My Exchange has been received

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I participated in the Christmas Exchange in the Shared_Crosses Yahoo Group. 

Sue let me know that she received my exchange today and sent me a very nice thank you saying she loved everything I sent and was pleased that I'd picked things specifically for her.  (Isn't that what you're supposed to do?)  I changed my mind several times, but here's what I finally sent her.

First, because this was a  Christmas Exchange, a Christmas card.  This was the free kit from Cross Stitch Crazy #170.  It came with the card stock, bow, Aida and floss, but I didn't like the floss in the kit so I exchanged it for DMC from my stash.

Second, because this was a Christmas Exchange and because she likes Valerie Pfeiffer's chickadees, I stitched this robin ornament, the free kit from the UK Cross Stitcher #258.  Again it came with pre-cut felt for the front and back, the Aida, floss and ribbon.  It's backed with white paper between the Aida and the felt so that the red doean't show through.

Since Sue collects pigs, I couldn't resist stitching her this pig from the UK Cross Stitcher #238.  It's stitched on white perforated plastic and I changed all the colors and added the french knot for the eye.  It was originally done in primary colors (yellow, green, blue, red and pink) but I liked these better.  There's a magnet on the back.

And because she collects pigs, I purchased this little guy from a crafter friend of mine.  It's a Magic Pig Wand that will remove calories from food (wave it once over the food or twice for chocolate or desserts)

And finally (no individual picture) because she loves chocolate, I sent her four Hershey's nuggets, wrapped, packaged and tied with a bow.  My daughter makes these and gave me one when I mentioned wanting to buy chocolate for Sue.



Exchange Received

I'm participating in a Christmas Exchange with the Yahoo Group, Shared_Crosses.  David mailed my exchange to ?????? this morning and I received my exchange from Karin this afternoon.  She really spoiled me.  There's a dish cloth and kleenex holder in Christmas colors, two skeins of DMC floss , a booklet titled Gentle Thoughts Book 1 (I've already found several items I'd like to stitch from it.  The book is The Quiet Little Woman which I'll definitely be reading soon. 

This is the Christmas Tuffet from The World of Cross Stitching #183.  I know the magazine because I have it and was planning to stitch one for myself, but now I don't have to.  I really like the button she used.

Last, but not least is this pinkeep of a red Angel that Karin stitched earlier this year and I remember admiring it when she posted the finish.

Thank you, Karin.  You did a great job of choosing items for me.

Janice's Wreath and a Finish

When I checked Janice's Facebook page this evening, I found this picture.



She'd purchased all of the materials at Hobby Lobby last month, but needed a metal hanger to form the frame so I gave her one of ours Saturday morning.

I've been stitching too.  Most of what I've finished recently, I can't post because it's for an exchange, but I did finish Grandma tonight. (I finished Red Riding Hood last month and the wolf is in progress.)



These are from the UK Cross Stitcher Magazine #258 and were originally supposed to be finger puppets made using waste canvas on felt.  One of the notes about the project suggested stitching them on plastic canvas and attaching a lollypop stick to the back so that's what I'm doing.

In order to make them work on plastic, I had to modify some of the stitching and a lot of the back stitching, but I think they came out pretty good. 

Signs of Christmas

We went shopping today for Christmas gifts for the Giving Tree at our church as well as some other items.  Our first stop was at Walmart where we spotted a Santa Claus.  There was no line so Kyleigh went to sit on his lap and Janice took her picture.  The best part -- we got a free 5x7 photo without having to buy anything.

Another stop was at Hobby Lobby where I needed to get popsicle sticks, a frame and magnets to finish up some projects.  This display was just inside the front door and Kyleigh immediately went over to take a look.  (This photo is unposed.)



Time to Rotate

I completed my third pass on Snow White Discovers the Cottage, a Disney Dreams Collection vignette about 9:30 this evening.  This time it went really fast and I'm enjoying stitching it.

Tomorrow night, I'll pull out the French Country Cat again and will finish it before putting it down.  The only stitching so far has been done at Angels' games.

A Day to Myself

Kyleigh is with her dad and other grandma this weekend and David and Janice went to the JPL open house in Pasadena so I had the house to myself today, well, me and the cats anyway.

I spent some time this morning frogging the misplaced stitches on the January Cottage and also stitching on Snow White Discovers the Cottage. 

This is what the January Cottage will look like when it comes up in my rotation again.  I should be able to finish it next time.

David and Janice both said they had fun at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory).  We first went in 1997 just before they launched the Pathfinder and Janice was really excited when she saw the actual launch of something she'd seen "in person" (I think it was a model, but still...)

Today they saw a tape recorder that David worked on back in the early 70's.  David is/was an electronic engineer and Odetics was the first company he worked for after graduating from college back in 1972.

David was taking a picture of Janice and one of the other visitors offered to take a picture of the two of them and here it is.   On a side note, David has been doing the Optifast diet through Kaiser Permanente and has lost over 100 pounds so far. 

One last picture, this time of just Janice; I really like the background.



The Frogs Have Come for a Visit

I've been stitching on the January Cottage from Country Cottage Needleworks for the past few days and have been really enjoying it.  I surpassed my goal for this rotation of finishing the house, the letters and the top border and decided to keep going and try to finish it completely. 

Unfortunately, I made a big mistake last night and now need to rip out (frog) the tree, one snowflake and leaves at the bottom and part of the snow, since I didn't discover the mistake until tonight when I stitched the second set of leaves and wondered why I had four stitches between them and the next snowflake and not two.  Fortunately, I lined two snowflakes up with the snowman and the window so they can stay.

The problem?  I lined up the top lefthand stitch of the tree with the snowflake instead of lining up the top righthand stitch so I'm off by two stitches which is throwing the border off and I don't think there's a way to fudge it because the bottom border is the same as the top border, only upside down.

So, I decided to set this aside for now and move on to the next project in my rotation.  This is Snow White Discovers the Cottage from the Disney Dreams Collection, the vignette version that's only 5" x 7" and is done on 16-count Aida instead of 18-count Aida.

I forgot that I hadn't taken a picture of it when I stopped stitching last time and stitched the light tan of the tree before I remembered.  The scanner would only give me a black and white scan and I didn't feel like fighting it so this is with my camera.  The colors are really brighter than this.

Changing Projects

I've been doing a rotation for the past couple of months, but instead of using time, I'm using blocks with a block being approximately 1000 stitches or 10 10x10 blocks when that makes sense and deciding on how much I want to complete when it doesn't.

The first project in my rotation is Forest Chapel, a painting by Thomas Kinkade adapted for cross stitch by Candamar Designs.  This is the smaller version and will be 6" x 8" when complete.  I don't have a picture of it for the start of this rotation, but below is where I'm at now.  Only two more passes and it should be complete.  (I don't know why this is scanning crooked; this is the better of the two scans.)

My second project is the January Cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks.  I don't have much done on this one because I was using Fiddlers Light and I didn't like the way the white showed up--it basically didn't --so I started it over on a 28-count Jobelan from my stash; I'm not sure of the color, but it's pretty close to what's shown.  I plan to do the house, the rest of the top border and the rest of January before switching to the next project.

A Busy Saturday

Janice does the audio/visual for the Women's Retreat for our church and she had a brunch planning meeting this morning for this year's conference so Kyleigh spent the night at our house.  I went into our bedroom to finish gathering her things and this is what I found on the bed.   These two are Pumpkin and Soxie and they love containers of any kind.

I've started sewing again and I even bought myself a new sewing machine.  My old one was purchased in 1972 and didn't do things like automatically thread the needle, sew on buttons, etc.  So far, I've made Kyleigh a blouse which I forgot to take a picture of and a dress.  The dress has silly band type animals all over it.  I picked out the fabric, but she picked out the pattern and the buttons.  She was playing in the backyard when I went to take a picture so this is what I got.  I have a second dress in process, but I tried the top part on her today and the head hole is almost too small.  Fortunately, there is more than emough extra width for me to cut it down the center of the back and insert a zipper.

Once Janice got back from her meeting, we drove down to the new Hobby Lobby in Laguna Niguel which opened a couple of days ago.  Kyleigh managed to fall asleep about two minutes before we arrived so we put her in her stroller and she slept the entire time we were there.

Janice brought supplies for several projects including stuff for more "baseball bracelets" which I showed you yesterday.  She had a 40% off coupon and spent almost $40, but her most expensive item was only $4.47 so it didn't help a whole lot. 

I only bought three items and one was 40% off.   I bought a magnetic seam guide for my sewing machine and the two charts shown below.  I now have the whole set of these Disney Dreams Collection Vignette charts (the 5 x 7 ones) and I have four of them in progress, two of which  (Snow White and Bambi) are currently in my rotation.

Friday Night at an Angels Game

I know it's been a very long time since I've blogged, but I've decided that one of my goals for June is to blog more frequently.

Janice, Kyleigh, Bob (the provider of the tickets) and I went to the Angels game tonight.  Kyleigh carries a backpack with a blanket, a large purple rally monkey, her Angels sweatshirt and a knit cap that looks like a monkey head.  Tonight she decided to turn the backpack into a drum as demonstrated below.

On Friday nights, they put on a concert prior to the game.  Tonight it was the 6 Hour Band and this is the stage where the concert takes place.  The band was taking a break, but they're broadcast live on the scoreboard during the concert and at one point,  I watched the camera pan the audience.  Kyleigh had abandoned the "drum", but was jumping around and dancing.  When we got up to our seats, one of the ushers told me he'd seen her on the scoreboard. 

During the game, Kyleigh and Bob entertain each other by playing with the monkey, a hat or anything else that strikes their fancy and I usually cross stitch, because if I don't do something in addition to watching the game, I get bored and want to leave.

Janice usually watches the game, but tonight, she brought something along to work on.  This is a bracelet made out of a baseball.  She did the blanket stitch around the outside during the game.  She's planning to give this one to Super Halo Woman who is a friend of Bob's.

This is another bracelet that she made, also from a baseball.  She's made several in Mommy size and Kyleigh size and has had several requests for them.

Finally, this is my cross stitch project.  It's French Country Cat by JBW.  This is the result of stitching at two Angels' games.  I'm using DMC 501 on white Aida and it will be going to WOCS for a quilt made up of variuos French Country Animals, all in the same shade of floss.



Stitching Update - Week Ended 1/8/2012

I did finish the Precious Moments, You're One in a Million project for Q4OC (Quilts for Older Children and Adults.  This is from PM64 - Love, Family and Friends.  It's stitched on 14-count white Aida with DMC floss as charted except that I left off the words.

I'm currently working on the Pretty Fence Snow Globe from Vee and Co for WOCS (World of Charity Stitching).  I would have been a lot farther, but I had to frog the entire yellow flower and it's leaves.  Fortunately, I hadn't started backstitching it yet.

Look What My Daughter Gave Me

Janice cross stitches and enjoys other crafts as well.  We've made many trips to Michaels, Jo Ann's, Needlepoints Ltd and Hobby Lobby together. 

For my birthday, she put together this stitching basket.  There's a booklet, some 14-count white Aida (which she knows I use a lot of), some DMC floss, a bookmark blank, a towel (that she wants me to stitch for her), some needles, a ball of cotton yarn for knitting dishcloths and a Michaels gift card (which is already in my wallet).  I think she did a great job, don't you?



Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my 62nd birthday.  Janice, Kyleigh and I celebrated on Tuesday by going to Chili's since they weren't going to be available today.  I love their Ribeye and loaded baked potatoes.  Kyleigh told them it was my birthday so they sang and gave me a free chocolate shake.

David and I planned on going to Famous Dave's tonight since we had a $25 gift certificate.  On our way we called Janice and she and Kyleigh were able to join us after all.

I'm participating in two birthday floss exchanges where you send/receive and card and two skeins of floss.  One of the ladies from the Shared_Crosses Yahoo Group stitched this card.

Since I love cupcakes and pink is one of my favorite colors, I love this card.  I had commented on her post about it, but never thought it would be coming to me.  Thank you, Lynette and also to all of the ladies who sent cards and floss.

Some pictures and the loss of a friend

Janice sent me some pictures this evening:

Kyleigh received a princess dress up box from Santa so this is what she wore to take out the trash on Sunday. 

Kyleigh has also discovered how to get in the freezer to get her own popsicles.  She can even get out the stool and open it up herself.  Note the child lock on the refrigerator--it doesn't do any good either.

This picture was taken at Downtown Disney the day after Christmas.  Kyleigh received an unstuffed Build-A-Bear for Christmas, so we took it to get it stuffed and buy an outfit.

We also lost a friend today.  My daughter's ex-husband's grandmother died this morning of natural causes.  She's been sick for a while so it wasn't unexpected, but it's still hard on the family.  When my daughter was married and before they moved from California to Indiana, we spent all of our holidays at her home and she was more of a grandmother to Janice than her "real" grandparents since she rarely saw them.  We were privileged to spend Thanksgiving 2010 at their home in Indiana on the way home from my father's funeral.  My prayers go out to her husband, daughters and grandchildren.

Stitching Update - Week Ending 1/1/2012

I didn't have a lot of time to stitch this past week since we had Kyleigh with us during the day, but I did manage a finish and a start.

The finish is my third letter for the Jungle Animals Alphabet SAL at Q4OC (Quilts for Older Children and Adults).  I stitched K and M last week; this week I stitched the N.

I really enjoy stitching these little alphabet squares, partly because they're so quick and cute.

The start is Precious Moments You're One in a Million, also for Q4OC.  This was for the 2011 Stitchers Challenge so I'm a little behind.  It will be going to Love Quilts Brazil once it's finished.

I had hoped it would be my final finish for 2011, but instead it will be my first finish for 2012.

Happy New Year!

We hadn't planned on doing anything for New Year's Eve, but Janice heard about a family friendly event at the Great Park in Irvine (a former Marine Corps Air Station).  They were going to raise and drop a hot air balloon at 9:00 p.m. and there were activities, music and food so the four of us decided to check it out. 

It was extremely crowded and there were lines for all the activities and food, but we did manage to eat dinner, look at the old cars and planes, call David's dad to wish him a happy birthday, send cards to those in the military and police force and find a good place to sit and view the balloon while watching the bands play on stage.  Kyleigh also made a new friend who shared his light up ball, party hats and glow necklaces.

Unfortunately, it got very cold and foggy and the balloon started to disappear so we left about 8:00 in search of hot chocolate.  We ended up at a McDonalds on the way home (love Janice's iPhone 4S).  I didn't realize that McDonalds made such good hot chocolate!

Today will be church and stitching and hopefully catching up on some DVR'd shows on the Food Network and maybe some laundry.