Happy Holidays!!

From Chicago land we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Vanuit Chicago land wensen we jullie Fijne Feestdagen en een gelukkig nieuw jaar!

December already!

Yesterday evening at the stitching night at my LNS Inspired Needle in Lemont, IL I was told I really should update my blog with some finishes! So Patti and Laura here it is!! :-)))


Shepherd's Bush 'Finch Song'

Shepherd's Bush 'My Pins' finished by Deb at Artistic Needle, again she did a great job!

On the left one of the ornamens Katrina made for me (Blackbird Designs) and on the right the freebie from Blackbird Designs again finished by Deb from Artistic Needle.

As I mentioned over the year Katrina and I stitched each 12 different ornaments but the trick was we stitched each one twice! At the end of the year we would give each other the 2nd we stitched so we would end up with 24 (!!!) ornaments!! Here you see the 12 Katrina stitched for me! Deb told me she will send out the last ones to Katrina at the end of the week so she will have another 12 to add to her collection :-))) On the photo you see 11 and the 12th one is the one on the photo above. Aren't they gorgeous??? Thank you so much Katrina!!

Here you see the ornaments on the tree I bought at the R&R retreat in Virginia Beach!!

Next post I will show you the SB pieces Jill Rensell framed for me. Again today I had trouble with the lighting so I really should ask hubby to take them with the professional camera ;-) and I will also show you my WIP's. Currently I am stitching on a needlebook by Blackbird Designs from the retreat we went to and I started Christmas at Hawk Run Hallow. We will have a stitch a long one Sunday a month at Inspired Needle from January 2010 and the plan is to finish one block each month.

Karin

Finally!

I know, I know it has been a while but life got in the way. First the move to Illinois. My daughter and I stayed in New Jersey till the end of the school year and over the summer we flew back and forth. My husband had already started working in Chicago and we still had to sell the house in New Jersey. My goodness it was hard work to have it ready to show each day before 9 AM!! We had at least 100 viewings!!! It sold a couple of times but fell through each time, talking about stress!! At least we had THE buyer and we closed on October 1. While the movers were packing in NJ in August I got the news my dad had Alzheimer's and then the distance from the US to The Netherlands is big! We moved into our new home on August 18 and the next couple of weeks we were busy unpacking, settling in our daughter at her new school (she is doing great and her first report card shows only A's and she made the High Honor Roll!!!). Then we got another terrible phone call the first week of October when my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer and it was very aggressive. So I flew to The Netherlands for the 9 hour flight by myself and it was a very difficult trip. My dad had aged so much since I had seen him in the beginning of the year and was very ill. It was hard to say goodbye but I hoped to see him again in December. Only 3 weeks later I got the call he died peacefully with my sister and my aunt at his side. So again I had to fly to The Netherlands but this time my husband and daughter came with me. On November 2 we said our final goodbye to my dad and it is hard to know I don't have parents anymore. Anyway that is in a nutshell why I have been so quiet here.

I show you some photos of the fun trip my friend Katrina and I made the first weekend of October to Virginia Beach for the stitching retreat by Dyeing to Stitch. It was such a fun weekend with classes from the ladies from Blackbird Designs and Jeannette Douglas (who we discovered is Dutch as well so we talked a bit in Dutch to one another! LOL). It was the first time I had a class from her and I really enjoyed it. Of course Barb and Alma are a hoot and it was such fun to be in a class with them again. The best was to spend a few days again with Katrina!!!


Katrina stitching away at the beach in October!

Jeannette Douglas her class piece!

The needlebook from Blackbird Designs

The pincushion from Blackbird Designs

View from the hotel!

The exclusive project from the retreat. Shepherd's Bush, Charland Designs and R&R.

Next time I have to show you the wonderful package I got from Jill Rensel with my framed pieces and of course what I have been up to stitching wise. With all that happened in the last couple of months I haven't done as much though.

