The Witch is Back....from the framers, that is. Plus stash and WIP pics!

I got my beautiful witch framed and picked her up last weekend. They do such a nice job at In Stitches. I think the frame is perfect for her. As much as I love Halloween, she'll stay out of the main area until next year.

Spooky Hollow by WTNT

While I was at the shop, I just had to pick up Away We Ride and Paper Snowflakes.  I got the last copy of Away We Ride, and why did I feel so good snapping that up anyway?  :-P

I already owned Poinsettia House, but I wanted to get the gorgeous floss while I was there. I think this might be my next project to work on!

Isn't that pretty? I love it. Here is my progress on that sweet Snowflower Diaries Haunted House from last time.  I've been busy and my plans to finish that before Halloween didn't exactly pan out.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween and is gearing up for Thanksgiving. This was the first year my son didn't dress up! He had homework to do and was busy playing online with a friend. Maybe next year (says a hopeful mom!). :) It is time for hot chocolate, sweaters, twinkle lights in windows, and short days. Also for cold, crisp clear nights that seem so much better for seeing stars and appreciating the beauty of the night. I feel so lucky to live in a state where we experience the four seasons so wonderfully. Sometimes we have a dud of a winter with some 70 degree days scattered in there, but sometimes we have a really great winter with snow and cold. Winter just seems suited for stitching and I really plan to get more done than the earlier part of this year.

We also celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary last week!  Boy, where did that time go?  Crazy.  Not a feat to be taken lightly!  I can't say enough good things about my husband, truth be told.  We have had up times, down times, and up times again.  It's been a ride for sure, but we laugh most every day and for that, I'm so thankful.  Life is really good right now and we're enjoying it fully.


Take care, and until next time...
 

Summer Stuff

I tend to think of Summer as ending in August. So, by my standards Summer is almost over. I know it runs until mid/end of September, but September 1 is the beginning of Fall in my mind. With that, my thoughts are quickly turning from Summer activities to ones carried out in cooler weather. How about you? In my sidebar to the right, you'll see I've had Shepherd's Bush "Green Snowman" as a WIP, shamefully, for a LONG time. I can't believe I haven't updated to show him finished. Not framed yet, but still-he's finished. He wasn't as much fun to work on as the Red Snowman, but I do love him nonetheless. That green fabric just doesn't translate well to a photo.  Tried it many times!

So, there he is, all finished up. As I mentioned earlier this year in a post below, I'd like to try the Gray Snowman too. This time last year, I made learning to crochet and knit a goal of mine. Work keeps me away from crafting a good portion of the year, but I do have summers off, so I picked it up again this summer and I've done pretty well! Going slow, but I'm really enjoying it. Forgive all the loose ends not worked in yet, but here's a couple examples of what I've been up to.

As if I don't have enough trouble keeping my stitching supplies organized, now I have yarn too! But you know, that's a good problem to have, now isn't it? :) My boy turned 17. Impossible I say, because I've not aged one day since he was born. ;)

Elizabeth Stone said "Making the decision to have a child-it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." When I take that statement in, I wholeheartedly agree. He is my heart. Love that kid. This (Aug 26th) will also be the last "first day" of high school for my son. Every day I drive him to school will be the last of them. This time next year, he's off to college somewhere and I'll be seeing him much less. I think college is a good transition for kids. I got married early and never had that transition time, so I'm glad he will.

It has been a busy and sometimes overwhelming year so far. Though my work is set to start up again, I again make a promise to myself to stitch more. I have let so many things slip by the wayside. Fall is a time of renewal for me. Lots of cleaning out, physically and mentally. My husband knows he has to gear up and have lots of trash bags at the ready, because I have a burning desire to lighten my load this time of year.

So, have you found Pinterest? Yeah. Me too. Probably one of the more valid and real reasons I haven't gotten much done this summer. It's wondrous, amazing, and lovely. It's also EVIL. :) I guess I should link my boards somewhere on my blog. I'll take a peek and see how others are doing that and most likely will do that myself too. So many blogs to catch up on! I'm excited to see what everyone is working on! I leave you with many wishes for a lovely remainder of summer!

Spooky Hollow Finish

Happy Valentine's Day! Let's see, I've not been back since November so a quick recap is in order. Thanksgiving was wonderful, went to my sis's house and visited with everyone-same for Christmas. She and her husband are great to host it for us. Wonderful company and food. My husband lost a friend of his in the line of duty on New Year's Eve. His loss will forever be felt by family, friends, co-workers, and the community at large.

On a lighter note, my son just took his ACT and is taking the SAT in March.  He's researching colleges, and I don't think we're ready for all this!  Yes, we knew it was coming, but it really sneaks up on you, doesn't it?  YIKES.

Otherwise, we've just been working and doing some cleaning out and fixing up of our little house. Just some repainting, etc. at this point. It'll be good to get it all done. Speaking of all done-I finished Spooky Hollow without the border. Yes, I did say that I wanted to finish it properly. But guess what? I'm taking a page out of a fellow stitcher's book and saying "I didn't do it and I don't feel guilty either!" LOL. Think of me what you will (you're probably right, whatever it is!). I looked at that border and thought "Do I really want to spend time stitching this??!" The overwhelming answer was
"NO!".

Spooky Hollow

With Thy Needle and Thread

28 ct. Picture This Plus Mello

Regular DMC floss

So, there we go.  All done.  Now I'm finishing up the Shepherd's Bush Green Snowman-he's over there to the right in my sidebar.  He's nearly done.  Have you seen the new Gray Snowman?  Oh, I think I'm going to have to have him!

Isn't he adorable?  And I love that little house too! All of those snowmen are so cute.  I think I need blue and purple as well.

We put a bird feeder up, so I'll leave you with a pretty pic of one of my favorite birdies.

 Until next time,