My other love....

I love scrapbooking, so much so that for the past 4 years or so I've devoted most of my spare time to it, collecting supplies, pouring over magazines, joining countless yahoo groups, attending big blow out events geared towards it, have worked at my lss and even had the wonderful opportunity to work for an online scrapbooking and stamping magazine! I have a terrific room in my home dedicated to this passion of mine, it's a place I love to just go and hang out, even if I'm not scrapping, but, I have to be honest with you, my first, true love is needlework! Yep, I learned to needlepoint at the young age of 7 or 8 from my grandmother. I can even remember the first design I stitched, it was a rabbit! I think I even have it packed away among my grandmothers things that I received when she passed 5 years ago. I've stitched countless pictures, stockings, baby bibs, bread cloths and fingertip towels in my 25 years plus of stitching but when stamping and scrapbooking entered my life, I put my needlework down and didn't really look back. A short while ago, I made some much needed changes to my life, really healthy, look-out for yourself changes and one of them was to pick my stitching back up! I can't tell you how good it feels to have this back into my life, I derive so much soulfull pleasure out of my stitching, I had forgotten what it felt like! God has blessed me with my decisions as well, He placed into my life a new stitching friend Carol, who in turn introduced me to a group of stitchers online, many of whom are local to me and I never knew it! I had a chance last weekend to attend a stitching get together (much like a crop!) and it was so nice! I started my latest finish, this little pumpkin tuck pillow, a kit from Pine Mountain Designs! This was a very quick and easy project, and now holds a little spot on a shelf in my entry way! I seriously need to make some more of these I think!


Another new adventure I am undertaking is quilting! My stitching friend Carol also enabled me to a wonderful quilting/stitching shop in Racine..."Calico,Canvas, and Colors"..well, I originally went up to the shop to see what they had in the way of stitching projects, but, unfortunately, they are discontinuing their stitching (much for the same reasons as alot of independant scrap stores have such a hard time), while I was there though, I signed up for their beginner quilt class, picked out my fabrics and I am happy to say that I am well on my way to completing my first quilt!! This is also something I have always wanted to try my hand at..I love to sew and again, did much of it prior to my scrapbooking craziness LOL! It also feel so good to put my beautiful sewing machine to some real use!

I'll always scrapbook, it is one of my passions, something I really enjoy fully but I've learned to scale back my attentions to it in order to include some other hobbies I really enjoy! In fact, I see a scrap page on the horizon about my first stitching finish in quite some time!

Also, enjoy my new video...I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Five for Fighting, and especially this song "The Riddle". I have both Five for Fighting's cd's, they both ROCK!! but, I've been listening to the new one over and over..I just can't get enough of this tune! Enjoy.....and,

Until next time.....

Blessings,
Cricket :0)