Santa's Village....FINISHED!

Greetings Friends,

I was overjoyed when I received the call from the framer that 

Santa's Village was ready to be picked up.  

I rushed in after work and here is what I found...

Country Cottage Needleworks

Santa's Village

Stitched on 40 ct. Tree of Life Linens and called for fibers.

I opted to use only 1 of the buttons.  
You can see the reindeer flying in the bottom left corner. 

The shiny red frame with the white insert is just perfect.  I am so glad to have this finished, I think it is safe to say I'll be avoiding designs with snowflakes and houses for a while. ;)

Thank you for stopping by.  
I enjoy hearing from you and always try to reply to comments if I have an email address. 
 Many of the comments come with no reply option in the email notification I receive.  

I completely understand but want everyone to know I appreciate your sweet comments.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Keep on stitchin'

Nan

Snow Day Finishes

Greetings Friends,

I've spent my snow days in a productive manner.  6 ornament finishes.

If you are experiencing this thing called winter, please be safe in your travels.

It has been quite treacherous here the past week.  Lots of stitching time.  I started Quaker Christmas II Songs of the Seasons.  I'm almost done with the first page. :)  I also have my Santa's Village at the framer.  Can't wait to see the finished product. 

Thank you for stopping by.

It is so nice to hear from you.

Keep on stitchin'

Nan

Holiday Samplings

Christmas Greetings Friends,

 

I hope this finds you well and in the Christmas spirit. 

 

The weather here is finally cold and I saw a few snow flurries this afternoon. 

Although I dislike cold weather I do think it makes it feel a little more like Christmas.

 

I've been doing a lot of stitching and I'll have lots to share soon.  It seems as though I would rather stitch than finish right now.  I did manage to find a frame for this piece today. 

One Christmas finish down....more to come.

 

 

Holiday Samplings II

Homespun Elegance

 

Thank you for stopping by. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Keep on stitchin'

Nan



Valentine's Day

Happy Long Weekend to Me.....and hopefully you! 

I think this is the first time in years that I've actually had the opportunity to celebrate President's Day at home instead of school.  We've had a very mild winter and so far no snow days.  My plan for the long weekend includes many hours of stitching. 

I have been a busy girl since my last post and have lots to share with you so,

on to Valentine's Day!

My friend Karen and I decided we would do an "unfinished" Valentine's Day exchange. 

Karen knows how to spoil a girl when it comes to exchanges. 

Here is the exchange Karen sent.  Harley had to check out what his Aunt Karen sent.

Fabric, Candy, Scissors, Pincushion, Ribbon, Needle minder and much more!

Here are the Valentine's Day pieces Karen stitched for me.

Cutie, cute, cute!

Here is how I finished them.

Look at this super cute Valentine pincushion.

Love It!

 

Here is the exchange I sent Karen.

Here is the stitched piece I made for her.

 Love Always

Homespun Elegance

And here is how she finished it.

Thanks for a great exchange! 

I loved stitching for you and I love everything you sent. 

I haven't done much seasonal stitching this winter but I

did manage to finish one Valentine's Day piece. 

February Word Play
With Thy Needle and Thread

Stitched on Zweigart 40 ct. Autumn Blush

Recommended Fibers

 

LK Flora McSample 2011 Ornament

Wilchelt 28 ct. Milk Chocolate Linen

Recommended Fibers

And 3 little ornaments.  I fell in love with these ornaments the first time I saw them. 

I made a boo boo when trimming the fabric and thought I'd ruined all of them. 

I managed to salvage them, I think.  Considering my boo boo I think they turned out ok.

Time is flying and February will be over before we know it.  I think it is time to turn my attention to St. Patrick's Day now.  I don't have many stitched things for St. Patrick's Day so I hope to add a few this year.

Thank you for stopping by and your sweet comments. 

I love hearing from my stitching friends.  Have a great weekend!

Keep on stitchin'

Nan

A Final Finish for 2011 (The Year of Good Intentions)

Happy New Year's Eve!
It is hard to believe that another year has come to an end.  I've been incredibly blessed this year.  I hope that 2012 brings you many blessings and of course, lots of time to stitch.

I have been busy finishing the first of the Prairie Schooler Limited Edition Kits. 

I have long hoped to stitch the entire series. 

This is my final finish for 2012 and a great way to end the year.

The year 2011 was apparently the year of good intentions.  For years I have only stitched small pieces.  I have several larger pieces I have framed and hanging on my walls but I haven't started a large project for a long, long time. 

I think I like to stitch small things because I like to do my own finishing. 

This year I have broken my dry spell and started several large projects.

Take a look at what I've gotten myself into.....

This is the retreat piece from Jan at Tree of Life Samplings. 

It is absolutely beautiful and has a place reserved in my stitching room. 

Hopefully 2012 will bring a finish to this piece.

How well I remember my good intentions with this piece.  I ordered this early in 2012.  I fell in love with Rose Quaker and had my friend Karen go to the attic and pick out fabric and silk fibers.  This piece was my first attempt at over 2 on 40 ct. 

I fell in love and stitch mostly on 40 ct. now.

I made good progress on this piece but haven't worked on it in a while. 

This is another of my delusions of grandeur.

One Nation is absolutely beautiful.

I am stitching it over 2 on 40 ct. 

I started Gem Show 3 this Summer.

I didn't make very much progress but still have high hopes.

Here is my Lizzie Kate Halloween piece.  I've finished 3 blocks. 

I'm stitching it on 27 ct. stitch band with hopes of finishing it as a bell pull.

And.....my last big project of 2011.  Christmas Quaker Bellpull.

I started this piece late in November.  I haven't made a lot of progress on this one either.

The good thing is as I pulled these pieces out to take pictures I realize that I still love each one as much as the day I started it.  I see big accomplishments for 2012........

Here's to a productive, healthy new year,

Nan

The Votes are IN....And It Is Finished!

And the winner is.............. The Tree Fabric!

I think it was unanimous! 

Thank you for giving me feedback on the finish of my Lizzie Kate design.

I can now mark another one of my Crazy 2011 Challenge!  Whoop! Whoop!
 

I loved reading your suggestions and appreciate you taking time to help me.

I thought it was fun and hope you don't mind if I pick your brains again.

Happy Valentine's Day Tomorrow!

I hope to be back with another post on my one and only Valentine's Day finish for the year.

Keep on stitchin' on,

Nan

The Last Day of 2010...........Really?

Happy End of 2010 my Dear Friends,

It seems so hard to believe that tomorrow will bring a new year.  My, how time flies. 

I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2011.

To wrap up 2010 I have a few things to share with you. 

Christmas at our house was very quiet and enjoyable.  We went to my sister's house on Christmas day.  I was showered with lots of stitchy goodness.  My sisters and niece gave me all the patterns you see pictured below.  How spoiled am I?

 

My sister also gave this great Ott Lite. 

I've wanted one for a while and am tickled pink to have it. 

(My sisters are in the picture next to the Ott Lite...I'm in the middle)

 

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Next up is this great package that arrived in the mail.  Tricia at The Stamper's Stitches had a giveaway to celebrate the beginning of her stitching blog.  I was so delighted to win this awesome giveaway.  It included LHN "Tree of Life", Threads and Linen.  I think I know exactly who I'm going to stitch this for.  Thank you so much Tricia!

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Am I Crazy?..............Well.....Yes!

Here are the patterns I've picked for the Crazy 2011 Challenge

 

I have decided that I'm going to have to modify the Challenge a bit.  The challenge was to pick 15 patterns.  On the 1st day of January start one of the patterns and continue to start a new pattern every day for the first 15 days of January.  On January 16th you will have 15 WIPs. 

I can't do it.....I really think that having that many WIPs would drive me crazy.  I generally try to finish one before moving on to another.  Does that sound OCD to you?  ;-) 

So, my plan is to put them in my stitching basket beside my chair and pull them when I'm ready to start a new project. 

