Welcome to Cranberry Samplings

Monday, November 29, 2010

Christmas Is Coming!

Thanksgiving is over and put away for another year. I hope that you all had a great day full of love and good food. We had a lovely relaxing day. Dinner was really good, if I do say so myself. I made cornbread dressing for the first time and we loved it. I will be making it all the time. After dinner and the clean-up, I was able to do some stitching and finished watching the Pats win. It was a good day all around. Over the week-end we started to put up the Christmas decorations. I made the table runner last year. This is the cutest little tree and of course something stitched. Holly and Berries by LHN. The house inside and outside was finished today. I tried to upload some decoration photos but blogger wouldn't let me. I will try again on my next post.
I finished the latest BBD design, Moonlight Visitor. I used 28ct. Maple Sugar linen by LSL. I changed all but 2 of the colors. I used all CC. I will have it stretched for my pop it in and out frame.

I started afew of the monthly ornaments by LHN. I was inspired to do these because of all the beautiful finishes that I have seen on all of your blogs. I am sorry about the lousy pictures. I am using 32 ct Summer Khaki for all three of them and the suggested DMC fibers. This one is my fav. I love the bear.



Today was cyber Monday and I really got some great deals! I finished the Christmas shopping except for a few stocking stuffers. I am not someone who enjoys the shopping hoards on Black Friday and the rest of that week end, so this was perfect for me.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving great comments. They mean a lot to me and I appreciate the fact that you take the time to do so. Until next time Happy Stitching. Deborah

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Cooking and Some Stitching

Sammi, Joanne and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love , family, good food and being thankful for all that we have! The baking is well underway with apple and pear pies and cranberry bread. The corn bread is made and is drying out for the stuffing. The vegetables are chopped and ready for tomorrow. The linens are ironed and the table is set. Things are looking good here.

I was one of the winners in a giveaway that Veronica had. She made 5 wonderful scissor fobs that she gave away. I won the red, white and blue one, which I promptly put on my Americana scissors. I love it. Thanks again Veronica!

Here is the Snow White design framed. Simple white frame with a stand up thing on the back so I can put in on the bookshelf. A very simple but lovely design.


Here is the winter Band Sampler finished. It's getting stretched and I have a wonderful two tone brown frame that I will put it in.

I started the latest BBD design from the Anniversary series. I didn't have one of the flosses so that started me on my journey of changing all of the colors. I did keep 2 of the original colors. The fabric is 28 ct. Maple Sugar by LSL. I like it a lot, so far.

Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully alittle stitching! Deborah

Friday, November 19, 2010

Another Busy Week and Some Stitching!

I won a great Thanksgiving giveaway from Nan. Included is a lovely towel, some Thanksgiving paper for the computer, A Thanksgiving pattern by LK, a skein of really nice floss from Carries creations and the best little pillow ever! Below is a close up of the front and back of the pillow. It's wonderfully tiny and I am going to attach some ribbon and make it into a scissor fob. Thanks Nan, I love everything.
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On Tuesday Cheryl and I made 2 batches of cranberry chutney. The recipe makes 4 cups. It's really yummy.

After we made the chutney, we put together this little darling. I think it turned out well. I got the ribbon at Hobby Lobby. It's an old HSE pattern.


I finished Snow White by LHN and am having it framed in a white frame. This was a really quick stitch and I really love the blue fabric by LSL.


I picked up Dust of Snow by PSS from the framer. The picture really doesn't do the design justice. It's really beautiful. If you click on the pictures they will enlarge for a better view.


A little close up of the girl and the trees.


Again the close of the frame doesn't show the beauty of the frame. It's silver with a darker gray over it and the inset has alittle gold.


This is my current WIP. It's another LHN called Winter Band Sampler. It's a change for LHN and I am loving it. Sorry for the bad picture. I just took the hoop off and took a shot.


It has been a busy week. Getting ready for the holiday, planning the menu and doing the shopping. I also went Christmas shopping and am almost finished. YEAH! Of course, I still have to wrap. Not my favorite thing to do.
I am over whelmed by the generosity of all my blogging friends. I love the comments and the emails. Until next time Happy Stitching! Deborah





Saturday, November 13, 2010

I Love Pom-Pom Fringe!

I spent Thursday at Cheryl's doing alittle more finishing. This is the goofiest pillow ever! I just love the design. I tea dyed the pom-poms and they match the fabric pretty well.
This little BBD design is my latest pin cushion. I put the ric-rac trim and filled it with walnut shells. It's currently sitting on the arm of my stitchy chair. Just a reminder, I don't sew well,so Cheryl does the sewing. I decide how I want them finished, pick out the fabrics and the trims and she makes the magic happen. What a great friend.
I started this today. It's LHN Snow white. The design called for a green fabric but I changed the fabric to 32 ct. Winter sky by LSL. I am using Belle Soie silk called Icing. I think that this will be a quick stitch.

I haven't posted a picture of Sammi lately. This is she doing what she does best. I am not sure that she would be pleased with this photo.
It was a busy week with stitching , finishing and doing all kinds of house stuff but I did find the time to get a new Christmas tree. I am way past getting real ones so it's phony trees for me. You know, the ones that come with the lights. My husband and I didn't argue much but we did have some battles over the Christmas lights. The tree is much smaller than my last one. It's 6' tall and will be much easier to handle. It will make it's debut Thanksgiving week end.
Next week, Cheryl and I are making our cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving. Can't wait. It's really delicious.
Thanks for all the wonderful comments. I really love them. Until next time Happy Stitching!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What a long week!

This has been the longest week and I have missed blogging and reading all of your blogs. I have had the cold. This wasn't just any cold, it was a put you on your butt cold. The first few days I could do nothing that didn't include tissues and medication. Then it moved into my chest where it has been ragging war for about 5 days. Less tissues but now we have added cough drops and different kinds of medication. I had a flu shot 2 days before I got the cold and my friend, Nataly feels that it was the flu from the shot. I don't know. I am just glad that it is almost gone. I left the house for the first time yesterday to join the rest of the world. It was lovely. I spent the day with my sewing machine and Cheryl. The first picture is of the October LHN design in my pop in and out frame. The second picture is an Erica Michael's design from few years ago. We made it into pillow.


This is a Friend of Jenny Bean by Chessie and Me. I loved doing the design and I think the pillow turned out great.


This a pillow we made using the PSS design Gobble. We took some to figure out what to do with this one. I think it turned out pretty good. I love the colors.

This is another PSS design named Dust of Snow. I used 32 ct. Putty fabric and the called for NPS fibers. I had more fun stitching this design. The trees are really gorgeous and fun to do. I dropped it off at the framers today. I will show it again next week. It was hard picking out a frame because of the color of the fabric I used. Will see how it turns out.


I finished this one last night. It is a BBD design. I used 28 ct. ant. ivory and a skein of silk-n-colors called Woods of Gold. I am going to make another small pillow tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting and know that I will be catching up on all of your blogs. Thanks for all the comments. They mean alot to me. Til next time Happy Stitching!

Monday, November 1, 2010

What Has Fall Brought?

This what I see out of my kitchen window. The color is really bright right now.
I started this new design by Plum Street Sampler over the week-end. I am using Clay 32 ct fabric and the NPS that is called for. I really love using the silks. They are so smooth and lay well. This design is so fun to work on. I started another small design but I can't show it because it is a Christmas gift for a friend who reads my blog.

I spent the better part of Saturday evening doing Sampler Roundy by Shakespears Peddler. I loved the design and I have the base a ready to go, but I HATE the colors. You can't even see the yellow and the reds are really close in color. I knew that I didn't like them but I thought that I could live with them. I can't so I am thrashing this piece and will spend some time with my fibers trying to find colors that I like. Oh well. Live and learn.

This is my new to me car. It's a 2009 Jetta with only 12,000 miles. It still has the factory warranty. It has alot of great stuff in it but the best thing it has is the heated seats. I love heated seats. Sammi loves it, as well. Of couse, she would love any car that she can ride in. She is peeking out the back window but she is hard to see. I think that if you enlarge the picture you can see her head.

This is some of what fall has brought to my house. Thanks for all the wonderful comments. They mean a great deal to me. Until next time--Happy Stitching!