Mother Is Love

Hey everybody!  I am so glad you came by.  Thank you for your kind comments, they make me smile. :)

I have been gardening.  I got the chocolate heart garden reduced a bit in size.  This required moving quite a few perennials inward.  I had to hand dig the grass out.  Even pull tiny bits out from between iris tubers.  Stupid grass that crept in!!

Mother Is Love by Tricia Wilson Nguyen

Mother's Day present for mom on Chocolate Ruffles Heuchera

Chocolate Heart Garden April 2012

So I also stitched.  This is the present I just made for my mother.  Mother Is Love is the name of this freebie.  I have had this pattern in my stash for a long time.   I knew I wanted to make it for my mom, just needed to finally do it.  I did not use the tent stitch with this as called for, just all cross stitch.  I also did not use silk threads, just my good old dmc for me! :)  I found a few color conversions, but not all.  I just chose what looked good to me.  I stitched it one over one on on tea dyed 35 count linen.  I had to hand sew the whole thing while finishing.  That caused stress, but I prevailed.  The cluny lace was the bugger.  It was twice the width it now it.  It had a satin ribbon running down the center.  I simply pulled out the ribbon, cut it in half and then attached it by hand.  I found all the trims and backing fabric at JoAnn.

Have a fabulous day you guys. I will be back soon.

Stitching and finishing something else :),
Vickie

Giveaway Giftie

Good morning everyone!

It is a beautiful, sunny day here!  I have been doing massive gardening work. Do you know what this is?  It is our new espaliered McIntosh apple tree!  Hooray!  I grew up with a McIntosh apple tree in the yard.  Loved that tree. :)  Many happy memories.  Climbing, finding inchworms, eating apples of course!  So I have had this idea in my head for quite a few years now.  We purchased this little tree off of ebay if you can believe it.  I could find no one locally selling a young McIntosh tree for me to trim the way I needed to.  So Brian and I worked on this together and we will now watch it grow.  We won't be able to pick apples for 2 years.  Oh the waiting.

So I was the winner of Theresa's giveaway!  Hooray for me!  I had never won a giveaway.  Just take a look at what she made me.

If you check out her blog at the link I jut gave you, you will see she just went to Paris!!  The thread she used on this is actually grey variegated.  Look what fabric she used for the flatfold.  I absolutely love it!  Pink. :) ♥

She also sent all of these goodies. These were all purchased on her trip.  Can you believe it?!   And yes these are a few of my many poodles.  Did you think I could pass up poodles with Paris?.tee hee!  

Lovely gifties form Theresa

The small tin with the Eiffel Tower on it is filled with chocolate caramels.  Not for long!!  Isn't that a fabulous postcard?  With the hand stitched Eiffel Tower.  Love it.  I cannot wait to use these wonderful threads and trims Theresa.  Especially the beautiful purple silk ribbon in that little box.
I have to tell you that when I received this yesterday I was filled with emotion.  It is amazing to me the kindness shown by fellow stitchers.  My Madeleine said "But why would she make something so pretty and give it away?"  So I explained to her the wonderfulness of all of you!  Isn't it wonderful to belong to this community??!!  I think so.  I know so!!   THANK YOU THERESA!

Thanks for visiting me today everyone.  Welcome to all my new followers.  I am glad for all of you! ♥

digging in the dirt, stitching and praying,
Vickie

I have been in the garden

Hey everybody!  I hope you are all doing well and are safe where you are at. 

Huckleberry Fudge and Chocolate Chess Irises  June 2011

So I have been working every day in the garden.  I have this large heart shaped flower bed that has moved with us twice now!  My husband gave me seeds and plants that are "chocolate" since I am a chocolate fanatic! :)  This was for our 10th wedding anniversary.

Chocolate Heart Garden   June 2011

So I love gardening.  My body doesn't so much anymore.  I can't do major lifting or shoveling without serious injury/pain to my left hip.  I have been working on my hands and knees for almost a week now.  It is slow going.  Percocet!!

The problem is grass.  Some weeds, but grass has crept in under those rocks.  I have chocolate chip ajuga(bugleweed) for a ground cover.  Even in the areas that it completely covered the ground, that darn grass grows into it.  I have had to dig it ALL out.  I have dug many plants in the garden out also.  Then I replaced them.  I have moved each rock in about 3 inches.  This will make the heart  a bit smaller.  I had left more room on purpose for additional chocolate plants.  As the money for more plants is not anywhere to be found, I am moving it in.  This will make it easier for me to manage. Once this yucky part is all done!  AAHH!!

Okay, isn't this an adorable picture of Mabel?  Madeleine took it this week.  She was barking and being sassy.  Maggie and Mabel hang out in the yard with me while I garden.  Mabel is the garden assistant however.  When I pull weeds she has her nose 1 inch from my hands.  She then "kills" the weed for me. :)  It does get messy with her spreading the weeds about.  She doesn't do every one thank goodness!  It gets a bit counterproductive.

taken by Madeleine

The little female sparrow having a bath in the teacup bird bath. 

I have been stitching, just not much.  I am working on a Mother's Day project for my mom. 

I have also been reading Hush Now, Don't You Cry by Rhys Bowen.  It is a new book for our library so I only get it for one week.  I am overdue right now, but I am almost done with it. I will just keep it, finish it and pay the fine.  Otherwise I would have to get on the waiting list again as she has popular books!  This is a good one.  Another historical fiction mystery in the Molly Murphy series.  This one takes place in 1903.  Molly is a female detective.  Very unusual in those days.

gardening, stitching, reading and praying,
Vickie

How about a pretty, pink post with a pretty, pink finish?

Good morning everyone!
YOU are a real piece of work!  Yes, YOU!
 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10   ♥ ;) ♥

So this is the view nowadays outside my bedroom window.

You can see my pink pansies, so happy in our window planter.  My neighbors own this lovely tree.♥

French freebie stitched on 28 ct white evenweave

second poodle bottle cap magnet finish ♥

So I found this cute toy poodle here.  I knew right away that I would use it for another bottle cap magnet.  I started with the black and stitched it all up using 2 strands.  Also did the dark pink color in 2 strands.  I was thinking that this would give it a real fullness.  When I began stitching the pink with 2, it was becoming really distorted. Yuck!  I frogged it and stitched the pink one over one.  I wouldn't do it that way again, but it seems fine.  It seems to make it cartoonish or something.  Whatever!  It is just a magnet.

stitching and praying,
Vickie

The Easter Finish (and cow pies!)

Hello people!  I hope you are having a fantastic day.

I finished stitching Rejoice on Good Friday.  I decided to finish it in a flatfold.  So that meant refreshing my memory with Vonna. :)

Rejoice by Plum Street Samplers

I am hoping someone is appreciating these pictures I took yesterday morning,in the shade , in 38 degrees, with a very cold north wind blowing!

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct cream Meran linen

I went off to the quilt shop to look for backing fabric.  My husband helped me decide on this very different one called Figgy Pudding by Moda.  It seems to work well with these colors.  This was a hard piece to find a good, pleasing match.  The husband says I am too picky.  I told him after I put so much into a piece I do not want to just schlup the finish together.

From dusk to dawn, from start to finish, from death to life, from cross to throne... Jesus is risen!

I am very happy with the results considering I finished it on Holy Saturday and on Easter Sunday in a narcotic induced trance.  Let me just say, I almost cried.  I almost destroyed the mounting completely.  Much prayer, chocolate and deep breathing saved it.  For fear you think I am a druggie, I tore and stretched ligaments in my left SI joint(hip joint) 7 years ago in a bad fall.  I have been living in pain every single day since.  I have tried many, many procedures, injections, physical therapy, gizmos, gadgets, creams, whatever!  I take two different meds to basically trick my body and nerves.  When I slip, trip, get bumped, or misstep, my pain level spikes.  Then I need the percocet.   Blech!  Let's not talk about it!

Okay, so, have you ever heard of Cow Pies?  I mean this kind.  My youngest brother gave each of us one of these on Easter day. :) Oooo! Yummy!

I finished the new book from the library, Barn Quilts.  I enjoyed it pretty much.  It was a bit of a document or it seemed a little like a research project.  The pictures were great.  There were also touching personal stories from farm families.

I just began reading Hush Now, Don't You Cry another new book, and another one by Rhys Bowen.  Two books ago I read  Naughty In Nice.  That was a good mystery in a different series by the same author.  This one I am beginning is from the Molly Murphy Mystery series.  Very good series.  I have been reading along through a few years here, since the beginning when Molly fled Ireland to come here to America.

Thank you for your comments.  I am so glad you are here. :)

stitching and praying,
Vickie

Hallelujah! He Is Risen!

Good morning everyone!  So glad to have you here. :)
I promised pictures of my giftie to Ruth.

Where Stitchers Meet

This was a freebie I had in my stash.  I just knew I wanted to stitch it for Ruth, for her birthday.  We met through an online stitching group, and I am ever so glad we did. :)  This is called Where Stitchers Meet.  It can be found here.  I decided to make it a pinkeep, as I don't recall seeing one on Ruth's blog before.  I thought something a bit different would be nice.  I knew it had to be done up in red, as that is Ruth's favorite color.  I had the backing fabric in my stash.  It worked wonderfully with the gold in it.  I relied on Barbara for help with the sweet little bow. I stitched this on 32ct oyster linen.  2 over 2.

Perhaps you remember this.

Well, it is no more! :( 
Emerson and Madeleine played a little baseball and wouldn't you know!  Yep, Madeleine hit it. She felt terrible.  If you recall, it was the only one of it's kind at JoAnn.  We are thankful that there were no birds nesting in there yet.  Especially eggs!

It took us a few days, but this is the replacement we bought at T.J.Maxx.  It is solid wood.  I think we will stick with wood around here.  Many, many cute ceramic ones out there, but just in case!

I have my Easter finish to share with you, perhaps tomorrow.  I am currently stitching another poodle bottlecap magnet. tee hee!

stitching and praying,
Vickie