Boos, gameboards and autumnal thoughts

Do you see my right hand held high? I promise I have been stitching, not very fast but steady. I am very close to being done with my Cocoa Sampler and I have in the wings the Lizzie Kate Boo! Banner. I am very excited about getting started on it. I have decided to change the checked border to black squares and purple squares, rather than black and white. I am going to use DMC 3837 which is a good match to WDW Purple Majesty.

I have found an old stitch group member and have been invited to join her new group. I am going to go for my first session on Saturday, August 22nd. I am very excited about meeting up again with Chris. She is very fondly remembered as a lovely lady with a wonderful husband and children. Not to mention a wonderful hostess and a very good stitcher. She stitched a Stoney Creek Sampler that was to die for.

I found a wonderful blackwork Halloween game board. Witches Hat

Checkerboard Game Board is a from Sapphire Stitching and here is a link:http://sapphirestitching.com/blackwork-checkerchess-boards.html I have to admit I did have help finding it. It was posted as a WIP by a sister stitcher on 1-2-3! Stitch message board. I love it and have yet to dig thru my fabric treasure chest of drawers for a fabric for it. It should stitch up quickly too. There is also a cute pumpkin gameboard there too!

I don't have any pictures to post with this entry, my computer is fritzing out on me. I am very much looking forward to AUTUMN, soup and chili weather, cozying into the house weather. Of course my distant thoughts of my fragrant Lilac Thicket in my dreams. Happy blessing and may your needle fly!

"Hot Cocoa" progress

This is my little bit of progress on "Hot Cocoa". I hope to add to it today. The picture is pretty accurate as to color and I am really pleased with the colors of the fabric and silks working up.

Not much stitchy stuff going on in the Thicket but yesterday my third call (at work) is one I would like to share. I spoke with a Mrs. Kathy who is 62 and she up front said she is told she gives way too much info. She wanted to refill a prescription which I helped her with but she went on to tell me she was bi-polar and the challenges she had in her life. She was VERY spiritually founded and as I have long believed, people with mental health issues seem to be be much more connected with God. It seems He connects with them in a more profound way then with individuals such as myself who are deemed "healthy" in a mental capacity. I could have talked with her all day as she was SO full of wisdom. She shared she had 3 times in her life where she knew God was right there with her. I told her I had only had 1 experience where I knew God was in my presence here on earth. I told her the feeling was beyond words but SO intense and I was very emotional as I was saying this to the point she heard it in my voice. I told her I prayed for another experience just like that, to feel God inside me and surrounding me all at once. She told me that her minister told her that is exactly what the Rapture will feel like and that blew me away! As we were ending the call she told me she had 159 angels all over her house which she collected over the years and she wanted me to know that she had just named one after me. I was sobbing as we hung up, told her I loved her and would pray for her. There are NO coincidences as to who comes into your life on a daily basis and I have NO doubt that she was sent my way to strengthen my faith and love of God.



Mrs. Kathy struck me as a true gift from God. She said life brought some very troubling people into her life but told me that Billy Graham said our job is to love these people and it is God's job to judge these people that are troubling and then to judge us on how well we loved these troubling people. How simple and yet, difficult.



Thank you God for sending Mrs. Kathy my way, she has forever changed my life. So here at the Oh, so humble Lilac Thicket we pray for blessings for you.

My new project

This is my newest project "Hot Cocoa" offered by Casey Buonaugurio. I purchased this from another stitcher on 1-2-3! message board. I bought the Hand Dyed Fibers from Vicki Clayton and they are so pretty and vibrant. The fabric is an un-named evenweave which I purchased at C.C. & Company from the bargain bin with Miss Cathy's great help and actually I like it much better in color than in the above photo which is from the leaflet. My fabric has a little more brown to it and wow the silks look great. I stitched yesterday and all afternoon. I definately have sore muscles in my right arm which come from the stitching. But it has been a while since I really enjoyed stitching.

I have ordered more skeins of silk from HDF for an older Four Oaks design called Rhapsody in Blue which is shown on the leaflet in NPI silks. What I loved about it was it reminded me of an old postage stamp. I collected stamps when I was young and there is one very old US postage stamp which is quite rare and it reminded me of the color of that stamp.

