Aug ORT Report

Doh! I was so tired after work, I nearly forgot the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long. Here is my ORT collection for the New Moon. The teal threads from Peacock Cypher kinda took over but there are a few different colored threads at the very bottom.

I had an itch to stitch something new so I'm whipping out a Lizzie*Kate. Always great for an easy and fun stitch. This will be Boo Club's Brew. The fabric is one I dyed last year, almost tangerine in color. Fun!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

To The Top

I make you look at my stitching before letting you see who won the giveaway...

I made it to the top of Peacock Cypher! Once I am finished with this line of over-one lettering, I will need to check for dropped stitches. Then the beading. Lots of pretty beads! It will be such a fine feeling to move this WIP to the finished pile.

It took much longer than expected to tally the giveaway entries. Holy crows, I should know better to add so many variables into the draw. Anyway, I finally finished this morning and the winner is Virpi from Crossed Stitches by Virpi. Congratulations, Virpi! I will email you to get your address today.

Thank you all so much for entering my giveaway and for posting links far and wide. I'm now well over the 800 dreamed-for followers. Wow ~ thanks!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Best Brownie Recipe Ever

These are such yummy treats!

You will need:

1 box of Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge brownie mix.

Water.

Oil.

Egg.

Creation effort: minimal.

Preparation time: approximately 3 months.

Instructions: Purchase ingredients. Place box of brownie mix into the cupboard. Now, it's a little iffy. You need to wait until husband (or significant other) gets tired of looking at said box of mix languishing in the cupboard and bakes them. Mine took three months, your wait time might be shorter or longer, depending. See? I said they were easy! Almost effortless! Yummy too. Just wait & see.

I'm teasing, these brownies were actually made by me as a surprise for Dash when he gets home tonight. But every time we make them I do remember our very first box!

Just a little fun to tide you over until I can gather all the info needed to draw a winner for the giveaway. It might take a couple of days. I will try to hurry!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Freedom Isn't Free

Spc. Jordan Morris of Stillwater, Oklahoma paid the ultimate price on Aug 11, 2011. Although I never had the honor to know him, I thank him for my freedom. May God bless his family and friends.

My husband, Rick (aka Dash) is the Patriot Guard Ride Captain for Stillwater. He had the responsibility of leading the PGR yesterday, August 20, 2011 as they honored Spc. Morris and his family. A big job but he loved doing it. Dash had 257 motorcycles, trikes and their riders to guide. (The unofficial count was 288.) That is my husband saluting the family with his fellow riders behind him. 

The PGR in the funeral procession to the cemetery. That's Dash, on the first bike. You can't see it but bikes are still turning the corner waaay back. Wow, the Patriot Guard turned out en masse!



This video shows the riders traveling to the funeral site after being briefed on the mission. Many, many people volunteered efforts to keep the riders fed and hydrated during a long, long hot day. Thank you! Another big thank you to all the other Ride Captains and riders that assisted Dash yesterday.

Why does Rick use the road name Dash? Click here.

What are The Patriot Guard Riders? Click here.

Obituary for Spc. Jordan Morris. Click here.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

From My Gnome To Yours

An end-of-summer giveaway! Stitched items and Stitching stash are neck and neck in my poll.

I stitched up this little scissor fob and magnetic needleminder using parts of Bent Creek's Gnomes in the Garden Row. Isn't it precious? ABCD on the front and WXYZ on the back with Mr. Gnomes' lady wife on the needleminder. Stitched over one thread ~ these guys are tiny. I stuffed the fob with crushed walnut shells for weight. Pretty red scissors are included.

Design ~ Gnomes in the Garden Row

Designer ~ Bent Creek

Fabric ~ 28 count Monaco

Fiber ~ DMC 



To have a chance to win:

1. Leave a comment on this post. Everyone is welcome ~ I can mail anywhere.

2. You must be a follower! I only need another 26 followers to reach 800. Can you help?

3. Please leave your email address if it isn't available on your profile.

4. Those of you posting a link to my giveaway on your blog will receive an extra entry, indicate this in comments.

5. I will draw a winner sometime on Tuesday, August 23rd.

Good luck to all!

This giveaway is now closed.

The Winner will be announced as soon as possible!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

From the WIP Bin

After finishing the stitching on a couple of small projects last week, I couldn't decide what to do next. There wasn't anything seriously calling to me so I dug around in the WIP bin and came up with Peacock Cypher. This one keeps getting shunted aside even though it is fantastically fun to stitch and this (.) close to completion.

I was having such a great time with it! After work on Monday, I was really excited to get home so I could stitch. Life called. The kids (Jessie and her BF Matt) needed a ride home from the auto repair shop and ended up staying for dinner. Cooking, cleaning up, laundry started and I finally sit down to stitch when I hear a bit of a ruckus outside. Oh my, a thunderstorm and a doozy of one, at that! A few minutes later the electricity goes off. So much for stitching! Stillwater (and other places) had quite a bit of damage. The power was still off the next morning and I showered for work by flashlight! Have you ever tried to neatly arrange wet hair in a very dark room? Well, at least I was clean!

Crooked. Wrinkly. You will forgive me. You know the very second I finish posting here I'm going to be stitching, don't you? No, don't you ask me what the verse says! You must figure it out by yourself!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A Pillow Finish

I did a little bit of finishing today. After choosing a simple checkered border on my little crow-on-a-pumpkin design I got busy with another project and set it aside! I got it back out before the weekend and finished it off and decided if I didn't finish-finish it soon it might go undone. Can't have that. THAT pile is already big enough, let me tell you.

Design ~ Gather A Harvest (portion)

Designer ~ Lizzie*Kate

Fabric ~ 28 count Monaco

 Fiber ~ DMC

Try as I might I could not get decent photos today. 

I love my new Autumn pillow. This summer has been dreadful with heat and little rain. I am definitely ready for fall!

I had a question recently about how I get such neat corners. Are they? I suppose my sewing skills are improving, as this finish went together without a hitch. I am still no sewing expert! So, my inexpert tips are: I always use iron-on interfacing, if for no other reason but to stop fiber-fill from squiggling out. I sew each side straight up, not turning corners, overlapping to make a + at each corner. I trim the points off the corners, careful not to cut through the seams. On larger things like this I sew the bottom leaving a gap and use a blind stitch to close after stuffing. On smaller items I will leave the entire bottom open for easier turning and stuffing. Some things I over-stuff until it's rock-hard, others I will lightly stuff. This Autumn pillow was lightly stuffed.

Who likes giveaways? I'm thinking of having one soon. If you would answer my poll at the top right...

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox