🦃🦃🦃

Hi friends! I have finished stitching Lizzie Kate Flip It November Stamp. Isn't it cute?

Do you notice the problem though? ARGH! I stitched it on what I THOUGHT was 25 count evenweave. Well it was UNEVENWEAVE. It is 25 count one way and 29 count in the other direction!!☹️  Come on!! See how my finish above is not a nice square "stamp" shape like the pattern? Mine is a rectangle. PUH! It has linen showing above and below. I had the perfect cubby square for it picked out. Well, that is where I put it anyhow.

The UNEVENWEAVE fabric is gone in the trash. I do not want more stitching screwed up!🙁

This Lizzie Kate pattern was a gift from our friend Robin. She asked me to pass this along to another stitching friend when I finish, so I will. Here is the deal. You must be a follower of this blog. This giveaway is open to any friend anywhere in the world. There is one catch. I am asking anyone who wants this pattern to first give me a favorite pumpkin or sweet potato recipe. Yes, for real. If you do not leave a link here in the comments to the recipe, or email me the recipe ( my email is in my profile on the upper right, at the top of this blog), you will not be included in the giveaway for the pattern. 😮

🦃I will draw a name for the winner of the giveaway on Monday, November 19th. 🦃

I am now stitching Jacob's Christmas ornament. It is, let's say interesting. I have to do a bit of make it up as you go along.🤔

I am SO GLAD  you decided to stop by today. Really! It seems less and less friends stop by and read blogs. Or maybe less of you leave comments? I appreciate you taking time to leave a friendly note. THANK YOU!!!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ --Isaiah 6:8

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Blessed

Hi friends! I have completed the finishing on my mom's ornament. Let me show you.

This is Blessed by LHN. I stitched this two over two on 35 count tea dyed linen with the called for DMC, except I changed DMC 167 (the angel's wings, halo and the background to Blessed) to VMSS 1795 Tarnished Gold. I think it looks much more like the cover photo than the DMC called for.

This lovely backing fabric was a piece sent to me by our friend Carolien.😊

I am very happy with the final look of my mom's ornament. I must say that I do NOT enjoy making ruched ribbon. Ugh. It took me at least two hours to ruche, I don't even know how many feet of ribbon!! A lot!

Two Christmas ornaments done now! Hooray for me!

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister by Nonna Bannister was a fascinating WWII story.
Nonna Bannister carried a secret almost to her Tennessee grave: the diaries she had kept as a young girl experiencing the horrors of the Holocaust. This book reveals that story. Nonna’s childhood writings, revisited in her late adulthood, tell the remarkable tale of how a Russian girl from a family that had known wealth and privilege, then exposed to German labor camps, learned the value of human life and the importance of forgiveness. This story of loss, of love, and of forgiveness is one you will not forget.

Have a super week my friends! I will be back next time with a turkey finish and a pattern giveaway!🦃

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

🐩November Poodle🐩

Hi friends! I did not get my mom's ornament finally finished. I did get the November poodle stitched and finished. Here it is.

Isn't it sweet? I have been wanting to make a black poodle all year, but knew that it would not show up well. I just could not skip a black poodle. I have done all the other colors.It has a french knot nose, honest!

What do you think of my red and white flying geese quilt I made for my poodle? How do you like the mug of chai latte? Ha! I drink one almost every day. I dip my finger in the foam at the top twice for Henry. Murphy (if he is awake!) drinks the very bottom.😉

This free pattern is part of the Calendar Poodle SAL I have been having all year long. Just click on the tab at the top of  this page and you will go all the free poodle patterns.

I am now stitching a sweet Lizzie Kate November pattern given to me by our friend Robin. I will be giving this pattern away after I am done.

I read The First Love by Beverly Lewis and of course, I liked it very much. I have never been disappointed in one of her books. Ever.
It's the summer of 1951, and Maggie Esh is in need of some hope. Sweet-spirited and uncommonly pretty despite struggling with chronic illness, she is used to being treated kindly by the young men of her Old Order Amish church district. Yet Maggie wishes she were more like other courting-age girls so she could live a normal, healthy life.

To make matters more complicated, Dat has recently remarried, less than a year after her mother died. And while her stepmother is kind, Rachel is much younger than Mamm, and she simply doesn't understand Maggie or her illness the way Mamm did.

When tent revival meetings come to the area, Maggie is curious, and the words of the Mennonite preacher challenge her to reconsider what she knows about faith. Can she learn to trust God even when hope seems a distant dream?

Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me today my friends. I am so glad you did. It seems I have less friends taking the time to visit blogs these days, so I want to thank YOU for coming by.😘 I appreciate your kind comments. God bless you!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Carpenter🔨

Hi friends! Remember the Christmas ornament I stitched for Emerson at the beginning of September?I finally fully finished it this weekend.

This was stitched two over two with the called for DMC on mystery 29 count linen.

This is from 501 Cross Stitch Designs by Sam Hawkins. When I thought about finishing it, I realized I had the perfect fabric in my stash. I had it for years and never used it. I just bought it because I like it so much!😊

I finished stitching my mom's angel. I will share that with you once I have it fully finished. I am trying to motivate myself here!!🤨Let's see if it works!

I also am stitching the November poodle. I have to! It has to be done AND CHARTED BY NOVEMBER 1ST!!🐩

Our friend Marly sent me these two pretty pink antique linen hand towels. I plan to use them in crafting.  Thank you Marly!

Have any of you read The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes? I liked the historical fiction part. Not as much the part of the book that took part in today's time.
Paris, World War I. Sophie Lefèvre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Édouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait—painted by her artist husband—a dangerous obsession is born. 
 
Almost a century later in London, Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait’s true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv’s world is turned upside all over again.

I am so glad you stopped by today. I hope you have a wonderful week. 

"‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’" -Jeremiah 29:11

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Stitchin'

Hi friends! I have the finished November wreath for the cubby shelf to share with you.

Aren't these mums beautiful? I love them. This was stitched one over one on 25ct white Zweigart Dublin linen with the called for DMC. This pattern can be found HERE

So.....does anyone remember the Bluegrass Denim Overalls from 2015/2016???? The overalls owned by my baby brother Jonathan? They are covered by 31 BLUEGRASS ARTISTS' AUTOGRAPHS!!! All in black sharpie, all embroidered by ME!!!!! Yeah. That was not fun. Just saying. Well, my best friend Heather calls these overalls the traveling pants, and they have been traveling. 😭More autographs for me to embroider. You know that song, "This is the song that never ends. It just goes on and on, my friend."?😨 Well, this PROJECT  IS NEVER GOING TO END, IS IT?!?!

I sat myself down and did the easiest autograph right away.

Yes, my brother says thank you numerous times. No, he does not truly realize how many hours and hours it takes to do all of these.

I am now stitching an angel pattern for my mom's Christmas ornament.

I bought a new pattern. I have been trying to resist, but I keep seeing our friends Barb and Lainey on Instagram stitch it and well, I caved.

I am not starting this yet. I am dedicated to Christmas ornament stitching AND finishing the December wreath, and the last two poodles for the year first. When I begin this I will be stitching this one over one on 28 count Bo Peep Pink linen, which is sort of a very pale peachy pink.

The other morning I saw this beautiful sunrise over Main Street while taking Henry out very early.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

Thank you for stopping by today. I am so very glad you did! I appreciate your comments. Less and less people take the time to leave comments nowadays, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH for taking the time and effort to do so!!!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Thank You

Hi friends,
I am sharing this message, given to me, to share with you all, by our dear friend Jenny.

Dearest Stitching Friends,

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you so very, very much for all the love, support , friendship and prayers that you have shown to me and my family during my husband’s cancer battle. They brought so much comfort to not only me but to Scott. He was so very touched that all of you were praying for our family. It really meant so very much to us both. I know that his journey did not end the way we wanted it to. Scott is now in Heaven with our Lord and Savior. My children Andrew and Emily as well as myself are heartbroken that Scott is no longer here with us on this earth and we miss him in all the little things, in all the big things and in every breath we take. However your love and support and your prayers are holding us up. They are giving us the strength we need to face each and every day. For that I am still so very thankful. It is really a special gift when friends come together over something that they love. We have all come together over our love of stitching. Scott was a huge supporter of my needlework and was constantly involved in one way or another with all the projects that I would make. He treasured the gifts that I would stitch for him whether it was a cross stitched stocking or a quilt. The last gift I stitched for him was his Christmas ornament last year. It was the Hometown Holiday Train Station from Little House Needleworks. You see when Scott and I were dating ( we have been together since we were 19 ) he lived in San Diego and I lived in Van Nuys, about 3 hours north of San Diego. We would take the Amtrak train to see each other instead of driving the busy L.A. freeways. He loved that ornament because of those special memories that we shared and now of course it is beyond priceless to me. Just as all of you are beyond priceless to me. You have walked with us during this difficult journey. You have prayed for us, sent cards, shown love and friendship and cried with us. I treasure each and every one of you and feel so very blessed to not only find you on stitching blogs but to call you my friends. So thank you my dear friends! I am sending lots of hugs and love your way.

Love,
Jenny



We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—  always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So then death is working in us, but life in you.  And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,  knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.  For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Seeing the Invisible  Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,  while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:8-18

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

🐦🐦🐦

Hi friends! I want to thank you so much for leaving caring messages on my last post about Scott. That means so very much to me and especially to Jenny. She will eventually see those messages and she will be so comforted by your loving words and your prayers. Thank you!❤️

I have a finish to share with you. Another one for the cubby shelf. It is a free pattern that was offered earlier this year on the Atelier Soed Idee website, but I no longer see it there. I am sorry about that. This is why I print off free patterns right away if I know I am planning to stitch them. Do you also print them off?

I was drawn to this free pattern because I feed the birds outside our kitchen window every morning. We only get sparrows and house finches here at the apartment, but I have found joy in my little visitors. If they run out of seed, they look in at me!👀

I changed every single color on this. I wanted it to look like me.😉That required adding some hair! The lady was bald! Also, you know there had to be pink!! I used VMSS The Perfect Rose for the House Finches. I like it a lot!

As I type this up, they are on the window sill eating once again. I have tried to get decent pictures several times. It is so hard through the window and screen and they scare off easily when I am standing there taking the picture.

This is stitched one over one on 25ct Bo Peep Pink Zweigart Lugana with VMSS and DMC.

If you want to see the current free patterns available on this website go HERE

I am now back to stitching the November wreath. It is gorgeous. Lovely mums!!

Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa Wingate was recommended to me by our friend Carol. She and her mother read it! I KNEW I had to read it then! I am very glad I did. It is historical fiction and it is one of THE best books I read this year. I highly recommend you read it.

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

My neck and shoulder are almost better. It is hard to believe that I suffered whiplash from driving with my MIL in August and still am suffering from it. I have been receiving a deep massage from my original physical therapist named Leigh once weekly for the last month. This is about to end. I will continue on with gentle exercises at home by myself. She tells me it will just take time for the nerves to settle.

I hope you have a wonderful week my friends. I am so glad you stopped by! Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie