Calendar Poodle SAL

Monday, June 12, 2017

Snow Garden Personalized

Hi friends! What a windy, hot, hot weekend. In the 90's. I stayed inside to avoid making my headaches explode.

I finally worked out the personalization for every single sampler block in this AotH series. So I went back to the very first one stitched. Snow Garden. It was never personalized. It has now become Emerson's sampler.
There was a key motif where the "s" and "o" of his name are. I had to unstitch that. I also had to unstitch the eyelet part of the peacock's feather by the "n". And shorten the overall length of the feather by just a bit. Then restitch it all. I think it worked out very well. It is a bit trickier adding the names and dates since I am stitching all over one instead of how it is charted as over two with the personalizations in over one.

I have begun the border on Farm House. That is the first pattern in the second row. You can see part of it showing in the above picture.

Look what came in the mail for me for my birthday all the way from England!
Isn't she precious? I love her. This little girl is a gift from our friend June. Thank you again June.  ❤️
I finished listening to The Red Bandanna: A Life, A Choice, A Legacy by Tom Rinaldi last week. Wow, that was good. I thought I was prepared to go back to September 11th again. I guess not completely.

What would you do in the last hour of your life?


The story of Welles Crowther, whose actions on 9/11 offer a lasting lesson on character, calling and courage

One Sunday morning before church, when Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red handkerchief for his back pocket. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come; it became a fixture and his signature.

A standout athlete growing up in Upper Nyack, NY, Welles was also a volunteer at the local fire department, along with his father. He cherished the necessity and the camaraderie, the meaning of the role. Fresh from college, he took a Wall Street job on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, but the dream of becoming a firefighter with the FDNY remained.

When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’s parents had no idea what happened to him. In the unbearable days that followed, they came to accept that he would never come home. But the mystery of his final hours persisted. Eight months after the attacks, however, Welles’s mother read a news account from several survivors, badly hurt on the 78th floor of the South Tower, who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly twenty flights of stairs.  After leading them down, the young man turned around.  “I’m going back up,” was all he said.

The survivors didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna.

Tom Rinaldi’s The Red Bandanna is about a fearless choice, about a crucible of terror and the indomitable spirit to answer it. Examining one decision in the gravest situation, it celebrates the difference one life can make.
We have a family of Robins living in the espaliered apple tree in our back yard.  This is a picture from the day they were hatched.
It is going to be hot all week. I guess I will be stitching all week. I hope you have a great week my friends! Thanks for stopping by with your nice comments.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie


32 comments:

Maggie said...

It's been very windy here in the UK too, unfortunately we have also had a lot of rain to go with it.
What a great present from June :-)

Julie said...

Perfect gift from June.
Looking forward to seeing your personalisations on each of your blocks.
We've had some really windy weather this past weekend.

Carolien said...

Hello Vickie,

First of all: a belated Happy Birthday!!! I wish you a very good year-to-come. Did you hear my Hurray! across the ocean?
It's windy here too, strange weather.
Love your nest of robins, plus your stitches of course. I wish I could make some stitches, mmmm I'm having my holiday now so why not?

Hugs my dear friend and I hope the headaches aren't pestering you too much.
Love, Carolien

Mii Stitch said...

Lol, love the pink poodle teddy!!!
That is definitely you :)
Great personalisation on the stitching.
Do send us some heat, over in the UK it's way too cool and windy for this time of the year.

Mary said...

How sweet of June to send you the pink poodle!
Love your personalization on the Emerson block. Quite a challenge to adapt the blocks after they have been completed. It looks like it was made to fit there though, great job. Have a great week and hopefully headache free. Mary

Stasi said...

Like your personalization and pink poodle--so cute!

Stitchy Mc Floss said...

Love your stitching. Awww two sweet little poodles to admire today! Ok, the pink one isn't real, but still cute nonetheless. :)

Robin in Virginia said...

What a sweet pink poodle June sent you! Vickie, Emerson's block looks good; you did a great job with the personalization. Stay cool, my friend!

cucki said...

Aww such a sweet doodle June sent you..
Love your stitching so much
Big hugs x

MartinaM said...

A beautiful, first block. The motif I like very well. A very nice gift you got. A unique experience to see small birds grow - much joy with it.
Greetings, Martina

Manuela said...

I like your first block.
A wonderful and very cute gift from June.
Have a nice week and Happy Stitching.

Anonymous said...

Very pretty your "Snow Garden"! The next block border is looking great!!
Lovely gift, Vickie!
Happy stitching!

Linda said...

It looks great and I love your pink poodle Vickie.

Linda

Goofin' Off Around the Block said...

Oh my, but that pink poodle is absolutely the sweetest thing. I would imagine going back to personalize your sampler after the parts have been stitched would be a bit tricky. You're doing a good job in making the necessary adjustments. It will be a true keepsake when it's done. --Andrea

Lillie said...

Happy Belated Birthday Vickie. Lovely gift from June
and you've stitched the first block beautifully.

RJ said...

Hi Vickie! What an adorable gift from June...that is the cutest poodle and in pink too!!! I love how you personalized the block...looks perfect there. This is going to be such a wonderful stitched piece. Love it already. RJ @ stitching friends forever

Jenny said...

Hi Vickie,

Emerson's sampler block looks just wonderful! The patience you have in stitching all over one is amazing! I don't mind stitching over one occasionally but all the time? Oh how I admire you! I know I have said it before but you are so talented with a needle...smiles.

The baby robins are adorable! I live this time of year....new life in the garden....we have baby birds in our yard too...just too high up to get a picture...lol...I am particularly fond of the tiny hummingbird nests....

The book sounds really good too... thanks for sharing!

I hope you are having a good day my friend...Sam saw himself in the mirror for the first time so there has been much laughter this morning 😊 Sending hugs and love.

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

Your sampler is going to be an heirloom,great alterations on the first design.
I love your very pink poodle :)

Justine said...

Your pink poodle was the perfect gift! Great choice by June.
I love Emerson's block, it's so atmospheric with the snow and your personalisation is lovely.

Annette-California said...

Snow Garden is GORGEOUS! WOW! Love that you stitched the whole name Emerson - looks like it was meant to be right there. Perfect!!!
WOW so your stitching all these charts - WOOHOO!!!LOL!!!
Precious little birds! We are to have hot weather soon. Today its cool.
love Annette

Pull the other thread said...

Well done on your amazing stitching. You did a fantastic job adding in the personalisation and adjusting the image.

Brigitte said...

Emerson's block looks so great. Nice choice for him. This one over one looks so neat, I could never stitch this much over one and having it look so neat.
June knows you perfectly well, doesn't she? Such a lovely gift for your birthday.
I really loved to see the newly hatched robins in their nest.

Margaret said...

Love the personalization! Beautiful job! Love your present from June too -- adorable! Stay cool!

Von said...

The silver lining of your hot weather is that you get lots of stitching in and then you have good blog subject matter! :D

Andrea said...

Great personalisation. A wonderful gift from June.

woolwoman said...

your recounting of the heroic acts of this young man almost made me cry- my dad was a fireman for 44 yrs and they are truly unsung heros in every way - every day. Your block looks good - hope your weather cools off a bit. Cheers Mel

butterfly said...


So happy you liked your gift I saw it ages ago and just had to buy it for you.
Lovely stitching Vickie hugs.

Maggee said...

To me, you are the Queen of over-one stitching! Great job on personalizing the first block with Emerson's name. Just the thought of ripping some over one out, and then redoing it... wow! Not for me! Adorable pink poodle gift from June! I think I will skip that book, can't do sad right now. Hugs!

moreofhim said...

It's been horribly hot here, too, Vickie. It almost makes me ill. I hope your headaches have not gotten worse. I love your little sampler! So cute! I have no idea how you stitch over 1...I think I would end up pulling my hair out! lol Adorable baby robins! So glad you got to see them.

Blessings - Julie

Sarah in Stitches said...

I love what you've done with the personalization! Great job. Enjoy your sweet new poodle! :D

Astrids dragon said...

The changes look great, worth the unstitching!
Your pink poodle is perfect for you, what a fantastic present.
I hadn't heard that 9/11 story before, what an amazing man.

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