TJBdesigns Today's Shout Out

I'm honored to be featured in the On Fire for Handmade teams Shout Out.  What a fabulous and supportive team!

TJB Designs Today's Shout Out

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Lists Are Good...I Think

Do not even think of reminding me how many days are left 'til Christmas!  Shopping is not a problem, thanks to the internet.  But stitching time is in short supply and I may have to give up sleep. And believe me, you do not want that. I am not nice when sleep deprived.

However progress is being made, thanks to my secret weapon, who shall remain nameless. Look at what I managed to accomplish since my last post.  Tassels and assembly are next on the list. 

 

 

I'm really big on lists. I have three different lists going now for Thanksgiving, plus the usual grocery list, errands list, household to-do list, Etsy to-do list...  Then there's the obligatory Christmas list.  The stitching list has sub-lists:
1. To-do
2. Gifts
   a.  birthdays
   b. Christmas
   c.  other
3. ornaments
4. WIPs (this one is short because as you can probably tell, I'm pretty anal retentive...I hear you laughing.)
5. Completed (yearly)

Perhaps I should spend less time making lists and more time stitching. hmmm....

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Glorious Fall Day at the Beach

It's a glorious fall day here in coastal NC. After a few unseasonably cold days, we're back to almost 70 degrees and getting warmer for the next couple of days. The sun is shining and the yachts are cruising down the Intracoastal Waterway on their way to Florida for a few months. There's a steady stream of them starting in early October every year.

And football is in the air.  Okay, football is on TV and I'm stitching another Periwinkle Promises sampler accent pin pillow. Queen Anne's Lace is done and Greensleeves will be done by the end of the weekend.

I love these little sampler accents, but I'm already thinking about my first big sampler for 2013. I have several candidates on the list, but it's really hard to choose.

In the meantime, I'm busy filling Christmas orders for scissor fobs and bookmarks and counting pins.  I've received some lovely feedback lately and it always thrills me when people tell me how much they love their fob or what a big difference the counting pins have made in keeping the 'frog' away.

"In reference to my recent purchase of scissor fobs, I am totally in love with them. I purchased them as gifts and the recipients LOVE them! How fun is that! I came across your items by accident actually, I merely googled scissor fobs. I knew there had to be some out there, but, had no idea I would find something so fabulous! THANK YOU."

"I just received your beautiful scissor fob and am so pleased with your creativity and fine work. My friend will love it for her birthday! Thank you for a fast delivery, too. I look forward to keeping up with your shop."

"Absolutely LOVE these Crochet Stitch Markers!! I used them today and they are the perfect shape and weight! No snagging on my yarn and so lovely to look at while I'm working! Who says crochet markers have to be boring?!!"

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No More Borders

Have I mentioned that I hate borders?  As usual, about 11:30 last night I realized why that frog was sitting on the couch next to me waiting to be noticed.  Grrrrr. And there were beads involved in this late night fiasco! Bigger grrrrrr. I had to rip out the top line of the border.  The error was made about two hours earlier, but I was in 'one more stitch' mode and trying to finish the border before bed. So I didn't find the problem until the corners didn't meet. Hate it when that happens. This is the major reason that I enjoy band samplers so much...NO BORDERS!  So I frogged and restitched the top of the border before I hit the sack.  The fact that we were turning the clocks back helped me rationalize staying up until it was done.

I'm sure the rest of this little Periwinkle Promises Sampler Accent - "Queen Anne's Lace" will go much more quickly. It has to, I'm under the gun. I finished the "Crocus" Sampler Accent a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to post it. Probably because of ...THE BORDER! It's double running and I was surrounded by frogs while working that one. But the first band is queen stitch, so I found my happy place pretty quickly. Most of you are groaning, I know, but I love queen stitches.

I've been working on ornaments for the family, but none are photo ready yet. It's amazing how some metallic perforated paper can jazz up a simple design.

I can't believe it's already November! I have so much stitching to do and I'm up to my eyeballs in book thongs and stitch markers for knitting and crochet. They make great gifts and I'm trying to stock up.

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