MIA but still busy as a bee..........

I have been busy stitching this past month but, since a number of my projects were gifts, I couldn't post about them. They have now been presented to their recipients and can be posted! I also managed to squeeze a trip in to visit my younger daughter in NC and 6 days (thanks Rich) in Ocean City, MD for Betsy Morgan classes and some much needed R&R. I have a Iot I am excited to share, so this may be broken up in to a few days so I don't bore you all at once!!!

First up, here are the gifts I made for stitching friends. The mermaid piece (in a Tim Holtz pocket watch) was a birthday gift for Sally at Salty Yarns. The design is from The Quaker Ball pattern by Amaryllis Artworks; I added the mermaid charm.

I usually take a small stitched "thank you" gift to Sally and Sara for their generous hospitality. This is a small kit, Album Souvenir I purchased from Jackie du Plessis in November at The Attic. I stitched one for me and realized I had enough fabric and fibers to stitch two more. Surprisingly I found the "album" at JoAnns, another Tim Holtz product, while searching for his pocket watches, and was able to put their tiny samplers in one. This must be close to, if not, the worlds smallest band sampler!!! The funny thing is all our names start with "S"!

On this trip, I was meeting up with my friend, Paola,who had flown in from Luxembourg for Betsy's classes. We met three years ago at Salty Yarns when Paola flew over for Betsy's class, The Toy Chest. We quickly found we were "kindred spirits" at heart and developed a fast, albeit long distance, friendship. I stitched her this as a memento--it was a "thank you" design from Donna at By the Bay Needleart for taking her class at Jamboree one year. It seemed perfect for Paola since we met sitting in the lobby of The Lankford Hotel stitching in those very chairs!!!

To fit the pocket watch, I stitched this over one on 40 count linen. I'm in the green and Paola in the purple!!! :)

I have also been busy working on non-gift projects. Here are some of them:
This is the free stitch-a-long piece from Blackbird Designs. Since it was a small design I thought I'd take my first "plunge" into stitching on the 52 count linen from Lakeside. I am using a fall color palette and pulling my silk fibers from leftover threads from my Betsy Morgan classes. I can only work on this for short periods of time as my eyes, literally, start to cross!!! I do have to say, I like the look of this and the linen itself.

This was my car project on the trip to North Carolina. I got the kit through my EGA chapter. It is the Folding Ort Box by Marilyn Owen. Once put together it should "collapse" into a flat box( kind of like the old coin purses) for easy transport to classes and such. I have finished the blackwork sections since I took this photo and just need to put it together. Pretty clever don't ya think? I'll post photos when I have it completed.

Now a little something I stitched for myself. This is a freebie card from The Prairie Schooler called Queen Bee. I saw this stitched in the Tim Holtz pocket watch on the Inspired Needle's blog and have been itching to stitch it ever since--you know I love all things "bee". I stumbled across this tiny pendant at Hobby Lobby one day and that pushed me over the edge. I came right home and figured if I stitched it over one on 40 count linen, it would fit perfectly. Again, I just used leftover silk fibers from classes.

The last project I'll share today are the final pieces for Under the Deep Blue Sea by Sue Hillis Designs. I've been working on this off and on for a couple, maybe few, years. I can't wait to start putting this all together in the Nantucket basket--will post photos when complete.

Top of Basket

Strip for inside basket

Scissor Pocket

Threader and Needlebook

Well, that's it for now. I think I have you all caught up on my stitching. I will try to post about my recent classes in the next day or so.

Thanks for wading through this post and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi