Blue Fridays...

I received this excerpt in my box today and decided this is something I definitely will support and wanted to share here also. Will you were Blue, please?

Blue Fridays.

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing blue every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority' We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -- and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something blue. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of blue much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in BLUE and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is .'We need your support and your prayers.' Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something blue every Friday.

Crazy Quilting asnd Giveaway

Pat Winter is a wonderful Crazy Quilt artist and if you have never seen any of her work then you should visit her at http://gatherings100.blogspot.com/. She is also having a Summer Giveaway if you are interested. If I win her giveaway I will be adding these things to my friendship quilt! She has also challenged us to do a giveaway as well so I have decided to join in the celebration of summer. So check it out on my sister blog Crazy at it's Best .

As you know I am a beginner crazy quilter and have been gathering my pieces for my friendship quilt. People from around the world have given me small stitched pieces, fabrics, trimmings and threads to add to this quilt. It will indeed be a quilt made from the Friendship of all my stitching friends. I am eager to actually start piecing the squares--unfortunately much of my stash is packed up preparing for my eventual move. If I had known it was going to take so long to sell the house, I would never have packed up all my beloved stash!!! If you would be interested in adding to my quilt project you can see all the details here. I think I may try to go ahead and start one block. I think I can come up with enough fabric to get it together and I have plenty of fibers and beads to at least get a start on it. I will keep you posted.

On the stitching front, I started my Jeanne Ries on 40 ct white linen using a beautiful red silk floss. I will try to get pictures over the weekend.

Until next time....Happy Stitching!

Summer!!! And SAL time...

Well, it turned into a very busy Spring for me and now here it is Summer already! I am still trying to sell my house so I am trying to keep up with the cleaning and organizing and that is not an easy task. The house has been on the market now for 22 months and I am very frustrated and disappointed. I am beginning to wonder if the economy is ever going to right itself. I still have half of my stash packed up in storage and the other half is packed up here in the house but, of course, whenever I need something, it is always where I cannot get to it. I really want to have my things put back out around me so that I can get to them when I want them. Oh, well, maybe someday soon.

I have finished up a couple of models and consignment pieces which I will show as soon as I am allowed. If you have been following the Ink Circles seasonal mandalas in the JCS magazine you will be glad to know that the latest one has been released in the May/June issue. I really enjoyed stitching all of these and hope you will also. I am presently trying to finish up the consignment sample Ann Kirby from the Scarlett Letter. This is being done for a friend and is about 3/4 of the way done now.

I am also working on a couple of designs of my own. I hope to be able to release them around the end of August or first of September. And they will be a series (I hope) if all goes well. I will let you know more about them as things progress.

At the moment I am itching to start my Jeanne Ries from GigiR designs-- using red silk on white fabric. And this got me to thinking. I would love to do a stitch-a-long. Would anyone like to join me? I am thinking any Bristol Orphange-type Sampler, not just Jeanne Ries or for that matter any red sampler. I would love to have company for this one. I will set up a forum over on my message board so that we can share our experiences and photos and discuss our progress. You will need to join but this is to reduce the chances of spam and to keep the board safe for all of us. It is easy and free, of course.


Here is a photo of Jeanne Ries. If you would like to have this one you can get it from me at the MadStitcher.com Anyone wanting this one and mentions the SAL will get a 10% discount! And, of course, I have several other Bristol type designs available as well. Check out Rhoda Morley from Leisure Needle or Bristol Fashion from Long Dog Samplers. But whichever one you choose will be great and fun to watch as it progresses. Please join me.

Till next time.....Happy Stitching!