Finish It First - Lighthouse XStitch

My cross stitch UFO is now an FO.

I started this piece about 15 years (yes that says years) ago and finally

got the cross stitch bug again, long enough to finish!
Soon it will be matted and framed and residing above my mantel.

As I shared bits and pieces of my recent progress
I received comments about the backstitch "outlining" in some projects.
Here's the difference in this one...

...adding just a touch of definition!

Lighthouses fascinate me and I never get tired
of photographing them and capturing their images in
my quilting and needlework.

Here's a few more pics from a recent day on the coast.
First up is my favorite and my link to Foto Finish; few words can describe scenes like these:

It was sunny but WINDY...

which made the water the most beautiful blue/greens...

and the waves crashing all around.

Churning up foam on the sand...

And holding off the fog...

 And of course, the light on the hill...

A great (much needed) getaway for me and my good friend, Char.
Did I mention it was WINDY?

Anyway...Happy Stitching!

 

P.S. I'm crossing this off my Finish It First list

hosted by Heather. 

Update: Also linking to

April's End

April is ending with the craziest spring ever...everywhere it seems.  Rain or shine, tho my spring break in Oregon was awesome.  I had such a great time with my sons and their girlfriends.  Great food, great company, great scenery!  I wasn't the greatest photographer this trip. But here's a few of my fav fotos.

We headed to the coast on my second day in town.  

Here's what we saw in Newport.

 Also went to the aquarium where Leslie is training so 

she can volunteer to work there and for the research center next to it. 

My favorite was the otter swirling around and pounding

the clam shell...he looked so content.

 

 And of course, my boys had to join the PIRANHAS...in their tank.  Goofballs!

Their favorite of the day, I believe was the huge ANACONDA

...notice NO pic of THAT...totally creeped me out!!

We had a nice dinner and headed back to Corvallis just as it started to rain. (which it did ALOT!)

And then there were TULIPS...everywhere!  I even heard about a tulip farm but didn't get a chance to get out to see it.  But let me tell, you just had to take a look in almost every yard and you would see tulips in all sizes and colors.  I'm sure they all got tired of me going on and on about the tulips.  But they were pretty.  The only photos I got were these from the hotel parking lot and one lone tulip in front of my son's apartment.

Sadly, this is my last day here.  

I already miss my kids and I'm not even out of town yet. : (

Anyway, as for my April quilting, 

most of what I completed I already shared. 

With the exception of the fully completed blocks for my swaps.

 Block Swap Adventure for Sue called Blazing Arrows.

AND

 Let's Bee together for Melinda called Four Winds

(Don't those look like tulips in there?)

So...the only good thing about ending my trip is that I get to go home and SEW some more!

As for now, I must pack and catch my flight!

Down but not out!

Talk about down...two weeks of that awful bug...missed a week of work...and didn't even feel like sewing...or blogging.  I managed to keep up with some of my blog reading, but it was hard to watch all the great projects going on and not being able to work on mine.  But, I am on the mend and got to spend most of my day today sewing.

I thought my Cathedral Windows Pillow was quite appropriate for sewing on a sunday afternoon and I got this much done.

I'm not completely settled on the layout of the fabric but at least I'm to the stage where I can experiment!

I can't wait to start sewing those curves and completing the windows!

Throughout the week, I did manage to do a little work on my embroidery and here's a peek at our latest lighthouses (even though I haven't removed all the markings or pressed them yet, sorry mom!) 

Mine...

and mom's....

We both have one more to go!

Also today I worked on a special project for a very special friend who happened to have a birthday today.  I can't post it til I give it to her, so I'll wait and share it for fabric tuesday.

Anyway, it feels good to be back to sewing and my blog.  That's what really makes me happy!  

  Hope you're keeping well and busy and happy too.

Cut 'n' Color

First of all, I'm referring to my hair. It was definitely overdue. Too much gray starting to surface and long heavy hair bringing me down. I just love it after a fresh cut and highlights.

And now for some fabric Cut 'n' Color.  I finished my February swap blocks. Here's the sneak peeks:

Block Swap Adventure	Let's Bee Together
I chose the color and block style based on my partner's preferences.	Fabric and block pattern chosen by my partner.

And, me and mom each completed one of our embroidered lighthouses:

Mom's...

Mine...

Been a lot of fun and very relaxing!

