Christmas Tidings

Stocking - NeedleArt by Zweigart

Tree - NeedleArt by Zweigart

Noel - M Designs

These are ornaments that went inside lined tins for three friends of mine as part of our exchange gifts. We all live within two hours of each other and try to meet at our LNS every few months or so. Today was our small Christmas party and we had so much fun. Since DH gave me a gift certificate to the LNS and they had a great sale going on, I felt perfectly free to buy stash. Got several charts and lots of threads (50% off). Cannot beat that.

I'm still in a Christmas stitching mood, so I decided to join Nancy M. & Chris's Ornament Challenge group. I'm giving the link from Nancy's blog - I can't get it to pull up on mine.
I'm also in the Bride's Tree SAL so I want to adapt this particular New England St. Nick for the December ornament.
Below are the wonderful gifts from our exchange. I think I'm set for a long time. :)

Christmas was a blur now, I think. We celebrated with extended family the weekend before (right before we lost our dog), went to see the Dead Sea scrolls that Mon. with brother's family, had Christmas Eve service and gifts with immediate family that night, open house Christmas Day, and then left for wedding rehearsal in FL next day, and wedding on Sat. Wedding was beautiful and very sweet. Came home Mon. and had Christmas party with friends today & trip to LNS. Fun, but busy. I'm looking forward to being able to stitch some this week. I've included a few pictures of the happenings.
All of us at the wedding.....


My mom and me - she turned 88 on Dec. 22 and can still run rings around most of us. Good thing she doesn't read my blog, because she'd shoot me for posting her age. She has battled cancer and congestive heart failure these past few years, so I am very thankful to still have her.

And lastly, as a surprise, my DH gave us all key chains with Indiana's photograph etched onto the silver. A lady does this out of her home locally.














Thank you to all those that read my blog and post comments. They are truly appreciated. Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the holiday. Happy New Year!

Indiana

Indiana is the name of our sweet golden retriever. We went to the breeder before he was born and chose the mom & dad of the litter & then specified the sex. He was born on Dec. 27, 1999, & at five weeks old, we went and picked him out of the litter. We had to wait to get him until he was eight weeks old. Our three children were gone that weekend and we had him waiting when they got home; he was such a beautiful puppy. Since that time, he has brought us tremendous joy & love. Even though he's a big dog, we wanted him to be indoors with us so we could really have him as part of our lives.
This is the dog that loved everyone & knew no stranger. We used to say that if anyone ever came in the house to rob us, he'd say - Come on in! Party's here!!. My daughter came up with the idea of introducing him as - This is Indiana.....Indiana Bones. Pretty cute, huh, especially since we were all Indiana Jones fans. My DH used to take him out in the truck with him sitting on the console watching it all. Of course, that seat didn't last too long as he grew.
He loved to escape from the outside door & comb the entire neighborhood, as we're attempting to catch him. Of course, all it took was for someone besides the family to call him or be outside. Our neighor's son became the pro at going to get him, for which we are eternally grateful!
Indiana became afraid of the dark or thunderstorms after several years, though we never knew which one exactly started it. Sort of a vicious cycle. Then he'd park himself right by your side or under your feet if he could. He would have given anything to be a lap dog, but he just didn't fit.


His breath would absolutely knock you over, but he loved you! I used to say, who needs men when you have Indiana. He'd burp, snore, poot, roll around, and whimper while he slept. Mooching or scarfing food was one of his favorite pastimes & he was good, really good at it. It all started when my son had made this really great sandwich he'd been looking forward to. He went to answer the phone and left it on the counter. Well, you guessed it. When he turned around, no sandwich & innocent Indiana is licking his chops! We learned to never leave food in his range or hold something in your hand by your side. He could beg with the best of them by simply looking at you and edging closer. I don't think he ever got full in his life. Food was always something to bargain for, especially peanut butter.
He was always waiting for you at the door with his tail wagging 60 mph. Indiana loved for you to pet him and would sit perfectly still or lean so hard against you, because he relaxed so much, that he would just about knock you over.
He used to be terrorized by our seven pound demon cat (he was 70 pounds), but he figured it out after awhile. She'd whip up on him and he'd just sit there and take it. She'd sail on him and attack his jowls and bite the mess out of him, until he finally got tired of it and trapped her with his paw. Too funny and you'd think he'd have killed her to hear her screech. But then she'd go back again.
Indiana's favorite thing in the world to do besides eat, was to play with DH & DS. They'd get on the floor and wrestle, roll, and heaven knows what else. You'd have thought he was eating them to listen to him growl and bark, but it was all play. He slept in DS' room whenever DS was home and it was always his "safe" room. If there were a thunderstorm or power outage and we weren't around, he'd head up there to stay. Later, when DD was home, he'd sleep in there, too.
This Sun., early in the morning, we unexpectedly lost our sweet dog. His last act at home was trying once again to mooch some food off someone when he collapsed. After the trip to the emergency vet, we learned how bad things really were. There was little warning, and he'd been fine and running around as he always had. At least we know that he was happy and had no suffering. We had to make the decision to let him go and at 5:30 AM Dec. 21, six days shy of his 9th BD, we said good-bye to Indiana.
Strangely now, our house seems so quiet. I didn't realize how often I heard him moving around if I were in another room. He'd shake his head & I'd hear the collar and tags. Funny the things you don't think about beforehand. While we are all really sad about our loss, I know how privileged we were to have him for the time that we did. He was one of the best examples of unconditional love I think I've ever seen. My DH used to tell people jokingly that one of his goals in life was to get his wife and kids to love him the way his dog did. :)
Even though we've had dogs in the past and may do so again in the future, I don't know if there will ever be one quite like him. So I feel blessed to have had him as part of our family. He will never be forgotten.

A Little of This, A Little of That

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. Do you ever feel that life sometimes is rolling by so fast, you can barely catch your breath. I haven't been able to stitch much this month - you know how December is.



I'm including a few pics of my son who just graduated from NC State Wed. Hard to believe that he's done. Now when it comes to high school, we're all sentimental, because our chickies are getting ready to fly on their own. But college is a little different. We're so darn glad they're out & no more payments, that the sentimentality is almost lost. But DH & I are very proud of him & all his hard work.


Speaking of DH's, mine is a real sweetie. DH & T, the father whose son died recently, are both big Harley fans. T has been wanting a motorcycle cover, so DH had one embroidered to honor his son and the original design was framed for Andrew's mom. The people at the Harley shop were so nice and the cover is just perfect.


The interesting part is that DH was planning to give this to the fire station to give to the parents. Our friends weren't supposed to know it came from DH. But while DH was picking up the cover, he spread it out to show one of the workers there. He heard a voice behind him asking, "What have you done?". Yep - DH didn't even see him come in or know he was there, but T & his son were there to buy a motorcycle cover & saw DH. Well, that pretty much shot the anonymity, but it was so sweet. T started crying & hugging him & then they all started. DH just couldn't get over the odds of T being there then. Best laid plans....
Stitching wise, my time has been consumed with December madness! Eighteen of our family are coming in this weekend for dinner at our house. I've been scrambling to get Mom's & my presents bought. I wasn't planning on decorating too much for Christmas, but I have a decoration Nazi as my youngest, who would be upset if I didn't still decorate. She helped, so I can't complain... :)


Last weekend I went to a lovely bridal shower for my future DIL. While I was there, I HAD to go visit The Stitch and Frame Shop in Rock Hill, SC. If you ever go near there, go visit. It's great & the people there are so helpful & friendly. And yes, I did pick up some stash that I'm dying to start on. One is They Came Bearing Gifts by The Stitching Parlor. I decided to change a few colors & chose a red sparkly fabric for it. I'm itching to start, but I also need to get back to the Travel Sampler, too.


We had a cookie exchange at our LNS Monday night stitching group - yum yum! I actually did stitch some. Will post a pic later, but I did stitch!

Christmas Carols #2 - Jingle Bells

For all those being hit with snow a little early or even right on time, here's an appropriate Christmas carol for you. I'm in the South & I'm jealous, but only during Christmas time :) While Jingle Bells may not have the hauntingly touching story of IHTBOCD (see 11/20 post), I wouldn't have figured its origin. Actually, there are somewhat differing views on how it really came to be.
One of them states that James Pierpont, a Boston Sunday School teacher (or Savannah - one of the differing controversies...) , taught this to his pupils for Thanksgiving in 1857. It was originally entitled "The One Horse Open Sleigh" - there's a no-brainer LOL - His class learned it very quickly and performed it. Pierpont had been by a friend's home who had the only piano in town. His friend called it a "merry jingle" and thought it would be successful. Little did they both know! The song was changed and brought back out at Christmas. Voila! Instant Christmas song.
Interesting little note about Pierpont - his father was a poet and reverend and his uncle was J. P. Morgan, the famous financier who merged several companies and formed General Electric and the U.S. Steel Corporation (around the 1900's).

"Jingle Bells"
1. Dashing through the snow,
in a one-horse open sleigh,
O'er the fields we go,
Laughing all the way.
Bells on bobtail ring,
Making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing
a sleighing song tonight!
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
in a one-horse open sleigh!

2. A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a ride,
And soon Miss Fannie Bright,
Was seated by my side,
The horse was lean and lank,
Misfortune seemed his lot,
He got into a drifted bank
And then us got upsot!
Oh! Jingle bells ...

Now seriously, doesn't this sound like tons of fun?!

A Tribute to Andrew

I write this post with a heavy heart. One of our neighbor's sons (25) was involved in a tragic accident Tues. night; he had been on life support with little chance of survival. He's an organ donor and they were waiting for the right time to remove the respirator. They removed it Thurs. to see if there were any chance of life. Sadly, there wasn't and his brain had no activity. So they put him back on it to save his organs. Today was his final day.
I haven't seen Andrew much these past few years, as he's out of the home, married and busy with his work as a full time & volunteer fireman - his life's dream. But I remember the teenager who was so friendly, caring and helpful to everyone - the one who came to our house during an unprecedented snow and we all went sledding. He loved his grandmother dearly and spent a lot of time with her. After having his heart broken as a teen during dating (as most teens do), he found the love of his life and married her several years later. His mother told me at the hospital Wednesday that Andrew would be with his stepdad's mom soon (who died earlier this year). They had held out hope for a miracle for him at first, but his condition worsened.
We don't know what will happen tomorrow. Our life is like a vapor that's here for a short time and then vanishes away. We have no guarantees that everything we hold dear in this life will be here tomorrow. This is a grim reminder to me to cherish my loved ones today and be thankful for what I've had so far, regardless of the outcome - not so easy to do, either. I may not understand it all here now, but I put my trust in the One who does. Vonna wrote a post today about our treatment of other people and striving for the best. It again is a wonderful reminder of how to live our lives. Do we want to live for ourselves or others? A very sobering thought, sometimes. I certainly don't attain this the way I should. But it's also true that we can start each moment afresh with the resolve to love others and live our lives in a manner that would make a difference in someone else's life. A true purpose to have - Andrew, you were this type of man. You will be missed.

Framed, Finished, and Grateful

Went to stitching group last night and "Wedding" was framed and ready to go. You can't really tell it by the picture, but the actual frame is silver that changes color a little as it hits the light. My daughter has seen a picture of it stitched and she knows it was being framed. Now the dilemma is - put her off and save it for Christmas or go ahead and give it to her? It really was meant to be a wedding gift, as opposed to Christmas, but it wasn't finished until shortly after the wedding. Decisions, decisions.


Made some decent progress on TS (Travel Sampler) during an SAT this past weekend. Glad to be on an actual motif, instead of one of the two borders. (Glutton for punishment here to have put in two borders (it's Kim R's fault for letting me see her gorgeous sampler borders). It'll be pretty, but it does make somewhat monotonous stitching sometimes. It's good to be stitching some of the fun part now. :)

I'm also really getting in the Christmas mood with stitching and finished up this Mill Hill kit - Poinsettia.

Sometimes it's easy to get so caught up in preparing for Christmas, Thanksgiving is just the first day of the Christmas season. Savoring this holiday is one way to show gratitude for the blessings in my life. As we all know, there's no guarantee for tomorrow. Feeling thankful for the special things today is important.

So here's my list of blessings:
-My Savior, who gives me life & gave us a fantastic church to call home.
-My DH, sweet, loving and hard-working
-My family, (DH, DD & SIL, DS & fiance, DD & BF, and my mother are the constants in my life).
-My mother - she deserves a special place here - I cherish the relationship we have.
-My brothers and all their families, that I love dearly and enjoy so much the times we get together.
-My friends, that I've had for both long & short years (Nancy, Sue, Cheryl, Frances, Terry, Kathy, & Deborah - you keep me sane!) Bless you.
-My dog, who gives me a glimpse of what unconditional love is like! (ok, ok, & my cat, who gives us a glimpse of .....never mind (sigh) LOL
-My health, though I could be doing more to help it.
-My trappings of life - shelter, transportation, jobs, and so much more.
-My country & all those who came before to give us freedom and those that keep us free still. Our country was & is built upon the backs of their sacrifices. Bless you.
-And for you, my cross stitching friends, both near and far. Some I get to see each week or every so often, and some I will never meet in person, but I treasure our friendships. The intangible gifts received through these online boards, groups, and blogs are priceless. Through them we all share a love and passion for needlework that is limitless.
I feel as if I know many of you well enough to share personal tidbits of my life and to gladly listen as you share yours. I've laughed, cried, been challenged to try new ideas, and definitely been enabled! (ahem, Rene & others...;0 ). I love the stitching pieces, the parts of your life you share, your encouragement, your pictures, your blogs, and your love of needlework. It's a privilege to know you here online and consider you all a daily part of life. And special gratitude is given to those that keep all these groups, boards, and blogs going. Thank you for all the personal comments you've made in groups or on my blog. They are so encouraging & I truly do value each and every one.
You all have touched and enriched my life in ways that you may never fully know.
God bless you all & have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Carolyn NC

Carols #1 - I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day & and an Exchange

True Confessions - I am a Christmas music junkie! Recently I bought the Christmas CD by Casting Crowns. The first song, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is absolutely gorgeous. (Click on the arrow underneath the song title on the top right, if you'd like to hear it.) They rearranged the lyrics to a different tune and in the CD leaflet gave the history.
Henry W. Longfellow wrote the lyrics after a time of great despair during the Civil War. It was Christmas Day, 1864, about six months before the War ended. He wrote seven stanzas including two about the War. He himself had been through tragedy with his wife's horrible death a few years before and recently heard that his son was seriously injured -crippled- in the War. This particular year (maybe with the hope that the War was coming to an end) he heard the bells ringing on Christmas Day reminding him of hope in God for peace. He wrote in the poem of the earlier years of war and then ended it with this knowledge of God's presence. The two stanzas about the Civil War were removed and the poem was made into a carol in the 1870's. What a moving story....
Here are the five stanzas now used. I was fascinated and touched by the whole history. Yes, we can have hope and peace, regardless of our current circumstances. :)

"Christmas Bells"

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

The picture at the top is one I'd like to stitch in the future. This was posted as someone's finish last year and I was able to find it. It came from "Cross Stitch and Country Crafts" Jan./Feb. 1996 and was designed by Patricia Andrle.

Below is my wonderful ornament exchange from Diane in my ILCS group. Much thanks - it's so pretty!

A New Form of Tag

I have been tagged by Sadie and Terry.

Here are the rules:
Find the 6th folder in your photos folder and then the 6th photo in it.
* Pray that you remember the details *
Post it on your blog
Tag 5 others, leave a comment to let them know they’ve been tagged.


Well, my 6th folder was WIP's and this was the sixth and last photo. I know - not an exciting picture. Can anyone guess what this one is? I keep smaller projects to stitch on Monday nights at our group, but haven't touched this one in a while. I've been stitching other things instead. :) So it serves as a reminder to me that it is feeling sadly neglected. Unfortunately, I may not get back to it until after Christmas. We'll see. Figured it out? It's the LHN Little Women series - Quilting.
I've tagged Donna, Kathy K., Mare, Shari, and Sharon.

No More Frogs on PS! (& a little Christmas cheer)

I was able to stitch on this personalized sampler right much after my fiasco with frogs. The inside border goes so much faster than the outside. Hoping to finish the page by the end of the week.
Weekend turned out to be somewhat busy. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks and I haven't even begun to do anything for Christmas. Oh well, it always happens and it manages to all be done. Donna posted on her blog about a really cool Christmas tradition. Might have to incorporate that one in our house somehow. Can't wait to decorate the tree for Christmas! We have a tradition of going to get the tree Thanksgiving weekend and putting it up on that Sunday. Hope all my chilluns can be there this year. We play Christmas music, have pizza and hot chocolate (not sure how that one developed over time) and have a blast. I'm really big into our tree as I have been collecting ornaments for the children and us each year. Many of these are made by little hands, pictures, brass, crocheted, ceramic, pretty, not so pretty!, etc. But the memories attached are priceless. So, unfortunately, the tree gets bigger and bigger each year. Good thing it's in a tall corner. My DH has been lobbying for an artificial tree year after year, but our youngest DD (still in college) is pleading, not til she's out of school. LOL - Guess who wins this one? Right - the DD! :)

Progress, Slow but Sure

Slow, but sure is the truth. I participated in an SAT last night and was really looking forward to making inroads on this personalized sampler. Alas, best laid plans of mice and men.....you know the drill. The green critter visited me after two hours worth of work, and the mistake was at the beginning, so I had to take almost all of it out (sigh) and start again. However, I had more stitching time to go, so I do have some progress :). C'est la vie!

Quick Stitch

We had a challenge this week to stitch a Christmas ornament, so I stitched this little one yesterday and finished it today. Gotta love these quick stitches and convenient little frames for them!

Tagged

Gabi tagged me to share 6 things about me.
The rules are as following:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Random Facts -
1. My grandfather was born during the Civil War (& no, I'm not that old!) My father was in his 50's when I was born, and his father (my gf) was 40ish when he was born. In essence, we have one generation for everyone else's two.
2. Secretly, I love my demonic cat (well, at least like) and keep trying to get her to love me. :)
3. I am a Christian.
4. I have a huge travel bug, which my mother contributed greatly to. She took me to visit 6/7 continents - guess which one I missed? Don't plan on going either!
5. I love unique, sentimental, or pretty Christmas ornaments. Our tree is a testament to that. It keeps getting bigger and bigger - LOL
6. I love flowers, sweet pea bushes, trees that are huge and old with character, the mountains, and the beach.

I have tagged:
Mare
Kathy
DawnAZ
Shelleen
DawnNC
Donna

Weekend SAT Finishes

Wow, judging from everyone's finishes this weekend, I am so impressed with all the beautiful work done. I was able to accomplish most of my goals, but not quite all. I did the final stitching and finishing on the Christmas Ornament,


Madeira Biscornu,

and the signature RR's (no picture - bagged up and ready to mail :).
Now I have the completed set of the Madeira Tin Sampler Project by Fancy Work.

I hit a snag with the Snowman pillow. I've been to JoAnn's twice this weekend and can't find a material that I really like to go with it. I'm going to another place soon, so I can get that one finished.

I did stitch on my Travel Sampler, but not much. It's only a little progress, but it's out and in my stitching spot and I'll be working on it more. This particular chart was a personalized sampler I got from Nouveau Encore. Stephanie designs these, similar to the French Alphabet charts, and does a phenomenal job. I was privileged to travel around with my mother over a ten year span. This sampler is a culmination of the different places we visited. I'm using black silk with a darker green and a wine over-dyed (not the green, pink, and yellow featured in the picture). The fabric is a 32 ct. cream evenweave.

Before......

After......a little bit more in the top border

Full chart design....

This has been a real joy to watch everyone's finishes and really get to work more on mine. I think we're all thinking this is a great idea to do once a month. I know Shelleen is planning on it, and so are some others. So, I hope to see everyone back with all their lovely labors once again!
On another note, I was thrilled to see that there is Let's Stitch TOO that does have memberships open, so I was able to join. This is a wonderful blog, guaranteed (well, almost) to make you pull your UFO's out and start finishing up some of these projects that are getting moth-eaten! Check it out - you'll be impressed. Until next time...hope all have a great day.

Weekend SAT

I know, I know, you've already seen pictures of fall in the mountains on my blog. But today is one of the most beautiful fall days we've had so far. Down here in the middle of NC we've actually had a fall season this year (or close to it, if you get picky). I didn't realize how much I liked the fall; normally I'm a child of the spring! The trees have turned later than they normally do and their beauty is awe-inspiring.
Speaking of which, one of my favorite blogs is Let's Stitch. Watching all the progress on UFO's, BAP's & everything else is inspiring to me. I don't know all of the info, but I've seen Friday Stitch-a-Thons with before and after pictures. Since their membership is full at the moment (with people waiting), I can't join them on the actual blog, so I thought I'd join along on my own. :) Also, Shelleen has invited stitchers to participate with her in a weekend long finishing spree, so I'm going to incorporate that in, too. My goals are to finish a Christmas ornie for an exchange, finish the Madeira biscornu, work on the Snowman pillow that I finished last week, stitch some signatures, and stitch on my Mom's travel sampler. Below is a picture of this sampler that I haven't touched in awhile. As you can see, I need to get busy on it. Anyone care to join in and see what you can start, stitch, or finish? Come on - it'll be fun!

Weekend Stitching and More

I have half of the biscornu from our retreat left and I got sidetracked by a cute little snowman by Val's Stuff. I'd stitched some of the border on our trip to the mountains. 10 count Tula is sooo much easier to stitch on in a car than 32 count over one. Decided to go ahead and finish this, so I'll have it in time for my friend at Christmas. She appreciates needlework and collects snowmen, so I have given her a few XS projects over the years. Think I'll finish this one on a pillow. The one that's called for appears red, but I'm thinking a cranberry one might be better.


This weekend was nice and relaxing. Hung out with friends and DS, DD & her new DH came over after church Sunday for lunch. Unbeknownst (don't you just love this word?) to my son, we'd decided to go ahead and give him Dad's truck before he graduates from college in Dec. He was just about speechless, as he thought he was coming over to help Dad wash and wax the truck. So they did a swap - pretty old truck for less old and nicer truck. Picture is my DS kissing his old truck good-by LOL. So, in essence, DH goes back to the beginning and gets his first truck back. Wonder how long he's going to be able to stand that? LOL You know how men love to upgrade! Too bad it costs money to do that.... :)

Labors of the Stitching Retreat

Where to start? It was a wonderful weekend at the Pals retreat in Myrtle Beach. Amy, the fearless leader, arranged a fabulous time for everyone, as always (thank you, Amy!). We had the opportunity to take classes with Jane Timmers of Fancy Work. She does exquisite work and had excellent tips and techniques to make things easier, quicker, prettier, and have neater work. First we put together the pinkeep which was so pretty. Then we lined the Madeira Tin, which turned out beautifully. We received the chart to stitch another sampler to match in the window, but have a temporary option if we choose. I haven't finished the biscornu yet, but hope to this week. I included a bare mini-biscornu that I threw together at the last minute just to stitch one in class.


Mary (M Designs) was once again there with her family to satisfy any stash acquisition desires with her store, Crossstitch-ville. It's amazing how much she had with her portable store. Charts of all kinds, fibers, fobs, fabric, you name it, she had it - even models stitched. Her real store is actually in Crossville, Tennessee, so if you ever get a chance to wander in that direction, don't miss the chance to stop by. She is a delight to be around and is ever so helpful. I'm sure I sound like an advertisement here, but when you interact with helpful stitching people, it's always good to pass the word on... :)

If you're interested in accessories and specialty needlework, here are some of Jane's designs that were displayed; I'm hoping to stitch some more of her work. Pictures are clickable.



The one above is Martha's Pocket - I think this is one of my most favorite designs. Love the aqua and coral colors and stitching.



Tons of stitching and tons of fun!

Early Fall Leaves in the Mountains

DH & I went on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the northernmost part of NC today, after spending the night with my brother and family. Lots of fun. Got right much stitching done in the car ride in between the less picturesque spots and taking some pictures.

The further north we went, the more colorful it became. It was a beautiful drive, though the leaves weren't peaking yet - probably in the next week or so. When I see nature's beauty like this unfold in such magnitude, I truly marvel at God's creation.

Could not work on the Madeira biscornu in the car - too darn small for me, so pulled out one I hadn't worked on in a while, which I'll make into a pillow for a friend who loves snowmen. Great to stitch on in the car, as it's 10 count Tula with Watercolours and large needle. Don't ask me how, but I lost one of the main threads (count me irritated). It must have fallen out of the car at the last stop and I didn't notice it. C'est la vie. Hope our LNS has it in stock next week. Will post pics of the progress soon.




We’re having some wedding flowers dried by a florist; as my daughter works during her working hours, she suggested we come by on Thurs. night during her stitching group. My ears immediately perked up when I heard this. Come to find out, this is a group from an old LNS (OOB) that still meets. So cool to unexpectedly find others who share this love of needlework!