Hello and Goodbye

Hello
I've been stitching just a little.
The Monarch Butterfly is one of the things I have stitched.
I love him. I had never beaded before and it ended up being really fun.



Another piece I stitched and finished is 'Always in My Heart'. Pattern by Heartstring Samplery.
I love the colors in this pattern.


Geneva Joyce is my nana. She passed away in May. I stitched this piece and gave it to my mom on the day of my nana's memorial.
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Here is a photo of the female Bluebird in our yard.  She was grabbing up worms to feed her babies this day. I haven't seen her in a really long time.



I wanted to stitch something with a Bluebird in it to remind me of her. I found this pattern by Snowflower Diaries.  ~ Perfect


What I'm working on now is 'The Bee Skep' by Blackbird Designs.


The brick in the building is what called me to stitch this piece. My dad, grandfather and uncle were all masonry bricklayers. My dad built every house we've lived in while I was growing up. ( 3 houses).  You should see the brick work in them.  :)

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I've been working in my flower gardens a lot. I love it outside and have a real hard time coming indoors.  Even when it's 98 degrees outside.
My family and I have been hiking a lot lately too.


We've hiked to 5 different waterfalls in June along. :)   Mother Nature is gorgeous!!

Goodbye
So, I'm saying goodbye again for awhile. I don't know if I'll be back or not.  I am still on Instagram and I am documenting my life through my Project Life. (which I love)
Blogging seems more like a chore to me now and life is too short for that.
I want to do what I enjoy which is....
taking pictures,
Project Life,
playing in the yard,
hiking,
camping,
and stitching.

Taking A Tiny Break

In my backyard world

I love Spring and I love being outdoors during this time of year.

So, I've decided to take a blogging break to spend more time outdoors. I'll still be stitching... I love to stitch on my back porch. I'll still be reading my favorite blogs in the evening. I just won't be blogging the month of May.
I am on Instagram and will continue to post photos of my stitching there. So if you're on Instagram, I am amystitches .  With Instagram I don't need my computer to post a photo and you know I am a picture girl.

What I've been stitching...

 I've made a few of these 'project bags'


The pattern is 'Bridget's Bagettes' by Atkinson Designs (I made changes to the size)



I love the clear vinyl on the front so you can see what and where everything is in the bag.

This quilt inspired by a pattern called 'Busy City' by Empty Bobbin has been quilted


and just needs the binding put on. It's a wedding gift for my best friend.  These are some of the Volkswagens they own.

I've been stitching flowers in a basket and loving it. The colors in this piece are dreamy!



It will be a gift so I don't want to say what it is just yet.

What I plan to work on next...

I'm not sure


But I have these two patterns to choose from. I may start the 'Strawberry Sampler' because I have the linen already. I still need to order my linen for 'Home Is Where You Hang Your Needlework'.

So goodbye for now. I will hopefully be back in June. Happy Stitching!! and Happy Spring!

Bluebirds and Shamrocks

Bluebird Cabin stitched...

I love the two toned door and the house in this one... and of course the Bluebirds.


I wasn't going to use the buttons but the owl button for this block is so cute that I am going to have to use him. (not pictured)
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I finished stitching 'Shamrock Bunny' also.
Pattern by Homespun Elegance
Stitched on 30ct Weeks linen which I tea dyed a bit.


I may stitch these buttons at the bottom but haven't decided yet. I'll be making it into a little pillow with my Heather Ross shamrock fabric on the back.

Most of my 'smalls' are Halloween or Christmas themed so I decided I needed another Spring one. This will make only my second Spring themed one.  I do love it. The bunny's tail is a bunch of colonial knots so it sticks up a bit.
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A little peek of what I've been working on lately...



I'm loving the colors in it so much! I can't give the details as of yet. It's going to be a gift and I don't want to give too much away.
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In my backyard

She Feeds Them Well

She Feeds Them Well
By The Scarlett House

Stitched on 40 ct Cedar Plank
One over one with a little 'tent stitch' throw in there.
I changed a lot of my floss colors, but I wrote the changes down so if you have a question about a color you can ask.



Can I tell you that I enjoyed every single stitch of this piece. It was so fun to stitch and see all the little birds come to life. One of the color changes I made was the shirt. I wear brown a lot (it's one of my favorite colors) so I made her shirt brown instead of the striped blue and white.  I also made my grass a bit greener. When I started this piece, I was missing Spring and all the green that comes with it.



Here ^^^ , you can see a bit of the 'tent stitch'. It is in the little plant with red circle flowers and a little brown bird sitting on top. It is stitched one thread crossed over one thread... and on 40 ct!  It was a little tedious at first but then it kind-of grow on me. I love the way it turned out.



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Spring has Sprung



A snail I found in my yard while pulling weeds last week!



Bees in my trees! ~ Love



And camping season has started! Our first camping trip of the year was this weekend. The weather couldn't have been any better. We had the most wonderful time!
I love Spring!!

Can't Stop

My house needs to be cleaned.

There are piles of laundry to be done.

The yard is a mess.

There is food to be bought and people to be fed.
So many errands to run, I don't know where to start.
I have one hundred other things that NEED to be done,
but I can't stop stitching ...

It's a sickness.
It's my addiction.
It's my therapy.

