Stitching For a Cause

Good morning, everyone! I'm so happy to share my finish for a very special cause. This little "Christmas Chick" will be winging its way to sunny Arizona for inclusion in the 12th annual silent auction to benefit breast cancer research sponsored by Attic Needlework. I signed up to stitch an ornament to be auctioned off through Pumpkin Patch and Co. Breast Cancer Fund and if any of you are interested, there is still time to participate. You can email Pumpkin with any questions. This impressive auction netted over $20,000 last year simply by auctioning off stitched creations sent in from around the world... Simply amazing!

If this Valerie Pfeiffer designed chick looks familiar, it's because I also stitched him for myself last year. This time, I used 32 ct. white Jobelan, DMC threads (over 25 colors were used on this tiny piece!), and backed it with the red and white fabric shown in the photo. I hope that by adding the red, twisted cording and little bows he looks even more irresistible and that someone will bid on him!

Last week I also stitched this Trilogy Halloween Spooky Tree ornament for dear Myra for her birthday. I know how much she loves Halloween designs, so when I saw this one it almost commanded me to stitch it and send it to her... What a fun piece to do! I chose a dark gray 32 ct. Barnwood linen and DMC and various overdyed threads along with three yellow buttons for accents. I forgot to photograph the back before I sent it on its way, but I personalized it with a little ghost, the date, and our initials. Myra took a photo of it, so you can check it out on her September 22nd post. I'm so glad you liked it Myra--I loved each moment spent stitching it for you...

I was thrilled to learn that I had won a giveaway from one of my favorite designers: Sandra Sullivan of Homespun Elegance. What a lovely lot of goodies arrived in my mailbox--click on the photo and you can see a truly unique scissor fob, a lovely Christmas card with a needle inside meant to send to a stitching friend, a pretty sampler notepad, and Sandra's "Sweet Little Sewing Basket" which included the basket and a design to stitch a pincushion to display in the basket. I have just started collecting more and more Homespun Elegance designs this year--I'm particularly fond of the "Delivering" series and the yearly ornaments. So, thank you so very, very much, Sandra--I treasure your gifts!

We spent the weekend in a very hot and humid (high 90s!!) Richmond, Virginia visiting my son for Parents Weekend. Our last one ever... I still can't believe that he is a senior and that the past 11 years that we spent as "parents of college students" for our three sons are winding down. It was a bittersweet evening Friday as we watched him play his trombone in what may well be the last time we see him perform live. As he played with the university jazz band during that final song, tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered how far he has come since he first picked up that "bigger than he was" trombone for the first time in 3rd grade. All those memories: those first awkward sounds that didn't resemble music at all, the years of paying for lessons, reminding him to practice, driving him to marching band, watching him conduct the band as drum major in his senior year in high school, hearing about the trips that took him all over the U.S. and abroad--they all came flooding back. It's been an amazing experience and I love how his love of music, from the time he was a tiny baby, has had such a positive impact on not only him, but on our whole family. I truly hope he will continue to play with community groups and jazz bands throughout his life. So thank you, my youngest son, for so many musical memories--you've made us very proud!

I'm woefully behind on my September Block 9 of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, but hope to finish it up soon. Thank you all so much for your comments on my Block 8 carolers (the revised "Carol" edition!)--I do think the whole piece is coming together quite nicely now and I can't wait to show you the finish in December... And remember--I'll be posting my giveaway next week to celebrate reaching 200+ followers, so don't forget to look for it!

Thank you all for visiting, and a special thank you to my friends whose comments and emails brighten my days--you mean so much to me! Hope your week is special...

Block 8 Is Finished!

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to finally have Block #8 finished. These carolers have been haunting me ever since I started Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow because I thought they looked rather pale and so stern-looking. So, a number of changes were made in both colors and stitches in an attempt to humanize them and make them as joyful as the rest of this piece. To compare the originally charted carolers to mine you can click here. As you can see I changed the man's coat to a gray color, changed the book's colors, and the size of the woman's mittens. I pinked up their faces and tried to give them less of a "uni-brow" look by changing their eyebrow shape and the nose (still a bit pointy, but nothing else seemed to work). I also changed the colors of their mouths and gave them a more oval shape.

The man's face looks a bit too feminine to me, but I couldn't figure out how to make him more "manly." Add a mustache? In addition to changing the window color, I added a few holly berries to the woman's hat and darkened her hair. Honestly, I felt like I was playing with a Mr. Potato Head I tried so many different noses, mouths, eyebrows, and eyes on these two! So, what do you think? Should I leave it as is or make some other changes?


As a bit of a break while finishing up the carolers' block, I stitched this little Halloween cutie from Xs and Ohs called "Boo Web." I just love the way his web spells out "boo." This grinning spider is stitched over one on 28 ct. summer khaki lugana using DMC threads.

To finish him off I used some of the black and orange pumpkin fabric that Myra gifted me with last year (thanks, Myra!!), and some black and orange ribbons for accent. (The orange ribbon didn't photograph well and really matches the orange in the pumpkins much better in real life.) And here's a little hint--look for the little pillow as part of a Halloween themed giveaway that I'll be having in October to celebrate my blog reaching 200+ followers. Watch for details in the next few weeks... (in other words, I haven't bought all the stuff for my giveaway so I need to get my act together!).

Doesn't this look like the most relaxing place to sit and stitch? This is the view my sister gets to enjoy every evening from the deck of her house on Lake Ontario. We were lucky enough to visit over Labor Day weekend and I truly realize that I'm more of a lake person than a beach person. Which are you? I feel like I totally let down sitting by a quiet lake. And, to be honest with you, I really don't like the feeling of sand at the beach! Unfortunately, the good weather didn't last more than a couple of hours. A brisk wind whipped up and we saw waves and whitecaps on Lake Ontario that would rival any ocean!

So how did we spend the time? We ate some delicious food (crabmeat quiche, blueberry pancakes), drank some Margaritas, and played lots of games: Scrabble, Yahtzee, and my new favorite, Bananagrams. Have any of you played Bananagrams yet? If you love words and a quick game that can be played by almost any number of people, you may want to give it a try. Here are some other scenes of our visit including her huge Bernese Mountain dog in a rare moment of rest! Thanks to my oldest son who was kind enough to let me use his wonderful photos of our trip (I think I was too busy eating to take any of my own!).

When I returned home from the lake visit, I found the most lovely stitched gift waiting in my mailbox all the way from The Netherlands. Sweet Mylene had a giveaway for six of her darling scissor fobs and I was lucky enough to win one. Her stitching is just perfect and I love how she beaded the edge with alternating colors of yellow and orange. You all know that I love sunflowers so this is a wonderful addition to my collection of sunflower pieces. Thank you so much, Mylene--I truly love it!

I still find it amazing that over 200 of you find what I have to say interesting! Thank you so much for the many friendships that have begun as a result of blogging--your comments, emails, and support always bring me smiles :)

Hope your week is special in every way! Bye now...

Up On the Housetop

Can you believe we are down to the final two days of August? Where has our summer gone? I feel like I was hardly outside due to the heat and humidity this year... And to prove it wasn't only in my head, the Pittsburgh area tied with several other cities as 10th highest in the nation for number of days (61) with temperatures above normal since June. Is your city shown on the slideshow? My sons kept telling me it's always this bad and I kept saying, "No, I never remember a summer this hot and humid!" It's nice to know that old mom is right every now and then!! So, you can see why I've been stitching Christmas ornaments in an attempt to cool down...


My first ornament is what I should have stitched during July for my ornament-a-month goal. I'm sure you all recognize it as a Prairie Schooler, don't you? It's from "Up On the Housetop" Book No. 25 and is stitched on some 32 ct. dark grey mystery linen that I bought on Ebay. I changed the color of the house to this pretty yellow (DMC 676), but the other colors were as charted. I've always had a thing for little yellow houses--they look so cozy and inviting. Do I have a yellow house? No...but maybe some day! I didn't plan this, but look how well the house color matches the trim color. Guess it was just meant to be...



For my August ornament this Prairie Schooler addict chose, what else--another PS design! This one is stitched over one on 28ct. Country French Cafe Mocha linen with the suggested DMC colors. It is just about 3 inches square--the perfect size for an ornament. This design can be found in one of the new PS charts: "And To All A Goodnight" Book No. 167.



Since this is quite a "busy" design, I kept the finishing pretty simple--just backed it with the fabric shown and added the plaid bow and red buttons for the hanger. It didn't even strike me that I was stitching the same basic theme as the previous ornament (Santa with his sled and reindeer) until I was just about done with the second!


The mailman delivered this beautiful Hillside Samplings chart this week as a gift from Melissa at Words and Blooms. Melissa had a special giveaway for some of her already-stitched charts for her regular vistors/commenters (see it pays to comment!!) and I was lucky enough to win this beauty. Thank you so much, Melissa--I am truly looking forward to stitching it and will definitely "pay forward" your kindness when I am done...


Most of you know that I love to bake, but without my sons around (except for Sunday dinners), I bake very little anymore. My middle son kind of teased me about it a while back saying, "Remember when you used to bake cookies, Mom?" Well, if I did bake them as much as I used to I would gain 100 pounds. My three guys were little cookie monsters when they were younger--there was no keeping up with them. So, as a special treat for their Sunday dinner today, I tried a new recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Bars from Everyday Food magazine. I love that magazine because it uses ingredients that you actually have readily available in your kitchens rather than having to hunt down exotic ingredients that you might use once in your lifetime! These were just great--moist and flavorful and you could really substitute any dried fruit for the raisins. Yum!!

I really enjoyed reading all of your comments on my last post about how many "unfinished finishes" you have hiding away at your houses. It was nice to know that I'm not alone! Some of you even had more than my 82 which made me feel much better. At least I've been good about finishing my monthly ornaments this year. And to show you how well I've kept up with their finishing...here they are from January through August:

Thought I would leave you with a collage of the winged beauties that have visited my garden this month. I'm just fascinated by dragonfly wings--that iridescent quality is so lovely...


And once again, thank you so much for each and every comment and email--they mean so much to me and I truly appreciate the time you take in writing me. May your week bring you only good things and I hope my American friends have a relaxing and stitch-filled Labor Day weekend. Bye now...

For the Love of Sunflowers

Good morning everyone! First of all, thank you so much for all of your compliments on my sunflower header photo and new blog background--I really appreciate them! This weekend, I was sorting through my drawers and boxes of unfinished finishes in an attempt to count how many I have (and perhaps motivate myself to finish some of them!) when I happened to notice the many sunflower finishes I had stitched through the years. Thought you might like to see them yourself and hopefully, they'll inspire you or just bring you a smile...

First up, is one of my all-time favorites...I actually finished this piece from Prairie Schooler's "Garden Samplers" (Book No. 45) three years ago and still haven't framed it! I really need to get a frame ordered for it soon--it is too pretty to hide away in a dark drawer. I especially love this one because we have a large martin birdhouse in our backyard--not exactly like this one, but similar. If I can recall, I used 32 ct. summer khaki jobelan and DMC threads on this one--but I'm not positive. At my age, I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone what I stitched a three-year-old piece on!


Next up is a finish I showed you last year, but I finally got around to framing it this week. It fit perfectly in a frame that I use for other monthly Prairie Schooler pieces... (see here and here) so I'll just pop it out of the frame and replace it with the September squirrel next month. This is from an old Mill Hill bead kit that I converted to stitching. The original kit came with sunflower buttons so I had to improvise these stitched flowers.


This cheerful Prairie Schooler rooster crowing "Good Morning" to the sunflowers is from an old issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine (January/February 2002). It appears as if this one was stitched on some sort of oatmeal colored evenweave with DMC threads. I always thought this would be fun to finish as a flat-fold and use as a decoration at a brunch. Well, it has probably been almost five years since I stitched this and it still remains unfinished... perhaps I need to schedule a brunch to get me motivated? Want to join me :)


My Prairie Schooler sunflower Santa should look familiar to you (unless you just began reading my blog) because it was my April ornament finish earlier this year. It is from Book No. 48 "A Christmas Visit" and is stitched on 32 ct. natural light linen with DMC floss. This was my first circular finish and I love it!


My final sunflower stitching is called Manuela's Sunflower by Chatelaine Designs and is a freebie available here. There are some really lovely designs on this site. I especially love Kathy's Violets and Debi's Roses. Not sure what I stitched this on--some sort of mystery linen with DMC floss and a few bronze colored beads in the center. I didn't stitch the border that was on the original chart--just liked it better without. So there you have it; all of my sunflower stitchings in one post! Hope you enjoyed seeing them...


I had a wonderful RAK sent to me this week by my friend Cindy at "Cindy's Cross Stitching". Two darling LHN patterns and the overdyed floss to stitch one of them and the cutest Just Nan "Snow Faces" chart. I love everything, Cindy--you have been such a wonderful friend and loyal blog commenter ever since I can remember. I truly appreciate your gifts and even more, your friendship...

I actually gasped when I opened these one-a-kind gifts from Lee at "Notes From Under the Mountain". Just look at the elegant workmanship in the scissor fob and pin cushion--I mean Lee is a true needleworker and I'm just in awe of these beauties. Click on the photo and you'll be able to see all of the beading, bullion-stitched roses, and tiny extra touches that make Lee's gifts so special. And guess why she sent them to me? All because I left so many comments and gave her lots of encouragement and support during her first year of blogging. Please stop over at Lee's blog and check out her stunning work--I especially love the little birds in her side bar under "Lee's Birds"--stunning! Truly, Lee, I hope you know how much I will treasure your gifts. Someday I would love to visit your breath-taking New Zealand and thank you in person :)

So, anyway, back to my first paragraph of this posting--the number of unfinished finishes that reside in my home? Are you ready? 82!! How about you? Are you one of those stitchers who promptly finishes each thing after it is stitched or do you stitch mainly for the love of stitching like I do? How many poor neglected finishes do you have patiently waiting in bags and boxes, drawers and closets just begging to see the light of day?

Well, that's about it for now--I hope your week is a special one filled with all of your favorite things. Thank you so much for visiting me today--your comments are so much fun to read and I really appreciate the time you take in leaving them! Bye now...

Bringing Home the Tree: Block 7

Hi everyone! I can hardly believe it has been almost three weeks since my last post. I seem to be turning into a twice a month blogger. Oh well, I do have a good excuse this time. But, more on that later… I am a bit late with what was supposed to be my July finish for Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, but here is my completed Christmas tree farm. I changed several things in the chart this month. I just couldn’t bring myself to stitch minty blue trees, so I substituted various shades of green instead. Most noticeably, I personalized this block with my last name (by marriage). (For privacy, you can see I’ve covered my name with paper, but if anyone wants to see the actual block, just ask and I’ll email you a photo.) Luckily, I have a short surname with skinny letters like “l” and “i” so it was a perfect fit!


Block #7 of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow has special meaning for my family. You see, my husband’s grandfather owned a nursery for many years and took great pride in his ability to propagate trees. He actually hybridized his very own crabapple tree: the White Angel which is pictured here. Even after he retired and moved to Florida, he had a passion for gardening. At the ripe old age of 90, he was still propagating and growing little Royal Palm Trees in his tiny backyard plot and advertising them for sale in local newspapers. I can still picture him shuffling back to his garden to show his tiny trees to a prospective customer—he was so proud of his specimens. So, this block is proudly dedicated to my husband’s paternal grandfather—I wish we all could share even half of the special kindness and warmth that this gentle man possessed.

Now, one of the reasons that I haven’t been blogging much is that my family just returned from a wonderful week in the warm and sunny Outer Banks area of North Carolina. Not much stitching was done, but it was great to relax with my husband’s side of the family—all 22 of us in one giant beach house. The house was amazing, but, unfortunately, it was next to the public beach access so the beach itself was extremely crowded. On top of that, the jellyfish decided to vacation there the very same week as we did! They just packed their slimy little suitcases and had a grand time! Seriously--they were everywhere--it was like jellyfish soup. And so many were washed up on shore that you couldn't even walk on the beach without stepping on pieces of their gooey bodies--ugh! The boogie-boarders in our family were all stung and it certainly led to a less than desirable week water-wise.

On the way home we were almost hit by some woman who was texting as she drove. She had a small child in her back seat and I shudder to think what might have happened if my son hadn’t honked (and screamed and yelled!) to alert her that she was in our lane. We also saw a man driving and holding a burger in one hand and a drink in the other. Was he steering the car with his knees??!! Seriously, we all survived for many, many years with no cell phones in cars—just turn them off and put them out of reach so you won’t be tempted while driving! Stepping off my soapbox, now… (Can you tell this really upsets me?)



When I returned from my week at the beach, I found this amazing giveaway patiently waiting in my mailbox from Maggee at "Stitching Devotee". She sent me 9 beautiful Quaker themed charts including all 12 months of the Quaker calendar! If you haven’t visited Maggee’s blog, now is the time to check it out. She is having another giveaway in honor of her siblings’ birthdays and one of you might just be lucky enough to win. Thank you so much for your generosity, Maggee—I love each and every chart and can’t wait to start stitching them…

Now for a bit of fun! Some of you may have heard of this site, but it was new to me, so I thought I’d pass it on. My oldest son told me about this site that analyzes your blog writing and tells you which author your style resembles. Now, I wouldn’t put too much credence into it, but it is certainly entertaining. I put in a number of passages from my blog and according to the site I Write Like, I have a similar style to authors ranging from Margaret Mitchell to Vladimir Nabokov to Dan Brown. But, you know which author’s name came up for me most consistently? Stephen King!!! Now that is scary—literally. Are you all having nightmares after you read my blog? Anyway, give it a try—I’d love to know which author your blog’s writing style most resembles…




I hope you all didn’t get shocked when you saw my new blog background and header! I feel like I should put on sunglasses when I read it. I suppose it is a bit bright...and, well, yellow! But, I was so inspired by the huge sunflowers that had bloomed while we were away, that I decided to make a change. This is the view from our kitchen window! Those 10 foot sunflowers just make me smile every time I glance outside…

Thank you again for all of your supportive comments and nice emails—they mean so much to me. I really missed you guys when I was at the beach. I feel so far behind on what everyone has been stitching or writing about, but I’m slowly catching up. You’re all a very special group of friends! Have a wonderful week now …

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 :)