Treasure Chest of Friends

Our exquisite handmade quilts are the result of our passion for art and craftsmanship. We put a lot of care and attention to detail as we use only the finest materials and fabrics to create each quilt. Our unique quilts are not only beautiful but also functional, providing warmth and comfort for many years to come.

We also offer quilting services for crafters who love making quilt tops, but for some reason, can't finish them. With our expertise, we can turn your quilt top into a beautiful and functional quilt that you can cherish for years to come.

Our expertise in machine embroidery, cross-stitch, and crochet is reflected in our work. We love to incorporate these techniques into our creations, whether it's a personalized gift or a unique piece of home decor. We can customize each piece to meet your specific tastes and preferences, ensuring that you receive something truly special.

We also create stunning paintings that are inspired by the natural world and our surroundings. Using a variety of mediums and techniques, we can create custom paintings that capture the essence of your favorite landscapes, animals, or other subjects.

Thank you for visiting our website, and we look forward to sharing our passion and creativity with you! (Grammarly, 2024)

So the Moon is full AND its the last Sunday of the month :)

What could be better?  Oh yea, the WIPocalypse check in!!  Most of you know that that is all about by now, so won't go back into it, but here is the website if you want to see what others are doing.  http://measi.net/measiblog/

This month's question is:

What is more satisfying to you and why?  The process of stitching a piece, or the finish?

I love the process of picking out a project, since I give most of my stitching away.  When picking a project it means thinking about the person I plan on giving it to and what I think they would like from me.  All projects are given with the understanding that if they don't like it, or get tired of it, they can always give it back with no judgement from me :).

Once I figure out what I'm going to stitch, I have to selecting the linen and the threads and then the final thrill of putting in those first few stitches.  That's where the love affair ends :( but I do manage to get a few projects done.   So the first 10% is fun and the last 10% is fun, but the 80% in the middle often is a chore.

So long story short, if I can only choose between stitching it and finishing, then it's the finish, but really it's the planning part.

Between now and the last check in I went on vacation where I managed to do some knitting, but not really any stitching.

When I'm not stitching I want to be buying stuff.  So I took a quick trip to my favorite shop in Michigan and got a few charts that I'd like to do.  Three Little Kittens might be moved up on the list of things to get started.  I think it is adorable!!  The two sayings will be fast stitches and most likely work projects as soon as I'm done with my current needlepoint.  I'm thinking of changing the thread in L*K's Be the Rainbow,  I'd like to add a little more color into the word Rainbow, but stay in the muted color family.

I have managed to finish up 3 small baby hats - two I posted on my last post and then this one.  I used the left over yarn from the lady bug.  I plan on doing the same with the bumblebee yarn!!  I can knit those in a day or two at most.

I also completed the second sock that I was knitting and started another baby pair.  The baby socks should knit fast and will be my traveling socks, or my "I want to do something while watching TV, but don't want to pull out my stitching project", project.

I did manage to do al little stitching yesterday with my Southern Cal Stitching group :)  I worked on 2 of the 3 projects I took with me.  #3 got taken out, but quickly put back into the bag because i just wasn't feeling it.  After stitching on the Letter A Mermaid that I'm not finding fun at all, I decided I needed to do something that was fun for the rest of the day.  The "A" doesn't look like I did much, but I am making progress, a little at a time.  If I do the outer border it might go a little bit faster because then I can pick different spots to stitch.

I'm loving working on the SB stocking,  Once the angel is done I'm calling in 50% done :) I think I enjoy the smaller motifs, where you feel like you've accomplished something even when you don't do a lot of stitching on it.

Lastly we had to say good bye to our beloved dog Sadie.  We got her from 2 ladies who had rescued her from the pound when she was still a puppy.  She was maybe 6 mos. when we brought her home with us.  She has been our faithful friend and protector for 14 1/2 years, but these last couple of months she wasn't able to navigate the stairs, stand or sit without pain and wasn't eating as she should have been.  We will miss her terribly, but know she is chasing tennis balls with her best friend Hannah and happy.  

not sure if anyone even looks here anymore, but here is the mermaid finally framed

well a picture of what she will look like anyways

Finished

 One down one to go with the beading.

Meari's Japanese Garden

I attended a retreat a couple weeks ago and worked exclusively on JG.   Here's what it looked like at the start of the retreat:

 My goal was to finish the 6 o'clock branches.  Tada!

I also finished the left and right bridges, the blue border, and started the gold metallic.  Woo Hoo!

Here is my new UFO that needs to get the

maybe if I post the pictures I'll get some motivation to get these finished.  All that is left is the beading....why am I procrastinating?

Meari's Japanese Garden 2/18/16

I know what you're thinking:  "She *just* posted 10 days ago. What's up with that?!"  I realized I hadn't taken it off the scroll frame since 2013.  So it was time....

Figured out why it's not been off the lap stand. I have to dismantle the entire thing to get the scrolls off!  I probably won't be showing another full photo until I'm finished with the stitching.