Share Our Heart

~~~~Updated 11/04/07~~~~

These are the Share Our Hearts that have been completed for the Newbies CQ Group. We signed up in December, and one person gets 11 hearts in their month made by the other members of the swap.


This is December's block, for Linda. November and December are yet to be mailed, but they will go this coming week.
November is for Lori.
October is for Peggy - but I forgot to take a photo of it completed. Peggy, if you will send me a photo I'd like to replace this one...
September is Jaki's - but again, I forgot to take a photo. If you'll send me one, I'd like to replace this one!

This is Karen's August 'pink and purple' heart.

I was the July recipient, and you can see the ones I received here.


This is Wilma's June heart.


This is JoAnn's heart for May.

This is Susan's April heart -- mailed 4/7/07


March was sent to Candi.



February's heart went to Gerry.



This was the January Heart that went to Rhonda D.

SOH - Share Our Hearts - Received

***updated 07/30/07***

Please accept my thanks for all your time and talent put into making these wonderful hearts for me. My son was here when I opened the package, and he said, are all these for you? They are nice - what will you do with them? I haven't made up my mind yet, but I know for a while I'll just fondle and love them. Thanks just doesn't seem adequate, does it? But I do sincerely thank you all.


I'm the July member of the Share Our Hearts group on the CQ for Newbies list. I will post the hearts as I receive them here. It has been so much fun making hearts for the others in the group, and there are several more.

Today was the bundle day! Linda sent my remaining SoHs, and is it ever a bag full of beauty!



This one is from Peggy - and is it not beautiful? Purple and gold were my high school colors - but this is far beyond high school! I love the fan with flower sequins and the ribbon bow with pearls. Just lovely! Thank you, Peggy!


This pretty green and purple is from Jaki. Love these colors together! The bead 'streams' on the right are so unusual and pretty, and the enhancement to the floral fabric with silk ribbon and stem stitching just sets it off. And the sweet butterfly in the peak is just the right touch. No way you're getting this one back, Jaki! Thank you!

This one came from Karen. Isn't it elegant? The middle paisley section is a deep maroon enhanced with stitching. The button trail is just elegant enough - perfect, and the motif on the right has a rose in it's center, and there is braid and beads along the center. The bottom is a silk ribbon spray - very nice. Thank you, Karen!

Karen also included these lovely goodies. I don't have any motifs like these, and there's also lace, silk flowers, and some pretty fibers, too. Thanks again, Karen!



This one came to me unsigned, but I guessed correctly - can you? See the beautiful mother and child print surrounded by silk ribbon roses and detached chain stitches? There's a pretty metal fan charm stitched down with pretty thread. There are silk roses, a plant button, stitching and breaid. Just lovely! Thank you, Linda C!




This sweet kitty heart is from Lori - he's cross stitched with colorful threads matching the other pieces in the heart! A real sweetie pie! And there are delicate stitches and beads all around, too. Thank you, Lori!

And here is another heart from Peggy. One of the members of this group was unable to fulfill the year, so Peggy did a make up block. It's in a peach and pale green color theme, and just lovely. Sequins, beads, motifs all come together to make a very lovely heart - so soft and warm feeling. Pretty work, Peggy. Thanks and double thanks to you!

Today brought another SoH - this one from Candi.

It is so pretty in purple! There's a print in the center with a fairy on the crescent moon - my favorite! A great gold web with spider, a lovely seam of beads with a butterfly charm, and some wonderful SRE roses. Did the sprinkle of 'stars' glitter come on the fabric or is that something you attached? Very nicely done! Loving it! Click on the heart to get as full effect as you can in a photo. 7/7/07

Candi also sent a sweet silver angel of Faith, Hope, and Love. I believe it is a key chain fob, but I may attach it to my purse or craft bag!

Thank you so much, Candi. Your sharing is just as sweet as your usual kind words.

Oh, boy, oh boy! Another SoH - from Susan. She had posted about my heart on her blog about a week ago, but can you believe I didn't peek? I wanted to be surprised!
Isn't it beautiful? The heart is made from Doupioni silk, and it has a delicate fern stitched heart outline with pretty little beads. The main motif on the heart is a silk ribbon bouquet of blue bells. It is so pretty, and I love it! I didn't even know Susan did much silk ribbon stitching! 7/6/07

Then there are these great extra goodies! Some very pretty motifs that look so lacy and dainty, two heart beads that may be cloisonne, and some of the YarnPlayers' thread that I failed to order and is now out of stock!! You're a sneaky one - Ms. Susan!!

Thank you so much - I really do love it all!

Today when I got home, there was a box in the mail. What did I order? Hum... It wasn't anything I'd ordered, it was a package from Gerry! My SoH - oh, boy!
Isn't this a beautifully stitched heart? I love the colors, and all the beading is wonderful. There are tiny charm insects, and even a "Gerry" spider. Click to see all the detail - it's great. 6/29/07

Along with the embellished heart, Gerry sent a coordinated pieced heart for me to stitch on, along with some lovely beads and charms, fabric, and laces. There is also a sun push mold, pattern for the spirit doll, AND one of the great pin cushions that she makes. I saw them on her site a long while ago and thought how wonderful it would be to have one... Did you know that Gerry is a poet? She included the sweetest poem. What a special gift from a special friend. I love it all!!

Thank you so much, Gerry.



Today I received the first one from Wilma. Wilma, you're on the ball, aren't you? Wilma is vacationing and I'm sure she wanted to get this done so she could concentrate on having fun! I hope you're having the best of times, and look forward to reading about it when you return!

6/25/07

I think this heart is so precious! If you click on the picture, you can see the little angel and the beautiful, delicate stitching Wilma does. She also included several little (which I like) lace motifs, beautiful glass buttons, and a post card from Arnhem in The Netherlands.







Thank you very much, Wilma.

New Heart

A new heart to start working on for June.

Stitching Enlightenment

Lesa posted a Philosophy/Justification for UFOs (Unfinished Objects) that I agree with, and it proved enlightening!

Many times I think and see comments on this topic: Why is most of my work done for gifts (that may or may not be appreciated) or on RRs (round robins). Not only UFOs, but most of the items we work on are for our stitching enjoyment = entertainment. If it isn't fun, why do it?

Justification for the topic may be, I spend so much time working on _____ that there's no time for MY project, or Using all that great stash on things for others. This could be why my stash grows so rapidly -- the part of the stash that I'm 'saving' for the special project never gets used? I tried to break out of this mold recently by sorting my 'special' fabrics among the rest by color. It has been quite enjoyable using these almost forgotten treasures - what's more special?!

Another Stitching Enlightenment is when it's a LOT more fun there comes a more inspired, creative result. OK, so I'm not an artist like many of the great stitchers we admire. Every piece they stitch truly looks like a work of art. It's not that I don't try my best on any piece, but there are projects that seem be quiet - they don't 'speak to me' demanding more. So what is it that makes some projects more fun than others?

Recently I've been working on two similar pieces. One is infinitely more fun and inspiring than the other. Why is that? There are no time constraints or requirements that make them different. My only observations are that I know one of the recipients better and the colors are more in my comfort zone. I'll post scanned -in progress- pictures of the two later.

I'd love to read your ideas, so comment, please.

Stitching Again

This is the heart with a piece of the Oriental fabric I had been saving - for what, I'm not sure. That SPECIAL project? During one of the Newbies Challenges of sorting and organizing, I forced myself to distribute them into the other fabric colors, thus using a bit for this heart.

I think it fits perfectly, and gave the inspiration for embellishing.

The motif design is from Motifs from Crazy Quilting, J.Marsha Michler.











Planning ...










Thanks for your kind comments, ladies. The butterfly sitting on the heart is from M. Michler's Shadow Embroidery transfer book.

It seems so long since I've done any stitching, but yesterday brought out the needles. Not finished by far, but had to post the little progress I've made.