Allison's Covered Binder - Volleyball Theme

Allison loved the volleyball themed binder I made for her for Christmas.
My 14-year old granddaughter, Allison, is really enjoying volleyball.  She learned to play when she was 12 with our senior citizen volleyball group.  My husband and I play in a fun-bunch volleyball group three times a week and Allison was able to learn the basics of volleyball from the seniors (citizens, that is).  She played this year as a high school freshman and when the freshman team didn't have a game, she was able to play with the junior varsity as a setter.  She is now starting Club Volleyball and had her first practice last Sunday.  This club travels around the local area and plays in tournaments.

It looks like I'll be spending a lot of time "stitching while watching" the practices and games in the next few months. 

I made Allison a stitched square to go on a binder the first part of November and have finally finished the binder - what a pain!  I had to sew, rip, sew, rip, but it is done.  It will be a Christmas present for my beautiful, wonderful, talented Allison.

Calendar Cover Finish

I made a small cover for a calendar as a gift for a teacher at the local elementary school where I volunteer each week.  This is the first time I have done one of these and it turned out well.

I even gave the info on how to make this to another stitcher in one of my groups who wanted to cover a journal she is wanting to give as a gift for a family member.

Dog with Doggie Bones - Finished 12/15/10

Last night at the bowling alley, I was stitching this cute little doggie piece for World of Charity Stitching group, and one of the lady bowlers (April) said it looked just like her little beagle that had died this past week.  Her husband came over and asked me who I was stitching that for and said she was having a really hard time with losing her "best friend", so I decided to give this piece to her husband as a gift for her to help with her loss.   Hopefully, I can have this finished by next Friday, our last day to bowl before the holidays, so he can give it to her as a gift.

On Friday, 12/17, I took the framed doggie piece to the bowling alley and April's husband gave it to her.  She came over and gave me a big hug, and said she was thrilled with it and would hang it in a special place in her home. 

I will pick out another dog chart to stitch for the World of Charity animal quilt theme probably after the holidays.

Trying Something New - Designing My Own Chart

I recently bought myself a cross stitch pattern design software, called PCStitch.  I don't have a huge stash of patterns and charts, though I do have lots of older magazines and some pamphlets of charts, so I thought I'd try to design my own using free clipart from the web and pictures I can download.

So far, I have tried to design a "surfer dude", which I don't really like the looks of after doing some tweaking; however,  I am in the process of designing another surf-type design, which has a red surfboard sticking up in the sand with a palm tree behind it.   It looks okay in the design program and I will stitch it to see how it looks on the Aida cloth to see if I can donate it to Love Quilts for one of their open themes, which is "A Walk on the Beach."

Here's a picture of the clipart from which I am designing the piece.  I will try to post a picture of the actual stitched piece at a later date.

New Love Quilts Square Started - Finished Dec. 4th

I've started stitching the new Love Quilts square I signed up for a few weeks ago.  It is a John Deere tractor, which will be incorporated into a quilt for Tyler,  a sick little boy who loves machines.  So far, no problems with stitching it, however, the pattern symbols are not very clear.

The tractor was finished yesterday, Dec. 4th, and is being soaked in Dawn detergent prior to getting it ready for mailing to Love Quilts, along with the Sea Turtle already completed.

New Love Quilts Square Started (Finished)

Last Friday I began another Love Quilts square for Steven K., who loves all things about the underwater world.  I have chosen a colorful sea turtle with lots of coral below, some seaweed and bubbles.  This should be a nice square - lots of different, bright colors. 

This square is not due until March 1st, so I am very early on this one.  In the past I have signed up for squares and have had to work hard to finish them in a timely manner, so I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't do that again.  It's too hard to "force" myself to stitch in a hurry to get the square to Joan, the square coordinator at Love Quilts.   There will be new children's themes opening soon and I will sign up for a couple more, but they won't be due until later in the year. 

This gives me time to stitch for my other charity group, World of Charity Stitching.   We are working on several themes at the present time:  the EMS Flower of the Month, a transportation theme for a man's lap quilt, and teddy bear squares.  These will be quilted and given to some lucky seniors at a nursing home and to a child at a domestic violence shelter in Pensacola, Florida where I live.

New Square Being Stitched for WOCS - Another Finish

I'm almost finished with a small piece for World of Charity Stitching group; several squares have already been stitched from the EMS Flower of the Month freebie charts  and one of the ladies who signed up was unable to complete her commitment, so I volunteered to do another one (June-Wild Roses) so all the squares could be turned in and made into a beautiful lap quilt by our quilter, Bonnie.  She will then donate it to one of our charities, the nursing home, for one of the lovely residents. 

