Christmas 2015

I looked at my blog and it has been over a year since I posted an update! Shame on me! I guess I should make updating the blog at least once a month be my New Year's Resolution! 2015 has been a very busy year, as they all seem to be. 

Tim, Aiden, and I did a lot of traveling. Here are a few pics of some of our favorite places this year.

This is from our annual spring pilgrimage to the Great Smoky Mountains.

This pic was made in Acadia National Park in Maine.

ABeautiful sunset on Sanibel Island, Florida where we celebrated Tim's 50th birthday.

Aiden fishing in the Florida Keys.

We have been blessed with being able to travel and spend good times together.

This year, I also, did some stitching and opened and Etsy shop, SunshineNeedleworks.

I went on a little Owl making binge. 

I made the ornaments on my Halloween tree.

I made stuffed Christmas ornaments for our tree.

I made placemats for our Christmas table. 

And bookmarks for my kindergarten students.

I hope to finish and start a few more projects while I am on Christmas break.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and may God bless you throughout the coming year! Love, Angel

Last summer my husband, Tim, and I went on a dream trip out west. We visited Mount Rushmore, Craters of the Moon, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Little Big Horn Battlefield, and The Badlands. It was an amazing trip. Here are a few pics from the trip.

This is my first blog post from my ipad and I hope that it turns out well! I have been so busy with life and work that I haven't posted since January. I am still doing some stitching but not as much as I used to. I divide my time between cross stitching and quilting/sewing. Since my last post, I, also have a new granddaughter. I now have two grandsons and two granddaughters. Our family keeps on growing.

Quilting

In 2013, I began my love affair with quilting. Even though it has been only a year, my quilting romance has produced some beautiful items. Though they have many flaws, I continue to make improvement in my quilting. My husband bought me a new singer quilting machine for Christmas and this should make my quilting easier. My other machine is dying and was not a heavy duty machine.

A New Year!

I did not post at all in 2013! So this year, I will try to be more responsible in my blog posts. 2013 was an amazing year. My husband and I had a super vacation that included Niagara Falls, Upstate New York, Vermont, and Maine. We ended the summer with four nights in Key Largo.Aiden went on his first fishing trip in Key Largo and he started kindergarten this year! I have a new grandson, Cutter, that was born October 23. He is gorgeous! And I discovered the joys of quilting! I have not cross stiched since I started quilting. This year I completed a king size quilt, three full size quilts, and four baby quilts! I am currently working on quilts for my two daughters. I hope everyone has a super 2014!

Summer/Lake Michigan

Summer has been flying by. Tim and I took Aiden to KY in June and spent time with family and then Aiden stayed there while Tim and I traveled took our "honeymoon" vacation. We went to Michigan and spent time visiting the Great Lakes areas. We visited Sleeping Dunes















National Lakeshore that was beautiful. We spent four nights in Traverse City, MI and had some of the most amazing meals. I thought that Lake Michigan was wonderful. The water was so clear that it looked like Caribbean waters!
I have been stitching a bit. I finished my version of Prairie Schooler's "Santa's Night." I shortened the piece and used GAST threads. I have also been practicing on the sewing machine. I finished my first quilt block! The block is called Great Granny Square and I joined a group on FLICKR that is doing a SAL on this quilt block. The block is not perfect but I am extremely thrilled with it. Thanks to everyone for taking the time out of your busy day to peruse my blog. I will try to update again next week with some Lake Huron pics. Until then, may God bless you all and keep you strong.

New Hobby

I have not posted for almost two months! I have been very busy with school matters. Students have survived another round of SAT and FCAT testing and the count down to the end of the school year has begun! I haven't been cross stitching a lot but I have a little progress to show. I, also, have been trying to learn to sew! I have taken

two beginning sewing classes at Joann's Fabrics. I can actually use a sewing machine now, which is something I didn't know how to do before. I enjoyed the classes so much that I bought a sewing machine and created a little pillow cover. I also made Aiden a dinosaur pillow case. My stitching looks like a beginners. I didn't press the pillow cover like I should have and not all stitching is straight but I am getting better at it. I plan on taking their sewing 201 class this summer. In that class you learn to make a skirt. It should be fun. I also would like to learn to quilt. My mom made the most beautiful quilts until her eyesight became so bad that she couldn't make them anymore. I would like to continue the tradition of quiltmaking for our family. Mr. Aiden got a new haircut on Saturday and looks quite handsome. He hammed it up for the camera! Tim and I are looking forward to our honeymoon vacation this summer. We are going to Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, areas that neither one of us have been to before. Thank you all for taking the time to read this post and for your wonderful comments. Until next time, Happy Stitching!