This is called What Cancer Cannot Do.  It is a design from Gloria and Pat.  I have been fighting cancer for the past year.  As I was going through radiation, chemo and surgery, this was one of the pieces I stitched.  I gave this one to my local cancer center.  I read this over and over when I needed a little extra strength. 

This wonderful design is called All Around the House.  It's from All Through the House Christmas in Cross-Stitch Oxmoor House 1985.  It was designed by Susan Bates.  It was done on 18 ct white aida.  I used DMC stranded cotton and Mill Hill seed beads.  There are only three colors and it has kind of an art deco feel.

This piece is called Happy Halloween.  It is a free design from Whispered by the Wind.  It was designed by Mari McDonald.  It was stitched on 14 ct flax aida.  The finished design is about 5 x 6.  I used DMC cotton stranded floss.  I really enjoyed stitching this piece and it's the first halloween design I've ever done.

This is the piece I entered into our county fair this year.  It was my first fair entry ever!  I was very nervous and anxious as there were other beautiful pieces entered.  It turned out I won the blue ribbon for first place!!  This is called Celtic Christmas and was designed by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum.  It's stitched on 28 count white Monaco fabric.  There are also a ton of seed beads on this piece.  Now I have my eye on our state fair!!

Vivacious Violets

This project is called "Vivacious Violets" and was designed by Virginia Douglas. It was published in the August 1997 issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine.

It was stitched on 14 count Natural Aida and is roughly 6 x 5. The stich count is 95 x 75. There are no fractional stitches, just full cross and back stitches. The design called for Kreinik blending filaments and #8 braid, but not having any on hand, I used just the DMC cotton floss.

This design was quick, easy, and fun to stitch!!

Victorian Christmas Eve

My latest completed design. It's by Nora Corbett and was published in the Jan 2008 Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine.

It measures 8 x 13 inches and was stitched on green 14ct Aida. It was supposed to feature beads, but not having any of the right color, I substituted rayon floss.

This little project took four months to complete. There are 32 colors which provided lots of detail.

This is a UFO. It's called "Baby in a Basket" by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. It's on 28 ct Irish linen and is over two threads except for the baby's face and hands, which is over one. This has been giving me a few problems as I've never done any 'over one' stitching before. After repeated frogging, I decided to put this away for awhile and move on to something else. Maybe in this new year, I'll find the fortitude to finish it!!

Picture Frame

This is a little picture frame from perforated plastic. It used one color of floss and all the rest is beaded with seed beads. The picture features my mom, her sister and me and my sister. The black and white print looks really good in this little frame.

Tatted Fan Doily

This pattern is from the book "Ultimate Book of Tatted Doilies" and was designed by Denise Giles. This is a size 10 treads with beads the same color as the thread. I really enjoyed doing this pattern.

Tatted Doily

This is a tatted doily with seed beads. The pattern is in the book"Ultimate Book of Tatted Doilies" and was designed by Denise Giles. It is a size 10 thread with green and gold seed beads.

Tatted Cross

This is a tatted cross with seed beads. The pattern is from the book "Tatted Bookmarks" and was designed by Dee Powell. It's a size 10 thread with hunter green seed beads. I adhered it to pale pastel green scrapbook paper and mounted it in a gold frame.

Christmas Ornament

This is a tatted ornament with seed beads. This pattern is in "The Big Book of Tatting" and is the first two rounds of the Jack Frost Snowflake.

Little Christmas Tree

I thought it was about time I included some of my tatted pieces in this blog. This was a little Christmas tree motif that I tatted up, glued to scrapbook paper and put in a little antique faux marcasite oval frame. I have done this little motif with lots of seed beads as 'ornaments'. This pattern can be found in "The Big Book of Tatting".

Little Collage

I had this 4 opening mat and frame and needed something to put into it. I searched a very long time to find four motifs small enought to fit each of the openings in the mat. I have a lot of Celtic motifs and I finally! found three that would work. I used my initial to fill the fourth space. It's framed in an antiqued gold frame. These motifs used DMC cotton floss, Mill Hill seed beads and Kreinik blending filament. Each motif measures 1.5" X 2.5". Framed, it measures 13" X 5".

A Gift For My Sister

This was one of the first designs I stitched using computer design software called Pattern Maker. I found a book of alphabets and combined the two elements to achieve this little piece. It was stitched on 28ct antique white linen with DMC cotten floss. It measures 3.5" X 5.5". I put it in a metal frame that says 'family' all around the outside.

Christmas Presents

These are the gifts I gave to my sister and her husband for Christmas. Coming from the mid-west, I have always loved Cardinals. I found an alphabet that features this beautiful bird and used my sister's (and those of her husband) initials to make these little pieces. They were done on 28ct antique white linen and stitched with DMC cotton floss. They measure 3" X 4" with the frame. I found these frames at a local Hobby Lobby.

Another Finished Piece

This design is called "Cat" by Diane Arthurs. Published by Imaginating #1093.

I stitched this on 28 ct tea-dyed Irish linen. The stitch count is 44 x 133 and the design size is 3 x 9.5 inches.

There were only 8 colors and 4 stitch types used in this project. There are full cross stitches, running stitch, french knots and backstitches. I used all DMC cotton floss.

Another Small Project

This is another small project I've just completed. It's a design by Paula Vaughan called "Rose Bouquet." It was stitched on 28 ct white Monaco. I had a green marble-ized 5 X 7 frame I wanted to use and this little picture was perfect! I wanted to use DMC Satin (Rayon) floss but didn't have the required colors so I had to use all DMC cotton floss.

My favorite time to stitch is two hours before bedtime. The house is quiet as I climb into bed, turn on classical music and stitch for a couple hours. Ahhhh, it doesn't get any better than that!!!!

My Needle Case

I had an empty clear plastic box just taking up space. I looked at it and wondered how I could put it to good use. I opened up the cross stitch design software on my computer and this is what I ended up with. It measures 6 X 4 inches and fits into the lid of the box quite nicely. I now have a more attractive place to keep my needles and threaders.

My Latest Project Completed!

The "Fairy Queene" is finished. It took about four months but it was worth it. It features two colors of Mill Hill Beads and DMC Light Effects floss. It measures 8 x 17 inches. Surprisingly, this is almost all full cross stitches--very few fractional stitches at all! Now, what will be my next project?