Pink Hill Manor

Hi friends! I was stitching along on my lovely Pink Hill Manor and my eye caught something it did not before. WHAT?!? Why do the last two flowers in the border have a brighter pink in them than the rest of them?!

 It is impossible to tell from the above picture, but trust me, the 224 was NOT the 224. I even asked Brian and Madeleine to be sure. So I ripped out the offending floss and stitched in 224. Much better. I will show you an updated picture next time.

I forgot to mention on my last post that I had written down and saved three corrections to the floral border that I had come across. I wish I could recall where I came across this information. I cannot. If you want the pattern corrections, I am more than willing to share these with you, just send me an email. The corrections are all made here:

The latest book I have read is The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis.  Was it a good book? Yes. Have I ever read a bad book by Beverly? No. And I have read every single one of her novels.😁

When a well-to-do family asks Sallie Riehl to be their daughter's nanny for the summer at their Cape May, New Jersey, vacation home, she jumps at the chance to broaden her horizons beyond the Lancaster County Amish community where she grew up. Sallie has long dreamed of seeing more of the world, but her parents are reluctant for her to put off baptism yet another summer, and the timing is unfortunate for Perry Zook, who has renewed interest in courting her.

Though she loves nannying, Sallie has free time on the weekends to enjoy the shore. It is there that she meets Kevin Kreider, a marine biology student who talks freely about all he's learning and asks about her interests, unlike most of the guys she grew up with. Time with Kevin is invigorating, and Sallie realizes she's never felt quite this alive around Perry. Then again, Kevin is Mennonite, not Amish.

Sallie tries to brush aside her growing feelings for Kevin, but she fears what her parents would think about her new friendship. Just as concerning, however, is Sallie's realization that her time in Cape May is increasing her desire to see the world, challenging her plans for the future. Has she been too hasty with her promises, or will Sallie only find what her heart is longing for back home in Paradise Township?

I have learned Botox does NOT make me invincible to the sun.😢 I did get some gardening done this weekend. I cannot get gardening done in ANY kind of sun. I have to stick to really early morning hours, early in the evening hours, or if I want to risk it, work in the garden on a very cloudy day. Usually when it is cold and yucky and no one else wants to be out in the garden. I love gardening. Or at least I used to. When I could.

Thank you for stopping by today my friends. I appreciate your comments and most of all your friendship.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Pink Hill Manor

Hi friends! How are you? I hope things are going well for you and the weather is great where you are. I know some of you do not have things too great right now, and I am praying for you dear friends. If you need me to pray for you, just email me.💕

Thank you for all of your wonderfully encouraging comments you left me last time. You really know how to make a stitcher feel good!😉 I have been stitching on Pink Hill Manor by Blackbird Designs, the next pattern in the AotH series. There was a slight delay in my start because wow, the DMC colors they recommend do NOT come close to matching the picture on the pattern front. Why do I continue to be surprised by this?! I don't know! DUH! So I went through that painful process of pulling many, many flosses and making decisions and combinations and new decisions, but I do believe I have it all figured out to my liking now.

One over one on 25ct Cream Edinburgh linen

The two pink flosses shown are the two I used to make up the flowers in the borders. I just did my own thing with those flowers. Each flower contains both colors. Every other flower alternates which pink dominates it, if you know what I mean?

Here is the whole sampler thus far:

Have to use pink scissors with pink scissors fob on Pink Hill Manor!!

I had only two stitchers enter my giveaway for the cross stitch pattern Be The Brightest by Isabella Abiati of the Primitive Hare. The winner is 🐩 Varla 🐩

The Botox injections kicked in and are helping with the daily chronic tension/migraine headaches. Those are very reduced. This is great news. I will get another round of Botox injections in less than three months then. There is hope that the Botox injections can actually cure my headaches. AS IN TAKE THEM AWAY FOREVER! Oh please God, let it be so. The not so great news is that the Botox does not work on my menstrual migraines. Those are severe and usually last at least 5 days. I know from speaking with several of you, that many of you know about this first hand. It stinks real bad!! I have Relpax to get me through these times. It doesn't work that great, but it is better than nothing of course. Until I go "through my change" I think I will be stuck with these awful menstrual migraines for years. That is what I am reading and that is what you all are telling me. Oh boy.😞

I hope you have a wonderful weekend whatever you are doing my friends. Hug the ones you love. Say I love you today!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

120

Hi friends!

Yes! Here is the Final Countdown.

 Guess what?! I am done!! Yes! I gave them to my brother yesterday!

No more overall stitching. I am not thinking about if he gets more Bluegrass artists' signatures. He never asked me if this was hard to do. Or how long it took. IT TOOK 120 HOURS. He did thank me profusely. He also acknowledged that no one else on earth would do this for him. I had to agree with that.

I am now beginning pattern #4 of the AotH series. The best one!!💖😊💖 Pink Hill Manor of course!! I love this one!! Woo hoo! This is like my dream house! 😘 This sampler block is thoroughly pink. Since it is dedicated to my favorite color, I am also dedicating it to my favorite animal. Yep! I am taking out the two birds on the bottom and putting in two poodles. Pictures next time.🐩🐩


Man it feels good to cross stitch again!!

I would like to offer this cross stitch pattern, Be The Brightest by Isabella Abiati of the Primitive Hare.

This is a chart that is ripped out of the current Just Cross Stitch magazine. I will be folding the two pages so they fit into a business size envelope to save on postage. You must be a follower of mine and you must leave a comment on this post telling me you want to be entered into the giveaway. This giveaway is open to anyone of my followers anywhere. I will draw the name of the winner on May 26th.

I had The Jane Austen Project: A Novel by Kathleen Flynn on order from our library and waited patiently for it to be available. It is a new book and I was the first to read it. How sad and disappointed I was then to read it and not like it. The idea the author had for the story is a great one.This novel offers an unusual twist on the legacy of one of the world's most celebrated and beloved authors: two researchers from the future are sent back in time to meet Jane and recover a suspected unpublished novel. Neat, right? Yes, but this author fills the book with sex talk and swear words. Not for me. I don't think it is for Jane either.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalm 9:10 

Thank you for stopping by my friends. I hope you have a great weekend! 

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

I showed this picture last time. I had thought maybe someone would recognize this beauty. This is Elizabeth Taylor as a teen. She had a number of poodles as pets over her lifetime. Smart lady!!

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Hi friends! I got the Botox shots for my headaches yesterday. Thank you for praying for me. I am hopeful these will work to reduce my pain or JUST GET RID OF THE HEADACHES ALL TOGETHER!

I have something super fun to share with you! Our friend Jo has featured ME this week as the Blogger of the Week! 🐩🐩🐩 If you are not familiar with this newer blog of Jo's, you can check out the blog, Blogger of the Week RIGHT HERE. You can read the interview I gave, and see pictures of my projects as well. Scroll back and enjoy interviews with other stitchers as well. Thank you Jo for this super, cool, awesome blog! It is such a neat thing for you to do.

I have been stitching up autographs on my brother's overalls all week. Here are the 9 I got done.

I will see  my brother tomorrow at my mom's house. We are celebrating Mother's Day and it is her 70th birthday. I am going to ask him if he can figure out the last autographs I have to stitch. I can not decipher them at all. I want to finish this embroidery project SO BADLY and move on to my cross stitch again!!

I finished reading Medals in the Attic  by Cathy Elliot over a week ago. Have you read the Annie's Attic Mystery Series? I read the first book in the series, The Lady in the Attic, several years ago and truly enjoyed it. It involved cross stitch! I looked for another book by the same author and did not find it. I did not realize this series has a different author for each consecutive book. That is different, isn't it? So Medals in the Attic was a nice, small town, feel good mystery. I will read the next in the series. Just not yet. I happen to have a pile up of books that I ordered waiting for me at the library!! I hate it when they all come at once! Argh!

From anniesmysteries.com: "Every visit to the spacious attic of Grey Gables is a new adventure of discovery … as is the case one rainy afternoon when Annie and Boots (Gram’s irascible cat) once again start exploring the treasures hidden in dusty boxes and trunks. This time — at the bottom of a box in the corner — Annie finds a pair of service medals from World War II in perfect condition inside a beautiful hand-carved wooden case with a glass top.

This is very curious because her grandfather’s medals are on display in the living room downstairs … so who could these spectacular medals belong to? And why have they been hidden away in the attic for years?"

Thank you for stopping by today and sticking with me through all this non-cross stitch stuff. I appreciate that!! Have a super weekend. If you are a mom,


Stitching and praying,
Vickie

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Hi friends! Today is the day I have been waiting months for. I am getting the second round of Botox shots this afternoon. All 31 shots in my head and neck. I was hoping maybe you could pray for me and keep me in your thoughts? I would greatly appreciate it. I am hoping and praying God will allow these shots to take away the daily headaches that have plagued me for over one year now.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 
 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts
Isaiah 55:8-9

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

5 Autographs

Hi friends! We have been getting lots and lots of rain here. The garden is growing. I finally have a few flowers blooming. I will get pictures and share next time. The poodles and I were able to get out into the garden several times and do a bit of work. So nice to take a break from the autograph embroidery.😉

Here is the cubby shelf display for May.

Here are the autographs I worked up this week.

Do I know who all of these bluegrass musicians are? Hardly. I do know I just finished up the rest of the McCoury family. And the last autograph pictured is Rhonda Vincent's. If you are into bluegrass you probably know her as the Queen of Bluegrass. She drew that tiny mandolin I had to stitch up there. Rhonda and my brother are mandolin players.😁

 I want to thank you my friends for sticking with me during this "most exciting signature stitching". I appreciate you!! Have a great weekend!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Emerson Finished!

Hi friends!  Emerson finished his woodpecker embroidery this weekend! 😁

I feel badly that I did not iron interfacing into the pocket for him before he began. You can see that the pocket is somewhat warped now. I just never checked closely. I let him go at it. I assumed the shirt was denim and it would not need it. I was WRONG. Well, Emerson's embroidery is still FANTASTIC, is it not?!

And he says he is not done.😉 He is thinking up new designs for other projects.

I finished one more autograph. 27 to go. 🙄 This was one HUGE autograph! My brother is a really big guy and this autograph takes up the whole upper back of the overalls.

It is Del McCoury. If you are into bluegrass music, you have probably heard of Del. I am working on his wife's signature next. Then his sons. Then...then...then... AHHHHHHHHH! I miss my cross stitch BIG TIME! 😣Must keep going. Must keep going.😣

I did the drawing for the Hello Spring chart by Nicoletta Farrauto of Nikyscreations and Wendy Fossa, you are the winner! I cannot contact you however because you are a no-reply commenter. Please contact me ASAP if you still want this chart!

I hope you all have a super week my friends! I am going to make the best of my signature embroidery. I am taking the advice of my smart friend Julie in Arizona. Stitch the autographs for Jesus. And so I am. I just need to keep remembering that when it gets old. And it DOES get old. Just saying.

Thanks for stopping by. You brighten my day with your sweet words.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie