Skein by Skein

My January 1st WIP

2012-02-04T15:38:00.000-06:00

This is the progress I've made on my January 1st project for one of my boards. It's Little House's The North Wind and amazingly for us, the only snow we seem to be getting! We haven't had a measurable inch of snow this winter! I've given up and put my snowmen away! Still no snow! I really want a bit of winter, one of those days when you can stay home and watch the big flakes come down and see it pile up! I may just be dreaming this winter!

Just wait, we'll probably get snow while we are in AZ next wk! My DH and I are taking a week's trip to visit his aunt and sister and just plain vacation. And of course included in that trip will be a visit to The Attic! I'll report in when we get back! Happy Stitching to all!

The Old and The New

2012-01-18T17:46:00.000-06:00

Last year I posted pictures of an old sampler that I'd purchased. It was glued onto a piece of matboard. I took it to my framer and we discussed what to do with it. She managed to remove it from the matboard and suggested it be sewn onto a piece of fabric and then framed. I picked out a frame and she did the rest! Didn't she do a wonderful job?!

Please excuse the glare from the glass. I took a couple of close-up pictures too.

My LNS has started a monthly Sampler Club. I picked out a design by Stacy Nash called Tribute to Summer Sampler. It's not a typical SN design and I think I was drawn to it because it reminds me of Blackbird Designs! At any rate, the fabric is on order so I will have to wait awhile to start it. So in the meantime, another sampler caught my eye.... The Blue Tulip Sampler by Beehive Needleworks. Here it is with my small start. I'm using DMC flosses and the fabric is called Smokey White.

Right now I'm still stitching on The North Wind, my Jan 1st project.

Happy Stitching until next time! :-)

My First 2012 Finish!

2012-01-08T18:00:00.000-06:00

HI, I hope everyone's New Year is going well. Mine is altho I am wishing for a bit of snow, not the cold weather that comes with it!

Anyway, I wanted to do a short post with the picture of my first finish of 2012!

I stitched some snow so that's going to have to do for now!

Here's LHN's Winter Band Sampler!

Have a great week,

Sharyn :-)

Good-Bye, 2011! Hello, 2012!

2012-01-01T17:19:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve!Before we look forward to a brand new year, I thought I'd share some pictures of last year, namely the past 2 weeks.The first picture is of the ornament that I stitched for my stitch group exchange. I was in a Quaker stitching kind of mood since I had just finished Quaker Christmas. I found this ornament in the 2010 JCS Ornament Magazine and it's by Legacy Designs.

Here's the ornament I received from the exchange from my friend Janet. I believe it's designed by PS.

I really enjoyed looking at our tree this year. We have an artificial tree, but for some reason the ornaments looked particularly good on it. It was fun to gaze at them all.

Here also is the stand we use for our grandchildren's Christmas stockings!

The grandchildren were waiting patiently in front of the tree before we started opening presents!

The weather was so mild on Christmas Day that the grandkids played outside! Last Thurs they all came with their scooters and had a ball riding on our driveway and curved walk.

Our Addie started playing the violin this year and her homework over the break was to perform a concert. She's doing quite well and we enjoyed hearing her play.

Lastly, I want to add my Jan 1st projects.... The North Wind by LHN and Winter Wonderland by Blackbird Designs.

I'll close wishing you all best wishes for a happy, healthy year full of many blessings!

Quaker Christmas

2011-12-17T14:14:00.000-06:00

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!!

2011-12-08T17:38:00.000-06:00

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!

2011-11-28T17:51:00.000-06:00

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!!

2011-11-24T11:27:00.000-06:00

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

2011-11-16T17:15:00.016-06:00

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"

2011-10-15T18:17:00.020-05:00

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!

2011-10-04T18:18:00.002-05:00

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

2011-08-17T20:15:00.025-05:00

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!

2011-07-05T18:24:00.018-05:00

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!

2011-06-20T19:55:00.010-05:00

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

2011-06-05T16:54:00.007-05:00

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!

2011-05-15T12:09:00.012-05:00

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!

We Have Babies!!

2011-05-09T17:27:00.004-05:00

Yes, while we were out camping over the weekend, three baby robins were born!

You can clearly see the 3 in the mirror! Aren't they something, with their little mouths open wide?!

Mama or Papa was quite distressed that we were near the nest so we took the picture and quickly retreated into the house!

I hope we will be able to take more pictures to show you as they grow!

We're Expecting......!!!

2011-05-02T19:16:00.013-05:00

Remember the first Robin of Spring?

She's going to be a mother!!! (At least I like to think it's the same Robin!)

We discovered a mud and grass nest tucked behind our front porch light fixture last week!

We noticed that a Robin was flying into the nest alot so when she flew off, my DH put a mirror up behind the nest, I got the camera and this is the picture of the contents!!

Three pretty blue eggs!!!

I was fearful that Mama wouldn't return, but she did. She faithfully sits up there unless we disturb her!! I tried to take a picture from inside the house, but she'd have none of that and
flew off.... then stared at the house from a nearby branch for awhile!

