"Cape Hatteras" by Fulmer Craft - National Park Needlework Collector Series - Framed

I promised the story behind this, so here it is. My brother Barry, who died of lung cancer last year at the age of 53, loved lighthouses. He especially loved this one, which stands on the shore of North Carolina, where he lived. Back in about 1961, our family moved to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, from Panama. Daddy felt it was important for us to see our country's heritage, so we spent many weekends traveling in Virginia and North Carolina. I remember very well our trip to Kitty Hawk, where the Wright Brothers flew their little plane, and to Cape Hatteras, where we visited the famous striped lighthouse. At that time, Barry was about 8 years old and was a big fan of GI Joe. He also was very clever, and created numerous parachutes for his GI Joe figures. When we went to Cape Hatteras, Barry saw the perfect opportunity to launch his parachutes from a great height. Time and time again he climbed the staircase inside the lighthouse up to the top, where he threw his GI Joe figure and parachute into the winds. We all watched the figure float down to the beach, where Barry scooped it up and ran once more to the lighthouse for another climb to the top.

As the years went by and we grew up and moved to opposite sides of the country, I would not forget his love of this lighthouse. I sent him a ceramic figurine of it once, and I still covet the one he painted which hangs at my mother's house. I saw this design at the Iron Kettle store in Cody, Wyoming this summer, and knew I had to stitch it for his wife, Alice. I hope she likes it. I'm sure she will.

Three More Ornaments Finished

These are all ornaments I stitched while I was at Lake Mead. The first one is from Lady Periphaeria of Periphaeria Designs. It originally called for stitching the Hebrew words "Hanuka Tova," but I decided to leave them out. This will be given to my friend and colleague Mike, who has been very gracious about my curiosity regarding Judaism.








This little ornament was designed to be a scissors fob but I just made it an ornament. It's called "Rocky Mountain Christmas," and is designed by Jeannette Douglas. The border is made of Rhodes, Rice, and Smyrna stitches.










From the 2006 Just Cross Stitch Christmas issue, this is called "Winter," from Prairie Schooler.

Dutch (Hollandaise) Cow [for WOCS]

This is for a French Silly Cows quilt for WOCS. I stitched it because I thought the design was really cute. I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

Received from Marlies

One of the groups I belong to is Crazy Exchange - a group of stitchers who like to send and receive things we make. I sent Marlies a little fairy hanger and she sent me this cute star hanger. Thanks, Marlies!!!!

Taking a Little Vacation

We're leaving early in the morning to go camping for the next week at Echo Bay, on Lake Mead (east of Las Vegas). We'll see our friend Gary and his wife Deanna, and Don and Gary will fish, fish, fish. Gee. That's rough. Because I'll get to stitch, stitch, stitch.

When I get back I'll post about the cute star hanger I received from Marlies (Crazy Exchange), as well as all the pieces I'll have finished on this trip!

Five Ornaments Finished Today

I had a "finishing frenzy" this morning - I decided to finish these ornaments before the number got overwhelming. Four of the five ornaments are from Just Cross Stitching, which I have been reading since its beginning way back 20+ years ago. I was just leafing through some of the oldest issues, and am amazed at the changes. I really like the magazine these days, and re-subscribed just this month. I don't sew, so I've finished these using various "easy" finishes that require minimal hand-sewing and/or gluing.

I made two of these for my children, to add to their collections that are part of a tradition started 28 years ago. When I graduated from college and went into the Air Force, my mother went through her ornament collection and gave me about a dozen "special" ornaments - each with its own story and memories of a Floyd family Christmas. My favorite of all time is the "whirlygig" one - we don't know what to call it-but it has to be hung above a light so that the rising heat of the light makes the whirlygig in it spin around. I started collecting ornaments, too, and made a point of buying at least 3 of a kind each Christmas. Now that my children are grown, I've gone through my collection and pulled out one for each year of their lives and set them aside. This year they're going to get stitched ones - and that's what I'll probably do each year from now on (unless I come across some really different ones to add).

