Christmas Stitching

the best part of this time of year is stitching little ornaments for all the little ones i know.
this year i have four boys to stitch for, all under 3 years old and one little girl.

this is a simple one i stitched for my nieces oldest boy who is 2

easy his name, a red bird and beads.

i found it  hard to put anything inside this little glass ornament. paper wouldn't lay right with the linen and i decided to add some pop beads that belong to my grandmother. plus the little gingerbread man!

and another one for little Waylon some beads and a simple snowflake.

this one i stitched for my niece who loves cats

 oh yea i got this design out of the 2011 Christmas Ornament Magazine by Just Cross Stitch. this one was designed by Michelle M. Lash and i finished it just like she said with the cording and tassels sewn around the edge. fun and simple again.

i love the Christmas Just Cross Stitch Magazines i save them and turn to them year after year.

enjoy your stitching at this wonderful time of year.

stitched envelope

i have been stitching an envelope for an exchange

 i could have made this whole process easier if i had not decided to stitch on 36 count linen.
above is the inside of the envelope i fused a fabric inside so when you open  it that is what  you see not the back of my stitches. my stitches are not that pretty, they are getting better but no reverse pieces for me in the near future.

here is the front of the envelope before i folded it

i love this little lady and her dog this is on front of envelope





 this is the finished back of the envelope i am happy with it and of course learned a ton about stitching and folding an envelope. my measuring i thought was perfect but nothing is ever perfect so i had to ad lib a bit.
 i have stitched an envelope before but of course that memory has long ago been filed in lost and not found.
 i think anyone would love to receive this in the mail. i hope she smiles and is happy with her mystery gift.

i love exchanges and i haven't done many but i think 2013 should be the year of stitching for others.

 now i just have to find more swaps any suggestions???

stitched pieces from years ago

now that fall and winter are here i am excited and ready to start up some new projects and hopefully finish some almost finished ones. We all know how many projects "in waiting" we have.
the weather here has turned to rain after many months of dryness and i love it. I know there are many of you who are not as fortunate with mother nature this time of year and my heart goes out to you. I have many friends who also are struggling with terrible "SANDY" and please now I am sending positive thoughts your way. Be Strong.

i want to share some pieces that i have stitched in the past years i hope you enjoy..

this was one of my first sampler piece reminds me all over again of why i fell in love with

School Girl Samplers

this is part of a sampler that i stitched in 1999.  my first try at needle wrapping, queen stitch and many others. i struggled but i love looking at it and know that i have come a long way.

                      i stitched this in 2002 just for fun and i love it who doesn't like a heart in hand.

here is a little red house that i stitched in 2002. it is stitched over one on silk  probably 40 count. One of my first over one on silk and i was hooked from the first stitch. i love the instant gratification. i find that i can create my own designs now and stitching on 40 count or more makes mistakes or poor planning show instantly. yes it is harder to take out those mistakes. i used cotton thread on this and now mostly stitch with silk and i love Vicki Clayton's silk threads.

                          i stitched this in 2004, charms are always a fun thing to add to any piece.
                                  
                                                                                                       Stay Warm

And The WINNER IS...

first thank you all who stopped by, became a follower and dropped a little note on my blog.
i love having giveaways and plan to do many more so please stay tuned...
the winner as i was saying before i interrupted myself

"Laurie in Iowa" of corgi cottage
"Congratulations"
i will send an email to you soon and get all your info so i can send you your box of goodies.

i love the unique ways of mother nature.
enjoy your Fall Flowers

2 days left for give away

OK last chance to enter
leave a comment, join the blog and your name is entered in the drawing!
see all the goodies you can win below

two beautiful thread keeps, some antique buttons, 2 wooden spools of thread, In the Company of Friends book marker, a Perpetually Engaging Calendar from the collection of Micheal & Elizabeth Feller, A booklet from the Middle Tennessee Sampler Exhibit of 2011 at the James Polk Ancestral Home, and a beautiful white thread keep from Kelmscott Design.
now who wouldn't want to own all of this......
drawing will be on October 5th and winner announced on October 6th   tadaaaaaaaaaaaa

Give Away October 5th and Antique Eye Candy

NO MORE DELAY TIME TO GIVE AWAY,

all the goodies i have put aside and you can still view on the past two post on my blog.

stay tuned October 5th i will pick a name and post it here.

just wanted to share some old photos i took when i went back east many moons ago.

Eliza Burton Sampler

i love this little shoe and fish pin cushion

antique boxes of goodies, oh my

now all you have to do is become a follower or drop a comment and you are entered in the giveaway.

