What's On...

The ottoman?

I've been working on Spot the Cat from La-D-Da this week. It is going super slow but I am determined to stick with it until it's finished! He's sooo cute!

The ironing board?

I started a tiered skirt over the weekend. I've used this pattern before so you would think the second time would be a breeze, but nope! Pattern instructions always seem to be written in a foreign language to me!

The table on our deck?

 I haven't a clue what ate my votives! We have squirrels and chipmunks helping themselves to my strawberries but I didn't think they'd eat wax! One candle is missing entirely! Did they need a little mood lighting for their nest?

The lunch menu?

No surprise here! Orzo salad and andouille!

Deeeee-lish!

This afternoon's agenda?

A bright sunny day calls for some relaxin' on the deck!

The TV?

Phil gave me a set of Bob Ross DVD's for my last birthday! Am I the only one who finds his voice incredibly soothing? I practically slip into a coma! Happy little trees! Happy little clouds!

And speaking of my sweetheart?

He's always on my mind!

Much Better!

I de-cluttered and organized...

Dusted and vacuumed...

And now I can have some shame-free stitching time!

Of course, I need to reward myself so first I'll do a little cooking...

Oh yeah! Salad time!

Full Disclosure

In an effort to shame myself into getting my act together and cleaning up what has become one large unorganized disastrous pile of stuff I am posting pictures of what shall become known as The Grand Mess. You may wish to avert your eyes!

This is what greets you when you walk into the Chicken Ottoman Empire...

 

You can see I've set up a slalom course so I can get a little extra exercise on the way to my chair!

It's not much better looking the other way...

 This was after I had picked up my boxes of DMC, 3/4 of which were left open because apparently the lids were too heavy to close.

The loft where I do my sewing and crafting is no better...

I must admit the "get it out and leave it out" rule isn't working!

 So today is to be devoted to doing a bit of "tidying up", shall we say.

Dinner is likely to be late.

Very late.

Fun with Flags

I put this flag banner together yesterday afternoon for our 4th of July celebration! It was super fast and easy and practically no-sew! I used a fusible interfacing to stick the front and back of each flag together and then zig-zagged them onto some red seam binding. It doesn't get any easier!

We are getting ready for weekend guests today! Washers and dryers are going, linens are being changed, menus are being planned, lists are being made! By Monday evening I might collapse but it will be with a smile on my face!

Have a fun and fabulous 4th!

Woohoo!

Birdhouse Sampler

by Prairie Schooler

stitched on 28-ct. Raw Linen

with DMC

To think I've had this pattern in my stash for nigh on 20 years and just now got around to stitching it! Apparently my tastes haven't changed much over the years because I LOVE how it turned out!

Mill Progress

Jacob was off purchasing windows for the mill so I was able to get two trees planted in his absence. He's hoping to have the whole operation up and running by the end of next week but he doesn't realize how many X's need to be crossed before the walls are up, the stream is flowing, and the wheel is turning. Not to mention his contractor's proclivity to run off and work on other projects!

Today is errand running day but I'm hoping to have a little time to stitch this afternoon! I am getting close to finishing Birdhouse Sampler!

Jacob - 1, Me - Zip

When I showed up at Block 8 yesterday with my gardening gloves on, the roofing crew was already there and eager to get to work. Jacob had also taken it upon himself to "misplace" my NPI 245 so the landscaping was put on hold for the day. Now that the roof is complete my silk has magically reappeared where I left it and I've been able to get started on the leaves.

Jacob is quite please with himself and his new roof and has scheduled the walls to be framed next. He fails to realize that if I don't get the rest of the tree trunk stitched his fancy sign could come crashing done at any moment!

Quel drama!

There's Something in the Salad

Whether it's the basil or the pine nuts or maybe the feta cheese, there's something about orzo salad that puts me in the mood for finishing! I threw together another big bowl of it Sunday morning and by that afternoon I was ripping apart pin cushion version 1.0 and reworking it into something I can live with.

Not too shabby!

It's housework day today but I do hope to sit down and work on Ye Olde Grist Mill at some point. Jacob is getting antsy about the roof not being complete, but I thought it best to finish the landscaping first.

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Jacob's Grist Mill

Let's hear it for Jacob! He applied for and received the proper permits to begin building his grist mill in the humble Village of Hawk Run Hollow! Our man Jacob didn't waste any time hanging out a shingle but I believe it may be a while before he can open his doors to the public! Lumber is on order and the walls will be going up soon!

