Reactivated!.........

I just couldn't think of any other word to get my blog going again after such a long hiatus!  I'm happy to say that I'm alive and stitching and hopefully I wouldn't be away for such a long time again!  Well, what can I say, the demands of life really took over for the past months and have been taking a toll on little old me.  I haven't had a lot of spare time to do much stitching but I try to participate in an exchange or two and do some other stitching since I haven't been blogging.  I have a few pieces I want to share with you all over the next couple of days.  So here goes!

So, how was everyone's Christmas and New year holiday?  I hope the holidays were good for everyone and I do wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2011 and most of all I wish you lots of finished stitching projects.  By the way, I wish myself the same thing, too lol.  Oh, how I wish I can have lots of finished projects done  this year but I shall see how things will go.

During the month of August 2010, I took part in the HoE For the Birds exchange where I received from Nic my partner from England. She stitched me a design from Brenda Keyes, a British designer. She used DMC threads, one over one and finished it into a pillow.  Isn't it cute!  Nic's stitching is so lovely. She also included some goodies which will surely be used.  Thank you, Nic!

and the goodies!

And this is what I sent to my partner Nicole in the US.  I stitched a pattern from one of my favourite designers, the Prairie Schooler.  I chose  "From the Heart" from their Designer Series.  I loved stitching this pattern for Nicole and from all reports she liked it as well.

Designer: The Prairie Schooler

Design: "From the Heart"

Threads: DMC Recommended

Finish: Pin Cushion



Well, that's it for now.  Will continue later, not too much later, I hope.  So bye until then!



A Finish and an Exchange

Hi, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that you are looking forward to the coming week.  I'm most certainly looking forward to the end of the week because I'll be on my annual V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N for the month of August! Can't wait to have some lazy days in the summer, yea!

Stitching wise, I am so glad to be able to show you my latest finish.  I was away for a few days with my daughters on the island of Puerto Rico.  We had a wonderful time on the island but it was much too short, then again, a little 'time out' is always too short. Though I'd show you some a pic of my daughters shopping at one of the stores in the Mall, Plaza las Americas.  I think the store was Old Navy.

Before I left Barbados, however, I stitched a couple of pieces and an exchange for the HOE Board.  My first finish was a little drawstring bag.  I enjoyed stitching the design which is by Dany, a French designer.  I first saw the drawstring finish done by Carol  (justcarolsplace blog) and I liked the way she did it.  Mine however, was done slightly different.

Design by: Dany

Fabric: 28 count Mocha Jobelan Linen and

matching floral fabric

 Thread:  DMC 3862

Trim: Cream lace and cream ribbon

Finish:  Drawstring Bag

I have another stitched piece but it's just to make a decision on how I will finish it.

I mentioned earlier an exchange which I was a part of on the HOE Board.  That was the ABC Exchange.  My partner was Kathy in the US.  I enjoyed stitching this freebie design from  Zoe I had to change some of the letters on this particular pattern as they were not quite right to me.  Changes were made to the letter V and X. I finished it into a pin cushion.  From all reports, Kathy liked it very much.

Designer: Zoe

Fabric: 28 count cream evenweave

and floral fabric for backing and sides

Threads: DMC 815

Trims: Red ribbon and red button

Finish: Pin Cushion

I received my exchange from Nic in the UK.  She stitched me a freebie pattern from CarolR at istitchaholic blog with a Dinkey Dyes thread called Major Mitchell.  It is a cute little pillow and I love the colour she chose.  As you can see it is a very light pastel colour and pastel colours are my favourite.  She also included a cute post card.  Thank you Nic, great job!

That's it for now.  I have the HoE For the Birds exchange to complete for mailing on August 2 which a holiday here so that means my mailing date will have to be at the end of July, so I'd better get back to stitching and finishing before I am late for the post. So look out for that in my next blog posting.

A small piece of stitching and working on an exchange

I did a small bit of stitching last weekend for a round plastic 'box'.  I purchased this Keep-Sake plastic box  while on vacation in Puerto Rico some time ago and it has come in handy to store my pins.  The motif comes from the 'The Big Book of Cross Stitch Designs by Reader's Digest.  I used white ric rac braid to cover the edges and a piece of floral  fabric to cover the bottom of the box.  This was very easy to complete to my surprise. I was thinking that I would encounter some difficulty getting the fabric glued on to the plastic, but not so.  It turned out well in my opinion.

Design: Motif from The Big Book of Cross-Stitch Designs by Readers' Digest

Threads: DMC recommended
Fabric: 32 count White linen

Trim: Ric rac braid
Finished as: box for pins

A Pending Exchange

I am currently involved in an exchange on the Hooked on Exchange Board.  I am happy to say that I have completed the stitched piece and will be adding the finishing touches this weekend.  I'm hoping that my partner will be please with it!  Will have pictures to show when she receives it probably at the end of June.

A Stitching Rotation

I have some stitching which I just have to work on on a rotation basis.  I need to do this if I want to stitch all  my patterns,  freebies included.  So I started on that last night.  Hopefully it will work out as long as I have the time but I'll see how it goes.  Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy stitching!

Back to Blogging!

It's great to be back and to blog again after a break from the computer and so I think  it is about time I let you in on what I have been stitching over the past weeks.  But first, I wish to thank those of you who visited and left a comment and those of you who follow my blog.  Thank you all for your encouragement.

Over the past weeks, I have been experimenting on making a box from cardboard (I think the French calls it 'cartonnage') for my buttons.  The experiment was somewhat successful but with a few flaws in between which I hope to have rectify when I attempt my next box. The stitched piece is a freebie from the SAL Collection de pinkeeps 2009 organised by Maryse. I love the autumn colours she chose for the month of October which is my birth month.  The box took me longer than I had anticipated but I am pretty much okay with it. Will show more in my next post!

Top of the Box

Inside the box

Back of the Box

Design from the SAL Collection de Pinkeeps - October

Designer: Maryse

Fabric: 28 count cream evenweave, floral fabric

Threads: DMC recommended

Trims: Satin ribbon and cording

Finished: Button Box

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time,  happy stitching.