Sunday, November 22, 2009

There's no place like home!

Shepherd's Bush Designs "Snow Hill"
A quick stitch on vacation from start to finish in a few days!

Hi to all! I've been silent for awhile as we have been on vacation in Florida. It was great to get away, but I've payed the piper all week trying to play catch up. I'm still not "caught up" with my kids school stuff, but sometimes it's just nice to let things go!
Friday and Saturday I was sewing up a wicked storm, as I had to complete 2 baby blankets for baby showers and a birthday gift for one of my best friends. I made her a retro apron from Cindy Taylor Oates' book "More Retro Aprons." I'm telling you, it was the cutest aprons, EVER! (I made the one in the center of the photo) I give this pattern book a full "10". The instructions are very well done, and it was a perfect fit! I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures. I was literally clipping threads and wrapping these gifts five minutes before the baby shower! I hate feeling rushed to finish a project, and wish sometimes I could get more organized!

My little fam on Daytona beach. Notice my DS is the only one brave enough to go in the water the first few day. Towards the end of the week, we all ventured in!
No, we did not make these sand sculptures, but they were so cool! Every day we would enjoy watching this talented guy spend hours creating a new design. He used a little stick to smooth the sand.
Anyhoo, back to vacation fun, The weather was a tad on the chilly side. A tropical storm was brewing off the coast, which brought wind and cooler temps for the first 5 days we were there. Towards the end of the week, we were back into the high 70's and the beach was wonderful. We had a chance to sit around a watch a lot of movies, and I got a lot of stitching done!
Baby Bug Ball Finish. Dedicated to my little daughter, who is always dressing up, and to my friend Jane from Australia.
In addition to stitching "Snow Hill" (above), I finished up my BBB, that I've been stitching with Jane. It was a delightful stitch, and I am so grateful for her friendship, and encouragement. I probably would not have gotten this done without her. Just knowing that I had made a commitment with her, kept me on track. Thank you Jane for everything! You are a sweetie! Go to her blog for better photo's. Jane is the Queen of perfect photos!
I had issues with my little black crow. There weren't any button holes in him. You should have seen the look on my hubby's face when I asked him to drill some pin size holes in it! I decided to ignore his counsel and do surgery on the poor thing with a sharp quilting pin. I thought I had done it when all of a sudden I was holding two pieces of a crow! I know, I'm stupid and stubborn, sometimes. I super glued the little guy back together, took it to Shepherd's Bush, which they were happy to exchange, and I'll be sewing it on after this post!
A little present for myself.
A needle minder (which I don't have, and have always wanted), and
Shepherd's Bush Halloween scissor fob kit.

Speaking of Shepherd's Bush, I had "stitch group" the day after we got home. I was so happy to leave the mess and go and stitch some more! We have about 10 members. We rotate houses and have a great time enjoying lunch and stitching. One of our members needed to stop at Shepherd's Bush on the way, and we all ended having to buy something. I think between the 5 of us, we spent several hundred dollars. It was great! I didn't buy as much as some of the others this time, but I did splurge on a Kelmscott needle minder and a Halloween Scissor Fob by Shepherd's Bush, for my orange stork scissors that Jolene sent me!

I have been the lucky winner of 3 blogs. It is so funny, because I have been entering every contest found under the blogging sun, since last December, and I never win anything! For some reason, my luck has changed because I have won 3 times in one week! How lucky am I? I should have bought a power ball ticket! I'm not sure why my luck has changed, but you can bet that it was the incentive I needed to keep entering contests!
My winnings from Heather's blog!
My first win I posted last time, the cute stitchery from Sharlotte. The second was from Heather. Her blueberry pillow is darling, and the patterns were fun too. The needleroll from Lorri Birmingham was a kit, so that should be fun to do. Thanks so much Heather! You are so wonderful! I love everything you sent.
My winnings from Jolene's blog!
I was so incredibly fortunate to win Jolene's giveaway in October. She sent me Plum Street's Designs "Gobble", with the NPI silks! Also some wonderful hand towels, and a sweet card with leaf "hugs. I've been wanting this pattern, so I was thrilled when I opened it! As always, Thank you sweet Jolene! I love it!
A wonderful surprise from Terri!
And if that didn't show how lucky I've been, then this will. Terri, sent me a wonderful surprise! I inquired about a sampler she has hanging over her fireplace in one of her photos. A lovely sampler called "Mary Allen". Terri, the sweet dear, sent me the pattern, along with some wonderful floss tags for the Mary Allen sampler and for "Alphabet Blocks" by CHS. I had asked her some questions about that one as well, as I have just kitted it up, and she was the model stitcher for it! She also sent a wonderful blackbird pattern, that I love, and will probably do very soon!
I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Thanks to all my blogging friends out there! I do not have a lot of interaction with friends, being cooped up on the house with my children every day. You are my outlet! My chance to connect with adults, and to be inspired. Thanks so much for your friendship.

I will be working on Christmas gifts the next few weeks, so I will have some fun things to show. Take Care all, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

I almost forgot to show you that I kitted Blackbird's "Greetings" from the Peppermint and Holly book. I don't know if I can finish before Christmas, but I'm going to work on this during the holidays!


17 comments:

Cari said...

Look at you girl... Love the pics of the beach & sand art work!! Looks like you had fun. And the stash girl..you've been shopping and stitching! Love your Baby Bug Ball and the sweet note you stitched at the bottom.. Good Job. Glad you had a great vacation. Hugs and Happy Stitching

Jackie's Stitches said...

What wonderful gifts! You look like you have been and will be busy!

I need to get some smaller projects going.

I hope you enjoyed Florida. You were just "down the street" from me!

Hazel said...

Congrats on your winnings! That happened to me a while ago. Love your finishes and yes I have been watchign Jane's BBB come to life. It's a beauty and not one I'd think to do till I saw it on her blog. xx

Heather said...

This is quite the post, you had so much to share :D I love it! I am glad you had fun in Florida. Sorry the weather turned a bit scary though. Your finishes are all beautiful. Between you and Su I am itching to work on one of my Shepherd's Bush UFOs. I think I'll be pulling it out soon :D

Melissa said...

What a great post, Loraine. I love both SB finishes - they are equally wonderful!

You have been lucky with the 3 wins. I had 2 in one week when I've never won anything before. It's odd isn't it, but so wonderful!

It sounds like, with photos proving it, that you all had a great vacation. Wish I was there in the heat. Here we only have lots of rain & chill!

Have fun stitching your new projects!

valerie said...

Beautiful SB finishes! Congratulations! It sounds like you had a very nice and relaxing Florida vacation.

Congrats on your wins too...look at all that wonderful new stash now! :)

Margaret said...

Oh wow! I love your SB finishes! I've never seen the first one before and Baby Bug Ball is one of my favorites! I love all your prizes as well. Lucky you! Glad you had fun on your trip. Those sand sculptures are cool -- I was going to be impressed that you all made them and then you said you hadn't. lol!

Jane said...

What amazing stitching you've been doing while away! Snow Hill looks gorgeous (I've stitched this one myself and loved it), with its soft colouring. Very pretty indeed.

And look at your BBB!! Well done on your finish. I'm so thrilled that you got it completed. :) What a gorgeous notation at the bottom of it too. So thoughful. Thanks for your kind words on this SAL and I've had fun stitching it with you. I'm nearing the end with mine and hope to finish it this week. (Thanks also to Hazel for her lovely comment above).

Lady luck has been on your side too, with those winnings. How exciting to receive it all in the mail!

That BBD pattern looks so nice also. Have fun with it! :)

Unknown said...

Welcome back - it's so good to catch up all that you have been doing. It sounds like you had a wonderful family vacation.

Congrats on your recent lucky streak - what great prizes and what wonderful gifts from Terri!

Your Shepherd's Bush are both wonderful pieces! I just finished Spooky Sheep - it is a fun, quick stitch - enjoy!

Oh, I just love, love the aprons - it actually makes me wish I could sew - but that thought was fleeting as my next was - hmmm, I could pay someone to make that :-)

I prefer making x's, lots and lots of x's.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Ranae said...

Love. love the SB. And the sand art is so awesome, Thanks for sharing. You have a nice looking family too. Love BBB, I stitched that some time ago. I am almost done with "Greetings" Great minds think alike, lol
Looks like the amil had been good to you.

Unknown said...

My goodness...what a delightful post! You have definitely been having a great time of late!

So glad you enjoyed your Florida vacation...that's my home state and where my heart will always be!

The stash is awesome...and all your giveaway wins, lucky you!

The best by far though is you SAL with Jane...BBB is absolutely adorable and you both did a great job on it!

HAPPY STITCHIN'
Terri

Siobhán said...

Wow! Talk about a fun blog post, Loraine! I'm so glad you had a good vacation. Love the family pics, and the stitchy pics! I had to laugh about the surgery on the crow button. LOL I'm glad you were able to get a replacement--that SO sounds like something I would do! Your finishes are fantastic, and your wins--wow!! Lucky you. :)

Siobhán said...

Sorry, this is a PS... I didn't see the personalization that you added to Baby Bug Ball till I read about it in Cari's comment, so had to go back and look. How neat!! Your daughter will love that. :) I stitched that when it first came out & it's a super fun stitch... reminds me of when my rugrats were younger. :) Mary Allen is a super fun stitch, too--I love the sayings in it!

Mylene said...

Good to hear you had a wonderful time away with your family.

You sure lucky with all those lovely wins you've received recently. Enjoy!!

Love the BBB finish, it looks Great! And thats a beautiful BBD design, haven't seen it before.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Deb said...

What a great, and packed post Loraine! It looks like you had the most wonderful time in Florida! I hear you on playing catch up when you get back, but you know you'll catch up in due time!

I love your BBB. I did that one a few years ago and loved every minute working on it. But I can't believe you didn't have holes in those buttons! I did have that problem once with one of their buttons, and I can't remember what I did - gnawed at it with a needle I think! But what a great finish.

And what great things you've won and that Terri sent you. It looks like you're going to have some wonderful things to work on!

Oh and I can't forget - I love your Snow Hill! Of course, I love all the SB designs. I don't know what I'd do if I lived closer to their shop (probably end up in bankruptcy court)!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dani - tkdchick said...

Wow! That's a lot of catching up! You sure were lucky to win that many blog draws! Wow! Some fantastic finishes and great vacation!

Parsley said...

Wow, you got some nice prizes. How fun.

Wonder if Santa will bring me any projects for Christmas...probably not since I'm so slow and still don't have it quite down.