Carolyn's Stitching Chatter and More

The Day After Christmas

2011-12-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

A Savior is born...what an indescribable thought, but so beautiful. Christmas has come and gone, and once again I am overwhelmed by God's grace, mercy, and blessings.
A belated Merry Christmas to you all! I hope it was a sweet time; not everyone is able to enjoy the holidays. For those going through hard times, my prayer is that you will have a better year in 2012.

My Mom just celebrated her birthday, and had a pretty good holiday. It was also fun to spend time with family and friends. The kiddies were away this year on Christmas, so we all celebrated early. DH had his knee replacement in early December, so it was a frenzy to get all the shopping done beforehand...but all's well that ends well!
He is doing great after his surgery, too. It's been a process but he's finally able to get out and about.

I'm hoping to make 2012 the year I get back regularly to my stitching. The last couple of years have been pretty thin stitching wise. But my sweetie got me a stand for Christmas, so I'm all excited.

Have a Happy New Year and may 2012 find you richly blessed.

Now onward stitching...gotta justify my stash!

The Faster I Go, the Behinder I Get...

2011-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Sound familiar? At least it feels like it sometimes, doesn't it? It's been almost five months since I last posted and it's been a whirlwind - but a good one. We've been visited by friends and family alike, had a family reunion, gone on two vacations, finished up the inside of the house...well mostly, and are now moving to the outside. Groan.

Stitching has been scarce, but I'm picking it up again now. I do have some long overdue pictures to post.

First up is the finished RR of Alphabet Zoo. There were a few blocks left after I received it back and several sweet stitchers offered to stitch a block themselves. So thanks to the GGSF folks and Evalina, Kathy, Dani, and Beatrice for their lovely contributions. It will hold a place of honor in my home. :)

Next is the Friendship Sampler so far... one more trip to a friend and then I'll finish up the rest - another piece to treasure.

A few small completions - Shepherd's Bush 2011 scissor fob...

And lastly a darling project from Susan Greening Davis...

Family reunion - missing a few special people..my DD and DSIL, sister-in-law and niece. But fun was had by all...

Photo finish...LOL

Mom nestled in her favorite chair...

My youngest DD completed her first triathlon...woohoo!

Our trips have taken us to Florida, San Antonio, and Germany. Spent our anniversary in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach with friends and went to the ANG seminar with Deborah in TX. Met up with some stitching buddies, too!

Deborah, Anne, me, and Gloria...

...with Anne and Shawn...

Wow-what fun! And I didn't even take any classes. But we did go to Stitches from the Heart-one of the nicest LNS' I've ever been to. They have a fantastic shop and were so friendly and helpful, too. Highly recommended to take a trip to this one!

And what to say about Germany, other than it was gorgeous and uphill in both directions (seemed like it, anyway)! We went with friends down the Romantic Road and saw breathtaking landscapes, flowers, mountains, and of course, cathedrals and castles. Stunningly beautiful...

Domspitzen in Cologne - and yes, I climbed all 533 steps in one of the spires. Someone asked if my legs were killing me. Ha - I was too busy trying to breathe...

Burg Eltz - a poster pic - scaffolding was everywhere, but the history here is incredible. It was built in the 12th, 15th, and 16th centuries.

With the gang at Cochem on the Mosel River..

With my sweetie on one of the wall towers at Rothenburg...yep - more stairs...

Neuschwanstein...need I say more? A dream place. While there are only 16 rooms finished out of 66 planned and the tour encompasses eleven, it was still worth it all to come here. The views around are mind-boggling, as is the wood replica of the entire castle atop a royal bed in the bedroom. Unbelievable. Understandably the fairy tale castle.

The picture of the castle was taken from Marienbrucke, a tourist bridge a half mile up and around. Have I mentioned that it seems like everything is uphill? LOL
Hard to see the bridge we stood on, but it's there. :)

Now this is what I call a mountain!

Basilica Birnau - a rest stop we just happened to take, having no clue what awaited us. Constance Lake and Switzerland are on the other side and there's a little farmer's market and gift shop there. Hands down one of the most hauntingly beautiful places I've ever been. Who knew what was on the inside? No photos allowed, but this postcard gives a small indication. It was a rush of the senses, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. We listened spellbound to the gorgeous voice singing- you could feel God's presence there. Truly, it was indescribable. I felt like Michelangelo had painted and sculpted every drop of space. If you're ever in this area, don't miss seeing this place...very unsung.

This brings us to the end of the past few months. Hope to be around more and catch up with all of you. And stitch... Thanks for visiting - please take time to let me know you came by - would love to hear from you all. Take care.

Summer Again??

2011-05-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? It just seems to fly away. I have received my Alphabet Zoo RR back from Evalina with two more blocks (N & T) stitched. Thanks so much, Evalina. They look wonderful!

Only three more blocks to go - I'm cutting it really close with the thread, so I hope it lasts...

We are still renovating; yep, close to nine months now with some breaks in between. At the moment, our bathroom has essentially been gutted and we're starting over. And we're getting ready to adopt the renovator and add him to the family. LOL

My mom is all settled in at the house now, though she's been in the hospital with a few issues. Overall, she's doing well.
And as for me, stitching is practically nil at the moment. DH has been on a special diet and has lost ~30 lbs. so far - in about 5-6 weeks, I might add...aargh - men! It's so much easier for them. :)

I've decided to take a break from blogging for a little while. I find myself with very little computer time at the moment and this summer is going to be busy again. I hope to check back on some of your blogs periodically to see how everyone is doing and plan to be back again in a few months. Hope you all have a great summer and take care.

All Work and No Play....

2011-04-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

...brings flowers from DH's job....for me?? Well, I realize DH has been moving heaven and earth working, but what a nice gesture! And tulips are just so beautiful to me - I think I love this thoughtfulness - much thanks.

OK, where did the time go? The good news is my mom is moving in with us this weekend. The bad news is...none. Well, other than preparing, packing, and moving....LOL. But with a beautiful end result, so I'm not complaining! I just want her to be happy here, you know?

Mail was surely my friend in March. For my BD, Nancy sent this beautiful scissor keep and scissors (note the personalization - :). I was just thrilled with it - thanks so much, Nancy!

The mail also brought one of Karen's monthly Ornament Gifts. Turns out my name was drawn in March - how cool. This is just adorable! It will look lovely on my tree this Christmas and is much appreciated.

Stitching has been hit and miss, but I'm almost finished with my part on Karen's RR and will be sending it back home. Will post pics next time.
The sun is shining and it's truly spring, finally. Hope you all have a blessed day!

Ahhh....Spring!

2011-03-14T10:34:00.001-07:00

The smell of flowers and budding trees is in the air - yes, spring is coming, and none too soon for me. But for those already suffering with allergies, this first finish is for you. It was a Christmas gift from my sweet sister-in-law. Bless Ewe-Pine Mountain.

...Next up is Needle Delights' Scarlet... now how perfect is this for an NC State fan? Though let's not discuss this year's season....ouch.

...Another block on Alphabet Zoo.

...Some progress on Karen's RR - Anagram Diffusion's Sampler Saisons. She used VC Hand-dyed Fibers; loved stitching with these and the colors are perfect!

I learned a new trick from another stitcher this weekend at our Myrtle Beach retreat with Susan Greening Davis (more on that later). For those that remember gum wrapper chains, you can use the same technique with ribbons and create lovely little ribbon chains to attach scissors to baskets, fobs, etc.

So when Kate gave several stitchers some scissors in her beautifully sewn scissor holder, this looked like the perfect attachment. :)

Zentangle is now framed; first one was pretty, but a little too bright, so I went with a slightly toned down version - better, I think.

This week my youngest DD and I are off to CA to see my oldest DD and SIL...the temps here will be 70-80 degrees. In Los Angeles, they'll be in the 60's. What is wrong with this picture?? LOL

God bless you all and everyone take care.

If You're Looking for Something Totally Cool...

2011-02-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

...then this is it! I've been participating in a small RR between friends for the past year. Nancy 's RR is a Mill Hill Christmas selection of her own layout design. She chose nine of her MH kits, found a border freebie that she liked and adapted it, and each person stitched a house.
May I say that this piece is just gorgeous? The picture doesn't do it justice.

And the house I stitched...Victorian.

I also received my own RR back - Blue Ribbon Designs' Alphabet Zoo. Love it! Only a little more than five blocks to finish and it'll be done. I sent it off with one block stitched. Thanks to all!

Remodeling is still going on, though we're at a lull at a moment - waiting for some items to come in and then we go again.
It seems that everyone is having these horrendous winters with snow and ice. We actually had snow on Christmas Day here and Montana was as happy as a lark!

Aahh..back in the warmth with my best buddy, Mya!

It's good to be stitching once again and somewhat back online. Thanks to those that have asked about my mom. She's doing ok - hanging in there. She had her 90th BD and I got a good picture of her. Good thing she's not on the computer - she'd probably kill me for posting it...LOL

I'll say it again...Lord, please let me have my mother's genes.

And from my house to yours, everyone take care. :)

Life Marches On

2010-11-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

Note the number of "items" on the counter. Alas, I've been remiss. (Note my dramatics here...) Normally I'm good about keeping up with the blogs I read, but for the past several months I've fallen way behind. It'll probably stay this way until after Christmas, but THEN...hopefully! LOL

We're sprucing up the house. To think it all started with a simple question of, "Some new furniture?" It was innocent, honest...who knew?
All kidding aside, the house inside is in chaos, but DH is truly thankful that for once in his life, he's not doing it all. :)

The house is much quieter now (well, except for the demolition parts). But we're staying busy; we visited our daughter and SIL (and Mya, of course).

My sweetie...

...then went to the last Stitching Jubilee to meet up with old and new friends. My pictures have disappeared off the planet from that, but we had a great time with Debbie and Teresa.
I also met Karen V. from an online group and she stitched this adorable Hansel to go with Brooke Nolan's Gretel.

Mary and I literally ran into each other at Bush Mountain's booth and had a nice little visit there.
And as always Kathy and I had a great time. Lyne and her mom came there and we took off to hang out. She's just had her baby boy :) ...

After that, off to the Pals retreat with Deborah...

Saw lots of friends and Charlene stitched this sweet little Autumn pillow for me. Love it!

And recently six of us went away for a stitching weekend. Nancy stitched us all a Christmas ornament.

Can you say adorable???

First stop - Stitching Bits and Bobs...what fun. Definitely thread heaven - she must have them all stocked; the walls were full of threads everywhere.

Browsing first...

No naming names, but certain people got up at the crack of dawn and were tired...but happy. :)

Converting...

And more converting...

Hanging out...we look industrious here, don't we? Hmmm, not sure how much we actually stitched that night, but we sure did laugh.

Show and tell pinkeeps from the Birthday Girl...

Fantastic no-sew cube...

Strolling around....

Karen taught Nancy and me how to make scissor fobs; I love mine!

Tree of Life Samplings had a giveaway - guess who won?? Winner could choose any two charts - aren't they awesome? Thanks, Jan!

Still stitching on Nancy's Mill House Christmas RR, but now it's down to the beading. Stitching time is limited, but it's coming along.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. If I don't make it back before New Year's, have a blessed holiday time and take care.
Carolyn NC

Newsweek Ad

2010-11-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this picture. This is an ad in a Sept. Newsweek (subscribers in OK) for Oral Roberts University and the man featured is my brother. Too cool. We didn't even know about it until my SIL posted something on Facebook about it. What would we do without Facebook? Kudos and much love to you, Bill.

Beautiful Fall Time

2010-10-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Wow - talk about wonderful weather. After the monsoons ended (at least that's what they felt like), the days have dawned with great sunshine and temps. A real fall, at last? We'll see. :)
I have finished another part on an RR - this was a really fun stitch and went fast.

My part in the RR....mostly - except for a couple of motifs.

Overall pic of Prairie Moon's Angel Train for Jodie. I think I might have to stitch this one for myself now, in Christmas colors. :)

September...Already???

2010-09-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

It's very hard to believe it's been three weeks since the wedding; we probably won't get the pictures until a few more weeks still. It's been so busy, the time has flown by, but I have managed to stitch once again. This is my part on Natalie's RR, Jingle Tree Farm by Victoria's Sampler. Isn't it adorable? The only thing left is for her to put on the beads - a fun stitch, too.

And here's the piece in entirety, stitched by Natalie and the rest of us in the RR. Love it!

#3...the Final Wedding

2010-08-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

My baby got married this past weekend and it was beautiful! It's hard to believe that she's now grown and on her own with her dear husband. But it's a good change and we're all so happy for both of them. We started off the weekend with the bridesmaids' luncheon...

The bride to be, her sister, and me..

Bethany...

The rehearsal...

DH and me at the rehearsal dinner...

My six at the dinner...

The future Mr. and Mrs...

The bridal dance...

Look at that smile!...

The father-daughter dance... DH used to play the guitar and sing to the children when they were little, so he chose one of those songs - Puff, the Magic Dragon...

At the reception...

Mr. and Mrs....

My favorite portrait... reminds me of the endearing, imaginative, playful child she was...

So now DH and I are nostalgic once again. We're used to having the kids gone, but this summer, two of them have been with us for at least half the summer, so the house was full again. Now it's quiet and we reflect on how blessed we've been to have had the privilege of raising our three children and seeing them all happily married to in-laws we dearly love. Lord willing we will never take this for granted, for tomorrow is never a guarantee.

Thank you all for letting me share my heart with you and know this fact...
I am officially retired from weddings! LOL

Now on to the stitching!

Summertime is here!

2010-07-09T10:25:00.001-07:00

Hi there! Hope you all are having a fantastic summer. It's been blazing hot here and super busy. I'm mostly on hiatus this summer from the computer and unfortunately, stitching, but the time will come again soon. But I do have some pictures from the summer so far.

DSIL moved their items to CA; DD and Mya will follow in two weeks...

DH and I went on vacation to FL (atop the St. Augustine lighthouse here)

and found this treasure in a little antique shop - an old Singer table topped with marble. I loved it! And now to find the sewing machine...LOL

DD had a bridal shower...
Bride-to-be...

My two DD's and me...

and the tornado afterwards...

The motley crew is still raging here...

It's mine!...No, mine!
Okay, open wide...I'll just eat it all...

Not so fast, Buster!...

Take that, and that, and that!....

Aww, C'Mon, Mya, let's play some more...

Nope, I'm done! And I'm the queen of "your couch". Hehe - I see the signs of your "love" for the couch. Sigh...you're just a big slob, and I'm so dainty. I'd never do anything like this.....

Moomm!!! Mya won't play anymore, so can I puhleeese have her toys? Huh, can I, can I? I call them the demolition duo...they sure will miss each other when she leaves!

And lastly, my youngest DD had her engagement pictures taken with a 1940's theme. They turned out really well, so I thought I'd share a few, if you'll indulge me. :)

But my absolute favorite was this black and white...

Take care, everyone...see you soon.

Whirlwind...but it's all good

2010-06-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Whew! In the past few weeks, we've watched YDD and fiance graduate, moved both of them out and back into two different places; moved ODD and DH out and into two different places; and they're off on a two week trip.

Here's the very happy graduated couple...

And all the chilluns...

ODD and DH are moving to CA in July, so they will be here with us for a few weeks before they take off. Can you say Skype and webcam?? While I'm thrilled for my children, of course it's a wrench to have them move completely to the other side of the US. So we're trying to plan visits, etc., already. I'm glad technology makes it so much easier to keep in touch now. :)
My son (left in photo) has been nicknamed Super Mule, as he is a master at moving people. Good thing he worked for a moving company for two years. Sure has come in handy - hehe, poor thing.

Alas, my stitching is practically nil, but I did stitch a gift for a friend's special BD.

This is a heavy-duty acrylic box; they come in several different kinds and sizes, from Cooper Oaks; and they are awesome to use for needlework.

Meanwhile back at the homestead, we now have "The Mya" as we affectionately dub the queen, (ODD's pomeranian) racing around the house.

Funny how they both fold the same leg up underneath them. Montana looks woebegone, but trust me, he is thrilled to have Mya around. :)

The Rest of the Story, Scroll Frames and More...

2010-05-13T09:07:00.001-07:00

Honest, Mom, I really didn't mean to.....

Wait a minute! It wasn't me, it was Dad!!

To recap-
Frisbee with the dog...that's what DH was doing. Throwing it LOW for him so as not to hurt his hips. Notice how "low" it went for him in the tree? LOL Next, the rope ball -stuck; then the long handle brush -stuck; then the ceiling fan duster -stuck (which did eventually come down); still no Frisbee. Montana's dancing around with excitement, wondering when playtime starts again, DH is disgusted, and I'm laughing. Gotta keep a sense of humor...

Speaking of which, Zoe has contributed her "part" to my cake that I'd COVERED up and set aside to be iced (for the cake decorating class - who knew it would be so much work?!)

Mail this week was an absolute blast! First I received a wonderful treat from Faye. She heard how much I loved this design and sent this to me. Isn't it just so pretty? I love it! Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness, Faye!

Terri featured a giveaway on her blog and I was one of the winners! Woohoo! So I received this darling little Brittercup chart from her. Thanks - it's so cute, Terri!

And last but not least, Jolene thanked me for a small favor by sending me this awesome With thy Needle and Thread chart and threads. I'd not seen this particular pattern before and it is adorable! And many thanks to you, Jolene!

And here's a blast from the past - a friend just sent me a picture of this XS that I'd done for her son back in 1990.

Changing subjects, I've had several people ask me for the directions to make the scroll frames I showed on an earlier post. These are Nancy's creation and she has given me permission to post the information. It is well worth making these; I absolutely love mine!

Scroll Frames - Nancy M.

If you can refer to my photos it will probably help http://ndmurdock.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Scroll_bars

1 Buy a set of wooden toy wheels http://ndmurdock.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Scroll_bars#5 2" X5/8" with a 1/4" hole. Mine were an 8 pack (I found mine at hobby lobby ) The ones my dad did for me are stained and varnished, the ones I bought I just use unfinished.

2 Buy oak dowels, mine are approx 2" diameter, you really want oak though because Pine will split on you!! You can cut the dowels to whatever size you need for you pattern. I have several here uncut and if I happen to have a pattern that I don't have the right size for, I just have hubby cut me the right size. Rarely happens now though since I have so many sizes. After they are cut to length, drill a hole in each end. This way you can screw in the hanger bolts.

3 You need 4 Hanger bolts 10-24 X2 (thats exactly what the package sayes) http://ndmurdock.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Scroll_bars#3

4 You need 4 Tee nuts 10-24 X 5/16 -these are the silver things you hammer into the wheels so they screw onto the hanger bolts. There is a picture of the wheels with these in them. http://ndmurdock.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Scroll_bars#6

5 You need 2 pieces of wood for the sides. Mine happen to be 9 1/2" long, by 3/4" by 1" and I have a second set that is only 7 1/2' long. I personally would like another set that is a few inches longer than 9 1/2", but I haven't done that yet. http://ndmurdock.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Scroll_bars#7 You need to drill a hole in them for the dowels to go into.

6 buy double sided carpet tape. This takes the place of any basting material!!! You can make your material slightly bigger and cut off any "sticky" part when the piece is done. Personally I don't care because most of my things are framed or sewn into something else, so the "sticky" part doesn't matter. But be aware, there will be some residue. Cut the tape to the length of your dowel. It doesn't matter if it doesn't cover the whole dowel, there is enough tension to hold the fabric. I RARELY have to even tighten my material after beginning to work on a piece, it is like a DRUM!!!!! I love my scrolls and I hope I have helped any of you out there who would like to make their own. It is much cheaper than buying them. Nancy

Hope to see other scroll frame handiwork out there!

Carolyn

Prizes, RR's, and Just for Fun

2010-04-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Look at this lovely prize I received from Jolene's giveaway. I am so thrilled with these. I love scissors and this fob is perfect. Thanks so much for your generosity, Jolene!

Finished my part of Paula's RR - Open Heart by Drawn Thread. This is such a pretty, delicate design - very enjoyable stitching.

Before...

After...

These few pics are just for fun - (hope DH doesn't mind). But it was just too funny at the time. Sleuthing detectives, let's see how good you are. From the clickable pictures, can anyone tell me what DH was doing before and after and what each item is? It really was hilarious, but I guess you had to be there at the time...:)

Hint - DH used to play rec softball and could easily throw from the outfield home....above the backstop sometimes. LOL

I Know I'm somewhat biased, but....

2010-04-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

...my DH is awesome! Lookee what he made and gave me last week.
These...

...became these and more.

Oh Nancy, you would be proud of the job he did. Nancy has pics on her blog of her own set of homemade scroll frames and gave me the instructions. I saw hers in October last year and have been coveting them ever since. So I've been nagging...er...hinting strongly about them and voila! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Maybe I'll be encouraged to pick up my HAED once again...

...or stitch some more on Two Birds; there's some actual stitching progress on this one...

...or stitch more on the Travel Sampler, now that I don't have all that mass of material to deal with. I didn't want to move the Q-Snaps to cover the stitched areas on this piece, so I've been waiting. To give you an idea of how helpful it really is, the scroll rod here is 36 in. long. I am just thrilled with all of these frames.
Here's the Man of the Hour...

Thank you, sweetie - I promise I'll put them to good use. :)

My Monday night stitching piece is the LHN Little Women series. Reading is just finished and it's on to Gardening or Baking...

So far...
My brother totally surprised me at Christmas with this lovely Quaker Heart from Shepherd's Bush. Here it is all done - a fun little stitch. Now how to finish it...

Have I mentioned that while I love finishes, I procrastinate in completely finishing them off??

And I couldn't resist posting this - I love this picture of Montana. Dang, he looks big, doesn't he??

Birthdays, Stitch-ins, Endings, and Fun

2010-04-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Birthday Clubs are awesome. I was really spoiled rotten for my BD last week. Every gift was special and I was truly touched with the thoughtfulness and generosity.
Deborah, Heidi, Cynthia, and Dawn gave me wonderful gift certificates; they will be used very, very soon....

Lisa....
Mary...
Heidi (and the GC)...
Rene...
Evalina...
Jennifer...
Tracy...
Ashrei...
Kathy...
Kathy's pin pillow up close - isn't it adorable?
Cards from Debbie Jo and Shelley (who weren't even in my group)
So thank you all once again - I love it all and can't wait to start stitching on each one. And also thanks to all of you who sent me BD wishes - truly much appreciated. :)

Others have already posted pics of a stitching day in SC that Amy set up last weekend, but here are a few more. It was tons of fun seeing everyone again and meeting new friends.

And I had no idea one of the stitchers would be someone I knew in my ILCS Yahoo group. I was so pleased to meet Debra IRL!

My own RR has returned home, and I've stitched my last heart for Sara's RR. It's so hard to believe it's been a year since we started. We hit a few bumps in the road, but sixteen of us have sent these around and they're all just about ready to head home. It's been fun and I've met some awesome stitchers that I now call friends. Here's to each and every one of you. :)

Sara's RR...
This package showed up on my doorstep two weeks ago (I've been slow posting) and was such a sweet gesture. Lory sent me an RAK with nativities, one of my most favorite kinds of Christmas charts. Thanks so much!

And thank you to Tracey - she passed this award to me. I'm giving it to all the bloggers that read this post. All of you deserve this award - you make my day brighter and bring a little sunshine to us all.

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

"He is not here; he has risen!"
Luke 24:6

Alleluia! As a Christian, Easter is the crux of our faith. If Jesus had not been crucified, buried, and resurrected from the grave, our faith would be worthless. He died and rose again for you and me to reconcile us with God; and He's waiting with open arms to have a relationship with each of us. I hope all of you have a blessed Easter!

Carolyn

Marching On.....

2010-03-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

...into SPRING, I say Spring!! Tomorrow is the first day of spring. Yes, we've had some glorious, sun-filled days lately, and I can tell you it's a welcome event. I've managed a little stitching, and will be stitching the last heart for the Friendship Sampler after this one. I've truly enjoyed becoming acquainted with stitchers I'd never known before. The stitching friendship circle is indeed wide and growing wider - an awesome thing.

Here's Deborah's RR, using the original charted colors...

And up close...
I am so ready for spring weather and sunny days. Seeing the blooms around always raises my spirits and hopes. My mother's been in the ER three times and admitted to the hospital once since the end of February. Keeping her fluid levels between too much and too little for her CHF (congestive heart failure) has been quite a challenge. Here's hoping we've found the right balance with some new meds. We're hopeful, anyway. :)

I was recently given this award and it is so appreciated. Thank yous to Sarah, Shelleen, Cindy, and Meari.

According to the rules, I'm to tell some facts about myself and pass the award on to others.
So let me see what I can come up with...

1. I was born in a rural town with a very small population.
2. I am the youngest child with three older brothers....and wasn't spoiled, according to my mom. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
3. My DH and I went to high school together, but started really dating in college.
4. The house where I grew up was an old hotel before Civil War times.
5. Music moves and delights my soul.
6. One favorite pastime as a child - climb to the top of a huge tree and sway in the wind right before thunderstorms. I can still feel the wind sometimes. :)
7. I love to laugh, appreciate good wit, and adore Jane Austen.
8. I became a Christian at age 23, a few months after I got married.

I'd like to give this award to Gabi, Rene, Kelly, Cindy, Wendy, and my GGSF buddies. :)

Last summer, I went with a stitching group to England. While there, we were lucky enough to meet with Polly Nassim, a wonderful doll maker of forty years. She'd retired and was selling her entire inventory of dolls. Recently found that a lovely friend of hers has the last set of dolls and is selling them here in America. If you're interested, the website is www.rarebitsnpieces.com. Her friend Patty also has some other wonderful items to offer, too.

And to end my saga, here are my two babies relaxing at home....

Actually, it's DH trying to coax Montana to give the new CHEW-RESISTANT pad a try. Now do you believe it's really chew resistant? I must confess I remain somewhat sceptical of its endurance factor, at least not with the master destruction artist around. In case you've forgotten, this was the fate of the last pad...

But Montana's older and wiser, or so we hope. If it survives, I'll put an egg crate pad, etc., in the cover. Montana has confirmed hip dysplasia on the right side and we're trying to find ways to ease it. It's mild at the moment and will probably crop up more severely in a few years. We'd suspected it, but were hoping we were just paranoid. But you never know how things progress. So for now, we'll make sure his weight stays right, give him glucosamine chondroitin for his joints, and give buffered aspirin if we see signs of any discomfort (all advice from the vet). And let him sleep on that sofa he seems to love so much as long as he wants to! He is thoroughly enjoying all the attention he's getting, I can promise you.

On the other hand, I'm not sure Zoe (demon cat) and I are on speaking terms at the moment. She went for her rabies shot today. I don't know who was more traumatized - her or me trying to get her in the carrier. Maybe if the carrier hadn't fallen over as I was trying to place her in it, or maybe if she didn't frantically jump while I was barely holding on and trying to upright the blooming thing...well, you get the picture. Pretty darn funny, actually.

What would we do without our families and pets to keep us straight??? Take care, everyone.
And I hope you see signs of spring in your direction, too. :)

This is Adorable!

2010-03-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

This is a short little animated film of Maggie and Mildred in XS. It is truly one of the cutest and sweetest things - you have to see it! - click on Chiloe's blog.

March Madness

2010-03-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

Nope, I don't mean basketball, even though I do live in ACC territory. I mean After Nashville's market. You know - the mad dash to see how much we can acquire and grab and stitch as fast as our hot little hands will allow us! I did partake...ahem, greatly...in this particular dash and it was sooo fun. Stitchingwise....
This is Lyne's RR before I started...

And A Forest Grew
Rosewood Manor

and after...

This was a really fun stitch - moved pretty quickly, too. Looks like I'm going to have to pull my own AAFG out and start on it again.

A little closer look at my part...

I've also been stitching on SB's Quaker's Heart. Pulled this out when I flew to my brother's in OK to visit. Really was able to stitch quite a bit on the planes; need to finish this up.

Went to a stitch-in last night with our Monday night stitching group - lots of fun. Decided to just take a NEW, quick, easy stitch, which didn't require much thought. You know how it is when you chat with friends. After three times stitching and frogging (the border -seriously, how hard can it be??!!), I called it a night. Sometimes you gotta know when it's a done deal...
But it was a blast, as always. Thanks, Kim, for lending your gorgeous house to us all. :)

Exchanges, Chocolate, and Stitching...

2010-02-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

....Who could ask for anything more?..
My Secret Cupid partner has received her gift, so here's my stitched contribution. This turned out to be a lot of fun using my Cropadile, ribbons, button hearts, and Kelmscott thread rings.

I also received a darling LHN chart "Chocolate Box" and Maxine card from Anne for mine. Can't wait to stitch this up.

And while I received Chocolate in charts, I also WON a certificate for a box of See's Candy from Parsley's giveaway. How awesome! Hmmm - better start dieting now!
I'm off to OK to see my brother's family. Played it safe with the weather by making sure my flight went through Dallas, instead of up north where they normally get all the snow. So WHERE does it decide to snow??? LOL
Have a great weekend!

Stitching and Snow Cream

2010-02-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Not too much stitching to show, though I've been working on several items. Two of them secret, so they can't be posted yet. I added three more hearts to my Friendship Sampler; will be sending it off again soon.

Started Two Birds by Alessandra Adelaide...

Years ago, my DD gave me this for Mother's Day when she was twelve, so I proudly hang it in my kitchen. So maybe there's hope that one day she'll become a stitcher?

She has always loved Celtic designs. Who knew she'd end up marrying a guy of Scottish descent...

And two of my favorites - the queen and her subject...

Montana, a picture of my true baby (besides DH, of course....)

He's such a sweetie.

I've had numerous requests for Snow Cream, so here is a general recipe.

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla
Snow (which seems to be in abundance in quite a few places!!!)

Mix all well together and add snow to your desired consistency.
Pretty easy and is delicious by itself or with chocolate syrup, etc.
And yes, I know it has raw eggs - I've had snow cream this way since I was a child and never had a problem, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

So if any of you intrepid souls try it, I'll be interested to hear your opinions. :)

As Dorothy Said.....There's No Place Like Home!

2010-01-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

My Friendship RR is home again after starting its journey in Mar. 2009, and I love it, love it! It made it through various bumps in the road and a few delays, but it's home. Already working on finishing up some of these other hearts before it goes back out for some new adventures. The title at the top is what Cindy wrote on my envelope, so I "borrowed" it. :)
The past week or so has been a great mail week - new stash and surprises.

Look what the RAK Fairy sent me! Aren't they beautiful? I love these limited editions from Carrie's Creations.

After seeing these Medieval Ladies from Joan Elliot at Kathy's house, I had to have them. Saw one being stitched on someone's blog last year, but they were only in the magazine then. So I'm wondering exactly how many there are altogether...

Also picked up some older Carriage House charts that were on Etsy....and my PTP FOTM came this week, too.

Queen Mya has come for a visit - see her perched on her throne? But she's so excited...because this is her first SNOW!!!! For those of you that are sick of snow, disregard this bubbling over description of the event. We don't get snow too often here in central NC, so it's a big thing for us. So far, about 5 in. and sleeting most of today. And yes, the city is pretty shut down, but at least it's Saturday.
Montana is loving the visit and snow, as he doesn't remember his first one last year. He goes pure nuts in it outside!

And here's the happy couple after taking the dogs out last night. This time they left early enough to escape driving in the bad weather. The last exciting event is that we ordered DD's wedding dress yesterday and it's soooo beautiful!

And as every good Southern woman knows to do, I've collected the snow (before sleet) to keep for snow cream later today - Yum, yum!

Zentangle!

2010-01-18T08:50:00.003-08:00

Zentangle
design by Kirsten Schmitt and Elke Reiss for the Marquoir Yahoo Group
Zentangle was stitched with permission by the designers in the
Marquoir-Gruppe.
Rainbow Gallery's Bravo A56 and Weeks Confetti on 32 ct. white lugana

Yay! I finished Zentangle last night - I do love this design. I'd planned to start the second Zentangle, but I'm debating how. Do I stitch this one in the same color thread and fabric, or change it up? Originally, I'd hoped to stitch them identically and frame them in a double mat. However, the size of the second one is too large. Decisions, decisions. :)

It's actually a beautiful day here. We did have thunder several times yesterday; hmmm, wonder if it will bring snow? Too bad the forecast shows 50 degree weather for the next ten days!

Back in the Stitching Chair

2010-01-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

The holiday activity has drawn to a close, leaving me with more stitching time, I hope. I have several projects that I'd really like to stitch, so the goal is to get to it.
The Christmas and New Year season was very good to us, for which I'm thankful, but it's also nice to get back to a normal routine.
Mom's Travel Sampler is my main priority; it's really an easy stitch, just large, and I'm showing some progress....

I'm participating in another RR this year with some friends, so Alphabet Zoo by Blue Ribbon Designs is my choice. I decided this time to use Weeks linen with GA Cherry Wine threads.

Also stitching on several other small items; almost done with Reading by LHN - my Mon. night group stitch...

Hope you all get lots of stitching time is this cold weather. :)

It's a New Year!

2010-01-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about the New Year - whether I'm full of resolutions or not, it always feels like it's a chance to start anew. Who knows where the paths of life will lead us? Hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed 2010. Looking forward to seeing what new stitchery is afoot...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Carolyn NC

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Whether you celebrate Christmas with your loved ones or mourn the absence of someone dear, these words are for us all.

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will on his shoulders,
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Is. 9:6

"As you celebrate the wonder of My birth in Bethlehem, celebrate also your rebirth into eternal life. This everlasting gift was the sole purpose of My entering your sin-stained world. Receive My gift with awe and humility. Take time to explore the vast dimensions of My Love. Allow thankfulness to flow freely from your heart in response to My glorious gift. Let My Peace rule in your heart, and be thankful."

-Sarah Young from Jesus Calling.

It's my devout hope that your Christmas season this year will be blessed beyond measure; any hurt or pain comforted, and that you have His peace.
God bless you all. Merry Christmas!!

Good News at Christmas Time

2009-12-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

Yay! Surgeon doesn't want to replace DH's shoulder until all possibilities are exhausted. The first surgeon irrigated the area; some patients get relief with this. Also gave DH some alternatives to try first. He will eventually need the replacement done, but it could buy him a few years. So good news for us! Thanks so much for your prayers, comments, and well wishes. They were all truly appreciated.

In light of the season, I've seen some beautiful decorations, trees, nativities, etc. I thought I'd share a few of my own.

Truly my favorite room at Christmas. I love everything about the tree. Each year it grows to accommodate the increasing mass of ornaments. However, this is the last year for many of these. My children will all be married by next Christmas and I'm giving them most of their ornaments for their own trees. However, I retain the right to a few of them. :)

I crack up every time I see this. I love this plate, but do you notice the incongruity? Doesn't everyone have a machete hanging in their kitchen?? (Gift from DS from HS mission trip)

These candles on the top and the little sparkly church and house below on the right are very special to me. They're from my childhood and before, so I guess in some eyes they would be ancient LOL. My soon-to-be new SIL gave me the Dickens house last year; it has a lacemaker and he knew how much I loved needlework. Think we'll keep him...

And as always, nativities are my passion. I have many in various forms, but I love all of them.

This particular one a dear friend stitched for me years ago. Many hours of hard labor here. We have to be somewhat careful where we put it. Zoe (demon cat) knocked off the little lamb, and Indiana ate him. So we're trying to preserve the rest!

BTW, in case you noticed the threadbare condition (chewed on, I should say) of Montana's "couch", Indiana "made it his own" first. This is our dining room that was originally used as a den. Now it's an extra room that I'll turn back into a dining room when I don't have to worry about said "puppy" chewing it all. Hence the lovely sofa....LOL (See last post)
While not in the pictures here, I have gates in front of some these items to keep Montana away from temptation....

And I leave you with one final picture. "Santa" (my brother) surprised us with a gift under the tree on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. What house is complete without a Harley Santa? Is he ugly or what?!, but DH thinks he's hilarious...sigh.

Hope you all have a wondrous Christmas season!

Unexpected Turn of Events and Stitching Fun

2009-12-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

Thank you all so much for the many well wishes, thoughts, and prayers for DH's surgery. Surgeon went in...and took pictures only - too much damage. DH is now a candidate for either partial or total shoulder replacement. This was a shock and DH is pretty bummed about it. So the 14th is D-Day with the doctors to decide what and when.

This past weekend was the Tarheel Stitcher's Christmas gathering. I've visited once before, but I'm mostly new to the group.

Here everyone is oohing and aahing over donations. Since DH was doing well, I went for a few hours and it was a blast. Linda was a most gracious and generous hostess - pretty darn funny, too. She'd received donations from Weeks, Silkweaver, GA Sampler, Victorian Motto, Emli's, Valdani's, Glendon Place, and 123stitch.

Sara, Cylvia, Juanita, Faye.....

Heather, Mariann, and Linda.....

Melanie, Judy, Jan, Lynda.....

Linda, the fearless hostess (yes, there were three Linda's) and Heather...

Sara, from our Friendship RR and me...

Faye and me, whom I'd met earlier at a retreat along with Karen SC - we're all blogging buddies.

Everyone had a great time talking, stitching, and eating; we all came home with some awesome goodies, too...
Victorian Motto sent these super cool threads that were created for the group...

named Blue Devil, Demon Deacon, Wolfpack, and Carolina - love it!
Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Designs gave us a special chart and Sara was the lucky winner of a gift certificate to 123 stitch.

ILCS had a "Sock it to Me" exchange. I was thrilled with mine from Nancy Cricket Tucket. She individually wrapped each item - what fun to open them all!
My Christmas exchange recipient, Carol, has finally received her package from me. I really do wonder about the mail sometimes...

Stitched a pinkeep from 2007 JCS Ornament issue. I used Colonial Knots instead of beads - little did I realize there were more than 200???) Also, sewed a little scissor fob and corded a needle threader, and included some other goodies.
Finished a heart for Marian's Friendship RR. She's stitching it in the original colors. Only two more to go...

Now, take a few moments, relax, pick up your stitching, and enjoy a bit of pleasure during this Christmas season, or take a nap.....

And no, he is NOT supposed to be on the couch in there, but he looks so peaceful, doesn't he? Indiana didn't get on the couch until he was 8 years old. Don't understand it. Wait, DS, what did you say? Mystery solved -when Montana was 5 months old, DH would take a nap here and let Montana get up there with him. Funny the things you find out from your children...BUSTED!! :)

Exchanges

2009-12-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

Recently I participated in a lovely Christmas exchange. To say that I was thrilled with Roberta's package is an understatement. It's as if she read my mind and gave me exactly what I wanted. The box was filled with fun tissue with three delightful-looking packages inside. What could they be?

First was a Bavarian Art Wax Christmas ornament. Ornaments are my most favorite Christmas item and I'm always on the lookout for unusual new ones - which is why the tree keeps getting larger and larger...

Next was this beautifully lined Whitman tin set with awesome gold scissors and French needles. Isn't it wonderful?

And lastly, she included a lovely tin filled with German chocolate. Can't get much better than that...

I was really excited with all these lovely goodies. Much appreciation to Roberta!

My exchange has been sent, but not received, so I'll post pictures of that once it reaches its destination.

My DH is scheduled for shoulder surgery tomorrow morning. Recovery is supposed to be a beast, so I'd appreciate any prayers for him. I'm taking my needlework while I wait, so maybe I can get some stitching done.

Everyone take care. :)

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.....

2009-11-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

...It's That Time of Year.

And so it begins - the first hustle and bustle of the holidays and all that comes with it. So often, Thanksgiving comes and goes in a rush as the wild dash for shopping starts after the unbelievable eating sprees (and we love it!)

This year is no exception; in a few days the family will roll in and we'll take off on the obligatory food frenzy and dash through the malls, having a blast. If you had told me a few years ago that I'd venture outside on Black Friday, I'd have asked you what planet you were from. However, it has become a family tradition including my two SIL's, DD's, and nieces. The fun and bonding we share is actually worth it. :)

I don't want to leave out the important part of Thanksgiving, though....giving thanks to God for his faithful provision, as the Pilgrims once did. My prayer is that I will remain thankful for the joy (and sorrow) I've had, regardless of what the future holds. Let me be a better person tomorrow than I am today, in His eyes.

So I invite you to join me and reflect during this Thanksgiving time; maybe to not only give thanks, but to aspire to be....

Kind....to strangers and loved ones alike, especially in this hectic time
Hard-working....let the days not be wasted
Honest.....let our words and dealings be true
Principled...may we be known as straight-shooters
Loving......may we show love to our neighbors as ourselves
Hopeful......that we can start afresh today, let the past be past, and leave it in God's hands
Thankful....for the small miracles in life, along with the big

Do you have someone in your life that was an example to you? I will be forever thankful for my parents, who were all of the above and more. What a legacy to leave behind. I'm also grateful for my faith, family, and friends -seen and unseen.
I count you all as such a blessing - your willingness to bring laughter, tears, smiles, appreciation, and a glimpse of your life into mine and others. Thanks for sharing your time.

Please feel free to share your own story - I'd love to hear about it. God bless you all and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Carolyn

Stitching Time

2009-11-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

Started off the week with finishing up some of the Friendship RR's.
First is Simone's....

Second is Ann's....

Then Zentangle pt. 9 was finished....

Worked on Secret Garden 3 - right now it's confetti, confetti, confetti....I'm not so pleased with the coverage, but using two threads over one was just so bulky.

And lastly, Mom's travel sampler is showing some progress...

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Verification and Other Sundry Items

2009-10-30T12:24:00.001-07:00

Word Verification - to verify or not to verify; that is the question. Nancy M recently posted about this and the comments were very interesting. I agree with her view; I dislike WV. Now please don't inundate me with outraged or defensive replies; I'm not saying there's no need for WV. This is totally self-centered here - it takes me forever to reply to blogs when I have to fill in WV or worse yet, it pops up after I've posted and moved on, only to lose the comment.

I know that some of you have been hit with spammers. I originally had my WV turned on and when a friend questioned why - I thought I was supposed to. I turned it off then and never looked back. Could be famous last words, but C'est la vie. It doesn't stop me from commenting on a blog, just takes longer. I comment because I want to, so I'll continue going through WV. But I'm interested in what others think, and if a by-product is that someone's WV is turned off, all the better! -BEG-

On to stitching, I have Zentangle pt. 8 done.

I also would like to post another new design I found. I promise that Jan has nothing to do with her pics on my posts; I just love her designs. Here's the latest from Tree of Life Samplings.

I think this one is my new favorites...and yes, I'm ordering it as we speak. LOL

One last thing - I read one of the sweetest posts around; it has a giveaway, but that's not why I'm posting it here. It brought tears to my eyes; check it out - Jolene's blog. If you take the time to read the comments too, you'll be doubly blessed. :)

Stitching Jubilee

2009-10-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Stitching Jubilee in Lancaster, PA, was an absolute blast last week! Kathy and I made it Wed. evening. It was a dream poring through PTP's fabrics and spending time at Gitta's. Then off to all that we could get to - spent much time with HDF fibers the first day. There was a Mosh pit of threads that were tangled, which Kathy dubbed the Floss pit..LOL. Whatever you could stuff in a small bag was yours for $4.00. Deal of the century - I must have at least 30 threads or more in one bag, though they have to be untangled.

This is the Believe fabric painting class with Catherine Jordan. It was fabulous - we learned how to paint these beautiful landscapes (with little or no artistic ability, I might add) and then stitch the trees, etc.

My progress so far... haven't stitched too much on it yet; specialty stitches go a little slower. The paints are permanent, washable, and so soft. You can't tell the fabric has paint on it; but one restriction is the paints can't be ironed.

I also took Make it-Take it classes and hung out half a day at the Brenda Kocher Designs booth. They were all so sweet and helpful.
Deb from Half Moon Handwerks taught several designs and needle/shuttle tatting/bobbin lacing.

Mary Bluge from A. Fox Original taught Swedish Huck-Weaving, which is really cool and very fast. Since my SIL is Swedish, I hope to do a little for him. Deb also has all the Threadworx, which is where I spent a lot of time. And if you like unusual and beautiful needlepoint and specialty stitches, check out Brenda's site - gorgeous.

Mary's Huckweaving....I only have the first line, so I'll show mine later.
I could go on and on about all of the booths. The hosts/hostesses were all truly so welcoming and flexible.
Suffice to say that I went into the mart all three days and found plenty to see and do--and buy. :)
Both Kathy and I bought this kit for Pat Hartman's Secret Garden, as we had to leave before the class began. Isn't it lovely?

I met several people in my online groups/blogs and some new friends, too.

Friday evening I spent a little while with Nancy M. and her friends. Such a fun group of girls! We went to eat at an authentic Amish restaurant and I viewed all their masterpieces. And they really had some beautiful needlework! Here is Nancy with her Tuscany Town Mandala framed. Stunning, isn't it?

and Nancy and me...
Then back to the stitching lounge to talk, laugh, and stitch.

My partner-in-crime, Kathy...

Kathy, me, and my LMD of 2muchXS, Anita...

Kathy, Anita, Judy, Debbie, and Teresa...

I also met Queen Vikki, but don't have a picture yet (hint, hint, Vikki...LOL)
Seeing as it poured rain the entire three days we were there and longer, it was good we spent our time inside. I hate rain -yes, I know we need it- and love sun, so it was a pleasant way to spend three gloomy days! Until next year...

Zentangle has an update - now through pt. 7.

Hope to finish this one pretty soon.
All in all, a fabulous time and hope to repeat it next year!

Speak Not....then again...

2009-10-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the coolest design? I absolutely love this design and verse - what a thought provoker. As it was a must-have, I ordered it immediately from Jan of Only One Ewe Needleworks and asked if I could post about her on my blog. The design part of her ONS is new and can be found at Tree of Life Samplings. Check out the blog for more upcoming new designs. :)

It's been a busy week; Mom is improving, though still dealing with some pain. But the scooter is gone and she's walking and going through physical therapy. Thank you all again for the well wishes and encouragement you've all given.

Is it me or has anyone noticed that having a pet is like having a kid, literally? We just paid the bill for Montana's possible eye, ear, and bacterial infections; we're to give him Activia yogurt...if you get my drift. He also strained a muscle trying to move on tile floors at his Puppy College, as my DH calls it. You can tell we were slack during the summer; he's a little unruly. The vet informed us that while he might be an obedient dog, he would always retain that "wild" factor (Big sigh). However, as long as he's sweet and loving, that's ok. Haha I loved his take on it; he's not the one trying to restrain the 76#and still growing "puppy" as he LOVINGLY greets new people. Somehow I don't think loving is the word the recipient would use; more like licking and stomping. LOL He looks happily innocent, doesn't he?

Stitching progress includes the next heart for Karin's Friendship RR...

Sara, Deborah, and I met to exchange our Friendship RR's in person. What fun! Deborah and I are friends already, but discovered that I'd actually met Sara at another stitch-in two years ago. Who knew? And she's such a sweetheart, just like Deborah. I'm continually amazed how stitchers are universally nice and we all share this common thread (no pun intended).

Sara and me with Karin's RR...

Sara and Deborah with Diana's and Lisa's RR...
If you remember, Lisa's RR was kept and she started over again, but she's catching up.
Here's the progress on my own RR somewhere out there in the world; I love it!

I've been stitching as much as possible on Zentangle; I'm through pt. 5 and hope to finish it before it's taken off the website.

Zentangle pts. 1-5
design by Kirsten Schmitt and Elke Reiss for the Marquoir Yahoo Group
Zentangle is being stitched with permission by the designers

And the newly engaged couple came home this weekend; they're soooo happy. We talked into the wee hours of the morning and caught up on life. DFiance', DDIL, and DH have BD's, so we celebrated everything this weekend. In honor of this fact, DH has a new bike that we can both enjoy. Gotta love these colors; I did mention that I wanted bright. He traded in his beloved Fat Boy (sniff, sniff) for this spiffy touring bike. Away we go!

If you click on the picture, you can see the look of satisfaction on my DH's face. It looks as if he hunted it down, killed it, and hauled it home. Men are too funny.
Happy Birthday to my Sweetie today!
Hope all of you have a great week and stitch to your heart's content. :)

MOB OM

2009-09-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, that stands for Mother of the Bride once more! My DD's boyfriend drove down Sat. to have dinner with us, discussed marriage and showed us her ring. It is really beautiful and uniquely made for her. Plans are to marry in the fall next year. This is my baby, though I doubt she'd appreciate being referred to that way (my dad still called me baby at 30). They are so excited... DBF planned to ask later, but I guess he couldn't wait - he asked her today and managed to pull off the surprise. :)
At least I'm a little more experienced this go round - dang, I should be - we just finished two weddings in six months earlier this year (not that I'm complaining LOL) So here they are together at some point in time recently.....

Good Things!

2009-09-23T16:01:00.002-07:00

Where to start? Well, Monday my mom had a sacroplasty (inserting bone cement into the sacrum for fractured areas). Since then, she has put her electric scooter up and is walking with the walker once again. Today she walked unaided, with me by her side - hallelujah! Things are looking pretty good for her to get back to normal fairly soon. I can't tell you how thankful I am for her improvement.
Charlene had mentioned that the Stitch and Frame shop in Rock Hill, SC, was having Clara Blalock of The Stitching Parlor in for a weekend retreat, "Tea with the Queen". I love her designs and fell in love with the project, and away I went last weekend. I met Charlene for the first time and another friend, Angel, was also there. We had such a good time. And talk about a small world - Clara taught my nephew in high school last year. How small is that?? She was a wonderful instructor and her project is beautiful.....

"Tea with the Queen"....

A few pictures from the retreat....

Charlene and me....

Beverly and Jeanne....

Carol with one of her many ornament finishes....

Helen and Peggy...

June and Angel....

Angel with her "take" on the Measure twice, cut once rule - look closely..... cute story. :)
Charlene with her finish; she took out the black at the top and added red metallic - it was really cool.

Charlene also does tatting and showed us a few of her finishes - very pretty.

The three of us with our completion of the needleroll inside...

Isn't it amazing how you can form new friendships through stitching and blogging? Twenty years ago, who knew?

And speaking of stitching, I saw Ann stitching this beauty with a gorgeous over-dyed thread from Vikki Clayton and HAD to find the chart. And they've designed another one that I plan to stitch also.
So I joined this German group, a lovely group of speedy stitchers. This pattern disappears Oct. 15, and I have 8 more parts, so I'm working on it mostly. Luckily, it's a quick and fun stitch.

Zentangle, parts 1-2 of 10
design by Kirsten Schmitt and Elke Reiss for the Marquoir Yahoo Group

Zentangle is being stitched with permission by the designers in the
Marquoir-Gruppe.
Stitched with Rainbow Gallery's Bravo A56 and Weeks Confetti

Tea with the Queen needleroll - inside....

I was the lucky recipient of Carol's giveaway and an award from Bagira. Carol gave me the cutest kit with needles and the lovely background fabric here....

I am not passing this particular award on, as I know many of you already have it, but I am grateful to be remembered.

Thanks to both Carol and Bagira.
And some shots of Beauty and the Beast (JK).... alias Mya and Montana from their weekend together, from Mya's point of view.....

"I do look ferocious, don't I? Don't worry, I'll go easy on him."

"Is that where they hide the food?!"

"Oh no, wait, here it is. Good thing you like to share - I'd hate to have to hurt you..." :)

Irrefutable Evidence

2009-09-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's widely believed that most parents hate to see their children grow up so quickly and sometimes refuse to believe the evidence in front of their eyes. I guess when the kids are in their 20's, married, and otherwise gone, we have to face the facts - they're grown.
However, in some rare instances, we want the growth process to go just a little faster. What, heresy, you say? Hear me out.
I give you the evidence below that definitely shows that our "little one" has not quite reached maturity yet. Judge for yourselves...

This used to be Montana's pad that he occasionally used as his "love muffin" - don't ask. But the mystery is there's a zipper here that he managed to undo. How, you ask? Easy - just chewed up the zipper and small area, stuck the big shnoz in and moved the zipper down. Amazing. In recent days, we'd thought that he would actually lay down on it - I know, a novel thought - but he did a few times with this particular item...

However, despite the fact that he's as big as a moose, and eats like a horse, we're just not seeing the maturity we'd hoped for (desperately...). His new nickname is Hoover - LOL. Need further evidence?

Yes, contrary to popular belief, sheetrock and wood are staples in a dog's diet, along with socks...
And here's Zoe's opinion on the matter...

That, BTW, is a meow, not a roar, as it would suggest...though trust me, she has that capability, also.
So there you have it...now can you blame me for wanting our "sweetie" to mature a little faster??
I thought you'd agree.
What can I say? I didn't even show his room. Suffice to say that two door jambs later, a couple of walls, some furniture, a phone wire, an electric blanket, and an odd assortment of socks, towels and paper, our house won't be the same for a while. You know, sort of like with your kids....

Yes, this is a stitching blog (mostly), and I do have a few finishes. This is Lisa's RR in the Friendship Sampler RR. Her piece and someone else's were kept by one of the stitchers and never to be seen again. Don't get me started on this one, but Lisa the Intrepid, jumped back in again and we're all trying to catch her up.

Also finished a freebie by Dahlia from the Anne-les-petites-croix website. It was very springy, so I changed the colors around to get this fall look. The Silkweaver fabric, Golden Promise, went really well, so now I'm trying to figure out how I want to finish it.

And finally, we do have a new member in our family, for whom I'm babysitting this weekend while my DD and SIL celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Has it really been a year already? Let me officially introduce Mya, a six pound pomeranian, with the energy of five three-year-olds. And yes, my DD put a girlie t-shirt on her and thoroughly enjoyed it. I swear I'm innocent of this travesty.

But she's a cutie. She loves Montana, albeit a little cautiously, and normally from the safety of Mom's presence, but he's not picky - he'll take what he can get.

Thanks for visiting and listening to my tales. Your friendships make it all worth while here in blogland. :)

It's About That Time....

2009-09-02T22:09:00.001-07:00

For what, you say? No, not the new TV season starting, although I am looking forward to NCIS, NCIS LA, and the Mentalist, of course. Nope; this is where I watch my DH turn into an excited kid again, whispering to his friends and our son every time he sees them. You ask what he whispers? "28 more days" to finally, "one more day!"
Yes, once again, he finds the "other woman"....college football. (sigh) I pretend to mind, but really I don't. I love it, too, though I think I'm definitely saner about it. And to start it off with a bang, we're having some family and friends over for the nationally televised...drumroll, please...
TaDa! NCSU (GO PACK!!) and South Carolina game. Hope it's a good one. But just in case, we have Mississipi Mud Cake to either celebrate or drown our sorrows with. Chocolate is always a winner; say no more.

On the stitching front - Finishes are.....

Diana's RR for the Friendship Sampler Round Robin...

Alphabet Pumpkin by JBW Designs...

WIP updates are...

Freebie by Dahlia; Anne les petites croix...

Reading by LHN....

Travel Sampler.... I know it looks like it hasn't grown much, but I have worked on the border some....honest.

Bagira gave me the cutest award...thanks so much!
It's a red cat painted coffee (?) for luck (I think the language translator changed words around just a tad here) But I just love this little guy. So in keeping, I'm passing him on. The rules are as follows:
1. Thank and link to the person awarding you.
2. Share your blog award logo.
3. Select and link to 10 bloggers (I'm fudging this one)
4. Send comments about their award to the nominees.

And the nominees are - Cindy F., Wendy, Kathy A., Gabi, and Marian. Best of luck to you all. :)

And lastly, once again I thank you for your encouragement and concern for my mom and me. I'm doing well and my mother is finally showing some improvement. Hallelujah. And I do welcome and appreciate all of your comments - never think they're wasted....

Gadgets and Hearts

2009-08-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you all so much for your kind and encouraging comments on my last blog. My mom is about the same, hanging in there with a diagnosis of not one, but two hairline fractures on both sides of the sacrum. However, we have high hopes her new gadget will make her life much easier.

Note the State red, though totally coincidental. And this scooter is not only functional, but kinda fun.

My own situation is improved in spite of myself and a comedy of errors. There's a great deal of truth to the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." I won't bore you with the details, but I'm much better and your good wishes really brightened my day. All were much appreciated.

On to stitching, here are two more rounds on the Friendship RR.

Danielle's RR.......

Willeke's RR.... she uses the original colors listed on the design.

Now that I'm caught up, I have great ambitions to stitch on the Travel Sampler and Secret Garden. We shall see.....
Until we meet again. :)

Sometimes Life Throws a Curve

2009-08-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever realized how much your life can change in one day? I'm sure many of you can relate - you receive good/bad news that affects your everyday life. While blissfully unaware of the turn your days are going to take, you march on.
My DH and I recently rented a travel motorcyle for a long ride. I wanted to see how loud this bike was compared to my husband's, so about 30 sec. before we got home, I carefully took out the earplugs. I do remember thinking - dang, this is loud. Two days later, I had tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears), which may or may not go away. Doc thinks it's trauma induced but regardless, thinks once tinnitus comes, it pretty much stays. Audiologist thinks it might go away within a month, and it's been a week.
Comparatively speaking, it's not bad; it's not as loud as some people have. I've only had it for a week and levels are intermittent. I cannot begin to imagine those that have dealt with this for years. I've read about them and just truly feel for them. The stress and depression that can follow tinnitus can be intimidating, even to someone that doesn't get depressed.

Then I feel guilty because of all of the people I know who have so much more than this to handle and I'm being such a wimp.

My mother is dealing with constant pain at the moment and no narcotics really work. In the last month she's deteriorated from hurting some, but driving, playing bridge, going to the library, etc. to being chair bound in her house; it's the only place she can get any relief -and now that doesn't work. She looks at me and says she has to keep on hoping and deal with it. They think it might be a sacral stress fracture (which she's had for about six weeks at least, but instead of improving any, she continues to worsen daily). We have a few options coming up later this week, of which we're hopeful. Please remember her in thought or prayer, if you could.

On the stitching front, I was on such a roll last week but haven't stitched much this week. That is changing; I picked up my Friendship Sampler RR last night and started on that one; felt like I could get my life back on track if I could get back to the things I love doing.
And on the more positive note, I have done much research in this past week and have found valid, sound advice to at least help the situation. I do believe in some alternative methods of medicine, though I'm cautious with them. Show me time and research to back the claims up, and I'm more inclined to believe. I've downloaded a couple of books that are very common sense and helps to get healthy. I serve a risen God, so anything is possible. :)
So, to anyone out there with your experiences, wisdom and otherwise general thoughts, I welcome your comments. :)

PS - forgive my whining...
BTW, just a word of caution to taking earplugs out - never, never remove them around a loud noise that otherwise wouldn't really have bothered you. It was the sudden transfer of complete quiet to loud noise and the ears just couldn't adjust fast enough that caused the trauma.

Bear with me with one more thing - on a funny note; my family has convinced me for years that I need help hearing, etc. I've always thought that I'd have some hearing loss, but didn't consider that tinnitus could happen as a result, too; I've listened to loud music everywhere for so long. Just had the tests done - my hearing is fine - a very slight damage to the left ear hair cells in the high frequency, which made it just a tad below, but really considered to be about normal for someone my age. So there! All these times they complained I couldn't hear them, they were the cuplprits that mumbled, spoke too fast, etc.
Yes, I do feel justified.....

Double Take - Take 4: Scotland! and Take 3: Finishes

2009-08-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

After the tour with our needleworkers ended, Chris, Kim and I flew up to Edinburgh to spend a few days. What can I say, but stunning! The cities and towns, the landscapes, the green colors, the patriotic rush of freedom with William Wallace; all make Scotland a fantastic place to visit.
We strolled the Royal Mile more than once,

Scott Memorial down the Royal Mile...

toured Stirling Castle and the Wallace Memorial -well worth the climb up,

One of four tapestries hanging in Stirling Castle.....

Wallace Memorial - slim spiral staircase to the top - so inspiring to hear the real story behind William Wallace and all those who contributed to Scotland's freedom

went for a scenic ride out in the country up to Loch Lomond -breathtaking- stopping along the way.

Scottish countryside - isn't this gorgeous??

One cannot go to Scotland and not see the requisite bagpipes and kilts... very moving

Really old bridge....

More countryside...

Then we toured Edinburgh Castle and I went to Rosslyn Chapel in the afternoon.

Edinburgh Castle...magnificent

Royal Symbol of Scotland found in Edinburgh Castle

Rosslyn Chapel - this gives you no indication whatsoever how intricate the carvings are inside....truly remarkable... this chapel was in the Da Vinci Code.

All were so picturesque, it was mind-boggling. My absolute favorites, besides the countryside, were the Wallace Memorial and the Rosslyn Chapel. Pictures aren't allowed inside the Chapel and scaffolding is everywhere on the outside, so it's hard to appreciate the utter beauty of all the carving inside. It really is spectacular. I would love to go back one day and see more; maybe one day!
Thus concludes a wonderful, whirlwind trip through bits and pieces of Europe. Thanks for taking the ride with me and leaving me such wonderful comments. They are all much appreciated. :)

Now to a few finishes...a needlebook for Kathy K. for our beach meeting; she's received it now, so ....

Quilting, the headless wonder, is no more - she's fully able to quilt now and is ready for some summer Reading...

Cute as a Button, a darling pouch kit from Susan Greening Davis....

And lastly, progress on a few WIP's...
Secret Garden 3 -

Travel Sampler -

Thanks for stopping by...everyone have a great day!

Special Times - Anniversary and XS Meeting

2009-08-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

My DH and I passed a milestone this weekend when we celebrated 30 years of marriage. I truly cannot believe how quickly the years have flown by. We rented a travel motorcycle and took a beautiful trip up in Virginia and saw our youngest daughter while there. Beautiful day for a ride; we really enjoyed it. Considered going to the beach the next day, but alas, the weather was uncooperative. Have to do that next time!
To my sweet DH, God blessed me with you for a husband and I love you with all my heart. Here's to many more years together. :)
Then...
And now...

Another special occasion occured while we were in Florida last week. I met with Wendy, co-leader of Our Friends' HAED SAL blog. She is every bit as lovely in person as she is on her blogs. We had a short but delightful visit and chatted for awhile. Her two boys were as cute and nice as they could be and so well behaved. We exchanged small gifts and many thanks for my lovely kit!
Even though I've seen pictures, it's always exciting to put a real face to the many bloggers I follow and so admire. Thanks for taking the time out of your vacation, Wendy. :)

Stitching...surely you jest

2009-07-24T11:03:00.001-07:00

Finally, I have a few items to post related to stitching. I have worked on some gifts which I'll post later, but have some progress on a few more.

First, may I present the headless wonder? I only stitch on this at Mon. night stitching, so I'm taking forever. I need a swift kick to just finish the darn thing! Quilting by LHN

Next is Donna's RR in the Friendship Sampler....

Some bright and cheerful colors, but only two for a change instead of twenty different ones - Definitely more fun to stitch....Secret Garden 3 - HAED

I've been given this award by Wendy, Gabi, and Charlene, and been slack in saying thank you. Since I'm inspired by all of their blogs, I consider this a treasure.

I'd like to pass this award to all those in the Friendship RR with blogs.
Ann, Marian, Lisa, Kathy A., Sara, Donna, Willeke, Karin, Simone, April, Danielle, Karen, Diana.

Stage Three: London with Susan and Sally

2009-07-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Upon arrival in London, a tube strike was in effect. It was a comedy of errors to get from the train station to our hotel, collect our main luggage which we'd stored while in Belgium and France, and then go back to the hotel once more. Yes, there was a reason for the double trip. And good luck grabbing a taxi when employees needed to travel to and from work. Have I mentioned that I don't recommend taking large luggage on the bus with everyone else that can't take the subway? However, we made it, not without scars LOL, and new fun began.

We were with a wonderful group of stitchers with the Still Stitching with Susan tour. Hosts were Susan Greening Davis and Sally Criswell with their companion, Penny. Before we met for a nice dinner to kick off the tour, we set off to see a few sights for ourselves.

...Trafalgar Square with the double decker buses in front

Day 1 - first stop was the V & A Museum, which was unbelievable in itself - then more sights around London. In the afternoon, we visited Joyce Petschek in her lovely studio. Joyce has been a pioneer in Bargello and gave us some history and let us look around her world at both finished and unfinished stitching. Really awesome trip. Of course we were allowed to partake of stash there, but I was good. Only bought a tiny kit and her Beautiful Bargello book.

V & A Museum with it's wondrous needlework -

...Shepherd's Buss

...Blackwork embroidered skirt

...Jane Bostock sampler - 1598

...Court dress -
Wouldn't you want to wear this? Gives new meaning to the a version of "On top of Old Smoky,"
"On top of the school building, all covered with sand,
I shot my poor teacher..with a green rubber band.
I did it with pleasure; I did it with pride.
I couldn't have missed her; she's 40 feet wide."

With a dress like that, it's almost feasible. LOL
Sometimes it's scary the random things that float through my brain...

...One of the many gorgeous ironworks at V & A

Day 2 - bus ride through beautiful country to Stratford-upon-Avon to Anne Hathaway's cottage and Shakespeare's birthplace. Then a stroll throughout the quaint area was in order - very picturesque.
...Anne Hathaway's Cottage

...call me twisted, but I do appreciate good wit, and Shakespeare was one of the best. I had to snap these stickers of his insults from plays. Click on the picture to better read them; some are hilarious. I bought one of the mugs that had some of these and more.

Saw this riding through towns - my kids are major "24" fans. It's official - it's international. :)
That night, the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre had a midnight showing of Romeo and Juliet. Several of us had a really cool dinner at a restaurant near by and then meandered our way to the theater. A little bleary-eyed the next day, but well worth it.

Day 3 - Next morning, we had stitching time with Susan and Sally and special appearances from Lorrie Birmingham and the Doll Lady, as she is known. Susan and Sally unveiled their project for us, a beautiful spot sampler to go with our notebooks. Nope, not done with it yet. We were given all sorts of lovely little surprises all throughout the trip - one of a kind charms, lap pads, little trinkets, magnets, pictures, etc.
As for the dolls, I'm not normally a doll person, but these were beautiful and had exquisite workmanship. They were completely hand-made by Polly Nassim, a retired doll-maker of forty years. There will be no more once the inventory is gone. The dolls are dressed with beautifully sewn designs based on the Georgian, Elizabethan, Regency, Victorian, etc. English periods. Most have bits and pieces of antique lace or trim on them, also. The faces are handpainted and then stitched over. I bought two of the Georgian era, as to have one for each of my girls later. Kim set up Polly with us, and we are much indebted to her.

Afterwards, some of us girls traipsed to Covent Gardens to see what it was like on the weekend - a super large, nice flea market - very cool!

Day 4 - Off to Bath with it's wonderful Bath Abbey, Roman Baths and Pump Room, and residence of Jane Austen. I absolutely love her works. I drank the waters - expected sulphur, but didn't notice a different taste, really. Along the way we also stopped at Stonehenge and Runnymeade, where the Magna Carta began. Some went to a Beefeater's banquet (medieval) that night, but I opted out.

...Bath

...Bath Abbey

...Roman Baths...lovely color, hmm?!

...Jane Austen center

...Stonehenge

Day 5 - Had a special trip to Hampton Court and the Royal School of Needlework with an awesome tour. I truly wish we'd been allowed to take pictures, but they have massive WIP's they don't want revealed until unveiled in entirety. Truly magnificent works and the most impressive and beautiful Japanese raised embroidery I've ever seen. That afternoon, Kim and I had a relaxing afternoon in Kensington Park strolling and stopped to stitch for awhile on the benches. Others had taken a boat ride down the Thames. Since I'd been in London several times before, I chose not to participate in some of the traditional sight-seeing tours.

...Very small portion of Hampton Court Gardens - lovely!

...Such a graceful swan at Kensington Gardens swimming in the large fountain

Day 6 - Today's sights were the Cotswolds, the "heart of England", as they say. Stunningly beautiful countryside with the village of Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, and Gloucester. Gloucester was just charming with it's own Beatrix Potter shop (remember the Tailor of Gloucester? - based here) and Gloucester Abbey. Beautifully crafted with 12 Green Men hidden inside and out. The afternoon was spent at Pinks Barn with Jane Greenoff. She invited us into her world and was the epitome of hospitality. I bought some stash here, I must say, and well worth it. Lovely time was had by all. Many were going to the theater that night, so off we rushed back so they could all make it.

...On the way to the Cotswolds

...Click the picture to find some of the Green men above the arch in Gloucester Abbey

...Needlepoint cushion in Gloucester Abbey - there were probably 60-70 total. This was in the priest's area and larger than the choir cushions... aren't they gorgeous? All with the same color background and different design.

...Beatrix Potter shop

...Pinks Barn - Jane Greenoff's home and shop

One of Jane Greenoff's adorable sheepdogs...

Day 7 - Spent in and around London in various places and then a wonderful farewell dinner together. While there, we were visited by the Pearlies, a dynasty of people dedicated to charity works. They all had the most elaborate suits and dresses, all hand-sewn dripping with pearl/pearlesque buttons. Some of the suits take 9 months to finish sewing and they're heavy to wear. Susan and Sally presented us with another of their little surprises. They really put so much effort into presenting us with a memorable tour. And whenever anyone was free in the evening and wanted to hang out, we went down to the couches in the massive lobby to visit and stitch. If you're wondering if you'd like to participate in one of these tours, I highly recommend it. You get so much out of it you would otherwise miss. Thanks to them both.

So if you stayed this long to see all the pictures, thanks for taking a peek into my world for that week. I'll leave you with a few more...

...Lion at Trafalgar Square

Important information painted on the busy London roads...life-saving, literally

...Stash books from each needlework place - Jane Greenoff, RSN, and Joyce's Bargello studio

...And lastly, schoolchildren coming from an exhibition. Aren't they sweet?!

Last stop, off to Edinburgh, Scotland - aye, and a grand time it was!

Second Stage: Paris!

2009-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Back to my trip, we left Brugges, and took the train to Paris where I managed to fall asleep once again while in the Chunnel. At least I think I saw the beginning this time...lol When we arrived there, it was raining and proceeded to rain the rest of the day. But we were in Paris...so off we went to tour the city with Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, Arc de Triomphe, etc. It was really neat to see the special veteran memorial services they were having at the Arc as we went by....

Statue outside Notre Dame that caught my eye. Click on the picture and look at the king; who does he favor to you? My first thought was the King of the Dead in Lord of the Rings #3. Funny the things we notice.....

Notre Dame Cathedral...

Above the entrance...

Rose Window in Notre Dame... then on to the Sainte Chappelle.

Stained glass in Sainte Chappelle - this was absolutely stunning. The stained glass on the second floor was from top to bottom all the way around - just unbelievable. I'd seen it years ago and forgotten how beautiful it was.

No picture of Paris is complete without the Eiffel Tower. Kim and Chris went to visit it the next day with much better weather. I've been there before so I went off to find my Paris-Etoile Harley-Davidson shop - voila - victory! Though I have to say it had one of the rudest shopgirls in it I'd met in a long time. Not much inventory in the little shop downstairs, but luckily I found what I needed. If I'd been anywhere else, I'd have walked out without buying anything, but this was the only HD shop I was going to get to in France and it was for my DH, so I bought it and left, muttering to myself the entire time. Don't bother going there, though. Find one on the outskirts of Paris - you're bound to have better luck and service. :)

This is near the entrance of the Louvre, which was closed, so I had some time before meeting my friends. I set off to find Des Fils et Une Aguille, an LNS that several people had recommended to me. After some trial and error, I found it a few blocks away from the Louvre. I wish I had taken pictures of it; it was wonderful. It had French designers I'd never seen and things to drool over; their band fabrics were beautiful. I could have spent hours in there, and I did pick up a few items. I'm a great fan of Isabelle H-Vautier and Renato Parolin; they have a collaborative book, so after looking inside, it was a must have.

There were many that caught my eye, whether by chart or model, but I bought from designers I hadn't seen here in the US. (Pics are clickable.)

Paris has many beautiful sights to see, and I couldn't possibly put them all on here. But I've always loved Hotel des Invalides which contains Napoleon's Tomb...

and more Paris in the rain....
Their metro system is fantastic - they have unusual signs along the way to point to the subway.

As we left the Paris train station.....Next stop - London. Who knew there'd by a tube strike as we're coming in to Paddington train/tube station???

Face to Face

2009-07-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

Internet groups, boards, and blogs can literally open up the world to us as stitchers and otherwise. But we don't often get to meet some of our online friends face to face. However, I was privileged to meet Kathy (and Rory) when she came down to NC for vacation at the beach. We met at the house where they were staying and enjoyed a wonderful visit talking about everything. She's every bit as interesting and nice as I'd thought she was online. Her Irish setter, Rory, was beautiful and so well-behaved (must be nice.....lol).

When I left, there was no one to take our picture together, so we did the best we could. It was so bright you couldn't even tell what picture you were taking, but we tried.

Kathy gave me this really wonderful stitching bag with a gorgeous fob and scissors inside. I will truly treasure these.

I have something in the making for her, but had no chance to finish it before I got there. I'll be sending it to you, Kathy. Note the name on the bag - she got it at her LNS, which happens to have the same name as my LNS. Nice coincidence from NY to NC. Thanks so much for the visit and gifts, Kathy. We need to make this a yearly event.....:)

Vacation Times Abroad

2009-07-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'd like to post a few pics of my trip overseas in stages. First, we flew out to England and took a train through the Chunnel, which I slept through, darn it, even though it's dark; then we landed in Brussels. Did some sightseeing there....

Market Square...

The swan is a symbol in Belgium...

The "Peeing Boy" in Brussels.....then we took another train to Brugges to stay for a couple of nights there.

Bell Tower in Brugges......

Took a canal tour in Brugges....

Still more canal tour in Brugges....

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child in Our Lady's Church in Brugges......

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Brugges (only took close-ups of two - don't ask me why).....

Woman making lace in Brugges with bobbins. This was fascinating to watch and hear - very rhythmic.
I'd made a list of any needlework shops I could find or heard about near each place, but we didn't make it to any in Belgium. There was one we passed everyday, but it wasn't open the days we were there. However, the chocolate shops were extremely tasty; Belgian chocolate is definitely worth acquiring....hehe...just destroy the evidence. :)
Harley-Davidson places were also on my list, since my DH is such a fan. I also owed him big time not only for the trip/dogsitting, but I'd "ruined" two of his HD shirts a few days before I left home. Who knew that this one dishtowel with a teeny smidgen of red that has been washed numerous times and never bled, would turn both shirts a lovely, barely there shade of pastel pink? Did I mention how tiny and washed the red square was??? When I suggested that he could wear the shirts anyway, he just looked at me and laughed and told me to picture him walking in the HD shop that way. Real HD men don't wear pink, I gather.... That was rather amusing, but needless to say, he's not wearing the shirts - one local, one from San Francisco - ouch. So I started my quest. Score 0 for Belgium - none that I can get to. Better luck next time.
Next, onto Paris...

PS - totally unrelated, but I found a giveaway on Barb's blog for primoriginals. I'd never heard of this site, but I love the artwork! I very rarely post of giveaways to get better chances of winning, but this site is worth checking out, regardless of winning anything or not. I wonder if she'd make her artwork into charts or would let us do so??? Hmmmm.......

A Little Stitching & Fourth of July

2009-07-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

This was a BD exchange gift that has now been received; one side is needlepoint and the other XS. I've also been trying to catch up on the Friendship RR. Here's the latest heart for Kathy...

Every Fourth of July holiday, we load up whoever's here and take off for the fireworks. And each year my DH says he's not going anymore. LOL Normally, my brother's family from OK are here. This year, we had an added bonus. My son and DIL, daughter living at college this summer, and friends were also there. We've been going for as long as our town has been having its own fireworks event, about 20 years, and this was the best weather we've ever had. Normally it's scorching and humidity is high; this year it was cooler with lower humidity and not a cloud in the sky. It's been a low key week, even though my family's been here. Appointments here and there, hanging out, and just enjoying time together. Below is a culmination of normal and abnormal people......and dogs.

Doesn't Montana look as if this homage is due him? Let me introduce Henry Waddlesworth Longfellow, AKA my DD's friend's new little long-haired dachshund. Don't you just love that name?! He is absolutely adorable, but feisty. He weighs a whopping 5#, next to Montana's ~60#.

To watch them play is hysterical, but we do have to keep a grip on Montana. He's not exactly known for his coordination, and his flailing legs could send Henry flying. Henry is a brave little soul... from the safety of his mommy's lap mostly, but ventured out a few times. Too funny.

And lastly, I'll leave you with a few pics of family fun at the park.

DS, DDIL, DD in back, my nephews and nieces in front - this is the family I went to see in OK earlier this year.

Me, DB, DSIL - note the silver hair, but he says at least he has hair - good point. LOL And he wonders why one of his kids always makes faces at the camera....

DH and me....
And lastly, just a few fireworks...everyone have a wonderful Fourth of July. There were many that paid a price for our freedom, statesmen and soldiers alike. If you ever see a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, note the somber faces. These men had a price tag put on their heads by doing this; they were marked men acorrding to King George III. They had no idea if any of them would survive or what would possibly happen to their families. Yet they were willing to take the chance. Let us never forget.

God bless the USA.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2009-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a fantastic trip we all had. Belgium, France, England, and lastly, Scotland all went by in a thunderous good time! So much to see, so little time, but we certainly gave it our all. The actual tour started on June 10th with Stitching with Susan and Sally. I've never seen such beautiful needlework in all my days. We had such good times at the Royal School of Needlework (I think they had my most favorite piece of all), Jane Greenoff's Pinks Barn, The V & A Museum, and Joyce Petschek's Bargello Studio, etc. Those are just for starters.
Our friend, Kim, planned before and after trips while we were over in Europe. So as soon as we hit London, we took a train to Brussels and then Bruges, Belgium. Some mighty fine chocolate and lace, I might add. Very pretty and picturesque. Then off to Paris to see the sights. I lucked out and found a wonderful needlework shop there, too - good thing hubby wasn't around to see what I spent there!
Then to London for the actual tour. I've been to London four times in the past 30 years and have never seen the English countryside. It was such a treat - so beautiful. We went to Bath and actually saw places where Jane Austen lived and frequented. Can't get better than that, eh? Went to visit Jane Greenoff at her home. Now that was something to talk about. She was so friendly; very nice to see her in her home habitat. We had a visit with Joyce Petschek of Beautiful Bargello fame. She opened her home to us also; it was lovely and eclectic. Susan and Sally spent much effort on this trip; even with the expected excursions, there were lots of happy surprises along the way. Many thanks to them for wonderful planning for us all!
Then, again thanks to Kim, after England we went on to Edinburgh to see Scotland. Definitely one of my favorite places. My first time there and it was so inviting - such lush greens everywhere. Of course, the weather changed every 30 minutes or so; kept you guessing. Took a trip out to see the countryside with Glencoe, Inverness, Loch Lomond, and Loch Ness. Nope - didn't find Nessie, but we found lots else. Scottish people were so helpful and nice. Lovely place. Well, once I unpack and upload all my pics, I'll choose a few good ones to share. It was a great trip, but it's always good to come home.
On a rather interesting note, I'd gotten a phone card on the trip. I couldn't understand why it always cut me off after the home phone rang four times and it didn't go to voice mail. I found out why when I got home. Our little sweetie (Montana) had chewed through the cord that plugs in our main unit for all the portable phones. So who knows how long our phone has been out. DH said he was wondering why the phone never rang! Speaking of said Montana, I must tell you the saga of the days before leaving. I was frantically trying to be ready for the trip on the 5th, when my DH insisted something wasn't right with Montana's neutering. Lo and behold, he was right; Montana still had a testicle left after the surgery. The vet said he was danged if he knew what happened - Montana either had three to begin with or they missed one. The vet's assistant swore they counted two removed, but be that as it may, he still had one left afterwards. So off to surgery that day again he went. Poor thing, but the difference in him has been amazing. He actually appears to sleep now, when he's not chewing, I might add..... But all's well that ends well!

Stitching and Stuff

2009-05-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

It's been jam packed lately; I've been finishing some exchange items and stitching fiendishly on a needleroll project for an upcoming trip. More on that later. But time is running out and I need to finish this up and stitch another heart for the RR before I leave.
Also helped my youngest DD move into her first apartment this weekend. My DS who works for a moving company (still looking for an engineering job....no luck so far) helped load up her truck, etc. He's being paid for it, but not with money. :)

I do have some stitching finishes; some haven't been received yet, so they'll be posted later.
First is the bookmark I sent to Shelley for the ILCS exchange; she loves lighthouses and burgundy, hence.....

Look what Shelley sent to me for our bookmark exchange. It's adorable......

Finished a pinkeep for a birthday exchange.....

A scissor fob for another BD exchange......

Some of the ladies in our Monday night stitching group are going on a XS tour to England with Susan Greening Davis. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. My DH gave this to me as a BD present well over a year ago, before we knew about the second wedding, my mom's eyes, FL wedding, etc. But such is life; you make plans and you never know what comes up. Everyone is doing fine at the moment, praise God. So I take off for 2 1/2 weeks of travel this Friday. We're leaving early to take in a few more places before the actual tour begins. Does anyone know of a good LNS in London, Paris, or Scotland (closer to London)? We're hoping to have a chance to get to some.
For my BD and Mother's Day, my youngest DD gave me this bag to take with me to hold my XS. It just came in the other day. Isn't it lovely?

My DS had given me flowers and my other DD gave me a small Ipod Shuffle. Now if I can take the time to put the music on it, I'll be set. :) Needless to say, they were all so thoughtful. Think maybe I'll keep them......LOL
We were out in the yard the other day and saw these two baby bunnies playing in our neighbor's backyard. They look like they are playing Follow the Leader. We get them every so often. Aren't they the cutest things?

And look at this fantastic sky; reminds me of the old sailor's warning...Red sky at night; sailor's delight. Red sky at morning; sailor's warning.

And lastly, our sweet Montana in his favorite position (when he actually quits moving, that is...)

Still looks a frog to me. He's six months old and weighs ~55 pounds. And yes, he does have a tail - must be underneath him. I'm beginning to think he might not be as big as everyone thought. OK by me - he's strong as an ox now. You ought to see him go after a butterfly - too cute.
Everyone have a great day!

Now We're Done....for a while

2009-05-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

One more wedding this weekend. Sue and I have been friends for twenty-five years, starting with the birth of our children. They grew up together, went to school together, stayed in touch, and my DF's son was married here this weekend. It was a lovely outdoor wedding by the sound in Corolla, NC. While there, we took advantage of the weekend to throw in some activities.

We went on a jeep ride to see the wild horses around this area of Carova (Carolina-Virginia) up from Corolla. Highly recommend Wild Horse Adventures for this if you ever go to there.

Some big Monster Truck dude lives out here and posted this sign. Click to read - rather humorous. If you live up here beyond Corolla, it requires a 4-wheel drive. Be prepared to have what you need with you; it takes a while to get to any store. If you want to truly get away from it all, this is the place to be, though it's pricey. It's just sand and houses miles away from any roads, even though I've been assured they're listed with GPS.

Currituck.....

Bodie Island.....

Cape Hatteras.....

Climbed 400+ steps in lighthouses and saw gorgeous views. This view is from Cape Hatteras; if you ever look at a US map, you'll see the Outer Banks right off the NC coast. Note where that sharp hook is in the banks; this is it.

While riding down #12 on the Outer Banks, you blink and miss this. Anyone recognize this house? It's from the movie "Nights in Rodanthe." Too bad it's condemned; there were six houses around that all looked that way; I guess they couldn't be saved. Time and erosion do take their toll at the beach.

And lastly, for all of you frog lovers or haters, I couldn't resist taking a pic of this sign on #12. Too funny. Can't imagine where the name came from; I don't think I want to know......LOL

Stitching was non-existent; but I'm hoping to stitch this week. I'm working on three little gifts and finished a bookmark, but can't show anything yet. Everyone take care.

All is Well

2009-05-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, thank you all so much for your continued prayers for my friend Terry. She is doing great - in fact, she should be going back to work tomorrow. We are all truly grateful she is still with us; a few more hours and the end result could very well have been different. No news on the heart yet, though it appears to be ok so far.
My youngest DD had her wisdom teeth removed right after I got back, so it's still been busy. She's just about back to normal and will be heading off to her job for the summer tomorrow. I haven't stitched too much, but I do have a few updates.

Next in the Friendship Sampler RR was for Karen's RR. There's a lull in the next two rotations, as two of the RR's are delayed for the moment. Hopefully, they'll be returning to the fold soon.
Isn't this a beautiful fabric? I believe Karen hand-dyed this herself.

Quilting - LHN/CC is normally one of my Monday night stitching rotations. Hope to go ahead and finish this one up, so I can continue the series.

And lastly, I put some stitches in Mom's Travel Sampler. Didn't get to my HAED this week, but hopefully the next.
I hope everyone had a relaxing Mother's Day. Ours was fun, as my DD and DSIL and youngest DD were here for lunch, along with my mother. She doesn't often get to my house, so it was a nice treat for us all. DS and DDIL were here Sat. night and left to see her mother on Sun. Beautiful weather and everyone else did most of the work, so it was great!
On a more somber note, as we all know, what can bring pleasure to some can bring pain to others. Some mothers are no longer with them or their children aren't, so please keep them in mind and prayer. Hugs to all. :)

Pretty Darn Wicked Stuff

2009-04-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

We had a scare last weekend; one of our dearest friends in the world contracted Bacterial Meningitis and it was pretty serious. We went down to FL, came home Wed. night and I'm going back down Fri. AM to stay for a few days. She is doing much better and came home from the hospital today. It was determined that her ear infection developed into bact. meningitis from the strep bacteria, so in essence she got it from herself. It's not common, but it's not that rare, either. Tons of people have ear infections, and only a few become this serious.
I would appreciate your prayers for my friend's continued recovery, as it sometimes affects the heart, too. She has to see a cardiologist in a month to determine if there are any issues there, but hopefully not. We are truly grateful to God to have her back home and on the mend.
Hope to be back to blog land fairly soon - everyone, please take care.

UFO's, WIP's, etc.

2009-04-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

There's a new UFO blog, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'm not setting lofty goals, just slow and steady. I have a multitude of projects to choose from whether they be WIP's or UFO's , but I chose two I really want to work on at least one day a month. Jen is running the blog - check it out here if you're interested - really cute name. I chose two - Drawn Thread's Souvenir Sampler and my mom's Travel Sampler from Nouveau Encore.

Drawn Thread......

I have to frog it because it's way off -must have been asleep when I started it, so it'll be like a new start.

Progress on the Travel Sampler, right where I left off......

This week I stitched and gridded more on Secret Garden 3; have a few more curliques done.....

and finished another heart for BW's Friendship RR....

This next one is April's from the mailing before.....

Aren't the colors in both of these luscious? Next one is already here and waiting to be stitched.
And of course, on this absolutely gorgeous spring day (it's going to be 87 by this weekend), I had to include a progress pic of Montana's growth. :)
Four and a half months.....

Winners, Stitching, and an Award

2009-04-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Hope your tax day is a super fantastic day. The random number generator picked #17 and #19 respectively as the winners for the giveaway. So congratulations to Carissa and Emily! Hope you enjoy your prizes. Thanks to everyone for joining in. :)

I did get a little stitching in this week. I finished these two scissor fobs for the giveaway; both are My Aunt's Attic designs using Silkweaver and Picture This Plus fabrics and Silk N' Colors threads.

I can also post this little BD gift for Mary now, as part of our ILCS Birthday Club. I love how it turned out. She said she liked animal prints, so this design was perfect. The design is from Cross Stitch Happy, compliments of Sharon. She has tons of wonderful freebies on her blog, so I'd encourage anyone to check it out. I changed this a little by just incorporating the design onto the type of needle book I wanted to stitch.

And lastly for today,Carolyn gave me an award; thank you, Carolyn!
"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. "

I'm passing this award on to five others.....

Meari
Rene
Nancy M.
Kelly
Deborah M

Thanks for spending your valuable time here. It's much appreciated. :)

Absolutely Awesome

2009-04-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is one of the coolest videos I've seen in a long time - definitely a pick-me-up and a breath of fresh air, especially for those of us old enough to remember the music! It's from Improv Everywhere - they're hoping to make it into a reality show. Now this is one reality show I would really watch! Look for the elderly woman's face when she realizes what's going on - very sweet, unguarded moment. Enjoy.

Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

Stitching and a Giveaway

2009-04-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

The newlyweds are back, slightly burned, and happy as a lark. Does my heart good, I tell you...

I have been stitching, but can't show all yet. I did finish up the heart for April's RR....
I love stitching these hearts for the Friendship
round robin. Each one has such pretty colors and
they're all so different. Some have sent journals for us to tell a little about ourselves. Others sent
cardstock to write a little note on. Some want the
dates, town or country, some the full name.
Hopefully when we're all done (within 8-9 months), we can post them all on one place for everyone to see. That would be really cool. I'm getting ready to stitch BJ's and she has luscious colors!

Got a start on Secret Garden 3....
It has a wild color (just one stitch) that doesn't go with anything in this motif - I'm still trying to figure if it's a typo or what, but I seriously may remove it. If you click the picture, you'll see this bluish, purplish, gray and then this one stitch of stark brown. This probably doesn't seem like much stitching, but it's mostly confetti stitches and took me awhile. At this rate, I figure it might resemble this picture by 2025. LOL
In honor of my blogaversary at some point in time earlier this year and my BD last month, or for whatever reason I can dream up, I'm going to give away some items; winner gets their choice of whichever chart, fabric, and small stitched item (no pics of this yet). Second winner gets their choice after that. Winners will be announced on April 15; what better day to win anything than on TAX day?! Picture is clickable for a better view.

If you are interested, please leave a comment and your e-mail. If you're not interested in the drawing, but want to leave a comment, by all means, please do so. You know how we bloggers cherish our comments! (so true) No e-mail addy means you don't want to be in the drawing - this should make it pretty easy. :)
And lastly, since I've posted a few shoe pictures, I thought I'd show the lastest in fur ware...

Does this look like 4 months old to you? It reminds me of the tweenage boys with the gangling feet we always teased them about. Don't know if you can see this, but I'm telling you this dog is slew-footed just like me - I have the perfect ballerina feet. Too bad that's all....sigh. LOL

Beautiful wedding day

2009-03-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

Warning, this is a fairly long post with lots of pictures. Only the brave dare go further.....
Well, my son was married this weekend to a darling girl. It was a beautiful wedding and we really had a lot of fun.
The night before was the rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's, an Italian restaurant that had food to die for! If you ever get the chance to eat there, I highly recommend it.
First, we have the happy couple....

then, my three children...

then my DH and me....

then all my children (one's not official, but we still claim him as one of our own)....

The wedding day dawned nice and rainy, though the monsoon didn't really hit until after the ceremony. It was raining so hard that no one wanted to decorate DS' truck, as they'd get soaked and it would wash right off. Worked for me, because we were picking the truck up at the hotel to bring it back to Raleigh and we'd be the ones cleaning it up. :)
Luckily for us - no outdoor wedding - and everything went off as planned. The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome and the wedding party and singer (son-in-law) looked great, too.
Mom and son before the wedding....

father and son.....

groom having pics made beforehand....

Sisters...you gotta love 'em.... Kimberly was so sweet; she included them as bridesmaids...

Bride getting ready with her sister and mom's help.....

Immediately after the ceremony....look at those smiles!

And various pics from the reception...first dance, but definitely not the first kiss!

the in-law dance....

and the race to the getaway truck!
The deed was done, so we got together with my three brothers and SILs' and close friends from FL who came up and stayed with us. We crashed after the long ride home in the rain (well, not too long when you think of driving from FL to NC.) Everyone was gone by mid morning Sunday, which happened to be my BD. With all the excitement of the wedding, it was nice to reflect on all the blessings we've received in our family. We love both our DIL and SIL and couldn't be happier for our children. We've already told the youngest DD's BF, that he's in all the photos; he can't go anywhere. :) In celebration of my BD and that I've been blogging for a little more than a year, I'm going to join in the fun and host a giveaway. But this post has been long enough, so I'll give more info on that the next time. Thanks for looking at our family celebration!

Going to the chapel........#2

2009-03-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married.......

The wedding is this weekend and all is set; at least, I sure hope so. :) It's hard to believe in 23 short years my baby boy has gone from this....

to this....
Notice the peephole below his ear - almost looks like an earring. LOL We take off Fri. AM to start the festivities. They're both so excited - I'm a very sentimental person, so I'm not sure how I'm going to do at the wedding. Music is what normally gets me and the song they're having sung is one of my all time favorites from 1995-96, "If You Could See What I See" by Geoff Moore and the Distance. They were a contemporary Christian band back then. Our fairly new SIL is singing it and he has a beautiful voice. So I have a feeling there will be tears....

I was given the choice of the song for the mother-son dance. Mine's a little unorthodox as it's a really sweet love song, but I'm asking the DJ to preface it with why it was chosen. One of my most favorite memories is Matthew walking around the house at three years old singing Restless Heart's "I'll Still Be Loving You" all the time. Of course, his version included lubbin, instead of loving, and that's what was so cute. So I asked them to play this song. Hmmm...could be another tear jerker for me!

My office is closing it's doors March 31, so it's off to find a new job when I get back and I sincerely hope time to get back to some stitching! Until then, everyone take care and God bless.

Where Does Time Go?

2009-03-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post. I've done very little stitching since then, alas. But I do have my heart finished for Cindy's piece in the Friendship RR.

My youngest DD, BF and two other friends came home last week for spring break. Always amazes me how they seem to change each time they go away and come back home. And changes are in the air. DS is getting married in 10 days and there are always a few last minute details to tend to. Here they are two weeks before the big day. And a pic of all my girls, too.

I waited a little longer to get a dress this time (take my advice; don't do this) and had a really hard time finding what I wanted. Finally did, but I still need to figure out the shoes. Guess I'd better get on the stick, huh?
I've bitten the bullet and ordered a HAED, Secret Garden 3. There's a lot of black background, so I opted to stitch it on black lugana. Aren't these the most beautiful colors? I just couldn't resist. If I ever finish this one, I'm going back for more with the Jane Wooster Scott prints. But that's way in the future!

Wendy and Cindy have started a HAED SAL blog, which is a blast. Be sure to check out all the fantastic stitching. I've not been familiar with the company before, not having ever ordered from them. Let me tell you it was an absolute pleasure to deal with them & I highly recommend their service.
I am dying to get started and include some of my other WIPs in a rotation. However, times being what they are at the moment, I'll settle for after the wedding. I also joined the Monopoly SAL and need to work on the travel sampler, too. I hope I can stitch a long, very long time. :)

Wendy also gave me an award. Thank you so much, Wendy! I must say that it does make my heart smile when I read the comments and encouragement you all give and your own blog posts. But it seems like everyone has been given an award recently, so I think I will wait a little while and then name the 10 blogs. I don't want to duplicate too much. :)

Another pic of our "three month old baby". I actually have a question - how long are dogs flexible enough to lie down this way??? It concerns me some, sort of weird-looking. I think we have half dog, half frog. Hope that's not an omen for my stitching.....
Forgot to ask the vet about it - probably still flabbergasted at the thought that our sweet little puppy will be "at least 90 pounds" more than likely when grown......cough, sputter. Our last retriever was 70-75 - what in the world happened? She mentioned that a purebred retriever came in and weighed 173 pounds. I'd expect that from a known larger breed, but a retriever? Strange. The vet said that when the dog left, she looked at the staff and said - ok, now, I don't do ponies! LOL This vet was soooo funny talking about neutering dogs and men's reactions to the piece of news that their dog was now eligible. Love to be a fly on the wall and watch their faces. :) with an evil grin......

Oklahoma! and the Rest of the Weekend

2009-03-05T00:50:00.000-08:00

Happy dance for me! I finished Ebb Tide and stitched my heart and some of the border, then sent off my sampler for the Friendship RR. I'm really looking forward to this.

This past weekend was such a blast. I flew to Tulsa, OK, for a quick visit with my brother and family. Here they are at the Aquarium.

It was awesome - so much so that I posted some of the cool pics.

On the way in from the airport, we stopped off at The Silver Needle. I can't say enough good things about this LNS. We all have our home LNS that we love, but it's so exciting to go out to different LNS' and see what's around and look at all the models. SN is absolutely packed with them.
I walked in, introduced myself as a fan from NC, and they gave me the tour of the place, front and back. It is massive and they have a huge ONS business. I was so impressed with their set-up and friendliness. There were models everywhere. They must have had every Mill House pillow, etc., in existence stitched.
I was good, however, and only bought two. Mainly because we had three children in the store with us who were dying of boredom and we couldn't stay but so long. I could have spent hours there, for sure, but I was there to spend time with family, not shop! Probably saved me some money - LOL.

Isn't if fun to get mail (not bills), especially stitching mail? The mailbox was overflowing this week, and so fun. First I received my Monopoly pattern from Shelley with the Monopoly SAL group. Then I received my order from 123 Stitch, which was a gift from Rhonda in ILCS for winning bingo, and of course I added another chart. LOL Then the first RR came in and it's beautiful! Can't wait to stitch on it this weekend.
So here's a pic from SN and the mail.....

A big thank you to all who have encouraged me with comments about my mom. She's doing much better and her "good" eye is just super dry, which has been causing the problem. Nothing else has happened there, so we are counting ourselves blessed.

And lastly, I leave you with pictures of the winter that hopefully will soon be gone, even though we don't get snow very often. I can truthfully say that Montana thoroughly enjoyed it. But it's supposed to be 79 here this weekend. Come on in, Spring!

I know, I know, I'm like a new mother......but seriously, isn't he adorable????
Glad someone could enjoy the cold weather!

Award

2009-03-04T21:34:00.001-08:00

Carolyn gave me this award - thank you so much! I consider it an honor. I'd like to share this award with the following wonderful bloggers.

Sharon
Nancy
Shari
Joy
Lizzy
Sherry

Friends and Stitching

2009-02-24T07:46:00.001-08:00

Karen passed on this award to me today. Thank you so much! I do treasure my friends here in this XS world. Many of you I would never have met or even known. How sweet is that? Can I tell you how much I love connecting with this group of XS friends on the net and in person? I truly do; oh, & I love XS, too. :)
There are many of you who have received this award already, so I'll try not to name you again.
Here's a description of this special friends award:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon's of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. Choose eight friends to share this with.

So here's my list and I would love to include so many more......

Kathy K., Kathy H., Kelly, Sadie, Shelleen, Rene, Meari, Cameo, Gabi, & Donna.

I cannot lie - for those that counted the names, I confess - I named ten... (hanging head in shame - not really!)

I received a giveaway chart from Kathy K. this week. I think this is going to be a pass-along. Kathy signed and dated it and when I stitch it, I'll do the same and then post for a giveaway to the next lucky person. Isn't this such a cool idea? Wonder how far this one can go?

Kathy also included some of the GAST needed - thanks, Kathy! Note my little "helper" with the threads - yep, the demon Zoe herself. Though I must say, she is much improved since Indiana's death. Very strange, indeed. To say that she and Montana have "bonded" is really stretching it, but he's no longer afraid of her hisses and swats. Obviously, she hasn't bitten him yet. He's just a clueless pup who doesn't realize the utter seriousness of her attacks! LOL

I'm almost done with Ebb Tide and I do like the blue used in the Scotch and small Rhodes' squares. On with the border and it's a wrap.

And on a final note, my mom and I are going back to the retinal specialist today. She has dry macular degeneration which unexpectedly turned into wet (hemorrhaging) in her right eye. Mom's first injection in that eye helped tremendously, though it's been such a gradual change, she can't tell as much. The doctor literally had tears in her eyes when she saw the results of Mom's OCT scans, etc. She's a real keeper, BTW. After receiving that encouraging news, Mom's left eye suddenly seemed a little blurry. Since we're ultra paranoid now about any type of vision change, hoping it's not another hemorrhage, I called the dr. We don't think it's really anything wrong this time, but she wants to check her, just to be safe. My mom is ultra independent and an avid reader; to lose sight in both eyes would be a major blow, as it would be for anyone. But we're praying for the best. Hugs to all.