Tea and Stitches

Biscornu, Biscornu, Biscornu!!!

2009-11-06T08:52:00.016-06:00

I have four Biscornu to share with you. One I stitched and three others I received in swaps. They are all so cute and fun to make.

First is a Halloween Biscornu I made for a Swap-Bot swap. I used hand dyed fabric from my friend Meari, Carrie's Threads and a free pattern.

This Biscornu was the first I ever received, so beautifully stitched by Libby from the UK. This was the Anything Summer Biscornu swap on Swap-Bot.

This little Biscornu is from Doreen, she is the organizer of all the Swap-Bot Biscornu exchanges. The theme was to stitch summer flowers. Very sweet.

Lastly, I have a great Halloween Biscornu from Peggy. It is the biggest Biscornu, measuring 4 x 4 inches, I have so far. I am just showing the front view in this picture. The back is black aida with Happy Halloween stitched in orange. Cute!!

Thanks for stopping by. If you want to learn more about Swap-Bot and our little Biscornu group just drop me a line at texdelch@sbcglobal.net. Some folks asked about the pattern for the biscornu I stitched in this blog entry it is from Kristen Schmidt, but I can no longer access it on line at the website on my pattern.

See ya!!

Book Reading Challenge Update

2009-10-13T08:57:00.004-05:00

I have finished Murder Unleashed, started What Happens When Women Walk in Faith and A Tisket, a Tasket, a fancy Sotlen Casket--very funny. I removed the Luanne Rice from my list and added another Fran Rizer book. I am really liking these little who-dunit murder mysteries. Best of all I have found most of the books on Paperbackswap.com.

1) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling-Finished
2) A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket, Fran Rizer - Reading
3) Murder Unleashed, Elaine Viets - Finished
4) Murder with Reservations, Elaine Viets
5) Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone, J. K. Rowling
6) a mercy, Toni Morrison
7) Hey Diddle, Diddle the Corpse and the Fiddle, Fran Rizer
8) What Happens When Women Walk in Faith, Lysa Terkurst - Reading
9) The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
10) Accessory to Murder, Elaine Viets

See ya!!

CJ

PIF Results

2009-10-04T14:02:00.003-05:00

The PIF results are in and EVERYONE WINS!!!!

When I was selected for this PIF, I was so excited because I had been wanting to do another. I decided that since this was is so easy--no sewing involved--and spread out over a year that I would send 10 packets. Well, I had nine comments so all of you will be getting a packet from me within the next 365 days as long as you commit to do the same for at least two other people.

You must fulfill your end of the bargain and link back to me in the PIF entry on your blog. I will only send a packet to those of you that are truly committed to this. If you know you are not going to be able to do this let me know now before I start shopping. I will be contacting each of you soon for your snail mail. So now the fun begins.

Here are the rules again as a reminder:

1. I'll send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.
2. Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.
3. The items must be new and not used.
4. If you win, you must be willing to post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.

Congrats!!!

CJ

Biscornu and Book Challenge

2009-09-26T05:41:00.011-05:00

Good Morning!!

During the summer I joined a swap-bot biscornu group. So far I have made and swapped two biscornus, while my first one did not turn out so great I was very happy with the second and I have a few photos to share. I stitched on hand-dyed 14ct aida from Enchanted Fabrics and floss from Carries Creation Thread.

Book Challenge Update

So far I have read one book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", and I am almost finished with a second. I have also edited my list a bit removing a book that I read before the challenge got started--couldn't help myself-- and added Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and another by Elaine Viets.

What Else am I Stitching

I am ashamed to say that I have too many stitching projects going at once. I need to get them re-organized and put them in a rotation, then force my self to spend at least one solid hour per week on each or I may never have them finished. I have a Bent Creek Snapper, Gazette 94 SAL, Mausiemom SAL, BRD SAL and one Halloween Biscornu in the works. With the kids in school and hubby at work, I should be able to make this work. Just can't let my card making get in the way.

Speaking of card Making

Here are a few finished that I want to share with all of you. The first is a card I made for one of the CSE moderators birthday. It is a matchbook style card with a pocket inside. I got the idea from another card maker, but I can't remember her name or blog. The image is made with a technique called pulling pastels. You cover a piece of card stock with chalk and them stamp the image using a clear type of ink called Versamark. I put a little sparkle in the center of the flowers which is not showing up in the picture. Inside the card pocket I wrote a note and added some floss.

I used the same technique to make this butterfly card for a swap-bot exchange.

That is enough for today. Time for another cup of tea. Don't forget about my giveaway there is still a few days left to enter my PIF, if you are interested leave me a comment in that post.

See ya!

PIF--Come on, join me!!!

2009-09-15T13:49:00.004-05:00

It's about time I posted about the PIF (Pay It Forward). A few months back Pirjo posted that she had a PIF going and was looking for people to join in. Lucky me, I was one of the three selected to participate. Now it is time for me to offer to PIF some of you. I love these type of exchanges, it is always more fun to give than to receive. If you want to participate please see the instructions below and leave a comment on this post no later than 30 September, I will announce names on 1 October. Be sure to leave an e-mail or link to your blog so I can contact you.

Here are the rules:

1. I'll send no less than 5 stitching related items per person within the next 365 days.
2. Items can be DMC, other threads, stitching needles, straight pins, buttons, scissors, ribbons, etc. - a combination of items such as 3 threads, 1 pack of straight pins and 1 pack of stitching needles or just 5 threads.
3. The items must be new and not used.
4. If you win, you must be willing to post this PIF on your blog and do the same for at least 2 people.

This PIF is very simple and easy to do I hope you will join me.

See ya!!

CJ

Book Reading Challenge

2009-09-11T11:08:00.005-05:00

I have always enjoyed reading a good book, I especially love to read at night before I go to sleep. Vickie thought it would be fun to do a book challenge and I have joined her challenge. Checkout her blog for the details but do it quick the deadline to sign up is Sept. 15. I am not sure if I can finish 10 books by the end of the year but I am going to try. Here is my list in no particular order:

1) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling-Finished
2) A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket, Fran Rizer
3) Murder Unleashed, Elaine Viets - Reading
4) Murder with Reservations, Elaine Viets
5) Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone, J. K. Rowling
6) a mercy, Toni Morrison
7) Firefly Beach, Luanne Rice
8) What Happens When Women Walk in Faith, Lysa Terkurst
9) The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
10) Accessory to Murder, Elaine Viets

That is my list for now.
See ya!!

CJ

It' a Monday Update!!

2009-09-07T13:25:00.007-05:00

Hi everyone hope you all are enjoying September. As usual I am running around like a headless chicken as I keep things running smoothly (at least I hope it is "smoothly) around this household. This year we have added soccer to our weekly routine, I am not used to having to keep up with all this after school stuff and this is only for one kid. Don't know what I will do when we all three in sports.

I made it through the second week of school with only one child getting into trouble for hitting, not once but three times--she likes to spread out during the week. I volunteered for Picture day, which kept me at the school until after 1pm on Friday. It was fun I got to meet all the teachers and see the students. I really like my kids new school the principal is just fantastic.

I do have some photos to share with you of cards I made and a great gift I received from Meari for guessing the correct amount she spent on her new stash cabinet. So here goes:

These are six Flower Pot cards I made for an exchange on Card Swap. Each month they have an exchange that requires you make cards in a certain pattern. This was my first time making this type card I really like it and I plan to make more. All you do is pull on the flowers which are attached to blank card for a personal message. Real neat and lots of fun.

This is a simple 3x3 card that I cased from Angie. She is one of Stampin Up's top demonstrators. Her site is full of how-to videos for everything she makes and I try to make all of them. So if you enjoy paper craft and need a little inspiration check out Chic'n Scratch.

This is the great gift I received from Meari. The fabric is hand-dyed by her, I just love it. I am planning to use it on a primitive pattern I have waiting in the wings. The stickers went to my kiddos who are always happy to have stickers and the lovely floss from Carrie's Creation went in my stash.

This week I plan to make more cards and finish a biscornu for a Swap-Bot exchange. Hey if you like to make biscornu's check out this biscornu group, perhaps you will want to join us.

Keep your eyes open for my next update it is a going to be about a PIF that I am very excited about. I just love PIFs.

Happy Labor Day!!

See ya!!

Hi Everyone--I am still here.

2009-08-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hello, did you miss me?

Well, I have missed you!! It has been a busy summer as you can tell by my lack of posts. Things are starting to slow down, but only a little bit. The kids are back in school as of the 24th--hurray!! I won't bother getting into the fiasco I had with the District to get my three kids into the same school. It was nerve wracking, but now they are going to the elementary school on Sheppard AFB which happens to be where DH works.

We have had fun but they needed to get back to school, okay I needed them to get back to school. The two oldest attended local day camps for 4-weeks and the baby(she is 6, but in my eyes still a baby) went to Granny "camp" for 2-weeks. I must say I was impressed with the day camps provided by the city. Camp hours were 9-3, with snacks for a two-week period for only $50 per child. I thought that was a bargain . Other than going to my MIL's we have not taken any trips this summer because my husband retired from active duty in February and has no accumulated leave with his new job yet. We do have big plans for next year, we are going to Knoxville, Iowa for the 50th Anniversary of the World of Outlaws Race. Should be lots of fun.

What have I been doing?

Well, I have been busy stitching for swaps and making cards but I lost my camera the weekend of my nephews wedding so no pictures. That has me seriously bummed. I hate taking pictures with hubby's camera, so after weeks and I mean weeks of searching the net I finally bought a new camera. I purchased a Pentax Optio M40 from Overstock.com for a terrific price. After reading all the reviews I felt this one was too good to pass up. It is only 8 mega pixels, but who cares, I am taking picture for fun. It arrived yesterday so in the next few days I should have some pictures to share with you.

One other thing I have done this summer is collect lots (and I mean lots) of floss this summer. For some reason Mark Martin (NASCAR) has been winning. He one of the oldest racers on the track and he is acting like a twenty year old in that #5 car. I can tell you that practically everyone--including me is surprised by him. I mean I have been a fan of his for years, but I was not expecting all these wins. But he deserves it, he has to be one of the nicest guys in NASCAR and I am proud to be a fan.

Finally made my first biscornu which was far from perfect for a Swap-Bot.com swap. I've signed up for two more so surely the second will be much better than the first. The one I received came from a lady in the UK and it is just fabulous. Ahhh!! My second one will be much better for certain since I have taken the time to review several "How to" blogs. Thanks to all the girls that have taken the time to post great pictures and instruction for visual learners like me.

Pirjo selected me to receive one of her PIF's. My next post will be about the PIF and hopefully I can do something nice for one of you. I love these PIFs when they come up and I am so tickled to participate in a second. I am also looking for someone to start another stitch around the world project, if one does not come up soon I may do it myself.

I received a wonderful surprise from Meari for guessing the correct amount she paid for a piece of furniture that is now her well organized Stash Cabinet. I have been waiting for my camera to arrive to open the package, take a picture and post a proper "Thanks" to her for being so generous.

Anyhow, I am here, I am busy, and I am so ready to pick back up on this blogging thing now that the kiddos are back in school and I have new camera.

See ya!!

CJ

Look at what I made!!!

2009-06-15T09:45:00.012-05:00

Whew, I really thought things would slow down after the kids got out of school, but NO WAY!! Just busy with the usual stuff, running errands, doctor appointment, house cleaning, gardening, not to mention taking the kids to camp everyday. This is my first entry for June -- bad me!!

I have managed to get two stitching projects completed and they are in the mail on the way to their new homes. These are the two primitive designs from The Needle's Content ta ht finished into ornaments. They are part of a Swap-bot exchange that I join. The overall finishing on both could be better. Really need to work on my technique. I have made some progress on my Gazette 94 SAL, but it is still a slow moving train especially now that I have an entire section to frog later today. BooHoo!!!

I also made some altered mini-composition books for a Card-Maker exchange. Now this was lots of fun. Instead of covering the books with designer paper I cover them with Washi paper. So what is Washi paper? It is handmade papers from Japan that are absolutely beautiful. I lived in Japan for eight years and managed to collect lots of the papers. I left there 15 years ago and I still have a few papers left so I thought this would be a great way to use them up. In the past I have covered all kids of things with Washi, eggs, boxes, cards, etc. I kept the embellishment very simple on the notebooks so they can be used. Some folks, in my opinion, have a tendency to over embellish making the book almost unusable because it has so much stuff on the cover that the book is difficult to keep in your purse without something falling off or getting hung up. Anyway, I think you get my point.

Have great day!!

See ya!

CJ

And the Winner is .....

2009-05-27T09:16:00.006-05:00

Hi Everyone -
I had 24 comments left requesting to be considered for the fabric drawing. I got everything in order this morning and loaded it in Random.org. The results are below.

Search RANDOM.ORG
True Random Number Service
List Randomizer
There were 24 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
6. Delphyne
16. Kim
21. Donna
11. Nancy V
5. Linda
12. GoldenAngelsWorks
10. Kakie48
1. shutterbug
8. Lee
2. Beth
19. Teresa Brooks
7. Renee G.
4. Pirjo
18. Terry
14. Julie
17. Cindy F.
23. cpullum
24. Mylene
13. Sherry
20. Robyn in Oz
9. DebbieSFL
15. CindyMae
3. Barbara
22. Stitchinowl
Timestamp: 2009-05-27 14:16:48 UTC

Congrats to Delphyne, who just happens to live in Texas--how cool is that. So Delphyne please send me you address so I can get this package in the mail.

I apologize for not posting the results earlier but this is the last week of school and PTA has me jumping.

Addendum: I neglected to thank all of you that stopped by and commented on my blog. I love reading your comments and truly appreciate your visits.

See ya!!

CJ

I have a stitching update, plus giveaway!!!

2009-05-20T10:03:00.012-05:00

Woohoo!! I am finally posting a stitching update, it is about time. Have I been stitching? I most certainly have, but not as much as I need too. Since it is so close to school ending I have been busy with all the end of year activities. It also does not help that I have been consumed with making cards--that is for another post.
So here goes.

Stitching
I have completed one project for a Swap-Bot exchange and nearly finished another. These two project are for the Cross Stitch Across the World, part 5. The theme is animals this time around, last month it was flowers. The patterns are from The Needle's Content floss tag group, I thought they would be perfect for this exchange. They are stitched on 28ct Monaco using DMC and WDW floss.

I will also be finishing off one of the Christmas trees I stitched earlier this year for a CSE exchange. I have worked some on the Blue Ribbon Design SAL, photo is below. My Gazette94 SAL is a slow moving for now, I need to get it back into my weekly "stitch while watching TV" rotation.

I have dropped out of a couple of stitching groups and joined Cross Stitch Addition and a Biscornu swap group that is on Yahoo Groups but swaps through Swap-Bot--go figure. Look forward to joining in on some of their exchanges and games in the upcoming months.

Giveaway
Many moons ago I said I was going to clean out my box of fabric and have a giveaway. It is done. This stuff needs a new home. I am giving it away in one chunk. There are several pieces in varying sizes, mostly 14ct Aida, some 18ct, some linen, and some stuff that looks like burlap. There is black, blue, pink, green, yellow, white, red, brown, etc, etc. So if you are interested please leave a comment and I will pick the recipient next Tuesday after I return from a visit to Dallas. I am happy to pay for the postage.

and Finally
I received this award from Susie, the stitching mad mum. It was so sweet of her to send this to me. Now I want to pass it on to a few people that I admire.

Meari - Cause I just cannot make it through a Monday without her updates.
Kristina - Great card maker and very inspiring. My oldest and I lover to watch her "how to" videos. It is a great way to have some mommy/daughter time.

I love and read many more blogs but these two are my absolute favorites at the moment. Actually, Meari's blog is an addiction for me and many others.

So I must leave you to empty the dryer.

See ya!!

CJ

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #5

2009-05-11T13:34:00.004-05:00

This week I did something that I have never done before, I participated in a card color challenge. This challenge was issued by Dawn on her "My Favorite Things" blog. I liked the colors she chose so I decided what the heck and I came up with two cards. So take a look and tell me what you think. Here is the first one, now granted my photo leaves much to be desired but the colors are right for this challenge. I am pleased with the final product, now I need to try to post this to Dawn's blog.

Paper: Stampin Up and Bo Bunny Press
Stamps: SU Much Appreciated and Polka Dot Punches
Ink: SU Rose Red
Punch: SU Scalloped Oval
Other Stuff: CK Pearl and SU Dimensionals

See ya!!

CJ

Can May be just around the corner??

2009-04-29T17:27:00.003-05:00

Well, I thought tomorrow is the last day of April and I have only posted once this month, seems to be the norm for me lately so I better get busy. As usual things are a little nutty in our house, as I am sure they are the same for many of you that have children, work, husbands and/or hobbies, not to mention those of you going to school . How do we do it? I wish I knew. So let tell you what is going on.

Stitching Update

I have had two, yes I said two, finishes. Mind you they were small, but finishes none the less. Not only were they stitched they were also assembled for presentation. One is a floss tag and the other a coaster. I loved the way the coaster looked so much, I sent a copy of the pattern (a freebie) and two coasters to my CSE partner for the "Kitted Up Freebie" exchange. The Floss Tag pattern came from Miss T's blog, stitched on 16ct Ivory Aida using a multi colored floss from Threadworx. I recently discovered Miss T's blog, she has many great, free designs that are simple to stitch. Unfortunately, I failed to photograph my finish prior to sending it off to my Swap-Bot partner. Sorry!! As for the coaster it was stitched on 16ct Aida using DMC floss. I forgot where I got the pattern but it is an on-line freebie of three solid color flowers and a bee. Very cute. No photo it is on it's way to Finland. Must do better about taking photos of my work beofre I ship it off. As for my two SAL's I have made progress on both, not as much as I would like, but they are coming along.

On a somewhat stitching related note, I won week #8 of the CSE NASCAR Game. My driver Mark Martin won that race and he started at the pole--way to dominate Old Man!!!

More somewhat stitching news, Beth is going to Ocean City, Maryland for a stitching retreat. Needless to say I am very envious, Ocean City was one of my teenage stomping grounds many moons ago. She has promised to eat some Thrasher Fries with vinegar for me as well as take a picture of herself in the act of eating the fries. How sweet of her to do that for me.

Paper Crafts

I have made many cards this month and plan to make more. The idea is to make monogrammed card sets for each of my kids teachers. That will be about seven sets total so I need to get to work on them. Each set will have 6 different cards using the same papers and monogram.

I have also joined some Card Maker Magazine swaps for May. The first cards I have to make are Cris-Cross cards. I will let you know how that goes.

Swap-Bot

I have been involved with Swap-Bot for a few months now and I am really enjoying it. I have participated in several Tea swaps, Blank Note Card and Handmade Card swaps, one Cross Stitch swap (which involve the two projects listed above) and two Chocolate swaps. Lots of fun. You should check it out.

Paperback Swap

I have to thank Vickie for sharing info about Paperback Swap and introducing me to Elaine Viets. I am on the third book in her "Dead End Job" series. It is a fun series to read and I love the way the characters are carried over in each book, especially the 76 year old landlady with purple shorts and brightly painted toenails. Thanks Vickie!!!

Now speaking of paperback swaps, my neighbor has invited me to participate in a private book swap. So I am looking for interested folks to send my invites too. The deal is you only send one book to the person identified in the letter. Then you send six copies of the letter with one to your friends. I plan to try it out, I figure if I don' like the book it will go onto my Paperback Swap list for give away or in my garage sale pile. If you would like to join me just send me a note with your e-mail so we can exchange more details.

Anyhow, have a good evening.

See ya!!

CJ

Another Friday Update!!

2009-04-03T12:13:00.020-05:00

Hello April!!! I will be soooo glad when school is out for summer, only 8 weeks to go. I have been busy with PTA, School Health Activities, subbing, sickness, etc. I am glad that April is here, now I can think about putting out some flowers to pretty up my yard. Leaning towards making a small butterfly garden in the back for the kids to enjoy. We seem to have lots of butterflies in North Texas so I might as well invite them to visit us.

Stitching Update
I have been stitching allot. So much that I feel I am losing control of my projects. I managed to finish my PS Snowman exchange after having to re-stitch the entire piece. Really like the way the second ended up and I think my exchange partner liked it as well. It is the second PS winter themed piece that I have stitched on hand dyed blue 16ct Aida called Royalty from Enchanted Fabrics. The picture does not do it justice, it is really cute with the blue background. I either need a better camera or some basic photography lessons. Perhaps next time I will try hubby's camera.

Prairie Schooler Santas and Snowmen Booklet #151

This is the original snowman I stitched with errors. Even though it looks okay, there are mistakes in it and I will not send something with noticeable stitching errors. I was able to save it just need to finish it off with some ribbon so it can be an ornament for my tree this year. It is stitched on 14ct ivory Aida with DMC floss.

My Blue Ribbon Design SAL, "Stop and Stitch the Flowers" is coming along very nicely. It is a fun project and I really love the colors. It will hang in my kitchen once it is finished.

Finally started stitching the Gazette 94 SAL, after struggling with material color and changing the floss colors three times before settling for a medium blue and pink on hand-dyed Aida. Needless to say I am far behind on this project and I need a few, actually several, late nights up stitching to catch up.

This is a freebie from Gazette 94 that I finished while visiting my MIL during Spring Break with my three kiddos. I was able to get lots of stitching done at her house and it was quit enjoyable. I plan to finish this as a flatfold. It is stitched on 28ct hand dyed Monaco call Blood Moon. I used DMC #500 floss and I love it.

I am also stitching some Floss Tags with a simple flower design for an upcoming Swap-Bot exchange. One one of my exchange partners is a fellow stitcher from the Chatty Stitching Exchangers group on Yahoo. How funny is that, I am excited to be sending her something that I have made. Hope to have the stitching done this weekend, so I can spend next finishing them up and mailing them off to their new homes.

Card Making

I have been making cards for Swap-Bot exchanges. Hope you like what I have done so far. I even covered a chocolate bar and decorated some tea bags with paper for another exchange. It looks much nicer to open a packet with a little decoration than a just a simple bar of chocolate and a card.

See ya!!

Long Time, No Post -- Well Not Really

2009-03-23T05:04:00.003-05:00

My last post was on 27 Feb almost one month ago. I am on the computer daily, but I just can't manage to take the time to post. Sorry!!!! I am sure many of you with kids, jobs, husbands an spring fever know how time can just slip away from you. Don't even mention the laundry that continues to fall out of the sky. That is what I am doing at this very moment (which happens to be 5am) -- Laundry!!!

I have been busy, I joined swap-bot, lots of fun. The swaps I have joined so far have gone well. I have four more coming up in the next few weeks. If you are interested in swapping I highly recommend it. I have swapped notecards and tea so far. Upcoming are handmade cards, small cross stitch and chocolate. I am sending my handmade cards to Australia and South Africa -- how cool is that.

So far I have two stitching finishes and an update for the month but I cannot find my camera since coming home from my MIL. Took the kids to see her during Spring Break. I am still unpacking I am sure it is in one of my bags. I hate to unpack, that is the last thing I want to do when I get home, so it takes me days and days to get it done. Yuk!!

Here is something I found out last week which I thought was really "wow, what a coincidence". My BFF is on Facebook (as well as my hubby), I refuse to Facebook -- I like my privacy. Anyway, my BFF has been renewing friendships with many of our old HS classmates -- we graduated in 1980. One person who contacted her was the guy who took me to the Senior Prom. Mind you we were not dating, just two kids with no date and our mutual friends wanted us to be there so, well you can figure the rest out for yourself. Anyway, she found out that he and his wife have two children adopted from China, so now you ask what is the big deal. I have three kids adopted from China. You may be thinking "Okay" and I am thinking WOW. Hopefully, we can get together via e-mail and exchange adoption stories. I love hearing adoption stories, it is a great way to bring people together. That was my bit of excitement last week.

Anyway that is it for me, I am subbing today so off to the shower. Hopefully I will have some pictures for you later this week. Wish me luck on the search to find my camera.

See ya!!

CJ

It's A Friday Update

2009-02-27T09:00:00.007-06:00

Boy, where has this month gone. Whew, February has just flown by us like a whirlwind. This has been a busy month for me and my family with PTA functions, subbing and then there was illness. Yes, everyone in my family was sick this month including me -- I had the dreaded Pink Eye, yuk!!! But that is all behind us now we are just suffering with allergies in North Texas since the trees have started to flower, hurrah, now pass the tissues.

Stitching

Yes, I did a little stitching this month. I made my first flatfold, actually made six of them. I started my Blue Ribbon SAL, really need to get cracking on that one. Completed a Snowman for a Prairie Schooler exchange and I finished the scissor pocket for my MIL's birthday, she loved it.

Hummingbird Scissor Pocket, pattern from Cross Stitch Happy, stitched on 14ct Pink Aida with DMC Floss, green beads were used for leaves. This was my first scissor pocket and I am pretty pleased with the outcome. My MIL loves birds so I thought this design was perfect for her.

Speaking of stitching let me tell you about my PIF; well, I will update you on my PIF. Some of you will remember way back in July I decided to run a PIF and asked folks that were interested in the PIF to comment and I would pick three to send something I stitched. Well I only had four people sign up so I decided to include all of them. So now I am ready to mail my packages and I can only contact two of the four, Meari and Angela. So Diane and Lynda I need you to contact me at texdelch@sbcglobal.net with your snail mail so I can send this to you. I have worked really hard to make these PIFs special so please contact me.

I ordered some fabric from Enchanted Fabrics for the Gazette 94 SAL. I just did not have anything in my vast inventory that suited this particular project. Speaking of fabric, be on the lookout for a fabric give away in the near future. I really need to thin out my fabric stash.

What Else Have I Gotten Myself Into

Hum, lets see. A week or so ago someone posted about Swap-Bot exchanges. I had never heard of this before and being the curious person I am I just had to check it out. Now I am signed up for two Swap-Bot exchanges, one for tea and the other for note cards. I just couldn't help myself. Decided against joining the stitching exchange since my "stitching plate" is full right now.

A Little About Cooking

If you enjoy cooking with your Crockpot then check out this blog, A Year of CrockPotting. I heard about it on a post around the holidays and I have been following along. Her year long adventure has got her a book deal and appearances on Rachel Ray and Good Morning America. Now you can't beat that for cooking with the Crockpot for an entire year.
I plan to try the Indian and Thai Curry recipes she got from Rachel Ray. Today I am cooking Pork and Kraut in my CrockPot. Yummy!!!

See ya!!

CJ

My Blog is Fabulous!!!

2009-02-06T07:23:00.000-06:00

Your Blog is Absolutely Fabulous, well at least Meari thinks so! She took the time to honor me with this blog award a few weeks ago. I was thrilled when I got and I am so thrilled now to pass it on. Thanks, Meari! I am supposed to list 5 of my addictions and name 5 bloggers who I think are just "Fabulous". Mind you that was not an easy task because there are so many super bloggers out there in blogland. Let's start with my 5 addictions, at least for this week (just kidding!!).

1. My kids

2. Stitching

3. Cleaning House (this could be an obsession)

4. Enjoying Life

5. Chocolate

It was sooo very hard to chose 5 bloggers, I love all of you. I chose ones that had inspired me or just kept me focused. So here goes, 1. Dawn, a sweet stitcher from nearby; 2. Aury, so generous with her designs; 3. Nora, my BFF who is finally blogging and I want to encourage her to blog more because it is great therapy; 4. Vickie, she is a very sharing person that I admire; 5. Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministry, whenever I need a lift I read her blog.

It took me over two week to acknowledge this award and Meari thanks so much for thinking of me. Your blog was the first I ever read and I am hooked!! I really appreciate the award, but mostly I appreciate everyone that visits my blog and I especially enjoy your comments. What a great way to meet people.

See ya!!

It's a Friday Update

2009-01-30T11:54:00.012-06:00

Hi everyone-

Hope everyone is doing good and keeping warm with all this frigid weather we have had this week. We even had some frozen days here in North Texas. My kids missed two days of school due to some serious ice. Check out the view form my back door, it does not look too bad, but it was cold, high was 22 for two days. The forecast for today is about 65, that is Texas.

Stitching Update
For whatever reason I did not get much stitching done this week. I promise to do better next week. Although, I did celebrate my birthday and I received lots of birthday cards and floss from the Chatty Stitching Exchange Birthday Floss Club (BFC) exchange. It was so exciting to open those cards. Here is a picture of all the floss and cards I received.

I also had anyother surprise int he mail, I received my PS Fans Snowman made by Debi. She finished it as a cube, I just love it. He is going in my ornament display basket that I keep out all year to remind me of Christmas. Thanks Debi for a making a great Snowman for me.

Cards, Cards and more Cards
Managed to put together a few more cards this week for upcoming BFC exchanges. I really like making my own cards and try to do it when I have the time. Next week I will make one for MIL birthday and Mother's Day. Take a look at what I did this week.

One last bit to share with you. One of the BFC birthday cards I received was hand-made by Wendy. How sweet of her to make a card for me. I truly appreciate it and I wanted to share it with all of you in blog land. Thanks Wendy for the beautiful card.

Have a great weekend, enjoy the Superbowl.

See ya!!

CJ

It's Thursday!!

2009-01-22T09:11:00.025-06:00

Happy Thursday, what a week it has been for our great nation. I was truly impressed with the inauguration events and happy to see President Obama get right to work yesterday regarding ethics and lobbyist. Now we just have to see how it all works out. I am keeping my thoughts on the positive side. Having grown up in Delaware, I was very proud to see Joe Biden become VP, he is a good man and he was good for Delaware.

Stitching Update
This week I have been finishing up the last of the CSE RR, can't wait to start the next one. I have almost completed the stitching for my PIF's and I joined a The Needles Content "A Year of Primitive Floss Tags group. Below are a few finishes that I wanted to share with you. I also plan to make an bookmark for the Nordic Needle 2009 Bookmark Challenge, check out Meari's blog for more details. What a great way to do a little something to promote literacy.

This my first finish for 2009. It will also be posted in the Christmas SAL and Ornie SAL groups. The pattern is from Gazette 94 blog, stitched on a scrap of gold, 14ct Aida using Carrie's Creation thread "Holly Days". This will be finished as an ornament for my Christmas tree. I really like how it turned out. I have already started my ornament for February.

This is a little Prairie Schooler ornament I made in December for an exchange on the Prairie Schooelr Fans Group. The colors look much better in person. Like all PS patterns it was an easy stitch, a pleasure to make. It was stitched on 16ct hand dyed aida from Enchanted Fabrics, color Royality using DMC floss.

Cards/Paper crafts
I have made several cards in the last few months for floss exchanges and birthdays. This is something that I really enjoy doing, I think is makes the packages a little extra special. I have added some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

This is a card for my very BFF, Nora in Indiana. Her birthday was inauguration day. She is an avid card maker and she is the one who inspired me to make cards. This is made with Stampin Up papers, Image Maker flowers, white ribbon and a Paper Studio Rub-On. Trust me that this is not an original design, I adapted it from CK Media Card Creations Vol 2. It is rare when I come up with an original design.

These cards, so nicely displayed on my dining table, were made in November. I used them for birthday and thank-you cards. Again I used Stampin Up papers, I really like them. If you are interested in Stampin Up suggest you check out the Rebel Inkers blog. She'll inspire you.

This is Hershey bars, wrapped in Stampin Up Chocolate Chip paper--my favorite. I sent these along with different exchanges last fall.

Lastly, these are pocket cards made form 4 cirles and two squares of paper. You can use plain paper inside for a message or pattern paper then insert a surprise. I did the later and filled the pocket with floss for a floss birthday exchange along with a a little birthday note. This is also Chocolate Chip from Stampin Up.

