A Pair of Hares and a Quintet of Winners

Good morning everyone! Hope your week has been going well...I imagine most of you are anxious to read who won my giveaway so I'll get to that soon, but first I want to thank you all for the comments on my last post of my "Nature's Alphabet" finish. I was overwhelmed by your kind thoughts--I've never had that many comments on a post (other than a giveaway post) before. Each morning when I opened my email and saw a new comment waiting there, it was like starting the day with a little gift--it really was!

Anyway, on to more important business... First of all, I want to thank all of you who entered--I was amazed that these simple gifts got so much of a response! I had my husband draw the winners out of a hat (well, actually a paper lunch bag!) the other night and they are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner:

CHRISTINA at "Whilst Iris Naps"

Prairie Schooler Winner:
BARBI at "Blissfully Stitching"

"Delivering Spring" Winner:
MELANIE at "Moonraker Lampworks"

"Garden" Winner:
ELIA at "El Jardin de mi Duende"

"Bunny Gingham" Winner:
MARGARET at "Days of a Sampler Lover"

Winners, please send me your mailing addresses and I'll get your prizes out to you next week. (First I have to buy more of the Raspberry Creams to send to Christina and Barbi, as I very piggishly ate BOTH boxes myself). As always, I wish I could have given each of you something... You have all been so supportive and kind over my past three years of blogging. Please know I am going to try to do more Random Acts of Kindness for my regular commenters in the future just to say "thank you!"

Several of you have asked about my April "bowl" of smalls... In fact, even my middle son, when he was over for dinner on Sunday, looked at the bowl of March finishes I still have on display and said, "Um, Mom...it's April." Yes, I'm a bit behind! So, I wanted to share with you two of my finishes for April rather than waiting to reveal them all at once next week.

Do you remember when I showed you this little sneak peak a few weeks ago and asked if anyone knew what I was stitching? Well, no one guessed it correctly. Several of you thought it was Bent Creek's "Are You My Mother;" good guess, but...nope!

May I introduce you to "Slicker Bunny" who is now out and about enjoying the April showers. This was a very old freebie from The Cricket Collection, which, unfortunately, I don't see available on their website any longer. Isn't he the cutest little thing with his tiny purple flower "umbrella" and yellow slicker?

I used a 28 ct. overdyed jobelan called "Babbling Brook" (stitched over one) along with the suggested DMC threads. The little pillow is backed with the lovely plaid fabric you see in the photo. This was actually a cloth napkin I spotted at Kohl's--ah, yes, a new source for my backing fabrics. First my son's discarded shirts and now cloth napkins!! To finish him off, I added two teeny beads for his raincoat buttons and ruched some yellow and white gingham ribbon for the edging. I think he is cute enough to chase away anybody's rainy day blues, don't you?

My second finish for my bowl of April smalls is one you've likely seen on other blogs. The first time I spotted this adorable Patrick's Woods design, I knew I had to stitch it. I mean, really-- what could be better than a piece combining two of my favorite things: rabbits and stitching? This was a very quick and easily-stitched freebie which can be found at "The Dandy Hare Blog".

Stitching it was easy (I used 40 ct. flax Newcastle linen and good old DMC), the hard part came in deciding how to finish it. I thought and thought and below is what I came up with. Combining three different fabrics, some ivory-colored lace, some brown satin ribbon, a yo-yo, and three square shell buttons turned on the diagonal, plus my stitching, I ended up with a sweet, little pillow looking like this...

So, have you figured out the theme for my April bowl full of smalls, yet? Of course--it's rabbits! More will (hopefully) be hopping onto my blog by the end of the month, so stay tuned!

This has been the prettiest of springs here in western Pennsylvania and the flowering trees and shrubs have been spectacular.

The view from our front porch...

The beautiful white crab apple tree at the corner of our porch.

Can you spot the pretty orange butterfly?

A crabapple tree by our back patio: the "White Angel," which
was hybridized by my husband's dear grandfather in 1947.
We planted this as a tiny tree more than 15 years ago
and it has grown to more than 20 feet tall...
a wonderful reminder of a very special man.

Tulips, pansies, rhododendron, and dogwood...
Oh, if they could only last all summer!

Finally, I'd like to say a warm welcome to all my new followers, but a special welcome to one in particular... Mr. Red Robin! He's been visiting my window near my stitching chair almost daily and seems to have taken a keen interest in my stitching! Here he is peering in to check out the new-to-me Prairie Schooler chart (Garden Alphabet) that I finally, finally won on ebay. I think he approves of my purchase, don't you?

I am working at the library all weekend, unfortunately, but I wish each of you a special Saturday and Sunday filled with relaxation and time to craft and create! Thank you again for taking the time to visit me here at my little blog; I truly appreciate each and every comment and email. Bye for now...