A bit of the red, white, and blue...

Hello everyone! I've been inspired by all of your patriotic stitching to do a bit of my own this week. First up is "Let Freedom Ring" by Little House Needleworks. I stitched this piece "over one" on 28 ct. Tea Dyed Monaco using the suggested DMC and Crescent colors. I did change the wording to my favorite blue rather than the gold that was charted.



I spent some time on Thursday finishing it off into a little pillow. I'm always a bit surprised at how long it takes to finish something like this--small as it is, it takes me much longer than it should. But, this turned out to be one of my favorite finishes yet. I backed it in the blue and gold fabric shown and added some golden brown cording that my dear husband and I made using my Kreinik Custom Corder.


Heart In Hand's "Olde Glory" was a really quick stitch although this fabric (18 ct. raw cork linen) seemed to be a bit difficult to work on. I do love the way it looks, though with DMC 3865, Sampler Threads Lancaster Red, and Nina's Hand-Dyed Thread in "Old Jeans" (can't say enough how much I love her threads!!).


I added a little golden star for interest and turned it into a small pillow using two different fabrics and a bit of rope-like braided trim. I'm very proud of how it turned out! So, now I have my own little patriotic display in my home that I hope to add a couple of new things to each year. I've included a photo of it at the very bottom of this post. Besides my new additions, the display includes LHN's "America" and the tiniest little Homespun Elegance pin pillow finish that I made last year. You can read about it right here.




I spent last week visiting my parents in NY while my husband was a on a grueling Colorado bike trip. (Are any of your husbands bike riders? I wonder why he puts himself through some of these trips, but it's nice that he has his passion like I have mine for stitching!) Anyway, when I arrived home on Sunday, just look at what was waiting to greet me. And just look at what she'd been feasting on the whole time I was away!! Yes, those "things" sticking up in the left foreground of the photo were my gorgeous green and white hostas with purple flowers before the deer got to them. Oh I was so mad!! She just stood there and looked at me like I was intruding on "her" territory!


But, I couldn't stay mad at her for long when I found out why she was so hungry. The next morning I heard a bleating sound coming from the woods by our pond so I took my camera back to investigate. A little fawn caught a glimpse of me and bounded off deeper into the woods, white tail flying high. Figuring there was no photo opportunity, I just turned around and headed back to the house. When I was almost to the patio, I sensed something behind me, turned, and lo and behold, there was the dearest spotted fawn not more than 20 feet from me. She just stood there looking at me as if she wanted to play.


Now, how could I be mad at her mom for eating my flowers so she could be strong enough to care for her baby? Well, make that babies plural!! Yes, little twin fawns have been having the time of their lives chasing each other through the yard and munching on all of our greenery. But, who can stay upset with those sweet faces? Luckily, our vegetable garden is fenced in so they can't make the tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, or zucchini a part of their diets!

No Europe trip photos to show you this time. It takes so long to organize and put a post like that together and time was something I really didn't have much of this week. I haven't picked the winner of the "Watermelon Garden" chart yet either, so if you'd still like to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on my last post only.

Thank you all for your much-appreciated comments and a warm welcome to my new followers. Wishing all of you in the U.S. a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend...And Happy Canada Day to my wonderful blogging friends up north! I have to work on Saturday, but I'm looking forward to grilling and relaxing on Sunday and Monday--how about you? Bye for now...

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Wish I Had a Watermelon!

"Wish I had a watermelon! Wish I had a watermelon!" Do those words ring a bell with any of you? Here's why they have special meaning to me...When my sons were little my husband used to cut their hair for them. Multiply three boys times 8 to 10 haircuts per year times who-knows-how-many years and his hair-cutting skills sure saved us a lot of money! He would plop them on top of the bathroom vanity, drape a sheet around their necks, and whip out the scissors and hair-clippers. In the summers they would almost always get a buzz cut--short and cool. When my husband was finished he would then rub his hand around and around their soft, sweet, peach-fuzz like heads and recite those words, "Wish I had a watermelon. Wish I had a watermelon." The boys laughed and giggled each and every time. I never knew where my husband got that line until I Googled it and found out it was from an old episode Our Gang (The Little Rascals)."

So, in honor of our 34th wedding anniversary which is coming up in July, I dedicate my "Watermelon Garden" finish (by Ewe & Eye & Friends) to my dear husband. I changed the sign outside of the watermelon colored house so it has a watermelon on it and added the words: "EST. 1977"--the year we were married. I also added a little crow under the tree and moved the date and my initials to the lower left garden. Should I add another crow or leave it as is? I've been back and forth trying to decide...

I really enjoyed doing this SAL with my blogging friend from South Carolina Nancy. It has been fun to see how each of us "made it our own" by changing bits here and there and substituting different colors. I hope we'll have the chance to do another stitch along some day, Nancy! Mine is stitched on 40 ct. Vintage Light Examplar by Lakeside linens and uses both DMC and Sampler threads. It ended up being just under 5 inches square so I'm hoping to find a ready-made frame for it.

I want to thank Chris at Tot Hill Farm Stitches who passed the "Watermelon Garden" chart along to me in a giveaway. I would like to continue the kindness and pass it along myself so if you'd like to have a chance to win it, please let me know in your comments...

Now for a recap of the third stop in our 12 day European adventure: the Spanish city of Barcelona, the second most populous city in Spain. We had a wonderful (and very cute!) guide named Carlos who led us through the city's most well-known sights. Because of his knowledge and enthusiastic love of his city, I feel like we learned more about Barcelona than any of the other cities we visited.

You can't go anywhere in Barcelona without hearing the name Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí was the Modernista architect responsible for much of Barcelona's most unusual architecture. His works reflect his love of nature and religion.

Gaudí's most famous work is La Sagrada Familia church.
Construction began on it over 100 years ago in 1882 and
isn't expected to be completed for another 15-20 years!

From a distance, the church almost looked like it was made of sand.
But, look closely--hundreds of carved images cover the exterior.

You'll see the depiction of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus.

And here are the carvings of the three wisemen and some angels.

A small portion of the breathtaking interior above the main altar.

I've never seen a church like this, have you?

Gaudí's Park Guell features this magnificent mosaic serpentine bench.

More images of the whimsical Park Guell.

Gaudí's La Pedrera (Casa Mila) was finished
in 1912 for a wealthy couple.

The crazy roof-top terrace of La Pedrera!

More La Pedrera (Casa Mila) images.

I loved all the beautiful flower-laden wrought iron balconies.

Our guide took us through one of the local markets: La Boqueria.

We saw mounds of colorful fruits and vegetables...

...and marveled at the rows of hanging ham legs.
Shaved Jamón ibérico (Iberian ham) made such a tasty appetizer.

Aren't these dried fruits and nuts delectable looking?

Of course, this booth of chocolatey delights was my favorite stop!

La Rambla is a bustling pedestrian street filled with
cafes, flower, souvenir, and bird stalls,
caricaturists, and wild looking spray-painted mimes.

Built between 1329 and 1383 Santa Maria del Mar is a
wonderful example of Catalan Gothic architecture.

The Columbus Monument is located at the spot in Barcelona
where Columbus returned after his first voyage to The Americas.

I hope you're enjoying my photos from our trip...next stop on our journey will be Granada, Spain, home of the spectacular Alhambra!













I was thrilled to hear from Sandra of Homespun Elegance that I had won one of her newest designs in her recent giveaway. Don't you just love that dear sheep pulling his basket of Americana? This is part of her "Delivering" series of which I'm a huge, huge fan...I already own several charts from the series and I'm thrilled to add "Delivering Liberty" to it! Thank you so much, Sandra--I can't wait to begin stitching your gift. And thank you for your lovely hand-painted notecard...It is too pretty to put in the mail--think I'll frame it for my family room. Oh, how I wish I could paint or draw. I suppose that is why I stitch--it makes me feel as if I'm just a teeny bit artistic!

Don't forget...if you'd like to have a chance to win the Ewe & Eye & Friends "Watermelon Garden" chart giveaway, please let me know in your comments and make sure to leave your email address if it isn't connected with your profile. I'll announce the winner in my next blog entry...

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on my last post... I truly appreciate the time you each take in dropping by to say "hi" every week. I know this is an especially busy season of the year for us all so the fact that you take a moment to leave a comment means even more to me. Have a great week everyone! Bye for now...

Blood, sweat, and tears

Good morning everyone! Well, the title of this post isn't exactly what you'd think of when it comes to a blog about cross stitching, is it? I'll get to the meaning behind it after I share a bit of stitching and the photos from the second stop on our European trip with you.

My ornament for the month of June is this cute Prairie Schooler Santa from Book No. 48: "A Christmas Visit." I call this skinny bird-loving guy my "around the world Santa" because he was stitched mainly in airports all over the world from Philadelphia, to Munich, to Barcelona, to Madrid. I stitched a little bit in each airport and then finally finished him up here this week.

If you're familiar with the chart, you'll notice that I left the bottom part of it off that was supposed to have the year stitched in it. I'm not crazy about having dates on my ornaments because, to me, they always look "old" after that particular year has passed. So, I decided he looked just fine as is. He's stitched on 32 ct. sage jobelan with the recommended DMC threads.

When I was putting my June ornament away in my giant under-the-bed ornament box, I spotted the others from 2011 and thought you might like to see a photo of all six of the ornaments together. I love each and every one and can't wait to add them to my Christmas tree in six months. Do you have a favorite? All but two are stitched "over one"--would you say I'm an "over one" addict?


My stitch-along with Nancy (Watermelon Garden by Ewe & Eye & Friends) is progressing, too. There is a lot of solid stitching in this one and I think it may end up taking longer than I had planned. But, I'm truly enjoying stitching it. I changed the color of the house and watermelon from the cherry red that was suggested on the chart to a more berry, "watermelony" color--what do you think?

So, on to the next stop on our trip: Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg was a last minute day-trip that we took from Munich and I'm so glad we ended up adding it on. It was definitely one of my favorite spots--I only wish we had had more time to enjoy there than just one afternoon.

The first glimpse of Salzburg from the window of the bus.

The lovely Salzac River. "Salz" is the German word for salt.

Are you a lover of The Sound of Music like me? If so, this garden

should look very familiar to you. It's where Maria and the children
sang "Do-Re-Mi." This is the stunning Mirabell Palace and Gardens.

And these are the famous steps on which the "Sound of Music" cast

performed the Do-Re-Mi song! I tried to get the guys to do a "Sound of
Music" tour of Salzburg, but had no luck. Guess I'll have to go back
again someday with some girlfriends. Anyone up for it?

The wonderful Pegasus fountain where Maria and the von Trapp
children danced and sang (see the last photo in this link.
(I have a great photo of my whole family standing in front of
this fountain. If you'd like to see it, just let me
know in your comments and I'll email it you.)

One of the charming streets filled with bustling shops in old Salzburg.

Did you know that Mozart was born in Salzburg?
Yep--right in this bright yellow building in 1756.

Another "Sound of Music" sight--the Residenz Fountain where
Julie Andrews sang "I Have Confidence" on her way
to begin working for the von Trapp family:
"I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides which you see I have confidence in me!"

Chess anyone?

This sign indicates that this is the courtyard
where the cows were to be washed!

Construction on the imposing Hohensalzburg Castle,
which sits on top of the Festungsberg Mountain, began in 1077.

A close-up of view of a portion of Hohensalzburg Castle.
Yes, the sky really was that blue!

The incredible view of Salzburg from Hohensalzburg Castle.

Can you imagine living in this beautiful setting
with the Alps in your backyard? Sigh...

A shop selling traditional Austrian clothing: the dirndl and Lederhosen.

Probably the prettiest cemetery I've ever seen! Does anyone know
if all Austrian cemeteries are like this with the raised flower beds
at the foot of each gravestone? I could have wandered around there
all day reading the inscriptions and admiring the lovely blooms.

And that wraps up my Salzburg leg of the trip. On my next post we'll visit a city with a very different feel: Barcelona, Spain...

So, I suppose you're wondering about the "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" that I mentioned earlier? Well, that has pretty much described my life over the past four days. You see, my oldest son had oral surgery on his gums on Thursday and I have been helping care for him while he temporarily moved home during his recovery. I just have one word to describe the experience: "blood." Oh, my, let's just say I could never have had a career in medicine. Even though I come from a long line of doctors (father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and several cousins), I am completely thrown by blood. I get weak-kneed at the mere thought of it. And believe me, "thinking" of it is not all that has been happening. My poor son--I think he and I have seen more blood this week than in our entire lives so far. His mouth is healing, but a lot more slowly and painfully than we ever would have anticipated.





The "sweat" comes from being told by my youngest son on Wednesday afternoon that he was moving to Washington, D.C. on Saturday for a summer internship (paid, thankfully!) which he just found out he had received. Can you say stress? Getting someone ready for a major move in two days sure worked up a sweat--the shopping, the washing, the ironing, the packing. It actually took my middle son, who's an engineer, to figure out how to get all of the youngest son's "stuff" into the allotted two suitcases... (The secret is to roll your clothes, put them in plastic bags, and remove the air from them--amazing!) When we discovered the price of a one-way airline ticket was over $300.00 and he'd have to travel from Pittsburgh to Boston just to get to D.C., we found a great deal ($21.50!!) on Megabus. Has anyone out there used Megabus? Some of their fares are as low as $1.00 between major cities--incredible!

So, by now, I think the "tears" part of my blog post title is obvious. Yes, my youngest is leaving, flying the nest, maybe for good. You see, he hopes to find a permanent job in D.C. and being down there this summer for his internship will certainly enable him to be available for interviews much more easily than if he were here at home. We said our goodbyes privately at home before I took him to the bus stop. "Thanks for everything, mom. I love you," he said as he hugged his weeping mother. Although we are extreme opposites in our habits and I complain about his lack of order, late hours, and that sort of thing, he is such a positive, happy person who brings a lot of laughter into our home. I know I'll miss him dearly. In fact, I already do...

So, that winds up another (too long!) post. I hope you're enjoying my vacation photos and that you feel as if you took that fun trip right along with me. I always like to imagine what a pleasure it would be to take a trip around the world just visiting blogging friends!

Wishing you all a very special week and I truly thank you for your comments and emails. They never fail to bring a smile :) Bye for now...