Thanks to the good folks over at Random.org, we have some winners! Yes, today was the drawing for my birthday blog candy giveaway. After entering the info at Random.org (names were entered in the order in which people commented), here is who it selected as the winners:

Shepherd’s Bush kit: Annette
Weight Watchers cookbook: Nicole

SB Kit:

1. Missy Ann
2. Nicole
3. Margie
4. RC
5. Tricia
6. Debby
7. Kat
8. Annette
9. Sher
10. Agnes

Cookbook:

1. Missy Ann
2. Nicole
3. Margie
4. Kris
5. Laura
6. Alison
7. RC
8. Tricia
9. Cindi
10. Kat
11. Sher

Congratulations, ladies!! I’ll be sending each of you an email tomorrow to get your mailing information.

On a side note, there were several other people who commented to my birthday post who are not listed. If you did not specifically mention the drawing(s), then I assumed you were not interested so I didn’t include you. If you did want to be included and weren’t, please accept my apology!!

Next, in my continued series of video blog (vlog) entries, I filmed my grocery haul for this week. These haul videos are very popular among the weight loss losers group on YouTube, so I decided to give it a go.

Lastly, I just have to brag on myself a bit. I had an AWESOME workout last night at the gym. I managed to burn an amazing 675 calories while on the treadmill!! Gotta love an incline workout.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Until next time …

Check out the beautiful flowers I received yesterday! My apartment smelled so lovely this morning when I woke up.

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my US readers a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

My dear friend Dotti sent me this beautiful friendship angel musical figurine. It plays “The Wind Beneath My Wings”. It’s a limited edition piece that came with a numbered certificate of authenticity. She’s made of porcelain and the trim accent & filigree are done in platinum. Isn’t she beautiful?!?!

You can click on the images for a larger view, but in case the text isn’t clear in the photo, it says:

“Friends are like angels…you don’t have to see them to know they are there.”

Well, I finally got around to taking photos of the goodies I got from Darla that I was talking about in an entry last week. I also took a photo of the stash I purchased using the gift certificates I received.

From Darla — aren’t those bunnies too cute?!

Other birthday stash:

Included in the other stash are the following:

Quaker Pocket Needfuls Checkbook Keeper – Primitive Traditions
Lady Quaker Silhouette – Homespun Elegance
Spring Eggs I – Homespun Elegance
Red Snowman – Shepherd’s Bush (kit)
Home of a Needleworker, Too – Little House Needleworks
Crescent Colors needed for LHN chart
Belle Soie Silks (Noir, Enchanted Forest, Chester’s Blue, Tortoise Shell, Rose of Sharon)

Another promised photo from an entry last week is my latest progress (as of March 9) on Broom Hilda’s Hat. This is a counted canvas project from local designer Margaret Bendig. I’m hoping to finish this piece this week since it’s stitching up very quickly. This is another of my WIP Killer Challenge projects.

I also got a few emails from people asking more about the star pins I used on the pinkeep I made for Darla recently. They are glass head pins that were ordered from Vikki at Hand-Dyed Fibers. Here’s a close-up picture of them:

Finally, here are my WW stats for yesterday. I’ve now completed 8 consecutive days with no cheats, slips, or tweaks.

Total: 27.5
Exercise: None
WPA balance: 35
Water: 64 oz
Days OP: 8

I just had I just HAVE to share photos of the beautiful bourse my dear friend Terri gave me yesterday. It’s actually a birthday gift, but since I’ll be out of town when my birthday arrives next week, she gave it to me now.

This was the first bourse she’s ever made and I think she did an amazing job!! She said she used the bourse tutorial from the Focus on Finishing blog. The first photo shows what it looks like closed. The second photo shows all the goodies that awaited me when I opened it. The last photo shows the beautiful initial she stitched inside as well as a closer look at the goodies she included. As always, just click on the thumbnails to see a larger view.

She also wrote me one of the most creative cards I’ve seen in a while. Here’s what she wrote:

Melissa -

I agonized over what to get you for your birthday. I figured the best way to go would be food. So! I’ve prepared you a wonderful cranberry salad from a recipe I found. Next is a cheesy lasagna made with an elegant eggplant. Dessert was tough. At first I thought “healthy” like fresh raspberries, but I wasn’t sure they were in season. Knowing your fondness for cheesecake, I settled on a carrot cake version, and I’m even providing espresso with a great creme de menthe.

Doesn’t that make you hungry? I hope you don’t mind my diet version of the above menu.”

I chuckled at first thinking the “diet version” was that I wasn’t getting any of that yummy sounding food. She then gave me the bourse and I just about cracked up when I realized all the foods were references to the colors of the silks she included. The fibers in the bourse are Belle Soie Cranberry, Lasagne, Elegant Eggplant, Fresh Raspberries, Carrot Cake, Espresso and Creme de Menthe. Isn’t that so clever?!!

Thank you SOOO much for such a wonderfully creative gift. She also wrote some really nice things about our friendship on her blog that left me all weepy. I’m really grateful to have her as such a wonderful friend in my life!! Love you, Terri!!

WOO HOO! Christmas came a little early via the post office.

Nicole made a beautiful crystal scissor fob for me and packaged it in a vintage Whitman’s tin. I was totally shocked when I opened it. It’s so gorgeous! I immediately put it on my brushed stainless Dovo scissors that had been “naked” up to this point. Here are a few pics:

Fob & tin:

Fob on my Dovo scissors:

Now both of my Dovo scissors had gifted crystal fobs:

Thank you again sooooooo much, Nicole!!!

I’ve been plugging away on a couple of small holiday stitching projects. I have just about finished a personalized tree from M Designs for a friend of mine. I have all the stitching done and just need to finish up the beading. Here’s a pic:

As a point of reference for the size, those are my 6″ Q-snaps holding the project. I’m stitching it over 1 on 30-count Holly R&R fabric using a single strand B5200 DMC floss. I’m using a combination of burgundy and gold Mill Hill petite glass beads as the “ornaments” on the tree. I still need to pick up a star for the top of it. I’m going to an all day stitch at my LNS on Saturday, so I’ll probably try to find something then to finish this project that day.

I’m also still working on the 2007 Lizzie Kate Limited Edition Ho Ho Ho kit. I’ll post more about it in another unprotected entry since it’s not a gift.

Happy Stitching!

I’m woefully behind in posting pictures in my blog, but just wanted to send out a major THANK YOU to Glenda for the beautiful Temari she sent me. I’m absolutely in awe of how gorgeous it is in person. This is yet just another instance of “the photo doesn’t do it justice!”

I do have a couple of stitching update photos as well. The first is a counted canvas class that I took recently. The design is called Just Peachy Santa

The designer, Libby Sturdy, actually taught the class. She’s a wonderful teacher and has some wonderfully whimsical Santa canvases in her design line. Here’s a link to what the finished piece will look like when I done: Just Peachy Santa.

I also recently finished another canvas piece. It’s the Beginning Needlepoint Sampler by Margaret Bendig. She’s a wonderful local teacher and designer here in southern California.

I guess that’s it for now. I hope those of you here in the U.S. had a safe and happy July 4th yesterday. Happy stitching!

Sorry for not updating in a while. I’m growing increasingly annoyed with the slowness of my recovery. I’ve been having recurring bouts of extreme pain and soreness which usually results in getting emotional and sitting around crying until it passes. My surgeon did warn me that I would have good days and bad days even following surgery, but I’m just getting really impatient and ready to feel better & be done with it, KWIM?

If all that weren’t bad enough, my allergies started raging and I’ve been sneezing off and on most of the day. Trust me, sneezing and vertebrae fusion in one’s neck do NOT go together. Hopefully it will clear up quickly and I’ll stop sneezing!

Ok, enough whining for now. Time to put something productive in this entry. For the first time I ever remember since I’ve been going to my LNS, they put most of their xstitch charts on sale for 30% off!

Thankfully, it was while my friend was still in town taking care of me, so he graciously took me over so I could get out of the house for a bit and take advantage of such a good sale. Boy, did I ever! Here’s a list of most of what I got. I also picked up a couple of other charts, but won’t be listing them as they’re for gifts.

Mini Block Stitch – Hinzeit
Stars & Stripes – Little House Needleworks
Spring Has Come – Prairie Schooler
Briar Rabbit – La-D-Da
Buttoned Yule – Shepherd’s Bush
Ackworth Friendship Book – With My Needle
Friendship – Brightneedle
Sampler Scissors Box – Fancy Work
Motifs Inspired by Whitman’s Tins – Fancy Work

I’ve also taken the time to do some finishing work. These are a couple of pieces that I stitched late last year but never got around to finishing them. They’re both for gifts, so I’ve masked the initials of the recipients for now.

I have another finish to share, but I didn’t do the finishing on it. I completed the stitching late last year as part of a SAL, but never got around to the finishing. I just couldn’t get excited enough to do it because I HATE HATE HATE blind hemming. I finally decided to just send it to my local finisher and let her do it instead. I think she did an awesome job!!

Finally, I’ve been doing some experimenting with a new product I found. I’m not sure how long it’s been around, so maybe it’s just new to me. It’s called Distress-It and is designed to make newer fabrics and fibers look aged/antiqued. The product cost around $6 for the bottle and it only took a few squirts to cover the fabric (roughly 8×11″ in size). After the first layer dried, I went back and did a second layer to give it an even darker color. The product does come in 3 different shades of dye. I got the medium one. I tried it out on a plain piece of white linen and was pretty pleased with the result. Here’s a scan:

The scan makes it look like there is a line in it, but there really isn’t. That’s a part of my scanner showing through the fabric. It looks pretty even in person.

I did learn a couple of things in the progress. Firstly, spray a couple of times onto a piece of paper towel or newspaper before spraying onto your fabric. I found that it left some larger drops during the first coupe of squirts, so that would prevent that. Also, along the same line, I will definitely start around the edges next and time work my way toward the center rather than the vice versa. Over all though, I was pleased with the results.

I’ll try to post a couple of updated WIP pics in the next few days. I’ve not pulled out Taj Mahal again yet because I know I’m just not up to working on something that complex yet. I’ve pretty much been working on Spring Sampler from Little House Needleworks and Martina’s Roses from Chatelaine Designs. I’m really enjoying the Spring Sampler. It’s my first experience working with Sharon’s new silk line (Belle Soie) from Crescent Colors. They’re really nice! I can’t wait to see the 25 new colors she’ll be releasing at Columbus in June.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. Happy stitching!