TUSAL for September and what filled the frog!

Well September it is. What a month I am having! I have stitched like crazy over the past moon phase and have plenty to show you!

Check this out - these are the threads that filled the frog!

 Just Nan - True Blue Heart

Ginny's Mirabilia Round Robin
I stitched Midsummer Night's Fairy. This one was frog-infested. What a time I had with her and all the Kreinik.

M Designs - Las Vegas tree

First Section of my Etui done.

Victoria Sampler's O Canada on 2012 Round Robin - her theme was souvenirs and so I stitched the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, a Canada Goose and our national symbol - the beaver. I hope she approves.

My Desert Mandala

 188 Algerian Eyelets, 212 Dense Rhodes Stitches, 40 Rhodes Stitches and 16 Algerian Eyelets - all around that gorgeous border. Now I'm working on those black borders. The inside one is all Black Marlitt and it makes me cranky. It is awful stuff to work with even heavily coated with Thread  Heaven. And I just had to do one of those pretty, pretty feathers - only 7 more to go.

 I had some help from another wonderful stitcher and quilter - Barb - and we made my Band Sampler Round Robin into a bell pull. It is so pretty done and hanging.

And someone recently introduced me to the evils of Ebay and look what I bought. These are brand new - in perfect condition and cost me $10. How could I resist?

I will post some photos of the stitching get together at my house for the first weekend of September in a few days.

I am stitching now on a secret project! What fun and I'm making great progress.

Until next time, I hope those blasted frogs that infested my Mirabilia are now toasted and a delicacy for some one LOL.

Knowledge and Needles Open House

I have many stitching photos to show you so I will have to split them into a few posts.

Ann at Knowledge and Needles hosts an Open House in August every year. We are given the opportunity to get together with other stitchers from all over Ontario and to display our work. Of course, we chat lots, eat even more and shop till we drop.

 Warning: Photo and stitching intensive!

Spring Quaker, Bagatelle, Cirque des Carreaux

 and a couple of Desert Mandalas

Wolves, trains, Mirabilia RR, Ink Circles and LHN

Mirabilia, Just Nan and a Sheltering Tree

Stockings galore

 

 

Lucky Laura to have such a beautiful sampler.

Mirabilia's Rose of Sharon and Lizzie Kate

A new kind of finish - bolster pillows

Bonnie's Ink Circles pillow

You should see the detail work on these!

Pretty little baby bibs

Dani's Faberge Egg - St Petersburg - the inside is all over 1.

Cross Stitchers Poem

Christin's Paradigm Lost, Jardin Prive, Tribal Butterfly, Angie's Fall Scene, Mirabilia Fairy

Stitched by our favorite 96 year old stitcher Adriana!

Joyce's Mona Lisa - she says another 5 years and she will be done.

I hope you enjoyed the show.

Wipocalypse Update

Wipocalypse Progress.

I finished Page 1 of my Etui - 188 Queen Stitches later - all those pretty pink flowers on the outside border - each flower has 6 queen stitches. Did I know how to do queen stitches before this - NO! Do I know how to make them now - ABSOLUTELY!

I finished Acorn Hill.

I started and finished  Just Nan's True Blue Heart.

I made some  progress on Desert Mandala

 I started Prairie Moon's - Merry Xmas
I started M Designs - Las Vegas Tree

 All in all a good round. 

And my birthday continued.

From my dear friend Claire - these lovely gifts.

And a RAK from my friend Karen that arrived shortly after my birthday. Can I count that as another gift LOL?

I have some (many) retreat photos to share with you from my weekend at Knowledge and Needles but I will wait till my next posting.


This post is brief as I am hosting a stitch-in this weekend. Photos and stories to follow lol.
I am working on the latest Mirabilia RR and this one has been frog infested. I am hoping for better luck today.

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and I will return lol.

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!!!