Cooler Days and Samplers

 Thanks to my dr and his magic injections, the bursitis flares have finally stopped! Of course, I am following his orders about "doing a little then rest". I don't want to get the flares mad and start up again!

 

While doing some much needed grocery shopping, I noticed the bakery section of the store had started to put out their holiday pies. I am not big on many pies but they do make a mean apple pie! Heat it up, use a sprinkling of cinnamon and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM! Luckily, no one else here has discovered the secret to making this pie so delicious

 

We may actually get a Fall season this year! The weather has already started to turn cooler and sweaters are being pulled out for morning and evening wear! We still get a few days with warmer temps but nothing hot enough to knock your socks off! It may get chilly enough later this week to turn the heat on at night! My kind of weather!

 

Too many SALs and WIPs for me to wrap my brain around right now. The WIPs are really no problem since they are weekend designated only.  I used this past weekend to finally pick up my stitching again. And since I was waiting on some threads to arrive, I made it a long WIP weekend! I decided to work on And A Forest Grew by Rosewood Manor. I did not get as much stitched as I hoped to before the hand cramps started. Put it away but tomorrow is another day!

 

After having several really crummy months I decided to treat myself to a new start. I pulled 5 that I have had my eye on. No, I won't do them all at once but I don't plan to tell or show what I am working on until I get a good start so as not to jinx them!

 

Most of my framed pieces hang on the walls in no order. I decided earlier this year that I wanted a theme wall of outdoor pieces. You know - birds, other backyard critters, plants, trees, ect. In my mind, it will be stunning! I already have two pieces up on it and working on more. Guess what wall AAFG will hang on and why I am so anxious to finish it!

 

I am still pretty tired and slow from so many bursitis flares all at once. I have been taking it nice and slow for now and probably will through the end of this month.

 

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

Getting Back to Normal

What a terrible wonky week it was around here! Last Wednesday the Grumpy Ol Gazer was not feeling his best. He just got worse as the day went on. Around midnight he woke me up because he felt he needed to go to the hospital. I jumped out of bed and into action, getting dressed and calling an ambulance. We followed the ambulance to the hospital and the nurses proceeded to chase me out and told me no visitors! He finally was able to come home yesterday. It was scary for me but also for him because he has ditched a few bad habits so this hopefully doesn't happen again!

We still do the majority of our shopping as pick up but the walk in store usually has the best supply of ice cream and this is an ice cream junkie household! Ice cream for milkshakes, ice cream in a bowl, ice cream sundaes, ice cream with cobblers!

Speaking of cobblers.....  I made another blueberry cobbler last week. They get eaten up as soon as they come out of the oven! I am taking full advantage of fresh blueberry season with this delicious cobbler! Next on my list is a strawberry cobbler. This one uses frozen strawberries but the brand I buy taste like they were just picked!

We have had too much rain lately! Along with some mighty loud storms! Those rainy days do make for good stitching days but I am ready for the sun to come out for a while!

I ordered this cute design as my reward for having so many dr. appointments over the next few months. I have at least one appt. a week through the middle of August. Sometimes more than one. So I decided to spoil myself a little with this sweet design by Heart in Hand Designs.

I have my appointment for the framing sale next week! I can't wait! I have several new starts. One small that I hope to finish before the framing appointment and a larger one that I work on during the weekends. I will save them for show at a later date. I just know if I show them now, I will jinx them and set them aside!

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

Day After Day!

Who would have guessed a month ago that life would (or even could) change so drastically! We try to do what normal things we can but everything is basically a day by day routine now (which is no actual routine). No vacation plans this year. No plans past today at all!

Like I mentioned in my last post, I have had plenty of stitching time. Lately I have been working on a special piece which seemed appropriate for Lent. I finished it up last night! Here is a picture of Alas! And did my Savior Bleed by Lindy Stitches. I bought it as a PDF file over at Etsy. I do love those PDF files! Just pay, print out and start stitching!  I have had a good bit of frogging on this one but only on those tiny little leaves.

I was on a roll so I picked up a new start. Can you guess what design it is?

We still have pizza night once a week. Then about every 7-10 days we place a carry out order from a local place (no big chains) to help show support during this time. Exciting, huh? LOL. Our local news has started a special segment once a week that showcases interesting areas around us so that we can make a list of places we would like to visit when things calm down.

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

Slight delay

It's been a busy week around here. DH is having surgery this week and getting all the pre-op work scheduled has kept us hopping! A spider bite started the whole thing rolling until it finally ended up here (for now, anyway). He has already assured me that he will draw a winning name for the chart giveaway tonight. Since his surgery is tomorrow, I will try to announce it and get it into the mail by the weekend! I am sure he will have me running around waiting on him. Some men can handle pain and being sick but I married the typical 'big baby" when it comes to that stuff. *said lovingly, of course*

I have started a new piece but I will wait until I have a little more done on it before posting a picture of it. It's another oldie but goodie from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by! I will contact the winner later this week and annouce it here. Have a great day!

Good Morning!

It has been a busy few weeks around here. DH took some time off and we decided to spent it on the house this time instead of a trip. We did a few more repairs and replaced alot of old worn out things around the place. We still have alot more left to keep us busy over the rest of the summer! Putting things on the back burner just makes for a big to do list later down the road! Whew!

I was able to finally finish up Gentle Stitches by Shakespeare Peddler. With DH being home for almost a month, I didn't get much stitching done so it ended up taking me longer than I had planned! But now I can find my next new start!

Have you been to Pinterest? I heard about it and mozied on over out of curiosity and the next thing I knew I was signed up and making my own page! Yikes! Like I really needed something else! But it is fun and very interesting! You can go to my page via the button in my sidebar on the right.

Not much news this time around but I did want to drop in to say hi. I hope everyone is having a lovely summer and the heat isn't too bad where you are! Until next time...! Thanks for stopping by!

Morning After

Thank you to everyone for the sweet and special birthday wishes. I had a very nice day. DH and I had a few left over errands to take care of and then it was time for some birthday fun!





First we went out to lunch for a super sized burger. Then he took me to the LNS and I picked up several items for my stash! The Green Santa and Black Santa by BOAF and Favorite Spot Sampler by PSS. After I saw the Spot Sampler finished off at the LNS, I knew I would have a new start this weekend so I came home and got everything kitted up for it.



I had yet another realization. I love samplers, no doubt and I certainly don't want to give up on them but I also love smalls. I used to do a lot of smalls. I enjoyed stitching them and finishing them off. They are fun, quick and satisfying. I love baskets and bowls filled with wonderful things. I enjoy stitched pillows, too. I have been working on bigger pieces and only framing. Time to spread my wings again and savor it all!

This is Christmas week and I'm sure everyone will be holiday busy! Enjoy yourself and the season! Thanks for stopping by again.

Dull Days, Dull Nights

It was a quite and dull weekend again. Yea! I could get used to these real fast! There was no major stitching done over the weekend. Naturally, grocery shopping and a few other errands took their place on the priority ladder along with getting my hair trimmed up and a nice drive up towards the mountains. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best weather for a day trip. Lots and lots of rain then my camera battery konked out after the first picture so I will share a picture from a past trip to the mountains. I had a bursitis flare up in my shoulder then my other shoulder which made it difficult to stitch for long periods!

After the weekend, I got back on track - sort of. Cleaning, laundry and of course, some stitching. I am really trying to stay true to Independent Mind but my mind keeps wondering. Since I am so close to the end, I decided that maybe I could go ahead with one of my new starts. A smaller one that won't make me forget about my obligation to IM. If I give IM a week or two a month, I should still be able to finish up pretty soon and still be able to chase away the boredom blahs with my new start!

I realize I had already said that I had two new starts picked out but since I didn't announce them yet I felt they weren't written in stone! After doing some early morning stitching on IM I took the latter part of the day to play around with my stash. Maybe I shouldn't have done that because after doing some counting I found out that I have 82 kitted charts and 32 still waiting to be kitted plus another 4 WIPs that have been put on hold! How depressing is that! And where on earth will I put them all (meaning of course that I actually get them all done!). Once I have knocked out a good chunk of my new start I will announce it and share a photo!

I wish I had some more exciting news to share but oh, that's right - I am happy with my dull life for now! Maybe excitement will be for later! Thanks for stopping by again. Your comments and visits always make my day! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Nearing the Finish Line

I am still tugging along on Independent Mind. I have been trying to put in a minimum of several letters a day on it but over the past few days I had a nice boost of stitching energy and finished up page 3 of the design! One more page to go and it isn't even a full page! I have decided that when I finish stitching this chart it will be put up for trade. There are still so many that I still want! When I finish up, I will make an announcement and post the list of designs I am interested in for a trade. The picture didn't turn out as crisp and clear as I would have liked.

Good news. I have narrowed down my choices for my next new start! I am really torn between the two nominated picks so I may do something I haven't attempted in awhile and just start both of them! I will save the actual announcements for later. One I have been wanting do while I totally forgot I even had the other and was thrilled to find it hidden among my stash waiting to be stitched! Both are kitted up and waiting to get started.

