Stitching Between Friends Exchange & Lk Exchange

A group of 6 stitcher's got together and formed the Stitching Between Friends group. Our first exchange was a Christmas themed one and I was partnered with Angela.
 Yesterday I received this wonderful package from her and I was completely Wowed!!! Angela stitched a design for me from "Song Of the Season" by Prairie Schooler on 32ct Mushroom lugana with the DMC floss called for. Believe me when I say that the picture doesn't show how truly gorgeous this piece is!!! She also included a piece of the most beautiful Christmas fabric, a butterfly calendar and a couple of Christmasy nail files. She even wrapped it so beautifully ! There was a butterfly attached to the paper and I am going to glue a clip onto him and stick him on my tree.
 Thank You so very much for this wonderful exchange Angela! It will be treasured for years to come!

 Last Thursday I woke up feeling terrible! Every single muscle in my body hurt (more than usual) and I was pushing myself to get ready to take my DS to school. By the time I got home from dropping him off I started getting the chills. Next thing I knew I had 102F! All I kept thinking of was I didn't have time for this! DH happened to be home that day so he sent me to bed and that was pretty much where I stayed for 2 days. I didn't feel like eating or anything and although my temperature has been back to normal I still don't feel 100%. Not sure what that was all about as I had no other symptoms (ok slight nausea) but I am glad it is gone.

 While I was sick I did receive my LK exchange from Line. Unfortunately the first exchange piece she sent me got lost in the mail so this was a replacement piece.
Line stitched "Cozy Christmas Wishes" for me and made it into this wonderful ornament! She used 32ct natural linen and both DMC and Nina's threads. She said this was only the 2nd time she had finished her stitching this way but you'd never know it!
Thank You so very much Line for this wonderful exchange! I can't wait to see it on my tree!

 I did manage to start and finish an ornament for an exchange in 1 day while I wasn't feeling good. All of my exchange stitching is now done for the year! I just have to put a couple of things together then mail them off.  I say this every year but it never works out but I am going to TRY yet again to cut down on exchange stitching so I have more time to stitch some things for myself LOL  What can I say? I just love doing exchanges!

Well that's all from here today! I made a Cranberry Fruit Salad today and tomorrow I will be baking Blueberry Crumb Pie, Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Bars to bring to MIL's for Thanksgiving. Well actually DS is the only one who likes Pumpkin Pie so I may just leave that one here for him :)

Welcome to my new followers and Thank You all for stopping by!!

Monarch's In Progress & An Exchange I Sent

As promised here are a few pictures of the 2 Monarch caterpillars in their Chrysalis's (try saying that 10 times fast! LOL)
 One of them started the evening I bought the Milkweed plants and the other the very next day. Depending on the weather, (meaning how warm it is outside) they should emerge as butterflies in 5-15 days. I'd say by the end of the week or this weekend they will be ready to be released. I ma so looking forward to it!
 The first picture you will see the caterpillar in a "J". They hang like that for a few hours before they start shedding their last "skin".

This is how they end up .You can actually see them squirming to shed the skin and it ends up on the bottom of the cage all wrinkled up. It isn't really as creepy as it may sound :)
Notice the streaks of gold around the top of the chrysalis and also in different spots on it. It is so glittery and actually sparkles exactly like gold. it is just amazing to me!

I've only actually caught one emerging once or twice. It may be in a previous post I did last year. You can look at them by scrolling down on my blog and click on "butterflies"  and see my previous posts. I will be trying to catch one or both of these 2.
As for the other 4 there is still no sign of them. I figure by now they are in Chrysalis somewhere. Usually Mamma Monarch lays a bunch of eggs at one time. So they are usually all about the same size and are ready about the same time.

I heard from Ellen S that she received my exchange from the HOE perpetual ornament exchange and she liked it! I stitched "Holiday Spirit" by The Sampler Bird for her. I used 28ct Antique white even weave and CC Jelly Roll. A very fun stitch and so appropriate (I thought) for this exchange as it was "the Words of Christmas".

