Quaker Christmas

As promised, here I am again with pictures of my Quaker Christmas framed and hanging in my house!

Its honored spot is in the entryway and also at the end of the hall so is a pretty visible wall. Here's a close up!

Merry Christmas!

"It " is finished!!

By "It" I mean the piece that has monopolized all of my stitching time for many months this year! I have set most of my other stitching aside to finish this Quaker.

"It" actually was a bit addictive to stitch. "Stitch one more motif!" "It" kept calling me! And I loved to see the progress! I couldn't put it down!

So here "It" is.....the largest project I've ever stitched! I proudly present....

Quaker Christmas by ByGone Stitches!

I know I should have waited to show you until after it was framed...but I couldn't help myself! I should have it next Tuesday so I can hang it for Christmas! I will snap another picture of it next week hanging in it's honored place!

As far as my stitching now, I've almost finished stitching my ornament for my stitch group exchange. Then I will do the finishing. I'm also working on another sampler, much smaller....LHN's Winter Band Sampler.
Till next wk, I hope everyone is staying well, enjoying their Christmas preparations, and looking forward to the Holidays!

Stuck!

Last Saturday my DH and I took a day bus trip to Jamesport, MO, an Amish community. We almost didn't get there!

The day started out early, loading the bus in a drizzle, but we were soon on our way. Our first stop was to be at a greenhouse that specializes in Poinsettias. We would all get a chance to buy the plants we wanted for the holidays.

Our bus driver took a wrong turn down a country road! When he realized his mistake, he tried to turn around in a driveway, backed up and put the back of the bus in the ditch! We sat there for 2 hrs! Luckily I had some stitching with me so I did get something accomplished! The police and local sheriff came to direct traffic away from us since we were blocking the road!

We were happy to see the tow truck who eased us back on the road with no problem! We were headed for the greenhouse at last!

Here's the gorgeous Poinsettias!

Pictures of our 2 Poinsettias coming later.


Our next stop was at an Amish bakery and general store. We saw this farmer hauling a large hay bale.

In Jamesport, we ate lunch at an Amish restaurant, shopped in several stores, and went to a craft show. Here's some Amish buggies and horses, parked and waiting for their owners.

Our day ended with dinner at a family restaurant and the ride home! We were weary travelers, but thankful that no one was hurt from our mishap.

I'll end this with the Thanksgiving photo of our DGC!

I hope everyone had a Blessed Thanksgiving with their families!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

HI,

Yesterday was baking day.....I made 3 pies: Pecan, Apple and of course, Pumpkin!

I also tried a new recipe for Cranberry Salad. My friend Janet shared her family recipe, thanks Janet! 

Doesn't it look delicious? I can't wait to try it!

I snapped another picture to share of my Thanksgiving/ Christmas Cactus as it is opening more and more blooms! I'm really enjoying it this year!

We will be going to our oldest daughter Jennifer's house for Thanksgiving Dinner soon. Our youngest daughter Sarah and family will be there too so we will get to see all 5 of our grandchildren today! It's always so great to be together!

My wish for all of you is that you have a Very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Day!!

Signs of Autumn

HI, there are many signs of Autumn around my house...........most apparent are the leaves on the ground. Many still falling and the trees are past their prime beauty.

But I do have a pumpkin display on our front steps. You can see that I found twin pumpkins, aren't they cute?

The Autumn table decorations came out for the season, and also my pillow collection.

One of the signs that I always look forward to at this time of year is the blooming of my Thanksgiving/Christmas Cactus! This year it really piled on the buds......

Of course I can't end this post without also showing some of my stitched Autumn pieces!

What are the signs of Autumn that you are enjoying at your house?

"Stitcher of the Month"

HI, again! I hope everyone has been enjoying the first few weeks of Autumn! Our temperatures have been dropping, and we'll have 50's and 60's next wk! Lows in 30's! Brrrrr! Not quite ready for that!

As promised, I took pictures of my stitcher of the month display at my LNS. However, I forgot my camera, I know, what a dummy, so I used my phone. The pictures aren't as good as with a camera. I have hopes of getting back into the shop before the month's end, and may be able to show the whole display.

Here's most of it. There are a couple on a shelf to the left that I couldn't get in the picture. As you can see, most of mine are Quakers. I love stitching them even tho one motif can take quite awhile. But what a feeling of accomplishment when one is completed!

On the top row is Blackbird's Quaker House, next is Rosewood Manor's Quakers and Quilts. As you can see, I chose to just stitch the Quakers! Next to it is La D Da's Quaker Alphabet, and I think the next one is by Carriage House. Last is Midnight Stitching's Quaker Row.

The bottom row, to the right of the sign, is Midnight Stitching's Quaker Floral, Knotted Tree's Fall Floral Sampler, a Blackbird Quaker from a retreat, and Samplers and Such's Quaker Friendship Sampler.

My mystery sampler is on display too! Isn't the green frame pretty? I was quite pleased with it. Now to find a place of honor for it here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Fall!

Hello, October!

Where did September go? Yes, I'm back after a busy month filled with weekend camping trips, a longer trip to Oklahoma, volleyball games and just general busyness!
I finished my mystery sampler and it is presently at the cross stitch shop on display with other finished pieces. I'm the stitcher of the month for October and can't wait to see how everything looks. I'll post a picture next wk after our stitch group meets there Tues.
However in the meantime, I have a few pictures of finishes to share, including one of the mystery sampler unframed.


