Our 2010 Dallas Cowboys Ornament

Christmas Hearts by Just Nan
Stitched over 2 on 32 ct. Antique White
with DMC and overdyed threads
embellished with beads

Every year, my husband and I add another Dallas Cowboys ornament to our Christmas tree. (You can see Emmitt Smith's elbow in the photo above) We have an entire section dedicated to these ornaments - we call it Cowboy Land. They're not all specifically Cowboys ornaments - we have a few assorted stars, mostly blue and silver, and a blue and silver angel hanging along with them.

I stitched this piece a while back in more traditional Christmas colors of red, gold and green, but had this color combination in mind for our own tree. Since the Cowboys use two different color combinations (one dark blue and white for the jerseys, silver for the pants, and the other white and light blue for the jerseys, and a lighter blue for the pants), I wanted to include both color combinations.

I used WDW Peacoat and Pewter for the dark blue and the grey around the border and a silvery grey DMC Rayon / Satin S415 thread for the hearts. The lighter blues are DMC 824, 826 and 827, and the other shade of grey is DMC 415 with a strand of opalescent blending filament. For the beads, I just used a silvery lined seed bead from the craft store and sewed them on with matching thread. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but the beads do add a pretty sparkle, especially in the light from the tree.

I finished the ornament with a painted wooden embroidery hoop as I described in the post about the first Christmas Hearts ornament. I picked up some dark blue ribbon at the craft store and mixed up a little bit of acrylic paint that I had to match. Once again, I am a big advocate of sanding the hoop before painting to make a much nicer finished product. Some fine grit sandpaper and a damp paper towel can make a huge difference in the hoop's appearance, and it's well worth the extra effort. To finish it up, I used two light coats of matte varnish, available alongside the acrylic paints at the craft store.

As a side note, we did purchase the Tony Romo Hallmark ornament when it was released, but it will not be allowed to join the ranks of the two Troy Aikmans (yes, we have two) and the one Emmitt Smith already hanging on the tree until Tony can bring home a Super Bowl. Sadly for us, it won't be this year, despite our high hopes at the beginning of the season.

Who has two thumbs and won't be stitching any more Stoney Creek?

This girl!

Mind you, a finished Stoney Creek is a thing of beauty (and a joy forever), but I will just enjoy looking at them from now on. In fact, I've deleted all the Stoney Creek charts from my wish list. What prompted this oh so bold move? This bad boy... The Selkirk Lighthouse in NY.


This was my contribution to Kathy's Lighthouse Round Robin, which you can read more about on her blog. This piece was years in the making and Kathy is relieved to have it home, and rightfully so.

The pictures are impressive, but I'll tell you, it's nothing like seeing it in person. It will be a genuine treasure when it's completed and framed. Of course, if a piece of stitching could talk, I'm sure this one would have some not so nice things to repeat from the stitchers who worked on it. LOL According to Kathy, I wasn't the only one that may or may not have repeatedly cursed, grumbled, mumbled and cursed a little more while stitching it. The color changes are a bear, but the result is undeniably worth it.

Kathy did warn me that it was going to be a major undertaking, and I thought... "Really, how hard could it be?" Kathy, you were right. Also, I bow to your mighty power to command the respect and friendship of multiple stitchers - truly you are well loved by your fellow stitchers. I can't wait to see it finished and framed!

I was the last stitcher (besides Kathy herself) to complete a lighthouse, and lo and behold, in the remaining charts, was the Selkirk Lighthouse, a lighthouse I have visited myself. To be honest, it's hard to find a chart of a lighthouse in the US I *haven't* been to, though. As many of you know, DH and I are deeply interested in lighthouses and yes, have planned vacations around visiting them. One of these vacations was a spur of the moment road trip to the Great Lakes over a 4th of July weekend a few years ago. We started in upstate NY and worked our way around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to just over the border in Ohio. Selkirk happened to be one of the very first lighthouses we stopped at.


One of the most unique things about this lighthouse is the "birdcage" lantern. It's one of four remaining birdcage lanterns in the US and dates back to the early 19th century.

When we were at the lighthouse in 2007, it was for sale (along with the adjacent marina). Apparently it is now once again open to the public and available for rent by the Salmon River Marina.

Fair and Square Exchange with a New Member

I had the pleasure of being paired up with new F&S Member, Diane M. Diane doesn't have a blog yet, but hopefully she'll start one soon (hint! hint!)

Pattern Available at The Floss Box

Just a word of warning if you head over to the Floss Box site - there's a TON of awesome patterns Emily has created. You could end up browsing for hours and wind up with a whole bunch on your wish list. The nice thing is that Emily has a wonderful freebie collection she's offered up (yes, I've saved most of them). And the patterns available for sale will cost you as little as $.80 for a digital download. $.80!!!! Unbelievable!

So I took these squares into my dining room, which has the best light most of the day. The walls are painted a dark blue (yes, I know they look kind of black in this photo), and even just walking into the room with the squares, I could see how perfectly they go with the color. Since we have nothing hanging on the walls in there yet, and I have no idea even what I want to do in there (other than the paint color), I think I am going to have to figure out a way to display them in that room. The colors Diane selected just POP with the wall color. There's also a good chance they can end up in the adjoining living room, also painted blue.

In case you were wondering, the walls are painted with Behr paint in a Benjamin Moore Color called Evening Dove. Home Depot has the color codes for BM colors in their computers.

As to my contribution to the exchange, I was in a fall stitching mood and selected Pumpkins by Little House Needleworks. Luckily, Diane's likes included LHN AND Autumn themes. She also mentioned in her profile that she liked to make decorative pillows to hang on door knobs, so I think this will fit the bill perfectly.

Round #21 to Diane M (no blog)
Little House Needleworks / Crescent Colors Fruit Series - Pumpkins
Stitched with included threads on 32 ct. Antique White

Who do you stitch for?

I've stitched and framed a number of pieces for other people, and I'm always happy to see them hanging on their walls. I'm very careful about who stitch for and what I stitch for them, as so many hours go into each piece, and the cost of the materials adds up. I want to make sure that the gift fits the recipient, that I pick something meaningful to them, and that it ends up being something they WANT hanging in their home. As you all well know, it ain't easy.

So you'd think I'd have more pieces of my own hanging on our walls. Surprisingly, we don't. The Rocky Point lighthouse my husband stitched and had framed is still floating around, waiting for the perfect spot to hang it. The wedding record my husband and I both stitched? In a drawer, along with a Peas in a Pod piece I stitched and framed for his Valentine's gift one year, also waiting for a home.

Part of the problem is renting for so many years. We never hung a lot of stuff up on the walls, and even though we've been in our house for over two years, we've yet to hang up any of our stitching. Mind you, I have grand plans for several pieces, including some fruits and roosters in the kitchen (it's not as country as it sounds), more birds in the stairwell, some Celtic pieces in the front entry, and some other pieces upstairs. Some of it's stitched, some of it's just ideas in my head. With the exception of the pieces I mentioned aboved, none of it's really come to fruition. Yet. I'm getting there.

So, my point. I have a whole lot of questions.

• Who do you stitch for? Do you stitch more for yourself, or for gifts?
• Do you stitch with a finishing idea in mind, and do you favor one technique more than any other? (For instance, do you mostly stitch ornaments, or are you more of a framed piece person?)
• Do you display your finished pieces in your environment (home, office, etc.)?
• Do you automatically think "stitch" when it comes to a gift, or are you particular about who you will stitch for?
• How do you choose what to stitch for someone else?
  
• Have you ever had a gift rejected, or received in a way that hurt your feelings or surprised you?
• Is there someone you enjoy stitching for, or someone you will never stitch for again?

It's a jungle out there, baby!

So apparently jungle themes are pretty popular for nurseries these days. Given the outrageous price of bedding and accessories, I can see the attraction in picking a gender neutral theme that would be good for more than one child.

I am currently working on my third jungle themed birth record, Jungle Babies. I started it in June while on vacation and the relative simplicity of the pattern brought back a lot of my stitching joy, which had taken a beating with a recent Stoney Creek Lighthouse. Don't get me wrong - the lighthouse is utterly amazing (I'll show you in another post), but it showed me that I am not a Stoney Creek type stitcher.

Back to the birth record. Here is is before I started the backstitching, which is in progress now.

Cute, isn't it? It's a gift for a friend's little boy. In fact, I happened to be sitting down the shore, stitching away, while she was hundreds of miles away in labor for a day and a half with the little guy. So far, I have 3 of the 4 animals backstitched, and I need to get moving so I can finish it up. I try to backstitch at least 1-2 lengths of thread a day, but it's hard when there's a couple other projects I'm also working on, one of which involves a variegated thread that is really something to see. (I know. I am teasing you.)

And these are the other two jungle themed pieces I've stitched over the last few years.

This is from a Janlynn kit called On Safari, and was the first time I stitched with floss on plastic canvas. I love the way it came out, but again, the backstitching was tough. The piece was originally intended to be a collage-like photo frame, but I printed the birth info on vellum and framed it behind the stitched piece, with a photo of the recipient in the middle. If you are interested in this piece, I have it listed on my For Sale or Trade blog.


This was another jungle themed piece I stitched, Safari Birth Sampler by Mary Stickley for The Coleshill Collection. As you can see, the recipient of this one just turned 2, and it's still hanging in his room. It's simpler than the other jungle piece I stitched, and I really enjoyed stitching this one. I substituted the fabric (the chart came kitted with Aida fabric and probably Anchor thread, as I ordered it from England)

Once again, I had to play around with the chart to fit in everything I wanted to get on there. (You can see how it's originally charted here). Since it was a relatively quick stitch, easy to personalize and very cute for jungle themes, this one will be remaining in my stash for a while. But if you'd like to order your own, I'd recommend Sew and So from the UK if they still carry the piece.

Housewarming gift for a friend

I Do by Bent Creek
Stitched 2 over 2 on Cream Sienna Linen

with recommended threads

I just got word that the package arrived, so I can share this with you. This is something I stitched up for my friend and her husband, who just finished building their home in Ohio. They've moved around a bit during their marriage, from PA to Montana, to New York to Ohio, but this is the first time they've moved AND built the house and the process was more than a little stressful. I wanted to send something pretty for them to hang in the new place, and this seemed to fit the bill.

It's the second time I've stitched this piece - I also did it as a wedding gift for another friend - and it won't be the last. It's a fairly quick stitch and frames up nicely. Last time I stitched it though, a regular 8x10 frame and a 5x7 mat worked fine. This time, however, the 5x7 mat didn't work quite as well, perhaps because of a difference in the fabrics I used. They were both 32 ct, though, so who knows? Anyway, the mat didn't look quite as nice, so I came up with what I thought was an INGENIOUS solution - ordering a custom cut mat to fit in an 8x10 frame that I had already purchased.

I had to do a little fuzzy math and work out the measurements so the mat would still fit in the 8x10 frame. I obsess about this part, measuring and remeasuring, making my husband measure it, then going back and remeasuring a day or two later. Don't ask. I know it's noticeable in the picture but you can't really tell in person that the mat has slightly different dimensions on the sides and top. If you weren't looking for it, you'd never know, and if you did happen to notice it, you'd have the good manners not to say anything about it. :-)

Next time I stitch it though, I am totally going to do this. (Scroll down to see the ornament Joan made for her daughter and new husband)

To Nick with love from Mommy and Daddy

I am very, very proud of this piece, as it's one of the few pieces I've stitched and framed AND hung on a wall in our own home. (More on that in another post). This is something my husband and I both worked on as a gift for our son. I stitched everything but the personalization before he was born, and my husband finished the piece by stitching in the name and the vital details.

Maine Fishing Village Sampler by Seguin Designs
Stitched 2 over 2 on Blue Dynasty Cashel fabric
with various threads
(name partially blurred for privacy)

We picked the piece from about a dozen options I found online. I never get hung up on searching for a specific birth record - I've changed a number of different charts to suit my needs. Of course, limiting yourself to just birth or wedding records can make the search less overwhelming, but you don't always find what you want, especially if you're not going for one of the more popular baby themes. I just look for something appealing that fits the theme, and figure out how to modify it from there, and if you look at the original sampler on the Seguin Designs site, you'll see I did quite a bit of modification.

In this case, my husband picked the Maine sampler because Maine is one of our most favorite places on earth and we hope to take Nick there some day soon. I also like that the piece was relatively simple, easy to modify and embodied some of my favorite "Maine" things including blueberries and lobster buoys. I even changed up the colors on the lobster buoys to add a little more color to the piece and more closely match photos of actual buoys I found online.

