QoTW

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently allows you to grow.

Weekly update

The Little Sheep Virtue Series by Little House Needleworks has totally captured my attention. These are great little pieces that can be stitched quickly and satisfied my stitching mojo. LOL! This week I completed #3 in the series called, "Peace." I again used an ornament cut that I purchased from Sassys Fabbys a long time and had in my stash. I love that I discovered these after cleaning out my stash room, I'd totally forgotten about them. Nice to find "hidden treasures" in my own stuff.

In between my stitching I made time for my hand quilting and managed to add another row to my scrappy quilt. Loving this piece but I'm resisting the urge to sitting for too many hours and sewing. My doctor insists I make time for my friend…the treadmill. Time will tell which one will win!

QoTW

"To witness miracles unfold in your experience, count your blessings and be thankful. Perceived small blessings accumulate to be the most powerful." - T.F. Hodge

Busy busy little hands...

Happy Monday all!

I was able to devote a little more time to my hobby and crafts this weekend and here are my results. LOVE, is part of the Little Sheep Virtues series by Little House Needleworks which I stitched on a long lost ornament cut fabric from Sassys Fabbys which I had in my stash.

"Patches" is my version of the Scottie Dog pattern I found on favequilts.com. This I did totally by hand and I'm plesantly surprised that it turned out so well for my first try. Not that I will be stitching many more any time soon, since though small, they are a bit time consuming and hard on my fingers. I think I'll stitck to my hexies for now.

QOTW

Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else's fairy tale.

"Patches"

Yes, I have a few projects in the making but that didn't stop me from trying out / starting something new. While cruising some quilting websites I came across this Scottie Dog pattern on favequilts.com.  The pattern does call for it to be done my sewing machine but since I'm no expert on it (though I do own one) I figured I try it by hand. I immediately cut some paper into 2" squares, ordered some 2.5" squares on eBay and I was set. This is what I have to date. Two sides completed and now for the tricky part of putting it together. Wish me luck!!

QOTW

I'm bringing back the Quote of the Week (QOTW) so check back every Tuesday.

"A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for it justness and its sincerity." -- Robert Hall

What a week...

Was a very busy week at work which thankfully meant the week went really quickly. Of course it also meant I was tired when I got home with not much desire to do much. I was determined to getting my "walk on" and did two walks on the treadmill and two walks with the hubby. Actually starting to feel better already. I do need to keep a more active lifestyle to fight the complications of diabetes...and my new nemesis, high blood pressure. Getting old is NOT for sissies indeed.

I made a bit more progress on MSQ (Milly's Scrappy Quilt) and I'm happy with the results. As my husband likes to tell me, I don't have to finish EVERYTHING in one sitting. LOL! Boy he knows me so well.

I been a little negligent keeping up with the various Yahoo groups I belong to that I made the decision to drop them all with the exception of the LHN/CNN group which I moderate and love, and the Yahoo group for my local stitching group. The decision was made easier by the fact that Yahoo changed their email format which is not very user friendly. Anyway hope this gives me more time to keep up, cross stitch, quilt, read, and even update my blog more frequently.

Have a good week!

MSQ (Milly's Scrappy Quilt)

I am currently working on my second hand sewn quilt using my beloved hexagons. To say I'm hooked is quite the understatement, considering I  must have spent 5 or 6 non stop hours yesterday working on it. I am now "filling" in the background around my patches of elongated hexies and my poor little fingers are sore. LOL! Here are a few photos to show my progress.

I'm still here

Yes the hours, days, and months just keep slipping by and again I been neglectful of my little blog. My niece Karla recently started a blog and when I mentioned I had one she wanted to follow mine. Well of course that means I have to keep it updated huh? Thanks Karla for the motivation! Muah!

I have been busy trust me. I finished my BBQ (Baby Bro Quilt) and then sent it to a friend who did the final finishing/quilting. I am just thrilled with how it turned out...not shabby for my first try at hand quilting. Here is BBQ in it's new home..aka my stitching room. Nice back drop for all my stitched goodies don't you think.

Quilting update...

As I mentioned back in late May, I took on doing some English Paper Piecing and creating these wonderful hexagons by hand. Who knew it would grow so quickly? I didn't hold out much hope I would get this far so I am both surprised and thrilled with the results. It's almost done and ready to become a "real" quilt. LOL! This is my BBQ (baby brother quilt) in honor of my brother Santos who passed away in May of 2012. Many of the fabrics are from clothing that belonged to him.

Catching up...yet again

Hello all,
My poor little blog has been neglected by me yet again. Just where do the hours in the day go? I did have a few weeks off recovering from surgery and I did manage to get some stitching, reading, and even quilting done while I was at home. So here is a little of what I been up to. I stitched "Miss Peepers" by Little House Needleworks awhile back and finally got her laced and framed. Being in the patriotic mood in June I took on "Sams in Stripes" by Cross-Eyed Cricket (CEC). I have the most perfect frame for this piece and hope to have it laced and framed real soon.

Flower Power

WOW, never imagined this would so take over my time, but I am HOOKED! Thankfully I'm going away for a few days so this is the perfect time to give my little sore fingers a break from all this sewing. Here are the hexagon flowers I got done this week. The first two are really special to me. I used fabric from some old shirts and pajamas that I got to pick from after my youngest brother past away last year. I thought I'd use them in a YoYo Quilt but here they are. My small homage to my brother Santos.

Something new...

While cruising various sites online I came across something called English Paper Piecing. I watched a few videos on YouTube and was instantly drawn to trying this out. Little did I know I would so quickly become hooked! I found a website where I could make a hexagon template, printed out a few, dug into my stash for some fabric, and away I went to try it out. I LOVE IT!  Now remember I am a complete novice at this but I am just intrigued by any time of hand sewing and the memories it evokes of my grandmother who was quite accomplished in different crafts.

Here is what I have so far.

Updates...way over due

My poor little blog has been so neglected. So here is a little update on what I've been working on. I finished two cross stitch projects, Miss Peepers by Little House Needleworks and November Cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks.

Needleworker - Finished

Been a while since I've finished a project so quickly in spite of a bruised rib and back pain. This was so much fun to stitch and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. Now to find the perfect frame. This is "Needleworker" by Little House Needleworks.

Quote of the week

"If you want something in your life you've never had, you'll have to do something you've never done."

WIP Update

I am currently working on "Needleworker" by Little House Needleworks. I had hope to make a bit more progress but my stitching has been limited due to some back pain...(which I just learned yesterday is a bruised rib).

More weekend fun

I decided to stay home today while hubby went on a bike ride. Truth is I needed to recover from yesterday's walk in the rose garden and the farewell party for my daughter. Sarai is moving to Las Vegas to attend culinary school, going to miss her and Lyric.

I tackled the chaos in my stitching room and found two pieces I finished a while back that were still not laced and framed. Seemed like a good as time as any to finish them. So here are Winter Sampler by Birds of A Feather and Chocolate Shoppe by Little House Needleworks. Now to find the perfect spot on the wall.

Busy spring weekend...

How much fun can you pack into one weekend? Not sure but we sure gave it our best shot. Yesterday hubby and I took a stroll down to the Heritage Rose Garden in San Jose. Not many of the flowers were blooming but they were off to a good start. I will have to check them out again in a few weeks. Even so we managed to grab a few shots.

QOTW

Life will always try to make things difficult for you, but every time you oversome difficulties, you come out stronger.

Stitching finish

This was a great like "quickie" to stitch and I just might have to stitch it again in another color or two. Design is from the JCS Ornament issue, Cross of Christmas by My Big Toe Design and stitched on 16 ct. aida with DMC 930 and 932 floss.

Quote of the Week

"You can break my spirit, break my heart, but no one will every break my will to go on."

New finish

This darling little finish is Twitter Blue by Courtney Collection. Design was featured in the 2009 Just CrossStitch Ornament issue. I kept it simple and used DMC 311 on 16 count aida. Now to find some beads to finish it up.

Weekly Update

Not much to report on the stitching front. I am working a new ornament from the 2009 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue and hope to have it done by this weekend. Been caught up in a new book recommended by my doctor which I am enjoying very much. It's written by Gregory David Roberts titled Shantaram. This past weekend hubby and I drove down to Paso Robles to pick up my car which had been in the shop for repair after our accident of December 27th. So nice to be back in my own car.

QOTW

The Cottages

I am slowing working my way through the cottage designs by Country Cottage Needleworks. I am stitching them all on one piece of 28 count "ray of light" lugana using DMC floss. Going to be BIG when it's down and not sure yet what I will do with it but I'm enjoying it.

QOTW

Yes, I am back with my Quote Of The Week (QOTW) so hope you enjoy this one and came back next week for a new one.

Photo Blog

I got in the groove today and have finally added some new photos to our photo blog. I will add more in the days to come. Patrick and I took plenty of pictures during our trip to central California during the holiday break. With the auto accident we were involved in on December 27th I hadn't looked at many of the photos we took. Our photo blog is at http://thedunaways.wordpress.com

Another little finish

Here are two more of my latest finishes. I started the Prairie Schooler piece in 2012 and was going to leave it at A, B, and C but when I saw D had a patriotic flair (which most folks know I love) I decided to include it and add my own personal touch. I love how it turned out and will problem have it finished into a pillow versus framing it. Truth is I'm just running out of wall space. 

The Santa I found in book I recently purchased on Amazon called A Rainbow of Stitches. It has many different motifs that can be used in so many ways. This year I will use it to make the yearly ornaments for my kids and grandkids. I used DMC 115 for this one and 16 ct. aida.

First finish of the year

My first cross stitch finish of the year is this wonderful piece by Birds of a Feather which I've had in my stash for a few years. Glad I bought it when I did since BOAF no longer does cross stitch patterns. This was stitched on 28 count Natural Light Jobelan with DMC floss. This is Winter Sampler.