Pima County Fair 2016!!!

Hi Everyone! 

Yes, I know that it has been a while since I've posted here on my blog. Ever since I created my Blogger Facebook page, I have been posting there like crazy! There are so many updates and posts on my Facebook page, so please be sure to check it out! Search for It's All About Cross Stitch or you can find a link in the All About ME tab above! 

Well, as is every year, I did enter two projects into the county fair this year! Both pieces were created by designer Connie Gee Designs. She has some great blackwork designs in her Etsy Shop. And she has some free designs on her blog page! Be sure to check them both out! And tell her Margie sent you! ☺

So the two designs that I stitched were Quirky Quartet and Yin Yang Turtle. They were both model stitch pieces that I did for her. The Quirky Quartet is a blackwork design that is available in her Etsy Shop and Yin Yang Turtle is a free pattern on her blog page. 

Here is how my finished pieces did at the fair!!! 

They were both fun stitches! And the patterns are very easy to follow! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

And the Results are In!

Hello to you all! 

Thank you for stopping by & reading my blog! So I have some happy news from the Pima County Fair! 

I won RIBBONS!!! 

For my Goonies Never Say Die ... 

3rd Place! 

The notes on the card said that they didn't like the way I chose to frame it. 

For my Rules for Life ...

2nd Place! 

The notes on the card for this one said they did not like the frame that I chose for this design. 

And last but not least, for my Let's Be Wicked ... 

1st Place! 

The notes on the card for this one said that the purple mat should have been a lighter purple. 

So that is my results from the fair!!! Not too shabby if you ask me! 

That's all for now! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

My Entries for the County Fair!

Hi there Everyone! 

As I said in my previous post, I have three fair entries this year. The first one is Rules of Life by Kincavel Krosses. This design, was the only pattern that a very dear friend of mine, who was really like a second mom to me, asked me to stitch for her. She passed away before I was able to stitch it for her. But I had promised that I would stitch it for her, and so I kept that promise. The second is Let's Be Wicked by Ursula Michael. This was just a fun design to stitch and it was the first bigger design that I stitched for myself. Before, the only thing I had stitched for myself was a very small ornament and a small magnet. And last but definitely not least, Goonies Never Say Die by Fiddlesticksau. This design, well speaks for itself. The Goonies is a movie favorite in our home. 

Here is the completed and framed Rules for Life ... 

Here is Let's Be Wicked ... 

And finally, Goonies Never Say Die ... 

I had so much fun stitching all of these designs. And also choosing the perfect frames and embellishments. I turned them into the fairgrounds this past Friday, April 10th. The fair opens Thursday night and that's when I'll get to find out how they did in the judging! Four more days!!! This is one of the very few times when I DO wish for time to go by very quickly! LOL! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Whoa! Where Has the Time Gone?!!!

Hello Friends & Fellow Crafters! 

What a busy year it has been so far! Here we are already one third of the way through the year and I haven't gotten much stitching done at all. I have been super busy with my Bottle Caps crafts. It has been so much fun! Have you visited my Crafting with Bottle Caps page on Facebook? I have been making bottle cap jewelry, needle minders and magnet sets! They have been SO much fun to make! I am just trying to make some extra money since I am unable to work due to needing to be home for my daughter who has autism and epilepsy. 

I need to get back on working on some stitching. I have to get my Tribal Teapot finished within a month. These next couple of days I am finishing framing up and preparing my three entries for the local county fair. Plus my daughter is entering three pieces of her artwork! I am entering Let's Be Wicked, Rules for Life and Goonies Never Say Die. I have to turn them in on Friday. Then the first day of the fair is next Thursday, April 16th and that's when we'll be able to find out how we did. We are so excited! Once we get them all ready for the fair, I will post pictures. 

Here is my Tribal Teapot so far ... 

I will be making some more progress on it and hopefully get it finished in time for Mother's Day! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Success at the County Fair!!!

Hello Everyone!!! 

I haven't made much progress on the Monopoly Game Board bcuz I keep struggling with a way to hold all of that fabric so that I can use my floor stand. I tried using a 9x24 split scroll frame, but that wasn't large enough for the fabric size. So my husband has an idea to make split scroll bars that are longer. My fabric size is 30x36, so I think I will need scroll bars that are 38 or 40 inches long. But my worry is that he won't be able to put the split in the dowels without breaking them. But we'll see. 

Anywho, SO! Remember my WWS Tribal Penguin? Well, I finished it, framed it up and it looked AWESOME!!! So then it was time to enter him into the county fair! And today, was the first day of the fair & I got to find out how I did! 

I GOT FIRST PLACE!!! 

I am so excited & happy with my penguin. And I have decided that I'm also going to be entering it into the state fair in October! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Making Some Progress ...

Hi there Friends! 

Well after a couple of good nights of stitching, I'm making some good progress on my Monopoly Game Board. It is really fun to stitch, especially as I'm stitching the spaces on the board bcuz it's so neat to see it come together just like on the actual game board. 

So here is my progress after the weekend stitching ... 

That is all that I have for today. Feeling a bit tired after being up really late the last couple of nights stitching. You all that stitch know how it goes. The old "just let me finish this row/section" and next thing you know it's hours later lol. 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

First Finish of 2014!!!

Hello Friends!!! 

I am very happy to report my first finish of the year! See, it WILL be a year of finishes for me! 

Very early Wednesday morning, I finished the WWS Tribal Penguin! And I really think it came out great! All that I have left to do is iron and frame it, but first I must find the perfect frame. I think a white frame will make it really pop. It would be awesome if I could find a frame that looks like ice or ice cubes or something like that. But I haven't ever seen a frame like that, so I'm sure I will use a white frame. Then in April, I'll be entering my Penguin into the county fair! I'm super excited about it! 

Here is my finished Penguin! 

After a few hours of sleep, I started on a project that I have been wanting to do for a very long time and I decided that now is that time. I am stitching the Monopoly Game Board! I only worked on it this past Wednesday so far. So I haven't gotten very far yet. For the border of the game board, I decided to stitch it in DMC 550 purple to make it a little bit personalized, since purple is my favorite color. After I finish stitching the game board, I am going to build a table and put the stitched game board on top and then apply a thick poly coating on top so it will be my permanent Monopoly table. It's going to be awesome!

So here is what the Monopoly Game Board will look like ... 

And here is my start of my progress from this past Wednesday ... 

I am really excited about this project and can't wait to see it finished! 

That's all that I have for now. Happy Stitching and Crafting! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

It's a New Year & 2014 Will Be a Year of Finishes For Me!

Hi there Friends! 

Yes, I am still here. I have not done hardly any stitching since my last post, as my daughter started having seizures a lot. They now have her on 3 medications and we're hoping that will finally keep the seizures at bay. 

So as I said, it's a new year! And I want to get some finishes under my belt this year!!! I picked back up the WWS Tribal Penguin when I was finally able to go back to the local stitchalong this past Saturday. I didn't get a lot done, but I did have a good time. And I certainly needed that! I'm going to get that finished up and then I am going to stitch the Monopoly board that I have had for quite some time. Once I finish stitching it, we're going to build a table and put a thick poly coating over the top so it will be a permanent Monopoly table! I'm really excited about it & can't wait to see it all finished. 

So the fair will be here in just a few months. I need to get busy if I want to get my penguin and Monopoly table finished in time to enter them! The dates to turn in entries are April 11th-12th. I have never seen anyone enter a piece of furniture with cross stitch as a permanent part of it entered into the fair before. That could be a very good thing! 

I have some awesome news!!! I have opened up my very own Etsy shop! I am working on designing some cross stitch patterns. As of right now, I have one of my cross stitch patterns up for sale in my Etsy shop. There are more in the works and will be released soon! You can find my Etsy shop here ... 

4EverTreasrdKpsakes

It's a new day, it's a new year, and I'm feeling good!!! 

(yes, I know those aren't the exact lyrics, but they are MY lyrics!) 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Another Finish & a Couple of Updates!

Hello Friends and Fellow Stitchers and Crafters! 

It's been a while since I've posted and I realized I forgot to post a photo of my second finish of 2012! I crocheted a scarf for my son and have put it away for the holidays. :) I think it turned out pretty good. I think he's really going to like it ... well at least I hope he will. 

Here is a photo of it ... 

So what do you think? I hope this photo posts correctly. I used PhotoBucket and used their program to adjust the size of the photo. But they changed they way their website is set up and I kept getting an error message. And even though the site showed the additional copy of the photo, saved to the new size, I'm not so sure it actually did save to the new size. 

Anyway, so I did attempt to get Elemental Cosmos finished in time to enter into the county fair for this year, but with all of the kids activities both in and outside of school, and the time it takes to stitch on black evenweave (SO NOT easy), I was not able to finish it in time. So I put it back on the back burner, temporarily, while I work on the birth announcement piece that I designed for one of my best friends and her husband. I was making some good progress on it, and then I discovered a mistake. That mistake caused me to have to take out a bunch of stitches. I am just about finished re-stitching all that I had to take out, without the mistake of course. 

Here is where I'm at with that piece at the moment ... 

It's coming along and I hope to be finished before the end of the week. Again, I'm not sure if the size of this photo will show up correctly. I hope it does. :) 

As I said, I also worked on Elemental Cosmos a little bit. So I thought I would post a photo of my progress on that as well ... 

It's coming along slowly. You can see where the stars are that I added the beads. Do you think it looks alright? As for the size on this photo, I started playing around with sizing photos on PhotoShop and then uploading them to PhotoBucket and maybe this will help. 

Well that is all I have for now. Looking forward to hearing your feedback. 

Happy Stitching & Crafting!!! :) 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

PS ~ I messed with the photos a little bit on PhotoShop and then on here and I think I got the photos looking just right now! :) 

All Mistake Stitches Removed ...

Hi again ... 

Ok, it took two hours, but I removed all the mistake stitches on my piece for the fair. My goal for Monday was to finish all of the cross stitches of the outer boxes, but with the mistakes issue, that's definitely put me behind. I should be sleeping right now but I only have 3-4 days to get this piece completely finished and ready to drop off at the fairgrounds. 

So here is where I am now as I'm about to re-stitch a bunch ... 

Obviously, you can still see where the stitches were, but soon that will be all different. Hopefully by morning (it's 2:45am here) I'll be back where I was before I had to take all those stitches out lol. 


So here we go!

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

An Update on Today is Not Your Day ...

Hello Again Everyone ~ 

I wanted to post a picture of the progress that I made so far since last night. I actually made some great progress I think with nearly all of the actual cross stitching done. But then I noticed something ... I noticed the mistake that I made and how now I have to take out nearly all of the stitches in the bottom left corner. I'm so frustrated about it, but have to push forward if I want to get this done in time to enter into the fair. 

So here's where I'm at ... 

If you look closely, you can see where along the frame around the words along the bottom, it's not going to line up like it's supposed to. It took a little while to figure out where the mistake was that I made. In fact, my husband helped me look at it to figure it out. And the red box on the left side just above the blue box, I stitched one square too low. I left one extra space between the red and pink boxes. 

So I'm off to take out some stitches and will post another update picture tomorrow night. 


Happy Stitching!


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Change in Plans ...

Hello Stitching Friends ~ 

So the plan for finishing Elemental Cosmos in time to enter it into the county fair didn't work out. When I posted last time on March 21st, I was very optimistic and excited about working on that piece in time for the fair. About a day or two after that post, I asked my husband what he thought and if he thought I could get it done in time. He said he didn't think it could be done. And in his defense, as disappointed as I was with what he said, he wasn't trying to deflate my enthusiasm, but was being realistic about the time frame left until it had to be turned in. I did work on the piece for a couple of days, and friends, I'm here to tell you that stitching white on white is hard enough, but stitching black on black evenweave is INTENSE!!! However, I have to admit it does look really good. After a couple of days I began to lost my enthusiasm and kept thinking about what my husband said. So back to the back burner Elemental Cosmos has gone. And then a few days ago, I remembered a piece that I had started for my mom. I keep this piece in a ziploc back in my purse so that I always have something to stitch for like at the doctor's office or any place where I have to sit & wait. The piece is probably about halfway finished and it's only a 7"x5" piece. It's a simple design and on 14ct white aida, so I think to myself "I can do this!" It's not a big or fancy piece by any means. But at least it's something. And since the piece is for my mom, I know she will be happy with no matter how it does at the fair. Sometimes simple is best right? 

So here is what the piece will look like when it's finished ...

And here is where I'm at with the piece right now ... 






The reason that I've already stitched the backstitching in the middle is bcuz that was the easiest way for me to find the center of the design on the fabric. So just a few more two-toned "squares" and then back stitching and I'm done! I am giving this to my mom to hang in her office at work. I think it's so perfect for her office and I know she'll get such a kick out of it. :~) 

So it's Sunday night ... entries must be turned in either Friday between 3-8pm or Saturday between 10am-3pm. Of course the ideal goal would be to have it finished and turned in on Friday. So ... 5 or 6 days ... do ya'll think I can do it? Please send support! I can definitely use it. 

Happy Stitching, my friends! I'm off to stitch my tush off lol! 

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Countdown to the County Fair!

Hello my fellow stitchers & friends! 

So yes the county fair is coming to town! And it's just around the corner (yikes)! Time goes by too fast and here it is now just 18 days until entries must be turned in (gulp). I don't know if I'll get anything done in time, but I've decided to give it a shot. Along with entering something into the fair, I can also purchase 2 tickets that will give me free parking and entry all 11 days into the fair for only $20! That's a great deal. 

So, what piece am I going to scramble to get finished in time? Well, I decided working on one of my WIP/UFO's would be best. Do you remember Elemental Cosmos? Here is a picture of what it will (mostly) look like finished as well as where I was when I picked it back up again just a couple days ago ... 

So what's left is filling in all the sections within the star and circle. Where the stars are I'm planning on adding some iridescent beads to give that little something extra. The challenge with this piece is stitching on the black evenweave fabric. And in some places it's black floss ... so stitching black on black is a HUGE challenge. But I have to admit I really like how it looks. :~) So I'm starting with the bottom section and will work my way around. Do you all think I can get it finished in time? I sure hope I can. Just 18 days (maybe 19) to get it completely finished, washed, ironed and framed. The entire design is 135 stitches wide by 146 stitches high. That doesn't sounds like a whole lot, but it's solid stitches. And like I said the black evenweave is a challenge. 

So that's the agenda for the moment. If you see me on Facebook, please send me a shoutout to get back to stitching so I keep on track lol. I can use all the support & encouragement & motiviation that I can get to get this finished in time lol. 

Thank you my friends!!! 

Happy Stitching!

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

County Fair Entry and Ribbon!

Hi Stitching Friends!

Well, the piece I had been showing you progress on did not get finished in time for the county fair. I was sick for 2 weeks and then babysat for a week and so 3 weeks took a big chunk out of my stitching time. The state fair is in October, so I will be working on that piece for then.

So remember the wedding piece that I made for my sister and brother in law called Together? Well my mom convinced me to enter that piece.

Here is a picture of it all framed when I submitted it to the fair to be judged.



Then last night was opening night of the fair and I went to check on my piece and see what the judges thought of it! So here's a picture of what I found!!!



It's kind of hard to see that ribbon hanging down below my piece, so here's a close-up!



I was so happy to discover that I had received a 2nd place ribbon! I didn't expect to do that well. Although I think I do stitch pretty well. For whatever reason, the judges are always pretty hard on some pieces. I know there were no mistakes in my stitching. But it is a pretty simple pattern, and even though I added the lettering and blending filament, to the judges the degree of difficulty was not that hard. I stitched the piece on 28count evenweave. And I suppose they feel that is not a difficult fabric to stitch on either. Those are some of the criteria that they judge each piece on. The piece that won best of class, from what I could tell, was on 14 or 18 count aida and was the pattern of the three labradors ... one black, one golden and one chocolate. I've seen that pattern all over the place. In fact, I think I might even have that pattern. So I'm sure some of you reading my blog know exactly which pattern I'm talking about.

But anyway, I am very happy with my 2nd place ribbon and I am sure that my sister and brother in law will be really happy knowing that their gift is an award winning one. :~)

So I'm still working on my 2010 stitching goals, and part of those goals is to finish the RR pieces, one of which being Henry and then finish I believe one or two of my WIPs. The other RR pieces are completely finished, just have Henry to finish. I am about halfway finished with the cross stitches and then there is a BUNCH of back stitching to do with Henry. So I'll go back to Henry and then finish Elemental Cosmos in time for the state fair. I will be posting updated photos of each within the next day or two so you can see where I'm at on each.

Thank you all for reading my blog. I know I don't have a lot of readers, so I am thankful for those that I do have. Hopefully over time I will get some more readers though! :~)

Thanks again and Happy Stitching!!!

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Getting Ready for the County Fair!

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all!!! Any special plans for anyone today? We won't be doing anything special, other than having our usual St Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef & cabbage. We look forward to it every year. Dinner is in the crock pot and will cook low and slow all day long! :~)

As for my stitching, I had to put Henry aside, at the orders of the person who will be getting that piece once he is finished, in order to work on my piece that I will be entering into our local Pima County Fair, called Elemental Cosmos. It's a piece that I had started a little bit on and put aside some time ago, but have always wanted to work on and finish. Now I have 23 days to get this piece completely finished and framed and turned in to be judged! Then in October, I will enter the piece into our state fair.

Here is what my piece will look like when it's finished, with the exception that I will be adding some iridescent clear and yellow beads where the "stars" are in the design.



Here is the little bit of progress that I had done before I started really working on it for the fair.



I got back to working on this piece last Friday night, and here is the progress that I made as of Monday afternoon.



I've done a bit more since this progress photo and will definitely have even more done over the course of the next few days. I have 23 days to get this piece completely finished, framed and then entered into the county fair on April 9th!!! I'm so excited!

I am stitching this piece on 28 count black evenweave, although in some areas it's more like linen than evenweave. And even though this fabric is one of the hardest to stitch on, I have to say that I am really having a lot of fun stitching this piece! I love all the bright colors and the way they POP! on the black fabric. Honestly, the progress photo doesn't do it justice.

With stitching on black fabric, lots of light is required. I have always wanted to get one of those OTT-Lite floor lamps, but they are so expensive, even when on sale, that I just couldn't afford it. But I was VERY happy to discover that Joann's now carries OTT-Lite light bulbs that will fit into any lamp now!!! So I bought an inexpensive floor lamp at Target that holds 5 light bulbs and you can move each one by bending the necks of each one, so that you can point the light where you want it to go. I bought two of the OTT-Lite light bulbs. In the floor lamp I put one of them and then I have this click on lamp that I put one in also. I put the other light bulb in my clip on lamp that I clip to my foot stool so that I have light behind my piece as I stitch on the dark fabric. Then in the remaining spots of the floor lamp I just put regular fluorescent light bulbs. It's great bcuz you can turn the floor lamp on with 2 lights, 3 lights or all 5 lights! It works perfectly for stitching! :~)

Well I'm off to get some more stitching done on my fair entry!

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