Berries all around...

Hey, Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day!  Mine started on Wednesday with a special delivery of chocolate covered strawberries.  Yum! I’m always amazed at how big some of them are! Saturday we saw Iron Man III then went to a new-to-me place for sushi.  Both were excellent! I’m a very proud and thankful Moma!  I really should try to remember to take pics because the dishes were lovely, but we were both hungry!  Then on Sunday I cooked roast pork for BarBQue at Mom’s.  I got her a toaster oven and she seemed pleased.   



Mary Gibson is framed!  They always do a very fine job at my LNS, Stitch and Frame.  Are you familiar with her?  Her origin is from Haslemere Educational Museum, and I got the chart from Needleprint.  I think she turned out beautifully and she will hang proudly along with the other (much smaller) A&Es! 

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

Really Spring

Hey, Friends!

We’re really getting some spring around here!  That yellow-green pollen has taken over the car, porch, driveway…  We even had a bit of a storm with some rain, but all that did was make pollen mud.  That’s OK – at least it’s not snowing; right? No - last week it was in the 80s - now the highs are 60s.  

DS and I went to Mom’s last Saturday and picked up fallen branches and trimmed pampas grass for burning.  These kinds of chores make me realize how  lazy sedentary I am – my legs were sore for days!  And we didn’t finish, either.  There will be another day about the same to get it done. Doesn’t that kind of day make you realize how great a shower feels? 

Do you know that Ball is making blue jars for their 100th anniversary in 2013.  I picked mine up from Ace Hardware last week.  If you have one close to you, they MAY have them in stock, but if not you can order them online and have them delivered to your local store with no shipping charges.  Some of the sites I checked were charging outrageous shipping fees. I got an extra box of jars for less than the shipping would have been for one!

What?  Oh, stitching.  I finished stitching the sweet little bunnies that were offered by Snowflower Diaries.  I used some ‘limited’ unnamed over-dyed threads, and a few named ones, too.  It’s stitched over one on 28ct linen.  Have you seen her new design?  Check it out here.  

Then there were a few letters of the alphabet along with a tiny bird I wanted to stitch for a little surprise.  I’ll try to remember to get a pic of them before they head out.  But I didn’t remember to do that… oh well.

Yesterday a few stitching pals got together for some retail therapy at my LNS, Stitch and Frame.  I had Mary Gibson sized up for framing, and picked up some silks for an upcoming project. It looked like they found some things they “needed” as well.  We went for a little sustenance, and on to Starbucks for the chatting and stitching portion of the afternoon with handy caffeine.  I didn’t take a single photo… It was great sharing the day with such good stitching friends.

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

February’s (Coming) Here

Hey, Friends!

Last week I was looking at Karen’s Handiwork, and she said “I am off now to attempt my first mattress pincushion finish…”  I commented that I couldn’t wait to see her results.  I thought it was kind of funny when I didn’t hear back from her when I asked, “Who’s on the mattresses?”  I had been watching You’ve Got Mail (for the 20^th time).  Just thought, she really is off to work on it.  Well, I could not believe it when I opened mail to find this wonderful mattress pincushion in person!  It is my favorite design from PS, Friends.  Karen’s stitching is exquisite, and the seam-work where it's put together is so lovely, too.  There are even hand-made pins that are just perfect!  It may take a while before I can put it to its intended use -- it'll be a work of art to admire for a while.  The hand-made card is cute as can be, too. Karen, everything is beautiful, and I thank you so much, my friend. 

I have really been spoiled in January!   Jackie, Faye, Kathy, Karen-AZ, and Karen-SC.  Thank you all for starting 2013 by making me feel so special!  Stitching friends are absolutely THE best! 

Mary Gibson got a couple of extra hours this week.  I woke at 3:30 am and was hot, tossing and turning, so I got up and stitched until time to get ready for work.  Of course by then I didn't want to go… but I did.  I have high hopes for Superbowl Sunday stitching.  I must be the slowest stitcher ever, but page six is almost done.

Since February is on the way here, it’s time to do some heart Valentine finishing; right?  I’m sure there’s a stack of them someplace in that room!  So when I got up this morning, I decided to go ahead and finish Endless Hearts that has been stitched since February 2012!  I was thinking of adding some buttons, but came across this rusted heart.  Pooh – it was solid… how to attach it?  Then I thought of this little drill I bought a couple of years ago, but never used.  Now there, a tiny hole to stitch it on! 

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

A Few Finishes

Hey, Friends!

I subscribe to Mary Corbet’s Needle'nThread site.  She does beautiful handwork, has a fantastic list of ‘how to stitch’ videos, and does a lot of great reviews for stitch-related items.  This week she shared a great idea – a fabric swatch book.  Many of you may already have one of these, but I don’t and wonder why not!

In the mail this week I got a special treat from Karen in Arizona.  It’s a little pieced pin cushion with embroidery stitching, and trimmed with buttons and pins.  Thank you so much, Karen.

I’m still stitching on Mary Gibson, but since I left work early on Friday because of the ice storm, got a little extra stitching in.  So I spent a little while working on a few finishes.  There’s Jingle all the Way, Winter Row, and Merry Christmas.  Those links will take you to the post where they stitched.  You can see these and others over at SNTF.

I received a comment from an Anonymous user named Ada, but couldn’t reply due to No-Comment address.  With some effort I found out that she is the creator of the DoLolly that I wrote about years ago.  She has been very sick for some time, but is now selling them again.  If you’re interested, you can find them on here on eBay.

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

What's old is new again.

Hey, Friends!

I’m not sure if this is the first time it has happened to me, but I’m noticing it a lot now.  I’m stitching Mary Gibson, who has been UFO for a couple of years.  My last memory of her was that the border was attracting lots of frogs.  Knock on wood; it seems to be flowing along effortlessly.  I say Yayyy!  Maybe she will stay a WIP until she’s finished after all.  Mary has nine charted pages, and here she is as of today; seven pages done.  She’s bigger than I expected on 40ct – about 14x16. 

Many of us have talked about working on our WIPs this year.  I’m curious: when does a WIP (work in progress) turn into a UFO (unfinished object) in your opinion?  And what are the reasons yours become UFOs?  I usually get distracted by something else – holiday stitching or something new that has my love!

Some are posting lots of great and wonderful 2013 finishes.  My mind asks why I don’t have any finishes… part of my plan for 2013 is to enjoy stitching without pressure or obligation – kind of like the Blogging without Obligation. 

I do intend to get some of those stitched items finished along with others on Stitched: Now to Finish.  Here’s my first of the year – Joy by Blackbird Designs.

 I am the very lucky winner of a mini-fabric sampling giveaway by Kathy Schmitz.  Aren’t the colors great?  Just my style!  You can see a little video of Kathy’s creative process on her site.  Thanks for sharing, Kathy! 

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

What’s up for 2013?

Hey, Friends!

Blogging friends are the best and RAoKs (Random Acts of Kindness) are SO special.  

I got an email from Cherie at 123 Stitch saying I had received a gift certificate, and after a little investigation discovered it was from Jackie of Scattered Threads.  A couple of Adam and Eve charts that were on my Wish List are now here with me! Again, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, Jackie. 

Have you seen the project bags made by Faye, the Carolina Stitcher?  They are not only beautiful, but made so well with great quality and excellent details!  And her precious scissor fobs – don’t you just love, love ém?  I sure do.  Thank you so much, Faye.  I’m thrilled and delighted.  If you’re interested in getting Faye to make some for you, click the link above and check out her creative finishing, too.   

Lots of you start a new project on New Year’s Day, and I usually do, too. The old wives tale says that whatever you do on New Year’s Day will be what you do throughout the year, and I don’t want to be starting lots of new projects, but rather finishing them.  This year I've decided to work on WIPs, so on New Year’s Day I’ll continue stitching on Mary Gibson, and not a new start piece.  I have done an inventory of sorts, and decided which of my WIPs will be on the list.  There are several that I’ll hang onto for a while before getting rid of them, but that is likely!  I do plan to continue with Country Cottage Needleworks, Santa’s Village.  Santa’s House and Poinsettia Place are finished and awaiting North Pole Post Office.

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

May your 2013 be filled with PeaceëLoveëJoy

and Happy Stitching!

Charlene♥SC

and

Happy New Year!

 Hey, Friends!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

What are you stitching now that Christmas is over?  Will you begin a new project on New Year’s Day?  Have you joined the New Year's challenges?  I’ve finished Santa’s Village, Poinsettia Place.  By the way, I did notice that missing berry, and it has since been added.  Now I’ve returned to Mary Gibson, and want to finish this WIP before starting any new projects.  I believe last January was the last stitch added.  I'll share an update photo next time.

