after Thanksgiving sale

There's still shopping to be had!!! Click over to The Sampler Girl website for a fantastic deal. Tanya is having an *after Thanksgiving Sale* of all her Jane Austen inspired charts and all her First Lady Sampler Series for 50% OFF. Yes!!! You heard that correctly. HALF OFF!!! But you only have until Sunday, November 30 to take advantage of this rarity.

Just in my own opinion, this doesn't happen all this often ~ that a cross stitch designer reduces by 50% in selling their designs. Like I've said in the past, Tanya is the best. I am her biggest fan!

*NOTE: Do not add your desired chart(s) into the Order section. Just email Tanya with what you'd like to purchase and she'll take it from there. It's that simple. Working with Tanya is easy.

thoughts on the matters

Movin' on up! Cameron officially met a major milestone over Thanksgiving and made it onto the dining room chair without assistance. Yay (complete sarcasim)! Me and DH were sitting at the dining table and Cameron was quietly pushing one chair around which is normal for him to do. I guess we were in la-la land, or our hearing impaired, but the next we knew Cameron was much louder and really close to my ear. I turned my head to the right and there he was 6" from my ear with the biggest most accomplished grin to date for him. I was surprised and happy for his triumph, but my mood fell immediately to dread. I said to DH that this wasn't good; we're going to have to start putting the chairs on the dining table. Ugghhh...so far we haven't had to do that, but give him time that Mr. Cameron...give him time!

Black Friday ~ we did not observe this day. Even though I initially wanted to do a little shopping I felt a little under the weather in the morning. I felt better as the mid-morning, afternoon kicked in but I had to get Jose from his Nana's house. While at Mom's I did get to eat Thanksdiving dinner for lunch...and it was GOOD!!! Afterwards, I spent about 2 hours going through all her charts while slamming down a brownie. Mom has soooooooooo many charts! It's heaven. Then Jose and I headed home.

Now my mind is focused (more like overwhelmed and flooded) on the Christmas/Winter season. It'll be here before we know it and I haven't even attempted to shop for gifts. This is my family's second year picking names from a hat. The kids are excluded of course, but us "big kids" pick a name and set a spending limit. Last year it was $25.00 which we thought was reasonable and we'll probably implement again this year.

We purchased a very small artificial tree from Home Depot for $4.99. I believe it is a 2-3 footer. Sad, I know. In fact, I think it is really intended to be a table-topper decor item. It isn't what I necessarily have in mind to take the place of a Christmas Tree, but with Cameron's monkey-ing ways we'll be miserable for a month with a 6-7 foot tree embellished with all the trimmings. It'll just be a complete mess and a disaster in our living room. Ornaments will get broke and torn, lights mangled and removed, and garland in places I don't want to imagine. We'll probably get a glimpse of Cameron dangling from tree branches if we're lucky. In the end, it just isn't worth all that chaos. Jose is disappointed but we all are. We figure though it is just a tree. The real blessing is each other...and presents! :-)

gobble-gobble

Gobble-Gobble everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to All! Here's to wishing you a humble Thanksgiving Day filled with good food, loving friends and family, memories to add, laughter and thankfulness in your life. I love Norman Rockwell illustrations of life since past. This is exactly how a feast should be. Look how blessed everyone looks.

We are heading over to Mom's soon for our Thanksgiving dinner, which I think she is serving around 4:00. I am having a difficult time getting Cameron down for his nap. Daddy is home and Jose is not and this is perplexing to him. He's fighting every attempt we make at getting him to relax and lie down. He's watching Elmo right now and it appears from where I'm sitting he might just give up soon. Whoa!!! I still have a little more getting-ready to do, but that won't take too long.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!!! Be safe.

Thanksgiving Day!

I would have loved to have been here the day the Native Indians and Pilgrims put their differences aside and shared a meaningful feast, as well as trade wisdom. Even though these times were trying, to say the least, I am thankful for their perseverance, determination and undying love for their country and kind.

Since Thanksgiving Day is knocking on our doors I sit back and reflect and ponder what am I thankful for? Seems like such a simple request. I wanted to take the top 10 things I am most thankful for. I have a lot of things to be thankful for, but the most important ones are the most difficult ones to muster. So here goes…

What am I thankful for?

10. I am thankful for electricity. Right now it’s cold and I hate the cold. I’m thankful for heat when I want it. What if I had no home?

9. I am thankful for the roof over my head. It shields me and comforts me and offers me a place to call home (and get undressed).

8. I am thankful that I have a hobby that sooths my soul and puts a smile on my face. Now that I’m not working outside the home, I don’t know what I would do with what little free time I have if I did not have cross stitch and other various crafts. My life would be incomplete without this simple pleasure.

7. I am thankful that I have my health and so do my loved ones. A lot of us say this and sometimes it almost sounds like a cliche. But if anyone knew the last 10 years of my life, medically speaking, they’d know I was thankful to have my health the way it is right now. It could ALWAYS be worse; and I’m thankful it is not.

6. I am thankful for God and the many blessings that envelope my life. I know I should put God first, but I am tallying up my list as my heart guides me so. I am so proud of God in all his Glory. I am thankful He has given me such a life. Any life could be better, but just as much as any life could be worse. I am thankful to Him for the many unconditional blessings He offers everyday…even the ones I seem to not notice. Amen.

5. I am thankful to be born at a time in history where all things are possible. I sit back and think to myself ‘What if I had been born in 1750 or 1800’? I would be without proper medical attention. Food sources would be rationed and not plentiful. And laws and nations would be at a stand still. I am so glad I was born in the 1970s where I could have all these things and more.

4. I am thankful that I was born in America ~ the freest land in the world! Where would I be without Her? Where would the American people be without Her? Where would the rest of the World be without Her? I honestly believe that the world is a better place for having America on its side. Ponder this…what would the world be like WITHOUT America?

3. I am thankful for my wonderful family. My family is small, but I have learned to accept that. By this token, I realize that by having a small family there is just more of me to offer, and in bigger doses.

2. I am thankful for my husband. He is my friend, partner, spouse, lover, and his love is patient for me. I am incomplete without him by my side. As much hell I give him, he’s still my #1 Guy.

Last, but never ever least…

1. I am thankful for my children. They are the air that I breathe. I wake because of them. I sleep because of them. I eat because of them. And I tire because of them. This means I’m alive and well and I have an identity. I am Mama; to which there is no greater calling than that. Child rearing can be difficult, and that’s no joke, but they are truly my purpose on this earth. I think I learn more from them than they do from me.

No Regrets…

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

mombiz and just chatting

Me and the boys were driving to my Mom's house Tuesday and her neighborhood is set in the woods on narrow roads. It's gorgeous out there, nonetheless. We all notice what happens to leaves on the road when a car sweeps over them. They blow all over, don't they? That's how I always noticed them before, but this experience was different. While driving to Mom's there was a vehicle in front of me and every time he drove over the leaves they danced like there was no tomorrow. I paid such close attention to the bouncing that the last 1/2 mile was a blur. I was so mesmerized by the actions of the leaves. It was simply beautiful.

It has gotten cold around here. Monday it rained and it was miserable outside. Grey and dreary, windy and cold, and I had to take Chloe back to the vet. My mom was kind enough and offered to come watch both the boys while I ran around with the dog. Jose is off school this week for fall break. He goes back to school Dec. 1, then 3 weeks after the 1st he's off for winter break.

The boys act silly when they are couped up in the house and can't get out...or is it just because they are boys?!?! Cameron has had no accidents lately and that's a beautiful thing. He finally got over his little cold. Jose has a terrible cough, but is happy to be on his break. Cameron and Jose have been playing a lot together lately. I think it's because Cameron has hit a milestone of game playing. He's playing hide-n-seek and chase with Jose. He has started to play with specific toys we've had but he never took much interest in until now. And for some really odd reason, Cameron has been putting a small bucket on his head and it stays there. It's like a shirt for him or something. It's a scream!! He's changing so much ~ time just flies by.

Here's Cameron playing with Daddy. He's really starting to like this shoulder thing. Check out his cheesy little grin...both of them. lol

Here's the 'bucket-head' himself. We don't know why he puts this thing on his head, but he loves it. He becomes a different baby once this thing is placed upon his bruised little noggin. It's not even a bucket. I think it's an old plastic container or something like that. Enjoy these photos of my extremely, like-dad, Mr. Cameron. Cameron even thinks he's a hoot!

And again...climbing on things that will cause injury. I can't tell you how many times he's slipped off the back of his highchair. He moves the chair out from the wall in order to mess with the straps on the back and climb on the lower pole. Check out that old bruise in the center of his forehead. He's still recovering from hitting his head.

He puts this thing on his head and thinks he's pretty hilarious. It's like he does it to make us laugh. Hey, maybe he'll be the next Jerry Seinfeld or Friends creator. You never know...

Here is Cameron yelling for fun (maybe for him).

He was actually scooting his bum and hips with this one. He was doing that sweet baby babbling.

Baby of a 1000 faces.

I asked Cameron to give me a smile and this is what I got. A screeching, open-mouthed little monkey ~ now climbing up the front of the highchair.

These boys had such a dandy little time together. They played for a good solid hour. It is these moments I'm proud I became a mama. And don't ask me about Cameron's helmet. He likes having it on.

Sorry about Jose's eyes ~ he's creeping me out!!! His eyes remind me of Tanya's raccoon (you had to be there - heehee).

Don't ask me why Jose is throwing up hand gestures ~ he more than likely has no idea what he's doing...and that's okay by me. He's cute anyway though...Jose is being Jose and that's all I ever ask.

Best buds ~ hanging out near Mama.

DH is sitting back and watching Helmet-Head (aka Dark Helmet) run around in a circle through our house. He is actually chasing Jose accompanied by his popper which sounds awful after 20 minutes of constant popping action.

Cameron, again, running around the house chasing Jose and knowingly entertaining the rest of us. He runs around, screaming, yelling and laughing while his chubby little cheeks shake about his face. In the meantime, we keep telling him "careful Cameron!". Hence, why we have the helmet on his head. When he starts running, we get to action and get that handy little bike helmet. You don't know how many times this child has fallen and hit his head since we started putting that helmet on. Too many to count. The helmet has actually helped quite a bit. He only has it on when he gets a wild hair (or Jose comes home from school) and starts jumping and running. Better safe than sorry.

He'll be comin' around the corner when he comes...he'll be comin' around the corner when he comes...

Such a focused little guy. He used to not play with that popper before and now he won't put it down. On Tuesday he was holding it up above his head with one arm and making this funny little grunting noise. He must have thought he was a weightlifter or something. It was cute.

(3 photos above) Cameron has found a little hiding place for himself. This little floor niche is in our kitchen (duh! - hit myself over head). At first he was crawling in here. Now he runs in there so it looks pretty weird when you're looking at him from the side. It reminds me of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Well, that about raps up the latest pictures of my boys. You even got a itty bitty glimpse of DH. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I cannot wait to be around family and eating a delicious feast that my Mother is preparing. Jose has been spending the night at my Mom's since Tuesday so when we ALL go home tomorrow evening, I'm sure Mom will be exhausted.

I hope everyone has a blessed and memorable Thanksgiving. Be careful if you're driving and traveling. It gets pretty bad out there on the roadways. As far as Friday shopping...shop till you drop!!!!

Good night Everyone! Sleep tight.

Happy Thanksgiving! Going to Mom's tomorrow. Mmm Mmm Good!

coffee dyeing & baking Q&A

I was on Staci's blog this afternoon and stumbled upon coffee dyeing tips that I thought I would share. I've attached a link that will take you to her post about coffee dyeing and baking your fabric for that aged primitive look. While you are there check out her pinkeeps and snowman that start immediately after her tips. These are just a few of her things she has hand-dyed with coffee. She's a lovely stitcher and finisher too.

snippets and stash: Coffee dyeing and baking Q and A

for me???

I am absolutely stunned and my heart couldn't be more content right now! Betty of Primitive Bettys has just granted me my first Blog Award. I've received the Butterfly Blog Award because of having a "cool" blog. Thank you so much, Betty, for thinking of me!!! Thank you! Thank you! I will display it proudly!

Now I must pass the torch to 10 blogspots that I think stand out and are cool. (If you didn't make the list of 10, you are still in my thoughts and one I admire just as much. :-))

Here are the rules that apply:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs for this award.
4. Add links to those blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.
6. Give a reason why you consider their blogs cool.

And the award goes to...

1. Tanya of At The Honeysuckle Tree
2. Beth of The Twist Family
3. Lori of Farmhouse Notforgotten
4. Mary Kathryn of eHandcrafts Stitching Room
5. Kathy of Carriage House Samplings & Mo Jewelry
6. Staci of Snippets and Stash
7. Petra of Time To Stitch
8. Barbara of Grannies Blog
9. Betty of Primitive Bettys (Betty is excused from the rules :-)
10. Marte of Boggy Creek Primitives

Instead of posting an individual post to all 10 recipients, I've decided to sum up what their blogs do for me and just tell you right here, right now why they deserve this Butterfuly Award. The blogs that I've listed are inspirational on so many levels. Each lady brings their own wisdom to our table of stitchers. All of you help motivate and inspire me in lots of ways and make me a better stitcher, a better finisher, and even a better blogger. Thanks Ladies!

Thanks again, Betty, for awarding me this Butterfly Award!

progress report (revised)

I want to report on a couple pieces that I'm proudly progressing on. I am thoroughly enjoying each stitch I take with these projects. This first piece is taking a little longer than it should, but that's because I keep picking up new projects to add to my WIPs pile and I'm included in a quick-stitch every weekend. Needless to say, I am finishing small designs so my turn out is not so bad. Okay, back to my progress report...

Hallow's Eve Sampler Pillow
by Stacy Nash Primitives
fabric: 28 ct. Autumn Fields (already hand-dyed)
floss: DMC ~ 301, 310, 612, 730, 838
finish as: pillow or door hang

The SN Hallow's Even Sampler Pillow is half way complete. I plan on either having it as a pillow laying around my home (I don't care that it is Halloween-ish), maybe in a basket, or giving it cording or twine so it can hang from a door or hook. I haven't decided yet. I am thinking about adding a black nostalgic key as an embellishment. I believe it will go with the piece. On to my next progress report...

These next three photos are Phase I of my progress. Approximately a week ago was my start time.

I must add that I love my scissor fob! It was a cute little project I received from a stitching night out. It is a vintage wooden spool which I need to get my hands on some more so I can make more fobs or whatever my heart desires, really. The spool even has its original label on it. I used Crescent Colours instead of the called-for floss: Belle Soie - Rose of Sharon. Again, I don't have any Belle Soie and my LNS didn't have many in stock and naturally I grew impatient and wanted it NOW! After much thought and comparing I decided on Crescent Colours - Bandana. The color has a fabulous variation of deep reds. It's close to the called-for floss, but Bandana is a deeper red.

(Photo Above) Check out the hand-dyed fabric. The photo doesn't do it the justice it deserves (never does!), but the hand-dyed portion has a very subtle green tinge. It's so pretty!

(Photo Below) I tried to get a better, close-up of the fabric I choose for this piece ~ it's a little better. It called for 28 count Bisque Linen from Lakeside Linens, but I did not have that in my stash and neither did my Mother. (I always go to her if I can't supply it myself and can't make it to my LNS.) By chance, as me and my Mother were rummaging through her ENORMOUS stash, we came across this fabric and I was floored. I had to use it...if she'd let me. Thankfully, she had a large enough piece to split it right down the middle with me. Isn't my Mom an angel?!?! (Thanks Mom!)

These next couple photos are Phase II of the progress. Hopefully the next time I post this progress report I'll have it all stitched up...hopefully!

I love that little schoolgirl. She would make a wonderful little scissor fob or floss tag.

Schoolgirl Lessons
by Little House Needleworks
fabric: 28 ct. Vintage Country Cream
floss: Crescent Colours ~ Bandana (2 skeins)
finish as: frame

quick-stitch, part II

I'm back again with another quick-stitch weekend piece called Simple Joys. This design is complimentary at Tanya's website so go check it out and stitch it. I picked the design, floss and fabric on Friday. I stitched the piece and then reflected on its finishing Saturday. Sunday I was able to dye the fabric and assemble my piece with store bought supplies. This piece was fun to stitch because of its size. I've decided its life will be that of a Christmas ornament, but you can finish it any ole' way you like.

Simple Joys
designer: Tanya Marie Anderson of The Sampler Girl
stitched by: Julie (me)
DMC Floss used
32 count Antique linen ~ coffee-dyed for aged look
Specifics: The cording is hemp cord. Poly-fil as cushion. I hand-sewed this together and then covered the seams with a free-handed cross stitch to give it that "not-so-perfect" appearance. Lastly, I initialed the back and included "08.

What I love about the backing fabric is that it is folk art which compliments the intention of the design. Ironically it has a tree and snowflake (also, but not shown on this fabric swatch, are holly and barns - all set in wintertime) which match the design motifs. And as it says, Simple Joys, it was to stitch and finish.

quick-stitch

Every weekend starting Fridays, the SNG (you can join too!) I belong to pick out any "quickie" and get it all stitched over the weekend. The rule is it has to be primitive and/or antique at least (hence the Stacy Nash Group - primitive designs). Afterwards, we share it with the group, admire each other's work through photographs, and chat. So far so good... I've managed to complete both of mine. We just started the quick-stitch weekend 2 weeks ago and we're all lookin' good. I am happy to report that I'm on track. Yay!!!

I have finally finish-finished my first quick-stitch piece from the previous weekend. As a refresher, it was Tanya's Prim Friends Gather design. I decided to make it into a floss tag. In fact, I had never heard of a floss tag or seen one since before blogging in October. Now, here I am ~ waiting to stitch up a ton of those little thingies. I got to use my Crop-A-Dile for the first time too and I was really excited about using it.

Just as a reminder, here is what my "prim" piece looked like before finishing, all stitched up, and coffee-dyed.

As of today, here is my finished "prim" piece without the floss attached. Check out my brass eyelets ~ first time too. :-)

When I saw this red toile fabric at Michael's I had to get it. I instantly thought of my Prim Friends Gather piece I had stitched and thought it would compliment the fabric. Even though the lady is alone, she is plucking fruit from the tree to "gather" for a feast, I bet! I also choose this fabric because of its depiction of life once primitive. If you could see the rest of the fabric...ummmm; it is just gorgeous...and surprisingly so - it did come from Michael's. (I still need to go to a quilt/fabric store. Grrrrrrrr)

Lastly, here is the completely finished Prim Friends Gather with floss attached. I am quite proud of this piece too. I was really happy with my whip stitch and that I was able to make all four corners neat and round...and I was really pleased!

Prim Friends Gather
designer: Tanya Marie Anderson of The Sampler Girl
stitched by: Julie (me)
DMC Floss used
32 count Antique linen ~ then coffee-dyed for aged look