new and not so new

Only one week til we pull out the Christmas decorations.  I’d like to see a few new things on the tree.  I was thinking of stitching up this pretty new design from Beehive Needlworks, but not sure if I should stitch it in white on red or in red on white…. as you can see I have a few things to keep me company while I stitch – that’s the new sock monkey ornament I tweeted about.  I’d also like to knit a few more of these little mittens.  It took me ages to do one last year but since I have a year more worth of knitting practice under my belt, perhaps it will go better this year.

What do you think of my ‘new’ boudoir chair??  It’s quite a sight isn’t it?  This has migrated from Amber’s room to mine.  Although it’s quite hideous to look at, it is marvelously comfy.  It’s also the most coveted spot to lounge for the cats.  Look at sneaky Yzma ready to remove Ophelia from the seat of honor!

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You can find Cranberry Deer Pinkeep on this page at the webshop. The linen shown is Aztec Red and Linen (color name) 30 count Weeks.

weekend wrap up

Saturday was dark and grey, I finished up a small quilt for someone (look at that clean worktable)!  Ophelia was a big help.

and I thought about starting this…..

Sunday we woke up to lots of snow

and I stitched a little of this

and a little of this (an anniversary keepsake)

and my worktable is a big bad mess again!

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frosty couple

New goodies coming and going all the time!! I’ve been updating the webshop, lots more to do. This is current release for the Country Cottage Winter Wonderland series, starting in November there is a great series coming called Spring Social and not to forget the Once Upon a Time series coming from Little House. Both can be seen at the Fabulous Fall page at the webshop.

Amber made a batch of chocolate meringues today and served them with some of our raspberry freezer jam – yum. So good with a cup of cocoa. We are in need of cocoa here as you can see by this other little frosty couple all bundled up in a quilt. Tonight’s weather calls for 2 inches of snow and in some nearby areas (a little too nearby) there is a winter storm warning.

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friendship

Such good stuff in the mail from stitching friends. My exchange stocking from Janice. Isn’t it pretty?? Janice organized our exchange over at the BBD Yahoo group – thank you so much Janice for everything!

A super surprise from another stitching friend. I’ve wanted this chart for ages and my friend was so sweet and sent it to me recently – lovely. I’m leaning toward a blue thread for this – thank you, thank you! Kim and Cari also sent me wonderful designs I had admired recently, thank you both so very much! Can’t wait to share my finishes here.

My family has been a great support to me recently – I’ve been so busy (doing work that I love, it sure has been an exciting month for cross stitchers) that I’ve barely had time to get chores done around the house. They have picked up the slack beautifully. Amber made some great pesto the other night and even took pictures of it for my blog. She has been doing all the work on the improvements you see here on my blog as well as helping me with my other work – thank you Amber. Jerry has twice sent me to stitch in a quiet room this month, just so that I could relax – good thing, it’s the only stitching I’ve had a chance to do. Two days of stitching in last 3 weeks, that has to be a record low for me I think – thank goodness for small projects.

So to all my friends and family, here are some flowers from my garden for you!

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PS – Yzma & Ophelia say hello!

PPS – I’m not sure why my paragraphs are bunching together here – I’ll have Amber take a look.

milestone giveaway

Finished up my little pillow. Used two fabrics from the Moda Hartfield collection (yes, as in Jane Austen’s Hartfield). On the back I used a piece of my all time favorite fabric which I happily found a bit more of in a clearance basket recently, I think this is from the Moda Hannah collection – I might have the wrong line in mind however.

I’ve been trying to match a giveaway with a blog milestone for ages. They keep passing me by so I’ve been waiting for the 700,000 visit to register at my blog. Since I expect that to happen in the next 24 hours or so, here is a little giveaway in honor of that milestone. Please leave a comment here at the ‘milestone giveaway’ post to be entered into a drawing for a Sampler Girl, Hannah’s Spring Sampler 1765 pattern and a little pincushion that matches the fabric I used for my finish. I’ll draw a winner and post it next Monday, August 10th.

A reading note – finished The Guernsey Literary Guild and Potato Peel Pie Society (loved it) and nearly finished A Rambling Fancy (very nice). I’ve passed Guernsey Literary Guild on to Amber and then it will go into Jerry’s bookcase on the ‘books I think you would like’ shelf, I may re-read it first.

Ophelia says, ‘hello’.

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PS – I just read that this is my 750th blog post, so this is really two milestones!

blue and blue berries

Little Miss Ophelia snuggling down for a nap – actually I sprinkled some catnip on that cushion and she is trying to get as close to it as she can.

I made a tiny start on Mary Davies 1769 (The Sampler Girl), I’m using Belle Soie Wheatgrass and Petticoat Blue on Cream Edinburgh linen, I like just using two colors, fast progress. I plan to use Butterscotch Belle Soie for the gold in this design. I think I’ll change the bottom to say: ‘Worked by Jane Austen, In the Year 1804, Bath’ for my JA collection of stitched things.

I made some blueberry muffin cake this evening (made a muffin recipe but baked it in a 9×13 pan instead). It’s pretty yummy. I tried a recipe I found online here, I just sprinkled sugar on top without the cinnamon.

I have one batch of last minute orders to get in the mail tomorrow and I’m planning to blog once more before the break – I plan to twitter messages here from my cell phone now and then, so you can follow me there or read those messages here at my blog at the top of the side column where it says ‘tweets’.

Shop Announcement -

Handcrafts Online will be taking short summer break June 7-20, 2009. Orders received during that period will continue to be processed but will not ship until after June 20th. Thank you again for all your support and friendship.

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fresh

Now in stock, two new designs from Little House Needleworks (love em). I couldn’t resist making a tiny start on Fresh Watermelons (over 1 on 28 ct Thyme linen from Wichelt) I’m thinking….pincushion. I substituted some Crescent Colours Ladybug and Old Oak Tree for two of the DMC colors so far.  I do plan to stitch Colonial Women as well.

Speaking of pincushions, I have a bunch of these pre-made very large pincushions from Blackbird Designs and Moda Home. These came out as part of Blackbird’s Beach House Fabric line. I’ve listed them over at Etsy or you can email me about them. I have some of the Beach House honey buns (Moda precut fabric) on the way as well.

A silly pictures of Yzma who also happens to have the softest cat hair on the planet (at least we all think so).

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Shop Announcement -

Handcrafts Online will be taking short summer break June 7-20, 2009. Orders received during that period will continue to be processed but will not ship until after June 20th. Thank you again for all your support and friendship.

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