And the winner is............

I had the number generator pick a number this morning and it came up with the number 29.  I have already emailed Natasha to inform her of winning and as soon as I hear from her, the winnings will be in the mail.  I want to congratulate Natasha on entering and winning and thank all my followers who took the time to enter.  My next giveaway will be for Valentines day so keep watch.

I have had several comments about Trina's ornament and how I put the music box inside.  Well here's how I did it.  I buy the little round music box buttons at Hobby Lobby.  You can also get them online and you are limited to what tunes you get to choose from.  I then take the mat board that I use for the front and back of the ornie and cut a round hole in the center of each.  These music boxes aren't very thick so if you include the thicknesses of the two mat boards, the two pieces of batting and the two pieces of fabric, the music box is not at all noticable.  They are only about a 1/4 inch thick.  So after I have attached the batting and the fabrics for the front and back and I'm ready to stitch the ornament together, I insert the music box between them and there ya go.  A musical ornament and is one of a kind.  If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Now I can show you this....

This is an ornament I made for my sweet friend Trina.  I can show you a picture now because I know she's received it.  I made this a little bit differently in that I put a music box inside the finishing and when she squeezes it, it will play her a beautiful Christmas song.  I'm glad she likes it because it was a fun stitch.

Tomorrow I will have the random number generator pick a winner of my Christmas giveaway so check back after 9 am. est.  

Blessings as always,

Barbara

The birds are coming....the birds are coming....

Well Vallie and I went for our usual walk this morning and when we got home, these sweet birds were waiting for us on our front lawn.   Poor Vallie didn't know quite what to make of them and was a little skittish at first but then she got into the swing of things when she noticed they were more afraid of her than she was of them.  LOL

I've been getting my things in order to start the SAL on January 1st.  Have any of you seen the newest issue of Just Cross Stitch?  Well let me tell you that it is chocked full of great patterns this month.  There are 3 that I have lined up to do and one of them calls for HDF silks.  If you haven't tried Vikki's silks, I strongly suggest it.  I'm going to put my order in for the ones for this design....and it's done in pinks and greens.  :o)  I guess I'm not the only one who loves that color combination.  There's also a beautiful little red French welcome sign that is just perfect for my kitchen.  I also picked up my copy of Ink circles Metamorphosis yesterday at my LNS and the GA threads to stitch it with.  I bought a piece of 20ct. linen in a pretty shade of green but I'm not sure about it.  I might save that for another design and pick something else for this one.  Decisions....decisions.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Measi's Musings 2012 WIPocalypse

I am changing my mind on what working SAL I am joining.  I have some designs started and I think it would be better if I joined Measi's 2012 WIPocalypse.  You can find all the rules and qualifications under the page listed above and see what WIP's I will be working on throughout the year.  She is also allowing for new starts if you finish with what you are working on.  I'm a pretty fast stitcher and I usually finish quite a few designs in a year....so I fit into this SAL alot better.  If you are interested, go read about it and decide if this is something you would enjoy.  As of right now I am working on the Paris Mandala and a quaker sampler.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Crazy Challenge January 2012

Have you all heard about this?  The concept if very interesting.  Starting on January 1st thru the 15th you start a new project everyday.  What you end up with is 15 WIPs and you have till the end of the year to finish them.  I have joined and I'm just waiting for my confirmation email.  If you're interested, here's the link:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crazyjanuary2012/

I have 4 of the projects picked out so far.  The first of course is my Paris Mandala which I know I started earlier than Jan 1, but it's going to take a year to finish it anyways.  My second one is by Papillion and that's her first SAL called "How Does Your Garden Grow".  I have the fabric and fibers already picked out for that one so it's a no brainer.  My third will be by Papillion also and that's her "Castles in the Air" SAL from last year.  This one I am going to attempt to stitch on 40ct. linen so I know that will take a year for me to do.  No fibers have been picked yet.  My fourth one is the new Ink Circles and that's her new one Metamorphosis.  I have to pick that one up at my LNS on tuesday and we'll see then about the fabric and fibers.  I think the remaining ones will end up being on the small side since 3 of these seem to be quite large.  I've never done something like this and I think it will be fascinating to see what others pick.

So wish me luck because I must be crazy to start something like this.  Although, with all of your encouragement and seeing what others have started with this challenge, there just might be a chance that I could finish the Paris Mandala.  **fingers crossed**

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Update

Okay as I promised, here is the first update on the Paris Mandala.  The dark thread around the outside is a DMC floss - 934 and the other three shades are all overdyed silks.  This is the very center of the chart and on the fabric I'm stitching it on - 36ct - it's turning out about 3.5 inches across.   I was hoping to have more finished, but I was sidetracked on some other things.  

Poor little Vallie had to get clipped pretty short last time she was at the groomers because of matting.  Well it's been getting pretty chilly down here so I decided to crochet her a sweater.  I had this wool/acrylic yarn in the prettiest shade of pink and I thought...perfect.  It only took a few hours to make but unfortunately for Vallie, after I got this on her, I couldn't get it off.  She's such a fragile little thing I was afraid of breaking one of her legs so I did the only thing I could.....I cut it off of her.  :o(  Well I've learned my lesson and the next one will have buttons going down her back or on her stomach to make getting on and off easier.  I don't have enough of the pink yarn left so the next one is going to be red.  I'm going to work on this tomorrow and when it's finished and she has decided to model it, I will post a picture.

Everyone having a stitchie day.....I hope!!!!

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Some finishes and a big thank you

First I was to say a very big thank you to my good friend, Trina.  She stitched and sent me this absolutely beautiful Christmas cardinal ornament and I just love it.  My kitchen has reds in it so this will grace my tree for Christmas but afterwards it's going in my kitchen so I can see it all year and think of what a true friend I have in Trina.  Thank you Hon for such a beautiful gift.  Luv ya!!!!

 Remember me telling you about the frames I found at Kohl's?  Well this is it.  I decided that it called for a Just Nan pattern and her Holly Bows is perfect for it.  

 I love how this turned out!!!  I stitched it on 28ct. mushroom evenweave with DMC floss and added the delica beads and the pewter charm in the center.  When I first saw these frames, I thought they were plastic but I was wrong....thank goodness!!  They are a metal of pewter color and quite heavy.

Also, I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments of encouragement about the Paris Mandala.  I have started it and it's coming along fine.  I will post a picture of how much I have finished tomorrow evening.  This I will do every saturday night if I can remember.   :o)

So enjoy your weekend and have lots of stitchie time.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Getting ready to start the Paris Mandela

Well I'm ready to start my first large Chatelaine design and I'm feeling way overwhelmed.  I'm stitching it on 36ct. natural linen and as you can see, the box is quite filled with silks, metallics and DMC flosses.  I haven't gotten the beads and crystals yet but I'm not concerned since they will go on last.  I plan on ordering them from Fire Mountain Gems if and when I get to that point.  Notice I say "if".  I'm very concerned that this is just a little too large a project for me to undertake.  I have trouble with concentration and this might cause problems.  So wish me luck and if I start falling behind, please give me a kick in the butt to get me restarted.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Ruth's Let it Snow

I received an email from Ruth this morning and she was sharing her version of my Let It Snow.  She made it for a friend of hers who loves pink.....now I ask you....how can you go wrong with pink???  It's just adorable!!  I want to thank Ruth for sharing this with us.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

My Christmas Giveaway

It's time for my Christmas giveaway and I thought Black Friday would be a good day to start it on.  What I am giving away is a sweet little pattern from Little House Needleworks.  What I also am including is all the floss, the 28ct. Jobelan, the chenille braid and the Weeks Dye Works Wool for the finishing.  I know the pattern calls for the red wool but I only have green and it does match the floss in the design.  

Now for some of those pesty rules.

1.  You must be a follower of my blog to join in on the giveaway.

2.  To get a second chance to win, please post about my giveaway on your blog and post about it separately.

So leave your comments on this post only and I will have the number generator pick a number on December 9th.  That should give you plenty of time to stitch this up for this years celebration if you wish.

Good luck to all who enter!

Blessings as always,

Barbara