Delivering Posies

Good morning, everyone! Hope your week is off to a wonderful start. I spent the past week stitching this whimsical piece by Homespun Elegance which is aptly titled "Delivering Posies." I couldn't resist the plump blue bird and his tiny companion, Miss Ladybug, pulling a cart full of daisies to surprise an unsuspecting friend. They look so serious and determined, don't they? For this piece, I used 28 ct. dirty linen and the recommended WDW, Sampler Arts, and DMC threads. The center of each flower is filled with French knots (grr... well, some of them resemble French knots!) and I really like the texture they add.




Two rustic metal buttons that I spied in my button jar were used for the cart's wheels and I substituted a dragonfly instead of the peachy-pink colored moth that was originally charted. Guess I'm just not a big moth lover! Don't you love it when designers' charts are sized to fit in a standard sized frame? Wish more of them would design that way. This fit perfectly into a simple 5" X 7" wooden frame that I purchased at Marshall's for $6.99 and it now brightens up the bookshelf in my family room...




I wanted to send my wonderful friend, Shari a little surprise for a big birthday (don't feel bad, Shari--you'll always be younger than me!!) so I stitched this summer pinkeep for her. (This is the second time I've made this one--I also stitched it for one of my "ornament a week" pieces back in 2009.) It's from the "Seasonal Baskets" chart designed by Sue Hillis and I used 28 ct. summer khaki lugana with DMC threads. This was my first ever pinkeep; can you believe that with all of the small pieces that I've cross stitched, I'd never done a pinkeep until now? I trimmed the sides with some rope-like braid, backed it in the red and gold starred fabric shown, added a blue and white checked bow, and finished it off with some gold pins. I'm so happy that Shari liked it--"Happy Birthday" again, my friend...





My mailbox was filled with a delightful delivery all the way from Texas last week. They say that "everything is bigger in Texas" and that is certainly true of the amazing giveaway package I was lucky enough to win from Natalie at "A Stitch in Time". I thought I had died and gone to stitchers' heaven when I opened her box of goodies all revolving around a red, white, and blue theme: tiny red Kelmscott scissors, two beautiful LHN charts, a sweet strawberry smelling Paula Deen candle, darling handmade pin pillow, marking pins, and a very unique needle holder, a sweet red and white needleminder (my first ever!), red/white/and blue finishing fabrics, the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Preview issue, a handy memo book, and to top it all off--a huge can of those decadent Pepperidge Farm chocolate fudge Pirouettes. I was overwhelmed and touched by your generosity, Natalie! Thank you so, so much--everything you sent brought a huge smile to my face... And if you're not familiar with Natalie's blog--please run on over! She has created some perfectly finished ornaments, very unique needle holders, and many lovely stitched pieces. I know you'll enjoy it...

Do you remember back to when you first began blogging and didn't "know" any of the other wonderful cross stitch bloggers? I sure do... but what a difference 18 months makes! I now feel like I've made so many wonderful new friends, learned so much from and been inspired by your blogs, and hopefully, even inspired you a tiny bit. So, that being said, I would like to introduce a new blogger to you... my friend, Mary over at "Sweet Sentiments and Stitches" has just started her very own blog. Please drop in and say "hi" and welcome her to what has to be the nicest community on the internet! I know she would love to meet all of you and discover your blogs, too...

I'll leave you with these photos of some patriotic looking flowers growing in our garden! I hope your week brings only pleasant things and that you'll find some time for yourself to stitch, or read, or garden, or whatever makes you the happiest. Thank you all so much for dropping in and taking the time to say hello--I still get that little thrill each time I see that a new comment has been left...

Half-way There!

Hi everyone! Well, I finally reached the half-way point on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow--Block 6 is finished!! Although this was a block of almost solid stitching, I think it is my favorite one so far. I never got bored with it because there were so many little motifs scattered about to keep things fresh. Don't you love the bonfire and that rustic log cabin perched on the hillside. But, just what is that creature lurking on top of the bridge with his fiery yellow eye? I think he's supposed to be a reindeer, but, he looks pretty ominous to me!

I also like this block so much because it kind of reminds me of my family (not that I can skate--heavens, no--I am hopeless on the ice!). But, when I was growing up, there were three girls and a boy in my family--exactly the same make up as the group of skaters and the tiny sleigh driver featured here. There's me on the right, the oldest of the bunch, probably yelling at my little brother to stop goofing off and making a mental note to tell my mom (when we got home) that he wasn't wearing his mittens! I'm afraid I'm a typical first-born child: organized, conscientious, and too much of a perfectionist. I'd love to be able to relax and not always have to be on time for things, or maybe break the rules now and then, but it's just not in my nature. We were talking about birth order at a family picnic over the weekend and I've been reading a lot about it since then. Two interesting sites I've come across that discuss common birth order traits are: here and here. How about you? Do you have the traits that are most common for your birth order? My guess is that because cross stitching is such an orderly craft with exact counting and stitching, that there are many first-borns who share the love of it...



I had the best time stitching LHN's "Stars and Stripes" as a surprise for one of my first blogging friends, Myra! I was even more excited when I read on her blog that she came home to find it waiting in her mailbox after a particularly hard week at work and that it really lifted her spirits. Isn't it amazing how a kind word or simple gift from a friend can have that effect? I hope to send more of these little gifts out to my blogging friends in the future--it was such fun!



"Stars and Stripes" was stitched on 16 ct. natural Heatherfield fabric with DMC and WDW threads. I did change the outer border color to be the same as the wording rather than the charted brown color. To finish it off into this little pin pillow, I backed it with some burgundy and red checked fabric, added a frayed bow of the same material, a tiny heart button, and trimmed it with some blue cording. I'm so glad you like it, Myra--I truly enjoyed making it for you :)

22 years ago today, my youngest son was born! We were living in the D.C. area at the time--right where he is living this summer and having the experience of a lifetime: interning at the Department of Justice. The week he was born, the weather was almost as unbearably hot as we've had this past week. And yes, in many ways he is a typical youngest child--funny, charming, and outgoing and maybe, just maybe--a "teeny" bit spoiled, but he has made us so proud and I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays! We miss him very much and can't wait to see him in a few weeks...

I was so excited to see comments from so many new readers last week! Thank you all so much for taking the time to say hello. I was able to visit many of your blogs and I loved adding new ones to the ever-growing list of stitching blogs that I follow. I hope you all have a most relaxing and stitch-filled weekend in a nice, cool spot...