Seasonal Stitches

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-22T13:01:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas. Has been hectic with the reno finishing up and Christmas preparations but wonderful time . We have so much to be thankful for .

I will be back soon with some stitching pics.I see I have gone from Halloween to Christmas without posting but have been enjoying all the inspiring stitching from everyones blogs as usual. All the best for a stitchy 2012, Jennifer

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

As usual haven't posted in awhile. Reno still going on . We are so very close but today not a soul arrived to do anything. Painting started but now at a standstill . Dust is cleaned up only to come again . Have been very patient and it won't be too much longer. Finally took a picture of a cross stitch finish to be framed and hung in the new part of the kitchen . Little house needleworks 'Garden Fresh'. Loved stitching this and the colours are great.Not a great pic , as I didn't iron it yet but will prepare it for framing and show the finish hopefully soon. Also wanted to show you two little Halloween gingerbread houses I bought at a recent craft fair. Aren't they cute?

Hope to show some reno pics soon . Hard to believe it will be November 1st tomorrow. Will show my progress on Lizzie Kate's 'Christmas Rules' soon . Thanks for stopping by!

My cat

2011-09-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

Still haven't taken any pics of my latest stitching so would like to show you a recent picture of our cat Emerald (Emmy). The sun is shining, I had my first ballet class of the year and blundered through with old and new friends and feel stretched out and taller and a bit more relaxed.

Dear daughter is staying for her first after school choir practice . She is so excited . I get a bit more time in my day . Dinner is ready for when she comes home . I won't even talk about the reno as the only progress is electrical which I think is great but it is a bit behind. Not going to let it bother me though , it will get finished and all will be well. Hope to blog again soon to show some pics of stitching which I haven't been doing much of and can't wait to do some.Have enjoyed viewing all the fall stitching that is being done.

Reno so far

2011-08-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on how things are going with the reno . Still have to post some stitching and I have a lot to gather up to show so hope to do that soon . We have plumbing and electrical almost done so I suspect when that is completed the drywall will go up . Currently choosing all the plumbing accessories so that the bathroom will be accessible . We have windows so that is exciting ! So here it is so far. Thank you for your kind comments on the last post and thanks for stopping by!

What I've been up to

2011-07-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer everyone! It has been awhile . I would like to say thank you to everyone for the kind words since my Grandmother's passing . It means so much . So thankful we have such wonderful memories of great times with her. While I have been reading all your blog updates I haven't been commenting as much as usual as I have been busy all winter preparing for our home's new addtion. Cleaning out the basement and the backroom that was torn off to make room for beautiful daughters accessible bathroom and bedroom .This commenced the first week in June. Here is the progress so far.Next will be the roof and if any of you have gone through the reno process you soon learn that there are a lot of lulls. Holidays for staff, waiting for the next trade to come by and finish their part of the job is all part of the process. We've been fortunate so far that the only "problem" has been 3 different episodes of a couple of days without cable tv and internet service and this mostly happened when school was out so no one needed to do a search for history class or something else. Also so far all the work has been outside so that is good . Not for long though. Exciting for dear daughter but handsome son lost his 'band practice ' room . He is very understanding and knows the additional room will benefit all. He may end up taking over her upstairs bedroom ( what I now intend for a guest room) Not sure how the band will like the purple and pink decor !!

Here is a lovely I stitched for a friend who is a tea lover like myself for her birthday awhile back . It is a Sweetheart Tree design . It's always a pleasure stitching gifts for friends. Please excuse the poor photo lighting.I can't seem to get the photos to place properly but you will get the idea .I am more than halfway through Lizzie Kate's 'Christmas Rules' and just finished Little House Needleworks' Farm Fresh' which will look great in our kitchen when the reno is complete. I will show those as soon as I get some pics.

Picking up my daughter from camp tomorrow . Where does 10 days go? !! We all hope she had a wonderful time. I won't be so long in posting the next time! Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer .

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

A fine New Year it is! We are one city without snow but where we spent Christmas in Sault Ste. Marie we did have a white one.

Our holiday started on a

sad note as my Grandma, Cora Smith passed away on December 21st. The funeral was held on the 24th in Sundridge Ontario where she had resided for the past 31yrs. Grandma was 98yrs young, still living

in her own home with macular degeneration.She shared her home with her trusty friend Minny the cat whom we all thought should be called Maxi! She was so big. In the past few months she started getting meals on wheels

again as the first time she wasn't too fond of them . My children are so fortunate to have spent many Christmases with Grandma as it was just the past 3 yrs that she didn't travel on to the Sault with us to spend Christmas there.Once a year we would take her to the casino and she lost a lot of my husbands quarters there on those nights. He said he could hear us laughing all over the casino!We sure enjoyed those nights out. Her bag was all packed to spend Christmas in North Bay with my cousin but she passed in her sleep. Here is a picture of her taken the last Christmas we were all together.She will be missed.

This is the first Christmas I have stitched some ornament gifts. I stitched the ornament on the left for my blogging friend Judy , the other for a family friend who just moved into a new house and is now collecting ornaments for her tree. I stitched one for my Mom but didn't get it put together so will have to do that and send it to her .I really liked the backing fabric . It had a bit of glisten in the weave and the penguins were cute!

