Landscape Progress

 On this beautiful Sunday morning in central Texas I decided to take pictures of some of the projects that I am working on.  One of them is my landscape.  I was looking around the house for a great spot to photo my project and I could not find a really good spot.  So I I decided that outside was the best.  It is 49 degrees outside!  (I know, I know to the majority of y'all this is a heatwave but in central Texas that is pretty chilly!)  In order to get the right place I tough the great out doors!

Now on to my landscape.....I have been working on this one off and on for about 8 months now.  I have had other projects in between but for this year this is the big one.  The story behind this is one day I was in our local quilt store.  Just looking around, the store and there it was just sitting on the shelf!  It was a really great tree panel.  At that time images started popping in my head on how this panel would look and of course all of them different!  With those ideas and plans in mind I bought several panels with matching fabrics.

I took these great cotton fabrics home and started putting together my first of several landscapes.  After that I started working on the one that I am showing you today.

This top picture is of the whole project.

Here are close ups of the different parts of this CQ.

As y'all can tell I have been working from the top of the piece down.  When y'all get to these pictures y'all can really see where I am putting in more trees around the house.  I have started on the trunks with a chain stitch.  Y'all can also see where I have drawn these trees in so the vision of what the trees will look like when I am finished can be seen.

I still have a long way to go on it but I am thinking that this is a great start!

Here in the past year I have been playing a little with quality cotton fabric and silk embroidery floss and silk ribbon. I have got to let y'all know that I really like the way this combination is working for me. Oh, I still work with my fancy fabrics but I think that I will keep playing with the cottons also. It also helps that the owners of The Lost Pines Quilt Shop are very supportive of all types of quilting.  I have to let y'all know that she brings in some great Crazy Quilt supplies also!

I hope that y'all enjoyed this trip into my imagination!  I will be back later with some more!

TTFN
The Lion

Inspiration On A Sunday

This Sunday I am planning to just sit and stitch.  We all need that type of vacation from the world.  Where we never leave the bed, just stay in our night gown, turn on the TV and watch old movies and stitch.  I have a couple of stockings made to stitch on for The Lions Christmas Stocking Swap and have writers block so to speak.  Well anyway stitchers block!  So as I am browsing through my blog list just reading along I came across my friend Kathy's blog.  http://www.shawkl.com/   Kathy has the Twelve Dozen Stitches In Twelve Months.  Awesome inspiration!!  If anyone is having stitchers block I recommend going over to Kathy's blog and take a look at her inspirational stitches!

In addition to all those great stitches she is one super stitcher herself, ans she has some of her great eye candy put up on her blog also!  So if you are looking for something to do this Sunday go and check out Kathy's blog!

TTFN

The Lion

A whole New Look

I have had a bee fly into my bonnet so I changed the look of my blog again!  I am hoping that y'all like the new look.  This look is going to take me into the new year.  I do miss posting to my blog, so I am going to try posting at least once a week to show everyone what I am up to.  I do have a ton of things to share with everyone.

First I need to let y'all know that I am having to borrow my daughters laptop.  My computer caught a virus.  It has to go to the geeks to get fixed.  I am thinking though I need a laptop like this one as this one is just too cool!  So with that I am going to leave everyone for the night.

I hope that everyone has a good week I hope to get in a blog post this week.

TTFN
The Lion

The Lion's 2010 Christmas Stocking Swap

Here they are the guidelines for my Christmas Stocking Swap. I hope that everyone has a chance to join in! I am hoping to start this swap and have a new one every year! Sssoooo, here is this years theme: Angels.

Remembering in to my childhood I could not wait for Santa to come! Remember the whole week before Christmas day you always tried not to make your mom yell at you? But you always wanted to smack your sister in the back of her head just because she was annoying you? Oh! Wait a minuet! That was me! That particular sister is now a correctional officer in McAllister, Oklahoma! She is able to annoy a whole new group of people!


The stockings:

Height: Stockings should be no taller then 11 inches high and no shorter than 8 inches high.


Width: Stockings should be no wider then 8 inches wide and no narrower then 4 and 1/2 inches wide.

Attention: Please, line the stockings in case your swap partner would like to use them for more than decorations!

You can send up to 4 stockings, stockings are to be hand embellished.(please no glue)


This swap will be a centralized swap. Stockings are to be mailed to me no later than December 15th. Please, send along with you stockings return postage. I will mail them back out to you no later than December 20th.

Sign up for this swap will close November 15th 2010.

Please, email me with any questions at glynpg@yahoo.com. Also please make sure I can get in contact with you so that you can get my mailing address to mail your stockings to me!

Remember to swap unto others!


TTFN
The Lion

It Is October!

Yes, Yes I know it has been three months since I visited everyone!  I am still trying to make a happy balance in my life.  Of course now I have added in teaching CQ classes in the mix of everything!!  I have my first course under my belt now!  That took up the month of September with a couple of trips to Dallas in between.

Now we have October!  WOW!  What a month!  It is GREAT this year in Texas it is actually pleasant this month weather wise!  Makes me think that we are going to have a humdinger of a winter though but I am ready for it!  Just bring it ON!

I have lots and lots to show everyone so hang on to your hats!  I think that y'all will be sick of me posting before too long!  I am going to start with the Halloween pillow that I made for my youngest daughter.  It is pretty AWESOME even if I do say so myself!


Here it is:

What do y'all think?  My daughter really likes it!  So here is the story on how this pillow came about.......


One of the local groups that I belong to came up with a challenge fabric.  the challenge fabric is the black one with the swirls on it.  I received it and thought.........What is a crazy quilter going to do with this??  Even my sane quilts are not along the line of this fabric!  I tend to stick with Civil War Reproduction fabrics in my sane times!  So I showed my oldest daughter the fabric she said that is nice what are you going to do with it?

I said:  I don't know!  What do you think??

She came back with a shrug and an I don't know.

Like that was a surprise, I showed my youngest daughter the material.  Out of her I got: That is really cool fabric.

HHHUUuuuummmmmm..........................

This one likes Halloween.  So the idea for the pillow was born!  I asked her if she would like a pillow.

I got a:  Cool Yeah!  With spider webs?

I said: Okay with spider webs.

She said:  With those roses?

I said:  Okay with those roses.

Now the skulls are an interesting part of this pillow.  My friend Renee was out bead shopping and found them.  So she mailed them to me.  My youngest wanted to open the envelope that they came in and I told her she could.

She found the beads and said:  Cool mom can you put these on my pillow? 

Of course I can......

The rest is stitching history.

She now has a pillow that reminds me of Jerry Garcia!

TTFN
The Lion

July 2010

Here we are in July.  It has been a long,long while since I have posted on my blog.  I can tell y'all that I have thought about posting but just did not.  I can make any number of excuses but none of them will amount to anything.  What was just getting in my way was me and my inability to figure out how to manage my life.

I recently went to a self help class for my company.  It is Millennium 3.  I do have to tell you that it was an eye opener!  I met quite a few really wonderful people there and the majority of them went on the journey that I did.  The class did lift a lot of weight off of my shoulders.  Well rather my chest.  My chest just does not feel tight anymore.  I can actually see my life clearer now and what I want to do with the rest of my life and I did put allot of things in a new priority.

My quilting and my quilting groups are now above anything else in my life.  Well except for my children!  Then comes my work.  I also found out that my husband is just a part of me.  Looking out through clearer eyes I see new and more possibilities opening up!

So now I bet that you are asking yourselves what I am working on.  I have PICTURES!!!!!

Here are pictures of a fall landscape wall hanging that I am working on for my office wall:

These pictures are of the tip top.

I must say that I absolutely love my spider web!  I really love to make them.  No two spiderwebs are alike.  They are all different.

Here are pictures of the middle:

I am outlining the tree branches and trunk to give more of a textured effect.  I have a couple different shades of orange and some red ribbon that I am going to use for the leaves.  Just wait I will make this tree pretty yet!

As you can tell I did start out with a panel.  I found it at our local quilt shop.  (Just for the curious people the name of our local quilt shop is The Lost Pines Quilt Shop.  The owner Linda is wonderful!  She does like crazy quilting also.   She also supports it and tries hard to feed my need for CQ items!) The co-ordinating fabrics were also found at the quilt shop.  Yes, yes The Lion is working with all cottons.  Except for my embroidery threads.  Those are all silk as is the ribbon.  I am just loving how the fabric and the thread is contrasting.

Now for the bottom!

As y'all can see I am working on a house.  The detail that I am going to put in the house is not quite finished yet as y'all can tell but I think that everyone can get the idea.  I am going to sit down right now after I finish up on this post and finish the lower part of the house not quite sure what I am going to do with the roof but I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

So now for an important question..........  What colors of flower do we find in the fall??  I know what I can find here in Texas but other parts of the country or the world in the fall???  Let me know as I am going to be working on my lawn next!

This is just an aside for the ladies of my StitchMap group.................Ms. Mischief is back and will be posting Mischief on someone............Now who is her next target??????  HHHHHUUUUMMMMMMMMM Could it be you?

TTFN
The Lion

The Awesome Tag Swap

Okay everyone.  I know that y'all all have been wondering........What happened with the Lions Tag Swap????  Well it happened.  I received some beautiful tags that have been swapped and are now on their way to the new owners.

Here are the tags that were done by Kathy:

Here are the tags that came in from Scotland made by Val:

Here are the tags that came in from the Netherlands made by Ina:

Last but not least here are the tags made by the Lion:

It was a GREAT bunch of tags!  I feel very privileged to have been able to swap with these VERY talented ladies!  Thank you for entering this swap.

I hope that y'all like your tags as much as I like mine!

The Lion

Kathy Shaw

Just a quickie post here before I go take pictures to put up and show y'all.  My CQ friend Kathy Shaw is having a blog giveaway.  She is celebrating the opening of her new CQ web site.  If y'all would like to see some GREAT eye-poping stuff y'all might want to check her out!  Here is her blog address: http://www.shawkl.com/  and here is here new web site:  http://www.shawkldesigns.com/ .


The Lion

I Am Back Again

It has been a long time since my last post.  Let me let everyone know what has been going on.  Since January I have had 2 promotions.  I went from being a lead tech to phlebotomy manager in San Antonio.  The changes that came with the promotion to phlebotomy manager were a whril wind!  I have been settleing in with my job. 

Also it is anniversery month for StitchMap.  I have been causeing all kinds of mischief!  We have been giving away prizes galore!

It is now to finish my give away here before I go on to the other mounds of things that I would like everyone to see!

I had my daughter Steph pick out two names this morning.  The winner of this cute pink Tussie Mussie is ..............................Shari!   Yeah, Shari!

The winner of this wonderful Tussie Mussie is.....................................................Lesley!  Yeah, Lesley!

I will get the addresses and send these out next week!

TTFN!

The Lion

A Tussie Mussie Sunday

This past Sunday I played with the making of tussie mussies.  I had read several on-line tutorials on how to make tussie mussies and kinda played around with them.  First I started off with circles.

I cut circles out of poster board and fabric.  I glued the fabric to the poster board and started following several directions.  I hit upon one that really worked for me.

Well I did modify it a little.  Everyone should know by now I usually make a pattern my own!


And here is the finished product:

Well what do y'all think?  All anyone has to do is remember the bigger the circle the bigger the tussie mussie!

Now for the fun of my post.  I am going to have a drawing for these exp. tussie mussies.  Two lucky people will get one of these.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  Don't forget I will need your address to send the prize on.  So if you would contact me with a way to get in touch with you I will be able to send your prize on.  My email address is glynpg@yahoo.com .

TTFN
The Lion

Tussie Mussie

I am in a swap.
It is a tussie mussie swap.

I have think that I have found my inspiration!?  Well maybe...........  A Swap For All Seasons put up a great tutorial link on how to make them.  Let me show it to you:
http://nanasgiftnook.com/projects/the-making-of-tussy-mussy

Tell me what y'all think.  What would you do with a tussie mussie?  What would you use for your inspiration??  What a GREAT spring idea!

Now to go and make it and fill it.................................

TTFN
The Lion

What I have Been Up To

Hello to everyone and a big GOOD MORNING!

I know that everyone has been wondering what has that Lion been up to lately?? I have been up to quite a bit actually! Most of it has been behind the scenes stuff for StitchMap. I needed to organize quite a few Angels here up late. Last week I did take a few days to work on some projects that need to go out to some wonderful ladies! When they get these they will be surprised. I also have my tag swap. Today I am sitting down at my sewing machine to stitch up some more blocks. No, no advance peek on these yet……… But I will share what I have been working on for the last few days!



Here is a 100% cotton wall hanging that I will be working on through my Lost Pines Crazy Quilt Group:

Here is a finished tin top, all I need to do is sit down and put together the tin.

Here is the tin top that I am stitching on currently:

I know that this one is not finished yet.  Do not worry I will show it after it is finished.

There is a third that I need to stitch on I just don’t have a picture of it. I am wanting to glue all three at the same time so after I finish the third I will show all the finished tins!

This is also not the last post for the day. I am heading over to the Mischief Blog to tease my fellow mischief’s!

Here is a final hint for the day. I would not go very far as I am going to put up another “Catch My Star” teaser!!!

TTFN
The Lion

A Peek At The Past

Recently on my StitchMap group one of the ladies had been web surfing.  She had found this really cool blog of a fellow CQer.  She quickly shared it with the group.  (As everyone knows we ALL love eyecandy!)  When I visited this blog and started to scroll down she had put up this block:

I quickly went back to the group and posted that that is my block!  I am the lucky person to have her talented fingers all over my block.  This ladies name is Laurie.  I also told everyone on the group that I would put all the pictures of this RR for their enjoyment.  So here they are!

This block Cobi worked on for me.

This block Leslie worked on for me.

This block Simona worked on for me.

This block Ati worked on for me.  This block is a treasured block as it has a button she added from her grandmothers button box.

And this block Leslie worked on also for me.

So there they are!  My Magic Moments RR revisited!
I would like to thank the ladies from this RR all over again!
The Lion

Stop The Press!!

Okay, I have been reading my blogs, and I came across a post.  It said that she could not exclude her friends from out of the country.  Well that piked my intrest.  I clicked on the picture indicated.  It went to her give away post.  Here is the link: http://treasuresfromtheheartgifts.blogspot.com/2010/02/pink-saturday-teabag-roses-and-giveaway.html . 

Check out the pin cushin!  What I would like to know is how it is made!  WOW!  Now who would not like one of those as a birthday gift????

The Lion

It Is A Challenge Swap!!!!!!

It is a challenge! It is a swap! It is a challenge swap! Yes, you heard right! We will be swapping something great and wonderful! I think that we will start of with tags! Yes, a tag challenge swap! So, here is where the challenge comes in..................

I will challenge each of the ladies who sign up for this swap to make three tags each. (Yes, cross stitchers are welcome!)
One will be in red. The second will be in blue. The third will be in lavender. The tags should be no smaller tha 5x3 inches and no bigger that 6x4 inches.
We each will get a swap partner and exchange our masterpieces! Mailing date will be April 12th 2010.

So, now everyone is asking themselves what do these tags look like???? I just happen to have the pictures right here!

This one was received by me from Hideko in a tag swap.

This one was received by me in a tag swap from Gail.

Now that everyone has the inspiration.................... I need the willing participents to come and play with me!!

After you comment on this post please email me you address for the swap! My email is glynpg@yahoo.com .

Any Questions??


The Lion