I've Been Spoiled by Ewa!

As I had shared in a previous post, I was one of the lucky names drawn for Ewa's recent giveaway!!

Imagine my giddiness when a package arrived in my mailbox this afternoon!  I think I even ran back inside just to get to open it quicker  :)

Look at all the beautiful items I received:

She baked home-made biscotti!  I put them in a pretty green bowl as if I'm going to serve them, but we all know I'll gobble them up by the end of the day! They are soooo yummy.  I just made a fresh pot of coffee to go with them.

She also included the prettiest card and personal sentiment....so sweet :)

The most incredible part of the gift was her stitching and beadwork!  Here's a close up:

My shadowy picture definitely does not do it justice!  Her work is sitting on top of some divine Architex fabric which she also included.  It matches her stitching perfectly!  Now.....my mind is spinning ideas on what I want to do with them!


I'll have a grin on my face for weeks after this, it's like Christmas in March!..... Thank you Ewa!!


For anyone who hasn't visited her blog....wander on over and check out her great plan to finish one of her current HAED projects before Christmas....I know she can do it, so let's all cheer her on!


-lesli

Quick Crafty Update....before Midnight!

So my Monday has gotten away from me!  Midnight is creeping up on me and I have every intention on posting my weekend update BEFORE Tuesday hits!

I had a WONDERFULLY crafty weekend!!   In addition to crafts...hubby and I went plant/flower shopping and have a front and back garden full of flowers...Spring has officially sprung in the Daniels house!

Now on to bigger and better news.......

I can officially cross off the first two items on my "Rotation Schedule" Check-list!  <woooo!!!>  

My first item was to finish pages 4 and 7 of Coral, and here's how she looks:

Only 4 pages left to go!

 And my second item on my list was to finish page 1 of Wings:

It looks like a big huge block of light gray...but there are actually 3 colors in there!

I'm off and running on my third list item!


I also chipped away on my "yarn stash" by making some cute Spring Kitchen Towels.  I have tons of yarn I need to use up, and I found some kitchen towels I bought last Spring at a sale.  I also hit the craft store this weekend and bought a towel that was on sale for half off (I couldn't resist!).....here's the results of my de-stashing:

My cotton yarn stash

My sale purchases

My Spring towel stash

And here is what I turned those into......

The two made from knitting

The two made from crocheting

 I'm very happy with the outcomes!   Now I have some cute towel sets to give to my sisters for Easter!

That's it!  Just a quick update before Tuesday lands on me!!   Hope everyone had a wonderful start to the week!


-lesli

March TUSAL~Giveaway Winners~Rotation Plan

Even though the title makes my post sound like its going to be long...I'll make it all as short as possible!

First off we have....my March TUSAL picture!

I finally found something to move my ORTs to, from my jelly jar.  I found this vase under my sink, from a beauiful bouquet of tulips my hubby gave me a bit ago.   The vase is HUGE, but that just entices me to stitch more so I can try to get it at least half full by the end of this year!   I'll keep using my jelly jar monthly and transfer them over.

Next up... my LHN giveaway winners!!   Here is a shot of the full list of participants (sorry for the bad picture, I used Paint in a hurry!)

I chose two winners (via random generator) to win the following charts (in this order):

LHN - Strawberry House

LHN Tall Pines

And....the WINNERS are........ (those dots are my drumroll!).......

YAY!   So Strawberry House will be making its way to Joysze at Random Ramblings and Tall Pines will find a home with Carrie at Carrie's Cross Stitch 

(Please email me your mailing addresses!  leslidaniels@gmail.com)  I have a few surprise items to throw into the packages as well!  :)


And finally.....My Rotation Plan!

Thank you to everyone that responded to my last post about how you rotate your work!  I LOVED all the great ideas!!  I thought about it long and hard ...and I decided to be a "deadline rotationer"  (is rotationer even a word?).   I have this "thing" about not putting a piece down until I finshed the page or the section or whatever.....so deadlines seems to be the way to go with me!

Here's the schedule I've come up with so far.  I don't have timelines/dates to each deadline, once I finish the first one on the list, I'll move to the next one.  I did give myself an overall goal date for this list, and if I meet it, I'll make a new list!

1. Page 4 and 7 of Coral (page 7 is just under page 4 with only 3 rows of work, so it made sense to work together)
2. Page 1 of Wings
3. Page 5 and 8 of Coral
4. Page 2 of Cathedral
5. Page 6 and 9 of Coral (FINISHED!)
6. Page 1 of Nature's Beauty
7. Page 1 of Blue Moon
8. Page 1 of Lanterns (new start)
9. Page 1 Moonlight (new start)
10. Page 3 of Cathedral
11. Page 2 of Wings
12. Page 2 of Nature's Beauty (FINISHED!)

My target date to finish this list is July 1st

This gives me around 14 weeks (so about 1 week per line item).  This is a stretch goal and I'll be happy if I get even a little close!


Thanks again for everyone's rotation input and congratulations to the giveaway winners!


Happy Spring!


