♣ ♣ ♣ Seeing green ♣ ♣ ♣

Hello all! How are you enjoying March so far? We've been extremely blessed with many sunny, warm days here in western Pennsylvania lately (even though it rained here today). My husband is thrilled as he's been able to get out on several bike rides with his biking buddies after a long winter of being cooped up inside. Exercise can be such a mood lifter, can't it? I've been slowly ridding the house of all things snow and winter related and have spent time brightening up my decor with lots of green and lighter colors. Another instant mood lifter! We were also able to escape to Florida for a few days at the end of February/beginning of March--a real treat as the last frigid days of  winter wind down here in the northeast. 

I try to add at least one new piece to my St. Patrick's Day stitching each year. As soon as I saw this charming design in the monthly newsletter from Primrose Cottage Stitchers, I knew it would be my piece for 2025. Even better--it is a freebie! You can sign up for their monthly newsletter right here to get the free designs and see what is going on in their shop. Just scroll all the way down and click on "Stitching Newsletter" to have it delivered via email. They've generously offered so many cute free designs in past newsletters!

My finish of "Happy St. Patrick's Day" by Primrose Cottage Stitches

I didn't have any of the recommended threads so I chose my own and am very pleased with the outcome. My color conversion is as follows if anyone is interested:  

Dark Green: WDW Lily Pad

Black: CC Black Coffee

Gold:  GAST Gold Leaf

Lettering: GAST Chamomile

The fabric for this latest St. Patrick's Day finish is 40 ct., but I'm not sure what brand as it was just a scrap. I used two different accent fabrics on the front and joined them with a decorative stitch. Just popped on a large black button topped with a polka-dot yellow bow to finish it off. I really love the way Primrose Cottage Stitches does their lettering--so whimsical and fun!

And below is a photo of most of my St. Patrick's Day stitching together. I used my grandmother's old dough bowl to display them this year--a quick, easy vignette to pull together! If you would like close-ups and more information on each finish, you may want to click on "St. Patrick's Day" under "Labels" in my sidebar. Do you put out a display for St. Patrick's Day? I love how it brightens up our kitchen side table--even though it will only be out for another week or two when the Easter bunnies take over. 

All shades of green appear in my March stitching

 

I had one other wee finish this month--a small, but sweet birthday card. I stitched this sweet design called "Bird and Strawberries" which I had pulled from a British stitching magazine (unfortunately, I forgot to record the name and date of the magazine). This was stitched on 40 ct. white Newcastle linen with most of the suggested colors. I did have to darken the bird's belly so it would show up better on the white fabric. I also added another "swirly" motif on the left side to fill in the otherwise empty space. Hope the recipient loves it!

A simple birthday card stitched for a friend

So, I'm wondering how all of you store your printed off freebies and downloaded PDF designs? I've been struggling with them as they seem to multiply overnight and are difficult to sort through. I finally decided to put the freebies I've printed off into magazine boxes organized by holidays and seasons and to place my nicer Etsy PDF charts in plastic three-ring report folders (similar to these). I add photos to the front of the report folders to easily find what I'm looking for. I think this will help ensure that I actually stitch these and that they don't just end up in a stacked up pile somewhere. I need to go through my old Etsy downloaded print-outs and put all of my nicer PDF charts in more plastic folders soon!

I'm using these plastic report folders to organize my special Etsy PDF purchases. Hope to get all of these stitched this year!

As I mentioned above, we flew to sunny Naples, Florida a couple weeks ago for a few days of fun with the extended family. My entire family was there (except my middle son and his girlfriend) along with two of my husband's brothers and some of their family. There were 20 of us in total. Some ventured off to the annual Naples craft beer festival, but I had an even better time staying right at our AirBnb and playing with my grandson. While the others were gone, Mister B and I played many games of the card game Uno, colored, did puzzles, built Lego creations, and waded in the pool (I didn't dare take him swimming by myself as I'm not a strong swimmer). Another day, we all enjoyed some beach time and explored the Saturday morning farmer's market. And, of course, we ate lots of delicious food at our favorite restaurants. It was a wonderful five-day visit and everyone seemed to love the feeling of the warm sunshine on their faces.