I want to hit C.C. & Company on my next days off and pre order and pay for the new Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. I will get a coupon for 25% off a piece of fabric for doing that. I haven't been there in a while so it will be fun to see what is new. I haven't been up to the Old Mill in Liberty in a while either and I would like to take a drive up there, maybe eat in the tea room for lunch and enjoy a leisurely outing.

We had some thunderstorms rumble thru the Lilac Thicket this morning. I would say about 8 a.m. When I drove the streets on my way to work, the birds were hunting the roads for little pockets of water in the cracks of the pavement. I am so afraid I am going to hit one. We shall see how much rain we get today and see if it clears the humidity here in the wilds of my Thicket. Until we meet again, may all your stitching be peacefull!

A knitted finish!!

It has been a while since my last entry. My computer is fritzing here in the Lilac Thicket and I know I will have to get a new one some time soon but I have to take care of a couple of things and then I want to save up my money and hopefully by Christmas I will have the money to pay cash for a laptop and take advantage of awesome Christmas sales.

No stitching to speak of. I have a project put together to start. I also have many WIPS in the Thicket so today I want to sit down and stitch. I have been pawing thru my stash and WOW do I have some great stash. I will share later! Onto my pride and joy, for the moment.

The lining was machine sewn, the handles attached via sewing machine and then tacked into the knitted purse. A pen pocket, a key loop and a larger pocket were also attached to the inside lining.

This is the fabric for the lining. I wanted the dark green/black color so it would co-ordinate with purse and the beads. I love the summer tropical motif of the fabric.

A close up the beads which I strung and attached. Love them, they are just the right size.

And this is the finished product. One skein of Lana Grande, a chunky alpaca yarn. 60 stitches cast onto 15-16 circular needles and just keep knitting until the yarn is gone. Very simple and I am so pleased with my project. There are a couple of twisted stitches but the tension is very good for my first knitted project.

So there is a brief but truthful entry to the happenings at the Lilac Thicket. May your days be filled with sweet tea and daydreams and your nights be filled with fire flies and wonderful dreams.

Stash I had ordered

Stash I picked up on April 3rd at C.C. & Co.

Lizzie Kate: Boo! Club Brew/Monster, Ghost/Halloween & Pumpkin/Fright

Sue Hillis Designs: Stitcher's Days of Christmas & Tools of the Trade

Who Knew?: Ocean Whisper

Re-Stashing

It is raining here in the Lilac Thicket after several lovely days of sun and warm. The old saying comes to mind "April Showers Bring May Flowers". I definately want the lilacs to bloom because it makes my thicket smell like heaven.

I have been cleaning and reorganizing my craft room, starting with all my needlework stash. My ex-husband rearranged everything 3 years ago and I never did straighten it out where I could find my stuff. I have found many treasures that I had forgotten about. Case in point the bracelet kit shown above! I am thinking pretty little motifs stitched over one on 40 count would allow for a bigger motif and that would make charming little buttons to be glued on for a neat bracelet for myself. I also found great designs I had purchased and stashed away and most are much more desirable then anything on the market today. Most designs look alike anymore. Now I am not saying I won't buy more stash but when I have such a delightful array purchased long ago, WHY?!? Can you believe I found my fabric wheel cutter? I didn't even realize I had purchased one. I do think I have a hoarding disorder, stitching stuff, you know what I mean!

Well I have to tell you my mother e-mailed me photographs from a Lee's Summit Journal photographer she found somewhere on-line of the tea party she attended 4/15/09! What a photo puss she is, yes she was even in one of the photos!

I love bird watching and I found an Eagle Cam which is located at the Norfolk (Virginia) Botanical Garden. Yes good things do have their genesis in Norfolk (I was born there). If you love watching Bald Eagles raise their chickies go to: http://www.wvec.com/cams/eagle.html I watched Mommy bird rip apart a fish and feed her kids. We are so blessed to be able to witness this! Nature is amazing!!

Well gentle readers, have a wonder filled April day! I will here in the Lilac Thicket dreaming Lilac dreams!

I told her not to show up on the news!!!!!

The short lady in front on the left with the white ball cap on and the beige long sleeved jacket, I am glad you can not see her face. I told her I didn't want to see her on the 6 o'clock news, see the "9" logo on the bottom right, that is the logo for KMBC television channel and the woman who I point out, she is my mother. Thank the good Lord you can not see my Auntie to Mom's left and then my mother's best friend to her left. The event you ask? It is the Tea Party on the Lee's Summit City Hall steps. Why don't parents listen? My mother is now officially a right wing extremist, a nut job! My shame is hanging out just like the tea bags hanging off my Mom and Auntie's ball caps! Please be warned it can happen in ANY family! Hiding in my Lilac Thicket!

The Nutmeg Company

I was doing some "window" stash shopping and found this wonderful designs from the Nutmeg Company, an English company. I love these! They come as kits and would be so much fun to stitch. Of course only special people would appreciate receiving these but, wow, I really have missed something COOL!

I updated my Wish List blog with these cards, a neat Halloween Shadow Box from Prairie Moon and a Passion Ricamo Spring Princess! So here at the Lilac Thicket where life giving rain is falling, we shall be grocery shopping and window stash shopping today. Blessing to all.

These are the two patterns that I have finally narrowed my search to for the fabric that I purchased at Fabric.com. I am leaning toward the one on the left. I like the bodice more.

No stitching has been done since the last entry, but my 3 days off begin at 4:30 this afternoon and I will enjoy some stitching and Netflix movies on my "weekend".

The snow we got this past weekend is gone, except for where the plows piled it up. The Bradford pear trees appear to be a bit ragged but pretty none the less.

I am officially at great great aunt as of yesterday morning. Our family was blessed with a healthy baby girl Rose Lynn Ann. She and her Mama are doing great and her Daddy, my great nephew, is very much in love with his girl! I look forward to seeing, holding and getting a picture of our new angel.

Have a blessed day as we will here in the Lilac Thicket.

Snow and Stitchy Finish

Yes, March is full of surprises here in the Midwest. It started off as rain for a few hours and as the temperature dropped it turned to sleet and then lo and behold the snow started maybe about 4pm and then when I woke this morning, this is what I saw. Most of the snow is gone off my car and the streets.
This is my San Man Originals finish. I took another photo because the fabric looked greenish and actually it is Ray of Light, a light yellow. I wanted to make an Easter card but the laser cut card I have in my stash had a round 2½" opening and the design just didn't fit in the opening. Darn it all. Now I think a tuck pillow. I have some pretty yellow printed cotton that would work well I believe and I have tons of buttons and charms which would look cute in the 4 corners.

I am working on the name plate for my supervisor. She is a Mickey Mouse fan and so on purple evenweave with HDF (Vicki Clayton silks) I stitched her name in a rosy peach color. I purchased 2 kits from Stitch! 1-2-3, a Minnie Mouse and a Mickey which are to be stitched at the beginning and end of her name. I saw some fabric at Hobby Lobby that I liked for the back. I have some peach ribbon to make the handle to hang on a door knob. It is turning out rather nicely. I will post a pic when complete.

No new stash. Money has been tight and so stash is the last thing I should be spending money on. I have enough to keep me busy for many lifetimes! LOL!!

Just a note for myself here to remind me that my ex called Tuesday the 25th. I remained strong and steadfast even though it was difficult not to get sucked back into the drama of his life. I leave everything in God's hands and let him lead me to where I need to be and go!

I watched the mini series Lost in Austen on the Ovation Channel today. A very different and imaginative twist on the Jane Austen book "Pride and Prejudice". I'm not sure how well I liked it. It did hold my attention though.

That is all I have from the snow capped Lilac Thicket. May all your days be stitchy and nice!

A photo from an chain e-mail I received. Yes it makes me thankful I just have dogs to clean up after and seldom does a mess they make splatter onto the sofa, end table, television and various odds and ends. This photo makes me wonder what Mom and Dad were up to and how the paint was not stored properly to keep pets and small children out of. Um-m-m-m, if this had been my siblings or I, my parents first thought would not have been to get a camera and if it had, we wouldn't be smiling, we would have been wailing from beat down we received. Now tell me again what is the matter with our parenting skills in this culture. I see nothing except a lot of work for the negligent parents in this picture. I can hear many, oh lighten up! Damaging an expensive flat screen television, a leather couch and a hard word floor, well I see a lot of money involved. I don't know about you but I don't work as hard as I do to repurchase hard earned household items I have. To me this is another thank God moment, that I don't have human children.

I don't have much to say. I haven't stitched or purchased stash. I was going to post a pic of my fabric I purchased from Fabric.com, but I have already done that. I have "oppity" left to stitch on my Easter piece. I am thinking perhaps a cute Easter card for my mom. I have some of those cards with the laser cut edges. Well, after my parenting rant here in the Lilac Thicket I shall close.

Lovely Fabric

I have been receiving Fabric dot com's deal of the day ads for some time. I have been tempted several times to orderd fabric but didn't. I want nice cotton dresses for the summer. They had this 45" wide 100% cotton fabric on sale for 3.29/yard and I got 5 yards of each. I ordered them Saturday and UPS delivered them today. The brown floral is really lighter and has a nice pink hue. I want to wash these before I cut out the pattern. Now the fun part to figure out which pattern I want to use. Lord knows I have lots to choose from.

I got my kitchen cleaned up and went up to grocery and got ground beef for 1.49/lb. I've been stitching and enjoying a sunshiny day here at the Lilac Thicket. God Bless!

Yes, it has been a while. You start out with these blogs with all the enthusiasm and best intentions to stay with it. I suppose I am no different than thousands of other bloggers.



I went home last night and stitched a bit. I am working on a SanMan free design that came in the last newsletter. I am stitching it on Ray of Light with DMC. It is a little apricot colored bunny with carrots and I forgot the saying.



I have really fallen in love with Vicki Clayton hand dyed silks. I have received a couple of the monthly shipments plus ordered the silk pack for Drawn Threads "Moonlight Garden", which I don't have the chart for YET! I also ordered the silks to stitch Casey Buonaugurio's "Hot Cocoa". I have brought a few patterns to work to work up the DMC to HDF conversion and perhaps place another order.



C.C. & Co. has some stash for me that I ordered. Quite frankly, I don't remember what I ordered. Sylvia told me they were unable to get the Just Nan 15 sided biscornu. There are a couple of charts that I am tempted to purchase at Stitch! 1-2-3, one being a EMS floral cross.



I love the message board at Vicki Clayton's site. It is filled with just stitchy stuff. I am disgusted with the message board at Stitch! 1-2-3. Most of the posts are not stitch related and I am so sick of the crabby, intolerant, ignorant attitudes of many of the posters. Legacy Embroidery which is on Yuku is great but I can't read it at work, the filters won't let me.



The photo is a framed finish for me. The colors are not true but it gives you an idea of what it looks like and YES it IS a finish!


Isn't this the cutest blog background? Now there are 2 sites I have found that offer free blog backgrounds, "Cutest Blog on the Block" and "Izzy Grace Blogs". I think it is very generous of these designers to offer their creations free to the blogisphere!


Well considering how long it has been since a post, who knows how long it will be before I post again. So until fingers meet the keyboard once more....Toodles from the Lilac Thicket

A Pirate Valentine

Here I am at work, checking out the 1-2-3 Stitch message board and Sue Hillis has the above Valentine design. I stop everything, put myself into break and immediately grab my cell phone and go call C.C. & Company. "Ar-r-r-rgh Matie, I need this design!"

