Stitching, Tea and Good Friends!

On most evenings this week, when I finally settled into my 'stitching nest', I found myself too weary to take many stitches before my eyes began closing.
I did manage to finish the stitching on 'Barnwood Buttons' the other night, and now am ready to sew on the adorable button flowers.  
Here is a sneek preview!

Love this very lacey flower, but it was a bit of a challenge doing the backstitching!

                          Preview of the sweet floral border.

Before sewing on the Barnwood Buttons, I decided that I really must start stitching  on Miss Kyleigh's birth sampler.  It is a small piece, so hopefully it will stitch up quickly, but it does have some specialty stitches in it.

My goodness, where has this week gone so quickly?  It was a busy but very happy kind of week, starting off last Monday with a wonderful trip to Mrs. Bridges Pantry in South Woodstock, Connecticut, for a lovely teatime luncheon with the girls from our stitching group.

Waiting for our tea before luncheon.  Don't you love the sterling silver sugar cube dish, and those adorable little teapot salt and pepper shakers?

                                         A little corner table for two.

                  A sweet little spinach quiche and salad.



To finish off a perfectly lovely day, my friend, Janet took us to visit Whispering Hill Farm, www.whispering-hill.com in South Woodstock, where owner, Donna Swanson, took us on a tour of her home to view her gorgeous hooked rugs.


Donna teaches rug hooking classes in her wonderful antique farm house, which is filled with an array beautiful hooked rugs and antiques. It felt like we were walking through a museum!  Here are just a few of my favorite rugs.

Donna's Antique Sewing Stand.  Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?

               The floral design atop the sewing stand.


Several of my stitching friends, who attend Donna's 'Hook-Ins' are encouraging me to join them to learn how to rug hook.  I am contemplating doing a small project to see if I will be 'hooked'!  


Well, all for now dear friends. One of our sons, his wife and our little grandsons are supposed to be stopping in shortly, enroute from a week long vacation up north at the other grandparents' summer home.  They will spend the night here before driving the long distance home tomorrow.


Have a very lovely weekend and may you have some special time just for you too, doing whatever makes you the happiest and content.


Blessings in Stitches & Friendship!

                           

A Day For Peace and Calm...

What a gorgeous and glorious day it is today!  The humidity dropped last night and we woke up to dew on the grass and sweet cool, wispy breezes in the air at last!


Sundays are always special days when I attempt to quiet my spirit and take time for some very precious and quiet times for reflection, meditation and prayer, to refresh my soul and lighten my heart from all of of its' burdens. 

" I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child, with his mother; 
 Like a child is my soul within me."  (Psalm 131:2)

One of my happiest times this past week, was when a group of  my very dear stitching friends came to spend the day here.  We had a fabulous time, sipping cups of tea, eating, chatting and laughing, while we stitched and stitched the day away!  Oh what joy!  


Happily, I finished stitching Mr. Rooster in this cute knotty piece.

                      
The stitching on 'Barnwood Buttons' is almost complete, and then the really fun part, stitching on the adorable buttons can begin!  I can't wait!

              
With permission from the ladies, I would love to show you some of the unique and beautiful pieces that they were stitching.      

          Janet's lovely knotted flower basket pendant.

             Pat's beautiful, knotted cottage by the sea.

                  Carol's cross stitched house by the sea.

                  Shirley's cross stitched silouhette of angels.

              Janet newest 'knotted' miniature chair seat.

There are absolutely no calories in this deliciously 'sinful' cherry pineapple dessert, which our dear friend, Janet made for us!  It was yummy from the very first to very last bite!


What a wonderful and memorable day, girls!  We just have to plan another stitching day again very soon!


This past week we enjoyed a rather quiet, but happy celebration of The Fourth of July, enjoying especially the wonderful firework displays. 

                    Long may her banner wave!
                             Let freedom ring!
Thank you, Lord for blessing us with so many freedoms in the United States of America.


Until next time, dear friends.....  Miss Ella is coming over in a few minutes with her Daddy, for supper, so I must go!


Have a very blessed and wonderful week!

   

This lovely cool waterfall is in our neighborhood, and oh does it look so welcoming on these very warm and humid summer days.  We are not permitted to go in the water there, but oh, is oh so tempting to take one's shoes off and sit on the rocks with the cool water splashing all around.......

Thankfully, we are having light showers here this afternoon, and hopefully it will cool things down a bit.  I am looking at some pretty dark ominous clouds out there.  

Tomorrow morning my stitching group are coming here for a day of blissful stitching.  Fortunately we have central air, so it will be lovely and cool.  I decided to make some cranberry pecan biscottis to serve with iced tea when everyone arrives.  

The past few weeks have flown by, and I must admit that being a full time nurse to my dear husband, who still is not permitted to weight bear on his operated foot yet, has left me pretty exhausted by each day's end.  Hence, even though I sit down after supper with needle, thread and linen in hand, I often find myself dosing off instead of stitching.  Occasionally, I have managed to stitch here and there, on 'Barnwood Buttons', and hope to finish up the stitching soon, so that I can sew on those adorable buttons!

For weeks I have been searching for the perfect birth sampler to stitch for our newest little granddaughter, Kyleigh, and I am really excited to stitch this beautiful design!  I have chosen different threads other than the recommended ones, but I think that they will look lovely.

I just have to share this adorable photo of Miss Ella with her latest most favorite acquisition........'Hello Kitty'.

Notice that Miss Ella and Kitty are about the same size!  Miss Kitty is even wearing her bathing suit, and she arrived in a pair of matching shorts and pink sandals too, all ready for the beach!  Just tooooooo cute, don't you think?

Well, I am thinking that, since it is 4:oo pm, it is time for my afternoon tea, and definitely a little stitching before it is time to make supper.

Although I am way behind on reading my favorite blogs, please know that you are always in my thoughts, dear friends.  I love visiting with you and always appreciate your wonderful comments so much!

Blessings!

Being Thankful and So Much More.....

May the warm sun shine down upon the very special Fathers in our lives today.  I count myself very blessed to have my own very dear 85 year old father still rather healthy, vibrant and persevering to be independent and enjoying life!  Dad is a man of faith and integrity, and loves his family with all of his heart.

My own wonderful husband, is a very special Father, a man who represents the very special qualities that our children revere in him as a father, and a true blessing in our lives in every way.  Now, with our four little grandchildren, he is loving every moment of being a Grandfather too, and enjoys being called, "Grandpa" and "Ba-Pa".

Now our sons have children of their own and are enjoying being fathers too.  As you can see, Grandpa is thoroughly enjoying center stage with 2 year old Emery and 4 month old Harrison.  Daddy Kevin is a very proud father indeed!

Our oldest son, Ryan, recently became a new father to little Kyleigh, born only a few short weeks ago.  This is his very first Father's Day!  

Life has been rather busy these past weeks, as my dear husband had some rather extensive foot surgery 3 weeks ago.  Although he is progressing very well, he is unable to bear any weight until next week, and hence my time and energy has been fully occupied, leaving precious little time for much stitching.  Alas, here and there, I have managed a stitch or two now and then.....

                         "French Square Biscornu"
                         By ScissorTail Designs

Because I am a left to right stitcher, the verse in this wonderful design, is incomplete.....the end of the verse is seen before the beginning.... Does that sound confusing?  Well, here is my progress thus far.

                               "Barnwood Buttons"
                                    Designed by Karen Kluba
                             Rose Wood Manor
                              Picture This Plus
                      Belfast 32 Ct. Barnwood
             Weeks Dye Works "Linen" Floss


So, in between the endless tasks to be done every day, I hope to have a few quiet moments with my needle and thread this week, and we'll see what comes!


Be well, dear friends, and I hope that our paths cross with one another very soon again, one stitch at a time!


Blessings in Stitches and Friendship!

Especially For You Today.......

Today, you came to mind, dear friends, and I thought that I must share some special thoughts, especially just for you......


Although we may not know one another personally, and there may be many miles and even continents that separate us, I want for you to know that you are always in my thoughts.  I feel so blessed to be connected to each one of you, by the 'threads' that have connected our lives to one another. Although, sometimes, many days may slip away, in between,  I am always so grateful that you are never far away, and that you are always there when I reach out for you through sharing, once again, our love of needlework and parts of our lives, that has made us friends.  Thank you!


My needle has been busy, but stitching progress a bit slower than I wish sometimes.  The days just fleet away....  .

