Fleece Tied Blankets & Pillows for My Kids

Hello Friends & Fellow Crafters!!! 

As you know from my previous post, there was not time for stitching this past week due to the holiday and preparations for such. I'd like to show you the fleece blankets and pillows that I made for my kids. I think they came out really well and my kids just loved them! For both of them, I used King sized pillows to make them nice and big and fluffy. The blankets are about the size of a full sized bed so that they don't outgrow their blankets!

For my daughter, the theme was Hello Kitty. She is a huge HK fan. 

For my son, who is a very big Star Wars fan, the theme was Darth Vader. Since the Darth Vader fabric was blacks, grays & bluish grays, for the opposing fabric, I used plain red fleece, since that is the color of Darth Vader's lightsaber. 

That is all I have for now. I will continue with my rotation this week and that project will be the White Willow Stitching Tribal Teapot, which will be a gift for my Mom. ♥

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

August Stitching: A Finish, Progress, A Start, & Plans

Hello Stitching & Crafting Friends & Followers! 

So here we are, already 5 days into September! Only 111 days until Christmas, and I'm sure that will fly by! 

So I am very happy to show you the finished piece of Coffee Motto that I made for my Grama and her new husband. Here it is before and after matting & framing ... 

You'll remember on my last post how I mentioned about one of the groups I am in on Facebook doing a different White Willow Stitching tribal pattern SAL each month. Last month (August) was the Tribal Cauldron. Since I was using the size 5 cotton perle black floss and had never used it before, even tho I am stitching it on 28 ct evenweave, it is proving to be quite the challenge to stitch with. But I am getting thru it very slowly. This is the only progress I've made on it so far ... 

The pattern that we are doing for the September WWS Tribal SAL is the Tribal Cat. Originally I hadn't planned on stitching this one, but once it was added to the SAL list, I thought why not. I still haven't decided what fabric or floss to use for it, so I'll keep thinking about it. This is what the Tribal Cat looks like ... 

Towards the end of August, I decided to start working on the Kincavel Krosses Rules for Life. My dear friend that passed away, Momma Anna, I showed this pattern to her after I bought it. All the many years we've known each other, she had never asked me to stitch her anything specific before. But as soon as she saw and read the Rules for Life design, she said to me, "I really like this one. Please stitch this one for me." I had never gotten to get it stitched for her before she passed. This of course saddens me. So I am stitching it. And I am going to give it to Momma Anna's daughter after it's finished. I am stitching it on 14 ct light oatmeal aida and using ThreadworX 10342 Earth Stones floss. I think the fabric & floss combination is looking really really good. I'm still doing the border of the design so I don't want to post an update photo yet, but here is what the design looks like, as well as the floss & fabric together right before I started it ... 

Also during all of this, I am also trying to completely revamp and reorganize my entire craft room. That in itself is quite a job & quite time consuming. But it's going to be so worth it once I have it finished. 

Well that's all I have for this time. I should be posting some update photos soon! Thank you, as always, for reading and following my blog! 

Happy Stitching & Crafting to One & All!

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Surprise Gift FINALLY Delivered!

Hello Stitchers, Bloggers & Crafters!

I am very happy to report that I was finally able to hand deliver the football helmets birth announcement piece to my friends! I was getting worried at first bcuz the frame that I had thought would be perfect was WAY to big. So it was a mad dash off to store after store to find the perfect frame and at long last, hiding in a corner, I found it! I was so relieved. Then it was home to get the piece framed and wrapped and then off to the baby's first birthday party! 

Here is how it turned out ... 

Here are my friends and Baby Audrey! 

And they loved it ... even with the Chicago Bears 'C' on it (lol).

I am both happy and relieved that they liked it so much. I wanted to create for them something very unique and special that they could always treasure. They are awesome people & I love them!

Well, that's all I have this time!

Happy Stitching, Blogging & Crafting!

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

News, Updates & Progress

Hi there fellow Stitchers, Crafters & Bloggers! 

