Patriotic Display

In our new house we have an area in the entry that we put an antique octagon shaped table which if I remember correctly belonged to my hubby’s fraternal grandmother or great grandmother Anderson. It is situated in just the right spot to set up a seasonal display and FINALLY ALL my Patriotic stuff is out of the closet!! I have some stuffed animals and a wooden rooster dressed like Uncle Sam in other parts of the house, but the items on the table have spent most of the time in the closet (partly because of the lack of a good place to display them and partly because I kept forgetting about the stuff in the basement closet). With our new house I have a better (read easier to remember I have the stuff) place for the seasonal decorations (other than Christmas) and a nice place to display them.

The table runner is a gift from my mother-in-law, I recently stitched the piece in the bowl; and the rooster pitcher I got at Hobby Lobby a few years ago (and forgot about). Those of you who know me will note the rooster on the pitcher. I may need a bigger bowl if I use it to hold stitched things!

While it is just my hubby and me, I still like to decorate a little for each season and now I have the perfect place for us and folks that come to the door to see them too. My mother-in-law will be visiting us in August, so I would like to figure out a nice display for her visit. Is it too soon for fall décor? I kind of think so. I may just make it a summer scene. What do you all think??

Grand Canyon Sampler Framed!

I finally finish finished a project from 2009. In August of that year we went to the Grand Canyon and I purchased this little sampler kit (finished size just under 5”x7”).  As time went by I found this nice mat and then had to find a frame. Well as luck would have it I was in Michaels the other day and saw this wooden like frame on sale! I thought it might work and so I picked it up. I popped the matted piece in the frame and we promptly hung it on the wall. Sorry the picture is not great, but that is what you get with glass.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Busy Stitching!

I have been a busy stitcher working on projects from the Sampler Guild of the Rockies Retreat which I previously posted about  which included (at the bottom) one project  finish and here are two more. They are not finish finished like the previous project, but all the stitching is done!

The first project is a freebie from The Work Basket and is called Pink Flower it is copyright dated 2010, so may still be available. I have taken the picture of it on top of the fabric that was provided to make a pin cushion or little pillow finish. I checked the website (www.theworkbasket.net/free) but it seems to be down, so if it does not work when you try it, I am not sure how you can obtain this chart.

The next project is a freebie from Dunmani Designs called Blackwork Needle Case #2. If you visit the site this chart is under blackwork designs.  For our purposes we were given fabric and thread to stitch the design, but not make the needle case. The finished model showed it in a frame and it looked very nice done up that way. We were given 6 different charms to place in the center. I was torn between a ladybug and a rosebud. You can see the rose won out.

That about covers it for now. Happy Stitching Everyone!!

Red, White and Blue

I stitched stitched this in 2004 as a guild project. The hand and some curly ques (which I may have accidentally cut off) were stamped on the fabric and a design stitched over it. I finished it into a pillow last night. It is sitting on the fabric used as the backing.  "Love and Liberty 4 all."

Just in time for the 4th of July!!

Surprises in the Air and Soil

Yesterday I was working at home and opened the window for some cool fresh morning air. I hear this noise. Sounded like air being blown into or around something. It was pretty consistant, so I go to investigate. I am looking around and I notice the dog looking up. So I do too and this is what I saw!!

Actually when I first saw it the balloon was a LOT closer and BIGGER. It seemed like it was at the roof tops.  Anyway, I ran in the house grabbed my camera, yelled at my hubby and headed back to take some pictures. I hate to report that the balloon seemed to lose altitude and I am not sure if it did not land in the park nearby - it was headed in that general direction. I was on company time, so I did not go and investigate. I live a few miles north of a state park that sometimes has balloon races. I have not heard of any race, so maybe balloonists also use the park at other times.

Then later in the day when I went down for coffee, what did I see but this - see the tiny leaves to the left of the dime??

Future DAFFODILS!!

There are  little bumps in the soil where I think I planted the other two bulbs, so maybe they will pop up soon too and I will have a touch of spring just in time for the summer solstice. Sounds good to me!

100th Follower and Secret Give-Away

A while back I noticed I had 99 followers. So I decided I would have a secret give-away when I hit 100. Well a day or two ago I did!! Woo Hoo. So I gave each follower a number, used the random number generator and low and behold #45 popped up. This number belongs to my follower Patty C. of the blog Hanging on by a Thread. I sent her an email and hope to hear from her soon to send her the prize - these cute little scissors and maybe a little extra something just for fun.

Sampler Guild of the Rockies Retreat - update

Heavens!!! I forgot to tell you that at the end of the day we were given a bag with rocks, potting soil and daffodil bulbs (that had been properly kept refrigerated) to put in our pots! I planted mine right away. I love daffodils and hope they bloom. I have them on a counter under a kitchen window.


If you missed round one of my retreat report (with lots of photos) it can be found here


Also for another perspective on the retreat you may want to visit with Debby.