My Christmas Giveaway...

The above picture shows everything....well amost everything....I'm giving away in celebration of our Lord's birth. You will see in the pictures below the individual pieces that I have made but not the surprise that will be included. I will say this, the surprise involves fabric, silk fibers and buttons. Can you guess what it is?

Above is a needlework case that has 3 sections. The first one is to hold your scissors, which are included. The second section holds a wooden thread winder and the third has a needle case that matches the larger case. I have made twisted cord and attached it so that you can hang this around your neck if you want to.

Above is the pin cushion that matches the needlework case. It has a wooden base which matches the wooden thread winder also.

Above picture shows both of them together.

The next part includes a candle mat which has been hand quilted and a matching quilted ornament. I've also included a box of peppermint sticks for that sweet tooth we all have.

Now I've given you clues as to what the surprise will be and shown you all that is included in this giveaway so all you have to do is enter. Please post your name and email address to this entry and I will have a drawing on December 10th.

Good Luck!!

As always, Barbara

Black Friday????

Well today is what they call Black Friday and I do believe I'll be staying at home. I don't understand why these stores insist on doing this. I heard that this year Walmart is advertising a large tv but I know someone who works there, and according to them, each store only has 4 of them at that price. Now does this make sense to you? I believe Walmart is the biggest sham around. I refuse to shop there unless I absolutely have to.....like I haven't had anything to drink for 24 hours and that is the only place open within 50 miles. LOL I think you get the picture. I also heard that 90% of their merchandise comes from China. I'm sure other stores do the same, but this is my little dig at Walmart. It's gotten to the point where I look at all labels to see where the item was made in every store I go to. I am a fool when it comes to nice smelling lotions but a few months ago I went thru all of mine and tossed all that came from China. If they are going to poison our cats and dogs with lousy food, what must they be putting in their lotions. I'm taking no chances. Maybe I'm going overboard but I just don't appreciate our country giving all our jobs to China. Now I'll get off my soapbox and get back to regular business. Who out there took advantage of black friday and did you get any bargains?

As always, Barbara

Let Us Give Thanks

Let us give thanks to God above,

Thanks for expressions of His love,

Seen in the book of nature, grand

Taught by His love on every hand.

Let us be thankful in our hearts,

Thankful for all the truth imparts,

For the religion of our Lord,

All that is taught us in His word.

Let us be thankful for a land,

That will for such religion stand;

One that protects it by the law,

One that before it stands in awe.

Thankful for all things let us be,

Though there be woes and misery;

Lessons they bring us for our good-

Later 'twill all be understood.

Thankful for peace o'er land and sea,

Thankful for signs of liberty,

Thankful for homes, for life and health,

Pleasure and plenty, fame and wealth.

Thankful for friends and loved ones, too,

Thankful for all things, good and true,

Thankful for harvest in the fall,

Thankful to Him who gave it all.

From my family to yours.....wishing everyone a very special Thanksgiving.

Christmas Shawlette for Sale

I knitted this shawl with a beautiful acrylic/wool yarn that has a lovely drape to it and just lays gently around your shoulders. I wanted a soft ruffle along the edge and so I decided to crochet that part and it turned out just how I imagined it would. This would make a beautiful gift for someone who has a chilly office or home and just wants a little something around the shoulders to help keep warm.

The above picture shows the knitted part with a design of yarn overs and garter ridges with the crocheted ruffle. You will find this item in my store for sale.

Now unto Christmas shopping. Would you believe hubby and I went yesterday and have just about all the grand children done!!! I've always been more comfortable shopping for girls since that's what we had, but I must admit I had alot of fun shopping for those 4 grandsons. We started at Costco and found a K-nex (sp?) roller coaster that is almost 4 feet tall. Now this comes with hundreds of little pieces and I know the boys will love it, but Jenn is another story. I can hear her now complaining about the parts laying around on the floor waiting to be picked up by the vacuum. LOL It's a lot of fun being a grandparent!!! Next we went to Target and they got quite a bit of our money but we did great there. Wyatt the smallest one has been watching the Fisher Price IXL book on tv so that's what we decided to get for his large present. It looks like he's gonna have a ball with this one and it's educational so that's always a bonus. The two middle ones, Cauy and Dakota are into the Halo toys (please don't ask me to explain because I have no idea what these are) but bought some great pieces for them between Target and ToysRUs. The oldest boy Dalton, is really into camo gear. Well the next stop was the Army/Navy store and we got some things there he's gonna love...including his own set of dog tags. All in all it was alot of fun shopping for them and I still have to get a few odds and ends for them and they are finished. Peyton our grand daughter is graduating this year so we've decided to get her a laptop for her Christmas/graduation present combined. She needs one (her old one died) and I'm sure alot of stores are going to have some good sales from now till Christmas.