I hope you are all doing well today. I have been doing fairly well. I've been trying to find a part time job while the kids are in school. So far no luck. With my daughter having autism, I have to be home when she gets home. She is 16 now and it's not like she can go to after school care. So I can only be available for work while the kids are actually in school, unless my husband is off work, then I can work anytime on those days. I have applied at Michaels, Joanns, a few local stores. Nothing yet. There is a Hobby Lobby going to open up it's first location here where I live, but not until approximately the end of October. Another option, if they don't mind my schedule restrictions, is a seasonal store called Spirit Halloween. That one of course, if they hired me, would only be until maybe a few days after Halloween, of course. And it definitely would be a lot of work. It's so frustrating. I don't need much. Just 20-25 hrs a week would be great. It would be so helpful to our household income. That alone would cover enough bills to give us a little bit of breathing room. I have been given the suggestion of working at the schools so that I'm working only school time hours. And that is a great idea. But the school where my son goes, isn't hiring and there are all kinds of budget cuts in the school district that my daughter's school is a part of. Anyway, enough of that. 

As for stitching, I have taken part in a monthly coaster exchange, which I think will be fun. I have one finished and ready for the mail that will go out tomorrow. Found the pattern for the next one. And also I'm doing an ATC exchange. I have missed doing those so I thought I'd get back into it. Currently stitching up a cute pattern for that. It has a large number of french knots, which normally wouldn't bother me at all, except with this pattern, they are right in the middle of the square rather than the corners of the square. So it makes it a bit tedious. Stitching on 18ct with a 24 needle, makes it a lil bit hard to get the needle up thru the middle of the square and then back down thru it. Once it's finished, I'm sure it will look great tho. I don't want to post any pics of any of this as of yet bcuz anytime I post an entry to my blog, it posts an entry on Facebook, and they are on my friends list. So once they receive their goodies, I will post pictures. 

I haven't really had time to work on Hope lately. Once I get the ATC and coaster finished and mailed, then I'll work on it. I'm still working on adding all the grid lines with the fishing line. I really hope it helps make the stitching go at least a bit faster. 

On a side, and rather sad, note, today an amazing man and actor passed away today. Michael Clarke Duncan died at the very young age of 54. Two months ago, he suffered a massive heart attack and was in the hospital bcuz of it. It was said in an online article, that his fiance, Omarosa, left his hospital room for just a minute, and when she returned, he had passed away. So sad. Mr. Duncan was most known for his role as John Coffey in The Green Mile. He also had roles in Armageddon as Bear, Planet of the Apes as Attar, The Kingpin in Daredevil, Balthazar in The Scorpion King, as well as many other roles and voice roles for movies and video games. He grew up in Chicago's south side and resisted drugs and alcohol by constantly applying himself in his school work. He truly was a good man and will be missed by many. Whenever I watch The Green Mile, I always cry at the end. Now that sadness takes on a whole new meaning. My condolences go out to his family, friends and loved ones. RIP Michael. 

 

Well, time to get the kids ready for bed and then in bed and then get their lunches made for school tomorrow and get some laundry done. So that's all for this time! 

Happy Stitching, Crafting and Blogging Everyone! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

PS ~ I ALMOST FORGOT!!! My friends that I designed & stitched the Football Helmets Birth Announcement piece for are going to be in town this weekend for the baby's FIRST BIRTHDAY!!! As soon as they told me this a few months ago, I decided to wait until they are here to give it to them so that I can see them faces in person when they open it. I'M SO EXCITED!!! I'll post pics of them opening it and with it after Saturday!!! :)

A Finish & One Stitching Goal DONE!

Hi Friends and Blog Followers!!! 

YAY!!! I have my first stitching finish of the year! It only took me half of the year to finally get it finished lol. 

But here it is ... my very unique Football Helmets Birth Announcement for my very dear friends! :) I am so excited about this piece and cannot wait to hear how my friends like it. I'm going to include a note attached to the wrapping paper that they have to call me before they open it so that I can hear their reaction. Or they can use a webcam or a video chat app on their phones lol.

I still have to wash, iron & frame it. I have a really pretty white frame that I think it going to look really nice with this piece. Once I have it washed, ironed & framed, I will post another photo. So what do you think? :) 

Now I can get busy with HAED's Hold on to Hope. I started it this past Saturday afternoon while we were at a party for my son's baseball team. But I was only able to really get in a few stitches. 

Well, that's all I have for now! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Another Update on My Football Helmets Piece!

Hi there Everyone!!!

I just wanted to post a quick update on the Football Helmets Birth Announcement piece. I have finished all of the back stitching on the Packers helmet! All that's left is the rest of the names and the baby's info!!! I am so excited to be so close to finishing this piece! My goal is to finish all of the stitching before I go to bed tonight, which may be very late tonight. But I really want to get this piece finally finished. 

So I have an update close up photo of the Packers helmet with all of the back stitching done. And here it is ... 

It's a little bit hard to see all of the back stitching in the darker areas of the helmet mask, but if you look closely, you can see it pretty well, I think. Once I got this part finished, my adrenaline really started pumping as the excitement of being so close to finishing took over! And now I'm nearly done! I'll post another photo as soon as I'm finished and before I go to bed! :) 


See you all in a few hours!


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Football Helmets Birth Announement Update

Hi there Friends and Blog Followers! :) 

Wow it's been a while since I've posted and I have even passed my 4 yr Blogoversary, I believe, since my last post. It's so hard to believe that I've been blogging for that long. But I have certainly loved every minute of it! :) I look forward to many more years to come! :) Thank you to everyone who follows and comments on my blog. I really appreciate each and every one of you! :)

So, I have been working on my very special football helmets birth announcement piece for my friends. It's looking great. I realized last night that I hadn't posted any update pics here on my blog and was upset with myself for not doing so. But I did take photos. So here I am today, posting pics! :)

So without further a due, here they are! 

And there they are! So what do you think? I have finished with all of the X stitches and am now working on what's left of the back stitching. As of this post, I am nearly finished with the back stitching on the helmet on the left and then will just have all of the baby's info in the middle and the daddy's name under the helmet on the left. I am so happy with how this is turning out. I am just so upset with myself for allowing my stitching bug to hide away from me, causing me to take so long to get this piece finished. I can't wait to hear how my friends like this piece. I just hope that the daddy doesn't get upset about me adding the 'C' at the bottom. :) I don't think that he will, but there is always that chance, I guess. 

Once this piece is finished, then I will be jumping into the Heaven and Earth Designs piece called Hold on to Hope, which I showed a photo of in my last post. My friend that I'll be SAL with on that piece is making a lot of progress on it. But I am glad that she's not a super sonic speedy stitcher lol. :) 

Well, that's all I have for now. 

Happy Stitching!!!

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

First Finish of the Year & One Goal Completed!!!

Hi there fellow stitchers, crafters and blog followers :) 

Well, here we are about 6 weeks into the new year. I have just been able to get into working on some crafty things this past few days with moving and everything. Sadly, it's just my husband and I that are having to move an entire house of things that we've accumulated over the last four years. And of course during that time my husband also has to work. So needless to say, moving is taking way longer than it should. C'est la vie, I suppose. 

So on to happier subjects ... CRAFTING!!! :) Those of you that read my previous post know of my crafty goals for this year. One of those goals was to finish crocheting the scarf that I started for my daughter. Well, I am happy to say ... IT'S FINISHED!!! So even if it is not cross stitch, I do have my first finish of the year and completed one of my goals! :) 

Here is a photo of the scarf ... 

I used a bright "hot pink" and a darker gray for colors. I did all the rows in double crochet and then stitched around the whole thing using single crochet. Then I just cut a bunch of long pieces of yarn to create the fringe and looped them onto the ends of the scarf. I'm trying to get a good jump on gifts for the holidays this year, so after I took this photo, I folded it up and put it into a ziploc bag to keep it nice until the holidays when I will give it to my daughter. 

Well, that is all I have for now. I'm going to start on the scarf for my son. He has mentioned that he wants a red/black scarf. He's only 5 (almost 6), so it should be a quick project. 

Happy Stitching and Crafting Everyone!!! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