And the winners are...

Thank you so much for entering my giveaway--all 118 of you! I know it wasn't the biggest or best giveaway ever, but I am really happy that so many of you were interested. If only I could give each of you a gift... But, in a way you all gave each other the gift of a great reading list for any children in your life. Just take a few moments to read through the comments from the giveaway post and you will find a wonderful variety of favorite book titles from stitchers of all ages, from all over the world. I had never even heard of Enid Blyton before, but so many of my Canadian, English, and Australian friends recommended her books that I will definitely be checking her out...

My favorite comment was from my dear mother who reminded me of some of my favorite childhood books ("How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the Babar books). At 83, mom is a new computer user and has taken to it like a fish out of water--she's even on Facebook (am I the last person on earth who doesn't use Facebook? I just feel like I spend way too much time online as it is between blogging and work). I'm so proud of you, mom!


I can almost tell how old you all are from the titles you suggested. Readers from my era (women over 50!!) seemed to recall reading Richard Scarry books, "The Jolly Postman," "Goodnight Moon," "The Velveteen Rabbit," "The Polar Express," and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to their children. Do these books look familiar to most of you?



Many of you also mentioned "Love You Forever"by Robert Munsch, which I also read to my own sons. It is a tender love story of a mother telling her little baby, then her toddler, growing son, and teenager that, no matter what happens, she'll always love him. The mother rocks him and sings to him each night:
"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
my baby you'll be."

Well, later on in the book, when the boy is now a grown adult, his mother drives to his house, climbs up a ladder, crawls into his bedroom, picks him up, rocks him and sings the little verse to him in the middle of the night. At this point in the reading, my youngest son would always burst into fits of laughter--I mean the "tears rolling-down-your cheeks" type of laughter. And, of course, he got me laughing as well. It kind of ruined the "mood" of the story if you know what I mean, but I'll always remember those evenings way back when... At the end of the book, the adult man goes to visit his ailing and elderly mother, picks her up (eliciting even more laughter from my son), and begins rocking her and singing:
"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
my mommy you'll be."
Not too long ago, I came across "Love You Forever" in my cupboard of cherished books I had saved from my sons' childhood. My youngest son came home from college on a holiday break and I showed it to him to see if he remembered it. When he came to the page where the mother is rocking her grown son...he began howling with laughter. Some things never change. And isn't that what makes family memories so special?

I found this touching video of "Love You Forever" on YouTube which will surely make you cry (and maybe even laugh a bit, when you reach that one part)!

Well, enough of that stroll down memory lane--I know what you're really here for is to see who won my giveaways. I drew names the old fashioned way; simply printed each one onto a slip of paper, threw them into a basket, and picked two lucky winners. So without further ado...drumroll, please:

The winner of the Halloween Giveaway is:
LYNN at Kearnel's Corner!


The winner of the Autumn Giveaway is:
EDIT at Fuggosegeim!

Congratulations to Lynn and Edit! Please send me your mailing addresses and I'll get your prize packages off to you as soon as possible...

Thank you all for entering my giveaway, for taking the time to comment, and for being such great friends and sources of inspiration... I'll be back next week with a couple of small finishes (I hope!). Bye now...

Nine Down -- Three To Go!

I just enjoyed what had to be the most beautiful fall weekend ever! Last week opened with four days of nothing but gloomy rain and dark days, but the sun broke through on Thursday and hasn't stopped shining since! Oh, if only this weather could last through Thanksgiving... My husband was away on a 272 mile bike ride to Washington, D.C. (biking is his passion like stitching is mine) last week so I enjoyed some extra hours of stitching time. And look at what I finished! Block 9 -- Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow is now officially three quarters of the way done. This project is really starting to wear me down, though--each block takes so many hours of my time, that I've decided if (and that's a big if!!) I ever do a huge piece like this again, I'll never put myself on a deadline like I have with this one. There honestly was a point this week where I was ready to give it up completely after re-stitching that same little heart for the third time...And I really miss stitching the smaller samplers that you all are tempting me with on your blogs!

Anyway, I call this the "camouflage church" because the whole time I was stitching it, it kept reminding me of camouflage army garb! If I ever do stitch anything camouflage (not that that is likely to happen), I'll know exactly what colors to use, that's for sure. The only changes I made to this block were to leave the transom window above the church door open (not backstitching the panes) because I liked the idea of more light flowing from the church and a few minor color changes in the peacock's tail, the birds' eyes, and the heart. Oh, and I used red French knots for the flower centers because I just couldn't figure out what was charted at all. So, here are Blocks 1-9 in all their glory...


Speaking of churches, I was thrilled when this old, 1910 era, postcard came up for auction on Ebay and I was able to purchase it for a mere $3.00. Why you ask? Well, this is the Presbyterian church in my hometown where I attended Sunday school, sang in the choir, and was active in the youth group from age five until I left for college. More importantly, it is the church where my husband and I were married over 33 years ago. I have many fond memories of that church and the times I spent there. You see, the tiny town that I grew up in had only one main street and a handful of side streets. We walked or rode our bikes everywhere--my church and the park (with that all-important gazebo) were right down at the end of my street, the library was around the corner right on Main Street along with the post office, the market, the "five and dime," the drugstore, the barber, and a handful of other shops. The school was actually a mile away and we had to walk to and from every day from fourth grade on. (And yes, I was one of those parents that used the old line, "Well, in my day, I used to have to walk a mile to school every single day, rain or shine" on my sons when they would complain about walking the short distance to their bus stop!). The older I get the more I appreciate how lucky I was to grow up in a small town environment. Are any of you "small town girls," too?

One of my favorite poems, which I included in a scrapbook that I made in 2003 for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary really captures the feeling of small town life. It is titled "On Returning" and was written by Charles L. Cingolani:

On Returning

"And on returning
even the streets know
you were born here
and speak
when you walk them
watching for sidewalk flaws
cracks and swellings
where napping childhood
hides waiting.

And, after all the years
people on the porches
greet you and wave
to show they know
on seeing you,
who is one of theirs."
--by Charles L. Cingolani


I was visiting my parents in my old western New York hometown last month and took these photos of this little cast iron stove. It used to belong to my grandmother and I can remember playing with it as a child when I visited her. The stove is unbelievably heavy even though it is only about 18" tall! And the detail on it is incredible--just look at the little pots and pans and that chimney. Don't you love the name on it: "Beauty." Not sure if this was a salesman's sample or meant for a child's toy--does anyone know anything about these little stoves? Anyway, mom and I set up this scene with the stove, the primitive wooden cupboard full of small teacups and saucers, and the old round hooked rug in the corner of my old bedroom. Isn't it cute? It's nice to get things out of storage and actually enjoy them while you can...

There is still time to enter my giveaway until Friday, October 15th at 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. Just click on this link if you want to leave your comment for a chance to win. Even if you don't want to enter, you might want to take a few minutes and read everyone's comments about their favorite children's books. It's apparent that books evoke long-lasting and pleasant memories for many of us. Sorry this post was so long--I seem to be feeling very nostalgic these days...

I hope all of my Canadian friends are enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving Day today. And if any of you are lucky enough to have today off for Columbus Day (not me!), enjoy your extra stitching hours. Thank you all for taking time out of your busy day to stop in and say hello. Your comments always make me smile :) Bye now...

It's Giveaway Time!

Hello everybody! I finally got this little piece finished to add to my giveaway to celebrate reaching 200+ followers. You may recognize it as a freebie from Plum Pudding NeedleArt. I just loved Barbara's designs, don't you? If you're not familiar with them, check out her website. I stitched this little fall pillow on 32 ct. willow green Belfast linen using DMC threads (although I changed the pumpkin's colors to DMC 435 and 780).

I originally planned on offering just one giveaway, but as the number of followers kept increasing I now have two! Shown to the right is the Halloween giveaway which consists of my little stitched "Boo Web" pillow, a Prairie Schooler chart called "Boo To You," the Trilogy "Halloween Spots" chart, three 12" x 18" cuts of bright, Halloweeny fabric, three 9" X 12" pieces of fall colored stitching fabrics (18 ct. raw cork linen, 32 ct. gold Jobelan, and 32 ct. Barnwood linen), and 5 DMC threads to use with the PS chart. Oh, and what giveaway would be complete without a bit of chocolate included?


Because some of you aren't crazy about Halloween, I decided to center my other giveaway around a simple autumn theme. If you win this prize, you'll receive my latest "Blessed Be" stitched pillow, the Prairie Schooler "October" chart, the Trilogy "Happy Gobble Gobble Day" chart, 3 autumn colored cuts of fabric, three 9" X 12" pieces of stitching fabric (18 ct. raw cork linen, 32 ct. gold Jobelan, and 32 ct. Barnwood linen), 5 DMC threads to be used with the PS chart, and of course, some yummy Dove chocolate.

This giveaway is for my followers--old and new, young and not-so-young, in the U.S. or anywhere around the world. To even things up, there will only be one entry per person. You may enter both giveaways, but you can only win one. Please tell me in your comment if you want to enter both, or just the Halloween or Autumn giveaway. Make sure to include an email address if your entry doesn't link you directly back to a blog identity. Oh, and just to make it interesting for me--I'd love to hear the name and a bit about your favorite children's book or books. What made it special to you? It can be a book you read as a child or one you read to your own children. I will leave the giveaway open until Friday, October 15th at 5 PM Eastern Standard time and announce the winners on Saturday, October 16th...

Most of you know that I'm a reference librarian in a very busy public library, but did you know that I originally planned on being a children's librarian? I took all the prerequisite courses, but once I took my first reference course, I was hooked! I just love the questions people come up with when they stop at the reference desk--everything from what price a stock traded at on December 31, 1997, to how to fix an electric motor, to the names of Henry VIII's wives. It's always something new and I leave work each day having learned so much! But, just because I work with adults, doesn't mean I ever stopped loving children's literature. Last week, I was sorting through a cupboard where I've stored some of my sons' favorite children's books and came across one of the beloved titles that my middle son used to adore. It is called "The Jolly Postman" and is about a postman who is delivering letters to several fairy tale characters (The Three Bears, the witch in the gingerbread cottage, Cinderella, etc.). The book contains little pockets in which the actual letters to these characters are held--check my collage photo and you'll see how sweet and unique this little book is...

I'm looking forward to hearing about your favorite children's books and I wish you all the best of luck in the giveaway. You all deserve something for being such a fun and interesting group of followers--thank you as always for your wonderful comments. I cherish each one more than you know...Have a wonderful week! Bye now...

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...