More good news! I had several charts ordered at my LNS. One finally came in and arrived in my mailbox shortly after. Unfortunately they could not find Adam and Eve by City Stitcher for me because it seems to be discontinued so they sent me a gift certificate instead. That's fine by me. I do like gift certificates and store credits! Maybe I will hang on to it for a pair of scissors!

The weather has been nice but I have been staying indoors which is unusual for me in the Spring. Thanks so much for stopping by! Your visits and comments always brighten my days! Have a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day! Until next time, may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Show and Tell #2

Next up on my framed list is Blessed are all the Needleworkers. This was a design in The Gift of Stitching online magazine but I just can't remember which issue without pulling them all out and digging through them! Actually, I liked this piece but was a bit disappointed because I felt it didn't turn out as good as I had thought it would. But now that it is framed, I am completely happy with it! It is everything I wanted it to be and more! I chose a simple frame with a thin gold band around it to pull out the yellows in the design.

I am already getting the itchies for a new start (no matter what I may have said in past posts)! lol. Until I decide what it will be, I have been working on AAFG for awhile. I kitted up several more designs yesterday. I have plenty to choose from, that's for sure!

There really isn't much news right now. I'll be back tomorrow with another framed goodie! Have a good day and thanks for stopping by again!

Sound the Trumpets!

Introducing my new start! My Home is Built in Glory by Beth Twist! After thinking it over, going through my fabric stash and thinking it over some more I finally decided to use a piece of Ivory Hardanger for this design and I am sticking with the colors listed. The more I looked at this design, the more I loved it! I am a big fan of Beth's work and I always look forward to any new releases by her! FYI - there is another design by her in the group picture from Wednesday! I will show my progress after the weekend when I have had time to get enough done to be photo worthy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and until next time we meet, may you have simple days and uncluttered heart!

And the Week Goes On.

As I have read other stitching blogs, I have envisioned my own theme walls! Samplers, A&E, birds and even a wall about stitching! In my last post, I mentioned that I had pulled my next new start. Oops! I did, indeed, pull the next "intended" start but then so many others began to get my attention and they all seemed to be crying "me! me! pick me!" so for right now, I am stuck in indecision. I may be using eenie, meenie, minie, moe for this pick! Oh, and these are only a few of the ones screaming for my attention! Will the last part of June be full of multiple starts?

Simple! And the older I get, the more I want this style to be a part
of everything around me. Not just in my hobbies but in my day
to day life as well. From time to time I feel the need to do some major
de-cluttering. A cleaning out of the soul. Getting rid of those things I carry around within my heart on a daily basis until the weight of it all is more than I can handle. Time to toss out some things! Being able to rid myself of hard or hurt feelings & knowing that I was strong enough to let it go & move on is a great feeling! I’ve lived the drama & turmoil side of life. Now I crave the less cluttered road. No baggage needed!

Maren at Stitchery Doo asked me what kind of bush I had pictured from the "mud pit". It is a Burgandy Barberry. I had wanted several more Rosey Glow Barberry bushes but couldn't find them available anywhere. Maybe they will be out later in the season!

Until next time, I wish you simple days and an uncluttered heart! Come back and see me soon!

Tuesday Yuckies

Thank you all for your concern about my hands and wrists. They are feeling better and all should be well (minus the usual aches and pains of age) as long as I don't over do!

We are in day two of yucky weather again! We really need a week to 10 days of warm weather with lots of sunshine to dry up things around here! We get some nice days and things begin to get better then the rain returns with a vengence!

I started working on a new design yesterday. For right now, I am not going to say which one of my kitted up charts it is but I will give several hints.

Hint #1 - I have already made a mistake but don't feel like calling in the frogs!
Hint #2 - I have made a lot of color changes!
Hint #3 - This design is from one of the stitching magazines.
Hint #4 - Design size is 100 stitches by 100 stitches.
Hint #5 - I have mentioned that I wanted to do this piece on my blog.

Oh my! Paula has two - yes, two - wonderful new designs posted on her blog! And they are most definitely going on my "to get" list along with the others!

Last night I looked online at sewing machines. Oh, we already have one but I hate the thought of using it. DH picked it out for me and it just has too many bells and whistles on it for my liking! It's fine for hemming up pants and making other clothing repairs but I just want a simple and easy to use machine for making my quilt tops! I found one I like but now I need to talk myself into getting it! LOL!

Until next time - stay safe, stay happy and stay well!