As Bethlehem Slept
Shepherd's Bush

This one is from the 2005 issue of JCS. I stitched it on 28-count Lugana, and will be giving it to my mother along with the Told in a Garden piece I made this summer.

Winter Whitetail

Something in Common

From the 2003 JCS Ornaments issue. Something in Common is one of my favorite designers, since I really like rustic designs that have mountains, deer, moose, pine trees, and bears in them. I'll be giving this one to my son to go in his yearly collection.

Peace

Elizabeth's Designs

I'll probably give this to my friend and colleague, Dan. It's from a freebie pattern.

O Christmas Tree
Follow the Leader Designs

This one is from the 2007 JCS Ornament Issue. While I don't decorate a tree any more (we're always camping), I think I'll keep this one and hang it in my trailer. We might put up a mini tree, if we have room. This is supposed to be a scissors fob, but I like it fine as an ornament.

Merry Yule
Erica Michaels Designs

My daughter picked this one out from the 2005 JCS Ornament issue. It'll go in her collection of yearly ornaments.

Now I've got to "switch gears," and work on a few charity squares. I enjoy the variety of switching genres.

October Goals Review & November Goals

October was a fruitful month, stitching-wise. My goals and accompanying comments:

1. Start "Alpine Seasons Garden" mandala
Still haven't started that one. Don't know why I just can't get around to starting.
2. Stitch at least 2 more cats on "Calico Cats"
Yes, I did.
3. Stitch at least 2 more hours on "Cape Hatteras"
And I finished it! Now I just need to get it framed so I can send it to my sister-in-law.
4. Stitch at least 3 charity quilt squares
Yes, I did 4 - Pastel Bunny, Pastel Hen, Carousel Jumper, Lemon Tree
5. Finish an ornament for the Xmas Ornie Exchange 2007
Yes - "Snowed In" by Something in Common
6. Stitch two more "freebies" from my notebook
Yes - "Santa with Pear" by Prairie Schooler and "Peace" by Elizabeth's Designs
7. Stitch at least one LizzieKate snippet or flip-bit
Nope - not yet
8. Start gathering goodies for 12 Days of Christmas Exchange
Yes - beads, two patterns, some fancy threads, some fabric
9. Start "Crabby All Year"
Yes - I'm working on January
10.Do Thanksgiving bread cover for CSRR
Yes - and I received mine in exchange


November Goals

1. Start "Alpine Seasons Garden" mandala
2. Finish January on "Crabby All Year"
3. Stitch at least 3 charity squares
4. Stitch at least one LizzieKate snippet or flip-bit
5. Stitch at least 3 jar lids

She's Home.

We took our daughter to her home last night; she really wanted to get out of that hospital and back in her own bed. We'll know in a few months if this surgery worked. If you're curious about what is happening, go to the j-pouch website. There are some good diagrams that explain it all; and when you read about it, keep in mind that her first two pouches failed from "chronic anastomosis stricturing," and we're hoping that this third one will work.

I took advantage of all the waiting time - waiting during surgery and sitting with her in her hospital room - to get a LOT of stitching done. I've been doing some ornaments, plus a cute piece about chocolate. I'll be posting pics tonight.

I just got my new order from Silkweaver - I'd asked for neutrals, and one of them is opalescent. It looks so cool! I think I'll do some sparkly Christmas ornaments on it.

Our Daughter's Latest Surgery

We just got back home today from the hospital, where yesterday our 26-year-old daughter had yet another surgery in her attempt to lose the ileostomy and external bag. The surgery took about 6 hours, and she spent the evening in recovery until they found a room for her at 11:30 pm. She's at the University of Caifornia-Irvine Medical Center, which is about 60 miles from here. We stayed in a hotel near the medical center the night before her surgery and last night, and then came home today. We'll stay home tomorrow, and go back on Sunday to spend the day with her. The doctor predicts she'll be in the hospital a week; she wants to go home on Tuesday. We'll see.

Thanksgiving Bread Cloth Exchange

This came in the mail today from Canada! It was stitched for me by Doreen, for an exchange on CSRR. I like the flecked aida - is that called fiddler's cloth? At any rate, I have Thankgiving Dinner in our trailer, because we're always camping, so this is going to the trailer. It'll make a nice decoration when it's not being used - I think I'll find a way to hang it up. Thanks Doreen!

"Cape Hatteras" by Fulmer Craft - National Park Needlework Collector Series

Finished! Now I have to take it to get framed. I hope my sister-in-law likes it. I'll tell the story behind it after I get it framed.

"Carousel Jumper" by Carousel Charts

The colors look better in real life. This is a charity quilt square I stitched over the weekend for WOCS. The quilt theme is lavender/pink girl. I got the pattern from the March 2007 edition of The Gift of Stitching Magazine. It was originally supposed to be a birth record pillow, but I left off the baby's name and the Smyrna crosses that go around it.

Cathy and Cyndi Meet in Person!

Cathy and I are both members of several yahoo charity stitching groups. When I learned she lived in southern California, I contacted her about meeting in person. I had to go to Orange County in August, but she had to be in Las Vegas at that time, so we missed an opportunity. She's visited my blog several times, and saw last week that I was coming to the OC again for a conference, and planned to stop at Needlepoints Ltd. She got off work early, and we spent almost 2 hours shopping together and chatting. Here we are showing off our full bags of stash!

Two Ornament Finishes

I needed to get these ornaments "finished" so I can get them mailed. They're for two different ornament exchanges. The one on the left is called "Snowed In," and it's designed by Something in Common. I got the pattern from the December 2006 edition of The Gift of Stitching Magazine. If you haven't subscribed to this wonderful online magazine, do so! You can get all the back issues for a great price and the yearly subscription price is really reasonable. This ornament was finished using felt and glue - no sewing. Made for an easy finish, and justified my purchase of pinking shears.


This ornament is by Prairie Schooler - it's the freebie on their website. I finished it as a pillow ornament - plaid fabric for the back, stuffed with batting.

"My Sister" by Forever in My Heart

This summer, after I'd started cross stitching again, the first needlework shop I visited was Forever Stitching in Idaho Falls, Idaho. There I met Lynda Orme, who introduced me to stitching on linen. She gave me a lot of scraps from her scrap bucket, and also let me select one her own designs from Forever in My Heart Designs. I selected this one about my sister, so I could stitch it for one of my sisters for Christmas. To the left is what the piece should really look like. It has nice soft pastel colors, and it should be stitched on white or cream so it looks good in a pastel frame.

To the right is what my piece looks like. Here's why it doesn't look anything like Lynda's: 1) I wanted to stitch something on one of the linen scraps she gave me, and 2) I needed to change the colors since I was stitching on lavender. I think it will look much better when I get it framed, and I think my sister (I'm not going to say which one yet) will like it!

Thanksgiving Bread Cover

I stitched this for the CSRR Thanksgiving Bread Cover Exchange. The pattern is from Leisure Arts' "25 Bread Cloths for the Holidays." It's going in the mail today for Kita!

Fire Update: Since the smoke from the Slide and Grass Valley fires was blowing south into the valley, all the local districts, including ours, cancelled school for today and tomorrow. I'm using the free time to stitch, of course! Tomorrow I'm going to a conference in Orange County for the weekend, meaning I get to go to Needlepoints Ltd. to browse in a brick-and-mortar store! They're already holding some more Q-snaps for me, and I need some brown/beige fabric - and who knows what else I'll just have to have.

Pictures of the Fires

This one is looking south from near my office in Calimesa - the fire is the Witch Fire in San Diego County, at least 70 miles away. That's the one that's caused my little sister to be evacuated from her home in Encinitas. So far half a million people in San Diego County have evacuated.




This is looking north from the same spot near my office, at the Slide Fire in Running Springs/Green Valley Lake. It is now making us nervous, as the last time a fire came down from Running Springs we had to evacuate because it threatened to cut off the highway that leads to our little town.

Has This Ever Happened to You?

Cross stitching is supposed to be relaxing. It usually is, except when you're frogging. But this weekend a weird thing happened. I was stitching the pastel hen on 18-count. It's a stiff Aida cloth, and I was having a hard time with nearly every stitch getting the needle into the hole on the back side of the fabric. It would catch, make scratching noises, and I found my body really tensing up - sort of like I wanted to scream. I couldn't believe how it was - and I realized I needed to put it down and stop. When I finally finished the hen yesterday, I was so relieved - and decided to start a piece on softer evenweave just so I wouldn't have that "tensing up" with the stitches.

I've noticed that my right (stitching) hand has gotten pretty adept at locating the next hole when I'm stitching - even on linen - and for some reason it just wasn't working with the 18-count.

What about you?

"Pastel Hen" from crosstitch.com

I finished this one just now, after starting it last night while I was camping. It goes with the bunny I did last week, for Tammy's quilt on SOLAK.

A Great Surprise in the Mail

I came home from a weekend camping trip, checked the mailbox, and found this great package from Nelly in France. We're both members of CrazyExchange, a cross-stitching exchange forum that used to be a Yahoo group. It's a simple group to be in - we post our likes and dislikes along with our mailing addresses. When I want to send someone something, I go through the list, pick someone out, make something, and send it! The recipient then has a month to make somthing to send back. I sent Nelly "Boo! Guess Who!" that I made back in August. She had put on her "likes" list that she liked Halloween items, so the little "boo" ornament was perfect.

"Pastel Bunny" from crosstitch.com

This is a bunny I stitched for SOLAK, and it will be a quilt square for Tammy. She likes pastels, so I signed up to do this bunny and a hen that's in the same style. I had to shorten his ears and body a little to make it more like a square. I might do the same for the hen - it's sitting on a colored egg which I might omit from the piece.

Two Jar Lids

I like to give thank-you gifts to people who have done favors for me or have worked hard on behalf of the Association. I used to make little food gifts, but now I plan to make a lot of little jar lids and fill the jars with M&Ms, Skittles, cookie mixes, and other nice edibles. The pattern on the left is from an old issue of Cross Stitch & Country Crafts, and I have no idea where the other one came from. I had one "thank you" stitched that had been sitting around in my stash for 20 years, and copied the pattern onto some graph paper so I can make it again and again. I like the colors since they go so well with M&Ms and Skittles.

How I Feel Sometimes

If you didn't know already, I'm a teacher's union president in southern California. For a glimpse of how I feel sometimes, click on this link, then click on the pig's nose. Wait few seconds.

"Lemon Tree" by Alita Designs

This is a square for Sangeeta's quilt, for which I signed up on SOLAK. She wanted a quilt with lavender or lemon, and I thought this pattern was lovely. It's pretty large (90H x 75W), so I stitched it on 18-count Aida. I'll get it off in the mail today and start on "Crabby All Year" tonight!

Goals Check and October Goals

DoI stitched a great deal in September, and finished some things that were not on the goals list. I didn't start a large Martina Weber mandala - mainly because the fabric just now arrived. So I guess that goes on the October list! I didn't even pick up "Calico Cats," so I'll have to make a point of working on that one, too.

October goals:

1. Start "Alpine Seasons Garden" mandala
2. Stitch at least 2 more cats on "Calico Cats"
3. Stitch at least 2 more hours on "Cape Hatteras"
4. Stitch at least 3 charity quilt squares
5. Finish an ornament for the Xmas Ornie Exchange 2007
6. Stitch two more "freebies" from my notebook
7. Stitch at least one LizzieKate snippet or flip-bit
8. Start gathering goodies for 12 Days of Christmas Exchange
9. Start "Crabby All Year"
10. Do Thanksgiving bread cover for CSRR