Coffee and Cross Stitch

Just a reminder - today is the last day to enter my giveaway! Click on "giveaway" in the category cloud, and post your comment on the "Pay It Forward" post from 13 November 2013. Good luck!!!

Christmas Card Factory | Card making

My needle and thread are taking a break at the moment.  I needed to get started on my Christmas cards.  My craft room has turned into a card factory.  Glitter & stamps ev-a-ry-where.

Each one is handmade; no two are alike.

Two down, eleventy billion to go........

 

Quaker Christmas II WIP Update | Cross Stitch

Let me start off today by just saying how much I love reading all your comments on my giveaway post!  Love it all.  

Also - WELCOME to my new followers!!!! 

I haven't given an update in a while on my favorite Christmas piece do date - Quaker Christmas II by ByGone Stitches.  It's called Songs of the Season, and I love everything about it.  Everything.

Well, maybe not the infinite number of Quaker motifs (let's be serious - they get tedious), but I am totally in love with this piece.

In fact....I'm almost done.  I know.  I almost passed out myself when I saw how far I'd come.

Then I remembered I've been at this for almost a year, and then I wasn't so shocked at my progress.

Anyway.

Here's a shot from the rooftop, which is roughly how high I had to get in order to fit the entire piece in the frame ---

How crazy is all that detail???  Andddd....looking at this made me realize I never did the olive leaves in the dove's beak.  Whoops.  I'll have to get that on my way down the side.

Here's a closer look at some of my favorite spots on this piece --

I love that reindeer.  And Frosty.  Damn close-ups making me notice another mistake. 

Moving on....

I've shown this portion before, but the ships....one of my fav carols....love this section....

And that itty bitty tree....

(sigh)

So totally awesome, right?!  Seriously loving working on this.  It'll be sad when it's all done....but then I can go have fun picking a frame :-)

Don't forget - if you haven't entered my giveaway, it's open till 30 November 13!  If you're wondering what kind of project you could do with that piece of Brandied Apple, check out this pin cushion I made using a Blackbird Designs graph!!

Much love ~~~

Pay It Forward

This fall marked my 13th year as one of the marching instructors for my high school marching band.  13 years that flew right on by.  It started as a community service project for one of my seminar classes my junior year in college, and I just kept on teaching.

I'm kind of a band geek.

And guess what?  I'm totes ok with this.  I'm an athlete at my very core, and nothing makes me happier than holding a softball, even just to  imagine striking someone out one last time, but there's something about the arts, music especially, that just captivates me.

The staff has become some of my closest friends, and at this point, I honestly don't know what I'd do without my time with them 3 days a week during the season. 

This year has had its rough patches, and this fall, through the kindess of the music program, I was the recipient of a random act of kindness (RAK).  And guess what?  I've decided to pay that forward.

So here, today, I'm announcing a giveaway right here on this lil' ol' blog.  I'm forever grateful for all those who stop here, see what I create, get inspired, leave comments, etc.  I'm all over Instagram, snapping pics of what I do, bake, create, all of it, and I'm also constantly inspired by those creatives that I follow.   I LOVE seeing what everyone is stitching (I seriously need to get caught up on Plum Street Samplers' Christmas SAL....)

For the stitchers who follow me on Instagram (and if you don't, click on the insta link on the right and follow the insanity!!), you know I'm 16 shades of crazy, because I'm almost always stitching on 40 count fabric.  I know right.  Insane.

But I also know that there are other crazies out there, and if you love fabric as much as I do, you'll love what I'm offering.

These beautiful pieces of fabric ---

From left to right, they are: Sandcastle, Antique Gold (which looks green in this picture, but there is a gold twinge to it in person), Brandied Apples, and Buttercream.  Each piece measures 13" x 18".

All fabrics are from Silkweaver, and are AWESOME.  I've totally fallen in love with the quality fabric they have, and the dyes are amazing.

So, what do you have to do to be entered?  Simple - leave me a comment, and tell me what you're grateful for this fall, and for what you'd use the fabric.  A host of Christmas ornaments?  A bunch of Blackbird Designs smalls for your home decor?  A gift for a friend?!  The possibilites are endless :-)

This giveaway will be open through 30 November 13.  Tell your friends!  Share the wealth!  Pay it forward!!

Much love ~~~

 

Update on 1 December 2013 - this giveaway is now closed.  Thank you!!