Bunnies and Birds in Blue and Pink

Hello, my stitching friends! I hope March is treating you well? We've had some beautiful spring weather here and our daffodils just burst into bloom this week. Such a treat to see their golden yellow heads bobbing in the breeze--they sure do brighten up the landscape this time of year! With my grandson (and his mom and dad) coming for Easter, I've made sure to decorate my house for their visit and it sure is lovely to see all the little bunnies and birds popping up both in and outside my home. When I went to retrieve them from the dresser drawer where they're stored, I was a bit shocked to see just how many Easter/Spring smalls I've created through the years! I can't seem to stop making them either--in fact I'm working on six new ones that I hope to have finished by the end of March. For today, I'll just share some of my past finishes and how I've displayed them for the season.

I like to group my Easter decorations by color for some reason. You all know my favorite color is blue so it's no surprise that the majority of my Easter/Spring stitching features that color. This year, I used my two-tiered white metal basket (which I purchased at HomeGoods a few years ago) to anchor the display on the sideboard in my kitchen. I just love how it turned out!

Bunnies and birds in blue!

Here are some close-ups for you--if you'd like more information on each finish, just click on the name of it to be taken to my original post on that particular item...

In the top basket (left to right): "Spring Greetings Bouquet" by With Thy Needle and Thread, "Hello Spring" by Plum Street Samplers, a freebie called "Nest Under the Flowers" by Le Chalet des Perelles, and in the front is the Spring portion of "Four Seasons Band Sampler" from the March/April 2011 issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine. That adorable gingham dressed bunny on the right was a gift from my sweet daughter-in-law.

Pictured in the above photo are (from left to right): a bunny from Prairie Schooler Book No. 163 "Signs of Spring," robin from the Spring 2020 issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitching Magazine by Subrosa Designs called "Bless Our Nest," "Paques" from Les Chalet des Perelles, a portion of "Welcome Spring" by With Thy Needle and Thread, and in front rests a freebie from The Snowflower Diaries called "Tulips with Bunny." The little bunny figurines in the front left are ones I've collected over the years and the blue and white rabbit plate is from TJ Maxx from a few years ago.

Featured here are the other half of "Welcome Spring" (on the left) and "Holiday Hoopla: Easter" both by With Thy Needle and Thread. Isn't that ceramic Peter Rabbit head darling? He belonged to my mother-in-law and I brought him home from Florida after my husband's family home in Naples  was flooded by Hurricane Ian in 2022. 

 

The one piece of stitching featured here is by Tiny Modernist and is called "Easter Wreath." It is sitting on that darling rabbit chair that I found at a thrift shop in Florida for only $5.00--one of my favorite finds ever! You can read about the little chair in this post.

So, there you have it--my blue Easter display. Do you have a favorite? I think mine is the sweet "Welcome Spring" pillow shown below that I stitched last year. It simply makes me smile :)

"Welcome Spring"--my favorite spring finish from 2023

My pink Easter finishes are displayed in my grandmother's old dough bowl and sit in the center of our kitchen table. Again... if you would like more information on each finish, just click on the names in the caption below the photo.

In the back row on the left is a design by Patrick's Woods called "The Heart's Chase," in the back middle is a Prairie Schooler Bunny from "A Prairie Year (Book No. 13)," and that sweet pair on the right is from The Snowflower Diaries and is a freebie called "Spring Bunny Love." In front of the rabbit couple on the right is another Prairie Schooler design from the PS Mini Card Set F. The one on the left stitched on black is a freebie from the Kissy-Cross blog,  and the tiny pillow in the very front is by Just Nan from the "Hummingbead Heaven" chart. 

And how about a favorite among the pink pieces? Mine is that sweet "Spring Bunny Love" couple that I stitched way back in 2013.

My favorite of the pink smalls: "Spring Bunny Love," a freebie from The Snowflower Diaries

Whew! Posts like this (where I link to past finishes) take a lot of time to put together! It's really hard to remember and track down the posts for some of the older pieces--and as my brain ages, it's not getting any easier! Anyway, I've had so many folks, both here and on Instagram, tell me how much they appreciate my efforts--and that it makes it worth all the effort. I've made many more Easter/Spring smalls in green and yellow hues, but I've run out of energy to post them today! However, if you scroll through my March and April posts from any given year, you're sure to find even more Easter and Spring stitching inspiration.

So, I'd love to hear about your plans for Easter... Will you be having visitors? What do you serve for Easter dinner? Do you have any special family traditions? I can hardly wait to spend Easter with 3 1/2 year old (Yes! How on earth did he get so old?!?) Mister B as he is so enthusiastic about all the traditions that accompany celebrations and holidays. Dyeing eggs, hunting for his Easter basket, making a bunny cake, etc. will all be part of our weekend with him. And while preparing for my visitors, I truly hope to squeeze in the finishing of the six small Easter finishes that I mentioned earlier in the post. We'll see...

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing your spring stitching and hearing about your plans for this very special Easter weekend coming up in just two weeks! Thank you all for stopping in today--I always love to read your comments and hear about what you're up to! And just a reminder...if you have a question for me, please make sure to include your email address so I can get back to you.  Bye for now...

Stitching, travels, and a special visitor

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! It's going to be a warm one here for the middle of February--in the mid-50s! And tomorrow will be almost 70°! My husband and I don't have any special plans for today. We are not exactly the most romantic couple, to be honest--just very practical, I'd say. For example, last week when we were doing the grocery shopping, I spied a display of Valentine's candy and said, "Let's just buy some treats for ourselves right now!" "Great--that makes it easy," he replied. Definitely takes the pressure off :) Now, we just need to remember where we hid the candy so we wouldn't eat it all up before Valentine's Day. Hmmm... that's a real problem as we get older. Anyone else with me on that little "forgetful" issue? 

I like to stitch a new little Valentine's Day pillow each year to add to my collection. There are so many delightful free designs available at this time of year and I'm very thankful for those generous (and talented!) designers out there. This year, one of the cutest designs came from Cherry Hill Stitchery and can be found on the Facebook group called "Cherry Hill Stitchers." (I am only on Facebook to follow stitching groups and designers--I do not post, comment, or have any friends there). Because I love tiny things, I chose to stitch the design "over one" on 25 ct. black Lugana using the following threads: DMC B5200, Classic Colorworks "Ribbon Red," and Gentle Arts "Green With Envy." If you look closely, you might be able to spot the little gold beads I added to the center of each flower.

Cherry Hill Stitchery freebie finish

This finished up so tiny and cute--just the way I'd pictured it. The whole pillow measures a mere 3" X 4" in size. The other major change was that I added an apostrophe; as a former librarian, I just had to! You can also see the little red gingham and flowered hearts (in the bowl in the background) that I made last year.

I've put together a list of some other Valentine's Day freebies that you might like... There are 20 links below--hopefully, you'll find something quick to stitch for your Valentine! As always, with any freebies, I recommend printing them off as they often disappear from online over time.

"Happy Valentine's Day" from Stitch Wit

"Un Ago Tra i Fiori" by Cuore e Batticuore

 "Do Everything In Love" from Silver Creek Samplers 

"Stupid Cupid" by Brooke's Books 

"True Love" by Sub Rosa 

"Love Makes Me Happy" by Crocette a Gogò

"Love You Too" (and many more) by Cathy Habermann of Hands On Design 

"Be My Valentine" by Lizzie Kate 

"Heart Throb" by The Drawn Thread

"Be My Valentine" by Sandy at Stitchin' & Life in a Small Town

A trio of 3 Valentines by The Stitcherhood

"Be Mine" by Cottage Garden Samplings 

"Love Is All We Need" by Feathers in the Nest 

"All You Need Is Love" by The Drawn Thread

"Je T'aime" by The Drawn Thread 

"Love Never Fails"  by The Primitive Hare 

"Valentine" by The Primitive Hare 

"Coeur Mon Amour" by Passione Ricamo 

"Love" by La Comtesse & le Point de Croix 

"Waiting For Love" by La Comtesse & le Point de Croix 

 

I mentioned that I had completed a large (for me) finish in my last post. Well, just look at this handsome guy! At almost 9 inches tall, he is definitely the largest Santa I have stitched. This is the 2019 Twin Peak Santa from my friends at Twin Peak Primitives. I fell in love with that blue robe (DMC 930) as soon as I saw him and just had to stitch him. Of course, that sweet red cardinal perched on the end of his staff called my name, too. He is stitched on 40 ct. summer khaki Newcastle with good old DMC threads. I did make some color changes to better work with my fabric.

"2019 Twin Peak Santa" finish

 

Love the cardinal and the pretty blue robe!

The snowflakes were what I call a "happy mistake!" The chart originally had a bag of toys on the snow next to his staff, but I started the design in the wrong place and had to leave it out. I wanted to add a little something, though, so I basted a running stitch down each side of him and filled it with pretty snowflake designs found on some of my other charts and online. I love the final effect!

I added the snowflakes on each side

This one will be framed--and I think I have a frame right in my stash that might work well. I just have to decide if I want to paint it or not. 

He has such a gentle face, doesn't he? And I love the subtle shading in his beard.

What are you stitching this week? Have any of you begun spring stitching like I have? I'm so enjoying the pretty pastel colors and hope to have a new finish to share with you at the end of the month.

Giveaway winner... Wow! What a great response I had to last month's "Getting To Know You" question. I loved reading about your favorite quotes and have written down several of them (I keep a running list on my phone in Notepad so I can read them over whenever I need a lift). If you get a chance, go back to my previous post and read through the comments--lots of inspiration there! Thank you all for joining in! There were quite a few entries for the "Wintertime" chart by New York Dreamer and the name picked from the hat (well, really the bowl!) is...

Heritage Hall

 

Heritage Hall--you are the winner of this chart! Please email me with your mailing address and I'll get this out to you this week.

 

I was the lucky recipient of a lovely package of gifts from Kay! I had loaned Kay a couple of charts and she surprised me with a delightful thank you package. Kay made me three little project notebooks with matching floss drops. I love the sweet fabrics she chose and her work is absolutely meticulous!

Such wonderful thank you gifts from Kay!

 

Kay, obviously a multi-talented crafter, also made a very cute calendar for me with scrapbooking papers. Each month can be placed in the acrylic magnet which she included. Just look at all these twelve creative designs she came up with. The calendar now resides on my refrigerator and I hope to find more of those tiny monthly calendars to print up each month to use in future years. Thank you so very much, Kay--I love each and every gift.

An adorable new calendar page for each month! Thank you again, Kay--this is so special!

February travels...Well, the first of our February trips has come and gone and it was a bittersweet return to our family's flooded home in Naples, Florida. If you remember, Hurricane Ian flooded my husband's family home with four feet of water on September 28th. He and I emptied the house of its soggy, molding contents in mid-October (you can read about it in this post) and this month we concentrated on cleaning out the garage. It was much easier as we didn't have to deal with that revolting, smelly water this time around. We made very good progress and even had time for a couple of walks to check out the beach. 

As we walked to the beach, this statue captured my eye. It's called "Inner Dialogue" by Jim Rennert. The description online says it's "a metaphor to remind us of the subconscious conversations we are constantly having with ourselves." Love it!

Sadly, the beautiful Naples beach is still a bit of a mess. The beach access points were either closed or in a shambles from the hurricane. The foliage still looks beaten and gray. And the sand, once so white and pristine, seemed dirty and uneven.

This group of birds didn't seem to care that a hurricane had drastically changed the beach, though! Aren't they adorable?

It felt so good to feel the warmth of the sunshine and walk along the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico!

A trio of pretty white ibises scoured the waves looking for their next meal.

I thought there were more pretty shells  on the beach than in past years. Not sure if it was from the hurricane stirring up the waters and sand or what. When I got home, I photographed the ones I picked up on a piece of black Jobelan.

The shells that I picked up and photographed on the black fabric reminded me of a smaller version of this shell table. It was created by my husband's grandmother and passed down through the family. Unfortunately, it, too, was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in September.

Sadly, someone had broken into the Florida house and something very special to our family was stolen. Do you see this window-like opening into the bathroom? Well, that once contained a colorful stained glass window which was made by my mother-in-law and some rotten person came in and stole it. I mean, honestly... talk about adding insult to injury! We had planned on removing it on our next visit--we simply ran out of time in October. I just shake my head with disgust when things like this happen. They left other things that could have been stolen--light fixtures, faucets, etc. But, they stole the one thing that remained that had a personal significance to our family...

The empty space left by a thief who stole the beautiful stained glass window right out of the wall!

 

Thankfully, I had taken a photo of the stained glass when we were renting the house on Airbnb. My mother-in-law surely spent many, many hours creating this lovely window with the little fish swimming among the sea grasses. When I think of how the house used to look before the hurricane, I just have to block it out of my mind... it simply hurts too much. As I said many times before, it was a true blessing that neither my father-in-law or mother-in-law were alive to see what happened to their Florida home.

This stained glass window created by my mother-in-law was stolen from the flooded home in Florida some time over the past few months.

 

A poppet and some puppets... We arrived home from Florida last weekend and guess who arrived just three days later?! My grandson,"Mister B," and his mom and dad came for a four day visit! He just lights up our lives when he visits--life sure would be boring without him around! Here he is at a local "indoor playground" interacting with a puppet. He just had the biggest smile on his face!

A friendly wizard puppet...

Unfortunately, all puppets are not created equal and his experience at a Japanese puppet performance at the local children's museum the following day was the complete opposite. I think the performance was meant for older kids as he was terrified... He questioned if "the boy" was going to "get him," asked to "go home to Pompaw's and Nonna's house," and said he "wanted to hide." Poor little boy... I wasn't there, but my son and daughter-in-law obviously didn't stay for the entire performance. When he got home he told me all about the "boy who looked like a skeleton!"

... and a scary looking puppet--at least for a two-year-old!

So, it's been a busy February for us so far. My grandson is being baptized later this month so we'll be traveling for that as well. It should be interesting to see how he reacts to the priest and the holy water. Hmmm... I'll keep you posted! 

I want to remind everyone who has a question for me to please include your email address--or better yet, email me directly (my email address is in the my profile in the sidebar under "A Bit About Me").  I hope that, however you celebrate Valentine's Day, you enjoy yourselves. Eat some chocolate, watch a "feel-good" movie, treat yourself to a little something special--you deserve it! Take care my friends! Bye for now...

Christmas Stitching and Farewell to a Friend

It's December--can you believe it? And I've already finished the last of my 2021 monthly Christmas ornaments--can you believe that? Normally, I'm struggling to get that final one finished by mid-December, but this year I took the smart approach and chose a small, easy chart to stitch during this very busy month. This sweet design is a freebie by the talented Misty Pursel of Luminous Fiber Arts fame. If you are a subscriber to her newsletter, you'll be able to receive her charming design--you can sign up right here by clicking the red box at the top of her website. This is called "Joy" and is stitched "over one" on 28 ct. black Monaco. (Many stitchers ask me where I get the black Monoco. Unfortunately, it is no longer available and I'm still relying on the large one-yard piece I bought years ago). 

"Joy" by Luminous Fiber Arts

It's hard for me to get a good photograph on black, but, trust me--this is lovely in person! The silk I used is "Rubbed Magpie" by Hand Dyed Fibers. It's the prettiest variegated blue! In this case, I worked backward and chose the finishing fabric--a cute blue and black check--first. Then I chose the blue thread to coordinate with it. I had an idea in my head of how I wanted to finish this ornament from the very beginning and I'm very pleased with the final outcome. 

Love the long "tail" on this one!

I didn't add the stitches that were charted inside the letter "o" because it is stitched "over one" and it would have been too crowded. However, I did add three sparkling Swarovski crystals. I had the glittery blue and silver ribbon in my stash so I made a simple bow, attached a snowflake charm, and surrounded the outer circle with black cording and a long "tail."

Swarovski crystals add a fun bit of sparkle, don't you think?

How is everyone's Christmas decorating coming along? I've been enjoying doing a little bit each day rather than rushing through it and stressing out. I redecorated the small three foot tree that sits on our bookshelves above the television in the family room. It was looking pretty worn out after 20+ years so I removed everything and started from scratch. Red and white has been calling my name at Christmas for  the past couple of years, so I simply tied on some red and white gingham ribbons and added a few white lacy snowflakes from Target (which are years old).

A refurbished 3 foot tree in my family room

I have had the sweet gingerbread boy and girl ornaments for years, too, and I didn't want to part with them. So I removed their old hangers and attached new ones made of bright red ribbon printed with snowflakes and polka dots. The tiny, round glass red and white ornaments were purchased from Target last year. Love the stripes and dots--it's such a fun little tree for our small family room and casts a nice glow while watching television in the evenings.

Here's a brighter photo of the tree taken while I was working on it in my kitchen. You can also spot my snowman tree in the back corner.

Although our large tree is up, it is not yet decorated. I heard a ruckus in the room we now use as a nursery the other day and discovered that the Prairie Schooler Santas had had just about enough of being kept in that white under-the-bed storage box for the past year. They were not happy with me at all! So, my solution was to free them and display them in my Pottery Barn cubby! I can't tell you how much this display makes me smile--I wish I had thought of this years ago. 

Pure Prairie Schooler!

Do you have a favorite from these 29 handsome fellows? I think number 27, number 11, and number 18 are my top three. But, you know what? I truly love them all! Here are a few close-ups for you...

 

 

I always leave the middle cubby space for my mom's silhouette. This year I added a tiny white Santa to keep her company (along with those sweet ceramic shoes that were part of her childhood shoe collection). I miss her so much, but this time of year is especially hard...

 

So, what do you think? Should I leave them here in the cubby or move them to my tree? In all honesty, my tree is getting "just a bit" crowded with cross-stitched ornaments so I may move half of them and leave the others here... we'll see!

Thanksgiving was wonderful, although we were missing my oldest son, daughter-in-law, and grandson who went to El Paso, Texas to celebrate the holiday with her family. Thankfully, they'll be here in just two short weeks to spend some extended time with us. In my previous post, I mentioned that I only had to provide cookies, pies, and the strawberry-pretzel salad for our family feast this year. Here are the baked goods I made--nine kinds of cookies (of which I froze half for Christmas) and two pies. Can you guess what the favorite cookie is in our family? Why, it's those yummy Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookies on the blue plate in front. This is the recipe I've used for years: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.

I wonder how much sugar and butter I used to make these?!

 

Many of you asked about the mysterious sounding strawberry-pretzel salad that I made, too! Well, it is not really a salad, but that's how we've served it at our Thanksgiving feasts for over 25 years. Here is a link to the recipe: Strawberry Pretzel Salad recipe. With it's bright red strawberry top layer, this makes a great side dish for Christmas dinner, too. And yes... I'll be making it again in a few weeks!

A sad farewell... Sigh... now I've reached the part of this post where I know I'll cry. In fact, I already am... Many of you have heard about the passing of our dear friend, Meg, from Live To Stitch. Although we knew her death was imminent based on her final post in August, it is still hard to believe that such a kind and generous and downright decent person is no longer here on earth. Meg started writing her blog in 2017 and in her last letter to me in late September, she told me that I was the one who inspired her and gave her the courage to start her blog. I was so touched, but I have to say that you, Meg--you are the one who taught me (and many, many others) so much about courage. You faced your diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer with such dignity and bravery. You were the inspiring one--in fact you still are. 

Meg sent me this lovely Christmas ornament in 2019. Not only is it beautifully stitched and finished, but Meg designed it herself! Oh she was so extremely talented in many, many creative and artistic ways. She then generously offered this design to anyone who wanted to stitch it in  this post from December 2019. If you would like to stitch this in honor of Meg, I think it would be wonderful... you can find her chart and instructions right here. 

 

My Christmas gift from Meg--2019

I mailed a Thanksgiving card to Meg in very early November--I think something told me that she might no longer be with us on the actual Thanksgiving. She passed away on November 19, 2021 leaving her beloved husband and son. She was only 48 years old... In my final note to her, I thanked her for her friendship, her inspiration, and, most of all, for her all-round kindness. I told her I would never forget her--and I won't. May you rest in peace, sweet Meg...

Please visit Meg's blog to see more of her beautiful work and read her inspirational posts...

 

I think this is a good time to sign off for now since my tears are making it hard to see the computer screen clearly. I do want to thank you all for your well wishes for my rib injury. It's definitely on the mend and I can now sit reasonably well. I am still having trouble sleeping on my left side (which is, of course, the side I normally sleep on!), but I'd say I'm about 80% better. 

I also want to thank you for all of your sweet comments and emails. My mother always said that I had the kindest group of commenters--I have to agree. I love hearing from you and, even if I can't always respond, I hope you know how much your friendship means to me. I think my friendship with Meg was indicative of how close the cross-stitching community is on social media. She was nearly 20 years younger than I am, but we had the bond of stitching tiny x's in fabric to create something beautiful and lasting... something for our loved ones to remember us by long after we're gone. Wishing each of you a peaceful December. Bye for now...

Day is done... December 2nd, 2021

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...