching is done. I am going to try a 4 day stitching rotation. I hope to work on Desert Mandala, an etui, LHN's Acorn Hill and a 4th that I have not decided on.
Yesterday, that blasted frog paid a visit to "Acorn Hill" and therefore I stitched parts of the house many times.
I did kick that sucker to the curb and hope he stays there.
Until next time, take care and smile even when the heat is brutal!!!