Who Will Join Me???

I missed adding new ornaments to my ornament tree this year. In year's past, I had done one ornament each month. I did this for several years. The past few years, I haven't done it.
That is going to change in 2013. I am going to go back to it!
I have gone thru the JCS ornament preview issue & the actual ornament issue. I have made a list of 20+ that caught my eye.
Here is my challenge to each of you....
Join with me in doing one ornament each month. Finish them as well as stitch them!!!!! I am guilty of stitching quite a few & not finishing.
At the end of the year, we will have 12 or more new ornaments to add to our tree....
How about it!?!?!
I have attached a picture of my ornament tree from this year!!!

My ornament tree

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hello fellow blogging & stitching friends,
I have probably forgotten how to update my blog! Seriously, since the beginning of November? Where does the time go????
I have been extremely busy, as have most if not all of you. My stitching time has been very limited & honestly, I hit a slump while working on that Halloween piece that I showed in my last post. So much so, that I just put it away & said I will finish it next fall.
I then had to find sweatshirts for my grandsons. Now, who would think that would be difficult? Well, when you need three the same, it gets difficult. I finally found these at Walmart. Got them ready to stitch & realized that the Thomas the Train patterns that I had chosen were going to be way to hard to do on waste canvas. So, off to the stash pile to find something different. I found this leaflet that I used for my kids when they were small. I think I did most every single one in the book. I have never done the same pattern three times thou!!!
I finished the last of them this morning!
I have decorated the house more this year than in the past few years. I figure the boys are almost 4 now, they should be able to leave stuff alone!!!!
I have to tell as story...I have been babysitting for my current family for over 10 years. I started when the oldest was only 2 months old. This will be my last year. The youngest will go to all day kindergarten in the fall. He & I went running errands last Friday. We looked at all the Christmas displays while out. He showed me the Christmas Villages at Lowes & Menard's. He loves them & that is his favorite thing at his house. I told his mom we looked & that she had created a monster. (I fell in love with them) Well, yesterday when she picked him up, she brought in a big package. She said I was to open my Christmas gift early. She had gone to Lowes & purchased the starter set for me!!!!!!!!!!!! It came with 4 buildings. She told her kids to each pick which building represented them. She said she wished she had 4 kids...one for each building. I told her the kids could each chose one & the church would represent the whole family....you see, they go to a school in their church & I take the boy to preschool each week! So, the kids each chose a building & the church represents the family. What a special, special gift this is!!!!
I have put the village scene up in my craft room, along with my stitching tree....the ornaments are all cross stitch on this tree.
We have our real tree in the living room and also a display at the bottom of the stairs with 2 tiny trees. The house looks so festive. It is going to look bare come January!

poor lighting, so I took two pix...yellow, blue, green

blue, yellow, green...again, poor lighting

Christmas Village lit up at night.

stitching tree

Live tree in living room

I have also been busy as can be making my yearly candy. I have a few types to go & they will all be finished....time to relax & enjoy the season!
Since I know I won't have any more finishes before Christmas, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

reviewing past two weeks!

Good morning all! Wow, it has been two weeks since I updated my blog. And when I post the picture of what I have gotten stitched, I have to laugh.....Shari, is that ALL you got stitched in two weeks!?!?!!?! Well, yes it is...
But...when I reflect on the past two weeks, I have many memories that were much nicer than sitting & stitching.
We had our grandsons here for 9 days. The first day, we just stayed around here & 'chilled' since they had driven 8 hours to get here....they were ready for a day to just play & relax at 'home'.
The next day, the weather was gorgeous....nice fall day. The farmer who does our property came to finish the field. I told the boys "let's go watch the farmer". We walked over to the edge of our yard....Farmer Dale saw us & said hi. I told him he was going to have an audience. He asked if they would like a ride. Oh my! Would they ever!!! So he got the combine ready & the 4 of us loaded in with him. He took us to the back of the field & back up to the yard. The boys loved it & that was the talk of the day. We stayed outside & played in the leaves, ran around the yard, generally had a blast!
The next day, our public library had what they called Halloween Spooktacular. The children could dress in their costumes & trick or treat at the different areas of the library. I didn't want to spend money on costumes, so I put them in their Thomas the Train shirts. They were the THOMAS LOVIN' TRIPLETS!!!!
Sat. papa was home with us. We had lots of company that day. Lots of relatives like to see the boys when they are at our house.
Sun. we went to church in the morning but the evening was our fun for that day! The local college has what they call Fall Fest. It is an alternative to trick or treat. They set up the rec center as a big game area. The theme was Take me out to the Ball Game. There were all sorts of games for the kids to play. After they played the game, they got to choose two pieces of candy out of the bowls.
Mon. & Tues. we stayed home, but had fun things to do. We learned how to play a game that took PATIENCE....waiting our turns! We learned more about our colors, our counting, etc...
We have kept an outfit that was their daddy's when he was little. My brother was stationed in Germany at the time. My parents went over to visit him. Between my brother & parent's, our son got an entire German outfit....the shorts, the shirt, the sweater & the socks. So one evening, we put it on each of the boys & had a photo session. (papa took pictures!)
We did a fun craft to feed the birds. Take an empty toilet paper roller. Coat it in peanut butter, then roll it in bird seed. Then, take it out & push a tree branch thru the hole in the roll.
We made 'spiders' out of hot dog chunks & spaghetti noodles. Put the noodle pieces in the hot dog chunks, then cook til noodles are done.
We had more company on Wed. We also carved a pumpkin before taking the boys to their other grandparents house that evening.
Yesterday, I caught up on my errands & house cleaning. Pet Smart opened here over the weekend, so I was excited to get in there & get Elmo a new toy.  He LOVES chew toys, literally!!!
I hope to catch up on some stitching now. The piece I have shown here was kitted up for me by one of the girls who came to my stitch in. I hope to finish it soon.....ready to switch seasons!

stitching progress?!?!?!!?!

Elmo & his new toy!

Give Thanks

I had a small Stitch-In here at my house a couple weeks ago. (two weeks this Sat) I decided to start a new piece that day, instead of try to work on one of my larger WIP pieces.
I had seen this one stitched by someone on the 123 message board & decided it would be a good one to do! So, first I pulled all of the flosses and then I switched out the 3 pumpkin colors for my Victorian Motto Sampler flosses. The rest are the called for colors. I used a piece of potato lugana that I had on hand.
The pattern is called Give Thanks & it is an older pattern by Katidid.
I love how this turned out & I want my husband to make a frame for it & then I will decide how to finish the frame.

relaxed Elmo (sorry...taken with my phone!)

Elmo is doing fantastic. Who would believe the differences between he & Dudley. Oh my!!!! We loved Dudley, but we are so much more comfortable with Elmo. He is a delight to have in the home & we are so thankful we found him. He has renewed our hope in rescue dogs!!!!!

Meet Elmo

We have a new furry friend in our home.
As my regular readers know, we had a new dog named Dudley....well, he did not work out....we gave it our best effort, but...
every single person who walked in here had to be scared for their lives. He tried to bite almost everyone. It started out, just men were his targets but the longer we had him, he started turning on women as well. I was the only person he seemed to like.
So, we made arrangements with the rescue we got him from to take him back. We told them the history of the three months that we had him. The foster mom assured us he would be assessed before they would relist him. We returned him on Monday night. By Friday night, he had been relisted. We are not happy. They are using this aggressive dog as a money making project....ok, that is our words, but it sure seems that way!!!!
Anyway, I started searching again. I found several that interested me, but this one stood out the most. I showed my husband the picture & he thought he looked like a good one too!
We made arrangements to go meet him yesterday. The lady had called while we were on the way down. He had somehow hurt his nose & she was worried that would bother us. I said we were half way there, we would continue to come. She felt so bad about it, she reduced his adoption price, incase I have to take him to the vet. I think it is healing well already..
Anyway, we knew almost immediately that he was a good fit. He LOVES my husband...that is a huge plus...he loved taking a walk with us...that is huge! He was very good with all the people around their house. neighbor kids, neighbor teen boys, her one year old boy, etc...
We said we would take him! He has done SUPER!!!! He fits right in....we are certain he is a keeper!
I guess I haven't said his name, other than in the post title. His name is Elmo & we are going to keep that his name. She said when they brought him into their rescue, her baby had just learned the word Elmo, so that is what they named him.
You can see his boo-boo in the pictures, but the scab is already gone, so he is healing up.

