Friday, July 12, 2019

Catching up on Christmas in a patriotic month

Happy July, all! How is your summer going? Ours has been hot, hot, hot! But, today is the perfect day--sunny and mid-70s with low humidity. If only every day could feel like this one! Before I share my latest stitching finishes with you, I want to pause and thank each one of you who left a comment for me on my previous post--you all leave the best comments--you really do! Many of you don't have blogs and your comments are one of the few ways in which I can get to know a bit about you. Blogging is often a one-way street, so to speak... So, thank you for taking the time to comment--I promise I read and enjoy each and every one.

Anyway... I have "almost" caught up with my monthly ornaments! Yay! I have never been this far behind in the ten years that I've been stitching a monthly Christmas ornament. I'm not sure what my problem has been this year. I've really lacked my finishing mojo and prefer to spend my time stitching (like most of you, I'm sure!). But, I'm happy to present my finish for my May ornament--an oldie, but goodie, by Little House Needleworks called "Frosty Flakes." Have any of you stitched this cutie? If so, you'll recognize that I changed the color of the border, the scarf, and the package from the suggested green to a pretty variegated blue (GAST Dungarees thread). I also changed the checked border underneath the snowman from gold to white to resemble snow.

"Frosty Flakes" in blue!

Once again, I turned to my favorite 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Newcastle linen and I'm so happy with how my finish turned out. I had originally planned on making one of my little pillow finishes, but when I spotted this blue plaid fabric (just a scrap of an old miniature decorative towel that I had saved), I immediately knew it was the perfect thing to showcase Mr. Frosty Flakes. On this type of finish, I simply cover the back of the blue plaid fabric with a square of coordinating felt. Why spend extra money on fabric when it is not being seen? I cut two sprigs off the back of my dried boxwood wreath and hot glued them to the cording along with some miniature silver bells. What do you think?

Little House Needleworks "Frosty Flakes" finish

My ornament for June is another oval-shaped Prairie Schooler Santa from "Kris Kringle" Book No. 62. I've now stitched all but two of the eight Santas. I actually stitched this one back in 2012 and gave it to a good stitching friend, but this one is staying here with me. As I did for the other Santas in this series, I used 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen and the suggested DMC threads. Many people have asked how I get the perfect oval shape. Well, I use these plastic templates that are sold on Amazon: oval templates. There is no way I could draw an oval that perfectly!

Prairie Schooler Santa and goose from "Kris Kringle" Book No. 62

And, I stitched another of one of my favorite PS Santas carrying the birds and birdhouse to send as a gift to a friend on Instagram. This is from the same "Kris Kringle" Prairie Schooler book and marks the fourth time I've stitched it! Friendships can spring up on Instagram between stitchers so easily--if you'd like to follow me on Instagram, just click here! I'd love to have you visit me...

A gift for a friend!

Since it is July, I just had to get a bit of patriotic stitching in, so I leafed through my notebook of older charts and came up with this beauty. Stitched on 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Newcastle with most of the suggested colors (I had all but one in my stash--how unusual is that!) is "Penny America" by Tree of Life Samplings. Isn't it pretty?

"Penny America" finish

To finish it off I sewed a piece of blue gingham (from a thrifted man's shirt!) to the linen with the larger burgundy ric rak peeking out in between. I then carefully applied the tiny gold ric rak with a bit of glue and topped it off with a yo-yo, blue button, and gold star. I love it!

"Penny America" made a nice addition to my July decorating

I'll zoom in a bit closer so you can get a better look at the rustic frame that I got for free! Yes, this beautifully aged frame was on the "free table" at my mom's senior living center when I was visiting last fall and I quickly snapped it up! I plan on just popping out the patriotic piece and possibly using the frame again for an autumn piece late this year. Just look at all of those great "worm" holes--such a beauty!

A close-up so you can see this wonderful old frame

Giveaway winner... I had 12 stitchers enter for the patriotic parade chart shown below and I'm happy to announce that the name picked out of the hat is...

Barb R. (from Michigan)

Barb, congratulations to you--please send me your mailing address and I'll get this out to you as soon as possible.

Winner of the patriotic chart is Barb R. from Michigan!

I'm sorry I couldn't send a chart to each of you, but I will definitely be having more giveaways in the future. In fact, why not now?! Would anyone like to win the chart for Frosty Flakes? I know many of you already own it, but if you don't please let me know--specifically--in your comments that you would like to be included in the drawing to win it. Also, make sure to include your email address and to make it more fun and interesting--how about guessing where I am traveling to on my upcoming trip... I've already told some of you so don't answer if you already know. The winner will simply be determined by a random drawing--there is no "extra credit" for guessing the correct destination. I will keep the drawing open until the 27th of July and announce the winner on my next post... Good luck to all!

If you would like to win this snowman chart, just leave a comment with your email address and a guess as to where I am headed on my next vacation (only guess if I haven't already told you, please).


All creatures great and small... Most of you know that my backyard is filled with many beautiful (and some not so beautiful!) creatures--both four-legged and feathered. I wanted to share some of the animals I've encountered this summer.

The bunnies are out in full force--I spotted this sweet rabbit when out for a walk earlier this month.

And look! A fox! I don't know who was more scared when I confronted him while on a walk at my mom's senior living community! He turned around in a hurry and ran back into the woods.

We recently bought two new bird-feeders and, oh, my--the birds are flocking to them. We bought a green recycled-plastic suet feeder with a tail-prop and the woodpeckers just love it. And the bronze colored feeder is one I purchased at Walmart for the smaller birds--goldfinches, chickadees, wrens, etc. (but, we see cardinals and bluejays there, too, now and then). I get such joy from watching these little creatures as I sit at my kitchen table each day.

Some of the sweet birds that have been visiting daily. They love our new feeders!

And my family has some new "members!" Yes--a quintet of turkeys has made its home in the woods behind our house and makes a habit of trotting down to our "all-birds welcome" feeder almost daily. They are the funniest looking birds with those long, scrawny necks--wouldn't exactly call them pretty!

The turkeys stand right under the bird feeder to chow down on the seed that the birds have dropped.


It's amazing how quickly the babies are growing up--they could barely waddle the first time I spotted them.

And one more new member--not a welcome one, however! Some people have their own guard dogs--well, we have our very own guard groundhog who has made himself right at home on our front porch. Apparently, he is living under it and feels like he is entitled to use the porch just like one of the family! He is making a mess of things including digging into my pretty yellow begonias and scattering the dirt everywhere.

Just watching the world go by on a sunny summer day!

A scary morning... My porch is just a mess in the photo above because yesterday we were "treated" to a torrential thunderstorm with many areas of flash flooding around the county. Our yard looked like it had a river running down the side of it as it sits at a low point and has all of  the other neighbors run-off streaming down their hills into our lawn. Thankfully, a few years ago we had put in some very large 20" drain pipes to help keep our pond from overflowing which (hopefully) keeps our basement from flooding. I'm not sure what would have happened if the rain had lasted all day; thankfully, it only lasted a few hours. I've included a short video that I shot from my front porch of the rain water rushing down the side yard, just yards away from where I was standing--pretty scary stuff! You can see the water rushing down from one neighbors yard and carving paths of mud into the hillside. We only had a bit of water in our basement, thank goodness. My heart goes out to all of my readers who are getting those severe storms down south...


Well, time to hit publish and get back to stitching! My husband has been on a week-long bike trip in Nova Scotia and I am all "off-schedule" without him here! I did get some stitching done--not a lot, but it was nice not to have to think about cooking dinner or doing laundry this week! Back to normal tomorrow and I'll be glad--I really missed him! Thanks so very much for visiting me and thank you, especially, to those of you who take the time to leave a comment... I hope to be back at the end of the month to visit with you again. Bye for now...

63 comments:

Linda said...

congrats on the awesome finishes Carol. Your back yard is amazing. I love the picture of the groundhog on your porch. That is so cool. Stay safe from the storms.

Linda

Robin Wylde said...

Oh my! What beautiful wildlife you have around you, Carol! Thank you for sharing the pictures of the bunny, birds, fox, etc.. they are so sweet! I am sorry about the groundhog however. I don't think I've ever seen one in real life or even knew that they destroyed gardens until now. I hope it's manageable! And I'm glad nothing happened to the house in the end, that must've been very scary. Congrats on your finishes this month! :)

marly said...

Beautiful yard! Turkeys are comical aren't they? I had to purchase a 7' shepherd hook to hang my suet. The only thing the raccoons can't climb. Love your finishes but don't want to think about Christmas yet! Please don't include me for the chart.

Arlene G said...

Carol, I love Frosty Flakes and I would love to stitch him in just the colors you chose. ( agrimm55@hotmail.com) As for my guess as to where you are traveling...Alaska? Seems so many people I know are taking the Alaskan cruise. I love your thrifty use of a man's gingham shirt and a free frame. Since I have started reading cross stitch blogs and watching You Tube I have come to look at things in very different ways. Wow what a storm.....so far it is just HOT here but we tend to get our tornados in the spring and in the fall. Heading out for Oklahoma to visit the home of the Pioneer Woman. Another state marked off my list.

miriam said...

I would love the darling Frosty Flakes Snowman chart.. I. love him in blue better than the green. I think you will be traveling to Ireland.
miriamtgaar@aol.com

MTBrx said...

I would love to stitch Frosty! Is it Italy? Marci.breaux@gmail.com

Congrats on the finishes. They are lovely.

MartinaM said...

With us, the weather changes, after a hot week, we have this week cool temperatures and rain. Time to sew.
Frosty Flakes is a cute subject. A great finsih, it looks perfect. I'm thrilled how you get the fabric into the oval shape, which has to have a lot of wrinkles on the back? I have to try it.
I like to jump in your lottery, but your next vacation? Do you come to germany?
How beautiful the birds visit you, they are sure about the new feeding stations.
Oh yes, such storms are bad, and it's always good if nothing worse happens.

Have a nice weekend, Hugs Martina

Gabi said...

Hi Carol, summer takes a rest at the moment. Not very hot, you can do a bit work in the garden.
Your stitching looks as always very beautiful. I think, Frosty Flakes looks more cool in blue. Like it.
I love the Santas, have the book but have them not yet stitched. I will have a look at amazon for the ovals.
Hope that Mr. Groundhog will not cause too much trouble.
Is your husband doing the Cabot Trail? Wonderful country side.
Have a lovely week-end.
Huga, Gabi

maxi said...

Hey Carol,
your LHN snowmen is so cute and the TPS santa is my favourite!
Happy stitching
maxi

Kay said...

I think Frosty Flakes looks so much better in the blue, i do love seeing designs done indifferent colour ways, it is inspiring to have fresh ideas. Please enter me into the draw for this lovely chart. As for travelling I am guessing Alaska or Hawaii as they are just what came to mind. x

Manuela said...

Hello Carol,
so wonderful finishes. Frosty Flakes looks great and I love your colour choice. Please count me in your giveaway. I wish you a nice journey and a lot of fun. I'm looking to your vacation report.
Great Idea with the Ovals Shape Template for the Santas. Thanks for sharing. Both Santa finishes are so wonderful. I love them.
Have a nice time.
Big Hugs, Manuela

Marilyn said...

Frosty Flakes is too cute
Love your changes, but then, blue is my favorite color.
Your oval Santas are always so pretty.
Penny is pretty too.
Wow, that's a lot of water!
Glad you didn't get too much inside.
Love all of the animals.
We had a Woodchuck for awhile too, but he seemed to move on.
Have a great weekend!
Marilyn

Donna G. said...

Cute snowman! We also have a resident groundhog.....I wish he would find a new home. I think you will be traveling to California.

Stasi said...

Carol, All your finishes are wonderful and I especially love the look of the diagonal plaid fabrics. What a great idea to re-purpose old shirts! And I agree that the blue on your snowman makes him look more 'wintery'!
Not sure when your trip is but, if it's before your next post, I hope you have a wonderful time and look forward to your re-cap.
Please send some cooler temps our way!!!

Mary said...

We were watching a buck this morning in our backyard. I always love your finishes. My Pinterest board on cross stitch finishes has mostly pictures from your blog. You always do a nice job.

Annie said...

Great summary of your gorgeous finishes. They are always so perfect.

It’s amazing how much wildlife you have around you. Does your house border protected land? That would be high rise condos around here by now if not.

These flooding storms are so scary. I hate that it is becoming the new normal.

Vickie said...

I much prefer your blue Frosty Flakes Carol. :) Your Green Santa is wonderful! I am glad he is staying with you! Your wildlife is beautiful. Madeleine and I had a real laugh over your groundhog though. Sorry. ;) I am glad you aren't exterminating him, I will say that! Does he have a name? That picture is just so CUTE of him! Sorry.

Ele said...

so many lovely finishes Carol, well done!
Sorry to hear about the storm, glad you did not suffer any real damage from it
Love

Sandy said...

Carol, such beauty in your yard. I love the turkeys and would be completely mesmerized by the birds. I don't have a place to put a feeder that I can see from a window..of course, I can't complain as I have sea birds out my back window and they are pretty spectacular too. I love bunnies - they are just adorable. Seriously though it is really pretty around your home.
Now, for the stitching. You have taught me so much with all your creativity. The shirt is just perfect with the color of the snowman's scarf. Those two Santas are two of my favorites with the birds and goose. Lovely work as always. You keep me inspired!!!

Robin in Virginia said...

Carol, all of your finishes look super. I have stitched that Snowman ornament, but will have to stitch it again using a blue! I had to chuckle over your resident guard groundhog picture. He is a handsome critter. Hmmm, I think I would rather have him on the porch than a snake though. Isn't it fun to watch the babies growing up? Enjoy your weekend!

Joyce said...

Carol, love how you changed the colors on Frosty as always your stitching and finishing is impeccable. Your PS santas are fantastic always look forward to seeing your stitch parade at the end of the year.

As for your wildlife I enjoyed the pictures of the turkey family, and rabbit but the groundhog no way that is way to close and they can be very mean if cornered ,and the damage they do, he would have to go. Had a groundhog show up outside of my chicken house a couple of weeks ago. luckily my husband was in for lunch and he dispatched that critter, didn't need him in my veggie garden or just digging holes we have enough of that going on in our crop fields.

Don't know where your next trip is to but have a great time and can't wait to see your pictures.

Joyce


ps

Janet Beyea said...

I would love to stitch your cute little snowman (alanbeyea@att.net). I am just now getting back into cross stitch after a long break. I am guessing that you are traveling to CA. I lived in CA for 35 years and have just recently moved to VA,

tll6601 said...

Hi Carol,
Your blog is just beautiful! I always enjoy your lovely finishes, but the nature & animal photos are an added bonus. I would love to win Frosty Flakes, but I already know where you're going on your next vacation, so I won't spoil the surprise for everyone else who comments.
Thanks,
Teresa Lass
tll6601@gmail.com

Barb said...

Hi Carol - Oh such a fun posting you’ve shared with us! It was truly so much fun to read - loved it!, First of all though, I must thank you for drawing my name as the winner of the Patriotic Parade chart winner! I am so happy and can’t wait to stitch it for next July 4th holiday. I will email you my address. Again, thank you so much.

My husband and I went to Chicago for a couple of days and just got home last night. I didn’t really get much chance to look at my emails or the blogs I love to look at until later today and I was so surprised to see that my name had been drawn! What a happy surprise to find after getting home!!

I’m pretty sure that you mentioned to me where you and your husband’s travels are taking you soon (I promise I won’t say!). All I can say is I hope you have The Best Time and enjoy it so much. I am so looking forward to reading all about your travels and this great wonderful experience. Truly, all the very best to you both.

Happy Travels!

Barb R.

,

Gaga said...

Carol, I always love your finishes. They give me a lot of inspiration but I'm not nearly as good as you. I need more practice.
Wondering how you stitch on 40 ct?? I'm using 32 and having a hard time but use a magnifying glass. Some of my ornaments seem too big so I should try to switch to 40 ct but am afraid I wouldn't be able to finish.
Love your yard and wildlife. My bunnies probably eat as many flowers as a hedgehog would.
Thanks for your posts!
Georgia

Shelly said...

Love your header picture, Carol. I don't believe I've seen it at all. That's a great blue you used on Frosty Flakes, he sure is a handsome guy. That's a good point about using wool on the back of flat ornaments; I'm sure it looks fine. Penny America came out wonderful. You do come up with great ideas for finishing! Even as I type, I'm feeling the FFO coming back, haha! I'm going to pass on the LHN chart giveaway since I've already won one of your giveaways. I am going to guess on where you're going though, and it's back to San Diego! I'll wave at you! I had to laugh at your new porch resident! They're big! Looks like things are never boring in your yard. Safe travels in case you don't post before your trip. I'm going to stitch also as soon as I hit that publish button:)

Southpaw Stitcher said...

Hi, Carol. I love all of your finishes, they always look so perfect! Your color changes on Frosty Flakes are a big improvement, I think. Your bird photos are wonderful. We have a couple of feeders in our yard but no turkeys to eat the overflow. My dog does enjoy the occasional snack of bird seed, though.

So glad that you didn't get more flooding in your basement. Water has a mind of its own.

Kath said...

Wow, you not only have some great finishes, but you have an amazing number of wildlife in your yard. I love the opportunity to see nature wondering around where I live, it always fascinates me. I would love the opportunity to win Frosty Flakes. You made some great changes when you stitched yours. As for your next destination, I’m going to guess South Carolina only because I love the area and it’s history. There’s always so much to do there and the food and people are wonderful.

Kath said...

Oh no, I totally forgot to include my email address. It’s kmking_04079@yahoo.com. Keeping my fingers crossed I get picked for Frosty Flakes.

Natureluvr57 said...

Stitching and wildlife-how wonderful. Such a pretty fox, we had one in our area a couple years ago and the poor thing looked like it had mange or I like to think it was just molting it's winter coat, hopefully. My feeders have been taken over by starlings, gracos and red wing black birds. The finches and some sparrows (and the blackbirds I mentioned) all learned to fly up and get on the suet feeder, the opening is on the bottom but they have succeeded in wolfing down all the suet so Woody and Nuthatch has nothing by the time they come. The squirrels don't help. Skunks come out after it starts getting dark and raid the platform feeder-they are pretty but....such little stinkers. Our back yard floods because the apartments kitty korner in the back was allowed to build up their land which I don't think is right-they should have to build at the same grade as the existing neighborhood or provide drainage which they don't. Thankfully it's never come past the patio into our house. We see a Groundhog eating in the alley behind our house. I just hope he doesn't tunnel or come to our yard-we have enough problems. Take care

butterfly said...

Carol your stitching and finishing still takes my breath away .
It's so amazing and how neat everyone of the designs looks.
Your garden is looking fab I wish we would have all these sweet animals come to visit , but mostly the biggest ones are cats trying to catch the birds.

Marula Michela said...

Ottimi i tuoi ricami e belle rifiniture. e' molto simpatico il pupazzo di neve mi riporta al clima invernale. Hai veramente un bellissimo parco di piante e animali. Complimenti!!

Joy said...

That snowman is adorable! I have absolutely no idea where you are going to vacation but we are leaving for Port Aransas for our annual autism camp, Camp Sunshine where we spend 3 days on the beach while other people supervise our daughters. It's been great for them and has increased the language of my youngest. So, I'm going to guess you are going to a beach somewhere.

Bettyfm said...

I love seeing all of your finishes! I would love to be entered to win that precious snowman chart! Snowmen are my favorite to stitch for Christmas. My email address is efm314@gmail.com. Happy stitching and keep posting those beautiful nature pictures!

rosey175 said...

Gorgeous little wintery finishes, perfect to forget this terrible hot weather. The changes to Frosty are wonderful; the world needs more blue. I really like that Dungarees variegation and plaid finishing. The Americana piece has lovely colors too. I'm so glad you take the time to have an even border all around even in frames that aren't exactly the right size. They really look so lovely finished like that!

It has stopped raining so much here at least; we've had a Whole Week of no rain whatsoever. This will probably change with some of the bands from Barry reaching us today through Tuesday. Later this week I suspect we'll be quite miserable with the heat though. Do you have a rainbow selection of gingham? I see you use it a lot on your projects (as all should; gingham is love!).

We've got a rather plump rabbit in our yard too. One morning it was up on the porch and the cats did not know what to do with themselves. The bunny was probably larger than them but they smashed themselves up to the door anyway with many concerned chitterings and appeals to me to open said door -- not happening! Your feeders are full of delight too. I only put out the "seed" feeders in winter though Hummingbird Cafe is doing booming business. :)

I'll trade you an armadillo for the groundhog! (Both are terrible diggers).

Becky said...

Love your version of Frosty Flakes in blue; such a cute finish too. I’d enjoy giving it a try. I’m getting back into stitching after many years focused on quilting. Trying to get up the nerve to attempt the finishing techniques I’ve been seeing. Maybe you’ll get away from the rain on your vacation and spend some time in sunny Seattle (where I live). Wherever it is, I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to reading about it!

Christel said...

Que de belles finitions pour vos ornements de Noël. Le bonhomme de neige est superbe avec son écharpe bleue ! Les Pères Noël sont tous les deux absolument mangnifiques.
Merci pour la jolie grille à gagner. Peut-être viendrez-vous en France pour les vacances ?? :)
Ah les animaux rencontrés dans nos jardins ou lors de promenades... C'est toujours un émerveillement pour moi que de les regarder.. Chez nous, nous avons récemment vu beaucoup de faisans et deux chevreuils, des lapins également.
C'est impressionnant le ruisseau d'eau dans le jardin ! De très gros orages et de très fortes pluies dans le sud de la France ont fait des dégâts. Nous sommes dans le centre de notre pays, c'est la canicule chez nous. Cela me réjouit car j'aime beaucoup la chaleur qui me permet d'avoir bien moins de douleurs. Je déteste l'hiver avec le gris, le froid, la neige, la pluie... J'aime profiter du jardin , des balades en forêt ou bien à moto ou en vélo.
Amitiés de France,
Christel
http://toilesetfils.blogspot.com

Kathy H said...

I love your finishes. You remind me to try and get some of my ornaments finished too. Love how frosty turned out. I would love a chance to win the chart of that frosty. I am guessing you are going to Alaska. Some of my friends are taking a cruise there.

Maggie said...

Awww, i love all the visitors you get in your garden, we have nothing like that here, just birds and squirrels.
Your stitching and finishing are always beautiful, I love how you finish the PS you stitch into the oval shape.
I hope you have a great week x

Leonore Winterer said...

I great long post with so many topics! I'll probably forget half of what I meant to comment on while reading through it...
Great job getting back on track with your monthly ornaments! I know full well how hard it can be to play 'catch up' once you've fallen off any wagon, but you're doing great. Frosty is so cute, and your two sweet Santas look like they could be twins.
I also like your Penny America. I'm not usually a fan of 'patriotic' stitching (probably because I'm not American, and all those stars and stripes stuff doesn't mean anything to me, emotionally), but this design is very pretty with the bunch of flowers in the center! A great finish at well, that frame was a lucky find.
I'd very much like to be included in the giveaway, but I have no idea where you might be traveling too! Probably not somewhere too warm in the summer...maybe a short trip to Canada? At least that's where I'd like to go this time of year!
It's so interesting to see all those animals in your garden. We do have rabbits and foxes around here (although I've never encountered the latter in the wild), but those birds are new to me, and we do not have groundhogs. Look at him sitting there all cute, as if you couldn't be made responsible for any mischief!
That storm looked very scary. I'm glad to hear you are alright.

Lisa said...

Your finishes are just beautiful. THanks for sharing how you finish your items....that is one area of htis craft where I need a lot of practice. Seeing other stitchers' ideas helps so much. I would love to win the chart, and my guess is you are traveling somewhere in Europe.

Graciela from Minnesota said...

Thanks for the chance to win the chart. I so look forward to reading your blog. You inspire me to try new things I've never done before. My guess for your travels is Hawaii. Go big right? We too have quite an array of animals in our yard. Wasn't to excited about the coyote last week but our neighbors chickens seemed to have survived the pass through. Email is:gmalberg@msn.com

Julie said...

Frosty is so cute and of course the PS santas always please me when I see you have been busy whipping up one of those.
Lots of friends visiting your garden, both feathered and furry. The groundhog certainly looks like he's on guard.
That's a lot of rain cascading outside your lovely home.
xx

Audrey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Audrey said...

I'd love to win your snowman chart and I liked that you changed up the colors to blue. I want to say you are going to Alaska but I'll bet it's closer by - maybe New England?? Both places I'd love to visit. audreybretz@gmail.com

Katie said...

Beautiful finishes. I love the changes you made to Frosty Flakes. The finish is just perfect of course. The patriotic piece is fantastic too. Love the free frame. Congrats Barb! Please don't enter me into your drawing. Have fun wherever you are traveling. I look forward to hearing about it. Love your critter photos. The fox is just beautiful. The turkeys are too cute! Glad your storm damage wasn't any worse. We actually need rain after all the heavy rain we had the last few months.

Karen said...

Great finishes as always, Carol. Frosty Flakes is my favorite. That's a lot of wildlife. I've seen turkeys, deer, and rabbits on my walks.

Margaret said...

Love all your finishes -- yay for being pretty caught up with your Christmas stitching! Love that patriotic finish too. Yikes on the thunderstorm! So scary! I think I would have freaked out for sure!

Jennifer said...

Great stitching and wonderful finishing as always Carol and I love the frame you got off the free table! The animals are great and maybe they are keeping the deer away this year? That fox is so pretty, I have seen a few and they always run away too...good thing I guess! I just had a week home alone too and it was great to have no commitments (except work!) and I cooked all the meals I like and the kids don’t care for. Hope you have a great trip and look forward to pictures!

Jutta said...

Dear Carol,
both Christmas ornaments have become quite magical, I have to try the oval one.
Penny America is also very much to my taste!
I would like to 3in your give away, I know where you are going on vacations ;-)
Such great photos of all animals, big and small, thank you!
Love to you, Jutta

Cathy H. said...

Oh, your finished pieces are wonderful! I love "Frosty Flakes" with the blue gingham. I stitched it last year I think. It's one of my favorite ornaments. Also love the patriotic piece, once again perfect finishing! We've been remodeling, so stitching has been put away since March. I am so ready to dig it out again, maybe this next week! Happy July to you!

rebelrosecreations@gmail.com said...

I've been reading your blog and now have the chance to comment for the first time! Love all the photos. Congrats on the finish. I too am stitching Christmas in July. I would love a chance to be entered in your give-away.

Thank you for the wonderful post you have been doing

Christie G. aka East Coast Stitcher

Mini said...

Hi Carol, its supposed to be monsoon season here in Mumbai but its not been raining since 2 weeks which is worrisome. But I'm surely not missing Kuwait heat.
Your ornaments are just perfect ,I mean you have a great eye for what cording, backing fabric etc to use.
The patriotic finishing is lovely.
Oh how I would love to live in a place where I can see rabbits, turkeys and foxes.
I'm still waiting for my giveaway chart to arrive.

Sheryl said...

Great stitching and finishing on the Frosty Flakes embroidery, I like how you have added white snowflakes underneath the snowman and how you have finished the piece with the blue plaid fabric. Wish we had some interesting wildlife nearby to photograph, your garden is amazing especially seeing the turkeys and the groundhog making himself at home on your porch. Bit scary about the flooding.

Andrea said...

Some great finishes. Your Frosty Flakes looks so different to the original just by changing a few colours. I love the frame you got.

You really have a menagerie in your back garden.

Have a good weekend.

Lili said...

Lovely stitching, Carol! I love your Christmas ornaments!

Big hug x

Sally said...

Your garden is amazing Carol and I just love all the creatures that come to visit. I would love to be included in the draw for the Frosty Flakes chart. As for your holiday, I think you are going on a cruise around the Greek Islands. That would be such an amazing holiday. That’s one destination that I hope to get to one day. Have a great weekend!

RJ said...

Hi Carol! I love your snowman in blue...perfect color change. I have stitched him and he was an enjoyable stitch. I also love your PS Santas and the wonderful finishes you do. I have those oval templates but what do you use to cut it with? I love your patriotic stitch and finish. How lucky you were to get such a wonderful frame for free. You have put it to wonderful use.
I know where you are going but I won't give it away but I can't wait to hear all about it. My husband and I have talked about doing something very similiar so I'm anxious to hear how you like it. RJ@stitchingfriendsforever

Mary said...

Carol, Oh my, I just adore all your finishes!! The PS Santas in green are my favorite Christmas ornaments you have ever done. I can see why your willing to stitch them so often. I just bought my first ever PS santa pattern and can't wait to get stitching on it. Your Patriotic stitch is gorgeous!!! I love the penny round sides on it and the thrifter that I am got a thrill that you found the frame for free and used a thrifted shirt!! It's truly a gorgeous stitch and finish. I stitched that cute little snowman so will pass on your giveaway but I do like your color changes. I'm just starting to get braver with changing designs and colors a bit. I have lots of critters that visit my yard too, I can't put up bird feeders because they will get knocked down by the bears. I had one on my front porch eating the suet and that was the end of feeders going up while the bears are out.
I can't wait to hear all about your vacation!!!! Hopeyour having a marvelous time. Mary

Meari said...

It is a pleasure coming to read your blog every time! I just love your finishes :) Especially Penny America.

Oh yes, please include me in your Frosty Flakes giveaway. Where in the World is Carol? Maybe going to DC? Or PA? Although, I hope it's a more exotic place.

It must be wonderful to see so much wildlife near your home. I would LOVE it.

Halland House Gifts said...

Carol, what wonderful wild life you get to enjoy. I can totally relate to the river running through your property. This has happened to us three times in the 19 years we’ve lived here—twice this year. The last time was about two weeks ago when we got 3” in about an hour and a half. The ground was already wet. Certainly great weather for stitching. Judy

Rina said...

What a joy to see your finishes and your wildlife! I just started following you on IG (@stitcherina) and I look forward to reading some of your "backlist" of blog posts, as I just came back to see you after a long time of being off cross stitching in favor of knitting and quilting. Well, cute Mr Frosty Flakes in blue makes me want to immediately dust off my pile of patterns and dig out that one to whip up in your fresh blues!!! I bet I even have a skein of Dungarees too! :) No need to include me in your drawing as I know I have this pattern. How perfect is that fabric for your finish!!! Your work is always SO beautiful and thanks for the inspiration.

Janice Boucher said...

Hi Carol.... love love love all your snowmen in the cubby shelves. Could you please tell me the designer of cubby snowman #3 and #10
Thanks! Janice