Crochet Fun & Birthdays

I know it's been a long time since my last post. Things have been very busy at work and my weekends have been full. I've got to keep this short, so here goes.....

I crochet this afghan for our Light the Night Campaign at work. We held a raffle for gift certificates and craft items so I decided to make this afghan. It seemed to be a big hit. It was pretty easy once I got into a routine. I did have to restart this thing about 5 times. I could not get it right in the beginning.

Next up is my Mom & Stepfather. SF turned 60 this year (all my folks turn 60 this year!!) so we decided to hire Critter Invasions to put flamingos in their yard. It was really fun and they really liked it. Can't say the their neighbors liked it too much but oh well!

I started stitching my Halloween ornaments for the year. I have a few to complete the finishing on which I hope to have done this weekend. I'll try to post pics of those soon.

Until next time! Happy stitching!

Exchange Fun & Finishes (picture heavy)

I'm so embarrased it has taken this long to post a new entry! Summer is in full swing and has been really busy. We've been doing lots of painting and revamping in the house which is very tiring. But I see the finishes and it's very rewarding.

I've got loads to share......so I'm going to try and make it simple and sweet :)

First up is my framing finish of PSS - Gloriana. I love how it came out and can't wait to hang it. Just got to find the right place.

Here's a close up of the frame details. I tried to keep it really simple.

Next is a Blackbird finish. Love the design, not completely happy with the finishing but I'm glad it's done. That ruffle was a real pain in the you know what for me. I think I may stitch it again and try a different fabric for the ruffle next time. I've also got the companion pieces stitched but not finished. I share a group shot once I finish them.

Here's a really pretty pincushion stitched by Kristina for the HE - Summer Exchange. I love the finish and the little fob she included. She also made those buttons herself! I just love them.

This is a piece stitched by Blyn for the HOE - ABC exchange. I love the summery feel and have it displayed in my stitching room. Don't you just love the finish - the curly cue trim is wired so you can shape the bow. I just love it.

This is the HOE - ABC Exchange piece I stitched for Lisa in Australia. I finished it as a easel flat fold. I also used HDF Perfect red (one of the darker reds in the series). Just love the fiber. It's so nice to work with.

Here's a the HE 4th of July piece I received from Barbara. She stitched this piece over-one and finished it into a needlebook. It will definitely get used with love!

And finally, here's the piece I stitched for April. I've always loved this design and thought this was the perfect time to stitch it. This was also my first attempt at box finishing. I padded the inside with a pretty patriotic fabric as well.

Sorry to keep it so brief. The pool is calling my name :) I shall share more pics from our beach vacation in the next post. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time,

Malinda

The Year of Exchanges!

This must be my year for Exchanges for I cannot resist the temptation of signing up! Honest, I have been stitching - just a bunch of secret stitching. I can only share a few pieces at the moment. This first piece is from an Arbor Day Exchange. Blyn stitched up this beautiful little pillow from a LHN design. Blyn stitched this over-one with a shoulder injury! Blyn, I hope your shoulder has healed up for you.


This next piece is something I stitched for Heather R (monsoon) for an Early Christmas Ornament exchange. I stitched Emmanuel from Plum Street Sampler - it's a freebie. I really like the finishing. I followed Vonna's wonderful finishing instruction from her blog The Twisted Stitcher.


Next is the ornament I received for the Early Christmas Ornament Exchange. Edgar in San Francisco stitched this wonderful Prairie Schooler design and finished it as a flat ornament. I love how creatively he cut the felt backing.

Part 2 of Mary Wigham's Wardrobe came out at the beginning of May. I've been trying to stitch on that in between my exchanges. Progress for this piece is coming along. I'll try to share a pic soon.

Summer is here in full force! We've planted some veggies this year - tomatoes, green peppers, and squash. We wish we could have planted more, but we waited too long into the spring. It's funny, I don't even like tomatoes, but I can't wait to try our home grown variety! As George Carlin said, "something has gone a foul inside a tomato....." - too much so for me!

Haven't had the chance to watch too many good movies lately. Out of the few I've seen in the last couple of weeks, I'd have to say Avatar was the best. I think we may have been the only people on the planet who hadn't seen the movie yet! We thought is was very good - absolutely loved the colors and CGI effects. Although I can see why did not win the Oscar for Movie of the Year over the Hurt Locker. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet (if there's anyone out there - LOL).

The beach is calling my name! I can smell the faint perfume of the salt air! Can't wait to get the chance to put my feet in the sand this summer! Until next time - Happy Stitching :)

Beautiful Weekend!

Our Carolina Blue Sky

Blooming Bridal Bush

Pretty Purple Plant

It's been a wonderful weekend. DH and I spent the day planting bushes and cleaning the pool. I just love the Carolina blue sky we get in the spring. It's so pretty, such a deep blue. When you add the fresh new green of all the trees against that blue sky it's a sight to see!

It did get rather warm and I think I may have gotten my first sunburn of the year.

On the stitching front, I've started Black Horse Inn by Carriage House Samplings. Not much stitched worth taking a picture of right now. I choose to stitch it on Silkweaver's Purely Primitive which is looking really nice. Although for some reason this linen seems to have been put through the ringer. It had so many nats (kind of like an old sweater) on it but I think I've gotten most of them off. There so much stitched area that I think it will be OK once its done.

Got 3 more exchanges to get ready for too! I see a lot of stitching in my future :)

Until next time,

Happy Stitching

PSS - Gloriana Finish

Just a quick post to show everyone my PSS - Gloriana finish. I put the final stitches in last night. I love how this piece came out - it's a quick stitch and so much fun! The crowns are stitched with HDF BeCherished and the border is done in HDF BeGrimed; linen is a 36 ct (not sure of the name, but I really like it - I'm going to have to stock pile this linen). Sorry the picture is not that great; the settings must have been changed or something. I hate when that happens!

Now, what to stitch next??? I'm trying to decide between Carriage House Samplings' Black Horse Inn or Wiehenburg's Quacker Rose. I purchased the DMC for both projects yesterday and plan to use HDF's Jackalope 32 ct Linen for both. I just can't decide!! I love both these designs and want to stitch both, at the same time!! Right now Black Horse Inn has a lead - I've loved this design since the first time I saw it! Something about those really calm colors and the horses.

I'm also hoping to do some finishing this weekend so maybe I'll have some more to share before the weekend's over.

I have a few exchanges coming up as well which I'll need to start planning out this weekend too.

It's been quite here which is a good thing! The weather has been beautiful too. We went from a very short spring right into summer (our first 90 this week) but I think we'll get our spring back this weekend, for a few days at least! Should stay in the low 70's!!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!