Three Totes Finished for Donations to Favor House, a Domestic Violence Shelter in Pensacola, FL

 These are three totes to be filled with donated/purchased goodies for children at the Favor House, a domestic violence shelter in Pensacola, FL. The group I belong to, World of Charity Stitching, has been gathering/donating/purchasing small gift items to put inside the totes so the children can have a little something to brighten their holiday this year.

The totes are pre-made ones on which I sewed the stitched squares; the totes were donated by members of WOCS.

Love Quilts Square for Peyton M.

Another Love Quilts square is finished for a little girl who loves purple flowers and insects.  These are asters I downloaded from the EMS freebie website.  I added the butterfly and the three dragonflies. 

Allison's Volleyball Square

Allison's square is done - all I have to do now is sew it onto a piece of material with volleyball background and make it into a binder cover.   This was a freebie chart that I embelished quite a bit.  It was only a volleyball, net and the border.   Hope she likes it.  I plan to give it to her as a Christmas present - it will be something she can use at school.

Cross Stitch Journal template

I've been doing some surfing, looking for new charts, etc. and I found this site that has templates to keep a stitching journal, 8 pages to print. I plan to go back to the first of this year and list all my stitched projects and hope to continue doing so for the coming years. I plan on getting a binder and will try to stitch a cute saying and/or a colorful chart having to do with stitching that I can put on the front. I've never really kept a record of all my stitching since I stitched my first small piece in about 1985, but I guess it's never too late to start.
http://www.beautifulcreations.ca/ProjectIdeas/CrossStitchJournal.htm

Sports Square for a Sick Little Boy

The sports square worked up fast.  It will be one of many sports squares made  for a sick little boy by the stitching group Love Quilts.  I always enjoy seeing my stitched squares on the finished quilts.  The quilters are so talented.  And the squares are very colorful and bright. 

I have started on a sports square for my 14-year-old granddaughter, Allison.  It is a volleyball, with a net shown behind it, and the word Volleyball at the top.  I plan to add her school name, her volleyball team name, and maybe her name with a star beside it.  She just started playing this year on the 9th grade team and we think of her as a "star".  She has natural athletic ability, is tall and loves volleyball, and we hope to be able to watch her improve each year during high school and college.

When her square is finished, I will sew it on a three-ring binder cover I will make from volleyball material (got it today at JoAnn's). 

New Tote Bags for World of Charity Stitching

I finished (cross stitched and sewed) two tote bags for our charity, the Favor House, a domestic violence shelter here in Pensacola, FL.  I am working on another small piece, a little bunny rabbit to make into another tote bag for the holidays.

 

Teenager Square Finished for Love Quilts

This is the new square I finished for Love Quilts, the teenager theme.  It worked up fairly fast and I didn't have to do a lot of frogging.  I did make a few changes in the pattern - left off a couple of items that didn't look right.  

I had said in my last post that I wasn't going to sign up for any more Love Quilt squares until after the first of the new year; however, they are asking for a few more stitchers to complete two pending quilts - one is a sports theme and the other is a flower/insect theme.
I found a cute little sports square - a soccer ball and cleats, that I should be able to work in between/while I am working on the World of Charity Stitching squares, bookmarks, and pieces for totes.  I also have to make some of the totes, but should have plenty of time - just need to get in gear. 

I made a cute tote for some little boy who might be in a domestic violence shelter during the holidays.   We are planning on making totes for the 20-something children who may be in the shelter during the upcoming holiday season.

Fabulous Foods Love Quilt square finished

The fabulous foods Love Quilts square is finished!  Yeah!

I've already started on a new LQ square called "Teenagers".  It is a montage of things you might find in a teenager's room.  So far, it is going fairly well - no major mistakes.  I got a lot of stitching done at my granddaughter's all-day volleyball tournament this past Saturday. 

This is  my last commitment for LQ for this year.  I plan on continuing to stitch for this worthy cause; however, I may not sign up for quite so many.  It feels like I am trying to hurry up the stitching so I can complete the square in time for the due date - feels more like work than a liesurely passtime. 

Almost Finished the Foods Square for Love Quilts

I've been stitching long hours on the Fabulous Foods Love Quilts square and am almost finished.  I have one more small part to cross stitch and a little back stitching and then I am done, finally.  I had originally thought to stitch a loaf of french bread, but am so tired of this piece that it is not going to be stitched.

After this piece, I will try to start on a birth announcement for one of my nieces, who had a baby boy the first part of September.  They have decorated his room with old-time WWII airplane wallpaper and I am piecing together a pattern with a couple of airplanes,  and  a poem that my husband composed for baby Nathan Michael.

Still Working on the "Fabulous Foods" Quilt Square for Love Quilts

This is the update from last week when I started the wheat bread; I've finished two other breads, the Raisin Bun and the Sesame Seed Roll. 

