Not just One but Two finishes

Last night was a good night! I finished my Sweet Harmony scissor fob and my Soldier Kissing pillows. My long project list was making me kind of twitchy so I was determined to get some things crossed off the list. The scissor fob just had some background around the top to finish.

I finished my six Soldier Kissing pillows. I made six because that is how many pieces I could get out of my piece of Aida. I am really glad this is done. I really do not enjoy making these but I think they are so nice for the soldiers and their families. Next week I will mail these off to the organizer. She has offered to do the finishing if she receives the stitching by June 1st. I do not have a sewing machine anymore plus I am not fond of finishing so I will take her up on her offer. I will send her a donation to help cover the cost of the supplies.

We are going downstate for Mother's Day. I don't think I have been down there since last summer. My parents come to Chicago or I see them in Florida in the colder months. I get to use my mom's surger to go around the edges on some of my pending projects which is so exciting. No more unraveling!! I started three weeks ago pulling things together that need surging. I also bought an Ace Bandage last night so I can try to make a frame cover. I do use Evertites but they can kind of snag some knits or rayon shirts.

Most of my projects are too big for car travel. I think I will work on my Sweet Harmony Scissor case, my ort box or my Easter Punch Needle in the car. I do have some smaller projects kitted but starting one of those defeats my goal of getting things off my list so I can start something new.

I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day. Hopefully, you will have some time to stitch this weekend. Enjoy. Kelly

Uninspiring stitching

Hi, I don't have any pictures for this post but I have been stitching some this week. I am not real excited about my projects but I want to get these things done and out of my stitching bag. I am almost done with my fourth Kissing Pillow. I want to send off six because that is the number of pieces I cut from the Aida cloth I bought. I really do not like working with Aida any more. It is good that I don't have to wear readers to see the holes but I am not real excited about the look. I understand the Kissing Pillows are for the soldiers and their families, I also get that red, white and blue is patriotic but red, white and blue is not my favorite color pallet. I suppose the male soldiers would not be thrilled with my pastel heart:)


I am also working on my ort box. My picture from a few weeks ago looked like it was almost done or so I thought. The assembly of this box is a royal pain in my stitching a.. I still have one side to line, 8 sides to stitch together and the stitching around the top. I know why there are not many pictures of completed ort boxes on the EGA web page. One lady posted that she completed her box and one for her husband because he liked the box so he wanted one also. That was very kind of her but my husband is going to have to take up needlepoint and finishing if he wants one.


The weekend should be fun. We have a fund raiser for Lincoln Park Community Shelter. This will be my last formal function as a board member. I will still support the Shelter when I retire from the board and go to the fund raisers but I won't have to have the responsibility of getting people to the events and the financial obligations. We have a house warming party on Saturday. They want us to wear bad bridesmaids or prom dresses. I live in a condo so I don't keep clothes I don't wear plus I was a size 0 and 25 years younger when I wore this stuff so it would never fit. I might run by Goodwill and see if I can find something tacky to wear.


I should have some stitching time during the day so hopefully on Monday I will have something to show. Maybe a completed ort box!? Hope you have a fun weekend with lots of stitching time. Thanks for stopping by. Kelly

Kissing Pillows

Good morning!! A note from a mother with a son in the Service went out yesterday asking for Kissing Pillows. I have done a few of these in the past. They are a good way to use up some of that old, white Ada cloth you might have laying around. They work up fairly quickly and they are nice purse projects. I am planning on making a couple!! Here is Becky's note:

I've just received a request from my son's Family Readiness Group Leader for 900 Kissing pillows. He's with the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (aka Tiger Squadron) currently stationed at Ft Hood, TX; they will be deploying to Iraq late this summer. My son saw me making pillows for the Ft. Lewis battalion last year and asked that when his unit deployed would I organize a similar project for his unit. How can a mom say no to a request like that? :)

I've gotten my local friends and family working on this and have about 100 made with another 100 in the pipeline. Now I need the help of my national network. The due dates are 1 June if you send me just the stitched pillow top and 1 July for a finished pillow. My mailing address is Becky Hamilton, 116 Belle Ridge Dr, Madison, AL 35758.

As a final note, I have a stitching friend who was a Navy spouse in the 60s. When she tells others about this project, she always mentions how much she and her children would have appreciated a gift like this when her husband was in Vietnam. It accomplishes 2 things: 1) It gives the child a daily reminder that the deployed soldier hasn't forgotten him/her; and 2) it tells the "whole" family that > people they don't know support and appreciate the sacrifice they're making.

If you need a copy of the chart or have other questions or comments, please contact me offline.

TABIA (Thanks a bunch, in advance!)

Becky

marlhamilton@knology.net