Well, I still have a problem with the blue underlining. Will have to contact Barbara of Mainely Stitching again. I accidentally deleted one photo and now I am okay. Will try to add the photo after I finish writing my blog today.
We survived our week with the grandchildren. As the week went on, it got much better. We were starting to develop a routine. The children had a wonderful holiday and are back into parenting mode full time. Seems they really missed their children and could hardly wait to get home. They say, next time, they are taking the children with them on holidays.
Yesterday, I got to spend the afternoon with my friend Dani. We were not as chatty as we usually were but we were heavy into our stitching. Dani gifted me with this gorgeous scissor fob - stitched over one. It is just the most beautiful thing and it adorns my scissors already.Front
Back

Here is my progress on Mirabilia's Winter Holiday. I know, it still looks like a brown blob. Maybe someday soon, it will look like a dress or some such.
And out of the deepest, darkest place in my stitching bag, I pulled out this old friend. I backstitched Noddy, his friends and the car. I finished the half stitches at the bottom of this page. When I actually take the time to stitch on this, it goes very quickly as it is on 14 count aida and the color changes are not too crazy. My aim is to have this entire piece finished by the time I return from Arizona at the end of April.
During this last week, I painted Jack's bedroom. His quilt is in place, the curtains are hung and the decals are on the wall. He is very happy with his CAT machine room. Today is his 4th birthday. I also painted the ensuite bathroom for the grown up children. This week I will paint the master bedroom and then their entire house will be painted.
We are hoping to spend some time with our friends and then we fly back to Arizona on Friday. It will be nice to be warm again. The forecast here for this week is -17C to -20C. That Arizona sunshine is gonna feel good.
Well, I'm off to post to the Mirabilia blog. Take care all and happy stitching.

Finish #2 and Family Photos

Good morning everyone. It is -20C this morning and I'm wishing I were back in Arizona.
Leo and I are babysitting our two grandsons while Mom and Dad are basking in the sun in the Dominican.
And I learned something new - I am too old to raise small children. Jack and Hunter are 4 and 2 and we are exhausted at the end of the day. Thank goodness, Mom and Dad will be home Saturday.
I did manage a little bit of stitching these past few days. I decided to stick to something simple as it is put down at the drop of a hat, or the toss of a car, the toss of a ball, a swat at his brother, a demand for milk - make that chocolate milk, pudding, yogurt, banana, rye bread - and no, I don't want butter! Get the picture! Thank goodness for the "Transformers" movie and a 10 minute to bedtime timer. And mind you their ten minutes may not be the same as mine LOL.

Here is my finish - a Kiwi bookmark that Rowyn sent me. I will finish finish it when I get back to Arizona.

Here are some family photos taken at Christmas.

Here are Leo and I with our three precious grandchildren - Drew 12, Jackson 4 and Hunter 2.This bloody post is now blue and underlined and I cant figure how to stop it. Oh, well, we will have to continue this way. Here is the whole family with my parents in the background.Leo's brother has two daughters the same age as our two sons and the four of them grew up together. They had not been together in ten years. Aren't they a handsome bunch.And here's what these 4 children have created. There will be one more . Nicole, first person left, is expecting again!Well, can you believe it. I am back to regular type! Blogger sure has a sense of humor.
That's it for today. Gonna go browse the mall and see if I can find some great sales. Till next time - take care everyone.

First Happy Dance for 2009

Here is my first Happy Dance for 2009. This is my contribution to Debbi's Winter Neighborhood
The pattern is from the 2009 Cross Stitch Calendar. It was a fun stitch. Debbi's fabric is gorgeous. Here is her neighborhood to date.

2008 Finishes and 2009 Goals

Well, you can not imagine my surprise when I counted what I have stitched this past year. I have never kept track before and was stunned at the amount I had stitched.

So, here they are.

1. Finished Paradigm Lost - YAY!
2. 5 Hello Neighborhoods - Erin, Judith, Cathy, Michelle and Katrina's
3. 8 Christmas Ornaments
4. 3 Winter Neighborhoods - Mine, Sophia, Tami
5. Marjean's Mirabilia RR that has since been lost in the mail and I get quite ill every time I think of that.
6. Farm Animal RR for Carrie
7. 2 Make a Wish Exchanges - BeckySC and Edgar
8. 10 Fair and Square Rounds - Melissa, Claire, Rowyn, Peggy, Mary Kathryn, Kerri, Sandra, Annette, Jennifer and Wanda. The best part of these squares is that I have made some wonderful new stitching friends!
9. 35 Anniversary Sampler for friends
10. Prairie Schooler's Autumn Leaves
11. Biscornu and Scissor Fob for Carol S.
12. Biscornu for Doris
13. Dragonfly Cube for Carolien - and a wonderful new friend
14. Book of Stitches
15. 2 Scissor fobs - bluebird and butterfly
16. Crystal Tree - I guess I finished it in January of the past year!
17. Peacock for Dani
18. Lighthouse bookmark gift from Clare
19. Halloween stitch for Ranae
20. Lady Periphaeria Spanish Sampler - Part 1, 2 and 3

Whew, my fingers are sore now!

My goals for 2009 are pretty small

Finish Noddy and Friends
Do more Fair and Squares
Do more Make a Wish
Complete my Hello Neighbor hood when it is sent to me
Complete my obligation to the Winter Neighborhood
Stitch on Royal Holiday as an SAL
Make 12 ornaments
Finish Lady Periphaeria
Work on Fairies at the Bottom of my Garden.

Okay, I better stop making a list. It is getting longer as I start to think about what I would like to stitch.

Oh, and before I forget. A few friends and I have started a Mirabila stitch along. I know there are some people who emailed me and asked to join.There is no specifications other than it be a Mirabila. I have lost my list somewhere. If you have emailed me before or are interested in joining us, please contact me at drewsgrands@hotmail.com. The blog is stitchamiriabilia.blogspot.com. Yep, I know I spelled it wrong. I realized it after I had completed everything and don't know how to change it.

Well, everyone - that's it - my big list. See you all in stitches.

A BIG Happy Dance

And it is finished. Dec 29th at 11:15 p.m.
Phew, I wasn't sure I would make it. It has been a joy and a pleasure to work on but I am happy it is done.

The Sweetest Joy

May all your Christmas dreams come true - ours sure have!

Home for Christmas

As I write this blog, I am sitting in a hotel in Phoenix. Leo and I are flying Phoenix - Toronto - Ottawa tomorrow to go home for Christmas. Weather permitting, we should be home around 9:30 p.m. We are so looking forward to being with our family. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers flying for us. Ontario has been nailed with one winter storm after another this week past.


One of the reasons I have been offline so much is that my fingers have been flying and then some. So, I have lots of finishes to show you.



First up, my Make a Wish for Edgar. His wish was for a Blackbird Design. I stitched "My Gift for You" on 32 count raw linen with the recommended WDW and Gast Threads. The wording is stitched over one. I finished it into a pyn keepe for him.



I finished crocheting the afghan for the lady who asked me to finish it for her. I then sewed all the octagons together and crocheted a border. I hope she likes it. It certainly turned out to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated.

Next up, Jackson's quilt, curtains and pillow sham are finished. Here is a photo of the finished quilt. He wanted yellow Caterpillar Machines and that's what he got!

Here is the finished quilt, the valance, the sham and I even found yellow construction vehicle Wallies for his room. The set will be given to him for his 4th birthday on January 12th or maybe before if he and I can't wait.

And then, Katrina's Hello Neighbor neighborhood arrived at my home. Here is the house I stitched for her. It came from an old Reader's Digest book and it was an article on a typical early American Sampler. I used bits of that, changed the colors and this is the end result.

Here is her neighborhood as it went out in the mail on Dec. 21st. I was the last person to stitch on her neighborhood and so it is on it's way home. Isn't it gorgeous.

Here is my selection of Christmas ornaments for this year. I had a day of finishing and minus some skin on the ends of my fingers, they are done. They have been bagged, tagged and distributed to their new owners.

I also sewed three casserole carriers for some of my friends as Christmas gifts but forgot to take a photo of them.

And here is Paradigm. I have been working on it the past few days and did a little on Friday night for the SAT. I had to tear out the entire motif that I am working on now as I had it in the wrong place but that's okay. Only 1 1/4 pages left!!!!!

And I found a new use for a cross stitch grid. We installed a new block driveway. I did not want plain 1 foot square blocks so I got out a cross stitch grid and designed my driveway. I researched Navajo rug designs and this is what I came up with.

At the front are two cacti, in the middle is a Navajo design called the rainmaker and in the back is the diamond shape that is found in many Navajo rugs.

I took the design out to Leo and his friend and said please lay the stones like this. They did!!!! Isn't it wonderful.

We have had lots of people walk and drive by since it was done. Leo and his friend laugh. They did all the hard back breaking work and all people can talk about is the design that I drew on paper. Don't you just love it.

And last but not least, here is the view on my porch the other night. No wonder they call the skies in Arizona - painted skies. Isn't that beautiful.

My family and I want to wish you and your families the Happiest of Christmases and Merriest of New Years. May you have a wonderful season filled with joy and a great deal of laughter.

See you in 2009.