My Floss Toss

I did my floss toss and took some pictures :-). My theme is A Country Neighborhood, lots of green, trees, animals and flowers. I am thinking about stitching a border too. I'd probably use the border on the DT Neighborhood piece. The other piece is my starting point for my theme. I am really looking forward to getting started. I need to finish up a few bits and pieces and then this will be my next project.

You are all putting me to shame...

I haven't bought my fabric, picked my charts, or started stitching yet. :( - I'm in the finishing stages of stitching on Shepherd's Bush Earth Gatherers, and I'm afraid that if I put it down, it won't get picked up for several months (I'm on to the backstitching, so it's the final stretch). I hope to have this finished up in the next 2 weeks, and then I will get started on my RR.

I like everyone's ideas so far! Keep them coming!!

ALMOST READY!!!

I've pulled out the charts: Chessie & Me, CHS, PS etc. Still no idea how I want it to be. I'm about to finish Marriage of Minds and I will start. Once I've started it won't take long.

Lynn

I've started stitching!

I've decided on a mainly birds and garden theme. I've pulled several charts to send along. I've started stitching Their Song by Blackbird designs to start.

Lisa

Hi to Everyone from Sue in New Zealand

I am so looking forward to this RR and thank you so much for inviting me on board - I know a few ladies here and have enjoyed stitching previously with Katrina, Karin, Jane B and Pat and will be delighted to do so again - other names here are familiar and I do look forward to getting to know you all as we stitch our neighbuhood RR's,

A little about me for those that don't know me at all - My name is Sue and I am 49 years old and hanging on tight! - I live in Wellington, New Zealand and have been happily married to David for almost 29 years. We have three children Penny 21 and in her final year at Uni doing a teaching degree and still living at home because she is a "poor student"!, Michael 17 and in his final year at school - Mike would rather be playing sport than at school but that's the breaks! and Andrew who has just turned 16 and loves school! We also share our home with Ruby, our Golden Retriever who has been very sick but is on the mend now (one of the reasons I have been so slow with this intro!) Pippi and Pearl - our two cats and Elmo our aged cockatiel!

I have been stitching ever since I can remember and love CHS, Little by Little, La De Da, Examplars of the Heart to name but a few!

I work full time at a large and very busy Medical centre as well as moonlighting a couple of shifts each week at the local Emergency - I love my job and like the never knowing what is going to come through the doors - I think it is the adrenalin rush I am addicted to!

I have thought heaps about my "theme" for this RR and while my theme is fairly loose - sort of friendship and distance and the threads that bind these together using a pallete of Chessie & meets Sheepish Designs collides with Examplars of the Heart - lots of vines, flowers, houses and gardens, small animals especially cats, dogs and birds! Like I said .... fairly loose but the plan is there! I have my fabric pretty well chosen and the thread colours are floating around in my head - I will send threads with my RR as I want a "certain look" and would prefer a limited palette of like threads are used to retain this - I will also enclose a small journal!

I have stitched on many RR's but I am especially looking forward to this one as it is one I have long admired and coveted - so thank you again for including me - I just know this will be fun!

Hugs Sue

another bright idea, ollie!

After spending mucho time going through my stash, I came to the following conclusions/decisions:

a.) I have waaaay too much stash
b.) eBay, here I come! (to SELL, silly... LOL)
c.) while I have a fair amount of charts to support the construction of a whimsical neighbourhood, *I am changing my theme* to
d) a Neighbourhood of Carriage House Samplings, Barrick Samplers, Chartmakers and the Good Huswife

I am obssessed with those designs, have stitched several, and have TONS of their charts, old, new and freebies, to send along.

YEAH!!

Who's Doing What?!

Hi everyone, I am curious as to what threads everyone is going to use and if they are going to send them along with their piece. Also, is everyone going to send charts or just requests of what they want? Inquiring minds would love to know!!! LOL

My fabric arrived - yippee!

I ordered a fat half of 32 ct. Sudden Storm from Silkweaver's a week ago and it's arrived already!!! I haven't opened the package yet since I'm not home at the moment. Later, for sure! Now for the pattern and the fibers I ordered to arrive.

I need to find what I did with the huge zip bag I have with a ton of house patterns in it. I had pulled likely candidates for the "without a U" Neighborhood RR I was in. I'll sure need it again and I'd like it to be handy. I'm sure I'll locate it by June!! LOL

I should introduce myself a little bit. I live in Olney, Md, located halfway between Baltimore, Md and Washington, DC (where I work). I have 5 cats and a kitten. The kitten is precious but driving my brother and I (and the adult cats) crazy with her youthful exuberance. We all live together in a nice townhouse in a nice neighborhood. We're still less than a mile from the rural farms with the cows, donkeys and horses. I love it!

I'm just-turned-50, single, and love to read adventure and mystery books and to cross stitch. I like watching reality shows (Survivor, American Idol, Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model, etc), Lost, Sunday Morning, 24 and Gray's Anatomy. I stitch while watching all of them except for Lost and 24 - I was missing too much!

I adore starting projects! (Don't you?) So many of the projects I finish are ones I started YEARS ago and finished currently. It took 7 days to stitch stretched out over 17 years. Cracks me up!

This RR is going to be so enjoyable!

Jane B.

Hi All from London, England via New Jersey

Hi Everyone
I am really thrilled to be here. I haven't done a round robin in quite a few years and this one is really exciting me as I just love houses. I also love anything by CHS, Blackbird Designs, Bright Needle, Prairie Schooler, EE&F and The Drawn Thread to name but a few. I have only been stitching for around 10 years but have a somewhat large collection of everything to do with stitching and over the years my tastes have changed enormously.

I have lived in the England for almost 45 years though if you heard me speak you wouldn't think so as I am still a New Jerseyite by birth and mouth! I have been married to Larry a Brit through and through for almost 40 years and we have three children and two grandchildren and in April it is my big big birthday and I'm really not looking forward to it but our son is getting married two weeks earlier and that I'm looking forward to no end. I haven't worked for a number of years because I have M.S. and sympathy is definitely not allowed in any shape, form or size, and if it wasn't for the M.S. I wouldn't be stitching because I wouldn't have gotten bored.

Anyway right now I am looking through my not insubstantial stash to see what I shall start with. I am involved in some other exchanges as well and find them all really thrilling but none as big as this one.

Anyway no doubt see something of you all soon.

Patti xxx

Hi ladies, from Washington, D.C.

Hello ladies!

My name is Jane C, I live in Washington D.C. but I grew up in Massachusetts... nice to see another New Englander in the RR!
I am 30, not married, no kids or pets... I work as a television news producer. I have cross stitched since I was a girl but I have also been learning to quilt which has distracted me a little from my first love, so I am looking forward to having this project to keep me tied in to cross stitching.
I have participated in every Sampler House exchange on the Legacy board so I am a bonafide house lover. I am so excited you all decided to stitch a round robin!
I am just finishing up Dutch Beauty, you can see my work here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57089806@N00/413257160/

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you better!
I really love the Dijon original and I am leaning toward a really lush flowery sampler, with lots of vines and animals and as little white space as possible. I might make the sampler a little bit smaller to accommodate that request :)
I am still trying to find a house I love to start off ... I can't decide, there are so many wonderful ones. I'm thinking Moira Blackburn at the moment.

One question I have though - like a lot of people, I absolutely fell in love with that original Prairie Schooler birdhouse - does anyone have that pattern or spotted where I could get one?! I do love it.

Can someone tell me about how large a piece of fabric you are getting?

Waving hi from Ohio

I'm Lisa. I live in Ohio. Am married to Mike and have 3 kids, Ryan (graduated from college last year and is out on his own)
Cody (A Freshman at Bowling Green) and Mariah (a sophomore in high school)
I'm an oncology nurse and work for a group of great Drs.
I love to cross stitch, and have been in 2 RR's.
Am so looking forward to this one. Am leaning toward Halloween/fall theme. Have pulled several patterns out and have ordered my fabric.
Can't wait to get started!

Hi from Gold Coast, Australia

Thanks to Katrina for organising this. Ever since I saw this RR I've been wanting to do one since "houses" is one of my favourites. I don't have a theme but I will write down what I like when I send my piece away. BTW, I'm not computer savvy so posting might be a problem and will have to rely on your expertise to help me at some stage. I love PS, CHS and have collected quite a few patterns over the last 6 months.

I am 52 married with 2 children - Andrea (girl) lives in London with her husband, Phil (Geologist) and Andrew (son) lives in Singapore - working as an architect. Where we live, we have the best of both worlds - on the East is the sea and on the West is Hinterland.

I can wait to start this!

Hugs to all!

Lynn

Hi from Chicago

A big thank you to Georgie for inviting me to join this RR. I met Georgie at the Shepherd's Bush retreat in Utah last year, and we have so much in common that I jumped at the chance to be in this RR with her.

I've participated in a number of RRs in the past, but haven't done anything for a couple of years, so I'm looking forward to being in another one.

I haven't given a lot of thought to what theme I want, but I'm leaning towards a rural theme using Prairie Schooler designs. I may change my mind in the next few weeks, though!

Anyway, a little about me. My name is Susan, and I live in Chicago with my DH and DS (age 6). I love big city living, but miss the convenience of having an LNS nearby. The advantage with this, though, is that I don't make impulse stash purchases these days, but I still like to see what's out there!

I really like the international flavor that we've got in our group, and I hope to get to know more about you all in the coming months.

Thanks to Katrina and Georgie for organizing this!

Greeting from Massachusetts!

Hello everyone-

Glad to be here... I have been admiring all the wonderful Neighborhood RRs on the Legacy EZ-Board, and so wanting to join one- & thanks to Katrina, here I am!

I am Kathy Barnard in MA- here is a little squib about me :)
I am 50, live here in the currently *freezing* Northeastern U.S.A.
Wife to Jeff and Mom to Sean, age 30; I am also owned by FC, the very cranky 15 year old kitty.
I am an R.N., work the night shift at a very busy inner city hospital, in the Acute Care Float Pool- gotta love it, something different every night.
I've been seriously into stitching for about 11-12 years and am quite the fabric collector - love that linen!
Fave designers include CHS, Blackbird Designs, Little House Needleworks, Prairie Schooler, EE&F and The Drawn Thread.

As far as this RR, wooHOO! I am currently sifting through my *ahem* copious collection of fabric, and just hemming and hawing along- I will use a 32 or 36 count linen.

I am thinking either Autumn/Halloween or Whimsical/flowery/creatures, and once I decide, the perfect fabric will just pop out at me.

Once again, glad to be here and greetings to all!!

Hello! I'm so thrilled to be here.

I'm pleased to see I also know a few stitchers in the group. I'm looking forward to renewing old friendships and creating new ones. I love our inspiration piece and am delighted to see the attributes for the designs.

I was in The Neighborhood RR (no "u") and am finishing up a couple of empty spots. In that piece I wanted alphabets and lots of animals. I've already started a folder of possible ideas for this RR and am leaning strongly (very strongly!) towards a Halloween Town.

Jane

The Piece that Started it All...

Ever since the first time I saw this piece, I've wanted to do a Neighborhood Round Robin. It was stitched by a group of French ladies and, in my humble opinion, it is one of the most stunning pieces I've ever seen. One of the ladies on the Legacy board actually did a fair bit of research and put together a list of the designs used on this piece. Hopefully I won't offend anyone by cutting and pasting it here :-). I thought it might give everyone a good starting point. I am sorry if I am overdoing it here.

Top Row
- Section 1 Brick house and gate- (PS The Three Pigs)
- Section 2 Center house with red roof
- Section 3 Blue house with vine growing over top
Middle Row
- Section 1 - Yellow house with vine growing toward top of house
- Section 2 Small brick house with white fence (PS Trick or Treat)
- Section 3 - White birdhouse with yellow sunflowers (PS OOP House and Garden)
- Section 4 - Pink/rose brick house with brown roof and girl in foreground
- Section 5 - White house with vine over house (To Have and To Hold - R&R is similar)
Botttom row
- Section 1 - Blue two story house and half tree with man in foreground (P.S. Sunshine and Shadow - they changed the house color from white to blue) (Spring Miniatures by Prairie schooler - for rabbit)
- Section 2 - Blue roof house
- Section 3 - Red Brick house with two chimneys- The Town House Sampler, by The Sampler Company

- blue peacock -(Goode Huswife - Pumpkins and peacocks) or Sheepish Designs - The Garden Path. This house also looks very similar, looks like they adapted their design from this one.
Pattern Lists: The following patterns were used in the piece:
Prairie Schooler "Trick or Treat
P.S. The Three Pigs (I see this one in the top left corner)
P.S. Sunshine and Shadows (I see this one bottom left)
P.S. Village Green- This pattern has several houses, but they are not in the design, though the bottom picture with the church, the one with the little steeple…looks very close to it
They also mention Garden Samplers - the large birdhouse in the centre, section 5 pink house, just add a window or two, and two little chimneys.
DT For the Birds is mentioned (may be used for all the critters -- though there is only one bird on section 5 - middle row that looks like the robins in the center of the DT pattern.)
Peacock -- suggested design - Goode Huswife - Pumpkins and peacocks -- use an overdyed teal or turquoise/green fiber and you'll be very close to the one on the sampler
Apparently some of Moira Blackburn's samplers were incorporated as well.
The shepherdess on the right with all the sheep on the hillside comes from Moira Blackburn's The Announcement.

I must be crazy because I've decided to participate in two Neighborhood groups. Luckily the mailing dates are opposite months so I should be able to keep up. I am so excited about this group, I know quite a few of you very well and I look forward to getting to know the rest of you.

Welcome

Hi everyone and welcome to our Neighbourhood! I know Neighbourhood is spelt a little differently, but I am from Australia and that's how we spell it! LOL