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And last but not least.....

My last finish of 2010.  One more ornament for my tree. 

"Happy Skater"

Little House Needleworks

Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue 2010

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  It has been a great year and I've enjoyed getting to know you all.  I appreciate the time you take to read and comment on my ramblings.  Cross stitch is so enjoyable for me and I love sharing it with you.

We are off to a friend's house later this evening to ring in the new year.  I hope that however you spend your evening that it is enjoyable and safe.

Happy New Year,

Nan

How To Waste a Sunday

...Mess up your blog. 

And boy did I ever.  I spent yesterday afternoon getting in the Christmas spirit. 

I put up Christmas trees, went through boxes of decorations and in general started the holiday "house" stuff.  This morning I sat down with my computer to browse the blogs I follow.  I decided my blog needed a little Christmas spirit.  Well one thing led to another and before I knew it my blog was totally messed up.  But I persevered (about 5 hours total) and finally got it back to the way I wanted it, Christmas spirit and all.

So now that my blog is back to normal I wanted to share my cross stitched Christmas trees.  Last year I finally had enough ornaments to hang on these small trees.  This year the trees are bursting with ornaments.  Hopefully next year I will have enough to graduate to a big tree.  Many of the ornaments are from my cross stitch pals, or ones that I have gotten from exchanges.  The rest are ornaments that I have stitched.  If you've been my partner in an exchange I hope you can see your ornament on the tree :0)

My Christmas Tree in the Living Room

My Christmas Tree in the Basement

The Christmas tree in the basement is my Snowman themed tree.

Every ornament on the tree is some sort of snowman. 

I've collected snowman ornaments for several years.

I switched trees this year and put my smaller one upstairs because it was getting too full.

I guess that means now that I have the bigger tree for my snowman I can buy more.....right?

Christmas Stitchin'

I took some motivation from my friend Faye at the Carolina Stitcher and became a weekend warrior.  (Thanks for the motivation Faye)  I have been busy stitching and finishing and will hopefully be able to share some with you very soon.  Lots of exchanges going on right now so I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone. 

And last but not least.........
Another head for the basement.  My husband is an avid hunter and was overjoyed with this buck.  We always try to send 1 or 2 deer to the local food pantry each year so this one will be going there before he starts filling our freezer for the year.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I appreciate you spending a part of your day with me. 

Here's hoping that you find your Christmas joy!

Keep on stitchin' on,

Nan

♪ Fa La L a La La ♪

I've been on quite a Christmas stitching binge this Summer. I saw this cute design the last time I visited my LNS and of course, I'm a sucker for Lizzie Kate. This is the first cube finish I've attempted and I'm pleased with the way it turned out. As it turns out I had to do 3 cube finishes, quite a task one day. Vonna at The Twisted Stitcher has a great tutorial for cube finishes if you are interested in trying one.

I had so much fun shopping for the materials to finish this project. Trying to decide on ribbon, bows, and just looking through all the Christmas craft items for ideas was a great was to spend an afternoon. I could not find a material I wanted at the usual places like JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby, I even looked at Wal-Mart. No Luck.

As I was driving to my favorite place in the world (Sonic) to get my afternoon slurpie pop I took the back way in and drove past the local quilt shop. Now, my caffeine starved brain must have been screaming keep going.........keep going.... because I almost dismissed my thought of stopping in lieu of the all mighty Route 44 Diet Cherry Coke.

Never having been in the quilt shop before I wasn't sure I would find much. Wow, was I surprised. Wall to wall material. $45 later I walked out with a bag full of remnants and assortments perfect for finishing my small projects. What a great find. They even carry some fibers. They will definitely be seeing me again, probably in the all too near future.

I have been gearing myself up for the approaching school year. That means my unlimited stitching time is coming to an end. I'm looking forward to a new year and a new batch of kiddos. I guess that means I had better prioritize my stitching projects....I think that will require more caffeine.

Keep on stitchin' on,

Nan