A New Baby!

No, don't get too excited!!!  I'm 56 years old and I haven't had a baby!!!

You remember that we recently lost our precious cat Violetta, and I have really missed having a kitty here!  SO, I went to the local shelter and found a beautiful two year old calico, ready to go with me!  She is so pretty, but rather timid.  I have been told that her former owners weren't kind to her, which makes me very sad.  However, I brought her home and have spent a great deal of time with her.  She sits by me but doesn't get in my lap much.  She is scared when I pick her up, but I do it several times a day anyway.  She does love to be petted, so I do a lot of that.  She ran from my husband and still does some, but not as much.  We found out that the man was unkind, so it makes sense that she runs sometimes from my husband.  She is attached to me and has come out a lot, and I hope she will continue to do so with much attention and love.

ANYWAY, I fostered her for two weeks and we have decided to keep her!
Since I'm a musician, I wanted her to have a musical name.  She is very sweet, so her name is Dolce.

This is how we found her at the shelter.  She was clipped for the summer, so I'm anxious to see her in a few months when her fur grows out!  She is so pretty and I'm determined to get her to relax even more!  Sweet!

Thanks for stopping by--please come again!   And don't forget my GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Frances

PS--I switched out and put patriotic stuff back on the tree for the weekend!  I must be crazy!!!  However, this is one last hurrah before all the fun Fall decorating starts!  I'm ready for that!

Two Christmas Finishes!

Well, I haven't stitched another bee yet, but I did get two Christmas ornaments finished up!
First is a sweet little green reindeer by Prairie Schooler from Stockings & More #28.  It is on a pale gray linen and the fabrics are some little Christmas scraps I had.  I added a big green tree button and some rope trim for fun!

Next up is the Majestic Bird By Sandra Sullivan of Homespun Elegance, from Just Cross Stitch 2013 Ornament Issue.  It's stitched on a linen scrap and I used a little open heart charm (because I had it) instead of the crown charm.  Again, I used some bright Christmas fabric pieces and thin red rope trim. The hanger is made from a sweet little striped ribbon.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!  I can't wait for get all the decorations out, turn on the music, and soak in the atmosphere!  I hope I ALWAYS feel this way!

It's really hard to think about Christmas right now when it's about 98 degrees here in Mississippi!  I got outside yesterday to help my husband in the yard!  I was so hot, I sweated in my eyes, my back was killing me, and I whined a good bit!!  LOL!   I'm not one for yard work....at all!

Here in the South we have these lovely plants that we call 'cast irons'.  We have them planted around 4 trees in our back yard, which is very traditional.  Ours were looking rather brown at the tops and split, so I stood there and clipped the ends off ALL of them! In my clipping frenzy, I was so lucky to notice a group of BEES on one of the leaves before I grabbed it! Needless to say, that group didn't get clipped!  We will have to spray with that stuff that shoots 30 feet so you can spray and run!!!  Maybe this is a video opportunity!  HA  (and they are really wasps, but since you know I love bees, it's a better story if I say bees!)  I do have a confession....I like cross stitch bees, not real ones!!

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY Prairie Schooler GIVEAWAY!  Look at my previous post! The deadline is coming up soon on Tuesday, September 2nd!  Please sign up and tell your friends.

Thank you for stopping by!  Do come visit again!

Frances

Let's Have a GIVEAWAY!

I'm stitching on something now...it's for an exchange!  I've never done an exchange before!  I would not have guessed how many fun and new things can still happen in your life....(when you're not 20 anymore!!)  I'm working hard on that and I hope that my partner will be pleased with what I send!  I'm trying to get my stitching done quickly, and it's coming great!  School starts on Monday!!!! I am in my final 2 semesters of my masters degree in music!  I'm so ready to be finished!  In May, I will post a photo with cap & gown!!!
NOW....to the giveaway idea!

You may or may not remember that I love Prairie Schooler!  I have been collecting a complete set of those patterns!  I only have a couple left and I'll have it!!!  This is just a personal goal--I'm not interested in selling, trading, etc.......I just want to selfishly sit back and admire my 3 notebooks of loveliness!!!!!  WELL, in my frantic quest to get the last few charts, I had been looking for Garden Beasties #54.  It's got cute little summery critters and even has a bee!!  (my fave)    I got on Ebay...found it, and made a bid like I had done so many times.  I knew I'd probably lose as I always had.  THEN, I saw it with another Ebay seller as a Buy-it-Now and it was expensive, but not as high as usual!  SO, like a big dummy, I happily did the Buy-it-Now! Then, a few days later, I checked, and no one bid against me on the bidding one!  SO I GOT TWO!!

Why did I tell you this long story???  Because I'm going to offer the other Garden Beasties as my next giveaway!  I hope that you will enjoy getting a chance on this and that the winner will love having it because it is a little bit hard to find!  The rules are pretty simple...be a follower and sign on this post! That's it!  I will draw the winner on Tuesday, September 2, the day everyone goes back to work after the Labor Day holiday.  I will put a few little extras with the chart so it will be a fun package to receive!  Please spread the word--I'm always looking for new followers/friends!

I'm probably going to start stitching on the little bee (top left) for myself!  Can't wait to see it finished.  These will make such cute little individual ornaments!

Thank you for stopping by...Please come again soon!

Frances

Bzzzzzzzz..........

I finished the little Queen Bee ornament!  I wanted to do something a little bit different, so I used black and gold beads/pins to create a fun edging!  It's backed with the cute yellow bee fabric on the left.

And, while we're in a bit of a "bee mood", I was buzzing around HomeGoods yesterday and spotted these two darling Halloween costumes!  How cute are they????    

(I think I need a grandchild!!!! HA HA)

I've been finishing some other projects, so I'll be showing more progress shortly!

Thank you for visiting and please come again soon!

Frances

Queen Bee!

I stitched a quick little Queen Bee freebie!  I love it and plan to finish it using that cute little yellow bee fabric you can see behind it.  This is stitched on a scrap of 14 count Salem cloth and it's a portion of a freebie from The Primitive Hare, found here:   http://www.theprimitivehare.com/free/litha14.pdf
I'm on a "bee" kick right now, so that's what I'm thinking about and looking for!  I've always loved The Primitive Hare and was pleased to find this!  I also have my eye on one from The Prairie Schooler, and that one may have a giveaway involved!  Keep your eyes in this direction for more news on that!  I think I need some excitement, AND more followers, and a giveaway may just do the trick!!

Hopefully, I'll get it finished quickly and have something to show soon!

Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon!

Frances

Finished!

This morning I got up and decided that I wanted to have one of the little ornaments I've stitched all finished and on the tree--today!  It was easy to pick this one, since Summer will soon be over and we'll move on to other times!
This was a quick little stitch, by Trail Creek Farm, and I changed the floss to brighter colors for the season!

Also, I found a lovely giveaway on the blog~Always Smiling!  Go check this out and see what loveliness Chris is planning for her giveaway!!  (hope I did this right--haven't done a link before!!)

http://alwayssmiling24.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/my-giveaway-for-my-6th-blogaversary.html

Thank you for visiting and please stop by again!

         Frances