PIF for Deirdre and Tammie - Completed!

I finally completed my PIF obligations. I won a PIF from Yuko in July 2008 and had until July 2009 to get my own PIFs out to my three participants. One of them got out on time, to Michelle in Ireland. The other two? Well, you know what they say about good intentions.

I found out I was pregnant in February 2009 and had ever intention of getting those PIFs out and done before the baby arrived. Until I hit the wall of pregnancy exhaustion - my first trimester was brutal and I could barely keep my eyes open during my stitching times. But after months of feeling guilty for not getting my PIFs done and sent out, I finally got them finished and packaged up just before Christmas.

This is what I stitched for Deirdre (The Stitching Teacher):

Tudor by Karen @ The Cross Stitch Directory
Stitched over 2 on Weeks Dye Works Linen with WDW Calypso thread

Deirdre mentioned on her blog that she liked kalidescopes, so I picked this design and thread to create a kalidescope effect. It's bright for certain, but it's very cheerful and pretty, and stitching on the green fabric was fun - a nice change of pace from my usual neutrals. And because Deirdre had to wait so darn long for her package, I *might* have gone a little overboard to compensate:

I was able to find lots of neat goodies in Target, and I included some fabric and ribbons for finishing, a blank journal, a Christmas wreath stitching kit and a super handy fold up, reusable bag from Target (I LOVE these things - keep one stashed in my purse at all times)

I also raided my jewelry making stash and made a scissor fob with the initial D for Deidre. And I included 2 tiny little angels I made - one for Deirdre and one for her daughter, whom she mentions on her blog.

I confess, I was a little worried when I heard my first package had made it all the way to England within a few days of mailing, and I still hadn't heard from Deirdre about the one I sent her (in the US). So I sent her an email asking if she had received it yet. She replied that she didn't, but would ask her husband. As it turns out, the package did arrive, but thinking it was a Christmas gift, her husband stashed it under the tree! Luckily Deirdre let me know she got it and put my mind at ease.

Tammie (A Stitch in Time) also had a PIF coming to her

Mermaid Pattern from a German book I borrowed from the library
Stitched over 2 on mystery 28 ct. fabric with my own dyed threads

And once again, I went overboard to compensate for being sooooo ridiculously late.

I also included this scissor fob and beaded angel. I've read on Tammie's blog how important her faith is to her, so I went with an angel theme. And like Deirdre, Tammie's favorite color is purple, so I picked purple beads.

So my PIF obligations are officially concluded. Yay me!

PIF #1 made it safely to Ireland

I've been a little behind on my blog, and of course, I am going to blame it on Facebook. I have a few stitchy posts coming up, though - I have been stitching. Most of it has been secret stitching, and now that a few pieces have been received, I can share them on my blog.

First up is my first PIF gift for Michelle. Michelle was the first one to sign up for my PIF and I had a wonderful time putting together this package for her. I picked over her blog very carefully and discovered that her favorite color was purple and she loved butterflies, so I had a good idea to work with. These are the front and back pieces of the biscornu before they were stitched together. And no, that's not a stain on the fabric - it's some weird little spot that shows up occasionally on my camera lens.

Butterfly Freebie from Tantes Zolder, stitched over 1 on 25 ct. opalescent fabric with Belle Soie Silk in Elegant Eggplant.
The second block is of my own design, stitched on the same fabric with Belle Soie and DMC

NOTE: The above link has been updated March 2013 to a new site as it

 appears that the Tantes Zolder site is not functional

Now, I must confess that I had the pieces of the biscornu stitched up well before Christmas, but got sidetracked when it came to putting it together. Okay, okay, and I might as well ALSO confess that I didn't actually put it together myself - my DH was kind enough to stitch it together for me. What can I say? He's a scientist and loves these fiddly, meticulous projects. (Maybe "loves" is a bit strong, considering the dirty looks and occasional grumblings I got while he was stitching together my over one backstitching...). But he did stitch it together for me, then I did the button on the bottom. I didn't want to put a button on the top through the design in the middle of the butterflies, so I attached the button using the same silk and stitching through the design already in place.

Here it is all stitched up:

And now for the rest of the goodies I sent to Michelle.

I included some fabrics and flosses (2 of my own making), a few floss tag rings, drink mix and gum, a pretty soap, ribbon, a notepad, and probably my favorite goodie - a fold up shopping tote from Target. I love, love, love these reusable shopping bags, and have amassed quite a collection for my groceries, but I love this little one that folds up into the size of a wallet and tucks away in my purse. It's very cute, and quite handy too, especially for little things here and there that don't really warrant a shopping bag.
Michelle was quite pleased with her PIF and I am so glad she liked it. I had such a good time with this PIF and I am really happy with how the biscornu turned out. Now, on to my other two PIFs!

Go AWAY, frogs!!!

Seriously. Just because I am stitching predominatly green doesn't mean I need the frogs around to "help" me. I have stitched, unstitched, restitched, tore out and stitched this border on this piece and I am so over it. What piece, you say? Well, I can't tell you that. What I can say is that the first of my PIF recipents will be getting her package soon. I've been picking up little goodies here and there, and as soon as I get this piece stitched and finished, the PIF will be on its way. I've also started working on the second PIF, as I have been thoroughly scouring my recipients' blogs for ideas.

For US Shoppers, AC Moore has a 55% off coupon in their flyer this week, but you can also print it from their website. My AC Moore doesn't have too big of a selection of stitching stuff, but I did notice they're carrying the Crop-a-dile that everyone has been snapping up lately. (Go to their Store Locator for coupons).

Joann's is also advertising fat quarters for .99 this Columbus Day weekend as well.

My PIF Gift from Yuko

Yuko's blog was among the first I discovered when I started blogging, and I have admired her work (and her gorgeous pictures!) from the very beginning. When she offered up a PIF on her blog, I was absolutely thrilled to be selected as one of her recipients, and let me tell you, she DOES NOT disappoint!!!!

Just look at the lovely package she put together for me!!


Yuko included a postcard from where she lives, tea, fabrics, ribbon, buttons, a candle, the most adorable little spoon with a shamrock on top (and she didn't even know I am half Irish!), and most importantly, a gorgeous handstitched piece!!

Little Angel In The Clouds" by Heart In Hand
stitched on 32ct linen, by recommended DMC

You can't even believe how stunningly gorgeous and perfect her work is in person. Her pictures are lovely, but to see the piece up close is really amazing, and I am so honored to now own a piece of her stitching. Thank you, thank you, thank you, dear Yuko!!! I will treasure it always!!!!

Be sure to stop by her blog and check out the pictures she took - they're so much nicer than mine. Yuko has quite an artistic eye! Also, she's doing a second round of PIFs, with recipients to be chosen October 5th.

You know you want to...

Sign up for a PIF, that is.

Tammie (A Stitch in Time) is the future recipient of one of my PIFs, so she's looking for sign ups for hers. Why not stop on by and check out her blog, and perhaps sign up for her PIF? She's feeling a little down that nobody's signed up, and I think it would make her day. Remeber, PIFs don't have to be extravagent. I think a lot of stitchers get caught up in big exchanges and sending out all kinds of goodies, which, let's face it, gets to be quite expensive. You have a whole year to send out a PIF, and it doesn't have to be a huge package of goodies, but it is nice to be able to share your stitching with others, and pass a little goodwill on. Some days, this world needs all the goodwill it can get!

Shel (Stash of Sanity) is also in need of more targets, as is Danica (Navy Stitching).

As for me, I've been happily plotting away on projects for my 3 recipients and I'm looking forward to sending out their gifts. One of the things I like about doing the PIF is that all three who signed up are "new to me" blogs. I love that I have the opportunity to meet three more fabulous stitchers, and I've been enjoying their blogs as well. If you're not spread too thin, I hope you would consider joining one of the PIFs.

Yay! It's FRIDAY!!!

Boy, am I behind!! I have three Friday's Feasts to catch up on, as well as several SBQs. Not to mention I owe some actual stitching pictures on this, a stitching blog. I just haven't been able to get motivated to get the camera out and take some. I'm in the midst of a love-hate relationship with the camera and photography in general. Our camera seems to have an internal spot on the lens, leaving a dark shadow on our photos. Trouble is, it comes and goes; some pictures have it, others don't. I'm guessing it's probably time to get the camera cleaned, but it's been so far down on the priority list lately that I haven't made time to find out where to take it and actually get it done. Which means that I am spending quite a bit of time (and working up a good eye strain) digitally touching up some of our photos.

Which is another story in and of itself. I try to be very organized with our photos. We have an external drive, and every year, I set up a main folder for the year (2006, 2007, etc.) As we take pictures, I set up numbered subfolders to keep track of date and activity, and number them to keep them in order. Every six months or so, I burn the photos to CD, and once a year, I delete everything that has been burned onto CD from the hard drive. (After I make a second copy, of course) I'm a stickler for photos looking good, which means I do some retouching and fix all the red eye before I burn or upload photos. (My MIL thinks we have the most wonderful camera since she always looks so nice in our pictures!) With everything going on over the last couple months, the last thing I wanted to do was sift through all these pictures, so I just kept dumping things into folders. Now I have to go back and fix them little by little, removing that annoying spot.

Oh, and did I mention that my DH is quite fond of taking photos in TIFF format, which is nice because it gives me a good file to work with for touching up, but a pain in the backside because the file size is HUGE and takes a while to load. AND I have to convert them to jpegs before I can upload them. Yes, I do have quite a bit of work in front of me, since I haven't done anything more than take photos and offload the memory card into appropriate folders since last July. So there's a couple folders filled with pictures to label and touch up as needed, including almost 800 pictures from our vacation to Massachusetts last fall, and all the holidays since. Whew! You can see why I've been avoiding the camera.

In stitching news, I swear I have been making progress on Home By The Sea. My ornament projects, however, have really fallen by the way side. I can't even remember when the last time I stitched on an ornament was, and I feel terrible because one of the Bride's Tree sets I started on was for DH's cousin's wedding, which happens to be in about 2 weeks. I have exactly ONE ornament completed and "ornamentified", 2-3 more are stitched, and the rest of them are merely printed out charts. I suspect that I will wrap up the first ornament as a gift, with an IOU for the rest, to be delivered before the end of the year. I do believe etiquette gives a wedding guest up to a year to give a gift. I hope it doesn't take me THAT long. As for my own set, and the set I was working on for my best friend and her husband?? Well..... that's going to be a while yet.

I have one more PIF spot open. So far, I have two takers, Shel (Stash of Sanity) and Tammie (A Stitch in Time). If you'd like to receive a stitchy gift from me, post a comment and let me know, on the condition that you make the same offer on your own blog to send out 3 more PIFs. If you're on the fence, now's the time to jump. I have some plans in the works for Tammie and Shel that I'm very excited about. This is the first time I am participating in a PIF and I am really looking forward to it. If you're interested, let me know!

Pay it Forward....

I've been avoiding exchanges and PIFs because of the move, but now that we're more or less settled in, I've decided I want to get my feet wet a little.

A while back, I received a lovely bookmark from Barbara, my very first piece from a fellow stitcher. And just last week, I was picked to receive a PIF gift from the wonderful Yuko. If you haven't seen her blog, Be Happy!, yet, I highly recommend you check it out. Yuko creates some of the loveliest pieces and her blogs are a delight to read. I am so excited to have been picked to receive one of her gifts as I have admired her work for quite some time now.

And now for the fun part for my readers. By participating in Yuko's PIF, I have agreed to offer up my own PIF for three recipients. I will take the first three commenters (with whom I can get in touch) who promise to pay it forward as well and make the same offer on their blog. If I get more than three commenters, I will use a random number selecter to pick three commenters at random.