Hi friends! I have finished my mom's sampler block.😚 I am so pleased with this one. It could not be more perfect for her. I have very early memories of being out in the garden with my mom. She IS a gardener, and this sampler, Clara Ellen, just says garden to me!
Once again, I am stitching this entire Anniversaries of the Heart sampler series on 25ct cream Dublin linen, one over one. I used DMC on my mom's with the exception of VMSS Faded Celery. That is used on a few leaves, but mainly is the green that the whole house is stitched up with. I made a few changes from the pattern, as I have to with almost every block, since I am stitching this all over one, and it is necessary to make things fit. There was to be a third bird where the "e" of my mom's name is. Oh well!😉 The date is shown stitched up in the urn/basket. That was stitched over one on the pattern. Since I am stitching all over one, it does not fit now, so up top my mom's birth date went.
I had a PROBLEM!! ARGH! The right hand border of the last sampler block was partially off. Two thirds of it was out too far by one stitch!! I just started Clara Ellen in the correct placement and thought maybe I can leave it. As I stitched away, it ate away at me. I ripped it all out. This is the part, but is a picture of it corrected now.😁
I have now begun sampler number #9, Moonlight Visitor. This one is for Brian.
I have a pattern giveaway going on right now friends. Take a look if you are interested RIGHT HERE.
I finished yet another "Jane" book by Stephanie Barron. This one is titled Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron: Being a Jane Austen Mystery. I am sure you know I am going to tell you I liked it.😉 I have never not liked one Stephanie Barron's Jane Mysteries!!
The restorative power of the ocean brings Jane Austen and her beloved
brother Henry, to Brighton after Henry’s wife is lost to a long illness.
But the crowded, glittering resort is far from peaceful, especially
when the lifeless body of a beautiful young society miss is discovered
in the bedchamber of none other than George Gordon—otherwise known as
Lord Byron. As a poet and a seducer of women, Byron has carved out a
shocking reputation for himself—but no one would ever accuse him of
being capable of murder. Now it falls to Jane to pursue this puzzling
investigation and discover just how “mad, bad, and dangerous to know”
Byron truly is. And she must do so without falling victim to the
charming versifier’s legendary charisma, lest she, too, become a
cautionary example for the ages.
That is it for me today friends. I will be back next time with another book review. Have a stitchtastic weekend my friends! I am glad you stopped by.
Hi friends! We are moving along on the sale/closing of our home. The inspection has been done. Of course the inspector found something. An electrician is coming tomorrow.
I am over half done with my mom's sampler, sampler #8, Clara Ellen. I am sorry I do not have a picture for you. Next time I will and it will be a finish. I hope! You never know. This moving stuff is busy, busy, busy!! So much to do. And our closing date is October 13th!!😱
I do want to offer a chart as a giveaway to my American friends. I am sorry, but due to postage, I have to offer it only here in the States. The only rules are that you have to be a follower of mine and you have to leave a comment here on this post telling me you would like this chart. I will draw the name of the winner on Monday, October 2nd.
The latest book that I listened to was Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. I came across this book on the blog of our friend Robin. I am so glad I did! What an excellent book! And this is a true life story!! Wow! I highly recommend this.
Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a
normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his
days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is
destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping
Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six
years his senior.
In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents
force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him
out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender
age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left
hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most
mysterious and powerful commanders.
Now, with the opportunity to
spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the
horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his
courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they
will one day share.
Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.
In the middle of all this busyness and craziness going on, I am trying to get a few things prepared and done for our upcoming 25th wedding anniversary party also. Wowza! Pressure makes me organized though, so this is good. I think?😕
I hope this is a great week for you my friends! I myself, cannot wait until the weather cools down around here. It has been in the 90's for half a week. I have literally not stepped outside the house for almost 4 days now. A menstrual migraine plus the heat would NOT be good for me. It's okay.
I WILL SURVIVE!
So glad you stopped by. Til next time!
Stitching and praying,
Vickie
I will have you notice the lack of chin hair!! Finally! I trimmed his chin. Remember I said I would share his picture once I trimmed the hair that Mary could not get?! Murphy is QUITE the rascal!
Hi friends! Guess what? Yep! The house is SOLD! 8 days! It took only 8 days on the market!😄 And now guess what?! We close and move out on October 13th!! wOw!! Less than one month now!😲
I do have a finish to share with you. May I present Maisie!
one over one on 40ct cream linen using DMC#640
This wonderful freebie can be found RIGHT HERE. You may notice the freebie is on a French site. It is also not labelled as "Maisie". I am calling her that. Why? Have you not seen the many, many Maisie Dobbs mystery books I have read this year and last?!? I am a HUGE fan of Jacqueline Winspear and Maisie Dobbs, so I just had to create a Maisie for my cubby shelf. I searched and searched for the right old fashioned lady that represented Maisie to me. It took me months to find her. Lots and lots of searching, but I found her.
I am very happy with this finish. Do you remember how I originally began this piece? Here is another look at it.
I am glad I scrapped that start and just began over again with DMC 640 instead.
I am now back to working on Anniversaries of the Heart.😊 That feels great! I am working on sampler #8, Clara Ellen. This sampler is dedicated to my mom.❤️ I will show you a picture next time.
Well, next up, is to wait for the house inspector to come by. Such fun. NOT. Always something, right?
I hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you for stopping by. Your comments brighten my day.
Hi friends! It is time for me to share my Top Five favorite Christmas ornaments from the JCS 2017 Special Holiday Issue. Except, I am sharing 9!! HA! Out of the "70+ Ornaments" in the magazine, I honestly only see myself stitching these 9. I am just listing them as I came across them in the magazine.
1. Hats Off to the Holidays! by SamSarah Design Studio Inc.
2. Sno-Cone Snowman Drop Ornament by StitchyFish Designs
So glad to see Lee finally made it into Just Cross Stitch magazine! Just like she said she would!! Congratulations Lee! What an accomplishment!
3. Modern Nordic Ornament by Ink Circles
4. A Savior Has Been Born by My Big Toe Designs
5. Halleluia by Nikyscreations
6. Joy by Hands On Design
7. 2017 Christmas Bauble by Patricia Ann Designs
8. Merry & Bright by Lucie Heaton Cross Stitch Designs
9. Very Merry by Lizzie Kate Inc.
Aren't these great ones? I really like them. Do you? Have you seen this issue? Do you have a favorite? I still really look forward to this issue every year. I enjoy just flipping through old issues.😊
We continue to show our home. Which means constantly keeping it spotless.🙄
I have been stitching up the freebie for my cubby shelf on 40 ct, one over one. I am getting close to a finish.
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement last time. I surprised all of you by our plans to move to an apartment. It is definitely a BIG change for us!
I hope you have a stitchtastic weekend my friends!
Hi friends! The stitching of the small freebie is not going so well. All because I wanted a vintage look. I wanted it to look like an old sepia photograph. Well using DMC 4145 was NOT the way to go about that. I figured that out after stitching on it for TWO days. One over one on 40 ct. Yes, you read that right. Wanna see the hot mess?
Um, yep. Can't tell what it is right? Nope. I am not telling you yet. 😉
The winner of the Stitcher's Sampler Pattern Giveaway is our friend Manuela. Manuela I need your postal address, and I will have this sampler pattern sent on it's way to you.
I have news. We are moving. After living in this pink and white brick home for 9 1/2 years, we are downsizing. This is our fourth home we have owned. We are now moving to an apartment. We have not lived in an apartment since the first year of our marriage. The apartment is two miles from this home, in our same little village. The apartment is on Main Street above the Italian bakery. I have never mentioned it, but in addition to Brian's full time work, he works a part time job as a baker. Yes, he is the other baker who works with the 75 year old Italian baker.
So. BIG changes for us. We had a HUGE rummage sale. Got a storage unit, put many things there for the meantime and have been getting our home ready for sale. My stash has NEVER been more organized or purged!! Yesterday afternoon the house first went on the market. We had a call from our real estate agent telling us a family would like to come see it. They came in the early evening. We are waiting to here from our agent today what the showing agent has to say about last evening. Here we go! I will keep you posted. 😵
I hope you have a wonderful weekend friends! I am so very glad you stopped by.
Hi friends! I did it! Wahoo! It is DONE!😁 I finally finished Forever Be My Always by Emma Congdon!! Oh yes I did!! And then... I gave it to Brian right away. Ha! We will go pick out a frame this week. He loves it and is impressed with all the shading he says.
I want this to be framed and on display on a table at our upcoming 25th wedding anniversary party with family and friends.
This was stitched two over two on white 28ct linen using all the called for DMC.
This pattern can be found in the Spring 2016 issue of Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine.
I am now working on a small.😊 Yes, one of my beloved smalls. It has been too long. I have this freebie I have been wanting to work up for many months and I am doing it NOW!
I want to remind all of you my friends that I have a Stitcher's Sampler pattern giveaway going on right now. I will be drawing the name of the winner on this Friday. If you would like to enter that giveaway, please go HERE
I read the simplest, funniest book the other day. From the young adult section of the library. Yep. Pearls Before Swine: BLTs Taste So Darn Good by Stephan Pastis. Are you familiar with the Pearls Before Swine comic strip? It is my favorite. This is his first book from 2003, and I just had to order it from another library to read it. I did not know Stephan was a lawyer who quit to become a cartoonist. I am glad he did! I was laughing so hard I was crying sometimes with this book.😂 Pearls Before Swine
is the hilarious new comic strip tale of two friends: an arrogant,
egotistical Rat who thinks he knows it all and a slow-witted Pig who
doesn't know any better. Together with Zebra, the activist, and Goat,
the reluctant brain, Pearls Before Swine offers caustic commentary on humanity's quest for the unattainable. Smart, witty, and sometimes painfully honest, Pearls Before Swine mocks the flaws and shortcomings of human nature with cynical humor.
Pearls Before Swine
has been syndicated by United Feature Syndicate since January 2002 and
now appears in more than 100 newspapers worldwide. In panel after panel,
Pearls Before Swine causes readers to lose themselves in laughter.
I know some of you want to see a picture of Murphy with his haircut. Well, he was naughty for Mary. She could not finish his chin at his last haircut a few weeks ago. I have been snipping here and there when I can. I cannot sneak a muzzle on and do it, now can I? So as soon as I get those billy goat hairs trimmed off, you get a handsome picture of him.😉
I hope and pray you all have a wonderful week my friends. I thank you for stopping by today. Thank you for your kind comments. Til next time!
