And the winner is.....

First of all, I would like to say thank you to all who have entered my draw. To those of you new to my blog... welcome! If you didn't win this time... perhaps you'll be lucky next time.

Well, the consensus was that most everyone liked Birdie #3.... funny, I thought pink was a hot item.....

I asked my DH to pull the winner for me...



and the winner is.....

Kay!

Kay says the tradition for her each Christmas is to make dozens and dozens of Shortbread cookies that she gives away to many friends and family!

Enjoy your birdie Kay!

Season's Greetings!

Peace, love and joy!

Better to give than to receive.

'Tis the season! Are you in the midst of Christmas preparations, or is it still too early for that?

I've been doing some Christmas stitching ... I can't show them off yet because they're pressies. I stopped stitching because I needed a break, but I made these and I can show you them... there are quite a few, similar, but all different... (click image for a larger view)...


Balls #1, #2, #3


Birds #1, #2, #3, #4, #5
Hanging #1, #2, #3, #4

What do you think??? Are any of them worth giving away... would somebody want one? Would you want one?

If you were to wait for me to reach a hundred posts... you'll probably have a long long wait, so, in the spirit of the season, I have decided to give one of these away! I'm not sure which one yet... but perhaps you can help me decide. There's a couple of things you'll need to do to get your name into the draw, and they are....

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Tell me which ornie you'd choose if you could (by Item # please).
3. Tell me where you're from - I'd like to learn about who's visiting my blog, and if you have any special Christmas traditions in your family or country.
4. If you've been on my follower list before this posting, or are one of my regular posters, and you leave me a comment, I'll put your name in again just for your loyalty.
5. If you post about this giveaway on your blog, let me know, I'll check it out, and you'll get your name in again.

I'll be making the draw sometime next Sunday, November 22, 2009. Yup, short draw, but really, how long can it take for you to decide if you want one or not?!

Peace, love and joy!

My friend's having a blogaversary!

My dear friend Liz over at "Liz Moments" is having a giveaway... it's her 100th post. Congratulations Liz! Pop on over to see her.

All thumbs!

Well, I may be back, but I can't say I've got anything new to post... actually, I have been stitching, but unlike last year where I tricked a few people by showing bits and pieces of what I was working on without them having any inkling it was for them... I think if I show anything, this year they might just catch on, VBG!

That is, I've been stitching on some Christmas pressies.... so I don't want to give it away... I'm anxious to be able to post some of my work for you to see, but you'll just have to wait.

On the other hand, I've also been busy continuing to get ready for winter around here... covering ornaments, fixing water lines, and mending fences.

But it's my mending the fence that I'll post about here... where I keep my horses, I have a natural fence of rails and posts (well the posts aren't natural, but the rails are)... I've become very good at doing the fencing, ever since I got the horses, I have done a lot of digging post holes and fashioning the rails myself... after all, you can't always wait for DH to help, you've got to be a little independent... anyway, usually I am very good and never hammer my thumb... well guess what, I hammered my thumb! Ouch! But I persevered and kept on working....


I took this picture as soon as I got home, and it doesn't look as bad as it felt, but by the end of the week, the thumb was purple all over and my nail now has a black spot....

All for the love of my boys....


It hasn't hampered my sewing abilities, thank goodness... but I hope it doesn't happen too often.

Hugs.

The absent blogger is..... back!

Hello all my loyal followers!!! 'Tis the season for me to make a return to the world of blogging, not that I have abandoned it totally, I have visited my friends' blogs, I just haven't been posting myself.

I have discovered that I am definitely a "seasonal" blogger. Summer is just way too hectic for me to make any posts.... especially when you are not on high speed internet where everything takes so looooong to do, and with nothing creative or interesting to show you.... well....

But, no matter, my world is good and I am hoping to make some decent posts over these upcoming winter months when more of my time will be spent in the cozy indoors beside a nice warm fire! So here's a summary of the months I have been gone.....

I can't say I have done a lot this summer, definitely no stitching or anything creative has been accomplished, but yet, I seem to be much more busy in my so-called semi-retired life than I was when I worked full-time in the corporate world.... I just can't figure out why... perhaps it is because I can't spell the word "no" never mind pronounce it!

Over the last few years I have somehow been roped in to accepting two part-time jobs (one is for two months in the summer only) - this summer, these two jobs, due to a couple of unfortunate incidents, ended up having me working full-time for most of the summer - on the bright side - I have been able to use my earning to pay for my "hobbies" without having to convince my DH that I "need" some extra supplies, LOL!

In my part of the world, Spring came very late, and the summer has been mostly a wet one, lots and lots of rain and thunder/lightening storms... leading to power outages and fried phones! Summer finally arrived in late August and early September, only to turn very cold quickly with below freezing weather in late September to snow on the ground already here in October. This weekend has been one of our nicer fall weekends, the snow has melted, and I have been able to get some of the final outdoor winter preparation work accomplished.

I didn't work on my garden at all this summer... the flower beds suffered, and the vegetable garden is one large weed bed... but I did get a few blooms from some of my perennials. In fact, my daylilies did not even start blooming until September, and sadly, they were rewarded with some of our very lovely early cold weather.... who knows how they will fair next year after this year's shock!

We were able to spend what little nice weather we had enjoying our beautiful little lake....

One of our favourite anchoring spots....

Their favourite pasttime....


Well.... that's probably a long enough re-entrance back to blogging... next post I'll show you some of the perennials that did bloom... the only bit of colour in a rather drab summer.

Thanks to all my friends who, due to my lengthy absence, contacted me asking if everything was ok. Indeed, everything has been okay... just rather hectic as usual!

Hugs.

Breaking the rules

OMG! I am breaking my own cardinal rule.... I never post on a giveaway unless I have previously posted on that person's blog... I don't want to be a "one-time poster", but seeing this on a Liz's site, I just had to check it out, and wow!, I am glad I did... so I have entered the giveaway and intend to follow Kellie ... what fantastic work!


Now could you pass up on this giveway either????.....

Yes, it has certainly been a long while since I've posted, and it will be a little while yet before I have anything worthwhile to talk about or show you.... just way too busy, but, I just couldn't get past this giveaway.....

It's been a pretty hectic summer around here - I have been working full-time for most of the summer, things are finally starting to slow down.... not fully, but starting... I've had no time for stitching or anything else creative.... hopefully just looking and drooling over this lovely quilt will get my creative juices flowing and I will be back with something soon.

Hope everyone is having a great summer - sadly our weather has been very poor - almost all rain... can you believe it is almost September - our wild roses have developed their rose hips, but in my garden, my lilies are just starting to bloom - unbelievable year this year for my garden... oh well, I guess there is always next years.

Take care everyone... I'll be back soon.

Bears, bunnies and baby boys!

Well, I did promise to show you a few things I have been working on... I just can't believe that I started these things several months ago, and I finally just recently finished them.... life does not always follow our well laid out plans and time table, but seems to take on a path of its own.... but they are done and mailed out, sent to a very special little person... my sister's first grandchild and a new grand nephew for me... I only hope he gets to wear them at least once... babies grow so fast so quickly....

Okay, remember this little teddy bear????


...he became part of this...


...ribbon embroider on a blue old-fashioned romper made out of batiste.

... and this little blue bunny, seen as if you were looking at him from behind???


... well, he jumped onto this.... a sleeper...


... the bunny was an attempt at "fuzzy" created by using boucle BE threads, on flannel.

...and finally, it would not be perfect if I didn't throw in a little dress Stewart tartan (my clan tartan) into this....


... which became part of this....


...blanket, bib, sleeveless top and diaper pants....

...applique using a poly cotton blend fabric for bib and blanket with flannel; the little outfit is made from cotton poplin.

...and do you remember when I started this????





....well, it became this...


...a sweet lavender sachet, filled with lovely French Lavender. As most of you know, one of the properties of lavender is that it helps you to relax, therefore perfect for "sleepy" time.... of course, I made the back so it could be opened and the scent removed either for washing or in case it turns out that baby, like me, has allergies to scents...

...the image is one of my own drawings turned into embroider....


.... perfect for hanging on the crib...


... 100% cotton fabric with DMC embroider floos and perle cotton for the hammock.

All items were finished with french seams used in heirloom clothing.

...special gifts for a special baby! Welcome to the world Jason!