Hope you are having a great day and staying warm--especially those of you up north. It will be in the 70's here today. But never fear a cold front is moving in for Saturday.

See ya~!!

What have I been doing lately?

2009-01-15T06:51:00.004-06:00

Good morning!! So what have I been up to since my last post. Hummm, let's see. I have finished one ornament (pic to be posted later) and started another, joined Blue Ribbon Design SAL, worked on the stitching for my PIF's, started Snowman for PS exchange and decided to start a BAP from My Big Toe.

There are a few things I need to finish up in the next few weeks. I have my MIL's scissor pocket and a RR to complete, these are at the top of my list. I have also been making Birthday Cards for friends and fellow stitchers.

When I am not stitching I have been cleaning, updating files for 2009--yes we have files, lots of them, you would think this were a business if you saw them. OMG, the laundry I truly believe that dirty clothes are just falling from the sky into my basket it never ends. Tomorrow I am going to sub, it will be the first day I have worked this month.

I hope all of you, especially those living up North are keeping warm and safe. We are going to have a few days of severely cold weather in North Texas, then it is back to the 60's by Monday. Honestly, I would rather have a few months of steady cold rather than these "yo-yo" temps we've been having here.

See ya!!

CJ

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-02T09:01:00.003-06:00

Happy 2009! Wow, can't believe it is here already. This will be another eventful year for my family and friends. This year DH and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage. One of our nephews will get married and start med school. My BFF baby girl will turn 16 this year, let's hope they up the driving age to 18 in Indiana before November.

This will be my year to stitch lots and lots of ornaments. I have joined three ornament groups, I have always wanted to have some stitched ornies on my tree so this is the year to make them. I have no excuse.

I participated in my first RR and truly enjoyed it. Plan to join next round. I am also participating in a year long BRD SAL. So it should be a productive stitching year for me.

I wish all of you all the best that 2009 has to offer. Be safe, be happy and be loved.

See ya!!

CJ

Christmas Edition of Getting to Know You

2008-12-25T16:35:00.003-06:00

Meari e-mailed this to me weeks ago, I'm finally getting around to it. Please forgive my tardiness. I really was not trying to be a Scrooge--perhaps just a little.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both. I tend to reuse bags as often a possible.

2. Real tree or artificial?
7ft Artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually during the Thanksgiving weekend. This year it went up on 14 December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
After the 6th of January.

5. Do you like eggnog?
No.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Does young teenager count? Elton John "Madman Across the Water" still my favorite.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Kids.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, I stitched one this year, but do not have it framed.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Re-gifted pen set from my mother that was used, extremely used.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
All of them.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
All year long.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Absolutely.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Chocolate.

16. Lights on the tree?
Always.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Little Drummer Boy.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel to MIL about 4 hour drive.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?
Only if I sing it.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Neither. This year it is a Santa hat. Star kept falling off.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Traffic.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I love Santas. I have several around the house.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Whatever I feel like cooking. Usually have chicken or turkey, not fond of ham.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I just want everyone to be safe, healthy and happy.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this?
Perhaps Nora, she is my BFF and has been since we were barely out of our Tweens.

Enjoy!!

CJ

I feel lost--well not really.

2008-12-25T15:41:00.003-06:00

After neglecting my blog for so long I don't know where to start. Mind you it has been for good reasons at least that is what I tell myself. Since Thanksgiving it has been a madhouse around here, but today I think we have finally found some peace--well at least DH has, he is asleep in the recliner.

I have so many people to thank for wonderful kits and stash gifts that I just don't know where to begin. Not to mention that my DH erased all the pictures I had taken of the lovely gifts you sent and I am way to exhausted to try again. So to all of you that have sent me wonderful little packages and surprises (especially Meari) THANKS SO MUCH!!! I am truly blessed to know all of you and count you as my friends. Oh, I must not forget to mention Jeannie in Ohio, you are the absolute best Secret Santa--talk about spoiled. Jeannie, as usual you are too generous. Hopefully, I have fulfilled all my exchange obligations although right now I cannot remember if I have, it is all a blurrrrr. Surely someone will remind me if I am tardy.

Anyway, have a great Christmas day. I have been in the kitchen all day making biscotti, putting batteries in toys and now I am roasting a chicken. We will be visiting the MIL next week, so I will blog with y'all in the New Year. Be safe, be happy, and I wish you all the best that life has to offer.

See ya!!
CJ

Happy Holidays!!

2008-12-24T18:55:00.003-06:00

I hope you all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CJ and family.

Happy Holidays!!

2008-12-24T18:55:00.001-06:00