Finishing is Tough Work

Thursday night was a whirlwind but I did it.....just in time for the holiday too!  I was able to finish the four ornaments for Hubby's family.  One for each of his cousins, one for his aunt and one for his mother.  WHEW!!!  I'm glad that pressure is off!

My favorite one is the snowflake.  Which one is your favorite?

Happy Stitching!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I've been a good girl.  I'm steadily working on finishing these ornaments for my Husband's family.  It has taken longer than I thought it would.  After all, it is hard to cut out a circle and an oval on that mat board.  I sure do hope that Santa brings me some better finishing equipment this year!

Here they are so far.....

And the backing fabric......

Hopefully I will get the cording made tonight.  That way I can spend tomorrow evening relaxing in front of the TV with my cording and invisible thread in hand!

Happy Stitching!

Deep Breaths

I'm totally overwhelmed!  Things have been crazy around here since last week and they don't look to let up anytime soon. I was so busy with friends and family over the weekend so my house is a "disaster run rampant".  I'm not even going to mention all the stitching and finishing that still needs to be done for X-mas gifts!  Plus, work is going to be more intense from now (tax projection time) until April 15th.  I just hope that there is a little reprieve in the first couple of weeks in January so that I can work on my 2011 Crazy January Challenge.

So, here's a little glimpse into what I have been working on........

I finished one of the ornaments that I featured in my last post.  It was for my dear friend Maggee.  I pulled her name for our first annual ornament exchange.  I knew as soon as I saw it that it had her name written all over it, especially after I changed the colors so that it matched her themed tree.  Let me just say that Maggee is doggone lucky that I decided to let this one go!

Windows of Faith, Hope and Peace
by Primrose Needleworks
2010 JCS Ornament Issue
Stitched on 36ct Whimsy by Picture This Plus
Belle Soie: Empress
Backed with the fabric it is sitting on

I also gifted my stitching sisters a copy of the cookbook that is being sold by The Attic to benefit Breast Cancer Research along with these pincushions that I love so much.  (I even stitched one for me using Belle Soie's Empress and Fern Frond, but I haven't had the chance to "finish" it yet.)

Rosemary Pinkeep by Blackbird Designs
Stitched on 40ct Olde Towne Blend by R&R Reproductions
Stitched using Belle Soie
"D" - Fern Frond and Mer Blue
"S" - Fern Frond and Elegant Eggplant
"M" - Fern Frond and Rosebud
Finished in Ball Jar lids

I also finished another ornament for Hubby's side of the family.  This one is from the 2007 JCS ornament issue and again I took liberties with the floss colors since I didn't have the called for colors on hand.  I really love the way it turned out.  Oh how my "finishing" pile keeps growing!  I'm going to need a holiday before the holiday so that I can get all these done in time for Christmas.  At least I only have two more to go for Hubby's family.

Joy by Lizzie*Kate
32ct Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linen
WDW Used: Bullfrog and Amber
Crescent Colours Used: Cupid and Bamboo

Whew!  All that and I still haven't caught my breath!  I guess you will have to wait until a future post to see what I got while at the first annual ornament exchange.

In the meantime.......

Happy Stitching!

Brain Explosion

I just spent the last two days at a tax seminar.  The time spent there was brutal, but productive.  There are so many changes going on these days in the tax arena.  The worst part is that the teachers could not answer some of the questions that were posed because there are no answers to those questions yet.  These health care rules are for the birds. 

What made things worse is that the room would go from freezing to hot as hell in an instant.  Then there were no refreshments available during the breaks.  A person NEEDS to have caffeine in order to deal with two days of tax issues!  Of course, if you are a stitcher, there are other ways to stay awake.....

You know, like finishing a few of these......

From top moving clockwise:
Snowflake 2001 out of the JCS 2001 Ornament Issue
Windows of Faith, Hope & Peace out of the JCS 2010 Ornament Issue
Rosemary Pinkeep by Blackbird Designs
The Greatest Gift is Love out of the JCS 2001 Ornament Issue

And then this.....

Keepsake Pincushion by Blackbird Designs

Well, I'm over exaggerating just a little.  But, I did manage to stitch and pay attention to the topics that were being taught.  What can I say?  It was either stitch while they talked or fall asleep like the guy that was snoring behind me! 

The first day I finished Rosemary Pincushion by Blackbird Designs and The Greatest Gift is Love by Lizzie*Kate.  On the second day I worked on the pincushion that went along with the Blackbird Designs box top that I have been working on.  You  know, the one that I got while at the 2008 Shepherd's Bush retreat.  I even finished that one up too and I decided to keep the year "2008" as it was charted since I went to the retreat that year.

Keepsake Box by Blackbird Designs
*in all it's wrinkled glory*

Now I'm going to have to figure out how to have a finishing frenzy!  Want to help?

Speaking of finishing, I have to thank you all for the beautiful comments on my last post.  I know that both Peggy Lee and Catherine were both interesting in my finishing technique.  Well......I can't take any credit for it at all.  I just followed Vonna's wonderful tutorial and I had that beautiful piece finished in no time. 

Happy Stitching!