Christmas Creations and Curious Creatures

A very chilly good morning to you, my stitching friends! Yes, we got a bad frost here last night--in mid-May! It was only one degree away from the record all-time record low temperature for May 14th--can you imagine? So, how is everyone? Have you wondered if I would ever post again? I know, I know--it's been three weeks since my last post--at this rate I'll be down to only posting once a month. I wish I could say I've been spending all my free time stitching, but that just isn't the case. In fact, I just can't seem to sit and stitch for more than 45 minutes at a time without getting distracted by something else and then completely abandoning my needle and thread. I used to be able to sit for a couple hours at a time and happily stitch away, but not lately. I hope I get back to being able to do so, but for now, all I have to share with you are two little Christmas ornaments and a new start.

I just loved this little snowman when I saw him on Melanie's blog and she kindly offered to lend me her chart. Isn't he the cutest with that miniature snowman perched on his nose? This design is by Midnight Stitching and is called "Heartstruck Friends." I used the suggested DMC and overdyed threads and stitched it on 40 ct. flax Newcastle linen. To finish it off, I simply combined two coordinating fabrics, a bit of lace, some white cording, and topped it off with a tiny white snowflake charm. Thank you so very much, Melanie, for sharing your chart with me--I really enjoyed stitching him!

"Heartstruck Friends" by Midnight Stitching

The snowman was my monthly ornament for March (yes, I'm way behind!) and for April I chose this cute freebie by Madame la Fée called "Candy Cane." If you're not familiar with her free designs, you're in for a treat! You can find this one and many others by clicking right here. I thought the candy cane would really pop on black so I used the suggested DMC threads on 32 ct. black Belfast linen. I finished it off as an oval with white ruched ribbon and pearly red pins... So, now I just need to stitch my ornament for May and I'll be all caught up!

"Candy Cane" by Madame la Fée

I also began a new piece of what I call "my comfort stitching."  Yes, a new Prairie Schooler design called "Summer" from Book No. 50: Prairie Seasons. I've already stitched Spring and Autumn which you can see here and here. I'd forgotten how "stitch intense" these pieces are! At first glance, it looked like I'd be able to finish this up fairly quickly, but there is so much solid stitching that it will probably take me another two weeks. I find myself completely relaxing with PS designs--there are no surprises; no specialty stitches, no odd colors to deal with, just beautiful designs in pretty hues. What is your "comfort stitching?"

 A new start: Prairie Schooler's 

Summer from "Prairie Seasons"

CURIOUS CREATURES... Now on to the second part of my post title. We've certainly had some unusual animal sightings around our yard over the past few weeks. In addition to the typical deer, bunnies, great blue heron, and groundhogs that we normally see, we've been entertained by a host of other visitors.  When we returned from our Florida trip last month, we reached our front door to find a real mess. There was mud and straw and grass scattered all over the "Welcome" mat and even the door itself! Well, just look who had been visiting our home while we were in the sunny south...When the humans are away, the birds will play!

Don't see anything unusual? Just a pretty spring wreath? Well, let's take a closer look...

Do you see the nest? A mama robin had painstakingly built a nest right on my front door wreath! When we first saw it, there were no eggs and we planned to remove it after I had taken a photo for my blog. But, lo and behold, when I went out a few days later to photograph it--there were three eggs in that glorious shade of blue! So, of course, I couldn't remove the nest, could I?

 

 A trio of robin eggs

Unfortunately, something must have happened to the mother because the eggs remained unattended and then they began disappearing (probably stolen by a blue jay or some other mean bird!) and now there is only one remaining. I've been checking on it periodically and imagine my surprise when I went out last week and found this: 

 Now there are two nests on my wreath!

Look carefully...Another tiny nest was being built right next to the first! Crazy birds!! It is perched so precariously I know it won't last long, but the bird gave it a good try. Anyway, I guess we'll leave the nest up until we take the wreath down in the fall. I'm not sure I'll be able to salvage my poor wreath--it is quite mud-spattered at the moment!

We also spotted this huge hawk sitting on top of our Martin house. Was he possibly surveying our pond for his next meal? We have koi, catfish, bluegill, and minnows in our pond which I'm sure he would enjoy getting a taste of! Or maybe he was just visiting the birdie condo trying to make friends with the many new birds that have recently moved in... I think he's just a bit too large to fit in those holes, don't you?

Hawk on the Martin house!

Here is a close-up--isn't he huge? Does anyone know what kind of hawk he is? I think he may be a Broad-Winged Hawk, but I'm not positive.

And just look at this creature! Smack-dab in the middle of our yard we discovered a snapping turtle. How he got there is a mystery; there was no trail through the long grass or anything!  But, look how muddy he is--he must have just crawled out of a hole in the ground or something...

Snapping turtle

In our attempt to be good samaritans, we decided to move the poor lost thing to our pond, but how to pick him up was another matter! Oh, was that turtle mean... My husband tried picking him up on the sides of his shell, way back by his tail, but the turtle's head immediately stretched way out, swiveled around, and snapped viciously at his bare hands.

 All ready to snap!

After several attempts, my husband finally got a shovel, turned the snapping turtle over onto his belly, and carefully lifted him across the yard to the safety of our pond. 

Ahhh...back to the water where you belong...

Well, after seeing that rather unattractive reptile, I thought you might like to see some prettier things... How about these lovely tulips that I cut from our garden in the prettiest shades of pink? We have to grow them within the confines of my husband's fenced in vegetable garden because, otherwise, the deer would be feasting on them. I just love tulips, don't you? Sure wish they would last through the summer...

Tulips from our garden

And then there are the stunning flowers that my sons gave me on Mother's Day. Aren't they lovely? Thank you, guys, for the flowers, chocolates, and iPad keyboard... But, most of all, thanks for being such kind, young men--I'm so proud and lucky to be your mom!

Mother's Day flowers from my sons

A MOST SPECIAL DAY! I also want to wish my dear mother a very ♫♪♫ Happy Birthday ♫♪♫! Yes, 86 years ago today, this sweet baby entered the world. Just look at her in that darling antique wicker baby carriage being adored by her older brother and sister. Mom, you are my hero and my best friend... You've been through so much over the past few years and I'm in awe of how well you've dealt with some very dark and difficult days. I've been truly blessed having you for my mother and I love you dearly.

My mom in 1927...

a beautiful new addition to her family!

Well, I think that's about it for today's post. I'll try not to wait so long until I post next time...In the mean time, I sincerely want to thank all of you for the wonderful comments on my last post. It means so much to me that you take the time to leave a comment because I'm sure your lives are just as busy as mine! Until next time, I hope your days are filled with things that make you smile. Bye for now...

Small Finishes and Big Thanks

Hello! Hello! And how are my blogging buddies doing on this fine morning? I hope this last week in April finds your part of the world greening up and beginning to bloom with those lovely pastel colors that can only mean spring has arrived. Spring has definitely "sprung" here in western Pennsylvania even though the temperatures have been quite temperamental. Last week  it was 71° on Friday morning and then a mere 24 hours later it was almost 40° cooler! Crazy...

I've only managed a bit of new stitching lately because my husband and I spent some time in southern Florida earlier this month (more on that in a bit). But, I was so relieved to get the April Word Play finally finished up. Yes, "relieved" is the correct word...as much as I love the finish and as adorable as this design is, I just didn't enjoy stitching it any more than I enjoyed stitching the January Word Play. I don't know what my problem is because as an avid reader and librarian, I love words. I persevered, however, and ended up with, what I think, is a very cute finish.

April Word Play

I stitched the April Word Play "over one" on a very pretty 25 ct. sage green evenweave of some sort. I thought it was a 28 ct., but it turned out larger than my January Word Play finish so it must be a 25 ct. Most of the suggested overdyeds were used, but I had to change the colors of the leaves and the birds' feet and beaks because they just weren't showing up well on the green. To finish it off, I used the same tiny white ric rac that I used for the January Word Play and backed it with the darker green cotton fabric (from a cloth napkin I bought at Kohl's). I wish the color difference showed up better--the backing fabric is quite a bit darker than the evenweave. I do love this finish!

Finished April Word Play

I also had to change the way the word "Seeds" was stitched on the little wagon since this was stitched over one.  Stitching it the way the design was charted made it too crowded looking so I simplified the letters a bit. And, taking the advice from several of you who already stitched this, I gave the bunny a cute and fluffy white tail made entirely of French knots (or my version of them--I am NOT the best French knot maker in the world)!

 April Word Play

So, will I stitch more of these Word Play designs? Probably--I did buy all twelve charts after all!! (And don't we all always stitch each and every chart we purchase--ha ha!) But, I will have to stitch them sparingly--just now and then, not one month after another. I'll be skipping May and June, but might pick up July during the summer. Here is a photo that will give you a better idea of the size of the little pillow next to some freshly picked daffodils from our back yard...

April Word Play

Now, on the flip side--a design I loved stitching was this Little House Needleworks piece. It will eventually be a scissor fob--just didn't have time to finish it for this post. It is from the chart "Wool Needlebook & Fob." And yes, I also hope to stitch the needlebook, too, at some point. Don't you love the sheep? And the colors--the purple just makes this design! This is stitched over one on 28 ct. dirty linen with the suggested DMC threads. I'll show you the finished fob next time--it will be my first fob finish, believe it or not!

 LHN Scissors 

(From "Wool Needlebook & Fob")

FLORIDA VISIT: As I mentioned earlier, I was in sunny southern Florida (Naples to be exact) recently. As much as I complained about our endless winter and longed for warmer weather, I wasn't quite ready for the extremely hot (85°+) and humid days we had our entire visit. I'm not sure what happened, but my hot flashes were out of control the entire time I was in Florida... Having dealt with them for 15 years (yes, you're reading correctly), I'm no stranger to them, but, oh--I felt like I was absolutely melting the whole visit. I'm assuming it was the heat that triggered them to be so outrageous because now that I've come back to cooler weather I'm back to "normal."

Despite the uncomfortable temperatures it was so nice to see the tropical plants and trees that we don't have up north. Thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the prettiest botanical beauties. Many of these photos were taken at the Naples Botanical Garden which, if you ever find yourself in that southwest corner of Florida, I strongly urge you to visit.

Shaving Brush Tree

 Common Screwpine

Silk Floss Tree

(No, that's not where stitching floss comes from!)

Banana Plant

A tiny skink 

(notice how well he blends in with the wood)

Asian Garden at Naples Botanical Garden

Spanish moss draped tree

Naples is a wonderful city to take long walks in--so many beautiful houses and interesting things to see. Here are some of the sights we saw on our long walks...

A boy reading a book mailbox--how sweet!!

Flowers blooming in every color

Tropical trees in all shapes and sizes

So many lovely houses and estates... 

I'll take that pink one!!

Our last night was spent strolling the beach

 near the Naples Pier.

THANKS TO... It's always good to get away, but, for me, there is nothing like returning home! I love my house and yard and being surrounded by my stitching and books and other simple things that make me the happiest. When I got home I found a lovely surprise waiting for me from Manka. Just look at all of these beautiful goodies that arrived in a recent giveaway win all the way from Hungary. I wish I could show you just how perfectly stitched the heart shaped bookmark and the biscornu are. The ribbon roses are lovely and the delicate specialty stitches add so much to these pieces. The talented Manka offers some lovely free designs on her her blog, so if you haven't visited, please stop by. Thank you again, my sweet friend from Hungary--I love each and every thing you sent my way!

Giveaway beauties from Manka!

And arriving like a burst of Carolina sunshine came what Faye called a "belated, belated birthday gift!" I was so surprised and thrilled to open her package and find one of her beautifully stitched project pouches. She chose the colors especially for me in the prettiest shades of yellow and blue...And look at the tiny scissors charm attached to the zipper--adorable! Why, she even monogrammed it for me... I know most you are familiar with Faye's Carolina Stitcher blog, but if you aren't, please pay her a visit. You'll be inspired by her beautiful stitching as well as her finishing of many of our fellow stitchers' projects. Thank you again, Faye, so very much, for your special birthday surprise and for your friendship. I know I'll think of you each time I use your lovely gift...

Blue and yellow stitching pouch from Faye!

I think I'll wind up this way-too-long post now, even though I have more to share with you. It will just have to wait until next time! I'll leave you with two photos of what makes spring time in the north so special...

April in Pennsylvania

Is there anything prettier than a bouquet 

of freshly picked spring flowers?

Enjoy this last week of April, my friends, and thank you all for dropping by today! It's always so nice to visit with you and I sincerely appreciate each and every comment and email. I'll be in New York visiting with my mom and dad for the rest of the week so I may be a bit quiet on the "commenting front," but will definitely catch up with your blogs when I return.  Bye for now...

Ornament Finishes and Giveaway Winners

Greetings from Pennsylvania on a lovely spring day! Yes, it is finally beginning to feel like spring after our record-breaking low temperatures last week. It was a frigid 19° on April 4th--can you imagine? According to our local newspaper we were colder here in the Pittsburgh area than in Juneau, Alaska or even Moscow! But, today we are supposed to reach a lovely 67°--it was so nice to wake up to the sounds of the Mourning Doves' coos today. I hope the rest of you who have endured an "endless winter" are enjoying sunnier days, too.  

Someone asked about my Christmas ornaments in my last post... Oh, yeah, that's right, I was supposed to be stitching one a month, wasn't I? Well, I'm just a bit behind--four months behind to be exact! The good news is that I made some progress and finally finished these little cuties for my January and February selections. First up, is another of the four snowmen featured in the chart "Let It Snow" by A Stitcher's Hands. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll remember I stitched his red, white, and blue themed buddy last year (you can see him by clicking here). I used the suggested DMC threads on a piece of 32 ct. mystery linen and embellished his hat with a little white pompom. The plaid fabric was a sample scrap from Joann Fabrics and the backing fabric is the gold-toned napkin shown in the background which I picked up at Kohl's. There are two snowmen left in this booklet--hope to get all of them stitched at some point.

A Stitcher's Hands: "Let It Snow" snowman

My February ornament is one of my favorites from the Little House ornament series called "Bringing Home the Tree." It is stitched on 40ct. raw natural Newcastle linen using the suggested threads. I just love that little black Scottie with his red collar and booties--so sweet. I really liked the border in this one, too. To finish it off, I simply ruched some sage green satin ribbon and added three white pearly pins at the top. What do you think?

 

"Bringing Home the Tree" (Little House Needleworks)

I'm currently working on my third and fourth ornaments of the year and hope to have them done by the end of the month so I'll be all caught up...

GIVEAWAY WINNERS: OK, admit it, how many of you skipped down to this part of my blog to see who won my 1000+ follower giveaway?  Oh, I know many of you did. And chances are all but three of you were a bit disappointed. This is the hard part for me--I so wish I could give each of you, especially those who regularly comment, a little something. But, I simply don't have the time or resources to send so many gifts all over the world... I was truly honored that so many of you (almost 200!!) entered my giveaway for my simple handmade pieces. I mean I wasn't giving away anything very valuable, so it meant all the more that so many of you wanted a little something made by me. A simple pillow didn't seem like much, so I've added a few more goodies to the winner's packages, but will keep everything secret until they arrive at their new homes. My husband did the honors in picking the names out of the hat (well, really, it was just a plain old paper bag :) and, without further ado, here they are:

PRAIRIE SCHOOLER BUNNY WINNER:

 Julie (Julie's Stitchy Knitter Journal)

 

PAINTED EGG WINNER:

Passion Fruit Princess (Ana Paula)

"S" IS FOR SPRING WINNER:

 Pam in IL (Pam)

If the winners will please contact me with your mailing addresses, I'll get your packages out to you soon. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed stitching them! And for the rest of you, all I can offer is my sincere thanks. Thank you for your wonderful comments, your emails, your friendships and support. I truly loved reading about the simple things that made you smile in your entries and I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who enjoys "a simple life!"

SPECIAL THANKS: Imagine my surprise when I received two wonderful packages in my mailbox this past week. First of all, my new blogging friend, Dawn, sent me one of her sweet scissor fobs as a Random Act of Kindness. I was so touched and honored that she would think of me and wanted to make me smile. I just love it, Dawn--the colors of lavender are perfect for me and the flowered white beads are so sweet. Doesn't the fob look lovely on my favorite pair of scissors? Thank you so very much, my friend--I'll think of you and your kindness each time I admire your beautiful creation!

Scissor Fob RAK from Dawn

Thank you, my friend--it is beautiful!

