Merry Christmas!

Well it's almost that time again, Christmas is upon us. It seems as I get older the faster it gets here. It's been a bit since I blogged, life has just been busy with work and the kids, you all know how it is. I hope to slow down some, stitch more and hopefully blog more than I did this year. I have been making stitching plans but I will post about that later! Today I am sharing my last finish of the year, Wee Santa 2011 by Heart in Hand Needleart. Stitch on a random 30 count linen with a mixture of Gentle Art and Weeks Dye threads. The buttons came with the pattern. I am not sure how I will finish it just yesterday. My favorite part is his little cone head hat!


These last two pictures are of the kids and I. Caleb on the left is 16, Alexis is 19 and Brandon is 20. This was taken right before we went out to dinner. Love them to pieces!


This one is just the kids...and one of the cats lurking about (Tabasco the Terrible)
We call him that because he terrorizes the other cats!



I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas filled with joy and may you have many blessings throughput the new year! Thanks for your visits and friendships! <3 br="">
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Eek! Where did October go?

I can't believe it's November! Where did October go for goodness sake? It seems as we get older, the time just zips on by. Also, this means that Christmas is next month!  Believe it or not, I have done some Christmas shopping. First, I want to thank everyone that has came by and left a comment in regards to my last post. It meant the world to me!  As to what I have been up to in the mean time, is a whole bunch of work. I am feeling like Grumpy from the Snow White and the bad thing is I am not sure when I will have any significant time off...sigh So, lots of work means very little stitching...and very little finishing of anything.

I did finish this Stacy Nash club piece Freedom from Country Sampler.  I love Stacy Nash and hope to stitch more of her stuff in the future. The kit came with the 30 count fabric and Gentle Art threads. I seem to be out of the current fall season of stitching, but one can never go wrong with a patriotic finish right?

Stacy Nash "Freedom"

Not much going on, I have started many other projects, cause I just love to start things. I will show some of them when I have a little more work done on them. I have been thinking of my project list for next year. Needless to say, it's quite long, but that is the fun of it.  I had joined the Wipocalypse, but I think I will refrain from that next year as I just don't keep up with it. I will leave you a picture of one my cats. This is Kiki, who is quite particular, it took her a long time to love us. She is sitting on one of my new chairs. I laugh, because sometimes I believe they think I bought the furniture for them! I hope your week is wonderful, blessings to you all!

A Finish Honoring My Grandmother

Finally here is Hannah Lovina Joslin 1856 by Blackbird Designs all completed! I am honoring my maternal grandmother Vida Mae McCants Salter with this sampler. I absolutely love seeing her name on this and it is one of the many things I love about Blackbird Designs. My grandmother was born December 18, 1904 in Alabama. She was the oldest of 12 children.  Those were very hard times and there wasn't much to be had.  She worked in the fields as a child and made about 10 cents a day. She only completed school until about the 8th grade, because she needed to help out at home with the other children and chores. She met and married my grandfather Mack Travis Salter in 1929.  She worked in the homes of others and when not doing that she was taking care of her family.. She went on the have 12 children of her own, of which 3 boys went to heaven. My mom is her youngest child and namesake. 

I became close to my grandmother as a baby, when she cared for me while my mom was in college. I stayed with her till I was about 4 years old. One summer, when I was about 15-16 I was tasked with taking care of my grandmother.  She had been ill and my family left me to stay with her till they could get some things organized. I was responsible for her meals, medications and general care. For me it was no hardship, and I firmly believe that moment in time that summer cemented my desire to be a nurse. I must admit to being scared and thinking that my family was nuts to leave me with her, but I took my job seriously because I couldn't let her down. I will never forget that summer. 

My grandmother died when I was 18 of cancer. I wish that we had had more time together.  Now that I am older I think of all the things I should have asked and talked to her about. Things that at the time I was too young to appreciate and understand the significance of. Things that I miss from our time together are fresh tomato sandwiches and egg custard pies. Two of her sister's didn't live far from her and we would walk to visit them. Also, every time we went into town, I could con her into getting me a small toy from the five and dime store ;-)  I miss her more than I can say. 

This is she and I. most likely when I was a little over a year old,  sometime in 1967.  We don't have a lot of pictures of my grandmother for some reason. I love the way my finger clutches hers.

That is my grandmother smiling the pink dress with the bun on top of her head. This was in 1976 at a family reunion and she is surrounded by two of her sisters and three of her brothers. I love this picture! Also, I get a kick out of seeing those seventies clothes too.

This last picture is most likely from 1979, and is probably the last formal picture we have of my grandmother. If you have made it to the end here, I appreciate your reading about someone that was and is still very special to me. Thank you! 

Blessings

xoxo

A few things to share...

from the magically fast needle of Sherri. She has finished a couple more of my African ladies for me. This makes African lady number 4 and she is halfway through number 5.  Then the series will be complete. I love this one because of the vibrant colors in her. At first, I must admit I thought she was a a bit bold, but she has grown on me and may be my favorite.  She is done on Week's 30 count cocoa with DMC thread. 

This is the third African lady below is called Ocean Wave. She is also stitched on a Weeks Dye Works linen-lilac I believe is the color. Unfortunately, the color washed out in the photo. It is also stitched in DMC.  As always, a very big thanks to Sherri!  Please forgive me for the pictures, these are not the best as they are from my phone camera. I can't find my battery charger for my camera! Hence some of the discolorations you see towards the bottoms of the pieces...meh!

Lastly, I sent a couple of pieces off the Faye (Carolina Stitcher) to be finished into project bags and these lovelies are what she sent back! She chose the fabrics. I asked for the applique because I love the way it looks. She did a wonderful job and I know I will enjoy using these. 

I still haven't completed my Hannah Joslin, but I am getting closer. I was hoping to have a finish before the end of the month. It's safe to say that wont happen. I have been working like a mad fool and my daughter was in the hospital for 6 very long days with a sickle cell crisis. Thankfully, she is better and I have slacked down on the work. It has been a very busy month. I am starting a small vacation tomorrow, can't wait and I am going to The Attic's Summer School on Friday. I am excited and nervous at the same time. First time ever going to Phoenix. I hope the rest of your week is a beautiful one!

xoxo

June Progress...

on Hannah Lovina Joslin by Blackbird Designs. I am loving this sampler, I just wish it wasn't taking me so long to get it stitched. But I am making progress!  I am honoring my maternal grandmother whose name you see above and the year of her birth.  It thrills me to no end to see her name on my work and this is one of the many things I love about Blackbird Designs. They really encourage you to honor your various family members.  In fact, I am inspired to stitch more samplers and honor two of my great grandmother's. They will most likely be a Blackbird Design, it's just a matter of deciding which one. When I get this one finished, I will tell you more about my grandmother. I miss her still, I was only blessed with 18 short years...but I am sure happy to have known her.

I also have been in the patriotic mood especially with Memorial Day recently, and Independence Day coming up. So I have been working on some patriotic designs. Hopefully, I will get one finished by this Friday. We shall see. I must run, thanks for all your sweet comments on my last finish and pictures.

xoxoxo

Primitive Bouquet Finish

This is Primitive Bouquet by Jardin Prive which has been lurking around in my stitching bag for quite some time. I would stitch on it whenever the mood struck and now its finally finished. I stitched it on my favorite neutral linen Creme Brulee by R & R Reproductions, this was 32 count and I used the recommended hand dyed threads by Nina (which if you haven't used are very nice) It did call for one DMC but I subbed Soot by GAST for the grey color you see. I am not sure what will be done with this one, framing perhaps...I sort of went through a like, dislike, like period with it. I am not sure why because I love the flowers and leaves.  The initials highlighted are S and G in homage to my maiden name of Green, plus I just liked the shape of the G better than the L :-)

I wanted to leave you with a favorite picture of mine from my recent cruise. This was taken on St. Thomas Virgin Islands  where I was blessed  to spend my birthday this year. This was taken by me from one of the higher points of the island. That is the Carnival Liberty we were on and this picture reminds me of a postcard every time I look at it. St. Thomas and San Juan, PR were both gorgeous places.

Here is one more because I can't resist leaving you with this picture of this beautiful butterfly. My cousin and I went into this little place called The Butterfly Garden and out back they had this area with butterflies floating around, some even came and landed on us and as you see were were able to get up close and take some really pretty pictures. I have more, but this is one of my favorites.

 

Thanks for all your sweet compliments on my needlepoint piece, I agree with you all that Sherri is awesome. I hope the rest of your weekend is beautiful and blessed!

xoxo

My needlepoint piece completed...

however it wasn't completed by me! My super nice and super fast stitching friend Sherri completed it for me. I love it! This is a  Pat and Lee Design  (#131). I thought I would try my hand again at needlepoint, but alas I find that crossing the tiny x's is what makes me the happiest. If you needlepoint at all, I do envy you, because it's a fabulous talent to have.  I have warned close friends and family, that if I even hint at buying a needlepoint canvas that they have permission to bong me on the head! Trust me, I have been tempted, but this is not an inexpensive hobby to have (who I am kidding, x-stitch is just as bad) Sherri is just too talented and it really didn't take her very long at to complete. All of the lovely background, the hills, pathway are all her very own additions because the background was originally all white. Also, all the different stitches were her own idea as this piece had no stitch guide for it. 

I have been meaning to do this post for awhile to thank Sherri! Without her help, it would be a very expensive piece languishing in a drawer. Now to get it framed!  To tell you just how nice Sherri is, she is stitching the rest of my Isabelle Vautier African Women. You see the first two in this post. There are 3 more in the series. She has completed two almost. So watch this space for some more fabulous finishes!  Thanks so much Sherri! Words can't express how much I appreciate your stitching these pieces for me!

Kitty Cat Row Finish...

After much procrastination, I finished Kitty Cat Row by Bent Creek.  I really could have finished this ages ago but...I really don't have a good excuse! LOL It is stitched on 32 count Earthen linen by Picture This Plus fabric and I used Dinky Dyes Silk threads. Stitch count 275 x 23. I had found this conversion for the silks on the Australian Stitches and Spice shop website, however I didn't want to pay that much for it and have to pay shipping from Australia. So looking at their picture I went through Dinky Dyes thread pictures on 123 Stitch and picked the colors as close as I could to theirs.  Not an exact match of course, but I like it.  I really like the funky cat as I call it (cat #5). I will eventually get it framed and hang it in my laundry area.  The piece was supposed to have 2 little stitched mice, however I opted to add some butterfly buttons I had instead. Sorry the picture is a little cut off at the end, it was not easy to photograph.

I hope your Mother's Day was terrific. Happy Mother's Day to everyone. I made my mom a German Chocolate cake and spent the day over to her house. It was a nice and relaxing day. Anyway, it's on to something else now, millions of other projects waiting in the wings!  Have a blessed week my friends!

xoxo

Blog Anniversary and a Giveaway!

This month I celebrate blogging for 8 years! I can't believe it's been that long. My very first post was back in April of 2006. At the time,  my husband and I had separated and blogging was a big diversion for me. Through blogging, I have met some wonderful friends and now that social media is all the rage I can connect even better through Facebook and Instagram.  I am not the worlds best blogger, sometimes I feel that I don't have much to say or what I do want to say is boring, so therefore I don't post a whole lot. Perhaps, it's because I can connect through other social media that I don't blog as much. One of the reasons I continue to blog is that I find blogs to be such an inspiration for new ideas, finishing techniques and naturally stash enhancement, the friends I have made are priceless. .

So in the spirit of friendship,  I would like to give away Blackbird Designs Loose Feather's #8. My Friend's House, I will include the chart, the fabric and the threads to go with it.  Please leave me a comment if you are interested in being part of the drawing.  This will run through midnight of April 17th and then I will draw a winner via the good old random generator.

Edited: Pat is the winner!

                                   

Blessings my friends!!

xoxox

Finally a Finish...

Promised Lamb by Plum Street Samplers. I love the colors in this piece. I could have been finished a few days ago, but I have been lolly gagging around. It's stitched on an unknown to me Lakeside Linen in 32 count, using the recommended Gentle Arts threads.  I only changed my angels wings to pink just cause I like pink ;-) I haven't decided what to really work on next, going to refer back to my list I think and go from there. I am going to try to finish Kitty Cat Row though. 

Nothing much going on around here, my son turned 20 yesterday! Where does the time go? I just brought him home from the hospital, didn't I? I am getting ready for another cruise next month, looking forward to it. It's an all girl trip-so lots of laughs are on order and we celebrate my birthday and another of the ladies birthday while we are gone. In fact, I will be in St. Thomas, V.I. for my birthday. I love saying that! LOL I hope to get a little stitching in. I do know one thing, I will be having chocolate melting cake every night for dessert. My hips won't appreciate it, but my mouth sure will. 

  

I leave you with a picture of my Kensi, she is my youngest cat and a tortie. She is so sweet and spoiled. Love her to death!  Hope the rest of your week is wonderful!

xoxo 

February WIPocalypse

It seems as we get older, these days, weeks and months pass by so fast! Here we are again and I am late for the February WIPocalypse posting. I have been stitching, however I have been working quite a bit and sometimes reading (my other love).  My baby turned 16 and just got his learner's permit. So if you hear any yelling, it's probably me! LOL  I didn't make my goal of finish anything this month, but perhaps next month will be my month!  So here are my current wip's.

Promised Lamb by Plum Street Samplers

Hannah Lovina Joslin 1836 by Blackbird Designs 

My Instagram SAL

Kitty Cat Row by Bent Creek with a little help from one of my furry friends as you can see. So I hope to finish at least one of these because as you know my list is long and the Nashville Market just finished and naturally I found some new projects I want to start!

  Tell me what were some of your favorites from market?  I ordered English Garden by Blackbird and a couple of Stacy Nash's-I am not a border person but her flower borders just call to me. Anyway, I must run, thanks for your continued friendships and visits!

xoxoxo

January WIPocalypse

Well finally, I  sat down and made a list of  my stitching plans for next year. Naturally, the list is still crazy and ambitious, but that is the fun of it! I rejoined the WIPocalypse and I hope to do better about posting.  I already have quite a few of these projects in play and it's just a matter of taking the time and getting to work on them. I have been trying to stitch a little in the morning after work and since that is something I don't normally do, I am hoping it will help propel me to finishing more.  I have found that, I enjoyed having a working list to refer back to, especially when finishing a project. It definitely has helped me focus on what I want to stitch next.

My current wip Promised Lamb

                                                               
The topic for the January WIPocalypse was for us to introduce ourselves, our projects and our goals. Many of you know me so just skip on by the next part!

My name is Sharon and I have been blogging now for almost 8 years. I can't believe it's been that long. I have 3 busy teenagers, 2 in high school and 1 in college. I have 5 cats and my daughter may kill me if I get anymore. I love to read, stitch, Internet surf and watch NCIS. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram.  I currently work an RN on a mother/baby unit.

My projects are listed here and you can read pretty much what my goals are above. My main goal is to finish anything!

ES Sport Motif Sampler by Of Female Worth*
Promised Lamb by Plum Street Samplers*completed 3/11/14
Away We Ride by Blackbird Designs*
Primitive Bouquet by Jardin Prive*  completed 5/31/14
Kitty Cat Row by Bent Creek* completed 5/11/14
Ohio Treasure by Threadwork Primitives( This is going to be a restart on different fabric)
Christmas Village by Threadwork Primitives
Jane Pattison 1806 by Shakespeare's Peddler (My New Year start)*
Love Thy Neighbor by Plum Street Samplers
Hannah Lovina Joslin 1856 by Blackbird Designs (An Instagram SAL  completed 9/8/14
Bittersweet September by Blackbird Designs*
Tombstone Sports by The Primitive Needle *
 Thine is the Trick and the Treat (SAL with Jinger)*
Sleigh Rides and Snowflakes by The Scarlett House
Summer at Hollyberry Farm by Stacy Nash
Thankful Davis by R & R Reproductions
Margaret Cottam by La D Da
Trellis Blackbirds by Plum Street Sampler
Freedom Needle Book by Stacy Nash added and completed 10/13/14

I am still in The Ladies Prim Society at Dyeing 2 Stitch.. I also decided to move back over into the Stacy Nash Girls Club with Country Sampler.

Anyhow, I am excited for the stitching year, so many great projects and Nashville is coming up quick! Thanks for your continued visits.

Blessings
xoxo