I also have 2 larger quilt projects in the works and will be joining tomorrow night's

Friday Night Sew In

hoping to get some real progress done on those.

My mini break (week) is almost over...they always go way too fast.

Anyway, good luck with all your Cut 'n' Color fun!

Busy B

Literally, I've been busy sewing and have finishes for my online bee and swap.  I posted these sneak peeks on both sites, since one is in the mail and the other will go out tomorrow.  Will have full pics by the end of the week. 

And as if....I needed another project, after noticing quite a bit of embroidery going on around the blogs I visit, I decided to stitch up some lighthouse blocks. Hoping to coordinate with some of the ocean colored blocks I requested from my Block Swap Adventure partners.

Here is a rough draft (emphasis on "rough") of what I'll be doing. I have to practice my embroidery as I am quite rusty! For this practice swatch I quickly traced one of the patterns onto a scrap of muslin and dove in.

Now I am ready for the real deal.  And better yet, I got my mom involved.  She does awesome, meticulous embroidery and I'm excited to see how her lighthouses turn out too.

And finally, I will start cutting into this ....

to begin my next gift quilt...I found the perfect pattern this morning!!

Happy sewing!

Back in the Swing

First day back at work today was pretty exhausting although it went fairly smoothly.  I know it has to be, but I sure miss the life of leisure I had for the 2 week winter break.  Not only that, the temperature dropped suddenly and it was freezing out there this morning...and all day. Ugh, not used to that here in Cali. But, I'm wrapped up in my Mint Chip quilt now and am enjoying the evening with my feet up thinking about all the prospects the new year brings.




First off, as I was thinking about New Year's resolutions, I ran across this over at Charming Chatter.  The idea is to come up with a focus word for the year.  Interestingly enough, it wasn't difficult for me to select a word because I have the same resolve as last year and that is to keep BALANCE in my life.  I always feel better if I keep a healthy balance between work and home.  And balance goes hand in hand with variety.  I have an obsessive personality and tend to get too focused on one thing and let it drown out everything else. So I have to work at filling my time with a variety of activities and balance out the time I spend with them.  So my resolution is to continue to find variety and

On the quilting front, I'm taking on some bee's and swaps and BOM's (links on my sidebar), in addition to my ongoing quilting projects.



Roger Federer



 I'm still following my favorite tennis pro and will get back out on the tennis court myself once the weather permits. 

I plan to travel to Oregon to visit my boys sometime in February, maybe take a ride over to the coast while I'm there (haven't seen the beach in a while) ...

...and my friend and I will be taking a piano class through our local junior college community education program soon. 

I'm back to reading a little every night and enjoying favorite T.V. shows and movies here and there!!

That's where I'm starting my year and will continue to add to it as I go.  2011 is off to a great start. Hope yours is too.

P.S.  So even if you're not linking to Word Up, leave me a comment and tell me your WORD!

Peace. On. Earth.

So the gifts are wrapped, the baking is done and since I'm not cooking this year, I don't have to worry about the meal prep .  The crazy madness is winding down.

All is calm....

In years past, when the boys were home, our tradition was to decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. The boys would all help...we'd drink egg nog or hot chocolate and of course have cookies.  It was always fun to take out each ornament and recall when we first got them ...  ooh and aah at the memories. 

This year (for many reasons) I didn't put up a tree and really missed those moments.  So tonight, in the quiet of the evening, I started looking through some Christmas pictures from 2009.  For years our tree has been white & blue with a snowman theme, but we always add our special keepsakes.  I was happy to find I'd photographed some of them.

So, as a way of saying my own little Merry Christmas, here's a parade of a few of those special memories.

My mom gave me this...I love the ocean and especially lighthouses.

 Alex's "first" Christmas.

Erik's "first" Christmas.

 Ian's "first" Christmas.

 Wynkin, Blinkin, and Nod

(from the book my folks read to my 2 brothers and I as kids)

 Raggedy Ann and Andy

(my mom gave me this the year she gave me my collector's Raggedy Ann)

 Joe Montana...remember when the 49'ers used to WIN!!

(Pretty sure this is Alex's).

Spiderman, for Erik (but they all loved comics)

and of course Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle,

a favorite with all of them!

And finally, another lighthouse. 
I really love how the light actually works like the real thing.

And now, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and...

 may you sleep in heavenly peace.