A zipper pull!

I thought it would be fun to make a zipper pull to match the fabric on my Vera Bradley stitching bag. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Cookbook Project

I'm not really sure what came over me to start this project other than my mother has dementia and it seemed like a nice way to preserve her memories. So I decided to put together a cookbook with about 2 dozen of her favorite recipes. I wanted it to have a vintage 50's feel and scoured the internet for '50's cookbook graphics. I think I was successful with the graphics but it was harder to find proper paper and so I just winged it. I scanned and printed many of her handwritten recipes and reprinted many old photos of her. Each of the books is different, though they have some of the same photos and also different photos in each. I personalized a bit for each recipient.

I've never done any scrapbooking and I was exhausted by the time I finished putting these together this morning. But they are off in the mail tomorrow to my brothers and sister plus I get one too. Sorry, photos were taken rather quickly and not very well. If I'd had more energy left I would have done better!

Nick's Deviant Art

My son is a digital/graphics art student and complains now and then that no one visits his Deviant Art page. I tell him with millions on that site, not everyone is going to find his. So here is a little plug for others to please go have a look at his artwork. It's unique! http://fezguy.deviantart.com/

My favorite is Crazed Writer Quitril because every doodle on the wall he did by hand.

Macro setting on my camera!

On my last trip to Phoenix I found this sweet child's sewing basket and look what was inside! Isn't that thimble the tiniest you've ever seen?



And this morning I ran around taking photos of my samplers on the walls because I finally figured out the Macro setting on my camera! It makes close up photos so much easier, even in the dark wall of my staircase. So I went a little overboard but thought it was fun and wasn't sure what to do with the photos so this is always a good spot to put them, lol.






The above photo is a little sneak peek of a sampler I'll be releasing soon...

A couple new designs

Since I stitch all my own designs I can point out my mistakes. It wasn't until I picked up a batch of framing, (this above "Angel Sampler" included)that I realized I'd not stitched the "o" on the word "oh" in the verse. Oh well, makes it that much more mine. I was very pleased with this pale pink frame that I got on clearance at Marshall's for $3.99. I've had it sitting around about a year and finally, something fit in it!



This one is called "Remembrance". A woman emailed me several months ago and gave me the verse which she had found on an Irish headstone. I hope she'll re-email me as I'd love to send her a copy. In the computer confusion that has been happening with me since June (including a trip to the computer tune-up place) that email has been lost. I just want to say thank you very much as I love the verse and hope it brings comfort to those who read it.

Maggie's Yokohama Adventure

My 17-year old daughter Maggie just returned from a homestay/high school exchange to Yokohama, Japan. Last year she was in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and she compares Tokyo to New York City and Yokohama to San Francisco. Here she is with her class on her last day there:



And a close up:


A shot of the empty classroom. High school students stay in the same classroom and the teachers will rotate to them vs. the opposite with the American system.


Her good-bye message to her class, don't ask me what it says, I can only read 3 of the words!


With her little "brothers" from her host family:


In Yokohama's Chinatown, which is the largest Chinatown in Japan:


more with classmates:


She was able to buy a summer kimono and attend a festival. Here she is trying to catch goldfish which I guess was not easy to do:


Photo of how her obi is tied so we can hopefully replicate it at home:


Some things are universal:


One of the things she loves about Japan is how they love "cute". She said these pigs are fish paste and very tasty:


Another example of "cute" with an everyday object:


The Yokohama Costco, just as overwhelming in any country:


One difference is there is kanji on the cakes:

Finished! My neighborhood round robin...

I decided four years was too long to let this piece sit unfinished. I had to do the borders and a few additions to the inside of the piece so I started up a couple weeks ago and finished it this afternoon. I just love this piece and the friendships I made while stitching it. It's next up on my framing list and then I'll repost a photo of it when that is done.

In Memory

I just came in from the mailbox and was so excited to see one of my designs in the July/August 2008 issue of Just Cross Stitch. This is called "In Memory" and I stitched it for my grandmother who died in 1980. I had wanted to do a sampler for her in 1999, sort of a 100th year tribute to her but never could find a design I wanted to do. I'm so happy with how this turned out. It uses Belle Soie silks from Crescent Colours and I loved stitching with them. I see JCS is offering a kit with the supplies. I hope you like this piece as much as I enjoyed creating it.

2 new designs

This is "Bloom"


And this is "Patriotic Summer"

A 10 year old UFO finished!

This is Summer Sampler from Butternut Road. I think I started it in 1998, yikes! Finally finished it last week. I did the version which was 18 count fabric with Watercolours threads. Turns out I didn't enjoy using either the fabric or the threads and that is why it sat unfinished for soooooo long! One change was taking out the backstitch alphabet (mine always look so messy) and inserting a verse instead.

Two New Designs

This is Immortal Bloom


This is Be Ye Kind