And from one of my long-time blogging buddies, Valerie (Fog City Dweller blog), came a belated birthday present package (which, believe me, was well worth the 3 month wait!!). I honestly gasped, "Oh, it's beautiful," when I removed this beauty from the package. Just look at this stunning Drawn Thread ornament that Valerie made for me--perfectly stitched and finished! And you know what, I had picked this exact chart to stitch for my April Christmas ornament--luckily I hadn't begun yet! This is from "The Holly and the Ivy Sampler" chart and is one of my favorites. How did you know Valerie? 

"The Holly and the Ivy" birthday gift from Valerie

I adore it, my friend--thank you so, so much!

As if the ornament wasn't more than enough, Valerie included all of these goodies, as well... There was a cute LHN chart, a blue skein of silk, a blue notepad, and a cute key chain from Valerie's beloved San Francisco. I told her I honestly plan on visiting her fair city one day--especially if she agrees to be my tour guide. Thank you, thank you, my sweet friend--I am so happy we've "met" through our blogs...

So many birthday goodies from Valerie!

SUGGESTIONS NEEDED: Is there anything more heart-warming than welcoming a new baby to the world? Well, how about welcoming three new babies to the world? My best friend's daughter recently gave birth to triplets--two dear baby girls and a precious baby boy. I had the best time shopping for these little outfits and even made a card to welcome them (definitely outside my comfort zone--I am not a papercrafter by any means, but it turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself). I fell in love with these sweet pink dresses with matching hairbands and I think the little boy will look mighty sharp in his plaid shorts and spiffy white crested shirt, don't you? Now, I would love to stitch some little Christmas ornaments or a triplet themed sampler for them and that is where I could use your help. Have you stitched or received anything that would be appropriate for a trio of new babies? I'd really like to make something special for them as I watched their mom grow up from the time she was a tiny baby herself and her family moved in three houses down from me. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be so appreciative.

Baby gifts and handmade card 

to welcome a trio of new babies

After all of these years, I've finally read an old classic, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and, oh, how I enjoyed it. Am I the only adult who had never read it as a child? I actually think I probably appreciate it and enjoy it more now than I would have as a child. And, of course, I had to watch the movie as soon as I finished the book, and it was charming. A perfect movie for spring with all of the budding gardens and newborn animals--and did I mention the sheep? Lots and lots of sheep for all of you cross-stitch sheep lovers (myself included!). Anyway, if you haven't read the classic book or seen the movie, I highly recommend them both...

MOVIN' TO BLOGLOVIN':  With the upcoming demise of the Google Reader you can now follow my blog in a new reader simply by clicking on this link and signing up: Stitching Dreams blog. Hope to see you all there!

Well, that's it for this week, my friends... Thanks so very much for stopping by and saying "hi!" I do appreciate each and every comment so very much. I wish you a week filled with sunshine! Bye for now...

Spring Stitching In the Snow

Good morning, everyone! Isn't it hard to believe we're down to our last week in March? Believe me, you'd never know that April is almost here with what greeted me as I looked out my upstairs window yesterday. Yes... more snow. And not just a dusting either--we received  four inches here in western Pennsylvania. I honestly don't remember a year like this one in terms of weather. I heard a news report recently that said our area has received either rain or snow on all but nine days so far in 2013... I never thought I would be one to retire to Florida or the southern states, but, at this point, it is sounding mighty tempting!

But, things aren't all cold and wintry here...at least I've managed to bring in some spring cheer by stitching two of the cutest new designs from  The Snowflower Diaries blog. Hungarian designer, Maja Matyas Szilagi, has released the most adorable freebies for us and her "Spring Bunny Love" design (available here) immediately captured my heart. You all know how much I love bunnies, don't you? Well, who could resist this sweet courting couple? Maja's design calls for Nina's threads, but I only owned one of the suggested colors for this piece (the color for the bunnies) so I substituted various overdyeds from my collection. This is stitched "over one" and I am so pleased with how it turned out--it almost looks like a watercolor painting. I used 28 ct. bone cashel linen, ruched some wide pink satin ribbon, added some pearly white pins, and backed it with the pink and white fabric shown in the photo. I smile each time I pass by it!

"Spring Bunny Love" by The Snowflower Diaries

Maja has so many cute designs that I couldn't stop with just one! Next up was "Tulips With Bunny" (which you can find here).  For this one, I took a different approach and chose the thread colors based on a pretty piece of fabric I had been wanting to use. I simply laid out the blue flowered fabric with my white evenweave and began pulling threads until I had a combination that I thought would work well with the fabric. Would you like to see what I came up with?

Stitching choices for "Tulips With Bunny"

What do you think? I'm very pleased with this finish and I love how everything came together as I had hoped it would when I first pulled the threads. I found the palest pink ric-rak to embellish the little pillow with that perfectly matches the lighter pink in the design. This one is also stitched "over one" on white 28 ct. evenweave which, again, makes it very tiny. It will be perfect for my bowl of bunnies for Easter decorating.

"Tulips With Bunny" by The Snowflower Diaries

Here are both of them together... Thank you so much for designing and sharing your beautiful charts, Maja! You have brought smiles to stitchers worldwide with your generosity and creativity. I look forward to stitching more of your designs in the future...

Bunny love!

Now, in looking at these two finishes, you might think that I am a real "girly-girl," right? Nope! Not at all--I don't think you would find even a single article of pink clothing in my closet...Lace, sparkly things? No--not me! But, I just love creating these sweet little pillows so much. The pastels of spring stitching truly brighten my days after the long cold winter. And speaking of brightening my day, I had two lovely surprises waiting for me in the mail recently.

From sweet Maggee, at Stitching Devotee, came these two delightful charts. Maggee had listed several groupings of charts on her blog and asked if any of us would be interested in any of them as RAKs.  And just look at the lovely pair that she surprised me with: Brightneedle's "Finger Lakes Sampler" and  Ewe & Eye & Friends "Alphabet Garden." I couldn't be more pleased--they are both charts I will definitely stitch and the "Finger Lakes Sampler" has special meaning to me as that is the part of the country where my parents, brother, and sister all reside. Has anyone visited any of the Finger Lakes? It really is a lovely part of New York State--I just wish it was a bit closer so I could visit my family more often!  Thank you, Maggee, so very much for your generosity--I think the RAK chart listing is a great idea and one I hope to offer myself in the future!

 Thank you so much for the great charts, Maggee...

I love them both!

And from my dear friend, Brenda, over at  Brenda's Stitching, came these jaw-dropping gifts. I mean, I honestly just stood looking at these goodies with a goofy, stunned smile on my face when I opened the package. Just look at this sweet stitched box Brenda made for me! Isn't it adorable? And inside the box was the most lovely "ruler" I've ever seen. It is made of mother of pearl--can you imagine?

Surprise Easter gifts from Brenda!

 

One of the unique things about this handrafted box is that you can interchange the designs seasonally, so I plan on stitching a little something to place inside for each of the four seasons... And, of course, the box will always be filled with something like these pastel peanut M&Ms that I bought for Easter--yum!  Brenda, "thank you" doesn't seem adequate to express my gratitude. I am so pleased we have "met" through our blogs and I hope our friendship continues for years to come. I truly love your gifts and your kind heart...

 Beautifully stitched box from Brenda

GIVEAWAY UPDATE:  There is still time to enter my giveaway on my previous post. I have so enjoyed reading about the "simple things" that make you smile. They have made me smile, too--honestly. And I'm truly touched that so many of you would be interested in winning one of my little pillows--thanks to all who have entered. If you would like to enter, simple click here to enter your comments. The giveaway will close on March 31st...

I sure wish I was leaving you with a photo filled with dancing daffodils and beautiful birds that should be on a post dated March 26th, but this is what my backyard looked like yesterday! Easter? Hmmm... I hope no one is having Easter-egg hunts this year--the poor eggs would be totally frozen after too long in this weather!

 The last (please, please, pretty please?) snowfall of March...

Thank you all for stopping by--and for all of your wonderful and much appreciated comments. It's always nice to see who's been by for a visit! I'd like to welcome my new followers, too--so glad you're here...  And for anyone wanting to stitch that cheerful bunny in his bright yellow slicker in my new blog header, you'll be happy to know that The Cricket Collection has re-released that freebie and you can find Mr. Slicker Bunny himself:  just click right here. Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates and Happy Spring to all! Bye for now...