Finishing Day at the Zoo

I guess I should have waited to post this morning until I had finished some projects.  I have been hunting all over the house for two frames I bought last summer at a thrift store.  I thought I would use one of them for Patriotic Bouquet.  BUT...in my search I found a few other frames that will work for a few things I had sitting around.  I still want to find them for another project I was hoping to finish...so the hunt continues...maybe tomorrow.  Anyway, here is what I've done today.  

First up is Patriotic Bouquet by Samplers and Primitives.  It was stitched on 36 count Mayflower over two with called for DMC and specialty fibers.  It was finished into a frame I found at Hobby Lobby.  I'm pretty happy with the results even though it hasn't been finished they way I would have liked it to be.  

Next up is Winter Village  by Sprouting  on 32 count Night Sky with called for DMC threads.  I'm not a fan of square or rectangular ornaments.  Call me weird...haha.  So I decided to finish it into an oval.  I really love how it turned out!  This was an ornament in the 2024 JCS Ornament Issue.  

Last, but not least, is Mayflower Rose Ornament by Heart's Ease Exempler Workes stitched on 40 count Fog over two with NPI silks.  I loved working on this and waited patiently until I found the perfect frame.  I really love how it turned out.  I had finished this in November of 2020!!  It's about time I had it fully finished!  

I'll be turning my house inside out tomorrow looking for those frames....haha.  Hopefully I'll have more finishing done tomorrow...wish me luck!  A thunder storm just rolled through...why do rainy days make me so sleepy?  Hopefully I'll get a little more stitching done on Sarah Sanderson tonight.  Happy Stitching!!

Sarah Sanderson

Hi Fellow Stitchers!  I've had a few days off from watching my granddaughters so after I finished stitching Patriot Bouquet, I went back to Sarah Sanderson.  I looked back to see past pictures of her, and I haven't worked on her since January (if I remember correctly).  After I finished the first 4 pages I set her aside to stitch some things I needed to stitch right away.  I'm not sure how far I'll get on it, but want to try and at least finish one page a month from now on.  I'm working on 46 count fabric, and I have to be so careful when working on her that I don't miscount any threads while stitching.  I have to say, I love how tiny these motifs are on this fabric though!  It's lovely to stitch on...and the silks are fabulous!  So I finished the deer last night.  Not my favorite motif on this pattern, but he does look pretty majestic once finished.  There are over two thousand stitches in that guy!!  I just thought I would show you a progress picture since you haven't seen her in a while.  

I'm still thinking how I want to finish Patriotic Bouquet.  I found a frame that would work, but I'm hesitant because I think I have another frame in mind, I just can't lay my hands on it right now.  You know that safe place we like to store stuff?  It's illusive sometimes, isn't it?  LOL!!  Ok, I'm headed back to search a little bit more for that frame, then off to get some stitching done.  It's a dull rainy day here again, it's days like these I'm glad I don't live in the northwest.  I couldn't handle weeks of the rain...I need a little sunshine and blue sky!  Even the temperatures have dropped...I needed TWO blankets on the bed last night!  I guess we need the storms in life to get us to appreciate the things in our lives that we do enjoy.  Like a warm place to live, food on the table, and the love of family and friends.  I hope you are safe, warm and happily stitching wherever you may be! 

Just in time...

I've been working every day trying to get this done in time for Memorial day.  Now if I can just find a day to fully finish it, I'll be in 7th heaven!  This is Patriotic Bouquet by Samplers and Primitives stitched on 36 count Mayflower over two with recommended threads.  I left off the corners, honestly I really don't think it adds anything to it, and now I can't wait to display it on my mantle.  

I'll be doing a deep dive in my kitted stash to see what I'll be stitching next.  Wish me luck!  If you don't hear from me for a few days, send cookies!  LOL  I'm probably buried in projects trying to decide!  Either that, or my WIPs have revolted and locked me in a room until I choose one of them.

Still praying for the folks affected by tornadoes across the country.  They had one touch down just west of Baltimore yesterday too.  Too close to home for my comfort.  Scary weather!  I'll be glad when this crazy weather rights itself.  I hope you are safe and healthy, and happily stitching wherever you are!  Happy Stitching! 

Where did the week go?

Well being super busy is a good thing and a bad thing...lol.  By the end of the week I'm totally wiped out...on the other hand my stitching has slowed down long enough that some threads I had ordered for Patriotic Bouquet arrived just in time for me to reach that part of the pattern!  LOL!!  I am enjoying this so much, and have even decided how I hope to fully finish it when I'm done.  How's that for a little blessing?  I found this pattern by Samplers and Primitives in the mad rush of Market Day a few months ago.  I tried to resist, but it hopped into my cart before I could stop my fingers.  While I was at the beach, I bought what I thought was all the specialty floss I would need and when I pulled out the stitch key I realized there was a second page that I had completely missed.  I had TWO of the specialty floss, but was missing 5 others.  I quickly ordered them from Everything Cross Stitch and they arrived yesterday, just in time to start filling in the parts I had to skip.  I consider it a reward for my good deeds of the week.  Here is what it looks like after I filled in the gaps.  

On Tuesdays I watch my youngest granddaughter.  She is now 5 months old...and quite a handful.  I usually end my day exhausted and sore, I probably walk miles trying to calm her down...she has been a fussy baby since she was born.  But she has been teething and has had some tough issues since she was born.  

Then I was asked to watch both of them yesterday (Thursday) at the same time.  Thankfully, at the last minute, my husband decided to stay home and help me.  I'm so grateful he did.  The girls were good, but they both require full attention and are busy little bodies...haha.  We tag teamed and spent quality time with each of them, and both left happy and spoiled at the end of the day.  We, on the other hand, were tired....lol.  Here are a few snapshots of the day...These girls really love each other, Miss A can make Miss Q smile even when she's having a meltdown...and Miss A is so sweet to Miss Q.  I hope they are always so sweet to each other.  I think Miss A is going to be a crafter like me...she loves to work on things together, like making these bracelets.  I can't wait to teach her to stitch!!

This was us at the end of the day...lol!!

 

While I usually watch Miss A on Fridays, I was given the day off, so I'm going to spoil myself and spend the day stitching!  Off I go...

The weather has been pretty wild with heatwaves in some areas, wildfires in others, and flooding not far from us.  Whew!  I'm praying for the folks in these danger areas.  Stay safe!  And keep on stitching!     

Monday Morning Mischief...

Good Morning!  Yes, I'm up to no good...lol.  I finished Petite Brodeuse ABC last night...and thought whatever will I stitch now, as I overlooked allllll the WIPs I have laying around.  I bought a few new patterns just after the Market Day happened and I have been itching to start Patriotic Bouquet by Samplers and Primitives.  I haven't hid the fact that I love our country.  After traveling the world while my husband was in the military, I've learned to appreciate the freedoms we enjoy here.  If you don't see it, please learn about the restrictions in other countries...even the ones you think are so civilized.  I'll be honest and say our country isn't perfect, no country is.  But we have a way of life here that people recognize and strive to live here.  So I do stitch a lot of patriotic pieces.  And I really love this one!  So...I started it last night.  

But first I guess I should show you the most recent finish.  This is Petite Brodeuse ABC which was a freebie posted in the facebook group Remembering A mon Ami Pierre.  There are some lovely freebies there and I have stitched a few of hers in the past.  This one caught my eye.  I stitched it on 40 count Legacy over two.  I think I should have gone with a little darker fabric, but I think if I finish her as a stand up you will see her a little bit better.  

I'm off to work a bit more on Patriotic Bouquet.  I'm sure you'll see a lot of it in the next few weeks.  I realized the floss list for the pattern had a second sheet last night, and I have none of the called for specialty fibers on that page...so I'm off to let my fingers do the walking as I look to fill in the gaps.  Haha...but I did have all the DMC in my stash...so at least I can get started while I wait for the additional floss.  

If you are a Mom, I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday and that your children spoiled you.  Our kids brought dinner and a lovely little heart shaped planter with hens and chickens in it.  My Mom loved those little plants and, since they multiply on their own, had scads of them all over our yard in different planters.  She would have loved this little heart.  It was great to spend time with the family.  Hopefully next time I'll have a picture of them.  

Have a great day...and Happy Stitching!   

Moving along...

I don't know what it is about vacations...we had the best time at the beach.  I'm still feeling so relaxed.  Rest really does do wonders.  I only worked on one project while at the beach, though I took 3 projects.  Since I've been home I've finished 2 of them and am now working on the third.  This is called Petite Brodeuse ABC by A Mon Ami Pierre.  

It was a freebie found on the facebook page Remembering A mon ami Pierre.  They have several nice ones, but I fell in love with this one the first time I saw it.  Here is where I am so far...working on 40 count Vintage Country Mocha.  I'm about to start working on the alphabet on her skirt.  

I also finished Winter Village by Sprouting Lupine from the 2024 JCS Ornament Issue that was a part of the SAL with the Facebook group.  It was stitched on 32 count Night Sky over two.  I'm trying to decide how to fully finish it now...and I need to find a day when I can work on finishing so many that I've finished stitching lately.  But not today!  Today I'm having a play date with my oldest granddaughter Little Miss Sassy Pants.  I'm waiting for her to arrive now!  

Off to get my day ready.  I hope you have a wonderful day.  I know mine will be!  Happy Stitching! 

The Quaker SAL is finished!

I'm so excited to show that I have finished the Soed Idee Quaker SAL by Twin Peak Primitive!  This was stitched on 30 count ivory over one with Belle Soie silk floss Cranberry.  I loved every second of this!  And even though I took this one to the beach with me, I didn't get time to stitch on it until I got home.  I love it and I hope to finish it into a pin drum.  Wish me luck!  I did buy some trim that I thought might work...fingers crossed it's the right color.  

Once that was finished I pulled out a scrap of hand dyed dark blue fabric and started Winter Village.  Sorry no pictures yet, I'm hoping to get it finished today with a little luck.  

As I'm sitting here, with the news on in the background, I see that they have elected a new Pope.  Still waiting to hear who they have chosen.  While I admire the last Pope for his love for everyone and his humility, I didn't agree with all his choices.  I wonder what this new Pope will be like?  There has been a lot of speculation...such interesting times we are living in!  

Ok I'm off to get some more stitching in before Mike gets home from work.  Happy Stitching! 

Beach Life Is The Best Life

I grew up on the plains in New York state.  The mountains were only a short drive away with all the mountain lakes, rivers and streams...but I never really spent a lot of time near the ocean until after I was married and we moved to California and later Hawaii.  It's there that I learned to appreciate the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep at night, the rhythm of tides, the sound of the sea animals...seals, seagulls, and other birds...and saw the majestic whales.  I love the muted sounds when the world is shrouded in fog.  I love the smell of sea water.  And a fog horn in the night is honestly like music to my  ears.  But the Ocean waves licking the seashore is one of my most favorite sounds and is like a lullaby for me...whisking me off to a deep and dreamless sleep.  I love being by the sea.  I would really love to live near the ocean if/when we retire.  The best I can do nowadays is visit as often as I can.  So that is where my husband took me for a long weekend.  

We left Thursday night after a long day with grandbaby #1...but it was worth it to wake up the next morning with the long drive behind us.  We didn't realize that it was Cruiser weekend and while our hotel room overlooked the boardwalk and the ocean, we had a front row seat for the "cruiser parade".  They drove right past our hotel, so we only had to step out onto the balcony to watch them drive by.  

We aren't really into cars, but DH found a couple he wouldn't have minded owning.  

I saw a few I remember from my childhood...my Dad had a really old Ford pickup for a while...and the Girl Scout Troop I belonged to would ride around in the back singing Christmas Carols back in the day.  Couldn't do that these days!!  

We thought it would be difficult to do our normal "beach stuff" but they were mostly parked different places and not where we usually like to go.  So we did our favorite things...played several rounds of mini golf, 

visited my favorite cross stitch store (Salty Yarns), had donuts from Laytons every morning, made a stop at the Seaside Country Store for fudge and other goodies, had some ice cream at Dumsers, and found a few cool places to eat...one of them being Surfin Betty's Burgers.  YUM!!  

I didn't get too much stitching done though I did finish one last gift for a friend before I send her her annual Christmas/Birthday gift.  Once she has them in her hand, I'll show pictures.  

Now that the "must dos" are done, I'm hoping to work on some of the UFOs I have sitting around.  I did pick up a few pieces of fabric and floss to kit up some of the patterns I bought from this  years Market...I'm itching to get some of those started!  Next time I should have lots of stitching pictures to show you!  I'm back in the groove, rested, relaxed and ready to stitch!  Happy Stitching!     

It's been a while...

I know I haven't updated in a while (for me that is) but it's been a little overwhelming here lately.  I'm not looking for sympathy, and I dearly love my friends and family, but for goodness sakes, give me a break!!!  I was going great guns with my stitching, but that all came to a screeching halt last week.  

My British friend and I usually exchange a combination of Birthday and Christmas gifts once a year.  This past year was so chaotic that we never got to exchange gifts until after the first of the year.  So...we decided to exchange in July from now own.  Ok, so I picked out a few things to send, then started stitching.  Since they are surprises, I've not posted pictures but then it looks like I'm not stitching...haha.  Anyway, I'm going to show a few snippets, nothing to show exactly all of what I'm stitching, just because I wanted to write something...haha.  Here are snippets of a few of the things I'm sending...

and this one is fully stitched...I'm throwing it in just for fun!  

Yesterday a former coworker and I got together as she had something she was selling and brought it to me.  We went to the thrift store afterward as she was looking for some lamps.  Never one to turn down a bargain...I began searching for things I can use for finishing.  I found a few things.  First off was this clock.  I have already removed the clockworks because I plan to use this as a frame eventually.  Despite what looks like damage, it is meant to look vintage.  Not sure I like the color, but I can always paint it.  

I also found all these frames of different sizes.  

And can you believe this poor needlework was just tossed aside...yes I had to rescue it.  I may use the frame for something else and make this needlepoint into an ornament instead.  (Not a fan of the purple mat).  

I found this lovely little jewelry box so I'm going to stitch something for the top and use it for myself.  I know it has a few "dings" but I think I have a pen that will cover them up...besides I like a little character.   

And I found these lovely little plates.  

All of this for $30.00!!  I haven't shown pictures of the Soed Idee Quaker SAL so here is where I am at the moment.  Part 12 has been published, but I've only finished part 11.  I'm hoping to get to that before the next part is published.  Wish me luck!  

Seems lately there has been a lot of craziness, late requests, running around and changed plans.  I'm a planner, so when things come at me out of the blue, I can only take rolling with the punches for so long.  Whew, had to get that off my chest.  My dearly loved husband has seen what it's doing to me, and has decided I need some time away, so he has organized a trip soon.  Whew...but here goes the "planning me" in action.  So much to do before we go...lol.  We spent all day Saturday making plans and reservations, no turning back now!  I'm excited to be going, and fortunately there is time to get my act together, but I know I'll be super busy until we are in the car ready to go.  I'll be near one of my favorite stitching shops, so there are lists to be made, and projects to organize and kit.  Is it time to go yet?  LOL!!  At least now I have something to look forward to instead of a mountain of things on my TO DO list.  So...if you don't hear from me for a while...don't panic.  I'll be back eventually...haha.  I'll try to take pictures, but I plan on just living in the moment.  Until then...Happy Stitching!      

It's a finish....and thank you!!

Hi Fellow Stitchers!  I sincerely want to thank you for answering my question last week.  I waffled for a while about the border and I had some very good suggestions...but I think I decided to leave the border off.   I still have her in the stitching frame while I ponder it some more but thought you'd like to see her where she is now.  I'm trying to decide if I like all the empty space around her head and shoulders, and I know that once she's framed I'll have to live with that decision...haha.  It took many hours to stitch in all those beads, there were over 400 of them throughout the pattern and each one is double stitched but didn't it just set that skirt off?  I started her on February 18th...so in a little over two months I finished her.  

I'll be back to working on a gift for someone, as well as trying to keep up with the Soed Idee SAL.  Part 11 was released last Saturday and it's another lovely motif...this has turned out to be such a beautiful Quaker, and because of the length and height of it, I think I'll make it into a pin drum.

Thank you for visiting and as always I enjoy reading your comments.  Happy Stitching!

Have a Blessed Easter

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; He has risen!"  Luke 24:1-6

I serve a risen Savior

Alfred Henry Ackley

I serve a risen Savior

He's in the world today

I know that He is living,

Whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy;

I hear His voice of cheer;

And just the time I need Him

He's always here.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and He talks with me 

Along lives narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart!

Almost there....and a question

Hi Fellow Stitchers!  Well, here I am at a cross roads.  I have finished most of the stitching (all of the stitching of the lady is finished) with only the "border" left to do.  That border has been on my mind since I began this project, and now that I'm nearly done, I don't know if I should stitch that or not.  I'm sincerely looking for other's thoughts about this.  

The border is done in metallic threads and beads.  I'm not sure I would like that combination...so I could stitch with just the metallic thread...and skip the beads...OR I could just eliminate the border all together.  What are your thoughts?  Otherwise, all that is left to do are the beads on the bottom of her skirt.  There are A LOT of beads around the bottom of that skirt!  LOL  Beading always slows me down, but that's ok, it will just take me a long while to get them done.  Here is what she looks like right now...

I thought maybe you would like to see a little close-up of some of the beading.  The beads were kind of a tight squeeze since I'm doing this on 32 count...but I think her jewelry came out quite nice!  I even gave her a metallic needle...haha.  It's hard to see in this picture but if you click on it, I think it will enlarge it enough to see it.  

It's hard to believe I started this on February 18th!  Yup...I've only been working on her for 2 months.  Quite an accomplishment for me as these bigger projects usually cause me to burn out early on, then they sit on the back burner for a while.  But I challenged myself this year...and finished much earlier than I even hoped!  I need to do that with some UFO's I have hanging around here!!  Once I finish some "must dos" I think I will do just that!  I have one that I dearly love, but working on it gives me fits...lol.  I'll have to decide soon what I should work on next.  

Part 11 came out today for the Soed Idee SAL.  Once I finish all those beads at the bottom, I'll work on that.  I'll probably have to wait until next week though...We have an Orioles game tonight...Easter plans on Sunday...so I don't think I'll get to it very soon.  

Thanks for stopping by and offering an opinion about that border!  Till next time...Happy Stitching!   

Cue the creepy music....

I surely have a warped sense of humor...I hope this doesn't offend anyone...but I'm chuckling to myself here.  I have this thing about stitching faces last.  I once stitched a piece for my SIL that had the four faces of the main characters from the Wizard of Oz.  Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Lion and the Tin Man.  All of their eyes were very realistic...and as I finished one face after another, their eyes seemed to follow me, and it really creeped me out.  Since then, faces are always the last thing I finish...and so it is with The Romantic Stitcher.  I may even place the beads before I finish her face.  Anyway...as the hours wound down last night...I found myself at an awkward finishing point...The Romantic Stitcher didn't have a head.  Cue the creepy music...LOL!!  The closer I get to finishing, the more I can't put her down!  With only about 4,000 stitches to go I can't really leave her headless like this for much longer, I'm not sure what creeps me out more...  Anyway, here she is...wish me a speedy finish, won't you?  

Here's a little update on the Soed Idee Quaker Sampler SAL.  I really love this one too, and it's hard for me to wait to stitch the next part once it's been published.  Here is part 10 completed.  Only 3 parts left to go!

And that's all I have to show at the moment.  I won't be watching the girls this week, and in a way I'm relieved.  It's Spring Break and the daycare is closed...so the kids have each taken days off to stay with the girls.  Last Friday when Little Miss Sassy Pants was here, Miss Q was feeling a little off...and they eventually discovered she had a fever.  Sunday they took her to urgent care...and at a Dr appointment on Monday they discovered she had Hand, Foot and Mouth.  Poor little one, she hasn't eaten much and just feels miserable.  So they are staying home and isolated for now.  Let's pray the others don't get it.  Little Miss Q has sure had her share of issues since she arrived.  

Little Miss Sassy Pants was here on Friday, then again on Sunday.  Her eyes look wonderful now, though still showing a little redness from the surgery.  I'm thrilled for her!  We had loads of fun, but tired Pappy and me right out!  I'm kind of relieved we have a week to recuperate!  LOL!!  So on that note, I'll bid you a fond farewell until next time...Happy Stitching!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Don't worry!  I'm not really down...but it's a Monday and I'm kinda tired of rainy days...lol.  They do make me sleepy so I don't know how much I'll accomplish today but I'm determined to get something accomplished.  

I did get caught up on the Soed Idee Quaker SAL.  I am loving this pattern.  I find the motifs to be so unique and dainty...which makes this hard to put down once I get started.  I'm stitching this on 28 count Antique Ivory over 1 with Belle Soie Cranberry silk floss.  Here is where I am after completing part 9 on Saturday.  

I'm still making progress on The Romantic Stitcher by Passione Ricamo.  I'm stitching this on 32 count Natural over two.  Only a few thousand stitches until I'm finally off this skirt and onto the more interesting part of the pattern.  Last I checked I have completed almost 70%!  

I was all set to take one of my finished projects to the framer today, when I woke up to dark skies and rainy weather.  Not to mention it's not supposed to get out of the 40's today.  Yeah....I think it will be a very nice stitching and movie watching day!  Stay tuned though...I will get there sometime this week!  

I wanted to thank those who have been praying for Little Miss Sassy Pants.  She had a miserable weekend, poor wee lass.  While the Doctors said she did well and the surgery went well, we won't know for a while if the surgery helped with her lazy eye.  She had eye pain and a sore throat all weekend.  I haven't heard yet this morning how she's doing.  Hopefully she is better this morning.  Please continue to pray that the surgery worked and she doesn't have to go through this again!  

And on that note, I'm off to see about getting some stitching done.  I hope you are having a blessed day and have a great start to your week.  Happy Stitching! 

Friday Catch-up

Good Morning!  It's finally Friday...and this crazy week is almost over.  Today my dear Little Miss Sassy Pants is having surgery on her eye.  I'm praying everything turns out ok.  Thank you for those who have been praying, I will update when I know more.  We are hoping to see the family later on today.  

I have good news to report about The Romantic Stitcher!  I have finally finished stitching the white portion of her skirt....whew!  That seemed never ending!  Now just a little more of the blue area to the left and I'll be back to some more interesting part of the pattern.  According to Pattern Keeper I am over 60% finished so we are on the downward slope now!  I can't believe I've made it this far only 1 1/2 months into the piece!  I guess I have incentive as I have other things I really want to stitch.  As I suspected, I haven't been able to keep up my 500/day average though I came close last month.  I was able to stitch on average 472/day.  I've already failed so far this month...lol.  I was only able to put in a little over 300 yesterday as I had my annual eye exam and they dilated my eyes.  The bright light of my stitching lamp bothered my eyes so I had to wait until the evening until I could see well enough to stitch again.  Good news though...my eyesight hasn't changed enough to require new glasses and I still don't need glasses to drive...not bad for a soon to be senior citizen!  (I turn 65 in October).  Here is where I am as of this morning.  

Speaking of the eye doctor...while waiting for my eyes to dilate, a young mother walked in with a 3 yr old and a 9 month old in tow.  They sat next to me and I couldn't help thinking now much like my DIL and her little ones they were.  As I made cooing sounds to the littlest one, I saw out of the corner of my eye, the 3 yr old giving me the side eye.  Haha...so much like Little Miss Sassy Pants...she finally walked over and sat by me while we discussed the strawberries on her shirt....she could name all the colors and could count all 8 of them!  She was delightful and made me miss Miss A even more (I didn't have either of the girls this week...funny how only a few days away can make me miss they so much).  It made my day to see those little ones.  

I woke up to the sound of thunder this morning...and we had storms roll through yesterday too.  I've been praying for the folks out west as they have sure had some terrible storms with some loss of life.  I have always had a fear of tornadoes...so I always keep an ear out for weather updates.  I also have friends and family living in some of those tornado prone areas.  Stay safe my friends!  

We had a blast on opening day!  My knee cooperated until almost the very end of the day.  I'm thankful!!  Miss Q was good for most of the day, even slept part of the game with noise cancelling headphones on...and Little Miss Sassy Pants cheered along with the rest of us while the O's did their best and won the game!  It's always a great feeling to leave the ballpark with a win under their belt!  

Last, I have been throwing in a few little finishes as I've been going along.  I had this little oval frame and popped Joy by Gentle Pursuit Designs from the 2024 JCS Christmas Issue into it.  I started out putting it in a round frame but it just didn't look right...so this is where it lives now.  I enjoyed stitching this one!  All those specialty stitches are fun for me to do!  

I also found this fun frame to put He Loves Us (a freebie by Teresa Kogut for Easter).  It's not exactly what I was looking for, but I'm happy with the way it looks.

I'm also starting a gift for a friend.  We have decided to do our annual "swap" of Christmas/Birthday gifts in July.  I found a pattern I think she will like ... but I won't be showing it on here until she has it in her hands.  I'm hoping I can put enough stitches in Romantic Stitcher that I can work  on this one afterward.  So much to do...so little time!  

And on that note, I'm off to get some stitching done!  I hope you all are safe from the storms, and enjoying the spring (or fall) weather, wherever you are.  Stay safe, and Happy Stitching!  

Happy Opening Day!

The guys have been talking about today for a couple of weeks now!  It's Opening Day in Baltimore for the Orioles today!  We have tickets (kind of a tradition since Ben was little) and it's always a celebratory atmosphere in Maryland (if you're on O's fan, that is).  Even little Miss Sassy Pants is excited (she loves her Birds!!).  I'm writing now, as I know later today I'll be exhausted.  The sun is shining but we are expecting storms, so there's no telling how long this day will be, and if I know my guys (and I'm pretty sure I do) they will stay until the last out is called.  I'm hoping my knee cooperates as well as the weather...so we'll see.  Here is a past picture of us on Opening Day many years ago.  

It's also the last day of the month...so I thought I would recap a little of what I've done this month in stitching.  Some days it feels as though I'm not really accomplishing much so I thought (mainly for my own encouragement) I would post before and after pictures of what I've been able to stitch this month.  First up is Romantic Stitcher.  I think by number of stitches I'm about half way through the pattern.  That's so encouraging!  Here is where I started this month...  

And here is where I finished up last night...  

I've also been working on the Soed Idee Quaker SAL.  Here is where I started on the first day... 

and here is where I finished up part 8 on Saturday.  

That is all that has been published so far.  The new parts come out on Saturday on their website.  I also threw in a little Christmas Ornament that is the April JCS Ornament challenge piece.  

Stitched on 36 count mystery fabric over two, this is Joy by Gentle Pursuit Designs from the 2024 JCS Christmas Issue.  I wasn't sure I would like it, but after it was finished I thought it turned out quite nicely!  I love all those specialty stitches!  

So I guess that's all that I have to share for now.  I hope I still have time to stitch today, I have stitched 1125 days in a row. I would hate to break my streak now!  LOL  I hope you are having a fabulous day whatever you put your hand to...and enjoy your stitching!