This is a freebie that I made into a cube-it.

The next two are Primitive Betty freebies.

Anyone know the designer of this cutie?

I do know the designer of this adorable acorn...my friend Marianne of Midnight Stitching!

Another fall freebie that was asking to be made into a cube-it!

And last, but not least, my mystery sampler! I'm very proud of it and it looks stunning in the frame!
Can't wait to show you!

Stepping Stones

Last week our DGDs Addie and Kelsey helped their Papa make the stepping stone they gave me for his birthday.

This is the design they made for the stepping stone:

Laying out the tiles on the wet cement:

And here is their masterpiece:

This stepping stone will be put in our flowerbed and will remind us not only of the fun they had making it, but of all

the other fun things we did together this summer.

Now they are on their own paths in a new school year and will be taking many steps toward their futures.

Have a wonderful school year, our darling girls!

Weekend in Branson!

We spent last weekend in Branson, Mo! We loaded our RV and took off last Thurs for the Ozarks. The ride was pretty bumpy so I put my cross stitching away and knitted on a potholder. We stayed at a secluded little RV park just a couple of blocks off of the famous busy highway 76. We love this park as it has terraced spots and is like a little town, in fact, we were on Yes, Deer Drive!

Friday am we headed to Cecilia's Needlework! Of course I had to add to my stash with some things on my list, and many things that weren't!

My wish list included the JBW Birds and Berries Antique Alphabet. I picked Irish Cream fabric for it and GAST Mulberry for the floss. JN's Bluebird Alphabet caught my eye as did the stitcher hornbook. The chart was a freebie so I bought the hornbook to finish it. I also got another Button Up Birdies chart, 3, love these birds! Are you seeing a pattern here with birds?? Anyway, I also added the ornament preview Just Cross Stitch magazine to my pile. Oh, and the little box was in the half price bin so I couldn't come home without it! Great stashing, huh? And to make it even more fun, Cecilia's were having a 4th of July Sale, everything was 25% off!

That evening my DH and I went here:

We'd heard only good things about it, especially the food, so decided to try it! We certainly weren't disappointed!

First there was a preshow. We had yummy fruit drinks served in the little boots below. A juggler performed, and then he brought up his 15 yr old stepson to juggle! He was amazing! His juggling and tricks were astounding!

Then we went to our seats in the arena. It was divided between the "North" and the "South", we were "Northerners"!

While we were being served our drinks and food the show started, and what a spectacle it was! There were competitions between the "North" and the "South", horseback riding and cattle roping and even buffalo herding! And some audience members participated in some of the contests. It was all very entertaining and the food was scrumptious! I highly recommend the Dixie Stampede!

I tried to do some stitching when we were relaxing in the RV, and did make some progress on my mystery sampler part 2. Here's where I am so far!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing and fun 4th of July!

Mystery Sampler Border is finished!

I finished stitching the border for the With Thy Needle and Thread Birds of a Feather Mystery Sampler last week! Whew! That was a mouthful! I loved the colors and the flowers. I will get the second part tomorrow and hopefully start stitching on it again. The snippet that I've seen of it shows an alphabet, tree and birds. Can't wait to see the whole section!

So, here's my sampler so far:

Stitching

I picked up a couple of stitched pieces from the framer recently. The first is a Blue Ribbon freebie called Little Blue Bungalow. I think the plain blue frame complements it so well. I love this piece and it was alot of fun to stitch!



Next is Valentine Rose by Blackbird Designs. I showed this previously and still is the only Anniversaries of the Heart that I've completed so far. I picked the brown frame to use for all of the designs so will pop them in and out.

Lastly I wanted to show you my latest treasure! I found this sampler at an antique show called Bottoms Up, which is only open the first weekend of every month here in Kansas City. We went for the first time yesterday and were impressed by the quality and prices of the antiques. This piece is from the '50's so not very old. However, I like all of the little motifs. It does show you want glue can do to a piece! Wish I knew its history!

Does anyone recognize the design or have any ideas of who designed it?

A Lot of Pictures to Share!

These are my wonderful grandchildren! We were together for our Easter celebration and they had just finished the Egg Hunt! We like to pose them in stairsteps....so from the left is Nathan, 10, Addie, 9, Elizabeth, 9 in June, Kelsey, 6, and Joshua, 6 end of May! They are, of course, my pride and joy!

This is the Edible Arrangement my DD Sarah and family gave me for Mother's Day! It even had chocolate covered strawberries! Yum, yum!

Above is the block I stitched for my stitch group exchange. It's by Carriage House and called Alphabet Sampler! Below is the one I received! I was the lucky one who received mine finished into a pincushion! My friend also made the pins! Isn't it lovely?

The piece above is Americana Samplings by Little House Needleworks. I stitched this last year and recently took advantage of the framing sale at my LNS. The same with the piece below............it's Quaker Style Friendship Sampler by Samplers and Such. I participated in an online Round Robin in 2009. We each chose our own fabric and floss and it was fun to see the different samplers that we stitched on. I love how mine turned out!

This picture of Addie was taken yesterday at her softball game. We are experiencing some unusually cool temps right now so she was bundled up and all suited up in the catcher's gear!

And last, but certainly not least is the latest picture of our baby birds! This was hard to get! Mama has been very protective, any sound from our house and she is swooping toward the windows! I was somewhat hesitant to even take another picture, but my DH wanted to try. He finally got this great shot of all three and you can see that they now have feathers!

Thanks for stopping by!