Bees and pears.....

 

My plans this weekend were to include

some finishing and I am happy to

say that is what I did!

 

First up was "Bee's Blessing".

 

Threadwork Primitive's "Bee's Blessing"

stitched on 40ct WDW Linen

w/Victorian Motto

 

I wanted to finish mine into a box just

like Nan's but could not find the right

size oval box.  I decided to go with the

best size I could find, which was a

little too big, but would make it work.

 

Perfect color of  ricrac from Victorian Motto

 

Lucky for me, I had recently treated

myself to some Spellbinders scalloped

oval dies.  Add some coordinating

 scrapbook paper and voila...

I have a finished box.

 

I  love * love * love  this one!  

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

I started Marly's two latest pears last

weekend and finished up May's last night.  

 

 Samplers and Santas  April and May Pear freebies

stitched on 32 ct. wake n bake frabic w/

recommended DMC

 

Boy was that a lot of stitching....

those red and white stripes seemed to

take forever!  I did decide to finish May

with a little different so I added a few

extra stitches at the top.

 

Comfortably at home with my other pears. 

 

I just love these designs and am so thankful

to Marly for sharing them with us.

 

~    *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Best part of this weekend is it didn't

require a sewing machine!

Well...I am off to see what other stitching

trouble I can get myself into.  

Hope you are having a great weekend

and happy stitching!



Gardens and bees....

 

Rain rain go away....

 

I guess I shouldn't complain since it does

make great stitching weather!

 

We have had a steady rain all day so

it was one good reason to spend

the day in my stitching chair.  

The result was a finish!

 

Plum Street Samplers "Colonial Garden"

stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linen

w/DMC

 

Many of you would probably recognize the design

from the model.  I love the design and hoped to

display it with Peace and Plenty so I altered

the colors.   This resulted in some funky

flowers and motifs but I like it.

 

Ode to Karen and Andy..... a true colonial couple!

 

My hubby loves colonial history so it was easy

to imagine us as the colonial couple. 

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

I also had a finish last weekend.   I fell in

love with Nan's design as soon as I saw

it so it just had to be stitched.

 

Threadwork Primitive's "Bee's Blessing"

stitched on 40ct WDW Linen

w/Victorian Motto

 

This just the sweetest little design that

incorporates two of my favorites....

sunflowers and bees.

 

I am now struggling with the finishing.   I

love the way Nan finished hers but I can see

this as the cutest little pillow too.

Decisions, decisions......

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Work has been very time consuming for me

the past few months so my time spent with

hubby in the evenings has suffered.  To make

it up to him, I promised him a month ago I

would hike a portion of the Palmetto Trail.  

It was only 7 miles..... sounded like

"a walk in the park" a month ago.

Granted....I barely "walk" 7 miles a week,

I wasn't too worried, though,........until Friday.

What was I thinking!

Hiker Andy is rearing to go!

 

We had to travel about 2 hours to "enjoy" this

hike so we were up at the crack of dawn. 

We hit the trail at 9:35 am and finished at 1:08.

 

Trail running parallel to the intercoastal waterway

 

Overall, the trek was pretty uneventful and

it was nice walk....until we reach mile marker 5.

 

The next mile was mostly underwater

with some spots almost impassable. 

 

Widow maker's pass....yuck!

 

I will say this was a moment of truth for me....

I almost became a widow..... I was not happy!

Luckily for my hubby, I realized he is worth

more to me alive so he was spared.

 

Seven miles down....308 to go!

 

We did reach the end without incident.

Hubby was quickly informed that he will

hiking the remaining trails alone.

 

Today I can barely walk and never knew

there were that many muscles in the

lower half of the human body.  

Thank goodness I can at least still stitch so

there's another good reason to spend

this rainy day in my stitching chair.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments

on my framed goodies.   I just love them

and am still trying to figure out just the

"right" spot to hang each piece.

 

I do hope you have had a great

stitching weekend....happy stitching!

 



Framed goodies....

 

My wonderful framer has done it again....

 

Elizabeth's Garden

Nantucket Sampler

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Barrick Samplers

1797 Ship Sampler

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Primitive Needle

Dampy Sod

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

 

Blackbird Designs

Summer Jubilee

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Carriage House Samplings

Worthy Matter

 

Now.....where to hang them.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Thank you all for the wonderful

birthday wishes.  

I am so lucky to have a talented brother

and am glad he will share the fruits of

 his labor with me!

 

I also wanted to share goodies from sweet 

Charlene.  Ball is celebrating its 100th

anniversary and she packed these goodies

in one there commemorative jars. 

I am in love with button scissor fob....

it is so petite and just the perfect size.

 

 

Hope y'all have a great stitching weekend!

 



Goodies....

 

I just had to share some birthday goodies.

 

My brother does woodworking as a hobby so

at Christmas I asked if he thought he could

make a hornbook.   I hadn't thought about

it again so I was so surprised and

happy to receive these today.

 

Oak hornbooks

 

Now I have to figure out if I have something

stitched for finishing.  If not, then I will

just have to stitch something.

I have a feeling he is going to be sorry he

did this... goodness knows what I will

have him making for me next!

 

~   *   ~    *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

I had the chance to spend the birthday with

my mom and she was sweet enough to get

me a cake.  I thought the flowers were so

pretty so I took a pic.   It was yummy too!

 

And... she sent me this flower gift known as

"Queen Bee"

which is now decorating my cubicle.



I topped it all with a little cross stitch retail

therapy but it is now back to reality.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Thanks for all your sweet comments on my

sewing box.   It was a lot of fun to do and

I can't wait to finish another one.   I have a

feeling I will have one in every room

of the house before too long!

 

I am now off to stitch!  Hope you have a

great week with many happy stitches!

My new sewing box....

 

 

Did you see Julie's sewing box

recently on her blog?

Oh my goodness.... I just had to have one.

Right then.

 

I headed to Hobby Lobby with coupon in

hand to pick out a box and the rest is history.

 

My new sewing box.....

 

 

I decided to paint mine black with a little

distressing and wax to finish it off.

 

BBD Birds and Berries

from A Stitcher's Journey

stitched on 40ct Wake n' Bake linen

w/ Victorian Motto

 

I decided to stitch in purples and lavenders

to match a fabric I had on hand.

 I love the finished design.

 

 

Like Julie, I covered the mirror with a somewhat

tufted insert.  I used fabric to also cover

the bottom of the box and little compartments.

 

 

Now...I have a great little sewing box.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

We attended Tartan Day South, a wonderful

new Celtic festival, Saturday and I was happy to see

a lady selling Scottish and Irish cross stitch designs.

 

She owns a shop in Charlotte, Stitch Traders,

and I told her I was happy to see another

shop not too far away from me.   She asked that

I "spread the word" that there is a shop in

Charlotte so if you are ever in the area,

you will have to visit.   She had some

wonderful celtic designs.

 

I did pick up this needle minder.  

I just love thistles and knew it would the

 perfect decoration in my new sewing box!

 

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Here are a few more pics from the day.....

 

Cutthroat Shamrock.... one of my favorite bands!

My hubby knows that I am in love

with the bass player....

maybe its the dreads!

Gotta love rockin' music that includes

a bagpipe...and a kilt!

 

Saw a lot of kilts....

 



 

Highland games are hard work even for the birds.

A hawk from the birds of prey exhibition

decided to relax awhile during the caber toss. 

Nice break in the competition for everyone.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Thanks for visiting and happy stitching!

Welcoming spring...

 

Spring is starting to make an appearance
here in South Carolina evidenced by the fine
yellow haze outside.  The tell-tale signs, though,
are the sneezing, stuffiness, and puffy eyes

.....oh how I strongly dislike spring!

 

But I do love spring stitching and was happy
to find this in my mailbox from Dawn 
for the Spring Seasonal Exchange.

 

The sweet little design is just perfect and

I love  the "happy" fabric Dawn used. 

It is now taking up residence where my

snow people formerly resided and I am

glad to enjoy for a few months!

 

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

I have been stitching on two of my large

projects the past few weeks but I did take

some time this week to stitch up

a gift for a retiring coworker.

 

Homespun Elegance "Friendship & Blossoms"

stitched on 40ct. coffee dyed linen w/ overdyed threads

 

I just love this design and it turned out so cute

stitched on the smaller count.  I really

enjoyed working with Sharon these

past few years and hope this will make

a nice reminder of our friendship

while she relaxes the day away !

 

 Great use of my Spellbinder scallop heart die!

I have started keeping my scraps of linen
"just in case" I can think of a use for them
and decided to make a little heart tag
 for the back.   After stitched, I used one
of my dies to cut out the scalloped heart.   I
love how it turned out and will now be
hoarding all of those scraps!
 

 *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I do hope everyone had a great Easter weekend
with family and friends.   As always,
thanks for visiting and happy stitching!

Stitching o' the green....

 

St. Patrick's Day has always been my
hubby's favorite holiday.

In our youth we would venture to
Savannah's big celebration and enjoy the
day's festivities to the fullest.
 

 circa 1990...Enjoying a Pat O'Briens Hurricane

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~
 

I was able to embrace my "Irishness" this
week with a few quick stitches to start the
celebration.  Hubby was a little under the
weather so I made the most of it and
spent the day with my sewing machine.

 

Trilogy "Happy Jig Jig Day"

Stitched on 40ct linen w/WDW & ST

HIH "St. Patrick Bird"

Stitched on 32ct. evenweave w/WDW & ST

 

I just love this little leprechaun doing

his jiggity jig!  The bird just makes me

laugh since it looks like he is pooping

shamrocks.   I still love him though.  

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

I was doing a jiggity jig too Friday

night when I saw that Nan from

~ Threadwork Primitives ~

had posted a freebie. 

 

Lickety split I was in my chair stitching!

 

Threadwork Primitives "Lucky Shamrocks"

stitched on 40ct. linen w/recommended DMC

 

I just love this little gem. 

 

I was also lucky enough to have a piece of ricrac 

that matched DMC 730 perfectly. 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I had some linen scraps I just couldn't part
with so I decided to stitch some family
namesakes from our Irish roots.
 
 

40ct. coffee dyed linen with Victorian Motto

 

I wasn't sure how to finish them and

decided to use my scallop dies to

make these little bowl fillers. 

 

I love the way they turned out and am happy

to have a great use of those little linen scraps.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have

a great St. Patrick's Day too!

Slainte

 

Guinness Storehouse ~ Oct. 2010



Worthy Brown....

is finished....

 

CHS "Worthy Brown"

stitched on 36ct. linen w/DMC

 

I am so happy to have him done. 

This is lingering from my 2012 Crazy January

Challenge and I have to admit it was a chore

to stitch it.  I do love the design and the

finished piece ....that bird is another story.

I guess he was just so big and kind of boring

to stitch though I do love him once he is

done.  Once that bird was finished, it

was easy going from then on out. 

 

Don't you hate it when you love a design

but don't enjoy the stitch?

 

Fortunately there were some great little motifs

that made it enjoyable in the end. 

 

Once done, he enjoyed a nice "spa day"

soaking in a warm coffee/tea bath

and then saunaing in the oven for a

while for the perfect finish.

 

I am off to sneak in some St. Patrick's Day

stitching and hopefully some finishing

before it actually gets here.

 

I do hope you are having a great

stitching weekend!   Thanks for visiting.

Goodies....

 

Hope all of you are having a great stitching weekend.   The

weather here in SC has been very rainy this weekend and made

it so easy to sit back and stitch all day Saturday.   I can't

remember the last time I sat for eight hours straight

and just stitched but I made the most of it.

 

 I pulled out Worthy Brown, one of my lingering Crazy Challenge

pieces from last year, and have made some great progress.

CHS "Worthy Brown"

35ct WDW straw w/DMC

progress as of 2/23/13

Before I picked it up Friday night, I only had most of the body

and one wing partially completed.  I have added his tail

feathers, some smaller motifs and should finish the second

wing before bedtime.I am stitching this on 35 ct. with one thread

and am very disappointed in the coverage with the darker colors.  

 I plan to distress it once finished so I hope the linen might tighten

up a little more after having a warm bake in the oven. 

I would love to finish this one before month end.

~   *     ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Last weekend wasn't very nice weather wise so I decided to play

with some paper.   I have become addicted to embossing and just

had to try out some recent purchases thanks to my

local AC Moore going out of business.  

 

As you can see from this stack, I think I might be ready

for just about any type of card occasion.

 

 

 

 Although I think they are all just wonderful, I won't bore you with

pictures of all of them.  I will show you one of my favorites.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Saving the best for last, I won a Valentine's giveaway from

Krista  (Just Stitching Along) 

and received this pretty package in the mail this

week.   I just love the way she has it wrapped up.

This was a package of firsts because she sent a Stacy Hash design

 and this will be my first for this designer.  How did that

happen?!!?!!   She also sent some of Nina's threads and I have

never tried these.... they just look so "happy"

and I hope to put them to use soon.

 

Krista became my new best friend when I unwrapped that

 chocolate bar!  I have been trying hard to not keep chocolate

in the house so this just made my night.   Needless to say,

I think it was gone by the time I finished before my

thank you email hit Krista's mailbox.  

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

My boys

 

I caught my hubby and Pork Chop napping in my stitching chair

and couldn't resist sharing.   Oh...how I wish I could nap in

someone's lap when it is so nice and cozy inside.

 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great week!