Mary, Mary how does your stitching go

Yes i am back to Sweet Mary Wigham.
Spent the afternoon on Thursday with my best stitching friends and this weekend spending time stitching on her again. My wrist aches but i can not, will not give up stitching. Needless to say i take more breaks, wear my wrist guards and back to acupuncture. It all seems to help. how could i ever give up stitching?

i think she is coming along nicely.
 i must admit i did get off count and so i will fudge a few things. yet like my hubby says who will know?
i assume all stitchers make mistakes and i also know that when we first find them we debate to rip out or to keep going. sometimes even to put aside till the pain lessens. i didn't think with this type of sampler the miscount would really matter so after a few loud noises i continue on. i also decided to add our year with hers.
can you tell where i messed up?
keep stitching

Room Service PLease!!!

who doesn't like room service.
 please stand up or better yet maybe you need to sit down and let me tell you the best parts about hotels.
i have a big thing about hotels, when ever we go somewhere i like to try a new hotel. we go to Seattle quite a bit and when we can we stay overnight. this past weekend was another adventure in Seattle and i found a new hotel  for us. "Artic Club Hotel" when i first press the button to pay for a reservation i always have a funny feeling in my gut.
 i remember when we visited Paris, France many years ago and i went online and found a hotel/hostel for 25 dollars a night, i booked it and then worried "what had i done" i knew nothing about the area so i was nervous. When we got off the subway and found our way to our 5 day home it was great. clean, quiet and perfect location, for 25.00 dollars. my best find yet!

well this past weekend i knew that The Artic was a top hotel, 4 stars but still was it my 4 stars? it is a beautiful  hotel that had just been restored. it was originally a "Gentleman's Club" back in the early 1900's. the outside has big walrus's all over the front.
 Our room had a great view of one of my favorite buildings in Seattle, The Adams building. lite up at night is amazing.

the next important question that needs an answer is where will i stitch? look closely and you can see i am still working on Mary Whigham.

this was perfect, comfortable chair, a window with lots of light.

 the next best thing is Room Service!

  i had a great dinner and of course the next morning i had to have breakfast.

they even had french press coffee in the room!

 lovely yogurt and fresh fruit yumm

 the last question is how you sleep.

perfect, king size mattress and a fluffy comforter with lots of pillows.

umm where will we stay next?

FYI i just signed up for a pin cushion swap on quiltingjeannet.blogspot.com

if you are interested stop by and sign up by Sept. you have till November to complete the pin cushion.

A Name on a Sampler

what is in a name?
besides the fact that our parents probably took the time to pick out our names for each of us.
what does a name represent?
the first antique sampler i bought had allot to do with the little girls name.
Jane Morgan, i have always liked the name Jane simple yet old fashion and Morgan is my sisters name. i knew it was meant to be i had to buy the sampler. i would love to know where she lived, if she had sisters, was stitching something she enjoyed.

the sampler is rough, holes, bare spots and you can see where someone tried to sew it together. i love that it has all of its flaws and all the strange little motifs. i really love the alphabets.

and then the second sampler i bought.

again the name Emma Amelia Schmelzel, so unique. the connection for me is my daughters name is Emily

and of course when she was little Emma was a standby nickname along with Emmer and Em.

once again what is in a name.

 this sampler has a whole different feel to it. not something that would normally grab me but who could resist the unique frame, the name and of course the work that went into it. what happen to this little girl did she marry, have children?

 i love how New-York is stitched, did that represent something to her?

each sampler has many questions unanswered.

someday i hope to find some information on these young girls and the life they lead. 

yet the name is the starting point how we first greet the world and sometimes it may be how the world first greets us.

just an great FYI i stumbled upon a great blog of altered art. love it.

 kcwillis.blogspot.com stop by and take a look she also has a great giveaway which is always fun.

take a look at www.studioretreats.nig.com  who knows you may have the time to enjoy a retreat or one of her classes.

I won I won

i just have to brag i won a
 beautiful,
 incredible,
 unique,
 zipper bee on Marie's "Art From My Heart" Blog.
i posted the piece on my blog a week or so ago. i have followed her blog for a short time and i love it. she does amazing work with fimo clay and who doesn't like to play with fimo. only wish i could do what she does!!
Friday the 13th must be my lucky day.
make it yours too,

Sisters, just wanted to share

here is the finish gift to my sister. my hubby cut me a dowel to hang it on and i put all the trinketts on the bottom. i know she will love it. we don't always exchange gifts so i hope this will surprise her.
sometimes when you least expect it you open your mailbox and something different and unique is waiting for you.

i hope this is one of those days for her.
i send it with love and all the memories sisters share.
remembering the time we were suppose to be asleep but we would be in bed getting the uncle wiggly's out, or the time we sneaked off to a boys house when we were only allowed to visit girls.( very strict step dad) plus all the times we would stay up late, laugh and share the secrets that at the time seemd so important and now are long forgotten. the moments we shared through out our childhood holding on to one another for comfort and friendship. knowing that we would always love one another and be there for one another.
no matter how many times we disagreed we always find a way back to each other. i believe sisters do that for one another. forgiving is part of the true love of sisterhood.
if you have a sister (blood or not) take the time to let her know.

old gift, new gift

i love gift giving and  receiving them, as i am sure most of us do.
sometimes i stitch or make things with no one in particular in mind but i know someday it will find a home. i have many of these stitched or created pieces in my art/craft room. i love looking at them knowing that when i made them i had a great time creating them. it even feels better when i know exactly who that piece needs to go to. i had one of these moments yesterday as i was thinking about one of my sisters (i have 4 sisters) birthday which is coming up. we are 16 months apart and even thou we are extremely different i love every bone in her body and would do anything for her.  i was looking at this piece that i stitched back in 2005 and i know it will look great in her kitchen plus i know she will totally love and understand the saying on it. she has a heart of gold.
i started thinking about how i wanted to present it to her and i think i like the idea of little trinkets and beads hanging from it. plus i think i will hang it either from a dowel or a twig from one of my trees.
the creative process always amazed me it all starts with just a simple idea and a bit of time.

Art from my Heart: 14th giveaway- Unzipped heart with a bee

i decided to add this to my blog i think her art work is incredible. such amazing pieces check out her blog or etsy site you will be amazed too. who knows maybe you will win this piece. i would be soo jealous but do let me know if you do!!
Art from my Heart: 14th giveaway- Unzipped heart with a bee: "As I promised, this is the 14th give away. Unzipped heart with a bee. The piece of lint that you see has been removed ;-} What is in your h..."

completing a project or two

well i must admit i haven't done much stitching the past few days.
i always have a ton of ideas in my head that are screaming to get out so this weekend i decided to set them free. or at least a few of them.
the first thing i worked on and completed easily was some new pillows for my favorite place to sit on my patio. i love this chase that my daughter bought me years ago and each morning it is my favorite place to have a cup of coffee with a book before starting my day.

the next project which took a few days and many bundles of my home grown lavender was my wreath. i made one a few years ago with a different method and look. they seem to get a bit dirty and dusty after a few years and lose a bit of there delicious smell.
this time i took a Styrofoam base and used some white glue and literally stuck each dried lavender in with a bit of chenille plant at the top and a few dried clematis flower pods scattered thru out.
 i decide this year to use my white lavender and i love the look. it is hard to see but the ribbon i tied at the top to hang it has a cute little bird straight pen i made from shrink paper. you wouldn't believe how messed up my craft room got when i was finally finished i had lavender every where and everything smelled so good.

this is the work in progress!

and here it is complete, hanging!

below is a close up. i love the chenille plant that hangs down the colors look a bit richer in person. the chenille plant is a faded red and the of course the lavender is deep purple blue and white. i had wanted to make a rectangle wreath but could not find a base to work with. maybe next year. i still have tons of lavender left and of course will find many ways to use it through out the year

 i enjoy the quick satisfaction from simple projects.

 every once in awhile i need to complete a project and this weekend i did!