March Activities

I will be honest, I have been playing games on Facebook most nights rather than stitch. But, today I completed 3 projects that I have in my UFO. The first is a project that my local EGA group worked on during a business meeting 4 or 5 years ago. All I had left to do was to put the fabric on the top, the divider in the middle, and the hinge. I decided that I didn't want the hinge or the divider in the middle. So I finished it today.

The second project is not quite as old but it is at least 3 years old. This project was titled "Mini Birdhouse Needle Box" from Charted Imagery/Needleboxes, etc. My sisters and I bought these at Hobby Lobby years ago. Jennifer finished her the same year she bought it. Bridget was working on hers when I was finishing mine. All I had to complete on it was the roof and the thimble box. I had the fabric for the thimble box but didn't for the roof (at the time). I found some fabric in my fabric box today that worked wonderfully for the roof. When I finished it, I gave it to my mother. She loves it and is going to put it in her sewing room.

The last project that I completed today was my Erica Michaels 2004 Freebie March. I have had the stitching finished since the end of February but only just made it into a magnet. Now I need to finish the April stitching and magnet before the end of this month.

Yesterday I worked mostly on my Miriabilia Rose of Sharon. I have just about finished her head and upper body. I had to go to Hobby Lobby to get some thread to finish her arms but haven't stitched on her since last night. She is coming along beautifully.

As for my Red Thread I have the words "stretch and tangle but never breaks" to finish and then add the buttons. I am ready to finish some more projects. I plan on working on my stitching more this next month. We will see.

Well got to go grade papers. Thanks for stopping by,

Sharon

February Completions

First let me just say that my brother Pete is AWESOME. He saved all my pictures that I deleted. Here is one of Leif and me. Isn't he adorable?Okay, on to the stitching. I haven't finished a whole lot but I did complete stitching the Erica Micheal's March Freebie from 2004. Now I need to make it into a magnet. I stitched it on 16 count Aida (trying to use it up) with DMC. I worked on my Red Thread border until I ran out of Dark Chocolate. I have about 1/6 of the top border to finish and the majority of the words. I will be working on it tonight. I have a day and a half to finish it this month.

I am working on finishing a couple of other projects while I work on the Rose of Sharon from Miriabillia. I want to finish them and get them out of my basket.

Well got to go. Leif is wanting my attention

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon

Pictures May be Saved

I talked to my brother Pete last night. He said he might be able to save the pictures on my memory card. Woohoo!! I am so happy. The majority of the pictures were from my nephew Leif's first birthday party. I am happy.

Beware! Genius at work?!?

I am so mad at myself right now. I was transferring my pictures from my camera to my laptop and lost over 70 pictures. Most of which were pictures of my nephew Leif's first birthday. Well it is not like the "Clarkarazzi" didn't take a bazillion pictures. But, I deleted all the pictures I took this month. With my mom's digital camera, you connect it to the computer with a wire then move the pictures to the computer then delete the pictures. With my camera, you take out the memory card and put it into the computer then move the pictures. Well I moved the pictures from one folder then deleted it. The problem is when I deleted that folder the computer deleted all the folders on the memory card. Darn it!!! I tried to undo and all it did was put the photos I moved back on the card. I'm waiting on my brother Pete to call me back to see if there is a way to restore the pictures.

On a lighter note, I completed a couple of things. The first one was the next installment in the Kick Back and Stitch Geometric Club. The name of it is Forest Glen. It didn't take long to finish it, but I didn't stitch much the last couple of weeks. I have 5 more to go but since it snowed I chose to start the Snow Day pattern next. (I skipped one pattern.) I will be glad to finish this club and start back on my Halloween Pudgy club. I have eight panels to stitch and have only stitched 1/2 of one. I hope to finish stitching and have it put together before Halloween this year.


The second thing I finished was a plastic canvas love bug. I finished it on the 13th right before Valentine's Day. I have two pattern books that are seasonal. The first one was given to me by my friend Lorrie. The patterns are suppose to be window hanging with suction cups on the front, but I put magnets on the back to hang them on the refrigerator. The second book is actually designed to be magnets. They are smaller and egg shaped. I had already completed the lovebug years ago. I designed the Mardi Gras egg based on the candy corn egg. But, as you can see my nephew Theron got a hold of it and made it pretty. Actually there were Mardi Gras coins glued to the egg where the garland is missing but he removed them to play with them. I have to fix it.

I have stitched the face and started the arms on the Rose of Sharon pattern. I ran out of "Dark Chocolate" before finishing the border on my Red Thread series. So I started stitching the words in Gentle Arts "Cranberry".

Thanks for stopping by

Sharon

January Works

Well I didn't do what I wanted to do in January. That is, blog once a week but this month will be better. Today I will show the projects that I finished in January and my progress on the ones I'm working on at the moment.

First up is the Mirabillia Christmas Fairy. I worked on this project ever since the pattern came out. I stitched it on Silkweaver, Rock-A-Bye, 32-ct Opalescent Lugana. I stitched the shoes and the dress, then I gave up. It got to the point where I could not see the holes in the fabric. So I asked my sister Jennifer to finish it for me. She agreed to finish it. Once she started she had trouble with the fabric also. The thread would split and it was hard to see the holes. But, she finished it anyway. It turned out beautifully. I think I am going to frame it for next Christmas.


The second finish was the Christmas Present Afghan for my brother-in-law Tim. I crocheted the March afghan from Leisure Arts "Birthstone Afghans by Carole Prior. The name of the afghan is Aquamarine. I started this in December after working on Dad's afghan. Dad's afghan had 8 rows that repeated. This one only had one row. You would think that I could have finished it before Christmas not a month later. I crocheted using Red Heart Soft Navy Blue that was in the super size (16 oz.). I am going to wash it (since I dog loved to rub against it), then give it to Tim today when I get off work.



The third and final finish are the Erica Michaels 2004 freebies for Rainbow Gallery. We as I posted earlier, I had finished cross-stitching them earlier in the month, but made them into magnets on Sunday. On Sunday, Jennifer showed me how to make them into magnets. She finished the February while I finished the January. I think that they turned out beautiful.


As for my active project, I have 4: Kick Back & Stitch's Forest Glen - needlepoint, BC's Walking in a Winter Snapperland, Miriabillia's Rose of Sharon and the border on BC's The Red Thread.

The first project is KB&S' Forest Glen. When we got together and stitched in January, I finished the squares/borders. Then Saturday while I was at Liz's watching Human Target, I stitched 1-1/2 of the 4 boxes. My goal is to finish it today. This pattern was part of a needlepoint club I joined a few years back. The club contained 18 patterns of which I have stitched 12 and am working on the 13th. When I finish this set then I plan on working on the other club that I joined at the same time. Then I have several needlepoint projects that I bought back in 2006 when I moved back home. There isn't a needlepoint store in the area.

The next project is BC's Winter Snapperland. I've decided that I will do the border with each square (even though there are only four). I don't want to have this pattern end up like my red thread project (all but the border done). I'm stitching it on Silkweaver's Winter Skye, 32-ct Opalescent Lugana with DMC floss. I have some colors that I need to buy to finish the project.



The third project is Mirabillia's Rose of Sharon. I'm stitching this on linen fabric that I bought about 15 years ago. When my nephew Patrick was born, I bought some linen to stitch the Precious Moments Noah's Ark for his birth gift. The plan was to make it a wall hanging. Well the project has been stitched but not made into a wall hanging. Do you think that a 15-year-old boy would want a Precious Moments Noah's Ark hanging on his wall? Well maybe he can use it for his baby when he get grown, a job, and a wife. Anyway, this fabric was leftover from the project. I have had the Rose of Sharon pattern since at least 1992 when I moved to Lafayette and bought it at Stitch n Frame. The girls I stitch with decided that each one of us will work on a major project that we have wanted to work on for a long time. So I picked this one. I have stitched from the shoulder down in the middle area of the dress. This is going to be a lot of work. When I finish this one I think I do the one with the American Flag. I bought it for next to nothing at Michael's and it included everything.


Finally, I am working on the border of BC's Red Thread. I'm stitching the border with Gentle Art's Dark Chocolate but I will run out before I get to the words. So, I've decided to stitch the words in a red different from the "Red Thread" in the pattern. I hope to finish this project this month.

Well, I think I have blogged about everything I'm stitching on this month. I plan on blogging every week instead of every couple of weeks like last month. Thank you so much for stopping by and looking at my work. I appreciate it very much.

Have a great day

Sharon

Projects completed this week

I finished the Erica Michaels 2004 February at Jennifer's last weekend. I haven't stitched on any projects since then. I have been crocheting on Tim's afghan. I only have a few more rows to go then around it twice.

Christmas Ornaments Completed - Last year

Jennifer & Mari's Trees










Bridget & Pete's Trees






Mine & Mama's Trees

Every year the ladies in my family make homemade ornaments and exchange them (in addition to presents). This year I gave Christmas trees. I got a pattern from Lily for the Christmas tree. I crocheted the smaller tree. Instead of plain buttons, I used seasonal buttons to make it look like a decoration. I think they turned out really cute. The girls (and my brother Pete) really enjoyed them. Note: since Pete isn't married I also give him an ornament for his tree.

Stitching Weekend and Finished Projects

Well, I finished my dad's afghan at the end of November. The pattern had rows that repeated. It looks like it would not be warm but it is very warm. I think he will love it. I also bought him the movie "The Pathfinder" with Karl Urban. As far as the other afghans are going. I should finish Tim's afghan by Christmas, but Ricky and Hobbie's afghans will be boxes of yarn under the tree.

Now this weekend, Lisha, Teresa, Jennifer, Bridget, and I got together at a different home each day to stitch. Friday, the first day, we stitched at Jennifer's house. I crocheted on Tim's afghan for a couple of hours. Then I worked on my ornament for the ornament exchange we had today. I stitched "Gift" from Lizzie Kate, then I stitched on the border for Bent Creek's Red Thread Series. When I got home, my nephews Theron and Tucker wanted to spend the night. So I let them. I thought they would want to help decorate the tree. Well, they didn't rather they wanted to play Pikmin on the Wii.

Saturday we started at 1:00 at Teresa's. Again, I worked on the afghan and finished what you see above on the border. Now I have the right side of the border and the words. I decided to do the words in a dark red. Then I worked on another Round Robin that needed finishing. The pattern is "Victorian Bear Stocking" a part of Designs for the Needle's Christmas Tradition. The pattern was completed in the round robin but the back-stitching is the thing that needs to be finished. The pattern is hard to follow for the back-stitching because they use two very similar reds to show back-stitching with different color thread. I didn't stitch a lot of back-stitching.

When I got home, my brother Ricky asked me to keep Leif, his son. Leif is 10-months old and fighting the urge to sleep. He is adorable and we finally got to bed at 11:30.
Today, I worked on "Fall Crazy" by Lizzie Kate. I had already stitched the body of the turkey. I stitched on the is one a long time. Then I switched to the Celtic Mystery Stitch-a-long by Ink Circles. I worked on the border and one of the squares.

Fall Crazy

We did an ornament exchange. As I said, I stitched "Gifts" from Lizzie Kate. I got in the exchange the snowman. Which is perfect since snowmen are my favorite.

Jennifer stitched "Cookies" which Teresa got, Lisha stitched the snowman which I got, Teresa stitched the Noel which Bridget got, and Bridget brought the wreath of bells which Lisha got and Jennifer got my ornament.

Tonight I am home alone. No one is spending the night (other than the dog). I am ready for bed. My mother and I are going "combat" Christmas shopping in the morning.

Well thanks for stopping by,


Sharon

Giving up on Goals

Well I have given up on making goals with deadlines. I have the border left to do on Daddy's afghan but I have completed nothing else. I lost my Thanksgiving Dressing for a whole week and found it today under a pile of picture frames. I'll try to finish my goals by the end of the month but I don't think I'll make it.

Well got to go

Sharon Clark

Goals Adjusted

I had hoped to finish two afghans last month. One for my father and one for my brother-in-law for Christmas. Well I'm only halfway finished with the one for my dad. It has eight rows that repeat for a total of 125 rows. I should have been finished with it by now but you know how things go.

So I'm adjusting my goals. I want to finish the two afghans plus one more this month. I'll see if I can do it.

Thanks for stopping by

Sharon

Goal 1 Complete

Well I have accomplished my first goal. I finished the Spooky Row by Bent Creek. I stitched it with DMC thread. I have been meaning to stitch this for a while but have put it off. I had to restitch the vulture because it was way off from the pattern. (He would have been without feet if I left it). Well, I am very happy with the results. Now on to my other goals.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon

Afghans

Hey. I know, I know. I've been slacking. I have no excuse. I have not been in the mood to stitch. So I've started crocheting. I crocheted Bouquet of Shells from Absolutely Gorgeous Sentimental Shells, designed by Terry Kimbrough published by Leisure Arts (pictured below). I made it for my cousin Liz for her birthday (back in February). I used Red Heart's Country Rose. Liz loved it. So I decided to work on afghans for awhile. I have 2 brothers, 2 sisters, 2 brother-in-law, 1 sister-in-law, my parents and 6 nephews. I have crocheted or knitted an afghan for my sister, my mother, my sister-in-law, one of my brothers and the 4 youngest nephews. So I decided to crochet for the rest of the family, my father, 1 brother, 2 brother-in-laws and the two oldest nephews. I will post pictures as I finish them.

On a different note, I bought Red Heart's Plum Heather worsted weight yarn a few years ago. Well last year I decided to crochet an afghan with it but ran out before I finished. My mom found a partial skein of it in her stock which I used but I still need to find a 6-oz skein of it. I have searched everywhere but haven't found it yet. But, I keep looking. The pattern that I used was Emerald Lace from One-Color Wonder Afghans published by Annie's Attic.

As far as stitching goes, I have been stitching on the same projects forever. So I have set up goals and recruited help. My Mirabilia Christmas Fairy I have asked my sister to finish. The count is too small and I can't see. My goals are:
1. Finish "Spooky Row" by Halloween (almost there)
2. Finish "Turkey Dressing" by Thanksgiving.
3. Finish the three other projects in my basket by January 1st.

I hope to achieve these goals.. I hope to post more often also. Well got to go teach my night class.

Thanks for stopping by

Sharon Clark

All Seasons Ornament Exchange

I stitched the above Lizzie Kate Summer Basket for Terry. I backed it with daisy fabric and used ribbon attached with heart buttons for the hanger.


Terry sent me the above ornament. I think that they are sheep from Little House or Country Cottage Needlework. I love this ornament (fluffy sheep are so cute). For the backing she stitched my name. I really love it.


Well got to go. Thanks for stopping by.
Sharon

Needlepoint

Fridays will be needlepoint for my rotation for awhile. I have been working on my Fireside Stitchery Seasonal Squares for a while. I started Early Blossom yesterday and finished it today. I have completed 10 out of 16. Once I finish the remaining six, I will work on my Halloween Pudgy then I will work on the sun canvas that I bought (and spent way too much money on it). The sun will be beautiful when I finish it. Of course, I have several more canvases to stitch on that I can't wait to work on them. Before I start on the sun, I need to get a really big set of stretcher bars and a frame to support it.

Gifts Received - PIF & ornament

Jennifer and I were in an ornament exchange. I also signed up for a PIF on her blog this past year. Well, she delivered it to me last week. So I'm posting them for you to see. The ornament is the January block from Lizzie Kate Stamp series. It is really cute. I have hung it on my ornament board with all my other beautiful ornaments.


The PIF is a Halloween Pattern with buttons. She made it into a cube. I really like it and plan on displaying it during Halloween.

Well since I have receive a PIF, I must now open my own PIF Exchange. The best part of this exchange is the honor of sending 5 other individuals similar types of gifts. The first 5 individuals that leave a comment stating that she/he would like to join will receive a handmade item from me. Similar to Jennifer's guidelines, I can't promise an exact item or time, but promise that the gift will be top quality hand-made and that you will receive it in the next year. The other stipulation is that you post a similar exchange on your blog promising to send 5 individuals a gift. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I think so. Just leave a comment and I will contact you via e-mail to get your mailing information. Good luck.

Thanks for stopping by,
Sharon

Looking for a pattern for a friend

I'm looking for a pattern for a friend of mine. I stitched this pattern back in October 1994. The pattern was in a stitching magazine but I can't find it or remember which magazine (back then I barely remembered to write down the name of the pattern). The picture has a jack-o-lantern face in the upper right corner with a black mask in front of it. It also had a caramel apple, a green lollipop, and two pieces of taffy wrapped in purplish colored paper. If anyone could tell me the magazine and date I would greatly appreciate it.

One lady thinks it is from Cross Stitch and Country Crafts. If anyone has any information, I would appreciate all the help.

Thanks

Sharon

Photos

I said I would post pictures of the projects that I have completed along with the gifts I received. So here they are. First is the ornament from my summer exchange. I think she did a wonderful job on the ornament. It is the word liberty with beautiful 4th of July fabric.

Second is the ornament that I stitched. It is from a Lizzie Kate Seasons pattern. I really loved stitching it. Once I finished it I was disappointed. I thought that I should have stuffed it more. I thought it was overstuffed but it wasn't. I wish that I would have redid the finishing before I mailed it. Next time I will follow my instincts.



The next picture is the first part of the Ink Circle Celtic Stitch Along that I finished. I really love this pattern. My sister Jennifer helped me pick out the colors.The next pattern finished is the block below the first one. It was quick and easy. The next block will take a little longer because I have to work on the border also.



Finally, the last pattern was the September Block - Indian Summer - from the Fireside Stitchery Seasons Geometric Series. My mother and my friend, Lisha, absolutely loves it. I like the colors. These are easy and fun to stitch.

Well thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed it.

Sharon

I've been busy

Really!! I have finished a couple of the blocks on the Ink Circle Celtic Mystery Stitch-a-long. I also finished the September 2007 block from the Seasons Club at Fireside Stitchery. I will have pictures to post soon. The reason I don't have any right now is that the dogs got the camera out of the car during the 4th of July holidays and carried it off. We found it in the rain. My sister Bridget took it home to dry it out. Now, I need to get the photos from her.

I also received my ornament from my sister from our ornament exchange and my PIF from her also. They are beautiful. Pictures to come when I get the camera back.

I've also joined a book swapping club. I have so many paperbacks that I need to read or have read. I have mailed off 4 so far and am waiting on another.

On top of all this I need to find a full time job. I found a posting for a job for which I would be PERFECT. I have filed my application and am waiting for a call. I really would like this job even though it is an hour and a half away.

Well my nephew Leif is crying and I've got to go.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon

Summer Exchange

Well, my partner received her ornament, so here are our ornament. She stitched me this one below. I have it hanging on my bulletin board with all my other ornaments. I am very happy. Here is the one I stitched for her. It is a Lizzie Kate pattern. I loved the pattern but I should probably have stuffed it more. As I look at it now I really should have stuffed it more. I was thinking that it would look good thin but I don't know now. But it is a cute pattern.



I'm going to bed so thanks for stopping by.

Sharon

My Birthday

Saturday, my family took me and my brother Ricky out to Red Lobster for our birthdays. Well, mine was in May and his was early June. We had a great time eating and visiting. My sister-in-law, Mari bought a ready-made cake and put the numbers 37 and 40 (near of which are my real ages but we celebrated my "40th'").

My sister Bridget paid for me to attend a scrapbook convention as my gift. As for my sister Jennifer, well she made this beautiful bag. I love it. I have been admiring the two that she made for herself, the one made for Momma, and the one she made for Bridget (CORRECTION: Our friend Lisha made one for Bridget). I am so happy that she made it for me. She also gave me a beaded scissor fob (pink). I feel very special.

The Bag

The inside of the bag (2 pockets)

On top of all of these gifts, I received in the mail last week my Secret Santa Christmas gift from one of my exchange groups. I was so happy and surprised. The gift included threads, kits, and tools for stitching.


Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon