Catching Up - Warning - picture heavy

Hi and welcome to my lengthy update!

I've been a bit, been very busy and believe it or not, I am actually stitching some and quilting some and getting things done. I will start this with a pretty picture - my rose bush blooms in ready to "vase" bunches. Sometimes it blooms in the early summer and others late summer. One year we had blooms starting in October and the early November frost took them away quickly. This just popped out this past couple weeks. Very thorny, but also pretty. I am not much of a gardener so things that take care of themselves are welcome to my dirt...this is one of them - not a fussy rose at all!

Remember the basting that I had to do to get ready for the friendship sampler with the great (did I say GREAT) group of friends I hang with...well here is my band on my sampler before passing it on. I love the way it turned out with the overdyed fibers. They are rhodes hearts with a line of van dyke stitch below it. Hope everyone likes it when I get it on their band...

A co-worker of my DH's "does" flea markets quite a bit - he told her about the elusive flower frog (aka scissor frog) and she found this one - really clear and clean. Added it to the collection of those awaiting bases.

So I did these pieces years ago, but with the cooler (thank goodness!) weather and the passing of Labor Day, I put out the fall stitched/framed piece with all the pumpkins and changed the one hanging on my door back to the pineapple welcome. I have an 8x8 frame that I switch out the seasonal ones - I think most of them are by The Trilogy - "Treat" series (I think). The door knockers are done by Bent Creek and I love them - they were pretty quick stitches and even the finishing was a fairly easy.

I have been doing a little reading - lookey, lookey what I received in the mail over the last week or two. Love the JCS Ornament Issue and my "now no longer new" love of quilting is fed with reading the Love of Quilting just before nodding off!

My niece, Amira, spent the night over the Labor Day weekend and we made tissue paper flowers - she left me with this one to put on my basket. She was very interested in learning sewing and I showed her how to take scraps, square them up a bit, thread a needle and then we worked on pillows. What a good time we had: movie, sewing, dinner with my sisters and all the kids and their husbands...the next day we spent the afternoon (which was pretty cool) at my Mom's and had dinner. We were going to do a boating afternoon - but it was pretty windy too. Ahhh, love the change in weather!

I have been working on quilting a bit. This is my nephew Ashton's quilt for Christmas. It's all put together now. Hopefully I will be finishing up the backing tomorrow or Saturday morning so I can take it to the quilter. Now what to sew? I have plenty to move on to, that's for sure.

So in the stitching realm of things what have I been doing, you may be wondering? Well remember the group I belong to - Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild? If you remember me mentioning them, you may remember the focus project for June 2011, BBD Remembering Me - we can stitch any one of the series...well I still can't decide. I started both Merry Christmas, Ella Vaugh (pinkish house) and My Missouri Home (greenish house) and I wanted to see which I enjoyed more, using that for my focus piece and then finishing the other later. Well I can't decide. I like them both equally. Here is my progress - and I know, there is more on the M.C . Ella, but I really wanted to work on the tree to the left of the house. I will be working them again soon; they have been really fun stitches thus far.

I also couldn't resist a new start - how about you? I always love that first row or two of new colors of x's on the fresh linen. So this...

is now this...

I love this and it's been fast and fun! It's Photobooth Frank'n'Boo by Bent Creek. I also have the snowmen in the photobooth series and have wrote about those earlier. It's my late at night, go to project, of the moment.

Besides all that, my DS has started his senior year in high school and he's doing okay so far. Open House was last night and meeting the teachers (and visiting previous teachers) was, as always, nice to put a face with the voice/email and to my son's responses to questions I have for him daily regarding his day at school. He has been hanging out with friends and enjoying his senior year socially, so far! He also is learning quite a bit at his new job and I believe loving having some of his own cash.

Of course my work is just that, work - I say "drat that work" sometimes for getting in the way of the quilting, stitching and reading. But, I have to work to help out with the household expenses, and to pay for these habits - hobbies, whatever you want to call them - my passion! Now don't get me wrong, I am certainly not complaining; I know that I have a great job, work doing what I like to do (most of the time, as Human Resources is fine, but like any job it certainly has it's moments). I also know I am very fortunate to have a job that helps with these passions!

So I have blabbed quite a bit - wonder now if you have all gone glazzey-eyed (yes, it's a made up word but I know you know what I mean)...but I did have so much to tell you. Well - gotta get to bed - work tomorrow. Whatever you are up to, whatever has you smiling, hope it's peaceful to your heart! Thanks for stopping by and reading. Welcome to newbies and hi the regulars! Your comments mean so much to me and seeing my followers go up is a thrill for me....

As I started this post, I will end it - with a pic from my flower garden.

Stitch happy,

Sherry