Work inspired rant and the Thrift Shop

And so it is, the last day of my 3 days off! I accomplished close to nothing. Why, you may ask and the only answer I can give you is that I want to sleep. When that happens I know there has been a lot of stress in my very small and unimportant life. I know it has to do with issues at work and so therefore really unimportant in the grander scheme of life. I know that working allows me earthly comforts such as needlework, heat, water, a place to sleep where rain won't fall on my head! Working allows me to watch my Ghost Hunters on Direct TV, drink Diet Pepsi, eat foods that are clearly not "figure friendly". Work allows me to have a vehicle and gasoline to cart my fat self about. Work is also a place of great stress, as if listening to sick people vent because they cannot get their Viagra in the quantities they desire is not stressful enough, each January the company decides it's employees must work overtime, mandatory overtime or the politically correct term I was told by a manager whose office I was yanked into "my fair share". I determined a long time ago that God is the only one I must listen to! He tells me what is right and wrong and a good part of the time I choose to do so! I do not choose to listen to little demi-God's who believe they have the right to tell me what I can and can't do outside my 40 hours of work time. And so my punishment is to have my non-compliance to their arbitrary annual bullshit go against my attendance. Yes, I have my butt in my chair on time every day, I don't call in sick, I don't have FMLA to use to call in against but I am punished. I do not need the "extra" money, I want my time, my free time away from that hamster habi-trail! I hate the place I work, my personal time is not their time and therefore I will not be whipped into doing what suits their business needs! Their business needs do not trump my personal needs, PERIOD!!! If I die tomorrow, or get fired, they will find some other victim to fill my chair and pay them considerably less! I follow what I know is right and this is my hill to die on! Yes, small and trivial to many but it is huge to me!

I did something I haven't done in a long time. I went to the Thrift Shop. Every thing was 50% off. The picture of the handbag is one of the things I got, it is brand new, the paper stuffing was still in it and it was $1.50!!! The shorts, I am thinking a cute spring handbag with Lucite handles! The shorts were $1.50! They have pockets on the back too! I bought some new, unused hair clips for 25¢ and a fund raising cookbook for 25¢. I really like the straw handbag and think I got a steal.

I went by Hobby Lobby and picked up my DMC floss for the Maryse monthly pin-keep! Home I came, laid down and napped. I have paid all my bills and I am thinking PIZZA!! I have a coupon!

I am going to pick out the fabric for the pin keep now and go beat the girlz. Thanks for listening to the rant from the Lilac Thicket.

Stashing, Secreting, Stockpiling, Scraping together

I have been contemplating starting on another project for my spiritual sister Marilyn. Her beautiful home is decorated with an African flair and I found a picture of the fabric I want to use for it. It is the hand dyed linen pictured above and it is from Enchanted Fabrics (http://www.enchantedfabrics.com/index.htm ). The design is stylized African women with jars on their heads. Won't this be fabulous for it?

I did order 2 charts from a lady on the 1-2-3 Stitch message board. I am purchasing Cherub Needleroll from M Designs and Hot Cocoa Sampler from Casey Buonaugurio Designs. I haven't ordered from her sale folder but I have seen her moniker on the board for some time. I am looking forward to adding to my stash.

The ladies at C.C. & Company laughed at me when I walked in yesterday as I had been there the day before. Well I got home and pulled out my Gentle Arts Sampler Threads and the Weeks Dyed Works Threads and I only had 3 of the 16 or so colors that the Lizzie Kate Boo Club called for. I was really surprised I was missing so many. So another trip was needed to Blue Springs. I did use one of my full punch cards so I was able to get all my floss that i need for the Boo!!

So here is a thought....I was thinking about labeling a box with all my stash I buy this year and not putting it up or away. That way it will be easier for me to find all the new goodies I get. I really need to reorganize my stash anyway. That room is a MESS!!!! Then there would be pictures, lovely pictures of the way it is.

Can you believe that the synonym for stashing is hoarding???? That is very appalling!!! Collecting would be good! So from the ever expanding Lilac Thicket, due to collecting of all that is cross stitch....have a blessed day!

Boo Club, Stashing and Framing

A trip to C.C. & Company yielded stash. I picked up the first 3 Lizzie Kate "Boo Club" designs and the fabric which is 30 count Mocha. The fabric was 30% off! I purchased another Lizzie Kate design which is below. I was thinking the designs would make cute presents.

Spring Violets was a shop model and Cathy and Crew had stitched it on a lighter colored fabric Picture It Plus "Moonglow" in 28 ct. The leaflet calls for Needlepoint Silk but the Crew changed it to WDW colors Palomino, Kudzo, Concord, Oak, Havana & Schneckly and GAST Cornhusk. I really like that version. I had a $5.00 off birthday coupon that I received in the mail and I used it.