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Pattern : "Bluebird Cabin" , Frosty Forest #5
By Country Cottage Needleworks

Loving Every Stitch

Here is the progress I've made on 'She Feeds Them Well'
I've loved every single stitch.

I've changed some floss colors. The shirt is one of them, it was supposed to be stripped blue and a cream color, but I love the color brown and wear it often so I changed it.
Also... I'm having to stitch a new (for me) stitch called the 'tent stitch'. It's called for a couple of times in this pattern and I'm still not sure I'm doing it correct but it seems to look ok.


You can see in this photo I've used the 'tent stitch' in the n , d , h and o.  It would probably be an easier stitch if I wasn't doing it on 40ct.  It is seriously testing my eye sight. lol

Frog and Toad update..
I am slowly cutting out frogs and toads to be sewn.

I think I may be up to 24 finished ones now.
I may try to sew these little guys up tomorrow... that will give me 31. :)

Just for fun ~ Throw Back Thursday


I found this old photo from 18 years ago... me stitching.  I still stitch in the same place (not that bed but in bed)  and I still use that exact same hoop.  LOL

Happy stitching! Where do you stitch at??

Snowy Friends

Snowy Friends

#4 in the "Frosty Forest" series.

I'm still loving this series so much. Next months block is called 'Bluebird Cabin'.... perfect!

 

Designer is Country Cottage Needleworks.

I don't think I've shown my new start. I started it a week or two ago... I was itching to stitch birds.
It is 'She Feeds Them Well' by The Scarlett House.



I have changed the floss for the grass from a GA Chamomile to a WDW Moss. In hopes that Spring would come soon and I would once again see beautiful bright green grass.
No such luck yet... we got snow again yesterday.
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My sweet chipmunk Alvin popped out to see me on Saturday before the snow. I loaded him up with food and warned him about the weather that was coming.



Oh Spring, please hurry up and get here.
Happy stitching.

Lately

In my hoop~ Frost Forest #4

I'm excited about stitching the squirrel, acorns and the rabbit (already stitched). 

The trees in this one make me smile too.

Sewn~ Some drink coasters for a friend.
He owns a VW bus and camps with us and he has a little chihuahua too.
Ignore the chihuahua hair all over the chair in the background. This IS my chihuahua's chair and I was in a hurry when I took the photo.  I wanted to gets these cute little coasters mailed off to TN as soon as possible.
My friend is also a veterinarian so he won't mind the added dog hair. 

In my backyard~ Hahaha, not really. But this incredibly cool vulture was about 2 streets over.
I took my son to snowboard on a big hill down the road and while watching him, I spotted two vultures.
I love them.



I've been looking for a cross stitch pattern with vultures in it. If you know of one, I'd love to hear what it is.
I did purchase ' Away We Ride' by Blackbird Designs thinking I could change the three crow looking birds in it to look more like vultures.

Happy stitching!

Stitching, Adventure and Amphibians

So much has been going on that I've had little time to stitch.

I did have a chance to stitch a 'staff challenge' piece... twice.

First off, let me tell you just in case you're  near Richmond, Va this coming weekend...

Quilting Adventures is having 2 Virginia cross stitch designers coming for an Open House!

It's March 8th, 10am to 3pm 

Here's the link: Open House

We are having a cross stitch 'staff challenge' for the Open House...

I decided to stitch one of Sandra Sullivan (Homespun Elegance)'s designs.

I ended up stitching it twice because I love stitching with just one strand of floss (right) but you really can't see the variegation in the thread because the linen count is so low (30 ct).  I stitched it again (left) using two strands of floss and can see the variegation much better.

I am going to try to make a floss tag using Vonna ~ The Twisted Stitcher's tutorial.
Fingers crossed!  I love stitching but the finishing part always scares me. 

A new start... 'She Feeds them Well',  designed by Scarlett House



I can't wait to stitch all those birds.
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Last week we took the kids on an adventure.
We went to the Falls in DuPont State Park, NC , we went to the Georgia Aquarium  and then went to Stone Mountain  which is right outside of Atlanta , Ga.


It was all so wonderful! ~  Spending time with the family was wonderful too! I just can't get enough of them.
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Last week I also took a  FrogWatch class.  Talk about fun!!  We got to listen to and learn the 19 frog and toad calls in and around my area... Virginia.
The calls are amazing. Frogs and toads are declining in some areas and these cute little critters are very important. Plus they're adorable and I don't want them to disappear.
Once I learn my croaks, I can register and start logging in the frogs and toads I hear.



This is a photo of  'Puff the magic Toad'. She is at Maymont where I took my FrogWatch class.
I'm in love!

Stitching Nature

And loving that the sun came out...

Loving Lately

Loving lately...
This frog

My stitching bag that my good friend Phoebe made me!
I love everything about it and often have to stop stitching so I can stare at it.



This series...


The old photos I found at my parent's home. This one is my brother and I.


The squirrel prof bird feeder my husband bought me and all the birds I get to watch daily.



Stitching 'Frosty Forest'.


I love that they closed my daughter's college because of the snow and I got to see her this week.
(she looks like she is crying but she laughing at our chihuahua and how much he hates the snow)



I'm loving tomato sandwiches but I won't post a photo of one because food photos gross me out. LOL
I'm loving my electric blanket,
the coffee my husband makes me every morning,
and my simple life.