I stitched the piece while I was pregnant, and found the repetitive border to be rather soothing to stitch on those night when I was especially tired. When it was all finished, I ordered the frame from http://www.pictureframes.com/ and put my husband to work framing it up. Normally I would have picked a dark wood frame to coordinate with the furniture in the room, but everything else is framed in black, and I like how the black sets off the colors in the piece itself. By the way, if you're looking for framing materials, I HIGHLY recommend PictureFrames.com. They're a great site, their customer service is wonderful, and they have a very cool feature that allows you to upload a picture of what you're framing and play around with frames and mats so you can see what your piece will look like before you commit.

I have some issues with privacy which makes me feel a little uncomfortable sharing details of our private lives sometimes. However, I happen to be ridiculously pleased with how this room turned out, and wanted to share it. Especially since this room started out as what we called "The Princess Room" - pink walls, yellow ceilings, huge swirls, and gigantic flowers and butterflies painted onto the walls. Not really our taste at all, and definitely inappropriate for a boy.
As you can see, we went with a nautical theme, using Nautica William for the bedding, and hanging photographs of lighthouse and other beach / ocean related subjects on the walls. Well, except for the family pictures above the changing table. (Yes, I know it looks like it should be lower, but it's just out of the reach of a grabby little boy.)

One of the things I like best about the photographs on the walls is that most of them come from our own travels. There are photos from our honeymoon in the Outer Banks, from one of our trips to Maine, and also from Maryland and New Jersey.

Friends of ours gifted Nick with photos from their travels as well. Hanging above the chair are two photos from Massachusetts, taken and framed by my friend's very talented fiance, who has traveled all over the world taking photos.

Above the end table are photos of lighthouses and sailboats from another friend's journey to Scotland. (Yes, he did take those photos especially for me.) There is also a larger photo my husband took of a crab on one of our trips to Maine, specifically Bailey Island. You can't tell from the picture because we didn't think to use anything for scale, but the crab wasn't much bigger than a thumbnail.

I love this room. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house, and I love that it's a room that can grow with our son. I'm not a big fan of anything too cartoonish or over the top, so I am absolutely thrilled with how calm and serene this room is.

Fair and Square Exchange with Linda B.

I've met so many wonderful stitchers through blogging and exchanging, and on my latest Fair and Square exchange, I've had the pleasure of meeting Linda. I wish I could introduce her to everyone, but Linda does not have a blog.... yet (hint! hint!)

Linda not only sent me these beautifully stitched squares, but when she saw that I had collected most of the rest of the fruit series, she asked if I had something special in mind with them. I told her that I had planned on stitching them over one, possibly as a bell pull for our kitchen, so in addition to the chart, she included the rest of the floss from the kit.

Crescent Colors / Little House Needleworks Fruit Series: Apples

But Linda's generosity didn't stop there. A week or so after I received Linda's squares, Linda emailed me and told me she had picked up the last chart I needed, Cherries, at her LNS, and was sending it my way. The shop owner had removed the threads to sell separately and was trying to unload the chart. The threads - they're easy to come by, but these charts are getting harder and harder to find. Linda, I thank you from the bottom of my stitchy heart!
Now onto what I stitched for Linda. I had been admiring Sew Nautical from Carol at Istitchaholic for a while now, and when I read in Linda's member profile that she liked alphabets AND lighthouses, I knew this is what I would stitch for her.





I used a variety of overdyeds, mostly Crescent Colors, for the piece, and stitched it all over one on 32 ct. Antique White. (And by the way, how CUTE is that crab? I think that's my favorite part of the piece.) And I even gave the mermaid red hair, just like mine. Except hers didn't come out of a box.
This is another of my over one pieces. I love how they turn out and as long as I am stitching on evenweave, they're not that hard to do with good light and petite needles. But I figure I better get these in as long as I can still see them - I am sure there will come a day when it will be too much for me.
Linda and I have been emailing back and forth ever since, and I've really enjoyed this exchange with her. There are some really wonderful people participating in the F&S exchange, and I am so glad to be a part of it. If you'd like to get in on the action, Jill has been doing some housecleaning, and is opening up the exchange to new members. Head on over to the F&S Blog to make your application.

Fair and Square Exchange with April K

Why yes, it HAS taken me almost 5 months to post these pictures - from an exchange back in FEBRUARY. I'm not even going to make an excuse about it took me so long or why my blog posting in general is sporadic at best. Otherwise, it would be much like my last several posts.

Moving on....

These are the very pretty squares I received from April:

JBW Designs French Country Amour

Once again, I forsee something destined for a no sew cube, perhaps with a pretty red velvet ribbon and some silver / crystal embellishments.

As to my contribution to the exchange, when I read that April is a huge fan of Halloween, I knew I had the perfect design in mind. I have already stitched the butterflies from the Tantes Zolder website, and this was the motivation I needed to stitch the bats. Mind you, I am not a fan of Halloween, so I'd never stitch them for myself, but after seeing them stitched up at my LNS (Just Cross Stitch in Lederach), I knew I wanted to stitch them. (Speaking of Just Cross Stitch, I wonder if I can pester Carolyn to post a photo on her blog of her VERY cool version of this pattern, stitched on purple fabric and turned into a pillow with an awesomely fluffly black fringe trim....)

Bat Freebie from Tantes Zolder
Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. Antique White with GAST Raven 

NOTE: Above link updated March 2013 as original blog no longer online

You can't tell from the photos, but the Raven thread is a deep black color with hints of green in it. Perfect for these bats. And this is my attempt at being all fancy like and taking a closeup photo...

Something that's been bugging me....

"Oh, I don't have time for that. I'm too busy."

I can't even tell you how many times I've heard that over the last few weeks and it's been grating on my nerves. I know most people probably don't mean anything by it other than they are really busy, but I also don't think they realize how condescending it sounds. As if their time is more valuable than anyone else's, or that the things they're engaged in are somehow more worthwhile than your pursuits.

Guess what? We're ALL busy in different ways. Sure, I am a stay at home mom, but I'm still busy taking care of my son, taking care of the house, and taking care of my husband. I am our social director, appointment scheduler, personal shopper, etc. I am also the one that nurtures our connections to the world outside our immediate family - I talk to my in-laws several times a week, and make sure that cards and emails get sent out to the extended family on a regular basis. My job is 24/7, and I am in no way complaining - I am just pointing out that I'm busy too and what I do has value.

But sometimes when I mention facebook or email or some other social activity that takes place on line, it's viewed as less important than other people's activities. I know not everyone is as connected as I am, and that's fine. But it's driving me nuts to hear people say, "Oh, I don't have time for email or Facebook or whatever." I don't expect them to sit in front of their computer all day long, but whenever someone says that, what I'm really hearing is, "Communication is not important."

Email is not that hard. Type a sentence or two, hit send and you're all done. And I'm not even asking you to send an email out of the blue - I'd do a freaking jig if you'd just RESPOND TO A QUESTION I HAVE ASKED YOU. I don't expect immediate answers, but if you can't check your email and respond every few days (barring any extenuating circumstances like vacations or whatever), then maybe you shouldn't give out your email address. And yes, I know I can pick up the phone and call if it's that important, but I don't see the big deal about people responding to emails either.

I just had a discussion with someone who cancelled their facebook account, and while I understand the reasons for doing so, part of me was a little annoyed when this person said, "Oh, I don't have time for that, and if people want to get in touch with me, they know how to find me." First, I think it's a little self centered that people have to track YOU down if they want to have a relationship with you. And second, when I mentioned that thanks to Facebook, I've found some common ground with people I hadn't previously been all that close to, and developed some really nice friendships, it seemed as if that was immediately dismissed as unimportant. I'm sorry this person didn't have the same positive experiences I've had, but then again, I don't think she was trying very hard either.

Now before anyone gets on me about privacy and such, believe me, I know. Facebook isn't for everyone, and yes, it can be a time consuming pursuit. Anything online can be a time consuming pursuit, and some people are just uncomfortable with it. I understand that, but I do think that the "I'm too busy" excuse is just that - an excuse - most of the time. I think people are so conditioned to be busy, busy, busy all the time and make sure people know how busy they are that they don't stop to realize they have more free time than they know. It's always go, go, go, and yes, some of that is driven by technology and the ability to be "connected" 24/7. Some people want to disconnect, I get that. But I also think that maybe everyone's lives would be a little better if we turned that technology to our advantage and stopped to respond to an email or a facebook post and demonstrated we are interested in something other than our own lives.

End of rant.