Halloween in July....

First, I must say I just enjoyed my first

tomato sandwich of the summer.

It was the perfect tomato sandwich.

What makes it perfect?

Sunbeam Old Fashioned white bread

(yes...it has to be Sunbeam & it has to be fresh)

John's Island tomatoes

(from the SC Lowcountry...they are the best)

Duke's mayo

(yes....it has to be Dukes)

Think I will enjoy another as soon

as I finish this post!

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Okay...back to stitching.  I have another

Crazy Challenge finish...lucky number 7!

Primitive Needle "Kindred Spirits"

stitched on 35ct. WDW parchment

w/CC & Victorian Motto

Everybody needs a little halloween in their June!

This little design was so deceiving!  I thought

I could knock it out in a day or two but it took

me over a week to get it finished. 

(Maybe too much t.v. watching and not enough stitching!)

Now I just have to figure out what to do with it....

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My time before has been preoccupied

with this little beauty and I thought I would

share a progress pic.  

Homespun Elegance "Peace & Plenty"

stitched on 40ct mystery fabric

w/ DMC

I just love the colors in this one and can't

wait to get back to it.  I have decided to use the

same color scheme for Plum Street Samplers

Colonial Garden since I think they will

really complement each other.

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I have also recently acquired some new

goodies though it is bittersweet.

I was sad to learn that Counted Stitches, one

of my favorite shops, was closing the end

of June.  They were so sweet to deal with

and I will definitely miss my annual trip

for their Christmas Sale.

Hubby & I had a trip planned a few Saturdays

ago so he was persuaded to take a small detour

so that I could visit with them one last time.

Their sale started at 35% off so I couldn't resist! 

(I think I am set for life with HE brass buttons.)

My diginity will not allow me show the full

haul but here is just a glimpse.  

(I did some serious damage.)

I also got some goodies from Jill who was nice

enough to share some of her hand-dyed threads.

I just love pink & brown and I hope to put

them to good use very soon!

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Well I won't bore you with comments on how

hot it is here in SC since you are probably just

as hot if you are in the good ol' USA.  

Perfect stitching weather, though, so I

am off to see what trouble I can find.

As always....thanks for visiting

and stay cool!

Throwback Thursday....

While going through "The Bin"

(the place unframed finishes live),

I found a couple of vintage finishes languishing

on the very bottom.  Time to bring them

back to life (at least briefly) on my blog.

My oldest.....

I still have this book but am too lazy to look for it!

Good old ivory 14ct. w/ DMC

Circa early 1980's

This was probably my first "big" project when

I started stitching.  I was definitely a teenager

when I started stitching it...maybe 15 or 16. 

My grand plans were to finish it as a wallhanging

 but it was not mean't to be. 

 

I remember the design had two colorways...

pink or yellow. I picked yellow to match

my teenage room... too bad it never

made it to the wall.

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Another oldie...

D Morgan "Home Again"

Stitched on 14ct w/ DMC

Circa early 1990's

I stitched this one in the early 1990's during

my lunch hour watching the Young & Restless. 

I just knew this would hang in my house

someday.   Not sure why I liked this one so much,

but needless to say, it has never seen my house!

My favorite memory of this one involves the

original chart, which I still have.   I used to

drink Slim-Fast for lunch

(back in the good days when it was a powder and you had to mix it in the blender).  

I left my container in my car one day and the

southern heat caused pressure to blow the top off

and spitting my remnants all over my chart,

which was laying on the seat.  

Thank goodness my stitching was spared!

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And even older....

P Buckley Moss "Sisters"

Stitched on 18ct aida w/DMC

Circa mid 1980's

I know I stitched this one in my teenage years and

only remember it seemed to take forever to

finish.  Pretty sure it was all of the half stitches

on18ct aida as well as the backstitching.

This was to be the first of many P Buckley Moss

designs I planned to stitch. I love her style. 

Unfortunately, it was the only one.

I still like this one.

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And lastly...

I still have this book too but am too lazy to look for it.

Stitched on 14ct aida w/DMC

1990

It is easy to see this one was stitch in 1990.  

Yes...it the proverbial "country" design that I

know we all have in our stash as well as finishes.

I do still like it, though, with the bright red

and greens of the melons

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Psst....I have a confession!

I used masking tape on my edges when I first

started stitching.  I can only imagine that I read

that somewhere because I can't imagine I

would think to do that at 15.

Yes....it has been stored that way all of these years

and I just tooked it off.   Sigh...I know.

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Well....how many of these have you stitched???

Thanks for visiting and happy stitching!

My busy needle....

My needle has been busy this past
week stitching smalls.

Aury "Patriotic Heart 2011"

stitched on 40ct khaki w/

WDW & Victorian Motto

Finally got around to stitching this freebie and

hope to finish into a box top.

Threadwork Primitives "Happy 4th"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/Victorian Motto and WDW

Another great design from Nan.  I did 

make a little change in the berries.

Homespun Elegance "Crow Patriotic"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/WDW

Just love the crow and flag!

Homespun Elegance "Summer Fun"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/ WDW

I love this little sheep... so much fun to stitch.

Homespun Elegance "Summer Patches #4"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/ WDW

Just had to stitch this one for my little buddy!

Homespun Elegance "Summer Patch #3"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/WDW

Nothing says summer like sunflowers and watermelon.

HIH "Summer Bird"

stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean

w/WDW & Sampler Threads

I still need to sew the little bee button on but

love this little birdie too!

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Now I just have to figure out the

finishing on some of these

... hmmm...

think I will stew on it a little longer.

I think I have had my fill of smalls for now. 

Off to see what I can get my needle into next.

Thanks for visiting!