EMS Staff Exchange

I just heard from my partner Birthe that she received my package. It was a long 17 day journey! And that's only from Maine to Canada- who knew!
I didn't take a pic of the final ornament/scissor fob all done, just of the end before I trimmed and closed it. Not sure why. Just in a state to get it done I guess. I was soooo late getting it out. I had made a nice fob, front and back, but had trimmed it way too close and it started to rip while stitching it closed. Lucky for me the front was still intact. But the back bit the dust.
So, I salvaged the front and attached it to a card. Then did a whole new project for the hanging goodie, in blue. I think it came out pretty nice.


Odd though as I could swear I had taken a pic of it all done up. *shrugs. I'm telling you I am losing my mind!


So on with the details.....
This is what I received from Birthe. (Funny that we had each other huh?)
It's a nice lighthouse kit and an ornament with my initial on the front. I love it. I love how she closed it. (I am truly finishing impaired, it amazes me what other stitchers can think of and do with their hands!). I especially liked the note she sent with it too.
But I wouldn't post that.




This is parts of what I sent......


This is right side up before I trimmed and attached the back and hanging thread and all.

• Design by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, "Stitcher's Tools-Scissor Finder", a free design at EMS.


• 28ct Monaco, over one with two threads


• DMC Variegated 121 (the pic just doesn't do it justice)

And here it is, turned on its side, next to a very full bobbin for size comparison. Pardon how messy the threads are on the bobbin. But it can be tricky when you need to change threads and want it to continue with the color variations in the right places.

And this is the card I did up... (the attempted fob that got away from me)

• Designed by Ellen Maurer Stroh, "Happy Stitching", also a free pattern on EMS.
• 28ct Monaco
• Two threads over one using DMC

I also sent her a magnifying ruler, two heart frames, and scissors... I think that's all... Lol.

EMS Scissor Fob received

This reached Ljerka, in Croatia, in no time flat. It's my first scissor fob too!

• Pattern from: "Alphabet Mélusine aux marguerites" (Daisy Alphabet)



• Zweigart 22ct Hardanger Mocha



• DMC threads :367, white and 445

I couldn't stitch the whole letter as is done in the chart. It would have been huge, and not a good fit for a scissor fob. I love those letters so I know I will do them again, full size, maybe over one or something, but definitely do them as charted.

Here it is next to my pinky for size comparison. I take a small glove, if that helps.... And as a WIP, just before I trimmed (super carefully as I don't want to have my first attempt at a scissor fob happen again. Trimming it too close and having it rip as I started to stitch it closed.)

I loved using that color fabric with that yellow. I will have to pair them up again sometime soon.

Then yet another picture with a few skeins of DMC all wrapped up in the flowered cellophane with white tissue paper -with its matching card I made- all ready for mailing.

Sorry the pics are out of order. I have had my hands full today.

a little quickie

A little quickie to post so you know I am alive.

I am stitching a Exchange item for EMS. It is for the very late Staff Exchange. I had stitched a nice item, but is had started to rip during assembly. So I stopped that, will probably put that on the card and include that in the mailing for the exchange. Now I am working on something different, so no pics... I think she may read here from time to time.


I have been caught up in the Initial Scissor Fob Exchange I am running over to EMS too. I have the one I will do picked out, I think. I have to print it off. It needs to go out in the mail on the 22nd so there isn't much time. I think if I have two hoops going at once it will help incredibly. Keep things fresh and get them both done as I can.

There is a box, one of those underbed storage types filled with things that need new homes. Just tastes have changed a bit, plus I need to make room. :) I think the only thing I could really trade for any of them would be fabric, since, if I follow the course I want to take, I will be stitching lots! Planning stage naturally. But still. It counts.

DH, the kids and my MIL and I had a nice mini-vacation. We stayed at the North Conway Grand Hotel. I did most of the kids back-to-school shopping (they go back to school the 26th of this month) and got a little R&R time in too. The pools were nice. The weather was very good, unlike the last few days we have had.... drip drip.

Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day everyone!

It's raining here today. It feels so nice. Looks so much better too getting all that yellow pollen off of everything. I vacuumed out the car and van yesterday. It was awful how bad they were from regular spring dirt and that yellow everywhere you touched. It didn't matter how careful you were either. Just to open a door it was all over the place. I was going to wash the outsides of them after but we decided to go out to eat for dinner. My stomach won.
I had run errands earlier in the day and felt awful how bad my pollen-mobile looked. The outside was quite a sight too! And here I was with no time to hit the hand car washes all over the place the kids were running as fundraisers. To think if I didn't need to get to the post office and bank before the 12:00 cut off I could have had a green van!
But I got the white box mailed off to my exchange partner in the EMS Secret Pal exchange. It's one of the best ones I think I have ever done too.I will post pics once she receives it.
Then after that I hit Goodwill to drop off lots of stuff. Then Border's -which the whole point was to use up a $5 gift certificate- then I ended up getting the book that I wanted and forgot to hand them the gift card! *headsmack*. Good news, "Teach Yourself Visually Crocheting", is finally in my permanent possession. I had borrowed and renewed it several times through my inter library loan program at the library. Which is how they can get a book for you to borrow, even if they don't have it in their library, by borrowing it from another library who does have it in stock. The book was from Fairfield this time. It was great to try it out and see what I thought before I bought it. And the "yarn" they use in the book is great since it's sort of a tshirt type material and you can really see what they are doing. There is no fluff from the yarn in the way. Trust me I need all the help I can get.
Then I did some serious damage at AC Moore. They are running a sale on DMC, four-for-a-dollar this week. The poor guy ringing me up recognizes me now I think.

The Humbugs

fabric: 18ct Victorian Red aida ( I think)

fabric: 18ct white aida

thread: DMC 310 thread, for design and hangers

design: my own

The Challenge at EMS was to create humbugs, two of them, one done on light fabric and the other on dark, but, using the same pattern and thread on both.




I sent out the package to bebeche, then it dawned on me- I should have written in both English and French. Not just in English as I had done. Stupid me. She received them, and I think she likes them. I sure hope so.

I was going for a modern sort of look, I guess you could say. I was very nervous about the finishing and thought that if I could make it simple (KISS) then it would allow me to focus a bit more on the assembly. This way it gave me a little wiggle room in case I messed it up ( it tore or something) and I had to restitch.

I made the italicized "b" on my PC Stitch. I wanted it to be lowercase as her username ( like mine) is all in lowercase. On the backstiched username side I sketched the "b" on paper and decided I liked it. The rest of the name I sort of "stitched along" going more by how it looked and not on how well it fit. (*chuckle) Not the best way to design something. On the other hand, it felt very creative to me... I was stitching in hand, doing one section on the red then on the white, and so on. Probably sounds rather weird, but, it was very nice, going as the needle took me.
I crocheted the loops using the smallest hook I had at the time using DMC 310. I rather like the effect. Simple. My hands trembled the whole time. Nerves. Pure nerves.

The pictures are very deceptive. The stitched borders/outlines are 4 inches by 2 inches. Then once they were stitched up and stuffed they were sooo tiny. If I hadn't seen for myself how it all started, I don't think I would have believed it.

All the way from France!

The humbugs from the EMS Challenge:Humbugs Dark and Light Exchange arrived.:)

They are beautiful! Dom, who sent them to me, stitched them up using Primrose, from L'atelier du Pic Vert. It's a beautiful blend of colors. The way they look on the dark brown reminds me of chocolate with frosting. Mmmmmm. (In the first picture I was trying to hold them up together, with the door in the backdrop,but I don't think it came out quite as it should have. I'd click the camera and wiggle over and over. *chuckle)

She had wrapped them in the pink tissue paper, and enclosed a nice note and a kit of Christmas Cards as an extra little goodie. I had done my "usual" in not touching the lovely puffy envelope until I realized after passing by it several times that the envelope was open! I pulled everything out, worried that they didn't quite make the long journey. But, they did. I had heard about other stuffed stitched items not making it to their destination. Instead, an empty envelope arrives. *Gasp! Wasn't the case (thankfully) this time.

Aren't they sooo pretty?????

Thank you Dom!!!!!

I also realized after mailing out mine to *destination* that I wrote the note in English. Grr I should have written in English, translated it on Google and then wrote that as well. So sorry *exchange partner*.

Speaking of which, she should be getting mine soon. I hope.....

Pic

This is what I received in the "Start Your Christmas Stitching Exchange"......... I received the package over a week ago but just got to the picture posting now.

I also received word that the package for the same exchange I had sent out made it to her. I found the receipts in the "gum pocket" of my purse (I have a zippered pocket on the outside of my purse that is for gum for the kids- never normally put anything else in there!) Sorry I forgot to take a pic before I mailed it.....
Just not myself lately.

okay

I mailed the EMS exchange item for the "Start Your Christmas Stitching Secret Pal" exchange. I sent it West. As of yesterday it had been a week. (Tomorrow being a holiday is no help either) I had this funny feeling and mailed it with delivery confirmation and hung onto the receipt and delivery confirmation slip. I then lost both. She hasn't posted yet that she has received it............
*grrrr. Better not have gotten lost in the mail! If so I will have to replace it and resend.

A little this and that

Well I have been on, I swear. We can watch those YouTube videos now! Hello, enough old cartoons and drum solos to last for hours of enjoyment.
I am still sorting out the activation with Roadrunner. And seems that I can't comment on Blogger, it sort of hiccups, but, I can zoom around the internet now!

Let's see, in crafty news, I have done:

A little shopping for my flosskid Poppy. :)

Knitted all the parts for a baby sweater, as of now it isn't assembled. I need a little help from my neighbor Knittykitty.

Knitted, ripped out completely, restarted, ripped out a row, and now pausing the matching baby blanket. Seems I am goofing the purling somehow and I just don't trust myself to try it later at night. Maybe I can squeeze some time during the day. *cough, yeah! Maybe!

I have received the name to send to for the exchange going on at EMS. It's an exchange to start your Christmas stitching. Sounded like fun, especially since I can just buy stuff and send than stitch....

