pool party!

Yesterday we went to a pool party for a friend of ours' daughter(who happens to be friends with our kids. :) ) A fun time was had by all! Here is a pic of my kids.. not a great one of Hanna but in all the other pics she had swim goggles on. lol This was taken by my friend Wanda- the mom of the birthday girl.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I guess I may be easy to please, judging from some of the other reviews of this book, but I thought this book was excellent. I think all the books in the series are. Some have said that this book had too much going on, but I really don't think it did. To me, it made it all the more a page-turner, and everything was tied together at the end, for the most part. I also liked that we got to see Eric and Sookie interact some more. Eric can be domineering and cold at times, but I think the reader must remember in what time period he became a vampire. I thought this book was great and I can't wait for the next one!


View all my reviews.

Blessings Journal

This is a neat idea I have been meaning to blog about and kept forgetting. I got it from an online friend of mine. This is an especially good idea in this time of economic downturn, etc. Get yourself a small journal or notebook- you can carry it with you or do it before you go to sleep (as I do). In this write at least three things you were blessed by/with during the day, it can even be something that happened to someone else. Just to remind you of the good things in life and how blessed you are!

A super amazing giveaway!!

Not of stitched items but of a gift certificate for fantabulous home decor!! Click here!

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day

Just got finished watching this fun movie!! Dh had taped it-I had been curious about it so I watched it. I confess I didn't get much stitching done while I watched, the storyline kept you moving right along with it. The ending was slightly far-fetched but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And the music was great! I may have to see if there's a soundtrack. :)

Another giveaway!

Gaynor is having a giveaway on her blog! Check it out!! :)

Stash Giveaway!

Kathy is having a giveaway at her blog! Hop on over and see what it's all about. She has some cute pics of her furbaby on there too. :)

Ebay plug!

I'm currently selling a 1986 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue on ebay- here's the link: hannasmom1198 ebay Thanks for looking!

Pretty in Poppies

My mom bought this dress for Hanna- I just love it! I wish they had it in my size!

Noel by Need'l Love Co.

Finished this one in just a few days- it is from a 1986 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue (oops, think I mentioned that in my last post..). I have also decided since I love snowmen and have a TON of snowman patterns I am going to have a snowman stitching day. Which day this will be I'm not sure, but I've already chosen the design to start it off - "Magic" by San Man Originals. I am excited about this one because the colors are really neat and I am going to do it on some Sugar Maple Fabrics multi-colored fabric- I forget the name at the moment!

Stitchy Weekend!

I've gone into this long weekend determined to stitch, stitch, stitch! So far so good! I finished my Lizzie Kate WIP but will not post it here yet- I want to give it to my friend first. I'm not sure if she reads my blog so I'd rather be safe.. I was so excited to finish it- it was fun but I was anxious to start "In the Kitchen with Jane Austen" by the Sampler Girl. I went to get the fabric I had set aside, and alas, it was not big enough. Not even close. And none of the fabric I have will suffice, and I don't have the money to get any right now. :( Oh well.. I looked through my stash for something else to work on in the meantime and found Just Nan's "Big Bee, Little Bee." I don't think I have ever stitched a Just Nan design, even though I think they're beautfiul, so I thought even though it's almost summer, it's kind of springy/summery, so I'll do it. There is no finis
hed picture of the design with the pattern which makes it even more fun in my opinion. I'm sure I could find one online, or perhaps have already seen one and don't remember, but I want to be surprised. :) I'm also working on an ornament from the 1986 JCS Ornament/Christmas issue- a cute little Santa by The Need'l Love Company.
And that's the update! Please let's not forget the real reason for this long holiday weekend- let's remember those who have fallen, and those who still serve, to keep our country free.

a few leaflets for sale or trade..

I have a few cross stitch leaflets for sale or trade- just go to http://community.webshots.com/user/angelrose1108 and click the "For Sale or Trade" album. All prices include postage within the U.S. Thanks for looking! Please leave a comment w/ your email address if you're interested in any of them. :)

Prairie Schooler finish

Today on my lunch break I finished up this little PS freebie I'd been working on. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish it yet- ornament maybe..or a card.. maybe even a bookmark. What are your thoughts? Oh, and I didn't use the suggested DMC for this. Instead I used- Weeks Dye Works Whitewash, Mascara, Blue Bonnet; Olde Willow Quaker School Blue; Crescent Colors Manor Red; and Gentle Art Blue Spruce and Brandy.

Why did the ducks cross the road?

We were driving through a subdivision the other day and were stopped by these little guys crossing the road! I wish my picture had turned out better...

At the park

Another ornament kit finished!

Here's another one of the ornaments I'm stitching for my MIL. These kits are not made real well. They have DMC floss which is great but the graphs are not consistent with the picture on the package. All the backstitch is not shown on the pattern, just some of it, and there was an open square in the church roof that was not open in the picture. Weird! All in all though I think this is one of my favorites of these ornaments. The colors aren't "Christmasy" but they're pretty!

Pillow finish

Here is something I stitched for my grandma last year. I finished it into a pillow today using the fabric from the Thistle Bee Quilt Shop (see previous post). I can't wait to send it to her, she loves all things patriotic! Also, I sewed (?) up a pillow for Hanna, out of some Pink Panther fabric she wanted me to buy a while back. She cut it and stuffed it, I just sewed it up! :)

An exciting find!!

For several years, there has been a shop near our local Wal-mart called The Thistle Bee Quilt Shoppe. I have never gone by the shop, because I don't quilt (though someday I would like to learn) and don't have the time for another hobby right now! However, I've brought out my sewing machine again and would like to finish some projects, so I thought I'd check them out and see what their fabric selection was like for tucks and such. And wow, did this place have some fabric, and pretty reasonable prices I think. I found the perfect fabric (actually several) to finish a project for my grandma. And to make it the perfect visit, I found they also carry Weeks Dye Works! Not a full selection but quite a few! This was wonderful news for me as the closest shop that carries them otherwise is an hour away in Raleigh. This trip just made my day! Here is a picture of the shop and my fabric find, next to the stitched piece. Also, a piece I stitched back in 2004 but just recently finished into a pillow (thanks to dh's seamstress abilities)for a friend.

a forgotten finish

I finished this right around the time my camera batteries went dead- lol! I was going to work on something else last night and found this in the pouch with it. It's going to be hard to part with this one but I imagine I will make it into an ornament at Christmas and give it to someone special. So if you are the recipient than you know you mean a whole lot to me! ;D This is a design from one of the Just Cross Stitch ornament issues by Blue Ribbon Designs. Please forgive me for the horrible lighting in some of my pictures- there aren't many windows in the downstairs of our townhouse and even using flash some of them come out pretty dark!

A shameless ebay plug..

Including a Disney Princesses cross stitch book and a handmade beaded scissors fob.. my ebay ID is hannasmom1198. Thanks for looking!

Cross Stitch Giveaway!

Simone is having a cross-stitch giveaway on her blog! Check it out! http://soedidee.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogoversary-grab-bag-give-away.html

By The Sea

Another sweet design by the Sampler Girl! I think I am going to give this one to my mother-in-law for Mother's Day, as she loves the ocean. Colors I used were Gentle Art Cherry Wine, Gold Leaf, and Morning Glory, and Weeks Dye Works Cadet. It is stitched on white Quaker Linen from Silkweaver Fabrics I believe. I like this one so much I may stitch it again sometime, and I rarely stitch the same pattern twice. :)

Gift for my mom

I can post this now, since I gave it to my mom on Friday! :) It's a freebie from the Chocolate Cat. My dad made the frame. :)

Easter pics

I almost forgot! Here are a few pics from Easter-the one of David and Hanna was taken at the mall before Easter. I didn't get any good pictures of Hanna at the Easter egg hunt, she was too quick, racing around to find Easter eggs!

From Dead to Worse

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great vampire book by Charlaine Harris!! Once one thing was resolved, something else came up, and the ending was great. Can't wait for #9!


View all my reviews.

Happy Easter my friends!

He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
I am posting a little late on Easter Day. We've had a full day, starting with Easter breakfast at church, followed by the Easter egg hunt and Easter mass. We sang lots of wonderful Easter hymns, saw some familiar faces we hadn't seen in a while. It was a joyful day! I will post a few pictures of the Easter egg hunt soon. I hope everyone had a blessed Easter. Let us all praise our Heavenly Father for the gift he has given us in his son Jesus!

Some finishes

I haven't posted any for a while- been lazy about taking pictures.. lol. I have one I can't post yet because it's something for my mom but here are the others I've finished. Two more Designs of the Needle ornament kits for my MIL (I think I still have 5 or 6 left to stitch!) and "Snowy Paddy", an old Sampler Girl freebie. I finished him a couple of weeks ago but not in time for St. Patty's Day, darn it. I'm thinking about making him into a banner-type hanging, not sure yet.

Some more beach photos

See previous post also!

"A little sea-bathing would set me up forever"

Couldn't resist using that Jane Austen quote for this post! My in-laws were here this past week and we went to Atlantic Beach on Saturday. Although I don't enjoy laying out to get tan, and I don't know how to swim, I love the beach. It has a way of putting any stress or anger in the back of your mind and giving you such peace, even when there are alot of people there. Now maybe if it would've been jam-packed with people I wouldn't be saying that, though it was fairly busy the day we were there. It was my son's first trip since he was a baby. At first he wouldn't even wade into the water but after going with him he did. It was so fun watching him walk in the water and run back out because he was so cold. My daughter could look for seashells all day. She kept filling her bucket and when it got too heavy, dumping them on the blanket and going back out for more. She didn't want to leave when it was time to go, though I don't think any of us really did. Here are some photos from our day.

Ghost Moon by Karen Robards

Ghost Moon by Karen Robards

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a great book! This is the 2nd book I've read by Karen Robards and it was great. Kept you guessing til (almost) the end, and from then on it was action-packed. I can't wait to read some more by her!


View all my reviews.

Some of the ornament kits..

Here are some of the ornaments I've stitched for my MIL. I haven't assembled any of them yet because I'm trying to get them all stitched before she visits at the end of the month. :)

An angel or a mistake??

Something very strange happened today- it is too good to be true really. I got a notice in the mail from a company we have a loan with that a phone payment for a rather large amount had been authorized. I was freaking out because I didn't authorize the payment. I called the loan place straight away and she said "an older man" called a few days ago and wanted to make two payments on our account. She said we are the only people on their books with our last name. I have called almost everyone I can think of that could have possibly done it, and everyone says they didn't (and seem honest about it.) It's so strange! I am nervous it was all a big mistake. I guess I may never know! What a blessing if it isn't!

New Stash!!

I finally made it out to Lazy Daizy in Raleigh- I LOVE that store!! I got there 20 min. before they closed and picked up a few things. Sadly, they are no longer carrying The Sampler Girl's designs, which I was hoping they would have, but I did get the last one they did have, which happened to be one I wanted! So here is a pic I of what I got- if you can't see it well it is In the Kitchen With Jane Austen by the Sampler Girl, Cecilia 1896 by Lisa Cowell, Serenity Waits by Plum Pudding Needle Art, Shell Gatherer by Liz Navickas Designs, a skein of Gentle Art Buttermilk (needed for the Jane Austen pattern- I didn't think I had any but found later that I do. oops), and a skein of now-retired Weeks Dye Works Butterscotch. I also got a Pine Mountain Pillow kit for Hanna that's not pictured here. It was half off. Hooray!

A finished bookmark!

I can post this now because I gave it to my friend Lauri tonight. :) The design is from the Leisure Arts book "Quick as a Wink."

Watch Me by Brenda Novak

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first of this trilogy that I've read, though it's the most recent book. It was really good, kept you guessing as to "whodunit" which is always a good thing! I plan on reading the other two, and probably the fourth that comes out later this year, though the crime committed in that one looks particularly disturbing.


View all my reviews.

My heart aches for some stash...

Cross stitch stash that is! It has been much too long since I bought anything new. I was just looking at downsunshinelane.com, one of my favorite online stores at some of the new items. Sigh..... And there are some Sampler Girl designs I want too. I hope I will have a little tax money left after bill paying to buy some new things or I just might cry!

Islands

Islands by Anne Rivers Siddons

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a really good book. Although not a real page-turner, it kept you engrossed enough to keep wondering what would happen next. I do like a book once in a while that is entertaining to read but I can put down if I need to. The chapters were very long though which made it hard to find a stopping point! Overall I enjoyed the book and was somewhat surprised by the ending, which is almost always a good thing. :)


View all my reviews.

New finishes

Finally I have finished something! An ornament kit my mother-in-law wanted me to stitch for her, and San Man Originals' "Bless the Feast."

Angels on Earth

Sorry I haven't been posting more.. I haven't stitched as much recently (working on that though) and money stress has been weighing me down. Things already were not great, but now dh's overtime has been cut and it is hurting bad. My week has looked up though, thanks to some great friends. First a friend here, who is always looking to lend a hand, and who watched my dd at the last minute this Thursday so I wouldn't have to pay daycare.
And to some very special online friends, who when they found out of our troubles not only offered support, but real help as well, and we have never even met face to face. All of these friends are angels on earth! I truly believe God has sent them to me. You know who you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Snow day finally!

The first "real" snow of the winter. The kids loved it! Unfortunately they were out then in too quick to get pics of them.

What would you think of this?

Ever gotten a back-handed compliment? ( I think that's the right expression.) Today a customer of mine, who is usually very sweet, came in. She is an older lady and I hadn't seen her in a while. She asked me if I had gotten a complete makeover for Christmas! And I asked, "Why, do I look different?" And she said"You look nice, almost- and here she mouthed a word I didn't make out. When I looked confused she said "pretty." I look almost pretty? What the -? Nice, huh? So I wondered part of the day what, in her estimation, would take me from "nice" to "pretty." Oh well, people have said worse to me since I moved here. lol

Just spreading the word..

cause everyone needs a little help in these hard times! Some women at my kids' daycare recently told me about something called Angel Food Ministries . If you need a little help with that rising grocery bill, here it is. And you don't have to fit any income guidelines to participate! And some of the money goes to a good cause!! Check out the website and see if there's one near you- it's really a great deal, or seems to be! We're going to try it soon! If anyone has already used this program, I would love to hear your experiences!

Meow!

I finished this a few days ago for DD. I asked her if she wanted it framed, in a pillow, etc, but she hasn't answered me yet! It feels so good to finish something!!! The design is "Meow" (who would have guessed?) from the book "Cats Galore" by Leisure Arts. It's done with DMC thread on Sugar Maple Fabric I believe, not sure of the color but I think I have it somewhere. lol

Yep...

I totally LOVE this new template, I think I will keep it forever. So get used to it. lol

Out of the mouths of babes..

Last night the kids and I went to church for the Epiphany service. We went up to communion, the kids don't take it yet but Pastor gives them a blessing. Well when Pastor leaned forward to bless DS, the chalice of wine leaned forward too. DS said "Mom what's that?" I really don't remember what I said, I probably shushed him or told him I'd tell him later. Then he waits a second or two and says "Mom I don't like beer!" So all of us in the near vicinity are trying not to laugh, and he says it again "I don't like beer!" It seem he always waits til communion time to crack us up with something.. sigh..

I loooooove this Hobbit template!!

While waiting on laundry, I was messing with this template. I found it on several blogger template sites but it wouldn't work right. Finally I found one that converted it to the new blogger format correctly! I will have to mess with widgets, etc. tomorrow. I was just so tired of all the templates on blogger! lol

I'm back!!

I tried wordpress for a while but I think I'm gonna give blogger another go. Too many extras wordpress won't accept, plus most people I know are on blogger. I may import the stuff from wordpress, but it looks like kind of a process so I may just leave it for now.. maybe one day when I'm looking for something to do..lol.
OK, gonna go mess around with my widgets, etc. now..

Come see me at Wordpress

I'm trying them out- http://xstitchmama.wordpress.com

My sushi scarf!

See what my Mom made me? It's a scarf and when you roll it up it looks like sushi! cool huh? I love it!