sweet berry stitchery

Back in late winter I started this sweet cross stitch piece* in hopes of spring and summer.   The berries and the blossoms drew me in very quickly!  (In the middle of winter, berries and blossoms are a very good marketing technique.)   I used to work at a strawberry field when I was in high school and so I have this special place in my heart for berries.  I like them freshly picked and warm from the sun.      

This cross stitch piece called for Weeks Dye Works embroidery floss and this was my first time using them.  The Weeks Dye Works flosses are over dyed flosses and they have a variation in color that runs throughout them.  They add a lot of interest with the variations in colors but they are a bit pricey so I just purchased only the threads that I thought would make the biggest impact like on the berries and the bird.  Since the leaves had so many colors in them, I used some WDW floss and some DMC floss.

I really enjoyed working on this cross stitch piece.  It was fun with all of the bright colors and I was able to finish it off just in time for berry season.

The finished piece ended up being an odd size.  I really didn't want to go with the expense of ordering a custom built frame and my framer (my husband) was way too busy to build me a frame any time soon, so I set off for Joann's with a coupon in hand.   Thankfully I found a 10 X 10 shadow box and was able to paint it to match.  I sewed Ric Rac around the outside of the piece to give it some definition.  (it looked lost in the frame without it)  I like how it turned out and I guess trying to work within my framing budget forced me to try something new and I really like the end result.

Now, we need to head to the berry patch and pick us some nice ripe strawberries!  They'll be gone before we know it.  Thankfully, I'll be enjoying my cross stitch all summer long.

* The cross stitch pattern is by Bonnie Sullivan of All Through the Night.

right around the corner

I've got some recently finished projects to share....soon.  Really, they are just around the corner and if I could just turn that corner, I'd get them posted.  But we're switching gears and heading into our school time routine and for some reason that just seems to stall me out.  It's all part of easing into the new routine.  Eventually I'll get moving again and when I do, I'll show you what I've finished up.    In the meantime, I'll leave you with some photos of our summer's end.....

[Kristyn came to visit. Whoo Hoo! We had a wonderful time catching up and making new memories- here we are heading out to dinner and to see the movie The Help]

[beautiful veggies from Kristyn's mom and dad ~ Thanks Jo Ellen and Howard. 

We've gobbled them all up!]

[John Samuel and Connor scootering down the street~ John Samuel was thrilled to have Connor here!]

[boys in shopping carts at the fabric store....a new project was in the works]

[a day at Greenbrier lake, playing and paddling]

[measuring and cutting...sewing, measuring and more measuring]

[tubing on Lake Meade....that's Maggie and her friend, Michelle]

[sunset on the lake and a very wonderful summer]

So, that's how we've been wrapping up our summer days.....I hope your summer is ending on a beautiful note as well and that you turn the corner into autumn with plenty of grace! 

needle little love

I could probably list at least 20 things that scream summer to me and the majority of them would probably be on your list too....I'm wondering though, how many people would have cross stitching on their summer activities list?  Anyways, cross stitching is one of those quirky things that definitely make my summer things list and it goes all the way back to when I was in high school.  On the days when I wasn't at the swimming pool, my best friend, Kristi Evans and I would sit in my backyard in white Adirondack chairs and cross stitch the day away.  We'd pick tomatoes and grapes from her backyard garden (which conveniently backed up to mine) and eat them right off the vine.  I'm not sure there were too many other high schoolers stitching during the summer, but I could be wrong. 

25 years later and I still love to start a stitching project each summer.  This year, Kristyn sent me the patterns from Wee Wonderfuls.  They are the perfect summer project - fast and fun!  I finished the apples and the eggs as Christmas gifts.  

I loved how Kristyn framed hers with some fabric around the motif, so I copied her! (imitation is the best form of flattery, right?!)  Don't you love the punch the fabric gives to the finished project?

without fabric

with fabric

  The only thing I didn't like about these patterns was the absence of my dear friend....for the past couple of summers, Kristyn and I have stitched several projects during our summer visiting and in thinking back it has become a part of my special summer memories collection.  So when I needle little love, I pull out my stitching and remember all of the great memories spent with friends throughout the summer over our cross stitch hoops.  What's one of the quirky things that you love to include in your summer?  I hope you're making time for it while the days are still long and lazy.


ETA:  I'm linking up with Kristyn's ADVENTure post....more goodies added to my Christmas pile!!  yeah!

I'm loving....

It's the simple things that make me smile....
My favorite afternoon treat - iced coffee.  I used Pioneer Woman's recipe.  I like mine with breve and Truvia. ( I learned that breve is the cool way to say "half and half"...the Starbucks barista got me up to speed this week with java lingo.)  Anyways, this iced coffee is fabulous and I highly recommend you keep a stash in the fridge. 

Speaking of the fridge, I am loving my new juice pitchers...they fit my top shelf perfectly without hogging up the whole thing.  I got them at The Container Store.  That whole store made me smile!  (That container with the blue lid is my coffee concentration - yum!!)

I've been organizing and tidying up my drawers and closets and that in itself just makes me grin from ear to ear.

Working my way through Emma - she's a hoot.... I think I know some of the people in this book - for real!

Centipede on my ipad.  I love the game, but I hate those spiders...every time one gets me, I have to holler at them. 

My new perfume - Le Bohemian from American Eagle...and that card from K made my day....mail from a good friend always makes me smile. 

New school calendar/organizers....for $1 each. (one for each of my kids)   I'm not ready to really think about school, but I can always get happy about new school supplies. 

Fun, summer nail polish...Kenzie and I got these on vacation and the Fruitie Patootie is my favorite, although the orange is on my toes right now. 

How bout you?  What's got you grinning?  Whatever it is, I hope your days are full of summer smiles!

flying by faster than I can...

These summer days are flying by faster than I can frog a baby sleeve...

...which I had to do last night.  I totally skipped the direction that mentioned casting off three stitches for the next two rows on my second sleeve.  That made attaching the sleeve to the body quite tricky.  I'm knitting the Raglan Baby Sweater by Debbie Bliss.  It was going along great and I was seaming my sleeves to my fronts and backs.  When I went to seam the second sleeve, I realized I didn't have the angular little corner that I needed to make the seams join accurately.  Rip, Rip went my second sleeve...and I'm working on re-knitting it according to the directions. 

I did however, successfully finish a second Pretty Baby Sweater.  This one is knit in Universal Yarns Worsted.  The color is Primrose and it is my favorite baby yellow.  After purchasing a second skein of yarn, I've got enough to knit up a baby hat as well.  These baby sweaters are fun and fast, which fit these summer days perfectly. 

Hope your summer days are filled with great things and that your needles are always full of stitches....whatcha knitting now? 

like dandelion seeds

I can tell we're settling into summer because the days are just floating by so quickly. Like dandelion seeds...these summer days are so magical.   We've got some upcoming camps and basketball events that make the next three weeks a bit busy, but these past few days have been just what I love about summer....unhurried.  Here's a peek at what we've been doing to kick off the summer:

~I've been cleaning the house and summerizing it with shells....

~Finally have finished up the last of the report cards and sent them off to our umbrella group which keeps all of our paperwork for home schooling.  The kids all had great school years and we survived Chemistry and Physical Science...whoo hoo!

~Jammer finished up baseball in the midst of a heat wave....temps over 100 at the ball fields.  whew

~We've been enjoying meals outside on the deck.....I feel like I get an extra room added to my house each spring/summer as we spend so much time out on the deck.

~Taking time to just play and create and let our imaginations go free.

~Totally devouring our new read aloud....such suspense!

~Lunching and shopping with my mom and finding my new summer purse for a super crazy price! 

~Watering our plants....almost daily

{Marveling at how fast these plants are filling out...the above picture was taken on May 23, 2011, the one below was taken today (June 15th) Wow!}

~Keeping track of the gifts along the way! 

I hope your days are magical ones...enjoy the special blessings of this season!  They go by faster than dandelion seeds on a breeze! 

embrace life

Summer is here!  I've been wanting to make a summer list; you know things that need to get done, things we want to do for fun and just some extra special things.  Thinking through what should go on that list can be overwhelming to me, but while I was reading and doing my quiet time this morning, I found the perfect summer (really all year) list already composed. 

"Whoever wants to embrace life

and see the day fill up with good,

Here's what you do.

Say nothing evil or hurtful;

Snub evil and cultivate good;

Run after peace for all you're worth.

God looks on all this with approval..."  1 Peter 3:10-12 (The Message)

That was just what I needed to get my mind wrapped around what I really want for our summer.  So friends, I hope that you'll join me this summer embracing life and filling up your days with good.  Happy Summer!

summer savors, new starts

Lingering over early morning summer knitting....

and enjoying the fleeting views of summer. 

My savoring of summer seems to have been as short as the last week itself...I found myself so busy enjoying that I didn't do very well at sharing. (sorry!)  And then, all of a sudden I find myself at the end and the beginning....school starts tomorrow.  Have a wonderful end to your summer and a great beginning to the beauty that the next season brings.  (I'll be back with knitting soon!)

summer savor 1

Summertime finds me outside in the mornings drinking my coffee and having my quiet time. I love these moments. Molly often joins me...I think she was still waking up...that's quite a big yawn.

this is part of my summer savor series...feel free to join me as I relish the last few days of summer.

the last stretch

We're on our last official stretch of summer.  School starts in about a week and the machine of routine will get back into gear.  Some of us are excited for school to start.  Some of us are not quite there yet.  Hopefully in another 13 days we'll all be ready.  I've been getting us ready and mapping out our schedules and curriculum.  The bookshelves are loaded up and ready to go. 

It's going to be a great school year...it's going to be a great school year, it's going to be a great school year....(can you tell who's not quite ready yet?)

In other news, our painting project is well underway.  My honey, who is ever thoughtful and has my best interest at heart, hired a painter to come in and do the painting.  He didn't want me wiped out and tired going into the start of the school year.  Isn't he great?   So, while they're painting...I'm blogging.  Pretty good deal, huh?  Here's the color I chose...it's called Desert Tumbleweed by Sherwin Williams.  I'm really loving it.  The trim is Pacer White also by Sherwin Williams.  I'll show more pictures later when the drop cloths are all folded up and the rubble has cleared. 

In the meantime, I thought I'd wrap up summer by squeezing every last drop of goodness out of the season.  I'll post a photo each day (or so) with something I'm savoring as summer winds up.  Feel free to join me as I savor summer.