I am still waiting to hear from my partner from the Lizzie Kate exchange if she received what I sent her. I mailed it on Sept 20.
I finished up another exchange Saturday night and went right to another.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Thanks for stopping by :)

Exchanges, Butterflies & Birthday Cake!

It's been awhile since my last blog post I know. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes.

Hmmmm.... where do I start??

 I've been stitching like crazy as much as possible for a bunch of exchanges I signed up for. Here are 2 of the exchanges I have sent out so far.
 This first one is by Primitive Betty and I stitched it for the HOE Fall Pinkeep exchange. My partner was Shelley and I was happy to hear she received it and loved it ;) I forget which DMC colors I used for the sunflowers. I had the fabric and matching ribbon in my stash already and knew they would be perfect for this design.

Next up is Gather A Harvest by Lizzie Kate which I stitched for the LK Exchange. My partner hasn't received it yet so I can't reveal who they are. I used 28ct DMC linen and the overdyed floss called for in the design.

I even stitched a couple of pieces for myself in the middle of all of my exchange stitching. I was looking for something to stitch for an exchange and I came across this design. I remembered how much I loved it and was "dying" to stitch it but never did!
It is Toffee Apples by The Sampler girl. It is in her "The Stitching Janite's Pattern Book". I didn't have all of the overdyed threads called for in the design so I tried to match up what I had for the colors I didn't.

 I also finally got around to stitching this adorable design by The Crossed Eyed Cricket called Leaves. It can be found in their leaflet called "Winter Circle". Unfortunately there is no picture of it anywhere on the leaflet so if you don't know it is included you'd never find it. I am not sure why that is as it is a beautiful design with beautiful colors in it. I used 28ct evenweave and the DMC colors called for.

Butterflies-
 This year I have again decided to just concentrate on raising Eastern Black Swallowtails. My Fennel plant was huge and just waiting to be devoured by very hungry caterpillars. Mamma Swallowtail kept coming every afternoon and laying eggs but I never did see caterpillars. I figured something must have been eating them. So I kept a close eye on the plant but never did find out. Finally I started seeing caterpillars and before I knew it my fennel plant was literally loaded with them! I lost count after 75 but I had all of those chrysalis's in my cage!!!!  It was VERY exciting!! What was more exciting is when 19 butterflies emerged on the same morning! I usually take them out 1 at a time and release them but with so many at once I couldn't do that. So I took my cage outside and just opened the door so they could go. Except they wouldn't leave LOL So I had to take them out 1 at a time and I placed them on some flowers nearby. You see they need the sun to heat up their wings to fly and at that time of the morning there isn't much sun in my backyard.
Here are a few pictures of them after I placed them on plants.

The Chrysalis's and a few close up

The next day I had 17 emerge and then the day after another 16 or so. Yesterday and today I had only 1 each day. But there are still many more to hatch!
Out of these so far only 4 have not made it. What happens is for some reason they fall to the ground and their wings get messed up before they are dry. Sadly they end up drying all messed up and cannot fly. So I am left with the sad job of putting them to sleep :(  I did have 2 out of the 4 actually have a part of their bodies stuck inside the chrysalis. I carefully tried to peel it away but couldn't get it all off.

Birthday Cake-
 In my last post I believe I was telling you all how my inlaws were coming over for a their birthday/anniversary dinner and how DH was making the cake. Well here is the picture of the delicious cake he made!

It was a 4 layer chocolate cake with a delicious chocolate icing made from scratch! He didn't write anything on it because he forgot to get the writing gel LOL
He did a wonderful job on it!!

 This weekend we are off to my MIL & FIL's to celebrate my DH's birthday! His birthday was on Wednesday (the 21st) and we had a little celebration here with the 3 of us. This weekends will be a bigger celebration!

Thanks so much for stopping by! And if you made it this far in reading my post I Thank You for putting up with my rambling :)

Have a Great weekend!

