Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Come one, Come all, there are giveaways to be had

and they are wonderful.

Jan of Belfonte Notes has completed her first design and to celebrate, she is giving one away. She is so talented.

Tree of Life Samplings
Rare Treasures

Jolene of Dip Diddly Designs is so generous! She is having another giveaway, a copy of the Anna Stonebreaker Sampler by Hands to Work (isn't beautiful!) Thanks, Jolene!

Anna Stonebreaker Sampler
Hands to Work

And last, but definitely not least is a giveaway by Melissa of The Daily Mel. I just discovered her blog yesterday and enjoyed visiting. Melissa is celebrating her 8th Blogiversary and is having an incredible giveaway to celebrate.


I am such a blonde, I completely forgot to post this picture yesterday. I mentioned the finish, but didn't upload the image (as you can see from the wrinkles, I was in a hurry)


Moonstruck Cat
Anne Stanton
Recommended Fabric and Fiber
Enjoy your Wednesday!

Cari

Monday, August 24, 2009

The bell has rung and school is now in session

Well, August 24th has arrived. For me, today is the beginning of Fall Semester. I am taking 4 classes over the next 16 weeks. While I am anxious to finish my degree, it really cuts into my stitching time :-) (a girl has to have her priorities).

One of my friends called and said she needed a break from her husband and kids and so we decided to have a girl's weekend. We opted for DC since she had not been there in 15 years. Our first stop was to see Julia Child's Kitchen as we had just seen the movie the week before. We walked by the White House, Ford's Theater, and several other buildings. It was lots of fun!


I have been waiting and waiting for my NPI Silk to arrive so I can start my new project. In the interim, I have finished two fun little projects Moonstruck Cat and Victorian Lace.

If I had the opportunity to restitch Victorian Lace, I would use pink beads in lieu of the light pink. If anyone is interested in this little pattern, please email and I will be happy to pass it on - it's in a magazine which is full of other patterns.

Victoria Lace
Unknown white fabric and DMC thread


I started another small project last nite, Spot of Spring by Drawn Thread. I really like this pattern and it should be a quick stitch.

Spot of Spring
Drawn Thread
Recommended Fabric and Fiber


I am hoping that my silk will arrive today as I can't wait to start on The Girl's Learning Sampler.

Enjoy your day.


Cari

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

One more giveaway

I forgot to mention a giveaway. It's not cross stitch related, but it is an amazing blog. Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch" is celebrating her one-year anniversary by having a giveaway each day this week. I'm sure you will have a lovely time perusing her table settings, her beautiful home, and her amazing talent of turning garage sale finds into works of art.

I am still waiting (impatiently) for the postman to deliver my fabric and fibers.

Enjoy your day!

Cari

Monday, August 17, 2009

Giveaways Galore

Check out Stitchin Times Five for this great giveaway, thanks Lori!

And the Craft Blog for a wonderful fabric giveaway!
Stop by and visit with Edige as she is having a delightful 'pink' giveaway

Good Luck to everyone!

Cari





Pumpkins, Chocolate Covered Cherries, and a WIP

Happy Monday!

It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I saw a couple of movies - "Public Enemy", with my husband, it was good and of course, Johnny Depp was fantastic. I also saw "Julie and Julia" with my girlfriend - also very good! After reading Debbie's comments, I really want to read the book. I just love to cook and really enjoy trying new recipes so the premise of the movie was really fun to me - working my way thru a cookbook. Though, I admit, I would not be brave enough to bone a duck or cook a calf's leg (gross!) I would love to know what Julie's life is like now that a book and a movie have been written about her.

I have been watching old tv series - our library has a wonderful selection. I started with the "Gilmore Girls" and am on the last season - I wish I was as funny as Lorelei. This week I picked up "Bewitched" - Season 1. It has been so fun to watch these, even my husband has enjoyed them. It would be great to twitch my little nose and have all the housework done so that I could just enjoy cross stitching :-)

Sorry this first picture is fuzzy. I finished this fun, little project earlier in the year. It is one of many that I am going to send to Deb for finishing. I continue to see pictures of her work and read wonderful comments so, I decided I would send some of my finishes to her as well. I have a drawer full of completed projects that need to be framed or finished in some fashion.

This little project was so much fun! It's a free chart by Casey - the picture does not do it justice. The pattern calls for little pink x's in the background which I substituted with pretty, little pink beads. Deb, this one is coming your way as well.
Chocolate Covered Cherries
Casey Buonaugurio
Recommended Fabric and Threads

This is the project that has been occupying my time as I await (impatiently) for my fabric and threads to arrive so that I can begin "Girl's Learning Sampler". I will probably turn this one into a pillow. It's been a quick stitch and I may have to find another little one to do while I wait. If anyone would like this "Moonstruck Cat" pattern, I will be happy to pass it along.

Moonstruck Cat
Anne Stanton
Suggested Thread and 28-ct white unknown linen

Cari


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Giveaways - Threadheads, Dip Diddly Designs

I wanted to tell everyone about a couple of giveaways.

Kim at Threadheads is giving away some French General accessories. You have to see these as they are just wonderful!

For all you Jane Austen fans, Jolene at Dip Diddly Designs is giving away a set of 6 DVD's called the Jane Austen Collection.

Giveaways are so much fun! Good luck everyone.

Cari


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Stash Reduction Sale

Good Afternoon!

While going through my stash, I came across numerous patterns that I have either completed or know that I will never start. I have listed them on my SALE BLOG - Happy Shopping!

Cari

Need some help, please.

Well after going thru my stash, several times, I came across this magazine, I just love the cover piece it is called the "Girl's Learning Sampler", and decided this would be my next start. But, I need some direction. It is charted for DMC and I would like to convert it to NPI. I have never converted anything before and am not sure how to do this - is there a standard conversion chart somewhere? It also calls for 32-count Ivory Jobelan, but I would like to stitch it on a 36-count - something light colored as I really like the look of the finish pictured.


In the interim, I am working on a couple of small, whimsical pieces. I'll post pictures later.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cari

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A Finish...

Happy dance, happy dance....

I am so thrilled to be finished with this piece. There are so many projects I want to start and others I need to finish. I plan to sit and go thru them this evening and make a decision as to what I will concentrate on next.

Meanwhile, I need to find a frame for "Boo" - that will be my mission during my lunch hour this week.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Cari

Saturday, August 8, 2009

My Morning Run/Walk

I got off to a late start this morning. I went to the drive-in theater last nite and didn't return home until 2:00 a.m. It's so fun to go and it's only $6 for two movies but as the shows don't start until after sunset, it makes for a late, late nite. I saw Ice Age III and Night at the Museum II - very cute!

Before I went back to work, I would run(or walk) 5-6 times a week. I love to get up early and start my day outside. Since I returned to work, I now run in the evenings except on Saturday. On Saturday, I visit our Farmer's Market early in the morning and then run.

The route I normally run is a loop that takes me thru 3 different neighborhoods and along our local wooded trail. Below are some of the homes I pass on my route. I took pictures of a few of my favorites and, as you can see, I have a predilection for big, old brick homes. And the homes along my route are just beautiful! The first one is my very favorite!



The house below is a sweet home. It is made of green stone and I love the woodsy setting.

Love this one, it is set so far back and the tree-lined driveway makes for quite an impressive entrance.





At the end of this neighborhood, I enter the trail (below). I am only on it for a mile but the trail goes for several miles. I usually see deer on my run, but not today - too many people were out enjoying the beautiful weather.


So what does your dream home look like? What does the scenery look like along your daily route? Can't wait to hear from you.

Enjoy your weekend.

Cari

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Weekend Getaway, Fun Finds, and a Giveaway

My husband and I had a wonderful weekend at Shenandoah Crossing. We enjoyed the new pool complex that had just opened, rented a canoe, and had some friendly competition down in the game room. My husband was really excited about going canoeing and thought it would be romantic to paddle me around the lake - it did sound nice. The reality was that I spent the hour worried that we were going to tip over. So what he heard was "the boat's tilting, why is the boat tilting" or "please don't let this thing tip over" or "is the hour over yet" or "why are you moving around" - his response to that was "because I have to paddle" - poor guy, he was very patient with me. I'm not usually so wimpy and if the lake had been full of pretty, clear blue water I wouldn't have cared if we tipped over, but this lake water was very dark and I kept picturing the Abyss and swamp monsters and snakes. When I wasn't worrying, I really enjoyed the canoe ride. In one of the coves, we saw a beautiful white crane and a blue heron.

We drove to town one day and meandered thru all the little shops. All I can say is that Gordonsville, VA must be home to some immensely wealthy people as most of the shops were very high end. We did make one discovery (within our budget) - a garden/antique shop had just acquired some windows from an old church (they were putting in new windows). I just fell in love with them and we bought the last small window. I am still thinking of ways we could use the big window and we may go back and purchase one. Isn't it just darling!

I like it just the way it and want to hang it on this wall. My husband thinks I need to strip it and either paint it or stain it. He also thinks that just hanging it on the wall will be too plain. Any thoughts, ladies?

The larger window looks just like this but is 4'. I would love to purchase it, remove the glass and replace it with mirrors, and use it in our upstairs bathroom.

On our way home Sunday, we stopped by a delightful antique mall "Blue Moon Antiques" and we found some treasures. I fell in love with this little table and the best part is that it matches a table we already have. This has found a place in our 'pink room' (a guest room). We found a second table but as we were in my car and the window took up our trunk space we are retuning this weekend to pick it up.


This was my favorite find, it's called a Canasta Shuffler. You have to be a member of my family to fully appreciate what a great find this is. As a kid, when we would go visit my grandparents, my mom, her siblings, and her parents would play Canasta for hours and hours. We still do that today, whenever I get together with my family, we spend every evening around the dining room table playing Canasta. Those hours around the table are full of wonderful memories and a few arguments as we tend to be competitive :-)

You place the cards in the middle, crank the handle, and shuffler spits out cards on either side. Interestingly, today's playing cards are too big - they must have made cards smaller back then. I have a couple of old decks I found at a yard sale and they fit perfectly. I will have to be on the hunt for more 'old decks'.


Last, but not least is a little finish I did a while ago. Once I find material, I will make this into a pillow.

Home
Shepherd's Bush
Recommended Fabric and Fiber

Oh, almost forgot, Mary Kathryn is having a give away! Enjoy your week.

Cari