Stitching?

Okay, I am wondering where the time went since my last post...a long, long time ago...

We had a busy end of the summer...from family vacation, baseball games and triathlons, to birthday celebrations, and back to school and saying goodbye to dear friends.

Hanging with an old friend after school was finally over...

How they have grown in two years...and, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll know all about the elusive teenage smile hunt during our Tennessee vacation...

I did catch an amazing smile during a moment of genuine fun with this brothers...

 

Exploring in the Smoky Mtns...

I love their reflections in the water...

Hiking in the Smokies...

Views from our cabin...I love these mountains...relaxing on the porch listening to nature's songs, watching the hummingbirds feed, reading books...pure heaven...

 

The oldest finishing his season...the last time playing with some of these boys....still playing for the same place this fall, but some new faces joining the team as others move on.

The youngest finishing strong in his third triathlon.  The final one of the season is this weekend.  He will be running cross country this fall.  He is amazing me!

And the middle guy back at the job for a new team this fall.  They placed third in their first tournament together, not too bad.  All signs point to a fun fall season!

 

My middle guy turned the page into teenagedom...the big 13!

We spent the day at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, walking inner harbor and then dining at a fabulous German restaurant....yum!

 

We had about three weeks in August where I wasn't working and before school started back...we had some down days, but had a lot of fun too...

a day at the bay with neighbors and old neighbors who were in town...felt like old times...

A night at the Phillies game for mom and a friend...

We were able to see Charlie Manuel inducted to the Phillies wall of fame...

We watched the Little League World Series...cheering for the Philadelphia team, the Taney Dragons.  Congrats for a former team~mate of my middle guy, Kai on his home~run in their final game!

There was a day of target shooting at Grandma and Pappy's...

The first day of school...the teen lost his smile again...

And while Labor Day found my middle guy and I at a baseball tournament and my husband working, my other two were again at the bay with friends...having a blast and being well taken care of...

Crab time and I missed it!!  Ugh!

My middle guy and I enjoyed some quality alone time and time with team~mates...

We had some good laughs eating here ~ the menu and gift shop are hysterical!

I returned home on Sunday to spend time with my other two and the middle guy stayed behind with his team~mates' family...he's sandwiched between the twins...they gave him his first experience at a Japanese steakhouse...

All~in~all, a busy fun weekend before returning back for the second week of school!

 

Panzer loved having the boys home over the summer and seems to also be adjusting well since we all have returned to school and work...

the lazy dog days of summer...

Panzer wasn't too sure of the bay, and despite the boys all trying, he went back up the steps...

Love that face...

Workin' those eyes!

 Escorting the youngest to the bus...

 

Did you figure out the reason for my title yet?...I did not put a lot of time into stitching...really, nothing that would amount to anything worth showing...I did however frame this piece that I stitched last year...

I saw some great things from the fall market ~ and especially fell in love with the big one from Heartstring Samplery...it's waiting for me at my LNS, the Strawberry Sampler...can't wait to get it and make a start...well, I actually can't wait to find some stitching time...

 

And finally, we said goodbye to some good friends and they are greatly missed.  They are now living in the Atlanta, GA area ~ well, at least for a couple of years, and then hopefully back to this area.  I taught her to stitch a couple of years ago, so if any of you live in that area, maybe I can get you in touch with her.  And if you have any suggestions for shops that are closer to the Atlanta area, please let me know, as there seems to be nothing in Atlanta and that seems crazy to me!  She's really homesick, so hopefully her stitching will help.

 

Thanks to all of you that stop by and lasted through my long post with virtually nothing stitching related...I am reading your blogs, seeing all of your beautiful work and leaving comments here and there.  Hopefully, I will have some stitching to show next time!

 

Given my long absence and saying goodbye to our friends, I thought this more than appropriate...

“Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.”
― A.A. Milne

Crazy, hectic times...

Crazy hectic times are here.  Thanks to those of you that noticed I haven't been here in a while and sent emails to make sure everything was okay.  The last few weeks have been filled with baseball practices, games and tournaments, family visits, scouts, and school field trips. 

There have also been birthday surprises, exchange arrivals and very few stitching moments.  The few and far between moments have barely added any threads to my tusal jar.  You may have to look closely to see any difference since last month!

I did manage to get some pieces in their frames.

First up is the piece my mom stitched for me.

Next is the Humility Sampler by Heartstring Samplery.

And finally is the Treasured Pinkeeps by Pineberry Lane.  I stitched the version that says, "mother" and moved the bottom border down, so that I could add my initials, my mother's, my grandmother's and my great-grandmother's.  I love how this turned out.

This week the Strawberry Sampler, in honor of Earth day and Arbor day, is going green for their Wacky Wednesday sale!  Click here for more info!

I will be back soon to share the birthday and exchange goodies with you!

“Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.”
― A.A. Milne



I Sew'd My Heart is Framed!

I finally picked up my frame for my "I Sew'd My Heart" finish. 

Today I sat down and put it all together and I am so happy with how it looks.

The frame is actually a little lighter and more brown than it seems in this picture.

If you are one of my new followers, follow this link to see more about this piece:

I Sew'd My Heart

Thanks to Beth Twist of Heartsting Samplery for this design!

Thanks for stopping by!

Finally... Some Framing

There was a framing marathon in my living room on Sunday.  All but one of these pieces was stitched prior to this year!

First up is Jenny Bean's Humble Servant by Shakespeare's Peddler. 

I highlighted my initials with a different thread in the alphabet, and used my own information in place of Jenny's.

Next is 'Tis the Gift by La D Da.  A favorite saying of mine.

 As you can see, I stitched this last year.

I have one more addition for my seasonal decorating, this is Primitive Winter by Notforgotten Farm.

I love the detail on this frame! 

Next up is a set of Hinzeit Charmed Matters, the Family theme.  These were stitched in 2009.

I love the weathered look of this frame! 

And finally, Live Simply.   I can not recall the designer at the moment.  I ran out of thread at "Live Simp", and the new thread was from a different dye lot.  In the dull winter light, I didn't notice too much of a difference, but when I took this out to frame in the bright summer light, the L,Y and final motif just seemed brighter.  I almost didn't frame it, coming close to sending it to Peggy Lee to take care of (if you don't know what I mean, check out her post from June 24th - http://kentuckysampler.blogspot.com/)  Then, I threw caution to the wind and decided that even though they were over dyed threads, I was going to coffee dye the entire piece.  If I look closely in the right light, I still notice the difference, but I love the look the coffee gave to the piece!

All of these frame moldings were purchased at The Strawberry Sampler, my LNS.

Thanks for stopping by!