And the winners are

The winners of the giveaway are:
Shar
Hillery
Raven's Stitching
Thank you to everyone who participated.
Please send me your address so I can
send out your packages.
It was fun to pick the winners.

Bird Exchange

Bird Exchange completed. This pattern
is in the 2005 Christmas Ornaments
magazine by Just Cross Stitch. Since
this was a christmas ornament I used
a fabric to match the season and color.
I have a red Cardinal that is always in
my backyard by the tree. They have
such a beautiful color. This piece
reminds of that bird. I hope the
person who receives it likes it.
18th Finish

Chicago

From July 12-16, 2010 we had a
Family Trip to chicago. My youngest
daughter Alyssa might go to college
there so this was their pick for
vacation this year. My sister Carol
met us there for a couple of days
and we had a blast. I never walked so
much in one week. She was our tour
guide because she has been there before.
Carol lives in Il, about 4 hours away. We
stayed at the beautiful Omni Hotel.
Centrally located in the heart of town.
Sites to see- the Chicago Art institute, 3rd
largest and it was huge 2-3 hours to see
everything. Millenium Park, Navy Pier,
Boat rides, double decker buses, and shop
till you drop. I am from NY and I could
not believe how many restaurants in chicago.
Best Breakfast - Yolk on S Michigan Ave.
I have to say it is the best breakfast I have
ever eaten. RoseBud for italian food.
Of course we had a deep dish pizza, but I
am a NY girl, I like the thin and crusty kind
better NY wins in this category. Compared
to NYC, Chicago is much cleaner, not as
crowded, and easier to navigate. What I
liked about chicago is they have free days.
We visited two diff. museums, on two different
days for FREE. You can find something to do
everyday for FREE if you map it out right.
The also had a fireworks show at the Navy Pier.
Great city to visit. I highly recommend it.


Amazing church in the City.

Me and my sister - Carol on left - Cindy on right.

In the city there was this amazing church.
All stone, had a beautiful court yard.
The inside was all stain glass, high ceiling,etc.

They took my camera and snapped a photo.
Imagine that.

Christopher, Amanda, Alyssa. Just
thrilled to have me take a photo :)

At Millenium park there are 2 large water
fountains that have water running down
them. Kids and everyone else cool off
under these fountains. What is amazing
about them is that the pictures constantly
change on them. In the 1st picture you
can see water coming out of the mouth.
In the photos you cannot see the water
coming down. Kids run under these
fountains - it was 90% when we visited
Chicago.

At Millenium Park in Chicago, they have this
amazing metallic figure. No matter what
side you stand on, you can see yourself and
the city in the reflection. A huge piece of art.

My sister Carol at the Metallic Bean( I call it a bean)

My Daughters Amanda Left Alyssa Right

The City is surrounded by A Lake. The Water is
so green.

The Gardens at Millenium Park

My 100th follower - Blog Giveway

I have reached a milestone in Blog Land. I have 100
followers - Woohoo. How we celebrate in Blog land is a
GIVEAWAY. Just leave a comment that you would like to be
included in the Giveaway on this post and one of your favorite
pieces that you stitched and you will be entered. If you leave a
comment on your blog your will receive 5 extra
chances to win, please mention that you posted on your blog
to get the extra credit. YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER TO JOIN THE
GIVEAWAY. This is to say thank you for all of the followers, you
truly make my day. It is hard to believe that so many
people enjoy stitching like I do and I truly enjoy all the comments
on my projects. You might be a follower that just likes looking at
crafts. I never thought when I started it would be this much fun
and so enjoyable. I have met so wonderful people. If you
are not a follower, join the fun and be included. There will be
3 winners. The winners will receive stitching goodies.
Oh what fun, It will be like Christmas in July.
Drawing July 31st.

Peaches LHN 17th finish 2010

I finished my 17th finish of the year.
LHN - Peaches. I added seed beads for
the eyes on the bigger cat. It will be a
gift for someone. Made into a pillow.

Happy 4th of July

I finished my first 4th of July pillow.
The fabric in the background is the
fabric on the back of the pillow. This
is my first 4th of july stitch and It
will be hard to give it away as a gift.
I adore Red, White, and Blue. It is
for someones birthday. The stuffing
isn't perfect on this one but for my
first attempt at a pillow of this type
I think I did pretty good. Wish
everyone a happy and safe 4th of July.
We live in a great country.

16h finish of the year

Alyss is 16 today june 23, 2010

Alyssa's 16th birthday is today. Happy Birthday Bissy.
I will be posting more pictures tomorrow. To my
youngest baby, what a beautiful and smart young
woman you are.

Happy Birthday Carol

My sister received her birthday stocking today.
Below is a picture of the stocking I made for her.
I stuffed some cash for her to
spend on herself. Happy Birthday Carol.

Black Bird stocking completed.

I finished this blackbird stocking. This is
for a very special persons birthday. These
little stocking are so cute. Done on linen.
This is the 15th finish of the year.
Thank you to each and everyone who leaves
a comment on my blog. I truly enjoy each and
every one I receive.

Alyssa's Sweet Sixteen Framed and matted

Alyssa's sweet Sixteen gift is back from the framer.
This is the first time I ever had a piece done at
AC Moore. I was panicked when I dropped it off,
the women assured me it would be ok. They
did an excellent job. It was very hard to pick
out the matting colors, the women behind the
counter helped me. It looks beautiful.
It is under glass, which I don't do much. It
is only the second piece I have ever had done
under glass. It is hard to get a good picture
due to the glare of the glass. I hope she likes
it.

Spiced Tea Finished. 14th finish

LHN Spiced tea ornament completed. My daughter
Amanda bought me a kit for christmas. The design
is by Littlehouse needleworks. I made up a wish list
on 123 stitch for my family to order things I might want
for christmas. I am a Tea Lover and really like the design.
I changed some of the colors around and tweeked the
design. I added some crystals in the corner portion.
Are you a tea lover or a coffee lover??

My christmas ornament exchange arrived

I belong to a group called Hooked on Exchanges.
I came home from work to open open up
my christmas ornament exchange. This ornie
traveled across the seas to come live in my home.
Jayne did an excellent job on this ornament. This
is in the JCS 2007 christmas issue. I have wanted
to do this piece myself. What a great treasure.
Stitching gifts are the best. Thank you
Jayne :) Click on her name to visit her blog,
she does amazing work.

13th finish - For Alyssa's sweet sixteen

Finally I finished my Daughter's Sweet Sixteen Gift.
This pattern was in Cross stitch Crazy May 2008 Issue.
When I first saw the pattern if reminded me of my
daughter Alyssa. In the magazine they said you
can finish this in a weekend, they called it a weekender
project - NOT. Maybe if you started friday morning
and stopped sunday night without stopping at all. I
want to see someone do this in a weekend :)
The colors were hard to work with. I am very pleased
that it is done and with be taking it to the framer. My
daughter Plays the clarinet and also guitar, she is a free
spirit. She did not want a party so we went on friday
and bought her what she wanted, a new MAC laptop
computer and printer. My daughters like apple
computers. Her birthday is not until June 23rd,
but with the extra paycheck week in april I
purchased it when I had the money. I will
be taking her out to dinner and
also giving her this piece. Something she will
have forever. It's my 13 finish. Thank you to
everyone who leaves a comment on the blog.
I truly look forward to see what everyone has to
say. It make my day knowing I can share my
work with other stitchers.

In Memory of Samuel Woods

In Memory of Samuel J Woods
July 8th, 1921 to April 24, 2010
Grandpa Sam passed away this saturday.
He was 88 years old. He was a sweet man
and a true man of God, he went home to be with
the lord. As a stitcher, my stitching friends can
appreciate the work he did. He did needlepoint.
Posted above are some of the pieces of work he
did, what a great idea to have them at his wake.
It is a tribute to just one of the hobbies that he
enjoyed.
He worked in the pantry at the church for many years
as a volunteer and loved to cook. The last supper
is one of my favorite pieces that he did.. He kept
track of how many hours and how many months to
finish, which I thought was funny. I never thought to
keep track like that on my pieces. It was a labor of
love, 2000 hours and 9 months to finish, which I thought
was very good. He had requested that this piece be
donated to his church - I think he already had a place picked
out for it to be hung. I was hoping to get just one piece
because I understand and appreciate the time and love
that goes into a piece. He has sisters who received his
remaining pieces and will enjoy them I am sure. I
bought my camera with me to NJ for the wake just
hoping I would be able to get one picture of the last
supper. I had no idea any of the pictures would be hung
there, what a sweet surprise and something I will treasure.
I have beautiful pictures of his pieces. Its something to
think about, I want my pieces plastered all over the wake
when I move on to heaven. I will have a lot of people
waiting for me when it is my time to go to heaven, sam
will be one of those waiting for me. Until we meet again,
enjoy heaven sam. Click on the picture to see it larger.
All pieces were under glass, it was hard not to get a
glare on the photos, I think I did good.

12th Finish of the year

My First Gray Hare. I had seen this
pattern on another blog and knew I just had
to do this piece. I have never seen a gray
hair but I do update the roots every couple of
months myself. I am a blonde, but the older you
get the darker the roots get. I am sure one day
I will have my first gray hair moment. I have
heard a lot of stories of the first Gray Hair.
Do you have a gray hair story??
This is the 12th finish of the year. I am
working on a larger piece for my baby who
will be 16 on June 23. This piece is a challenge
but should be done soon and I will post a picture.
Thank you everyone who visits and leaves a comment
on my blog, it truly makes my day.

Winner of free gift

Virpi of Finland sent me this beautiful
gift. This cute little bag is hanging
from my bedroom door. I just adore it.
Virpi this piece will be treasured.
Thank you.