Celebrate the Years

Hi friends! This is the latest piece I have completed.

I can understand if you would be thinking this is for my and Brian's 25th wedding anniversary coming up on October 3rd, but it is not. Why not?! I stitched it for my mom and her husband that is why! They were married the month after us, also in 1992. We are having a 25th wedding anniversary party together with family and friends in October to celebrate. I am gifting this to them then. I will  frame it by then.😉

This is called Celebrate the Years by Hands On Design. This pattern can be found in the June 2015 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.

This was stitched two over two on 32ct linen as suggested. I had the parchment linen suggested, but not in 32 count so I chose something similar from my stash. I used the recommended blanc and 318 DMC, but also added in 415.

The winner of the 'French Elegance' pattern giveaway is our friend RJ!
 
If you would like a chance at another pattern, I am giving away a sampler pattern right now. Take a look HERE

I finished reading the other book that I found through the Jane Austen display at our library, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James. Have any of you read this book? I know Jenny has.😉 We both liked it.This story sure did make me wonder if maybe our Jane did have a love of her life, and maybe just never wanted to broadcast this information all over the place?

Many rumors abound about a mysterious gentleman said to be the love of Jane's life—finally, the truth may have been found. . . .

What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs were discovered after hundreds of years? What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair? That's the premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.
Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.
Deft and witty, written in a style that echoes Austen's own, this unforgettable novel offers a delightfully possible scenario for the inspiration behind this beloved author's romantic tales. It's a remarkable book, irresistible to anyone who loves Jane Austen—and to anyone who loves a great story.

I am now back to stitching on Forever Be My Always by Emma Congdon exclusively.

I am so glad you stopped by today. Your comments brighten my days. Thank you.😘

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Stitcher's Sampler Giveaway

Hi friends! I am still very busy around here. I had my third and last round of 31 Botox shots on Wednesday. These have not cured anything for me. I am not sure how much they have helped me. I DO KNOW the best thing for me is to STAY 100% OUT OF THE SUN AND HEAT AT ALL TIMES. EVEN IN THE WINTER, NO SUN. My headaches just soar.

I gave Henry his haircut yesterday.

 My dear Uncle Ken died on Sunday. We are attending the funeral today, Friday.

I will have a Hands On Design finish to share with you next time. I wanted to show you something cross stitch related today, so how about this chart? It is from an old magazine, and I am offering these two pages as a giveaway to any one of my followers anywhere.

I will be folding these pages to fit into a business size envelope. Just leave a comment on this post if you would like to receive this chart. I will draw the name of a winner on Friday, September 8th.

I would also like to remind you all of the other giveaway I have going on right now that ends on Monday. Check that out RIGHT HERE

So, how many of you have read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall? Did you like it? I did. I listened to it  and I enjoyed it.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful and sometimes violent novel of expectation, love, oppression, sin, religion and betrayal. It portrays the disintegration of the marriage of Helen Huntingdon, the mysterious tenant of the title, and her dissolute, alcoholic husband. Defying convention, Helen leaves her husband to protect their young son from his father's influence, and earns her own living as an artist. Whilst in hiding at Wildfell Hall, she encounters Gilbert Markham, who falls in love with her. On its first publication in 1848, Anne Brontë's second novel was criticised for being 'coarse' and 'brutal'. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenges the social conventions of the early nineteenth century in a strong defence of women's rights in the face of psychological abuse from their husbands. Anne Brontë's style is bold, naturalistic and passionate, and this novel, which her sister Charlotte considered 'an entire mistake', has earned her a position in English Literature in her own right.

That is it for today my friends. Short and sweet. I hope you have a good weekend. Thank you for your kind words. I am so glad you stopped by.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

🎂

Hi friends! I want to share with you a stunning gift I received last week. This gift was made with so much love and care I was absolutely stunned by the time and effort put into the creating of it. Our friend Charlene sent me a box filled with gifts to help mend my broken heart from the death of our dear Mabel.

I will show you the main gift that had me crying. It is a gorgeous photo album of Mabel. I will quote Charlene's own words: "The pink hankie on the front represents tears shed in good times of laughter and sad times of saying goodbye. The pink doily was a piece I crocheted years ago and felt it tied the front of the book together perfectly. The tea pot is for when you make a spot of tea and sit down to enjoy this sweet book."

I have the album placed on top of pink fabric that Charlene wrapped the album in. She wrapped each and every gift in pink fabric.😊 I will give you a look inside the album.

I have always wanted to stitch this pattern. Now I do not have to. Charlene stitched it just as I would have. In pink!

And um, yes, I did limit showing you the pictures of my sweet Mabel Charlene had!! I also did not show you the blank pages she left for me to mount pictures and such.❤️

Isn't this also darling?!

Charlene knows that I love to read, so she gifted me with this lovely chocolate brown book wrapped in flowers and pink satin ribbon. She learned to make this during a quilt show class.

She also learned to make this during a quilt show. Isn't this tea cup pincushion ADORABLE?! I just love it!

 AND.... Charlene bought me fat quarters at a quilt show! I have these on top of the "pink fabric wrappings."

NOW do you see why this SUPER GENEROUS gift overwhelmed me?! Wow! Thank you once again Charlene! Mabel was such a super, sweet, dear, precious poodle. We love her so much. Your album especially, just really is perfect for her. Thank you my friend!

Thank you for stopping by today my friends. I hope you enjoyed sharing in my joy. 😄

I hope you have a great week! Thank you for your encouraging words. I appreciate every, single comment!

Oh yes! Before I go, today is Murphy's 14th birthday!🎂

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Swan Lake

Hi friends! I would like to show you a gift I received from our friend Mary. She went to an estate sale and bought a collection of linens. She gifted me with these lovely guest towels since they have pink and she thought of me. She also included the sweet pink notecards. Thank you once again Mary for your generous gifts.

I have been stitching away on Swan Lake and it is finished! Marly you were right! I did not even know I was going to add pink to this pattern! I really did not. I thought this would be the only sampler thus far in my AotH that does not have some version or shade of pink. Truly. Until I got to the swans. Oh dear. Yep. On this linen, the called for DMC 3865 does not show up. So then Ecru? I could not get myself to stitch Ecru swans. I just did NOT want cream swans. No.

Now I know what you are thinking. Pink swans?!? Is Vickie crazy? Quite possibly! I stitched the first leg of each cross stitch in VMSS Baby Pink and White, then followed through with  the second half of the cross stitch in B5200 on top. Keep in mind, I am doing this so the swans show up on my 25ct cream Dublin linen, NOT because I fancy pink swans.😉 This is how it turned out.

What do you think? They are still not very dark. They have the faintest pink to them. Their back wing is half VMSS Baby Pink and White and half  DMC Ecru.

Once again I had to make many, many color changes to this pattern to make it look anything like the pattern cover picture.
Instead of CC Camouflage, I used DMC 3023 and647
Instead of CC Magnolia Blossom, I used VMSS Baby Pink and White and B5200
Instead of GA Parchment, I used Ecru
Instead of GA Tin Bucket, I used DMC 3768
Instead of GA Toasted Barley, I used DMC 644
Instead of WDW Dolphin, I used DMC 169

The DMC alternatives given in the pattern did not match up to the picture. That is why I had to pick my own.

I found the capital letter N in my BBD Honeysuckle Manor pattern book. I just used the satin stitch as directed in the pattern.😊

Yes, Brian and I are married 25 years this year. October 3rd is our Wedding Anniversary.

Okay. Am I the only person who has NOT read Jane Eyre? Maybe. I thought it was time I fixed that. So I listened to it instead.😉 I really liked this book a lot, but wowza, this is a looOooOng book.
Jane Eyre is the story of a small, plain-faced, intelligent, and passionate English orphan. Jane is abused by her aunt and cousin and then attends a harsh charity school. Through it all she remains strong and determinedly refuses to allow a cruel world to crush her independence or her strength of will. A masterful story of a woman's quest for freedom and love. Jane Eyre is partly autobiographical, and Charlotte Brontë filled it with social criticism and sinister Gothic elements. A must read for anyone wishing to celebrate the indomitable strength of will or encourage it in their growing children.

I would like to offer a pattern as a giveaway to all of my follower friends. Once again this is a pattern that was taken from a magazine. It is two pages, and I will be folding these pages to fit into a business size envelope. This giveaway is open to all of my friends anywhere. I will draw a name on Monday the 28th of August. Just leave a comment on this post if you would like to receive this pattern.

I have been very busy with projects not involving cross stitch at all. Well, I did organize all my linen. And all of my patterns.😲I hope to be back soon. Until next time, have a blessed day my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Swan Lake

Hi friends! Do you recall the lovely hearts I stitched for Claire, Jacob's girlfriend? I got this piece done and just needed to pop it  into a 5x5 frame. Easy. So I left it sit. And sit. The day before her birthday I set about measuring the linen to center and frame the finished piece. NO. NO WAY. This is NOT happening. The stitching is too big for the 5x5 frame by about 4 stitches in width.

So.... I called a few stores around town. I visited a few stores around town. Nothing. No one has a 6x6 white frame. Tick...tick...tick... goes the clock. Ahhhhhh! I need to get this done. Now! Yep. Time to make it a flat fold. I always rely on Vonna's old tutorial for that. I have it memorized.😉 Good thing I have about 825 different pieces of pink material at home to go hunting through.(No, I am not kidding or exaggerating.)  I found the perfect pale pink almost right away actually. It might be hard to see here.

I did not decorate with any trims at all. I left this sleek and unadorned. I like it this way.

And? Claire does too!😊 That is a good sign.

Here is where I am at on Swan Lake.

One of the greens in the vines is the called for color, otherwise I had to change every other floss color to make them look even a bit closer to the pattern cover. Grrr! Drives me nuts.

That is my project for this week. More Swan Lake stitching.

I do hope you have a beautiful week my friends. Thank you for stopping by and thank you for your words of encouragement.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Shirley Poppies

Hi friends! Today is the day to announce the winner for the Nora Corbett pattern Gathering Eggs.
 
JUNE! Your name was drawn.😁 I will get this pattern off to the Post Office for you my friend. Enjoy stitching this young girl!

I finished reading In the Steps of Jane Austen by Anne-Marie Edwards. I found this book at my library when our library had a display of Jane Austen books recently. This was interesting, but not captivating. The few pictures included are in black and white.
This detailed and engaging account of Austen's life and work is arranged as a series of walking tours through the towns and countryside she knew and loved—the settings for her novels. This book introduces the people she met on her journeys and explores the country houses, churches, great estates, and elegant cities she knew, which have changed surprisingly little in the course of two centuries.

Sorry for the lack of cross stitch pictures. My week has been hectic. I have been stitching, but I have not taken pictures. I will share updates next week.

Thank you for stopping by today. I appreciate your friendship. I hope you have a very nice weekend my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie