Buzzing in with a couple late summer finishes...

Hello, hello! How is everyone doing on this mid-August morning? The month is half over and it's been quite a rollercoaster ride in terms of weather so far. Last week we had bad storms with high winds passing through the area almost daily along with high temperatures in the 90s. And then this weekend it cooled off so much that I had to put on my toasty white, well-loved (that should read almost thread-bare!) chenille winter robe in the mornings--crazy for late summer! Today, more storms are in the forecast. Yep! A rollercoaster for sure. But, honestly, I'm not complaining after seeing all the fires, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes that are devastating our planet. It is heartbreaking... and concerning... and it makes me truly worry for the future of our younger generations...

With everything going on around the world, I've been having trouble concentrating on my stitching. Oh, I've done a bit here and there, but my mind begins to wander and I can't seem to focus. Is anyone else having that problem? I did work on a couple of new bee themed pieces and finished those up last week. Can you spot them in my August bee/sunflower display?

My bee/sunflower display makes such a nice transition into fall decorating. It is one of my favorites to put out each August.

 

There is something so special about the way the light begins to filter in through the windows as fall approaches...

 

Here are a couple of close-ups for you. Do you have a favorite? I think mine is the Prairie Schooler "H Is for Honeybee" that I stitched a few years ago.

So, did you spot the two newest additions? Well, one of them is right in the middle framed in black. It is a cute freebie that was offered by Liz Mathews in her newsletter. You can subscribe on her website  right here.  I did change the colors up a bit for this finish making the border black, adding little stripes to the bees' bodies, and giving them black heads and white wings. I also stitched the flowers in a pinker color. The colors I used on 40 ct. sand Newcastle were: DMC white, 311, 520, 522, 646, 729, 950, 3046, and 3722. I also left off the band-stripe thing in the design and just stitched the middle medallion portion. This is one of the easiest types of finishes, but it is so effective, isn't it? The frame is one I've had in my stash from Marshalls--a perfect fit! The background fabric is a piece from a charm pack of fabrics applied to sticky board. I purchase a lot of charm packs to use in my finishing rather than buy larger cuts of fabric because most of my finishes are quite small.

Bee freebie finish from "Hello From Liz Mathews"

 

The second new bee addition is this Homespun Elegance design shown below called "Crows 'A Plenty." And yes, there were plenty more crows in the original design... I just couldn't take any more "over one" stitching of those black birds--my eyes were crying out for me to stop! So, I just stitched the middle hive and bee portion with a crow on either side. There is also a tiny ladybug creeping toward the hive on the right side! Can you spot it? This one is stitched on 28 ct. vintage country mocha cashel linen with the suggested colors. Love how this long pillow turned out!

Two crows was plenty for me!

 

When I add new pieces to collections, I try to use colors in my finishing that will blend nicely with the existing pillows. In this case, you'll notice mostly gold and black with hints of green and pink. The beautiful yellow sunflowers were miniature ones grown by my  husband in his vegetable (rapidly turning into "my" cutting flower!) garden. I've so enjoyed all my cut flowers this year and will miss them once summer is over... I really can't thank him enough for the time he's put into growing flowers for us (me!) this year!

A final look at my bee/sunflower display for the summer of 2021

 

And here are some of the busy little fellows doing their work on our beautiful garden sunflowers!

Oh, they are hard workers!

A lone honey bee. Sadly, we are not seeing nearly as many as we used to.

 

Well, I did it! I took a deep breath and mailed off some of my stitching to be framed at Total Framing in Virginia. They made the process so easy and I'm very pleased with my framed "A Stitch In Time by the Workbasket" which I shared with you back this post post in April. The frame picks up the browns so nicely, doesn't it? 

My framed finish of "A Stitch In Time" by The Workbasket

The frame, as described by Total Framing, is "a coffee colored burl scoop" design and I love how it looks hanging on my family room wall. Except now the fact that I really, really need to paint the room itself is glaringly obvious! But, seriously, I can't stop staring at it. The one change I would make for next time, is to specify that I want a bit wider margin left around the stitching. Other than that minor issue, though, I'm very pleased and would definitely use their services again!

Love the rustic looking dark frame!

I also added a few goodies to my stash which I haven't done in quite a while. I love the series of small holiday designs created by Brenda Gervais (of course!) and just had to add them to my collection. Am I the only one who gets pleasure in just leafing through my charts? I know that, at age 66, I will never get them all stitched, but it really doesn't matter. Looking through them and dreaming makes me happy and it's such a simple, inexpensive way to treat yourself! The darling tiered tray designs by Madame Chantilly and the handsome robin by Cottage Garden Samplings also captured my heart. I'm sure at least some of these will be stitched at some point--I promise!

Which one should I start next? I'm leaning toward the Autumn themed tiered tray.

Giveaway time! So, it's been a while since I've had a giveaway... How about this sweet sampler from an old Leisure Arts magazine? The "Proverbs 7:4 Sampler"  features the Bible verse ("Say to wisdom, thou art my sister, and call understanding thy kinswoman") along with two little sisters holding hands, a black dog, a willow tree, and a red house--so cute! The sampler can be stitched as shown or stitched without the verse and placed in a box or smaller frame. Would anyone be interested in stitching this? If so, please: 1) Specifically mention that you would like to stitch the sampler in your comment below, 2) Make sure to include your email address if I don't already have it, and 3) Answer today's "Getting To Know You" question. I will be folding this chart to fit in a legal-sized envelope to keep postage costs down when I mail it. The giveaway winner will be announced on my next blog post. Good luck to all!

If you would like to enter the giveaway for this sweet sampler, please follow the directions above!

Getting To Know You! For those of you new to my blog, I like to get to know a little bit more about my stitching friends so I pose random questions now and then. Today's question is not really a question, but something just for fun... Quick! Look around you and tell me three things that make you smile. No cheating and walking into a "more interesting"  room! Well, I'm in my kitchen where I write my blog posts so, it's easy... Three things that make me smile are right now are: 1) The plump ripe tomatoes sitting beside the kitchen sink that my husband has pronounced the best tomatoes he's ever grown, 2) The family photos on my refrigerator. I never used to put anything on the refrigerator, but as my family has grown, it is getting more and more papered with favorite family faces. 3) The little bookshelf at the end of my kitchen island where I store cookbooks and some of my Dedham pottery collection. I'm so glad we added this feature when we remodeled our home 25 years ago! So, now it's your turn--what are three favorite spots or sights in your room?

I have one last thing that makes me smile--this batch of fresh banana carrot muffins that I made yesterday. Carrot cake and banana bread in muffin form? Yes, please!  I made the recipe as suggested, but did cut the white sugar down to 1/4 cup. I seem to be doing that more and more in my baking lately and am finding I really don't miss all that sugar. Give it a try! The recipe is one I've mentioned before and I got it from the blog Fork In the Kitchen  right here. Hope you enjoy them--they freeze great, too!

A delicious way to start your day--Banana Carrot Muffins!

I may be missing in action a bit over the next couple of weeks because, guess who's coming to visit? A certain one-year-old and his parents are flying in for a week before a family wedding in New York. This will mark the first time anyone on my side of the family has met "Baby B," so we're hoping and praying that their travel plans go smoothly. With the terrible uptick in Covid cases, it's hard to plan ahead, isn't it? Please stay safe my friends... 

Thanks so much for visiting me today--I love reading your comments and hearing your answers to the "Getting To Know You" questions. I do enjoy the give and take of blogging that isn't found as much on other forms of social media. And I love having this written record of my life over the past 13 years--I can't tell you how often I refer to my blog when wanting to check on dates of trips or events or look up favorite recipes. I know blogging isn't as popular these days, but I want to truly thank all of you who visit and take the time to comment. It's nice to know someone is still out there reading! Take care, my friends! Bye for now...

Bunnies and blue (and a bit of beach time)

The last day of April--can you believe it? The year is one third over! I'm back with some stitching and a life update and I hope this finds you all doing well. Who else is finding stitching time to be in short supply at this point in the year? I think I stitched a total of about two hours over the past week (but I do have a good excuse for that which I'll go into later on in this post). 

For those of you who know me only as that dedicated "one ornament a month" or small pillow stitcher, you'll probably be a bit surprised by this new finish. I began "A Stitch In Time" by The Workbasket back in July 2020 when we were in California quarantining before our grandson came into the world. I worked on it from time to time since then and finally finished it completely in early March. I've had this chart in my stash for years (it is from 2005) and I'm glad I finally took the plunge and stitched it.

"A Stitch In Time" finish

The suggested Kreinik Silk Mori threads on 40 ct. Woodland Newcastle linen were used for this finish. I love the beautiful flowers in varying shades of blue with their specialty stitches.

And the little creatures are so adorable... I mean who doesn't love a pale blue swan? Those cute white owls are so sweet, too!

As always, I made a few changes to my finish... The original design had the saying "A stitch in time saves my mind" charted below the flower pot (you can see it right here) and it just didn't appeal to me. So, I made the decision to center the entire motif and eliminate the words. Instead, I stitched my initials and the year on either side of the flower pot and I'm very pleased with the result!

Can't wait to get this one back from the framer!

I took a leap of faith and mailed this piece (along with two other large finishes) to Total Framing in Virginia so they could work their magic. Hopefully, I'll have them back some time in May. And, of course, I'll share the framed finishes with you right here. 

What draws you to choose what to stitch? For me, the colors in this design are perfect for my family room, but the thing that really called my name were the cute bunnies on the flower pot. They remind me so much of the Dedham Pottery bunnies that I've collected for years. I began collecting these reproduction pieces in the '90s and purchased most of them on Ebay. Through the years I've probably added nearly 50 pieces to my collection. 

For the past couple of months, I've filled my Pottery Barn cubby with some of my Dedham Pottery. As you can see there are bunny figurines, little vases and jars--even a two-piece egg!

My Pottery Barn cubby this month

I'm not sure what captivated me about this pottery. I do love the bunnies' sweet faces, of course, but I also love the crackled glazing on the pieces. And, of course, I love the blue and white--always such a crisp, clean look.

Do you have a favorite?

 

I also have some larger pieces not displayed here including two different teapots, a casserole dish, even a recipe box! They've been displayed in the glass-front cabinets in my kitchen for over 25 years and I've never grown tired of them. 

Why, I even have similar bunnies on the pillow covers in my family room which I ordered on Etsy--they came all the way from England!

Here you can see the pillows in my family room setting. Remember the new rug that I mentioned a few posts back. Many of you said you'd like to see it, so here it is... Yes, it's clear that I love blues! That navy blue chair on the left is my stitching chair, which, sadly hasn't seen much use lately. Why is that? Well... read on!

My family room--and my stitching chair where you'll find me most every evening!

 

And here is a view from the opposite end--on the far right you can see my Pottery Barn cubby hanging on the wall leading into the kitchen. I stood on the window seat to take this photo which is why the room looks bigger than it is! It's simply a nice cozy space and the new rug gave the room some much needed pattern...

So, why haven't I been stitching? Two weeks after we returned from seeing our grandbaby in California, we were on the plane again--this time heading south to sunny Naples, Florida. No, it wasn't for a holiday--we were there to work. And work we did--boy, I can't remember the last time I was that tired at the end of each day. You see, my in-laws' health has deteriorated so they had to bid farewell to their Florida home and are now residing in a nursing home in Ohio (about an hour from us). We flew down to get their home ready for the rental market which meant a lot of trips to Goodwill (for both dropping off and purchasing), organizing, cleaning, repairing, rearranging, etc. 

We did enjoy a bit of free time over the weekend when my youngest son flew in for a quick visit. We went out to eat with him a couple of times and saw the prettiest skies as the sun was about to set. I did manage to take one lone walk on the lovely Naples beach which is only five blocks from my in-laws' home.

Naples, Florida at sunset

Naples is truly one of the prettiest places I've visited--beautiful homes, wonderful restaurants, and charming little shops and boutiques. If you haven't had the chance to visit, I highly suggest it! I'm usually not one for the sun and heat and beach life, but even I fell under the spell of this Gulf Coast city.

The beautiful end of a busy day

My youngest son took this photo of my husband and me at the Naples dock right before dinner. We don't look too tired here, but, honestly, we were both wiped out from working from dawn to bedtime... Did we get everything done? No, we will be making more trips down at some point. But, I think next time, we'll try to fit in a bit more relaxation (and I'll definitely make sure to carve out more stitching time!).

Tired, but still smiling!

Giveaway winner... I drew a name for the chart of the yellow daffodils in the blue vase  that I offered in my previous post and the winner is...

APRIL M. 

April--you are the winner of this chart!

Congratulations, April! Please email me with your mailing address and I'll get this chart right out to you. I hope you enjoy stitching it--it really is a beauty. I'll be having more giveaways in future posts, so please stop by again!

I was the winner of a beautiful giveaway on Instagram myself! Just look at this huge project pouch made by the talented Michelle from Under the Woolen Willow. Michelle "saves the stitches" that she finds in thrift stores and turns them into beautiful project pouches. She has a wonderful Etsy shop which you can find right here. Thank you again, Michelle--this was a real treat and your work is perfection!

A lovely giveaway win from Michelle at "Under the Woolen Willow"

I was happy to find our spring flowers and trees still in bloom when we returned from Florida. Honestly, is it just me, or do they seem to be more beautiful than ever this year? This busy bee certainly seems to be loving the miniature rhododendron. We had heavy rains yesterday which brought down many of the blossoms, but I was so glad to enjoy a few days of their beauty and lovely scent.

Spring in western Pennsylvania

 

Well, a busy month lies ahead, but it's one I've waited for for ever-so-long--my grandson is coming for a visit! Yes, my oldest son, daughter-in-law, and almost 10-month-old (and into EVERYTHING!) grandbaby will be here for two weeks in May. I've been busy setting up a little play area (at the far end of our sunroom where the Christmas tree usually sits), babyproofing, and purchasing a crib, highchair, diapers, etc. in preparation. (My oldest son has not been home in over a year and a half so I think he is more excited than anyone)! Thank goodness for vaccinations--such a feeling of freedom after all the time we were isolated from our loved ones. I feel truly grateful and thankful for the scientists who worked so hard to come up with these vaccines, don't you?

I'm having such fun setting up a little play area for my grandson's visit!

I'll be reading blogs only off and on during their visit, but I hope each of you has a wonderful month of May. Not sure when I will post again, but I'll try to check in with you at some point. Thank you for all of your supportive comments--I do appreciate each and every one. I'm also thankful for those of you who have taken the time to email me and thank me for inspiring you, stitching-wise. Those kind emails always make me smile and give me the push I need to keep on writing "Stitching Dreams." Have a wonderful day, everyone! Bye for now...