Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I have to share a quote my friend, Astrid, shared on her Facebook page yesterday...

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."  ~ William Arthur Ward

I'm sorry I didn't have time to post yesterday, although it was very relaxed I just didn't have time to post here, though I should have.   I have so much to be thankful for!  Mostly I'm thankful for the Lord's provision, and for my family and dear friends who I love very much.

The picture above hangs in my kitchen/dining room.  I keep it there because as a young bride, one of our first landlords had a similar picture hanging over their dining room table.  It was the only picture in their large dining room, but spoke volumes about their lives.  When I found this pattern, I had to stitch it, and it has hung in our house ever since...a daily reminder that what we have came from our Heavenly Father, and we need to thank Him constantly for all we have been given.  I'm glad we have a national day that we can stop and reflect and give thanks.

I hope those celebrating were among friends and family and had a wonderful day.  Since I've been married I haven't been home for too many holidays.  So we try to make it a day we spend enjoying each others company.  This year we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, had a wonderful dinner, played Euchre, called our family back in Northern NY, and then went to see the new Disney movie, Frozen, with our Pastor and his family.  It was a lovely day.

I've been a tad busy lately, and seem to have lost my stitching mojo.  I hope I get it back soon!!  I had stitched a few ornaments and sent them out, and one that I know of has reached it's destination.  I crocheted an afghan for another baby due in a month or so.  And I finished Mary's Sampler II offered on Plum Street Sampler's blog.

I've been trying to stitch on Violet's Blue, as I truly love this design and want to finish it soon.  I just can't seem to focus my attention on anything right now...not sure why.  I guess what I need to do, is actually abandon all stitching for a short time...and maybe do something like...clean my house!  LOL  I'm expecting a guest tomorrow!!  I'm keeping it a surprise until after her visit just in case plans go awry....as they sometimes do.  I remember one visit to the area, she caused a massive snowstorm and shut down airports.  So let's keep this on the down low until after her visit.  I can't tell you how excited I am to see her!!  Hopefully I'll remember my camera and get some pictures.  Anyway, here are progress pictures of Violet's Blue.

I was able to start and finish a baby afghan for a baby due soon.  I love this pattern, and enjoy crocheting it until I reach the final round in the border.  It is chock full of picots and they drive me insane.  Ok, ok, so they don't have that far to drive me, but the rest of the afghan takes two days and I spend an entire day on the last round.  It will all be worth it when I see the recipients face...or at least I hope so!!  Here's the final result.

Last, but not least, I can show you this ornament I sent to my dear friend Mouse.  She has told me she has received her package and I told her she could open her ornament to hang on the tree.  This was stitched on 45 count over two threads.  Yes, I've been told I was crazy in the past, and I can honestly say, though I loved the result, the stitching was difficult on such compact count.  Treasure it Mouse, as I dare say I won't be stitching on such a high count again.  Maybe that's where my mojo went??

I just saw a news story on  FOX news that said cats do recognize their owners voice but don't have the mental capacity to understand they should come when called.  Hmmmm....I don't know if I believe that of all cats...and I kind of think mine has a bit of a diabolical side...pictures speak volumes.  Here is Thomas peeking over the edge of the table, waiting for me to turn my back so he can sneak some turkey...

And on that note, I'm off to clean my house.  Maybe a little good, honest, ho******k will be enough to jump start my mojo.  Happy Stitching my friends!

 

Framing Fiend

Hi there!

I promise I haven't fallen off the planet.  I've just been one crazy, busy chick...as opposed to being just plain crazy.  LOL!!

Where do I begin?  I will show you some stitching I've been up to.  I signed up for an ornament exchange and was searching through some patterns in different years of Just Cross Stitch magazine.  I stumbled across some Shepherd's Bush designs and realized the words on the patterns made a little poem.  I have a couple quadrille patterns and I thought hmmmm....I wonder if I could make a quadrille out of these four patterns.  They were very close in size, so I did a little caculations, and by George, I think this just might work!!  So...here they are stitched, and nearly ready to make into a quadrille.  They are stitched on 40 ct summer khaki over two threads with one strand of floss.  I used what I hope are DMC equivalent for most of the colors called for.  I just have to find a tutorial or directions somewhere, and the charms for them.  What do you think?  If this all works out I may make another one with the pattern 2000 years ago by Shepherd's Bush.

 

I've been working toward getting things together for Christmas gifts, therefore I can't show you EVERYTHING I've been stitching...but I can show some pictures of some gifts for people who don't read my blog.  I'm so excited to finally be getting some things framed that have been lying around the house, I'm giddy with excitement!!  I wish I had more money, I would get a few more things framed!

Mouse sent me a lighthouse several months ago.  I'm embarrassed to say it has taken me this long to get it framed.  I really do love it to pieces, Mouse!!  And now it will finally have a home on my wall.

I was able to find a really cool frame for Pirouette in Purple.

I love the color of this frame, it perfectly matched the colors in this little sampler.

Winter made it into a frame just in time!!

And last are the three Disney Princesses I made for our Pastor's daughters.  Here are Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.  I am breathing a little easier!!

Oh...almost forgot!!  I have made progress on Mary's Sampler and have just finished part 8!!

And that, as they say, is that.  Other than an attempt to put this ornament together, and possibly work on another, I will have to lay my stitching aside.  I will be putting my crochet talents to the test now...I have more of that to finish for a gift in the near future.  I do hope to finally get back to working on some of those WIPs and UFOs I have screaming from the back of the closet.  They are demanding attention.  I guess I should try to find a rotation schedule...but it's hard when you usually fly by the seat of your pants!!  LOL  Off to get dinner ready for the family.  Happy stitching!

 



 

Thank you

It's Veteran's Day weekend, and I wanted to take a minute to thank the men and women who faithfully serve or have served in our Armed Forces.  This post has nothing to do with stitching...and I won't apologize for that.  My husband served in the Army for over 20 years, retiring nearly 10 years ago now.  We were in Germany when the twin towers fell in New York City and the Pentagon was attacked.  I remember vividly the day that happened, and wrote these words which were later published in the Stars and Stripes Newspaper.  I still feel the same way and am proud to have known so many (including members of my family) who honorably wore their uniforms. 

I pass by soldiers everyday, wearing their helmets, flack vests and
carrying rifles. They check my ID and as I pass, I thank them for being
there. I apologize for them standing in the rain…I feel responsible
because they are there to protect me. I wonder how many of their
comrades they lost in the Pentagon tragedy. I wonder how many of them
will still be alive in a few months. I look into their eyes and wonder
why they signed up for the military…and I’m half tempted to ask them.
They look so tired, many of them work 15 hours or more a day now with
very little sleep. I wonder if it fits the image they had of soldiers
when they ran through fields as children pretending to be brave and
conquering the enemies. I wish to thank them for defending our freedom,
for being brave, for laying their lives on the line so that we can
enjoy the life we have. Our troops not only fight in wars, they rescue
people from disasters, they live in the mud training for weeks in all
kinds of weather so they will be prepared for times like these. They
also have many separations from their loved ones, missing birthdays,
anniversaries, holidays and the birth of their children. I wonder if
their sacrifice is worth it to the people they protect and assist. I
heard one commander say once, that the job these people do EVERY DAY is
to just be there…if they do their job as a ready force, other countries
are less likely to invade us, and a war is less likely. What would make
a person sign up to defend ALL kinds of people in our country? They are
defending good citizens as well as bad, the people who contribute to
society and those that don’t. It’s a thankless job, and people often
treat military as the dregs of society, I know…I’ve seen it. But under
their uniforms, their hearts beat. I’ve seen soldiers passing out candy
to children on their way to school. I’ve seen them line up to donate
blood; I’ve seen them volunteer to do dangerous duty in countries that
don’t want us there. I’ve seen them teach Sunday school, volunteer as
mentors in schools, as scout leaders, and as coaches in school sports.
There are a few bad ones in the bunch, but most of them believe they
are there for a noble cause, and that makes me proud to know them. I
know many that are Christians, who are not afraid to stand up for their
Lord, and who imitate Christ unashamed. I can barely find the words to
say how I feel, and even what I have said doesn’t do them justice. To
the many men and women who serve in our armed forces…. Thank you from
the bottom of my heart. Sincerely,  (Proud wife of a
soldier)

Win, Wander, WIPend, and a little bit of Whine...

Have you been wondering where I've been?  I guess I did drop off the grid for a wee bit.  It's been a bit of a mad house here at DJ's digs...but I think my head is back in the game.  LOL

I'll try to explain my crazy title in a sec, but first there are some people who have been waiting for too long to find out who won the scissor fobs from a couple of posts ago.  

WIN:

Let me congratulate the three people who actually signed up for the giveaway.  They are....

Linda who asked for the house and so will receive the house!
Virpi who will receive the sunflower and rabbit!

Astrid, who has already received the lady with the flower!

Linda and Virpi, if you would please email your mailing address to tickledpinkone@yahoo.co.uk I will be sending those out shortly.  Thank you for your patience and congratulations!!

WANDER:

I have been blessed with the wonderful gift of a friend I met through a yahoo group.  She probably doesn't know how much I admire her, or enjoy our get togethers, or how much her friendship means to me.  A lot of people came into my life when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I truly do cherish the friends I've made.  But Astrid has become like a sister to me.  For my birthday this year, she took me to Harpers Ferry where she patiently waited for me to hobble up hillsides and across bridges and through the woods.  Then treated me to an awesome lunch before we had to hurry back to pick up her son from school.  It was the best time I've had in a while.  Here are some of the sights we say.  Thanks again Astrid, I had a blast...and the next impromptu trip is on me!!

WIPend:

I've been trying to get some Disney Princess stitched up and framed for some very special girls.  They are three sisters who are the children of my Pastor and his wife.  I had stitched this Snow White the year my son was born.  I ran across it not too long ago and wondered what I should do with it since I didn't have any daughters or nieces...so thought about these three girls.   I couldn't give them just one princess...so I scurried around and found two others to stitch for them.  I can breath a sigh of relief now as they are finally finished and will be framed soon.  

Here is Snow White framed (sorry for the craptastic photo)

Sleeping Beauty finished

Cinderella close up and finished...thank you so much Ally for allowing me to borrow the pattern!

Now that those are done I can finally relax and see about getting a few other smaller pieces done for Christmas and such.  I feel like a huge burden has been lifted!

I have been working on a couple of stitch-a-longs when I have time to throw them into the rotation.  The first is Mary's Sampler being offered through Plum Street Samplers...

And the other is  la Pensee Positive being offered on this blog.

Both of them have been a joy to stitch and are working out beautifully.  They are both being stitched over one linen thread, though I will admit, I think I will restitch Mary's Sampler on black over two once I have a chance.  I personally think it will look better over two linen threads.

WHINE:

I've made note of what is what so you can skip any portion that you want.  LOL  This is my little corner where I will explain where I've been.  A couple of weeks ago I was slammed, with my son's car needing repair that was not worth fixing, then finding a car but taking two weeks to sort out the paperwork.  We were fortunate that I wasn't working and we could sort out my guys getting to work and me getting to appointments.  The furlough happened at the same time and both my guys were home for a while...and we were sweating the situation for a wee bit.  I heard from my mother that she might have a very serious condition (she still does but the uncertainty of how it would be managed has been settled), and I thought I might have to make a mad dash to Northern New York to see about her care.   That would have been difficult with the car situation being what it was.  And I found a lump under my arm, that turned out to be scar tissue from a previous surgery.  On top of all that, I'm having some issues with a medication I am taking that is causing some side effects that have been difficult to deal with. All of this happened within a week of each other, and took some time to iron out all the issues.  I must say I was a bit overwhelmed, and I will say I spent a lot of time in prayer.  Most of the things have been ironed out, though I am still very concerned about  my Mom.  I don't think I've had so much go wrong in such a short period of time, and I'm thankful that I have faith in a wonderful Savior who never left my side.  He literally carried me through when I had no idea how I would work everything out.  I tend to retreat within myself when things go wrong, so that's why you didn't hear from me.  The trip to Harpers Ferry was truly a Godsend, and I'm so thankful for my dear friends who may not have known how far I was sinking but still got me out of myself.  God surely knows how to help us when even we don't know where to begin.

And that...as they say...is that!  Have a great day!  And here's hoping my world slows down so I have more time to stitch and blog.  See you next time!