    I have thoroughly enjoyed stitching this sweet 'May Wordplay' door pillow, created by With Thy Needle and Thread. I decided to finish it with a little lace hanger, attached with some old buttons.

I especially loved stitching the purple irises and little potted geraniums.  Aren't they sweet?

Although my photography is a little lacking, I think that this wheelbarrow with two robins perched on top of the soil, are just adorable.  

This design is called "French Square", by ScissorTail Designs, which will be finished as a biscornu, when I finish stitching the design.  Wish me LUCK, as this will be my very FIRST EVER attempt at stitching a biscornu!  I have been wanting to make one for a long time, so now is the time, I guess!

This intriguing little piece of needlework, is part of my current needlework project, 'Barnwood Buttons' designed by Karen Kluba of Redwood Manor.  It is stitched on beautiful, 'Picture This Plus' Belfast 32 count 'Barnwood' linen, using Weeks Dye Works 'Linen' thread.  As I typically stitch from left to right, using a portable frame, this stitched part is at the end of the design, in case it looks a little curious at this point:) Ho- Hummmmmm......


Although Mother's Day is now a sweet memory of the past for this year, I wanted to share with you, this photograph of my beautiful 83 year old Mother, taken last Sunday, on Mother's Day.

My Mother's ageless beauty is complimented by her gentle and sweet spirit, always so gracious and loving, a Mother who has aged with grace and dignity.  My Mother....I love her so much!


As a new week begins, may you be blessed with a lovely week ahead, strength to persevere the challenges ahead, and joy in your hearts to inspire you along the way.


Blessings in Stitches & Friendship!

Stitching Through Time...

Last weekend was a bevy of excitement as I headed off to Celebrations of Needlework,  in Nashua, New Hampshire, to share in every stitcher's joy of needlework classes and a fabulous stitcher's mall of vendors from around the country.

I was a very spoiled girl indeed, having the priviledge of going with two of my stitching girlfriends on Friday, and then again on Saturday with my dear husband, Bruce, who is also a needlwork enthusiast, and another stitching girlfriend.  Oh joy of joys!  It was such fun, pouring over all of the newest designs and stitching goodies from a multitude of vendors from around the country, in attendance there, and so much fun meeting up with several other stitching friends there too!

Here is some of my newly acquired stitching stash.  The photo doesn't do justice to these wonderful designs, but I am very excited about deciding which one will be first to be stitched!


Then, this week, much to my surprise, look at the wonderful gifts that arrived in the mail from Penny!  I had admired her finished 'Clara Pritchard's Posies' pillow, and she very kindly offered to send it to me.  I was so overwhelmed by her generosity to, send me the design, these beautiful Simply Shaker threads, as well as these little packages of my favorite teas, and a really unique Plant-It Chamomile seeds card!  Thank you so much, Penny!

This handmade 'Chamomile' Plant-It herb card, has Chamomile seeds, embedded within the paper. After thoroughly soaking the  paper in water, you tear it up and plant the bits of paper in the ground or a pot, out of direct sunlight, water it regularly and watch the little seedlings begin to germinate!  This is truly so unique!  Love it!

More progress this week on 'May' Wordplay, by With Thy Needle.  I think that my favorite part is o the little woman with her watering can behind the white picket fence.  Hope to finish it up this weekend, and assembly next week:)


And now, for my most daring pursuit......  My dear friend, Janet, who was vending at Celebrations, urged me to consider trying one of Teresa Layman's "knotty" designs.  Janet is very enthusiastic about her "knotty" works, and convinced me to purchase a design and give it a go, with her help, of course:)

Yes, I know..... Call me 'crazy' to want to stitch all of those teeny tiny little knots, but this design just captured my heart and I just had to have it.

Here is my progress so far.  I'm so proud of all my little neatly placed knots:)  Of course, I have 'miles to go' before this little beauty is finished, but that is all part of the fun, after all.
So, as you can see, I have lots to keep me busy for quite a while.  


The sun is starting to peek from behind the cloudy skies, and maybe it will be a nice day after all, though the temps are still in the 40's here.  So typical of our New England spring weather though.  Tomorrow promises to be a sunny, blue sky kind of day and a little warmer.


Blessings in abundance to you wherever you are today, until next time, dear friends.  Thank you for all of your wonderful visits and comments.  They really do mean so much to me!