LK Exchange Received From Karen D & Lynn W

Yesterday I received this adorable pillow from Karen D for the Lizzie Kate exchange we were both in. Karen stitched LK Flora McSample Strawberry Sampler Quick It for me! I absolutely love this design! I have seen it recently on other blogs and knew I would love to stitch this one for myself someday. Now I don't have to!
 Karen's stitching and finishing on this piece is absolutely perfect!!  Karen wrote in her note to me that she had the perfect fabric for it and she was so right.
It is already being displayed in my smalls basket in my living room. It looks wonderful there :)

Thank you so very much Karen for a wonderful exchange!

My partner for this exchange was Lynn W. She posted on the LK Exchange blog that she has received my exchange to her and she loved it, so now I can post it here.

I stitched Liberty Sampler for her. 

I used 28ct antique white evenweave with the GAST threads called for in the design. To me this just screamed pin keep so that is just what I finished it into. I even got to use one of the wonderful Labels that Lynn B sent to me.

Thanks for stopping by!

LK Exchange Received

Yesterday afternoon I received this gorgeous little pin pillow from my partner Lei in the LK Exchange. It is absolutely gorgoeus and Lei's finishing is superb! I love the backing fabric she chose as it is so pretty and in my favorite color!
 I have it displayed in my smalls basket that is on the coffee table in my living room so I can always enjoy it.
Isn't the little note card precious!!

Thank you so very much Lei for a wonderful little treasure!

I have been feverishly working on my private exchange with Lisa V. I noticed the other day that I messed up on it and had to frog a large portion. That set me way back ;( It doesn't happen often but boy it makes me so mad! lol I am due to send it out on April 15 th so hopefully I will have it done in time. I spent the entire day today stitching on it and as soon as I am off of here I will go back to it. Sigh....


DH & I worked on cleaning the Lanai this weekend and now everything is done! Yeah! I am so happy we got it done before the real hot weather sets in. Although it has been near 90 and humid most of this week already, we are suppose to get a cold front tonight and the temps & humidity will go down.

 I went to my monthly Butterfly Club meeting this weekend and won a milkweed plant and a parsley plant. I spent Monday morning planting them in the ground. I have a couple of more butterfly attracting plants to get then I can just sit back and watch them flutter into my yard! I can't wait! So far I have seen a Red Admiral butterfly,  Gulf Frittilary butterfly and a couple of unknowns hanging around. I say unknown because they are just passing through and I can't make out what they are LOL

I hope your all having a great week!

Thanks so very much for stopping by! I really appreciate all of your wonderful comments :)

Seasonal & LK Exchange From Laura

I am finally getting a chance to post these wonderful exchanges I received from Laura .
I had DH home for a week and a half with Bronchitis and DS was off  from school for a 4 day weekend this  past weekend. They are finally back to work/school and I am back on my normal routine. Yeah!! lol
 Laura had my name in 2 different exchanges! For the Seasonal Exchange she stitched Bent Creeks Happy Christmas Snapper. Laura said she used 25ct beige lugana with DMC threads. She also said it was the first time she had done a pillow finish like this! You would never know as it is absolutely perfect!!
 For the Lizzie Kate exchange she stitched Friendship Grows also using 25ct beige lugana and DMC threads. This was also the first time she had made a finish like this! She also added an adorable tag to both that says "Made by Laura For You"! I think this is such a lovely touch :)

Laura you did an absolutely wonderful job on both of these pieces! I LOVE them both and they will be treasured! I have them both in my basket on my coffee table so I can enjoy them :)
Thank you so very much for both of these wonderful exchanges!

No word yet if my exchange had been received. It will soon be a month since I sent it. Hopefully it will be delivered soon.

I have finished stitching both of my bloggerversary give away pieces and should be done with the finishing on them today. I hope to get them out in the mail tomorrow. I will let Cathy & Lisa know as soon as they are on their way.

 The other day I started stitching "Cherries" by LHN. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it and it has been in my "to do" pile forever it seems.  What a quick and fun stitch! I should have it finished by tonight. I also have worked a little in my ABC sampler by Gazette 94. I am up to a part now that has backstitching in it so it is taking me awhile.  The whole piece is comming along slowly but I know I will finish it one day lol

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

LK Exchange Received From Lynn

Today I received the most wonderful pillow from Lynn in the LK Exchange  we  belong to!!
Lynn stitched LK Sampling Halloween Quick It using the linen and threads called for in the design. She also chose the most perfect backing fabric for it. Lynn stuffed it with crushed walnut shells which are absolutely wonderful!! I love the feel of of the pillow because of them and I can't stop fondeling it LOL
Her stitching and finishing are absolutely perfect!
Lynn - Thank You so very much for this  fabulous treasure! I LOVE it!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

LK Autumn Boxer

I love looking at other stitcher's blogs as some of you are so very talented and come up with the cutest ideas!
I had seen a box finish on someones blog and also in one of the exchange groups I am in. I always thought they were amazing but never thought I could do one myself. So while shopping in Michael's a few weeks ago I came across some unfinished wooden boxes . I bought a couple of them figuring someday I will have just the right size XS piece to fit.  I think I have come to the point where I realize if I mess something up it isn't the end of the world. Things can usually be fixed somehow. I also think that is how wonderful things are created sometimes.....by trying to fix a mistake :-) 
 I finally got around to stitching LK autumn Boxer and wouldn't you know it fit perfectly on one of the boxes I brought home. So I took the plunge so to speak and here is what I came up with! It was actually a lot easier than I thought.  I even made a pocket on the inside top to store things in. ( I should have put something in there so it would be more noticable in the pic )

Other than this I have been working on exchange pieces. I have already finished 3 and have 3 more to go!
I will post photos of them when they are received !

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Exchange Pieces I Sent

Now that all my partners have received their exchanges from me I can post pictures of them :)

My partner for the Seasonal Exchange was Heather.  I stitched "Summer" which is a free design by The Stitcherhood for her and made it into a pillow.  I have to say usually I stitch something then try to find a backing fabric to go with it. This time I had the Dolphin  fabric and looked for a design I thought went with it ;) I changed the colors to coordinate with the colors in the backing fabric. I stitched this on 28ct evenweave using DMC. I also had a hard time finding the perfect ribbon to go with it.  I was lucky enough to find a green & turquoise ribbon that were very close to the DMC colors I used. I then decided to see what they looked like braided together and they worked!

The next exchange was for the Lizzie Kate Exchange Group and my partner was Karen D  . I chose to stitch Woof  Blocks by LK for Karen after reading her blog and seeing she had dogs :) I used 28ct  Antique white evenweave and the DMC colors called for.  I really had fun stitching this one up for Karen :)

And last but certainly not least is the exchange I stitched for the HOE Group . My partner was Janet and the theme for this exchange was "For The Birds" I chose to stitch Hummingbirds from the Prairie Schooler  Book #24 Prairie Birds. I don't remember off hand what count of fabric I used. I probably should write this stuff down somewhere lol I did use the DMC threads called for...that I remember !

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! I appreciate all of your wonderful comments!

LK Exchange Received

Today I received a gorgeous exchange from Angela ! I am in the LK Exchange group which Angela hosts  and Angela had my name :) I have always admired Angela's stitching and finishing so what a treat it was to receive something from her :)
Angela stitched "wear A Smile" from Lizzie Kate and finished it as this gorgeous pillow! I love the fabric she chose as it goes perfectly with the design. it is very bright and cheerful too! She also attached a small charm to the ribbon which says' Made with love"! How cute is that!!

I absolutely LOVE what you have made for me Angela!! I will treasure it always!!

I have received so many gorgeous exchanges lately!! I feel so fortunate and I LOVE every one of them!

I REALLY have to go get myself a much larger basket to display all of my wonderful goodies! LOL

I am really enjoying all of the exchanges I am in. They make me stitch more and it is so much  fun choosing something to stitch for someone else. I also love seeing what everyone else has made. The variety of what is exchanged and talent of other stitchers is just amazing to me!

Thank you all for your visits and all of the wonderful comments! And welcome to all of the new followers of my blog!