On Saturday, my LNS, Stitch and Frame, had their New Year before inventory sale.   Found a few charts I couldn’t do without, a few fibers, a bit of linen, and they gave a discount coupon to be used at some time later in the year.

Did you get to see any of the multitude of movies that came out in December?  DS and I went to see The Hobbit.  It was really good, wasn’t it? 

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

I'm grateful  for  a brand New Year – filled with

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching
Charlene♥SC
      and  

        

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

Hey, Friends!

It’s TuSAL time à  See the sidebar.

Yesterday on the way home from work I could tell there had been some heavy rain, but the downtown market was set up under tents so I stopped to see if they had some veggies.  They have all kinds of things – baked goods, passed – jewelry, passed several – ah, there they were – veggies, stopped.  Then it started to sprinkle…then rain…then downpour!  The kind folks at the veggie stands let several of us park ourselves under their tents until it slacked off some.  Do you know what this melon is?  I’d never noticed it before, but the kind lady was giving samples and it is really good!  I got these things and quickly made my way to the car.  Think I’ll be sure to check the sky before I stop next time!

Recently I’ve been spending some stitching time with Mary Gibson.  She’s been sitting in the WIP stack since January, so it’s time for her to have a little love since I enjoy her so much!  If you want to see the progress, click above.

Have I told you that when DS (dear son) visits we have been watching Battlestar Galactica?  Well, we finished the entire series the last time he was here.  Next we’ve decided to watch Breaking Bad.  It’s a series that is still on, but there are several seasons on NetFlix.  On my own, I watched Mad Men up to this current season.  The bad part is, I hate to stop once it’s started.  I can refrain for a week, but if I watch one, it’s on!

Outside the window at the doctor’s office, there were a couple of bird feeders.  I used to keep hummingbird feeders, but it seemed more and more the juice would sour in a day or two, so I stopped.  In the winter, I would keep wild birdseed, but that declined as well.  After seeing the seed sock covered with what I call Yellow Finches (actually they’re Goldfinch), I decided to get one.  The very next day I saw what I presume to be a female enjoying her snack with the mister sitting on another stake keeping an eye out.  Oh, and the hummingbirds – they’re enjoying the red hibiscus (not in this photo) that are still blooming – those that the weed eater didn’t get!

Thanks for stopping by, today and always.  I appreciate your thoughts and comments!  I hope everyone has a great, stitch weekend, and that you get some much needed rain.

I'm grateful for raindrops !

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching
Charlene♥SC

No Snow Here

Hey, Friends!

Have you been seeing the snow of all our stitching friends?  Judy commented that my sidebar thermometer stated that it was 71 degrees (the thermometer was wrong) and it was snowing at her home.  It still is, by the way, and beautiful.  The outlook isn’t so positive around these parts this year (February?).  But if you want to see some lovely snow, grab a big cuppa something hot and take a look over at Michele’s or Beth’s. 

I live in the country which means there’s a horse pasture across the road and a creek beside my house, and we use well water.  When one has a well there are parts (don’t know exactly what they are) that are above ground and should be covered in some manner. I’ve always said NO to fake rocks, so for that first Christmas I asked my folks for a ‘wishing well’ cover. This is a spring picture from 2009.  We’ve been here about 15 years and it finally crumbled.  I have been looking all around town at hardware and places where there were wooden swings, etc. but couldn’t find another wishing well… so I crumbled, too, and now have a fake rock!

Remember those knitting needles from the consignment shop?  I took a couple days off from stitching and started a few scarves.  That didn’t last very long – but they’re there when I need to busy my hands!  A little stitchy gift surprise is in the works, so I won’t show it just yet.  

Then I pulled out Mary.  She’s been napping since the urge to stitch smalls hit me – when was that … October? Nope, it was November 6.  Oh, Mary Who?  Why, it’s Mary Gibson.  I was happy to see her and get reacquainted!  She’s a very light and bright girl!

I'm grateful that DS visited on Saturday! 

Thanks for all your kind words and comments.  Sometimes they feel like hugs, don’t they? 

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching
Charlene♥SC

Falling Back

Hey, Friends!

Did you set your clock back last night or this morning? 

Yes, going back to work was fairly tough, but the week is over and now back into the routine.  There were good things to go back to… we’re back to fully staffed now – yeah – for the first time in several years!  The pressure relief  was honestly noticeable, and I guess the rest from being away helped some on that front, too.

I made a couple more of the little string catchers for practice.  