So today I'm recuperating and doing some sit down work. I'm still working on the gifts for my Christmas giveaway which will be posted the day after Thanksgiving.....Black Friday so keep checking back. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

As always, Barbara

Christmas Kitchen Set for Sale

This was done using a 100% cotton worsted weight yarn in Christmas reds and greens. There are 3 parts to this set: First is the dishcloth and scrubbie, Second is the trivet and Third is the bag holding 2 satin napkins. This would make someone a very nice and practical Christmas gift. This can be found in my store for sale.

As always, Barbara

A Question About My Giveaways...

I'm starting to get everything ready for my big Christmas giveaway and I'd like some input from my readers. I was wondering if I should do anything different....needlework wise. I love receiving knitted and crocheted items but I'm not sure if everybody else does or should I include more finished cross stitch.....or maybe go in a completely different direction and just have a giveway where you get the items to make something and the directions and it's up to you to finish it. I don't want to get stale in my giveaways and I'm looking for help here. Any suggestions would be appreciated ladies.

As always, Barbara

Knitted Pincushion is Finished

I wanted to see if this would work and it did. I used a 100% wool lace weight yarn and knitted it on very small needles and came up with a small pincushion. I'm sure you know that wool is the best fiber to keep your stitching needles stored in and this should work just fine. I did this one in autumn colors because that's what I had handy. I am still thinking about doing an entire needlework set out of wool but I just have to get the idea down on paper and then unto the needles. I will keep you posted on what I come up with.

Oh and by the way, this will be included with my Christmas giveaway if I get it finished in time.

As always, Barbara

The Pinkeep Story

Have you ladies seen this pattern? I fell in love as soon as I did and these shall be my next large project. Each design in the book is done by a different designer. They are: Blackbird Designs, Tournicoton, Little House of Needleworks, With My Needle, Isabelle Haccourt Vautier, Marie's Passion, Marie-therese Saint Aubin, Passe Compose, Jardin Prive, Miky's Creations, Swappons and C Mon Monde. Can you imagine all of these fantastic designers in one book? Now you know why I fell in love. Then I have to find a three layer stand to display them on. Maybe my hubby will take pity on me and make me one.

I am now working on a Christmas ornament by JBW of an angel and will have that posted in a day or two. I'm also working on a knitted pincushion that is knitted with wool on very fine needles and stuffed with wool roving. This is one thing I am having fun with. I want to come out with a needlework set knitted on very fine needles with fine wool. Think I will have any problems? Oh I know I will but the fun is figuring out how to overcome them. I would love ideas from you ladies on what color to use. I am thinking of doing them in indigo blue with an olive green contrast. What do you think.....or should I go with something entirely different.

Well enough for now. I gotta get back to work if I'm going to have these done in any time soon.

As always, Barbara

Some Beautiful Shawls for Sale

Most of you will remember this one from before....it's the Aeolian shawl that Jenn knitted out of hand dyed 100% wool cobweb weight yarn. Sorry about the small picture at the top of page, but more pictures are available upon request. This one was a great, great deal of work...not only in the knitting but the adding of beads to it. I have included a close up of this work with the beads. You will find this one for sale in my store also.

What you see here is a new shawl that I have crocheted out of a great yarn made out of wool, bamboo and acrylic. The wool adds warmth, the bamboo adds drape and the acrylic adds washability. The first picture is the pattern in the book and the second picture is the colors I made mine out of....cream and two shades of teal. This is a very generous size of 22 x 55 inches and is just waiting to hug you or yours in warmth. This can be found in my store for sale and yes, it is included in the sale items.

As always, Barbara

Holiday Sale!!!!!

Now and up to December 24th, everything in my store is 20% off from the posted price. Check everything out....there's some nice needlework pieces that would make great Christmas gifts for that stitcher we all know and love.

And so it begins.....

Here it is November 1 and I can't believe it's this late in the year already. I have posted a Christmas countdown clock at the top of my blog to remind me just how close it is getting. I really am ahead on a lot of things this year and I feel lost. LOL I'm use to the rushing around and trying to get everything finished and mailed out before Christmas is over.

I haven't started my shopping for the grand children yet but I like to wait a little closer to Christmas to start theirs. It always helps me get in the mood better. I don't know if I have ever written this on here, but I hate having Christmas in Florida. We still have the air conditioning on and probably will for another month at least. We've lived down here almost 30 years and I still can't get use to shopping in shorts and a tshirt. Really helps to get you in the mood....NOT.

Oh well I will try to keep you up to date on whats going on around here. Hubby will find out next wednesday whether or not the surgery worked so we are waiting impatiently for that. Hope everything is going great in your lives.

As always, Barbara