♣ ♣ ♣ Seeing green ♣ ♣ ♣

Hello all! How are you enjoying March so far? We've been extremely blessed with many sunny, warm days here in western Pennsylvania lately (even though it rained here today). My husband is thrilled as he's been able to get out on several bike rides with his biking buddies after a long winter of being cooped up inside. Exercise can be such a mood lifter, can't it? I've been slowly ridding the house of all things snow and winter related and have spent time brightening up my decor with lots of green and lighter colors. Another instant mood lifter! We were also able to escape to Florida for a few days at the end of February/beginning of March--a real treat as the last frigid days of  winter wind down here in the northeast. 

I try to add at least one new piece to my St. Patrick's Day stitching each year. As soon as I saw this charming design in the monthly newsletter from Primrose Cottage Stitchers, I knew it would be my piece for 2025. Even better--it is a freebie! You can sign up for their monthly newsletter right here to get the free designs and see what is going on in their shop. Just scroll all the way down and click on "Stitching Newsletter" to have it delivered via email. They've generously offered so many cute free designs in past newsletters!

My finish of "Happy St. Patrick's Day" by Primrose Cottage Stitches

I didn't have any of the recommended threads so I chose my own and am very pleased with the outcome. My color conversion is as follows if anyone is interested:  

Dark Green: WDW Lily Pad

Black: CC Black Coffee

Gold:  GAST Gold Leaf

Lettering: GAST Chamomile

The fabric for this latest St. Patrick's Day finish is 40 ct., but I'm not sure what brand as it was just a scrap. I used two different accent fabrics on the front and joined them with a decorative stitch. Just popped on a large black button topped with a polka-dot yellow bow to finish it off. I really love the way Primrose Cottage Stitches does their lettering--so whimsical and fun!

And below is a photo of most of my St. Patrick's Day stitching together. I used my grandmother's old dough bowl to display them this year--a quick, easy vignette to pull together! If you would like close-ups and more information on each finish, you may want to click on "St. Patrick's Day" under "Labels" in my sidebar. Do you put out a display for St. Patrick's Day? I love how it brightens up our kitchen side table--even though it will only be out for another week or two when the Easter bunnies take over. 

All shades of green appear in my March stitching

 

I had one other wee finish this month--a small, but sweet birthday card. I stitched this sweet design called "Bird and Strawberries" which I had pulled from a British stitching magazine (unfortunately, I forgot to record the name and date of the magazine). This was stitched on 40 ct. white Newcastle linen with most of the suggested colors. I did have to darken the bird's belly so it would show up better on the white fabric. I also added another "swirly" motif on the left side to fill in the otherwise empty space. Hope the recipient loves it!

A simple birthday card stitched for a friend

So, I'm wondering how all of you store your printed off freebies and downloaded PDF designs? I've been struggling with them as they seem to multiply overnight and are difficult to sort through. I finally decided to put the freebies I've printed off into magazine boxes organized by holidays and seasons and to place my nicer Etsy PDF charts in plastic three-ring report folders (similar to these). I add photos to the front of the report folders to easily find what I'm looking for. I think this will help ensure that I actually stitch these and that they don't just end up in a stacked up pile somewhere. I need to go through my old Etsy downloaded print-outs and put all of my nicer PDF charts in more plastic folders soon!

I'm using these plastic report folders to organize my special Etsy PDF purchases. Hope to get all of these stitched this year!

As I mentioned above, we flew to sunny Naples, Florida a couple weeks ago for a few days of fun with the extended family. My entire family was there (except my middle son and his girlfriend) along with two of my husband's brothers and some of their family. There were 20 of us in total. Some ventured off to the annual Naples craft beer festival, but I had an even better time staying right at our AirBnb and playing with my grandson. While the others were gone, Mister B and I played many games of the card game Uno, colored, did puzzles, built Lego creations, and waded in the pool (I didn't dare take him swimming by myself as I'm not a strong swimmer). Another day, we all enjoyed some beach time and explored the Saturday morning farmer's market. And, of course, we ate lots of delicious food at our favorite restaurants. It was a wonderful five-day visit and everyone seemed to love the feeling of the warm sunshine on their faces.

Mister B in the airport as he heads to Florida (with his brand new Spiderman-themed roller bag in tow)

 

Mister B and my husband watching the boats come in

My grandson loves animals of all kinds--even this sheep statue!

My niece's friends own a helicopter and did a fly-by on Naples Beach as we waved them on! 

Love this nighttime silhouette

When I got home, I began putting away the snowmen and winter decor and pulling out St. Patrick's Day and spring pieces--fluffing the nest so to speak. One of my favorite things to do! Here a couple of photos of spring scenes around my home...

I found a new large round tray at Marshall's--perfect for our round dining table. The blue design on the bottom looks great with the new blue color on our walls and I'm having fun decorating it for the seasons. The stitched piece is "Robin's Wreath" by Just Nan which I stitched as a gift for my dear mother on her birthday way back in 2008. She was always so proud of my stitching and such a wonderful supporter of my blog.

This little shelf in my kitchen corner cupboard always brings a smile. The framed print at the back says "My favorite weather is bird chirping weather."

In an effort to eat healthier, I've been making most of our bread this year. I've shared this recipe with you before and it is my go-to for a nutritious loaf of bread with little effort. I do use my bread machine which makes it quite easy. The recipe for this Multigrain Bread can be found right here if anyone is interested...

I can't resist fresh, warm homemade bread, can you?

 

Is anyone else watching the bald eagle cam in California? I've found it fascinating and I so admire the eagle couple (Jackie and Shadow) as they sit protecting their tiny eaglets through howling winds and the snowstorm that recently dumped two feet of snow in that area. Sadly, one of the three babies has died...  The snow is melting now and I saw the remaining two being fed pieces of a freshly caught fish by one of the parents today, so I'm hopeful they will be okay! If anyone wants to take a peek at them, you can find the live feed on YouTube right here: Bald Eagle Cam Live .

The Bald Eagle Cam in Big Bear, California is so interesting to watch!

I had planned on continuing my travelogue of our trip to Italy, but I just didn't feel like sitting down and going through the many photos while the weather is so nice. We'll get back to that in my next post. I hope the second half of March is good to you! Thank you, as always for stopping by and saying "hello." I do appreciate the fact that you take the time to visit and read my little stitching blog. Take care now, my friends--and happy stitching! Bye for now...

♣♣ Wishing you a Happy St. Patrick's Day ♣♣

Stitching gifts as summer begins

Has it really been a month since my last post? I never planned on being away so long, but, you know... life! Thanks to those of you who have checked on me. As I mentioned in previous posts, my month of May was filled with doctors' appointments (mostly good results, although there may be a follow-up appointment or two in my future). Right now I'm dealing with a random attack of hives on my arms and I have no idea of the cause! They're fading and most of the itching is gone, but it was not a fun two weeks...  I did manage to get some small gifts stitched, but that's about all since my last post. Our weather is finally warming up and I'm sure that next week (when it gets into the 90s), I'll be kicking myself for complaining about the cold. But honestly--it was down in the 40s a couple nights  this week and our heat even came on. In June! I just love 80° weather with no humidity and today has been exactly that sort of day. 

Two blogging friends, June and Vickie, both have June birthdays so I managed to stitch a couple of sweet designs to make into cards. 

A pair of stitched birthday cards

 

For June, in England, I stitched a pair of bunnies by Brittercup Designs from "Bunnies Galore." Aren't they sweet? I forgot to note the fabric that I used, but I think it was a 32 ct. white linen or evenweave of some sort.

♥ Bunny love ♥

 

And for Vickie, I stitched the little "Hello Spring" design by Primrose Cottage Stitches. This one was stitched "over one" on 28 ct. white Lugana with a variety of pastel colors. I thought it might make a nice addition to Vickie's cubby that she changes out monthly.

Such a cute design for Spring

A new baby boy was born into my middle son's girlfriend's family so guess what I stitched? Yep! The cute JBW Designs gingerbread boy from the "Baby's First Christmas" chart.  This marks the tenth time I've stitched this little cutie; in fact, I stitched it for this little guy's big brother just two years ago. The parents are always so happy to receive a personalized and unique ornament! I used 32 ct. black Belfast linen with DMC threads and added a white pom-pom and red beads along with the candy cane colored cording. I wonder if I'll be stitching any more of these for baby boys in the future? I certainly hope so!

A Christmas ornament for a new baby boy (the name is whited out for privacy)

And this next one came as such a surprise to me! My best friend sent a photo of the little "Welcome" piece that I had stitched and given her years and years ago. It is so old, I don't even recall stitching it! She took a photo of it to show me that it is now hanging in her daughter's home and I was so touched. My friend downsized her belongings when she moved away and gave each of her five children a piece that I had stitched. I'm honored to think that my work lives on in their homes. Unfortunately, I have no idea where the chart came from, but it may have been in an early Just Cross Stitch magazine from the 1980s or 90s. If anyone knows, could you let me know?

This piece is so old, I can't even remember the source or when I stitched it!

So, I've turned my attention to patriotic stitching and am almost finished with a cute piece that I'll share with you next time. I'm very behind on getting my patriotic stitching out and on display this year. I usually like to have it out by Memorial Day, but I just wasn't motivated to take the Spring stitching down. Finally, I pulled out my patriotic finishes today and hope to get them on display tomorrow which is Flag Day here in the U.S. A perfect time to get these out--there sure are a lot of flags in these pieces, aren't there? I think you all know that Christmas stitching is my favorite, but after that comes patriotic themes. I just can't resist a good red, white, and blue design!

Can you tell I love patriotic stitching?

Here are a few close-ups for you...

.

 

An unexpected visitor arrived in our yard a couple weeks ago. We saw some sort of blob out in the middle of the grass and it turned out to be... a large snapping turtle!

Our pond's newest resident

We believe he was heading to our pond from the creek across the street. That is quite a distance, but "slow and steady" wins the race as they say. This fellow looked like he was in pretty rough shape. He had a small notch out of his shell toward the back and was so muddy. We tried to give the turtle something to eat, but he wasn't interested so we left him alone and watched as he ever-so-slowly made his way back to our pond. I did see him sunning himself on the pond's bank a couple of times since,  so I'm hoping he's found himself a welcoming new home!

Can you spot his very dark eye?

New flowers are blooming, adding their pretty colors to all the green, green grass in our yard. 

Love the wispy catmint!

These elegant white calla lilies with their dappled leaves are some of my favorites this time of year.

Our purchased flowers waiting to be planted. The yellow dipladenia on the left was a Mother's Day gift from my middle son and his girlfriend

Okay--this is a strange one! I was given an amaryllis bulb as a gift back in December and it never bloomed. The stalks  grew about 4 inches tall and then just stopped. So last month, I asked my husband to take it outside and plant it--never dreaming it would actually bloom. Surprisingly, two weeks later we had these bright red flowers!

 

In early June we visited my grandson in the D.C. suburbs and had a grand time! The main purpose of this particular trip was to take my middle son's old bunk beds down for him. Oh, my! He'd been so excited about moving from his toddler bed into bunk beds and talked about it for weeks. On the day we put them up in his bedroom, he was almost jumping out of his skin. He wants, so badly, to sleep in the top bunk, but, for now, his mom and dad are limiting him to the bottom. In addition to that big event, he helped me make some very tasty banana bread and helped plant the very first garden in his new house. I just love this photo of my husband holding the carrot seeds as Mister B carefully places them in the ground. He proudly announced just this week that the carrots were already sprouting! I've never seen a kid love vegetables the way he does, so I'm sure all the tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and cucumbers that were planted won't last long once they ripen!

My sweet grandson patiently planting some tiny carrot seeds

This coming Sunday is Father's Day here in the U.S. Do any of you have special plans? We are going to my middle son's place for dinner (which is also a gift for me since I don't have to cook for a change!). It's kind of a bittersweet day for all of us whose fathers have passed, though, isn't it? I do hope to be back for a visit again in a couple weeks and return to my twice a month blogging schedule. Thank you, one and all, for visiting today--hope your summer is off to a great start (yes, I know summer doesn't officially start until June 20th, but I've always considered it to start on Memorial Day!). I really appreciate each of your comments and emails--you stitching friends are the best! Take care now and enjoy your weekend. Bye for now...

Six months down, six to go!

And just like that... the year's half over! Can you believe it? Tomorrow marks the first day of July and the beginning of the second half of 2023. I really can't say much good about the first half of the year so here's hoping the second is better! Anyway, it's been one busy, busy month. As always there has been some good and some bad happenings in my world. Both, have led to very little stitching time, though, and I only have one teeny-tiny finish to share with you today which is my Christmas ornament for July. If it looks familiar--yes, I've stitched it before. But, it was stitched way back in 2011 and given away as a Christmas gift. 

I'd never forgotten that sweet Jeannette Douglas design (from the 2011 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue) and decided this busy month would be the perfect time to stitch it for myself. It measures a mere 2 inches by 3 1/2 inches and will be perfect for hanging near the top of my Christmas tree where I like to place the smallest ornaments. This only took me one day to stitch up and the following day, the purple beads were added and I made it into a little pillow. The fabric wasn't my favorite--a mystery 32 ct. gray linen that was very floppy. I prefer my linen to be stiffer. There was some 'over one' stitching including the word "Noel" and the tiny chickadee in the upper right corner.

"Noel Stamp" ornament finish for June

Here is a closer look at the cute chickadee and some of the purple Mill Hill beads. I finished this one very simply with some purple cording in DMC 3740 and then added a bit of black and white checked ribbon in the left corner. I was going to go with purple ribbon, but decided I liked the way the black and white picked up the colors of the bird.

Look how adorable that tiny chickadee is!

So, there you have it--six months of ornaments down, six to go! Time to look through my ornament charts and pick out my next design. I have an entire folder full of smaller Christmas charts that I'd like to stitch as ornaments one day, so it makes it easy.

What else kept me busy this month? Who knows what this stack is?

I'm going to be busy with framing!

I've been framed!  I finally took the time to measure some of my finishes and order frames for them. I've gotten a bit more confident with my framing through the years and have decided to tackle more of my framing myself. Oh, I'll still send out the most special pieces for professional framing, but many I'll be attempting to do myself. I've ordered this bunch of frames from Franken Frames online and I'm very happy with what I received. Each one was precisely made to my exact measurements (within 1/16th of an inch!) and the whole turn around time took under took two weeks. Franken Frames has some great sales and this one was for 30% off the frames plus half price shipping. They also send out free samples (1-2" lengths) upon request making it easy to decide what frame will do justice to your finished stitching. For these seven custom-made frames I paid just $70 plus $24 shipping. Isn't that great?

Seven new custom-made frames just waiting for my cross stitch.

You can tell I really liked this particular style as I ordered three frames in various sizes. It is such a pretty moulding and I think some of the fall Prairie Schooler pieces that I've stitched will look perfect in them. No, I'm not being compensated by Franken Frames in the least--I just think a good company deserves recognition and I love that they're made right here in the U.S.A. Their communications and customer service were both excellent. I will definitely be ordering again... Check them out if you need any new frames!

Won't these be lovely filled with autumn-themed stitching?

And do you see the silvery frame on the right front corner in the picture of all seven frames? It's already been matched with a piece of stitching from last year. I stitched "All American" by Primrose Cottage Stitchers last summer with the best of intentions of framing it and giving it to my oldest son and his family for the Fourth of July 2022. But... you know how that goes! So, I was thrilled when I noticed that this frame fit that piece of stitching perfectly. You see, I had actually ordered that particular frame for another piece, but it was just too heavy looking for the delicate stitching in that one. Thankfully, this worked out just fine and I can't wait to give it to my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson next week! If you'd like to read about the details of this patriotic piece, please check out my post from July 2, 2022 because I did make a few changes.

I framed "All American" yesterday and it will be going to its new home next week.

When I stitch framed pieces and give them as gifts, I like to cover the back of the frame with a pretty scrapbook paper. I then add little tags that I've created online to the back to make the gift even more special. (This one has July 2022 as the date because that is when I actually stitched it).

The little label that I made for the back of "All American"

Giveaway winner... my last bit of stitching news is to announce the winner of the Patriotic Angel chart which I offered last time. Thank you to all who entered and answered the "Getting To Know You" question--it was fun reading about your favorite foods (and I applaud many of you who seem to be much healthier eaters than I)! The winner's name pulled from the hat this time is...

Catherine

Congratulations to Catherine--you are the winner of "Patriotic Angel"

Congratulations, Catherine! You are the winner of this beautiful angel chart--can't wait to see her all stitched up. Please send me your mailing address (my email is in my sidebar under "View My Complete Profile") and I'll pop the chart in the mail to you early next week! 

 

RIP dear Honda CRV--you served me well for 13 years.

So, I mentioned some bad happenings in my life this month and the worst is that my 2010 Honda CRV is gone. It was recalled by Honda for rust underneath the chassis so we took it into the repair shop two weeks ago. Little did I know that that was the final time I would be driving that car. When the repair shop examined it, they deemed it unfixable--apparently I'd been driving around in a death trap for who knows how long! The suspension could have just completely broken or fallen out at any time the rust was so bad! We were very upset as the car (in our eyes) was in excellent shape. It had never been in an accident, the interior and (what we could see of) the exterior was perfect. I drive so little these days that we had planned on keeping it as long as possible because it was doing just fine. Or so we thought... Honda said they will be "buying back" the car from us, but we've received (after a full two weeks!) absolutely no information as to how much they'll be giving us. The whole process is very frustrating to say the least.

Whatever the amount, it won't be enough money to compensate for losing a car that we had expected to keep for several more years. All those memories... a car that had safely carried me through 11 years of 600-mile round-trip travels to visit my mom and dad in New York as their health was declining, a car that had seen us make many trips to the beach and to visit colleges with our sons, a car that I was truly comfortable with and didn't want to lose. I am one of those folks who hates change and to have to purchase a new car at this point in my life is upsetting. Whatever we end up with, it will, most likely, be my last car as we tend to keep our cars for years and years. I'll keep you posted... And for all of you Honda CRV owners (years 2007 to 2011 models), please be aware of this recall. For more information, you can read this article.

Cough, cough... We've been dealing with terrible smoky air from the Canadian wildfires again this week; in fact Pittsburgh was one of the worst cities in the world for air quality over the past two days. The entire state was issued a "Code Red" warning and yesterday morning the reading from the Environmental Protection Agency was 247--even worse than the Code Red warning! 

The main thing I noticed over the past few days was the smell... Not a smoky smell, but a distinct odor of chemicals in the air. The retired librarian in me kicked in and I did a bit of research... Apparently, the smoke from the wildfires includes Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that interact with UV radiation. When this interaction occurs benzene and formaldehyde compounds are created in the atmosphere, toxic air pollutants that can be very hazardous to human and animal health. And the smell that is created when this happens is one of chemicals and plastic. Very sad to think that this might be a problem we'll be dealing with for a while... They say the Canadian wildfires will be burning all summer. Needless to say, I've stayed inside with the windows closed. I did venture out to check on the garden and had to come inside after a mere 5 minutes as my eyes started to burn.

I always try to end my posts on a positive note, though... We so enjoyed our grandson's visits this month--Mister B was here for a total of 10 days over two visits. On this last visit we took him to a local farmer's market (twice!) where the photo below was taken. He absolutely adores animals and he  loved feeding the baby goat and seeing the gigantic black and white pig that reside there. What you can't see in the photo below is that, with his other hand, he is holding his nose--he may have loved the goats and pigs, but he sure didn't enjoy their odor! It was so funny!

Mister B feeding the baby goat at a local farm market

I hope all of my U.S. friends have a relaxing and fun Fourth of July on Tuesday. We are going to be getting a lot of rain over the next four days so I hope to find more time to stitch. Thank you for stopping by today and for saying "hello" in your emails and comments! I really appreciate hearing from each one of you.  Hope July is a good month for all!  Bye for now...

The patriotic Pottery Barn cubby

Happy July! It's the beginning of the July 4th weekend here in the United States. Do you have any special plans? It will be a quiet one here as my husband is still testing positive for Covid. The red line is much, much lighter and he is feeling just fine now, but I guess the virus is still there to some extent. And believe it or not--I didn't get it! That still amazes me, but I just read an interesting article online yesterday that said blood type may possibly play a part in whether or not you end up with Covid. Apparently, folks with Type O blood seem to have slightly more protection from it. Oh, they can still get it, but not as easily. And I have Type O, so who knows? If you'd like to read the article from Men's Health you can find it right here. 

In my past two posts, I've shown you several little patriotic pillows that I stitched and finished to fill some of the vacant spaces in my Pottery Barn cubby. I've since filled it up and just love how they all look displayed together. Would you like to see?

Lots of red, white, and blue fills my July cubby

Of course I'll share some close-ups with you, too...

 

As you can see, I have some of my larger patriotic pieces displayed on top since they won't fit into the smaller holes. I chose to fill one of the openings (below on the right) with a sewing theme: vintage red, white, and blue spools of thread and an old tomato pincushion (complete with tiny strawberry) as well as my maternal grandmother's gold thimble.

 

 

Do you wonder how I make the pillows stand up? Well, I steal my grandson's wooden blocks (shhh... don't tell him!) and place them behind the little pillows for support.

 

I've really enjoyed this display and plan on keeping it up for most of the summer.

As always, my mom's silhouette occupies the center position because she was forever the center of our home. I decorated her space with two vintagey looking pinwheels and some baby's breath inserted into the pair of white ceramic shoes that were part of her childhood shoe collection. I'm sure she would be delighted with my seasonal decorations of "her" cubby space!

The center space honoring my dear mother

Which one do you like the best?

Above is one final look at the patriotic cubby. Do you have a favorite? I think I am torn between the Liberty pillow in #11 and the Chessie & Me pillow (with the trio of houses and the ship) in #7. But, honestly? I love them all!

I also had a chance to finish one of the patriotic charts that my Instagram friend, Trinka, so generously gave me. I love stitching words so I really enjoyed this one! The design is called "All American" by Primrose Cottage Stitches. Love the way the colors pop on the 40 ct. vintage country mocha Newcastle linen! The red I used was Classic Colorworks "Ribbon Red" because I didn't own the called for overdyed thread, but I think it made a great substitute.

"All American" finish

 

If you have stitched this one already, you'll notice that I made a few changes (of course!).  As you can see, I added white polka dots (in the form of Smyrna stitches) to the word "Blue." I also added white stripes to the word "Stripes!" It just made sense to me and I love how it turned out. (The color of the fabric is much more accurate in the photo above).

Love those colors!

So, in the spirit of keeping the kindness going... who would like to win this patriotic chart? I'll pick a winner and announce the name when I post again (hopefully in a couple weeks). 

If you would like to win this chart, please follow the guidelines below...

To be included in the drawing for the chart, please...

1) Specifically mention that you would like to win the chart in your comment 

2) Be a follower in my blog's sidebar (to the right)

3) Make sure to leave your email address in your comment if I don't already have it--(this is very important as I have no way of getting in touch with the winner if you don't)

4) Answer the "Getting to Know You" question below.

 

In today's "Getting To Know You" question, I'm wondering if you are an early riser or a night-owl? Are you one of those people who loves jumping out of bed and getting right down to the business of the day? Or are you more like me--a "lounge in bed for an hour or so reading emails, browsing blogs and Instagram, and catching up on the news type of person?" I so wish I was an early riser--I always feel much more accomplished when I do get up early. But, more and more, I've been staying up until almost midnight stitching the evening away... How about you?

And that's about it for today! Happy second half of  2022 everyone... I hope you have a relaxing weekend doing whatever makes you happiest. With my husband being quarantined with Covid, I've gotten in a lot of stitching and reading time, believe me! I'm sure by the next time I post, he'll be fully Covid free and our normal life can resume. It really feels odd living in separate halves of the house...

Take care now--thank you for your visit today and your sweet comments! If you do want to enter the giveaway for the Primrose Cottage Stitchers chart shown above, please read the guidelines very carefully. So many of you don't include your email address (just a gentle reminder). I hope everyone who is celebrating the 4th of July in the U.S, has a fun, but safe holiday. Bye for now...