-lesli

Weekend Update and Rotation Inquiry

Sooooo....... I had a fantabulous weekend!    Was able to stitch on Friday evening and most of Sunday.  Saturday was spent as a "date day" with my hubby....he took me shopping and to dinner, then we spent the evening with family.  Doesn't get much better than that!  (Oh, Saturday I did do a little frogging, but even that couldn't ruin the great time I had!)

And to make my weekend even sweeter....I found out that my name was drawn by Ewa's "helpful and handsome" boyfriend as one of the winners for a home-made surprise!  (check out her blog and you'll get the humor there!)   I can't wait to find out what she's making!


Now......Here's my IHSW Update........

Before the weekend, this is what Wings looked like:

And after the weekend, here's my progress:

I ALMOST completed page 1, which is about 3800 stitches!

Keep in mind though, I took out the top 40 rows to fit on my fabric .....and.... there were only THREE floss color changes so far!!   What a nice change to work on a HAED with no confetti!  (but I can't speak too soon....page 2 begins some confetti!).  I could never have completed this many stitches otherwise!

What I loved most about starting this piece was that Katie at Jeremiah's Mom also started a new HAED and we agreed to start together!  Check out her blog and see her beautiful progress!  I love the little bit of green colors that are starting to show!

Now for my "rotation inquiry"....for those stitchers out there that rotate your projects/pieces....do you have a set plan or way you go about it?  

Do you have a timeline set, for example, I'll work on piece A for one week, then piece B the next?  or do you have set goals, for example, I'll finish page 1 of piece A then page 4 of piece B?

Why do I ask?   I can't figure out how to work mine!  I've always been a "one at a time" stitcher...working one piece to its end before starting a new one.  But since entering blog-world, I noticed so many people that worked mulitple projects at a time, so I got hooked.  Now I find myself with at least 5 started WIPs and 4 that I'm just itching to begin.  ( I think my addiction is with starting/kitting them! )

I've just started feeling lost...not overwhelmed ...just lost.  I feel like there is one piece I should focus on until it's done, with maybe a secondary I work on as well....then as I finish a piece, I pick another focus project?  I know, with the majority of my projects being HAEDs, I won't finish but maybe one this year (hopefully the one that is a gift!)...so should I just drop everything else and work on that one?

HELP!  I need advice! hehehehehe   :)

Anyhow, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and you're enjoying the Spring weather!   The New Moon is this week, which brings with it the March TUSAL!  Can't wait to see everyone's ORTs!

 
-lesli

Calling All Hermits!

Who's joining me in the IHSW that starts.....today!?

I'm ready to go with Please My Wings Take Me Away <whew>!   Going to refer to it as Wings going forward.

Have my floss and gridding ready to go!

Have some time tonight I'll be stitching, but my Saturday is planned as a "date day" with my hubby.  Maybe I'll get some time in on Sunday as well.  

I'd really love to work on Coral also....as I'm itching to get her finished.  But starting a new HAED is just too difficult for me to pass up!


This past weekend I worked on the LHN chart, Nature's Beauty.  Maybe I'll even work on this one a little this weekend too!! Here's an update on my progress:

If you have a chance, travel on over to my little giveaway! 


Have a happy stitchy weekend!


Oh...and don't forget some green beer tomorrow!  :)



-lesli

What is a Liebster?

I was awarded the Liebster Blog award by Katie @ Jeremiah's Mom!  I'm still blushing!   What a great honor, Katie...THANK YOU!!  (Not sure if there is a rule that you can't pick the person who picked you...but I LOVE your blog!)

Here are all the details about the Liebster Blog award:

Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition.  The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1.  Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2.  Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3.  Post the award on your blog.  List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites.  Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4.  Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

I'd like to preface my choices with this tidbit...THIS WAS SO DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE!!   I have so many blogs I ADORE.  I stuck to the fewer than 200 followers rule, and this knocked a bunch of my faves out of the running.  That doesn't mean I don't love them too!!

I am giving the Liebster Blog award to these great bloggers:

1. Beauty Bonnet at Beauty Bonnetstitch - She has such lovelyl stitching and the most adorable niece and nephew!

2. Diane at On My Needles - Because she stitches HAED and Chatelaines..who doesn't love looking at the progress on those pieces!

3. Bekca at The Stitching Lion - She got me hooked on Little House Needlworks!

4. Beth at Beth's Blog - This is a new blog I started following..Beth is such a dear with the nicest posts!

5. Mangogirl at Naughts & Cross Stitches - She does beautiful stitch work, and I always smile when I visit her blog and see that cute little blue striped dress the girl is wearing on her splashpage.

Now the part I dread. 5 random facts about me (I'm so boring!)

1. I met my hubby online....this August will be our 15th wedding anniversary!

2. I am third generation Japanese  :)

3. I was born and raised in UTAH.  I live in Florida now, but oh how I miss the mountains and the snow!

4. I have a purse addiction ...... though, picking stitching and crafting back up has curbed this addiction a little.

5. I love owls!!  I'm not much of a nick-nack collector, but everytime I see something with an owl, I just drool.


-lesli

I can wear it! (and a giveaway)

I finished my knitting adventure project....and I can actually wear it!  :)

Here's how it looked when I got started:

and after about 3 days of working on it.....messed up some of the "yarn overs"...but sort of fixed them

My finished product!  Not too shabby!

And lookie here....I can actually wear it!!  (pardon my photography skills...taking my own picture proved to be more difficult than I would have thought it would be!)

And now for the good stuff :)  

Had a wonderful "girl's day" this past weekend and dropped by a cute little stitching shop in town.  I didn't get much stitching done (too much girl chat to catch up on!) but I did pick up 2 LHN charts to give away!   Here they are:

Strawberry House (the strawberries have little beads for seeds!)

Tall Pines

This will be a short giveaway..... Everyone that posts a comment is entered!  There will be two winners (one for each chart) and I'll draw the names the morning of March 22nd (in time for the TUSAL update for anyone who takes part in that!).  

Happy Hump Day!

-lesli

March WIPocalypse

My March update is pretty minimal....I dedicated the majority of my stitching time to Coral, with a few small projects tossed in there!

Here's what Coral looked like just after my February update (1/1/2 pages):

And here's what she looks like for my March update (3 1/2 pages):

I'm hoping my April update brings a completed/framed piece!

I also completed a needlebook for a friend (though it wasn't officially on my WIPocalypse list, it's still a finished piece!)


Front of book



Back!

And..... in my last post I shared the LHN pattern I won from Bekca.... after I received it I fell in love with it and went on the hunt for more LHN patterns online.  I won a few from eBay, one of which was a pattern for a scissor fob.  The pattern came in the mail yesterday and I just couldn't keep my hands off of it, so I finished off the fob last night:

It was actually a little kit, but I used my own fabric/floss so I could save the rest for the bigger pattern it came with.  I think it turned out so cute!

And there you have it....all my stitchy stuff from the past month!!  (you can see my full WIPocalypse list and update here)


-lesli


ps:  don't forget to spring forward this weekend!  :)

WARNING....Long, rambling post!

As the title states....this is a long "catch up for the past few weeks" post..... I hope I don't put anyone to sleep with it!

One of the craft stores I visit (more often than my hubby would like) is having "March Madness" sales, and while I was looking around yesterday, I found myself in the yarn aisles.....considering giving knitting a go, again. 
My last knitting project was over 3 years ago, when I knit a baby blanket while pregnant with my daughter Kella.  It was definitely a beginner project, with no pattern and just going back and forth until I ran out of yarn.  I have knitted before, wayyyy back in High School.....but I haven't really gotten the hang of it.  

I figured I'd give it another shot, so I found a pattern online and bought myself some yarn and some needles (all on sale...in case hubs is reading!).   So there I sat last night, trying to remember which hand holds what and trying to figure out what YO, ST, K and P all meant!   After working on it for a few hours, here's how far I got:

I think the toughest part was that first row...either I'm doing the cast on wrong or I'm not pulling the yarn enough or something...I did that first row over and over about ten times!   Stay tuned to see if it actually turns into something! :)

Let's see...what else have I been up to.....  Oh yes, my son has an "Erupting Volcano" due this week, so we worked on it over the weekend.  I think he did a great job!

We'll pour some baking soda into each volcano and he has some red dyed vinegar to pour in.  He's so excited to take it to class!

I was also able to complete a lap quilt for a wonderful friend of mine this past week.  I used a charm pack of fabric and made pinwheels.  I love how it turned out and can't wait to send it to her!

I know this week is our WIPocalypse update week, but I'm going to post my progress on Coral anyway.  Maybe I'll get a bit more done between now and March's Full Moon date!!

The darker colors in her wings has been my favorite to stitch....I love how they create the contouring and depth!

Of course, because Michele at Heaven and Earth Designs went and had a Leap Day sale...I had to buy, right?  And buying new charts gives me the itch to kit up and start new ones :)   Over the weekend I kitted up Please My Wings Take Me Away, here's a picture from the HAED site:

This will be my first "black and white" piece and I'm exicted to get started.  Calling it a black and white is sort of funny to me, because there is actually no black or white floss used at all.....there are shades of gray and light blues and of course, the dreaded metallic sparkly floss.  There are only 10 colors in this work!

I also kitted up my first Little House Needleworks piece!!  I'm so excited about this piece because I won it from Bekca at The Stitching Lion.  Winning a piece from a bloggy friend makes it extra special to me, so I can't wait to get it done!  I'm thinking of finishing it as a pillow...not sure yet.  Bekca also sent me some scented DMC floss!  We don't have this in the states, so I felt spoiled when I recieved it!!  Why don't we get this fun stuff over here?

    
After winning 2 wonderful giveaways, I'm ready to have another one myself!!  I have a girl's day planned for this weekend, with a stop at our local cross stitch shop.  I'll be on the look out for some cute items and I'll start my giveaway next week!


-lesli