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Hi friends! I have not been cross stitching. I have been sewing face masks for our son Jacob, the pediatric nurse at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. They have run out of masks!😮 😬 NOT GOOD FRIENDS! NOT GOOD AT ALL! I am sewing masks for his fellow nurses also and for my own family and extended family and friends and neighbors. Do you see why I am not cross stitching?!?!

I feel an intense burden in my heart to create these masks. I have been washing fabric, (See! My fabric stash is finally being put to an EXCELLENT use!!) working on cutting the pieces, preparing nose bars, and......waiting.....  😖 Elastic for the ear loops is the new TP!! It is NOT to be found! Brian and I DID find it online.Some people are charging SUPER INFLATED PRICES FOR IT!!☹️ It is coming tomorrow supposedly. I will be cranking these out. 😷

Many, many people are saying you can use pony tail elastics. I am not so sure. According to THIS Youtube video that I personally believe IS the best one out there. It makes the masks as good as the N95 masks. You CANNOT get better than that! You cannot! She checked with her legal team on it to be sure. I am trusting them for my Jacob folks. 😷

Also, the best thing to use between the two layers of cotton is Oly-fun. This fabric is the same fabric used for the fabric shopping bags. I cut up two of the fabric shopping bags we had to make some. I have several yards of  Oly-fun coming from Hobby Lobby. Waiting is not good in a time like this!!! But as is probably the case in your area, just like our state of Wisconsin, non-essential stores are shut down. So no craft stores are open. We must order online. I will get the masks  done of course. I just want them done and on our son! And the other nurses! And everyone!!😷

I created this chart because Mother Teresa has always been dear to me. She inspires me to try harder, to be better. I never saw her complain. She gave and gave and gave of herself. In this time of world crisis, we need to think of each other, pray for each other and love one another, even though we must "be apart".

My friends, it is my hope and prayer you all stay safe. It is best if you stay inside for now to accomplish this. I know some of you must work. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Keep clean. Know that I am praying for you. God bless you. 

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Thank you for stopping by today. Take good care of yourselves.

Sewing and praying,
Vickie

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Hi friends! How are you holding up? We are safe so far. Wisconsin has 155 cases of  COVID-19 so far. Our monthly stitch gatherings have been cancelled of course. No one can gather in groups of more than 10 anywhere. Including churches. So of course, all restaurants and bars are closed down, except for take out only.  I am sure you know the White House predicts this to last for 18 months! My oh my.

On Monday my orthopedic doctor's nurse called to cancel my appointment for Wednesday. All appointments have been cancelled. All elective surgeries have been cancelled. I did ask him to tell me what the test findings were. The EMG(nerve test) was normal. The MRI showed I have arthritis in my big toe, second toe and top of my foot. I also have a cyst in there? I asked him if this is causing me such pain along the top of my foot constantly. He said, "I am sorry, but I am not the doctor. I do not know." So... I will just plod along folks. It is not that bad. Just pretty bad on the treadmill, but that is NOT going to stop me. I refuse to gain anymore weight.

Would you please pray that masks get delivered NOW to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin please? Our son Jacob is a pediatric nurse there. He and all staff are forced to work like never before. Gone are the days of wearing a new mask for each patient each time you are with them. They must make a mask last all shift!  This is not right. This is soooo wrong. I know there are more masks on the way, but not enough. And not NOW, WHEN THEY ARE NEEDED.  And they are not allowed to wear masks at all times. I personally think they should be doing that!! Children's Hospital just had an outbreak this week because a doctor went to Spain and now has COVID-19. He is at home self isolating. 200 other people have had to be tested because of him. Patients, family and staff. Not Jacob. He and others were told that if they start to get sick, get tested. I want to throw up. I am praying.


I am stitching. I am sure you are too! I will have a finish to share next time.

Have any of you read this?! WOW! This is my favorite book so far this year! The tension and suspense went right to the end. It reminded me of Rebecca, both have that Gothic atmosphere, and the romance. I like this book better however. And the ending! Did you like the ending? I did!😦😲😬
Philip Ashley's older cousin Ambrose, who raised the orphaned Philip as his own son, has died in Rome. Philip, the heir to Ambrose's beautiful English estate, is crushed that the man he loved died far from home. He is also suspicious. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear. Now Rachel has arrived at Philip's newly inherited estate. Could this exquisite woman, who seems to genuinely share Philip's grief at Ambrose's death, really be as cruel as Philip imagined? Or is she the kind, passionate woman with whom Ambrose fell in love? Philip struggles to answer this question, knowing Ambrose's estate, and his own future, will be destroyed if his answer is wrong.

Oh friends, what difficult times we are in. Lean on the Lord. Do not forget Him just because we can no longer attend church. If your church does not have a "live stream of Divine Liturgy/Mass/Service" find one online you can watch and devote that time to it! We are going to. If we do not, our spiritual life with wither away.

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed?  Lamentations 3:38

Thank you for stopping by today. I am glad you did. Thank you for your prayers. I have been praying for YOU! God bless you!💗 Stay at home as much as possible. That is what we are all doing. There is only one YOU my friend! And I like you!!🤗 I care about you!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

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Hi friends! How are you? Staying healthy I hope. So far so good here. Madeleine is on Spring Break from University, and I am glad.

This is my latest finish I have to share with you. 💨March Blows by Bent Creek💨

Hooray! I got another of my monthly charts stitched! I am telling you, I am addicted to monthlies. I stitched this two over two with DMC and WDW on 32ct lambswool linen. I found this frame at Hobby Lobby. Very easy to pop each month in and out!

I am still stitching  Quaker Easter Egg by Bent Creek.

Have any of you read this book? I REALLY enjoyed it! I recommend every book by Rhys Bowen.😊 Honestly.
Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her wings. Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen’s retinue falls ill and dies. Having prepared the royal guest’s last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down—if it doesn’t send her to the gallows.

It is my hope and prayer that all of my stitching friends can avoid this virus. I do not think this is possible though.

"Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”  Job 2:10

Be safe AND smart my friends. We are trying to be. Very much so. Keep praying. God bless you. Thank you for stopping by today.  I  hope you have a good week. Take good care of yourself now.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Stitchin'

Hi friends! I would like to share my recent finishes with you.
🍀☘️March freebie by romyfrees.blogspot.com☘️🍀I am stitching this whole cute series. Only problem is that the months are in Italian. That's okay. Just requires a bit of ingenuity to make it all work and fit.😉 I perched this on top of the cubby shelf. I stitched this two over two on 28ct white Jubilee using VMSS flosses and DMC. The fabric shown is the backing material.

🐦March Square Dance by Heart in Hand stitched two over two with DMC on 32ct mystery evenweave.🐦

And while I am at it, I will show you the entire corner shelf display for the month of March.

I also completed these two finishes for the cubby shelf. 💐Flowers of the Month: March & April by Praiseworthystitches. 💐 Both of these patterns are from the current issue of JCS. Since I stitched them for my cubby shelf, I stitched mine one over one on 25ct cream and antique white linen, so I had to leave off the over one word at the bottom. I also skipped the border. I used DMC and VMSS.

Our dear friend Robin gifted me with this lovely pattern. This is a pattern I longed for. And Robin is a sweetheart!!💗

I have plans to make it look more like our new cat Cally.🐱 THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN ROBIN!

Our friend Georgia gifted me with patterns also. I took pictures of the patterns, and like a dunce, I deleted the pictures! I am stitching up one of the lovely patterns right now. It is Quaker Easter Egg by Bent Creek. I absolutely love it! I hope to finish it soon.🥰

I had an MRI on Monday. And an EMG on Tuesday. Have you ever had an EMG? 🥺 OH MY GOODNESS! A HORRID TEST.  Unfortunately I had it once before, on my wrist. Longtime followers of mine may recall me describing THAT!! The doctor inserts needles under your skin and then sends electric currents into you to test your nerves. This time it was for my right foot. Yes, I am still having pain in my foot since July. I barely have a problem with the plantar fasciitis. It is tightness and pain along the top of my right foot that does not go away. At this point, since no one can figure it out and get rid of it, I am just sucking it up and doing the treadmill. I am back to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon usually 6 days a week again. I need to. I gained weight these last months when I stopped walking because of the plantar fasciitis/foot pain. And my back got weaker and I have had a LOT more back pain because of it. I actually scheduled an appointment with the neurosurgeon. The same one who did a discectomy in my neck. I decided to look up online and see if I could find additional lower back exercises to do daily. I have been doing the same PT exercises for SO MANY years for my SI joint problem. My back is feeling better and stronger. I would rather not have surgery! I do return to the orthopedic doctor next week to discuss the test results. We will see if he gives me a shot in my foot?

Stay healthy my friends! I have been praying SO much more. These are really intense times we are in!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21