I am getting really tired of the monotonous colors, but I have already committed to stitching this one and am half-way finished, so I will have to make myself finish it.  I think once it's done, I will be happy with it, but it is one I will never do again.   Sure wish I had a turbo needle (or that I could do the stitching while I am sleeping).

Staying Motivated: Two Love Quilt Squares to Start and Finish before Dec. 1

There are two Love Quilt squares that I need to start and FINISH before December 1st.  One is a theme for Fabulous Foods and the other is Teenagers.  I found a nice freebie chart that I have pieced together on graft paper of several different types of breads:  rolls, wheat bread, french bread, cinnamon bun; I had to count and re-count several times to get the small pieces centered and in some type of order.  I hope it will look okay once I'm finished.

I took one of the charts to the bowling alley to start stitching-almost made us late due to cutting the cloth and getting the floss organized, but I did finish the loaf of bread and it looks okay so far.  Here's a picture of it, but I will post a picture of the completed piece later on.

Signing up for squares to stitch for the quilts and/or for World of Charity Stitching keeps me motivated and helps me to finish my projects - otherwise, I might have a lot of UFOs.  I usually like to complete a project before I start another one, though sometimes I do smaller pieces such as bookmarks or cards in between the larger ones.

Finished a Bookmark and Eyeglass Case Piece for WOCS

Over the weekend, I started and finished stitching a bookmark for a man:  an owl with baby owls.  I'll try to finish it up with the sewing and fringing sometime this week. Also finished a cute little saying with butterflies and flowers that I'll be making into an eyeglass case for a lady at the senior citizen's center that our charity supports.

I plan on gathering the floss and material for another bookmark or eyeglass case so I can start on it tonight while I "watch" television.

Will post the new pictures when I am done with all three.

Laborador Puppy Finished for Love Quilts

I finished the Love Quilts square for Carrie R., one of the children the ladies of this group are stitching and quilting for.  She loves dogs and has a brown Lab, so I thought this puppy was a good one for this quilt.  It's not due until October 15th, so I am really early on this one - don't know quite how that happened, but it's good because now I can start sooner on the one of the other two I have signed up for with Love Quilts.  I seem to sign up for too many of these squares sometimes, mainly because I enjoy stitching for this group and also they have a lot of variety with all the children they help with their beautiful quilts.  There are so many sick children who need something special made just for them.

New Feature-Webshots slideshow of stitching

I have downloaded my personal stitching Webshots slideshow feature at the end of my blog to show some of my work that I have finished for the various charities for which I stitch. 

I had tried to place the slideshow on the right side of the page, but it was too large and didn't look right.

This idea is one from another blogger site that I viewed-can't remember which one, but thanks to the mystery stitcher for the slideshow idea.

Delivered Three Squares to Bonnie C.

Today I delivered three stitched squares to Bonnie C., one of our quilters for our charity group, World of Charity Stitching:  the King of Spades playing card, the Larkspur Floral Beauty and the Antique Cars.  These will be made into lap quilts for the seniors of a nursing home where we donate our quilts.   I can't wait to see the beautiful colors that Bonnie will choose to compliment these squares.  The quilts are usually made of six to nine squares stitched by several members in our group. 

The Lab Puppy Square for Love Quilts

The Laborador puppy is coming along well.  There are a lot of shades of brown in this one and a lot of thread changing.  I haven't had to do a lot of frogging, thank goodness, as I really hate to pull out the threads.  I hope to finish this one next week, so I can do some bookmarks for WOCS.  I have two more Love Quilt commitments, besides the Lab puppy, and am planning on signing up for one more, a Flower/Butterfly theme, but it is not due until Feb. 1, so I should have plenty of time to start and finish all the Love Quilt squares.

I'm almost finished with this piece, (August 29th) but had to make some modifications to the flowers and leaves.  Also, I still need to do the backstitching, which shouldn't take too long, I hope. 

Finished the EMS Larkspur Floral Beauty for World of Charity Stitching group and Started a New Square for Love Quilts

I finished the EMS Larkspur Floral Beauty over the weekend and started on the new Love Quilts square. Will post a picture of the EMS square as soon as it is washed, dried and ironed.  These designs are very easy to follow and don't take a lot of time to complete, especially with changing the floss colors all the time.  I love these EMS designs and will probably stitch more of them as time permits.

The new Love Quilts square I signed up for is a Laborador puppy on a windowsill with some geraniums in a flower box.  I think it will make a very nice square for the quilt being made for the little girl who loves dogs.  I had a hard time picking out an appropriate pattern, but found it finally in one of my older pamphlets.  This one has two dogs in the window, but I have shortened it down to just one, as it would have been too large for the Love Quilts requirements.

I had done a beautiful piece from these patterns several years ago for a friend who had three Laboradors living in the house with them.  The pattern was one with three dogs in a field.  I didn't take a picture of that one, like a lot of my work in the past, but now that I am keeping a record, I will take a photo of my new one for Love Quilts.

Started a New Square for World of Charity Stitching Group

Yesterday I gathered the floss for a new square for WOCS and the floss for a square for Love Quilts.  I will try to do several days worth of stitching on one and then switch to the other.  The Love Quilts square is not due until mid-October, so I should have plenty of time to finish both.


Our group has signed up for a quilt to be donated to a woman at a nursing home made up of beautiful squares designed by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, which are the Flower of the Month freebies.  Her website is http://www.maurer-stroh.com/; there are lots of great freebie patterns. 


The ladies of our group have chosen the squares they wish to stitch and one member, Vicki, has already stitched hers and posted a picture - a colorful square of Violets. 


I have chosen the Larkspur chart, which is various shades of blue.  I started this morning while sitting on the back porch again, but had only a little while to stitch before we left for our exercise of playing senior volleyball.   I stitched a little bit before dinner (husband cooked tonight - yeah!) and will do some more stitching while "watching" television tonight.

Working on a WOCS Transportation Themed Square

I'm working on a new square for WOCS, which is going to be made into a lap quilt for a senior man.  It will be a part of five or six other squares made by the ladies of our group and sent to Bonnie, one of our quilters, who will make it into a beautiful quilt using her very special skills.   The one I am doing is from a freebie pattern made of six different small antique cars, but I changed it a little bit and am only doing five of the cars.  It has to be a certain size to fit the quilt and the original pattern was too large. 

Can't wait to see all the variety of squares made into this lap quilt.  I'll try to post a picture later when the quilt is finished.

I finished the Antique Cars square, washed, dried, ironed, and scanned it, getting it ready to send to one of our quilters, Bonnie C. 

Finished the Baseball Pitcher

I finally finished the baseball pitcher and it will be mailed to Love Quilts on Friday, along with the Two Foxes in the Snow piece.  Love Quilts is a wonderful organization that makes quilts for sick children, ones with life-threatening diseases or ongoing dibilitating illnesses. 


The stitching on the face of the pitcher is not exactly the way I would have liked it, but that is the way the pattern was made and I didn't know how to change it to make it more realistic.   This is one pattern I probably won't make again, as there are lots of other freebie patterns on the internet, plus I have some magazines with sports charts in them.

Beautiful Day in Pensacola

This little fairy was stitched for Love Quilts for the American Cancer Society quilt to be auctioned off to raise money for cancer research- stitched in June 2010

It's a beautiful day in Pensacola today; did a little bit of stitching on the back porch this morning before it got too hot and before we went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel, a special treat. 

Almost finished with the stitching of the ball pitcher, except for the face, hat, and ball glove.  After that, it's back-stitching (ugh), though I usually take the material out of the hoop or q-snap and stitch by hand; it is easier, goes a lot faster, and I can't tell any difference in keeping it in the frame and doing it the lazy way.   Someone once told me I was "cheating" by doing it that way, but so what?  Each of us has our own way of doing things - that's what makes us unique. 

Not Much Stitching Done Today

Today is Saturday, with the usual errands to run and we (my husband, Verdon and I) have a dinner and swim get-together scheduled tonight with some friends, so I won't be doing much stitching tonight either. Maybe tomorrow will not be as busy and I can get in some much-needed stitching time. I am working very hard on the baseball pitcher and have most of the body completed. This one hasn't been terribly difficult, so far.

Early Bird Stitching

This piece was stitched for World of Charity Stitching
and is now part of a lovely quilt made by Bonnie C.,
one of our quilters; it was donated to a nursing home.

Got up very early today (couldn't sleep), so I got my coffee, stitching basket and sat on the back porch, listening to the chirps and calls of the birds in our backyard while stitching.  I am currently working on a piece for Love Quilts, a baseball theme for a young boy.   The pattern (Cross Stitchers Club) is a baseball pitcher, winding up to throw the ball.  It has a lot of 1/2 and 1/4 stitches, which I don't enjoy, but it is going pretty well.  It is due to be mailed before the end of the month, so I really need to work hard on finishing it, so it can get mailed to the Love Quilts coordinator in time to be ready to go to the quilter.

First Posting

This is my very first posting on my first ever blog.  I really have no clue what I am doing, but I am going to do it anyway. 

This blog is being posted mainly so I can tell about my stitching and the wonderful internet stitching group I belong to.    I have been stitching since about 1985 and am a self-taught stitcher.  Many mistakes have been made along the way - lots of frogging, but persistance has paid off. 

I am currently donating most of my work to charity, as I belong to a wonderful group of ladies, a Yahoo Group called World of Charity Stitching.  Our Yahoo website is:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WOCS
Anyone wishing to join can go to our website and request to join.