Christmas..Gifts, Family and Friends

I hope everyone is enjoying the last little bit of the holiday season as we are about to say goodbye to 2010.

I know this year has been very much a roller coaster ride for me. I have reconnected with my dad's family after a 30 year absence, which has been good and difficult, facing some very tough issues and figure out how to deal with them but I am getting there. Rex has been my rock as have been my wonderful friends that mean the world to me and have been there whenever I have needed them. Where would a gal be without their gal pals?

I am also learning about Alzheimer's. One of my dearest friends, Jean, whom I have known for 23 years, who at 66 years old, has it. She started out as my boss when I was 20, I was her admin. asst. at a CPA when she was a recruiting director. A special friendship developed and through the years we stayed in touch and I have gotten to know her family as well. She ended her career as a college professor and now, a bright, energetic, classy, funny, gracious woman has this awful disease. I am fortunate that I live only 1 hour away and I am trying to spend as much time with her as I can. She was the best boss I have ever had.

I do have some pics to show.

Gifts to Staci and from Staci are below:



Since I didn't get to meet up with Julie in Sioux City a few weeks ago, we each mailed our packages to each other and in the package I received, Julie's son sent me.....a hockey puck! A real one! "Wichita Warriors" is what his team is called. He wrote the cutest little note. I have it proudly displayed! Now I know what a hockey puck looks like! (Okay...I know it was round but...didn't realize it was so darn heavy!)

So..Here is my gift to Julie and then Julie's gift to me:



Cathy sent me a darling tatted ornament. Thank you Cathy! (Be watching your mailbox early next week!)


My friend Pam sent me a cute little notebook that will come in handy for keeping track of my blogging friends, etc. Its absolutely adorable. Thanks Pam!


I sent Pam a cute little snowman tag.


On Christmas Day, Rex and I went to his brother, Ernie and his wife Jane's house and stayed overnight. We did a white elephant exchange. We were to find something in our home that we wanted to get rid of so...there were some interesting things that were given away..GLADLY! Here is a pic of what Rex's brother Ernie got from me...a lovely apron...quite appropriate actually because he does alot of baking at Christmas time!


Jane, Ernie's wife, she received a pink flamingo birdhouse from Neal (another brother of Rex's) and again...appropriate because she does like birdhouses, but she tells us it won't stay at her house...she sees her boys and their families in 2 weeks! LOLOL



Neal received from Rex and he received the family portrait taken for their parent's 40th anniversary. There were 50th and 60th anniversary portraits taken before they passed away but no one wanted this 40th anniversary portrait so Rex ended up with it.

Rex got creative with the box...he made it...yep...we had purchased a new shower door a while back so...Rex decided to cut the cardboard it came in and used duct tape to put it together and then wrapped it only the finest of paper...newspaper that is. Neal was...umm...speechless! It was quite funny to say the least! As you can tell...my SIL Jane certainly thought it was!




Rex received from Jane some fine albums...all we need now is a stereo to play them on and we'll be ready to rock and roll!LOLOLOL One of the albums Rex got was by The Carpenters. My other SIL, Barb, LOVES the Carpenters so...when she came in the room Rex had it somewhat wrapped up and gave it to her and as you can see...she thought it was hiliarous. But...she, sadly, didn't take it home with her...she already had it! LOL



No pics of me...I got...from Ernie, a can of asparagus and a book called Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons. Not sure if that will be on my "must read" list or not. I'll have to give that some thought. But if anyone is interested in reading it...just e-mail me...I'd be happy to send it to you!

I had a fun afternoon today with a couple of gal pals. Margaret and Pam came to town and we went to lunch at The Button Factory and did a bit of shopping and then headed back to my house and had some coffee and carrot cake and chatted. A great afternoon. Rex played photographer and took a pic of us: (Margaret, me, and Pam)


Well, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the year as it draws to a close and wishing you a happy, healthy new year with LOTS of stitching in the new year!!!!!!!

Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stitching
Wendy Jo

Birthday Gift to CO and...my overnight stay at a high school

My dear friend Staci had a birthday last week so I stitched her up a Pine Mountain Pillow design called "Girlfriends" and sent some chocolate too! Staci and I chatted on the phone and she loves the package. It was alot of fun to stitch and we had some great times when Rex and I were in Colorado for his job so the words fit us to a "t".


Well, last Saturday I attempted to go to Sioux City to meet Julie since her son was going to be in a hockey tournament there all weekend. I was going just for the day since Rex and I were planning to spend some time in Des Moines with his brother and our SIL. Well...when I was about 20 miles outside of Sioux City, there was a complete white out. I had just gotten gas in Sloan and got on the ramp to get onto I-29 north and there was a semi right there! So I hit the ditch otherwise I would have hit the semi. A trucker, who watched the whole thing, waved me over and I sat in his rig until the fire and rescue came around picking people up and taking us into Sloan to the firehouse. After that we were transported to the high school for the night. The American Red Cross was absolutely FABULOUS to us all. Very caring and patient and made us feel very comfortable and were on top of the weather reports as were the highway patrol. They provided sandwiches, pop, coffee, hot chocolate, etc.

I was finally able to head back to Des Moines (where I left Rex at his brother's house) around noon on Sunday.

There hadn't been any predictions of heavy snow or even a blizzard on Saturday I guess. Oh well...Julie and I at least chatted a few times on the phone. We'll meet some day!

Well, I need to get my stitching finished up this week as I am having a cyst removed from my right palm Friday morning. The surgeon said its a pretty deep cyst but feels that I won't have many stitches and it should not keep me away from my stitching for long.

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments about my pinkeeps I sent to Lori and Cathy. I really do appreciate them alot!

Take care and happy stitching.

Wendy Jo

A Gift to Minnesota and a Gift to Ohio

My dear friend Cathy had a birthday last week so I decided to stitch her a design by Pine Mountain Designs called "Sew Glad We're Friends" and finished into a pinkeep. I purchased the backing fabric at a new quilt shop (Quilts-n-More) that opened in my DH's hometown of Albia, IA. I just love the fabric and it is so perfect for the design I stitched. I am so glad Cathy is enjoying the pinkeep!



I also sent a surprise gift to my dear friend Lori (no blog) in Ohio. Lori and I have been internet buddies for about 10 years now and I haven't stitched her anything in a very long time so I thought I'd put a little surprise in her mailbox! I stitched another Pine Mountain Design called "Friendship is the Sweetest Flower". Her favorite color is purple so I change colors to coordinate with the backing fabric. Lori loves the pinkeep..so, of course, it made my day :)



I think that is about it for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and is making some time to sit and spend some time with their needle and thread.

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,
Wendy Jo

A Lovely Mesh Bag

Mama Joan sent me one of her beautiful mesh bags and I just love it! How pretty is this? Thanks so much Joan. I'm taking it to stitch group today and show the girls!



Every Tuesday six of us get together to stitch. We take turns hosting each week. The hostess provides the beverage (all of seem to drink diet pepsi), munchies and dessert. We even tend to try to make doctor, dental, etc, appointments around our stitch group time! So you can tell we have a great time and look forward to Tuesdays.


I plan to put the finishing touches on two gifts today and get them mailed tomorrow so I should have pics early next week.

Well, thanks for visiting and have a great week.

Hugs,
Wendy Jo

A Gift Received and A Gift Sent

I received a lovely surprise package in the mail on Friday from Staci and teared up! I definitely needed “a little hug”. Thank you Staci for your friendship. You are a kind, thoughtful, and a very special friend to me. Thanks for “being there” it means A LOT!

My friend, Pam (no blog), had a birthday last week so I stitched her a freebie design by My Big Toe designs and finished it into a pinkeep. She e-mailed me that she loves it and I am so happy. See you soon Pam!



I am off to sit and stitch. I am working on some gifts. I can’t believe next month is Christmas! Gosh…I can’t believe Thursday is Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has some time to sit with their needle and thread.

Thanks for visiting. Happy stitching.

Hugs,
Wendy Jo

Home From Denver

We are home and getting back into our old routine after being gone 5 weeks. I had a great time in Denver. I was able to see Staci alot! What a great friendship I treasure. I had made her a scissor fob, attached to a pair of scissors and made 2 magnetic needle minders that could also be used as magnets on the refrigerator (I forgot to take a pic so please check Staci's blog for a pic). Staci also had a gift waiting for me as well! I was absolutely tickled by what she had for me...she knows me so well!!!!

Thank you Staci :) You know I love it very much!

While out in Denver I decided to take a sewing/quilting class and learn how to make a purse! It still needs to be finished but here is a pic also in the picture is a penny rug...I also took a penny rug class...as I wanted to learn how to make those too! I didn't think I did too badly of a job on either of them. I still need to finish putting in the grommets and finish with the strap and then the purse will be done and the penny rug just needs to have some more stitching done on it and it'll be finished. Both classes were taken at High Prairie Quilts in Parker, CO. It is absolutely a wonderful shop and the ladies that work there are so warm and friendly. I really had a great time. If you are ever in the area...stop by..you won't be disappointed! Oh..I also bought a "few" fat quarters as well while I was there:) Couldn't help myself.


Rex and I enjoyed going to the farmer's market on Saturdays, we loved the bakery goods!!! We traveled to a Peach Festival in Palisades, CO (on the other side of the state) one weekend, we traveled down to Colorado Springs and I even went to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival, which turned out to be a dangerous place for me! We also went to a Colorado Rockies baseball game and 2 of the Colorado Rapids soccer games (our friends have season tickets) so we really enjoyed our trip, even though it was work for Rex.

I didn't get alot of stitching completed. But that was okay. Now that I'm back home I'll pull it out and get going on it. Its starting to get a bit more chilly here so I think fall is starting to arrive. The leaves have started to change a wee bit anyway.

Well, I need to get some housework done so, guess I'll close for now. Thanks so much for stopping by and for leaving comments. I really appreciate them alot!!

Happy stitching to you.

Wendy Jo

My Summer Exchange From Julie!

I received my exchange from Julie and I am just in love with everything! I love sunflowers so she really picked some great things to make for me and stitched me the cutest LK pinkeep! The pocket pouch Julie made is just the right size for my camera and the scissor fob she made is on a pair of scissors and packed in my bag for Colorado already as is the Crystal Light Lemonade and gum too!




Julie, thank you so much for a wonderful exchange!!

Rex and I are headed to Denver tomorrow for a while and I am pretty excited. I have alot of things planned to do and will be seeing Staci again...so I'm really looking forward to that. I have packed my stitching bag pretty full with lots of fall things to stitch..I have probably overpacked but I would rather have more than enough to stitch and pick from to stitch than not enough to stitch.

So...in the meantime..thanks for stopping by and happy stitching to you.

Hugs,
Wendy Jo

A Summer Exchange

Julie and I did a personal summer exchange and she received hers. I stitched her the new freebie from Waxing Moon Designs called "Summer is Sweet" and finished it into a pinkeep. I also sent some other goodies like my new favorite hard candy "Countrytime Hard Lemonade" (I am so addicted to them! LOL), a scissor sack, watermelon ornament, and a package of Mary Engelbreit emery boards.





I am so glad you like the whole package Julie..it was so much fun to stitch and put togehter for you!

Other than working on Julie's exchange, I have been working on a couple of Lizzie Kate projects. I stitched, not finished the summer "fab" fob and am starting on Live Simply.

Rex and I are getting ready to head back to Denver in another week for a while so I have been pretty busy getting ready for that. Of course my stitching bag was my top priority! LOL But now that I have that pretty much packed, I am working on the other things to take and checking off the lists I have made of what needs to be done before we go as well.

Well, I think that is about all for now. Thanks for stopping by and happy stitching.

Wendy Jo

A Gift for a Colorado Friend

I have been slacking in the blogging department (both posting and visiting other blogs) big time! I just haven't felt like myself lately.

I haven't done a whole lot of stitching lately. I did start Heart in Hand's Spring Day but I am feeling like I am losing my stitching mojo! Not a good thing....

I wanted to stitch something special for Staci so I chose a design by Pine Mountain called "Friendship is the Sweetest Flower" and finished it as a pinkeep. I had such a great time meeting her and can't wait to get back to Colorado again.



Well, I think I'll close for now. Happy stitching to everyone and thank you all so much for your wonderful comments on my rr and Edgar's as well. I really love mine and it was fun to stitch on everybody's.

Hugs,
Wendy Jo

Emblem of Love Round Robin

The Emblem of Love Round Robin I have been participating in over the past several months is winding down.

Mine arrived home from Margaret last week and its gorgeous. Its stitched on 36 ct. white edinborough over 2 with Crescent Colors Wavy Navy.

I received Edgar's round robin and was the last person to stitch on his and will be mailing his home to him today.



Now since I haven't signed up for any other exchanges I can start working on some things for myself! I just don't know where to start. I have so many patterns that its kind of mind blogging. Guess I will just pull stuff out and see what looks good!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy stitching.
Wendy Jo

New Fat Quarters and A Belated Birthday Gift

I received a belated birthday gift from Carol yesterday. It's a beaded scissor fob made with REAL jade beads. It is so pretty! Plus she added a heart charm and I love hearts! I have been searching for my silver dovos and they are missing...mmmm so I will find another pair of silver scissors and give this beaded scissor fob a home!

Thanks so much Carol. Its absolutely gorgeous. (Sorry for the poor pic...its very dark and rainy again here today)


I joined Carolyn's board http://letsquiltandstitch.yuku.com/ and participated in the fat quarter exchange and received fat quarters from...CAROLYN! She sent a wide variety which I really like as these are some great ones I can really put to use!

Thanks so much Carolyn!!!


I have been working on Edgar's rr (Emblem of Love). I am the last one to stitch on Edgar's and then I send it home to him. Its been enjoyable to stitch on everyone's rr as they have used a variety of threads (silks, etc.) so its given me an opportunity to try new ones.

Rex and I are getting new kitchen flooring put in on Friday. We decided to go with wood so I can't wait for that to be put in. I think it'll warm up our kitchen alot. Which is kind of dark right now.

Well, I think I will close for now and visit a few blogs and answer some e-mails and get back to some housework before stitching.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stitching.
Wendy Jo

A Roadtrip To Minneapolis and Met Up With 2 Friends

Our stitch group had so much fun last year when we took our 3 day roadtrip to Tulsa, Wichita, and Topeka that we thought we would do another roadtrip, but just an overnighter. This time we decided on Minneapolis and going to Stitchville USA. Plus some quilt shops and a really cool general store.

So on the road we were last Thursday at 8:00 a.m. and were at Stitchville USA by 2:00-2:30ish. I finally had the opportunity to meet Cathy and Joan. Both Cathy and Joan are absolutely wonderful gals. The 3 of us were in the "sale" room and talked for awhile and I think we could have spent the entire day in there gabbing away. They are just the best! I was so happy to have the chance to finally meet them. They had goodie bags for each of us filled with chocolates, a cute note pad and a hardanger scissor fob! I got Cathy and Joan each a tumbler that says "Stitch Happy" which they both liked as well.

My stitch group really enjoyed Stitchville and found plenty of treasures to bring home. I did a wee bit of damage and I came home with a new pair of Dovos! These were very much a NEED, they are Americana plus Dovos are my favorite kind of scissors plus they went perfect with the cute little hardanger scissor fob Cathy made for each of us!



Here is a pic of all of us.
Front: Angie, Carol, Beth, Jo K.
Back: Cathy, Wendy, Jo Barb, and Joan


Carol's daughter lives in the Minneapolis area and her family was joining us for dinner so since we had some time before meeting up with them we went over to The General Store.. What a GREAT place to go! Oh my word they have everything you can think of from footwear, kitchen items, candles, jewelry, clothing, toys, etc. They also have a nice little cafe.

That evening Carol's daughter and family joined us (as did Cathy and Joan) for dinner at Old Chicago. Afterwards, we gave hugs and said our goodbyes and shared how much fun we had together that day.

On Friday, we went to back to The General Store and then onto to 2 quilt shops. The first one was The Sampler. Which was a nice little shop in Chanhassen. I managed to find a couple of fat quarters. Then onto Eagle Creek Quilt Shop in Shakopee. This shop is wonderful! Its located in an old railroad depot! I managed to find a few fat quarters to add to my stash.

Then it was time to leave Minnesota and head back to Iowa.

It has become a tradition that we end our roadtrips with "calcium". That is our "code word" for ice cream. So when any of us say "where are we having calcium today?" Everyone knows it means ice cream! So we stopped in Iowa City at Cold Stone Creamery and had some.

Here is a pic of the stash I purchase on our trip.


I want to say to Cathy and Joan again, how much I enjoyed meeting them and how much fun Thursday was!

Now I am off to get some pics developed!

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy stitching,
Wendy Jo

Spring Exchange from Joanne

I participated in the spring exchange on the Stitching Exchanging blog and my package arrived yesterday and I was stunned by the pinkeep!

Joanne stitched a French freebie and it is gorgeous! I also love the packing fabric to!

She also sent 2 fat quarters and some pretty ribbon as well.





Thanks so much Joanne for a wonderful exchange!

My spring exchange hasn't been received yet so I have my fingers crossed that it will show up at its new home very soon.

I haven't been doing a whole lot since we got back from Denver. I am currently working on Deb's "An Emblem of Love" and I also received Edgar's yesterday. So I have been concentrating on those.

I will close for now so I can get back to my stitching.

Thanks so much for all your visits I sure appreciate them.

Hugs,
Wendy Jo

Home From Denver

Rex and I have just spent the last 3 weeks in Denver, Colorado. Rex was there on business and while he was working I enjoyed exploring Denver, the suburbs, the LNS and meeting Staci!

Staci and I had a great time going to the thrift stores, visiting a favorite quilt shop she loves (which was wonderful!), having lunch and going to the coffee shop where I stitched and she knitted some gorgeous socks (which she just posted on her blog)! Staci is just as sweet as can be. I have found a very special friend in Colorado that I hope to see again soon!

When I picked up our mail today, my pinkeep exchange from the Friends Through Threads blog was waiting for me. Goldie stitched me a Blackbird Design that I had actually kitted up and put in my stitching bag to stitch while in Colorado and never got around to stitching it! Now, I don't have to!



Thank you so much Goldie, I love it very much!

I sent to Nancy (no blog) and I stitched a design by Carol R. called Sew Blue. I stitched it on 40 ct white over 2 using GAST Dungarees. Nancy loves it and I was enjoyed stitching it and finishing it for her so I have very happy she loves it so much.



The only stitching commitment I have right now is my Emblem rr piece. I am waiting to receive Deb's piece from Margaret and then after that I will just have to stitch on Edgar's piece and then the round robin will be completed. My round robin piece is really looking very pretty. This is one piece I am looking forward to getting framed.

Well, I think I will close for now. Thanks for stopping by.


Hugs,
Wendy Jo

Valentine Exchange For Irmeli

Irmeli e-mailed me that she has received my Valentine exchange. I stitched Irmeli a pattern by JBW Designs called French Country Love and used the recommended sampler threads and finished it into a door knob pillow for her. I included lots of extra goodies (fabric cuts, chocolate, a scissor sack and fat quarters).

I am so pleased Irmeli loves her exchange. I really enjoyed doing this exchange with her.




I am about done with Suzanne's rr. I need to stop watching so much t.v. when I stitch! I tell ya, I don't get as much stitched watching t.v. as I do when I listen to music or just sitting quietly. Anyone else have that problem? Plus the Olympics ceremony starts tonight so I know I will be watching the Olympics, the winter ones are my favorite.

Anyone have any special plans for Valentine's Day? Rex and I are going to Stitches n Stuff (my LNS) tomorrow as I have a few things on hold there :) and then we are going out to dinner. Its still up in the air where.

On Sunday, Rex is going to finish painting the kitchen. We wanted something brighter for the kitchen as its rather drab and only has a few windows over the sink area so we went with yellow and it looks really good so that is the plan for Sunday.

I hope everyone has a good Valentine's weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

Wendy Jo