Sunny days and snowy stitching

Hello, all! I hope this post finds you doing well? Thankfully, the second half of July has been much, much quieter than the first and I've had some much-needed "me" time. As an introvert, I relish my alone time and truly need it to "recharge" after a lot of social activities like I had in the first two weeks of July. I know that sounds strange to you extroverts who thrive on parties and get-togethers, doesn't it? But, my fellow introverts understand, don't you? So, how did I spend my quiet time? Well by stitching and reading and puttering around the house, of course! 

I actually stitched up three new ornaments, but I'm only going to share two of them with you today. The third isn't fully finished so I'll wait a bit to show you that one. These are my monthly ornaments for the stitch along that I host on Instagram otherwise known as the #12in23ornamentstitchalong. My July ornament is this little cutie by Heart In Hand called "A Very Merry Christmas." It's stitched on 40 ct. woodland brown Newcastle linen and I changed all of the colors except for the white and the light pink due to the darkness of my fabric. 

My July ornament: Heart In Hand's "A Very Merry Christmas"

I did make a small change in the design--I left off the stocking that was charted on the right and replaced it with two of the smaller light green trees. I wanted this to resemble a cozy looking Christmas house in the middle of a forest of trees and I love the final result! For the finish, I sewed on a narrow strip of red and white striped fabric bordered by some cheery black fabric with white polka dots. Add a white button, little red ribbon, and some white cording--and there you have it... my July ornament all ready for the Christmas tree!

This one just makes me happy!

August's ornament uses basically the same colors so it was easy to just dive right in and begin stitching. This design is by Lila's Studios and is part of her "Spirit of Christmas, Set 2" chart. Isn't that the prettiest shade of red in the bird? I used the suggested GAST color: "Schoolhouse Red" and, once again, chose to stitch it on 40 ct. woodland brown Newcastle. I love how well white shows up on this pretty shade of brown linen. The green I chose for this piece is CC "Steamed Broccoli."

"Spirit of Christmas, Set 2" by Lila's Studio is my ornament choice for August

The only design change I made was to add three small snowflakes underneath the word "Noel." I just thought it needed "a little something" in that vacant space. I changed the bird's legs to DMC 3021 from the suggested black, too. The finish was easy--just surrounded the entire thing with handmade cording and topped it with a gingham bow, red bell, and some greenery. What do you think? Such a cheery little piece!

August's ornament

It's nice to be a bit ahead in my ornament stitching! Hard to believe there are only five more months left in 2023, isn't it? I'm already looking forward to seeing my Christmas tree all decked out in December!

My July and August 2023 ornament finishes

Giveaway... So, in keeping with the spirit of Christmas, how about the chance to win a little gift today? I have a very sweet one passed on to me from Janet in Texas (thank you so much again, Janet) who sent me many, many charts to use in my giveaways. This is actually an entire kit from Lizzie Kate which includes the chart, a piece of the suggested fabric, and two tiny accent buttons as shown in the photo below. Would anyone like to enter the giveaway? If you'd like to win the kit, please follow the guidelines below. I'll announce the winner in my next blog post--good luck to all!

I'm having a drawing for this Lizzie Kate kit. If you would like to enter, please follow the guidelines below:

To be included in the drawing for this Lizzie Kate kit, please...

1) Specifically mention that you would like to win the kit in your comment 

2) Be a follower of Stitching Dreams (in my blog's sidebar on the right)

3) Make sure to leave your email address in your comment if I don't already have it

4) Answer the "Getting to Know You" question below. 

 

Getting to Know You... For those of you who are new to my blog, I like to pose these little questions from time to time so I can get to know my friends and fellow stitchers a bit better. After all, you know a fair amount about me from reading my blog, so I'd love to know more about you. Today's question is: "What one thing can instantly make your day better?" Hmmm... there are many things, but one that really stands out for me is the sound of laughter--especially from my grandson or my sons. I still love hearing all my "boys" (who are now grown men between the ages of 35 and 41!) laughing together as they tease and joke amongst themselves. Nothing warms my heart more than knowing my family is happy and enjoying their time with each other. And now that has spread to my little grandson--oh, how his laughter lights up my day! How about you? I'd love to hear your answer to today's question!

46 years... I did have one big event occur in the past couple of weeks and that was the celebration of 46 years of marriage! What?! How can that be? I met my husband as a teenager--we were just 19-years-old and beginning our second year of college. And then at the age of 22--just two months after our graduation, we were married in 1977. That's almost unheard of in today's world, isn't it? We kind of "grew up" together in a way. But, here we are--still smiling and laughing after all those years. No big party or trip this year--we're saving them for the "big one"--our 50th anniversary in four more years! We celebrated with a quiet dinner out with my middle son and his girlfriend at a local Mexican restaurant. Very simple and casual just the way we like things!

Still laughing together on our 46th wedding anniversary!

How is your garden doing this year? Ours is bursting with flowers and tomatoes right now. They've been loving the sunny weather we've had this season. We feel very blessed to have escaped most of the horrible high temperatures that have swept over much of the U.S. and Europe this summer. In fact, many in our area are joking that people will be wanting to move to southwestern Pennsylvania for our climate! Haha! Anyway, we've been very lucky this summer and our garden seems happy.

The bright and beautiful colors of summer

I like to place my zinnias in individual glass bottles on a little tray. Such a quick, fun arrangement!

My husband wanted me to take a photo of him in the sunflower garden to share with his brothers. He titled it: "Too much fertilizer!"

So, that's about it for July! I hope each of you has a fabulous month of August... We don't have any special plans, but, of course, we hope to see our little grandson at some point. We try to get together at least once a month which isn't always easy given our four hour distance from him. But, it sure is easier than when he lived all the way across the country in San Diego and for that, we are thankful...  

Speaking of thanks, I hope you know how much I appreciate each of your sweet comments. I can't always reply to each of you as many of you are "no-reply" commenters and I don't have your email address, but I hope you know I read and appreciate every single comment! Take good care, my friends! Bye for now...