Stitching, Thanksgiving and a Glorious October

Good Morning!!

I have quite a bit to share with you, stitching-wise, so grab a cuppa coffee or tea, just like Mouse says and enjoy the pictures. 

Autumn has arrived and I'm loving it! So far, we have had a month of brilliant sunshine during the day and chilly mornings and evenings.  That's my favourite kind of weather.  I can't wait for tonight when we go to my Aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner.  Lots of turkey, roasted veggies and I'm hoping for some pumpkin pie..MMMM!!! I love Thanksgiving and am very thankful for my family, my husband and my job I have been blessed with.  Even though the job is difficult (with the organizing and the paperwork and trying to help each child) I am so grateful to have it.  I am also grateful to be working with supportive admin and staff. The ladies I work closely with, have been wonderful and I wouldn't know what to do with out them!!  Who could ask for anything better?!!

So onto stitching.  I have yet to actually finish anything, but I have prepped for finishing.  I'm hoping that next weekend I can carve out some time to get some sewing done.  All the projects are finished in my mind so it's only a matter of sitting down and getting to it.  

I love this gingham fabric I picked up.  Now all I need to find are some brass/rusted bells.  Not sure where I can pick those up.  I may have to make some.

Here's my autumn pumpkin design.  I love the leaves in this fabric.  The lady at the fabric store loved my stitching and helped me pick this out.  Check out Jenny Penny's Autumn Pumpkin finish! She did such an amazing job!! I love the blue she chose for the bird's chest.

A wee bit late but it will be finished for next summer, my Summer Quaker design.  

I considered starting the Autumn Quaker however, I have too many other things on the go and should really start thinking about Christmas stitching instead.  It's all about planning ahead!!

Now my Jane.  I am almost finished with her but have been putting her off lately.  I worked on her last weekend for a bit and then stopped at the vase.  Check out Margaret's finish of Jane Philpott! We wish we could place our Jane's together and admire them both!! Dearest Margaret finished hers in record time! Then again, I tend to get distracted by other projects and not stay focused like she does!!

At least that big bird is done and he has some friends to hang out with him.  I really loved stitching this section.

I also started a Quaker biscornu.  I'm nearly finished with just one more motif to stitch.  I love biscornus and can't wait to stitch it together. This was such an enjoyable design to stitch and it went quickly too. I love Stacy Nash Primitive designs and will be buying more in the future.

Stitched on 32 ct Natural linen with DMC threads

Carolyn from ....just one more stitch kindly sent me the pattern.  Thank you again Carolyn!

Remember my Knotgarden and the saga of the scroll rods??!?! Well.........I got the scroll rods adjusted by my cousin and after a LOT of fiddling around, Knotgarden is up on the rods!!! Even though one of the ends of the scroll rod screws needs to be taken out a bit, I can actually work on Knotgarden again! Last night I stitched on it and am pretty happy to be using my lap stand.  It's a very handy tool!!

Although I need those clippy things to make the fabric more taught, it works.  I'm happy!!

Stash buying.  I've been a bad girl...hehehe! I bought a couple of charts through the Scarlet Letter and can't decide which sampler to start first.  

Meet Hannah Brassington.  She's a purdy girl. I just looooove the border and that lion/cougar cat guy!!!

 

Marion Robertson is another gorgeous sampler.  I adore the house, the colours and motifs in this sampler.

I am hoping to start one of these samplers in the new year.  That is my plan.  I figured that it's a plausible plan and it also gives me time to order the materials.  It's just a matter of choosing now. 

I think that's all to share with you.  I'm off now to do some research for my kids and some planning.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!!!

The Winner of My 2 Year Blogoversary

Is..........................................

Melissa from St. John's Stitcher!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Melissa! I will email you shortly with all your information so I can get you that 123stitch Gift Card!! Whoohoo!!!!

I also drew, well Titus did, two more names for a complimentary prize and the people whose name he almost ate/chewed are................................

Carol from Stitching Dreams!!!!

and 

Nancy from A Lil Bit of Stitching!!!!

Before I post the drawing photos, I almost waited until night time to draw because my hubby is asleep (he's working graveyards) and Titus was being a little traitor and sleeping with him in our bed.  My hubby's schedule is perfect for a cat...sleep all day, stay up all night.  So I thought, fat chance Titus will come out and help me with my draw.  Then I thought...hmm...maybe if I shake his treats he'll come out?! So I did and out he came!! I put a couple of his treats in the bowl and he drew the names.  Actually he almost ate them trying to dig them out!

It would've been easier to do the random generator...ah well

 

Thank you to all who have entered!! I truly wish I could send everyone a little something....

So here are some hugs.........in Joyce style :D

XoAnne

**GIVEAWAY**Last Chance!!!

Just a reminder that today's the last day to enter my 2nd Year Blogoversary Giveaway!! 

I want to thank all of you for cheering/supporting me! This week has been a great week with things at work coming together.  My brain is starting to figure things out and I'm even going in tomorrow to organize the cabinets and resources.  I think once that's done I will feel relieved!

As for stitching....my mojo came back last weekend!! Yahoo!! I also caught up with my 1000+ blog posts!

I will show you some pictures tomorrow after the giveaway draw, since my camera is charging at the moment.

Good luck to everyone!!

Hugs!

Anne

A Pathetic IHSW and TUSAL

That's right folks.... I had a pretty abysmal IHSW this weekend for stitching.  Thank you darling Joyce for putting it on....I plan to actually do better next time.

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That's how I feel!! I can't write for some reason...I think my mind is overheating like my computer with my massive TO DO list to do!

I can't even focus on blogging right now because I have tons of kids files to read and sort and organize.  Which is great.  Not complaining at all. I just wish there was more time to manage all that I am managing. I'm am woefully behind on emails and commenting but I am keeping up with a lot of your blogs!! Sometime soon I will get in the swing of things again and be able to stitch, blog and comment...all things I love to do.  The desire for stitching has pretty much disappeared until I get my brain sorted out.  Thank you all for joining my giveaway and hello to my new followers! Too bad you joined when I'm in a slump :( Usually I have more energy and interesting things to share with my readers.

In case you missed the link....here's my 2 Year Giveaway post.  Be sure to enter!!

Anywho.  How about some photos.

I thought of flushing my pathetic threads down the toilet...but thought better of it.

I lost so many of my threads while camping/traveling....

I really do wish I could have breakfast all day long.  Tori Amos sums up my sentiments on breakfast in the song Purple People; "Breakfast, every hour, it could save the world!"

The crow apparently thinks so too.

My Tётя Mira's Russian rooster egg. 

My Matryoshka dolls...perhaps from my Tётя Mira (Tётя=Aunt) on my desk in my classroom.

Oh and the stitching I managed to do one evening.  I worked on my lovely Jane.  I wish I could spend my days finishing her up.  Perhaps this weekend......

Before:

After:

                  Here's Titus too for those who love to see him.

Pretty boy.....pretty pretty boy.  Lol!!

Hugs to you all and know that I think of all of you and appreciate all your lovely comments and encouragement.  If only I could make another me to manage my workload!!! Crazy thought!

Anne

Edited: I left out the "e" in my own name...lol

Stitching, Threads and Sipping Red Wine

Is drinking red wine a good thing while blogging?

Hmm.....Well even if it's a no..WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!! I'm celebrating by myself! Isn't that fabulous?!?! Funny how the day you can actually go out and do anything, everyone is either away, or busy.  I think that's what people call....Murphy's Law? No wait...that's something else....what do you call it?

Anywho.

You didn't come here for that, but if you did, grab a tea, coffee or wine like me and sit back and enjoy what I'm about to show you. Join me in celebrating!!!

First off.  I managed to stitch 1 design while at Tatuk Lake (really far away from any sort of civilization...no cell phone reception..AT ALL!!!! ACK!) I really enjoyed my time with my family and wish it could have been a longer visit.  I fished, as many of you saw in the last photo, I stitched, I played LOADS of crib (only won 2 games...sigh), and made the morning fires without my Dad's firestarter...hehehe! I really wished I had a video of my brother, a firefighter, splitting wood with an axe.  He's got so much strength it's insane.  I think all of us were awestruck watching the log split into two and fly.  SERIOUSLY!!  I had many wonderful walks and took lots of pictures, some of which I will upload and create an album on picasa and link it...not yet though!

Here's my little autumn stitch that I really loved stitching.  It's a freebie from Le Chalet des Perelles stitched on 28 ct. R&R18th century brown, using DMC, NPI silks, GAST and WDW.  My Uncle Paul really enjoyed watching me stitch this piece and liked that I had a beautiful hobby.

We saw loads of beautiful birds flying above us such as Pelicans, Osprey and Sparrows.  My camera couldn't zoom out enough to catch the Ospreys diving down to catch the Kokanee salmon but I could get this little guy. Isn't he the cutest?!!

He looks like he's pissed at something.  Maybe he doesn't like his picture being taken?!!

Enjoy these...it gives you a good feeling :D

Stunning rainbow hey? There's a photo I'll post of me that my dearest sweet mamma took of me...and you have to laugh.  A BUG FLEW INTO MY EYE PRECISELY THE MOMENT SHE TOOK THE PHOTO.  Okay I'll post it here for your viewing pleasure.

Love it!

Seriously though.  The bug had a LOT of space to fly around in....why my eye???????????????????????????

Okay now onto another freebie I stitched while in the car driving to and from Edmonton.  It's Plum Street Sampler's Christmas Coffee tree that I think was made for me.  I stitched the tree trunk with GAST Espresso, the beans with WDW Molasses, the green is Nancy's Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe..super lush to work with, and the off white is GAST's Oatmeal.  I stitched it on 32 ct Natural linen and loooooved stitching it.  I have a finish in mind but can't get to that until later on in the month. 

I went through the Rocky Mountains for my first time, well my second but my first time was when I was 16 traveling with my Ukrainian dancing troupe and it was night, didn't see a thing....so my first time really.  Um where was I.....

Ah...mountains.  Amazing!

The pandemonium of trying to take a photo of baby elk.

Oh, you want a Titus pic? Here is my big, beautiful baby!!

Some stash that arrived while I was in no man's land. 

Um....any of you work with that perle cotton stuff? Or know what it's used for? I tried some last night and I'm not liking it at all.  I didn't know when I ordered it that it would be so thick.  I don't do canvas work and can't foresee myself doing that anytime in the future.  I think I may give them to the 2nd or 3rd place winner...still mulling that part out.

Some Vikki Clayton silks and silk threads since I read on a person's blog (sorry can't remember where) that she is discontinuing her silks line :( Big booo from me since I just found out about her when I ordered her silks for Jane.  Oh well.  Her silks are amazing. I can't wait to work with them.

Looooove the colours!!!!

The last bit I want to share with you is the AMAZING gift that Jo from Serendipitous Stitching sent to me for being her 2000th comment post.  I was tickled pink, literally, when I saw what she made for me.  She also sent me a BBD chart that I can't wait to stitch! THANK YOU DEAREST JO!!!!! 

I love how she made it in my favourite colours and stitched my name! It's very precious to me.  Every little stitched piece that has been made for me is cherished so much.  It's my third piece from someone other than myself and I love it to bits :D 

Okay....I hope you made it thus far and haven't been too bored.  I started looking through the blogs today but had to jet off to go school supply shopping.  I ended up buying a new computer chair that was half off and will be delivered Tuesday.  The Ikea one I'm sitting on is broken and has no back. LOL!!!

Love and hugs to you all 

Anne

Edited: Fixed link for the French autumn freebie!