Monday, January 23, 2012

First finish, first TUSAL of 2012 -- plus prizes too

Ok, first the first 2012 finish.  Yay!

Sarah Elizabeth Brooke
by The Scarlett House
40ct Homespun (?) linen
Belle Soie as called for

Isn't she gorgeous?


I'm in love with her.  And all the over one words went really quickly for a change!


I also worked on And They Sinned again on Sunday.  Here's where I am now.


Michelle advised me to just work from left to right, top to bottom on those crazy motifs above the tree -- all of which I was dreading stitching.  So armed with that advice, I started.  And it's really helped!  Still a bit more of those motifs in the sky to do.  But then I get to work on A&E and the angel and that tree!


And the craziness in the sky is actually quite pretty.  :D

I'm also posting my first TUSAL of 2012.  Here's where you can sign up if you're interested.  It's fun, and no pressure at all.


My ORTs might look a little funny.  That's because my sweet boy child had a moment of nostalgia and decided to cut all my ORTs into tiny pieces  with my stitching scissors -- just like he  used to when he was younger.  I added a few more ORTs after his snipping session though.  lol!

Oh, and I took the picture of my ORT jar with my new acquisition for the pin cushion collection from Christmas.  Isn't it marvelous?  It's a reproduction of a sewing caddy from a talented artisan named Richard Hyers.  Here is a link to his website.   Oh, and thank you to Dawn for posting about his work so I could discover it!  Dawn's blog is always full of eye candy.

I have received some lovely prizes in the mail recently as well.  First, I won a lovely giveaway from Nicola at Stitching by a Cornish Sea.  By the way, her blog is so worth a visit.  She lives in the most beautiful area and does a lot of gorgeous stitching!  Her ATS is what inspired me to get back to mine.

Anyway, here is the package I got.


And here is the prize in all its glory!


(Sorry for the darkness at the top.)  I got a Love kit from the Historical Sampler Company, Plus a whole lot of goodies to go with it!  Fabric, lace, trims, beads, a pretty note pad -- and I'm very excited about the purse frame that I can make into a purse.  Thank you so much, Nicola!  I love my prize, and I so enjoy reading your blog!

I also got a prize from Lizzie of A House in the Country.


It's a beautiful iPhone case for my iPhone!  Her talented youngest daughter is an artist, and she designed the art on the case.  Isn't it lovely?  Thank you so much, Lizzie!  Now all I have to do is figure out how to take my other case off my iPhone so I can put this one on.  lol!

While I was taking pictures this morning for this post, Mia was watching over the proceedings from above.


She did get distracted though.


Always interesting things out the window.  lol!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I always enjoy our visits.  I hope everyone has a great week!

76 comments:

Bertie said...

Congratulations Margaret, a whopper first finish!! Your presents look fabulous. I do love the pinkeep/draw!!
What does Mia care, looking out for something else is on her mind LOL
Have a great week:))

Laurie in Iowa said...

Oh my, so much wonderful eye candy. Elizabeth is gorgeous. Congrats on your first finish of 2012.
Your ATS is coming right along and I'm glad Michelle could help you get over that stumbling block and forge ahead on this beauty.
Nice Christmas present. You have an awesome collection of pin cushions/sewing caddies, etc... thanks for sharing them with us.
Nicola is a very generous stitcher/blogger... great present. The iPhone case is nice too!
So... what's next in your stitching bag?

BrendaS said...

Margaret --
Congratulations on your first finish of 2012! Sarah Elizabeth looks gorgeous:)

Great gifts and I love the unique pincushion you received.

Mia is such a cute:))

Giovanna said...

Congratulations on the finish and on the wins. SEB is just beautiful.

Love to Stitch said...

Gorgeous finish on Sarah!! Love that house and the colors are just so yummy :) Looks like ATS is going to get front and center for a while-- looks great and what a fantastic addition to your wall-- and a great WIP out of the pile!!!! I have mine in the que also!!!!

Michelle said...

Congrats on your finish of Sarah Elizabeth!! She's beautiful and I love the colors. I'm glad you're moving along with your ATS now, those motifs aren't too bad once you get into them.

Anne said...

Congrats on your stunning finish Margaret!! I'm amazed at how quickly you got this stitched up!! Such lovely colours in this piece. Your ATS is coming along nicely. I'm thinking it's the really long design...I'll have to google it to make sure. Grats on winning that lovely giveaway!! That iphone cover is beautiful too! I love that reproduced sewing caddie! So pretty!!

Hello to Mia...Miss Curious Kitty!!

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

oh bravo mon amie !!
C'est merveilleux ! quel magnifique travail ! c'est splendide

bravo à vous bisous de France

Loraine said...

Oh my goodness Margaret! I love your sampler, and I can't think of a more perfect first finish for the year! Love ATS too. I should get that out and stitch along with you. I keep thinking I should finish up some of my WIP's before attempting it. I hate having too many tings going at once.
Love the pincushion/thread caddy, and I will be sending that site to my DH so he can get me one. LOL
Congrats on all of your winnings. You are one lucky girl.
I'm excited to start our toy chest. I actually put in some stitches last night, so I'll e-mail you all about it.
Hugs to you!

Myriam said...

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!And lovely presents received!
Coucou Mia...it's so interesting out the windows????

Penny said...

Congratulations Margaret! She's gorgeous and your stitching is just beautiful!
You are coming along nicely on ATS.
Love the pin cushion and what a wonderful package from Nicola. Your new iPhone case is so pretty.
Is that an angel wing on Mia's back in the first picture? :)

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Sarah is stunning Margaret, just absolutely gorgeous! One for the books :)
I love ATS too...I have that pattern and really want to stitch it someday, you are inspiring me ;)

barbara said...

That is such an exciting finish! And your progress on ATS is breathtaking!

Love the idea of snip-snipping orts into teensy pieces - I can see how it could be very relaxing. :)

robindefender said...

Congraqts on your first finish of the year. She's gorgeous! And They Sinned is looking pretty awesome too.

Leanne said...

WOW that didn't seem to take you long. It really is very stunning!
love Leanne

Thomasina said...

Congrats on your finish. And what a great start on ATS. I am down to the grass part....maybe I need to pull mine out.
I also checked out Richard's website. He sure does have alot of beautiful pieces.
Enjoy your goodies.

Annie said...

The sampler is just so beautiful. Love the way the bricks turned out. And so much progress already on the next one! You are just too amazing. And how many books did you listen to get to that finish?

Faye said...

Way to go!! You did it!! Love the finish and your winning are oh so nice also....to a most deserving recipient!!

Nancy said...

Congratulations on a beautiful first finish for 2012! Lovely work on ATS also! That pinkeep is gorgeous, what a nice Christmas present!

Mouse said...

wooo hoooo happy dance all round .... looks gorgeous you should be very proud of that one :) well done on the sinned you have made wonderful progress with that one too ... and cooooo lovely prizes you got ... and mia looks gorgeous as always ..lol love mouse xxx

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Congrats on that lovely finish! I'm Snoopy Dancin' for ya! It looks awesome. Your ATS is coming right along too. Way to go on the prizes. Pretty cool!

Erica said...

Oooh! Gorgeous!
I am a sucker for brick houses!
It is lovely!
Great progress on ATS!
Someday we will all be finished with that one!

Siobhán said...

Woohoo!! Congratulations on the finish, Margaret! I love Sarah on the Homespun. I am hoping to get to her soon and will have to remember that. Congratulations on the prizes!

Deb said...

Congratulations on your finish Margaret. I can't believe how quickly you got it done. She is a beauty.

And keep going with ATS - you'll be amazed at how fast that one goes too once you get in the groove.

Love the iPhone case too. You'll have a one of a kind covering for your phone!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Beautiful finish, Margaret! It's a beautiful addition to your already magnificent sampler collection. ATS is coming right along and I expect I'll see a finish sooner than any of us could imagine.

Congrats on all the goodies and I LOVE your sewing caddy.

Dawn said...

oh my goodness...where to begin!
LOVELY finish - really beautiful.
Great treasures in the mail too.

So glad you are enjoying Richard's work. His work is fabulous and I'm glad to know you have one of his thread stands. Very cool!!

doris said...

Huh-uh, no way! You've already finished? I'm so slow (sniff). Elizabeth is too beautiful for words. Congrats.

doris said...

I mean Sarah Elizabeth. What's wrong with me. Oh, I see ... the verification word here is "mentl". That must be it.

Liz said...

You're very welcome Margaret, I think the case comes off sideways..! I usually hold the bottom of the phone and sort of twist the case from the top left corner..!! Doesn't sound very helpful does it... :o)
Lovely stitching as usual and i love your new sewing caddy, how gorgeous is it..
Lizzie
xxx

Krista said...

Congrats on such a beautiful finish, your Sarah Elizabeth is gorgeous! Such lovely gifts in the mail. Mia is so pretty, my Gigi gets distracted at the drop of a hat too! lol Have a great week!

Cari said...

Oh my gosh Margaret....smokin' needles once again !! Sarah is BEAUTIFUL. She's in my stash and you're pushing me to start!! And sweet Mia...too much fun!!

Charlene ♥ NC said...

Such a gorgeous finish! Love her. Nice goodies, too. Hey, at least he knows to use them for threads; right? Teach 'em early :-)

Nancy said...

Such a gorgeous first finish! The colors in your sampler are so beautiful. And They Sinned is looking very pretty. And, look at Mia! She is so beautiful. Lots of kitty hugs from our house to yours!

Anonymous said...

Wow! So much to comment on.
Sarah E.B. is absolutely gorgeous and I clearly see you got plenty of variegation on the house bricks in the end. :o) I'll say it again.... I can't believe how quickly you stitch.

I just love ATS and I'm so pleased to see you stitching it again. It's on my bucket list. LOL

That sewing caddy is so beautiful! I've never seen anything like it. Love it! And of course your beautiful Mia. I always love to see photos of your beautiful kitty. She's adorable.

Karen said...

Beautiful Sarah and great progress on ATS! All the little motifs are kind of fiddly, aren't they? Not as bad as the cloud, though!

Sherry :o) said...

You must be such a fast stitcher, Margaret. Beautiful. Seems like just last week you were bricking! Nice presents and great progress on ATS>

Karen said...

Goodness Margaret...do you ever sleep? Such a beautiful finish and congrats on such a great one!

happy stitching on your next WIP... it is a beauty too.

valerie said...

What, you're finished? Already! But you were just stitching that monster house the other day. Amazing! Sarah is beautiful! And great progress on ATS. A little at a time and you'll be done in no time!

Cathy Lloyd said...

Oh my goodness Margaret, Sarah is beautiful! ATS is fabulous too! Enjoy yourself and that cute Mia!

Melissa said...

Congratulations on your first finish and what a beauty Sarah is too! I love the colours!

Second congrats go to the lovely things you've won! You're off to a lucky start to the year!

Jackie's Stitches said...

Congratulations on your SEB finish and your ATS progress! Your new sewing caddy is gorgeous! I loved spending some time looking through the artisan's webpage.

Catherine said...

Wow! What a fantastic finish! And great progres on ATS as well! Great goodies too - I'm going to check out that site for the pincushions! Mia is a cutie as always ~ oh, and how funny about your son cutting the threads!!

Catherine said...

Wow! What a fantastic finish! And great progres on ATS as well! Great goodies too - I'm going to check out that site for the pincushions! Mia is a cutie as always ~ oh, and how funny about your son cutting the threads!!

Glenna said...

SEB is just wonderful--I'm wanting to work on her again myself, thanks to you. Mia is hilarious, and I love that your dear son snipped the snippings. I used to push all my mom's pins into the pincushion so that the heads were even with the surface. LOL

merumo said...

Congrats on your beautiful finish! Sarah looks lovely. You seem to have passed the challenging part of And They Sinned. She is coming along very nice. And look at your winnings! What a lucky girl you are!! Good for you :)))

Natalia said...

Congratulations on finishing Sarah, Margaret !!! It is really beautiful. I wish you could have seen the original at Tanya's, it is just magnificent and I know you would have loved it.
I absolutely LOVE the spool caddy !! Thanks for sharing the website with us.
ATS is looking great. My gosh, you are going to have it stitched in no time. LOL!!

Chris said...

Beautiful finish Margaret! This is such a beautiful sampler.
Great new pincushion too.
I LUV the iPhone case.
Hugs to you and Mia!!

Anonymous said...

i always was a "silent reader"....but now i have to tell you that i enjoy your blog so much the stories of your family and especially your lovely cat ,all your quilt and beautifull embroidery, thank you so much for sharing!!!

sometimes i only have a quick glance at your pictures and begin to embroider myself with pleasure

greetings hilly

Dona said...

Congratulations on your finish, Margaret! She is so pretty! I'm glad the over one went quickly. I'm hoping for the same although I have my doubts...

You are making progress getting through the ATS motifs!

Cute picture of Mia - of course!

Katrina said...

Woohoo what a gorgeous finish!!!! Love it, Tanya such an eye for samplers doesn't she??? Pretty gifts too, love the iPhone cover.

Carol said...

What a beautiful finish, Margaret!! Here you have finished a large sampler already and I don't even have a single finish under my belt for 2012... very slow going this month, I'm afraid!!

Congratulations on your prizes, too--it's always such fun to get goodies in the mail. I love Nicola's blog, too--I think I'm ready to move there it is such a gorgeous part of the world :)

Cathy B said...

Congratulations Margaret! Sarah is beautiful! You are so fast; it seems like just yesterday you were stitching bricks - lol!

Can't wait to see what your next project is going to be...

Nicola said...

I adore your finish and the pinkeep. I have emailed the company to see if they will post to the UK. I am so glad to see your progress on ATS.

Ziggyeor said...

OH pretty. Love the progress on the samplers. Too funny about the orts. I used to stitch when children were napping at work and one woke early and 'helped' me stitch by laying the fibers on the project for me. ;)

Rita said...

What a gorgeous sampler!!

I look forward to watching your progress on ATS.

Great prizes too!

Isabelle said...

Many congratulations Margaret on your first finish of this New Year: your Sampler is just gorgeous.
Many lovely gifts you received and that's just nice !!!
Have a lovely week,
Isa

Mindi said...

Congratulations on the lovely finish!

You won some amazing things. I love Nicola's blog, it makes me want to go visit Cornwall.

Susan said...

Wasn't it just yesterday that you were stitching all those bricks? The turbo needles were out in full force this time!! Lovely finish!

Melody said...

Congrats on the beautiful sampler finish!! I love that one.

You are making good progress on your Adam & Eve one as well.

marly said...

Sarah is magnificent. And your sewing caddy.....OMG!! Thanks for all the links to the sites.

Melanie said...

Fantastic first finish for the year!!!! I'm still in awe that you powered through the bricks that quickly. Lol

Sally said...

Oh wow what an amazing first finish for 2012! It is just gorgeous!

Congratulations on your wonderful wins.

Your ATS is looking good.

Jean said...

Beautiful finish, its lovely. I enjoy watching your progress on ATS, you'll get there. Is that snow that Mia is looking at?

Kate said...

Congratulations on the stunning finish. Looking forward to seeing your progress on the wip.

Merry Wind Farm said...

Margaret,
Love, love, love your Sarah Elizabeth!!! I need to order that chart.
Melinda

Sandra said...

Congratulations, a wonderful finish! I love your iPhone case, what a lovely gift.

Lois said...

Just gorgeous! Congrats on the finish and good to see a little bit more of ATS. Lovely goodies in the mail and I love your sewing caddy.

Jen said...

Love your Sarah and your ATS!! Can't wait to start Sarah myself!

Stitch Wizard said...

Congrats on a really beautiful finish on Sarah E.Brooke! I love it and all of your photos here! I ordered Charlotte Clayton after seeing yours.Your kitty is so cute too!

BeckySC said...

Absolutely stunning. Big congratulations dear Margaret. I am so happy for you.
I hope this works. I have been unsuccessful using my phone to comment on blogs.
Hugs,
BeckySC

Patty C. said...

Your fingers were flying - congrats on a wonderful finish;)

Ruth said...

Here's what I want to know -- How is it that you sleep? It's just not possible how much stitching you accomplish-- I've done the math twice and trust me, it's just not possible.

Congrats on all the loveliness!

Kathy Ellen said...

Sarah Elizabeth is stunning! What a beautiful piece! ATS is coming along wonderfully too....love those colourful, crazy little motifs.

You must have been thrilled to receive that gorgeous pincushion and thread caddy! What a very special heirloom to own! Congratulations on all of your wonderful gifts too. It is always such delight reading your posts and seeing all of your amazing needlework.

Elizabeth said...

I'm so late offering my congratulations on finishing - she is so beautiful. I'm in agony deciding between this sampler and Ann Dale from Shakespeare's Peddler as my next purchase. But I think the idea of a whole pattern using Belle Soie is just too much to pass up. Plus your finish is fresh in my mind :) Beautiful!

Solstitches said...

Congratulations on another gorgeous finish. It is a beauty.
I love ATS and would love to stitch it one day. I enjoyed watching it on Nicola's blog and now I can see it come to life all over again here.
Lovely prize goodies received.
Mia is so sweet.
Margaret

Brigitte said...

Oh Margaret, what a great finish. I love everything on her, the motives, the threads and colours, everything.
Enjoy your prizes.