Want to come stitch with me?

Hello fellow stitching/scissor/craft addicts! :-)

Next week, we will be having Thanksgiving at our house. Not only does this mean lots of family and friends coming over to eat or just visit, but it also means I have to clean the house super-duper good! Okay, so I don't really have to but my borderline OCD says I have to. Today I started with bathroom #3 (which is the smallest of the three) and my craft room (which is really a second living room but who cares, right?). Wanna see?

This is standing in the doorway of the room looking towards hubby's computer area (the desk on the left) and my computer/sewing/crafting area (the desk on the right), and the built-in bookshelves in the back (center) of the room:

The windows you see on the right are my garden/sun room. I did an excellent job of cleaning it out last week. That was one of those things that got terribly neglected while I was working. I got it all nice and neat...just in time for hubby and boys to pile firewood in there and make a mess exactly one day later. Oh well, after this post I will go sweep up the firewood bits that are on the floor. Besides, I think I'd rather have dry firewood and a nice, warm fire on a cold night when it's raining as opposed to no fire at all because the wood is outside in the rain. Don't you agree? Oh yeah - a real plus is that I didn't even have to help cut or haul the wood. So see? A little mess isn't all that bad. :)

Wait...did someone just ask a question? Ohhhhhhhh, okay...someone wants to see the shelves and cabinets up close. Well, here are the shelves:

And the cabinets below house much of my sewing stuff, like fabrics and patterns:

To the right is a doorway which leads to the little bathroom. Now isnt' that just too convenient? Ya' get all busy doing crafts and next thing ya' know...well, at least I don't have to rush all the way to the other end of the house to use the bathroom. (Note: There is a bathroom in the middle of the house but I try not to go in there because the boys use that one. Suffice it to say "eww". Trust me.) Anyway, 2 outta 3 bathrooms are always clean. Here is the one connected to my craft room:


To the left is my cross-stitch stash closet. It's a horrible mess because I've got tons of boxes piled on the floor. Shhhhhh, don't tell the boys, my mother-in-law, and my uncle because some of their Christmas gifts are hidden away in those boxes. Should the boys peek inside, they will just think it's crafty stuff. Hah! Let's keep that our little secret. *hee hee* Anyway, sorry for the mess but here it is:

Yikes! It looks awful but I promise when Christmas is over that it will look purdy darn tidy again. :) I love my stash closet.

Now when I put my back against the built-in bookshelves between the messy stash closet and the little bathroom, here is the view to the right:

The doorway on the left is the opening to the informal dining room. That is my mother-in-law's piano that she had since she was a little girl, my old National / Eldredge two-spool sewing machine, a bay window, lots of sewing goodies piled around, and a little four-legged table that belonged to my husband's maternal grandmother. They built that table together so it's extreeeeeeeeemely special. :-)

Looking to the left, here is what you see:

That's the door to the garden room / sun room, an old wooden rocking chair, my Clark's spool cabinet (NOT totally the way it's supposed to be but hey, I love it!), and a comfy couch to sit and visit on. (That's often where I go when chatting on the phone with Mom or friends. Both sides recline. Ahhhhhhhhh!) That big ol' square coffee table houses all of our CDs, board games, and family fun stuff, including photos. There are hours of great family memories and fun inside that table.

Oh, about that Clark's spool cabinet, here it is up close:

And sitting next to my comfy couch is a sign I fell in love with because it made me think of my dear firewood haulin' hubby: (Note: the carpet isn't really red...it's maroon like in the other photos. Actually, it's OU maroon. No, I didn't plan it that way. It was like that when we moved in and I think it's pretty so it stays. No college football carpet in my craft room, thankyouverymuch! LOL)

Thanks for touring my crafty area. Feel free to come sit a while, chat, and stitch with me. Wouldn't that be great?

As the holidays approach, a lot of people tend to get depressed. Not me -- I focus on what all I have to be thankful for. We are all richly blessed...sometimes we just have to search our souls to see that. Don't let the holidays get ya' down. :-)

Happy stitching, everyone! Thanks for stopping by.

"Button Tree" by The Drawn Thread

What a crafty day I have had! And it was a good crafty day, too...no frogs, no mistakes, no big headaches...everything went well. Gotta love that!


Over the last several days, I stitched The Drawn Thread's "Button Tree" for my mother-in-law. I didn't have just the right frame in my stash closet so decided to come up with another finishing idea which led me to my first flange pillow finish ever. Thanks to finishing instructions by Summer Louise Truswell in her book "Needlework from Stitch to Finish", here is the finished product:

I folded down the upper left corner for this picture so the coordinating fabric could be seen. The buttons are from a bunch of sewing stuff my mother-in-law gave to me that belonged to her deceased mother, so it has special sentimental value.

The other crafty thing I did today was make this no-sew double-sided fleece blanket for a friend's baby boy:

I made another one last week for the baby boy's twin sister but gave it to the family before I took a picture of it. Oh well, it's the same except the backing fleece is pink instead of blue.

Now I have the rest of the evening to go stitch and perhaps read a bit before going to sleep. We'll go to church in the morning for the first time in about four months so that should be refreshing. :)

Thanks for visiting and commenting. Happy stitching!

Stitching pictures galore and more!

Thanks to everyone who has welcomed me back and posted kind words about me quitting my job. It's not a big deal at all, I promise! And I'm really okay with it. Trust me...this is a good thing. :)



So while I was absent from Bloggerland the past few months, I did manage to get some stitching done here and there. Wanna see some pics? If not then you'd better leave now 'cause here comes a ton of pictures! LOL



First, I finished "Repair Shop" by Stoney Creek, woo hoo! Here it is before it was finished-finished:




And then here it is on the hanger (please pardon my hideous wall that desperately needs some TLC):



Second, I stitched a Halloween fob from a Shepherd's Bush kit. Here is the front:



And the back:



Third, I was also able to finish the Heart in Hand "Words of Wisdom" patterns that I stitched over one on 32 count Belfast Summer Khaki linen with the recommended Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Art Sampler Threads. I also used my beloved OTT light and a wonderful magnifier. *hee hee* So here is the finished piece:



And here it is inserted into a photo-frame box that I purchased at Hobby Lobby (at 50% off, of course, which made it only $10.00!):





Last but not least, I stitched a needlebook for my mother. The front cover is taken from a freebie design by Novalee02 and I charted the wording/borders myself. Here is the front cover with the needlebook tied closed with a black grosgrain ribbon:




The inside of the front cover:



The middle of the inside with two needles inserted into the plain black wool felt:



The inside of the back cover:

And the back:



And hey, guess what?!?!?! Our little Gingher family has grown by two more members! Mia and Elena have joined us. Here is the whole family (minus the plain chrome pair sitting by my stitching area as we speak):

Whew, I told you there'd be a ton of pictures! Hope you've enjoyed taking a peek at my finishes over the last few months. I promise to not be such a stranger. :)

Happy stitching and may God touch each and every one of you in a very special way. *hugs*

I'm baaaaaack!

Okay, so this will be short and sweet but I just wanted to make a quick post to say "hi" to everyone. I quit my job (long story) but at least I will have time to be a real person again. *sigh of relief*

Maybe this weekend will find me uploading pics and roaming other people's blogs I haven't seen in ages...

Happy stitching and I'll "see" y'all soon! I promise -- pics will be included! :)))