Spring Garden

Hi friends! I have a sweet Spring finish to share with you today.

I have had this pretty freebie printed off and waiting for me for years. You can find the free pattern (and more!) RIGHT HERE.

I have to say I was quite surprised after I had begun stitching this. I went to check if the site still existed and if the freebie was still there. The free patterns now also show a stitched and finished picture of the pattern. My pattern, being three years old, did not. I stitched using the DMC numbers called for, except the purple. Imagine my surprise when I did not see red anywhere in the finished piece shown. Those flowers I stitched with DMC 777, were all shown pink! And you know how much I love pink! But DMC 777 has always been a pinkish red, always. She must have just gone with a different floss there. And you know what? I like the red. As a matter of fact, here are my two favorite flowers in this garden.

Which are your favorites here?

I stitched this one over one on 28ct Dresden Blue Meran linen using DMC and purple VMSS floss.

I am currently stitching up an April piece for my cubby shelf that I will share with you next time.

Madeleine loves poodles just like me. ;) She found this awesome video and shared it with me. Now I would like to share it with you. This teacup poodle named Nala, is an inspiration for Henry and I at "our" nursing home.(You don't need to bring a toy poodle with you to go visit the lonely.)

Thank you for stopping in with me today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend my friends!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop

Hi friends! Hello new friends! I am so glad to have you all stop by today! I am taking part in the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop hosted by Jo. If you want to play along click HERE. You need to visit Jo's blog to find out where to start. You visit the first blog and collect a letter. You will also find out from this blog who to visit next and collect the next letter. After visiting all the blogs in order, you will have an Easter phrase. :)

Here is the little Spring pattern I stitched up just for today.

This is a free pattern available HERE. Take a look around the blog. There are more cute, free patterns.

I stitched this  two over two with DMC (and precisely one stitch was made with Wisper for the tail!) on blue 28ct mystery linen. So sweet!

The letter I have been given to pass on to you is:


Now you need to visit Heather's blog by clicking HERE.

Thank you for stopping in today. I hope you are having a blessed Holy Week and will have a blessed Easter!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

SEVEN

Hi friends! Here is a picture for you from 7 years ago. I received the best Mother's Day gift that year.

Yes, that is me and that is baby Mabel. She is 7 today!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

ooOoo! Gifts All The Way From Dubai!

Hi friends! I received a gift from our friend Sarah. I should say gifts! Take a look.

What a fun card and Aladin pencil! Sweet ribbon, beads and flosses for me. :) And the best of all, that super neat chart, The Stitcher. Thank you Sarah. You are so kind!

I have been stitching up April in the Snowflower Diaries SAL. So sweet, isn't it?

I stitched this one over one on 25ct Bo Peep Pink linen using DMC and VMSS orange and light purple.

I really wanted to use this linen(I know this palest pink is hard to see) and I really wanted the white bunny. So I had to outline the bunny in DMC 415. I made all the lower, tiny flowers that were charted to be white, pink instead.

I stitched up a tiny Spring piece, but I cannot show you. It is for Jo's Easter Blog Hop, and I am taking part by being a Picture Poster. I am now working on another sweet Spring stitch.

I finished Time of Fog and Fire by Rhys Bowen. This was another good book by her in the Molly Murphy series. I have read every one since the beginning. I do enjoy the series, it is just that I always figure out the plot to the story so early on.

My pain has decreased. I have to say the pressure at the base of my neck is gone, but I still have a constant low grade headache. Is this a trade off, I don't know. Also sleep is uncomfortable in my neck. It is almost two weeks since the injections. I suppose I am just getting old.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Sleigh Ride

Hi friends! I finally finished up the freebie I have been working on. There were a lot more stitches than I counted on, as I made a few changes along the way. The most notable being, I replaced the people with poodles! :) Please excuse today's pictures. It is rainy and dark here.

I spotted this freebie, and just thought how fun it would be with our three poodles featured in it instead. I left off the word January across the top. I filled in the sleigh and reindeer, so they would be solid instead of just outlined. Isn't Henry precious on his sled?!

How about Murphy driving Miss Mabel? tee hee!

The original free pattern can be found RIGHT HERE. 

I stitched this one over one on 28ct lambswool linen with DMC.

You can see the changes I made.  I have placed it in the cubby shelf so you can see where I will have it on display at the end of this year. Now is it safely stored away, as I am working on Spring pieces to display.

The bad headaches and pain and pressure in my shoulders are lessening. I was able to sleep last night without a percocet or a muscle relaxer. I am hoping tomorrow these symptoms will be over and done with from the facet injections I received in my neck last Wednesday. Oh yes, and receiving the original pain RELIEF I was looking for would be nice! Thank you so much for your concern and prayers.

Have a stitchtastic week my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

o_0

Hi friends! I have been hearing him for days, but I first spotted him yesterday. The first robin.

Our friend Kim is celebrating her 60th birthday this July. Check out the link for a whopping RAK!

I finished reading Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini. This was a really good read.
New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini celebrates Christmas, past and present, with a wondrous novel inspired by the classic poem “Christmas Bells,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow’s classic Revolutionary War poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” was less than a month hence, and the country’s grave political unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, the delights of the season prevailed.

In present-day Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia’s music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she worries not only about her impending unemployment but also about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she leads the children’s choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss.

Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863, when the peace and contentment of Longfellow’s family circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of profound loss and hardship, Longfellow’s patriotism never failed, nor did the power of his language. “Christmas Bells,” the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken as verse and sung as a hymn. 

I thought I would let you know that I had the facet injection/medial branch block on Wednesday afternoon. The shot was not a shot. Multiple shots with moving around during each poke. The worst procedure I have had thus far. AND I HAVE HAD MANY PROCEDURES FOR MY HIP OVER THESE ELEVEN YEARS. Don't think I can ever go through it again. I cried and whimpered during it. She went in from the side of my neck while I laid on my side. Such pressure and pain.Bad pain in my left shoulder and left back of shoulder when I lay down now. Don't know if that means it did not take away the painful areas, or if it is flared up and will settle down. I sure hope so. If not, this was for nothing but torture and making my daily symptoms worse now. This injection does not seem worth it for what the doctor said. Four months of pain relief would be considered good.

I have been working on a really old freebie. I adapted it a bit by inserting three poodles into it. ;) I will show you next week.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

March Freebie

Hi friends! I would like to show you what I stitched this weekend. A monthly freebie by our friend Palko you can find right HERE.

I stitched this one over one on pale green linen using DMC 4045.

Yesterday was Pancake Sunday at our church. Brian and I found out last year, they are truly crepes with your choice of many, many fillings. This is a huge meal celebrated among church friends every year directly before the Eastern Orthodox Lenten Fast.

My orchids are in bloom.

I have not mentioned anything on the blog for a bit now, but the health insurance denied the epidural shot as I told you. They did approve of a facet injection. Here is all I know about it: A facet injection is a minimally invasive procedure that can temporarily relieve neck or back pain caused by inflamed facet joints. 

So... I get this injection on Wednesday afternoon. I do want to thank every, single friend who has wished me well, and prayed for me regarding my neck pain. I have stopped taking the muscle relaxers, as of last week. The horrid, constant feeling of someone pushing me at the base of my neck is... GONE.  The pain AND the pressure are low!!! Thanks be to God!

Thank you so much for stopping in today my friends. I am so glad you did. You bring me BIG SMILES!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

❅ ❆ Samplers ❅ ❆

Hi friends! I have two finishes to share with you. Both finishes are from the same library book, 365 Tiny Cross Stitch Designs by Kooler Designs Studio. This is the January sampler, but I removed the JAN from the top row. I just did not care for the abbreviation. I added one more snowflake in it's place instead. I put in the word WINTER, instead of "snow ice sn". That just seems weird to me.

I also decided when I first pulled the flosses for this pattern,to just go with DMC 4220 instead of the handful of blues and purples. The variegated floss I used seems to match the picture shown in the book better than the DMC that was listed.

The problem was using just the purples or just the blues. Wow. This variegated floss makes color changes quickly. So I used many short lengths of floss. Yuck! I also used the called for gray and white. I stitched this one over one on 25ct white evenweave.

My other finish is February Sampler. I got rid of FEB from the top band, and replaced it with another heart.

This also is stitched one over one with DMC on 25 ct white evenweave. Each of these samplers is one inch by one and a half inches.♥

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:39

Thank you for stopping in today. I am so glad you did. You brighten my day with your friendship and words of encouragement.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie