A COUPLE UPDATES TO SHOW....

I've been working away on my morning project each day for a few minutes and also working on Still Waters during the evenings....while those trees and that grass are making me a bit buggy......LOL...it is SO worth it! I love the outcome of this project so far!!!

On the homefront....busy as usual. We are all going out to celebrate our Birthdays this weekend, my DH's is Sunday, mine is Monday and my son's is the following Saturday...we chose to go out this weekend though.

Also, my oldest had a fun photo shoot done last weekend. This is one of the photos that were taken....

Have a great day everyone!!

Marion

A NEW TREASURE!!

For sometime now I have been searching antique shops for a spool holder/pin cushion rocking chair. My maternal grandmother had one that I played with as a child (they make great Barbie doll chairs! LOL) and I have fond, fond memories of playing with hers.....hers, by the way had a drawer underneath (again, terrific for Barbies!). I have no idea whatever happened to hers.....

anyway, I was browsing the Thrift Store today with youngest and came across this!!!!! It had $2.99 marked on the back!! (Well within my budget!! LOL) Now it isn't EXACTLY like what I had wanted (I so wanted a darker wood one, with the drawer underneath)...but it will do for sure and will become a part of MY history! Now....fellow stitchers.....I fully expect lots of comments with wonderful ideas for this!! My plan is to stitch a pin cushion pad for the chair....I have invisioned in my mind something "antique looking" and rather "delicate" looking...can anyone think of any pattern that comes to mind?? Any freebies to point in my direction? I'd love some advice on this!!! Also, I have some of my mom's wooden spools of thread, so I'll be putting those on the thread holder. I'm so looking forward to making this into a nice little treasure!! My youngest has heard me telling the story SO many times about what my grandmother's was like...I think eventually she may appreciate how this one came to be. I would kind of like to incorporate something of my grandmother into this...but not sure how. Her and I have the same name....I was thinking maybe our initials and birthdates....gosh, I don't know.......please, please....offer me up some suggestions!!!!

Take care

Marion

I LOVE THE HISTORY, EVEN IF IT WASN'T MINE!

Today I thought I'd show you a couple of purchases I made not too long before Christmas. I was on the lookout for a new curio to house some of my Pendelfins I had collected over the years...., which you can read about here....but I didn't want to totally replace the cabinet I had, as it was a purchase made by DH when we were first married...anyway, I was browsing Kijiji.ca (like craig's list) one Sunday morning and I noticed two curios....they were antiques (even better!!) and the lady was moving and had them listed as a lot...$75.00 for both. I offered her 50, not thinking she would take it..she did!! I picked them up a couple of hours later...what a lovely lady! She was I'd say mid-60's had retired three years prior, lived in a large condo, and decided that she was downsizing. The curios belonged to her mom...her dad had gotten them for her many, many years ago...and this lady's daughter did not want them, but did want the Hummels inside.....so...she decided to see if she could find a good home for them! I absolutely love them! The larger one (excuse the fingerprints..I didn't notice ANY until I looked at the photo!!) houses some of my Pendelfins, and the smaller one I am presently using for some toys I had as a child. At Christmas I put antique Christmas ornaments in it. Anyway, the reason for the title...it may not have been MY history that made up these curios...but they have now become part of what will be my children's history!

PS...I was thinking that eventually I would use the smaller one for all my needlework "smalls" that I have yet to stitch! Like for example this one! What do you all think?
Have a great day everyone!!


Marion

MY MORNING PROJECT

I have referred in past posts to a "Morning Project". I am an early riser...I get up before 6am, have my morning coffee and stitch in the quiet, peaceful house....my daughter gets up at 6:20, but she gets ready and then grabs her breakfast around 7am, which is when my son gets up.....so I have some morning quiet stitching time.

A while back I started a "morning project"...only stitching this particular project at this time of day...currently this is what I am working on...It is by Ink Circles..."This Heart of Mine"...stitched with Carrie's Creation silk floss in Masquerade.

I also want to "thank" (note sarcasm here)Siobhan for enabling me on her Blog......when I saw this ....I just HAD to have it...so I ordered it and it is on it's way to me......between seeing it on her Blog and my youngest saying she liked it...that's all it took....sad, isn't it? LOL Can't wait to get "Mary Margaret" by Carriage House Samplings......

Kids are back at school today, DH will be leaving in a bit, it's snowing out AGAIN, so I won't be out driving anywhere....great day to stitch and watch Olympics...

Enjoy your day everyone and don't forget to sign up for my giveaways,you can see them HERE.

Take care

Marion

FIRST SNOW DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!

6:15AM

7:15AM

All 3 of my kids are safely tucked in at home...even university has shut down for at least the morning........muffins are in the oven, about to put soup in the crockpot....great stitching day!!!

EDITED TO ADD MORE OF THE MORNING....

7:45am

8am (CARROTS, CARROTS..WHERE DID YOU GO?)

8:05am...dessert tonight? (8:31am...now in oven)

8:15am...the things a dog has to go through to pee!!

Hugs to all

Marion

STILL WATERS UPDATE..

I am really enjoying working on this project! I only work on it in the evenings...work on my smaller projects during the days, if I have time to stitch. I am doing it page, by page, hence the complete words are not showing yet.

Hope each of you has a great day! I'm not sure what is planned for my day...yet...LOL

Take care

Hugs

Marion

WHAT TO DO....WHAT TO DO...

Today is an inservice for my children from school...I've got the urge to go to the ocean and feel that wonderful, cold, salt air refreshing me! (Imagine two of my three children looking at mom like she's lost her mind when I suggested going to the beach!)....we'll see...could be a trip to Starbucks on the way too....be back later with photos of what we decide to do. (as you can see..they are added now)

Well, youngest DD and myself headed out...we went to a different "water" place than I had planned, but still great salt air and scenery. I love the ones of the ship leaving the harbour and heading out to sea!

Stopped for a slice of pizza, then on to a Thrift Store, and a stop at Starbucks on the way home....ah...a great way to spend an inservice day!

Have a great day!
Marion

FRAMED AND READY TO HANG...

I just love how this turned out!! My friend's DH frames as a hobby, and I"ve known this for years, but it slipped my mind until recently when I wanted to get this framed professionally....isn't it just lovely?? He did a fantastic job! I'm very pleased with how this turned out, and it was a wonderful, fun stitch!

Have a great day everyone!

Marion

WORKS IN PROGRESS!

Good snowy morning from Nova Scotia!!

I have a couple of WIP's to show you....first up is STILL WATERS by PLUM STREET SAMPLERS...what a wonderful chart to stitch!! I am so enjoying this and how the colours are coming together!!

Next up is my JANUARY FLIP IT by LIZZIE KATE...all 12 will be stitched on the same fabric and then framed. I am stitching these over 1.

Have a nice day everyone!

DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE GIVEAWAYS....CHECK DOWN IN THE POSTS A BIT...DRAWING IS MY BIRTHDAY, MARCH 1

Marion

PHOTOS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO GIVEAWAY..

Check down in the giveaway post and you will see photos and a description....tell your blogger friends about them!!

I did not go stash shopping this weekend, decided to wait until the new releases are out in a few short weeks.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Marion

AMAZING FRIENDS.....

Look at this photo! I got a surprise in the mail on Thursday!! A little history...about 10 years ago, I was matched up with a fellow stitcher on the 123 Message Board...it was to be an exchange for I "think" either 3 or 6 months, where we sent surprise packages to each other....well.....here it is many years later and this stitcher and I are still friends!! We found out that we shared the same Birthday as well! Each year we do packages for each other....sometimes a Birthday package, or a summer, or Mother's Day, or a fall package....Christmas..etc...it never seems to be the same. Anyway, we did Christmas packages for each other in 2009, and when I received that one, my friend told me that I would be getting surprises throughout 2010! I had no idea what she was up to...however, this came in the mail this past week and she tells me that I will get a package each month with the chart and threads to stitch each month!! I have decided to do it over one on a large piece of fabric and add each month as I receive it!

I have also been gifted by an amazing online stitching friend....her generosity amazes me...and I truly treasure her friendship. I was gifted with a gift certificate to my favourite online stitching store.....Downsunshine Lane! I'll let you know tomorrow what I decide to purchase!

I am still deciding on the packages for my giveaway, but promise to have photos either later today or tomorrow...don't forget to add your name to the giveaways..two posts down!

This afternoon DH and I are headed out for a while by ourselves! We are heading to the winery area of the province. There is an ice wine tasting/chocolate tasting event this afternoon! Yum!!

Can't wait!!

It's a beautiful, sunny, cold day here today.....

Take care my friends...chat later!!!

Marion

BLANKET CLUB

I was asked in one of my comments to show some of my Blankets again, so I decided to do another post on what I refer to as "Blanket Club". I also realized that I do not have photos of all of my Blankets, so I'll have to take photos of the ones that I can...none of the ones I did for my kids are on the computer...hmm...

Anyway, Blanket Club was formed about 4 years ago. It all started after my dad passed away (5 years ago this month). At that time I realized what fantastic cousins I had in my life. Being an only child, with ageing parents was very difficult..and when my dad passed away at the age of 89, rather suddenly, I was left with the responsibility of my mom, who was suffering from alzheimers..although was very functionable with my dad in her life. When dad passed away, her life fell apart....anyway, my cousins, whom I had been close to has a child...played very important parts in my life from here on in. It was ironic, and I think in a sense a "gift" from my dad.....you see, for a few years before dad died, he'd always tell me that I should contact a couple of my cousins who lived fairly close to me..it had been ages since I'd seen them, and he wanted me to be in touch with them again.....(as we got older life got in the way and we just lost touch)....well...anyway, I didn't do that...however, it is one of these cousins that re-entered my life when he passed and we have been very close ever since! I like to think that somehow he had something to do with that......as horrible as it was loosing my dad, wonderful people had re-entered my life.

So..here is how Blanket Club started.....my two cousins and I were having lunch one day and decided that we needed a new craft in our life. The particular cousin that dad wanted me to contact told us of a craft that she had learned in Florida...."Swedish Weaving"....it sounded difficult, but her sister and myself decided to meet at her house the following Tuesday to see what this was all about...we did..the rest is history. The three of us meet weekly...usually on a Tuesday...I have made 17 of these so far...my other cousin is ahead of me in numbers!!

so there you have it!!

If you haven't entered my giveaways in the previous post...please do so...and I will add the photos on the weekend...I'm still making decisions as to what goes in each package......

GIVING BACK....TWO GIVEAWAYS!

My Birthday is March 1. I will be 52 years old, and proud of it.(most days!!). I was married in my late 20's and had all 3 of my children in my 30's. Anyway, I would like to have TWO GIVEAWAYS!

1. FOR ALL MY CROSS-STITCH FRIENDS/READERS...I WILL GET TOGETHER AN ENVELOPE OF A FEW CROSS-STITCH RELATED ITEMS. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN IT TOGETHER YET, BUT WHEN I DO I WILL EDIT FOR A PHOTO. **EDITED TO ADD PHOTO...(you will receive: The Drawn Thread "Garden Recipe" bellpull chart....Plum Pudding Needleart "Bits of Blue".....With Thy Needle and Thread "Sarah's Garden" and "Love Letters" (these two are gently used and I LOVED stitching them!!), Elizabeth Designs "Home Sweet Home"...and two older copies of "Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly"...these are fantastic magazines...I bought several from a lady that was selling her MIL's stash....and you will get a skein of dinky dyes. I hope you will find something of interest in this package! I may be adding more before it's actually mailed!

2. FOR ALL MY NON-CROSS-STITCH FRIENDS/READERS....I WILL GET TOGETHER AN ENVELOPE WITH NON-STITCH RELATED ITEMS...AGAIN, I DO NOT HAVE THIS TOGETHER YET, BUT WILL POST A PHOTO WHEN I DO. **EDITED...PHOTO HAS BEEN ADDED!** You will receive a "spring" themed envelope...socks, notecards, napkins, a dishcloth my MIL makes and a set of bookmarks......again I will most likely add more to this as I am out shopping!!

Enjoy!!

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ENTER EITHER GIVEAWAY, PUT YOUR NAME IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS POST, AND I WILL HAVE MY DAUGHTER DRAW TWO NAMES, ONE FOR EACH ENVELOPE, ON MARCH 1. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU LET ME KNOW WHICH ENVELOPE YOU ARE ENTERING FOR!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO POST IT ON YOUR BLOG AND A LINK TO THIS BLOG, YOU WILL GET AN EXTRA CHANCE TO ENTER. JUST LET ME KNOW THAT YOU HAVE DONE THIS WHEN YOU POST A COMMENT....GOOD LUCK!!

Have a great day!!
Marion

AND.....THEY HAVE LEGS!!! (AND FEET)

They are done! I had a lot of fun stitching these legwarmers, and it warms my heart that my daughter likes them so much!! She's worn them almost non-stop since I finished them!

While I was snapping a photo of the legwarmers this is what I was seeing...a little jealous maybe?

Our weather has been quite cold the past few days....but perfect for my son and his snowmobile! He has quite the trail going all around our property and the big field next door that he so maturely called the owner and asked permission to ride his snowmobile on!!

And....very little progress on "Still Waters"..but I love this design!!

Today was "Blanket Club" day for me......each Tuesday I meet with my two cousins and we do Swedish Weaving, (for anyone that hasn't been reading my blog). I look so forward to this day each week. It's been great the past 3plus years!

Anyway, I hope you each have a great week....I'll try for another update on stitching later in the week!

Stay warm and cozy everyone...and THANK YOU!! for the comments on my last post!!

Hugs

Marion