Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Getaway Weekend and Giveaway Winner

Good morning everyone! Oh, what a string of glorious fall days we've had here--the sun, the blue skies, the crisp leaves...It's really too bad it has to end. What a difference a sunny day can make in one's life, don't you agree? And how about that extra hour we gained on Sunday due to the time change? I told my husband I would love it if every Sunday could include an extra hour--I seemed to have so much more time to relax and stitch...



Ornament stitching has been my priority over the past two weeks and the first finish I have to share with you is this darling rabbit from the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. "Good Tidings to You," designed by The Sampler Girl, just popped out at me the minute I looked through the magazine and I knew it would be the first thing I stitched. I changed the color of red to DMC 221 since I didn't have the recommended overdyed, but other than that, I used the suggested threads. I stitched him "over one" on 28 ct. tea-dyed monaco since I like my ornaments on the small side. (But you all knew that didn't you?!)



For this finish, I used the burgundy gingham fabric to accent the front and to back the ornament, trimmed it with a bit of lace and added a brown bow and hanger. The bow really isn't as brown as is shown in my photo--it actually is a great match for the bunny's fur color. Most of you know, I've been stitching an ornament each month so this finish is Mr. October...



My November ornament finish is this pair of smiling snowmen that I found in the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. "Oh Joy" is designed by Val's Stuff and I just couldn't resist the little bald-headed duo! I did make some color changes and ended up using DMC 221, 520, 844, 301, and B5200 on 28 ct. sage jobelan.


Another tiny finish (yep--it's another over one stitching!) that just makes me smile. I backed the ornament in the green gingham fabric shown in the photo and added a red and green checked hanger and bow. I'm really into these tiny bows at the moment, aren't I? Hope you're not getting tired of them!!



My final ornament is a birthday gift for my dear blogging friend Mary. I fell in love with this "Noel Ornament Stamp" (by Jeannette Douglas in the 2011 JCS Ornament Issue) when my friend, Pam, showed us her finish on her blog recently. Don't you love the tiny chickadee?


Although most of this one is stitched "over one" which I generally enjoy doing--that stylized "E" in "Noel" just about drove me crazy. It's stitched on 32 ct. Confederate Gray linen using the suggested DMC and Sampler Threads. I omitted the date and finished it up with some purple beads, purple cording and, what else, a tiny bow!! Mary was very happy with her birthday gift and I was so pleased with the final result that I think I'll end up stitching it again just for myself...


GETAWAY STITCHING WEEKEND: Two weeks ago, four stitching friends and I headed up to Erie, PA for our annual Bed & Breakfast getaway weekend. Let me tell you, it was such a relaxing and delightful three days. The breakfasts were outstanding and the company even better. This year, we decided to kit up little ornaments from the 2011 JCS Ornament Issue for each other. I really enjoyed doing this and below are my kits of "Good Tidings to You" all ready to be packaged up.

I took a photo of my finish and applied it to gift bags, stuffed in some gingham tissue paper, and there you have it--five little gifts for five special stitching friends. (Four of us stitchers, plus the innkeeper who stitches as well and so patiently tolerates our scattered threads and stitching lamps!)


And I didn't come home empty-handed either... Just look at the gifts that Lee and Linda made for each of us! Lee created this lovely fall themed pincushion complete with a cluster of grapes charm and some grape colored pins. And Linda and her husband designed this lovely grape colored mug for us to commemorate our weekend. Why all the "grapiness?" Well, the name of the B&B is the "Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast" so there you have it. Thank you so much Lee and Linda--I'll think fondly of our weekend each time I look at your gifts.

But wait...there's more! As I mentioned, each stitcher kitted up her own ornament for us so I came home with four soon-to-be stitched ornament kits... Amazingly not one of us selected the same design and it was such fun to see what appealed to each person. Thank you all for your kits and for such a memorable weekend. I'm already looking forward to next year!



GIVEAWAY WINNER:
So, I imagine you're all wondering just who won my 500+ follower giveaway? Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer... I let the random number generator pick for me and up came #12... Guess who left the 12th comment on the giveaway post? Why none other than the very lucky...



Congratulations, Annie--please email me with your mailing address and your prizes will be on their way to you. Thank you all for entering...I loved reading about your blog names and how they came to be. I honestly wish I had a gift for each of you...

I also want to offer a warm welcome to my new followers...I've tried to get around to your blogs to say hello, too, but still have a few to get to... Anyway, I'm glad you're here and that you find my little part of the blogosphere interesting enough to follow. (And for Sherry who asked for details on my November header--the handsome turkey is from Prairie Schooler's Fall & Winter (No. 90) chart.)

Well, that's it for today's post! Thank you all for stopping in and saying "hello!" Each time I see a new comment on one of my posts, it feels a bit like I'm opening a little present--I truly appreciate each and every one... Enjoy your week! Bye for now...

88 comments:

Parsley said...

I'm totally loving all your projects! WOW! You've been busy but I'm sure happy.

Anonymous said...

All of your ornaments look lovely, good for you! I am glad you had a wonderful time with your friends, sounds fabulous.

Syd said...

Great finishes. Your weekend sounds like it was wonderful.

Annie said...

All your little ornaments are so adorable! That over-one stitching and clever finishing makes such a dainty collection!

What a great idea to kit up the ornaments to exchange. That really sounds like it was fun.

And what a surprise at the end of this gorgeous post! I can't believe I'm a winner! Wow! Thank you so much. I'll e-mail you shortly.

Margaret said...

Oh wow! I love how you all made kits for each other like that! Love all the ornie finishes. You are amazing. They're all gorgeous! Love the pressies you got from your friends at the retreat as well. Lucky you, getting away on such a gorgeous weekend. Congrats to Annie too!

butterfly said...

OH CAROL, Sounds like the song i once knew.
Beautiful every thing is so beautiful, you are so neat and i love to see how every thing matches.
I would have loved to be with you and your friends what a lovely time you must have had.
Congratulations to Annie.
HAVE A GOOD WEEK .

Cindy said...

Congratulations to Annie!

Your finishes are darling and inspiring as always.....and what a wonderful idea to kit up the ornies for your friends :D...thanks for the idea...hehehe

Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend stitching with friends too....

Heather said...

Your ornaments are so lovely!! I fell in love with the Noel ornament too! I love the little Chickadee. You always finish your ornaments so beautifully!!

Elizabeth Ann said...

Your ornaments are WONDERFUL! I love the way you finish each one. Each finish just fits the design perfectly. I think you should have a giveaway for a kit for the snowman one and tell that generator that I need it the most. I have the pattern for that turkey in your header, I wonder if I will ever get to it, don't you just love Prairie Schooler?
Congratulations to the winner!

barbara said...

What a great post! I love love LOVE your finishes! Great big congratulations to Annie. :)

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I love Tanya's design too and I literally gasped when I saw your finish, it is wonderful Carol! Stunning!
And what a great retreat! I think it is fabulous to get together like that :) FUN!!!

I always look so forward to your posts, they always make me smile and feel really good! Hugs!

Lesleyanne said...

Oh WOW I love all your ornaments. Your gifts bags of ornaments are lovely too. Lovely gifts received and congrats to your winner.

Beth said...

All ornaments so pretty Carol - I'm a fan of Val's snowmen designs too. Your "kit" are charming alot of thought, care, and attention went into making them and it shows!

Nancy said...

Hi Carol! I love your ornaments! As always your stitching and finishing are just beautiful. I agree about Tanya's design - the minute I saw it in the magazine I knew I wanted to stitch it. It's so pretty! Happy stitching!

Jackie's Stitches said...

A friend used to be in a group where they exchanged kits from JCS each year. What I like about yours is that it includes the finishing materials too. Your Good Tidings finish is gorgeous. I love the plaid and lace together.

sunny said...

All of your stitcheries are lovely! That little bunny is just the cutest. And I like the turkey in your header. Lots of eye candy here.

Sun City Stitcher said...

I love all your little ornaments and your stitching retreat sounds wonderful! Lucky you. Congrats to Annie too.

Barb said...

Love your finishes. They are the kind of Christmas things I like to do. Congratulations to Annie.

Solstitches said...

Lots of eye candy in this post!
I love the blog header and your stitched ornaments are gorgeous.
You've enabled me to want to stitch Good Tidings :)
The retreat sounds fantastic and I love the way you presented your kits to your stitching friends.
Congrats. to Annie on her lovely prize.
Margaret

BrendaS said...

Carol --
Wonderful to stop by your blog and see what's going on in your world:))

LOVE your ornaments. Your stitching and finishing are always so beautiful!

Sounds like you had a wonderful getaway and exchanged some wonderful things. Great way to "kit-up" ornaments for your friends.

Congratulations to Annie!

Have a good week. Today's it's rainy and blustery in Chicago. A good day to stay inside:)

Nancy M said...

Your stitched ornaments are lovely and always like to see your finishing ideas. I kitted up Oh Joy for a friend of mine!! Looks like some wonderful things at the retreat!

MoonBeam said...

Your finished ornaments are gorgeous. And I love the idea of kitting up an ornament as a little gift. I must try that!

Natasha said...

Beautiful finishes. And what a great idea taking a photo of the finished piece and including all the things to complete it :)

Take Care
Natasha

Mouse said...

beautiful over one stitching on your ornaments ... really cute finishes and love your little grab bags both given and received :) and well done Annie on winning too :0 love mouse xxxxx

Ali said...

Beautiful!!! I think my favourite is the snowman xxx

Christine said...

Your ornament finishes are lovely.
What a wonderful idea to kit up ornaments for each other, looking forward to seeing your finished ornies

Cindy's Stitching said...

The pillow came out beautiful. the kits made up are just adorable. Glad you had a good time at the stitchers retreat. lots or treats, lots of fun.

The Inspired Stitcher said...

I love all your finishes! I think that's a neat idea to kit up ornaments for each other too. Looks like you had a great time.

Siobhán said...

Yeay for Annie! :)

I LOVE all of your ornaments! What gorgeous pieces and fantabulous finishing. They're all wonderful but I think the purple on the Noel ornament just zings. Beautiful!

Your stitching weekend sounds like a load of fun! I was telling my family about Zombiefest and they all were impressed. ;) We're big Walking Dead fans. LOL

Ranae said...

Your ornamnets turned out perfect.
What a nice get-away with stitchy friends, thats such aa good idea to kit up a ornie for each one, what fun!!!
Congrats to Annie

The Queen Bee said...

Lucky # 12.

All your ornament finishes are so pretty. Did you stitch your NOEL gift ornament before I gave it to you? If so, how funny. I didn't even mind the 1 over 1.

PS... I bought a 20X24 piece of Monaco (antigue white) at Joann's today for $6.79 without a coupone. I used the coupon on something expensive.

Pam

Lois said...

What lovely ornament finishes Carol! I loved seeing them all because so often, even though I've seen them in the magazine, seeing them actually stitched and made puts a whole new light on them! Your bags for the retreat looked wonderful! Sounds like a fantastic time was had by all. Nothing nicer then stitchers being able to spend some time together. Glad you enjoyed the weekend and congrats to Annie on winning your giveaway!

cucki said...

i really loving all the pretty ornaments..they are so sweet..i am so happy that you had a lovely time with your friends.
congratulations to annie xx

Charity C. said...

Carol I absolutely love all your ornament finishes! They are all so beautiful. I agree with you on the small ornies. I don't like mine really big either. Your little gift bags are so darling! You are so creative! I bet your getaway weekend was a blast! Glad you had fun. Congrats to Annie! What a lucky girl!

Christina said...

What a post filled with lots of loveliness!
What an ingenious idea to stick a photo of your finish to the ornies that you kitted up.
I think of all your finishes my favourite is the Noel stamp - the grey and purple go beautifully together.

Julie said...

Such beautiful ornament finishes.
Love the idea of kitting up one for each of your fiends at the retreat, sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Congrats to Annie!

Katrina said...

Hi Carol, all of your latest ornie finishes are truly wonderful! And what a lovely idea to kit up ornaments for your stitching friends - I just love how you made up your choice! All the best, Katrina in NZ

Ellen said...

Gorgeous ornaments, love your finishing!

Kitting up ornaments for stitching friends is a neat idea!

Myra said...

Carol, all your ornaments are always so pretty. It sounds like the retreat was lots of fun and I will enjoy seeing those ornament kits come to life. Congratulations to Annie on winning your giveaway too!

Lisa V said...

I always love reading your posts Carol, such eye candy to see with your lovely ornie finishes. Looks like you had a great time at your retreat, I love the little bags you put together.
Happy stitching dear friend
Hugs

CalamityJr said...

I couldn't choose a favorite ornament if I had to! I love the idea you gals had for kitting up ornies for each other; I look forward to seeing the rest stitched and finished.

Barbi said...

Beautiful finishes!! Oh it looks like you had a wonderful time at your retreat! What fun!

Vinniey said...

Looks like you had a wonderful time with your stitching friends in Erie. What a beautiful gift bags to your stitching friends and lovely gifts from friends! I am so in love with your October ornament "Good Tidings To You" finished, it's so darling and beautiful lace! The little brown ribbon is so cute and so sweet! Love it! And I am sure your stitching friends love your ornament kit very much. :)

Your November ornament makes me smile too! Another sweet finished! Love the ribbon too. :)

Noel ornament is gorgeous! Mary is so lucky to have this beautiful ornament made by you.

(Hi, Annie! You're so lucky! :) ) Congratulations to Annie! :)

Happy stitching!

Catherine said...

Congrats to Annie!!!
Oh my Carol! You've been busy with your stitching and finishing!! Love them all!
Your weekend away sounds just perfect! The smallness of your gathering is so sweet allowing you all to do such special things for each other. Can't wait to see all the ornaments!
Hugs!

Karen said...

Your ornaments are so cute. Love the finishing on all of them. Your kits are so cute too with the packaging!

Looks like you had a great retreat..

staci said...

Oh Carol, I find your stitching and finishing so creative and inspiring! Your ornaments are always stunning!

Tatkis said...

Adorable finishes!
Congratulations to the giveaway winner :)

Hugs,
Tatyana

Quiltsmiles said...

WOW! Beautiful Ornie finishes, I love them with the gingham fabric and those lovely little bows. Nicely done!
Glad you enjoyed your getaway and had a restful and productive time. It is so good to step out of our normals at times and find the silence. Jane

LoriU said...

Your ornament finishes are beautiful! I especially love the bald snowmen and the stylized Noel!

Congrats to Annie! I am jealous...in love with that bag! Where can I buy one for myself?

Chris said...

It looks like you had a wonderful retreat. All the ornaments look beautiful.

Jennifer said...

You are a busy gal Carol. I love your ornaments and especially how you have finished the Sampler girl's. It is beautiful. Congratulations to Annie! Thank you so much for visiting my blog Carol and your kind comments.
Your retreat sounded like so much fun. Love how you did up all the bags with the ornies for your friends to stitch. A wonderful idea. Happy stitching Carol!

Bekca said...

Congrats to Annie!
Wow Carol, it looks like you had a wonderful time at your stitching retreat. It just goes to show it's not always about the numbers of stitchers that attend, but what you can do together. I look forward to seeing your stitched ornaments from the gifts you've recieved.
Loving your ornament finishes too, you've made a perfect start to festive stitching.
Best wishes to you.

Rachel S-H said...

Beautiful ornies. Congrats Annie!

passionfruitprincess said...

Very pretty finishes Carol! I especially love the "Oh Joy" ornament. Sounds like your stitching time with your friends was lovely. Good for you! Have a great day.
Ana Paula.

Melanie said...

The ornaments are fab.u.lous! Especially that chickadee. (How flipping cute is that?)
That is such a great idea with kitting up little ornaments. I wish I had some local stitchy friends. *sniff*

Congrats to Annie on her win!!!

Dani - tkdchick said...

What beautiful ornaments and how beautifully finished! YOu are do disciplined! I stitch them and and put them into a ziplock baggie for "later" I'm running out of "later"

Aren't retreats with friends the best? I've got one coming up soon and I can't wait!

Ruth said...

Wow such lovely work and perfect finishing. Pat yourself on the back from all of us jealous folks in xs blogland.

Claudine said...

Vraiment magnifiques toutes ces broderies ! Bisous et bonne journée

Veronica said...

Darn, I was hoping for some chocolate. LOL! Congrats to Annie.

Sounds like you had a lovely time. Oh, I'm not at all tired of the tiny bows. They're lovely. So are all the ornaments you stitched, especially Noel. Over one stitching... Impressive!

Hugs,
Veronica.

Hilda said...

Dear Carol,
I hardly can stop looking at your wonderful ornaments. Each of them is a little treasure and when I saw them first here I wanted to start them stitching immediately!
I also admire this great idea with the kitted ornaments for give-away! I think I should propose this to our stitching club!
Your bags with the kits look so great!
I found so many ideas in this post - thank you so much!
Hugs
Hilda

Sally said...

Oooh, Carol, I absolutely love your ornaments!

What a fantastic getaway weekend! Sounds like you had a brilliant time.

Congratulations to Annie!

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

very beautiful !

Lynn B said...

Carol I love everything you do, it is all so perfect!

Congrats to the winner!

Susan @ Real Girl Designs said...

All your finishes are gorgeous!

What a wonderful idea to make gift bags and include a picture of your finish on the front - definitely inspiring me with that!

♥ Nia said...

Beautiful finishes :D I love those smiling snowmen =)

Those bags look so cute! What an adorable idea!! :D
Very nice detail with the pic ;)

Congratulations Annie!! :D
Hugs to you sweetie! :)

Daffycat said...

SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! I love LOVE love your ornaments. All ove them. They are just wonderful. I really like your little bow hangers. You must share how to tie them. The kitted up Christmas ornaments are just darling gifts. I imagine you all had so much fun.

Anonymous said...

Carol,
I love all 3 of your ornaments, very cute! Your getaway sounds lovely. I really like the kitting up of the ornaments! What a fun idea!
Donna in WV

Shelley said...

I love all of your stitching. How on earth do you make your ribbon hangers and those adorable little bows???

Melody said...

Carol, What beautiful ornaments you have made! I love your finishing work as well. So pretty and neat. It takes skill to make those pretty bows. I'm never that happy with the ones I make.

Your blog header picture is so pretty too!

Patty C. said...

Congrats to the winner
Love the snowman by the way ;)

Gabriele said...

Adorable! I like the ornies. Wonderful!
Greetings, Gabi

Lynn said...

Congrats to the lucky winner!
I love your finishes Carol especially the snowman design. I've started that one and misplaced it somewhere.
Glad you had such an enjoyable retreat. I like the idea of a smaller group.

Edit said...

Your new ornaments are so so beautiful Carol! Like always :) I enjoy watching them and I feel like I would like to stitch them too. :)

Your stitching weekend must have been wonderful1 I wish I could meet some other stitchers here and we could get together from time to time. But here stitching is not so popular, and I only know one person who does is. Sadly, she does not live that close to us.

Anyhow, I am looking forward to see those ornaments soon that the other stitchers kitted up for you :)

These days I also try to stitch as much as I can, I find it is very good therapy as it gets my thoughts away from the pain. The recovery is soon, but at least it means lots of stitching hours :)

Have a lovely weekend,
Edit

valerie said...

So much fun stuff in this post! I'm so happy that you had a great time on your weekend away. What fun! I love that you all picked an ornie and kitted it up for the others.

Cute ornie finishes! Love Oh Joy and the Noel. Those tiny bows are the best!

Congrats to Annie!!

I'm back! Will email you shortly! :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful ornaments!! I could not decide which one I liked best!

Sounds like you had a wonderful retreat - a perfect getaway for stitching!! I really like the idea of kitting up ornaments for each. Amazing that they were all different.

Congratulations to Annie as well.

Rowyn said...

Oh yes, I love a sunny day. We had one today which was wonderful. This year my city had it's cloudiest October since 1938 -I wasn't surprised when I read that, it was definitely apparent.

I love your Xmas ornaments. A reminder that the big day itself is not far away!

Your getaway stitching weekend sounds like it was very enjoyable. I love how you kitted up 'Good tidings to you' for your friends. I'm sure they were thrilled with your choice. That little bunny is adorable.

I can't wait to see the kits your friends gave you all stitched up too.

Brigitte said...

I have always loved your choice of ornaments, and your choice of finishing even more. I know whenever I don't know how to finish a little pillow I'll get to your blog and browse all your creative finishing ideas.
Great to read about your stitching weekend which muct have been pure pleasure and fun.

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

Congratulations Annie:)
Lovely ornament finishes Carol,the one over one is so delicate.
How wonderful to have such a fantastic stitching weekend. Great photos :)

Michelle said...

Such beautiful stitching and finishing - what an inspiration for Christmas stitching! I love the 'Good tidings to you' ornament, and it is so perfectly finished.

Michele B. said...

Oh joy indeed - what lovely finishes! Noel is calling to me after seeing yours, especially with the tiny bird, but I'm leery of that tricky E. I'm so glad you had a good time at the retreat - may you have happy memories every time you use your mug.

Anne said...

Congrats to Annie for winning that fabulous bag!! Love all your ornies Carol! Especially the Good Tidings one!! The gingham is the cutest. I seriously need some! That Noel is gorgeous too! I love the wee little chickadee :D The retreat sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Hugs

Kay said...

You sure have been busy. I love everything, so very beautiful!

Berit said...

Great post--my favorite is your "Good Tidings" finish. That one is moving up the ranks of my must-stitch list.

Personally, I ADORE your tiny bows. They are not too fussy--no, they are just perfect!

Elia said...

Congratulations to Annie!

So beautiful ornaments!!!
I could not decide which one I liked best!
Hugs from Spain,

eljardindemiduende

Meari said...

Wow, you do such beautiful ornaments! What a great stitching retreat. I'm envious.

I'm so far behind on reading blogs that I missed your giveaway. Boo.

Martine said...

All your little ornaments are so cute !!!! I fell in love for your little rabbit "Good Tidings to you" !!! It is adorable !!!!
Have a good day, dear friend !
Hugs !
Martine.

Madewithlovebyteresa said...

I love the "OH JOY" and the "noEL" ornaments. Can we do a swap. I just started doing ornaments for the first time for my tree this year. I have ornaments from Des Histoires a Broder Here (http://www.deshistoiresabroder.com/broder/description.php?lang=1&path=16&id=528).
Thanks so much.

Teresa Cline
teresacline1@yahoo.com
madewithlovebyteresa.blogspot.com

Cathy C said...

I jus happened upon your blog and I so enjoyed browsing. Love your stitched pieces and the conversation. Looks like you have a lot of people following you. It's been 8.5 years since I did any cross stitching -- after my DH passed I packed everything up and haven't touched it until recently. I have a design that I started stitching of a snowman, but I have had fits trying to locate the pattern even on line. I was wondering if you and your friends here wouldn't mind taking a look at what I have stitched (I can send a photo) and if you know what designer it is, or the title of the chart, I might be able to find it. So far I have come up with nothing and I am hoping that there is still a chart out there somewhere . I have half of the snowman finished, but I just can't recall who the designer is, nor the title. You can let me know here and we can figure out how I can send you a picture, see if someone recognizes it. I'd be so appreciative of the help. Thanks and blessings to you! Catherine in NM