Tip-toeing Through the Tulips

 Hi friends! Here is the finish I accomplished this week. 🌷Tip-toeing Through the Tulips by With Thy Needle & Thread 🌷 Shown on the backing fabric from my stash.💐 

I filled this little pillow with wood shavings and did not notice a few tiny shavings in the picture until after I posted it. 🙄 This was stitched two over two on 28ct Monaco in Glass Blue with the called for DMC.

I am now stitching the free Christmas Bells pattern by Primitive Hare. Have you stitched that one? I am almost done. I am waiting for little bells to come from Amazon for the finishing. This is going to be a pretty neat project for me. I can't wait to share it with you. 

I would like to offer this sweet angel chart in a giveaway. 

This chart was given to me by our friend Georgia to share. If you would like this chart, please be a sidebar follower of this blog, and please leave a comment on this post stating you would like this chart. I will draw a name on Friday February 4th. This giveaway is open to all of my followers around the world. 

📚This was my latest treadmill read🏃‍♀️. Julian Sanction drew upon firsthand accounts of the Belgica's voyage to the magnetic South Pole and exclusive access to the ship's logbook. In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache and his crew set sail for a three-year expedition to the icy continent of Antarctica. This is the chilling (HA!) TRUE survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly awry--with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for an entire sunless, Antarctic winter. If you like history, you will find this interesting. I certainly did. Afterwards I wanted to see more pictures. There are not many in this book. The ship's doctor published a book in 1900, called Through the First Antarctic Night. I will not be reading it, as it covers the same thing I just read, HOWEVER, it is available online FOR FREE under public domain. Just search the title if you are interested. I found it by accident actually! I looked through the entire book this morning. Notice I said looked. I did not read it, I looked at the dozens of fascinating pictures.❄️🐧

The family run bakery downstairs has shut it's doors and sold the building after 22 years at this location. We went to the closing party. It was bittersweet. Brian talked and talked with Nino, the Sicilian baker who began this business. I took turns talking with his four daughters who also worked here. We shall see what is to come. A delicatessen is going in next. The "problem" is that the owners are investors. It will no longer be run by a family. So few places are anymore, right? They have bought this building and business as an investment. Time will tell what that means for us up here. They told Nino and his family they will leave us and Tony our neighbor ( there are only two apartments up here) alone, since we are long term tenants. That does not mean they will leave the rent alone now does it?!

 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8: 26

I hope and pray you have a wonderful week my friends! I am so glad you continue to stop and visit with me.

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Love You!

 Hi friends! I have a small Valentine finish to share. Love you! by our friend Melisa 💘💗 

Such a sweet, quick stitch, I just had to stitch it up and make it into a heart for my corner shelf❣️ Even though my hearts are never perfect. I stitched this two over two on 28ct hand dyed evenweave with VMSS Antique Pink. 💕 Backing fabric is from stash. 

It is filled with wood shavings from my carpenter son. Thank you Melisa!

🖤🐱Tilly Pinkeep (Black Cat Needle Book by Pineberry Lane🐱🖤 

My birthday present to our friend Carol💝Carol used to have a black cat named Shadow. This is a free pattern available on pineberrylane.com. My cat's face looks quite different than the one shown for the pattern. I just had to give it "more". Carol tells me she uses this little kitty as a finger puppet while she face times her grandson. How precious is that?! 🐱

I am now stitching the last pattern I want to stitch from Brenda Gervais' Jelly Bean Jubilee. My friend Lisa borrowed me the pattern book and I will be getting it back to her so she can get her own Easter patterns stitched up!!!

Once the Easter pattern is fully finished I will most likely begin the Garden Journal February piece. I actually have a Christmas piece I really want to stitch right now too, but I am waiting for the red silk to arrive. My friend is giving me the silk. 💝 What are you stitching right now? 

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:24-28

It is not very warm around here lately. That is nothing new I suppose. 

I hope you have a stitchtastic week my friends! I thank you for stopping by and I thank you for your encouraging words you leave me. 💗

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

January's Snowdrop

 Hi friends! I finished it! 

❄️🐦January's Snowdrop by Cottage Garden Samplings. 🐦❄️ LOVE THIS SO MUCH❣️ This entire monthly series is gorgeous and it was a GENEROUS GIFT FROM DEAR Astrid Thank you once again Astrid! 😘 I am passing these on again to my sweet friend Lisa so we can stitch them, kind of together. 😉

I am stitching them each on 40ct lambswool linen with the called for DMC. I love how the poinsettias turned out pink with the called for DMC!!💗 Fine with this girl!!😁 The thing I changed up was the cardinals. I did not care for the white eyes. I made them black. I also did not care for the black legs. I gave them legs in DMC 612. I made this a flat finish and mounted it with a washer and magnet as I watched my friend Helen do on flosstube.  This will come in handy for the other eleven months. I found this "finishing piece" at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. It is different, but works, don't you think?

❄️🦌❄️🦌❄️🦌❄️🦌❄️🦌❄️

I am now stitching up a quick Valentine piece from our friend Melissa

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.  1Corinthians 10:13

It is rather cold here. How is it by you?

I hope you have a great day my friends. Take good care of yourselves. It is getting harder and harder to avoid this virus it seems!! 😬 Even though we are fully vaccinated. 

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

🐰🌷🐰

 Hi friends! 

💝 🤭 I love my new t-shirt❣️ My Christmas gift from Brian. 💝

This is the latest piece I finished. 🐰Let's Paint Eggs! by Brenda Gervais🐰 

He is SO cute! I will be stitching two more from Jelly Bean Jubilee, but for now I am stitching up another monthly piece. This was stitched two over two on 28ct light blue evenweave from my stash. The trim and backing material shown are also from my stash.

🐰🌷🐰🌷🐰🌷🐰🌷🐰🌷🐰

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:14

I have many stitching friends that I am praying for. If you need someone to pray for you my friend, please do not hesitate to ask. 💕

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Please take good care of yourselves and be careful out there! 

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Christmas

 

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas to my fellow Orthodox Christians!

🎄Brian's Christmas Tree🎄 

This is a free pattern, and there are many more to be found also, on the blog, creations-pointdecroix. I stitched this two over two on 25ct Moss Wichelt Lugana with the called for DMC. 

It is backed with fabric from my stash. I barely have any of that super fabric left! I did have to buy the cinnamon stick. The vintage spool is new to my stash also. I got a great new stash of vintage spools off of Ebay recently.🤩🧵 

My knees and hands were numb by the time I was done taking these pictures! HA!

We are off to church in a few minutes. It is 1 degree outside with a windchill of minus 14. 🥶

Have a wonderful weekend my friends! Thank you for stopping by. Thank you for your lovely comments. And thank you so much for praying for our dear Jacob. God bless you.💕

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

The Snow Globes!

 Hi friends! 😒 DHL lost the first ones. We switched to a different company. Those were too tiny. We ordered another set. The plastic was blurry! Then we bought snow globes from our Hobby Lobby, but the opening was JUST barely too small. Finally, we have the perfect snow globes! And Orthodox Christmas is in three days! I made these for our two priests. 

The picture shown is the side view of our Serbian Orthodox Cathedral we attend weekly. I used the picture to create a chart. I used DMC and VMSS 1795 Tarnished Gold for the crosses. It is stitched one over one on 28ct mystery linen.

The opposite side is a free chart I have had in my stash for 8 years! It is from amintkipattan blog. 

I did change up the Nativity stable. I wanted to make it look more like a cave. Father Seraphim was quite clear about that in Bible Study class recently. I never knew this, or gave it thought. So I decided to look into it a little more. The site of Jesus' birth is indeed a cave in Bethlehem. Anyhow, this pattern I stitched two over two on 32ct mystery linen with the called for DMC.

❄️⛄January displays are up!⛄❄️If you look closely at the cubby shelf, you will see how I changed the tiny pillow on top and the HOD to work with our Orthodox faith.😊 And for " elciaravi" I measure each opening of the cubby shelf before I mount my stitched pieces onto cardboard. I glue cotton batting (Warm & Natural) onto the front of the cardboard, and then I wrap the stitched piece around to the back of the card board and glue it to the  back. IF I have measured correctly, the piece fits very well and stays put. IF not, I use a piece of masking tape to hold it in place.

I did not show the rest of the corner shelves, as they have remained the same from December. Orthodox Christmas is this week, the 7th, so my Christmas displays are still all up. 🎄 

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose hope is the Lord.  Jeremiah 17: 7

Thank you for stopping in friends. Thank you for your wonderful support over the years. I truly appreciate you and your friendships. God bless you. 💕💕💕 You take care now. Be careful out there. And maybe say a prayer for protection of our Jacob. Many nurses are quitting at his hospital. It is happening not just there, but everywhere. The nurses are so stressed out and overworked. Jacob is forced to work mandatory overtime. If they contract COVID they are to come back to work in 5 days no matter what. They are told to just wear the N95 mask. Jacob does not feel safe at work. What about in the break room? When everyone takes their mask off to eat????!!!! He had COVID last year. His lungs are not doing well as a result. He is asthmatic. He has been since he was a toddler. He is on much stronger inhalers now. He is on antibiotics now to see if maybe he has a lung infection and this will clear it up. Next step steroids. He tells me he cannot get COVID again. He does not think he can do it. I can't even type out my feelings on that to you all friends. I am sure you can figure out how a mother would feel about her son in this situation. 

Stitching and praying,

Vickie