Robins can have around 4 eggs in a nest or as many as will fill the nest so we are wondering if she's laid more. At any rate, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the babies!

Finished!

2011-04-08T17:44:00.010-05:00

Well, Friends, here we are at the end of another week. And here's what I finally finished! This is the second chart of Blackbird's Anniversaries of the Heart series. In other words, it's the February chart. I chose to dedicate it to my maternal grandmother Ina Leive. Her birthday was Feb 6th, 1892. She was so special to me because she made me feel special, and anyone that she came in contact with. She'd greet me with, " How's my Sharyn today?" I, in turn, have followed her example when greeting my grandchildren. Grandma was a petite lady with a smile that would make her eyes twinkle. She was a fantastic storyteller and we grandchildren would love to hear her tell her wonderful stories about homesteading in Montana, and adventures with her 3 children on the Kansas farm. I so wish that we'd recorded these stories or someone would have written them down. I never tired of hearing them. This design provided quite a challenge to me. I have never seen myself as a bricklayer, but feel pretty experienced now after building this house! Thanks for visiting. I always appreciate your comments. I hope everyone has a stitchy weekend!

I'm So Sorry!

2011-03-24T18:23:00.021-05:00

I've recently become aware that several people have been unable to post comments on my blog. I'm so sorry!

I have done some research and I think I've fixed the problem. Please try again when you visit.....I would love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Sharyn, still a novice at this blogging thing, I appreciate your patience!

Trip

2011-03-21T11:01:00.014-05:00

February 23rd, 3 Midwesterners ventured out of their territory and traveled to a new land. They saw the mts of New Mexico and marveled at the beautiful scenery of Sedona, AZ. They saw many unusual sites: from the snow falling on the cactus, to the enormous hole of the Meteor Crater, to the breathtaking beauty of The Painted Desert.

But, their main quest was to find The Attic! What? The Attic, you nonstitchers might ask, what's that? Only one of the top cross stitch shops in the United States! And we, the Midwesterners, if you hadn't already guessed, had the privilege to visit it on their Market Day!!! Can it get any better than that??

My friend Janet and I were greeted at the door by the owner, Jean. What a lovely gracious lady!
Here we are posing with Jean in front of their wonderful sampler wall.
Jean escorted us to the Market Room that was already packed with other cross stitchers. Oh, the treasures we found!

We loved the shop so much that we took a lunch break and came back for awhile in the afternoon! We would certainly recommend visiting this shop to any cross stitcher! It is well stocked with all the designers' charts, lots of floss and fabric and the models are stupendous! We hated to leave, but knew that we could order from them after we returned home if there was anything we'd left behind and "needed"!

Trip, Part 2 will feature scenery pictures of the Southwest, NM and AZ.

Until then I hope that Spring is Blooming at your house!

Spring's Messenger!

2011-03-12T13:45:00.014-06:00

I spied this first Robin of Spring on our front lawn this week! He/She was just standing there taking in the warmer temperature, and occasionally digging for bugs. The sight certainly made me long for Spring!

As does this favorite picture hanging on my dining room wall!

My stitching has even made me long for the lovely warm days! Here's my stitched piece by With They Needle And Thread called Needles and Pins Heart Pinkeep. This was the February kit at my LNS's stitch in. I still have to turn the heart into a pillow that will then be put in a thread spool stand. It will be darling when I get it finished! Doesn't the bird make you long for Spring too?

BLIZZARD!

2011-02-01T16:54:00.011-06:00

HI, Greetings from the land of white....we are in the middle of a blizzard!

Up to a ft of snow is predicted! It's been snowing all day and will into the night. Winds are to increase to 40 mph tonight! We are staying in, staying warm and cozy while Mother Nature drops all this snow on us!

This is what it looked like outside this afternoon.

I wanted to get a picture of our mailman as he drove down the street, but he delivered the mail next door, got stuck and backed his truck out of our street! I don't think he ever delivered to the rest of us.....so much for the saying, neither sleet nor rain, etc!

Meanwhile, the birds were having a convention at our birdfeeder. Occasionally a cardinal would fly in and shoo all the others away, but they came back shortly.

Speaking of birds, I finished this piece by Praiseworthy Stitches recently. Sorry for the wrinkles. It's called Winter Bird Delight. I'm sure the birds would be delighted to find these berries, but right now they have to settle for birdseed!

I hope wherever you live you are safe and warm.

How Much Snow Did You Get?

2011-01-20T15:42:00.011-06:00

Yesterday we had our second major snowstorm of the year! The forecast was for 6-10" for our area. As it turned out, Kansas City was in the bullseye of the storm!

It started snowing around 1:00 yesterday afternoon and kept it up until late in the night. At times the flakes were big and fluffy and came down heavily. Around rush hour it was snowing so hard it was almost a white out!

We were lucky and were home safe and sound with no plans to get out in it.

Today the beauty of it is this, taken of our backyard from the sunporch:

But the reality is this:

My DH took several trips out to shovel our driveway. The sun was shining, but the temperature was in the teens most of the day. He measured and said we had around 6" of snow. Our street is still snow covered as you can see, but cars seem to be driving without problems.

Unfortunately, snow is in the forecast for tomorrow too!

How much snow did you get?

Happy New Year + 1 Week!

2011-01-08T10:44:00.016-06:00

Happy New Year 2011!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year. It's like a blank page, isn't it? So many possibilities for fun, learning and adventure, and stitching!

Although I should be looking forward right now, this post is going to deal with looking backward as I have some stitching projects to share.

I know I was lax in posting my Christmas stitching and I really thought after C-mas I would find the time, but now the new year is already a wk old.

Sooo, there's no time like the present, here we go!

This is the ornament that I stitched for my stitch group exchange. I did the finishing too, can you believe it??
The cording was a "bear" to stitch on, and I learned that if I did this more than once a yr it would be easier! I followed the finishing directions in the JCS ornie mags.
Oh, it's a Glory Bee design.

This is the ornie that I received! isn't it adorable! Mary stitched this and I LOVE the yarn trim! Such a clever idea! She said it wasn't hard to stitch it on, and I guess it would be forgiving since it's suppose to be "flirty" ! ( I just made that up!)

The next two are ones I stitched for our DDs for Christmas. The snowman is Sarah's. It's a Prairie Schooler.

The Gingerbread Tree is Jennifer's, and was designed by Little House. I really like this finish as it's simple, but cute too.

Last, but not least, is the ornie my friend Janet stitched for me! It's by Homespun Elegance. I LOVE the heart shape and she did a great job of finishing it! Thanks so much, Janet!

That's all for now, I do have a couple of laggers to finish and hope to be able to post them next time!

We are to FINALLY get a snow next week! Just seems like we are due for one and I think this one will be pretty major!

Wherever you live, in warm or cold temps right now, I hope you are enjoying this brand new year and making the most of it!

Thanks for sticking by me, Dear Readers, as I know my blogging has been sporatic in the past, but one of my goals for this year is to be a better and more frequent blogger!

Thanks also for the lovely comments I've received, I appreciate each and every one!

Till next time! :-)

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T17:25:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas to all of my faithful readers! I'm wishing you the very best Christmas, enjoying the day with your families.

I feel more ready for the big day than in past years, but I know that I haven't been around here much lately. Thank you for sticking with me, I really do appreciate each and every one of you who takes a bit of your time to visit me. I promise, and I will add this to my growing list of resolutions, that I will do better in 2011!

Happy Holidays and love to all,

Sharyn :-)

How do YOU get in the holiday mood?

2010-11-30T17:39:00.018-06:00

The holidays are fast approaching..........tomorrow is the first of December and it seems after that, the days take on extra speed! Before we know it, Christmas is here, then the New Year! Where did 2010 go??

I'm just not there yet with the holiday mood. I don't mean to be a humbug by any means! But, we haven't had much cold weather, altho I heard we had snow flurries today, but I didn't see them. The tv ads haven't gotten me in the shopping mood either. Black Friday and Cyber Monday were lost on me. And, I'm really not ready to put up the decorations or the tree.

But, I have been doing some holiday stitching! Here's a Little House Designs piece called Holly & Berries. Think I will turn it into a flat hanging ornament.

And, I have been stitching on other ornaments...one for my stitch group exchange and a couple for gifts. None can be shown yet.

Anyway, maybe between the Christmas light displays, cards that will soon be arriving, cookies that will fill the house with wonderful aromas, and possibly even some snow on the ground, I will be ready to enjoy this most festive time of year. After all, none of this preparation is important if we forget the Reason for the Season, celebrating the Christ Child's birth.

How do YOU get in the holiday mood?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T12:27:00.005-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my blogger friends!

We will be leaving soon to go to our oldest daughter Jennifer's house for our Thanksgiving feast later today.

There will be 8 children and 7 adults in attendance! And I'm sure there will be plenty of food!

I'm wishing each of you a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

I'm Back!!

2010-11-12T17:01:00.029-06:00

Hi, All! Did you think that I'd abandoned my blog completely?? I know it certainly looks that way.

It just seems like this has been an especially busy fall. I do want to update you on my stitching tho. Between pumpkin patch visits with both sets of grandkids and 2 trips to Branson, I have managed to get a few finishes to show you.

But first, last Sunday when I returned from my wonderful stitching retreat in Branson, I saw this beautiful tree in my front yard! Now mind you, it was a dull color when I left! It was so striking and so yellow Sunday, and still is! Actually more colorful than the Ozarks!

Now to the stitching: Here's another Little House ornament. It's Snowy Pines. I love the added touch of the beads.

Next is the piece I stitched for my stitch group block exchange. It's by Homespun Elegance and from the Simply Autumn leaflet.

This Waxing Moon design was the block that I received from my dear friend Sandy. Isn't it lovely?

And finally, I have a finish from the retreat.... This is Blackbird's Waiting for the Harvest. This is an example of a design change due to mistakes! My initials weren't spaced correctly so I had to add another row of stitches on the left side, and my friend Janet stitched the over one 2010 beside the R to correct that spacing! The result, creative changes, LOL! Thanks, Janet! You know me and over 1. Maybe I'll make a New Year's Resolution to bite the bullet and conquer over 1!

I hope everyone has a stitchy weekend!

Sharyn :-)

Stitching out of the box!

2010-10-13T17:16:00.009-05:00

Fall is here and that brings out the fall stitching mood in me! Here's a cutie that I stitched up recently:

This is by Val's Stuff called In the Pumpkin Patch. I just love the kitty! This is one piece that I changed the colors on..........I know, isn't that amazing and shocking at the same time?! I usually stitch "by the book" or chart, rather, and use the designers' choices of fabric and floss colors mostly because I figure they know best how the design should look.

Well, this one I had to change! The two outside pumpkins were to be stitched with Mimosa...........my Mimosa didn't look at all like a pumpkin color so I used Fragrant Cloves for the left one and Autumn Leaves for the right one. Then to be even more "maverick", I stitched them vertically so they look striped. I also changed the vine color! Did I step out of the box or what??

I hope you are enjoying your fall stitching too!

A Stitching Finish.....Almost!

2010-09-26T16:16:00.007-05:00

Hi, It's me again! Don't faint! I know, this is highly unusual for me, but I wanted to share my "almost" stitching finish!

It shows up bluer than it is. This is the Blackbird Honeysuckle Manor reproduction sampler that Barb Adams named after her great great grandmother Hannah Lovina Joslin. The chart is from the Honeysuckle Manor book.

I had a hard time deciding who to dedicate my sampler to. At first I thought of my maternal grandmother, Ina Gertrude Leive. I adored her, she always made me feel so special. I've tried to be the same kind of grandma to my grandchildren. Well, she wasn't a very "flowery" woman. Don't get me wrong, she liked flowers, but she wasn't much for adornment or flowers in her house and I thought that maybe this didn't look like her. I'll find something more fitting to her, probably an Anniversaries of the Heart piece.

Then I thought of my paternal great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Langhofer. She passed away before I was born, and thanks to one of my aunts who wrote a book of that side of the family, I do know about her and have her birth yr. Hmmm, but, her name was just too long to fit in the space. And you know me, over one is DEFINITELY out of the question! See a previous post!

So, I decided that I was going to dedicate my sampler to my other paternal great grandmother Etta Alice Rock. I did know her, and always thought that she was a sweet lady. My dad was especially fond of her too. And her name should fit. However, I don't know her birth yr so I'm waiting for that information from my aunt. Then I'll be ready to graph the name and birth yr and complete it.

I love this sampler and the way it turned out, but I must warn whoever wants to stitch this..... the border is very time consuming and has a lot of color changes. But I think it turned out in the end and was well worth it!

It's Fall Festival Time!

2010-09-25T18:33:00.017-05:00

Hi and Happy Fall!

It's finally here..........cooler temps and soft breezes and an occasional rain!

With fall comes the fall festivals and shows! Such fun! Janet, my DH, and I went to one today! It's an annual event and we manage to find such interesting treasures there every time! It's a bit of a drive for us, but well worth it. Our excitement grew as we parked on the side of the farm lane and walked in to the craft booths. Some are lined on the side of the gravel drive, some are in an old building and some are in a barn! There's pumpkins and gourds for sale also, the ones that came home with me are above!

Here are my goodies, things I "Had to Have", treasures that "I Couldn't Go Home Without"!

As you can see, I purchased quite a variety of things! I adore little pincushions so the little kitty had to come home with me, and the crow and pumpkin ones on the ceramic insulators too! Another thing I like are old wooden bowls and this one is a great size. Inside it are little handpainted gourds! They will be adorable on my Halloween tree! The little ceramic piece by the kitty pincushion in front is a bell..... when I picked it up I said, "Oh, it's a bell!" And my witty DH said, "Isabelle!" So we named her Isabelle on the spot and of course, I HAD to buy her then!

Three Stitchin' Finishes

2010-09-04T16:42:00.015-05:00

Hi, Dear Readers!

I have some finishes to share! The first is by Little House Needleworks. It is Winter Sheep, one of the monthly ornaments. He was fun to stitch!

Next is my pumpkin block for an online group I belong to. I chose to stitch a Halloween piece by Pine Mt. I love the kitty's tail! Think I'll stitch this one again for me!

Lastly, the finish I'm most proud of! This is a Blackbird Design called Spring's Messenger. It was the project from Heartland Camp when Alma and Barb were the guest designers in........ 2003! Can you imagine? It's been a UFO all this time and I was determined to finish it this year! I must give credit to my friend Janet who stitched the over 1 purple motif on the right side, by the weeping willow tree. I have an aversion to over 1! She graciously stitched it for me, thanks so much, my dear friend!

Back to School!

2010-08-20T15:58:00.017-05:00

It's back to school time! And I'm back too! What a crazy busy summer!

Yesterday was the first day of school for all 5 of our grandchildren! In fact, the first day of Kindergarten for two of them! Altho an exciting time for all, it was also a melancholy time for me. It marks the end of taking care of grandgirls on a regular basis, several days a week. We will still be available for unexpected events or days out of school tho.

But time marches on and I know that now I will be able to turn my attention to my house, and more of this.........

and this....

and this!

Red, White and Blue!

2010-05-27T10:38:00.028-05:00

Hello, Dear Readers! Are you still out there? I certainly hope so! I apologize for my absence and hope to get you caught up on the happenings from the past two months in my next posts. From our DGD Kelsey's dance recital in May, to our Mediterranean cruise, family reunion and camping in June to now, July! Wow, no wonder I'm tired!

Anyway,I hope everyone had a safe, fun and relaxing Independence Day! We had rain showers off and on all weekend which put a damper on some of the fireworks displays around here.

To catch up on the past months, I'll start with a few pictures of Kelsey and her dance recital. These are from their dress rehearsal, Kelsey is the blond in the middle in the first picture. They tapped and sang to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", were they ever cute!

Here's pictures her grandpa took at the recital:

And afterwards, a tired little dancer!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-09T14:16:00.013-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I hope you are all enjoying a great day with your families.

Where did April go? And here it is almost mid-May! I'm sorry that I haven't posted in so long and I really don't have an excuse except that life got in the way.

We took our RV to the Ozarks in mid-April and I celebrated my birthday while we were gone. It was the first long trip we'd taken with the RV, and only the 3rd outing. DH got some practice in backing, as had to back down a road and into our campsite!

Last weekend we spent at The Elms in Excelsior Springs. MO. http://www.elmsresort.com/ Our two daughters had given my DH a gift certificate for a stay there when he retired...what a lovely resort! It has quite a history as was where President Truman stayed when he was awaiting election results. There's a spa in the resort and I opted for a "Rejuvenating Hand Treatment"! The massage was wonderful as was the paraffin wax treatment. I have arthritis in my hands so the treatment was really a treat!

Now to the stitching: I finished another Little House ornament design..........Pear Tree. It was a fun stitch!

This next picture is of the block I received at my stitch group exchange. It's a design by primitivebetty. I want to finish it into a pincushion someday!

Until next time, I wish you Happy Stitching!

Two March Finishes

2010-04-05T10:57:00.011-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Day! We enjoyed the day with our two daughters and their families. Our youngest daughter Sarah and her husband Dave had a delicious brunch dinner. The grandkids enjoyed the egg hunt in the backyard and we all were delighted with the sunny altho windy day!

Before we get further into April, I want to share a couple of cross stitch finishes I had at the end of March.

The first is a design by primitivebetty. I used a piece of PTP Ancient fabric and the recommended DMC flosses. I love the way it turned out and will get it framed to add to my Quaker wall. Oh, it's called Olde Primitive Letters!

Blackbird's Bluebird stitched up very quickly. I used Gentle Arts Midnight on Cafe Kona fabric. I'm going to add some old buttons and finish it into a pincushion.

HOPPY EASTER!!!

2010-04-03T16:20:00.015-05:00

Spring has finally come to my house !! I love to decorate my house for the seasons so I thought I would share with you a few of my Spring and Easter pretties!

I picked a bouquet of the gorgeous Daffodils that come up every Spring in our backyard! They're the kind of flowers I love.........yes, because they smell wonderful and are so pretty, but also because I don't have to do anything in order to have them......just pick them! The lovely egg is a Maggie Bonanomi original!

Here are some lace eggs I made many years ago. They were fun to put together.

Baby chicks are a sign of Spring so I couldn't resist this lovely pillow! Isn't this sweet little chick from a dear friend adorable?

And so I will leave you today with this message: I wish each and every one of you a Blessed Easter and a Wonderful Spring!!

Spring in Kansas City!

2010-03-24T11:05:00.019-05:00

Good Morning, Dear Readers!

Here's what the First Day of Spring looked like in my backyard:

I guess Mother Nature hadn't checked the calendar when she gave us all that snow Friday night and Saturday! It melted alot Sunday and Monday so there's not much evidence of our last (hopefully) Winter Blast!
I did finish stitching my Little House snowman He's a Flake over the weekend.
The fabric is really a pretty green which looks more blue green in the picture. Next up to stitch in the series is Pear Tree.

Earlier this month I finished Little House's He Is Risen. I warned you that I would be sharing Little House finishes this year! I love this design, and it stitched up really quickly. I wish the angels' wings showed up better, but you can't always see angels' wings anyway, right?

More Winter Stitching!

2010-02-19T17:29:00.015-06:00

I want to share my recent stitching finish with you..........this is Winter Wonderland by Little House Needleworks. I started it on Jan 1st. Have had a few interruptions in between, but made up my mind that I would finish it this week. I have many charts by Little House and seem to be drawn to stitch on them this yr so be prepared, you will see more!

The next picture is of the block I received at my stitch group exchange this week. It's by Val's Stuff, isn't it cute?

Valentine Cookies!

2010-02-11T16:46:00.010-06:00

Since I featured Kelsey in my last post, I thought I would spotlight her sister Addie in this one. She was out of school recently for parent-teacher conferences so we had her for the day. The idea of making cookies mushroomed into making Valentine Cookies! So we made the dough and later in the day rolled them out and she cut out the cookies. Since this was before the Super Bowl, she wanted to cut out football helmet cookies for her dad too. Here she is decorating the cookies and the final result.

Making Pizza with Papa!

2010-02-10T11:19:00.018-06:00

Last week Kelsey and Papa made pizza for lunch! She loved the idea of making her own pizza! Of course it was a cheese pizza! Here she is at work!

Stitching!

2010-02-09T20:22:00.012-06:00

My weekly stitch group does a block exchange. Several years ago we stitched monthly blocks. Last year we decided to stitch 4 per year and it worked out great. Our first block exchange this year was going to be today, but we didn't meet because of icy streets. We'll exchange next week, but thought I'd share a pic of my block now. It's a heart design by De Selby. While searching for the "right" design, I started going thru old magazines in my stash.....and I found this heart with several other designs called Damask Ornaments in the June 2007 issue of The Cross Stitcher Magazine. I hope my exchange partner likes it!

The next stitched project is my RR from last year. There were 6 of us in the RR. We stitched the Quaker Style Friendship Sampler by Samplers and Such. I chose for my sampler a handdyed linen by Lakeside Linens (sorry, I can't remember the name!) and used CC Bing Cherry floss. I stitched the middle bottom section myself as there was a postal strike in England when my sampler was to go there. I'm very pleased with how my sampler turned out and am anxious to get it framed. Isn't it pretty?

One Month Down!

2010-02-01T11:00:00.020-06:00

Goodness, one month is gone already in 2010! Where did it go? We celebrated our DGD Addie's 8th Birthday in January, attended a family wedding and had lots of snow to shovel! That kept my DH busy!

As far as my stitching, my first finish this year was Little House Needlework's Fa La La. It's the first ornament in her series. I made a few changes which is very unusual for me. I changed the lettering to red, changed a coat to blue and backstitched the girls' mouths instead of making French knots. I think it's a very sweet design.

I also stitched a green block for the Stitcher's Time Out exchange, and picked a Prairie Schooler shamrock design for it.

I will have more finishes to post soon so stay tuned, stay well
and keep on stitching!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-03T13:22:00.010-06:00

Happy New Year 2010!

Isn't that an unbelievable date?? It sounds so futuristic!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I meant to post at Christmas and on New Year's Day, but life got in the way! And Snow!

We had our family Christmas on the 26th as our DD and family who live near Liberty were snowed in by big drifts on C-mas Day. We had a great time that Sat and The grandkids so enjoyed being together.

We've gotten so much snow, quite unusual for us. WDH has been kept busy shoveling the driveway!

The pictures below are of more C-mas stitching. The Little House Home for the Holidays ornaments were for our DDs and their families. I like the flat ornament finish and will definitely be using it more in the future.

Next is a design by The Sampler Girl. I stitched this for my friend Janet. The quote is from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. And the heart is my present from Janet, a pretty Homespun Elegance design. Isn't it sweet? Love the finish on it.

I wish all of you many blessings this coming year!

More Stitching Pictures!

2009-12-19T15:41:00.005-06:00

As you can tell, I'm still a novice at this blogging thing........how to post pictures and where to put my writing. Hopefully it will all come sometime, and I hope you will bear with me.

I attempted two new finishes this holiday season. The bell design is by Stacy Nash from last year's C-mas book, A Simply Early Christmas. I stitched this for a dear friend and I'm quite pleased with the result. She stitched the framed piece for me, isn't it lovely?

The JBW tree was for my stitch group exchange. I hadn't tried making a flat ornament before, but found it wasn't too difficult. I'm going to use it on a couple more ornament finishings this week, but I won't show them until after Christmas as they are gifts. The last picture is the stitch group ornament I received. It's very sweet and I love the braided hanger!

Holiday Stitching

2009-12-14T21:57:00.008-06:00

I've been stitching some holiday pieces, some for me and some for gifts. These two pieces were out of my stash. The tuck is a SanMan kit and was fun to stitch. A quick project and turned out cute. The second one was a UFO, can you believe? Apparently I tucked it away in the JCS magazine with very little to finish. It's by Twisted Threads and from the 2002 issue.
My next post will have pics of exchange pieces. I tried a different shape and a flat ornament finish. I was quite happy with how they both turned out!

Yes, I'm still here!

2009-12-09T11:48:00.007-06:00

HI, Dear Readers!
Yes, I'm still here, I hope I haven't lost anyone because I haven't been updating.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great time with our family at our oldest DD's house. There were 12 of us there and we had lots and lots of delicious food to eat!

Now that that holidays are upon us, it seems like time is fast forwarding at a very fast pace.
I have several stitching finishes to post so will get to that in my next post.

My DH bought a new laptop computer for me and I'm enjoying it immensely. However, my pictures are on the old laptop so I need to get on it to add them. One of these days I will figure out how to store pictures on the new one!

Hope everyone is nearly finished with their shopping and able to enjoy upcoming holiday events.

We had a lovely time yesterday at our DGD's Addie and Kelsey's church Christmas program.

That certainly got us in the holiday spirit, was such fun to see the little ones dressed in costumes and singing with such gusto!

Our Travel Trailer!

2009-11-21T16:18:00.007-06:00

Finally I'm getting pictures posted of our wonderful trailer! Here's also a few of the inside, I don't want to bore anyone, but we got a bit picture happy when we had it out and snapped alot of photos!

Our maiden voyage was to Basswood Resort by Platte City, Mo. We stayed 2 nights and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The only drawback was it wasn't far from KCI and planes coming in for a landing can be pretty noisy!

We are taking it to Topeka Friday after Thanksgiving and staying in an RV park.
Kansas City had rain this week so I was relieved to find out yesterday that the trailer didn't leak and all was well with it. Just being in it made me anxious to take it out again! We are adding more and more supplies to it and making it more like home.

Doesn't WDH look relaxed?

Hope you all are having a relaxing weekend too! :-)

Pumpkin Smash at the Kansas City Zoo

2009-11-18T15:13:00.003-06:00

Elizabeth spent the weekend with us recently and Sat we took in the Pumpkin Smash at the zoo.

Not only was it a special event, but it was free admittance so there was quite a crowd. We enjoyed seeing the animals eating and playing with the pumpkins. The elephants each got a pumpkin and were carrying them around with their trunks. One elephant dropped his and another one picked it up, walked over to the one who dropped it, and then stood there and ate it!

Guess they weren't taught to share!

Granddaughters!

2009-11-18T13:57:00.010-06:00

My WDH and I are blessed to have 5 grandchildren, of which 3 are girls. They are Addie ( Addison Lee), Elizabeth Anne, and Kelsey Grace. The girls love to play together!

Addie is 7, almost 8 and in the 2nd grade. I was fortunate to take care of her 3 days/wk from when she was a tiny baby until she started school. We had her recently when she was out of school for conferences and she made some leaf projects. She's a Brownie, does gymnastics and likes to play soccer.

Elizabeth is 7 and also in 2nd grade. She has gorgeous curly hair and is the middle child with an older and younger brother. She takes dance lessons and loves all animals.

Kelsey is 5 and goes to pre-K. I've also taken care of her several days/wk since she was a baby. She loves Fancy Nancy, also takes dance lessons, plays soccer and loves to swing! Kelsey was playing in the leaf piles in our yard last wk.........don't her legs look really long???

Last Week was BUSY!

2009-11-08T18:11:00.004-06:00

It seems like since WDH retired in Oct we have been on an endless merry-go-round! Always something to do or somewhere to go. I keep hoping for a "normal" week, but realistically I don't think that it will ever happen!

Last Tues we picked up my framing from the shop in Topeka. LOVE this framing shop! They do wonderful work and are very reasonable. Here's pictures of the 3 pieces I had framed. I love them all!

Last week we also officially became RVers!!! We'd been looking at travel trailers for several wks, starting with 18 ft ones and ending our search with our 30 ft one! I have to backpedal here a bit as we had originally wanted to be able to use our truck to pull the trailer. It unfortunately wasn't big enough to pull the 30 ft trailer so we looked at getting a different truck! Fortunately Carmax had a very nice '07 Toyota Tundra! It's white, has low mileage, has heated leather seats and rides like a dream! We decided that we couldn't pass it up, but were waiting till Spring to get the trailer! But, with another walk through of it we were hopelessly in love with it, and decided not to wait! There's several more camping weekends yet this fall so we'll have it out this coming weekend and can't wait! We have a 2 hr orientation to attend, and then we'll load it and hit the road! I'll try to get some pics up after our maiden voyage!

Wishing everyone a great week,

Sharyn :-)

Antique and Craft Finds

2009-11-04T17:53:00.007-06:00

My WDH and I have been to several craft and antique shows lately. I thought I'd share pictures of things I found, and just couldn't leave behind!

The Lenexa Community Center show is always a great show and it didn't disappoint. I visited my friend Dana's booth, The Stone Rabbit! Her blog address is listed below. Visit it and you will find it delightful! I had to have the darling snowman and a pumpkin that had a Give Thanks tag on it!

The wool table runner, heart pillow and snowman pillow were from Shirley, The Wool Lady's booth. Her wool projects are exceptional and I'm lucky to have many of her pieces.

We also went to The Church of the Nazarene's craft show in Lenexa. I'd never been to this show and it was fantastic! I purchased a little paper folded wreath, and then my name was drawn for a door prize that had 4 more wreaths in varying sizes! I also got a sweet little moose and my WDH bought the pretty nativity woodcut.

A few weeks ago my WDH and I went to an antique show in Lawrence with friends Janet and Wayne from Topeka. We try to go to this show every year and we always find a few goodies. I got the two wooden boxes there, and also the darling Singer needlework case. Isn't it cute?? I wonder if it's a child's, or a saleman's model. I'm going to store antique needlework items in it to display.

I'm very pleased with all of my purchases.........we both love to scout out the antique and craft shows......the anticipation of what we will find is always fun!

Quaker RR

2009-10-28T12:20:00.003-05:00

HI, I'm in a RR with 5 other stitchers that I met on the web. We have been stitching Quaker Style Friendship Sampler by Samplers & Such this year. We chose our own fabric and floss and it's been fun seeing all the different combinations. This is Jinger's sampler that I finished stitching on last night. She chose a lovely fabric with purple mottling. It's stitched with Silk 'N Colors Aged Plum. I think it's beautiful! We have one more section to stitch and then we'll receive ours back in Dec. I can't wait to see my completed sampler!

Hugs, Sharyn :-)

A Night Out!

2009-10-23T17:33:00.004-05:00

Wednesday evening my WDH and I went to see Church Basement Ladies 2 at The New Theatre in Overland Park. It was set in the basement kitchen of a Lutheran church in Minn. As you can see, Barry Williams of The Brady Bunch fame was in it. Was so cool to see him! It doesn't sound like it would be all that funny, but it was hilarious, we laughed and laughed! The gals who played the CBL were fabulous! And I highly recommend the food. We had a scrumptious meal! And topped it off with a S'mores dessert that we smartly shared! Yum! Yum!
I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend and find some time to laugh!

Hugs,
Sharyn :-)

Crafting with Kelsey!

2009-10-21T15:36:00.004-05:00

Today was a Kelsey Day! We gathered leaves Monday am when she was here so today we did a couple of crafts with them.

First we layed leaves between two sheets of wax paper. Kelsey wanted to arrange them from large to small sizes! She loves glitter so she had a great time sprinkling red, gold and silver glitter on the leaves and wax paper! Papa even got in the act by working on the construction paper border! I ironed the wax paper and K and I glued the border on.........and this is the result! The sun wasn't shining much today so you can't see the colors very well, but I think it turned out pretty!

Kelsey also made a leaf rubbing picture. We still have lots of leaves left over so we may do this again next wk!

Hugs,

Sharyn :-)

Stitching: A Finish and an Exchange!

2009-10-21T14:38:00.010-05:00

I finished this Lizzie Kate cutie last night, sewed the buttons on today! I'd like to finish finish it as an ornie for my Halloween tree soon. I love the green fabric, it's much brighter in person.

Yesterday my stitch group exchanged seasonal blocks.........here's the one I received from my good friend Sandy. Isn't it pretty? It's a freebie by Plum Street Samplers. I'll have to figure out how to do links to other sites!

A Perfect Day!

2009-10-20T22:31:00.006-05:00

Greetings again!

Monday was a beautiful fall day here, warm with a bit of a south breeze. After dropping off our DGD Kelsey at preschool, my WDH and I decided to go to The Overland Park Arboretum. We hadn't ever been there and boy, is it ever a beautiful place! It was all decorated for fall and the trees were in their best color. We walked around several areas of the arboretum and took many pictures. This is what we saw when we looked across a lake there! We took several paths thru the area and still did not see everything. We definitely will go back to see the changing of the seasons!

I will add more pictures from my WDH's camera in the next few days. Until then, I hope you all are enjoying beautiful fall days too!

Hugs,

Sharyn :-)

Welcome to my Blog!

2009-10-17T17:12:00.002-05:00

Greetings!
I have been considering jumping into the blogger world for awhile, but hadn't had the courage until recently. For one thing, a name! What would I name my blog?? Well, that depends on what I'm going to be writing about. I love to cross stitch, but I didn't want to limit my blogging to only stitching posts. I'm also a mother blessed with two lovely daughters and two great sons-in-law, and a grandmother of 5 so will definitely write about all of them. And I have a WDH, wonderful dear husband of 40 years who just recently retired so will also be writing about not only our life together, but also our travel adventures.
So, one early AM recently I couldn't sleep so was throwing blog names around in my head: Grandma of 5, SusieMo. Hmmm. My WDH rolled over and I blurted out, "How about Sharyn's Stitches?" Now having been married the aforementioned 40 yrs, he immediately knew what I was talking about! No, he didn't like it, but threw out instead Skein by Skein! I love it! And hope you do too! I know it's about stitching, but it also has the connotation of Day by Day. Anyway, that's how this came to be.
I'm going to be feeling my way through this new adventure so please bear with me. I want to add pictures, etc to make this a bit less sterile place to visit, but hope that all will come as I go along.
I'll close with a big giant thanks for visiting and hope you return to visit soon!
Hugs,
Sharyn :-)