Feliz Navidad~

Finished another Christmas stitching a couple days ago, only one more to go to complete this set!!! YA~~~ I had the song in my head when I was stitching this one as well. Christmas is getting closer!!!!

Pattern: Lizzie Kate "Tiny Tidings XII - Feliz Navidad"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 32ct Belgium linen
Size: 3.5" x 3.5"
Completion Date: 11-24-2008

Please excuse the wrinkles, I swear I will smooth them out when I work on the finishes.... ;-)

And for those who celebrates Thanksgiving, have a very nice holiday and enjoy great company and great food!!!!

Needlebook Finish!!!!!

It has been a while since I have a finish!!! I have to admit I didn't have whole lot of time to stitch since I am starting to pack and was busy sorting through things that I want to take with me. I don't mind moving, but I hate packing...... My house is a mess now and I have to try to bring it back to normal a little bit because my parents in law are coming in 2 weeks.

My December schedule is like crazy: PIL coming, going on a trip with them for 2 weeks, come back from the trip and finish packing in 3 days, and drive to California for a fresh start. Not to mention I haven't found anyone to take over our current apartment yet, nor finding a place to stay once arriving in CA.... Yea, I'm TOTALLY stressed out!!!!!

Luckily, I have stitching to calm me down when I was freaking out. I did manage to finish a needlebook for the Monthly Finishing Challenge. It wasn't easy, though, cause I kind of mess up. I used 2 strands of floss over one thread, and it made the stitches go scrunched.... It was kind of hard to push the needle through as well, but when I realized this mistake, I was in too deep to back out. I should have used one over one, which is what I did when I stitched the back side of the needlebook. I was not 100% satisfy with the end result, but when I complained about it to my DH, he told me he can't see what's wrong with it, and said he would take it if I don't like it. That was so sweet of him~~ Anyway, I've learned something from this experience, and all in all I think it turned out alright.

Pattern: Ancsanaplo "Four Seasons Acorn freebie"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 28ct antique white evenweave fabric
Size: 2" x 2"
Completion Date: 11-19-2008
Finishing Date: 11-22-2008

This design is a freebie from from Ancsanaplo's blog, she has so many wonderful freebie designs on her blog!!! This design is actually a part of a four seasons design, I love all four of them!!! I think I will try to stitch all of them in the future~ This is also my first time trying to make a needlebook. It is not as hard as I thought it would be, and is actually quite fun!! Here is a tutorial I found that was very helpful~

Thank you for all the nice comments on my work~ I'm still learning, and hope I can do a bit better each and every time!

My PIF Members~

It's the closing day for signing up for my PIF members, and since there are only 2 people who signed up, they will be receiving something I make within the next 365days. Since I only have 2 members but have 6 spots, anyone who is interested to participate can still sign up with me. Just leave me a comment in any post and I'll add you to my list~

So, my PIF members are...

Jennifer (check out all the cool jewelry she made!!)

ClayCake

Please e-mail me your name and snail mail address, and also include some of your favorite things so I can make something within your liking~ My e-mail address is paiheng23@gmail.com.

Remember to continue spreading and sharing the joy and fun by posting your PIF in your blog too~~ Thank you so much for participating!!

Come and Join the Fun~

Come check out Chiloe's blog~She is celebrating her 600 post and is hosting a giveaway!! Can you imagine? I'm only on my 30th post... She has come a long way~

By the way, my PIF is still open for members. If anyone is interested to receive something handmade from me, please feel free to leave a comment here. I know I'm new to the stitching world, but I would like to share the joy of stitching to everyone~

Come and join the fun!!

I've been Tagged!!

I have been tagged by Carrie to share 6 things about myself!
The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

This is my first tag, so here we go:

1. Just in case you don't already know, I LOVE giraffe!!! I just think giraffes are so peaceful and graceful~ Too bad I can't keep one as a pet.... (They belong in the wild anyway~)

2. I don't enjoy cooking. I mean I cook, but I would rather do the dishes in exchange for a meal~

3. I like to drink English tea, in fact I drink them every morning. I'm not a coffee person but tea is my fix!!

4.  I love to travel and actually have a map on the wall that marks the places I been to. I just love to learn about new cultures and see all the remarkable landscapes. I wish I can travel the world (or at least visit every continent) someday~

5. I don't like cold weather, or I shall say I don't like feeling cold. My hands and feet get cold easily and when they are cold, I feel cold. I do like sitting in the living room with a hot cup of tea watching the snow falling outside the window, though. As long as I'm nice and warm in the house~

6. When I laugh really hard, I always ended up with tears in my eyes.

Now the 6 people I picked to tag are:

Elisa

Emily

Jessie

Michelle

Nina

Petra

I understand that everyone might be quite busy or have already been tagged, so it's totally ok if anyone feel like to opt out. For those who would like to participate, happy trailing~

Fun Little Roberta's Cats

I finished this little tag last week. It's a free chart from Cross Stitch Happy~ There are also designs of puppy, rabbit and flower in this series, so if you haven't visit Cross Stitch Happy before, you are missing out!!

I fell in love with the cute design and beautiful colors of this chart the moment I saw it, and I knew I had to stitch this piece. I thought the idea of the yarn is just so clever!! I really had a lot of fun stitching it~

Pattern: Cross Stitch Happy "Roberta's Cats"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 18ct oatmeal aida by Regency Mills
Size: 1.75" x 1.75"
Completion Date: 11-07-2008
Finishing Date: 11-07-2008

I had to change out the blue in the original design, because I didn't have the color called for in my stash. But I like how it turned out~ I made this for my friend Year; she loves cats so I know she will love this design~

Everything went smoothly when I was stitching this piece until I started to whipstitch..... I never though I would have a hard time whipstitching but I did... Note to self - NEVER use this aida fabric again if I plan on whipstitch it..... It took me like 2 or 3 hours just to whipstitch it close, and I almost lost my patience!!!! Luckily most parts turned out ok, but my fingers were very sore......

 

I also worked on Heart and Hand a little bit more, and managed to get part of the border done. It's slowly but surely making progress.....

Thanks for all your kind comments in my pervious entries. I'm sending all my lucky power over your way, so we can all share the luck together~~ Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

Chart from Monique~

Another little gift found its way to my mailbox today. It's a LHN chart that Monique generously offered on her blog a week ago, and I was very lucky to be drawn by her~ I love LHN designs and can't wait to get started on this one!!

I must have done something right the past few weeks, cause I've never been so lucky to be drawn 2 times in a week. Thank you both very very much, Michelle and Monique, for your gifts~

Buttons from Michelle~

Look what I found in the mail last night!!! It's a package from Michelle with some buttons she made herself~ I was very luck to be drawn by her in a giveaway a couple weeks ago. Aren't these just lovely? Now I have to think of something very special to use them.

I think this is the very first time I've received anything from Greece. To me it is just amazing that the would could be so big yet so small. Thanks for the Internet, it is now possible to meet all these wonderful people all over the world who share the same passion~ I just think it is so cool, and I'm glad that I got to know all of you~

My PIF is still open and I'm welling to mail my package overseas. So no matter where you are, please feel free to sign up if you are interested~

Back to more stitching, talk to you all later!!

Fa La La La La

Is it really November already?? It sure doesn't feel like it here in Texas... The weather is so nice and warm and we are still wearing shorts. I even saw some kids swimming in the pool yesterday. I almost put all our summer clothes away a couple weeks ago when the temperature dropped, good thing that I was feeling lazy and didn't get to it that day....

Got another Christmas piece done yesterday~ I had a lot of fun stitching this one. This song was playing in my head over and over again while I was stitching, sometimes I even caught myself singing it out loud.....

Pattern: Lizzie Kate "Tiny Tidings XII - Fa La La La La"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 32ct Belgium linen
Size: 3.5" x 3.5"
Completion Date: 11-03-2008

I went to Hobby Lobby the other day and got all the buttons I needed for the set. I couldn't find a music note one that was called for on this design, so I chose a pair of stars instead. I think it turned out ok~

I really love the colors used on this piece, the red and the green are just lovely!! And to the finished pile it goes~

I haven't had a finish for a while so I think I'm going to take a break from this a little bit and do a small finish first. I did work on Heart and Hand a little bit but there's just not much to show. I wish I have three pairs of hands so I can do them all in the same time.... LOL

Pay It Forward

I was very lucky to be chosen by Elisa and Jessie as their PIF member~ They both do beautiful work, and I'm so excited that I will  be able to receive something handmade by them in the following year~

Now is my turn to pay it forward~ Since I will be receiving something from both Elisa and Jessie, I will have 6 openings for PIF members!! This is my very first time doing this, and I really hope there will be someone who is interested to sign up.....

*** This is how it works ***

If you would like to receive something handmade by me within the next 365 days, please comment on this post to say that you are interested.

If there are more than 3 people (well, in this case 6) who likes to participate, I will draw names on Nov 17, 2008. Six names will be draw and they will be my PIF members. But if there were less than 6 person, than I will just take whomever reply asking to be my PIF member.

If you are one of the chosen six then in return, please post the same offer on your blog. This is a simple and lovely way of spreading the joy in the stitching world. This PIF is open for everyone.

Enjoy~