Life With Jules, and other stuff

I decided to post an updated picture of my progress on The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy . I will have it finished this weekend for sure! Here is the latest picture: I woke up this morning to find a wonderful surprise on my kitchen table: that huge giveaway that I won over at Cindy Mae's blog at the end of 2009! Yay!!! I am a bit overwhelmed with all of the goodies inside the package and so thankful to be the recipient of such a wonderful prize! Thank you so very much Cindy Mae!  :D Here are some pictures of my winnings:  Group 1  (you will notice that Cindy Mae included a small stitched piece and a couple of her cording)  Group 2  Group 3  Front of stitched piece by Cindy Mae. I just love it!!!  Back of stitched piece Even Sandy had to take a look at all of the stash I received! I am not sure what I want to do first, but there are a couple of front-runners for sure.  I will post another update on the finished Great Pumpkins tomorrow along...

The '68 Charger takes the lead! The original picture I am so very happy to say that this piece is finally done!!! I put the final stitches in it this evening. Here are some pics: Completed product - "Auto Focus" setting "Pinhole" Setting - this is showing the colors closer to what they really are. "Pop Art"  setting - just wanted to give you a vivid look! Notice the front end of the car. I personalized the license plate with my Uncle's name. Now, it's got to be sent to my mother so she can get it framed and deliver it to her brother on time for his birthday. I really hope he likes it! Now, I think I will either work on the Christmas Design SAL a bit, or prepare the fabric and begin the Ink Circles Cirque des Carreaux . Hmmmmm.......

A little tribute to my Irish friends and family: When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure 'tis like a morn in spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear the angels sing, When Irish hearts are happy all the world seems bright and gay, And When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure, they steal your heart away. I love my Irish heritage! I look forward to Saint Patrick's Day each and every year. Whether it is the green, the leprechauns (my maternal grandfather used to call me his little leprechaun - although he passed when I was 7 months old), or those shamrock shakes...I just love this holiday. I think my favorite part truly is the music. There is something about Irish jigs that just make me happy and giddy. Let's just say that these Irish eyes are smilin' for sure! :D In other news, I received a nice little gift from across the pond. Clare of Aimetu's Stitching sent me a little "thank you" for the Quaker Medallion pattern. Here is a picture of my gift: The f...

I was so excited to learn that I won the Gone With the Wind giveaway over at Feathers in the Nest. I received my winnings yesterday and am so looking forward to stitching the design. Here are a couple of pictures of my prize (note: the movie was already mine. I just added it to round out the picture.): I tried on the earrings and love them! They are not too heavy. The real test will come when I wear them for more than a few minutes (my ears are very sensitive, but I believe all will be fine since they are sterling silver). Here is a picture of me donning the new earrings: I also took a couple of pictures of my “Celtic” earring collection. I have a pair of shamrocks (that are a bit tarnished), a pair of gold claddagh’s that irritate my ears, and of course the lovely pair from Jennifer. Here is one of those pictures: I can’t resist sharing a picture of my Sandy “modeling” the GWTW design: ...

Well, I pulled '68 Charger back out the other night and sat for what seemed like hours counting all, yes ALL, of the stitches I had done trying to find where I went wrong. Her e is a picture of what it looked like when I last stitched on it before putting it "up on blocks": It turns out that I was just one measly little stitch off and that created havoc on the rest of the stitching I had completed. So I frogged about 3 rows and then went back to work on it. Here is where I am now: A very subtle difference, but I have the entire bottom half of the car and the ground beneath it stitched (except for the backstitches). I should be able to have this one completed, shipped, and framed in time for my Uncle's birthday in April. I'll have my mom take it to get it framed somewhere local to them so I only have to send the design. All in all, I am really happy with the way the Charger is looking and may have to stitch one for myself at a l ater date. I have also been worki...

Ok, I am going to start this off with a picture of my January TUSAL update: I recently found out that my neighbor had a triple bypass over Christmas. She has been in Illinois since Thanksgiving and was scheduled to be home around the 5th of this month. The bypass changed those plans, so I stitched her a card: HalloSAL part 3 is "in the books". Here are a couple of pictures of it: Look closely at the bats above the haunted house. I used beads instead of french knots. I recently purchased a couple of patterns from Cindy over at Cindy Mae Designs , Paw Prints and Catnap Time . I also received one of her lovely Grab Bags of blended cording (although I haven't figured out for the life of me how to use cording - I have a little in the Christmas Design SAL that I am stitching so I am gonna learn soon enough!). Here is a pic: Thanks Cindy for the beautiful cording and great designs! Finally, I was really bummed at Christmas when the package my mom sent didn't arrive. I have b...

Well, I managed to turn in a rough draft of one chapter of my thesis, so I have turned my attention to Christmas. Over the next few weeks I will be working on another chapter as well as a SAL for Christmas 2010. I began stitching this piece on the evening of Dec 5th. Here are a couple of pics of what I have done so far: The top picture is what I completed on the first night. The bottom is what I did last night. So far I am pleased with how it is turning out! I also managed to get a couple more pillows made from old designs that I finished stitching a while back. The first on is the Polska Sampler. I used a bright (Christmasy) red as the backing fabric. The second one is Forever Wild, which I used a blue backing fabric. Here is a pic: These, along with Astral Lions, was sent off to MI this morning to be distributed for Christmas. I almost forgot! I have completed the 2nd part of the HalloSAL Sampler. Here is a pic:

Well, I broke down and purchased a real sewing machine (not a hand held that I was hoping would work). I managed to get the pillow made for my niece. While it has been awhile since I have used a machine, I have to say that I didn't do half bad. The only complaint I have is the bottom (thank GOD I decided to close the bottom right side out instead of the top). The sewing looks awful in some areas, but that is mainly from the little amount of fabric I allowed for. OOPS!! Lesson learned: leave a lot of fabric for things like this. Here are a few pics of the completed project (in all it's glory): The backing fabric I used is actually an old pillowcase from a twin size sheet set that I no longer use (got me a queen size bed earlier this year). I thought it worked well with the deep yellow. I just hope Ariel likes it! :)

I am finally finished stitching Astral Lion and am so pleased with the outcome! Here is a pic: I only have to turn this into a pillow and then wrap and send it off to Michigan for my niece. Now I will take a bit of a break from stitching to concentrate on my thesis the remainder of the week. Over the weekend, I intend to work on Part II of the HalloSAL and begin the Christmas 2010 SAL. I am doing Coming Home for the Holidays ; a Dimensions Gold Collection kit. I will post a pic of Astral Lion as a pillow once it is complete (probably tomorrow)!

I was hoping to show a picture of Zane receiving his birthday gift from me, but out of the 100+ pictures I took at the party on the 7th, wouldn't you know it, that was the only one that didn't turn out! Ugh!!! I will have to ask my cousin to ask around and see if anyone else who took pictures has one of that and if they will email me a copy. I will keep you posted... In other news, I picked up Makin' New Friends and am determined to finish it off before Christmas this year ! There really is not a lot left to do on it. Just a little bit of the border and those dreaded french knots. I am seriously considering using beads instead as I find the knots difficult to do. And I really don't have the patience to keep messing with the thread to get the knots just right. Maybe something I can practice doing after the holidays! I will post a picture when it is completed.

I purchased the frame for Zanesville last evening and got it framed. Now I only have to wrap it and wait for the party, which is on Nov 7th. Woo Hoo!! I have turned my attention to HalloSAL and Christmas. I decided to make a few of my own cards this year. So far I have one stitched piece done and about half of a second one. I will post pics when I have made them into actual cards (and before I send them out).

I finished stitching Zanesville last night (with the exception of my initials and the year). Now I have a week to frame it. Yippee!! The image on the top is in a "normal" setting on my camera while the one on the bottom is in a "pop art" setting. The right image pics up the color much better! I also took a couple of pics of Sandy. She gained almost a pound while I was away! She's gonna be a big cat when she's fully grown (she's only 6 months now and weighs a whopping 8.2 lbs!). The image on the top was taken in August. The image on the bottom was taken yesterday. She's getting so big that she has outgrown the large size litter box. I have to go to PetSmart later to get a jumbo! LOL

Thought I would post an update on Zanesville now since I may not have it finished before I head to VA in the morning. I just have a little bit of the border to do. Yippee! Over the next week, I plan to work on little things to make into Christmas cards. I don't want to drag anything big along with me on the trip. I will post pics when I get them done!

I was well on my way to getting quite a bit done yesterday until I ran out of one color of floss. I thought I had enough. It turns out that what I thought was one color was really another color. Don't you hate when that happens? Anyway, here is some progress on Zanesville : I also took a little time to create a Christmas design. I probably won't get to stitching it until December, but here is a pic: The candy canes and sayings are mine. The alphabet and the mistletoe are from PCStitch libraries.

Nope, it's not finished yet. I just wanted to give you all a preview of what it will look like. I did have this much done before supper (5pm) but wound up with not enough fabric to finish. I cut a new piece of fabric around 6pm and started over. Here's what I have so far:

Late last year I completed a cute little pattern of a cat and dog laying together on a pillow. It gave the option to stitch the lettering in English, French, or Spanish. Since I was giving it to a good friend of mine - who also happens to be from France - I chose French. The saying in English is "A friend knows all about you - and still likes you!" Below is a picture of the completed and framed project. "A Friend Knows" Dimensions #16725

There are times when I come across a pattern on www.PatternsOnline.com that I really want to do. Well, Apples by Leisure Arts was one of those. I have been working on different patterns over the past few months, either finishing those started or new ones altogether, in the process of making Christmas gifts for a few family members. I decided it would be the best way to spend my free time (at least until I land a job) and get ready for the holidays a little earlier than usual. Here is what I have completed so far on Apples: