Where did August go?

Wow! That was a fast month! With the boys going back to school, USM classes beginning, and football season starting, we have had a full month. I did get some stitching accomplished as well. I have been working on the same few patterns, but my progress is great.

First, don't you just love the Anniversaries of the Heart series by Blackbird Designs? The first and second block are finished. I added my Mother-in-law's info to the January block. February is a big month in our family. Let's see, my son's, grandmother's, and grandfather-in-law's birthdays are all in February. And, of course, so is my birthday. I had to limit this project to just the immediate family, parents and grandparents. I also have a sister-in-law and two nephews that have February birthdays.

I am also making great progress in the Bent Creek Snapperville series. This is an old series, but I just love the theme and colors. Just two more blocks and the border to go...

And, my favorite project this month has been Shakespeare's Peddler Jenny Bean Humble Servant Sampler. I just love the colors in this one. To be honest, it was slow going at first. The upper left corner took me longer than I expected. But once I got to the letters and bee, I was hooked. Just a little work on the border and the lower right corner to go. This is such a sweet piece. I think I will frame it and hang it in my guest room.

I did have a complete week off this month. I didn't have classes to teach, fish to videotape, children to entertain, etc. So , I signed up for two sewing classes at our local quilt store. The first class focused on applique quilting. I have never done this, so thought it would be a great class for me. I had the best time. We were working on a quilt named Hooterville. It is so cute. These are my first two blocks, so forgive the lack of technique. But I am hooked. I have finished all of the tree squares and am working on the 16 owl squares. It is actually a lot of fun, but I can only do one square a day. Can't wait to finish this quilt.

The other class was a "Chubby Charmer" class where we learned to make a large bag. I used a bunch of scraps from some other projects. The best part is that I learned to machine quilt. So my week off was a great time.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Some progress pictures to share

So, I have been working on the BBD Anniversaries of the Heart this weekend. This is such a lovely series. I am stitching it on 40 ct linen, which makes it look so delicate and beautiful. Of course, since I have decided to include family birthdays and anniversaries in this piece, I have been doing some research into my family tree. It is quite interesting. My husband's paternal family tree is well researched. So I was able to find his parents' and paternal grandparents' information. I also have his maternal grandparents' birthdates but not their anniversary. As for my family, I have an aunt that just loves researching family information, so I have the dates needed.

The first block (January) only has my mother-in-law's initials and year of birth (MGM 1934). The second block (February) is a bit more crowded. Of course, my initials (JLC) and birth year (1971) are included, as well as my son's (PGR 1995), paternal grandmother (JMO 1903) and Hobbie's paternal grandfather (HMR 1900). Patrick wanted me to include his cousins that were also born in February, but I decided to limit to just our immediate family and then parents and grandparents. You see, I have two brothers and two sisters and Hobbie has three sisters and a brother. And we have 9 nephews and 4 neices, 13 grand neices and 4 grand nephews. So there just isn't enough room for everyone.

I have also been working on the Bent Creek Snapperville. This one is really easy and a nice break from the more tedious Anniversaries piece.

And finally, I have started on Jenny Bean's Humble Servant Sampler. This is such a pretty piece. Theresa is a wonderful designer and I can't wait to see the next one in the series. I would love to finish this one first, though.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a great week.

Oh, yeah. One more picture to share. The boys started school last Friday. Aren't they handsome? Can you tell which one isn't excited about a new school year. Nicholas (left) is starting 6th grade and Patrick (right) is a sophomore.

July wasn't the best month for stitching...

So I have been neglectful to my blog lately. I know, but I have been so busy. This summer semester flew by and I just felt like I was constantly trying to catch up. Plus, our entire family was gone the second week of July. I had to go to a meeting about the textbook, Hobbie was at a conference, and the boys were at camp. Hopefully, I will be more attentive this month. I do have several neat projects in line for this month, so I will definitely want to share.

I did finish one biscornu. This is Barbara Ana Designs Thanksgiving biscornu. It is very cute and quite easy to stitch.

I almost finished this LK Spring piece, but ran out of the green thread. I just picked up a new skein this weekend, so this will be finished soon.

I have also worked very diligently on Remember Me. Isn't it wonderful? I can't wait to get this one completed. Of course, I ran out of the Charcoal thread, but I think I am going to just use the DMC equivalent to complete it.

Have you seen the Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart series? These are so pretty. I have been purchasing these as they became available and have been thinking how I want to finish these. I know I want to stitch them as a single piece, but I really didn't want to buy another piece of linen when I have a drawer full. Luckily, I found a piece of 40 ct. that is perfect for it. I started the first pattern this weekend and had a great idea come to me while I was stitching. I am going to personalize the entire sampler by adding the initials and years for birthdays and anniversaries for me, Hobbie, the boys, our parents and our grandparents. Isn't that wonderful? The funny thing is that each month is covered except for May. I still need to find out the dates of my husbands paternal grandparents birthdays and anniversary, so maybe one of those dates is in May. I can't wait to finish this now...