Weekend Stitching Progress

Hello Friends:

I should be in bed right now, but of course I am wide awake. That is normal for me on Sunday nights. Probably because I just don't want the weekend to end yet. Two day weekends are just not enough I say!

I did work on some stitching this weekend with my fellow hermits for International Hermit and Stitch Weekend. I didn't work on everything as planned, but that is okay. I did do some stash shopping both at my local needlework store and at  Joann Fabrics. Isn't it amazing how you mean to go to a store for a couple items and others just magically pop into your basket? I told myself today that I would not buy fabric at Joann's and guess what?...I bought some fabric. It was too cute! Plus I have a project idea for it. Lets see when I get around to doing it!

I put some stitches into a Christmas ornament I am making for an Exchange over on The Friendly Stitchers Yahoo Group. I don't want to post a picture yet as I want it to be a surprise for my partner when she gets it. I will give a hint though. It is a chart by Little House Needleworks. I know she will love it as LHN is one of her favorite designers.

I did put some hours into my Heaven and Earth Design - "Mini Bookwork Fairy" by Hannah Lynn.

This is a picture of the chart:

 I haven't posted any progress pictures in a while on this one since I started it so here are a few.

Progress as of June 1, 2012

Progress as of July 20, 2012

Progress as July 23, 2012

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

Enjoy your week and thank you for taking the time to visit my little blog space.

*Hugs*
 Jen :)

A Weekend for Stitching and a Patriotic Piece

Hello Everyone:

Another week has come and gone. It has gotten really hot and humid this summer in Miami...to the point that I don't want to go outside! So this weekend I am planning on staying indoors and doing some stitching. It is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend!

Come play with us! You can sign up right here on Joysze's blog. Just stitch away to your heart's content this weekend and share some progress pics on your blog for everyone to see. I'm committing this weekend to finishing some Christmas ornaments and working on a long neglected WIP. I'm also going to try getting a quilt project started. It only took me months to find fabric that I really liked to use. More on that in a later post. ;) Lets just say I've been very bad with Ebay this last month.

I participated in another Exchange at the Stitched with Love Exchanges blog. This exchange was a Patriotic theme for those of us who live in America. My recipient was Karen. If you've never visited her blog, I encourage you do so. Her sewing projects are amazing. I just purchased one of her project bags and it is fabulous. She also makes the cutest aprons and potholders too. Plus she is a sweetheart. ;) Here is what I stitched for her: "Let Freedom Ring" by Lizzie Kate

"Let Freedom Ring" by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 25CT Khaki Lugana

Using Weeks Dye Works Threads as Called for

Finishing: Hanging Ornament

Here is the whole package I sent her:

Here is a picture of the package I received from Kim:

 

I just love doing exchanges. It is so much fun just shopping for someone else and anticipating the surprises you will get. I just wish I had more time (and funds) to participate in more!

 

Time to do some stitching now. My dear boyfriend picked up a second job on Friday and Saturday nights so now I have some quiet time to myself. Plus my darling child is passed out too. Camp is a wonderful thing. They do a good job of tiring him out.

Take Care Friends...I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

**Hugs**
Jen

We have a Winner!...I mean Winners!!

Happy Sunday Friends!

I am back to announce the winners of a $10 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. You read that...winners...as in more than one. I've decided to make someone else' day a little more cheerful today.

A big thank you to everyone for coming by and playing last week. It is so nice to hear encouraging words and get pats on the back for doing a good job. I hope you all found some inspiration for your own projects.

Now to fun stuff! 

Mr random.org has spoken and the first winner is:

Beezus from Beezus Complex

Interestingly enough, she was the last commenter on my blog before I closed the comments option. Its not often you see the randomizer pick the last number!

The second winner is: 

Margaret from Doll Quilter's Monthly

Congrats to both you Ladies! I will be in touch with you both.

Thanks again to everyone else for playing. I hope you all have a fabulous rest of the weekend.

Jen 

Words of Encouragement and Giveaway Reminder!

Happy Friday Everyone:

Just a friendly reminder that my Red, White and Blue giveaway of a $10 gift certificate to The Fat Quarter Shop ends tomorrow! If you want to enter, run over to this post and comment.

I also wanted to share a Best Wishes card I made for a dear co-worker who resigned this week. The card supplies came from a kit I bought from Paper Wishes. Rather than say, just "Good Luck" or "Best Wishes", I wanted to make a card with a few encouraging words. Something a little more meaningful. She loved the card and so did my co-workers.

That is it for tonight. Good Night my friends. I hope this weekend brings you much creative time.

Jen :)

Having fun with Red, White and Blue Today

Welcome Blog Hoppers!

I hope you are enjoying the wonderful Red, White and Blue inspiration on this blog hop. I am in the company of so many talented quilters. I am amazed by the lovely projects I have seen so far. A big thank you to Jane and Madame Samm for organizing this fun blog hop and for letting me participate once again.

I have a fun quilt block to share with you all today.

I found a wonderful little fat quarter bundle of 5 patriotic fabrics that I just had to use for my project. I found this pattern called "Rosebud" on the internet. It can be found right here. There are many other freebie quilt patterns on that site too. This pattern was so simple to put together. Anything with patches is fun to me. I am not a fan of piecing triangles, especially little ones. I like sewing strips and working with squares. Those I can handle just fine. Triangles and diamonds... lets just say I need an extra two doses of patience before working with those.

I machine quilted my little table quilt using gold metallic thread. I like how diagonal quilt lines contrast with block patterns. The middle block took some thinking. I didn't want to quilt over the flower design and take attention away from it so I opted to outline the flower twice to make it pop. I also did a little decorative stitch around the edge of the block for more interest.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my creation. For added fun today, I am offering a giveaway to you hoppers. I am offering a $10.00 gift certificate to The Fat Quarter Shop. For a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post telling me you are interested. You do not have to be a follower, but please make sure you leave me a way to contact you. I will draw a winner on Saturday, July 14.

There is more fun up ahead. Here is the schedule for today.

July 7th

Why Knot Kwilt?

A Passion for Appliqué

QuiltQuest

Crafty Imaginings by Jen

Sew Me Something Good

 Grandmama's Stories

If you get lost along the way, just click here to go to Jane's blog for the Master list. 

Take Care Friends!

Jen

Some Stitching and Other Updates

Happy Tuesday Friends:

Life News: June was a complete blur. I can't believe my last post was a month ago, but then again I can. Sadly, my creative mojo took a vacation without me. That is why I have had nothing to show in the last several weeks. It tends to do that when I get worried about other things. Does that happen to you? Last month my biggest worry was over my car. I drove up to Ft. Myers, FL (about 2 1/2 hrs) from Miami for a weekend away and a bowling tournament. My car ended up giving me some unexpected trouble....again. I had just paid for a big repair 2 weeks before. Needless to say, that was stressful for me. The issues turned out to be nothing, but I know nothing about cars. I had no way of knowing that up there. Frankly I was tired of paying for things to be replaced just because it was old. When I came home, my main focus was on getting a new car. I would rather pay to have piece of mind then worry about where I was going to get stuck next and how much it would cost me. The car buying process was interesting. I never realized that not purchasing a car before was a factor against you! My argument to Honda was..."Well it's not my fault the Civic my Dad bought me lasted for almost 13 years...that's Honda's fault!" The guy couldn't help but laugh and approved me for a new car anyways. So my car headache is now gone.

I also found out yesterday that my great-grandma passed away. Bless her heart she was 98 years old, would have been 99 next month. My family is amazed she held on for so long. She was such a strong willed lady. I hope I live as long as her. The sad thing is she outlived, 5 out of 7 children and 1 grandchild. Something I can hardly fathom myself. This weekend is her funeral. I hate funerals. The only plus side to them is you get to see family you haven't seen in forever. I'll also be spending time with my aunt this weekend so that will be nice at least.

Stitching News: My creative mojo did return from its vacation. I stitched a Patriotic piece for an exchange. It came out so good, but I can't show that off yet. I did pull my Dawn of Spring SAL project out and finished up Part 2. I'm so proud of myself for my color choices on this piece.

This part included the Spider Rose stitch. (They are the swirls inside the diamonds) I loved doing those! They are so cool. I gave a squeal of happiness when I figured them out. My boyfriend gave me a wierd look when I did that. He just doesn't understand my obsessions and I don't expect him to. He did ask the question of all questions the other day...He goes "I always see you working on different projects, but not finishing much, how many projects have you started but not finished?" I go..."Um...13" (Little does he know that is just cross stitch. I have UFO quilt projects and crochet projects in the closet) He's like "How do you expect to finish anything if you keep starting new ones?" I said: "That's part of the fun in my hobbies...now leave me alone." ;D

Other News: I'll be participating in another blog hop this week. It just started this last Saturday. There are 100 bloggers spanned over several weeks showcasing their quilt squares. It is hosted by Jane at Jane's Fabrics and Quilts. You can find the complete schedule on her blog. She's a sweet lady and a super creative quilter too. I'll be back on July 7 with my Red White and Blue project.

Thank you for sticking with me this far friends. Your comments mean the world to me. They are so uplifting and encouraging.

Enjoy your weeks and Happy Fourth of July!

Jen