2012 Winter Smalls Exchange Received

Nestled in white tissue paper, I found the cutest little wooden box from Shelley T.  A stitched snowman, snowflake buttons and white chenille trim top this little box.  Shelley did an excellent job on the finishing too!

The item I stitched for the exchange hasn't reached it's recipient yet, so no pic until I hear that it's reached it's new home.

I'm Teasing You!

Last week I told you that I've been creating something.  I'm still putting the finishing touches on it, so I'm not ready to share it just yet.

How about a sneak peek instead?

What do you think? 

Give Away

Mary Louise is having a give away on her blog for having 100 followers. 

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Just a short update on my mom.  She's had the first treatment and goes for the second one tomorrow.  The side effects have been minimal so far, but with continued treatment, it's not likely to stay that way.  She's still having the hearing problem, but the steroid injections in the eardrum have helped the dizziness, so that's a GOOD thing!

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'

Another Finish!

"Joy"

Design by

Blackbird Designs

In My Mailbox...

My nephew's son just turned 10.  I love that he sent a thank you note, but I especially love what he wrote:

Right to the point!

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My creative mind has been working overtime.  I've been creating and stitching in my dreams and I've taken some inspiration from them to design a small piece.

A friend challenged me with a Pay It Forward task.  I hope to be able to show you more soon, but for now you'll just have to wonder what I've been creating, lol.

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'

A Month's Worth...

of medical appointments in one week!

As my mother's care provider, I am responsible for taking her to the doctor -- and she goes to the doctor for EVERY - LITTLE - THING!  She's been complaining that her ears are plugged and she "can't hear a thing".  Although, I know for a fact that she's hearing normally because I've "caught" her.  She decided she needed to go the ENT specialist to have her ears cleaned.  To make this long story shorter, the ENT did a hearing test (it was normal); he ordered a CT scan and a balance test both scheduled for this week.

Last week, during our first snow storm of the season, I had to take mom to have a bone marrow biopsy.  The cancer center is in a city that normally takes an hour and half to drive to.  There were no snowplows out that day, it was very windy and the snow was blowing and drifting.  The drive was sooo loooong and took twice as long to get there.  Coming home was even worse!

Had the follow up appointment with the oncologist yesterday.  My mom has a type of lymphoma that is progressing and now requires treatment.  Now we have the preliminary appointments for labs and x-rays this week as well.  Why couldn't they schedule these appointments for the same day? 

She starts the treatment next week and since there are side effects with the drugs, I will have to drive her and pick her up.  The oncologist said this isn't chemo, but when you hear the serious side effects, it's as potent as chemo.

A New Start

On a brighter note, I started on my second ornament!  I've completed my piece for the Winter exchange I'm in, but I can't show you that yet.

For now, I'll leave you in suspense as to which ornament I've started.  I'm hoping to show more progress next week.

Winter weather has arrived here in North Central Illinois and I'm wishing we'd get the spring-like weather back!

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'

1st 2012 Ornament Finish

I did it!  I have my 1st finish of the 2012 Ornament SAL.  I opted for simple finishing for this one.  Not sure why, but that's what my inner creative voice said to do, so I listened to that voice.

I like the quilt square I chose for the back of this ornie.  My photos don't do the colors justice, but the colors really are rich and vibrant.

I'm finding that my garage sale find of a bag of hundreds of simple quilt block squares is coming in handy.  I only paid $3 for the whole bag and there are 4 inch squares, 6 inch squares and 8 inch squares in all sorts of themes.

On to other things -- I have a winter small to complete for an exchange I'm in, so that's next on my list!

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'

I'm In Trouble...

I'm Pam and I'm addicted to stitching ornaments, especially snowman ornaments.  My 2012 Ornament To-Do list is long, very long.  But, but, but... I keep finding more ornaments to add to my list.  I haven't added them to my list yet -- however, I think a second list might be forming soon.

I was looking for some inspiration for an exchange I'm in and that's when I discovered so many more ornaments (and spent hours browsing)!

I also came across this.  I've never thought about creating a stitchbook.  What do you think?  I don't have alot of stitched pieces just sitting around waiting to be finished into something.  I have WIP's and UFO's and To-Do's, but usually the pieces I stitch are planned with a finish in mind.

Yulemas Exchange Received

Thank you Cecile for such a cute ornament and other fun goodies!

Check back in a couple of days for my first finished ornament!

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'

2012 Ornament SAL

Not that long ago I mentioned that I was planning on making 2012 the year of the ornament.  After some encouragement from Meari, we've decided to do an ornament SAL.   Some other friends have joined with us too!

I say the more the merrier, so feel free to join us too!

My list is so long that I've had to give it it's own page!  Check out my list by clicking on the 2012 Ornament To-Do List in my sidebar.   I haven't prioritized my list because that's too tough for me, lol.  Instead, I'm going to pick and choose based on what kind of mood I'm in.

Our SAL group has agreed to stitch one ornament a month and post it to our blogs.  Even though my list has over 100 ornaments, I'm hoping to be able to complete more than one per month. If I find other projects during the year that grab my attention, I won't feel guilty if I only get one ornament finished in a month.

I have decided to start with "Joy" All Dolled Up by Little House Needleworks.  You can see it here.  I am excited to get started on this and am thrilled to have some friends joining me!

Along with Meari, I've also asked to join The 2012 Ornament-A-Month-Challenge.

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'

2012 is Here!

I made it through my self imposed challenge to blog every day in December! 

It's now time to prioritize my list of ornaments to stitch in 2012. 

Until next time...
Happy Stitchin'