Sitting Elmo

Smiling Elmo

I am working on 2 projects, but really haven't done enough on one to show it & I want to finish the other before posting a picture.

Mr. Winston came for a Visit

and now he is heading home.
Thank you so much to Carol of Stitching Dreams for loaning me her Mr. Winston chart. I fell in love with him when she stitched him. She offered to let me borrow her pattern & I said PLEASE!
I tried to stitch him up as quickly as I could.....I do not like holding onto other people's possessions for a long time.
I really enjoyed stitching this guy...he is just too cute. I used the called for flosses, except for his coat. That one is a floss from Victorian Motto Sampler.
I am attaching an extra picture........I took Mr. Winston outside to try to get a good picture of him & the fabric he is done on....and what did I see where I took the picture?!?!!?

Mr. Winston, close up

Mr. Winston loves my mums!

See anything in this picture?

Have a great week & happy stitching!!

Word Play frame finished!

My husband just brought my finished frame upstairs for me! I came up with this idea for the "With thy Needle & Thread"  Word Play pieces a long time ago....like most projects around our house, it had to ripen a while. I finished the January piece a while back. He has gotten back into the frame making, so I said this one needed to be done fairly soon, as I want to display it starting in January. I am going to stitch each month's piece the month before. So, I will be doing February in January & so on.
This little calendar came in the mail & it is perfect with the frame & pieces. I told him if he keeps it up, he will pass me....I will have to stitch faster so he has something to frame......(um...don't let me kid you.....I have over 100 pieces finished, in a box!)
Thanks for checking out my blog & for your kind comments. They are always so appreciated!

Friends Gather

We have a small group that meets at our home once a week during the school year. (we actually take turns with another couple) This small group is called a flock. When I saw this pattern, I thought......how perfect....a flock of birds..friends gather....our flock....friends gather.
The pattern is called Friend's Gather & it is by The Trilogy. I used PictureThisPlus fabric. This one is called Pickled & it is a 32 ct. lugana. I used DMC flosses for it.
I love how this small piece turned out & I decided a pinkeep would be a nice way to finish it.

Finished Piece

Stitched Piece

Thank you for stopping by my blog! I appreciate each of you!

Orioles Framed

yippee!!! I actually got a frame for me, in a timely manner...
My husband has been downstairs making frames so I said I want one right away for the Oriole picture. He asked what I wanted. I said I wanted one like a 'test' frame I did a while back....he looked at it & said it was oak. I asked him if he had any & he said yes. So, he made the frame & I did the staining on it.
I found the 'recipe' for the stain on Pinterest! It is a steel wool pad, vinegar & used coffee grounds. Simple enough, right? It makes a weathered look finish on the frame.
I thought it pulled out the dark grey of the male real well. Now, I will be able to enjoy my orioles year round, not just in the summer months!
Also this week, we had a second dog here. She was here on trial. I really wanted her to work, but it just was not meant to be. She & Dudley got along great. That was not the issue......the issue was, she thought my house was a great bathroom. I was told she was potty trained, but um......not!!!!!!! (she is almost 3 years old) So, I called the lady & told her it was not going to work out. We met in town & she found someone else to take her.
I have been working, very slowly, on a small project. I am hoping to finish it this weekend, but we shall see...might not happen!

Orioles

Dudley & Maggie chillin out!

Have a great weekend & thanks for stopping by!

Orioles are finished & library project

Happy Monday to you!!!! We had a very busy weekend & I had very little stitching time. I had decided for sure & for certain I was finishing the oriole project over the weekend. Well, guess what? It didn't get finished!
BUT.............Monday mornings are my 'at the library' morning. I take the little guy I babysit to preschool on Monday mornings. Rather than come all the way home, just to have to turn around again, I go to the library!
I have a project that is a new start & I am calling it my library project. I am only working on it at the library on Monday mornings (so far!!!)
Today, I didn't work on it. I took the few flosses I still needed to use for the Oriole piece & I finished it!!! I knew I didn't have much left.....and I didn't.. It took an hour to finish it.
I am happy to have this one done. It seems like it took forever to do, but I LOVE how it looks!!!! It will be a great reminder all winter of the lovely orioles that frequent my feeders in the warm months.
The library project has very little done on it thus far. It is Countryside by Bent Creek. I am attaching a picture of the little start. I think it is going to be a fun to work on project.
My summer canning has officially started. I was beginning to think I would not get any tomatoes to can, but wow! They came on strong all of a sudden. We picked a LOT last night......
I got 28 pints of tomatoes canned. I had enough for more, but I knew this would put me to bedtime, so I stopped with that.  Now, if the frost holds off, I will have a whole lot more!!!

ORIOLE FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Countryside just begun!

Thanks for stopping by my blog & have a great week!!!

Doing the Math

I must admit, that over the holiday weekend, I was feeling the jealousy bug. So many of you were posting about your great deals on DMC floss at Joann Fabrics....
Now, you must know, I am a bargain shopper to the max.....and this bothered me that there was a great sale, on something that I use a LOT of & I couldn't get to a Joann's.
But then, WE DID THE MATH........
to make it worth it for us to go out of town, to get to a Joann's, I would have had to purchase over 100 skeins to even break even........due to gas prices!!!!
I can go to my local Walmart & pay 30 cents per skein & only drive 5 miles to get there.....and I go there once a week anyway, for groceries!!!
I no longer felt bad that I couldn't get to Joann's!!! I felt so thankful that we have floss back in town....when Walmart stopped selling it, I HAD to go out of town for floss.....
On Sat., we did use some gas & go out of town, but not to a town with a Joann's. We visited a State Park we have never been to. It is called Ouabache......I bet most of  you have no clue how that is said! I sure didn't.....
The first trail we chose was a 6 mile trail, that wrapped around the entire outskirts of the park. We started by a pen of bison...they probably had a dozen of them in this huge pen. We passed a lake, a pond, several different types of trees, just nature's beauty at it's finest.
As we got back to the bison, we saw a family looking for the bison...We told them they were at the back of the pen and asked if they were going to walk the trail. The man just laughed at us.....no way was he walking a 6 mile trail. He showed us the radar on his phone & there was a huge storm rolling in....he said about an hour away.
We ate our lunch & decided it was probably time to call it a day. We didn't want to risk getting soaked. We had no more than loaded the car up & started to drive to the park office & the rain started....
It was a great morning walk.....I could have walked a lot more, but oh well!
No stitching most of the weekend, but I hope to have an update soon....I have gotten about 1/2 of the female oriole stitched but do not want to show her like she is.
I will post a couple of my favorite pictures from the state park for you to enjoy. The last picture is a fire tower. This was used for watching for fires in the town, many, many years ago.

thank you for visiting my blog & have a wonderful week!

Oriole Update & Dudley Update

I have not had a whole lot of stitching time lately, but I finally got to a point that I thought a picture was in order. I was surprised at how much progress I had made since the last picture I posted of it. I am ready to start on the female oriole now. I then have more leaves to do & it will be finished. Excuse the wrinkles....I didn't take time to press it before taking the picture & putting it back in my Q Snaps.
Update on Dudley.....
I took him to a new groomer today....she grooms in a room attached to her home. She asked if I would like to/ could stay....I said I would love to stay, because I felt he would do so much better. And I am certain that he did. He was a very nervous boy, but she was able to get him groomed. She doesn't have a whole lot of experience with poodles, so she didn't do some of the things the same as our previous groomer, but I am thrilled to have him looking like a poodle again. (for the first time since we got him!!!) He was in need of a groom back when we got him.
He is adjusting real well...he does great with us. He does great with the people I babysit for. He did great with our grandsons when we visited them down there. Now men who come into our home...another story...he is not fond of men....He is getting better, but it is taking much time.
well, this is short, but I would like to go stitch for a while now....

Male looking for his Mate

Before Grooming Today

After Grooming!

I was gone all afternoon with Dudley. I won't say how long it took!!!! :)

Log Cabin Home

Log Cabin Home!

EDITED: to add a picture of the actual cabin that we stayed in! See the similarities?!!?

As some of you know, my husband & I love a place in Millersburg Ohio called Tranquil Acres. They have 3 log cabins that they rent out to visitors. We have stayed in the one called Shady Maple. We truly love to go over there & I decided I wanted to stitch a log cabin for the owners. They are such sweet & caring people.

the cabin we stayed in!

I searched & searched for a pattern that I thought would work well.
The one I found is by Funk & Weber Designs & is called Twilight Treasures. I edited it to suit what I wanted to stitch. I stitched it on a remnant piece of fabric that I got at House Of Stitches in LaPorte IN the last time I was there. It is jobelan & is called Denim Blue. I left the tag on it, so you can see it!!! The remnant was on sale for 1/2 price, so you see, I got this piece of fabric very cheap!!!!
I used all of the called for flosses, except for the brown. For some reason, I didn't have that DMC color or it was kitted with another project. So, I went to my supply of Victorian Motto Sampler flosses & chose a brown I thought looked good.
I think I am going to make this into a small pillow, but I haven't decided yet. It is going to be very hard to give this away....I really love how it turned out!
have a great week & thanks for visiting my blog!

Olympic Finish & Summer Book Finish

My goal today was to finish my Word Play piece & also finish enough books to get to the next level of the summer reading program at the library.
I met the reading goal this morning while walking on the treadmill....I love when the book is so good that I want to keep on walking!
I went to the library to turn in my reading list. They were out of the prizes for the level that I reached. She told me in it's place, I could choose another book off of the free book rack. (that was the prize for the previous level) I was thrilled to get to chose a book....much better prize in my book!
I spotted the book I chose & there was no need to look any further. I have looked at this one online before but just hadn't ever bought it.
I finished the Word Play about 4 this afternoon. I enjoyed this piece so much...I am anxious to keep working on more of them real soon. But, first, I must finish some other things I have going....
Dudley is doing well.....I think he is beginning to feel pretty comfortable with us. We still have our moments, but not like when we first brought the guy home.

January Word Play

Free Book from Library!

have a great week!!! Thanks for stopping by!! I appreciate each of you!

Weekend Olympic Progress

We had a gorgeous day, weather wise on Sat., so we took advantage & worked outside quite a bit of  the day. Like so much of the country, we are in a severe drought here. There are 2 counties in Northern IN still under a burn ban & we are in one of them! Needless to say, it is still very, very dry here. But, we had gotten some rain in the past week or so, so the yard needed mowed for the first time in over 2 months. We also had 'weed like' trees that needed cut down. It felt so good to work outside & not suffocate from the heat.
When we finished outside, it was time to sit & stitch & watch the Olympics.
Yesterday, I spent a lot of the day in the stitching spot also. I am seeing that my stitching isn't going as fast as normal, which tells me that I am doing a lot of watching of the Olympics!!!
Last night, we decided to see how Dudley would do out in public. We have some trails in our town, so away we went. We chose one that is very shaded, so we didn't hurt his paws on hot pavement...
He did wonderful!!!!!! Not only did he not bark or growl at people, he also left other dogs alone, he left a cat alone & he WAS interested in chasing a rabbit away. We were real happy with how he behaved on his first out in public walk!!
I have attached my progress pictures from both Sat. & Sunday. This is such a fun stitch.
I am stitching it on 32 ct. Sand Lugana, from Picture this Plus. I am using all of the called for flosses, except for the pumpkin color of the snowman's nose....I didn't have the called for color, so I am subbing one of my Victorian Motto Sampler flosses......thanks Nancy! It is perfect!!!

As of Sat. night

as of Sunday night

Thank you for stopping by & visiting my blog...I sure do appreciate each & every one of you!!!

Olympic Start

I have been 'collecting' the Word Play charts since they first came out. I finally decided on the fabric/s that I want to use for them. With that, I decided the opening ceremonies would be a good time to start one. So, I pulled out the January chart...seems best to start with the beginning of the year.

January Word Play...after one day

The weather here today is simply GORGEOUS, so we worked outside all morning/early afternoon. But, now it is time to pick up the stitching for a while & watch the Olympics!
Stay tuned for the outcome of this project & the framing idea I have in mind....

Finally, a Stitching Update & Thanks!

Before I start with my update, I must say a HUGE thank you to everyone. My last post was the hardest post I have ever written. I was blown away by your kind words. It made my day, each day, to open my email & see more comments about my dear Spyro. He was truly a wonderful dog & I don't think we realized how good he really was!
Before I had to have him put down, my husband kept saying...no more dogs after he is gone...broke my heart, but I would have gone along with it. Well, it wasn't more than 3 or 4 days & he was saying "when we get our next dog" or "when we find the next dog". Well, that is all it took. I jumped on those statements.....get him while he is still talking like that...
I started the good ole google searches. The first one I found was a rescue shelter about an hour from here. They get the pets & then put them in 'foster' care. I found an adorable black male poodle on this site, so I started investigating. I discovered he was going to be shown at an event at Pet Smart on Sat....we made arrangements to go look.
In the meantime, I joined a group on facebook that is in our part of the state. Once I was accepted to the group, the first dog I saw was a small apricot color female poodle. I made arrangements to go see her as well. 
We saw her on Thurs. evening. I fell in love with her & I think my husband was pretty taken too. But, there were enough 'red flag issues' that we decided we were for sure going to see the male on Sat.
Well, we decided on the male. He was owner surrendered 2 weeks ago. The rescue was told he had not been abused, but we have to wonder. He is very, very timid, especially toward my husband. Now today, with just me home, I have seen another side of him. He is much more ornery than Spyro was. This morning, he hauled dirty laundry out of the bathroom. (I had towels on the floor, ready to bring out) He smelled the chicken I was cutting up at lunch for my salad & put his front two paws up on the counter...didn't think about that with a bigger dog!!! (he is about 6 lbs heavier than Spyro was) He jumped up on the bed while I was making it...just a few things I am 'learning' about my new furry friend. By the way, his name is Dudley. That was his name, we liked it, said it fit him, so we are keeping it.
Ok...onto stitching. I started the Oriole way back in May I think....maybe early June. But, with our grandsons here so much over the summer, I haven't had a whole lot of stitching time. I have finished the male & am ready to work on some of the leaves, before starting the female. 
I also have started a log cabin....I covered the part of the chart that I do not plan to stitch.....I just plan to do the cabin..I think it will be a fun stitch once I get stitching time!!!
I have been reading a LOT this summer. Our library has a summer reading program for children, one for teens, and one for adults. I signed up & have been reading a lot of books. The last day for turning in our lists is next Tues. I hope to reach the next level before then.
I hope everyone is having a great day.....personally, I LOVE Mondays!!

Dudley, taken a few minutes ago.

Male Oriole

tiny start on cabin

timid Dudley when we got home with him Sat.

Again, thank you all so much for your loving support in my last post. 

Farewell my Furry Friend

NOT the post I wanted to share today, but I had a strong sense the other day, when I said I would post today, that this was the post I was going to do.
My dear furry friend Spyro has been with us for almost 11 years. I got him in Oct. 2001, after our second child went off to college. The lady I bought him from said he was a year old. The first time I took him to the vet, they said he was 5 or 6 years old. So......he was either 12 or 16-17. Either way, he lived a long life.
I knew he was going down hill fast....and boy, when he decided it was his time, he really went fast. I called the vet on Tues. to schedule an appointment. They had one that day, but I couldn't bring myself to go that day.....yes, Tues. was my birthday, as you guessed in my previous post. They do surgeries on Wed, so the soonest they could see him was this am. He got worse just in those 2 days. I knew I was taking him to the vet for the last time.
She came in & looked at him & kinda went oh no before even 'looking at him'. The first thing she did was look in his mouth. I guess the color of his gums tells a lot. She said they looked real good. She listened to his heart...said it sounded real good, no murmers...
she listened to his lungs....they sounded bad...
She said she would do an X-ray....came back & showed me one & said she had a second one developing...the first one didn't really show much. But oh my...the second one.....
one lung was full of fluid, but that wasn't the real issue. poor Spyro's heart was surrounded by a mass...we could not even see his heart...
She told me I had 2 options & she said she knew I knew what one of them was.....
the other was to send him to Purdue Univ. to have major tests done....
Not an option, unfortunately...
So.....she told me what they would do, how it would be done..she gave me time with him.....
The groomer came in & comforted me.....Lisa has groomed him since I first got him. She always told me how good he was & how much she enjoyed him. Today, while hugging me & petting Spyro, she told me she has never really cared for Poodles, but Spyro was different. She loved him..She said he was not like most poodles she has encountered.
I had a very special friend in him..........he will be sorely missed.
I am SO THANKFUL I stitched a picture of him back in 2008. I will have that memory forever on my wall....
Goodbye my friend.......you were loved by many....

My Spyro.....you will be missed....

Salute to America

I knew the moment I saw this chart released a couple weeks ago, that I HAD to stitch it. So, my parents picked it up for me & as soon as I saw them, I got it from them.
It is called Salute to America by Pickle Barrel Designs.
It is stitched on 28 ct. parchment batik lugana by Youthful Hands Needle Crafts.
The pattern came with Sullivan's Floss, which I have never used before.
It also came with a substitute alphabet chart, so you could make changes, which I did. The bottom line on the pattern said "My Love" but I wanted it to say son, since it is going to be a gift for my son, who serves our country in the Army. He will be deploying again, so I wanted to make something for him.
I have been watching the birds all weekend while I have stitched....yes, I stitched this all this weekend, with the exception of the words My Soldier.

I have Baltimore Orioles but I have seen some 'new to me' type birds. I am almost certain they are Orchard Orioles....so neat to see so many creatures at my feeders!
Have a great week!!!!

mail art received

I received my mailart today....
Vicky stitched a cute little bunny on a real pretty green fabric. Actually, 2 bunnies!!! One on the front & one on the back...there are also some pretty little flowers on the back. She included some floss inside for my stitching pleasures!
I have promised a few people I would post some of my bird & flower pictures from my yard. This post will be picture heavy & word light!!!

back of mailart with contents

front of mail art with names covered for identity protection

back with inside fabric shown

my cactus in bloom

bluebird on clothesline

hummingbird taken thru the screen

female oriole, taken thru the screen

male oriole, taken thru the screen

male & female, taken thru screen

columbine

wild daisies

more columbine

primrose

Have a great week.....I haven't had much stitching time since my finish the other day, but I have started a new project that will be for my son, before he deploys....stay tuned for it!