Hello September!

 I haven't been cross stitching, but I did have a good summer! I take that back. I did do a few stitches on my Moon and Stars from LHN, but not enough to even post a pic. I've been doing some other things, not the least of which was making enormous headway in cleaning out closets, cabinets, garage and shed. Every end of summer, beginning of fall, I feel an overwhelming need to clear out and clean up. Not just material things, but mentally as well. This year is no different!

We had summer vacation in July at Ocean City, MD, as we usually do. I broke TWO toes the week before vacation. Did that stop me? Nope. Of all the times we have gone to the shore, I never seem to take a sunrise or a sunset for granted. There is just something so spectacular about seeing the sun come up and go down. Granted, I'm easily entertained, but it truly is a bit of magic in the everyday.

Got a great pic of my son sitting on the beach and my husband waving hello as he comes in. I love this shot.

August was nice. Our weather hasn't been too awful hot and the rain has been to a minimum. I took the opportunity before I went back to work to do some crocheting.

This one is called the Cloudburst Shawl, and you can find it on Ravelry. It's super easy and free, if you would like to try your hand at crochet. I made two of them because the pattern was so nice.

This is my second year keeping up with Project Life. I absolutely love it. LOVE IT. I can't tell you how important it is to record your memories and take photos. Print them out. Enjoy them. Share them. It's worth it. This is just a small example of a spread from July. I do 6x8 Project Life. The larger size just put me off and I was never able to fill it up it seemed and I would stop doing it. The smaller size just clicks with me and I look forward to working on it. Doesn't take too much time and is really enjoyable for me.

I also turned 49 in August. That's A-O-K by me! I love being here. It's a wonder to be in this world and get to enjoy all the things I enjoy, have the family that I do, and live the little life I have here with them. I'm going to approach this coming year as I do so many others-with gratitude, appreciation, and love. It's a good way to go.

I hope everyone is up to something good and enjoying the few days left of summer. Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, comes on September 23rd this year. That means celebrating harvests, and enjoying lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and grains. I think of apples and pumpkins automatically! I'm looking forward to all things Autumn! I want to cook more, and that's one of my goals for this upcoming harvest season.

Until next time,

Moon and Stars, Stash, and Thanks Mom!

I have a brief stitchy update. My last day of work for summer was this past week and now I can concentrate on getting some things worked on and finished. I've not gotten very far on my Moon and Stars by LHN.  And let me apologize now for the crappy photos.  My good DSLR camera is out for repairs.

I am enjoying working on it however! Such pretty colors in this one. Recently, I purchased an out of print chart from The Cottage Needle, on Etsy. It's called "Witch" and I do believe it's one of the very last charts that Lisa Roswell, of The Primitive Needle, created. I think of her often. I love this chart. Seriously, it fits me to a "T", right?

It came with some really pretty fabric too, but oh, what a small thread count on that linen. I may have to swap it out for something else.  I'm only soon to be 49, but my eyesight is NOT what it used to be. I broke down last year and got some magnifying glasses if you can believe that. I have no idea what's going on with that, but I don't like it. I miss my youthful vision. But I'll do whatever I have to in order to keep stitching, hence the magnifiers. Between that and the gray hair---well, that's a post best left to a later date.

With Mother's Day coming up, I want to thank my mom. I have so very many things to thank her for. She has always been there for me and my family, in far too many ways to tell in this blog post. She also introduced me to crafting when I was very young. She taught me to crochet, embroider, needlepoint, and indulged me in so many crafty endeavors. I loved getting drawing and coloring supplies, potholder kits, rug hooking kits, macrame, little leather sewing kits, beads, and so many other things. I was never at a loss for something creative to do. Not ever.

She also gave me the gift of reading enjoyment. She never censored or refused a book for me. When I was growing up, it was not uncommon for my mom, sister and I to head out to the drugstore at 9 or 10pm on a weekend night and scour the books and magazines (and makeup!). Gosh, we loved that. I was always an avid reader, and still am. My Nook is stuffed with books, as are my physical bookcases. I could spend an entire day in a bookstore and not bat an eyelash about it.

My mom also instilled in me what it means to BE a mother.  Raising my son, and having him in my life has been so wonderful.  I love being his mom.
  
For this and more---much much more, I thank you Mom! You are the best. Truly.

 

Until next time,

A New Start! (and can you help identify a pattern please?)

The weather is warming up here and it's just gorgeous! It inspired me to actually start something new, which is LHN's Moon and Stars. I'm a sky watcher and a moon lover, so this one has always appealed to me. Last summer, I stopped in to Salty Yarns while on vacation to get the fabric and the floss. It uses Crescent Colors and they are a dream to stitch with and so pretty! 

LHN Moon and Stars-28 ct. Ice Blue Linen

 

I'm off to a pretty good start if I do say so myself!

Does anyone know who makes this sweet little chicken alphabet sampler? I found this image on Pinterest, and I love it, but I have no idea who designed it. And I apologize in advance for posting someone else's photo-but I was unable to gather an identifying info at all. Any help is much appreciated!

I hope Spring is treating everyone well. Plants are coming up, trees are blossoming and leaves are beginning to unfurl. I have been without leaves for long enough and I'm ready to see all the green I've been missing! The cherry tree blooms only last a short time so I was lucky to get a good photo this year of mine.

Until next time,

Hell Hath Frozen Over My Friends!

OK, it truly has frozen over. Not only do I have a follow up post sooner than my usual three months, but I have finished another project!

Snowflower Diaries - 28 ct. Linen - DMC flosses

  

That is all!

Spring Is Here, Woodlawn Stash, Halloween Finish

Folks, spring arrived and as usual, it snuck up on me. We had plenty of snow to deal with last month. I feel bad posting about it because many many more people had some horrific snowstorms.

We had one day that was really blizzard-like. It's nice to be working inside and watch all the pretty snow falling and not have to go anywhere! Days like that make me very happy to work from home.

My mom and I went to Woodlawn on 3/19. We try to go every year. It's a fun tradition to have. It means a great deal to me to spend times like that with my mom.  She's a wonderful woman and we always laugh and have things to gossip talk about.

If you go to Woodlawn, you have to follow it up with a trip to In Stitches.  The exhibit was great, but there were quite a few less items than in years past. One room was entirely closed. I always tell myself I'll enter something, but then never do! I did manage to pick up (thanks Mom!) all the new Blackbird Designs Beatle's tribute patterns and a couple others. Patterns are so expensive anymore, aren't they? Here's what I picked up:

I also bought a little pair of Kelmscott scissors, but my fingers don't even fit in them due to the design of the scissors. This is the second pair I've gotten like this. I guess many of them are just for decorative purpose and not for using. I'll think twice before I get a cute pair of them again, even though I love the designs. These are the ones I got and the acorns make it near impossible to use. They scraped up my thumbnail pretty good!

Here's my recent finish. It's Homespun Elegance, A Halloween Year II, October House.

I don't know why, but I'm not real happy with my stitching on this one.  One thing I really like about it, is that it's DONE.  I can't wait to move on to something else now.

I'm going to leave you with a terrible photo of the amazing Moon. I'm a nature and a sky watcher. Sunsets, sunrises, clouds, stars and Moon-it all just seems so magical to me. This was taken just a few days ago, and the clouds flowing by were the most amazing shades of pink and white. Just beautiful.

I'll be back soon with more projects and a new start!  Now, what to choose, what to choose?  I've no shortage of things waiting for me, that's for certain! 

Updates and Thoughts on a New Year

We had a nice Fall. A really nice Fall. We enjoyed some of our favorite things and took the time to do a few new things too. Our annual trip to Belvedere Farms was lovely. The morning we went, we had wonderful weather and though it rained later in the day, we had nothing but beautiful skies and warm weather. Sure, there were pumpkins and other totems of fall, but those weren't what caught my eye this year.

My husband and I love to go to King's Dominion every Halloween. Again, we had exceptionally beautiful weather and an enormous amount of fun. We're kids at heart during this special time of year.

I actually finished that Halloween bunting and it turned out great.

Work was nutty, but Thanksgiving was good. Christmas was good, but I'm glad it's over. Does that make sense? I'm going to be doing a few things differently next year.  How can one go from calm and serene to harried and hurried so quickly?

My son has been home for nearly a month, and it's been very nice. He's going back to school tomorrow and be well on his way to finishing his first year of college. Kind of unbelievable.

 I completed a major goal in 2014. I kept up with and finished a year of Project Life. Don't know what that is? You can check it out HERE. I had that as a goal for the past two years! I found that scaling back to a 6x8 album was the ticket for me. I'm so proud of it! Last year was such an important year for all of us and I wanted to record it. Well, my husband and son look at it all the time, and they looked at it all year long while I was working on it. That lets me know it was a good thing to do. I'm planning on doing it again this year too. Snapped up another core kit today and my album should be here soon. If you haven't checked it out, please do. It's a worthwhile endeavor. And easy peasy.

 Do you have goals for this year? I do. I plan to review them each month to keep them fresh in my mind and keep my attention on them. Not the least of those goals is to do more stitching. Last year was pitiful in that regard. But in my defense (do I need one?) there was a LOT happening! And it was all good. So, I guess I can't be too hard on myself there.

I'm starting out this year, as I did last year, in a state of immense gratitude. We all have losses, and I have had many over the past 10 years. However, I have so so so much to be grateful for, and I am. Those are the things I do my best to focus on. I want to live in a state of greatfulness and positivity. Sometimes it's hard, but I have such a wonderful life and such loving family...seems like such a waste to even think about what I don't have. It creeps in periodically. But that's when I kick myself in the ass and meditate for a few minutes. :)

More love, more understanding, more music, more photos, more fun, more creativity. And to that end, remember this:

Hopefully, I'll have a stitchy update soon (I'm dying to try my hand at embroidery too!), but until then,