Wednesday, October 30, 2013

X-Stitch aka Cross Stitch


Cross stitch -- some call it x-stitch because of the little x's that are made -- you go from left to right making stitches that look like / and then back along those stitches from right to left, crossing them with \ stitches. That's probably about as clear as mud!  


Smile was stitched for Markie

Anyway, I love to cross stitch -- probably even more so than crochet.  (But don't tell my crochet hooks that -- they will be very jealous!) But there's only so much you can do to give as gifts or do for yourself. Although I must admit, there are about a million cross stitch pictures that I would like to do for myself. I keep telling myself to decide on one and just do it, but, well you know how things get. 


 Follow Your Dreams was stitched for Tylynn

One way that I get in some cross stitch time is to stitch for an organization called "Love Quilts" which gives finished quilts to children who are critically ill or who have lifelong illnesses. 


Family was for Inspirational Words and Phrases to be used on any child's quilt. These are extra squares that have no deadline and can be used on any child's quilt to fill in when needed, or to assemble a quilt in an emergency situation. 

When the child is signed up, the parents provide a photo and some background on the child -- siblings, pets, favorite sports or other likes, information about the child's illness, etc. Then a theme and a favorite color are picked and the stitching volunteers sign up to stitch a square for that child. They usually try to get around fifteen to twenty squares for each quilt.


The two cutie bears were stitched for any child's quilt

The squares are sent in and then they are assembled into a quilt by quilting volunteers. Depending on how many squares are received, the quilt could be all cross stitch squares, or with some fabric squares to round things out. They are finished with batting and a fabric back and then machine quilted. Then they are sent or sometimes taken to the child. The parents usually send in pictures of the child with the quilt -- that's probably the best part! They always have such huge smiles on their sweet faces!

There are some ladies who stitch for each and every child, sometimes more than one square for each! It just amazes me the love and care that go into each of these quilts.
 

Ducks stitched for Shane



This is the quilt for Shane -- you can see the duck square on the left side


Butterfly stitched for Karon



Karon's purple quilt.  The butterfly square I stitched is on the bottom row on the right.


There is a lot of work involved to assemble each quilt and the only monetary request is a small donation to accompany each square that is stitched. And it doesn't matter if you stitch one square or many, all are accepted with love and all are assembled and presented to the child with love. 

A number of years ago my computer crashed and I lost all my photos -- so a lot of my cross stitch pics are gone. I always wrote the year and the child's name on the chart, and of course I remember each one, but I sure wish I had those pictures! 

I didn't participate at all this year, but plan to do at least a few blocks in 2014. 

Maybe I'll even do something for myself!

If you'd like to learn more about the Love Quilts organization, or perhaps stitch a square for them, here's a link to their site



sharing over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter X


♥♥

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Milk and Cookies for Santa


Do you, or your kids, leave milk and cookies for Santa? Is it too early to be thinking about that??  Um, probably :p




We, of course, did and the kids left notes for the old guy.... he always left them a thank you, and a lot of crumbs! It's no wonder his belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly! 

So, when the Blogging Business Artisans October challenge was "Prelude to the Holidays" (brought to us by LeAnn of Pasque Flower Creations) I knew what I would do! LeAnn challenged us to create a holiday themed item -- something for our Etsy shop, an ornament or decoration for our home, a costume, or perhaps a gift for a friend or loved one. The item could be for any of the upcoming holidays, from Halloween through New Year's. 

I decided on a crocheted milk and cookies set for the kids to pretend with or for a fun Christmas decoration for the table, or under the tree. I had made this set a couple of years ago but never replaced it after it sold so I thought this challenge would be a good time to make another set, and kick-start Christmas in my shop.



This time I made a cute storage bag so everything will stay in one place!




I think Santa will like those cookies!



But do you think he might be getting tired of milk?? 


Check out what some of the other BBA team members made for this challenge!


♥♥

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Wheels.... Girly Wheels


I looked out my window one day and saw....



Pink wheels
Girly wheels

and knew I had to snap a few pictures!



Sitting in front of our house,
but visiting the house across the street
(which is the one in the picture)

Don't you love them?!!



This on the back


If I were going to have girly wheels on my car, 
this would be the way to go!!


♥ sharing those girly wheels over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter W


♥♥

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Valentine Noli

Noli is such a goof. 



She had on her *Love* t-shirt, so of course she was a Valentine!



Look, Mumsie, I'm a Valentine Heart! Take my picture!

And, of course, I did.


~ sharing Valentine Noli over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter V
~ sharing over at Grandma's Briefs for GRAND Social


♥♥

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Usual Suspects -- Up to No Good...


We've got quite a menagerie of little hoodlums -- nice little hoodlums, but hoodlums nonetheless!

So today I am sharing these Usual suspects who are always Up to no good!


Noli, kicking where she shouldn't be



Ninja Noli
I tell ya, that kid has some mighty strange fashion sense!!


Now for the outside kitties, hoodlums all....



After a bug....



Who me?



I wouldn't dream of chasing bugs....



But I would!!



This is just off the patio, an area that has never gotten concrete around the stones.
Those sneaky kitties love to dig there!



Plotting their next move...



which apparently is climbing!



Getting sleepy



Sleeeepy



All tuckered out



It's hard to find a hoodlum pic of Oliver...
for he is the epitome of good kitties

But here he is in Noli's stroller
taken back when she used a stroller....
  
>^.^<
Meowzer!!


sharing over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter U


♥♥

Monday, October 7, 2013

Falling for Teal

Teal is a medium blue-green color and apparently there is some debate over whether it is a blue, or a green. 
I say it's in the middle!

It's actually named after the Teal duck, a small freshwater duck that has teal colored feathers around its eyes.



Aren't they pretty? My very first summer job was at the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries (they were good about giving teenagers summer jobs and I had a friend whose uncle worked there). Anyway my job was to stuff envelopes mailing out Teal Certificates for hunting purposes. There were a bunch of us working there so it was pretty fun!


Green-winged Teal pair
Mr and Mrs 


Retired Colors

Here's another bit of teal trivia... Crayola's crayon called "Teal Blue" was first introduced in 1990 as part of a box of 64. (from Crayola's Color Corner) It was retired in 2003.

Did you know that "sophisticated, self assured and stable" are the personality traits of the color Teal? So when you wear teal, feel very good about yourself because you'll be showing those attributes!

So, all this teal trivia brings me to the Etsy treasury I just made..... you did know I wasn't going to ONLY talk about ducks and crayons didn't you?!!



When Ayla of Eyelah posted this gorgeous cowl scarf in one of the discussion threads for the BBArtisans team, I knew I was going to make a treasury using it as my inspiration! I love the color teal, from the light summer aqua hues to the deeper teals of winter -- I love them all!

'Falling for Teal' by magnoliasurprise


Made to Order: Handmade Knitted Chunky Textured Cowl Scarf - Eyelah
Vintage Cloisonne Necklace - Round with Roses - EDCCollective
Nature Photography - 8x10 Fine Art Print, Floating Autumn Leaf Photo, Orange Leaf, Green Blue Water, Leaf Photography - Wall Art, Home Decor - lixhewettphotography
Turquoise Sari Silk Bracelet with Brass Button - AntiquityTravelers
Journal - Fabric Covered  Notebook - Diary - Teal Leaves on Dark Brown - Back to School - pasqueflower
Aqua Celtic Sun Moon Swirls Mauve Pearl Earrings Hypoallergenic - StalkingTheWildSnark
Teal Green 3D Suncatcher with Flower - BayCreationsbyWendy
Dark Teal Baby Barefoot Sandals with Shabby Flower (88) - LullabyLovies
READY TO SHIP- baby boy button beanie, blue tweed and dark teal, chunky hat, size 0-3m, with wooden button accent - swellamy
Percy - an 8 x 10 inch print of my original watercolor painting of a fun little fuzzy horse - tapestry316
ceramic serving plate - ginkgo leaf in blue green matte - kitchen decor - hopejohnson
Turquoise, Teal and Gray Jacobean Floral  Pillow Cover 18x18, 20x20 or 22x22 or lumbar pillow, Accent pillow - PopOColor
Vintage Serveware Art Deco Pottery Pitcher - Dark Emerald Green Ombre with Floral Rose Motif - Home Décor Color Trend - Gift under 30 - recombobulated
Hand Painted Dark Teal MUD Roses Cookie with Rhinestone Bling 16 - MargotTheMUDLady
Spiral Dreams Save the Date Notebook, aqua, green, brown - MisterPenQuin
Chunky Cable Knitted Hottie Cover in Teal Alpaca-Knit to Order - KnitKnacksbySharon

This treasury was inspired by Ayla's fabulous scarf and features more beautiful teals from the BBArtisans team, as well as from other talented Etsians. Hope you enjoy it! You can click on the title to go to the original treasury on Etsy, and on each item to go directly to that shop. 

Maybe you'll find some beautiful teal to make you feel sophisticated, self assured and stable!!


Sharing on Blue Monday over at Smiling Sally's


♥♥

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