Farewell to February!

Good morning, good morning! How is everyone doing on this final day of February? I always feel like we're turning a corner when February is over and it certainly seems like it with our weather this weekend. With temperatures reaching the 50's here in western Pennsylvania, our snow is finally melting and I've even seen a few green shoots appearing here and there. It will be another month or two until we begin to see flowers, but just knowing that they're on their way brings so much hope, doesn't it? 

My stitching has taken a back seat this month as I seem to be spending more time doing some serious spring cleaning and refreshing things around my house--puttering is one of my favorite activities in the world! I just put on some music and begin rearranging shelves, displays, plants, etc. for fun. Nothing big like rearranging the furniture, though... Oh, my mom was a great one for that--I swear us kids would come home from school to a newly rearranged living room at least every other month! I remember exclaiming, "Mom, can't you just leave things the same way for once?!" I think that's why the furniture arrangement in my rooms stays the same--how about you? 

Well, enough of my rambling... You're here to see what little stitching I've done, right? I stitched my second Christmas ornament for 2021 and I love it! I mean, who can resist a miniature snowman being lifted up by a skating Santa to place his shiny, gold star at the top of the Christmas tree? Too cute! This is "Merry Friends" by Plum Street Samplers stitched "over one" on 28 ct. black Monaco. I changed virtually every color except for the red in Santa's robe and hat. The biggest change was using an icy blue for the snowflake centers and the tiny snowman's hat instead of the suggested gold color.

"Merry Friends" by Plum Street Samplers

For my finish, I attached the tiniest star and a mini pom-pom (using glue on both--just a little bit of Aleene's Tacky Glue applied with the tip of a toothpick does the trick). I also changed the location of a couple of the trees to create a more rounded look at the top of the design. Finally, I finished it as a circular ornament with green cording and a green gingham bow. I really love how stitching charts "over one" can make them small enough for ornaments for your tree!

My February 2021 Ornament Finish

This next piece is one I began stitching for Valentine's Day, but it ended up taking much longer than I thought it would! Those solid blocks of stitching will surprise you every time, won't they? This is from an old Leisure Arts magazine (sorry, I had ripped it out of the magazine years ago and I don't have the issue information). I'm not even sure of the designer, although it certainly resembles Lizzie Kate's style. It is stitched on 40 ct. white Newcastle linen with a mixture of the suggested colors and some of my own selections. What drew me to this piece was the mixture of soft colors--I just love them!

"Love Grows" from an old Leisure Arts

The biggest change that I made was changing the words from "Love grows from the heart" to "Love grows here." (I admit, part of that was sheer laziness as I just couldn't stitch another section of yellow!). Anyway, below is what it originally looked like next to my changed version. I'm not sure how I'll finish this one, but it will probably hang out in my box of unfinished finishes until next February. 

I'm having a giveaway for this chart (my stitching isn't included)

GIVEAWAY... So, now that I'm done with the 'Love Grows" chart pictured above, is there anyone who would like to stitch it?   If you would like to enter the giveaway: 1) Please specifically mention in your comment that you want to enter; 2) Make sure to include your name and last initial along with your email address if I don't already have it and; 3) Answer the question in my "Getting To Know You" section below. I will draw a name and announce the winner on my next blog post in March. Good luck to all!

GETTING TO KNOW YOU... For those of you who  are new visitors, my "Getting To Know You" section is simply a way for me to learn more about you. As I've mentioned many times, blogging often feels like a one-street: you know a lot about me, but I know very little about most of you. So, I like to pose questions from time to time to help remedy that... My question today is: "Where do you fit in your family: oldest child, middle, youngest, only?" I am betting that a lot of cross stitchers are, like me, oldest children. I do have many of the traits of the oldest (to read an article that lists the various traits, just click here)...  I'm definitely cautious, reliable, conscientious, and somewhat of a perfectionist. I don't fit the "leader" label as I've always hated being the center of attention, though. And controlling? Well, that would depend on who you ask on any given day--ha ha! Now, it's your turn--where do you fall in your family? I'd love to get to know you better!

Baking corner... Now that my husband is permitted to visit his parents (from a distance) in their nursing home in Ohio, I am getting more chances to bake so that he can take them some homemade goodies. I saw a photo of peanut butter brownies topped with peanut butter icing on Pinterest and knew I had to make them. They brought back so many memories of Friday lunches in the school cafeteria... Now, I was not one to buy my lunch--except on days that these special brownies were offered! 

The recipe I used can be found on an older blog called "Relished" in this post. Now, I did use a different recipe for the icing as it also contained butter in addition to melted peanut butter and confectioner's sugar. I mean can you ever have too much butter? The icing recipe can be found right here and you pour it on the slightly cooled brownies while the frosting is till a bit warm.  They were very tasty (although, next time, I won't bake them as long as the recipe says--my edges were a bit crispy). I cut them fairly small as, oh my, they are very rich--almost like fudge! Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

That about does it for my final February 2021 post... I'll leave you with two photos of our backyard visitors during this snowy month. The deer have been so hungry this winter (due to all of the snow that covers their normal foodsource), that they started devouring the birdseed in the two smaller bird feeders! My husband decided to outwit them and devised a system to bring the feeders inside each night. Since both of the small feeders are right outside our kitchen, he simply attached a hook onto an old broom handle so he can extend it out the window and then lift the bird feeders right off the hooks and into our kitchen where they sit until the next morning when they're placed outside again. This has cut way down on our bird seed costs! And now that grass is reappearing the deer won't be raiding the feeders any longer (hopefully!). 

The deer have been coming closer and closer to the house to get to the food in our bird feeders. They're so pretty, but so hungry!

Mr. Cardinal enjoying a sunny, snowy day!

I'm so glad you stopped in today! I hope you're all staying safe and making progress in getting your vaccines... We got our second shots of the Moderna vaccine last week with no side effects (other than a bit of tiredness and sore arms). I feel very blessed to have received both doses of the vaccine so quickly--I truly do. It's almost as if the dark veil that has covered the entire world for the past year is slowly lifting. It will take time, but we're getting there... Take extra good care now and I'll be back in March with some St. Patrick's Day stitching to share. Bye for now...

A new year and another birthday!

Well, it's a new year! Does it feel like one to you? In some ways,  it feels more like a continuation of 2020... and yet there is a feeling of hope in the air. I was reading over my first post from last January and I really had to laugh as the final sentence of that initial paragraph ended with the words "... it is going to be a good year!" If only I had known then... Well, at least I was optimistic! It was a very difficult year as we all know--dealing with COVID-19, the unrest in this country and around the world, all of the natural disasters that devastated so many, the death of my beloved mother, and the loss of both of my daughter-in-law's parents. Not what I could ever even begin to call a "good year." But, I have hope for the future and that is what keeps me going at times... 

Because 2020 was such a hard year for all, I tried to send out a lot of little gifts at the end of the year to bring a smile to some of my fellow stitchers. If it was at all possible to have sent something to each of you, I would have--you kept up my spirits and sent me so much love last year. And I truly appreciate each of you. But, I'm only human--and can only stitch and finish a few things to give away each year. Anyway, I thought you might like to see them, so here is a new parade--a parade of gifts to inspire you!

This sweet design is from the 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine. It is a Little House Needleworks piece called "Snow Bunnies" and was stitched on 16 count Stardust Heatherfield with the suggested DMC threads. The bunnies are now making their home with a friend "across the pond" in jolly, old England.

You'll all recognize this as a Prairie Schooler piece! The chart can be found in PS Book No. 25: "Up On the Housetop." I used 40 ct. pearl gray Newcastle linen and most of the suggested DMC colors. I did change the house color to DMC 676, however. Just can't resist a tiny yellow house! This ornament is now residing in the beautiful state of Virginia.

This nostalgic design recalls simpler times and is a free design from Leisure Arts Magazine which you can find right here. I stitched only the top third of the "Winter Sampler" using Hand-Dyed Fibers silk in "Rubbed Magpie" on 28 ct. white Jobelan (stitched over one). A beautiful square of Woolies Flannel was used to accent these--love how well the blues coordinate! They went to friends in Michigan and Idaho.

This is the second time I've stitched this "With Thy Needle and Thread" cutie! It is called "St. Noel" and was stitched "over one" on 28 ct. Bayleaf Jobelan. I had to stitch the top part of each "X" in the white twice to get it to show up well enough. Not an easy feat with "over one" stitching! I also changed several colors to my favorite Prairie Schooler palette... This ornament is now living with a stitching friend in Illinois.

Having stitched this Prairie Schooler Santa for the third time, I think I have it memorized! You can find the chart in PS Book No. 62 called "Kris Kringle." I couldn't resist stitching this handsome guy carrying his pet Canada Goose for my sweet friend who lives in a gorgeous part of Canada!

I'm sure you will all recognize this sweet JBW gingerbread boy as this is now the fifth time I've stitched it... The other four went to the babies of friends and relatives on their first Christmases. FINALLY--I get to stitch one for my own grandson, Baby B (I have blacked out his name for privacy). This sweet design is stiched on 32 ct. black Belfast linen and is from the JBW chart "Baby's First Christmas." The ornament is happily living in sunny southern California!

For some reason, I found stitching this design to be of great comfort this year. I love how the sentiment, "Glory To God," is shown in this mini-sampler. The chart is from a very old issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine (November-December 1988). "A Primitive Christmas Heart" is a pattern by Sheepish Designs and was stitched with DMC 336 on various scraps of white and antique white evenweave. Again these are stitched "over one." Two traveled to  friends in Virginia and one now lives with a friend in Ohio.

I also made a lot of cards this year and added tiny bows for interest. The same Sheepish Design that I described above was mailed, in card form, to two other friends in Virginia. I seem to have a lot of stitching friends in Virginia!

This sweet card is a freebie from Durene Jones on Facebook in her November 1, 2019 post. Although not typical Christmas colors, I fell in love with the shades of aquas and turquoise and thought my friend in Germany could display this all winter. I did leave off the bottom border so it would fit into a circle shape a bit easier.

Just Nan is the designer of this quartet of snowmen--aren't they darling? This is called "Snow Faces" and is stitched on 28 ct. glass blue Monaco with the suggested colors. I left off the corner motifs to make it circular to fit the card's opening. This card went to another friend in Germany.

I've always loved star-shaped Santas and this one is no exception. I forgot to write down the name of the library book that the chart came from, unfortunately, but doesn't he make you smile? Love the little polka-dot bow, too. He is now enjoying his new home in Germany. Sending cards to international friends is a much more cost-effective way to let you know you're thinking of them. Sending packages overseas has just become ridiculously expensive compared to when I began blogging in 2009!

And surprise!! A non-stitched gift! This hexie tree was my first attempt at making anything with the hexies that I've been experimenting with and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it looked in the end! (The rose in the far right lower "branch" is fussy cut from a pair of slacks that were my mom's). This pretty pink tree is now with a stitching friend in Wisconsin and she loves it! If you'd like to experiment making this and other English Paper Piecing ornaments, check out this very helpful tutorial on YouTube: hexie tree tutorial.

So, there you go--lots of love was spread over the world in the form of my little gifts. I just wanted to send an extra dose of joy this year with all the sadness and challenges that people experienced last year.

But on to some happy news... Today is my birthday--yay! I made it through another year. It's hard to believe I am now 66 and on the downward slope heading towards 70. Really??? How on earth did I get to be this old? I look "just a teeny bit" different in this photo below from my first birthday on January 16, 1955... Love the little lace pinafore over my dress and those sweet vintage cards. And it appears that I loved chocolate even back then by the look of that frosted cake. Some things never change...

A one-year-old Carol in January 1955

But, as happy as a birthday is supposed to be,  this is going to be a difficult day for me... It marks my very first birthday without my mom. I'm crying as I write this so I know the tears will be appearing on and off throughout the day. As you can see from the photo above, Mom always tried her best to make our birthdays very special. We got to choose our favorite meal when we were older--for me, it was always spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. Dessert was always the famous "Tunnel Of Fudge Cake" that won the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest in 1966. Anyone else remember that cake? Oh, my--it was fabulous; a rich blend of chocolate cake with a "tunnel" of gooey chocolate and nuts buried inside. Unfortunately, a powdered frosting mix was one of the key ingredients and Pillsbury no longer manufactures that so they've come up with this recipe to replace it. It's good, but not quite the same, in my opinion. 

I had the most wonderful dream about my mom earlier this week! Now, I rarely remember  my dreams, but I'm so thankful to have remembered this one in such detail because it gives me hope... 

In my dream, mom and I were driving through a sad-looking little town with many boarded-up store windows. In many ways, it reminded me of the small towns I used to drive through on the way up to my childhood home when I would visit my parents in New York State. On the outskirts of the town, we came upon a large greenhouse and mom said she wanted to stop and "buy some plants for her new home." The parking lot was almost filled to capacity and we had to park quite a distance from the greenhouse. I asked mom if she was sure she wanted to go in as it would be quite a walk for her. She replied, "Oh, I'll be fine" and then easily stepped out of the car and proceeded to walk through the long parking lot toward the greenhouse. As I glanced over at her as we walked side by side,  I was shocked to see that she was whole again--her body was straight and tall, no longer hunched and twisted from the effects of her battles with osteoporosis and scoliosis that she suffered from for so many, many years. She appeared younger, too--more like she did in her 40s. At that point in my dream, I woke up... I was filled with a feeling of peace--and of hope. I now know my dear mother is safe and well and settling in to her "new home."

My middle sister recently sent me this photo of mom and me that I'd never seen before. It was from December 2016 and we were toasting my brother on his 60th birthday. I love it!

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, my "word" for 2021 is hope--and as soon as I saw this beautiful design below, I knew I had to stitch it. It is one of two freebies from "Hello From Liz Matthews" that she offers to her newsletter subscribers. I think this may be the quickest piece that I've ever stitched and fully finished! I began stitching it on Wednesday afternoon and had it framed and ready to display 24 hours later... The piece is so simple, yet so striking, don't you agree? The frame is a very old one that my middle son bought for me when he spotted it at Goodwill several years ago. And the blue flannel in the background is from one of my son's old shirts. Having all boys, I have a never-ending supply of old flannel shirts to be repurposed!

My finish of "Hope" by Hello From Liz Matthews

 

Well, that's it for my first post of 2021! I'm still here (for at least a while) blogging away. I seriously considered ending my blog after my mother died as my heart just wasn't in it. Blogs are fading away for some sad reason and readers are turning to other sources. I still love my blog, though, as it is a wonderful record of my stitching life and a journal of my travels, baking, and a peek into my family life. I know mom would want me to keep up blogging a while longer. There will come a time when I'll stop my writing, but I promise to let you know when that happens--I won't just disappear like so many bloggers have done. 

I wish you all the best in this new year, my friends! Thank you again for visiting me and a special thanks to those who take the time to leave comments. I truly appreciate each and every one of you! Bye for now...