Saturday, December 28, 2013

Christmas Ornament Gifts and Life

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone!

What a whirlwind it has been for the last 2 weeks! I was desperately trying to get three Christmas ornaments stitched up for my two sons and my older son's girlfriend. I stitch at a snail's pace these days and trying to finish those ornaments has been a challenge. I even pulled an all nighter last Sunday night because they were all coming to celebrate Christmas on Monday afternoon. I didn't do too bad. I finished my older son's ornament.



 


He loved it! And was amazed when I told him I made it. =)

Next came his girlfriend's ornament.




She too was thrilled with her ornament and started squealing with joy when she read the back. As a side note this is the first year that they have had their very own Christmas tree at their house. So getting these ornaments was extra special for them.

And last but not least, my younger son's ornament. His ornament was why I pulled an all nighter. I really thought that because this ornament had so few colors it was stitch up really fast. Oh how wrong I was. By the time the kids arrived, I still was not done. But my son was very understanding ( I had just had chemo on Saturday) and when I finished the stitching I sent him this picture.


He too loved it and said that when it was finished into an ornament he would like me to hang on to it for him as he didn't have a tree to hang it on right now anyway.

So we celebrated Monday with the kids and really enjoyed the visit. We went with a non-traditional dinner of take-out pizza and chicken wings per my elder son's request which was fine with me. And for dessert it was sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles and candies. They were happy, the hubby and I were happy and all in all it was a good day albeit a tiring one with no sleep. But so worth it to have happy kiddos!

Christmas Eve is also my hubby's birthday so we celebrated by going out to a quiet dinner at his favorite place to get a calzone. Then later watched a few old Christmas cartoon's. Christmas day was quiet, but enjoyable. 

I've been trying to get caught up on reading all the updates to everyone's blogs. I'm so far behind! But I'm getting there. I guess it's just a busy time of year for everyone!

Happy Stitching!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Dr. Who Finish

December is getting away from me at a fast and furious pace, BUT.....

I was able to get this Dr. Who Christmas Tardis finished in time for my hubby's boss for Christmas.




I think it turned out cute. The beads along the edge make it look as if a tiny little strand of lights is circling it. I do kind of wish I had put the ribbon hanger in the center at the top as opposed to the edges, but all in all I think it turned out okay.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

New Finish

Well it's a busy time of year for most folks. I'm trying just to keep up with normal everyday things. I'm down to only having five chemo treatments left to complete. But inherently the cumulative effects of the chemo are proving to slow me way down. But it could be worse, so I won't complain!

I just finished a little something for a friend that is also going through chemotherapy. The difference is she has to spend 5 days in the hospital every month for her treatment as she has chemo 24 hours a day for those 5 days. Since she is hooked up to an IV and has to drag around the IV pole, she keeps her sense of humor about her and has named her IV pole Enriquè Suavè. She decorates the pole according to the current holiday or season for fun. She is an amazing woman who is strong and beautiful!


I've got a few more projects I really want to complete before Christmas. Time is ticking rapidly and I'm not sure if I can get them all done, but I'm gonna try.

Happy Stitching!  =)




Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all my friends in the blogging community a very Happy Thanksgiving!


I'm so grateful to be a part of this stitching circle!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

And Another Victorian Motto Sampler Giveaway!

gen·er·os·i·ty

  [jen-uh-ros-i-tee]
noun, plural gen·er·os·i·ties.
1.
readiness or liberality in giving.
2.
freedom from meanness or smallness of mind or character.
3.
a generous act: We thanked him for his many generosities.
4.
largeness or fullness; amplitude.


The very definition describes Nancy to a tee!

Head on over to Victorian Motto Sampler for a chance at yet another giveaway!

Nancy's newest giveaway is the Primitive Merry Christmas Hanger with bells!

Good Luck and Happy Stitching!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Friday, November 1, 2013

Victorian Motto Sampler Giveaway!

Hop on over to Victorian Motto Sampler to participate in their latest giveaway!

A beautiful chart, floss and bells for the "Jingle As Ye Enter" door hanger/wall hanging are up for grabs.

Good luck and Happy Stitching!

Thursday, October 31, 2013

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


Happy Halloween wishes to all my blog friends!


May your Halloween be filled with treats!


My morning coffee was indeed a treat!


I finished the main stitching just in time for Halloween.
(Just don't look too close. Chemo brain made this not quite my best work.)  =)

Be Well and Happy Stitching!




Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Happy Candy Corn Day!

Who doesn't LOVE these little bits of sweetness?! If you don't, I don't want to know....LOL



So once a year, let the candy corn flow and celebrate this little confection...


by the bowl!




Sunday, October 27, 2013

New WIP and Fall

Boy time sure does fly by! I haven't posted for a while. Been keeping busy with chemo treatments. I'm on a weekly treatment schedule now until after New Years. I have a blog over on my hubby's website about my cancer journey. Here's the link if you would like to follow over there.

I started a new project that I am going to try to get done fast! Why you may ask, good question...it's because it's a Halloween project that I want to have done by Halloween!  LOL

I got a piece of beautiful purple Zweigart 14ct Aida cloth in the Harvest Exchange from April and knew I wanted to use it for a Halloween project. So a few days ago I started stitching this....


It's a free pattern called "Haunted House" that I got from The Snowflower Diaries. Maja has some beautiful patterns and they are all free! She is a kind spirit for being so generous. She even did a beautiful tribute to a dear fellow stitcher taken away too soon, Cathey. I am so looking forward to this newest pattern becoming available.

Fall is definitely in the air here in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The tree in my back yard is dropping it's leaves.


Still have some flowers blooming too.



I love fall. I'm originally from upstate New York and fall was always my favorite time of year and I miss it terribly! It was so pretty there and there were things that I miss like going to get apple cider and donuts at the local cider mills. The cold nights and chilly days. And of course the promise of snow soon. Where I live now it's just not the same. It's hot most of the year. I dread summers here. It's just too hot to enjoy any outside activities. Even now the nights do get down to around the mid to upper 40's and the days are still averaging around 80 degrees. I'm so tired of the heat. Some people would call me crazy but I long for the cloudy, rainy, chilly days in New York. Curling up on the couch with a fuzzy, warm blanket and cup of hot tea or cocoa while listening to the rain and the wind sounds divine to me. Sigh...

Can't wait for Halloween! The hubby and I will be curling up in our recliners and watching my favorite movies and eating popcorn! Every year I turn into a big kid! I have to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", the Disney version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" it's on the DVD "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad", "Hocus Pocus", "Practical Magic", and "Sleepy Hollow" (the one with Johnny Depp). I have a couple of other movies that I have already watched "Bell, Book, and Candle" and "High Spirits". If you have a favorite movie for this time of year let me know in the comments. I'm always on the look out for more movies!  =)

Well I'm off for now. Happy Stitching!



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Harvest Exchanged Received!

I was so excited when I checked the mail today and found this waiting for me!


What an AWESOME box of goodies! All courtesy of April In Alabama! The fuzzy slippers are already on my feet! And the decorated candy corn jar sits on my desk within easy reach as it's my one guilty pleasure this time of year. And I really wish you all had a way to smell the cinnamon roll scented candle, YUMMY! And when I emailed April I told her the caramel cocoa was just screaming to be added to my morning coffee. I can't wait to find the perfect projects for the fabric and flosses, love it! And the little embroidery scissors are a welcome addition. Since I have breast cancer the tissues will accompany me on my chemo treatments! Thank you April!

The Harvest Exchange hosted by Terri at Dixie Samplar has been great fun for me. I hope to be able to participate in more exchanges in the future!

Happy Stitching!

New Friends and Blog Issues and WIP

First I would like to give a big thank you to Parsley for being an awesome new blog buddy! I got Parsley's name in the Harvest Exchange hosted by Terri over at Dixie Samplar. And I had a lot of fun putting the package together. You can see all the goodies on Parsley's blog. Thanks to her I now have some traffic over on my blog! Thank you Parsley!

It was brought to my attention that no one could leave a comment on my blog and I have been trying to figure out the problem. I think I may have solved it. I was using a third party template on my page and found out this morning that there was a known issue with the templates that was most likely the cause of the problem. I have reverted to using a default template for the time being until I learn more about how to properly use third party templates. If you still can't comment please email me and let me know!  =)

Here is a pic of a new WIP I'm doing for my younger sister. She is a hairdresser and has her own shop out of her house. I'm still trying to decide how to finish it. Not sure if I want to frame it or make a little ornament out of it. Hmmm....decisions, decisions...


Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...

Happy Stitching!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Grey Tail Giveaway

Found a blog today and wanted to share it!

chiara at the grey tail is hosting a giveaway! Click on her name to check it out for yourself!

Sounds like fun to me!  =)

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Pumpkins For Cathey

I'm a day late but I want to show my support!
She is fighting cancer and that is something she and I have in common.
I too am walking the breast cancer journey.
So here's to you Cathey from a fellow cancer sister! 




May you have many more happy years of blogging!




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Mid Week Update

Looks like Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having a giveaway of their Gingerbread Trim Packs! YAY!

Click on their name above to go to their blog and enter for a chance to win! =)

Mid Week

I remembered to have my hubby take a couple of pictures of the "angel of mercy nurse" ornament that I did for a very special nurse that took care of me during the first stages of my chemo treatments. She is getting ready to take a leave of absence and I wanted to do a little something for her to show my appreciation for her kindness to me. If you are interested in more details you can read more at my cancer blog. But here is a picture of the front and back of the project.



It was just a small, quick little thing to say thank you. I think my finishing skills need some work.  =P

Here is a pic of a little lavender sachet I did several years ago.


The weather here in the Sacramento Valley has FINALLY cooled off for a couple of days. I am very much enjoying the 70 degree temps as opposed to the near 90 or higher temps we were having. I'm sure it won't last but I will take the cooler days when I can get them.  =)

I hope everyone is having a good week! I feel well enough again to start working on my Harvest Exchange project a little more so I am off for now.

Until next time....Happy Stitching!  XX

Monday, September 16, 2013

WIP Pics

Well darn...

I forgot to take pics of the little stitch project I did for my older sister's birthday. BUT, I did remember to take a pic of the piece I'm doing for my hubby's manager for Christmas. She is a fan of Dr. Who so I thought she might get a kick out of this Christmas Tardis.




I still have to add some beads for the decorations on the tree and the wreath. And then finish it as a hanging ornament. I will post more pics as I get further along.


This next project I stitched up in a couple of hours as a thank you to a nurse that has been helping me out during my chemo treatments. I found out on Friday that she will be taking an extended leave for the next three months. I'm not sure if she will be back by the end of my chemo treatments so I wanted to show her my appreciation. I still need to figure out how I want to finish it and get done by this Friday! ACK! I will try to remember to post pictures of the finished product.




I've also been busy stitching a little something for the Harvest Exchange 2013 being hosted by Dixie Samplar. I'm so excited to be able to be a part of the exchange as I have never had the opportunity to do something like this before. Thanks for letting me participate!  =)


Well that's the latest on the stitching front for now. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.


Until next time...

Saturday, September 7, 2013

New to the Blog World (well sort of)

You would think being married to a geek that I would be deep into the online blogging world. But alas, I have usually opted to to keep pen to paper with a personal journal. I figure it's about time to come out of the dark and share with the world.

So here we go....


Let's get the unpleasant stuff out of the way first. In May of this year I found out I have cancer. Breast cancer to be exact. And since that time I have had mammograms, biopsies, ultrasounds, a double mastectomy with port placement, a revision surgery and new port placement, EKG's, MUGA scans, and now I'm having chemotherapy. WHEW! I've been busy. =)   If you would like to follow my adventures with cancer, you can read all about it by clicking here. Okay, okay so I'm not a complete noob to the blog world. ;P


But, believe it or not, all that has left me more time to do something else....


Crafting. I love to make things. I am a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it comes to crafting. I dabble in crochet, hand embroidery, scrapbooking, ornament painting, sketching, etc. But my first love will always be cross stitching. I find it to be therapeutic, especially now.


I recently completed a little cross stitch ornament for my sister for her birthday. And I am currently working on a little something for my hubby's boss for Christmas. (Pictures to come soon for those projects.) I am already planning my next project for my other sisters birthday. And with the holidays coming I expect to keep very busy while I let the chemo do it's job.


Until next time...