Meet Gigi!

People that are non-stitchers often ask me; when I see a pattern, how do I know that I want to stitch it?  That can be a difficult question to answer, but I guess I'd have to say that I follow my heart... that the pattern often "speaks" to me.

Well,  I recently saw one of these patterns during my first visit to Linda Lee's blog over at Cross 'N My Stitches.  That's where I met Gigi a.k.a. "Gigi's Garden" from By The Bay Needleart.  

Linda Lee had just finished stitching her, and I commented on how much I loved the finished product!  I had done a search for the pattern on By The Bay's site but didn't have any luck finding it, so I also asked Linda Lee if she by chance knew whether or not it was OOP. Linda Lee replied to me by saying that if I sent her my address, she would send her used pattern out to me in the mail!  Her reply caught me completely by surprise and brought tears to my eyes.  I thank you again Linda Lee -  from the bottom of my heart!!

Linda Lee added a sweet hand written note along with the pattern.

I anxiously awaited Gigi's arrival to Canada and couldn't wait to choose some fabric from my stash, and gather up the needed DMC floss.  Once she had reached her destination, I did a floss toss and decided that this 28 ct. Cashel hand-dyed linen called Meadowmist was "Gigi worthy".

 

 As you can see, I'm not very far on her yet, but what I've completed so far has been a very fun stitch indeed!  I need to work upwards a bit on her though and get her face stitched... I will then have someone to "look at" while stitching :-)

You may be wondering... why did this specific pattern speak to me and touch my heart when I first saw it?  Well, it reminded me of my beautiful, red-headed, blue-eyed daughter Chantelle, and her love of gardening and nature.

Now, thanks to the kindness of a complete stranger, whenever I put my needle to thread while working on this pattern, I feel that Chantelle is physically closer to me than the 3 hours away that she actually is...

...and that truly makes my heart sing.

Tracey

Attention All Stitchers... Any Takers??

Sometimes when we get so engrossed with a certain hobby, we tend to eat, live and breath it... which can often lead to getting burnt out and then we move on to something new.

Well, that just so happened to a dear friend of mine.  She used to be a stitcher... but now knitting/crocheting is her craft of choice.  Last week she gathered up all of her cross stitch stash and brought it to me.  While sorting through, I came across a couple of patterns that I would like to pass on to a fellow stitcher out there in blog land.

The first item is a pattern by Living Faith, Hope, & Grace called October - "The Vine and the Branches".  The majority of this is already stitched (on a 32 ct. linen) - with the exception of the bunches of grapes, a few other stitches here and there, and the backstitching.  The design area is quite large - 11"x16.5" - with a substantial border of fabric that leaves more than enough for framing.

It was hard to get a photo that captured the richness of the colours used.

A close up of the grapes that she started.

All the floss is included to finish this project... including this gorgeous thread called Amethyst by Wildflowers by Caron.

It would be so wonderful to find someone who would love to finish stitching this piece for themselves, and give it a new home.

The second item is a Bucilla kit called O' Holy Night.  This kit has been opened, but never started... so everything is in tact and ready to go.

 I will leave this give-away open until September 1st, 2012, and if more than one person is interested in taking both of these items, I will do a drawing the morning of that day.  If you are a follower of our blog (new or old), please leave a comment, and be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.  Thanks!

Enjoy your last week of August and Happy Stitching!

Tracey

Scarlet Claire - 2 months old

Well Scarlet Claire is 2 months old today, so it's time to take another growth chart photo with Sushi.  Somehow, I don't think making the cat sit still for photos is going to be an issue.....

Hangin' with Sushi...

Maybe if I stretch my leg just a little bit more I can be as long as Sushi...

That's it Sushi... curl your tail, then I can look as long as you!

Something furry is tickling my face..!

Sushi loves me.

Something tells me that these two are going to be great friends. 

Bonnie

Try not to be jealous Jody

A few months ago I won another award at work (sure, I'm allowed to brag a little, I did after all work hard for it...) and so I decided to buy myself a keepsake with the cash award.  While I could always use some new clothes - I really wanted a keepsake.  You know... as a reminder of why I set the alarm for 5:30 AM every day.  So... I tucked the money away until I saw just the right thing and voila!  this week I found it.  I thought about it for a few days and decided to hell with the '30 day buying rule' because technically the money had already been set aside for at least that long anyway.  So I picked it up today after work and hung it on my wall as soon as I got home.  I couldn't wait to see what it looked like, then I couldn't wait to share with you all. I haven't decided if I am overly excited, or simply impatient.  Jody; I can hear you gasping already !!   (Jody loves tulips)

My kids will be THRILLED because they have been trying for the longest time to get me to take down the outdated wooden country shelf - you know.. the ones with the heart cut outs! I refused because I knew I would need something to hide the large screw nails that were holding the shelf.  

So... now that I've covered the old screw nail holes - please try to ignore the paint chips in the wall that I made when I lost my balance, nearly fell off the couch and scraped the wall with the hammer as I was stumbling to catch myself.  Better the wall than another injury because my big toe nail is already about to fall off as it is.... but that's another story. (perhaps left OFF the blog)

Bonnie 

Scarlet Claire

June 26, 2012 I was blessed to have witnessed the birth of my first grandchild, Scarlet Claire, and because I've spent the last several weeks cuddling this teeny tiny bundle of joy - I have seriously neglected posting on the blog.  To all you loyal followers, thanks for your patience.  To all you grandparents and lovers of newborn babies, I know you completely understand.  Obviously I have a bajillion pictures to choose from, but here are a few of my favourites.

Only a few minutes old.

Weighing in at 6lbs 15 oz, you can see how tiny she is.

Another favourite that shows her teeny tiny form.

One of the first times we captured eyes opened
and smiling at the same time.

And of course for all you loyal followers you have read stories about the silly antics of Sushi. The moment the baby was set down, she was right there. 

June 28th - two days old.

They even hung out together on Canada Day.

So I decided what I'm going to do is capture my own photo growth chart by taking a picture each month of Scarlet and Sushi together.

Is Sushi huge or is Scarlet tiny?
Scarlet is tiny, she has already been nicknamed Bitsy.

Ahhhhh ... de baby.
Ahhhhh... de kitty.

Scarlet appears to like her Sushi time.

Thanks for letting me brag.

Bonnie