The Day After Christmas

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...

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??

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....

...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!

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...

...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. :)