Stitching Friends Forever

April week one

One Year Birthday Party
Freebies
Gifts
Surprises

Well we did it!   We made it to a full year of blogging and it has been fun!!!   We have learned so much about stitching, finishing and computers.   But the very best part is getting to know all of you that come by and visit with us.  We consider all of you our  "stitching friends".

Welcome!  Pull up a chair, make your favorite drink and enjoy a slice of our birthday cake!

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Time to open gifts:
Below are the most beautiful birthday gifts we could have received...31 absolutely gorgeous stitches from the nicest group of ladies around. We've included everyone's blog link so you can visit all of them to find many, many more beautiful stitches, quilts and other crafts.  If a message was added with the photo, it has been included so you can read more about the stitch.  After every sixth or so stitch, we included a freebie for you...hope you like our choices. And there are some surprises at the very end of this post for some lucky participants!

Butterfly Wings
June has stitched Garden Pleasures by Little House Needleworks.   You can visit June here and see her lovely stitches, gifts she makes for friends and beautiful gardens.

June wrote :I was wondering what photo to send you , then I found this one that relates to me and my garden. Hugs, June.

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Garden Grumbles and Cross Stitch Fumbles
Beth stitched Sweet Violets by Cedar Hill.  You can find Beth here and enjoy her garden strolls, wildlife and the best photos of many types of birds plus wonderful stitching.                       

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2017
Lesley has stitched Let's Read to Kids by Ursula Michael. You will find many fantastic stitches at her blog.   Hardanger and card making are among her loves.   She is a very talented knitter too.  Visit Lesley here

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Mein - Allerei - Hobby
Martina stitched many patterns from the Hometown Holiday series by Little House Needleworks into a fabulous holiday quilt.  You can visit Martina here and find beautiful stitches and gorgeous quilting.   She also designs patterns that you will enjoy receiving.

Here is another lovely stitch that Martina sent to us It is called The Rose from Veronique Enginger

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Manuelas Flowergarden
Manuela has stitched the gorgeous  Rose im Stanler.  Go see Manuela here and you will find beautiful stitches and amazing quilting projects.  She chooses great projects that will inspire.

Manuela also sent this detailed Elefant gerahmt .   What awesome detail.  

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Aimetu's Stitches
Clare sent us a lovely stitch called March by Drawn Thread.   Visit Clare here and find very pretty stitching.  She bakes delicious treats too.  You will also enjoy her travel blog very much.

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                                                                Freebie one  

 

Isn't this stitch perfect for all of us?   This is a great chart by My Big Toe and you can find the pattern here.   Big Toe offers many free charts to enjoy and stitch.

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Live to Stitch
Meg has a great new blog.   Go see Meg  here and truly enjoy some lovely stitching and great framing.  Meg has begun to design some patterns too and they are fabulous.  Her gorgeous stitch below is called It's "Birth Announcement" by Teresa Wentzler. 

Meg wrote: I worked on it while I was pregnant with my son, Thomas, and finished it a few months after he was born. (I blurred out his birthday in the main photo to protect his privacy.)

I adore Teresa Wentzler's designs because they are so challenging! She often combines thread colors to create blended looks, and her designs often call for beads and metallic threads and specialty stitches. I usually learn something new each time I tackle one of her designs. And, she has lots of free patterns for ornaments and bookmarks on her site (twdesignworks.com/Free).

Happy blogging birthday! :-)  Meg

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Stitches and Blessings with Susan
Susan chooses great patterns and turns them into wonderful projects that you will love. This stitch is called Endless Hearts by Threadwork Primitives and it is stitched on 28 ct. Tea-Dyed Monaco.  Visit Susan  here  

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Independent Stitcher
Robin has chosen Thought of friends by Misty Hill Studio.  Her stitches are absolutely beautiful and she is a prolific stitcher.  Robin does not have a blog but we hope we can get her to share some more of her work with us.   She stitches such lovely pieces ...too lovely not to be seen.

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Serendipitous Stitching
Jo is a very active stitcher that shows many beautiful projects.  She also puts together awesome and fun activities for other stitchers like hops.  And her blogger of the week is very popular.   You can find Jo here

Jo wrote:

Obviously it is impossible to choose just one piece from just one of my favourite designers. 

I thought a bit laterally instead.  Your blog is called Stitching With Friends and this is a piece I stitched with friends.  From 2011 to 2014 I took part in a number of round robins via the Yuku Boards.

This piece was part of the Joan Elliott RR.  I chose six of her Flower Fairy designs and six friends stitched a fairy each according to my instructions.

I designed and stitched the central flowers, taking one bloom from each of the six designs.   This is one of my favourite RR pieces and I display it every Spring so it seems appropriate to share for a Spring Birthday party with Stitching with Friends!

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Stitching Basket
Lili stitches such lovely patterns and does beautiful finishes.  Her choices of patterns are always great.  She chose Enchanted by Carriage House Samplings for our party.  Don't miss visiting her here 

Lili wrote:

It's really hard to pick my favourite piece/designer...

So, since you and Mary are stitching a deer, here is my choice!

The design is by Carriage House Samplings - Enchanted. That's really pretty! :)
Happy One Year Blog Anniversary!

   

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Stitching Dreams
Carol has a very popular and enjoyable blog that you probably are all familiar with.   But if not, you can visit her here  You will find beautiful stitches, finishes and great ideas.   She is another great baker too.     She chose Painted Egg by the Cricket Collection's Eggs...etera.(No. 109)booklet.

Carol wrote:
This is  one of my favorite designs by The Cricket Collection.  I've stitched it at least three times, but given every one away! Next time I stitch this, it will be for me :) 

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Freebie Two

Here is a lovely chart from our friend Sub Rosa.   You can stitch this for Easter next year or leave off the letters and have a perfect Spring stitch too.   How sweet is the baby lamb.   You can find the chart here  There are lots of lovely charts on her blog site.

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A Bend in the Road
Jenny has a personal blog that is beautifully written, very touching and close to my heart. There is love in every word.   You can visit her blog here  She also stitches some lovely samplers as you can see below.   This one is called A Place We Call Home by Country Cottage Needleworks.  

Jenny wrote:
I have stitched quite a few samplers from different designers but this sampler is one of my favorites. I love the message and of course the little house and to be honest it just describes my husband and I and how we are.  I changed some of the colors and the frame came from one of my favorite places .... Solvang...a little Danish town on highway 1 right here in Southern Ca. The sampler sits on my Grandmother’s hope chest in our living room and this sampler is one of the first ones family and friends see when they enter our home   Jenny

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Nanaland
Arlene is not only a great stitcher but she is the "world's best Nana"   Go by and see her beautiful stitches and her gorgeous grandchildren.   She also has an awesome farm that is a pleasure to see.   You can visit with Arlene here  She chose Christmas Village by Prairie Schooler. 

Arlene wrote:
I stitched this years ago and it continues to be a favorite piece.   Arlene

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A Stitcher's Story
Vickie stitches beautifully and is known for her love of pink, poodles (Murphy and Henry) and great reviews of the books she is reading.  She has excellent taste in books.  And everyone loves her poodle stitches that she is designing. You can visit her  here   Vickie chose I AM a Daughter of the Risen King by Little House Needleworks.

Vickie wrote:
LHN is not my favorite designer, but I love this pattern, even if it is a freebie!

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Sewing After Seven
Sheryl has one of the prettiest blogs where you will find stitching, embroidery, quilting, tatting and many other simply beautiful crafts.   Her tags below are an example of her creative projects.   You can visit with her here

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Pense'e et lavante
Marie Christine has a lovely blog that she shares with her daughter Celine.
They both are beautiful stitchers and quilters. She chose a pattern called Valentine Sampler from With Thy Needle and Thread.   You can find both of these lovely ladies here

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Halland House Gifts
Judy chose Red House Sampler by Brenda Keyes.   She tackles difficult and beautiful patterns that have alot of stitches and does a wonderful job each and every time.   In fact she is one of the people that stitched And Heaven and Nature Sing and we knew we had to stitch it.  She is quite good at baking too.  Visit Judy here

Judy wrote:
It was not my first project on evenweave, but it was my first on linen.    My first evenweave was a reproduction by Brenda from one of her books.  I just couldn’t justify stitching a period piece on Aida.  A few years later I was finding myself feeling the same way but with linen, so off to Hobby Lobby I went.When I saw how see through the fabric was there was a little panic.  It was on this project that I learned how to be a very neat stitcher-no carried threads, none.  This project started my love affair with linen and I’ve never looked back.   Judy

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                                                                  Freebie Three

What an awesome stitch by Hands on Design.  This was done for Cathy's anniversary.    You can find the free pattern here

                                                           

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Stoff und Nadel...Jutta's Blog
Jutta shared her lovely cross stitched holiday quilt with us.   Her patterns are called Santa's Village from Country Cottage Needleworks.   She does beautiful stitches and wonderful quilts that you will fall in love with. You can see many more crafts at her blog here

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Bee - mused and Bee - stitching
Stasi sent us this gorgeous bee collection.   You can visit Stasi here and see many, many more difficult projects like this.  She is also an excellent seamstress and another awesome Grandma.
Stasi wrote:
This is probably the favorite piece I've ever stitched (though I have others that run a close second) and even won a blue ribbon for Blackwork at the Woodlawn Needlework show in 2013. It is called Regal Bee and the pattern is by Theresa Baird of Heart's Ease Examplar Workes. A friend kindly gifted me the chart(knowing how I loved bee motifs); it was quite a challenge because it didn't come with any finishing instructions. I drew on all the knowledge I had gleaned from finishing classes and "got 'er done". Looking forward to your birthday celebration.

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Faithfully Stitching
Faith chose a beautiful stitch called Shades of Blue by Northern Expressions Needlework.      She has a fun blog with great stitches and awesome puzzles too.  We are both amazed at the complexity of the puzzles she completes.  She is a "master of the puzzle"!  You can visit Faith here

Faith wrote:
This is the photo of my most recent finish that I was excited  about.

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The Copper Fox
Sara chose Christmas Gathering from the Just Cross Stitch magazine, December 2008.  She has an informative blog with beautiful stitches, great tips and awesome tutorials.  She also is a wonderful baker.   You will find this and much more here 

Sara wrote:

Thanks for the invite and happy blog birthday! 

Have a great day,

Sara/Honeybee

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Orts, Splinters and Mulch
Deb sent us a wonderful stitching needle book with a very pretty stitch.   She does beautiful, difficult stitching that you will enjoy. She chose the pattern September Song to send.   You can find Deb here

Deb wrote:
The design is called September Song by Dancing Needle Designs and was a freebie in 2003 (though the link I had for it is no longer any good).  I stitched it as a Fall Freebie Exchange piece for Sarah in the UK and finished it as a needlebook with wool pages and a couple of pockets for scissors and small tools.  I changed some colors and added the swooshes and the lower line of acorns.  Stitched on 28ct Annabelle with DMC and WDW.

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I Majored in Home Economics
Sandy has a lovely blog filled with great stitches, home life and the greatest dogs (Lemony and Gus) that you will fall in love with.   She chose Silent Night, Holy night by Stoney Creek Collection.  You can find Sandy here  

Sandy wrote:
Here is my most recent fave finish by Stoney Creek Collection.

Sandy

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Justine's Cross Stitch
Justine sent us the most perfect stitch for our party.  She chose Life is Better with Stitching Friends by Lizzie Kate. Is this not the truth?  She does beautiful stitches and is in the middle of an awesome stitching project right now.  You can see it and so much more at her blog here
Justine wrote:
I was hoping to find something fully finished but in the end I think this is more appropriate and fits perfectly how I feel about Stitching Friends blog 

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Craftartista
Our newest friend and follower Mia is a multi crafter.   She loves many crafts like sewing, crochet and stitching.   She also paints, decoupages and makes jewelry, cosmetics and cards.  Enjoy all of her talents at Mia's blog here. We are so happy she is joining us for the party.    
Mia wrote:
Here is my photo for your birthday celebration. It is a stitched pendant (cross-stitch on wood). Hope you like it.  Kisses from Greece, Mia

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                                                                 Freebie Four

Our fourth freebie is this sweet little chick perfect for Springtime.   You can find the free pattern here   There are many lovely free charts at Snowflower Diaries.

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I Love to Stitch
Our friend Catherine does beautiful stitching and many difficult projects.   She is also a master with beads and makes gorgeous ornaments and jewelry.  The amazing project below is called a Victoria Sampler.  You can see much more at her blog here
Catherine wrote:
This is a Victoria Sampler Class I took a few years ago. I love this piece!

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Kitten Stitching
Kaye from Kitten Stitching sent us this gorgeous stitch.   Can you imagine the hours that went into completing this beautiful piece.  It is called The Wind of Willows Sampler.  You can find many beautiful projects and fun activities when you visit Kaye here 
Kaye wrote:
This is a pic of my very favourite cross stitch that I have made and the one of which I am the most proud – The Wind in the Willows Sampler. It took me twelve years to complete and has the names and birth dates of all three of my children on it.  This is the best photo that I could take as it has very reflective glass on the front.

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Busy Hands Crafts
Ele from Busy Hands Crafts sent us this fun stitch to celebrate our birthday.    Be sure and visit Ele at to see many wonderful stitches and other lovely crafts.  You will find her here

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Birthday gifts for four lucky participants

To thank you all for being a part of our celebration we thought we would give four lucky participants a small thank you gift from us.  We will chose four names from a bowl.  Two will receive small boxes of stitching goodies and two others will receive a pattern in an envelope.  We will announce the four names in our next post.  Good luck!

Our annual big give away will be coming in June so make sure you sign up for that.  We are calling it "These are a few of our Favorite Things".   

Hope you all enjoyed our celebration.  We truly thank you for being a part of it.  It was a great year getting to know everyone that visits with us.  Here's to lots more stitching and many, many,  more good times.   We will be back with a new project in about ten days.  Hope to see you then.

                                    ⚜   The Girls from Stitching Friends Forever  ⚜