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

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

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....

...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

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

"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.....

...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. :)