For the Love Of Black Cats

Happy end of September! Are you ready for a new month? In some ways it seems 2020 is passing at a snail's pace and in others, it is like a runaway train--speeding by with no sense of direction. It's been a beautiful month here in the mid-Atlantic states with warm days and cool nights--perfect sleeping weather. The cooler weather moved in yesterday, however, and I think it's here to stay. Great stitching weather, though, and I'm looking forward to it. 

Today I have a trio of finishes to share with you on one of my favorite subjects: black cats! Oh, I know... black cats are supposed to bring bad luck and they are even adopted from shelters at a much lower rate than other cats because of that superstition. Well, having had a black cat named Shadow for 14 years when my sons were growing up was one of the best chapters in my life. Ever since then, I've had a love for the sleek felines and, if it weren't for our travels and my husband's allergies to them, I would definitely adopt another one. 

These cute pillows are all designed by Blue Ribbon Designs and were featured in various Just Cross Stitch Magazines. I had stitched the one below on the left last year and decided to make two more and finish them in a similar way to display in this little wooden tray.

A trio of black cat finishes

 

The chart from the one I stitched last year can be found in the October 2018 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine and is called "Startled Superstition." Don't you love the expression on the cat's face? Now, hovering right above the cat are two things I do fear--bats! Ugh!!!

 

"Startled Superstition"

 

I used 40 ct. vintage country mocha Newcastle for these and changed the colors to all DMC: 311, 3826, 976, 640, 729, 648, B5200. I also changed the outer border from orange to black. To finish it, I added some black ric-rak and a thin border of an orange and black print fabric to the side. Of course, I had to add my cording along with a black button, topped with a rust colored button, topped with a little checked bow.

 

Love black cats, but don't care for those bats!

The second pillow, called "Midnight Meeting" (from the October 2016 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine, was stitched on the same fabric with the same thread colors that I chose for the pillow above.

"Midnight Meeting"

I wanted the borders to match on all three, so I changed that up a bit, too. I think the shy smiles on the little ghosts are so sweet! This was the narrowest of the three designs so I did a border of ric-rak and fabric on each side, topped it with a gingham ribbon and an old brass jack-o-lantern charm.

Love the cute ghosts!

The final black cat stitchery is called "Scaredy Cat" and can be found in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween magazine from 2011. It's also stitched on 40 count vintage country mocha with the same DMC threads. I began stitching this one and thought, "Wait a minute! If I'm going to display these together, I want the two cats on each end to be facing each other." So, I took a photo of the chart with my phone and flipped it so it was the mirror image. Luckily, I had only stitched the cat's tail so I didn't have much to rip out!

"Scaredy Cat"

The border on this third design was totally different and done in green so I re-charted it to match the borders on the other two. Here is a close-up of it all finished up... what do you think? As you can see, I put the fabric strip on the opposite side of that in the first finish. I love the way all three look together and think this is a cute Halloween display without being creepy or scary. I haven't done much Halloween stitching since 2014 when my dad died on Halloween, but I'm hoping to do a few pieces now and then. It definitely changed the feeling of the holiday for me.

It was nice being able to use the same colors and fabric for all three!

So, do you have a favorite? I think I like the last one the best--not sure why! I like the happy (rather than scary) pumpkin in it, too. I haven't stitched very many Blue Ribbon Designs, but will definitely be doing more.

 

One final look at the black cat trio.

Would you like to see a photo of my sweet Shadow who started my love for all-black cats? He was one big black cat--nearly 20 pounds! The vet said he could double as a panther in an action movie--he was that big. And, he was the very best pet for our boys--he followed them around in the yard, slept with my middle son, and really behaved much more like a dog than a cat. He, sadly, developed a tumor in his intestines and, even though we had him operated on, he ended up dying of it about 18 months later. Shadow was 14 years old when he died in 2007 and I still miss him dearly.

Shadow, 1993-2007

Gifts galore! In other stitching news, I've received some lovely gifts from stitchy friends from both Instagram and fellow bloggers. I still feel quite overwhelmed at the sheer thoughtfulness and generosity found in our community and I hope this kindness spreads to other online communities as well. This year, more than ever, we need a lot more kindness in our world, don't you think? Thank you to all of my sweet friends who surprised me with little bits of happiness in my mailbox recently...

 

Instagram friend Claire, in Canada, made me this darling scissor fob with the tiniest "over one" cardinals and the letter "C."

Instagram friend, Lois, from Northern Ireland sent my grandson this adorable book by two of my favorite children's authors.

Instagram friend, Tricia in Illinois, sent me some delicious honey harvested from her husband's beehives, two beeswax candles and these sweet bee-themed scissors.

Blogging and Instagram friend Stasi, in Virginia, sent this wonderful selection of ribbons for my finishing and two sweet "Handmade With Love" charms.

Blogging friend June, in England sent me a cute beveled frame so I can put some stitching or photos in it for my grandson's room.

Giveaway time... I haven't offered a giveaway in a while so how about the chance to win these two charts? I'm offering both because the chart for one is on the back of the photo for the other and I can't separate them. These are from an old Leisure Arts magazine (sorry, but I don't know the issue). One is a seasonal band sampler called "Peace and Plenty" and is filled with pumpkins and sunflowers and a pastoral looking farm scene. And the other is called "Toy-Lovers Santa" and features good St. Nick carrying a bag of toys and carrying a snow globe with what appears to be a tiny Nativity scene inside.

If you would like to win these two charts, please follow the three steps below and I'll pull a name from the hat and post it sometime in October.

If you would like to win these two charts (which are torn from a magazine and will be folded to fit in a legal sized envelope to keep postage costs down): 1) Please let me know you are entering the giveaway in your comment below; 2) Make sure to leave your email if I don't have it already, and 3) Answer the question in my "Getting To Know You" section below. I'll let you know the winner in late October so you have a while to enter! Good luck to all!

Getting to know you... For today's question, I'd love to know if you like your first name and why or why not? My answer: Actually, I do like my first name even though "Carol" definitely screams "born in the 1950s." My mom and dad named me Carol as I was supposed to be born on Christmas, but just wasn't ready to appear until mid-January. "Carol" originated in France and means "song of joy"  and, to me, it always sounds like a happy name. ♪♫♪ I wasn't named after anyone... my parents simply liked the name and I'm happy they chose it!

So, now it's your turn... Do you like your first name? I'd love to get to know you a bit better...

With fall comes the job of cleaning up the garden which I leave to my husband. This spring he put up a new deer and critter-proof fence  and halved the size of our garden. This fenced in area is the only place we can grow flowers due to our overly abundant and very hungry deer, so the four raised beds are used for both vegetables and a few flowers. This is what it looked like in early summer (my husband surprised me by planting those small sunflowers when I returned from caring for my mom in May). I love the concrete slabs in between the beds as they keep your feet free of dirt when picking vegetables or flowers.

The newly configured garden in spring...

And here is the view at the end of summer. There were lots of tomatoes and butternut squash...

... and in fall 2020

Actually, there are way too many butternut squash--we have almost 20! Does anyone have any good recipes to recommend that would use up some of them? I am not usually a squash eater, but I may have to force myself this year!

I need Butternut Squash recipes--help!!

 

This year was definitely a transition year and my husband hopes to plant more flowers and a wider variety of vegetables next year. I did manage to get some pretty bouquets from our garden, though!

Love how the pink and white flowers look in the Delft pieces from my dear mother.

These gorgeous mums were sitting beside mom's grave during the funeral service and each of us kids took a pot of them home. 

Mom would have loved these mums so very much... She always enjoyed the colors of autumn in the northeast.

I'm still planning on doing a memorial tribute for my dear mother, just need to get a bit stronger. The good news is that I am getting less weepy--I noticed a distinct improvement this weekend so I'm hopeful... I still miss her dreadfully, though.

Well, that's it for me for September. I'll be taking a bit of a blogging break for part of October... Bet you know what that means, right? Yep--we are off to visit our little sweetheart grandson, "Baby B" who is now nearly 3 months old. I can't wait to hold him again--although he will look nothing like the nine day old cherub in this photo below. I mean look at that sweet dimple... sigh! Once again, we will be quarantining in an Airbnb before moving in with my son's family just to make sure we didn't pick up Covid on the flight to California. Wish us luck! I will be able to read your blogs while I'm gone, but won't be able to comment on them.

I have this photo of my sweet grandson right here in my kitchen where I can see it as I cook!

Don't forget, if you want to enter the giveaway, please make sure to include your email address (and that goes for anyone who wants a reply to a question as well, please). I hope you all have a wonderful October ahead and thank you all for visiting "Stitching Dreams," reading my way-too-long posts, and commenting--I do appreciate each of you so much! Bye for now... 

♥ Happy October to all! ♥

Back from the brink

I'm still here--I hope you haven't given up on me! Hello, my stitching friends... so good to be back and a sincere thank you to all who emailed me regarding my absence from the blogging world. Much of my month was spent anxiously worrying about and caring for my mom. Although she didn't contract COVID-19 per se, she was almost certainly a victim of the effects of it in a different way. The isolation  and lack of hope (while living in her locked-down senior living facility) wore her down to almost nothing. In fact, things were so dire, that my siblings and I drove to New York State on May 2nd to say, what we honestly thought, was to be our final goodbye. Oh, it was simply heartbreaking because we weren't allowed into her facility and had to wear masks and keep our distance while out on the patio. Still, we all broke protocol and gave her hugs as we tearfully said our farewells that Saturday. 

BUT--and it's a HUGE BUT... the director of the senior living facility, sensing that her life was in serious jeopardy, gave permission for me and my siblings to move in with mom (one at a time) to care for her. And you know what? With the one on one care, magic of the human touch, and unmasked smiles and encouragement from her kids, mom has come back from the brink... My sister (who lives closest to mom) took the first 10 day shift and she and I have alternated since. Each day mom is eating better, drinking more water, taking her medications, and responding to the love of her family. We are all so relieved! Thank goodness compassion was chosen over rule-following in this case or I know mom would no longer be with us.  Anyway, I'm leaving the month of  May in a much better state of mind than when it began...

On May 14th, Mom celebrated her 93rd birthday and I was the lucky child who was staying with her during that period. I had stitched a special gift for her and, with her health the way it was, had become increasingly worried that she would not be alive to receive it. But, thankfully, that sunny May morning I was able to give her a gift bag containing her favorite Stonewall Wild Maine Blueberry  Jam, two boxes of Walker Shortbread, and this darling stitched bird perched on a floral wreath.

Mom's 93rd birthday gift

This design is from the April 2018 issue of "Just Cross Stitch Magazine" and is created by Lucie Heaton. Since there are no local stores open to shop for frames right now, I turned to my stash of Goodwill thrifted frames and found this square brown one that fit the bill perfectly. The piece is stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle with the suggested colors. As most of you know, I am a blue girl and so is mom and the shades of blue in this are just delightful ranging from the palest baby blues, to turquoise to a dark indigo. And, who can resist that sweet little bird?

Luckily, I had this pretty frame in my stash of Goodwill finds!

I had picked the bouquet of lily-of-the-valley, periwinkle, pink columbine, and grape hyacinths before I left to be with my mom in New York on May 11th. Lily-of-the-valley always remind me of her because they bloom in mid-May and I used to decorate her birthday cakes (as a child) each year with the delicate white flowers and purple violets... Such happy memories.  

Just look at those shades of blue!

After pinning and framing the stitching, I like to cover the back of my framed piece with scrapbook paper and add a little tag if it is a gift.  This is the tag that I designed and added to the back--it's just printed on heavy paper and cut out with fancy scissors. It simply makes the gift a bit more special and personal, don't you think?

The back of my gift for mom

Mom was very touched by my gift and I was so relieved to be able to give it to her in person. Below is one of my favorite photos of us taken about this time of year back in 2016. We both look "just a bit" older now--ha ha! I remember this photo so well because my husband was taking our picture and neither mom or I could stop giggling for some reason. I love you so very much, mom! Happy 93rd Birthday!

Mom and me in 2016

I haven't felt like stitching my Christmas ornaments since this pandemic shut everything down, so I had to force myself to catch up a bit with my creations for March and April. Of course, I turned to my favorite comfort stitching designer--Prairie Schooler. For March, I stitched the 1991 annual Prairie Schooler Santa. This is a perfect example of how my tastes have changed through the years. When this design was released in 1991, I had no interest in it at all! But, fast forward to almost 30 (gasp!!) years later and I can see the beauty in it. Just look at all of those details... the pattern in his robe, the fruit in the bowl and the bag on Santa's back, and the piece of fruit sticking out of his pocket. Really, such a wonderful design.

1991 annual Prairie Schooler Santa finish

I finished this one the same way that I've finished other recent annual PS Santas... a checked red backing fabric, DMC 221 cording, and a little bow at the top. Love it! Most of the suggested DMC colors were used on 40 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Newcastle linen. I did substitute DMC 520 for the suggested green and darkened the lines in the pineapple a bit using DMC 869.

Such beautiful details in this one!

I forgot to take a "before" photo of  my April ornament, but I know you'll all recognize this as yet another Prairie Schooler Santa finished in an oval shape. This Santa, with the dove of peace perched on his shoulder, is stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen (can you tell I love Newcastle linen??!!). It can be found in the "Kris Kringle" leaflet (book no. 62). I had stitched this one before, but gave it away for a Christmas gift so this one will be staying right here with me.

Prairie Schooler Santa from the "Kris Kringle" booklet

Two more Santas will adorn my Christmas tree this year.

GIVEAWAY WINNER... I'm so sorry to be late with the winner of the giveaway for this pretty red house sampler. I just haven't been home enough to post or to comment on blogs, but I hope to start doing so soon. Anyway, the winner of the chart is...

JACKIE from "Jackie's Stitches"

Jackie--you are the winner!

Congratulations, Jackie! Please send me your mailing address and I'll get this out to you as soon as possible! Stay tuned for another giveaway in my next post--and thank you so much to all who commented and entered.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU... I've so enjoyed reading your responses to this fairly new section of my blog and I feel like your responses are helping me know my readers a bit more! So, here is today's question:  

1) What one thing would you change about yourself if you could? Well, in addition to wanting to be taller (I loved being short in high school, but hate it now!), the main thing I'd love to change is to be less shy. I've been shy since childhood and I know it has held me back in life by being too scared to speak up or being afraid to try new things. Starting this blog back in 2009 was a huge, huge leap of faith for me. In fact, people who know me well are very surprised that I blog. I'm so glad I did, though--I've "met" so many delightful people both in person and online. So, now it's your turn: what one thing would you change about yourself if you could?

Spring was cold and damp here in western Pennsylvania... But, because of that, the flowering trees and shrubs were simply lovely and the blooms lasted much longer than normal. Below, you can see some of the signs of spring in my yard and a very upset deer glaring at me through the window wondering why "his" bird seed has been all eaten up! The photo of the newborn deer in my blog header was taken by me way back in 2007. The sweet fawn was born in some tall grass next to our pond and I remember being so worried that the mother had abandoned it. But, no... I've since learned that mother deer leave their fawns for a while to protect them. Babies don't have a scent and the mothers do, so she purposely walks away for a while to lure potential predators from the newborns.

A western Pennsylvania spring: 2020

Two of our resident deer--the one in front is unusually light in color.

I had to laugh when I looked out and saw the fancy pattern the lawn guy left in the grass when he mowed our backyard! I guess he must have been bored or something!

I've been craving comfort foods--especially breads--during the pandemic lockdown so I tried a new recipe. I was very skeptical about how cinnamon-raisin bagels with no yeast would taste, but they were surprisingly good--and very easy to make! You can find the recipe for them right here. I'll definitely be making them again!

Very easy no yeast, no boil Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

I'll leave you with one last photo that is sure to make you smile. This is my "grandcat," Spike, exploring my middle son's new card catalog. To say I was jealous of my son's find is a bit of an understatement... (I mean I am a librarian after all!). This whole thing (missing one drawer) was only $70 and is made of heavy, good quality maple. Oh, how I would love to have something like that to store my floss in--wouldn't that be great? I'm not sure my son even knows what he's going to put in all of those little drawers, but I'm sure he'll come up with something. He's going to try to match the wood and create a false drawer front for the missing drawer in the lower left corner and it will be as good as new.  I know Spike is most appreciative of his new "toy!"

You've run out of "steps," Spike, you silly kitty!

Please forgive me for not answering emails or commenting on your blogs during this extremely stressful month. I really do hope things return to normal soon. I'm leaving for my next ten day visit with mom next week so I may be out of touch again. Please know how very much your sweet comments, support, and friendships mean to me--they truly do. Thank you all so very much! Bye for now...

Gifts given, goodies gobbled, and gorgeous Grumpy Cat

It's 2018--hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their new year! I have a few Christmas ornaments that I gave to friends and family to share with you today, but first, I want to tell you how much I enjoyed your comments on your favorite moment of last year. They certainly made me smile and I could truly feel how much they meant to each of you who shared... Blogging can sometimes feel like a one-way street; I share some of my life and stitching with you, but, often, I don't get to see your pretty stitching or hear about your life unless you, too, have a blog. So, I really appreciate your remarks and experiences and if any of you who don't blog would like to email me photos of your finishes--I'd love to see them. I have a couple of people who do that already and I always enjoy seeing what they have created! So, thank you for sharing a bit of yourself--it meant a lot to me!

This pretty blue and white ornament went to dear June, in England. This is a Renato Parolin design called "Inverno" and I just love the simple elegance of it.  I stitched it on 40 ct. white Newcastle with a Victorian Motto Sampler thread called "Sky Blue." The cording is made out of the same lovely thread and the ornament is backed with the perfect shade of blue gray fabric adorned with tiny stars. A gauzy ribbon and silver bell finished it off nicely. I'm happy to say that June loves it, too! (And there are some very nice freebies on Renato's blog if you click here and then click on "Schemi Free" in the tabs).

"Inverno" in blues

This next ornament was stitched twice and sent to my dear friends, Lois, in Northern Ireland, and Cindy, in Tennessee. Most of you will recognize this as Little House Needleworks' "Season's Greetings." I stitched this 'over one' on 28 ct. black Monaco using a variety of DMC threads and overdyeds.  I was so happy with how this one turned out and I may just stitch it again on black for a little gift in the future. The small ecru x's take a while, but they add so much to the overall look, don't you think?

Little House Needleworks "Season's Greetings"

The last one I'll show you today was given to my middle son in honor of the new (very non-grumpy!) cat that he and his girlfriend adopted. You will all recognize this sourpuss of a kitty--he's the cantankerous Grumpy Cat! He is a freebie from Brooke's Books which you can find right here. I changed up the design a bit; I eliminated the red and white border and added additional snowflakes and beads to turn it into a design suitable for turning it into a round ornament. I stitched this on a 32 ct. blue/gray linen with the suggested colors. My son loved it--but not quite as much as he loves his real cat!

Mr. Grumpy Cat himself

So, yes--I (sadly) have no grandchildren, but I now have a "grandcat!" My son and his girlfriend adopted him a year ago from an animal shelter and he has made himself right at home in their apartment. He came with the name "Spike" (because he has a white, furry "spike" going right up the middle of his forehead) and at first, my son wasn't sure if he would keep such a dog-like name. But, it really suits him--he is so much more of a dog than a cat in many ways and he's quite a handful. One of his favorite tricks is unrolling the toilet paper and then rolling it back up (I guess he's hoping no one will notice!). Hmmm... I'm afraid you can't hide that mess, Spike!!

Who, me? I didn't touch the toilet paper :)

I forgot to share my Christmas baking with you in my last post. I didn't bake nearly as much as I would have liked to because there were only four of us here most of the time  (except for Christmas dinner when we had seven). And you know what happens when there are too many goodies around--yes, the weight piles on! So, I baked just a few cookies which you can see below...

Which one would you choose?

On Christmas morning, we traditionally make some lovely frosted cinnamon buns, but our bread machine broke last year and I just didn't have the time to make the dough. I was simply going to run out and buy a coffee cake or some sweet rolls when this recipe caught my attention. It was so quick and easy and practically baked itself...  Oh, yum! Just click here for these tasty "Land Of Nod Cinnamon Buns" (how cute is that for a recipe name?!). We all loved them--in fact some of us loved them more than our old recipe. I would probably add chopped pecans next time, but the combination of cinnamon, raisins, and melted butter was the perfect way to start off our Christmas morning.

The easiest cinnamon buns in the world!

And there you have it--my first post of 2018 all done and dusted! I have a couple more ornaments to share with you, but I've run out of time today. I'm off to the dreaded DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to renew my driver's license and you know what that means... Sitting for what seems like hours waiting to have another horrible photo taken that must remain on my driver's license until the year 2022! Oh, my--not one of my favorite experiences...

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead, everyone! Hope it includes lots of time to sit and stitch now that the hustle-bustle of the holidays is over. I do relish these calm winter months so much, don't you? Thank you, as always for your wonderful comments--I do read each and every one even if I am unable to respond to some of you who  haven't included an email address. (Please, please remember to include your email address in your comments if you do have a question for me, okay?). Bye for now...

Week Twenty-Three: Cat at the Window

As soon as I saw this darling "Cat at the Window" pattern, I knew I had to stitch it in memory of our dear all-black kitty, Shadow. This was a simple and quick stitch using white monaco fabric and DMC threads using a free pattern from Kreuzstich-kreativ which can be found right here.

It was two years ago this week that our dear cat of fourteen years passed away. Taking him to the vet that warm June evening in 2007 was probably one of the hardest things we ever had to do as a family. But his intestinal tumor had returned a year after an operation to remove it... and there was nothing left to be done for him. He was just the best kitty ever--a stray who wandered into our yard in 1993 and made his home with us for the next fourteen years. Shadow was a cat who thought he was a dog--very sociable and loving. He grew up with my sons, watching three little boys become young men. He loved rubber bands and chasing moths, laying his head against his "girlfriend" (my husband's leather briefcase), pouncing on newspapers and exploring paper bags, having his head rubbed with a shoehorn, "talking" to the birds outside the window, rolling in catnip and lolling in the sun, sitting on a kitchen stool next to us while we ate our meals, and sleeping in our laps. Shadow...we miss you daily and we will never forget you.

Shadow on the windowseat in our family room...

and waiting patiently by the door...

Week Nineteen: Summer Scene

I guess the title of my latest finish, "Summer Scene", is just wishful thinking! After the wet and cold week we've had here in western Pennsylvania, summer seems a l-o-n-g way off...This piece, although small, was a challenge for me because it used not only cross stitching, but some specialized stitches that were new to me as well: Hungarian stitches on the roof; leviathan stitches on the front door; Smyrna stitches for the flowers; woven leaf stitches for the tree leaves; reversed cushion stitch on the sidewalk; and everyone's favorite--the French knot for the flower centers. I love the different textures that all of these stitches give the finished piece. This primitive folk-artsy "Summer Scene" designed by Cynthia Zittel of The Drawn Thread was stitched on 32-count Twilight Blue linen with DMC threads. Isn't that oversized cat sitting in the front yard so funny!

Wishing all of you who are mothers a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow--it is often a thankless, tiring, and messy job (especially when your kids are young), but I can't imagine life without my three sons! Oh, and thanks mom--I love you dearly...