More Vintage Needlepoint

Hey everybody! How are you? We are hot! As in 108 degrees yesterday hot! Yucky poo! More of the same for today also. The grass is very dry and brown. Good stitching weather though, inside of course! That is what I have been up to, my patriotic piece. Oh and I did purchase this off of etsy.

More birthday money fun! It is not perfectly stitched, but I don't stitch perfectly either I am trying to remind myself. I tend to like perfection. Letting the little imperfections in this piece go is a challenge for me actually. But it is mine right? And it is great right? And our kitchen is a pale yellow. And it makes me think of Mabel. ♥ After subtracting the price of shipping, we actually paid $7.90 for this!! I know!

Chocolate Ripple Daylily

Michelle contacted me yesterday afternoon to let me know I had won the name competition! She wanted name suggestions for her Singer Treadle Sewing Machine. I suggested Ethel. That was my great aunt's name. She gave me my first sewing machine when she could no longer sew with hers due to arthritis. Upon her death, I received her White Treadle Sewing Machine. It was in working order, until about 5 years ago. The leather belt snapped. As I do not sew with it and money is tight I have not gotten it replaced as Michelle replaced hers. Michelle told me that she also had a Great Aunt Ethel who sewed. I think that is really neat. :)

Welcome to my new followers! I am so glad you found me. Thank you to all of you who comment. It is such a joy to read all your comments and know your friendship. :) Ladies I am almost at 100!! Then I will give away the Christmas Friends chart.

Have a wonderfully, stitchy day!

Stitching and barely reading and praying,
Vickie

A Little Bit Of Christmas In June

Hey everybody! I finished stitching this last night. This is the chart I was given by Nataly in her recent giveaway.

2 over 2, on 32ct lambswool linen

It is Christmas Friendship by Nikyscreations. I used lambswool instead of natural linen, a personal preference. I also used two strands of floss instead of the recommended one. I will leave this for final finishing into a pin pillow for now. I am moving on to a patriotic stitch.

Now that I have stitched this, I would like to give it away. That is exactly what I will do once I reach 100 followers. :)

Have a super day with lots of stitching!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

The Traveling Pattern Is Moving On To California!

Hey everybody! How the heck are ya? I drew the winning name this morning. The traveling pattern is moving on. Annette! The bunny is coming your way. Please email me your address.

I used my cool, little sequined and beaded poodle coin purse to hold the names of the ladies wishing to stitch the bunny. It is the only thing I ever used it for! HA! Brian bought it for me a few years ago.

This chocolate daylily is called Chocolate Splash.♥

These two pictures above of the different violas, are what I call little survivors. They both grew from seed spread by the wind and birds from last year. They popped up this spring in the cracks of the driveway. I give them a little water almost daily, but they are tough little ladies. :) There are probably a dozen and a half of them scattered around.

I am stitching a Christmas piece right now.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

God Bless America

Hey everybody! How are you? I hope you had a wonderful, stitchy weekend. I stitched just a wee bit last night. After my husband and I hung this on the front of our home.

This is what I was creating this weekend. :) I used a pair of my blue jeans for the top of each bunting piece. I found the red with white stripe material on clearance at JoAnn. The whole project cost about $12.00, because I bought a bottle of Stiffy to use on the red fabric pieces. I applied it and wasn't all that impressed with the product I guess. I just thought maybe the bunting wouldn't flap and flip over so much.

Well anyhow, I am happy with the end results. I have noticed I am extremely close to 100 followers. I am going to give a chart away when I reach 100. :) Maybe that will be soon, keep watching.

"Little Miss Innocent"  "What cross stitch charts and fabric? I am not laying on them."

I will draw a name tomorrow for the Traveling Pattern "Bunny". If you did not enter your name for a chance to be next to stitch him, and you want to stitch him, head back here.

Have an extraordinary day. May the Lord bless each and every moment of each and every day of yours.♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Vintage Needlepoint

Hey everybody! Happy, blessed Sunday to you. I hope you are having a great day. :) Hello new followers, so glad to have you here!

Just have a look at what came in the mail for me yesterday!

Oh man! I love it! I found this on ebay. I used some birthday money from my brother to get this.

  

Not exactly what my brother would have picked out for me! tee hee! I have a collection of vintage poodle needlepoint hanging in the kitchen. I will have to take a picture in the future to show all of you. 

 

Now does this piece remind you of anyone? ;)

Have a great day everyone!

Crafting and praying,

Vickie        

The 45 count Poodle Magnet

Hey everybody! I finished stitching this little poodle up two days ago. I finished her off into a magnet this morning. :)

one over one, 45 ct white Italian linen

This one is by far my favorite of my poodle freebie magnets. She is so pretty.♥ Not sure what the reddish color is on the inside rim of bottle cap, it is not really there. I will say, I stitched the black first, and that was NOT a problem. I actually got quite a bit stitched without magnification. ONE OVER ONE ON 45CT LINEN!! It was the pink stitching that didn't go smoothly at all. Thanks again to Mouse for suggesting the tent, or half cross stitch. That helped me even get pink stitching into this little piece. Is she perfect? No way. Would I do this again? No. I would do just the black again, but not fill her in on 45ct. Well, she is done and I do not have to worry about it any longer now do I?

She was a freebie I found here.

All of these hollyhocks and sweet peas I grew from seeds. The last one is in the chocolate heart garden. It is actually called black hollyhock, but as you can see it is a dark reddish brown. So I prefer the name I gave it, Dark Chocolate hollyhock. ;) See Shirlee, you can go right ahead and name your plants!!

No stitching for me today. But I am crafting with fabric. More to come!

If you want a chance to win the Traveling Pattern "Bunny", take a look at my last post and leave a comment there. :)

Have a super weekend. I have new followers, hello ladies!! So glad when everyone stops by and leaves me a comment. It sure brightens my day.

Crafting and praying,
Vickie

Chart Giveaway

Hey everybody! I am doing a little better every day. Thank you so much for your concern. Thank you most especially for your prayers. :) I would think it would take a full week for the pain to settle back down. Good thing I was able to obtain the percocet yesterday afternoon.

Well, I finished stitching up this little cutie last night.

Bent Creek Littles Bunny

If you recall, I just stitched him and made him into a scissors fob for June a couple of weeks ago. He is sooo adorable that I just had to have him for my very own also.♥

32 ct lambswool, two over two

Mr. Adorable here is now available for the stitching! He is a traveling bunny. ;)

Traveling Bent Creek Bunny Chart
Tricia at The Stamper's Stitches
Sally at Stitchyangel's Treasures

Traveling Pattern Giveaway

Aren't my old majolica knife rests cool? My husband bought those for me about a year and a half ago. They came from France.♥ No, you can't have them!

So if you would like to be next to stitch up this little Bunny, you need to do two things. Number one is be or become a follower here. :) Number two is leave a comment on this post only, stating that you would like to be next to stitch him.  That is it! I will draw a name next week Tuesday, June 26th.

Last night, after I finished the bunny, I took out that poodle for the magnet. After much thought, and consideration of all your comments, I decided to go with Mouse's idea. I do not know why I didn't think of that myself. Actually, I think I do. My thinking isn't the clearest while on percocet! She had advised me to make half crosses/ tent stitch it. I have begun and it looks great. I will continue on with that today. THANK YOU MOUSE FOR YOUR FABULOUS IDEA! The poodle is receiving her pink!! :)

I had recently had a giveaway for a Just Cross Stitch Magazine. Jo was the winner. She received it and likes it very much. She in turn sent me a magazine she also had a double of. :)

gift from Jo

I am pleased to tell you it has wonderful projects inside. My favorite being the pansies, imagine that! Thank you again Jo.

That is it for me today follks. I hope you have a fantastic day.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Kicked! :(

Hey everybody! I hope you had an excellent weekend. I hope Father's Day was special. We had lunch and spent time with my MIL & FIL yesterday. My father died four years ago. I wish that I could write wonderful stories or a tribute to my father as I see being done by so many ladies. Wonderful and heart warming those words are. My Dad was not a good father. I will not go further.

So the Indy Car race on Saturday was good. We had a one and a half hour rain delay. Michael Andretti created Indy Fest this year and will again next. Your ticket got you in for the race and all the rides were free. We went on the Ferris wheel. The kids went on the zip line also.

It all was fine til we sat in our seats. It is bleacher type seating with a back to them. There is an opening between the seat back and the bleacher. First I was kicked in my, you guessed it, left SI joint(hip) twice by a man. He apologized. I tried not to cry. I took a percocet I had brought "just in case".

Then, we realized we were up one row too high. I thought that was great, to get away from the big footed man. Well, no. The probably thirteen year old behind me here kicked me three times in the hips if you can even believe it. It was so surreal. Why?? Why directly into my hip? Well, the third time that boy kicked me, mama was ready and lightening fast. Yes, I actually grabbed his foot. Mama was in pain, lots o pain. I turned around while still holding his foot, and told him,"You have kicked me three times. I have a hip disability. It hurts." He apologized and told me his foot slipped. I do understand. I really do. It was wet from the rain still. I did release his foot. His father leaned forward and Brian tried explaining the situation to him. I say tried because you have to remember Indy cars are loud. VERY LOUD. So this entire conversation is yelling. Well the father replied with an "Okay". What?!? I just figured whatever. What is he gonna do anyhow. The damage is done. 

Well I took the remaining half a percocet in tears. Me bringing one and a half percocet was considered on the extra cautious side. HA! I woke up this morning still in pain. It is getting better, just very slowly. I need to call the doctor for more percocet, I have one left. Not good at all.

So sorry to rant here ladies. I wanted to tell you how the race went since I had mentioned it. Um, how about a nice picture of my pansies.

Or a cute shot of Mabel and Maggie? :)

Things will get better. They always do. 

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43:5

Praying and stitching,

Vickie

Come and see what Nataly gave me! :)

Hey everybody! Take a look at what I received from Nataly! I was the winner of her Mystery Giveaway. :)

Isn't it wonderful! How generous to give me everything needed for this Christmas friendship chart. And more!! Would you like to see my most favorite part of it all honestly?

ooOoo! I love these counting pins Nataly made. Aren't they lovely?!? I have been truly wanting some for myself. Thank you Nataly! This set is truly beautiful.♥

So I still have not made a final decision on the poodle magnet. I thank you all for your good ideas. While I ponder that pink situation, I am stitching the Bent Creek Bunny again. I had stitched him up and then finished him off as a scissor fob for June's birthday. But I really wanted/needed him for myself. His face! His adorable, little face!! I just have to have it for myself as well. I started him last night, just before bed. This is where I got.

Now I am a One Stitching Project At A Time Kind Of Gal. So yes, this little guy will be finished next. Then I will have a drawing to see who he goes to next. BUT, today we are going to watch the Indy cars practice at the race track in West Allis. After that we are headed to the Milwaukee County Zoo. So there will definitely not be much stitching time today at all. Tomorrow takes us back to West Allis for the "Indyfest",as it is being called this year. My FIL bought us the race tickets. There are free rides and such. So we will be gone all morning and afternoon tomorrow. Never fear! I will get in some stitching this weekend!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

45 count......any ideas to help me??

Hey everybody! I finished stitching up all the black of the little poodle for my next magnet. I began the pink to fill in her fur. Oh my! It was nearly impossible to stitch it straight. The black went so smoothly.

I began on her front foot. I removed all the stitches last night. Oh man! That was horrible! What am I doing wrong? Does anyone know how to fill in all those lovely swirled poofs of poodle fur with pink DMC?!? I just don't see how I can get the stitches in there all straight and orderly like the black stitches are. It was all warped and lumpy and bumpy looking. Yucky poo! If no one can give me a helpful tip to get it done well on this 45ct linen, I think I will just have to finish the magnet off as is. Now you know I just love the pink. So I will incorporate some more of that pink velvet ribbon I have in my stash. Last time I was in JoAnn's they were discontinuing it! I love that velvet ribbon!

I thought I would show you this slate we hang at the back door. I have 4 of these slates that I bought about 15 years ago. One for each season. Well I realized that I was never crazy for the summer one. Sorry Beth, it's a bee hive with a bunch of bees. They are all hand painted by an artist. I thought about it and realized I could get our artist, Emerson, our almost 16 year old, to paint me Mabel on the backside of it.

 Didn't it turn out great?! I love it! ♥

 

 

Fuchsias that my husband surprised me with last month. :)

Pinks!!! or dianthus

Well that is it for today folks. Please let me know if have a tip for me on 45 count I appreciate it. Hello to Michelle my newest follower. So glad to have you. :)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

A scissor fob for June

Hey everybody! Thought I would finally show you the project I last worked on.

Bent Creek, The Littles, Bunny

32ct lambswool, 2 over 2

This is the little scissor fob I made for June. It was her birthday yesterday and she decided to wait until then to open it. I took these pictures a week and a half ago when the peonies were still in bloom.

32ct lambswool, 2 over 2

I found the perfect letter J for her in a book from our library. I wanted one with flowers, since she loves gardening so much. The book is titled101 Weekend Cross Stitch Gifts by Lesley Teare. I used "Love Letters". I am very happy that June likes it very much.♥

I love this little bunny very much. I received this chart from Sally and stitched it up. Then I realized it would be great for June who loves rabbits. I am going to stitch him up again for myself, after I finish the poodle! Then I will pass on the Bent Creek chart. :)

I totally forgot to tell June until this very moment! I placed a 2012 American penny in that fob. Thought that would be fun and give it a little weight. :)

I am still stitching on my latest poodle magnet. I really like this one. It is my favorite thus far.♥

I am reading The Tale of Castle Cottage by Susan Wittag Albert. I like it. I have liked this whole series by her. It is The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. They are based on her life in the Lake District. You know, Booklist says it best regarding these books- "A consistently charming series."

Hello to Teresa, my new follower. I am glad you found me. New followers are always welcome here!

Thank you for your many wonderful comments my friends. You are appreciated.♥ Have a fantastic day now.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

A little bit of garden work

Good morning everybody! Today is dear June's birthday. Happy Birthday June! I am happy to know that she received my gift and will open it today. That was the last project I had been stitching. Now you know why I couldn't show you yet! Soon.

Mabel says "Hi! And thanks for the prayers!" Here she is panting and smiling up at me in the backyard yesterday. The grass is turning a bit brown from our lack of rain and hot, hot weather around here. She will finish up the last of her medicine in a week. She is 90% of what she used to be. We still take her up and down steps, I think that will be permanent. That's okay. Her back legs slip a little if she gets real excited. Otherwise she is great.

Do you see the icky spider in it's web there? I don't kill the spiders outside the house. ;)

Lastly, this one is for Beth. I am not into bees myself. ;)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Baseball and sunburn

Hey everybody! How are you today? We all have varying degrees of sunburn around here. Mostly a bit on the back of the necks as we put sunblock on our faces. We went to a Milwaukee Brewers game with my youngest brother Jonathan, his treat. I am not a sports kind of girl. I don't mind attending a game once in a while. The three teens loved it. They enjoy whatever adventures Uncle Jon dishes up, since he is the one with the money! The seats we had yesterday cost  $110 a piece! Can you believe it?!? I still can't! Sorry, we just don't live that way. Now of course Uncle Jon had to give them the tailgate experience as well. Well not the "full" experience, as Brian and I do not drink and my kids certainly don't! But he did grill up some brats. We enjoyed a full lunch with all the goodies that I brought along as well. And we did win, 6-5 over the San Diego Padres.

That was actually my first tailgate "party", which cracked my brother up. We lead quite different lives. ;) Have you guys tailgated? Do you do that in your town? Do you guys eat brats? Do you know what a brat is? ;)

Sedum 'Chocolate Drop'

Hot Cocoa Rose

You need to head over to Parsley's blog for her giveaway here. Very cute.♥

Hope you guys are getting a little fun in the sun in. I haven't stitched all weekend. I will today. Thanks for your sweet comments, I love them! You are wonderful friends, thanks.♥

Looking forward to your answers to my questions from up above,
Vickie

What is that?

Hey everybody! Hope you are having a fantastic day. I am, despite this rotten pain.

So what is this?

Oh c'mon, what else?! The beginnings of a poodle! This is 45 ct white linen. I like it. I just have to use the magnifier.

I have been going for early morning walks in nice weather for a couple of years now with my mother. I have to take the kids into town for school. Two blocks away from Madeleine's school is McCarty Park. It has a nice path that goes around the large pond there. So once in a while my mother and I meet to walk. Today was most likely our last walk there. School is done for the year and Madeleine is finishing 8th grade tomorrow and is done with the church grade school. She is joining her brothers in high school!

So I brought the camera because I have been thinking of you guys, my devoted and well loved followers. I took this one of heron number one.

Great Blue Heron #1 McCarty Park, West Allis

Then I caught number two for you.

Great Blue Heron #2 McCarty Park, West Allis

And lastly number three.

Great Blue Heron #3 McCarty Park, West Allis

Aren't they wonderful? The one has been there for years. The two other joined in about two weeks ago. Sometimes they chase each other off if they invade in each other's space. Such a sight. They are so beautiful.

Mama duck and ducklings are so sweet!

Lastly, the girls say hi! Mabel is improved. She is probably 90% her old self. We continue to lift her up and down steps. The vet also says to hold off on all walks. She is being weaned off the steroid. She has been off pain pills for half a week. We will not ask her to do any of her tricks either. We are happy to still have our little Mabel, we just need to look out for her back for her.

Thanks for stopping by. You are appreciated. ♥

Stitching and praying,
Vickie