Showing posts with label Finish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finish. Show all posts

Monday, May 5, 2014

Stitches and Spring!

I was beginning to think that spring would never arrive!  It has been a cool, grey and rainy spring overall, but there are some signs that are promising...
More baseball, are you surprised?
And even better, my gardens are starting to come back to life!
There is a lot of clean~up to finish, slowly, one bed at a time, we'll get it done.
 
Easter was a wonderful day, spent with my boys here at home.  They found the eggs in record time and didn't take to long to devour their goodies!
 
Panzer wanting me to stop stitching and play...
Daring his boy to touch his ball... 
Not wanting me to get up, he's too comfy... 
His attempt at a "selfie"... 
It will be two years this month since we brought Panzer home.  It's hard to imagine life without him now!
 
One of my favorite oil lamps is a dark green color.  I purchased it years ago when living in TN.  It was hidden on a shelf in the basement of an antique shop just waiting to be found.  Since discovering flower frogs, I have been searching for a dark green one to match the lantern.  I was actually with mom when I found one, deciding to wait a week or two to see if I could bargain for a better price.  Not sure how she did it without my seeing, but when purchasing a couple things for my nieces, mom snuck it in with her stuff.  I was disappointed when I went back to buy it and it was gone!  Imagine my surprise, when I opened my birthday box and found it nestled inside!!
And here is it with the lamp ~ love it ~ and love my mom even more!!
I also managed to fit in enough stitches for a finish...please excuse the shadow in the bottom left corner.
This was a fun one ~ love the colors and that sweet bunny!
 
This saying seemed perfect, as it mentions birds and bluebells, both things I can see in my gardens right now!  And, it makes me wonder what adventures await myself and the boys this summer!
“Where am I going? I don't quite know.
Down to the stream where the king-cups grow-
Up on a hill where the pine-trees blow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.

Where am I going? The clouds sail by,
Little ones, baby ones, over the sky.
Where am I going? The shadows pass,
Little ones, baby ones, over the grass.

If you were a cloud, and sailed up there,
You'd sail on the water as blue as air.
And you'd see me here in the fields and say:
"Doesn't the sky look green today?"

Where am I going? The high rooks call:
"It's awful fun to be born at all.
Where am I going? The ring-doves coo:
"We do have beautiful things to do."

If you were a bird, and lived on high,
You'd lean on the wind when the wind
came by,
You'd say to the wind when it took you away:
"That's where I wanted to go today!"

Where am I going? I don't quite know.
What does it matter where people go?
Down to the wood where the blue-bells grow-
Anywhere, anywhere. I don't know.”
― A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young
 


Saturday, November 23, 2013

Celebrating!!

Can you believe what you are seeing!?!  Yes ~ a finish!!
Perhaps you heard a loud screech a few nights ago....that was just me celebrating!
This ended up taking way longer than it should have ~ that's just what happens when you keep misplacing your stitching time.
An easy stitch and very true words....
I tweaked the colors just a touch, including the fabric...
The bone after "Be loyal and faithful" was not charted to be encased in the blue, but after stitching the bone and the red, it just wasn't popping on my fabric choice....so, in went the blue.
The heart in "Forgive quickly" was charted green like the grass....couldn't do a green heart....presto, it's red....
And the dog, well, of course, changed to resemble Panzer....hubby says the tail is still too long....oh well....
I would really love to start something new, but I do have some wip's that are jumping back out at me. 
Perhaps I will work on them for now and allow myself a New Year's start.
 
Andrea over at The Craft Room hosted her 5th annual Christmas Random Act of Kindness.  She stitches as many ornaments as she can over the year and then hosts a giveaway draw....I was lucky enough to have my name chosen this year and was so excited when the package arrived....
The stitching and finishing are perfect!  It's hard to see from this picture I snapped with my phone, but the edges are beaded....love, love, love!!!  Thank you, Andrea!!  If you pop on over to her blog, she even has a tab at the top explaining her yearly event and showing some of the past ornaments.  What a sweet way to spread smiles for Christmas! 
 
Panzer says, "What?"
"I smell change in the air...."
"I need my boys to reassure me....my crate was taken down....something about making room for some sort of tree and holiday celebrations....I was thinking more along the lines of indoor plumbing for me perhaps...."
"While waiting for the tree....I'll just snuggle in and keep warm...it's gonna be bitter cold the next few days!"
 
Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving ~ in spite of all that 2013 has thrown at us this year, I am still lucky to have many blessings to be thankful for ~ including all of my stitching and blogging friends!
We are preparing for a houseful of guests for Thanksgiving....Grandma, Pappy, my brother and his girls....can't wait to have them all here!! 
“The more - the merrier.”
― A.A. Milne

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Baseball, Goodbyes, Stitches & Goodies

Popping in quick to say life is still crazy....
The boys are finally done with school.  I am proud to say that the boys did well and I now have an eighth, seventh and a fourth grader ~ I can't believe where the years have gone.
We are still busy with baseball ~ the boys have been practicing and playing hard.
My little guy's team placed second in a Memorial Day Tournament, and he played on the Little League All Star Team.
My oldest has been playing with his travel team.  Here is one of my most recent favorites.  Love the intensity and the kick of the dust...he recently pitched a no~hitter, winning the game in 5 innings.
 
Panzer is adjusting to life without his best friend, Joker.  They are only a month apart in age and have grown up together ~ sadly, his family moved last week...Joker, we will miss you and your family...
Playtime will never be the same...
Best friends...forever...
Staring at Joker's door, wondering where he is....
Needless to say, Panzer has been getting some extra attention..and if anyone sees a boxer traveling east from the Midwest, help him out, his name is Joker and he's trying to get back to his friend....
Enough of the sad stuff...
 
I missed yet another tusal date.
There are finally some new threads!  I was able to finish the stitching on this piece for my mom.  A BBD that was a limited edition kit, I believe from last year's market.
And I got back to working on Pomegranate Study by NeedleWorkPress.
Finding stitching time, even if only a bit here and there, has done wonders for the soul.
 
I owe a couple belated thank~yous.
First is to Myra.  She stitched this great design, finished it into a brooch, and hosted a give~away on her blog.  Cleverly, she used a magnet (like those you fine on needle minders) instead of a pin.  Keeps one from poking holes in jackets, sweaters, or whatever you choose to wear the brooch on.  Isn't it sweet?
The next thank you goes out to P.J.  She also had a give~away.  And sent me these lovely goodies.
Notepads, slipper socks, a great needle minder, one of Blue Ribbon Designs tools to help measure borders when starting a stitched piece, and a great balsam filled cushion.  The smell of the cushion reminds me of vacations in Maine as a child.
Thanks so much ladies ~ I love everything!
I'm going to sign off now and hopefully put in a few stitches before I call it a night.  Thanks for stopping by and in honor of Panzer and Joker, I'll leave you with this....
“We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.
Even longer,' Pooh answered.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh 


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Where does one start?  My posts have been few and far between ~ by the time I sit down to write, it takes me some time to organize my thoughts.  Let's see....
The last month has been filled with, yep, you guessed it, baseball practices.  There has been a round or two of nasty germs.  And crazy weather...warm in the 60's one day and below freezing another.  The most recent storm, Nemo, brought us only rain ~ ending in a touch of snow ~ but not ending before trying to blow us away with it's wicked winds.  The boys are still waiting on one decent snow storm and then I think we are all ready for spring.
 
We celebrated a milestone birthday ~ I am finally a mother to a teenage boy.  Wish me luck!
 
We added some more eyes!
 
And Panzer weighed in this week at 132.2 lbs!  He'll be 11months on the 15th.
And, he thinks he is a lap dog!
So glad to have this guy in our lives.
 
Now for some stitchy stuff!  Here is the tusal for the month.  It is an illusion, don't think I have done major stitching...the jar is laying on it's side, so the threads spread out.  Also, a good number of those threads are from having to take out a number of stitches on more than one project.  January seemed to be the month of the frogs ~ hopefully they have all moved on now.
 
I finished the stitching on a couple of ornaments.
 
Finished "My Ways"
There was supposed to be an apple, but an apple under a willow tree just didn't seem right.  So, I stitched Panzer there instead.  Many thanks to Peggy Lee for sending me the fabric for this!
I've moved on to this piece..."A Pomegranate Study"
Such a fun stitch so far ~ just three colors!
I have to ask...have you ever had one of these join you while stitching?
He decided to take up residence on the inside of my glasses while they were on my head!!  Needless to say, he took a trip down the waterways to look for Nemo (the fish, not the storm)!  The worst part was that I couldn't scream out, everyone else was sound asleep!!
 
Have you ever had one of those weeks, and then, you go to the mailbox to find the best things ever ~ just when you needed a pick~me~up!?!
Myra was sweet enough to surprise me with one of her Valentine's mug mats ~ how cute is that! 
Thank you, Myra!  Whenever I see your name on a package, I know I am in for a treat!
 
Dawn surprised me with this great bag ~ she's been practicing with her sewing machine, and I'd say she's got it down!
Thanks, Dawn ~ it's already full of stuff!
 
I have some goodies that will be going out tomorrow, but I have to save those pictures ~ don't want to spoil any surprises.
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks again to those that brightened my week!
“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today," said Pooh.
"There there," said Piglet. "I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh