Completed 2002

I did a freebie from Enchanted Needle called United We Stand for KathieB's Memorial Quilt project. This was my first experience with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads (GAST) I also had to stitch 4 over 4 on the bottom 3 stars. That was interesting! It's stitched on 32 count Evenweave from Silkweaver.

Adorable little American Bear from For the Love of Cross Stitch magazine. This is done over-one in DMC on a scrap piece of 18 count fabric that I had.

Cute little piece from Hinzeit that has silver cat charms and spells CATS in Weeks Dye Works thread. It's called Charmed Mini Cats. This is a 28 or 32 count Linen from one of Silkweaver's grab bags.

This little treasure is Just Nan's Noah's Ark. It was my first experience with working with fabric from The Blended Needle (TBN) as well as Waterlilies & Watercolours from Caron. The fabric is Very Vintage 28 count Evenweave. I also sealed the charms with clear fingernail polish in order to keep them from tarnishing. I made this into an ornament for my Mom for Christmas and used the Waterlilies for the cording. It turned out really well.

Angel of Grace, by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum of Lavender & Lace , is a companion piece to Angel of Hope that I completed for Mom many years ago. She is done on 32 count Cream Belfast in DMC and finished in 2002. These angels are my pride & joy. I do at least one a year for my mom and she gets them framed. The matting is 4 mats, two of a cream color and two of a burgandy color to bring out her dress.

This is the angel I finished for my mom's Christmas present this year. It's Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum's Angel of the Morning from her line, Lavender & Lace ~ my first real over-one face! I redid the hands to over-one, but it's not as good as her face. I used 28 count Blue Spruce with the Needlepaints that Marilyn recommends. It took me between 110 & 120 hours.

This adorable little bellpull, A Cup Of Tea, from Lorri Birmingham was her freebie for the Dallas/Fort Worth CATS festival. The chart was free and I bought the rest of the items at her booth (along with many other things!) This was the first one I've done by Lorri and I will do many, many more!

This beautiful Silk Ribbon Embroidery Heart Box was one of the Make It & Take It classes at the Dallas/Fort Worth CATS festival. I really enjoyed this class - and Lorri Birmingham was right - silk ribbon embroidery *is* easy - and beautiful!

This beautiful freebie from Pam Kellogg of Kitty & Me Country Crafts was my first square for KathieB's Memorial Quilt Square project. It's called Patriotic Dove. I had to leave off the bottom 5 rows to be in the guidelines of the project - but Pam paid me a complement and told me she couldn't tell - it still looked beautiful! This is also done on 32 count Evenweave from Silkweaver.

Two of our best friends, David & Jennifer, had a little girl last December, so I finally got her afghan finished! It's from Precious Moments and is their Hush-A-Bye Baby Afghan. It is done with 2 strands of DMC for a very Precious Moments pastel look. On the left, I am holding the afghan.

This was one of the Make It & Take It classes at the Dallas/Fort Worth CATS festival from The Silver Needle called Patriotic Brooch. I stitched most of the flag there and finally finished it at home. I handstitched the fabric around the 32 count linen to make the pin.

This adorable little teddy from The Sweetheart Tree is appropriately named God Bless America Teddy. This was my first experience with Weeks Dye Works - on the teddy bear & the flag. I used clear thread for the beads & charms. This is a 32 count Blue Linen from one of Silkweaver's grab bags.

I framed this with a mat and frame I got at Hobby Lobby. The mat had another lighter red mat underneath which I meticulously tore off and then proceeded to put something else behind it to stabilize it. I should have just cut the other one down! Oh well ~ live and learn. I did have to sew muslin on all four sides before lacing. My first attempt at lacing ~ it went pretty well.

This was my first experience with speciality stitches! I finally broke down and started The Victoria Sampler's learning series. This is TVS 1-1, The Holly & The Ivy, which showcases the Rice Stitch. These are fun - and quick!

I learned another stitch with The Victoria Sampler's learning series. This is TVS 1-2, Angels We Have Heard On High, which showcases the Scotch Stitch.

Another fun stitch with The Victoria Sampler's learning series. This is TVS 1-3, Silent Night, which showcases the Rhodes stitch.

And another stitch from The Victoria Sampler's learning series. This is TVS 1-4, O Christmas Tree, which showcases the Smyrna Cross Stitch.

Now I'm on a roll with The Victoria Sampler's learning series! This is TVS 1-5, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, which showcases the Algerian Eye Stitch. These have been a lot of fun. Now I'll have to tackle one of Thea Dueck's larger pieces!

This is the first one of The Victoria Sampler's learning series with pastel colors. It seems there are 5 Christmas ones and 5 other ones in each level. This is TVS 1-6, Happy Birthday, which showcases the Herringbone Stitch. I actually had some difficulty with this one. It took some time to figure out.

Let's see ~ if I finish the next 3, I'll have done The Victoria Sampler's first level this year! :) I learned how to do the Sheaf Stitch with TVS 1-7, Happy Mother's Day. This was a very easy stitch.

Another one down! The Victoria Sampler's learning series, TVS 1-8 taught me how to do the Ray Stitch ~ and it was quite easy! Very pretty as well. This one states, Thinking Of You With Love.