More Treats To Share

Hi Friends,
Thanksgiving is almost here, but as I promised in my last post, I would be back with my final Halloween treats.
Well, these past few weeks have been busy ones for me but happy ones as I also celebrated a birthday!
So....better late than never... here are my completed Halloween treats for 2013.....

HALLOWEEN 2013 

The "Boo" cupcake and "Take One" box can be seen in my last post.

San Man's "Quaker 31" was stitched 2 over 2 for depth on 28ct white Monaco. I finished this with plaid backing fabric and a matching fabric wire hanger. Each little motif made this an enjoyable stitch.

QUAKER 31

"Jester Jack" from Cherry Wood Designs was stitched from a chart in JCS Halloween 2012 issue. I stitched him on 32 ct PTP Prank and added Halloween ribbons and matching colored pipe cleaners at the top and around his neck for a fun finish.  What do you think?

JESTER JACK

My final finish was "Bubble and Froth" from Mindi at Joie de Vivre. The "girls" were stitched on 32 ct PTP Tarnish and I added some glitz to give the piece a bit of color. The moon, cat's eyes and cauldron bubbles were stitched with metallic threads. I couldn't resist the metallic ricrac and sparkly button. Thank you, Mindi for a fun design.
The star fabric is actually purple but my camera "saw" blue instead!

FROTH AND BUBBLE

As I mentioned earlier, I celebrated my birthday on November 5th and it was a happy one.
I am blessed to have a wonderful family and great friends.
I was thrilled to receive this gift from Carol who is one of my dearest blogging friends. Everything she makes is a special treasure.

BIRTHDAY GIFTS FROM CAROL

I admired "Giving Thanks" on her blog and was so surprised when my gift arrived to know that one was stitched for ME~! It is stitched two over two on 40 ct. and perfectly finished. Aren't the colors lovely?
Beggars Night is a beautiful chart and I am thrilled that it will be a part of my Halloween 2014 stitching.
The small rusty bells will be great additions to my smalls for Christmas!
I LOVE my gifts, Carol and am grateful and blessed to call you my friend. Thank you for remembering me on my special day! xxxxx

Like many of you, I am also stitching PSS Mary's Sampler. Isn't it beautiful?  Since my name is Mary and it displays the true meaning of Christmas, I am more than happy to share in Paulette's special gift to us. Thank you, Paulette!

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments. I appreciate you taking time to write one. Welcome to my new followers, I'm glad you stopped by.

I am grateful that you are ALL here and will see you soon :)

HUGS AND STITCHES,
Mary

HALLOWEEN TREATS TO SHARE

Happy Halloween, Friends!
I have always looked forward to Halloween since I was a child. Aside from the fun of the day, I was also anticipating my birthday.... 5 days away.

Having 4 children close in age, I look back fondly on all of the costumes that were lovingly made and the excitement that filled our home on this holiday. Such times seem to be not that long ago......but they are in my heart forever!
So, my nostalgic little self has to shelve my memories for tonight and make do with a treasure trove of candy for our neighborhood trick or treaters.

A Basket Full of Treats

Fortunately, we get a lot of kids, so not much candy is left and THAT'S a good thing!

I stitched a few Halloween goodies that look good enough to eat or hold goodies that you CAN enjoy!
I must say that I had a lot of fun not only with the stitching but also the finishing!

                                       First up is a Halloween cupcake!
This is  "Boo" by Homespun Elegance stitched over one on 28 ct natural linen.
I made some color changes, added a few of my beaded counting pins and a confetti bat.
I thought the polka dot ribbon was perfect and LOVE how it turned out! What do you think?
This was my first cupcake finish and I know it won't be my last :)

Looks good enough to eat!










Take One My Pretty from Plum Street Samplers "My Pretties" was stitched on PTP 32ct. Prank.

I covered the box with coordinating fabric and filled it with treats for my DD. I also stitched a message inside the lid for fun.
I love the eyelet finish on this.

Finally, a mini Altoids tin was the home for my own little pumpkin creation. The 32ct light orange linen was a remnant in my stash, stitched over one. (The pictures aren't great because I took them with my phone.)
I added ribbon to set it off along with a few mints inside. This was a treat for my dear Mom, who appreciates all of my work and can't believe I can stitch such small detail!

Believe it or not, I still have Halloween finishes in my pile and hope to complete them this weekend.
Maybe if I have a candy rush from the leftovers....I will be successful!
Tonight was fun...our many trick or treaters had their fill and my DH and I enjoyed them!

A Good Night Was Had By All

I hope you have a good weekend, my friends. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments. I appreciate every one!
My next celebration is my birthday and there will be a giveaway during November for my faithful followers! Think Christmas.....

HUGS and STITCHES,
MARY

Pumpkins for Cathey

                          Happy Pumpkin Blogoversary, Cathey!
 Our thoughts, love and prayers go out to you on this special day. You can never have enough pumpkins but your most precious one sits and smiles on your lap.

I know that you are a beautiful stitcher and fan of Mirabilia and Nora Corbett. I'd like to share this piece I stitched a few years ago. I was drawn to it for its beauty and grace (and she has 2 pumpkins with her :)
Your inner grace and beauty are an inspiration to all of us.

Sharon (Daffycat) was thoughtful to reach out to the worldwide stitching community to make this a very special day for you. Word certainly travels f-a-s-t!
Isn't it a wonderful feeling to know how kind, loving and supportive our stitching buddies are?
I can attest to that firsthand myself!

I'm sending my heartfelt blessings and prayers to you and your dear family today and everyday.

Just remember that you have many cheerleaders around the world rooting for you!  (((HUGS)))

It's Great To Be Back!

Hello dear stitching friends......
It's good to be back with all of you in blog land after my long, unexpected absence. As I'm sure we might agree, life has a way of changing abruptly and in its wake, we sometimes find ourselves stunned and confused facing unexpected crossroads.

Such is what happened to me and my family recently  but we are blessed by God, strong and continuing on together. My daughter and 3 sons have certainly been blessings to my dear husband and myself.
My husband suffered a very serious injury last year and it has taken a full year for his miraculous recovery. Thank you for your prayers, emails and cards. We sincerely appreciate your thoughtfulness.

As for my stitching..  my time and interest for it have returned!  I usually prefer stitching smalls and an occasional "big" project. Well, I've done a little bit of both.

Once the "bigger" piece is finally finished, don't you just feel a sense of accomplishment and pride, even though it takes a while (and sometimes stamina) to complete? 

When I started this post, I realized that the 3 finishes shown here are framed. While most of my stitching isn't framed, these 3 pieces did lend themselves to such a finish.


My latest "big project" is My Shade by Erica Michaels. The verse is taken, in part, from Psalm 121.

My Shade

I stitched this as a birthday gift for my second oldest son who is in the novitiate studying to become a priest. Ironically, I started stitching this before my husband's accident and it's message has brought hope and comfort to all of us as a family. Yes, God is Good!

It is stitched on 32ct ivory linen with the suggested Weeks and Gentle Arts threads.
This piece was a joy to stitch and although it had many specialty stitches (none too complicated), I looked forward to completing each section. Among these were smyrna crosses, padded satin, lazy daisy and modified Rhodes, just to name a few. Each one gave the piece such depth and variety.

My Shade

I chose to omit the animals and birds as charted and added two of my own details (seen in the larger picture)...AMDG is the latin translation "For the Glory of God" and is the motto of my son's religious order.  I couldn't miss to add my signature "xo" (the hugs and kisses that I have always sent on all of my treats to our children)
I chose a simple brown frame with white trim and a green mat that seemed to offset the stitching perfectly. My camera wasn't cooperating so the pictures are darker than I had hoped.

We were fortunate to have a visitation day with our dear son to celebrate his birthday!
He found the perfect place for his gift on his bedroom wall.....xo

A Very Happy Birthday

Time Has Flown By.....

Speaking of Erica Michaels, Peace was the next finish on my list.

Peace

This reflects simple beauty and peacefulness to me. I stitched it on 28ct raw linen with the suggested threads. I added flecked blending filament to the threads and interspersed tiny beads on the snowflakes.The snow just seems to glisten with the added fibers. I framed it in a very simple brown frame.  Doesn't it remind you of a quiet snowfall?


Another framed finish that I completed was a birthday gift for my dear friend, Carol
This is Happiness by Brooke's Books, a part of the Bride's Tree Collection.

Happiness

It is stitched on 32ct Patina Lakeside Linen with the charted Weeks and GA flosses. I omitted the heart on the nest and opted for tiny clear beads dotted throughout. Tiny white and pink centered beaded flowers replaced the stitched ones on the chart. 
 I chose a gold, branched frame with a green mat.  
Carol seemed to enjoy her gift as much as I did stitching it for her.

Happiness

And now, may I introduce you to Rosie. Isn't she sweet?  My oldest son bought her as a SURPRISE birthday gift for my husband, not to mention ME.  My husband had a St. Bernard from high school through med school.

Rosie at 7 weeks

Our previous pets have been Labs and now Rosie has full run of the roost as our other pups have passed on. What a sweetheart she is but a powerhouse of strength. I really believe that she doesn't realize her strength OR her size! She can walk me and if a squirrel comes around, all bets are off...and so is Rosie!
Rosie is now 135 lbs of pure, sweet disposition, very similar to our other dogs except in size!
She is a constant, adoring  and fun companion for all of us. Good things DO come in bigger packages :) 

Sweet Rosie

I look forward to getting back to following all of your blogs and seeing your beautiful stitching.

Welcome to my old and new friends. 
It's good to have you visit me here in my little corner of the blogging world.

Thank you for your kind comments and emails. I appreciate each one and invite you to stop by often. You can also follow me on Bloglovin'

See you soon with some new spring finishes!

HUGS and STITCHES,
Mary