Stitching the summer away

Hello all! How is your July going so far? Ten days in and it's been a hot month here so far... But, I'm not complaining--after the horrible flooding rains in Texas, New Mexico, and North Carolina and the wildfires burning up parts of California,  I feel very lucky to live in a part of the country that rarely has to deal with natural disasters. It's been heartbreaking reading about the girls' camp and loss of so many lives in Texas hill country, hasn't it? Almost beyond belief that this could happen in the age of modern communications, cell phones, and such. That river rose so very fast (26 feet in 45 minutes), that many stood no chance at all. 

I turn to thoughts of my sweet grandsons to bring me peace during these sad, sad times. Mister B just celebrated his fifth birthday this week and Baby N, now two months old, is growing by leaps and bounds. I so look forward to the daily photos and videos that my son and daughter-in-law send--I'm just itching to see those darling boys again. And it won't be long! We'll soon be gathering for our annual triple birthday celebration for my husband, my youngest son, and my oldest grandson--we all look forward to it every year!

I've been busy finishing up Baby N's birth sampler. My plan was to finish it by Christmas, but I should have it framed and gifted by the end of August. I'm actually ahead of schedule for a change! My daughter-in-law chose this vintage-looking sampler pattern for her youngest son, and although that checkerboard border tried my patience, I really loved stitching the little trucks and train. May I present "Fire Engine" by Historical Sampler Company in England. Luckily, I was able to purchase and download the chart from The Fat Quarter Shop which made it quick and easy to obtain. There was a cross stitch alphabet included for personalization, but Baby N's name is too long to fit, so I chose to do a simpler straight stitched and back-stitched alphabet which is one of my favorites. I did make a couple of minor changes, but if you like the look of this font, you can find it right here. 

Baby N's birth sampler: "Fire Engine" by Historical Sampler Company

It is stitched on 40 ct. soft ivory Newcastle with all of the suggested colors. Here is a close-up of the border and two of the trucks. I'm thinking about getting a dark blue frame for this one. What do you think?

Such cute little motifs--I hope Baby N likes cars and trucks as much as his big brother does!

I do have a question for you, though... Look at the train--each car is sitting separately. Should I join them with straight stitches or leave as is? As my husband pointed out, there are two engines going in two different directions so which one is pulling it? I keep going back and forth as to what to do! I'd love to know your thoughts! 

I'm planning on framing this in a simple dark blue frame.

I also stitched a couple of cute designs and made them into birthday cards. The one on the left, "Hello Spring," (by Cherry Hill Stitchery) can be found in the Spring 2023 issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher magazine. I used 40 ct. soft ivory Newcastle with my choice of threads. For interest, I added little gold beads to the centers of some of the flowers. And the blue bird on the right is from a JBW Designs kit called "Sweet Springtime Songbird. I used most of the suggested colors for this one and stitched it on 40 ct. soft ivory Newcastle (I seem to be using that fabric a lot lately!). Adding some simple bows and pink gingham ribbon to the card fronts helps make them a bit more special, don't you think?

A couple of sweet stitched birthday cards

And! I have another framed finish to share with you today. I had stitched "Fourth of July Picnic" back in 2023, and, for me, a two year wait is not bad at all. I think this is one of my all-time favorite pieces--it's just so charming with that sweet girl, the little brown pup, and the button flowers. If you'd like to read about my finish from two years ago, you can find it right here. 

My framed finish of "Fourth of July Picnic" by Samplers Not Forgotten

 

I ordered the ridged gray and white frame from one of my favorite online stores, Franken Frames, which I've linked to many times before. This isn't a huge piece so the framing was quite easy and I love how it turned out! I always use the framing tutorial that Brenda Gervais offered on her old blog which you can still find by clicking here. It's really not difficult at all--and what a huge money saver it is to frame things yourself! Give it a try! 

The newly framed piece fit in perfectly with one of my patriotic displays in my kitchen corner cupboard.

Due to our over-abundance of rain earlier in the summer and now our very hot temperatures, our garden is not looking all that great. Some of the plants and flowers that my husband planted didn't even come up  and he's had just one lone ripe tomato so far (with very few on the way). Oh, well, some years are like that... There are some pretty flowers blooming in the fenced in vegetable/flower garden, though, which have made for nice cutting flowers to brighten my kitchen. I'm so appreciative that my husband puts in all the effort for us when it comes to flowers. I am just not a gardener :) 

Some of the pretty daisies, hydrangeas, and bachelor's buttons that we cut and bring inside for our table.

We have milkweed growing in the garden in an attempt to lure  monarch butterflies. I was so excited to see one perched briefly on the milkweed (even if I was too slow to get a photo of it).

And, I'd like to introduce you to our two newest residents... 

We so enjoy seeing the spotted fawn twins romping around our yard. They have the best time leaping and prancing as they chase each other around the pond.

Hope you all have a relaxing weekend ahead and can stay cool inside and just s-t-i-t-c-h! Can't imagine my life without this wonderful hobby, can you? Thanks so much for dropping by and taking the time to say "hello!" And thank you for all of the kind comments on my Milan, Italy post last time. I owe several of you emails--hope to get to those soon! I'll be back at the end of the month with my Christmas ornaments for June and July--fingers crossed! Bye for now...