Change of Plans…

It's been a wild ride around here lately!  We've spent a lot of time with our granddaughters and their parents, but it's all fun.  I've not had as much time to stitch lately, but I did manage to work on some smaller things in between the chaos.  Poor little Suzy Q has been sick lately so things have been a little crazy.  We had Miss Sassy Pants here for a sleep over on Saturday night.  We camp out in the living room when she comes to stay so we had a little gymnastics before bed (those air mattresses make quite a trampoline...haha) and she slept like a dream!  

I finally got to the frame shop over the weekend and the framer there was very accommodating.  She was amazing finding frames and we found the perfect frame for each project in my humble opinion.  The stretching took a little while and imagination but she allowed me to stretch them and I brought them back to her the next day.  With a wing and a prayer I'll have them back in time to enter them in the fair.  

I finally fully finished two of the pages of Let Freedom Ring and set it aside so I could finish off a few things.  I'll probably get back to it once the craziness settles down.  I like to keep a few smaller projects going on the side so when it does get crazy like this, I can pick up something quick and go if I need to.  Today may be one of those days as I got a text last night to be on stand by today in case Mr. B needs an extra hand with the girls.  I may have both of them tomorrow while Mr. B has a doctor's appointment.  So let's see, here is where I left off with Let Freedom Ring.  I did fully finish two pages and started on the third.  There are 15 pages all together and my thought was to fully finish two a month.  I know I'll finish long before July of next year, but that's ok, perhaps I'll actually have it framed and on the wall by then.  We shall see!  Here is where I left off.  

I decided to pick up Gather Butterflies series by Hands on Design and see about finishing off the summer set of three.  I had the first one stitched already.  I finished the second one and have started on the third.  The way my luck has been going lately, I'm not sure when I'll finish up the third and final one of the series but I'm hoping I can do it today.  If so, I'll fully finish them and get them up on my mantle.  Here are the two I've recently been working on.  First up is Greenhouse Butterflies.  All of these series have been stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Smoke over two.  

These work up very quickly!  I'm looking forward to getting them all fully finished and safely tucked away to swap out for the different seasons.  And here is where I left off with Gather Butterflies.  

The lettering is done over one and looks so delicate, I love how these are turning out!  I think I'll go back to working on Merry Christmas letters after this.  With a little luck I'll have them all finished by the end of next month.  

I guess that's all the news that's fit to print.  I hope you all are safe from the storms and heat here in the US.  It's been quite a summer with all the crazy weather.  We had a lovely reprieve from the heat yesterday but there are more wicked weather coming our way for the weekend.  Hopefully I can get some errands run so I can stay put over the worst of the storms.  I hope you all are able to do the same.  Take care!  And Happy Stitching!   

Chilling out

Hi everybody!  I'm not sure what's going on in my head these days.  Maybe it's the atmospheric upheaval (we've had some tremendous thunder and lightning storms complete with tornado warnings and flash flooding here in our state), maybe the planet itself is in upheaval (so many volcanos erupting and earthquakes happening in places that have been relatively dormant for a while) but it seems that things are chaotic in the world right now.  I've had to turn the news off completely during the day.  

I also spent a few hours with my son and his girls on Tuesday while he waited for someone to come and take care of a bees nest in the yard.  They turned out to be bald faced wasps....I've had one sting me once...ouch!!  I helped with the girls while he dealt with the bee guy and then we went out for lunch.  Driving to the restaurant reminded me of all the long car rides taking him to scouts or youth group and the wonderful conversations we used to have.  I like the man he has become.  A Dr. once asked me how I liked being a mom.  I said I loved it, that I enjoyed every stage he went through.  She told me she never heard anyone say that about their child.  I guess he is an exception to the rule.  He was an only child, but always had a presence about him that drew people in.  I called him a people magnet...haha.  I guess we did spoil him a bit, but he never acted like a spoiled child.  And his oldest daughter is just like him...just a joy to be around.  Spending time with them just made the world seem like a  better place.  I'll forever be thankful for my family.  

I've been working on Let Freedom Ring and am very close to having a second page finish.  I'll be working on that again today, once I'm ready to sit and stitch.  

But, I had a Christmas ornament I had to finish for this month, so I pulled that out and worked on that for a couple of days.  Yesterday I finished stitching Friendly Joy by Needle Bling Designs.  It's stitched on 40 Nova over two.  I think he turned out quite cute, though a little bigger than I'm used to.  Now to decide how to fully finish him.  

And here he is finished!  I added a couple of buttons to fill in the gaps of the round frame.  I like how he turned out!

I think I'll work on a few other finishes today.  Since I feel a little calmer my creative juices might just come out to play...I hope!  Ms. Mouse helped me with a pin drum a while back (I haven't posted pictures yet because I'm hoping to fix a couple of mistakes I had with it...let's hope I don't make it worse!...lol) and if I can fix that today, I'll be back soon with an update on my finishing.  Cross your fingers (I can't because I'll be needing mine) that the plans in my head work well.  Haha!  

I hope you're having a great day, accomplishing a lot of stitching, keeping cool in this crazy heat, and feeling chill like me today!  Happy Stitching! 

LFR update

Just thought I should check in with y'all.  (Y'all?  Where did that come from?)  Well things did not go as planned this weekend.  I wasn't feeling too well, so begged off going to the Orioles game on Saturday.  It was Hawaiian shirt night give-away and it's a yearly tradition with the O's.  We rarely get there in time to get one, but this year the kids and Mike got there in time.  The kids were so kind to give me one of theirs!  I'll have to take a picture of it one day so you can see.  I think I have another one from a few years ago...they are just fun to wear!  Mike rode into Baltimore with them, and when Little Miss Sassy Pants saw the ballpark, she did a fist pump and said, "Yeeeesssss!!".  She loves her baseball!!  From the sounds of things, Little Miss Suzy Q did what her sister did at her age, and slept through most of the game...haha.  She's going to love those games like we all do!  It's such a fun outing for the family...I'm so sorry I missed it.  Sunday we had plans to go to the Christmas in July Craft Fair at the Howard County Fairgrounds, but again, I didn't feel up to it.  There were a few scattered showers going on as well, so I'm not really sad about missing it.  I love going to the one in November, the weather is much cooler then too.  So hopefully I'll make up for it then.  So what does a person do when they are stuck at home missing all the fun?  Well, I cross stitch of course!  As you know I've been working on Let Freedom Ring by Lila's Studio.  My first thought for this SAL was to stitch two full pages a month for the first couple of months, with hopes of finishing it off by July 4, 2026.  I must say, it's difficult to put down!  LOL   Here is where I left off last night.  

There are so many lovely parts to this pattern, I really enjoyed the horse drawn carriage.  Then I started the building.  With page 15 completed, I'm nearly at completion of page 14, but in my wandering through the pattern, I have decided to finish off the tops of the building on pages 9 and 10.  It's pretty concentrated stitching, but it's fun putting the windows together, the little archways, and the trees.  I love the little eyelet stitches, it's just so hard to put down.  

On Saturday night, though, the fever was a little worse, and I just couldn't concentrate, so I picked up a little Christmas ornament I had scheduled for this month.  This is Friendly Joy by Needle Bling Designs from the 2024 JCS ornament issue.  This is the July pattern for the JCS SAL that I participate in each year.  I'm stitching it on Nova 40 ct. over two.  So cute, but ALOT of stitching in his face!  Haha...so even though I spent a good portion of Saturday stitching on him, I'm nowhere near getting him finished off!  

Little Miss Suzy Q has an appointment today, so Little Miss Sassy Pants will be visiting for a couple of hours.  I'm looking forward to getting some hugs and "Oh, Gigi" comments from her.  Haha.  I usually do or say something to get that response.  She still thinks I'm funny with my old fashioned sayings (a friend of mine used to call them "Debbie-isms").  I learned them from my Grandmother and after hearing them over and over, I guess they just stuck.  I wonder if Little Miss Sassy Pants will continue on the tradition?  We will see.  

So I guess that's all the news.  I don't expect to get much stitching in today or tomorrow.  I've been asked to help wrangle the girls tomorrow while they have some work done around their house.  I really need to get a haircut sometime soon, I'm beginning to look like the wild woman from wooley (as my mother used to say) and at my age, longer hair is looking a bit ridiculous on me...haha.  So here I go.  I hope you are having a wonderful day, and here's to getting lots of stitching in whatever project you are working on today!  Take care!

Let Freedom Ring

I almost have a page finish for Let Freedom Ring, and hopefully by tonight I will have one!  While my plans aren't working out quite like I planned, I'm enjoying the stitch!  Here is a progress picture.  

The weather has been hot, Miss Sassy Pants has an ear infection and her Dad has Strep throat.  I'm a little under the weather myself...ugh...I hope this heat breaks by Saturday, we have an Orioles game to go to!  I'm hoping things improve soon!  Happy Stitching! 

America 250 SAL

I have been asked by a couple of different people to participate in a Stitch-a-long (SAL) celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States.  How exciting to be around for this special celebration!  Many have chosen a large project to stitch through the year to finish in time for the 4th of July next year.  I decided to join in, and chose Let Freedom Ring by Lila's Studio.  

I started two days ago, and started from the bottom right.  There are 15 pages in the pattern, so my hope is to finish about a page and a half each month.  I found the middle of the bottom, and worked right until I reached the edge, then started working upwards.  Once page 15 is finished, I will work across the bottom until I reach the other side, the double back to page 14.  I'm using 36 count Classic Homespun hand dyed fabric and working with one strand over two.  I'm loving it so far!  Here is where I left off after two days of stitching.  

This is such a lovely pattern!  If you plan on joining in, folks are using the hashtag #america250sal.  Why not choose a pattern and join in?  Or, choose several and stitch the year through.  Either way, it's a great way to leave an heirloom to mark this special time in our lives.  

We had a lovely time with family on the 4th watching the fireworks and just hanging out.  I snapped this sweet photo of the girls.  It's hard to put into words the relationship these two have.  Miss Q's face lights up when she sees Miss Sassy Pants, and Miss Sassy Pants loves to hug and sweet talk to her sister.  They are just too cute!  

I hope you were able to enjoy celebrating our nation's birthday.  Please consider joining in the SAL...and Happy Stitching!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!

 I put the first few stitches in Let Freedom Ring today, and I think I'm going to enjoy stitching this!  

I hope you all enjoy whatever activities you are doing to celebrate.  Stay safe!  We will be spending the evening with the kids and we look forward to seeing Little Miss Sassy Pants who I hear is feeling much better today.  I'll be stitching until we gather with them.  Happy Stitching, and God Bless America!

Stars and Stripes Stacker

Well...I was hoping to have it ready by the 4th of July...but I just ran out of time.  The good news is that I finished stitching it...yippee!  Reading through the instructions left me massively confused.  So...I went to the only person on my list of friends who would have a clue what I'm stressing over and might give me some answers...I put Ms. Mouse on the case.  I won't be able to work on it any time soon, as I have a lot of things happening in the next few weeks, but hopefully soon!  

There are 6 panels in each "round".  The largest ones took the longest.  Because there are so many, I grouped them together.  If you click on the picture it will take you to a larger picture if you want to see more of the detail.  Here is the bottom... the largest round.  

Here is the middle or medium round.  

Here is the top or smallest round.  

I just couldn't resist when I saw it, I just had to stitch him!  I hope I'm able to fully finish him.  Hopefully he will be ready for the big celebration next year.  

It's been a crazy day.  I won't go into details,  just know, poor Little Miss Sassy Pants wasn't feeling good today so made a trip to Urgent Care.  Hopefully she will be feeling better soon.  No fun being sick over the holidays.  We spent some time with her little sister who is turning into a little fire cracker just like her big sister.  They are really going to have their hands full when she starts crawling/walking.  

I'm off to start Let Freedom Ring tomorrow.  I can't wait, but in the meanwhile I needed something to stitch today.  I gathered up supplies to stitch Friendly Joy from the 2024 JCS Ornament Issue but the few stitches I have put in are not getting me too excited.  I may have to switch fabric.  Off to see what I'm going to do with the mess I created.  I hope you are having a good day, stay cool and safe!  Happy Stitching!