So sorry the picture placement is a bit off but it gives you and idea of what I've done . My new blog header is a finished Pine Mountain . I love snowmen so thought it was appropriate for January.

There are a quite a few of you participating in Crazy January Challenges. Unfortunately I didn't start on Jan 1st as I was working at the hospital for New Years but have quite a few projects to show this year that I will hopefully finish off.

I just finished a great book called 'Secret Daughter ' by Shilpi Somaya Gowda which I highly recommend. I couldn't put it down.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog everyone !

Merry Christmas

2010-12-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile! I 've been reading everyone's blog and drooling over your autumn and Christmas decor and creations. Not sure why I haven't posted but here I am. I finished a few projects over the past few months. I am all finished 'Winter Greens' by LHN and the four pieces for my kitchen , cake, cupcake, tart and pie from CCN . I just have to find the right frames or wait for a frame sale! I have finished two ornaments for gifts which I will show in an upcoming post when the recipients receive them . The blog header that I am now showing is very special . About 6 weeks ago we received an email from Easter Seals saying out of 12 entries my daughter won a contest for designing a Christmas card for the CEO of Bruce Power.She designed this at camp this summer . She received her prize yesterday , an art kit and a beautiful framed picture of the original design and the card back and front. Her picture is on the back and a description of where she attends school etc.

I won a contest on the LHN blog . I got to choose a current chart and I chose 'Be Merry , Belle Pepper ' I had wanted to purchase this chart so it came as a wonderful treat.

Here is a picture of my two favorite people that I included in our Christmas card this year .

My daughter is now in grade 9 and it has been an adjustment . Especially since the elevator/lift has been broken 3x!! It failed again this week. Some of her classes can move downstairs but not all. Hopefully 2011 will run more smoothly for her. My son is now driving . Has what is called in Ontario a G2 license. Can drive himself to guitar and basketball practice so that is a big help.

.One of my stitching goals is to finally finish 'Lo' as I have been doing some work on it . I still really love it .

Also I purchased 'Christmas Rules by Lizzie Kate and got the fabric but it wasn't wide enough so am waiting for some more fabric.

In November I had a wonderful day spent with fellow stitcher Judy . She posted on her blog about our visit. We actually got to stitch in my living room for a bit so it was fun . That is where I discovered that 'Christmas Rules' wasn't going to work on my fabric with Judy's help. I really love that design. Well I will be back with some pics of my Christmas ornament gifties.

I wish all my blogger friends and their families a wonderful Christmas and all the best in 2011!

Part 3 finale!

2010-08-03T14:09:00.001-07:00

Having another heatwave in the Toronto area but not as hot as it was on my trip to Santa Fe New Mexico! We started out on July 10th and flew to L.A. for two days and then drove to San Diego California. Before we left L.A. we had a stop at Elisabeth's fav.store where she stocked up on outfits for her dolls. In San Diego we stayed in Del Mar and the beach was beautiful ( insert your most dreamy beach scene here!) We visited the San Diego zoo and saw every animal you could ever think of . My personal favs were the mother panda and her 18month old baby . Luckily we were there at lunch to see them out and not asleep. After frying ourselves at the zoo we headed back to our lovely hotel Hilton that was across from a race track started up by Jimmy Durante, Lucille Ball and others. It was the biggest race track I had ever seen. After 4 days in San Diego we drove back to L. A. and flew to Denver stayed a night and drove the next day to Santa Fe, New Mexico whose daily temps of over 100degrees didn't really agree with my children but they managed to enjoy themselves. We stayed at the Big Thunder resort and casino( casino unbeknownst to my husband who booked it all online! ) Beautiful place. On the last day I spent $5.94 in the 1 cent slot and won $ 69. 06 and promptly walked out ! Able to buy everyone lunch at least. Elisabeth bought moccasins that were made in Canada! and Nicholas bought a cool hat . I bought a t shirt . The drive to Santa Fe from Denver is spectacular . We took in the Albuqurque Isotopes baseball game . Luckily in the shade at 102 degrees at 6pm when the game started and 82 degrees when it ended after 8 pm in a thunderstorm . All in all it was a wonderful family trip. Had my parents here for this past weekend as we attended a beautiful wedding in Toronto at the Steam Whistle Brewery. My cousin's daughter was married. They had some fun touches, a box of flip flops if you had sore feet from your high heels, a candy table for favours, a soapbox photo booth where you could dress up and have your pic taken . some of the dressups were hilarious, horns, funny glasses, and sparklers on the patio when it got dark for the bride and groom to go thru and get their picture taken . A really fun time!

Now tomorrow I pick up Elisabeth at Easter Seals camp where she has been for 10 days. Where the time went I have no clue. They don't start back to school till Sept 7th so hope we can still have some more fun . Going to have a quiet stitching evening as I have to get up early to drive 2 hrs to pick her up . The boys are taking in 'The Black Keys' concert in Toronto tonight . So that will be a nice evening out for them. Hope to have some more finishes to show in the very near future.Thanks for visiting!

Part 3 (a)

2010-07-28T05:03:00.000-07:00

Back to what my blog was originally about! Have a finish to share. Totally finished 'cake ' from CCN . Only have one more to go and then I will frame them for my kitchen which was painted on the Canadian long weekend. So my bare wall needs filling.

Now for my 'Christmas in July 'piece. I saw this on the ABC needlework therapy retreat header finished as a decorated cube and couldn't wait to make one myself. I just love the soft fabric that is flecked with gold.Excuse the dark picture. Since I took the pic I have stitched some more so will update later in the week.

Can never seem to place my pics right like so many other bloggers can . Lastly I stitched these Christmas silverware holders years ago for my Mom and am going to change George to Grampa and Mom to Elisabeth to fill in the missing holders as I haven't seen these around in years.

So that is my stitching finally to show.I hope to stitch on 'Lo' this week too as Lee is finished her sampler ( for weeks now!)

Part 2

2010-07-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

Well when I last left off I had been to Montreal with the grade 8 class. The following weekend we attended my brother Peter's wedding to Aimee in Windsor Ontario. It started off with a family dinner at the Tecumseh Roadhouse where we got to meet a lot of Aimee's family that we didn't know . I will never trust mapquest again as we got lost with their directions and had to phone for help . Anyhow all went well and the wedding was held in Aimee's parents beautiful backyard and then on to the reception at a local restaurant.

Here we all are. Aimee has two sons Josh 19

and Jonah 14 who also has special needs.I am the one in the black dress. I had hoped to find a more colourful dress for this lovely occasion but was unsuccessful .

So after that lovely day we headed back home the next day to prepare for June 28th , Elisabeth's grade 8 graduation. What can I say , I thought she looked just beautiful and the whole ceremony and evening was great. She received the special education advisory commitee award from our school board. The speech that the lady from the board read was the longest one of the night and Elisabeth was thrilled. She has

done a lot to mentor two younger girls in the school with special needs so this was the icing on the cake for all her accomplishments at the school for the last three yrs.Now she goes on to high school and she can hardly wait even though she will miss everyone at elementary school .We got her dress in Tuscon AZ when we were there at March break . So as of June 25th my little whippersnapper is at Easter Seals camp outside of London Ontario. She waited all year to go to this wonderful camp and was the driving force to get there . Lots of tears when I left though so I have spent the last two nights a bit sleepless. Just got a call from the camp that she is having a wonderful time and has signed up for sledge hockey to try it out . Go girl!! So I can rest easy tonight. Will post part 3 to tell you about our trip away from July 10-21 and then finally will have some Christmas in July stitching to show and a find! Thanks for visiting!

Bonjour( where I have been part 1)

2010-07-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well as July heads on in full throttle heat mode in the greater Toronto area ( or GTA as us locals call it)I am finally getting back to let those who are interested know what I have been up to for the past two months since Iblogged last. This will involve a series of posts as there have been numerous events and at the end I will share some so called Christmas in July stitching.

On May 30th my daughter Elisabeth had a wonderful day celebrating the opening of our Maplegrove United Church elevator. This was a yr long project that involved a whole new entrance , elevator , air conditioning and new accessible bathrooms and floors and many more additions too numerous to mention. For the 11 yrs she has been attending the church

, 9 have been spent with her being carried up stairs by many strong men . On the celebration day she made a speech thanking all of these hearty souls . Well there was not a dry eye in the church that was filled to capacity for the celebration . She received a standing ovation and her proud mother , father and brother were again reminded that

yes one little ( big) soul can make a difference in this world as the church had been debating putting in an

elevator for 20plus years.

Now the church is accessible to all and she can now invite some of her friends that are in w/c's to watch her dance or just attend church with her.

The week of June 1st was Elisabeth's dance recital , she takes part in a musical theatre group and they performed a medley of 'Lion King' songs. Also she is in the Spirit Moves dance liturgical dance company . So she had two numbers in four shows with 2 rehersals so it was a long week with the special athletes track meet thrown in . Her last in elementary school .

Here is her beautiful costume from the musical theatre number, the other

girls wore red, yellow , peach, it was just a beautiful sight , and a pic from the track meet.

Can't forget my DS who rode 50 km in the Becel ride for heart and with his team ' Passing Fancy ' raised over $1000.

So I thought after all this excitement there would be a lull but no the fun continued with my trip to Montreal Quebec on June 16-18th with Elisabeth's grade 8 class. I couldn't figure out how they could make the trip in such a short time but after spending 3 full days with 41 grade 8 students I was more than ready to come home . Just to let you know what it is like to travel with a w/c . The coach bus arrived at 8:30 am for our departure but didn't depart until 10:30 as the driver didn't have a clue how to work the w/c lift that had been planned for since fall of 2009( 10 whole months ago!!!!!) Well with the principal who was going on the trip and some other great

folks they managed to work it and we got away in the day long pouring rain ! Making all our destinations on time ( what they were going to do with the two extra hours with 41 excited students is beyond me ) I must say no one complained which made DD and I more than happy . To make a long story short Montreal is a wonderful city and I hope to go back in the near future.Here is a pic of DD and I at the Olympic stadium where the games were held in 1976. When I was a teen I saw a baseball game there but hadn't been back since. Today it is used for concerts, swimming , championship diving , fitness center . It has a huge elevator that we rode up in and got a wonderful view of the city.The other activities included visiting a sugar shack, and on the last day going to circus school which was Elisabeth's fav.

So that concludes part 1 of what I have been up to . I will post in a few days of the rest of the story as I can't believe all the things that have gone on in two months.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

All around the yard

2010-05-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share these pictures of spring around our yard.The French lilac is my favorite every year. It's scent is so fragrant.