Good Luck

A Giveaway is Happening

i started this a few weeks ago and now i am adding a few things to my Thank you giveaway.
i have had a few people sign up but i want more people to sign up. come on you know you want all these goodies. i have added a few items to the giveaway

like this cute little wooden bird thread keep.

and i also added to the giveaway this beautiful Perpetually Engaging diary from the collection of the Fellers. who we all know are coming out with a new book this month.
all you have to do in order to win these two things along with all the goodies below is join my blog and if you already are a follower just leave a comment and you name is in the drawing. date to be determined but most likely end of September!

as you can see besides the wooden bird that i told you about above there are a handful of goodies just waiting to be sent to the lucky winner.
hope to read your comment soon
i think i need to find some more things to add to this big Thank You  aren't we lucky its Fall giveaway.
enjoy

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Halloween Gift Bag full of goodies give-away, ente...

why not see if you can win and check out all her creative things while there.



Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Halloween Gift Bag full of goodies give-away, ente...:     I finally assembled all the goodies I want to put in the Halloween gift bags. Are you ready for another give-away? Of course you are!!!!...

Early Halloween and Give Away info

i love thinking of things to stitch for my friends birthdays as i am sure most of you do too. I want it to have a theme of what they are into or at least something they collect. Julie loves Halloween so needless to say i wanted to stitch with this in mind.
i found a great picture in an old magazine i had saved, don't we all have a ton of these lying around. i had saved the magazine because it had these cute Halloween pictures that you could copy and fold into place cards. i decided to make it into a needle book.
i did change the design a bit, i always have to and i am happy with how it came out. i am disappointed i forgot to take a picture of the finished piece but you can get a good idea what it looks like almost finished.

i wanted to stitch as many different types of stitches as i could on the piece.

I decided to add a piece of fabric for the shirt and then added french knots and a few running stitches to hold it in place. i love the effect.

here it is almost finished. i added a nice smiling mouth, finished her other stocking plus her shoes, a little spider next to her and hanging by her side a silver "J" for Julie.
inside it has a page for needles, and on the back cover a place to add scissors.
i never get tired of starting or completing a project, i just wish i had taken a finished picture
oh well
stay tune for the next picture of my give away items.... i plan on choosing a name at the end of September.  tell your friends and get a second chance to win if they join too. just let me know.

Giveaway On the Way

i have been thinking about this giveaway since i last posted and decided i will give you a sneak peak at some of the goodies i will be giving to those who join my blog or who are already a follower and leave a comment.

i love this little booklet from  The James Polk Presidential Hall, "Middle Tennessee Samplers"  a few pictures of lovely samplers inside.
also a few old buttons, wooden spools of various thread, an acorn thread keep from Kelmscott Design and another daisy shape floss finder.
keep posted there will be more goodies as i wonder thru my sewing/craft room and anything else i might buy for this giveaway.
i will announce the winner of the goodies the first week in September so spread the word and who knows maybe i will have two groups of goodies to giveaway.
stop back by and see what i will add next???

i had this old white birdhouse hanging in a tree in my yard. i decided to spray paint it red and added black stripes to it. then i hung a bottle in the middle with a candle, voila i have a unique outdoor light.
i love when simple creative things happen

A Reason to Celebrate

i can hardly believe i haven't posted for over a month. i think about all of my blogging friends and i just can't seem to get the extra energy it takes to log on and write a few words. some may think that typing in a few words is easy but for me it can take an hour or more depending on what i am feeling. i am slowly coming into my normal energy some days as they say are better than others. i think here in the USA we want gratification instantly and we expect it. so needless to say i have been pushing myself to get to, so called normal. Luckily i have close friends and family who remind me to be patient and let the process of healing happen.
when i signed in today i was pleasantly surprised to see i have "50" followers and i know some of you will laugh at that but for me that is a reason to celebrate. When i started "1thread" i told myself that if i got 50 followers  i would celebrate. Sooo... tada i am going to have a Giveaway . a prize for two of my followers! I will make it simple since that is my new mantra. all you have to do is send a message to my blog with your email and i will draw two names and then the rest is ya know the same.. i will email you get your address and send you a nice surprise. who knows it might be homemade by me or by someone else or a store bought goodies.
i need to celebrate this time and thank you for staying in touch when i have been a bit out of touch.
waiting to hear from you and remember one kind word is all it takes!
Thank You

embroider shoes

who doesn't love scissors and shoes

time and giving

Energy is a hard item to get back when you have lost it for over 6 months. Some days i think i have found it but then again as soon as i start a project it has slipped away.
i know i must not hurry this recovery but i am ready to feel healthy, energetic and hungry.
i know... give it time      give it time
time is an interesting item too there is never enough and sometimes we feel like it will never end.
lately there is not enough, time has slipped by and one moment my little girl was 3 telling me stories of how the sun which she called a farkel (not sure why) was roaming around the sky and now she is a married lady.
Her good friend Eva from Italy traveled all the way here with her daughter Giulia and boyfriend Marco to be a part of  the celebration and brought me two incredible cross stitched "towels" from her and her mother, made over  70 years ago and stitched in the past few years. the towels are made on a loom in her home town.
I can see why you would want to dry yourself with it. they are so soft but i doubt i ever will.
i have it laying on the back of one of my couches.

here you can see the back of the towel and the front  so simple  so perfect

the gifts one gives can be material items or gifts of time.
they both can touch the heart.
 this material gift brought tears to my eyes.
a mother i have never met and a friend i haven't seen in over 15 years gave me a gift i will treasure always.

shout it from the roof tops

There are moments in each of our lives that we feel the need to shout it from the roofs how happy we are.
this month is that time for me
my incredible daughter Emily and her amazing boyfriend Matthew got married June 2!

James and i smiling all day



 it is amazing  how many months before the date you plan, create and then set up the whole affair. the work is incredible but in the end seeing everyone enjoy themselves and the look on my daughters face i realized all over again there is nothing i wouldn't do for her and Matthew.
Emily's dear friend Eva from college days in Cork, Ireland came all the way from Italy to be a part of the wedding celebration.
She wore the most amazing dress that her mother wore over 40 years ago, the stitching was beautiful and of course i have to share it.



you can see the inside of the stitching



and last but of course one of the yummy parts is the cake. made by a family friend with acorns, ladybugs, ferns, mushrooms and etc. it was a work of art.

 i love the cake topper that my daughter had made to go with her outdoor in the woods theme,

a buck and doe all dressed up.

long ago she won the contest

September 2011 i had a contest and only one person entered, well i only had 35 or so followers. the best part is she got the answer right!! i feel terrible it has taken me this long to finally make her something but i knew she would understand since she is one of my favorite stitching friends in the world. 
Patience Julie i hope my gift has arrived and you are enjoying it. i am sorry it took so long, but you know i never forget.

i made this cute little strawberry pin cushion, we have a great little local fabric store here in town and every month they come up with a unique pin cushion and this was one of them.
fun to make and i added the scissors and a buck charm ( not pictured)

 how am i going to send this?

i found an old  wooden box and i used ink to stain the box and then painted some designs with a felt tip pin

this is the top of the box i found some fabric and decoupaged it on top of the box..

i added a little flower and vine on one side.

and i also added some doodles on the back.

i had such fun creating this and i hope my dear friend Julie loves it.

things in the mail

I have been very slow in posting the past 3 or 4 months due to an illness. i have 6 weeks left of treatment and i looking forward to sitting and stitching with my friends who have been so kind to me during this health adventure.

just a few of the cards i have received over the past months. this is when you realize you are not in this world alone when friends and family take the time to make ( my sister Bobbie has sent me many homemade cards), buy and send a card in this digital age. don't you love the little duck bag  look below to see what arrived in it!

i have 3 of the best stitching friends. i have talked about them many times on this blog. we travel together and spend many hours drinking tea, eating and stitching. this is one of many things they have sent me while i have been house bound. Becky stitched the front of this cute little charm holder and her beautiful pink stone hand charm with love on the palm.

the inside was stitched by Julie and she included a cute little cricket!

and Beth stitched this beautiful queen stitched motifon the back, she knows this is my favorite stitch!
This particular gift started with a card in the mail that said how much they loved seeing me at the monthly stitch date?? umm i wasn't there but ok i will go along with the joke, then later that day i received an email with a picture of me i guess on a stick with a shawl wrapped aroung the picutre and a beautiful hat on top of my head sitting at the table with them!!! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. they even had a tea cup in front of me with chocolates and of course some stitching just in case i reanimate and want to stitch.
did i say i have some very creative friends.
it has made this whole process of healing so much more easier knowing i have so many people who love me and miss me.
remember to send a friend or foe who is not feeling well  a card in the mail it means allot when your feeling down.
my heart will always remember this time in my life with a smile. thank you friends and family

a usefull gift

you can never have to many scissor/needle keeps.

i saw this little pink one in a second hand store and knew i could create a different version of it.
there was no place for a pair of scissors but did open up with  a place for your needles to lay safely inside.

i took some nice felt and added ribbon and a great crown charm.
each sewn with some beautiful gold and silver beads.

it opens to store you needles and behind the back flap the scissors tuck safely inside.

it was so satisfying to make i know i need to make one for each of my sewing friends.