Stitching For a Cause: 2011

Good morning everyone! Hope you're all enjoying some lovely fall weather--isn't it hard to believe that October begins in two days? I can't say this has been ideal fall weather here in western Pennsylvania, but we've had a few crisp, sunny days to get me through the unusually cool and rainy month that we've had. So, enough about the weather...you're here to see what I've been stitching, right?

This is the second year that I've participated in stitching for the Pumpkin Patch & Co Breast Fund. (My entry last year was this little Christmas Chick). For the past two years, Cathey (our fearless leader also known as Pumpkin) organized a group of stitchers to stitch an ornament (or something else) to contribute to the yearly Attic Needlework Silent Auction For Breast Cancer Research. Each year stitchers from all over the world donate items and raise thousands and thousands of dollars to help fight the war on breast cancer and I'm honored to participate. Last year, Pumpkin's little group raised almost $900 for the cause! If you want to consider contributing a piece of your stitching, it's not too late. Just check out the Pumpkin Patch & Co Breast Fund for details or email Cathey...

I created two pieces to donate to the auction this year. First, I stitched this lovely French freebie from L'R de rien. I thought stitching it on pink would be perfect for the breast cancer auction so I used white DMC on a 28 ct. dusty pink evenweave. A simple beaded border and white hanger and bow accent it. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and I hope someone at the auction likes it, too...




My other donation is from Little House Needleworks and is called "Faith". I really loved the quote on this one: "Faith is being sure of what we hope for." Don't you think it offers a wonderful sentiment for someone battling breast cancer or any difficult life situation? This is stitched on 32 ct. putty jobelan with Crescent Colour threads. I substituted some of the suggested colors so they would show up better on the fabric, though. I really love the soft, muted shades in this finish! There was supposed to be a little lady bug crawling up the flower's stem, but I left him off. I think I wanted this to be a more "serious" piece.

To finish it off, I ended up ruching some white satin ribbon, adding some white pearly pins, topping it with a bow, and making a pinkeep. I just about squealed when I found the backing fabric at Joann Fabrics last week! I had originally pictured some sort of floral backing in my head, but when I spotted the fabric pictured behind the pinkeep, it had the perfect colors to accent the stitching itself. So, these two finishes will be going on a long trip all the way to Arizona and the breast cancer auction where I hope someone loves them as much as I do...





Last weekend, we headed down to Washington, D.C. to visit our youngest son; I hadn't seen him in over two months so I was more than ready. It was so nice to visit his new apartment and, wow, just look at the view from his balcony. Being on the 10th floor enables him to look out at the Washington Monument, the Pentagon, and the Potomac River. I told him it certainly looks nothing like our first apartment which was pretty run-down and, at times, had water trickling down the inside walls of our bedroom during the winter (which then froze creating a sort of arctic headboard at the top of our bed)!! But, it is those memories which make you realize how far you've come...

Here are a few shots I took of the memorials and monuments. Although I've seen them many times, I still feel quite patriotic each time I glimpse them again. All photos are clickable for a better look and you can also click the links underneath for more information...

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

The Washington Monument
The monument has been closed ever since the
August 2011 earthquake that hit the D.C. area. The
5.8 magnitude earthquake caused a large crack at its top.

I think my favorite moment of our trip was when my son told me he's come to realize just how far treating others with kindness and respect would take a person in life. And then he said what good role models his mom and dad had been in that respect... Aww...it does a mom's heart a world of good to realize some of those life lessons that I tried to instill in my sons as they were growing up, actually sunk in. Kindness truly does go a long, long way...

Well, that wraps up another way-too-long post from me. Thanks ever so much for all those great comments on my last post. It seems many of you share my sugar addiction...I wish I could tell you I'm conquering it, but it's a struggle! And I so appreciate all of your suggestions for storing my ornaments--there were several good ones which I plan to implement in the future. Look for my 500+ follower giveaway next time--I hope you'll like it. Until then, enjoy your weekends and happy stitching. Bye for now...