Stash pictures

2010-05-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! Here finally are the pics of my Birthday stash from April and an extra I just couldn't resist. I hope all the Moms have a great mother's day this weekend. No plans yet here but after church it is opening day for the Senior Blue Jays ! Yes my son is a Blue Jay this year.I think we are in for some cooler weather this weekend so it may be a winter coat game.

So to explain my stash. I just couldn't resist 'Shores of HRH' I love everything to do with the sea. After seeing' My Hometown 'on Siobhan's blog I caved and got that one too. 'Valentine Rose' by BBD, 'Together ' by Heart in Hand and the 'plum cottage sampler' couldn't resist that one either. And then there is 'Eiffel Quaker' by Jardin Prive. We are painting our dusty rose living room walls another colour to match our new leather sofa and loveseat that is on the brown tones. The colours in the 'Eiffel Quaker ' on the cover of the leaflet would be beautiful. Since I have a love of Paris it called out my name. As well, I have been drooling over the beautiful quaker designs out there. I got 'Lady's quaker 'awhile back and it is great.Not sure when you will see the starts on any of these but there's hope. So there we have it ! Off to enjoy Friday and hope to stitch a bit.

Stitching Bloggers Question

2010-05-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

Lee at Lakestitcher has posed the question to all of the stitching bloggers , are you a process stitcher or a project stitcher. I would have to say I am a process stitcher as I have many WIPs

in progress. MANY!!!! some that haven't even hit this blog for their debut yet! And some that are so ancient they will be called dinosaurs! I enjoy perusing the new patterns, choosing the fiber and fabric and then unless the project is a gift , I am all gung ho till I find something else! I must say I am getting better since I started blogging . I really enjoy the whole stitching process.

In other parts of my life I would have to say that I do get projects finished and that is improving since blogging too as I am inspired by fellow bloggers finishes and want to be like them. Not just xstitch projects but household ones too. bday stash pics are coming soon!

A bit of progress

2010-05-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

Well a bit of progress was made over the weekend on 'Lo' I was having a bit of 'thoughts of ripping' No not my clothes off silly! but the dark stitches of Pelican gray! However in this mornings beautiful light I felt that I could live with how it was transpiring. What do you think?

Our yard is coming to life with the most glorious buds. This is the earliest our french lilac has burst . I will be posting pics soon along with my birthday stash. This will be a shorty today .

I had a lovely day out last week with a fellow blogger Judy. She wrote some very kind comments on her blog about our outing and visit. She had some wonderful stitching to show me , as well as her lovely home . It was a great day out and we hope to get together again soon and do some stitching sometime. Enjoy the beautiful day.

until next time...

Lo

2010-04-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! Where did April go? It has to be one of my fav months as my bday and DD's bday and springtime occur( well usually in Canada it changes from spring to summer in one day but not this year) Lots of beautiful blooms abound in my neck of the woods. Here is my weekend progress on 'Lo' I really enjoyed stitching this part and again am loving this piece.Unfortunately you can see some of my threads behind the fabric ! Lee is just about at the same point as I am in the project but has a few more stitched motifs at the bottom of her piece. It is fun to stitch this with another lovely stitcher.Next time I will show you my birthday stash that arrived in the mail today. ( hurrah!!)I am reading Jodi Picoult's new book ' House Rules' . Only have a week more to have it out of the fast lane at the library so must get going . Really enjoying it . Must go and tend to DD who has a cold/cough and has been home all day from school .

Until next time....

Back to'Lo' and some new finishes

2010-04-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Happy spring day everyone! I am back to stitching on 'Lo' with Lee and am happy to be back at it. Here is the latest pic. I got the top two flowers and the word 'rose' and part of 'How ' done. It was a struggle as my daughter had a science test to study for but our work paid off and she did well on Monday with it. We both celebrated birthdays in the last two weeks and she was very happy with her birthday as her Educational Assistants spoiled her with a purple boa and a crown to wear on her special day . She came home a very happy gal.

As for dear son , he is learning to drive and my first experience with him was a bit nerve wracking to say the least! My DH has better luck but if you are just starting behind the wheel it there is bound to be some anxiety for your passengers. We'll get him enrolled in a local driving school very soon.

Here are my 'cupcake' and 'tart' finishes from CCN. I may add some beads to cupcake as it calls for french knots and I think the beads would look pretty . They are quick to stitch so I must think of a new colour for my kitchen so I can get them framed when done and up on the freshly painted wall.

I would like to thank Jayne at ' An eye for threads" for nominating me for the beautiful blogger award! What an honour! I will blog more about this when I can get Mr. Technical ( my DS ) to assist me.

Until then have a wonderful stitching week.

Stashatolla, Spring break and a Start!

2010-04-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Long time no hear! I have been back over a week now from our March break trip to Tuscon Arizona. Am behind on blog reading and the 3 hour time difference has made me more forgetful and out of it than usual!

We had a wonderful time in Tuscon . This is the second year we have gone to the Westward Look Resort . The scenery is beautiful. There just happens to be a wonderful cross stitch shop in Tuscon that has wonderful models everywhere and helpful staff. They were having a great sale too .

I was able to get a lot of stash from a $2 box that when I took it to the cash it was only $1!!

Things I might not have bought at full price.

I didn't take any pics of the inside of the store as the owner wasn't there but they certainly have a full stock . Here is what I purchased, If you

click on the picture you will see 'Tis Spring' by Homespun elegance. It came with a little gold ladybug charm. I saw the little house neighborhood done over one and it was beautiful. Got some linen for another future project.The Cricket Collection leaflet was $1 at a place called Bookmans that sold used books, records, magazines and a lot of craft mags with a sprinkling of x stitch leaflets. My son had a heyday in there as he found a lot of books he wanted. I also had a new start . I hope to do four of these and put them in my kitchen . The first one is 'Cupcake' , with tart, pie and cake hopefully to follow in the near future.In the picture are the new scissors I treated myself to. Elizabeth I with embedded with roses. I just love them. I hope to make a rose fob( in my dreams !!)

It is always great to get back home after a trip, but it has been a whirlwind since. Next tuesday I am having a birthday and my one year of blogging is coming up on April 29th. I am going to have a little give away to celebrate so stay tuned. Must get caught up on what everyone has been up to. Happy Easter everyone!!

Stitching Progress

2010-03-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well more progress to show on 'Lo'. The vine on the right took forever to stitch . Both Lee ( my SAL partner from Lake Stitcher) and I agree. The finished product is worth it though. So many little flowers scattered throughout are fun too.

Almost time to move my Q snaps.

The post brought a lovely treat from my Mom the other day . Another lovely bag! One for me and an early birthday present for my daughter's friend Kristin who when she saw DD 's wondered what brand it was. She is an engineering student in Toronto and they spend time together doing fun girly things so we wanted to have Mom make her a bag too . Needless to say she was thrilled to get it. Her bag is the bright pink one on the left with black

trim and my new spring bag is on the right , made out of leftover fabric from the quilt Mom made me for Christmas. I certainly shrieked when I opened it as you never know what they will look like but are always wonderful when they arrive. ( I don't think my Mom has ever made anything that didn't look great)

I promise my next post will show some stash that is slowly coming in the mail.

Have a wonderful week!

A win !!

2010-02-23T11:39:00.001-08:00

Well the mail brought me a lovely surprise when I won a draw on Carol' s blog stitchingdream that Carol had for her birthday. I hadn't seen this wonderful Christmas ornament chart before. She generously sent the threads and this cute quilt card along with it . Thank you so much Carol and Happy happy birthday. I have certainly met some wonderful stitching friends since I started my blog . What a wonderful blog world!

Not much to show yet on 'Lo ' but will have some progress next week . We got some wonderful news last week when I took my daughter to see the surgeon for her checkup. She doesn't need surgery on her legs so we don't see him for another two years when she is 16. We were all thrilled as we know that we are keeping her moving in her walker at school and exercises done at home. She had surgery when she was 5 and it is a painful memory for her.

I have been having fun looking at all the Nashville releases and hope to have some new stash to share soon( to add to my millions of other projects!!) join the club right? !

Canada is doing so well at the Olympics as are the U. S. and the rest of the world. It is certainly fun to watch.

I wanted to mention that the heart from my last post is from a magazine but I am not sure which one. I can't even recall what prompted me to stitch it , it was so long ago. It would look lovely in red though.

Before I go here are my Valentine flowers that my sweetie sent me .They were a wonderful surprise.I have cut them off and put them in the bowl to enjoy the final days of their beauty!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments you leave , they are a bright spot during these dull winter days !

A finish and a Valentine

2010-02-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

I finished 'Practice Kindness' I added the key as I love keys and have seen them on various blogs. Not sure I am thrilled about how the pale year showed up but I think with a dark frame I can handle it. Think I will take it to be framed soon before it gathers dust. I guess it can be my first finish for 2010 even though I probably started it in 1995 when the pattern came out. I forgot to mention in my last post that those beautiful threads are Weeks dye works threads. Just loving them on 'Lo'

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's weekend and gets some well deserved stitching time in .

Here is a heart that I stitched a few years back that would look good in red too . I can't even remember where it came from but with my destashing I am sure it will turn up.

Happy Heart's day!

Progress on 'Lo'

2010-02-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well with the Superbowl yesterday I managed to get some stitching in with my SAL partner Lee at Lakestitcher. Here is my latest progress. I love this design and the threads are so surprising with every stitch when they change colour . I finished Practice Kindness but will be taking out what I stitched as the year as it looks too big and I think stitch it over one. Hope to show it to you soon. I hope all my blogging friends are staying warm and safe in the snow belts.

We have had such little snow this year, better not speak too soon!! I will try and post some snow pics later in the week.

That's the craziest excuse for not x-stitching I've ever heard!

2010-02-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Well last week has come and gone and I didn't end up posting but have a little gem to show you that I made for my true love. ( I am sure he will be thrilled hee hee ha ha!!) I received this in an order I placed from a webshop a few yrs back and finally stitched it up .

As for "Lo" and "Practice Kindness.."I have had a few things come up that have kept me from stitching . One day I went for a haircut to the salon and while driving home encountered the police blocking off my section of a very long street that runs down to Lake Ontario.

Apparently an elderly lady had driven out of our local hospital right into an apartment building 4 doors down from my house!!! The poor lad sleeping in the apartment went to hospital and was alright thank goodness . The little lady was also fine. Certainly could have been worse. I couldn't get to my house so I ran errands till the street opened 4 hrs later. Was planning on stitching that day but hard to top that one!! I am sure my fellow bloggers have had good intentions to stitch on certain days and have been interrupted by unwanted intrusions. Some things one just can't help!! Tomorrow is my Dear Son's 16th Birthday . I just turned around twice and....... I will be making the 4 layer skor bar cake shown in an October post for dear husbands birthday and hope to celebrate at a local restaurant.

Hope to be back soon with more progress on 'Lo'( there has been some!) and a finish!

Lo how a Rose....ever will be finished? !

2010-01-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

Decided to show you my poor progress on

'Lo' I blame it on the over one stitching and poor eyesight but have remedied that with a new pair of readers so hopefully next

week I will make more progress.

Next up is a sweet heart I started yrs ago but intend to finish it so I can put it up at the top of my blog in time ( or before!) Valentine's Day. I love the colours in this gem.This chart is from Heart and Hand, way back in the 90's!!!I have a lot of those charts from the 80's and 90's as you may have guessed !It is a bit primitive for you prim lovers out there!I wanted to mention that I won a draw on April's blog Itching to Stitch! It was a draw for a pattern by Pine Mountain called " Ready, Set , Snow" and once done will fit in one of Pine Mountains pillows. Thank you April! Well enjoy the weekend, we are having some lovely mild temps in the Toronto area. Good for walking !

Until next week....

Happy New Year Stitchers and friends!

2010-01-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

My Christmas village in the front window

Lots to show as I have been saving my photos for this post. We had a great holiday and my annual working at New Years went well. Enjoyed our time with family and my Mom was certainly busy this year quilting up a storm as usual. Here are the pictures to show !Here is my daughter with a beautiful Jim Shore angel at

church.

My parents gift laden tree! It always looks so beautiful. That huge bag with the Santa on it was for me!! Along with the goodies I will show you shortly , my Mom had got me some pieces from my Thistle crystal that is discontinued. It was the never ending bag!! Santa was good to all of us.My Mom loved her cross stitch box. I was so happy it turned out so well and I was able

to get it done for Christmas.

Our Christmas day dessert , Toblerone cheesecake . I think a little mouse had a sample.

We had dinner with my parents and next year we will be with my inlaws. This year I actually brought along some cross stitch to do while the card game was going on . I will show that in a future post. I did play scrabble though but can never beat my husband or SIL!

The beautiful Christmas cardinal quilt my

Mom made for my daughter!

A close up shot , I love the colours!

My beautiful surprise quilt and a close up!

But wait there is more.....!!!

My Mom also made my DD and I these beautiful quilted bags! I just love the colours on these too!

Now onto stitchy stuff. I got this beautiful kit that I am looking forward to starting. I love snowmen!

So that is it for today . I will have some stitching to share next time as I have a UFO that I pulled out of my stash for Valentine's day to finish and have to show my work on 'Lo how a Rose'

Hope everyone is having a great stitchy month!

Merry Christmas to all!!

2009-12-22T14:58:00.001-08:00

Well the blessed day is just around the corner now. Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming year 2010! I am so inspired by all the beautiful blogs that I keep up with . I hope to make more ornaments next year to fill a tree.

I will be back after New years with pictures of the happy holidays .

All the best for a Merry Christmas and stitchy new year!

Christmas cross stitch gift

2009-12-21T09:04:00.001-08:00

Finally I have pictures to show of the gift I have been stitching on for my Mom the master quilter.Luckily when I went to my local cross stitch shop 'The Sampler' in Toronto they were just putting in an order for needlework boxes. Here is the finished project.It is from LHN. I left off the top and bottom part of the design but I think it looks good with the dark wood in the box.I am anxious to see how my Mom likes it . She could put a lot of different things in the box. Won't be long now. More Christmas pics tomorrow.

Quilts and other comforts

2009-12-15T15:05:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile... as usual the hustle and bustle of the season has everyone busy ..Christmas concerts, church performances, shop till you drop. But then you can rest..

just wanted to show my beautiful Christmas quilt that is on our bed.My wonderful quilter Mom made this for me the Christmas of 2007.

Here is my daughters current quilt, butterflies. We just love quilts at our house. I know my daughter is getting a Christmas quilt for Christmas as I saw it in July!!! will show you in a later post.

I had my annual cookie exchange around American Thanksgiving. These are the gems I made.

Cherry something or other . They were delicious.Unfortunately I still can't figure out how to move my photos around in blogger!!! If anyone can help....

I finally have finished my Mother's Christmas gift and will have it put together for the next post to show you . I guess it is my biggest finish of 2010. stay tuned and happy day to all!!

All better now!

2009-11-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Well thankfully I have some fairly recent Christmas stitching to put on my blog( see above)

I made this for my Mom for her birthday last February ( didn't get it done for Christmas 08) We always spend Christmas in Sault Ste. Marie with my Mom and Dad and my inlaws and this sums it all up. Making the 8 hour drive north (van could probably drive itself) Not sure if my new stitched piece will be done for Christmas or another birthday but I am plugging away. Had the bout of ? swine or something with my daughter so now playing catch up. I got my shot last week and nothing unusual to report.

I ordered a new pattern book from " The sampler girl" today by epattern called"Kitty Kringle's

pattern book for Christmas. It has some really sweet patterns in it.

Tomorrow is the final football game to see if my son's team advances to the final game at Mcmaster University . Good luck Red Devil's !!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

First projects

2009-11-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

This isn't a first project but it certainly goes back into the 80's when geese were a popular country decorating accessory. I was lucky at the time to find the heart shaped mat that was a popular item then also.

My daughter and I have been inside since tuesday with flu like illness . Whether it is swine or not who can really say. Thank goodness we are both feeling better. Don't think we will go anywhere and keep our germs to ourselves till monday . Hopefully our fellows don't get it too but at least they could rest up on the weekend. Two big craft shows here at two different high schools tomorrow but I think I will have to pass.Thanks for stopping by.

4 Layer Chocolate Skor bar cake

2009-11-02T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here finally are the pics of DH's birthday cake. To make this cake , bake two rounds of your fav chocolate cake( I used the recipe from Betty Crocker cookbook and doubled it) When cool , slice the rounds so you have four layers. Using real whipped cream( made from the carton) Ice the layers alternately with whipping cream and sprinkle skor bars crushed ( I used six regular size bars) onto the layers . You can ice the finished version with your fav chocolate icing . I make this twice a year for birthdays and it is better the second day as the flavours combine for a yummy cake. DD likes store bought and changes her mind every year but the guys really like the skor cake. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

Happy November!

2009-11-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for the comments on my last post . Here finally are the Halloween pics. My DD had a fun time out T or Ting last evening and came home to relax and have a bag of chips. ( she knows she has a dental appt this week!!) My DS had a fun time out jamming on the guitar with friends ,playing music for the tricksters in a friends garage. A Dad out with his kiddies jammed a bit with them and told them he was from Universal records!! Don't think they believed that one! We didn't get one child said DH when we arrived home. No sidewalks on our side of the street so that would explain a lot , thus we don't buy too much loot. Hope everyone had a fun night. Trying to stitch a bit on my Christmas present piece today.

Keep on stitching!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

Where did October go? I have been hesitating to blog as I don't have any pics loaded on my computer but will write anyhow. There have been so many beautiful Halloween cross stitch pics on everyone's blogs. Has anyone seen the new charts by LHN ? I have ordered the Poinsettia House . I just love the colours . My daughter went to school dressed as a present today . That's what she wanted to be. Was able to cover a box in her fav colour wrap (pink!) and wrap it around her in her wheelchair. I put curly ribbon in her pigtails ( which she never wears!) Looked really cute!They were doing all sorts of fun things at her school today. After school we are going to a Halloween tea that my friend is hosting for us and her 2 nieces. Should be fun!

My daughter says it is her last year to trick or treat( boohoo!) we will go out with her little friend and family tomorrow night. Hope to do some stitching today on my Christmas project.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone !

Halloween exchange

2009-10-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

My exchange partner for the Prairie Schooler yahoo group , April has now received her ornament so I can show you what it looks like. I really enjoyed stitching this one. Hope to do more in the future.I used "bat" buttons to sew on the hanger for the ornament. I think I would do this one again for our home.

Tomorrow is DH's birthday and we may all take a road trip to Buffalo or Rochester for the night after school. The Dinosaur barbecue is calling him as his restaurant pick for his birthday dinner so that is fine with all of us. It is in Rochester about an hour from Buffalo. About twice a year for DH and DS I make a 4 layer skor bar cake for their birthdays. DD changes her mind every birthday as to what she likes. The skor bar cake is a hit with the boys though . I will enclose a pic once it is assembled . May be a few days as it would be a waste to leave it in the fridge while we are on our little road trip.

I am currently working on a LHN design for a special person for Christmas or maybe their birthday in early 2010 depending on when I get it finished as I am such a slow stitcher! I have to have my gear ready to stitch when I do , readers, magnifying glass , good lighting. Not really the type of thing you can stitch in a car.

Hope everyone is having a great week. thank you for stopping by.

Meeting an idol

2009-10-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

When I was younger (well way younger) living in northern Ontario , we didn't get many chances to meet 'STARS' I loved the usuals , David Cassidy , Rick Springfield. My lucky little lady had the chance of a lifetime when she got to pose for a picture a few Sundays ago with this charming young man, Nick Jonas! of the Jonas Bros. She barely had time to smile as there were other young ladies waiting for their photo opp. We had gone to the concert at the end of August in Toronto which was just great but little did we know a month later a dear friend got wind of a photo session for their new movie ' Camp Rock 2' and we got a chance to get up at 5 am and be at the park they were filming at . This pic was taken at 3pm but it was worth waiting for on a beautiful fall day. Thank you Nick Jonas for making my sweet daughter one very happy girl!!

Halloween ornament Received!

2009-10-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! I received some lovely mail! My ornament exchange for the Prairie Schooler yahoo group arrived from April itsjustapril.blogspot.com I love how she finished it and it looks great on my mantel.I love the fabric on the back too! Thank you April! Mine will be finished soon and I will post a picture for all to see.

Tonight DH and DS are going to see KISS!! at the ACC in Toronto. DH was a fan back in the day ( hee hee! ) I bet there will be a lot of fans from back in the day there , there may be a lot of 15 yr olds with their Dads too ! (hopefully? !)

October is a great month . Canadian Thanksgiving next weekend and then DH's birthday and then Halloween!! I will post a WIP that I started yrs ago for Halloween by Cross eyed Cricket that I must finish up. Have a great weekend everyone!

stitching exchange and the weekend again!

2009-09-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Indian summer week this has been . My DS has been able to complete his football practices rain free this week . First game is next thursday so I better whip out a copy of " Football for dummies" so I know what is going on !! My stitching time this summer was taken up with a Christmas in July exchange thru Brookes Books interactive yahoo group. I received a beautiful Prairie Schooler Santa ornament from Patricia in Texas( no blog) I made a Santa face ornament that was a Cross eyed Cricket freebie a few years back.I have a lot to learn about stitching exchanges. Some of the finishing techniques are just amazing. After I get my fall exchange finished (hopefully soon!) I will get back to my beautiful " Lo how a rose" by Brightneedle and then I can forward the book on to the next sister from the sisterhood of the Rose( started by my stitching friend Doris , from Pause in the Journey) Have a wonderful stitchy weekend friends!

More cross stitch#3

2009-09-14T10:19:00.001-07:00

I was always a fan of Just Nan and this is where I started to get into stitching over one. This is "Lady Scarlett's Journey" published in 2000 . This was fun to stitch. I particularly like the over one squirrel.The pattern was published over 3 leaflets with specialty beads/ charms. It really is an all season piece.
Well that's all for now. I will update at the end of the week with a piece I received in my first exhange.
Have a great week!

More cross stitch

2009-09-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Another one of my "cross stitch loves" is BEES! I love to stitch those little guys. This design by Charland hangs in my kitchen. I used to visit Charlands shop" The Sampler " when I first moved to Toronto. It was on Deforest Rd. in Bloorwest village. It was in the bottom of a house and was a wonderful place filled with inspiration. She later sold the shop and turned to designing full time.She has been in many cross stitch mags too.Even in the U.K.
I have a few more "BEE" patterns in my to do stash!

Yes, I really am a cross stitcher

2009-09-14T10:05:00.001-07:00

Up until now my blog really hasn't reflected why I started it, to show my cross stitch past , present and future. I have quite a few WIPs that I will show as time goes on. Here is a piece I made to showcase our wedding invitation in 1988.
I always loved this piece as it had a lot of my favourite colours at the time.

I will have to figure out how to add more to a post and not have all the pictures on top of each other!
Enjoy the day! thanks for visiting!

New Christmas treats!

2009-09-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

Mary over at MDesigns: Stitching with a view is having a great new contest. Leave a comment for the chance to win all four of her new angel ornament designs AND the new JCS 2009 ornament issue!
Would be lovely to win!

Where I've been

2009-09-09T10:57:00.002-07:00

Well like everyone else in the blogging world I wonder where our summer has gone. I have done a bit of stitching which I will post later this week but first up some summer vacation pix.

We had a great time in New York city with our children. A visit to the Empire State building was exciting and no line up to get in. This little critter crept into my line of vision quite often though!

We enjoyed the broadway show " Rock of Ages" with an old American Idol star Constantine Maroulis as one of the main stars. Lots of great 80's tunes. I was a big "Journey"fan back in my big hair days!!

My daughter and I enjoyed a lovely lunch at her favorite New York spot . Can you guess where it is ? Her new doll Rebecca is certainly enjoying the cinnamon buns!

The fellows took in a Mets game at the new stadium and thoroughly enjoyed it.Most of our vacations revolve around baseball stadiums! I should mention that my sons senior ball team won their consolation game at the end of August. For a team that wasn't doing great all season they sure pulled off some fun games at the end.

We'd highly recommend "Carmines" restaurant for a great meal. The portions are huge and served family style but well worth it. Here is a delicious antipasto platter that was so pretty I had to take a pic.

The M&M candy store is a fun stop too.

Always great to be with the children.

We ended our week with a baseball game in Rochester . They are alway fun with lots of entertainment and a spectacular fireworks show at the end of the game.

Finally a picture!

2009-05-11T18:50:00.001-07:00

Belated Happy Mother's Day to all. I spent a lovely day with my children and husband . We went out to dinner to a restaurant in Toronto called Richtree( formerly Movenpick) We all enjoyed yummy pasta and then shared tiramisu for dessert.Elisabeth and Nicholas presented me with a lovely pink hydrangea plant, candy ,cards,and a beautiful frame with a poem made by Elisabeth at school. Progressing somewhat on my "Lo how a rose" project . pix to come soon. Thought I would start with posting a photo of our cat Emerald(Emmy) who we have had the pleasure of having in our home for the last 5 yrs. I have never had a pet before and wasn't fond of cats but just love her.

2009-04-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

April 29/09

Starting a blog after reading other blogs for the past few months is a bit intimidating. I have been so inspired that I decided to go thru my stash and found so many unfinished projects which I will post pix of later. I have started "Lo how a rose" which I admired on Doris's blog and it took me half an hour to stitch over one two letters. Doris sent me the wonderful book and has decided to call our group sisterhood of the rose which is fitting.

Tonight is the final Pathfinder bowling party for my DD so must get an early dinner started so we can head out . Pictures will be coming shortly.

Enjoy the spring!

Jennifer