Spring exchange from Jayne

Jayne N, my partner for the HOE spring exchange, sent me this lovely scissor/thread keeper this week.

The design is "S is for Spring" by Prairie Schooler, which she stitched and finished beautifully- I love the scalloped thread cards she made for it.

This is the needlebook I stitched for my exchange partner, Rosa:

The design is called "Dream Big" by Country Cottage Needleworks.

 

I stitched the year and our initials on a little piece of homespun on the back...

 

and added a piece of Weeks Dye Works wool and 3 little mother-of-pearl bluebell thread rings inside.

 

 

I received this lovely Prairie Schooler ornament from my Hooked On Exchanging partner Margaret C a few days ago. The design is from "Redwork Santas", and was stitched on 36 ct Antique White Edinburgh.

She included lots of goodies in the package, too- Christmas fabrics, silk floss, a vial of beads, mother-of pearl buttons, and a gorgeous hand-made card.  [This photo really doesn't do it justice...]

This is the Prairie Schooler bellpull I stitched for Carol.  [I hope she doesn't mind that I used her photo of it- she's a much better photographer than I am...] 

The design is from PS "Christmas Favorites" Book 172.  It's not really as big as it may look- the brass hardware is only about 3 inches wide.

Another Exchange from Becky

I received another lovely exchange from Becky K this week.  The design is from Prairie Schooler's "Measure of a Year", and was stitched using DMC floss on 28 ct Pumpkin Jazlyn.

I like the way the two colors of pins are grouped on the sides, and the picot-edged ribbon on top co-ordinates nicely with the gimp braid used around the edges.  

Here's a photo of the Fall Pyn Keepe exchange I sent to Ina:

The design is from a Milady's Needle kit called "Milady's Acorn Box".  I stitched it on 32 ct Hand-Dyed Belfast in "Days Gone By", using Belle Soie silk in "Red Fox" and "Rustique".  It's lined with cotton batting, stuffed with crushed walnut shells, and backed with Lancaster Red herringbone wool from Weeks Dye Works.

Lizzie Kate Ornament from Becky

Boy, time really flies when you're self-employed, and working 70 to 80 hours every week!  I really need to post a little more frequently- in my last post, I was desperately looking forward to some warmer weather, and now that it's so hot and humid, I'm (almost) looking forward to winter again...

I received this lovely "Sampling Christmas" ornament from Becky K the other day.  The photo really doesn't do it justice- it's stitched on 32 ct Natural Opalescent Belfast linen that makes it twinkle like little snowflakes. It's so refreshing to be reminded of winter when it's 100 degrees outside!

Becky always does such a beautiful job- this ornament will have a place of honor on my tree!

Where is Spring???

Last weekend I was beginning to wonder if Spring would ever arrive, when I received the most wonderful surprise in the mail...  

 Marie W  sent me this lovely spring biscornu, which really brightened my day! 

I love the little bluebirds on the back- they're so cheerful! 
Thank you, Marie- with everything you've been through lately, it was incredibly kind of you to take the time to stitch this for me.  I'll cherish it forever.

Just when I thought Spring must finally be right around the corner...

Ol' Man Winter showed he wasn't quite done with us yet!  This was the view out our front window on Sunday, April 17.  The four inches of snow we got made it look more like Christmas...

So it was very appropriate that I received this beautiful Quaker Christmas ornament from Carol this week:  

The stitching and finishing are just gorgeous (as usual)!  Thank you, Carol- I love it!!!

 

So thanks to Carol and her lovely ornament, I was feeling all Christmas-y again, and about to make myself a nice hot cup of cocoa...

When I looked out the window to the back yard

and saw that it looked a lot like Spring after all!

They say in Michigan, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes- it'll change".

Last night we had a terrible hail storm- it sounded like rocks were coming right through the roof!

Long Time, No Blog...

Well, another month has gone by in the blink of an eye, so I guess it's time to catch up...
Here's a photo of the Winter House exchange I sent to Missy:

She loves to read, as well as stitch, so I thought this would be a good way to combine both passions. The "book" has enough room inside to hold a paperback novel or a considerable amount of stitching supplies.  The design is "Snowy Pines", the fourth Ornament-of-the-Month by Little House Needleworks.  It's stitched with DMC floss on 30 ct Natural linen from Northern Cross, which was stiff enough to glue to the book, without having the edges fray [an easy, no-sew finish].

Great minds must think alike, because when I opened the package I received from Edgar this weekend, I found a wonderful photo album with the cutest snowman on the cover:

The Calico Station design was stitched on a piece of 28 ct BlueGrass linen using DMC floss, and the carrot nose button gives it that special touch...  Thank you, Edgar- I love it! 

LHN Exchange for Carol

Oops! In my hurry to get my exchange in the mail, I forgot to take a photo of it, so I hope Carol doesn't mind me using hers...

 I stitched Little House Needlework's "Season of Hope" design on 28 ct Country French Linen, using DMC floss.  I had originally planned to finish it as a pillow, like it showed on the pattern, but I wanted to do something a little different, so I went to a local craft store, hoping to find some creative inspiration, and found myself in the scrapbooking/photo album section.  I noticed some 8 x 8 replacement pages, and the wheels in my head started turning...

I didn't want it to be just an ordinary photo album, so I added a piece of Weeks Dye Works wool for a needle-minder, and a band of fabric to hold accessories.  I thought the top-loading pages would be a handy way to hold floss, charts, fabric swatches, sketches, photos, whatever...

I'm so glad Carol liked the way it turned out- she's been one of my favorite customers over the years, so I wanted to do something special for her.