Mister B in the airport as he heads to Florida (with his brand new Spiderman-themed roller bag in tow)

 

Mister B and my husband watching the boats come in

My grandson loves animals of all kinds--even this sheep statue!

My niece's friends own a helicopter and did a fly-by on Naples Beach as we waved them on! 

Love this nighttime silhouette

When I got home, I began putting away the snowmen and winter decor and pulling out St. Patrick's Day and spring pieces--fluffing the nest so to speak. One of my favorite things to do! Here a couple of photos of spring scenes around my home...

I found a new large round tray at Marshall's--perfect for our round dining table. The blue design on the bottom looks great with the new blue color on our walls and I'm having fun decorating it for the seasons. The stitched piece is "Robin's Wreath" by Just Nan which I stitched as a gift for my dear mother on her birthday way back in 2008. She was always so proud of my stitching and such a wonderful supporter of my blog.

This little shelf in my kitchen corner cupboard always brings a smile. The framed print at the back says "My favorite weather is bird chirping weather."

In an effort to eat healthier, I've been making most of our bread this year. I've shared this recipe with you before and it is my go-to for a nutritious loaf of bread with little effort. I do use my bread machine which makes it quite easy. The recipe for this Multigrain Bread can be found right here if anyone is interested...

I can't resist fresh, warm homemade bread, can you?

 

Is anyone else watching the bald eagle cam in California? I've found it fascinating and I so admire the eagle couple (Jackie and Shadow) as they sit protecting their tiny eaglets through howling winds and the snowstorm that recently dumped two feet of snow in that area. Sadly, one of the three babies has died...  The snow is melting now and I saw the remaining two being fed pieces of a freshly caught fish by one of the parents today, so I'm hopeful they will be okay! If anyone wants to take a peek at them, you can find the live feed on YouTube right here: Bald Eagle Cam Live .

The Bald Eagle Cam in Big Bear, California is so interesting to watch!

I had planned on continuing my travelogue of our trip to Italy, but I just didn't feel like sitting down and going through the many photos while the weather is so nice. We'll get back to that in my next post. I hope the second half of March is good to you! Thank you, as always for stopping by and saying "hello." I do appreciate the fact that you take the time to visit and read my little stitching blog. Take care now, my friends--and happy stitching! Bye for now...

♣♣ Wishing you a Happy St. Patrick's Day ♣♣

Bunnies and Birds in Blue and Pink

Hello, my stitching friends! I hope March is treating you well? We've had some beautiful spring weather here and our daffodils just burst into bloom this week. Such a treat to see their golden yellow heads bobbing in the breeze--they sure do brighten up the landscape this time of year! With my grandson (and his mom and dad) coming for Easter, I've made sure to decorate my house for their visit and it sure is lovely to see all the little bunnies and birds popping up both in and outside my home. When I went to retrieve them from the dresser drawer where they're stored, I was a bit shocked to see just how many Easter/Spring smalls I've created through the years! I can't seem to stop making them either--in fact I'm working on six new ones that I hope to have finished by the end of March. For today, I'll just share some of my past finishes and how I've displayed them for the season.

I like to group my Easter decorations by color for some reason. You all know my favorite color is blue so it's no surprise that the majority of my Easter/Spring stitching features that color. This year, I used my two-tiered white metal basket (which I purchased at HomeGoods a few years ago) to anchor the display on the sideboard in my kitchen. I just love how it turned out!

Bunnies and birds in blue!

Here are some close-ups for you--if you'd like more information on each finish, just click on the name of it to be taken to my original post on that particular item...

In the top basket (left to right): "Spring Greetings Bouquet" by With Thy Needle and Thread, "Hello Spring" by Plum Street Samplers, a freebie called "Nest Under the Flowers" by Le Chalet des Perelles, and in the front is the Spring portion of "Four Seasons Band Sampler" from the March/April 2011 issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine. That adorable gingham dressed bunny on the right was a gift from my sweet daughter-in-law.

Pictured in the above photo are (from left to right): a bunny from Prairie Schooler Book No. 163 "Signs of Spring," robin from the Spring 2020 issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitching Magazine by Subrosa Designs called "Bless Our Nest," "Paques" from Les Chalet des Perelles, a portion of "Welcome Spring" by With Thy Needle and Thread, and in front rests a freebie from The Snowflower Diaries called "Tulips with Bunny." The little bunny figurines in the front left are ones I've collected over the years and the blue and white rabbit plate is from TJ Maxx from a few years ago.

