Halloween Exchange from Becky

I received my Halloween Exchange from Becky today. Isn't this just perfect! The inside of the box is lined as well. Thank you so much Becky.

It rained from Friday all the way through Sunday so I had lots of stitching time. Finished up my Halloween Exchange, made some progress on my Gingerbread Friend and I even worked on a near UFO - Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll. So, I'll have more pics as soon as the sun stays out long enough to take some pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

Fuzzy Little Friend

No stitching pics today. One exchange going out tomorrow and another exchange going out the end of this week. Still have my happy gingerbread man too - he has a head and shoulders and a face. He just needs his little companions. I need to get moving on him to finish him up before the beginning of October - but first I need to finish up my Halloween Exchange.

I do have a pic of a fuzzy little friend. I'm not sure what variety this is, but I found him moving pretty quickly across my front steps.

Stitching pics next time. Happy Fall everyone.

Yuko's Birthday

I just found that Yuko has received her birthday gift for the Stitching Bloggers Birthday Exchange. Her birthday is on Sunday so it arrived just in time. Happy Birthday Yuko! I hope you like your Needlebook and needles and the JBW Designs.

Here's the cool needlebook design - this is the Folding Cross Needlebook from Indigo Rose. I changed the colors to pink for Yuko. The original design called for midnight blue. You can see (and purchase) the design here. We'll be adding more Indigo Rose designs to our website this weekend.

Each leaf of the needlebook has numbers to specify which needles are stored there and the center is a pincushion. Then the whole thing folds up neatly into this little square. Each leaf has button hole to button to the little tulip bead in the center.

The design was fun to stitch. I think I may join the cyberstitchers of the EGA just so I can take the reversible blackwork class. I had never done anything like this before and I am quite sure that there is a more correct way of starting and finishing and being sure that everything looks just so. But I am very happy with how this piece turned out. I will be stitching another one for myself when my holiday stitching is complete.

Have a good weekend everyone. Prayers for those who are in the path of Hurricane Ike.

No Gingerbread smile yet

Well, after Tropical Storm Hannah passed through Saturday night, Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. So, my little Gingerbread Friend still doesn't have a smile (or shoulders or a head for that matter). And given that today is absolutely gorgeous as well, things aren't looking to promising for him today either. Maybe he'll have better luck tomorrow; its supposed to be stormy. I do have to finish him up though because the new Sweetheart Tree biscornu kits are calling to me. I really love the Blackberries on Gingham Biscornu, so I'll do that one first. Followed by the Holiday Holly design.

Blackberries on Gingham Biscornu	Holiday Holly Biscornu

I mailed out a couple of pieces this weekend for gifts and exchanges so I'll be able to post pics soon. I really liked working on these pieces. Can't wait to show them.



















This is a pic of the piece I did with the Brownies this weekend. This is a VERY old Mill Hill kit. Each of the girls picked a kit from this Summer or Fall's releases and started work on them. The beading parts of their kits will be much easier - they won't have to manage loops of beads. This little pin turned out to be cute. I hope they enjoy finishing their kits.

Gingerbread bellybutton

Now, there's a title for a post. I'll bet you expected more crumbs!

This little guy is Gingerbread Friend from Brooke's Books. It is stitched on perforated paper which is sooo easy. I think he deserves to at least have a head by the end of the weekend. (With all the rain and wind to come, I don't think I'll be doing much else) I plan to stitch a few more of these cute little Brooke's Books designs and use them as gift tags at Christmas.

I pulled out the Brooke's Books designs because most, if not all, of them are stitched on perforated paper and I needed a refresher on the perforated paper. I'll be teaching a group of Brownies some cross stitch (this afternoon, in fact) and I thought that the little Mill Hill pin kits would be a great place for them to start. The kits include everything. They are stitched on perforated paper, which is remarkably sturdy. They include beads so the girls get to work with beads and floss (and they're sparkly which doesn't hurt). And they are small enough that they won't be too tough to finish. So, hopefully, I'll finish the Gingerbread Friend before the next meeting in October with the Brownies and I can show them what else they can do stitching on perforated paper. I get to work with the girls again in the spring and then I'll bring small projects on fabric for them.

By the way, if you ever get the chance to work with the Brownies, I highly recommend it. They get so excited over new things. They're a blast to watch. And, you'll always know for sure when its time to order those Thin Mint cookies.

If you're interested in the Brooke's Books designs, you can see them on our website.

Enjoy your weekend!

Little House Needleworks

We are happy to announce that we will now carry Little House Needleworks designs. These popular designs really celebrate simplicity. Check out the great variety of LHN samplers on our website - NeedleartsGallery.com.

To celebrate this new addition, we will offer 10% all Little House Needleworks designs for blog readers through September 15. Just enter code NEWLHN during checkout.

Stitching pics next time!