Would you like to join my PIF?

I was one of the lucky ones to be picked for Edgar's PIF (awhile back). I am just finally posting here at my blog, as i wanted to be finished or just about finished with my current PIF i have, which i am just about finished. LOL So, here are the rules:

The rules are as follows: * If you would like to receive stitchy gift made by me within 365 days please leave comment on this post to say that you are interested, the first 2 people I draw the names for on Monday, January 5(Presuming I get more than 2 people interested that is) will be my PIF members* In return you post the same offer on your own blog. And the chain goes on... :) So easy and so fun

Christmas Party Pictures

Well i hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was alot of fun. We celebrated on Christmas Eve Day with our kids and family (the kids went to their dads for Christmas Day this year). I made an Italian dinner, we had baked ziti and baked ziti with sausage, italian meatballs in crockpot, garlic bread that DH makes - yummy and salad. Of course lots and lots of cookies. Our friends bring their Tailgate Toss game to all of our get togethers so everyone was taking turns playing that outside, it was in the 50's that day. They also bought our family one with a Dallas Cowboys theme, EWWWWWW. but that's okay because i really don't like football anyways, just like playing tailgate toss, i tend to win more than others. LOL

I didn't get many pics from Christmas as i was always doing something or finally relaxing. But I do have some pics to share from our annual softball christmas party.
There is one picture of myself and my family with Santa and another of our softball team with Santa. After all of Santa's gift giving and picture taking with the families we were able to fatten him up with lots of great food and definitely wonderful desserts.

I have a couple finishes but cannot share them just yet, have to wait for them to be received. Hopefully will have a finish for ME tonight or tomorrow.

Finally, all the ornaments are done!

Well, i have worked my fingers to the bone this week "finishing" all the ornaments for tonights party. I am not going to put all the names of patterns etc on here right now, too many to remember. LOL But i wanted to show you what i have been working on this week. I sure hope everyone enjoys their ornaments. I also got them all wrapped up and have a pic of that as well.

I was up until 1am last night making mini cheesecakes for the party tonight as well as finishing the ornaments. here is a pic of the cheesecakes. The ones that are plain now have blueberries on them. Some of them have chocolate chips in them and the others have cherries on top. There were about 70 total of them. I am tired!

Well, i will just leave you with the pics for now. Tomorrow will probably have pics from the party tonight.

Ornament finishes

Well, i have been busy today! I was on a finishing frenzy here in AZ during a very rainy day. I am trying to get all my ornaments for our friends finished by Friday, the party is Saturday night. Here are 4 of them that are "finished" so far.
front of two

back of the above two

front

back


Also, now that i know that Michele has received her package from me, here is the ornament i stitched for her. It is from The Sampler Girl. One is a freebie and the other is from her "book" of patterns. I put them back to back on one ornament and really like how it turned out.



that's all for now. need to finish up some stitching and get ready to do more finishing tomorrow.

New SAL for Peppermint Twist by Blue Ribbon Designs

Hi! I have started up a new blog for a SAL for the new design by Blue Ribbon Designs, Peppermint Twist. A few of us wanted to do a SAL and the more the merrier. We plan on starting in January 2009. If you would like to join us and need the encouragement that some of us do to get moving to finish a piece, come join us. Email me at kmdecker2000 @ yahoo.com (take out spaces) and i will send you an invite.

here is a link to the blog i just set up for it.

www.pepperminttwistsal.blogspot.com

Coffee dyed/baked fabric and exchange rec'd

Hi all! I was at it again with the coffee dying/baking fabric. I love how this process makes the fabric look. I got the directions from Staci's blog (on my sidebar). The only thing i am doing differently is soaking the whole piece of fabric then wringing it out and leaving it crinkled up but laying somewhat flat on the foil on cookie sheet. I LOVE it. I dyed some 32ct cream evenweave and 40ct sand linen yesterday. The first 2 pics are the 32ct cream evenweave front & back of one piece and the 3rd pic is the 40ct. The pictures just don't do the color any justice. They are just soooo yummy and perfect for samplers or primitive style designs.





I just found out that WendyJo has finally rec'd her christmas F&S from me. I had mailed this one out on the 11/22ish with a couple stamps on it and it just arrived. The PO must have hid it or something because she just got it yesterday. OY! I stitched Heartfelt Harvey by Imaginating out of this year's JCS ornie issue. He was such a fun stitch and am already stitching him for myself but on red evenweave using white dmc and over 1.



We have also been in major potty training mode with my 2yr old niece who i watch during the week. It is finally starting to click and knock on wood, no accidents at all this week. WOOHOO!!!! Those M&M's sure work for reward for trying and or going to the potty!!!! Here is a pic of Ally or aka Miss Hollywood, singing Twinkle Star on Thanksgiving.


Caitie only has 2 weeks left of high school then she graduates. She will be walking with her class in May 2009 though, we said so and so did she. Caitie said if i worked all these years to get this far, I am walking with my class! good for her! She will be starting at the junior college in January with a fully loaded schedule, still doing her volunteer work at the hospital and working part time at JCPenneys.

A new project started

Again, i got hit with "startitus" last night. I started working on The Sunflower Seed's "Judy Becher Sampler" stitching it on 32ct linen coffee dyed and baked by me. I learned the technique of dyeing/baking using coffee from Staci's blog (link on the sidebar). It was fun and easy and it turns out really good.

Didn't do much today except help my sister with her yard sale for the most part of the day. So i am going to go sit down and stitch while laundry is going. I am going to work on this same piece again tonight for a bit and see how much further i get.

Ornament stitching

I have been working on ornaments for friends of ours for our annual christmas party coming up. I have a few done, stitching only. But am making progress. I thought i would share a couple pics with you all.

There is a snowman "snow dude" by Amy Bruecken, that was alot of fun to stitch and finish. I am stitching another one for us. Then there are a couple Lizzie Kate's from previous years JCS ornament issues. And the Norweigan Reindeer from this year's JCS ornie issue (he will be stitched a couple more times as well and I love the fabric for it for the backing). Then there is the Pineapple ornament that i just finished up and donated to my LNS for their annual Breast Cancer Silent Auction that was held last weekend. I also donated the Poinsetta one i stitched in teh below post as well.

I've been Tagged!

Well, Michele got me. LOL So here goes:

Rule #1 ~ Link to the person that tagged you.
Rule #2 ~ Post the rules on your Blog.
Rule #3 ~ Write 6 random things about yourself.
Rule #4 ~ Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
Rule #5 ~ Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their Blog.
Rule #6 ~ Let the tagger know your entry is up.


1. I lived in Kauai when i was 19 for about 6-7 months with a boyfriend. Came home to Arizona after finding out that he was actually "still" married but separated (he showed me divorce papers and all). OY! That was a "life lesson" but i got to see the island of Kauai but no other islands.

2. Hubby and I share the same birthday and year, which i am 8 hours older.

3. I have 4 teenagers, 3 still living at home and am now going through the "potty training" stages again with my 2yr old niece. Thought i was over that part of my life. LOL

4. I LOVE waffle ice cream sandwiches. toast the waffles and add chocolate ice cream in the middle. YUMMY!!

5. I bowl and am pretty good most of the time. LOL (this is the only sport i am actually really good at). and when i have a really really good night of bowling i call my daddy to tell him still. LOL

6. I am now the shortest one in our household. the boys have sprouted to 6ft and 5'9 and caitie has me by 1/4 inch. LOL

well, i am not going to tag anyone since this is hitting all the blogs about now. but if you want to play along, please do so.

Answering a few questions

There were a couple questions in one of my recent posts in the comments and i would like to finally answer them. LOL

Candi - freebie's are just that, free patterns from the designers. You can find them all over the internet or you can get them from an LNS as well.

Staci - the swirly tree i stitched is by Helga Mandl Designs and called "swirly tree". you can get it from her yahoo group if you join.

Wonderful XS World - HMDesigns Yahoo Group

Stitchmama - the snowman i think you are talking about is also from Helga Mandl Designs and called "Ops!" - you can get it from her yahoo group if you join. (the name is right above this comment)

Hugs!

Exchanges received and a finish or 2

well, i have a couple exchanges that have arrived here and need to post pics. There is my Christmas fair & squares from Wendy Jo. She stitched Jolly Holly from Lizzie Kate's new tiny tidings and it is really really cute! And then there is a needlebook that Jayne P. stitched for me from the MAW (make a wish board). It is just really cute!



I have finished up an ornament, actually "finished", poinsetta by brittercup designs. I am donating this ornament to my LNS, The Attic Needlework for their Annual Breast Cancer Silent Auction that is this weekend. I really like how it turned out, using Jane Timmers lessons on finishing flat ornaments. I took a class with her in Myrtle Beach at the PALS Retreat this past Oct and love this finishing technique. If you ever get a chance to take a class with Jane, do so.


I also rec'd an ornament from Tracey from the PALS board. We did a christmas ornament exchange in July and my partner failed to complete her committment, so Tracey stitched one for me. She stitched teh poinsetta by brittercup over 1 and it is really really cute. I love it.

I also have a quick easy piece i finished last week, it is another Pine Mountain Pillow stitched for my Aunt (this is one from her stash that i did for her since she isn't really stitching much).


I have a bunch of ornaments that i am working on for friends of ours and will post them as i finish the stitching up along with any other finishes.

Also, i have been tagged by Michele and will do a different post for that.

Small Finishes for the weekend

Well this weekend brought on a nice cold and sore throat for me thanks to my niece who has had it all last week. Oh well, hopefully it will go away soon. i hate feeling blah. We did the MS Walk yesterday here in Phoenix and had alot of fun. We had 11 of us walking with some of them being my daughter's friends supporting her as well. There were a few groups that were all dressed up for teh walk, there were the Star Wars clan (storm troopers, darth vader, chewy, etc in full get up), ghostbusters in full get up, renaissance women, pirates, etc.

I do have a few little finishes from this week and weekend. I finished up a pine mountain pillow, flowers wrap. I started this one on thursday and finished friday, very quick and fun. I also finished up a freebie last week and made it into an ornament tonight. I have two finishes for today. The first is Alphabet Tree by Blue Ribbon designs (freebie), i stitched this one over one using Carries Creations in Bubble Gum. I made this into a pincushion for myself. And the other finish is a LHN christmas ornament from the JCS 2005 issue that i finished stitching up tonight. I changed this one up a bit by adding "Christmas 2008" instead of family name. I plan on stitching and ornament for each of our friends on our softball team (each family) and this is the first of the group.






I am currently working on christmas ornaments and LHN's From Sea to Shining Sea, which i LOVE.

We actually had a nice thunderstorm here in AZ (at least in Peoria, i hear other parts didn't get it). We had hail and all and my dorky dog just stood out in it loving it. LOL Since it was rainy and two of us in the house are sick i made a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, and it was yummy.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! I have a couple Halloween finishes from this past week. Last week i started on tuesday, Halloween Silhouette by Raise the Roof and finished it the next day. I haven't done anything "finishing" wise with it yet, but it is stitched.

This week i started a Pine Mountain Pillow - BOO! new this year. I started this one wednesday and finished yesterday, a very fun quick stitch. This one is stuffed and sitting on the entertainment center already.

Last but not least, I stitched the Quaker Boo freebie from online. I only stitched a portion of the design but started and finished yesterday. This one is already in the frame. I stitched it on 28ct cashel linen Solo from silkweaver using black dmc. I really like how this one turned out and i just happened to have a 5x7 black frame to put it in.

well, that's it for now. Have a great Halloween and don't get too scared! BOO!