Started cross stitching the piece I wanted to do for the bookmark exchange. I made the mistake of starting it on 14ct aida, and simply put I hate it. So I will still do the same design I had started, just on another piece of fabric. I haven't decided yet which type or color fabric, just that it'll be at least a 28ct piece.
No pics yet, just seem to be eating camera batteries lately.....


Oh and wish me luck. I am job shadowing on Thursday morning. Not a clue what to wear just yet.

No clever title

for today. My camera has fresh batteries and is not working properly. You can still use the screen to view previous pics . But when you open the front (slide the panel over telling it to turn on and get ready) it just blinks the little red light and does nothing when the button is pressed. Grrrr! Now what to do? Part of says I may give it a little friendly "bump" to see if it does the trick. What more harm could it do?
Looks as though I'm going to be in the market to get a new camera, and not willingly either. So many other things I'd rather be setting money aside for! Sheeesh!
So sorry guys, no piccies until I scan things. And scanning takes longer so who knows how soon I'll be getting to that. Too bad too, we have a ton of rain on the ground and coming down in spells and I was going to be a smartie and take a pic of the "pond" near the road. It's really a ditch, but with so much rain it looks almost good enough to kayak! Certainly giving the sump pump a workout! (Which sets Hubby's heart all aflutter!)

Good news
I am meeting a fellow EMSer at the Mall on Thursday morning! We'll be french knotting and sipping fancy coffees. :]

And the 13th is the last day of school for the kids. So I guess that marks the official first day of summer for our household. So "rain, rain go away. Come back and bug us later"!

My first finish!

SBQ a little late but,
"Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?"
yup! here it is!
Ellen Maurer-Stroh's "Garden Alphabet Pansy"
freebie through membership on the EMS board

• 28ct Monaco

• stitched over one with one

• DMC threads

It isn't ironed yet, or washed.... And I need to tap some tape on it since Pidy spent most of the time I stitched on my lap. Not in the way, just I have more kitty fur for embellishment than usual.
I had been wanting to make this for ages.
The "secret project" came up and it was the perfect opportunity for me to stop thinking about it and do it! It will be finished off, yet to be determined just how at this point, and placed in a scrapbook. I picked up a few the embellishments that may also go on the pages with it. Won't know for sure until I have everything laid out in front of me and see how well they work.
So stay tuned, another finish, (paper craft) coming up.
I think I have some of the sticky board stuff left.. Hmmm.....

ribbet, ribbet

Recipient: (username at EMS) Froggy
Design: "Hoppy Birthday" freebie by Brookesbooks
Stitch Size: 40 stitches high x 34 stitches wide (quarter for scale)
Fabric: 28ct white Monaco, stitched over one
tweekings due to stash on hand and to make it suit the Christmas theme to go with the exchange-
>I used green instead of brown for the shading along the arm (stash on hand=didn't have that color) and backstitching (instead of the same brown and black)
>the present I had to change completely to make it look Christmas-like. I went with all red -cotton and Light effect. When I started to stripe with green & red thought it competed with the green of the frog.
>The hat I omitted completely, I felt it would have made it more of New Year's style, and with lack of time to fully change it to a more Christmas style -leaving it off just made sense.
This was finished with double slided tape and mounted on a card I made from cardmaking things I had on hand. I used the same LE red to tie the bow at the bottom.

What was also in the package:
~ package of stitchbow holders
~ plastic canvas
~ skein of DMC LE green
~ package of froggy stickers with cute googly eyes
~ ornament kit
~ pillow-type Christmas ornament with a blank stitchable front
~ tiny stuffed froggie
And I think that's it! I didn't take a picture of the whole package (DUH!)

here I am!

I haven't been on much since I have had this "thing". But, I was able to sleep most of last night so am starting to feel much better now. Over the last few days I have been jumping on and off in very small doses to check my Paypal/eBay situation, and very briefly mail and usergroups. Blogs I have checked and rarely responded to in the same sitting. My head and body were screaming.

On stash goodness- I have received word (from one of the best eBay sellers I have ever had so far) that Strawberry Shortcake is on the way to me. This is the first time I have ever used my Paypal account -I could very easily fall in love with it I think. Not having to run to the bank was a huge relief to me (esp with how I have been feeling) and being able to check on everything by PC was quite convenient. Not to mention I LOVE tracking numbers! I will be checking it at least ten times a day now. And I already know the whole "watched pot never boils thing", but I just can't help it!

Another, can't wait- seeing when my recipient gets her goodies from the EMS Secret Pal Exchange. Then I can finally post my latest stiching! It'll be new for those who have escaped my IM files. ;)

strawberry shortcake!

Did mention? I won! I lucked out for a second chance item and once the Paypal stuff goes through it will begin the journey to my stash.

Here's a little peek for you. The Christmas Stash Exchange at EMS brought this nifty package to me all the way from Pennsylvania!
DMC threads, a Charles Craft cross stitch bread cover and a Charles Craft towel.
Thank you, mystery person. There was no note inside or name on the box it all came in.