You’ve asked to see my progress with Mary Gibson, so here she is – not nearly as far along as I’d hoped, but ...  I’ll say it’s just less than one quarter finished. I’m going to finish the page I’m working on, then will turn my attention to a few Christmas ornies to share stitching time.

 Did you see that Diane at Little House Needleworks has decided to carry on with the monthly ornaments she’s created for the last two years?  Of course you know that The Twisted Stitcher, Vonna,  is the talented artist who finishes them; right?  If luck and hope holds out, I’m trying to get to meet her this year… more on that later!

Now I’m going to hop around to see what you’ve all been up to.  Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate all your words of kindness!

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching
Charlene♥SC

Autumn Leaves

Hey, Friends!

There hasn’t been a lot of stitching going on, but a little on Mary Gibson.  It is enjoyable, but there hasn’t been much time.  Here’s her progress.

Do you need more patterns for Awareness?  Check out the DMC Blog – they’ve got a few cute ones.

Mom decided she was ready to get out of the house, so she, DS, and I drove up to the North Carolina–Tennessee mountains Saturday.  It was such a gorgeous day – glorious sunshine up to the mid 60s – perfect.  The autumn colors are not at their peak, but beautiful none the less.

The majestic mountain range in the distance is breathtaking!

 There were cars pulled off the road - as if there were lots of extra space - looking at this animal grazing in the distance.  Who is he? an elk?

Wouldn't it be grand to look out your window in the morning to this blazing sight?  It looked as if it were just perched on a big rock.  

 Then far off in the distance (click as much as possible) there was what may be a chateau peeking out from amid the trees.  Or could it have been the tiny house we see up close above? 

Thank you for stopping by today, your comments, and your support - they truly mean a lot!

PeaceëLoveëJoy and Happy StitchingCharlene♥SC

Quick Update

Hey, Friends!

Quick update – DSs dental surgery went fine.  He was here for a quick visit yesterday.  I was surprised that they now give steroids for what they said was to prevent swelling.  I guess it works because he may have been a tad puffy, but not much at all.  Dad is still about the same.

My sleeping schedule has been really weird lately – one night I went to be around 10pm, which is way early for me, and last night, Saturday, I went at 9:30.  What’s up with that?  I kept dozing off, even after a cuppa, so to bed I said.  Then at 4:00am I woke, so I’ve cleared a kitchen counter and had a couple cups, and now I’m here writing. Talk about a day of stitching?

And speaking of stitching, I usually get in a little while waiting for Mom to get her hair done, but things didn’t work out for that yesterday, so I’ve still got a little to go on the last Halloween piece I was working on, but …

I could not wait to start Mary Gibson, so here is her beginning.  I did a quick floss toss, and decided on Lakeside 40ct Vintage Misty Rain from my stash, and the recommended DMC fibers.  She’s going to be my WIP while I do smalls for Halloween and Christmas.

Wow – there was just a short downpour.  Much needed, and we’ve been fortunate in the last few days to get some.

Thanks for visiting and leaving your kind comments.  I love the smiles they bring! 

Have a great Sunday of stitching and your favorite fall activities – football??  Best of luck to your team and to mine – Things are looking up for our Carolina Panthers!

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching
Charlene♥SC

A Nip in the Air

Hey, Friends!

This morning when I went to take Mom to get her hair done, it was 55 and now it’s 60 at 2:30pm.  A nice cool day – nothing better than stitching and sipping a hot cuppa!  I love, love it.

Just stopping in to say things are about the same around here - still going to Mom & Dad’s every day after work to see how they are and what they need.  Going on Tuesday to take DS to get his wisdom teeth removed, so things are just clicking along. 

Doing a little bit of stitching – may have longer today for a nice case of Stitch Ass – as Siobhan calls it!  Hers will have far better results than mine! After the current fall piece, it may become Christmas for a few days…

Speaking of Christmas, my Just Cross Stitch 2011 Ornaments’ issue came this week.  There are some cuties, but I know when I see yours all stitched up and finished, I’ll want to do them all!

I’m loving so many of the fall/Halloween pieces that are coming out now, that didn’t come out in Baltimore.  Oh, and how about that Mary Gibson I saw over at Terri’s place – from the Haslemere Museum.  Yes, she’s already in my stash!   I’ve now seen her all over … thanks for sharing the love, Terri!

I’m going to visit around your sites a bit, then on to get the stitching day going!  Thanks for dropping in, saying a word or two, and being so kind.  Love y’all bunches!

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching
Charlene♥SC