Me at the beach in Norfolk. I so enjoyed the warm weather in October!! Now I need to get ready for my 1st winter in Illinois :)

Karin

One week Chicago!

My daughter and I got back from one week in Chicago. My husband started his new job last week and we joined him in his first week. It gave us a chance to explore the city and we went house hunting with a realtor as well for 2 full days. We have been looking in the Naperville area and saw some nice houses. In the coming weeks we will make a decision which one and hopefully move by the beginning of August.

One evening Laura picked me up to go to her LNS Inspired Needle (and my future LNS :-)) Cathy, the owner, has opened the shop last November and what a great shop it is. Lots of charts, threads and more threads and linens. She also has a monthly stitch-in evening which I definitely will join when I move! It was great meeting Laura and Cathy and my move to Illinois is less daunting now. Laura is planning on lots of stitching get togethers, shopping trips and eating burrito's and that sounds great to me!!!!! :-)


Laura & Cathy

My stash :-)

I will post some stitching updates in the weekend. I have started and finished the Blackbird Designs freebie 'Souvenir de France' and today is my Friday SAL on Miss Lila's Garden.

Karin

News but no stitching!

Surprise, surprise! No it was not a trip we made lately but one we will make.....
Last Friday my husband was offered a new job, an offer to good to say no to. Although it came as a shock as we have only been living here in New Jersey for 15 months and we normally stay for 4 to 6 years. Due to this news I have not done any stitching as my mind was making overtime with thoughts over the upcoming move!!! I have never been to Chicago and it will be exciting to see where we are going to live. My husband starts his job at the end of May and DD and me will follow in the summer.

Karin

A nice weekend!

On Saturday I went to my LNS Where Victoria's Angels Stitch for the 2 Brightneedle classes I had signed up for. In the morning we had Good Fortune and in the afternoon the Lady's Collection. The class was given by Ann only as Liz couldn't make it. It was a wonderful day and I met Margaret who came for the morning class. Margaret had already done the Lady's Collection class and she brought her finished collection. Just beautiful!!!

I also managed to get some stash while in the shop for the day! :-) I bought a few other things as well but as they are presents I can not show them here.

The last week I haven't done much stitching, too much going on around here. I did stitch a bit more on Mary Peacock and Miss Lila's Garden but will show updates on them next week as there will be more progress.

Happy Stitching!
Karin

Some progress and linens!

I got my package from Picture This Plus and I got some nice 36ct linens. Now to think what to stitch on these!!
Top: Chablis, Highland, Dill, Relic
Bottom: Heritage, Legacy

I also made some progress on my Sunday project the Ruth Bacheler sampler. I finished the Irish stitches on the side and got a start with the first row of the alphabets. Still love the vibrant colors and I think my husband might actually like this one as well LOL!

As I mentioned in earlier posts, Katrina and I are stitching 12 different ornaments each but the trick is we stitch them twice and at the end of the year we give each other the 'doubles' we stitched and that way we end up with 24 ornaments. I finished my 2 for April!

For my Friday SAL with Katrina I stitched a bit more on Miss Lila and I just love the color conversion from Jean at the Attic for this one.

I like to have no more than one or two SAL's at the same time as I like to go with what I fancy to stitch on so this rotation works perfect for me.

We had a wonderful week in Las Vegas! It was the first time being there for us and we enjoyed it. The weather was very nice and we got a nice start on a tan. We needed that sun after the winter in NJ. :-) We had lots of great meals, walked around, rented a car to see the Hoover Dam and the State Parks. Also managed to get tickets for the Cirque de Soleil show 'Love' in The Mirage. It was amazing and so well done on the music of the Beatles. I took a few stitching projects with me on our trip but did not stitch at all!

Thank you all very much for your lovely comments on my blog. It has been great to get to discover new blogs!

Karin

Another finish and framed piece!

As promised here are the photos of another finish and a framing I had done with my new LNS. I am very pleased with both of them.


Detail of Earth Sampler by The Primitive Needle

Earth Sampler by the Primitive Needle, a fun and quick stitch!

Detail of the frame. The photo doesn't do justice but it is a green wooden frame with a 'purple' shade in there as well.

My 1st piece framed in the USA. Curly Q Ewe from Little House Needleworks.

Ok and now I need to decide which projects I will bring on our trip. We fly to Las Vegas tomorrow for a week!!

Karin

March!

It has been a nice stitching month. I have made progress and did finish a few pieces as well as starting a few new ones LOL! Also went to my LNS and signed up for the Brightneedle classes at the end of April. Something to look forward too!! A whole day of stitching and chatting and I am going to meet Margaret !


Sunday's is Ruth Bacheler Sampler day and this is the update after working on it for 3 Sundays! I am stitching this on 36ct Vintage Navy Bean in DMC

Friday's Katrina and I are having a SAL and this week we started a new one: Miss Lila's Sampler from Barrick Samplers. I am stitching this on 40ct with a converstion in Belle Soie silks Jean at the Attic has done.

Another WIP on which I added a few stitches. It is Needleprint's Mary Peacock done in the conversion by SB.

A finish!!! One of the Friday SAL and it is from Shepherd's Bush called Love Letters. The other finish I will post in my next update as I haven't made a photo yet.

Also a big thank you for your comments and compliments on my stitching!! I really appreciate it!

@Annemarie: yup the plan is to stitch 24 ornaments this year. Actually it isn't as bad as it sounds LOL. I stitch 2 per month and as they are the same it goes really very quick.

@ Jeanne: it is indeed a Jeannete Douglas ornament and you can find it in the 2008 JCS Ornament Issue.

Happy Stitching!

Karin

More!

Here you see my finished Simply Life from The Primitive Needle done in a conversion in Belle Soie silks from Jean at the Attic.

Also I finished a few ornaments. Katrina and I are stitching each 12 different ornaments, only the trick is we stitch each chosen ornament twice! At the end of year we give each other these ornaments so we end up with 24 (!!!) different ornaments. Isn't that cool?! It is so easy to stitch the same ornament twice as you have the fabric and threads all ready.

I also finished the last RR in our Neighbourhood RR!! This is a Sheepish Design I stitched on Lynn's RR. Now I just have to wait till mine comes home and I know from Susan it is close!

Thanks for looking!
Karin

Another Shepherd's Bush finish!

First another Shepherd's Bush finish! This time 'Sail Away'! I started this for my Friday night project in December and finished it 2 weeks ago (forgot to post it here earlier). I think I will send this one and Roma's Garden to Jill Rensel to finish.

Two weeks ago I started Simply Living from Primitive Needle as my next Friday project and this time Katrina joined me. So tonight it is back to this one and I just love it. I have ordered a few of Lisa's new designs from Market. I bought this chart, threads and fabric in November when I was at the Attic Retreat and Jean made a conversion to Belle Soie silks and I love the fibrant, rich colors.

This week I started stitching on Lynn's Neighbourhood RR and I will post a photo when it is finished not to spoil the surprise for her. Tomorrow I go to my LNS Where Victoria's Angels Stitch for their Nashville Market Day. I already ordered a 'few' things online but it will be fun to browse as well in a shop and I am sure I bring home more.

Karin

What did I do on January 20?

Of course watching TV all day :-) and what better thing to do than stitch at the same time? I started and finished Shepherd's Bush 2009.

Karin

My first finish of 2009!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated New Year's Eve on Times Square and it was amazing to be there instead of watching it all these years on TV.

I finished my first one of 2009 today and it is 'Holly and Ivy' from Shepherds' Bush. I was fortunate enough to have this class with Teri and Tina in Phoenix during the Attic's Sampler Symposium last November. What an experience!! I went with my friend Katrina and we had a ball!

Detail of Holly and Ivy

Holly and Ivy from Shepherd's Bush

New Year's celebrations at Times Square!!!

DD and me freezing at Times Square :-)

Karin