What Happened?

Once again, life has kept me from posting on my blog as often as I would like. When did everything get so hectic around here? I want my dull, take it one day at a time life back! Hopefully this is just a phase!

I picked up several new additions for my rooster/hen collection that I found on sale. I have no idea how or why I got hooked on these feathered fouls. Maybe I got one as a gift years ago and it grew from there or possibly I saw one I liked and bought it to fill a space but it all started somewhere. I don't buy them often and I don't have many but I am always on the look out for a special one or a good sale price!


I have been on a stitching break for awhile. First, it was because my wrists were bothering me. Then DH took some vacation time and we worked on catching up on life in general. After he went back to work, I kept telling myself to start stitching but it just never happened for one reason or another. I did use the time to straighten up my stash and threads though. I even kitted up a few more patterns and made a list of threads I have run out of so I can pick them up on my next trip out.

I mentioned several posts ago that I had ordered a couple of other patterns that I had been wanting. They arrived and with all my new stash to tempt me, I want to start them all! Wouldn't that be chaos! I know that Mother's Garden by BBD is in the top running. I just love it. I have an idea in mind for the initials that is a little different than what Barb used but it will work for me! After I get a start on it I will let you in on my idea! For now, I am going to start on a new freebie by The Primitive Hare to get my mojo up and running again.


Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Happy October!

Fall has arrived this weekend in the South. The weather has said that the warmer temps will return next week so far now I will enjoy the crisp cooler days and flannel pajamas at night. DH has been working those odd hours again that totally throw my internal calendar out of whack. I don't get a lot of stitching accomplished when he works these hours so I don't have any new progress photos to show off.

Every now and then when I become over envious of everyone's beautiful stitching on linen, I will pull out my 28ct. Monaco fabric to practice on. I keep hoping that one day my eyes will miraculously develop perfect vision again on their own whim and I will be able to turn out the same stunning work on this beautiful fabric. Oh, I'm not complaining because for so many years I unable to stitch at all but it can't hurt to try every so often. Right?


OMG! What was I thinking! I got it all set up and ready to put a few xxxxx's in. I went cross eyed in no time flat and had blurry vision for over 10 minutes. DH kept looking at me funny and finally asked why I was blinking so much! Maybe after I eventually have eye surgery I can try again but not now! So, I will visit blogs and drool over everyone's masterpieces on linen. As for me, Aida has been with me since the beginning and I can still count (literally) on it.

What WIPs do I have in my basket now? Marianne and The Mother's Tree are my current ones. The ones I saw alone and forgotten are A Weary World Rejoices by Shakespeare Peddler (which was nearing it's end when I set it down & pictured below) and AAFG by Rosewood Manor (which I have been working on for about 5 years now. OMG!) It might even be a good center piece to put into an A&E wall. I am about half way finished with that one. It's a fun stitch but it does get tedious.


My neighbor and I love to watch the hummingbirds during our daily chats out in the yard. She has several feeders and her yard is always full of the little friendly ones but I don't have a feeder this year and I miss them terribly. The other day, she came knocking at my door with a present for me! A hummingbird feeder. How sweet of her! Now I can drink my morning coffee on the deck and enjoy their flights! Below is a picture of my first visitor!


I played around with my pincushion collection, wanting to show them off as showcase worthy as possible. I found an old glass cookie jar, empty in the cupboard and decided to use it for now. My favorite one is an old red velvet like material. It was my first pincushion as a new wife and has been used over and over until it is now soft, faded, worn and stuffed with memories of quilting, last minute repairs on an item before someone left for school or work, homemade Halloween costumes, crafts for school projects and much more. Even though the others are also loaded with pins, I always reach for this one first. Some things just feel right.


Thanks for stopping by! Your visits and comments make my day brighter!

Slushy Monday

I don't know that I have a lot of news or anything exciting to share. It's been cold. Then it turned warm. I stitched. Then it got cold again - real cold. Before the snow and ice arrived on Friday, we went grocery shopping. I picked up some more DMC - a major haul this time. I stayed warm and cozy indoors all weekend and I stitched except for the several times I ventured out to refill the feeders for the birds.

The weather people are already predicting several more winter storms for us in the upcoming week. Sleet on Tuesday and another winter mix next weekend. Of course, weather forecasts change day to day or even hour to hour so we really won't know until something (if anything arrives).

While I was out doing errands before the winter storm, I picked up several more tomato pin cushions. Now I can accommodate all my pins and even sort them. I love these. But my favorite one is my oldest one and is a well worn soft velvety red tomato (at the far right). I also picked up some more pins to fill them up with and some foam board.

I went through my stash again. I have all my designs boxed up into the following categories 1. Definitely to do 2. Finished and/or no longer interested 3. I can't decide whether to keep it or not. I finally went through that last category and really made myself decide what to keep and what to say good bye to. I have added some more designs to my trade blog. I know there are some other AIDA stitchers out there besides myself and I have some 14ct. up for trade on the blog as well. I mainly use 18ct. and Hardanger now.

I worked on "A Mind..." last week. I am still on the zig zaggy divider. It is coming along but not as quickly as I had hoped. As I said before, I really want to wait until the divider is complete before posting another progress picture. After the divider is finished, it should be smooth sailing. Believe it or not, I have really wondered about leaving the top alphabet and divider off completely and just going on from there. Hmmm. I guess I would always know but it's not like I haven't done stuff like that before to make it a little easier on me. *tapping finger on my chin*
It seems that so many people have theme walls for their stitching. Adam and Eve wall, sampler wall, mermaid wall and the list goes on. I like this idea but I wonder how long it would take me to fill up all the walls I would like to do. Better yet do I have enough empty wall space to accommodate all the themes I have in mind so for now everything goes up as it is ready then later as my wall(s) begin to get full, I will begin to think about seperating it all into themes. LOL. Best not put the cart ahead of the horse!

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Brrrrrrr! It's Cold Outside!

The temps are in the teens! I'll just stay indoors, thank you very much!

After having Harold home for 2 weeks over the holidays, the house feels empty. I miss him. I really do enjoy having him around. Sometimes we work on our "to do" list which we managed to knock a few items off of, we go out or we just sit around watching old movies and other shows on TV. New Years Eve he wanted to watch a Three Stooges marathon. I never liked the Stooges but this time I couldn't help but laugh some with him.

On Monday, I went to pick out my new glasses! Finally. I have known I needed a stronger prescription and the doctor even agreed by writing one up. I was holding back because of the frames. I like my current frames but have used and reused them to the point that they are on their last go round. The type of frame I wear hasn't been in style for a while. I ended up picking out 4 frames then letting the assistant help me choose by telling me which ones she liked best on me (since I can't see worth a hoot without my glasses). I should have my new glasses in about a week. They will definitely be a big change compared to what I am wearing now and since my eyes are so bad on their own, I really won't know for sure how I like them on me until I pick them up! *fingers crossed*

On a fun note, one of my many challenge layouts from December was a winner over at Category Stories! How neat is that! Also, I thought I would share another corn husk doll with you. This one is a baker. I picked her out of my aunt's collection since I enjoy baking (when I have all the ingredients and no one bothers me).

How many of you are still using stitching rotations? I love the idea but I can never hold myself to them. *big sigh* I love to know how other people stitch, their routines, their favorite fabrics, colors, designers and more. I took some time out to go through my fabric stash and see what might be needed. I hate to run low and running out is just the worst!

Next time, I will post a progress update on MHIBIG. It's coming right along. Five colors in the border and I am almost finished with 1 of them. Till then, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart! Thanks for stopping by!

A Giveaway and Happy Places

There really isn't a lot of exciting and fun news to report on right now. I am already sick of this hot weather (although our July 4th weekend turned out nice and comfortable). Usually when July comes around, I am so ready for Fall and try to satisfy my desire for this season by surrounding myself with any and everything Fall. Of course I can't pull out the sweaters just yet but notice that I changed my blog template! Actually, I enjoy all the Seasons. I can just tolerate some longer than others. Summer is definitely on my "short" list with all the heat and humidity!

How do I start off my mornings? Why with a cup of coffee, of course and reading my stitching blogs while enjoying them. There are also a couple of other blogs I especially enjoy. Daisy Cottage and Birdnest Cottage. Wander on over and visit them!

I am going to have a different type of giveaway this time. It's not anything stitching or craft related. In the past I have mentioned how I enjoy collecting miniature books. I realized that I recently bought one that I already have. I could take it back to the store for a refund or just exchange it but what fun would that be! I have alot more now than what the picture shows and I think I will leave the book as a surprise!

Leave a comment on this post only by Friday, July 10 at 9pm EST stating that you would like your name to be entered in the drawing for this. Make sure you leave a link to your blog or an email address so that I contact you if you are the winner! The winner will be annnounced on Monday.

This Little Piggy

I apologize for my lack of posting lasting again last week but it was definitely a full week! I tried to catch up on housework from when I was gone a mere 2 days, I discovered that I had to adjust to this new medication I am on so there times I didn't feel so great, I didn't feel sick but I sure enough ran a fever for several days and I spoke with my Dad several times just because.

Harold went on his yearly astronomy outing last week. I hate it when he is gone at night and if he had been gone because of work, I would have had no problem fussing about his absence whether it did any good or not but I just feel too strongly about the importance of hobbies so I encouraged to him to go and enjoy his trip. I did envy him because the group went to West Virginia this year and to the exact same location that Harold and I vacationed in last summer! What beautiful and peaceful part of the country! If it hadn't been a camp out, stay up all night to watch the stars then sleep all day kind of trip I might have tagged along. After years of Cub Scouts with the boys, I swore I would never sleep on the ground again and I am definitely not a night owl! I did use the time to work on my stitching a little bit and used this as a sort of mini vacation for myself as well. Pot pies, pizza, sandwiches and other simple meals for dinner! I did the essentials so life as we know it didn't fall apart but then I did more of my own thing than usual. Stitching, gardening, watching and enjoying the birds plus watching some really good movies!

Even though I did get some stitching done, I decided to take my time on this piece so I don't have much new to show. Maybe I will have a burst of energy this week and get alot done on it! Instead I will share a picture of my piggy family. I got them on a trip to the mountains also. We stopped at a gift shop and when I exclaimed over them, the owner told me that her 5 year old grandson wanted to make some money and made these from clay. I asked him how much he wanted and he said $4! LOL! I gave him $10.

Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart!

Monday Review

I didn't get any stitching done over the weekend as I had planned because I got a last minute phone call from my step sister asking if I wanted to ride up and see our folks for Father's Day. I have been wanting to see my Dad since he got home from the hospital so I packed a bag and off we went! Unfortunately when I got there I found out that my Dad's health was not as good as I had thought and the news was not good. The next few months will be rocky for all of us to say the least.

I was so tired when I got home yesterday I just rested then went to bed early but I have some extra stitching time coming up later this week so I plan to take advantage of it but for today I will show off another pig from my tiny collection.

Over the past several weeks, we have ordered and watched a few movies on Pay Per View. Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood was the first. I have never been a big Clint fan especially of his westerns but this movie was great! We all enjoyed it and I highly recommend it! The next movie we ordered was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I had been wanting to see this. You were able to see WWII through a child's eyes which gave a whole new meaning to war. For those of you who haven't seen it, I don't want to spoil the ending but it was not anything like I was expecting! Definitely another good movie and a must see! I watched this movie several times before our viewing period expired.

Until next time, dear friends, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart. Thank you for stopping by to visit with me and I hope you come back soon!

Oink! Oink!

I thought I would share a picture of one of my pigs today. It is one of my many collections. On the base rests a campaign button from the Eisenhower presidency that I found at a yard sale a few years back and scored for a whopping quarter! Hey, hey big spender!

Blogging and hobbies often suffer during the summer months with school being out, family vacations, yard work and all this on top of life's every day chores.
I did manage to pull one of the charts from my stash to start on. I will wait until I have a little more done to post a picture and leave it as a surprise until then as to which one I am working on but it was in yesterday's picture! It seems as though there has been alot of startitis among stitchers lately and I just may take Kathy's advice and work on one several day then start another and so on until they all have my attention and I will probably be pulling my hair out! lol.

So until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart! Come back and see me soon!

The Weekend Nears

So far I have only been stitching on the word portion of Bird in the Bower. It will begin to look more interesting when I get to the pictorial part of the design.

Warm weather brings out the raccoons and possums and unless I toss out some day old rolls or baked potatoes into the very back section of our yard they will come right up to the house and go through the trashcans. We have gone outside to find 3 or 4 huddled around the area looking for scraps and our neighbor has had to chase them out of their screened porch area! I love nature but not quite this much!

I have been shopping around to get a couple of thimbles for my collection. I only buy several a year so it isn't growing very fast but I am still happy with it. I have been thinking about starting a scissor collection as well. My main problem is my boys. Even though they are in their 20's, they are still like 6 year olds in the fact that they have to touch, pick up, move and play with everything that belongs to mommy! My thimble case has a glass door which sort of says "Keep Out" so there has been no problem with those yet. But scissors on an open shelf could present too much temptation for them. Maybe I could keep them in a jar inside a cabinet with glass doors! LOL.

Meet Ethel

I love primitive muslin dolls but I am especially fond of old lady dolls! Unfortunately they are not very common and I only have several. This is Ethel. She came to live here about 10 years ago after I met her at a craft show and she has been a valued member of our household ever since! My aunt was crazy about Ethel and used to make jokes about how I should send Ethel on a plane to visit her or how I should even leave Ethel to her in my will! I would just laugh and assure her that Ethel was very happy here and that she got all the love and respect (because age does command respect) she deserved! As much as I loved Ethel before, I love her even more now because each time I see her I am reminded of my aunt and how much we had in common with one another!

Our house isn't big enough to do an excessive amount of holiday decorating yet I have closets and drawers full of decorations! It seems like every year I buy some decorations before Christmas then I go nuts buying them at the after Christmas sales! They have really built up over the years. I decided that it was time this year (after Christmas, of course) to go through and pick out what I really to keep and feel we will use. First of all, I made a list of what I really like to put out each year and areas that I like to decorate. This will keep me keeping more than necessary! I There is just no reason to keep things if they aren't going to be seen by staying in the closet each year! Most of my valued and sentimental decorations and ornaments were destroyed quite a few years back when Hurrican Hugo hit so I have nothing anymore that should be too hard to part with.

I don't know why but I take all the decorations down the day after Christmas and put them away. I have just always been this way. I love Christmas, the holday season in general, all the beautiful lights and more but once it's over - it's over. At least until next year and then I can't wait to begin all a new!

I totally forgot about yesterday being Friday and didn't get any stitching done for my usual SAT piece. Things are just so busy during the holiday season! I will definitely make up for it starting in 2009!

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting Ready for the New Year

Do you have a Christmas collection? What is it? Reindeer? Snowmen? Santas? Something different? I collect Santas. I just love them and keep them out year round! My collection changes from time to time with some becoming too tattered to enjoy and being discarded but a new one always comes to take it's place

This was my stitching journal for 2008. It is pretty full even though I really didn't get as much done as I had hoped to. I just took alot of extra pictures to fill it up! LOL! Last night I worked on fixing up my stitching journal for 2009, a holiday stitching journal and a journal of special stitches where I put photos of gifts, quilts, hand me downs, just those "special" stitches, ect along with notes about them. I also want to want to fix up a journal for all my beloved collections. I will show these later.

The Legend of the Silver Pine Cone

There once lived a poor family without enough food to eat or enough wood for their fire. The mother decided to go into the forest to search for pine cones. She was planning to use the pine cones to build a fire for her family, and she was also hoping she could sell some of them to get money to buy food.

After walking for hours, the mother finally reached the forest and started gathering pine cones into her basket. Suddenly, she heard a voice say, "Why are you stealing my pine cones?" With that, an elf appeared beside her.

She explained her sad story to the elf. With a crooked smile, the elf said, "Go into the next forest. The pine cones there are much better."

Hesitantly, the mother set off to the next forest, which was even farther away. When she reached it, she was very tired. She leaned against a tree and sat her basket on the ground.

No sooner had she set down her basket, and dozens of pine cones started falling to the ground. Filled with renewed energy, she gathered all the pine cones into her basket and returned home.

Tired again, once she returned home, she set down the basket for a moment on her doorstep. When she looked down at the basket of pine cones, they had all turned to silver.

The family would never be poor again.

Because of this legend, many people believe that a silver pine cone is lucky. It is customary to keep one on your dresser or hearth to make sure good fortune comes your way.

*I would like to find It's A Wonderful Life by the Sampler Girl in my stocking!"

Thank you for coming by to see me today! I enjoy your visits and comments so much! It means alot to me to share my love of collections, photography, needlework, cooking and more with you!

The Day Before

I love buttons and have several jars full of all kinds! I enjoy pouring them out to admire my favorites as well as just running my fingers through them all. I decided it wasn't enough to just look through these jars occasionally for my favorites so I made several Button Samplers. I used a brown paper bag from the grocery store, cut down, as my backing on them. I used some everyday buttons as fillers and to give them a more primitive feel. For the shank buttons, I cut off the back shank to help them lie a little flatter. Now I can admire my favorites anytime I want with ease!

Today I begin getting things ready for all the cooking that will take place tomorrow! Lots and lots of cornbread to be made. Eggs to be hard boiled. Loaf bread to be cut and cubed. Pies to be cooked. Celery and onions to be chopped. Sausage balls and cheese cookies to be made. I am sure there is more that I am overlooking so I have my list made out and ready to check off as I do each thing!

Thank you for stopping by to see me! Have a wonderful and blessed day!

I am Thankful for memories that make me smile.