Pink Giveaway!!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
  Many of us have had our lives touched in one way or the other by this disease.  Perhaps we have known someone that is living with Breast Cancer, participated in fund raisers for research, or just simply worn pink to show our support. 
The Strawberry Sampler has generously donated the following items for a Pink Giveaway.

Prize Number 1.

The Chart and threads for My Pink Needle.

 

Prize Number 2.

The Kelmscott Needle minder called "Spirit of Hope" and the adorable pink Storklette scissors.

 

Prize Number 3.

A very pretty light pink fabric, from Picture-This-Plus, called Sorbet.  The winner will choose a single-cut size of either 16ct Aida (shown on the right side of the picture) or 32ct Linen (shown on the left side).  You'll have to trust me that the fabric is more pink than what the picture shows!!

 

There will be three random draws.  Simply leave a comment on this post, and tell me which of the three prizes you'd like a chance to win.  You may throw your name in for one, two or even three chances! 

The winners will be chosen on October 31st ~ and provided Hurricane Sandy hasn't knocked out the electricity or that I am not in a sugar coma from eating the boys' Halloween candy, I will post the winner's names that night.

Hhhhmmmmm.....there will be three prizes, but really, everybody wins.....stay tuned!

 

Perhaps one day, a way will have been found to make Breast Cancer Awareness month a thing of the past....

“When you do the things that you can do, you will find a way.”
― A.A. Milne

Baseball, Puppy, Exchanges and a Giveaway

Once again, my fall weekends have been full of baseball.  The boys have been practicing and playing their hearts out. 

The team my oldest plays on placed third in their first tournament and second in the most recent one!  The last tournament was played at Ripken in Maryland.  The big honor was given to my oldest.  He was the starting pitcher for the game played in the Ironbirds minor league stadium!

One of the hardest things for a mother is to see their children hurt.  Well, it happens in baseball.  On Sunday, he was hit with not one, but two pitches ~ two separate games ~ but, he was hit in the same exact spot!!  OUCH!

This was the next morning.  You can see the laces from both balls on the left hand side.  Sadly, this prevented him from being the closing pitcher in the championship game.  They played hard, losing only by one point!

 

My middle guy has become quite the catcher.  His team is still in the developmental stages, but are improving and blending. 

This is one of his new baseball buddies.  If you follow the newsletter from the Strawberry Sampler, you've read of Beth's nephews.  Well, Chris and my guy are finally playing on the same team!!

That's Ms. Beth, she has become the official scorekeeper for the team!

While catching is his thing, he can also pitch when needed. 

This is the smile of a pitcher who just pitched a 4~pitch inning!! 

And even though they didn't win, the boys still had smiles and were ready to move on to the next game!

The little guy has been patiently attending his brother's games and playing on an indoor team.  It's really hard to take pictures inside through all the fences.  Here he is, my budding photographer, taking pictures at his brother's game.

And of course, he had fun making it look like he had really big muscles with his shadow! 

 

Panzer has been growing ~ at 7 months he weighed in at 104 pounds!!  He really enjoys his morning walks ~ he's up to anywhere from 1.8 to 2.4 miles each morning.  Bonus for me too, as it is getting me moving!  He loves his ball.

And playing tug~o~war 

And riding in the car 

Nap time! 

He takes over Daddy's chair, hiding his head, hoping we won't see him!

Signs of fall are around as well.

Pumpkins and gourds at an Amish farm.

The Amish have harvested their tobacco. 

The farms in the area are quieting down.

We've had some morning frosts. 

And, some beautiful, crisp mornings.  

 

Are you ready for some stitching now?

I participated in another Stitched with Love Exchange.  This one was called the Animal Antics Exchange.  My partner was Cherise and she was wonderful!  Here are the goodies she sent to me.

I just love this piece!  It is now hanging from the hutch in my dining room for everyone to see. 

She also included some threads, a chart, some buttons, ribbons, needles and fabrics!  All things that I can and will use.  Thanks again Cherise! 

And here are the goodies I sent to Cherise.

I included some fabrics, threads, buttons, ladybug ribbon, a ladybug charm and a brand new copy of the chart that I used part of to create my exchange piece.   

 

It's also that time again ~ time for the Tusal.  And once again, I am a little late!

You can see my jar looks a little fuller this time!  I decided to show it with my current progress on "For The Birds".  This is an enjoyable piece to stitch.

This following is a piece my mom stitched for her cousin and I framed for her.  I really love how this turned out.

 

I want to thank Vickie for this sweet gift.  She makes these bottle~cap pincushions that are just adorable!

Doesn't it look like a chocolate cupcake?  I love chocolate, so it's perfect!  And since I have all boys, I love to see pink!  She also made the pins, aren't they all great!?!

 

Phew!  Another long post.  Sorry for that!  I do have some giveaway news.  I am going to be hosting a giveaway, thanks to the Strawberry Sampler and in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Unfortunately, most of us have been touched in some way by this disease.  We are still hammering out the details, but there will most likely be three winners and maybe even a little something more.  Check back next week for more information!!

 

In honor of Panzer getting me on my feet and moving, I will leave you with this Pooh quote:

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh



Goodbye to Summer

Well, it certainly has been awhile, hasn't it?  The last weeks of summer were very busy.  We've celebrated birthdays, gone hiking, had days at the bay, read books, started baseball, ridden roller coasters, and gone back to school.  There was very little time for stitching, but there was some.

If you have the instagram app, I have been posting pictures there too, under Bramblewood and you may recognize some of these pics from there.  Hope you enjoy seeing what we have been up to!

 

Our neighbors own a wonderful home on the Chesapeake Bay.  We are fortunate that they invite us down from time to time throughout the summer for some fun. They also host a once a summer gathering of the their non-bay neighbors.

Here are a group of neighborhood kids getting ready for some tubing.

Let me tell you, the kids think this is just awesome.  Me, not so much.  Yes, in addition to taking part in the rope swing earlier this summer, I tried my hand at tubing.  By the time the kids were done and it was the adults turn, the water was not this calm, but we went anyway.  I am still trying to figure out what is so much fun about being bounced around like that!

 All done and coming back to the dock.

Time for fishing. 

Waiting for the waves from the big ship ~ unfortunately, they never came. 

Some water trampoline fun.

It was a fun day of friendship, laughter and of course, good food!

 

My middle guy celebrated a birthday.  He requested a quiet birthday at home, topped off by a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting.

 

We had the getting ready for school physicals and dental appointments, which are always followed by lunch out.  Pizza at Pinnochio's.

We squeezed in a trip to the sweetest place. 

The thrill of spinning high above the ground.

 This is the face while on the above ride!

The roller coasters. 

 Hope you make it back!

The new mixed in and around the classic. 

My boys are on this one.  I opted to greet them at the end. 

There was a special solar light display throughout Longwood Gardens this summer.  We made it over a couple of times.  The pictures don't even begin to show how beautiful this was.   

The fountain show, set to music, always a favorite. 

 

The oldest started middle school ~ now having to now get up an hour earlier. Can you tell he wasn't too thrilled that I still insisted on a first day of school picture?

The younger two. Trying to be cool, too cool for school.

Some last minute craziness before the bus arrives.

And there they go! 

 

We had some critters visit this summer.

Did you say your prayers today? 

And meet Fred.

Fred took up residence on our slider door ~ the outside, thankfully.  We were able to see Fred at work maintaining and using the web to catch his prey.  Then one day, Fred was gone.  I still think Fred was really a Fredwina, but the boys insisted on Fred.

And one must not forget the puppy.  He's six months now and most likely around 100lbs, he'll go for a weigh in in a couple of weeks.

He watches tv.

So handsome. 

Sock?  I don't see a sock.

Watching the Little League World Series.

Oh no, he dropped the ball! 

Did I hear the fridge open? 

Bone crunchin' time.

Playtime with a friend. 

 Love's his boys.

 

 

Now, let me show you the little bit of stitching I can.  I have managed to keep up with my ornament a month.  I found these little cuties while on vacation in TN.  So, although they are little, I am counting them as July, August and September's ornaments.

The picture is a little dark, but these are stitched on perforated paper and then adhered to these tiny sleds. I have another set of designs to do as well.

 

I was one of the very lucky winners of a giveaway from Cottage Garden Samplings.  Vinniey is the very talented designer and if you haven't seen her designs, do pop on over! 

Just look at all the goodies!

I have to confess.  The DARS box of chocolate ~ it's empty.  That didn't last long at all!!

My boys enjoyed the small hard candies and were most interested in the writing on the wrappers. 

There were trims, fabric and scissors!  

 Love the colors in these threads and the verse reminds me of some metal trivets that my mother used in the kitchen when I was little.  Does anyone remember those ~ they usually contained a kitchen verse or prayer?

Thanks again Vinniey!!  I'm looking forward to getting this one started.

 

Sweet June also sent me a wonderful rak.

Isn't this tote bag perfect for sewing and stitching stuff.

Here's a closer look.

And she knows how I love sheep.  Look at this cutie, posed in front of my very late tusal jar!  Hanging head in shame, I completely missed last month - the jar on the left contains my 2012 threads, the other jar contains threads from last year.

I ordered a project bag from Faye, along with a smaller one to hold things like my scissors and threads.  I absolutely love them!  Thanks Faye!

 

My mom was telling her cousin about my flower frogs and she very kindly sent this one to me, one that had belonged to her mother.  It is very tiny and oh so colorful ~ I love it!

 

If you have made it all the way to the end of this post, I do have some other stitching to show, but it is for an exchange and can't show it until I'm given the green light.  Thanks for being patient with me while I enjoyed the end of summer with my boys.  I know it won't be too long before they venture out on their own. 

“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