Delivering Posies

Good morning, everyone! Hope your week is off to a wonderful start. I spent the past week stitching this whimsical piece by Homespun Elegance which is aptly titled "Delivering Posies." I couldn't resist the plump blue bird and his tiny companion, Miss Ladybug, pulling a cart full of daisies to surprise an unsuspecting friend. They look so serious and determined, don't they? For this piece, I used 28 ct. dirty linen and the recommended WDW, Sampler Arts, and DMC threads. The center of each flower is filled with French knots (grr... well, some of them resemble French knots!) and I really like the texture they add.




Two rustic metal buttons that I spied in my button jar were used for the cart's wheels and I substituted a dragonfly instead of the peachy-pink colored moth that was originally charted. Guess I'm just not a big moth lover! Don't you love it when designers' charts are sized to fit in a standard sized frame? Wish more of them would design that way. This fit perfectly into a simple 5" X 7" wooden frame that I purchased at Marshall's for $6.99 and it now brightens up the bookshelf in my family room...




I wanted to send my wonderful friend, Shari a little surprise for a big birthday (don't feel bad, Shari--you'll always be younger than me!!) so I stitched this summer pinkeep for her. (This is the second time I've made this one--I also stitched it for one of my "ornament a week" pieces back in 2009.) It's from the "Seasonal Baskets" chart designed by Sue Hillis and I used 28 ct. summer khaki lugana with DMC threads. This was my first ever pinkeep; can you believe that with all of the small pieces that I've cross stitched, I'd never done a pinkeep until now? I trimmed the sides with some rope-like braid, backed it in the red and gold starred fabric shown, added a blue and white checked bow, and finished it off with some gold pins. I'm so happy that Shari liked it--"Happy Birthday" again, my friend...





My mailbox was filled with a delightful delivery all the way from Texas last week. They say that "everything is bigger in Texas" and that is certainly true of the amazing giveaway package I was lucky enough to win from Natalie at "A Stitch in Time". I thought I had died and gone to stitchers' heaven when I opened her box of goodies all revolving around a red, white, and blue theme: tiny red Kelmscott scissors, two beautiful LHN charts, a sweet strawberry smelling Paula Deen candle, darling handmade pin pillow, marking pins, and a very unique needle holder, a sweet red and white needleminder (my first ever!), red/white/and blue finishing fabrics, the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Preview issue, a handy memo book, and to top it all off--a huge can of those decadent Pepperidge Farm chocolate fudge Pirouettes. I was overwhelmed and touched by your generosity, Natalie! Thank you so, so much--everything you sent brought a huge smile to my face... And if you're not familiar with Natalie's blog--please run on over! She has created some perfectly finished ornaments, very unique needle holders, and many lovely stitched pieces. I know you'll enjoy it...

Do you remember back to when you first began blogging and didn't "know" any of the other wonderful cross stitch bloggers? I sure do... but what a difference 18 months makes! I now feel like I've made so many wonderful new friends, learned so much from and been inspired by your blogs, and hopefully, even inspired you a tiny bit. So, that being said, I would like to introduce a new blogger to you... my friend, Mary over at "Sweet Sentiments and Stitches" has just started her very own blog. Please drop in and say "hi" and welcome her to what has to be the nicest community on the internet! I know she would love to meet all of you and discover your blogs, too...

I'll leave you with these photos of some patriotic looking flowers growing in our garden! I hope your week brings only pleasant things and that you'll find some time for yourself to stitch, or read, or garden, or whatever makes you the happiest. Thank you all so much for dropping in and taking the time to say hello--I still get that little thrill each time I see that a new comment has been left...

Half-way There!

Hi everyone! Well, I finally reached the half-way point on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow--Block 6 is finished!! Although this was a block of almost solid stitching, I think it is my favorite one so far. I never got bored with it because there were so many little motifs scattered about to keep things fresh. Don't you love the bonfire and that rustic log cabin perched on the hillside. But, just what is that creature lurking on top of the bridge with his fiery yellow eye? I think he's supposed to be a reindeer, but, he looks pretty ominous to me!

I also like this block so much because it kind of reminds me of my family (not that I can skate--heavens, no--I am hopeless on the ice!). But, when I was growing up, there were three girls and a boy in my family--exactly the same make up as the group of skaters and the tiny sleigh driver featured here. There's me on the right, the oldest of the bunch, probably yelling at my little brother to stop goofing off and making a mental note to tell my mom (when we got home) that he wasn't wearing his mittens! I'm afraid I'm a typical first-born child: organized, conscientious, and too much of a perfectionist. I'd love to be able to relax and not always have to be on time for things, or maybe break the rules now and then, but it's just not in my nature. We were talking about birth order at a family picnic over the weekend and I've been reading a lot about it since then. Two interesting sites I've come across that discuss common birth order traits are: here and here. How about you? Do you have the traits that are most common for your birth order? My guess is that because cross stitching is such an orderly craft with exact counting and stitching, that there are many first-borns who share the love of it...



I had the best time stitching LHN's "Stars and Stripes" as a surprise for one of my first blogging friends, Myra! I was even more excited when I read on her blog that she came home to find it waiting in her mailbox after a particularly hard week at work and that it really lifted her spirits. Isn't it amazing how a kind word or simple gift from a friend can have that effect? I hope to send more of these little gifts out to my blogging friends in the future--it was such fun!



"Stars and Stripes" was stitched on 16 ct. natural Heatherfield fabric with DMC and WDW threads. I did change the outer border color to be the same as the wording rather than the charted brown color. To finish it off into this little pin pillow, I backed it with some burgundy and red checked fabric, added a frayed bow of the same material, a tiny heart button, and trimmed it with some blue cording. I'm so glad you like it, Myra--I truly enjoyed making it for you :)

22 years ago today, my youngest son was born! We were living in the D.C. area at the time--right where he is living this summer and having the experience of a lifetime: interning at the Department of Justice. The week he was born, the weather was almost as unbearably hot as we've had this past week. And yes, in many ways he is a typical youngest child--funny, charming, and outgoing and maybe, just maybe--a "teeny" bit spoiled, but he has made us so proud and I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays! We miss him very much and can't wait to see him in a few weeks...

I was so excited to see comments from so many new readers last week! Thank you all so much for taking the time to say hello. I was able to visit many of your blogs and I loved adding new ones to the ever-growing list of stitching blogs that I follow. I hope you all have a most relaxing and stitch-filled weekend in a nice, cool spot...

Tiny finishes and big thanks

Hello all--hope you've had a great week!I had the urge to do some tiny stitching this week to offset my huge Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow piece. For my June ornament, I stitched the bottom quarter of the "O Christmas Tree" sampler from the Prairie Schooler Christmas Samplers chart (No. 63). I ended up stitching it over one to make it a better size for a Christmas ornament (and because I am an admitted "over one" addict!).









For this ornament, I used 28 ct. taupe cashel linen and DMC threads. I did end up substituting a couple of the colors--changed the cardinals to a brighter red (DMC 816) so they would more resemble the ones we see here in Pennsylvania in the winter and I changed the middle color on the trees to DMC 3363 because the charted color didn't offer enough contrast. Then I backed it with the fabric shown, topped it off with some sage green cording, attached a little bow and--voila! I'm very pleased with the final product...



My second tiny finish is from the Homespun Elegance "Miniature Samplers VI" chart. I changed many of the recommended overdyeds threads to similar colors I already owned. And because I stitched this little (it is just 1 1/4 inches x 1 3/4 inches) design "over one," too, there was no way the charted wording ("America the Beautiful") could be stitched and still be readable so I substituted it with some fireworks and added a little sheep.


Now, I am no artist--believe me, I can barely draw a stick figure, so if these don't look exactly like fireworks, try to use your imagination. (Now that I look at them, they resemble red and blue spiders!). I think that is one reason why I like cross stitching so much--because I feel artistic even though I'm not. I love the way the design appears on an empty piece of fabric almost like a painting. I stitched this tiny pin pillow on 26 ct. natural brown linen, filled it with crushed walnut shells, and added a bit of white ribbon and a red star button for accents. What do you think?




Stitchers are the nicest people and I recently received some wonderful things in the mail... Mary (no blog yet--but she's working on it!) and I became email friends when she sent me the sweetest note saying how much she enjoyed my blog. We hope to meet in person at some point because her son will be attending a nearby college in the fall. I was just so touched to receive this wonderful package of goodies from her. It contained all of my favorite designers: Prairie Schooler, Blackbird Designs, and Country Cottage Needleworks along with some floss. Most special of all, though, was the fact that Mary had read through my blog and discovered my love for black cats, especially my dear cat, Shadow, and she had picked out a special Permin kit featuring a little black cat waiting by a door. It brought tears to my eyes when I opened it... Thank you so, so much, Mary--I love everything and you are a wonderful new friend!



And from one of my very first blogging friends, Sue, I received this lovely La-D-Da Quaker Alphabet chart. Sue recently finished and framed this herself and kindly offered me the chart when she was done. It was her first Quaker and since I had never stitched one either I think she knew it would go to a good home. You know me, though, I'll have to use my favorite blues when I do stitch it. Check out Sue's blog for her amazing finish! It is perfection...Thank you so much, my friend. I will definitely pass along the chart to some other "new Quaker stitcher" when I am done!" Your gift means so much to me :)

Do you have a favorite flower? Mine, by far, are hydrangeas--I just adore them and this year, our bushes are absolutely bursting with the biggest blue blooms. In fact, they've never looked this good in the ten years we've had them planted! I'm assuming that it is due to all of the rain we've had this spring. Almost makes all of this horrid humidity bearable--almost... I don't know about you, but the older I get, the more the humidity gets to me. At this point I'm almost ready to move to San Diego where, I've heard, they have the most perfect weather. Do any of you live where there is no humidity? I just may be coming for a visit :)

I really enjoyed seeing all of your comments on my last post in regard to my question about whether or not you share your blog with others. I was very surprised to read how many of you are like me in that we tell only fellow stitchers or immediate family members about the fact that we have a blog. I just assumed the reason I didn't share it with people was because my shyness was coming through, but maybe it is just that I want to have a little corner of the world reserved for myself and others, like all of you, who share my passion for cross stitching...

Thank you all so much for taking the time to comment and email me each week. I treasure hearing from each of you and promise to catch up on my emails this weekend! Wishing you a wonderful last week in June (can you believe the year 2010 is almost half over?)...

Something Sweet

Good morning all! I just put in the final stitches of Blackbird Designs' "Something Sweet" last evening. Now, I'll have to say... I think this was my favorite stitch ever! Don't you love that giant violet hugging the creamy, yellow house? There was just something so calming about it...Not sure if it was the colors or the sentiment, but watching it appear on the fabric was such a pleasant experience. I ended up stitching it on a cream colored 28 ct. evenweave with the suggested WDW and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads. I did change the wording from "I looked for something sweet to send you, the violets asked if they would do," to "I looked for something sweet for you, the violets asked if they would do." It just sounded more like something I would say and since this is a gift, I wanted it to sound like me talking.

"Something Sweet" was one of those pieces that was stitching up so easily, that I kept thinking to myself: "Something is going to go wrong." Well, it did... As I rounded the final corner in the upper left, it became clear that the borders were not going to meet up properly. I'm sure you've experienced that sense of panic! Would I have to re-stitch the entire piece? What on earth did I do wrong? Well, it turned out I was one stitch off on the entire left border--just a simple counting mistake that was easily remedied by ripping out that side of the border and moving it one stitch to the left. Whew!! Crisis averted! I can't wait to get it framed and see my dearest friend's face when she sees it... Thank you again, sweet Kim for passing along this lovely chart to me...


Just look at these lovely fabrics that Barbara gifted me with. I answered a question on her blog and the next thing you knew, these beauties appeared in my mailbox. I think she knows my love of ornament stitching and I can assure her that these will be perfect for backing future ornaments or pillows. Thank you so very much, Barbara--you are so thoughtful and kind :)




Thank you all for your comments on my bird nest photos from my previous post. As you can see, the baby cardinals hatched! I was so excited when I saw the little fluff balls in the nest that I ran right outside to photograph them. They thought my camera was their mother coming to feed them and whenever I held it over the nest, they craned their necks upward hoping for a bit of squishy worm to eat.








I enjoyed watching the mother (and occasionally the father) cardinal feed them for the next few days, but one morning I awoke to the most awful sight. The birds were gone and in the branches below the nest lay one single lifeless, little body. Clearly, a raccoon or some other animal had gotten to them. My thoughts immediately went to the poor mother cardinal and what she must have been going through when she returned to the nest to feed them and found her little brood destroyed. So sad... I know it's the whole "circle of life" thing, but I still felt badly. I was really hoping to see the little things grow up and fly away...

Here's a question for you... Do your friends, families, co-workers, etc. know that you have a blog? I've been thinking about this, because I saw an old friend last week who asked me how I'd been keeping busy. I mentioned work, reading (a very enjoyable book called The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott), and stitching, but I didn't mention blogging. I really hesitate to share the fact that I have a blog with anyone but my closest family members. Not sure why... Are any of you that way? Or do all of your co-workers and acquaintances know that you blog?

In honor of the lovely shades of violet that I used to stitch "Something Sweet," I'll leave you with a few images of the purple, violet, and lavender hued flowers that have we've been treated to this spring. Aren't they glorious?
I want to say a special "Welcome" to each of my new readers and followers and simply thank you all for your visit today... I truly appreciate each comment and email that I receive. You're the best :)

Hello, Folks!

"Hello, folks!" Hope you've all had a wonderful week! The weather has turned quite summery here in Pennsylvania--not sure if this poor snowman likes it very much... For my May Christmas ornament finish, I chose an old chart from the 1998 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cross Stitch magazine designed by Louise Young. This funny fellow just made me laugh for some reason--perhaps it was his long ant-like body!


Anyway, he was a quick and easy finish. I used 36 ct. Picture This Plus linen in "relic," DMC threads, and black beads for his eyes, mouth, and buttons. The nose was supposed to be beaded, too, but since I had no orange colored beads, I did it in satin stitches and I'm very happy with the way it turned out...For the ornament hanger, I stretched out a spring and simply inserted each end into the linen. So easy! I then tied on a torn strip of the backing fabric for a little accent in the upper right corner. He'll look mighty dapper on my snowman tree this winter!

The noise from the birds chirping, cawing, and squawking in our backyard routinely wakes me up each morning. It sure has been a busy spring here with all the new little nests popping up all over the place. We found this robin's nest with those sweet blue eggs in our pyracantha bush as we were pruning last week. And look how lovely the cream and brown speckled eggs are in the cardinal's nest. Would you believe the cardinal re-used a nest left over from last year! Is that common? I suppose it was built in such a secure location that the bird felt safe to nest in it again. The picture in the upper right is of the little robins that nested on the upper lattice work of our back porch. Don't the poor things look like they wished their mama had built them a bigger nest--they are positively squished together in there. I really love birds and was surprised to see a woman on television the other day talking about how much she feared them. The main creature that I'm truly terrified of is bats--I am petrified of them. How about you--any other animal phobias?

I hope all of my U.S. friends have a wonderful and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. What are your plans? Picnics? Reunions? Parades? We're heading down to Washington, D.C. with my youngest son who will be beginning a summer internship with the Department of Justice. He is so excited for this opportunity and eager to explore life in our nation's capital. But, I'll have to say I'm a bit misty-eyed because I've come to realize that, with his last year of college looming in the fall, he may never truly be at home for an extended period of time again. Sigh...

Thank you for your visits, your emails, your comments, and most of all, for your friendship. I hope your week is as special as each of you are to me :)

Five is Finished!

Hello everyone! I am finally getting around to posting again--I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last post. The good news is that I've finished Block Five of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow a full 10 days ahead of my self-imposed end-of-the-month deadline. This was, by far, the simplest block of all twelve and it all came together very easily. I did change the candle lengths to make them all equal. Once again that lack of symmetry would have bothered me. Are any of you like that? I really like things well-balanced, even, and equal...

And here is Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow so far... You can click on the photo for a larger look. Don't know why the borders look so wavy; I promise you they really are straight!! Hope you're not getting tired of seeing it so much. It's hard to believe that after next month I'll be half way through--where on earth is this year going?

My youngest son just returned home from an eight day trip to Costa Rica with his university's Jazz Combo. They performed a variety of concerts in the San Jose area and then went to a remote music school for a few days to perform and work with some of the students. If you have any interest in jazz or just enjoy music, you may want to take a look at this video from his trip. He plays the trombone--way in the back right corner of the group and is the last musician as they "parade" through the audience in Costa Rica's spectacular National Theater. The lead trumpeter is the Jazz Combo director. Keep an eye on the lady in red in the audience--isn't she great! I would love to be able to be that free and just let loose and enjoy myself the way she does... I doubt if he'll ever perform in such a beautiful theater again--what a venue! I still remember when he began those first trombone lessons as a ten-year-old--how far he has come :)



I was wondering how my Mother's Day would be celebrated since my husband wasn't home to "organize the troops" as he usually is (he was on a two day, 200-mile bike ride in Ohio.) I had to work on Mother's Day Sunday and was delighted when I got home and found all three of my sons waiting for me with dinner on the stove and flowers, chocolate, and a gift certificate to my favorite online stitching store in hand! My oldest son prepared cashew chicken, the middle made the rice, and the youngest surprised me with these cupcakes he made that spelled out "Happy Mother's Day." (Funfetti flavored!) How sweet was that? I feel so lucky to have such amazing young men to call my sons--I love you guys so, so much and feel so proud to be your mom...

I've been working on my Christmas ornament for May and hope to have that finished to show you soon... Hope your weekend is relaxing and stitch-filled. And, as always, I truly appreciate your comments and emails. I love hearing from each and every one of you...

Peep, Peep!

Hello everyone! Hope you've each had a great week and that you're enjoying this lovely spring weather. Who can resist this cheery, little chick? I began working on her two weeks ago because I really needed a break from stitching that huge mansion in Block #4 of my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. Have any of you ever stitched these Valerie Pfeiffer chicks before? They have very unusual fractional and straddled stitches in the charts along with a lot of blended needles. They are very time consuming to stitch because you really have to study the chart, but I think that is what makes the chicks look so realistic. "Gardener Chick" is stitched on 32 ct. white Jobelan using the recommended DMC threads. This is the second chick I've stitched--(the first was the Christmas chick that I stitched last year). I think I'll simply frame this one with a simple black frame...


Last month, I lent a chart to Tricia over at the Simply Stamping blog through "Inter-Stitcher Loan." Imagine my surprise when she returned not only my chart, but included this darling pin pillow as well. As I told Tricia, she could not have made a more perfect choice for me since my favorite color is blue, my house is decorated in mostly blue and white and yellow, and I collect rabbits! Didn't she do a great job on it? She took a portion of the Prairie Schooler "Welcome Spring" chart and adapted it for this tiny pillow. And how about that darling card? Check out her site for more examples of her beautiful and creative cards. Thank you so very much, Tricia--I just love it!

As I've mentioned before, we have a pond at the back of our yard that attracts all sorts of wildlife... Ducks visit it each year--always in pairs. Well, a few weeks ago we noticed that only the male or female would visit at any given time, so my husband speculated that they must have a nest somewhere and the missing mallard was sitting on the eggs. I woke up Thursday morning to see both ducks preening by the pond and worried that something had happened to the nest. Imagine my surprise when I looked out after lunch and saw the mother in the grass next to the pond surrounded by nine peeping chicks! Of course, the first thing I did was to grab my camera and run out to photograph them... I wish you could all see how cute they are! They're just little brown and yellow fluff balls, but, boy, can they swim quickly. It would be nice if my camera and camera skills were better, but you can click on the photos for a bigger image:

"Now, my little chicks, it's time for your
first lesson in pond etiquette."

"Aw, mom, we want to swim underneath the
waterfall! Please mom, please, please?!"
"Hurry, let's get away from that crazy stitcher who
wants to photograph us for her blog!!"

I thought this mother duck and her chicks were just so perfect for this Mother's Day weekend--it really makes me smile to watch her guarding her babies so carefully. I am very blessed to have my own amazing mom... At almost 83, she just got her first computer and is now emailing and reading my blog! So, mom, I wish you the happiest of Mother's Days. Wish I could be with you, and I hope you know how much I love and treasure you...

Happy Mother's Day! And, as always, I want to thank you, my friends, for stopping in and taking time out of your busy schedules to leave a comment... I love hearing from each of you!

Up On the Housetop

Yippee! I'm one third done with Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow! Block 4 seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I felt like I was actually building this mansion brick by brick...all of those browns and tans are my least favorite colors to stitch with. But, I think the end result was worth all the hours I spent on it. (Is it just me, though, or does each of those peacock tails bear a striking resemblance to a traffic light?) Block 5, which I'll be stitching this month, is much less "stitch intensive," so it should go fairly quickly. I might actually finish it before the last day of the month for a change...

Below is the entire piece so far. For any new readers--I'm stitching it on 32 ct. flax Belfast linen using DMC threads.


I can hardly believe that it's May already...one of my favorite months. When I was a child, we celebrated the first day of May (May Day) in a very special way. We would decorate paper cones, fill them with flowers, and leave the flowers at a neighbor's doorstep. After ringing the doorbell, we would run and hide and then peek out as the neighbor retrieved her surprise. It was such fun! I especially recall doing this for a pair of elderly women who lived two doors down from us. They were always so kind to the neighborhood children, inviting us in after school for cookies and milk. I still remember sitting in their warm and cozy kitchen, munching on the best sugar cookies, and telling them about my day at school. Do any of you remember this May Day tradition? I wonder if it is still practiced anywhere...Times have changed and I don't think most neighbors are as close as they were back then. Or, even more likely, parents are afraid to let their children roam around the neighborhoods by themselves...


Can you ever remember a prettier spring than we've had this year? At this point many of the flowers and flowering trees have begun to fade, but I did manage to take a few photos of them at their peak. I wish you could smell the white vibernum--they just scent my entire kitchen with the most delightful fragrance.









I can hardly wait to begin Blackbird Design's "Something Sweet" this week. Don't you just love the start of a new project? Everything is so fresh and untouched--the fabric just waiting there for you to add some color... I'm stitching it for a very special person--hope she likes it... I love the colors in this piece and that giant violet next to the yellow house. It seems like the perfect piece to stitch during May. Thanks again, dear Kim for passing on this chart to me!

Well, that's about it for this week. I hope you all have relaxing, stitch-filled weekends. Thank you so very much for all of your wonderful comments each week. It just brightens my day each time I read a new one!

Joy in the Unexpected

I was lucky enough to win a surprise giveaway last week. This one came via a new-to-me blog called A Southern Belle Misplaced in Michigan sent by a lovely stitcher named Lisa. The only "rule" she had when she offered her giveaway was to tell her if I was a cross stitcher or not--how easy is that! I had no idea what I had won until her little package arrived several days later. In it was this beautiful beaded scissor fob and a tiny pincushion with a saying that any stitcher can relate to: "Eat, Sleep, Stitch." Don't you love it? The fob was the first she had ever created and she did an amazing job! I love the black and gold beads, too--just perfect for this Pittsburgh Penguins loving family! And the little silver charm with "Follow Your Heart" inscribed on it is so sweet... I love them both, Lisa, and will think of you each time I use them. Thank you so very, very much!

I had the pleasure of getting together with Lee and Linda (no blog, but an avid blog reader!) on Friday. We met at a Panera for a few hours of chatting, stitching, and eating. It's just so nice to spend time with fellow stitchers who actually understand your passion, isn't it? To me it was amazing that in a busy, bustling place like Panera, it felt as if we were the only ones there. There was just something so relaxing about sitting there with friends and stitching the day away...

We have an ongoing love/hate relationship with the increasing number of deer who eat our plantings out here in the suburbs. I was so upset to look out and find that a deer had jumped the fence into our garden and eaten almost every single one of our tulips that were just beginning to bloom. This is all that was left.



At the same time, how can you resist this little fellow. I posted this photo (taken in the spring of 2007) on my blog last year. However, I don't think anyone was reading it then except my two earliest followers/commenters and very special friends, Myra and Violet so I'm sharing it with you again. This was taken right in a patch of tall grass next to our pond at the rear of our property. I can still remember how excited I was to be able to get so close to the little baby deer! Who would think this darling thing would grow up to be a tulip destroyer :)






I was feeling a bit down last week and my husband arrived home from work on Wednesday with this beautiful bouquet to cheer me up... He's a keeper, don't you agree? I find that, more and more, it is the simple, unexpected things that give me joy. A surprise gift from a fellow blogger, a get-together with stitching friends, an inspiring nature photograph, a thoughtful token of love and support from my husband. They were all unexpectedly fulfilling... Have you had any pleasurable, unexpected moments lately? I hope so; it is amazing how a simple look, a lovely sight, a meaningful song, or a kind word can change the course of your day...

Thank you all for your visits--I'm so appreciative of your comments and emails...They always bring me joy!

Sunflower Santa

When I first saw this whimsical Prairie Schooler chart, I wasn't sure that I wanted to stitch it, but as I studied it further, it really began to grow on me. I love the idea of Santa taking a rest and tending his sunflower garden during his "off" season! My April ornament, from PS Book 48: "A Christmas Visit," is stitched on 32 ct. natural light linen with the recommended DMC threads. This was the first round ornament I ever attempted and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. At four inches in diameter it is a bit larger than I would have liked and I think if I stitch any more patterns from this book, I'll try stitching them "over one."


Like many of you, I'm stitching an ornament a month and I'm so happy to be keeping up with my finishing. It would be so easy to stick them in a drawer and move on to a new project, but I know I'll be thrilled when December rolls around and I have twelve already finished ornaments to add to our Christmas tree. Pictured below are the four I've completed. See how large the newest ornament is in relation to the previous ones? The earlier ornaments were all stitched "over one," so they're all quite small... Do you have a favorite? I still love that tiny stocking the most...


I was overwhelmed by all of your kind comments on my PS Spring sampler last week! Did any of you notice the mistake that I made in it? If you look carefully at the upper left leaf next to the robin in my previous post, you'll see that I forgot to fill it in with the light green. Luckily, I noticed it before I got around to framing it!


Have any of you ever framed a piece and then noticed a mistake? Well, I have--or more accurately, my then ten year old son noticed it! It was on one of my earliest works from back in the '80s--a pair of pictures with two doves nestled in a cherry blossom tree in each. Well, my oldest son was walking up the stairs one day, and I don't know if they were just at his eye level or what, but the next thing you know, he is running to gleefully tell me that I made a mistake on one of the borders. (Click on the photo above for a better look and see if you can spot my mistake... By the way, those mats on the pictures are both the same shade of gray as is shown on the left--not sure why they look different!)

Sure enough, when I went to examine it, he was right! If you look at the bottom right corner of the picture on the left you'll see that I forgot to close off that part of the border...I can laugh about it today, but at the time, I just cried. I think those were the first pieces that I had paid to have professionally framed and I was just sick about spending all of that money and time and then they weren't even stitched properly! A few years ago, I gave them to my mother-in-law because they fit in perfectly with her decor--she is thrilled to own them. She asked me to write the entire story about my son's eagle-eyed discovery on the paper backing of the frame so it will be there forever. That little bit of family history actually makes the pieces even more special...

Last month, I received my lovely pinkeep as part of Andrea's PIF... Now it is my turn to pass on the kindness. Since there were more than three people who wanted to participate in my PIF, I did a random drawing and the following stitchers will be receiving something from me within the next 365 days:

Lee from New Zealand!

Shari from Indiana!

Melanie from The United Kingdom!
I will be emailing the three of you to get your addresses very soon. I'm really looking forward to creating something special for each of you!


I am so very appreciative of all of your comments and visits...thank you all for being such a wonderful group of friends. Wishing each of you a wonderful and relaxing weekend...

A Prairie Spring

Hello everyone! Spring has burst into full bloom here in Pennsylvania and it also made its way into my stitching this week. I just finished this spring sampler from Book No. 50: "Prairie Seasons". It is stitched on 32 ct. flax Belfast linen with the suggested DMC threads. I got a start on this when I was in Florida last month and am so pleased with the way it turned out. I'll have to tell you though, I don't ever remember doing this much back-stitching in a Prairie Schooler design. Look at the window panes, the water spraying from the fountain and all of those stems and leaves--I thought I would never finish "sowing" this garden! The only change I made was to the robins' legs--the chart showed them as cross stitches, but after trying that, the poor things looked like grannies wearing thick, gray support hose, so I switched to a simple straight stitch and think they look much more delicate and bird-like.

I've included a collage of close-ups below so you can get a better look at all of the details in this finish: the wheelbarrow, the fountain, the watering can...And don't you love that blue door?

One of my favorite parts of this sampler is the little patch of orange carrots poking through the ground (shown in the lower right part of the collage photo). Speaking of carrots, I made a delicious carrot cake for Easter. Myra had posted her carrot cake recipe on her blog a few weeks ago and so I gave it a try... It was so tasty, Myra; thank you again for sharing it with us! I cut the recipe in half and it made a cake just the right size for the four of us (with just enough left over for my older sons to take back to their apartment). Unfortunately, my youngest son wasn't able to get home from college for Easter and it felt like a "piece of the puzzle" was missing from our family that day. With two giant papers due in mid-April and final exams looming, he thought it better to remain in Virginia and get some work done...

This wasn't the first Prairie Schooler spring sampler that I've stitched. I also stitched this one from PS Book No. 123, "Country Seasons" back in 2008. I'm not sure which one I like better. Both are very different, but I think I have a soft spot for the fluffy lambs grazing in the field in this one. How about you?

We've been fortunate enough to have a string of record-breaking warm and sunny days in April. I honestly think we're being rewarded for enduring the four feet of snow we got clobbered with in February! Just wanted to share some of those gorgeous spring blooms that have popped up in our backyard over the past week: daffodils, violas, hyacinth, periwinkle, and those lovely ferns. Have any of you planted your gardens yet? Yesterday, I went to the garden center and bought tons of flower and vegetable seeds and bulbs that will keep us busy planting over the weekend. Oh, wait a minute, did I say "us?" I have to work on Saturday--hope my dear husband doesn't mind getting started on the digging without me :)





I will be announcing the three participants in my PIF next weekend. Since there were more than three entries, I'll just do a random pick. If anyone else would like a chance to participate, you can sign up on my post from March 27th...

Thank you all so much for taking the time to visit my little corner of the world today... And a special thank you to all of my readers and friends who take the time to leave a comment. I know your lives are as busy as mine, but I truly love to hear from each and every one of you. Wishing you all a week filled with perfectly crossed stitches...