May Blooms

Good morning, my stitching friends! I hope all of you here in the U.S. enjoyed a relaxing and fun-filled Memorial Day weekend. I was so happy to have my youngest son home from Washington, DC. for four days--I hadn't seen him since early February, so it was the first time all five of us had been together in nearly four months. How I enjoy watching my three now grown "boys" together--they always have me in stitches with their antics, teasing, funny songs, and family jokes. In between visiting with them and cooking and cooking and cooking (I'd forgotten how much food four males can put away!!), I did manage to put the finishing touches on my bowl of May smalls...

May Blooms

First up, is Bent Creek's "May Blooms" which looks nothing like the original which you can see here. Do you ever work backward and pick your colors based on how you want to finish a piece? Well, that's exactly what I did with this one. I had this gorgeous piece of blue and yellow fabric which I wanted to use for the finish so I chose my thread colors based on that... It is stitched on 40 ct. white Newcastle linen using a variety of blue and yellow overdyed threads from my stash. I finished it into a flat-mounted ornament and tied some pretty yellow cording around it to finish it off. You all know blue and yellow is my favorite color combination, so you can imagine how happy I am with this finish!

Nest Under the Flowers freebie

My next finish, is a freebie called "Nid Sour les Fleurs" (Nest Under the Flowers) from the wonderful blog Le Chalet des Perelles which can be seen right here. The chart can be obtained by emailing a request to its talented designer, Cathy. (Look in the right sidebar under "Contactez l'auteur" to send an email to her.) This one is stitched with DMC on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen. I seem to be stitching a lot on 40 ct. lately--it seems so much easier because you just have to use one thread and there are no worries about the threads getting twisted. This one is finished up as a small pillow and accented with a ruched ribbon made of dusty blue satin...so sweet.

Buttercup Sampler

The flowery finish which was my next choice to be included in my May bowl, is "Buttercup Alphabet" by The Victoria Sampler. Don't you love buttercups--so sunny and bright! When you were a child, did you used to do hold them under your chin? If you saw their reflection that meant that you "liked butter"--remember? Come on--who doesn't like butter!! I only had one of the overdyed threads suggested for this finish so I substituted similar colors from my collection of Nina's Hand Dyed and Sampler Threads and I'm very pleased with the result. To me, this almost looks like a watercolor painting--do any of you see that effect in the flowers? Buttercup Alphabet is stitched over one on 28 ct. cream cashel linen and finished off with a soft yellow and white flower print and rope trim.

"Lavanda" freebie

Finally, another freebie finish called "Lavanda" by Luli which can be found right here. For this finish (stitched with the suggested DMC colors on 40 ct. white Newcastle linen), I did something a bit different. I sewed a small loop of pink ribbon in the middle, added a trio of pastel bows, and placed a bouquet of tiny flowers inside the ribbon. Ideally, these would be dried lavender, but not having any right now, I simply inserted a few sprigs of pink coral bells for the photo. What do you think?

Below are my four latest May finishes along with the two I showed you in my last post:

And here are all six--displayed in the bowl along with some of the prettiest clematis blooms which are growing in our yard... I'm so pleased that I've been able to keep this bowl filled with new finishes each month so far this year. I already have a theme in mind for June--can anyone guess what I'll be stitching?

I received a surprise gift from dear Brenda at Brenda's Stitching last week. I mentioned, in a comment on her blog, that I had never used chenille trim and she kindly sent some to me to try it out on some of my little pillows! I just love the colors you chose, Brenda, and think they will be great accents--especially for some of my to-be-stitched fall pieces! Thank you so much, my friend--you really made me smile. If you haven't visited Brenda's blog--please check it out. Her work is not only beautifully stitched, but perfectly finished as well!


So did you do anything especially fun over the long Memorial Day weekend? I did something I hadn't done in 30 years--yes 30 long years!! I rode a bike! The last time I was on a bike was when I was pregnant with my oldest son three decades ago. We took a trip to Cape Cod and spent many relaxing afternoons just biking around the island. My husband is an avid cyclist who often rides 50 or even 100 miles at a time. He's been after me to give it a try, so this weekend all the guys convinced me that now was the time. It was a bit scary and I was slightly wobbly at first, but I so enjoyed it! We ended up riding over 17 miles (which in Pittsburgh, with it's hilly terrain is not the easiest riding!) and although I may not be sitting comfortably on hard wooden chairs for a few days, I think this may be the start of a new interest. When we returned from our ride we all indulged in these goodies...probably the best brownie recipe I've ever tried. If you love fudgy, ooey-gooey brownies like we do, check out this recipe for "Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies." Oh, my!! Believe me, I'll have to add more miles onto my daily treadmill workouts to get rid of the calories from those chocolatey treats, but, they were so worth it!

Thank you for all of your kind comments on my last post... You were so very supportive and understanding about my sadness at having to clean out my childhood home. It was a long, tiring, and emotional weekend, but we got the job done and I'll post soon about some of the treasures I found in the old attic--I think you'll enjoy them! Have a joyful week, my friends, and I hope you find some time each day to stitch and create--even if just for a few minutes. It is so good for the soul. Bye for now...

Two Finishes on a Special Day

Wow! Isn't it hard to believe we are almost half-way through the merry, merry month of May? I hope your month is going well and you're managing to fit some stitching time in on top of all the gardening and outside chores that seem to demand so much of our attention this time of year. I only have two small finishes to share with you, both of which will become part of my bowl of May smalls which I've been slowly working on...




First up, is this darling spring scene from Prairie Schooler's Book No. 69: "A Prairie Village I." When I saw this, I knew it was the perfect thing for me because of the pond and the swimming swans. As most of my long time readers know, our backyard pond is a constant attraction for birds--especially herons and ducks (no, we've never had a swan!!). I just loved everything about this one--even that crazy looking creature racing up the tree. Is it a mutant squirrel or a crazy fox? My middle son thought it resembled a tiny horse!


I've always loved small yellow houses, so the only change I made to this chart's suggested DMC colors was to make the house a bit more yellow by substituting DMC 676. It is stitched "over one" on cream Monaco fabric (can't say enough how easy it is to stitch over one on Monaco--I love that stuff!). I had originally thought of a gingham fabric to pair with the toffee colored ric rak, but when I held the yellow and brown polka dot material up to my stitching, I knew I had found the perfect accent. Thanks to my dear friend, Lois, who sent this fun fabric to me last year--I'm so happy I finally found a lovely use for it.

I think the little squirrels that visit my yard are much cuter than the one in my stitching, don't you? They've had the best time all spring sitting under the bird feeder and hungrily chowing down on all the seed spilled by their feathered friends! Sometimes, the ducks even waddle the 50 yards from the pond to the bird feeder and join in on the fun. Partners in crime, I'd say! Just look at that sneaky cardinal (in the photo on the right) tilting the bird feeder so the food drops down to his pals the ducks...Mr. Duck is always so protective and watchful while Mrs. Duck eats first--a perfect gentleman!

May 14, 2012...a very special event happened 85 years ago today. My dear mother came into this world and quickly became the apple of her father's eye! In honor of mom and her birthday month, I stitched this little Lily of the Valley pillow. You see, when I was growing up and learning to bake, one of my favorite things to make was cakes. Mom's birthday cake, since it fell in mid-May, always included Lily of the Valley and tiny purple violets sprinkled over the top. Lily of the Valley will forever remind me of my sweet mom. I'll be thinking of you today, mom, and hoping you have a most ♫♪♫ HAPPY BIRTHDAY ♫♪♫ !!



This is a freebie from Les Chroniques de Frimousse which you can find by clicking here. As you can see (if you look at the original chart), I substituted the lady bugs that were charted for some pale pink Algerian Eye stitches with pink beads sewn in the middle. I just wanted a more feminine, spring look...I've always loved gray and pink as a color combination, so I stitched this on 32 ct. gray touchstone linen with the DMC colors white, 225, and 367. I tufted it in the center with a square shell button, turned it on the diagonal, added some handmade cording and a soft pink ribbon and...voilà! A beautiful ornament in honor of my beautiful mom...

Best Laid Plans...Do you ever have days when all your plans go out the window all because of a single event? Well, we had one of those this past Saturday. It all started with what was supposed to be a quick trip to a plant sale that a local garden club was having. After we purchased some geraniums, snapdragons, and petunias, we made our way to Lowe's to buy some ferns to hang on our front porch. Once there, our plans for the entire day suddenly changed when we both fell in love with this wispy Japanese Maple tree. Once we got the tree home, we realized, that in order to showcase it, we would have to dig up our entire patio garden and move and divide, all of the plants and rocks (except the ferns growing against the fence and the hydrangea which remained in their old locations). Whew! What a job... But, we are so pleased with the result! We still have a few "bare spots" to fill in, but it makes us smile every time we look out at it... Below you can see a collage of all of our hard work after it was freshly mulched and watered.. The Japanese Maple tree is now a lovely focal point in our garden and I can even enjoy it from my kitchen window while washing the dishes.

Purples and pink blooms seem to be popping up all over our yard this month...Below are two varieties of Clematis, Korean lilacs, chive blossoms, and a bright fuchsia rhododendron (complete with a buzzing bumble bee). What a glorious time of year!

I hope all of you moms out there had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday.. Only my middle son was able to visit (the oldest was enroute to Canada where he spends half of each month working on a wind energy project for the province of New Brunswick and the youngest was hard at work in Washington, DC.), but one is better than none, right? I received some very sweet gifts (oldest son's gift is a new eggplant colored iPad case which hasn't arrived yet and my middle son gifted me with a 123 Stitch gift certificate-yippee!!) and lovely flowers (the yellow blooms are from my oldest son and the fuchsia and white arrangement came from my youngest). I'm so proud to be your mom, guys--thanks for all the smiles you've brought me through the years.


I thought all of you would really enjoy seeing a close-up of the cute card that my middle son picked out for Mother's Day. Perfect for us stitchers wouldn't you say? I just love it and think it is so thoughtful of him to choose a card that reflected my love of stitching!






I also want to thank a new blogging friend, Barb, who sent me a gift representative of her beautiful state of Washington. Isn't this the prettiest coffee mug ever? I just love the pretty umbrella covered figures, Barb, and plan on taking it to work with me to use in my office. If you haven't visited Barb's "Wicked Stitcher" blog yet, head on over--she has some lovely stitching as well as the prettiest nature pictures of her beautiful state. Thank you again, my friend--your gift is almost too pretty to use (almost!).

Looks like a busy week ahead for me with more work hours than normal, a mandatory In-Service Day, and then a trip up to New York to clean out my childhood home which was recently sold (in less than a week!). I'm sure that will be a very bittersweet time for me and my siblings...I get pretty misty-eyed just thinking about saying goodbye to it and the small town where I spent so many happy years. Wish me luck...

I want to thank each of you for stopping by to visit me today; I wish you a week filled with smiles and time for stitching! Bye for now...

A Bowl Full of Bunnies

Hello everyone! And here I am, finally, on the very last day of April with my bowl full of smalls. I'll bet you thought I wouldn't make it, didn't you? Well, I just went a "little bit" crazy stitching so many bunnies this month. I couldn't stop myself--it was like I was possessed or something! Luckily, my husband was away for a few days last week so I had plenty of time to finish them all up. I'll tell you, it looked like an explosion of pastels in my family room while he was gone: fabrics and trims and buttons and ribbons were scattered everywhere! But, I'm very pleased with the collection that I've created this month... Here are the six newest additions to my April bowl of bunnies...

This Prairie Schooler bunny (from PS Book No. 163 "Signs of Spring") looks so handsome, doesn't he? He's the perfect gentleman rabbit in his little blue vest with gold buttons. I stitched him "over one" on 28 ct. Lambswool Jobelan using the suggested DMC colors (but changed the carrot to DMC 3776). For the finish, I used pieces of a beige and white checked napkin (unused, of course!) and some pale blue ric-rac that perfectly matched the shade of blue in his vest.


What would an April bowl full of finishes be without something that spelled out the name of the month? I chose this cute Lizzie Kate "Bit of April Flip-It" for that honor. This bunny is stitched on 35 ct. natural Northern cross linen using an assortment of threads (DMC, CC, WDW, and Nina's Hand Dyed Threads). The purple is Nina's Eggplant color which was so wonderful to work with. The finishing combined two fabrics (the purple and white seersucker was from an old pair of shorts that must have shrunk in the wash--I couldn't possibly have outgrown them, could I?!) and some bright pink ric-rac. Doesn't it remind you of an Easter egg?


This little bunny was a freebie from Windy Willows which you can find by
clicking here (click on "free chart" at the top of the page). I wish I had chosen a different fabric for this because some of the pretty blue shades don't show up very well, but...too late now! It is stitched on 28 count country mocha Cashel linen using the suggested DMC threads. I chose a very simple finish with some blue floral fabric, a bit of rope-like trim, and a wooden button. Isn't that the cutest teapot that I have it sitting next to? I collect Potting Shed reproduction Dedham pottery and my kitchen is filled with various blue and white bunny themed pieces. I'll have to take a photo of it some time to show you. The little bunnies always manage to make me smile when I'm working in the kitchen!


I love the way stitching just pops on black fabric--it often gives a simple design a much more dramatic look. This is one of my favorite finishes of the month. It is also a freebie which can be found right here at Kissy-Cross. I used 28 ct. black Monaco and DMC threads to stitch this one "over one" and just love the result. It is backed with this pink and white seersucker fabric rescued from an old skirt of mine (that also surely "shrank" in the washing machine). The color isn't true in my photo--it really is more of a pinkish color not a salmon color as it looks (on my monitor, at least). Handmade cording and a tiny pink bow finish off this little oval ornament perfectly, don't you think?












I fell in love with German designer Christiane Dahlbeck's "Mit Kreuzstichen Durchs Jahr." This was my favorite design from it, although I changed it a bit from the original (which had the male bunny with three female bunnies lined up to exchange gifts with him). I chose to just stitch these two and I'm very happy with the final result. Don't they look like they are courting? She has just presented him with a juicy orange carrot and he has given his sweetheart a lovely yellow tulip. Ahh...young love! Not everyone in my family thinks they are so cute--my middle son says they look like aliens... In this case, I knew I wanted to use the green and white polka dot fabric to finish it before I even began stitching so I chose my thread colors (all DMC) based on the fabric. I even added polka dots to Miss Bunny's shirt to coordinate with the fabric! This is stitched on 40 ct. flax Newcastle linen and finished very simply with just a hint of soft yellow ric-rac.


And last, but certainly not least, is another freebie from Sub Rosa which can be found right here. "Welcome Spring" is stitched "over one" on 28 ct. black Monaco with the same DMC threads that I used on the previous Kissy-Cross freebie. I call them my "Prairie Schooler" color palette because they are so often used in those designs. In this case the colors I chose were DMC 223, 224, 3053, and 611. I finished this as a flat mounted piece with some dusty pink handmade cording and a tiny sage green bow to hide the point where the cording ends meet. Aren't the Columbine flowers in front of it beautiful this spring--sure wish they would last into the summer!

So, that's it! Whew--I'm never going to stitch that many ornaments in one month again, that's for sure. Here is a photo of all of them along with the two I showed you in my last post. Which is your favorite? I think I still love "Slicker Bunny" the most...

April bunny finishes ~ 2012

And here is the group all settled into my April bowl (which will surely be on display well into May!) What a cheery looking group!

April Bowl of Bunnies

Oh look, a few of their friends from last year's stitching have come to welcome them. If I keep up this bunny addiction of mine, I think I'll need a bigger bowl!

So, now, it's on to May stitching. Does anyone have any themes or small charts to suggest for me? I know flowers will abound; after all what is May without flowers? But, I'd love to hear your ideas, too...

THANK YOU TO:
I was treated to a couple of unexpected gifts last week that I'd love to share with you. First was a belated birthday gift from my dear friend, Mary. Just look at this darling bird that she stitched and framed for me. Isn't it beautiful? I love it, Mary, and the other goodies that you included are so special. The Chessie & Me chart was one I had had my eye on and the blue and yellow threads are perfect--my favorite color combination! She also included a sweet little tin and a magnetic bookmark, along with the cutest little polka-dot scissors. Oh, Mary--you really spoiled me, my friend... Thank you again for each and every gift, but also for your special friendship! Your beautifully stitched piece will have a place of honor in my home.






And from a new friend, Beth, (no blog) who lives on the other side of Pennsylvania, I received this lovely project pouch as a thank you gift. I had sent a small chart to Beth wanting nothing in return, but she thanked me by making me this lovely blue and yellow sunflower-adorned pouch. I wish you could see the tiny zipper pull on it better; it is so cute. She used plastic canvas and stitched my initial into it making a nice sturdy zipper pull. I'm so happy to have "met" you recently, Beth, and I look forward to getting to know you better... I truly love your special gift and know it will be put to good use.

Yesterday, my husband spotted a new mother robin sitting on her nest in the holly bush just outside his den window. And just look at the sweet eggs we spied when she flew away... I never get tired of seeing those beautiful blue eggs each spring. It has to be one of the prettiest colors in the world, don't you think? Thanks to my middle son for snapping the photo--I am just too short to be able to get a good shot. I guess he's good for something even if he does think my rabbit couple resemble aliens!!

So, April is over...on to May and, hopefully, more sunshine and warmer days. I hope you all have a very special week ahead. I'll be heading up to New York again to visit and help out my parents so I may be a bit out of touch, but I'll catch up with everyone when I return. As always, I want you to know just how much I appreciate each and every one of you. You are a great bunch of friends! Bye for now...

A Pair of Hares and a Quintet of Winners

Good morning everyone! Hope your week has been going well...I imagine most of you are anxious to read who won my giveaway so I'll get to that soon, but first I want to thank you all for the comments on my last post of my "Nature's Alphabet" finish. I was overwhelmed by your kind thoughts--I've never had that many comments on a post (other than a giveaway post) before. Each morning when I opened my email and saw a new comment waiting there, it was like starting the day with a little gift--it really was!

Anyway, on to more important business... First of all, I want to thank all of you who entered--I was amazed that these simple gifts got so much of a response! I had my husband draw the winners out of a hat (well, actually a paper lunch bag!) the other night and they are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner:

CHRISTINA at "Whilst Iris Naps"

Prairie Schooler Winner:
BARBI at "Blissfully Stitching"

"Delivering Spring" Winner:
MELANIE at "Moonraker Lampworks"

"Garden" Winner:
ELIA at "El Jardin de mi Duende"

"Bunny Gingham" Winner:
MARGARET at "Days of a Sampler Lover"

Winners, please send me your mailing addresses and I'll get your prizes out to you next week. (First I have to buy more of the Raspberry Creams to send to Christina and Barbi, as I very piggishly ate BOTH boxes myself). As always, I wish I could have given each of you something... You have all been so supportive and kind over my past three years of blogging. Please know I am going to try to do more Random Acts of Kindness for my regular commenters in the future just to say "thank you!"

Several of you have asked about my April "bowl" of smalls... In fact, even my middle son, when he was over for dinner on Sunday, looked at the bowl of March finishes I still have on display and said, "Um, Mom...it's April." Yes, I'm a bit behind! So, I wanted to share with you two of my finishes for April rather than waiting to reveal them all at once next week.

Do you remember when I showed you this little sneak peak a few weeks ago and asked if anyone knew what I was stitching? Well, no one guessed it correctly. Several of you thought it was Bent Creek's "Are You My Mother;" good guess, but...nope!

May I introduce you to "Slicker Bunny" who is now out and about enjoying the April showers. This was a very old freebie from The Cricket Collection, which, unfortunately, I don't see available on their website any longer. Isn't he the cutest little thing with his tiny purple flower "umbrella" and yellow slicker?

I used a 28 ct. overdyed jobelan called "Babbling Brook" (stitched over one) along with the suggested DMC threads. The little pillow is backed with the lovely plaid fabric you see in the photo. This was actually a cloth napkin I spotted at Kohl's--ah, yes, a new source for my backing fabrics. First my son's discarded shirts and now cloth napkins!! To finish him off, I added two teeny beads for his raincoat buttons and ruched some yellow and white gingham ribbon for the edging. I think he is cute enough to chase away anybody's rainy day blues, don't you?

My second finish for my bowl of April smalls is one you've likely seen on other blogs. The first time I spotted this adorable Patrick's Woods design, I knew I had to stitch it. I mean, really-- what could be better than a piece combining two of my favorite things: rabbits and stitching? This was a very quick and easily-stitched freebie which can be found at "The Dandy Hare Blog".

Stitching it was easy (I used 40 ct. flax Newcastle linen and good old DMC), the hard part came in deciding how to finish it. I thought and thought and below is what I came up with. Combining three different fabrics, some ivory-colored lace, some brown satin ribbon, a yo-yo, and three square shell buttons turned on the diagonal, plus my stitching, I ended up with a sweet, little pillow looking like this...

So, have you figured out the theme for my April bowl full of smalls, yet? Of course--it's rabbits! More will (hopefully) be hopping onto my blog by the end of the month, so stay tuned!

This has been the prettiest of springs here in western Pennsylvania and the flowering trees and shrubs have been spectacular.

The view from our front porch...

The beautiful white crab apple tree at the corner of our porch.

