"In Memory" Mouse finished

If you read my last post, you read that my brother passed away & I was finishing one of his unfinished pieces.
I finished the little mouse last night. It turned out cute & this is one of those pieces that needed the backstitching to make it happen! It was just a blob without it!
I learned something about Wayne as I worked on this piece. He & I stitched differently! He did his X's one way, and I a different way. I don't know if there truly is a right way & a wrong way to stitch, just different! My mom wants this piece, so I told her this. She said it will be fine......it will show that both of us worked on it, our way!
My nephew has also found all of Wayne's "Kinkaide/Disney" kits. He had purchased a bunch of them, but the only one started was the Pinocchio. My dad has asked to keep the Snow White & Lion King & I get the rest of them. ( Too funny, but I already own the 2 he asked to keep!!!)
Today, I will start on a fun fall freebie I found.
Last Sat, we, along with my parents & my sister & her family went to a state park that we all love. Oh my!!!!! The colors are really just starting, but it was gorgeous!!  The weather was perfect for a day in the outdoors. I will attach a couple of my favorite pictures....... One is the wooly bears the kids made at the nature center!

Wayne's field mouse

sorry.......it was NOT sideways when I added it!

wooly bear the kids made

double cattail

thistle....not sure what they are called!

love how this leaf landed!!!

A finish & an IN MEMORY piece...

I had hoped to finish my October Word Play before the start of October, but life got in the way......or in this case....death.
My brother (who was a stitcher also) passed away unexpectedly on Sept 25th. My parents & brother have been going thru things & mom & dad have been going thru the stitching items. They found this little mouse, partially stitched & asked if I would finish it. I said I sure would.
Wayne also had started the Kinkaide/Disney piece of Pinnochio. He had 2 of 6 pages done, the last I knew of. (I am attaching a picture...this is the last one I saw) I am also attaching two pictures of the mouse.......before I start on it! Stitchers, this is a good reason WHY we take our pieces out of the hoops or Q snaps each & every day. I am showing the piece before I pressed it & then after I pressed it. You can see that I couldn't get all of the hoop marks out. I hope over time, I can get it.
I have also attached my finished Oct. piece. I had hoped to start a new 'series' of pieces, but the mouse will be first & foremost on the list.
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather. This is my favorite time of year....

October Word Play

Pre-Press

Post-Press

Pinnochio, so far

A Finish & An Answer!

Good morning! I do believe this has to be a first!!! I started & finished this piece in just a few days. Then, my husband only waited a couple days (until the weekend) to make the frame. So, the piece was stitched, framed & hung on the wall all within a weeks time.!!!
I had stitched the other three pieces last fall, but we didn't get them framed until a few weeks ago. As I went to hang them where I wanted them, I told him I had to do a 4th one. He said to just put  a small shelf or something on the 4th peg. I wasn't happy with that, so off to stitch the 4th one I went. Thankfully, I found the matching fabric & he found the matching wood for the frame.
That tells about the finish part of my title! The Answer part is referring to Bronson. I would not rest well until I went out & visited him & found out for sure what I thought. So, the little guy that I babysit for & myself went out one day. We got there soon after they opened that day. I waited & waited for someone to assist us. Finally, a lady came out & asked if she could help us. I said I would like to look at a dog. She asked which one...I told her Bronson. She told me that he has been adopted, but was still there, so we could look at him if we wanted. I said sure, I would love to see him & also look at the others who were there.
We went back & went to the big dog room first. We walked down the aisle & I spotted Bronson. He was all scrunched up in the front corner of his kennel like a scared rabbit. As we got closer, he got up, went to the back of his kennel & proceeded to growl & bark at us. I don't know if he was growling & barking at me or the little boy, but I KNEW then that there was no way, even had he NOT been adopted already. He had too many similarities to Dudley.....if you remember him!!! I could not have adopted this dog & felt good about it.
So, we wait again. When the right dog comes along, we will get another, otherwise, we will be very content & happy with Mo.
have a great week! Enjoy this beautiful time of year!

new finish

the grouping all together

Getting Slow!

Boy! I am getting slow!!! I finished my Supercali....piece last Thurs. I am just now posting a picture of it!?!?! Where does the time go?
They say once your kids leave home, time goes faster & faster. I believe it. Sometimes I wonder 'how did I keep up' when they were home? We seem to be so busy sometimes! Other times, I feel like I am home alone all of the time!
Anyway, I finished the stitching part of this piece last week. I had set 4 goals for myself for the end of August. I was to finish stitching this piece....check! I was to finish the book that I was reading....check! I was to finish the current 'tour' of the island on my Walk it Out game....check & I was to submit at least $200.00 in party sales for my THIRTY-ONE business....check! I met each goal that I set for myself!!! yeah!!!
I plan to make this piece into a pillow for the guest bedroom. I haven't gotten a bedspread yet, but I am planning on a white one, since the walls are so bright! We got some grey drapes that match the carpet real well & look good in there.

I have been checking our local animal shelter, the rescue sites, etc....for a second dog. I think Elmo (Mo as we call him) would really enjoy having a playmate. I found one over the weekend that really caught my eye, but oh my! Why do I keep finding bigger dogs??? Spyro was a whopping 12 lbs. most of his life. We got Dudley after that & he was about 22 lbs. That was a big dog! He didn't work out...we tried hard for over 2 months. So, we then found Elmo...Mo...we have had him almost a year. Well, he is a solid 33 lbs. NOW.......this one I have been looking at is much bigger. I haven't seen him in person, so I don't really know how big he is, but he is a labradoodle, so he will be big!!!This is a picture of him, at the shelter. He looks skinny......needs some meat on his bones! There is something about that face that gets me!!! Time will tell if I go look at him or not. I did send them an email last night, asking questions!!!
Have a great day!

Two Months??? Really?!?!?!?!!?

Has it really been two months since I posted? Wow...where oh where did the summer go? It seriously has gone so fast, I cannot ever remember a summer going this fast.
Let's back up a little bit. When I wrote the June post, I hadn't started the Supercalifragilistic piece yet. Normally, a project like this one would have been done pretty quickly. I love stitching letters. But...life got in the way of stitching & I am about 1/2 way done with it. I hope to get back into more stitching, since school starts Tues. I babysit for a teacher, so I will start back up on Monday. I have had the little guy off & on over the summer, to keep him used to coming here.
At the beginning of July, we made what has become our yearly get away to Ohio Amish Country. We discovered a place that has cabins & we have gone there for 3 years now. It is a wonderful get away for us. We went to a couple new places this year. One we will probably go back to, one probably not.
We got home & were home for a week & I left again!
I had the AWESOME OPPORTUNITY to go to the Thirty-One National Conference. It was held in Atlanta GA. WOW!!!!!!! What an experience! I came home totally pumped about my business. And super excited that we can talk a little more freely about the business. If any of you would be interested in doing a catalog party or a facebook party, let me know & we can talk about it! I am so excited about the fall line, including SEVEN new purse styles!!! I have 5 of the 7 on hand & oh my! I can't pick a favorite.....love them all!
My husband & I have been busy with framing projects. We did 3 for my aunt just before conference & we have done 4 for me since my return. I have plenty more projects to be framed.
Oh! Speaking of frames.....one of the places we LOVE to go when we are in Ohio is Keim Lumber. They have all sorts of exotic woods. He gets wood each year & I benefit the frames from the wood!
I will try to be more prompt with my next update! Thanks for reading & have a great day!

my current WIP

Warther's

View from Keim Lumber

The Farm at Walnut Creek

Here's looking at you!

Conference Cake

Sidewalk at Conference!

Atlanta Downtown!

Stitched last fall

stitched last year..will go on my Amish wall

I THINK I can take a breather!!!

wow, what a busy month it has been since my last post.
We were not able to get the room painted before my BIG NEWS!!! Our son got back from Afghanistan on May 23rd. We went down to the base for the groups welcome home ceremony. Imagine the pride & relief in this mom's heart.......we watched the plane fly in that held our men & women. We watched over 200 hundred of them file off of the plane. We had no clue which one was our son, but oh the pride!!! And then to watch them march into the arena in formation....then, the announcement.....troops, you may reunite with family!!!!!!!! The bleachers emptied as everyone went to the floor to meet their soldier!!!
We got back home after a few days visit & had to make a trip up to my hometown. My aunt had a lawn mower she was giving us. (our rider broke the night before we left) At least having a good push mower would get some of the yard work done!!!
I babysat the last week of May, finishing 10 years with the one family. I will miss them this fall. I cared for all three of their children from birth to kindergarten.
We got the room painted on the weekend of the 1st & 2nd! Yeah!!!! I love how it turned out. My husband said it looks pretty girly! Oops!!! oh well, it is the guest room & also my Thirty-One room.
We didn't put anything in the room, except for the double bed, because on Tues the 4th, we were invaded by our triplet grandsons! They had been at the other grandparents house & now it was our turn until daddy could get up here. He arrived on Friday & oh my!!!! What a reunion that was.....
They all headed back home on Monday of this week.
Now, the story about my piece I am showing you! It has been a UFO for quite a while. I decided before our trip to see our son that I would work on it. I took it along, hoping to get a little stitching time in the car on the way home. (I couldn't on the way down, because Duane & I each had to drive since we had our sons car) I pulled the project bag out from where I had stored it. I lifted the fabric from the bag & imagine my horror. The fabric was damp, as was the pattern on the magnet board. We could not figure out HOW it had gotten damp. The fabric had water spots in a few places & I thought the project was ruined. So much for stitching on the way home. When we stopped for gas & a bathroom break, we checked where we had had it stored. Sure enough, it was damp in there. How it got damp, we haven't a clue. We have been so busy, my husband hasn't had time to check into it since.
When we got home, I took the project & hand washed it with a touch of dish soap in warm water. YEAH!!!!!!! 99% of the water marks came out & the little bit that didn't is up in a corner that will be on the back when it is framed!!! So thankful!!!! So, in the little bit of stitching time I have had since our return, this is what I have worked on.
I did get a new project the other day. I had my parents pick up Sue Hillis' "SUPERCALA..........
at House of Stitches for me. It is going to be perfect in the guest room.
I am super excited about the colors of the guest room, because the one color matches one of the new  Thirty One patterns. (Best Buds) Also the turquoise from the previous catalog. You can see some of the products in pictures. I am storing everything in the guest room. I still need more shelves for it.
Whew! I think that catches you up.....hopefully I can get some more stitching time now. have a great weekend!! I am looking forward to Sunday. It is our 34th anniversary & we are going somewhere/doing something, JUST US...we need a day away!!

The Drawn Thread....Sampler Gameboard

Retro Metro Bag with Turtle Coin Purse & Bring a Bottle Thermal

Corner of the room to show both colors! (still need to find curtains & a bedspread)

My Thirty-One Wall

Two Finishes!

I finished my April Word Play last week sometime, but didn't post it. I got busy right away on my Great is Thy Faithfulness. I finished it yesterday afternoon! So, I am showing my two latest finishes today. I also have pulled out a very long time ago start......I am guessing maybe over 4 years ago?!?!!? I don't know why I put it away & basically forgot about it?!?!! But, alas, it is out now & I will work on it as I can for a while.
Things have been extremely busy around here. About 3 weeks ago, our basement flooded. The entire basement had water in it. We had to have professionals come in & do the work. We are so thankful we are early risers.....had we not gotten up as early as we do, the water would have risen up to the woodwork & the drywall. SO THANKFUL!!!!!! We are still working on getting everything put back where it belongs. I have taken probably 8 boxes of books to the local drop off books site. They are probably loving me!!
We are planning to paint our sons old room up here & make it the guest room. (it was in the basement) Figure while the place is tore apart, might as well make some more mess!!!! I picked two Disney Paints at Walmart & now we just need time to do it!
have a great week.......praying it warms up here...the weekend was COLD!!!!

April Word Play

Great is Thy Faithfulness

FINALLY!

This piece took forever to do.....I think this was the most boring piece I have ever stitched in my life. I  know I have been busy, but for a piece to take me this long, unless it is something that I put aside to work on something else.......well, that tells you it wasn't my favorite thing to work on.
By just now finishing March, you know my calendar is outdated!  Just the other day, like maybe April 2 or 3, my husband says to me.....why does your calendar say Feb? I told him, I still had not finished March & if he is just now noticing it, I guess I don't feel too bad! If he just noticed it & sits in that room every night for supper, then others aren't noticing it either! ha!!!
So, I have April's set out now.....hopefully I can whip it out pretty quickly & be onto May, so when May comes, I can update the calendar!
It is finally starting to warm up here. Maybe spring is in the near future? My lone crocus bulb has multiplied a bit! I had about 5 beautiful flowers out there!!!
We went to a state park last week. We both very much needed a day away. It was so relaxing. We had a great time walking the trails & seeing the first sights of spring. Elmo had a great time too. He kept right up with us on the many miles we walked!
The babysitting jobs will soon be coming to an end. I only babysit during the school year & one is for a college teacher. So, that one will end sooner than the other. The other, when this school year ends, I will be totally done! Pretty sad! I have babysat for this family for 10 years. I started when the oldest was 2 months old. Now, the youngest is finishing preschool & will be in all day kindergarten in the fall.
I am still loving Thirty-One. I am really hoping it will take off well for me. I am learning lots of ideas, it is just hard to get 'out there'!!!! I have seen people talk about having a facebook party....seems that would be the way some people would like to go!!! You can have the party & not have to clean house, prepare snacks, etc.......everyone who 'comes to the party' just gets on the computer in the comfort of their own home! How about that?!?!?!! :)
Well, I best keep moving here.....thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful week.....get outside & enjoy some sunshine & hear the birds chirp, see the flowers budding, etc......

March Word Play

My Lone Crocus Bulb!

Gorgeous!!!!

another beautiful view

worn out!

Mid March Already!?

scarves I have made

where has the time gone? Oh my! Here we are, mid March already! I will start with the really sad news! I still haven't finished the March Word Play....I got so bored with it, that I just stopped working on it. In fact, I didn't work on anything for a while. oh my!
Then, I also have not begun an ornament for this month......this is so unlike me....
ok, got the bad out of the way. Now, onto what I have been doing!!!
First of all, I have learned how to crochet the fancy scarves with the sashay yarn! I have made three of them so far. I have done a cream/brown one,  a varigated purples & a varigated blues.I love each of them.
Next, I have been working on my Great is Thy Faithfulness piece. Not a whole lot, because I am always so tired in the evening that I can't stitch that much & I am falling asleep. I am really getting annoyed with it. I sit down & I fall asleep.
And then, the most exciting thing for me........I signed up to be a consultant for Thirty One. So far, I am LOVING IT!!!! I never would have dreamed I would do this, so I am amazed at it so far. I love the product & I believe the product sells itself.

March word play so far

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Bunny Basket

How Many Eggs!?!

Fireplace Display

I hope everyone is having a great week!! Spring HAS to be coming soon!!!!!

February Ornament & New Start

I devoted stitching time this week to my February ornament. I chose Roaming Reindeer by Blue Ribbon Designs. I love Belinda's designs, so this was a must do. I finished it similar to the model in the JCS ornament issue. The fabric it is laying on in the picture is the fabric on the back of it.
While I had finishing supplies out, I decided to finish my Winston also. I stitched him sometime last year. He is laying on the fabric that I backed him with.
Next, I am showing you my latest new start. I bought this probably a year ago (right after it was published), but just now am getting around to starting it. I hated to put it down the other day, but I knew I needed to work on the ornament.
I will now either do my March Word Play, or go back to the new start, or.......
maybe work on a WIP?!?!??!?!
Elmo went to the groomer the other day & oh my! He looks like a different dog now. So white & soft & nice!!!
I hope you are having a great week. To those in areas that the weather is not being so kind......stay safe!

Roaming Reindeer

Winston the Snowman

Great is Thy Faithfulness

What do you see, Elmo?

February Word Play

I finished this on Monday, but my time is so very, very limited on Monday & Tues. that I did not get a chance to update my blog. I have both boys that I babysit for on those days & I have to take the older one to preschool & anyone who hauls kids around knows that taking a preschooler & a young toddler takes a lot of time!

February Word Play

January Word Play

February's word play took me longer to stitch than January's did. I think part of it was because I enjoyed the snowman on January so much that I just kept stitching. I also wasn't caring for a young toddler when I stitched that one! I have included my January finish so that you can be refreshed on how it looks!
I have now started a pattern I got quite a while ago. I am not sure why I didn't start it immediately! I love it already!
Ok, a question for fellow bloggers!!! I used to be a ONE project at a time person. I then upped it to two or three at a time. Somehow, one year, I went over board & started way too many. I am not one to NOT finish what I start, but this is where I need your help!!!!! How do you regain interest in your older starts when there are so many new projects screaming START ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did some real organizing over the weekend. I got a couple AWESOME bags from Thirty-One. I thought....perfect! I purchased a couple packages of large envelopes. I then found all of my patterns that I had either partially kitted up or fully kitted up & placed them in the envelopes & then labeled the top with the design & the designer. So now, all of these projects that are screaming DO ME are very organized. I wish my WIP containers would fit in this bag, but they are too large. Oh well! I just need to get them done!!!!
Wishing everyone a great week. Hope the weather where you are is treating you nice! Ours has been quite crazy!
Edited: I forgot to mention.....I am willing to sell these patterns as I finish them. So, I now have January & February available for sale. I would like $4.50 for the pattern & I believe shipping in the US would be about $1.50, so $6.00 each in the US. Out of US, I would adjust shipping accordingly!

January Ornament Finished

I was able to stitch a good portion of the afternoon today & I was able to finish the stitching of my January ornament. This evening, I did the finishing work. I am real happy with how this one turned out.
It is a Pickle Barrel Design called Christmas Eve. It was in the JCS ornament issue this past year. I used Earthen 32 ct. lugana from Picture this Plus. I used 2 of the recommended flosses & subbed the third.
I tried to do the finishing very similar to how they showed it in the magazine.

Next up......my February Word Play, so that it is ready to hang in a couple weeks! Thanks for stopping by & visiting my blog. I appreciate each & every one of you!

Christmas Catch-Up!

We knew we weren't going to get to see the boys for Christmas, so grandma didn't stress to get their ornaments done on time.
I had finally got caught up on other obligations, so Friday, I sat down to start the boys ornaments! I have stitched an ornament for each of them each year since they were born, so this makes 4 each.
I purchased this pattern leaflet a while back, knowing they would be perfect for the boys.....three ornaments on the cover!
I finished the first of three Sat. am, very very early. I then finished the second & third thru out the day. This afternoon, I sat down to do the finish work. I wanted something simple, & this seemed the best route to take.
I also have stitched 2 models so far this year, so I have FIVE finishes already! I will show the models, after they are published!!!
Now, it is time to do the ornament for the month of January for myself. I have it picked out....it is just a matter of gathering the supplies & getting started :)
I haven't posted any Elmo pictures lately, so I think it is time for one of them also! We are enjoying 'our boy' so much. He is such a good dog!

Ornaments for our Grandsons!

our Elmo!

Wishing you all a great week! Keep stitching!