An Addition to my Stitching Group.

We had company today at my stitching group. Fellow blogger, Teresa from Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches, came to join us. She had spent some time doing 2 of the New England retreats with Belinda of Blue Ribbon Designs and Thea from Victoria Samplers in New Hampshire. When I heard that she had an extra day in the area, I invited her to join us. We had a great time. Teresa fit right in with the group. Those 4 hours just went by so quickly. We saw all her projects from the retreats. She is almost done with Belinda's project. Just beautiful. Hopefully she will be back in the future. Of course, I didn't take the picture until Cheryl and Nataly had left. They both could stay for just a short time. Teresa is in the orange shirt. Next to her is Emma and Phyllis and Nancy, in front is Ellen and Diane.
Before we left, Teresa gave me the cutest goody bag. Below is all the goodies in side. She made the tissue holder (so cute), candies from See's and the tastiest almonds called California Crunchies. Thanks again, Teresa!

On the stitching front, I did DT November (no pic) and it's being stretched. I started November by PS. Hope to get it finished by November. We will see.
Took this picture of Sammi this morning. I think she wants me to turn on the heat. I am going to be away from the computer for the next few days. I will miss all of your blogs. Thanks for all the great comments. I appreciate them all. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Another Busy Week!

Hope everyone in the US had a great 3 day week end. We sure did. The weather was warm and sunny. Saturday Cheryl and I went to a cranberry harvest festival. It was great fun. They had wonderful food, showed a wet harvest on one of the bogs, lots of stuff for kids to do, crafts and everything cranberry. I bought the cutest towel for Thanksgiving and a beautiful table runner. The prices were cheaper than I could have made them. We also bought fresh cranberries for chutney and apples, that I made into a crumble. Yummy! Went to the movies with Joanne, we saw The Ides of March with George Clooney. I wouldn't really recommend it. Had Chinese food. Did some yard work. A busy but really nice week end.
I finally finished Rubie Owl. I need to thank Nicole of Nicole's Needlework. I saw that she was working on Rubie and I feel in love with the design. I loved every stitch even though I thought that I would never finish the grass. I did her on 32 ct Day's gone By. I really love this material. You can see some of the shading. Beautiful. I used the Belle Soie silk, as well.
I am crazy for these word plays by With Thy Needle. They are fun and fast. I did the finishing today. It came out ok.
Now I have to finish November's word play. The turkey is so great. I do have a thing for turkeys. Wild turkeys visit my neighborhood frequently. You can click on any of the pictures for a better view. I want to welcome some new followers to my blog. Thanks for visiting and leaving the best comments. I appreciate them all. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

What a Great Week!

This past week has been very busy with a limo stitching shop hop, cataract surgery and some wonderful mail! Rubie Owl is coming along nicely. I love everything about this design and have enjoyed every stitch.
I won Theresa's giveaway(giraffexing.blogspot.com) and look what I received in the mail today. A beautiful needlebook, scissors, floss, lace and some beeswax. The little scissors are beautiful and I didn't have this pair. I love to use lace in my finishing and will put it to good use.
Isn't the fabric just so happy? Behind the felt are two pockets where the scissors and floss were. It is a beautiful and generous giveaway. Thanks Theresa, I love everything.
I also won the By The Bays giveaway. Donna was very generous because I really won the Halloween stitch an inch designs but I had already bought Halloween so she sent me the fall ones and the pendent. How great is that! I love these stitch an inch designs and I believe that fall is my new fav. Thanks, Donna. I love it.
On Saturday, my Wednesday stitching group (Diane,Ellen, Nancy, Phyllis, Dottie, Liz and myself) were treated to a stitching shop hop in a limo by Diane's husband Carl! How great is this guy? We had the best time. We went to 2 shops in western MA. First up was Bush Mountain, who has moved to a new store front. The new store is much bigger and layed out very well. The picture is the charts that I purchased along with floss. We moved on to lunch. This time we didn't eat in the limo. Had lunch at a pub in Strubridge MA. It was delish. Then we moved on to Chris's Collection, who stayed open for us. Her store is small but packed full with stitchy goodness. We all fared well here. I bought fabric and the greatest little box that will fit one of the fall stitch an inch design. When we got back to Diane's home Carl had pizza and salad. The end to a perfect day. We did miss the 2 women who couldn't make the trip. Hopefully, next time we will all be together. In the last 2 weeks, I have had cataract surgery in both eyes. I am in my 50's and the cataract surgery made me feel kinda old. But wow can I see so much better. It was worth it. The surgery is so easy and except for the day it is done there is no down time. Amazing! Thanks for taking time to read my blog and for all the great comments. I appreciate them all. Until next time...Happy Stitching! Deborah

WIP, Framing and Tusal

Rubie is coming along and I just love her. Love the fabric, love the colors and really love the design! Paulette's designs are so great. Going slower than normal because of the color changes but still...
I had October stretched and I put it in the frame I use for all of them. My blogging buddy Cathey wanted to see the back of the frame, so the picture below is the back. It has these little things that move so you can change out the pictures. This frame also has a stand up on the bottom of the frame. These things are great because you don't need stands. Frame stores have them and places like Michael's. Hope this helps, Cathey.

I had this frame from an old picture that I no longer wanted and it fits Give Thanks perfectly. Below is a close up of the frame. Plain and simple just like the design.

Here is my TUSAL for the month. I keep pushing them down. You can see all the lovely fall colors from Rubie. Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I appreciate them. Until next time...Happy Stitching! Deborah

I Love Fall!

First, I need to thank everyone who commented and e-mailed me about my last post. I was so touched by all your kind words. They warmed my heart. Thank you all. This is a table runner that Cheryl and I made last year. We have made many different kinds of runners but this is my favorite. Love the colors and the design of the fabric.
I finished Give Thanks and I am so pleased with it. The company that produced the design is the Imaginating Inc. It's a 2005 design. I used 32 ct Ant. ivory linen and the called for DMC floss. I have a frame that I will use to frame it with.
This gem is the October Word Play by With thy Needle and Thread. It's bigger than you think. I will make it into a door hanger. I did purchase the rusty bells for the bottom. I used 36 ct V Buttercream by LSL. I am really going to enjoy these word plays.
This is my latest start. Rubie Owl's sampler by Plum Street Samplers. I love Paulette's designs. I am having so much fun stitching this one. The fall colors are fantastic. The material is 32 ct Days Gone By lugana. This fabric is so beautiful. The picture does not do it any justice. It has wonderful staining on it. You would never know that it is the end of September here in MA. It finally stopped raining for a few days but it was very humid and quite warm. Did get some outside work done. Made a pot of soup and watched TV and stitched today. All in all, it was a great week-end. Hope yours was good, as well. You can click on any of the pics for a larger view. Until next time....Happy stitching! Deborah

What an Honor!

I couple of months ago, I was contacted by Jessica Franchuk the editor of Cross-Stitch and Needlework regarding a possible blog mention in the magazine. Well to my my complete surprise they picked my blog for a mention on the fab finds page of the November issue. They said some very king words about the blog and even showed a picture. All I can say is WOW! I love the magazine and they have some great designs. This month is Fall and Winter designs. Very cool. One of the cutest designs is Snow Capped Trees. It's a very cute sampler design and they also have some great ornies. So, thanks Cross-stitch and Needlework magazine, I am honored to be in your wonderful magazine. Everyone check out this great mag, you will not be disappointed.
I put down the Lord's Blessing when the last 3 DT designs showed up in my mail box. Love this one. It's my favorite so far. The colors are great. I used 32 ct Willow Green fabric (green toned fabric not brown like the pic shows) and the called for NPI, Dinky Dyes and SNC silks.
This was also in my mail box this week. I won a quilt top and backing fabric from Kim at Threadheads, Unite. This woman does everything, she stitches, knits and quilts and collections great stuff. This will be a project for Cheryl and I when she gets better. Again, the colors are way better looking in person. Thanks for all the great comments on my last post. They mean a lot. Got some serious stitching to do this afternoon so until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Some Framing

Before I had a little eye surgery, I picked up 2 pieces that needed framing. This is Autumn Basket by BBD. I did this in February of 2010. It was time to be framed. Please forgive all the darker pics. It's been raining all day. This picture is very long but the colors are beautiful. Below are 2 more pics that show it closer. The frame is a dark cranberry color. There were 2 pics there and now there is only one. I have no idea what I did. Sorry.

This Breath of Autumn by Chessie and Me. I am loving her designs! Will be getting more. Loved all the specialty stitches. You can click on any of the pictures for larger views.
A view of some of the over one stitching. I have used this frame before. It's very wide and rustic.
I am slowly working on the Lord's Blessing. I really am enjoying this design. Love the basket. Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I appreciate the time you all take to read and comment on my blog. It means a lot. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah