Snow Days!

Hey, Friends!

Did you enjoy the snow day?  It was nice to stay home and stitch the day away.  We had a two-hour delay on Thursday, but I had another problem.  I was running a bath, and it stopped after about three inches of water in the tub!  Frozen pipe?  There was a tiny drip in the kitchen sink, but must not have been enough.  Thank goodness I hadn’t jumped in for a shower with hair soaked and soaped!!  May have been pipes to the water heater… anyway I turned it off.  Now I need to get home early to see if the water is thawed, and if I can relight it.  Hopefully!!  Everything turned out fine.  Pipes were thawed and the water heater lighting was a breeze! 

I started drafting this two weeks ago so the paragraph above was written January 21, I think.

We’ve had another snow event!  It snowed all day Tuesday, February 11, most of the day Wednesday, and they say Thursday - yes, it did, until after noon. Almost looks like my car is fully covered, doesn't it?  It has been some great stitching time for me! Also made some snow cream yesterday– yum! 

Did you happen to see This over at My Heartstring blog?  She’s describing the process of selecting for a new sampler.  Got me thinking about how much I love the colors of fibers in cotton and silk, the varying shades of linen, and even the combinations of fabric prints and solids.  Just as we stitchers love to scan and organize our charts, don’t we also love the other pieces of the project?  Many of you ‘would never’ make a change to the colors the designer chooses for a design, and it not be their perfection, but it makes the finished piece feel so much more my own when I do.   

I haven’t made any changes to the colors of Paulette’s Eliza Scattergood, but I did make a little change to the verse.  As you can see, I’m a little more than two thirds finished with this one, that I started on January 1, 2014.  Here's a little close up of some sweet motifs!

Pax really cut a wide path of cold and precipitation from the gulf up through Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, and further north .  Many of you have already had more than your share of snowy weather.  I hope everyone in the path of this storm is safe and warm!

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!  Sending hugs and blowing kisses!

 May 2014 be filled with Happy Stitching!

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Charlene♥SC

March Snow

Hey, Friends!

An unusual season!  The last time I posted was on a snowy Saturday.  Our local weathermen were calling for possible, light snow flurries on Saturday.  The temperatures were not freezing, but yesterday we had enough snow to cover the ground and pine trees - a lovely sight to watch falling.  Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone!  This Sunday morning, it is 25`, but the sun is shining brightly!

Have any of you cross stitched from a punch needle pattern?  I’m guessing it probably depends on the pattern and the detailing involved, but would love to hear your opinions.

A little finish to share.  The Country Cottage Needleworks, Post Office.  Wait… no, not finished… forgot to do those little envelopes.  Shoot!  Back to finish those!  There will be stitching pics next time - promise!  But I did get a good beginning on the March WTNT Word Play yesterday during the snow show!  

DS has changed jobs and moved back to our hometown!  Although he has always been just a shout away, it’s comforting to know he’s a little closer.  He stopped in for a few minutes yesterday to chat about the snow after he took his Nan’s (my mom) trash away.

 

I‘ve had to turn off Anonymous comments.  They were causing more and more aggravating links to this or that, unsavory remarks, and who wants that?   

Thanks for stopping by, today and always.  I appreciate your thoughts and comments!

May 2013 be filled with Happy Stitching!

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Charlene♥SC

Finish with Snow

Hey, Friends!

Finally! It’s hard for me to believe, too, but I have finished stitching Mary Gisbon - Woo Hoo!

And what was going on while I was putting in those final stitches?  This beautiful snow was falling!  These pics are from this morning, after the sun came up.  Isn’t it beautiful.

From my last post, there were questions about the type of drill I used to make a hole in the rusty heart.  It is a Dremel-like hand drill, which I probably got at either Michaels or Hobby Lobby with a % off coupon.  As I said, it was the first time I used it, so there was a bit of a learning curve!  Thinking that the heart may get hot, I started by trying to hold it with a paper towel.  LoL - not a good idea!  Then I thought, place it on a piece of Styrofoam for support.  Nope – the drill slid right off.  So, I got the pliers and held it with one hand on the Styrofoam drilling with the other – that worked!  A vise would probably be a good idea if there are many projects like this one.

Did you see the lovely finishes over at Laurie’s Corgi Cottage that Faye (Carolina Stitcher) did for her?  If you have some designs all stitched up, but don’t feel compelled to ‘finish,’ I’ll bet she would be happy to do some pretty work for you, too!

Thanks for stopping by, today and always.  I appreciate your thoughts and comments!

May 2013 be filled with Happy Stitching!

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Charlene♥SC

My Winter Wonderland

Hey, Friends!
Today I thought I’d share with you a little of the Southern Winter Wonderland.

This is how my car looks today, January 11 2011, or 01/01/11, at about 9:30am.  Over top of that six inches of snow is at least a half inch of icy stuff.  Take a look at this locus limb – that’s about a quarter plus inch of ice that fell after dark last night.

Here’s the path to Pixie’s potty spot.  Not only does she have to smell the ground, but the snow is up to her…belly, so it’s a bit difficult to get the correct angle…  There HAVE been a few times when I got us both dressed for outdoor activities, opened the door, and she turned around and walked back into the kitchen as if to say, "Oh, I forgot.  Not now!"

Today is another snow day for us.  Not only is the college closed, but there’s No Way I’d be out driving on these roads!  Left is the road in front of my neighbor's house.  Next is my driveway - no shoveling for me - that's what sunshine is for; right?  But there isn't any that I can see, and with the temp hanging out at 28, well, it may be later tomorrow before there's enough meltdown. 

Let’s see how much progress I made yesterday on BBD Winter Wonderland.  Doesn’t look like so much, but I’m certainly enjoying it!  More today…

I’ve had several comments about us southerners having more snow this year than our northern neighbors.  Yes, it does seem to be upsidedown, and I won’t speak for the rest of us, but I’m lovin’ it.  Y’all be patient and yours will come…ours is just a tad on the early and deep side.  I heard the forcaster say yesterday that this is more than we’ve had since 2004 – I had 18 inches on my deck that year – and I believe it was February!!

Thanks for coming by today.  I look forward to hearing your Needler’s Point and checking in to see what you’ve been up to lately!

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching

Charlene♥SC

Snow Day

Hey, Friends!

We’re having a Snow Day – Y E A H – as is just about everyone on the east coast I think.  My DS lives in Columbia, SC, middle of the state, and they have snow, too.  Hey, Karen, are you having a snow day, too?  Bet’cha are! 

Just a couple of updates, then I’m off to stitch the day away!  I finished Blackbird Designs, Snow Garden last night (1.9.11).  It is a part of the Anniversaries of the Heart series that I’m doing with the yahoo group, Blackbird Designs.  Mine will be on one piece of 32 ct. Belgium linen called Autumn Fields.  I’ve seen several of them, and they all seem to have a bit of different coloring, but guess that’s due to the over-dyed fibers.  With it’s name and the almost faded look it has, it reminds me of a cold, snowy, almost hazy day.  See the similarities of the coloring in the two photos above?  I personalized this one with my parents wedding date, January 20, 1950.

Next I’ve done a few more stitches on the Winter SAL, Winter Wonderland.  Now this one is right up my alley!  Love the bright colors, geese, and blackbirds!  Fun stitching, so that’s where I’m off to stitch today!

Thank you all for your sympathy and condolences for the passing of my aunt.  She will be greatly missed, but I’ll bet she’s cool now!   

Thanks for coming by today.  I look forward to hearing your Needler’s Point and checking in to see what you’ve been up to lately!

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching

 Charlene♥SC

Sun Shining

The sun is shining beautifully out the window…and it’s only 45`, but that’s better than it could be; right?

We had a bit of a snow event ~ everyone was saying, oh, it snowed on this day in March last year…  It snowed wet, heavy stuff, but pretty to watch, from about 10 am Monday until after midnight.  Since it had been a little warmer, the results only caused a two-hour delay for work.  This is how it looked around midnight.

I’m sorry to say I’m dropping out of the Round Robin for the Weather Poems.  As generous and kind as Ally is, and as sweet and pretty as the graphs are, I just don’t think I can handle twelve of these.  I’ve stitched for hours and hours on this little March chart, and see what’s finished? 

After that decision, I picked up Paulette’s Trifle (Plum Street Samplers) and began happily stitching away with DMC #48.

Want to see a little of the stash I’ve collected over the last little while.  These are some finishing fabbies and a few linens…

…and speaking of Paulette, on her blog she recommended some soaps from Wendy at BeSem Natural Scents.  With the cold weather induced dry skin, and all the butters and oils included in these little beauties, I had to give them a try. They arrived quickly, and they are THE best smelling, soapy, soothing soaps I’ve tried!  Wendy offers a ‘sample pack’ so that you can give several a try to pick your favorites!  She also threw in an extra-Pine.  I also got the Travel Bar, but it's in the shower - and yes, I did use it to wash my hair, too - as a test to see if it would really be a sub for shampoo bottles in the cosmetics case!  Yep, believe it can.

Thanks for stopping by, friends!  I really appreciate all your tips, suggestions, and concern last week, and have put some to the test.  Will let you know how they work out - and I am feeling better.  Hugs and love to y'all.

Happy Stitching!

Charlene

Snow? Ice?

Friday:  We are supposed to get some ‘wintery mix’ this evening through the day tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to it – just watching the snowflakes fall.  They say this is our best chance so far this year…we’ll see. I know SO many of you are buried deep in multi-feet of snow and are sick and tired of it, but forgive your South Carolina friend the excitement of having a few flakes, please.

Saturday:  Well – they were right! Not so much with the timing, but it did… something!  I just took Pixie out -- she was not impressed!  There are two plus inches of … some icy mixture.  I think it’s mostly sleet with a little snow mixed in… some minute flakes and pellets (?) are still falling, and if their prediction is correct, will for most of the day.  It’s not the beautiful huge flakes one loves to see falling, but it’s ‘snow’.  That prediction also says the temperature will be below freezing through most of the weekend, so what’s here is likely to stay for a while.  Yes, I stopped by the grocery a couple of times during the week: well stocked and ready!  Enjoying hot, flavored coffee while browsing this morning…

One of my long-time, online friends was doing some organizing – imagine that - and decided to share some magazines she thought I might like.  There wasn’t a duplicate of what I have in the group she sent, AND she also sent a couple of snowman charts that I don’t have.  How special is that RAOK?  Thank you so much, Lesa.  I really appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness – and Maddie’s approval!!

This week’s stitching has been good.  I finished “B” is for Buttons, with the exception of beads, with Brooke’s Books Alphabet SAL.

Finished Fa-La-La with the Little House Needleworks Monthly Ornament Stitch-A-Long Blog, Too group.  I had ‘finished’ stitching, then noticed the red bottom border on other members’ pieces… How did I miss that on the chart? It was quite a fun piece to stitch!  It, as the others will be, is stitched on 28 ct Tea Monaco 1x1 using the recommended fibers. I did add beads for the snowflakes and the candle's flame.       

Finished part 3 of the Needlemania 2 SAL with The Sampler Life.

On Friday night with Let’s Stitch, I finished the Sweetheart Kiss from Give Us a Kiss –Cricket Collection on 28 ct cream linen using recommended DMCs as another ornie for Friendly Stitchers’ Ornament-a- Month SAL.  Honestly, it's not as cute as I thought it would be - maybe when it is really finished...

I also started Lovely You, a freebie from Paulette at Plum Street Samplers on the same 28 ct cream linen using DMC 115.  With the encouragement of Edgar, I watched Great Expectations and Elmer Gentry last night  while stitching!  It was a tribute to the recently deceased actress, Jean Simmons. 

What?  Knitting?  Yes, I’m a very unskilled knitter!  I saw this on Snippets and Stash, and just thought it was SO cute – I even forwarded it to a friend who really knits.  When I was at Hobby Lobby – one of my favorite haunts – they had sock yarn on sale, so I went for it.  Now mine doesn’t look much like the one above, but it was a little something different while watching football last weekend.  Didn’t get too much done, you say?  Well… how many times did I pull it out before I got this far?  Let’s see – maybe five?  Found When I find the link again to an eerily similar story to mine – but very humorous, I'll update.  It made me laugh out loud and admire the fact that Annemarie ‘learns’ so much quicker than I do!

Well friends, that’s it for this week.  I hope you are having a great weekend, doing the things that you enjoy most!  I hope to be around your blogs to see you, soon!

    Peace~Love~Joy
and Happy Stitching!Charlene

Snowfall - March 1, 2009

The predidtions were right on target ... it began snowing in the early evening on Sunday, March 1, 2009. By about 9:00 pm, the deck furniture was covered. I stayed up late, with the expectation that work would be cancelled.

This morning at sunrise, the beauty of the fresh, unblimished snow covering the yard. If you notice the road looks as if it's beginning to clear, but that is ice! The temperature is 28.

The expectation is that it will rise to about 35 today, but the low of 15 tonight will create more ice for tomorrow morning. Work is cancelled today, and possibly a delay tomorrow, but we won't know until about 6:00 am once again. Here, in South Carolina we are not as prepared as our northern neighbors to cope with icy roads. I could probably deal with the snow, but glad I don't have to. Ice; no way!!

~Happy Stitching~
Charlene in SC.USA

Winter 2009

Yesterday, Monday we were off work in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Day. I wished so many times that it had been today, Tuesday, so that I could see the Inauguration of President Obama.

Today is a Snow Day here in South Carolina. I'm sure those of you under many feet of freezing snow won't be amused, but it's a real treat here. Yes, just slightly more than a dusting causes a stand still here.

But it's SO pretty falling...

My family has always been one that is superstitious to 'old wives tales.' One of the many I've always heard is that "if a red bird comes close to the house, it means snow is coming". Well, I've seen more cardinals this year than any I can remember. Was I looking for them, hoping for snow? Another is "if you hear thunder in the winter, in some number of days it will snow". Was it two or three weeks ago that we had a thunder storm? Is there really something to those old tales?

Mrs Cardinal

Mr Cardinal


Taking flight

And now I'm going to watch Barack Obama become sworn in as the President of the United States!!

~Happy Stitching~