Pansy Bouquet

Hi friends! Let me share with you my little Spring finish.

This free pattern is called Pansy Bouquet. It is offered by Stitched Modern and you can find it HERE I do think these look more like primroses than pansies though. What do you think? I love them either way.

I stitched this two over two on 27 count white linen with some of the called for DMC. This pattern was designed to use almost every single one of the new 35 DMC colors. Well I only have 8 of them, and I did not want to use the browns! So I chose my own for the rest.

I have finished the March Rainbow Gallery piece for the cubby shelf. I need to finish it off. I will show that next time.

I am now stitching a special gift for a special stitching friend.

I baked a loaf a cinnamon swirl bread in the bread machine the other day. A good treat on a cold day!

Our friend Martina had asked me to share a picture of my orchids. I finally remembered.

Have you noticed I do not tell you about crummy books? That is because once I start a book and realize it is a stinker, I stop. I also don't bother to mention here the so-so, or not so great books. I just pass on the good or great books to you!😁 Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani is yet another great read.

I have yet to be disappointed by this author.😊
Love, ambition, and the consequences of both lie at the heart of this spellbinding epic of two working-class kids who become a successful singing act during the big band era of the 1940s. Chi Chi Donatelli and Saverio Armandonada meet one summer on the Jersey shore before World War II. Chi Chi is a talented and ambitious singer-songwriter working in a local blouse factory looking for her big break, while Saverio, a singer already on the rise, is fronting a touring band and has the good looks and smooth vocals that make success seem assured. It isn’t long before Saverio becomes Tony Arma and he and Chi Chi form a duo; together they navigate the glamorous worlds of nightclubs, radio, and television. Soon they’re married and all goes well until it becomes clear that they must make a choice: Which of them will put ambition aside to build a family and which will pursue a career? What compromises will they make to achieve their dreams? And on the road to fame and fortune, how will they cope with the impact these compromises have on their marriage, family, and themselves? From the Jersey shore to Hollywood, New York City to Las Vegas, the hills of northern Italy and the exuberant hayride of the big band circuit in between: Tony’s Wife tells the story of the twentieth century in song, as Tony & Chi Chi make studio recordings and promote them with appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. As they juggle the demands of their public lives, secrets are revealed, promises are broken, and loyalty is tested as the Armas attempt to keep the music playing and their family together. Tony’s Wife is a richly layered novel that explores how a traditional Italian-American family grapples with the seismic shifts they face in a rapidly changing world. Replete with a pageant of vivid, complex characters, this deeply human saga of love and sacrifice showcases Adriana Trigiani’s gifts as a captivating storyteller and reveals her understanding that there are many different kinds of families: that over time love can evolve in ways that nobody can predict, especially when the hearts involved are open to forgiveness, the sweet reprise of redemption.

I hope you have a lovely weekend my friends! I hope you have nice weather wherever you are. Snow, snow, snow. That is what we have headed our way once again this coming week. Spring is quite a ways off.

“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

Stitching and praying,
Vickie