You Knew It Would Be Pink, Didn't You?

Hi friends! I finished my little PINK freebie.

Ha! Most of you guessed I would be stitching this up in pink.😉 I stitched this one over one with VMSS The Perfect Rose on Zweigart 28ct Annabelle evenweave. This little flat finish now lives in my cubby shelf for the rest of this month.

This freebie can be found HERE

I am now working on the February wreath for my cubby shelf.

I did the MRI yesterday morning. Now I wait to see the neurosurgeon to discuss the MRI and what is to be done with me. That follow up appointment is not until the 7th.

Not only do I have a book to share with you, I have THE AUTHOR to share with you! I just read Chasing Dragons by George Mazzeo. Okay? So what? Nope! George Mazzeo is our friend RJ's husband! Yes, that's right! Our friend RJ is married to an author.😎 AND,  George's book is fiction and just happens to take place right after WWII.😊 So I am in! I ordered that book and read it!

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I truly did. It even had a bit of a twist at the end.
In the aftermath of World War II, recently discharged Army Air Force pilot Duke Kellogg and his fledgling airline find themselves embroiled an adventure involving intrigue and missing treasure. The legend of the Golden Dragons has been debated from bar stools throughout the South Pacific for years, but most believe it to be nothing more than a good yarn. When a mysterious woman enters the Coral Pacific offices and claims to be the fiancée of a missing courier on a secret mission carrying gold to Chiang Kai-Shek, she sets in motion a series of events involving, deception, mystery and hair raising exploits. Through it all Duke, his copilot, Edwina Watt and flight mechanic Nick Minetti struggle to uncover the truth and survive while Chasing Dragons.

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

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15

Moonlight Visitor

Hi friends! I finished the next sampler block of my Anniversaries of the Heart sampler. Here is Moonlight Visitor!

As you can see, this block is for Brian.

This is stitched one over one on 25ct cream Dublin linen using DMC. I changed many of their suggested DMC, because once again, the ones they suggest do NOT match the picture on the pattern cover at all! So I did a floss toss til I found floss that matched.

Changes had to be made since I am stitching one over one. Not everything fits when you are stitching these up tiny!  The dog is missing and so is the date they had put in the upper left corner. I put Brian's birth year where the dog went.

This is how the whole sampler looks now.

I will take this back out again next month to stitch up the next block. Jacob is up next!

I am going to stitch up a cute little freebie I just stumbled across yesterday morning. It is not a new one at all. It will work very nicely for my cubby shelf though. Maybe you would like to stitch it too? This is what I will be working on today. Have a look HERE. I will leave you guessing as to what colors I will choose to stitch with.😉

As soon as I finish that little freebie, I will begin the February wreath for my cubby shelf. That way it will be completed and ready for display on the first day of the month.

What are you stitching?

Thank you for stopping by today. I am so glad you did.

We are expecting a little more snow tonight. Just enough to pretty things up again.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

(Looks just like me and Murphy right?)

You're The Best!

Hi friends! I will start this post by saying YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!! Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR, yes four friends from all different countries yet! are sending or sent me Margaret Sherry cat patterns. THANK YOU DEAR FRIENDS! I will be stitching a pattern up for my mom's birthday in May.😁🐱

I finished the January wreath which was a free pattern, but no longer is. You can still find it for purchase HERE

I stitched this one over one with the recommended DMC on cream 25ct linen. I mounted it as a flat ornament and it lives in my cubby shelf for the month of January!😘


I saw the neurosurgeon on Tuesday for the second opinion. This is the doctor for me. I FEEL so much better with this doctor. He said he treats his patients like family. He said we need to do an MRI first and then have a follow up appointment to see what needs to be done. He did look at my MRI of my neck from two years ago and he said my disc looked bad. I asked him if this will only get worse? He said yes they only get worse. I am now waiting for the insurance to give the go ahead on the MRI. Should I need to have surgery, I feel confident in this surgeon. He has performed the most artificial disc replacement surgeries in Wisconsin.

My purple orchid has begun blooming. This is the one my mom gave me when I had melanoma. I have had it for 3 1/2 years and it blooms every year. Brian also gave me an orchid when I had melanoma. What a coincidence! His is the pink and yellow one. That won't be blooming for a while, as there is just a little shoot coming up now.

Not the best picture, the snow out the window was bright!

So the audio book I just finished listening to is one I never imagined for me. The only reason I chose it is the U-505 connection. U-505? Um, yes. You may have noticed I read many WWII books? I have an interest in that. That started early in my life. VERY early. My grandfather fought in the European Theater in the Army in 1944-1946.

Sgt. Bruno E. Pietura

 My father was VERY into "war stuff" all kinds of war stuff. He had dozens of guns, helmets and well many things on display in our basement. He would talk about them to me. This is when I was 4 through about 6 years old.

To get back on track here, on New Years Day our family of five took a day trip to Chicago, Illinois to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We took a train. Well we took it home any how. The train had problems and we had to take a Greyhound bus to get down there! That was a let down, BECAUSE I had never taken a train in my life. Yes, Brian and kids had, me nope. So Brian came up with this day trip just to get me on a train, NO KIDDING, and then NO TRAIN! HA! No worries. We rode it home. Very nice. 😊 Sooooooo..... The museum has the U-505 submarine exhibit. Do you know what I am talking about? Because I never knew about this until Brian told me about it. Then I wanted to go see it. Here is a link to the museum exhibit: CLICK HERE  (Scroll down on the page to look around, it is cool!)

Good grief! The book! The book! The book is Playing With the Enemy by Gary W. Moore. This was interesting for me. It is about a young man who is crazy for baseball. Me? I am NOT crazy for baseball. I stayed with it though. I am glad I did. It is his life story. It did make me sad. I chose this book from our library because it was the only one available that had a U-505 connection.
Part Tuesdays with Morrie, part Field of Dreams a true American story of World War II and redemption

Driven by word of mouth and the author's heroic efforts to tell the world his father's story, Playing with the Enemy was a surprise hardcover hit for its independent publisher. Gary Moore's book about his father a baseball phenom whose future in the majors was cut short by World War II and a fateful occurrence during a top secret mission for the U.S. Navy is a warm-hearted memoir of faded dreams and new hope that is destined for the bestseller lists. Filled with memorable characters from an extraordinary time in our country's history, it is a truly redemptive story that will be read and reread for generations to come.

I am back to stitching on my big 'ol BBD AotH sampler. I will have a finish of a block next time.

I hope you have an excellent weekend my friends! I have thanked God for you!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

A Little Help From My Friends

Hi friends! Might any of you have a Margaret Sherry kit or pattern of a CAT that you will not be stitching or do not want? I have been searching for these, and cannot find them. I would like to make one for my mom. She has her cat Cutie, that is almost all black. That is easy to stitch. You have seen me make her black cat gifts here on the blog over the last few years. She just took in another feral kitten. This one they named "Tootsie"!😊I wish I had a picture to share, but she has a lot of white, with tiger stripes on her head and back. She is sweet. Thank goodness, because Cutie is NOT. She is a brat. She is only somewhat nice to my mom and that is it.😒

So anyhow, I was thinking if you have a pattern like this maybe: 

or

You get the idea. Please leave me a comment or email me. I will pay postage. 

Thank you my friends!

The first book I finished reading in 2018 is an audio book:  The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. This is a true story. Wow. A sad story. I would not expect a Holocaust story to be happy. What an amazing story of this young lady, named Dita AND the lives of her friends and family.

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, The Librarian of Auschwitz is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. 

Written with touching sensitivity by Antonio Iturbe, and translated by Lilit Thwaites, this audiobook provokes every emotional response and will not be forgotten.

Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

I am almost done stitching up the January wreath from Trésors de boîtes à couture 

What a beauty! This is going to make such a lovely piece for my cubby shelf.

Take care my friends. I hope you are well. We have been having the flu virus going through our family. Even once you are over it, there is endless coughing! I have it right now.🤒

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Lots For YOU

Hi friends! Thank you for your kind words on my last post I am so glad you like the ornament I created for my friend. I would like to show you the one I made for Brian. I gave it to him one day after Orthodox Christmas.😉

Isn't he great? I love this Russian nutcracker. Most importantly, Brian loves him. He chose this for me to stitch! I was printing off freebies I had found and showed them to Brian. He asked me right away if I would make this for him. You too can stitch this up. This pattern, along with many, many more freebies can be found RIGHT HERE I love this site!

I stitched this two over two on 28ct light blue linen with the called for DMC. The ornament is backed with pale blue crepe I had in my stash. I used 1/8 inch white satin ribbon around the edge, knotted on top and looped to make a hanger.

I also have MORE SUPER freebies to share with you. I have been printing these off all last year. I wanted very much to begin stitching these gorgeous wreaths last year, but I was committed to making Brian's gift for our 25th anniversary and the BBD AotH sampler. These freebies are going to be removed to the online shop any day now. The lovely French designer has said they would only be available until the end of the year. Well they are still there my friends. If you find these beautiful floral wreaths, one for each month of the year, as pretty as I do, then go now while they are still free! Print them before they are gone. You will find the charts HERE Just keep scrolling! You will find them!
🐩🐩🐩UPDATE!!🐩🐩🐩
Late Friday the freebie wreaths I directed you to above were switched from free to available for purchase in the Boutique. I am sorry my friends. I know several of you WERE able to get them for free. You can still own these lovely wreaths by purchase.

I have begun stitching the January wreath. Once I have completed it, I will go back to stitching AotH.

The winner of the SB Be Warm pattern is our friend Mel

The last book that I read in 2017 (which I truly finished this year, but read the majority of it last year, so I am counting it for 2017!) was The Proving by Beverly Lewis. Now you cannot get me to say anything bad about any of Beverly's books. She is a master story teller. I will read all of her books as long as she writes. This one was so intriguing to me. It is about twins who went their separate ways over a man! Two Amish sisters. That hooked me right there.
Amanda Dienner hasn't seen her Old Order family in five years when she receives word that her mother has passed away and left her Lancaster County's most popular Amish bed-and-breakfast. Now an Englisher, Mandy is shocked: Her twin sister should have been the obvious choice! What's more, the inheritance comes with a catch: The farmhouse inn will only truly be hers if she is able to successfully run it for twelve consecutive months.

Mandy accepts the challenge even though it means returning to Gordonville and the painful memories she left behind at eighteen. Still, she's determined to prove she is more than capable of running the bed-and-breakfast, no matter that its loyal clientele are expecting an Amish hostess!

The inn isn't Mandy's sole test, however. Rubbing shoulders with her married twin sister reopens wounds that Mandy isn't ready to forgive. And an Englisher guest with a difficult past of her own just complicates matters. 

Can Mandy fulfill the terms of her inheritance? Or will this year in Amish country prove a dreadful mistake?

I have an appointment for a second opinion with highly regarded neurosurgeon on the 16th.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

One Out Of Two Anyhow

Hi friends! We had a lovely Christmas yesterday. Thanks for cheering me on. I did get my friend Aliona's ornament stitched up and finished and given to her on time. Brian's, well, not so much. Close. Very close. Just not done yet. Here is the one I gifted Aliona yesterday.

Don't you LOVE this?! I saw this pattern just a few weeks ago and I HAD TO HAVE IT!! It is a design by our lovely Dany. You can find the pattern for purchase HERE. However, be aware that this was a complimentary pattern offered when you purchase a pattern called Sampler Houses. It is a very nice pattern, I am just not sure I will even be stitching it actually. What do YOU think of Sampler Houses? What do you think of Peace 2017?

I stitched this one over two on 36 count white linen with the called for 926 DMC. I chose to leave off the top of the pattern. I just wanted the Holy Family. I knew I wanted to make this into an ornament in this shape. I used the fabric you see this lying on to back this with. I will be stitching this up again.

June you have a few bulbs shooting up by you and Inna you have green grass with dandelions! We will be waiting a long time for these things! I took a picture yesterday of the water falls that give our village it's name.

Frozen solid.

The last audio book I listened to in 2017 was The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff. Have any of read this book or listened to it? What did you think? I liked it. It had an ending I did not expect.

A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan's Taleintroduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival 

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night. 

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

In case you missed it, I have a Shepherd's Bush pattern giveaway HERE

Today I will finish stitching Brian's ornament. Maybe even do the finishing on it too.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Stay warm my friends. I hope you have a fantastic, stitchtastic week!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Christ Is Born!

Hi friends! Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Merry Christmas to all my Orthodox friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

SB Giveaway

Hi friends! I am stitching two last Christmas ornaments like mad. Orthodox Christmas is Sunday. I am 90% done with Brian's ornament, but I must get my friend Aliona's done first. Almost there! But that is only the stitching. Then I have to do the finishing on them! I will share pictures of these finishes next time.

I have a pattern to giveaway. Due to postage, this one will have to be for one of my followers in the United States. Please leave me a comment on this post if you would like this pattern. I will announce the winner on Friday, Januaray 12th.

Shepherd's Bush     Be Warm

Yesterday I had x-rays of my neck and then I saw the spine surgeon.😞 I have severe arthritis in my neck. I have a herniated disc. He wants  to do disc replacement surgery at C6 (my neck). We would have to do an MRI first. If the arthritis is too bad, then he would have to do a spinal fusion.  I told him I am not ready for spinal surgery. That is why I mentioned in my last post I was going to see this doctor, but not for surgery. I am the one who said not for surgery.  I am waiting for insurance stuff to set up an appointment for an epidural shot. That is what I am willing to do for the pain for right now. I am also waiting on insurance referral stuff, then I am seeing another doctor that Brian researched and chose for a second opinion.

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen is a book I read in December. I really enjoyed this. I like every one of the books in this series.
When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment, I am left to figure out how to travel to Italy sans maid and chaperone to help my dear friend Belinda, as she awaits the birth of her baby alone. An opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—my cousin the queen is in need of a spy to attend a house party in the Italian lake country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding.  

What luck! A chance to see Belinda and please the queen as I seek her permission to relinquish my claim to the throne so I can marry Darcy. Only that’s as far as my good fortune takes me. I soon discover that Mummy is attending the villa party and she has her own secret task for me. Then, Darcy shows up and tells me that the fate of a world on the brink of war could very well depend on what I overhear at dinner! I shouldn’t be all that surprised when one of my fellow guests is murdered and my Italian holiday becomes a nightmare...

Well, back to stitching! I have to get these ornaments done! Eat. Sleep. Stitch.

Thanks for stopping by. Thank you for your sweet comments. I hope you have a great weekend!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie