Tusal Post and Houses

Here is my offering for the second Tusal of July!  Not a whole lot of stitching this month.  Could it be the heat?  I am showing it next to an older piece I stitched back in 2000.  I do not remember the pattern or designer's name - but I'm sure if I dig through my old patterns that I still have this one.

I've decided to show some pieces that have houses on them.  The next two are from The City Stitcher.  One was stitched in 1996 and the other in 1997.  Very fun to stitch!  These patterns also lurk in the depths of my pattern cabinet somewhere!

 

The next three are by the Workbasket.  Two of the three were stitched in 1998 and the third in 2000.

 

 

Here they are all together on the wall, and yep...the patterns...in the cabinet somewhere! 

Maybe I should stitch some more houses to fill up some of that wall space!

All of the pieces above are displayed in the dining room.  I have a couple of other pieces in there that don't contain houses, so I'll save them for another day.

Thanks for stopping by and welcome to my newest followers!  Have a stitchy week!!

It's Been Flooding!!

Unfortunately, it's been inside the house and not outside where we need it.  This week brought and overflowing toilet (thanks boys!) and a hose that decided it didn't like being hooked to the washing machine anymore.  My husband put it back on, but today it told me it really didn't want to be there.  So, we should be done.  What comes in twos, comes in threes.  Toilet - 1, Washing Machine - 2.  Done....

I drove the boys to my parent's house on Tuesday.  Spent the night and came back home yesterday - leaving the boys to spend time with their grandma, pappy, aunt, uncle and cousins.  One of the old barns on the property is falling down, so dad has been salvaging the wood and some other things that were in there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool stuff!  I might be picking some of these things out to bring home next time!

On the ride home I decided to stop in an antique shop that I pass every time.  I picked up five, yes, five flower frogs!  For now, they sit in the basket with my exchange from Fiona.

I love the shape on this next one.  It's marked "made in France" on the bottom. 

Now I just need to acquire some more scissors!!

I also have had some luck recently!  Myra held a contest to see who could guess what the third section of the Mystery Sampler would be.  I was one of three who guessed correctly.  Any of you who have been lucky enough to receive something from Myra know how wonderful her goodies are.  Look at what she sent!

 

This amazing little wallet!  And see the adorable button!?!?

 

Tucked inside in one of the pockets was her card - such a neat idea.  She included her name, blog name, blog address and her mailing address.  I might just have to make up some cards of my own to send with things.

This will come in handy on those days when I don't want to take my "luggage" with me (that's what my boys call my purse).  Just enough space to hold my id, a couple of cards and some $$.

Thanks Myra!  I love it!!

Next, Julie, from  I'll Cross That Leg When I Get To It, held a giveaway for her 200+ followers.  I was so excited to get her email that my name was picked!  She included this awesome piece made by herself, a Shabby Chic Scissor Beak Bird.  She also included a BBD design, with fabric and thread to finish it.  She even sent two colors of threads so I can chose which color I'd like to stitch this in.

I tried out a couple different looks with the scissors I do have.  Which one do you like better?

The older silver pair? 

The gold pair?   

The pink pair? 

Or the pair with the fob? 

I have to find some little spools of thread to put on the three posts on the base.  Thank you so much Julie!  I love the bird and am looking forward to stitching the BBD piece!!

I have been stitching - but it is for an exchange, so I can't show it yet.  For any of you that like cats, go to Gazette94 for some cute freebies that were just posted today!

Thanks for stopping by!  We're preparing for another heatwave - good weather to stay in and stitch!

I Can Finally Take a Moment!

I can finally take a moment to myself!  The last few weeks have been filled with tournament ball for my older boys.  I am so proud of them!  They played, won and lost like champions!  Supporting and cheering for each other all the way.

My Middle Guy!

And the Older Guy!

And we can't forget the Little Guy for being there and supporting his brothers.

Oh, and you have to love the smile!  Three teeth gone in about two weeks!

 

The boys are done now until fall, then the craziness begins again.  Congratulations to my oldest!!  He tried out and was one of only 9 chosen to play on a 50/70 travel team in the fall.  We're so proud of you!  The middle brother will be playing on his travel team and/or fall ball with little league.  And the little brother will be playing fall ball for the little league.

So, we kicked off our real start of summer by heading to the beach at Cape Henelopen State Park in Delaware yesterday.  It was a wonderful family day.  The perfect mix of sun and clouds, sand and surf, dolphins swimming by and watching the boys just be boys.

I have some stitching to share as well.  It is time to reveal the pieces from the exchange I participated in.  It was a teatime/picnic theme.  Here is what I sent to Jane (I had to stitch her a bunny as she loves them!)

And look at this beauty and goodies I received from Fiona!

She also made the pins!  Aren't they great!

There was a pack of needles - one can never have enough on hand!

Three packs of Silkweaver fabrics and ten Victoria's Motto threads!! I have never used either of these before and can't wait to give them a try.  Love all the colors!

An adorable notepad - another item one can never have enough of! 

And a yummy recipe for chocolate cookies that my boys can't wait for me to try!

Thank you so much Fiona!  Your really spoiled me!!

I also stitched one of the strawberry pinkeeps for myself, along with this watermelon design for summer.  My husband wasn't sure about the green fabric, but it reminded me of the rind on a watermelon!  The strawberry pattern is from Cinnamon Hearts and the watermelon was a freebie from The Sampler Girl.

Here they are pictured with three pieces from a previous exchange.  The other pieces were stitched by Sarah. A bowl filled with summery colors!

That's about it for now.  I am trying to catch up on the Mystery Sampler and just signed up for the next exchange round with Lainey.  The link is for her exchange web site and you can see all the wonderful things from this last exchange.

I've gained some new followers recently too!  Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by and happy stitching!

Check Out the Giveaways!!

Just a quick note to remind you to check out the Giveaways listed in my sidebar - just click on the links to see some wonderful goodies up for grabs!!

Also, check out Lainey's new exchange.  Sign ups will be close on July 11th.  I have now participated in two of her exchanges and say that I have been totally spoiled by the two partners I have had!
Visit the Stitched With Love Exchanges site if you wish to sign up!

And Ned the Gnome has reached his first destination.  He's even started his own blog so that the boys can follow his adventures and leave comments for him!  You can check it out here:
Ned's Adventure

Thanks for stopping by!

Tusal and More Finishes

It is that time again.  Here is my Tusal jar in all of its glory.

 

I promise that threads have been added.  I just keep squishing them down in the jar so they don't hang out all over the place.

I am also all caught up with the Truly Thankful series by Heartstring Samplery.  Here are the latest additions:

 

 

The frames are from the ready-made section at the Strawberry Sampler.

And I finally finished the patriotic smalls that I stitched some weeks back.  Just in time to display for the Fourth!  The fabrics they are sitting on show what I used as backing.  This first piece is backed with a denim looking fabric.  It's hard to tell from the pic.

 

Just to remind you how small this is: 

Here they are in all their glory!

Wishing all of you here in the States a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!

And to our northern friends, a Happy Belated Canada Day!

I'll leave you with some pics from around my gardens.  Thanks, as always, for stopping by!