Can you spot the pretty orange butterfly?

A crabapple tree by our back patio: the "White Angel," which
was hybridized by my husband's dear grandfather in 1947.
We planted this as a tiny tree more than 15 years ago
and it has grown to more than 20 feet tall...
a wonderful reminder of a very special man.

Tulips, pansies, rhododendron, and dogwood...
Oh, if they could only last all summer!

Finally, I'd like to say a warm welcome to all my new followers, but a special welcome to one in particular... Mr. Red Robin! He's been visiting my window near my stitching chair almost daily and seems to have taken a keen interest in my stitching! Here he is peering in to check out the new-to-me Prairie Schooler chart (Garden Alphabet) that I finally, finally won on ebay. I think he approves of my purchase, don't you?

I am working at the library all weekend, unfortunately, but I wish each of you a special Saturday and Sunday filled with relaxation and time to craft and create! Thank you again for taking the time to visit me here at my little blog; I truly appreciate each and every comment and email. Bye for now...

A Big Finish (for me anyway!)

Yes, I have a finish--and it's something just a bit larger than the ornament-sized pieces I typically share with you... May I present "Nature's Alphabet" by Elizabeth's Designs all stitched up and ready to be framed. I began this piece in late December of 2011 and should have had it finished by late January of this year, but those little creations that I'm so fond of making just kept getting in the way! I truly enjoyed stitching each little letter and the specialty stitches (Rhodes, Smyrna, and lots of Satin stitches) really make each tiny square special. Don't you just want to sit and pet those cute ewes with their white satin-stitched wooly coats?

Below are some more of my favorite squares (I also showed you close-ups of others back in this January post). We have "Z" for Zinnias, "X" for Xmas Tree, "V" for Violets, "K" for King's Cup,and "B" for bees.

Nature's Garden is stitched on my perennial favorite fabric: 32 ct. flax Belfast Linen--I just love that stuff and tend to turn to it for any larger design. I used the suggested DMC with one exception: I changed the border color around each square to DMC 3828--I just found the DMC 3829 too "brassy" looking for my taste. The only part that "dragged" a bit was all of that green backstitching between each of the squares. I swear I could have stitched that design in my sleep by the time I was finished!! But, it adds so much to the look of the finished piece, don't you think?

The only other change I made was to add some pretty beads to the nest for the eggs. After all, what is a nest without those delicate, robin's egg blue eggs? The white beads on the Christmas tree, the black "bee" beads, and the little Mill Hill Treasure beads (garnet colored tulip in my initials square and frosted white hare in the "H" square) all add nice dimension to this finish, as well.

Nature's Alphabet
32 ct. flax Belfast linen
DMC threads
Mill Hill Beads & Treasures

So, how was everyone's Easter? I had a wonderful surprise which truly made my day. Only one of my sons was able to be here for the day, but guess who came to visit and is staying for the entire week? My dear mother--the first time she's been able to visit my home in nearly five years! The last time she was here was June of 2007 when my youngest son graduated from high school... Caring for my dad, moving north from Florida, and cleaning out and preparing two houses for sale have left her with a huge need for a break and what better place to get some much-needed rest and a bit of pampering than at her oldest daughter's house? I am loving having her here to shop with, play Scrabble with, and just plain relax with.

You see, I never had the luxury of living near my mom. In my nearly 35 years of marriage, we've seen each other only a handful of times each year. During some of those crazy-busy years when my husband and I had three growing boys to raise, I only saw her and my dad a couple times a year. I always envied mothers and daughters I saw lunching together or strolling down the street pushing babies in strollers. Are you are lucky enough to have your mom living nearby? If so, count your blessings... I know I'm going to enjoy every second of my mom's unexpected visit this week!

There is still time to enter my giveaway on my April 1st post only. I'm so pleased with the number of you who have shown interest in it already! Sure wish I had something for everyone, but, hopefully five of you will be happy. The drawing is open until midnight EST on Saturday, April 14th... I'll announce the winners sometime next week. Best of luck to all!

This has to be the shortest post you've had from me in ages!! I may actually get a few more readers who make it through the whole post this time! Wishing my newest followers a warm welcome--so glad you're here! Thank you again for your meaningful comments, emails, and support...I truly appreciate each and every one. I'll be back next week with the winners of my giveaways and a couple of small finishes I think you'll enjoy! Bye for now...