Pineberry Lane Oct 31 finish!

I finished this one last night. Just a few days beyond Halloween, but a finish nontheless!

This was a really fun stitch! Don't know if I'll make the pocket for it, but I'll either do that or frame it. It'll be ahead of the game for next Halloween!

We were threatened with tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms on Halloween night, but amazingly, it held off until after all the kids (over 700!) were done TOT'ing.

And Halloween wouldn't be complete without some Halloween food. I made turkey chili, mummy dogs, and skull cakes.

The weather is turning proper chilly and I love it. I love all the seasons, and I'm so fortunate to live somewhere where there is a clear demarcation in the seasons. Fall is my favorite and it's in full swing!  See you soon with a new start!

Until then,

Oh the Miles! now framed and ready to go!

My framing disappointment is replaced with joy! I took the advice of a nice lady on the Prim Stitcher's Society facebook group and used a piece of cotton batting under my fabric to smooth everything out and make it look nice. Prior to that, no matter how I tried, the puckering wouldn't subside. My hand still hurts from doing all the pinning, but it was worth it! (oh, what LOOKS like puckers are actually those darn shadows and reflections--believe me, it's all smooth!)

Viola!

This was only my second attempt at pinning my own piece and making it work. I think I did OK! It helped my confidence to do this, and I'll be trying it again on the next thing I have framed, whatever that is!

I hope everyone is having a great stitchy week! I can say that with this off my "to do" list, I am feeling much better. Now I have to just finish that little crochet lamby I'm working on, and my kitchen table is mine again.

Until next time,

Thistles and Spells is DONE!

She's finally finished! Don't know why I said "finally" as this one hasn't actually taken that long. I'd have been done a few weeks ago if not for the little crochet lamb I got sidetracked with!

We are enjoying a break in the horrific heat we'd been dealing with and it's lovely. You can feel the seasonal shift, and we quietly move into my favorite time of year! Time for cleaning out, organizing, and setting goals. This is the time of year I focus on those things quite a bit. I've downloaded a few books I need to read and I want to accomplish some other goals as well.

I'll be back pretty soon I think, as I ponder what chart to take up next and gather some stash for sharing. I need to get my craft room cleaned up and organized. We've been here two years now and it's the one place that isn't fully taken care of yet.

Enjoy the outdoors if you can! Until then,

Pineberry Lane Hurrah is DONE!

Another finish! She turned out too cute!

Not quite sure what I'm going to start next, but maybe the Flag Folk by Notforgotten Farm. I'll see. I have so much to choose from. That is a wonderful problem to have.

We did absolutely nothing for the 4th and it was great. It rained here most of the day and the kids set off some fireworks in the back yard. Pretty nice too! They enjoyed it, that's what matters.

Until next time,

A La D Da Finish!

He's finally finished! I'm pretty pleased. I left out the dots because I'm too ocd about my stitches and I, 1) didn't want to carry the floss over large distances and 2) also did not want to do so many singular stitches.  LOL. So here he is.

It'll be a gift for my mom for her birthday, after I get it framed.

Now I just need to pull out Hurrah and finish that too. I can't really say I'm on a roll, but for me, this is a roll. I'm stitching one project after another and have been for more than a year now, and that makes me very happy. With everything else that has gone on, it's been a wonderful stress reliever and I love the feeling of accomplishment it gives me.

My boy turned 23! We had a little (very little) gathering at our house and got him his favorite cake from Olive Garden. Pay no mind to the huge chunk that came off as I unboxed it.

I'm really proud of this kiddo. Hard to believe so many years has gone by. Truly. Where did it go? What have I done with myself in the meantime? All I can say is my mom was right when she said "it'll go by so quick you can't believe it". As the mom of a two year old, I thought "RIGHT, lady. I cannot wait for these twos to be over with!" But now, I would almost give anything to have that time back again.

You never realize the last time your little boy cuddles on your lap or gives you a mushy kiss right on the lips. You never know the last time of anything they do as they grow. All you know is it doesn't happen anymore. And it makes me sad I didn't realize the last time would be the last time, you know? Such is SO much of life! It can be said for anything, really. But he's a lovely young man, and doing great.

Age 2 and 23 in OC MD

Father's Day was low key-we did nothing. My son and my husband worked over at my mom's house getting her yard together. It was much appreciated too.

I'll sign off with a gorgeous double rainbow captured after a storm last week here. I caught it just in time too!

Have a great week and I'll be back soon with a stitch update on Hurrah! Until then,

She is DONE!

I finally finished her! I think it came out great. I redesigned the pup to my match my sweet little Jenny, and I added a heart inside the quaker motif with her initials below it in teeny tiny backstitching. Speaking of which, I backstitched the pup in a really light beige, which makes her pop off the fabric a bit more. This is probably one of my favorite things I've stitched so far in my life.

SO CUTE! I can't even stand that doggie-it's too much!

And here is some stash I left out of my previous post. Some of the stash I've recently acquired have been things I'd been on the hunt for, for literally years! That La D Da pony? Yeah, that took years.  But he is mine now!

Well, that's it for now! I'm so happy I have another finish! I think the next thing I work on may be a Mother's Day gift for, oh, I don't know.....a special mom I might know of. I doubt I'll have time to finish the framing by Mother's Day, but that's OK!

Have a great week everyone and I hope you get lots of stitching time in!  Until then,

New Year, New Start, and Finishes!

Happy New Year! WOW, 2019, eh? Hmmm. I don't know if I'm ready, but it doesn't matter. It's here for the long haul.

My mother in law wound up having surgery New Year's Eve, and it went well. Hopefully, no more issues for them this year, and good health all around.

I have a finish! I finished The Giving Sisters, by Notforgotten Farm.

This was a very fun, but intense, stitch for me. I had suffered through many starts over two years so this was a big accomplishment. I thought they came out fantastic and while I may have misplaced a few stitches in the cauldron bubbles, I didn't stress over it. And I did all those single stitches as pin stitches, so no carryovers. Yay!

I have a new start too. I downloaded Goodflora Stitchwort's "Oh, the Miles!" It is the cutest thing! I'm going to change the doggy to reflect my own sweet Jenny (a little Jack Russell). This fabric is not pink, by the way. The lighting is WAY off here. It's a pale brownish.

I also got a serious case of crochet bug the past week. I saw a hat on Ravelry I just had to make. Now, it IS a baby hat, and NO, there is no baby to give it to, but I HAD to make this thing.  Just look!

Oh my goodness. This is one of the cutest things I've ever made in my life. I cannot take the sweetness! It is a quick stitch and I learned some new skills making it. The designer was so helpful and I mean seriously, just look at that!!!! I have it on my desk and can't stop looking at it and squeezing it, lol.

You may remember me raving over the Country Au Point De Croix book by Helen Wind. Well, for Christmas, my mom ordered me the other book, ABC Country by the same designer. The multitude of cute, primitive designs in these books is overwhelming! So many I want to stitch! Thanks Mom!

Our neighborhood was so gorgeous and festive in December. Christmas Eve I was not having a good day (I ate dinner at McDonald's for goodness sake), but I took myself for a drive around the village and seeing everyone's lights really lifted my spirits. I feel so lucky to be here.

Christmas Day wasn't complete without my in-laws here, but we had a dinner and a house full of guests and it was good. I can't say I'm sorry it's over thought, you know what I mean? I'm just so over all the commercial aspects and pressure buying that goes on.  I'd rather bake, take walks, learn something new, visit friends. All the money and buying---make it stop, please.

I'm going to leave with one more photo and link. I made a chicken and dumplings meal last night, and would love to share. It was so wonderful and easy.  Find the recipe HERE:

 It would be great on a snowy cold evening like we had last night. My husband made the actual dumplings while I was stirring and adding things to the pot and he did a great job!

Enjoy your week, and do some wintery things--go for a walk in the cold, light a favorite candle, take a hot bath, enjoy some tea, read on the sofa with cuddly blankets, or make a new comfort food recipe!