Wining and Dining and Painting

Last night I went to a Wine and Canvas class in Grand Rapids with my darling daughter. Sooooo much fun! And I think my "Red Wildflowers" isn't half bad!

Here's my daughter with her masterpiece...

This is the second class we have taken and always have such a great time! I'm already checking next month's calendar!

That's Better!

Woohoo! Some actual progress on Block 8! Although I admit having to frog a bit more because I stitched black right over the spot where the apostrophe is supposed to go.

I really need to stop going on auto-pilot when I'm stitching!

Ducks or Frogs?

I was hoping to share a picture of my start on Block 8 but ended up doing more frogging than stitching. Silly me, I wasn't checking and double checking as I stitched and "Jacob's Gris" ended up one thread off. I did manage to save "t Mill" so at least I have that much to show.

All together now...

PFFFFFFFT!!!

But here's something to cheer us up! A family of ducks!

Ahhhh! That's better!

I'll take ducks over frogs any day!

Expletive!!

It started innocently enough. I stitched a small Prairie Schooler design and gathered a few materials to make a pin cushion that would look more or less like the one pictured on the card.

Simple enough, right?

Wrong!

An hour later this is what I had managed to create...

Quel horreur!

The seams are all wonky and my corners are even worse. I cut my trusty twiney trim too short and it unraveled before I could get it sewed on. And there's bleepin' bird seed everywhere!

I do think I can rescue the stitching and make it into something that isn't quite so frightening! I just need time to recover!

Somebody Stop Me!

Seriously! You all may have to stage an intervention because I have yet another finish to share!

This was originally meant to be a floss tag but it ended up waaaaaay thicker than I had intended. So out comes the glue gun and my *now* favorite twiney trim that hides a multitude of sins (thank goodness!). I haven't quite learned the "neatness counts" lesson so please squint your eyes and tilt your head before viewing from across the room!

Here's a photo of all three of my funky finishes together...

I've been trying to create a summer themed centerpiece for the table and these guys are filling it out nicely!

Tomorrow? A pin cushion? Do I dare?

Birdhouse Sampler Progress

Sorry for the wrinkles but I wanted to post a quick progress pic of Birdhouse Sampler! I've been working on finishing up the little fussy bits I skipped over. Bird beaks and legs. Wings. Eyes. That sort of thing. It's like a scavenger hunt for missing stitches!

One More!

I finished Lizzie Kate's Summer ABCs into a little hanging dealie-o. It's pretty darn cute as long as you admire it from afar! I had to resort to using hot glue (and burned fingers!) to get the trim to stay on and barely escaped with my sanity intact! I have only so much patience with sticky things refusing to stick!

Looks like more stitching is on the shed-jule for today! Should I get started on my next VoHRH block? Maybe keep working on Birdhouse Sampler? Or do I dare start a new project?

Back to Stitching

I've made a some more progress on Birdhouse Sampler. I was on auto-pilot when stitching the verse and didn't notice that "singing birds" was supposed to be stitched in a different color. The little angel stitcher on my shoulder has been trying to convince me to rip it out and "do it right" but I'm ready to shoo her away and leave it as is!

I was hoping to share another finish today but things did not go as planned. I've been having technical difficulties with the trim so I thought it best to set it aside before I made too much of a mess of it. No telling what was going to happen if I poked one more pin in my finger!

Time to relax with some stitching!

Another Finish!

This is a little freebie from The Sampler Girl that I stitched way back in 2010. I finished it into a pinkeep and I think it turned out pretty darn good for my first ever attempt! I may have over-doo-dadded with the buttons but it's still pretty darn cute! I have an easel hiding in a box somewhere that I can use to display it. In the meantime Miss Chicken is doing me a favor by propping it up on our sofa table.

One more finish to go and I will be back to stitching!

Finishing Success!

I have two finish finishes I can share with you today! The first is Bent Creek's Snappy Sampler which has been in my Fuppie Box for several years.

I found this frame at Michael's and had a feeling it would be perfect! I really love how it turned out!

The next finish is another piece that has been languishing in my Fuppie Box for-evah! I don't even remember the who, what, or where for this one, but I thiiiinnnnk it may have been in a cross stitch magazine. I'd always thought I'd make it into a bellpull but lacking any hardware I decided I'd use it for a big fat pillow. An entire bag of poly-fill later and voila!

Not great but not too bad either. I think it will look cute on our bed and you know I love paisley!

I have one other finish started but halfway through it I discovered I didn't have a clue what I was doing and need to consult the experts before I proceed. I am making a trip to Ye Olde Big Box Craft Store today for some supplies and if I have time this afternoon I will finish it up.

That being said, I better get a move on. I'm meeting Phil for lunch at Wendy's because all the commercials for their Crispy Dill Chicken Sandwich have worked as intended and I can't rest until I've tried one. You'd think I would have learned my lesson after last month's ghost pepper fries incident but this is me we're talking about!

Toodle-loo!!

Wish Me Luck!

I'm going to attempt some finish finishing today!

VoHRH 12... Done!

Village of Hawk Run Hollow - Block 12

by Carriage House Samplings

stitched on 40-ct. Pearled Barley linen

with Vikki Clayton Hand Dyed Fibers

Sooooo happy to have this block finished!

Here's a picture of the whole sha-bang so far...

Only four more blocks to go! Woohoo!

Birdhouse Love

I'm so pleased with how my Prairie Schooler Birdhouse Sampler is stitching up! I worked on the verse yesterday afternoon and love the fact that I'm almost to the bottom! There's a lot of filling in of bits here and there on the birds and flowers but once that border goes all the way around I'll feel like I'm almost finished!

Phil got me the super adorable Jim Shore froggie birdhouse at Lowe's while we were out shopping after church and breakfast on Sunday! Let's hope that's the only frog that comes near this sampler!

Shall We Dance?

Yes! Yes! And double yes! I just crossed the last black stitch on Block 12!

Where's my boogie shoes??

The Summer CBTs

I got busy this morning and finished putting together my "Chair Backie Things" for this summer! I've made these before but I always end up scratching my head, trying to figure out what goes where so that when I turn it right side out the ties are where they're supposed to be. And even after all my head scratching I still had to rip apart the first one and re-sew it because the ties ended up on the inside. Durrr! The second one went smoothie smooth, however, and I'm pretty darn happy with how they look! I used some Mary Engelbreit fabric that I've had for years. It's printed with panels that can be used to make pillows and worked perfectly for my CBTs! There's a layer of quilt batting sewn inside so it's nice and cushiony when you lean back in the chair.

So there you have it! Our porch rockers are dressed for the summer and, at least to me, look like the perfect place for listening to a ball game and eating orzo salad! Woohoo!

Summer Continues

It's a beautiful day here at the lake so we are planning to eat dinner out on the deck tonight. I've had a hankering for orzo salad so I put one together to have along with whatever we decide to throw on the grill. I took advantage of the opportunity to use fresh basil from my garden. There aren't too many big leaves so I only snipped a few.

Chop, chop, chop... mmmmm... I love the smell of fresh basil!

Here's everything in the bowl ready to be stirred together... orzo, chopped red onion, crumbled feta cheese, fresh basil, and toasted pine nuts...

(You may notice some of the pine nuts are a bit over-toasted! That's a result of me trying to do too many things at one time! Those puppies are too expensive to throw in the trash so I used them anyway!)

And here we are all mixed together...

I don't like a ton of dressing on my salads so I'll just dribble in a bit of balsamic vinaigrette and call it done! Should be delicious!

Getting Ready for Summer

According to Martha Stewart it's time to refresh my outdoor living space so I made a table runner and set of napkins to use out on the deck.

I also have some "chair backie things" (as I like to call them) for our front porch rockers cut out and ready to sew together.

We bought some flowers on Sunday that I plan to get repotted today.

 

The zinnias and marigolds I planted from seeds are starting to peek out of the ground.

We had a ton of rain over the weekend so my lettuce and peppers are really taking off.

I planted strawberries again this year and the squirrels have been helping themselves as soon as they spot a ripe one.

In stitchy news, I have been working on filling in the black on Block 12 of my Village of Hawk Run Hollow.

 I realized it had been close to a year since I'd last worked on it and figured it was time to once again recommit myself to getting this one finished!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far! Thanks for visiting!

Happy June!

 What better way to start a new month than with a finish??

Summer ABCs

by Lizzie Kate

stitched on 28 count Antique White linen

with DMC

I was actually trying to organize my stash when I happened upon this LK Snippet. Two minutes later I had linen cut, threads pulled, and my butt planted in my stitchy chair!

Why organize when you can stitch, right?