Carolyn at C. C. helped me pick a frame for Beverly's Inital Fairy. No matting, just frame and glass. I had a devil of a time getting that piece clean. I don't know exactly what was on my hands to soil the fabric so badly but, a little Dawn dishwashing liquid and a couple of applications got it pretty clean. There was one reddish spot which really didn't come all the way out but it will not show. I had a 40% off coupon for the framing and it brought it down to about $75.00.

Today is the first day in about 4 days which I have been headache free. I am just worn slick though. I am going to go in and take a nap. Actually I have to haul in the girlz food from the car. They are out of food and may consume me while I sleep if I don't.

It is sunny here in the Lilac Thicket. Tomorrow it may reach 60°! Wow that would be wonderful. This old girl will retire for now. Keep those needles flowing and don't get your floss in a knot!

Nothing Too Special

Isn't that the cutest New Year greeting card. I love the vintage style postcards.

I watched "Ballet Shoes" last evening. It came in the mail from Netflix yesterday. It starred the young lady who played Hermoine Granger and the man who played Mr. Dursley, both from the Harry Potter series. I enjoyed the story. It was sent back this morning so I should have 3 movies coming back to me.

I printed off the pin keep free design that I spoke about in yesterday's post. I also printed off the EMS advent calendar, part 1 & 2. I looked at her website and they have some neat ideas for finishing. They have them as ornaments on a tree, treat bags staggered over a curtain rod, a long banner, stockings, heart ornaments on a wreath, wall banner pockets, and treat bags in a big basket. Now I am not sure how I want to finish them. The pin keep uses 7 DMC colors and I will pull them when I get home. The Advent calendar looks to use about 16 or so DMC colors and they can vary from number to number.

My little sister has one of her bathrooms decorated with the rubber duckie theme. EMS has a duckie free design. I am thinking a door knob pillow for her bathroom. I was also thinking about a finger tip towel with a duckie border. I believe I have little duckies in a baby pattern book. I will have to look for it. Don't you think that would be nice Christmas presents?

Well that about does it from the Lilac Thicket. Stay warm and stay stitchin'!

Stitch Alongs, stitchin' a bit and so many projects

The above picture is from the Lizzie Kate Monthly. As of now I have 5 months stitched. It might be a good goal for this year to finish the rest. What do ya think?

Well, Miss Meri is back on-line with her scissors series freebie. It is nice to see her back. She has cameo scissors as her current offering.
http://meriwanderer.blogspot.com/search/label/Cameo%20Scissors

Ellen Maurer Stroh has begun her 2009 project, the Advent Calendar. Parts 1 & 2 are available now for download. http://www.maurer-stroh.com/project2009_introduction.html I was thinking of making each it's own little draw string bag and a little treat can be put into each bag.

I was looking at Vermillion Stitchery's web site to see what the theme for her freebies would be this year, if she was offering them this year. Nothing is on the web site at this time. However her monthly snowmen for 2008 are all there and some are rather cute, so download them now. http://www.vsccs.com/Sample%20Designs/SampleDesigns.html

Here is another SAL that I will definately enjoy: http://grillesdemaryse.canalblog.com/archives/sal_collection_de_pinkeeps/index.html
I love all of Maryse's designs, one of her's is on my Wish List. I really like this month's pin Keep! I think these would make nice ornaments also. Of course, the ideas are endless as to how one could use them! How about a big piece of fabric with each month's design as a pocket for stitchy stuff!

I did stitch on my When Witches Ride a little on my days off. I received the small order I placed with 1-2-3 Stitch. It is a small Mickey and a small Minnie Mouse head. I want to stitch a name pillow for my supervisor Jennifer in her favorite color with M&M on it. She is a nut for all Mickey stuff. It will be for her birthday which is May 13th.

Lots of things to do and I am so very slow! I suppose it means I shall never be bored. So for now I will sign off from the Lilac Thicket, dreaming big!!!