And the winner is..............

Teresa! Congrats!!

My niece pulled your name out of her little kitchen sink (LOL).

Thanks for everyone playing along in my giveaway!

PALS Retreat in Myrtle Beach

I am so sad to be home as i miss everyone already! I could just live at teh beach. sigh...... well, here are a few pics from the retreat of Pals, the ornaments i got in the ornament exchange, teh ornaments i put in the ornament exchange, etc. It was a blast and cannot wait to go back next year. Lots of stitching, laughing, great friends, more laughing, Ruth's story telling (how big is 12 inches????), more laughing (my cheeks hurt by Friday!

I rec'd ornaments in the exchange from Char, Ruthann, Michele and Amy and they are all beautiful as they all were that were stitched and brought.


here are the ornaments that i brought


Here are all the PALS Saturday night


Here are my roomies minus Jane Timmers she wasn't there when we took the pic


I also rec'd the grab bag exchange from Renee with lots and lots and lots of stitching goodies (but i forgot to take a pic, duh!). Thank you Renee!! And i got these beautiful amber glass jars from Donna in the gift exchange, but needed those to be shipped back to me here (didn't fit in luggage). LOL I also got ALOT of stitching stash while there but haven't taken a pic yet but will be making my list of my new acquisitions for Ruth's sting operation for next year, the list is embarrassingly long but such is life! LOL

A few of us went to Charleston for the day and walked around a bit in historic downtown and walked down Rainbow Row. It was really pretty and such unbelievable houses there. I will post one of the pics I got of one of those beautiful homes.


We also took a Plantation River Tour on Thursday on the Waccamaw River and saw the Plantation homes along with the slave houses, rice mills, etc. We did see an alligator but he was too quick to get a picture of.

Blogaversary Giveaway

Well, my Blogaversary is in 6 days and i want to have a giveaway for it. It will be something stitched from me. I can't believe that it has been a year that i started blogging and just love everyone i have met, the new finishing techniques i have learned from other bloggers and all the designs, etc that i have found that i now need to stitch. LOL



Please just post a comment to this post and on my "Blogaversary" i will randomly draw a name. Anyone can post, if you don't have a blog, please include your email.

Thanks!!!!!

HOE Halloween exchange rec'd

The mailman brought me an awesome package today from the HOE Halloween exchange from Mama Joan. OMG! this is just a great package. Joan stitched Boo Squared by LK for me which was on my wish list, also included a chart from my wish list, one of her project bags that she makes, pins, buttons, halloween notepad, frankie pen, yummies, etc. This was a great pick-me-up as i was having a bit of a bad day today. So this totally made up for it.

THanks again going out to Joan!

More Exchanges rec'd & sent

I have a few more pics of exchanges i have rec'd and sent.

first, here are the squares i rec'd from Cyndi H. for the fair & square Thanksgiving Round (she's fast). These are great squares, not sure how to finish them yet though, will have to think about it.



Also, here is the needleroll exchange that i rec'd from Lillie in Malaysia from the HOE board. This is a beautiful needleroll she made for me and in my favorite color, purple. She also sent along some goodies for me.



Here is the needleroll that i stitched for Caroline for the HOE needleroll exchange. THis was a fun quick stitch and glad to hear she likes it.



I just also rec'd my PS exchange from Brigitte in Germany from the HOE exchange. Brigitte stitched a squirrel design from PS and has sewn it into an acorn pillow. It is amazing, what talent!!! and as you can see, she also sent along some goodies, there was a chocolate bar in there too but it didn't make it to the picture. LOL



And, lastly, here are my fair & square round #9 squares i stitched for LYnda A. I stitched Quaker Time freebie from Gencat using Autumn thread from Carrie's Creations. I really need to stitch this design for myself, this is the second time i have stitched it and really like it.