Start of Lent

My husband just celebrated his birthday as well. So many reasons why we both love February. Celebrating life with food, laughter and love is invaluable and the best gifts ever. Cheers to Mr. D!!! 

Well, after all the celebrations we are now offering our time and energy to our faith in Lord Jesus. Lent has already begun. Just like last year, I started a list of sacrifices that I can offer or share to others everyday for 40 days. Last Wednesday, a very dear person came to Church with me. She offered to drive me to Church so I invited her to join me. She is not a Catholic but she was deeply honoured to be seated there beside me... listening and acknowledging. Thank you Lord. 

This morning I received a very beautiful handmade "temari" from a very good friend. 

Shani made this herself. Mind you she is a newbie on this kind of craft... but look at how lovely her 1st piece is. I'm greatly honoured of being given a good luck charm for my birthday. Thank you sweetie! 

Do you remember the Worldwide Round Robin I joined last year? It was a success right? So then I joined another one this year. We started 1st of February and I have new group members of 4. We have a group page solely for our RR. 

These are the borders I stitched for my RR piece. The stitch count I'm in is 75x75. My green hand-dyed fabric is from Kelly aka Stitchnmomma from Etsy on-line shop. Her fabrics are awesome and affordable. She has good customer service and her products are all handmade. Go and check her shop now and you won't regret it. 

My theme is "letter A". I have always wanted to stitch the first letter of my name. I want the piece to look so girly so I used some flowery borders. There are a lot of French knots used. I love stitching these knots. 

I received an RR piece from South Africa. This was my 2011 RR group. And it will be the last square that I'm going to stitch. I just need to kit up my design then I'm ready for it. I'm sure I can finish it this week. 

I would like to show you the #2 order I finished for one client. 

I'm on to #3 order... then I can sew the pieces to make into lovely decorative pillows. 

Have a nice weekend everyone.... And in  your spirit. 

Happy Hearts Day!

Earlier on before my birthday, I have received a divine gift... but it was also taken away from me that same morning. It crushed me but I still thank God for answering my prayers. He has reasons and He knows best for everybody. I have to move on and celebrate life. Thank you Mr. D.

My birthday was not a blast but a blessing. I was pampered by everyone around me especially by my husband. Dinner was great at home when prepared with love and devotion. And of course, shopping makes my world go round! The best part of that day was when hubby asked me, "Are you happy?" I answered in a milisecond, "Yes. Thank you." 

Hmmm. It is Valentines Day after all so let me feel like Ana Scott for one day. Say cheese!!! 

This is my Valentines Day gift to my awesome husband. I hope he will love this just like the first framed heart stitch work I gave him last year. I decided to make it my hearty tradition for him every year. It will be a challenge and a routine that both of us will cherish. 

This is the finished piece of one of my Crazy Challenge projects (day 9 to be exact). It's called Alphabet Sampler by Better Homes and Gardens. I call it Heart ABC. The pattern is a freebie from the website. I re-started this last Feb 10 and finished it today, Feb 14. I made my own colour conversion to personalize it. The fabric is 28ct evenweave from Dove Stitch, hand painted purplish colour. 

I framed it myself. I bought a black 12x12 wall frame, alphabet sticker, black foam board and mat from Hobby Lobby. The colonial green mat was cut there too. I designed the mat this way so that my needlework would send some message to hubby... it reads (which I hope he will know), "AGD loves Travis". I do hope though that the stickers on the mat won't look so elementary. Well, this is actually my first attempt to do things on a mat to put colours and send messages to a stitched work. 

Yay! Honestly, my plan was to use the lacing technique on framing as you can see my piece is quite small so it wouldn't be possible. I then used some double-sided tape on the foam board. It worked! I was so gentle. And it was no-sweat! 

Time to spread some love everyone! Happy Valentines Day to all of you!!! 

Hello Feb!

February is finally here! One of my favourite months. My Red Month! 

I know I have been off-line for quite awhile. I had these post-holiday blues. Never thought it actually existed but I have experienced it and it was awful. With that said, hubby and I decided to plan something different for 2012 end of the year holidays... hoping the blues won't visit me again.

I'm sorry for these late pictures of my recently concluded 2012 Cross Stitch Challenge. Here they are:

Day 9: Alphabet Heart Sampler. This is a freebie design from Better Homes and Gardens. Just click the link and you can get the sampler pattern. The group members were encouraged to include this sampler on our 15. I love it so I included it as well. 

Day 10: Coffee and Cuddles designed by Margaret Sherry. I find her designs cute and charming. I'm stitching this as a Christmas present for a family member. 

Day 11: First Snow designed by Pollyanna Pickering. This is a UFO (UnFinished Object). I have blogged about this last year. This is for a friend as a birthday present. 

Day 12: Butterfly Scroll. A kit from Dimensions. This is the first cross stitch kit I have received from Mr. D. Another UFO.

Day 13: Bound by Love designed by Paula Vaughan. I also adore her "emotional designs". I'm doing this for my Mama. 

 

Day 14: Damask Roses designed by Nora Corbett for Mirabilia Designs. This is the very first MD so I opted to make this as my very first Mira work. Nora just like her mother is a brilliant designer. Currently, I'm aiming to complete her 118 MDs. I still need few months to complete the collection. 

Day 15: The Quilting designed by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. Another Christmas present for a family member. That's it! I have started and re-started 15 projects for 2012. And I did it "by-rules". Guilt-free! 

The other challenge is to finish all these 15 works this year. Guess what?! It's already February and I haven't finished even one yet. Geez!

I wanted to show you the finished order #1 I stitched for my current client. 

Yay! I know the name is quite long and it actually took me weeks to finish it. Now I'm working on order #2. 

Another finished piece I would love to share to you dear readers is my very FIRST World Wide Round Robin finished piece. 

This 50x50 evenweave piece was started November 1, 2011 and came back Home in January 27, 2012. Yes, it was a quick challenge. I really love my finished piece. I plan to frame it myself and hang it in our masters' bathroom.

Sorry for the flood of  photos. Start this Love month with some smooch... :-) 

New Beginnings!

Officially, Christmas season has ended yesterday. Thank you Lord for all the blessings especially the gift of Love, Patience, Faith and Hope. 

Time for New Beginnings for all of us... not only from within but also physically and mentally. I remember my Mom and maternal grandmother would diligently clean the whole house (inside and out) and if we can afford it they will change old stuffs to new ones especially the ones from the kitchen or dining room. I was taught that new beginnings should start with cleanliness around you. And I'm glad I learned that from two important women and mentors of my womanhood. I believe on cleanliness not only from within you but also AROUND you. 

After the clean-up, I wanted to make some new beginnings on my crafts as well. How can I do such a thing? I still have 3 UFOs (unfinished objects) in my box. Well, I have a confession... I joined a Crazy Challenge 2012 on Facebook. We are a stitching group of crazy or obsessed cross stitchers/ needleworkers aiming to finish 15 projects on 2012. But one of the rules is to start 1 project at a time for 15 consecutive days. It means you will be starting 15 new projects for 15 days. Then on the 16th day onwards you are on your own to finish them. (I know it's INSANITY!) That's why it's called a challenge anyway. The good part is I'll be starting only 12 projects because I can include my 3 UFOs which I did. 

I wanted to show you my progress on these Part I of my new beginnings.

Day 1: Butterfly Fairy, a Joan Elliott design. You know I love butterflies... she is perfect as my first big project of JE.  

Day 2: Butterfly Fairies, a Lesley Teare design (another of my favourite fantasy designer). This will be a Christmas present for 2012. 

Day 3: Flower Fairies All Seasons, a Mary Cicely Barker design (who will forget a great earlier designer like her?).

 

Day 4: Fairy, a DMC design. You know her... I feel bad not having time on finishing her. 

Day 5: 99, an Ink Circles design. I need to finish this first because it will be Mr. D's birthday present. I know he will love this. 

Day 6: Angel of Cross Stitch, another Joan Elliott design (isn't it obvious I love her designs?).

Day 7: Angel of Spring, a Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum design (I consider her my best designer of all time). Why? Not only are her earlier designs beautiful but they are all unique, impeccably perfect, intricately made, and a challenge for us stitchers.  

Day 8: Futurecast, a Teresa Wentzler design. This will be the smallest project but the most challenging  because of the blending filaments and threads, specialty threads, and lots of beads. Good luck to me! 

Watch out for my remaining progress on these challenge. I am actually doing pretty good. *a pat on the back. 

Part 2 of my new beginnings...

I learned from other stitchers about "ort" jars. It is a jar where you fill it up with unusable threads or left-overs. When it's filled-up you can use it as an accessory for ornaments or you can leave it for the birds to build their nests. Wouldn't it be so cool and awesome to find colourful nests on your trees? I so love the ideas of having ort jars so I started filling up one. 

Part 3 of my new beginnings...

You see a familiar design. I started my year with new made to orders from my Etsy shop. I'll be making three customized pillows for a nice lady. Already paid in full so I started order #1 last night. *doing the happy dance

More new beginnings coming up.... Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all prosperity and happiness. Embrace new life, new beginnings. 

The Time of the Year

I have been listening to Kenny G's Christmas songs since yesterday inside my craft room. I need more than that to feel the joy of this festive season. I miss my families and friends back home.... it hurts me to know that some people around me don't believe on this Christlike season. A pity on them... I'm glad though that Mr. D believes on my stories of Christmas... from childhood to adulthood. It warmed my heart to see the sparkle on his eyes when he is happy because I am happy. We both decided to celebrate Christmas in Church then lunch out. I thank my parents for showing me the spirit of Christmas as I grew up. I still believe in Santa. I know he is now a very, very busy jolly old fellow. 

Oh, yes I was busy too with my handmade presents. I am happy to announce that I am almost done with all the presents. Some of them were already shipped a couple of weeks ago. No answers yet from the recipients and I hope they appreciate the efforts and love my husband and me poured on them. 

These are the Christmas towels I stitched as presents for Mr. D's relatives. I love his family in Illinois and Missouri. They are sweet and thoughtful. I added one baby bib for a newborn cousin. He is the youngest cousin. So adorable too! 

I used this book of Lesley Teare, 101 Weekend Cross Stitch Gifts. The designs are cute and quick to stitch. Just what I needed. 

This is the big project I stitched for Mr. D's maternal grandparents. They are Christians and we both believe that they will love this work hanging on their dining room wall. I hope we are right. This is called "Be Present at our Table" designed by Sandy Orton. On close-up photo, I used some specialty stitches like lazy daisy and French knots. I love stitching specialty stitches because they make your works look better and detailed. Took me 2 weeks to finish this. I enjoyed it! 


I also want to share 2 finished RR pieces I have stitched.

This is an adorable "Snowman" designed by Linda Bird from Treasured Memories book of Craftways. The RR piece is owned by Nikki from South Africa. She likes it. 

Finally, this is the finished "Rose" that I have showed to you before. Designed by Joan Elliott from Floral Minis leaflet. The RR piece goes to Janet from Arizona. She likes it too. 


Right now, I'm working on some Christmas cards... not the usual ones that you see. I know I can finish this before Christmas. The recipients would receive them late but I'm sure they will love it. 


It's the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!! Merry Christmas everyone! God loves us and He gave us His only Son. Let's celebrate and be merry! 

Start of My Holiday Season

Life should be celebrated whichever way you want it to be. I want mine with my husband and our families. Birthdays are like Christmas. We can only give... and if we receive something back that's rewarding. Last Sunday was the beginning of Advent and since then I have been happier because I know I am going to make other people happy too especially the people I wanted to celebrate my life with. It is the season of Giving. 

Mr. D started giving away something for me. Last night he gave away his precious TIME. It's not that we are not together often... it's the way he gave it to me. Straight from work and tired, he drove me to town to view the Holiday Lights. He knows I love Christmas lights so much. It was a surprise. I know, I know... I'm a lucky wife. 

Hmmm... I hope even though I'm on my 30s now, my name is still on the list. I have been good Santa. Really I am! 

The joy of celebration involves intense preparation. And I am already stressed out. I still have a lot of stitching work to finish. I even postponed my holiday projects on my Etsy shop. If it involves needle and threads, I'm already happy and contented amidst deadlines. With respect to my clients, I have already shipped all my orders. So nothing to worry on that. 

This is the photo of my on-going project for the Tanners. I'm almost done. Just few more specialty stitches to add then it's ready to be rolled and wrapped. I have been rotating this project with another one. 

This project is for my current Round Robin. It's for Janet from Arizona. Her theme is floral and I chose to stitch a rose designed by Joan Elliott. It's almost done also. Just a few backstitching and french knots left. 

One of my Christmas gifts to myself is a subscription of cross stitch magazines. I started with Just Cross Stitch. Wow! After a few days, they sent me an awesome special issue magazine. 

Isn't it cool? Well, I love it. I only flipped the pages because I don't have reading time for now. And the designs are gorgeous and unique. I can only stitch one ornament for my 1 year old tree. 

I also subscribed for Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine. I still need 4 more subscriptions and Santa knows it, it's in my list. I won't be asking for some designer shoes and bags this time. It would be perfect to start the year with new subscriptions of your favourite hobby. 

Geez, tomorrow is the first day of December.