Featured here are the other half of "Welcome Spring" (on the left) and "Holiday Hoopla: Easter" both by With Thy Needle and Thread. Isn't that ceramic Peter Rabbit head darling? He belonged to my mother-in-law and I brought him home from Florida after my husband's family home in Naples  was flooded by Hurricane Ian in 2022. 

 

The one piece of stitching featured here is by Tiny Modernist and is called "Easter Wreath." It is sitting on that darling rabbit chair that I found at a thrift shop in Florida for only $5.00--one of my favorite finds ever! You can read about the little chair in this post.

So, there you have it--my blue Easter display. Do you have a favorite? I think mine is the sweet "Welcome Spring" pillow shown below that I stitched last year. It simply makes me smile :)

"Welcome Spring"--my favorite spring finish from 2023

My pink Easter finishes are displayed in my grandmother's old dough bowl and sit in the center of our kitchen table. Again... if you would like more information on each finish, just click on the names in the caption below the photo.

In the back row on the left is a design by Patrick's Woods called "The Heart's Chase," in the back middle is a Prairie Schooler Bunny from "A Prairie Year (Book No. 13)," and that sweet pair on the right is from The Snowflower Diaries and is a freebie called "Spring Bunny Love." In front of the rabbit couple on the right is another Prairie Schooler design from the PS Mini Card Set F. The one on the left stitched on black is a freebie from the Kissy-Cross blog,  and the tiny pillow in the very front is by Just Nan from the "Hummingbead Heaven" chart. 

And how about a favorite among the pink pieces? Mine is that sweet "Spring Bunny Love" couple that I stitched way back in 2013.

My favorite of the pink smalls: "Spring Bunny Love," a freebie from The Snowflower Diaries

Whew! Posts like this (where I link to past finishes) take a lot of time to put together! It's really hard to remember and track down the posts for some of the older pieces--and as my brain ages, it's not getting any easier! Anyway, I've had so many folks, both here and on Instagram, tell me how much they appreciate my efforts--and that it makes it worth all the effort. I've made many more Easter/Spring smalls in green and yellow hues, but I've run out of energy to post them today! However, if you scroll through my March and April posts from any given year, you're sure to find even more Easter and Spring stitching inspiration.

So, I'd love to hear about your plans for Easter... Will you be having visitors? What do you serve for Easter dinner? Do you have any special family traditions? I can hardly wait to spend Easter with 3 1/2 year old (Yes! How on earth did he get so old?!?) Mister B as he is so enthusiastic about all the traditions that accompany celebrations and holidays. Dyeing eggs, hunting for his Easter basket, making a bunny cake, etc. will all be part of our weekend with him. And while preparing for my visitors, I truly hope to squeeze in the finishing of the six small Easter finishes that I mentioned earlier in the post. We'll see...

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing your spring stitching and hearing about your plans for this very special Easter weekend coming up in just two weeks! Thank you all for stopping in today--I always love to read your comments and hear about what you're up to! And just a reminder...if you have a question for me, please make sure to include your email address so I can get back to you.  Bye for now...

A new year and another birthday!

Well, it's a new year! Does it feel like one to you? In some ways,  it feels more like a continuation of 2020... and yet there is a feeling of hope in the air. I was reading over my first post from last January and I really had to laugh as the final sentence of that initial paragraph ended with the words "... it is going to be a good year!" If only I had known then... Well, at least I was optimistic! It was a very difficult year as we all know--dealing with COVID-19, the unrest in this country and around the world, all of the natural disasters that devastated so many, the death of my beloved mother, and the loss of both of my daughter-in-law's parents. Not what I could ever even begin to call a "good year." But, I have hope for the future and that is what keeps me going at times... 

Because 2020 was such a hard year for all, I tried to send out a lot of little gifts at the end of the year to bring a smile to some of my fellow stitchers. If it was at all possible to have sent something to each of you, I would have--you kept up my spirits and sent me so much love last year. And I truly appreciate each of you. But, I'm only human--and can only stitch and finish a few things to give away each year. Anyway, I thought you might like to see them, so here is a new parade--a parade of gifts to inspire you!

This sweet design is from the 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine. It is a Little House Needleworks piece called "Snow Bunnies" and was stitched on 16 count Stardust Heatherfield with the suggested DMC threads. The bunnies are now making their home with a friend "across the pond" in jolly, old England.

You'll all recognize this as a Prairie Schooler piece! The chart can be found in PS Book No. 25: "Up On the Housetop." I used 40 ct. pearl gray Newcastle linen and most of the suggested DMC colors. I did change the house color to DMC 676, however. Just can't resist a tiny yellow house! This ornament is now residing in the beautiful state of Virginia.

This nostalgic design recalls simpler times and is a free design from Leisure Arts Magazine which you can find right here. I stitched only the top third of the "Winter Sampler" using Hand-Dyed Fibers silk in "Rubbed Magpie" on 28 ct. white Jobelan (stitched over one). A beautiful square of Woolies Flannel was used to accent these--love how well the blues coordinate! They went to friends in Michigan and Idaho.

This is the second time I've stitched this "With Thy Needle and Thread" cutie! It is called "St. Noel" and was stitched "over one" on 28 ct. Bayleaf Jobelan. I had to stitch the top part of each "X" in the white twice to get it to show up well enough. Not an easy feat with "over one" stitching! I also changed several colors to my favorite Prairie Schooler palette... This ornament is now living with a stitching friend in Illinois.

Having stitched this Prairie Schooler Santa for the third time, I think I have it memorized! You can find the chart in PS Book No. 62 called "Kris Kringle." I couldn't resist stitching this handsome guy carrying his pet Canada Goose for my sweet friend who lives in a gorgeous part of Canada!

I'm sure you will all recognize this sweet JBW gingerbread boy as this is now the fifth time I've stitched it... The other four went to the babies of friends and relatives on their first Christmases. FINALLY--I get to stitch one for my own grandson, Baby B (I have blacked out his name for privacy). This sweet design is stiched on 32 ct. black Belfast linen and is from the JBW chart "Baby's First Christmas." The ornament is happily living in sunny southern California!

For some reason, I found stitching this design to be of great comfort this year. I love how the sentiment, "Glory To God," is shown in this mini-sampler. The chart is from a very old issue of Just Cross Stitch Magazine (November-December 1988). "A Primitive Christmas Heart" is a pattern by Sheepish Designs and was stitched with DMC 336 on various scraps of white and antique white evenweave. Again these are stitched "over one." Two traveled to  friends in Virginia and one now lives with a friend in Ohio.

I also made a lot of cards this year and added tiny bows for interest. The same Sheepish Design that I described above was mailed, in card form, to two other friends in Virginia. I seem to have a lot of stitching friends in Virginia!

This sweet card is a freebie from Durene Jones on Facebook in her November 1, 2019 post. Although not typical Christmas colors, I fell in love with the shades of aquas and turquoise and thought my friend in Germany could display this all winter. I did leave off the bottom border so it would fit into a circle shape a bit easier.

Just Nan is the designer of this quartet of snowmen--aren't they darling? This is called "Snow Faces" and is stitched on 28 ct. glass blue Monaco with the suggested colors. I left off the corner motifs to make it circular to fit the card's opening. This card went to another friend in Germany.

I've always loved star-shaped Santas and this one is no exception. I forgot to write down the name of the library book that the chart came from, unfortunately, but doesn't he make you smile? Love the little polka-dot bow, too. He is now enjoying his new home in Germany. Sending cards to international friends is a much more cost-effective way to let you know you're thinking of them. Sending packages overseas has just become ridiculously expensive compared to when I began blogging in 2009!

And surprise!! A non-stitched gift! This hexie tree was my first attempt at making anything with the hexies that I've been experimenting with and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it looked in the end! (The rose in the far right lower "branch" is fussy cut from a pair of slacks that were my mom's). This pretty pink tree is now with a stitching friend in Wisconsin and she loves it! If you'd like to experiment making this and other English Paper Piecing ornaments, check out this very helpful tutorial on YouTube: hexie tree tutorial.

So, there you go--lots of love was spread over the world in the form of my little gifts. I just wanted to send an extra dose of joy this year with all the sadness and challenges that people experienced last year.

But on to some happy news... Today is my birthday--yay! I made it through another year. It's hard to believe I am now 66 and on the downward slope heading towards 70. Really??? How on earth did I get to be this old? I look "just a teeny bit" different in this photo below from my first birthday on January 16, 1955... Love the little lace pinafore over my dress and those sweet vintage cards. And it appears that I loved chocolate even back then by the look of that frosted cake. Some things never change...

A one-year-old Carol in January 1955

But, as happy as a birthday is supposed to be,  this is going to be a difficult day for me... It marks my very first birthday without my mom. I'm crying as I write this so I know the tears will be appearing on and off throughout the day. As you can see from the photo above, Mom always tried her best to make our birthdays very special. We got to choose our favorite meal when we were older--for me, it was always spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. Dessert was always the famous "Tunnel Of Fudge Cake" that won the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest in 1966. Anyone else remember that cake? Oh, my--it was fabulous; a rich blend of chocolate cake with a "tunnel" of gooey chocolate and nuts buried inside. Unfortunately, a powdered frosting mix was one of the key ingredients and Pillsbury no longer manufactures that so they've come up with this recipe to replace it. It's good, but not quite the same, in my opinion. 

I had the most wonderful dream about my mom earlier this week! Now, I rarely remember  my dreams, but I'm so thankful to have remembered this one in such detail because it gives me hope... 

In my dream, mom and I were driving through a sad-looking little town with many boarded-up store windows. In many ways, it reminded me of the small towns I used to drive through on the way up to my childhood home when I would visit my parents in New York State. On the outskirts of the town, we came upon a large greenhouse and mom said she wanted to stop and "buy some plants for her new home." The parking lot was almost filled to capacity and we had to park quite a distance from the greenhouse. I asked mom if she was sure she wanted to go in as it would be quite a walk for her. She replied, "Oh, I'll be fine" and then easily stepped out of the car and proceeded to walk through the long parking lot toward the greenhouse. As I glanced over at her as we walked side by side,  I was shocked to see that she was whole again--her body was straight and tall, no longer hunched and twisted from the effects of her battles with osteoporosis and scoliosis that she suffered from for so many, many years. She appeared younger, too--more like she did in her 40s. At that point in my dream, I woke up... I was filled with a feeling of peace--and of hope. I now know my dear mother is safe and well and settling in to her "new home."

My middle sister recently sent me this photo of mom and me that I'd never seen before. It was from December 2016 and we were toasting my brother on his 60th birthday. I love it!

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, my "word" for 2021 is hope--and as soon as I saw this beautiful design below, I knew I had to stitch it. It is one of two freebies from "Hello From Liz Matthews" that she offers to her newsletter subscribers. I think this may be the quickest piece that I've ever stitched and fully finished! I began stitching it on Wednesday afternoon and had it framed and ready to display 24 hours later... The piece is so simple, yet so striking, don't you agree? The frame is a very old one that my middle son bought for me when he spotted it at Goodwill several years ago. And the blue flannel in the background is from one of my son's old shirts. Having all boys, I have a never-ending supply of old flannel shirts to be repurposed!

My finish of "Hope" by Hello From Liz Matthews

 

Well, that's it for my first post of 2021! I'm still here (for at least a while) blogging away. I seriously considered ending my blog after my mother died as my heart just wasn't in it. Blogs are fading away for some sad reason and readers are turning to other sources. I still love my blog, though, as it is a wonderful record of my stitching life and a journal of my travels, baking, and a peek into my family life. I know mom would want me to keep up blogging a while longer. There will come a time when I'll stop my writing, but I promise to let you know when that happens--I won't just disappear like so many bloggers have done. 

I wish you all the best in this new year, my friends! Thank you again for visiting me and a special thanks to those who take the time to leave comments. I truly appreciate each and every one of you! Bye for now...

Two new ornaments and a magical snowfall

And, all of a sudden, it's December! I'm sure we're all anxious to put 2020 behind us, aren't we? Such a strange, almost unbelievable year the entire world has had... Sometimes it just feels like a bad dream! Anyway...

How was your Thanksgiving? I didn't even bake a turkey this year since it was just me and my husband. But you know what--it felt rather liberating! We had a simple chicken casserole dinner with stuffing on top, a few easy side dishes (I mean how much easier can things get than sliced apples!), and a homemade pumpkin pie. My husband pronounced it the best pumpkin pie ever, but I think it's because neither of us were "stuffed to the gills" like we usually are after Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a nice feeling to enjoy our simple meal, savor the dessert (with extra whipped cream!), and then wake up the next day not feeling like I'd eaten a whale! And the extra time not spent preparing our usual feast for 20-25 people allowed me to get a jump start on my Christmas decorating and truly enjoy it... I didn't feel rushed--just took my time and relished the process. So, there really is a silver lining to almost everything...

With my extra time, I've been stitching gifts for friends and finishing up my final three ornaments for the year. I'll share two of them with you today as the third is not quite complete. For my October and November ornaments, I stitched Hands On Design's "Merry" from the Cranberry Christmas chart and Just Nan's "Blitzen Glistens."

My two latest ornament finishes

"Merry" was stitched on 32 ct. Tumbleweed linen by Wichelt. I love the color, but wasn't crazy about the linen. The linen seemed very "holey" to me. I usually use Zweigart fabric, but I wanted this particular color... The color is wonderful for showcasing white threads, but I'm not sure I would order it again due to the fabric itself. This was the first time I used Sulky Threads and, they too, brought mixed feelings. The coverage with one thread was great, but they lacked the sheen that DMC threads seem to have. I ended up substituting DMC thread for one of the reds and for the brown branches.

Hands On Design's "Merry" from the Cranberry Christmas Chart

For the finish, I added a couple of complementary fabrics in red and green with a mini white ric-rak to separate them. I was so excited to find the red fabric in my stash as I thought it mimicked the berries in the finish. Homemade cording, a jute bow and a fabric covered button (the first time I've made one!) finished it off. I think it's so bright and cheery!

A merry finish of "Merry!"

November's ornament was a much different one for me as it included metallic threads and beads--neither of which I enjoy working with. I am just not a sparkle-type. But, I thought I'd give this a try for something different. Blitzen is certainly glistening, isn't he? There are gold metallic threads in the stars and beads of gold, red, and translucent white (not to mention those "over one" cardinals on 32 ct. lambswool Jobelan). You were supposed to stitch the year hanging from the deer's antlers, but I've always preferred to leave my ornaments undated, so I didn't include them.

My November ornament: Just Nan's "Blitzen Glistens"

A ruched ribbon and an iridescent burgundy bow finish him off. I added three little leaves and some additional beads in the middle of the bow. These are simply glued on using some Aleene's Tacky Glue, a toothpick, and tweezers. Very fussy and time consuming, but I do like the overall look.

Blitzen is certainly glistening, isn't he?

Here's one more look at the latest duo. The lighting has been quite on and off this week, so it's been hard to get a decent photo! One more ornament to go for December and I'll share that with you in my annual "Parade Of Ornaments" post next time!

Can't wait to add these pretties to my tree!

A couple of non-cross stitch projects have also been occupying my time--Taggie Crinkle Toys! What, you've never heard of them? Well, I hadn't either until I became a grandmother. Apparently, babies love tags and love crinkle sounds so these little things keep them occupied for hours (well, not really, but, they capture their interest for quite a while).  I made two for my grandson and one (which I forgot to photograph) for a newborn baby girl. There are a ton of tutorials on how to make these, but the one I used can be found right here. What is the secret to creating the crinkle sound that babies love? A simple cereal or cracker bag (well-washed and dried, of course)! It is sandwiched in between two layers of flannel with colorful ribbons at spaced intervals. I added teething rings to mine as well as my little fellow is truly struggling with those first teeth wanting to poke through his little gums.

Taggie-Crinkle Toys created for my grandson

 

For the larger of the two, which measures about 10" square, I found the cutest Star Wars flannel fabric. It features all of the Star Wars main characters as babies. Can you spot the latest sensation, Baby Yoda? My oldest son loved anything Star Wars when he was growing up and I'm sure he'll make certain his own son does as well.

Can you spot Baby Yoda?

The second Taggie-Crinkle Toy is a smaller version (about 7" square) and features a soft white flannel with safari animals coming and going. This has more of a babyish look to it than the one above, doesn't it? I forgot to photograph the back of this one, but it has little black, white, and grey animal footprints scattered about. Honestly, the combinations are endless--if you need a quick and easy baby gift, give these a try!

These little safari animals have the sweetest faces!

 

Two sweet cross stitching friends were so kind and sent me two charts they knew I would enjoy. Stasi sent this pair of "Courting Cardinals" by Charley Harper as she knows how important cardinals are to me. And Barb R., my stitching friend from Michigan, sent me this lovely Drawn Thread chart called "The Little Birds Sampler" because she discovered she had two in her stash. I was the lucky beneficiary and I love it! Thank you both so very much--I can't tell you how much your thoughtfulness means to me...

Two wonderful charts from two wonderful stitching friends--thank you so much, Stasi and Barb! You both know I love birds!

Tuesday brought a lovely snowy day--perfect for getting out my cross-stitched Christmas ornaments! This large white box is an acid-free box that is usually sold to store quilts. I just keep it under a bed and in 12 years, I've never had any issues with the ornaments discoloring or getting damaged.

My box of treasures all ready to get to work decorating my tree!

In this box are all the ornaments I've stitched over the past 12 years. (I keep the ornaments my friends have given me in a different box). Even though it is large (at 30" x 18" by 6" deep), it is close to over-flowing so I may need to add a new acid free box to my Christmas list!

I wonder how many hours of stitching have gone into creating these?

Many, many hours of stitching and lots of love have gone into making these through the years--lots of little x's. I love the memories that each ornament brings back to me and I hope they are treasured by my children some day!

Ah... my lovelies! It's so nice to see you again!

The snow that fell on Tuesday was the prettiest kind--the type that clings to every branch and twig and gives the world a fresh, pristine appearance. I know some of you don't get snow in your part of the world, so try to imagine looking at an outdoor scene that has been frosted with the fluffiest, most delicate icing... a fairyland! 

The view from our upstairs window out to our pond and back yard after the snowfall.

View from the front porch

Since the ground was snow covered, the bird feeders saw a lot of action and I had a visit from Mama Cardinal. She is not the bright red of a male cardinal, but more of an amber color as you can see below. After I took this photo, I was shocked to see I had caught a wee chickadee in mid-flight as he flew to perch on the hook!

A female cardinal getting her breakfast as a tiny chickadee awaits his turn

I loved the picture even more when I enlarged it to get a better look at him! I think the quality is quite good considering it was taken (through my kitchen window) with my ancient iPhone 6-S that I've had since 2015! I've noticed my photographs just aren't as sharp as they used to be so I think it's definitely time for a phone upgrade. Have any of you purchased the new phones that just came out--any recommendations?

Chickadee in flight on a snowy December morning

And Papa Cardinal was quite a sight in our snow covered Winged Burning Bush tree right outside my husband's den. If you look closely, you can see one lone berry to the left of the cardinal--bet he gulped it down quickly!

Can you spot the male cardinal?

So, my Christmas decorating is almost done except my tree is not completely finished. How is yours coming along? Are you doing a bit less this year? Or are you going all out and really doing it up right? I'm doing just a bit less, but definitely enjoying the process more! I want to share one of my favorite shelves in my kitchen corner cupboard. I mean who doesn't love caroling mice and Prairie Schooler Christmas stitches? This shelf makes me smile each time I glance over at it! I had wanted a corner cupboard in my kitchen for years and years and I'm so glad I finally splurged and bought this a few years ago...

A shelf full of happiness!

Thank you so very much for visiting me and a special thank you to those who take the time to comment--especially during this busy month! Welcome to all my new followers, too. I'm having issues with my email subscribers not getting notified when I have a new post for some reason so I suggest that you follow my blog through  Bloglovin' if you want to see my latest posts. And, of course, you can always see some of my photos on Instagram right here--I do tend to post more photos and more details here at "Stitching Dreams," though! I definitely have a special place in my heart for my blog readers--thank you for all your support over the past 12 years! I'll be back soon with the "Parade of Ornaments" for 2020. Bye for now...